WOLF ATTACKING ITS HUNTERS.
"When the Emperor treats his Royal or Imperial guests to a wolf or bear hunt, the masters of ceremonies take good care that there shall be game in the forest. On one occasion, when the Crown-prince of Germany was a guest at the Winter Palace, the Emperor ordered a wolf-hunt for his amusement. The chase was successful, and two of the animals were driven so that they were shot by the guest.
"During their return to St. Petersburg, so the story goes, the Prince commented on the wonderful race of wolves in Russia. 'One of those I killed to-day,' said he, 'had the hair rubbed from his neck as if by a chain, and the other wore a collar.'"
"Are there many bears in Russia?" one of the youths inquired.
"The bear is found all over Russia," the Doctor answered. "The most common varieties are the black and brown bears, which are in Asiatic as well as European Russia; in northern Asia is the Arctic bear, which belongs to the sea rather than to the land. He is the largest of the family, but not the most formidable. The champion bear of the world for fighting qualities is the grisly, found only in North America.
"In some parts of Russia," the Doctor continued, "bears are so numerous as to do a great deal of damage. They destroy cattle and sheep, and not unfrequently attack individuals. They cause much havoc among fruit-trees and in grain-fields, and in localities where inhabitants are few they have things pretty much their own way. They are hunted with dogs and guns; traps are set for them, and poison is scattered where they can find and eat it. But in spite of the efforts of man against them they do not diminish in numbers from year to year, and the Emperor is able to have a bear-hunt about as often as he wants one.
"I have heard that in some parts of Siberia bears are caught and tamed, and then driven to market as one drives oxen or sheep. In a book of travels written by a Frenchman there is a picture of a dozen or more bears being driven to market, and the story is told in all soberness. French travellers are famous for a tendency to make their narratives interesting, even if veracity should suffer. There are exceptions, of course, as in everything else, but you may set it down as a good general rule, not to accept without question any extraordinary statement you find in a French book of travel."
In due time the journey was resumed, and the train reached Novgorod, where our travellers alighted. Novgorod stands on both sides of the Volkhov River, and is one hundred and three miles from St. Petersburg by the old post-road. It is not remarkable for its architecture, and is chiefly interesting for its historical associations and souvenirs.
OLD PICTURE IN THE CHURCH.
"We visited several of the churches and monasteries which make up the attractions of Novgorod," said Frank, in his journal. "The principal church is the Cathedral of St. Sophia, which was called in ancient times 'The Heart and Soul of the Great Novgorod.' The first cathedral was built here in 989; the present one dates from about 1045, when it was erected by order of the grandson of St. Vladimir. It has been altered and repaired repeatedly, but the alterations have not materially changed it from its ancient form. It is one of the oldest churches in Russia, and is held in great reverence by the people.
"The church has suffered by repeated plunderings. It was robbed by John the Terrible, and afterwards by the Swedes; the latter, in 1611, killed two of the priests and destroyed the charter which had been granted to the cathedral more than fifty years before. In spite of thesedepredations, the church contains many relics and images, some of them of great antiquity. There are shrines in memory of Yaroslav, Vladimir, and other of the ancient rulers of Russia; the shrine and tomb of St. Anne, daughter of King Olaf of Sweden, and wife of Prince Yaroslav I.; and the shrines or tombs of many other saints, princes, archbishops, patriarchs, and other dignitaries whose names have been connected with the history of the church and the city. So many tombs are here that there is little room for more.
A BISHOP OF THE GREEK CHURCH.
"You would hardly expect one of the curious relics of a church to be the result of piracy, yet such appears to be the case in this sacred building.The doors leading into the Chapel of the Nativity are said to have been stolen from a church in Sweden by pirates. Several men from Novgorod belonged to the freebooting band, and brought these doors home to enrich the cathedral of their native place. The doors are of oak, covered with metal plates half an inch thick; the plates bear several devices and scrolls which we could not understand, but our guide said they were the armorial bearings of Swedish noblemen. There is another door, which is also said to have been stolen from a church, but its exact origin is unknown.
