6lO Cochrane s Journey to the Fr 



The other was an " Open Order of 

 his Imperial. Majesty, Alexander the 

 First, Autocrat of all the Russlas," &c 

 &c. &c. signed by the same minister ' 

 and staling that " the bearer hereof, 

 Caplain John Cochrane, of his Britannic 

 Majesty's royal navy, havingnndertaken 

 to travel on foot tlirough the Russian 

 empire, is now on iiis way to Kamt- 

 chatka, intending from thence to pass 

 over to America. The police of the 

 towns and provinces lying in his track 

 from St. Petersburg to Kamtchatka, 

 are, in consequence hereof, not only 

 forbidden to obstruct Captain Cochrane 

 in his journey, but are moreover com- 

 manded, in case of necessity, to afford 

 him every possible assistance." 



A PALACE BURNT. 



Ou reaching the beautiful town of 

 Tzarsko Selo, the emperor's favorite 

 palace was wrapt in an inextinguish- 

 able flame. I had looked forward with 

 hope to enjoy the survey of so celebrated 

 an edifice, and had actually taken a 

 letter of recommendation to Prince 

 Theodore Galitzin, one of its principal 

 inhabitants. It was midnight. Parties 

 of men surrounded the wasting pile. 

 All, however, was order and regularity: 

 not a voice was heard amid the 

 thousands of people employed. The 

 emperor was present, evidently im- 

 pressed with extreme regret, and all ap- 

 peared powerfully to partake the senti- 

 ment. His majesty, however, conti- 

 nued to give frequent directions with 

 perfect coolness. 



Tzarsko Selo was the palace in which 

 the emperor and his brother Conslantine 

 had been brought up, and passed their 

 earlier years ; it was hither, also, that 

 the emperor was accustomed to retire, 

 when the cares of state permitted him, 

 to lose, among its amelioiating beauties, 

 the anxieties of a throne, and the toils 

 of so great a government. It had been 

 greatly embellished by his majesty, and 

 was considered one of the most beautiful 

 retreats in Europe. Years of time, and 

 millions of money must be expended, to 

 make it what it was but yesterday morn- 

 ing. 



Being excessively fatigued, and finding 

 my individual exertions perfectly useless 

 towards checking the progress of the 

 (iTunes, 1 retired to the gardens, where 

 I passed a couple of restless hours on a 

 bed of moss, amid herbs and flowers, 

 whose sweet perfumes were as yet un- 

 vanquished by the fire or smoke. Some 

 demon seemed to hover over me, and 

 my dreams presented the probaldc in- 



ozen Sea and Kamtchatka. 



cidents of my journey, in all the horrors 

 which imagination could shadow forth. 

 I arose, and returned to the scene of 

 devastation, now evidently increasing, 

 and appearing to defy the numerous 

 engines pouring upon it from all sides. 



The dome of the church fell with a 

 tremendous crash, and such was the im- 

 mense mass of fire that fell with it, and 

 so great the force of the rebound, that 

 in its second descent, and assisted by 

 the wind, it set fire to two other parts of 

 the palace, until then considered safe. 

 At this critical moment iiis imperial 

 majesty gave a strong proof of steady 

 collectedness. While the fire was 

 raging from apartment to apartment, 

 apparently mocking the resistance of 

 man, the emperor gave directions that 

 the doors should be walled up with 

 bricks. This w'as instantly done, and 

 by such an expedient alone could the 

 amber, the most valuable chamber, have 

 been wrested from the general destruc- 

 tion. 



ROBBED AND STRIPPED. 



My route was towards Liubane, at 

 about the ninth mile-stone from which 

 I sat down, to smoke a segar, or pipe, 

 as fancy might dictate, when I was 

 suddenly seized from behind, by two 

 rulDans, whose visages were as much 

 concealed as the oddness of their dress 

 would permit. One of them who held 

 an iron bar in Iiis hand, dragged tne 

 by the collar towards the forest, while 

 the other, with a bayoneted mu-^ket, 

 pushed me on, in such a manner, as to 

 make me move with more than ordinary 

 celerity ; while a boy, auxiliary to these 

 vagabonds, w'as stationed on the road- 

 side to keep a look out. 



We had got some sixty or eighty 

 paces into the thickest part of the 

 forest, when I was desired to undress, 

 and having stripped off my trowsers and 

 jacket, then my shirt, and, finally, my 

 shoes and stockings, they proceeded to 

 tie me to a tree. From this ceremony, 

 and from the manner of it, I fully con- 

 cluded that they intended to try the 

 effect of a musket upon me, by 

 firing at me as they would at a mark. 

 I was, however, reserved for fresh 

 scenes: the villains, with much sang- 

 froid, seated themselves at my feet, and 

 rifled my knapsack and pockets, even 

 cutting out the linings of the clothes in 

 search of bank bills or some other 

 valuable articles. They then com- 

 pelled me to take at least a pound of 

 black bread, and a glass of rum poured 

 from a small flask Mbich had been sus- 

 pended 



