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The Comprehensive Guide on How to Read a Financial
Report Website Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers
1st Edition John A. Tracy Digital Instant Download
Author(s): John A. Tracy, Tage Tracy
ISBN(s): 9781118735718, 1118735714
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 2.94 MB
Year: 2014
Language: english
 THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
ON HOW TO READ A FINANCIAL REPORT
THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
O N H OW TO R E A D A
W R I N G I N G V I TA L S I G N S O U T O F
Eighth Edition
FINANCIAL REPORT
T H E N U M B E R S

JOHN A. TRACY AND TAGE C. TRACY

Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Illustration: Wiley
Copyright © 2014 by John A. Tracy and Tage C. Tracy All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning,
or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization
through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or
on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street,
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respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No
warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You
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limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Tracy, John A.
The comprehensive guide on how to read a financial report : wringing vital signs out of the numbers / John A. Tracy and Tage C. Tracy.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-118-73571-8 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-82088-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-82083-4 (ebk)
1. Financial statements. I. Tracy, Tage C. II. Title.
HF5681.B2T727 2014
657'.3—dc23
2013038859
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 CONTENTS

List of Exhibits ix
Preface xv

Part One—Financial Report Fundamentals

1 Financial Statement Basics:
The Real Meat and Potatoes of Financial Reports 3
2 Starting with Cash Flows 13
3 Mastering the Balance Sheet 21
4 Understanding Profit 31
5 Profit Isn’t Everything and All Things 43

Part Two—Working Capital Connections

6 Our Case Study—Company Introductions 55
7 Sales Revenue, Trade Accounts Receivable, and
Deferred Revenue 65
 8 Cost(s) of Goods Sold Expense and Inventory 77
9 Inventory and Accounts Payable 89
10 Operating Expenses and Accounts Payable 99
11 Accruing Liabilities for Incurred but
Unpaid Expenses 109
12 Income Tax Expense—A Liability and Asset? 117

Part Three—Financial Capital Connections and Cash Flows

13 Our Case Study—Company Updates
and Assessments 129
14 Long-Term Assets and Depreciation,
Amortization, and Other Expenses 139
15 Long-Term Liabilities, Interest, and Other Expenses 151
16 Net Income, Retained Earnings,
Equity, and Earnings per Share (EPS) 163
17 Cash Flow from Operating (Profit-Making) Activities 173
18 Cash Flows from Investing and Financing Activities 183

Part Four—Financial Report Analysis

19 Expansion and Contraction Impacts on Cash Flow 195
20 What Is EBITDA and Why Is It Important? 211

vi Contents
21 Financial Statement Footnotes—The Devil’s in
the Details 217
22 Financial Statement Ratios—Calculating
and Understanding 229
23 Profit Analysis for Business Managers 245
24 Our Case Study and the Moral of the Story—The
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 259

Part Five—Financial Report Truthfulness

25 Choosing Accounting Methods and Massaging
the Numbers 273
26 Audits of Financial Reports 285
27 Small Business Financial Reporting 299
28 Basic Questions, Basic Answers, No BS 309

About the Authors 319

About the Companion Website 321
Index 323

Contents vii
 LIST OF EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1.1 Year-End Balance Sheets 6

Exhibit 1.2 Income Statement for Year 7
Exhibit 1.3 Statement of Cash Flows for Year 7
Exhibit 2.1 Summary of Cash Flows during Year 15
Exhibit 3.1 Comparative Year-End Company Balance
Sheets 23
Exhibit 3.2 Year-End Balance Sheet 25
Exhibit 3.3 Comparative Year-End Company Balance
Sheets with Ratio Analysis 29
Exhibit 4.1 Income Statement and Balance Sheet
Changes during Year from Profit-
Making Activities 35
Exhibit 5.1 Connections among Three Financial
Statements 48
Exhibit 6.1 HareSquared, Inc.—Summary Financial
Statements, Two-Year Comparison 58
 Exhibit 6.2 TortTech, Inc.—Summary Financial
Statements, Two-Year Comparison 61
Exhibit 7.1 Sales Revenue and Accounts Receivable 67
Exhibit 7.2 DSO or Days Sales Outstanding Calculation 70
Exhibit 7.3 Account Receivable Turnover Ratio 71
Exhibit 7.4 Case Study Comparison–DSO Accounts
Receivable 76
Exhibit 8.1 Costs of Goods Sold and Inventory 79
Exhibit 8.2 Gross Margin Calculation 81
Exhibit 8.3 DSO or Days Sales Outstanding in
Inventory 83
Exhibit 8.4 Inventory Turnover Ratio 84
Exhibit 8.5 Case Study Comparison–DSO Inventory 87
Exhibit 9.1 Inventory and Accounts Payable 92
Exhibit 9.2 Inventory Holding Period and Supplier
Payment Terms 93
Exhibit 9.3 Case Study Comparison–Inventory Hold
Periods and Supplier Payment Terms 96
Exhibit 10.1 Operating Expenses and Accounts
Payable 103

x List of Exhibits
Exhibit 10.2 Days Operating Expenses O/S in Trade
Payables 105
Exhibit 10.3 Case Study Comparison–Days Operating
Expense O/S 107
Exhibit 11.1 Days Operating Expenses O/S in Trade
Payables and Accrued Expenses 114
Exhibit 11.2 Case Study Comparison–Days Operating
Expenses O/S and Accrued Expenses 116
Exhibit 12.1 Income Tax Expense and Income
Taxes Payable 120
Exhibit 12.2 Effective Income Tax Rate 122
Exhibit 12.3 Case Study Comparison–Effective
Income Tax Rate 125
Exhibit 13.1 Case Study Companies Comparative
Operating Results for the FYE 12/31/12 131
Exhibit 13.2 HareSquared, Inc.—Summary Financial
Statements, Three Years 133
Exhibit 13.3 TortTech, Inc.—Summary Financial
Statements, Three Years 136
Exhibit 14.1 Depreciation and Amortization
Expense and Long-Term Assets 143

List of Exhibits xi
 Exhibit 14.2 Case Study Comparison–Depreciation
and Amortization Expense 150
Exhibit 15.1 Interest Expense, Notes Payable, and
Current Portion of Debt 153
Exhibit 15.2 Debt Service Coverage Ratio 155
Exhibit 15.3 Average Interest Rate 158
Exhibit 15.4 Case Study Comparison–Debt Service
Coverage Ratio 161
Exhibit 16.1 Net Income, Retained Earnings, and
Earnings per Share 166
Exhibit 16.2 Price Earnings Ratio 170
Exhibit 16.3 Cast Study Comparison–EPS 172
Exhibit 17.1 Cash Flow from Profit-Making Activities 176
Exhibit 17.2 Direct Method for Reporting Cash
Flow from Operating Activities 180
Exhibit 17.3 Case Study Comparison–Direct Method
for Reporting Cash Flow from Operating
Activities 182
Exhibit 18.1 Cash Flow from Investing and Financing
Activities 186

xii List of Exhibits

Exhibit 19.1 Steady-State Business Growth Impact
on Cash Flows 199
Exhibit 19.2 Expanding Business Growth Impact
on Cash Flows 202
Exhibit 19.3 Year-End DSO or Days Sales
Outstanding Calculation Comparison 203
Exhibit 19.4 Contracting Business Growth Impact
on Cash Flows 206
Exhibit 21.1 Three Financial Statements and
Footnotes 220
Exhibit 22.1 External Financial Statements of
Business 232
Exhibit 22.2 Debt Service Coverage Ratio 238
Exhibit 23.1 Internal versus External Income
Statement Format Comparisons 248
Exhibit 23.2 Gross Margin Comparison, Service
versus Products 251
Exhibit 23.3 Management Profit Report for Year 252
Exhibit 23.4 5% Sales Price Versus 5% Sales Volume
Increase 255

List of Exhibits xiii

 Exhibit 23.5 Breakeven Analysis–Sales Price Versus
Volume Decreases 256
Exhibit 24.1 HareSquared, Inc.—Summary Financial
Statements, Two Years 262
Exhibit 24.2 TortTech, Inc.—Summary Financial
Statements, Two Years 266

xiv List of Exhibits

 PREFACE

When TOP (i.e., the Old Pro, aka John A. Tracy) and myself were approached by
John Wiley & Sons about expanding and enhancing How to Read a Financial Report,
at first I was taken aback. I mean honestly, how does one improve on a book that
has been in publication for more than 30 years, has sold 300,000-plus copies (and
counting), is now in its eighth edition, and is widely referenced as the bench-
mark when it comes to helping readers from all walks of life clearly and concisely
understand the complex world of financial reports? Then it occurred to me that
attempting to improve the book was not the goal but rather the idea was to expand
or enhance the book in an effort to achieve three primary goals.
First, to transition the material and subject matter into a format that is more
user friendly from an “e” (electronic or digital) perspective. A number of features
have been incorporated to improve the interactivity of the material by incorpo-
rating hotlinks on important subject matter; referencing current events of sig-
nificance; highlighting critical concepts, terminology, and tips; and building in a
web-based TMK, or test my knowledge section, to provide positive feedback on
key material in a real-time fashion.
Second, to empower the readers and extend their knowledge of financial reports
and statements to identify potential problems, inconsistencies, errors, and irregu-
larities within the financial information presented. The idea is to move beyond
simply understanding the basics of financial reports and statements into the world
of analysis and further, to what a company’s financial results really mean or indi-
cate. Or to quote Jack Nicholson from the movie A Few Good Men, to ensure that
you will be able to “handle the truth.”
 Third, to take you, the reader, on a journey through a case study that is not
just designed to test your knowledge of financial reports and statements but more
importantly, to walk you through the life of two similar companies, the fates that
await them after operating for a number of years (good and bad), and the role that
accounting played in their successes and failures. Or in other words, to highlight
a critical concept within company financial reports and statements—that account-
ing is more of an art than science.
Thus, the reference to “the comprehensive guide” was born, as this really
captures the essence of this book, a more comprehensive guide to reading and
understanding financial reports. In addition, this edition catches up with the major
changes in financial reporting since the previous edition of How to Read a Financial
Report, and addresses a fast-moving topic toward incorporating different financial
reporting standards for private and small businesses compared to large, publicly
traded companies. But I note that although numerous changes were made with the
comprehensive version, the basic architecture and structure of the book remains
unchanged, which at its heart is centered on two concepts that are of intense
importance in today’s highly uncertain economic environment:

1. Understanding the connections between the big three financial statements,

and that all are of equal importance and relay a valuable message about the
financial health of a company.
2. Highlighting the importance of cash flows, which is the hallmark of
the book.

