| Show translated tor lor life illustrated by anne acne W wood about moscow in russia the kremlin the tile kremlin is an almost triangular citadel formerly surrounded by fosses at present by an iu in closure of high walls flanked by a massive tower at each cadi angle augle from the tile foundation of the tiie i kremlin dates that of moscow itself this tilis fortress existed as early as the tile middle of the twelfth century it was at first only a simple building of wood hy by a palisade moscow was but a vi village flage twenty years later that is to say about 1160 ligo or 1170 andrew grandson of wladimir mon opaque prince princa of kiew built in the midst of these frail habitations a stone churchard chur chui chand deposited there a miri miraculous culous picture tho tile portrait of the virgin painted by st luke sacked and bained in the of the thirteenth century by the mongols Mon gols the young city was rebuilt sool al ter oil on a broader browder site an anchorites anch orites cabin was converted into a church convents arose oil on both sides of the river I 1 moscow became ilie the residence of ivan III ili the tile j capital af a principality which from century to century and so to speak froin from year year to year was des destined lined to extend its limits to tile the north and south ivan Dane lovitsch endowed it with two new chur churches clies ciles and surrounded it with a strong baltiero barrier of foak oak dmitri dmitrl his grandson replaced placed rp this barrier by a wall of brick toward the tha end of the fourteenth century after lle ile the lie ravages of a disastrous pes pestilence and several wars moscow extended itself on both banks of the river and already contained half a dozen churches and monasteries churches monasteries fortress these were tile the cradle of moscow and her whole bistor history y i is s here between a sword which inspired terror and a relic which imposed respect devastated in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by the tha princes of lithuania Lethu ania aula it rose athard a third time bitne from its ruins under he reign df the ambitious ivan vas who gave it for its first trophies the spoils of Novo gorod enlarged its inclosure and built the lie lle towers of the tho kremlin his is successors censors continued ills his work with ardor and under tile the reign of ol ivan the terrible moscow already occupied ail an immense space tile tiie kremlin which was the original nucleus of this city has remained its central point it is thence that the different quarters have extended oil on each eacil side like the spokes of a wheel and it is there that they unite like wool around a spindle the tile kremlin by its location commands the whole city its steeple of ivan with its gilded cupola rises above the other steeples which surround iti itt it and its thick embattled rampart seem prepared to defend the dwelling of the czars azars and the sanctuary of the patriarchs in the interior it is a in gular jugular assemblage of buildings of different epochs and edifices of every sort there is nothing symmetrical nothing regular either in tile the streets winch which traverse the inclosure or ill in the tile empty spaces sp aces wh which ich separate the buildings s cathedrals chapels palaces all lia iia have e been thrown in from century to century by tile pious thought or the caprice of the sovereign expressed by the fantasy of the artist and all this melange of religions otis and profane architecture of the tho antique and st style le pointed steeples all this variety of or tints an and colors of facades and belfries produces a singular siu guIar gular inexplicable effect which surprises one like a dream which presents to tile the fascinated glance now the attraction of an ara the august aspect ofa of a monument consecrated sec rated by timo time and by noble memories the cathedral of oe the assumption was tile the first stone church built in Mos moscow coie coif its nave is narrow and its vault supported by four enormous pillars which occupy almost a third of its interior and these pillars this tin s vault these walls are all covered from top to bottom with paintings ii ill lii fresco representing under a gg gigantic antic form figures of the saint and apostles with mantles of purple and golden aure aune ohis the that is to say tile tiie barrier which separates the sanctuary from the rest 0 of f the church and which ri rises rimes ses tes as high as the vault is like one of those fabulous walls of which oriental poets speak a wall of silver gilt covered with jewels ewels on tile the right of the doors which open in the middle of the and which are called the royal doors is a picture of st john ni painted 11 ted led it is said by the grilc greek emperor emman emmanuel on tile the left a venerated virgin who wears upon her head am among tig ilg other ornaments two diamonds one of which would render the poorest poet rich what is is even more valuable in the eyes of the russian people than these pain prin p paintings tings these crowns crow Us of diamonds these masses of gold and silver are the relics liere here and there in shrines there are some for all devotions and every accident of life from the tunic of jesus christ whose authenticity no one dares call cail callin it question to the bones of saints