The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-22 00:00:00

THE CORONATION OF THE EMPEI?OR

OF RUSSIA.

(Bronx the Correspondent of the Daily News.)
ST. PETERSBURG, AvG. 15.

The date at which L am at pretient writing,
which is the 3d of August, Russian time, brings
the preliminat'Y nroeedings of all the special em-
bassies pretty well to a close, at leagt in a tar as
the modern capital of Russia is concerned. Early
next week stieeial ambassadors and all other spe-
cialities connected in any way with tilt ;arid affair
will take their departure from the city of Peter the
(1-ret and locate, theinselves for a felt busy weeks
in the more ancient capital in *fah !ijo ninth of
the early history was enacted. If Rurik, or
Ivan the Terrible; or Boris Gudunoff could rise
out of their graves, they would probably be some-
what surprised to see the arrival of the special
trains which are to convey the foreign notabilities
to th 6 ftelendid pageant in which
they are to play so conspicuous a pait. Those
Scla,vonio worthies, who looked for no invasions
Save trope of the Tartars. Whom their successors
now hold in such complete stibjedior4 'would
gaze with no small astonishment at the dragon of
steam as it came up puffing, snorting, and roaring to
the station, and diagging alon, itFi Wake,Sdnie-
where about 500 persons of high and low degree,
attracted from different quarters of the world to
"assist" at the solemn inauguration of the present
lilauleror in the government of his *ad dominions.
They will storm the holy city as eagerly as ever
didithe Tartars, but they will be valiantly met by
the innkeepers,
.who, if they cannot eject them
ritithniarily, are determined to make them pay dear
for their prolonged sojourn. But not in Moscow
alone is the working of this fine instinct of nation-
ality perceptible in the conduct of the Russian
Itoniface. Petersburg is little behindhand—a fact
of which, if report speak truly, the special ambas-
sadors have had the most conclusive indications.
Already Lord Granville's parliamentary grant
shows painful symptoms of attenuation ; but his
lordship must take comfort in the conviction that,
whenever a Russian special ambassador comes to
London, the patriotism of British innkeepers will
give him a noble revenge. In short, there is nothing
more remarkable in the history of the world than the
uniformity of action that marks the conduct of hotel-
keepers and cabmen on those portions of its surface
upon which the progress of civilisation has given
them a locus standi. Everywhere they look upon
the traveller as an invading enemy, and "charge"
him with a vigour that is generally sure to make
him boat an early retreat. The Count de Morey
has, I believe, saved himself the pangs of petty
extortion by buying everything on a grand scale,
even to the steam-boat that takes him up and down
the river' and by renting the great Woronzoff
Palace, which may be seen everyday surrounded
by splendid equipageo, and every night blazing

