Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1905-04-13

aence, He Lives Like am English
eQuire-ouafnt Building In which
Dinner In Frequently Served.
"We have heard a great deal of late
Of the cars palace Of Tsarskoe-Selo,
said traveller who returned recently
from a trip to Russia, says the New
York Press. THE name really en-
braces a number Of small palaces sit
uated In the spacious grounds of the
main building, about fifteen miles from
81. Petersburg. 1t Is in the small
Alexander palace there that the en-
peror lives when he is at Tsarskoe-Selo.
As it is intended for and has hereto
fore been used exclusively as sum-
mer residence, the car must find some
difficulty in keeping warm this weather
In the Alexander.
"At Tsarskoe-Selo the emperor and
modelled after that of the king and
queen Of England at Sandringham.
The empress being niece of the king
and the emperor nephew of the
queen, they have both often been Wis
itors at Sandringham, where their aunt
and uncle, when Prince and Princess of
| Wales, copied closely in all it's details
| the life Of an English country gentle
man OF good fortune. So the empress
has her dairy, and the emperor goes
out with the guns and shoots pleas
ants, and they have roast beef and
bottled beer and pudding for dinner.
"In front OF the Alexander is ter
race commanding a spacious view and
| overlooking q lake I'm which floats
feet Of boats representing specimens
| OF the craft OF all nations. Even an
! Indian canoe of bark Is there and a
Brazilian jungada. In Me great park
nature and art are jumbled up In
curious manner. There are spaces as
rough and unkept as nature made
| them. and mixed with the wilderness
are formal gardens, statues, white mar
BILE bridges and artificial ruins.
Dinner frequently is served in a
| quaint little detached building over
looking the lake and consisting Of two
rooms, an upper and a lower. The
lower room is the kitchen and the up
per the dining room. At meals served
there no servant is present. At the
end OF every course the people at the
table move back little, the emperor
touches q bell, and the table sinks
through the floor to reappear with the
next course arranged upon 1t.
This disappearing table was built I'm
imitation Of the famous condolences
table OF Louis XIV. by the able and
dissolute Catherine H., who laid out
| the grounds OF Tsarskoe-Selo and built
4 the old palace there as well as this
| little building where the car loves to-
dine without servants. Catherine was
a lady the mention OF whose private
/ LIE Is eminentiy calculated to bring
the blush of shame to the cheek of
modesty. and they tell most shocking
stories Of the goings on witnessed by
the confidence table In her day. But
now everything Is most proper and cor
rect at the dinners in the little build
Ing, only the commonplace, weak car
and his wife and perhaps friend or
two being present, and all feel
ing relieved that they can eat and gos1
sip in peace like ordinary mortaIs
without fearing all the time that the
servant handing round the soup is ri
nihilist spy or that the one who hands
the entrees will serve dynamite
bomb along with them.
"But even II servants were present.
they would not be likely to pick up
much gossip, for English is the Lam
Ruage now spoken at the imperial
table. and few Russian servants know
that language. Until the present em-
per0r came to the throne French was
the language generally spoken BY the
imperial family In private converse
tion, but Il has now been supplanted
by English, which both the emperor.
and empress speak very well.
TO carry out the idea OF English
country life the car has at Tsarskoa-
| Selo . small private library consisting
mostly OF English authors. Scott.
Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling are
bis fnvorite English authors. and In
the summer time he likes 10 sit II d
garden chair GA the lawn OF the Alex
ander alternately reading from one Of
these writers aud gazing dreamily ol.
over the landscape
However ghastly d failure be II en-
emperor az Russia, he would hare
made nn excellent country gentleman
not one OF the hunting sort. but one
III the kind who are deacons III rue
village meeting house and subscribe
literally ~ the fund FOR distressed
& M444& @Wkt ~ X