友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
合租小说网 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

part05+-第10部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!





from French dramas delightful。 As to historical studies; the most



interesting man I found was Professor Demetrieff; who was brought



to my house by Pobedonostzeff。 I had been reading Billbassoff's



〃Life of the Empress Catherine〃; and; on my asking some questions



regarding it; the professor said that at the death of the



Empress; her son; the Emperor Paul; intrusted the examination of



her papers to Rostopchine; who; on going through them; found a



casket containing letters and the like; which she had evidently



considered especially precious; and among these a letter from



Orloff; giving the details of the murder of her husband; Peter



III; at Ropscha。 The letter; in substance; stated that Orloff and



his associates; having attempted to seize Peter; who was



evidently on his way to St。 Petersburg to imprison the Empress



Catherine;if not to put her to death;the Emperor had



resisted; and that finally; in the struggle; he had been killed。



Professor Demetrieff then said that the Emperor Paul showed these



papers to his sons Alexander and Nicholas; who afterward



succeeded him on the throne; and expressed his devout



thankfulness that the killing of Peter III was not intentional;



and therefore that their grandmother was not a murderess。







This reminds me that; at my first visit to St。 Petersburg; I



often passed; during my walks; the old palace of Paul; and that



there was one series of windows carefully barred: these belonging



to the rooms in which the Emperor Paul himself was assassinated



in order to protect the life of his son Alexander and of the



family generally。







Another Russian; Prince Serge Wolkonsky; was certainly the most



versatile man I have ever known: a playwright; an actor; an



essayist; an orator; a lecturer; and admirable in each of these



capacities。 At a dinner given me; just before my departure from



St。 Petersburg; by the Russians who had taken part in the Chicago



Exposition; I was somewhat troubled by the fact that the speeches



of the various officials were in Russian; and that; as I so



imperfectly understood them; I could not know what line to take



when my own speech came; but presently the chairman; Minister



Delyanoff; called upon young Prince Serge; who came forward very



modestly and; in admirable English; gave a summary of the whole



series of Russian speeches for my benefit; concluding with an



excellent speech of his own。 His speeches and addresses at



Chicago were really remarkable; and; when he revisited America;



his lectures on Russian literature at Cornell University; at



Washington; and elsewhere; were worthy of the College de France。



This young man could speak fluently and idiomatically; not only



his own language; but English; French; German; Italian; and I



know not how many other tongues。







To meet scientific men of note my wont was to visit the Latin



Quarter; and there; at the house of Professor Woeikoff of St。



Petersburg University; I met; at various times; a considerable



body of those best worth knowing。 One of those who made an



especially strong impression upon me was Admiral Makharoff。



Recently has come news of his death while commanding the Russian



fleet at Port Arthurhis flag…ship; with nearly all on board;



sunk by a torpedo。 At court; in the university quarter; and later



at Washington; I met him often; and rated him among the



half…dozen best Russians I ever knew。 Having won fame as a



vigorous and skilful commander in the Turkish war; he was



devoting himself to the scientific side of his profession。 He had



made a success of his colossal ice…breaker in various northern



waters; and was now giving his main thoughts to the mapping out;



on an immense scale; of all the oceans; as regards winds and



currents。 As explained by him; with quiet enthusiasm; it seemed



likely to be one of the greatest triumphs of the inductive method



since Lord Bacon。 With Senator Semenoff and Prince Gregory



Galitzin I had very interesting talks on their Asiatic travels;



