Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-05-05

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populous city, more prosperous than before
the siege, and will surely rob Odessa of its
present prc-emnencr. Scbastopol is still a
city Of ruins though " Ia slowly rising from
It's forlorn condition. Before the siege, il had
apopulation of nearly one hundred thousand ;
now, | should think, IL has not more than a
tenth part Of that number.
The environs Of Sebastopol are very inter
csting. About two miles TO the south are
ruins Of kherson, the chief city Of the Tau
ric kersonese, In ancient times flourishiug
republic founded by the Greeks before the
| Christian era. 1t was captured at the be-
| ginning of the tenth century by the Rus
sian Grand Duke Vladimir, who was bap-
tizcd in the principal church Of the city, and
| then married TO the sister Of the Emperor Of
/ the East. AZ present there is a considerable
mass Of ruins In the form Of stones which
once were parts Of walls, also fragments Of
| marble columns. There Is a small portion
of the church still remaining in which Nladi-
mir was baptized, and on It's site a church is
now in process Of construction. The ruins
I Of the ancient church are preserved beneath
the floor, which is elevated ten or twelve
/ feet above the ground In Roman times.
| Pope Clement was sent here in exile TO work
as a convict in the stone quarries Of lnker-
man. IN consequence Of his having conver-
ted some persons IN HE place Of banishment,
he was thrown into the Black Sea from the
shore Of kherson, and drowned.
The story Of the conversion and marriage
Of Vladimir, the Russian prince, is very in
teresting, and at the risk Of being tedious.
| | will relate il here. Al that time, kief was
the capital of Russia, aud the people, as well
as the prince, Ver0 pagan, 4 number Of
missionaries from different lands visited
] Vladimir for the purpose Of converting him
and the Russian people Amongst others,
were Jewish and MOhammedan missionaries.
/ When he asked the jews where their coun-
| try was, they answered " God has become
angry with rs. aud scattered US over the
earth" Vladimir replied "pn you think
I that am 50 foolish "a 10 embrace your re-
| ligion, so that and my people may become
such wanderers as YOU !" Mohammedan-
ism pleased him, so far as the plurality Of
wives was concerned, but he said it was i'm
! possible 10 get ON without wine in Russia
as there was no pleasure without the juice
Of the grape. The upshct Of the whole mat
ter was, that a number of Russians were
sent to look into and repoH apan the work
ing Of the different religions al home They
decided in favor Of the Orthodox church Of
the East. and It was resolved 10 receive
Christianity from Constantinople. Nladi-
mir however. did not wish to receive Chris
tianity as a gift, lest it might subject him
more or less 10 the state from which lac re-
ceiyed it, so he formed the project Of captur-
ing khcrson, and then speak Of religion.
Afler a long siege he succeeded IN taking the
place, which az that time belonged 10 the
eastern empire When master VI the posi-
tion, Vladimir sent a message to ronstanti-
nople, saying that II the sister Of the EN-
peror WAS not given him in marriage he
would come and capture COnstantinople as
he bad kherson. lie received an answer in
forming him that the sister of the emperor
could MOI marry pagan. Vladimir replied
that that side Of she question presented no
difficulty As he had long since made up his
mind to become Christian, and asked that
priest be sent 10 perform the ceremony.
Anna, sister of the Greek Emperor, came to
kherson With a large retinue. Vladimir was
baptized and married lie then returned
khersQn TO the power Of Constantinople and
set out for kief, where he had the statues
Of the pagan gods destroyed. Peroon, the
Russian Jupiter. was thrown iuto the Dnie-
per, and after the statue had passed down
on the current, the people were baptized in
the river. Such Is the history, or legend,
Of the conversion of Russia To Christianity.
1t is very characteristics.
Russians have always been remarkable
for their Jealousy OF foreign influence
On one hand, while they have struggled
against outside influence. they have, ON
the other been remarkable for the readi-
ness with which they studied the insti-
tutious and manners of other countries.
As Vladimir sent deputation TO examine
and report on the best form of religion, 80
Peter the Great undertook 20 put his coun-
try in the position nature had evidently de
signed for her The first thing he did was
to set out on a European journey, studying
the political and social condition as he went,
aud learning himself the art Of ship-building.
At present probably the best report on the
system Of local government In ths United
States, has been made by Russian gentle
man who studied in the different states the
methods Of school, town, and county admin.
istrntion.
About eight miles to the east Of Kherson
is l!je monastery of st. George, which was
the headquarters pf Marshal Pelissier during
the seige OF Sebastopoi The monastery is
built on a lofty shore and commands very
beautiful view OF the Black Sea 1t is on
the spot to where lphigenia, the daughter of
Agamemnon, was transported by divine in
terposition when about to be sacrificed TO OBJ
before starting for the siege of Troy. Here
in the Tauris she was made priestess, aud
remained in sort of captivity with the bar
barian King, Thoss, until the siege was over.
AgaiBe,anon, on returning, was murdered by
his wife, the mother Of lphigenia. partly in
revenge for the loss of her daughter, but
mostly because she had transferred her love
to another man during her husbands absence.
Orestes, the brother of lphigenia, now re-
yenges his fathers death by numbering his
mother, and afterward pursued by the
Furies and accompanied by his faithful
friend Pylades, comes to the Tauris and finds
his sister.
The fate Of Iphigenia and her relatives
has furnished rich material for poets of
ancient and modern times, Amongst the
Greeks, Sophocles and Euripidss. and in
modern times the German poet Goethe, and
the Italian Alieiri, and certainly there are
elements enough for the poet in the tragic
history of this family. As | stood in front
of the monastery and looked down at the
waves OF the sea splashing on the shore far
below me, and then looked out on the blue
expanse, broad and limitless as it were,
! inyolpntarily called to mind the beautiful
lines Of Goethe, which had read but short
time before. Iphigenia was represented as
standing where We were standing then, and
saying in her grief; :" | wait on the shore
the long dreary days. seeking the land of the
| Greeks with my soul, and ~ answer 10 my
| signs the waves bring back but dull, rum
bling sounds"
About three miles east Of the monastery,
| Is the little land-locked harbor of Balaclaya,
where the British fleet had its headquarters,
and in the vicinity OF which the celebrated
] charOp of the six hundred took Mace