The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-08 00:00:00

4ZALT and Co.'s EAST INDIA PALE and
1,7 BURTON ALES. BsEwERT—BURTON-ON-TRENT.

51Poms :
LONDON..
LIVERPOOL .. • ........
MANCHESTER .. •• •• ..••
S REEF I ELD ....... •..• • ..
BIRMINGHAM ... Old Courthouse, High-street.
BRISTOL.. .. .
DUBLIN 4, Crown-alley.
EDINBURGH •.
GLASGOW St. Vincent-place.
These Ales, in Casks of Eighteen Gallons and upwards, and in
L ettle, obtained from alt respectable Bottlers. .......

SIR ROBERT PEEL ON RUSSIA.

BIRMINGHAM, JAN. 6.

Last night the new library in Adderley-park was inangu•
rated by a dinner given to the members of the late bazaar
committee, and subsequently by a meeting in the Museum
Room, at which were present Lord Lyttleton, Lord Leigh,
Sir Robert Peel, M.P., Mr. Adderley, M.P., Mr. M`Gea-
chy, the Mayor of Birmingham, Mr. Charles Ratcliffe, and
numerous friends of the institution. The great attraction
of the night was a promised lecture by Sir Robert Peel on
the subject of " Moscow," which proved, upon delivery, to
be highly amusing, if not instructive.

After appropriate addresses from Lord Lyttleton and
Mr. Adderley, announcing the flattering prospect of " the
People's Park and Library."

Sir R PEEL presented himself, and was loudly cheered.
He said that it was only the day before he had road in a
public newspaper that he was expected to appear on that
occasion to address an audience upon the far distant city
of Moscow. Pia humble services had, however, been, and
should be, at the disposal of the public. The hon. baronet
then proceeded to dilate upon the immediate subject with
which bis name was associated in the programme. He
said, " You are aware that last summer I went, in com-
pany with many others, to that distant country celled
Russia. I had the proud . satisfaction of being conveyed
thither on board one of those magnificent vessels which
plough the ocean like queens, and gloriously assert the in-
dependence and greatness of our country. (Cheers.) I
proceeded up the Baltic, where in the year preceding such
mighty fleets were assembled. I passed along the shores
of Finland, and arrived within gunshot of that great for-
tress which Sir Charles Napier did net take. (Loud
cheers, laughter, and hisses.) some gentlemen express
dissent from what I state, but I believe it is strictly and
kterally true. (Laughter.) I saw that mighty fortress
rising before us. I reflected naturally upon the past and
upon the great distinction that might have resulted from
any successful operations against it. We then advanced up
the Neva, that great and mighty river which flows by St.
Petersburg. We arrived at St. Petersburg sufficiently tired
by the journey, and expecting to be overcome by the heat.
Although it was in the middle of summer it was bitterly
cold ; the weather was very changeable, like everything
else in Russia, and I had the greatest difficulty to keep
myself warm. St. Petersburg is built on piles, and is
always very subject to the east wind. (Laughter.) When
the east wind blows St. Petersburg has a chance of be-
ing done away with, as the public expected Sir Charles
Napier would do away with it—(laughter)--at all
events, it then stands a good chance of being sunk in the
water. It is not a very magnificent city, and does not
strike one by its fine streets and buildings after all. It
has nothing else but grenite floors, with outsides all paint
and stucco. Its edifices are a great deception, as are most
things else we have heard of in Russia. (Laughter.) The
Admiralty is a remarkable building situated next to the
Winter Palace, which palace is the residence of the Czars.
It is in this palace that the Emperor Nicholas lived in the
simplest manner, great as was his mind ; and it was in a
poorly furnished room on the north-east side that he
breathed his last. The square before this palace is one of
the largest in the world, and the monolith in the centre is
the largest in the world, consisting of a single piece of stone,
on the top of which is placed a monument to the Emperor
Alexander, who died in 1825. In the Winter Palace are
deposited the Crown jewels. I have travelled a good deal
and seen many fine sights, but I never saw anything like
the splendid jewels belonging to the sovereign and people
of that Court and country. They are something beyond
belief. The crown exhibits a ruby such as was never seen
before ; the sceptre has the largest emerald in the
world ; the ball of state has an enormous sapphire ; the
Empress's beautiful crown of pearls contains the largest
pearl I ever saw ; and the effect produced by this congre-
gation of brilliants is something quite magnificent. In this
palace there is also a number of portraits of distinguished
Russians and great generals; among others the Duke of
Wellington. There is likewise a splendid picture by Horace
Yernet, illustrating the attack on Poland, one of the most
interesting and, at the same time, moat bloody episodes in
Russian history. (Hear, hear.) Another palace is called the
Hermitage. It is, however, nothing like a hermitage, for it
is in the middle of the town, and holds a most famous collec-

