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diff --git a/37947-h/37947-h.htm b/37947-h/37947-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d3a933 --- /dev/null +++ b/37947-h/37947-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9870 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, + Russia, and Poland Vol. II, by John Lloyd Stephens. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body {margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%;} + +h1,h2,h3 {text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both;} +p.title { text-align:center; text-indent:0; +font-weight:bold; font-variant:small-caps;line-height:2; margin-bottom:3em; } + +p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em; +text-indent: 1em;} +.noi {text-indent: 0;} +.tnote{max-width: 90%; border: 1px dashed #808080; + background-color: #fafafa;text-align: justify; + padding: 0 0.75em;margin: 120px auto 120px auto;} + +hr.full {width: 100%; margin-top: 2.5em; margin-bottom: 2.5em; margin-left: auto; +margin-right: auto; clear: both; visibility: hidden; } +hr.l5 {width: 55%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em;} +hr.l65 {width: 65%; margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 4em;} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ +/* visibility: hidden; */ /* define the position */ +position: absolute; right: 3%; margin-right: 0em; +text-align: right; /* remove any special formating that could be inherited */ +font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; +letter-spacing: 0em; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0em; +font-size: x-small; /* never wrap this */ white-space: nowrap;} +.pagenum span { /* do not show text that is meant for non-css version*/ +visibility: hidden;} +.pagenum a { display: inline-block; color: #808080; border: 1px solid silver; +padding: 1px 4px 1px 4px;} + +.blockquot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 100%;} +.blockquotin {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 100%;} +div.blockquot > p {text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;} +.chapblock {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 90%;} +div.chapblock >p {text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;} +.center {text-align: center;} +.right {text-align: right;} +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} +.caption {font-weight: normal; text-align: center;} +.small {font-size:60%;} +.smallb {font-size: 80%;} +.big {font-size:140%; } +.figcenter {margin-left: 3%; margin-right: 3%; text-align: center;} +.err {border-bottom: thin dotted red;} +.signature {margin-top: 0.75em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; +text-align: right; page-break-inside: avoid; +page-break-after: avoid;text-indent: 1.5em;} + +.footnotes {border: none;} +.footnote {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; font-size: 0.9em;} +.footnote .label {position: relative; bottom: 0.4em; + vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 80%; text-decoration: none;} +.fnanchor {vertical-align: baseline; + position: relative; bottom: 0.4em; font-size: 80%; text-decoration: none;} +.poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} +.poem br {display: none;} +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} +.poem span.i0 {display: block;margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 1.5em; + padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; + padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + +@media handheld { + +body {margin-left: 1.5%; margin-right: 1.5%; +margin-top: 1%; margin-bottom: 1%;} + +p { margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em; +text-align: justify; text-indent: 2em; } + +.poem {margin-left:3%; margin-right:3%; text-align: left; } +.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 1.5em; + text-indent: -1.5em; } + +} /* end media handheld */ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, +Russia, and Poland, 7th ed. Vol. 2 of 2, by John Lloyd Stephens + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, 7th ed. Vol. 2 of 2 + +Author: John Lloyd Stephens + +Release Date: November 9, 2011 [EBook #37947] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Eleni Christofaki and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class='tnote'> +<h3>Transcriber's notes:</h3> + +<p>Punctuation and hyphenation have been normalised. Variable, archaic or +unusual spelling has been retained. A list of the few corrections made can found at the end of the book. +In the text, corrections are indicated with red dotted underlining; +hover the mouse over the <span class="err" title="like this">underlined text</span> to see a Transcriber's Note.</p></div> +<hr class="l65" /> +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/full_map.jpg" width="80%" alt="map" title="map" /> +</div> + +<hr class="l65" /> + +<h1>INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL <br /><br /> + +<span class="small">IN</span><br /><br /> + +GREECE, TURKEY, RUSSIA,<br /><br /> + +<span class="small">AND</span><br /><br /> + +POLAND.</h1> + +<h2>BY THE AUTHOR OF<br /> + +"INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN EGYPT, ARABIA PETRÆA, AND THE +HOLY LAND."</h2> +<p><br /><br /></p> +<p class="center"><span class="smallb">WITH A MAP AND ENGRAVINGS.</span></p> +<p><br /><br /></p> +<p class="center"><span class="smallb">IN TWO VOLUMES.</span></p> +<p><br /></p> +<p class="center">VOL. II.</p> + +<p class="center">SEVENTH EDITION.</p> +<p><br /></p> +<p class="center">NEW YORK:</p> + +<p class="center">HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS.</p> + +<p class="center">329 & 331 PEARL STREET,</p> + +<p class="center">FRANKLIN SQUARE.</p> + +<p class="center">1853.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> + +<p class="center"> +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by<br /> +<span class="smcap">Harper & Brothers,</span><br /> +in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2>CONTENTS<br /> + +<span class="small">OF</span><br /> + +THE SECOND VOLUME</h2> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></p> +<p class="right">Page</p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Choice of a Conveyance.—Hiring a Servant.—Another American.—Beginning +of Troubles.—A Bivouac.—Russian Jews.—The Steppes of +Russia.—A <i>Traveller's</i> Story.—Approach to Chioff.—How to get rid of a +Servant.—History of Chioff.</p></div><p class="right">7</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>A lucky Encounter.—Church of the Catacombs.—A Visit to the Saints.—A +tender Parting.—Pilgrims.—Rough Treatment.—A Scene of Starvation.—Russian +Serfs.—Devotion of the Serfs.—Approach to Moscow.</p></div><p class="right"> 28</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Moscow.—A severe Operation.—An Exile by Accident.—Meeting with an +Emigré.—A civil Stranger.—A Spy.—The Kremlin.—Sepulchres of the +Czars.—The great Bell.—The great Gun.—Precious Relics.</p></div><p class="right"> 45</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>The Drosky.—Salle des Nobles.—Russian Gaming.—Gastronomy.—Pedroski.—A +Sunday in Moscow.—A Gipsy Belle.—Tea drinking.—The +Emperor's Garden.—Retrospective.</p></div><p class="right"> 67</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Getting a Passport.—Parting with the Marquis.—The Language of Signs.—A +loquacious Traveller.—From Moscow to St. Petersburgh.—The +Wolga.—Novogorod.—Newski Perspective.—An unfortunate Mistake.—Northern +Twilight.</p></div><p class="right"> 85</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">iv</a></span><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Police Requisites.—The Russian Capital.—Equestrian Statue of Peter +the Great.—The Alexandrian Column.—Architectural Wonders.—The +Summer Islands.—A perilous Achievement.—Origin of St. Petersburgh.—Tombs +of dead Monarchs.—Origin of the Russian Navy.</p></div><p class="right"> 97</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>A Carroty Pole.—The Winter Palace.—Importance of a Hat.—An artificial +Mine.—Remains of a huge Monster.—Peter the Great's Workshop.—The +Greek Religion.—Tomb of a Hero.—A Saint Militant.—Another +Love Affair.—The Hermitage.—The Winter and Summer Gardens.</p></div><p class="right"> 118</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>An Imperial Fête.—Nicolas of Russia.—Varied Splendours.—A Soliloquy.—House +of Peter the Great.—A Boatrace.—Czarskoselo.—The +Amber Chamber.—Catharine II.—The Emperor Alexander.</p></div><p class="right"> 140</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>The Soldier's Reward.—Review of the Russian Army.—American Cannibals.—Palace +of Potemkin.—Palace of the Grand-duke Michael.—Equipments +for Travelling.—Rough Riding.—Poland.—Vitepsk.—Napoleon +in Poland.—The Disastrous Retreat.—Passage of the Berezina.</p></div><p class="right"> 154</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Travel by Night.—A Rencounter.—A Traveller's Message.—Lithuania.—Poverty +of the Country.—Agricultural Implements.—Minsk.—Polish +Jews.—A Coin of Freedom.—Riding in a Basket.—Brezc.—The Bug.—A +searching Operation.—Women Labourers.—Warsaw.</p></div><p class="right"> 181</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Warsaw.—A Polish Doctor.—Battle of Grokow.—The Outbreak.—The +fatal Issue.—Present Condition of Poland.—Polish Exiles.—Aspect of +Warsaw.—Traits of the Poles.</p></div><p class="right"> 199</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Religion of Poland.—Sunday in Warsaw.—Baptized Jews.—Palaces of +the Polish Kings.—Sobieski.—Field of Vola.—Wreck of a Warrior.—The +Poles in America.—A Polish Lady.—Troubles of a Passport.—Departure +from Warsaw.—An official Rachel.—A mysterious Visiter.</p></div><p class="right"> 215</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">v</a></span><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Friendly Solicitude.—Raddom.—Symptoms of a Difficulty.—A Court of +Inquisition.—Showing a proper Spirit.—Troubles thickening.—Approaching +the Climax.—Woman's Influence.—The Finale.—Utility of the +Classics.—Another Latinist.—A Lucky Accident.—Arrival at Cracow.</p></div><p class="right"> 235</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Cracow.—Casimir the Great.—Kosciusko.—Tombs of the Polish Kings.—A +Polish Heroine.—Last Words of a King.—A Hero in Decay.—The +Salt-mines of Cracow.—The Descent.—The Mines.—Underground Meditations.—The +Farewell. </p></div><p class="right">254</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<p class="title">INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL<br /><br /> + +<span class="small">IN</span><br /><br /> + +<span class="big">GREECE, TURKEY, RUSSIA, AND POLAND.</span></p> + +<hr class="full" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Choice of a Conveyance.—Hiring a Servant.—Another American.—Beginning +of Troubles.—A Bivouac.—Russian Jews.—The Steppes of +Russia.—A <i>Traveller's</i> Story.—Approach to Chioff.—How to get rid of a +Servant.—History of Chioff.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">I had</span> before me a journey of nearly two thousand +miles, through a country more than half barbarous, and +entirely destitute of all accommodation for travellers. +Southern Russia was the Scythia of Darius, "savage +from the remotest time." "All the way," says an old +traveller, "I never came in a house, but lodged in the +wilderness by the river side, and carried provisions by +the way, for there be small succour in those parts;" and +we were advised that a century had made but little +change in the interior of the empire. There were no +public conveyances, and we had our choice of three +modes of travelling; first, by a Jew's wagon, in which +the traveller stretches out his bed, and is trundled along +like a bale of goods, always with the same horses, and +therefore, of necessity, making slow progress; secondly, +the char de poste, a mere box of wood on four wheels, +with straw in the bottom; very fast, but to be changed +always with the posthorses; and, thirdly, posting with +our own carriage. We did not hesitate long in choosing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span>the last, and bought a carriage, fortunately a good +one, a large calêche which an Italian nobleman +had had +made for his own use in travelling on the Continent, +and which he now sold, not because he did not want it, +but because he wanted money more. Next we procured +a podoroshni, under which, "By order of his +Majesty Nicolas the First, autocrat of all the Russias, +from Odessa to Moscow and Petersburgh, all the postoffices +were commanded to give —— and ——, with +their servant, four horses with their drivers, at the price +fixed by law." Besides this, it was necessary to give +security that we left no debts behind us; and if Mr. +Ralli undertakes for all Americans the same obligation +he did for me, it may happen that his office of consul +will be no sinecure. Next, and this was no trifling matter, +we got our passports arranged; the Russian ambassador +at Constantinople, by-the-way, had given me +a new passport in Russian, and my companion, that +he might travel with the advantages of rank and title, +got himself made "noble" by an extra stroke of his +consul's pen.</p> + +<p>The last thing was to engage a servant. We had +plenty of applications, but, as very few talked any +language we understood, we had not much choice, +one, a German, a capital fellow, was exactly the man +we wanted, only he could not speak a word of Russian, +which was the principal qualification we required +in a servant. At length came a Frenchman, with an +unusual proportion of whiskers and mustaches, and +one of the worst of the desperate emigrés whom the +French Revolution, or, rather, the Restoration, sent +roaming in foreign lands. He had naturally a most +unprepossessing physiognomy, and this was heightened +by a sabre-cut which had knocked out several of his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span>teeth, and left a huge gash in his cheek and lip, and, +moreover, made him speak very unintelligibly. When +I asked him if he was a Frenchman, he drew himself +up with great dignity, and replied, "Monsieur je suis +<i>Parisien</i>." His appearance was a gross libel upon the +Parisians; but, as we could get no one else, we took +him upon little recommendation the day before our departure, +and, during the same day, threatened half a +dozen times to discharge him. The police regulation, +obliging him to pay his debts before leaving Odessa, +he seemed to consider peculiarly hard; and, all the time +he was with us, kept referring to his having been obliged +to fritter away thirty or forty rubles before he could +leave. We ought to have furnished ourselves with +provisions for the whole road to Moscow, and even +cooking utensils; but we neglected it, and carried with +us only tea and sugar, a tin teapot, two tin cups, two +tin plates, two knives and forks, and some Bologna sausages, +trusting, like Napoleon when he invaded Russia, +to make up the rest by foraging.</p> + +<p>Before beginning our journey we had a foretaste of the +difficulty of travelling in Russia. We had ordered posthorses +three times, and had sent for them morning and +evening, and received for answer that there were none in. +At the third disappointment, our own consul being out +of town, my friend the Spanish consul went with me to +the director of the post, and found that during the time +in which they had told us they had no horses, they had +sent out more than a hundred. Instead of taxing them +with their rascality, he talked the matter over very politely, +paid the price of the horses, gave them a bonus +of ten rubles, and obtained a promise by all the saints +in the Russian calendar for daylight the next morning.</p> + +<p>The next morning at eight o'clock the horses came; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span>four shaggy, wild-looking little animals, which no comb +or brush had ever touched, harnessed with a collar and +rope lines. They were tied in with rope traces, all +abreast, two on each side the pole, and a postillion with +a low wool cap, sheepskin coat and trousers, the woolly +side next the skin, who would make an English whip +stare, mounted the box. Henri followed, and my companion +and myself took our seats within. The day before +we had a positive quarrel upon a point unnecessary +here to mention, in which I thought and still think he +acted wrong, and the dispute had run so high that I told +him I regretted exceedingly having made arrangements +for travelling with him, and proposed even then to part +company; he objected, and as we had purchased a carriage +jointly, and particularly as our passports were prepared, +our podoroshni made out, and servant hired in our +joint names, I was fain to go on; and in this inauspicious +humour toward each other we set out for +a journey of nearly two thousand miles, through a wild +and desolate country, among a half-civilized people, +whose language we could not understand, and with a +servant whom we distrusted and disliked.</p> + +<p>In spite of all this, however, I felt a high degree +of excitement in starting for the capital of Russia; +and I will do my companion the justice to say that +he had been always ready to receive my advances, and +to do more than meet me half way, which I afterward +learned was from an apprehension of the taunts of his +companions, who, not satisfied with getting rid of him, +had constantly told him that it was impossible for an +Englishman and an American to travel together, and +that we would quarrel and fight the first day. I believe +that I am enough of an American in my feelings, but +such an idea had never entered my head; I met many +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span>Englishmen, and with some formed a friendship which, +I trust, will last through life; and among all I met, +these two were the only <i>young</i> men so far behind the +spirit of the age as to harbour such a thought. I did meet +one <i>old</i> gentleman, who, though showing me personally +the greatest kindness, could not forget the old grudge. +But men cannot be driving their elbows into each other's +ribs, comparing money accounts, and consulting upon +the hundred little things that present themselves on such +a journey, without getting upon at least sociable terms; +and before night of the first day the feelings of my companion +and myself had undergone a decided change.</p> + +<p>But to go back to Odessa. At the barrier we found +a large travelling-carriage stopping the way, in which +was my friend Mr. Ralli, with his lady, on his way to +Nicolaif; part of his business there was to erect a monument +to the memory of a deceased countryman. Mr. +Munroe, son of a former postmaster in Washington, is +another instance of the success of American adventurers +in Russia. He went out to St. Petersburgh with letters +from the Russian ambassador and others, and entered +the army, the only road to distinction in Russia. He +accompanied the Grand-duke Constantine to Poland, +and was made one of his aiddecamps, and on the +death of Constantine was transferred to the staff of +the Emperor Nicolas. At the time of the invasion of +Turkey by the Egyptians under Ibrahim Pacha, Mr. +Munroe held the rank of colonel in the army sent to +the aid of the sultan. While the Russians were encamped +at the foot of the Giant's Mountain, he visited +Constantinople, and became acquainted with the American +missionaries, who all spoke of him in the highest +terms. He was a tall, well-made man, carried himself +with a military air, and looked admirably well in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span>Russian uniform. On the withdrawal of the Russians +from the Black Sea, Mr. Munroe was left in some important +charge at Nicolaif, where he died in the opening +of a brilliant career. I heard of him all over Russia, +particularly from officers of the army; and being +often asked if I knew him, regretted to be obliged to +answer no. But, though personally unacquainted, as an +American I was gratified with the name he had left +behind him.</p> + +<p>To return again to our journey: a few rubles satisfied +the officer at the barrier that we were carrying nothing +prohibited out of the "free port" of Odessa, and we started +on a full run, to the great peril of our necks, and, to +use the climax of a Dutch proclamation, "what's more, +of breaking our carriage." In less than an hour we +brought up before the door of a posthouse. Our wheels +were smoking when we stopped. On our hind axle we +carried a bucket of grease; half a dozen bipeds in sheepskin +whipped off the wheels and greased them; four +quadrupeds were tied into the carriage, another bête +mounted the box, and we were off again at a full run. +My companion undertook to keep a memorandum of expenses, +and we put a certain sum in a purse and paid +out of it till all was gone. This was a glorious beginning +for a journey of two thousand miles. The country +possessed little interest, being mostly level, and having +but few villages. On the way we saw a natural phenomenon +that is common enough in Egypt and the East, +where the country is level, and known by the name of +<i>mirage</i>. At a distance it seemed a mere pond or lake, +and a drove of cattle passing over it looked as if they +were walking in the water. We rolled on rapidly all day, +passed through Balgarha, Kodurseve, and Pakra, timing +every post and noting every village with a particularity +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span>which it would be tedious here to repeat, and at about +eight in the evening dashed into the little town of +<span class="err" title="original: Voznezeuski">Vosnezeuski</span>, +one hundred and thirty versts from Odessa. +Here we came to a dead stand. We had begun to entertain +some apprehensions from the conduct of Monsieur +Henri, who complained of the hardness of his +seat, and asked if we did not intend to stop at night, +recommending Vosnezeuski as a place where we could +sleep in the posthouse; we told him that we had no idea +of stopping but to change horses, and should go on immediately.</p> + +<p>Vosnezeuski lies on the river Bog, and is the chief +town of the Cossacks of the Bog. This river is navigable +for large vessels one hundred and fifty versts; +beyond this for three or four hundred versts it is full of +cataracts. The Cossacks of the Bog are a warlike tribe, +numbering from six to seven thousand, and living under +the same military system with the Cossacks of the +Don. But we fell into worse hands than the Cossacks. +The postmaster was a Jew, and at first told us that he +had no horses; then that he had no postillion, but would +hire one if we would pay him a certain sum, about four +times the amount fixed by law. We had been obliged +before to pay a few extra rubles, but this was our first +serious difficulty with the postmasters; and, in pursuance +of the advice received at Odessa, we talked loud, +demanded the book which is nailed to the table in every +posthouse for travellers to enter complaints in, and +threatened the vengeance of Count Woronzow and every +one else, up to the emperor; but the Jew laughed in +our faces; looked in our podoroshni, where we were +described as simple travellers, without any of the formidable +array of titles which procure respect in Russia; +told us we were no grand seigneurs, and that we must +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span>either pay the price or wait, as our betters had done +before us. We found too soon, as we had been advised +at Odessa, that these fellows do not know such a character +in society as a private gentleman; and if a man is +not described in his podoroshni as a count, duke, or lord +of some kind, or by some high-sounding military title, +they think he is a merchant or manufacturer, or some +other common fellow, and pay no regard to him. I +relied somewhat upon my companion's having been +made "noble," but now found that his consul had been +rather chary of his honours, and, by the Russian word +used, had not put him up high enough to be of any use. +We had a long wrangle with the Jew, the result of +which was, that we told him, probably in no very gentle +phrase, that we would wait a month rather than submit +to his extortion; and, drawing up the window of +our carriage, prepared to pass the night at the door of +the posthouse.</p> + +<p>One of our party was evidently well satisfied with +this arrangement, and he was Monsieur Henri. We +had hired him by the day to Moscow, and, if we wanted +him, to St. Petersburgh, and very soon saw that he was +perfectly content with the terms, and in no hurry to +bring our journey to a close. From the moment of our +arrival we suspected him of encouraging the postmaster +in his efforts to detain us, and were so much fortified +in this opinion by after circumstances, that, when he +was about moving toward the house to pass the night +within, we peremptorily ordered him to mount the box +and sleep there; he refused, we insisted; and as this +was the first day out and the first moment of actual collision, +and it was all important to decide who should be +master, we told him that, if he did not obey, we would +discharge him on the spot, at the risk of being obliged +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span>to work our way back to Odessa alone. And as he felt +that, in that case, his debts would have been paid to no +purpose, with a string of suppressed sacrés he took his +place on the box. Our carriage was very comfortable, +well lined and stuffed, furnished with pockets and everything +necessary for the road, and we expected to sleep +in it; but, to tell the truth, we felt rather cheap as we +woke during the night, and looked at the shut door of +the posthouse, and thought of the Jew sleeping away in +utter contempt of us, and our only satisfaction was in +hearing an occasional groan from Henri.</p> + +<p>That worthy individual did not oversleep himself, +nor did he suffer the Jew to do so either. Early in the +morning, without a word on our part, the horses were +brought out and harnessed to our vehicle, and the same +man whom he professed to have hired expressly for us, +and who, no doubt, was the regular postillion, mounted +the box. The Jew maintained his impudence to the +last, coming round to my window, and then asking a +few rubles as a douceur. Good English would have +been thrown away upon him, so I resented it by drawing +up the window of the carriage and scowling at him +through the glass.</p> + +<p>Many of the postmasters along this road were Jews; +and I am compelled to say that they were always the +greatest scoundrels we had to deal with; and this is +placing them on very high ground, for their inferiors +in rascality would be accounted masters in any other +country. No men can bear a worse character than the +Russian Jews, and I can truly say that I found them all +they were represented to be. They are not allowed to +come within the territory of old Russia. Peter the +Great refused their application to be permitted to approach +nearer, smoothing his refusal by telling them +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span>that his Russian subjects were greater Jews than they +were themselves. The sagacious old monarch, however, +was wrong; for all the money business along the +road is in their hands. They keep little taverns, where +they sell vodka, a species of brandy, and wring from +the peasant all his earnings, lending the money again to +the seigneurs at exorbitant interest. Many of them +are rich, and though alike despised by rich and poor, +by the seigneur and the serf, they are proud of exhibiting +their wealth, particularly in the jewels and ornaments +of their women. At Savonka, a little village on +the confines of old Poland, where we were detained +waiting for horses, I saw a young girl about sixteen, a +Polonese, sitting on the steps of a miserable little tavern, +sewing together some ribands, with a headdress of +brown cloth, ornamented with gold chains and pearls +worth six hundred rubles, diamond earrings worth a +hundred, and a necklace of ducats and other Dutch gold +pieces worth four hundred rubles; altogether, in our +currency, worth perhaps two hundred and fifty dollars.</p> + +<p>Here, too, while sitting with Henri on the steps of the +posthouse, I asked him in a friendly way how he could +be such a rascal as to league with the postmaster to detain +us at Vosnezeuski, whereupon he went at once into +French heroics, exclaiming, "Monsieur, je suis vieux +militaire—j'etais chasseur de Napoleon—mon honneur," +&c.; that he had never travelled before except with +grand seigneurs, and then <i>in</i> the carriage, more as +compagnon de voyage than as a servant, and intimated +that it was a great condescension to travel with us at all.</p> + +<p>We passed through several villages, so much alike +and so uninteresting in appearance that I did not note +even their names. As night approached we had great +apprehensions that Henri would contrive to make us +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span>stop again; but the recollection of his bed on the box +served as a lesson, and we rolled on without interruption. +At daylight we awoke, and found ourselves upon +the wild steppes of Russia, forming part of the immense +plain which, beginning in northern Germany, extends +for hundreds of miles, having its surface occasionally +diversified by ancient tumuli, and terminates at the long +chain of the Urals, which, rising like a wall, separates +them from the equally vast plains of Siberia. The +whole of this immense plain was covered with a +luxuriant pasture, but bare of trees like our prairie +lands, mostly uncultivated, yet everywhere capable of +producing the same wheat which now draws to the +Black Sea the vessels of Turkey, Egypt, and Italy, +making Russia the granary of the Levant; and which, +within the last year, we have seen brought six thousand +miles to our own doors. Our road over these steppes +was in its natural state; that is to say, a mere track +worn by caravans of wagons; there were no fences, +and sometimes the route was marked at intervals by +heaps of stones, intended as guides when the ground +should be covered with snow. I had some anxiety +about our carriage; the spokes of the wheels were all +strengthened and secured by cords wound tightly around +them, and interlaced so as to make a network; but the +postillions were so perfectly reckless as to the fate of +the carriage, that every crack went through me like a +shot. The breaking of a wheel would have left us perfectly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span>helpless in a desolate country, perhaps more than +a hundred miles from any place where we could get it +repaired. Indeed, on the whole road to Chioff there +was not a single place where we could have any material +injury repaired; and the remark of the old traveller +is yet emphatically true, that "there be small succour in +these parts."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p017.jpg" width="80%" alt="Tumuli on the Steppes." title="Tumuli on the Steppes" /> +<p class="caption">Tumuli on the Steppes.</p> +</div> + +<p>At about nine o'clock we whirled furiously into a little +village, and stopped at the door of the posthouse. +Our wheels were smoking with the rapidity of their +revolutions; Henri dashed a bucket of water over them +to keep them from burning, and half a dozen men +whipped them off and greased them. Indeed, greasing +the wheels is necessary at every post, as otherwise the +hubs become dry, so that there is actual danger of their +taking fire; and there is a <i>traveller's</i> story told (but I +do not vouch for its truth) of a postillion, wagon, and +passengers being all burned up on the road to Moscow +by the ignition of the wheels.</p> + +<p>The village, like all the others, was built of wood, +plastered and whitewashed, with roofs of thatched +straw, and the houses were much cleaner than I expected +to find them. We got plenty of fresh milk; the +bread, which to the traveller in those countries is emphatically +the staff of life, we found good everywhere +in Russia, and at Moscow the whitest I ever saw. +Henri was an enormous feeder, and, wherever we stopped, +he disappeared for a moment, and came out with +a loaf of bread in his hand and his mustache covered +with the froth of quass, a Russian small beer. He said +he was not always so voracious, but his seat was so +hard, and he was so roughly shaken, that eating did him +no good.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span>Resuming our journey, we met no travellers. Occasionally +we passed large droves of cattle, but all the +way from Odessa the principal objects were long trains +of wagons, fifty or sixty together, drawn by oxen, and +transporting merchandise toward Moscow or grain to +the Black Sea. Their approach was indicated at a +great distance by immense clouds of dust, which gave +us timely notice to let down our curtains and raise our +glasses. The wagoners were short, ugly-looking fellows, +with huge sandy mustaches and beards, black +woolly caps, and sheepskin jackets, the wool side next +the skin; perhaps, in many cases, transferred warm from +the back of one animal to that of the other, where they +remained till worn out or eaten up by vermin. They had +among them blacksmiths and wheelwrights, and spare +wheels, and hammer, and tools, and everything necessary +for a journey of several hundred miles. Half of +them were generally asleep on the top of their loads, +and they encamped at night in caravan style, arranging +the wagons in a square, building a large fire, and sleeping +around it. About midday we saw clouds gathering +afar off in the horizon, and soon after the rain began to +fall, and we could see it advancing rapidly over the immense +level till it broke over our heads, and in a few +moments passed off, leaving the ground smoking with +exhalations.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon we met the travelling equipage +of a seigneur returning from Moscow to his estate in +the country. It consisted of four carriages, with six or +eight horses each. The first was a large, stately, and +cumbrous vehicle, padded and cushioned, in which, as +we passed rapidly by, we caught a glimpse of a corpulent +Russian on the back seat, with his feet on the front, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span>bolstered all around with pillows and cushions, almost +burying every part of him but his face, and looking the +very personification of luxurious indulgence; and yet +probably, that man had been a soldier, and slept many a +night on the bare ground, with no covering but his military +cloak. Next came another carriage, fitted out in +the same luxurious style, with the seigneur's lady and a +little girl; then another with nurses and children; then +beds, baggage, cooking utensils, and servants, the latter +hanging on everywhere about the vehicle, much in the +same way with the pots and kettles. Altogether, it was +an equipment in caravan style, somewhat the same as +for a journey in the desert, the traveller carrying with +him provision and everything necessary for his comfort, +as not expecting to procure anything on the road, nor +to sleep under a roof during the whole journey. He +stops when he pleases, and his servants prepare his +meals, sometimes in the open air, but generally at the +posthouse. We had constant difficulties with Henri +and the postmasters, but, except when detained for an +hour or two by these petty tyrants, we rolled on all +night, and in the morning again woke upon the same +boundless plain.</p> + +<p>The posthouse was usually in a village, but sometimes +stood alone, the only object to be seen on the +great plain. Before it was always a high square post, +with black and white stripes, marking the number of +versts from station to station; opposite to this Henri +dismounted, and presented the podoroshni or imperial +order for horses. But the postmasters were high above +the laws; every one of them seemed a little autocrat in +his own right, holding his appointment rather to prey +upon than to serve travellers; and the emperor's government +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>would be but badly administered if his ukases +and other high-sounding orders did not carry with them +more weight than his podoroshni. The postmasters +obeyed it when they pleased, and when they did not, +made a new bargain. They always had an excuse; as, +for instance, that they had no horses, or were keeping +them in reserve for a courier or grand seigneur; but +they listened to reason when enforced by rubles, and, as +soon as a new bargain was made, half a dozen animals +in sheepskin went out on the plain and drove up fifteen +or twenty horses, small, rugged, and tough, with long +and shaggy manes and tails, which no comb or brush had +ever touched, and, diving among them promiscuously, +caught four, put on rope headstalls, and tied them to our +rope traces. The postillion mounted the box, and shouting +and whipping his horses, and sometimes shutting his +eyes, started from the post on a full gallop, carried us +like the wind, ventre à terre, over the immense plain, +sometimes without a rut or any visible mark to guide +him, and brought us up all standing in front of the next +post. A long delay and a short post, and this was the +same over and over again during the whole journey. +The time actually consumed in making progress was +incredibly short, and I do not know a more beautiful way +of getting over the ground than posting in Russia with +a man of high military rank, who can make the postmasters +give him horses immediately on his arrival. As +for us, after an infinite deal of vexation and at a ruinous +expense, on the morning of the fourth day we were within +one post of Chioff. Here we heard with great satisfaction +that a diligence was advertised for Moscow, and +we determined at once to get rid of carriage, posting, +and Henri. We took our seats for the last time in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> +<span class="err" title="original: calèche"><i>calêche</i></span> gave the postillion a double allowance of kopeks, +and in half an hour saw at a great distance the +venerable city of Chioff, the ancient capital of Russia. +It stands at a great height, on the crest of an amphitheatre +of hills, which rise abruptly in the middle of an immense +plain, apparently thrown up by some wild freak +of nature, at once curious, unique, and beautiful. The +style of its architecture is admirably calculated to give +effect to its peculiar position; and, after a dreary journey +over the wild plains of the Ukraine, it breaks upon the +traveller with all the glittering and gorgeous splendour of +an Asiatic city. For many centuries it has been regarded +as the Jerusalem of the North, the sacred and holy city of +the Russians; and, long before reaching it, its numerous +convents and churches, crowning the summit and hanging +on the sides of the hill, with their quadrupled domes, +and spires, and chains, and crosses, gilded with ducat +gold and glittering in the sun, gave the whole city the appearance +of golden splendour. The churches and monasteries +have one large dome in the centre, with a spire +surmounted by a cross, and several smaller domes around +it, also with spires and crosses connected by pendant +chains, and all gilded so purely that they never tarnish. +We drove rapidly to the foot of the hill, and ascended +by a long wooden paved road to the heart of the city.</p> + +<p>During the whole of our last post our interest had +been divided between the venerable city and the rogue +Henri. My companion, who, by-the-way, spoke but +little French disliked him from the first. We had +long considered him in league with all the Jews and +postmasters on the road, and had determined under no +circumstances to take him farther than Chioff; but as +we had hired him to Moscow, the difficulty was how to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span>get rid of him. He might take it into his head that, if +we did not know when we had a good servant, he knew +when he had good masters; but he was constantly +grumbling about his seat, and calculated upon three or +four days' rest at Chioff. So, as soon as we drove up +to the door of the hotel, we told him to order breakfast +and posthorses. He turned round as if he had not fully +comprehended us. We repeated the order, and for the +first time since he had been with us he showed something +like agility in dismounting; fairly threw himself +from the box, swore he would not ride another verst that +day for a thousand rubles, and discharged us on the +spot. We afterward paid him to his entire satisfaction, +indemnifying him for the money he had squandered in +paying his debts at Odessa, and found him more useful +at Chioff than he had been at any time on the road. +Indeed, we afterward learned what was rather ludicrous, +viz., that he, our pilot and interpreter through the wilderness +of Russia, knew but little more of Russian than we +did ourselves. He could ask for posthorses and the +ordinary necessaries of life, count money, &c., but could +not support a connected conversation, nor speak nor +understand a long sentence. This changed our suspicions +of his honesty into admiration of his impudence; +but, in the mean time, when he discharged us, +we should have been rather destitute if it had not been +for the servant of a Russian traveller, who spoke French, +and, taking our direction from him, we mounted a drosky +and rode to the office of the diligence, which was +situated in the Podolsk or lower town, and at which we +found ourselves particularly well received by the proprietor. +He said that the attempt to run a diligence +was discouraging; that he had advertised two weeks, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span>and had not booked a single passenger; but, if he could +get two, he was determined to try the experiment. We +examined the vehicle, which was very large and convenient, +and, satisfied that there was no danger of all +the places being taken, we left him until we could make +an effort to dispose of our carriage. Relieved from all +anxiety as to our future movements, we again mounted +our drosky. Ascending the hill, we passed the fountain +where St. Vladimir baptized the first Russian converts; +the spring is held sacred by the Christians now, and +a column bearing a cross is erected over it, to commemorate +the pious act and the ancient sovereignty of +Chioff.</p> + +<p>The early history of this city is involved in some +obscurity. Its name is supposed to be derived from +Kiovi or Kii, a Sarmatian word signifying heights or +mountains; and its inhabitants, a Sarmatian tribe, were +denominated Kivi or mountaineers. It is known to +have been a place of consequence in the fifth century, +when the Suevi, driven from their settlements on the +Danube, established themselves here and at Novogorod. +In the beginning of the tenth century it was the capital +and most celebrated and opulent city in Russia, or in +that part of Europe. Boleslaus the Terrible notched +upon its "golden gate" his "miraculous sword," called +by the monks "the sword of God," and the Poles entered +and plundered it of its riches. In the latter part +of the same century the capital of Russia again fell before +the conquering arms of the Poles. Kiev was at that +time the foster-child of Constantinople and the Eastern +empire. The voluptuous Greeks had stored it with all +the luxuries of Asia; the noble architecture of Athens +was festooned with the gaudy tapestry of Lydia, and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span>rough metal of Russian swords embossed with the polished +gold of Ophir and Persia. Boleslaus II., shut up +within the "golden gate" of this city of voluptuousness, +quaffed the bowl of pleasure till its intoxicating draught +degraded all the nobler energies of his nature. His +army of warriors followed his example, and slept away +month after month on the soft couches of Kiev; and in +the language of the historian, as if they had eaten of the +fabled fruit of the lotos-tree, at length forgot that their +houses were without masters, their wives without husbands, +and their children without parents.</p> + +<p>But these tender relations were not in like manner +oblivious; and, after seven years of absence, the Poles +were roused from their trance of pleasure by the tidings +of a revolt among the women at home, who, tired of +waiting their return, in revenge gave themselves up to +the embraces of their slaves. Burning under the disgrace, +the Poles hurried home to wreak their vengeance +on wives and paramours; but they met at Warsaw a +bloody resistance; the women, maddened by despair, +urged on their lovers, many of them fighting in person, +and seeking out on the battle-field their faithless husbands: +an awful warning to married men!</p> + +<p>For a long time Kiev was the prey alternately of the +Poles, the Lithuanians, and the Tartars, until in 1686 +it was finally ceded by the Poles to Russia. The city +is composed of three distinct quarters; the old, with its +Polish fortifications, containing the palace of the emperor, +and being the court end; the Petcherk fortress, +built by Peter the Great, with ditches and high ramparts, +and an arsenal capable of containing eighty or a +hundred thousand stand of arms; and the Podolsk, or +business part, situated at the foot of the hill on the banks +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span>of the Dnieper. It contains thirty thousand inhabitants +besides a large military garrison, partly of Cossack +troops, and one pretty good hotel; but no beds, and none +of those soft couches which made the hardy Poles +sleep away their senses; and though a welcome resting-place +for a traveller through the wild plains of Russia, +it does not now possess any such attraction as to put in +peril the faith and duties of husbands. By its position +secluded from intercourse with strangers, Kiev is still +thoroughly a Russian city, retaining in full force its +Asiatic style of architecture; and the old Russian, wedded +to the manners and customs of his fathers, clings to +it as a place which the hand of improvement has not +yet reached; among other relics of the olden time, the +long beard still flourishes with the same solemn dignity +as in the days of Peter the Great. Lying a hundred +miles away from the direct road between Moscow and +the Black Sea, few European travellers visit it; and +though several of them have done so since, perhaps +I was the first American who ever passed through it.</p> + +<p>We passed the morning in riding round to the numerous +convents and churches, among which is the church +of St. Sophia, the oldest in Russia, and, if not an exact +model of the great St. Sophia of Constantinople, at least +of Byzantine design; and toward evening went to the +emperor's garden. This garden is more than a mile in +length, bounded on one side by the high precipitous +bank of the hill, undulating in its surface, and laid out +like an English park, with lawn, gravel-walks, and trees; +it contains houses of refreshment, arbours or summer-houses, +and a summer theatre. At the foot of the hill +flows the Dnieper, the ancient Borysthenes, on which, +in former days the descendants of Odin and Ruric descended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span>to plunder Constantinople. Two or three sloops +were lying, as it were, asleep in the lower town, telling +of a still interior country, and beyond was a boundless +plain covered with a thick forest of trees. The view +from this bank was unique and extraordinary, entirely +different from anything I ever saw in natural scenery, +and resembling more than anything else a boundless +marine prospect.</p> + +<p>At the entrance of the garden is an open square or +table of land overlooking the plain, where, every evening +at seven o'clock, the military band plays. The +garden is the fashionable promenade, the higher classes +resorting to it in carriages and on horseback, and the +common people on foot; the display of equipages was +not very striking, although there is something stylish +in the Russian manner of driving four horses, the leaders +with very long traces and a postillion; and soldiers +and officers, with their splendid uniforms, caps, +and plumes, added a brilliant effect.</p> + +<p>Before the music began, all returned from the promenade +or drive in the garden, and gathered in the square. +It was a beautiful afternoon in June, and the assemblage +was unusually large and brilliant; the carriages +drew up in a line, the ladies let down the glasses, and +the cavaliers dismounted, and talked and flirted with +them just as in civilized countries. All Chioff was +there, and the peasant in his dirty sheepskin jacket, the +shopkeeper with his long surtout and beard, the postillion +on his horse, the coachman on his box, the dashing +soldier, the haughty noble and supercilious lady, touched +by the same chord, forgot their temporal distinctions, +and listened to the swelling strains of the music till the +last notes died away. The whole mass was then in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span>motion, and in a few moments, except by a few stragglers, +of whom I was one, the garden was deserted. +At about ten o'clock I returned to my hotel. We had +no beds, and slept in our cloaks on settees stuffed with +straw and covered with leather. We had no coverlets; +still, after four days and nights in a carriage, it was a +luxury to have plenty of kicking room.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>A lucky Encounter.—Church of the Catacombs.—A Visit to the Saints.—A +tender Parting.—Pilgrims.—Rough Treatment.—A Scene of Starvation.—Russian +Serfs.—Devotion of the Serfs.—Approach to Moscow.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Early</span> in the morning, while I was standing in the +yard of the hotel, chaffering with some Jews about the +sale of our carriage, an officer in a faded, threadbare +uniform, with two or three ribands at his buttonhole +and stars sparkling on his breast, came up, and, taking +me by the hand, told me, in capital English, that he had +just heard of the arrival of two English gentlemen, and +had hurried down to see them; that he was a great admirer +of the English, and happy to have an opportunity, +in the interior of his own country, to show its hospitalities +to the natives of the Island Queen. At the +risk of losing the benefit of his attentions, I was obliged +to disclaim my supposed English character, and to publish, +in the heart of a grinding despotism, that I was a +citizen of a free republic. Nor did I suffer for my candour; +for, by one of those strange vagaries which sometimes +happen, we cannot tell how or why, this officer +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span>in the service of Russia had long looked to America +and her republican government as the perfection of an +ideal system. He was in Chioff only by accident. +Wounded in the last campaign against the Turks, he +had taken up his abode at Ismail, where, upon his pension +and a pittance of his own, he was able to live respectably +as a poor officer. With no friends or connexions, +and no society at Ismail, his head seemed to +have run principally upon two things, apparently having +no connexion with each other, but intimately connected +in his mind, viz., the British possessions in India and the +United States of America; and the cord that bound them +together was the wide diffusion of the English language +by means of these powerful agents. He told me more +than I ever knew of the constitution and government of +the East India Company, and their plan of operations; +and, in regard to our own country, his knowledge was +astonishing; he knew the names and character, and +talked familiarly of all our principal men, from the time +of Washington to the present day; had read all our +standard works, and was far more familiar with those +of Franklin, Irving, &c., than I was; in short, he told +me that he had read every American book, pamphlet, +or paper he could lay his hands on; and so intimate +was his knowledge of detail, that he mentioned Chestnut-street +by name as one of the principal streets in +Philadelphia. It may be supposed that I was not sorry +to meet such a man in the heart of Russia. He devoted +himself to us, and seldom left us, except at night, +until we left the city.</p> + +<p>After breakfast, accompanied by our new friend with +as unpronounceable a name as the best in Russia, we +visited the catacombs of the Petcherskoi monastery. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span>I have before remarked that Chioff is the holy city of +the Russians, and the crowds of pilgrims we met at +every turn in the streets constantly reminded us that +this was the great season of the pilgrimage. I was +but imperfectly acquainted with the Russian character, +but in no one particular had I been so ignorant as in +regard to their religious impressions. I had seen Italian, +Greek, and Turkish devotees, but the Russian surpassed +them all; and, though deriving their religion from +strangers, they exceed the punctilious Greeks themselves +in the observance of its minutest forms. Censurable, +indeed, would he be considered who should +pass, in city or in highway, the figure of the cross, the +image of the Virgin, or any of the numerous family of +saints, without taking off his hat and making on his +breast the sacred sign of the cross; and in a city like +Chioff, where every turn presents some new object +claiming their worship, the eyes of our drosky boy were +rapidly turning from one side to the other, and his hand +was almost constantly in a quick mechanical motion.</p> + +<p>The Church of the Catacombs, or the Cathedral of +the Assumption, attached to the monastery, stands a little +out of the city, on the banks of the Dnieper. It was +founded in ten hundred and seventy-three, and has seven +golden domes with golden spires, and chains connecting +them. The dome of the belfry, which rises above the +hill to the height of about three hundred feet, and above +the Dnieper to that of five hundred and eighty-six, is +considered by the Russians a chef d'œuvre of architecture. +It is adorned with Doric and Ionic columns and +Corinthian pilasters; the whole interior bears the venerable +garb of antiquity, and is richly ornamented with +gold, silver, and precious stones and paintings; indeed, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span>it is altogether very far superior to any Greek +church I had then seen.</p> + +<p>In the immense catacombs under the monastery lie +the unburied bodies of the Russian saints, and year after +year thousands and tens of thousands come from +the wilds of Siberia and the confines of Tartary to kneel +at their feet and pray. In one of the porches of the +church we bought wax tapers, and, with a long procession +of pilgrims, bareheaded and with lighted tapers in +our hands, descended a long wooden staircase to the +mouth of the catacomb. On each side along the staircase +was ranged a line of kneeling devotees, of the same +miserable description I had so often seen about the +churches in Italy and Greece. Entering the excavated +passages of the catacombs, the roof of which was black +from the smoke of candles, we saw on each side, in +niches in the walls, and in open coffins, enveloped in +wrappers of cloth and silk, ornamented with gold and silver, +the bodies of the Russian saints. These saints are +persons who have led particularly pure and holy lives, +and by reason thereof have ascended into heaven, where +they are supposed to exercise an influence with the +Father and Son; and their bodies are left unburied that +their brethren may come to them for intercession, and, +seeing their honours after death, study to imitate them in +the purity of their lives. The bodies are laid in open coffins, +with the stiffened hands so placed as to receive the +kisses of pilgrims, and on their breasts are written their +names, and sometimes a history of their virtuous actions. +But we saw there other and worse things than these, +monuments of wild and desperate fanaticism; for besides +the bodies of saints who had died at God's appointed +time, in one passage is a range of small windows, where +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span>men had with their own hands built themselves in with +stones against the wall, leaving open only a small hole +by which to receive their food; and died with the impious +thought that they were doing their Maker good +service. These little windows close their dwelling and +their tomb; and the devoted Russian, while he kneels +before them, believes that their unnatural death has purchased +for them everlasting life, and place and power +among the spirits of the blessed.</p> + +<p>We wandered a long time in this extraordinary burial-place, +everywhere strewed with the kneeling figures +of praying pilgrims. At every turn we saw hundreds +from the farthest parts of the immense empire of Russia; +perhaps at that time more than three thousand were wandering +in these sepulchral chambers.</p> + +<p>The last scene I shall never forget. More than a +hundred were assembled in a little chapel, around which +were arranged the bodies of men who had died in peculiar +sanctity. All were kneeling on the rocky floor, +an old priest, with a long white beard streaming down +his breast, was in the midst of them, and all there, even +to the little children, were listening with rapt attention, +as if he were preaching to them matters of eternal +moment. There was no hypocrisy or want of faith in +that vast sepulchre; surrounded by their sainted dead, +they were searching their way to everlasting life, and +in all honesty believed that they saw the way before +them. We ascended once more to the regions of upper +air, and stopped a few moments in the courtyard of the +monastery, where the beggar pilgrims were eating the +hard bread distributed to them by the monks from the +bounty of government. No man seemed more relieved +than the major. He was a liberal in religion as well as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span>in politics, but he crossed himself everywhere most +devoutly, to avoid, as he said, offending the prejudices +of his countrymen, though once he rather scandalized a +group of pilgrims by cross-questioning a monk about a +new saint, who seemed to be receiving more than a +usual share of veneration, and who, he said, had been +canonized since he was there last.</p> + +<p>But there is a time for all things, and nothing is more +absolutely fixed by Nature's laws than a time for dinner. +Almost at the first moment of our acquaintance the +major had told me of an engraving representing a scene +in <i>New-York</i>, which was to be found at a second or +third rate hotel, and I proposed to him, in compliment +to the honest publican who had the good taste to have +such a picture in his house, to go there and dine. We +went, and in a large room, something like a barroom in +our hotels, saw on one of the walls, in a black wooden +frame, a gaudy and flaring engraving representing the +pulling down of the statue of George the Second in the +Bowling Green. The Bowling Green was associated +with my earliest recollections. It had been my playground +when a boy; hundreds of times I had climbed +over its fence for my ball, and I was one of a band of +boys who held on to it long after the corporation invaded +our rights. Captain Cook mentions the effect produced +upon his crew by finding at one of the savage islands he +visited a silver spoon marked "London;" my feelings +were, in a small way, of the same nature. The grouping +of the picture was rude and grotesque, the ringleader +being a long negro stripped to his trousers, and straining +with all his might upon a rope, one end of which +was fastened to the head of the statue, and the other +tied around his own waist, his white teeth and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span>whites of his eyes being particularly conspicuous on a +heavy ground of black. It was a poor specimen of art, +but it was a home scene; we drew up our table opposite +the picture, and here, in the very headquarters of +despotism, I found a liberal spirit in an officer wearing +the uniform of the autocrat, who pledged me in the +toast, "Success to liberty throughout the world."</p> + +<p>I had another occupation, which savoured more of +home, and served to keep my faculties from rusting; +and that was the sale of our carriage. We had made +a calculation, and found that it would be cheaper, to say +nothing of other advantages, to give it away, and take +the diligence to Moscow, than go on posting. We +accordingly offered it for sale, and every time we returned +to the house found a group of Jews examining it. +The poor thing found no favour in their eyes; they told +us that we had been riding in it at peril of our lives; +that we might be thankful it had not broken down on the +road; and, in short, that it was worth nothing except +for old iron, and for that it was worth forty-five rubles, +or about <i>nine dollars</i>. We could not stand this. It +had cost us one hundred and forty less than a week before, +was cheap at that, and as good now as when we +bought it. On the eve of departure, therefore, we offered +it to our landlord for three days' board; but the +old Turk (he was a Jew turned Christian, and in his +regenerated worse than his natural state) refused our +offer, thinking that we would go away and leave it on +his hands. But we resolved to burn it first; and while +hesitating about offering it to our friend the major, he +relieved us from all delicacy by telling us that he did +not want it, and had no horses to put to it; to save us +from imposition, he would willingly give us the full +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span>value, but he was not worth the money. He had, however, +a piece of fifty rubles, or about ten dollars, in his +pocket, and, if we would take that, he would keep the +carriage as a souvenir. We gladly accepted his offer, +and had the satisfaction of finding that we had grievously +disappointed both the Jews and our landlord.