. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across lding in the grounds, and it is said that in the same building the Em-press Elizabeth sometimes amused her courtiers by cooking her own din-ner. From another building, called Marly, Peter used to watch his fleetof ships at anchor near Cronstadt; and in another. The Hermitage, there DINING-TABLE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT. 135 is a curious arrangement, devised by Catherine II., so that a party at din-ner did not need the aid of servants. You won
. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across lding in the grounds, and it is said that in the same building the Em-press Elizabeth sometimes amused her courtiers by cooking her own din-ner. From another building, called Marly, Peter used to watch his fleetof ships at anchor near Cronstadt; and in another. The Hermitage, there DINING-TABLE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT. 135 is a curious arrangement, devised by Catherine II., so that a party at din-ner did not need the aid of servants. You wonder how it was done ? In front of each person at table there was a circular opening, throughwhich a plate could be lowered to the kitchen or carving-room below, andreplaced by another. Imagine, if you please, a miniature lift, or elevator,for each place at table, and you will understand the arrangement. Thus adinner of any number of courses could be served, and the party would beentirely by itself. Catherine used this dining-room when she wished todiscuss State secrets with foreign ambassadors, and be sure that no listeningservant could betray CABINET AND CHAIR IN THE PALACE. The palace contains many tapestries, articles of porcelain, malachite,and other costly things, and there are many pictures representing battlesfought in the latter part of the last century. One room contains nearlyfour hundred portraits of girls in all parts of European Russia, which M^erepainted by a French count who travelled through the Empire in Cather-ines time. The wonderful thing about them is, that the artist who exe-cuted the pictures was able to represent the subjects in different attitudes,so that no two are alike. 136 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, The J sliowed us the tables and benches where several of the emper-ors played when they were children, and also the playthings that amusedthem. The grounds are quite as interesting as the palace. They are beauti-fully laid out in ga
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