When the Emperor Alexander
II. celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession to the
throne, all the Sovereigns of Europe sent him magnificent presents.
These are assembled in his library, at the Winter Palace, Petrograd; and
in the centre--accorded that place by the Russians with equal good
feeling, good taste, and justice--is a large group in solid silver,
representing a huge mass of rock upon whose pinnacles stand figures
representing the different parts of the empire--Little Russia, Siberia,
and so forth. The inscription reads: "To the Tzar-Liberator from the
Liberated Serf." It was made by the Ovtchinnikoffs and presented by
another ex-serf, who had become a millionaire railway magnate.
Mustard Seed No. 2 from America to Russia falls into a somewhat
different category. It more nearly resembles one of those grains of
antique wheat found in a tomb and sprouting vigorously when finally
planted in congenial, helpful soil. I trust that my comparison may not
be regarded as disrespectful. One could not, willingly, be disrespectful
to the calendar, any more than to the thermometer!
Russia, by adhering to the Julian Calendar and refusing to adopt the
Gregorian, has now fallen thirteen days behind the rest of the world.
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