</p> + +<p>In the morning the proprietor of the diligence, learning +that we had sold our vehicle, raised the price of +places fifty rubles apiece; the major heard of it, and +insisted upon our taking back the carriage, when the +proprietor took another tone, talked of the expense of +sending his huge vehicle with only two passengers, and +we listened and assented. We started to accompany +him, and just at the door of the hotel saw two runaway +horses coming furiously down the street with a drosky, +and an officer entangled and dragging on the ground. +We picked him up and carried him into the hotel. He +was a noble-looking man, who but a few minutes before +had attracted my attention by his proud and manly bearing, +now a miserable mangled object, his clothes torn, +his plume soiled with mud, and his face covered with +dust and blood, and, when we left, it was uncertain +whether he would live or die.</p> + +<p>The major accompanied us to the office of the diligence, +and our parting was rather tender; he rubbed his +mustache on both my cheeks, wrote his name in my +memorandum-book, and I gave him my address; he +said that our visit had been an interlude relieving the +dull monotony of his life; that we were going to new +scenes, and would soon forget him, but he would not +forget us. Nor shall I forget him, although it is not +probable that he and I will ever meet again.</p> + +<p>We took our seats in the diligence for Moscow, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span>set off with an uncommon degree of satisfaction at having +got rid of posting and of Henri, and, with them, of +all our troubles. We had nothing to do, no wrangling +with postmasters, no cheating to undergo from Jews, +and were in that happy state which made the honest +Hibernian indifferent to an upset or a breakdown; that +is to say, we were merely passengers. With great +pomp and circumstance we drove through the principal +streets, to advise the Knickerbockers of Chioff of the +actual departure of the long-talked-of diligence, the conducteur +sounding his trumpet, and the people stopping +in the streets and running to the doors to see the extraordinary +spectacle.</p> + +<p>We descended the long wooden road to the river, and +crossed the Dnieper on a bridge about half a mile long. +On the opposite bank I turned for the last time to the +sacred city, and I never saw anything more unique and +strikingly beautiful than the high, commanding position +of "this city on a hill," crowned with its golden cupolas +and domes, that reflected the sun with dazzling +brightness.</p> + +<p>For a short distance the country was rather undulating, +but soon settled into the regular steppe. We rolled on +all day without anything to annoy us or even to interest +us, except processions of pilgrims on their way to Chioff. +They travelled on foot in bands of one or two hundred, +men, women, and children, headed by a white-bearded +monk, barefooted, and leaning on a staff. During the +night I was roused by a loud chant, and, looking out, +saw a group of more than a hundred pilgrims gathered +round a fire, with an old monk in the midst of them, +breaking the stillness of night with songs of devotion; +and all the night long, as we rode swiftly by, I saw by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span>the bright moonlight groups of forty, fifty, or a hundred +lying by the roadside asleep under the trees. More than +fifty thousand pilgrims that year visited the catacombs +of Kiev, coming from every part of the immense empire +of Russia, and many from Kamschatka and the most +distant region of Siberia, performing the whole journey +on foot, seldom sleeping under a roof, and living upon +the precarious charity of the miserable peasants on the +road. I have since seen the gathering of pilgrims at +Jerusalem, and the whole body moving together from +the gates of the city to bathe in the Jordan, and I have +seen the great caravan of forty thousand true believers +tracking their desolate way through the deserts of Arabia +to the tomb of the Prophet at Mecca; but I remember, +as if they were before me now, the groups of Russian +pilgrims strewed along the road and sleeping under +the pale moonlight, the bare earth their bed, the heavens +their only covering.</p> + +<p>In the morning we stopped at a little town, where the +posthouse had in front four Corinthian columns supporting +a balcony. Inside, mats were placed against the +broken windows, the walls were rough logs, the floor +of mud, with pigs and children disputing its possession, +and the master and mistress stood in special need of the +purifying influence of a Russian bath. We brought the +teaurn out on the balcony, and had a cow brought up +and milked in our presence. After breakfast we lighted +our pipes and strolled up the street. At the upper end, +an old man in a civil uniform hailed us from the opposite +side, and crossed over to meet us; supposing him to be +some dignitary disposed to show us the civilities of the +town, we waited to receive him with all becoming respect; +but, as he approached, were rather startled by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span>the loud tone of his voice and the angry expression of +his face, and more so when, as soon as within reach, he +gave my pipe-stick a severe rap with his cane, which +knocked it out of my mouth, broke the bowl, and scattered +the contents on the ground. I picked up the +stick, and should, perhaps, have laid it over his head +but for his gray hairs; and my companion, seeing him +tread out the sparks of fire, recollected that there was a +severe penalty in Russia against smoking in the streets. +The houses are all of wood; whole villages and towns +are often burned down at once, and probably the old +man had begun by a civil intimation to that effect; but, +indignant at my quietly smoking in his face, had used +more summary measures. He was in a perfect fury; +and calling at the top of his voice to a man up the street, +the latter went off with such a suspicious looking-for-a-police-officer +movement, that we hurried back to the +diligence, which happened to be ready and waiting for +us, and started from the town on a full run.</p> + +<p>That night, in a miserable posthouse in a miserable +village, we found an old billiard-table. It seemed +strangely out of place, and I had a great curiosity to +know how it had found its way there; but it was twelve +o'clock, and all were asleep but the postillion. I can +give no account of the rest of the night's work. I had +a large cushioned seat of the diligence to myself, certainly +the softest bed I had yet had in Russia; and +when I put my feet out of the window, it was so comfortable +that I felt myself in some danger of falling into +luxurious habits.</p> + +<p>At daylight we arrived in a large village, the inhabitants +of which were not yet stirring, and the streets were +strewed with peasants, grim, yellow-bearded fellows, in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span>sheepskin dresses and caps, lying on their backs asleep, +each of them with a log of wood under his head for a +pillow. I descended from the diligence, and found that +the whole village consisted of a single street, with log-houses +on each side, having their gable ends in front; +the doors were all open, and I looked in and saw men +and women with all their clothes on, pigs, sheep, and +children strewed about the floor.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p039.jpg" width="80%" alt="Russian Village." title="Russian Village" /> +<p class="caption">Russian Village.</p> +</div> + +<p>In every house was the image of the Panagia, or all +holy Virgin, or the picture of some tutelary saint, the face +only visible, the rest covered with a tin frame, with a +lamp or taper burning before it; and regularly as the +serf rose he prostrated himself and made his orisons at +this domestic shrine.</p> + +<p>About noon we passed the chateau and grounds of a +seigneur; belonging to the chateau was a large church +standing in a conspicuous situation, with a green dome, +surmounted by the Greek cross; and round it were the +miserable and filthy habitations of his slaves. Entering +the village, we saw a spectacle of wretchedness and +misery seldom surpassed even on the banks of the Nile. +The whole population was gathered in the streets, in a +state of absolute starvation. The miserable serfs had +not raised enough to supply themselves with food, and +men of all ages, half-grown boys, and little children +were prowling the streets or sitting in the doorways, +ravenous with hunger, and waiting for the agent to come +down from the chateau and distribute among them bread.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span>I had found in Russia many interesting subjects of +comparison between that country and my own, but it +was with deep humiliation I felt that the most odious +feature in that despotic government found a parallel in +ours. At this day, with the exception of Russia, some +of the West India Islands, and the republic of the United +States, every country in the civilized world can respond +to the proud boast of the English common law, +that the moment a slave sets foot on her soil he is free. +I respect the feelings of others and their vested rights, +and would be the last to suffer those feelings or those +rights to be wantonly violated; but I do not hesitate to +say that, abroad, slavery stands as a dark blot upon our +national character. There it will not admit of any palliation; +it stands in glaring contrast with the spirit of +our free institutions; it belies our words and our hearts; +and the American who would be most prompt to repel +any calumny upon his country withers under this reproach, +and writhes with mortification when the taunt is +hurled at the otherwise stainless flag of the free republic. +I was forcibly struck with a parallel between the white +serfs of the north of Europe and African bondsmen at +home. The Russian boor, generally wanting the comforts +which are supplied to the negro on our best-ordered +plantations, appeared to me to be not less degraded in +intellect, character, and personal bearing. Indeed, the +marks of physical and personal degradation were so +strong, that I was insensibly compelled to abandon certain +theories not uncommon among my countrymen at +home, in regard to the intrinsic superiority of the white +race over all others. Perhaps, too, this impression was +aided by my having previously met with Africans of intelligence +and capacity, standing upon a footing of perfect +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span>equality as soldiers and officers in the Greek army +and the sultan's.</p> + +<p>The serfs of Russia differ from slaves with us in the +important particular that they belong to the soil, and +cannot be sold except with the estate; they may change +masters, but cannot be torn from their connexions or +their birthplace. One sixth of the whole peasantry of +Russia, amounting to six or seven millions, belong to +the crown, and inhabit the imperial demesne, and pay +an annual tax. In particular districts, many have been +enfranchised, and become burghers and merchants; and +the liberal and enlightened policy of the present emperor +is diffusing a more general system of melioration +among these subjects of his vast empire. The rest of +the serfs belong to the nobles, and are the absolute +property and subject to the absolute control of their +masters, as much as the cattle on their estates. Some +of the seigneurs possess from seventy to more than a +hundred thousand; and their wealth depends upon the +skill and management with which the labour of these +serfs is employed. Sometimes the seigneur sends the +most intelligent to Petersburgh or Moscow to learn some +handicraft, and then employs them on his own estates, +hires them out, or allows them to exercise their trade on +their own account on payment of an annual sum. And +sometimes, too, he gives the serf a passport, under which +he is protected all over Russia, settles in a city, and engages +in trade, and very often accumulates enough to +ransom himself and his family. Indeed, there are many +instances of a serf's acquiring a large property, and even +rising to eminence. But he is always subject to the +control of his master; and I saw at Moscow an old +mongik who had acquired a very large fortune, but was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span>still a slave. His master's price for his freedom had +advanced with his growing wealth, and the poor serf, +unable to bring himself to part with his hard earnings, +was then rolling in wealth with a collar round his neck; +struggling with the inborn spirit of freedom, and hesitating +whether to die a beggar or a slave.</p> + +<p>The Russian serf is obliged to work for his master +but three days in the week; the other three he may +work for himself on a portion of land assigned to him +by law on his master's estate. He is never obliged to +work on Sunday, and every saint's day or fête day of +the church is a holyday. This might be supposed to +give him an opportunity of elevating his character and +condition; but, wanting the spirit of a free agent, and +feeling himself the absolute property of another, he +labours grudgingly for his master, and for himself barely +enough to supply the rudest necessaries of life and pay +his tax to the seigneur. A few rise above their condition, +but millions labour like beasts of burden, content +with bread to put in their mouths, and never even thinking +of freedom. A Russian nobleman told me that +he believed, if the serfs were all free, he could cultivate +his estate to better advantage by hired labour; +and I have no doubt a dozen Connecticut men would +cultivate more ground than a hundred Russian serfs, +allowing their usual non-working days and holydays. +They have no interest in the soil, and the desolate and +uncultivated wastes of Russia show the truth of the +judicious reflection of Catharine II., "that agriculture +can never flourish in that nation where the husbandman +possesses no property."</p> + +<p>It is from this great body of peasantry that Russia +recruits her immense standing army, or, in case of invasion, +raises in a moment a vast body of soldiers. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span>Every person in Russia entitled to hold land is known +to the government, as well as the number of peasants +on his estate; and, upon receiving notice of an imperial +order to that effect, the numbers required by the levy +are marched forthwith from every part of the empire to +the places of rendezvous appointed. It might be asked, +What have these men to fight for? They have no country, +and are brought up on immense levels, wanting the +rocks, rivers, and mountains that inspire local attachments. +It is a singular fact, that, with the Russian +serf, there is always an unbounded love for him who +stands at the head of the system of oppression under +which they groan, the emperor, whom they regard +as their protector against the oppression of their immediate +masters; but to whatever cause it may be +ascribed, whether inability to estimate the value of any +change in their condition, or a feeling of actual love for +the soil on which they were born, during the invasion +of Napoleon the serfs of Russia presented a noble +spectacle; and the spirit of devotion which animated +the corps of ten thousand in the north extended to the +utmost bounds of the empire. They received orders to +march from St. Petersburgh to meet the advance of the +French army; the emperor reviewed them, and is said +to have shed tears at their departure. Arrived at the +place appointed, Witgenstein ordered them to fall back +to a certain point, but they answered "No; the last +promise we made the emperor our father was, that we +would never fly before the enemy, and we keep our +word." Eight thousand of their number died on the +spot; and the spirit which animated them fired the +serfs throughout the whole empire. The scholar may +sneer, but I defy him to point to a nobler page in +Grecian or Roman history.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span>I shall make amends for this long discussion by hurrying +on to Moscow. We rode hundreds of miles without +meeting a hill; the country was bare of trees, and +almost everywhere presenting the same appearance. +We saw the first disk of the sun peeping out of the +earth, watched it while soaring on its daily round, and, +without a bush to obstruct the view, saw it sink below +the horizon; and woke up at all times of night and saw +the stars,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Rolling like living cars of light<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For gods to journey by."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The principal and only large towns on our road +were Orel and Toula, the former containing a population +of four or five thousand, and presenting an imposing +display of churches and monasteries gaudily painted +and with gilded domes; the houses were principally of +wood, painted yellow. Toula is the largest manufacturing +town, and is called the Sheffield of Russia, being +particularly celebrated for its cutlery. Everywhere the +diligence created a great sensation; the knowing ones +said it would never do; but at Orel one spirited individual +said if we would wait three days for him he +would go on with us. It can hardly seem credible, in +our steamboat and railroad community, that a public +conveyance could roll on for seven days and nights, +through many villages and towns, toward the capital of +an immense empire, and not take in a single way-passenger; +but such was the fact; and on the morning of +the seventh day, alone, as we started from Chioff, we +were approaching the burned and rebuilt capital of the +Czars, Moscow with gilded cupolas, the holy Moscow, +the sanctified city, the Jerusalem of Russia, beloved of +God, and dear to men.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Moscow.—A severe Operation.—An Exile by Accident.—Meeting with an +Emigré.—A civil Stranger.—A Spy.—The Kremlin.—Sepulchres of the +Czars.—The great Bell.—The great Gun.—Precious Relics.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">At</span> daylight we arrived at the last post; and here, +for the first time, we saw evidences of our approach to +a great city. Four or five travelling-carriages were +waiting for horses, some of which had been waiting all +night; but our diligence being a "public accommodation," +we were preferred, and had the first that came +in. We took our places for the last time in the diligence, +and passed two or three fine chateaux, our curiosity +and interest increasing as we approached, until, +at about five versts from Moscow, as we reached the +summit of a gentle eminence, the whole city broke upon +us at one view, situated in the midst of a great plain, +and covering an extent of more than thirty versts. +Moscow is emphatically the city of churches, containing +more than six hundred, many of which have five +or six domes, with steeples, and spires, and crosses, +gilded and connected together with golden chains like +those of Chioff. Its convents, too, are almost innumerable, +rivalling the churches in size and magnificence, +and even to us, coming directly from the capital +of the Eastern empire, presenting a most striking and +extraordinary appearance. As we passed the barrier, +two of the most conspicuous objects on each side were +the large Greek convents, enclosed by high walls, with +noble trees growing above them; and as we rode +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span>through the wide and showy streets, the first thing that +struck me as strange, and, in this inhospitable climate +(always associated in my mind with rude and wintry +scenes), as singularly beautiful, was the profusion of +plants and flowers, with the remarkable degree of taste +and attention given to their cultivation. In Greece and +Turkey I had seen the rarest plants and flowers literally +"wasting their sweetness on the desert air;" while +here, in the heart of an inhospitable country, every +house had a courtyard or garden, and in front a light +open portico or veranda, ornamented with plants, and +shrubs, and flowers, forced into a glowing though unnatural +beauty. The whole appearance of the city is +Asiatic; and as the exhibition of flowers in front of the +better class of houses was almost universal, Moscow +seemed basking in the mild climate of Southern Asia, +rioting in its brief period of vernal existence, and forgetting +that, in a few weeks, a frost would come and +cover their beauty with the dreary drapery of winter.</p> + +<p>At the office of the diligence my companion and myself +separated. He went to a hotel kept by an English +woman, with English company, and I believe, too, with +English comfort, and I rode to the Hotel Germanica, an +old and favourite stopping-place with the Russian seigneurs +when they come up from their estates in the country. +Having secured my room, I mounted a drosky +and hurried to a bath. Riding out to the suburbs, the +drosky boy stopped at a large wooden building, pouring +forth steam from every chink and crevice. At the entrance +stood several half-naked men, one of whom led +me to an apartment to undress, and then conducted me +to another, in one end of which were a furnace and apparatus +for generating steam. I was then familiar with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span>the Turkish bath, but the worst I had known was like +the breath of the gentle south wind compared with the +heat of this apartment. The operator stood me in the +middle of the floor, opened the upper door of the stove, +and dashed into it a bucketful of water, which sent forth +volumes of steam like a thick fog into every part of +the room, and then laid me down on a platform about +three feet high and rubbed my body with a mop dipped +in soap and hot water; then he raised me up, and deluged +me with hot water, pouring several tubfuls on my +head; then laid me down again, and scrubbed me with +soap and water from my head to my heels, long enough, +if the thing were possible, to make a blackamoor white; +then gave me another sousing with hot water, and another +scrubbing with pure water, and then conducted +me up a flight of steps to a high platform, stretched me +out on a bench within a few feet of the ceiling, and commenced +whipping me with twigs of birch, with the leaves +on them, dipped in hot water. It was hot as an oven +where he laid me down on the bench; the vapour, which +almost suffocated me below, ascended to the ceiling, +and, finding no avenue of escape, gathered round my +devoted body, fairly scalding and blistering me; and +when I removed my hands from my face, I felt as if I +had carried away my whole profile. I tried to hold out +to the end, but I was burning, scorching, and consuming. +In agony I cried out to my tormentor to let me +up, but he did not understand me, or was loath to let me +go, and kept thrashing me with the bunch of twigs until, +perfectly desperate, I sprang off the bench, tumbled him +over, and descended to the floor. Snow, snow, a region +of eternal snow seemed paradise; but my tormentor +had not done with me; and, as I was hurrying to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span>door, he dashed over me a tub of cold water. I was so +hot that it seemed to hiss as it touched me; he came at +me with another, and at that moment I could imagine, +what had always seemed a traveller's story, the high +satisfaction and perfect safety with which the Russian +in mid winter rushes from his hot bath and rolls himself +in the snow. The grim features of my tormentor relaxed +as he saw the change that came over me. I withdrew +to my dressing-room, dozed an hour on the settee, +and went out a new man. In half an hour I stood in +the palace of the Czars, within the walls of the Kremlin.</p> + +<p>Toward evening I returned to my hotel. In all the +large hotels in Russia it is the custom for every man to +dine in his own apartment. Travelling alone, I always +avoided this when I could, as, besides my dislike of the +thing itself, it prevented my making acquaintances and +acquiring such information as I needed in a strange city; +and I was particularly averse to dine alone the first day +of my arrival at Moscow; but it was the etiquette of the +house to do so, and as I had a letter of introduction which +I intended to deliver, from Count Woronzow to Prince +Galitzin, the governor of Moscow, I was bound to make +some sacrifice for the credit of my acquaintance. After +the table was spread, however, finding it too severe a +trial, I went down stairs and invited myself to dine with +my landlord. He was a German of about fifty-five or +sixty, tall, stout, with gray hair, a frank, manly expression, +and great respectability of appearance and manners; +and before the dinner was over I regarded him +emphatically as what a Frenchman would call <i>un brave +homme</i>. He had been in Russia during the whole of +the French invasion, and, among the other incidents of a +stirring life, had been sent in exile to Siberia; and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span>curious part of it was, that he was sent there by mistake. +Rather an awkward mistake, though, as he said, not so +bad as being knouted or hanged by mistake; and in +his case it turned out a rather interesting adventure. +He was taken by the French as a Russian spy, and retaken +by the Russians as a French spy, when, as he +said, he did not care a fig for either of them. He was +hurried off to Siberia, but on the journey succeeded in +convincing the officer who escorted the prisoners that +there was error in the case, and on his arrival was +merely detained in exile, without being put to hard labour, +until, through the medium of friends, he had the +matter brought before the proper tribunal, and the mistake +corrected, when he came back post, in company +with a Russian officer, smoking his pipe all the way, at +the expense of the government. He gave me many interesting +particulars in regard to that celebrated country, +its mines, the sufferings of the noble exiles; and much +also, that was new to me, touching its populousness and +wealth, and the comfort and luxury of a residence there. +He spoke of Tobolsk as a large, gay, and populous city, +containing hotels, theatres, and all kinds of places of +amusement. The exiles, being many of them of rank, +have introduced there all the luxuries of the capital, and +life at Tobolsk is much the same as life at Moscow.</p> + +<p>As the rage for travelling is excited by hearing from +the lips of a traveller stories of the countries he has +visited, before dinner was over I found myself infected +with a strong disposition for a journey to Siberia. +Small matters, however, produce great changes in the +current of a man's feelings, and in a few moments I +had entirely forgotten Siberia, and was carried directly +home. While we were smoking our pipes, an old gentleman +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span>entered, of singularly aristocratic appearance, +whom my host received with the greatest consideration +and respect, addressing him as the Marquis de P——. +He was a Frenchman, an old militaire, and a noble +specimen of a race almost extinct; tall, thin, and gray-headed, +wearing a double-breasted blue frockcoat, buttoned +up to the throat, with a cane in his hand and a +red riband in his buttonhole, the decoration of the +Knights of Malta; and when my host introduced me as +an American traveller arrived that day in Moscow, he +welcomed me with more than the usual forms of courtesy, +and told me that, far off as it was, and little as he +knew of it, he almost regarded America as his own +country; that, on the downfall of "the emperor," and +in a season of universal scattering, some of his nearest +relatives, particularly a sister married to a fellow-soldier +and his dearest friend, had taken refuge on the other +side of the Atlantic; that, eighteen years before, he had +met an American secretary of legation who knew them, +but since that time he had not heard from them, and +did not know whether they were living or dead. I +asked him the name, with very little expectation of +being able to give him any information about them; and +it was with no small degree of pleasure that I found I +was particularly acquainted with the condition of his +relatives. His brother-in-law and old comrade was +dead, but I brought him a satisfaction to which he had +long been a stranger, by telling him that his sister was +still living, occupying a large property in a neighbouring +state, surrounded by a family of children, in character +and standing ranking among the first in our country. +They were intimately connected with the family of one +of my most intimate friends, letters to and from different +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span>members of which had very often passed through +my hands; I knew the names of all his nieces, and +personally one of his nephews, a lieutenant, and one of +the most promising officers in our navy; and about +a year before I had accompanied the friends to whom +I refer on a visit to these relatives. At Philadelphia I +left them under the charge of the lieutenant; and on my +return from Washington, according to agreement, the +lieutenant came down to an intersecting point on the railroad +to take me home with him; but circumstances +prevented my going, and much as I regretted my disappointment +then, I regretted it far more now, as otherwise +I might have gladdened the old man's heart by +telling him that within a year I had seen his sister. +His own history was brief. Born to the possession of +rank and fortune, and having won honours and decorations +by long service in the field, and risen to the rank +of inspector-general in the army of Napoleon, he was +taken in the campaign against Russia in eighteen hundred +and thirteen, and sent a prisoner of war to Moscow, +where he had remained ever since. Immediately on +their arrival, his brother-in-law and sister had written to +him from America, telling him that, with the wreck of +their fortune, they had purchased a large landed estate, +and begging him to come over and share their abundance; +but, as he told me, he scorned to eat the bread +of idleness and dependance; manfully turned to account +the advantages of an accomplished education; +and now, at the advanced age of seventy-eight, sustained +himself by his pencil, an honoured guest at every table, +and respected by the most distinguished inhabitants of +Moscow. He had accidentally given up his rooms a +few days before, and was residing temporarily at the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span>same hotel with myself. He was much agitated by this +unexpected intelligence from friends he never expected +to hear of more, and left me with a promise to call upon +me early in the morning.</p> + +<p>Too much interested myself to go back to Siberia +with my host, I went to the French theatre. The play +was some little every-day thing, and the house but +thinly attended. I took my seat in the pit, which was +on a dead level, instead of ascending from the stage, +containing large cushioned seats, and sprinkled with +officers talking with ladies in the boxes above. At the +end of the first act, as whole benches were empty above +me, I moved up to put myself nearer a pair of bright +eyes that were beaming from the box upon a pair of +epaulettes below. I was hardly seated before one of +the understrappers came up and whispered, or rather +muttered, something in my ear. As I did not understand +a word he said, and his manner was exceedingly +rude and ungracious, I turned my back upon him and +looked at the lady with the bright eyes. The fellow +continued muttering in my ear, and I began to be seriously +annoyed and indignant, when a Frenchman sitting +two or three benches behind me came up, and, in +an imperious tone, ordered him away. He then cursed +the Russians as a set of canaille, from the greatest +seigneurs to the lowest serf; remarked that he saw I +was a stranger, and, with the easy freedom of a man +of the world, took a seat by my side. He was above +six feet high, about thirty-three or thirty-four years of +age, in robust health, with a large pair of whiskers, rather +overdressed, and of manners good, though somewhat +imperious and bordering on the swagger. He seemed +perfectly at home in the theatre; knew all the actors +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span>and, before the evening was over, offered to introduce +me to all the actresses. I was under obligations to him, +if not for the last offer, at least for relieving me from +the impertinent doorkeeper; and, when the curtain fell, +accepted his invitation to go to a restaurant and take a +petit souper. I accompanied him to the Restaurant au +coin du pont des Mareschaux, which I afterward ascertained +to be the first in Moscow. He was perfectly at +home with the carte, knew exactly what to order, and, +in fact, he was a man of great general information, perfectly +familiar with all continental Europe, geographically +and politically, and particularly at home in Moscow; +and he offered his services in showing me all that +was curious and interesting. We sat together more +than two hours, and in our rambling and discursive conversation +I could not help remarking that he seemed particularly +fond of railing at the government, its tyranny +and despotism, and appealing to me, as an American +and a liberal, to sustain him. I did not think anything +of it then, though in a soldier under Charles the Tenth, +driven out, as he said, by the revolution of July, it was +rather strange; but, at any rate, either from a spirit of +contradiction or because I had really a good feeling +toward everything in Russia, I disagreed with him +throughout; he took upon himself the whole honours of +the entertainment, scolded the servants, called in the +landlord, and, as I observed, after a few words with +him, went out without paying. I saw that the landlord +knew him, and that there was something constrained +and peculiar in his behaviour. I must confess, however, +that I did not notice these things at the time so +clearly as when I was induced to recur to them by +after circumstances, for we went out of the house the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span>best friends in the world; and, as it was then raining, +we took a drosky and rode home together, with our +arms around each other's neck, and my cloak thrown +over us both. About two o'clock, in a heavy rain, I +stopped at my hotel, bade him good-night, and lent him +my cloak to go home with.</p> + +<p>The reader, perhaps, smiles at my simplicity, but he +is wrong in his conjecture; my cloak came home the +next morning, and was my companion and only covering +many a night afterward. My friend followed it, sat +with me a few minutes, and was taking his departure, +having made an appointment to call for me at twelve +o'clock, when there was a knock at the door, and my +friend the marquis entered. I presented them to each +other, and the latter was in the act of bending his body +with the formality of a gentleman of the old school, when +he caught a full view of my friend of the theatre, and, +breaking off his unfinished bow, recovered his erect position, +and staring from him to me, and from me to him, +seemed to demand an explanation. I had no explanation +to give, nor had my friend, who, cocking his hat on one +side, and brushing by the marquis with more than his +usual swagger, stamped down stairs. The marquis +looked after him till he was at the foot of the stairs, +and then turning to me, asked how, in the name of wonder, +I had already contrived to pick up such an acquaintance. +I told him the history of our meeting at the theatre, +our supper at the restaurant, and our loving ride +home, to which he listened with breathless attention; +and after making me tax my memory for the particulars +of the conversation at the restaurant, told me that my +friend was a disgrace to his country; that he had, no +doubt, been obliged to leave France for some rascality, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span>and was now entertained by the Emperor of Russia as +a <i>spy</i>, particularly upon his own countrymen; that he +was well fed and clothed, and had the entrée of all the +theatres and public houses without paying. With the +earnestness of a man long used to a despotic government, +and to seeing slight offences visited with terrible punishments, +the marquis congratulated me upon not having +fallen into what he called the snare laid for me.</p> + +<p>It is almost impossible for an American to believe +that even in Russia he incurs any risk in speaking what +he thinks; he is apt to regard the stories of summary +punishment for freedom of speech as bugbears or bygone +things. In my own case, even when men looked +cautiously around the room and then spoke in whispers, +I could not believe that there was any danger. Still I +had become prudent enough not to talk with any unnecessary +indiscretion of the constituted authorities, and, +even in writing home to my friends, not to say anything +that could prejudice me if the letter should fall into +wrong hands; and now, although I did not consider that +I had run any great risk, I was rather pleased that I +had said nothing exceptionable; and though I had no +apprehension, particularly since I had been put on my +guard, I determined to drop my new acquaintance, and +did not consider myself bound to observe any great +courtesy in the mode of doing it. I had had a supper, +which it was my original intention to return with a dinner; +but I did not consider myself under any obligation +to him for civilities shown in the exercise of his despicable +calling. The first time I met him I made no +apology for having been out when he called according +to appointment, and did not ask him to come again. I +continued to meet him in the streets and at every public +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span>place, but our greetings became colder and colder, and +the day before I left Moscow we brushed against each +other without speaking at all. So much for acquaintances +who, after an intimacy of three or four hours, had +ridden home under the same cloak, with their arms +around each other's neck.</p> + +<p>But to return: as soon as the marquis left me I +again went to the Kremlin, to me the great, I had almost +said the only, object of interest in Moscow. I always +detested a cicerone; his bowing, fawning, and prating +annoyed me; and all through Italy, with my map and +guide-book under my arm, I was in the habit of rambling +about alone. I did the same at Moscow, and +again walked to the Kremlin unaccompanied. Unlike +many of the places I had visited, all the interest I had +felt in looking forward to the Kremlin was increased +when I stood within its walls. I had thought of it as +the rude and barbarous palace of the Czars; but I found +it one of the most extraordinary, beautiful, and magnificent +objects I ever beheld. I rambled over it several +times with admiration, without attempting to comprehend +it all. Its commanding situation on the banks of +the Moskwa river; its high and venerable walls; its numerous +battlements, towers, and steeples; its magnificent +and gorgeous palaces; its cathedrals, churches, +monasteries, and belfries, with their gilded, coppered, +and tin-plated domes; its mixture of barbarism and decay, +magnificence and ruins; its strong contrast of architecture, +including the Tartarian, Hindoo, Chinese, +and Gothic; and, rising above all, the lofty tower of +Ivan Veliki, with its golden ball reflecting the sun with +dazzling brilliancy, all together exhibited a beauty, grandeur, +and magnificence strange and indescribable.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p057.jpg" width="80%" alt="The Kremlin." title="The Kremlin" /> +<p class="caption">The Kremlin.</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span>The Kremlin is "the heart" and "sacred place" of +Moscow, once the old fortress of the Tartars, and now +the centre of the modern city. It is nearly triangular +in form, enclosed by a high brick wall painted white, +and nearly two miles in extent, and is in itself a city. +It has five gates, at four of which there are high watch-towers. +The fifth is "our Saviour's," or the Holy Gate, +through whose awe-commanding portals no male, not +even the emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, can +pass except with uncovered head and bended body. +Bareheaded, I entered by this gate, and passed on to a +noble esplanade, commanding one of the most interesting +views of Moscow, and having in front the range of +palaces of the Czars. I shall not attempt to describe +these palaces. They are a combination of every variety +of taste and every order of architecture, Grecian, Gothic, +Italian, Tartar, and Hindoo, rude, fanciful, grotesque, +gorgeous, magnificent, and beautiful. The churches, +monasteries, arsenals, museum, and public buildings are +erected with no attempt at regularity of design, and in +the same wild confusion of architecture. There are no +regular streets, but three open places or squares, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span>abundance of room for carriages and foot passengers, +with which, in summer afternoons, it is always thronged.</p> + +<p>Having strolled for some time about the Kremlin, I +entered the Cathedral of the Assumption, the most splendid +church in Moscow. It was founded in 1325, and +rebuilt in 1472. It is loaded with gorgeous and extravagant +ornaments. The iconastos or screen which divides +the sanctuary from the body of the church is in many +parts covered with plates of solid silver and gold, richly +and finely wrought. On the walls are painted the images +of more than two thousand three hundred saints, +some at full length and some of a colossal size, and the +whole interior seems illuminated with gold, of which +more than two hundred and ten thousand leaves have +been employed in embellishing it. From the centre of +the roof is suspended a crown of massive silver, with +forty-eight chandeliers, all in a single piece, and weighing +nearly three thousand pounds. Besides the portraits +of saints and martyrs, there are portraits of the old historians, +whose names, to prevent confusion, are attached +to their resemblances, as Aristotle, Anarcharsis, Thucydides, +Plutarch, &c. Some of the paintings on wood +could not fail to delight an antiquary, inasmuch as every +vestige of paint being obliterated, there is abundance of +room for speculation as to their age and character. +There is also an image of the Virgin, painted by St. +Luke's own hand!!! The face dark, almost black, the +head encircled with a glory of precious stones, and the +hands and the body gilded. It is reverenced for its miraculous +powers, guarded with great care, and enclosed +within a large silver covering, which is never removed +but on great religious festivals, or on payment of a ruble +to the verger. Here, too, is a nail from the cross, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span>a robe of our Saviour's, and part of one of the Virgin's!!! +And here, too, are the tombs of the church +patriarchs, one of whom, St. Phillippe, honoured by a +silver monument, dared to say to John the Terrible, +"We respect you as an image of the Divinity, but as a +man you partake of the dust of the earth."</p> + +<p>The Cathedral of the Assumption is honoured as the +place where the sovereigns of Russia are crowned, and +there is but a step from their throne to their grave, for +near it is the Cathedral of the archangel Michael, the +ancient burial-place where, in raised sepulchres, lie the +bodies of the Czars, from the time when Moscow became +the seat of empire until the close of the seventeenth +century. The bodies rest in raised tombs or +sepulchres, each covered with a velvet pall, and having +on it a silver plate, bearing the name of the occupant +and the date of his decease. Close by is an odd-looking +church, constantly thronged with devotees; a humble +structure, said to be the oldest Christian church in +Moscow. It was built in the desert, before Moscow was +thought of, and its walls are strong enough to last till the +gorgeous city shall become a desert again.</p> + +<p>After strolling through the churches I ascended the +tower of Ivan Veliki, or John the Great, the first of the +Czars. It is about two hundred and seventy feet high, +and contains thirty-three bells, the smallest weighing +seven thousand, and the largest more than one hundred +and twenty-four thousand pounds English. On festivals +they are all tolled together, the Muscovites being extremely +fond of Ivan Veliki's music. This celebrated +tower rises above every other object in the Kremlin, and +its large gilded dome and cross are conspicuous from +every part of the city. From its top I had the finest view +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span>of Moscow and the surrounding country, and, perhaps, +the finest panoramic view in the world. Hundreds of +churches were in sight, with their almost innumerable +domes, and spires, and crosses glittering with gold, Tartaric +battlements, terraces, balconies, and ramparts. +Gothic steeples, Grecian columns, the star, the crescent, +and the cross, palaces, mosques, and Tartar temples, +pagodas, pavilions, and verandas, monasteries peeping +out over high walls and among noble trees, the stream +of the Moskwa winding prettily below, and in the distance +the Sparrow Hills, on which the French army first made +its appearance on the invasion of Moscow. It may seem +strange, but I did not feel myself a stranger on the top of +that tower. Thousands of miles away I had read its history. +I knew that the magnificent city at my feet had +been a sheet of fire, and that, when Napoleon fled by the +light of its conflagration, a dreadful explosion shook to +their foundation the sacred precincts of the Kremlin, and +rent from its base to its top the lofty tower of Ivan.</p> + +<p>I descended, and the custode conducted me to another +well-known object, the great bell, the largest, and +the wonder of the world. It is only a short distance +from the foot of the tower, in an excavation under +ground, accessible by a trapdoor, like the covered mouth +of a well. I descended by a broken ladder, and can +hardly explain to myself the curiosity and interest with +which I examined this monstrous piece of metal. I +have no knowledge of or taste for mechanics, and no +particular penchant for bells, even when spelled with +an additional e; but I knew all about this one, and it +added wonderfully to the interest with which I strolled +through the Kremlin, that, from accidental circumstances, +I was familiar with every object within its +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span>walls. I impeach, no doubt, my classical taste, but, before +seeing either, I had dwelt with more interest upon +the Kremlin, and knew more of it, than of the Acropolis +at Athens; and I stood at the foot of the great bell +almost with a feeling of reverence. Its perpendicular +height is twenty-one feet four inches, and the extreme +thickness of the metal twenty-three inches; the length +of the clapper is fourteen feet, the greatest circumference +sixty-seven feet four inches, its weight upward of +four hundred thousand pounds English, and its cost has +been estimated at more than three hundred and sixty-five +thousand pounds sterling. There is some question +whether this immense bell was ever hung, but it is supposed +that it was suspended by a great number of +beams and crossbeams; that it was rung by forty or +fifty men, one half on either side, who pulled the clapper +by means of ropes, and that the sound amazed and +deafened the inhabitants. On one side is a crack large +enough to admit the figure of a man. I went inside +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span>and called aloud, and received an echo like the reverberations +of thunder.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p061.jpg" width="50%" alt="The Great Bell." title="The Great Bell" /> +<p class="caption">The Great Bell.</p></div> + +<p>Besides the great bell, there is another noisy musical +instrument, namely, the great gun, like the bell, the +largest in the world, being a four thousand three hundred +and twenty pounder. It is sixteen feet long, and +the diameter of its calibre nearly three feet. I jumped +in and turned round in its mouth, and sat upright, my +head not reaching the top. All around were planted +cannon taken from the French in their unhappy expedition +against the capital of Russia; immense fieldpieces, +whose throats once poured their iron hail against the +walls within which they now repose as trophies. I was +attracted by a crowd at the door of one of the principal +buildings, which I found to be the treasury, containing +what a Russian prizes as his birthright, the repository of +sacred heirlooms; the doorkeeper demanded a permit, +and I answered him with rubles and entered the treasury. +On the first floor are the ancient imperial carriages; +large, heavy, and extraordinary vehicles, covered +with carving and gilding, and having large plate +glass windows; among them was an enormous sleigh, +carved and profusely gilded, and containing a long table +with cushioned seats on each side; all together, +these vehicles were most primitive and Asiatic in appearance, +and each one had some long and interesting +story connected with it.</p> + +<p>I ascended by a noble staircase to the <i>belle etage</i>, +a gallery composed of five parts, in the first of which +are the portraits of all the emperors and Czars and their +wives, in the exact costume of the times in which they +lived; in another is a model of a palace projected by +the Empress Catharine to unite the whole Kremlin +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span>under one roof, having a circumference of two miles, and +make of it one magnificent palace; if it had been completed +according to the plan, this palace would probably +have surpassed the Temple of Solomon or any of the +seven wonders of the world. In another is a collection +of precious relics, such as the crowns worn by the different +emperors and Czars, loaded with precious stones; +the dresses worn at their marriages; the canopies under +which the emperors are married, surmounted by +magnificent plumes; two canopies of red velvet, studded +with gold, and a throne with two seats. The crown +of Prince Vladimir is surmounted by a golden cross, +and ornamented with pearls and precious stones, and, +until the time of Peter the Great, was used to crown +the Czars; the crown of the conquered kingdom of +Cazan was placed there by the victorious hands of John +Vassilivitch. Besides these were the crowns of the +conquered countries of Astrachan and Siberia. That of +John Alexius has eight hundred and eighty-one diamonds, +and under the cross which surmounts it is an +immense ruby. There were also the crown of Peter +the Great, containing eight hundred and forty-seven +diamonds; that of Catharine the First, his widow, containing +two thousand five hundred and thirty-six fine +diamonds, to which the Empress Anne added a ruby of +enormous size, bought by the Russian ambassador at +Pekin; and, lastly, the crown of unhappy Poland! It +is of polished gold, surmounted by a cross, but no other +ornament. And there were other emblems of royalty: +a throne or Greek fauteuil of ivory, in arabesque, presented +to John the Great by the ambassadors who +accompanied from Rome to Moscow the Princess +Sophia, whom he had demanded in marriage. She was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span>the daughter of Thomas Paleologus Porphrygenitus +brother of Constantine Paleologus, who died in fourteen +hundred and fifty-three, after seeing his empire fall into +the hands of the Turks. By this marriage John considered +himself the heir of Constantine, and took the +title of Czar, meaning Cæsar (this is one of the derivations +of the name), and thus the emperor and autocrat +of all the Russias has the fairest claim to the throne +of the Cæsars, and, consequently, has always had an +eye upon Constantinople; then there are the throne of +Boris, adorned with two thousand seven hundred and +sixty turquoises and other precious stones; that of +Michel, containing eight thousand eight hundred and +twenty-four precious stones; that of Alexius, containing +eight hundred and seventy-six diamonds, one thousand +two hundred and twenty-four other jewels, and many +pearls, bought of a company of merchants trafficking to +Ispahan; the throne of the Czars John and Peter, made +of massive silver, separated in the middle, the back a +cloth of gold, concealing a hole through which the +Czarina used to dictate answers to the foreign ambassadors; +and, lastly, the throne of Poland!</p> + +<p>In the armory are specimens of ancient armour, the +workmanship of every age and nation; coats of mail, +sabres adorned with jewels, swords, batons, crosses in +armour, imperial robes, ermines in abundance, and, +finally, the clothes in which Peter the Great worked at +Saardam, including his old boots, from which it appears +that he had considerable of a foot. These memorials +were all interesting, and I wandered through +the apartments till ordered out by the footman, when I +returned to my hotel to meet my old friend the marquis, +who was engaged to dine with me. At his suggestion +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span>we went to a new restaurant, patronized by a different +set of people from those who frequented the Restaurant +au coin du pont des Mareschaux, being chiefly Frenchmen, +manufacturers, and small merchants of various +kinds, who, while they detested the country, found it a +profitable business to introduce Parisian luxuries and +refinements among the barbarous Russians. A party +of about twenty sat at a long table, and relieved the severity +of exile by talking of their beautiful and beloved +France; many of them were old militaires; and my octogenarian +friend, as a soldier distinguished under the +empire, and identified with the glory of the French +arms, was treated with a consideration and respect honourable +to them and flattering to himself. At another +table was another circle of strangers, composed almost +exclusively of Swiss, forming here, as elsewhere, one of +the most valuable parts of the foreign population; keeping +alive by intercourse with each other the recollections +of home, and looking to the time when, with the profits +of successful industry, they might return to their wild +and beloved native mountains.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Dear is that hill to which his soul conforms,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And dear that cliff which lifts him to the storms."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Before we rose from table my friend of the theatre +came in and took his seat at one end; he talked and +laughed louder than any one else, and was received generally +with an outward appearance of cordiality; but the +old marquis could not endure his presence. He said he +had become too old to learn, and it was too late in life +to temporize with dishonour; that he did not blame his +countrymen; fair words cost nothing, and it was not +worth their while wilfully to make an enemy who would +always be on their haunches; but as to himself, he had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span>but a few years to live, and he would not sully the last +moments of his life by tolerating a man whom he regarded +as a disgrace to his country. We rose from the +table, the old marquis leaning on my arm, and pouring +in my ears his honest indignation at the disgraceful +character of his countryman, and proceeded to the Kitaigorod, +or Chinese Town, the division immediately +encircling the Kremlin. It is enclosed by a wall with +battlements, towers, and gates; is handsomely and +compactly built, with wide, clean, and regular streets, +and thronged with every variety of people, Greeks, +Turks, Tartars, Cossacks, Chinese, Muscovites, French, +Italians, Poles, and Germans, in the costumes of their +respective nations. The quarter is entirely Russian, +and I did not find in the shops a single person who +could speak any language but Russian. In one of them, +where I was conducted by the marquis, I found the old +mongik to whom I before referred, who could not agree +with his master for the price of his ransom. The principal +shops resemble the bazars in the East, though +they are far superior even to those in Constantinople, +being built of stone, and generally in the form of arcades. +They are well filled with every description of Asiatic +goods; and some of them, particularly their tea, and tobacco, +and pipe shops, are models of propriety and +cleanliness. The façade of the great bazar or market +is very imposing, resting the whole length on Corinthian +columns. It fronts on a noble square, bounded on +the opposite side by the white walls of the Kremlin, +and contains six thousand "bargaining shops." The +merchants live at a distance, and, on leaving their shops +at sundown, each of them winds a piece of cord round +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span>the padlock of his door, and seals it with soft wax; a +seal being with the Russians more sacred than a lock.</p> + +<p>In another section of the Kitaigorod is the finest part +of the city, containing the hotels and residences of the +nobles, many of which are truly magnificent. The hotel +at which I put up would in Italy be called a palace. +As we moved slowly along the street by the Pont des +Mareschaux, we discoursed of the terrible inroads at +this moment making by the French in the capital of the +north, almost every shop having an inviting sign of +nouveautés from Paris. Foiled in their attempt with +the bayonet, they are now advancing with apparently +more feeble but far more insidious and fatal weapons; +and the rugged Russian, whom French arms could not +conquer, bows to the supremacy of the French modistes +and artistes, and quietly wears the livery of the great +mistress of fashion.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>The Drosky.—Salle des Nobles.—Russian Gaming.—Gastronomy.—Pedroski.—A +Sunday in Moscow.—A Gipsy Belle.—Tea drinking.—The +Emperor's Garden.—Retrospective.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Early</span> the next morning I mounted a drosky and rode +to a celebrated garden or springs, furnished with every +description of mineral water. I have several times +spoken of the drosky. This may be called the Russian +national vehicle, for it is found all over Russia, and nowhere +else that I know of, except at Warsaw, where it +was introduced by its Russian conquerors. It is on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span>four wheels, with a long cushioned seat running lengthwise, +on which the rider sits astride as on horseback, +and so low that he can mount from the street. It is +drawn by two horses; one in shafts, with a high arched +bow over the neck called the douga, and the other, called +"le furieux," in traces alongside, this last being trained +to curb his neck and canter while the shaft-horse trots. +The seat is long enough for two besides the driver, the +riders sitting with their feet on different sides; or sometimes +there is a cross-seat behind, on which the riders +sit, with their faces to the horses, and the drosky boy, +always dressed in a long surtout, with a bell-crowned +hat turned up at the sides, sits on the end. But to return +to the springs. The waters are prepared under +the direction of medical men, who have the chymical +analysis of all the principal mineral waters known, and +manufacture them to order. As is universally the case +in Russia, where there is any attempt at style, the establishment +is upon a magnificent scale. The building +contains a room perhaps one hundred and fifty feet long, +with a clean and highly-polished floor, large looking-glasses, +elegant sofas, and mahogany chairs and tables. +The windows open upon a balcony extending along +the whole front, which is furnished with tables and rustic +chairs, and opens upon a large garden ornamented +with gravel-walks, trees, and the most rare and valuable +plants and flowers, at the time of my visit in full bloom. +Every morning, from sunrise till noon, crowds of people, +and particularly the nobility and higher classes, frequent +this establishment, and that morning there was a larger +collection than usual. Russian hospitality is conspicuous +at a place like this. A stranger, instead of being +avoided, is sought out; and after one or two promenades +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span>I was accosted by more than one gentleman, ready to +show me every civility. In the long room and on the +balconies, scattered about at the different tables, I saw +the gourmand who had distended his stomach almost +to bursting, and near him the gaunt and bilious dyspeptic, +drinking their favourite waters; the dashing officer +and the blooming girl, the lover and coquette, and, in +short, all the style and fashion of Moscow, their eyes +occasionally turning to the long mirrors, and then singly, +in pairs and in groups, strolling gently through the gardens, +enjoying the music that was poured forth from +hidden arbours.</p> + +<p>Returning through a street not far from my hotel, I +saw a line of carriages, and gentlemen and ladies passing +under a light arcade, which formed the entrance to +a large building. I joined the throng, and was put back +by the doorkeeper because I was not in a dresscoat. +I ran to my hotel and changed my frockcoat, but now I +had no biglietto of entrance. A few rubles obviated this +difficulty and admitted me to the <i>Salle des Nobles</i>, a +magnificent apartment surrounded by a colonnade, capable +of containing more than three thousand persons, +and said to be the finest ballroom in Europe. It belongs +to a club of the nobility, and none are admitted as members +but nobles. All games of hazard are forbidden; +but, nevertheless, all games of hazard are played. Indeed, +among the "on dits" which a traveller picks up, +gambling is said to be the great vice of Russia. Young +men who have not two rubles to rub together will bet +thousands; and, when all other resources fail, the dishonourable +will cheat, but the delicate-minded will kill +themselves. It is not uncommon for a young man to +say at the cardtable over night, "I must shoot myself +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span>to-morrow;" and he is as good as his word. The Salle +was open for a few days, as a sort of fair, for the exhibition +of specimens of Russian manufacture; and, besides +tables, workboxes, &c., there were some of the +finest living specimens of genuine Russian men and +women that I had yet seen, though not to be compared, +as a Russian officer said, to whom I made the remark, +with the exhibition of the same specimens in the waltz +and mazourka, when the Salle was lighted up and decorated +for a ball.