Page:Maud, Renée - One year at the Russian court 1904-1905.djvu/108

86 of a man—and although not dressed in khaki could have shown some of our present-day girls on the land what real hard work means.

Some years previously the Duchesse de Rohan had, much to every one's surprise, married her daughter to Prince Murat, whose ancestors do not date farther back than Napoléon, while the Rohans' motto for generations has been: "Roy ne puis, Prince ne daigne, Rohan suis."

Amongst the three daughters of the Duchess were Princess Talleyrand-Périgord, whose marriage was a failure, but who is dead now. Princess Murat does not get on very well with her husband, so no one was surprised when the third daughter, before selecting a fiancé, exclaimed: "My eldest sister was married to a man who says, 'Vive le Roi,' my other sister to one who says 'Vive l'Empereur,' I want a husband who says 'Vive la Raison.'" She eventually married a Caraman-Chimay.

The various regiments from the basis of all social activity and I spent delightful moments with Princesses Orbeliani, Ratieff, Melikoff, Heristoff, etc. I saw much of the Princess de Georgia and the young Troubetzkoy princes, Nikita and Petia, all more or less related to my aunt; they gave delightful evening parties and I really think I did not spend one evening at home.

The evening parties at Tiflis were of the