When One is Received by Royalty

Remarking that court etiquette forbids repeating any of her half hour's conversation with the empress, Mrs. Wheeler said:

“But what I can say is that Her Majesty was more than gracious, has an extraordinary personal charm, is very handsome and looks so young nobody would take her for the Czar's mother. She talks perfect English. I have never had a more interesting. conversation and the memory of it will remain all my life.” — Public domain image.

Hallie Erminie Rives Received by Czarina

HALLIE ERMINIE RIVES has Just been received in special audience by the Dowager Cuarina. This honor the author of “Hearts Courageous” and other novels owes to the fact that her husband, George Post Wheeler of New York, is secretary of the American Embassy here. But the added honor of being received much earlier than is the custom to receive women whose husbands hold similar diplomatic positions undoubtedly is due to the Empress' appreciation of Mrs. Wheeler's literary achievements.

After the Imperial audience The World correspondent sought an interview with Mrs. Wheeler. Remarking that court etiquette forbids repeating any of her half hour's conversation with the empress, Mrs. Wheeler said:

“But what I can say is that Her Majesty was more than gracious, has an extraordinary personal charm, is very handsome and looks so young nobody would take her for the Czar's mother. She talks perfect English. I have never had a more interesting. conversation and the memory of it will remain all my life.”

Mrs. Wheeler has been studying Russian history for two years for material for a new novel.

"I am not going to write about the gloomy side of life," she observed with a smile. "We have enough of that side from Russia's Gorkys. I think there is much pathos in the patience of the higher people-and this I am going to portray. The Rus- sian aristocratic women I meet are all most charming. Social etiquette in Russia is complicated and Interesting, quite different from what it is anywhere else. 

Of course at the big official fetes it is impossible to get more than two or three minutes' conversation with each person. But all the Russian ladies I met asked me to call and are very nice indeed. This etiquette is, of course, quite different from ours. In America you never call to see a woman you have not met. The American girls I know who have married Russians say they make the best husbands in the world."

Mrs. Wheeler's sister, Amelia Rives, author of "The Quick and the Dead" and other books, married a Russian fourteen years ago, Prince Plerre Troubetskoy.

Hallie Erminie Rives wedded Mr. Wheeler three years and a half ago in Japan. Mr. Wheeler, long an ed- itor on a New York newspaper and an author of reputation, was then second secretary of the American Embassy in Tokio. Recently he was promoted to the position of first secretary and stationed here. — Fresno Bee, 1910

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Etiquette and Jilting Prince Charles

Olga Nikolaevna Romanova as a young royal teen. – During her short lifetime, Olga’s marriage prospects were the subject of great speculation within Russia. Matches were rumored with many royals from other countries, but Olga herself wanted to eventually marry a Russian and remain in her home country. During World War I, Olga nursed wounded soldiers in a military hospital and oversaw administrative duties at the hospital. Olga's murder following the Russian Revolution of 1917, resulted in her canonization as a passion bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church. Her remains, along with those of the rest of her Russian royal family members, were identified through DNA testing and were buried during a funeral ceremony in 1998 at Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Grand Duchess Jilts Prince

ST. PETERSBURG, April 25. Grand Duchess Olga, first and perhaps best beloved of the Czar’s daughters, has broken her engagement to marry Prince Charles, son of the Crown Prince of Roumania, who in the nature of events, will sit on the Roumanian throne. The young couple—she is 18, he 20—were affianced, its these despatches told first and exclusively. But at the last moment when the date of the wedding had been actually fixed, the Grand Duchess threw herself at her father's feet and implored him not to render her life miserable, not to compel her to marry a man whom she does not love; whom she never can love, and protested. The Czar, tenderest, most affectionate of fathers, embraced his daughter, dried her tears and assured her she shall not marry Prince Charles, who, after all, is a handsome and engaging young fellow. So his Majesty explained to the Roumanian Crown Prince and Princess that he must consider his daughter's feelings and respect her wishes above all else. 

