the law the dignity of
humanity. Paul, on the contrary, reestablished, in all its rigor, the
oriental etiquette, which Peter I. and Catharine had allowed to pass
into disuse, which required every individual, whether a citizen or a
stranger, to fall instantly upon his knees whenever the tzar made his
appearance. Thus, when Paul passed along the streets on horseback or
in his carriage, every man, woman and child, within sight of the royal
cortege, was compelled to kneel, whether in mud or snow, until the
cortege had passed. No one was exempted from the rule. Strangers and
citizens, nobles and peasants, were compelled to the degrading homage.
Those on horseback or in carriages were required instantly to
dismount and prostrate themselves before the despot.
A noble lady who came to St. Petersburg in her carriage, in great
haste, to seek medical aid for her husband, who had been suddenly
taken sick, in her trouble not having recognized the imperial livery,
was dragged from her carriage and thrust into prison. Her four
servants, who accompanied her, were seized and sent to the army,
although they plead earnestly that, coming from a distance, they were
ignorant of the law, the infraction of which was attributed to them as
a crime. The unhappy lady, thus separated from her sick husband, and
plunged into a dungeon, was so overwhelmed with anguish that she was
thrown into a fever. Reason was dethroned, and she became a hopeless
maniac. The husband died, being deprived of the succor his wife had
attempted to obtain.
The son of a rich merchant, passing rapidly in his sleigh, muffled in
furs, did not perceive the carriage of the emperor which he met, until
it had passed. The police seized him; his sleigh and horses were
confiscated. He was placed in close confinement for a month, and then,
after receiving fifty blows from the terrible knout, was delivered to
his friends a mangled form, barely alive.
A young lady, by some accident, had not thrown herself upon her knees
quick enough at the appearance of the imperial carriage in the streets
of Moscow. She was an orphan and resided with an aunt. They were both
imprisoned for a month and fed upon bread and water; the young lady
for failing in respect to the emperor, and the aunt for not having
better instructed her niece. How strange is this power of despotism,
by which one madman compels forty millions of people to tremble before
him!
One of the freaks of this crazy prince was t
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