The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-02 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, Si, PI EMBER 2, 1856

-he nobles ample time for their teschi and the mujdes for
their darling vodka. You may depend upon it, the
opportunity was not neglected, as at every station the
refreshment room exhibited the most motley groups
enaginable, while the waiters were embarrassed at
once by the pressure of their duties and the scarcity
)1 change. Indeed, I cannot ca'l to my mind a single
inetarice in which these truly conscientious men being
:ntrusted with a three-rouble note were enabled to get
back to the passenger who had entrusted it to him before
:he departure of the train.
At, I think, our sixth cation, we were comforted by
the agreeable intelligence that we must wait an hour
and a half extra in order to allow the passage of a special
convoi containing the Grand Duke Constantine and his
-Elite. I was comforted under the delay by being en-
-shied to get an excellent view of his Imperial Highness,
who came down upon the platform and nodded to and
,;hatted with everybody about him. It was pleasing to
see the confidence with which the humblest people came
up quire dose to him, and the off-hand friendly way in
which he received their compliments. There were no
soldiers, no butt-ends of mu,kets to keep off the common
herd, but everything was trusting, kindly, and
without any affectation of condescension. I be-
ieve that in consequence of his identity of name with
his uncle, and the way in which he has been mixed up
with recent naval operations, he is looked m on in Eng-
!and as a very terrible fellow, both in appearance and
manners ; but nothing can be further from the reality.
tie, is a tall, slight, well-made young man, with good
features and a pleasant expression, and seems to be on
the best terms with himself and every one about him.
Ele is, in short, the last man in the- world whom
from his appearance I should reckon dangerous or
lisagreeable. Besides this, Whits a considerable re-
putation for wit., and earceesaite' humour, and many of
pis sayiege are in general circulation. I shall give
you one cr two as specimens. To enale!e you to un-
leistand the first, I must premise that the Americans
whose wonderful sympathy with Russia during the last
war it was so difficult to underetand, have made several
excellent speculations in this country, amongst others
he contract for keeping the Moscow Railway in repair,
by which it is said they nett a clear profit of some
200,0001. a year. The Grand Duke, who is dissatisfied
with this job, as well he may be, had lately some dis-
tinguished friends on a visit, whom be 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 sigbts, and being answered in the affirmative,
said, laughing, "Then go and show them the American
contract, which is decidedly the greatest curiosity that
could be exhibited in any country." The second 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 chi!d, but even at that early age was anxious
to make it a reality. One day, when on board a man-of-
war, 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 fuli uniform and tendered his resigna-
tion, adding that he was no admiral if he could not pro-
mote whom he liked. It is needless to add that this
youthful burst caused considerable amusement in the
highest quarter, and that the resignation was not ac-
cepted. But the Grand Duke has now passed _on on his
rapid j Jurney, the regular train following at a respectful
distance, and at a pace which brought us to Moscow at
noon to-day, after a journey of nearly 25 hours.
I must confess that, on first entering, the modern and
suburban appearance of the holy city disappointed me ;
but a visit to the Kremlin and its neighbourhood, which
I was not long in paying, restored and even strengthened
all my foregone conclusions. I shall take a future oppor-
tunity of paying a more lengthened visit, and writing a
more careful account of this extraordinary quarter ; but
I could not resist the temptation of at once taking a
glimpse at a place which from infancy I had been hear-
ing and reading about as one of the wonders of the
world. Accordingly I hurried off, plunged into the
labyrinths of the Chinese city, where I was nearly de-
voured by the worthy denizens, citizens of this Eastern
Petticoat.lane, and soon found myself in the centre of
the " Beautiful Place," which certainly has a very fair
claim to that appellation. The sound of hammers at-
tracted me to the still unfinished triumphal arch be
which the Emperor is to enter the sacred precincts, and
suddenly I found myself in presence of the great bell,
which has been so accurately weighed, measured, and
described over and over again. It is, in truth, a tre-
mendous casting, and if in sounding order would make
a most sonorous report. The broken piece lies close
beside it, and more than anything else enables one to
form a just conception of the enormous size of the bell it-
self. Passing under the " Sacred gate," like a good
Christian, hat in hand, I in a moment stood at the very
grille of the Church of the Assumption, in which the
great ceremonial is to take place. It has been closed
some days to the public, but agood-natared deacon took
pity on my curiosity, and politely invited me into the
interior. What a scene of haibettio magnificeuce, his
toric reminiscence, and political suggestiveness f Passing
through a darkened vestibule I suddenly felt myself
almost dazzled by a perfect blase of gold and colour.
The walls were every inch covered with frescoes and
mosaic., in heavy gilt frames, and the great central pil-
lars that support the cupolas decorated in a similar man-
ner. Although the church is small, the loftiness of the

ORLEANS.

ceiling gives It a most imposing appearance, and the
vague indistinctness with which the comparative gloom
enables you to take in the details produces in the mind
a peculiar feeling of awe and reverence. As works of
art, few would be bold enough to defend these elaborate
decorations, but they are the signs of a sentiment, a
power, and a policy, and, looked upon in that light,
must always be objects of deep interest to the spectator.
Greek priests were chanting their vespers in one corner,
while carpenters were hammering away in another at
the gorgeous estrade upon which the Emperor is to kneel
while the metropolitan places the crown upon his head.
Everything was resplendent with gold, and velvet, and
ostrich feathers ; but a glance was all I was permitted
to take, sufficient to convince me that the interior of the
church will not accommodate more than about 500 per-
sons.

