" Madame," replied the old Marquis D, " I have been loaded
with kindnesses at Petersburg ; but so many pleasures surpass my powers : I hope that your majesty will permit me to take my leave this evening, that I may get on board my yacht tomorrow morning, in order to return to England ; otherwise I shall die of pleasure in Russia." " Well, theu, I must give you up," replied the empress, satisfied with this polite and manly answer, worthy of the times in which the old lord must have first entered the world ; then turning towards the sons of the marquis, whose stay in Petersburg was to be prolonged : " At least I may depend on you ?" she said to the eldest. " Madame," replied this individual, " we are engaged to hunt the rein-deer to-day." The empress, who is said to be proud, was not discouraged, and, addressing herself to the younger brother, said, " You, at least, will remain with me ? " The young man, at a loss for an excuse, and not knowing what to answer, in his vexation turned to his brother, murmuring, loudly enough to be overheard, "Am I then to be the victim?" This anecdote went the round of the whole court.
THE FKENCII AMBASSADOR.259
and I doubt not the young man pleases as much as he is pleased. He travels to advantage, is well informed, and collects numerous facts, which he can number better than he can class ; for at his age it is more easy to sum up than to arrange. But what a richly varied conversation is that of our ambassador ! and how much will literature regret the time which he gives to politics, unless the latter be only a study by which the former will profit hereafter ! Never was a man more perfectly adapted to his place, or one who played his part with greater ability, united with more apparent ease and freedom from any assumption of importance. It is this combination which appears to me to constitute, in the present day, the condition of success for every Frenchman occupied with public affairs. No one, since the revolution of July, has fulfilled, so well as M. de Barante, the difficult charge of French ambassador at Petersburg.
In connection with the marriage fetes c;iven in honour of the Grand Duchess Marie, a little incident occurred which will remind the reader of what often happened at the court of the Emperor Napoleon.
The grand chamberlain had died shortly before the marriage, and his office had been given to Count Golowkin, formerly Russian ambassador to China, to which country he could not obtain access. This nobleman, entering upon the functions of his office on the occasion of the marriage, had less experience than his predecessor. A young chamberlain, appointed by him, managed to incur the wrath of the emperor, and exposed his superior to a rather severe reprimand: it was at the ball of the Grand Duchess Helena.
The emperor was talking with the Austrian ambas-
260ТПЕ GRAND CHAMBERLAIN.
sador. The young chamberlain received from the Grand Duchess Marie an order to carry her invitation to this ambassador to dance with her. In his zeal the unfortunate debutant broke the circle of courtiers which I have before described as forming at a respectful distance around the emperor, and boldly approached his maj.esty's person, saying to the ambassador, " Monsieur le Comte, Madame la Duchesse de Leuchtenberg requests that you will dance with her the first polonaise."
The emperor, shocked with the ignorance of the new chamberlain, said to him, in an elevated tone of voice, " You have been appointed to a post, sir; learn, therefore, how to fulfil its duties: in the first place, my daughter is not the Duchess of Leuchtenberg — she is called the Grand Duchess Marie*; in the second place, you ought to know that no one interrupts me when I am conversing with any individual." †
The new chamberlain who received this harsh reprimand was, unfortunately, a poor Polish gentleman. The emperor, not content with what he had said, caused the grand chamberlain to be called, and recommended him to be, in future, more circumspect in his selection of deputies.
I left the ball of the Michael Palace at an early hour. I loitered on the staircase, and could have wished to remain there longer: it was a wood of
* This title had been secured to her at her marriage. † Did I not truly say that, at this court, life is passed in general rehearsals ? An Emperor of Russia, from Peter the Great, downwards, never forgets that it is his office personally ío instruct his people.
CABINET OF MINERALS.261
orange trees in flower. Never have I seen any thing more magnificent or better directed than this fete ;
but there is nothing so fatiguing as admiration too
greatly prolonged, especially if it does not relate to the phenomena of nature, or the works of the higher arts.
I lay down my pen in order to dine with a Russian
officer, the young Count, who took me this morn
ing to the cabinet of mineralogy, the finest I believe in
Europe, for the Uralian mines are unequalled in the
variety of their mineral wealth. Nothing can be
seen here alone. A native of the country is always
with you to do the honours of the public establish
ments and institutions, and there are not many days
in the year favourable for seeing them. In summer
they are repairing the edifices damaged by the frosts,
in winter there is nothing but visiting: every one
dances who does not freeze. It will be thought I
am exaggerating when I say that Russia is scarcely
better seen in Petersburg than in France. Strip the
observation of its paradoxical form and it is strictly
true. Most assuredly it is not sufficient to visit this
country in order to know it. AVithout the aid of
others, it is not possible to obtain an idea of any thino·,
and often this aid tyrannises over its object, and imbues
him with ideas only that are fallacious.*
* This is done designedly.
262THE LADIES OF THE COURT.
THE LADIES OF THE COURT. THE FINNS. ТПЕ OPERA. — THE
EMPEROR THERE. — IMPOSING PERSON OF THIS PRINCEHIS
ACCESSION TO THE THRONE. — COURAGE OF THE EMPRESS.
THE EMPEROR'S RECITAL OF THIS SCENE TO THE AUTHOR.
ANOTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE EMPEROR.CONTINUATION OF
HIS CONVERSATION. HIS POLITICAL OPINIONS. SINCERITY OF
HIS LANGUAGE.FETE AT THE DUCHESS OF OLDENBURG`S. —
BAL CHAMPÊTRE.FLOWERS IN RUSSIA. THE FRIEND OF THE
EMPRESS. SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EMPEROR.
HIS NOBLE SENTIMENTS. — CONFIDENCE WITH "WHICH HE IN
SPIRES THOSE WHO APPROACH HIMARISTOCRACY THE ONLY
RAMPART OF LIBERTY. PARALLEL BETWEEN AUTOCRACIES AND
DEMOCRACIES.THE ARTS IN PETERSBURG.ALL TRUE TALENT
IS NATIONAL.
Seveeal of the ladies of this court, but their number is not great, have a reputation for beauty which is deserved ; others have usurped this reputation by means of coquetries, contrivances, and affectations — all copied from the English; for the Russians in high life pass their time in searching for foreign models of fashion. They are deceived sometimes in their choice, when their mistake produces a singular kind of elegance — an elegance without taste. A Russian left to himself would spend his life in dreams of unsatisfied vauity: he would view himself as a barbarian. Nothing more injures the natural disposition, and consequently the mental powers, of a people, than this continual dwelling upon the social superiority of other nations. To feel humbled by