tion of pictures, originally from this country, and known as
the Walpole collection. It is a misfortune that no private
individual could be found to secure such a collection for our
country; and it is quite out of the question to expect
Governments to be liberal on such a matter. ("Hear," and
laughter.) I went to view the pictures one Sunday after-
noon. The man in charge of the collection pointed my at-
tention to a quantity of works of art, and said, "Here is the
Kertch collection." I said, " I thought they were all taken
by the people"—(laughter)--to which he replied, " Oh no ;
they were removed by order of the Emperor two years ago."
That shows the premeditation of the man. (Cheers.) Those
pictures had been removed at great cost and difficulty from
Kertch to St. Petersburg two years before; and this pro-
ceeding leaves little doubt on my mind that there was a
great design against the liberties of Europe. (Hear, and
cheers.) The next palace is called is the Marble Palace.
In everything there is deception, and in this instance there
is almost another deception. It is called the Marble
Palace, bosause it is built of granite. (Laughter.) The
Marble Palace is the residence of that " frank and open-
hearted sailor" Constantine. How I laughed when I read
that description of Constantine's character. (Laughter.)
You may remember what has been said about the distin-
guished Admiral Constantine. With all respect to his
Highness, I must say that I never saw a man who gave
me less of the impression of a " frank and open-hearted
sailor.)" (Cheers and laughter.) It is all soft sawder, you
know. (Laughter.) There is another great palace, the
Taurida. It was given by Catherine to the remarkable
character called Potemkin—remarkable for the power he
acquired over that most powerful Empress. Potemkin se-
cured to Russia that very spot, the Crimea, in which so
much precious blood and treasure has been lately expended
by the allies. Potemkin caused the Khan of the Crimea to
be assassinated, and then attached that border of the Black
Sea to Russia. It was he who first raised the post with the
well-known inscription, " La route de Constantinople"—
an inscription which is has ever been the anxious desire of
the Northern Czars to carry out, and which remains for
us ever to resist. (Cheers.) Having finished the palaces, I
will turn to a more serious subject, the churches. The
Izaak Church is the chief church of Russia, and 200,0001.
was spent in preparing for it a foundation of piles before a
single stone was raised. It was commenced 19 years ago,
and is not yet finished. In the interior are eight magni-
ficent malachite columns, given by a rich Russian pro-
prietor, Demidoff, and valued at 1,009,000 roubles.
There was not much to keep us in St. Petersburg,
for we were so horribly fleeced by our innkeeper.
(Laughter.) I have lived a great deal in that way, but I
never in my life came across a man with such enormous
ideas of the principles of " doing." (Laughter.) I am a
man who am satisfied with little, but our dinner every
night cost us 601. sterling. (Roars of laughter.) It was per-
fectly monstrous. If I had not been in Russia I should have
lived with the police, bat I gave up that notion after wit-
nessing the manner in which Russian constables knock
people about. (Laughter.) The police use a sort of great
I antique fork, which they stick into their unfortunate vic-
tims, and then leave them on the ground, instead of taking
them to a lock-up or something of that kind. (Laughter.)
We were glad to get away to Moscow, that being thegreat
goal of our anticipations. When we got to the station to
start off our luggage was so enormous that the station
could not hold it. We took a most extraordinary quan-
tity of clothes, and all sorts of fancy dresses, and as there
were 20 of us, with 20 servants, and more than 20 other
attendants, you may imagine what a tremendous amount
of moveables we carried about. At last we started, leay.
iog behind what we could not take. In Russia the trains
are in the habit of stopping every quarter of an hour,
and remaining a quarter of an hour when they do
stop. (Laughter.) When we arrived at Moscow we were
wearied, but not hungry, having plenty to oat, for the
quarter of an hour stoppages were apparently made for the
express
in purpose of eating. We had most charming theapart-
ments
their eir accommodation,
carriages.
Egli
but
English
railway
not so the Russians,
for
directors
are
stingy about
for we had every convenience that a well-regulated esta-
blishment could possibly desire. After passing the night
tolerably well, we reached Moscow, and foundb 10,7) 0
troops drawn up at the station? together with an enormous
quantity of footmen. We had just arrived with the Impe-
rial jewels in the same train, and it was thought necessary
to !surround them with pomp. I had
Wads an agreement

