have passed the Rubicon," said Alexander Bes-
toujif, " and now we must cut down all who
oppose us." "You see," said Ryleif, "we are
betrayed ; the court is partly aware of our de-
signs, but they do not know the whole. Our
forces are sufiicient; our scabbards are broken;
we can no longer conceal our sabres. Have we
not an admirable chief in Troubetzkoi ?" " Yes,"
answered Jakoubovitch, "in height" — alluding
to his lofty stature. At length all .schnitzier
agreed upon an insurrection on the j. 213, aie;'
day when the oath should be tend- Ann. Hist,
ered to the troops.' '■''• ^^^< ^^^
On the morning of the 26th, the oath was
taken without difficulty in several of 123
the first regiments of the guards, es- commence-
pecially the horse-guards, the che- "lent oi" it.
valier guards, and the famous regi- ^^'
ments Preobrazinsk}-, Simoneffsky, Imailoffskj',
Pauloffsky, and the chasseurs of the guard. But
the case was very diil'erent with the regiment
of Moscow, the grenadiers of the body-guard,
and t)»e marines of the guard. They were for
the most part at the devotion of the conspira-
tors. Tlie troops were informed that Constan-
tine had not resigned, but was in irons, as well
as the (Jrand Duke Michael ; that he loved their
regiments, and, if reinstated in autlioi-ity, would
double their pa}'. [Such was tiie ellect of these
representations, enforced as they were by the
ardent military eloquence of the many gifted
and generous young men who were engaged in
tiie conspiracy from patriotic motives,* that
the men tumultuously broke their ranks, and,
with loud hurraiiH, " (."oiistantine for ever!"
* Alcxanilcr Ucstoiijif, brothrr of Michael Hcstoiijif, one
of llu; IcailiTH of tin; revolt, addrt'SHcd the followinn prayer
to the Aliiiijihty, as he rose on tlie eventful day : "Oh
God 1 if our eriteriiriHe \» ju»t, vouchHafe to us thy sup-
I)ort ; if not, thy will tic done to uh." It ia dillicult to
know whether to admire the oourage and sincerity of the
rnen who brave/l such dangcrH, as they conceived, for
their country's Rood, or to lament the hlindness and in-
fatuation which led th.Mu to strive to obtain for it institu-
tions wholly unsuited for the people, and which could
terminate in nothing hut temporary anarchy and lasting
military despotism — SuiiNirzLEn, i. 2'21, note
274
HISTORY OF EUROPE.
[Chap. VIII.
rushed into their bnrrncks for (ininuinition, from
wlu'iioi" they iiiinuHliately retiiriiwl with their
iiuiskots Uuided with bull. They were jiis-t eoiii-
ini; out when an aid-do-i'unip arrived with or-
ders for the oflieers to repair forthwith to tlie
head-quarters of tiie general (Frederiek) and the
Grand Duke Miehael. " 1 do not aeknowledgc
the authority of your general," cried Prince
Tflieehipine," who eoniniuuded one of the re-
volted eonipanics, and immediately he ordered
the soldiers to load their pieces. At the same
instant Alexander Pestoiijif discharged a pistol
at General Frederick himself, who was eonung
up, and wounded him on the head. lie fell in-
sensible on the pavement, while Tchechipine
attacked General Chenchine, who commanded
the brigade of the guard, of which the regiment
of Moscow formed a part, and stretched him on
the ground by repeated blows of his sabre. In
a transport of enthusiasm at this success, he
with his own hand snatched the standard of the
regiment from the officer who bore it, and, wav-
ing it in the air, exclaimed aloud, " Constantine
forever !" The soldiers loudly answered with
the same acclamation, and immediately the
greater part of the regiments, disregarding the
voice of their superior officei's. Colonel Adles-
berg and Count Lieven, who held out for JSich-
olas, moved in a body forward from the front of
their barracks, and took up a position on the
Grand Place behind the statue of I'eter the
Great. There they were soon joined by a bat-
talion of the marines of the guard, who had been
roused in a similar manner by Lieutenant Ai'-
bouzoff, and by several companies of the grena-
diers of the body-guard. By ten o'clock, eigh-
teen hundred men were drawn up in battle ar-
ray on the Place of the Senate, behind the statue,
surrovmded by a great crowd of civilians, most
of whom were armed with pistols or
i ^222"'223'^' sabres ; and the air resounded with
' ' cries of "Constantine forever!"'
