Show DWELL IN MYSTERY LITTLE KNOWN OF CZARS COURT OUTSIDE OF HIS DOMAINS regarding conditions at st emanating from vienna and berlin made from whole cloth lo 10 influence bourse less Is known of ahe russian than e any other in all the muscovite preas is not permit led to refer therdo and consequent most ot the stories that reach these aloies concerning it appear at vienna and berlin where nine cases out of ten have been manlutac aured out ot whole often for the purpose of influencing the bourse he it ev er so little it s this that accounts for the e ignorance which prevails to foreign countries regarding the truo conditions of the entourage of the czar and for the misapprehension existing on the subject of the role of the grand dukes of the giouse of romanoff to judge from ft bat has been printed about them one would be disposed to imagine that they were all banded to bethe r against the emperor in defense of their prerogatives for the maintenance of the old autocracy of the crown and in opposition to the popular reforms and constitutional methods ot government inaugurated during the present reign ve constantly hear of the grand ducal part how nothing of the kind exists and for the simple reason that there is no kind of solidarity between the members of the reigning house and that they are broadly speaking as di tided a family as it Is possible to find anywhere in the world moreover they are not as a class dishonest as so many people abroad appear to believe imone of those now living can in strict truth be said to have been guilty of grafting for they are all of them men of private fortunes sufficiently large to admit of even muscovite ex trava gance dut they have been un fortunate in the selection of their friends and followers who have frequently taken advantage of the favor of their imperial patrons for dishonest purposes this has been particularly the case with the aate grand dukes alexis vladimir and sergius Ser glus and with the emperors brother in law grand duke alexander and grand duke nicholas grand duke michael is not very strong in health and is credited with a romantic but unfortunate infatuation which seems destined to prevent his ever marrying and thus contributing toward assuring the alln of succession in his boyhood he wis the merriest of all alexander III s children had a ten dancy to make fun of everything to see in all things that came under his notice the humorous feature land danl tested the most pronounced disposition to ridicule and practical joking but of late eard his character has undergone a great change and bis at dalre da his health and other things have contributed to rob him ot grand duke michael his sunny temper and to render him a rather unhappy broken spirited looking individual lie was his father s favorite as he has been that of his mother to whose influence be is completely subject and it la owing to this that he does not approve of all the re reforms inaugurated by nicholas reforms that constitute so radical a reversal of the policy of the late em thee are two other michaels who are grand dukes the elder of the tac Is the patriarch of the imperial family and commands as such in a cemarka ble degree the confidence and the re gard of the czar son of the first em geror nicholas and only surviving brother of alexander II 11 the liberator liber 0 the serfs he has ahwai s great popularity both at home anc abroad on account of his kind hearted ness his lofty sense of honor and aft enlightened and progressive views 01 which be gave ample evidence during his very successful viceroyalty of the caucasus |