Chapter VII: Front Matter (7)

"Hussein Khan was esteemed, even by the Armenians, as an able
ruler. He was a brave warrior, a great protector of the fine
arts, and tolerably moderate and just in his actions. In the
struggle with the Russians he exhibited the utmost personal
gallantry, but his example had no effect upon his cowardly
soldiery. Without his knowledge his brother had attempted to
have the Russian general murdered. When, after the surrender
of the citadel, they both fell into the hands of the
Russians, Count Paskewitch was inclined to take his revenge,
by excluding the sardar's brother, as an assassin, from the
benefits of the capitulation. But the firm bearing and cold
resignation of the Persian, when brought before his
conqueror, moved the latter to mercy. 'Every nation,' said
the prisoner to Count Paskewitch, (the words were repeated to
Dr Wagner by an eye-witness of the interview,) 'has its own
way of making war. With us Persians, all means are held good
and praiseworthy by which we can injure our foe. Thy death
would have profited us, by spreading confusion and alarm
amongst thy troops, and we should have availed ourselves of
the circumstance for an attack. And if I sought to kill thee,
it was solely in the interest of my sovereign's cause. If you
desire revenge, you are free to take it. I am in your power,
and shall know how to meet my fate.' This calm courage made a
great impression upon the staff of general Paskewitch,
(although the Persian noble was a man of very bad
reputation,) and the Russian commander generously gave his
enemy his life, and ultimately his freedom."

The sardar's harem has less decoration than the state apartments. Formerly its walls were covered with frescos, mosaic work, and porcelain ornaments of many colours; but since the Russians took possession all these have disappeared, leaving the walls bare and white. During the czar's short stay at Erivan, he inhabited one of these rooms, and wrote, with his own hand, in firm, well-formed characters, his name upon the wall. The signature is now framed and glazed. In many houses where the emperor passed a night, when upon his travels, he left a similar memento of his presence, sometimes adding a few friendly words for his host.

From Erivan Dr Wagner started for the far-famed Armenian convent of Eshmiadzini; his journey enlivened, or at least saved from complete monotony, by the eccentricities of his Cossack attendant. Ivan, warmed by a glass of _wodha_, and no way affected by the jolting, which to his master was martyrdom, basked in the morning sun, and chanted a ditty of the Don, from time to time turning round his mustached physiognomy, and looking at the doctor as for applause. An active, cunning fellow, with a marvellous facility for making himself understood, even by people of whose language he knew not a syllable, Dr Wagner was, upon the whole, well contented with him, although utterly unable to break him of stealing. He never left his night's quarters without booty of some kind, although his master always warned the host to keep a sharp eye upon his fingers. But when anything was to be pilfered, the Don-Cossack's sleight of hand threw into the shade that of the renowned Houdin himself. Even from the wretched Jesides, who have scarcely anything to call their own, he carried off a pot of buttermilk rather than depart empty-handed.

"Carefully as I locked away from him my little stock of
travelling money, he nevertheless found some inexplicable
means of getting at it. At last I adopted the plan of
counting it every evening before his eyes, and making him
answerable for all deficiencies. Still, from time to time,
something was missing, and Ivan employed his utmost eloquence
to convince me of the culpability of the Armenian drivers
whom I occasionally had in my service. I never could catch
him in the fact; but one evening I examined his clothes, and
found a packet of silver rubles in a secret pocket. Whereupon
the Cossack, with a devout grimace, which sat comically
enough upon his sly features, held up his ten fingers in the
air, and swore, by all the saints of the Russian calendar,
that he had economised the sum out of his wages, and had
hidden it for fear of an attack by robbers."

The doctor pardoned his servant's peculations more easily than his blunders--one of which, that occurred upon the road to Erivan, was certainly provoking enough to so eager a naturalist. On the lonely banks of a canal, apparently the work of nature rather than of man, (although local traditions maintain the contrary,) one of the outlets of the alpine lake of Chenk-sha, or Blue Water, Dr Wagner encountered some Armenian anglers, who had secured a rich store of extremely curious fish. He purchased a dozen specimens, and on arriving at the next posting station, he bade his Cossack put them in a leathern bottle of spirits of wine, whilst he himself, armed with the geological hammer, availed himself of the short halt to explore some adjacent rocks. On his return, he found Ivan hard at work executing his orders, in obedience to which this Fair-service from the Don had duly immersed the icthyological curiosities in alcohol, but had previously _cut them in pieces_, "in order that on arriving at Erivan, they might taste more strongly of the pickle."

