My courier, unwilling to perform his business because he is near attaining the prerogative* of thin order of nobility, is the profoundly comic type of its nature and character. I wish I could describe liis slim figure, his carefully-adjusted dress, his sharp, thin, dry, pitiless, yet humble countenance — humble whilst waiting till it may have the right to become arrogant; —in short, this type of a puppy, in a country where conceit is not harmless as with us; for in Russia it is a sure means of rising, if only it unite itself with servility: —but this person eludes the definition of words, as an adder glides out of sight. He represents to my eyes the union of two political
L 5
226FLAG 0Г MININE.
forces, the most opposite in appearance although possessing much real affinity, and although detestable when combined — despotism and revolution ! I cannot observe his eyes of clouded blue, bordered with nearly white lashes, his complexion, whieh would be delicate, but for the bronzing rays of the sun and the frequent influence of an internal and always repressed rage, his pale and thin lips, his dry yet eivil words, the intonation of whieh utters the very opposite of the phraseology, without viewing him as a protecting spy, a spy respected even by the governor of Nijni; and under the influence of this idea I am tempted to order post-horses, and never to stop until beyond the frontiers of Russia.
The powerful governor of Nijni does not dare to command this ambitious courier to mount the box of my carriage; and, though the representative of supreme authority, ean only advise me to be patient.
Minine, the liberator of Russia—that heroie peasant whose memory has become especially popular since the French invasion—is buried at Nijni. His tomb may be seen in the cathedral, among those of the great dukes.
It was in this city that the cry of deliverance first resounded, at the time when the empire was occupied by the Poles.
Minine, a simple serf, sought the presence of Pojarski, a Russian noble: the language of the peasant breathed enthusiasm and hope. Pojarski, electrified by the saered though rude eloquence, gathered together a few men. The daring deeds of these heroes attracted others to their standard: they marched upon Moscow, and liberated Russia.
BAD FAITH OF THE GOVERNMENT.227
Since the retreat of the Poles, the flag of Pojarski and Minine has always been an object of great veneration among the Russians: the peasants inhabiting a village between Yaroslaf and Nijni preserved it as a national relic. But durino; the war of 1812 a necessity was felt of exciting the soldiers to enthusiasm; historical associations were revived, especially those connected wTith Minine; and the keepers of his banner were requested to lend this palladium to the new liberators of their country, that it might be carried at the head of the army. The ancient guardians of the national treasure only consented to part with it through a feeling of devotion to the country, and upon receiving a solemn oath that it should be returned to them after victory, when its new triumphs would render it yet more illustrious. It was thus that the flag of Minine followed our army in its retreat: but, when afterwards carried back to Moscow instead of being returned to its legitimate possessors, it was detained and deposited in the treasury of the Kremlin in contempt of the most solemn promises ; while, to satisfy the just appeals of the despoiled peasants, и copy of their miraculous ensign was sent to them — a copy which, in the derisive condescension of the robbers, was made exactly similar to the original.
Such are the lessons in good faith which the Russian government gives its people. Nor in this country is historical truth any better respected than the sanctity of oaths: the authenticity of stones is as difficult to establish as that of words or of writings. Under each new reign the edifices are remodelled at the will of the sovereign : none remain where placed by their L б
228MODERN VANDALISM.
founders: the very tombs are not shielded from the tempest of imperial caprice: even the dead are exposed to the fantasies of him who rules the living. The Emperor Nicholas, who is now playing the architect in Moscow, and reconstructing the Kremlin, is not at his first attempt of the kind. Nijni has already seen him at work.
This morning, on entering the cathedral, I felt impressed by the ancient appearance of the edifice which contains the tomb of Minine: it, at least, has been respected for more than two hundred years, I thought to myself; and this conclusion caused me to find the aspect of the place the more august.
The governor led me to the sepulchre of the hero : it lies among the monuments of the ancient sovereigns of Nijni: and when the Emperor Nicholas visited it, he descended patriotically into the cave even where the body is deposited.
