The Press. — London, England, 1856-10-11 00:00:00

978 RUSSIAN CORONATION FETES. THE two balls at the English and French Embassies have proved the great and closing attractions of the coronation fetes. Everybody of note in Moscow at tended, and the Emperor and Empress of Russia were also present on each occasion. At Lord Gran ville's the decorations were of course superb, and the display of plate, &c., everything that could be desired on such an occasion. The Czar arrived early : It was about 9.30 when the Emperor and Empress ar rived. They were received by Lord and Lady Granville at the stairs, and the attaches and suite of the embassy were also in attendance. The Grand Dukes and Duchesses and the ladies of the Court followed, and the party proceeded t ) the ball-room. On entering, the orchestra struck up a polonaise. The ambassador was honoured by the hand of the Czarina, the Emperor led forth Lady Granville, and the ball was opened by a stately promenade in this order, from one end of the room to the other, to the strains of the band, in a kind of measured step, the flnelydressel and glittering crowd opening right and left and forming walls which flashed with diamonds, gold, orders, satins, and precious stones, between which the Emperor and Em press and their partners advanced.—Times cor. After the dancing had gone on for some time, the Emperor, who enjoyed it to all appearances as much as any one, did a thing which gave sensible satisfac tion, and was remarked very generally:— His Majesty had been dancing in one particular set in the upper part of the room, but suddenly, when the next quadrille was about to form, he left the upper set, and leading Lady Emily Peel as his partner, be took his place in the second set, and began to dance among the dii minnres, leaving those of the majores genti-dm perhaps somewhat astonished. TIP bore his share, and perhaps more than his share, of bumping with great complacence, and once, when a long Englishman, in all the vigour of the Britannic waltz, " ran slap right into him," and ac tually disturbed the Imperial equilibrium considerably, the Cur with the utmost readiness and true politeness relieved the culprit from all embarrassment by apologising to him for the accident, and saying " he (the Czar) really could not get out of the way, the crowd was so great !" All the Imperial family seemed in good spirits, and were evidently much pleased with the Neither were the Grand Dukes behind their Im perial brother in enjoying themselves : The Grand Duke Constantine and his wife the Grand Duchess Alexandra Jo'epowna, the Grand Duchess Marie, the Grand Dukes Nicholas and Michael, and the Prince of Hesse, were also at the ball. It is curious to observe the contrast which is presented with the manners of onr Court in the absence of stiffness and formality in the intercourse of the Royal family with society. The Em peror several times in the course of the evening quietly took a chair and sat down among the rest of the people, and no one thought it necessary to stand up or move out of the way. The Grand Dukes are very simple and un affected, and dance away as if they enjoyed it. Lord Granville baring expressed a hope that the Grand Duke Constantine had enjoyed himself, the Grand Duke said, " Look at my face and you will see whether I have or not." —D. News cot. The display of pearls, diamonds, and jewellery, was of course very fine : The Russian ladies were blazing with them. The Em press, the Grand Duchesses, Lady Granville, the Princess de Ligne, and many others, bore whole fortunes on their heads. A little sprig, the feeblest-stemmed, shakiest thing in the world of botanical orfevrerie, trembled with drops of dew, each worth thousands of pounds, on one head ; a grand circlet of diamonds surrounded another with a million of charms ; a third wore Venus's own cestus of emeralds and rubies; and so on, till one was tired of these sparkling carbonates, and longed for a sim ple wreath of flowers by way of contrast. It was odd enough to see stalking among this fine society some gigantic Tcherkf.sses in their national dresses, or wild Asiatic depnties looking with the astonishment and admi ration of Mahomedans at the daughters of Ere. One Oriental gentleman, who carried on his breast a large silver•bound bandolier full of blue paper cartridges, was an object of the liveliest apprehension, and he was sedn• lonely avoided by many persons all night, for it was generally believed that he would blow up with a great crash if a spark from a candle fell on him. He did not go off, however, except in his carriage early in the morning, but a more dangerous person I never saw in a drawing room ; he had at least three quarters of a round of powder about him in silver shells.—Times cor. The supper was a crush for the guests generally. The Imperial party retired w a separate room : It was after midnight when the Emperor and Empress retired to supper. Their example was followed by the rest of the guests, or by as many as could get into the room, and then commenced that reign of terror, during which an iron•hearted valetaille refuse the mercies of cold water to parched and crushed young ladies, and will not yield to the entreaties of the most pathetic of dowagers fur more iced coffee. The pressure was tremendous, and was quite worthy of the best English society or of her Majesty's drawing-rooms. The tables were squeezed in upon the footmen, who forced them out again, and were in a rickety, condition all night, so +hat every speech was interlarded with " Frenez garde, Madame ! la table va crouler ;" "By jove, it will be d own ;" "D o not push, I beg you, sir,' &c. &c : However, the supper was most bountiful and unexceptionable, and the dishes were renewed over and over again Considering the excited thrusts of knives and tuts made over the shoulders of the first rank by the outsiders, it is wonderful more people were not wounded. , THE PRESS. All this was " great fun," and was done very good humour edly. Those who were charmed with the ball ►ere de lighted with the supper, and those who did not dance made up for their deprivation of its pleasures by the serious en• joyment of the good things before them.