First Social Impressions

( Originally Published 1921 )

GETTING to know people in St. Petersburg was an interesting experience. It was not like meeting a society when passing through some foreign city, with the idea that one would be moving on soon and that mutual impressions made were only of casual importance. Some of these Russians were now my relatives ; all of them potentially were my friends, and I knew I must live among them through the remainder of my days. They were different from any companions of my past. I had the feeling they were much simpler and more natural. Etiquette existed, a good deal of it, but its hand was less heavy in St. Petersburg than in Vienna. More of my actions seemed left to chance and my own choice than had been the case in Austria.

Peter the Great had established a grading of rank, and the rule was that no army officer below the rank of colonel could go to court and take his wife to palace entertainments, unless she or he were attached to the person of some member of the imperial family. In the latter case they went officially as part of their service. An inherited title did not change this court position at all. One could be head of a princely family, yet have no court rank, though every colonel, even of humble origin, all over the empire had a right to go to the big court ball and take his wife. Birth counted historically and socially, but not officially, while official bureaucratic rank, military and civil, gave one certain court rights. This was impressed on me at once by my mother-in-law, and as my husband at twenty-four was a lieutenant only, even with the prestige of his being in the Empress Dowager's own Chevaliers-gardes, and with all the pleasant relatives and our social position, he could not take me to court nor go himself, unless he should be ordered there on duty. He did not want to leave his regimental service, so it looked as though we would be obliged to wait for years before I should have the official right of being presented to the two Empresses, which was, of course, the first step to court recognition.

In the lives of several women this had been a handicap during all their youth, I heard; but I was more fortunate, and almost at once the difficulty was cleared away from my path. First, at a small ball at the palace of the Grand Duke Vladimir, the Grand Duchess Marie, our hostess, came and took me by the hand, saying: "Come, Joy, I have been talking to the Empress of you, and she says I may personally present you to her"; so I was taken up to where the young Empress stood, and the Grand Duchess said a few kindly words, and pushed me forward into the little empty space kept clear about the sovereign. The latter was exceedingly quiet and timid. After two or three perfunctory questions, which I answered, she fell into her usual attitude of silent distraction, so I curtseyed and wandered off. However, I had actually talked with Her Majesty, which made every one say that I must ask a formal audience at once, not only of the Empresses but of all the Grand Duchesses as well. Once one had bowed before Her Majesty, to neglect these latter would be wrong, apparently.

Shortly after this came another pleasant surprise. Quite from a blue sky I received a letter from the senior lady in waiting of the Dowager Empress, who said the Duchess of Cumberland had written asking Her Majesty to receive me kindly, as my parents had been the latter's friends in Vienna. Consequently I found myself one morning called to an audience at the Anitchkoff palace, the residence of the Empress-Mother. The latter showed herself as gracious as she always was.

The news of all this irregularity soon spread about. As the presentations had then been accomplished, how-ever, I received invitations to a number of court functions, and forever after had a perfectly ideal time. Of course my special honors raised a clamor, since a number of women similarly situated were waiting about, on the side-lines, for fate and years to bring them recognition, while I was invited everywhere and enjoying myself extremely.

I was fortunate in several other ways. Firstly, my husband had grown up on terms of constant companion-ship with several of the younger Grand Dukes. The Grand Duchess Marie had given us a little dinner so I should know all these. That evening the Duke of Edinburgh, brother of King Edward VII, had dropped in to the party, met me, and told every one present my family history, and how he had met my grandfather long ago. When he had finished I was firmly fixed, with all my background in the minds of those present, and my road became socially easy.

Sponsored thus, and being young, full of energy, and with a great desire to please my new compatriots, I was able to take my place immediately among the gay young matrons of the imperial capital.

It seems, however, that the younger Empress, after seeing me, had said to some one that my ball-gown was cut in a deep square instead of the classic court décolleté, which was straight across and off the shoulders. This little sentence was repeated and magnified till it was made into a severe criticism of me and of American manners in general. It amounted to nothing after a week, but at the time it made me more prominent, and won sympathy for me. I forbore from complaining, naturally; but the fact that there were many women present with gowns as square as mine, since a grand-ducal entertainment was counted a private ball, made the blow at a well-meaning, helpless stranger work all in my favor.