which heal bal divers maladies A sacristan points out to the faithful those which have the tho most efficacy they cross themselves before them deposit on them a pious kiss and pass on 66 t 0 another chapel equally full of relics then they cross themselves again prostrate themselves with humility throw the themselves melves with their faces oil on the ground then approach a monk who stands before an altar and gives them his right hand to kiss hiss which lie he takes care it is said to perfume with a pleasant odor to please the smell of respectful believers I 1 did not verify the fact jact and will not affirm it it it is it in this church that archbishops arch bishops are buried and emperors crowned near the assumption is the church of the archangel michael built nearly in the same form sur mounted also with five cupolas cu enriched with a splendid incon stase and many relics relies of great renown the church of tile the assumption is paved with agate loaded with gold and silver gilt and covered on every side with figures of apostles and martyrs among whom appear some greek philo which seems to me a proof of rare toleration it is true that the images of the saints are surrounded with an aureola while those of the sages of f antiquity do il not 0 t wear tit fit this is si sign n of celestial glory so io the good people of moscow can still recognize them hem I 1 A few steps from this first space toward the quarter called the is certainly the most grotesque most astonishing building in t xi stence a church of two stories composed of twenty chapels surmounted by sixteen towers of unequal form and size thi like au ail incipient belfry that pointed like a needle another twisted like the folds of or a turban a fourth cut like an artichoke a fifth adorned with three rows of round stones a sixth surmounted by a globe like one of our honest village steeples aud and witha greek cross placed on a crescent all these cupolas cu all theae these towers painted of divers colors red and blue like the beads of a chaplet chap lef let it is impossible to tell on loo looking kinat at this church where the principal door is tho the altar altar For or the nave oil on which side it commences and which ends it is a L genuine fantastic tale it was built in the year 1554 1551 in memory of the tile capture of kasan hasan ae dle nie die prince who had ordered its construction was so enraptured with it that for fear the architect would decorate some other oilier country with a similar clief chef d feuvre lie he had his eyes put out this was ivan IV surnamed the terrible two eyes more or less in his principality were of little consequence and lie was sure by taking this course to have an unique church cli cil unique to such adea a degree ree that the most disorderly choches of 11 moscow os 0 w appear very reasonable beside this assemblage b of cones bulbs bulb sand and excrescences the ramparts of the kremlin which so many sacred edifices also contain the palaces and the treasures of the czars azars remarkable for galleries terraced like steps and terminating in a narrow belvedere the most curious to visit is that which is called the red palace palace it contains all the crowns of the various countries subjugated by russia from that of or kasan to to that tilt of poland the globes globe scepters thrones of the czars azars the garments which tile tiie emperors wear but once on the day of their coronation tile the whole history of the russian empire contained in its insignia of monarchy all the tile gifts off red to the tile ancient czars azars of Mo scovia and their successor by tile the chiefs of hordes and princes whom they had conquered and aud the large golden vases on which the bourgeoisie of moscow offer bread and salt every time the emperor deigns to honor lionor it with a visit vist one should be a lapidary or jeweler in order to describe suitably the brilliancy and value of these innumerable bouquet of emeralds sapphires sapp hires bril giants these strings of pearls and necklaces of diamonds I 1 have seen the guardian of this storehouse exhaust himself in efforts to dazzle my eyes with the tile sight of this asiatic luxury and I 1 noted only three articles which awoke in me any emotion tile the heavy and large boots of peter the great in which the worthy wortlie emperor himself liim self had llad driven a couple of nalls nails when the heel threatened to become separated from the sole the rude littler on which charleszi charles oharles XII XI caused himself to be carried carr ltd iid from rank to rank in the midst of ills his troops oil on the day of or his terrible battle of Pul tawa and tile tiie book boak containing the of poland which nicholas offered as a holocaust at the feet of alexander another hall is filled with swords and basques cas cay ques bucklers buckless buc klers and armor enameled gilt gill carved with willi oriental taste and exquisite art but their heavy armor these two handed swords these arque buses with w wheels I 1 are but childs playthings compared with the tiie tarse thre gigantic cannon placed at the tiie entrance of the arsenal one has ail an open mouth as if it would wallow a whole regiment at once the two others are as long as if they would throw their bullets from moscow to constantinople all three have but one small inconvenience that