Prince Charles took the North Express for Berlin that very night. Such marriages, of course, are made in the chancellories, but the young Prince thought he had found favor in the lady’s eyes. Her “I will not,” or, rather, her father’s “she shall not,” provoked many other unhappy consequences. The Empress had set her heart upon the match, used all her influence with her daughter to consent to the betrothal which actually was made. The Roumanian Crown Prince and Princess and Prince Charles became the Czar’s guests at the palace at Tsarkoe-Selo. There a state luncheon was given to which the Imperial family was bidden and even the members of the Roumanian legation, that they might be presented to their future Queen. The Duchess of Coburg, Prince Carol’s grandmother, was so overjoyed by the engagement that she sent to Court Jeweler Bolin here, two splendid gems of rare beauty; a huge ruby and an emerald. Wedding presents from her father, the late Emperor Alexander II, to be reset, to offer them to the Grand Duchess Olga. The jeweler had submitted to the Duchess several drawings, out of which she selected two. Then Olga’s tears prevailed on her father. Some dreadful scenes, scoldings, reproaches followed between the Empress and the young Grand Duchess. It is safe to say the Czar did not escape, for his august spouse has a temper of her own when her nerves are stretched. 

The Crown Prince of Roumania and his consort left Tsarskoe-Selo abruptly for St. Petersburg, three days ahead of the original program of their visit. The Crown Prince took leave of the Emperor at a parade here, but the Crown Princess did not go to the palace to bid farewell to the Empress, which all the members of the Imperial family did before her departure for the Crimea. The Empress, on her side, did not return the Crown Princess’ visit whilst the latter was in town, a visit which etiquette demanded; and the Emperor appeared quite embarrassed at the parade when parting from his Roumanian guests. The Crown Princely pair soon left for Bucharest. The Emperor and Empress, with their children, went to the Crimea by special train a few days ago; it was noticed that the Grand Duchess Olga looked extremely pale and worried. The Dowager Duchess of Coburg, half sad–half angry, has left St. Petersburg and this may not be all —a girl’s tears may cause political complications. Everyone in Court circles is whispering: “If not Prince Charles, who has won the Grand Duchess Olga’s maiden heart?” – Morning Press, 1914

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Manners of Peter the Great

He once pulled off a man's wig, looked it over and threw it on the ground with an expression of large dissatisfaction.

Peter the Great’s 

“Rough and Uncouth Manners”

He was an untamed savage at the best. His manners were intolerable and his habits dissipated in the extreme. Once in the city of Amsterdam, he called to a lady, "Stop!" The woman halted, affrighted, and Peter grasped her watch chain, the curious workmanship of which had caught his eye, pulled on the watch, and after examination returned it, with never a word to say. 

Another time, he pulled off a man's wig, looked it over and threw it on the ground with an expression of large dissatisfaction. In England the Government assigned him a country seat by the Thames, where he lived a double life of studying and rioting. His favorite amusement was to drink brandy until drunk with plenty of boon companions in a tavern near at hand. His house was surrounded with a magnificent hedge, which he ruined by running a wheelbarrow.

In Russia, Peter gave great parties, and the Nobles brought their ladies to attend under an Imperial edict, danced French and Polish dances, and prisoners of war were brought from their captivity to show them how to perform. More than this, every Noble was compelled to give three parties a week, at which the guests must wear European costumes, and in this way was reversed the social life of Russia. The people did not welcome these changes.–Los Angeles Herald, 1886

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Etiquette and Gluttony in Russia

The full story of feasting enjoyed by Royal gluttons comes from the pen of a methodical Chef de Cuisine, a Frenchman in the service of Catherine II of Russia. He writes of almost unbelievable quantities of food, prepared and served by a small army of his assistants roasting cooks, spit-turners, pastry chefs, fish cooks and makers of entremets –– a grand total of 500 workers in the royal kitchens!

