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

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 9, 1856.

CORONATION OF THE EMPEROR 0,1

RUSSIA.

(Front the Special Correspondent of the Times).
MOSCOW, FRIDAY NIGHT, AUG. 29.
On Monday last the Empress-Mother arrived at
the Palace of Petrovsky, a country house about four
miles from Moscow, where the Imperial family ge-
nerally reside when ceremonies of state do not
call them to the Kremlin during their visits to
Moscow.
The Emperor and Empress left St. Petersburg
on Friday morning, and reached Petrovsky after
dusk in the evening of the same day, having tra-
velled about 440 miles in 16 hours, which is re-
garded as a great feat in this part of the world.
His Majesty's reception at the station was enthu-
siastic, and, late as it was, thousands of people
awaited his arrival, and cheered him with great
energy. Wednesday and yesterday were spent in
preparing for the great event, the procession of
their Imperial Majesties from the Chateau of Pe-
trovsky to the Kremlin, which took plaza to-day
under the happiest auspices.
It would be as difficult to describe this dazzling
pageant as it would be to give an accurate account
of a grand spectacle at the theatre. In all its com-
ponent parts it was magnificent and effective. The
wealth of a vast empire was poured out with a pro-
fuseness almost barbaric, and displayed with a taste
founded on Oriental traditions and modified by
European civilisation. Instead of a narrow stage
the scene was laid in the ancient metropolis of the
largest empire the world has ever seen ; instead of
tinsel and mock finery,gold and silver and diamonds
flashed in the real sunlight. He who played the
part of an Emperor was indeed an Emperor ; and
those who appeared as Empresses, Marshals, and
soldiers, were what they seemed to be ; but, after
all, when amid the blare of trumpets, the clanging
of bells, and the roar of the populace, the glorious
pageant hadpassed away in a party-coloured blaze of
light, what was left but the recollection of the tran-
sitory pleasure of the eye and of the indescribable
excitement which the memory in vain endeavoured
torecall of all that had at the moment produced
such irresistible effects ?
Each impression, strong as it is for an instant, is
removed by the incidents of that whick followed it,
and the mind fruitlessly strives to reconstruct the
succession of emotions which have died away, and
to restore as it were the order of the events by
which these emotions were produced. It may be
fairly asserted that no stranger who was present
ever beheld the like of the ceremonial of to-day. It
was quite sui generis—the devotion and highly
excited religiqus feeling of the Sovereign and of his
people, and their acts of public prostration recalled
the faith, or at all events the practices, of past ages,
and offered a strange contrast to the actuality of
the military power combined with this national
faith which menaces the future rather than the
present. The gorgeousness of the carriages and
uniforms, liveries and horse trappings, was worthy
of the Cwsars, or of some of the great Oriental con-
querors, and it is said that the coronation will cost
Russia not less than 6,000,000 roubles, or
1,000,0001. sterling.
There is nothing in the world like Moscow but
itself. Perhaps some of those vast Chinese cities,
in the interior of the Flowery Kingdom, of whose
extent and population one hears such wondrous
stories, may resemble the enormous metropolis,
which, with miraculous patience, perseverance, and
celerity the Russians have erected in less than half
a century on the ruins and amid the ashes of their
ancient capital. In Russia nothing must be re-
garded as destroyed or lost for ever. When the
Winter Palace—a pile as large as Versailles—was
burnt to the ground, the autocrat of so many
millions, with the force and volition of a Cambyses
or Xerxes in past ages, exclaimed, " On the anni-
versary of this day I will give a ball in a new palace
on that very place," and at his word a mass of stone
and marble rose by the banks of the Neva till that
promise was fulfilled to the very letter. So when
the blackened and shattered walls of the Kremlin,
a few stone houses and the shells of desecrated
churches, were all that was left of Moscow, the
popular will, guided by the Czar and the nobility,
resolved that a fairer and nobler city should spring
up in the midst of the waste, on the identical spot
where Napoleon imagined he had struck Russia to
the heart. And thus, with loftier spires and
ampler cupolas, in larger proportions, and more
profuse elaboration, churches, palaces, Royal and
princely mansions—this miraculous capital, the
centre of the Russian's faith, of his devotion, of
his patriotism, of his obedience, of kis history,
again stood on the plain of the Moska. Follow-
ing their instinct and their national charac-
teristics, they scarcely sought to improve on the
ways of their ancestors, and the forms and direc-
tions of the old streets were preserved almost in-
tact ; so that the tortuous Tartar thoroughfares
are still visible in their type in the best quarters of
the new city. All the eccentricities of Byzantine
architecture are here developed and varied with
traditionary skill. The wild Tartars, who could
not perpetuate their faith, have given at least to
the church of Russia some outward and visible
signs of their religion, and the Mosque and the
Greek chapel are here present, as it were, in per-
petual silent conflict.
