CHAPTER IX.

1832–1833.

GENERAL JACKSON’S SECOND ELECTION—GRAVE PUBLIC EVENTS AT HOME REFLECTED IN MR. BUCHANAN’S LETTERS FROM HIS FRIENDS—FEELINGS OF GENERAL JACKSON TOWARDS THE “NULLIFIERS”—MOVEMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA FOR ELECTING MR. BUCHANAN TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—HE MAKES A JOURNEY TO MOSCOW—RETURN TO ST. PETERSBURG—DEATH OF HIS MOTHER—SINGULAR INTERVIEW WITH THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS AT HIS AUDIENCE OF LEAVE.

Mr. Buchanan, as the reader has seen, went abroad in the spring of 1832. Events of great consequence occurred at home during his absence. The great debate in the Senate on nullification, between Mr. Webster and Col. Hayne, which took place in 1830, had not been followed in South Carolina by any surrender of the doctrine maintained by the Nullifiers. In November, 1832, the people of South Carolina, assembled in convention, adopted their celebrated ordinance which declared the existing tariff law of the United States null and void within her limits, as an unconstitutional exercise of power. General Jackson who had been re-elected President in the same month, defeating Mr. Clay and all the other candidates by a very large majority of the electoral votes, issued his proclamation against the Nullifiers on the 10th of December.[34] Then followed the introduction of the “Force Bill” into the Senate in January, 1833; a measure designed to secure the collection of the revenue against the obstruction of the State laws of South Carolina; Mr. Webster’s support of this measure of the administration; and the consequent expectation of a political union between him and General Jackson. This union, however, was prevented by an irreconcilable difference between Mr. Webster and General Jackson and his friends on the subject of the currency and the Bank of the United States. In 1832 the President had vetoed a bill to continue the Bank in existence. Early in June the President left Washington on a tour to the Eastern States, and while in Boston, during the month of June, he determined to remove the public deposits from the Bank of the United States, and to place them in certain selected State banks. These events and the excitements attending them are touched upon in the private letters which Mr. Buchanan received from his friends, not the least interesting of which was one from General Jackson, expressing his feelings in regard to his proclamation in a very characteristic manner. From one of these letters, too, we may gather that steps were already taking to elect Mr. Buchanan to the Senate of the United States.

[FROM A FRIEND IN WASHINGTON.]

WASHINGTON CITY, August 1, 1832.

DEAR SIR:—

Of course you receive regular files of American papers, and I shall therefore not be able to give you much news of a public or political nature.

Thinking, however, you may overlook some things of importance, I shall confine myself to them. The tariff bill, having passed in a modified form (reducing the duties on protected, and taking them off nearly altogether on unprotected articles, to the wants of the Government), it was supposed the excitement in the South would be allayed, if not entirely subdued; but this, I am sorry to say, has not been the case in South Carolina. Messrs. Hayne, Miller, McDuffie, etc., have published an address to the people of South Carolina, in which they state, that the protective system has now become the settled policy of the country, and advise an open resistance to the act. Their legislature will, I have no doubt, recommend the same course, and before another year, I am firmly of the opinion, _rebellion_ will be the order of the day, accompanied with all its horrors. The moment that a drop of blood is shed by the South, in resisting the laws, there will be a general rising of the people, and where is the hand that will be able to stop the fearful wrath of the sovereign people? Duff Green, in his paper of yesterday, said: “That he will write as long as writing will be of any effect; when that ceases, he will adopt the _sword_. If South Carolina is to be sacrificed, the _tyrant will_ be met on the banks of the Potomac, and many, very many, are the sons of her sister States who will rally beneath her standard. We say to her gallant sons, go on! Yours is the cause of _liberty_, and the eyes of all _her_ votaries are upon you!”

When language like this is held by the _leader_ of the party, at the seat of Government of the Union, under the immediate eyes of the heads of the nation, and suffered to pass unpunished, it is indeed time for the people seriously to think of a civil war. The leaders in this affair will have much to answer for, and be assured they will be _held accountable_.

The bank bill has passed, by a small majority, in both Houses of Congress, and the President (true to his principles) has returned it (without his signature) with his objections. There appeared to be great excitement at the time, but it was only occasioned by the brawling of the opposition. A large meeting was got up in Philadelphia, at which a few Jackson men of no note attended, but all would not do. The next week, the Jackson men met to express their opinions, and they resolved unanimously to support “Andrew Jackson, bank or no bank, veto or no veto.” At this meeting there were between ten and fifteen thousand people, citizens of the city and county, the largest meeting, I am told, that ever assembled in Philadelphia within the recollection of the oldest inhabitants.

[GENERAL JACKSON TO MR. BUCHANAN.]

(Private.) WASHINGTON, March 21, 1833.

DEAR SIR:—

Your letter by Mr. Clay was handed me on his arrival. The fact of there being no means of conveyance, my not having ascertained Mr. Clay’s determination in regard to his return to you, and the immense and heavy pressure of public business have caused me to delay my reply. Nullification, the corrupting influence of the Bank, the union of Calhoun and Clay, supported by the corrupt and wicked of all parties, engaged all my attention. The liberty of the people requires that wicked projects, and evil combinations against the Government should be exposed and counteracted.

I met nullification at its threshhold. My proclamation was well timed, as it at once opened the eyes of the people to the wicked designs of the Nullifiers, whose real motives had too long remained concealed. The public ceased to be deluded by the promise of securing by nullification “a peaceful and constitutional modification of the tariff.”

They investigated the subject, and saw that, although the tariff was made the ostensible object, a separation of the confederacy was the real purpose of its originators and supporters.

The expression of public opinion elicited by the proclamation, from Maine to Louisiana, has so firmly repudiated the absurd doctrine of nullification and secession, that it is not probable that we shall be troubled with them again shortly.

The advices of to-day inform us that South Carolina has repealed her ordinance and all the laws based upon it.[35] Thus die nullification and secession, but leave behind the remembrance of their authors and abettors, which holds them up to scorn and indignation, and will transmit them to posterity as traitors to the best of governments.

The treaty is as good a one as we could expect or desire, and if you can close the other as satisfactorily, it will be a happy result, and place you in the highest rank of our able and fortunate diplomatists.

Mr. Clay has conversed with me freely, and has determined, under all the circumstances, to return to you.

If Mr. Clay had not taken this determination, be well assured that your request in respect to his successor would have received my most anxious attention. You should have had one in whom you could with safety confide. I had thought of Mr. Vail, now at London, who has signified his inclination to remain abroad, as secretary of legation, when relieved by a minister.

Mr. Clay can be left as chargé-d’affaires when your duty to your aged mother may make it necessary for you to return to her and your country.

Knowing, as I do, that you will not leave your post until you bring to a close the negotiation now under discussion, I have said to the Secretary of State to grant you permission to return whenever you may ask it. But should an emergency arise which will render it inconvenient, if not impossible, for you to write and receive an answer from the state department before, from the feeble health of your mother, it may be necessary for you to return, you will consider yourself as being hereby authorized to leave the court of Russia, and return, leaving Mr. Clay in charge of our affairs there.

I must refer you to Mr. Clay, and the newspapers, which I have requested the Secretary of State to send you, for the news and politics of the day. I must, however, add, that in the late election, good old Democratic Pennsylvania has greatly increased my debt of gratitude to her, which I can only attempt to discharge by renewed and increasing vigilance and exertions in so administering the Government as to perpetuate the prosperity and happiness of the _whole_ people.

Accept of my best wishes for your health and happiness, and for your safe return to your country and friends. Give my kind respects to Mr. Barry, and believe me to be sincerely

Your friend,

ANDREW JACKSON.

[MR. BUCHANAN TO GENERAL JACKSON.]

ST. PETERSBURG, May 22, 1833

DEAR GENERAL:—

I had the pleasure of receiving, by Mr. Clay, your kind letter of the 21st March. And here allow me to tender you my grateful thanks for the permission which you have granted me to return home. Indeed, I, for some time, had scarcely indulged the hope that I should be allowed to leave St. Petersburg before the next spring; this permission, therefore, was a most agreeable surprise, and adds another to the many obligations I owe to your kindness. I hope I may yet have an opportunity of displaying my gratitude by my actions.

Although I shall leave St. Petersburg with pleasure, yet I shall always gratefully remember the kindness with which I have been treated here. My great objection to the country is the extreme jealousy and suspicion of the government. A public minister, in order successfully to discharge his duties and avoid giving offense, must conceal the most ennobling sentiments of his soul. We are continually surrounded by spies, both of high and low degree in life. You can scarcely hire a servant who is not a secret agent of the police.

There is one mitigating circumstance in Russian despotism. In other portions of Europe we behold nations prepared and anxious for the enjoyment of liberty, yet compelled to groan beneath the yoke. No such spectacle is presented in this country. The most ardent Republican, after having resided here for one year, would be clearly convinced that the mass of this people, composed as it is of ignorant and superstitious barbarians, who are also slaves, is not fit for political freedom. Besides, they are perfectly contented. The emperor seems to me to be the very beau ideal of a sovereign for Russia, and in my opinion, notwithstanding his conduct towards Poland, he is an abler and a better man than any of those by whom he is surrounded. I flatter myself that a favorable change has been effected in his feelings towards the United States since my arrival. Indeed, at the first I was treated with great neglect, as Mr. Clay had always been. I was glad he returned. It would be difficult to find a more agreeable Secretary of Legation. I also entertain a very high opinion of Mr. Vail.

