These men congregate to gratify their vanity, instead of meeting for pleasure. Since society has
Ï`KËNCHMAN OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES. 89
been thus thrown open, freedom has vanished from it altogether, and easy manners are no longer known in France. English stiffness and gravity have taken their place : these are indispensable weapons in a mixed society. But the English, in learning to make use of them, have at least sacrificed nothing, whereas we have lost all those embellishments which constituted the charm of life. A man who believes, or wishes to have it believed, that he belongs to good society because he has access to such or such a salon cannot be an agreeable companion. Real refinement is a thing good in itself; copied refinement is like all other affectation, evil.
Our new society is founded on ideas of democratic equality, and these ideas have brought ennui in the place of our former pleasures. It is not an extensive circle of acquaintance which renders society agreeable, it is to know well those whom you have chosen, Society is only a means, of which the end is intimacy.
Our Russian ladies have admitted into their little circle a French merchant, who is among the passengers. He is a man rather past the middle age, full of great schemes connected with steam-boats and railroads, but still exhibiting all his former youthful pretensions: agreeable smiles, gracious mien, winning grimaces, plebeian gestures, narrow ideas, and studied language. He is, notwithstanding, a good fellow, speaking willingly, and even well, when he speaks on subjects with which he is conversant, amusing also, though self-sufficient, and sometimes rather prosy.
He is going to Russia to electrify certain minds in favour of some great industrial undertakings. He
90MAUVAIS TON OF A FRENCHMAN,
travels as agent for several French commercial houses who have associated, he says, to carry into effect these important objects ; but his head, although full of grave commercial ideas, finds place, nevertheless, for all the songs and bon mots that have been popular in Paris for the last twenty years- Before turning merchant he had been a lancer, and he has preserved, in his air and attitudes, some amusing traces of Iris former profession. He never speaks to the Russians without alluding to French superiority in matters of every description; but his vanity is too palpable to become offensive, or to excite anything beyond a laugh.
When singing he casts tender glances upon the ladies; when declaiming the Parisienne and the Marseillaise) he folds his cloak around liim with a theatrical air : Iris store of songs and sayings, although rather jovial in character, much amuses our fair strangers. In listening to him they seem to believe they are on a visit to Paris. The mauvais ton of this specimen of French manners by no means strikes them, because they do not comprehend its source or its scope; a language which they cannot understand cannot disgust them; besides, persons belonging to really good society are always the last to be annoyed or alarmed. The fear of being lowered in position does not oblige them to take offence at everything that is said.
The old Prince Кand myself laugh between
ourselves at the language to which they listen; they laugh on their part with the innocence of an ignorance unacquainted with the point where good taste ceases, and where French vulgarity begins.
Vulgarity commences so soon as the individual
RUSSIAN GYPSIES.
91
thinks of avoiding it: such a thought never occurs to persons perfectly sure of their own good breeding.
"When the gaiety of the ex-lancer becomes rather too exuberant, the Russian ladies moderate it by singing, in their turn, some of those national airs of which the melancholy and originality greatly charm me.
The Princess L has sung to us some airs of
the Russian gypsies which, to my great surprise, bring the Spanish boleros to my mind. The Gitanos of Andalusia are of the same race as the Russian gypsies. This population dispersed, one knows not by what agency, throughout all Europe, has preserved in every region, its manners, its traditions and its national songs.
The sea voyage, so much dreaded in prospect, has proved so agreeable, that I look forward to its termination with real regret. Besides, who does not feel some sense of desolation in arriving in a large city, where one has no business and no friends. My passion for travel cools when I consider that it consists entirely of departures and arrivals. But what pleasures and advantages does not man purchase by this pain ! Were it only that he can by this means obtain information without laborious study, it would be well thus to turn over, as the leaves of a book, the different countries of the earth.
When I feel myself discouraged in the midst of my pilgrimages, I say to myself, " If I wish for the result, I must take the means," and under this thought I persevere. I do more, — scarcely am I again in my own abode, than I think of recommencing my travels. Perpetual travel would be a delightful way of passing
92 AGREEABLE SOCIETY ON THE STEAM-BOAT.
life, especially for one who cannot conform to the ideas which govern the world in the age in which he lives. To change one's country is tantamount to changing one's century. It is a long by-gone age which I полу hope to study in Russia.
Never do I recollect having met in travelling, wi th
society so agreeable and amusing as in this passage.
Our life here, is like life in the country in wTet
weather ; we cannot get out, but each tasks him
self to amuse the others, so that the effort of each
turns to the benefit of the whole. This however
must be ascribed to the perfect sociability of some
of our passengers, and more especially to the amia
ble authority of Prince К. Had it not been
for the part he took at the commencement of our voyage, no one would have broken the ice, and we should have continued observing each other in silence during the whole passage. Instead of such a melancholy isolation, we talk and chatter night and day. The light, lasting during the whole twenty-four hours, has the effect of so deranging habits, that there are always some ready for conversation at any hour. It is now past three o'clock, and as I write, I hear my companions laughing and talking in the cabin; if I were to go down, they would ask me to recite some French verses, or to tell some story about Paris. They never tire of asking about Mademoiselle Rachel or Duprez, the two great dramatic stars of the day. They long to draw to their own country the celebrated talents which they cannot obtain permission to come and see among us.