But there is no time left for me to try and de-
scribe the city, even if I had power for the task. It
is 3 o'clock, and the long street with an unknown
name, which phonically I believe to be the Ness-
kaia, is crowded by the people of the town and those
of the country who have flocked for miles to wit-
ness the coronation. This street leads from the
Kremlin to the Petrovsky Chateau, the boundary
of the city being marked by a gate and triumphal
arch, on the top of which there is a statue of Vic-
tory driving her chariot in a very excited way with
unmanageable and runaway-looking horses. The
houses, which extend from the Kremlin to the gate-
way in an almost unbroken line, are occupied by
the better sort ; in all the places, squares, and
spaces before the churches the mujik and the lower
orders of tradesmen are gathered together, and plat-
forms are erected for the authorities and those who
can afford to pay for the accommodation. Many of
the people have waited in the streets since daylight.
It is their great holiday—it is their greatest happi-
ness to see the Emperor. There have been several
, false alarms among the troops who line the streets
1 from Petrovsky to the Kremlin, and the most pa-
tient are getting tired. But they have no right to
be so, for no hour is named for the entry in the
programme, although it is generally believed that
his Majesty will make his appearance at 3 o'clock.
It is now 3.30, and he has not left Petrovsky, and
the day, which opened wet and lowering, and which
cleared up towards 10 o'clock, again darkens and
threatens rain. At last the men stand to their arms
for the third time, and a hum of many suppressed
voices runs along the streets. A dull heavy noise,
like the single beat of a deep drum, is heard a long
way off. It is the first coup de canon of the nine
which announce that the Emperor is on his way to
the entrance of his ancient capital. In a moment,
far and wide the chimes of some 400 churches, scat-
tered, as it were, broadcast all over the great city,
. ring out with stupendous clamour, which is musi-
cal in the depth of its tumult, and the crowd set-
tles into an attitude of profound expectation and
repose. For about 500 yards I could see up and
down the street, which is about the breadth of
Fleet-street. The pavements are narrow, but the
extent of the route was so great, and the popula-
tion of the city is so small, that the crowd, so far
as I could judge, never was packed disagreeably,
like a London mob, and the people could move and
see what passed with facility. They could see, that
is, if they could look over that wall of soldiery
which stood like masonry before them, topped with
a coping of shining helmets and crests of waving
horsehair. The Infantry of the Guard were formed

origin.

three deep the whole length of the street ; the
space between the lines of the soldiery was covered
with a fine red sand, carefully raked from time to
time. Between the walls of the houses and the wall
of men the people, Mujiks and their families, the
petite bourgeoisie, the townsfolk, and the peasantry,
stood with their wives and children to feast their
eyes on their Emperor. The houses, of large
frontage, but rarely more than three storeys in
height, are alive with people ; the upper windows
arc filled with faces ; platforms erected in the front,
at the height of the drawing-room floor, are
crowded with ladies after the newest Paris fashions,
officers, and the gentry, nobility, and strangers who
have flocked to Mosew for the fetes. These balco-
nies are decorated with coloured calico or silk,
with festoons of flowers and gay streamers ; but
there are no very striking devices, or any great evi.
