The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-11-02
WONDERS Or THE KRENLIN
a Simple Granite shaft which Tells
the story of the Most Disastrous Nil
ltary Campaign Eyer Undertaken

utory Campaign Eyer Undertaken.
Nowhere elise in all the world is there
single Enclosure that contains So
much OF interest as the kremuu at
MOSCOW. within it's walls. for a thou
sand years, has resided the head of the
Russian government and the Russian
church, from ID has proceeded all civil
military and religious authority in the
greatest uespOtism that ever existed,
and iu ID have been Matched aud care
ried out the blOodiest CunspiraCies that
have ever defaced the history of civiliz-
ed men. IL saw the end Of Napoleon S
endcaNors tO make himself dictator of
Europe, lie came there filled with
pride and glory and purpose, he left
a defeated and broken-hearted man.
To me the most interesting historical
object in all Europe is simple shaft
of granite which rises from the road
side near the town of wilma on the
western boundary of Russia. IL bears
two inscriptions i'm the Russian langu-
age. ON that side OF the shaft which
faces the west are these words:
1890 ..s'''t.. ...... .......s. ........
This Way in 1872 with 10000 Men A:
Napoleon Bonaparte Passed
ON the other side, facing east:
''s........., ................
This Way i'm 1872 with 5000 Men. q.
Napoleon Bonaparte Passed
.''t''' .'. ..'.... ...,..........
The history of the most disastrous
military campaign ever undertaken is
told in those two sentences.
ktemlin is the Russian term for
citadel There is a kremlin i'm nearly
every Russian city. The kremlin at
Moscow occupies the summit of a hill
rising from the center OF the town and
is surrounded by an ancient and pic
turesque wall, which was built many
centuries ago. Within the inclosure
are the palace Of the car the head
quarters Of the government the resi-
dences of the ministers, the headquar-
ters of the army, with the garrison of
the city four or five churches, the
ecclesiastical department of the Rus
sian government and a number of mu-
seums, picture galleries, armories and
various other buildings.
Lying on either side of the roadway
are S55 cannon of various sizes, all of
which were captured from Napoleon's
army in 1872, or were abandoned by
him in his flight. He did not capture
a single gun. In the palaces, museums,
armOries and churches are thousands
of French flags taken at the same
time.
one Of the most interesting objects
to strangers is the Great Bell Of Mos
cow, which, you will remember, is de-
scribed in the geography you studied
when you were a child. 1t is called the
Observation-Disclosures king of bells-and
was east in 1858. The clapper was NOV
ed by twenty-four men. on the 18th of
June 1906, the tower i'm which it was
suspended caught fire and it fell to
the ground. 1t was so heated by the
flames that, when water was poured
upon it, a large chunk dropped out,
and ii has never been repaired. Its
present weight is 1000 pounds, it's
height 26 feet 4 inches, it's circumfer-
ence g. feet II inches, it's maximum
thickness 2 feet, its diameter at top s
feet 8 inches on the outside and feet
. inches on the inside. The weight of
the broken piece is eleven tons.
An even more interesting object.
which, however, stands just outside the
Kremlin, is the "Vospitatelny Dom" or
Foundlings' Home which is the largest
building in Moscow and one of the
largest in all Europe. 1t has 2,S2S win
dows. The morals of the people of Mos
COW and vicinity may be Inferred from
the circumstances that 81 per cent of
the births registered at the bureau of
tween 5000 and 1900 babies are brought,
most of them secretly, to this hospital
every year. The only questions asked
are whether the child has been christ
ened and If so what it's name is At 5
o'clock every day in a uttle chapel on
the ground floor near the entrance,
those children which have not already
received the ordinance are baptized,
and that is the popular hour for visit
ing the institution.
The hospital is supported by the pro-
fits of the government theaterS and
operas, the fees received for licenses
for private theaters and other places
of amusement, the receipts from the
sale of playing cards, which is gov
eminent monopoly and a very profit
able one, and by certain fines and pc
nalties imposed by the police and the
courts. Legacies are frequently left to
the institution by rich people, and it
owns also a large amount of property
Between the city limits and Sparrow
Hill, a bluff which oVerl0oks the val
ley, are several thousand acres occu-
pied by truck gardens, and a large
part of the vegetables consumed by the
Muscovites are raised there. All this
land belongs to the Foundlings Home
and is leased in small lots The insti
tuition also owns several estates in the
country to which the children are sent
when they have reached certain age
and kept until disposed Of The girls
are trained for service; the boys go in
to the army Any person who wishes
to adopt a child can find large variety
to select from.
Within the walls of the Kremlin has
recently been erected massive monu-
ment to the memory of Alexander H.
the czar who was assassinated, and
members of his old body guard, now
gray and wrinkled veterans on the
pension roll, act as sentinels, watching
at the beautiful structure from sunrise
to sunset. This adds a pathetic iny,r-
est TO the place.
At the tomb of Napoleon at the Hotel
des Invalides in Paris a member Of
the old guard always sits at the door
in full uniform and white gloves, as If
he had been detailed to serve as an
orderly to the dead emperor. The sol
diers who fought in Napoleon's armies
are all dead long ago, and their places
are now taken by the Oldest veterans
from the soldiers home,
The monument 90 Alexander II. Is
one of the finest structures of the kind