Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-05-19
THE FIVE GREAT MEN OF EUROPE.
EMPEROR NICHOLAS.
TRAFALGAR Square, LONDON, 1912

RhfAL EQLaNi', ALONDoN, lCf-.
Amid the many crimes and disasters arr
sing from the usurpation of Napoleon there
were also many real benefits: one of the
greatest of these was the lesson taught to he
rcditary sovereigns. He taught them that
was no a,tonement for imbccility, ,
and by his own brilliant example exploded
much Of the prevailing nonsense in regard to
the divine right of kings He proved that
the only divinity lay in the clear head and
the strong arm that monarch, in order to
ensure the affection and obedience of his SUBJ
ects, must depend upon something more
than velvet robes, and sceptres, and faded
tapestry; that he must be the real, genuine
Kmg-the konning man. or able man.
as Carlyle would say. And such are the
principal sovereigns of Europe at this time.
OF Louis Philippe | have already spoken,
and the striking contrast between Inn and
the painted simulacra of the old Bourbon dy-
nasies. The present King of Prussia az
iords quite as strong contrast with his pre-
decessors up to the time of the battle of Je-
ma. He is simple. unoslenations, hard
working man, associaing freely with his
subjects, and attending faithfully to the az
fairs of his kingdom. A friend of mine late
ly met him coming up the Rhine in a steam
boat, and as the boats passed, the King, who
was sitting at dinner on a stool by the pub
lie table, rose from his seat, waved his nap
kinaround his head in answer to their sulucs,
and sat down again to Gnish meal shared in
common with his fellow passengers. What
would the G'rand No"or1ue have thought of
Of such etiquette Bernndottc Of Sweden
is another royal operative of the real Nnpo-
leon school-a man who has no other claim
to the place he holds bnt the fitness which
Providence has gwen HIM.
But the strongest instance is found, per-
I,aps, in the Emperor NICHOLAS. Selling
the throne from his brother Constantine by
an act of usurpation, il has required all the
nerve, all the vigilance. and all the energy Of
his strong mind to retain his grasp, and well
has he played his part. The Emperor is
now AZ years old, and, for the last 20 years,
his life has been one of constant enterprise
and toll. The ail,,lrs of his overgrown En-
pire, of which he claims the title Of Father,
are all to be kept under his immediate SUI
pcrintcndcnce: if IA courier arrive from ST.
IBERIA, or Warsaw, or the shores of the Cas-
plan, he must overlook the despatch if his
grenadicrs are to parade, he must be pre-
sent; even if a fire breaks out in his capital
there he is, putting, sweating, and shouting
with the best of them.
Those who have seen his Ma esty describe
his appearance as imposing in the extreme
lie is feet 2 inches in height, finely form.
ed, with great breadth of shoulder and chest
great length and symmetry of limb, with !
large, blue eye, Grccian nosc-and every
: part of his frame in the same colossal pro
: portion. At the royal levecs he is dislin
; guishcd amid all the ewelled and sabrcd prin
ccs, by his plain dress and commanding Gg
urc, and he towers above them all, like tn
first king of Israel among the shepherd war
rors that surrounded him. He is the eigan
tic head Of the most gigantic Empire o
earth.
Russia is certainly a most wonderful coun
try. Stretching around three quarters of til
globe, 1t already numbers 20, 900, 600 of IN
, hab,ants, and in IA century more may mum
, Der 100 millions 1t embraces every vari
!, city of soil, product, and occupation, from til
, s,unied pines of Archangel to the bloomin
garden of the Crimea, from the hunters
bears on the ce-hills of kamschatka, to Il,
degers of salt in the mines of Cracow. TT
rich wheat fields ON the shores Of the Bac
: Sea polr their annual produce into the era
u narics Of Odessa the shepherd of the int
rior pastures his immense herds on the Ger
IS trail steppes, and lat each returning fair drive
l. the Grstings of his flock to the bazaars
r. Moscow; while, from the frozen north, whel
VI life well nigh goes out, the hardy torcsl
lit floats down, during his shortivcd summe
rs the fnrs winch he had taken beneath the ig
n. of the aurora during his long win,ry night.
fl; All this varied population are divided in
~ ~ two classes.
Id FIRST come the hereditary nobles-hu
er sons of Anak, purse proud, high spirited, al
W. for the most part ignorant-rolling in splc
he dor and filth, covered with diamonds and ve
40 nina set of princely desperadoes ready
m any time for rcvel or muster, a masqu
,al radc or campaign. From these riolo
as nabobs, two or three of whom could buy
,al the whole of Iowa at government price
Tot there is but one step to the Serfs in comp
- rison with whom our Southern slaves q
Inc freemcn indeed. Herds Of them throng
ie- the plantations Of the nobility working vii
f,' out pay, living on rye meal, and chopp
est straw until they can live no longer, and til
Oh die, leaving wreched Inheritance of Dor
md age TO their children.
ao- This immense empire with its great ter
y, tory and its grea, diversity of rank is conir
=" led by a standing army Of 100000 infant