“In May 1798, Moscow was preparing to receive Emperor Paul Petrovich. The previous year had seen the coronation celebrated ceremonially, and now the ruler expressed a desire to visit the First-Seat capital again.
Moscow was being cleaned up and dressed for the occasion on the main streets. They repaired cobblestones, painted houses and fences; on the boulevards they planted trees. In dead ends, back alleys, and side streets, waiting for the emperor’s arrival was expressed mostly through talk and gossip. The same talk and gossip visited the rich houses’ drawing rooms…”