Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1855-05-02

ally. Many of these buildings are sur
rounded by extensive grounds, often wall
ed IN, and are at considerable distances
asunder, to which, mainly, and the fact
that portion of the French army was
quartered there, may be attributed the
preservation of about one eighth of the
city IN area, which was saved by the al
most superhuman exertions of the French
soldiers
The kremlin, in like manner occupied
oy the French, and protected by brick
walls of from twenty to thirty feet in
height, mot sixty, as Senator Douglas is
reported to have said. was also preserved
Nor did any magazine blow up and crack
the church of Ivan Veleeky, as stated
The rent in the walls of that cathedral.
and tue p-ostration of several of the tow
ers and bastions (now probably replaced) J
OF the old Tartar fortress, were caused by
the explosion of mines placed under them
by Napoleon when be evacuated Moscow.
which, but for the failure of some Of them
to ignite, would have left the whole Krem.
lin, with its thirteen churches. two impe
rial palaces, arsenal, barracks, &C., com
plete mass of ruins
How far Moscow NAV claim to have
been burnt city may partly be inferred
from a statistical table now before me.
published by the Russian government af
ter the evacuation.
"When the French entered Moscow it
contained 1867 brick houses, of which
204l were burnt But the reader must
not suppose that l mean those small
structures so called in our cities, or even
the boasted edifces, with their four rooms
on floor, occasionally seen here. which
are the pride and envy of so many good
citizens Most of the brick houses refer
red to, and so termed by the Muscovite
enumerator, would, from their great ex-
tent and capacity be called in Italy pal,
aces, casting in the shade, in these re-
spects the most famous of our public ho-
tells, each furnishing space for the accom-
modation of many families. and most of
them SO occupied The vastness of these
edifces can hardly be appreciated by per-
sons who have not seen them For in
stance the house of Count Apraxin-a
small part only of which, with its paiatial
bathrooms, drawing rooms, private thea.
tre, &c, suficed for his princely estab-
lishment, the rest being rented out to
tenants. and which he had already rebuilt
in lo24-was huge quadrangular build
ing. reputed to be verst, or two-thirds
of an English mile in circumference.
:" Of wooden houses there were 65o1, of
which 449l were burnt, leaving. on the
departure of the French, but 2l0O, chiefly
at the extremities of the city
$ Even at the close of 1914 there were
5000 fewer street lamps than prior to the
arrival of the French The churches
having been all massively built. and
arched and having floors of brick or
stone, with little that was combustible in
their interior, and being, moreover, gen
orally detached from other buildings, sui.
fered numerically less than so Wholesale
destruction of city might lead one to
suppose The number standing when the
French arrived was $50, and in August,
1914. 273 were in a condition fit for use.
Many more details could be given, but
| suppose the above will suffice to dispose
of the gigantic imaginary woodsheds of
Senator Douglas, on the burning of which,
he would have US believe, the greatest of
our modern poets wasted his magnificent
apostrophe:
Subllmest OF volcanoes, Ftna's flame
rales before thine, and Quenchess Hecas tame ::
Nesuvlus shows her blaze, an usual sight
For gaping tourists, from her hackneved height
Ihou standst alone unrivaled till the fire
o come, wherein all empires shall expirer'
T. An old traveller"