Tomb of the Gallant Poniatowski

January Suchodolski, Death of Josef Poniatowski

Monument to Poniatowski, 1834
(destroyed by the Germans, 1939)

After visiting all of any great interest to us who had already visited the galleries and curiosities of Italy, we took our seats in the Schnell Post for Leipzig on Monday evening at 8 o’clock and completed our journey to that city in some twenty hours, arriving as our fortune has now been for some time past, in very indifferent weather.  After dining, we took a valet du place, and walked out to visit the tomb, and scene of the death of the gallant Poniatowski.  The tomb stands in a private garden near to the spot where his bodoy was found.  There is a small (species of) temple in the Garden containing a small monument by Thorwaldsen, and several miniaturies of the noble nephew of Stanislaus of Poland.  The temple has the simple word “Laribus” over the portal.  In another part of the grounds stands a plain, stone sarcophagus, with the name of Poniatowski upon it, wih the Polish Eagles, at each corner, and his own [63] coat of arms.  At some short distance from the tomb we came to that spot where his body was found, the river (Elster) is scarcely broader than a canal, and without taking into consideration his wounded state, and the choked up condition of the river, one would think that a child could scarcely have met his death there.  A stone monument is placed at the outlet of a pathway going through a fine grave in the immediate vicinity, to mark the spot which he passed after having crossed the Pleisse, and left to take the leap which caused his death.  Tis said that the two men who found his body some days after the battle are still living in the city.  Several orders and rings were found upon him, which alone positively certified that the body was that of the gallant Pole.

                                             

The Great Bell and the Crown Room of the Kremlin

Ivan the Great Bell Tower and Archangel Cathedral

Our next visit was to the old Tartar Palace comprising now only two or three small rooms but most richly furnished, the windows filled with most beautiful stained glass and the floors handsomely inlaid.  They [40] are kept in the same order as when occupied by the Tartar Kings. We started now to take a look-out from the tower of St. John’s. In going to it we passed the great Bell, the largest ever cast.  Its size is prodigious, and can scarcely be imagined from its dimensions being given.   It is some 24 feet in height, and four in thickness in the largest part.  It is now placed upon a pedestal, with the piece which was broken out of it in its fall caused by fire lying alongside.  This piece is more than six ft high through small enough in appearance when beside this huge mass.  It had remained a great while buried in the Earth when it fell till lately raised to its present situation by the present Emperor.  After obgaining a fine view of the city from Ivan’s Tower, which has a number of very large bells suspended in different parts, we proceeded to the Treasury of the [41] Kremlin, containing great riches and many interesting articles.  We were met by the General who was remarkablh polite to us as Americans, and seemed somewhat surprised that we should have come so far to see Moscow.  We entered through one or two rooms containing old armor &c somewhat after the manner of the Tower of London, to the crown room, containing the crowns of all the kings and princes that have ever owned fealty to Russia, [illeg.], &c, and amongst others the crown and throne of Poland and the scepter of Stanislaus.  The riches & curiosities were all visited by us in one course and we passed out through the same room that we entered by.  When we saw placed under a portrait of Emperor Alexander, a small box containing the Constitution of Poland and above the box, were placed a bunch of keys some half dozen in number, belonging [42] also to fated Poland.