Although the largest structures in the city are lost in a space that is rather a plain than a square, the palace is imposing; the style of architecture, which is that of the Regency, has an air of grandeur, and the red tint of the stone with which it is built is not displeasing to the eye. The column of Alexander, the triumphal arch, the Admiralty, Peter the Great upon his rock, the offices of the ministers (which are so many palaces), and, finally, the wonderful church of St. Isaac, facing one of the three bridges thrown over the Neva,—all these objects, lost in the circumference of a single square, are not beautiful, but they are astonishingly great. The square, called the square of the palace, is in reality composed of three immense squares all formed into one: Petrofskii, Isaakskii, and the square of the winter palace. I have found there nmch to criticise ; but as a whole I admire the edifices, lost though they be in the space which they should adorn.
I have ascended the brass cupola of the church of St. Isaac. The scaffoldings of this dome, which is one of the loftiest in the woi`ld, are in themselves
+THE CHURCHES.163
mighty fabrics. The church not being finished, I cannot form an idea of the effect that it will have as a whole. From the summit is seen St. Petersburg, its flat monotonous environs, and its dull though pompous wonders of art, which disgust me with human miracles, and which will serve, I hope, as a lesson to princes who may again take it into their heads to despise nature in their choice of sites on which to raise their capitals. Nations would scarcely commit such errors ; they are ordinarily the fruit of the pride of sovereigns, who interpret flattery to the letter, and view themselves as endowed with real creative power. What princes least fear, is becoming dupes of their own vanity. They distrust every body except themselves.
I have visited several churches: that of the Trinity is beautiful, but naked, as is the interior of nearly all the Greek churches that I have seen here. To make up for this, the exterior of the domes is clothed with azure and strewn with brilliant gold stars. The cathedral of Kasan, built by Alexander, is vast and beautiful; but its entrance is in a corner of the building. This is out of respect to the religious law which obliges the Greek altar to be inva-riably turned towards the east. The street not running in such direction as to allow of the rule being obeyed except by placing the church awry, this has been done ; the men of taste have had the worst of it; the faithful have carried the day, and one of the most beautiful buildings in Russia has been spoiled by superstition.
The church of Smolna is the largest and most magnificent in Petersburg. It belongs to a religious
164 TAURIDA PALACE.ANTIQUE STATUE.
community, a kind of chapter of women and girls founded by the Empress Anne. Enormous buildings form the residences of these ladies. The noble asylum, with its cloisters, is a eity of itself, but its architecture would be more appropriate for a military establishment than a religious congregation: it is
ОО О
neither like a convent nor a palace; it is a barrack for women.
In Russia every thing is under a military system ; the discipline of the army reigns even in the chapter of the ladies of Smolna.
Near to that building is seen the little palace of the Taurida, built in a few weeks by Potemkin for Catherine. The palace is elegant, but forsaken ; and in this country that which is forsaken is soon destroyed ; even the stones will not last, except on condition of their being eared for. A winter garden occupies one side of the building. It is a magnificent hot-house, empty at the present season, and I believe neglected at all seasons. Chandeliers, and other signs of elegance, old, but without the majesty which time imprints on the true antique, prove that dances and suppers have once been given there. The last ball I believe which the Taurida has seen, or ever will see, took plaee on the marriage of the Grand Duchess Helena, wife of the Grand Duke Michael.
In a corner is a Venus de Medicis, said to be a real antique. This model has, as is well known, been often reproduced by the Romans.
The statue is placed upon a pedestal, on which is this inscription in Russian :
" PRESENT FROM POPE CLEMENT XI. TO THE EMPEROR PETER I,
1717—1719."
THE HERMITAGE.PICTURE GALLERY. 165
A naked Venus, sent by a pope to a schismatic prince, is certainly a singular present. The Czar, who had long meditated the project of eternizing schism, by usurping the last rights of the Russian Church, must have smiled at such a testimony of the good-will of the bishop of Rome.