Eshmiadzini is about fifteen miles from Erivan, across the plain of the Araxes, a monotonous stony flat, offering little worthy of note. Dr Wagner had expected, in the church and residence of the chief of the Armenian Christians, a stately and imposing edifice, something after the fashion of Strassburg cathedral; and he wondered greatly not to behold its turrets or spire rising in the distance long before he came within sound of its bells. In this, as in various other instances during his travels, by indulging his imagination, he stored up for himself a disappointment. A clumsy stunted dome, a mud-walled convent, ugly environs, a miserable village, black pigs wallowing in a pool of mud--such was the scene that met his disgusted vision. The people were worthy of the place, but from them he had not expected much. He had seen enough of the Armenian priesthood at Tefflis, in Constantinople, and elsewhere, to appreciate them at their just value. Some dirty, stupid-looking monks lounged about the convent entrance, gossiping and vermin-hunting. The travellers were conducted into a large room, where the archbishops held their conclaves. Five of these dignitaries were seated at a long table, dressed in blue robes with loose sleeves, and with cowls over their heads. The one in a red velvet arm-chair, at the head of the table, represented the absent patriarch. He was a handsome man, with an imposing beard, of which he was very vain. Laying his hand upon his heart, with an assumption of great dignity, he addressed a few words of flattering welcome to Dr Wagner, of whose coming he had been forewarned by the Russian general Neidhardt. "We have long expected you," he said. "The whole of our clergy rejoice to welcome within their walls a man of your merit and reputation." The compliment, although laconic, was not ill turned, but it was thoroughly insincere. An eruption of Ararat, or a troop of Kurdish robbers at their gates, were scarcely a more unwelcome sight to the reverend inmates of Eshmiadzini than is the arrival of a literary traveller. They well know that little good can be written about them, and that even Parrot, habitually so lenient in his judgments, gave but an unflattering sketch of the Armenian priesthood. European learning is an evil odour in their nostrils, and naturalists, especially, they look upon as freethinkers and unbelievers, condemned beyond redemption to an eternal penalty. Moreover, the holy fraternity are accustomed to measure the importance of their visitors by the Russian standard of military rank and decorations, and Dr Wagner's plain coat excited not their respect. With wondering eyes they examined the unassuming stranger, and asked each other in whispers how the governor-general could possibly have taken the trouble to announce the advent of an individual without epaulets or embroidered uniform, without _tschin_ or orders. "When I at last left the room, to visit the church and other buildings, Archbishop Barsech (the patriarch's substitute) accompanied me, and seemed disposed to act as my cicerone, but suddenly bethinking himself, he deemed it perhaps beneath his dignity, for he hastily retired. I was escorted by an archimandrite, and Abowian by a young Russian official. Barsech's absence was doubly agreeable to me, as permitting me to examine at leisure all parts of the convent, and to ask many questions which the patriarch's reverend vicar might have deemed scarcely becoming."

The attention of the various English travellers who have written about Armenia has been chiefly directed to its southern portion, to the regions adjacent to the great alpine lakes of Urmia and Van. The northern parts of Upper Armenia, north of Mount Ararat, and adjacent to Caucasus, have received the notice of several French and German writers. But most of these took travellers' license to embellish the places they wrote about; or else the change for the worse since their visits, now of rather ancient date, has been most grievous. In the second half of the seventeenth century, three Frenchmen, Tavernier, Chardin, and Tournefort, gave glowing accounts of the prosperity and opulence of Eshmiadzini. At the time of Tavernier's visit, (1655,) large caravans of traders and merchandise were frequently upon the road, bringing wealth to the country and numerous pilgrims to the church, many of these being opulent Armenian merchants, whose generous offerings enriched the shrine. Tavernier was astonished at the treasures of Eshmiadzini, which apparently had then not suffered from the spoliating attacks of Turks and Persians. The church was fitted up with the utmost luxury, and the conventual life was not without its pleasures and diversions, relieving the wearisome monotony that now characterises it. In honour of Monsieur Tavernier and of his travelling companions, the Christian merchants of the caravan, the patriarch gave a grand bull-fight, in which eight bulls were exhibited and two killed. Tournefort wrote in raptures of the fertility and excellent cultivation of the environs of the convent, dividing his praise between the rich adornments of the church and the blooming parterres of the garden, and winding up by declaring Eshmiadzini a picture of paradise. Dr Wagner, who, before visiting a country, makes a point of reading all that has been written of it, had perused these glowing descriptions, and was duly disappointed in consequence.

"Good heavens!" he exclaims, in intense disgust, "how little
do those enthusiastic descriptions agree with what is now to
be seen! To-day the convent garden is small, run to waste,
miserably stocked. Instead of pinks and amaranths, which
rejoiced the senses of the lucky Tournefort, I could discern
in this Armenian 'paradise' naught besides turnips and
cabbages, with here and there a stunted, unhealthy-looking
mulberry or apricot tree, and the melancholy wild olive, with
its flavourless fruits. No shade from the sun, nothing
pleasant to the eye. And neither the interior of the convent
nor that of the church exhibit any traces of the splendour
vaunted by the old travellers. In the patriarch's
reception-chamber, the windows are prettily painted in the
Persian style; and here my guide expected, but in vain, to
see me struck with wonder and admiration. In the same room is
a bust of the Emperor Nicholas, dating, doubtless, from the
early years of his reign, for it has no mustaches, and the
breast wants breadth. In the next apartment, where the
patriarch daily receives the higher clergy of the
establishment, is a Madonna, after Raphael, so exquisitely
embroidered in silk, that at a short distance it appears a
painting. This piece of needlework was sent to the patriarch
from Hindostan, by a pious Armenian woman. Then there is an
ivory bass-relief of Abraham's sacrifice; and on the walls
are depicted horrible scenes of martyrdom, especially the
sufferings of St Gregory, buried alive in a deep well. A most
artistically carved arm-chair, occupied by the patriarch upon
state occasions, was also sent, only a few years ago, from
Hindostan, whence, and from other foreign communities of
Armenian Christians, far more gifts are received than from
Tefflis and other neighbouring places inhabited by many rich
Armenians. Behind this arm-chair is a full-length portrait of
the Czar of all the Russias, of whom the prelates never speak
but in a tone of anxious humility."

The church of Eshmiadzini is rich in monkish legends and precious relics. It contains an altar, through which is a passage into subterranean excavations, and which stands on the exact spot where the Saviour is said to have appeared to St Gregory, armed with a club, and to have hurled the heathen gods and evil spirits into the chasm. To this day, when, as often happens, the wind whistles through the vaults, the bigoted and ignorant monks believe they hear the howling of the tortured demons. Eshmiadzini's relics are renowned far and wide amongst the scattered Armenian congregations of the East.

