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

I had forgotten to mention a singular object which struck me at the commencement of the journey.

Between Petersburg and Novgorod, I remarked, for several successive stages, a second road that ran parallel to the principal highway, though at a considerable distance from it. It was furnished with bridges and every thing else that could render it safe and passable, although it was much less handsome, and less smooth than the grand route. I asked the keeper of a post-house the meaning of this singularity, and was answered, through my feldjäger, that the smaller road was destined for waggons, cattle, and travellers, when the Emperor, or other members of the imperial family, proceeded to Moscow. The dust and obstructions that might incommode or retard the august travellers, if the grand route remained open to the public, were thus avoided. I cannot tell whether the innkeeper was amusing himself at my expense, but he spoke in a very serious manner, and seemed to consider it very natural that the sovereign should engross the road in a land where the sovereign is every thing. The king who said, " 1 am France," stopped to let a flock of sheep pass ; and under his reign, the foot passenger, the waggoner, and the clown who travelled the public road, repeated our old adage to the princes whom they met: " the high road belongs to every body: " what really constitutes a law is the manner in which it is applied.

In France, maimers and customs have in every age rectified political institutions; in Russia the harshness of the institutes is increased in their application, so that, there, the consequences are worse than the principles.