</p> + +<p>I returned to my hotel, where I found my old friend +the marquis waiting, according to appointment, to dine +with me. He would have accompanied me everywhere, +but I saw that he suffered from the exertion, +and would not allow it. Meeting with me had struck +a chord that had not been touched for years, and he +was never tired of talking of his friends in America. +Every morning he breakfasted in my room, and we +dined together every day. We went to the restaurant +where I had supped with my friend of the theatre. +The saloon was crowded, and at a table next us sat a +seigneur, who was dining upon a delicacy that will surprise +the reader, viz., one of his own female slaves, a +very pretty girl, whom he had hired to the keeper of the +restaurant for her maintenance and a dinner a volonté +per annum for himself. This was the second time he +had dined on her account, and she was then waiting +upon him; a pretty, modest, delicate-looking girl, and +the old noble seemed never to know when he had +enough of her. We left him gloating over still untasted +dishes, and apparently mourning that human ability +could hold out no longer. In going out my old friend, +in homely but pithy phrase, said the only difference between +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span>a Russian seigneur and a Russian serf is, that +the one wears his shirt inside his trousers and the other +outside; but my friend spoke with the prejudices of a +soldier of France aggravated by more than twenty years +of exile. So far as my observation extended, the higher +classes are rather extraordinary for talent and acquirements. +Their government is unfortunate for the development +and exercise of abilities. They have none +of the learned profession; +<span class="err" title="original: merchandize">merchandise</span> is disgraceful, +and the army is the only field. With an ardent love +of country and an ambition to distinguish himself, every +nobleman becomes a soldier, and there is hardly an old +or middle-aged individual of this class who was not in +arms to repel the invasion of Napoleon, and hardly a +young man who did not serve lately in a less noble +cause, the campaign in Poland. The consequence of +service in the army seems to have been generally a +passion for display and expensive living, which sent +them back to their estates, after their terms of service +expired, over head and ears in debt. Unable to come +often to the cities, and obliged to live at their chateaux, +deprived of all society, surrounded only by slaves, and +feeling the want of the excitement incident to a military +life, many of them become great gourmands, or rather, +as my French friend said, gluttons. They do not eat, +said he, they swallow; and the manner in which, with +the true spirit of a Frenchman who still remembered +the cuisine of the Palais Royal, he commented upon +their eating entremets, hors d'œuvres, rotis, and desserts +all pellmell, would have formed a proper episode +to Major Hamilton's chapter upon Americans eating +eggs out of wineglasses. The old marquis, although +he retained all his French prejudices against the Russians, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span>and always asserted, as the Russians themselves +admit, that, but for the early setting in of winter, Napoleon +would have conquered Russia, allowed them the +virtue of unbounded hospitality, and enumerated several +principal families at whose tables he could at any time +take a seat without any express invitation, and with +whom he was always sure of being a welcome guest; +and he mentioned the case of a compatriot who for +years had a place regularly reserved for him at the table +of a seigneur, which he took whenever he pleased +without any questions being asked, until, having stayed +away longer than usual, the seigneur sent to inquire for +him, and learned that he was dead.</p> + +<p>But to return. Toward evening I parted with the +marquis, mounted a drosky, and rode to the country +theatre at Pedroski. Pedroski is a place dear to the +heart of every Russian, having been the favourite residence +of Peter the Great, to whom Russia owes its +existence among civilized nations. It is about three +versts from the barrier, on the St. Petersburgh road. +The St. Petersburgh Gate is a very imposing piece of +architecture. Six spirited horses rest lightly upon the +top, like the brazen horses at St. Mark's in Venice. A +wide road, divided into avenues for carriages and pedestrians, +gravelled and lined with trees, leads from the +gate. The chateau is an old and singular, but interesting +building of red brick, with a green dome and white +cornices, and enclosed by a circular wall flanked with +turrets. In the plain in front two regiments of Cossack +cavalry were going through their exercises. The grounds +around the chateau are very extensive, handsomely laid +out for carriages and promenades, public and retired, to +suit every taste. The principal promenade is about a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span>mile in length, through a forest of majestic old trees. +On each side is a handsome footpath of continual shade; +and sometimes almost completely hidden by the luxuriant +foliage are beautiful little summer-houses, abundantly +supplied with all kinds of refreshments.</p> + +<p>The theatre is at a little distance from the extreme +end of the great promenade, a plain and unpretending +building; and this and the grand operahouse are the +only theatres I have seen built like ours, merely with +continued rows of seats, and not partitioned off into private +boxes. The opera was some little Russian piece, +and was followed by the grand ballet, the Revolt of the +Seraglio. He who goes to Russia expecting to see a +people just emerging from a state of barbarism, will +often be astonished to find himself suddenly in a scene +of Parisian elegance and refinement; and in no place +will he feel this wonder more than in an operahouse at +Moscow. The house was rather full, and contained +more of the Russian nobility than I had yet seen at any +one time. They were well dressed, adorned with stars +and ribands, and, as a class of men, the "biggest in the +round" I ever saw. Orders and titles of nobility, by-the-way, +are given with a liberality which makes them +of no value; and all over Russia princes are as plenty +as pickpockets in London.</p> + +<p>The seigneurs of Russia have jumped over all intermediate +grades of civilization, and plunged at once into +the luxuries of metropolitan life. The ballet was, of +course, inferior to that of Paris or London, but it is +speaking in no mean praise of it to say that at this country +theatre it might be made a subject of comparison. +The dancers were the prettiest, the most interesting, +and, what I was particularly struck with, the most +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span>modest looking I ever saw on the stage. It was melancholy +to look at those beautiful girls, who, amid the +glare and glitter of the stage, and in the graceful movements +of the dance, were perfectly captivating and entrancing, +and who, in the shades of domestic life, might +fill the measure of man's happiness on earth, and know +them to be slaves. The whole troop belongs to the +emperor. They are selected when young with reference +to their beauty and talents, and are brought up with +great care and expense for the stage. With light fairy +figures, seeming rather spirits than corporeal substances, +and trained to inspire admiration and love, they can +never give way to these feelings themselves, for their +affections and marriages are regulated entirely by the +manager's convenience. What though they are taken +from the very poorest class of life, leaving their parents, +their brothers and sisters, the tenants of miserable cabins, +oppressed and vilified, and cold and hungry, while +they are rolling in luxuries. A chain does not gall the +less because it is gilded. Raised from the lot to which +they were born, taught ideas they would never have +known, they but feel more sensibly the weight of their +bonds; and the veriest sylph, whose graceful movements +have brought down the loudest thunders of applause, +and whose little heart flutters with the admiration +she has excited, would probably give all her +shortlived triumph for the privilege of bestowing that +little flutterer where it would be loved and cherished. +There was one among them whom I long remembered. +I followed her with my eyes till the curtain fell and left +a blank around me. I saw her go out, and afterward +she passed me in one of a long train of dark blue carriages +belonging to the direction, in which they are carried +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span>about like merchandise from theatre to theatre, +but, like many other bright visions that broke upon me +for a moment, I never saw her again.</p> + +<p>At about eleven I left the steps of the theatre to return +home. It was a most magnificent night, or, rather, +it is almost profanation to call it by so black a name, +for in that bright northern climate the day seemed to +linger, unwilling to give place before the shades of night. +I strolled on alone, wrapped in lonely but not melancholy +meditations; the carriages rolled rapidly by me, +and I was almost the last of the throng that entered the +gate of Moscow.</p> + +<p>A Sunday at Moscow. To one who had for a long +time been a stranger to the sound of the church-going +bell, few things could be more interesting than a Sunday +at Moscow. Any one who has rambled along the Maritime +Alps, and has heard from some lofty eminence +the convent bell ringing for matins, vespers, and midnight +prayers, will long remember the sweet yet melancholy +sounds. To me there is always something +touching in the sound of the church-going bell; touching +in its own notes, but far more so in its associations. +And these feelings were exceedingly fresh when I awoke +on Sunday in the holy city of Moscow. In Greece and +Turkey there are no bells; in Russia they are almost +innumerable, but this was the first time I had happened +to pass the Sabbath in a city. I lay and listened, almost +fearing to move lest I should hush the sounds; +thoughts of home came over me; of the day of rest, of +the gathering for church, and the greeting of friends at +the church door. But he who has never heard the +ringing of bells at Moscow does not know its music. +Imagine a city containing more than six hundred churches +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span>and innumerable convents, all with bells, and these +all sounding together, from the sharp, quick hammer-note, +to the loudest, deepest peals that ever broke and +lingered on the ear, struck at long intervals, and swelling +on the air as if unwilling to die away. I rose and +threw open my window, dressed myself, and after +breakfast, joining the throng called to their respective +churches by their well-known bells, I went to what is +called the English chapel, where, for the first time in +many months, I joined in a regular church service, and +listened to an orthodox sermon. I was surprised to see +so large a congregation, though I remarked among them +many English governesses with children, the English +language being at that moment the rage among the +Russians, and multitudes of cast-off chambermaids adventuring +thither to teach the rising Russian nobility the +beauties of the English tongue.</p> + +<p>All over the Continent Sunday is the great day for observing +national manners and customs. I dined at an +early hour with my friend the marquis, and, under his +escort, mounting a drosky, rode to a great promenade +of the people called <i>L'Allée des Peuples</i>. It lies outside +the barrier, and beyond the state prisons, where the +exiles for Siberia are confined, on the land of Count +Schremetow, the richest nobleman in Russia, having +one hundred and thirty thousand slaves on his estate; +the chateau is about eight versts from the city, and a +noble road through his own land leads from the barrier +to his door.</p> + +<p>This promenade is the great rendezvous of the people; +that is, of the merchants and shopkeepers of Moscow. +The promenade is simply a large piece of ground +ornamented with noble trees, and provided with everything +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span>necessary for the enjoyment of all the national +amusements, among which the Russian mountain is the +favourite; and refreshments were distributed in great +abundance. Soldiers were stationed at different points +to preserve order, and the people seemed all cheerful +and happy; but the life and soul of the place were the +Bohemian or gipsy girls. Wherever they moved, a +crowd gathered round them. They were the first I +had seen of this extraordinary people. Coming no one +knows whence, and living no one knows how, wanderers +from their birth, and with a history enveloped in +doubt, it was impossible to mistake the dark complexion +and piercing coal-black eyes of the gipsy women. +The men <span class="err" title="original: where">were</span> nowhere to be seen, nor were +there any old women with them; and these young +girls, well dressed, though, in general, with nothing +peculiar in their costume, moved about in parties of +five or six, singing, playing, and dancing to admiring +crowds. One of them, with a red silk cloak trimmed +with gold, and a gold band round her hair, struck me as +the very <i>beau ideal</i> of a gipsy queen. Recognising +me as a stranger, she stopped just in front of me, struck +her castanets and danced, at the same time directing the +movements of her companions, who formed a circle +around me. There was a beauty in her face, combined +with intelligence and spirit, that riveted my attention, +and when she spoke her eyes seemed to read me +through. I ought, perhaps, to be ashamed of it, but in +all my wanderings I never regretted so much my ignorance +of the language as when it denied me the pleasure +of conversing with that gipsy girl. I would fain have +known whether her soul did not soar above the scene +and the employment in which I found her; whether +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span>she was not formed for better things than to display +her beautiful person before crowds of boors; but I am +sorry to add, that the character of my queen was not +above reproach; and, as I had nothing but my character +to stand upon in Moscow, I was obliged to withdraw +from the observation which her attention fixed upon me.</p> + +<p>Leaving my swarthy princess with this melancholy +reflection, and leaving the scene of humbler enjoyment, +I mounted a drosky, and, depositing my old friend in +the suburbs of the city, in half an hour was in another +world, in the great promenade of Pedroski, the gathering-place +of the nobility, where all the rank and fashion +of Moscow were vying with each other in style and +magnificence. The extensive grounds around the old +chateau are handsomely disposed and ornamented with +trees, but the great carriage promenade is equal to anything +I ever saw. It is a straight road, more than a +mile in length, through a thick forest of noble trees. For +two hours before dark all the equipages in Moscow paraded +up and down this promenade. These equipages +were striking and showy without being handsome, and +the Russian manner of driving four horses makes a very +dashing appearance, the leaders being harnessed with +long traces, perhaps twenty feet from the wheel horses, +and guided by a lad riding the near leader, the coachman +sitting as if nailed to the box, and merely holding the +reins. All the rules of good taste, as understood in the +capitals of Southern Europe, were set at defiance; and +many a seigneur, who thought he was doing the thing +in the very best style, had no idea how much his turnout +would have shocked an English whip. But all this +extravagance, in my eyes, added much to the effect of +the scene; and the star-spangled Muscovite who dashed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span>up and down the promenade on horseback, with two +Calmuc Tartars at his heels, attracted more of my attention +than the plain gentleman who paced along with +his English jockey and quiet elegance of equipment. +The stars and decorations of the seigneurs set them off +to great advantage; and scores of officers, with their +showy uniforms, added brilliancy to the scene, while the +footmen made as good an appearance as their masters.</p> + +<p>On either side of the grand promenade is a walk for +foot passengers, and behind this, almost hidden from +view by the thick shade of trees, are little cottages, +arbours, and tents, furnished with ices and all kinds of +refreshments suited to the season. I should have mentioned +long since that tea, the very pabulum of all domestic +virtues, is the Russian's favourite beverage. +They say that they have better tea than can be obtained +in Europe, which they ascribe to the circumstance of its +being brought by caravans over land, and saved the exposure +of a sea voyage. Whether this be the cause +or not, if I am any judge they are right as to the superiority +of their article; and it was one of the most striking +features in the animating scene at Pedroski to see +family groups distributed about, all over the grounds, +under the shade of noble trees, with their large brass +urn hissing before them, and taking their tea under the +passing gaze of thousands of people with as much unconcern +as if by their own firesides.</p> + +<p>Leaving for a moment the thronged promenade, I +turned into a thick forest and entered the old chateau of +the great Peter. There all was solitude; the footman +and I had the palace to ourselves. I followed him +through the whole range of apartments, in which there +was an appearance of staid respectability that quite won +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span>my heart, neither of them being any better furnished +than one of our oldfashioned country houses. The pomp +and show that I saw glittering through the openings in +the trees were unknown in the days of the good old +Peter; the chateau was silent and deserted; the hand +that built it was stiff and cold, and the heart that loved +it had ceased to beat; old Peter was in his grave, and +his descendants loved better their splendid palaces on +the banks of the Neva.</p> + +<p>When Moscow was burning, Napoleon fled to this +chateau for refuge. I stopped for a moment in the +chamber where, by the blaze of the burning city, he +dictated his despatches for the capital of France; +gave the attendant a ruble, and again mixed with the +throng, with whom I rambled up and down the principal +promenade, and at eleven o'clock was at my hotel. +I ought not to forget the Russian ladies; but, after the +gay scene at Pedroski, it is no disparagement to them +if I say that, in my quiet walk home, the dark-eyed +gipsy girl was uppermost in my thoughts.</p> + +<p>The reader may perhaps ask if such is indeed what +the traveller finds in Russia; "Where are the eternal +snows that cover the steppes and the immense +wastes of that Northern empire? that chill the sources +of enjoyment, and congeal the very fountains of life?" +I answer, they have but just passed by, and they will +soon come again; the present is the season of enjoyment; +the Russians know it to be brief and fleeting, +and, like butterflies, unfold themselves to the sun and +flutter among the flowers.</p> + +<p>Like them, I made the most of it at Moscow. Mounted +in a drosky, I hurried from church to church, from +convent to convent, and from quarter to quarter. But +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span>although it is the duty of a traveller to see everything +that is to be seen, and although there is a kind of excitement +in hurrying from place to place, which he is +apt to mistake for pleasure, it is not in this that his +real enjoyment is found. His true pleasure is in turning +quietly to those things which are interesting to the +imagination as well as to the eyes, and so I found myself +often turning from the churches and palaces, specimens +of architecture and art, to the sainted walls of the +Kremlin. Here were the first and last of my visits; +and whenever I sauntered forth without any specific object, +perhaps to the neglect of many other places I +ought to have seen, my footsteps involuntarily turned +thitherward.</p> + +<p>Outside and beneath the walls of the Kremlin, and +running almost the whole extent of its circumference, +are boulevards and a public garden, called the Emperor's, +made within a few years, and the handsomest thing +of the kind in Moscow; I am not sure but that I may +add anywhere else. I have compared it in my mind +to the Gardens of the Luxembourg and Tuileries, and +in many respects hold it to be more beautiful. It is +more agreeably irregular and undulating in its surface, +and has a more rural aspect, and the groves and plants +are better arranged, although it has not the statues, +lakes, and fountains of the pride of Paris. I loved to +stroll through this garden, having on one side of me the +magnificent buildings of the great Russian princes, +seigneurs, and merchants, among the finest and most +conspicuous of which is the former residence of the +unhappy Queen of Georgia; and on the other side, +visible through the foliage of the trees, the white walls +of the Kremlin, and, towering above them, the domes +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span>of the palaces and churches within, and the lofty tower +of Ivan Veliki. Thence I loved to stroll to the Holy +Gate of the Kremlin. It is a vaulted portal, and over +the entrance is a picture, with a lamp constantly burning; +and a sentinel is always posted at the gate. I +loved to stand by it and see the haughty seigneurs and +the degraded serf alike humble themselves on crossing +the sacred threshold, and then, with my hat in my hand, +follow the footsteps of the venerating Russian. Once +I attempted to brave the interdict, and go in with +my head covered; but the soldier at the gate stopped +me, and forbade my violating the sacred prohibition. +Within the walls I wandered about, without any definite +object, sometimes entering the great church and +beholding for a moment the prostrate Russian praying +before the image of some saint, or descending to look +once more at the great bell, or at other times mounting +the tower and gazing at the beautiful panorama of +the city.</p> + +<p>On the last day of my stay in Moscow a great crowd +drew me to the door of the church, where some fête +was in course of celebration, in honour of the birth, +marriage, or some other incident in the life of the +emperor or empress. The archbishop, a venerable-looking +old man, was officiating, and when he came +out a double line of men, women, and children was +drawn up from the door of the church to his carriage, +all pressing forward and struggling to kiss his hands. +The crowd dispersed, and I strolled once more through +the repository of heirlooms, and imperial reliques and +trophies; but, passing by the crowns loaded with jewels, +the canopies and thrones adorned with velvet and +gold, I paused before the throne of unhappy Poland! +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span>I have seen great cities desolate and in ruins, magnificent +temples buried in the sands of the African desert, +and places once teeming with fertility now lying waste +and silent; but no monument of fallen greatness ever +affected me more than this. It was covered with blue +velvet and studded with golden stars. It had been the +seat of Casimir, and Sobieski, and Stanislaus Augustus. +Brave men had gathered round it and sworn to defend +it, and died in redeeming their pledge. Their oaths are +registered in heaven, their bodies rest in bloody graves; +Poland is blotted from the list of nations, and her throne, +unspotted with dishonour, brilliant as the stars which +glitter on its surface, is exhibited as a Russian trophy, +before which the stoutest manhood need not blush to +drop a tear.</p> + +<p>Toward evening I returned to my favourite place, +the porch of the palace of the Czars. I seated myself +on the step, took out my tablets, and commenced a letter +to my friends at home. What should I write? Above +me was the lofty tower of Ivan Veliki; below, a solitary +soldier, in his gray overcoat, was retiring to a sentry-box +to avoid a drizzling rain. His eyes were fixed upon +me, and I closed my book. I am not given to musing, +but I could not help it. Here was the theatre of one +of the most extraordinary events in the history of the +world. After sixty battles and a march of more than +two thousand miles, the grand army of Napoleon entered +Moscow, and found no smoke issuing from a single +chimney, nor a Muscovite even to gaze upon them from +the battlements or walls. Moscow was deserted, her +magnificent palaces forsaken by their owners, her three +hundred thousand inhabitants vanished as if they had +never been. Silent and amazed, the grand army filed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span>through its desolate streets. Approaching the Kremlin, +a few miserable, ferocious, and intoxicated wretches, +left behind as a savage token of the national hatred, +poured a volley of musketry from the battlements. At +midnight the flames broke out in the city; Napoleon, +driven from his quarters in the suburbs, hurried to the +Kremlin, ascended the steps, and entered the door at +which I sat. For two days the French soldiers laboured +to repress the fierce attempts to burn the city. Russian +police-officers were seen stirring up the fire with tarred +lances; hideous-looking men and women, covered with +rags, were wandering like demons amid the flames, +armed with torches, and striving to spread the conflagration. +At midnight again the whole city was in a +blaze; and while the roof of the Kremlin was on fire, +and the panes of the window against which he leaned +were burning to the touch, Napoleon watched the course +of the flames and exclaimed, "What a tremendous +spectacle! These are Scythians indeed." Amid volumes +of smoke and fire, his eyes blinded by the intense +heat, and his hands burned in shielding his face from +its fury, and traversing streets arched with fire, he escaped +from the burning city.</p> + +<p>Russia is not classic ground. It does not stand before +us covered with the shadow of great men's deeds. A +few centuries ago it was overrun by wandering tribes +of barbarians; but what is there in those lands which +stand forth on the pages of history, crowned with the +glory of their ancient deeds, that, for extraordinary daring, +for terrible sublimity, and undaunted patriotism, +exceeds the burning of Moscow. Neither Marathon, +nor Thermopylæ, nor the battle of the Horatii, nor the +defence of Cocles, nor the devotion of the Decii, can +equal it; and when time shall cover with its dim and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span>quiet glories that bold and extraordinary deed, the burning +of Moscow will be regarded as outstripping all that +we read of Grecian or Roman patriotism, and the name +of the Russian governor (Rostopchin), if it be not too +tough a name to hand down to posterity, will never be +forgotten.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Getting a Passport.—Parting with the Marquis.—The Language of Signs.—A +Loquacious Traveller.—From Moscow to St. Petersburgh.—The +Wolga.—Novogorod.—Newski Perspective.—An unfortunate Mistake.—Northern +Twilight.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Unable</span> to remain longer in Moscow, I prepared for +my journey for St. Petersburgh. Several diligences +run regularly between these two great cities; one of +which, the Velocifère, is superior to any public conveyance +on the Continent of Europe. I took my place in +that, and two days beforehand sent my passport to be +<i>viséd</i>. I sent for it the next day, and it was not ready. I +went myself, and could not get it. I knew that nothing +could be done at the Russian offices without paying for +it, and was ready and willing to do so, and time after +time I called the attention of the officer to my passport. +He replied coolly, "<i>Dans un instant</i>," and, turning to +something else, kept me waiting two hours; and when +at length he took it up and arranged it, he led me down +stairs out of sight to receive the expected <i>douceur</i>. He +was a well-dressed man, with the large government button +on his coat, and rather distingué in his appearance +and manners. I took the passport, folded it up, and put +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span>it in my pocket with a coolness equal to his own, and +with malicious pleasure put into his hand a single ruble, +equal to twenty cents of our money; he expected +at least twenty-five rubles, or about five dollars, and his +look of rage and disappointment amply repaid me for all +the vexation he had caused by his delay. I bade him +farewell with a smile that almost drove him mad.</p> + +<p>Bribery is said to be almost universal among the inferior +officers of government, and there is a story of a +Frenchman in Russia which illustrates the system. +He had an office, of which the salary was so small that +he could not live upon it. At first he would not take +bribes, but stern necessity drove him to it, and while +he was about it he did the thing handsomely. Having +overreached the mark, and been guilty of being detected, +he was brought before the proper tribunal; and +when asked, "Why did you take a bribe?" his answer +was original and conclusive, "I take, thou takest, he +takes, we take, you take, they take!"</p> + +<p>I told the marquis the story of my parting interview +at the police-office, which he said was capital, but startled +me by suggesting that, if there should happen to be +any irregularity, I would have great trouble in getting it +rectified; even this, however, did not disturb my immediate +satisfaction, and, fortunately, all was right.</p> + +<p>The morning of my departure, before I was out of +bed, the marquis was in my room. Meeting with me +had revived in him feelings long since dead; and at the +moment of parting he told me, what his pride had till +that moment concealed, that his heart yearned once +more to his kindred; and that, if he had the means, old +as he was, he would go to America. And yet, though +his frame trembled and his voice was broken, and his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span>lamp was almost burned out, his spirit was as high as +when he fought the battles of the empire; and he told +me to say to them that he would not come to be a dependant +upon their bounty; that he could repay all they +should do for him by teaching their children. He gave +me his last painting, which he regarded with the pride +of an artist, as a souvenir for his sister; but having no +means of carrying it safely, I was obliged to return it +to him. He remained with me till the moment of my +departure, clung to my hand after I had taken my place +in the drosky, and when we had started I looked back +and saw him still standing in the road. It seemed as +if the last link that bound him to earth was broken. +He gave me a letter, which I forwarded to his friends at +home; his sister was still living, and had not forgotten +her long-lost brother; she had not heard from him in +twenty years, and had long believed him dead. Pecuniary +assistance was immediately sent to him, and, unhappily, +since my return home, intelligence has been +received that it arrived only at the last moment when +human aid could avail him; in time to smooth the pillow +of death by the assurance that his friends had not +forgotten him. And perhaps, in his dying moments, he +remembered me. At all events, it is some satisfaction, +amid the recollections of an unprofitable life, to think +that, when his checkered career was drawing to its close, +I had been the means of gladdening for a moment the +old exile's heart.</p> + +<p>I must not forget my host, the quondam exile to Siberia. +In his old days his spirit too was chafed at living +under despotism, and, like the marquis, he also +hoped, before he died, to visit America. I gave him +my address, with the hope, but with very little expectation, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span>of seeing him again. A travelling companion once +remarked, that if every vagabond to whom I gave my +address should find his way to America, I would have +a precious set to present to my friends. Be it so; there +is not a vagabond among them whom I would not be +glad to see.</p> + +<p>My English companion and myself had seen but little +of each other at Moscow. He intended to remain longer +than I did, but changed his mind, and took a place +in the same diligence for St. Petersburgh. This diligence +was the best I ever rode in; and, for a journey of +nearly five hundred miles, we could not have been more +comfortably arranged. It started at the hour punctually, +as from the Messagere in Paris. We rolled for the last +time through the streets of Moscow, and in a few minutes +passed out at the St. Petersburgh Gate. Our companions +were a man about thirty-five, a cattle-driver, +with his trousers torn, and his linen hanging out ostentatiously +in different places, and an old man about sixty-five, +just so far civilized as to have cut off the long +beard and put on broadcloth clothes. It was the first +time the old man had ever been on a journey from home; +everything was new to him, and he seemed puzzled to +know what to make of us; he could not comprehend +how we could look, and walk, and eat like Russians, +and not talk like them. My place was directly opposite +his, and, as soon as we were seated, he began to talk +to me. I looked at him and made no answer; he began +again, and went on in an uninterrupted strain for several +minutes, more and more surprised that I did not answer, +or answered only in unintelligible sounds. After a while +he seemed to come to the conclusion that I was deaf +and dumb and turned to my companion as to my keeper +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span>for an explanation. Finding he could do nothing +there, he appeared alarmed, and it was some time before +he could get a clear idea of the matter. When +he did, however, he pulled off an amazingly white +glove, took my hand and shook it, pointed to his head, +shook it, and touched my head, then put his hand to +his heart, then to my heart; all which was to say, that +though our heads did not understand each other, our +hearts did. But though he saw we did not understand +him, he did not on that account stop talking; indeed, +he talked incessantly, and the only way of stopping him +was to look directly in his face and talk back again; +and I read him long lectures, particularly upon the +snares and temptations of the world into which he was +about to plunge, and wound up with stanzas of poetry +and scraps of Greek and Latin, all which the old man +listened to without ever interrupting me, bending his +ear as if he expected every moment to catch something +he understood; and when I had finished, after a moment's +blank expression he whipped off his white glove, +took my hand, and touched significantly his head and +heart. Indeed, a dozen times a day he did this; and +particularly whenever we got out, on resuming our seats, +as a sort of renewal of the compact of good fellowship, +the glove invariably came off, and the significant movement +between the hand, head, and heart was repeated. +The second day a young seigneur named Chickoff, who +spoke French, joined the diligence, and through him +we had full explanations with the old Russian. He always +called me the American graff or noble, and said +that, after being presented to the emperor, I should go +down with him into the country.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span>My worthy comrade appeared at first to be not a little +bored by the old man's garrulous humour; but at length, +seized by a sudden whim, began, as he said, to teach him +English. But such English! He taught him, after a +fashion peculiarly his own, the manner of addressing a +lady and gentleman in English; and very soon, with the +remarkable facility of the Russians in acquiring languages, +the old man, utterly unconscious of their meaning, +repeated the words with extraordinary distinctness; +and regularly, when he took his place in the diligence, +he accompanied the significant movements of his hand, +head, and heart to me with the not very elegant address +taught him by my companion. Though compelled to +smile inwardly at the absurdity of the thing, I could +not but feel the inherent impropriety of the conduct of +my eccentric fellow-traveller; and ventured to suggest +to him that, though he had an undoubted right to do as +he pleased in matters that could not implicate me, yet, +independent of the very questionable character of the +joke itself (for the words savoured more of Wapping +than of St. James's), as we were known to have travelled +together, a portion of the credit of having taught the +old Russian English might fall upon me—an honour of +which I was not covetous, and, therefore, should tell the +old man never to repeat the words he had been taught, +which I did without assigning any reason for it, and before +we arrived at St. Petersburgh he had forgotten +them.</p> + +<p>The road from Moscow to St. Petersburgh is now +one of the best in Europe. It is Macadamized nearly +the whole way, and a great part is bordered with trees; +the posthouses are generally large and handsome, under +the direction of government, where soup, cutlets, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span>&c., are always ready at a moment's notice, at prices +regulated by a tariff hanging up in the room, which, +however, being written in Russian, was of no particular +use to us. The country is comparatively thickly settled, +and villages are numerous. Even on this road, +however, the villages are forlorn things, being generally +the property and occupied by the serfs of the seigneurs, +and consisting of a single long street, with houses on +both sides built of logs, the better sort squared, with the +gable end to the street, the roofs projecting two or three +feet from the houses, and sometimes ornamented with +rude carving and small holes for windows. We passed +several chateaux, large, imposing buildings, with parks +and gardens, and a large church, painted white, with a +green dome surmounted by a cross.</p> + +<p>In many places on the road are chapels with figures +of the Panagia, or all holy Virgin, or some of the saints; +and our old Russian, constantly on the lookout for +them, never passed one without taking off his hat and +going through the whole formula of crosses; sometimes, +in entering a town, they came upon us in such +quick succession, first on one side, then on the other, +that, if he had not been engaged in, to him, a sacred +ceremony, his hurry and perplexity would have been +ludicrous. During the night we saw fires ahead, and +a little off the road were the bivouacs of teamsters or +wayfarers, who could not pay for lodging in a miserable +Russian hut. All the way we met the great caravan +teams carrying tallow, hides, hemp, and other merchandise +to the cities, and bringing back wrought fabrics, +groceries, &c., into the interior. They were generally +thirty or forty together, one man or woman attending +to three or four carts, or, rather, neglecting +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span>them, as the driver was generally asleep on the top of +his load. The horses, however, seemed to know what +they were about; for as the diligence came rolling toward +them, before the postillion could reach them with +his whip, they intuitively hurried out of the way. The +bridges over the streams and rivers are strong, substantial +structures, built of heavy hewn granite, with iron +balustrades, and ornamented in the centre with the +double-headed eagle, the arms of Russia.</p> + +<p>At Tver we passed the Wolga on a bridge of boats. +This noble river, the longest in Europe, navigable almost +from its source for an extent of four thousand versts, +dividing, for a great part of its course, Europe and Asia, +runs majestically through the city, and rolls on, bathing +the walls of the city of Astrachan, till it reaches the distant +Caspian; its banks still inhabited by the same tribes +of warlike Cossacks who hovered on the skirts of the +French army during their invasion of Russia. By its +junction with the Tverza, a communication is made between +the Wolga and Neva, or, in other words, between +the Caspian and Baltic. The impetus of internal improvements +has extended even to the north of Europe, +and the Emperor Nicolas is now actively engaged in +directing surveys of the great rivers of Russia for the +purpose of connecting them by canals and railroads, and +opening steam communications throughout the whole +interior of his empire. A great number of boats of all +sizes, for carrying grain to the capital, were lying off the +city. These boats are generally provided with one mast, +which, in the largest, may equal a frigate's mainmast. +"The weight of the matsail," an English officer remarks, +"must be prodigious, having no fewer than one hundred +breadths in it; yet the facility with which it is managed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span>bears comparison with that of the Yankees with their +boom mainsail in their fore-and-aft clippers." The rudder +is a ponderous machine, being a broad piece of +timber floating astern twelve or fifteen feet, and fastened +to the tiller by a pole, which descends perpendicularly +into the water; the tiller is from thirty to forty feet long, +and the pilot who turns it stands upon a scaffold at that +distance from the stern. Down the stream a group of +Cossacks were bathing, and I could not resist the temptation +to throw myself for a moment into this king of +rivers. The diligence hurried me, and, as it came along, +I gathered up my clothes and dressed myself inside.</p> + +<p>About eighty versts from St. Petersburgh we came +to the ancient city of Novogorod. In the words of an +old traveller, "Next unto Moscow, the city of Novogorod +is reputed the chiefest in Russia; for although it +be in majestie inferior to it, yet in greatness it goeth beyond +it. It is the chiefest and greatest mart-town of +all Muscovy; and albeit the emperor's seat is not there, +but at Moscow, yet the commodiousness of the river, +falling into that gulf which is called Sinus Finnicus, +whereby it is well frequented by merchants, makes it +more famous than Moscow itself." Few of the ruined +cities of the Old World present so striking an appearance +of fallen greatness as this comparatively unknown +place. There is an ancient saying, "Who can resist +the gods and Novogorod the Great?" Three centuries +ago it covered an area of sixty-three versts in circumference, +and contained a population of more than four +hundred thousand inhabitants. Some parts of it are +still in good condition, but the larger portion has fallen +to decay. Its streets present marks of desolation, mouldering +walls, and ruined churches, and its population +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span>has dwindled to little more than seven thousand inhabitants. +The steeples in this ancient city bear the cross, +unaccompanied by the crescent, the proud token showing +that the Tartars, in all their invasions, never conquered +it, while in the reconquered cities the steeples +all exhibit the crescent surmounted by the cross.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon of the fourth day we were approaching +St. Petersburgh. The ground is low and +flat, and I was disappointed in the first view of the +capital of Russia; but passing the barrier, and riding +up the Newski Perspective, the most magnificent street +in that magnificent city, I felt that the stories of its +splendour were not exaggerated, and that this was, indeed, +entitled to the proud appellation of the "Palmyra +of the North." My English companion again stopped +at a house kept by an Englishwoman and frequented by +his countrymen, and I took an apartment at a hotel in a +broad street with an unpronounceable Russian name, +a little off the Newski Perspective. I was worn and +fatigued with my journey, but I could not resist the inclination +to take a gentle promenade along the Newski +Perspective. While in the coffee-room refreshing myself +with a cup of the best Russian tea, I heard some +one outside the door giving directions to a tailor, and +presently a man entered, whom, without looking at him, +I told he was just the person I wanted to see, as I had +a pair of pantaloons to be mended. He made no answer, +and, without being able to see distinctly, I told +him to wait till I could go up stairs and change them, +and that he must mend them strongly and bring them +back in the morning. In all probability, the next moment +I should have been sprawling on the floor; but the +landlady, a clever Frenchwoman, who saw my error +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span>stepped up, and crying out, "Ah, Monsieur Colonel, +attendez, attendez," explained my mistake as clearly as +I could have done myself, and I followed closely with +an apology, adding that my remark could not be intended +as disrespectful to him, inasmuch as even then, +with the windows closed, I could scarcely distinguish +his person. He understood the thing at once, accepted +my apology with great frankness, and, instead of knocking +me down, or challenging me to fight with sabre or +some other diabolical thing, finding I was a stranger +just arrived from Moscow, sat down at the table, and +before we rose offered to accompany me in my walk.</p> + +<p>There could be no mistake as to the caste of my +new friend. The landlady had called him colonel, and, +in repelling the imputation of his being a tailor, had +spoken of him as a rich seigneur, who for ten years +had occupied the front apartments <i>au premier</i> in her +hotel. We walked out into the Newski Perspective, +and strolled along that magnificent street down to the +Admiralty, and along the noble quays of the Neva. I +had reached the terminus of my journey; for many +months I had been moving farther and farther away, and +the next step I took would carry me toward home. It +was the eve of the fourth of July; and as I strolled +through the broad streets and looked up at the long +ranges of magnificent buildings, I poured into the ear +of my companion the recollections connected with this +moment at home: in boyhood, crackers and fireworks +in readiness for the great jubilee of the morrow; and, +latterly, the excursion into the country to avoid the bustle +and confusion of "the glorious fourth."</p> + +<p>At Moscow and during the journey I had admired +the exceeding beauty of the twilight in these northern +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span>latitudes but this night in St. Petersburgh it was magnificent. +I cannot describe the peculiar shades of this +northern twilight. It is as if the glare and brilliancy of +the sun were softened by the mellowing influence of +the moon, and the city, with its superb ranges of palaces, +its statues, its bridges, and its clear and rapid +river, seemed, under the reflection of that northern +light, of a brilliant and almost unearthly beauty. I felt +like rambling all night. Even though worn with three +days' travel, it was with me as with a young lady at her +first ball; the night was too short. I could not bear to +throw it away in sleep. My companion was tough, +and by no means sentimental, and the scene was familiar +to him; but he told me that, even in his eyes, it +never lost its interest. Moonlight is something, but +this glorious twilight is a thing to enjoy and to remember; +and, as the colonel remarked when we sat down in +his apartment to a comfortable supper, it always gave +him such an appetite. After supper I walked through +a long corridor to my apartment, threw myself upon my +bed and tried to sleep, but the mellow twilight poured +through my window and reproached me with the base +attempt. I was not restless, but I could not sleep; +lest, however, the reader should find himself of a different +humour, I will consider myself asleep the first night +in St. Petersburgh.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Police Requisites.—The Russian Capital.—Equestrian Statue of Peter +the Great.—The Alexandrine Column.—Architectural Wonders.—The +Summer Islands.—A perilous Achievement.—Origin of St. Petersburgh.—Tombs +of dead Monarchs.—Origin of the Russian Navy.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">July Fourth</span>. I had intended to pass this day at +Moscow, and to commemorate it in Napoleon style by +issuing a bulletin from the Kremlin, but it was a long +time since I had heard from home. At Constantinople +I had written to Paris, directing my letters to be sent +to Petersburgh, and, notwithstanding my late hours the +night before, I was at the postoffice before the door +was open. I had never been so long without hearing +from home, and my lips quivered when I asked for letters, +my hand shook when I received them, and I hardly +drew breath until I had finished the last postscript.</p> + +<p>My next business was at the bureau of general police +for a <i>carte de sejour</i>, without which no stranger +can remain in St. Petersburgh. As usual, I was questioned +as to my reasons for coming into Russia; age, +time of sojourn, destination, &c.; and, satisfied that I +had no intention of preaching democratic doctrines or +subverting the government of the autocrat, I received +permission to remain two weeks, which, according to +direction, I gave to my landlord to be entered at the +police-office of his district. As no stranger can stay in +Petersburgh without permission, neither can he leave +without it; and, to obtain this, he must advertise three +times in the Government Gazette, stating his name, address, +and intention of leaving the empire; and as the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span>Gazette is only published twice a week, this formality +occupies eight days. One of the objects of this is to +apprize his creditors, and give them an opportunity of +securing their debts; and few things show the barbarity +and imperfect civilization of the Russians more clearly +than this; making it utterly impossible for a gentleman +to spend a winter in St. Petersburgh and go away without +paying his landlord. This must prevent many a +soaring spirit from wending its way hither, and keep +the residents from being enlivened by the flight of those +birds of passage which dazzle the eyes of the denizens +of other cities. As there was no other way of getting +out of the dominions of the Czar, I caused my name and +intention to be advertised. It did not create much of a +sensation; and though it was proclaimed in three different +languages, no one except my landlord seemed to +feel any interest in it. After all, to get in debt is the +true way to make friends; a man's creditors always +feel an interest in him; hope no misfortune may happen +to him, and always wish him prosperity and success.</p> + +<p>These formalities over, I turned to other things. +Different from every other principal city I had visited, +St. Petersburgh had no storied associations to interest +the traveller. There is no Colosseum, as at Rome; +no Acropolis, as at Athens; no Rialto, as at Venice; +and no Kremlin, as at Moscow; nothing identified with +the men and scenes hallowed in our eyes, and nothing +that can touch the heart. It depends entirely upon itself +for the interest it creates in the mind of the traveller.</p> + +<p>St. Petersburgh is situated at the mouth of the Neva, +at the eastern extremity of the Gulf of Finland. It is +built partly on islands formed by the Neva, and partly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span>on both sides of that river. But little more than a century +ago, the ground now covered with stately palaces +consisted of wild morasses and primeval forests, and a +few huts tenanted by savage natives, who lived upon +the fish of the sea. In seventeen hundred and three +Peter the Great appeared as a captain of grenadiers +under the orders of one of his own generals, on the +wild and dreary banks of the Neva, drove the Swedes +from their fortress at its mouth, cut down the forests +on the rude islands of the river, and laid the foundations +of a city which now surpasses in architectural magnificence +every other in the world. I do not believe that +Rome, when Adrian reared the mighty Colosseum, and +the Palace of the Cæsars covered the Capitoline Hill, +exhibited such a range of noble structures as now exists +in the Admiralty Quarter. The Admiralty itself +is the central point, on one side fronting the Neva, and +on the other a large open square, and has a façade of +marble, with ranges of columns, a quarter of a mile in +length. A beautiful golden spire shoots up from the +centre, towering above every other object, and seen +from every part of the city glittering in the sun; and +three principal streets, each two miles in length, radiate +from this point. In front is a range of boulevards, ornamented +with trees, and an open square, at one extremity +of which stands the great church of St. Isaac, +of marble, jasper, and porphyry, upon a foundation of +granite; it has been once destroyed, and reared again +with increased splendour, enormous columns of a single +block of red granite already lifting their capitals in the +air.</p> + +<p>On the right of the façade, and near the Isaac Bridge, +itself a magnificent structure, a thousand and fifty feet +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>long and sixty feet wide, with two drawbridges, stands +the well-known equestrian statue of Peter the Great. +The huge block of granite forming the pedestal is fifteen +hundred tons in weight. The height of the figure of +the emperor is eleven feet, that of the horse seventeen +feet, and the weight of the metal in the group nearly +thirty-seven thousand pounds. Both the idea and the +execution of this superb monument are regarded as +masterpieces of genius. To immortalize the enterprise +and personal courage with which that extraordinary +man conquered all difficulties and converted a few fishermen's +huts into palaces, Peter is represented on a +fiery steed, rushing up a steep and precipitous rock to +the very brink of a precipice; the horse rears with his +fore feet in the air, and seems to be impatient of restraint, +while the imperial rider, in an attitude of triumph, +extends the hand of protection over his capital rising +out of the waters. To aid the inspiration of the artist, +a Russian officer, the boldest rider of his time, daily +rode the wildest Arabian of Count Orloff's stud to the +summit of a steep mound, where he halted him suddenly, +with his forelegs raised pawing the air over the brink of +the precipice. The monument is surrounded by an iron +railing, and the pedestal bears the simple inscription, +Petro Primo, Catharina Secunda, MDCCLXXXII.</p> + +<p>On the other side of the square, and in front of the +Winter Palace, raised within the last two years, and the +most gigantic work of modern days, rivalling those magnificent +monuments in the Old World whose ruins now +startle the wondering traveller, and towering to the +heavens, as if to proclaim that the days of architectural +greatness are not gone by for ever, is the great Alexandrine +Column, a single shaft of red granite, exclusive +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span>of pedestal and capital, eighty-four feet high. On the +summit stands an angel holding a cross with the left +hand, and pointing to heaven with the right. The pedestal +contains the simple inscription, "To Alexander +I. Grateful Russia."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p101.jpg" width="50%" alt="Column of Alexander I." title="Column of Alexander I." /> +<p class="caption">Column of Alexander I.</p> +</div> + +<p>Surrounding this is a crescent of lofty buildings, +denominated the Etat Major, its central portion having +before it a majestic colonnade of the Corinthian order, +placed on a high rustic basement, with a balustrade +of solid bronze gilt between the columns. In +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span>the middle is a triumphal arch, which, with its frieze, +reaches nearly to the upper part of the lofty building, +having a span of seventy feet, the entablature sculptured +with military trophies, allegorical figures, and +groups in alto relievo. Next on a line with the Admiralty, +and fronting the quay, stands the first of a +long range of imperial palaces, extending in the form of +a crescent for more than a mile along the Neva. The +Winter Palace is a gigantic and princely structure, built +of marble, with a façade of seven hundred and forty +feet. Next are the two palaces of the Hermitage, connected +with it and with each other by covered galleries +on bold arches; the beautiful and tasteful fronts of +these palaces are strangely in contrast with their simple +and unpretending name. Next is the stately Grecian +theatre of the Hermitage. Beyond this are the barracks +of the guards, then the palace of the French ambassador, +then the marble palace built by Catharine II. for +her favourite, Prince Orloff, with a basement of granite +and superstructure of bluish marble, ornamented with +marble columns and pillars. In this palace died Stanislaus +Poniatowsky, the last of the Polish sovereigns. +This magnificent range, presenting an uninterrupted +front of marble palaces upward of a mile in length, unequalled +in any city in the world, is terminated by an +open square, in which stands a colossal statue of Suwarrow; +beyond this, still on the Neva, is the beautiful +summer garden fronting the palace of Paul II.; and +near it, and at the upper end of the square, is the palace +of the Grand-duke Michael.</p> + +<p>Opposite is the citadel, with its low bastions of +solid granite, washed all around by the Neva; beautiful +in its structure, and beautifully decorated by the tall, +slender, and richly gilded spire of its church. On the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span>one side of the Admiralty is the senatorial palace, and +beyond opens the English Quay, with a range of buildings +that might well be called the residence of "merchant +princes;" while the opposite bank is crowded +with public buildings, among which the most conspicuous +are the palace of the Academy of the Fine Arts; +the Obelisk, rising in the centre of a wide square, recording +the glory of some long-named Russian hero; +the building of the Naval Cadet Corps, with its handsome +front, and the barracks of the Guard of Finland; +finally, the great pile of palace-like buildings belonging +to the Military Cadet Corps, reaching nearly to the +palace of the Academy of Sciences, and terminating +with the magnificent Grecian front of the Exchange. I +know that a verbal description can give but a faint +idea of the character of this scene, nor would it help +the understanding of it to say that it exhibits all that +wealth and architectural skill can do, for few in our +country know what even these powerful engines can +effect; as for myself, hardly noting the details, it was +my greatest delight to walk daily to the bridge across +the Neva, at the summer gardens, the view from which +more than realized all the crude and imperfect notions +of architectural magnificence that had ever floated +through my mind; a result that I had never found in +any other city I had yet seen, not excepting Venice the +Rich or Genoa the Proud, although the latter is designated +in guide-books the city of palaces.</p> + +<p>Next to the palaces in solidity and beauty of structure +are the bridges crossing the Neva, and the magnificent +quays along its course, these last being embankments +of solid granite, lining the stream on either side the +whole length of its winding course through the city.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span>I was always at a loss whether to ride or walk in St. +Petersburgh; sometimes I mounted a drosky and rode +up and down the Newski Perspective, merely for the +sake of rolling over the wooden pavement. This street +is perhaps more than twice as wide as Broadway; the +gutter is in the middle, and on each side are wooden +pavements wide enough for vehicles to pass each other +freely. The experiment of wooden pavements was first +made in this street, and found to answer so well that it +has since been introduced into many others; and as +the frost is more severe than with us, and it has stood +the test of a Russian winter, if rightly constructed it +will, no doubt, prove equally successful in our own city. +The road is first covered with broken stone, or Macadamized; +then logs are laid across it, the interstices being +filled up with sand and stone, and upon this are placed +hexagonal blocks of pine about eighteen inches long, +fitted like joiner's work, fastened with long pegs, and +covered with a preparation of melted lead.</p> + +<p>When I left Paris I had no expectation of travelling +in Russia, and, consequently, had no letter of introduction +to Mr. Wilkins, our minister; but, long before reaching +St. Petersburgh, I had made it a rule, immediately +on my arrival in a strange place, to call upon our representative, +whatever he might be, from a minister plenipotentiary +down to a little Greek consul. I did so here, +and was probably as well received upon my own introduction +as if I had been recommended by letter; for I +got from Mr. Wilkins the invitation to dinner usually +consequent upon a letter, and besides much interesting +information from home, and, more than all, a budget of +New-York newspapers. It was a long time since I had +seen a New-York paper, and I hailed all the well-known +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span>names, informed myself of every house to let, every vessel +to sail, all the cotton in market, and a new kind of +shaving-soap for sale at Hart's Bazar; read with particular +interest the sales of real estate by James +Bleecker and Sons; wondered at the rapid increase of +the city in creating a demand for building lots in one +hundred and twenty-seventh street, and reflected that +some of my old friends had probably grown so rich that +they would not recognise me on my return.