The first view of society in Russia shows that its arrangements, as contrived by the Russians themselves, are only adapted to their own social system : he must be a Russian who would live in Russia, even though outwardly every thing may appear to pass as in other places. The difference lies in the foundations of things.
It was a review of the fashionable world which I took this evening at the islands. The fashionable world, they say, is the same every where ; nevertheless each society has a soul, and this soul will be instructed, like any other, by the fairy which is called I 2
172ABSOLUTE POWER.
civilisation, and which is nothing more than the customs of the age.
This evening all the city of Petersburg, that is to say, the court and its followers, were at the islands; not for the pure pleasure of promenading on a fine day, such a pleasTire would appear insipid to the Russian courtiers, but to see the jmcket-boat of the Empress, a spectacle of which they never tire. Here every sovereign is a god, every princess is an Armida or a Cleopatra. The train of these changeable divinities never changes: it it< composed of a people ever equally faithful; the reigning prince is always in the fashion with the Russian people.
Nevertheless these submissive men, let them say and do their best, are forced and constrained in their enthusiasm. A people without liberty has instincts, but not sentiments; and their instincts often manifest themselves in an officious and little delicate manner. The emperors of Russia must be overwhelmed with submission : sometimes the incense wearies the idol. In fact, this worship admits of terrible interludes. The Russian government is an absolute monarchy moderated by assassination ; and when the prince is not under the influenee of lassitude, he is under that of terror. He lives, therefore, between fear and disgust. If the pride of the despot must have slaves, the feelings of the man must yearn for equals ; but a czar has no equals : etiquette and jealousy maintain invidious guard around his solitary heart. He is more to be pitied than even his people, especially if he possesses any amiable qualities.
I hear much boast made of the domestic happiness of the Emperor Nicholas, but I see in it the consola-
PAVILION OF ТПЕ EMPRESS.173
tions of a superior mind, rather than the proof of real happiness. Consolation is not felicity ; on the contrary, the remedy proves the evil; an emperor of Russia must have a heart like other men if he has one at all. So much for the over-lauded private virtues of the Emperor Nicholas.
This evening the Empress, having proceeded from Peterhoff by sea, landed at her pavilion on the islands, where she will remain until the marriage of her daughter, which is to be celebrated to-morrow, in the new winter palace. While she remains at the islands, the leafy shade which sm·rounds her pavilion serves as a shelter during the day for her regiment of chevalier guards, one of the finest in the army.
`\Ve arrived too late to see her leave her sacred vessel, but we found the crowd still under the excite-- ment caused by the rapid transit of the imperial star. The only tumults possible in Russia are those caused by the struggles of flatterers. This evening the human effervescence resembled the agitation of the waves, that continue boiling in the track of some mighty vessel long after she has entered port.
At last, then, I have breathed the air of the court! though the deities who exhale it upon mortals are still unseen.
It is now one o'clock in the morning; the sun is about to rise, and I cannot yet sleep : I will, therefore, finish my night as I commenced it, by writing without lights.
Notwithstanding Russian pretensions to elegance,
* foreigners cannot find in all Petersburg one hotel
that is endurable. The great lords bring with them,
from the interior of the empire, a suite which is always
I 3
174VERMIN IN ST. PETERSBURG.
numerous. Man is their property and their luxury. The moment the valets are left alone in the apartments of their masters, they squat themselves, in oriental fashion, on the seats and couches, which they fill with vermin. These creatures pass into the walls and flooi`s, and in a few days the house becomes infested past all remedy ; for the impossibility of airing the houses in winter perpetuates the evil from year to year.
The new imperial palace, built at such cost of life and money, is already full of these vermin. It might be said, that the wretched workmen who were killed in order to ornament with greater celerity the habitation of their master, have avenged their own death by inoculating with their vermin those homicidal walls. If the palace is infected by these nocturnal foes, how should I be able to sleep at Coulons ? I have given up the idea; but the clearness of the night consoles me for every thing.
On returning from the islands about midnight, I again went out on foot, and occupied my mind with reviewing the scenes and conversations which had most interested me during the day ; of these I will presently give the summary.
My solitary walk led me to the beautiful street called the Perspective Newski. I saw in the twilight, shining from afar, the little pillars of the tower of the Admiralty, surmounted with its lofty metallic spire. The spire of this Christian minaret is more taper than any Gothic steeple. It is gilded all over with the gold of the ducats sent as a present to the emperor Peter I. by the States of the Netherlands.
The revolting dirtiness of this inn-chamber, and
BEAUTY OF THE SLAVONIAN RACE. 175
the almost fabulous magnificence of that building, present a correct picture of Petersburg. Contrasts are not wanting in a city where Europe and Asia exhibit themselves to each other in mutual spectacle. The people are handsome. The men of pure Slavonian race, brought from the interior by the rich nobles, who either retain them in their service, or permit them for a certain period to carry on various trades in the city, are remarkable for their fair hair, their rosy complexions, and yet more for their perfect profiles, which equal those of Grecian statues. Their eyes have the oval Asiatic shape, with the colouring of the North; they are generally of a light blue, and unite a singular expression of gentleness, grace, and cunning. This expression, always restless, gives to the iris those changing hues, which vary from the green of the serpent, and the grey of the cat, to the black of the gazelle, though the ground colour still remains blue. The mouth, adorned with a gold and silky moustache, is beautifully formed, and the brilliant whiteness of the teeth lights up the whole countenance. The latter are sometimes sharp and pointed, when they resemble those of the tiger, but more commonly their shape is perfectly regular. The costume of these men is always original. It consists, either of the Greek tunic, with a lively-coloured girdle, the Persian robe, or the short Russian pelisse lined with sheepskin, the wool of which is turned outwards or inwards according to the season.
The women of the lower orders are less handsome;
but few are met in the streets, and those few have
little to attract: they appear degraded and stupified.
It is a singular fact, that the men take pains with
i 4
176DRESS OF RUSSIAN WOMEN.
their dress, and the women neglect it: this is perhaps owing to the former being attached by service to the houses of the nobles. The women have a clumsy carriage; they wear heavy boots, which deform the foot: their figures are without elegance; and their complexions, unlike those of the men, lose all freshness and clearness even while they are yet young. Their little Russian coats, short, and open before, are trimmed with fur, which is almost always hanging in rags. This costume would be pretty if it was less shabby, and if the effect was not generally spoilt by deformity or revolting dirtiness of person. The national head-dress of the Russian women is handsome, but it has become rare; being now only worn, I am told, by nurses, and by the ladies of the court on days of ceremony. It is a species of pasteboard tower, gilt, embroidered, and much widened at the top.