I have seen also the paintings of the Hermitage, but I cannot now describe them, as I leave to-morrow for Moscow. The Hermitage! is not this a name strangely applied to the villa of a sovereign, placed in the midst of his capital, close to the palace where he resides ! A bridge, thrown across a street, leads from one residence to the other.
All the world knows that there are here some choice pieces, especially of the Dutch school; but I do not like paintings in Russia, any more than music in London, where the manner in which they listen to the most talented performers, and the most sublime compositions, would disgust me with the art.
So near the pole, the light is unfavourable for seeing pictures; no one can enjoy the admirable shading of the colours with eyes, either weakened by snow, or dazzled by an oblique and continuous light. The hall of the Rembrandts is doubtless admirable; nevertheless, I prefer the works of that master, which I have seen at Paris and elsewhere.
The Claude Lorrains, the Poussins, and some works of the Italian masters, especially of Mantegna, Giambellini, and Salvator Rosa, deserve to be mentioned.
The fault of the collection is, the great number of inferior pictures that must be forgotten in order to
166PRIVATE SOCIAL CODE
enjoy the master-pieces. In forming the gallery of the Hermitage, they have gathered together a profusion of names of the great masters ; but this does not prevent their genuine productions being rare. These ostentatious baptisms of very ordinary pictures weary the virtuoso, without cheating him. In a collection of objects of art, the contiguity of beauty sets off the beautiful, and that of inferiority detracts from it. A judge who is wearied, is incapable of judging : ennui renders him unjust and severe.
H the Rembrandts and the Claude Lorrains of the Hermitage produce some effect, it is because they are placed in halls where there are no other pictures near them.
This collection is fine ; but it appears lost in a city where there are so few that can enjoy it.
An inexpressible sadness reigns throughout the palace, which has been converted into a museum since the deatli of her who animated it by her presence and her mind. ]STo one ever better understood familiar life and free conversation than did that absolute princess. Not wishing to resign herself to the solitude to which her position condemned her, she discovered the art of conversing familiarly even while reigning arbitrarily.
The finest portrait of the Empress Catherine which exists, is in one of the halls of the Hermitage. I remarked also a portrait of the Empress Mary, wife of Paul I., by Madame Le Brun. There is, by the same artist, a genius writing upon a shield. This latter work is one of her best; its colours, defying alike time and climate, do honour to the French school.
At the entrance of one hall, I found behind a green
OF ТПЕ EMPRESS CATHERINE.167
curtain, the social rules of the Hermitage, for the use of those intimate friends admitted by the Czarina into the asylum of Imperial liberty.
I will translate literally this charter, granted to social intimacy by the caprice of the sovereign of the once enchanted place : it was copied for me in my presence :—
RULES TO BE OBSERVED ON ENTERING. ARTICLE I.
On entering, the title and rank must be put off, as well as the hat and sword.
ARTICLE II.
Pretensions founded on the prerogatives of birth, pride, or other sentiments of a like nature, must also be left at the door.
ARTICLE III.
Be merry ; nevertheless, break nothing and spoil nothing.
&nbs
p; ARTICLE IV.
Sit, stand, walk, do whatever you please, without caring for any one.
ARTICLE V.
Speak with moderation, and not too often, in order to avoid being troublesome to others.
ARTICLE VI.
Argue without anger, and without warmth.
ARTICLE VII.
Banish sighs and yawns, that you may not communicate ennui, or be a burden to any one.
168CODE OF THE EMPRESS CATHERINE.
ARTICLE VIII.
Innocent games proposed by any member of the society, must be accepted by the others.
ARTICLE IX.
Eat slowly and with appetite: drink with moderation, that each may walk steadily as he goes out.
ARTICLE X.
Leave all quarrels at the door; that which enters at one ear must go out at the other before passing the threshold of the Hermitage. If any member violate the above rules, for each fault witnessed by two persons he must drink a glass of fresh water {ladies not excepted) : furthermore he must read aloud a page of the Telemachiad (a poem by Frediakofsky). Whoever fails during one evening in three of these articles, must learn by heart six lines of the Telemachiad. He who fails in the tenth article must never more re-enter the Hermitage.
