I cannot cease to regret having been detained so long this summer, on account of my health, at Paris and at Ems. Had I followed my first plan, I should now be in Lapland, on the borders of the White Sea, beyond Archangel; but it will be seen from the above, that I feel as though there, which is the same thing.
Descending from the elevation of my illusions, I
IRRESOLUTION INDUCED BY ILLNESS.67
find myself, not among the deserts of the earth, but travelling on the superb steam-boat Nicholas the First, and in the midst of as refined a society as I have met with for a long time.
He who could embody in the style of Boccaccio the conversations in which I have taken a very modest part during the last three days, might make a book as brilliant and amusing as the Decameron, and almost as profound as La Bruyère.
I had been long an invalid. At Travemunde I was so ill that, on the very day for sailing, I thought of renouncing the journey. My carriage had been placed on board, but I felt the cold fit of fever thrilling through my veins, and I feared to increase the sickness that already tormented me, by the sea-sickness that I knew I could not escape. What should I do at Petersburg, eight hundred leagues from home, were I to fall seriously ill. To embark with a fever on a long journey — is it not an act of insanity ? Such were my thoughts. But, then again, would it not seem yet more absurd to change my mind at the last moment, and have my carriage brought back on shore ? What would the people of Travemunde say ? How could my irresolution be explained to my friends at Paris?
I am not accustomed to be governed 'by reasonings of this character, but I was sick and reduced in strength : the shiverings also increased; an inexpressible languor, an utter distaste for food, and severe pains in the head and side, made me dread a passage of four days. I shall not survive it, said I to myself; yet to change a project is as difficult for invalids as for other men.
68DIALOGUE WITH MY SERVANT.
The waters of Ems have, in curing one disease, substituted another. To cure this second malady, rest is necessary. Is not this a reason for deferring a visit to Siberia? and yet I am going there.
Under the influence of these conflicting considerations, I was absolutely incapable of deciding how to act.
At length, determined to guide, as by the rules of a game of chance, the plans of a life which I no longer knew how to guide otherwise, I called my servant, resolved that he should decide the question. I asked his opinion.
" We must go on," he replied; " it is so near the time of starting."
" Why, you are generally afraid of the sea."
" I am afraid of it still; but were I in the place of my master, I would not change my mind after having sent my carriage on board."
" You seem more afraid of my changing my mind than of my becoming seriously ill."
No answer.
" Tell me, then, why you would go on ?"
" Because!!!"
" Very good ! we will proceed."
" But if you should become worse," resumed this worthy personage, who began to shrink from the responsibility that would attach to him, " I shall reproach myself with your imprudence."
" If I am ill, you will take charge of me."
" But that will not cure you."
" Never mind; we will go."
Thus moved by the eloquence of my servant, I proceeded on board, carrying with me a fever, low
PRINCE К
69
spirits, and inexpressible regret for the weakness I had exhibited. A thousand unpleasant presentiments connected with my journey assailed me, and, as they weighed anchor, I covered my eyes in a fit of stupid .despair. The instant the paddles began to turn, a revolution, as sudden and complete as it was inexplicable, took place in my frame: the pains and shivering disappeared, my mind resumed its usual powers, and I found myself suddenly in perfect health. This change appeared to me so singular, that I cannot resist recording it, though at the risk perhaps of not being believed.
Among the passengers on board the steamer I observed an elderly man, whose immensely swollen legs could hardly support his corpulent frame. His head, well set between his large shoulders, had a noble cast: it was a portrait of Louis XVI.
I soon learnt that he was the Russian Prince
К, a descendant of the conquering Varegues, and
therefore one of the most ancient of the Russian nobility.
As I observed him, supported by his secretary, and moving with difficulty towards a seat, I could not help saying to myself, here is a sorry travelling companion ; but on hearing his name, which I well knew by reputation, I reproached myself for this incorrigible mania of judging by appearances.
As soon as seated, the old gentleman, the expression of whose face was shrewd, although noble and sincere, addressed me by name.
Apostrophised tl·ms suddenly, I rose without replying. The prince continued in that truly aristo-
70DEFINITIONS OF NOBILITY.
cratic tone, the perfect simplicity of which excludes all idea of ceremony : —
" You, who have seen almost all Europe, will, I am sure, be of my opinion."
" On what subject, my prince?"
" On England. I was saying to Prince,
here," indicating with his finger, and without further presentation, the individual with whom he was talking, " that there is no noblesse anions the English. They have titles and offices; but the idea which we attach to a real order of nobility, distinguished by characteristics which can neither be purchased nor conferred, is unknown to them. A monarch may create a prince; education, circumstances, genius, virtue, may make a hero ; but none of these things are sufficient to constitute a nobleman."