"The chamber of relics, situated on the south-east side of
the church, contains, besides the right hand of St Gregory,
(with the possession of this relic, the dignity of the
Catholicos is indissolubly connected,) and a portion of the
skull of St Hripsime, a bit of Noah's ark, and the lance with
which Christ's side was pierced. I expressed a wish to see
these relics, to which the archimandrite replied that their
exhibition could take place only with great ceremonies, with
prayers and choral singing, for which a small pecuniary
sacrifice was necessary. 'Two ducats,' he whispered in my
ear. Curious though I was to have a close view of the lance
and the piece of the ark, and to ascertain what effect the
lapse of so many centuries had had upon them, I thought the
price too high, and as the worthy archimandrite looked
inquiringly in my face, I told him dryly, that for the sight
of a piece of wood, however old and holy, a poor German
naturalist had no ducats to spare."

The first stone of the church of Eshmiadzini was laid by St Gregory in the year 302, since which date it has frequently been partially restored, and more than once entirely rebuilt, and now exhibits a very motley architecture. The convent library would doubtless afford an Armenian scholar much curious information concerning its history. This library long lay in dusty heaps in a dark hole, probably to protect it from the Vandalic outrage of Persian, Kurd, and Turkish plunderers. When Erivan was annexed to Russia, and law restored to the land, a room was cleared for it, and a good many volumes were ranged upon shelves; but a large number, Dr Wagner informs us, still are heaped in frightful disorder upon the floor. At the time of his visit, the confusion in this celebrated library was as great as if French marauders had had the run of it.

"I can aver, as an eye-witness," says the doctor, who gladly
reverts to his African adventures, "that after the storming
of Constantina, when the scientific commission visited the
house of Ben-Aissa, the library of that wealthy _Kurugli_,
which had been ransacked by the conquerors, presented not a
picture of worse desolation than the library of the patriarch
of Armenia's residence. I asked the monk-librarian, who
accompanied me, to show me amongst the historical works the
book of Moses of Chorene. The answer was, he could not find
it. The learned guardian of the library knew not where to
seek even this best-known and most popular of Armenian books
of history! I then inquired the number of the manuscripts.
The monk replied shortly, he did not know it!"

Well might the vicegerent of the Armenian pope--which the Catholicos in fact is, although his title is improperly rendered by foreigners as patriarch--and his brother archbishops, feel misgivings at sight of the quiet-looking German, who replied to their welcome by a gravely ironical compliment on their many virtues and distinguished reputation; and who now, having got them upon paper, draws, quarters, and dissects them with a merciless scalpel. Whatever their previous experience of note-taking travellers, it was insufficient to guard them from imprudence, and they allowed Dr Wagner to witness an examination of the pupils in their clerical seminary. Here proof was quickly elicited of the almost incredible ignorance of scholars and teachers. The oldest lad in the school, which included young men eighteen and twenty years old, was unable to decline the Russian noun _matj_, (mother,) although, for years past, an archimandrite had officiated as professor of that language. The professor came to the assistance of his embarrassed pupil, (whom Abowian questioned,) and managed to prove beyond possibility of doubt, that he himself did not know the Russian declensions.

"I now requested Mr Abowian to ask the boys the simplest
possible questions, as, for instance, how many days the year
has. Not one of them could answer, although many were already
bearded men. And from these dunces are selected archbishops
for all Armenia! The instruction in this convent-seminary is
limited to mechanical learning by rote, and to a heedless and
unmeaning repetition of prayers and Scripture passages. The
scholars are well drilled in respect of fasts; and for the
slightest offence against external order, for unsteadiness
during mass, or the like, they are cruelly chastised with
blows. It is not surprising if such treatment extinguishes
all vivacity of intellect. It needs but a glance at the pale,
thin, stolid countenances of the lads, to discern the hideous
effects of their slavish, mind-destroying education. With
deep disgust I left the school."

The absurd hours kept in the convent doubtless contribute to the unhealthy appearance of these nursling priests. Nothing can be more ridiculous and ill-judged, or more indicative of barbarous stupidity and bigotry, than the system adopted at Eshmiadzini. At one in the morning church-service begins, attended by every one but the patriarch. The archbishops and bishops read prayers and portions of Scripture; the archimandrites, deacons, and seminarists sing. This service lasts from three to four hours, and as every one stands during its whole duration, it is productive of no slight fatigue. On returning to their cells and dormitories, those priests who have private resources take refreshment before retiring to sleep; but the younger portion of the congregation, who have greatest need of such sustenance, are generally penniless, and must wait till ten in the forenoon before obtaining a scanty meal of soup or milk, followed by rice or fish. During the long fasts even the fish is suppressed. To break a fast in Armenia is a most heinous sin, far exceeding theft in enormity. In the day-time, school; in the afternoon and evening, more chanting and praying; then to bed, to be again roused at midnight--such is the joyless wearisome life of the inmates of Eshmiadzini. No study of science or history, no cultivation of the fine arts, varies the monotony of their tedious existence. Instrumental music is unknown amongst them. Whatever contributes to the cheerfulness or elegance of seclusion is rigidly banished and prohibited. "Nowhere," says Dr Wagner, "does an educated European find life so tiresome as amongst Armenian monks, in comparison with whom even Italy's monachism appears genial and agreeable."

