(AUTUMN, 1905)
IN the autumn of 1904 I accepted a proposal which had been made to me to go to Duke Sergius of Leuchtenberg as French professor.
My pupil’s father, Duke George of Leuchtenberg, was the grandson of Eugène de Beauharnais; through his mother, the Grand-Duchess Marie Nicola?evna, daughter of Nicholas I., he was a cousin of the Czar Nicholas II.
At the time the family were at the small estate they possessed1 on the shores of the Black Sea. They spent the whole winter there. It was there that we were surprised by the tragic2 events of the spring of 1905 and passed through many a poignant3 hour owing to the revolt of the Black Sea Fleet, the bombardment of the coast, the series of pogroms, and the violent acts of repression4 which followed. From the very start Russia showed herself to me under a terrible and menacing aspect, a presage5 of the horrors and sufferings she had in store for me.
At the beginning of June the family took up their residence in the attractive Villa6 Sergievska?a Datcha, which the Duke possessed at Peterhof. The contrast was most striking as we{18} left the barren coast of the southern Crimea, with its little Tatar villages snuggling in the mountains and its dusty cypresses7, for the splendid forests and delicious fresh breezes of the shores of the Gulf8 of Finland.
Peterhof had been the favourite residence of its founder9, Peter the Great. It was there that he rested from the exhausting work of building St. Petersburg, the city which at his command rose from the marshes10 at the mouth of the Neva as if by enchantment—a city destined11 to rival the great European capitals.
Everything about Peterhof recalls its creator. First of all there is Marly in which he resided for some time—a “maisonnette” out in the water on an isthmus12 of land separating two great lakes. Then comes the Hermitage, by the shores of the gulf where he liked to treat his helpers to banquets where the wine flowed freely. There is Monplaisir, a building in the Dutch style with a terrace sheer above the sea. It was his favourite residence. How curious that this “landsman” loved the sea so much! Last comes the Great Palace, which, with its lakes and the superb views in its park, he meant to rival the splendours of Versailles.
All these buildings, with the exception of the Great Palace, produce the impression of those abandoned, empty edifices13 which memories of the past alone can bring to life.
The Czar Nicholas II. had inherited his ancestors’ preference for this delicious spot, and every summer he brought his family to the little Alexandria Cottage in the centre of a wooded park which sheltered it from prying14 eyes.
The Duke of Leuchtenberg’s family spent the entire summer of 1905 at Peterhof. Intercourse15 between Alexandria and{19} Sergievska?a Datcha was lively, for the Czarina and the Duchess of Leuchtenberg were on terms of the closest friendship. I was thus able to get occasional glimpses of the members of the royal family.
When my time ran out it was suggested that I should stay on as tutor to my pupil and at the same time teach French to the Grand-Duchesses Olga Nicola?evna and Tatiana Nicola?evna, the two elder daughters of the Czar Nicholas II. I agreed, and after a short visit to Switzerland I returned to Peterhof in the early days of September. A few weeks later I took up my new duties at the Imperial Court.
On the day appointed for my first lesson a royal carriage came to take me to Alexandria Cottage, where the Czar and his family were residing. Yet in spite of the liveried coachman, the Imperial arms on the panels, and the orders with regard to my arrival which had no doubt been given, I learned to my cost that it was no easy task to enter the residence of Their Majesties16. I was stopped at the park gates, and there were several minutes of discussion before I was allowed to go in. On turning a corner I soon observed two small brick buildings connected by a covered bridge. If the carriage had not stopped I should not have known I had arrived at my destination.
I was taken up to a small room, soberly furnished in the English style, on the second storey. The door opened and the Czarina came in, holding her daughters Olga and Tatiana by the hand. After a few pleasant remarks she sat down at the table and invited me to take a place opposite her. The children sat at each end.
The Czarina was still a beautiful woman at that time. She was tall and slender and carried herself superbly. But all this ceased to count the moment one looked into her eyes—those{20} speaking, grey-blue eyes which mirrored the emotions of a sensitive soul.
Olga, the eldest17 of the Grand-Duchesses, was a girl of ten, very fair, and with sparkling, mischievous18 eyes and a slightly retroussé nose. She examined me with a look which seemed from the first moment to be searching for the weak point in my armour19, but there was something so pure and frank about the child that one liked her straight off.