" Prince," I replied, i( a noblesse, in that meaning of the word which was once understood in France, and in which you and I, I believe, understand it at present, has become a fiction, and was perhaps always one. Yon remind me of the observation of M. de Lauraguais, who said, on returning from an assembly of the marshals of France, ' we were twelve dukes and peers, but I was the only gentleman.' "
íf He said the truth," replied the prince. " On the Continent, the gentleman alone is considered as noble*, because in countries where nobility is still something-real, it is inherent in the blood, and not in fortune, favour, talent, or avocation ; it is the produce of history ; and, as in physics, the period for the formation of certain metals appears to have ceased, so in communities the period for the creation of noble families
* Gentilhomme, i. e. person of ancient family. —Trans.
ENGLISH NOBILITY.
71
has ceased also. It is this of which the English are ignorant."
" It is true," I answered, " that though still preserving much feudal pride, they have lost the spirit of feudal institutions. In England, chivalry has ceded to industry, which has readily consented to take Tip its abode in a baronial constitution, on condition that the ancient privileges attached to names should be placed within reach of newly founded families.
" By this social revolution, the result of a succession of political changes, hereditary rights are no longer attached to a class, but are transferred to individuals, to offices, and to estates. Formerly the warrior ennobled the land that he won ; now it is the possession of the land which constitutes the noble; and what is called a nobility in England, appears to me to be nothing more than a class that is rich enough to pay for wearing a certain dress. This monied aristoeracv differs, no doubt, very greatly from the aristocracy of blood. Rank that has been bought, is an evidence of the intelligence and activity of the man ; rank that has been inherited is an evidence of the favour of Providence. *
" The confusion of ideas respecting the two kinds of aristocracy, that of money and that of birth, is such in England, that the descendants of a family, whose name belongs to the history of the country, if they happen to be poor and are without title, will tell you
they are not noble; while my Lord(grandson of
a tailor), forms, as member of the house of peers, a par
t of the high aristocracy of the land."
* Atteste la faveur de la Providence
72ENGLISH NOBILITY.
"I knew that we should agree," replied the prince, with a graceful gravity that is peculiar to him.
Struck witli this easy manner of making acquaintance, I began to examine the countryman of the Prince
К, Prince D, the celebrity of whose name
had already attracted my attention. I beheld a man still young: his complexion wore a leaden hue; a quiet patient expression was visible in his eye ; but his forehead was full, his figure tall, and throughout his person there was a regularity which accorded with the coldness of his manners, and the harmony produced by which was not unpleasing.
Prince К, who never tired of conversation
continued: —
" To prove to you that the English notions of nobility differ from ours, I will relate a little anecdote which will perhaps amuse you.
(í In 1814 I attended the Emperor Alexander on his visit to London. At that time his majesty honoured me with much confidence, which procured for me many marks of kindness on the part of the Prince of Wales, then regent. This prince took me aside one day, and said to me, ¢ I should like to do something that would be agreeable to the emperor. He appears to have a great regard for the physician who accompanies him; could I confer on this person any favour that would please your master?'
" ( You could, sir,' I replied.
" ' What, then, should it be ?'
" < Nobility.'
" On the morrow the doctor was made a knight. The emperor took pains to ascertain the nature of the distinction which thus constituted his physician a
GOOD MANNERS.
73
Sir, and his physician's wife, a Lady; but, although his powers of comprehension were good, he died without being able to understand our explanations, or the value of the new dignity conferred upon his medical man."
" The ignorance of the Emperor Alexander," I replied, "is justified by that of many well-informed men: look at the greater mmiber of novels in which foreigners attempt to depict English society." This discourse served as a prelude to a most agreeable conversation, which lasted several hours. The tone of society among the higher ranks in Russia is marked by an easy politeness, the secret of which is almost lost among oiu`selves.
Every one, not even exchiding the French secretary of Prince K., appears modest, superior to the little cares and contrivances of vanity and self-love, and consecpiently, exempt from their mistakes and mortifications. If it is this that one gains from living under a despotism, vive la Russie!* How can polished manners subsist in a country where nothing is respected, seeing that l·on ton is only discernment in testifying respect. Let us begin again by showing respect to those who have a right to deference, and we shall again become naturally, and so to speak, involuntarily polite.
Notwithstanding the reserve which I threw into
* The author here requests a liberal construction on the part of the reader, in order to reconcile his apparent contradictions. It is only from a frank statement of the various contradictory views that present themselves to the mind that definitive conclusions are eventually to be attained.
VOL. I.E
74FREEDOM ОГ SPEECH. — CANNING.
my answers to the Prince К, the old diplomatist
quickly discovered the tendency of my views.
" You do not belong either to your country or to your age," said he, " you are an enemy to the power of speech as a political engine."
