Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

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air become heated for a moment, the earth remains always discoloured.

I shall never forget the chilly shudder which came over me at the first sight of the cradle of the modern Russian empire: the Kremlin alone is worth the journey to Moscow.

At the gate of this fortress, but beyond its precincts — at least, according to my feldjager, for I have not yet been able to visit it — rises the church of St. Basil, Vassili Blagennoi; it is also known under the name of the Cathedral of the Protection of the Holy Virgin. In the Greek church they are lavish of the title of cathedral; every ward, every monastery has one of its own ; every city possesses several. That of Vassili is certainly the most singular, if it is not the most beautiful edifice in Russia. I have as yet only seen it at a distance. Thus viewed, it appears as an immense cluster of little turrets forming a bush, or rather giving the idea of some kind of tropical fruit all bristled over with excrescences, or a crystallisation of a thousand rays : the scales of a golden fish, the enamelled skin of a serpent, the changeful hues of the lizard, the glossy rose and azure of the pigeon's neck, would all, аз regards colour, serve as comparisons: above, rise minarets of a brownish red. The effect of the whole dazzles the eye, and fascinates the imagination. Surely, the land in which such a building is called a house of prayer is not Europe; it must be India, Persia, or China! —and the men who go to worship God in this box of confectionary work, can thev be Christians ? Such was the exclamation that escaped me at the first view of the church of Vassili. That

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290THE FRENCH AT MOSCOW.

building must indeed possess an extraordinary style of architecture to have drawn my attention, as it did, from the Kremlin, at the moment when the mighty castle for the first time met my eyes.

Soon, however, my ideas tool·^another turn. Where is the Frenchman who coiud resist an emotion of respect and of pride (for misfortune has its pride, and it is the most legitimate kind), on entering into the only city where, in our own times, took place a public event, a scene, as imposing as the most striking occurrences of ancient history ?

The means that the Asiatic city took to repel its enemy was a sublime deed of despair ; and thenceforward the name of Moscow is fatally united with that of the greatest captain of modern times. The sacred bird of the Greeks consumed itself in order to escape the talons of the eagle, and, like the Ph?nix, the mystic dove rises again from its ashes.

In this war of giants wherein all was glory, renown does not depend upon success. The fire under the ice, the weapons of the demons of Dante — such were the arms which God placed in the hands of the Russians to repel and to destroy us. An army must be honoured for having advanced so far, though it was only to die there.

But who can excuse the chief whose want of foresight exposed it to such a struggle ? At Smolensk, Buonaparte refused the peace which they did not even deign to offer him at Moscow. He hoped for the offer, but he hoped in vain.

It was a modification of that mania for forming collections, for completing catalogues, which narrowed the views of the great politician ; he sacrificed his

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army to the puerile satisfaction of swelling the list of the capitals which he had occupied. Rejecting the wisest councils, he did violence also to his own judgment, in order to have the gratification of installing himself in the fortress of the Czars, and of sleeping-there, as he had done in the palaces of nearly all the other potentates of Europe ; and this vain triumph of the bold adventurer cost the emperor the sceptre of the world.

A passion for capitals was the cause of the annihilation of the finest army that France and the world ever saw, and two years later, of the fall of the Empire.

The following fact, furnishing one proof more of the unpardonable error committed by Napoleon when he marched upon Moscow, is unknown among us; I can answer for its authenticity.

Smolensk was viewed by the Russians as the bulwark of their land ; they hoped that our army would be satisfied with occupying Poland and Lithuania, without venturing farther: but when they learnt the conquest of this city, the key of the empire, a cry of terror rose up from all quarters ; both court and country were in consternation, and Russia believed herself in the power of the conqueror. It was at Petersburg that the Emperor Alexander received this disastrous news.

His minister of war partook of the general opinion; and wishing to place beyond the reach of the enemy his chief valuables, he put a considerable quantity of gold, papers, diamonds, and other jewels into a small chest, which he sent to Ladoga by one of his secretaries, the only man to whom he believed he might о 2

292BATTLE OF MOSKOWA.

safely confide such a trust. He directed him to wait at Ladoga for further instructions, announcing that he should probably send him an order to repair with the box to the port of Archangel, and afterwards, from thence to England. Several days elapsed without the further news which was most anxiously expected, being received. At last a courier brought the minister official information of the march of our army upon Moscow. Without hesitating a moment, he sent to Ladoga to order the return of his secretary and valuables, and repaired to the presence of the Emperor, whom he addressed with a triumphant air: wC Sire, your majesty is much indebted to Providence ; if you persist in following the plan laid down, Russia is saved : it is an expedition a la Charles XII.!'

'But Moscow ?' responded the Emperor.

•' It must be abandoned, Sire : to fight, would be to give away a chance ; to retreat, after laying waste the country, will be to destroy the enemy without risking any thing. Famine will begin the work of destruction, the winter and the fire will consummate it: let us burn Moscow, and save the world!'

The Emperor Alexander modified this plan in the execution. He insisted on a last effort being made to save his capital.

The courage with which the Russians fought at Moskowa is well known. That battle, which received from their master the name of Borodino, was glorious not only to them,'but to us; for, notwithstanding all their gallant efforts, they could not prevent our entrance into Moscow.

God was willing to furnish the chroniclers of the age — an age the most prosaic that the world has ever

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seen—with one epic story. Moscow was voluntarily sacrificed, and the flames of that sacred conflagration became the signal for the revolution of Germany and the deliverance of Europe. The nations felt at last that they would have no rest until they had annihilated that indefatigable conqueror who sought peace by means of perpetual Avar.

Such were the recollections that absorbed my thoughts at the first view of the Kremlin. To have worthily recompensed Moscow, the Emperor of Russia ought to have re-established his residence in that twice holy city.

The Kremlin is not like any other palace, it is a city in itself; a city that forms the root of Moscow, and that serves as the frontier fortress between two quarters of the world. Under the successors of Gengis-Khan, Asia made her last rush upon Europe : in turning to retreat, she struck the earth with her foot, and from thence rose the Kremlin !

The princes who полу possess this sacred asylum of oriental despotism, call themselves Europeans, because