The beauty of his face is also another instrument of persuasion, for this beauty is moral as well as physical. I attribute its effect to the truth of his sentiments, yet more than to the regularity of his features. It was at a ball at the Duchess of Oldenburg's that I had this interesting conversation with the emperor. The fete was singular, and deserves describing.
The Duchess of Oldenburg, who was a princess of Nassau, is nearly allied, through her husband, to the emperor. She wished to give a soiree on the ocea-
N 5
274BAL CIIAMPETKE.
sion of the marriage of the Grand Duchess but being unable to excel the magnificence of the former fetes, or to vie with the splendours of the court, she conceived the idea of a bal ehampetre at her house in the Islands.
The Archduke of Austria, who arrived two days ago to be present at the festivities of Petersburg ; the ambassadors of the whole world (singular aetors in a pastoral); all Russia,and finally, all the high-born foreigners, gathered together to promenade with an air of innocent simplicity, in a garden where orchestras were concealed amon¤· the distant çrc-ves.
The emperor prescribes the character of each fete : the direction for this day was, the elegant simplicity of Horace.
The humour of all minds, including even the corps diplomatique, was throughout the evening modelled in conformity with this order. It was like reading an eclogue, not of Theocritus or Virgil, but of Fontenelle.
"VVe danced in the open air until eleven in the evening, and then, the heavy dews having sufficiently inundated the heads and shoulders of the women, young and old, who assisted at this triumph over the climate, we re-entered the little palace which forms the usual summer-residence of the Duchess of Oldenburg.
In the centre of the villa * was a rotunda, quite dazzling with gold and wax lights, in which the dancers continued their amusement, while the others wandered over the rest of the house, to which this bright rotunda formed, as it were, a central sun.
* In Russian, " the datclia."
FLOWERS IN RUSSIA.275
There presided throughout the fete, which, was smaller than the preceding ones, a species of splendid disorder that struck me more than the pomp of all the others. Without speaking of the comical constraint depicted on the countenances of certain parties who were obliged, for a time, to affect rural simplicity, it was a soiree altogether original, a species of Imperial Tivoli, where people felt themselves almost free, although in presence of an absolute master. The sovereign wdio enjoys himself seems no longer a despot, and this evening the emperor enjoyed himself.
The excessive heats of the present summer had fortunately favoured the design of the duchess» Her summer-house is situated in the most beautiful part of the Islands, and it was in the midst of a garden radiant with flowers (in pots), and upon an English grass-plot — another marvel here — that she had fixed her dancing saloon. This was a superb inlaid flooring, surrounded by elegant balustrades, richly embellished with flowers, and to which the sky served as ceiling. In Petersburg the luxury of rare flowers, reared in the hot-house, supplies the place of trees. Its inhabitants — men who have left Asia to imprison themselves among the snows of the north — recollect the oriental luxury of their earlier country, and do their best to supply the sterility of nature, which, left to herself, pi`oduces only pine and birch trees. Art raises here an infinite vai·iety of shrubs and plants; for as every tiling is artificial, it is just as easy to grow the exotic flowers of America as the violets and lilacs of France.
The empress, delicate as she is, danced, with her neck bare and her head uncovered, every polonaise
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27GТПЕ FRIEND OF THE EMPRESS.
at this magnificent ball in the garden of her cousin. In Russia every body pursues his career to the limits of his powers. The duty of an empress is to amuse herself to death.
This German princess, the victim of a frivolity which must surely press as heavily as chains upon captives, enjoys in Russia a happiness rarely enjoyed in any land, or in any rank, and unexampled in the life of an empress—she has a friend. Of this lady,
the Baroness de , I have already spoken. She
and the empress, since the marriage of the latter, have scarcely ever been separated. The baroness, whose character is sincere, and whose heart is devoted, has not profited by her position. The man whom she has married is one of the officers in the army to whom the emperor is most indebted ; for the Baron
saved his life on the day of the revolt that
attended the accession to the throne, by exposing his own with a devotedness unprompted by interest. Nothing could be sufficient reward for such an act of courage, it has, consecpjently, gone unrewarded.
As the garden became dark, a distant music-answered to the orchestra of the ball, and harmoniously chased away the gloom of the night, a gloom too natural to these monotonous shades. The desert recommences on the Islands, where the pines and morasses of Finland adjoin the prettiest parks. An arm of the Neva flows slowly — for here all water appears stagnant — before the windows of the little princely house of the Duchess of Oldenburg. On this evening the water was covered with boats full of spectators, and the road also swarmed with pedestrians. A mixed crowd of citizens, who are as much, slaves
THE AUTHOR IN FAVOUR.277
as the peasants, and of work-people, all courtiers of courtiers, pressed among the carriages of the grandees to gaze on the livery of the master of their masters. The whole spectacle was striking and original. In Russia, the names are the same as elsewhere, but the tilings are altogether different. I often escaped from the throng of the ball to walk beneath the trees of the park, and muse on the melancholy that insinuates itself into the festivals of such a land. But my meditations were sho`t, for on this day the emperor seemed as though determined to keep possession of my mind. Was it because he had discovered in the bottom of my heart some prejudices little favourable towards him, though the result only of what I had heard before being presented; or did he find it amusing to converse for a few moments with one who differed from those that daily came in his way, or
was it that Madame de had created an influence
in his mind in my favour? I could not explain to my own satisfaction the cause of receiving so much honour.