" This is one of the most beautiful and interesting of the churches that I have seen in your country," I observed to the governor.
¢f It was I who built it," replied M. Boutourline.
" How ? . . . . You mean, doubtless, to say that you restored it ? "
" No; the ancient church was falling into ruins: the Emperor preferred its being reconstructed rather than repaired: it is only two years ago that it stood fifty paces further on, and formed a projection that interfered with the regularity of our Kremlin's interior."
" But the corpse and bones of Minine ?" I exclaimed.
" They were disinterred with those of the grand
PETER THE GREAT.229
dukes : all are now placed in the new sepulchre, of which you see the stone."
I could not have replied without causing an unpleasant commotion in the mind of a provincial governor as attached to the duties of his office as is the governor of iSajni: I therefore followed him, in silence, to the little obelisk of the square, and towards the immense ramparts of the Kremlin of Nijni.
We here see what is understood by veneration for the dead, and respect for historical monuments in Russia. The emperor, who knows that ancient things are venerable, desires that a church, built yesterday, should be honoured as old; and to produce this, he says that it is old, whereupon it becomes so. The new church of Minine is the ancient one: if you doubt this truth, you arc seditious.
Every where is to be seen the same system — that of Peter the Great—perpetuated by his successors. That man believed and proved that the will of a Muscovite czar might serve as a substitute for the laws of nature, for the rules of art, for truth, history, and humanity, for the ties of blood, and of religion. If the Russians still venerate him it is because their vanity outweighs their judgment. ¢¢ Behold," they say, " what Russia was before the accession of that great prince, and what she has become after: see what a monarch of genius can do !" This is a false mode of appreciating the glory of a nation. I see, among the most civilised states in the world, some whose power extends to none except their own subjects; and these, even, are few in number. Such states have no influence in universal polities. It is not by the pride of conquest, nor by political tyranny
230FRENCH CHAEACTEE.
exercised over foreign interests, that their governments acquire a right to universal gratitude; it is by good examples, by wise laws, by an enlightened and beneficent administration. With such advantages a
о
small nation may become—not conquerors, not oppressors, but lights of the world; and this is a hundred times preferable.
I cannot sufficiently grieve to see how far these ideas, so simple but so undoubtedly correct, are from influencing the best and most gifted minds, not only in Russia, but in every land, and above all, in France. Among us, the fascinations of war and conquest still survive, in spite of the lessons taught by the God of heaven, and by interest, that god of earth. Nevertheless, I still have hope, because, notwithstanding the deviations of our philosophers, notwithstanding the egotism of our language, notwithstanding our habit of calumniating ourselves, we are an essentially religious nation. Assuredly, this is no paradox; we devote ourselves to ideas with more generosity than any other people in the world : and are not ideas the idols of Christian communities ?
Unfortunately we lack discernment and independence in our choice : we do not distinguish between the
idol of the day, which will be an object of contempt on the morrow, and the object which merits all our sacrifices. I hope yet to live long enough to see that bloody idol of war, brute force, shattered among us. A country is always powerful and extensive enough when its people limit their courage to a willingness to live and die for the truth, to shed their blood in a war with falsehood and injustice, and when they justly enjoy the renown of so lofty a devotion.
THE TRUE GLORY OF NATIONS.231
Athens was but a speck upon earth, yet it became the sun of ancient civilisation ; and while it shone in all its brightness, how many nations, powerful by their numbers and extensive territory, lived, fought, conquered, exhausted themselves, and died, uselessly and obscurely ! What would have become of Germany under the system of a conquering policy ? And yet, notwithstanding its divisions, notwithstanding the weakness, as regards physical resources, of the little states that compose it, Germany, with its poets, its thinkers, its learned men, its differing forms of government, its republics, and its princes, not rivals in power, but in mental culture, in moral elevation, in sagacity of thought, is, at least, on a level, in general civilisation, with the most advanced countries in the world.
