_Sunday, May 27th._--For some time we have been allowed only a very small supply of wood, and it is intensely cold everywhere. Mme. Narichkine (Grand-Mistress of the Court) has been taken ill, and was sent away to-day, the state of her health demanding care which cannot be given here. She was in despair at the idea of leaving us, for she knows she will not be permitted to return to the palace. _Saturday, June 2nd._--We are still working every day at the kitchen garden. We are watering it from a tub which we take turns to drag. _Sunday, June 10th._--A few days ago the children were playing on their island (an artificial islet in the middle of a little lake). Alexis Nicolaïevitch was practising handling his little gun, which he thinks a lot of, as it was given to the Czar when he was a boy by his father. An officer came up to us. He told me that the soldiers had decided to take the gun away from the Czarevitch, and were coming for it. When he heard this, Alexis Nicolaïevitch put down his toy and joined the Czarina, who was sitting on the grass a few yards from us. A moment later the officer on duty came with two soldiers and demanded that the “weapon” should be given up. I tried to intervene and make them understand that the gun was not a weapon but a toy. It was no use: they took possession of it. Alexis Nicolaïevitch began to sob. His mother asked me to make another attempt to convince the soldiers, but I did not succeed any better than the first time, and they went off with their prize. Half an hour later the officer on duty took me aside [Illustration: THE GRAND-DUCHESS TATIANA CARRIES TURF WITH THE HELP OF ONE OF THE GUARDS.] [Illustration: THE CZAR AND HIS SERVANT JURAVSKY SAWING THE TRUNK OF A TREE THEY HAD FELLED. {_Facing page 230._] and asked me to tell the Czarevitch that he was greatly distressed at what he had had to do. After trying in vain to dissuade the men, he had chosen to come with them to prevent any discourtesy on their part. Colonel Kobylinsky[60] was annoyed to hear of the incident, and brought back the little gun to Alexis Nicolaïevitch piece by piece. Since then he has only played with it in his room. _Friday, June 15th._--We finished our kitchen garden some time ago and it is now in splendid condition. We have every imaginable kind of vegetable, and five hundred cabbages. The servants, too, have made a garden on their side of the palace, where they can cultivate what they like. We went to help them dig it--the Czar too.