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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter five of The Boy Travelers in the Russian Empire.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Elsie Selwyn. The Boy
(00:21):
Travelers in the Russian Empire by Thomas Wallace Knox, Chapter five.
When the subject of the police was dropped by our friends,
Frank asked a question about the Russian people in their origin.
The doctor answered that the topic was a broad one,
as the Empire contained more than a hundred different nations
and tribes of people, and that they spoke forty distinct languages.
(00:44):
Many of the smaller tribes were assimilating with the Russians
and losing their distinctiveness, even though they preserved their language.
But this was by no means the case throughout the Empire.
Not in Poland, I think, said Frank, judging by what
we saw in her, and probably not in Finland. Quite right,
added doctor Bronson. And the same is the case with
(01:06):
the German population in the Baltic provinces. Though they have
long been an integral part of the Empire, there are
thousands of the inhabitants who cannot speak Russian and refuse
to teach it to their children. They are less revolutionary
in their ways than the Poles, but nonetheless desirous of
preserving their national characteristics. The population of Russia is about
(01:30):
one hundred millions, he continued, and it is spread over
an area of nearly, if not quite seven million square
miles of land. Russia occupies about one eighth of the
land surface of the globe, but it is very thinly inhabited.
European Russia, including Poland, Finland and other provinces, covers two
(01:52):
millions of square miles, whilst Siberia or European Asia extends
over at least five millions. This does not include the
disputed territory of the last few years in Central Asia.
It is pretty certain to come under the rule of
the Emperor and will add another half million, if not more,
to his dominions. The inhabitants are very unevenly distributed, as
(02:16):
they average one hundred and twenty seven to the square
mile in Poland and less than two to the mile
in Asiatic Russia. About sixty millions belong to the Slavic Race,
which includes the Russians and the Poles, and also a
few colonies of Servians and Bulgarians, which amount in all
to less than one hundred thousand. The identity of the
Servians and Bulgarians with the Slavic race has been the excuse,
(02:40):
if not the reason, for the repeated attempts of Russia
to unite Servia, Bulgaria, and the other Danubian principalities with
the Grand Empire. The union of the Slavic people under
one government has been the dream of the emperors of
Russia for a long time, and what could be a
better union, they argue, than their absorption into our own nation.
(03:02):
Fred asked who the Slavs were and whence they came
According to those who have studied the subject, Doctor Bronson answered,
they were anciently known as Scythians or Sarmatians. Their early
history is much obscured, but they seem to have had
their center around the Carpathian Mountains. Whence they spread to
the four points of the compass. On the north, they
(03:22):
reached to the Baltic Westward, they went to the banks
of the Elbe, southward beyond the Danube, and eastward. Their
progress was impeded by the Tartar hordes of Asia and
they did not penetrate far into Siberia until comparatively recent times.
With their extension, they split up into numerous tribes and
independent organizations. Thus their unity was lost, and they took
(03:45):
the form in which we find them to day. Poles
and Russians are both of the same race, and their
languages have a common origin. But nowhere in the world
can be found two people who hate each other more heartily.
However much the Russians have favored a Pan Slavist union,
you may be sure the Poles look on it with disfavor.
The ancient Slavonic language has given way to the modern
(04:08):
forms in the same way that Latin has made way
for French, Italian, Spanish, and other tongues and dialects with
a Latin origin. In fact, those languages hold the same
relation to Latin that Polish, Russian, Servian, and Bulgarian hold
towards ancient Slavonic. The Romish Church uses Latin in its services,
(04:28):
and the Russo Greek Church uses the old Slavonic. The Poles,
Bohemians and others have adopted the Roman alphabet, but the
Russians use the Slavonic characters in a modified form. The
Russian alphabet has thirty six letters, some being Roman, others Greek,
and others Slavonic. After you have learned the alphabet and
can spell out the signs on the shops and street corners,
(04:50):
I'll tell you more about the language. It was getting
late and the party broke up a few minutes after
the foregoing conversation. Before they separated, Doctor Bronson suggested to
the youths that he should expect them to read up
the history of Russia and not forget the Romanov family.
The Romanovs, said, he are the reigning family of Russia,
(05:10):
just as the Guelphs are of England and the Habsburgs
of Austria. It was speedily arranged that Frank would devote
special attention to the first name subject, while Fred would
assume the responsibilities of the latter. And while you were
on the subject, the doctor added, turning to Fred, see
if you can find about the origin of the Orloft family,
(05:30):
which is one of the most interesting traditions that has
been handed down. Fred promised, and the party separated for
the night. They were all up in good season the
next morning, and after a substantial breakfast in which the
Samovar had a prominent place. They set out for a
round of sight seeing and the modern capital of Russia.
Returning to Admiralty Square, they visited the Church of Saint Isaac,
(05:53):
accompanied by the guide they had engaged at the hotel.
The man was of Russian birth and spoke English with
consider durable fluency. Evidently he understood his business as he
told the history of the sacred edifice with a careful
adherence to dates. Peter the Great built a wooden church
on this very spot, said the guide, in seventeen ten,
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but it was destroyed by fire. Afterwards, the Great Catherine
erected another, which was finished in eighteen o one, but
it only remained eighteen years. The present building was begun
in eighteen nineteen and its completion took nearly forty years.
It was consecrated in eighteen fifty eight and is considered
the finest church in the Empire. The last statement might
(06:34):
be disputed by some of the citizens of Moscow, said
the doctor to the youths, but there is no question
about the church being the finest in Saint Petersburg. Observe
its admirable proportions, he continued. It is in the form
of a Greek cross with its four sides of equal length,
and the architect who planned it certainly had a correct
eye for his work. You observe, said the guide, that
(06:56):
each of the four entrances is approached by three flights
of stones steps leading up from the level of the square.
