McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1916-05-12

Princess Obolensky sat by the Am
bassadress; on the other side was the
Princess Troubetzkoi, and in blazing
Jewels sat others whom | did moi
know. During a lull in the music,
went into the Ambassadorial box an,
was Immediately recognized by the
Ambassador and his wife. with whom
had dined twice in Washington
The Ambassador introduced me tt
Baron Wilenkin of the Russian EN-
bassy in London, now here on a specia
mission for the Russian Minister
of Finance, as IAN American who had
learned Russian without having beer
in Russia" and as having made val
liable translations from that language
into English" The introduction was
all made in Russian, but for fear Of
spelling your types, | will not try to
repeat it here, except to say that
'Predstavlyayu Van Gospodeen Per-
kins" was the form of introduction
Wilenkin is a very tall. keen.eyed
man, but with a wan smile around his
mouth suggesting poetic spirit.
Prince Loris-Melikoff introduced me
to Prince Troubetzkoi as a 'Molodetz,
who spoke Russian, and | had a rare
chance to air my rather rusty knowl-
edge Of that difficult language.
Prince Troubetzkoy is tall, heavy and
keen-looking, but would pass for a
prosperous American lawyer or judge
rather than foreign nobleman.
Mr.. Popiloff and Professor Petrun-
kevitch Of Yale, Councillor CARTE Of
the Russian Consulate. and several
others whose names | did not catch,
were also introduced to me. and with
the Yale professor had a long and
delightful confab. His father was
one of the most eminent members of
the Russian Duma or Congress. His
Russian was the easiest to under
stand that | ever heard. Both Popil-
off and Petrunkevitch (the third syl-
liable Of which is pronounced like
kay, and it has the accent have
American wives, and Mrs. Popiloff
spoke Russian like her husband. They
all seemed to think it was big thing
for me to have learned the language
here. but told them Of an American
in Washington who has learned thirty
two languages. including Russian and
Chinese, without having been outside
the United States, and who spoke
Russian far better than do.
There is something celebrating in
moving about in throng like that,
hearing Che low, polite conversation
in French, English, Russian and Ital-
ian; smelling the perfume of the
long-stemmed roses and snowy gar
denias, or Cape Jessamine; seeing the
wonderful costumes and the ropes Of
pearls, emerald pendants and coronets
of diamonds. On the breast Of the
Russian Embassadress hung emeralds
as large as small sugar-pears, and in
her hair were diamonds worth per-
haps as much as all the real estate in
McNairy county. There were little
wings encrusted with diamonds over
the earsOf some Of the women, but
there were the leveliest girls there
flower girls selling roses and gardenias
for q dollar apiece, their faces much
more beautiful than the flowers. 1t
was hard 10 keep my eyes off them;
some of them, speaking Russian, had
cheeks like the dawn and hair and
eyebrows Of midnight blackness, and
there were two pale sisters with the
most wonderful eyes, looking like big
daisies, that have ever sean, their
tongues going at lightning speed in
talking the language Of the Car
Well, it was like a dream in fairy
land: the frescoed pillars and lofty
ceiling Of the grand ballroom looking
like an Egyptian temple; the stair
ways leading up the boxes far toward
the ceiling carpeted in crimson plush;
here was banquet room in which
champaign (which looks and tastes
like hard CIDER was served in little
fat glasses ct tables to the few who
called for It, at dollar glass; halls
where the fower-girls, who belonged
to the upper ten themselves, were
coming money for the war sufferers,
and so many halls and rooms, all filed
with elegant, chatting foreigners and
Americans, that It was bewildering to
try to keep track of them all. Twenty
thousand dollars was realized,