The election of the patriarch occurred in April 1843, and Dr Wagner, in Tefflis at the time, had fully intended witnessing the ceremony; but a sudden outbreak of the plague, in the province of Erivan, delayed his visit to Eshmiadzini, as he had no wish to risk a forty days' quarantine before he should be allowed to re-enter Georgia. He gives some account of the ceremony at second-hand, which is less interesting, however, than his narrative of preceding circumstances. The choice of the Gregorian congregations fell upon Narses, archbishop of Kischenew, a prelate noted for piety, intelligence, and patriotism, and so popular, both with priests and laymen, by reason of his mild and amiable character, that he would have been elected ten years previously, on the death of old Jephrem (Ephraim)--the venerable patriarch of whom Parrot and Dubois make mention--but for a serious dispute with Count Paskewitch.

"In the time of the war between Russia and Persia, when the
crooked sabres of Aderbidjan's Tartars had driven the Cossack
lances across the Araxes, a short pause ensued in the
operations of the campaign, Count Paskewitch awaiting
reinforcements from the interior of Russia before crossing
the Araxes and marching upon Tauris. A division of the
Persian army, chiefly Kurds and Tartars, attempted to
surprise Eshmiadzini; but the reverend tenants were on their
guard, and intrenched themselves behind their lofty earthen
walls. Besieged and sorely pressed by the wild hordes, Narses
(then archbishop of Eshmiadzini) sent a courier to a Russian
colonel, who lay, with a few battalions, a short day's
journey distant. This colonel was an Armenian by birth, and
entertained a child-like veneration for Archbishop Narses.
Unable to resist the latter's earnest entreaty for
assistance, he made a forced march upon the convent, although
he had been strictly forbidden by his general to quit his
position without express orders. Meanwhile the Persians had
been reinforced by a detachment of Abbas Mirza's regular
troops, and were five times the strength of their advancing
foe. In front of Eshmiadzini the Russians suffered a defeat,
and the fault was imputed to Archbishop Narses, whose
priestly influence had moved the colonel to disregard the
orders of his chief. By imperial command, Narses was removed
from Eshmiadzini, and sent as archbishop to Kischenew. But in
1843, when, in spite of his disgrace with the emperor, the
venerated prelate received the unanimous suffrages of the
electors, convoked at Eshmiadzini, Nicholas would not oppose
the manifest wish of priests and laymen, but confirmed the
election. Once more the sun of imperial grace and favour
shone full upon Narses. He was sent for to St Petersburg, was
received with the utmost distinction, and soon the star of
the first class of the order of St Anna glittered upon his
blue caftan. In the autumn of 1844 he crossed the Caucasus,
met a joyful reception at Tefflis, and, amidst sound of bells
and song of priests, re-entered, as spiritual chief of
Armenian Christendom, the old convent upon the Araxes, which,
sixteen years previously, he had quitted almost as an exile.
Narses is eighty years old; his intellects, which long
preserved their healthy tone, have latterly, it is said,
become weakened."

The election here referred to was one of particular significance and importance. There has been no lack of schism in the Armenian church. Ambitious priests and false patriarchs have at various periods started up and found adherents. For several centuries, one of these sham patriarchates had its seat on an island in the lake of Van, and maintained itself independent of the Eshmiadzini synod. These Armenian anti-popes never, however, obtained a very widely-spread influence, and latterly that which they did enjoy sensibly dwindled. "The mother-church of Ararat gradually resumed its undivided authority and privileges, and, in 1843, Eshmiadzini witnessed, what for many years it had not seen, the presence within its walls of deputies from almost all the Gregorian congregations of the East, united at the historical centre of their country for the choice of a spiritual shepherd."

With his usual shrewdness Dr Wagner analyses Russian policy in Armenia, and for a moment dwells admiringly on its depth, foresight, and activity. We have already heard him express his conviction that under the emperor's present moderation, lurk vast designs of future conquest, which he will bequeath as a legacy to his descendants, should time and circumstances prevent their execution by himself. This is the doctor's fixed idea, and he certainly makes out a good case in its support. He has shown us the extensive forts that are to serve as depots and places of muster for the Russian armies, which, according to his theory and belief, will sooner or later assail Turkey and Persia. He now turns to the consideration of the support the Russians may expect beyond their own frontier. He extols the wisdom of the emperor's conduct towards his Armenian subjects, and points out the ulterior advantages to be derived from it by Russia. We shall conclude our article by an extract from this curious chapter of a very interesting book.

"In Asia, the Islam nations and governments daily decline,
whilst the Christian elements daily assume greater weight;
these are not yet strong enough to found a dominion of their
own; but, as auxiliaries to a conquering European power, they
would be of high importance. When, after the triumphant
entrance of Paskewitch's army into the capital of Aderbidjan,
Feth Ali Shah trembled on his throne, and submissively
subscribed the conditions of peace dictated to him by the
Russian general, many thought that Russia had been
extraordinarily generous to her humbled foe: she might just
as easily have kept the conquered district of Aderbidjan for
herself, or have compelled the Persian king to give up the
beautiful provinces of Gilan and Masendran. The portion of
Armenia with which she contented herself is no very enticing
possession, either for its size or for its fertility, but it
includes within its limits the Gregorian mother-church; and
its temporal ruler disposes of the spiritual weapons of the
Catholicos and of the synod, whose religious influence
extends whithersoever Armenians dwell. In its last treaty of
peace with Turkey and Persia, the Russian government tacitly
but fully recognised the value of this territory, so sacred
to all Armenians. It was also prudent enough to annex to the
country on the left bank of the Araxes, where Eshmiadzini is
situated, a portion of the territory on the right bank of
that stream, and to secure a part of Ararat itself--the north
side of the mountain, viewed with such holy reverence by the
Armenian people, with the convent of St Jacob, since
overwhelmed by the eruption of 1840. These districts compose
the really classic ground of the Armenian-Gregorian church
history. No spot in the entire Orient is more attractive and
hallowed to the religious feelings of the Armenians--not even
the grave of the Redeemer at Jerusalem, or the renowned
convent of John the Baptist on the eastern Euphrates. The
annual number of pilgrims to Eshmiadzini, although not so
great as when Tavernier and Chardin explored that
neighbourhood, is still very considerable; and at Easter it
is by no means rare to find collected there pious travellers
from the Ganges, the Indus, the Don, the Jordan, and the
Nile. Both the Shah and the Porte well know the importance of
Russian occupation of that territory, as the point where all
the religious sympathies of the Armenians concentrate. As
viceroy of Aderbidjan, Abbas Mirza always made much of the
Catholicos and the synod, and sought to win them to the
Persian interest. And long did the warlike prince urge his
royal father rather once more to try the fortune of arms,
than to suffer a territory to be wrenched from him, less
valuable from the revenue it yielded than from the religious
power it gave over the Christian subjects of Persia."

