Zhukovskaya was not an aristocrat and, besides, the daughter of an illegitimate son of a Russian landowner and a Turkish slave, such a marriage would have been unthinkable. Upset by his son's affair, Alexander II even refused to grant Alexandra Zhukovskaya a title, which would have officially recognized the Grand Duke's paternity, even if illegitimate. Other European courts also refused to grant her a title. As a solution of last resort, on 25 March 1875 Alexandra was able to secure the title of Baroness Seggiano from the Republic of San Marino, with the right to transmit the title to her son and his firstborn male descendants. It was only in 1883, that Alexander III, Alexei's elder brother, granted the Baron Seggiano the title of Count Belevsky, and in 1893 approved his coat of arms. Tour of the United States Voyage to the United States After the official visit to Saint Petersburg of an American squadron under the command of Admiral David Farragut in 1867, a high level visit of the Russian Navy was envisaged by the Russian Government. After lengthy negotiations, it was decided that the Russian delegation would be headed by the Grand Duke. The official announcement of the visit was made on 29 June 1871 by Nikolay Karlovich Krabbe, Minister of the Imperial Russian Navy. The Russian squadron, under the command of Admiral Konstantin Nikolayevich Posyet on board the frigate Bogatyr, included the frigates Svetlana and General-Admiral, the corvette Ignatiev and the gunboat Abrek. Alexei was serving as lieutenant aboard the Svetlana. Before reaching the United States, the Russian squadron was to be met by the frigate Vsadnik of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Though all ships were equipped with steam-engines, the squadron made the passage to America mainly under sail, so as to avoid making port on the route for coal supplies. Except for Alexei's personal staff, the crew included 200 officers and over 3000 sailors. The squadron set sail out of Kronstadt on 20 August 1871. The squadron first stopped in Copenhagen, where he paid a visit to King Christian IX of Denmark. In the English Channel the Russians were met by a squadron of the Royal Navy and escorted to Plymouth, where Alexei was met by the Duke of Edinburgh Alfred of Saxe-Coburg. A visit to Balmoral Castle had been scheduled, but had to be canceled because the Prince of Wales was very sick and Queen Victoria extremely concerned. The Russian squadron set sail from Plymouth on 26 September. and, en route to New York, stopped for a few days in Funchal, (Madeira Islands), leaving on 9 October. The Russian squadron was met by an American squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Stephen Clegg Rowan, Port Admiral of New York, hoisting his flag on the frigate USS Congress. Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee, commander of the North Atlantic Squadron attended on his own flagship, the USS Severn. The other ships of the squadron were the USS Iroquois and the USS Kansas, attended by several tugs. A welcoming committee had
piece
is
an
abstract
triptych
that
I
found
while
I
was
in
Atlanta
buying
religious
paintings
The
piece
was
called
Guardian
Angel
and
I
love
it
My
patrons
fell
in
love
with
it
as
well
They
have
asked
me
to
track
down
the
artist
and
see
if
he
has
anymore
religious
paintings
available
The
only
religious
paintings
that
I
actually
do
not
buy
are
ones
that
reflect
the
image
of
Jesus
on
the
cross
I
don’t
have
a
problem
with
them
some
of
them
are
extremely
well
done
and
would
more
than
likely
sell
well
but
my
investors
made
it
very
clear
when
they
financed
the
gallery
that
I
would
not
put
that
image
into
it
PPPPP
683
Ajello
Candles
The
motto
of
the
Ajello
Candle
Company
is
“It’s
better
to
light
a
candle
than
to
curse
the
darkness”
This
candle
making
company
has
been
in
business
since
1775
The
business
has
been
family
owned
for
seven
generations
The
candles
from
Ajello’s
are
well
known
for
their
beauty
and
quality
While
they
make
more
candles
now
than
in
1775
their
dedication
to
quality
and
to
customers
has
never
changed
The
Ajello
Candle
Company
was
founded
by
Rafael
Ajello
an
Italian
painter
He
was
also
a
beekeeper
so
he
tried
his
hand
at
using
bees
wax
to
create
candles
He
worked
hard
to
create
a
formula
that
worked
well
The
formula
combined
with
his
outstanding
artistic
ability
lead
to
the
birth
of
the
Ajello
Candle
Company
In
1785
the
company
earned
the
honor
of
creating
all
the
candles
for
the
Vatican
He
and
his
wife
ran
the
business
keeping
their
children
involved
in
the
processes
from
an
early
age
As
time
went
on
their
children
and
grandchildren
kept
the
business
running
as
well
as
passed
the
family
business
on
to
their
children
By
1862
the
company
had
established
itself
as
a
leader
among
the
candle
making
industry
They
had
also
added
perfumes
and
many
.
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