The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-10-25
Russia

A correspondent OF Che Christian
.4duocote under date Of August Gath,
writes from Moscow cs follows:
Outside cities, this country has st
beauty. Its nearly level surface pre-
sents some cultivated fields, more
meadow and still more foresA Few
and far between are the rough logl
hut villages of the peasantry, irregu-
larry placed mixed up with log barns
and stables, without one mark Of taste
or culture. In the cities we find the
latter. st. Petersburgh and Moscow
will compare favorably with the finest
cities Of Europe, and, indeed, the view
OF the latter from the high tower of
Ivon Veleki is the finest city view l
ever saw. No dingy slate or tile is
used in roofing, but tin, painted with
malachte The novelty and agree
ableness of this color are very strik
ing This paint is durable, and does
not, like our green paints, poison the
rain water But the most striking of
all features Of the view arc the four
hundred and sixty churches with their
green or guilt domes, and their gilt
tering crosse surm bunting the domes
Moscow has a population OF $4,000.
an is by far the bet provided ity in,
respect to churches ever saw. M re-
over, shrines and ch ,pels containing
the pictures Of Mary and the infant
Jesus, abound in the streets, shops,
houses, steamboats,, city gates, and
even railroad cars. Many are illumi-
mated by lamps and candles day and
night. Ido!atry abounds. The con-
slant bowling, Crossing, prostration,
and image-klssing prlc;iced in their
services, leave Romanism onite behind
My power of face was sorely taxed at
first i'll maintaining the outward sem
blance of gravity. A coach and sx
passed me yesterday. Within was a
priest with large Manonna, hasten
ing to some sick bed, to carry grace,
perhaps healing power, for twenty -fve
rubles. Some of these old Madonnas
have a high repute, over the Redeem
RS Gate, an entrance to the kremlin,
is ole so sacred that soldier enforces
the removal of every hat. whether of
Jew or Gentle, car or beggar, when
passing beneath. | ask myself the
question how the Church of England
can hold out one hand toward the
Church of Rome, and the other tow
ard the Greek Church, both grossly
idolatrous. II these Churchs ever
unite, woe to dissenters.
Moscow is better place to- study
the people than st. Petersburgh. The
latter is modern, and in contact with
central, and was long the capital.
Here the middle class about disap-
pears. The streets abound in COARSE
ly-clad, dingy, hairy, rough men. The
common dress materials of all, includ-
ing soldiers, is coarse grayish- brown
wooden stuff, looking dirty when new,
and never getting over it. Black
pie of their diet AT the bazaar yester-
day / saw man dining on raw car
rot and glass of brandy, and boy
on cucumber and brandy Yet the
only drunken man have seen in Rns-
sla were two of Admiral Farragut's
American seamen in the winter pail
ace. Beggars Of the sturdiest frames
abound even more than in Ireland,
but not so ragged. Probably the eli
mate vetoes the rags. If the cost Of
the splendors of churches and palaces.
of shrines, lamps, candles, incense, Of
bells and chimes and bell-rlngers, of
swarming priests and nuns, and of
brandy, could be devoted to the edu-
cation and profitable employment Of
the masses, beggary would certainly
cease.
The middle class in our favored
land, educated, intelligent, self-re-
specting, tasteful, moral, have no rep
resentatives worth naming here.