The second girl, Tatiana, was eight and a half. She had auburn hair and was prettier than her sister, but gave one the impression of being less transparent20, frank, and spontaneous.
The lesson began. I was amazed, even embarrassed, by the very simplicity21 of a scene I had anticipated would be quite different. The Czarina followed everything I said very closely. I distinctly felt that I was not so much giving a lesson as undergoing an examination. The contrast between anticipation22 and reality quite disconcerted me. To crown my discomfort23, I had had an idea that my pupils were much more advanced than they actually were. I had selected certain exercises, but they proved far too difficult. The lesson I had prepared was useless, and I had to improvise24 and resort to expedients25. At length, to my great relief, the clock struck the hour and put an end to my ordeal26.
In the weeks following the Czarina was always present at the children’s lessons, in which she took visible interest. Quite frequently, when her daughters had left us, she would discuss with me the best means and methods of teaching modern languages, and I was always struck by the shrewd good sense of her views.
Of those early days I have preserved the memory of a lesson I gave a day or two previous to the issue of the Manifesto27 of
[Image unavailable.]
THE CZAREVITCH IN THE PARK OF TSARSKO?E-SELO.
WINTER OF 1908.
[Image unavailable.]
THE FOUR GRAND-DUCHESSES. (CRIMEA, 1909.)
(From left to right: Anastasie, Tatiana, Marie, Olga).
[Facing page 2.
{21}
October, 1905, which summoned the Duma. The Czarina was sitting in a low chair near the window. She struck me instantly as absent-minded and preoccupied28. In spite of all she could do, her face betrayed her inward agitation29. She made obvious efforts to concentrate her thoughts upon us, but soon relapsed into a melancholy30 reverie in which she was utterly31 lost. Her work slipped from her fingers to her lap. She had clasped her hands, and her gaze, following her thoughts, seemed lost and indifferent to the things about her.
I had made a practice, when the lesson was over, of shutting my book and waiting until the Czarina rose as a signal for me to retire. This time, notwithstanding the silence which followed the end of the lesson, she was so lost in thought that she did not move. The minutes passed and the children fidgeted. I opened my book again and went on reading. Not for a quarter of an hour, when one of the Grand-Duchesses went up to her mother, did she realise the time.
After a few months the Czarina appointed one of her ladies-in-waiting, Princess Obolensky, to take her place during my lessons. She thus marked the end of the kind of trial to which I had been subjected. I must admit the change was a relief. I was far more at my ease in Princess Obolensky’s presence, and besides, she gave me devoted32 help. Yet of those first months I have preserved a vivid recollection of the great interest which the Czarina, a mother with a high sense of duty, took in the education and training of her children. Instead of the cold and haughty33 Empress of which I had heard so much, I had been amazed to find myself in the presence of a woman wholly devoted to her maternal34 obligations.
It was then, too, that I learned to realise by certain signs that the reserve which so many people had taken as an affront{22} and had made her so many enemies was rather the effect of a natural timidity, as it were—a mask covering her sensitiveness.
I will give one detail which illustrates35 the Czarina’s anxious interest in the upbringing of her children and the importance she attached to their showing respect for their teachers by observing that sense of decorum which is the first element of politeness. While she was present at my lessons, when I entered the room I always found the books and notebooks piled neatly36 in my pupils’ places at the table, and I was never kept waiting a moment. It was the same afterwards. In due course my first pupils, Olga and Tatiana, were joined by Marie, in 1907, and Anastasie, in 1909, as soon as these two younger daughters had reached their ninth year.[2]
The Czarina’s health, already tried by her anxiety about the menace hanging over the Czarevitch’s head, by degrees prevented her from following her daughters’ education. At the time I did not realise what was the cause of her apparent indifference37, and was inclined to censure38 her for it, but it was not long before events showed me my mistake.
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1
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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4
repression
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| n.镇压，抑制，抑压 | |
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presage
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| n.预感，不祥感；v.预示 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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cypresses
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| n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 ) | |
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8
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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11
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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12
isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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13
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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14
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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15
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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16
majesties
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| n.雄伟( majesty的名词复数 )；庄严；陛下；王权 | |
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17
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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18
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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19
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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20
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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21
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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22
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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23
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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improvise
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| v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成 | |
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expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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manifesto
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| n.宣言，声明 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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29
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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31
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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32
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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33
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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34
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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35
illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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37
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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38
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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