dente of a fanciful imagination in the ornaments ;
and it is probable that with the materials in hand
the French would have produced a better effect ;
but, as it was, one could not but say that the result
was very striking. The two lines formed by the
soldiery arc as strict and exact as those of the
street itself, and the eye wanders down a long per-
spective of helmets, faces, red collars, green frocks,
red cuffs, and white trousers, till they are diminished
into mere streaks of colour in the distance. The
officers dress the men within a hair's breadth, look
along their chins and noses, till they are all in line,
and then retire to, their places in the ritlks ; again
the careful serjeants and corporals go round and
give their charges a last finishing touch, brush the
dust off their shoes and crossbelts, and comb their
moustaches. When the street has been made quite
clear there are, of course, several dogs which run at
full speed down the lines with their eyes staring
and their tongues out in a manner quite worthy of
Tottenham Corner, or the best race courses in Eng-
land, but these little incidents are not developed
to their full extent for the int3rest and amusement
of the public, inasmuch as there are no stoutish
policemen to run after them, and these usually sa-
gacious creatures are permitted to indulge in this
folly of their race without let or hindrance. All
this time a thousand church bells are ringing far and
near with loyal vehemence, driving the rooks and
pigeons in swarms out of their resting-place 3, to
wheel and circle in the air. In a few moments more
the flourishing of trumpets and the strains of mar-
tial music rise above all this tumult, and the
trumpet band of the Rifles of the Guard, close at
hand, commence a wild alerts, which is subdued
after a time to the measure of a quick march. A
few moments of suspense pass heavily, and at
length there appears on the red path of sand,
which looks like a carpet spread in the roadway, a
small party of Gendarmes-a-Cheval, preceded by a
maitre de police in full uniform. This latter officer
is not like the quiet gentlemen who administer
justice in Bow-street or Guildhall, nor does he re-
semble the more formidable-looking personages
who, in round hats and silver-bound collars, ride
on whirlwind and direct the storm of popular en-
thusiasm in England. He is a soldier every inch
from plumed casque to spur, mounted on a pranc-
ing war horse, and clad in a rich uniform ; two and
two, one at each side of the way, his gendarmes
follow him in light blue uniforms with white fac-
ings, and with helmets and plumes also. They are
fine-looking dragoons, and ride splen did horses.
Behind them— but who shall describe these
warlike figures which come on to their own
Music of clinking steel and jingling of ar•
mour ? They fill up the whole roadway with a
flood of colour. Such might have been the Crusa-
ders, or rather such might have been the knights of
Saladin, when the Cross and the Crescent met in
battle. Mounted on high-bred spirited horses, which
are covered with rich trappings of an antique cha-
racter, the escort of the Emperor comes by, and
calls us at once back to the days of Ivan the Terri-
ble. Their heads are covered with a fine chain ar-
mour—so fine, indeed, that some of them wear i t as
a veil before their faces. This mail falls over the
neck and covers the back and chest, and beneath it
glisten rich doublets of yellow silk. Some of the
escort carry lances with bright pennons. All are
armed with antique carabines, pistols, and curved
swords. Their saddles are crusted with silver, and
rich scarfs and sashes decorate their waist. Their
handsome faces and slight sinewy frames indicate
their origin. These are of that Circassian race which,
mingling its blood with the Turks, have removed
from them that stigma of excessive ugliness that
once, according to old historians, affrighted Europe.
Their influence on the old Muscovite type is said
to be equally great, and the families which are
allied with the Circassians, Miegrelians, or Geor-
gians exhibit, we are told, a marked difference
from the pure and unmixed breed of Russian

The whole breadth of the street was now occu
pied by a glittering mass of pennons, armour,
plumes, steel, and bright colours ; the air was
fil'ed with the sounds of popular delight, the champ-
ing of bi. and clip Jeing of weapons, the flourishing
of trumpet's, and, above all, the loud voices of the
bel's. Close behind the Circassian escort and the
wild Basbkirs comes a squadron of the Division of
the Black Sea Cossacks of the Guard, in large flat
black sheepskin caps, with red skull-pieces, long
lances, the shafts painted red, and the pennons
coloured blue, white, and red ; their jackets of
scarlet ; their horses small, handsome, and full of
spirit.