Each of these flights of steps is cut from a
single block of Finland granite. The youths may note of
this fact as they wondered how the huge masses of
stone were brought from their quarries, And they also noted
that the four entrances of the church were between pillars
(07:18):
of granite sixty feet high and seven feet in diameter,
polished to the smoothness of a mirror. An immense dome
forms the center of the edifice. It is of iron,
covered on the outside with copper, and this copper is
heavily plated with pure gold. It is the dome which
first caught the eyes of the travelers as they approach
the city, and forms an important landmark from every direction.
(07:42):
The cupula rests on thirty granite pillars, which look small
enough when seen from below, but are really of great size.
In the inside of the church are paintings by Russian
artists and there are two columns of malachite fifty feet
high and of proportionate diameter, the largest columns of this
costly mineral anywhere in the world. Immense quantities of Malachi, Lappis, Lazali,
(08:06):
and other valuable stones are used in the decoration of
the church in Our friends thought that if there was
anything to criticize was the great amount of ornamentation and
guilding in the interior. But I have no doubt, wrote
Fred in his notebook, that this display has its effect
upon the worshippers in the church, and particularly among the
poor peasants and all others of the humbler classes. In
(08:28):
all the countries we have visited, whether of the Christian, Muslim,
Buddhist or other faith, we have found the religious edifices
adorned in the most costly manner. And there is no
reason why Russia should form an exception to the general rule.
Many of the paintings, columns, and other decorations of this
church were the gift of wealthy Russians, while others were
(08:49):
paid for by the contributions of the people or from
the funds in government hands. From the Church of Saint Isaac,
our friends went to the Hermitage and the Winter Palace,
the latter being named in distinction to the Summer Palace,
which is at Tsarsky Selo, a few miles from the capital.
We will see what the youths had to say of
(09:09):
their visit to these edifices. Fred will tell the story.
To describe all we saw there would take a fair
sized volume, said Fred, and we will only tell what
impressed us most. The palace was built in a great
hurry to take the place of the one that was
burned in eighteen thirty seven. It was ready for occupation
in eighteen thirty nine. And when you know that it
(09:31):
is four hundred and fifty feet long by three hundred
and fifty wide, and rises to a height of eighty feet,
you will agree with us that the Russians are to
be praised for their energy. Our guide had procured the
necessary ticket for admittance, and we passed in through an
enormous gateway opposite the column of Alexander. Two servants in
(09:51):
livery showed us through the halls and galleries, and for
hours we wandered among pictures which represent the victories of
Russia over its enemies, and amid costly furniture, and adornments
till our feet and eyes were weary. The throne Room
of Peter the Great is one of the finest of
the apartments, and the Hall of Saint George is the largest.
(10:12):
It measures one hundred and forty feet by sixty and
is the scene of the grand balls and receptions which
the Emperor gives on state occasions. There is a beautiful
apartment known as the Drawing Room of the Empress. Its
walls and ceiling are gilded, and the whole work about
it seems to have been done without regard to expense.
One of the halls contains portraits of the rulers of Russia,
(10:34):
from Peter the Great down to the present time. Another
the portraits of the generals who fought against the French
in eighteen twelve. Another the portraits of all the field
marshals of the armies by which Napoleon was conquered, and
others the battle scenes before mentioned. I observed that Russia
was not unlike France, Germany and other countries, and representing
(10:57):
very prominently the battles where she tried in, ignoring those
where she was defeated. The guide told us that at
the state balls in the palace sit down suppers are
provided for all the guests, even if there are two
or three thousand of them. Sometimes the supper hall is
converted into a garden by means of trees brought from greenhouses.
(11:18):
The guests sit at table beneath the foliage and can
easily forget that they are in the middle of a
Russian winter. Doctor Bronson says the Russians are very fond
of plants in their dwellings, the wealthy expending large sums
on greenhouses in conservatories, and the poorer people indulging in
flower pots, which they place in all available spots. The
(11:39):
wealthy frequently pay enormous prices for rare exotics. We have
seen a good many flower stores among the Nevsky prospect
and in other streets, and are ready to believe that
the Russians are great admirers of floral products. Their long,
cold and cheerless winters lead them to prize anything that
can remind them of the summer season. At the entrance
(12:01):
of one of the halls, there is a tablet on
which are the rules which Catherine the Second established for
the informal parties she used to have at the Hermitage.
Catherine had literary aspirations, and her parties were an imitation
of the Salons of Paris, which had a wide celebrity.
Here is a translation of the rules, which I took
from Murray's handbook. One leave your rank outside, as well
(12:24):
as your hat and especially your sword. Two leave your
right of precedence, your pride, and any similar feeling outside
the door. Three be gay, but do not spoil anything.
Do not break or gnaw anything. Four Sit, stand, walk
as you will, without reference to anybody. Five Talk moderately
(12:45):
and not very loud, so as not to make the
ears and heads of others ache. Six Argue without anger
and without excitement. Seven neither sigh nor yawn, nor make
anybody dull or heavy. Eight and all in a games
whatever one proposes, let all join. Nine Eat whatever is
(13:05):
sweet and savory, but drink with moderation, so that each
may find his legs on leaving the room. Ten tell
no tales out of school. Whatever goes in one ear
must go out the other before leaving the room. A
transgressor against these rules shall, on the testimony of two witnesses.
For every offense, drink a glass of cold water. Not
(13:27):
accepting the ladies, and further read a page of the
tele Machiade allowed, whoever breaks any three of these rules
during the same evening shall commit six lines of the
telle Machiade to memory, and whoever offends against the tenth
rule shall not again be admitted. The tele Machiade, which
(13:49):
is prescribed as a penance, was the work of a
Russian poet of Catherine's time, who does not seem to
have enjoyed the imperial favor. It is said that invitations
to these parties were thought, but in spite of all
her efforts, the Empress could not induce her guests to
forget entirely that she was their sovereign. However, she managed
(14:09):
to make her parties much less formal than anything ever
before known at the Imperial Palace. And this was a
great deal to accomplish in such a time and in
such a country. I may remark, by the way, that
the Empress Catherine was the first sovereign of Russia to
invite an American officer into the Imperial service. The officer
was the celebrated John Paul Jones, a Scotchman by birth
(14:31):
but an American citizen at the time of the Revolutionary war.
