CORONATION CEREMONIES AT MOSCOW.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 434, 31 December 1856, Page 4

CORONATION CEREMONIES AT MOSCOW.

The special correspondent of the Times, who |> witnessed the entry of the Emperor into tin. J*. City on the 20th of August, says:—Tho L» pcror and Empress left St. Petersburg on FinU morning, and reached Petrovski after dusk >n J the evening of the same day, having iraullui 440 miles in 10 hours, which is regarded as ,t • , great feat in this part of the world. jlh. Majesty's reception at the station was enthu^ >- tie, and late as it was, thousands of pciVj'A r"* awaited his arrival, and cheered him with irn it > energy. Wednesday and yesterday were spuit in preparing for the great event, the proccs-ion t . of their Imperial Majesties from the Chateau oi Petrovsky to the Kremlin, which took place to- » day under the happiest auspices. It would be as difficult to describe this dazzling pageant as it would be to give an aecuute account of a grand spectacle at the theatre. In all its component parts it was magnificent and » effective. The wealth of a vast empire was f poured out with a profuseness almost barbaiu. and displayed with a taste founded on Oriental traditions and modified by r European civilisation Instead of a narrow stage, the scene was laid in i the ancient metropolis of the largest empiie the ! world has ever seen : instead of tinsel and mock finery, gold and silver and diamonds flashed in the real "sunlight. He who played the pait vi an Emperor was indeed an Emperor: and thowho appeared as Empresses, marshals, ri I soldiers, were what they seemed to be, lvi after all, when amid the blaze of trumpets, tb clanging of bells, and the roar of the popul <. the glorious pageant bad passed away in a pr coloured blaze of light, what was left but 'V !l recollection of the transitoiy pleasure of the < \ | and of the indescribable excitement which •' f memory in vain endeavoured to recall of all t i had at the moment produced such irres'Mi ' effects ?

The correspondent describes ihe Cossacks, f.' ■'. nobles and deputies, and then the Court .'■•■ l c official carriages. As the last of (he train ■.■! : carriages passes a noise lihe distant thun^r g rolling along the street announces the appro:!* !i | of the Czar. But his presence is gramA ' heralded. Immediately after the members <>!' i the Council of the empire the Grand Marshal-.'i' ihe Court rides in an open phaeton, gilt like ! the rsSst; but, bright as is he and all about Km, _ there comes after that compared with the X My of which he is as a mote in the sun. lii"f^ casques of beautiful form aud workmanship, surmounted by crest eagles oi' silver or gold, in milk-white' coats and gilded cuirasses and back-plates, approach the giants of tho first- j squadron of tho Chevaliers Gardes of his Majesty | the Emperor, each on a charger lit for a coir.- | inander iv battle. These are the picked men "i j 00,000,000 of the human race, and in statuiv j they certainly exceed any troops I have even J seem All their appointments are splendid "but f it is said that they looked better in the days of f the late Emperor,' when they wore white buci--! j skins and jack boots, than they do now in tlinr long trousers. The squadron was probably 2'X' strong, and the effect of the polished helm.^. | crests; and armour was dazzling. Their oilier:-; * could scarcely be distinguished, except by tin:.' position and the extraordinary beauty m;<l training of some of their horses, which slowh beat time, as it were, with their hoofs to **"'. strains of the march. Tho first squadron ul the Garde d Chccal follows,™

— "Ail furnished —all inarms. All plumed like est ridges that wing the wh.'bRated like eagles having lately bathed, ( I Glittering in golden coats, like images." i So bright, so fine, that one in puzzled fo M--** which—they or the chevaliers—are the bi|f But ns we are debuting the point the lr/'? -<y i'

