CHAPTER XVI.

COURT MANNERS.

I DARE say you have often felt as if fairies were real people—more real than many of the kings and queens and old men you read about. Yet you know that these existed, and you do not know that fairies exist. What is the reason that the fairies are more real to you than the real people?

I think the reason is that you have made a picture to yourself of the way the fairies live. You know the little things about their lives. You know about their wands, and how small they are, and how they drink dew, and dance, and can hide in flowers. So knowing those little things makes you feel as if fairies were real.

I want you very much to feel that these Russian kings and queens are real people. So I will tell you, as you have often been told of the fairies, where they lived, and how they amused themselves, and what they ate and drank.

First for the houses. Elizabeth built at Moscow

a palace, called the Winter Palace. It was of stone, and very handsome, with rooms many and large. But all the other palaces were very small and mean and uncomfortable. They were of wood, and the wood often grew rotten. So many mice and rats lived in these palaces, that when there was a fire, as often happened, hundreds of rats and mice came running down the stairs to get away.

With the Empress Elizabeth lived her nephew Peter and his wife Catharine, of whom we shall soon hear a great deal. These had separate rooms from the Empress, but they often dined with her. Each noble family who lived at Court had four or five rooms for themselves. Sometimes they dined alone, sometimes with each other, sometimes with the Empress.

The rooms were often hung inside with tapestry of different colours and rich cloths. For furniture there was first a stove, covered with painted tiles, and then beds, chests of drawers, and tables much like ours. The windows were badly fitted in, so that the rooms were draughty, and Catharine often caught cold.

This was how they spent the day. When they were in the country some got up very early. Catharine used to get up about three o'clock in the morning and dress like a man, and go out in a boat shooting wild ducks or hunting. Peter was always

an hour or two later, for he was very particular about getting his breakfast properly. Then at twelve o'clock they had dinner. They ate pretty much what we eat now, only it was badly cooked. Peter was very greedy, and once made himself ill on stewed oysters. After dinner they went to sleep for an hour or two, and after that listened to music, or saw plays, or played cards, or went to a masquerade ball, or drove out, or sledged, or walked, or rode. Sidesaddles were just coming in, but Catharine rode like Then came supper, and then bed.

a man.

These masquerade balls were very grand. The Empress had them about twice a week. She used often to make all the Court ladies dress up as men, while the men dressed like women. Elizabeth's everyday dress was very quiet-of grey and white.

The courtiers were very fond of going to the play. There was a band of French actors who lived at Court and acted about twice a week. They acted in a covered place that was used for a riding-school by day.

Some of the courtiers were learned, clever people, and these read a good deal, though almost entirely French books. They went to church often. The Empress had a beautiful choir of singing-boys. At certain times of the year there were great festivals, when, besides singing, they had sports of all sorts, and dancing, and many presents were given away.

But the most unfortunate thing that could happen to a courtier was to fall ill, for people knew very little about illness in those days. They could hardly pull a tooth out. Once when the Empress had a stroke, and lost the power of speech, they thought that she had fallen and bitten her tongue. And although, as I said, there were great draughts in the houses, the baby Emperor was almost stifled with heat. The room was very warm to begin with; then he was wrapped in flannel, and laid in a cradle lined with fox-furs. Over him was a counterpane of quilted satin, lined with wadding, and over that one of red velvet, lined with black fox-furs. Poor child! The manners of the Court, though they were much improved from Anne's time, were not good. Once a young courtier was very rude to Catharine, and so to take her revenge she and a maid-ofhonour got several strong rods, and tied stinging nettles round them, and then went to his room and beat his hands and legs and face. Strange manners for the palace of a king!

In more important affairs the management was still very bad. Once the State Treasurer had to come to Catharine privately to borrow some money, because the Empress wanted some and he had none to give her. Think what people would say if the Chancellor of the Exchequer had to borrow money secretly to pay for the Queen's dresses!

So the life of the Court went on, quite as real a life as your life now.

When Elizabeth was dead her nephew Peter was proclaimed Emperor, according to her will.

He was a foolish, almost idiotic man; but his wife Catharine was clever and keen beyond most people. He hated Catharine, and often wished that she was dead, and behaved cruelly to her. When he was angry he screeched like an eagle. He used to amuse himself by playing with a cardboard fortress and toy soldiers. Now and then he had an execution and a funeral.

For

When he became king he wished in all things to do the opposite to what Elizabeth had done. he hated her because she had been strict with him. So he fetched Biren back from Siberia, and made friends with the King of Prussia, whose portrait he wore in his ring. Once he said, "If the King of Prussia bids me, I will make war on hell with all my army." That made the Russians very angry.

Catharine resolved to let things be so no longer. She had many friends, for she never lost her temper, and always remembered that every one might be of use to her. So one day when Peter was away she and her friends went down by night to where the guards were stationed. These agreed to support her, and they marched against Peter and took him. And