Daily camera., 1898-06-28
THE PALACE OF GATscHINA.
A Sanctuary of Safety for the Cxar
Of All the Russians in Time
of Troubles.

The palace OIL Gatscnlna cannot be
compared with such castles as Ver-
sailles, Sanssouci or Schoenbrunn. II
has nothing of the artistic embellish
ment of the one, the historical memories
of the other or the landscape beauty
and comfort of the third. Situated in
the middle of wide and desert plain, it
has no pretty surroundings, and, bull.
without luxury, its exterior does not
| make an imposing impression. Cats
| china lies between Tsarskoje- -Selo and
Krasnoje-Selo, and the roads from each
of these places to the imperial palace,
which have private court railway sta
tions, are placed under particular su
pervision, and may not be used except
by the court. A high wall incloses the
| park, in the center of which is the
palace, and this wall is protected by
patrols, which never leave the outer
circle nor the park itself for one mo-
/ ment out of sight.
Entrance is only permitted by special
order. Though the superintendent is
SO strict, it is said that the inhabitants
of the palace are not, and must not be,
aware of it. Their pleasures and COM
forts are not impaired by it, and all the
J amusements that could be agreeable to
the emperor and his family-drives,
hunts, riding and rowing, evening par
ties, theatrical representations; etc
can be partaken Of Adjoining the
| well-tended park is an extensive wood
like the park, surrounded by wall
and guarded. In the park itself are two
lake-like basins of water; the palace
contains splendid saloons, and two col
onnades which afford agreeable prom
enades in bad weather; all this aids in
preventing the inhabitants from feel
ing anything of the anxious and never
firing supervision held over them and
the want of more charming surround
ings.
Sometimes the royal family ,inhabit
Peterhof, but always return to Cats
china. Peterhof is more magnificent,
Oranienbaum prettier, but Gatschina is
considered safer and quieter. For many
years before the accession of Alexander
III. the palace had been unused; he
caused it to be restored and comfort
ably furnished. 1t has been seldom
spoken of and scarcely more was known
of it than that the imperial hounds were
kept there. The Gatschina race was
celebrated, and a dog from the imperial
pack was very valuable, but people
cared little for the castle and park.
Still Gatschina has its history. Peter
the Great made gift of it to his IA
yorte sister, Natalie; Catherine II. gave
it to her favorite Orloff, who furnished
it at great expense, and built additional
edifices, by which, after the plans of the
Italian architect, Rinaldi, it received
quite different form. After Orloff's
death the empires rebought 1t from his
family and gave it to Archduke Paul,
who inhabit it for some length of
time. The palace forms a long square,
at each corner of which is stately
tower. The dwelling rooms are in three
stories. The colonnades run along the
sides, and the pillars are of Finland
marble. The rooms are not architec
turally beautiful, but are adorned with
valuable pictures and sculpture from
the imperial hermitage in ST, Peters
burg, from the Anitsohkow palace and
from the winter palace. The views are
limited by the park and wood, which,
however, have been beautifully laid out
by the celebrated st. Petersburg land
scape gardener.-London News.
The Dear child.
Little Tommie-Sister Lillian likes to
have YOU come here, =
Mr., Simperling-Aw, indeed! How do
you know that? ~
Little Tommie-Well, people always
like what makes them glad, don't
they?
Mr.. simperling- Generally. How do
you know l make her glad?
Little Tommie-I heard her tellin'.
one of the other girls to-day that she
just had to laugh every time she looked
at you.-Cleveland Leader.
Her Guilty Conscience,
Mrs. MumleyAAnd so you have de-
cided to withdraw from DR.. Brierly's
church?
Mrs. Weeds-Yes, he insulted me, at
my husbands funeral.
Mrs. Mumley-Insulted you at your
husbands funeral? Oh, surely you
must be mistaken.
Mrs. Weeds-No! He said my poor
James had gone to happier place and
would surely not wish to return to this
world. even if he could Chicago Daily
News.