Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1871-12-23

cow, and the wedding will be this after
noon at four clock, in the Petroflsky
! Barracks
AT the barracks !" | exclaimed.
" Yes, and by a military priest. We
| find that three months residence in
Moscow is necessary to enable them to
be married by an ordinary priest, and
| t en- the bans would have to be pub
lished. But an army chaplain is sub
| jected only to the Grand Almoner of
the army, and not to the Metropolitan,
and is free from many of the ordinary
rules. If " man wants to marry his
cousin, he always goes to military
priest. ! had to run about all the
evening to find one, and then to beat
him down he asked such an enormous
price. We finally compromised for a
hundred rubles, half of which | paid
down"
After had received satisfactory as
surances that everything was all right,
and that the Baron was very anxious to
| have me come to see the ceremony, |
agreed to join the wedding party at
Kokoreii's Hotel, at half-past three. |
was, to tell the truth, heartily glad of
the chance of seeing and almost taking
part in an elopement, and hastily
finished up all my business, SO as to be
on hand in time. When | got to the
hotel, found the Baron, his brother
Paul, and Feodore waiting impatiently
for the arrival Of the bride, who was
somewhere in the neighborhood. under
the care of u lady friend, Madame
Crazant, French Creole from the West
Indies, who had drifted up to these
cold latitudes. After some time two
animated bundles of furs drove up to
| the door in carriage, and the rest of
tis got into little droshkies and set out
| for the Petrotlsky Barracks, which We're
4 good milo OFT. 1t was past four
o'clock, and violent snow storm set
| in, so that we could scarcely see, and
were all whitened with the falling
flakes. could not help thinking of
Pushkin's little tale of "The Snow
squal," in which there is n similar
elopement, and, the bridegroom losing
his way in the snow, a stray traveller,
who had stopped for a moments shelter
in the lighted church, is mistaken for
him, and seized and married before the
error is discovered or has time to ex-
plain. | immagined to myself all sorts
of misadventures ON this occasion.
Nor was far out of the way in my
apprehensions. At last,-lt seemed an
age,-we drew through the gate of %
courtyard and before the door of an
old somber, succeed building. We
went through dismal, dark corridor,
up dirty stone steps, along other damp
passages, smelling of boiled cabbage,
wet boots, and know not how many
other underlined horrible things, guided
all along by q soldier in dirty gray over
coat, and halted in the dark before a
| door which we were told led into the
chapel. 1t was locked. We inquired
for the priest, and were told that after
waiting some time for us, he had gone.
While engaged in debating what to do
next, another soldier brought the key,
and suggeste d that possibly the priest
might be in the doctors room Sending
| him at once in search, we entered 1t
was dirty, low, arched room, a sort of
ante-room to the chapel proper. That
was of the same character. Large
enough for whole regiment to kneel
| in, its low arches and heavy piers made
in at the windows, and enabled us to
| see tllo ulfIy WlllueWaSueC Walls, anu
the small wretched pictures of saints
hung on them, under which, in lieu of
ever burning lamps, were large iron
nails, on which small tapers were stuck
10y the pressure of the thumb. The
altarscreen was somewhat better, and
here was,an effort at propriety, for the
| pictures were of due size and covered
with the usual gilt facings. One lamp
was burning and two large silver-plate
candelabra stood in front of the altar
doors. Comparing with this wretched
. chapel the gorgeous regimental churches
at St. Petersburg, one has all the differ
ence between the petted guard and the
regular line of the army.
After pacing about for twenty min
utes, inspecting the church and trying
to comfort the poor bride, who was
shivering in her thin white dress, almost
ready to cry, and no doubt wishing she
had never began this adventure, our
soldier appeared again and lighted up a
few candles, and not long after him the
chaplain. Such priest, too, as he was
His robe was stained and greasy, his
long hair was uncombed, his face was
swollen, and disfgured with a very
red bottle.nose, and his breath smelt
strongly of vodkd. | fear his appearance
caused us to make some unseemly and
disrespectful remarks, At all events
he supected it, for he harshly repri
fmanded us for talking French. saying