60 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



was entertained with a grand 

 dinner, at Guildhall, by the Cor- 

 poration of London. Previously to 

 the entertainment the Noble Dul;e 

 was presented, in the customary 

 forms, with a sword of exquisite 

 workmanship, voted by the Com- 

 mon Council. The guests con- 

 sisted of several of the Royal 

 Dukes, of the Foreign Princes re- 

 maining in this country, the Fo- 

 reign Ambassadors, the Ministers 

 of State, and a long list of naval 

 and military characters of distinc- 

 tion. The galleries, which had 

 not been removed, were again 

 crowded with ladies. The interior 

 of the hall was decorated much in 

 the same manner as at the banquet 

 which was honoured by the pre- 

 sence of the Regent, and their 

 Russian and Prussian Majesties. 



The Dutch papers are full of 

 the progress of the Emperor Alex- 

 ander through Holland, and of 

 the honours with which he was 

 received at Rotterdam, the Hague, 

 and Ara^terdam. The visit of his 

 Imperial Majesty to the village of 

 Saaidam was interesting. The 

 house which Peter the Great first 

 entered on his arrival, August 18, 

 1697, was prepared for the recep- 

 tion of his Majesty, and the Prince 

 of Orange, who accompanied him. 

 The house was fitted up with Dutch 

 neatness. In the parlour was a 

 fine portrait of Peter the Great in 

 armour. The Emperor and the 

 Prince were received by 16 daugh- 

 ters of the Magistrates, in the 

 dress of Saaldam. The illustrious 

 visitors testified their satisfaction 

 at their reception, and then went 

 to the house of the Czar Peter, 

 which had simply the inscription, 

 •' To the great man, nothing is 

 too little," The Emperor having 



visited the dock, where Peter en- 

 gaged himself as a workman, 

 came to the house. The Prince 

 led him in, and one could imme- 

 diately see the impression which 

 the immense contrast of the simple 

 dwelling with the power and 

 splendor of its former inhabitant, 

 and so many other recollections, 

 would not fail to inspire. The 

 Prince requested the Emperor to 

 leave a memorial of this remarka- 

 ble visit, and all having been pre- 

 pared, the Emperor, with a silver 

 trowel, fixed in the chimney a 

 square of white marble, on which 

 is inscribed in golden letters — 

 " Petro Magno — Alexander." 



10. The University of Moscow 

 celebrated the glorious epoch 

 which has given peace to Europe. 

 The Secretary gave a short history 

 of the University from July 1812, 

 to July 1814, in whicli he de- 

 tailed the losses which it had sus- 

 tained from the invasion of the 

 French, and which consisted, not 

 only in the destruction of the 

 buildings, but of the museums 

 and libraries. The collection of 

 natural history, one of the most 

 considerable in Europe, and the 

 library, which contained more than 

 20,000 volumes, were totally de- 

 stroyed, as well as the collection 

 of physical, astronomical, chemi- 

 cal, and surgical instruments. The 

 University library, however, again 

 consists of more than .5,000 vo- 

 lumes, and the collection of na- 

 tural history, of above 6,000 arti- 

 cles, by which the foundation of a 

 new Museum is laid. In the Phy- 

 sical Cabinet there are 141 instru- 

 ments, and in the Cabinet of 

 Medals there are above 4,000 

 coins of various descriptions. Since 

 the year 1812, there have been 