The havoc he wrought upon the British fleets attracted the
attention of the Russian government, and after our war was over,
he received an intimation that he could find employment with
the armies of the Empress. He went to Saint Petersburg,
was received by Catherine at a special audience, and accorded
(14:52):
the rank of admiral in the Imperial Navy. Russia was
then at war with Turkey. Admiral Jones was sent to
command and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea and
operate against the Turkish fleet, which he did in his
old way. The Russians were besieging a town which was
held by the Turks, who had a fleet of ships
supporting their land forces. Jones dashed in among the Turkish
(15:15):
vessels with a boarding party in small boats, backed by
the guns of his ships and those of the besieging army.
He captured two of the Turkish galleys, one of them
belonging to the commander of the fleet, and made such
havoc among the enemy that the latter was thoroughly frightened. Unfortunately,
Jones incurred the displeasure of Potemkin, the Prime Minister, in
(15:35):
the favorite of the Empress, and shortly after the defeat
of the fleet, who was removed from command and sent
to the Baltic where there was no enemy to operate against.
But I'm neglecting the palace and following the career of
an American in the service of Russia. We asked to
see the crown jewels of Russia, and the guide took
(15:55):
us to the robe where they are kept. One of
the most famous diamonds of the world, the Orlov, is
among them, and thens history is mixed up with a
good deal of fable. The most authentic story about this
diamond seems to be that it formed the eye of
an idol in a temple in India, whence it was
stolen by a French soldier who sold it for two
thousand guineas. It then came to Europe, and after changing
(16:17):
hands several times, was bought by Prince Orlov, who presented
it to the Empress Catharine. The prince is said to
have given for the diamond four hundred and fifty thousand
roubles about four hundred thousand dollars, a life annuity of
two thousand rubles, and a patent of nobility. It weighs
more than the famous Kainoor of England, but it is
(16:38):
not as fine as stone. There is a faint tinge
of yellow that depreciates it considerably, and there is also
a flaw in the interior of the stone, though only
perceptible on careful examination. The Imperial Crown of Russia is
the most interesting crown we have anywhere seen. The guide
told us how much it was worth in money, but
I have forgotten the figures, being so large that my
(16:59):
head couldn't contain them. There are rubies, diamonds, and pearls
in great profusion, the diamonds alone being among the most
beautiful in the world. There are nearly, if not quite,
a hundred large diamonds in the crown, not to mention
the smaller ones that fill the spaces where large ones
could not go. The coronet to the Empress is another
mass of precious stones worth a long journey to see.
(17:21):
There are other jewels here of great value, among them
a plume or egrette, which was presented to General Sowaroff
by the Sultan of Turkey. It is covered with diamonds
mounted on wires that bend with each movement the wearer.
What a sensation Soewarof must have made when he walked
or rowed with his plume in his hat. From the
(17:42):
Crown jewels. We went to a room whose history is
connected with the scene a sadness the death of the
Emperor Nicholas. It is the smallest and plainest room with
the palace, without any adornment, and containing an iron bedstead,
such as we find in a military barrack. His cloak,
sword and helmet are where he left them, and on
the table was the report of the Quartermaster of the
(18:03):
household Troops, which had been delivered to the Emperor on
the morning of March second, eighteen fifty five, the date
of his death. Everything is just as he left it,
and a soldier of the Grenadier Guards is constantly on
duty over the relics of the Iron Czar. If what
we read of him is true, he possessed one characteristic
of Peter the Great, that of having his own way,
(18:23):
more than any other emperor of modern times. He ascended
the throne in the midst of a revolution which resulted
in the defeat of the insurgents. They assembled an admiralty square,
and after a brief resistance, was fired upon by the
loyal soldiers of the empire. Five of the principal conspirators
were hanged after a long and searching trial, during which
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Nicholas was concealed behind a screen in the court room
and listened to all that was said. Two hundred of
the others were sent to Siberia for life, and the
soldiers who had simply obeyed the orders of their leaders
were distributed among other regiments than those in which they
had served. Through his head the whole reign, Nicholas was
an enemy to free speech or free writing, and his
(19:04):
rule was severe to the last degree. What he ordered
it was necessary to perform, no matter what the difficulties
were in the way, and a failure was, in his
eyes little short of a crime. He decided questions very
rapidly and often with a lack of common sense. When
the engineers showed him the plans of the Moscow and
Saint Petersburg railway and asked where the line should run,
(19:27):
he took a ruler, drew on the map a line
from one city to the other, and said that should
be the route. As a consequence, the railway is very
nearly straight for the whole four hundred miles of its course,
and does not pass any large towns, like the railways
and other countries. A more sensible anecdote about him relates
an incident of the Crimean War, when the governor of
(19:48):
Moscow ordered the pastor of the English Church in that
city to omit the portion of the service which prays
for the success of British arms. The pastor appealed the
case to the Emperor, who asked if those words were
in the regular service of the English Church. On being
answered in the affirmative, he told the pastor to continue
to read the service just as it was and order
(20:08):
the governor to make no further interference. His disappointment at
the defeat of his armies in the Crimean War was
the cause of his death, quite as much as the
influenza to which it is attributed. On the morning of
his last day, he received news of the repulse of
the Russians at Eupatoria, and he is said to have
died while in a fit of anger over this reverse.
(20:30):
Though opposed to the freedom of the press and people,
he advised the liberation of the serfs, and before he
died he argued his son and successor to begin immediately
the work of emancipation. The Hermitage is close to the Palace,
and is large enough of itself for the residence of
an emperor of medium importance, and certainly for a good
sized king. The present building is the successor of one
(20:52):
which was built for the Empress Catherine as a refuge
from the cares of state, and hence was called the Hermitage.
