The Press. — London, England, 1856-09-06 00:00:00

846 CORONATION OF THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. ENTRY OF THE EMPEROR INTO MOSCOW. THE Emperor Alexander made his solemn entry into Moscow on the 29th ult. : A little after midday (says a correspondent of the Daily News) a salvo of nine guns from a battery posted opposite the Tchoudow Convent, followed by a peal of bells from the Cathedral of the Assumption, gave the signal to all the bells of Moscow to begin jangling. Their deafening clang has continued ever since, and only those who have witnessed can imagine the noise and vibration of the air produced by such a mass of tintinnabulary metal. As soon as the hurricane of clangour broke out. actors and spectators of all ranks and degrees hurried to their posts. _ _ - At a quarter past three p.m. the imperial procession left the Petrovsky Palace. First came a Maitre de Police, with twelve mounted gendarmes to clear the way. The Emperor was preceded by his body guard, in their magmfi • cent uniforms, squadrons of Cossacks of the Black Sea and of the regiment of Guards, the representatives of the haute noblesse on horseback, all in uniform, the representatives of the Asiatic population which acknowledge the sove reignty of Russia, with valets, lacqueys, and runners of the Court. After this mixtute of European and Oriental cos tumes came masters of ceremonies and others with their badges of office. After this train, in which European and Oriental finery were strangely mingled, came Alexander Nicolaievitch, on horseback, attended by the Minister of his Household, the Minister of War, and his aides-de camp.. The :Princes of the blood followed, all on horse back. A long train of splendid carriages came next in or.ler, containing the Empress, the Empress Mother, the Grand Duchesses, and the Princess of Oldenburg, followed by their ladies of honour. Squadrons of Cuirassiers closed the procession. . _ _ At four p.m. precisely a salvo of set enty-one guns an nounced that the Emperor was entering his ancientcapital. The Military Governor-General of Moscow received his Majesty at the entrance of the city, at the head of his employes. The magistrates and the burghers received his Majesty at the entrance of the quarter called Zemlenoi Gorod. The marshal and the nobility of the Government of Moscow received him at the entrance of the quarter called Rieloi Gorod. The Civil Governor and the civil authorities of the city were stationed to receive him at the gate of the Resurrection. Here a brief halt took place, during which the Emperor, the Empress, and the Princes and Princesses of the blood, dismounted and knelt before the image of Our Lady of Iberia. This ceremony over, the procession again moved onward ; was received at the gate of the Saviour by the Commandant of Moscow and his staff, and in front of the Cathedral of the Assumption by the Directing Senate. All along the route of the pro cession the houses were decorated, and the clergy stationed at the gates of their respective churches with their images and crosses. The acclamations of the assembled multitude were enthusiastic, and distinctly beard above the din and clangour of the bells. The Emperor, the Empresses, the Princes, and the Princesses, descended from their horses and carriages in front of the Cathedral of the Assumption, at the stair which is cued Krasnoe Kryltzo. Intelligence of this event was forthwith thundered forth by a salvo of eighty five guns. The portion of the imperial cortege which preceded their Majesties kept on their way round the cathedral, and such as had the entrée entered it by the north gate. The officers of the Court completed the circle of the budding, and stationed themselves in front of the south gate, to await the coming out of their Majesties. The Holy Synod and the functionaries of the cathedral met their M , j2sties at the parvir, and preceded them into the church chanting the second canticle for Palm-week. After kissing the images and relics, their Majesties pro ceeded to the Cathedrals of the Archangel Michael and the Annunciation, in both of which the ceremony of kissing the images and relics was gone through. In the Cathedral of St. M ichael they also prostrated themselves before the tombs of his Majesty's ancestors. On quitting the cathednd their Majesties. accompanied by the Court, walked to the Palace of the Kremlin. At its gates they were received by the Court clergy with the cross and holy water. The Archbishop of Moscow here pre sented the Emperor with bread and salt ; and immediately afterwards a salvo of Jul guns announced at five p.m. that the Imperial family had entered the palace of their ancestors. The journey between St. Petersburg and Moscow is tedious, and twenty•four hours long. The rush last week was tremendous : When I entered the railway station at the top of the Nevskoi (writes a correspondent), I was reminded of London-bridge on the Epsom morning, with this diffe rence, that instead of sporting men, jockeys, and the metropolitan holiday folks, I found myself surrounded and almost overwhelmed by princes and mujiks, Circassians and Georgians, handsome Greeks and wily Tartars, ladies in Parisian toilettes, and their bonnes in the national caftan and coronet, Jews and Slovacks, Poles and Hunga rians, priests and Levites: in short, every vanety of c istume, colour, and odour that distinguish the varied race composing the great Russian nation. To do them justice, they were not half so unruly as the crowd to which I have just now compared them, but they were legion, and their luggage—such luggage !