Flashback: Tsarskoye Selo

(I forgot to mention a trip we took to “Sarsko Selo” (English) near St. Petersburgh, where the Emperor has the most magnificent palace I ever saw.  It is immense in size, and  is fitted up in a style that I should never have thought of seeing anywhere out of Paris itself.  I never saw so much taste displayed in any other building.  One of the rooms has its whole sides formed of Amber, which was presented to Russia by Frederick the Great of Prussia.  One can scarcely conceive of its richness.  We saw nothing of the palace but the apartments & Chapel the most gorgeous thing one could imagine, of Ebony & Gold.  Some of the floors were most beautifully inlaid with  [60] pearls and ebony--appearing splendidly rich.

Every thing in the rooms was in accordance with the room itself and though it was imperfect appeared as if made for use as well as beauty.  We made the trip there on a very good railroad, the only one in the country.  After taking a trip through the park and grounds, and visiting the armory, where we saw every thing usual in such places most admirably arranged and very complete, we returned again to the city.  In the armory were two saddles presented by the Sultan to the King of Russia, Holsters[,] pistols, and bridle were all complete and all were actually covered with brilliant stones of very great size, the richest thing of the kind one ever saw.---------|

Fête for Princess Marie of Hesse and Prince Alexander; checking out at customs

Wedding of Grand Prince
Alexander and Princess Marie
of Hesse (Maria Alexandrovna)

The whole city had been topsy-turvy for some time past, with sham fights, taking the citadel near the Hermitage fete all for the amusement of L’affiancée of the Grand Duke, Prince Royal—the fact is, the citizens must give up every thing to military movement.  The bridges across the Neva are removed and they must cross in small boats.  The squares are filled with Cossacks, cannon fire, and all must keep their windows open, if they do not wish them broken bvy the cannon.  Military life is all in fact.  My books I had the good fortune to retrieve from the Customs House, but my pistols were not delivered up, until the moment we sailed (midnight Oct 4.) and then were brought down by a soldier to Cronstadt some 20 miles from the city. Thus I was forced to pay the duty of Six silver rubles a pound on them nearly 5 dollars a pound.  

Return to St. Petersburg

After taking another drive around the city we concluded to start again for St. Petersburg hoping to reach it in time to see the Entrée of the Royal Family (our passports for this once we were able to have arranged by a Valet—Duplace).  We again started in the same conveyance, and after rather a shorter drive than before, reached the city, and learned that the Fête had taken place in our absence, the Emperor as usual only giving the people one days warning.  I myself was in most excruciating agony on my arrival from a rheumatism in my left shoulder, that came upon me suddenly in a few hours and luckily passed off in a day or two.  The climate is worse than any other that I have ever heard of, such sudden changes.______ Now we were again obliged [48] to again repeat the ceremony with regard to our passports, and to show the papers in which we had advertised ourselves for nine days (9).  We obtained a Russian pass for Hamburg and had some difficulty in getting back our original passports.  A piece of money settled that however.  

Admiralty Square and the equestrian statue of Peter the Great

The Admiralty, designed by Adrian Zakharov (viewed in 1996)

The City is truly on a grand scale and presents a bold and handsome appearance, every house in it being [white?] I believe with the exception of the palace. The Admiralty occupies the whole of an immense square and is a very regular and handsomely built edifice, larger I should suppose than any other one building in Petersburg. [14] Our part of the Admiralty faces a large & fair open square. (Most villainously paved however) with the Senate and Synod houses on the opposite side, the third side being formed by the River and the fourth by a very fine church now being built, and intending to rival the largest churches on the Continent. In the center of this square stands the celebrated bronze Equestrian statue to Peter the Great, raised to him by Catherine Secunda.  It is the largest of the kind I have yet seen and most admirably executed, possessing a very bold and Warlike.  Peter is represented as on horseback, his horse’s hoof at the same time crushing a serpent.  Unlike other statues of the kind generally, the horse is standing on his hind legs solely, with his body very much raised – consequently requiring an immense weight in the after part of the body.

The Hermitage

Snuff box carved by Peter I - Hermitage

We revisited today the Hermitage, which was in a great degree destroyed by fire some few years since, and is not got entirely rebuilt, still containing a very fine collection of paintings, and a most splendid suite of apartments, private and for public view.  In one of the many chambers, are several pieces of the work of Peter the Great, some carving in Ivory very [13] well executed, by this Imperial Jack of all Trades. The Palace of the Emperor, stands directly next to and in fact is connected with the Hermitage, and outwardly is the finest of any of the Palaces I have seen in Europe.  The size is immense, built of the various orders of Architecture, and all of (in appearance at least) the red sandstone that we use for the coping and/or Windows at home in brick houses. I say in appearance, for I have found out that the finest buildings in the city are almost entirely built of stucco, which however detracts nothing from its beauty, for they are all admirably styled and handsomely ornamented with bas-reliefs &c. &c. 

