The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-17

IN the chapel they have "A miraculous
iSoh' believed TO be capable OF curing
~ maladies; and of this they told us
many incredible tales The choir sang "a
US the music used at high mass. as well
as the Song Of the Cherubim. and some Of
.Le psalms IN Russian, the female voices
seeming very soft and pretty Before We
ielt tney gave US some excellent tea
win the usual slices of lemon. and rolls
ana Jam made by themselves We also
tasted their black bread and "schwass."
which IS the common drink of the peas
anus and is made from black bread soaked
III water; / thought both very nasty
Ihen We had a long, cold. but exhilerat-
ms drive in our sledge all through the
capital, even some way beyond and on
the other side of it to the Donskoy monas-
terry. This is a very curious place. a
great contrast to the convent we had Just
LETT Dehind-as triste and somber as the
latter was bright and cheerful The monks
seemed as slovenly, as unkempt and as
stupid as the nuns We're neat, clean and
intelligent, giving us the idea of belonging
10 quite TWO centuries ago. But the live
comfortably. their cells being furnished
though very dirty. They seemed an idle
lot, working only in their gardens and
not making much Of them
observed in their chapel a remarka-
bic instance of the Russian faith one
of the governor generals chamberlains
to be a particularly devout man. when
he took US through the churches and chap
els showed no sign of his faith, SUCH as
members of the Roman church generally
do, whether strictly religious or not; yet
this young man on seeing at the DOnskoy
monastery a small altar dedicated to his
patron saint, signed himself with a cross
Frustrated himself and knelt for some
time in prayer. This was curious. coming
as it did from a man who 1 have before
SAID, dld not profess any strong religious
principles.
But to return to the Kremlin. The
treasury is fun of beautiful and inter-
esting objects, including the crown Jewels,
the crowns used on all occasions in Russia
also the robes worn by the ear and en-
press at their coronation. From the treas
ury you pass on to a large museum con-
tanning gold and silver plate of all ma
uons, rare porcelain, ancient carriages of
state, and a great accumulation of gifts
presented by rulers of all ages and coun-
tries OF the east and west TO the Cars
Of Russia. Among these there was a
wonderful chariot from Queen Elizabeth
of England, which she sent to the EN-
peror John the Terrible when he invited
her to join with him in a war against
France, an invitation which she at the
same time declined to accept. History says
that she refused an offer of marriage from
him at the same time
Then there was a fine collection of ar
NOR and weapons and other relics of the
past, Peter the Greats bed. Napoleon rs
tent left behind him in his hurried re-
treat, innumerable relics of John the Ter
rible. and among them more gifts from
Queen Elizabeth We visited the cathed-
raj where coronations take place; also an
other where the collins of all the cars up
to Peter the Great are arranged; and here
We found two priests praying for the soul
If,l4F F1ar fTsstsvsf I,I 81
conviction that his soul must still be in
purgatOry although he lived three CEN
turtles ago. Wherever one turns fresh in
stances of this emperOr's cruelty appear:
and in a gallery of modern paintings there
Is the most appalling portrait of the same
sovereign lately painted by an artist
named lvanoff, who rose in life from being
"A butcher to a position Of some eninence
in Russia. So CHASTITY was this painting
that one lady who had visited the gallery
short time before we did had tainted at
the sight of the picture. It represents
John the Terrible beating his son, in a
rage on discovering that he had intrigued
against him, until he suddenly finds that
he has killed his own offspring. The hor-
ror depicted on the parents countenance
is marvelously realistic, so that one can
hardly believe it is d mere representation
on canvas.
one interesting national sight we wit
which We're going on in the neighborhood;
but the extreme cold prevented our being
able to remain long as spectators. Some
of those who accompanied us told a story
Of how. when the Prince of Wales had
been present at them on the occasion of his
visit to Russia for the Duke of Coburs's
marriage with the Grand Duchess Marie
he had given great satisfaction TO the
populace by riding in several of the racing
sledges- 1t was a pretty sight to see them
all glide by, the bells in the harness ring
ing out merrily in the keen frosty air, and
the horses apparently as much excited as
their drivers.
Prince Dolgoroukoff took us to the I'm
perial theater, a magnificent house, hold
ing an audience of some three thousand
people, reminding one rather of La Scala
at Milan. Russian opera was per-
formed, the story of which was taken
from the reign of John the Terrible
During the evening tea was served in
the usual style in the Princes room be-
hind the box, together with quantities of
bonbons and sweetmeats.
Among our experiences 1 must not for
get to mention the Moscow restaurants
which we found excellent, although the
dishes are somewhat too substantial. l
remember on one occasion that we were
invited to see the sturgeon which was 60
ing to be served for our dinner, caught
in a large tank which stood in the md
die OF the restaurant. sturgeon soup, by
the way, goes a very long way, two
spoonsful being almost sufficient for a
meal.
On our last evening we dined with
the gov ernor-general, who kindly invited
some OF the principal members OF Mos |
COW society to meet US, so that we had
a very pleasant evening. On our arrival
at the door of his entrance hall his chief
aide-de-camp met us and conducted us |
upstairs, and at the top of the staircase I
we were received by our host, who, pre- /
scented us each with a bouquet of flow
ers from his own gardens. his niece, the /
Princess Wolkonski, did the hOnors as /
hostess. She was beautifully dressed in I
a Paris costume, with the finest jewels, I
and looked remarkably handsome. a dis |
tingWshed general took me in TO dinner, |
and 1 sat on the left of our host. The din |
ner table was covered with beautiful gold I
plate and splendid flowers, and / learnt |
that the best gardeners in the country |
are generally Germans. Before we left I
that evening the encouragement gave /
each of us an interesting little book on 4
the history of Moscow written by himself, I
which l am glad to possess as memento |