The Winter Palace. -- The Hermitage and its Riches. -- An Empress
and her Fancies. -- A Royal Retreat. -- Russian Culture. --
Public Library. -- The Summer Garden. -- Temperature of the City.
-- Choosing of the Brides. -- Peter's Cottage. -- Champ de Mars.
-- Academy of Fine Arts. -- School of Mines. -- Precious Stones.
-- The Imperial Home at Peterhoff. -- Curious and Interesting
Buildings. -- Catherine's Oak. -- Alexander III. at Parade. --
Description of the Royal Family. -- Horse-Racing. -- The
Empress's Companions.
Only Rome and Constantinople contain so many imperial residences as
does St. Petersburg, within whose borders we recall twelve. Some idea
may be formed of the size of the Winter Palace, from the fact that
when in regular occupancy it accommodates six thousand persons
connected with the royal household. With the exception of the Vatican
and that at Versailles, it is the largest habitable palace in the
world, and is made up of suites of splendid apartments, corridors,
reception saloons, banqueting rooms, galleries, and halls. Among them
is the Throne Room of Peter the Great, the Empress's Reception-Room,
the Grand Drawing-Room, Hall of St. George, the Ambassadors' Hall,
the Empress's Boudoir, and so on. The gem of them all, however, is
the Salle Blanche, so called because the decorations are all in white
and gold, by which an almost aerial lightness and fascination of
effect is produced. It is in this apartment that the court fetes take
place; and it may safely be said that no royal entertainments in
Europe quite equal those given within the walls of the Winter Palace.
One becomes almost dazed by the glare of gilt and bronze, the number
of columns of polished marble and porphyry, the gorgeous hangings,
the carpets, mosaics, mirrors, and candelabra. Many of the painted
ceilings are wonderfully perfect in design and execution; while
choice works of art are so abundant on all hands as to be confusing.
The famous Banqueting Hall measures two hundred feet in length by one
hundred in breadth. As we came forth from the grand entrance upon the
square, it was natural to turn and scan the magnificent facade as a
whole, and to remember that from the gates of this palace Catherine
II. emerged on horseback, with a drawn sword in her hand, to put
herself at the head of her army.
The Hermitage, of which the world has read and heard so much, is a
spacious building adjoining the Winter Palace, with which it is
connected by a covered gallery, and is of itself five hundred feet
long. It is not, as its name might indicate, a solitude, but a grand
and elaborate palace in itself, built by Catherine II. for a
picture-gallery, a museum, and a resort of pleasure. It contains
to-day one of the largest as well as the most precious collections of
paintings in the world, not excepting those of Rome, Florence, or
Paris. The catalogue shows twenty originals by Murillo, six by
Velasquez, sixty by Rubens, thirty-three by Vandyke, forty by
Teniers, the same number by Rembrandt, six by Raphael, and many by
other famous masters. The Spanish collection, so designated, was sold
to the Russian Government by the late King of Holland. The more
modern French and Dutch schools are also well represented in this
collection, particularly the latter. Among the many pieces of antique
sculpture in the halls devoted to statuary, is the remarkable Venus
known as the Venus of the Hermitage, found at Castle Gandolfo, and
which is favorably compared by professional critics to the Venus di
Medici. The series of Greek and Etruscan vases, with many superb
examples of malachite from Siberia (over one thousand in all), are
quite unequalled elsewhere, and embrace the famous vase of Cumae from
the Campana collection, as well as the silver vase of Nicopol and the
golden vase of Kertch. The treasury of gems exhibited to the visitor
is believed to be the finest and most valuable collection in the
world. It includes the well-known Orlof diamond, whose history is as
interesting as that of the Kohinoor (Mountain of Light), now in the
English Royal Treasury, and which it exceeds in weight by a little
over eight carats. This brilliant stone was bought by Count Orlof for
the Empress Catherine of Russia, and is considered to have an
intrinsic value of about eight hundred thousand dollars. The intimate
relation of Russia with Persia and India in the past has made her the
recipient of vast treasures in gems; while of late years the mines of
the Urals, within her own territory, have proved an exhaustless
Fortunatus's purse. The interior of the Hermitage is decorated with
Oriental luxuriance tempered by Western refinement. The gilding is
brilliant, the frescos elaborate to the last degree, and the masses
of amber, lapis-lazuli, gold, silver, and precious gems are a
never-ending surprise. Here are also preserved the private libraries
that once belonged to Zimmermann, Voltaire, and Diderot, besides
those of several other men of letters. There is a Royal Theatre under
the same roof, where plays used to be performed by amateurs from the
court circles for the gratification of the Empress Catherine, the
text of which was not infrequently written by herself.