The basic framework of the book has proved successful for more than 33 years
and I would be a fool to mess with this success formula (not to mention feeling
the wrath of my father who undoubtedly would “cut me out of the will” for the
umpteenth time).
All of the exhibits in the book have been prepared in Excel worksheets. To
request a copy of the workbook file of all the exhibits, please contact me at my

xvi Preface
e-mail address: tagetracy@cox.net. We express our sincere thanks to all of you who
have sent compliments about the book over the years. The royalties from sales of
the book are nice, but the bouquets from readers are icing on the cake.
This book has taken a good deal of “thinking outside of the box,” which was
highly dependent on a strong working partnership between the authors and the
publisher. I thank most sincerely the many people at John Wiley & Sons who have
worked with my father on the previous editions of the book, for more than three
decades now. In addition, I’d be remiss without mentioning Tula Batanchiev and
Judy Howarth, who were critical drivers in developing this comprehensive version
of the book. They’ve been a pleasure to work with on this version and throughout
the process have maintained an open, creative, and visionary mind-set, all essential
when working with this type of project. There is no doubt that they’ve made the
new version much better than if we had been left on our own. Books are the col-
laboration of good editors and good authors. We had good editors; you’ll have to
be the judge how good the authors are.
In closing, this is now the fourth book I’ve had the opportunity to work with
my father on since 2003. Each book has been a remarkable journey and adventure
that simply put, I could not have ever imagined taking without his support, guid-
ance, and yes, frequent ribbing and jabs (and when you move through the books,
you’ll notice we attempt to incorporate humor and poke fun at ourselves, as well as
the accounting profession). But the bottom line (no pun intended with this book’s
subject matter) is, if it weren’t for the man I call TOP, I would have never had the
opportunity to become an author. Again, I’m forever grateful for the opportunity
and dedicate this book to a man who still to this day continues, after more than 50
years of being a father, to open new doors for me each and every day.

Poway, California Tage C. Tracy

August 2013

Preface xvii
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
events, and not enough shrewdness to fix responsibility where it really
belonged. He became bitter, not only against Germany generally, but
against the Prussian Royal Family, and though he afterwards met his uncle
at Skiernievice and Alexandrovo, their relations were never so cordial as
they had been before. Alexander II. never visited Berlin again, though he
once sent his son the Tsarevitch with his wife on a courtesy visit, in return
for his uncle’s attempts to re-establish the old family ties which the Berlin
Congress had so rudely shattered.
 CHAPTER X

