THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE ANTONINY PALACE.
As there had been a deluge of rain during the night, the road, which for the greater part of the way formed a mere track across the yielding black alluvial soil, was very bad going, being in places indeed little better than lakes of mud, and almost everywhere cut up into deep ruts. Despite this (and the bad state of the track, as well as the condition of several of the wooden bridges, would have well-nigh broken the heart of an English coachman), with only a single change of horses, the journey of some fifty kilometres was safely accomplished in a little over four hours; and by half-past nine, that is to say, about sixty-one hours from London, we were heartily welcomed by our kind host and hostess and their family. It should be added that a metalled road is in course of construction, which, when completed, will render the journey from Schepetowka to Antoniny much easier.
To adequately describe Antoniny would far exceed the limits at my disposal; while even if considerations of space were non-existent, it would be difficult to do justice to a domain of such magnificence. It must suffice, then, to state that the palace, which is admirably situated on rising ground, and looks on to a spacious courtyard, with the stables on the farther side, has been added to by successive owners till it has attained what may be truly termed regal proportions, while it is kept up in corresponding style and state; the owner flying his own flag when in residence, while when the Countess alone is at home her flag is substituted.
As an indication of the owner’s sporting tastes, reference may be made to a fine series of trophies of African and Indian big game displayed on portions of the walls of the hall as well as on those of the galleries and corridors above. These trophies are the results of four separate hunting trips undertaken by the Count: to India, Ceylon, Somaliland, and the Blue Nile. The Somali and Ceylon trips have been respectively described in a couple of handsome and lavishly illustrated volumes, the former of which has been translated into English. Among the trophies on which the owner sets especial store may be mentioned the heads of a beisa oryx (Oryx beisa) and of a dibatag or Clarke’s gazelle (Ammodorcas clarkei), the horns of the latter approaching “record” measurements. Personally, however, I was more interested in the skins of a Somali lion and lioness which show the abundant brown-spotting of the limbs, underparts, and flanks, characteristic of this race (Felis leo somalica). The lion skin, which (as is proved by the skull) belonged to an adult animal, is further remarkable for the practical absence of mane. Spotting seems peculiar (except in the case of cubs) to East African lions, and attains its maximum development in the Masai lion (F. leo masaica) of German East Africa.
In one of the corridors on the first floor leading from the main staircase to some of the bedrooms is displayed a fine group, consisting of a female bear and three cubs killed by Count Potocki last year in Northern Russia; while skins of three half-grown cubs shot some years ago in Lithuania ornament the floor. Bears, it may be observed, are believed to have disappeared some two centuries ago from the neighbourhood of Antoniny, although they lingered considerably longer in Pilawin. A wolf was, however, killed near the palace only last year, and a second soon after our visit, in September, close to where we changed horses.
BEARS KILLED BY THE COUNT.
Among the wonders of the Antoniny palace are its enormous wine-cellars, containing vast stores of rare vintages, of which the earliest is a superb Tokay of 1693; these were visited after dinner, when we were attended by a number of servants bearing lighted candles on long wooden holders.
The gardens also—now rather more than a century old—cannot be passed over without some mention, as they are almost a dream of beauty and picturesqueness. Exquisitely kept, and situated on undulating ground intersected with streams, and dotted with small lakes, these gardens, which occupy many acres, are noted not only for their gorgeous display of flowers, but likewise for their splendid timber, consisting chiefly of spruce, aspen, oak, and sycamore, many of the trees being of unusual height and symmetry, while all have been planted with a view to the general effect. The large white Roman snail (Helix pomatia) is abundant in the gardens, where, however, it may have been introduced, as I did not notice its presence elsewhere.