The treaty of cession concluded, the Shah did all in his power to discourage the emigration of Armenian Christians into Russian Armenia, and his example was followed by the Porte; but the labour of both was in vain. Permission for such emigration was stipulated by the treaty, and the only real check upon it was mistrust of Russia, whose intolerant reputation made many Armenian priests suspect an intention of proselytising. But Russia, cruel and unsparing to her Roman Catholics, whose spiritual chief is out of the reach of her direct influence, showed herself tolerant and considerate towards the Armenian church, in which she discerned, according to Dr Wagner, a most useful instrument for her projects of future aggrandisement: and, on occasion of the election of 1843, the Russian government particularly insisted that the new patriarch should be named by the voices of all the Armenian congregations in the entire East. Flattered by this invitation to direct co-operation, the Armenian priesthood of Constantinople, who, last of all, still recused the authority of the Eshmiadzini synod, suffered themselves to be won over, and sent their delegates to the convocation. For Russia it was another triumph, for Turkey a fresh vexation.

FOOTNOTES:

[19] _Reise nach dem Ararat und dem Hochland Armenien_, von Dr MORITZ WAGNER. Mit einem Anhange: Beiträge zur Naturgeshichte des Hochlandes Armenien. Stuttgart und Tübinger, 1848.

[20] _Reise in der Regentschaft Algier in den Jahren 1836-8._ 3 volumes. Leipzig, 1841.

[21] The Armenian Christians abound in traditions respecting Noah and his ark. We have already mentioned the one relating to Arguri, which he is said to have founded, and which should therefore have been the oldest village in the world, up to its destruction in 1840 by an earthquake and volcanic eruption, of which Dr Wagner gives an interesting account. The simple and credulous Christians of Armenia believe that fragments of the ark are still to be found upon Ararat.

[22] This eccentric old soldier and author, who calls himself the Hermit of Gauting, from the name of an estate he possesses, is not more remarkable for the oddity of his dress and appearance, than for the peculiarities and affected roughness of his literary style, and for the overstrained originality of many of his views. In his own country he is cited as a contrast to Prince Puckler Muskau, the dilettante and silver-fork tourist _par excellence_, whose affectation, by no means less remarkable than that of the baron, is quite of the opposite description. Von Hallberg's works are numerous, and of various merit. One of his most recent publications is a "_Journey through England_," (Stuttgard, 1841.) The chief motive of his travels is apparently a love of locomotion and novelty. When travelling with Dr Wagner, he took little interest in his companion's geological and botanical investigations, and directed his attention to men rather than to things. After passing the town of Pipis, three days' journey from Tefflis, the country and climate assumed a very German aspect, strongly reminding the travellers of the vicinity of the Hartz Mountains. "It is folly," exclaimed old Baron Hallberg, almost angrily, "perfect folly, to travel a couple of thousand miles to visit a country as like Germany as one egg is to another." "I really pitied the old man, who had daily to support the rude jolting of the Russian _telega_, besides suffering greatly from the assaults of vermin, and who found so little matter where with to fill his journal."--_Reise nach dem Ararat, &c._, p. 15.

LEGITIMACY IN FRANCE.[23]

Under the circumstances of the strange anomaly presented by the actual condition of France, which never better deserved its title of a republic without republicans, it may fairly become a matter of speculation, in how much a return to monarchical institutions possesses a degree of probability in the future, and, more especially, how far the principles of legitimacy stand a chance of assuming, hereafter, a supremacy in France. We say "a matter of speculation," in as much as the _uncertain_ must ever remain the presiding genius of the chances of a revolutionary epoch: and, in such times, it would be more than presumption to attempt to prophesy upon a nation's destinies. But still there are signs of the times in France, which are of sufficient importance to be chronicled; curious facts, that cannot but attract attention; and revelations that possess a deep interest--all bearing upon the possible restoration of the exiled prince of the elder branch of the Bourbons; and, as far as regards this eventuality--and who can any more say it shall not be than they can say it shall?--the chances appear not so unequal in the balance held by the hand of fate--they may be considered worthy of notice and comment.

