The Press.
London, England, 1856-09-27 00:00:00

PAMPHLETS

While Banks thus Fail, Who are Safe ? Effingham
Wilson—Royal British Bank, Improved List of Share-
holders. Ditto—Milner Refuted. Charles Hastings Col-
lette. Penny—An Argument for the Legislative Prohibi•
lion of the Liquor Tr4llc. Dr. F. R. Lees. Tweetlie--
Rerised English Version of the Holy Scriptures. Triibner
and Co.—The Life Boat. Knight.

THE ROYAL. POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION authorities
are about to organise a system of evening classes.
A meeting was held at the institution on Thursday,
when the manager, Mr. Pepper, explained the gene-
ral objects of these classes, and the reasons which
had induced him to organise a more systematic
course of scientific instruction. He had always been
anxious to make the Polytechnic, not only a place of
popular amusements in science, but an institution in
which the elements of science should be regularly
and accurately taught. Its appliances and situation
were, he thought, well adapted for such a purpose.
He hoped in the course of time to establish a trade
school, similar to those of Wandsworth and Bristol,
where boys would be taught at a small charge those
principles of science upon which our industrial suc-
cess depends. He stated that these classes will
commence in October, and terminate a few weeks
previous to the annual examination of the Society of
Arts. The books and apparatus necessary for these
classes would be supplied through the Society of Arts
by the Privy Council on Education. He had started
these classes, not with any desire to make a profit of
them, but to meet what he considered a social want.
Every farthing, after the ordinary expenses of the
class-rooms were paid, should go for the benefit of
the teachers; and in the selection of gentlemen to
conduct these classes he had satisfied himself of
their reputation and ability for such a work. He
had been greatly assisted in the formation of these
classes by Mr. Buckmaster, one of the science mas-
ters of the Department of Science and Art, and a
gentleman well acquainted with the requirements of
such an undertaking.
CREMORNE GARDENS promise a final fete for
Thursday next. There are to be special amusements
of every description, and a grand display of fireworks
in the evening. Fine weather will be all that is re-
quired to insure success, and present appearances
we must say are rather against such an agreeable
result.

THE PRESS.

THE RUSSIAN CORONATION FETES.