The emperor is not only accustomed to command actions, he knows how to reign over hearts : perhaps he wished to conquer mine ; perhaps the ices of my shyness served to stimulate his self-love. The desire of pleasing is natural to him : to compel adnm`ation would still be to make himself obeyed. Perhaps he had a desire of trying his power on a stranger; perhaps, in short, it was the instinct of a man who had long lived deprived of the truth, and who believed he had for once met with a sincere character. I repeat, I was ignorant of his motives; but on that evening í could not stand before him, nor even place
278ANOTHER CONVERSATION
myself in a retired eorner of the room where he might be, without his obliging me to approach and talk with him.
On seeing me enter the ball-room, he said, " What have you seen this morning ? "
u Sire, I have been visiting the Cabinet of Natural History, and the famous Mammoth of Siberia."
"It is an object unequalled, in its kind, in the world."
" Yes, sire ; there are many things in Russia that ■ire not to be seen elsewhere."
" You flatter me."
" I respect your majesty too much to dare to flatter; but perhaps, sire, I do not fear you sufficiently ; and I therefore ingenuously speak my thoughts, when even truth appears like compliment."
" This is a delicate compliment, monsieur: you strangers spoil us."
" Sire, your majesty was pleased to desire that I should be at my ease with you, and you have succeeded, as in every thing else that you undertake. Your majesty has cured me, for a time at least, of my natural timidity."
Obliged to avoid all allusion to the great political interests of the day, I wished to lead the conversation towards a subject which interested me quite
as much; I added, therefore, " Each time that I am permitted to approach your majesty, I recognise the power which caused your enemies to fall at your feet on the day that your majesty ascended the throne."
" In your country there are prejudices entertained against us, which are more difficult to triumph over than the passions of a revolted army."
WITH THE EMPEROR.
279
" Sire, you are seen from too great a distance : if your majesty were better known you would be better appreciated, and would find among us, as well as here, abundance of admirers. The commencement of your majesty's reign has already called forth just praises: it was also equally, or even yet more highly lauded at the time of the cholera; for in this second insurrection your majesty displayed the same authority, but tempered with the most generous devotion to the cause of humanity. Energy has never failed you. sire, in times of danger."
" The moments of which you recall the recollection have been, doubtless, the best in my life ; nevertheless, they have appeared to me as the most frightful."
" I can well understand that, sire ; to subdue nature
in ourselves and in others requires an effort"
" An effort which is terrible," interrupted the emperor, with an energy which startled me, " and one that is felt long after."
" Yes; but there is the consolation of having acted heroically."
" I have not acted heroically. I only performed my part: in such circumstances none can tell what he will say. We run into the clanger, without previously inquiring how we are to get out of it."
" It was God who inspired you, sire; and if two so dissimilar things as poetry and government may be compared, I should say that you acted in the same way that poets sing, in listening to the voice from above."
" There was no poetry in that action."
I could perceive that my comparison had not appeared flattering, because it had not been under-
280ANOTHER CONVERSATION
stood in the sense of the Latin poet. At court they are in the habit of viewing poetry as merely an exhibition of wit; and it would have been necessary to have launched into a discussion to prove that it is the purest and most brilliant light that irradiates the soul. I therefore preferred remaining silent; but the emperor, being unwilling, doubtless, to leave me under the regret of having displeased him, detained me yet further, to the great astonishment of the court, and resumed the conversation with a kindness that was very gratifying. " What is your decided plan of route ? " he asked.
" Sire, after the fete at Peterhoff, I propose leaving for Moscow, from whence I wish to proceed to Nijni, to see the fair, and to return to Moscow before the arrival of your majesty."
" So much the better: I shall be glad for you to examine, in detail, my works at the Kremlin. My residence there was too small, I am therefore building another more suitable; and I will explain to you myself all my plans for the embellishment of this part of Moscow, which we view as the cradle of the empire. But you have no time to lose, for you have immense distances to travel over — the distances ! these are the curse of Russia."
" Do not, sire, regret them : they form the canvas of pictures that are to be filled up ; elsewhere the earth is too confined for the inhabitants; but it will never fail your majesty."
Cí The time fails me."
" You have the future."
íe They little know me who reproach my ambition: far from seeking to extend our territory, I am desi-
WITH THE EMPEROR.281
rous of drawing closer around me the entire population of Russia. It is simply over misery and barbarism that I wish to achieve conquests: to ameliorate the condition of the Russians would be more gratifying than to aggrandise myself. If you knew what an amiable people the Russians are ! how gentle, and how naturally polite! You will see them at Peterhoff; but it is here, on the first of January, that I would have especially desired to show them to you." Then, returning to his favourite theme, he continued: " But it is not easy to render one's self worthy of governing such a people."