The Empress indulged her royal fancy to its full bent in the use she
made of the Hermitage. On the roof was created a marvellous garden
planted with choicest flowers, shrubs, and even trees of considerable
size. This conservatory was heated in winter by subterranean fires,
and sheltered by glass from the changeable weather at all times. At
night these gardens were illumined by fancy-colored lamps; and report
says that in the artificial groves and beneath the screen of tropical
plants scenes not quite decorous in a royal household were often
enacted. The will of the Empress was law; no one might question the
propriety of her conduct. Famous men from far and near became her
guests, musicians displayed their special talents, and various
celebrities their wit. With all her recklessness, dissipation, and
indelicacy, Catherine II. was a woman of great intellectual power
and of keen insight, possessing remarkable business capacity. Well
has she been called the Semiramis of the North. One evidence of her
practical character was evinced by her promotion of emigration from
foreign countries. By liberal gratuities transmitted through her
diplomatic agents in Western Europe, she induced artisans and farmers
to remove to her domain, and placing these people in well-selected
centres did much towards civilizing the semi-barbarous hordes over
whom she ruled. The visitor to the Academy of Arts at St. Petersburg
will not fail to regard with interest a fine original portrait of the
Empress, representing a woman of commanding presence, with a large
handsome figure, big gray eyes, and blooming complexion.
Among other royal residences the Marble Palace erected by Catherine
for Prince Gregory Orlof stands but a short distance from the
Hermitage eastward. The Castle of St. Michael situated near the
Fontanka Canal was built by the Emperor Paul; and here he met his
sanguinary death. This structure is magnificently decorated. Close at
hand on the canal is the modern Michael Palace, before which
Alexander II. fell shattered by a Nihilist bomb on the 13th day of
March, 1881. Fortunately it also killed the miserable assassin who
threw it. The Taurida Palace presented by Catherine to her favorite
Potemkin is still a wonder of elegance, and is considered an object
of much interest to strangers, to whom it is freely shown at the
expense of the usual gratuities, though it is now occupied by an
humble branch of the imperial family. The ball-room is of enormous
proportions: here the musicians were originally suspended in the
chandeliers! When this gorgeous apartment was fully prepared for a
public entertainment, it required twenty thousand candles to light it
properly. The Amirtchkoff Palace situated on the Nevsky Prospect is a
favorite town residence of the Emperor Alexander III. To the newly
arrived visitor it would seem that one half the town belongs to the
Crown, and consists of public offices, military schools, charitable
institutions and palaces. In the immediate environs of the city,
within an extensive grove, is located what is called Catherine's
House, being little more than a cottage in a small forest. It is a
low wooden building two stories in height, and was shown to us as
containing the same furniture and belongings that surrounded the
Empress, who often retired here as a secluded spot where to indulge
in her erratic revels. The ceilings of the apartments are so low that
one can easily reach them with the hands when standing upright. There
are exhibited some pictures upon secret panels set in the walls,
which are of a character corroborative of the lewd nature attributed
to Catherine II. The situation of the cottage is really lovely,
surrounded by woods, lakes, and gardens. The rooms contain a number
of souvenirs of the Great Peter, manufactured by his own hands, and
who must certainly have been one of the most industrious of mortals.
One of these original productions was especially interesting, being
a large map some five or six feet square, drawn and colored upon
coarse canvas, and representing his dominions in considerable detail.
This map though somewhat crude in execution was yet an evidence of
Peter's versatile skill and tireless industry, modern survey having
in many respects corroborated what must have been originally only
conjecture drawn from the scantiest sources of information.
In passing the Imperial Public Library already mentioned, one could
not but feel that its vast resources of knowledge must not be
considered as typifying the general intelligence of the mass of the
Russian people. That must, we are sorry to say, be placed at a low
estimate. The difference between Scandinavia and Russia in this
respect is very marked and entirely in favor of the former. A large
majority of the common people of St. Petersburg cannot read or write,
while eight out of ten persons in Norway and Sweden can do both
creditably. So can nearly the same ratio of the inhabitants of Canton
and Pekin. It is not surprising that a people having no mental resort
will seek animal indulgences more or less disgraceful.