Afterward I discovered that a strained feeling existed between the women of St. Petersburg's aristocratic group and the young Empress. It had developed soon after Her Majesty's arrival, and grew rapidly, encouraged by the wretched plotters, whose game it was to control their Empress for their own ends. Following the incident of my gown, four or five young women deliberately wore square cut gowns to the next court ball, and when the Empress's severe remarks were repeated to the town the culprits defended themselves with some energy. Gossip and bitterness followed, all of which seemed both amazing and unnecessary, but showed how the wind blew already in 1901.

My husband's regimental comrades and their wives were, many of them, about our age, and they made room for me in their midst with a hospitable enthusiasm which went straight to my heart. As the first regiment of the empire the Chevaliers-gardes represented the pick of Russia's young sportsmen, and the jeunesse dorée of St. Petersburg's social life all followed the lead of these officers. The Dowager Empress was our honorary commander, and came to the regiment fêtes in a pretty uniform, consisting of a dark-blue cloth skirt like the material of our officers' trousers, with a white silver-braided uniform coat (fitting her still ideal figure to perfection). She wore on her head, instead of the officers' metal helmet, a little close white cap with a small tuft of pure white ostrich feathers. Her proud carriage made all this very becoming, and her manner with the officers and us women was perfection. She was always popular every-where, it seemed, but in the regiment she was especially admired. It was whispered about, on the other hand, that the young Empress disliked the Chevaliers-gardes, because they belonged to her mother-in-law; also that she was jealous since her mother-in-law had the command of the first of Russia's regiments, and that she was always ill disposed toward members of our group. It sounded as if relations were a good deal strained between the Emperor's mother and his wife; but though this may have been the case, I never saw any indication of it, and I put these rumors down to gossip.

My first years in St. Petersburg, till the outbreak of the Japanese War, were the most brilliant socially I saw there. The Empress-Mother did not appear often, but when she did so, she took first place at court. She wore black gowns always to mark her widowhood, but she usually had them covered with jet which scintillated; and decorated as was the upper part of her dress with "orders" and splendid jewels, she did not suggest any-thing sombre. Her conversation was as gay and agree-able as she herself was. Putting each one at his ease, she seemed most human and womanly, an inspiration to do one's best, whether in the performance of serious duty or merely in the telling of some nonsensical tale which would make her and others laugh. She had kept about her a lot of quite intimate friends who felt and showed for her sincere affection, and this she repaid in kind. Her manner was exactly that of her sister, the Duchess of Cumberland, and I felt somehow I had always known her. She received in a large red damask-hung and damask-furnished salon, with quantities of flowers about her.

It had a double-sized bay window; so as much light as a winter day in St. Petersburg offered could be enjoyed. Pretty ornaments covered scattered tables, and, most of these things looked like souvenirs, the kind a woman gathers through life. Though nearly all the trifles were luxurious, they suggested intimacy and sentiment rather than money. The atmosphere of cosiness and warmth was underscored by Her Majesty's cordial reception.

The, Anitchkoff is a large palace of a bad period—1860 or thereabouts, I think. Its entrance-hall was vastly high, overheavy in its decoration, the staircase long and wearisome to mount, but made attractive by a wonderful series of Hubert Robert's panels, the best I have ever seen. I traversed a number of severe, classic reception-rooms, fitted with paintings, mirrors, bronzes, and statues, where a little furniture was stiffly arranged. I was told this palace was last done over for the wedding of the present Empress-Mother to the then heir to the throne, some fifty odd years back. The couple had still lived at home there, even when Alexander III inherited his crown, and they went over to the Winter Palace only for functions, continuing to entertain their friends and bring up their children in this frame, which was their personal creation. Souvenirs of their travels and of the small events of their unofficial life filled it.

In the largest reception-room l found the grand mistress and grand master of the Empress-Mother's court and two ladies in waiting, with a master of ceremonies. Two or three other women who had had, or were to have, audiences were also there, and our small talk was conventional. I was the newest interest to their circle, it appeared, and evidently its members were very curious as to the reasons for my being presented to our Em-presses when I had no "official rights." They had heard from Her Majesty of the letter from Vienna, and all that, but were glad to have a few moments in which to put a certain number of discreet questions. I had not quite finished answering all these when a huge negro, dressed in a multicolored Venetian costume of the sixteenth or seventeenth century, opened the door to an inner room, and ushered out a lady who had finished her audience.