I sincerely rejoice that our domestic differences seem almost to have ended. Independently of their fatal influence at home, they had greatly injured the character of the country abroad. The advocates of despotism throughout Europe beheld our dissensions with delight; whilst the friends of freedom sickened at the spectacle. God grant that the restless spirits which have kindled the flame in South Carolina may neither be willing nor able to promote disunion by rendering the Southern States generally disaffected towards the best of governments.

Whilst these dissensions are ever to be deplored in themselves, they have been most propitious for your fame. We generally find but few extracts from American papers in the European journals; but whilst the South Carolina question was pending, your proclamation, as well as every material fact necessary to elucidate its history, was published on this side of the Atlantic. I have a hundred times heard, with pride and pleasure, the warmest commendations of your conduct, and have not met with a single dissenting voice. I was the other day obliged to laugh heartily at the sentiment of a Russian nobleman, which he considered the highest commendation. He said it was a pity that such a man as you had not been king of England instead of William the Fourth, for then Ireland would have been kept in good order and O’Connell would long since have been punished as he deserved.

I might have told him you were not the stuff of which kings are made, and if you had possessed the power Ireland would have had her grievances removed and received justice, and that then there might have been no occasion for severity......

JAMES BUCHANAN.

[FROM S. PLEASONTON.]

WASHINGTON, April 2d, 1833.

DEAR SIR:—

I take the opportunity afforded by the return of Mr. Clay to St. Petersburg to write to you, in the certainty that the letter will be safely delivered.

The compromising tariff act passed at the last session has been accepted pretty generally at the South, and has been received at the North much better than I expected, so that the alarm and anxiety which existed on the subject have been removed.

Much clamor, however, is yet kept up at the South, including Virginia, on the subject of the President’s 10th December proclamation, and what is called the enforcing bill. The proclamation in my opinion contains the true Union doctrine, and does General Jackson great honor; and the enforcing bill was absolutely called for by the attitude which South Carolina had assumed. The State rights gentlemen, however, in the South, are for denying all right to the Union, as if the two governments were not formed by the same people and for their benefit. Absurd as these State rights doctrines are when carried fully out, I fear they will be pushed to an open rebellion by the Southern States before many years shall elapse.

I was in hopes that when Mr. Livingston went to France, as he will do probably in June next, that you would have been called to the Department of State, but it seems a different arrangement is to be made. Mr. McLane is to go to the Department of State, and it is said a gentleman from Pennsylvania, who has never been spoken of for the Treasury, is to be appointed to that department. As Dallas and Wilkins have been much talked of for this department, I am somewhat in hopes that the person referred to may be yourself. Be that as it may, I feel pretty confident that you will be elected to the Senate of the United States at the next meeting of the legislature, if you should be at home in season. They have made two or three trials to elect a senator during the session without effect, and from all I can learn the legislature will adjourn without making an election, so that the election will lie over until the next session.

Mrs. Pleasonton is now pretty well, though she has had several severe attacks in the course of the winter. Mathilda, with her husband, left us yesterday morning for Philadelphia. She had been ill for nearly two months, and was not able to leave us until yesterday. Augustus is exceedingly studious and is getting a good share of professional business. I have great hopes of him. Laura is still in Philadelphia, but will complete her education in the month of May. Mrs. P. intended to have written to you but she has not had it in her power, having been much engaged for Mathilda. I send you by Mr. Clay, copies, or rather duplicates, of two letters written to you some time ago about your accounts.

Mr. Clay can inform you of many particulars which will interest you, but I presume will say nothing of his friend [John] Randolph, who is now decidedly and zealously in the opposition. He was here lately and behaved in the most eccentric manner.

As you may not have seen all the documents communicated to Congress by the President in relation to South Carolina, I have determined to burthen Mr. Clay with them. They are accordingly enclosed.

With great regard, I remain, dear sir, your friend and obedient servant,

S. PLEASONTON.

[MR. BUCHANAN TO JOHN B. STERIGERE.]

ST. PETERSBURG, May 19, 1833.

MY DEAR SIR:—

I think you are mistaken in supposing I should have been elected to the Senate had I been at home. The opposition against me from many causes would have been too strong. Indeed, I have an impression that my public career is drawing near its close, and I can assure you this feeling does not cost me a single pang. All I feel concerned about is to know what I shall employ myself about after my return. To recommence the practice of the law in Lancaster would not be very agreeable. If my attachments for that place as well as my native State were not so strong, I should have no difficulty in arriving at a conclusion. I would at once go either to New York or Baltimore; and even if I should ever desire to rise to political distinction, I believe I could do it sooner in the latter place than in any part of Pennsylvania. What do you think of this project? Say nothing about it. I have not written a word on the subject to any other person. I see the appointment of Judge Sutherland announced some weeks ago. Judging from the feelings displayed in the election of printers to Congress, I should not have been astonished at his election as Speaker by the next House of Representatives.

The winter here has been very long, but I have not at all suffered from the cold. The great thickness of the walls of the houses, their double windows and doors, and their stoves built of tile, render their houses much more comfortable in very cold weather than our own. They are always heated according to a thermometer, and preserved at an equal temperature. Indeed, I have suffered more from the heat than the cold during the winter. But its length has been intolerable. The Neva was frozen for nearly six months. It broke up on the 25th ultimo; but still, until within a few days, there is a little ice occasionally running which comes from the Lake Ladoga.

On the 9th instant the navigation opened at Cronstadt. Four noble American ships led the way, and with a fine breeze and under full sail they passed through the ice and made an opening for the vessels of other nations. The character of our masters of vessels and supercargoes stands much higher here than that of the same class belonging to any other nation. They have much more intelligence. This Court requires a man of peculiar talent. There are but few of our countrymen fit to be sent here as minister. Here the character of the country depends much upon that of the minister. The sources of information respecting our republican institutions which are open throughout the rest of Europe are closed in this country. A favorable impression must be made upon the nobility by personal intercourse, and in order that this may be done it is absolutely necessary that the minister should occasionally entertain them and mix freely in their society. Such is the difference between Russian and American society, I am satisfied that Levett Harris would be a more useful minister here than Daniel Webster. I make this remark on the presumption that for years to come we shall have no serious business to transact.

After looking about me here, I was much at a loss to know what course to pursue. Without ruin to my private fortune I could not entertain as others did. Not to entertain at all I might almost as well not have been here except for the treaty. After some time I determined that I would give them good dinners in a plain republican style, for their splendid entertainments, and the plan has succeeded. I have never even put livery on a domestic in my house;—a remarkable circumstance in this country.

I think I may say, I am a favorite here, and especially with the emperor and empress. They have always treated me during the past winter in such a manner as even to excite observation. I am really astonished at my own success in this respect, for in sober truth, I say that, in my own opinion, I possess but few of the requisites of being successful in St. Petersburg society. I trust and hope that I may be permitted to return to my beloved native land this fall; and if Providence should continue to bless my endeavors, I think the character of the United States will stand upon a fairer footing with his Imperial Majesty than it has ever done since his accession to the throne.

_May 22d._

Mr. Randolph Clay returned here on the 19th, bringing me a great number of letters from my friends and the President’s permission to return home this fall. God willing! I shall be with you about the end of November. These letters hold out flattering prospects of my election to the Senate at the next session.

I confess I consider this event very doubtful, and shall take care not to set my heart upon it.

Mr. Barry leaves me to-day for London, and I have no time to add anything more. Please to write soon, and believe me ever to be your sincere friend,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

P. S.—Remember me to Paulding, Patterson, Kittera and my other friends. I wrote once to the latter, but have never received an answer from him.

[FROM LOUIS McLANE.]

(Unofficial.) WASHINGTON, June 20, 1832.

MY DEAR SIR:—

It affords me sincere pleasure to devote a portion of my early labors in this Department[36] to you, whom I have known so long, and esteemed so highly. In one form or other you will hereafter receive more frequent communications from me, for I have already made a regulation by which a semi-monthly communication will be kept up from the Department with our principal ministers abroad. This is not only due to their character, but necessary to keep them informed of our principal domestic and foreign relations. This regulation will be independent of such special communications as the particular state of the missions respectively may [render] necessary.

You have no friend in this country who participated more sincerely than I in the success of your negotiation, and if the President needed anything to strengthen his friendship for you, or his confidence in your zeal and ability, your labors on that occasion would have afforded it. He has probably told you so himself, as I understood from him that he intended to write you.

...... The President is on a tour through the northern and eastern cities. He will go to Portland and thence up the lakes, through New York to Ohio and Pennsylvania, and expects to return here about the middle of July. I accompanied him as far as New York, and thence returned to my post. His health and spirits, notwithstanding the great fatigue to which he was perpetually exposed, had considerably improved, and I now have great hopes that he will derive advantage from his journey. His journey to New York was quite a triumphal procession, and his reception everywhere indescribably gratifying and imposing. The enthusiasm and cordial out-pouring of the kindest feelings of the heart, with which he was everywhere greeted, could not be exceeded, and the committees from the East, who met him in New York, assured us that a similar reception awaited his further progress. In Boston, both parties were emulating each other’s exertions, and Webster, it was understood, had cut short his tour in the West, in order to receive him.

