CHAPTER V

SOME SOCIAL MEMORIES

My Thursdays in Russia--Khalil Pasha's Death--Lord Napier and the Lady-in-Waiting--Madame Volnys--My Parents-in-law's _ménage_--An Exceptional Type--Prince Vladimir Dolgorouki's Embarrassment--The Grand Duchess Helen--A Brilliant Woman--The Emperor's Enjoyment--The Campbell-Bannermans--A Royal Diplomatist--Mark Twain on Couriers--In Serious Vein--Verestchagin--"The Retreat from Moscow"--The Kaiser's Remarkable Utterance

I must say I was very fortunate with my Thursday receptions in Russia. In the first place, my husband, who was not particularly fond of singing or playing, never opposed either. Diplomatists like Lord Napier, the English Ambassador at Petrograd, and the Turk, Khalil Pasha, Turkish Ambassador (but brought up in France and devoted to French theatres), also used to come and be as silent as mice if music was already going on. That poor Khalil had a very dramatic end. He returned to Constantinople, as he thought for a short time, but fell