THE rejoicings at Moscow have continued with un-
abated vigour since the coronation. Balls, fetes,
processions, feastings, military spectacles, and re-
views, have followed each other at a killing pace till
one half the people are laid up with relaxed throats
and bronchitis, and the other half with dyspepsia.
Even the Czar himself appears tiring, for he has
ordered the people's fete to take place five lays
earlier than was at first arranged. " But, amidst all
this pervading lassitude," writes a correspondent,
The British Ambassador keeps steadily on the even
tenor of his hospitable way, and greatly dines, or merrily
dances, or courteously receives, with that unflinching
pluck and bottom which are the proud characteristics of
his race and nation. I think I mentioned in a former
letter the anticipations of the St. Petersburg English, that
at Moscow Lord Granville would overtake his French
competitor in the festive race, and in the long run main-
tain for the " Roast Beef of Old England " its traditional
supremacy ; and they have not been disappointed. The
Count do Morny has been distanced in the race, fairly
dined and danced down, and to Lord and Lady Granville
is now universally conceded the palm for dinners, for balls,
fo" receptions, and, best of all, for unflagging graciousness
and courtesy of demeanour. Ido not say this in any
ungenerous spirit of depreciation towards the French
Embassy, who have well and splendidly represented both
the wealth and proverbial taste of their great country;
but then the Hotel de Morny is Bachelor's Hall, while at
the English Embassy the wives and daughters of England
offer a " material guarantee " to the wives and mothers of
Russia, and, consequently, the latter find themselves as
much at home there as in their own domestic circles.
This, I can assure you, is no exaggeration. The provincial
nobility of Russia—the great boyards of the rich and
fertile south—are primitive, almost patriarchal, in their
habits ; their homes are their empires, and the warmth of
affection exhibited by the different membets of a family
for each other is quite touching and refreshing to the
English strangers. The old princesses cluster their fair
daughters about them "as the hen gathereth her chickens
under her wing ;" and the latter, while educated to the
highest pitch of modern refinement, speaking freely " the
four languages," and being well acquainted with English
literature—in which I am proud to say they take un•
affected delight—dancing, singing, and playing with lady-
like grace and skill, have all the freshness and modesty of
deportment that foreigners so much admire in our island
girls. It is not to be wondered at, then, that ladies such
as I have attempted to describe find themselves emphati-
cally "at home ' with Lady Granville, and Lady Stafford,
Lady Emily Peel, and Lady Margaret Leveson Gower—
that they should grace the receptions, and go gladly and
freely to the balls.—D. News cor., Sept. 15.
A grand review of 100,000 men around Moscow
was held on the 15th, but the weather was intoler-
able. It rained incessantly the whole of the day.
The troops nevertheless were out :
It is not more than once in an Englishman's life that
he can see such a field-day as that we have just witnessed.
A grand plan of attack upon Moscow, and of a defence
and retreat, was executed by three corps d'armie, consisting
of the Guard Corps and -Grenadier Corps, with their
cavalry and artillery, numbering not less than 100,000 men.
One corps, about 40,000 strong, represented the army
defending the city. The two others were the active army
of operations of the assailants, and the most experienced
generals directed the movements of the troops, in which
military critics took a lively interest. As the distance of
the ground on which the offensive force was to act was
very considerable—possibly six miles from their camp—
they had to march at seven o'clock in the morning, and
the cavalry were mounted at five. The rain fell in
torrents, and never ceased till near midday, when there
were a few lucid intervals, but it was not till two o'clock,
just one hour before the review was over, that the water-
proof could be dispensed with for five minutes at a time.
The Emperor and the Grand Dukes, followed by a nume-
rous suite, were on the ground on horseback immediately
after nine o'clock, and the action became general soon after
their appearance. The Prince of the Netherlands, the
Prince of Prussia, the Ministers and Envoys, and the
members of their suite who were invited to attend, followed
in fuli uniform. Some of the English Embassy appeared
in round hats and frock coats, which certainly were better
adapted to the weather than shakoes or cocked hats and
laced tunics. The Frech, who in all things have a wise
eye to effect, have sent a military commission along with
and attached to their embassy, consisting of Crimean
officers of great reputation, such as-General Lebceuf, who
commanded part of the siege artillery ; General Frossard,
of the Engineers; General Dumon ; Colonel Reille, Etat-
Major, &c. It is true that Lieutenant-Colonel Maude
and Lieutenant• Colonel Hardinge are attached to the
embassy, but they, gallant officers as they are, occupy no
special military position here, and hold an inferior rank to
the officers representing the French army. I remark this
merely because it has been remarked. The plain on which
the manoeuvres take place is a steppe, sandy, covered with
short grass, intersected by watercourses, and undulating
with patches of natural forest scattered here and there.
It is particularly well adapted for manoeuvres, for it offers
admirable positions for attack and defence; it affords
admirable coups•d'oetl; it is of interminable extent, and the
ground is firm without being hard, and is well suited to
the march of troops and the passage of artillery.—Times
cor., Sept. 15.

Eighty pieces of artillery were in the field, but the
rain was so heavy and the mist so thick that very
little could bo seen of the mansvuvres