The die was now cast, and the danger was so
imminent, that, if there had been the
Heroic con- slightest indecision at head-quarters,
duct of the insurrection would have proved
Nicholas successful, and Russia have been de-
livered over to the horrors of mili-
tary license and servile revolt. But
in that extremity Nicholas was not awanting to
himself; he won the empire by proving he was
worthy of it. He could no longer reckon on
his guards, and without their support a Russian
emperor is as weak as with it he is powerful.
At eleven he received intelligence that the oath
had been taken by the principal officers in the
garrison, and it was hoped the danger was over ;
but in a quarter of an hour news of a very dif-
ferent import arrived — that an entire regiment
of horse-artillery had been confined to their
barracks, to prevent their joining the insur-
gents, and that a formidable body of the guards
in open revolt were drawn up on the Place of
the Senate. He instantly took his resolution,
and in a spirit worthy of his race. Taking the
empress, in whom the spirit, if not the blood,
of Frederick the Great still dwelt, by the hand,
he repaired to the chapel of the palace, where,
with her, he invoked the blessing of the Most
High on their undertaking. Then, after ad-
dressing a few words of encouragement to his
weeping but still courageous consort, he took
on the 00-
casion.
his eldest son, a charming child of eight years
of age, by the hand, and descended to the chief
body of the yet faithful guards, stationed in
front of the palace, and gave orders to them to
load their jiieces. Then presenting the young
tirand Duke to the soldiers, he said, "I trust
him to you ; yours it is to defend him." The
chasseurs of Finland, with loud acclamations,
swore to die in his cause ; and the child, terri-
fied at their cheers, was passed in their arms
from rank to rank, amidst the tears of the men.
They put him, while still weeping, into the cen-
tre of their column, and such was the entliusi-
asm excited that they refused to give him back
to his preceptor, Colonel Moerder, who came to
reclaim him.'* " God knows our in- ischnitzlcr
tention," said they; "we will restore j. 224, 225 ;'
the child only to his father, who in- Ann. Hist,
trusted him to us." '^- ^^''' ^'^S-
Meanwhile Nicholas put himself at the head
of the first battalion of the regiment
Preobrazinsky, which turned out Nicholas
with unheard-of rapidity, and ad- advances
vanced toward the rebels, supported aga'nst the
by the third battalion, several com-
panies of the grenadiers of Pauloffsky, and a
battalion of the sappers of the guard. On the
way he met a column proceeding to the ren-
dezvous of the rebels. Advancing to them with
an intrepid air, he called out in a loud voice,
"Good-morning, my children!" — the usual sal-
utation of patriarchal simplicity of the emper-
ors to their troops. "Hourra, Constantine!"
was the answer. Without exhibiting any symp-
toms of fear, the emperor, pointing with his
finger to the other end of the Place, where the
insurgents were assembled, said, "You have
mistaken your way ; your place is there with
traitors." Another detachment following them,
to which the same salute was addressed, re-
mained silent. Seizing the moment of hesita-
tion, with admirable presence of mind, he gave
the order, " Wheel to the right — ^niarch I" with
a loud voice. The instinct of discipline pre-
vailed, and the men turned about and retraced
their steps, as if they liad never „ „ . . ,
deviated from their allegiance to j 22:"228!'^'
their sovereign.^
The rebels, however, reinforced by several
companies and detachments of some regiments
which successively joined them, were by one
* What a scene for poetry or painting I — realizing on
a still greater theatre all that the genius of Homer had
prefigured of the parting of Hector and Andromache :
" Thus having spoke, the illustrious chief of Troy
Clasped liis fond arms to clasp the lovely boy ,
The babe clung crying to his nurse's breast.
