The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-08-27
TWO CENTS.

The population also, exhibits corresponding diver
sity The European gentlemen with cylinder hats and
tight kid gloves do not appear more out OF place under
those crescent-tpped dcmes OF gold than the sallow
Persians and silken-robed Armenians beside yonder
French palace. The Russian peasant with his thick
brown beard red shirt and wide trousers stuck into his
boots, elbows you the sidewalk. After him
comes lady, with the smallest of bonnets and the
largest of crinones respectfully followed by
servant whose presence attests her respectabty Alone
she would be subject to suspicion, fair Circassan,
with blue eyes and the build of Adonis next meets
you them perhaps Tartar in his round cap OF black
lambs WOOL Chinese, resembling faulty image of
yellow clay aside before the Adam made
then, European bagmen, smrking and impertinent; a
Russian nurse with head dress like the spread tail OF
red peacock priest in flowing hair and black cassock
a money changer, whose beardess face proeaims his
neutcr gender; company OF iaposehhs (hackmen) In
squat black hats and long blue caftans officers In the
imperial uniform remen in glded helmets sanity old
beggars, children In national costume, fallen women
gypses, Cossacksa succeed each other in endless and
ever changing procession.
The best point for bird s-eye view of the city Is
from the tower Of Ivan Ve1iki, on the krcmn This is
belfry, 200 feet high, surmounted by golden dome
When you have passed the Tar Kolokol, King of
Bells, which rests granite pedestal at Its base and
have climbed through halt dozen bell chambers
to the upper gallery you nearly the whole of Mos
cowtor the northern part goes beyond your horizon On
all other sides 1t stretches far far away, leaving only
narrow ring of dark-green woods between 1t and the
sky. The Moskya twists like wounded snake at your
feet, the little stream almost swallowed up in the inn
of the pae-green roofs This vast green ring
is checkered with the pink and yellow fronts of the
buildings which rise above the general level, while all
it, far and near singy or In clusters shoot up the
painted reedke towers and open to the day the golden
and silver blossoms of their domes How the flashes
back angrily riumphantly from the dazzling hemis
pheres, until this northern capital shines in more than
tropic fire What a blaze, and brance and rainbow
varegation under this pale-blue sky
The view from the Sparrow Hills Is still beauti
full. You enclosed with belt of birch and pine
woods Under you the river reflects the sky and beyond
it sweep blossoming meadows up to the suburban gar
dens over which rises the long line Of the gded city,
whose domes to flash in your very face and
whose arthest towers fade against the sky Their long
array fills onethird of the horizon. counted between
five and six hundred third of which were either
gildcd or svered The dome of the new cathedral as
large that of St. Pauls London burned in the
like globe of fame like the itself, with stars and
consultations sparkling around it far and wide From
this point the advanced guard OF Napoleon army first
Moscow vast silent, glitterng city, fired by the
sunset and with the seeds of awful splendor in Its
heart. No wonder that the soldiers stood still, by
spontaneous impulse, grounded their arms and
claimed man, Moscow Moscow u
saw this wonderful picture still, sultry after
The woods and meadows, the thousand towers of
the city, bathed in bright sunshine but beyond the
latter lowered, black ink, pile of thunderclouds
The threatening background rose, letting fall shifting
curtain of dark gray from the feet of which whirled clouds
of tawny DUST valing the spendor of the distant domes
As the storm advanced columns Of dust here and
there oil over the ctya shadow OF night crept
it, leaving only the spires TO blaze with double
splendor against the black chaos Presently the more
distant portions of the city botted out The bright
towers remained for time visible shining sectrally
through the fallen cloud and seeming to be removed
back into the depths of the atmosphere The sound Of
hail and rain crashing the metal roofs reached
ears the last golden dome stood yet moment in tho
sunshine, and then everything in the chaos of dust
and storm So vail by vail fell the magical scene
and as the whirlwnd reached us void. black and Inn
penetrabe, hid it from eyes, We had again witness
cd the destruction of Moscow. b. Z.