The forest of red lance shafts through which one
looked gave a most curious aspect to the gay caval-
cade. A squadron of the Regiment of Cossacks of
the Guards in blue follows. Except in the shape of
the head dress, which is like one of our shakos in
the olden time, and the colour of their uniform,
these men resemble the Black Sea Cossacks.
Each squadron consists of about 200 men, and
the men are by no means of that hairy, high-
cheekel retrousse-nosed, and small-eyed kind iden-
tified in the popular mind with their name ; and far
different are they from the long-coated, round-
headed lancers on scraggy ponies who so long kept
watch and ward over us from Canrobert's Hill.
These Cossacks are well mounted and well clad, and
would afford to the stranger a very imperfect notion
of what the Cossacks are who plunder and burn in
the front of an advancing enemy, sweep away its
supplies, and hover round it to do anything but
fight, unless at some enormous vantage. Suggesting
some strancre likenesses and comparisons there follows
after these 400 Cossacks a large body of the haute
noblesse on horseback and in liaiform, two and two,
headed by the Marshal of the Nobility for the dis-
trict of Moscow. Nearly all of these nobles are in
military uniforms, those who are not wear the old
Russian boyard's dress, a tunic glistening with pre-
cious stones, golden belts studded with dianionds,
and high caps with aigrettes of brilliants. On their
breasts are orders, stars, creases, ribands, innumer-
'thSe b trgeanrnenrffs O Cheremetioffs,
sf
many another
innumer-
able. Menschikoffs, Rostopchins, Galitzins, Wo-
a:Vnffedsstern Europe before the last
rpnoai namzt
name
fff fuss
kTGrioooi rws ttsno in
cyh
century, are there carrying whole fortunes on their
backs, the rulers and masters of millions of their
fellow-men ; but, brilliant as they are, the interest
they excite soon passes away when the next gor-
geous cavalcade approaches. This consists of the
deputies a the various Asiatic peuplades or races
which have submitted to Russia, all on horseback,
two and two. Here may be seen the costume of
all as rich as wealth,
eovlderfyamagileyatt ohorea view,sures,loaalrited plunder, and modern
taste can make it. Bashkirs and Circassians,
Tcherkess, Abassians, in coats of mail and surcoats
of fine chain armour, Calmucks, Tartars of Kazan
and the Crimea, Mingrelians, Karapapaks, Da-
gliistanhis, Armenians, the people of Gouriel and
Georgia, the inhabitants of the borders of the Cas-
pian, Kurds, people of Astrakhan, Samoiedes, wild
mountaineers from distant ranges to which the
speculations of even the " Hertfordshire Incum
bent" have never wandered, Chinese from the
Siberian frontiers,.Mongols, and strange beings like
Caliban in court-dress. Some of them had their
uncovered hair plaited curiously with gold coins ;
others wore on the head only a small flat plate of
precious metal just over the forehead ; others
.sheepskin head-dresses studded with jewels ; old
matchlocks that might have rung on the battle-
fields of Ivan Veliki, battle-axes, lances, and
scimitars and daggers of every form were borne by
this gaudy throng, whose mode of riding offered L
every possible variety of the way in which a mans

can sit on a horse. Some rode without stirrups,
loose and graceful as the Greek warriors who live
on the friezes of the Partheuon ; others sat in a sort
of legless arm-chair, with their knees drawn up
after the manner of sartorial equestrians. Every
sort of bit, bridle, saddle, and horse-trapping which
has been used since horses were subjugated to man
could be seen here. Some of the saddlecloths and
holsters were of surpassing richness and splendour.
In the midst of all these cavaliers two attracted
particular notice. One was a majestic-looking old
Turk with an enormous beard and a tower-
ing turban, whose garments were of such a
rich material and strange cut that one was
reminded immediately of the figure of the
High Priest in Rembrandt's picture, or of the old
engravings of the Sultan in old books of travel.