It would be scarcely correct, however, to speak of such a _possible_ eventuality as the realisation of the prospects of a Legitimate party. As a _party_, properly so called, in the language of political and revolutionary struggle, the legitimists of France can scarcely be said to exist, even although a stanch but small nucleus, professing decidedly legitimist principles, may be found among a certain body of men, chiefly belonging to the old families of France, in private life. During the reign of the Orleans branch, the legitimists gradually dwindled into comparative obscurity--almost every family which professed to entertain legitimist opinions having attached itself, openly or in an underhand manner, to the existing order of things, by means of some one of its members: and even in the present day they have pursued the same line of policy--a policy which wears now, however, a more respectable garb, inasmuch as it is professedly based upon the seemingly patriotic and disinterested maxim, "_Français avant tout_," which, in declaring the revolution that caused the fall of Louis Philippe the work of the "finger of God," and in accepting a government founded upon a nation's universal suffrage, as preferable to that of a "usurping king," they have adopted as the device of chivalry, to influence every action of their lives in such a juncture. In fact, with this appearance of more straightforward patriotism, they bide their time in faith and patience, and, with a feeling almost allied to superstition, repudiate every idea of political intrigue, much more of any conspiracy against the existing order of things.

But, if this passive position of the old legitimists does not permit them to assume the attitude of a decided _party_, or even of bearing properly such a designation, it must not be supposed that the cause of legitimacy is dead, or even dormant, in France. Far from it. The present state of legitimacy in France, however, must be studied less among the avowed legitimists, who have long given themselves the name, than in the dispersed and floating elements pervading the mass of the nation. The preference of the great majority of the country for monarchical institutions, or, at all events, its strong anti-revolutionary feeling, and aversion to the republican rule, after the sad experience of much misery and misfortune--and from its despair of the realisation of that "hope deferred," in the restoration of confidence and prosperity, which "maketh the heart sick"--are facts which cannot be denied by any man of unprejudiced feelings and sincere convictions. By degrees, then, feelings have been latterly assuming a form favourable to the cause of legitimacy: and that such sentiments now notoriously exist in the hearts of a great proportion of the country at large can scarcely be disputed. They are based, it is true, in no ways, among the mass, upon any political opinions or philosophical principles--they spring up from a desire of having a "something" at the head of the state which may be the type of stability, and thus the representative of confidence, peace, and restored prosperity: and this "something" is best embodied, in the minds of men, in the person of a young prince, who represents the apparently most stable form of monarchical government--that founded on legitimacy. They arise from no personal attachment to the elder branch of the Bourbons, or to the Duke of Bordeaux individually, but solely from a desire to return to monarchical government, and from the growing conviction that, among the many pretenders to the supreme power in France, were a monarchy to be established, the sole one who presents a firmer hope of stability--who represents a principle, and who thus best offers to be pilot to the _terra firma_ of a "promised land" to those who are still tossing hither and thither upon the waves of revolution, with storms eternally menacing a still more complete shipwreck on the horizon--is he who bases his pretensions upon the long-scouted theory of legitimacy. To this form of hoped-for stability, then, men now begin to attach themselves more and more, in their aspirations for the future; and thus legitimist expectations, predilections, sympathies--call them what you will--grow, increase, spread like a banian tree, which still ever plants its dropping branches, and takes root farther and farther still; and they thus implant themselves more and more, on all sides, on the soil of the revolution. We speak here of a great proportion of men _of all classes_ in France. At the same time, it is very clear that a conviction is daily gaining more ground, that, in the possible or probable revolutionary chances, spite of the popularity of the President in the capital, the _prestige_ more or less attached to his name, and the party supposed to be connected with his interests, the balance chiefly lies between the republic as it is and Henry V. Even the ultra-republicans and Socialists appear to feel this so strongly, that, in a pamphlet entitled "_La République ou Henri V.--quelques mots à Bonaparte_," a certain Monsieur Pertus, a violent Socialist and adherent of the so-called democratic and social republic, has given, in powerful language, the reasons of the party why the destinies of France may be supposed to lie between these two alternatives only, and why Louis Napoleon, should he put forward his pretensions to an ultimate permanency of power, would probably meet with an utter defeat from the nation at large. The immediate interests of the younger Bourbon branch are entirely set out of sight in the political combinations upon which men speculate in France: adherents they have none: they exist not in men's minds, much less in their hearts: they are never spoken of.

It is evident, then, to every observing eye, that the cause of legitimacy is daily gaining ground in France; although it must be admitted that, with all this, attachment to the person of the exiled prince of the elder branch of the Bourbons, to the family, or even to legitimist principles in theory, has as yet had little to do. But that even this personal attachment has been growing gradually and steadily in men's minds, as a natural consequence, may also be seen. To this latter feeling two men have contributed by their writings--the one a friend, the other an avowed enemy to the ancient dynasty--and perhaps the latter far the most powerfully. The strange circumstances, which have produced results that may have a powerful influence on the future destinies of the country, are worthy of record. A singular fate has been attached to the two small books here alluded to, more especially in the case of that written by a stanch republican, naturally hostile to monarchies and princes; and, on that account, although it is posterior in date of publication, it may be as well first to direct our attention to this latter.