ALEXANDER’S LOVE AFFAIRS

Alexander II. was always susceptible to feminine charms. From his early
youth women had exercised a great attraction for him, and the recipients of
his favours were many. When quite a young man, and long before his
marriage, he had been in love with Mademoiselle Sophie Dachkoff, a maid
of honour to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and his attentions became
so marked that Society began to talk about the matter. The young lady,
however, displayed a strength of will rare at her age—she was scarcely
eighteen—and sought an explanation with the Grand Duke, when she told
him plainly that as she could not be his wife his attentions were not
desirable. She then married Prince Gregory Gagarine, the nephew of the
celebrated Madame Svetchine, and for a number of years settled with him
abroad. Prince Gagarine was a distinguished man, a great artist, who
subsequently became Director of the Academy of Fine Arts in St.
Petersburg. When he returned to the capital with the Princess she had
already passed her first youth, and the history of her romance with the then
Emperor was nearly forgotten. She lived to an advanced age, extremely
respected by all, and held in high esteem by the Imperial Family. At the
Coronation of the present Sovereign she was appointed Dame à Portrait,
the highest feminine distinction at the Court of Russia, and enjoyed for
some years the advantages attached to that position.
Some little time after his marriage Alexander II. sought companionship
with persons better able to enter into his interests and to comprehend his
thoughts than the Tsarevna, who was too timid and too cold even to attempt
to exert influence over her husband. Later on when she became Empress,
and especially after the death of her mother-in-law, Alexandra Feodorovna,
she began to assert herself, but it was too late; and though the Emperor
always showed her in public the greatest respect, he had become
accustomed to live his life without her. Later still, when the influence of the
Princess Yourievsky became stronger, he failed even in the outward marks
of deference to his Empress.
 So long as Nicholas I. lived, however, the conduct of the Tsarevitch in
public left nothing to be desired. He had flirtations without number, but no
one could accuse him of having a maîtresse en titre.
One whom he held in high esteem was a daughter of the noble house of
Dolgorouky, the Princess Alexandra, later on to become the wife of General
Albedynsky. The Princess Alexandra was the daughter of a most clever,
intriguing mother, who had from the first decided to use the beauty of her
children as a stepping-stone to their fortunes. The Princess Dolgorouky was
at one time a very considerable personage in St. Petersburg Society. She
was clever, unsparing in her criticisms, and she managed to inculcate in all
her family a spirit of solidarity such as one rarely meets with nowadays.
This quality enabled them to make themselves very prominent people
indeed. So long as their mother lived she ruled them with a rod of iron, and
insisted on their coming to her for advice, even in the smallest of matters.
When she died she had seen the fortunes of her numerous children
established on quite an unassailable footing.
Her eldest daughter, the Princess Alexandra, helped her in that task to the
utmost. She was an unusually intelligent and at the same time extremely
kind woman, whose quiet manner and soft low voice impressed others most
favourably. She was on very friendly terms with Alexander II. and was
consulted by him on many occasions when faced with embarrassing
questions. She always gave her opinion in a fearless, honest way, and
considered his advantage above everything. She was the instrument of her
husband’s career. He, though an extremely ordinary individual, reached the
highest dignities, became aide-de-camp général and Governor of the Polish
provinces. Madame Albedynsky reigned a veritable queen in Warsaw for a
considerable time, where she succeeded in making herself liked in spite of
the strong prejudices that existed there against Russian functionaries. When
she became a widow, she lived for some years in St. Petersburg, and at last
settled abroad for the benefit of her health. During the whole of Alexander
II.’s lifetime, whenever she wanted to see him or to speak to him about
some important matter, she used to drive to the Winter Palace and have
herself announced by the valet-in-waiting without any further ceremony.
The Empress herself often had recourse to her influence to obtain things
that she did not dare to ask for herself, and all the entourage of the
Sovereign held her in awe, but also in esteem.
 Of her three brothers, one—Prince Alexis—settled in England, where he
married, and is a well-known figure in London Society. The eldest, Prince
Alexander, wedded a rich heiress, Countess Schouvaloff, and died recently,
having reached the position of Grand Marshal of the Imperial Court. He
was known to his friends by the name of Sandy, and was perhaps the
handsomest man of his day and a great favourite. His influence was great,
and he kept in favour through three reigns, and died at the zenith of his
power.
His youngest brother, Prince Nicholas, “Nicky,” as he was called, was
scarcely less handsome than he, and enjoyed the special favours of
Alexander II. He, too, reached the highest dignities. He was for some time
attached to the person of the German Emperor in Berlin, where he did not
succeed in making himself liked, was sent as Minister to Persia, and later as
Ambassador to Rome, where he died in April, 1913.
Madame Albedynsky had three sisters. They were all beautiful, and all of
them at one time leaders of the smart set of St. Petersburg. The eldest,
however, the Countess Marguerite Steinbock Fermor, who died not so very
long ago, had very delicate health, and retired from Society after the
marriage of her two daughters. The second one, Princess Annette, was
wedded to perhaps the richest man in Russia, Prince Soltykoff, and has
recently been widowed. She was without doubt one of the loveliest women
of her time.
Her sister, the Princess Marie, was also unusually handsome. She,
however, had a more eventful life than any other member of her family. She
was married in her early youth to a cousin, also a Prince Dolgorouky, and
when he died some years afterwards, to Count Benckendorff. Her husband
was appointed Head of the Household of the present Emperor, and she was
made a Lady of the Order of St. Catherine. So much for having been, as the
old French proverb says, careful in the choice of one’s parents.
But however much Alexander II. might have been in love in his early
years, he was destined to fall the victim to a stronger passion, and one
which was to lead him upon a path which might have compromised his
crown had fate and Ryssakoff’s bomb not interfered. I refer to his love for
the Princess Catherine Michailovna Dolgorouky, whom he was to make his
wife after the death of the Empress Marie Alexandrovna.
 She and her elder sister were the daughters of Prince Michael
Dolgorouky, who had been brought up together with the sons of the
Emperor Nicholas, and who upon his death-bed had confided his two girls
to the care of Alexander II., who had just then ascended the Throne. He
accepted that charge, and had the little girls sent to the Institute of St.
Catherine for daughters of the nobility, recommending them specially to the
Lady Superintendent. Now the Sovereign was always fond of visiting the
various educational establishments of the capital. He liked to see children
crowding round him, and used to caress them as if they were his own little
ones. He often called to his side the little Dolgorouky girls and examined
them as to their studies and their doings, and admired them for their beauty.
At length, when the eldest was eighteen, he appointed her one of the maids
of honour to the Empress, and took her to live at the Winter Palace.
It was not long before gossip was rife, and it must be said in justice to St.
Petersburg Society that its sense of decency and honour was revolted at this
forgetfulness of a most sacred trust by the Emperor. Some representations,
indeed, were made to him upon the subject, amongst others by Count
Adlerberg and Count Schouvaloff, whose position, as Head of the Third
Section, brought him in touch with all that was being said concerning the
Emperor Alexander II.
About two years afterwards the younger of the Dolgorouky girls,
Catherine Michailovna, in her turn appeared at the Imperial Court, and her
arrival there sounded the death-knell of her sister’s favour. Prince
Mestchersky, an aide-de-camp of the Emperor, was persuaded to marry
Mary Dolgorouky. The Emperor gave her a large dowry, and as a wedding
present a lovely house on the English Quay.
Prince Mestchersky was killed during the Turkish War, and his widow
afterwards married the nephew of the Viceroy of Poland, Count George
Berg, one of the most charming men in St. Petersburg Society. She had kept
upon excellent terms with her sister, and they both settled later in Nice,
where they lived together in the same villa. The Countess Berg died some
four or five years ago.
Princess Catherine Dolgorouky was a tall, fair, placid looking person,
with lovely blonde hair, a slight figure, with unmistakably graceful
movements and the best possible taste in dress, a quality to which
Alexander II. was particularly susceptible. Intelligence she had little; tact
even less; but she had enough sense to know that on this road which was to
lead her towards the Throne of All the Russias she needed the help of
someone more intelligent than herself, and with more knowledge of the
world. That person she found in a distant cousin, Mademoiselle Schébéko.
The latter was one of those master minds that at once recognise the weak
as well as the strong sides of every position. She directed her batteries with
consummate skill towards the aim she had in view. She persuaded
Catherine Michailovna to play the part of the woman capable of giving
everything up for love, of resigning herself to any misfortune, and to any
humiliation rather than being parted from the man to whom she wanted to
devote her life. No one could have played that difficult part better than did
the Princess, under the guidance of Mademoiselle Schébéko, and when it
came to asking anything from the Emperor, it was always the latter, and
never Catherine Michailovna, who did so. She used only to accept with
astonishment, and with a gratitude that apparently savoured of pain, all the
presents with which the Emperor loaded her, and she always complained
that he was doing too much for her.
By and by the two ladies exercised such an influence that Ministers
began to take it into account and to ask themselves where it would lead to.
Politics, which at first had played no part in the alliance, became a
prominent matter of discussion, and the Emperor began to meet people at
the Princess’s house whom it was inconvenient to receive at the Winter
Palace.
Every afternoon the Emperor used to go and visit Catherine Michailovna
at the house which belonged to the Princess Mestchersky, her sister, and in
which she lived together with Mlle. Schébéko. There he used to spend
hours, and there it was that the three children of the Princess Dolgorouky
were born. Their birth only consolidated the ties between the parents. When
the Emperor travelled to Ems the Princess followed him there, and once
stayed at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, much to the indignation of the
Empress Augusta of Germany. Later on, when the Nihilist movement
became so terribly active, and it became unwise for the Emperor to drive
about in the streets alone, Princess Dolgorouky removed with her children
to the Winter Palace. Her rooms were situated exactly above those of the
dying Empress, who could hear the clatter of little children’s feet over her
head.
 When at length Marie Alexandrovna expired, it was with no one by her
side to close her eyes, save her devoted daughter the Duchess of Edinburgh,
who had arrived from England to be with her mother during the last days of
her life. Owing to the indignation of the Duchess at the presence of the
Princess Dolgorouky in the Palace, the latter removed to Tsarskoye Selo,
whither the Emperor followed her, and where he was still when the Empress
breathed her last.
Forty days after the death of the Empress, Alexander II. married
Catherine Michailovna Dolgorouky, and created her Princess Yourievsky.
The little popularity which remained to the Emperor disappeared after
this mad act. St. Petersburg was incensed, and discontent was openly
expressed at this outrage on the conventions of life.
Catherine Michailovna, nevertheless, had her partisans. All the Liberal
element in the country turned to her, and expected through her influence to
obtain the promulgation of a Constitution. Count Loris Melikoff, M. Abaza,
and all their friends thought the moment favourable to persuade the
Emperor that the time had come when it was his duty to put the topstone to
the reforms for which his reign had been remarkable, by granting the
blessings of Constitutional government. They explained to him that such a
measure would do away with the discontent that his marriage had raised,
that the nation would bless the woman to whose influence liberty had been
given to it, and would see with pleasure that woman raised to the rank of
Empress.
 Among the Imperial Family discontent prevailed. The Heir to the Throne
and his wife openly put themselves at the head of the party of those who
repudiated every possibility of a further triumph of Catherine Michailovna.
They had to see her every Sunday at mass, where she appeared and stood
near the Emperor, in the chapel of the Winter Palace, but beyond that
official meeting they paid no attention to her. The Emperor was furious, and
in his turn began to be as unpleasant as he possibly could towards his
children and his family; and it is matter for surmise whether a revolution of
a different character would not have taken place had not the tragic event of
March 1st destroyed the hopes of those who had played their last card on
the strength of a woman’s influence.
Count Loris Melikoff was the staunchest friend of the Princess
Yourievsky. He it was who advised and encouraged her to persuade the
Emperor to enter upon the road to the most important of all the reforms of
his reign. He it was who told the Sovereign that Russia would admire his
courage in raising to the Throne an Empress who was a Russian, and thus
following the example set by the old rulers of Muscovy, who had looked for
wives among the daughters of their great nobles. He it was who had already
issued orders for the coronation of the wife of Alexander II. in the Cathedral
of the Assumption at Moscow, after the first anniversary of the death of the
Empress Marie Alexandrovna had passed.
But alas for human wishes and human plans! Sophie Perovska and
Ryssakoff took upon themselves the solution of the problem that had
agitated so many minds, and with the murder of Alexander II. the ambitions
of his second wife were extinguished.
The new Sovereign showed infinite tact in his relations with his father’s
morganatic widow. All the wrongs which he had suffered at her hands were
in appearance forgotten by him. He paid her an official visit of condolence,
had a beautiful house bought for her to retire to, after she had left the
Winter Palace, and settled an enormous allowance upon her and her
children. If ever the “Vanity of Vanities” of the Preacher was exemplified in
human life, it is in that of Catherine Michailovna Dolgorouky, Princess
Yourievsky, who but for an unforeseen crime would have had the crown of
a Russian Empress placed upon her brow.
 CHAPTER XI

ASSASSINATION OF ALEXANDER II.

