Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/106

100 the whole work about it seems to have been done without regard to expense.

"One of the halls contains portraits of the rulers of Russia from Peter the Great down to the present time; another, the portraits of the generals who fought against the French in 1812; another, the portraits of all the field-marshals of the armies by which Napoleon was conquered; and others, the battle-scenes before mentioned. I observed that Russia was not unlike France, Germany, and other countries in representing very prominently the battles where she triumphed, and ignoring those where she was defeated. The guide told us that at the state balls in the palace sit-down suppers are provided for all the guests, even if there are two or three thousand of them. Sometimes the supper-hall is converted into a garden by means of trees brought from greenhouses. The guests sit at table beneath the foliage, and can easily forget that they are in the middle of a Russian winter.

"Doctor Bronson says the Russians are very fond of plants in their dwellings, the wealthy expending large sums on greenhouses and conservatories, and the poorer people indulging in flower-pots, which they place in all available spots. The wealthy frequently pay enormous prices for rare exotics. We have seen a good many flower-stores along the Nevski Prospect and in other streets, and are ready to believe that the Russians are great admirers of floral products. Their long, cold, and cheerless winters lead them to prize anything that can remind them of the summer season.

"At the entrance of one of the halls there is a tablet on which are the rules which Catherine II. established for the informal parties she used to have at the Hermitage. Catherine had literary aspirations, and her parties were in imitation of the salons of Paris, which have a wide celebrity. Here is a translation of the rules, which I take from Murray's 'Handbook:'

1. Leave your rank outside, as well as your hat, and especially your sword.

2. Leave your right of precedence, your pride, and any similar feeling, outside the door.

3. Be gay, but do not spoil anything; do not break or gnaw anything.

4. Sit, stand, walk as you will, without reference to anybody.

5. Talk moderately and not very loud, so as not to make the ears and heads of others ache.

6. Argue without anger and without excitement.

7. Neither sigh nor yawn, nor make anybody dull or heavy.

8. In all innocent games, whatever one proposes, let all join.

9. Eat whatever is sweet and savory, but drink with moderation, so that each may find his legs on leaving the room.