Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals: In Two Volumes, Volume I.Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
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Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals: In Two Volumes, Volume I.
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872; Telegraph
"The Emperor Alexander I am quite in love with; he has every mark of a
great mind. His countenance is an uncommonly fine one; he has a fair
complexion, hair rather light, and a stout, well-made figure; he has a
very cheerful, benevolent expression, and his conduct has everywhere
evinced that his face is the index of his mind. When I first saw him he
was dressed in a green uniform with two epaulets and stars of different
orders; he was conversing at the window of his hotel with his sister, the
Duchess of Oldenburg. I saw him again soon after in the superb coach of
the Prince Regent, with the Duchess, his sister, going to the court of
the Queen. In a few hours after I saw him again on the balcony of the
Pultney Hotel; he came forward and bowed to the people. He was then
dressed in a red uniform, with a broad blue sash over the right shoulder;
he appeared to great advantage; he stayed about five minutes. I saw him
again five or six times through the day, but got only indifferent views
of him. The following day, however, I was determined to get a better and
nearer view of him than before. I went down to his hotel about ten
o'clock, the time when I supposed he would leave it; I saw one of the
Prince's carriages drawn up, which opened at the top and was thrown back
before and behind. In a few minutes the Emperor with his sister made
their appearance and got into it. As the carriage started, I pressed
forward and got hold of the ring of the coach door and kept pace with it
for about a quarter of a mile. I was so near that I could have touched
him; he was in a plain dress, a brown coat, and altogether like any other
gentleman. His sister, the Duchess, also was dressed in a very plain,
unattractive manner, and, if it had not been for the crowd which
followed, they would have been taken for any lady and gentleman taking an
airing.
"In this unostentatious manner does he conduct himself, despising all
pomp, and seems rather more intent upon inspecting the charitable,
useful, and ornamental establishments of this country, with a view,
probably, of benefiting his own dominions by his observations, than of
displaying his rank by the splendor of dress and equipage.
"His condescension also is no less remarkable. An instance or two will
exemplify it. On the morning after his arrival he was up at six o'clock,
and, while the lazy inhabitants of this great city were fast asleep in
their beds, he was walking with his sister, the Duchess, in Kensington
Gardens. As he came across Hyde Park he observed a corporal drilling some
recruits, upon which he went up to him and entered into familiar
conversation with him, asking him a variety of questions, and, when he
had seen the end of the exercise, shook him heartily by the hand and left
him. When he was riding on horseback, he shook hands with all who came
round him.
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