This would be a sharp alliance, and yet it is altogether probable. On the part of Webster’s friends, it is ardently desired and incessantly urged; on his own part he affects to consider the President’s hostility to the bank as the only barrier. But I consider this only the last qualm of a frail lady, who notwithstanding, finally falls into the arms of the seducer. In the Senate, Webster’s accession may be important, in the country its effect will be at least doubtful; especially with the democracy of New England. If, however, the President can identify the power of his name and character and hold upon the affections of the people with any individual, all opposition, however combined, must be hopeless. It is evident to me that no man ever lived, who exerted the same influence over the great body of the people as General Jackson; and if he devote the remainder of his term to tranquilize the public mind, he will go into retirement with greater fame than any other man in our history. The bank is the only disturbing question, and that he might overthrow, after all its iniquities, without a jar, unless by premature changing the [deposits], he should seriously derange the business and currency of the country. He is strongly disposed to take that step, both from his own hostility to the institution, and from the importunate [advice] of many of his friends. It would, in my opinion, be injudicious and prejudicial to the community; but the probability is it will be done either before or immediately after the commencement of the next session of Congress.

The affairs in the South are once more tranquil, and nullification may be said to be extinct. There are men in that quarter, however, who seriously meditate further difficulties, and there is just reason to apprehend that these will not be satisfied short of a Southern convention, leading to a Southern confederacy.

The elements of popular excitement only are wanting to make their purpose discernible to all, and the grave question has been revived for this purpose. So far it has not been successful, though it is evidently making some impression in one or two of the States south of the Potomac, and you know better than I can tell you, that the spirit of revolution is progressive, though it may be slow.

On all other points, our affairs at home are prosperous, and the prospect gratifying; and the new lines of party will not be very distinctly defined until toward the close of the next session of Congress.

I saw, while in Philadelphia with the President, many of your friends, who affectionately inquired after you, and you may be satisfied that your absence from the country has not served to weaken their attachment.

Now, my dear sir, I have taken up already too much of your time with this uninteresting letter, and I will therefore relieve you from a greater part of it. I will only add the wish of Mrs. McL—— to be brought to your remembrance, and the assurance of the continued respect and regard with which I am unaffectedly your friend and servant,

LOUIS MCLANE.

The principal object of the mission being accomplished, Mr. Buchanan began his journey to Moscow early in June, and was absent from St. Petersburg about a month. In making selections from his journals and letters relating to this tour, as well as those which he kept on his travels homeward after he finally left Russia, I shall omit descriptions of places and countries that are now familiar to multitudes of Americans, and shall quote only those which are of interest because they give accounts of persons or things as they impressed him at the time, and which are out of the beaten path of guide books as they then were or have since become, or which relate to the public affairs of that period.

_Tuesday at 8 P. M., June 4, 1833._

Left St. Petersburg and arrived at Novogorod about 12 midi on Wednesday. Visited the church of St. Sophia, said to be founded by Wladimir in 1040. His tomb, at which they say miracles are wrought, is in it. The paintings are numerous and barbarous. The interior has a rude magnificence. Went into the _sanctum sanctorum_, where women are never admitted. There they consecrate the Eucharist in the Greek Church, out of the view of the people; unlike the Latin in this respect. The priest afterwards carries it out on his head, to be adored by the people.

The sides of the western door are lined with bronze, from which jutted out in bronze a number of strange and barbarous figures not unlike those of Mexico. They must have been Christian and even Russian in their origin, as one of them represented an Archimandrite in full dress. The inscriptions were Sclavonian. Our guide said they were conquered from the Swedes by St. Wladimir. The church is west of the river. It and several other buildings are surrounded by a brick wall, with turrets, etc., etc., about twenty-five feet high and eighteen thick and nearly a mile in circumference, a ditch beneath.

There are also the remains of another rampart and ditch, a considerable distance from the former. The church of St. Sophia is surrounded by a dome and four cupolas of the character peculiar to Russia.

The former is gilt and the others plated with silver, so they say. The celebrated monastery of St. Anthony we did not visit. There is scarcely any appearance of ancient ruins to indicate the former greatness of Novogorod. This arises from the nature of the materials of which it was built.

On Wednesday night we stayed at Zaitsova, an excellent inn.

The public houses are generally bad, beyond what an American can have any idea of; nevertheless, a few on this road were good. This inn is maintained in a degree by the emperor.

The peasants are jolly, good-natured fellows, who drive furiously and seem happy. They are all rogues, nevertheless. In appearance and conduct they are very unlike those of Petersburg.

_Saturday, June 8._

We arrived in Moscow at 10 o’clock A. M. The road is the best over which I have ever travelled. It is macadamized in the most perfect manner, and the traveller pays no toll. About 175 versts, or five posts, are yet unfinished between Chotilova and Tiver. This fraction is the old road and partly composed of sand, partly of the trunks of trees laid across, and partly of large stones, and in some places it is very bad. The posting is eight cents per verst for four horses and ten cents for the post adjoining St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The horses, though mean in their appearance, travel with great speed. They uniformly place the four abreast when travelling by post in Russia. The post-boys always cross themselves devoutly before ascending their seats; though they, in common with all the other Russian mousiques whom I have ever met, will cheat you if they can.

At every post station we found a number of these—with their long beards and their tanned sheepskins—ready to grease the carriage or perform any other menial service. At night they lie down on the road and around the post-houses, and sleep on the ground. Indeed Russians of the highest class appear to know little of the comforts of a good bed.

The country presents a forlorn aspect for 150 versts from St. Petersburg. It is both poor and flat, and the villages have a wretched appearance. They all consist of log huts with their gables towards the street. As you approach Waldi, the country becomes somewhat better and more undulating, and more attention seems to have been paid to its cultivation. It afterwards resumes its level appearance as you advance to Moscow, but still it is much better in every respect than near St. Petersburg. With a single exception we did not observe a nobleman’s seat along the whole route, and this one had a mean appearance. Nothing affords variety to the dull and monotonous scenery except the churches, which present the only interesting objects in the landscape.

Tiver is the principal town of the government of that name. It was finally conquered in 1483. The city is handsome and has the appearance of prosperity. It is situated on both sides of the Volga. When I approached this river, I could not resist the feeling of how strange it was that I should be on its banks.

_Sunday afternoon, 9th._

We went to the promenade, at three versts from the city, on the Petersburg road.

_Monday morning, 10th._

We visited Madame S—— and had some conversation with her which would have been agreeable but for the constant interruption of a parrot which screeched as if it had been hired for the occasion. She had accompanied Mr. Wells of Philadelphia last year to the monastery of the Trinity. Her son is to go with us to the Kremlin to-morrow.

The appearance of Moscow must have greatly improved since its conflagration in 1812. It has lost, however, in a great degree, that romantic and Asiatic appearance which it formerly presented. The cumbrous and rude magnificence of palaces irregularly scattered among Tartar huts, has given place to airy and regular streets in all directions. It appears to be in a prosperous condition. That which chiefly distinguishes it from other cities is the immense number of churches. Their cupolas, of all colors and of all forms, rising above the summits of the houses and glittering in the sun, are very striking and imposing objects. In this respect no city in the world, except Constantinople, can be compared with it. In the evening we visited the Russian Theatre. Both the infernal regions and the Elysian fields were well represented on the stage.

_Tuesday._

It rained all day. Dined with Madame Novaselsoff. She is one of the three daughters of —— Orloff, the youngest brother of the three who left no son—immensely rich—had one son, an only child, who was killed in a duel some nine years ago. Aide-de-camp of Emperor—Ischermoff was his antagonist. Both fell. His mother lives upon his memory. She says she is now building two churches, one on the spot where he expired and the other on her estate—-a monument. She has established schools, one on the Lancasterian plan, among her peasants. I told her she ought to live for her peasants and consider them her children. Her example also might produce great effect. She said she had no object to live for, and when it was the will of God, she would go cheerfully; that her affections were fixed on another world. She had a full length likeness of her son in her parlor, and different other portraits of him scattered about; his drawings, etc., etc.

_Wednesday morning._

We visited the Foundling Hospital, or the Imperial House of Education, as it is called. We had a letter for Dr. Alfonskoi, the chief medical officer attached to the institution, and he, together with Baron Stackelberg, the superintendent, conducted us through the apartments. This hospital is the glory of Moscow and is the most extensive establishment of the kind in the world. It is perfectly well conducted in all its departments.

The object of the institution is twofold. The first is limited to the preservation of the lives of the foundlings and rearing them as peasants of the crown, and the second extends to their education and their freedom. The number of infants of the first description amounted to 6500 the last year. Each of these requires a separate nurse, and from the peculiar state of society in Russia, these are provided without the least difficulty. The peasant women throughout the province of Moscow (and others are excluded) come daily in considerable numbers to offer their services as nurses. Each one receives a foundling and after remaining with it a few weeks in the hospital, she and the child are sent to the village to which she belongs. For the maintenance of this child, until it attains the age of twelve years, she receives five roubles per month, or sixty per annum. Three thousand foundlings had been received during the present year. The boys and girls thus raised are sent upon the lands of the crown and become peasants. The former are not exempted from serving in the army.

It was quite a novel spectacle for me to pass through the long ranges of women, with infants in their arms, or in the cradle. Everything was clean and in good order; though the women were anything but good-looking.

I believe most of the children received are legitimate, of poor parents. _It is called the Imperial House of Education_, not a foundling hospital, and the former name is more applicable to it than the latter.

They borrow at 4 and lend at 5; not 5 and 6, as the Guide says.

Baron Stackelberg told Mr. G. that the institution had 7,000,000 roubles clear after all expenses at the end of each year—_sed quere_.