Let us be careful, however, not to give a wrong impression relative
to this matter of education. Until the time of Alexander II. the
village priests controlled all schools in the country, though often
they were utterly incompetent for teaching. But that liberal monarch
changed this, and gave the schools into the hands of the most capable
individuals, whether they were priests or otherwise. A manifest
improvement has been the consequence. Thirty years ago there were but
about three thousand primary schools in all Russia; to-day there are
nearly twenty-four thousand. This increase has been gradual, but is
highly significant. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography are
the branches which are taught in these schools. Statistics show that
in 1860 only two out of one hundred of the peasants drafted into the
army could read and write. Ten years later, in 1870, the proportion
had increased to eleven in a hundred, and in 1882 it had reached
nineteen in a hundred. Government organizes these village schools,
and holds a certain supervision over them, contributing a percentage
of their cost, the balance being realized by a small tax upon the
parents of the children attending them. Finland has an educational
system quite distinct from the empire, supporting by local interest
high schools in all the principal towns, and primary schools in every
village.
In St. Petersburg the common signs over and beside the doors of the
shops are pictorially illustrated, indicating the business within,
these devices taking the place of lettered signs, which the common
people could not read. Thus the butcher, the barber, the pastry-cook,
and the shoemaker put out symbols of their trade of a character
intelligible to the humblest understanding. At times these signs are
very curious, forming ludicrous caricatures of the business which
they are designed to indicate, so laughable indeed that one
concludes they are designedly made ridiculous in order the more
readily to attract attention. There is a large population of
well-educated native and foreign-born people whose permanent home is
here, among whom a German element is the most conspicuous. Nor is
America unrepresented. There are good Russian translations of most of
the standard English and American authors, poets, and novelists. We
saw excellent editions of Shakspeare, Longfellow, and Tennyson; also
of Byron, Macaulay, Scott, and Irving. This list might be extended so
as to embrace many other names. The modern school of Russian romance
writers is not formed upon the vicious French standard, but rather
upon the best English; not upon that of Balzac and Dumas, but upon
Thackeray and George Eliot. Toorgenef, Gogol, Pisanski, and Goncharov
are Russian names whose excellence in literature have familiarized
them to English readers. There is upon the bookshelves of nearly
every cultured family in St. Petersburg and Moscow a translation of
Homer into Russian, the scholarly work of an assistant in the
Imperial library of St. Petersburg. Competent persons have pronounced
this to be equal to the best rendering which we possess in the
English language. The native Universities at Moscow, Kiev,
St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Odessa, Kazan, and Warsaw are all kept fully
up to modern requirements, and are all well attended.
The Mineralogical Academy of St. Petersburg is extremely interesting,
where the various riches of the Ural Mountains are especially
displayed in all their natural beauty. Topazes, rubies, opals,
garnets, pearls, and diamonds are to be seen here as large and as
perfect as the world can produce. Many of these gems are now as
delicately and scientifically cut in Siberia as at Amsterdam or New
York. One golden nugget was observed here which weighed over eighty
pounds. This remarkable specimen of the precious metal was dug out of
the earth exactly in its present form and condition. It would seem
that the mineral riches of Russia rival those of all the rest of the
world; and we ceased to wonder, after visiting this exhibition of
native mineral products, at the lavish use of gems and the precious
metals in the palaces and churches.
The extensive and remarkably beautiful promenade on the banks of the
Neva near the Trinity Bridge called the Summer Garden it would be
hard to equal elsewhere. The ever recurring surprise is that so many
acres of land in the very heart of a great capital can be spared for
a delightful pleasure-ground. It is laid out with long avenues of
fine trees, interspersed with lovely blooming flowers and musical
fountains. A grand specimen of the fuchsia, developed into a tree ten
or twelve feet in height, attracted our attention. It was laden with
its ever gracefully drooping flowers in dainty purple, scarlet, and
white. Marble statues are appropriately distributed representing the
Seasons, the goddess Flora, Neptune, and others, recalling the Prado
at Madrid, which is similarly ornamented. There is here also a fine
statue in memory of Kriloff, the La Fontaine of Russia. This
remarkable fabulist died as late as 1844. In the autumn these statues
are all carefully enclosed in boxes, and those of the shrubs and
trees which are not housed are also packed securely to protect them
from the extreme severity of the climate. It must be remembered that
although the thermometer rises here to 99 deg. Fahrenheit in summer,
it also descends sometimes to 40 deg. below zero in winter,--a range not
exceeded by the temperature of any other city in the world. It would
seem as though nothing which is exposed can withstand this frosty
climate. Even the granite monolith which forms the shaft of the
Alexander Column has been seriously affected by it. The same may be
said of the heavy stone-work which forms the embankment bordering the
Neva and the canals; so that workmen must rebuild annually what the
frost destroys.
