Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-10-28
The Holy City o, Russia

citv by train, and drives 10 his notti
through suburbs which are unrnterest-
ing and monotonous; the streets are
dirty. the dralnage bad, and the place
fnIl of vile odors, suggestive Jt cholera
10 those who pay their visit in July.
The atmosphere is a great contrast 10
Ehe pure. crisp air of ST. Petersburg;
but in neither city is the water ut Tor
drinking.
Nearly all the beauty of the place is
centered in Kremlin, writes MoSco"
correspondent, but three or four nun
dred churches are scattered throughout
the CITY, and their domes, when not
gllded. are ornamented and painted III
bright colors; richness of colorlng is one
of the charms of the place, Ia WHICH
respect it rivals Venice.
One of the drives Was over the turn-
nike road by which the French army
entered Moscow; turning aside 10 Spar
rowhilI. their one elevation, we saw The
glitterinp city from the place where the
monarch general viewed his prize, be-
fore his bitter disappointment. HOW
he looked for the expected attack, ana
seeing no sign of that, waited for Inc
surrender of the city; then the puzzled
emperor made his nOn-Obstrueted. en-
trance into the deserted place. lie saw
from every oil-shOp and iniiamaole place
the fires break forth, which. as Ihe en-
gines had been removed and the prison.
ers liberated TO tan the flames, Taged
for three days, leaving little OF the CITY
beside the hremlin, which the frehch
army fortunately succeeded III preserV-
ing. Their precious relics, and the
enormous wealth of their churches,
investments and precious stones, were
all preserved; dozens of wagons carllel
them away to be hidden until the time
of peace.
The Kremlln 1.-THE origin of the name
is uncertain) stands in the midst OF the
CITY; wall surrounds it with towers
and high corner turrets; its shape is
triangular, two OF the sides being each
a mile in length; within the walls stand
the winter palaca, the tower OF Ivan,
the treasury, churches, monaSteries,
and other buildings pertaining to church
and state. a staircase outside the
palace is shown as the one which Napo-
leon mounted for his short and diSap-
pointing possession, and down the same
steps. generations previous, an enraged
people threw the false Demetrius, the
usurper and murderer of the true EN-
peror, one of the tragedies ID which
their history abOunds.
We passed through many large and
elegant state apartments in this beauti-
full palace, which were brilliant with
gliding and rich marble, but when we
reached the old paIt, built by Catherine
IL, we found the smaller rooms the
most interesting; the walls and ceilings
are frescced in arabeque patterns and
soft Oriental tints, and the rooms, like
all the apartments of that talented EN-
press. have an attractive and hOmelke
appearance. Here we saw rare specl-
mems of old embroidery, and book
illuminated aud printed by Sophia, the
sister of Peter the Great. Talent and
industry seem to have been the charac-
terlstics of all the family.
One can not be a day in Moscow with
out realizing that he is in holy city;
he meets groups of pilgrims III the
streets, carrying their bundles over
their shoulders-not the pilgrims clad
In CAV shawls and with bright kerchiefs
that we see in Italy; these are waywOrn
travellers. their clothes the color Of the
dust. In the churches they fairly i'm
pede ones progress; men and women CT
all ages bow down with their fOreheads
to the ground to every picture and
shrine. and each has to be kissed, while
the pilgrim crosses himself many times
before every sacred object. One stands
back at first, to make way for so much
religious zeal, but soon concludes that
each must have his turn, so closely do
the pilgrims follow one another; they
seem utterly absorbed, and go through
the prescribed forms apparently uncOn-
scious of the presence of other. In al
the churches there aTe tombs containing
the bodies of holy men, and little spot
on the forehead IS left bare for the pill
erims to kiss; the kiss is given to each
SAINT with the deepest reverence, and
also to each of the valuable, or rather
invaluable, relics, such rs a finger of
st. Andrew, a drop OF the blood OF John
the Baptist, pieces from the cross and
one of the nails.
The church of st. Michael, the Arch
angel contains the tOmbs Of all the en-
" lLC lAAAAC VI ADNNA AA-O
Great; then patriarchs governed the
Russian church, but for the last 1S0
years the title has been changed for
that of metropolitan bishop. In the
body of the church lies the tomb of the
Patriarch Philip, whom the emperor,
John the Terrible, sent into banishment
because be reproached him for his
many sins; the little dark spot left bare
on the forehead OF this patriarch has
ever since been kissed by aN the empe-
rors at the time Of their coronation. In
q side room containing most of the
tombs lies John the Terrible. and by his
side son whom he murdered; The most
costly among all the magnificent robes
in the patriarchal treasury IS The one
given by this emperor TO the Patriarch
Philip as an eXpiatOry Offering for the
murder of his son; the robe is literally
covered with pearls, diamonds, and pre-
cious stones, making Its weight to be
sixty-four pounds. 1t IS amusing to
remember that the emperor made an
offer of marriage to Elizabeth of Eng
land. She handed over the offer to one
of her court ladies, who wisely cOnclu-
ded that good home. with peace, was
worth more than an empire under the
offered conditions. Each patriarch had
his own robe, also his crown and baton,
and all were loaded with Jewels. did
not know there were 70 many gems out
of the mountains OF pearls out of the
sea. These robes are of cloth of gold,
ornamented with figures OF apostles ard
saints traced in pearls and precious
stones, and sometimes velvet trim
mings forms a background to show
more perfectly the beauty Of the jewels.
i remember baton covered solidly with
turquoiSes and Tubies-a present from
the Shah of Persia-and large cross Of
immense diamonds, which had belong
ed to John the Terrible. 4 scarf is
shown which is said to have belonged
to the pope of Alexandria, who was
present at the Nicene council.
/ despair of giving an idea of the
beauty of the churches, The corona
tions all take place in the Church of the
AnnunicatioH, which was newly gilded
for the present emperor. Standing in
the center, one sees on every side
mass of gold and jewels, relieved by tie
deep, rich coloring of the paintings on
the walls, the ceiling, and the large pill