"In the sacristy they showed us an ancient copy of the four gospels on vellum, and a printed copy which is said to have come from the first printing-press ever set up in Russia. There were several flags and standards which once belonged to the princes of Novgorod, one of them a present from Peter the Great in 1693. There was once an extensive library connected with the cathedral, but it was taken to St. Petersburg in 1859. They showed us a collection of letters from Peter the Great to Catherine I. and his son Alexis, but of course we could not read them.
"There is a kremlin, or fortress, in the centre of the city, but it is not of great consequence. Near it is a tower which bears the name of Yaroslav; in this tower hung theVechiebell, which summoned thevechie, or assemblage of citizens, when any public circumstance required their attention. We tried to picture the gathering of the people on such occasions. In the day of its greatness Novgorod had four hundred thousand inhabitants, and its assemblages must have been well worth seeing. The vechie bell was carried off to Moscow by Ivan III., and many thousands of the inhabitants were compelled to move to other places. For a long time it hung in a tower of the Kremlin of Moscow, but its present whereabouts is unknown.
"I fear that a further account of our sight-seeing in Novgorod, so far as the churches and monasteries are concerned, might be wearisome, as it would be in some degree a repetition of the description of the cathedral; so we will drop these venerable buildings and come down to modern times and things. The most interesting of modern things in this old city is the Millennial Monument, which has been mentioned before.
MILLENNIAL MONUMENT AT NOVGOROD.(From Appleton's American Cyclopædia.)
"The monument is one of the finest in the Empire, and some of the Russians say it surpasses anything else of the kind in their country. We could not measure it, but judged it to be not less than fifty feet from the ground to the top of the cross which surmounts the dome, forming the upper part of the monument. There are a great many figures, statues, and high-reliefs, which represent periods of Russian history. The greatevents from the days of Rurik to Alexander II. are shown on the monument, and there can be no doubt that the work is highly instructive to those who study it carefully.
"The monument was designed by a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and was chosen from a great number of sketches that were submitted for competition. The casting of the bronze was done by an English firm at St. Petersburg, and the expense was borne by the Government and a few wealthy citizens of Novgorod. As is usual in such cases, the Government contributed by far the greater part of the money."
After a day in Novgorod our friends continued their journey to Moscow. They returned to the main line of railway by the branch, and waited nearly two hours at the junction for the through train to the ancient capital.
At Valdai the youths bought some specimens of the famous Valdai bells; but it is safe to say that they were not equal to what could have been found at St. Petersburg or Moscow. Fred recalled their purchases of specimens of local manufactures in other parts of the world, and said the same rule would apply everywhere. The tourist who buys Toledo blades at the railway-station in Toledo, eau-de-cologne at the famous city of the Rhine, bog-oak jewellery at Dublin, andpâté de foie grasat Strasburg, may generally count on being victimized.
At Tver the railway crosses the Volga. Frank proposed that as Tver is the head of navigation on that great river they should leave the train and float with the current to Astrachan, two thousand one hundred and fifty miles away. Doctor Bronson said a steamer would be preferable to floating; besides, they would have quite enough of the Volga if theystarted from Nijni Novgorod and avoided the navigation of the upper part of the stream.
RUSSIAN BOATS.
"And while we are on the subject of navigation," the Doctor added, "please bear in mind that by means of a system of canals connecting the lakes and rivers between this point and St. Petersburg, there is unbroken water transit between the Volga and the Neva. Merchandise can be carried in boats from St. Petersburg to the Caspian Sea without breaking bulk, and there are canals connecting the Volga with the Don and the Dneiper rivers in the same way. Russia has an excellent system of internal communication by water, and it was doubtless due to this that the railways in the Empire are a matter of very recent date.
"The first railway line in the Empire was from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe-Selo, and was built in 1838. The St. Petersburg and Moscow Railway was begun in 1848, and down to the end of the reign of Nicholas less than three thousand miles of railway were completed in the whole Empire. Now there are nearly twenty thousand miles in operation, and the figures are increasing every year. Nearly fourteen thousand miles belong to private companies, and the remainder is the property of the Government. Some of the companies have a Government guarantee for the interest on their capital, while others are managed just like private railways in other countries."
At the last station before reaching Moscow passports were surrendered to the inspectors, and tickets were collected. The youths put their hand-bags and shawl-straps in readiness, and were ready to leave the carriage when the train rolled into the huge building which is the terminal station of the line. Our friends were in the ancient capital of Russia, and the home of many Czars.