In this famous and popular Summer Garden, on Monday the second day of
Whitsuntide, a ceremony used to take place of which we have all heard
and many doubted; it was called "The Choosing of the Brides." Young
girls, mostly of the middling class, dressed for the occasion in
their finest clothes and ornaments, came hither with their mothers
and were marshalled in line upon the broad paths. In front paraded
the young men accompanied by their fathers, walking back and forth
and freely examining with earnest eyes the array of blushing maidens.
If signs of mutual attraction were exhibited, the parents of such
would engage in conversation, which was intended to introduce the
young people to each other. This often led to an acquaintance between
those who had heretofore been perfect strangers, and, being followed
up, it finally led to betrothal and marriage. This annual custom was
looked upon with favor by all the common people, and was continued
until late years; but as a recognized formality it has become a thing
of the past. We were told, however, that it is still indirectly
pursued by maidens appearing in the garden on that special day
dressed in their best, where they are sought by young men who are
matrimonially inclined. No indelicacy is thought to attach itself to
this admission of purpose on the maiden's part, who is as of yore not
only incited but always chaperoned by her mother.
Near the Summer Garden is the little log building which was occupied
by Peter the Great while he superintended personally the work he
inaugurated here, and more especially the important part of laying
the foundations of the great city, so far back as 1703,--to use the
words attributed to him, while he was creating "a window by which the
Russians might look into civilized Europe." It is a rude affair built
of logs, the ceiling absolutely too low for a tall visitor to stand
under comfortably. The inside is lined with leather, and the
structure is preserved by a substantial brick house erected over and
about it, within which a few of the simple utensils that belonged to
the energetic autocrat are also to be seen. Among these articles was
a well made and still serviceable small-boat constructed by his own
hands, and in which he was accustomed to row himself about the Neva.
It will be remembered that Peter served an apprenticeship to this
trade in his youth. The apartment which was originally the workshop
of the royal carpenter has been transformed into a chapel, where the
common people crowd to witness the daily service of the Greek Church.
Some of these were seen to kiss the venerated walls,--an act of
devotion which it was difficult clearly to understand. True, the
Russians, like the Japanese and early Scandinavians, make saints of
their heroes; but we believe they forgot to canonize Peter the Great.
Close at hand is situated the spacious Champ de Mars, where the troops
of the garrison of all arms are exercised,--a never-ending occupation
here, one taking precedence of all others in a nation so thoroughly
military. The Russians make the best of soldiers,--obedient, enduring,
faithful, and brave. It is true that there are but few "thinking
bayonets" in the ranks; yet for the duty they are trained to perform,
perhaps such qualification is neither required nor particularly
desirable. Stories are often told of the hardship and rigid severity
of the Russian military service, but many of them are gross
exaggerations. The knout, of which such cruel stories are told, has
long been banished as a punishment in the army and navy. The Champ de
Mars is a square and perfectly level field where twenty thousand
troops--cavalry, artillery, and infantry--can be manoeuvred at a
time. On the border of this parade-ground stands a fine bronze statue
in memory of Marshal Souvarof, the ablest Russian general of his day,
and who died so late as the year 1800. The figure, heroic in size, is
represented wielding a sword in the right hand and bearing a shield in
the left.
On the Vassili Ostrof stands the spacious Academy of Arts, the front
on the Neva measuring over four hundred feet in length; and though it
is adorned with many columns and pilasters, its architectural effect
is not pleasing to the eye. Its size, however, makes it rather
imposing as a whole. The central portico is surmounted by a graceful
cupola, upon which a figure of Minerva is seated; beneath are seen
statues of Flora and Hercules. Two large and quite remarkable granite
sphinxes brought from Egypt stand in front of the Academy upon the
stone embankment of the river; but the broad business thoroughfare
between them and the building isolates these figures so that one
would hardly think they were in any way connected with the
institution. This Academy of Fine Arts is just one century old,
having been erected in 1786 after a design by a French architect. The
lower floor forms a series of halls devoted to sculpture, the
examples of which are arranged chronologically in various rooms
beginning with the early Greek and Roman schools and terminating with
the productions of the nineteenth century. In apartments over these
are the galleries devoted to paintings. One very interesting and
instructive division is that which is devoted to drawings
illustrating the progress of architecture. This gallery also affords
an admirable opportunity for studying the growth of what is termed
the Russian school of painting.