The master of ceremonies next escorted me to the door and the black, decorative, smiling doorkeeper threw it open again in silence. When I had made a curtsey on the threshold and another as I kissed the Empress's small hand, all ceremony seemed at an end. The Em-press wore but two rings, I noticed—a great, beautiful, polished ruby and her wedding-ring. Over her simple black gown she wore two fine long strings of pearls. Afterward I was told these were some Alexander III had personally given his wife, which she used constantly, in preference to the many strings of larger pearls she owned.

Her Majesty asked me to sit down. There were several comfortable chairs, with little tables by them. The latter seemed covered with bits of old silver, tiny animals carved in precious stones by Fabergé, or various enamels of his making, a small clock among others—things such as any one might have in a sitting-room; and the Em-press herself looked at home here. She took a chair and pointed me to one just beyond. Then she asked me a lot of questions about my parents, home country, and our Vienna life. Incidentally, I was able to tell her a little of her sister. It was to me a pleasant half-hour, one I always remembered. I was extremely touched by the simple kindness this greatest lady in Russia took pains to show a young stranger, who still had her way to make in a new country. When the time came for me to go, the Empress-Mother rose; and I again kissed her hand and made my curtsey. She said good-by, and that she felt sure I would like Russia; also that she would see me often probably ; all this with a gentle, low voice and pretty smile. It was easy to realize why people were devoted to this womanly sovereign. Afterward I saw Her Majesty frequently—sometimes at a parade, or carrousel in the regimental group, or at a court ball, sometimes at a dinner-party, at the Grand Duchess Marie's, or at the Grand Duchess Xénia's. Always at least a pleasant word and a sweet smile were my share of her attention, and always it was a happiness to be near her person.

Once her kindly attitude and tact saved me in a very painful and false situation, which I owed to the German Crown Prince. The latter—I think in the season of 190z--came to St. Petersburg for a week's visit. It was at a time when the German Emperor was trying to win ours over, and when he was harping on the fact of his first-cousinship with our young Empress—the Kaiser's mother and the mother of our Empress were both daughters of Queen Victoria : the Princess Royal and Princess Alice of England.

The German Kaiser hit on the plan of sending his eldest son, then still unmarried, out to Russia to visit the regiment of which Wilhelm II was honorary commander, and to spend a week at our court. Our Emperor attached to the Crown Prince three officers with a number of minor secretaries, as the visit was official. At the head of this group was old Prince Dolgorouky, one of our Emperor's "adjutant-generals," then a "general of the imperial suite." Further because the visitor was young and a sportsman, and because he spoke no Russian and hated to use French, my husband was chosen, together With an A. D. C. of His Majesty, as attendants.

Cantacuzène, one of the best horsemen in Russia and a keen polo-player, attracted young Wilhelm. Their conversation - was always in English, which Wilhelm liked, and used with great facility. He and my husband got on excellently. .

The delegation went to the frontier in the imperial special train, to meet the distinguished visitor and bring him to St. Petersburg. Our Russians were greatly impressed with the discipline and training the Crown Prince had been given. On no occasion did he show signs of boredom, and when he held official receptions he found themes for discussion as well as amiable compliments for the least interesting of those people who were presented to him. The young boy patiently made the trip into the provinces, to the garrison where the Kaiser's regiment was quartered, and made his proper speeches to its officers. He also patiently talked or listened to the two elderly generals attached to him, taking great pains to please them, and succeeding perfectly, for I heard each one of them comment on the admirable education the Kaiser gave his sons. Cantacuzène thought the grown Prince had a disagreeable face but a good manner, and in all branches of sports they really found a lot in common. The Crown Prince clung to Cantacuzène, who was the only young member of the group of Russians attached to him.

Among the Germans in attendance on the Crown Prince was General von' Moltke, afterward Wilhelm's chief of staff in the World War. There were a lot of highly titled officers who wore very tightly fitted uniforms. All of them were big, red-faced men, and none of them were much liked by our Russians because of their stiffness and artificial politeness. I do not think any woman among us looked at them twice; certainly no one wasted time discussing them. They were completely heavy and dull.

When the Crown Prince reached St. Petersburg he was established at the Winter Palace with his German and his Russian suites in attendance. There was to be a ball. given for him at the German Embassy, and one at the Winter Palace, while a third and smaller dance was arranged by the old Grand Duke Michael, the last of Alexander II's brothers still alive. The Grand Duke was a magnificent personage, well over seventy, who for some reason of relationship—perhaps because he already knew his granddaughter Cecilie was to become the Crown Prince's bride—felt he should throw open his palace in honor of the young visitor.