Scared at the nodding plume and dazzling crest.
With secret pleasure each fond parent smiled.
And Hector hastened to relieve his child ;
The glittering terrors from his brow unbound.
And placed the beaming helmet on the ground ;
Then kissed the child, and, lifting high in air,
Thus to the gods preferred a father's prayer :
O Thou ! whose glory fills the ethereal throne,
And all ye deathless powers, protect my son !
Grant him, like me, to purchase just renown,
To guard the Trojans, to defend the crown ;
Against his country's foes the war to wage,
And rise the Hector of the future age.
So, when triumphant from successful toils,
Of heroes slain, he bears the reeking spoils.
Whole hosts may hail him with deserved acclaim.
And say this chief transcends his father's fame ;
While, pleased amidst the general shouts of Troy,
His mother's conscious heart o'ertlows with joy."
Pope's Iliad, vi. 595, 610-
1826.]
HI STORY OF EUROrE.
2^5
n'flock in the afternoon above three thousand
J26 strong, and incessant cries of " Ilour-
Forces on ra, Constantine!" broke from their
iiotii sides, ranks. The ground was covered with
lutfon oT"" snow, some of which had recently
the chiefs fallen; but nothing could damp the
of the re- ardor of the men, who remained in
^'^"' close array, cheering, and evincing
tlie greatest enthusiasm. Loud cries of " Long
live
t!ie vast Place, and were repeated by the crowd,
which, every minute increasing, surrounded the
regiments in revolt, until the shouts were heard
Lven in the imperial palace. Already, however,
Count Alexis Orlof had assembled several squad-
luiis of his regiment of horse-guards, and taken
a position on the Place in front of the muti-
neers ; and the arrival of the emperor, with the
battalion of the Preobrazinsky regiment and
the other corps from the palace, formed an im-
jiosing force, which was soon strengthened by
-' veral pieces of artillery, which proved of the
trreatest service in the conilict that ensued.
of the chiefs of the revolt, few had appeared
on the other side. Troubetzkoi was nowhere
lo be seen ; Colonel Boulatoff was in the square,
Ijut concealed in the crowd of spectators await-
ing the event. Rj'leif was at his post, as was
â– lakoubovitch ; but the former, not seeing Trou-
li tzkoi, could not take the command, and lost
the precious minutes in going to seek him.
Decision and resolution were to be found only
on the other side, and, as is gener-
1 23u"232'^'^' ^^^y *^^® *^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ conflicts, they
determined the contest.'
Deeming the forces assembled sufficient to
J27. crush the revolt, the generals wlio
Death of Mi- surrounded the emperor besought
laradowitch. him to permit them to act; but''he
long hesitated, from feelings of humanitj', to
shed the blood of his subjects. As a last re-
source, he permitted General Milai-adowitch,
the governor of St. Petersburg, a noble veteran,
well known in the late war, who had by his
single influence appeased the mutiny in the
guards in the preceding year, to advance to-
ward the insurgents, in hopes that his presence
might again produce a similar eft'ect. Milarad-
owitch, accordingly, rode forward alone, and
when within hearing, addressed the men, in a
few words, calling on them to obey their law-
ful sovereign, and return to their duty. He
â– was interrupted by loud cries of " llourra, Con-
stantine 1" and before lie had concliided, Prince
Obolonsky made a dash at him witli a bayonet,
which the veteran, with admirable coolness,
avoided by wheeling his horse ; but at the
same instant Kakhofski discharged a pistol at
him within a few feet, which wounded him mor-
3 Schnitzlcr, tally, and he fell from liis horse."
1.232,233;' "Could I liavo believed," saiu the
Ann. Hist, veteran of the campaign of 1812,
IX. 387. luli-i. r il°l 1 r
"that it was from the hand of a
Russian I was to receive death ?" " Wlio," said
Kakhofski, "now speaks of submission ?" Milar-
adowitch died the following morning, deeply
regretted by all Europe, to whom his glorious
career had long been an object of admiration.*
* "'Hear me, good people: I pror-jaitn, in llie name
of the kins, free pardon to all ('Xcc]itiiiK— ' ' I j;ive tlice
fair warnine.' saiil Hurley, prcKcijiirm his picoc. ' A free
pardon to all but—' • Iheii the Lord yranl grace to thy
The emperor, notwithstanding this melan-
choly catastrophe, was reluctant to
proceed to extremities; and perhaps rpi^^ 'j^'^pi,.
