The Portland daily press., 1900-09-18
gerous by the government to let the peo-
Mo Ivv,Ox1 ~ E0o,.A

VelOus, Even In the Emperor stables at
ST. Petersburg one is amazed at the
enormous valus OF what is there dis
played. The hundreds of harnesses and
saddles, many of which are thickly stud
ded with turquoise and other gems, the
state carriages, gorgeous beyond descrip-
tion, and the hundreds OF magnificent
stations awaiting the imperial pleasure
for only stations are used here-recall
the descriptions of Oriental splendor in
the Arabian Nights. "You are surprised
at this, said the gentleman who accom-
panied me to the royal stables, but before
you get through with Russia, you will
see costly gems by the peck and gold and
silver In such quantities that you Will
hardly regard them;" and this was true.
The hundreds of royal residences in Rus
sia, literally crowded with oh jects of art,
vases, cabinets, placques in solid gold
and silver, two to three feet in diameter
and blazing with gems, single pieces be-
Ing valued from $40, 900 to $50, 600, each be-
wilder the behoIder. Every one of these
royal abodes has It's corps of servants,
many of them in gorgeous apparel await
ing the arrival of the Emperor, and in
every one OF them stands his writing
table with paper outspread and pens and
ink ready for his use, with an obsequient
attendant to do his bidding; yet in most
of these aboues he has never set foot and
the waiting dependents viii ever watch
In vain for his coming. elbow many
servants, we asked as we left one them
ARE employed herep" cover four hum
dred,i was the reply. For this man,
who, by an accident of birth, finds him
self in this position of power, men are
ever toiling to fashion objects into forms
beautiful or novel enough to please his
fancy, or that of those upon whom he
wishes to bestow them. In one OF the
large manufactures, operated for the
royal pleasure, two pale, STOPPING men
were patiently rubbing little plate Of
jade, stone harder than flint. 1t was
not over six inches In diameter and was
in the form of she'll. Chow long have
you been at work on this?" was asked
1.-Two years, was the reply, land it win
take about two more to finish it. -
Nearby several men were at work on a
piece of mosaic, perhaps six feet long, for
a mem orial of Alexander IL. to be placed
in a church. These men had already
worked on this single piece ten years
and it was far from being completed.
The churches are quite as rich in costly
objects as the palaces. The precious met
ais and gems in them, the gifts of pious
devotess for centuries past, are in as
great profusion as in the palaces. Solid
silver sarcophagi weighing a ton or more.
hold the precious relics of saints and
massive objects in gold are as common
as similar objects in brass are in other
European churches. In one of the
churches, behind the altar, stands a small
figure of the Virgin on a rough pedestal
with a golden dove suspended above 1t.
The pedestal weighs thirty-six and the
dove twelve pounds and are of pure gold.
The icons studded with rubies, diamonds,
emeralds and other most precious stones,
before which so many bow are so numer-
GUS that they soon fail to attract atten-
ton, yet single pieces would sell for
enough to found q school OF learning.
The same may be said of jeweIled crosses
and embroidered vestments. or course
where such wealth is found in the possess
sion Of rulers, ecclesiastic and political.
corresponding poverty must abound
Beggars stretch out attenuated hands
wherever one turns, and crowd eagerly
about you as you enter the churches. 1
was standing before shop window in
the great Bazaar of St Petersburg. A
woman thrust her hand before me, and
catching a glimpse Of her pale face I me-
chanically dropped a small coin into It.
A moment after felt light touch on
my elbow and turned to see her hastily
withdraw into the crowd as If to escape
observation. She had softly kissed my
elbow out Of pure gratitude. Moscow
once seen is to be ever remembered. The
Kremlin is wonderfully imprsssivs, and
when all the great bells In it are booming
it seems as though doomsday were dawn
ing. We arrived at the Kremlin in the
eve of an important celebration when a
great procession bearing the sacred stand
ards belonging to the churches and other
religious bodies was entering. Their
SeesHu"A0S Noho poAhdpb OuFee lSeb square
and made of solid silver and gold, many of
them of immense value and all bearing
the sacred icon. There were hundreds
of these glittering standards and men
were struggling to bear them into the
Kremlin. On they staggered under
their precious burdens, as though they
were bearing the cross of Christ, and es.
teemed it an especial honor to succeed.
but so difficult was the achievement, that
few were able to reach the desired goal.
and though they had borne the principal
part of the burden, they saw others en-
joying the fruit OF their toll.
If were asked what impressed me
most In the Kremlin, should have to
say, the cannons of Napoleon. All