The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-04-02
ST. PETERSBURG.


N The first impression that a sight of s
- Petersburg creates on the mind Is that {
al size. The second is the contrast betwee
q the condition of the rich and the poo
~ When you first look on the broad street
te and open places, on the fine qnays alon
a. both banks of the Nera, fringed wit
II stately palaces and residences, and the
j, you see the extent of ground that rhes
d palaces and barracks and public build
L iRgs occupy, you are rather carried ava,
e with sense of the magnitude Of th,
! city. The gilded roofs and spires of thu
J, churches, glistening and glttering in the
s sunlight, give an air of wealth, too, tha
5 strikes the mind very forcibiy. But
: when you walk throagh the streets and
! see the poverty that sinks along in the
! shade of the palatial ediices, when you
i see face after face on which ignorance
and vice are imprinted in type that he
: who runs may read, reYulsion of feel
) ing comes on and You are saddened. It
Is unfair, perhaps, to judge of any place
at season when the upper ten thousand
are away in the country, and dare say
that in winter st. Petersburg may present
much gayer appearance than it does in
summer. Only in winter the condition
of the poor is doubtless worse and thus
/ the contrast must be even more striking
than at this time of the year, when it is
marked enough. There is sadness, too,
on almost every face, cold hard look in
those who are better off, a look of dull
despondency in the lower classes, that Is
almost painful. You rarely see smile,
even on young faces. You never hear
hearty laugh. Even the children seem
subdued and do not tumble about aud
shout and whistle as is the wont of
children in other lands. So that, despite
its palaces and churches and statues and |
It's broad streets and well.filled stores, |
the Russian capital is not happy look
ing place.
SPLENDID CHURCHES.
The churches are, however, magnificent
and the wealth of gold and silver and /
precious stones contained in them is
almost incredible. We generally asso-
ciate the Roman Catholic Church with
sumptuous ritual, but in many ways the
Greek Church is even more gorgeous in
what it presents to the eye. In such
edifices as the Isaaks and Kasan churches
everything is of the most costly descrip-
tion The buildings themselves are of
marble inside and out; the ratings and
doors which shut off the eastern chaneel,
or holy of holies, from the body of the
building are covered with silver; so are
the huge candlesticks which stand about
in all directions, and the shrines which
are affixed to the pillars and stand in
side aisles or recesses are filled with rich ::
es. All the pictures of Jesus Christ and
~ ~ ~ I
saints are adorned in a manner which is,
| think, peculiar to Russia. The faces g
and hands alone are left exposed, while
the figures and surroundings are en- ,
tirely covered with gold or silver gilt
plates, chased or beaten out to take the :
place of the painting. The result is a :
sort of base-relief in gold, through inter. !
,tices of which the painted faces and
hands of the picture beneath show them
selves. Moreover these gold plates are d
.hickly studded with precious stones. =
Crowns aud scepters and harps and :
,rosses formed of diamonds, rubies, sap d
1hires and pearls are to be found on 4
Utmost every one of them. !
DEyoUT woRsHIPERs a
Against the glass by which these treas = =
Tres are protected the lips of succession =
# fervent worshipers are pressed, with ,,
N air of the deepest devotion. Whether p
old and Jewels have the effect of stimuIat Il
ng religious feeling, or whether these \
ostly decorations have been bestowed
Ipon shrines that have already acquired y
equation for sanctity, | do not know. \ \
jertain it is that the glass behind which :
lie bejeweled pictures receives ten kisses !. =
Or one that is given to that which covers y
ess gorgeous representations o. the holy =,
amily, while the piety of the worsnipers - :,
GEMS to be in inverse ratio to their posi- :. :
ession of this worlds goods. Occasionlly !" "
n officer in gay uniform or lady in the :.
atest Paris fashion brings his or her 81 ~
andle to shrine, lights it there and ~
alls PROSTATE before the hallowed spot, ~
neeling upon the marble floor and bend ,: ,.
ne down until the forehead touches the - -
round; but it is generally some old III
roman in faded garments or some man
n tattered clothes who reaches the sub
unity of religious feryor, makes the low A
st and most frequent genufleetions and Sc
xecutes the greatest number of cross
lgs. 1t is the same thing in the streets. At
Vell-to do people pass by churches and fo
hrines without paying any attention to se
hem, while their humber neighbors re- n,
love their hats, make the sign of the iii
ross upon their breasts and move their +b
ps in silent prayer. Perhaps thesplen nj
or of their church appeals more strong al
7 to the hearts of the lowly; perhaps al,
1e hope of Joy hereafter offers some con- w,
ensation for the bitterness of their lot n
/ this life. Let those who are skilled in
.acing the inner workings of the human
cart determine.
AFAMoUsEDIFfCE
One of the most remarkable churches n
st. Petersburg is that OF st. Peter and
/. Paul, which is situated in the very -,
enter of the so called citadel--a citadel - -
hose prison walls hold many an unfor ~ -
mate prisoner who may be released - -
-om its grasp only to be dragged over e.
reary wastes to the far-away SHOWS of ii
iberia. The church alone is open to -
ne public; it adds one more to the many ~
ii and beautiful places of worship that ~,
dorm the city. Its slender, needle-like ~
pire shines like gold in the sun and i,
he interior is entirely lined with hand ~
ome marble brought from Finland, 4;
lreece, Italy and Southern Russia. A ~, ~
.ussian church has neither nave nor ~
ransept proper, and is usually of . a.
1uare or oblong form, the eastern end =
eing screened of to form the holy of =.
olies, into which only the priests may !; =
nter, while the remainder is divided -
nto aisles by massive square or circular -
iIlars. Under the pavement of this ~
itadel church lie buried all Of the royal 5e
cad of Russia of modern times. Over =, ~
ach tomb stands plain sareophagus OF M
Thite marble, and round these are gar -
ems filed with green and growing 4,
lants, which bring 4 soft and gentle -
ouch of life into the solemnity around. 4 4
IN the tombs of the murdered Alexander -
|, the late Czsr, and that of his wife, !,
tho preceded him only few months,
amps are kept burning, and hither come Ii.
be pious, from the humble peasant to :,
be soldier in high command, to breathe :,
prayer over the remains Of one who by !,
lillions of his late subjects is looked Il Il
pom as martyr. 5i
PETER THE GREAT. az
Here. also. lies Peter the Great and te
ear his tomb are some pieces Of delicate Al
' turned and carved ivory, the work N
d which Was executed by himself, for y
his wonderful man was 3 many-sided 50
carpenter and turner g
) well as q ship-builder and a Gar. "
he screen Of the Russian church is q
rand fed for costly decoration and W
his one shines out In golden splendor 81
18th the usual pictures, also rich IN gold hse he
nd silver and precious stones, standing q
! shrines round it, while the massive &c
f-s,,-. : H. - -<.4.,.,,ss . y5 VI