</p> + +<p>Having made arrangements for the afternoon to visit +the Summer Islands, I dined with my friend the colonel, +in company with Prince —— (I have his name in +my pocketbook, written by himself, and could give a +facsimile of it, but I could not spell it). The prince +was about forty-five, a high-toned gentleman, a nobleman +in his feelings, and courtly in his manners, though, +for a prince, rather out at elbows in fortune. The colonel +and he had been fellow-soldiers, had served in the +guards during the whole of the French invasion, and +entered Paris with the allied armies as officers in the +same regiment. Like most of the Russian seigneurs, +they had run through their fortunes in their military career. +The colonel, however, had been set up again by +an inheritance from a deceased relative, but the prince +remained ruined. He was now living upon a fragment +saved from the wreck of his estate, a pension for his +military services, and the bitter experience acquired +by a course of youthful extravagance. Like many of +the reduced Russian seigneurs, he was disaffected toward +the government, and liberal in politics; he was a +warm admirer of liberal institutions, had speculated upon +and studied them both in France and America, and +analyzed understandingly the spirit of liberty as developed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span>by the American and French revolutions; when +he talked of Washington, he folded his hands and looked +up to heaven, as if utterly unable to express the fulness +of his emotions. With us, the story of our revolution +is a hackneyed theme, and even the sacred name of +Washington has become almost commonplace; but the +freshness of feeling with which the prince spoke of him +invested him in my eyes with a new and holy character. +After dinner, and while on our way to the Summer Islands, +we stopped at his apartments, when he showed +me the picture of Washington conspicuous on the wall; +under it, by way of contrast, was that of Napoleon; and +he summed up the characters of both in few words, by +saying that the one was all for himself, the other all for +his country.</p> + +<p>The Summer Islands on Sundays and fête days are +the great promenade of the residents of the capital, and +the approach to them is either by land or water. We +preferred the latter, and at the Admiralty took a boat on +the Neva. All along the quay are flights of steps cut in +the granite, and descending to a granite platform, where +boats are constantly in attendance for passengers. +These boats are fantastically painted, and have the stern +raised some three or four feet; sometimes they are covered +with an awning. The oar is of disproportionate +thickness toward the handle, the blade very broad, always +feathered in rowing, and the boatman, in his calico +or linen shirt and pantaloons, his long yellowish beard +and mustaches, looks like anything but the gondolier of +Venice. In passing down the Neva I noticed, about half +way between low-water mark and the top of the quay, +a ring which serves to fasten vessels, and is the mark, +to which if the water rises, an inundation may be expected. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span>The police are always on the watch, and the +fearful moment is announced by the firing of cannon, by +the display of white flags from the Admiralty steeple by +day, and by lanterns and the tolling of the bells at night. +In the last dreadful inundation of eighteen hundred and +twenty-four, bridges were swept away, boats floated in +some parts of the town above the tops of the houses, +and many villages were entirely destroyed. At Cronstadt, +a vessel of one hundred tons was left in the middle +of one of the principal streets; eight thousand dead +bodies were found and buried, and probably many thousands +more were hurried on to the waters of the Gulf +of Finland.</p> + +<p>It was a fête day in honour of some church festival, +and a great portion of the population of St. Petersburgh +was bending its way toward the Summer Islands. The +emperor and empress were expected to honour the +promenade with their presence, and all along the quay +boats were shooting out loaded with gay parties, and, as +they approached the islands, they formed into a fleet, +almost covering the surface of the river. We were +obliged to wait till perhaps a dozen boats had discharged +their passengers before we could land.</p> + +<p>These islands are formed by the branches of the +Neva, at about three versts from St. Petersburgh. +They are beautifully laid out in grass and gravel-walks, +ornamented with trees, lakes, shrubs, and flowers, connected +together by light and elegant bridges, and adorned +with beautiful little summer-houses. These summer-houses +are perfectly captivating; light and airy in their +construction, and completely buried among the trees. +As we walked along we heard music or gentle voices, +and now and then came upon a charming cottage, with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span>a beautiful lawn or garden, just enough exposed to let +the passer-by imagine what he pleased; and on the +lawn was a light fanciful tent, or an arbour hung with +foliage, under which the occupants, with perhaps a +party of friends from the city, were taking tea, and +groups of rosy children were romping around them, +while thousands were passing by and looking on, with +as perfect an appearance of domestic <i>abandon</i> as if in +the privacy of the fireside. I have sometimes reproached +myself that my humour changed with every passing +scene; but, inasmuch as it generally tended toward at +least a momentary satisfaction, I did not seek to check +it; and though, from habit and education, I would have +shrunk from such a family exhibition, here it was perfectly +delightful. It seemed like going back to a simpler +and purer age. The gay and smiling faces seemed +to indicate happy hearts; and when I saw a mother +playing on the green with a little cherub daughter, I +felt how I hung upon the community, a loose and disjointed +member, and would fain have added myself to +some cheerful family group. A little farther on, however, +I saw a papa flogging a chubby urchin, who +drowned with his bellowing the music from a neighbouring +arbour, which somewhat broke the charm of +this public exhibition of scenes of domestic life.</p> + +<p>Besides these little retiring-places or summer residences +of citizens, restaurants and houses of refreshments +were distributed in great abundance, and numerous +groups were sitting under the shade of trees or +arbours, taking ices or refreshments; and the grounds +for promenade were so large and beautifully disposed, +that, although thousands were walking through them, +there was no crowd, except before the door of a principal +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span>refectory, where a rope-dancer was flourishing in +the air among the tops of the trees.</p> + +<p>In addition to the many enchanting retreats and summer +residences created by the taste, luxury, and wealth +of private individuals, there are summer theatres and +imperial villas. But the gem of the islands is the little +imperial palace at Cammenoi. I have walked through +royal palaces, and admired their state and magnificence +without one wish to possess them, but I felt a strong +yearning toward this imperial villa. It is not so grand +and stately as to freeze and chill one, but a thing of extraordinary +simplicity and elegance, in a beautifully +picturesque situation, heightened by a charming disposition +of lawn and trees, so elegant, and, if I may add +such an unpoetical word in the description of this imperial +residence, so comfortable, that I told the prince +if I were a Rasselas escaped from the happy valley, I +would look no farther for a resting-place. The prince +replied that in the good old days of Russian barbarism, +when a queen swayed the sceptre, Russia had been a +great field for enterprising and adventurous young men, +and in more than one instance a palace had been the +reward of a favourite. We gave a sigh to the memory +of those good old days, and at eleven o'clock returned +to the city on the top of an omnibus. The whole road +from the Summer Islands and the great street leading +to the Admiralty were lighted with little glass lamps, +arranged on the sidewalks about six feet apart, but +they almost realized the conceit of illuminating the sun +by hanging candles around it, seeming ashamed of their +own sickly glare and struggling vainly with the glorious +twilight.</p> + +<p>The next morning the valet who had taken me as his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span>master, and who told others in the house that he could +not attend to them, as he was in my service, informed +me that a traveller arrived from Warsaw the night before +had taken apartments in the same hotel, and could +give me all necessary information in regard to that route; +and, after breakfast, I sent him, with my compliments, +to ask the traveller if he would admit me, and shortly +after called myself. He was a young man, under thirty, +above the middle size, strong and robust of frame, with +good features, light complexion, but very much freckled, +a head of extraordinary red hair, and a mustache of the +same brilliant colour; and he was dressed in a coloured +stuff morning-gown, and smoking a pipe with an air of no +small dignity and importance. I explained the purpose +of my visit, and he gave me as precise information as +could possibly be had; and the most gratifying part of +the interview was, that before we separated he told +me that he intended returning to Warsaw in about ten +days, and would be happy to have me bear him company. +I gladly embraced his offer, and left him, better pleased +with the result of my interview than I had expected +from his rather unprepossessing appearance. He was +a Frenchman by descent, born in Belgium, and educated +and resident in Poland, and possessed in a striking degree +the compounded amor patriæ incident to the relationship +in which he stood to these three countries. +But, as I shall be obliged to speak of him frequently +hereafter, I will leave him for the present to his morning-gown +and pipe.</p> + +<p>Well pleased with having my plans arranged, I went +out without any specific object, and found myself on the +banks of the Neva. Directly opposite the Winter Palace, +and one of the most conspicuous objects on the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span>whole line of the Neva, is the citadel or old fortress, +and, in reality, the foundation of the city. I looked +long and intently on the golden spire of its church, +shooting toward the sky and glittering in the sun. +This spire, which rises tapering till it seems almost to +fade away into nothing, is surmounted by a large globe, +on which stands an angel supporting a cross. This +angel, being made of corruptible stuff, once manifested +symptoms of decay, and fears were entertained that +he would soon be numbered with the fallen. Government +became perplexed how to repair it, for to raise a +scaffolding to such a height would cost more than the +angel was worth. Among the crowd which daily assembled +to gaze at it from below was a roofer of houses, +who, after a long and silent examination, went to the +government and offered to repair it without any scaffolding +or assistance of any kind. His offer was accepted; +and on the day appointed for the attempt, provided +with nothing but a coil of cords, he ascended inside +to the highest window, and, looking for a moment +at the crowd below and at the spire tapering away above +him, stood up on the outer ledge of the window. The +spire was covered with sheets of gilded copper, which, +to beholders from below, presented only a smooth surface +of burnished gold; but the sheets were roughly laid, and +fastened by large nails, which projected from the sides +of the spire. He cut two pieces of cord, and tied loops +at each end of both, fastened the upper loops over two +projecting nails, and stood with his feet in the lower; +then, clinching the fingers of one hand over the rough +edges of the sheets of copper, raised himself till he +could hitch one of the loops on a higher nail with the +other hand; he did the same for the other loop, and so +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span>he raised one leg after the other, and at length ascended, +nail by nail, and stirrup by stirrup, till he clasped his +arms around the spire directly under the ball. Here it +seemed impossible to go any farther, for the ball was +ten or twelve feet in circumference, with a smooth and +glittering surface, and no projecting nails, and the angel +was above the ball, as completely out of sight as if it +were in the habitation of its prototypes. But the +daring roofer was not disheartened. Raising himself +in his stirrups, he encircled the spire with a cord, which +he tied round his waist; and, so supported, leaned gradually +back until the soles of his feet were braced against +the spire, and his body fixed almost horizontally in the +air. In this position he threw a cord over the top of the +ball, and threw it so coolly and skilfully that at the first +attempt it fell down on the other side, just as he wanted +it; then he drew himself up to his original position, and, +by means of his cord, climbed over the smooth sides of +the globe, and in a few moments, amid thunders of +applause from the crowd below, which at that great +height sounded only like a faint murmur, he stood by +the side of the angel. After attaching a cord to it he +descended, and the next day carried up with him a ladder +of ropes, and effected the necessary repairs.</p> + +<p>But to return. With my eyes fixed upon the spire, +I crossed the bridge and entered the gate of the fortress. +It is built on a small island, fortified by five bastions, +which, on the land side, are mere ramparts connected +with St. Petersburgh quarter by drawbridges, and on +the river side it is surrounded by walls cased with granite, +in the centre of which is a large gate or sallyport. +As a fortress, it is now useless; but it is a striking object +of embellishment to the river, and an interesting +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span>monument in the history of the city. Peter himself +selected this spot for his citadel and the foundation of +his city. At that time it contained two fishing-huts in +ruins, the only original habitations on the island. It +was necessary to cut down the trees, and elevate the +surface of the island with dirt and stone brought from +other places before he commenced building the fortress; +and the labour of the work was immense, no +less than forty thousand workmen being employed at +one time. Soldiers, Swedish prisoners, Ingrians, Carelians, +and Cossacks, Tartars and Calmucs, were +brought from their distant solitudes to lay the foundation +of the imperial city, labouring entirely destitute of +all the comforts of life, sleeping on the damp ground +and in the open air, often without being able, in that +wilderness, to procure their daily meal; and, moreover, +without pickaxes, spades, or other instruments of labour, +and using only their bare hands for digging; but, +in spite of all this, the work advanced with amazing +rapidity, and in four months the fortress was completed. +The principal objects of interest it now contains are the +Imperial Mint and the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. +Paul. Brought up in a community where "making +money" is the great business of life, I ought, perhaps, +to have entered the former, but I turned away from the +ingots of gold and silver, and entered the old church, +the burial-place of Peter the Great, and nearly all the +Czars and Czarinas, emperors and empresses, since his +time. Around the walls were arranged flags and banners, +trophies taken in war, principally from the Turks, +waving mournfully over the tombs of the dead. A +sombre light broke through the lofty windows, and I +moved directly to the tomb of Peter. It is near the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span>great altar, of plain marble, in the shape of a square +coffin, without any ornament but a gold plate, on one +end of which are engraved his name and title; and at +the moment of my entrance an old Russian was dusting +it with a brush. It was with a mingled feeling of veneration +and awe that I stood by the tomb of Peter. I +had always felt a profound admiration for this extraordinary +man, one of those prodigies of nature which appear +on the earth only once in many centuries; a combination +of greatness and cruelty, the sternness of whose +temper spared neither age nor sex, nor the dearest ties +of kindred; whose single mind changed the face of an +immense empire and the character of millions, and yet +who often remarked with bitter compunction, "I can +reform my people, but I cannot reform myself."</p> + +<p>By his side lies the body of his wife, Catharine I., +the beautiful Livonian, the daughter of a peasant girl, +and the wife of a common soldier, who, by a wonderful +train of events, was raised to wield the sceptre of a +gigantic empire. Her fascination soothed the savage +Peter in his moodiest hours. She was the mediatrix +between the stern monarch and his subjects; mercy +was ever on her lips, and one who knew her well +writes what might be inscribed in letters of gold upon +her tomb: "She was a pretty, well-looked woman, but +not of that sublimity of wit, or, rather, that quickness +of imagination which some people have supposed. The +great reason why the Czar was so fond of her was her +exceeding good temper; she never was seen peevish +or out of humour; obliging and civil to all, and never +forgetful of her former condition, and withal mighty +grateful."</p> + +<p>Near their imperial parents lie the bodies of their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span>two daughters, Anne of Holstein and the Empress +Elizabeth. Peter, on his deathbed, in an interval of +delirium, called to him his daughter Anne, as it was +supposed, with the intention of settling upon her the +crown, but suddenly relapsed into insensibility; and +Anne, brought up in the expectation of two crowns, +died in exile, leaving one son, the unfortunate Peter III.</p> + +<p>Elizabeth died on the throne, a motley character of +goodness, indolence, and voluptuousness, and extremely +admired for her great personal attractions. She was +never married, but, as she frequently owned to her confidants, +never happy but when in love. She was so tender +of heart that she made a vow to inflict no capital +punishment during her reign; shed tears upon the news +of every victory gained by her troops, from the reflection +that it could not have been gained without bloodshed, +and would never give her consent for the execution of a +felon, however deserving; and yet she condemned two +noble ladies, one of them the most beautiful woman in +Russia, to receive fifty strokes of the knout in the open +square of St. Petersburgh.</p> + +<p>I strolled for a few moments among the other imperial +sepulchres, and returned to the tombs of Peter's +family. Separate monuments are erected over their +bodies, all in the shape of large oblong tombstones, ornamented +with gold, and enclosed by high iron railings. +As I leaned against the railing of Peter's tomb, I missed +one member of his imperial family. It was an awful +chasm. Where was his firstborn child and only son? +the presumptive heir of his throne and empire? Early +the object of his unnatural prejudice, excluded from the +throne, imprisoned, tortured, tried, condemned, sentenced +to death by the stern decree of his offended father!</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span>The ill-starred Alexius lies in the vaults of the church, +in the imperial sepulchre, but without any tomb or inscription +to perpetuate the recollection of his unhappy +existence. And there is something awful in the juxtaposition +of the dead; he lies by the side of his unhappy +consort, the amiable Princess Charlotte, who died the +victim of his brutal neglect; so subdued by affliction +that, in a most affecting farewell to Peter, unwilling to +disturb the tranquillity of her last hour, she never mentioned +his name, and welcomed death as a release from +her sufferings.</p> + +<p>Leaving the church, I went to a detached building +within the fortress, where is preserved, in a separate +building, a four-oared boat, as a memorial of the origin +of the Russian navy. Its history is interesting. About +the year 1691 Peter saw this boat at a village near +Moscow; and inquiring the cause of its being built differently +from those he was in the habit of seeing, learned +that it was contrived to go against the wind. Under +the direction of Brandt, the Dutch shipwright who built +it, he acquired the art of managing it. He afterward +had a large pleasure-yacht constructed after the same +model, and from this beginning went on till he surprised +all Europe by a large fleet on the Baltic and the Black +Sea. Twenty years afterward he had it brought up +from Moscow, and gave a grand public entertainment, +which he called the consecration of the "little grandsire." +The fleet, consisting of twenty-seven men-of-war, +was arranged at Cronstadt in the shape of a half +moon. Peter embarked in the little grandsire, himself +steering, and three admirals and Prince Mendzikoff rowing, +and made a circuit in the gulf, passing by the fleet, +the ships striking their flags and saluting it with their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span>guns, while the little grandsire returned each salute by a +discharge of three small pieces. It was then towed up +to St. Petersburgh, where its arrival was celebrated by +a masquerade upon the waters, and, Peter again steering, +the boat proceeded to the fortress, and under a discharge +of all the artillery it was deposited where it +now lies.</p> + +<p>Returning, I took a bath in the Neva. In bathing, as +in everything else, the Russians profit by the short +breath of summer, and large public bathing-houses are +stationed at intervals along the quay of the river, besides +several smaller ones, tasteful and ornamental in appearance, +being the private property of rich seigneurs. I +went into one of the former, where a swimming-master +was teaching a school of boys the art of swimming. +The water of the Neva was the first thing I had found +regularly Russian, that is, excessively cold; and though +I bathed in it several times afterward, I always found it +the same.</p> + +<p>At five o'clock I went to dine with Mr. Wilkins. He +had broken up his establishment and taken apartments +at the house of an English lady, where he lived much +in the same style as at home. He had been at St. Petersburgh +but a short time, and, I believe, was not particularly +well pleased with it, and was then making arrangements +to return. I had never met with Mr. Wilkins +in our own country, and I consider myself under +obligations to him; for, not bringing him any letter, I +stood an entire stranger in St. Petersburgh, with nothing +but my passport to show that I was an American citizen, +and he might have even avoided the dinner, or have given +me the dinner and troubled himself no more about me. +But the politeness which he had shown me as a stranger +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span>increased to kindness; and I was in the habit of calling +upon him at all times, and certainly without any expectation +of ever putting him in print. We had at table a +parti quarré, consisting of Mr. Wilkins, Mr. Gibson, +who has been our consul, I believe, for twenty years, +if, he being still a bachelor, it be not unfriendly to carry +him back so far, and Mr. Clay, the secretary of legation, +who had been twice left as chargé d'affaires at the imperial +court, and was then lately married to an English +lady in St. Petersburgh. After dinner, three or four +American merchants came in; and at eleven o'clock, +having made an appointment to go with Mr. Wilkins +and see a boatrace on the Neva, Mr. Clay and I walked +home along the quay, under that enchanting twilight +which I have already so often thrust upon the reader, +and which I only regret that I cannot make him realize +and enjoy.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>A New Friend.—The Winter Palace.—Importance of a Hat.—An artificial +Mine.—Remains of a huge Monster.—Peter the Great's Workshop.—The +Greek Religion.—Tomb of a Hero.—A Saint Militant.—Another +Love Affair.—The Hermitage.—The Winter and Summer Gardens.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Early</span> in the morning, while at breakfast, I heard a +loud knock at my door, which was opened without waiting +for an answer, and in stalked a tall, stout, dashing-looking +young man, with a blue frock, white pantaloons, +and a vest of many colours, a heavy gold chain around his +neck, an enormous Indian cane in his hand, and a broad-brimmed +hat brought down on one side, over his right +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span>eye in particular. He had a terrible scowl on his face, +which seemed to be put on to sustain the dignity of his +amazing costume, and he bowed on his entrance with as +much <i>hauteur</i> as if he meant to turn me out of my own +room. I stared at him in unfeigned astonishment, when, +putting his cane under his arm, and pulling off his hat, +his intensely red head broke upon me with a blaze of +beauty, and I recognised my friend and intended fellow-traveller, +the French Belgian Pole, whom I had seen +in an old morning-gown and slippers. I saw through +my man at once; and speedily knocking in the head his +overwhelming formality, came upon him with the old college +salutation, asking him to pull off his clothes and +stay a week; and he complied almost literally, for in less +than ten minutes he had off his coat and waistcoat, cravat +and boots, and was kicking up his heels on my bed. +I soon discovered that he was a capital fellow, a great +beau in his little town on the frontiers of Poland, and +one of a class by no means uncommon, that of the very +ugly men who imagine themselves very handsome. +While he was kicking his heels over the footboard, he +asked me what we thought of red hair in America; and +I told him that I could not undertake to speak the public +voice, but that, for myself, I did not admire it as +much as some people did, though, as to his, there was +something striking about it, which was strictly true, +for it was such an enormous mop that, as his head lay +on the pillow, it looked like a bust set in a large red +frame. All the time he held in his hand a pocket looking-glass +and a small brush, with which he kept brushing +his mustaches, giving them a peculiar twirl toward the +ears. I told him that he was wrong about the mustache; +and, taking the brush, brought them out of their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span>twist, and gave them an inclination à la Turque, recommending +my own as a model; but he soon got them back +to their place, and, rising, shook his gory locks and began +to dress himself, or, as he said, to put himself in +parchment for a walk.</p> + +<p>My new friend was for no small game, and proposed +visiting some of the palaces. On the way he confided +to me a conquest he had already made since his arrival; +a beautiful young lady, of course, the daughter of +an Italian music-master, who resided directly opposite +our hotel. He said he had applied for an apartment +next to mine, which commanded a view of the window +at which she sat, and asked me, as a friend, whether it +would be interfering with me. Having received my +assurance that I had no intentions in that quarter, he +said he would order his effects to be removed the same +day.</p> + +<p>By this time we had arrived at the Winter Palace, +presenting, as I have before remarked, a marble front +on the Neva of more than seven hundred feet, or as +long as the side of Washington Square, and larger and +more imposing than that of the Tuileries or any other +royal palace in Europe. We approached the large +door of entrance to this stately pile, and, notwithstanding +my modest application, backed by my companion's +dashing exterior, we were turned away by the imperial +footman because we had not on dresscoats. We went +home and soon returned equipped as the law of etiquette +requires, and were admitted to the imperial residence. +We ascended the principal story by the great +marble staircase, remarkable for its magnificence and +the grandeur of its architecture. There are nearly a +hundred principal rooms on the first floor, occupying an +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span>area of four hundred thousand square feet, and forming +almost a labyrinth of splendour. The great banqueting-hall +is one hundred and eighty-nine feet by one +hundred and ten, incrusted with the finest marble, with +a row of columns at each end, and the side decorated +with attached columns, rich gilding, and splendid mirrors. +The great Hall of St. George is one of the richest +and most superb rooms on the Continent, not excepting +the pride of the Tuileries or Versailles. It is a parallelogram +of one hundred and forty feet by sixty, decorated +with forty fluted Corinthian columns of porphyritic +marble, with capitals and bases of bronze richly +gilded, and supporting a gallery with a gilded bronze +balustrade of exquisite workmanship. At one end, on +a platform, is the throne, approached by a flight of eight +steps, covered with the richest Genoa velvet, embroidered +with gold, with the double-headed eagle expanding +his wings above it. The large windows on both +sides are hung with the richest drapery, and the room +is embellished by magnificent mirrors and colossal candelabra +profusely gilded.</p> + +<p>We passed on to the <i>salle blanche</i>, which is nearly +of the same dimensions, and beautifully chaste in design +and finish. Its elevation is greater, and the sides +are decorated with pilasters, columns, and bas-reliefs +of a soft white tint, without the least admixture of +gaudy colours. The space between the Hall of St. +George and the <i>salle blanche</i> is occupied as a gallery +of national portraits, where the Russians who distinguished +themselves during the French invasion are exhibited +in half-length portraits as rewards for their military +services. The three field-marshals, Kutuzow, Barclay +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span>de Tolly, and the Duke of Wellington, are represented +at full length. The symbol which accompanies +the hero of Waterloo is that of imperishable strength, +the British oak, "the triumpher of many storms."</p> + +<p>I will not carry the reader through all the magnificent +apartments, but I cannot help mentioning the Diamond +Room, containing the crowns and jewels of the imperial +family. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds are arranged +round the room in small cases, of such dazzling +beauty that it is almost bewildering to look at them. I +had already acquired almost a passion for gazing at +precious stones. At Constantinople I had wandered +through the bazars, under the guidance of a Jew, and +seen all the diamonds collected and for sale in the capital +of the East, but I was astonished at the brilliancy +of this little chamber, and, in my strongly-awakened +admiration, looked upon the miser who, before the degrading +days of bonds and mortgages, converted his +wealth into jewels and precious stones, as a man of elegant +and refined taste. The crown of the emperor is +adorned with a chaplet of oak-leaves made of diamonds +of an extraordinary size, and the imperial sceptre contains +one supposed to be the largest in the world, being +the celebrated stone purchased by the Empress Catharine +II. from a Greek slave for four hundred and fifty +thousand rubles and a large pension for life. Eighty +thousand persons were employed in the construction of +this palace; upward of two thousand habitually reside +in it, and even a larger number when the emperor is in +St. Petersburgh. The imperial flag was then floating +from the top of the palace, as an indication to his subjects +of his majesty's presence in the capital; and about +the time that his majesty sat down to his royal dinner +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span>we were working upon a cotelette de mouton, and drinking +in vin ordinaire health and long life to Nicolas the +First; and afterward, in talking of the splendour of the +imperial palace and the courtesy of the imperial footmen, +we added health and long life to the Lady Autocrat +and all the little autocrats.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p>After dinner we took our coffee at the Café Chinois, on +the Newski Perspective, equal, if not superior, in style +and decoration to anything in Paris. Even the rules of +etiquette in France are not orthodox all over the world. +In Paris it is not necessary to take off the hat on entering +a café or restaurant, and in the south of France a +Frenchman will sit down to dinner next a lady with his +head covered; but in Russia, even on entering an apartment +where there are only gentlemen, it is necessary to +uncover the head. I neglected this rule from ignorance +and want of attention, and was treated with rudeness +by the proprietor, and afterward learned the cause, with +the suggestion that it was fortunate that I had not been +insulted. This is a small matter, but a man's character +in a strange place is often affected by a trifling circumstance; +and Americans, at least I know it to be the +case with myself, are, perhaps, too much in the habit +of neglecting the minor rules of etiquette.</p> + +<p>That night my new friend had his effects removed to +a room adjoining mine, and the next morning I found +him sitting in his window with a book in his hand, +watching the young lady opposite. He was so pleased +with his occupation that I could not get him away, and +went off without him. Mr. Wilkins having offered to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span>accompany me to some of the public institutions, I +called for him; and, finding him disengaged, we took a +boat on the Neva, and went first to the Academy of +Arts, standing conspicuously on the right bank opposite +the English Quay, and, perhaps, the chastest and most +classical structure in St. Petersburgh. In the court are +two noble Egyptian Sphynxes. A magnificent staircase, +with a double flight of granite steps, leads to a +grand landing-place with broad galleries around it, supporting, +by means of Ionic columns, the cupola, which +crowns the whole. The Rotunda is a fine apartment +of exquisite proportions, decorated with statues and +busts; and at the upper end of the Conference-room +stands a large table, at the head of which is a full-length +portrait of Nicolas under a rich canopy. In one room +are a collection of models from the antique, and another +of the paintings of native artists, some of which are +considered as indicating extraordinary talent.</p> + +<p>From hence we went to the <i>Hotel des Mines</i>, where +the name of the American minister procured us admission +without the usual permit. The <i>Hotel des +Mines</i> was instituted by the great Peter for the purpose +of training a mining engineer corps, to explore +scientifically the vast mineral resources of the empire, +and also engineers for the army. Like all the other +public edifices, the building is grand and imposing, and +the arrangement of the different rooms and galleries is +admirable. In one room is a large collection of medals, +and in another of coins. Besides specimens of general +mineralogy of extraordinary beauty, there are native +iron from the Lake Olonetz, silver ore from Tobolsk +and gold sand from the Oural Mountains; and in iron-bound +cases, beautifully ornamented, there is a rich collection +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span>of native gold, found either in the mines belonging +to government or in those of individuals, one piece +of which was discovered at the depth of three and a +half feet in the sand, weighing more than twenty-four +pounds. The largest piece of platinum in existence, +from the mines of Demidoff, weighing ten pounds, is +here also; and, above all, a colossal specimen of amalachite +weighing three thousand four hundred and fifty-six +pounds, and, at the common average price of this combination +of copper and carbonic acid, worth three thousand +seven hundred and fifty pounds sterling.</p> + +<p>But the most curious part of this valuable repository +is under ground, being a model of a mine in Siberia. +Furnished with lighted tapers, we followed our guides +through winding passages cut into the bowels of the +earth, the sides of which represented, by the aggregation +of real specimens, the various stratifications, with all +the different ores, and minerals, and different species of +earth, as they were found in the natural state; the coal +formation, veins of copper, and in one place of gold, +being particularly well represented, forming an admirable +practical school for the study of geology, though +under a chillness of atmosphere which would be likely +very soon to put an end to studies of all kinds.</p> + +<p>From here we passed to the imperial Academy of +Sciences, by far the most interesting part of our day's +visiting. This, too, was founded by the Great Peter. +I hardly know why, but I had already acquired a warm +admiration for the stout old Czar. There was nothing +high or chivalric about him, but every step in Russia, +from the Black Sea to the Baltic, showed me what he +had done to advance the condition of his people. I +knew all this as matter of history, but here I felt it as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span>fact. We strolled through the mineralogical and zoological +repositories, and stopped before the skeleton of +that stupendous inhabitant of a former world, denominated +the mammoth, whose fame had been carried over +the waste of waters even to our distant country, and +beside which even the skeletons of elephants looked insignificant. +What was he? where did he live, and is +his race extinct? It gave rise to a long train of interesting +speculation, to endow him with life, and see him +striding with gigantic steps, the living tenant of a +former world; and more interesting still to question, as +others had done, whether he was not, after all, one of a +race of animals not yet extinct, and perhaps wandering +even now within a short distance of the Polar Sea.</p> + +<p>There is also in this part of the museum a collection +of anatomical specimens and of human monsters; an +unpleasing exhibition, though, no doubt, useful to medical +science; among them was a child with two heads +from America. More interesting to me was a large +collection of insects, of medals, and particularly of the +different objects in gold found in the tumuli of Siberia, +consisting of bracelets, vases, crowns, bucklers, rings, +sabres with golden hilts, Tartar idols, &c., many of +them of great value and of very elegant workmanship, +which have given rise to much interesting speculation +in regard to the character of the people who formerly +inhabited that country. The Asiatic museum contains +a library of Chinese, Japanese, Mongolese, and Tibetan +books and manuscripts; Mohammedan, Chinese, and +Japanese coins; an interesting assemblage of Mongolese +idols cut in bronze and gilded, and illustrating the religion +of Buddha. There is also an Egyptian museum, containing +about a thousand articles. The cabinet of curiosities +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span>contains figures of all the different people conquered +under the government of Russia, habited in their +national costumes; also of Chinese, Persians, Aleutans, +Carelians, and the inhabitants of many of the Eastern, +Pacific, or Northern Islands discovered or visited by +Russian travellers and navigators, as well as of the different +nations inhabiting Siberia.</p> + +<p>But by far the most interesting part of the museum +is the cabinet of Peter himself, consisting of a suite of +apartments, in which the old Czar was in the habit of +passing his leisure hours engaged in some mechanical +employment. In one room are several brass cylinders +turned by his own hands, and covered with battle-scenes +of his own engraving. Also an iron bar forged by him; +bas-reliefs executed in copper, representing his desperate +battles in Livonia; an ivory chandelier of curious +and highly-wrought workmanship, and a group in ivory +representing Abraham offering up his son Isaac, the +ram and the angel Gabriel cut out entire. In another +room is his workshop, containing a variety of vessels +and models etched in copper, and a copperplate with an +unfinished battle-scene. His tools and implements are +strewed about the room precisely in the state in which +he left them the last time he was there. In another +chamber were the distended skin of his French body-servant, +seven feet high; the Arabian horse which he rode +at the bloody battle of Pultowa, and the two favourite +dogs which always accompanied him; and in another the +figure of the old Czar himself in wax, as large as life; +the features, beyond doubt, bearing the exact resemblance +to the original, being taken from a cast applied +to his face when dead, and shaded in imitation of his +real complexion. The eyebrows and hair are black, the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span>eyes dark, the complexion swarthy, and aspect stern. +This figure is surrounded by the portraits of his predecessors, +in their barbarian costumes, himself seated in +an armchair in the same splendid dress which he wore +when with his own hands he placed the imperial crown +on the head of his beloved Catharine. Here, also, are +his uniform of the guards, gorget, scarf, and sword, and +hat shot through at the battle of Pultowa; and the last +thing which the guide put into my hands was a long +stick measuring his exact height, and showing him literally +a great man, being six Russian feet. I must not +forget a pair of shoes made by his own hands; but the +old Czar was no shoemaker. Nevertheless, these memorials +were all deeply interesting; and though I had +seen the fruits of his labours from the Black Sea to +the Baltic, I never felt such a strong personal attraction +to him as I did here.</p> + +<p>I was obliged to decline dining with Mr. Wilkins in +consequence of an engagement with my friend the Pole; +and, returning, I found him at the window with a book +in his hand, precisely in the same position in which I +had left him. After dinner a servant came in and delivered +a message, and he proposed a walk on the Admiralty +Boulevards. It was the fashionable hour for +promenade, and, after a turn or two, he discovered his +fair enslaver, accompanied by her father and several ladies +and gentlemen, one of whom seemed particularly devoted +to her. She was a pretty little girl, and seemed to +me a mere child, certainly not more than fifteen. His +admiration had commenced on the Boulevards the first +afternoon of his arrival, and had increased violently during +the whole day, while he was sitting at the window. +He paraded me up and down the walk once or twice, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span>and, when they had seated themselves on a bench, took +a seat opposite. He was sure she was pleased with +his admiration, but I could not see that her look indicated +any very flattering acknowledgment. In fact, I +could but remark that the eyes of the gentlemen were +turned toward us quite as often as those of the lady, and +suggested that, if he persisted, he would involve us in +some difficulty with them; but he said there could not +be any difficulty about it, for, if he offended them, he +would give them satisfaction. As this view of the case +did not hit my humour, I told him that, as I had come +out with him, I would remain, but if he made any farther +demonstrations, I should leave him, and, at all +events, after that he must excuse me from joining his +evening promenades. Soon after they left the Boulevards, +and we returned to our hotel, where he entertained +me with a history of his love adventures at home, +and felicitations upon his good fortune in finding himself +already engaged in one here.</p> + +<p>Sunday. Until the early part of the tenth century +the religion of Russia was a gross idolatry. In nine +hundred and thirty-five, Olga, the widow of Igor the +son of Runic, sailed down the <span class="err" title="original: Dneiper">Dnieper</span> from Kief, was +baptized at Constantinople, and introduced Christianity +into Russia, though her family and nation adhered for +a long time to the idolatry of their fathers. The great +schism between the Eastern and Western churches +had already taken place, and the Christianity derived +from Constantinople was of course of the Greek persuasion. +The Greek Church believes in the doctrines +of the Trinity, but differs from the Catholic in some +refined and subtle distinction in regard to what is called +the procession of the Holy Ghost. It enjoins the invocation +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span>of saints as mediators, and permits the use of +pictures as a means of inspiring and strengthening devotion. +The well-informed understand the use for which +they are intended, but these form a very small portion +of the community, and probably the great bulk of the +people worship the pictures themselves. The clergy +are, in general, very poor and very ignorant. The priests +are not received at the tables of the upper classes, but +they exercise an almost controlling influence over the +lower, and they exhibited this influence in rousing the +serfs against the French, which may be ascribed partly, +perhaps, to feelings of patriotism, and partly to the certainty +that Napoleon would strip their churches of their +treasures, tear down their monasteries, and turn themselves +out of doors. But of the population of fifty-five +millions, fifteen are divided into Roman Catholics, +Armenians, Protestants, Jews, and Mohammedans, and +among the Caucasians, Georgians, Circassians, and +Mongol tribes nearly two millions are pagans or idolaters, +Brahmins, Lamists, and worshippers of the sun.</p> + +<p>For a people so devout as the Russians, the utmost +toleration prevails throughout the whole empire, and +particularly in St. Petersburgh. Churches of every +denomination stand but a short distance apart on the +Newski Perspective. The Russian cathedral is nearly +opposite the great Catholic chapel; near them is the Armenian, +then the Lutheran, two churches for Dissenters, +and a mosque for the Mohammedans! and on Sunday +thousands are seen bending their steps to their separate +churches, to worship according to the faith handed down +to them by their fathers.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning, taking with me a valet and +joining the crowd that was already hurrying with devout +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span>and serious air along the Newski Perspective, I +entered the Cathedral of our Lady of Cazan, a splendid +monument of architecture, and more remarkable as the +work of a native artist, with a semicircular colonnade in +front, consisting of one hundred and thirty-two Corinthian +columns thirty-five feet high, somewhat after the +style of the great circular colonnade of St. Peter's at +Rome, and surmounted by a dome crowned with a cross +of exquisite workmanship, supported on a large gilded +ball. Within, fifty noble columns, each of one piece +of solid granite from Finland, forty-eight feet high and +four feet in diameter, surmounted by a rich capital of +bronze, and resting on a massive bronze base, support +an arched roof richly ornamented with flowers in bas-relief. +The jewels and decorations of the altar are rich +and splendid, the doors leading to the sanctum sanctorum, +with the railing in front, being of silver. As in +the Catholic churches, there are no pews, chairs, or +benches, and all over the floor were the praying figures +of the Russians. Around the walls were arranged military +trophies, flags, banners, and the keys of fortresses +wrested from the enemies of Russia; but far more interesting +than her columns, and colossal statues, and +military trophies, is the tomb of the warrior Kutuzow; +simple, and remarkable for the appropriate warlike trophy +over it, formed of French flags and the eagles of +Napoleon. Admiration for heroism owns no geographical +or territorial limits, and I pity the man who could +stand by the grave of Kutuzow without feeling it a sacred +spot. The Emperor Alexander with his own hands +took the most precious jewel from his crown and sent +it to the warrior, with a letter announcing to him his +elevation to the rank of Prince of Smolensko; but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span>richer than jewels or principalities is the tribute which +his countrymen pay at his tomb.</p> + +<p>The church of our Lady of Cazan contains another +monument of barbarian patriotism. The celebrated +leader of the Cossacks during the period of the French +invasion, having intercepted a great part of the booty +which the French were carrying from Moscow, sent it +to the metropolitan or head of the church, with a characteristic +letter, directing it to be "made into an image of +the four Evangelists, and adorn the church of the Mother +of God of Cazan." The concluding paragraph is, +"Hasten to erect in the temple of God this monument +of battle and victory; and while you erect it, say with +thankfulness to Providence, the enemies of Russia are +no more; the vengeance of God has overtaken them on +the soil of Russia; and the road they have gone has +been strewed with their bones, to the utter confusion of +their frantic and proud ambition."</p> + +<p class="signature"> +(Signed) "<span class="smcap">Platoff.</span>"</p> + +<p>From the church of our Lady of Cazan I went to the +Protestant church, where I again joined in an orthodox +service. The interior of the church is elegant, though +externally it can scarcely be distinguished from a private +building. The seats are free, the men sitting on +one side and the women on the other. Mr. Law, the +clergyman, has been there many years, and is respected +and loved by his congregation. After church I walked +to the convent of Alexander Newski, the burial-place of +Prince Alexander, who obtained in the thirteenth century +a splendid victory over the allied forces of Sweden, +Denmark, and Livonia; afterward became a monk, and +for his pure and holy life was canonized, and now ranks +among the principal saints in the Russian calendar. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span>The warrior was first buried at Moscow, but Peter the +Great had his remains transported with great ceremony +to this place, a procession of a thousand priests walking +barefoot all the way. The monastery stands at the extreme +end of the Newski Perspective, and within its precincts +are several churches and a large cemetery. It +is the residence of the distinguished prelates of the +Greek Church and a large fraternity of monks. The +dress of the monks is a loose black cloak and round +black cap, and no one can be admitted a member until +the age of thirty. We entered a grand portal, walked +up a long avenue, and, crossing a bridge over a stream, +worked our way between lines of the carriages of nobles +and ladies, and crowds of the people in their best bell-crowned +hats; and, amid a throng of miserable beggars, +penetrated to the door of the principal church, a large +and beautiful specimen of modern Corinthian architecture. +I remarked the great entrance, the lofty dome, +the fresco paintings on the ceilings, and the arabesque +decorations on the walls; the altar-piece of white Carrara +marble, paintings by Rubens and Vandyck, the +holy door in the iconastos, raised on a flight of steps of +rich gilded bronze, and surmounted by the representation +of a dazzling aureola of different colored metals, +and in the centre the initials of that awful name which +none in Israel save the initiated were permitted to pronounce. +I walked around and paused before the tomb +of the warrior saint.</p> + +<p>A sarcophagus or coffin of massive silver, standing +on an elevated platform, ornamented in bas-relief, representing +scenes of battles with the Swedes, contains +his relics; a rich ermine lies upon the coffin, and above +is a silver canopy. On each side is a warrior clothed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span>in armour, with his helmet, breastplate, shield, and spear +also of massive silver. The altar rises thirty feet in +height, of solid silver, with groups of military figures +and trophies of warriors, also of silver, as large as life; +and over it hangs a golden lamp, with a magnificent +candelabrum of silver, together with a vessel of curious +workmanship holding the bones of several holy men, +the whole of extraordinary magnificence and costliness +of material, upward of four thousand pounds weight of +silver having been used in the construction of the chapel +and shrine. The dead sleep the same whether in silver +coffins or in the bare earth, but the stately character +of the church, dimly lighted, and the splendour and +richness of the material, gave a peculiar solemnity to +the tomb of the warrior saint.</p> + +<p>Leaving the churches, I strolled through the cloisters +of the monastery and entered the great cemetery. +There, as in the great cemetery of Père la Chaise at +Paris, all that respect, and love, and affection can do to +honour the memory of the dead, and all that vanity and +folly can do to ridicule it, have been accomplished. +There are seen epitaphs of affecting brevity and elaborate +amplification; every design, every device, figure, +emblem, and decoration; every species of material, from +native granite to Carrara marble and pure gold. Among +the simpler tombs of poets, warriors, and statesmen, a +monument of the most gigantic proportions is erected +to snatch from oblivion the name of a rich Russian +merchant. The base is a solid cubic block of the most +superb marble, on which is a solid pedestal of black +marble ten feet square, bearing a sarcophagus fourteen +feet high, and of most elegant proportions, surmounted +by a gold cross twenty feet in height. At each of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span>four corners is a colossal candelabrum of cast iron, +with entwining serpents of bronze gilded. The ground +alone cost a thousand pounds, and the whole monument +about twenty thousand dollars. Near the centre +of this asylum of the dead, a tetrastyle Ionic temple of +the purest white marble records the virtues of an interesting +lady, the Countess of Potemkin, and alto relievos +of the most exquisite execution on three sides +of the temple tell the melancholy story of a mother +snatched from three lovely children. The countess, +prophetically conscious of her approaching fate, is +looking up calmly and majestically to the figure of religion, +and resting with confidence her left hand on the +symbol of Christianity. In front are the inscription +and arms of the family in solid gold.</p> + +<p>But what are the Russian dead to me? The granite +and marble monument of the merchant is a conglomeration +of hides, hemp, and tallow; a man may +be excused if he linger a moment at the tomb of an interesting +woman, a mother cut off in her prime; but +melancholy is infectious, and induces drowsiness and +closing of the book.</p> + +<p>In consideration for my valet, at the grand portal I +took a drosky, rolled over the wooden pavement of the +Newski Perspective, and, with hardly motion enough +to disturb my revery, was set down at the door of my +hotel. My Pole was waiting to dine with me, and +roused me from my dreams of the dead to recount his +dreams of the living. All day he had sat at his window, +and a few straggling glances from the lady opposite +had abundantly rewarded him, and given him great +spirits for his evening's promenade on the Boulevards. +I declined accompanying him, and he went alone, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span>returned in the evening almost in raptures. We strolled +an hour by the twilight, and retired early.</p> + +<p>It will hardly be believed, but early the next morning +he came to my room with a letter on fine pink paper +addressed to his fair enslaver. The reader may remember +that this was not the first time I had been made +a confidant in an affaire du cœur. To be sure, the missionary +at Smyrna turned out to be crazy; and on this +point, at least, my Pole was a little touched; nevertheless, +I listened to his epistle. It was the regular oldfashioned +document, full of hanging, shooting, drowning, +and other extravagances. He sealed it with an amatory +device, and, calling up a servant in his confidence, told +him to carry it over, and then took his place in my +window to watch the result. In the mean time, finding +it impossible to dislodge him, and that I could not count +upon him to accompany me on my visits to the palaces +as he had promised, I went to the Hermitage alone. +The Great and Little Hermitages are connected with +the Winter Palace and with each other by covered +galleries, and the theatre is connected with the two +Hermitages by means of another great arch thrown +over a canal, so that the whole present a continued line +of imperial palaces, unequalled in extent in any part +of Europe, measuring one thousand five hundred and +ninety-six feet, or one third of an English mile. If I +were to select a building designed to realize the most +extravagant notions of grandeur and luxury, it would be +the gorgeous palace known under the modest name of +the Hermitage. I shall not attempt any description of +the interior of this splendid edifice, but confine myself +to a brief enumeration of its contents. I ascended by +a spacious staircase to the anteroom, where I gave, or, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span>rather, where my cane was demanded by the footman, and +proceeded through a suite of magnificent rooms, every +one surpassing the last, and richer in objects of the fine +arts, science, and literature; embellished throughout by +a profusion of the most splendid ornaments and furniture, +and remarkable for beauty of proportion and variety of +design. In rooms and galleries appropriated to the +separate schools and masters are upward of thirteen +hundred paintings by Raphael, Titian, Guido, Andrea +del Sarto, Luca Giordano, the Caracci, Perugino, Corregio, +and Leonardi da Vinci; here is also the best collection +in existence, of pictures by Wouvermans and +Teniers, with some of the masterpieces of Rubens and +Vandyck, of the French Claude, Poussin, and Vernet. +The celebrated Houghton collection is here, with a +gallery of paintings of the Spanish schools, many of +them Murillos. In one room is a superb vase of Siberian +jasper, of a <span class="err" title="original: lilach">lilac</span> colour, five feet high, and of exquisite +form and polish; in another are two magnificent +candelabras, said to be valued at two hundred and +twenty thousand rubles, or about fifty thousand dollars; +I must mention also the great musical clock, representing +an antique Grecian temple, and containing within a +combination of instruments, having the power of two +orchestras, which accompany each other; two golden +tripods, seven feet high, supporting the gold salvers on +which salt and bread were exhibited to the Emperor +Alexander on his triumphal return from Paris, as emblems +of wisdom and plenty, a large musical and magical +secretary, which opens spontaneously in a hundred +directions at the sound of music, purchased by the late +emperor for eight hundred guineas; a room surrounded +with books, some of which were originals, placed there +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span>by Catharine for the use of the domestics, as she said, +to keep the devil out of their heads; a saloon containing +the largest collection of engravings and books of engravings +in Europe, amounting to upward of thirty thousand; +a library of upward of one hundred and ten thousand +volumes; an extensive cabinet of medals, and +another of gems and pastes; a jewel-cabinet, containing +the rich ornaments which have served for the toilettes +of succeeding empresses, innumerable precious stones +and pearls, many of extraordinary magnitude; a superb +collection of antiques and cameos, amounting to upward +of fifteen thousand, the cameos alone affording employment +for days. In one room are curious works in ivory +and fishbones, by the inhabitants of Archangel, who +are skilled in that species of workmanship; and in another +is the celebrated clock, known by the name of +L'Horloge du Paon. It is enclosed in a large glass +case ten feet high, being the trunk of a golden tree, with +its branches and leaves all of gold. On the top of the +trunk sits a peacock, which, when the chimes begin, +expands its brilliant tail, while an owl rolls its eyes +with its own peculiar stare, and, instead of a bell striking +the hours, a golden cock flaps his wings and crows. +The clock is now out of order, and the machinery is so +complicated that no artist has hitherto been able to repair +it.</p> + +<p>But perhaps the most extraordinary and interesting of +the wonders of the Hermitage are the Winter and Summer +Gardens. As I strolled through the suites of apartments, +and looked out through the windows of a long gallery, +it was hardly possible to believe that the flourishing +trees, shrubs, and flowers stood upon an artificial soil, +raised nearly fifty feet above the surface of the earth. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span>The Winter Garden is a large quadrangular conservatory, +planted with laurels and orange trees, in which linnets +and Canary birds formerly flew about enjoying the freedom +of nature; but the feathered tribe have disappeared. +The Summer Garden connected with it is four hundred +feet long; and here, suspended, as it were, in the air, near +the top of the palace, I strolled along gravel-walks, and +among parterres of shrubs and flowers growing in rich +luxuriance, and under a thick foliage inhaled their delightful +fragrance. It is idle to attempt a description +of this scene.