Several times along the way and between stations the train would stop, once for one full hour, which gave us an opportunity to take a walk along the tracks under the watchful eyes of our guard. This gave us sisters a chance to pick violas along the track. Father had been in Siberia in 1890-1891. Consequently, he knew Siberia well, not only the cities, but the locations of different industries and the mining regions, which he had visited during his travels. He pointed to us locations of the most important industries, such as the iron works, paper mills, and gold and copper mines. He was sent to Siberia by his father, Alexander III, with the engineers at the head of the committee for the construction of the railroads connecting European Russia with the shores of the Pacific Ocean. When he ascended the throne he continued the work entrusted to him by his father, to complete this construction. The Amur line was finished in March 1915 exactly two years before the revolution. He told us that the first stone for the Ussuri line was laid in Vladivostok in 1891, upon his return from the Far East. Several uncles also had been in the Far North of Siberia. The University of Tomsk was inaugurated during the reign of my Grandfather, Alexander III. Father gave to the museum of Ekaterinburg part of its famous Numismatic Department, with its rare coin collection. He also gave large contributions to the Ural mining school in Ekaterinburg. The Ural Society for Natural Sciences was under the patronage of my Uncle, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. The Imperial stone cutting works and the gold melting department which were also in Ekaterinburg belonged to the Imperial family. [Illustration: Marie Feodorovna 1914 THE DOWAGER EMPRESS MARIE FEODOROVNA--1914] [Illustration: THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS II] [Illustration: Aleksandra. THE EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA] [Illustration: THE TSESAREVICH ALEXEI--MOGILEV--1916] [Illustration: THE GRAND DUKE MICHAEL ALEXANDROVICH] [Illustration: THE GRAND DUCHESS ELIZABETH FEODOROVNA] [Illustration: THE GRAND DUCHESSES ANASTASIA, MARIE AND TATIANA--TSARSKOE SELO--1917] [Illustration: NICHOLAS II AND HIS CHILDREN (l. to r.): THE GRAND DUCHESSES ANASTASIA, OLGA, TATIANA AND MARIE AND THE TSESAREVICH ALEXEI, WITH A CONVOY OF CAUCASIAN OFFICERS--_ca._ 1916] [Illustration: THE TSESAREVICH ALEXEI AND HIS SISTERS, THE GRAND DUCHESSES OLGA, ANASTASIA AND TATIANA--TSARSKOE SELO--1917] [Illustration: THE GRAND DUCHESSES MARIE, OLGA, ANASTASIA AND TATIANA--TSARSKOE SELO--1917] [Illustration: _Courtesy The P. B. Corporation_ VIEW OF CITY OF TOBOLSK FROM A HILL] [Illustration: _Courtesy The P. B. Corporation_ VIEW OF CITY OF TOBOLSK] [Illustration: IPATIEV HOUSE, EKATERINBURG--1918] [Illustration: THE DEATH CHAMBER, IPATIEV HOUSE--EKATERINBURG--1918] [Illustration: THE HANDKERCHIEF TAKEN BY THE GRAND DUCHESS ANASTASIA FROM EKATERINBURG TO BUKOVINA]