After his first court dinner and an afternoon official call at the German Embassy, the Crown Prince unfortunately had fallen ill with a sharp case of influenza. It kept him in bed nearly a week, and this broke up the court ball, which was countermanded. The Gennan Embassy ball came off without him. The old Grand Duke Michael did not recall his invitations, either, and happily for himself the Crown Prince was able to attend. The palace of old Michael-Nicolaïovitch on the river-bank was one of the most spacious and finest in St. Petersburg. Courtly and handsome, with his tall, well-proportioned figure, the host stood at the head of his staircase alone to receive his guests, of whom just enough to fill his rooms without crowding were invited. As each one of us came up and curtseyed, his air and words as well as his graceful bow and cordial hand-shake gave a sensation of sincere welcome. For some of us the Grand Duke even found pretty compliments to pay on our gowns. Every woman was glad to have worn her best for such a smart little function.

The Empress-Mother came to her uncle's party, the Emperor and his wife also—a rare honor, for during the fourteen years between my marriage and the Great War I do not think they graced parties given in the capital more than five or six times. All the Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses came, of course. Beyond the members of the imperial family and their courts in attendance, there was no guest who was not of the gay, ultra-smart set of young, married dancers, with the best of the crack guard regiment's bachelor officers added for extra partners. The floor was perfection, the gypsy orchestra the best in the capital. My husband, being attached to the Crown Prince, was living at the Winter Palace and was to arrive with the latter's suite. So I went alone, and found a number of guests already assembled. Every one had to be there before our imperial family or the Crown Prince made their appearance. The German Embassy members all came, the only diplomats invited. Only the Ambassador and Count Lüttwitz, the military attaché, were married men. Countess Alvensleben was said to be an intimate friend of the German Kaiser. She was quite old and plain, dressed atrociously, was very dry in her manner, and did everything by rule. She even arranged her hair stiffly with a green erection on top which we disrespectful youngsters called a tennis-net, and she had a way of saying "Nun, also !" before beginning a sentence, even in English or French, which caused us all great joy. She was rather easily annoyed and tried to dictate to us. The little Lüttwitz woman was American born, but had become so German that she spoke her mother tongue with German construction of phrase, and called her husband "my man" in English ! Lüttwitz was most unpopular and we always felt sorry for his wife; but her German affectations got on the nerves of a good many who, like myself, tried to be nice to her at first.

As I came into the great ballroom there was loud talk in a group at one side of the door, and I turned toward the commotion with curiosity, leaving Prince Obolensky, who had just been reminding me of our engagement to dance the mazurka and be partners for supper. Countess Alvensleben was holding forth, and on the outside edge of the shifting women Countess Lüttwitz turned around and said to me in English: "We are just arranging the women, so we can take them up and present them to our Crown Prince when he arrives with Their Majesties. Won't you come too ? You are one of the best dancers, and I am sure .would like to be presented to His Imperial Highness."

I promptly replied that if he danced well, I should like very much to have the Crown Prince presented to me, but I did not expect to be presented to him. "I've never been presented to any man. Our Czarévitch is always introduced to ladies like any other gentleman."

"But it is not the German court etiquette; and the Crown Prince would be surprised to have things other-wise. He will not dance with you if you are not properly presented to him by Countess Alvensleben," insisted the little Countess, beginning to look hot.

It struck me as supremely funny that this American woman should have reached such a mental attitude, and with a laugh I replied: "My dear Countess, this isn't Berlin, this is St. Petersburg, and our etiquette says the gentlemen of Russia ask to be presented to us. I am told by my husband that your Crown. Prince is most polite; I fancy, therefore, he will follow our customs during his visit. If not, and if in order to dance with him I have to wait in a line and be presented to him, I am quite sure I shall be content to enjoy this ball with my Russian partners. So please don't have me on your mind at all." And I moved over to the far side of the ballroom without waiting for her answer. Afterward I was told that the Countess Lüttwitz said she did not think me rude, but she and others thought me indifferent ! I felt like inquiring did she mean about her Crown Prince ? But I refrained.

A number of other women joined me and we stood as far from the entrance-door as possible. We still were there, when the music struck up, and in the doorway appeared all the royalties; among them the Emperor's brother Michael, who was one of my favorite partners always, and a perfect dancer. He came across the room, and took me out for the opening waltz. When we finished it he invited me to be his partner for the mazurka; then he said: "I'm going to bring our cousin and intro-duce him to you. You will like him, and he dances awfully well.