with Gen. Sourochokoff, a common man, whose whole
anxiety was to imposo upon people who trusted in him.
At my command he had sent for me to the station a mag-
nificent carriage, with four magnificent grey horses. I
hastened at once to our dwelling, near the English em-
bassy, accompanied by my wife, Lord Stafford and his
wife, the Duke of Newcastle's son, and Lord Shaflesbury's
son. Sourochokoff charged me 1001. for the hire of each
horse ; and, although I strongly objected to the impost, I
was compelled to pay his exorbitant demand. We all had
enormous establishments, and lived at an enormous rate.
As the great fair was being held at Nishni, and that being
a matter thoroughly unique, in itself six or seven of us de-
termined to visit it. I went to the postmaster and found
him one mass of decorations. I was quite frightened with
his pomp and ceremony. He gave me what he called an
_official, but a man I should have taken for a general officer,
so splendid was his uniform—(laughter)—he was to guide
us, and see that everything was done • l -Rits* We
started in two carriages and six on the 2d of Aug. for Nishni,
situated on the Volga, and just had one week todo every-
thing in. We went from Moscow without provisions,
thinking we should find plenty on the road. We could
not speak one word to the man who took ns in charge,
and of course had to leave ourselves entirely in his hands.
Ho took us at a tremendous pace. 'We travelled on a road
as smooth as Hyde-park from Moscow to Nishni, 400
miles, in 28 hours-15, 16, and 11 miles per hour fre-
quently. We were in the second carriage, and I once
made signs to our richly-dressed director that we were not
going fast enough, and that the first carriage was outstrip-
ping us. He immediately rose from his seat, dragged the
man from the box, and cast him to the ground, nearly
killing him. (Laughter.) I took care not to complain
again. There was no postilion ready for one of the six
horses when we stopped at one post house, but the director
in gold insisted that we must have six horses and six
riders, and to supply the vacancy rushed into the crowd

which had collected, seized the first person, put bim upon
the horse, and started off again. The man had no stock-
ings or shoes on, but that did not matter ; he soon got into
a dreadful state from riding, and dropped off the animal.
The horses frequently became tired, and when they fell
down exhausted were left by the 'roadside. The postboys
suffered the same treatment when they became unable
to perform their duties. (Laughter.) Ido not think I
ever enjoyed travelling so in my life. (Laughter.) We
slipped quantities of money into their hands, and they were
well contented with us. When we arrived at Nishni,
which, under ordinary circumstances, numbers 30,000 inha-
bitants, but at the fair times contains 400,000 and 500,000,
we could not for sometime get lodgings ; and I assure you
that, 'after travelling at that tremendous pace for 28 hours
in carriages without springs, and without tasting food, we
were thoroughly worn out. Eventually we all got into a
room ; we were compelled to rough it, and shook down in
an inn we found there. (Laughter.) Our arrival caused
a great sensation, for they had never perhaps seen an
English face before. The following night sone of our
party went to the theatre. The Governor was there,
and, seeing strangers, inquired who we were, and as soon
as be ascertained he treated us with the greatest pos-
sible hospitality. During the whole time I was in Rus-
sia I never saw such a brick as the Governor was.
(Laughter.) While quietly walking over an immense
bridge at Nishni, smoking a cigar, I was seized by a
Cossack, who nearly wrung my neck off, and who, holding
his great weapon over my head, took me prisoner along
the streets. (Laughter.) I could not speak a word to the
fierce soldiei, and was in something like the same position
as the Englishman in France, of whom Hood or Matthews
sung:—