Begun so brilliantly, the reign of Alexander II. ended in sorrow and

sadness. All the bright hopes which had greeted it had been shattered, and
the love of his people for the person of the Emperor was shattered too. It
was realised that he was a disappointed, vindictive man, more irresolute
even than he had been in his youth, and who whilst always wanting much
from others, yet gave too little himself, or even took back what he had
already granted. His reign had not given satisfaction to a single party, nor
quieted any discontent. It was evident everywhere that after a whole quarter
of a century had passed nothing useful had been done, and that everything
would have to be begun over again. The old fear of offending the Sovereign
which had formerly existed in Russia had vanished, and unfortunately the
respect for his person was gone too. People, moreover, had got into the
habit of discussing, and had forgotten how to work, and for a nation there is
nothing worse than unnecessary or idle discussions.
After several attempts upon his life had followed in quick succession,
Alexander II. became more and more disgusted—and in a certain sense
rightly so—at what he considered ingratitude against himself, and against
the good intentions with which he had ascended the Throne. He knew quite
well that mistakes without number had been made, but he could not
determine exactly what these mistakes were. He called one person after
another to explain to him what ought to be done to repair these mistakes,
but no one could tell him anything definite or seriously worth listening to.
On the one hand, the Conservative party was urging him to return to the old
system of repression under which Russia had been great and peaceful, and,
on the other, minds more clear and more imbued with Occidental ideas of
Government told him that it was impossible to go back on the road upon
which he had entered, and that the country would only be restored to order
when it should be given a share in its administration.
Political and Court intrigues surrounded the unfortunate monarch. His
wife, who hoped to obtain from the Liberal party the recognition of that title
and dignity of Empress after which her whole soul hungered, used to
explain to him that if he granted a Constitution, Nihilism would disappear,
robbed of its very raison d’être, and that at least his life would be safe. On
the other hand, he was well aware that his son and successor, who would be
called upon to bear the brunt of any false step which he might make,
strongly disapproved of any concession to what he called “the exigencies of
the mob.” Feeling, perhaps, that his days were numbered, he hesitated to
saddle his inheritance with new difficulties and new duties. But at length, as
is usually the case, feminine influence conquered, and Alexander ordered
Count Loris Melikoff to draw up a scheme for a Constitution.
Count Loris, by one of those freaks of Imperial favour which can only
happen in Russia, had found himself one fine day the foremost man in the
country and a veritable dictator, without having done anything to justify that
appointment. He was an Armenian by birth, who had distinguished himself
during the Turkish War. He was a favourite of the Grand Duke Michael, the
Emperor’s youngest brother, who had recommended him to the Sovereign
as a capable and energetic man. Later on he had been sent to the
Government of Astrakhan when the plague broke out there, and had
succeeded in quieting an exasperated mob. This success had created the
impression that he was a resolute character who would show no hesitation
in fulfilling his duties or executing whatever orders he received. But, as is
usual in Russia, where one puts a man à toute sauce, and believes that if he
can sweep a room well he can also furnish it, and that one can transform a
servant into a statesman, he had not one of the capacities indispensable to
the position to which he had been raised. He had all the qualities of his race,
a spirit of intrigue, acuteness, and a finesse that did not hesitate at the means
to be employed, or the wilful disguising of the truth. He began by promising
all kinds of things which he could not perform, and with that shrewdness
which is a characteristic of the Oriental mind, he thought that by simple
diplomacy he could appease the revolutionary movement in the country,
completely overlooking the fact that it was anarchical, and that the shedding
of blood was the only solution which it believed to be acceptable, and with
which it would content itself.
Loris Melikoff knew very well that he was intensely disliked by a certain
portion of Society, as well as by the party that was headed by the Heir to the
Throne. He had even at the time of his greatest favour felt himself to be in
an insecure position; and when he heard applied to himself that odious
expression wremientschik (i.e. favourite of the moment), which from time
immemorial in Russia has designated the temporary favourites of the Tsars,
he could not honestly think that it was misapplied in his case. He therefore
sought to make friends with the one person whose protection could help
him in case of need—the Princess Yourievsky. Thus, from the union of
these two interests, that of an ambitious, vain woman and of a grasping,
clever, and cunning man, came the scheme upon which the welfare of the
nation so much depended.
In view of these facts, one must consign to the limbo of fables the
rumour that at one time was universally believed, that Count Loris had
asked the Princess Yourievsky to persuade the Emperor not to go out on that
fatal Sunday, March 1st. In view of the importance of the events then
impending, it is more than likely that had the Minister really suspected
danger of any kind he would not only have taken measures to prevent it, but
also that his warning would not have been disregarded, either by Alexander
II. or by his wife.
The latter was quiet and content. She was beginning to feel the ground
firmer under her feet. The violent outcry raised at the time of her marriage
had begun to subside. The Emperor had tried to bring her into contact with
several people belonging to the most select Society of the capital. Ladies
had still been chary of meeting the Princess, but men, who could not very
well refuse Imperial invitations, had been asked to dine with the Sovereign
and his wife. For her part, she was beginning to practise her rôle as
Empress, and, thanks to the advice of her cousin, Mademoiselle Schébéko,
she was performing it with tact and discretion.
On the eve of the day which proved to be his last, the Emperor had had a
few friends to dinner, among whom were old Admiral Heyden and M.
Abaza, Minister of Finance at the time. The party had been kept up until a
late hour, and Alexander had told his guests that the next morning, after the
usual Sunday review, he was going to lunch with his cousin, the Grand
Duchess Catherine. He told M. Abaza to come to him in a day or two to
discuss together with Count Loris several points of the manifesto which he
was going to issue to the nation. Princess Yourievsky advised him not to tire
himself, as he had been suffering from a slight cold. He put his hand
caressingly upon her shoulders, and said in French to his guests: “Vous le
voyez, messieurs, je dois obéir, et me retirer.” They were the last words
which these two were ever to hear from him.
 The next morning dawned bright and sunny. The Emperor, as usual,
attended mass in the private chapel of the Winter Palace. His children were
all there, save the wife of the Grand Duke Vladimir, who, being a Protestant
at that time, did not attend the Greek services. It was noticed that when the
Tsarevna came up to her father-in-law to take leave of him after mass was
over, he rudely thrust her aside with the words “Dites donc adieu à la
Princesse,” and he indicated the Princess Yourievsky. The Heiress to the
Throne made a profound curtsey to the Sovereign and silently withdrew,
after merely bending her proud little head in the direction of Alexander II.’s
morganatic wife.
This angered the Emperor, and it was afterwards remarked that during
the review, which took place every Sunday in the riding school known as
the “Manège Michel,” he appeared in a bad temper and spoke but little.
However, he drove to luncheon with his cousin, and there seemed to
recover his spirits, remaining with her longer than was his wont.
In consequence of the numerous attempts that had been made against his
life, the Emperor was always escorted on his drives by a squadron of
Cossacks, and, as a further precaution, the head of the St. Petersburg police
—at that time General Dvorgetsky—drove in advance in an open droschky
on the fatal Sunday. The close carriage in which Alexander II. was sitting
was driven by an old and trusted coachman, and upon leaving the palace of
the Grand Duchess Catherine—since converted into the Emperor Alexander
III. Museum—he took the road by the canal that leads to the Nevski
Prospekt and to the Winter Palace. The carriage had scarcely turned into it
when a shot was fired and a bomb exploded in front of the vehicle. A
terrible moment of confusion followed, several Cossacks were seen to fall
from their horses, and the droschky in which the Head of the Police was
riding was overturned, the General himself being thrown wounded upon the
road. Alexander commanded his coachman to stop. The latter begged and
implored him to allow him to go on, swearing that he would take him in
safety to the Palace; but the Emperor would not hear of it, and got out to see
after the wounded members of his escort. Some passers-by had noticed that
a young man was standing on the ice on the canal with something in his
hand; they threw themselves upon him. It proved to be Ryssakoff who had
thrown the first bomb.
He was led before the Sovereign, and then uttered these memorable
words, which ought to have been taken more seriously than they were by
the listeners. The Emperor, in reply to an anxious question of one of the
officers of his escort as to whether or not he was hurt, had said, “No, thanks
be given to God,” when Ryssakoff exclaimed, “It is too early yet to say
‘thank God.’ ”
At that very moment the second explosion took place, and Alexander II.
fell mortally wounded.
He was taken back, still alive, to the Winter Palace, followed by his
brother, the Grand Duke Michael, who had also lunched with the Grand
Duchess Catherine, and, hearing the first explosion, had hastened out with
the presentiment of a misfortune. He arrived upon the terrible scene too late
to see anything else but the bloody body of the Emperor, and to hear his last
words, “Take me to the Palace ... to die there.”
Two hours later the doors of the dead Tsar’s rooms were thrown open,
and the new Sovereign came out, with his Consort leaning on his arm. He
gravely saluted the members of the Household and military authorities that
had hastily gathered there, and passed into an inner room to give vent to the
emotion that was overpowering him.
His brothers and uncles followed him, and a few hasty resolutions were
taken. The troops of the St. Petersburg garrison were ordered at once to
swear fidelity to the new Emperor. Count Loris, despairing and silent, was
simply wringing his hands, and by the body of the murdered man remained
only the Princess Yourievsky, weeping and despairing, and his faithful
valet, who was tearing his hair in his grief.
At that moment Mademoiselle Schébéko approached Catherine
Michailovna.
“The manifesto,” she said; “where is it? Have you taken it? It is already
signed, and it may be of use.”
The Princess rushed to the writing-table which was in the room where
the dead body of the Emperor was lying. With a trembling hand she was
about to open the drawer when, upon the threshold, appeared the huge
figure of the Grand Duke Vladimir, the eldest brother of the new Sovereign.
He slowly went up to his stepmother and took the key from her hands; he
turned the lock, and then in courteous tones asked her to leave the room
whilst the last duties were rendered to the remains of the murdered
monarch.
 That same night a conference was held between Alexander III., his two
eldest brothers, and one trusted adviser in whom the Emperor had the
utmost confidence; then, beside the body of his murdered father, he opened
the drawer which had attracted the Princess Yourievsky, and took out the
topmost document. It was the manifesto granting the Constitution of which
people had talked for so long a time. He was going to read it, when the
friend to whom I have referred approached him, and, taking the document
from his hands, tore it into a thousand fragments.
“Now, your Majesty,” said he, “you can punish me, but at least it cannot
be said that you stepped upon the Throne of Russia with tied hands.”
Thus began the reign of Alexander III.
 CHAPTER XII

ALEXANDER III. AND HIS CONSORT

The Empress Marie Alexandrovna had been heard to say, during the last
years of her life, that she bitterly repented of having allowed herself to be
entirely absorbed by her affection for her eldest son to the detriment of her
other children, and that God had punished her for it by taking that son away
from her. There was a certain amount of truth in the remark, for it is an
unmistakable fact that the care and attention bestowed upon the Grand
Duke Nicholas Alexandrovitch had not been given either to the education or
training of his brothers. The Grand Duke Alexander had felt this very much
when he became unexpectedly the Heir to the Throne, and suffered from it
in proportion to his extreme sense of duty to his country.
He was in his own odd way a most remarkable man; not brilliant by any
means, perhaps not even clever, but extremely intelligent, and gifted with a
sound common sense that made him rarely commit mistakes in important
questions. He had tried as much as he could to perfect his defective
education, and had studied as much as his military duties would allow him,
when he found himself faced with new duties and future grave
responsibilities. His greatest quality was frankness, united with an honesty
such as is rarely met with. Once he had given his word, nothing could make
him break it. He was a great patriot, and “All for Russia” became his motto.
He differed from his father in that he always knew what he wanted, and
 EMPEROR ALEXANDER III. EMPRESS MARIE FEODOROVNA