—which had all to be passed t r utgh a window and weighed, and which seemed as if it wo di' have required the leviathan steamship to supply the requisite accommodation. Nineteen, twenty-five, even tifty packages were no unusual amount for a single r^-ve 'ger ; awl some of them as big as a sugar hogshead The formalities necessary before a man can leave one town for another exhibited that übiquitous THE PRESS. Smith " of the Egyptian-hall in his usual dis tress:— Smith has complied wit'a every portion of the intricate regulations ; and, knowing this, he has not felt any of the anxiety which made me proceed so superfluously early (as it might seem) to the railway station. When, therefore, in return for the production of his money he is asked for his Moscow passport, he confidently draws it forth ; but the bell is ringing, and, heavens! he is told that it is not vised. He points to the visa of his consul, to the next visa of the secret police, to Count Orloff's visa, to the visa of the police of his first guarder, to that of the police of the quartier to which he then removed, to that of the police in the district from which he has last and only just come, and he demands indignantly," Do they call that not visit' ? " The English speaking clerk has, unluckily, his attention engaged elsewhere for the moment ; and it is with German that poor Smith is being pelted now. Still he has one chance. The clerk addresses a few words in Russ to the porter ; the latter jabbers vehemently to Smith, and points across the office; " Pashowlst," he cries, and beckons Smith to follow. Ah! if our tormented countryman's good angel would only inspire him to do so. The Russian porter will not despair, and, in reply to Smith's " You be —, it is vised, I tell you ; don't you see it's vised in fifty places." In reply to this he ventures to lay a hand on Smith's collar gently to draw him through the seething and fast•thickening crowd. The spirit of a Briton is immediately roused by this last atrocity ; he has not rightly read the benevolent anxiety in the face of the poor mujik ; for Smith is athletic, but not a physiognomist, any more than a linguist. Just as he has sent his insolent adversary reeling against the fat Russian merchant who is hurtling out to the platform at the sound of the second bell, the clerk, who speaks all languages, happens to be again disengaged, and calls out that the visa now required is merely that of the officer at the other side of the booking•office. Smith rushes thither, presents his passport, has it stamped, receives it back, struggles once more through the crowd, and arrives at the counter where he should receive his passenger ticket only to find that the time is past for its delivery. Meanwhile his luggage is in the train, which, nearly a quarter of a mile long, is now beginning slowly to move past the tall windows and windowed doors. There will be no more trains that day, except a special one for his Imperial Highness the Prince Romanovsky and his suite. —Poet cor. The first-class railway carriages, built upon the American plan, are extremely convenient, permitting free passage up and down the centre, with an outside gallery at the end for those who wish to enjoy the fresh air. The country was very uninteresting : For the first hundred versts it was bare and level as a steppe, without a single tree to break the monotony of the prospect. But as we neared Moscow, and left St. Peters burg further behind, the landscape became more mellow; clumps of trees first appeared, then plantations, while the open country became tinted with the green of the meadow or the golden hues of the corn-field. Now and then the fantastic spires of a Greek monastery cut the horizon, and comfortable farmhouses gave reassuring indication of human habitation. Then we had little rivers to cross, over well-constructed bridges; and one of greater preten sions, called, I think, the Nidska (I do not pledge myself to the orthography ), covered with a flotilla of curiously constructed barges bringing down corn from the Volga fur the consumption of the capital. We had rain in light showers, even down teems and perfect torrents, with now and then a flash of lightning or a gleam of sunshine; and, lastly, some regular stoppages on the road, varying in dura tion from ten minutes to two hours, and giving the nobles ample time for their tichi and the mujiks for their darling vodka. You may depend upon it the opportunity was not neglected, as at every station the refreshment room exhi bited the most motley groups imaginable, while the waiters were embarrassed at once by the pressure of their duties and the scarcity of change. Indeed, I cannot call to my mind a single instance in which these truly conscientious men being intrusted with a three-rouble note were enabled to get back to the passenger who had intrusted it to him before the departure of the train.—D. Ne es Car. During a stoppage en route, the special train of the Grand Duke Constantine arrived : I got an excellent view of his Imperial Highness, who came down upon the platform and nodded to and chatted with everybody about him. It was pleasing to see the confidence with which the humblest people came np quite close to him, and the off-hand friendly way in which he received their compliments. There were no soldiers, no butt•ends of muskets to keep off the common herd, but everything was trusting, kindly, and without any affectation of condescension. He is a tall, slight, well made young man, with good features and a pleasant expression, and seems to be on the beat terms with himself and everyone about him. He is, in short, the last man in the world whom from his appearance I should reckon dstwerous or disagreeable. Besides this. he has a considerable repute. tion for wit and sarcastic humour, and many of his sayings are in general circulation. I shall give you one or two as specitre is. To enable you to understand the first, I must premise that the Americans, whose wonderful sympathy with Russia during the last war it was so difficult to under stand, have made several excellent speculations in this country, amongst others the contract for keeping the lltos• cow railway in repair, by which it is said they net a clear profit of some 20:),00431. a year. The Grand Duke. who is dissatisfied with this job, as well he may be, had lately some distinguished friends on a visit, whom he handed over to his chamberlain to show them the sights of the capital. One day he asked that officer whether