Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-04
WINTER HOME OF RUSSIAN CZARS|
WILLIAM e. CURTIS.


and over Il. on the second floor. il the
drawing room, with handsome and taste
full but inexpensive furniture There IL
grand piano, with a Swiss music box upon
stand in the corner: a collection OF
fans and other feminine trifies in cab
met: several presentation books and al
buns. and rather ordinary paintings upon
the walls.
There is a suite OF three rooms for the
emperor and a corresponding suite for the
empress. Her sitting room is very pretty,
with Brussels carpet on the floor and
hangings and upholstery OF cretonne Her
bedroom is furnished with the same ma
terial and Is similar to those you can
find In every coantry house of weil-to-
do people and much more convenient than
any palace apartment i have ever seem
The bedstead is Of brass, with a canopy
and curtains of cretonne. Between the
sitting room and the bedroom Is a dress
ing room with several large wardrobee
and storeroom for linen with chests Of
drawers.
The emperor's library contains two
desks OF plain. ordinary white oak. one
for himself and one for his secretary or
military aid. 1t is furnished with sub
stantial leather tufted furniture. cretonne
hangings and an ordinary Brussels carpet
upon the floor. while the walls are hung
with family photographs. including a
group taken on the front porch OF the
cottage when the late King Christian,
Queen Alexandra OF England. King
George of Greece and other relatives of
the dowager empress were here. There
are several photographs of Queen Alex
andra of England and King George OF
Greece about the house. The affection
and devotion for which the royal family
of Denmark Is famous are illustrated by
the number OF photographs that are
scattered around.
The emperor's sleeping chamber is a
large square room with an outlook upon
the Black sea. 1t is left
Sleeping exactly as it was when he
rl.L died. His bed. a large four
0Si' poster. with two mattress
es. is shielded from the light by high
screen, and beside 1t is a small iron camp
bedstead that was used by his nurse. In
the corner Is a cabinet bathtub. which
closes UP like settee; in the center Is a
table. with several Russian books. reviews
and newspapers-the last he read. There
is a sofa behind 1t. with a pillow en-
broidered with the imperial arms, where
he rested In his last days. Beside one
window Is a large easy chair. in tufted
blue leather, much worn and rather
shabby, in which Alexander Ill sat when
he breathed his last. He died Of a COM
bination OF Bright's disease and dropsy
and his lungs and heart were drowned.
For several days before his death he was
unable to lie down. and slept in this chair.
1t stands exactly where 1t was when he
died. and where his feet rested q cross
Of olive wood has been Embedded in the
floor.
The rooms OF Alexander II in the win
ter palace at Petersburg and those of
Nicholas /. the Iron Gar, are preserved
in the same way, and will never be occu-
pied again. But no emperor ever died
in such simple, homelike surroundings as
Alexander III.
The widow has never been here since
she left for Petersburg with the funeral
cortege. but Nicholas II.
New Palace her son. always comes to
p,,;Ia;. spend a portion of the
S' year In Lvadia. and was
here three months last fall The old vine
covered villa, which has been photo
graphed and used as an illustration for
books and magazines so often. has been
torn down. and a splendid palace Of white
sandstone. to cost S7JO.OOO Is now being
constructed on plans prepared by Archi-
tect Krasnoff 6f Yalta. The car has
given explicit instructions that 1t must be
completed SO that he can occupy il in
hundred stone-cutters and masons are at
work. They are all Turks and Tartars.
No Russians are employed about Livada.
The household servants are all Tartars,
and the caretaker OF the villa in which
the car died Is of that race. He was
the butler during the lifetime Of Alexan-
der III.
In the midst Of the masonry stands a
tall, white. wooden cross intended TO keep
away evil spirits. counteract hostile in
fiuences and prevent accidents while the
new palace is being erected I inquired
whether Ii was efficacious to Mohamme-
dams. for no Christians are employed upon
the works. The architect replied that il
would do them no harm. All the stable
men, gardeners and farm hands about the
place are Mohammedans. swarthy, black
eyed fellows, with intensely black hair
and boards: but they are faithful and
loyal and make excellent servants They
are especially good gardeners, and the sur
roundings at Lvadia demonstrate that
fact.
estate; two hundred and fifty acres under
cultivation and the rest In
Large park. Nearly two hundred
r.4oxo acres are In vineyards. and
the best wine Of the Crimea
Is said to come from the emperor's
grapes. Ii is not made on the place. but
the grapes are hauled to wine press In
the neighborhood.
The estate is surrounded by a high
barbed-wire fence. draped with honey
suckle and creepers. 1t lies beween the
main highway and the Black sea, and
people who drive that way can get a
very good idea OF the Notwithstanding
groups OF stables, the cottages for aid
de-camp and members of the household,
the Conservatives. the chapel and other
buildings which are scattered over the
place and half hidden in the foliage
There is an especial residence for the
minister cabinet who attends the car
and apartments for the entertainment OF
other members OF the government who
are brought here on official business
Nothing, however, is pretentious. Many
summer homes in the United States sur
pass IL in every respect. but Livadia will