ANCIENT CORONATION AND MARRIAGE
CERENIONIES IN RUSSIA.

The chief interest attached to the official programme
of the coronation of Moscow, arises from the circum-
stance that every word of that cautious document having
been car,fully weighed, and every ceremonial having a
peculiar significance, it may be considered as a sort of
manifesto respecting the relative positions of the Cz it
and his people. The sacred power of the monarch, and
Lis absolute and uncontrolled power over and property
in his subject,, are clearly indicated. He is the lord and
autocrat of all the Res.sias. In the t:iumpbal entry
into Moscow he is surrounded by a staff purely militarr,
and it is a taking possession of the ancient capital of the
empire. On his road the priests meet hint with banners,
crosses, and holy water ; and the whole population
stands uncovered, as when some ultra holy relic passes
in procession. The halt for the public adoration of the
image of Our Lady of I.versk by all the Impsrial family,
is a profession of the orthodox fa!th for the edification
of the multitude. At the threshold of his palace,
after receiving the homage of the superior clergy,
he is presented with bread and salt by the chief
officers of his household, in the same manner as
every proprietor is welcomed by his peasants on ar-
riving at his estate ; and thrtughout' the ceremony
of the coronation, the two great & filers constantly in
attendance upon him are the Mini-ter of his House-
hold and the Minister of War ;—the civil power is
thr.oighout, subservient to the army and to the church.
But hi position as the actual and positive head of the
church is as clearly defined. The metropolitans do not
ascend to the platform of the throne, but, having re-
ceived the regalia from the proper officials, they hand
them to the Emperor standing on the last step but one,
and he places the crown on his head himself, holding his
sovereignty from no earthly power, receiving its eutwa:.d
evidences only from the ministers of God. Li taking
the sacrament, it is administered to him within the
sanctuary, and iot he same form as to the priesthood, in
acknowledgment of his priestly character ; but it was
not until the reign of Peter the Great that the subser-
viency of the clergy to the crown was thoroughly esta-
blished.

The distinction between the present and past relations
of the hierarchy and the sovereign will be more clearly
shown by describing the ancient ceremonial of the coro-
nationwhen the patriari a were the
some 200 years sir,
chief councillors of the Tear, and by their signature gave
full validity to hii public acts, much in the same manner
as the Sheik-ul Islam does to those of the Sultan of
Turkey.
The coronation was performed, as now, in the Ca-
thedral of the Assump' ion in 111uscow ; and the throne
was elevated on an estrade with twelve steps, the seat
of the patriarch being on the left of the throne, less
magnificent than the latter, but liko it, Covered with
velvet embroidered with geld- The Tear came in pro-
cession from the pa'acc through lines of Strolitz;, the
only standing army of the time accompanied by all
the boblts magnificently dressed in sloth of gold,
with rich jewels, of which many specimens are
still to be seen in the Kremlin, and wearing caps
of black fox skins. On arriving at the cathedral door
the Prieee bowed three tunes, and then turning to
the pal riarcb, saluted him and asked his benediction.
The patriarch descended from his throne, blessed the
Tsar with the true cross, and after embracing each other
they mounted together the steps leading, to their places.
It was the patriarch who invested the rear with the
perial robes, and who placed on his head the crown and
in his hands the sceptre and orb, receiving them from an
archbishop. Then after the nobles and the clergy bad
saluted the newly-created monarch, the patriarch took
him by the band and led him to the throne, and when
he was stated made him an oration on his duties as a
sovereign. After the consecration the patriarch anointed
the Tear, wiping off the oil with pieces of tow, which
.mere a' terwards burnt on the altar. Daring the visit to
the churches, which concluded the ceremony, gold dust
was spiinkled on the head of the Tsar on entering by the
arch-priest, and ou leaving by one of the grandees. It
will be seen that a vast difference exists between this
and the present ceremonial, the inferior position of the
clergy being very remarkable ; and the Emperor, both
by placing the crown on his own head, and also by
crowning the Empress, who kneels. before him, publicly
proclaims himself the solo fountain of honour.
In like planter the exalted position of the patriarch