The second class are very different from the first. They consist of those foundlings for whom 150 roubles are advanced at the time they enter the establishment. But as the institution can accommodate a greater number than are sent to it upon these terms, the deficiency is supplied by selections made sometimes from children of the first class, but most generally from those of poor parents of Moscow. These all continue in the institution until they receive their education. They are free when they depart from it and are not liable to be drafted as soldiers. A sufficiently accurate account of these is to be found in the Guide. There are at present 550 boys and as many girls of this description.

We dined with Dr. Alfonskoi. His wife is a communicative, agreeable woman who expresses her opinion freely upon all subjects. Whilst at table I received the impression from her conversation that she took me for an Englishman, notwithstanding I had been introduced to her as the American minister. I did not consider this remarkable, from the ignorance which prevails throughout this country concerning the United States. On the evening of this day I had a still more decided example. Mr. G. and myself went to pay a visit to “The Prince Ouroussoff, master of the court of his I. M., and senator.” Whilst I was conversing with the daughter, the princess asked Mr. G. if the United States still belonged to England. He replied that they were independent and constituted a separate government. She said this must have been since 1812, and when he informed her that their independence had been recognized by England since 1783, she was much astonished. Among other things she wished to know whether they spoke the English language in America.

We visited the Souchareva Bashnia. This is a lofty and extensive building on an elevated position, in the second story of which is the reservoir to supply the city with water. This is brought eighteen versts. The top of the edifice affords a fine view of the city.

All the buildings of this establishment escaped the conflagration of 1812. They contain at present a population of more than 5,000, and have a distinct police.

_Thursday Morning._

Before breakfast I visited the mineral-water establishment. It is situated near the Moscow, about four versts above the Kremlin. There you find waters of twenty-four different kinds prepared in imitation of those which are most celebrated throughout Europe. I took a glass of Carlsbad, the taste of which reminded me of that of Saratoga. Indeed the whole scene resembled that exhibited there. There were a great number of ladies and gentlemen walking in the promenades, drinking and talking; but the ladies of Saratoga were not there. The water is drawn by cocks from different vessels prepared for containing it, and placed contiguous to each other in a row.

This establishment has been recently made by a joint stock company. The emperor has subscribed a number of shares. In St. Petersburg they are about to get up a similar establishment. There were to be six hundred shares at five hundred roubles each; but three times that amount was subscribed at once. Dr. Myer, whom I met there to-day, is now here as agent from St. Petersburg to gain information, and observe the operation of the establishment at Moscow.

We ascended the belfry of Ivan Vélikoi (Jean le Grand). It receives its name from the Church of St. John, which it surmounts. From there we had another fine view of the city. There are thirty-one bells in the belfry. All in the Kremlin are collected in it.—Vide the Guide.

From thence we proceeded to the treasury of the Kremlin and examined its contents. It is fully described in the Guide, with the exception of some things which have been added since its publication.

These are chiefly the trophies of the conquest of poor unhappy Poland. They are the two thrones—the sceptre, the globe, and the sword of the emperor of Russia as king of Poland, which have been brought from Warsaw.

The portraits of all the kings of Poland are now hung up in their order in this Russian arsenal where the treasure is kept. We saw there also the flags which had been presented to the Polish army by the Emperor Alexander, and also the original constitution of Poland on the floor at his feet. It was placed there by the express command of his present majesty.

The glorious standard of Poland which waved triumphantly over many a well fought field, but which the most exalted courage and self-devotion could no longer maintain against brutal and barbarian force, is there exhibited. The white eagle has been obliged to cower beneath the double-headed monster of Russia. May it again soar! though to all human appearance it has sunk forever.

The head of John Sobieski is one of the most noble and commanding I have ever beheld. The famous standard which he took from the Turks at Vienna when Poland saved Europe from the sway of the Infidel, is now in the same hall with the portrait of the hero and the king who commanded her army on that celebrated day. We afterwards visited the ancient and the modern palaces. The contrast between the two exhibits the change between ancient and modern times in striking colors. In one of the rooms of the latter, among other ancient portraits, we saw one of the Princess Sophia. She was an extraordinary woman, and must have had a very fine face. I have an interest in this woman, and am willing to disbelieve the crime which Peter the Great attributed to her, of an intention to assassinate him. How must her proud and ambitious spirit have been chafed by being confined to a monastery after having reigned with so much distinction. Accompanied by Mr. Thal, we rode out of the Barrier de Drogomirov, two or three versts on the road to Smolensko, to the summit of the last of three hills which rise gradually above each other, from whence we had a fine view of the city. It was from this quarter that the French entered. Bonaparte slept the first night at Petrovski, a place near the St. Petersburg road, about three versts from the city.

_Friday Morning, June 2–14th._

I went with Mr. Gretsch, the editor of the Bee at St. Petersburg, to see the famous monastery of Novo Devitcher where we saw the tomb of the Princess Sophia, who took the veil under the name of Suzanna, and was buried in 1704. For the rest, see the Guide, 183, 184. Mr. G. and myself visited and went through the mosque. In this country, all churches must be open. Unfortunately we arrived a little too late for the service.

John the Third, in 1473, married the Princess Sophia, the daughter of Thomas Paléologus Porphyrogénétus, who was the brother of Constantine Paléologus, who died in 1453, whilst seeing his capital fall under the dominion of the Turks. By his unison with the last descendant of the Paléologus, John the Third considered himself as the heir of their crown, and after his marriage he substituted the eagle with two heads for the cavalier which was then the arms of the grand principality, and it was then that he took the title of Tsar.

_Saturday._

This Mr. Gretsch is the editor of the _Northern Bee_ of St. Petersburg, the principal Russian journal. He is also on a visit here for the first time. He came up to me the other day at the Treasury and introduced himself, since when he has been uncommonly kind. He appears to be, for I know not what he is, a frank, open-hearted, talkative, well-informed person, but something of a bore. He laughingly styled the sultan this morning “our Governor General of Turkey.” I am persuaded this is now the feeling in Russia. They believe themselves to be already the virtual masters of Constantinople.

Mr. G. and myself afterwards went to the Mountain of Sparrows. It is on the southwest of the city opposite or nearly so the monastery of Novo Devitcher. From thence you have the best view of Moscow, and it is truly a beautiful and magnificent spectacle. It was here that they commenced the foundation of the cathedral of St. Sauveur, in consequence of a vow of the Emperor Alexander during the French war; but it has been discontinued, and will be erected in another part of the city. The place was found to be too extensive and too expensive, though the vow was to build the greatest and most magnificent church in Russia.

We next visited the garden of Niéschouchin, from whence also we had another fine view of the city. We there saw a theatre _sub Jove_.

The opinion of Dr. Alfonskoi on the cholera is that it arises in all cases from a defect of heat in the system, and his universal remedy, after he came to understand the disease, was the hot, very hot bath. He is fully convinced it was not contagious. It seized on those whose digestive powers had been enfeebled by drunkenness or high living. I told him of Dr. Stevens’ saline treatment, and he said, from the development of heat, [which] the salt produced in the system, it might have been a good remedy. The cholera, Dr. A. thinks, came from the earth, is connected with gravity. The grip is its opposite and is connected with electricity. This last the best evidence that the cholera has finally disappeared. The stomach the root, as of a tree, etc.

_Sunday, 16th June._

I went to the English chapel, and heard an excellent, animated, evangelical discourse, from the Rev. Matthew Camidge, the pastor. His text was 2 Peter 3d chapter, from —— to ——. It was on the subject of the long suffering of God with sinners, and the repentance to which this should naturally lead, etc., etc. The judgment-day will come by surprise as many temporal judgments do after long suffering.

There is to be a theatrical entertainment this evening in the open air, at the garden of Nieschouchin, and afterwards a party at Madame Paschkoff’s. My old Presbyterian notions will prevent me from attending either. After church I paid some visits to the Skariatines, etc.

The English chapel was consumed in the conflagration of 1812, and has been rebuilt but a few years since. It contains no organ. They sing well. The pastor receives about £200, the half of which comes from England. I was struck with the solemnity of this little congregation in a strange land. May God be with them! It was the most impressive sermon I have heard since I left America.

_Monday, 5–17th June._

We visited, in company with Mr. Gretsch, and particularly examined the interior of the cathedrals of the Annunciation, of the Assumption, and of St. Michael the Archangel. They are sufficiently described in the Guide. We also visited the ancient palace of the Patriarchs, and saw everything that was contained therein. The apartments of his holiness were very small and simple, though the state rooms must have been considered magnificent in Russia a century and a half ago. We there saw the apparatus for making the holy oil, which is distributed throughout Russia. It is only prepared once in three years. How wise it was in Peter the Great to abolish the Patriarchate! Few men would have had the courage to make the attempt. From the ignorance of the Russians and their proneness to superstition, he must have continued to be as he formerly was, the rival of the czars themselves.

From thence we went to the Alexander Institution, so called after his majesty. Whilst the cholera raged in Moscow, many of the children of poor noble families were deprived of their parents, and thus became destitute orphans. To relieve their wants and furnish them with an education, this institution was first established by the present emperor. Being pleased with its operation, he has made it permanent. The orphan children of poor nobles from any part of the empire are now received there, and all their expenses defrayed. The emperor purchased for the purposes of this institution the house and grounds of a nobleman, Count Rasoumoffsky, for which he gave 1,200,000 roubles B. A.

The extent of these private establishments of the Russian nobility may be judged of, from the circumstances that this house and the adjacent buildings appertaining to it now, accommodate 250 boys and as many girls, with all the necessary professors and domestics.

Here the former are taught the Russian, French, German and Latin languages; geometry, geography, drawing, dancing, etc., etc., and the latter are instructed in all these branches, except Latin and geometry, and in the other accomplishments which more particularly belong to females. There are three classes of each.