The other was a young deputy from Gouriel, with
clustering hair flowing down in curls from beneath
a small patch of gold and jewels fixed on the top of
the head, whose face and figure were strikingly
handsome, and who was dressed in a magnificent
suit of blue velvet cramoisi, flashing with precious
stones. He was a veritable Eastern Antinous, and
was well matched with his beautiful horse. This
cavalcade of the " peuplades soumises a la Russie"
was to strangers the most interesting part of the
procession ; but it passed too quickly by for the
eye to decompose its ingredients. What stories of
the greatness and magnificence of Russia will those
people take back to their remote tribes ! They
went by bright, shifting, and indistinct as a dream
of the "Arabian Nights." The only objection
one could make to this part of the procession was
that it was over too soon, and the eye wandered
after it to the curve of the lines of soldiery which
hid it from view. Already the "premier fourrier
de la Cour," in a uniform of green and gold, has
passed us on a prancing charger, and then, two
and two at each side of the street, comes an array
of 60 valets of the Court, in cocked hats, gold and
green liveries, breeches, and white silk stockings,
shoes, and buckles. Alas I those shces are often
new and the buckles tight, for the four mile
march on foot has much distressed these worthy
gentlemen, and they walk gingerly over the red
sand. After them in like order come six lacqueys
of the chamber, then six Court runners, and
finally, in gorgeous attire, eight negroes of the
Court, grinning with all the dental abandon of
their race. The ceremony is now becoming most
exciting, for the carriages come in view round
the turn of the street. They are preceded, how-
ever, by the piqueur of the Emperor on horseback,
and 20 huntsmen in full livery, after whom
rides in great grandeur the head huntsman—
the master of the Emperor's hounds, or the Chef de
la Venerie Imperiale. The first vehicle is an open
phaeton gilt richly from stem to stern, and lined
with crimson velvet, drawn by six noble horses with
the richest trappings ; at the head of each horse
there is a footman in cocked hat, green and gold
livery, buckskins, and patent-leather jackboots,
who holds his charge by a richly-embossed rein ;
the driver, barring his livery, seems to have been
abstracted from Buckingham Palace. In this
gay vehicle are seated, in uniforms of green and
gold, two masters of the Ceremonies of the Court,
with huge wands of office. This description, bad
as it is, must suffice for the next open phaeton and
its paraphernalia, in which is seated the Gland
Master of the Ceremonies. After this carriage
comes a Master of the Ceremonies on horseback,
followed by 24 Gentlemen of the Chamber, mounted
on richly-caparisoned horses, riding two-and-two.
Another Master of the Ceremonies is next seen, pre-
ceding a cavalcade of 12 mounted chamberlains, who
are stiff with gold lace, and covered with orders and
ribands. Having got rid of an officer of the Im-
perial stables who looks very like a field-marshal,
and two Palfreniers in uniforms too rich for an
English General, we turn our attention to the fol-
lowing objects :—The second " Charges de la Cour,"
in gilt carriages, four-and-four, crimson velvet
linings, green and gold footmen, and fine horses.
Next the Marshal of the Court, in an open phaeton,
gilt all over, with his grand baton of office flashing
with gems. Next the Grand " Charges de la Cour," •
by fours, in gilt and crimson carriages, all and each
drawn like the first, with running footmen and rich
trappings,—
" All clinquant—all in gold like heathen gods ;
"Every man that walked showed like a mine."
