Show picturesque moscow nine miles in length by six in breadth stretches the walled in tract of town and country that makes up moscow perhaps no city in the world is so irregularly built a straight street is scarcely to be seen the most picturesque effects are produced in every direction by the strange ing of churches public buildings and bouses of all sizes and descriptions rons the streets are not only often serpentine in their course but also fre undulate as regards their level so that from time to time wide views are presented to a sea of trees and house tops and colored or gild ed domes the visitor may look in vain for regularly built terraced terra cec or crescents there is no street architecture in moscow even in the two circles of boulevards all is irregular houses worthy of dingy alleys stand side by side with palatial mansions the great majority of the houses are low built one or two storeys high and usually painted with gray colouos colours yellow red or blue the roofs of tin or zinc are mostly of a bright green hue just outside the principal thoroughfares there are plenty cofone stor eyed wooden houses with court yard garden stables and other out houses just as if conveyed bodily from the country picturesque contrasts abound everywhere grand palaces of russian nobles adorned with columns and trellis work and fine portals whitewashed or painted bosses of citizens little wooden hovels churches bright with green and gold colossal government buildings all are mingled together the shops display a curious characteristic reading is not a common accomplishment and accordingly tobacconists butchers bakers and other tradesmen all display florid pictures with representation ot every article or commodity they can get into the space when an inscription is added it is not unusual to see that part of it has been repainted this is in consequence of the police having ordered the spelling to be corrected for in enisia the police look after many things which in england would under their cognizance even in streets that have been most europeanized tha pavement ia every where execrably asia tie it consists of cobble stones rammed in to sand and having a general elope on either side towards a central gutter |