Before reading the above, I believed the Empress Catherine possessed a livelier and more pointed wit. Is this a simple pleasantry ? If so it is a bad one, for the shortest jokes are the best. The care which lias been taken to preserve the statutes, as though of great value, surprises me not less than the want of <«·ood taste which characterises them.
7~ì
What chiefly provoked my laughter on reading this social code, was the use that had been made of the poem of Frediakofsky. Woe to the poet immortalised by a sovereign !
Г leave to-morrow for Moscow.
ГНЕ MINISTER OF WAR.169
CHAP. XX.
THE MINISTER OF WAR, AN EVASION. THE FORTRESS OF
SCHLUSSELBURG.FORMALITIES.TROUBLESOME POLITENESS.
HALLUCINATIONS.—K.OTZEBUE IN SIBERIA.THE FELDJÄGER.
MANUFACTORIES OF PETERSBURG. HOUSES OF RUSSIAN PEA
SANTS. A RUSSIAN INN. — DIRTINESS OF THE PEOPLE. THE
COUNTRY WOMEN.—BAD ROADS.—THE ENGINEER AND HIS WIFE.
THE SLUICES OF SCHLUSSELBURG.UNION OF THE CASPIAN
AND BALTIC. —THE SOURCE OF THE NEVA. INUNDATIONS OF
PETERSBURG. THE INTERIOR OF THE FORTRESS OF SCHLUSSEL
BURG. THE TOMB OF IVAN.ANGER OF THE COMMANDANT.
STATE PRISONERS. — A DINNER WITH THE MIDDLE CLASSES IN
RUSSIA.NATURAL CAUSTICITY OF THE PEOPLE.POLITE CON
VERSATION.—MADAME DE GENLIS.—FRENCH MODERN LITERA
TURE PROHIBITED. A NATIONAL DISH. — DIFFERENCE IN THE
MANNERS OF THE HIGHER AND MIDDLE CLASSES.RETURN TO
PETERSBURG.
On the day of the fete at Peterhoff, I had asked the minister of war what means I should take in order to obtain permission to see the fortress of Schlusselburg.
This grave person is the Count Tchernieheff. The brilliant aide-de-camp, the elegant envoy of Alexander at the court of Napoleon, is become a sedate man, a man of importance, and one of the most active ministers of the empire. Not a morning passes without his transacting business with the emperor. He replied, " I will communicate your desire to his majesty." This tone of prudence, mingled with an
VOL, II.I
170FORTRESS OF SCHLUSSELBURG.
air of surprise, made me feel that the answer was very significative. My request, simple as I had thought it, was evidently an important one in the eyes of the minister. To think of visiting a fortress that had become historical since the imprisonment and death of Ivan VI., which took place in the reign of the Empress Elizabeth, was enormous presumption. 1 perceived that I had touched a tender chord, and said no more on the subject.
Some days after this, namely, the day before yesterday, at the moment I was preparing to depart for Moscow, I received a letter from the minister of war, announcing permission to see the sluices of Schlusselburg !
The ancient Swedish fortress, called the key of the Baltic by Peter Т., is situated precisely at the source of the Neva, on an island in the lake of Ladoga, to which the river serves as a natural canal, that carries its superfluous waters into the Gulf of Finland. This canal, otherwise called the Neva, receives, however, n large accession of water, which is considered as exclusively the source of the river, and which rises up under the waves immediately beneath the wall of the fortress of Schlusselburg, between the river and the lake. The spring is one of the most remarkable natural curiosities in Eussia; and the surrounding scenery, though very flat, like all other scenery in the country, is the most interesting in the environs of Petersburg.
By means of a canal, with sluices, the boats avoid the danger caused by the spring: they leave the lake before reaching the source of the Neva, and enter the river about half a league below.
FORMALITIES.
171
This then was the interesting work which I was permitted to examine.