We heard the first class of the young ladies examined in French and geography, and then specimens of their drawing, embroidery and other needle-work were exhibited to us. They acquitted themselves very creditably. They also played for us on the piano. As a compliment to myself, they were examined on the geography of the United States. What struck me with great force, was that the little girls in the second and third classes recited pieces from the French and German, as well as the Russian, with apparent facility, and so far as I could judge, with a perfect accent.

They certainly have the most wonderful talent for acquiring languages of any people in the world.

We afterwards went through the apartments of the boys and heard them examined. One of the boys was asked who was the greatest man that America had produced, and he promptly answered Washington. The thrill of delight which I experienced at the moment, I shall not undertake to describe. He hesitated in his answer to the second question, who was the next, as probably many Americans would; and was then asked who was the celebrated ambassador of the United States at Paris, to which he replied Franklin. He first said Ptolemy Philadelphus, but corrected himself immediately.

The most imposing spectacle I witnessed here was all the girls collected at dinner. They were all dressed alike, in green frocks and white aprons, which came over their arms. When we entered, they were all ranged at their different places and were standing up. Those who were distinguished, were placed at two small tables in the centre. Previous to taking their seats, they sang a hymn in Russian as a blessing. Their performance was excellent. Here the goodness and piety of the female heart shone out in a striking manner. The little girls exhibited the warmest and most lively devotion, and frequently crossed themselves with all that sincerity and ardor of manner which can never be counterfeited at their age. The dinner was very good. One circumstance is worthy of remark. Mr. Gretsch made a little address in Russian to one of the female classes, which Mr. Guerreiro understood. He informed them that I was the minister of the United States, a great and powerful republic. That the people there were well educated and well informed; but that every person had to labor. That their Government was a good one; but no paternal emperor existed there, who would become the father of orphans and educate them at his own expense. He concluded by impressing upon their minds how grateful they ought to be to the emperor, and how much a monarchical government ought, on this account, to be preferred to a republic.

The emperor is very fond of this institution, of which he is the founder. Indeed, in different forms and in different manners nearly all the children of the Russian nobility of both sexes are educated in imperial institutions, and in some degree at the expense of the government. We visited the garden where there was a considerable number of very little boys and girls too young for any of the classes. It is the emperor’s delight, they say, to go among them and play with them, to he down upon the ground and let them cover him, and to toss them about in all directions. From all I have heard, a great fondness for children is one of the traits of the emperor’s character. He is quick and warm in his feelings, and at the moment of irritation would be severe: but his passion soon subsides, and the empress receives great credit for correcting this fault in his temper. I am more and more convinced every day that he could have pursued no other course with safety towards the Poles than that which he did. The bitterness against them is extreme, and there is scarcely a monument of antiquities in the Kremlin which does not relate to battles lost and won between the two nations. Their mutual enmity is truly hereditary. The emperor advances two hundred thousand roubles per annum to this institution, and has lately given it a million of roubles, which is to accumulate for the purpose of forming a capital for its support. The foundation of a new and extensive building has already been laid for the better accommodation of the pupils.

The chamberlain, Tchenchine, is the principal director, and Mr. Davydoff the chief professor, with both of whom I was much pleased, as well as with Madame Tchenchine, the wife of the former.

From thence, accompanied by Messrs. Tchenchine and Davydoff, we visited the Armenian institution, founded in 1806 by the Messieurs Lazareff, wealthy Armenian noblemen, for the benefit chiefly of native Armenians, wheresoever they may be scattered. The memoir presented to me by Mr. D. will sufficiently explain the object of it. There you saw in the form and in the face of the pupils the Asiatic traits. One of them, a native of Calcutta, spoke English to me. There are several private institutions for the education of youth at Moscow, founded by private munificence, and whether ostentation may have been the moving cause or not, still they are very valuable to the community. We partook here of an elegant déjeuner-à-fourchette. There are now forty-five scholars gratis and twenty-five who pay fifty roubles per month, in the institution, so says Mr. Davydoff.

We dined to-day with the governor-general, Prince Galitzine, and a select party. He is a dignified gentleman of the old school, with great simplicity of manners, and is revered by the people high and low of the city and province of Moscow. He speaks English tolerably well, and we had much conversation concerning the United States. He commanded the cavalry at the battle of Borodino, and represented it, as it has been always represented, as a most murderous battle on both sides.

We spent the evening at Prince Ourousoff’s. I had almost forgot to mention that in our visits to the cathedrals and the patriarchal palace we were accompanied by Mr. Polevoy, the editor of the Moscow _Telegraph_, at Moscow, who is engaged in writing a history of Russia, and by another savant, Professor John Snéquireff.

The former gave me several exemplaries of Russian antiquities as a souvenir.

_Tuesday Morning._

Mr. Gretsch, Mr. Guerreiro and myself set out for the Trostza monastery, a place famous in Russian history. It is sixty-two versts north of Moscow. We left by the barrier of Trostza. We found the road covered with numerous parties of pilgrims on foot, going to pay their devotions at the shrine of St. Sierge, the founder. The women were, I think, nearly ten to one for the men. In ancient times the sovereigns of Russia used to go on foot from Moscow to worship at this shrine; the _pious_ Catharine was, I believe, the last who performed this pilgrimage in this manner.

The villages and churches along the road are nearly all celebrated in Russian history. At about seven versts from the principal convent there is a monastery for nuns dependent upon it. We found the church at this monastery crowded with pilgrims, crossing themselves; many were on their knees before the pictures, and the most devout touched the floor with their foreheads. There is nothing in the Greek liturgy which sanctions the worship of these pictures. Indeed, images are excluded. It was, however, impossible to resist the belief that these poor creatures considered them something more than mere pictures.

When we arrived at Trostza we found that the governor-general had sent an officer to show me all the antiquities and curiosities of the place; and had not Mr. Guerreiro told them in my absence that he knew it would be disagreeable to me, I should have been received by a military guard. I thus avoided what to me would have been unpleasant.

We were first presented to the Reverend Father Antoine, the archimandrite or abbot of the monastery. In my life I have never beheld a more heavenly expression of countenance. It spoke that he was at peace with heaven and with his fellow-men, and possessed a heart overflowing with Christian benevolence and charity. He spoke no French nor English, and my conversation with him was through Mr. Gretsch as interpreter. He is very intelligent and perfectly modest and unassuming in his manners. In his appearance he is not more than thirty-five. His long beard was of a most beautiful chestnut color, and made his appearance venerable notwithstanding his comparative youth. I shall never forget the impression which this man made upon me.

He showed us all the antiquities himself; and first we made a circuit on the ancient wall. It is a mile round and at least twenty-two feet thick, and its great glory is that the Poles have never been able to pass it. This he communicated to us with evident satisfaction. It was in ancient times the strongest fortification in Russia, and was perfectly impregnable before the use of artillery. An imperial palace formerly existed within it, not a trace of which now remains.

St. Sierge was a pious and patriotic hermit who, in the reign of Dimitri Danshoy, retired to this spot, which was then a wilderness. Some well authenticated facts exist which may well inspire a superstitious people with great veneration for this spot. Among others of a recent date, when the plague raged in Moscow during the days of the Empress Catharine, notwithstanding the gates of the monastery were always open to the crowds of pilgrims who then frequented the shrine, no case of plague occurred within the walls. The same may be observed in regard to the recent cholera.

After the circuit of the walls, we passed through the different churches. That where the reliques of St. Sierge are deposited was much crowded. His shrine is very rich. The church was crowded with pilgrims.

The interior of these churches resembles the others we had seen. The iconostase is the covering ascending from the floor to the summit, which conceals from public view the place where the sacrament is consecrated. Upon it are uniformly painted, in several rows, holy pictures of the Virgin and of the saints. In the ancient churches these are sufficiently rude and barbarous, but richly ornamented.

In passing from one church to another we saw a square brick wall covered with boards, but without any inscription, which contains the remains of Boris Goudounoff and his family. The bodies of the father and the son were taken by the fury of the people from the cathedral of St. Michael, where they were deposited with those of the other czars, and were afterwards brought to Trostza. They were formerly within the walls of a church; but, it needing repairs, in the time of the madman Paul, he ordered the walls which extended over these remains to be taken down, and the limits of this church to be restricted so as to leave them without a covering. Whilst the good archimandrite was relating this circumstance, he was evidently much affected by the barbarity of the action. This was done because Paul believed Goudounoff to be a usurper.

He has been charged with the crime of having caused the murder of the true Dimitri, the last branch of the family of Rurick. But this is a most obscure period of Russian history, and their great historian, Karamsin, leaves the question in doubt. In all other respects he was an excellent sovereign, and Peter the Great always spoke of him in terms of the highest respect.

We afterwards visited the sacristy and there saw a great many splendid sacred robes and vessels. All the sovereigns in succession of the house of Romanoff have presented their gifts, with the exception of Peter the Great, and there are several prior to that period. The specimens of embroidery wrought by the Empresses Elizabeth, Anne and Catharine the Second are very rich and magnificent. Peter the Great deprived this monastery of all its disposable wealth for which he gave them receipts, and Catharine took their lands and their peasants from them. But Peter built a church there, at least so the archimandrite said, and pointed it out to us.