It is virtually a picture gallery and museum, as the
walls of the interior are covered with pictures, and there
are collections of coins, gems, Egyptian antiquities, and other things
distributed through the rooms. The room of greatest interest to
(21:14):
us in the Hermitage was that containing the relics of
Peter the Great. There were the turning lathes, whereon he
worked the knives and chisels with which he carved wood
into various forms, together with specimens of his wood carving,
his telescopes, drawing instruments, walking stick, saddle, and other things
are all here and in the center of the room
(21:35):
as an effigy which shows him to have been a
man of giant stature, as does also a wooden rod,
which is said to be the one with which he
was actually measured. There is a carriage in which he
drove about the city, the horse he rode at the
Battle of Pultowa, and several of his favorite dogs, all
stuffed and preserved, but not in the highest style of
(21:55):
the taxidermist. There are casts taken after Peter's death, several
poor rates in oil and one in mosaic, and a
cast taken during life and presented by Peter to his
friend Cardinal Valenti at Rome. It was missing for a
long time, but was finally discovered about the middle of
this century by a patriotic Russian, who bought it and
(22:15):
presented it to the gallery. There is a clock in
the same room which is said to have contained at
one time the draft of a constitution which Catherine the
Great intended giving to her people. Immediately after her death,
her son and successor, Paul, rushed to the clock in
her bedroom, drew out the paper and destroyed it. At
least this is the tradition, and whether true or not,
(22:36):
it is worth knowing, as it illustrates the character of
Paul the First. Our friends imitated the course of many,
an imperial favorite, not only in Russia but in other countries,
by going from a palace to a prison, but with
the difference in their case that the step was voluntary.
As they crossed the bridge, leaning from the Winter Palace
in the direction of the grim fortress of Saints Peter
(22:56):
and Paul, Doctor Bronson told the youths that Peter the
Great shut up his sister in a convent and exiled
her minister at Prince Galitsin. Since his time, the doctor continued,
his example has been followed by nearly every sovereign of Russia,
and a great many persons, men and women have ended
their lives in prison or in exile who once stood
(23:17):
high in favor at the Imperial court. Catherine was accustomed
to dispose of the friends of whom she had wearied,
by sending them to live amidst Siberian snows, and the
Imperial Paul used to condemn people to prison or to
exile on the merest caprice. Even at the present day,
the old custom is not unknown. We were not admitted
to the cells of the fortress, said Frank in his
(23:38):
account of the visit to the place, as it was
contrary to orders according to the guide's explanation. But we
were shown through the cathedral, where the rulers of Russia
from the time of Peter the Great have been buried,
with the exception of Peter the Second, who was buried
at Moscow, where he died. The tombs are less elaborate
than we expected to find them, and the walls of
the church are hung profusely with flags, weapons of war,
(24:01):
and other trophies of battle. The tombs mark the positions
of the graves which are beneath the floor of the cathedral. Naturally,
the tombs that most attracted our attention were those of
the rulers who have been most famous in the history
of Russia. We looked first at the burial place of
the Great Peter, then at that of Catherine the Second,
and afterwards at the tomb of Nicholas the First. Then
(24:23):
we sought the tomb of Alexander the Second, who fell
at the hands of nihilist assassins, and after a brief
stay in the church, returned to the open air. The
building is more interesting for its associations than for the
artistic merit of its interior. Its spire is to talleston
in the Empire, with the exception of the tower of
the church at Revel on the Baltic coast. From the
(24:45):
level of the ground to The top of the cross
is three hundred and eighty seven feet, which is twenty
six feet higher than Saint Paul's in London. The spire
alone is one hundred and twenty eight feet high and
very slender in shape. It was erected more than a
hundred years and the church itself dates almost from the
time of the foundation of the city fifty or more
(25:05):
years ago. The angel and the cross on the top
of the spire threatened to fall, and a Russian peasant
offered to repair them for two hundred roubles. By means
of a rope and a few nails, he climbed to
the top of the spire and performed the work, and
nobody will say he did not earn his money. A
single misstep or the slightest accident would have dashed him
to certain death. When we left the church and the
(25:28):
fortress continued, Frank, we felt that we had had enough
for the day of that kind of sight seeing, as
we drove through some of the principal streets and went
to the Gustina Duvoor, where we wished to see the
curiosities of the place and make a few purchases. Near
Saint Isaac's Church, we passed the famous equestrian statue of
the Emperor Nicholas, in which the sculptors succeeded in balancing
(25:50):
the horse on his hind feet without utilizing the tale,
as was done in the case of the statue of
Peter the Great. The emperor is in the uniform of
the horse guards. The pedestal has formed of blocks of
granite of different colors, and there are bronze reliefs on
the four sides representing incidents in the Emperor's life and career.
On the upper part of the pedestal at each of
(26:12):
the corners are emblematical figures, and just beneath the fore
feet of the horse is a fine representation of the
imperial eagle. The whole work is surrounded with an iron
fence to preserve it from injury, and altogether the statue
was one of which the city may well be proud.
While the party was looking at the imperial arms just mentioned,
(26:32):
Fred asked why the eagle of Russia is represented with
two heads. It indicates the union of the Eastern and
Western empires. The doctor answered the same as does the
double headed eagle of Austria. The device was adopted about
four centuries ago by Ivan the third, after his marriage
with Sophia, the Princess of the Imperial Blood of Constantinople.
(26:52):
By the way, the doctor continued, there is a story
of an imperial Grand Duke who went one day on
a hunting excursion, the first of his life, and fired
out of a large bird which rose before him. The
bird fell and was brought by a courtier to the
noble hunter. Your Imperial Highness has killed an eagle, said
the courtier, bowing low and depositing the prey on the ground.
(27:14):
The Grand Duke looked the bird over carefully, and then
turned away with disdain. That's no eagle, said he. It
has only one head. What our young friends saw in
the Gaustina Devour will be told in the next chapter.