he entertained a secret dread as to bishop also
what the troops he commanded might fails in re-
do, if called on to act decisively 1"!;"'° '*"=
' . , . i. A 1 i mutnieers.
against the insurgents. A large part
of the guards were there ranged in battle array
against their sovereign : what a contest miglit
be expected if the signal was given, and the
chevalier guards were to be ordered to charge
against their leveled bayonets! Meanwhile,
however, the forces on the side of Nicholas
were hourly increasing. The sappers of the
guard, the grenadiers of Pauloffsky, the horse-
guards, and the brigade of artillerj', had suc-
cessively come up; and the Grand Duke Mi-
chael, who acted with the greatest spirit on the
occasion, had even succeeded in ranging six
companies of his own regiment, the grenadiers
of Moscow, the leaders of the revolt^ on the
side of his brother. Still the emperor was re-
luctant to give the word ; and as a last re-
source, the Metropolitan Archbishop, an aged
prelate, with a large part of the clergy, were
bi'ought forward, bearing the cross and the
sacred ensign, who called on them to submit.
But although strongly influenced by religious
feelings, the experiment failed on this occasion :
the rolling of drums drowned the voice of the
Archbishop, and the soldiers turned his gray
hairs into derision. Meanwhile the leaders of
the revolt, deeming their victory secure, began
to hoist their real colors. Cries of "Constan-
tine a7id the Constitution I" broke from their
ranks. "What is that?" said the men to each
other. " Do you not know," said one, , c ,, •,
" it IS the empress (Constitoutzia)? icr. i. 233,
"Not at all," i-eplied a third: "it is 234;Drem.
the carriage in which the emperor is "'^'"' ?H,1'.
- 1 • ?. • , . „ , i sia. II. 127
to drive at his coronation. 'â– *
At length, having exhausted all means of
pacification, the emperor ordered the jog
troops to act. The rebels were at- The'empe-
tacked in front by the horse-guards ror gains
and chevalier guards, while the in- ^liu victory.
fantry assailed them in flank. But these noble
veterans made a vigorous resistance, and for a
few minutes the result seemed doubtful. Closely
arrayed in column, they faced on every side : a
deadly rolling fire issued from the steady mass.
Koul!' with these words he lired, atid Cornet Kiehurd
Graham fell from liis liorsc. He had only strength to
turn on tlie ground, and exclaim, ' My poor mother 1' when
life forsook liim in tlic cllort. ' What have you done ''
said one of Halfour's brother oflicors. ' My duty,' said
Balfour firndy. • Is it not written, Thou shall be zealous
even to slaying ' Let those who dare 7iow speak of truce
or pardon.' "—Old Mortality, chap. viii. How singular
that the insurrection of St. Petersburg in 1)^25 shoidd
realize, within a few hours, what the bard of Chios had
conceived in song and the Scottish novelist in prose, at
the distance of twenty-live centuries from each other ,
and what a proof of the identity of human nature, ami
the deep insight which those inasler-minds had obtained
into its inmost recesses, that a. revolt in llio capital of
Russia in the nineteenth century should come so near lo
what, at such a distance of time and place, they had re-
spectively prefigured.