they can never be used in a battle unfortunately there are near them others which have done glorious service and oil on which I 1 cast a side glance they are tho those e which our poor soldiers dying with cold abandoned with fainting hands on their frozen route and which the russians had time to collect beside tie tae tle palace of the czars azars is the palace of the patriarchs narrow gloomy a and ud full of a quantity of maitres mitres crosses of gold and silver gilt garments loaded with pearls and rubies rubles which the monks display with pride there is also the library of the synod composed wholly of greek and slavic works among which I 1 was shown a very beautiful ful rul manti mantl manuscript script of homer which the he librarian acknowledged he chehad had never read so that lie he did not know how far it conformed to the printed text and the bell I 1 was about to quit the kremlin without t speaking of tiie llie famous bell I 1 hasten to say eay that I 1 saw it no vp longer half buried in the gro ground u ild iid as formerly but placed 0 on n a pretty gran granite ite pedestal by a french engineer the dimensions of this tilis bell have been indicated in all statistics it is twenty feet high and twenty thoin diameter if f it had llad been cast three centuries sooner ite the joyous curate cerate of mendon could not have chosen a more suitable bell for the mare of the kremlin communicates with the city by five gates adorned with images and illustrated by some heroic or religious legend there are two of them whose aspect alone inspires the people with the most profound respect one is tile the gate of st nicholas ali an ancient picture of the saint framed under a gla gia glass decorates this gate and all an inscription placed pla cedon pu the wall reports that in the explosion of 1812 while the ramparts of the kremlin trembled ahila the arsenal was overthrown and the tower and gate of st nicholas rent from top to bottom the he image of the saint and I 1 ahe he glass which covered it remained unharmed bleave I 1 leave bouto you to IT imagine agine the exclamations at this miracle and with what p ous glances the tile russian peasant contemplates this palpable testimony of the favor of heaven so from morning till evening people throng to this entrance crossi crossl crossing rip tip themselves and lighting before the fortunate st nicholas candles aid and lamps the other gate is still more venerated it is ornamented with a gloomy picture tile the features of which can call scarce lybe distinguished and which represents the tiie savior before this frame blackened by time 13 a rude lamp suspended to a ei massive chain a genuine prison lamp never did virgins head encircled with brilliants brilliantz brilli ants and sap chires never did bearing on its broad wings all the old and new testaments inspire so lively a sentiment of devotion as this tilis somber picture in incrust crusted d in the wall and aud hid behind this antique lamp it is related that it once cr rested an invasion of tile the tartars by its mar maz marvelous marselous power and preserved the city from their rava ravage geue gese they arrived in triumph imagining themselves already alre aire idy enriched wilh willi the spoils of tho the merchants and enthroned as proud conquerors at the tile kremlin they turned back can cau confused fused and terrified the holy picture had spread terror in their hearts and disorder als ais order in their ranks it is also said that when the french moie intrepid than the Tar Tarr bars fars ars invaded moscow the tiley y attempted to seize this sacred picture which they could not in spite of all their efforts take or destroy there is aniber history connected with the same gate which does it less honor under the reign of catherine when the plague broke out at moscow the tho people decimated terrified having inginio no longer any confidence in the physicians who attempted to come to their succor or in the tile te regimen thi irr n they I 1 y prescribed bethought themselves of ghisi r miraculous fracul ops aps picture as llie tile only oldy remedy reme dy which remained to preserve them from the scourge the whole population then precipitated themselves with wilh asor of frenzy toward this relic disputed for it seized it pressed it to their hearts covered it with lusses the bishop judging that this fills crowd this contact of thousands could but augment and propagate the germs of contagion attempted to remove this object oi of a worship so dangerous he be was massacred on the tile spot some lime time after the llie plague ceased the people attributed their safety to their piety the tile picture of the tile savior was restored to its former place and venerated more than ever tile the gate that it decorates is called the holy gate no russian can call pass through it without making the he sign of the tile cross and no foreigner of whatever religion lie ha may be can pass it wl with til impunity without uncovering liis liia bead not far from these is an image of the virgin surrounded with a lialo halo of military glory it made the campaign of 1812 1612 and to it was attributed the retreat of our unfortunate soldiers I 1 should never bave have done if I 1 af tempted attempted lo 10 re relate these legends and ad orations of the greek church il it is here |