never hesitated in doing what he considered to be right. He asked his

Ministers to tell him the truth even in cases where it might be unpalatable,
and he realised that there was yet time for a strong hand to save Russia from
the chaos into which she had fallen. That strong hand he possessed, and he
used it with tact and kindness, but with a perfect understanding as to the
needs of the country and the necessity for replacing the indecisions of
yesterday by the firmness of to-day.
He did not often speak in public, but whenever he was compelled to do
so it was to the point, in a few short words that never left any doubt as to
their meaning. His address to the peasants gathered in Moscow on the
occasion of his Coronation was a notable example of his directness of
utterance, and it at once disposed of the rumours spread by the anarchists
that the Sovereign contemplated taking away lands from the nobles to
distribute them to the peasantry. Alexander III. distinctly explained to the
representatives of the rural classes that he would never sanction such
spoliation, and that he meant to have the rights of property respected above
everything. After that, everything was quiet, and the danger of an
insurrection of the peasantry was entirely averted.
 The nation got to love the simple, earnest, quiet, conscientious man, who
never forgot the duties that Providence had put before him, and who tried in
all humility to be the father of his people. His views on politics and
government were straightforward, as his whole character was
straightforward. He read every document that was brought for his signature;
he tried to understand it, and when he did not succeed, then he had it
explained to him by responsible people.
When he ascended the Throne, it was with a deep sense of the horrors of
war, born of his experiences in the Balkans, where he had commanded an
army corps and seen the sufferings of the soldiers as well as the mistakes of
the officers. His first thought, when he found himself in a position to realise
his plans, was to work at the reorganisation of the Army, to ameliorate the
conditions of the soldier, and to try to develop the industries and trade of
Russia. He had a programme of his own, and he meant to be master, and to
do what he himself considered to be right. Strong as was his character, it
was devoid of vindictiveness and obstinacy. He brought his common sense
to bear on decisions he gave, and it rarely failed him. He succeeded in
making Russia a great nation, feared and respected by all, and that without
the firing of a single shot during the thirteen years that he occupied the
Throne.
He believed in autocracy, but was not an autocrat by nature. With all his
unusual strength of character, he had no tendency to tyranny, and he made
himself feared simply because everybody knew that what he meant to do he
would do, and that thoroughly and well.
His children adored him, and all who approached him professed for him
a feeling akin to reverence. Everybody believed in his justice, and though
during his reign Nihilism was entirely crushed, yet very few were those
who suffered for their political opinions. After the leaders of the conspiracy
that led to the murder of the Emperor Alexander II. had paid the penalty of
their crime, the execution of political offenders—that had been almost a
daily occurrence during the former reign—was not heard of.
Alexander III. was essentially Russian. Sometimes he called himself in
jest the “first moujik” of his empire. He had something of the strength of the
moujik in his appearance, which was commanding, but exceedingly good-
natured. He had also the simplicity of the moujik, and his humble faith in
God and the Saints. The Emperor was a great believer, and his trust in
Divine Providence was sincere and touching in the extreme.
Strange as it may appear, there was a time, when he was still Heir to the
Throne, when Alexander III. held Liberal tendencies, of which he did not
care to be reminded in after life. A curious anecdote throws a light on that
side of his character. The celebrated Russian historian, Bilbassoff, whose
work on the life and reign of the Empress Catherine II. has become a
classic, began his career as Professor at the University of Kieff. The
authorities noticed that he entertained close relations with some Polish
noblemen known for their anti-Russian opinions, and he was forced to
resign his position. He then came to St. Petersburg and became editor of the
Golos. It was owing to his efforts and to the relations which he entertained
with Count Loris Melikoff and with the Heir to the Throne, that the paper,
which later on was suppressed by the orders of Count Tolstoy, became so
famous. When its existence was threatened, Bilbassoff, fearing that his own
position would be compromised, wrote to the Emperor Alexander III. to ask
his protection, and in his letter used the phrase: “I have had until now the
happiness of enjoying the favour of Your Majesty.” The Tsar returned the
letter to Count Woronzoff, after having written in pencil across it:
“Unfortunately this is true.”
I have already referred to his early romance and his subsequent marriage
with the Princess Dagmar of Denmark. The patience, the grace, the winning
nature, and the many endearing qualities of the young Grand Duchess did
their work, and conquered the heart of her spouse, until he came to love her
with all the strength of affection that was in him, to trust her entirely, and to
find in her not only a devoted companion, but also a wise counsellor and a
true friend in the difficult and serious moments in his life.
Marie Feodorovna was once called by the Emperor “the Guardian Angel
of Russia,” and in that, as in everything else, he spoke the truth. Few queens
have grasped to the extent which she did a queen’s power of doing good.
Few have possessed her gift of mercy and the desire to be merciful and
kind. No prayer found her indifferent, no misery was brought to her notice
without being instantly relieved. Her lovely smile, the gentle look of her
eyes—those great, luminous black eyes, that seemed to read into one’s very
soul—brought more friends to her husband than millions spent, or years of
effort, would have done. Whenever she appeared, whether it were in a ball-
room surrounded by Imperial pomp and adorned with the Crown jewels, or
in a humble cottage, wherever one saw her, she took with her light and joy
and consolation. Unceasing were her efforts in the cause of charity,
innumerable the evils she contrived to repair, and the good deeds she
performed, all without ostentation, and moved thereto by the gentleness and
sweetness of her charming nature. As wife and mother, as Empress and
woman, Marie Feodorovna was an example to all. From the heights of the
Throne upon which she sat with such dignity, she instilled into the Russian
nation a respect for the private life of its Sovereigns that hitherto had been
unknown. Political influence over the Emperor she possessed to an
enormous extent, and yet no one ever guessed it, so cleverly did she hide
from the world that she ever mixed up with politics.
The Empress was intensely fond of society and of dancing and pretty
dresses. Alexander III. hated parties, but, desirous to please his wife, he not
only good-humouredly consented to her giving all the balls she wished
during the winter season, but also accompanied her to receptions given in
their honour by various hostesses in St. Petersburg. Marie Feodorovna
danced to her heart’s content, and by going about in this way not only
imparted animation to the season, but also helped to make the Sovereigns
popular and acquainted with Society. I have never seen a prettier sight than
a ball at the Winter Palace during those years, with the crowd of lovely
women, the glitter of magnificent jewels, the artistic gowns, and, above all,
the enjoyment that was visible everywhere.
The Emperor used to play a rubber of whist whilst his consort was
waltzing or going through a quadrille. Sometimes, when the hour was late,
he would quietly order the musicians to leave one by one, until there
remained but one to play a last tune; then the Empress, laughingly
remarking that it was time to go to bed, took leave of her guests.
 CHAPTER XIII

THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN 1881

At the time of the accession of Alexander III. the Imperial family consisted
of his uncles—to whom I have already referred, and who, with the
exception of the Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich, were to disappear
entirely from both the political and social horizons of St. Petersburg—and
of his four brothers and only sister the Duchess of Edinburgh. I do not
mention the Grand Duchess Catherine and her children, nor the
Leuchtenberg and Oldenburg families, as they were more distantly related
to the new Sovereign. The children of the Emperor’s uncles were too young
at the time to be of any importance, but his brothers were to give him more
trouble than he expected.
The Grand Duke Vladimir, who was the eldest, had always, even when
he was a mere boy, been considered the most intelligent member of the
Imperial Family, thanks to an impudent pertness which prompted him to put
in his word upon every possible occasion. He was undoubtedly clever, with
that cleverness which consists in appropriating other people’s ideas or
repeating other people’s words as if they were one’s own; but at the same
time he was in reality very ignorant, ambitious, and intriguing. His memory
was good, his wit and conversation brilliant, but it was all superficial, and
he was a perfect illustration of the old proverb “Grattez le russe,” etc. He
was considered to be possessed of a forceful character, whilst he was only
brutal, as being empressé and galant, towards women, whilst he was
nothing but vicious. He had mastered one of the secrets of success
nowadays, the art of self-advertisement, and he never missed an opportunity
to apply it.
At the same time the Grand Duke Vladimir was capable of generous
actions, especially when the honour of his ancestors was in question. As an
example of this fact, I mention the following: When Count Adlerberg had to
retire from his position as Minister of the Imperial Household, he was
heavily burdened with debts. Alexander III. would not agree to do anything
for him. A friend of the Count’s, whose position enabled him to approach
the members of the Imperial Family, went to Vladimir Alexandrovitch and
asked him to speak to the Emperor, and to plead the cause of Count
Adlerberg, adding that the Count had rendered such important services to
Alexander II. that he ought not to be left in the precarious position brought
about by his dismissal from office. The Grand Duke instantly replied that
not only would he speak with the Emperor, but that if the latter refused to
grant his petition he would pay the debts himself, and induce his other
brothers to help him do so. The debts were eventually paid out of the
private purse of the Sovereign.
When his father was murdered, and the Grand Duke Vladimir saw his
eldest brother, who in the schoolroom had always been under his influence,
step to the Throne, he at first imagined he could go on leading him, and
become thus in reality the first man in the Empire. He less than anyone
expected that Alexander III. would suddenly develop a spirit of
independence and shake off the bonds of diffidence. In the first moment of
confusion, after Alexander II. was brought back dying to the Winter Palace,
the Grand Duke Vladimir assumed a certain authority and issued directions
concerning the immediate swearing-in to the new Sovereign of the troops of
the St. Petersburg garrison, of whom he was the commander; he retained his
presence of mind in that trying hour to a remarkable degree, whilst his
brother, overcome by the sudden burden so unexpectedly thrown upon his
shoulders, sat quite overwhelmed and unable to think of anything else but
grief for his father’s death.
A change soon occurred, however. On the evening of that same eventful
March 1st, Alexander III. returned to the Anitchkov Palace—where he
continued to reside until the end of his life—in an open sledge, with the
young Empress sitting by his side, and without any escort. An immense and
respectful crowd greeted him and lined the whole way. Scarcely a shout was
raised, and a grim earnestness pervaded this first meeting of the new Tsar
and his people, but there were few dry eyes among those who watched the
scene.
At the Anitchkov Palace all his household was waiting for him in the
hall, and an old valet, who had attended the Tsar from his babyhood,
presented him with the traditional bread and salt which is always offered in
Russia upon such occasions, and asked him in a few broken words to be the
“Little Father” of his people. Alexander’s blue eyes kindled with a hitherto
unknown light, and he gravely replied, “Yes, I will try to be the father of my
people.”
 The very next day he started upon that task. When he appeared in the
chapel of the Winter Palace, and stood in front of his brothers, he did so
with all the air of a Sovereign of long standing, and not of one of yesterday,
and he issued his orders with a quietness and comprehension of what he
wanted that astonished everyone, and no one more so than the Grand Duke
Vladimir.
The Grand Duke endeavoured to resist this unexpected independence of
Alexander III., and even went so far as to oppose him in certain dispositions
he had made. The Emperor looked at him, and merely said, “I want this
done in the way I have said.” That was all; but from that moment none of
the Grand Dukes attempted to contest the will of the Emperor.
In a measure, that will was opposed to them. The young Sovereign had
been witness during the war of 1877 of many abuses and mistakes
committed by his uncles, and he had made up his mind to raise a barrier
between the Grand Dukes and the affairs of the State. He held the Oriental
idea that the younger members of every Royal House are the first to dispute
its authority and rise in rebellion against it, so he decided to keep his
relations strictly in their place, and to make them feel that they had above
them an authority it was not wise to thwart.
This infuriated the members of the Imperial Family, but none more so
than the Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife, who from that moment started
a policy of opposition to the Government, and especially to the Sovereign
and his wife, to whose influence they ascribed the many unpleasantnesses
that became their portion. The first of these was the issue of a new Family
Statute which considerably reduced the rights and income of the relations of
the Emperor—one of the first acts of his reign.
The Grand Duchess Vladimir, by birth a princess of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, was thoroughly German in tastes, and entirely devoted to
German interests. She was not popular in Russia, partly on account of her
having refused to enter the Greek Church, as until then had been the rule for
all princesses who married into the Imperial Family. At the present day the
matter would not be deemed of importance, but in 1874, when the Empress
Marie Alexandrovna was still alive, the question was a burning one.
The Grand Duke Alexis was a very different man from his brother. A bon
vivant, fond of cards, wine, and women, he had nevertheless more tenue,
more earnestness, and especially a greater indifference to the actions of
others. In his early youth he had fallen in love with the daughter of his
father’s tutor, and he had married her in defiance of the Emperor’s orders,
though the marriage was subsequently annulled. The Grand Duke, however,
did not again contract the marriage tie.
At the outbreak of the Japanese War the Grand Duke Alexis was
Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, an appointment he received from his
brother the late Emperor, and it was publicly said that he had no control
whatever over the department of which he was head. Though it is certain
that carelessness may be imputed to him, he cannot, I think, be held
altogether liable for the disaster of Tsushima. His hands also had been tied,
and the Navy, like the Army, was no more ready in 1904 than it had been
ten years earlier, at the time of the Emperor Alexander’s death.
The Grand Duke was an extremely handsome man, with a great likeness
to his brother the Emperor; he had dignity when he liked, was a great
admirer of art in every form or shape, and had made a remarkable collection
of old silver, tapestries, and other articles. His greatest failing was that
terrible love de faire la noce that so many Russians possess. But when
necessary he could put on his grandest airs, and could represent his country
to perfection when called upon to do so on State occasions. He was fond of
reading, and knew his classics well.
The Grand Duke Sergius, almost immediately after his father’s death,
married his cousin, the lovely Princess Elizabeth of Hesse, and became a
person of importance when his nephew, the present Emperor, ascended the
Throne, in view of the fact of his having married the sister of the new
Empress. But even during his brother’s lifetime he acquired more
importance than other Grand Dukes, through his appointment as Governor-
General of Moscow. That appointment was due to the dismissal of Prince
Dolgorouky, who had held the post for more than forty years, and was so
popular that it was feared his removal would excite the anger of the ancient
capital, already too disposed to look askance at everything that came from
St. Petersburg. In the hope of making some measure of atonement for the
removal of their beloved Governor, it was decided to replace him with a
member of the Imperial House, and as just about that time the Grand
Duchess Elizabeth had declared her conversion to the Greek faith, it was
thought that this appointment would appease the Muscovites.
 The plan was good, and it succeeded so far as Elizabeth Feodorovna was
concerned. She very soon endeared herself to all classes in Moscow, but
with regard to the Grand Duke it was another matter. In Society he was a
very charming man, cultured, clever, and of all the sons of Alexander II. he
was the one who was most like his father. Unfortunately, however, he was
under the influence of officials who abused their power, and he was called
upon to execute measures—such as the expulsion of the Jews from Moscow
—for which he was not responsible, but which brought him into
unpopularity with a very powerful party.
The Leuchtenberg family was composed of the three sons of the Grand
Duchess Marie Nicolaievna and her two daughters. The elder daughter had
married a Prince of Baden, and paid but rare visits to Russia; the second,
Princess Eugénie, was wedded to Prince Alexander of Oldenburg, and was
one of the most cultured and amiable women that could be met with. She
was a universal favourite. Her salon, where a few chosen friends used to
meet, was a centre of literary, philanthropical, and scientific activity from
which charity was not excluded, for it is due in part to the initiative of the
Princess Eugénie that the Red Cross Society has been developed in Russia
and established with such perfection. She was a very learned woman, and
one who kept herself constantly au courant with every manifestation of
science or art in the world. She did not go out much, partly through delicate
health, but she liked entertaining in a quiet way at home, and was intensely
popular. Her husband, Prince Alexander, was also a clever man, who in all
questions of education followed in the footsteps of his father, the late Prince
Peter of Oldenburg.
As for the Grand Duchess Catherine, she was a lady of the old type, who
had endeavoured to sustain the salon of her mother, the Grand Duchess
Hélène Pavlovna, but she had not the latter’s activity of mind or spirit, and
her parties were extremely dull. Nevertheless she was a personality, and one
felt oneself in a royal atmosphere the moment one had passed her doorstep,
and when she died a whole epoch was buried with her.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, the only daughter of Alexander II., in spite
of her marriage and the years which she spent away from Russia, retains her
affection for the land of her birth to a remarkable degree. She was, and is, in
a way a very remarkable person, clever without being brilliant, extremely
well read, and gifted with a strong amount of common sense. She was her
father’s favourite child, and an amusing story is related of her childish days.
The little girl was, it must be owned, indolent by nature, and tried by every
means possible to avoid her lessons. In order to escape from these she used
to run into the Emperor’s room even whilst he was working with his
Ministers. He loved the child, and, taking her on his knee, would keep her
there. At last the Countess Tolstoy, who was entrusted with the education of
the Grand Duchess, seeing that she could do nothing, spoke to the Empress,
who begged her husband to send Marie Alexandrovna away when she
invaded his room. This was done, very much to the sorrow of the spoilt
child.
Countess Tolstoy was the best person who could have been chosen to
guide the education of the Emperor’s daughter. She was kind in the
extreme, just, and absolutely unselfish. She knew how to appeal to the best
instincts of her pupil, and inspired her with a strict feeling of duty,
compassion for the miseries of the world, truth, soundness of judgment, and
love of occupation, which was perhaps the greatest triumph of all, as she
had in her nature the laziness inherent to the Romanoff family. The present
Dowager Duchess of Coburg never forgot her old teacher, and so long as
the latter lived used to go and see her every day whenever she went to St.
Petersburg. Gratitude was amongst the qualities which the latter had taught
her.
Marie Alexandrovna remained upon good terms with all her family, and
especially with the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna. She is full of tact,
a really great lady, and a princess of the old school, with whom allegiance
to the head of one’s House is considered a paramount duty.
 CHAPTER XIV

THE FRIENDS AND MINISTERS OF ALEXANDER III.