and was greatly impressed by the simplicity and strength of



Mendeleieff; who is certainly to…day one of two or three foremost



living authorities in chemistry。 Although men of science; unless



they hold high official positions; are not to be seen at court; I



was glad to find that there were some Russian nobles who



appreciated them; and an admirable example of this was once shown



at my own house。 It was at a dinner; when there was present a



young Russian of very high lineage; and I was in great doubt as



to the question of precedence; this being a matter of grave



import under the circumstances。 At last my wife went to the



nobleman himself and asked him frankly regarding it。 His answer



did him credit: he said; 〃I should be ashamed to take precedence



here of a man like Mendeleieff; who is an honor to Russia in the



eyes of the whole world; and I earnestly hope that he may be



given the first place。〃







There were also various interesting women in St。 Petersburg



society; the reception afternoons of two of them being especially



attractive: they were; indeed; in the nature of the French salons



under the old regime。







One of these ladiesthe Princess Wolkonskyseemed to interest



all men not absorbed in futilities; and the result was that one



heard at her house the best men in St。 Petersburg discussing the



most interesting questions。







The other was the Austrian ambassadress; Countess Wolkenstein;



whom I had slightly known; years before; as Countess Schleinitz;



wife of the minister of the royal household at Berlin。 On her



afternoons one heard the best talk by the most interesting men;



and it was at the salons of these two ladies that there took



place the conversations which I have recorded in my 〃History of



the Warfare of Science;〃 showing the development of a legend



regarding the miraculous cure of the Archbishop of St。 Petersburg



by Father Ivan of Cronstadt。







Another place which especially attracted me was the house of



General Ignatieff; formerly ambassador at Constantinople; where;



on account of his alleged want of scruples in bringing on the war



with Russia; he received the nickname 〃Mentir Pasha。〃 His wife



was the daughter of Koutousoff; the main Russian opponent of



Napoleon in 1812; and her accounts of Russia in her earlier days



and of her life in Constantinople were at times fascinating。







I remember meeting at her house; on one occasion; the Princess



Ourousoff; who told me that the Emperor Alexander had said to



her; 〃I wish that every one could see Sardou's play 'Thermidor'



and discover what revolution really is〃; and that she had



answered; 〃Revolutions are prepared long before they break out。〃



That struck me as a very salutary bit of philosophy; which every



Russian monarch would do well to ponder。







The young Princess Radzivill was also especially attractive。 In



one of her rooms hung a portrait of Balzac; taken just after



death; and it was most striking。 This led her to give me very



interesting accounts of her aunt; Madame de Hanska; to whom



Balzac wrote his famous letters; and whom he finally married。 I



met at her house another lady of high degree; to whom my original



introduction had been somewhat curious。 Dropping in one afternoon



at the house of Henry Howard; the British first secretary; I met



in the crowd a large lady; simply dressed; whom I had never seen



before。 Being presented to her; and not happening to catch her



name; I still talked on; and found that she had traveled; first



in Australia; then in California; thence across our continent to



New York; and her accounts of what she had seen interested me



greatly。 But some little time afterward I met her again at the



house of Princess Radzivill; and then found that she was the



English Duchess of Buckingham。 One day I had been talking with



the Princess and her guest on the treasures of the Imperial



Library; and especially the wonderful collection of autographs;



among them the copy…book of Louis XIV when a child; which showed



the pains taken to make him understand; even in his boyhood; that



he was an irresponsible autocrat。 On one of its pages the line to



be copied ran as follows:







L'hommage est du aux Roys; ils font ce qu'il leur plaist。LOUIS。







Under this the budding monarch had written the same words six



times; with childish care to keep the strokes straight and the



spaces regular。 My account of this having led the princess to ask



me to take her and her friend to the library and to show them



some of these things; I gladly agreed; wrote the director;



secured an appointment for a certain afternoon; and when the time



came called for the ladies。 But a curious contretemps arose。 I



had met; the day before; two bright American ladies; and on their



asking me about the things best worth seeing; I had especially



recommended them to visit the Imperial Library。 On arriving at



the door with the princess and the duchess; I was surprised to



find that no preparations had been made to meet us;in fact;



that our coming seemed to be a matter of surprise; and a



considerable time elapsed before the director and other officials



came to us。 Then I learned what the difficulty was。 The two



American ladies; in perfectly good faith; had visited the library



a few hours before; and; on their saying that the American



minister had recommended them to come; it had been tak
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!