He went and fetched Wilhelm from the crowd at the door and brought him straight to our side of the ball-room, introduced him quite informally to me and then to all the other women who had followed me over there. The Crown Prince showed no sign of shock at this breach of etiquette, and being, for the first time since his arrival, in young, gay company, he proved his enthusiasm and his admirable qualities as a dancer at once. He asked me to waltz and I accepted, feeling a wicked joy as we passed the corner where the ladies from Germany stood looking with stony expressions at my excellent partner and me. We circled several times in their neighborhood. Naturally they were cross, especially as Wilhelm, having also asked me to be his partner for the mazurka, and hearing I was already engaged to the Grand Duke Michael, went off and arranged for the latter to waive his rights in the guest's favor, since this was to be the Crown Prince's single ball in Russia.

Everything went swimmingly; I danced every moment till supper-time, which I was to take at a gay little table, arranged by Prince Obolensky, my partner. The Crown Prince was designated to sit on the right of the Empress-Mother at her table, since he was the guest of honor. Some important old lady was to be on his other hand. Prince Dolgorouky came up to us, explained the plan, and said as the Empress-Mother would be placed next our host, Wilhelm must join the other lady and escort her to supper. The arrogant petulance of the young German showed for the first time. "I won't; I have already asked a partner, the Princess here, and she must come with me to Her Majesty's table !" he exclaimed.

I then ventured to take part in the conversation. "Really, Sir, I couldn't sup with you; firstly, because I wouldn't for the world intrude at the table of the Empress-Mother; secondly, because I mustn't drop out of my own party, and here is Prince Obolensky come for me. So thank you and au revoir"; and I moved my hand from within his arm and turned toward my waiting supper partner.

The Crown Prince seized my hand, so I could not withdraw it, and turning to the old Prince Dolgorouky, said quite rudely : "I told you, I won't ; either the Princess comes to this table where I sit, or I won't go. Arrange it as you can."

I protested with some energy: "Really, Sir, it is impossible to change the plans of our host. You are leaving and will not feel the consequences, whereas I, who belong here, will be accused of having attempted to push myself forward, and I cannot consent to that. You must excuse me."

The Crown Prince looked furious, and protested again so crossly that old Prince Dolgorouky, who was an accomplished courtier, turned to me, saying : "Will you remain with His Imperial Highness while I see what can be done ? "

People were going to the dining-hall, and, of course, save this headstrong guest, the royalties must have been all seated by that time; but I knew I could count on Prince Dolgorouky's tact and kindness, and my original partner had assisted at the little scene and understood.

He smilingly said to me: "I will stay with you till the question is well settled."

Wilhelm at once replied: "It is settled; take my arm, Princess, and come with me to supper."

As Prince Dolgorouky had disappeared in that direction, it seemed to promise a rapid solution to go to meet him; so I again took the Crown Prince's arm. He was too ruffled to talk, and I was seriously annoyed by my situation. I desired nothing more than to escape with Obolensky, who remained quite near, where I could transfer to him at a moment's notice.

We reached the door, and I really felt I should like to cry. I seemed helpless to handle my arrogant companion. But we met Prince Dolgorouky returning toward us, and he said: "Will you come to this table where Her Majesty is ? One of the Grand Duchesses has ceded you her seat," he added, turning toward me.

The Crown Prince at last let my arm loose, and, as we approached, the Empress-Mother looked up and smiled; Wilhelm bowed low over her hand and I curtseyed. She stretched me her hand, and I kissed it. Looking amused, she said to him, "Will you sit here?" and to me, "Sit just beyond."

I moved away from her chair and around the Crown Prince's, reaching the rear of the one which the Empress had pointed to, when to my own and every one's amazement old Countess Alvensleben, appearing out of space, stepped between the table and my chair, and plumped herself down into it, saying: "Nun, also ! Dass ist jetzt mein Platz !" (Well, now, this is my place.)

The Empress-Mother looked as if her merriment would get beyond control, and the Crown Prince looked as if an explosion of violent temper was to occur. I felt I should certainly cry in another moment. One of the gentlemen who was two seats from the German Ambassadress rose.

"Princess, sit here," he said. "With Her Majesty's permission I can easily move to another table and you must take my place."

