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

imitating battles ?

Vases chased in the style of Benvenuto Cellini, cups enriched with jewels, arms and armour, precious stuffs, rich embroideries, costly crystal ware of all lands and all aa`es, abound in this wonderful collec-tion, of which a real eurioso would not complete the inventory in a week. Besides the thrones of all the Russian princes of every age, I was shown the caparisons of their horses, their dress, their furniture ; and these various things perfectly dazzled my eyes. The palace in the Arabian Nights is the only picture I can suggest that will give an idea of this marvellous,

A CONTRAST.

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if not enchanted abode. But here, the interest of history adds to the effect of the magnificence. How many curious events are picturesquely registered and attested by the venerable relics ! From the finely-worked helmet of Saint Alexander Newski to the litter which carried Charles XII. at Pultawa, each object recalls an interesting recollection, or a singular fact. The Treasury is the true album of the giants of the Kremlin.

In concluding my survey of these proud spoils of time, I recollected, as by inspiration, a passage from Montaigne — without whose works I never travel — which will serve to complete, by a curious contrast, the description of the Muscovite treasury :

' The Duke of Museovy owed anciently this homage to the Tartars. When they sent to him ambassadors, he came to meet them on foot, and presented them with a goblet of mare's milk (a beverage which they esteem as the greatest luxury); and if, in drinking, any drops fell on the mane of their horses, he was bound to lick them up with his tongue.

' In Russia, the army that the Emperor Bajazet sent there was overwhelmed with so tremendous a storm of snow, that, to save themselves from the eold, many killed and disembowelled their horses, in order to creep wTithin them and enjoy the vital heat.'

I quote this last fact, because it reminds me of the admirable and fearful description which M. de Segur gives of the battle-field of Moskowa, in his History of the Campaign in Russia.

The Emperor of all the E,ussias, with all his thrones and all his haughty splendours, is no other than the successor of these selfsame grand-dukes whom we

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A CONTRAST.

see thus humiliated in the sixteenth century ; nor has his family's right to succeed even them been undisputed : for, without speaking of the election of the Troubetzkoi, annulled by the intrigues of the Ro-manows and their friends, the crimes of several generations of princes coidd alone place the children of Catherine II. on the throne. It is not, therefore, without motive that the history of Russia is concealed from the Russians, and that it is wished to be concealed from the world. Assuredly, the rigidity of political principles in a prince seated upon a throne thus founded, is not one of the least singular features in the history of our times.

At the epoch when the grand-dukes of Moscow wore the degrading yoke of the Mongols, the spirit of chivalry flourished in Europe, especially in Spain, where the blood flowed in torrents for the honour and independence of Christianity. I do 'not believe, notwithstanding the barbarism of the middle ages, a single monarch could have been found in western Europe capable of disgracing monarchy, by consenting to reign on the conditions imposed on the grand-dukes of Muscovy, during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, by their Tartar masters. Better to lose the crown than to lower the majesty of royalty. Such would have been the words of a French or Spanish prince, or any other king of ancient Europe. But in Russia, glory, like every thing else, is of recent date.

On the ground-floor of the palace of the Treasury, I was shown the state-coaches of the emperors and empresses of Russia. The old coach of the last patriarch is also included in the collection. Several

MOORISH PALACE.

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of its windows are of horn. It is not among the least curious of the relics in the historical repository of the Kremlin.

I was afterwards shown the little palace, which the Emperor inhabits when he visits the Kremlin. There is nothing in it worthy of notice, unless it be the picture of the last election of a king of Poland. That extraordinary diet which placed Poniatovski on the throne, and Poland under the yoke, has been curiously represented by a French painter, whose name I could not learn.

Other wonders awaited me elsewhere. 1 visited the senate-house, the Imperial palaces, and the ancient palace of the patriarch, which possess little interest beyond their names; and, finally, the little angular palace, which is a jewel and a plaything. It gives the idea of a masterpiece of moresque architecture, shining by its elegance in the midst of the heavy masses which surround it. It may be compared to a carbuncle set in common freestone. The structure consists of several stories, of which the lower ones are more spacious than those they support; this multiplies the terraces, and gives to the edifice a pyramidal form, the effect of which is very picturesque. Each story rises behind the one on which it stands, and the topmost of all is nothing more than a little pavilion. On each of these stories, squares of Delft ware, polished after the manner of the Saracens, indicate the lines of architecture with much taste and precision. The interior has just been refurnished, glazed, coloured, and generally restored, in a manner that shows good taste.

To describe the contrast produced by so many edi-

20MOORISH PALACE.

fices of various styles, all crowded together in one spot, which forms the centre of an immense city, to convey an idea of the effect produced by the congregation of Arabesque palaces, Gothic forts, Greek temples, Indian steeples, Chinese pavilions, all confusedly mingled within a circle of Cyclopian walls, would be utterly impossible. Words cannot paint objects, except by the recollections which they recall; and the recollections of no one who has not seen the Kremlin can serve to picture it.

The lowest story of the little Moorish palace is almost entirely occupied by one enormous vaulted hall, supported on a single pillar, which rises from the centre. This is the hall of the throne; the emperors repah* to it on leaving the church, after their coronation. Every thing there revives the recollection of the magnificence of the ancient Czars, and the imagination goes back to the reigns of the Ivans and Alexis's. The appearance is truly Muscovite. The entirely new paintings, which cover the walls of this palace, struck me as being executed with taste: the tout ensemble reminds me of the pictures I have seen of the porcelain- tower at Pekin.

The group of these varied monuments gives to the Kremlin an aspect of theatrical decoration that is seen nowhere else in the world : but not one of the buildings in that Russian forum will bear a separate examination any