The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-05
LIVADIA.
A Description of the Beautiful Place
Where the Gear Died,

w mere the OGar DleQ.
Livadia, where the cars last hours
were spent, is an earthly paradise. Tho
imperial estates being the flower Of the
Crimea. 1t was at Livadia that, with
little pomp or show, he celebrated lis
silver wedding in 1891, and he has gener-
ally spent there some part Of every sum-
mer for many years past The terrible
story of the Crimean campaign has caused
that portion of Russia to be associated in
most peoples minds with hardships and
horrors of every kind. Nothing could be
more at variance with the real nature of
the peninsula. The Crimea is a broad pas
ture for Tartar herds, with salt lakes and
marshes near the coast. until YOU reach
the mountains which skirt its southern
border--a broken, picturesque chain, now
coming down TO the shore. now receding
and rising more than 5000 feet in The
Tent mountain" the ice of whose upper
gorges is unmelted by summer suns.
From these nights flow the Tchernava
and the Alma, famous in the story of war;
the one running through the wooded vale
of Baidar to the bay of Sebastopol, the
other farther north across the plain To
the sea, Warm and beautiful are the
slopes and valleys between this range
and the Euxine. Clear skies, soft winds
crystal streams falling from the hills. for
ests, vineyards, gardens where the olive,
the mulberry, the fig, the pomegranate
and even the orange flourish and where
the nightingale comes with May, make il
a realm of delight compared to the cold
sameness of the north. There, overlook
ing the sea, are the villas Of the imperial
family and of various mobiles, rarest
among them being that of Prince Woron-
zoff, at Alupka, a stately, beautiful man,
sion, half English and half oriental.
The way to Livadia is by Yalta. Yalta
lies about parallel with Balaclava, but
on the right side of the Crimea, toward
the southeast 1t was, not so very long
ago, a modest little seaside place enough.
Now the proximity of the imperial villa
has transformed ii in to a Russian Cannes,
where the fashionable world of St Peters
burg makes it's winter habitation. 1t lies
right in the lap of the Black sea, whose
blackness hereabouts is blue, and whose
manners are reasonably EuXine. Behind
it slope the hills which shelter 1t from
the rigor of the north. From Yalta,
drive like a grander and a wilder Cornche,
which runs between this blue sea and
rising tiers of gardens and vineyards
takes you past the Grand Duke Constan-
tines place. Oriunda mysteriously fired
a decade or so back, that stands buried
in the oak forest fringing the waters
edge; by Aloupha, the superb carayanse-
raj of the WoronzOffs, where they make
up a couple of hundred beds, and so to
the great domain, with its enormous
parks, its orchards, its vignobles, its En-
glish parterres, and it's two picturesque
habitations' which is Livadia.
One, the first of these two imperial villas,
was erected, they say, after the designs
and a good deal Of 1t under the eye, of
the late czar's predecessor. 1t is a good
deal the more striking of the two exter-
nally. 1t has great Louis Seize drawing
room in white and gold, which contains
a famous collection of oriental faience
The apartments of the late empress con-
stitute gallery of paintings of the Rus
sian school, which has probably no equal
Nevertheless, the room which interests
visitor the most is the library writing
room of Alexander II, which has been left
religiously as he left it last. The villa
built by his successor, has sooth to say
nothing particularly remarkable about it,
II is the abode of a gentleman, and man
of sober tastes and modest requirements
a nitrate king, or even cotton lord
wouldn't hink much of il.
The palace at Livada formerly belonged
to the Count Leo Potocki. Afterward 1t
became the property of Alexander H.,
who became greatly attached to 1T and
openly declared that he preferred his res
idenoe at Livadia TO any other of his i'm
perial palaces. The grounds are laid out
with much taste and adorned with foun-
tains, terraces, statues and conservato-
ries filed with rare exotic plants. Ad-
joining the palace are barracks filed with
troops, and church in the Byzantine
style. magnificently decorated with fres-
Goes and rare marbles Here, on a por-
phyry PEDESTAL stands the marble cross
presented Alexander II. by Livadlan work
men to commemorate the liberation of the
serfs.
From a balcony running along the
facade Of the palace a superb view is
~ ,F h. linz
country. This balcony has always been
the Cars fayorite lounging place and
here every morning, during his visits to
the place, he might be seen smoking a sol
itary cigarette and meditating problems
of state, Looking out over the beauti-
full blue waters he could descry the ships
of the Black sea fleet, which he has done
so much to increase and strengthen.
MRS. GREEN WON.