One of the foremost qualities in the character of Alexander III. was that of
knowing how to choose his friends. Of all whom he honoured with his
confidence, or called upon to share with him the burden of government, few
turned out to be failures, and perhaps with one exception all were
gentlemen and men of honour. He held that those who came of good stock,
with honourable ancestors, and who belonged to the upper classes, ought to
be employed in preference to any others, and though of course there were
some exceptions to this rule he had laid out for himself, still among his
personal and private friends there was not one who could not boast of a
name well known in the annals of the Russian nobility.
That nobility was the object of the Emperor’s special care; he viewed
with distaste that rising tide of democracy which during the last years of his
father’s reign had invaded all departments of the Government. He was
indignant, too, at the evident decline of the good old Russian dvoranstvo, or
nobility, which had followed upon the emancipation of the serfs, and he did
all in his power to raise it from its fallen state. His creation of a bank for the
nobility was a great scheme, which averted disaster from hundreds of
homes which, but for it, would have fallen under the hammer of the
auctioneer. He refused, whenever it was possible, to invest with Court
dignities men who did not belong to the old and well-known families. In a
word, “Il protégeait la noblesse seulement,” as was once said by one of his
detractors, who was stopped by the lady in whose house this was told, just
as he was going to add, “et au détriment des autres classes,” which would
have been entirely untrue. Before his accession the Emperor had not many
friends, but his position then had been rather peculiar. He knew he was
suspected by his father of entertaining political views opposed to those of
his advisers, and, always respectful of his father’s wishes, he had refrained
from any active expression of opinion, and tried to avoid any appearance of
opposition to the official party. His one great personal friend was Count
Woronzoff Dachkoff, who, as soon as Alexander ascended the Throne, was
to replace Count Adlerberg as Minister of the Imperial Household.
 Count Woronzoff belonged to one of the oldest families in Russia, whose
name was written almost upon every page of its history. He was enormously
rich, perfectly independent, not a mere courtier, but a man who had the
courage to say what he considered to be right, and never to hide the truth
from his Sovereign. His reputation was blameless, and his moral character
stood so high that no one even dared to question it. Though his
qualifications as a statesman were not great, his sound common sense—so
greatly appreciated by the Emperor because it tallied with his own—never
allowed him to go far wrong. In all the high posts which he occupied, he
always showed himself to be a real grand seigneur of the old school,
incapable of a mean action or of petty revenge. His nature was indolent, his
love of his own comfort perhaps excessive, his indifference to praise or
blame sometimes carried too far; but he was the best friend a well-
intentioned, straightforward monarch could have had.
Count Woronzoff was a perfect man of the world, with a rare tact and
most polished manners. He sincerely loved the Emperor, and his devotion
to him was unbounded and has never been questioned. He remained at the
head of the Imperial Household the whole time Alexander III. reigned. In
that delicate position he had sometimes to run counter to members of the
Imperial Family, who became incensed at the authority with which, in the
Emperor’s name, he reproved them. He seldom went into Society, living for
the most part at home in his own family circle; but whenever he visited he
was always welcomed with respect and eagerness—an eagerness due not so
much to his position, as might have been suspected, but to his own
personality.
After the Coronation of the present Tsar, Count Woronzoff retired from
his position of Minister of the Household—a step upon which he had
decided when Alexander III. died. Soon afterwards he was appointed
Viceroy of the Caucasian provinces, an office which he still holds. He is
very much liked in Tiflis, and though some criticise him for lack of energy,
yet it is very much to be questioned whether anyone else could or would
have displayed more, and it is certain that if he retired scarcely anyone
would be found in the whole of Russia who could replace him.
Count Woronzoff married the Countess Schouvaloff, one of the greatest
heiresses in Russia, sister to pretty Madame Balaschoff, whose husband
inherited the vast domains of the last Prince Paschkievitch, son of the field-
marshal who crushed the Polish mutiny in 1863.
 Beside Count Woronzoff, Alexander III. had another intimate friend in
the person of the late General Tchérévine, who, as chief of the political
police and the Okhrana, or personal guard of the Sovereign, was perhaps
the most powerful man in the Russian Empire. Occupying a position which
was as dangerous as it was delicate, he yet secured a wide circle of friends,
and made no enemies. He had been on very friendly terms with the
Tsarevitch and his wife, and he had for the latter a chivalrous affection, of
which he was to give her the most devoted proofs until the end of his life.
Extremely clever, with more statesmanlike qualities than Count Woronzoff,
he was perhaps more popular among the Society of the capital than the
latter. He had, above everything, a cool, quiet courage, combined with a
certain element of fatalism in his character which made him face death and
danger with the utmost indifference. Twice his life was attempted, and on
both occasions he disarmed the would-be murderer with an ease which
astonished even those who knew him well. Few people have been more
universally liked than General Tchérévine. His political adversaries
respected him, and knew very well that once he had given his word he
would keep it, notwithstanding any difficulties which might arise. During
the period he held office Nihilism was entirely subdued, and that without
resort to the rigorous measures that had been so distasteful during the last
days of the preceding reign.
General Tchérévine never left the Emperor, save for two weeks’ annual
holiday in the autumn. In St. Petersburg he rented a modest flat in the house
now occupied by the Austrian Embassy, but at Gatschina or Peterhof he
lived in the palace. There he dined every day with the Imperial Family,
amusing the Empress with anecdotes which he related with much humour,
and with stories as to what was going on in town; but he was never known
to have repeated a single item of ill-natured gossip. He knew better than any
man alive how to keep a secret, and to baffle any inquiries made of him. He
did good all around him, and did it without any ostentation, being as modest
as he was clever.
He was always consulted whenever any important political decision was
to be taken. Alexander III. valued his political abilities, and his clear
outlook on events, as well as his dislike of every kind of intrigue. When
Count Ignatieff had been obliged to leave the Ministry of the Interior,
Tchérévine had not hesitated to say that the step was indispensable; not that
he cherished any animosity towards the Count, but because he shared the
Sovereign’s opinion that the day had not dawned when a Zemski Sobor,
which was but a Duma in disguise, could be summoned.
It is probable that had he lived he too would have resigned his functions
after the Coronation in virtue of the old saying that a Sovereign’s favourites
never get on with his successor; but death claimed him a very few months
after Alexander III. In him Russia and the Imperial Family, especially the
Empress Dowager, lost a truly devoted friend and servant.
The most remarkable among the politicians who governed the Empire
during the reign, however, were M. Pobedonostseff, Procurator of the Holy
Synod, and Count Dmitry Andrieievitch Tolstoy. The former had been the
tutor of the Emperor. He was of clerical origin, had studied law, and was
considered one of the best jurisconsults in Europe. His great work on
Roman Law has become classical. In appearance he was a lean old man,
with a long nose, and sharp eyes half hidden under spectacles. He could be
very pleasant, was a most agreeable talker, and was wonderfully learned
and well read. He was a Russian of the old school, who saw no salvation for
the country outside of absolutism, autocracy or orthodoxy, but he was not
the narrow-minded individual he has been so often represented. He hated
democracy, and used to maintain that its growth was particularly dangerous
in Russia, where education had not had time to influence in any marked
degree the intelligence of the masses. He would have liked to augment the
number of elementary and village schools, and held strongly the opinion
that the number of students accepted for the higher schools and Universities
should be restricted, and in that he showed a singularly keen knowledge of
the country and of its moral and intellectual condition.
When Alexander III. ascended the Throne, he found in power men of the
most Liberal opinions, such as Count Loris Melikoff, at whose instigation
the famous Constitution which Alexander II. had signed on the morning of
his death had been drawn up; M. Abaza, not less Liberal than his chief; and
Count Milioutine, who, though in a less degree, was of the same opinion as
his colleagues, that the time had come when some kind of liberty ought to
be granted to the country. At first the new Emperor tried honestly to work
with them; but when he found that their opinions were incompatible with
what he considered to be the right course to follow, he called in his old tutor
M. Pobedonostseff to assist him. The latter drafted the famous manifesto in
which were clearly announced the intentions of the Emperor to rule
according to the strict principles of autocracy, of which he believed himself
to be the responsible guardian.
The Ministers at once sent in their resignations, and then it was that
Alexander called in Count Ignatieff, who had lived in semi-disgrace since
the Eastern War. Unfortunately, the two men did not agree. Ignatieff had an
intense admiration for the Emperor, and considered him the ideal of what a
Russian Sovereign should be, but at the same time he had lived too long
abroad not to have become imbued with European ideas; and he, too,
thought that the people of a great empire ought not to be left without some
knowledge of the way in which it is governed. He therefore prepared a
scheme of reform which he hoped would please the Emperor and appease
the democratic party, but the Emperor saw in it an attempt to weaken his
rule as an autocrat, and angrily dismissed Count Ignatieff.
The man who was to succeed him was probably at the time the most
unpopular in the country. He, too, was a great noble, a perfect gentleman,
and a man of strong character. For many years he had held the post of
Minister of Education, and exercised such an iron rule in that capacity that
he had raised against himself a perfect storm of hatred. His name stood for a
system of repression which crushed every intellectual aspiration of the
people. He had been compelled to retire from this position through the
general indignation against him, and a hymn of praise had been sung when
this had taken place. And this was the man, whom it was thought had
vanished for ever from public life, who was called back to take a leading
position in the government of a nation that had nothing but execration for
him and his methods.
It required the strong will of the Emperor to face this indignation, but he
never flinched. In my opinion he was right. No choice could have been
wiser than that of Count Tolstoy to restore order out of chaos. He was an
honest man, one who could listen to reason, a statesman by nature and by
education. He had what so many lacked in Russia, a plan of government, a
clear insight as to the necessities which were paramount to the welfare of
the country; he knew that in order to make it powerful it ought to be
quieted, that the revolutionary instincts of the peasants ought to be checked,
the spirit of revolt in the Universities subdued, and the Army and finances
strengthened. When he expressed these opinions to the Emperor, he is
credited with having told him that he must not expect a glorious, but a
useful reign, and that if he succeeded in this, he would deserve the gratitude
of the country more than if he won a hundred battles.
Alexander III. could understand and appreciate this, and these two men
planned, thought, and worked together, and succeeded in raising the moral
standard of Russia until it became a Great Power, and its Sovereign looked
upon as the arbiter of Europe. It was a great work, done in a very short time,
if we consider that the reign of Alexander lasted only thirteen years, and
that Count Tolstoy preceded him to the grave.
It was a work for which posterity ought to be grateful to them, even
though in great part its effects have been effaced by the misfortunes of the
Japanese War and of the Revolution that followed upon it.
The Empress, too, had friends with whom she shared sorrows and joys,
and she also was fortunate in her choice of them. I have already referred to
the Countess Woronzoff, and in addition to her I may mention the Countess
Apraxine, who had been the first lady-in-waiting to welcome the young
Tsarevna upon her arrival into her new country, and who later on became
the Princess Vladimir Obolensky. The Princess was a sure and faithful
friend to her Imperial mistress, whose favour she enjoys to this day. Her
husband was for many years at the head of the private household of the Heir
to the Throne, and remained in that position after the Emperor’s accession
—until his death, indeed, which occurred in the Crimea three years before
that of Alexander. Then there were Count and Countess Sergius
Scheremetieff, worthy representatives of the old class of Russian boyars
that have made the country great; and then again there was Madame
Scheremetieff, by birth a daughter of the mighty house of Strogonoff,
whose mother had been the Grand Duchess Marie Nicolaiena, the sister of
Alexander II. The two principal figures of the Empress’s Court, however,
were Prince John Galitzine and the Princess Hélène Kotchoubey.
Prince John Galitzine was perhaps the most popular man in St.
Petersburg Society. Few have been more amiable, more charming to receive
as guests in one’s house, and more discreet to have for one’s friend. No one
knew more than he about all the scandals of St. Petersburg Society, and no
one was ever more silent concerning them. He had manners recalling those
of the old French Court, was conversant with all questions of ceremonial,
had most remarkable diplomatic qualities, and was for the young Empress
not only a devoted friend and servant, but also a sure guide in all social
questions. He it was who used to tell her about the people who were
presented to her; who prevented her from falling into error as to what she
ought to say to them; who replied to all inquiries, and who smoothed away,
with never failing tact, all the little difficulties which crop up in a Court
where rivalry and jealousy are keen.
The Princess Hélène Kotchoubey was one of the remarkable women of
the nineteenth century. She was twice married: first to Prince Belosselsky,
by whom she was mother of the present Prince of that name, of the
Countess Schouvaloff, and the Princess Lise, or Lison, Troubetzkoy. By her
second husband she had one daughter, who was one of the leaders of St.
Petersburg Society, and was married to a millionaire, General Dournoff.
The Princess Hélène had in her youth played an important part in the social
world of the Russian capital; she was clever, not exactly beautiful, but
possessed, even in extreme old age, a wonderful charm, and was one of the
most admired women of her day. Her enormous riches had allowed her to
keep open house and dispense a semi-royal hospitality to her friends. Her
palace on the Nevski Prospekt—which ultimately became the home of the
Grand Duke Sergius and his wife—was the scene of most splendid balls,
which rivalled even the Imperial entertainments.
The Princess Hélène had travelled more than was usual among Russians
at that time; she had visited every Court in Europe, was everywhere
welcome, and knew etiquette like that Duchesse de Noailles whom poor
Queen Marie Antoinette had nicknamed “Madame l’Etiquette.” No one
could uphold the dignity of a Court in the way that she did, and no one
could walk with such majesty of bearing, or enter a room with such
authority. When one saw her, one understood the part played by the old
aristocracy in the times of the French kings, when it was considered a
privilege and an honour to be in attendance upon the Sovereign.
The Princess Kotchoubey, during her long journeys abroad, had become
a friend of Queen Louise of Denmark. When the Princess Kourakine, who
had been Mistress of the Household of Marie Feodorovna, died—an event
that happened just after the accession of the Empress—the Queen
recommended to her daughter the Princess Hélène Kotchoubey for that
difficult position, who, as she well knew, was the one woman who could
win for the new Sovereign of Russia the sympathies of the Courts and
reigning Houses of Europe. This choice was one of the most successful that
could have been made. The Princess Hélène was for the Empress a sure
guide in all social and Court matters; she signalled to her the people she
ought to see, and brought to her notice every fact to which her attention
ought to be drawn. When foreigners arrived in St. Petersburg she knew who
they were, and whether they ought to be received or not, and was a stickler
for etiquette such as Russian Society had never seen. Her knowledge of the
Almanach de Gotha, which she had learned by heart, prevented her from
ever making a blunder; and whilst she lived the dignity of the Court and of
the Imperial Household was managed and maintained with something that
was akin to art. No one who saw her at a State function could ever forget
her. It was a poem to watch her enter a room, or to precede or follow the
Empress; she was quite small, and yet appeared taller than many tall
women, for not only had she a perfect carriage, but an elasticity in all her
movements that at once attracted attention.
With a soul above intrigue, she yet gloried in the exercise of influence,
being always ready to tell the Sovereigns what she thought it was necessary
for them to know, and free in her language with them, yet perfectly
respectful; very diplomatic with those with whom she came in contact, she
was often entrusted with missions abroad, especially in regard to the old
Emperor William, who had a very high opinion of her abilities. Her
receptions were attended not only by all the élite of the capital, but also by
the crowds of people from the provinces who flocked to St. Petersburg
every winter. It was there that one could admire the tact and knowledge of
the world which the Princess possessed. She knew exactly every nuance
with which she ought to receive either this or that person; she showed each
individual the right chair he was to occupy, and the moment he sat upon it,
the friends of the Princess Kotchoubey became aware of the importance in
which she held him. When she had to administer rebukes, she did so with
such tact that no one could be offended, and yet they were sometimes very
bitter. I shall always remember one afternoon when a young officer, who
was introduced to her for the first time, and who, as he belonged to a family
worthy of her attention, she had seated next to herself, did not rise for an
old general who arrived a few moments later. The Princess, seeing that the
young man did not move, and that the general had humbly appropriated
another seat, rose, and taking a small chair, carried it next to him, and began
chatting, leaving the offending youth solitary on his sofa.
Another amusing episode of Princess Kotchoubey’s career at Court
occurred when the daughter and son-in-law of Baron Alphonse de
Rothschild, M. and Madame Ephrussi, arrived in St. Petersburg. They came
on a financial mission, for it was just at the time when a new foreign loan
was in question. Madame Ephrussi, a lovely woman, knew a good many
Russians, who had been warmly welcomed in her house in Paris, but, alas!
her husband was a Russian subject, and as such had not the privilege to be
admitted to Court or invited to an Imperial ball. Nevertheless, the invitation
was sent without the knowledge of Princess Kotchoubey, who rose up in
arms against it. She stormed, she raged, and at last declared, with pinched
lips, that she would not present Madame Ephrussi. Prince John Galitzine
tried in vain to persuade her to yield, and she finally declared that she
would rather give up her position than consent to such a breach of
ceremonial, which it was her duty to respect. “Sa Majesté peut faire ce qui
lui plait,” she repeated; “mais moi je ne présenterai pas Madame Ephrussi.”
Prince Galitzine at last, in despair, went to consult the Empress, who in her
turn was terribly embarrassed, as she did not like to offend the daughter of
the mighty Baron Alphonse, and, on the other hand, she was afraid to act
contrary to her Mistress of the Robes. At last she thought of a way out of
the difficulty.
“Voilà ce qu’il faut faire,” she said. “Vous me nommerez Madame
Ephrussi, dans une porte lorsque je la traverserai.”
And it was done in the way suggested. With the greatest of trouble, the
amiable and tactful Prince Galitzine hustled Madame Ephrussi between two
doors, and whilst the Empress was passing, stopped her with the words,
“Madame, voici Madame Ephrussi.” The Empress bowed, and murmured a
few words; and the thing was done to the relief of everybody.
With the death of Princess Kotchoubey the old traditions of a dame
d’honneur, such as it was understood in the Royal Households of older
days, came to an end. She has never been replaced. After she died her
position was given to the Countess Strogonoff, and at the Court of the
present Empress the post was filled first by the Princess Mary Galitzine,
and is now held by Madame Narischkine, who has tried to revive its glories,
but in vain. Times have changed, and the old Court ceremonial and etiquette
have been relegated, with much else, to the lumber-room of forgetfulness.
 CHAPTER XV

