The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-01
LIFE OF THE GEAR
How They Treat Him and Cheat Him in His
 Kitchen.
TREACHERY ON ALL SIDES
His Servants Sell His Food, His Wines and His China
 ware.


 A writer who signs himself s. R. C., has contributed to the Revue of Par is some revelations of the neither side of Court life in Russia. The Revue says that the writer is a Russian prince < and belongs to the suite of the Czar.
 He begins with a reference to the Cars attack of typhus fever during his visit to Livadia in 1900, and the wonder expressed throughout Europe that a potentate whose life was so carefully guarded should have con tracted the infection. There would have been no wonder. he says, if the !, secrets of the imperial kitchens were known.
 These are managed with inexpressi- ble disorder and are unsanitary be- yond belief. Their unhygienic condi- ton is only equalled by their dishon- esty and extravaganza.
 The alleged prince writes that Gen. Tyrtr, brother of former minister of marine, called in his doctor one day. He was fearfully ill
 Where have you been dining?" asked the doctor.
 T had luncheon with the Czar yes terday and l came right home and went to bed was so ill," was the an- swer.
 The doctor treated him for ptomaine poisoning and pulled him through.
 The Czar's table is financed on a scale of enormous extravagance. Each
 dish provided is put down at ten ru- bies or about $5, and each single arti- cle of food counts as dish, though it may be only few olives or bunch of celery. At great state dinners the figuring is still higher.
 For instance, if there are 500 covers sets and lobster patties are on the
 menu the account put in will be for
 500 Holsters at four rubies apiece, though one lobster easily ;suffices for four or five guests Or of ducks from Rouen are provided 800 ducks are paid for at five rubles apiece. though each duck affords four portions. Withai the Holsters are apt to be of doubtful freshness and the ducks do not come from Rouen. the champagne which is served on these great. occas- ions, except perhaps at the imperial table, is sure to masquerade as the choicest brand in the imperial cellars,
 but the real quality is worse than sus-
 picious.
 There is a man in St Petersburg
 who is famous for his dinners and his X wi1e. As he is not wealthy his friends N wonder how he does it. One day the
 writer solved the mystery
 He was sitting in cafe with the
 dinner giver when . servant in court Livery popped his head in at rear 1I' 1sllSf ana beckoned The Prince thought < tho signal was for him, but the dinner 4 giver put in with ? dry laugh; Never mind That's my pprvayar general He has something for me. We'll have good wine to drink his Majesty's health in tonight" They went out into a rear corridor,
 wler they found the servant had
 big basket. It contained twenty bottles
 of the finest wines, which the dinner
 giver paid for at from 50 kopecks to
 ruble bottle and then sent them to
 his house by public porter.
 It was far from unique case A lC6uioh U dAiS III SilolIC uGliIdJIltS, ll- cluding fruit, poultry and confection-
 cry. is constantly going on between the Czar's pantry and the back doors of epicures of the capital, some of whom are well able to pay for their supplies at market prices, but who have the in- grained Russian love of graft. The table ware is also taken out of the palace and sold by kitchen ser- wants and walters In the reign of Alexander III his artist friend Bogolu- boff, proving about in search of cu- rios, came on beautiful Sevres plate emblazoned with the imperial arms and monogram, in a junk shop. He bought it for a tri1e and then the dealer said:
 If you care for rubbish of that sort can get you lots of it." Do by all means" said Bogoluboff In few weeks he had accumulat- ed several dozen specimens of fine china and glassware, all stolen from
 Tsarskoe-Selo One day he asked the Czar to come and see his newest curios.
 The Czar was enraged when the
 matter was explained to him. There
 was considerable clearing out of ser- ! wants and the police grabbed the old E junk dealer. Then Alexander devised
 a plan to prevent further footing.
 He ordered that catalogue of every
 article in the palace be prepared so that the imperial property could be
 checked up at intervals In Russia
 there is always way to carry out a
 reform in appearance and beat it in
 effect The palace officials selected q anice learned old man to make the cat
 alogue, an author named Gregoro-
 witz. He is dead and the Czar is dead
 and Bogoluboff is dead, but the cata-
 logue is still unfinished
 One day the writer saw a painting
 with the imperial stamp of the Hermi-
 tage Museum on it for sale for five
 rubles in secondhand furniture Ms. store. He made some discreet inquiries - and the guardians of the museum told
 him that it was very hard to keep the pictures. Grand dukes and court off. cials and ministers had habit of bor. E rowing pictures for the decoration O. their houses for special occasions ant they very seldom came back