PORTRAIT OF CATHERINE II. IN THE KREMLIN COLLECTION.
From the railway-station the party went to a hotel which had been recommended as centrally situated and fairly well kept, but Frank and Fred said they should be cautious about praising it for fear that those who came after them might be disappointed. The hotels of Moscow are hardly equal to those of St. Petersburg. As the latter is the capital of the Empire, it naturally has a greater demand for hostelries of the highest class than does the more venerable but less fashionable city.
The first thing that impressed the youths was the undulating character of the ground on which Moscow is built, in pleasing contrast to the dead level of St. Petersburg. The streets are rarely straight for any great distance, and were it not for the inequalities one would not be able to see very far ahead of him at any time. But every few minutes a pretty view is afforded from the crest of one ridge to another; the depressions between the ridges are filled with buildings scattered somewhat irregularly, and there is a goodly number of shade-trees in the yards and gardens or lining the streets.
STREET SCENE IN MOSCOW.
St. Petersburg has an air of great regularity both in the arrangement of its streets and the uniformity of the buildings. Moscow forms a marked contrast to the younger capital, as there is little attempt at uniformity and regularity. You see the hut of a peasant side by side with the palace of a nobleman; a stable rises close against a church, and there is a carpenter's shop, with its half-dozen workmen, abutting close against an immense factory where hundreds of hands are employed. Moscow is a city of contrasts; princes and beggars almost jostle each other in the streets; the houses of rich and poor are in juxtaposition, and it is only a few short steps from the palace of the Kremlin, with its treasures of gold and jewels, to the abodes of most abject poverty.
Frank and Fred were quick to observe this peculiarity of the ancient capital of the Czars, and at the first opportunity they questioned the Doctor concerning it.
"What is the cause of so many contrasts here which we did not see in St. Petersburg?" one of them inquired.
"That is the question I asked on my first visit," Doctor Bronson replied. "I was told that it was due to the burning of Moscow in 1812, at the time of its capture by Napoleon."
"How much of the city was burned?" Fred asked.
"The greater part of it was destroyed," was the reply, "but there were many buildings of stone and brick that escaped. Most of the churches were saved, as the Russians were reluctant to commit the sacrilege of burning edifices which had been consecrated to religious worship. Such of the churches as were consumed in the conflagration were set on fire by neighboring buildings rather than by the hands of the Russians."
"Then it was the Russians that burned Moscow, and not the French," said Fred. "I have read somewhere that it is all a falsehood that the Russians consigned their city to the flames."
"From all I can learn, both by reading and conversation," answered the Doctor, "I do not think there is any doubt of the truth of the generallyaccepted story. Napoleon arrived here on the 15th of September, and intended to spend the winter in Moscow to prepare for a spring campaign against St. Petersburg. His advance under Murat came in one day earlier. As soon as Napoleon arrived he took up his quarters in the Kremlin, while his troops were mostly encamped on the hills which overlook the city on the west.
BIVOUACKING IN THE SNOW.
"On the night of the 16th the governor, Count Rostoptchin, ordered the city to be set on fire—at least such is the general belief, though the official order has never been produced. The fire broke out in many places at the same time; the French soldiers tried to suppress it, but found it impossible to do so. Nearly twelve thousand houses were burned, besides palaces and churches. The inhabitants fled to the country in all directions, and there was no stock of provisions for the support of the French army.
"Napoleon found that he must evacuate the city and return to France.On the 19th of October he looked his last on Moscow from the Sparrow Hills on the west, and began his long and disastrous retreat. The winter came early, and was unusually severe. Hardly had he left the city before the ground was deep with snow, and from that time onward he was harassed by Cossacks, while his men perished of hunger and cold. Do you know how many men were lost in the Russian campaign of 1812?"
BATTLE BETWEEN FRENCH AND RUSSIANS.
"Yes," said Fred; "I have just been reading the history of the campaign.