When the French lancer, the mercantile militaire, joins in the conversation, it is generally to interrupt
TWO AMERICANS.
93
it. There is then sure to be laughter, singing, and Russian dance*.
This gaiety, innocent as it is, has proved offensive to two Americans o;0in2; to Petersburg on business. These inhabitants of the New World do not permit themselves even a smile at the foolish pleasures of the young European women. They do not perceive that liberty and carelessness are the safeguards of youthful hearts. Their puritamsin rebels not only against licence, but against mirth; they are Jan-senists of the Protestant school; to please them, life must be made one protracted funeral. Happily, the ladies we have on board do not trouble themselves to render any reason to these pedantic merchants. Their manners are more simple than most of the women of the north, who, when they come to Paris, believe themselves obliged to distort their whole nature in order to seduce us. Our fair fellow-passengers please without seeming to think of pleasing ; their French accent also appears to me better than that of most of the Polish women whom I have met in Saxony and Bohemia. In speaking our language they do not pretend to correct it, but endeavour to speak as we speak, and very nearly succeed.
Yesterday a slight accident which happened to our engine served to exhibit some of the secret traits of character in those on board.
The recollection of the former accident that befell to our boat has served to render the passengers rather timid and distrustful, though the weather has remained throughout extremely fine.
Yesterday after dinner, we were seated reading, when suddenly the motion of the paddles stopped,
94
STEAM-BOAT ACCIDENT.
and an unusual noise was heard to proceed from the engine. The sailors rushed forward; the captain followed, without saying a word in reply to the questions of the passengers. At length he gave the order to sound. " We are on a rock," said a female voice, the first that had dared to break our solemn silence. " The engine is going to burst," said another.
I was silent, though I began to think that my presentiments were going to be realised, and that it was not, after all, caprice wliich had inclined me to renounce this voyage.
The Princess L, whose health is delicate, fell
into a swoon, murmuring some broken words of grief that she should die so far from her husband. The
Princess Dpressed the arm of hers, and awaited
the result with a calm, which one would not have expected from her slight frail form and gentle features.
The fat and amiable Prince Кneither changed
his countenance nor his place; he would have sunk in his arm-chair into the sea without disturbing himself. The French ex-lancer, half merchant, half comedian, put on a bold face, and began to hum a song. This bravado displeased me, and made me blush for France, where vanity searches out of all things to extract some opportunity for display; true moral dignity exaggerates nothing, not even indifference to danger; the Americans continued their reading ; I observed every body.
At length the captain came to inform us that the nut of the screw of one of the pistons was broken, and that all would be made right again in a quarter of an hour.
ANCIENT FKENCH SOCIETY.95
At this news the fears that each party had more or less concealed betrayed themselves by a general explosion of rejoicing. Each confessed his thoughts and fears, all laughed at each other, and those who were the most candid in their confessions were the least laughed at. The evening that had commenced so ominously concluded with a dance and song.
Before separating for the night, Prince К
complimented me for my good manners in listening with apparent pleasure to his stories. One may recognise the well-bred man, he observed, by the manner he assumes in listening to another. I replied that the best way by which to seem to be listening, was to listen. This answer, repeated by the prince, was lauded beyond its merit. Nothing is lost, and every thought is done more than justice to by persons whose benevolence even is intellectual.
The great eharm of ancient French society lay in the art of making the best of others. If this amiable art is scarcely known among us in the present day, it is because it requires greater refinement of mind to praise than to depreciate. He who knows how to estimate all things, disdains nothing, and refuses to join in ridicule; but where envy reigns depreciation mixes with all that is said. Jealousy in the guise of wit, and under the mask of good sense, (for pretended good sense is always marked by a love of ridicule,) is the evil sentiment which in these days conspires against the pleasures of social life. In its endeavour to appear good and amiable, true politeness really becomes so ; its possession seems to me to embrace that of all other virtues.
Об
ISLE OF DAGO.
I shall here recount two stories, which will show how little meritorious was the attention for which I had been complimented.
We were passing the isle of Dago on the coast of Esthonia. The appearance of this spot is melancholy; it is a cold solitude, where nature appears naked and sterile, rather than savage and imposing ; it seems as though she meant to repel man by the dulness, rather than by the terrors of her aspect."
" A strange scene has been witnessed in that isle,"
remarked Prince К.
" At what period ? "
" Not long ago, it was under the Emperor Paul,"
" Pray relate it to us."
The prince then recounted, in a very interesting manner, the history of the Baron de Sternberg,
¾ÁRON DE STERNBERG.