It is not by covetously looking beyond themselves that a people acquire a right to the gratitude of mankind, but by turning their strength upon themselves in order to become all that they are capable of being, in the double relations of mental and physical regeneration. This species of merit is as superior to the propagandise of the sword as virtue is to glory.
A power of the first rank: that stale expression, applied to politics, will long continue to cause the misery of the world. Self-love is the most common principle in man: and for this very reason the God who founded his doctrine on humility is the only true God, considered even in the light of a sound policy; for he alone has foreseen the path of indefinite progress, of a progress altogether intellectual, or internal: and yet, for eighteen hundred years the world has doubted his words; but, doubted and discussed as they are,
232
THE KREMLIN OF NIJNI.
they constitute its hfe : what would they do then for this ungrateful world if they were universaUy received with faith ? The morals of the gospel applied to the policy of nations — this is the problem for the future ! Europe, with its ancient, thoroughly civilised people, is the sanctuary whence religious light will spread over the universe.
The thick walls of the Nijni Kremlin wind around a hill much loftier and steeper than the hill of Moscow. The ramparts, rising in steps above each other, the terraces, arches, and battlements of this fortress, produce a striking effect: but, notwithstanding the beauty of the site, he would be deceived who should expect, in beholding it, to be seized with the astonishment produced by the Kremlin of Moscow— that religious fortress in which history is written on rock. The Kremlin of Moscow is an object that has not its like, either in Russia or in the world.
I may here insert a fact which I neglected to mention at the time of noticing the ancient palace of the Czars in that fortress; a palace which, as the reader may recollect, produces, with its retreating stories, its ornaments in relief, and its Asiatic paintings, the effect of an Indian pyramid. The furniture of this palace was old and decayed: skilful workmen were sent to Moscow, who made exactly similar copies of each article; so that the same movables, although renewed from top to bottom, constitute the ornament of the restored palace. The authentic remains of the ancient furniture were sold by auction, in Moscow itself, and before the eyes of all the world ; and yet not one person in this country, where respect for sovereignty is a religion, was found willing to
the governor's camp.233
save the royal relics from the fate of the most vulgar furniture. What is here called keeping up old things is the baptizing of new ones with ancient names.
We also visited a very pretty convent: the nuns are poor, but their house exhibits edifying marks of cleanliness. Afterwards, the governor took me to see his camp: the rage for manoeuvres, reviews, and bivouacs is universal. The governors of the provinces, like the emperor, pass their life in playing at soldiers ; and the more numerous these assemblages are, the more proudly do the governors feci their resemblance to their master. The regiments which form the camp of Nijni are composed of the children of soldiers. It was evening when Ave reached their tents, reared on a plain which is a continuation of the table of the hill on which stands old Nijni.
Six hundred men were chanting the prayers; and at a distance, in the open air, this religious and military choir produced an astonishing effect; it was like a cloud of perfume rising majestically under a pure and deep sky : prayer ascending from that abyss of passions and sorrows — the heart of man—may be compared to the column of smoke and fire which rise¡` through the torn crater of the volcano, until it reaches the firmament. And who knows if the pillar of the Israelites, so long lost in the desert, did not image the same thing ? The voices of these poor Slavonian soldiers, softened by the distance, seemed to come from on high. When the first notes struck our ears, a knoll on the plain hid the tents from our eyes. The weakened echoes of earth responded to these celestial voices; and the music was interrupted by distant discharges of musquetry — a warlike orchcstre, which
234CHURCH OF THE STROGONOFFS.
scarcely seemed more loud than the great drums of the Opera, and which appeared much more in place than they do. When the tents, whence issued the harmonious notes, appeared before us, the setting sun, glistening upon their canvas, added the magic of colour to that of sounds.
