Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1856-10-08
Coronation of the Emperor of Russia.

WAS Cne ulOSt iiLpOSiiS ulSPidy IHo ""iiu he'
ever seen. The gorgeousness OF the carriage
and uniforms, liveries and horse trappings, was
worthy of the Caesars, or of some of the grea
Oriental conquerors, and it is said that the cor
onation will cost Russia no less than 6,000,00(
roubles, or 81, 100000 sterling. The festivitie
commenced seven Or eight days before the corO
nation.
On the 29th of August an immense procession
conducted the Emperor and Empress from tht
chateau Petrovsky to the Kremlin. Mr.. Russo
the correspondent of the London Times, give
the following description of the "Asiatc Depu
ties" who appeared in the train:
This consists Of the deputies Of the various
Asiatic peuplades, or races which have submit
ted to Russia, all on horseback, two and two.-
Here may be seen the costume of every age al
one view, and all rich as wealth, old tamil,
treasures. boarded plumber. and modern taste
can make it. BaShdirs and Circassians, Tc' ,er-
kess, Abassinans, in coats of mails and surcoat>
of fine chain armor, Calmucks Tartars of Kazar
and the Crimea, Mingrelians, Karapapaks, Dag
hstanhis, Armenians, the people of Gouriel and
Georgia, the Inhabitants OF the borders of the
Caspian, Kurds, people of Astrakhan, Samoiedes,
wild mountaineers from the distant ranges. tn
which the speculations of even the 'Hertford'
shire Incumbent have never wandered, Chinese
from the Siberian frontiers, MongOlS, and
strange beings like Caliban in court Dress
Some of them had their uncovered hair plated
curiously with gold coins; Others wore ON
the head only ~ small flat plate of metal just o.
yer the forehead others sheepskin head-dress-
es studded with jewels; old matchlocEs that
might have rung on the battletields of Ivan Ve-
lki: battle-axes lanceS. scimitarS, and daggers
of every form were borne by this gaudy throng,
whose mode of riding offered every possible va
riety of the way in which man can sit on a
horse. Some rode without stirrupS loose and
graceful as the Greek warriors who live on the
triezes of the ParthenOn. Others sat in sort
o. legless armchair, with t cir knees drawn up
after the manner of satorial equeStrlans. Every
sort of bit bridle, saddle, and hor>e-trappngs
which has been used since horses were suhlu-
gated to man could he seen here Some OF the
sadde-clotls and holsters were of SURPRISING
richness and splendor. In the midst of all these
cavaliers two attract particular notice. One
was majestic looking Turk, with an enormous
beard and q towering turban, whose garments
were of such a rich material and strange cut
that one was reminded Immediately of the fig
ure of the High Priest in Rembrandt's icture,
or of the old engravings of the Sultan in the old
books of travel. The other was q young deputy
from Gouriel, with clustering hair flowing down
i'm curls from beneath small patch of gold
and Jewels fixed ON the top of the head, whose
face and figure were strkingly handsome, and
who was dressed in 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 Rus
- inf lr
of the procession; but it passed too quickly by
for the eye to decompoSe its ingredients. What
stories of the greatness and magncence of Rus
sa will those people take back to their remote
tribes They went by bright, shifting, and in
distinct as dream OF t. e A1ajian 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 s0ldiery which hid it from view
A grand military review took place, on the
1st of September on an immense plain three
miles from Moscow. From Mr.. Russell's letter
we take the following extracts:
The stream of men which pourec past was so
continuous and so dense that one might think
all the armies OF the world We're present. At
ter the Guard came the splendid regiments at
the Corps of Grenadiers. 1t should be mention
ed that among the finest battalions OF the for
mer are the newly organized Chasseurs, armed
with new rifle. and the SapeurS, who are
well equipped useful looking body. The march
past of the Guard lasted one hour and seven
minutes that of the regiments of the Grenadler
Corps occupied nearly half an hour Each
corps was followed by its field batteries all brass
guns mounted on the wel-known green carria-
ges. Each battery consists OF eight guns. all of
the same calibre namely, one OF twelve pounds,
or fourteen pounds aS far rs one could see. II Is
intended to use only one kind ofguns for cavalry
and infantry, FOR the Russians are OF opinion
that the light field guns have been rendered
useless by the use of the lony-range rifles, and
they are adopting the system OF artillery intro
duced by the Emperor Napoleon into the French
army. Would that our authorities would open
their eyes to this question, and Institute some
experiments in continuation of those began in
the Crimea. The horses Were splendid and sur
priSed those Engsllnen that were present who
thought that no good quadrupeds OF the kind
could be seen out of England The heavy roll
OF y batteries, with all their polnp of spale
horses, caiSons, &c, and the march OF the artil.
lerylnen, did not cease till 30 minutes had e.
lapsed, and then, blazing with gold and silver,
the Chevaes Guard of the Emperor came up
at the head of the II regiments OF cavalry OF the
Imperial guard and of the line.
1t is impossible to eXaggerate the beauty and
condition of some of those regiments. Afier
they had saluted, each squadron wheeled round
to the left, and drew up in line, extending more
than mile ON the ground on the proper right
of the plain; and now the very finest spectacle
one ever saw was presented in manner as
grand as it was startling.
When the squadrons had dressed into spen-
did line, certain number OF the officers slowly
rode out in front, and came towards the line OF
spectators till they were within about nifty pa
ces, when they halted, and took mp points in
line parallel to that of the cavalry, who We're
distant from them about $50 yards. Then, at
given signal the whole of this tremendous body
Of cavalry, uttering loud cheers and tiourislling
sahres or couching lances, burst into a gallop
md charged full speed towards the people and
the EmperorS cortege The effect was over
earth indeed shook under the
tramp of 900 warehouses their force seemed
) fiji lent to annihate hole EARN e'-tley sweep
over the ground like some prodigious wave or
roller of the great Atlantic; in second they
were close at hand, and it seemed as il nothing
mortal could check that glittering food. The
women shrieked and fled, and some of the ruder
sex turned tail and sought refuge in the rear of
the lines. The alarnwas groundless The horses
were well in hand, notwithstanding the great
speed at which they advanced, and on arriving
ut the line of officers the billow Of Centaurs was
arrested as if by magic and the front suddenly
halted in wonderful order amid the tremendous
cheering of the people. Such are the sights
which Russia exhibits to German Potentates
and their followers and such are the displays
which have led half Europe to fear her as ire
sistible and unaSsailable The recollection of
this very charge might perplex statesman or
disturb the councils of a Cabinet The aspect
Of the field may be imagined when it is recol
lected that there were more men present than
there were on both sides together at the Alma,