"According to the narrative of the Count de Segur," the youth continued, "the army with which Napoleon invaded Russia comprised four hundred and twenty thousand men. Very nearly half of these were French; the other half consisted of Poles, Italians, Austrians, Bavarians, Saxons, and other troops allied with the French. One hundred and eighty-seven thousand horses were employed for the cavalry, artillery, and baggage. There were eighty thousand cavalry and the artillery numbered one thousand three hundred and sixty-two pieces. There were great numbers of carts and wagons drawn by oxen, and immense herds of cattle driven along for supplying beef.
"Three hundred thousand Russians gathered on the banks of the Niemen River to oppose the French advance, but the river was crossed without opposition. There was a battle at Smolensk, and another at Borodino, both of them being won by the French. At the battle of Borodino the loss on both sides amounted to eighty thousand killed and wounded. After that the Russians made no serious resistance. Napoleon entered Moscow without difficulty, and established his headquarters in the Kremlin, as you have said. On the battle-field of Borodino is a monument with this inscription:
"So much for the advance," the Doctor remarked; "now tell us about the retreat."
NAPOLEON RETREATING FROM MOSCOW.
"It was one of the most terrible retreats ever known in history. Out of all the Grand Army of nearly half a million men that crossed the Niemen in June, 1812, a little more than twelve thousand recrossed it in the following winter! It was estimated that one hundred and twenty thousand were killed in the various battles with the Russians, one hundred and thirty thousand died of disease, cold, and hunger, and not far from two hundred thousand were captured, or voluntarily left the army and remained with the Russians. Many of the latter died within the next few years, and others settled in the country and never reached their homes again. On the line of the march of the Grand Army their descendants may be found to-day living in the villages where their fathers died, and thoroughly Russian in their language and habits. The Russians are said to have treated their prisoners kindly, and doubtless they had orders from the Government to do so."
Frank asked if the French army made any attempt to reach St. Petersburg.
ALEXANDER I.
"As before stated, it was Napoleon's intention," the Doctor answered,"to spend the winter in Moscow, and move upon St. Petersburg in the spring. But the burning of Moscow made it impossible for him to remain, and thus his plans were spoiled. Russia refused to make terms of peace with him, and some of his messages to the Emperor Alexander I. were not even answered. The Russians doubtless knew that cold and hunger would compel a retreat, and they could rely upon the winter and the Cossacks to make it disastrous.
"Russia had concluded a treaty of peace with Turkey, which would release a large army to fight against the French. She had also made a treaty with the King of Sweden, by which the troops of the latter would join the Russian army early in the spring, as soon as the weather and the roads would permit them to march. It was certain that Napoleon would be overwhelmed if he remained, and the only alternative was the retreat.
"The army that came to Moscow was about one hundred thousand strong; all the rest of the available forces of the Grand Army were left to garrison places on the road to the Niemen and to collect provisions. One hundred and sixty thousand men crossed the bridge at Smolensk in the march to Moscow; twenty thousand were killed on the road, and forty thousand were left to guard the magazines, hospitals, and stores at some four or five places. The terrible waste of war can be no better illustrated than in the story of Napoleon's campaign to Moscow. At Kovno, in Lithuania, is a monument with the inscription:
"And now," he continued, "I think you understand why Moscow presents so many irregularities in its architecture. In the spring of 1813 the people began to build again, and everything was done in a hurry. Those who could afford the time and money necessary to build good houses were the few rather than the many. Most of the Russians had been impoverished in the war, and could only afford the cheapest of dwellings, while those who had not lost everything were desirous of obtaining shelter as soon as possible. The custom of that day has continued in a certain measure to the present, as you can see by looking around you."
For a knowledge of what our friends saw in Moscow we will refer as heretofore to the journals kept by the youths, together with extracts from their letters to friends at home.
"The first thing we wanted to see," said Fred, in his journal, "was the Kremlin, or ancient fortress of Moscow, on the bank of the river Moskva, from which the city is named. We saw many other things on the way there, but had no interest in them, and will leave their description to alater page. We were all eyes, ears, and thoughts for the Kremlin, and nothing else.
VIEW IN THE KREMLIN.