The greatest curiosity in the sacristy is the miraculous crystal, or white stone, in the body of which is clearly defined and represented in black a monk in his black robes kneeling before a crucifix. It requires no effort of the imagination to present this spectacle to the eye. It is clearly and distinctly defined. I examined this stone with great care, and certainly but with little faith, and yet I am under the impression that the likeness of the monk and the crucifix are contained in the very body of the crystal itself, and are not artificial...... Nature, amid the infinite variety of her productions, has given birth to this curious piece of workmanship. The Father Antoine, in a solemn and impressive manner, presented each of us with a consecrated picture of St. Sierge.

The Father Antoine then accompanied us to that portion of the buildings destined for the students of divinity, of which there are 100 at Trostza, and the same number of monks. There we were presented to the archimandrites; Polycarpe, rector of the ecclesiastical academy, a fat and jolly-looking monk, who laced his tea strong with cherry brandy and took his wine kindly; to Peter, ancient archimandrite of the Russian mission at Peking, who has a long white beard and venerable appearance, and read Chinese aloud for our amusement; to Neophyte, formerly substitute of Peter at Peking; and to the monk Tsidore, librarian of the ecclesiastical academy. Their wine and their tea were both excellent, and we spent an hour or two very pleasantly with them. There is a room in these apartments, the ceiling of which contains paintings of the different exploits of Peter the Great; a tribute of his daughter, the Empress Elizabeth. Upon taking leave, Polycarpe presented me several treatises in Russ as a keepsake. Upon taking leave of Antoine, I submitted to be kissed by him according to the Russian fashion, first on the right cheek, then on the left, and then on the mouth. This was my first regular experiment of the kind.

_Wednesday._

We dined at Mr. Cavenaugh’s with a party of English. Among others I met Mr. Camidge there. His appearance, manners and conversation in private society did not answer the expectations I had formed of him from his preaching.

_Thursday._

On the 20th of June we left Moscow at eight in the evening, and arrived at St. Petersburg on Monday, the 24th, at 2 P. M., having slept two nights on the road. At Vouischnije Volotschok we saw the sluice connecting the Tivortza with the Atsta. It can only be used by vessels going towards St. Petersburg.

The following letter to one of his Pennsylvania friends was written immediately after his return to St. Petersburg.

[MR. BUCHANAN TO G. LEIPER, ESQ.]

ST. PETERSBURG, July 3, 1833.

MY GOOD FRIEND:—

It was with no ordinary pleasure that I received a letter by Mr. Clay with your well-known superscription. You make a strong mark, and your writing would be known among a thousand. I now have the joyful anticipation of being ere long once more among you. A land reposing under the calm of despotism is not the country for me. An American of proper feelings who visits any portion of Europe, must thank his God that his lot has been cast in the United States. For my own part, I feel that I am a much greater Republican than ever.

I hope with the blessing of Heaven to be able to leave St. Petersburg in perfect consistency with the interests of my country some time during the next month. I shall then spend a few weeks in seeing other parts of Europe, and embark for home the last of October or beginning of November.

I have recently returned from a short excursion to Moscow; the city which rolled back the tide of victory upon Napoleon. St. Petersburg is a cosmopolite city; but at Moscow you see Russia. It is a most picturesque and beautiful city. Its numerous churches surmounted by cupolas of every form and of every color give it a romantic and an Asiatic appearance. Many of these are gilt, and when the rays of the sun are reflected from them, the eye is dazzled with the richness and splendor of the spectacle. From Moscow I made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Sierge, a distance of forty miles. Going and returning I suppose we saw ten thousand pilgrims upon the way. They were chiefly of the fair sex, and nearly all on foot. This shrine is at the Monastery of the Trinity, a place famous in Russian history, having been at the same time a convent, a palace, and a fortification. Here the family of the czars have often taken refuge. In passing round on the top of the walls with the abbot (which is more than a mile in circumference), he told me in a tone of triumph and national antipathy that these walls had never been taken by the Poles; on taking leave he presented me with a consecrated picture of St. Sierge, and from him I submitted to the operation of being kissed, first on the right cheek, then on the left, and finally plump on the mouth. This is the general custom of the country; but it was my first experiment of the kind. The pious Catharine, although she seized the peasants and the broad acres of this monastery, made a pilgrimage on foot from Moscow to the shrine of St. Sierge. But enough of this bagatelle.

On Saturday last, the 29th ultimo, we had news from New York via London up till the 1st, a wonderfully short passage. We then heard of the death of Randolph, and of the appointment of Mr. Duane as Secretary of the Treasury. I have no doubt the latter will make a good officer, and he shows great courage in undertaking the Treasury at the present moment. My best wishes attend him.

I think it more than probable that my political life is drawing to a close, and I confess I look upon the prospect without regret. Office is not necessary for my happiness. I can enjoy myself with the blessing of God, under my own vine and my own fig tree. Whoever embarks on the stormy ocean of politics must calculate to make a shipwreck of contentment and tranquility. I have served the old hero faithfully and zealously, and he has done more for me than I could have expected. But I hope ere long to talk over my travels and my ups and downs along with Edwards and yourself and a few other friends in the good old county of Delaware. By the bye, I have a crow to pick with Edwards. I wrote to him and he has never answered my letter.

I am obliged to write at full gallop. _Safe_ opportunities are so rare, and when they occur, so much of my time is taken up in writing despatches, that I have but little left for my private friends.

Remember me kindly to Edwards and his charming wife, to Dick, the doctor, your brothers, Kane, Lescine, Judge Engle, and my other friends. Please to present my most respectful compliments to Mrs. Leiper, and believe me, in whatever land my lot may be cast, to be always your friend,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

The following brief account of one of the national fêtes is recorded soon after his return to St. Petersburg:

THE FETE AT PETERHOFF, SATURDAY, JULY 1–13, 1833.

The English palace was provided for the reception of the Diplomatic Corps, where we lived with Count Daschkaw, the grand master of ceremonies, Count Matuscervie, and some masters of the court. Everything was provided for us in handsome style, for which, according to custom, I paid the court servants two hundred roubles at my departure.

In the morning we went to visit the gardens upon singular vehicles on four wheels and drawn by two splendid horses. I can describe it no better than by imagining a double sofa with a single back, on which ten of us could sit back to back comfortably, five on each side. The foot-board was within about a foot of the ground.

The water-works are the chief object of attraction. The water is conveyed in a canal for the distance of about thirty versts to the palace of Peterhoff, which is situate at the summit and on the brink of the second bank of the Gulf of Finland. From it there is a steep descent of about thirty feet to the extensive plain on the southern shore of the Gulf, which is covered by the immense garden. It is this descent which has enabled them to present so many varieties of water-works. In the gardens above, on a level with the palace (the English garden), the water is tastefully distributed into several lakes, etc.

The water falls in several broad sheets over different steps immediately in front of the palace. One range of these is gilt, and in a clear day must present a splendid spectacle. They place candles under the shutes of the water and thus have an illumination under the water, which did not, however, produce the effect I expected.

There are many long walks in the gardens, I should say more than a verst in length, at the intersection of which are little lakes, and in the centre of them jet d’eaus.

On the sides of these walks, and all around the little lakes, were frame-works to a considerable elevation, destined for the candles.

We rode all through these different walks. In front of one of the lakes stands the little palace of Marly, built by Peter the Great. Everything is preserved there just as he left it; and it was curious to observe the progress of luxury in comparing his clothing and accommodations with those of the imperial family in the present day. There is a carp which has been in the lake for a century, with a collar round its neck. It, with others, comes to the edge of the water at the sound of a bell, every morning, to receive its breakfast.

We went over to the ball about eight in the evening, where the emperor and empress and the rest of us polonaised, and all things were conducted as on the 1st January, only the crowd was not so great. After supper, about half-past eleven, the emperor, empress, Prince Albert of Prussia, and other members of the I. F., mounted one of these vehicles. They were followed in others by the members of the court of D. C., and thus we slowly promenaded through all these walks, the sides of which were covered by immense crowds of spectators. The effect of the illumination was brilliant. The Grand Duke Michel was on horseback, and great precautions were evidently taken, on account of the Polish conspiracy.

About half-past one we ended. The distance to Peterhoff 26 versts. Mr. Lander and Captain Ranlett, Americans, were there in the ball room, in dominos, etc., etc.

[TO THE HON. E. LIVINGSTON, SECRETARY OF STATE.]

AMERICAN LEGATION, } ST. PETERSBURG, July 3, 1833, N. S. }

SIR:—

On the 28th ultimo I had an interview with Count Nesselrode on the subject of the application which I made on the 5–17 May, in behalf of Messrs. Shaw & Co., of Boston. The question has not yet been decided.

After the conversation upon this subject, the count informed me that Baron Krudener, in his last despatch, had acknowledged the receipt of the emperor’s ratification of the treaty, and on the first instant I received a note from him communicating the intelligence that the ratifications had been exchanged at Washington on the 11th of May. At this interview I had hoped he would say something concerning the proposed treaty on neutral rights, and gave the conversation such a turn as would naturally lead to the subject.

I enquired when the emperor would leave St. Petersburg. He answered that his majesty would not set out upon his journey into the interior until after the commencement of August. I then replied that before his departure, I should solicit my audience of leave, as I intended to return to the United States during the approaching autumn.

He expressed his regret at my determination and their satisfaction with my conduct as a minister; but made no allusion whatever, either to the treaty or to my note of the 18–30 of May. I felt that it would not be becoming for me again to press this subject upon his attention, and thus we parted.

Perhaps it might have been better under the circumstances not to have attempted a renewal of the negotiation at the present moment.

This government has, for some time, been in possession of secret information which has given them much concern.

