"Then, without warning, she leaned out of the window and began to weep vigorously, complaining that I had not shown her sufficient respect. "Papa had a bill from Doucet for thirty-eight thousand six hundred francs. He did not demur, and I gathered that his daughter's requirements had as a matter of fact been less formidable than those of other ladies--a thought which disgusted me not a little. * * * * * * "When we got back to Russia, we found another letter from the Czar, telling Papa that the Kaiser's arrival at St. Petersburg was fixed for May 15th, so that we ought to make our arrangements at once. "I could give you no idea of the gorgeous way in which he fitted out his brigade. The Astrakhan Cossacks wear the Armenian high black cap, something like a sugar-loaf, red coats edged with fur, and yellow bandoliers. The Aral Cossacks have sky-blue coats, white bandoliers, and wear the round Kalmuck busby, two feet in diameter, from which they derive their nickname of 'Bigheads.' They carry the curved sabre, on which the Aral Cossacks, who are Mohammedans, engrave verses of the Khoran, a whip with lead balls, and a long lance. "Papa had all the woollen facings replaced by others of gold and silver. He reviewed his squadrons one day towards the end of April when the early crocus was peeping shyly forth. There was only a pale yellow sun, but it was quite enough to make those superb warriors look so magnificent that we could easily imagine what they would be like in the brilliant May sunshine at Tzarskoïe-Selo. "There was nearly a catastrophe the day they left for Petersburg. You must remember that these simple folk, who fear neither man nor whirlwind, spirits of marsh nor spirits of flood, stand in mortal terror of railways. Their horses share that emotion. Half of them had been bundled in when they suddenly caught sight of the squat little engine, puffing and blowing, in the middle of the steppe. Not one of them would have moved if the priest had not turned up and blessed this strange animal. "We got them off at last in twelve trains, which took twelve days to cross Great Russia. We ourselves were travelling by the express, so we only had to leave the palace a week later. The Czar had a special Pullman car put at our disposal. We invited the two colonels and the six majors to join us. The priest was with Mlle. Jauffre and Kunin, Papa's favourite Cossack. I had put them in charge of my wardrobe.