—lb. - - The invitations sent by Lord Granville on this oc casion were in the ordinary form. France in this surpassel us : The invitations sent out by M. de Morny have been con sidered very neat in form and style. The English Ambas sador and the Austrian Ambassador merely invited the guest to come and pass the evening with them, without saying a word of the good company he was to meet. But see how plain John Bull and his cousin of Austria are shamed by this elegant phrase in the =oath of the Ambas• sailor of France : Sa Majeste rEmpereur et ea Majeste l'lmperatriee ayant Bien voulu consentir i honorer de leur presence un bet offert par l'Ambassad eur de France le 28 (it) Septembre, le Comte de Morny prie Monsieur de lui faire I'honneur d'y assieter.—lb. A grand chasse was given in the week to the diplo plomatic corps and court. If it were remarkable for anything, it was for the strcng infusion of the mili tary element. The ground was kept by Cossacks, every one was in uniform, and the foxes, fat and scant of breath, yielded up life and brush without effort at escape. Verily fox-hunting in Russia must be dull work : The meet was near an old ruined palace which was built by the Empress Catherine, and was formerly surrounded by a deer park, but the place has been much neglected of late years, and is now in rather a dilapidated state. The Emperor was to be on horseback at ten, and before that hour the sportsmen arrived in great numbers. Lord Granville's barouche, in which ho drove four English horses himself, was a great contrast to the other carriages, which were most of them drawn by post horses, harnessed in the Russian fashion, kilr abreast, and driven by a mujik in a sheepskin coat. The English Embassy mustered very strong, and were most of them mounted on their own horses, brought from England. There were only five ladies out, four of whom were English—Ladies E. Peel, Stafford, Margaret L. Gower, and Atlesbury ; the fifth was a Princess Rariatinsky, a very pretty woman. The Em peror arrived about half past ten, in a plain caleche with four horses. His two sons were with him, and the Grand Dukes Nicholas and Michael followed. There were all in military costume, the Emperor in a hussar uniform. His Majesty got on his horse, a small grey Arab, and rode off immediately to cover, followed by the field, about 200 in number. After riding a mile and a half through some very muddy lanes we came to the scene of action, where the sport commenced by some coursing. Ham, however, were not very plentiful in the open, and they proceeded to draw the covers with a pack of harriers. The hounds were a set of queer-looking little dogs, which would hardly have passed muster in Leicestershire, but to make up for their deficiencies they were accompanied by ten splendid piqueurs dressed in gorgeous red liveries and mounted on little Cossack horses. These individuals were provided with long horns, on which they constantly played, and when the dogs were running they rode wildly among them, cracking their whips and shouting. The covers were small plantations of brushwood, and the mode of proceed. ing was as follows :—The ten piqueurs took the hounds into the cover, other piqueurs being stationed outside with greyhounds, which they let slip upon any unfortunate animal that looked out of the cover. In this way a great many hares and plump little foxes, who looked as if their early lives had been spent in some comfortable hutch, and did not seem at all used to the amusement, were disposed cf. Two wolves were reserved for the finale, and were held down by dogs to have their throats cut.—D. News cor. At Count Morny's state ball on the 28th ult., the most remarkable group present was that of the Princess Dalian, with her son and Circassian at tendants:— They are certainly the finest and most stately men I have ever seen, although for all purposes of civilised life they must be considered as little qualified. Their dress rather conceals than displays the proportions of their figures, which aro faultless. They are all over six feet in height ; their hair, which is rather coarse, hanging down over the neck and low nn the forehead,gives them the appearance of Indians, but the handsome well-formed features show that they belong to a higher race. Their heads and necks are well set on their shoulders, which are remarkably broad and athletic. He (for one will do for all) is dressed in a kind of frock of white satin, trimmed with gold lace, con fined at the waist by a silver belt studded with precious stones, from which hangs a curved sword, the handle with out a guard, and a long pistol, silver bound, which is thrust into the girdle at the back. Across the cheat there is a row of gold and silver flutings, into which are inserted cart ridges. The frock comes down nearly to the ankles, and permits a pair of tight greave like trousers, trimmed with gold lace, and gathered in folds over the shoe, to be seen. The shoes are of strange cut and manufacture, and are so ridiculously small as to suggest a suspicion of Chinese practices in early life ; but the ease with which the men walk is enough to prove it is groundless. These wild fellows stalk through the crowd as if they had been accus tonied to ball-rooms all tne.ir lives, and they display a most fashionable anxiety with respect to the very important sub ject of supper.