The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1910-08-04

NE Q0O01 Ob0 R03o1W8 t0V0 OF
Troitsa lies about forty miles
from Moscow and 10 even more
insular than its big neighhof.
Neither foreigners. their archi-
lecture nor their customs have
filtered past the frontier to this n
Gent retreat on the river Ramsnka-
Between here and Moscow the rail-
road runs through an almost unbfoken
line Of pine woods IN which stand
pretty summer villas Of the city folk.
These houses are built Of pine. the
natural color. and recall the type Of
buildings existing in Moscow before
1872. few Of which may still b seen
within inclosed courts.
When Kiev ceased to be the capital
and the village Of Moscow continued
TO grow in Importance, Troitsa, the
monastery Of the Holy Trinity. began
to compare with the Lavra Of the old
er town. This was in the fourteenth
century when Saint sergius, humble
as he was pSous. lived and worked at
Troitsa- As years passed the monas-
terry accumulated fame and wealth.
and in the eighteenth century 1t owned
countless acres and over 10000 serfs
Emperors and boyards have enriched
its affairs until today the Troitsa treas
ury Of sacred vessels, ornaments and
| vestments Is considered the most eX-
tensive and valuable in Russia. Since
thu last revolution the treasury is
not shown to visitors and a current
report has 1t that much of the most
valuable plate and gems have found
its way to Saint Petersburg to meet
the drain Of the Japanese war.
Russian monasteries have the ap-
pearance Of fortified towns, as in truth
they are. The Krim Tartar hordes
failed to capture Troitsa, and In 1908.
when the monastery was attacked by
the Poles under Sigismond the monks
kept the beseigers, 10000, at bay for
16 months. For just such emergencies
the monastery has a reservoir capable
| Of holding 5000 pals of water. The
grounds are inclosed with high. COW
ence; great round towers guard each
corner. and entrance is by four noble
gateways. walked around the ram
parts with young monk whose eyes
sparkled as he showed me the best
points for sighting the enemy, come
what direction 1t might. The walls
are pierced with loopholes for the
monastery guns.
Though repairs are being made con-
tinually. yet there is an air Of cen
turtles resting upon the thick, gray
walls. quaint, arched doorways and
dark. narrow passages. that sets one
dreaming. Peter the Great delighted
in heavy. norid decoration and his
taste is conspicuous in a huge. long
building. the monks refectory The
same tables and benches are used to-
day as Of old. generations of occupants
succeeding one another. The monas,
terry includes three churches and dou-
Bile that number Of chapels. with a
tall bell tower in the center. In q
mortuary chapel lie buried former
metropolitan bishops Of Moscow.
Troitsa's famous shrine is the
church of Saint sergius. the convent
where the good abbot ruled wisely and
well. The decoration is richer than
the most elaborate of any Of the old
Moscow churches. The doors Of the
inokastus. the screen separating the
sanctuary from the nave, are of solid
gold with wonderful establishment OF
sacred subjects. Thanking them either
side are sacred pictures studded with
Jewels; the whole from floor to cell
ing a mass Of dazzling beauty. Walls
and ceiling are frescoed completely
with old Byzantine studies, broken
here and there with some rare old pic
ture with robe Of beaten gold or ham
mered silver and crown and necklace
Of pearls and precious stones. Sain,
Sergius rests in a catafalque of EN-
blazoned silver whose intrinsic value
would ransom half the convicts in 81
beria- liked best the quaint archi
lecture Of the one-time convent, but 4,
is dificult to trace. SO much does the
wealth Of mural decoration obtrude or
the eye.
In the open square is q gray stone
obelisk COMMUNICATING the repulse Of