St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-07-13

1soGso Nemorieo oe the Csar's Most q
gOoas Dwelling.

NJ WINTER PALACE.
1s>sss Msner,es Il the Cars Nest Ger.
gso1s Dwelling.
There can no longer be any frank
eayety In this Winter Palace. haunted
g il must be by one Of those f0rmid.
able souvenirs which impose upon
royal dwellings, a lugubrious physi-
ognomy. In entering this palace un-
der the new reign. on the days when
Alexander III. is holding court. the
servitors of his father can not forget
the last receptions Of Alexander H..
which were darkened by SO many
tragedies. One in particular We can
sec before our eyes ~ il II were yes
terday. On March 2. 1880. was cele.
brated the twenty-fifth anniversary
of the accession to the throne Of the
Emancipation. who at that memorable
date was 70 receive the tribute OF
gratitude from his people. Mag
nificent fetes had been arranged but
two weeks before the anniversary day.
the 18th of February; the explosion ut
the Winter Palace occurred. ruined all
those projects. and spread mourning
and terror around the sover-
eign. A repetition Of the at
tempt was announced for the
I'd of March. and in the capital.
smitten with unreasonable panic. the
precautions Of the police caused peo-
pie to believe that it WAS day OF riot
rather than OF festivity. When we en-.
tered these sumptuous halls, where the
imagination saw nothing but mines
and ambuscades, alarm was betrayed
on many q face. Alexander II. ap-
peared; his visible fatigue and emotion
scarcely allowed him to address a few
words to his guests. Prince GOrt-
chakOf, who had been absent from
Russia for several years. was seen
there for tho last time. The old COM
panions of the Emperor. witnesses
twenty-five years previously Of the
prodigal hopes that had greeted his
accession to the throne. looked with
out courage through the vail Of the
present sadness eupon their master.
grown old. smitten physically and
morally by so many blows. a prisoner
in this palace which threatened to fall
in ruins over his head. The illustri-
Gus Chancellor. in the decline OF age
and success. betrayed by his strength
as well as by his plans. leaned pain
fully on console in the salon Of Peter
the Great. in the midst OF that court
where absence had made him for so
long a time q stranger. A PRESENT.
ment Of an inevitable misfortune 0p-
pressed all hearts and hovered over
all this august pomp and circum-
stance.
Ono year after. March IS. 1o0t.
there was fresh meeting In this pal
ace. in presence Of the bleeding body
that had been brought in from q neigh
boring street The unforgettable vi
sion of that afternoon is still present
in the minds Of the youngest Of the
dancers when ball calls them to the
palace. They see once moro the ter.
ror and desolation of these vast rooms;
the courtiers watching for the doctors
to give them news Of the agony; the
immense square all black with people;
the stupor Of the crowd waiting with
eyes fixed on the imperial standard:
finally the sign Of the cross which
passed over all these fearful visages
when the standard fell down tho flag
stan, announcing that the drama was
ever. The habitual guests Of the pail
aoe who passed there the winter
months Of 1881. and heard on two o.
easions the dull explosion Of dyna-
mite. retain in their ears that be-
setting anguish. and more than one
catch themselves listening for 1t be-
tween two bars of . waltz-vicomte .
Eugene Melchior de Vogue. in Har-
nor,s Ma0nzino