</p> + +<p>I returned to my Pole, whom I found at his window +with a melancholy and sentimental visage, his beautiful +epistle returned upon his hands—having, in sportsman's +phrase, entirely missed fire—and then lying with a most +reproving look on his table. My friend had come up to +St. Petersburgh in consequence of a lawsuit, and as this +occupied but a small portion of his time, he had involved +himself in a lovesuit, and, so far as I could see, with +about an equal chance of success in both. L'amour +was the great business of his life, and he could not be +content unless he had on hand what he called une affaire +du cœur.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The Winter Palace has since been destroyed by fire. The author has +not seen any account of the particulars, but has heard that the contents of +the Diamond Chamber were saved.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>An Imperial Fête.—Nicolas of Russia.—Varied Splendours.—A Soliloquy.—House +of Peter the Great.—A Boatrace.—Czarskoselo.—The +Amber Chamber.—Catharine II.—The Emperor Alexander.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> next day was that appointed for the great fête +at Peterhoff. In spite of the confining nature of his +two suits, my Pole had determined to accompany me +thither, being prompted somewhat by the expectation +of seeing his damsel; and, no way disheartened by the +fate of his first letter, he had manufactured another, by +comparison with which the first was an icicle. I admitted +it to be a masterpiece, though when he gave it +to a servant to carry over, as we were on the point of +setting off, suggested that it might be worth while to +wait and pick it up when she threw it out of the window. +But he had great confidence, and thought much better +of her spirit for sending back his first letter.</p> + +<p>The whole population of Petersburgh was already in +motion and on the way to Peterhoff. It was expected +that the fête would be more than usually splendid, on account +of the presence of the Queen of Holland, then on +a visit to her sister the empress; and at an early hour +the splendid equipages of the nobility, carriages, droskys, +telegas, and carts, were hurrying along the banks +of the Neva, while steamboats, sailboats, rowboats, and +craft of every description were gliding on the bosom +of the river.</p> + +<p>As the least trouble, we chose a steamboat, and at +twelve o'clock embarked at the English Quay. The +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span>boat was crowded with passengers, and among them +was an old English gentleman, a merchant of thirty +years' standing in St. Petersburgh. I soon became acquainted +with him, how I do not know, and his lady told +me that the first time I passed them she remarked to +her husband that I was an American. The reader may +remember that a lady made the same remark at Smyrna; +without knowing exactly how to understand it, I +mention it as a fact showing the nice discrimination acquired +by persons in the habit of seeing travellers from +different countries. Before landing, the old gentleman +told me that his boys had gone down in a pleasure-boat, +abundantly provided with materials, and asked +me to go on board and lunch with them, which, upon +the invitation being extended to my friend, I accepted.</p> + +<p>Peterhoff is about twenty-five versts from St. Petersburgh, +and the whole bank of the Neva on that side is +adorned with palaces and beautiful summer residences +of the Russian seigneurs. It stands at the mouth of +the Neva, on the borders of the Gulf of Finland. Opposite +is the city of Cronstadt, the seaport of St. Petersburgh +and the anchorage of the Russian fleet. It was +then crowded with merchant ships of every nation, with +flags of every colour streaming from their spars in honour +of the day. On landing, we accompanied our new +friends, and found "the boys," three fine young fellows +just growing up to manhood, in a handsome little pleasure-boat, +with a sail arranged as an awning, waiting +for their parents. We were introduced and received +with open arms, and sat down to a cold collation in good +old English style, at which, for the first time since I +left home, I fastened upon an oldfashioned sirloin of +roastbeef. It was a delightful meeting for me. The +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span>old people talked to me about my travels; and the old +lady particularly, with almost a motherly interest in a +straggling young man, inquired about my parents, brothers, +and sisters, &c.; and I made my way with the +frankhearted "boys" by talking "boat." Altogether, +it was a regular home family scene; and, after the +lunch, we left the old people under the awning, promising +to return at nine o'clock for tea, and with "the +boys" set off to view the fête.</p> + +<p>From the time when we entered the grounds until +we left at three o'clock the next morning, the whole was +a fairy scene. The grounds extended some distance +along the shore, and the palace stands on an embankment +perhaps a hundred and fifty feet high, commanding +a full view of the Neva, Cronstadt with its shipping, +and the Gulf of Finland. We followed along the banks +of a canal five hundred yards long, bordered by noble +trees. On each side of the canal were large wooden +frames about sixty feet high, filled with glass lamps for +the illumination; and at the foot of each was another +high framework with lamps, forming, among other +things, the arms of Russia, the double-headed eagle, and +under it a gigantic star thirty or forty feet in diameter. +At the head of the canal was a large basin of water, and +in the centre of the basin stood a colossal group in brass, +of a man tearing open the jaws of a rampant lion; and +out of the mouth of the lion rushed a jet d'eau perhaps +a hundred and fifty feet high. On each side of this +basin, at a distance of about three hundred feet, was a +smaller basin, with a jet d'eau in each about half its +height, and all around were jets d'eau of various kinds, +throwing water vertically and horizontally; among them +I remember a figure larger than life, leaning forward in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span>the attitude of a man throwing the discus, with a powerful +stream of water rushing from his clinched fist. +These basins were at the foot of the embankment on +which stands the palace. In the centre was a broad +flight of steps leading to the palace, and on each side +was a continuous range of marble slabs to the top of the +hill, over which poured down a sheet of water, the slabs +being placed so high and far apart as to allow lamps to +be arranged behind the water. All over, along the public +walks and in retired alcoves, were frames hung with +lamps; and everywhere, under the trees and on the +open lawn, were tents of every size and fashion, beautifully +decorated; many of them, oriental in style and +elegance, were fitted up as places of refreshment. +Thousands of people, dressed in their best attire, were +promenading the grounds, but no vehicles were to be +seen, until, in turning a point, we espied at some distance +up an avenue, and coming quietly toward us, a +plain open carriage, with two horses and two English +jockey outriders, in which were a gentleman and lady, +whom, without the universal taking off of hats around +us, I recognised at once as the emperor and empress. +I am not apt to be carried away by any profound admiration +for royalty, but, without consideration of their +rank, I never saw a finer specimen of true gentility; +in fact, he looked every inch a king, and she was my +beau ideal of a queen in appearance and manners. +They bowed as they passed, and, as I thought, being +outside of the line of Russians and easily recognised as +a stranger, their courtesy was directed particularly to +me; but I found that my companion took it very much +to himself, and no doubt every long-bearded Russian +near us did the same. In justice to myself, however, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span>I may almost say that I had a conversation with the +emperor; for although his imperial highness did not +speak to me, he spoke in a language which none but I +(and the queen and his jockey outriders) understood; +for, waving his hand to them, I heard him say in English, +"To the right." After this <i>interview</i> with his +majesty we walked up to the palace. The splendid +regiments of cavalier guards were drawn up around it, +every private carrying himself like a prince; and I did +not admire all his palaces, nor hardly his queen, so +much as this splendid body of armed followers. Behind +the palace is a large plain cut up into gravel-walks, +having in one place a basin of water, with waterworks +of various kinds, among which were some of peculiar +beauty falling in the form of a semiglobe.</p> + +<p>A little before dark we retired to a refectory under a +tent until the garden was completely lighted up, that +we might have the full effect of the illumination at one +coup d'œil, and, when we went out, the dazzling brilliancy +of the scene within the semicircular illumination +around the waterworks was beyond description. This +semicircular framework enclosed in a large sweep the +three basins, and terminated at the embankment on +which the palace stands, presenting all around an immense +fiery scroll in the air, sixty or eighty feet high, +and filled with all manner of devices; and for its background +a broad sheet of water falling over a range of +steps, with lighted lamps behind it, forming an illuminated +cascade, while the basins were blazing with the light +thrown upon them from myriads of lamps, and the colossal +figures of a reddened and unearthly hue were +spouting columns of water into the air. More than two +hundred thousand people were supposed to be assembled +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span>in the garden, in every variety of gay, brilliant, +and extraordinary costume. St. Petersburgh was half +depopulated, and thousands of peasants were assembled +from the neighbouring provinces. I was accidentally +separated from all my companions; and, alone among +thousands, sat down on the grass, and for an hour +watched the throng passing through the illuminated circle, +and ascending the broad steps leading toward the +palace. Among all this immense crowd there was no +rabble; not a dress that could offend the eye; but intermingled +with the ordinary costumes of Europeans were +the Russian shopkeeper, with his long surtout, his bell-crowned +hat, and solemn beard; Cossacks, and Circassian +soldiers, and Calmuc Tartars, and cavalier guards, +hussars, with the sleeves of their rich jackets dangling +loose over their shoulders, tossing plumes, and helmets +glittering with steel, intermingled throughout with the +gay dresses of ladies; while near me, and, like me, carelessly +stretched on the grass, under the light of thousands +of lamps, was a group of peasants from Finland fiddling +and dancing; the women with light hair, bands around +their heads, and long jackets enwrapping their square +forms, and the men with long greatcoats, broad-brimmed +hats, and a bunch of shells in front.</p> + +<p>Leaving this brilliant scene, I joined the throng on the +steps, and by the side of a splendid hussar, stooping +his manly figure to whisper in the ears of a lovely young +girl, I ascended to the palace and presented my ticket +of admission to the bal masqué, so called from their +being no masks there. I had not been presented at court, +and, consequently, had only admission to the outer apartments +with the people. I had, however, the range of a +succession of splendid rooms, richly decorated with vases +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span>and tazzas of precious stones, candelabra, couches, ottomans, +superb mirrors, and inlaid floors; and the centre +room, extending several hundred feet in length, had its +lofty walls covered to the very ceilings with portraits of +all the female beauties in Russia about eighty years ago. +I was about being tired of gazing at these pictures of long-sleeping +beauties, when the great doors at one end were +thrown open, and the emperor and empress, attended by +the whole court, passed through on their way to the banqueting-hall. +Although I had been in company with the +emperor before in the garden, and though I had taken off +my hat to the empress, both passed without recognising +me. The court at St. Petersburgh is admitted to be the +most brilliant in Europe; the dresses of the members +of the diplomatic corps and the uniforms of the general +and staff-officers being really magnificent, while those of +the ladies sparkled with jewels. Besides the emperor +and empress, the only acquaintance I recognised in that +constellation of brilliantly-dressed people were Mr. Wilkins +and Mr. Clay, who, for republicans, made a very +fair blaze. I saw them enter the banqueting-hall, +painted in oriental style to represent a tent, and might +have had the pleasure of seeing the emperor and empress +and all that brilliant collection eat; but, turning +away from a noise that destroyed much of the illusion, +viz., the clatter of knives and forks, and a little piqued +at the cavalier treatment I had received from the court +circles, I went out on the balcony and soliloquized, +"Fine feathers make fine birds; but look back a little, +ye dashing cavaliers and supercilious ladies. In the latter +part of the seventeenth century, a French traveller in +Russia wrote that 'most men treat their wives as a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span>necessary evil, regarding them with a proud and stern +eye, and even beating them after.' Dr. Collins, physician +to the Czar in 1670, as an evidence of the progress +of civilization in Russia, says that the custom +of tying up wives by the hair of the head and flogging +them 'begins to be left off;' accounting for it, however, +by the prudence of parents, who made a stipulative provision +in the marriage contract that their daughters +were not to be whipped, struck, kicked, &c. But, even +in this improved state of society, one man 'put upon +his wife a shirt dipped in ardent spirits, and burned her +to death,' and was not punished, there being, according +to the doctor, 'no punishment in Russia for killing a +wife or a slave.' When no provision was made in the +marriage contract, he says they were accustomed to +discipline their wives very severely. At the marriage +the bridegroom had a whip in one boot and a jewel in +the other, and this poor girl tried her fortune by choosing. +'If she happens upon the jewel,' says another +traveller, 'she is lucky; but if on the whip, she gets it.' +The bridegroom rarely saw his companion's face till +after the marriage, when, it is said, 'If she be ugly she +pays for it soundly, maybe the first time he sees her.' +Ugliness being punished with the whip, the women +painted to great excess; and a traveller in sixteen hundred +and thirty-six saw the grand duchess and her ladies +on horseback astride, 'most wickedly bepainted.' The +day after a lady had been at an entertainment, the hostess +was accustomed to ask how she got home; and the +polite answer was, 'Your ladyship's hospitality made +me so tipsy that I don't know how I got home;' and +for the climax of their barbarity it can scarcely be believed, +but it is recorded as a fact, that the women did +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span>not begin to wear stays till the beginning of the present +century!"</p> + +<p>Soothed by these rather ill-natured reflections, I +turned to the illuminated scene and the thronging thousands +below, descended once more to the garden, passed +down the steps, worked my way through the crowd, and +fell into a long avenue, like all the rest of the garden, +brilliantly lighted, but entirely deserted. At the end of +the avenue I came to an artificial lake, opposite which +was a small square two-story cottage, being the old residence +of Peter the Great, the founder of all the magnificence +of Peterhoff. It was exactly in the style of +our ordinary country houses, and the furniture was of a +simplicity that contrasted strangely with the surrounding +luxury and splendour. The door opened into a little +hall, in which were two oldfashioned Dutch mahogany +tables, with oval leaves, legs tapering and enlarging +at the feet into something like a horseshoe; just +such a table as every one may remember in his grandfather's +house, and recalling to mind the simple style of +our own country some thirty or forty years ago. In a +room on one side was the old Czar's bed, a low, broad +wooden bedstead, with a sort of canopy over it, the +covering of the canopy and the coverlet being of striped +calico; the whole house, inside and out, was hung +with lamps, illumining with a glare that was almost +distressing the simplicity of Peter's residence; and, +as if to give greater contrast to this simplicity, while I +was standing in the door of the hall, I saw roll by me +in splendid equipages, the emperor and empress, with +the whole of the brilliant court which I had left in the +banqueting-hall, now making a tour of the gardens. +The carriages were all of one pattern, long, hung low, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span>without any tops, and somewhat like our omnibuses, +except that, instead of the seats being on one side, there +was a partition in the middle not higher than the back +of a sofa, with large seats like sofas on each side, on +which the company sat in a row, with their backs to each +other; in front was a high and large box for the coachmen, +and a footman behind. It was so light that I could +distinguish the face of every gentleman and lady as +they passed; and there was something so unique in the +exhibition, that, with the splendour of the court dresses, +it seemed the climax of the brilliant scenes at Peterhoff. +I followed them with my eyes till they were out of sight, +gave one more look to the modest pillow on which old +Peter reposed his careworn head, and at about one +o'clock in the morning left the garden. A frigate brilliantly +illuminated was firing a salute, the flash of her +guns lighting up the dark surface of the water as I embarked +on board the steamboat. At two o'clock the +morning twilight was like that of day; at three o'clock +I was at my hotel, and, probably, at ten minutes past, +asleep.</p> + +<p>About eight o'clock the next morning my Pole came +into my room. He had returned from Peterhoff before +me, and found waiting for him his second epistle, with +a note from the mother of the young lady, which he +read to me as I lay in bed. Though more than half +asleep, I was rather roused by the strange effect this +letter had upon him, for he was now encouraged to go +on with his suit, since he found that the backwardness +of the young lady was to be ascribed to the influence +of the mother, and not to any indifference on her part.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon I went to a boatrace between English +amateurs that had excited some interest among the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span>English residents. The boats were badly matched; a +six-oared boat thirty-two feet long, and weighing two +hundred and thirty pounds, being pitted against three +pairs of sculls, with a boat twenty-eight feet long and +weighing only one hundred and eight pounds. One +belonged to the English legation and the other to some +English merchants. The race was from the English +Quay to the bridge opposite the Suwarrow monument +at the foot of the Summer Garden, and back, a little +more than two miles each way. The rapidity of the current +was between two and three miles an hour, though +its full strength was avoided by both boats keeping in +the eddies along shore. It was a beautiful place for a +boatrace; the banks of the Neva were lined with spectators, +and the six-oared boat beat easily, performing +the distance in thirty-one minutes.</p> + +<p>The next morning, in company with a Frenchman +lately arrived at our hotel, I set out for the imperial +palace of Czarskoselo, about seventeen versts from St. +Petersburgh. About seven versts from the city we +passed the imperial seat of Zechenne, built by the Empress +Catharine to commemorate the victory obtained +by Orloff over the Turks on the coast of Anatolia. The +edifice is in the form of a Turkish pavilion, with a central +rotunda containing the full-length portraits of the sovereigns +cotemporary with Catharine. Since her death +this palace has been deserted. In eighteen hundred +and twenty-five, Alexander and the empress passed it +on their way to the south of Russia, and about eight +months after their mortal remains found shelter in it for +a night, on their way to the imperial sepulchre. There +was no other object of interest on the road until we approached +Czarskoselo. Opposite the "Caprice Gate" +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span>is a cluster of white houses, in two rows, of different +sizes, diminishing as they recede from the road, and +converging at the farthest extremity; altogether a bizarre +arrangement, and showing the magnificence of +Russian gallantry. The Empress Catharine at the +theatre one night happened to express her pleasure at +the perspective view of a small town, and the next time +she visited Czarskoselo she saw the scene realized in a +town erected by Count Orloff at immense expense before +the gate of the palace. The façade of the palace is unequalled +by any royal residence in the world, being twelve +hundred feet in length. Originally, every statue, pedestal, +and capital of the numerous columns; the vases, +carvings, and other ornaments in front, were covered +with gold leaf, the gold used for that purpose amounting +to more than a million of ducats. In a few years the +gilding wore off, and the contractors engaged in repairing +it offered the empress nearly half a million of rubles +(silver) for the fragments of gold; but the empress +scornfully refused, saying, "Je ne suis pas dans l'usage +de vendre mes vielles hardes." I shall not attempt to +carry the reader through the magnificent apartments of +this palace. But I must not forget the famed amber +chamber, the whole walls and ceilings being of amber, +some of the pieces of great size, neatly fitted together, +and even the frames of the pictures an elaborate workmanship +of the same precious material. But even this +did not strike me so forcibly as when, conducted through +a magnificent apartment, the walls covered with black +paper shining like ebony, and ornamented with gold and +immense looking-glasses, the footman opened a window +at the other end, and we looked down into the +chapel, an Asiatic structure, presenting an <i>ensemble</i> of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span>rich gilding of surpassing beauty, every part of it, the +groups of columns, the iconastos, and the gallery for +the imperial family, resplendent with gold. In one of +the staterooms where the empress's mother resides, the +floor consists of a parquet of fine wood inlaid with +wreaths of mother-of-pearl, and the panels of the room +were incrusted with lapis lazuli.</p> + +<p>But to me all these magnificent chambers were as +nothing compared with those which were associated +with the memory of the late occupant. "Uneasy rests +the head that wears a crown;" and perhaps it is for +this reason that I like to look upon the pillow of a king, +far more on that of a queen. The bedchamber of Catharine +II. is adorned with walls of porcelain and pillars +of purple glass; the bedclothes are those under which +she slept the last time she was at the palace, and in +one place was a concealed door, by which, as the unmannerly +footman, without any respect to her memory, +told us, her imperial highness admitted her six-feet paramours. +In the bedchamber of Alexander were his cap, +gloves, boots, and other articles of dress, lying precisely +as he left them previous to his departure for the +southern part of his empire. His bed was of leather, +stuffed with straw, and his boots were patched over +and over worse than mine, which I had worn all the +way from Paris. I tried on his cap and gloves, and +moralized over his patched boots. I remembered Alexander +as the head of a gigantic empire, the friend and +ally, and then the deadly foe of Napoleon; the companion +of kings and princes; the arbiter of thrones and +empires, and playing with crowns and sceptres. I sat +with the patched boots in my hand. Like old Peter, he +had considerable of a foot, and I respected him for it. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span>I saw him, as it were, in an undress, simple and unostentatious +in his habits; and there was a domestic air +in his whole suite of apartments that interested me more +than when I considered him on his throne. His sitting-room +showed quiet and gentlemanly as well as domestic +habits, for along the wall was a border of earth, with +shrubs and flowers growing out of it, a delicate vine +trailed around and almost covering a little mahogany +railing. The grounds around the palace are eighteen +miles in circumference, abounding in picturesque and +beautiful scenery, improved by taste and an unbounded +expenditure of money, and at this time they were in the +fulness of summer beauty. We may talk simplicity +and republicanism, but, after all, it must be a pleasant +thing to be an emperor. I always felt this, particularly +when strolling through imperial parks or pleasure-grounds, +and sometimes I almost came to the unsentimental +conclusion that, to be rural, a man must be rich.</p> + +<p>We wandered through the grounds without any plan, +taking any path that offered, and at every step some +new beauty broke upon us: a theatre; Turkish kiosk +or Chinese pagoda; splendid bridges, arches, and columns; +and an Egyptian gate; a summer-house in the +form of an Ionic colonnade, a masterpiece of taste and +elegance, supporting an aerial garden crowded with +flowers; and a Gothic building called the Admiralty, on +the borders of an extensive lake, on which lay several +boats—rigged as frigates, elegant barges and pleasure-boats, +and beautiful white swans floating majestically +upon its surface; on the islands and the shores of the +lake were little summer-houses; at the other end was +a magnificent stone landing, and in full view a marble +bridge, with Corinthian columns of polished marble; an +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span>arsenal, with many curious and interesting objects, antique +suits of armour, and two splendid sets of horse +trappings, holsters, pistols, and bridles, all studded with +diamonds, presented by the sultan on occasion of the +peace of Adrianople. Nor must I forget the dairy, and +a superb collection of goats and lamas from Siberia. +Amid this congregation of beauties one thing offended +me; a Gothic tower built as a ruin for the sake of the +picturesque, which, wanting the associations connected +with monuments ruined by time, struck me as a downright +mockery. We had intended to visit the palace of +Paulowsky, but time slipped away, and it was six o'clock +before we started to return to St. Petersburgh.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>The Soldier's Reward.—Review of the Russian Army.—American Cannibals.—Palace +of Potemkin.—Palace of the Grand-duke Michael.—Equipments +for Travelling.—Rough Riding.—Poland.—Vitepsk.—Napoleon +in Poland.—The Disastrous Retreat.—Passage of the Berezina.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Early</span> the next morning I went out about twelve +versts from the city to attend a grand military review +by the emperor in person. The government of Russia +is a military despotism, and her immense army, +nominally amounting to a million, even on the peace +establishment numbers actually six hundred thousand, +of which sixty thousand follow the person of the emperor, +and were at that time under arms at St. Petersburgh. +When I rode on the parade-ground, the spectacle +of this great army, combining the élite of barbaric +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span>chivalry with soldiers trained in the best schools of European +discipline, drawn up in battle's stern array, and +glittering with steel, was brilliant and almost sublime; +in numbers and military bearing, in costliness of armour +and equipment, far surpassing any martial parade +that I had seen, not excepting a grand review of French +troops at Paris, or even a <i>fourth of July parade at +home</i>. I once had the honour to be a paymaster in +the valiant one hundred and ninety-seventh regiment +of New-York State Militia; and I can say what, perhaps, +no other man who ever served in our <i>army</i> can say, +that I served out my whole term without being once promoted. +Men came in below and went out above me; +ensigns became colonels and lieutenants generals, but +I remained the same; it was hard work to escape promotion, +but I was resolute. Associated with me was a +friend as quartermaster, with as little of the spirit of a +soldier in him as myself, for which we were rather +looked down upon by the warriors of our day; and +when, at the end of our term, in company with several +other officers, we resigned, the next regimental orders +were filled with military panegyrics, such as, "the +colonel has received, with the greatest regret, the resignation +of Lieutenant A.;" "the country has reason to +deplore the loss of the services of Captain B.;" and +wound up with, "Quartermaster G. and Paymaster S. +have tendered their resignations, <i>both of which are +hereby accepted</i>." But when strains of martial music +burst from a hundred bands, and companies, and regiments, +and brigades wheeled and manœuvred before +me, and the emperor rode by, escorted by general +and field officers, and the most magnificent staff in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span>Europe, and the earth shook under the charge of cavalry, +I felt a strong martial spirit roused within me, +perhaps I was excited by the reflection that these soldiers +had been in battles, and that the stars and medals +glittering on their breasts were not mere holyday ornaments, +but the tokens of desperate service on bloody +battle-fields.</p> + +<p>In a body, the Russian soldiers present an exceedingly +fine appearance. When the serf is enrolled, his +hair and beard are cut off, except on the upper lip, his +uniform is simple and graceful, a belt is worn tightly +round the waist, and the breast of the coat is thickly +padded, increasing the manliness of the figure, though +sometimes at the expense of health. In evolutions they +move like a great machine, as if all the arms and legs +were governed by a single impulse.</p> + +<p>The army under review was composed of representatives +from all the nations under the sway of Russia; +Cossacks of the Don, and the Wolga, and the Black +Sea, in jackets and wide pantaloons of blue cloth, riding +on small horses, with high-peaked saddles, and carrying +spears eight or ten feet in length. One regiment had +the privilege of wearing a ragged flag and caps full of +holes, as proofs of their gallant service, being the only +regiment that fought at Pultowa. And there were Calmucs +in their extraordinary war-dress; a helmet with a +gilded crest, or a chain cap with a network of iron rings +falling over the head and shoulders, and hanging as +low as the eyebrows in front; a shirt of mail, composed +of steel rings matted together and yielding to the body, +the arms protected by plates, and the back of the hand +by steel network fastened to the plates on each side; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span>their offensive weapons were bows and arrows, silver-mounted +pistols peeping out of their holsters, cartridge-boxes +on each side of the breast, and a dagger, sword, +and gun.</p> + +<p>The Kirguish, a noble-looking race, come from the +steppes of Siberia. Their uniform is magnificent, consisting +of a blue frockcoat and pantaloons covered with +silver lace, a Grecian helmet, and a great variety of +splendid arms, the yataghan alone costing a thousand +rubles. They are all noble, and have no regular duty, +except to attend the imperial family on extraordinary +occasions. At home they are always at war among +themselves. They are Mohammedans; and one of +them said to an American friend who had a long conversation +with him, that he had four wives at home; +that some had more, but it was not considered becoming +to exceed that number. A bearded Russian came +up and said that these Kirguish eat dogs and cats +against which the Kirguish protested. The same Russian +afterward observed that the Americans were worse +than the Kirguish, for that a patriarch of the church +had written, and therefore it must be true, that the +number of human beings eaten by Americans could not +be counted; adding, with emphasis, "Sir, you were +created in the likeness of your Maker, and you should +endeavour to keep yourself so." He continued that +the Russians were the first Christians, and he felt much +disposed to send missionaries among the Americans to +meliorate their condition.</p> + +<p>The Imperial Guards are the finest-looking set of +men I ever saw. The standard is six feet, and none +are admitted below that height. Their uniform is a +white cloth coat, with buckskin breeches, boots reaching +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span>up to the hips, and swords that Wallace himself would +not have been ashamed to wield. But perhaps the most +striking in that brilliant army was the emperor himself; +seeming its natural head, towering even above +his gigantic guards, and looking, as Mr. Wilkins once +said of him, like one who, among savages, would have +been chosen for a chief. In the midst of this martial +spectacle, the thought came over me of militia musters +at home; and though smiling at the insignificance of +our military array as I rode back in my drosky, I could +but think of the happiness of our isolated position, which +spares us the necessity of keeping a large portion of our +countrymen constantly in arms to preserve the rest in +the enjoyment of life and fortune.</p> + +<p>The next morning my Polish friend, hopeless of success +either in his lawsuit or his lovesuit, fixed a day +for our departure; and, with the suggestion that I am +about leaving St. Petersburgh, I turn once more, and +for the last time, to the imperial palaces. Not far from +the Hermitage is the marble palace; a colossal pile, +built by the Empress Catharine for her favourite, Count +Orloff, presenting one of its fronts to the Neva. All the +decorations are of marble and gilded bronze, and the +capitals and bases of the columns and pilasters, and the +window-frames and balustrades of the balconies, of cast +bronze richly gilded. The effect is heightened by the +unusually large dimensions of the squares of fine plate +glass. A traveller in seventeen hundred and fifty-nine +says "that the prodigies of enchantment which we read +of in the tales of the genii are here called forth into +reality; and the temples reared by the luxuriant fancy +of our poets may be considered as a picture of the marble +palace, which Jupiter, when the burden of cares +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span>drives him from heaven, might make his delightful +abode." At present, however, there are but few remains +of this Olympian magnificence, and I think Jupiter +at the same expense would prefer the Winter Palace +or the Hermitage.</p> + +<p>The Taurida Palace, erected by Catharine II. for her +lover, Potemkin, in general effect realizes the exaggerated +accounts of travellers. The entrance is into a spacious +hall, which leads to a circular vestibule of extraordinary +magnitude, decorated with busts and statues +in marble, with a dome supported by white columns. +From thence you pass between the columns into an +immense hall or ballroom, two hundred and eighty +feet long and eighty wide, with double colonnades of +lofty Ionic pillars decorated with gold and silver festoons, +thirty-five feet high and ten feet in circumference. +From the colonnade, running the whole length +of the ballroom, you enter the Winter Garden, which +concealed flues and stoves keep always at the temperature +of summer; and here, upon great occasions, +under the light of magnificent lustres and the reflection +of numerous mirrors, during the fierceness of the +Russian winter, when the whole earth is covered with +snow, and "water tossed in the air drops down in ice," +the imperial visiter may stroll through gravel-walks +bordered with the choicest plants and flowers, blooming +hedges and groves of orange, and inhale the fragrance +of an Arabian garden. Paul, in one of his "darkened +hours," converted this palace into barracks and a +riding-school; but it has since been restored, in some +degree, to its ancient splendour.</p> + +<p>The palace of Paul, in which he was assassinated, +has been uninhabited since his death. But the triumph +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span>of modern architecture in St. Petersburgh is +the palace of the Grand-duke Michael. I shall not attempt +any description of this palace; but, to give some +notion of its splendours to my calculating countrymen, +I shall merely remark that it cost upward of seventeen +millions of rubles. But I am weary of palaces; +of wandering through magnificent apartments, where +scene after scene bursts upon my eyes, and, before I +begin to feel at home in them, I find myself ordered +out by the footman. Will the reader believe me? On +the opposite side of the river is a little wooden house, +more interesting in my eyes than all the palaces in St. +Petersburgh. It is the humble residence of Peter the +Great. I visited it for the last time after rambling +through the gorgeous palace of the Grand-duke Michael. +It is one story high, low roofed, with a little piazza +around it, and contains a sitting-room, bedroom, and +dining-parlours; and Peter himself, with his own axe, +assisted in its construction. The rooms are only eight +feet in height, the sitting-room is fifteen feet square, the +dining-room fifteen feet by twelve, and the bedchamber +ten feet square. In the first there is a chapel and +shrine, where the Russian visiter performs his orisons +and prays for the soul of Peter. Around the cottage +is a neat garden, and a boat made by Peter himself is +suspended to one of the walls. I walked around the +cottage, inside and out; listened attentively, without +understanding a word he said, to the garrulous Russian +cicerone, and sat down on the step of the front piazza. +Opposite was that long range of imperial palaces extending +for more than a mile on the Neva, and surpassing +all other royal residences in Europe or the world. +When Peter sat in the door of this humble cottage, the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span>ground where they stood was all morass and forest. +Where I saw the lofty spires of magnificent churches, +he looked out upon fishermen's huts. My eyes fell +upon the golden spire of the church of the citadel glittering +in the sunbeams, and reminding me that in its +dismal charnelhouse slept the tenant of the humble +cottage, the master-spirit which had almost created out +of nothing all this splendour. I saw at the same time +the beginning and the end of greatness. The humble +dwelling is preserved with religious reverence, and even +now is the most interesting monument which the imperial +city can show.</p> + +<p>And here, at this starting-point in her career, I take +my leave of the Palmyra of the North. I am compelled +to omit many things which he who speaks of St. Petersburgh +at all ought not to omit: her magnificent churches; +her gigantic and splendid theatres; her literary, +scientific, and eleemosynary institutions, and that which +might form the subject of a chapter in her capital, her +government and laws. I might have seen something +of Russian society, as my friend Luoff had arrived in +St. Petersburgh; but, with my limited time, the interchange +of these civilities interfered with my seeing the +curiosities of the capital.</p> + +<p>My intimacy with the colonel had fallen off, though +we still were on good terms. The fact is, I believe I +fell into rather queer company in St. Petersburgh, and +very soon found the colonel to be the most thorough +roué I ever met. He seemed to think that travelling +meant dissipating; he had never travelled but once, +and that was with the army to Paris; and, except +when on duty, his whole time had been spent in riot +and dissipation; and though sometimes he referred to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span>hard fighting, he talked more of the pleasures of that +terrible campaign than of its toils and dangers. In +consideration of my being a stranger and a young +man, he constituted himself my Mentor, and the advice +which, in all soberness, he gave me as the fruits +of his experience, was a beautiful guide for the road to +ruin. I have no doubt that, if I had given myself up +entirely to him, he would have fêted me all the time +I was in St. Petersburgh; but this did not suit me, +and I afterward fell in with the Pole, who had his own +vagaries too, and who, being the proprietor of a cloth +manufactory, did not suit the aristocratic notions of the +colonel, and so our friendship cooled. My intimacy +with his friend the prince, however, increased. I called +upon him frequently, and he offered to accompany me +everywhere; but as in sightseeing I love to be alone, I +seldom asked him, except for a twilight walk. Old associations +were all that now bound together him and the +colonel; their feelings, their fortunes, and their habits +of life were entirely different; and the colonel, instead +of being displeased with my seeking the prince in preference +to himself, was rather gratified. Altogether, the +colonel told me, he was much mistaken in me, but he +believed I was a good fellow after all; excused my +regular habits somewhat on the ground of my health; +and the day before that fixed for my departure, asked +me to pass the evening with him, and to bring my friend +the Pole. In the evening we went to the colonel's apartments. +The prince was there, and, after an elegant +little supper, happening to speak of a Frenchman and a +Prussian living in the hotel, with whom I had become +acquainted, he sent down for them to come up and join +us. The table was cleared, pipes and tobacco were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span>brought on, and Champagne was the only wine. We +had a long and interesting conversation on the subject +of the road to Warsaw, and particularly in regard to +the bloody passage of the Berezina, at which both the +colonel and the prince were present. The servant, a +favourite serf (who the next day robbed the colonel of +every valuable article in his apartment), being clumsy +in opening a new bottle of Champagne, the colonel said +he must return to army practice, and reaching down his +sabre, with a scientific blow took off the neck without +materially injuring the bottle or disturbing the contents. +This military way of decanting Champagne aided its +circulation, and head after head fell rapidly before the +naked sabre. I had for some time avoided emptying +my glass, which, in the general hurry of business, was +not noticed; but, as soon as the colonel discovered it, he +cried out, "Treason, treason against good fellowship. +America is a traitor." I pleaded ill health, but he would +not listen to me; upbraided me that the friend and old +ally of Russia should fail him; turned up his glass on +the table, and swore he would not touch it again unless +I did him justice. All followed his example; all decided +that America was disturbing the peace of nations; +the glasses were turned up all around, and a dead stop +was put to the merriment. I appealed, begged, and +protested; and the colonel became positive, dogged, +and outrageous. The prince came to my aid, and proposed +that the difficulty between Russia and America +should be submitted to the arbitration of France and +Prussia. He had observed these powers rather backing +out. The eyes of France were already in a fine +phrensy rolling, and Prussia's tongue had long been +wandering; and in apprehension of their own fate, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span>these mighty powers leaned to mercy. It was necessary, +however, to propitiate the colonel, and they decided +that, to prevent the effusion of blood, I should +start once more the flow of wine; that we should begin +again with a bumper all around; and, after that, every +man should do as he pleased. The colonel was obliged +to be content; and swearing that he would drink for us +all, started anew.</p> + +<p>The Prussian was from Berlin, and this led the colonel +to speak of the stirring scenes that had taken place +in that capital on the return of the Russian army from +Paris; and, after a while, the Prussian, personally unknown +to the colonel, told him that his name was still +remembered in Berlin as a leader in Russian riot and +dissipation, and particularly as having carried off, in a +most daring manner, a lady of distinguished family; +and—"go on," said the colonel—"killed her husband." +"He refused my challenge," said the colonel, "but +sought my life, and I shot him like a dog." The whole +party now became uproarious; the colonel begged me, +by all the friendly relations between Russia and America, +to hold on till breakfast-time; but, being the coolest +man present, and not knowing what farther developments +might take place, I broke up the party.</p> + +<p>In the morning my passport was not ready. I went +off to the police-office for it, and when I returned the +horses had not come, and the valet brought me the usual +answer, that there were none. My Pole was glad to +linger another day for the sake of his flirtation with +the little girl opposite, and so we lounged through the +day, part of the time in the bazar of a Persian, where I +came near ruining myself by an offer I made for a beautiful +emerald; and after one more and the last twilight +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span>stroll on the banks of the Neva and up the Newski Perspective, +we returned at an early hour, and for the last +time in Russia, slept in a bed.</p> + +<p>At nine o'clock the next morning a kibitka drove up +to the door of our hotel, demanding an American and a +Pole for Warsaw. All the servants of the hotel were +gathered around, arranging the luggage, and making +a great parade of getting off the distinguished travellers. +The travellers themselves seemed equipped for a long +journey. One wore a blue roundabout jacket, military +cap and cloak, with whiskers and a mustache tending +to red; the other, a tall, stout, Herculean fellow, was +habited in the most outré costume of a Russian traveller; +a cotton dressing-gown of every variety of colours, +red and yellow predominating; coarse gray trousers; +boots coming above his knees; a cap <i>tout a fait farouche</i>, +and there was no mistake about the colour of +his hair and mustaches; he was moving slowly around +the kibitka in his travelling dress, and looking up to the +window opposite, to give his dulcinea the melancholy +intelligence that he was going away, and perhaps to +catch one farewell smile at parting. The carriage of +these distinguished travellers was the kibitka, one of the +national vehicles of Russia, being a long, round-bottomed +box or cradle on four wheels, probably the old +Scythian wagon, resting, in proud contempt of the effeminacy +of springs, on the oaken axles; the hubs of +the wheels were two feet long, the linchpins of wood, +the body of the carriage fastened to the wheels by +wooden pins, ropes, and sticks; and, except the tires of +the wheels, there was not a nail or piece of iron about it. +The hinder part was covered with matting, open in front +somewhat like an oldfashioned bonnet, and supported +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span>by an arched stick, which served as a linchpin for the +hind wheels; a bucket of grease hung under the hind +axle, and the bottom of the kibitka was filled with +straw; whole cost of outfit, thirteen dollars. Before +it were three horses, one in shafts and one on each side, +the centre one having a high bow over his neck, painted +yellow and red, to which a rein was tied for holding up +his head, and also a bell, to a Russian postillion more +necessary than harness. The travellers took their +places in the bottom of the kibitka, and the postillion, +a rough, brutal-looking fellow, in gray coat and hat +turned up at the sides, mounted in front, catching a +seat where he could on the rim of the wagon, about +three inches wide; and in this dashing equipage we +started for a journey of a thousand miles to the capital +of another kingdom. We rolled for the last time through +the streets of St. Petersburgh, gazed at the domes, and +spires, and magnificent palaces, and in a few moments +passed the barrier.</p> + +<p>I left St. Petersburgh, as I did every other city, with +a certain feeling of regret that, in all probability, I should +never see it more; still the cracking of the postillion's +whip and the galloping of the horses created in me that +high excitement which I always felt in setting out for +a new region. Our first stage was to Czarskoselo, our +second to Cazena, where there was another palace. It +was dark when we reached the third, a small village, of +which I did not even note the name. I shall not linger +on this road, for it was barren of interest and incident, +and through a continued succession of swamps and forests. +For two hundred miles it tried the tenure of adhesion +between soul and body, being made of the trunks +of trees laid transversely, bound down by long poles or +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span>beams fastened into the ground with wooden pegs covered +with layers of boughs, and the whole strewed over +with sand and earth; the trunks in general were decayed +and sunken, and the sand worn or washed away, +reminding me of the worst of our western corduroy +roads. Our wagon being without springs, and our seats +a full-length extension on straw on the bottom, without +the bed, pillows, and cushions which the Russians usually +have, I found this ride one of the severest trials of +physical endurance I ever experienced. My companion +groaned and brushed his mustaches, and talked of the +little girl at St. Petersburgh. In my previous journey +in Russia I had found the refreshment of tea, and on +this, often when almost exhausted, I was revived by that +precious beverage. I stood it three days and nights, +but on the fourth completely broke down. I insensibly +slipped down at full length in the bottom of the wagon; +the night was cold and rainy; my companion covered +me up to the eyes with straw, and I slept from the early +part of the evening like a dead man. The horses were +changed three times; the wagon was lifted up under +me, and the wheels greased; and three times my companion +quarrelled with the postmaster over my body +without waking me. About six o'clock in the morning +he roused me. I could not stir hand or foot; my mouth +was full of dust and straw, and I felt a sense of suffocation. +In a few moments I crawled out, staggered a +few steps, and threw myself down on the floor of a +wretched posthouse. My companion put my carpet-bag +under my head, wrapped cloaks and greatcoats around +me, and prepared me some tea; but I loathed everything. +I was in that miserable condition which every +traveller has some time experienced; my head ringing, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span>every bone aching, and perfectly reckless as to what +became of me. While my companion stood over me I +fell asleep, and believe I should have been sleeping +there yet if he had not waked me. He said we must +go on at all risks until we found a place where we could +remain with some degree of comfort. I begged and entreated +to be left to myself, but he was inexorable. He +lifted me up, hauled me out to the kibitka, which was +filled with fresh straw, and seated me within, supporting +me on his shoulder.</p> + +<p>It was a beautiful day. We moved moderately, and +toward evening came to a posthouse kept by a Jew, or, +rather, a Jewess, who was so kind and attentive that +we determined to stay there all night. She brought in +some clean straw and spread it on the floor, where I +slept gloriously. My companion was tougher than I, +but he could not stand the fleas and bugs, and about +midnight went out and slept in the kibitka. In the +morning we found that he had been too late; that the +kibitka had been stripped of every article except himself +and the straw. Fortunately, my carpet-bag had +been brought in; but I received a severe blow in the +loss of a cane, an old friend and travelling companion, +which had been with me in every variety of scene, +and which I had intended to carry home with me, and +retain as a companion through life. It is almost inconceivable +how much this little incident distressed me. +It was a hundred times worse than the loss of my carpet-bag. +I felt the want of it every moment; I had +rattled it on the Boulevards of Paris, in the eternal +city, the Colosseum, and the places thereabout; had +carried it up the burning mountain, and poked it into +the red-hot lava; had borne it in the Acropolis, on the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span>field of Marathon, and among the ruins of Ephesus; +had flourished it under the beard of the sultan, and +the eyes and nose of the emperor and autocrat of all +the Russias; in deserts and in cities it had been my +companion and friend. Unsparing Nemesis, let loose +your vengeance upon the thief who stole it! The rascals +had even carried off the rope traces, and every +loose article about the kibitka.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding this, however, I ought not to omit +remarking the general security of travelling in Russia +and Poland. The immense plains; the distance of +habitations; the number of forests; the custom of travelling +by night as well as by day; the negligence of all +measures to ensure the safety of the roads, all contribute +to favour robbery and murders; and yet an instance +of either is scarcely known in years. It was +difficult on those immense levels, which seemed independent +of either general or individual proprietors, to +recognise even the bounds of empires. The Dwina, +however, a natural boundary, rolls between Russia and +Poland; and at Vitepsk we entered the territories of +what was once another kingdom. The surface of Poland +forms part of that immense and unvaried plain +which constitutes the northern portion of all the central +European countries. A great portion of this plain +is overspread with a deep layer of sand, alternating +however, with large clayey tracts and extensive marshes; +a winter nearly as severe as that of Sweden, and +violent winds blowing uninterruptedly over this wide +open region, are consequences of its physical structure +and position. The Roman arms never penetrated any +part of this great level tract, the whole of which was +called by them Sarmatia; and Sarmatia and Scythia +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span>were in their descriptions always named together as the +abode of nomadic and savage tribes. From the earliest +era it appears to have been peopled by the Sclavonic +tribes; a race widely diffused, and distinguished by a +peculiar language, by a strong national feeling, and by a +particular train of superstitious ideas. Though shepherds, +they did not partake of the migratory character +of the Teutonic or Tartar nations; and were long held +in the most cruel bondage by the Huns, the Goths, and +other nations of Asia, for whom their country was a +path to the conquest of the west of Europe.</p> + +<p>In the tenth century the Poles were a powerful and +warlike nation. In the fourteenth Lithuania was incorporated +with it, and Poland became one of the most +powerful monarchies in Europe. For two centuries it +was the bulwark of Christendom against the alarming +invasions of the Turks; the reigns of Sigismund and +Sobieski hold a high place in military history; and, until +the beginning of the last century, its martial character +gave it a commanding influence in Europe.</p> + +<p>It is unnecessary to trace the rapid and irrecoverable +fall of Poland. On the second partition, Kosciusko, +animated by his recent struggle for liberty in America, +roused his countrymen to arms. But the feet of three +giants were upon her breast; and Suwarrow, marching +upon the capital, storming the fortress of Praga, and +butchering in cold blood thirty thousand inhabitants, +extinguished, apparently for ever, the rights and the +glories of Poland. Living as we do apart from the rest +of the world, with no national animosities transmitted +by our fathers, it is impossible to realize the feeling of +deadly hatred existing between neighbouring nations +from the disputes of ancestors centuries ago. The history +of Russia and Poland presents a continued series +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span>of bloodstained pages. Battle after battle has nourished +their mutual hate, and for a long time it had been +the settled feeling of both that Russia or Poland must +fall. It is perhaps fortunate for the rest of Europe that +this feeling has always existed; for, if they were united +in heart, the whole south of Europe would lie at the +mercy of their invading armies. Napoleon committed a +fatal error in tampering with the brave and patriotic +Poles; for he might have rallied around him a nation of +soldiers who, in gratitude, would have stood by him +until they were exterminated.</p> + +<p>But to return to Vitepsk. Here, for the first time, +we fell into the memorable road traversed by Napoleon +on his way to Moscow. The town stands on the banks +of the Dwina, built on both sides of the river, and contains +a population of about fifteen thousand, a great +portion of whom are Jews. In itself, it has but little +to engage the attention of the traveller; but I strolled +through its streets with extraordinary interest, remembering +it as the place where Napoleon decided on his +fatal march to Moscow. It was at the same season +and on the very same day of the year that the "grand +army," having traversed the gloomy forests of Lithuania +in pursuit of an invincible and intangible enemy, with +the loss of more than a hundred thousand men, emerged +from the last range of woods and halted at the presence +of the hostile fires that covered the plain before the city. +Napoleon slept in his tent on an eminence at the left of +the main road, and before sunrise appeared at the advanced +posts, and by its first rays saw the Russian +army, eighty thousand strong, encamped on a high plain +commanding all the avenues of the city. Ten thousand +horsemen made a show of defending its passes; and at +about ten o'clock, Murat le Beau Sabreur, intoxicated +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span>by the admiration his presence excited, at the head of +a single regiment of chasseurs charged the whole Russian +cavalry. He was repulsed, and driven back to the +foot of the hillock on which Napoleon stood. The +chasseurs of the French guards formed a circle around +him, drove off the assailant lancers, and the emperor +ordered the attack to cease; and, pointing to the city, +his parting words to Murat were, "To-morrow at five +o'clock the sun of Austerlitz."</p> + +<p>At daylight the camp of Barclay de Tolly was deserted; +not a weapon, not a single valuable left behind; +and a Russian soldier asleep under a bush was the +sole result of the day expected to be so decisive. Vitepsk, +except by a few miserable Jews and Jesuits, like +the Russian camp, was also abandoned. The emperor +mounted his horse and rode through the deserted camp +and desolate streets of the city. Chagrined and mortified, +he pitched his tents in an open courtyard; but, +after a council of war with Murat, Eugene, and others +of his principal officers, laid his sword upon the table, +and resolved to finish in Vitepsk the campaign of that +year. Well had it been for him had he never changed +that determination. He traced his line of defence on +the map, and explored Vitepsk and its environs as a +place where he was likely to make a long residence; +formed establishments of all kinds; erected large ovens +capable of baking at once thirty thousand loaves of +bread; pulled down a range of stone houses which injured +the appearance of the square of the palace, and +made arrangements for opening the theatre with Parisian +actors. But in a few days he was observed to +grow restless; the members of his household recollected +his expression at the first view of the deserted Vitepsk, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span>"Do you think I have come so far to conquer +these miserable huts?" Segur says that he was observed +to wander about his apartments as if pursued by +some dangerous temptation. Nothing could rivet his +attention. Every moment he began, stopped, and resumed +his labour. At length, overwhelmed with the +importance of the considerations that agitated him, "he +threw himself on the floor of his apartment; his frame, +exhausted by the heat and the struggles of his mind, +could only bear a covering of the slightest texture. +He rose from his sleepless pillow possessed once more +with the genius of war; his voice deepens, his eyes +flash fire, and his countenance darkens. His attendants +retreat from his presence, struck with mingled +awe and respect. His plan is fixed, his determination +taken, his order of march traced out."