The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-02-04
THE HOLY CITY OF RUSSIA
WHAT AN AMERICAN LADY SAW IN
MOSCOW.
A Visit to the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Beauty and Magnificencc Of the

A Visit to the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Beauty and Magnifirencc Of the
CitY's Many Churches.
Nothing can be said Of ones first i'm
pressions of Moscow who enters the city
by train, and drives to his hotel through
suburbs which are uninteresting and
monotonous; the streets are dirty, the
drainage bad, and the place full OF vile
odors, suggestive of cholera to those who
pay their visit in July. The atmosphere
is a great contrast to the pure, crisp air
of St. Petersburg; but in neither city is
the water fit for drinking.
Nearly all the beauty of the lace is
ccntcred in the Kremlin, writes a Mos.
cow correspondent of the Hartford
Comm Times, but three or four hun
drcd churches are scattered throughout
the city, and their domcs, when not
gilded, are oramcntcd and painted in
bright colors: richness of coloring is one
of the charms of the place, in which re-
spcct it rivals Venice.
One of the drives was over the turn
pike road by which the French army en-
tered Moscow; turning aside to Sparrow
hill, their one elevation, we saw the gilt
tcring city from the place where the
monarch general viewed his prize, be-
fore his bitter disappointment. How he
looked for the expected attack, and Sec
ing no sign of that. waited for the SUI
! render of the city; then the puzzled en-
pcror made his non-obstructed entrance
into the deserted place. lie saw from
every oil-shop and inhammable place the
fires break forth, which, as the engines
had been removed and the prisoners lib
Grated to fan the flames, ragged for three
days, leaving little Of the city beside the
Kremlin, which the French army for
tunatcly succeeded in preserving. Their
precious relics, and the enormous wealth
of their churches, investments and pre-
cious stones, were all preserved; dozens
of wagons carried them away to be hid
den until the time of peace.
The Kremlin (thc origin of the name
is uncertainty stands in the midst of the
CITY; a wall surrounds it with towers
and high corner t~urrets; its shape IS trl-
angular, two of the sides being each a
mile in length; within the walls stand
the winter palace, 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 Napoleon mount
ed for his short and disappointing pos
session; and down the same steps, gen.
erations previous, an engaged people
threw the false Dcmetrius, the usurper
and murderer OF the true emperor, one of
the tragedies in which their history
abounds.
w passed through many large and
elegant state apartments in this beautiful
palace, which were brilliant with gliding
and rich marble. but when we reached
the old part, built by Catherine H., we
found the smaller rooms the most inter-
csting; the walls and ceilings are frescocd
in arabesque patterns and soft Oriental
tints, and the rooms, like all the apart
ments of that talented empress, have an
attractive and homelike appearance.
Here we saw rare specimens of old en-.
broidery, and a book illuminated and
printed by Sophia, the sister of Peter the
Great. Talent and industry seem to have
been the characteristics of ali the family.
One can not be a day in Moscow with
out realizing that he is in a holy city; ne
meets groups of pilgrims in the streets,
carrying their bundles over their shout
dcrs-not the pilgrims clad in gay shawls
and with bright kerchicfs that we see in
Italy; these are wavworn travellers, their
clothes the color of the dust. In the
churches they fairly impede ones pro.
gress; men and women OF all ages bow
down with their foreheads to the
ground to every picture and shrine, and
each has to be kissed, while the religious
crosses himself many times before every
sacred object. One stands back at first,
to make way for so much religious zeal,
but o concludes that each must have
his turn, so closely do the pilgrims fol-
low one another; they seem utterly alb
sorbed, and 60 through the prescribed
forms apparently unconscious of the
presence of others. In all the
churches there are tombs contain
ing the bodies of holy men, and a
little spot on the forehead is left bare for
the pilgrims 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 as q 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-
perors up to the time of Peter the Great;
then patriarchs governed the Russian
church, but for the last $50 years the
title has been changed for that of met
ropolitan bishop. In the body of the
church lies the tomb of the Patriarch
Philip, whom the emperor, John the
Terrible, sent into Punishment because
he %reproached him for his many sins;
the little dark spot left bare on'the fore
head of this patriarch has ever since been
kissed by all the cmperors at the time of
their coronation. In q side room con-
tanning most of the tombs lies John the
Terrible, and by his side a 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, dia-
monds, and precious 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 England. She handed over the offer
to one of her court ladies, who wisely
concluded that a good home, with peace,
was worth more than an en-
pire under the offered conditions. Each
patriarch had his own robe, also his crown
and baton, and all were loaded with
Jewels. 1 did not know there were so
many gems out of the mountains or pearls
out of the sea. These robes are of cloth
of gold, ornamentcd with figures Of
apostles and saints traced in pearls and
precious stones, and sometimes velvet
trimmings form q background to show
more perfectly the beauty Of the jewels.
l remember q baton covered solidly with
turouoiscs and rubics-a present from the
Shah of Persia-and a large cross OF i'm.
mense diamonds, which had belonged to
John the Terrible. A scarf is shown
which is said to have belonged to the
pope of Alexandria, who was present at
the Nicene council.
1 despair of giving an idea of the
beauty Of the churches. The coronations
all take place in the Church of the An
nunciation; which was newly gilded for
the present emperor. Standing in the
center. one sees on every side a mass of
gold and jewels, relieved by the deep,
rich coloring of the paintings on the
walls, the ceiling, and the large pillars.
Figures in heroic size of saints, apostles,
and prophets are set off by a glittering
background of gold leaf; there are orna-
mcnted tombs, thrones for the car, the
empress, and the metropolitan, and gorge
Gus banners flying. Here is the picture
of the Holy Virgin of Vladimir, which
was brought from Constantinoplc, and is
said to have been painted by st. Luke:
miraculous powers are ascribed to it, and
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