Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-11


rival in the throne room.
As the strains Of the national hymn.
played by an orchestra in far-off gal
lery announced the starting OF the
imperial procession, three raps of the
chamberlain's slaves on the floor stilled
the assemblage into instant silence.
A magnificent. but to foreign eyes
semi-barbaric, pageant headed by two
masters OF ceremonials In gorgeous
uniforms, stin with gold, then ap-
peared. These officials had sparkling
orders across their breasts, one dis
playing the scarlet ribbon Of the Alex
ander Nevslxy order and the other the
blue ribbon of the st. Andrew order.
Bear Golden Keys Of office
The officials bore the golden keys of
office on their. hips. Before them
walked two grooms and three court
heralds with gold tipped wands.
Ihen Ike a phalanx came re-
splendent array of court dlgnita ries
and officials, the grand marshal of the
court, the lord high chamberlain, the
gentlemen of the imperial bed cham
ber, the master Of the horse, the mas
ter Of the hounds, the master of the
hunt the lord steward, the high cup
bearer and the high carver, all with
their breasts covered with decorations
and their places in the procession being
IN inverse order of rank.
Following them, escorted by twelve
tall grenadiers with bearskin shalSos.
under the command of two guard off,
GERS with drawn sabers six high dig
nitaries bore the emblem Of the house
of Romanoffs, the seal Of the empire.
the imperial standard, the sword of
state, with it's long, straight blade
horne mint Ifr1 he oAI
and the glittering imperial crown, in
the order named.
Emperor Walks Alone
Half a dozen PAGES in the rear the
emperor, walking alone, advanced cas-
lily, holding himself erect and evidently
steeling himself for the ceremony.
He was dressed in the simple blue
uniform OF a colonel of the Probran-
jensky regiment of the guards, with
half long boots, and his only decora-
tions were the scarlet ribbon Of the AL
exander Nevslxy order on his breast
and a diamond star of the st. Andrew
order. He carried his military cap in
his left hand.
At an interval Of two PAGES came
Baron Fredericks and two special aide
de camps, and then two expresses, the
place Of honor being accorded to the
dowager empress. and the members of
the imperial family, with the exception
of the baby heir to the throne, Grand
Duke Alexis Nikolaievitch, and the
daughters of the emperor headed by
the Grand Duke Michael, the brother
of the emperor, followed in their order
of succession to the throne.
Clad in Court Costume
rr1,o o,,ooro..e-. ,,.o.. 10 I l., a..,.4 -
tunes, the ancient Russian dress COM
posed of a flowing, long trained robe
over a white silk skirt, and wearing
on their heads the kokoshnik or high
Russian head-dress, embroidered with
pearls and diamonds. The train of
the dowager empress was white and
heavily edged with dark fur, as a token
of her widowhood That of the empress
was embroidered with gold. The en-
press wore diamonds and the dowager
empress pearls.
In the train of the imperial family
came the matrons and maids of honor,
and the courts of the empress. and in
the same style costumes, but with
overdresses of deeper color, the ma
irons of honor wearing green.
Behind these followed long line of
the wives and daughters of the noblest
families in Russia, whose robes were
of silk Of varied light colors, blue, pink,
rose and white.
Emperor Kisses Cross
The emperor halted in the center OF
the hall and the Metropolitan Antonius
advanced to meet him and held out the
cross, which his majesty reverently
kissed. Then, bending forward, the
emperor clasped the hand of the metro
20 hic nd Iii
it, the metropolitan returning the salu-
tation.
All eyes were turned on the emperor.
who bore himself proudly erect, join
ing in the TIE Deum by crossing him.
self and making frequent responses.
The expresses kept their eyes straight
to the front during the long religious
ceremony, glancing neither at the MEM
bers Of parliament on their right nor on
the courtiers at their left scarcely
moving a muscle, but the heavy, flush
ing face of the young empress showed
that she was far from being at ease.
Clergy Retires
At the close of the te deum the clergy
retired chanting toward the palace
chaptI and the empress moved up the
hall and ascended the dais on the right
of the throne. while the grand dukes
moved forward and occupied the three
lower steps on the same side.
The metropolitan, the emperor's pri-
vate chaplain, the members of the holy
synod, the master of the imperial
household, and the special aide-de-
camp then took their places at the foot
of the throne to the left; the emperor
remaining alone In the center of the
hall during the transformation.
When all those participating in the
ceremony had taken their new places
there was a slight pause, and then the
emperor walked slowly twenty PAGES to
the dais, ascended the throne, seated
himself in the imperial chair and one
aide-de-camp stepped forward and pre-
sented him the draft of his address.
His majesty arose and, looking down
upon the wonderful scene, delivered his
message to the representatives of the
Russian millions.
Speaks in Firm Voice
The emporer spoke in a firm. steady