" Never go to France, unless you know the lingo,
Or else you will, like me, repent of it, by jingo—
Staring like a fool, silent as a mummy,
There I stood, looking 'nation like a dummy."

(Bursts of merriment.) We had nothing to sleep on, but
had plenty to drink. I never saw a man with such a capa-
city for drinking as this brick of a Governor—(langhter)—
and no matter how much champagne he drank, I did not
notice that he ever appeared affected by it. (Laughter.)
He gave us a Me on the Volga, and we had an excellent
opportunity of seeing the scenery of this fine river, which
flows into the Caspian Sea. What delighted us most was
going into the fair. We saw there Kalmuck') and lovely
Circassians, the latter being particularly engaging, and I
was nearly engaged twice by some of them. (Laughter.)
Nishni is the tea emporium of Europe. We saw thousands
of pounds of tea brought there. I brought several cases
home with me, and paid 31s. per pound for them upon the
spot. I also saw the people from Bokhara with their pre-
cious stones, and purchased from them some turquoises,
which I feel sure. would thia country all that
Gan Benroeilokoirrcilibednie'cit. (Langhter.) I am always
anxious to recover, and never like "to be done." /Renewed
mirth.) After alluding to a purchase or caviare, which cost
100 t. per pound before it reached Moscow, and was nasty
even then, and mentioning the various races, and the arti-
cles they fered for sale at the grand fair, Sir Robert ob-
served—" I saw among the crowded and varied people men
from Manchester and Birmingham, a Staffordshire yeoman
and a Scotch lassie, and as I gazed upon them I felt proud
of my country. (Cheers.) We hurried back because wei
knew that on the 24th the Emperor was to enter Moscow,
and after a sapid drive of 28 hours arrived in the Imperial
city at 5 o'clock in the morning. Shortly after that hour
the Emperor and Empress arrived at Moscow in grand
state—nothing could exceed the magnificence of the Em-
press's carriage. The Emperor Alexandria is a fine-look-
ing man, his appearance and the expression of his physiog-
nomy being mild—in fact, nothing desperate-looking about
him. The homage he receives from his subjects is God-
like, and such as could scarcely be conceived in a free comi-
try. At the unearthly hour of 6 o'clock in the evening I
had to dress in uniform to commence a series of presenta-
tions which lasted every mortal hour of the whole week.
The fatigue we underwent in this duty was enormous; in-
deed, so gi eat was it that our uniforms hung about us, and
we all lost that reputable rotundity which so peculiarly
characterises Englishmen. We were presented at the co-
ronation by Count Morny, the French Ambassador, a spick
and span man of considerable aplomb, and who, by the
way, is one of the greatest speculators in the world. He
speculates in everything, and bought a lot of pictures to
sell again and make a profit of. Next to Count Morny
stood the representative of a country which deserves
the sympathies of all civilised people, Sardinia—(cheers)—
General Dabormida. Then came the Ambassador of the
smallest kingdom in Europe, Belgium, the Prince de Ligne,
the very picture of swelling insignificance, so swelling, in-
deed, that he could not for the life of him look down from
the contemplation of his own importance. Then there was
that fine specimen of a elan, Prince Esterhazy, the repre-
sentative of Austria. Then the representative of Naples,
of whom, in charity, I will say nothing. Then the Turkish
representative, a clever Turk. Of course he was not ad-
mitted into the church. At the same time you could not
look at him without feeling that he was the representative
of an effete and worn-out cation. It was impossible for
Turkey to long resist the aggression of Russia without as-
sistance. Then came the Papal representative, and, finally,
that of this country, Lord Granville, then whom no one
could more thoroughly represent a true Englishman. He
was the representative of the most powerful nation in the
world, yet plainly dressed. When I saw him standing
amid the decorated group around him I was reminded of
the lines of Burns— _ .