</p> + +<p>The last council occupied eight hours. Berthier by +a melancholy countenance, by lamentations, and even +by tears; Lobau by the cold and haughty frankness +of a warrior; Caulaincourt with obstinacy and impetuosity +amounting to violence; Duroc by a chilling +silence, and afterward by stern replies; and Daru +straightforward and with firmness immoveable, opposed +his going; but, as if driven on by that fate he almost +defied, he broke up the council with the fatal determination. +"Blood has not been shed, and Russia is too +great to yield without fighting. Alexander can only +negotiate after a great battle. I will proceed to the +holy city in search of that battle, and I will gain it. +Peace waits me at the gates of Moscow." From that +hour commenced that train of terrible disasters which +finally drove him from the throne of France, and sent +him to die an exile on a small island in the Indian +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span>Ocean. I walked out on the Moscow road, by which +the grand army, with pomp and martial music, with +Murat, and Ney, and Duroc, and Daru, inspired by +the great names of Smolensk and Moscow, plunged +into a region of almost pathless forest, where most of +them were destined to find a grave. I was at first surprised +at the utter ignorance of the inhabitants of Vitepsk, +in regard to the circumstances attending the occupation +of the city by Napoleon. A Jew was my +cicerone, who talked of the great scenes of which this +little city had in his own day been the theatre almost +as matter of tradition, and without half the interest with +which, even now, the Greek points the stranger to the +ruins of Argos or the field of Marathon; and this ignorance +in regard to the only matters that give an interest +to this dreary road I remarked during the whole journey. +I was so unsuccessful in my questions, and the +answers were so unsatisfactory, that my companion +soon became tired of acting as my interpreter. Indeed, +as he said, he himself knew more than any one I met, +for he had travelled it before in company with an uncle, +of the Polish legion; but even he was by no means familiar +with the ground.</p> + +<p>We left Vitepsk with a set of miserable horses, rode +all night, and at noon of the next day were approaching +the banks of the Berezina, memorable for the dreadful +passage which almost annihilated the wretched remnant +of Napoleon's army. It was impossible, in passing +over the same ground, not to recur to the events of +which it had been the scene. The "invincible legions," +which left Vitepsk two hundred thousand strong, were +now fighting their dreadful retreat from Moscow through +regulars and Cossacks, reduced to less than twelve +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span>thousand men marching in column, with a train of thirty +thousand undisciplined followers, sick, wounded, and +marauders of every description. The cavalry which +crossed the Niemen thirty-seven thousand in number +was reduced to one hundred and fifty men on horseback. +Napoleon collected all the officers who remained mounted, +and formed them into a body, in all about five hundred, +which he called his sacred squadron; officers +served as privates, and generals of divisions as captains. +He ordered the carriages of the officers, many of the +wagons, and even the eagles belonging to the different +corps, to be burned in his presence; and drawing his +sword, with the stern remark that he had sufficiently +acted the emperor, and must once more play the general, +marched on foot at the head of his old guard. He had +hardly reorganized before the immense pine forests +which border the Berezina echoed with the thunder of +the Russian artillery; in a moment all remains of discipline +were lost. In the last stage of weakness and confusion +they were roused by loud cries before them, and, +to their great surprise and joy, recognised the armies +of Victor and Oudinot. The latter knew nothing of the +terrible disasters of the army of Moscow, and they were +thrown into consternation and then melted to tears when +they saw behind Napoleon, instead of the invincible legions +which had left them in splendid equipments, a +train of gaunt and spectral figures, their faces black +with dirt, and long bristly beards, covered with rags, +female pelisses, pieces of carpet, with bare and bleeding +feet, or bundled with rags, and colonels and generals +marching pellmell with soldiers, unarmed and shameless, +without any order or discipline, kept together and +sleeping round the same fires only by the instinct of +self-preservation.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span>About noon we drove into the town of Borizoff. It +stands on the banks of the Berezina, and is an old, irregular-looking +place, with a heavy wooden church in +the centre of an open square. As usual, at the door of +the posthouse a group of Jews gathered around us. +When Napoleon took possession of Borizoff the Jews +were the only inhabitants who remained; and they, a +scattered, wandering, and migratory people, without any +attachment of soil or country, were ready to serve either +the French or Russians, according to the inducements +held out to them. A few noble instances are recorded +where this persecuted and degraded people exhibited a +devotion to the land that sheltered them honourable to +their race and to the character of man; but in general +they were false and faithless. Those who gathered +around us in Borizoff looked as though they might be +the very people who betrayed the Russians. One of +them told us that a great battle had been fought there, +but we could not find any who had been present at the +fatal passage of the river. We dined at the posthouse, +probably with less anxiety than was felt by Napoleon +or any of the flying Frenchmen; but even we were not +permitted to eat in peace; for, before we had finished, +our vehicle was ready, with worse horses than usual, +and a surlier postillion. We sent the postillion on ahead, +and walked down to the bank of the river. On the night +preceding the passage, Napoleon himself had command +of Borizoff, with six thousand guards prepared for a +desperate contest. He passed the whole night on his +feet; and while waiting for the approach of daylight in +one of the houses on the border of the river, so impracticable +seemed the chance of crossing with the army +that Murat proposed to him to put himself under the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span>escort of some brave and determined Poles, and save +himself while there was yet time; but the emperor indignantly +rejected the proposition as a cowardly flight. +The river is here very broad, and divided into branches. +On the opposite side are the remains of an embankment +that formed part of the Russian fortifications. When +the Russians were driven out of Borizoff by Oudinot, +they crossed the river, burned the bridge, and erected +these embankments.</p> + +<p>Besides the sanguinary contest of the French and +Russians, this river is also memorable for a great battle +between my companion and our postillion. In the middle +of the bridge the postillion stopped and waited till +we came up; he grumbled loudly at being detained, to +which my companion replied in his usual conciliatory +and insinuating manner, by laying his cane over the fellow's +shoulders; but on the bridge of Borizoff the blood +of the Lithuanian was roused; and, perhaps, urged on +by the memory of the deeds done there by his fathers, +he sprang out of the wagon, and with a warcry +that would not have disgraced a Cossack of the Don, +rushed furiously upon my friend. Oh for a Homer to +celebrate that fight on the bridge of Borizoff! The warriors +met, not like Grecian heroes, with spear and shield, +and clad in steel, but with their naked fists and faces +bare to take the blows. My friend was a sublime spectacle. +Like a rock, firm and immoveable, he stood and +met the charge of the postillion; in short, in the twinkling +of an eye he knocked the postillion down. Those +who know say that it is more trying to walk over a +field of battle after all is over than to be in the fight; +and I believe it from my experience in our trying passage +of the Berezina; for, when I picked up the discomfited +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span>postillion, whose face was covered with blood, +I believe that I had the worst of it. All great victories +are tested by their results, and nothing could be more +decisive than that over the postillion. He arose a wiser +and much more tractable man. At first he looked very +stupid when he saw me leaning over him, and very +startled when he rubbed his hand over his face and saw +it stained with blood; but, raising himself, he caught +sight of his victor, and without a word got into the +wagon, walked the horses over the bridge, and at the +other end got out and threw himself on the ground.</p> + +<p>It was a beautiful afternoon, and we lingered on the +bridge. Crossing it, we walked up the bank on the opposite +side toward the place where Napoleon erected +his bridges for the passage of his army. All night the +French worked at the bridges by the light of the enemy's +fires on the opposite side. At daylight the fires +were abandoned, and the Russians, supposing the attempt +here to be a feint, were seen in full retreat. The +emperor, impatient to get possession of the opposite +bank, pointed it out to the bravest. A French aiddecamp +and Lithuanian count threw themselves into the +river, and, in spite of the ice, which cut their horses' +breasts, reached the opposite bank in safety. About +one o'clock the bank on which we stood was entirely +cleared of Cossacks, and the bridge for the infantry was +finished. The first division crossed it rapidly with its +cannon, the men shouting "<i>Vive l'empereur!</i>" The +passage occupied three days. The number of stragglers +and the quantity of baggage were immense. On the +night of the twenty-seventh the stragglers left the bridge, +tore down the whole village, and made fires with the +materials, around which they crouched their shivering +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span>figures, and from which it was impossible to tear themselves +away. At daylight they were roused by the +report of Witgenstein's cannon thundering over their +heads, and again all rushed tumultuously to the bridges. +The Russians, with Platow and his Cossacks, were now +in full communication on both sides of the river. On +the left bank, Napoleon's own presence of mind and the +bravery of his soldiers gave him a decided superiority; +but, in the language of Scott, the scene on the right +bank had become the wildest and most horrible which +war can exhibit.</p> + +<p>"Victor, with eight or ten thousand men, covered the +retreat over the bridges, while behind his line thousands +of stragglers, old men, women, and children, were wandering +by the side of this river like the fabled spectres +which throng the banks of the infernal Styx, seeking in +vain for passage. The balls of the Russians began to +fall among the disordered mass, and the whole body +rushed like distracted beings toward the bridges, every +feeling of prudence or humanity swallowed up by the +animal instinct of self-preservation. The weak and +helpless either shrunk from the fray and sat down to +wait their fate at a distance, or, mixing in it, were thrust +over the bridges, crushed under carriages, cut down with +sabres, or trampled to death under the feet of their countrymen. +All this while the action continued with fury; +and, as if the heavens meant to match their wrath with +that of man, a hurricane arose and added terrors to a +scene which was already of a character so dreadful. +About midday the larger bridge, constructed for artillery +and heavy carriages, broke down, and multitudes were +forced into the water. The scream of the despairing +multitude became at this crisis for a moment so universal, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span>that it rose shrilly above the wild whistling of the +tempest and the sustained and redoubled hourras of the +Cossacks. The dreadful scene continued till dark. As +the obscurity came on, Victor abandoned the station he +had defended so bravely, and led the remnant of his +troops in their turn across. All night the miscellaneous +multitude continued to throng across the bridge +under the fire of the Russian artillery. At daybreak +the French engineers finally set fire to the bridge, and +all that remained on the other side, including many +prisoners, and a great quantity of guns and baggage, became +the property of the Russians. The amount of +the French loss was never exactly known; but the Russian +report concerning the bodies of the invaders, which +were collected and burned as soon as the thaw permitted, +states that upward of thirty-six thousand were found in +the Berezina."</p> + +<p>The whole of this scene was familiar to me as matter +of history; the passage of the Berezina had in some +way fastened itself upon my mind as one of the most +fearful scenes in the annals of war; and, besides this, +at St. Petersburgh the colonel and prince had given me +a detailed account of the horrors of that dreadful night, +for they were both with Witgenstein's army, by the light +of the snow, the course of the river, and the noise, directing +a murderous fire of artillery against the dark +mass moving over the bridge; and nearer still, my companion +had visited the place in company with his uncle, +of the Polish legion, and repeated to me the circumstances +of individual horror which he had heard from +his relative, surpassing human belief. The reader will +excuse me if I have lingered too long on the banks of +that river; and perhaps, too, he will excuse me when I +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span>tell him that, before leaving it, I walked down to its +brink and bathed my face in its waters. Others have +done so at the classic streams of Italy and Greece; but +I rolled over the Arno and the Tiber in a vetturino +without stopping, and the reader will remember that I +jumped over the Ilissus.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Travel by Night.—A Rencounter.—A Traveller's Message.—Lithuania.—Poverty +of the Country.—Agricultural Implements.—Minsk.—Polish +Jews.—A Coin of Freedom.—Riding in a Basket.—Brezc.—The Bug.—A +searching Operation.—Women Labourers.—Warsaw.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was after dark when we returned to our wagon, +still standing at the end of the bridge opposite Borizoff. +Our postillion, like a sensible man, had lain down to +sleep at the head of his horses, so they could not move +without treading on him and waking him; and, when +we roused him, the pain of his beating was over, and +with it all sense of the indignity; and, in fact, we made +him very grateful for the flogging by promising him a +few additional kopeks.</p> + +<p>We hauled up the straw and seated ourselves in the +bottom of our kibitka. Night closed upon us amid the +gloomy forests bordering the banks of the Berezina. +We talked for a little while, and by degrees drawing +our cloaks around us, each fell into a revery. The continued +tinkling of the bell, which, on my first entering +Russia, grated on my ear, had become agreeable to me, +and in a dark night particularly was a pleasing sound. +The song of the postillion, too, harmonized with the +repose of spirit at that moment most grateful to us; that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span>too died away, the bell almost ceased its tinkling, and, +in spite of the alarum of war which we had all day +been ringing in our own ears, we should probably soon +have fallen into a sleep as sound, for a little while at +least, as that of them who slept under the waters of the +Berezina, but we were suddenly roused by a shock as +alarming to quiet travellers as the hourra of the Cossack +in the ears of the flying Frenchmen. Our horses sprang +out of the road, but not in time to avoid a concussion +with another wagon going toward Borizoff. Both postillions +were thrown off their seats; and the stranger, +picking himself up, came at us with a stream of Lithuanian +Russian almost harsh enough to frighten the +horses. I will not suggest what its effect was upon us, +but only that, as to myself, it seemed at first equal to +the voice of at least a dozen freebooters and marauders; +and if the English of it had been "stand and deliver," +I should probably have given up my carpet-bag without +asking to reserve a change of linen. But I was restored +by the return fire of our postillion, who drowned completely +the attack of his adversary by his outrageous +clamour; and when he stopped to take breath my companion +followed up the defence, and this brought out a +fourth voice from the bottom of the opposite wagon. A +truce was called, and waiving the question on which +side the fault lay, we all got out to ascertain the damage. +Our antagonist passenger was a German merchant, +used to roughing it twice every year between +Berlin, Warsaw, Petersburgh, and Moscow, and took +our smashing together at night in this desolate forest +as coolly as a rub of the shoulders in the streets; and, +when satisfied that his wagon was not injured, kindly +asked us if we had any bones broken. We returned +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span>his kind inquiries; and, after farther interchanges of +politeness, he said that he was happy to make our acquaintance, +and invited us to come and see him at Berlin. +We wanted him to go back and let us have a look +at him by torchlight, but he declined; and, after feeling +him stretched out in his bed in the bottom of his wagon, +we started him on his way.</p> + +<p>We resumed our own places, and, without dozing +again, arrived at the posthouse, where first of all we +made ourselves agreeable to the postmaster by delivering +our German friend's message to him, that he ought +to be whipped and condemned to live where he was +till he was a hundred years old for putting the neck of +a traveller at the mercy of a sleepy postillion; but the +postmaster was a Jew, and thought the vile place +where he lived equal to any on earth. He was a miserable, +squalid-looking object, with a pine torch in his +hand lighting up the poverty and filthiness of his +wretched habitation, and confessed that he should be +too happy to enjoy the fortune which the German +would have entailed upon him as a curse. He offered +to make us a bed of some dirty straw which had often +been slept on before; but we shrank from it; and, as +soon as we could get horses, returned to our kibitka +and resumed our journey.</p> + +<p>The whole province of Lithuania is much the same +in appearance. We lost nothing by travelling through +it at night; indeed, every step that we advanced was +a decided gain, as it brought us so much nearer its +farthermost border. The vast provinces of Lithuania, +formerly a part of the kingdom of Poland, and, since +the partition of that unhappy country, subject to the +throne of Russia, until the fourteenth century were independent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span>of either. The Lithuanians and Samogitians +are supposed to be of a different race from the Poles, +and spoke a language widely dissimilar to the Polish +or Russian. Their religion was a strange idolatry; +they worshipped the god of thunder, and paid homage +to a god of the harvest; they maintained priests, who +were constantly feeding a sacred fire in honour of the +god of the seasons; they worshipped trees, fountains, +and plants; had sacred serpents, and believed in guardian +spirits of trees, cattle, &c. Their government, +like that of all other barbarous nations, was despotic, +and the nobles were less numerous and more tyrannical +than in Poland. In the latter part of the fourteenth +century, on the death of Louis, successor to Casimir +the Great, Hedwiga was called to the throne of Poland, +under a stipulation, however, that she should follow the +will of the Poles in the choice of her husband. Many +candidates offered themselves for the hand dowered +with a kingdom; but the offers of Jagellon, duke of +Lithuania, were most tempting; he promised to unite +his extensive dominions to the territory of Poland, +and pledged himself for the conversion to Christianity +of his Lithuanian subjects. But queens are not free +from the infirmities of human nature; and Hedwiga +had fixed her affections upon her cousin, William of +Austria, whom she had invited into Poland; and when +Jagellon came to take possession of his wife and +crown, she refused to see him. The nobles, however, +sent William back to his papa, and locked her up as +if she had been a boarding-school miss. And again, +queens are not free from the infirmities of human nature: +Hedwiga was inconstant; the handsome Lithuanian +made her forget her first love, and Poland and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span>Lithuania were united under one crown. Jagellon +was baptized, but the inhabitants of Lithuania did not +so readily embrace the Christian religion; in one of +the provinces they clung for a long time to their own +strange and wild superstitions; and even in modern +times, it is said, the peasants long obstinately refused +to use ploughs or other agricultural instruments furnished +with iron, for fear of wounding the bosom of +mother earth.</p> + +<p>All the way from Borizoff the road passes through a +country but little cultivated, dreary, and covered with +forests. When Napoleon entered the province of Lithuania +his first bulletins proclaimed, "Here, then, is +that Russia so formidable at a distance! It is a desert +for which its scattered population is wholly insufficient. +They will be vanquished by the very extent of territory +which ought to defend them;" and, before I had travelled +in it a day, I could appreciate the feeling of the +soldier from La Belle France, who, hearing his Polish +comrades boast of their country, exclaimed, "Et ces +gueux la appellent cette pays une patrie!"</p> + +<p>The villages are a miserable collection of straggling +huts, without plan or arrangement, and separated from +each other by large spaces of ground. They are about +ten or twelve feet square, made of the misshapen trunks +of trees heaped on each other, with the ends projecting +over; the roof of large shapeless boards, and the window +a small hole in the wall, answering the double purpose +of admitting light and letting out smoke. The tenants +of these wretched hovels exhibit the same miserable +appearance both in person and manners. They are +hard-boned and sallow-complexioned; the men wear +coarse white woollen frocks, and a round felt cap lined +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span>with wool, and shoes made of the bark of trees, and +their uncombed hair hangs low over their heads, generally +of a flaxen colour. Their agricultural implements +are of the rudest kind. The plough and harrow are +made from the branches of the fir tree, without either +iron or ropes; their carts are put together without iron, +consisting of four small wheels, each of a single piece +of wood; the sides are made of the bark of a tree bent +round, and the shafts are a couple of fir branches; their +bridles and traces platted from the bark of trees, or +composed merely of twisted branches. Their only instrument +to construct their huts and make their carts is +a hatchet. They were servile and cringing in their expressions +of respect, bowing down to the ground and +stopping their carts as soon as we came near them, and +stood with their caps in their hands till we were out of +sight. The whole country, except in some open places +around villages, is one immense forest of firs, perhaps +sixty feet in height, compact and thick, but very slender. +As we approached Minsk the road was sandy, and we +entered by a wooden bridge over a small stream and +along an avenue of trees.</p> + +<p>Minsk is one of the better class of Lithuanian towns, +being the chief town of the government of Minsk, but +very dirty and irregular. The principal street terminates +in a large open square of grass and mean wooden +huts. From this another street goes off at right angles, +containing large houses, and joining with a second +square, where some of the principal buildings are of +brick. From this square several streets branch off, and +enter a crowd of wooden hovels irregularly huddled together, +and covering a large space of ground. The +churches are heavily constructed, and in a style peculiar +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span>to Lithuania, their gable ends fronting the street, +and terminated at each corner by a square spire, with a +low dome between them. The population is half Catholic +and half Jewish, and the Jews are of the most filthy +and abject class.</p> + +<p>A few words with regard to the Jews in Poland. +From the moment of crossing the borders of Lithuania, +I had remarked in every town and village swarms of +people differing entirely from the other inhabitants in +physical appearance and costume, and in whose sharply-drawn +features, long beards, and flowing dresses, +with the coal-black eyes and oriental costumes of the +women, I at once recognised the dispersed and wandering +children of Israel. On the second destruction +of Jerusalem, when the Roman general drove a plough +over the site of the Temple of Solomon, the political +existence of the Jewish nation was annihilated, their +land was portioned out among strangers, and the descendants +of Abraham were forbidden to pollute with +their presence the holy city of their fathers. In the +Roman territories, their petition for the reduction of +taxation received the stern answer of the Roman, "Ye +demand exemption from tribute for your soil; I will +lay it on the air you breathe;" and, in the words of +the historian, "Dispersed and vagabond, exiled from +their native soil and air, they wander over the face of +the earth without a king, either human or divine, and +even as strangers they are not permitted to salute with +their footsteps their native land." History furnishes no +precise records of the emigration or of the first settlement +of the Israelites in the different countries of Europe; +but for centuries they have been found dispersed, as it +was foretold they would be, over the whole habitable +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span>world, a strange, unsocial, and isolated people, a living +and continued miracle. At this day they are found +in all the civilized countries of Europe and America, +in the wildest regions of Asia and Africa, and even +within the walls of China; but, after Palestine, Poland +is regarded as their Land of Promise; and there they +present a more extraordinary spectacle than in any +country where their race is known. Centuries have +rolled on, revolutions have convulsed the globe, new +and strange opinions have disturbed the human race, +but the Polish Jew remains unchanged: the same as +the dark superstition of the middle ages made him; +the same in his outward appearance and internal dispositions, +in his physical and moral condition, as when +he fled thither for refuge from the swords of the crusaders.</p> + +<p>As early as the fourteenth century, great privileges +were secured to the Jews by Casimir the Great, who +styled them his "faithful and able subjects," induced, +according to the chronicles of the times, like Ahasuerus +of old, by the love of a beautiful Esther. While in +Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and even in England +and France, their whole history is that of one continued +persecution, oppressed by the nobles, anathematized +by the clergy, despised and abhorred by the populace, +flying from city to city, arrested, and tortured, and +burned alive, and sometimes destroying themselves by +thousands to escape horrors worse than death; while +all orders were arrayed in fierce and implacable hatred +against them, in Poland the race of Israel found rest; +and there they remain at this day, after centuries of residence, +still a distinct people, strangers and sojourners +in the land, mingling with their neighbours in the every-day +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span>business of life, but never mingling their blood; +the direct descendants of the Israelites who, three thousand +years ago, went out from the land of Egypt; speaking +the same language, and practising the laws delivered +to Moses on the mountain of Sinai; mourning over their +fallen temple, and still looking for the Messiah who +shall bring together their scattered nation and restore +their temporal kingdom.</p> + +<p>But notwithstanding the interest of their history and +position, the Polish Jews are far from being an interesting +people; they swarm about the villages and towns, +intent on gain, and monopolizing all the petty traffic of +the country. Outward degradation has worked inward +upon their minds; confined to base and sordid occupations, +their thoughts and feelings are contracted to their +stations, and the despised have become despicable. It +was principally in his capacity of innkeeper that I became +acquainted with the Polish Jew. The inn is generally +a miserable hovel communicating with, or a room +partitioned off in one corner of, a large shed serving as +a stable and yard for vehicles; the entrance is under a +low porch of timber; the floor is of dirt; the furniture +consists of a long table, or two or three small ones, and +in one corner a bunch of straw, or sometimes a few +raised boards formed into a platform, with straw spread +over it, for beds; at one end a narrow door leads into a +sort of hole filled with dirty beds, old women, half-grown +boys and girls, and children not overburdened with garments, +and so filthy that, however fatigued, I never felt +disposed to venture among them for rest. Here the +Jew, assisted by a dirty-faced Rachel, with a keen and +anxious look, passes his whole day in serving out to +the meanest customers beer, and hay, and corn; wran<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span>gling +with and extorting money from intoxicated peasants; +and, it is said, sometimes, after the day's drudgery +is over, retires at night to his miserable hole to pore +over the ponderous volumes filled with rabbinical lore; +or sometimes his mind takes a higher flight, meditating +upon the nature of the human soul; its relation to the +Divinity; the connexion between the spirit and the body; +and indulging in the visionary hope of gaining, by means +of cabalistic formula, command over the spirits of the +air, the fire, the flood, and the earth.</p> + +<p>Though the days of bitter persecution and hatred +have gone by, the Jews are still objects of contempt and +loathing. Once I remember pointing out to my postillion +a beautiful Jewish girl, and, with the fanatic spirit +of the middle ages, himself one of the most degraded +serfs in Poland, he scorned the idea of marrying the +fair daughter of Israel. But this the Jew does not regard; +all he asks is to be secured from the active enmity +of mankind. "Like the haughty Roman banished +from the world, the Israelite throws back the sentence +of banishment, and still retreats to the lofty conviction +that his race is not excluded as an unworthy, but kept +apart as a sacred, people; humiliated, indeed, but still +hallowed, and reserved for the sure though tardy fulfilment +of the Divine promises."</p> + +<p>The Jews in Poland are still excluded from all offices +and honours, and from all the privileges and distinctions +of social life. Until the accession of Nicolas, they were +exempted from military service on payment of a tax; +but since his time they have been subject to the regular +conscription. They regard this as an alarming act of +oppression, for the boys are taken from their families +at twelve or thirteen, and sent to the army or the com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span>mon +military school, where they imbibe notions utterly +at variance with the principles taught them by their fathers; +and, probably, if the system continues, another +generation will work a great change in the character of +the Jews of Poland.</p> + +<p>But to return to the Jews at Minsk. As usual, they +gathered around us before we were out of our kibitka, +laid hold of our baggage, and in Hebrew, Lithuanian, +and Polish, were clamorous in offers of service. They +were spare in figure, dressed in high fur caps and long +black muslin gowns, shining and glossy from long use +and tied around the waist with a sash; and here I remarked +what has often been remarked by other travellers, +when the features were at rest, a style of face and +expression resembling the pictures of the Saviour in +the galleries in Italy. While my companion was arranging +for posthorses and dinner, I strolled through the +town alone, that is, with a dozen Israelites at my heels +and on my return I found an accession of the stiff-necked +and unbelieving race, one of whom arrested my attention +by thrusting before me a silver coin. It was not +an antique, but it had in my eyes a greater value than if +it had been dug from the ruins of a buried city, and +bore the image of Julius Cæsar. On the breaking out +of the late revolution, one of the first acts of sovereignty +exercised by the provincial government was to issue a +national coin stamped with the arms of the old kingdom +of Poland, the white eagle and the armed cavalier, with +an inscription around the rim, "God protect Poland." +When the revolution was crushed, with the view of +destroying in the minds of the Poles every memento +of their brief but glorious moment of liberty, this +coin was called in and suppressed, and another sub<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span>stituted +in its place, with the Polish eagle, by way of +insult, stamped in a small character near the tip end of +the wing of the double-headed eagle of Russia. The +coin offered me by the Jew was one of the emission of +the revolution, and my companion told me it was a rare +thing to find one. I bought it at the Jew's price, and +put it in my pocket as a memorial of a brave and fallen +people.</p> + +<p>I will not inflict upon the reader the particulars of +our journey through this dreary and uninteresting country. +We travelled constantly, except when we were detained +for horses. We never stopped at night, for there +seldom was any shelter on the road better than the Jews' +inns, and even in our kibitka we were better than there. +But, unluckily, on the seventh day, our kibitka broke +down; the off hind wheel snapped in pieces, and let +us down rather suddenly in one of the autocrat's forests. +Our first impulse was to congratulate ourselves that this +accident happened in daylight; and we had a narrow +escape, for the sun had hardly begun to find its way into +the dark forest. Fortunately, too, we were but two or +three versts from a posthouse. I had met with such accidents +at home, and rigged a small tree (there being no +such things as rails, property there not being divided by +rail fences) under the hind axle, supporting it on the +front. We lighted our pipes and escorted our crippled +vehicle to the posthouse, where we bought a wheel off +another wagon, much better than the old one, only about +two inches lower. This, however, was not so bad as +might be supposed, at least for me, who sat on the upper +side, and had the stout figure of my companion as +a leaning-post.</p> + +<p>At Sloghan, about two hundred versts from Brezc<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> +the frontier town of Poland, we sold our kibitka for a +breakfast, and took the <i>char de pôste</i>, or regular troika. +This is the postboy's favourite vehicle; the body being +made of twigs interlaced like a long basket, without a +particle of iron, and so light that a man can lift up either +end with one hand. Our speed was increased wonderfully +by the change; the horses fairly played with +the little car at their heels; the drivers vied with each +other, and several posts in succession we made nearly +twenty versts in an hour. It will probably be difficult +to throw the charm of romance around the troika driver; +but he comes from the flower of the peasantry; his life, +passed on the wild highways, is not without its vicissitudes, +and he is made the hero of the Russian's favourite +popular ballads:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Away, away, along the road<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The gallant troika bounds;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While 'neath the douga, sadly sweet,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Their Valdai bell resounds."<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>We passed the house of a <i>very respectable</i> seigneur +who had married his own sister. We stopped at his +village and talked of him with the postmaster, by whom +he was considered a model of the domestic virtues. +The same day we passed the chateau of a nobleman +who wrote himself cousin to the Emperors of Russia +and Austria, confiscated for the part he took in the late +Polish revolution, a melancholy-looking object, deserted +and falling to ruins, its owner wandering in exile with a +price upon his head. It rained hard during the day, for +the first time since we left Petersburgh; at night the +rain ceased, but the sky was still overcast. For a long +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span>distance, and, in fact, a great part of the way from Petersburgh, +the road was bordered with trees. At eleven +o'clock we stopped at a wretched posthouse, boiled water, +and refreshed ourselves with deep potations of hot tea. +We mounted our troika, the postillion shouted, and set +off on a run. Heavy clouds were hanging in the sky; it +was so dark that we could not see the horses, and there +was some little danger of a breakdown; but there was a +high and wild excitement in hurrying swiftly through the +darkness on a run, hearing the quick tinkling of the +bell and the regular fall of the horses' hoofs, and seeing +only the dark outline of the trees. We continued this +way all night, and toward morning we were rattling on +a full gallop through the streets of Brezc. We drove +into a large stable-yard filled with kibitkas, troikas, and +all kinds of Russian vehicles, at one end of which was +a long low building kept by a Jew. We dismounted, +and so ended nearly three thousand miles of posting in +Russia. The Jew, roused by our noise, was already at +the door with a lighted taper in his hand, and gave us a +room with a leather-covered sofa and a leather cushion for +a pillow, where we slept till eleven o'clock the next day.</p> +<p>We breakfasted, and in the midst of a violent rain +crossed the Bug, and entered the territory of Poland +Proper. For many centuries the banks of the Bug +have been the battle-ground of the Russians and Poles. +In the time of Boleslaus the Terrible, the Russians were +defeated there with great slaughter, and the river was +so stained with blood that it has retained ever since the +name of the <i>Horrid</i>. Before crossing we were obliged +to exchange our Russian money for Polish, rubles for +florins, losing, of course, heavily by the operation, besides +being subjected to the bore of studying a new currency; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span>and the moment we planted our feet on the conquered +territory, though now nominally under the same +government, we were obliged to submit to a most vexatious +process. The custom-house stood at the end of +the bridge, and, as matter of course, our postillion +stopped there. Our luggage was taken off the wagon, +carried inside, every article taken out and laid on the +floor, and a Russian soldier stood over, comparing them +with a list of prohibited articles as long as my arm. +Fortunately for me, the Russian government had not +prohibited travellers from wearing pantaloons and shirts +in Poland, though it came near faring hard with a morning-gown. +My companion, however, suffered terribly; +his wearing apparel was all laid out on one side, while +a large collection of curious and pretty nothings, which +he had got together with great affection at the capital, +as memorials for his friends at home, were laid out +separately, boxes opened, papers unrolled, and, with +provoking deliberation, examined according to the list +of prohibited things. It was a new and despotic regulation +unknown to him, and he looked on in agony, every +condemned article being just the one above all others +which he would have saved; and when they had finished, +a large pile was retained for the examination of +another officer, to be sent on to Warsaw in case of their +being allowed to pass at all. I had frequently regretted +having allowed the trouble and inconvenience to prevent +my picking up curiosities; but when I saw the treasures +of my friend taken from him, or, at least, detained for +an uncertain time, I congratulated myself upon my +good fortune. My friend was a man not easily disheartened; +he had even got over the loss of his love at +St. Petersburgh; but he would rather have been turned +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span>adrift in Poland without his pantaloons than be stripped +of his precious bawbles. I had seen him roused several +times on the road, quarrelling with postmasters and +thumping postillions, but I had never before seen the +full development of that extraordinary head of hair. +He ground his teeth and cursed the whole Russian nation, +from the Emperor Nicolas down to the soldier at +the custom-house. He was ripe for revolution, and, if a +new standard of rebellion had been set up in Poland, he +would have hurried to range himself under its folds. I +soothed him by striking the key-note of his heart. All +the way from Petersburgh he had sat mechanically, with +his pocket-glass and brush, dressing his mustaches; +but his heart was not in the work, until, as we approached +the borders of Poland, he began to recover +from his Petersburgh affair, and to talk of the beauty +of the Polish women. I turned him to this now.</p> + +<p>It is a fact that, while for ages a deadly hatred has +existed between the Russians and the Poles, and while +the Russians are at this day lording it over the Poles +with the most arbitrary insolence and tyranny, beauty +still asserts its lawful supremacy, and the Polish women +bring to their feet the conquerors of their fathers, and +husbands, and brothers. The first posthouse at which +we stopped confirmed all that my companion had said; +for the postmaster's daughter was brilliantly beautiful, +particularly in the melting wildness of a dark eye, indicating +an Asiatic or Tartar origin; and her gentle influence +was exerted in soothing the savage humour of +my friend, for she sympathized in his misfortunes, and +the more sincerely when she heard of the combs, and +rings, and slippers, and other pretty little ornaments for +sisters and female friends at home; and my Pole could +not resist the sympathy of a pretty woman.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span>We had scarcely left the postmaster's daughter, on +the threshold of Poland, almost throwing a romance +about the Polish women, before I saw the most degrading +spectacle I ever beheld in Europe, or even in the +barbarous countries of the East. Forty or fifty women +were at work in the fields, and a large, well-dressed +man, with a pipe in his mouth and a long stick in his +hand, was walking among them as overseer. In our +country the most common labouring man would revolt +at the idea of his wife or daughter working in the open +fields. I had seen it, however, in gallant France and +beautiful Italy; but I never saw, even in the barbarous +countries of the East, so degrading a spectacle as this; +and I could have borne it almost anywhere better than +in chivalric Poland.</p> + +<p>We were now in the territory called Poland Proper, +that is, in that part which, after the other provinces had +been wrested away and attached to the dominions of the +colossal powers around, until the revolution and conquest +of 1830 had retained the cherished name of the kingdom +of Poland. The whole road is Macadamized, smooth +and level as a floor, from the banks of the Bug to Warsaw; +the posthouses and postmasters are much better, +and posting is better regulated, though more expensive. +The road lay through that rich agricultural district which +had for ages made Poland celebrated as the granary of +Europe; and though the face of the country was perfectly +flat, and the scenery tame and uninteresting, the soil +was rich, and, at that time, in many places teeming with +heavy crops. As yet, it had not recovered from the desolating +effects of the war of the revolution. The whole +road has been a battle-ground, over which the Poles had +chased the Russians to the frontier, and been driven +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span>back to Warsaw; time after time it had been drenched +with Russian and Polish blood, the houses and villages +sacked and burned, and their blackened ruins still cumbered +the ground, nursing in the conquered but unsubdued +Pole his deep, undying hatred of the Russians.</p> + +<p>On this road Diebitsch, the crosser of the Balkan, at +the head of eighty thousand men, advanced to Warsaw. +His right and left wings manœuvred to join him at Siedler, +the principal town, through which we passed. +We changed horses three times, and rolled on all night +without stopping. In the morning my companion pointed +out an old oak, where a distinguished colonel of the +revolution, drawing up the fourth Polish regiment +against the Imperial Guards, with a feeling of mortal +hate commanded them to throw away their primings, +and charge with the bayonet, "Cœur à cœur." In another +place five hundred gentlemen, dressed in black, +with pumps, silk stockings, and small swords, in a perfect +wantonness of pleasure at fighting with the Russians, +and, as they said, in the same spirit with which +they would go to a ball, threw themselves upon a body +of the guards, and, after the most desperate fighting, +were cut to pieces to a man. Farther on, a little off +from the road, on the borders of the field of Grokow, +was a large mound covered with black crosses, thrown +up over the graves of the Poles who had fallen there. +About eleven o'clock we approached the banks of the +Vistula. We passed the suburbs of Praga, the last battle-ground +of Kosciusko, where the bloodstained Suwarrow +butchered in cold blood thirty thousand Poles. +Warsaw lay spread out on the opposite bank of the river, +the heroic but fallen capital of Poland, the city of +brave men and beautiful women; of Stanislaus, and Sobieski, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span>and Poniatowsky, and Kosciusko, and, I will +not withhold it, possessing in my eyes, a romantic interest +from its associations with the hero of my schoolboy +days, Thaddeus of Warsaw. On the right is the +chateau of the old Kings of Poland, now occupied by a +Russian viceroy, with the banner of Russia waving +over its walls. We rode over the bridge and entered +the city. Martial music was sounding, and Russian +soldiers, Cossacks, and Circassians were filing through +its streets. We held up to let them pass, and they +moved like the keepers of a conquered city, with bent +brows and stern faces, while the citizens looked at them +in gloomy silence. We drove up to the Hotel de Leipsic +(which, however, I do not recommend), where I took +a bath and a doctor.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The douga is the bow over the neck of the middle horse, to which the +bell is attached; and Valdai the place on the Moscow road where the best +bells are made.</p></div></div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Warsaw.—A Polish Doctor.—Battle of Grokow.—The Outbreak.—The +fatal Issue.—Present Condition of Poland.—Polish Exiles.—Aspect of +Warsaw.—Traits of the Poles.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">A letter</span> dated at Warsaw to my friends at home +begins thus: "I have reached this place to be put on +my back by a Polish doctor. How long he will keep +me here I do not know. He promises to set me going +again in a week; and, as he has plenty of patients without +keeping me down, I have great confidence in him. +Besides, having weathered a Greek, an Armenian, and +a Russian, I think I shall be too much for a Pole." +There was not a servant in the house who understood +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span>any language I spoke, and my friend kindly proposed +my taking a room with him; and, as he had many acquaintances +in Warsaw, who thronged to see him, he +had to tell them all the history of the American in the +bed in one corner. All the next day I lay in the room +alone on a low bedstead, looking up at the ceiling and +counting the cracks in the wall. I was saved from a +fit of the blues by falling into a passion, and throwing +my boots at the servant because he could not understand +me. Late in the evening my friend returned +from the theatre with three or four companions, and we +made a night of it, I taking medicine and they smoking +pipes. They were all excellent fellows, and, as soon +as they heard me moving, came over to me, and, when +I fell back on my pillow, covered me up, and went back, +and talked till I wanted them again. Toward daylight +I fell asleep, and, when the doctor came in the +morning, felt myself a new man. My doctor, by-the-way, +was not a Pole, but a German, physician to the +court, and the first in Warsaw; he occupied a little +country-seat a few miles from Warsaw, belonging to +Count Niemcewicz, the poet and patriot, who accompanied +Kosciusko to this country, and married a lady +of New-Jersey; returned with him to Poland, was with +him on his last battle-field, and almost cut to pieces by +his side.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon one of my companions of the night +before came to see me. He had been in Warsaw during +the revolution, and talked with enthusiasm of their +brief but gallant struggle; and, as it was a beautiful afternoon, +proposed strolling to a little eminence near at +hand, commanding a view of the first battle-ground. +I went with him and he pointed out on the other side +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span>of the Vistula the field of Grokow. Below it was the +bridge over which General Romarino carried his little +army during the night, having covered the bridge, the +horses' hoofs, and the wheels of the carriages with +straw. This general is now in France under sentence +of death, with a price set upon his head.</p> + +<p>The battle of Grokow, the greatest in Europe since +that of Waterloo, was fought on the twenty-fifth of February, +1831, and the place where I stood commanded +a view of the whole ground. The Russian army +was under the command of Diebitsch, and consisted +of one hundred and forty-two thousand infantry, forty +thousand cavalry, and three hundred and twelve pieces +of cannon. This enormous force was arranged in two +lines of combatants, and a third of reserve. Its left +wing, between Wavre and the marshes of the Vistula, +consisted of four divisions of infantry of forty-seven +thousand men, three of cavalry of ten thousand five +hundred, and one hundred and eight pieces of cannon; +the right consisted of three and a half divisions of infantry +of thirty-one thousand men, four divisions of cavalry +of fifteen thousand seven hundred and fifty men, +and fifty-two pieces of cannon. Upon the borders of +the great forest opposite the Forest of Elders, conspicuous +from where I stood, was placed the reserve, commanded +by the Grand-duke Constantine. Against this +immense army the Poles opposed less than fifty thousand +men and a hundred pieces of cannon, under the +command of General Skrzynecki.</p> + +<p>At break of day the whole force of the Russian right +wing, with a terrible fire of fifty pieces of artillery and +columns of infantry, charged the Polish left with the +determination of carrying it by a single and overpowering +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span>effort. The Poles, with six thousand five hundred +men and twelve pieces of artillery, not yielding a foot +of ground, and knowing they could hope for no succour, +resisted this attack for several hours, until the Russians +slackened their fire. About ten o'clock the plain was +suddenly covered with the Russian forces issuing from +the cover of the forest, seeming one undivided mass of +troops. Two hundred pieces of cannon, posted on a +single line, commenced a fire which made the earth +tremble, and was more terrible than the oldest officers, +many of whom had fought at Marengo and Austerlitz, +had ever beheld. The Russians now made an attack +upon the right wing; but foiled in this as upon the +left, <span class="err" title="original: Diebisch">Diebitsch</span> directed the strength of his army against +the Forest of Elders, hoping to divide the Poles into two +parts. One hundred and twenty pieces of cannon were +brought to bear on this one point, and fifty battalions, +incessantly pushed to the attack, kept up a scene of +massacre unheard of in the annals of war. A Polish +officer who was in the battle told me that the small +streams which intersected the forest were so choked +with dead that the infantry marched directly over their +bodies. The heroic Poles, with twelve battalions, for +four hours defended the forest against the tremendous +attack. Nine times they were driven out, and nine +times, by a series of admirably-executed manœuvres, +they repulsed the Russians with immense loss. Batteries, +now concentrated in one point, were in a moment +hurried to another, and the artillery advanced to +the charge like cavalry, sometimes within a hundred +feet of the enemy's columns, and there opened a murderous +fire of grape.</p> + +<p>At three o'clock the generals, many of whom were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span>wounded, and most of whom had their horses shot +under them, and fought on foot at the head of their divisions, +resolved upon a retrograde movement, so as to +draw the Russians on the open plain. Diebitsch, supposing +it to be a flight, looked over to the city and exclaimed, +"Well, then, it appears that, after this bloody +day, I shall take tea in the Belvidere Palace." The +Russian troops debouched from the forest. A cloud of +Russian cavalry, with several regiments of heavy cuirassiers +at their head, advanced to the attack. Colonel +Pientka, who had kept up an unremitting fire from +his battery for five hours, seated with perfect sang-froid +upon a disabled piece of cannon, remained to give +another effective fire, then left at full gallop a post +which he had so long occupied under the terrible fire +of the enemy's artillery. This rapid movement of his +battery animated the Russian forces. The cavalry advanced +on a trot upon the line of a battery of rockets. +A terrible discharge was poured into their ranks, and +the horses, galled to madness by the flakes of fire, became +wholly ungovernable, and broke away, spreading +disorder in every direction; the whole body swept helplessly +along the fire of the Polish infantry, and in a few +minutes was so completely annihilated that, of a regiment +of cuirassiers who bore inscribed on their helmets +the "Invincibles," not a man escaped. The wreck of +the routed cavalry, pursued by the lancers, carried +along in its flight the columns of infantry; a general +retreat commenced, and the cry of "Poland for ever" +reached the walls of Warsaw to cheer the hearts of its +anxious inhabitants. So terrible was the fire of that +day, that in the Polish army there was not a single general +or staff officer who had not his horse killed or +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span>wounded under him; two thirds of the officers, and, +perhaps, of the soldiers, had their clothes pierced with +balls, and more than a tenth part of the army were +wounded. Thirty thousand Russians and ten thousand +Poles were left on the field of battle; rank upon rank +lay prostrate on the earth, and the Forest of Elders +was so strewed with bodies that it received from that +day the name of the "Forest of the Dead." The Czar +heard with dismay, and all Europe with astonishment, +that the crosser of the Balkan had been foiled under the +walls of Warsaw.</p> + +<p>All day, my companion said, the cannonading was +terrible. Crowds of citizens, of both sexes and all ages, +were assembled on the spot where we stood, earnestly +watching the progress of the battle, sharing in all its +vicissitudes, in the highest state of excitement as the +clearing up of the columns of smoke showed when the +Russians or the Poles had fled; and he described the +entry of the remnant of the Polish army into Warsaw +as sublime and terrible; their hair and faces were begrimed +with powder and blood; their armour shattered +and broken, and all, even dying men, were singing patriotic +songs; and when the fourth regiment, among whom +was a brother of my companion, and who had particularly +distinguished themselves in the battle, crossed the +bridge and filed slowly through the streets, their lances +shivered against the cuirasses of the guards, their helmets +broken, their faces black and spotted with blood, +some erect, some tottering, and some barely able to +sustain themselves in the saddle, above the stern chorus +of patriotic songs rose the distracted cries of mothers, +wives, daughters, and lovers, seeking among this broken +band for forms dearer than life, many of whom were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span>then sleeping on the battle-field. My companion told +me that he was then a lad of seventeen, and had begged +with tears to be allowed to accompany his brother; but +his widowed mother extorted from him a promise that +he would not attempt it. All day he had stood with +his mother on the very spot where we did, his hand in +hers, which she grasped convulsively, as every peal of +cannon seemed the knell of her son; and when the lancers +passed, she sprang from his side as she recognised +in the drooping figure of an officer, with his spear +broken in his hand, the figure of her gallant boy. He +was then reeling in his saddle, his eye was glazed and +vacant, and he died that night in their arms.</p> + +<p>The tyranny of the Grand-duke Constantine, the +imperial viceroy, added to the hatred of the Russians, +which is the birthright of every Pole, induced the unhappy +revolution of eighteen hundred and thirty. Although, +on the death of Alexander, Constantine waived +in favour of his brother Nicolas his claim to the throne +of Russia, his rule in Poland shows that it was not from +any aversion to the exercise of power.</p> + +<p>When Constantine was appointed its commander-in-chief, +the Polish army ranked with the bravest in +Europe. The Polish legions under Dombrowski and +Poniatowski had kept alive the recollections of the military +glory of their fallen nation. Almost annihilated by +the bloody battles in Italy, where they met their old +enemies under Suwarrow, the butcher of Praga, the +proud remnants reorganized and formed the fifth corps +of the "grande armée," distinguished themselves at +Smolensk, Borodino, Kalouga, and the passage of the +Berezina, took the field with the wreck of the army in +Saxony, fought at Dresden and Leipsic, and, when Napoleon +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span>told them, brave as they were, that they were free +to go home if they pleased, they scorned to desert him +in his waning fortunes, and accompanied him to Paris. +Alexander promised an amnesty, and they marched with +him to Warsaw. Within the first six months many officers +of this army had been grossly insulted; an eyewitness +told me that he had seen, on the great square +of Warsaw, the high sheriff tear off the epaulettes from +the shoulders of an officer, and, in the presence of the +whole troops, strike him on the cheek with his hand.</p> + +<p>It would, perhaps, be unjust to enumerate, as I heard +them, the many causes of oppression that roused to +revolt the slumbering spirit of the Poles; in the midst +of which the French revolution threw all Poland into +commotion. The three days of July were hailed with +rapture by every patriotic heart; the new revolutionary +movements in Belgium cheered them on; and eighty +young men, torn from the altars while praying for the +souls of their murdered countrymen on the anniversary +of the butchery at Praga, thrilled every heart and hurried +the hour of retribution. The enthusiasm of youth +struck the first blow. A band of ardent young men of +the first families attended the meetings of secret patriotic +associations; and six of them, belonging to the military +school, suspecting they were betrayed, early in +the evening went to their barracks, and proposed to their +comrades a plan for liberating their country. The whole +corps, not excepting one sick in bed, amounting in all to +about a hundred and fifty, took up arms, and, under a +lieutenant of nineteen, attacked the palace of Constantine, +and almost secured his person. The grand-duke +was then asleep on a couch in a room opening upon a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span>corridor of the Belvidere Palace, and, roused by a faithful +valet, had barely time to throw a robe over him and +fly. The insurgents, with cries of vengeance, rushed +into the interior of the palace, driving before them the +chief of the city police and the aiddecamp of the grand-duke. +The latter had the presence of mind to close +the door of the grand-duke's apartment before he was +pierced through with a dozen bayonets. The wife of +the grand-duke, the beautiful and interesting princess +for whom he had sacrificed a crown, hearing the struggle, +was found on her knees offering up prayers to +Heaven for the safety of her husband. Constantine +escaped by a window; and the young soldiers, foiled +in their attempt, marched into the city, and, passing +the barracks of the Russian guards, daringly fired a +volley to give notice of their coming. Entering the +city, they broke open the prisons and liberated the state +prisoners, burst into the theatres, crying out, "Women, +home; men, to arms," forced the arsenal, and in two +hours forty thousand men were under arms. Very soon +the fourth Polish regiment joined them; and before midnight +the remainder of the Polish troops in Warsaw, declaring +that their children were too deeply implicated to +be abandoned, espoused the popular cause. Some excesses +were committed; and General Stanislaus Potocki, +distinguished in the revolution of Kosciusko, for hesitating +was killed, exclaiming with his last breath that it +was dreadful to die by the hands of his countrymen.</p> + +<p>Chlopicki, the comrade of Kosciusko, was proclaimed +dictator by an immense multitude in the Champ de +Mars. For some time the inhabitants of Warsaw were +in a delirium; the members of the patriotic association, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span>and citizens of all classes, assembled every day, carrying +arms, and with glasses in their hands, in the saloon +of the theatre and at a celebrated coffee-house, discussing +politics and singing patriotic songs. In the theatres +the least allusion brought down thunders of applause, +and at the end of the piece heralds appeared on +the stage waving the banners of the dismembered provinces. +In the pit they sang in chorus national hymns; +the boxes answered them; and sometimes the spectators +finished by scaling the stage and dancing the Mazurka +and the Cracoviak.