931

The Emperor, attended by what on a fine day would
have been a most brilliant staff, and such members of the
various embassies as did not mind being wet to the skin,
rode up and down at intervals between the hostile armies,
and critically watched the performance of each successive
evolution. The Cossacks obliged us to dismount at a
distance of about two miles from the field, which was soft
as pap, and adhesive as glue ; the rain came down in
torrents, and so dense was the atmosphere that we could
not see the hostile armies, although the frequent reports
and hollow rumbling of the artillery announced that they
were close at hand. After a sore pilgrimage, we at last
came to a rising ground, the rain suddenly ceased, and a
sight burst on our view that repaid us for all our previous
annoyances. There stood, in battle array, the whole of
the famous Imperial Guard, dotted over the plain in huge
human parallelograms or glistening squadrons, the
bayonets of the infantry in long regular rows sparkling
hke a diamond necklace, and the varied uniforms of the
cavalry glowing like the costumes of some great state
pageant. There were the Guards-ii-Cheval in white, with
gold burnished cuirasses, and all mounted on splendid
chesnut horses. Then there were the Hussars, scarlet
and gold, or blue and silver, the regiment of Paul, with
their quaint old-fashioned conical caps, the Grenadiers, the
Cossacks of the I)on, the favorite " Finlandake" regiment,
and, finally, the artillery in immense force, each gun drawn
by trains of unusual size and power. Soon all these
masses began to move, each with the regularity of some
vast machine, the artillery opened fire, the musketry
rolled and rattled, the officers galloped to and fro, and I
fear swore a little, and the battle was soon at its height.
The position, to judge from the loudness of the report and
the prevalence of the smoke, was most resolutely defended,
but with what vicissitudes of fortune I am unable to tell,
for the tremendous firing brought down the rain again,
and the great object with the spectators was to get into
shelter as soon as possible. We accordingly, in the sim-
plicity of our hearts, rushed to the wood; but very soon
found, to our surprise, that we were in the very centre of
the battle. The holders of the eminence had valorously
repelled their assailants, and were now driving them pall-
moll before them into the plain. Our harbour of refuge
became the scene of a desperate hand-to-band contest, in
which the soldiers charged or resisted, rushed about, and
fired totally regardless of the nerves of travellers or the
convenience of special correspondents. Gun-wadding flew
about in showers, and there was an odour of " that villan-
ous saltpetre " of the most smothering intensity ! To
our immense satisfaction, the hill forces, after a sanguinary
struggle, at length cleared the wood, the assailants were
driven into the plain and thoroughly defeated, and trumpet
signals informed us that the sham battle was over, and
that the poor soldiers might go home to dinner and dry
clothes. So ended the great battle of Kadinka, the men
cheering lustily for the Emperor, and the conquering army
celebrating their victory according to Russian custom with
songs of triumph, full of wild, warlike melody and national
character.—Daily Netts cor.

Tho domestic economy of the Guards is not a
little entertaining. The magnificent uniforms are
only worn on special occasions :
Even these troops undergo a metamorphose, and ex•
temally they are not the same before and after the review.
Their finery is put off, and the old long grey coat, fiat cap,
and thick boots are resumed when the visitors have
retired ; the casques and feathers are laid up till the next
parade ; they are, in fact, like the negroes of the Court—
those wonderful pieces of ebony which are mounted in
the richest and most costly garniture—gold lace (how
often I have had to write these words!), Cashmere shawls,
scarfs, and braid, and who are polished up till they shine
all over on company days, but whose legs and bodies are
cased in common grey linen when the entertainment is
over.—Times cor.

The great feast to the mujiks took place on the
20th. The guests were to be limited to 00,000:—
There are six hundred tables provided already at
Hadinka; each table will accommodate about one hundred
and ten guests. Balconies and awnings are constructed
for the Emperor, the Empress, the Court, the *robes.
sadors, and the strangers of distinction. A guard of
soldiers will watch over the safety of each table, and the
police will be everywhere. And, talking of the police, an
amusing manifesto in Russ has been published by Count
Zakreffsky, the military governor of Moscow. Beginning
with " From the Military Gavernor•General of Moscow,
Aide de.camp-General Count Zakreffsky," he solemnly
beseeches all good Muscovites, and all guests or spectators
from the neighbourhood and elsewhere, to respect and aid,
on the occasion of the forthcoming banquet, the various
arrangements of the police. Especially, he enjoins the
people not to be in a hurry to begin, but to wait till the
Emperor shall have passed among them ; to keep the
avenues clear; and then to look to the imperial box for
the signal of battle with the objects on the table. " Let
the people eat," says Count Zakreffsky; " let them drink,
and let them rejoice; but yet in an orderly and decent
manner, that, while they are thus rejoicing, the heart of
their Czar, who is near them, may also rejoice in the
family of his faithful subjects. Not to attend to these
injunctions would he to show that they are not Russians."
—Post cor., Sept. 15.