was admitted by the Tsars on their marriage, his consent
being first wired by the prince. The ceremonial of these
marriages was curiously illustrative of the superstitious
character of the Russians of all grades in the 17th cen-
tury, mach of which still lingers in the provinces, and
even in Moscow, among the mercantile class, as well as
among the peasants, who retain it in full force. The
chief officials in the marriage ceremonies of the Tsars
were the Tisiatski, or commander of thousands, who had
the direction of the fete ; and the Svakhi, or marriers,
ladies who represented the professional matchmakers
among the people ; these and all the other officials were
of the highest rank; The seats of the bride and bride-
groom were covered with 40 sable skins each, and 40
other skins were held in readiness to fan them ; and
when the 'rsarevna, as the bride was called until her mar-
riage, entered the hall from her apartment, among her
cortege were two Boyars, one hearing the wax candle of
the Tsar, weighing usually 103 pounds ; the other that
of the Tearevna, weighing only 78 pounds. A silken
curtain separated the seats of the bride and bridegroom,
and after an archpriest bad read prayers, the principal
Svakha combed their beads, while a Secretary of State
stood near her with a vessel of mead to wash the comb
in. Hop seed, an emblem of fertility, was then scat-
tered by the Svakha on the heads of the Tsar and Tsar-
evna ; they were fanred with the sable fur=, the great
candles were lighted, and the bridesman of the Tsar pre-
sented them with slices of cheese and of a sweet l.read,
which W 33 al's) served to the guests. After this they
went to the church, and the seats the bride and bride-
groom bad occupied were covered with sable skins to
preserve them from spells, a nebleman remaining to
watch them.

Throughout the whole ceremony this dread of, and
belief in, witchcraft, or the passibility of mysterious
poitioning, were predominant. The horse on which the
Tsar rode to the church was first mounted by a noble to
remove the effect of any spell that might have been cast
in the animal, or danger concealed in the saddle ; and as
soon as the prince dismounted, his seat was again occu-
pied by the same officer. Similar precautions were taken
with the vehicle in which the T,arevna rode.
Many of the ceremonies used in these imperial mar-
riages were also performed at those of the grandees, even
to the days of Peter the Great ; but the revolution he
effected in many of the customs and habits of the Rus-
sians was carried still further by his successors, who by
intermarriage bad more of the German element in their
characters, until the marriage was shorn, except in the
far interior and among the lower orders, of all traces of
the strangely superstitious feelings which pervaded all
classes, from the throne to the hovel, at the period of
which we have been writing.

TILE TERRIBLE STORM AT NEW

Wo published in The Sun yesterday an account of
a most disastrous storm at and in the neighbourhood
of New Orleans; The following accounts have since
come to band :

" New Orleans, August 15. —Accounts from Last
Island verify the sad story of yesterday. IG has been
positively ascertained that 188 persons have been lost.
The corn, cotton, and sugar crops have been incalculably
injured. The steamers Naatilua and Perseverance are
several days over due, and it is feared something has
happened to them. The steam-ship Texas has gone in
search of them. The storm extended far up the r►ver.
At the government hospital, Baton Rouge, 14 inches
of water fell between Sunday evening and Tuesday
evening. The survivors at Las6Tsland reached this
city this morning. They estimatT the loss of life at
200 ; 188 have already been counted as lost I many of
the survivors are here. All from Last Island are
badly woun led and bruised. The dead bodies
at the island were plundered by a set of pirates who in-
habit it. The Perseverance (a) has just arrived,• but
nothing has yet been heard from the Nautilus. The
Louisiana arrived at Galveston on the 14, picking up on
the way the cabin door of the Nautilus, which vessel, it
is now supposed, was lost during the late storm.
Nothing definite has yet been heard from Caillon Island,
but there has undoubtedly been a great loss of life. It
is reported that 30 bodies have been found on one end
of the island. It is supposed that at least $lO,OOO in
money in pockets fell into the hands of the pirates on
Last Island and about $5,000 worth of baggage. The
loss on this island is estimated at over $lOO,OOO. The
banks of theriver at Bayou Sera caved, in carrying away
800 residences. No lives were lost. Several vessels
were blown on shore at the mouth of the Mississippi.
The telegraph lines have suffered severely. The loss at
Caillon Island cannot fall far short of $60,000. Aug.
16.—1 t is now believed that the number of lives lost by
the dreadful storm of Sunday and Monday last will reach
fully 250. including men, women, and children, but
mostly the former. At 'Last Island 190 dead bodies
have been found, the sight' of which is terrible. The '
total loss of property by this sudden and unlooked-lor
calamity is computed at $500,000, while some place it
at a still higher figure. The passengers by the steamer
Star are believed to have been all rescued. Had the
storm overtaken them in the night, however, the entire
number, over 200, must have perished.

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