In sight of the struggle, which is continually going on in newspapers, pamphlets, printed notices, and every other form of publication, between the Socialists and Red-Republicans on the one hand, and the "friends of order" on the other--a struggle carried on by the former not only with the utmost violence and virulence, but with every most desperate weapon of calumny, falsehood, distorted fact, and perverted reasoning--in sight of the propagandising efforts, made by these same men, to demoralise and debauch the army from its allegiance to the country by every underhand corrupting poison--it is quite "refreshing" to the spirit, to use a hackneyed phrase, to greet a few words of conviction in favour of those considered the enemies of the republic, penned, in spite of previous prepossessions and firm opinions, by an honest-hearted republican. To men of real and genuine convictions all honour is due, more especially in the confusion of party intrigue and reckless personal ambition of these revolutionary times, even although they be our adversaries: respect may be shown them, even if they appear to us mistaken. Unhappily, such men seem in France to be but few. But if we find them firm and honest in the expression of their convictions, even when in open _opposition_ to their preconceived notions, and to the direct tendency of their political opinions, a tribute of especial admiration may be given them. And such a tribute may be frankly and willingly bestowed upon M. Charles Didier, for his little book entitled _Une visite au Duc de Bordeaux_,--a book which has lately excited considerable sensation in France, not so much as a curious historical document, giving a simple but charming account of the life, manners, appearance, and attitude in exile of such prominent historical figures as the Duke of Bordeaux, and that patient and pious victim of revolutions, the Duchess d'Angoulême; but, in the eyes of the legitimists, as a striking refutation of various calumnies attached to the person, as well as the education and opinions of the young prince, and the highest eulogium of their monarch--in the eyes of all, as a "feeler," (in spite of the intentions of the author,) in the obscure chances of the future.

Had not the character of Monsieur Charles Didier stood so high, and had not his almost rough honesty, and perhaps _naiveté_ of nature, been so generally acknowledged by rightly-thinking men, doubts might have been entertained, on the one hand, whether he was really acting in good faith in his character as a republican; had not his talent, discernment, and good sense been sufficiently appreciated in public as well as private life--in his literary and lately political career, as well as among his acquaintances--suspicions might have been excited, on the other, that he had been led into delusions by artful manoeuvre. But neither of these suppositions are admissible. Due credit must be given to his good faith in the one respect, and to his enlightenment of mind and clear-sightedness in the other. Such an explanation becomes necessary for a full appreciation of the contents of this remarkable little book. To a French reader it would be needless, for M. Didier is well known.

As has already been said, the sensation produced by this work has been great: and there can be little doubt that the effect which the publication will produce must necessarily have a very considerable influence upon a great portion of the nation, in the present state of France.

Under such circumstances, and with such probable results, which could not but be partly apparent to the author himself, the production of such a book by a well-known, stanch, and honest republican, such as M. Charles Didier, requires some explanation. It was well known among the party that M. Didier had been sent upon a _quasi_-diplomatic mission to Germany, in the first days of the French revolution; it was afterwards rumoured that, upon some occasion, he had paid a visit to the members of the exiled family of France in their retreat in Austria--and, upon these _data_, M. Didier became the object of various calumnies and misrepresentations. His enemies declared that he had been sent expressly as a spy upon the ex-royal family. But it was more especially his _soi-disant_ friends and allies, the republicans _de la veille_, who attached a host of unfounded misrepresentations to the objects and results of his journey. While some attacked him as a traitor, who had betrayed his trust, and deserted his cause, by caballing with the exiled family, others published accounts in their journals, as if emanating from his mouth, which affixed not only the greatest ridicule and scorn to the person and manners of the Duke of Bordeaux, but the hatred and contempt of all "true patriots" to his supposed opinions. It was to refute these calumnies, then, and to deny these perversions of truth, that M. Didier at last found himself reluctantly compelled to publish a simple account of his "_Visite au Duc de Bordeaux_." He complains, with much _naiveté_, in a species of preface, that he has been forced to this step, which he himself looks upon as an indiscretion, by his own party, since, although the whole affair appears in his eyes little more than "much ado about nothing," by such means alone, in declaring the whole truth, he can establish simple facts. The very same sentiment, he says--that, probably, of delicacy--which enjoined his silence at first, now, combined with a love of truth, enjoins his giving publicity to an account in which he affirms that all is truth, simple truth, and no more nor less than the truth. It was as a republican that he presented himself, he goes on to say, and as a republican that he was received. In support of his words, although refuting all pretensions to discuss politics, he gives his republican "_profession de foi_." "I have been thus driven," he continues, "to paint, from nature, an interior of an exiled family, which struck me by its politeness and dignity. Such was the task before me; and I have accomplished it conscientiously, without any regard for persons, and without any sacrifice of opinion. The prestige of rank has exercised no influence on me. I have been simply true." And what has been the result? The supposed friends of M. Didier, the arch-republicans, have _forced_ him, an ardent republican himself--a republican _de l'avant-veille_, as he calls himself, but genuine and sincere--to forward the cause of legitimacy, to publishing an eulogium, of the most striking description, of the young prince who represents legitimacy in France. Dreamers might almost see the hand of Providence in this result of factious calumny.

It is needless, here, to follow M. Didier into the details of the mission given him by Lamartine, when minister of foreign affairs, of which he explains neither the cause nor the purposes, although he dwells at some length upon the cause of his journey through Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and a part of Germany, and more especially upon the dates of his progress, probably with the intention of refuting the calumny which asserted that he was officially sent as a spy upon the ex-royal family of the elder branch. It may be remarked, however, _en passant_, that he speaks not over-well of the Austrian revolutionists, with whom he mixed, and that he readily acknowledges the veritable anti-revolutionary spirit of the army and the masses. On the conclusion of his mission, and his return to France by the north of Italy, he heard by chance, on his passage to Trieste, for the first time, he declares, that not far from his road lay the chateau of Frohsdorf, and that this same chateau of Frohsdorf was inhabited by the exiled family of France. It was only many months afterwards, however, when he returned to Germany, for his own pleasure and information, and as "_simple voyageur_," that having received, by chance, a letter from a friend in Paris for the Duc de Lévis, one of the faithful adherents attached to the little court of the exiled Bourbons, he determined to profit by it, in order to visit Frohsdorf on his way once more from Vienna to the north of Italy. Before commencing the recital of this passage of his journey, M. Didier again deprecates any purpose but that of interest and curiosity, and enters into very minute details, to prove that he made no mystery or concealment of his intention.

