post-office, congratulated myself upon my dexterity in thus managing my affairs, and, in some measure tranquillized in mind, I set out for St. Petersburg.
I determined within myself not to bestow one look upon any female whatever; no, not in the whole of that immense empire, with all its various provinces in Asia and America, should a lover be found so true and faithful as myself. I inwardly vowed that my heart should return with me unaffected, and yet—I gave it there away!
On the celebration of the nuptials of the Grand Duke Nicholas Pawlowitsch with the Princess Alexandrina Feodorowna, I attended the whole of the ceremony, commencing with the marriage to the ball in the saloon of St. George. Before the end of the ball the Emperor, accompanied by the Empress, repaired to the palace of the newly married couple; they were followed by the young and amiable pair, the Empress mother, and the whole court in grand gala.
It was indeed one of the most brilliant sights I had ever seen in the whole of my life. The illuminated streets swarmed with the crowding population; the throng of gazers, many of whom, from a true hearty feeling, might perhaps have drank a glass too much to the health of the young couple, was truly impenetrable. At the moment when the court was passing, the cries, the exclamations, and the hurrahs of the pressing crowd had reached their greatest height. The command of the police officers to keep order and make room, only added to, and finally completed, the confusion and distress.
All were squeezing, screaming, and pressing against each other. For myself, I had received into my arms, through the pressure of the crowd, a stout, coarse, market-woman, who was immediately followed by the weight of a fat, heavy Finlander upon my poor toes, a Droschki driver thrust his elbows into my ribs, a long-legged Polish count lay upon my back, and to end all, a little Samojad-looking chambermaid supported her elbows upon my loins. Thus pressed and attacked
E 2
