THE CZAR AT ST. PETERSBURG.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5302, 23 March 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CZAR AT ST. PETERSBURG.

The return of the Emperor of Russia to St. ( Petersburg on December 22 is described at length in a telegram to the Daily News : “ The Emperor’s train reached the splendidlydecorated terminus exactly at 10 o’clock. Cordial greetings were exchanged between friends who had accompanied the Czar to the ! battle-field and those whom duty had detained at home. The general comment was that his Majesty looked very well, but consi--1 derably thinner than when he left the capital. . As he alighted, the pupils of the Conservatoire r received him with a hymn of welcome, and • tendered him a laurel crown. M. Bogreboff, \ the Mayor of St. Petersburg, presented him with an address of congratulation in the name of the Town Council, and after a very brief delay the Emperor emerged irom the ter- , minus, and as the vast throng in the open space outside caught sight of their monarch, the cheering waxed louder and louder ; the j roar of artillery salvos, with another and pleasanter significance than those which the , Emperor has so recently been hearing, added to . the volume of sound, which was swollen and varied yet further by the pealing of bells belonging to the almost innumerable churches of the capital. The Emperor seated himself along with his son, the Grand Duke Sergius, in a little sledge, drawn by two horses. The way was led by General Trepoff, Minister of Police, and , the little vehicle, surrounded by a brilliant and \ splendidly mounted staff, and followed by an escort of the splendid Horse Guards, was ! driven at a rapid pace along the crowded . streets on the road to the Kasan Cathedral. The Czarevna, in a caleche, followed the Imperial cortege, and met with a reception only second to that which welcomed the Emperor. The great semi-circular place in front of the Kasan Cathedral was fringed with crimson tiers of seats, and occupied partly by soldiers, partly by a densely-packed mass of civilians. The scene within was extremely striking. Worship and war mingle strangely together in the cathedral. The waiting throng in the noble cathedral is a microcosm of the Russian nation. People had spent the night sleeping on the marble floor, that they might be secure of a place in the morning,' As the hour for the arrival of the Emperor draws nigh, the high officers of police finally marshal the orderly throng to come up to the front. Alas ! that so many of them should wear these all too significant mourning garments on such an occasion as that of to-day. There always seems to be the undertone of a sob in the loud-souuding clamor of the joyous cheering, and here and there in the corners of the great cathedral were to be noticed weeping women—poor souls who have given hostages to Russia and the Czar in the lives of those nearest and dearest to them. Suddenly the tinkle of a bell is heard. The great doors of the cathedral are flung, wide open : there surges in a great gust of cold air, on the wings of which is borne a great throbbing volume of sound—the roar of the cheering of vast multitudes, the booming of artillery, the clashing of the pealing joy bells. Descending from the altar place, the clergy, headed by the Metropolitan, resplendent in gorgeous robes, and wearing a mitre, which is one mass of precious stones, advance in stately procession towards the door. There is a brief pause, during which the cheering outside peals louder and louder. Prom the front of the inconostas a stream of melody diffuses itself over the cathedral as choristers raise the chantofthanksgiving. Now the procession is returning from the door, where the Metropolitan has received the Emperor. The throng cannot be restrained. It closes in with irresistablo impulse, for here comes their Czar back among them after sharing with his gallant soldiers the danger and hardships of the c impaign. His son, Archduke Sergius, the youngest member of the Imperial family who has seen the campaign, is by his aide. The throng is silent, as becomes the sacred edifice, but the eager joy of glowing faces testifies to the all-absorbing emotion. The Emperor passes on towards the altar, preceded by the Metropolitan. He ascends the steps, and his lips touch the glittering imago of the Holy Virgin of Kasan. There has followed him the Czarevna, whose fair face recalls the features so vividly of one honored and beloved by every Briton. Count Adleiberg, alone of the members of the suite, has followed his Imperial master into the cathedral. The simple ceremony is of brief duration, and in a few moments the Emperor is turning towards the door. The loyalty of the throng is no longer to be restrained. Men and women all but block the path of his Majesty, eager to kiss the hem of his garment. The procession struggles on through the dense masses, and the door is finally reached. Then wo in the cathedral hear the cheering of the crowd outside break forth again as the Emperor drives away towards the Winter Palace. Erom seven until nearly midnight the streets of the capital were brilliantly illuminated.” The Pall Matt Gazette says:—A German paper relates the following incident as having taken place during the recent triumphal entry of the Czar into St. Petersburg The day before the event took place the German Ambassador requested one of the officials of the Court to find him a place whence he could view the procession with his son, a boy five years old. Accordingly a window was reserved for the Ambassador in a club, immediately opposite the Kasan cathedral, where the imperial procession was to halt, while prayers were offered up. On the day of the entry the Ambassador was duly present in the place assigned to him, and as the Emperor mounted his sleigh at the conclusion of the service, the manager of the club approached the representative of Germany with two finely chased goblets of champagne on a silver tray, requesting him to drink to the health of the Czar and the German Emperor. After this ceremony

had been performed the German Ambassador returned to his sleigh, and on mounting it found placed on his seat a small box containing the two cups with two medallions—the one engraved with the date of the happy return of the Czar to his capital, the other with a few words proposing the health of the Emperor of Germany in connection with the event. _ During the evening, when the town was illuminated, large crowds, it is added, assembled from time to time in front of the German embassy, giving enthusiastic cheers for the Emperor Alexander, the Emperor William, and the German people.