End of chapter five read by Elsie Selwyn
Chapter five of The Boy Travelers in the Russian Empire.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Elsie Selwyn. The Boy
(00:21):
Travelers in the Russian Empire by Thomas Wallace Knox, Chapter five.
When the subject of the police was dropped by our friends,
Frank asked a question about the Russian people in their origin.
The doctor answered that the topic was a broad one,
as the Empire contained more than a hundred different nations
and tribes of people, and that they spoke forty distinct languages.
(00:44):
Many of the smaller tribes were assimilating with the Russians
and losing their distinctiveness, even though they preserved their language.
But this was by no means the case throughout the Empire.
Not in Poland, I think, said Frank, judging by what
we saw in her, and probably not in Finland. Quite right,
added doctor Bronson. And the same is the case with
(01:06):
the German population in the Baltic provinces. Though they have
long been an integral part of the Empire, there are
thousands of the inhabitants who cannot speak Russian and refuse
to teach it to their children. They are less revolutionary
in their ways than the Poles, but nonetheless desirous of
preserving their national characteristics. The population of Russia is about
(01:30):
one hundred millions, he continued, and it is spread over
an area of nearly, if not quite seven million square
miles of land. Russia occupies about one eighth of the
land surface of the globe, but it is very thinly inhabited.
European Russia, including Poland, Finland and other provinces, covers two
(01:52):
millions of square miles, whilst Siberia or European Asia extends
over at least five millions. This does not include the
disputed territory of the last few years in Central Asia.
It is pretty certain to come under the rule of
the Emperor and will add another half million, if not more,
to his dominions. The inhabitants are very unevenly distributed, as
(02:16):
they average one hundred and twenty seven to the square
mile in Poland and less than two to the mile
in Asiatic Russia. About sixty millions belong to the Slavic Race,
which includes the Russians and the Poles, and also a
few colonies of Servians and Bulgarians, which amount in all
to less than one hundred thousand. The identity of the
Servians and Bulgarians with the Slavic race has been the excuse,
(02:40):
if not the reason, for the repeated attempts of Russia
to unite Servia, Bulgaria, and the other Danubian principalities with
the Grand Empire. The union of the Slavic people under
one government has been the dream of the emperors of
Russia for a long time, and what could be a
better union, they argue, than their absorption into our own nation.
(03:02):
Fred asked who the Slavs were and whence they came
According to those who have studied the subject, Doctor Bronson answered,
they were anciently known as Scythians or Sarmatians. Their early
history is much obscured, but they seem to have had
their center around the Carpathian Mountains. Whence they spread to
the four points of the compass. On the north, they
(03:22):
reached to the Baltic Westward, they went to the banks
of the Elbe, southward beyond the Danube, and eastward. Their
progress was impeded by the Tartar hordes of Asia and
they did not penetrate far into Siberia until comparatively recent times.
With their extension, they split up into numerous tribes and
independent organizations. Thus their unity was lost, and they took
(03:45):
the form in which we find them to day. Poles
and Russians are both of the same race, and their
languages have a common origin. But nowhere in the world
can be found two people who hate each other more heartily.
However much the Russians have favored a Pan Slavist union,
you may be sure the Poles look on it with disfavor.
The ancient Slavonic language has given way to the modern
(04:08):
forms in the same way that Latin has made way
for French, Italian, Spanish, and other tongues and dialects with
a Latin origin. In fact, those languages hold the same
relation to Latin that Polish, Russian, Servian, and Bulgarian hold
towards ancient Slavonic. The Romish Church uses Latin in its services,
(04:28):
and the Russo Greek Church uses the old Slavonic. The Poles,
Bohemians and others have adopted the Roman alphabet, but the
Russians use the Slavonic characters in a modified form. The
Russian alphabet has thirty six letters, some being Roman, others Greek,
and others Slavonic. After you have learned the alphabet and
can spell out the signs on the shops and street corners,
(04:50):
I'll tell you more about the language. It was getting
late and the party broke up a few minutes after
the foregoing conversation. Before they separated, Doctor Bronson suggested to
the youths that he should expect them to read up
the history of Russia and not forget the Romanov family.
The Romanovs, said, he are the reigning family of Russia,
(05:10):
just as the Guelphs are of England and the Habsburgs
of Austria. It was speedily arranged that Frank would devote
special attention to the first name subject, while Fred would
assume the responsibilities of the latter. And while you were
on the subject, the doctor added, turning to Fred, see
if you can find about the origin of the Orloft family,
(05:30):
which is one of the most interesting traditions that has
been handed down. Fred promised, and the party separated for
the night. They were all up in good season the
next morning, and after a substantial breakfast in which the
Samovar had a prominent place. They set out for a
round of sight seeing and the modern capital of Russia.
Returning to Admiralty Square, they visited the Church of Saint Isaac,
(05:53):
accompanied by the guide they had engaged at the hotel.
The man was of Russian birth and spoke English with
consider durable fluency. Evidently he understood his business as he
told the history of the sacred edifice with a careful
adherence to dates. Peter the Great built a wooden church
on this very spot, said the guide, in seventeen ten,
(06:13):
but it was destroyed by fire. Afterwards, the Great Catherine
erected another, which was finished in eighteen o one, but
it only remained eighteen years. The present building was begun
in eighteen nineteen and its completion took nearly forty years.
It was consecrated in eighteen fifty eight and is considered
the finest church in the Empire. The last statement might
(06:34):
be disputed by some of the citizens of Moscow, said
the doctor to the youths, but there is no question
about the church being the finest in Saint Petersburg. Observe
its admirable proportions, he continued. It is in the form
of a Greek cross with its four sides of equal length,
and the architect who planned it certainly had a correct
eye for his work. You observe, said the guide, that
(06:56):
each of the four entrances is approached by three flights
of stones steps leading up from the level of the square.