"Nobody can tell positively what the word 'kremlin' comes from, but it certainly means fortress or space enclosed with strong walls. The walls of the Kremlin of Moscow are about one mile and a half in circuit, and from fifty to sixty feet high; they are entered by five gates, of which the principal is thespaski, or 'Redeemer.' This gate was built in 1491, and over it there is a picture of the Redeemer of Smolensk. Our guide told us we must remove our hats as we passed through this gate-way, out of respect for the ways of the people. Formerly a failure to do so was severely punished, but now there is no compulsion about it. Not even the Emperor is exempt from the custom, and you may be sure we did not attract attention by our neglect.
A PRISONER ORDERED TO EXECUTION.
"It was in front of this gate that executions formerly took place, and the victims offered their last prayers to the Redeemer of Smolensk. Happily there are now no signs of these executions, and everything has an air of peace and happiness. The gate of next importance is theNikolsky, or Nicholas Gate, which is ornamented and made sacred in the eyes of orthodox Russians by the picture of St. Nicholas of Mojaisk. The gate was partly destroyed by order of Napoleon; a large quantity of gunpowder was placed under it and fired, but the explosion only split the tower in the middle and up to the frame of the picture. The glass over the picture and the lamp burning in front of it were not harmed. As the occurrence was considered in the light of a miracle, an inscription describing it was placed there by Alexander I.
"Another gate, called theTroitska, or Trinity, is memorable as the one by which the French entered and left the Kremlin in 1812. Several times it has been the passage-way of conquering armies. Besides the French in the nineteenth century, it admitted the Poles in the seventeenth, the Tartars in the sixteenth (1551), and the Lithuanians in the fourteenth centuries. Only a small part of the Kremlin was destroyed in the great fire of 1812; it was held by Napoleon's troops when the fire broke out, and when the invaders retired their attempts to blow up the walls and ignite the buildings did not succeed.
"After looking at the exterior of the walk and admiring the picturesque situation of the Kremlin, we passed through the gate, and went at once to the tower of Ivan Veliki (John the Great). We had been advised to see this tower first of all, as it was the best point from which to obtain a general view of the city.
THE KREMLIN OF MOSCOW.
"There is some doubt as to the antiquity of the tower, but it is generally believed to date from the year 1600, and to have been built by Boris Godounoff. It is in five stories, of which the upper is in the form of a cylinder, while the others are octagonal in shape. The top is two hundred and seventy feet from the ground, and is reached by a winding stairway.
"The guide called our attention to the bells in the tower; there are no less than thirty-four of them, and some are very large. In the second story hangs a bell known as the 'Assumption,' which weighs sixty-four tons; it is therefore four times as heavy as the great bell of Rouen, five times that of Erfurt, and eight times as heavy as the Great Tom of Oxford, the largest bell in England! The oldest of the other bells bears the date 1550; the vechie bell of Novgorod the Great once hung in this tower, but nobody knows where it is at present. The effect of the ringing of these bells at Easter is said to be very fine, as they are of different tones, and so arrangedthat they make no discord. In the upper story are two silver bells, whose tones are said to be very sweet.
"We stopped a while at each of the stories to look at the bells and enjoy the view, and thus reached the top without much fatigue. But if we had been so weary as to be unable to stand, we should have been amply repaid for our fatigue. The view is certainly one of the finest we ever had from a height overlooking any city in Europe, with the possible exceptions of Paris and Constantinople.
"Moscow, with its undulating and irregular streets, with the Moskva winding through it in the shape of the letter S, with its four hundred churches and an immense variety of towers and domes and minarets, with the variations of palace and hovel already mentioned, and with the great buildings of the Kremlin forming the foreground of the scene, lay before and below us. It was Moscow (the Holy), the city of the Czars and beloved of every patriotic Russian; the city which has existed through Tartar, Polish, and French invasions; has risen from the ashes again and again; has been ravaged by famine, the plague, and the sword of the invader, but surviving all her calamities, welcomes the stranger within her walls, whose circuit is more than twenty miles. From the top of this tower we looked down upon seven centuries of historical associations.
"Listen to a fragment of the history of Moscow: It was plundered by the Tartars under Tamerlane, and many of its inhabitants were killed; again it fell into Tartar hands, and again was pillaged, and its inhabitants murdered. Twice under the Tartars (1536 and 1572) it was set on fire, and on both occasions many thousands of people perished by fire or sword. The Poles burned a large part of the city in 1611, and in 1771 the plague carried off half the population. Is it any wonder that the Russians love their ancient capital, after all that it has suffered and survived?
