The sovereigns gradually made their appearance and took the seats reserved for them, the Emperor of Russia being as usual by the side of the Empress of Austria. By a curious freak of nature, both were somewhat hard of hearing, the emperor on one side, the empress on the opposite side. Etiquette required their being seated side by side in such a manner as not to be able to hear each other; consequently, they always seemed to be playing at ‘cross purposes.’ Alexander at that period was remarkable for the beauty of his face and the elegance of his figure; and he was by no means indifferent to the flattering remarks addressed to him on the subject. On the other hand, it would have argued an inexperience of Courts to betray either by word or sign the knowledge of his auricular infirmity.
By the Emperor of Austria’s side sat the Empress Elizabeth of Russia. That angel on earth had everything calculated to insure her husband’s happiness and hers.[64] She was endowed with a charming face, her eyes reflecting the purity of her soul. She had magnificent auburn hair, which, as a rule, was allowed to fall loose on her shoulders. Her figure was elegant, lithe, and supple, and even when she wore a mask, her walk revealed her identity in a moment. No woman realised more thoroughly the line of Virgil:
‘Incessu patuit Dea....’
To a most delightful disposition there were added a cultivated and quick intellect, a passionate love of art, and a boundless liberality in money matters. The graceful elegance of her person, her noble bearing, and her inexhaustible kindness won her all hearts. Neglected almost from the first hour of her union by a husband whom she worshipped, her solitude and grief had bred a kind of melancholy. Stamped on every feature, that feeling lent to the accents of her voice and to her slightest movements an irresistible charm.
Alexander I.
A symphony for horns and harps preceded the rise of the curtain. The candles in the house were extinguished in order to give greater brilliancy to the light thrown on to the stage. The first picture was the reproduction of a subject painted by a young Viennese artist, ‘Louis XIV. kneeling at Mme. de la Vallière’s feet.’ The actors of that scene were the young Comte de Trauttmansdorff, son of the grand-marshal, and the charming Comtesse de Zichy. Both were so eminently attractive, there was such an ardent expression of love on the face of the young noble, and so much modesty, fear, and innocence on the delicious face of the comtesse, as to make the illusion complete.
The second picture was a reproduction of Guérin’s beautiful composition, ‘Hippolytus refuting Phedra’s accusation before Theseus.’ The Princesse Yblonowska represented the daughter of Minos, and the young Comte Woyna, Hippolytus. The eyes and features of the one were stamped with ardent passion struggling against remorse, while the other, by his calm and classical attitude, by the signs of his respectful grief, only seemed to invoke for his defence the purity of his heart. Though shorn of the charm of its magnificent poetry, Racine’s conception had never more eloquent interpreters than these two.
The subjects of these pictures, reproduced by the most distinguished personages of the Court, the brilliant and accurate dresses, the perfectly arranged light, the whole of the ensemble so artistically arranged, produced the most lively admiration on the part of the spectators.
After this, the stage was got ready for the songs to be enacted; an orchestra, composed of the most celebrated instrumentalists of Germany, played symphonies by Haydn and Mozart.