dous cheering of tho people and the measured hurrahs of the soldiers, the doffed hats, and the reverences of the crowd, the waving of handkerchiefs, and the clash of presenting arms, warn us that tho " Czar of all the Itussias, of the Kingdom of Poland, and of the Grand Duchy of Finland, which aro inseparable from them," is at hand, and Alexander Nicolaievitch is before us. His Majesty is tall and well formed, although he does not in stature, or in grandeur of person, come near to his father. His face bears a resemblance to the portraits of the Emperor Nicholas, but the worshippers of his deceased Majesty declare that it is wanting in the wonderful power of eye and dignity and intelligence of expression which characterised the father. His Majesty is dressed in the uniform of a general officer, and seems quite simply attired, after all the splendour which has gone past. He wears a burnished casque with a long plume of white, orange, and dark cock's feathers, a close fitting green tunic, with aiguillettes and orders, and red trousers, and he guides his charger—a perfect model of symmetry —with ease and gracefulness. His features are full of emotion as he returns with a military salute on all sides the mad congratulations of his people, who really act as though the Deity were incarnate before them. It is said that several times his eyes ran over with tears. To all he gives the same acknowledgment—raising his extended hand to the side of his casque, so that the forefinger rises vertically by the rim in the front of the ear. The effect of his presence is considerably marred by the proximity of his suite, who have gradually and perhaps unwittingly closed up till they are immediately behind his horse, instead of leaving him isolated, as he was when he quitted the palace of Petrovsk}'. Thus it happens that, before he reaches the spot where the spectator is placed, he is nearly lost amid the crowd behind him; and that the moment he passes his figure is swallowed tip in the plumed suite who followed at his heels.

It was ordered that the Emperor should be attended only by the Minister desa maison, the Minister of war, an Aide-de-Camp General, a General of the Suite, and the Aide-de-Camp of Ins Majesty on duty ; but as he turned to speak to the Grand Dukes and to the foreign princes from time to time this order was lost, and mingled with the officers indicited were their Imperial Highnesses the Cesarewitch Grand Duke Heritier Nicolas Alexandrevitch, Constantine Nicolaievitch, Nicolas Nicolaievitch, and Michel Nicolaievitch, the Prince Bomanovsky, Duke de Leuehtenberg, Nicolas Maximilianovitch, the Prince Peter, of Oldenburg, and other foreign Princes and their suites. Amid this crowd of great people we all search out the Grand Duke Constantine, whose keen stern eyes are piercing each window as he rides along. A countenance with more iron will, resolution, and energy stamped upon it, one rarely sees, and the Russians are not unjustifiably proud of the ability and activity he displayed when the allied squadron was expected at Cronstadt. His feat- ■ tires and form are cast in the Romanoff mould which the portraits of Alexander and Nicholas have made pretty well known among us. A very splendid staff follows the Princess. It consists of the Generals attached to his Majesty's person, the Aides-de-Camp General, the General Majors of the suite, and the Aides-de-Camp of the Emperor, and the Generals and aides-de-camp attached to the persons of their Imperial Highnesses on horseback in full uniform. Among them are many whose names are now of world-wide celebrity, but one could not find out which was Luders and which was Osten-Sacken, or Menschikolf, or Gortschakoff —all covered as they were with plumes and feathers and magnificent orders. The Empress Alexandra Feddowna, whose appearance excited the liveliest acclamations of tho people, now passed before us, her feeble frame sustained by the part she had to play, so that she surprises those who know how weak and suffering she is when they see her porlc, and tho graceful and animated hearing with which she acknowledges the cheers of the multitude. 'Ah !' say they who think of the old Court, ' who would ever imagine that she, who was as a feather in the air, suspended by a breath, should live to see this day, and that he— son Dion —should have died before her!' Her Majesty was right royally or imperially a!fired, but bow 1 cannot, say. A cloud oflkdif drapery, through which diamonds shone like star.-;, Iloated around her, and on her head was a tiava of brilliants. The carriage in 'vhieh she sat was was a triumph of splendour