king can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, and a' that ;
But an honest man's aboon his might—.
Guid faith he mauna fa' that !"
(Loud cheers.) Then, casting the eye across the cathedral,
you saw the distinguished generals of the Russian army—
Todtleben, Gortschakoff, and others—and, just beside the
Emperor, Count Orloff. I believe he was in the palace
when Paul was assassinated, and has been the favourite of
three great Emperors. He possesses quality of heart and
hospitality for which I am much indented. As the Empress
entered she fell fiat on the floor, I supposed by accident. It
was, however, to kiss some sacred stone or other; and thou
she came in with her hair dishevelled, looking like Norma ii
the opera. The ceremony then took place, and Emperor and
Empress were duly crowned. At the moment when the Empe-
ror placed his crown on his head the imperial ermine fell to
his feet, while that of the Empress fell from her head and
broke into pieces. These accidents in Rome would have been
deemed ill omens. In the evening their Majesties went out
to see the illuminations, which lasted three days, and were
most magnificent, so much so as to make one wonder where
the Russians got their supply of candles. Then there was a
review of 140,030 men, where I figured in the full uniform
of a captain of the Burton Yeomanry, who would bo well
pleased to see their commander in the imperial cortege.
There were troops of all the tribes of Russia, Cossacks and
Circassians, and so hostile are some of them that two regi-
ments turned their sham fight into earnest. There was a
grand charge of 40,000 cavalry en masse towards the spot
I was standing on. Many of the Russian soldiers had hel-
mets with bullet marks; but I suspect they must have been
of their own making, ortheir heads would not have escaped
at the same time. The next grand spectacle was an enor-
mous dinner. There is an account of an enormous feast
somewhere in the Bible, which I looked for and couldn't
find, and which must have been very like the one I beheld at
Moscow. Unfortunately the officer who had the management
of the feast thoughtthe people would not behave themselves
without a rehearsal, the result of which was that it was all
demolished prematurely. Of course he was tried by a
drum-head court-martial, and if he did not lose his head
was, at all events, oisgraced. Then we had a grand chasse,
In this chasse at least 800 horsemen were present, besides
about 20 men blowing enormous horns, and some 20 dogs.
They started hares, and they started foxes, and they
started wolves ; but all the 800 horsemen, with the dogs
and the trumpeters, could never manage to run down
one of them. In fact, they no more understand the chase
than you understand what serfs are. Lastly, they had
eagle hunting, in which a Khirgish carried an eagle on
his fist, and then having started a fox, the eagle flew
after him, but always missed him ; the chase never
extended over more than 20 yards of ground." The hon.
baronet next spoke of the immense size of the great bell in
the courtyard of the Kremlin, 21 feet high, 22 feet in cir-
enmference, and weighing 450,0C91b., while our Great Tom
of Lincoln only weighed 10 COOlb., and the greatest bell in
France 36,0001 b. The Russian belt had never been raised.
and when he esked a, man why
it had not been elevated
respect to
have been mistaken." (Laughter.)
nadnfdelwnhoe an
on
yaradtstetnmtpotthweags mronandde,
latter point," added Sir Robert,
bh,:u
my
aywi dii with
orwrenias
,
whenTi t
h be r
ho broke
a. the
pboal
re
baronet
nu (tst scaffolding
tuhoee
xatyhtyiasalluded to the battle of Borodino,
army of 120,000 men defeated a Russian
army of a like number, under Kutusoff, leaving 80,000
men dead on the field, and in vigorous language described
his feelings as he gazed from Moscow upon the scene of
the great contest. He went to say, looking back to his-
tory, and contemplating the present position of the Rue-