Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

INTERVIEW WITH THE EMPRESS.239

composition of Breughel's. The tints of the picture cannot be described by words. The domes of the church of Saint Nicholas stood in the relief of lapis lazuli against a sky of silver; the illuminated portico of the Exchange, whose lamps were partially quenched by the dawning day, still gleamed on the water of the river, and was reflected — a peristyle of gold: the rest of the city was of that blue which we see in the distances of the landscapes of the old painters. This fantastic picture, painted on a ground of ultramarine, and framed by a gilded window, contrasted, in a manner that was altogether supernatural, with the light and splendour of the interior of the palace. It might have been said that the city, the sky, the sea and the whole face of nature had joined in contributing to the magnificence of the fete given to his daughter by the sovereign of these immense regions.

I was absorbed in the contemplation of the scene, when a sweet and penetrating female voice suddenly aroused me with the question —" What are you doing here ? "

" Madame, I am indulging in admiration. I can do nothing else to-day.;'

It was the empress. She stood alone with me in the embrasure of the window, which was like a pavilion opening on the Neva.

í¢ As for me, I am suffocating," replied her majesty. "It is less poetical, I admit; but you are right in admiring this picture; it is magnificent!" Continuing to contemplate it, she added—" I am certain that you and I are the only persons here who have remarked this effect of light."