COURT LIFE IN RUSSIA

Hastings Standard, Volume VIII, Issue 4206, 16 April 1904, Page 3 (Supplement)

COURT LIFE IN RUSSIA

(By Charles Emory Smith.)

The Russian court is the most brilliant in the world. The. court of Vienna has more of a certain, kind of hauteur and pretension, but tlie court of St. Petersburg is the most gorgeous as well as the most gracious and grace-' ful. It has a finer art and a more generous hospitality. Its refined air and its polished perfection might well be envied and emulated in capitals of higher civilisation. Though the (Emperor gives a reception on the Russian New Year the season really opens with the blaS&ing of the Neva, six days later. It is a ceremonial of religions significance and social demonstration. In the improvised pavilion on the embankment, of the river appear the Emperor and the Metropolitan with the great dignitaries of the hierarchy of Church and State, the splendid columns of helmeted and plumed 'Chevalier •Guards at rest, tens of thousands of respectful spectators just beyond the lines, and all the court looking on from the windows of the Winter Palace. I have seen the Czar standing for twenty minutes with bared head in a temperature of zero while, where the thick ice had been cut away for the; purpose, the blessing of the waters in token of baptism proceeded. The Emperor and Empress usually give five court balls during the season. The first embraces all who have any title to recognition, and counts about three thousand (guests. The second includes something less than two thousand, and the number is reduced with each successive ball until the fifth is limited literally to St. Petersburg's "four hundred," or possibly five hundred. This last is given in the Hermitage—not in the art gallery, but in the adjacent part of the Winter Palace which bears that name. It- includes the favorite apartments of the great Catherine, and amid luxurious surroundings it presents an exquisite scene. The first ball with its large numbers is a glittering spectacle. The showy uniforms and the gorgeous gowns make it resplendent in- color, while the mazes of the national mazurka and the picture of the grand promenade give it the poetry of motion. The surprise, comes at the banquet. At ths court balls in London and other capitals the guests, though much less numerous, stand in crowded masses at the limited tables. At the Winter Palace, even with three thousand guests, all sit in comfort at the orderly and splendid feast. No service could be more perfect. The Czar is there more as host than as Emperor. He leads the Empress to the place of honor at the Imperial table, but has no seat there himself. Nor ha s- any male member of the Imperial family. That table is reserved for the Czarina and th« Grand Duchesses, the ambassadors and the high functionaries of the court. Instead of immediately seating himself, the Czar, after placing the Czarina, moves about among the company to see that all his guests receive full attention, and then when the regular courses begin, with the hundreds of scarlet-liveried servants, he takes any seat t hat may chance to be vacant, usually among tes Russian entourage. There are no drawing-rooms as in. London. Presentations at court are made at the balls when the Czar as he first enters passes along the diplomatic circle, talking for a moment with each chre-f of mission and greeting any guest for whose introduction permission may have been secured. This form of presentation has a fine air of hospitality and offers the opportunity of a brief conversation. What impresses the observer is the finished courtesy and grace, the thorough breeding, which distinguish eveTv social function. The Czar knows all the details. When permission was sought only the day before for a visitor" to witness the blessing of the Neva from the Winter Palace the answer came in the early morning with the apology that the request reached the Czar only at midnight, and the visitor was made his guest. It is only at the great special ceremonials, lake the coronation, or a wedding, or a baptism, that the court costume is worn, and the sumptuous crimson velvet robes, with all their accompaniments, do not often appear. It is widely supposed that the Czar never goes forth without a guard. This is a.n error. He often drives through the streets with no attendant but the coachman. I have seen the Czar in his sledge without a footman and no one near but the servitor who held the reins. Precautions may have been taken along the line, but if so they we not visible. Indeed, it is difficult to see what could have prevented an attack had i there been such a design. The then Czar and the present King of Italy when he was Crown Prince drove through the Nevskoi Proepekt with only a small escort some dis- ! tance in front and no guard immediately | about them, whSe tens of thousands closely lined tihe route. Possibly in these later | years, with the recent carnival of assassination, greater care is taken, but a dozen years ago there was great freedom of movement. The court fanctionaiwa are generally,

though not invariably, men of rank, but this rule is far from applying to the ministers of state. In the mere shows of social ceremony blood is recognised, but in the great business of conducting the affairs of tho empire the question of birth is of little axxount. In this chief of autocracies the ministers are seldom personal favorites. The story of De Witte, the recent powerful Minister of Finance., is well known. He began as a minor railway official and rapidly moved forward through his energy, decision and force until he became the most masterful and potent counsellor of the Emperor. His predecessor, Vys hnegradsk'i, was equally a man of the common p-ople. As a teacher in the university lie showed great talent for finance and economics. He "was placed in the Ministry of Finance and gradually rose to its head. His mastery of fiscal science was marvellous. The Italian ambassador, fresh from an interview with him just after an Italian budget appeared, said, "I believe he knows the budget better thaai the minister who framed it."

My own experience with Mm was interesting. Calling on another matter I found him with the free silver bill lying on his table in just the printed form in which it was lying on the desks of the United States Senate. He knew all of its details and manifested the most eager interest as to its fate. His Statement of the schemes to dump tlie silver of Europe on the United States in the event of its passage was calculated to awaken, alarm, and his warning against the dangers of its enactment was most impressive. Asked to name an hour for a conference at another time, hs named twenty minutes before nine © clock in the morning. Even in that early hour a dozen men, mostly officers of state, were found in his anteroom waiting to see him. JJo wonder he soon after broke down. In the same way De Giers,,who was the pupli of G-oirtchaikoff, and who succeeded him as Foreign Minister, had neither rank nor fortune and his colleague in the (great Ministry of the interior was without title or social position. The empire seeks to be served by its ablest men without regard to blood. The* Russian® of the upper class are cultivated and polished. There is no great country of Europe where the body of the people are so unschooled and degraded, but there is none where the higher ranks are more refined and polite. The distinction between the upper and the lower class is broad and radical. Except in the large cities with the commercial element, there, is no middle class. The great body of intelligent, well-to-do people vvli i<;h constitutes the strong fibre of American and English life does not exist in Russia. And yet the nobility ds not sharply defined a® in England. There is no law of primogeniture, and titles are not guarded with the same strictness. They descend with the property to all the children. The distinctive Russian title is that of prince, and that signifies originally a. Tarar chief' and has come down loosely. There are some counts and barons created, with the other conceptions which Peter the Great borrowed from Western Europe, but they do not beloT|ST as naturally to the Russian system. The: court circle is quite distinct from'the Government, and, though individual members may share in the cabals and the political intrigues which mark every capital, there is no such dominant or potent court influence as manifests itself around some thrones. The absolution of the Czar is palpable everywhere. In the Government it if i Med by the fo-rce of bureaucracy and ?y inertia of tradition, but it impresses itself on all things. It is plain to any attentive observer that the felieng toward him cm the part of all classes is one of deep devotion. There is everywhere a strong sense <>f loyalty The Czar is the head of the Onurch and the State, and, in form at least the power of the Church is ovenshadonsrin g. He ib also regard*} as distinctively the tribune of the people, and in this union of cmirchly authority and popular reverence the autocracy rests on a solid foundation.