The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-13 00:00:00

THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS.

`" The boast of the Russians, that among a thousand
Men you would not fail to recognise the Emperor, is
scarcely exeggerated. His figure is commanding, and
his countenance striking ; his height is nearly six feet
two, and his frame unites symmetry with strength ; his
smile is peculiarly fascinating; but the high forehead,
the short and curved upper lip, and the expression of a
rather small mouth, impart somewhat of sternness to
his features when in repose ; his naturally fair com-
plexion is bronzed by exposure to the sun, but the fore-
head, where the cap has she:tered it, is white as marble.
Llia blue eye is quick and expressive, and a small urns-
tech,' adds to his soldierlike appearance.' Such is a
British officer's sketch of the Emperor Nicholas. A
clever and romantic lady, at about the same period,
gives the following His figure, to which there is no
second in Russia, if in the world itself, is of the grandest
beauty, expression, dimension, and carriage, uniting all
the majesties and graces of all the heathen gods—the
little god of Love alone perhaps excepted. Had these
ample and symmetrical proportions, this nobility of per-
eon, belonged to a common mujik, instead of to the
Autocrat of all the Russias, admileation could not be
less, nor scarcely the feeling of moral awe. It was not
the monarch who was so magnificent a man, but the
than who was so truly imperial. His person is that of
a colossal man, in the full prime of life and health, forty-
two years of age, about six feet two inches high, and
Well filled out, without any approach to corpulency, the
head very magnificently carried, a splendid breadth of
shoulder and chest, great length and symmetry of limb,
with finely-formed hands and feet. His face is strictly
Grecian, forehead and nose in one grand line, the eyes
finely lined, large, open, and blue, with a calmness and
coldness, a freezing dignity, which can equally quell an
insurrection, daunt an assassin, or paralyse a petitioner ;
the mouth regular, teeth fine, chin prominent, with dark
moustache and small whisker-e but not a sympathy on
his face ! His month sometimes smiles, his eyes never.
There is that in his look which no monarch's subject can
Meet. His eye seeks every one's gaze, but none can
confront his.' This is very graphic, and, for a maiden
lady, in sufficient detail ; the similarity of the two
descriptions is evidence of their accuracy. Like a
second Saul,' says another writer, he soars above his
subjects, "from the shoulders upwards," or like his
better prototype, Agamemnon,
Majestically tall,
Towers o'er his armies, and outshines them all;'
while his strength appears to be of an equally colossal
standard. His majesty can sleep anywhere and eat
anything ; or he can watch, and he can fast, if needful,
till, measuring the powers of others by his own, the
health of the officers immediately under him is frequently
Sacrificed to their over exertions ; at the same time ludi-
crous instances have occurred of gentlemen of highly
apoplectic indications whose lives had been considerably
lengthened by the anti-plethoric requirements of the
Emperor's service, and their forced attendance in his
carriage, or kibitka (a kind of britscka), when making
some of his whirlwind expeditions from Tobolsk to
War awe, or from Finland to the Black Sea. As to the
character of the individual who now represents the
awful majesty of Russia, it is one that will repay care-
ful investigation. His firmness is unalterable, his in-
dustry unfailing, his justice, as it emanates from him-
self, strict, his preferences steady, his consistency rigid,
and his perseverance undaunted through all obstacles.
But he has neither the cultivation of mind that should
lead to clear views and sound judgment, nor the native
intelligence that should supply its place ; and both
these qualities being wanting, those we have enumerated
are as often seen violently impelled in a wrong direction
as in a right, as often expending their strength in the
rectification of mere nonsenses, the length of a spur or
the breadth of a button, as in wrestling with deep-rooted
rrors. As was said of him by one of the most en-
lightened, and, moreover, loyal of his own nobility,
`To do good, three essential qualities are necessary,—
Power, good will, and knowledge : he possesses the two
first, but not the last—in a word, he is ignorant.'
Nicholas is the ideal type of his people, the most faith-
ful representative of their characters and their vices.
The same love of show which characterises the Russian
nation is nowhere seen stronger than in the person of
their Emperor, and while he astounds all strangers, and
captivates most of them by the dazzling splendour of
Lis Court, they little suspect what filthy rags compose
the garments of the state.' By the foregoing descrip-
tions it will be seen that the preseet Autocrat of all the
Eussias is a perfect specimen of the human race—ex-
cepting in two rather important points, the intellect
and the heart ; he was born for the feudal times, not for
the civilized ones of this century."

