A vision of Paul I.

— Tsar Paul I, who at that time was merely the Grand Duke Paul, finding himself at a gathering with some friends in Brussels, where they were speaking of phenomena considered supernatural, related the following fact: n “One afternoon, or rather one evening, I was in the streets of St. Petersburg, with Kourakin and two servants. We spent a long time talking and smoking, and the idea came to us to leave the palace, incognito, to see the city by moonlight. It was not cold and the days were lengthening; it was one of those gentler moments of our spring, so pale in comparison with those of the South. We were merry; we were thinking of nothing religious, nor even serious, and Kourakin was telling me a thousand anecdotes about the rare passersby we met. I walked in front, although one of our men preceded me; Kourakin remained a few steps behind, and the other servant followed us a little farther off. The moon was so bright that one could have read a letter by it, and the shadows, by contrast, were long and thick. “Turning a corner I noticed, in the recess of a doorway, a tall, thin man, wrapped in a cloak, like a Spaniard, with a military hat pulled down over his eyes. He seemed to be waiting, and as soon as we passed in front of him, he came out of his refuge and placed himself on my left, without uttering a word, without making a gesture. It was impossible to make out his features; only his steps, striking the flagstones, produced a strange sound, like that of one stone striking another. At first I was astonished by this encounter; then it seemed to me that all the side which he almost touched grew gradually cold. I felt a glacial chill penetrate my limbs and, turning to Kourakin, I said to him: “Here is a singular companion we have! — What companion? he asked. — Why, this one walking on my left who makes so much noise, I believe.

“Kourakin opened his eyes in astonishment and assured me that on my left he saw no one. — What! you do not see, on my left, a man in a cloak, between me and the wall? — Your Highness is touching the wall itself, and there is no room for anyone between you and the wall.

“I stretched out my arm a little and, indeed, I felt the stone. Yet the man was there, still marching with the same hammer-like step, regulated by my own. Then I examined him attentively and saw shining beneath his hat, in a singular manner, as I said, the most sparkling eye I have ever encountered. This eye looked at me, fascinated me; I could not escape its ray. Ah! I said to Kourakin, I do not know what I feel, but it is strange!

“I was trembling, not from fear, but from cold. Little by little I felt my heart seized by an impression that nothing can translate. My blood froze in my veins. Suddenly a cavernous and melancholy voice came forth from that cloak which concealed his mouth, and called me by name: “Paul!” I answered mechanically, impelled by I know not what force: “What do you want?” — “Paul!” he repeated. And this time the accent was more affectionate and sadder still. I made no reply, I waited, he called me again and then simply stopped. I was constrained to do the same. “Paul! poor Paul! poor prince!” “I turned to Kourakin, who had also stopped. “Do you hear?” I asked him — “Nothing whatever, sir; and you?” As for me, I was listening; the lament still rang in my ears. I made an immense effort and asked this mysterious being who he was and what he wanted. “Poor Paul! who am I? I am he who takes an interest in you. What do I want? I want you not to attach yourself too much to this world, for you will not remain in it long. Live as a just man, if you wish to die in peace; and do not despise remorse: it is the most poignant torment of great souls.” “He resumed his way, looking at me always with that eye which seemed to detach itself from his head, and, just as I had been forced to stop as he did, I was forced to walk as he did. He spoke to me no more, nor did I feel any desire to address him. I followed him, for it was he who directed the march, and this course lasted still more than an hour, in silence, without my being able to say where I had passed. Kourakin and the lackeys did not arrive. Look at him smiling: he still thinks I dreamed all this.

“At last we approached the Great Square, between the bridge of the Neva and the Palace of the Senators. The man went straight toward a point in that square, followed by me, of course, where he halted. “Paul, farewell. You will not see me here, nor in other places.” Then, as if it had been touched, his hat rose slightly, by itself; then I distinguished his face easily. I recoiled, in spite of myself: it was the eagle eye, it was the swarthy brow, the severe smile of my grandfather Peter the Great. Before I recovered from my surprise, from my terror, he had disappeared. “It is in this very square that the empress is having erected the celebrated monument which will soon excite the admiration of all Europe, and which represents Tsar Peter on horseback. An immense block of granite is the base of this statue. It was not I who pointed out that place to my mother, chosen, or rather, foreseen beforehand by the phantom. And I confess that, finding this statue there, I do not know what feeling took hold of me. I am afraid of being afraid, despite Prince Kourakin’s wishing to persuade me that I dreamed while awake, walking through the streets. I remember the slightest details of this vision, for it was a vision, I persist in maintaining. It seems to me that I am still there. I returned to the palace, broken as if I had taken a long walk and literally frozen on the left side. I needed several hours to warm myself in a very hot bed and under blankets.” Later the Grand Duke Paul regretted having spoken of this adventure and strove to pass it off as a jest, but the concerns it caused him led people to think that it contained something serious.

— After this fact had been read at the Society of Paris, but without any intention of asking any question about it, one of the mediums, spontaneously and without evocation, obtained the following communication:

(Society of Paris, March 9, 1866. – Medium: Mr. Morin.)

In the new phase you have entered, with the key given by Spiritism, or revelation of the Spirits, everything must be explained, at least what you are able to understand.

The existence of seeing mediumship was the first of all the faculties conferred upon man to correspond with the invisible world, the cause of so many facts left until today without rational explanation. Indeed, return to the different ages of Humanity, and observe attentively all the traditions that have come down to you, and everywhere, in those that preceded you, you will find beings who, through vision, were placed in relation with the world of the Spirits.

In all times, among all peoples, religious beliefs were established upon the revelations of visionaries or seeing mediums.

Very small by themselves, men were always assisted by those invisible ones who had preceded them in erraticity and who, obedient to the law of universal reciprocity, came to bring them, through often unconscious communications, the knowledge they had acquired, and to trace for them the conduct to follow in order to discover the truth. '

As I said, the first of the mediumistic faculties was vision. How many adversaries it did not encounter among the interested parties of all times! But one should not infer from my language that all visions are the result of real communications; many are due to the hallucination of weakened brains or result from a plot contrived to serve some calculation or to satisfy pride.

Believe me, the seeing medium is, of all, the most impressionable; what has been seen is best engraved upon the spirit. When your Grand Duke, n a braggart and vain like most of his race, saw his grandfather appear to him, for it was indeed a vision, which had its reason for being in the mission that Peter the Great had accepted on behalf of his grandson, and which consisted in guiding and inspiring him, from that instant mediumship was permanent in the duke, and only the fear of ridicule prevented him from telling all his visions to his friend. Seeing mediumship was not the only one he possessed; he also had intuition and audition. But, deeply imbued with the principles of his early education, he refused to take advantage of the wise warnings his guides gave him. It was through audition that he had the revelation of his tragic end. Since that time, his Spirit has progressed greatly. Today he would no longer fear the ridicule of believing in the vision and, for this reason, he comes to say: “Thanks to my dear spiritual instructors and to the observation of facts, I believe in the manifestation of the Spirits, in the survival of the soul, in the eternal omnipotence of God, in the constant progression toward good of men and of peoples, and I consider myself greatly honored that one of my puerilities has provoked a dissertation in which I have everything to gain and you nothing to lose.” Paul. n [See also: Unpublished correspondence of Lavater with the Empress Maria of Russia, wife of Paul I.]

[1] Extracted from the Grand Journal, of March 3, 1866, and taken from a work by Mr. Hortensius de [Alexandre de] Saint Albin, entitled: The Cult of Satan.

[2] Several Russians attended the session at which this communication was given. No doubt this is what prompted the expression: Your Grand Duke.

[3]

[v. Paul I of Russia.]