Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 May 1896 — HOMAGE TO THE CZAR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOMAGE TO THE CZAR

RUSSIAN RULER ENTERS THfc EMPIRE S OLD CAPITAL. Nicholas la Hailed by Booming Canaoa •ad Pealing Bella—ln Dazzling Caval-cade-Royalty and Nobility Jonrnay from the Petrovaky Palace. Day of Joy at Moscow. The czar and czarina made their triumphal entry into Moscow amid the thunder of batteries of artillery, the clanging of countless bells and the cheers of a vast multitude of loyal Russians and equally enthusiastic visitors from ail parts of the world. Probably never in the history of nations has there been such an assemblage of peoples. Possibly the gorgeous scene may never be repeated in its grand entirety. In anticipation of the coming of the czar, the eutire route from Petrovski palace, about three miles on the road to St Petersburg, to the Kremlin was so.densely packed with people that movement except ou the outskirts of the immense crowds was out of the question. The signal for the commencement of the day’s movements was a salute of nine guns from a battery outside the city. This was followed by the dull booming of th« big bell of the Cathedral of the Assumption and the assembling of the troops at their various mustering points. Then the countless high dignitaries of the empire and of foreign countries began to gather at the Petrovski palace, to take their places in the gala equipages or to escort on horseback the carriages of their Imperial majesties. The grand dukes and grand duchesses, the princes and the princesses, the Asiatic potentates, the innumerable representatives of every country

under the sun assembled there to do honor to the .czar of all the Russias, the ruler of the mighty empire which half encircles the globe. Generals with their staffs, aids-de-camp riding at breakneck speed, orderlies galloping furiously were to be seen everywhere. The clash of arms resounded on all sides, and most impressive was the gathering of the hosts of the mighty emperor. At 2:30 o’clock there was a further thundering of the cannon, this time from the direction of the Petrovski palace, and that living mass of men and women gave a great sigh of relief, for it was the signal that the czar had started on his journey to the Kremlin. Reception of the Czar.

After leaving the palace the czar was received by the commander-in-chief of all the troops at Moscow and in its neighborhood, the Grand Duke Sergius, and then the latter, with a most brilliant staff, joined in the procession. At the Resurrection gate the czar dismounted from his horse and the empresses descended from their carriages in order to worship at the shrine of the Iberian Madonna, the most sacred of the many holy symbols in Moscow. At the shrine their majesties were received by the grand vicar of Moscow, who presented them with the cross and sprinkled them with holy water. Their majesties entered the chapel and knelt iir prayes before the image. At the eouclusion of their devotions the czar remounted his horse and the czarina re-entered her carriage and they passed through the gate into the Kremlin, where they were received with all the ecclesiastical pomp possible. At the moment their majesties entered the palace of the Kremlin an artillery salute of 101 guns was fired and throughout the journey of their majesties the bells from all the belfries from Moscow were tolled. The czar and czarina will remain at the palace in partial seclusion until the ceremony of the coronation of the imperial standard, which always occurs three days before the coronation. Cost of the Fetes. The Russian Government is said to have spent over $20,000,000 on the fetes up to the present, and city of Moscow is understood to have expended nearly as much money and more expenses have to be met. The illuminations cost several millions of dollars to the Government alone, without counting what the city contributed toward this portion of the expense. Besides the expense of the Russian Government and the city of Moscow, the expenses which grand-dukes and grand duchesses, foreign princes and ambassadors, etc., have been put to is. really enormous, one authority going so far as to estimate that there was about SIOO,000,000 worth of jewelry alone in the procession. The French Government especially has been put to a very great expense for the coronation fetes. The cost of the supper which ■ their imperial majesties attended under the auspices of the French delegation cost over SIOO,OOO, and the carriages used by the French envoys were the property of the Emperor Napoleon, built especially for the christening of the late prince imperial. Ex-Empress Eugenie allowed them to be sent to Moscow for the use of Comte De Montebel’A and General De Boisdeffre, the representatives of France.

CZAR NICHOLAS.