I had requested to see a state prison ; my request was met by a permission to sec the floodgates.
The minister of Avar ended his note Ъу informing me that the aide-de-camp, general director of the roads of the empire, had received orders to give me every facility for making this journey.
Facility! Good heavens! to what trouble had my curiosity exposed me, and what a lesson of discretion had they given me, by the exhibition of so much ceremony, qualified by so much politeness! Not to avail myself of the permission, when orders had been sent respecting me throughout the route, would have been to incur the charge of ingratitude ; yet to examine the sluices with Russian minuteness, without even seeing the castle of Schlusselburg, was to fall with my eyes open into the snare and to lose a day ; a serious loss, at this already advanced season, if I am to see all that I purpose seeing in Russia, without altogether passing the winter there.
I state facts. The reader can draw the conclusions. They have not here yet ventured to speak freely of the iniquities of the reign of Elizabeth. Any thing that might lead to reflection on the nature of the legitimacy of the present power passes for an impiety. It was therefore necessary to represent my request to the emperor. He would neither grant it nor directly refuse it; he therefore modified it, and granted me permission to admire a wonder of industry which 1 had no intention of seeing. From the emperor, this permission was forwarded to the minister, from the minister to the director-general, from the director-general to a chief i 2
172
HALLUCINATIONS.
engineer, and, finally, to a sub-officer commissioned to accompany me, to officiate as my guide and to answer for my safety during the entire journey: a favour which rather reminds one of the janissary with whom they honoured foreigners in Turkey. This protection appears too much like a mark of distrust to flatter me as much as it irks me, and, while crushing in my hands the minister's letter, I think on the justice of the words of the prince, whom I met on the Travemünde steam boat, and with him am ready to exclaim, that "Kussia is the land of useless formalities ! "
I proceeded to the aide-de-camp general-director, &c. &c. &c. to claim the execution of the supreme command. The director was not at home; I must call to-morrow. Not wishing to lose another day, I persisted, and was told to return in the evening, when I was received with the usual politeness, and after a visit of a quarter of an hour, was dismissed with the necessary orders for the engineer of Schlusselburg, but none for the governor of the castle. In accompanying me to the antechamber, he promised that a sub-officer should be at my door on the morrow, at four o'clock in the morning.
I did not sleep. I became possessed with an idea that will appear sufficiently foolish; the idea that my guard might become my gaoler. If this man, instead of conducting me to Schlusselburg, eighteen leagues from Petersburg, should, when Ave had left the city, exhibit an order to transport me to Siberia, that I might there expiate my
inconvenient curiosity, what should I say or do ? It would be necessary, at first, to obey ; and afterwards on arriving at Tobolsk,
KOTZEBUE IN SIBERIA.173
if I ever arrived there, I would claim ..... The manifestations of politeness by no means re-assured me : on the contrary, I had not forgotten the smiles and kind words of Alexander, addressed to one of his ministers, who was seized by the feldjäger, at the door, even of the emperor's cabinet, and carried direct from the palace to Siberia,
Many other examples of sentences and executions of this character occurred to justify my presentiments and to disturb my imagination.
The being a foreigner is not sufficient guarantee. I called to mind the carrying off of Kotzebue, who, at the commencement of this century, was also seized by a feldjäger, and transported under circumstances similar to mine (for I already felt as if on the road) from Petersburg to Tobolsk. What had been the offence of Kotzebue? He had made himself feared because he had published his opinions, and because they were not thought all equally favourable to the order of things established in Russia. Now, who could assure me that I had not incurred the same reproach ? or, which would be sufficient, the same suspicion ? If I give the least umbrage here, can I hope that they will have more regard for me than they have had for others ? besides, I am watched by spies — every foreigner is. They know, therefore, that I write, and carefully conceal my papers; they are, perhaps, curious to know what these papers are about.
Such were the fancies that possessed me the whole of the night before last; and though I visited yesterday without any aceident the fortress of Schlussel-burg, they are not so entirely unreasonable as to I 3
Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia Page 45