The impression is that it was first communicated to the emperor by Louis Philippe. A number of Poles at Paris, driven to desperation by their sufferings, have solemnly sworn before God, and pledged themselves to each other, to assassinate the emperor, at any personal peril.

The first intimation which the public had of the existence of the conspiracy was the publication on the 8–20 June, in the St. Petersburg _Journal_, of an address presented to the emperor at Helsingfors, during his late visit to Finland; the subject was again referred to in the succeeding number of the 15–27 of the same month. I herewith transmit you both these numbers.

From the desperation of the Poles, and their determined character, this information has excited considerable alarm in St. Petersburg. The people here, whilst they admire and respect the emperor as the author of their security and prosperity, look with fearful apprehension to the future, in the event of his assassination.

The heir apparent is yet a minor, and although he possesses a most amiable disposition, it is believed he is deficient both in talent and strength of character. The Grand Duke Michel, who would become regent, is as universally disliked as the emperor is esteemed. Indeed, in such an event, many of the foreigners in St. Petersburg, knowing the deadly hostility felt against them by the lower orders of Russians, would entertain serious apprehensions for their lives and their property. Such is the miserable condition of despotism; and such is the feeling here, at the very moment when this government, more by its superior policy than its power, has acquired a commanding influence throughout Europe.

Still greater precautions now exist than did formerly, in regard to the admission of strangers into the country. The emperor no longer appears in the streets like a private citizen. It is said that he is always surrounded by guards. But from what I have heard, he rather submits to these regulations of his ministers than approves of them himself. He is a bold and fearless man, and manifests no apprehension whatever. If the Poles have determined to play the part of Scaevola, he at least will not enact that of Porsenna.

Three of the conspirators have been seized in Russia. After all I cannot feel that there is much danger. I send you the _Journal_ of yesterday, containing our latest news from Constantinople.

This despatch will be carried to London by Mr. Gibson, our consul. He has been ill for some time, and his disease is, I fear, now approaching its crisis. He is very feeble, has a bad cough, and throws up much blood. His physician informed him that his only hope was to leave St. Petersburg, and that immediately. Mr. Clay will perform his duties during his absence, and we are both happy to render all the services in our power to so worthy a man and so good an officer.

After having written the foregoing, I had the pleasure of receiving your Despatch No. 11, dated on the 30th April. It has been long on the passage. By the Hamburg _Reporter_ received on the 29th ultimo, we had New York dates, via London, up till the first of that month.

On the 19th of July, Mr. Buchanan received the melancholy news that his mother had died in the previous May.

[TO REV. EDWARD Y. BUCHANAN.]

ST. PETERSBURG, July 20, 1833.

MY DEAR BROTHER:—

I received your kind letters, of the 7th and 17th May, on yesterday afternoon; the latter communicating the melancholy intelligence of mother’s death.[37] The news was a severe and unexpected blow. I had hoped, by the blessing of God, to see her once more on this side of eternity. Indeed, this desire was one of the chief reasons which made me so reluctant to spend another winter in Russia.

But it has been the will of the Almighty to take her to Himself, and we must bow in humble reverence. I received at the same time a letter from Mr. Henry, which gave me the consolatory assurance that she had died the death of a Christian, and that her latter end was peace.

It is my present intention to leave St. Petersburg on the 7th August, and I feel almost confident, with the blessing of Heaven, that I shall be able with propriety, to bring all the business of my mission to a close before that day.

My present purpose is to go by the steamboat to Lubeck, and thence by Hamburg, Amsterdam, the Hague, and Brussels to Paris, where I shall probably spend a fortnight. I shall then proceed to London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin, from which city I intend to cross over to Liverpool, and sail for New York by the packet of the 24th October. It is my intention, if possible, to see Romilton and Derry. I hope to reach the United States in the beginning of December.

I have recently returned from a very agreeable excursion to Moscow; but I must defer a description of this city, the ancient capital of the czars, until we meet again. Whilst there, I visited the celebrated monastery of Iwitza, at the distance of forty miles. In the estimation of the Russians, it is a very holy place. It was anciently a strong fortress, which contained a palace as well as a convent, and is much connected with the history of Russia. The sovereigns formerly made pilgrimages on foot from Moscow to the shrine of St. Sierge, at this monastery. The Empress Catharine the Second, was the last who performed this act of devotion. Going and returning there, I am confident we met at the least 10,000 pilgrims on foot. They appeared to be of a low order of people, and the great majority were females.

I have but little time before the departure of the boat, and must close. Remember me affectionately to my sister, I don’t know her Christian name, to the Doctor and Maria. I am glad to hear that the latter are so comfortably situated, and hope you may all live together in Christian peace and in prosperity. Remember me kindly to Judge and Mrs. Shippen, Mr. and Mrs. Barlow, and believe me to be ever your affectionate brother,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

P. S.—I wrote to our dear mother on the 3d instant.

[TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.]

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, ST. PETERSBURG, July 31, N. S. 1833.

On Friday last, the 28th instant, I had an interview with Count Nesselrode, for the purpose of making the necessary arrangements previous to my departure from this country.

After the usual salutations, he introduced the subject of the commercial treaty, which is one of his favorite topics. The opposition made to it in the imperial council, and the difficulties which he there encountered and overcame, seem to have inspired him with a feeling of paternity towards this treaty. After some general conversation, relating chiefly to its favorable reception in the United States, I changed the subject, and remarked, that in our last interview I had entirely forgotten to mention that his explanation in regard to Baron Sacken’s note was entirely satisfactory to the President. It might be proper to observe, however, that Mr. Livingston differed materially from the baron in relation to some of the facts attending this unpleasant transaction, and it had, at first, been my intention to bring these points of difference specially under the notice of his excellency; but after reflection, I had determined that it was best upon the whole not to revive the subject. He immediately replied it was wholly unnecessary; he wished the whole subject to be buried in oblivion and there remain as if it had never existed. He expressed his pleasure in the strongest terms that the President was satisfied with the explanation, and then laughingly observed that Baron Sacken and Mr. Livingston were now both _hors du combat_: the one was no longer chargé nor the other Secretary of State.

I felt the less inclined to enter into any detail upon this subject, as Mr. Livingston admits that Baron Sacken did show him the offensive note at New York, and _that he did not make any objections to its style_, though he is convinced this took place after the note had been sent to Mr. Brent and not before, as the baron had informed Count Nesselrode. When I returned home, I discovered that the count, before our interview, must have had in his possession a copy of Mr. Livingston’s Despatch No. 11, giving his own explanation of the whole transaction. During my absence, the post-office had sent me the duplicate of that despatch which, like all the communications I have ever received through the same channel, had been evidently opened. How it got there, I know not, because it had been forwarded to this city by the ship Birmingham from New York _via Charleston_.

After this subject was disposed of, I told the count that as all our official intercourse had been of the most frank and friendly character, I felt it to be my duty to explain to him the reasons which would induce me to leave Russia sooner than I had at first intended. A short time before the departure of Mr. Clay with the treaty last winter, I had received information of my brother’s death and of the declining health of my mother and eldest sister. These circumstances had naturally produced a desire to return home, and had besides imposed upon me new and urgent duties towards my family. In a private letter which I addressed to the President by Mr. Clay, I suggested that these considerations might induce me to ask for permission to leave St. Petersburg sooner than I had intended; and upon his return in May last, I had received my letter of recall with the discretionary power of presenting it when I might think proper. The recent melancholy intelligence of my mother’s death had increased my anxiety, and made the reasons for my departure still more urgent.

He expressed his sorrow that I had been so unfortunate as to have lost my mother and my brother since my arrival in St. Petersburg, and his regret that these circumstances should have rendered my departure necessary.

I told him I had not in the beginning intended to remain longer than two years,—I was no diplomat, and had never any desire to pursue this career. That I should now return to private life; but in whatever circumstances I might hereafter be placed, it would always afford me great pleasure to exert any humble influence I might possess in cementing the bonds of friendship which now so happily united the two countries.

He complimented me by saying, I had shown myself to be both an able and a successful diplomat, and he could assure me I had contributed much, since my arrival in this country, to promote kindly feelings between the two governments. He hoped I would carry with me agreeable souvenirs of my residence in St. Petersburg, and that my influence at home might be used in perpetuating the good understanding which now so happily existed.

I had taken with me a copy of my letter of recall and of the concluding paragraph of Despatch No. 9, and upon presenting them, I read the latter to the count, containing an assurance of the high consideration with which the personal character of the emperor had inspired the President, and of the wishes he formed for his happiness and the prosperity of his empire. To this I added that such an assurance, proceeding from the source it did, was in itself the strongest evidence of its own sincerity......

JAMES BUCHANAN.

All things being arranged for his departure, Mr. Buchanan had his audience of leave of the emperor on the 5th of August, of which he gave a striking account to the Secretary of State in the following despatch written two days afterward:

[TO THE HON. LOUIS McLANE, SECRETARY OF STATE.]

ST. PETERSBURG, August 7, 1833, N. S.

SIR:—

On Monday last, the 5th instant, I had my audience of leave of the emperor, at the Palace of Peterhoff, twenty-six versts distant from this city. The conduct and conversation of his majesty throughout the interview were highly gratifying to myself; because they convinced me that I had conciliated his favorable opinion. This ought to be, next to the honest and independent discharge of his duty, the first object of a minister to Russia. Without it, he can never effectually serve his country.

Towards the conclusion of this interview, you will perceive that the emperor appeared to lay aside his official dignity and conversed frankly and with great feeling upon subjects which I could never have imagined he would introduce.