Each of these flights of steps is cut from a
single block of Finland granite. The youths may note of
this fact as they wondered how the huge masses of
stone were brought from their quarries, And they also noted
that the four entrances of the church were between pillars
(07:18):
of granite sixty feet high and seven feet in diameter,
polished to the smoothness of a mirror. An immense dome
forms the center of the edifice. It is of iron,
covered on the outside with copper, and this copper is
heavily plated with pure gold. It is the dome which
first caught the eyes of the travelers as they approach
the city, and forms an important landmark from every direction.
(07:42):
The cupula rests on thirty granite pillars, which look small
enough when seen from below, but are really of great size.
In the inside of the church are paintings by Russian
artists and there are two columns of malachite fifty feet
high and of proportionate diameter, the largest columns of this
costly mineral anywhere in the world. Immense quantities of Malachi, Lappis, Lazali,
(08:06):
and other valuable stones are used in the decoration of
the church in Our friends thought that if there was
anything to criticize was the great amount of ornamentation and
guilding in the interior. But I have no doubt, wrote
Fred in his notebook, that this display has its effect
upon the worshippers in the church, and particularly among the
poor peasants and all others of the humbler classes. In
(08:28):
all the countries we have visited, whether of the Christian, Muslim,
Buddhist or other faith, we have found the religious edifices
adorned in the most costly manner. And there is no
reason why Russia should form an exception to the general rule.
Many of the paintings, columns, and other decorations of this
church were the gift of wealthy Russians, while others were
(08:49):
paid for by the contributions of the people or from
the funds in government hands. From the Church of Saint Isaac,
our friends went to the Hermitage and the Winter Palace,
the latter being named in distinction to the Summer Palace,
which is at Tsarsky Selo, a few miles from the capital.
We will see what the youths had to say of
(09:09):
their visit to these edifices. Fred will tell the story.
To describe all we saw there would take a fair
sized volume, said Fred, and we will only tell what
impressed us most. The palace was built in a great
hurry to take the place of the one that was
burned in eighteen thirty seven. It was ready for occupation
in eighteen thirty nine. And when you know that it
(09:31):
is four hundred and fifty feet long by three hundred
and fifty wide, and rises to a height of eighty feet,
you will agree with us that the Russians are to
be praised for their energy. Our guide had procured the
necessary ticket for admittance, and we passed in through an
enormous gateway opposite the column of Alexander. Two servants in
(09:51):
livery showed us through the halls and galleries, and for
hours we wandered among pictures which represent the victories of
Russia over its enemies, and amid costly furniture, and adornments
till our feet and eyes were weary. The throne Room
of Peter the Great is one of the finest of
the apartments, and the Hall of Saint George is the largest.
(10:12):
It measures one hundred and forty feet by sixty and
is the scene of the grand balls and receptions which
the Emperor gives on state occasions. There is a beautiful
apartment known as the Drawing Room of the Empress. Its
walls and ceiling are gilded, and the whole work about
it seems to have been done without regard to expense.
One of the halls contains portraits of the rulers of Russia,
(10:34):
from Peter the Great down to the present time. Another
the portraits of the generals who fought against the French
in eighteen twelve. Another the portraits of all the field
marshals of the armies by which Napoleon was conquered, and
others the battle scenes before mentioned. I observed that Russia
was not unlike France, Germany and other countries, and representing
(10:57):
very prominently the battles where she tried in, ignoring those
where she was defeated. The guide told us that at
the state balls in the palace sit down suppers are
provided for all the guests, even if there are two
or three thousand of them. Sometimes the supper hall is
converted into a garden by means of trees brought from greenhouses.
(11:18):
The guests sit at table beneath the foliage and can
easily forget that they are in the middle of a
Russian winter. Doctor Bronson says the Russians are very fond
of plants in their dwellings, the wealthy expending large sums
on greenhouses in conservatories, and the poorer people indulging in
flower pots, which they place in all available spots. The
(11:39):
wealthy frequently pay enormous prices for rare exotics. We have
seen a good many flower stores among the Nevsky prospect
and in other streets, and are ready to believe that
the Russians are great admirers of floral products. Their long,
cold and cheerless winters lead them to prize anything that
can remind them of the summer season. At the entrance
(12:01):
of one of the halls, there is a tablet on
which are the rules which Catherine the Second established for
the informal parties she used to have at the Hermitage.
Catherine had literary aspirations, and her parties were an imitation
of the Salons of Paris, which had a wide celebrity.
Here is a translation of the rules, which I took
from Murray's handbook. One leave your rank outside, as well
(12:24):
as your hat and especially your sword. Two leave your
right of precedence, your pride, and any similar feeling outside
the door. Three be gay, but do not spoil anything.
Do not break or gnaw anything. Four Sit, stand, walk
as you will, without reference to anybody. Five Talk moderately
(12:45):
and not very loud, so as not to make the
ears and heads of others ache. Six Argue without anger
and without excitement. Seven neither sigh nor yawn, nor make
anybody dull or heavy. Eight and all in a games
whatever one proposes, let all join. Nine Eat whatever is
(13:05):
sweet and savory, but drink with moderation, so that each
may find his legs on leaving the room. Ten tell
no tales out of school. Whatever goes in one ear
must go out the other before leaving the room. A
transgressor against these rules shall, on the testimony of two witnesses.
For every offense, drink a glass of cold water. Not
(13:27):
accepting the ladies, and further read a page of the
tele Machiade allowed, whoever breaks any three of these rules
during the same evening shall commit six lines of the
telle Machiade to memory, and whoever offends against the tenth
rule shall not again be admitted. The tele Machiade, which
(13:49):
is prescribed as a penance, was the work of a
Russian poet of Catherine's time, who does not seem to
have enjoyed the imperial favor. It is said that invitations
to these parties were thought, but in spite of all
her efforts, the Empress could not induce her guests to
forget entirely that she was their sovereign. However, she managed
(14:09):
to make her parties much less formal than anything ever
before known at the Imperial Palace. And this was a
great deal to accomplish in such a time and in
such a country. I may remark, by the way, that
the Empress Catherine was the first sovereign of Russia to
invite an American officer into the Imperial service. The officer
was the celebrated John Paul Jones, a Scotchman by birth
(14:31):
but an American citizen at the time of the Revolutionary war.