THE GREAT BELL UNDERGROUND.
"We lingered for an hour or more in the tower, and then descended. Our next object of interest was the 'Czar Kolokol,' or Great Bell, which stands at the foot of the Ivan Veliki Tower, and near the place where for a long time it lay buried in the earth. It is literally the great bell not only of Moscow but of the world.
"It has a strange history. It is said to have been cast originally inthe time of Boris Godounoff, and a traveller in 1611 mentions a bell in Russia which required twenty-four men to swing the clapper. During a fire it fell to the ground and was broken; in 1654 it was recast, and weighed at that time 288,000 pounds. Twenty years later it was suspended from a wooden beam at the foot of the tower; the beam gave way during a fire in 1706, and the bell was again broken. The Empress Anne ordered it recast in 1733, but it only lasted four years. The falling of some rafters in 1737 broke the bell as we now see it, and it lay on the ground just ninety-nine years, or until 1836, when it was raised and placed in its present position by the Emperor Nicholas.
"And how large do you think it is?
"It is thought to weigh 444,000 pounds, or 220 tons; it is nineteen feet three inches in height, and sixty feet nine inches in circumference, or twenty feet three inches in diameter. Just stop and measure these figures with your eye in a barn or a large room of a house, and then realize what this great bell is.
VISITING THE GREAT BELL.
"Look at the picture of the bell, and see the piece that is broken out of it. This piece is six feet high, and both of us walked through the place left by its removal without any difficulty. There is an inscription on the bell which gives its history, and it presents also several sacred figures and the portraits of the Czar Alexis and the Empress Anne.
EMPRESS ANNE.
"From the Great Bell we went to the Nicholas Palace, which occupies the site of the one destroyed by the French at the time of their retreat, and then to theBolshoi Dvorets, or Great Palace.
"The state apartments are numerous and gorgeous; their number is absolutely bewildering, and so is the array of furniture, paintings, statuary, and other valuables that are gathered there. In the Emperor's cabinet there are pictures representing the battles of Borodino and Smolensk, and also of the French entering and leaving Moscow. There are hallsdedicated to St. George, St. Alexander Nevski, and St. Andrew, all of them hung with battle-flags, and the last—the Hall of St. Andrew—containing the Emperor's throne. In some of the halls are paintings representing scenes in the history of Poland. They were brought from Warsaw, where they once hung in the Royal castle.
"They showed us the 'Red Staircase,' which is used by the Emperor on state occasions, and was the spot where in former times the Czar allowed the people to see him. Napoleon and his marshals ascended these steps when they took possession of the Kremlin, and it was from the top of the staircase that John the Terrible saw the comet which caused him to tremble with fear.
"Then they took us to the banqueting-room, where the Emperor dines with his nobles immediately after the ceremony of coronation, and beyond it to theTerem, which was formerly occupied by the wife and children of the Czar. It is now filled with articles of historic interest: the seals of Russian sovereigns, the certificate of the election of Michael, first of the Romanoffs, to the Russian throne, and several copies of the Evangelists, on parchment, and said to be five hundred years old.
"Near the Great Palace is the Treasury, which reminded us of The Hermitage of St. Petersburg, or the more famous Tower of London. It is filled with all sorts of curious things, many of them of enormous value. It has been said that the national debt of Russia could be paid from the sale of the pearls, diamonds, and other precious things in the Treasury of Moscow. Perhaps this is not strictly true, but certainly they would go a long way towards doing so.
"What we saw in the Treasury would take too long to tell; and besides, it would be a catalogue filling many pages of our note-books. Armorand weapons of all times and forms can be seen here. There are faded and tattered flags that tell of the glory of Russia; here is the flag carried by the soldiers of John the Terrible at the capture of Kazan; the flag under which Yermak conquered Siberia and added it to the Russian Empire; the flag which a little band of Cossacks carried to the shores of the Pacific Ocean more than two hundred years ago; and here are the flags which belonged to the Regiment ofStreltsi, which rebelled against Peter the Great.
THE EMPRESS ELIZABETH.