GLUTTONS and gourmets through the centuries have had similar tastes and capacities, and between the capacious eaters of today and famous trenchermen of history there is little difference. One thing all have in common, an incredible desire to consume vast quantities of rare and exotic food but if the shades of famous European chefs could peer over the starched white caps and shoulders of a modern cook, they would undoubtedly give startled shudders of disappointment at the menus of today.

“Why! These fellows have an easy task! Their menus do not compare to the great feasts given by our royal masters Kings and Queens who knew what good food meant!” Chagrined and amazed that the world has forgotten a tradition of feasting brought down through generations of gourmands, these skilled and proud chefs of a vanished world might conclude that human stomachs of this era have astonishingly diminished in size appetites have wilted and that no one knows how to enjoy fine food and plenty of it. Modern scientists give a somewhat different reason for the sad state into which old-fashioned feasting has fallen. Actual capacity, they say, is no smaller, but conditions have changed and men and women, no matter how blessed by wealth and leisure, have learned not to “eat themselves into the grave.”

Too much food at any one time amounts to no more than a primitive gorging, a habit which has come down from the time of cavemen who never knew when the next meal could be had. And in the hurried activities of modern life people cannot “sleep off” a great feast, as they could and did a century or more ago. “Heavy feasting,” say dieticians, “overloads not only the stomach but slows down the brain.” And this the successful business man and active woman cannot afford. Yet the fashion of small, selected menus -- for health's sake was not always so. Out of the past come tales of the mighty feats of rulers and generals, gentlemen of quality and dainty ladies assessed of palates and capacities unequalled since their time. 

True accounts of swashbuckling Counts and frivolous Countesses, proud Princes and Princesses who valued as a high accomplishment their ability to taste and consume amazing quantities of food and drink. There come Royal trenchermen ––two bottle, three bottle, and even four bottle men who thought nothing of quaffing that amount of old port after an evening’s full measure of sherry or sack, hock, bordeaux, burgundy and champagne and who later repaired to a late session of Parliament and delivered speeches that altered the destiny of nations. To these statesmen tremendous quantities of food and drink proved but a small handicap, because then they retired for a few days of rest and fasting. 

The full story of feasting enjoyed by Royal gluttons comes from the pen of a methodical Chef de Cuisine, a Frenchman in the service of Catherine II of Russia. He writes of almost unbelievable quantities of food, prepared and served by a small army of his assistants roasting cooks, spit-turners, pastry chefs, fish cooks and makers of entremets –– a grand total of 500 workers in the royal kitchens!

Being French, this chef knew the story of Le Grand Vatel, commander of the kitchen of Louis XIV –– the poor cook who threw himself on his sword when the costermonger failed to bring the fish on time for one of Louis the Glutton's feasts. Knowing the uncertain temper of royal masters and the fate of careless chefs, Catherine's head cook took precautions against mistakes. He wrote out each menu in great folios, and made sure that every portion of the feast arrived hours in advance of the designated hour. Today these historic and colorful records are preserved in the archives of the ancient Hermitage, Catherine the Great’s favorite residence where the vast dining hall resounded to hoarse toasts, merry tales, and the boisterous laughter of courtiers.

An unestimated variety of “snacks” were first served with vodka, almost a meal that preceded the feast itself, but these appetizers were on old tradition, mere “palate-ticklers“ to whet the hunger of strong men. And Catherine’s chef thought so little of their importance that he fails to mention them. Nor does her chef say much of the rare wines served with each course, or the list of imported beverages stored in the Royal cellars, yet some account of these, fortunately, comes from other Slavic sources.

