Every one here knows this, but no one speaks of it; for it is a general rule never to utter a word which can excite much interest: neither he who speaks, nor he who listens, must allow it to be seen that the subject of conversation merits continued attention, or awakens any warm feelings. All the resources of language are exhausted, in order to banish from discourse idea and sentiment, without, however, appearing to repress them, which would be gauche. The excessive constraint which results from this prodigious labour, — prodigious especially through the art with which it is concealed, — embitters the life of the Russians. К 2
EQUirAGES OF THE COURTIEHS.197
examining with curiosity all that presented itself in the way. The troops which I observed in the approaches to the palace were less magnificent than 1 had been led to expect, though the horses were certainly superb. The immense square which separates the dwelling of the sovereign from the rest of the city, was crossed in various directions by lines of carriages, servants in livery, and soldiers in a variety of uniforms. That of the cossacks is the most remarkable. Notwithstanding the concourse, the square, so vast is its extent, was not crowded.
In new states there is a void every where; but this is more especially the case when the government is absolute: it is the absence of liberty which creates solitude, and spreads sadness.
The equipages of the courtiers looked well, without bein"· really elegant. The carriages, badly painted, and still more badly varnished, are of a heavy make. They are drawn by four horses, whose traces are immoderately long. A coachman drives the wheel horses ; a little postillion, clothed in the long Persian robe similar to that of the coachman, rides on a fore horse, seated upon, or rather in, a hollow saddle, raised before and behind, and stuffed like a pillow. This child, named, I believe, after the German the Vorreitcr*, and in Russia the Faleiter, is always perched upon the right, or off-side leader ; the contrary custom prevails in all other countries, where the postillion is mounted on the left, in order to have the rio·ht hand free to guide his other horse. The spirit and power of the Russian horses, which have all
* The fore rider. К 3
198AN ACCIDENT.
some blood, if all have not beauty, the dexterity of the coachmen, and the richness of their dress, greatly set off the carriages, and produce altgether an effect which, if not so elegant, is more striking and splendid than that of the equipages of the other courts of Europe.
I was occupied with a crowd of reflections which the novelty of the objects around me suggested, when my carriage stopped under a grand peristyle, where I descended among a crowd of gilded courtiers, who were attended by vassals as barbaric in appearance as in reality. The costume of the servants is almost as brilliant as that of their masters. The Russians have a great taste for splendour, and in court ceremonies this taste is more especially displayed.
In descending from the carriage rather hastily, lest I should be separated from the persons under whose guidance T had placed myself, my foot struck with some force against the curb stone, which had caught my spur. At the moment I paid little attention to the circumstance; but great was my distress when immediately afterwards I perceived that the spur had come off, and, what was still worse, that it had carried with it the heel of the boot also. Having to appear in this dilapidated state, for the first time, before a man said to be as precise as he is great and powerful, seemed to me a real misfortune. The Russians are prone to ridicule; and the idea of affording them a subject for laughter at my first presentation was peculiarly unpleasant.
What was to be done? To return under the peristyle to search for the remnant of my boot was quite useless. To quit the French ambassador and
the author's debut at court. 199
return home would, in itself, be the way to create a scene. On the other hand, to show myself as I was, would ruin me in the estimation of the Emperor and his courtiers ; and I have no philosophy against ridicule to which I voluntarily expose myself. The troubles that pleasure draws one into at a thousand leagues from home, appear to me insupportable. It was so easy not to go at all, that to go awkwardly were unpardonable. I might hope to conceal myself in the crowd; but, I repeat, there never is a crowd in Russia; and least of all upon a staircase like that of the new winter palace, which resembles some decoration in the opera of Gustavus. This palace is, I believe, the largest and most magnificent of all existing royal or imperial residences.
I felt my natural timidity increase with the confusion which this ludicrous accident produced, until, at length, fear itself supplied me with courage, and I began to limp as lightly as I could across the immense saloons and stately galleries, the length and strong light of which I inwardly cursed. The Russians are cool, quick-sighted quizzes, possessing, like all the ambitious, little delicacy of feeling. They are, besides, mistrustful of strangers, whose judgment they fear, because they believe we have but little good feeling towards them. This prejudice renders them censorious and secretly caustic, although outwardly they appear hospitable and polite.
I reached, at length, but not without difficulty, the further end of the imperial chapel. There all was forgotten, even myself and my foolish embarrassment; indeed, in this place the crowd was more dense, and no one could see what was wanting to my equipment. к 4
200FORMS OF THE GREEK CHURCH.
The novelty of the spectacle that awaited me restored my coolness and self-possession. I Unshed for the vexation which my vanity as a disconcerted courtier had produced, and with the resumption of my part as simple traveller in the scene, recovered the composure of a philosophic observer.
One word more upon my costume. It had been the subject of grave consultation : some of the young people attached to the French legation had advised the habit of the national guard. I feared, however, that this uniform would displease the Emperor, and decided upon that of a staff officer, with the epaulettes of a lieutenant-colonel, which are those of my rank.
I had been warned that the dress would appear new, and that it would become, on the part of the princes of the imperial family, and of the emperor himself, the subject of numerous questions which might embarrass me. Hitherto, however, none have had time to occupy themselves with so small an affair.
The Greek marriage rites are long and imposing. Every thing is symbolical in the Eastern church. It seemed to me that the splendours of religion shed a lustre over the solemnities of the court.
The Avails and the roof of the chapel, the habiliments of the priests and of their attendants, all glittered with gold and jewels. There are riches enough here to astonish the least poetical imagination. The spectacle vies with the most fanciful description in the Arabian Nights; it is like the poetry of Lalla Rookh, or the Marvellous Lamp, — that Oriental poetry in which sensation prevails over sentiment and thought.
ENTREE OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. 201
The imperial chapel is not of large dimensions. It was filled with the representatives of all the sovereigns of Europe, and almost of Asia; by strangers like myself, admitted in the suite of the diplomatic corps ; by the wives of the ambassadors, and by the great officers of the court. A balustrade separated us from the circular enclosure, within which the altar was raised. This altar is like a low square table. Places in the choir were reserved for the imperial family: at the moment of our arrival they were vacant.