with lights, to the greai admiration of the Russian
police, who walk demurely up and down the water-
side of the Neva. His Excellency was early in pre-
senting his credentials, and Prince Paul Esterhazy,
" Diamond" Esterhazy, as he is called, wished to
follow closely on his heels, but unfortunately he
bad left those important documents behind him at
Vienna, and he was inexorably refused a presenta-
tion until they had arrived. Our own special
embassy had its turn yesterday under circumstances
calculated to give the British people and their re-
presentative entire satisfaction. They went down
to Peterhoff, in the Princess Alice, and were re-
ceived at the debarcadere by some of the high officers
of the court. Imperial carriages were in attendance
to convey them in the first instance to the English
palace, where they found an elegant dejeuner pre-
pared for them, and every convenience for making
their court toilettes. They were then conveyed to
the Imperial Palace where, in the first instance,
Lord Granville was presented to the Emperor at a
private audience of some duration, after which his
Lordship presented in succession all the members
of his embassy. The Emperor was, I understand,
all cordiality and condescension, frequently addres-
sing the persons present in the English and French
languages. His Imperial Majesty's deportment is
spoken of in terms of high admiration by every
one who had the honour of a presentation. Subse-
quently Lady Granville was presented to the Em-
press, and in her turn presented the ladies of her
suite, the Marchioness of Stafford, Lady Emily
Peel, and Lady Margaret Leveson Gower. Char-
a-bancs were in waiting, into which the whole
party got at the termination of the ceremonial,
and a drive round the beautiful grounds of Peter-
hoff filled up the time until dinner, which, like
the breakfast, was prepared at the English Palace.
At this banquet several of the high officers of the
court were present, amongst whom the son of
Count Nesselrode was active in discharging the
duties of hospitality to the distinguished guests. At
11 o'clock the whole party were safely conveyed to
town in the Princess Alice, being the first time
that the voyage has been performed at that late
hour by a vessel of her tonnage. So ended a very
pleasant day for the British Embassy, and at the
same time terminated the St. Petersburg portion
of their mission, leaving them nothing to do but
settle M. Dimonte's little bill, pack up their port-
manteaus, and proceed early next week by special
train to iMoscow. To-day (Friday) was a grand
field-day with our Gallic allies. Being the fete
day of the Emperor Napoleon, a solemn Te Deum
was celebrated at the Roman Catholic church of
St. Catherine, at which all the French in St. Pe-
tersburg were invited to attend. The church,
which is situated about midway down the Nevskoi
Prospekt, was of course crowded, and a great num-
ber of people formed as contracted a semicircle as
the Russian dragoons would permit in the street
outside. Count de Morny's carriages, with their
fine English horses, made a splendid show, and eli-
cited frequent ejaculations from the " Mujiks,"
which I regret to add were not particularly intelli-
gible to your special correspondent. Lord Granville
accompanied his French colleague, but not in
state, asall the carriages "'De Parade" have already
been sent off to Moscow. The scene was altogether
both imposing and brilliant. The French congre-
gation was unusually sedate and attentive ; the
French uniforms and decorations had all the fresh-
ness of the empire, and the spot in which the
church is situated is the finest in St. Petersburg,
being the centre of the finest street in the world.
At the conclusion of the service I strolled down
the whole length of the "Nevskoi" to the terminus
of the Moscow Railway, and was perfectly
astounded at its extent, the noble proportions and
elaborate decorations of the houses, and the abun-
dance and richness of the goods displayed in the
various magasins. There are fully three miles of
palaces and palatial shops, while the flag ways and
the road present a never-ending variety of busi-
ness, bustle, and excitement. As you stroll along
a pale Circassian of the Caucasus passes you in the
peculiar costume of his country. You pause to ad-
vance, and think of Schamyl and his brave moun-
taineers, but he takes out a cambric handkerchief
to wipe his face, and lights a paper cigar, and the
romance is in a moment destroyed. You turn sud-
denly, and are immediately jostled by two magni-
ficent Persians in their high conical caps and long
robes of some costly Eastern material, and involun-
tarily quote Tennyson—" Oiled and curled like the
Assyrian Bull "—as you gaze on their Ninevite
physiognomies and imposing beards twisted into
innumerable ebony corkscrews. Next comes a
group of Russian officers, fine young fellows, nearly
all over six feet, with delicate—almost English—
features, and wearing their long and somewhat un-
graceful grey coats a ith commendable resignation.
I must say, in passing, that I have frequently
had to thank those gentlemen for the ready cour-
tesy and politeness with which they invariably
answered those inquiries which a stranger is
obliged to snake in getting through a large city for
the first time. They all speak French, and many of
them English, and are ready to assist you in any
little perplexity that may arise in your peregrina-
tions. The poor Mujiks are, I believe, equally
willing to oblige, but to ask them a question only
exposes you to a torrent of fervent Sclavonic, ac-
companied by the wildest gesticulations, and some-
times an extempore hornpipe, while the result is
not of any very considerable assistance to your own
organ of locality. I have watched these men with
much interest and curiosity since my arrival in Rus-
sia, and have invariably observed them to be tall
and strong, in good physical condition, and having
honest and open, though not always very intelli-
gent, countenances. The universal beard gives them
a great air of manliness, and the manner in which
they perform their work, which is often severe,
indicates the possession of great muscular strength.
The " Isboostchiks," the Russian equivalent for
cabmen, are the finest charioteers in the world. To
see them urging their high-mettled Cossack horses
along the Nevskoi, you would fancy the Olmypis
were being enacted over again, so rapid is their
pace, so great the dexterity with which they dart
in and out and over all obstacles. It is true that
sometimes they leave an unaccustomed traveller
behind them on the wooden pavement, but they
generally find it out, and come back for him, giv-
ing him at the same time a caution to hold harder
when he rides in a drotschki. There were lots of
them strolling in the Nevskoi to-day, and they
seemed very jolly and contented.