* "The leaders of th(^ revolt, however, had difT'erent
ideas of what they, at all evcnls, understood by Ihe move-
ment. On loading Ins pistols on the morning ol' that
eventful day, lioulalolf said, ' We shall see whethi'r there
are any Hrutuses or lliegos in Russia to-day.' Neverthe-
less, he failed at the decisive moment: he was not to be
found on the I'lace of Iho Senate."— Kn/jporf sur Irs
Evivements, &c., 26 D6c., p. 125, and Sciinitzleu, i
232, note.
HISTORY OF EUROTE.
[CiiAi-. vi:i.
niul tho cnvnlry in vain strove to find nn
oi'.lranoo into their serried riinks. The horse-
men were repulsed: Kukliofski witli liis own
liand slew Colonel St rosier, who conunnnded
tlie ijrenndiei-s ; nnd Kuehelbeeker had already
uplifted his arm to eut down the Crand Duke
Miohael, when a marine of the guard on his
own side averted the blow. Jakouboviteh,
charijed with disjialehing the emperor, eagerly
sought him out, but, in the inclcc and amidst
the" smoke, without effect. The resistance,
however, continued several hours, and night
was approaching, with the rebels, in unbroken
strength, still inpossession of their strong posi-
tion. Then, and not till then, the emperor
ordered the cannon, liitherto concealed by tho
cavalry, to be unmasked. The horsemen witli-
diew to the sides, and showed the muzzles of
tlie guns pointed directly into the insurgent
square : they were again summoned to surren-
der, while the pieces were charged with grape,
and the gunners waved their lighted matches
in the now darkening air. Still the rebels
stood firm ; and a first fire, intentionally di-
rected above their heads, having produced no
effect, tliey cheered and mocked their adversa-
ries. Then the emperor ordered a point-blank
discharge, but the cannoneers refused at first to
fire on their comrades, and the Grand Duke
Michael, with his own hand, discharged the
first gun. Then the rest followed the example,
and the grape made frightful gaps in the dense
ranks. The insurgents, however, kept their
ground, and it was not till the tenth round that
they broke and fled. They were vigorously
pursued by the horse-guards along the quays
and through the cross streets, into which they
fled to avoid their bloody sabres. Seven hun-
dred were made prisoners, and several hundred
bodies remained on the Place of the Senate,
which were hastily buried under the
snow with which the Neva was over-
23'J; Ann. spread. By six o'clock the rebels
Hist. ix. were entirely dispersed ; and the
Gdovfne emperor, now firmly seated on his
La Russi'e throne, returned to his palace, where
sous Nich- the empress fell into his arms, and a
oUis I., i. goiemn Te Deiim was chanted in the
chapel.'
Of all the conspirators during this terrible
130. crisis, Jakouboviteh had alone ap-
Seizure of pearcd at the post assigned him.
the leaders Troubetskoi, whose firmness had de-
s[(irar,y, serted him on this occasion, sought
and gener- refuge in the hotel of the Austrian
embassador, Count Libzeltern, but,
on the requisition of the emperor, he
â– was brought from that asylum into
his presence. At first he denied all
knowledge of the conspiracy; but when his
papers were searched, which contained decisive
proof not merely of his accession to it, but of
his having been its leader, he fell at the em-
i)eror's feet, confessed his guilt, and implored
lis life. "If }-ou have courage enough," said
Kicholas, "to "endure a life dishonored and de-
voted to remorse, you shall have it; but it is
all I can promise you." On the following morn-
ing, when the troops were still bivouacked, as
the evening before, on the Place of the Senate,
and the curious crowds surveyed at a distance
the theatre of the conflict, the emperor, accom-
' Schnitz-
ler, i. 237
panied by a single aid-de-canip, rode out of
the palace to review those who had combated
fi>r him on the preceding day. Riding slowly
along their ranks, he thanked them for their
fidelity, and promised them a considerable
augmentation of yay, as â– well as the usual
largesses on occasion of the accession of a new
emjieror. lie then ])rocceded to the regimenls
which had revolted, and granted a pardon
alike politic and generous. To the marines of
the guard, who liad lost tlieir colors in the
conflict, he gave a fresh one, with the words,
"You have lost your honor; try to recover
it." The regiment of Moscow, in like manner,
received back its colors, and was pardoned on
the sole condition that the most guilty, formed
into separate companies, should be sent for two
years to expiate their fault in combating the
mountaineers of the Caucasus. The emperor
promised to take their wives and children
under his protection during their ab- , ^^ jjjgf
sence. These generous words drew ix. 391,
tears from the veterans, who declared 392 -,
themselves ready to set out on the f 242"24T.'
instant for their remote destination.'