"Here are thrones and coronation chairs in goodly number. The first is that of the Empress Elizabeth, and near it are the coronation chairs of Paul I. and Alexander II. In the centre of the room where these chairs are standing is thebaldachino, under which the Emperor and Empress walk at their coronation, and at the farther end is a stand of colors given by Alexander I. to his Polish regiment, and afterwards captured at the storming of Warsaw, in 1831. The royal throne of Poland is in another room, along with the throne of Kazan, which is studded with pearls, diamonds, rubies, and turquoises, as are several other thrones. One thronecontains over eight hundred diamonds and twice as many rubies, and it is by no means the most costly one in the collection. Near the thrones are the coronation robes worn by several of the emperors and empresses, and there is also a masquerade dress which belonged to Catherine the Great.
"We lingered over a glass case containing the decoration of the Order of the Garter and its diploma, which Queen Elizabeth sent to John the Terrible.
"Another gift from the good Queen to the cruel Czar was the state carriage which stands in one of the rooms of the Treasury, along with several other vehicles, all of the olden time. One is on runners, and large enough for a whole family; it has a table and benches covered with green cloth, and was used by the Empress Elizabeth in her journeys between St. Petersburg and Moscow.
"Enough of curiosities. We grew weary with seeing the relics of the rulers of Russia, though all were full of interest, and willingly followed our guide to the churches that stand within the walls of the Kremlin. The first is the Church of the Assumption, in which the emperors are crowned, and where the patriarchs formerly officiated. The church dates from 1475, and occupies the site of another which was erected one hundred and fifty years earlier. It has been altered and restored several times, but remains very much in shape and general appearance as it was four hundred years ago.
"In the church is a shrine of silver in memory of St. Philip, a patriarch of the Church, who had the temerity to rebuke John the Terrible for his misdeeds, and was imprisoned and put to death in consequence. The hand of St. Philip is exposed, and whenever the Emperor comes here he never fails to kiss the sacred relic.
"There are tombs and shrines in great number, and a large part of the religious history of Russia belongs to this building. Every Czar of the Empire, from John the Terrible to Alexander III., has been crowned here, and the most sacred pictures in the whole country are deposited along the altar screen.
CORONATION OF ALEXANDER III.
"Dean Stanley says of the Imperial coronation in the Church of the Assumption:
"'The coronation, even at the present time, is not a mere ceremony, but an historical event and solemn consecration. It is preceded by fasting and seclusion, and takes place in the most sacred church in Russia, the Emperor, not as in the corresponding forms of European investiture, a passive recipient, but himself the principal figure in the whole scene; himself reciting aloud the confession of the orthodox faith; himself aloneon his knees, amid the assembled multitude, offering up the prayer of intercession for the Empire; himself placing his crown on his own head; himself entering through the sacred door of the innermost sanctuary, and taking from the altar the elements of the bread and the wine.'
"There are two other cathedrals in the Kremlin, that of the Archangel Michael and the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The three cathedrals, with the tower of Ivan Veliki, which has a chapel in its lower story, form a square, which is frequently called the Grand Square of the Kremlin. We visited the cathedrals in the order named, and it was quite appropriate that when we had finished with that of the Assumption, where the Czars are crowned, we should go to the Michael Cathedral, where, down to the time of Peter the Great, they were buried. The tombs are quite plain in appearance, a marked contrast to the elaborate decorations of the building, whose interior is covered with frescos which represent scenes in the lives of the Czars, together with their portraits.
"One of the tombs was covered with a black cloth, and we asked the guide what it meant.
"'That is the tomb of John the Terrible,' said he, 'and the black cloth is to show that he assumed the cowl of a monk an hour or so before he died. He wanted to atone for his many cruelties, and this is the way he did it.'
"The guide further told us that in ancient times when any one wished to present a petition to the Czar he came to this church and placed the paper on one of the tombs. By a long-established custom which had the force of law, no one but a Czar could remove it. In this way the ruler could be reached when all other means of approaching him were unavailable. What a pity the custom does not continue to the present time!
PETER II.
"The only emperor buried here is Peter II., son of Alexis and grandson of Peter the Great. As before stated, the Imperial burial-place has been at St. Petersburg since that city was founded.