</p> + +<p>The fatal issue of this revolution is well known. The +Polish nation exerted and exhausted its utmost strength, +and the whole force of the colossal empire was brought +against it, and, in spite of prodigies of valour, crushed it. +The moment, the only moment when gallant, chivalric, +and heroic Poland could have been saved and restored +to its rank among nations, was suffered to pass by, and +no one came to her aid. The minister of France threw +out the bold boast that a hundred thousand men stood +ready to march to her assistance; but France and all +Europe looked on and saw her fall. Her expiring diet +ordered a levy in mass, and made a last appeal, "In the +name of God; in the name of liberty; of a nation placed +between life and death; in the name of kings and heroes +who have fought for religion and humanity; in the name +of future generations; in the name of justice and the deliverance +of Europe;" but her dying appeal was unheard. +Her last battle was under the walls of Warsaw; and +then she would not have fallen, but even in Poland +there were traitors. The governor of Warsaw blasted +the laurels won in the early battles of the revolution by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span>the blackest treason. He ordered General Romarino to +withdraw eight thousand soldiers and chase the Russians +beyond the frontier at Brezc. While he was +gone the Russians pressed Warsaw; he could have +returned in time to save it, but was stopped with directions +not to advance until farther orders. In the mean +time Warsaw fell, with the curse of every Pole upon +the head of its governor. The traitor now lives ingloriously +in Russia, disgraced and despised, while the +young lieutenant is in unhappy but not unhonoured exile +in Siberia.</p> + +<p>So ended the last heroic struggle of Poland. It is +dreadful to think so, but it is greatly to be feared that +Poland is blotted for ever from the list of nations. Indeed, +by a late imperial ukase, Poland is expunged from +the map of Europe; her old and noble families are +murdered, imprisoned, or in exile; her own language is +excluded from the offices of government, and even from +the public schools; her national character destroyed; +her national dress proscribed; her national colours +trampled under foot; her national banner, the white +eagle of Poland, is in the dust. Warsaw is abandoned, +and become a Russian city; her best citizens are wandering +in exile in foreign lands, while Cossack and Circassian +soldiers are filing through her streets, and the +banner of Russia is waving over her walls.</p> + +<p>Perhaps it is not relevant, but I cannot help saying +that there is no exaggeration in the stories which reach +us at our own doors of the misfortunes and sufferings +of Polish exiles. I have met them wandering in many +different countries, and particularly I remember one at +Cairo. He had fought during the whole Polish revolution, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span>and made his escape when Warsaw fell. He +was a man of about thirty-five years of age, dressed +in a worn military frockcoat, and carrying himself +with a manly and martial air. He had left a wife +and two children at Warsaw. At Constantinople he +had written to the emperor requesting permission to +return, and even promising never again to take up arms +against Russia, but had received for answer that the +amnesty was over and the day of grace was past; +and the unfortunate Pole was then wandering about +the world like a cavalier of fortune or a knight of romance, +with nothing to depend upon but his sword. +He had offered his services to the sultan and to the +Pacha of Egypt; he was then poor, and, with the +bearing of a gentleman and the pride of a soldier, was +literally begging his bread. I could sympathize in the +misfortunes of an exiled Pole, and felt that his distress +must indeed be great, that he who had perilled life and +ties dearer than life in the cause of an oppressed country, +should offer his untarnished sword to the greatest despot +that ever lived.</p> + +<p>The general appearance of Warsaw is imposing. It +stands on a hill of considerable elevation on the left bank +of the Vistula; the Zamech or Chateau of the Kings of +Poland spreads its wings midway between the river and +the summit of the hill, and churches and towering spires +checker at different heights the distant horizon. Most +of the houses are built of stone, or brick stuccoed; they +are numbered in one continued series throughout the +city, beginning from the royal palace (occupied by Paskiewitch), +which is numbered <i>one</i>, and rising above +number five thousand. The churches are numerous and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span>magnificent; the palaces, public buildings, and many of +the mansions of noblemen, are on a large scale, very +showy, and, in general, striking for their architectural +designs. One great street runs irregularly through the +whole city, of which Miodowa, or Honey-street, and the +Novoy Swiat, or New World, are the principal and most +modern portions. As in all aristocratic cities, the streets +are badly paved, and have no trottoirs for the foot passengers. +The Russian drosky is in common use; the +public carriages are like those in Western Europe, +though of a low form; the linings generally painted +red; the horses large and handsome, with large collars +of red or green, covered with small brass rings, which +sound like tinkling bells; and the carts are like those in +our own city, only longer and lower, and more like our +brewer's dray. The hotels are numerous, generally +kept in some of the old palaces, and at the entrance of +each stands a large porter, with a cocked hat and silver-headed +cane, to show travellers to their apartments and +receive the names of visiters. There are two principal +kukiernia, something like the French cafés, where +many of the Varsovians breakfast and lounge in the +mornings.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p211.jpg" width="60%" alt="Royal Palace at Warsaw." title="Royal Palace at Warsaw." /> +<p class="caption">Royal Palace at Warsaw.</p></div> + +<p>The Poles, in their features, looks, customs, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span>manners, resemble Asiatics rather than Europeans; and +they are, no doubt, descended from Tartar ancestors. +Though belonging to the Sclavonic race, which occupies +nearly the whole extent of the vast plains of Western +Europe, they have advanced more than the others +from the rude and barbarous state which characterizes +this race; and this is particularly manifest at Warsaw. +An eyewitness, describing the appearance of the Polish +deputies at Paris sent to announce the election of Henry +of Anjou as successor of Sigismund, says, "It is impossible +to describe the general astonishment when we +saw these ambassadors in long robes, fur caps, sabres, +arrows, and quivers; but our admiration was excessive +when we saw the sumptuousness of their equipages; +the scabbards of their swords adorned with jewels; +their bridles, saddles, and horse-cloths decked in the +same way," &c.</p> + +<p>But none of this barbaric display is now seen in the +streets of Warsaw. Indeed, immediately on entering +it I was struck with the European aspect of things. It +seemed almost, though not quite, like a city of Western +Europe, which may, perhaps, be ascribed, in a great +measure, to the entire absence of the semi-Asiatic costumes +so prevalent in all the cities of Russia, and even +at St. Petersburgh; and the only thing I remarked peculiar +in the dress of the inhabitants was the remnant +of a barbarous taste for show, exhibiting itself in large +breastpins, shirt-buttons, and gold chains over the vest; +the mustache is universally worn. During the war of +the revolution immediately succeeding our own, Warsaw +stood the heaviest brunt; and when Kosciusko +fell fighting before it, its population was reduced to seventy +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span>five thousand. Since that time it has increased, +and is supposed now to be one hundred and forty thousand, +thirty thousand of whom are Jews. Calamity after +calamity has befallen Warsaw; still its appearance +is that of a gay city. Society consists altogether of two +distinct and distant orders, the nobles and the peasantry, +without any intermediate degrees. I except, of course, +the Jews, who form a large item in her population, and +whose long beards, thin and anxious faces, and piercing +eyes met me at every corner of Warsaw. The peasants +are in the lowest stage of mental degradation. The +nobles, who are more numerous than in any other country +in Europe, have always, in the eyes of the public, +formed the people of Poland. They are brave, prompt, +frank, hospitable, and gay, and have long been called +the French of the North, being French in their habits, +fond of amusements, and living in the open air, like the +lounger in the Palais Royal, the Tuileries, the Boulevards, +and Luxembourgh, and particularly French in +their political feelings, the surges of a revolution in +Paris being always felt at Warsaw. They regard the +Germans with mingled contempt and aversion, calling +them "dumb" in contrast with their own fluency and +loquacity; and before their fall were called by their +neighbours the "proud Poles." They consider it the +deepest disgrace to practise any profession, even law +or medicine, and, in case of utmost necessity, prefer +the plough. A Sicilian, a fellow-passenger from Palermo +to Naples, who one moment was groaning in the +agony of seasickness and the next playing on his violin, +said to me, "Canta il, signore?" "Do you sing?" +I answered "No;" and he continued, "Suonate?" +"Do you play?" I again answered "No;" and he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span>asked me, with great simplicity, "Cosa fatte? Niente?" +"What do you do? Nothing?" and I might +have addressed the same question to every Pole in +Warsaw.</p> + +<p>The whole business of the country is in the hands of +the Jews, and all the useful and mechanical arts are +practised by strangers. I did not find a Pole in a single +shop in Warsaw; the proprietors of the hotels and +coffee-houses are strangers, principally Germans; my +tailor was a German; my shoemaker a Frenchman, and +the man who put a new crystal in my watch an Italian +from Milan. But though this entire absence of all useful +employment is, on grounds of public policy, a blot on +their national character, as a matter of feeling it rather +added to the interest with which I regarded the "proud +Poles;" and perhaps it was imaginary, but I felt all the +time I was in Warsaw that, though the shops and coffee-houses +were open, and crowds thronged the streets, +a sombre air hung over the whole city; and if for a +moment this impression left me, a company of Cossacks, +with their wild music, moving to another station, +or a single Russian officer riding by in a drosky, wrapped +in his military cloak, reminded me that the foot of +a conqueror was upon the necks of the inhabitants of +Warsaw. This was my feeling after a long summer +day's stroll through the streets; and in the evening I +went to the theatre, which was a neat building, well +filled, and brilliantly lighted; but the idea of a pervading +and gloomy spirit so haunted me that in a few moments +I left what seemed a heartless mockery of pleasure. I +ought to add that I did not understand a word of the +piece; the <i>triste</i> air which touched me may have been +induced by the misfortunes of the stage hero; and, in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span>all probability, I should have astonished a melancholy-looking +neighbour if, acting under my interpretation of +his visage, I had expressed to him my sympathy in the +sufferings of his country.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Religion of Poland.—Sunday in Warsaw.—Baptized Jews.—Palaces of +the Polish Kings.—Sobieski.—Field of Vola.—Wreck of a Warrior.—The +Poles in America.—A Polish Lady.—Troubles of a Passport.—Departure +from Warsaw.—An official Rachel.—A mysterious Visiter.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sunday at Warsaw</span>. Poland is distinguished above +the other nations of Europe as a land of religious toleration. +So late as the latter part of the tenth century, the +religion of Poland was a gross idolatry; and, mingled +with the rites of their own country, they worshipped, +under other names, Jupiter, Pluto, Mars, Venus, Diana, +and others of the pagan deities. During the reign of +Mieczylaus I. of the Piast dynasty, the monks introduced +Christianity. The prince himself was proof against +the monks, but received from woman's lips the principles +of the Christian religion. Enamoured of Dombrowska, +the daughter of the Duke of Bohemia, a country +which had then lately embraced Christianity, who +refused to accept his suit unless he was baptized, Mieczylaus +sacrificed the superstitions and prejudices of +his fathers on the altar of love. But the religion which +he embraced for the sake of Dombrowska he afterward +propagated for its own; became an ardent champion +of the cross; broke down with his own hands the idols +of his country; built Christian churches on the ruins +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span>of pagan temples; and, in the ardour of his new faith, +issued an edict that, when any portion of the Gospel +was read, the hearers should half draw their swords to +testify their readiness to defend its truth.</p> + +<p>In the reign of the "famous" John Sobieski, the annals +of Poland, till that time free from this disgrace, +were stained by one of the most atrocious acts of barbarity +recorded in the history of religious persecution. +A Lithuanian nobleman, a religious and benevolent man, +but sufficiently intelligent to ridicule some of the current +superstitions, and very rich, on account of a note made +in the margin of a book, written by a stupid German, +was tried for atheism by a council of bigoted Catholic +bishops, and found guilty, not only of "having denied +the existence of a God, but the doctrine of the Trinity +and the Divine maternity of the Virgin Mary." Zaluski, +one of the villains concerned in the torment, writes, +"The convict was led to the scaffold, where the executioner, +with a red-hot iron, tore his tongue and his mouth, +<i>with which he had been cruel toward God</i>; then they +burned his hands, instruments of the abominable production, +at a slow fire. The sacrilegious paper was +thrown into the flame; himself last; that monster of the +age, that deicide, was cast into the flames of expiation, +if such a crime could be atoned."</p> + +<p>In seventeen hundred and twenty-six the Jesuits, +making a public procession with the Host in the streets +of Thorn, the young scholars of the order insisted that +some Lutheran children should kneel; and on their +refusal a scuffle ensued between the Jesuits and townspeople, +most of whom were Lutherans, in which the +enraged townspeople broke open the Jesuits' college, +profaned all the objects of worship, and, among others +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span>an image of the Virgin. The Catholics of Poland, assembled +in the diet, almost infuriated with fanatic zeal, +condemned to death the magistrates of Thorn for not +exercising their authority. Seven of the principal citizens +were also condemned to death; many were imprisoned +or banished; three persons, accused of throwing +the Virgin's image into the fire, lost their right arms, +and the whole city was deprived of the freedom of public +worship.</p> + +<p>This was the last act of religious persecution in Poland; +but even yet the spirit of the reformation has +made but little progress, and the great bulk of the people +are still groping in the darkness of Catholicism. +On every public road and in all the streets of Warsaw +stand crosses, sometimes thirty feet high, with a figure +of the Saviour large as life, sometimes adorned with +flowers and sometimes covered with rags.</p> + +<p>As in all Catholic cities, a Sunday in Warsaw is a +fête day. I passed the morning in strolling through +the churches, which are very numerous, and some of +them, particularly the Cathedral Church of St. John +and that of the Holy Cross, of colossal dimensions. +The scene was the same as in the Catholic churches +in Italy; at every door crowds were entering and passing +out, nobles, peasants, shopmen, drosky boys, and +beggars; the highborn lady descended from her carriage, +dipped her fingers in the same consecrated water, +and kneeled on the same pavement side by side +with the beggar; alike equal in God's house, and outside +the door again an immeasurable distance between +them.</p> + +<p>At twelve o'clock, by appointment, I met my travelling +companion and another of his friends in the Jardin +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span>de Saxe, the principal public garden in Warsaw. It +stands in the very heart of the city, in the rear of the +Palais de Saxe, built by the Elector of Saxony when +called to the throne of Poland. It is enclosed all +around by high brick walls, screened by shrubs, and +vines, and trees rising above, so as to exclude the view +of the houses facing it. It is handsomely laid out with +lawns and gravel-walks, and adorned with trees; and as +the grounds are exceedingly rural and picturesque, and +the high walls and trees completely shut out the view +of all surrounding objects, I could hardly realize that +I was in the centre of a populous city. It was then the +fashionable hour for promenade, and all the élite of Warsaw +society was there. I had heard of this Sunday +promenade, and, after making one or two turns on the +principal walk, I remarked to my companions that I +was disappointed in not seeing, as I had expected, a +collection of the highborn and aristocratic Poles; but +they told me that, changed as Warsaw was in every +particular, in nothing was this change more manifest +than in the character of this favourite resort. From +boyhood, one of them had been in the habit of walking +there regularly on the same day and at the same hour; +and he told me that, before the revolution, it had always +been thronged by a gay and brilliant collection +of the nobility of Warsaw; and he enumerated several +families whose names were identified with the history +of Poland, who were in the habit of being there at a +certain time, as regularly as the trees which then +shaded our walk; but since the revolution these families +were broken up and dispersed, and their principal +members dead or in exile, or else lived retired, too +proud in their fallen state to exhibit themselves in public +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span>places, where they were liable to be insulted by the +presence of their Russian conquerors; and I could +well appreciate the feeling which kept them away, for +Russian officers, with their rattling swords and nodding +plumes, and carrying themselves with a proud and +lordly air, were the most conspicuous persons present. +I had noticed one party, a dark, pale, and interesting-looking +man, with an elegant lady and several children +and servants, as possessing, altogether, a singularly +melancholy and aristocratic appearance; but the interest +I was disposed to take in them was speedily dispelled +by hearing that he was a baptized Jew, a money +broker, who had accumulated a fortune by taking advantage +of the necessities of the distressed nobles. Indeed, +next to the Russian officers, the baptized Jews +were the most prominent persons on the promenade. +These persons form a peculiar class in Warsaw, occupying +a position between the Israelites and Christians, +and amalgamating with neither. Many of them are +rich, well educated, and accomplished, and possess +great elegance of appearance and manner. They hate +most cordially their unregenerated brethren, and it is +unnecessary to say that this hate is abundantly reciprocated. +It was with a feeling of painful interest that +I strolled through this once favourite resort of the nobility +of Warsaw; and my companions added to this +melancholy feeling by talking in a low tone, almost in +whispers, and telling me that now the promenade was +always <i>triste</i> and dull; and in going out they led me +through a private walk, where an old noble, unable to +tear himself from a place consecrated by the recollections +of his whole life, still continued to take his daily +walk apart from the crowd, wearing out the evening of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span>his days in bitter reflections on the fallen condition of +his kindred and country.</p> + +<p>We dined, as usual, at a restaurant, where at one +table was a party of Swiss, here, as at Moscow, exercising +that talent, skill, and industry which they exhibit +all over the world, and consoling themselves for the +privations of exile with the hope of one day being able +to return to their native mountains, never to leave them +again.</p> + +<p>After dinner we took an open carriage, and at the barrier +entered one of the numerous avenues of the Ujazdow, +leading to Belvidere, the country residence of the +late Grand-duke Constantine. The avenue is divided +by rows of old and stately trees, terminating in a large +circular octagon, from which branch off eight other avenues, +each at a short distance crossed by others, and +forming a sort of labyrinth, said to be one of the finest +drives and promenades in Europe, and on Sundays the +rendezvous of nearly the entire population of Warsaw. +It was a beautiful afternoon, and the throng of carriages, +and horsemen, and thousands of pedestrians, and the +sun, occasionally obscured and then breaking through +the thick foliage, darkening and again lighting up the +vista through the trees, gave a beauty to the landscape, +and a variety and animation to the scene, that I had not +yet found in Warsaw. Passing the Belvidere Palace, +my companions described the manner in which the students +had made their attack upon it, and pointed out +the window by which Constantine escaped. Turning +from one of the splendid avenues of the Ujazdow, we +crossed a stone bridge, on which stands the equestrian +statue of John Sobieski, his horse rearing over the body +of a prostrate Turk; it was erected to him as the saviour +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span>of Christendom after he had driven the Turks +from the walls of Vienna. Beyond this we entered the +grounds and park of Lazienki, formerly the country +residence of Stanislaus Augustus, situated in a most delightful +spot on the banks of the Vistula.</p> + +<p>The royal villa stands in the midst of an extensive +park of stately old trees, and the walks lead to a succession +of delightful and romantic spots, adorned with +appropriate and tasteful buildings. Among them, on an +island reached by crossing a rustic bridge, are a winter +and a summer theatre, the latter constructed so as to +resemble, in a great measure, an ancient amphitheatre +in ruins; in it performances used formerly to take place +in the open air. I am not given to dreaming, and there +was enough in the scenes passing under my eyes to +employ my thoughts; but, as I wandered through the +beautiful walks, and crossed romantic bridges, composed +of the trunks and bended branches of trees, I could not +help recurring to the hand that had planned these beauties, +the good King Stanislaus.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">"Dread Pultowa's day,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When fortune left the royal Swede,"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noi">hurled Stanislaus from his throne; and as I stood +under the portico of his palace, I could but remember +that its royal builder had fled from it in disguise, become +a prisoner to the Turks, and died an exile in a foreign +land.</p> + +<p>From here we rode to the chateau of Villanow, another +and one of the most interesting of the residences of the +kings of Poland, constructed by John Sobieski and +perhaps the only royal structure in Europe which, like +some of the great edifices of Egypt and Rome, was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span>erected by prisoners taken in war, being constructed +entirely by the hands of Turkish captives. It was the +favourite residence of Sobieski, where he passed most +of his time when not in arms, and where he closed his +days. Until lately, the chamber and bed on which he +died might still be seen. The grounds extend for a +great distance along the banks of the Vistula, and many +of the noble trees which now shade the walks were +planted by Sobieski's own hands. The reign of Sobieski +is the most splendid era in the history of Poland. +The great statue I had just passed presented him as +the conqueror of the Turks, the deliverer of Christendom, +the redoubtable warrior, riding over the body of a +prostrate Mussulman; and every stone in the palace is +a memorial of his warlike triumphs; but if its inner +chambers could tell the scenes of which they had been +the witness, loud and far as the trumpet of glory has +sounded his name, no man would envy John Sobieski. +The last time he unsheathed his sword, in bitterness of +heart he said, "It will be easier to get the better of the +enemies I am in quest of than my own sons." He returned +broken with vexation and shattered with wounds, +more than sixty years old, and two thirds of his life +spent in the tented field; his queen drove his friends +from his side, destroyed that domestic peace which he +valued above all things, and filled the palace with her +plots and intrigues. He had promised to Zaluski an +office which the queen wished to give to another. "My +friend," said the dying monarch, "you know the rights +of marriage, and you know if I can resist the prayers +of the queen; it depends, then, on you that I live tranquil +or that I be constantly miserable. She has already +promised to another this vacant office, and if I +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span>do not consent to it I am obliged to fly my house. I +know not where I shall go to die in peace. You pity +me; you will not expose me to public ridicule." Old +and infirm, with gray hairs and withered laurels, a prey +to lingering disease, the deathbed of the dying warrior +was disturbed by a noise worse than the din of battle; +and before the breath had left him, an intriguing wife +and unnatural children were wrangling over his body +for the possession of his crown. A disgraceful struggle +was continued a short time after his death. One by one +his children died, and there is not now any living of +the name of Sobieski.</p> + +<p>The next day I visited the field of Vola, celebrated +as the place of election of the Kings of Poland. It is +about five miles from Warsaw, and was formerly surrounded +by a ditch with three gates, one for great Poland, +one for little Poland, and one for Lithuania. In +the middle were two enclosures, one of an oblong +shape, surrounded by a kind of rampart or ditch, in the +centre of which was erected, at the time of election, a +vast temporary building of wood, covered at the top +and open at the sides, which was called the zopa, and +occupied by the senate; and the other of a circular +shape, called the kola, in which the nuncios assembled +in the open air. The nobles, from a hundred +and fifty thousand to two hundred thousand in number, +encamped on the plain in separate bodies under the +banners of their respective palatinates, with their principal +officers in front on horseback. The primate, having +declared the names of the candidates, kneeled down +and chanted a hymn; and then, mounting on horseback, +went round the plain and collected the votes, the nobles +not voting individually, but each palatinate in a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span>body. It was necessary that the election should be +unanimous, and a single nobleman peremptorily stopped +the election of Ladislaus VII. Being asked what objection +he had to him, he answered, "None at all; but +I will not suffer him to be king." After being by some +means brought over, he gave the king as the reason +for his opposition, "I had a mind to see whether our +liberty was still in being or not. I am satisfied that +it is, and your majesty shall not have a better subject +than myself." If the palatinates agreed, the primate +asked again, and yet a third time if all were satisfied; +and, after a general approbation, three times +proclaimed the king; and the grand marshal of the +crown repeated the proclamation three times at the +gates of the camp. It was the exercise of this high +privilege of electing their own king which created and +sustained the lofty bearing of the Polish nobles, inducing +the proud boast which, in a moment of extremity, +an intrepid band made to their king, "What hast thou +to fear with twenty thousand lances? If the sky +should fall, we would keep it up with their points." +But, unhappily, although the exercise of this privilege +was confined only to the nobles, the election of a king +often exhibited a worse picture than all the evils of universal +suffrage with us. The throne was open to the +whole world; the nobles were split into contending +factions; foreign gold found its way among them, and +sometimes they deliberated under the bayonets of foreign +troops. Warsaw and its environs were a scene of +violence and confusion, and sometimes the field of Vola +was stained with blood. Still no man can ride over +that plain without recurring to the glorious hour when +Sobieski, covered with laurels won in fighting the battles +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span>of his country, amid the roar of cannon and the +loud acclamations of the senate, the nobles, and the +army, was hailed the chosen king of a free people.</p> + +<p>I had enough of travelling post, and was looking +out for some quiet conveyance to Cracow. A Jew applied +to me, and I went with him to look at his carriage, +which I found at a sort of "Bull's-head" stopping-place, +an enormous vehicle without either bottom or top, +being a species of framework like our hay-wagons, filled +with straw to prevent goods and passengers from spilling +out. He showed me a couple of rough-looking fellows, +who would be my <i>compagnons de voyage</i>, and who +said that we could all three lie very comfortably in the +bottom of the vehicle. Their appearance did not add +to the recommendation of the wagon; nevertheless, if +I had understood the language and been strong enough +for the rough work, I should perhaps have taken that +conveyance, as, besides the probable incidents of the +journey, it would give me more insight into the character +of the people than a year's residence in the capital. +Returning to my hotel, I found that a Polish officer had +left his address, with a request for me to call upon him. +I went, and found a man of about forty, middle sized, +pale and emaciated, wounded and an invalid, wearing +the Polish revolutionary uniform. It was the only instance +in which I had seen this dress. After the revolution +it had been absolutely proscribed; but the country +being completely subdued, and the government in this +particular case not caring to exercise any unnecessary +harshness, he was permitted to wear it unmolested. +It was, however, almost in mockery that he still wore +the garb of a soldier; for if Poland had again burst her +chains, and the unsheathed sword were put in his hands, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span>he could not have struck a blow to help her. Unfortunately, +he could not speak French, or, rather, I may +say fortunately, for in consequence of this I saw his +lady, a pensive, melancholy, and deeply-interesting +woman, dressed in black, in mourning for two gallant +brothers who died in battle under the walls of Warsaw.</p> + +<p>Their business with me was of a most commonplace +nature. They had lately returned from a visit to some +friends at Cracow, in a calêche hired at the frontier; +and hearing from the peasant who drove them that a +stranger was looking for a conveyance to that place, +out of good-will to him desired to recommend him to +me. The lady had hardly finished a sort of apologizing +commencement before I had resolved to assent to +almost anything she proposed; and when she stated +the whole case, it was so exactly what I wanted, that +I expressed myself under great obligations for the favour +done me. I suggested, however, my doubts as to +the propriety of undertaking the journey alone, without +any interpreter; but, after a few words with the +major, she replied that she would give full directions to +the peasant as to the route. As the carriage could not +go beyond the frontier, her husband would give me a +letter to the commissaire at Michoof, who spoke French, +and also to the postmaster; and, finally, she would herself +make out for me a vocabulary of the words likely +to be most necessary, so as to enable me to ask for +bread, milk, eggs, &c.; and with this, and the Polish for +"how much," I would get along without any difficulty. +While she was writing, another officer came in, old and +infirm, and also dressed in the Polish uniform. She +rose from the table, met him almost at the door, kissed +him affectionately, led him to a seat, and barely mentioning +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span>him to me as "<i>mon beau père</i>," resumed her +work. While she was writing I watched attentively the +whole three, and the expression of face with which the +two officers regarded her was unspeakably interesting. +They were probably unconscious of it, and perhaps it +was only my fancy, but if the transient lighting of their +sunken eyes meant anything, it meant that they who +sat there in the garb and equipment of soldiers, who +had stood in all the pride and vigour of manhood on +bloody battle-fields, now looked to a feeble and lovely +woman as their only staff and support in life. I would +have told them how deeply I sympathized in the misfortunes +of their suffering country, but their sadness +seemed too deep and sacred. I knew that I could strike +a responsive chord by telling them that I was an American, +but I would not open their still bleeding wounds; +at parting, however, I told them that I should remember +in my own country and to their countrymen the +kindness shown me here; and as soon as I mentioned +that I was an American, the lady asked me the fate of +her unhappy countrymen who had been landed as exiles +on our shores, and I felt proud in telling them that they +had found among our citizens that sympathy which +brave men in misfortune deserve, and that our government +had made a provision in land for the exiled compatriots +of Kosciusko. She inquired particularly about +the details of their occupation, and expressed the fear +that their habits of life, most of them having been +brought up as soldiers, unfitted them for usefulness +among us. I did not then know how prophetic were +her forebodings, and was saved the necessity of telling +her, what I afterward read in a newspaper, that an unhappy +portion of that band of exiles, discontented with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span>their mode of life, in attempting to cross the Rocky +Mountains were cut to pieces by a party of Indians. +Under the pressure of their immediate misfortunes they +had not heard the fate of the exiles, and a ray of satisfaction +played for a moment over their melancholy features +in hearing that they had met with friends in +America; and they told me to say to the Poles wherever +I found them, that they need never again turn their +eyes toward home. She added that the time had been +when she and her friends would have extended the hand +of welcome to a stranger in Poland; that, when a child, +she had heard her father and brothers talk of liberty +and the pressure of a foreign yoke, but, living in affluence, +surrounded by friends and connexions, she could +not sympathize with them, and thought it a feeling existing +only in men, which women could not know; but +actual occurrences had opened her eyes; her family +had been crushed to the earth, her friends imprisoned, +killed, or driven into exile, and yet, she added, turning +to her husband and father, she ought not to mourn, for +those dearest to her on earth were spared. But I could +read in her face, as she bent her eyes upon their pallid +features, that she felt they were spared only for a season.</p> + +<p>Reluctantly I bade them farewell. A servant waited +to go with me and show me the calêche, but I told him +it was not worth while. I was in no humour for examining +the spokes of carriage-wheels; and, if I had +been obliged to ride on the tongue, I believe I should +have taken it. I went to my hotel, and told my friend +of my interview with the major and his lady. He knew +them by reputation, and confirmed and strengthened all +the interest I took in them, adding that both father and +son had been among the first to take up arms during +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span>the revolution, and at its unhappy termination were so +beloved by the people of Warsaw that, in their wounded +and crippled state, the Russian government had not +proceeded to extremities with them.</p> + +<p>I spent my last evening in Warsaw with my Pole +and several of his friends at a herbata, that is, a sort of +confectioner's shop, like a <i>café</i> in the south of Europe, +where, as in Russia, tea is the popular drink. The next +morning, as usual, my passport was not ready. My +valet had been for it several times, and could not get it. +I had been myself to the police-office, and waited until +dark, when I was directed to call the next morning. +I went at a little after eight, but I will not obtrude upon +the reader the details of my vexation, nor the amiable +feelings that passed my mind in waiting till twelve +o'clock in a large anteroom. In my after wanderings I +sometimes sat down upon a stump or on the sands of +the desert, and meditated upon my folly in undergoing +all manner of hardships when I might be sitting quietly +at home; but when I thought of passports in Russia +and Poland, I shook myself with the freedom of a son +of the desert, and with the thought that I could turn my +dromedary's head which way I pleased, other difficulties +seemed light. Ancient philosophers extolled uniformity +as a great virtue in a young man's character; and, if so, +I was entitled to the highest praise, for in the matter of +arranging my passport I was always in a passion. I do +not know a single exception to the contrary. And if +there was one thing more vexatious than another, it was +in the case at Warsaw, where, after having been bandied +from office to office, I received my passport, still +requiring the signature of the governor, and walked up +to the palace, nursing my indignation, and expecting an +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span>accumulation, I was ushered in by guards and soldiers, +and at once disarmed of all animosity by the politeness +and civility of the principal officers of government. +I was almost sorry to be obliged to withhold my +intended malediction. I hurried back to my hotel. My +friend, with three or four of his Warsaw acquaintances, +was waiting to see the last of me; my calêche was at +the door, and I was already late for a start. I took my +seat and bade them farewell. I promised to write to +him on my arrival in Paris, and to continue a correspondence +on my return home. Most unfortunately, I +lost his address. He lived in some town in Poland, +near the frontiers of Prussia, and probably at this moment +thinks of me unkindly for my apparent neglect. +Possibly we may meet again, though probably never; +but if we do, though it do not happen till our heads are +gray, we will have a rich fund of satisfaction in the recollections +of our long journey to Warsaw.</p> + +<p>I was again setting out alone. My guide or <i>conducteur</i> +was a Polish peasant. Without having seen him, +I had calculated upon making ordinary human intelligence, +to some extent, a medium of communication; but +I found that I had been too soaring in my ideas of the +divinity of human nature. When I returned to the hotel +I found him lying on the sidewalk asleep; a servant +kicked him up and pointed me out as his master for the +journey. He ran up and kissed my hand, and, before +I was aware of his intention, stooped down and repeated +the same salutation on my boot. An American, perhaps, +more than any other, scorns the idea of man's +debasing himself to his fellow-man; and so powerful +was this feeling in me, that before I went abroad I almost +despised a white man whom I saw engaged in a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span>menial office. I had outlived this feeling; but when I +saw a tall, strong, athletic white man kneel down and +kiss my foot, I could almost have spurned him from me. +His whole dress was a long shirt coming down to his +feet, supported by a broad leathern belt eight inches +wide, which he used as a pocket, and a low, broad-brimmed +hat, turned up all round, particularly at the +sides, and not unlike the headgear of the Lebanon Shakers.</p> + +<p>Before putting myself out of the reach of aid, I held +a conversation with him through an interpreter. The +lady of the major had made out a chart for me, specifying +each day's journey, which he promised to observe, +and added that he would be my slave if I would give +him plenty to drink. With such a companion, then, I +may say most emphatically that I was again setting out +alone; but my calêche was even better than the Polish +officer represented it, abundantly provided with pockets +for provisions, books, &c., and altogether so much more +comfortable than anything I was used to, that I threw +myself back in it with a feeling of great satisfaction. I +rolled for the last time through the streets of Warsaw; +looked out upon the busy throng; and though, in the +perfectly indifferent air with which they turned to me, +I felt how small a space I occupied in the world, I +lighted my pipe and smoked in their faces, and, with a +perfect feeling of independence toward all the world, at +one o'clock I arrived at the barrier.</p> + +<p>Here I found, to my great vexation, that I was an +object of special consideration to the Emperor of Russia. +A soldier came out for my passport, with which +he went inside the guardhouse, and in a few minutes +returned with the paper in his hands to ask me some +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span>question. I could not answer him. He talked at me +a little while, and again went within doors. After sitting +for a few moments, vexed at the detention, but +congratulating myself that if there was any irregularity +it had been discovered before I had advanced far on my +journey, I dismounted and went inside, where, after detaining +me long enough to make me feel very uncomfortable, +they endorsed the visé and let me go. I again +lighted my pipe, and in the mildness and beauty of the +day, the comfort of my calêche, and the docility and +accommodating spirit of my peasant, forgot my past, +and even the chance of future difficulties. There was +nothing particularly attractive in the road; the country +was generally fertile, though tame and uninteresting. +Late in the afternoon we stopped at a little town, of +which I cannot make out the name. Like all the other +towns on this side of Warsaw, in the centre was a +square, with a range of wooden houses built all around +fronting on the square, and the inhabitants were principally +Jews. My peasant took off his horses and fed +them in the square, and I went into a little kukernia, +much cleaner and better than the town promised, where +I had a cup of coffee and a roll of bread, and then +strolled around the town, which, at this moment, presented +a singular spectacle. The women and children +were driving into the square herds of cows from the +pasture-grounds in the unenclosed plains around; and, +when all were brought in, each proprietor picked out his +own cow and drove her home, and in a few moments +opposite almost every house stood the family cow, with +a woman or child milking her. After this the cows +strolled back into the square to sleep till morning.</p> + +<p>A little before dark we started, and, after a fine moonlight +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span>ride, at about ten o'clock drove into a sort of caravanserai, +being simply a large shed or covered place +for wagons and horses, with a room partitioned off in +one corner for eating and sleeping. There were, perhaps, +fifteen or twenty wagons under the shed, and their +wagoners were all assembled in this room, some standing +up and eating off a board stretched along the wall, +some drinking, some smoking, and some already asleep +on the floor. In one corner was a party of Jews, with +the contents of a purse emptied before them, which they +were dividing into separate parcels. The place was +kept by a Jew, who, with his wife, or some woman belonging +to the establishment, old and weatherbeaten, +was running about serving and apparently quarrelling +with all the wagoners. She seemed particularly disposed +to quarrel with me, I believe because I could not +talk to her, this being, in her eyes, an unpardonable +sin. I could understand, however, that she wanted to +prepare me a supper; but my appetite was not tempted +by what I saw around me, and I lighted my pipe and +smoked. I believe she afterward saw something in me +which made her like me better; for while the wagoners +were strewing themselves about the floor for sleep, she +went out, and returning with a tolerably clean sheaf of +straw under each arm, called me to her, and shaking +them out in the middle of the floor, pointed me to my bed. +My pipe was ended, and putting my carpet-bag under +my head, I lay down upon the straw; and the old woman +climbed up to a sort of platform in one corner, where, +a moment after, I saw her sitting up with her arms +above her head, with the utmost nonchalance changing +her innermost garment.</p> + +<p>I was almost asleep, when I noticed a strapping big +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span>man, muffled up to the eyes, standing at my feet and +looking in my face. I raised my head, and he walked +round, keeping his eyes fixed upon me, and went away. +Shortly after he returned, and again walking round, +stopped and addressed me, "Spreechen sie Deutsch?" +I answered by asking him if he could speak French; +and not being able, he went away. He returned again, +and again walked round as before, looking steadily in +my face. I rose on my elbow, and followed him with +my eyes till I had turned completely round with him, +when he stopped as if satisfied with his observations, +and in his broadest vernacular opened bluntly, "Hadn't +we better speak English?" I need not say that I entirely +agreed with him. I sprang up, and catching his +hand, asked him what possessed him to begin upon me +in Dutch; he replied by asking why I had answered +in French, adding that his stout English figure ought to +have made me know better; and after mutual good-natured +recriminations, we kicked my straw bed about the +floor, and agreed to make a night of it. He was the +proprietor of a large iron manufactory, distant about +three days' journey, and was then on his way to Warsaw. +He went out to his carriage, and one of his servants +produced a stock of provisions like the larder of a +well-furnished hotel; and as I had gone to bed supperless, +he seemed a good, stout, broad-shouldered guardian +angel sent to comfort me. We sat on the back seat of +the carriage, making a table of the front; and when we +had finished, and the fragments were cleared away, we +stretched our legs on the table, lighted our pipes, and +talked till we fell asleep on each other's shoulder. +Notwithstanding our intimacy so far, we should not +have known each other by daylight, and at break of day +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span>we went outside to examine each other. It was, +however, perhaps hardly worth while to retain a recollection +of features; for, unless by some such accident as that +which brought us together, we never shall meet again. +We wrote our names in each other's pocketbook as a +memorial of our meeting, and at the same moment +started on our opposite roads.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Friendly Solicitude.—Raddom.—Symptoms of a Difficulty.—A Court of +Inquisition.—Showing a proper Spirit.—Troubles thickening.—Approaching +the Climax.—Woman's Influence.—The Finale.—Utility of the +Classics.—Another Latinist.—A Lucky Accident.—Arrival at Cracow.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">At</span> about eight o'clock we stopped to feed, and at +the feeding-place met a German wagoner, who had +lived in Hamburgh, and spoke English. He seemed +much distressed at my not understanding the language +of the country. He was a stout, burly fellow, eating +and drinking all the time, and his great anxiety was +lest I should starve on the road. He insisted upon +my providing against such a fatality, and had a couple +of fowls roasted for me, and wrapped in a piece of +coarse brown paper; and, at parting, backed by a +group of friends, to whom he had told my story, he +drank schnaps (at my expense) to my safe arrival at +Cracow.</p> + +<p>At eleven o'clock we reached Raddom. There was +a large swinging gate at the barrier of the town, and +the soldier opening it demanded my passport to be +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span><i>viséd</i> by the police; he got into the calêche with me, +and we drove into the town, stopped in the public +square, and went to the bureau together. He left me +in an antechamber, and went within, promising, by his +manner, to expedite the business, and intimating an expectation +of schnaps on his return. In a few minutes +he returned, and barely opening the door for me to +enter, hurried off, apparently with some misgivings +about his schnaps. I entered, and found three or four +men, who took no notice of me. I waited a few moments, +and seeing my passport on a table before one of +them, went up, and, certainly without intending anything +offensive, took up the passport with a view of calling +his attention to it; he jerked it out of my hand, and +looking at me with an imperious and impertinent air, +at the same time saying something I have no doubt +in character with the expression of his face, he slapped +it down on the table. Two or three officers coming +in, looked at it, and laid it down again, until at +length one man, the head of that department, I suppose, +took it up, wrote a note, and giving the note and +the passport to a soldier, directed me to follow him. +The soldier conducted me to the bureau of the government, +the largest building, and occupying a central +position in the town, and left me in an antechamber +with the usual retinue of soldiers and officers. In +about a quarter of an hour he came out without the +passport, and pulled me by the sleeve to follow him. I +shook my head, asked for the passport, and, in fact, +moved toward the door he had left. He seemed a +good-hearted fellow, and, anxious to save me from any +imprudence, pulled me back, held up his fingers, and +pointing to the clock, told me to return at one; and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span>touching his hat respectfully, with probably the only +French words he knew, "Adieu, seigneur," and a look +of real interest, hurried away.</p> + +<p>I strolled about the town, dropped in at a kukiernia, +went to the square, and saw my peasant friend feeding +his horses, apparently in some trouble and perplexity. +I went back at one, and was ordered to come again at +four. I would have remonstrated, but, besides that I +could not make myself understood, when I attempted +to speak they turned rudely away from me. I was +vexed by the loss of the day, as I had agreed to pay a +high price for the sake of going through a day sooner, +and this might spoil my plan; and I was particularly +vexed by the rough manner in which I was treated. I +returned at four, and was conducted into a large chamber, +in which were perhaps twenty or thirty clerks and +inferior officers in the uniform of the government. As +soon as I entered there was a general commotion. +They had sent for a young man who spoke a little +French to act as interpreter. The passport was put +into his hands, and the first question he asked me was +how I, an American, happened to be travelling under +a Russian passport. I answered that it was not from +any wish of mine, but in obedience to their own laws, +and added the fact that this passport had been made +out by the Russian ambassador at Constantinople; +that under it I had been admitted into Russia, and +travelled from the Black Sea to St. Petersburgh, and +from there down to Warsaw, as he might see from the +paper itself, the <i>visés</i> of the proper authorities, down +to that of the Governor of Warsaw, being regularly +endorsed.</p> + +<p>He then asked what my business was in Poland, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span>what had induced me to come there. I answered, the +same that had carried me into Russia, merely the curiosity +of a traveller; and he then inquired what in particular +I wanted to see in Poland. If I had consulted +merely my feelings, I should have told him that, besides +being attracted by the interest of her heroic history, I +wished to see with my own eyes the pressure of a colossal +foot upon the necks of a conquered people; that +this very system of inquisition and <i>espionage</i> was one +of the things I expected to see; but I, of course, forbore +this, and answered only in general terms, and my +answer was not satisfactory. He then began a more +particular examination; asked my age, my height, the +colour of my eyes, &c. At first I did not see the absurdity +of this examination, and answered honestly according +to the fact, as I believed it; but, all at once, it +struck me that, as I did not remember the particulars +of the description of my person in the passport, my own +impromptu might very easily differ from it, and, catching +an insulting expression on his face, I told him that +he had the passport in his hands, and might himself +compare my person with the description there given +of me. He then read aloud the entire description; +height, so many feet; eyes, such a colour, &c., &c.; +scanned me from head to foot; peered into my eyes, +stopping after each article to look at me and compare +me with the description. By this time every man in +the room had left his business and gathered round looking +at me, and, after the reading of each article and the +subsequent examination, there was a general shaking of +heads and a contemptuous smile.</p> + +<p>At the time I remembered, what had before suggested +itself to me rather as a good thing, that, before embarking +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span>for Europe, I had written on to the department of +state for a passport, with a description of my person +made out at the moment by a friend, not very flattering, +and, perhaps, not very true, but good enough for the +Continent, which I expected to be the extent of my +tour; and I felt conscious that, on a severe examination, +my nose might be longer, or my eyes grayer, or in some +other point different from the description. This, added +to their close and critical examination, at first embarrassed +me considerably, but the supercilious and insulting +manner in which the examination was conducted +roused my indignation and restored my self-possession. +I saw, from the informal way in which the thing was +done, that this was a mere preliminary inquisition, and +not the court to sit in judgment; and I had noticed from +the beginning that most of these men were Poles, who +had sold themselves to Russia for petty place and pay +in her offices, traitors in their hearts and lives, apostates +from every honourable feeling, and breathing a more infernal +spirit against their enslaved country than the Russians +themselves; and I told the interpreter, as coolly +as the nature of the case would admit, to accept for himself, +and to convey to his associates, the assurance that +I should remember their little town as long as I lived; +that I had then travelled from England through France, +Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Russia, and had nowhere +met such wanton rudeness and insult as from them; +that I did not think it possible that in any European +government twenty of its officers would laugh and sneer +at the embarrassment of a stranger without a single one +stepping forward to assist him; that I deeply regretted +the occurrence of such a circumstance in Poland; that +I felt convinced that there was not a truehearted Pole +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span>among them, or my character as an American would +have saved me from insult.</p> + +<p>The interpreter seemed a little abashed, but I could +see in the vindictive faces of the rest that they were +greatly irritated. The examination was cut short, and +I was directed to come again at half past five, when the +commandant, who had been sent for, would be there. +By this time there was some excitement in the streets, +and, as I afterward learned, it was noised through the +little town that an American was detained on suspicion +of travelling under a false passport. My calêche had +been standing in the public square all day. I had been +noticed going to and from the offices with a soldier at +my heels, and my poor Pole had been wandering up and +down the streets, telling everybody his fears and interest +in me, and particularly his anxiety about ten rubles I had +promised him. As I passed along, people turned round +and looked at me. I went to a kukiernia, where the +dame had been very smiling and attentive, and could +not get even a look from her. I went to another; several +men were earnestly talking, who became silent the +moment I entered. A small matter created an excitement +in that little place. It was a rare thing for a traveller +to pass through it; the Russian government threw +every impediment in the way, and had made the road +so vexatious that it was almost broken up. The French +or the citizens of a free country like America were always +suspected of being political emissaries to stir up +the Poles to revolution, and it seemed as if, under that +despotic government, to be suspected was to be guilty. +The Poles were in the habit of seeing slight offences +visited with terrible punishments, and probably half the +little town looked on me as a doomed man. I went +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span>back to the square and took a seat on my calêche; my +poor Pole sat on the box looking at me; he had followed +me all over, and, like the rest, seemed to regard me as +lost. I had probably treated him with more kindness +than he was accustomed to receive, though, for every +new kindness, he vexed me anew by stooping down and +kissing my foot.</p> + +<p>At half past five o'clock I was again at the door of +the palace. On the staircase I met the young man who +had acted as interpreter; he would have avoided me, but +I stopped him and asked him to return with me. I held +on to him, asking him if the commandant spoke French; +begged him, as he would hope himself to find kindness +in a strange country, to go back and act as a medium of +explanation; but he tore rudely away, and hurried down +stairs. A soldier opened the door and led me into the +same apartment as before. The clerks were all at their +desks writing; all looked up as I entered, but not one offered +me a seat, nor any the slightest act of civility. I +waited a moment, and they seemed studiously to take +no notice of me. I felt outrageous at their rudeness. +I had no apprehensions of any serious consequences beyond, +perhaps, that of a detention until I could write to +Mr. Wilkins, our ambassador at St. Petersburgh, and +resolved not to be trampled upon by the understrappers. +I walked up to the door of the commandant's chamber, +when one man, who had been particularly insulting during +the reading of the passport, rudely intercepted me, +and leaning his back against the door, flourished his +hands before him to keep me from entering. Fortunately, +I fell back in time to prevent even the tip end of +his fingers touching me. My blood flashed through me +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span>like lightning, and even now I consider myself a miracle +of forbearance that I did not strike him.</p> + +<p>In a few moments the door opened, and a soldier +beckoned me to enter. Directly in front, at the other +end of the room, behind a table, sat the commandant, +a grim, gaunt-looking figure about fifty, his military +coat buttoned tight up in his throat, his cap and sword +on the table by his side, and in his hands my unlucky +passport. As I walked toward him he looked from +the passport to me, and from me to the passport; and +when I stopped at the table he read over again the +whole description, at every clause looking at me; shook +his head with a grim smile of incredulity, and laid it +down, as if perfectly satisfied. I felt that my face +was flushed with indignation, and, perhaps, to a certain +extent, so distorted with passion that it would have +been difficult to recognise me as the person described. +I suggested to him that the rude treatment I had met +with in the other room had no doubt altered the whole +character of my face, but he waved his hand for me to +be silent; and, taking up a sheet of paper, wrote a letter +or order, or something which I did not understand, and +gave it to a soldier, who took it off to one corner and +stamped it. The commandant then folded up the passport, +enclosed it in the letter, and handed it again to the +soldier, who carried it off and affixed to it an enormous +wax seal, which looked very ominous and Siberian-like. +I was determined not to suffer from the want of any +effort on my part, and pulled out my old American +passport, under which I had travelled in France and +Italy, and also a new one which Commodore Porter +had given me in Constantinople. He looked at them +without any comment and without understanding them; +and, when the soldier returned with the paper and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span>big seal, he rose, and, without moving a muscle, waved +with his hand for me to follow the soldier. I would +have resisted if I had dared. I was indignant enough +to do some rash thing, but at every step was a soldier; +I saw the folly of it, and, grinding my teeth with vexation +and rage, I did as I was ordered.