The thick walls of the Nijni Kremlin wind around a hill much loftier and steeper than the hill of Moscow. The ramparts, rising in steps above each other, the terraces, arches, and battlements of this fortress, produce a striking effect: but, notwithstanding the beauty of the site, he would be deceived who should expect, in beholding it, to be seized with the astonishment produced by the Kremlin of Moscow— that religious fortress in which history is written on rock. The Kremlin of Moscow is an object that has not its like, either in Russia or in the world.
I may here insert a fact which I neglected to mention at the time of noticing the ancient palace of the Czars in that fortress; a palace which, as the reader may recollect, produces, with its retreating stories, its ornaments in relief, and its Asiatic paintings, the effect of an Indian pyramid. The furniture of this palace was old and decayed: skilful workmen were sent to Moscow, who made
the governor's camp.233
save the royal relics from the fate of the most vulgar furniture. What is here called keeping up old things is the baptizing of new ones with ancient names.
We also visited a very pretty convent: the nuns are poor, but their house exhibits edifying marks of cleanliness. Afterwards, the governor took me to see his camp: the rage for manoeuvres, reviews, and bivouacs is universal. The governors of the provinces, like the emperor, pass their life in playing at soldiers ; and the more numerous these assemblages are, the more proudly do the governors feci their resemblance to their master. The regiments which form the camp of Nijni are composed of the children of soldiers. It was evening when Ave reached their tents, reared on a plain which is a continuation of the table of the hill on which stands old Nijni.
Six hundred men were chanting the prayers; and at a distance, in the open air, this religious and military choir produced an astonishing effect; it was like a cloud of perfume rising majestically under a pure and deep sky : prayer ascending from that abyss of passions and sorrows — the heart of man—may be compared to the column of smoke and fire which rise?` through the torn crater of the volcano, until it reaches the firmament. And who knows if the pillar of the Israelites, so long lost in the desert, did not image the same thing ? The voices of these poor Slavonian soldiers, softened by the distance, seemed to come from on high. When the first notes struck our ears, a knoll on the plain hid the tents from our eyes. The weakened echoes of earth responded to these celestial voices; and the music was interrupted by distant discharges of musquetry — a warlike orchcstre, which
234CHURCH OF THE STROGONOFFS.
scarcely seemed more loud than the great drums of the Opera, and which appeared much more in place than they do. When the tents, whence issued the harmonious notes, appeared before us, the setting sun, glistening upon their canvas, added the magic of colour to that of sounds.
The governor, who saw the pleasure that I experienced in listening to this music, allowed me to enjoy it, and enjoyed it himself, for a considerable time. nothing gives greater pleasure to this truly hospitable man than to procure enjoyment for his guests. The best way of showing him your gratitude is to let him see your gratification. We finished our ride by twilight; and, returning through the low town, we stopped before a church which has not ceased to attract my eyes since I have been in jTijni. It is a true model of Russian architecture; neither ancient Greek, nor the Greek of the Lower Empire, but a Delft-ware toy, in the style of the Kremlin, or of the church of Vassili Blagennoi, though with less variety in the form and colour. It is so covered with flower-work and carvings of curious form, that one cannot stop before it without thinking of a vessel of Dresden china. This little chef-d'oeuvre of the whimsical is not ancient. It was raised by the munificence of the Strogonoff family; great nobles descended from the merchants, at whose cost was made the conquest of Siberia under Ivan IV. The brothers Strogonoif of that period, themselves raised the adventurous army which conquered a kingdom for Russia. Their soldiers were the buccaneers of
The interior of the church of the Strogonofts does not answer to its exterior; but, such as it is, I greatly
RUSSIAN VAUDEVILLE.235
prefer it to the clumsy copies of Roman temples with which Petersburg and Moscow are encumbered.
To finish the day, we attended the opera of the fair, and listened to a vaudeville in the native language. The Russian vaudevilles are still translations from the French. The people of the country appear to be very proud of this new means of civilisation which they have imported. I was unable to judge of the influence of the spectacle upon the minds of the assembly, owing to the fact of the theatre being empty almost to the letter. Besides the ennui and the compassion one feels in the presence of poor players, when there is no audience, I experienced on this occasion the disagreeable impression which the mixing up of singing and speaking-scenes has always communicated to me in our own theatres. This barbarism, without the salt of French wit, would, but for the governor, have driven me away during the first act. As it was, I remained patient until the conclusion of the performance.
I have been passing the night in writing to dissipate my ennui; but this effort has made me ill, and I am going to bed in a fever.
236 MURDER OF A GERMAN LANDHOLDER.
ASSASSINATION OF A GERMAN LANDHOLDER. — RUSSIAN AVERSION
TO INNOVATIONS. CONSEQUENCES OF THE ESTABLISHED STATE
OF THINGS.SERVILITY OF THE PEASANTS. EXILE OF M.
GUIBAL. A MUSCOVITE WITCH. A SICK MAN AMONG HIS
FRIENDS IN RUSSIA. RUSSIAN CHARITY. A PASSION FOR
TOMBS. NOCTURNAL LESSONS IN ETIQUETTE.GYPSIES AT THE
FAIR. —THE VIRTUES OF OUTCASTS. VICTOR HUGO. PROJECT
OF VISITING KAZAN ABANDONED.MEDICAL ADVICE.IDEAS OF
THE RUSSIANS RESPECTING FREE GOVERNMENTS. VLADIMIR.
THE FORESTS OF RUSSIA. THE USE OF A FELDJAGERFALSE
DELICACY IMPOSED UPON FOREIGNERS. CENTRALISATION.
RENCONTRE WITH AN ELEPHANT. AN ACCIDENT.RETURN TO
MOSCOWA FAREWELL TO THE KREMLIN.EFFECT PRODUCED
BY THE VICINITY OF THE EMPEROR. -— MILITARY FETE AT BORO
DINO. THE AUTHOR'S MOTIVES FOR NOT ATTENDING. PRINCE
WITGENSTEIN. HISTORICAL TRAVESTY.
A M. Jament related to me, at Nijni, that a German, the new lord of a village, a great agriculturalist and a propagator of modes of husbandry still unused in this country, has just been assassinated on his own domains, contiguous to those of a M. Merline, another foreigner, through whom the fact has come to our knowledge.
Two men presented themselves to this German lord, under the pretext of purchasing horses of him ; and in the evening they entered his chamber and murdered him. It was, I am assured, a blow aimed by the peasants of the foreigner in revenge for the
* Written at Vladimir, between Nijni and Moscow, the 2d of September.
