ulated
according to the army grades. By this "tchin" alone is the right of
being received at Court acquired. Society is, therefore, subservient
to the Court, and occupies itself more with those whose position can
best procure them what they desire than with any other ideas. The
Court itself is very magnificent, and its entertainments display
unbounded splendour, taste, and art. In the midst of winter the whole
palace is decorated for the balls with trees of camellias, dracaenas
and palms. The suppers seem almost to be served by magic. Two thousand
people sup at the same moment: they all sit down together, and all
finish together in an incredibly short space of time. The palace
is lit by the electric light, the tables are placed under large
palm-trees, and the effect is that of a grove of palms by moonlight.
At these Court balls, besides the Royal Family of Grand Dukes and
Duchesses, with gorgeous jewels, may be seen many of the great
generals and governors of the provinces who come to St. Petersburg
to do homage to their sovereign; a splendid-looking Circassian
Prince, whose costume of fur and velvet is covered with chains of
jewels and gold; the commander of the Cossack Guard, Tcherevine,
who watches over the Emperor's safety, dressed in what resembles
a well-fitting scarlet dressing-gown, with a huge scimitar in his
belt sparkling with precious stones; Prince Dondoukoff Korsakoff,
the Governor of the Caucasus, also in Cossack attire, with the
beard which is the privilege of the Cossack birth. M. de Giers,
whose civilian blue coat with gold buttons is remarkable among
the numberless brilliant uniforms, talks to the Ambassadors with
the wearied anxious expression habitual to his countenance. The
Empress dances, but not the Emperor; he does not sit down to supper
either, but walks about, after the Russian fashion of hospitality,
to see that all his guests are served.

[Illustration: THE WINTER PALACE, ST. PETERSBURG]

If, to the outsider, society seems to lack the serious side, science,
learning, and politics, it gains energy from its contact with men who
are continually engaged in distant provinces, carrying Russian rule and
civilization to the conquered Eastern tribes. Notwithstanding the great
ease and luxury, the fact that so much of the male portion is composed
of officers, who wear no other clothes than their uniforms, gives
something of a business-like air, and produces a sense of discipline
at the entertainmen