</p> + +<p>At the door of the palace we found a large crowd, +who, knowing my appointment for this hour, were +waiting to hear the result. A line of people was formed +along the walk, who, seeing me under the charge of a +soldier, turned round and looked at me with ominous +silence. We passed under the walls of the prison, and +the prisoners thrust their arms through the bars and +hailed me, and seemed to claim me as a companion, +and to promise me a welcome among them. For a +moment I was infected with some apprehensions. In +my utter ignorance as to what it all meant, I ran over +in my mind the stories I had heard of the exercise +of despotic authority, and for one moment thought of +my German host at Moscow and a journey to Siberia +by mistake. I did not know where the soldier was +taking me, but felt relieved when we had got out of the +reach of the voices of the prisoners, and more so when +we stopped before a large house, which I remarked at +once as a private dwelling, though a guard of honour +before the door indicated it as the residence of an officer +of high rank. We entered, and were ushered into +the presence of the governor and commander-in-chief. +He was, of course, a Russian, a man about sixty, in the +uniform of a general officer, and attended by an aiddecamp +about thirty. I waited till the soldier had delivered +his message; and, before the governor had broken +the seal, I carried the war into the enemy's country by +complaining of the rude treatment I had received, interrupted +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span>in my journey under a passport which had +carried me all over Russia, and laughed at and insulted +by the officers of the government, at the same time congratulating +myself that I had at last met those who +could at least tell me why I was detained, and would +give me an opportunity of explaining anything apparently +wrong. I found the governor, as everywhere +else in Russia where I could get access to the principal +man, a gentleman in his bearing and feelings. He +requested me to be seated, while he retired into another +apartment to examine the passport. The aiddecamp +remained, and I entertained him with my chapter of +grievances; he put the whole burden of the incivility +upon the Poles, who, as he said, filled all the inferior +offices of government, but told me, too, that the country +was in such an unsettled state that it was necessary +to be very particular in examining all strangers; and +particularly as at that time several French emissaries +were suspected to be secretly wandering in Poland, +trying to stir up revolution. The governor stayed so +long that I began to fear there was some technical irregularity +which might subject me to detention, and I +was in no small degree relieved when he sent for me, +and telling me that he regretted the necessity for giving +such annoyance and vexation to travellers, handed +me back the passport, with a direction to the proper +officer to make the necessary <i>visé</i> and let me go. I +was so pleased with the result that I did not stop to ask +any questions, and to this day I do not know particularly +why I was detained.</p> + +<p>By this time it was nine o'clock, and when we returned +the bureau was closed. The soldier stated the +case to the loungers about the door, and now all, including +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span>some of the scoundrels who had been so rude to +me in the morning, were anxious to serve me. One of +them conducted me to an apartment near, where I was +ushered into the presence of an elderly lady and her two +daughters, both of whom spoke French. I apologized +for my intrusion; told them my extreme anxiety to go +on that night, and begged them to procure some one to +take the governor's order to the commandant; in fact, I +had become nervous, and did not consider myself safe till +out of the place. They called in a younger brother, who +started with alacrity on the errand, and I sat down to wait +his return. There must be a witchery about Polish ladies. +I was almost savage against all mankind; I had +been kept up to the extremest point of indignation without +any opportunity of exploding all day, and it would have +been a great favour for some one to knock me down; +but in a few minutes all my bitterness and malevolence +melted away, and before tea was over I forgot that I +had been bandied all day from pillar to post, and even +forgave the boors who had mocked me, in consideration +of their being the countrymen of the ladies who were +showing me such kindness. Even with them I began +with the chafed spirit that had been goading me on all +day; but when I listened to the calm and sad manner +in which they replied; that it was annoying, but it was +light, very light, compared with the scenes through +which they and all their friends had passed, I was +ashamed of my petulance. A few words convinced +me that they were the Poles of my imagination and +heart. A widowed mother and orphan children, their +staff and protector had died in battle, and a gallant brother +was then wandering an exile in France. I believe +it is my recollection of Polish ladies that gives me a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span>leaning toward rebels. I never met a Polish lady who +was not a rebel, and I could but think, as long as the +startling notes of revolution continue to fall like music +from their pretty lips, so long the Russian will sleep +on an unquiet pillow in Poland.</p> + +<p>It was more than an hour before the brother returned, +and I was sorry when he came; for, after my professions +of haste, I had no excuse for remaining longer. +I was the first American they had ever seen; and if +they do not remember me for anything else, I am happy +to have disabused them of one prejudice against my +country, for they believed the Americans were all black. +At parting, and at my request, the eldest daughter wrote +her name in my memorandum-book, and I bade them +farewell.</p> + +<p>It was eleven o'clock when I left the house, and at +the first transition from their presence the night seemed +of pitchy darkness. I groped my way into the square, +and found my calêche gone. I stood for a moment on +the spot where I had left it, ruminating what I should +do. Perhaps my poor Pole had given me up as lost, +and taken out letters of administration upon my carpet-bag. +Directly before me, intersecting the range of +houses on the opposite side of the square, was a street +leading out of the town. I knew that he was a man to +go straight ahead, turning neither to the right hand nor +the left. I walked on to the opening, followed it a little +way, and saw on the right a gate opening to a shed for +stabling. I went in, and found him with his horses unharnessed, +feeding them, whipping them, and talking at +them in furious Polish. As soon as he saw me he left +them and came at me in the same tone, throwing up +both his hands, and almost flourishing them in my face; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span>then went back to his horses, began pitching on the harness, +and, snatching up the meal-bag, came back again +toward me, all the time talking and gesticulating like a +Bedlamite. I was almost in despair. What have I +done now? Even my poor peasant turns against me; +this morning he kissed my foot, now he is ready to brain +me with a meal-bag. Roused by the uproar, the old +woman, proprietor of the shed, came out, accompanied +by her daughter, a pretty little girl about twelve years +old, carrying a lantern. I looked at them without expecting +any help. My peasant moved between them +and me and the horses, flourishing his meal-bag, and +seeming every moment to become more and more enraged +with me. I looked on in dismay, when the little +girl came up, and dropping a courtesy before me, in +the prettiest French I ever heard, asked me, "Que +voulez vous, monsieur?" I could have taken her up in +my arms and kissed her. I have had a fair share of the +perplexity which befalls every man from the sex, but I +hold many old accounts cancelled by the relief twice +afforded me this day. Before coming to a parley with +my Pole, I took her by the hand, and, sitting down on +the tongue of a wagon, learned from her that she had +been taken into the house of a rich seigneur to be educated +as a companion for his daughter, and was then at +home on a visit to her mother; after which she explained +the meaning of my postillion's outcry. Besides his +apprehensions for me personally, he had been tormented +with the no less powerful one of losing the promised +ten rubles upon his arrival at a fixed time at Michoof, +and all his earnestness was to hurry me off at once, +in order to give him a chance of still arriving within the +time. This was exactly the humour in which I wanted +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span>to find him, for I had expected great difficulty in making +him go on that night; so I told him to hitch on his +horses, and at parting did give the little girl a kiss, and +the only other thing I could give her without impoverishing +myself was a silk purse as a memento. I lighted +my pipe, and, worn out with the perplexities of the day, +in a short time forgot police and passports, rude Russians +and dastardly Poles, and even the Polish ladies +and the little girl.</p> + +<p>I woke the next morning under a shed, horses harnessed, +postillion on the box whipping, and a Jew at +their head holding them, and the two bipeds quarrelling +furiously about the stabling. I threw the Jew a florin, +and he let go his hold, though my peasant shook his +whip, and roared back at him long after we were out of +sight and hearing. At a few miles' distance we came +to a stopping-place, where we found a large calêche +with four handsome horses, and the postillion in the +costume of a peasant of Cracow, a little square red +cap with a red feather, a long white frock somewhat +like a shooting-jacket, bordered with red, a belt covered +with pieces of brass like scales lapping over each other, +and a horn slung over his right shoulder. It belonged +to a Polish seigneur, who, though disaffected toward +government, had succeeded in retaining his property, +and was the proprietor of many villages. He was accompanied +by a young man about thirty, who spoke a +very little French; less than any man whom I ever +heard attempt to speak it at all. They had with them +their own servants and cooking apparatus, and abundance +of provisions. The seigneur superintended the +cooking, and I did them the honour to breakfast with +them. While we were breakfasting a troop of wagoners +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span>or vagabonds were under the shed dancing the mazurka. +The better class of Poles are noble, high-spirited +men, warm and social in their feelings, and to +them, living on their estates in the interior of their almost +untrodden country, a stranger is a curiosity and a +treasure. The old seigneur was exceedingly kind and +hospitable, and the young man and I soon became on +excellent terms. I was anxious to have a friend in case +of a new passport difficulty, and at starting gladly embraced +his offer to ride with me. As soon as we took +our seats in the calêche we lighted our pipes and shook +hands as a bargain of good fellowship. Our perfect +flow of confidence, however, was much broken by the +up-hill work of making ourselves understood. I was +no great scholar myself, but his French was execrable; +he had studied it when a boy, but for more than ten +years had not spoken a word. At one time, finding it +impossible to express himself, he said, "Parlatis Latinum?" +"Can you speak Latin?" I at first thought it +was some dialect of the country, and could not believe +that he meant the veritable stuff that had been whipped +into me at school, and which, to me, was most emphatically +a dead language; but necessity develops all that +a man has, and for three hours we kept up an uninterrupted +stream of talk in bad Latin and worse French.</p> + +<p>Like every Pole whom I met, except the employés +in the public offices, from the bottom of his heart he +detested a Russian. He had been a soldier during the +revolution, and lay on his back crippled with wounds +when it was crushed by the capture of Warsaw. I +showed him the coin which had accidentally come into +my hands, and when we came to the point where our +roads separated, he said that he was ashamed to do so, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span>but could not help begging from me that coin; to me it +was merely a curiosity, to him it was a trophy of the +brilliant but shortlived independence of his country. I +was loath to part with it, and would rather have given +him every button on my coat; but I appreciated his +patriotic feeling, and could not refuse. I got out, and +he threw his arms around me, kissed me on both cheeks, +called me his friend and brother, and mounted the kibitka +with the old seigneur. The latter invited me to go +with him to his château, about a day's journey distant, +and if I had expected to write a book I should certainly +have done so.</p> + +<p>I went on again alone. At about twelve o'clock we +arrived at the town of Kielse. I felt nervous as we approached +the barrier. I threw myself back in the calêche, +and drew my cap over my eyes in grand seigneur +style, the soldier touched his hat as he opened the gate, +and we drove into the public square unmolested. I +breathed more freely, but almost hesitated to leave the +calêche while the horses fed. I smiled, however, at +thinking that any effort to avoid observation was the +very way to attract it, and went to a kukernia, where I +drank coffee, ate bread encrusted with sugar, and smoked +a pipe until my Pole came in and kissed my foot as an intimation +that the horses were ready.</p> + +<p>No questions were asked at the barrier; and we rode +on quietly till nine o'clock, when we drove under the +shed of a caravanserai. Fifteen or twenty wagoners +were eating off a bench, and, as they finished, stretched +themselves on the floor for sleep. It was a beautiful +moonlight night, and I strolled out for a walk. The +whole country was an immense plain. I could see for +a great distance, and the old shed was the only roof in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span>sight. It was the last night of a long journey through +wild and unsettled countries. I went back to the time +when, on a night like that, I had embarked on the Adriatic +for Greece; thought of the many scenes I had +passed through since, and bidding farewell to the plains +of Poland, returned to my calêche, drew my cloak around +me, and was soon asleep.</p> + +<p>At nine o'clock we stopped at a feeding-place, where +a horde of dirty Jews were at a long table eating. I +brushed off one corner, and sat down to some bread and +milk. Opposite me was a beggar woman dividing with +a child about ten years old a small piece of dry black +bread. I gave them some bread and a jar of milk, and +I thought, from the lighting up of the boy's face, that +it was long since he had had such a meal.</p> + +<p>At twelve o'clock we reached Michoof, the end of my +journey with the calêche. I considered my difficulties +all ended, and showed at the posthouse my letter from +the Polish captain to the commissario. To my great +annoyance, he was not in the place. I had to procure +a conveyance to Cracow; and having parted with my +poor Pole overwhelmed with gratitude for my treatment +on the road and my trifling gratuity at parting, I stood +at the door of the posthouse with my carpet-bag in my +hand, utterly at a loss what to do. A crowd of people +gathered round, all willing to assist me, but I could not +tell them what I wanted. One young man in particular +seemed bent upon serving me; he accosted me in Russian, +Polish, and German. I answered him in English, +French, and Italian, and then both stopped. As a desperate +resource, and almost trembling at my own temerity, +I asked him the question I had learned from my +yesterday's companion "Parlates Latinum?" and he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span>answered me with a fluency and volubility that again +threw me into another perplexity, caught my hand, +congratulated me upon having found a language both +understood, praised the good old classic tongues, offered +his services to procure anything I wanted, &c., +and all with such rapidity of utterance that I was +obliged to cry out with something like the sailor's "vast +heaving," and tell him that, if he went on at that rate, it +was all Russian to me. He stopped, and went on +more moderately, and with great help from him I gave +him to understand that I wanted to hire a wagon to +take me to Cracow. "Venite cum me," said my +friend, and conducted me round the town until we found +one. I then told him I wanted my passport <i>viséd</i> for +passing the frontier. "Venite cum me," again said +my friend, and took me with him and procured the <i>visé</i>; +then that I wanted a dinner; still he answered "Venite +cum me," and took me to a trattoria, and dined with +me. At dinner my classical friend did a rather unclassical +thing. An enormous cucumber was swimming in +a tureen of vinegar. He asked me whether I did not +want it; and, taking it up in his fingers, ate it as a dessert, +and drinking the vinegar out of the tureen, +smacked his lips, wiped his mustaches with the tablecloth, +and pronounced it "optimum." For three hours +we talked constantly, and talked nothing but Latin. It +was easy enough for him, for, as he told me, at school +it had been the language of conversation. To me it +was like breaking myself into the treadmill; but, once +fairly started, my early preceptors would have been +proud of my talk. At parting he kissed me on both +cheeks, rubbed me affectionately with his mustaches +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span>and, after I had taken my seat, his last words were, +"Semper me servate in vestra memoria."</p> + +<p>We had four and a half German, or about eighteen +English, miles to Cracow. We had a pair of miserable, +ragged little horses, but I promised my postillion +two florins extra if he took me there in three hours, and +he started off so furiously that in less than an hour the +horses broke down, and we had to get out and walk. +After breathing them a little they began to recover, and +we arrived on a gentle trot at the frontier town, about +half way to Cracow. My passport was all right, but +here I had a new difficulty in that I had no passport +for my postillion. I had not thought of this, and my +classical friend had not suggested it. It was exceedingly +provoking, as to return would prevent my reaching +Cracow that night. After a parley with the commanding +officer, a gentlemanly man, who spoke French very +well, he finally said that my postillion might go on under +charge of a soldier to the next posthouse, about a mile +beyond, where I could get another conveyance and send +him back. Just as I had thanked him for his courtesy, +a young gentleman from Cracow, in a barouche with +four horses, drove up, and, hearing my difficulty, politely +offered to take me in with him. I gladly accepted his +offer, and arrived at Cracow at about dark, where, upon +his recommendation, I went to the Hotel de la Rose +Blanche, and cannot well describe the satisfaction with +which I once more found myself on the borders of civilized +Europe, within reach of the ordinary public conveyances, +and among people whose language I could +understand. "Shall I not take mine ease in mine own +inn?" Often, after a hard day's journey, I have asked +myself this question, but seldom with the same self-complacency +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span>and the same determination to have mine +ease as at Cracow. I inquired about the means of getting +to Vienna, which, at that moment, I thought no more +of than a journey to Boston. Though there was no particular +need of it, I had a fire built in my room for the +associations connected with a cheerful blaze. I put on +my morning-gown and slippers, and hauling up before +the fire an old chintz-covered sofa, sent for my landlord +to come up and talk with me. My host was an Italian, +and an excellent fellow. Attached to his hotel was a +large restaurant, frequented by the first people at Cracow. +During the evening an old countess came there +to sup; he mentioned to her the arrival of an American, +and I supped with her and her niece; neither of them, +however, so interesting as to have any effect upon my +slumber.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Cracow.—Casimir the Great.—Kosciusko.—Tombs of the Polish Kings.—A +Polish Heroine.—Last Words of a King.—A Hero in Decay.—The +Salt-mines of Cracow.—The Descent.—The Mines.—Underground Meditations.—The +Farewell.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Cracow</span> is an old, curious, and interesting city, situated +in a valley on the banks of the Vistula; and approaching +it as I did, toward the sunset of a summer's +day, the old churches and towers, the lofty castles and the +large houses spread out on the immense plains, gave it an +appearance of actual splendour. This faded away as I +entered, but still the city inspired a feeling of respect, +for it bore the impress of better days. It contains numerous +churches, some of them very large, and remarkable +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span>for their style and architecture, and more than a +hundred monasteries and convents. In the centre is a +large square, on which stands the church of Notre +Dame, an immense Gothic structure, and also the old +palace of Sobieski, now cut down into shops, and many +large private residences, uninhabited and falling to ruins. +The principal streets terminate in this square. Almost +every building bears striking marks of ruined grandeur. +On the last partition of Poland in eighteen hundred and +fifteen by the Holy Alliance, Cracow, with a territory +of five hundred square miles and a population of a hundred +and eight thousand, including about thirty thousand +Jews, was erected into a republic; and at this day +it exists nominally as a <i>free city</i>, under the protection +of the three great powers; emphatically, such protection +as vultures give to lambs; three masters instead of one, +Russia, Prussia, and Austria, all claiming the right to +interfere in its government.</p> + +<p>But even in its fallen state Cracow is dear to the +Pole's heart, for it was the capital of his country when +Poland ranked high among nations, and down to him +who last sat upon her throne, was the place of coronation +and of burial for her kings. It is the residence +of many of the old Polish nobility, who, with reduced +fortunes, prefer this little foothold in their country, where +liberty nominally lingers, to exile in foreign lands. It +now contains a population of about thirty thousand, including +Jews. Occasionally the seigneur is still seen, +in his short cassock of blue cloth, with a red sash and +a white square-topped cap; a costume admirably adapted +to the tall and noble figure of the proud Pole, and +the costume of the peasant of Cracow is still a striking +feature in her streets.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span>After a stroll through the churches, I walked on the +old ramparts of Cracow. The city was formerly surrounded +with regular fortifications, but, as in almost all +the cities of Europe, her ancient walls have been transformed +into Boulevards; and now handsome avenues of +trees encircle it, destroying altogether its Gothic military +aspect, and on Sundays and fête days the whole +population gathers in gay dresses, seeking pleasure +where their fathers stood clad in armour and arrayed for +battle.</p> + +<p>The Boulevards command an extensive view of all +the surrounding country. "All the sites of my country," +says a national poet, "are dear to me; but, above +all, I love the environs of Cracow; there at every step +I meet the recollections of our ancient glory and our +once imposing grandeur."</p> + +<p>On the opposite bank of the river is a large tumulus +of earth, marking the grave of Cracus, the founder of +the city. A little higher up is another mound, reverenced +as the sepulchre of his daughter Wenda, who +was so enamoured of war that she promised to give +her hand only to the lover who should conquer her in +battle. Beyond this is the field of Zechino, where the +brave Kosciusko, after his return from America, with a +band of peasants, again struck the first blow of revolution, +and, by a victory over the Russians, roused all +Poland to arms.</p> + +<p>About a mile from Cracow are the ruins of the palace +of Lobzow, built by Casimir the Great, for a long +time the favourite royal residence, and identified with +a crowd of national recollections; and, until lately, a +large mound of earth in the garden was reverenced as +the grave of Esther, the beautiful Jewess, the idol of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span>Casimir the Great. Poetry has embellished the tradition, +and the national muse has hallowed the palace of +Lobzow and the grave of Esther.</p> + +<p>"Passer-by, if you are a stranger, tremble in thinking +of human destruction; but if you are a Pole, shed bitter +tears; heroes have inhabited this palace.... Who +can equal them?...</p> + +<hr class="l5" /> + +<p>"Casimir erected this palace: centuries have hailed +him with the name of the great....</p> + +<hr class="l5" /> + +<p>"Near his Esther, in the delightful groves of Lobzow, +he thought himself happy in ceasing to be a king to +become a lover.</p> + +<hr class="l5" /> + +<p>"But fate is unpitiable for kings as for us, and even +beauty is subject to the common law. Esther died, and +Casimir erected a tomb in the place she had loved.</p> + +<p>"Oh! if you are sensible to the grief caused by love, +drop a tear at this tomb and adorn it with a crown. If +Casimir was tied to humanity by some weaknesses, they +are the appendage of heroes! In presence of this chateau, +in finding again noble remains, sing the glory of +Casimir the Great."</p> + +<p>I was not a sentimental traveller, nor sensible to the +grief that is caused by love, and I could neither drop a +tear at the tomb of Esther nor sing the glory of Casimir +the Great; but my heart beat high as I turned to +another monument in the environs of Cracow; an +immense mound of earth, standing on an eminence visible +from every quarter, towering almost into a mountain, +and sacred to the memory of Kosciusko! I saw +it from the palace of the kings and from the ramparts +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span>of the fallen city, and, with my eyes constantly +fixed upon it, descended to the Vistula, followed its +bank to a large convent, and then turned to the right, +direct for the mound. I walked to the foot of the hill, +and ascended to a broad table of land. From this table +the mound rises in a conical form, from a base +three hundred feet in diameter, to the height of one +hundred and seventy-five feet. At the four corners +formerly stood small houses, which were occupied by +revolutionary soldiers who had served under Kosciusko. +On the farther side, enclosed by a railing, was a +small chapel, and within it a marble tomb covering +Kosciusko's heart! A circular path winds round the +mound; I ascended by this path to the top. It is built +of earth sodded, and was then covered with a thick +carpet of grass, and reminded me of the tumuli of the +Grecian heroes on the plains of Troy; and perhaps, +when thousands of years shall have rolled by, and all +connected with our age be forgotten, and time and exposure +to the elements shall have changed its form, +another stranger will stand where I did, and wonder +why and for what it was raised. It was erected in +1819 by the voluntary labour of the Polish people; +and so great was the enthusiasm, that, as an eyewitness +told me, wounded soldiers brought earth in their helmets, +and women in their slippers; and I remembered, +with a swelling heart, that on this consecrated spot a +nation of brave men had turned to my country as the +star of liberty, and that here a banner had been unfurled +and hailed with acclamations by assembled thousands, +bearing aloft the sacred inscription, "Kosciusko, the +friend of Washington!"</p> + +<p>The morning was cold and dreary, the sky was overcast +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span>with clouds, and the sun, occasionally breaking +through lighted up for a moment with dazzling brilliancy +the domes and steeples of Cracow, and the palace +and burial-place of her kings, emblematic of the +fitful gleams of her liberty flashing and dazzling, and +then dying away. I drew my cloak around me, and remained +there till I was almost drenched with rain. +The wind blew violently, and I descended and sheltered +myself at the foot of the mound, by the grave of +Kosciusko's heart!</p> + +<p>I returned to the city and entered the Cathedral +Church. It stands by the side of the old palace, on +the summit of the rock of Wauvel, in the centre of +and commanding the city, enclosed with walls and +towers, and allied in its history with the most memorable +annals of Poland; the witness of the ancient +glory of her kings, and their sepulchre. The rain +was pattering against the windows of the old church +as I strolled through the silent cloisters and among +the tombs of the kings. A verger in a large cocked +hat, and a group of peasants, moved, like myself, with +noiseless steps, as if afraid to disturb the repose +of the royal dead. Many of the kings of Poland fill +but a corner of the page of history. Some of their +names I had forgotten, or, perhaps, never knew until I +saw them inscribed on their tombs; but every monument +covered a head that had worn a crown, and some +whose bones were mouldering under my feet will live +till the last records of heroism perish.</p> + +<p>The oldest monument is that of Wladislaus le Bref, +built of stone, without any inscription, but adorned with +figures in bas-relief, which are very much injured. He +died in thirteen hundred and thirty-three, and chose +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span>himself the place of his eternal rest. Charles the +Twelfth of Sweden, on his invasion of Poland, visited +the Cathedral Church, and stopped before this tomb. +A distinguished canon who attended him, in allusion +to the position of John Casimir, who was then at war +with the King of Sweden, remarked, "And that king +was also driven from his throne, but he returned and +reigned until his death." The Swede answered with +bitterness, "But your John Casimir will never return." +The canon replied respectfully, "God is great and fortune +is fickle;" and the canon was right, for John Casimir +regained his throne.</p> + +<p>I approached with a feeling of veneration the tomb +of Casimir the Great. It is of red marble; four columns +support a canopy, and the figure of the king, with a crown +on his head, rests on a coffin of stone. An iron railing +encloses the monument. It is nearly five hundred years +since the palatins and nobles of Poland, with all the insignia +of barbaric magnificence, laid him in the place +where his ashes now repose. The historian writes, +"Poland is indebted to Casimir for the greatest part of +her churches, palaces, fortresses, and towns," adding +that "he found Poland of wood and left her of marble." +He patronized letters, and founded the University of Cracow; +promoted industry and encouraged trade; digested +the unwritten laws and usages into a regular code; established +courts of justice; repressed the tyranny of the +nobles, and died with the honourable title of King of the +Peasants; and I did not forget, while standing over his +grave, that beneath me slept the spirit that loved the +groves of Lobzow and the heart that beat for Esther +the Jewess.</p> + +<p>The tomb of Sigismund I. is of red marble, with a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span>figure as large as life reclining upon it. It is adorned +with bas-reliefs and the arms of the republic, the white +eagle and the armed cavalier of Lithuania. He died in +fifteen hundred and forty-one, and his monument bears +the following inscription in Latin: "Sigismund Jagellon, +King of Poland, Grand-duke of Lithuania, Conqueror +of the Tartars, of the Wallachians, of the Russians +and Prussians, reposes under this stone, which +he prepared for himself." Forty years ago Thaddeus +Czacki, the Polish historian, opened the tombs of the +kings, and found the head of Sigismund resting upon a +plate of silver bearing a long Latin inscription; the +body measured six feet and two inches in height, and +was covered with three rich ermines; on the feet were +golden spurs, a chain of gold around the neck, and a +gold ring on one finger of the left hand. At his feet +was a small pewter coffin enclosing the body of his son +by Bone Sforza.</p> + +<p>By his side lies the body of his son Sigismund II., +the last of the Jagellons, at whose death began the cabals +and convulsions of an elective monarchy, by which Poland +lost her influence among foreign powers. His +memory is rendered interesting by his romantic love for +Barbe Radzewill. She appeared at his father's court, +the daughter of a private citizen, celebrated in Polish +history and romance as uniting to all a woman's beauty +a mingled force and tenderness, energy and goodness. +The prince had outlived all the ardour of youth; disappointed +and listless amid pleasures, his energy of mind +destroyed by his excesses, inconstant in his love, and at +the summit of human prosperity, living without a wish or +a hope; but he saw Barbe, and his heart beat anew with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span>the pulsations of life. In the language of his biographer +he proved, in all its fulness, that sentiment which draws +to earth by its sorrows and raises to heaven by its delights. +He married her privately, and on his father's +death proclaimed her queen. The whole body of nobles +refused to acknowledge the marriage, and one of +the nuncios, in the name of the representatives of the +nation, supplicated him for himself, his country, his +blood, and his children, to extinguish his passion; but +the king swore on his sword that neither the diet, nor +the nation, nor the whole universe should make him +break his vows to Barbe; that he would a thousand +times rather live with her out of the kingdom than keep +a throne which she could not share; and was on the +point of abdicating, when his opponents offered to do +homage to the queen. When Czacki opened the coffin +of this prince, he found the body perfectly preserved, +and the head, as before, resting on a silver plate containing +a long Latin inscription.</p> + +<p>At the foot of his coffin is that of his sister and successor, +Anne; and in a separate chapel is the tomb of +Stephen Battory, one of the greatest of the kings of Poland, +raised to the throne by his marriage with Anne.</p> + +<p>I became more and more interested in this asylum of +royal dead. I read there almost the entire history of +the Polish republic, and again I felt that it was but a +step from the throne to the grave, for near me was the +great chair in which the kings of Poland were crowned. +I paused before the tomb of John Casimir; and there +was something strangely interesting in the juxtaposition +of these royal dead. John Casimir lies by the side of +the brother whom he endeavoured to supplant in his +election to the throne. His reign was a continued succession +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span>of troubles and misfortunes. Once he was +obliged to fly from Poland. He predicted what has +since been so fearfully verified, that his country, enfeebled +by the anarchy of its government and the licentiousness +of the nobles, would be dismembered among +the neighbouring powers; and, worn out with the cares +of royalty, abdicated the throne, and died in a convent in +France. I read at his tomb his pathetic farewell to his +people.</p> + +<div class="blockquotin"><p>"People of Poland,</p> + +<p>"It is now two hundred and eighty years that you +have been governed by my family. The reign of my +ancestors is past, and mine is going to expire. Fatigued +by the labours of war, the cares of the cabinet, and the +weight of age; oppressed with the burdens and vicissitudes +of a reign of more than twenty-one years, I, your +king and father, return into your hands what the world +esteems above all things, a crown, and choose for my +throne six feet of earth, where I shall sleep with my fathers. +When you show my tomb to your children, tell +them that I was the foremost in battle and the last in +retreat; that I renounced regal grandeur for the good +of my country, and restored my sceptre to those who +gave it me."</p></div> + +<p>By his side, and under a monument of black marble, +lies the body of his successor, Michel Wisniowecki, an +obscure and unambitious citizen, who was literally +dragged to the throne, and wept when the crown was +placed upon his head, and of whom Casimir remarked, +when informed of his late subjects' choice, "What, +have they put the crown on the head of that poor fellow?" +And again I was almost startled by the strange +and unnatural mingling of human ashes. By the side +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span>of that "poor fellow" lies the "famous" John Sobieski, +the greatest of the long line of kings of a noble and +valorous nation;</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"One of the few, the immortal names,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That were not born to die."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the lower floor of the church, by the side of Poniatowski, +the Polish Bayard, is the tomb of one nobler +in my eyes than all the kings of Poland or of the world. +It is of red marble, ornamented with the cap and plume +of the peasant of Cracow, and bears the simple inscription +"T. Kosciusko." All over the church I had read +elaborate panegyrics upon the tenants of the royal sepulchres, +and I was struck with this simple inscription, +and remembered that the white marble column reared +amid the magnificent scenery of the Hudson, which I +had often gazed at from the deck of a steamboat, and +at whose base I had often stood, bore also in majestic +simplicity the name of "Kosciusko." It was late in +the afternoon, and the group of peasants, two Poles from +the interior, and a party of the citizens of Cracow, +among whom were several ladies, joined me at the tomb. +We could not speak each other's language; we were +born and lived thousands of miles apart, and we were +strangers in our thoughts and feelings, in all our hopes +and prospects, but we had a bond of sympathy at the +grave of Kosciusko. One of the ladies spoke French, +and I told them that, in my far distant country, the name +of their nation's idol was hallowed; that schoolboys +had erected a monument to his memory. They knew +that he had fought by the side of Washington, but they +did not know that the recollection of his services was +still so dearly cherished in America; and we all agreed +that it was the proudest tribute that could be paid to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span>his memory, to write merely his name on his monument. +It meant that it was needless to add an epitaph, for no +man would ask, Who was Kosciusko?</p> + +<p>It was nearly dark when I returned to my hotel. In +the restaurant, at a small table directly opposite me, +sat the celebrated Chlopicki, to whom, on the breaking +out of the last revolution, Poland turned as to another +Kosciusko, and who, until he faltered during the +trying scenes of that revolution, would have been deemed +worthy to lie by Kosciusko's side. Born of a noble +family, a soldier from his birth, he served in the memorable +campaigns of the great patriot, distinguished himself +in the Polish legions in Italy under Dombrowski, +and, as colonel of a regiment of the army of the Vistula, +behaved gloriously in Prussia. In Spain he fought at +Saragossa and Sagunta, and was called by Suchet <i>le +brave des braves</i>; as general of brigade in the army of +Russia, he was wounded at Valentina, near Smolensk, +and was general of a division in eighteen hundred and +fourteen, when Poland fell under the dominion of the autocrat. +The Grand-duke Constantine censured him on +parade, saying that his division was not in order; and +Chlopicki, with the proud boast, "I did not gain my +rank on the parade-ground, nor did I win my decorations +there," asked his discharge the next day, and could +never after be induced to return to the service. The +day after the revolutionary blow was struck, all Poland +turned to Chlopicki as the only man capable of standing +at the head of the nation. The command of the army, +with absolute powers, was conferred upon him by acclamation, +and one of the patriot leaders concluded his +address to him with these words: "Brother, take the +sword of your ancestors and predecessors, Czarnecki, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span>Dombrowski, and Kosciusko. Guide the nation that +has placed its trust in you in the path of honour. Save +this unhappy country." Chlopicki, with his silver head +grown white in the service of Poland, was hailed by +a hundred thousand people on the Champ de Mars with +shouts of "our country and its brave defender, Chlopicki, +for ever." He promised never to abuse their confidence, +and swore that he would defend the liberty of Poland to +the last moment. The whole nation was enthusiastic +in his favour; but in less than three months, at a stormy +session of the diet, he threw up his high office of dictator, +and refused peremptorily to accept command of +the army. This brave army, enthusiastically attached +to him, was struck with profound grief at his estrangement; +but, with all the faults imputed to him, it never +was charged that he attempted to take advantage of his +great popularity for any ambitious purposes of his own.</p> + +<p>At the battle of Grokow he fought nominally as a +private soldier, though Skryznecki and Radziwill being +both deficient in military experience, the whole army +looked to him for guidance. Once, when the battle +was setting strong against the Poles, in a moment of +desperation he put himself at the head of some disposable +battalions, and turning away from an aiddecamp +who came to him for orders, said, "Go and ask Radziwill; +for me, I seek only death." Grievously wounded, +his wounds were dressed in presence of the enemy; but +at two o'clock he was borne off the field, the hopes of the +soldiers died, and the army remained without any actual +head. Throughout the revolution his conduct was +cold, indifferent, and inexplicable; private letters from +the Emperor of Russia were talked of, and even <i>treason</i> +was whispered in connexion with his name. The Poles +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span>speak of him more in sorrow than in anger; they say +that it was not enough that he exposed his person on +the field of battle; that he should have given them the +whole weight of his great military talents, and the influence +of his powerful name; that, standing alone, without +children or relations to be compromised by his acts, +he should have consummated the glory of his life by +giving its few remaining years for the liberty of his +country. He appeared about sixty-five, with hair perfectly +white, a high florid complexion, a firm and determined +expression, and in still unbroken health, carrying +himself with the proud bearing of a distinguished veteran +soldier. I could not believe that he had bartered the +precious satisfaction of a long and glorious career for a +few years of ignoble existence; and, though a stranger, +could but regret that, in the wane of life, circumstances, +whether justly or not, had sullied an honoured name. +It spoke loudly against him that I saw him sitting in a +public restaurant at Cracow, unmolested by the Russian +government.</p> + +<p>The next day I visited the celebrated salt-mines at +Wielitska. They lie about, twelve miles from Cracow, +in the province of Galicia, a part of the kingdom of +Poland, which, on the unrighteous partition of that +country, fell to the share of Austria. Although at so +short a distance, it was necessary to go through all the +passport formalities requisite on a departure for a foreign +country. I took a fiacre and rode to the different bureaux +of the city police, and, having procured the permission +of the municipal authorities to leave the little +territory of Cracow, rode next to the Austrian consul, +who thereupon, and in consideration of one dollar to him +in hand paid, was graciously pleased to permit me to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span>enter the dominions of his master the Emperor of Austria. +It was also necessary to have an order from the director +of the mines to the superintendent; and furnished +with this I again mounted my fiacre, rattled through +the principal street, and in a few minutes crossed the +Vistula. At the end of the bridge an Austrian soldier +stopped me for my passport, a <i>douanier</i> examined my +carriage for articles subject to duty, and, these functionaries +being satisfied, in about two hours from the time +at which I began my preparations I was fairly on my +way.</p> + +<p>Leaving the Vistula, I entered a pretty, undulating, +and well-cultivated country, and saw at a distance a high +dark line, marking the range of the Carpathian mountains. +It was a long time since I had seen anything +that looked like a mountain. From the Black Sea the +whole of my journey had been over an immense plain, +and I hailed the wild range of the Carpathian as I would +the spire of a church, as an evidence of the approach to +regions of civilization.</p> + +<p>In an hour and a half I arrived at the town of Wielitska, +containing about three thousand inhabitants, and +standing, as it were, on the roof of the immense subterraneous +excavations. The houses are built of wood, and +the first thing that struck me was the almost entire absence +of men in the streets, the whole male population +being employed in the mines, and then at work below. +I rode to the office of the superintendent, and presented +my letter, and was received with great civility of manner +but his <i>Polish</i> was perfectly unintelligible. A +smutty-faced operative, just out of the mines, accosted +me in Latin, and I exchanged a few shots with him, but +hauled off on the appearance of a man whom the superintendent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span>had sent for to act as my guide; an old +soldier who had served in the campaigns of Napoleon, +and, as he said, become an amateur and proficient in +fighting and French. He was dressed in miner's costume, +fanciful, and embroidered with gold, holding in +his hand a steel axe; and, having arrayed me in a long +white frock, conducted me to a wooden building covering +the shaft which forms the principal entrance to the mine. +This shaft is ten feet square, and descends perpendicularly +more than two hundred feet into the bowels of the +earth. We arranged ourselves in canvass seats, and +several of the miners, who were waiting to descend, attached +themselves to seats at the end of the ropes, with +lamps in their hands, about eight or ten feet below us.</p> + +<p>When my feet left the brink of the shaft I felt, for a +moment, as if suspended over the portal of a bottomless +pit; and as my head descended below the surface, the +rope, winding and tapering to a thread, seemed letting +me down to the realms of Pluto. But in a few moments +we touched bottom. From within a short distance +of the surface, the shaft is cut through a solid +rock of salt, and from the bottom passages almost innumerable +are cut in every direction through the same +bed. We were furnished with guides, who went before +us bearing torches, and I followed through the whole +labyrinth of passages, forming the largest excavations +in Europe, peopled with upward of two thousand souls, +and giving a complete idea of a subterraneous world. +These mines are known to have been worked upward +of six hundred years, being mentioned in the Polish annals +as early as twelve hundred and thirty-seven, under +Boleslaus the Chaste, and then not as a new discovery, +but how much earlier they had existed cannot now be +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span>ascertained. The tradition is, that a sister of St. Casimir, +having lost a gold ring, prayed to St. Anthony, the +patron saint of Cracow, and was advised in a dream +that, by digging in such a place, she would find a treasure +far greater than that she had lost, and within the +place indicated these mines were discovered.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v2_p270.jpg" width="60%" alt="Salt-mines of Wielitska." title="Salt-mines of Wielitska" /> +<p class="caption">Salt-mines of Wielitska.</p> +</div> + +<p>There are four different stories or ranges of apartments; +the whole length of the excavations is more +than six thousand feet, or three quarters of an hour's +walk, and the greatest breadth more than two thousand +feet; and there are so many turnings and windings that +my guide told me, though I hardly think it possible, +that the whole length of all the passages cut through +this bed of salt amounts to more than three hundred +miles. Many of the chambers are of immense size. +Some are supported by timber, others by vast pillars of +salt; several are without any support in the middle, and +of vast dimensions, perhaps eighty feet high, and so long +and broad as almost to appear a boundless subterraneous +cavern. In one of the largest is a lake covering nearly +the whole area. When the King of Saxony visited this +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span>place in eighteen hundred and ten, after taking possession +of his moiety of the mines as Duke of Warsaw, +this portion of them was brilliantly illuminated; and a +band of music, floating on the lake, made the roof echo +with patriotic airs. We crossed the lake in a flatboat +by a rope, the dim light of torches, and the hollow sound +of our voices, giving a lively idea of a passage across +the Styx; and we had a scene which might have entitled +us to a welcome from the prince of the infernals, for our +torch-bearers quarrelled, and in a scuffle that came near +carrying us all with them, one was tumbled into the +lake. Our Charon caught him, and, without stopping +to take him in, hurried across, and as soon as we landed +beat them both unmercifully.</p> + +<p>From this we entered an immense cavern, in which +several hundred men were working with pickaxes and +hatchets, cutting out large blocks of salt, and trimming +them to suit the size of barrels. With their black faces +begrimed with dust and smoke, they looked by the light +of the scattered torches like the journeymen of Beelzebub, +the prince of darkness, preparing for some great +blow-up, or like the spirits of the damned condemned +to toil without end. My guide called up a party, who +disengaged with their pickaxes a large block of salt from +its native bed, and in a few minutes cut and trimmed it +to fit the barrels in which they are packed. All doubts +as to their being creatures of our upper world were removed +by the eagerness with which they accepted the +money I gave them; and it will be satisfactory to the +advocates of that currency to know that paper money +passes readily in these lower regions.</p> + +<p>There are more than a thousand chambers or halls, +most of which have been abandoned and shut up. In +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span>one is a collection of fanciful things, such as rings, +books, crosses, &c., cut in the rock-salt. Most of the +principal chambers had some name printed over them, +as the "Archduke," "Carolina," &c. Whenever it +was necessary, my guides went ahead and stationed +themselves in some conspicuous place, lighting up the +dark caverns with the blaze of their torches, and, after +allowing me a sufficient time, struck their flambeaux +against the wall, and millions of sparks flashed and +floated around and filled the chamber. In one place, at +the end of a long, dark passage, a door was thrown +open, and I was ushered suddenly into a spacious ballroom +lighted with torches; and directly in front, at the +head of the room, was a transparency with coloured +lights, in the centre of which were the words "Excelso +hospiti," "To the illustrious guest," which I took to myself, +though I believe the greeting was intended for the +same royal person for whom the lake chamber was illuminated. +Lights were ingeniously arranged around the +room, and at the foot, about twenty feet above my head, +was a large orchestra. On the occasion referred to a +splendid ball was given in this room; the roof echoed +with the sound of music; and nobles and princely ladies +flirted and coquetted the same as above ground; and it +is said that the splendid dresses of a numerous company, +and the blaze of light from the chandeliers reflected +upon the surface of the rock-salt, produced an effect of +inconceivable brilliancy. My chandeliers were worse +than Allan M'Aulay's strapping Highlanders with their +pine torches, being dirty, ragged, smutty-faced rascals, +who threw the light in streaks across the hall. I am always +willing to believe fanciful stories; and if my guide +had thrown in a handsome young princess as part of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">273</a></span>welcome to the "Excelso hospiti," I would have subscribed +to anything he said; but, in the absence of a +consideration, I refused to tax my imagination up to the +point he wished. Perhaps the most interesting chamber +of all is the chapel dedicated to that Saint Anthony +who brought about the discovery of these mines. It is +supposed to be more than four hundred years old. The +columns, with their ornamented capitals, the arches, +the images of the Saviour, the Virgin and saints, the +altar and the pulpit, with all their decorations, and the +figures of two priests represented at prayers before the +shrine of the patron saint, are all carved out of the rock-salt, +and to this day grand mass is regularly celebrated +in the chapel once every year.</p> + +<p>Following my guide through all the different passages +and chambers, and constantly meeting miners +and seeing squads of men at work, I descended by +regular stairs cut in the salt, but in some places worn +away and replaced by wood or stone, to the lowest +gallery, which is nearly a thousand feet below the surface +of the earth. I was then a rather veteran traveller, +but up to this time it had been my business to +move quietly on the surface of the earth, or, when infected +with the soaring spirit of other travellers, to +climb to the top of some lofty tower or loftier cathedral; +and I had fulfilled one of the duties of a visiter +to the eternal city by perching myself within the great +ball of St. Peter's; but here I was far deeper under +the earth than I had ever been above it; and at the +greatest depth from which the human voice ever rose, +I sat down on a lump of salt and soliloquized,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Through what varieties of untried being,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Through what new scenes and changes must we pass!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">274</a></span>I have since stood upon the top of the Pyramids, and +admired the daring genius and the industry of man, +and at the same time smiled at his feebleness when, +from the mighty pile, I saw in the dark ranges of +mountains, the sandy desert, the rich valley of the Nile +and the river of Egypt, the hand of the world's great +Architect; but I never felt man's feebleness more than +here; for all these immense excavations, the work of +more than six hundred years, were but as the work +of ants by the roadside. The whole of the immense +mass above me, and around and below, to an unknown +extent, was of salt; a wonderful phenomenon in the +natural history of the globe. All the different strata +have been carefully examined by scientific men. The +uppermost bed at the surface is sand; the second clay +occasionally mixed with sand and gravel, and containing +petrifactions of marine bodies; the third is calcareous +stone; and from these circumstances it has been +conjectured that this spot was formerly covered by the +sea, and that the salt is a gradual deposite formed by +the evaporation of its waters. I was disappointed in +some of the particulars which had fastened themselves +upon my imagination. I had heard and read glowing +accounts of the brilliancy and luminous splendour of +the passages and chambers, compared by some to the +lustre of precious stones; but the salt is of a dark gray +colour, almost black, and although sometimes glittering +when the light was thrown upon it, I do not believe it +could ever be lighted up to shine with any extraordinary +or dazzling brightness. Early travellers, too, had +reported that these mines contained several villages inhabited +by colonies of miners, who lived constantly below, +and that many were born and died there, who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">275</a></span>never saw the light of day; but all this is entirely untrue. +The miners descend every morning and return +every night, and live in the village above. None of +them ever sleep below. There are, however, two horses +which were foaled in the mines, and have never been +on the surface of the earth. I looked at these horses +with great interest. They were growing old before +their time; other horses had perhaps gone down and +told them stories of a world above which they would +never know.</p> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon when I was hoisted up the +shaft. These mines do not need the embellishment of +fiction. They are, indeed, a wonderful spectacle, and +I am satisfied that no traveller ever visited them without +recurring to it as a day of extraordinary interest. +I wrote my name in the book of visiters, where I saw +those of two American friends who had preceded me +about a month, mounted my barouche, and about an hour +after dark reached the bank of the Vistula. My passport +was again examined by a soldier and my carriage +searched by a custom-house officer; I crossed the +bridge, dined with my worthy host of the Hotel de la +Rose Blanche, and, while listening to a touching story +of the Polish revolution, fell asleep in my chair.</p> + +<p>And here, on the banks of the Vistula, I take my +leave of the reader. I have carried him over seas and +rivers, mountains and plains, through royal palaces and +peasants' huts, and in return for his kindness in accompanying +me to the end, I promise that I will not again +burden him with my Incidents of Travel.</p> + +<hr class="full" /> +<p class="center">THE END.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<p>A <span class="smcap">NEW</span> Classified and Descriptive Catalogue of <span class="smcap">Harper & +Brothers'</span> Publications has just been issued, comprising a very +extensive range of Literature, in its several Departments of History, +Biography, Philosophy, Travel, Science and Art, the Classics, +Fiction, &c.; also, many splendidly Embellished Productions. +The selection of works includes not only a large proportion +of the most esteemed Literary Productions of our times, +but also, in the majority of instances, the best existing authorities +on given subjects. This new Catalogue has been constructed +with a view to the especial use of persons forming or enriching +their Literary Collections, as well as to aid Principals of +District Schools and Seminaries of Learning, who may not possess +any reliable means of forming a true estimate of any production; +to all such it commends itself by its explanatory and +critical notices. The valuable collection described in this Catalogue, +consisting of about <i>two thousand volumes</i>, combines the +two-fold advantages of great economy in price with neatness—often +elegance of typographical execution, in many instances the +rates of publication being scarcely one fifth of those of similar +issues in Europe.</p> + +<p><sup>*</sup><sub>*</sub><sup>*</sup> Copies of this Catalogue may be obtained, free of expense, +by application to the Publishers personally, or by letter, +post-paid.</p> + +<p>To prevent disappointment, it is requested that, whenever +books ordered through any bookseller or local agent can not be +obtained, applications with remittance be addressed direct to the +Publishers, which will be promptly attended to.</p> + +<p><i>New York, January, 1847.</i></p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<div class='tnote'> +<h3>List of Corrections:</h3> + +<p>p. <a href="#Page_13">13</a>: "Voznezeuski" was changed to "Vosnezeuski."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_21">21</a>: "the last time in the <i>calèche</i>" was changed to "the last time + in the <i>calêche</i>."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_71">71</a>: "merchandize" was changed to "merchandise" as elsewhere in the book.</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_129">129</a>: "sailed down the Dneiper from Kief" was changed to "sailed down + the Dnieper from Kief."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_137">137</a>: "of a lilach colour" was changed to "of a lilac colour."</p> + +<p>p. <a href="#Page_202">202</a>: "Diebisch directed the strength" was changed to "Diebitsch + directed the strength."</p> +<h3>Errata:</h3> +<p>The summary in the table of contents is not always consistent with the +summary at the beginning of each chapter. The original has been +retained.</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, +Russia, and Poland, 7th ed. 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