An afternoon’s refreshment might well be several bottles per head of a delicious light wine, just as a cooler and “pepper-upper.” Or of vodka, six or seven “captains”–– a glass the size of a sherry glass –– before a meal. And if such a potation was mere refreshment, a pleasant interlude in the serious business of making love or quarreling, what did these people do when they settled down to important eating and drinking? The menu of one of Catherine's “small dinners” not a great court banquet, just a little dinner en famille, perhaps for Potemkin or for Orloff, with a few young officers of the guard and ladies in waiting to fill out the board:

• Ten light soups, such as consommes, broths, essence of vegetables, light cream soups. With these, a glass or two of sherry for the ladies a bottle or more for the men. 
• Twenty-four different entremets, such as pheasant, goose, rabbit, chicken, quail and so on. Just a little something to whet the appetite for the rest of the meal. And with these a light red wine from France or Greece. 
• Thirty-two tid-bits, such as marinated baby chicken, bird wings with parmesan, rolled chicken skin, lamb fries and other exotic dainties. With each, a different light wine. 
• The great soups, Borshtch, cabbage soup with sour cream, fish soup, cold soup made from cucumbers and beer, spinach soup with sour cream and other noble liquids. Here a dry Italian or Spanish wine was considered quite the thing. 
• The fish : a dozen or more varieties, such as sturgeon, carp, salmon, pike, greyling, cod and halibut. Trout, too, the famous fruit au bleu cooked in vinegar to color the skin a delicate azure. And here began the drinking of noble wines, preferably a white burgundy or a dry moselle. 
• Fried chicken with truffles. This course stood by itself. To wash it down one of the heady wines of the Rhineland, such as Johannesberer Schloss or Forsteter Kirchensturk. 
• Thirty-two more entremets, among them, becasse a l’Espagne, turtle, pheasant and other wild fowl, young pigeons with crawfish. A light red wine from Bordeaux or Greece. 
• The roasts! Ah. here is where your true trencherman found delight. Great sirloins of beef, wild goat, venison, eight different sauces, twelve salads. And to accompany them the noblest of all red wines, the rare vintage of Burgundy the wine wc know as Chambertin. From this point the "small dinner" begins to taper off. The heavy courses are finished. 
• Next come 25 hot and cold dishes, such as thinly sliced ham, tongue, cauliflower and the more exotic vegetables and champagne, of course. 
• Then 32 more roasts of the lighter variety, veal, lamb, mouton des prés salés and suckling pig. Again, a red wine, such as Chateau Neuf du Pape or Hermitage from the banks of the Rhone. 
• The desserts. Any quantity of them. Pastries, cheeses, fruits, puddings and ices. With these champagne or Tokay. 
• And later in the evening, tea with conserves, brandy and port. 

Catherine's favorites, of course, aped their Empress. Potemkin's establishment rivaled hers. He kept ten chefs, each of whom had his own specialties, and under them worked 240 helpers. It is to him that gluttons owe the record of dishes Catherine liked best boiled beef with salted cucumbers and cucumbers stuffed with nuts, peppers, ginger, etc. Potemkin liked to surprise his ruler with unusual dainties and he searched the world for them, Once, he served boiled reindeer tongues as the principal dish of the dinner. Strogonoff, another favorite of the Empress, was a valiant knight of the glistening table cloth. He gave dinners in the Roman fashion, patterning his feasts after Lucullus, placing his guests on couches. When Potemkin brought out reindeer tongues, he went him one better and served reindeer lips. Bear paws and fried porcupine were among his favorite dishes. And he introduced oysters to Russia. 

When Strogonoff invited guests to dinner he conducted them first into steaming hot Turkish baths and there they were served pressed caviar. Then his guests were conducted to couches around the brilliant board. The plate was of gold. Two enormous crystal chandeliers were suspended above the table. The centerpiece was a human skull filled with vodka, and from this the guests drank a loving cup with their host, proposing Lucullus' toast “Memento mori!”(Remember death!) – John Clayton in San Bernardino Sun, 1937

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Royal Russian Etiquette

In Russia there are several institutions which retain an oriental flavor and the fact that the Czarina is always surrounded by an imposing bevy of unmarried women is a case in point. At least fifty young women, all the daughters of great Nobles pay her personal service.