The havoc he wrought upon the British fleets attracted the
attention of the Russian government, and after our war was over,
he received an intimation that he could find employment with
the armies of the Empress. He went to Saint Petersburg,
was received by Catherine at a special audience, and accorded
(14:52):
the rank of admiral in the Imperial Navy. Russia was
then at war with Turkey. Admiral Jones was sent to
command and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea and
operate against the Turkish fleet, which he did in his
old way. The Russians were besieging a town which was
held by the Turks, who had a fleet of ships
supporting their land forces. Jones dashed in among the Turkish
(15:15):
vessels with a boarding party in small boats, backed by
the guns of his ships and those of the besieging army.
He captured two of the Turkish galleys, one of them
belonging to the commander of the fleet, and made such
havoc among the enemy that the latter was thoroughly frightened. Unfortunately,
Jones incurred the displeasure of Potemkin, the Prime Minister, in
(15:35):
the favorite of the Empress, and shortly after the defeat
of the fleet, who was removed from command and sent
to the Baltic where there was no enemy to operate against.
But I'm neglecting the palace and following the career of
an American in the service of Russia. We asked to
see the crown jewels of Russia, and the guide took
(15:55):
us to the robe where they are kept. One of
the most famous diamonds of the world, the Orlov, is
among them, and thens history is mixed up with a
good deal of fable. The most authentic story about this
diamond seems to be that it formed the eye of
an idol in a temple in India, whence it was
stolen by a French soldier who sold it for two
thousand guineas. It then came to Europe, and after changing
(16:17):
hands several times, was bought by Prince Orlov, who presented
it to the Empress Catharine. The prince is said to
have given for the diamond four hundred and fifty thousand
roubles about four hundred thousand dollars, a life annuity of
two thousand rubles, and a patent of nobility. It weighs
more than the famous Kainoor of England, but it is
(16:38):
not as fine as stone. There is a faint tinge
of yellow that depreciates it considerably, and there is also
a flaw in the interior of the stone, though only
perceptible on careful examination. The Imperial Crown of Russia is
the most interesting crown we have anywhere seen. The guide
told us how much it was worth in money, but
I have forgotten the figures, being so large that my
(16:59):
head couldn't contain them. There are rubies, diamonds, and pearls
in great profusion, the diamonds alone being among the most
beautiful in the world. There are nearly, if not quite,
a hundred large diamonds in the crown, not to mention
the smaller ones that fill the spaces where large ones
could not go. The coronet to the Empress is another
mass of precious stones worth a long journey to see.
(17:21):
There are other jewels here of great value, among them
a plume or egrette, which was presented to General Sowaroff
by the Sultan of Turkey. It is covered with diamonds
mounted on wires that bend with each movement the wearer.
What a sensation Soewarof must have made when he walked
or rowed with his plume in his hat. From the
(17:42):
Crown jewels. We went to a room whose history is
connected with the scene a sadness the death of the
Emperor Nicholas. It is the smallest and plainest room with
the palace, without any adornment, and containing an iron bedstead,
such as we find in a military barrack. His cloak,
sword and helmet are where he left them, and on
the table was the report of the Quartermaster of the
(18:03):
household Troops, which had been delivered to the Emperor on
the morning of March second, eighteen fifty five, the date
of his death. Everything is just as he left it,
and a soldier of the Grenadier Guards is constantly on
duty over the relics of the Iron Czar. If what
we read of him is true, he possessed one characteristic
of Peter the Great, that of having his own way,
(18:23):
more than any other emperor of modern times. He ascended
the throne in the midst of a revolution which resulted
in the defeat of the insurgents. They assembled an admiralty square,
and after a brief resistance, was fired upon by the
loyal soldiers of the empire. Five of the principal conspirators
were hanged after a long and searching trial, during which
(18:43):
Nicholas was concealed behind a screen in the court room
and listened to all that was said. Two hundred of
the others were sent to Siberia for life, and the
soldiers who had simply obeyed the orders of their leaders
were distributed among other regiments than those in which they
had served. Through his head the whole reign, Nicholas was
an enemy to free speech or free writing, and his
(19:04):
rule was severe to the last degree. What he ordered
it was necessary to perform, no matter what the difficulties
were in the way, and a failure was, in his
eyes little short of a crime. He decided questions very
rapidly and often with a lack of common sense. When
the engineers showed him the plans of the Moscow and
Saint Petersburg railway and asked where the line should run,
(19:27):
he took a ruler, drew on the map a line
from one city to the other, and said that should
be the route. As a consequence, the railway is very
nearly straight for the whole four hundred miles of its course,
and does not pass any large towns, like the railways
and other countries. A more sensible anecdote about him relates
an incident of the Crimean War, when the governor of
(19:48):
Moscow ordered the pastor of the English Church in that
city to omit the portion of the service which prays
for the success of British arms. The pastor appealed the
case to the Emperor, who asked if those words were
in the regular service of the English Church. On being
answered in the affirmative, he told the pastor to continue
to read the service just as it was and order
(20:08):
the governor to make no further interference. His disappointment at
the defeat of his armies in the Crimean War was
the cause of his death, quite as much as the
influenza to which it is attributed. On the morning of
his last day, he received news of the repulse of
the Russians at Eupatoria, and he is said to have
died while in a fit of anger over this reverse.
(20:30):
Though opposed to the freedom of the press and people,
he advised the liberation of the serfs, and before he
died he argued his son and successor to begin immediately
the work of emancipation. The Hermitage is close to the Palace,
and is large enough of itself for the residence of
an emperor of medium importance, and certainly for a good
sized king. The present building is the successor of one
(20:52):
which was built for the Empress Catherine as a refuge
from the cares of state, and hence was called the Hermitage.
