Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-02-28
JEWELED CARRIAGES.
The CostiyiVehicles Used by the Royal Fami
lies Of Russia.
DOUGLAS SLADEN.

The COstiyiV ehicles Used by the Royal Fami-
lies of Russia.
The traveller who visits st. Petersburg
in the summer time, while the emperor
and his court are absent at Peterhof, is
shown, among other curiosities, the won
derful collection of state carriages which
is used at the coronation of each one of
Russia's rulers. Most of them are relics
of the magnifcence of Empress Catha-
rine IT,, but every succeeding reign has
added to the barbaric splendors of the
jeweled coaches. The first object that
strikes the eye is plain but elegant car
rage of modern construction and style,
painted dark blue, the whole of the wood
work on the back shivered and loose, like
the wooden Stats of a blind, while the in
terror is mass of torn cushions. This
is the vehicle in which the late czar was
driving when the first shell destined for
his destruction burst, leaving him unin-
iured but shattering his equipage. 1t
was not until he stepped out into the
street to ascertain the cause of the dis
turbance that a second bomb anuihilated
the autocrat of all Russia and his assas
sin at the same moment. A chapel is
cow in course of erection by his son, the
present czar, to mark the spot where this
uTedu OcCuETeu. LIE HILL
gled remains of the i'm perial martyr were
placed, with his ancestors, in the Church
of IS. Peter and Paul, and to this day his
tomb is always covered with fresh flow.
ers, generally violets-their perfumed
breath mingling with the burning of in
cense and the smoke of the waxen tapers
which surround the marble sarcophagus.
The next object of interest 10 primi-
fa INV
hand of Peter the Great, the worshiped
hero of Russia. It is wood, roughly con-
structed, painted dark gray, with coarse
wooden cushions, and poorly lighted by
small panes of glass. Alongside of this
much priced relic is the sumptuous
sleigh, drawn by mimic swans of white
and gold, in which once reclined the vol
uptuous figure of Catherine the Great.
The sedan chair Of the late EN- press, who
was for many years an invalid, is another
curiosity, with It's gilded doors
adorned by the jeweled monogram OF
its royal owner, and it's cushions of
rose cOlored silk. In the inner apart
ment the display of coaches is superb.
About a dozen of these are gorgeously
painted in red, and glitter With varnish
and rich gliding, from the pole to the
old-fashioned rocking springs in the
rear. The tops of some of them are sur
rounded by ornamental borders, studded
by jewels and s1rmounted by crown sec
with precious stones. Diamonds, ruhies,
sapphires, and emeralds outline the ina
perial monographs on the doors, and even
the hubs OF the wheels and the curving
supports to the broad DOORSTEP s are set
with the same brilliant gems. It seems
almost Incredible, says writer ip the
Theological Review, that this vast quanti-
ty of jewels should be genuine, but the
uniformed cicsrone gravely assures his
visitors that they are all real stones of
great value. The doors of one coach
were painted by Vatican and another by
Boucher. precious pictures even more
costly than old mine stones. Indeed. the
guide affirmed, the British government
has offered $75, 900 for one small panel
by Vatican, which it wished to place in
the national gallery. This offer, howev-
er, has been refused, and the beauty of
the coach, thus splendidiy adorned, is
still intact. For each coronation a new
carriage is made, and all, including many
in Moscow, are brought out for the grand
pageant.
The present czarina selected for her use
at the late coronation a coach presented
by Frederick the Great of Prussia to the
Empress Catharine III. 1t is beautifully
painted, richly jeweled, and cushioned in
embroidered satin. with magnificent ham
mer- cloth and harness inlaid with gold.