is palace.
We sat in the Palace yard and the procession passed and turned in front
of us-- There were about 1,500 nobles, each dressed to suit himself, in
costumes that had descended for generations--of brocade, silk, fur, and
gold and silver cloth-- Each costume averaged, with the trappings of
the horse, 5,000 dollars. Some cost $1,000, some $15,000. Some wore
complete suits of chain armor, with bearskins and great black eagle
feathers on their spears just as they were when they invaded Rome--
Others wore gold chain armor and leopard or wolf skins and their horses
were studded with turquoises and trappings of gold and silver and
smothered in silver coins-- It would have been ridiculous if they had
not been the real thing in every detail and if you had not known how
terribly in earnest the men were. There is no other country in the
world where men change from the most blase and correct of beings, to
fairy princes in tights and feathers and jewelled belts and satin
coats-- They were an hour in passing and each one seemed more beautiful
than the others-- I am very glad I came although I was disappointed at
missing the accident at Moscow. It must have been more terrible than
Johnstown. I found the ----s quite converted into the most awful snobs
but the people they worship are as simple and well bred as all gentle
people are and I have had the most delightful time with them. It is so
small and quiet after Moscow, and instead of being lost in an avalanche
of embassies and suites and missions, I have a distinct personality, as
"the American," which I share with "the" Frenchman and four Englishmen.
We are the only six strangers and they give us the run of all that is
going on-- At night we dine at the most remarkable club in the world,
on the border of the Park, where the best of all the Gypsey musicians
plays for us-- The music is alone worth having come to hear, and the
dear souls who play it, having been told that I like it follow me all
around the terrace and sit down three feet away and fix their eyes on
you, and then proceed to pull your nerves and heart out of you for an
hour at a time-- One night a man here dipped a ten thousand franc note
in his champagne and pasted it on the leader's violin and bowed his
thanks, and the leader bowed in return and the next morning sent him
the note back in an envelope, saying that the compliment was worth more
than the money-- The leader's name is Berchey and the Hungarians have