Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1854-05-31
THE POWER OF NICHOLAS, AND
SPLENDOR OF THE PALACE.

The Emperor of Russia enjoys more power
and privileges than any other man living. Ac-
cording to Custne, he is the Deity, the Provi-
dence of 6O,O0O,OOO of men, who worship him
as god, and who invariably associate his name
with that of God in such expressions as this,
"God and the Emperor will it," In Russia
there is no country--there is only the Emperor
1t is for the Emperor men live, and for the EN-
peror they must be ever ready to die--and life is
there Of small value.
The splendor of the Imperial establishment
of Russia surpasses everything in the western
world and this is one of the peculiar character
istics of barbarism, which builds palaces for one
man, whilst civilization builds for the people,
In the summer residence of the Emperor, at Pc
terhoff, there are thousands of servants who
obey the will of one man, as dogs do their keep
er, and even more silently and reverentally.--
For lighting the lamps alone of the Peterhoff
for festive occasion to celebrate the birthday
of the Empress, 1900 men are employed and
hundreds of thousands of lamps are lighted up
in FIVE minutes 1t reminds one of the old bar
barian kings ofEgypt, Nineveh and Babylon
SIS not this great Babylon that have built"
said Nebuchadnczzar, "for the honor of my
name (" And the kings of Egypt no doubt built
the pyramids for similar purpose--the honor
Of one mans name!
We are told by Custne that the new Winter
Palace at st. Petersburgh was almost erected in
one year, after the burning of the old one, to
satisfy the impatence of the Emperor, and that
the interior works were continued through the
great frosts, when such works in ordinary cir
cumstapces are impossible. Six thousand men
were constantly employed in apartments heated
artifcially, that they might dry quickly, whilst
the frost was freezing the mercury out of doors,
and the men reluctantly shut up like victims
doomed to death, were so much oppressed by
the artificial heat that they worked with bonnets
of ice upon their heads; and a considerable
number of them died daily, their places being i'm.
mediately supplied by other victims, so nevita-
bly, doomed to the same fate that only the very
hardest of their number could survive. And
thus arose the present splendid home of the one
great man in Russia.
The Kremlin, or the Royal Palace Of Moscow
is city of Princes. II is an immense fortress
palace, built OH hill in the midst of Moscow.
The Marquis de Custine, speaks of it as fol-
lows:-
"Towers of every form, round, square, and
with pointed roofs belfries, donjons turrets,
spires, sentry-boxes fixed upon minarets, stee-
Piles of every height, style and color, palaces,
uOueS, WdJSH-lOWeTS, WaIS, eLUDdtIleUleUlS anu
pierced with loop holes, ramparts, Notifications
of every species, whimsical inventions, incom-
prehensble devces--chiosks by the side of Ca
thedrals--everytbing announces violation and
disorder; everything betrays the continual sur
velance necessary to the singular beings who
are condemned to live in this supernatural
world. Yet these innumerable monuments of
pride, caprice, voluptuousness glory and piety,
notwithstanding this apparent variety, express
one single dea-War maintained by fear. The
Kremlin is the work Of a superhuman being =
but that being is malevolent being. Glory is
slavery Such is the alegory figured by this
Satanic monument, as extraordinary in archi-
lecture as the visions Of st. John are in poetry.
1t is habtation that would suit some of the
persons Of the Apocalypse.
Moscow is the real capital Of Russia, the Holy
City, as the Russians call it; and the Kremliu is
the glory of Moscow 1t was singular reso.
luton that of Peter the Great, to leave the old
capital and build st. Petersburgh on the water
in so cold region. 1t was for the sake Of the
sea and the German ea-ports. He thought by
this to make himself western power. Hac
he built his capital on the Black Sea he would
have been an eastern and southern power.
WoMAN's AMBITIoN--What is the height O
a woman's ambition? Diamonds. Punch.
Sagacious Punch! Do you know the reason
1t is because the more diamonds" a woman
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