" It is true," I replied; " any other way of ascertaining the worth of men appears to me preferable to public speaking, in a country where self-love is so easily excited as in mine. I do not believe that there could be found in France many men who would not sacrifice their most cherished opinions to the desire of having it said that they had made a good speech."
" Nevertheless," pursued the liberal Russian prince "everything is included in the gift of language; everything that is in man, and something even beyond, reveals itself by discourse: there is divinity in speech."
" I agree with you," I replied; " and it is for that very reason that I dread to see it prostituted."
" When a genius like that of Mr. Canning's," continued the prince, "enchained the attention of the first men of England and of the world, surely political speech was something great and glorious."
" What good has this brilliant genius produced ? And what evil would he not have caused if he had had inflammable minds for auditors? Speech employed in private, as a means of persuasion, to change the direction of ideas, to influence the action of a man, or of a small number of men, appeal's to me useful, either as an auxiliary, or as a counterbalance to power; but I fear it in a large political assembly whose deliberations are conducted in public. It too often secures a triumph to limited views and fallacious popular notions, at the expense of lofty,
CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION.75
far-sighted conceptions, and plans profoundly laid. To impose upon nations the domination of majorities is to subject them to mediocrity. If such is not your object, you do wrong to laud oratorical influence. The politics of large assemblies are almost always timid, sordid, and rapacious. You oppose to this the case of England : that country is not what it is supposed to be. It is true that in its houses of parliament questions arc decided by the majority ; but this majority represents the aristocracy of the land, which for a long tune has not ceased, except at very brief intervals, to direct the affairs of the state. Besides, to what refuges of lies have not parliamentary forms compelled the leaders of this masked oligarchy to descend ? Is it for this that you envy England ? "
" Nevertheless, man must be led either by fear or by persuasion."
" True; but action is more persuasive than words. Does not the Prussian government prove this ? Does not Buonaparte ? Buonaparte at the commencement of his reign governed by persuasion as much as, or more than, by force, and yet his eloquence, though great, was never addressed except to individuals; to the mass he never spoke except by deeds: to discuss the laws in public is to rob them of that respect which i.? the secret of their power."
" You are a friend to despotism ?"
" On the contrary, I dread the lawyers, and their echo the newspapers*, which are but speeches whose echo resounds for twenty-four hours. Such is the despotism which threatens us in the present day."
* These allusions, it must be remembered, refer more especially to France. — Ti`ans.
E 2
76GLANCE AT RUSSIAN HISTORY.
" Come among us, and you will learn to fear some other kinds."
" It will not be you, prince, who will succeed in imbuing me with a bad opinion of Russia."
"Do not judge of it, either by me, or by any other Russian who has travelled : our natural flexibility renders us cosmopolites the moment we leave our own land; and this disposition of mind is in itself a satire against our government! "
Here, notwithstanding his habit of speaking openly on all subjects, the prince began to distrust both himself, me, and every one else, and took refuge in some remarks not very conspicuous for their perspicuity. He afterwards, however, availed himself of a moment when we were alone to lay before me his opinion as to the character of the men and the institutions of his country. The following, as nearly as I can recollect, forms the sum of his observations.
" Russia, in the present age, is only four hundred years removed from the invasions of barbarian tribes, whilst fourteen centuries have elapsed since western Europe experienced the same crisis. A civilisation older by one thousand years of course places an immeasurable distance between the manners of nations.
" Many ages before the irruption of the Mongol», the Scandinavians placed over the Slavonians (then altogether savages) chieftains, who reigned at Great Novogorod and at Kiew, under the name of Varegues. These foreign heroes, supported by a small retinue of armed followers, became the first princes of the Russians; and their companions in arms are the stock whence proceed
s the more ancient nobility. The Varegue princes, who were a species of demi-
INSTITUTIONS OF CHIVALRY UNKNOWN. 77
gods, governed this nation while still composed of wandering tribes. It was from the emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople that they at this period derived all their notions of luxury and the arts. Such, if I may be allowed the expression, was the first laid stratum of civilisation in Russia, afterwards trampled on and destroyed by the Tartar conquerors.
t£ A vast body of saints, who were the legislators of a newly converted Christian people, illume, with their names, this fabulous epoch of Russian history, Princes also, great by their savage virtues, ennoble the early period of the Slavonian annals. Their names shine out from the profound darkness of the age, like stars piercing the clouds of a stormy night. The very sound of these strange names excites the imagination and challenges curiosity. Rurick, 01eg, the Queen Olga, Saint Wladimir, Swiatopolk, and Monomaque, are personages whose characters no more resemble those of the heroes of the west than •lo their appellations.
" They have nothing of the chivalrous about them ; they are like the monarchs of Scripture ; the nation which they rendered great remained in the vicinity of Asia; ignorant of our romance, it preserved manners that were in a great measure patriarchal.
Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia Page 9