"Yes, sit there," the Empress said, and gave the charming Russian courtier and me a radiant smile.

The supper was sadder than would have been the one I had planned with Obolensky, but I talked with Prince Dolgorouky, who was between me and Countess Alvensleben, and who was looking greatly entertained.

Forever after Prince Dolgorouky had a lovely time attacking me about the way I put people's supper arrangements out of commission. He did not have much to say to the German Ambassadress that night, and the Crown Prince never once spoke to her either. I did not look at the latter, nor did I recover my spirits till toward the end of the meal.

At dessert I heard the Crown Prince say: "Princess Cantacuzène, Princess Cantacuzène !"

Prince Dolgorouky suavely remarked, "I believe His Imperial Highness is speaking to you, dear Princess," and as I turned that way : "I I have been trying to attract your attention for a long time to drink your health, Princess," said the Crown Prince, and he added some conventional compliment.

I wondered if Countess Alvensleben was enjoying her-self less than I was ? She looked deadly, and I expected gossip to follow my trail. Of course there was some talk, but it soon died out, for Her Majesty was afterward as lovely as she had been in the sudden emergency, while Prince Dolgorouky told the story truthfully and amusingly, advantageously to me, bringing out the arrogance of our young visitor. I had already a host of friends in St. Petersburg by that time, and they would not have believed me apt to put myself forward, or inclined to shove myself into a party at the Empress-Mother's table, even had they heard I tried to do so.

For years, though, whenever I saw Her Majesty, the latter would ask me if I had news of the Crown Prince, and once she said, "I never will forget his face and manner that evening, when Countess Alvensleben suddenly took your chair ! " and she laughed. I was always grateful the Empress was so gracious and had such a sense of humor.

Through years following this, each 1st of January brought us a telegram of greeting, or some souvenir, from the Crown Prince : a small painting of himself on horse-back, a photograph of him with his fiancée, three or four water-colors showing the ancient uniforms his regiments had worn, a picture of his eldest son. Once when I went through Berlin, His Imperial Highness, learning I was there, called me on the telephone and invited me to "go with my wife and me to the play and to supper." I accepted, and they came to fetch me with the utmost informality, the Crown Prince descending and coming into the hotel after me and returning me later to my door. That was a quiet, pleasant little party. I felt surprised at the simplicity of their life, and at the apparently agreeable relations between the pair. They, his brother Auguste Wilhelm and the latter's wife (both fat and deadly dull), with an aide-de-camp and myself, composed the party of six. We sat in upholstered arm-chairs, placed in that space where ordinarily in our theatres the first row of the orchestra would be. They had chosen Samurun, a pantomime, so I would not have to be bored listening to German talk, which they thought I did not understand. Supper was served between the acts in an attractive little dining-room in the theatre building. The Crown Prince was amiable with his wife that night and they seemed a congenial couple. A year or so later, when they visited Russia, I had the same impression again. I heard much gossip, however, tending to contradict this, and I could not forget the pettishness he had shown at that ball long before. I could more readily believe in his defects than his virtues, so when the war came I had no scruple in throwing away or turning to the wall the various souvenirs he had sent us during ten or twelve years.

The Crown Prince was to do me one more ill turn, however, which might have ended badly had it not been for Russian chivalry and intelligence. It was in the early part of February, 1915, that one day I was asked for on the telephone by General Rauch, an old and prized friend of ours, and at that time one of the important men in the departmental command of the capital. He begged me to receive him at once and alone. I acquiesced, of course, wondering at his strange request; and when within a few minutes he appeared he looked more anxious and solemn than I had ever seen him before. Often it happened that people we knew came to me, asking to have some message passed on to the Grand Duke Nicolas by my husband, who was temporarily his aide-de-camp, and who held a rather filial position with his chief. Cantacuzène had stayed at headquarters during his convalescence from his wound, and as he and I were both known to be discreet, and our letters went back and forth by the grand duke's private courier (not subject to the censorship), we were used this way frequently. I fancied General Rauch, knowing us well and being a faithful friend of the grand duke, might wish to make some communication, so I said : "What is the secret, dear general ? Can I do you any service ? "

"No," he answered, "except by replying to a few questions. Were you expecting any mail from any one abroad ?

I began to enumerate the various members of my family who regularly wrote to me, but Rauch interrupted : "You have no correspondent in Germany ? " "No," I said.