When I first entered he said: “What is the reason you are going to leave us? I am very sorry for it. You have given us great satisfaction whilst you have been amongst us.” After explaining to him the reason for my departure, he expressed his sympathy for me on account of the recent loss of my mother, and made some inquiries in relation to my family which I need not repeat. I then observed that, at the first, I had not intended to remain longer than two years. I was no diplomat, having never been engaged in that service before, and it was probable I should never again represent my country abroad. He said he liked me the better for it. He was no diplomat himself; his policy was always frank and open, and those who believed otherwise had greatly mistaken his character.

I then presented to him my letter of recall, and told him I had been instructed to assure him on this occasion of the continued desire felt by the President to foster the good understanding which now so happily subsisted between the two nations; and to express the high consideration with which his majesty’s personal character had inspired the President, and the wishes which he cherished for his happiness and the prosperity of his empire.

He said it was very gratifying to his feelings to receive such an assurance from General Jackson. He had shown himself to be a man both of integrity and firmness, and he valued his good opinion very highly. He felt a great respect for the people of the United States. They were a true and loyal people, and he should always endeavor to promote the most friendly relations with our country.

I then added, to that of General Jackson, my own humble testimonial of regard for his personal character, and the gratitude which I felt for his uniform kindness towards myself upon all occasions when I had the honor of meeting him. He replied that he felt much indebted to me for my good opinion, and trusted I should never have occasion to change it. He hoped I would remember him with kindness when I returned to my own country. He entertained a high personal regard for myself; and it was a source of peculiar pleasure to him, that it had fallen to my lot to conclude the commercial treaty between the two countries. He was glad this treaty had given satisfaction in the United States, and he believed it would serve to strengthen the attachment between two nations who ought always to be friends.

I observed it was one of the most agreeable occurrences of my life, to have been instrumental in concluding this treaty. I had no doubt it would be mutually beneficial to both countries. That wherever I was and whatever might be my lot, I should never cease to cherish the most ardent wishes for his happiness, and to use my humble influence in cementing the friendship between the two nations. This had been my constant object throughout the period of my mission. He said I had been eminently successful, and again assured me that my conduct had given him great satisfaction.

He then alluded, with considerable feeling, to the late debate in the House of Commons concerning Polish affairs; he observed that he was the representative of a great and powerful nation. This station imposed upon him many and arduous duties. He had acted in his public character, and upon views of public policy. But instead of considering the subject in this light, they seemed to have been instigated by a desire to abuse him personally. He could appeal to God and his own conscience for the purity and correctness of his conduct; and whilst that was the case, he should have peace within his own bosom, and would not regard the opinion of the world. This was a delicate subject. I replied that I had read the debate with considerable surprise. The distance at which my rank placed me from his majesty had enabled me to know but comparatively little of his personal character from my own observation; but judging from that knowledge, as well as from the information I had been able to collect, since my arrival in St. Petersburg, I entertained not a doubt he had been treated with great injustice. Indeed, it was impossible for any person who knew him, to believe that the representation made in that debate could be true.

And here permit me to declare that this is my honest conviction. I yield to no man in abhorrence for the different partitions of Poland, and in a desire to see the independence of that brave and gallant people re-established; but truth compels me to say that the cruelties of the Imperial Government towards them have been greatly exaggerated. It is even notorious here that in several instances the sons of Polish patriots who died fighting for national independence are receiving their education at the expense of the emperor, and are treated by him with distinguished kindness. The exaggerated impressions which have been spread throughout the world upon this subject arise, in a great degree, from the want of anything like a free press in Russia. From this cause, the representations of the injured party pass every where current, almost without contradiction. Still, it cannot be denied that whenever Russian officers are entrusted with power over Poles, it will most probably be abused. This arises from the ancient and malignant personal hatred existing between the two races.

The emperor afterwards observed that the English nation had, in his opinion, been acting very unwisely. They had got tired of a constitution under which they had risen to a high degree of greatness, and which had secured them many blessings, and he feared they were now about to prostrate their most valuable institutions. He then asked me what route I intended to take on my return home. I told him I should pass through Hamburg, Amsterdam, the Hague and Brussels to Paris, where I expected to spend a few weeks. From thence I should pass over to London, and finally embark from Liverpool for the United States. I said I had no particular desire to visit Paris; on the contrary, I should rather spend what time I had to spare in seeing a part of England, Scotland and Ireland; but it would be considered strange for an American to return from Europe without seeing Paris, the centre of so many attractions. This gave him occasion to speak of France. He said I was quite right in my intention to visit Paris. The French were a singular people. They were so fickle in their character, and had such a restless desire to disturb the peace of the world that they were always dangerous. They had tried every form of government and could not rest satisfied with any.

French emissaries were now endeavoring every where to excite disturbances and destroy the peace all over Europe.

I observed we had always pursued a different course in America. We were no propagandists. Perfectly satisfied with our institutions, we left to every other nation the task of managing their own concerns in their own manner. This had been the uniform policy of our Government since its origin.

He replied that he knew the character of our nation well, and repeated they were a true and loyal people: He had the greatest confidence in them. His own policy was the same as ours. He was no propagandist himself. All he desired was peace. He never interfered with the concerns of other nations when it could possibly be avoided. He desired peace above all things for Russia. But he said it seemed as if there were at present an evil spirit abroad throughout the world. He appeared to be particularly the object of its malevolence. (Evidently alluding to the Polish conspiracy.) He was in the hands of the Almighty, and would endeavor to do his duty fearlessly and honestly in the station where Providence had placed him, and in humble submission would leave the event to His will. Here he was evidently affected.

He then bade me adieu, and embraced and saluted me according to the Russian custom, a ceremony for which I was wholly unprepared, and which I could not have anticipated. Whilst we were taking leave, he told me to tell General Jackson to send him another minister exactly like myself. He wished for no better.

Upon leaving his presence I was sensibly impressed with the vanity of human greatness. The circumstances brought forcibly to memory the closing scene of the life of the Emperor Alexander. Throughout his last illness he refused to take medicine, and thus suffered his disease, which was not at the first considered dangerous, to become mortal. When Sir James Wylie, his physician, told him that unless he would submit to medical treatment his disease must prove fatal, the Emperor Alexander regarded him earnestly, and exclaimed in the most solemn manner, “and why should I desire to live?” He continued to reject all remedies, and his death was the consequence. On the truth of this anecdote you may rely. There was no foundation for the report that he had been poisoned.

At the first, I had determined to suppress such parts of this conversation as were evidently confidential, together with the kind things which the emperor said to me personally; but I afterwards concluded that it was my duty under my instructions to report the whole. This is done, under a full conviction that it will never meet the public eye.

I had on the same day my audience of leave of the empress, who was very gracious, but what passed upon this occasion is not properly the subject for a despatch.

I took leave of Count Nesselrode this morning, and presented Mr. Clay as chargé-d’affaires. Time presses, and I shall leave him in his first despatch to give you a particular account of this interview. It was entirely satisfactory.

Thus has my mission terminated; and I cannot be mistaken when I say that these people now evince a much better feeling both towards our Government and the head of it than they did on my arrival. I have taken great pains, upon all proper occasions, to make the character and conduct of General Jackson known. Nothing more was necessary to make the man who enjoys the highest rank in our country stand also the first in their esteem.

I have not seen or heard anything of Baron Sacken since his arrival in this city.

Within the past few days it has been known here that the emperor had refused to receive Sir Stratford Canning as ambassador from England. As his reasons were altogether personal, this refusal can produce no serious difficulty between the two nations. The Russians say that Sir Stratford, when here before, evinced a captious and jealous disposition, which rendered him very disagreeable.

I expect to reach the United States about the last of November or beginning of December.

Yours very respectfully,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

Footnote 34:

General Jackson at his second election received 219 electoral votes out of 288.

Footnote 35:

This I believe to have been a mistake, in respect to the nullification ordinance. It was adopted by a State convention, and consequently could only be repealed by another convention. This, I believe, was not done; but the laws based upon this ordinance were probably repealed by the legislature after Mr. Clay’s compromise. See the _Life of Webster_, by the present writer, Vol. I, p. 156.

Footnote 36:

Louis McLane, of Delaware, became Secretary of State in May, 1833. He was succeeded by John Forsyth, of Georgia, in June, 1834.

Footnote 37:

Mrs. Buchanan died on the 14th of May, 1833, at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Lane, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The letters of Mrs. Buchanan, of which I have seen many more than I have quoted, although rather formal in expression, show a mind of much cultivation, imbued with a fervent religious spirit, and of very decided and just opinions. In one of her letters to her son James, written in 1822, she says: “Harriet and myself, at the request of Mr. S., a clergyman, are engaged in reading Neale’s History of the Puritans, in which I observe a development of Queen Elizabeth’s character and management, not much to her honor; however, it appears evident, in opposition to her own intentions, she was made an instrument in the hands of Providence, of promoting the Reformation, which has certainly rendered an essential service to the world.” If the good lady had read Mr. Hallam’s very impartial account of Elizabeth’s management of the two opposite parties among the English Protestants, she would not have had much reason for changing the opinion which she formed from reading Neale, although it would not have been correct to say that the Queen’s course was in any just sense dishonorable to her. The truth probably is, that Elizabeth, in nearly everything that she did in regard to religion, was governed by motives of policy, and not by convictions or special inclinations. In many respects, she was not a Protestant, according to the Puritan standard, and in many others she was not a Catholic.