At the western extremity of the Vassili Ostrof is located the
Institution of Mines, or the Mining School, which is a resort of
special interest to strangers, being in fact a technological college
conducted by the Government upon the most liberal principles, and
designed to fit its students for becoming accomplished mining
engineers. It contains the finest collection of models and
mineralogical specimens we have ever seen collected together, not
excepting those of the British Museum. This institution will
accommodate about three hundred pupils, and is always improved to its
fullest educational capacity. The specimens of native gold alone
which are here exhibited have an intrinsic value of nearly a hundred
thousand dollars, while the beryls, tourmalines, amethysts, topazes,
and other minerals from Siberia are unequalled in any other
collection. The interested visitor cannot fail to receive a correct
impression of the great mineral wealth of this wide-spread empire,
and which will be found to exceed all previously conceived ideas. A
very beautiful rose-colored rubellite from the Urals was observed,
also a green beryl valued at twenty-five thousand dollars. Specimens
of the Alexandrite, named after Alexander I., are also to be seen
here in beautiful form and clearness. A printed list of the gems and
treasures generally which are gathered here would prove of great
interest. In the garden of the institution there is a model of a
mine, through the winding passages of which a guide bearing a lighted
taper conducts the visitor, while he explains the Russian process of
mining in Siberia and the Urals.
The Palace of Peterhoff is situated about sixteen miles from the city
of St. Petersburg, on the shore of the Neva where the river assumes a
width of eight or ten miles. It has always been famous for the
magnificent fetes given here since the days when it was built by the
Great Peter. The main structure has no special merit in point of
architecture, but the location and the surroundings are extremely
beautiful. From the terrace, the great yellow Palace being built upon
a natural elevation some sixty feet above the level of the sea, one
gets a fine though a distant view of the coast of Finland,--a portion
of the Tzar's dominion which alone exceeds in size Great Britain and
Ireland, a widespread barren land of lakes and granite rocks, but
peopled by over two millions of souls. The parks, gardens, fountains,
hothouses, groves, flower-beds, and embowered paths of Peterhoff are
kept in the most perfect order by a small army of household
attendants. The whole forms a resort of regal loveliness and of
endless sylvan variety. The artificial water-works, cascades, and
fountains are arranged somewhat like those of St. Cloud, and nearly
equal to those of Versailles. In front of the Palace is a fountain
named Samson, which throws water to the height of eighty feet, and is
also constructed to form various fountains. It is called Samson from
the colossal bronze figure forcing open the jaws of a lion, and from
whence the water rushes copiously. The fountains are so arranged that
on the occasion of holidays and grand fetes artificial lights can be
placed behind the liquid sheets, thus producing novel effects even
more wonderful than the golden waters of Parizade. Here the famous
Peter used to resort, and stroll about the gardens with his humble
favorite, a Polish girl, forgetting the cares of State. This lowly
companion besides great personal beauty possessed much force of
character, and exercised great influence over her melancholic and
morose master. Many instances are related of her interference in
behalf of mercy long before her final elevation, which showed a kind
and loving nature.
There are several other royal residences in these spacious grounds.
One near the sea-shore is that of Montplaisir, a long, low, one-story
brick structure with tiled floors and numbers of Dutch pottery
stoves. It is an exceedingly plain residence but still very
comfortable, containing many Dutch pictures which the Tzar brought
from that country. Peter was very much attached to this comparatively
humble dwelling, and he breathed his last in it. While standing in
the little chamber where he slept and where he died, his last words
were recalled: "I believe, and I trust." Here the Empress Elizabeth
occasionally spent the brief summer days, amusing herself, as we were
told, by cooking her own dinner. The low building is shaded by tall
sky-reaching old pines, whose odor pleasantly permeated the air as
we wandered about the grounds among the choice flowers and the
carefully tended undergrowth, half expecting to come upon the Talking
Bird and Singing Tree of the Arabian fable. One or two cypress
avenues in the palace grounds are matchless in sylvan effect,
producing those charming lines of perspective which trees alone can
afford. Here the local guide pointed out an oak which Catherine II.
discovered springing from an acorn, and which she protected and
planted where it now stands. This little incident occurred on the day
before she ascended the throne; but her reign was long enough for the
royal lady to see the tiny sprout grow into a lofty and vigorous
tree.
