Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-03-02
THE CZAR,s CORONATION.

THE CZAR's CORONATION.
The Ceremonies to be Observed when
Alexander III. Mounts the Throne.
The ceremonies observed at the coro.
nation Of Alexander H., will be repeated
It that of Alexander III. The thrones
used in 1886 by the Emperor and Empress
were those of John III and Michael
Feodorowitch, which have served at all
colonations since that of Peter the Great.
The officiating prelates We're the Arch
bishops of Moscow and Novgorod, who
comenced the ceremony by blessing the
Holy Banner of Russia, that of Our Lady
OF kiev, the spear head of which is made
out Of piece OF the "true cross. The
banner, having been sprinkled with holy
water, was presented to the Emperor
who waved II thrice before the congrega-
tion and then restored it to the Primnte
His Majesty then knelt while the impe-
rial mantle OF silver and ermine was ad-
Justed to his shoulders. Next he arose
and stood upright, while the sword of
John Ill, WAS being girt around his
waist, and the sceptre, with its olb, was
placed i'll his right hand. Finally he sat
down to have the massive crown set upon
his brow. After this the Empress knelt
before her husband, who removed the
crown from his own head and set it for an
instant ON hers. Another and smaller
crown was then put upon Her Maiesty's
brow by her ladies', who at the same time
covered her with Il mantle like the Cars.
Throughout these ceremonies prayers
were said and canticles sung by the cer-
gy and choir of 300 voices, but there
u
for the Car was not yet anointed. The
making OF Car The Lords anointed"
is the most important part of the services.
1t IS done III tins wise The Archbishop
OF Moscow, holding silver bowl full OF
holy oil, in which "u fragment of the
holy crown of thorns' has been immersed
takes golden palm branch and, dipping
it into the oil, touches with it the
Cars brow, his eyelids, ears, lips and the
palms OF his hands, after which attendants
open the mOnarch's vestment so us to lay
an inch OF his chest bare, and the Arch
bishop traces a cross on the skin with the
oil. When this has been done the clergy
PROSTATE themselves before the Car, the
choir strMe up n glorious "Ic Deum. P"
and the congregation burst into an i'm
mense acclumatiOn. This is the end of
the ceremony III the Cathedral Of the As
sumption but the Gar and Czarina have
now two or three hours more to spend i'll
going with all their insignia upon them
to the abbey churches of st Michael and
the AnnunclatiOn and then to all the 9TH
er churches and chapels in the kremlin
to pay their devotious to the icons and
relics, and to give aims. 1t is a most IA
tiguing day for the imperial couple, and
their religious duties are not fully dis
charged when the day closes, for custom
requires that about n week after the como
nation the Gar and his cousort shall
make pilgrimage to the holy city OF
kiev and visit the catacombs.
A coronation is always signalized by
acts of imperial clemency, and in this re-
spect the ul,ase issued by Alexander II.
on the Ith Of September, 1856, remains
memorable, 1t granted complete am
nesty to all the political offenders of 1926
26 and of the Polish rebellion of 1881 who
were still III exile or in prison also par
don to press offenders, military defauters
and to about five thousand other individ-
uals i'll jails. The Empire was entirely
exonerated from military conscription
during term Of four years. A new and
more equitable assessment of the poll tax
was decreel. Most of the disabilities
which weighed upon Jews Were removed
Thousands of crown seris were manuinit-
ted and received grants of land. Finally.
the children of soldiers who under the
former reign had been brought up by the
State to enter the army were restored to
their parents. These truly wise largesses
evoked the most cordial popular graft
tude, inasmuch that the Gar began his
reign as n peoples darling. He was 80
well aware OF this that he conceived the
grandiosc idea Of giving banquet to
200, 600 Of his poorer subjects from Mos
COW and the adjacent villages in the plains
around Petrowski. Preparations were
made for this amazing feast by covering n
square mile with tables and the tables
with hunks OF beef, bread and casks of
kwass. Unlucliily the impotence of the
guests did not allow them to wait till the
day of the dinner. A flagstaff had been
erected in the middle of the plain, and it
had been arranged that the signal to fall
to" should be given by the hoisting of the
flag. On the evening before the day of
the feast, while some 1000 mujiks were
lettering around the plain, smiling the
food, an engineer officer, named AInakofl,
wishing to try ii the ropes of the flag staff
worked well, gave them tug and sent the
DuntlpB llNllB hlOlt. III the t"lnkllnS OF
an eye the multitude Of muyikS swooped
upon the tables and II ade n clearance.
No horde of wolves could have done the
work better beef, bread, beer-every.
thing went, and when these were gone
the wooden dishes were carried OF also
The Gear laughed when he was told OF the
matter.
"Well, well, so long as they enjoyed
hap Iut 10 oll / taI Rttt
must give something to poor Minakoif.
am sure he must have been afraid that
they were going to eat him Also"