Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 203, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 August 1910 — RUSSIAN COURT IS BRILLIANT [ARTICLE]

RUSSIAN COURT IS BRILLIANT

Only Black Coat Seen at State Ball Is That of American Ambassador. The Russian court has extreme brilliance and goes one better than any court in Europe in the way of luxury and an almost barbaric magnificence, a writer in the Strand eays. The season is in the winter, and lasts until Easter. Several court balls take place and an invitation to one of th*ese is an imperative command, to which only illness or the deepest mourning can be given as an excuse for absence. On such an occasion the Winter palace is a dream of fairyland. The staterooms, which are among the finest in Europe, are richly gilded and furnished with much magnificence. And, with the outside temperature below zero, the malachite saloon and the vast halls and galleries are filled with rare flowers that bloom in a hothouse atmosphere. All the men wear ribbons and orders, and splendid uniforms are seen—the officers of the Imperial guard resplendent in white and gold, the lancers in scarlet, the hussars in green and the Cossacks in silver. The only black coat is that of the American ambassador. And nowhere else can be seen such gowns, jewels and decorations. Russian court ladles wear a special court dress, a glorified edition of the national costume. Black gowns are disallowed as in Berlin. The ladies “of the portrait” wear a miniature of the empress set in diamonds and the maids of honor have her initial in diamonds in a blue ribbon worn on the shoulder. A court ball begins at nine and everyone must 6A present before the entrance of royalty. The ball opens with a dance called a polonaise, led by the emperor and empress. The emperor dances with- a grand duchess and the empress with an ambassador. Quadrilles and waltzes follow and a national dance known as the mazurka. Less splendid but even more choice are smaller and more intimate dances, called the bals des palmiers. When these are given the long gallerj is translormed into a tropical forest, with flowers, plants and tree ferns, and among the scented greenery are set little tables with supper for 500- persons. At the bigger court balls as many gs 3,090 guests’ are served at the same time with supper.