The Washington herald., 1912-10-16
COURT GOSSIP OF LIFE
OF RUSSIAN ARLSTOCRATS

Va 8AOoOA
Grand Duke Nicholas. who attended
the French maneuvers. represented IN
the fullest sense the military power Of
the Gar. As army Ambassador he had
q train Of nve generals. not to mention
other field officers. as fine figures as uni
forms could make them. Their names.
with one exception. were German or
Swedish. Their faces betrayed not only
their Teutonic origin. but alko frequent
suppers at Cubats restaurant in Paris
English gentlemen in the early Georgian
days used to pride himself on his ability
to drink two bottles of port At dinner.
Russian society Is still in this stage. and
likely will remain SO for another couple
Of generations. Among the generals In
the grand dukes suite was Kaulbars.
once the bogey Of those governors OF
india who strove to create a scientific
frontier A son Of Gen. Ignatieff ac-
compsnied him.
n. Poincare. the French Premier.
man Of fully average stature. was
dwarfed by propinquity with his imperial
visitor, and looked like the man at the
fair who conducts a giant. The grand
duke. in his salon car, was AZ the reel
In the bottle. However, his slight stoop
brought him within measurable distance
of N. Poincare. while the latters top
hat seemed to add a few inches to his
height. and SO equalized things.
There Is In Russia one peculiarity which
makes autocracy tolerable. namely, kind
ness and benevolence increase as You
Ill
''Tchinovnik" may be . ,curmudgeon.
general or a councillor Of state (who
ranks as generaD is fatheriy, the Car
10 the fountain head Of loving kindness.
"a pity that he Is kept in ignorance OF
the abuses perpetrated in his nau1e)
There II really frank goodness in the
Grand Duke Nicholas His habttuaily
mournful face lighted up charminsly in
response to the cheers OF the public. For
all his tailness there is nothing in him OF
the herculean bobby" that one sees in
SO many members Of the imperial Ro-
rsanoH family. especially in the late En-
peror A twitch in one Of the dropping
eyelids may explain why he has In MS
suite the doctor who pulled him through
a severe illness a short time ago and
why such extraordinary pains have been
taken by the French government to
house him during the maneuvers in a
specially built palace car. In which ne
can travel from point to point on a
..battle'' front Of forty miles and live, as
well as the grand duchess, with all the
comfort of a modern hotel The over
night stoppages are sites renowned for
their salubrity, rich with traditions OF
loan of Arc (forest of Chinon). or OF
Alexandra Dumas Dame de Monsoreau
and Balxac's ''Lys dams la Vallee.
E .,,., v,;,;f.rv 1uest married
late in life, the former wife of his cousin.
Prince Romanowsky (Beauharnais Leuch-
who died . short time ago in
Paris. where he had lived many years.
The grand duchess. daughter Of the
King-of Montenegro. played
a leading role as the Princess Stana Of
when the Franco-Rus-
sian alliance was in formation at the
Elysee.
princess Stana" and her sister, Mil
ltza, the present Grand Duchess Peter
were married the same
week in the chapel of Peterhof. an in
terval Of seven days being allowed on
account OF the different ranks Of bride
grooms. This Is how. at the time. the
one was described who is now the guest
Of France:
Impossible for q living beauty. blaz-
ng in diamonds, and wearing a toilette
made by the "couturiere'' Of the Grand
Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna. to look
more like Juno. One sees in her the
compact low forehead. penciled brows.
perfectly modelled eyes well apart.
straight facial line, straight nose. orI
nearly 80. of that divinity. with nos
trils that can show the wrath generally
held in reserve by Servian women, and
a classical mouth and chin. The cheeks,
round and hrm, give no threat of pendu-
lousnesR On the whole. the face would
be that Of . matter-of-fact person but
for the power Of expression in the SOM
ber and usually very lustrous eyes
guch eyes as you see among the Rayas
Df Turkey. The figure 10 that Of an an
tique statue by some Thracian sculptor"
The French statesman Jules Simon re.
marked upon seeing her that Princess
5tana might, after q lapse Of years.
come to look very much ia femme in
This forecast has proved
true. Prince Romanowski preferred al
Venus with her dimples. laughter. train
Of graces. and the arch Cupid for al
promptsr. disappointment came. but
they (she and the grandson of Empress
ha1 to wait for q divorce un-
I'll the death Of the late emperor.
The Grand Duke Nicholas visit gave
-ise to some slight controversy In the
French Cabinet ~ to the member who
should have the honor Of receiving him.
Y. Millersnd. n War Minister. believed
hat he was the proper person to appear
in an open carriage with his imperial
nighness and take him to Rits's with q
brilliant guard In attendance. n. Poin-
care. the Prime Minister. ruled that he
himself VAS the proper person 20 give
The reception most "eclat" and that ON
him. too sheuid fan any pessibls risk
to be apptehsnded from bcmb-Afnsing
cranks 81 ~
Possibly ~ tAcueht Of the ceening etse-
lion for ~ presi1ency ~ H. froaeh
eysu =. NillefAnd, tnengh'