—Times cor. Something put the little King of Mingrelia out of temper, and he made a scene : The boy is about nine years of age, but it was perfectly astounding to witness the precocity of his anger; he stamped his tiny feet, and clapped his hand on his side as it to draw his little sword, and his eyes flashed fire—in fact he presented such an exhibition as would have imme- diately called up associations of birch•brooms in the minds of the most humane of masters, and visions of the more SATURDAY, gloomy portions of the paternal mansion and bread and cold water diet in strong-minded mothers. His mother, poor lady, was quite distressed. She would no doubt ha' e given him every diamond on her head at that moment to appease the royal rage. In the middle of it all one of the big men sees something is wrong, and makes his way to the prince; as if by some secret sympathy two or three more of them are beheld hastening from distant quarters of the house. They soothe him, bending before him with the utmost reverence; they bow and smile, and speak de precatingly to the urchin King, and at last his Majesty Iloks up at the biggest of them, relaxes his brow, laugh!, gives his hand to his mother, and sits down beside her to lock at the dancing.—M. Russian "cheers," and their notion that the bayonet is the national weapon, are thus alluded to by the corresoondent : The cheering of the people and of the soldiers was load and enthusiastic, in spite of the weather. " Cheer*" is not the proper term. It is rather the simultaneous utter ance of a shout of " God preserve the Czar " in a high tone, and finished sharply and abruptly. To some who were there, the sound might have recalled the cry which two years Ego they heard on the banks of the Alma, when some of the 3 . 2nd Regiment issued out of their intrencl.- ments and charged with the bayonet—of whoa], by the bye, few ever got back. I have observed—par parenthise be it said—that there is a sort of national vanity common to all nations respecting the use of the bayonet. We talk of tin t weapon as our peculiar arm—the British bayonet, as it is called, is supposed to have virtues no enemy can resist. Well. the French officers talk in just the same way ; they are always speaking of the weapon as the great engine of their infantry, and of their driving the enemy before them a la fourchelle. Whether the Austrians have the coolness to speak in that fashion I cannot affirm. I rather think the Prussians do indulge in reminiscences of old Frita's bayonet practice. I know that the Russians esteem it as a national arm, and are rich in recollections of victories achieved by its use. They speak of an attack with the bayonet as being one po Malicia (in the Russian fashion), and it pleases them to think, even yet, thatif their columns had not been cut up, as they aver they were, from a distance by an army armed with rifles, they would have driven the allies across the Alma with the bayonet. Their formation of attack is intended, they say, to give that weapon its greatest potency. " Confound those rifles and long-range arms," say they. " Our superiority in war, founded on the bayonet, will depart from us. We were battered, not beaten out of Sebastopol."—/b. The contentment of the lower classes at all the great public exhibitions is very remarkable. The mujik is the most modest, long-suffering, and least demonstrative of human beings : There is an amount of tranquil contentment among the lower classes in Russia which can be seen nowhere else. In no other country in Europe could the experiment of filling the royal palaces with the " mob " be tried with certainty of the result. The police, indeed, take care that no stranger of doubtful disposition shall come into a country where the monarch moves about amid his subjects without guards or state. Where else could you collect about half a million of people, and let them stand for hours in a soaking rain after the business for which they had assembled was over. and not hear a voice of complaint, or see the smallest token of dissatisfaction ?-Ib. "J . C.," in one of his letters to the Times this week upon the corn countries of the Continent, gives a passing description of the famous grotto of Adelsberg, while en route from Laybach to Trieste : At Adelsberg we visited the deservedly famous natural grotto, probably the most wonderful thing of the kind in the world. A considerable river runs right into a mountain of limestone by a great natural arch, which contracts a short distance inwards so as barely to admit the waters. Above this arch the grotto is entered, and fcr two hours the visitors are conducted through its marvellous chambers. The first great cavern is lighted up, and the roof is seen covered with stalactites, while in the grim depths below the roar of the subterranean river is heard. Wo cross it by two natural bridges, and, lighted by torches, pass on from one wonder to another, till, after half an hour's walk, we are told to stoop down to pass through a con tracted archway, and bending lowly we enter a chamber worthy to have been the hall of Pluto. It was all lighted up, and the further end, from the peculiar form of the stalagmites on the floor, and the fretted roof made by the pendent stalactites, seemed like a great orchestra ready to begin. Once a veer this chamber is used for festivity, and then 4,000 of the peasantry assemble and dance in it. Continuing our explorations we every moment pass some new etalactical curiosities, some shaped like a pulpit, some like the drapery of a curtain, some like an organ high on the screen of a cathedral; here one towering up like a great palmtree ; there another forming from its thic.; and hanging foliage a fit resting place for the dead. Fantastic shapes there are also—some like a monkey, a dog, and one like an old man smoking. We had now walked about two miles into the heart of the mountain through these subterranean caverns, and at this point found ourselves approaching the innermost and grandest chamber of all. It had been lighted up, and from a great depth below we saw far into the glimmering caverns—first a mount called Calvary, and then behind it, one after an other, immense pillars of stalagmite standing up some thirty feet from the !bor. while far above is beheld a white roof, perfectly free from stalactites, and looking grandly large in its bareness. This chamber cannot be much less in size than the dome of St. Paul's. It is a solemn thing to look at, for all return from it with a subdued tone and voice, as if they had been in the more immediate presence of a Power whose greatness was beyond con; prehension.