ALEXANDER III IS CROWNED

It was with a certain amount of apprehension that the public in Russia

prepared itself for the Coronation of Alexander III. March 1st was not yet
forgotten, and though little had been heard of Nihilists or anarchists in the
two years that had elapsed, yet everyone knew that the movement still
existed, and that the danger of yesterday might easily become the peril of
to-day. One person, perhaps, in the whole country had no apprehension, and
that was General Tchérévine, who was very well aware that the precautions
which he meant to take would be sufficient, and that the person of the
Emperor was in no danger whatever. These precautions, indeed, were so
well planned that the numerous people who arrived in Moscow for the
memorable event suffered far less inconvenience from the police measures
inseparable from such occasions than those who thirteen years later were to
attend the Coronation of Nicholas II.
When it is necessary to do so, no Court in the world can display more
pomp and splendour than the Russian, but it must be acknowledged that the
magnificence of the sight witnessed in Moscow during the month of May,
of the Year of Grace 1883, surpassed all expectations. The pageant began
with the solemn entry of the Emperor and Empress into Moscow, previous
to the Coronation ceremony. I witnessed it from the window of a house
overlooking the famous chapel of the Iverski Virgin, the patron saint of
Moscow. We sat from nine o’clock in the morning until nearly one before
the procession began to appear, but no one thought for one moment that he
had waited too long, so intensely interesting was it to watch the crowd
which filled the streets behind the soldiers that lined both sides of it. From
time to time a superior officer was seen on horseback, passing from one
place to another, and saying, as the occasion demanded, a word or two to
another officer on duty. Then, again, a member of the high clergy appeared,
and, robed in cloth of gold, entered the chapel, from the steps of which he
was to welcome the two Sovereigns. Or, again, a Cossack of the escort in
his red uniform went to and fro, looking for somebody who was not to be
found, or a Court official, with a cocked hat decked with white plumes, and
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