Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1859-01-15
9alp Appsal.


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new WORK 81 HEHzEN.
I'M FRTvkIE MEMOIRS OF THB ENPEEss oATH-
AE1sE Il OF EUSsIA
Frm ~ L1nen EunomlELl
The history Of this curious and Important
contribution e or knowledge Of the last cen
turv is given bv NJ Hsrzen, in the short intro
ducticn which he has prehxed 70 It Among
The private papers Of the Empress Cathaiinss
which eame into the hands Of her son PAU az
ter her death, 81 envelope addressed
PnncsbiussH By his mother and cont~R
the present taEmsnisry autoologrsphy-
Ma terminates abruptly near he close on ~
YEA 1873. bat Il Is reported that there were
nuns detached notes In cclunganeL
were thrown into the Ere By Paul hlmseh
Ho-sru tbs nav Be, the Car KEEP sae MS
EfrcFy secret, scd only allowed ms cary uiena
Alexander Kourakine 10 take a ooPy
From this copy, twenty years atterWsros
~cni.s were made bv Alexander Iourgenen and
Prince Michael Woroltzch- his coming %
-. - Of the Gar Nicholas, he ordered Tie
vreret rolice 20 seize al copies he also had
re ourinsl brolght q hin, read - sealed L
~ al ordered il to Be kept in he Imperial
srehigvss, among the most secret dccunents
me tuior Of the present Emperor, Constantine
aruenioF. had. however, as he himself informed
nj Herzen. IN $50, permission to read this
zwonr other private Illustrations q Russian
historT. During the war IN the Cumea, these
archives were transferredto MosooW-WEshet
through fear Of their being published without
authority hy Sir Charles Napier, NE editor
- - stste. In March. 1855, the present
Emperor had the memoirs brought 70 him foI
hs perusdl. and. after that time, one or Two
copies got into cTculstion in Moscow and y
Petersburg. IRON one q these tie present
Toluns Is printed
o. its auth sndeiiy the editor asserts there
tan Be no doubt, and be appeals with justice
IN eorroboratoa, 70 the internal evidences sf-
for3ed bv eTerv usEe Of the work itself. A
rlors curious and literal daguerreotyPe, inceedi
az that unfortunate class Of state prisoners
FoTsl puncesses, c01id scarcely Be conceived.
We live the daily hte Of the royal captive along
yrith her, with such a sense q reality that
Fcnsthing Of The feeling which It must have
INSPIRED n her is transformed 70 our minds,
and We beEin 10 see how natural, with woman
of Cathaune's character, under such a treat-
uent, vas the subsequent deAoucment Of the
Ylot The miuuteness and t~riviality IN them
leives Of e large part Of the incidents with
which those memoirs are allied, only engrave
the more deeply and permanently on the mind
ne impression Of what the circumstances real
ly were under which tbs character Of the fu-
ture Czslna was matured-
After a passing glimpse Of her future hus-
hand az an unruly boy q twelve, already given
20 tipping, We arr taken at once 70 the court Of
the Czarina Elizabeth in the train Of the youth
ful fGHoas Of this promising heir 70 the throne
of Russia. How, thrown thus into the heart
Of a strange country, and into TIE very focus Of
court intiEue-with only a foolish, avaricioHs,
cold-hearted mother al her side during the first
months; with a husband sxPectsnt entirely in
Different whether she became his wife or re-
burned 70 her own country, and under the per-
petusl surveildnce Of an exactinC, suspicious
monarch, only seliciti0us about the succession
70 the throne, and alternating between ce-emO-
NAL devotion and gross private debauchsry-
the young girl, not fifteen, managed 10 make
hsrEet respected in the highest quarter, feared
IN the next, and beloved BY al classes beneath,
A. told BY her in these memoirs with q frank
ness and r~rai-tem5laaes which are seldom net
With
she does not attempt to gloss over her mis-
deeds OF Discrimination. Shamefacedness could
never have been s~vailing, however she may
have occasionally used it as a conTenientmask
she tells Us plainly that she elung to Russia
hom TIE stage Il her personal sseendaney.
She nefeT pretends any grain Of affection for
ner husband, and for this her apology is a tol-
ersbiy sufficient one. She coOlly gives Us 10
understand that the father Of her kust child
The Gar Paul-Was SelgiUs S0ltikof, and Of
her daughter another young c~Ourtier, Leo Ma
uchkine. Her choice between these was given
her BY the ~virtuous Gamma Elizabeth, and she
Improved upon the hint 50 far as to add an
other lover on her own account-Count Ponia-
tOTsky. She tells rs how she fattered and dis
Eembled with the Czarina, and how she stole
tie affections Of thefuture sabjects Of her weak,
worthless husband Prom the time when, in
nediately after her arrival in Russia, she Law,
during Der recovery from a dangerous Illness,
pTm her eyes closed, CONTRIBUTING uncOnsci-
Susness, 30 az to listen 10 the private CONVEX
Hation Of the court ladies. down 70 the crisis be-
tween her husband and herself, With which the
Toiune closes in which she ~couuterfeits dan
Eenous illness IN order . arrest fhe svmpathy
and fears Of the Czsrins, it is one and the same
@haracter that we see dehn-sted to Us, touch
BY ed-Watchfu-cautiou
yet at
he SANE tine CAV, good-humored. and full Of
she herself calls sezsfbdifc,S but which
English society would probably render BY the
term "sensualitE.1
OF delicacy there is not a trace, but The in
delcary is taken 50 much as a matter Of course
that i scarcely ever becomes ~disagresably OBJ
tuusiTe. The minOr characters Of the plot-as
all the rest must Be called in comparison with
Cstha-ine hersef-sre touched Of with similar
POINT, though not always with the same unre-
BerFe- he picture Is complete q the drunken
smbecle-Pster W-Plsying with his dolls
and wooden scldiers, and drilling q FoufrGncc
his private Wallets, and Afterwards bis obnoxious
Holsteiners-gn0wing more conscious Of his
Wife's talents and more afraid Of her every DAY,
yet daily insulting Der BY making mistresses Of
al her maids-of-honoT, and BY provoking her
disgust and contempt Of the Empress by bis
drunken folly.
There is some reserve In The account Of the
CEauns EiiEabeth, az II seme fellow sympathy
with crowned heads restrained the pen Of the
Imperial satust but the hints are significant,
and the malicious record Of the stereotyped
reference Of the Czarina 10 the days Of the
Empress Ann is worthy Of the best Of our
czrlcaturists. The smafness IN themselves and
the Erestness IN their consequences Of the bed
chamber and Official iutrigues are done fun JUS
tee 70, and the uncertain boundaries between
broad farce and deep tragedy were never more
thoroughly demonstrated. Religion never ap-
pears except a. a ceremonial, and the COMES
Iionzl is the most CONVENIENT and effective
channel Of political Intrigue OF court scandal.
TIE ARIsTOCRACF OF FUR.
It has been said, perhaps not always with
suF very great regard 70 accuracy, that you
could tel something Of a lady BY the fur she
wore. The lady that could wear her Russian
- - a-aaHHMau unI 49, The