Dear Elizabeth
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, but to one ordinary Russian she was simply ‘dear Elizabeth’.
1915
King Edward VII 1901-1910
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, but to one ordinary Russian she was simply ‘dear Elizabeth’.
1915
King Edward VII 1901-1910
Herbert Bury was Anglican bishop for Northern Europe from 1911 to 1926. His duties took him to Russia, where he met Tsar Nicholas II and was deeply impressed by the Royal Family. The following story about the Tsar’s sister-in-law Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who was later martyred by the Communists, shows why.
I WAS told lately of a touching incident which occurred at a great service in Russia (the translation of the remains of a great saint) at which the Grand Duchess Serge was present, and, when she arrived, had gone quietly up to a gallery pew, arranged for her and other great ladies. Soon afterwards an old peasant woman, to whom she had once shown a kindness, arrived, and at once began to inquire:—
“Has Elizabeth come yet?” — the Grand Duchess’s Christian name — “I want Elizabeth. She told me when next I came where she was to be sure and ask for her. Where’s Elizabeth?”
The Grand Duchess in her exalted gallery caught something of what was going on, and, hearing her own name, at once came down.
“Here I am, little mother!” And then with “Dear Elizabeth!” the old woman threw her arms about her neck and began her story.
Such a thing is only possible in Russia.
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Where did this encounter take place?
In a Russian church, during a festival.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Elizabeth went to a church service. An old peasant lady went too. She hoped to meet Elizabeth.