There is another small palace near by Montplaisir which was built
after the English style for the wife of the Emperor Nicholas, being
called Znamenska, and it is occupied at times by the present Empress.
The pictures in this summer resort are all of cabinet size and
numerous, but not of a very delicate or refined character; how
high-bred ladies could abide to have them constantly in sight was a
surprise to the author. The furniture is rococo, and almost too
delicate for domestic use. Two other small palaces at Peterhoff are
upon the islands Isola Bella and Isola Madre. These last are in the
Italian style, and as we saw them that soft, sunny July afternoon
they were embedded in gorgeous colors, "a snow of blossoms and a wild
of flowers." These may be enjoyed by strangers who understand that a
golden key opens all doors in Russia. The domestic arrangements in
these minor palaces are unique; the bathing apparatus in Montplaisir
is very curious, where the royal personages come even to-day to enjoy
steam baths, cold baths, and baths of every conceivable nature, often
submitting to a discipline which one would think might try the
physical powers of an athlete.
One building which we visited within the royal grounds was a very
homely square structure of wood, with a brick basement. The house was
surrounded by a deep broad moat which could be flooded at will; the
little foot-bridge being then raised, the spot was completely
isolated. In this building there were but two large rooms, one above
the other, the whole being from a design by Catherine II., and was
called by her the Peterhoff Hermitage. Hither the fanciful Empress
would retire to dine with her ministers of State or the foreign
ambassadors. The table was so arranged that the servants had no
occasion to enter the apartment where the meal was partaken of. In
front of each person sitting at table there was a circular opening,
through which at a signal the dishes could descend upon a small
dumb-waiter to the carving and cooking room below, and fresh ones be
raised in their places. Thus any number of courses could be furnished
and no servants be seen at all; nor was there any danger that State
secrets could be overheard or betrayed by the attendants. The whole
machinery of this automatic table is still operative, and was put in
motion for our amusement,--dishes appearing and disappearing as if
by magic at the will of the exhibitor.
The author's visit to Peterhoff occurred on a warm, bright Sabbath
day. Passage was taken at the English Quay on a steamer which plies
regularly between the two places. The decks were thronged with
well-dressed, well-behaved citizens, many of whom had wife and
children with them, to share the pleasure of a river excursion. Our
course was straight down the channel of the Neva; but long before the
landing was made, the gilded spires of the royal chapel and some
other surrounding golden minarets were discovered blazing under the
intense rays of the sun. At present, this beautiful retreat forms the
summer residence of the royal family. Lying half a mile off the
shore, above and below the landing at Peterhoff, was a light-draft
naval steamer, fully manned and armed, acting as a coast-guard. No
strange vessel or craft of even the smallest dimensions would be
permitted to pass within the line of these vessels. After driving
through the widespread royal gardens, dotted with flower-beds,
fountains, and mirror-like lakes shaded by a great variety of grand
old trees, we finally came upon the Champ de Mars,--and at an
opportune moment, just as the Emperor and Empress, with the Prince
Imperial and his brother next of age, came upon the ground in an open
barouche, to witness a review of the troops which are stationed here.
The Emperor, dressed in full uniform, alighted at once, and with
military promptness, began to issue his orders. As he moved here and
there, his tall commanding figure was quite conspicuous among his
attending suite. The Empress, who it will be remembered is the
daughter of the King of Denmark and sister of the Princess of Wales,
retained her seat in the vehicle, looking very quiet and composed;
but the young princes, dressed in white linen coats and caps of a
semi-military character, kept a little in the rear, though close to
the Emperor, as he walked back and forth directing the movements of
the troops. The Empress is tall and stately in figure, her fair and
really handsome features bearing no traces of age or care. If she has
secret pangs to endure,--common to both the humble and the
exalted,--her features record, like the dial-plate in the piazza of
St. Mark, only the sunny hours. Her dark eyes lighted up with
animation, and a pleased smile hovered about her lips, while the
whole corps d'armee, as with one voice, greeted the Emperor when he
alighted, and gave the military salute.