"Can you, tell me then what this is ? " he asked, and he drew a large envelope from his despatch-case. "Perhaps it is addressed to some one else ? "

I took the big envelope and read the address. "I am the only Princess Cantacuzène, née Grant. It is for me and is peculiarly addressed; it says only `St. Petersburg, via Rumania.' I didn't know mail still came through. It has a large red seal with 'MT' and the German imperial crown. Yes, I can tell you without looking further what you will find in this, general, if you open it ; it will be a portrait of the Crown Prince of Germany, or a picture of something which concerns him. He sends me some such souvenir each year, for the ist of January. I had not had one this year, but I confess I thought it was because His Imperial Highness had intelligence and chivalry sufficient to realize that in war-time his remembrance would be obnoxious and, possibly, compromising. Perhaps this was sent me through the stupidity of some secretary left in charge in Berlin, who forwards these things for the Crown Prince each year, and has this sea-son used his habitual list without corrections."

Rauch examined the envelope with care. "No, this bears the stamp of the ` Fifth Army,' which is the one young Wilhelm now commands on the western front. Also, it bears the signature of his Hofmarschall—marshal of his court. I'm afraid it is sent by the Crown Prince himself. What do you think you better do about it ? The big envelope arrived this morning at the censor's and made a sensation. The matter was brought to the chief there, who rang up our department, as he knew enough to realize he mustn't accuse you lightly. I asked to handle the matter—said I would take it off his hands. I am satisfied (if you tell me you have not received or written a letter) that you are telling the truth, and I will satisfy the chief at the censor bureau. This is my end of the business, but I should like to know what you are going to do yourself about it ? "

I said, firstly, I would make him a present of the picture, which he promptly declined; secondly, I would at once write the whole history to my husband, asking him to inform the commander-in-chief, so that if the latter ever heard the story from another source, he would not think I had tried to hide it; thirdly, I would tell Prince Orloff, also, so he would be in possession of the facts, in case Madame Wiroboff had the story from her spies and tried to use it to my detriment. It would be so easy for her to say: "People are telling of Soukhomlinoff's treachery—here is the wife of an aide-de-camp to the ultra-Russian grand duke who corresponds with Germans; and so on !" And I would need a strong defender, indeed, at court to stand up for my loyalty. None could be better than Orloff, though, whom the Emperor knew to be absolutely truthful.

Finally I said: "Dear general, if you won't accept this as a gift, to whom shall I offer it ? I don't want it in the house."

And Rauch replied : "I think all your measures are wise. Suppose you ask your husband or Wlady Orloff what to do with the thing."

I asked if I could not send it back. I thought that the best way to revenge myself for the nasty trick of the arrogant Crown Prince. I felt sure he had wished to prove that, no matter what he and his armies might do to our Allied forces, his prestige in the eyes of those who had known him remained unimpaired. Or else he had done this thing to compromise my husband and myself and make trouble, simply. Either way it seemed horrid and I was keen for paying him back.

I wrote my husband, who told the story to his chief. The latter laughed, said I had acted right, and to think no more of it. Then I told Orloff. He felt as I did—it would be fun to return the picture, and we tried to do so through one of several channels. The German censor would have prevented its reaching its destination by ordinary mail; of course none of the neutral embassies would let their couriers handle it. We learned this by consulting the American chargé d'affaires; neither could any member of the Red Cross undertake the carrying of so undesirable a packet. Evidently this picture was to be a white elephant on my hands.

My mother-in-law, who became greatly excited when she heard the tale, said I ought to tear and disfigure the portrait, and then return it, writing an insulting letter, too, but my anger was rather cold than hot, and I did not feel such action would express my sentiments. Orloff said, laughing, he thought I ought to show it in a large frame to the public as the latest manifestation of German ill-breeding and arrogance. One must be in-deed both ill-bred and arrogant to send a woman with whom one had had only two or three meetings at par-ties, one's portrait done in war paraphernalia, with trenches in the background, when the war was against her people, and when such a gift might throw suspicion on her, besides !

I persuaded Orloff to put the ugly thing in his safe and keep it, which he did, till the moment when I was leaving Russia. Then he returned it to me as a souvenir of one of my friends, he said, and to recommend me to Trotzky-Brönstein in case we were captured by the Bolsheviki on the frontier ! This did not happen, luckily, and I believe Wilhelm has sent me no more pictures of himself.