But although all must admit the justice of
these sentiments — and indeed it was 131.
scarcely possible to act otherwise Appoint-
with men who were merely misled, I!!'!!!' "I'*
and who resisted the Czar when they sion or in-
thought they were defending him — quiry.
a very difl'erent course seemed neces- ^^'^- ^^â–
sary with the leaders of the revolt, who had
seduced the soldiers into acts of treason through
the very intensity of their lo3-alty. All the
chiefs were apprehended soon after its suppres-
sion, and the declarations of the prisoners, rs
well as the papers discovered in their posses-
sion, revealed a far more extensive and danger-
ous conspiracy than had been previously im-
agined. The emperor appointed a commission
to investigate the matter to the bottom, and on
the 31st he published a manifesto, in which,
after exculpating the simple and loyal-hearted
soldiers who were drawn into the tumult, he
denounced the whole severity of justice against
the leaders, "who aimed at overturning the
throne and the laws,* subverting the empire,
ous con-
«;uct of
Nicholas
to the pri-
vates.
* " Deux classes d'hommes out pris part a revenement
du 14 (26) Decembre, evenenient qui, peu important par
lui-ineme, ne Test que trop par son principe et par ses
consequences. Les uns, personncs egarees, ne savaient
pas ce qu'ils faisaient ; les autres, veritables conspira-
teurs, voulaient abattre le Trone et les lois, bouleverser
I'empire, amener I'anarchie, entrainer dans le tumulte les
soldats des compagnies seduiles, qui n'ont participe a ces
attentats, ni de fait, ni d'intention : una enquete severe
m'en a donne la preuve ; et je rcgarde, comme un premier
acte de justice, comme ma premiere consolation, de les
declarer innocents. Mais cette mtme justice defend
d'epargner les coupables. D'apres les mesures deja prises,
le chatiment embrasserait dans toute son etendue, dans
toutes ses ramifications, un mal dont le germe compte des
annees ; et j'en ai la confiance, elles le detruiront jusquc
dans le sol sacre de Russie : elles feront disparaitre cet
odieux melange de tristes verites et de soupcons gratuits,
qui repugne aiix ames nobles ; elles tireront a jamais, une
ligne de demarcation entre I'amour de la Patrie et les
passions revolutionnaires, entre le desir du niieux et la
fureur des bouleversements ; elles montreront au monde,
que la nation Russe, toujours fidele a son souverain et
aux lois, repousse les secrets efforts de I'anarchie, comme
elle a repouss6 les attaques ouvertes de ees ennemis
declares ; elles montreront comme on se delivre d'un tel
fleau ; elles montreront que ce n'est point, pourtant, qu'il
est indestructible." — Proclamatirm. ^^t\i December, lb25;
ScHNiTZLER, i. 255-29f) — said to have come from the pen
of the celebrated historian Karamsin, who died shortly
after.
1826.]
HISTORY OF EUROPE.
277
ami iiulucing anarchy.'' A commission was
accordinglj' appointed, having at its head the
Minister at War, General Talischof, president ;
the Grand Duke Michael; Prince Alexander
Gallitzin, Minister of Public Instruction ; Gen-
eral Chernichef, Aid-de-camp General, and
Bevcral other members, nearly all military
1 schnitz- men. There were only two civilians,
ler, i. 258, Prince Alexander Gallitzin and M.
260- Blondof.i
From a commission so composed, the whole
jjo proceedings of which were private.
Its compo- there was by no means to be expected
sition and the same calm and impartial inquir}'