The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-05-12

mer, the rig Of the apartment was in keep.
ing and most inviting. After being there
day or two, a card came up one morn
ing, indicating the arrival Of a fellow
eountryman, 1t proved to be Rev. DR..
Newman, Of Washington, with two ladies'
They had left Washington months before,
with their faces westward, for San Fran
cisco, China, and "Round-the- World. &"
We had left Baltimore, forty miles dis.
tant with our faces eastward, for Europe,
and now, though starting with our backs
toward each other, we meet in Russia face
to face.
st. Petersburg, with its 70O,0O0 inhab.
itants, was more populous than we had
supposed; and Moscow, with its almost
equal numbers, also takes us by surprise.
Moscow does not give one tho idea of
modern improvement and style, us does St.
Petersburg IL has one convenient ad-
vantage, however, for strangers-yiz., sign
boards pictorially representing the proprie-
tors oecupation;-so that, though you may
not be able to read the Russian alphabet,
you can tell what the people are doing.
As the ancient capital Of Russia, Moscow
has accumulated historical interest reach
ing through reigns of the Iyans, Basils
and TheodOres, and through wars, sack
ings, fires and plaques; but all only, as it
were, predatory to the great formative work
OF Peter, who was to gather up the vast
material and shape it into a stupendous
empire, with the splendid city of his own
creation as its centre aud capital. From
the time of this transition, Moscow, as TO
political Importance, has lived in the glo-
ries of the past. The Emperors, however,
must still be crowned here; aud a stately
and elegant new palace within the walls Of
the kremlin enjoys the honor of the In
pcrial presence during two annual visits,
which long-estabished usage requires to
be made. Moscow being so far East, may
be regarded as on the dividing line where
the tides Of Occidental and Oriental civil
lization meet-the e,like type of the
churches aud the wilderness like bazaars,
as well as some Of the usages, reminding
one Of the East
One Of the most conspicuous objects
Of Moscow is the Church of St. Basil the
Beatifed Indeed, after having seen most
Of the ecclesiastical structures in the
world, | can recall none so unique as this.
The church stands in the public square
called "The Beautiful Place, outside the
Holy Gate Of the Kremlin wall, and is
memorial OF st. Basil, a popular prophet
and worker Of miracles, who, in the language
OF the Church, was "idiotic for Christ 5
sake. The church is of irregular shape
and is streaked and striped in the most
extraordinary manner, apparently with a
view to make it as fantastical as possible
1t is surmounted by eleven domes, most of
them bulbous, each differing from the other
both in shape and color: one of them being
stuck all over with protruberances, like a
prickly-pear and another made up of
anaconda-like conyOutions, of green, yell
low and red. All of the domes taper off
into fine point bearing the gilded cross.
If st. Basil's "Beatiication' depends on
his having the most amorphous and fantas-
tic church, he should be very happy
for certainly it has not its counterpart
under the sun. Beneath each of the
domes, in the interior, is u chapel; but
these need not be described.
The most remarkable interior among all
the churches is that of the Cathedral of
the Assumption. The best idea of it is
that given by Dean Stanley in his work
on the Eastern Church, where he says:
at Is SO fraught with recollections, so
teeming with worshippers, so bursting with
tombs and pictures, from the pavement to
the cupola, that its smallness of space is
forgotten in the fullness of its contents.
On the platform of its nave, from Ivan
the Terrible downwards to this day, the
Tsars have been crowned. Along its altar
screen are deposited the most sacred pic
lures Of Russia; high in the cupola is the
chapel, where, as at the summit of the
Russian Church, the Russian Primates
were elected; round the walls are buried
the Primates of the Church, the most vene-
rated in the places of highest hOnor-the
four corners" As illustrating the wealth
boarded within this famous cathedral,
may mention that the jewels with which
the "lkonostas, OF altar-screen, is adorn-
ed, are valued at 1925, ,O00,-the emerald
alone being worth $4,000 The walls
are covered with frescoes on gold ground
and radiant with figures of departed saints
In the midst of these imposing and sacred
surroundings and with all the pomp and
pageantry of the Church, the Emperor,
after previous fasting aud seclusion, is
crowned, himself repeating aloud the
creed of the Orthodox Church. "himself,
on his knees amid the surrounding multi
tude, offering up the prayer of intercession
for the Empire; himself placing the crown
on his own head; himself entering through
the sacred door of the innermost sanctuary
and taking from the altar the elements Of
the bread and wine" Among other pre-.
cious things in the church is Bible pre-
sented by the mother of Peter the Great,
SO large that it requires almost two men to
carry it, and studded with emeralds and
precious stones. Que can hardly look
upon all the riches lying idle here, without
thinking how vast, widespread and lasting
the blessings it would ditfuse, if appropri-
ated for dispensing heavenly charities or
spreading abroad the prohers of gospel
grace.
But | will not weary the reader by des-
cribing churches. There are nearly four
hundred of them in Moscow and, as for
bells, the world docs not furnish parallel.
From the renowned "Tsar Kolokol," or
Tsar of Bels,--weighing 444, 900 pounds
even after having lost piece weighing
700 pounds, through every size, down to
that of an auction-bell, they are to be found
here. Heard at distance and in the
calm of a summer evening, the effect is
poetic and beautiful; but, in close proximity,
the clatter, banging and booming is fear
ful. | asked our UaIet-de,piace how many
bells he thought there were in Moscow 7
He replied, "About ten thousand" This,
of course, is an exaggeration, but there are
several thousand; aud at midnight before
Easter, which is the great festival, they all
ring at the same time, beginning with the
Kremlin. They also ring great deal
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