It is virtually a picture gallery and museum, as the
walls of the interior are covered with pictures, and there
are collections of coins, gems, Egyptian antiquities, and other things
distributed through the rooms. The room of greatest interest to
(21:14):
us in the Hermitage was that containing the relics of
Peter the Great. There were the turning lathes, whereon he
worked the knives and chisels with which he carved wood
into various forms, together with specimens of his wood carving,
his telescopes, drawing instruments, walking stick, saddle, and other things
are all here and in the center of the room
(21:35):
as an effigy which shows him to have been a
man of giant stature, as does also a wooden rod,
which is said to be the one with which he
was actually measured. There is a carriage in which he
drove about the city, the horse he rode at the
Battle of Pultowa, and several of his favorite dogs, all
stuffed and preserved, but not in the highest style of
(21:55):
the taxidermist. There are casts taken after Peter's death, several
poor rates in oil and one in mosaic, and a
cast taken during life and presented by Peter to his
friend Cardinal Valenti at Rome. It was missing for a
long time, but was finally discovered about the middle of
this century by a patriotic Russian, who bought it and
(22:15):
presented it to the gallery. There is a clock in
the same room which is said to have contained at
one time the draft of a constitution which Catherine the
Great intended giving to her people. Immediately after her death,
her son and successor, Paul, rushed to the clock in
her bedroom, drew out the paper and destroyed it. At
least this is the tradition, and whether true or not,
(22:36):
it is worth knowing, as it illustrates the character of
Paul the First. Our friends imitated the course of many,
an imperial favorite, not only in Russia but in other countries,
by going from a palace to a prison, but with
the difference in their case that the step was voluntary.
As they crossed the bridge, leaning from the Winter Palace
in the direction of the grim fortress of Saints Peter
(22:56):
and Paul, Doctor Bronson told the youths that Peter the
Great shut up his sister in a convent and exiled
her minister at Prince Galitsin. Since his time, the doctor continued,
his example has been followed by nearly every sovereign of Russia,
and a great many persons, men and women have ended
their lives in prison or in exile who once stood
(23:17):
high in favor at the Imperial court. Catherine was accustomed
to dispose of the friends of whom she had wearied,
by sending them to live amidst Siberian snows, and the
Imperial Paul used to condemn people to prison or to
exile on the merest caprice. Even at the present day,
the old custom is not unknown. We were not admitted
to the cells of the fortress, said Frank in his
(23:38):
account of the visit to the place, as it was
contrary to orders according to the guide's explanation. But we
were shown through the cathedral, where the rulers of Russia
from the time of Peter the Great have been buried,
with the exception of Peter the Second, who was buried
at Moscow, where he died. The tombs are less elaborate
than we expected to find them, and the walls of
the church are hung profusely with flags, weapons of war,
(24:01):
and other trophies of battle. The tombs mark the positions
of the graves which are beneath the floor of the cathedral. Naturally,
the tombs that most attracted our attention were those of
the rulers who have been most famous in the history
of Russia. We looked first at the burial place of
the Great Peter, then at that of Catherine the Second,
and afterwards at the tomb of Nicholas the First. Then
(24:23):
we sought the tomb of Alexander the Second, who fell
at the hands of nihilist assassins, and after a brief
stay in the church, returned to the open air. The
building is more interesting for its associations than for the
artistic merit of its interior. Its spire is to talleston
in the Empire, with the exception of the tower of
the church at Revel on the Baltic coast. From the
(24:45):
level of the ground to The top of the cross
is three hundred and eighty seven feet, which is twenty
six feet higher than Saint Paul's in London. The spire
alone is one hundred and twenty eight feet high and
very slender in shape. It was erected more than a
hundred years and the church itself dates almost from the
time of the foundation of the city fifty or more
(25:05):
years ago. The angel and the cross on the top
of the spire threatened to fall, and a Russian peasant
offered to repair them for two hundred roubles. By means
of a rope and a few nails, he climbed to
the top of the spire and performed the work, and
nobody will say he did not earn his money. A
single misstep or the slightest accident would have dashed him
to certain death. When we left the church and the
(25:28):
fortress continued, Frank, we felt that we had had enough
for the day of that kind of sight seeing, as
we drove through some of the principal streets and went
to the Gustina Duvoor, where we wished to see the
curiosities of the place and make a few purchases. Near
Saint Isaac's Church, we passed the famous equestrian statue of
the Emperor Nicholas, in which the sculptors succeeded in balancing
(25:50):
the horse on his hind feet without utilizing the tale,
as was done in the case of the statue of
Peter the Great. The emperor is in the uniform of
the horse guards. The pedestal has formed of blocks of
granite of different colors, and there are bronze reliefs on
the four sides representing incidents in the Emperor's life and career.
On the upper part of the pedestal at each of
(26:12):
the corners are emblematical figures, and just beneath the fore
feet of the horse is a fine representation of the
imperial eagle. The whole work is surrounded with an iron
fence to preserve it from injury, and altogether the statue
was one of which the city may well be proud.
While the party was looking at the imperial arms just mentioned,
(26:32):
Fred asked why the eagle of Russia is represented with
two heads. It indicates the union of the Eastern and
Western empires. The doctor answered the same as does the
double headed eagle of Austria. The device was adopted about
four centuries ago by Ivan the third, after his marriage
with Sophia, the Princess of the Imperial Blood of Constantinople.
(26:52):
By the way, the doctor continued, there is a story
of an imperial Grand Duke who went one day on
a hunting excursion, the first of his life, and fired
out of a large bird which rose before him. The
bird fell and was brought by a courtier to the
noble hunter. Your Imperial Highness has killed an eagle, said
the courtier, bowing low and depositing the prey on the ground.
(27:14):
The Grand Duke looked the bird over carefully, and then
turned away with disdain. That's no eagle, said he. It
has only one head. What our young friends saw in
the Gaustina Devour will be told in the next chapter.
End of chapter five read by Elsie Selwyn
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