The governor, who saw the pleasure that I experienced in listening to this music, allowed me to enjoy it, and enjoyed it himself, for a considerable time. nothing gives greater pleasure to this truly hospitable man than to procure enjoyment for his guests. The best way of showing him your gratitude is to let him see your gratification. We finished our ride by twilight; and, returning through the low town, we stopped before a church which has not ceased to attract my eyes since I have been in jTijni. It is a true model of Russian architecture; neither ancient Greek, nor the Greek of the Lower Empire, but a Delft-ware toy, in the style of the Kremlin, or of the church of Vassili Blagennoï, though with less variety in the form and colour. It is so covered with flower-work and carvings of curious form, that one cannot stop before it without thinking of a vessel of Dresden china. This little chef-d'oeuvre of the whimsical is not ancient. It was raised by the munificence of the Strogonoff family; great nobles descended from the merchants, at whose cost was made the conquest of Siberia under Ivan IV. The brothers Strogonoíf of that period, themselves raised the adventurous army which conquered a kingdom for Russia. Their soldiers were the buccaneers of terra firm a.
The interior of the church of the Strogonofts does not answer to its exterior; but, such as it is, I greatly
RUSSIAN VAUDEVILLE.235
prefer it to the clumsy copies of Roman temples with which Petersburg and Moscow are encumbered.
To finish the day, we attended the opera of the fair, and listened to a vaudeville in the native language. The Russian vaudevilles are still translations from the French. The people of the country appear to be very proud of this new means of civilisation which they have imported. I was unable to judge of the influence of the spectacle upon the minds of the assembly, owing to the fact of the theatre being empty almost to the letter. Besides the ennui and the compassion one feels in the presence of poor players, when there is no audience, I experienced on this occasion the disagreeable impression which the mixing up of singing and speaking-scenes has always communicated to me in our own theatres. This barbarism, without the salt of French wit, would, but for the governor, have driven me away during the first act. As it was, I remained patient until the conclusion of the performance.
I have been passing the night in writing to dissipate my ennui; but this effort has made me ill, and I am going to bed in a fever.
236 MURDER OF A GERMAN LANDHOLDER.
CHAP. XXXV.*
ASSASSINAT
ION OF A GERMAN LANDHOLDER. — RUSSIAN AVERSION
TO INNOVATIONS. CONSEQUENCES OF THE ESTABLISHED STATE
OF THINGS.SERVILITY OF THE PEASANTS. EXILE OF M.
GUIBAL. A MUSCOVITE WITCH. A SICK MAN AMONG HIS
FRIENDS IN RUSSIA. RUSSIAN CHARITY. A PASSION FOR
TOMBS. NOCTURNAL LESSONS IN ETIQUETTE.GYPSIES AT THE
FAIR. —THE VIRTUES OF OUTCASTS. VICTOR HUGO. PROJECT
OF VISITING KAZAN ABANDONED.MEDICAL ADVICE.IDEAS OF
THE RUSSIANS RESPECTING FREE GOVERNMENTS. VLADIMIR.
THE FORESTS OF RUSSIA. THE USE OF A FELDJÄGERFALSE
DELICACY IMPOSED UPON FOREIGNERS. CENTRALISATION.
RENCONTRE WITH AN ELEPHANT. AN ACCIDENT.RETURN TO
MOSCOWA FAREWELL TO THE KREMLIN.EFFECT PRODUCED
BY THE VICINITY OF THE EMPEROR. -— MILITARY FETE AT BORO
DINO. THE AUTHOR'S MOTIVES FOR NOT ATTENDING. PRINCE
WITGENSTEIN. HISTORICAL TRAVESTY.
A M. Jament related to me, at Nijni, that a German, the new lord of a village, a great agriculturalist and a propagator of modes of husbandry still unused in this country, has just been assassinated on his own domains, contiguous to those of a M. Merline, another foreigner, through whom the fact has come to our knowledge.
Two men presented themselves to this German lord, under the pretext of purchasing horses of him ; and in the evening they entered his chamber and murdered him. It was, I am assured, a blow aimed by the peasants of the foreigner in revenge for the
* Written at Vladimir, between Nijni and Moscow, the 2d of September.
RUSSIAN AVERSION TO INNOVATIONS. 237
innovations which he sought to make in the.culture of their lands.
Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia Page 82
