The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-05-23
Moscow's Beauty and Soualor.
Correspondence of the Boston Advertiser. j

After breakfast I proceeded to take a
general view of the town. It's the
strangest mixture of beauty and soualor
that can be seen. Here is a church
painted bright green all over, with a
picture of some saint above the door.
Next it is a little dark shop where
icones and lamps are sold. A little
farther on is a narrow, somber passage.
running through to the next street, with
shops opening into it, where all sorts
OF small wares are exhibited. The
proprietor stands at the door and recon-
mends bis goods to the passer-by. At
the end of the street is the Kremlin,
that wonderful remnant of barbaric
%splendor. If you stand and look at it,
as l did, under a dull March sky, the
sharp little snowfakes pelting YOU
freely in the face. with melting snow
under foot and a general nastiness and
sloppiness all about you, you will be
moved to a sort of wonder that these
high white walls, these q~ueer-colored
domes and roofs and all this strange
architecture could ever be admired BY
any but a savage race. But 90 t % the same
point OF view on a clear day, after a
snow storm, when the ground is white
and clean, when the sun scintillates on
the delicate tracery of the crosses which
surmount the domes, when the domes
themselves take deeper shades of blue
and green and gold and gray-then
you will appreciate better the real
beauty which underlies all this appar-
ent barbarity.
Entering the Holy Gate, which is
nothing remarkable to look at, everv
one, not excepting the Gar, must un-
cover his head. From the walls of the
Kremlin there is a magnificent view of
the city. Raised s high above it, the
squalor and dirt do not stare one in the
face, and the hundreds of minarets, and
spires, and crosses, all brightly colored,
and the green roofs of the houses with
the low range of the Sparrow hills Oh
and from where Napoleon got his first
view of Moscow, form a very beautiful
picture. The first thing to visit inside
the Kremlin is the church where the
emperors are crowned. FromSthe first
Romanof down to the present Alexan-
der Ii, the coronation ceremony has
taken place in this same church, on this
same platform in the center of the build
ing. The cathedral is more than rich.
it is literally glittering with gold and
silver and jewels. There is not one
square inch in the floor, or ceiling, or
walls, which is unornamented. The
screen at the back of the altar is of solid
gold. The icones have necklaces and
tiaras of diamonds, emeralds and pearls.
The chandeliers are of silver. The
walls are covered with paintings and
mosaic work of Siberian marbles. Splen-
dor CLEANS from every corner. No
words can express the riches of this
church. 1t is said that all the wealth
of all the Russias could not buy the con-
tents of this one little building.
But for quaintness, barbarity and
beauty combined, the church of St.
Basil is u%nequaled. 1t stands outside
of the Kremlin walls, neal the Holy
Gate. 1t is a low building, with eleven
queer, mushroom-shaped domes, each
painted a different color. Under every
dome is a chapel dedicated to some
saint. Dark narrow passages lead from
n chapel to the ether. Here is dis
played the same richness of ornamental
ton a in the cathedral-gold, silver,
a~ndjewels everywhere. There lisa legend
attached to the church, which was re-
peated to me no less than five times by
as many different people. 1t was built
by an Italian architect, in the reign of
John, the Terrible. When it was COM
pleted, the Gar called the architect be-
fore him and inquired if it was possible
for him to build another more beautiful
The Italian replied that it was; where
upon the Gar ordered his eyes to be put
out. This story, like many others which
are told of John the Terrible, lacks
proof.