—-all gold and crimson velvet; and on the roof, which was composed of similar materials, was the likeness of an imperial crown. The eight horses, which were attached to the carriage by trappings and cords of gold, were the most beautiful in the imperial stables, and each was led with a golden bridle by a palefrenier in a grand livery. To hide from her the coachman's back, perforce turned towards her Majesty's face, there was an array of little pages, who sat outside the coach, on tho rail, with their backs towards the coachman's and their round visages vis-a-vis that of the Empress. On the right of the carriage rode the Grand Ecuyer; on the left the A ide-de-Camp General attached to the person of the Empress. An officer of the imperial stable rode before it, and four Cossacks of the Chamber followed the Eci^er and the General. Behind the carriage were six Pages of the Chamber, and two Palfreniers on horseback. As the carriage passes amid the thunders of ten thousand voices another vehicle, if possible more magnificent, comes before us; and again the hurrahs of the troops and the people ring through the air. The Empress Marie Alexandrovna is seated in this carriage, and by her side the little Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrowitch, who is in full military uniform. Her Majesty seemed much affected as she bowed to the right and left and acknowledged the salutations of the people with vivacity and impressement. The boy seemed to take it all as a matter of course, and probably the arch-ducal mind was occupied Iry distracting thoughts of dinner. The equipment and attendance of the vehicle were the same as those of the Empress-Mother. And now a galaxy of what are really ' stagecoaches, 5 so richly gilt and decorated are they, pass before us. The first contains the Grand Duchess Marie Paulovna and Alexandre Josephovna; the second the Grand Duchesses Alexandre Petrovna and Helene Paulovna; the third the Grand Duchesses Marie Nicolaevna and Catherine Michailovna; and the fourth her Imperial Highness the Princess of Oldenburg. Another military spectacle closes up the rear of the last carriage.

Inside the Kremlin an immense crowd, civil and military, were seated on benches and seats; the pavement was also thronged by a mass of persons to whom the right of the entry had been accorded by the authorities, all of whom welcomed the Emperor with great enthusiasm. The cortege slowly wound its way through this brilliant assemblage to the Sacred Gate of the Saviour, called Sparkie Vovota, in passing through which every man must uncover, where the Emperor and Empress were received by the Commandant of Moscow and the officers under his orders. The clergy attached to the churches inside the Kremlin were assembled before the porch of their several edifices holding the sacred images and crosses in the air to welcome, and the Senat Diregeant was ranged at each side of the entrance of the cathedral. Here their Majesties left their carriage, and the Emperor descended from his charger and advanced towards the door of the cathedral, at which they were met by the Holy Synod and the clergy, who had previously chanted a Tc Deum, en actions de (/races, for the happy arrival of his Majesty, and who awaited |him with the cross and the holy water. Amid the sounds of a solemn chant and the prayers of the people the Emperor and the Empresses entered the cathedral, and at the same moment a sairo of So guns was fired to announce the fact. Their Majesties—having kissed the sacred *'; images," among which are a picture of the Virgin,painted by St. Luke, and a miraculous portrait of our Saviour —walked in solemn procession, preceded by the Metropolitan of Moscow to the Cathedrals of the Archangel Michael and of the Annonciation, where they kissed more images and holy relics, among which are a nail of the true Cross, a robe of our Saviour, and a part of a robe of the Virgin Mary, and knelt in prayer before the tombs of their ancestors. Thence they walked to the palace of the Kremlin, where they were received by the clergy of the Court with cross and holy water, by the Arch-Mar-shal of the Coronation, and the President and members of the Treasury *of the Palace, who presented the Empress with the usual Russian emblems of fealty—bread and salt. His Majesty's entrance into the Palace was announced by a salvo of 101 guns. During this time the bells never ceased to ring, nor the people to cheer and pray; and the aspect presented by (he squares of the Kremlin, as the dense eonc oursso of people with uncovered head.;; besought

the blessing of heaven on their Sovereign, has been described to me as something very grand and affecting. The procession and the proceedings lasted more than three hours. Till late at night the populace continued to throng the courts and squares, and soon after it was dark the palace and barracks of the Kremlin were brilliantly illuminated. The Corps Diplomatique witnessed the procession from the windows of the palace of a Princess who entertained thc-rn to dinner and gave a ball in the evening.