"While the Czars were crowned in the Cathedral of the Assumption and buried in that of St. Michael, they were baptized and married in that of the Annunciation, which was the next we visited. Its floor is of jasper and agate, and it has nine cupolas, heavily covered with gilding. The cross on the centre cupola is said to be of solid gold—a statement open to a good deal of doubt, though by no means entirely improbable when we remember what treasures are stored in the Kremlin. The interior of this church is covered with frescos, and like the others is adorned with pictures set in precious stones.
"Mentioning the cupolas of this church reminds us that the cupolas of the Russian churches vary all the way from one up to thirteen, the number being nearly always odd. Usually they have five cupolas; the building is in the form of a Greek cross, and there is a cupola at each corner and another in the centre, the latter being the largest. The idea of the five cupolas came from Constantinople, whence the Russian Church derived its religion. The earliest church at Novgorod had five cupolas, and was copied from the Church of St. Sophia at Constantinople, which was converted into a mosque at the time of the Moslem conquest. The largest number on any of the churches of Moscow is on that of St. Basil, which has thirteen in all.
BISHOP IN HIS ROBES.
"There are other small churches and chapels in the Kremlin, but we had not sufficient time to examine them all. In the sacristy of the Holy Synod, which stands behind the Cathedral of the Assumption, we saw in glass cases the robes of the patriarchs of the Church, some of them dating back more than five hundred years. They are covered with pearls and all kinds of precious stones; one, which was presented by John the Terrible to the metropolitan Denys, is said to weigh fifty-four pounds in consequence of the great number of diamonds,pearls, emeralds, garnets, and other jewels which are fastened to it.
"The attendant left us quite alone in the room with all these valuables; the guide said this was the custom, but that we were by no means out of sight. Through holes in the ceiling watchful eyes were said to be peering, and any attempt to open the cases and remove the valuables would result in serious consequences. How much truth there was in his statement we do not know. We looked at the ceiling, but could not see any peep-holes, but for all that they may have been there.
"You wonder how it happened that the French did not carry away the treasures of the Kremlin when they retreated from Moscow. The fact is, most of the treasures were removed to Nijni Novgorod as the French advanced, and when they arrived there was not a great deal to plunder. They carried off many things, which were afterwards recaptured by the Russians during the retreat and restored to their places, but it was not until the French were completely out of the country that the valuables and relics which had been carried to Nijni Novgorod were returned.
"The invaders hacked at some of the frames of the holy pictures in the Church of the Assumption, and the marks of their knives are still visible. In the Cathedral of the Annunciation the French stabled their horses, and the other churches were used as barracks by the troops. The Kremlin was mined in several places, but the explosions did very little damage. Probably the French officers who had charge of the mining were in a great hurry and did not attend properly to their work.
"Our guide was a Russian; and after he had told us about the use of the cathedral as a stable, he led the way to the spot where the cannon captured from the French in the retreat are exhibited. 'There,' said he, 'are eight hundred and seventy-five cannon which were captured in the retreat of the Grand Army; three hundred and sixty-five of them—one for every day in the year—are French, one hundred and eighty-nine are Austrian, and the rest are from the various troops allied with the French at that time. Altogether they weigh about three hundred and fifty tons. A Frenchman proposed that they should be melted down and cast into a memorial column, but the Russians think they are better just as they are.'
"We agreed with him that it was very natural a Frenchman should make such a proposal and the Russians reject it. An amusing thing is that some of the guns bear the names 'Invincible,' 'Eagle,' 'Conqueror,' 'Triumph,' and the like, quite in mockery of their captive condition.
"Doctor Bronson said he was reminded of an incident that is said tohave happened in an American navy-yard fifteen or twenty years after the war of 1812, between the United States and Great Britain.
"An Englishman was visiting the navy-yard, and while wandering among the cannon which lay peacefully in one of the parks, he found one which bore the British crown, with the stamp 'G. R.' beneath it. The stamp and crown told very plainly the history of the gun, but the Briton was doubtful. Turning to a sailor who was standing near, he remarked,
"'It's easy enough to put that stamp on a gun of Yankee make.'
"'How long do you think it would take?'
"'About half an hour.'
"'Well,' replied the sailor, 'we took forty-four of those guns, with the stamps already on, in just seventeen minutes."[4]
"The stranger had no more conundrums to propose.