The members of the Imperial Council, in gilt
carriages, followed the Grand " Charges,"—all that
is esteemed wise in Russia, skilful in diplomacy,
and venerated for past services, grave, astute, and
polished nobles and gentlemen, whose lives have
been spent in devoted efforts for the aggrandise-
ment of their country and the promotion of the
interests of their Imperial master, their breasts
boar witness to the favour with which they have
been regarded. It is with strange feelings one
gazes on the representatives of a policy so crafty
and so ambitious as that which is attributed to the
Russian Court, and which in this 19th century is
supported by no inconsiderable part of the learn-
ing and logic of the statesmen of Europe. As the
last of the train of carriages passes a noise like dis-
tant thunder rolling along the street announces
the approach of the Czar. But his presence is
grandly heralded. Immediately after the membess
of the Council of the Empire the Grand Marshal
of the Court rides in an open phaeton, gilt like the
rest ; but, bright as he is and all about him, there
comes after that compared with the lustre of which
he is a mote in the sun. In gilt casques of beauti-
ful form and workmanship, surmounted by crest
eagles of silver or gold, in milk-white coats and
gilded cuirasses and back-plates, approach the
giants of the first squadron of the Chevalier Gardt s
of his Majesty the Emperor, each on a charger fit
for a commander in battle. These aro the picked
men of 69,0C9,000 of the human race, and in sta-
ture they certainly exceed any troops I have ever
seen. All their appointments are splendid, but it
is said that they looked better in the days of the'
late Emperor, when they wore white buckskins and
jackboots, than they do now in their long trousers.
The squadron was probably 200 strong, and
the effect of the polished helmets, crests, and ar-
mour was dazzling. Their officers could scarcely
be distinguished, except by their position and the
extraordinary beauty and training of some of their
horses, which slowly beat time, as it were, with
their hoofs to the strains of the march. The First
Squadron of the Garde a Cheval follows,—
" All furnished—all in arms,
" All plumed like e-,taid3es that winged the wind;
"Bated like eagles having lately bathed,
" Glittering in golden coats, like images."
So bright, so fine, that one is puzzled to decide
which, they or the chevaliers are the bravest. But
as we aro debating the point the tremendous cheer-
ing of the people and the measured hurrahs of the
soldiers, the doffed hats and the reverences of the
crowd, the -serving of handkerchiefs and the clash
of presenting arms warn us that the " Czar of all
the Russias, of the Kingdom of Poland, and of the
Grand Duchy of Finland, which ,are inseparable
from them," is at hand, and Alexander Nicolaie-
vitch is before us. His Majesty is tall and well
formed, although he does not 111 stature, or in
grandeur of person, come near to his father. His
face bears a resemblance to the portraits of the
Emperor Nicholas, but the worshippers of his
deceased Majesty declare that it is wanting in the
wonderful power of eye and dignity and intelli-
gence of expression wh;ch characterised the father.
His Majesty is dressed in the uniform of a general
officer, and seems quite simply attired, after all
the splendour which has gone past. He wears a
burnished casque with a long plume of white,
orange, and dark cock's feathers, a close fitting
green tunic, with aiguillottes and orders, and
red trousers, and. he guides his charger—
a perfect model of symmetry—with ease and
gracefulness. His features are full of emotion
as he returns with a military salute on all sides
the mad congratulations of his people, who really
act as though the Deity were incarnate before
them. It is said that several times his eyes ran
over with tears. To all he gives the same acknow-
ledgment—raising his extended hand to the side of
his casque, so that the forefinger rises vertically by
the rim in front of the ear. The effect of his
presence is considerably marred by the proximity
of his suite, who have gradually and perhaps un-
wittingly closed up till they are immediately be-
hind his horse, instead of leaving him isolated, as
he was when he quited the palace of Petrovsky.
Thus it happens that, before he reaches the spot
where the spectator is placed, he is nearly lost amid
the crowd behind him ; and that the moment he
passes his figure is swallowed up in the plumed
suite who follow at Ins heels. It is ordered that
the Emperor should be attended only by the
Minister "de sa maison," the Minister of War,
an Aide de-Camp General, a General of the Suite,
and the Aide-de-Camp of his Majesty on duty ;
but as he turned to speak to the Grand Dukes
and to the foreign princes from time to time this
order was lost, and mingled with the officers
indicated were their Imperial Highnesses the
Cesarewitch Grand Duke Heritier Nicolas Alex-
androvitch, the Grand Dukes Alexandre Alexand-
rovitch, Constantine Nie olaievitch, Nicolas Ni-
colaievitch, and Michel N.;colaievitch, the Prince
Roma.novsky, Duke de Luchtenberg, Nicolas
Maximilianoviteb, the Prirce Peter, of Olden.