It would lead to too great diffuseness also to enter into M. Didier's description (however prettily written) of his journey through Baden, (near Vienna,) Wiener Neustadt; of the deserted and abandoned railroad from thence to Oldenburg in Hungary, on which "the station-houses were closed, the signals motionless, and the grass grew between the rails"--all communication having been cut off on account of the war. The description, however, of the habitation of the exiled family of French princes offers a more lively interest in an historical point of view. We shall quote M. Didier:--

"Frohsdorf is an old feudal estate, which, from the hands of
some Austrian family, the name of which I do not know,
passed, under the Restoration, into those of Madame Caroline
Murat, the ex-queen of Naples. By her it was sold to the
Duchess d'Angoulême, under the name of the Duke of Blacas.
The domain administered by a steward, is not vast as a
princely domain; but the habitation is spacious, although
scarcely sufficing for the number of the inhabitants. It is
surrounded on all sides by a dry moat, which is, more
properly speaking, only a long area for the kitchen and
household offices, crossed by a stone bridge in face of the
principal entrance. I do not know whether any other exists: I
believe not. The chateau has nothing feudal, much less royal,
in appearance. It is a great white German house, the pointed
roof of which is crowned with chimneys and garret-windows,
and ornamented in the middle with a triangular gable. The
ground-floor is on a level with the bridge, and is surmounted
by two stories. The façade presents nine windows, those of
the second floor being small and square, the others of
reasonable dimensions: one alone, immediately above the
doorway, which is large and arched, is ornamented by a
balcony, and flanked by flattened pillars. These pillars, and
the gable above, are the only portions of the façade which
have the appearance of any architectural design. A great
round tower flanks the western side: it descends into the
moat; but, unfortunately, is truncated, and cut off at the
level of the roof. In this tower is the chapel: behind is the
park, terminated by a _jardin Anglais_, both of which are of
no considerable size. A little further is a broken hill,
planted with green trees, upon which is built the _Maison de
Garde_, a pretty little house, which any Parisian family
would occupy with pleasure. A little further, and as if to
terminate the view, is a ruin, which marks, I believe, the
limits of the estate. The site is stern, and impressed with a
certain melancholy. To the west lies a vast plain, at the
extremity of which rises, in all its magnificence, the chain
of mountains which separates Styria from the Archduchy of
Austria. The horizon was dentellated by the mountain points;
and the snow, with which the highest was covered, sparkled in
the sun with the frozen fire of its thousand diamonds. On the
east the aspect was different: on this side, and at
musket-shot distance, runs a long hill of no prepossessing
appearance, although wooded, upon the summit of which runs
the limit of the Hungarian frontiers, guarded, when I was
there, by armed peasants. The town of Oldenburg may be seen
from it.... Frohsdorf is thus very near the Hungarian
frontier--so near, that such an abode is not without its
dangers in the present war. In case of an attack, the few
troops in the village--the last in Austria on this
side--would prove a very insufficient defence. But,
accustomed to the vicissitudes of exile, hardened by
adversity, and with confidence in God, or their destinies,
the inhabitants of Frohsdorf appeared to me to pay no heed to
a peril, the possibility of which they could not deny.... The
entrance of the chateau is cold and sad as that of a convent;
and in the court, narrow and deep, is an air of dampness.
Such, at least, was my impression. On the right, in the
entrance-hall, is the porter's lodge, and near the door is
suspended a great bill indicating the hours of departure and
arrival of the trains--the only sign of communication between
this solitude and the world beyond. I asked, in French, for
the Duke of Levis; and it was in French I was answered; for,
from the cellars to the garrets, even to the veriest drudge,
all is French. I was conducted, with much politeness, to a
large bedroom looking on the country, where lay on the table
some French newspapers. M. de Levis joined me immediately."

After some conversation, which naturally turned upon the position of France, in which M. Didier was surprised to find the Duc de Levis "_si bien au fait des choses et des hommes_,"--the Duke quitted him to ask when it would please the Duc de Bordeaux to receive the stranger, and returned shortly to say that it would immediately. The following is curious in the mouth of the republican:--

"I was ignorant what title to give to the prince; and, having
come to seek him under his own roof, I was naturally desirous
to do what was customary, neither more nor less. I asked M.
de Levis. 'There is no etiquette here,' he replied; 'we are
exiles. We address the prince, however, as _Monseigneur_.' I
took the hint; and, although little accustomed to the
language of courts, I hope I did what was _convenable_ under
the circumstances. I ought to confess, at the same time, that
I was afterwards less happy with the Duchess of Bordeaux, and
the Duchess of Angoulême, to whom I sometimes gave the title
of 'Highness.' Now, it struck me afterwards, that this title,
which was a deference on my part, must have appeared to them
both a want of respect, and a direct denial of their supposed
rights; to the one, because she considers herself queen since
her marriage with the descendant of Henri IV., who, in her
eyes, is necessarily Henri V.; to the other, because she
considers herself to have been queen also in virtue of the
abdication of Charles X.; and the fact is, that, even in her
presence, the inhabitants of Frohsdorf call her, among
themselves, the Queen."

The most remarkable part of the book, in a political point of view--that, in fact, which has produced in France the sensation already alluded to among all parties--now follows. We must quote M. Didier verbally:--