St. Petersburg without a guidebook

After finishing this disagreeable visit to the Custom House, we dressed ourselves and felt quite like other beings having in feeling made quite a voyage. [unint.] We took now our first walk in this really most magnificent city.  Every thing is laid out on the most grand scale.  The streets broad, airy, clean, and frequently paved with wood, and of very great length, and one can scarcely turn around without viewing on every side some of the finest buildings of any [11] continental city.  St. Petersburg is situated on the Neva, which runs directly through the city, the largest and prettiest looking stream that I can recollect of having seen passing through any city.  The sides are built upon its whole length.  Long beautiful quays built of huge blocks of dark granite giving the whole a noble appearance.  I have as yet taken but short walks through its principal streets, and though having seen the Palaces admired the Hermitage etc. can hardly say which is which as the Police (bless them) have got my guide books. This is one of the fête days in the Greek Church (the Church of Russia) and every thing is like on a Sunday.  T’is the day of St. John the Baptist, and what is very singular the people of the Church on this day do not eat any thing round such as apples, potatoes &c.  What the reason is, I cannot judge; unless it should be that the Baptist’s head on the charger [12] was round—Tis a strange thing, but nevertheless true, that I left London on the first day of September 1840, and yet, though I was nearly nine days on the passage I reached St. Petersburgh on the twenty-eighth day of August 1840.  

Searching and censorship in St. Petersburg

Immediately on getting our [9] breakfast, we sallied out in order to pass our luggage at the Custom House.  I have done the same thing many a time before and this time felt quite independent, as I thought I had nothing at all that could possibly be called upon for duties. but alas!  such  searchers I never saw. every stitch was unfolded, shaken and sometimes even ripped open, and every book that was found was laid on side immediately , not even opened for the Censor general to pass judgment upon it. So though I thought myself safe all my books were taken together with a pair of pistols.  and I must wait for four days before any of them can be delivered up to me.  Should the books contain anything in them disparaging to the Government generally, or too strongly in favor of Democracy, they are to be retained by the Censor, until you leave the country, or if you should insist on [10] keeping them yourself, the parts offending are torn out (par example in Byron’s Don Juan) and the remainder should there be any is returned to you.  So with this trouble I escaped the severest Custom House Scrutiny as well as that of the police that I ever underwent.  Before you are allowed to leave the country you must have himself advertised in three different papers for nine days as a guard against contracting debts without paying them.  A Good Rule but rather inconvenient at times.  

Detained at Customs; Miss Dee's Boarding House

The Winter Palace about 1840 by Ferdinand Victor Perrot

The River Neva is a fine broad noble looking river and formerly / this is denied by some & asserted by others.

had a fine channel but one of the former Emperors placed a bar in its bed for the purpose of preventing any vessels of war coming to the City.  It is said that if any one should be found sounding the river, he would
in all probability be sent to Siberia.  At Cronstadt is a very fine [8] Navy Yard, and almost completely filled with fine ships, though the Russians have not at the present moment a large Fleet at sea. On our arriving at the City (which from its being now being [sic] quite dark & raining we had not opportunity of seeing well, we were detained for some length of time for the Custom House officers to board us.  On our passports being delivered up to us, we were obliged to go through the same examination for the third time.  When after a quite rigorous personal examination we were allowed to go on shore, through without  the least article of our luggage, not even a dressing case.  After a short walk we four Yankees proceeded to Miss Dee’s an American landlady where we were made quite comfortable, and found the house filled with American Captains though no travellers.*  
*"From the total absence of everything like comfort, cleanliness, or attendance, at the hotels in St. Petersburg, several boarding-houses have sprung into existence ; which, being conducted by English women, combine every advantage that a traveller can expect or require. Those kept by Miss Benson on the English Quay, and by Miss Dee in the Galerny, are extremely good: the attention and arrangement of those ladies leave nothing to be desired. They are frequented by numbers of English and Americans, and occasionally by travellers of other nations; and, as English is naturally the language used, there is less constraint and reserve, probably, than at other tables in the empire of a public nature."  Edward P. Thompson, Life in Russia, or The Discipline of Despotism (London, 1848), 31.

Arrival in Kronstadt and St. Petersburg

 A birds eye view of Kronstadt from 1855.

We then once again embarked and finished the remainder of our passage to St Petersburgh very pleasantly or rather as I should say to Chronstadt. When in London, on going to have our passports viseed by the Russian Consul we were obliged to obtain a written guarantee from some one known to him to the following effect. “that the person (myself) [6] was known to them as respectable, born in New York, aged so many years, such & such a profession, the reason for going to Russia and the name of some respectable person in St Petersburgh to whom I was addressed.”  I thought this class enough.  however by the politeness of my Bankers, I obtained the required guarantee of good behavior to[o] , and started. On our approaching Chronstadt, a number of officers form the guard-ship there boarded us and proceeded to see if there was anything contraband on board, and soon after this leaving us. We were visited by some twenty members of the Secret Police of his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias etc. etc. etc.  The leader of them, was at the head of the Secret Police of the Empire, having a most unremarkable face and such an one as would imply (as our Captain observed) that he would smile at the same time [7] that he would cut your throat.  They all descended into the cabin, and arrayed their papers when we were all called up in turn, and obliged to answer questions to the same effect as those proposed in London, and moreover write it all down ourselves and place our signature to it.  This was frustrating enough but they had not finished with us yet.  We now went on board a smaller steamer in order to approach the city, the channel not allowing vessels but of small size to go up to the City.