, 1873-05-11
long lives they have enjoyed The indicasons
NOW are that the average age Of each viii nm
shove 80 years, as the living members Of tbs
family are all hale and hearty for their year..
The Monastery OF TroItsa--Muscovtte
Catncombs--This Years. Pilgrim,

-....
The MONASTERY OF TroItsn--Muscovtte
Catacombs--This Years Pilgrim
age
Correspondence Of the London Daily Ne.es.
| When described to you last year the Monas-
| terry OF Troitsa, and dwelt on the contrast BE-
tween the praying-most earnest praying-wi:h-
in doors and tbs begging without. did IN in-
justice to Ruz:ian pilgrims: Perhaps the near
| neghborhood OF capital city like Moscow has
'aomc effect On the character Of the crowd At
Troitsa. Perhaps it was my evil fate to stun-
| Is it may, I perceive here in kef Tery marked
line between the pilgrims and the mendcants.
These jaded, footsore men and women, who toll
| up to the Pecherskoi have no thought Of aahng
aims: They rather bring o1erings-and conad-
| elable offerings, too, for such humble folk
they have borrowed ont Of their own resources
before commencing the Journey. Those among
them who come empty-handed, the msjority Of
| course, come fuil OF zeal to worship ut the holy
| thing. else. You may see them tramping
| YEARLY along with little bundles in ther
hands; the women often barefoot, Hince
1t is Harm weather now, carrying their long
boots slung at their backs the men still
scsfceiy de Proportion Of linen to oyereoat. ssa
On they 60, anxious only to get the journey
done. Now and again you may see them pauso
to ask their way. seeming bewildered By tho
hustle Of civilized life; but they do not halt for
moro than an instant The end is SO near that
they Mill make no unnecessary delay, They pass
the citadel. enter the gateway in the massive
earthen rampant, and preaently find themselves
in front Of the Pecherskoi Monastery, the espe-
cial object Of their pilgrimage It is not so in
lisa, for it is surrounded By modern fortidca~
tions, and just opposite its main entrance there
is q modern arsenal, with trophies OF captured
canuon- But the Pecherskoi Monastery is
viewed with as much veneratiou Us Troitaa it.
self, and the pilgrims, arrived thus far, press
eagerly forward. II We follow them up the
paved footpath to the cathedral door We may
notice that many who look like nero peasants
give what little they can afford to the blind and
lame, who are clnmonng for help On either eide.
Some stoop and kiss the ground in front OF the
erently touch the threshold with their lips
they enter. For the time all their thoughts
seem to be absorbed by the work in hand Un-
are so many congregations, this one Of pill
grims scarcely glances to the right or lett Every
lovely orn1mented shrine, which glitters with =
profusion OF uilver and gold What contrast
between the shrine and the woTehipers, between
the gorgeous interior Of the Cathedral and the
have zeal enough to grace any ahrine- Though
rough and ignorant in most things, they are quite
at home here. This is the crowning act Of their
pilgrimage, and they throw themselves into it
With proporhonate fervor.
Besidea the cathedral dedicated to the Asccn-
6ion Of the Virgin, there are some very curious
catacornbs in the Pecherskoi Monastery. It ia
part Of the pilgrimage to visit them, and one
may see by many signs how much they are fre-
quented. The narrow passages cut in the 9and-
stone cliff are b1ackenod with tho smoke Of innu-
merable candles, borne along them by innumer-
able visitors There is an iron pavement under
foot, rubbed aud polished by the constant tread
Of the devout, and there are quantities Of small
coins freahlY deposited on the breasts Of the
saints who repose belou-I Say deposited on
their breasts ii no tigurative sense. The seventy
OF eighty Russian saints in these Catacombs Of
st. Anthony are most of them lying in open
cofins, With only covering Of embroidered silk
wrapped round their withered remains. Tho
pilgrims can actually touch them, and can feel
presence Of tho venerated dead st. Anthony,
the Russian saint of that name, WAS the founder
Of the monastery, about the time Of Edward the
Confessor, and here is his quiet and gloomy
grave, deep down at the end Of the lAbyTiath-
torian Nestor, rho lived and died in tho Pc
cherskoi could not understand one-half
Of what my guide MAS kind enough to tell me-,
and cannot now remember tho half Of
what understood. There was 3 story
to each withered relic OF the past, and
each one had his own peculiar merits, to be re-
called to mind. Peace to their ashes- II the
swarm OF earnest pilgrims which passes BY
with every succeeding year, and breathes Its
VOWS over them, and imprints "arm living
kisses On those old embroidered robes, can COM
fort tho tenants Of the Catacombs, they have
that comfort to the full Their work lives after
them, and the faithful OF their own race and
language aro ready by thousands to do them
grims moving down the wooden staircase from
the upper to the lower part Of the monaately,
from near the cathedral to the entrance Of the
Catacombs. There are many beggars ask
i1g aims On the stairs ); and you
may again notice how rough-looAng men, who i.
Western gaze, give kopeck hare and there in
the way Of charity, and hurry On 81 il half
ashamed Of such weakness. Groups OF women
sit resting in tho shade, mostly examining their
boots with anxious care. Some pilgrims, tired
out with the journey, haVe gone fast asleep,
their bundles under their heads and others,
more vigorous, are strolling slowly away toward
the city. They are very quiet, inohensiva
people. My only wonder Is that they
have managed to trayel - 80 far with,
Are they destined to become sort Of
religious gipsies, Injured to pilgrimage, or will
they settle down In their villages when this
journey Is over, aud return to the pursuits OF
everyday ife7 The ansHer is, that most OF
them will simply return home aud 60 to work ~
before. There are some WHO may, perhaps, BE-
led into further roving-some who are already
wellnigh beyond the Line which separates vag-
rancy from pilgrimage But most Of them have
come to Kief through q genuine zeal for Hha
they think meritorious work, and they will TO
turn home convinced that they hare secured
blessing by the trouble which they have tzken-
From q sanitary point Of view all pilgrim
sgss should DO discouraged as far as possible fol
hey too often spread disease, and make the cen
re Of pilgrimage the centre Of infection. But
n the present state Of Russian feeling such dis
could not be attempted. 1t is ona
# the traditions OF the people that they are frea
o visit their holy ahrines or Hhy the: use Of
icing free for any purpose Men sometimes
ome from tho most distant PROVINCES to Kief, q
o Troitsa, and are content to tramp tbs whole
ray on foot with q crust Of bread and . d1aught
# water rs their daily meal. They certainly
10 not err by riotous living. It is rather their
rant Of means to live more comfortably that
loes the mischief. Here, outside the Pc
:he1skoi, you may ses q score Of them lying on
heir backs near the dusty road to rest, beforo
going any further in search Of quarters for the
light. They might be the wounded Of some re-
cent skirmish-and hark to the roll Of drums
1hich seems to confirm the idea! But no. THAI
oil OF drums could belong to nothing but ON
familiar friends Of many continental rampant
II. Fn+a