7The Winter Palace
St. Petersburg, Russia
July 1888
Eighteen-year-old Stephen Morrison fidgeted nervously as he waited in the receiving line with Senator Straythorne. He and the Senator, both dressed in black-tie formal wear, blended in with the many colors of various military uniforms worn by the other guests in line. They looked to young Stephen as if they, with their gold braid and epaulets, had stepped right out of a meeting of one of Napoleon’s war councils. Looking forward to the front of the line, he could see their hosts, the Tsar and Tsarina, greeting the guests, while their names were loudly announced. This building, he thought to himself, makes the United States Capitol building look very ordinary! It was with a combination of anticipation and excitement that he arrived at th
