Classical busts and statues collected by Catherine, this was her “hall of antiques”: from here the samples were taken for the manufacture of koshes with which Cameron decorated his colonnade. And in the midst of the ancient Apollos and Antinoes, the great Ferneys elder (Voltaire) arose, all made of marble, and on marble chairs, the famous statue of Houdon, sent from Paris. "When you enter this hall, it truly takes your breath away," Catherine wrote to Grimm, "and, lo and behold! Voltaire's statue does not lose anything from everything surrounding it. Voltaire stands there beautifully; he admires the lucid statues, ancient and modern."...
In this grotto, among the antique busts and in the face of Voltaire, Catherine often spent the early morning hours, engaged in writing or correspondence; Here she may have written letters to Grimm.
At 10 o'clock, after several hours of morning work, the empress sometimes stayed right there in the grotto to have breakfast; Her close associates were called to her with a special signal, and sometimes her grandchildren arrived, and tea, coffee and chocolate were brought from the palace. Where: the sounds of light music could be heard from somewhere on the lake...
At one o'clock in the afternoon the Empress dined in large company in the Cameron Gallery, or in her own circle - in the Hermitage. There it was possible to do without servants and converse in complete freedom: at a sign marked with a special cord, tables set for lunch or dinner, laden with dishes, rose from under the floor; in front of all those gathered were aslid boards with gris =
Felem, it was enough to write your request and pull the lace, and after a few moments the ordered dish appeared from below. Here, in the Hermitage, dances and performances were held. Catherine later wrote to Grimm: “Yesterday they played a comedy here; after the theater, the entire diplomatic clique (ambassadors) walked and dined with me; and everyone was in such a mood that they found everything charming, delightful.”...
Segur was invited here, to this charming, delightful corner. The Empress was going to show him everything Tsarskoe, with all its buildings, gazebos and alleys, statues of antiques - and a statue of Voltaire. The Count arrived from Paris, where he moved at an exemplary court, strolled in Versailles itself - you won’t surprise him with any luxury; After all, the French king has several thousand courtiers, while the Russian empress has only a dozen chamberlains, chamberlains and ladies-in-waiting; but he will probably like the grotto, the Hermitage, the colonnade, the silver cabinet and the blue snuff-box cabinet; and the alleys of the English Lisky Garden - they are no worse than the “regular alleys of Versailles.”
SH. VISITING THE EMPRESS.
Segur was fascinated by what he saw and the reception he received there, and wrote in his notes:
“When I arrived there, the empress was so kind that she herself showed me all the beauty of her greatness.”
naked country palace, bright waters, shady greenery, graceful gazebos, majestic buildings, precious furniture, rooms covered with poreir, azure stones. mute and malachite - all this represented a magical spectacle and reminded the surprised traveler of the palaces and gardens of Armida...
"With complete freedom, cheerful chaos and a complete absence of boredom and constraint, I was alone in the majestic palace reminding me that I was not just at the dacha of the most amiable, secular woman. Kobenzel was inexhaustibly cheerful; Fitz Herbert (British ambassador) showed his educated, subtle mind, and Potemkin his originality, which she left him even in moments of thoughtfulness and melancholy. The Empress spoke freely about everything, except politics; she loved to listen to stories, and she loved to tell them herself. If the conversation accidentally fell silent, then Master of the Horse Naryshkin certainly evoked humor and witticisms with his jokes.
"The empress spent almost the entire morning studying, and each of us could read, write, walk, in a word, do whatever we wanted. Dinner, at which there were few guests and little food, was tasty, simple, without luxury; the afternoon was spent playing or having fun; in the evening the empress went to bed quite early, and we gathered at Kobenzel's, at Fitz Herbert's, at my place, or at at Potemkin."
While walking through the garden, Catherine led Segur to a small cemetery where there were similar
Ronen` ‘her beloved dogs; from the Anderson surname: