ALEXANDER THE FIRST, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. THOUGH HOUGH not personally engaged in the memoravie, mestic virtues of a Penelope, he is very far from havmg battle of Waterloo, Alexander demands a prominent place in these biographical sketches, on account of the distinguished part which he bore in the first overthrow of the Corsican usurper, and the determination which he evinced, in concert with his illustrious allies, to render abortive the renewed attempts of that monster to enslave the world. had an Ulysses for his father, or a Mentor for his tutor. He may be reproached, too, with the same defects which Fenelon has allowed in his imaginary pupil: but these are, perhaps, not so much failings, as the ab sence of certain qualities not yet developed in him, or which have been stifled in his heart by the companions that have been assigned him. He inherits from CatheAlexander was born on the 23d of December, 1777; rine an elevation of sentiment, and an unalterable equaand, on the 9th of October, 1793, he was married to Maria lity of temper; a mind just and penetrating, and an unLouisa Elizabeth Alexiena, of Baden. In his person he common discretion; but a reserve and circumspection is tall, lusty, and well-proportioned; his face is full and unsuitable to his age, and which might be taken for very fair; his eyes are blue, and expressive of that be- dissimulation, did it not evidently proceed rather from neficent mildness, which is one of the prominent fea- the delicate situation in which he was placed between tures of his character; and his whole deportment is his father and grandmother, than from his heart, which marked with mingled dignity and condescension. is naturally frank and ingenuous. He inherits his mother's stature and beauty, as well as her mildness and benevolence: while in none of his features does he resemble his father; and he must certainly dread him, more than love him. Paul, conjecturing the intentions of Catherine in favour of this son, has always behaved coldly towards him; since he discovered in him uo resemblance of character, and no conformity of taste, with himself: for Alexander appears to do what his father requires of him, from a principle of filial duty, rather than compliance with his own inclinations. His humanity has acquired him the hearts of the soldiers; his good sense, the admiration of the officers. He is the constant mediator between the autocrat and those unhappy persons, who, by some trifling neglect, may have provoked imperial wrath and vengeance. This pupil of La Harpe requires not the dignity of grandduke of Russia to inspire sentiments of love and interest; Nature has richly endowed him with the most amiable qualities; and his character of heir to the greatest empire in the world cannot render them indifferent to humanity. Heaven may perhaps have des tined him to render thirty millions of people more free than they are at present, and more worthy of being so." In the discharge of his public duties, Alexander displays great activity and acuteness, but without show or any bustle. In fact, he is so averse to parade, that he drives about Petersburgh in a plain chariot, of a dark olive colour, drawn by four horses, driven by a bearded coachman, and a common postilion, and at- | tended by a single footman. He is greatly attached to the English, numbers of whom have formed, under the auspices of his government, a sort of colony in his empire; and he has often been heard to say, that "the man within whose reach Heaven has placed the greatest materials for making life happy, was, in his opinion, an English country-gentleman.' 99 The following remarks on his private character are extracted from a work published during the reign of the Emperor Paul, entitled, "Secret Memoirs of the Court of Russia." "The Empress Catherine was prevented by death from executing another design, which would have been more fatal to Paul, but that the youth and natural good disposition of his eldest son defeated it; who, by the purity of his morals, and his personal qualities, inspires a high degree of admiration. That ideal character which enchants us in Telemachus, is almost realized in him; however, though his mother may have the do The following instance of Alexander's humanity, in restoring to life, by his own personal exertion, a Polish peasant, who had been accidentally drowned in the river Willia, in Lithuania, was communicated to the Royal Humane Society of London, by James Grange, Esq. in the following letter: "Dear Sir, "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Alexander, in one of his journeys through Poland, by his own personal exertion and perseverance, restored to life a peasant of that country, who had been drowned a considerable time. This highly interesting occurrence came to my knowledge during my stay at St. Petersburgh; and took place between Koyna and Wilna, in Lithuania, on the banks of the little river Willia, from which the last-mentioned town derives its name. had not the slightest hope of being more successful in this than in former attempts, proceeded to obey the injunctions of his imperial majesty; when the noblemen making a last effort in rubbing, &c., the emperor had, at length, the inexpressible satisfaction of seeing blood make its appearance, accompanied by a slight groau. "The emotions of his imperial majesty on this occasion are not to be described; and, in the fulness of his joy, he exclaimed in French, Good God! this is the brightest day of my life!' and the tears which instantaneously glistened in his eyes, indicated that these words came from his heart. "The accompanying snuff-box, on which this interesting event is faithfully though roughly delineated, (the poor inhabitants of that part of Poland being no great artists,) was sketched at a neighbouring town, for the purpose of commemorating this restoration; and is one of the four presented, on the occasion, to the principal actors in it; namely, his imperial majesty, and the three gentlemen above mentioned, who are (though not very correctly) represented on it. "Requesting you to excuse the hasty and imperfect manner in which I have endeavoured to narrate this very affecting transaction, to which I feel myself incompetent to do adequate justice, allow me to assure "The emperor, from some cause immaterial to the present subject, had considerably advanced his attendants; and, being led by the winding of the road within a short distance of the above-mentioned river, and perceiving several persons assembled near the edge of the water, out of which they appeared to be dragging | something, he instantly alighted, and, approaching the spot, found it to be the body of a man apparently lifeless. Prompted by humanity alone, and without any other assistance than that of the peasants around him, to whom he was no otherwise known, than that his uni-you, sir, of the sentiments of respect and esteem with form indicated an officer of rank, he had him conveyed which I beg leave to subscribe myself, to the side of a bank, and immediately proceeded with "Dear sir, his own hands to assist in taking off the wet clothes from the apparent corpse, and to rub his temples, wrists, &c. which his imperial majesty continued for a considerable time, using all other means (though destitute of any medical assistance) that appeared most likely | to restore animation: but without effect. "In the midst of this occupation, the emperor was joined by the gentlemen of his suite, among whom were Prince Wolkousky, Count Liewen, and Dr. Weilly, his majesty's head-surgeon, who always travels with, and indeed never quits, the emperor. "The exertions of these persons were immediately added to those of the emperor; and, on the doctor's attempting to bleed the patient, his majesty held and rubbed his arm, and gave every other assistance in his power. This, however, and all other means they could devise, proved so ineffectual, that, after more than three hours fruitless attempts to recover him, the doctor declared, to the extreme chagrin of the emperor, that the spark of life was quite extinct, and that it was useless proceeding any further. "Fatigued as he was by such continued exertion, the emperor could not, however, rest satisfied, without entreating Dr. Weilly to persevere, and to make a fresh attempt to bleed him. The doctor, although he "Your's, most faithfully, "JAMES GRANGE." Upon the morning after the death of the Emperor Paul, on the 11th of March, 1801, (O. S.) his son Alexander, then in the twenty-fourth year of his age, was announced as his successor in the chapel of the Winter Palace, at St. Petersburgh, where he received the homage of the principal nobility; and, notwithstanding the catastrophe which had just occurred, the prospect which opened to them, by the accession of their favourite to the throne, diffused throughout all ranks an universal joy. The measures which were immediately adopted to remedy the mischiefs of the former bad government, and to conciliate all ranks of people in favour of the new one, evince a degree of ability and strength of mind greater than was to be expected from the mildness of the new emperor's disposition. The first public act was the following proclamation: "We, by the grace of God, Alexander the First, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, &c., declare to all our faithful subjects: It has pleased the decrees of the Almighty to shorten the life of our beloved pa had been so unfortunately interrupted by the impolitic rent and sovereign, Emperor Paul Petrovitz, who died suddenly, by an apoplectic stroke, at night, between the 11th and 12th days of this month. We, on receiving the imperial hereditary throne of all the Russias, do also receive at the same time the obligation to govern the people committed unto us by the Almighty, according to the laws and heart of her who rests in God, our august grand-mother, Sovereign Empress Catherine the Great, whose memory will be dear for ever to us and the whole country. Following the steps of her wise intentions, we hope to arrive at the object of carrying Russia to the summit of glory, and to procure an uninterrupted happiness to all our faith-sisted in his pacific sentiments; but the justice and ful subjects, whom we do hereby invite to seal their fidelity to us, by oath, before the face of all-seeing God, whose assistance we implore to grant us power to support the weight now resting upon us. "Given at Petersburgh, the 12th of March, (O.S.) the same pacific character; and his mind was turned 1801. "ALEXANDER." And, in about a fortnight afterwards, the following ukases were promulgated: 1. All prisoners of state are set åt liberty. moderation of the cabinet of London must enable him to reconcile the demands of humanity with the duties he owed to the honour of his country, and the interests of his allies. From this period, his politics maintained to that wide field of improvement, which his extensive dominions opened to his view: his second care seemed to be the peace and happiness of Europe. Shortly after his accession to the throne, Alexander fitted out, at his own expense, two vessels for a voyage of discovery round the world, under the command of 2. All the recent laws relative to contraband goods Captain Krusenstern. These ships were provided with are abolished. every necessary for the accomplishment of the voyage; 3. The tariff of tolls and customs of 1782 is re-in- and several eminent literary characters volunteered troduced. 4. The British seamen are released from confinement. 5. All societies and clubs are permitted. 6. The order of Malta is to be nearly suppressed. 7. The order of Saint Waldimir is restored. 8. Every body may dress according to his own pleasure, provided he do not violate public decorum. 9. The importation of books and literary productions of all sorts is again permitted. 10. The regiments are to bear their old names, and the former regiment of guards to be re-organized. 11. Every person, whether native, foreigner, or exile, shall freely enter or quit the Russian dominions, without any molestation or difficulty on the frontiers. 12. "Whereas our manufacturers have not yet gained the necessary perfection, nor are able to supply the exigence of our empire, We do hereby command, that the prohibition against the importation of china, earthen and glass wares, steel tools and instruments, hardwares, silks, cottons, and linens, be from this moment suppressed; and that, for the present year, the tariff of 1797 be in force." The prohibitions against the exportation of corn were also removed; and the relations of peace and amity between the courts of London and Petersburgh, which their services on this occasion. Towards the end of the year 1803, Alexander began to feel the necessity of checking the ambition of France, before Buonaparte had plundered and enslaved the whole of Germany, and extended his usurpations to the shores of the Baltic. The emperor had pledged his honour to obtain from France the performance of her engagements for the independence of the kingdom of Naples, and the indemnification of Sardinia for the loss of Piedmont; and, while the negotiations on these points were carried on between the two courts, war broke out between France and England. The Russian ambassador was then directed to take leave, though without expressing any design of immediate hostility The Russian army was recruited by a new levy of one hundred thousand men. It was declared, however, that the government merely augmented its military force on account of the posture of affairs in the other countries of Europe; and a declaration was made by the emperor to the court of Constantinople, that he had encouraged no such designs as were understood to have been suggested by France for the partition of the Turkish dominions. The barbarous murder of the Duke D'Enghien-the cold-blooded malice of the wretch by whose command it was executed-and the unblushing violation of the laws of nations, and of the rights of the Germanic empire, by which it was attended, made the deepest impression on every sovereign in Europe; but on none more than that of the Emperor of Russia. From the moment of his accession to the throne, the whole of his thoughts had been devoted to the happiness of his own subjects, and to the guarding the tranquillity of the other nations of the world. The object of all his public acts seems to have been the healing of those dreadful wounds which Europe had received in the long war by which she had been desolated, and to secure the independence of such of her states as had survived that terrible contest. In the question of the German indemnities, indeed, he had co-operated with France; but his motive in doing this was merely to bring that complicated question to a speedy decision, that the harmony of the empire might be restored, and that no pretence should exist for disturbing its tranquillity in future. The violation of the German territory, therefore, necessarily gave him much pain on every account, both as he had guaranteed it in the most solemn manner, and as it was an attack upon a country which, so long as it could protect its own independence, must form the most powerful bulwark to Russia against the ambition and revolutionary progress of France. But, however deeply Alexander must have felt, as a sovereign, at this outrage, perhaps even the consequences to which it evidently led did not weigh more upon his mind than the moral turpitude of the crime by which it was produced. Not contented, therefore, with causing his ambassador at Paris to remonstrate in the strongest manner upon the subject, he presented to the Diet at Ratisbon the following declaration: "Ratisbon, May 7. “The event which has taken place in the states of his highness the Elector of Baden, the conclusion of which has been so melancholy, has occasioned the most poignant grief to the Emperor of all the Russias. He cannot but view with the greatest concern the violation which has been committed on the tranquillity and integrity of the German territory. His imperial majesty is the more affected by this event, as he never could have expected that a power which had undertaken, in common with himself, the office of mediator, and was consequently bound to exert its care for the welfare and tranquillity of Germany, could have departed in such a manner from the sacred principles of the law of nations, and the duties it had so lately taken upon itself. " It would be unnecessary to call the attention of the diet to the serious consequences to which the German empire must be exposed, if acts of violence, of which the first example has just been seen, should be passed over in silence: it will, with its accustomed foresight, easily perceive how much the future tranquillity and security of the whole empire, and each of its members, must be endangered, if such violent proceedings should be deemed allowable, and suffered to take place without observation or opposition. Moved by these considerations, and in quality of guarantee of the constitution of the Germanic empire, and that of mediator, the emperor considers it as his duty solemnly to protest against an action which is such an attack on the tranquillity and security of Germany. Justly alarmed at the mournful prospect it presents, his majesty made no delay to represent his manner of thinking on the subject to the first consul, by the Russian chargé d'affaires at Paris. "While his majesty adopts a measure prescribed to him by his solicitude for the welfare of the German empire, he is convinced that the diet and the head of the empire will do justice to his disinterested and manifestly indispensable care; and that they will unite their endeavours with his to transmit their just remonstrances to the French government, to prevail on it to take such steps and measures as the violation of their dignity may require, and the maintenance of their future security may render necessary." In their reply to this note, the representatives of Brandenburg and of Baden expressed a hope "that the First Consul would, of himself, be inclined to give such a full and satisfactory explanation on the subject, as might entirely correspond to the expectation of his majesty the Emperor of Russia." The great majority of the other states of the German empire, conscious of the insult which had been offered, yet fearful of a renewal of hostilities, from which they could not hope to derive any advantage, preserved an inflexible silence. Hanover and Pomerania alone, therefore, seemed to coincide with the sentiments of the imperial declaration. An additional solemnity was given to the representations of Alexander, upon this occasion, by his putting his court into deep mourning, and by ordering all his ministers at foreign courts to do the same, in memory of the tragical fate of the Duke D'Enghien ;—a step which the Corsican affected to consider as a direct insult; as it forcibly, though silently, expressed the attachment of the Russian emperor to the House of Bourbon, and plainly demonstrated that he considered the execution which had taken place as a barbarous and unqualified murder. Towards the close of 1804, the Emperor of Russia entered into active negotiations with Great Britain; and, at the same time, made every exertion to preserve the peace of Europe, again disturbed by the restless | ment, he exhibited the most courageous devotion to the ambition of Buonaparte, who had resolved on hum-cause in which he had engaged. He placed himself at bling Austria, and annihilating the independence of the head of the fourth column of the allied army, and Germany. He accordingly offered his mediation between the contending powers; but, at the very moment the French government was sending a passport for the Russian minister's journey to France, fresh aggressions were committed, affecting the political existence of the independent states of Italy, which obliged his imperial majesty to consider his mediation as rejected. Still, when invited by the Emperor of Austria, who was now obliged to provide without delay for his own safety, to renew the negotiation for a coalition with the other courts of Europe against the common disturber, he entered into the designs of the Austrian emperor with the same spirit, and confined his warlike demonstrations to the advance of a small part of his troops, merely sufficient to give weight and importance to the mediation of so great a potentate. The endeavours of the emperor to maintain the peace of the continent, however, were unsuccessful; and preparations were made for the contest which was about to ensue. Upon the return of Count Markoff, the Russian ambassador, (whom the Corsican had personally insulted,) he was received by Alexander with the most flattering marks of favour: the thanks of the emperor, returned to him for his services in the most solemn manner, were read in the directing senate; and an annual pension of twelve thousand rubles (about 20007, sterling) was settled on him. constantly remained with the infantry during the whole of the conflict, exhibiting great proofs of presence of mind and military skill. When the fortune of the day turned to the side of the French, he charged the enemy three times successively, at the head of his guards; and, by his gallantry, not only secured the retreat of the combined army, which would otherwise have been cut to pieces, but actually saved the greater part of the Russian artillery, which he carried off with him, after it had been taken possession of by the French. Nor did his greatness of mind, or magnanimity of conduct, desert him when the fatal result of that day decided the fate of the war. He made no proposition for peace, nor offer of submission, to the conqueror. To the bumiliating conditions imposed by Buonaparte upon the Emperor of Austria, Alexander refused to become a party; and, accordingly, caused his troops, although under very distressing circumstances, to commence their retreat, on the 6th of December, 1804, from the Austrian territories, preserving, at the same time, too formidable a front for pursuit or molestation. Buonaparte, having grossly misrepresented the particulars of the battle of Austerlitz, in his bulletins, the following authentic account of it was published by the Emperor of Russia: "The issue of the battle of Austerlitz has been so well confirmed by its consequences, that it is almost incredible how France could publish such extravagant and untrue relations of that affair. All Europe, and the Russian nation in particular, justly expect a rela tion on our part. The love of truth alone, and the wish to adduce none but authenticated facts, have hitherto prevented the appearance of this relation. In the mean time, it is necessary to correct some of the statements of the French bulletins, particularly the 30th, and to lay them before the public. General Savary spoke only with two persons belonging to the empe As the intervention of Alexander, in the cause of the degraded states of Europe, originated in the purest motives and most disinterested councils, so his conduct, now war became inevitable from the unjust conduct of Buonaparte, was distinguished by every quality characteristic of the father of his people, and the friend of mankind. Having superintended the arrangements necessary for sending three great armies into the field, destined to act in aid of Austria, and which were to enter Germany successively, he suddenly appeared at Berlin, on the 26th of October. Here he gained uni-ror's suite; and, excepting these, he only saw some versal admiration by his affable and engaging manners, and seemed for a moment to have infused some portion of his own spirit into the Prussian councils. But the ruin of the Austrian army at Ulm, and the retreat of the first Russian army from the Inn, changed the aspect of affairs, and compelled him to return with equal rapidity, and place himself at the head of his troops. field-adjutants, who had brought despatches from their chiefs, or were in waiting to transmit orders to them. The chief of the French nation might not have derived any pleasure from the conversation of Prince Dolgorucky; but he at the same time forgot that the Russians did not belong to those nations who sought his protection. The number of the allied army, as stated in the In the unfortunate campaign, which nearly destroyed bulletins, was one hundred and five thousand men, viz. the Austrian empire, and particularly in the fatal battle eighty thousand Russians, and twenty-five thousand of Austerlitz, Alexander performed all that could be Austrians, and the French much inferior. But why expected from the magnanimity of his character, and were their numbers not given? Besides the reserve, the sincerity of his policy. In this sanguinary engage-which was said alone to be equal to an army, the |