The level parade-field was between thirty and forty acres in extent,
and the manoeuvres evinced the perfection of military drill. The
Queen of Greece and the Duchess of Edinburgh, with some attendant
ladies of the court, were also present in a carriage behind that
occupied by the Empress. The whole party, while it was of so
distinguished a character, was yet marked by great simplicity of
dress and quietness of manners. Nochili, brother of the late Emperor
and uncle to the present Tzar, was in the royal suite, wearing the
full uniform of an Admiral of the Russian navy, of which he is the
present efficient head. The Prince Imperial is a quiet, dignified lad
of seventeen, with features hardly yet sufficiently matured to
express much character. He bids fair to be like his parents, tall and
commanding in figure; a pleasant smile lighted up his face as he
watched with evident interest every detail of the parade. His brother
who accompanied him is about three years his junior, but was, we
thought, the more dignified of the two. When the whole body of
infantry passed the reviewing point at the double-quick, the
admirable precision of the movement elicited from the multitude of
civilians unlimited applause. In the several stages of the review
which the Emperor directed personally, he passed freely close by the
lines of the assembled citizens who were drawn hither from St.
Petersburg and elsewhere; also in and among the lines of soldiery. He
was calm, cool, and collected, the expression upon his features being
that of firmness, dignity, and assured power. The stories bruited
about concerning his hermit-like seclusion, caused by a realizing
sense of personal danger, are mostly exaggerations of the grossest
character. They are manufactured and set afloat by the cowardly
revolutionists, who strive in many subtle ways to create a false
sentiment against the Emperor. Here in St. Petersburg such stories
are known to be lies, but it is hoped that among the hidden nests of
anarchists in other parts of Europe, and even in America, they may
have their effect. That Alexander III. is popular with the masses of
Russia, both civil and military, there is no doubt. Of course the
avowed enmity of secret revolutionists renders it necessary to take
the usual precautions against outrage; consequently guards and
detectives are at all times on duty in large numbers, not only at
Peterhoff, but wherever the Emperor and royal family may happen to be
on public occasions. These detectives are composed of picked men
devoted to their duty, chosen for their known loyalty, courage, and
discretion, not one of whom but would lay down his life if called
upon so to do in order to protect that of the Emperor. The necessity
for employing such defensive agents is to be deplored; but it is not
confined to the court of Russia. Germany and Austria adopt similar
precautions; and even Victoria, amid all the boasted loyalty of her
subjects, is exercised by a timidity which leads to similar
precautions whenever she appears in public.
After the review had taken place on the occasion which we have
described, a slight change in the arrangements of the grounds
transformed the level field into an admirable race-course. The
Empress is over-fond of the amusement of horse-racing, and is herself
an excellent horsewoman, said to have the best "seat" in the saddle
of any royal lady in Europe, not even excepting that remarkable
equestrienne the Empress of Austria. She remained with her
lady-companions and the princes to witness the races, while the
Emperor with his military suite retired to the Imperial Palace half a
mile away. The ladies in the Empress's immediate company were very
refined in appearance, possessing strong intellectual faces and much
grace of manners; but as to personal beauty among the Russian ladies
generally, one must look for it in vain, the few vivid exceptions
only serving to emphasize the rule. While the men have fine regular
features and are generally remarkable for their good looks, their
mothers, sisters, and wives are apt to be positively homely; indeed,
it has passed into an axiom that nowhere are the old women so ugly
and the old men so handsome as in this country.
It will be remembered that Alexander III. succeeded to the throne on
the assassination of his father, March 13, 1881; and that he is far
more liberal and progressive than any of his predecessors is
universally admitted. We were told by influential Russians that a
constitutional form of government even may be established under his
rule, if his life is spared for a series of years. Though a true
soldier and an able one, he has not the ardent love for military
affairs which absorbed Nicholas I. While he is sensitive to national
honor as regards his relations with other countries, his home policy
is eminently liberal and peaceful. He has ably seconded his father's
efforts for the improvement of the judicial system, the mitigation of
the censorship of the press, the abolishment of corporal punishment
in the army and navy, and the improvement of primary educational
facilities. In such a country as Russia, progress in these directions
must be gradual; any over-zealousness to promote great reforms would
defeat the object.