| Citation |
NYG(B.738.012
24 Apr-1 May 1738:12 (651)
London. Extract of a Letter from Petersburg, dated Feb. 10.
Nothing could be more magnificent than the celebration of
our Empress's birth day which was kept here the 28th. Her
Czarian Majesty having received in the morning the
compliments of the Nobility, Foreign Ministers and Gentry,
dined afterwards in publick under a rich canopy in the great
hall of the palace with the two Imperial Princesses; and at
another table, which represented a spread eagle, were
entertain'd a number of Lords and Ladies. The Italian
musick played the whole time of dinner, and at every health,
the cannon of the palace were fired, the drums beating, and
the trumpets sounding throughout the whole entertainment.
About four in the afternoon the ball began, which continued
'till eight. In the mean time, the theater was illuminated
by an infinite number of lights, and at nine in the evening
the fireworks were lighted by a rocket from one of the
galleries of the Great Hall. The illumination at the
theater represented a large garden with this inscription,
The happy Retreat of Peace.
. . . [17 more lines describing fireworks]
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