REMARKS ON THE RUSSIANS. 243 Madame de Staël, who said, that in France "every body is either Jacobin or ultra-something." I returned to my lodgings overwhelmed with the grandeur and magnificence of the emperor, and yet more astonished at seeing the disinterested admiration of his people for the good things which they do not possess, nor ever will, and which they do not dare even to regret. If I did not daily see to how many ambitious egotists liberty gives birth, I should have difficulty in believing that despotism could make so many disinterested philosophers. NOTE. EXCITEMENT OF A PETERSBURG LIFE. THE EMPEROR TRULY A RUSSIAN. - AFFABILITY OF THE EMPRESS. - COM DEFINITION OF PARISON BETWEEN PARIS AND PETERSBURG. NOTE. If THE following chapter was forwarded, in the shape of a letter, from Petersburg to Paris, by a person whom I could depend upon; and the friend to whom it was addressed has preserved it for me, as some of the details appeared to him curious. its tone seem more eulogistic than that of those I have kept myself, it is because too great a sincerity might, under certain circumstances, have compromised the obliging party who had offered to take charge of my despatch. In this chapter, therefore, and only in this, I felt obliged to magnify the good, and to extenuate the evil. This is a confession: but the least disguise would be a fault in a work, the value of which depends upon the scrupulous fidelity of the writer. I wish therefore that this chapter be read with rather more caution than the others; and especially that the notes which serve to correct it may not be passed over. ONE ought to be a Russian, or even the Emperor himself, to bear the fatigue of a life at Petersburg. EXCITEMENT OF A PETERSBURG LIFE. 245 In the evening there are fêtes, such as are only seen in Russia; in the morning, court ceremonies and receptions, public solemnities, or reviews upon sea or land. A vessel of 120 guns has just been launched on the Neva before the whole court; but, though the largest vessel that the river has ever borne, it must not be supposed that there was any crowd at this naval spectacle. Space is that which the Russians least want, and through which they most suffer. The four or five hundred thousand men who inhabit Petersburg without peopling it, are lost in the vast enclosure of the immense city, the heart of which is composed of granite and brass, the body of plaster and of mortar, and the extremities of painted wood and rotten planks. These planks are raised in a solitary marsh like walls around the city, which resembles a colossal statue with feet of clay.* It is like none of the other capitals of the civilised world, even though in its construction all have been copied; but man in vain seeks for models in distant lands: the soil and the climate are his masters, they oblige him to create novelties, when he desires only to revive the antique. I was present at the Congress of Vienna, but I do not recollect seeing any thing to be compared to the richness of the jewels and dresses, the gorgeous variety of the uniforms, or the grandeur and admirable ordering of the whole spectacle, in the fête given by the emperor, on the evening of the marriage of * The quays of the Neva are composed of granite, the cupola of Saint Isaac of copper, the Winter Palace and the column of Alexander of fine stone, marble and granite, and the statue of Peter I. of brass. 246 THE EMPEROR TRULY A RUSSIAN. his daughter, in this same winter palace- burnt down only a year ago. Peter the Great is not dead! His moral strength lives, and operates still. Nicholas is the only Russian sovereign which Russia has had since the reign of the founder of its metropolis. Towards the end of the soirée given at court to celebrate the nuptials of the Grand Duchess Marie, the empress sent some officers to look for me, who, after searching for a quarter of an hour, could not find me. I was standing apart, according to my frequent practice, still absorbed in contemplating the beauty of the heavens, and admiring the night, against the same window where the empress had left me. Since supper I had quitted this place only for an instant, to follow in the train of their majesties; but not having been observed I returned into the gallery, where I could contemplate at leisure the romantic spectacle of the sun rising over a great city during a court ball. The officers at length discovered me in my hiding-place, and hastened to lead me to the empress, who was waiting for me. She had the goodness to say before all the court, "M. de Custine, I have been inquiring for you for a long timewhy did you avoid me?" "Madame, I twice placed myself before Your Majesty, but you did not observe me." "It was your own fault, for I have been seeking for you ever since I entered the ball-room. I wish you to see every thing here in detail, in order that you may carry from Russia an opinion which may rectify that of the foolish and the mischievously disposed." AFFABILITY OF THE EMPRESS. 247 "Madame, I am far from attributing to myself a power that could effect this; but if my impressions were communicable, France would imagine Russia to be Fairy-land.” "You must not judge by appearances, you must look deeply into things, for you possess every thing that can enable you to do this. Adieu! I only wished to say good evening-the heat fatigues me. Do not forget to inspect my new apartments; they have been remodelled according to a plan of the emperor's. I will give orders for you to be shown every thing." On withdrawing, she left me the object of general curiosity, and of the apparent good-will of the courtiers. This court life is so new that it amuses me. It is like a journey in the olden times: I could imagine myself at Versailles a century ago. Politeness and magnificence are here natural. It will be seen by this how different Petersburg is from our Paris of the present day. At Paris there is luxury, riches and even elegance; but there is neither grandeur nor courtesy. Ever since the first revolution, we have dwelt in a conquered country, where the spoilers and the spoiled consort together as well as they are able. In order to be polite, it is necessary to have something to give. Politeness is the art of doing to others the honours of the advantages we possess, whether of our minds, our riches, our rank, our standing, or any other source of enjoyment. To be polite, is to know how to offer and to accept with grace; but when a person has nothing certain of his own, he cannot give any thing. In France at the present time nothing is exchanged through mutual |