The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1872-04-05
4 Daring Feat.

~ bul Ttuts
Remarkable for its spire, the Hottest of
st. Petersburg, is the church ofSt Peter and
st. Paul. An anecdote connected with
this church and not known, / believe, out
of Russia, is worth telling. The spire
which rises
Lofty, light and small"
and is probably represented in an engrav-
ing as fading away almost into point in
the sky, is in reality terminated by globe
of considerable dimensions, on which an
angel stands supporting large cross.
This angel was out Of repair, and some
suspicious were entertained that he design
ed visiting, uninvoked, the surface of the
earth The affair caused some uneasiness,
and the government at length became
greatly perpleXcd. To raise q scatfolding
to such q height would cost large sum of
money, and in meditating fruitlessly on this
circumstance, without knowing how to act,
some time was suffered to elapse.
Among the crowd of gazers below, who
daily turned their eyes and thoughts to-
ward the angel was mujik called Telouch.
kline. This man was roofer of houses Ga
slater, as he would be called in countries
where states were used,) and his specula-
tions by degrees assumed q more practical
character than the idle wonders and con-
lectures of the rest Of the crowd. The
spire was entirely covered with sheets of
gilded copper, and presented TO the eye q
surface as smooth as if it had been one
mass of FURNISHED gold. But Telouchkine
knew that the sheets of copper were not
even uniformly closed upon each other,
on oh oil hot lie
used to fasten them, which projected from
the side of the spire. Having thought of
these circumstances till his mind was made
up, Telouchkine went to the government
and offered to repair the angel without
scatfolding, and without assistance, on con-
dition of being reasonably paid for the
time expended in the labor. The offer was
accepted.
The day fixed for the adventure arrives.
Telouchkine, provided with nothing more
than a coil of ropes. ascends the spirc in
the interior to the last window. Here he
looks down at the concourse of the people
below and up at the glittering " needle, as
it is called, tapering far above his head.
But his heart does not fail him, and step
ping bravely out upon the window, he sets
about his task.
He cuts portion of the cord in the form
of two large stirrups, with a loop at each
end. The upper loops he fastens upon two
of the projecting nails above his head and
places his feet in the others. Then digging
the finger of one hand into the interstices
of the copper, lie raises one of the stirrups
with the other hand, so as to catch nail
higher up. The same operation is perform
I'd hob o1f pft l,o nfh lofr n
ternately. And thus he climbs, step by
step and stirrup by stirrup, till his starting
point is undistinguished from the golden
surface, and the spire dwindles in his en-
brace till he can clasp it all around.
So far so well. But he now reached the
ball globe between nine and ten feet in
circumference. The angel, the object of
his sit, is above this ball and concealed
from his view by its smooth, round and
glittering eXpanse. Only fancy til wretch
at this moment, turning up his grave eyes
and graver beard, to an obstacle that seems
to defy the daring and intrepidity ofman
But Telouchkine is not dismayed. He
is prepared for the difficulty and the
means he used to surmount it exhibits the
same remarkable simplicity as the rest of
the feat.
Suspending himself in his stirrups, he
girds the needle" with cord, the end
of which he fastens around his waist; and
so supported, he leans gradually back till
the soles of his feet are planted against the
spire. In this position he throws, by a
strong effort Il coil of cords; and so coolly
and accurately is the aim taken that at the
first trial it falls in the required direction,
and he sees the end hang down on the OPP
posite side.
To draw himself into his original posi-
ton, to fasten the cord firmly around the
globe, and with the assistance of this aux
Hilary to climb to the summit, is now an
easy part of his task, and in few minutes
more Telouchkine stands by the side OF
the angel, and listens to the shouts that burst
like sudden thunder from the concourse be-
low, yet comes to his ear like faint and
hollow murmur
The cord, which he had an opportunity
Of fastening properly, enabled him to de.
scend with comparative facility and the
next day he carried up with him ladder
Of ropes, by means of which he found il
| easy to effect the necessary repairs.
The Valley of Death.