Such is the present chief of that wonderful and
colossal despotism which was wittily described by
Talleyrand as " tine monarchic absolue limitee
par l'assassinat"—an absolute monarchy limited by
assassination. In the very able chapter (xiii.)
closing Captain Jesse's volume, the events of the
last few' years arc brought down from 1848 to the
actual declaration of war against Russia by the
French and English Governments.

The Emperors Alexander and Nicholas. By
Robert Lee, M.D. Richard Bentley.
An old bundle of manuscripts, in other words a
Journal kept by Dr. Lee between the winter of
1824 and 1827, has been " overhauled" by its
writer, and out of a selection from among its motley
materials has grown up the present happily-timed
and very readable compilation. The author speaks
with the authority—seeing that he was neither
blind nor deaf—of an eye-witness and an ear-wit-
ness to many of the incidents described in his am
-
mated narrative. That narrative, as the title-page
gives promise of its doing, comprises a record of "the
last days" of Alexander, and of " the first days" of
Nicholas—Emperors oißussia. It opens with the
sth of November, 1824, when the writer landed at
Cologne on his way to Odessa, there to join the
family of Count Woronzow in the capacity of
Physician to his Excellency. It closes with the
6th of January, 1827, when Dr. Lee arrived once
More in London after his return from the Russian
territories. Here is our author's brief but touching
Memento of

THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER.
"The scene was most affecting when the Emperor,
on the 19th, expired. The Empress had been kneeling
by his bed-side, with her eyes fixed upon him, as he
gradually became weaker and weaker, until all signs of
lite were gone. Then, risinv, she closed his eyes, and
with a handkerchief bound up his head, to support the
lower jaw. After this, she folded his arms over his
breast, kissed his hand, and then knelt down by the side
of the dead body for half-an-hour in prayer to God.
Throughout the whole of his Majesty's illness, she
Manifested the strongest attachment to her husband ;
and at his death was inconsolable."
Altogether the little volume, scarcely extending to
More than 200 pages, will be found to abound with
curious and interesting information.

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The Year-Book of Facts for 1854. By John
Timbs. Bogue.
Sixteen volumes of this remarkable serial have
now been published—sixteen volumes recording the
most important discoveries and improvements made
between 1839 and 1854, Facts in Mechanics and
the Useful Arts, in Natural Philosophy, in Elec-
tricity, in Chemistry, in Zoology and Botany, in.
Geology and Geograuhy, in Astronomy and Me-
teorology. The sixteenth, the volume before us,
is among them all very far indeed from being the
least remarkable. As its vignette, it contains on
its title-page a glimpse of the building of the " Cry-
stal Palace at Svdenliam." As its frontispiece, it
gives us a portrait taken from a daguerreotype by
Claudet, of Arago, one of the illustrious deceased
of the past twelve months.

ENGLISH GLEE AND MADRIGAL UNION.--The first
concert of this talented company of vocalists was given
at Willis's Rooms yesterday. in presence of a crowded
and fashionable audience. The English Glee and Ma-
drigal Union consists, as before, of Mrs. Enderssohn,
Mrs. 'Jockey, Messrs. Lockey, Hobbs, and H Phillips ;
but they are this season further a-sisted by a chorus of
Sixteen voices, including four sopranos, four contraltos, 1 1
three tenors, and five basses. The concert yesterday 1
included compositions by S. Smith, Webbe, Cooke, 20
Xnyvett, S. Webbe, Ravenscroft, Paxton, Benet, and 5
Sir Henry Bishop. The selection was excellent, and 50
the pieces in general were admirably given. Between
the parts Mr. J. L. Hatton, who presided at the piano- too
forte, performed Hand A's " Harmonious Blacksmith."
COLOSSEUSI..—His Alijesty the King of Portugal 25
and his Royal Highness the Duke of Oporto, attended 1
133' their suite, honoured this establishment with a visit f 1
Yesterday. 1100