The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-11-24
At Moscow.
Correspondence Hartford Courant.I

If St. Petersburg was grand and magnificent.
Moscow is enchanting and captivating, with
its hundred golden domes, its Oriental splen-
dor, its royal palaces of untold wealth of lew
eled equipage, and wonderful beauty OF the
Kremlin, with its graceful towers and domes
far above the city, which overlooks the coun-
try for miles around, and discovers to the be-
holder many a tower and dome, of monastery
and convent, hidden away among the distant
groves
1t is more like Constantinople than any 9TH
er place can think of, with towers, instead of
minarets, with much superiority in golden
domes, but with only the small river Moskeva,
which finds its way to the Volga, and the Cas-
plan Sea, instead of the beautiful Bosphorus.
which renders COnstantinople superior to ali
in its effect upon the behoder When Napo-
Icons army reached the crest of Sparrow
Hills, which gave it the full view of this city,
and the great citadel of the tsars, the Kremlin,
the soldiers shouted with Joy and well they
might. for it is seldom accorded to a conquer
ing army to view a city so beautifully situated.
in the interior OF vast country, and with
such dazzling wealth shining in the bright
sunlight.
The city has nearly seven hundred thousand
people and nearly five hundred churches,
whose exteriors resemble mosques, but the in
teriors resemble the Roman churches, with
scarce even an image, but all their saints
painted and emblazoned upon fiat surfaces.
Like the Mohammedans, they eschew images
Their domes are 50 varied in style, shape and
design, as to render them quite attractive, the
Cathedral of st. Basil alone having eleven
domes. each different in color and design from
the Others, and each covering beautiful
chapel.
These churches contain such great wealth in
silver and gold, shrines and saints, bas-r, liefs
completely studded with the most costly gems
that the truth almost surpasses belief. For
instance, the Cathedral Of the Assumption In
which all the tsars have been crowned and in
which Alexander III. will probably be crown
ed next spring. has shrines OF departed saints
covering the entire wall Of the church over the
alter, to the ceiling, which are of silver, eilded
and sparkling with large diamonds, and other
precious stones, of great value. A picture of
the Holy Virgin of Vladimir said to have been
painted by st. Luke, which came from Con
stantinople IN the eleventh century is adorned
with jewels valued at 1926 600 one emerald
being valued at $4,000.
There is representation of Mount Sinai in
pure gold and silver, nineteen pounds weight
of each, presented by Prince Potemkin When
the French army threatened the city the most
valuable treasures were removed from the
churches to a safe place, but from the shrines
alone, it is stated by historians that the French
carried away five tons of silver and five hun
dred weight of gold. The carnations of the
Russian monarchs, in this cathedral, are said
to be the most solemn, as well as magnificent
OF royal pageants. There is to be seen the
dais on which the star stands when he assumes
the crown. There the empress kneels at
his feet and receives her crown from him
The great metropolitan, the head of the
church, blesses them and prays to God for
their support.
The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael is
the burial place OF all the tsars Of the Rurok
ana Romanon dynastles, prior to the accession
OF Peter the Great. There are forty-fiv
princes of those families entombed there, and
the sight OF these royal sarcophag carries the
memory back TO many scenes of royal splen
dor, OF brave deeds, carnage, cruelty and
slaughter. There is a little kiosque, on the
wall OF the hremlin, in which John the Ter
rlble used to sit and watch the execution of
the many victims he had doomed to die.
VIII not dwell upon the great treasures,
and immense vessels Of silver and gold, which
have seen in the sacristy of the former pa
trlarchs, and numerous Others for it is almost
beyond conception, and should weary in de-
scribing those of one alone
The Temple of the Saviour" is the largest,
ana perhaps the newest, of all the churches.
1t Is said to be rich in malachite columns, and
Other precious materials which will make it
almost equal to St. Isaac's, the great cathedral
OF st. Petersburg. 1t has not yet been conse
Grated, and is not open to visitors. Many of
these churches were founded in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries. With the exception
OF the great metropolitan, who is selected from
the monastaries, alsthe priests of the Greek
Church are required to marry before being or
dained
The kremlin is nearly triangular fortress
OF about one-and-a-half miles in circumter-
ence, situated upon an eminence which over
looks the whole city. 1t has four large towers
at the four corners, peculiarly picturesque and
Oriental, and several lesser ones along the dis
ferent des. There are five grand gateways
the Kedeemer gate, over which is picture OF
the Redeemer of Smolenski, and under which
no person is allowed to pass without uncover
ing the head, the Emperor himself observing
that custom, the Troitskii, or Trinity gate,
through which the French entered and evacu-
ated the kremlin, the Nikolsky, or Nicholas
gate, and the BOrovlski gate. Each gate is
surmOunted by beautiful tower. Within
the walls are the palace Of the tsar and treas
ury, or museum, of the magnificent properties
OF the Crown the arsenal, tribunal tower OF
Ivan the Great, and several churches, apper-
tanning to, or specially used, ON great state oc-
caSions. Inc palace is OF vast proportions,
with magnificent halls OF recei 'tlon, whose
walls are covered with battle scenes and rich
decorations of gold, more splendid than have
yet seen. There are many of them and many
styles of architecture They are named the
Hall of ST. George, Alexander Hall, Hall of
St Andrew, Hall of the Order of st. Catha-
rlne, etc. The private apartments are also
exceedingly beautiful There is also chapel
in which the members ofthe royal family were
baptized and married.
The treasury contains the crowns of the
tsars prior to Peter the Great, magnificent
presents from great Eastern potentates,
thrones, trophies of war, state carriages, etc
The immense value and richness of these
treasures indicates profusion OF magnificence
in the court of the tsar which vies with that
OF the great moguls OF India. Turkey, Arme-
mia, Persia, India, and the nations OF Europe
have contributed their richest gems. Here
are rich trophies from the poles and SWedes
Germans and Turks, the sword of Charles XII,