Russian Maids of Honor

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An Academy at Moscow Where They Are Trained — Must be Able to Sew, Read Aloud for Hours and Stand for Indefinite Periods

Speaking of the Russian schools, there is one academy at Moscow which is unique in its way. I am sure that a similar institution does not exist in any other country, says the Philadelphia Times. "It is a school for young ladies of high birth, whose parents desire that they shall become Maids of Honor at the Imperial Court. 

The English Queen has only six or eight Maids of Honor, and I believe the Royal attendants of that description are even fewer in number at Courts where there is a Queen Regnant, Queen Regent or Queen Consort of first-class rank. Of course, by "Queens" I also mean "Empresses." 

All the reigning Consorts who have the Imperial title are also Queens. Empress Elizabeth of Austria is also Queen of Hungary; Empress Alexandria of Russia is Queen of Poland; Empress Augusta Victoria of Germany is also Queen of Prussia and Queen Victoria is also Empress of India. In Russia there are several institutions which retain an oriental flavor and the fact that the Czarina is always surrounded by an imposing bevy of unmarried women is a case in point. At least fifty young women, all the daughters of great Nobles pay her personal service. They are in two ranks, "Cipher" and "Portrait," distinctions which I will presently explain. 

Candidates for the position of Maids of Honor to the Empress have their names registered by a Court official, whose title might be translated as "Overseer of the Maids." This is often done a day or two after the birth of the aspiring young ladies. At the age of ten they enter the official school of the Maids of Honor and there they are taught everything pertaining to the Court, as well as everything that goes to make a well-educated young gentlewoman. 

The girls must acquire the art of legible writing and be able to correspond fluently not only in Russian, but in English, German, French and Italian. They must be able to take dictation in all those languages rapidly. They are also expected to become familiar not only with the routine etiquette of their own and foreign Courts, but they must learn rules of prudence, delicate distinctions of rank and other intricacies of Court life, almost impossible to explain to those who have not been born in the atmosphere of the purple. 

Future Maids of Honor are also required to be not only clever at embroidery but capable, if necessary, of ordinary domestic stitching. While in attendance there are always possibilities of a ready needle being required for the Empress or a Grand Duchess. They are also expected to know how to order a dinner and how to direct cooks in the way of preparing dishes favored by Imperial personages. They must have a capacity of being able to read aloud for hours if necessary, without undue fatigue; being able to stand for indefinite periods; of being able to reecive snubbings, scoldings, even abuse with patient composure, and finally they must inculcate within them the fact that an Empress or Grand Duchess is a personage almost divine in attribute. 

All these accomplishments acquired —or apparently acquired— it remains with a Maid of Honor lastly to be of such favor in her features, her general appearance and her dress that she enforces attraction from the Empress or from one of the other half-dozen Grand Duchesses of Russia, who are permitted to have the second pick of the Maids of Honor, after the Czarina has finished her own appointment. 

Before, however, such appointment can be ratified, the Czar himself inspects the candidates. Indeed, at various periods the Czar makes a point of visiting the school and generally "looks over" the girls. The Czarina's Maids of Honor enjoy a barbaric splendor of costume that far exceeds anything to be seen at any other European Court. A white satin robe stretches from chin to toes, the buttons up the front being set with precious stones. Over this is thrown a sort of red velvet cloak, embroidered with gold and having long pendant sleeves. On their heads rests the kakochnik or national cap of crimson velvet, thickly studded with jewels, from the summit of which hangs a veil of white tulle that spreads half way over the voluminous train. This gorgeous array is donned on all State occasions until the wearer passes from the "Cipher" to the "Portrait" stage of promotion. 

The juniors wear for some years on their left shoulders the monogram of their mistress worked in pale blue silk, but after a period of service they substitute for this the portrait of the Empress framed in brilliants and exchange their crimson and gold for a less radiant cap of green and silver. 

While receiving their education they wear plain woolen frocks, with frilled silk aprons, but these dresses are so contrived that the upper part of the bodices and the long sleeves can be removed at will. Whenever the Czar visits the schools all the girls appear decollete. —  Sacramento Daily Union and Philadelphia Times, 1896

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia