. In joyful Russia. us the humankinship that is universal. Firmly convinced that we were in the wrong shop, weyet determined to assume an air of proprietorship and seewhat was to be seen. So we sauntered out of the ante-chamber in which the little Grand Duchess Olga was hold-ing her cOurt, and, passing into the next room, found thatwe were in the throne room of the palace, otherwise knownas the Hall of St. Andrew. This was simply crowded withuniformed and order-bedecked princes, generals, officialand court dignitaries of the highest rank. It was diffi-cult to reahze their exalted positions on
. In joyful Russia. us the humankinship that is universal. Firmly convinced that we were in the wrong shop, weyet determined to assume an air of proprietorship and seewhat was to be seen. So we sauntered out of the ante-chamber in which the little Grand Duchess Olga was hold-ing her cOurt, and, passing into the next room, found thatwe were in the throne room of the palace, otherwise knownas the Hall of St. Andrew. This was simply crowded withuniformed and order-bedecked princes, generals, officialand court dignitaries of the highest rank. It was diffi-cult to reahze their exalted positions on account of theirmultitude. Anything more beautiful than this hall it is scarcelypossible to conceive. The floor is of polished woods, whichthrow back into the spectators eyes brilliant reflectionsof the gold and crystal ornamentation of the walls andceiling. The hall is one hundred and sixty feet long bysixty-eight feet wide; down each side is a row of columns,which at the top bend to the curve of the domed THE CEOWNINa OF A TSAR. 117 These pillars are picked out in gold on a background oflight blue, the colour of the Order of St. Andrew. Be-tween the columns, and pendent from the ceiling, whichis also of blue and gold, are the splendid gold and crystalchandeliers. At night, when the candles required to il-luminate this room—more than two thousand in number—are lighted, the scene presented to the eye is one of scintil-lating magnificence, difficult to exaggerate. It remindedme of some splendid stage spectacle, with this difference:that here all the properties were genuine. The Order ofSt. Andrew is the Eussian equivalent of the English Orderof St. George, being the senior among Eussian orders. Atthe extreme end of this hall, on a platform reached by sixgentle steps, was the throne of Eussia. It was made augustby a rich over-reaching canopy bedight with gold and sil-ver embroidery; and the draperies which depended oneither side were without of velvet and cloth of g
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1897