his friends had seen all the sights, and being answered in the affirma tive, said, laughing, " Then go and show them the Ame rican contract, which is decidedly the greatest curiosity that could be exhibited in any country.' The second SATURDA story applies to his Imperial Highness's early days. He was, as is well known, appointed to the nominal command of the fleet when a child, but even at that early age was anxious to make it a reality. One day when on board a man•ofwar. he promoted an officer who pleased him, but the appointment was not confirmed, while the young admiral was reproved. The next morning he appeared before the Emperor in full uniform and tendered his resig nation, adding that he was no admiral if he could not promote whom he liked. It is needless to add that this youthful burst cau.ed considerable amusement in the highest quarter, and that the resignation was not accepted. —lb. M. DE LAMARTINE UPON ITALY. M. DE LAMARTINE in the present number of his "Cours Familier" has stated at length his intended policy towards Italy in '4B had the French Provi sional Government lasted. He defends the Pro visional Government of '4B from the charge of having neglected Italy, and says that it formed " the army of the Alps," in readiness for an intervention. Previous to the battle of Novara, "sixty thousand men placed en echellon from Lyons to the frontier of the Var were intended, in the first place, to be ready to enter Piedmont at the first sign of danger to that power; in the second, to be ready to repress the religious, civil, socialist, and dema- gogic agitations which might break out at any moment in the south of France, more impulsive than the north, at Lyons, at Avignon, at Marseilles, at Toulon, throughout the whole basin of the Saone and the Rhone. Our army (he goes on to say), was meant to descend from the Alps into Piedmont, to cover that kingdom, to rally the fragments of the gallant Piedmontese army, to make face to the Austrians, and to fight, if it was neces sary to fight, for the evacuation and independence of the whole Peninsula. At that time Austria, which had"no existence except in her single army in Italy, had no notion of putting all to the hazard of a single battle : She thought only of the procuring for herself honour able conditions of retreat. She herself proposed to nego tiate for the retreat to the foot of the Tyrol; in return for the evacuation of Lombard Italy, she asked only for the payment by Italy of her Italian debt. In such extremities there is little doubt but that 100,0110 French covering 60,000 Piedmontese in the plains of Piedmont would have achieved, by their mere presence, or by the prestige of their name, the freedom of Italy. M. de Lamartine then indicates his views of Italian independence : We have not the secrets of fate, but we may assert that we should have had what France would have advised, and what is consistent with the old constitution of five or six Italies—namely, a united patriotic confederation of all these Italics under their various political character, and under the protecting mediation of France. The national and military union of the political diversities would have been somewhat analogous to the Hellenic confederation of the towns, kingdoms, republics of the Peloponnesus, and the islands under the protection of the Macedonian pha lanxes. No doubt there would have been agitations, blind restlessness, anomalies, inexperience, collisions, rivalries, excess in attack, excess in resistance ; bat the active armed mediation of France wculd have been a dictatorship of common safety—accepted from necessity until the time when this amplivetyony of allies could le replaced by the amphyctyony of the Italians established and armed in their own towns. Since the middle ages Italy is more municipal than national ; a municipal confederation is the necessary form of its constitution. Such were my thoughts on Italy. I know that they will seem offensive to those Italians who urged the impractic able scheme of a union without bond, and an emancipa tion without emancipators. My duty was not to flatter Italy, but to save her. I did not flatter her. I did not excite the unseasonable risings of 1848. I call to witness her ambassador and her patriots of that day. Let them say woether I did not use my sincere efforts to turn sante Charles Albert from his scheme of aggression, its which I foresaw his destruction ? Hut, reply the Italians, embittered by exile ; but, say the radicals of the revolutionary war in France, wherefore did not the army of the Alps go down into Italy after the defeat of Charles Albert, to assume that noble part of armed mediator, or of a combatant for Italy, which you had de signed for it at its creation, and which you had put off until the hour when Piedmont should be invaded by an Austrian army ? Alas! it is not I who must answer this ;itis a date full of sadness. The day on which the defeat of Charles Albert was foreseen at Paris was the day when the order of march for the army of the Alps was without a moment's hesitation drawn up by the Government of the republic. The fatal communist or democratical insurrection of June involved the resignation of the Government. Whilst the Government fought in the streets of Paris for the safety of the republic and of the Assembly; whilst it triumphed through the army which it had prepared by the general which it had appointed by its own hand . , being itself both leader and soldier, exposing its life to the tire in order to defend the national represet• tation, that same national representation—the peopl, conceived the odious suspicion of a secret complicity a ith it; enemies, and hastily demanded back from it the ex, en• tive power, in order to confer it upon a dictator as patriotic, bat not mote devoted to France. The fatal coincidence of the battle of Paris, with the defeat of Piedmont, entombed in the same abyss all the plans and all the dreams. A stranger since that day to the Government, I know not what were the thoughts and the necessities of the IRMO.