NICHOLAS, THE REIGNING CZAR.
Nicholas Paulovitch, the son of Paul the First and Maria Feodorowna, is the fifteenth sovereign of the Romanoff dynasty. He is of a great height, and is very proud of it. His air is serious, his glance wild, even a little savage; his entire physiognomy has something hard and stern in it. The Emperor never shows himself but in the military costume, the stiffness of which is in perfect keeping with his tastes, and which makes his great height still more conspicuous. His face and whole deportment are noble and commanding. He speaks with vivacity, with simplicity, and the most perfect propriety; all he says is full of point and meaning,—no idle pleasantry, not a word out of its place. There is nothing in the tone of his voice or the arrangement of his phrases that indicates haughtiness or dissimulation, and yet every one feels that his heart is closed, and its deep secrets studiously concealed.
Nicholas has a boundless delight in seeing his soldiers, and in reviewing them. He is unsurpassed for the skill and despatch with which he passes numerous regiments in review, in the Place of Arms, at St. Petersburg. Woe to the poor soldier who shall be convicted of a button badly fastened, or a buckle out of its place! The eagle eye of the Emperor will search in the very thickest part of the ranks for infractions of this description, and his inflexibility is known. He is, nevertheless, a timid rider, and travels by drosky or sledge, in preference to horseback.
The Emperor leads a life of restless and incessant activity. Morning, noon, and night, he is engaged in the public business brought beneath his notice from the different sections of the various departments. In private life he is free from immoralities, and sets a worthy example of conjugal fidelity to all his subjects.
The Emperor has a Grecian profile, the forehead high, but receding; the nose straight, and perfectly formed; the mouth very finely cut; the face, which in shape is rather a long oval, is noble: the whole air military, and rather German than Sclavonic. His carriage and his attitude are naturally imposing. He expects always to be gazed at, and never for a moment forgets that he is so.
In Poland, as well as Siberia, incredible cruelties have been committed in the name of Nicholas and his command. The way in which he is striving to Russianize that once free country, will appear from the following extract from the “Russian Catechism of Poland,” taught to Polish children.
“Question 1.—How is the authority of the Emperor to be considered, in reference to the spirit of Christianity?
“Answer.—As proceeding immediately from God.
“Question 17.—What are the supernaturally revealed motives for this worship (i. e. of the Emperor)?
“Answer.—The supernaturally revealed motives are, that the Emperor is the vice-regent and minister of God to execute the divine commands, and, consequently, disobedience to the Emperor is identical with disobedience to God himself; that God will reward us in the world to come, for the worship and obedience we render the Emperor, and punish us severely to all eternity should we disobey or neglect to worship him. Moreover, God commands us to love and obey from the inmost recesses of the heart every authority, and particularly the Emperor, not from worldly considerations, but from apprehensions of the final judgment.”
The Empress of Russia, Alexandra, is the daughter of Louisa, the queen of Prussia, and sister to the now reigning King of Prussia. She was born July 13th, 1798. Ever since the accession of Nicholas she has been suffering from an ill state of health, necessitating frequent travelling and change of air. She is said to have always exercised a beneficial influence over her husband, by tempering his passion and his excesses. Though she does not possess any superior qualities, the atmosphere in which she lives has not been able to efface the good principles which she imbibed in the Court of Prussia. The countenance of the Empress is represented to be mild, radiant, and benignant, resembling in its sweetness of expression that of a ministering angel. The late Marquis of Londonderry, in his “Tour in the North of Europe,” says—“The indescribable majesty of deportment and fascinating grace that mark this illustrious personage are very peculiar. Celebrated as are all the females connected with the lamented and beautiful Queen of Prussia, there is none of them more bewitching in manner than the Empress of Russia; nor is there existing, according to all reports, so excellent and perfect a being.”