" Your majesty has already done much for Russia."
" I fear sometimes that I have not done all that might have been effected."
This Christian speech came from the depths of the heart, and affected me even to tears: it made so much impression on me that I said to myself, The emperor has quicker perceptions than I; and if he had any motive for saying this he would have felt greater difficulty in saying it. He has, then, only betrayed a beautiful and noble sentiment, the scruple of a conscientious king. This cry of humanity uttered by a mind which every thing must contribute to render proud, touched my heart. We were in public. and I endeavoured to hide my feeling; the emperor, who answers to what is thought more than to what is said, (and in this sagacity lies the great charm of his conversation, as well as the potency of his influence,) perceiving the impression which he had produced, and which I attempted to disguise, approached me at the moment of parting, took my
282AHISTOCKAY THE ONLY
hand with an air of kindness, and pressing it, said, Au revoìr."
The emperor is the only man in the empire with whom one may talk without fear of informers; he is also the only one in whom I have as yet recognised natural sentiments and sincere Ìan2;ua2`e. If I lived in this country, and had a secret to conceal, I should begin by confiding it to him.
If he has, as I think, more pride than vanity, more dignity than arrogance, the general impression of the various portraits I have successively traced of him, and especially the effect his conversation produced on me, ought to be satisfactory to him : in fact, I did my best to resist the influence of his attractions. I am certainly any thing but revolutionary, still I am revolutionised : such is the consequence of being born in France, and of living there. But I have a yet better reason to give in explanation of my endeavour to resist the influence of the emperor over me. Aristocrat, both from character and conviction, I feel that the aristocracy alone can resist either the seductions or the abuses of absolute power. Without an aristocracy, there would be nothing but tyranny both in monarchies and in democracies. The sight of despotism is revolting to me in spite of myself: it offends all the ideas of liberty which spring alike from my natural feelings and my political creed. No aristocrat can submit without repugnance to see the levelling hand of despotism laid upon the people. This however happens in pure democracies as much as in absolute monarchical governments.
It appears to me, that if I were a sovereign I should like the society of those who would recognise
RAMPART OF LIBERTY.283
in me the fellow-being as well as the prince, especially if, when viewed apart from my titles, and reduced to myself, I should still have a right to the title of a sincere, firm, and upright man.
Let the reader seriously ask himself, if that which I have recounted of the Emperor Nicholas, since my arrival in Russia places this prince lower in his opinion than before he had read these chapters.
Our frequent communications in public gained me numerous acquaintances, as well as renewal of acquaintances. Many.persons whom I had met elsewhere cast themselves in my way, though only after they had observed that I was the object of this particular good-wiH on the part of the sovereign. These men were the most exalted persons at court; but it is the custom of people of the world, and especially of placemen, to be sparing of every thing except ambitious schemes. To preserve at court sentiments above the vulgar range, requires the endowment of a very lofty mind, and lofty minds are rare.
It cannot be too often repeated, that there are no great noblemen in Russia, because there are no independent characters, with the exception, at least, of those superior minds, which are too few in number to exercise any general influence on society. It is the pride inspired by high birth, which, far more than riches or rank acquired by industry, renders man independent.
This country, in many respects so different from France, still resembles it in one — it is without any social hierarchy. By reason of this gap in the body politic, un
iversal equality reigns in Russia as in France, and therefore, in both countries, the minds of
284:PAliALLEL BETAVEEN
men are restless and unquiet: with us this is demonstrated by visible agitations and explosions, in Russia, political passions are concentrated. In France every one can arrive at his object, by setting out from the tribune, in Russia, by setting out at court. The lowest of men, if he can discover how to please his sovereign, may become to-morrow second only to the emperor. The favour of that god is the prize which produces as many prodigies of effort, and miraculous metamorphoses, as the desire of popularity among us. A profound flatterer in Petersburg is the same as a sublime orator in Paris. What a talent of observation must not that have been in the Russian courtiers, which enabled them to discover that a means of pleasing the emperor was to walk in winter without a great coat in the streets of Petersburg. This flattery of the climate has cost the life of more than one ambitious individual. Under a despotism which is without limits, minds are as much agitated and tormented as under a republic; but with this difference, the agitation of the subjects of an autocracy is more painful on account of the silence and concealment that ambition has to impose upon itself in order to succeed. With us, sacrifices, to be profitable, have to be public; here, on the contrary, they must be secret. The unlimited monarch dislikes no one so much as a subject ■publicly devoted. All zeal that exceeds a blind and servile obedience is felt by him as both troublesome and suspicious: exceptions open the door to pretensions, pretensions assume the shape of rights, and under a despot, a subject who fancies that he has rights is a rebel.
Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia Page 27
