[to be continued.]
[THE CORONATION OF A CZAR.]
BY JOHN RUSSELL DAVIDSON.
The greatest spectacles the world ever sees are the most solemn; consequently, when a nation places upon a man, chosen by God as they often believe, the symbols of sovereignty, the occasion is celebrated with ceremonies of the most impressive character.
The last important crowning of a King occurred in Moscow on the 27th of May, 1883, and by that event Alexander III. was created Czar of all the Russias.
For two centuries the Russian imperial coronations have taken place in Moscow, within the Kremlin, an enclosure in the heart of the holy city in which are gathered the cathedrals and palaces whose walls have witnessed all the celebrations of the great events of Russian history for centuries. The coronation programme carried out nearly one hundred and seventy-five years ago has remained unchanged in its important details. Just before the coronation the sovereign retires from public life, and spends a few days in fasting and prayer to fit and prepare him for the occasion that is to be the grandest and most solemn in all his lifetime.
On the present Czar's birthday, the 18th of May, began the official and non-official ceremonies by which Nicholas Alexandrovich will be proclaimed supreme ruler over a nation numbering one hundred and twenty millions of people.
The actual crowning of this twenty-seven-year-old monarch will take place on the 26th of May, and under conditions far happier than those which made his father's coronation, though one of the grandest spectacles in history, a festival clouded with a dreadful gloom that fell upon the Russian people at the untimely death of the second Alexander.
The royal procession starts from the palace, and, approaching the Cathedral of the Assumption, is met by a party of the clergy led by the archbishop of the realm. The latter carries a cross that is kissed by the royal pair; then the Emperor and Empress, and the road upon which they walk, are sprinkled with holy water. Entering the cathedral, where the decorations vie with the brilliant robes and uniforms of the assembled priests and officers, their Majesties tread upon the richest Persian carpets, and, passing through a balustrade of gold, seat themselves in two ancient arm-chairs beneath a scarlet canopy ornamented with golden emblems, and yellow, black, and white ostrich feathers.
The services at the cathedral are essentially of the highest religious order, and are performed by the leading ministers of the Greek Church, of which the Czar himself is the exalted head.
THE CORONATION CEREMONY.
A banner, called the Holy Banner of Russia because the pole is surmounted by a spear-head made from a piece of the true cross, is blessed and handed to the Emperor, who waves it three times before the assembled congregation, and restores it to the primate. His Majesty kneels, and the imperial mantle of silver and ermine is thrown over his shoulders; the sword of John III., King of Poland, is fastened to his side, while in his right hand is placed the sceptre, and in his left hand the orb; rising in his place he then crowns himself with the imperial crown, which is made in two parts, representing the Eastern and Western empires. The Empress kneels before her husband, and for an instant he rests the crown upon her brow. Another and smaller crown is then given to Her Majesty by the Emperor, and at the same time the ladies in waiting cover her with a robe similar to the Czar's. While all this is going on, prayers are offered for the welfare of the new ruler, and for the land during the reign just begun, and a great company of singers chant the canticles; but as yet the people have made no demonstration—they wait until the new Czar has been anointed.
The most important part of the ceremonials is now to be performed. The Archbishop of Moscow holds a silver bowl filled with holy oil in which a fragment of the crown of thorns has been immersed, and dipping a golden palm branch into the liquid, touches the Czar's brow, his eyelids, ears, lips, and the palms of his hands. Opening the monarch's vestments, the priest traces, in holy oil, the cross upon the royal breast, pronouncing at the time sentences of the greatest solemnity. Immediately after this sacred act, cannon, trumpets, and drums announce to the people without the church that from now and forever the person of the Czar is consecrated, that he is a man anointed of God and the delegate of His power.
In the mean time the Empress comes forward and is anointed by the high-priest on the forehead only. The Holy Sacrament is then administered to both their Royal Highnesses. While the Czar and Czarina stand upon the platform of the throne a great chorus of joy is sung, after which a mass is celebrated. At the moment the Czar receives back the sceptre and globe the priest proclaims the imperial titles, and this is hailed by a great outburst of cannon and bells, and everything that can aid the people in a hearty acknowledgment of their new sovereign's absolute right and power to rule them as long as his life shall last.
This concludes the holy service, and the splendid assemblage proceeds to the Cathedral of St. Michael, where the royal pair kneel before the tombs of their ancestors, and receive more sprinklings with holy water. The procession is then formed and faced towards the Church of the Annunciation, where still further religious services close an event which is the grandest and most brilliant ever witnessed.