Ü7
CHAP. VI.
TRAGEDY OF BARON DE STERNBERG. — TYPE OF LORD BYRON'S
HEROES. PARALLEL BETWEEN SIR TV. SCOTT AND BYRON.
—HISTORICAL ROMANCE. — MARRIAGE OF PETER THE GREAT. —
ROMODANWYSKI. INFLUENCE OF THE GREEK CHURCH IN
RUSSIA. TYRANNY SUPPORTED BY FALSEHOOD. CORPSE IN
THE CHURCH OF REVEL.THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER DECEIVED.
RUSSIAN SENSITIVENESS TO THE OPINIONS OF FOREIGNERS. —
A SPY.
It must be remembered that it is the Prince K·
who speaks.
" Baron Ungern de Sternberg had travelled over the greater part of Europe. He was a man of intelligence and observation, and his travels had made him all that he was capable of being made, namely, a great character developed by study and experience.
" On his return to St. Petersburgh, in the reign of the Emperor Paul, he fell into undeserved disgrace ; and, under the bitter feeling which this produced, determined to quit the court. He shut lûmself up in the island of Dago, of which he was lord; and in the retirement of this wild domain swore a mortal hatred to all human kind, to revenge himself on the emperor, whom he viewed as the representative of the whole
race.
" This individual, who was living when we were children, has served as a model for more than one of Lord Byron's heroes.
" In his seclusion he affected a sudden passion for study, and, in order to pursue freely his scientific
VOL. I.F
m
BARON DE STERNBERG.
labours, he added to his mansion a very high tower, the Avails of which you can see with the spy-glass."
Here the prince paused, and we took a view of the tower of Dago. The prince resumed:
" This tower he called his library, and crowned its summit with a sort of glazed lantern like an observatory, or rather light-hoise. He often repeated to his servants that he could only labour at night, and then no where but in this solitary place. It was there that he retired, as he said, to meditate, and to seek peace. " No guests were admitted into this retreat except an only son, still a child, and his tutor.
" Towards midnight, when the baron believed them to be both asleep, he used often to shut himself up in his laboratory; the glass tower of which was then lighted with a lamp so brilliant, that, at a distance, it might be taken for a signal. This light-house, though not one in reality, was calculated to deceive strange vessels, that were in danger of being lost on the island, if their captains, venturing too far, did not perfectly know each point of the coast in the perilous Gulf of Finland.
" This error was precisely that which the terrible baron hoped for. Raised upon a rock, in the midst of a stormy sea, the perfidious tower became the beacon of inexperienced pilots; and the unfortunate beings, who were misled by the false hope that glittered before them, met their death at the moment they believed they had found a shelter from the storm.
" You may judge that nautical regulations were at that time very imperfectly maintained in Russia.
" As soon as a vessel was on the point of being wrecked, the baron proceeded to the shore, and secretly
BARON DE STERNBERG.
99
embarked with numerous active and determined men, whom he kept for the purpose of aiding him in these nocturnal expeditions. He then gathered together the stranger mariners and, instead of affording them the expected succour, murdered them under cover of the dark; after which he pillaged their slúp, although actuated throughout much less by a desire of gain than by a pure love of evil, and a disinterested pleasure in destruction.
" Doubting all things, and disbelieving the principle of justice, he considered moral and social disorder as being most analogous to the state of man here below, and civil and political virtues as chimeras that only oppose nature without subduing it.
" He pretended that, in putting an end to the life of his fellow creatures, he was subservient to the schemes
of Providence, who was pleased, he said, to extract life out of death.
" One evening, towards the end of autumn, when the nights were very long, he had exterminated the crew of a Dutch merchantman, and the pirates, whom he kept under the title of guards, among the servants belonging to his house, were for several hours occupied in landing the cargo of the wrecked vessel, without observing that, during the massacre, the captain had profited by the darkness, and had saved himself in a boat which had followed him with some of the sailors of his vessel.
" Day-break surprised the baron and his emissaries
at their work of darkness, and announced to them also
the approach of a small boat. They immediately
shut the gates of the secret vaults, where the produce
F 2
100
BARON DE STERNBERG.
of their pillage was disposed; after which the drawbridge was let down before the stranger.
" The baron, with that elegant hospitality whieh is an indelible characteristic of Russian manners, hastened to receive the leader of the new comers.
" Affecting the most perfect security, he repaired to a saloon near the apartment of his son who was yet sleeping, and there awaited him. The tutor of his child was also in bed dangerously ill. The door of his chamber, which opened into the saloon, remained unclosed. The stranger was introduced.
" ' Sir Baron,' said the man, with an air of bold assurance, £ you know me, though you may not recognise me, for you have seen me but once, and then in the dark. I am the captain of the vessel, a part of whose crew perished last night under your walls. It is with pain I announce to you that some of your people have been recognised in the fray that took plaee, and that you yourself were seen stabbing with your own hand one of my men.'
Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia Page 11
