Part 7 (1/2)
”It would have been a convenient way of getting rid of a troublesoether by the run, as you would say, Cousin Giles,” observed Fred, laughing ”Some such idea was probably in the minds of the inventors of the custom”
From the old palaces the party proceeded to the Treasury It is beautifully arranged, and full of ares--the coats, and boots, and hats, or crowns, or helmets, and swords, or battle-axes of all the Czars who ever sat on the throne of Russia Some of the crowns, or other head-pieces, are literally covered with jewels, placed as close together as the setting will allow Most of theant; indeed, they nearly all look as if they belonged to a barbarous age and people
Alobe, studded with jewels, sent by the Greek Eia, the diamond crown of Peter the Great, and the throne on which Peter and his brother, both children at the time, were placed when he was crowned There is a curtain at the back, behind which their h it, held theht mo the ad multitude
In the armoury is the chair of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden It is like a litter, somewhat rudely constructed, or rather can be used as a chair or litter by turns, having poles at the side by which it is carried There are so to the same monarch They were part of the spoils taken by Peter the Great at the celebrated battle of Pultova, when the Russians at length gained a victory over the Swedes, and Charles hiht The es, specimens of which are preserved from the earliest tie, lu affairs In some the coach-box is several yards from the body, and the hind seat is as e, like a huge square trunk, and the travelling carriage of Catherine, which has a table in the centre, and is very like a e It is placed on runners instead of wheels, and could only have been used in winter Probably in her day the roads would not have encouraged su
From thence the friends went to the Uspensky Sabor, the cathedral church in which the Emperors are crowned The lofty roof is supported by four round pillars, covered fros There is not a particle of the church which is not thus ornamented The effect is rich in the extreme, at the same time bizarre and barbaric There are five cupolas, with the faces of saints looking down fro of the interior, introducing the coronation--as it was to be The picture was for the Emperor The outside of this church is orna like a pure taste There are several other churches near it, all of which were being enclosed so as to form a spacious court, where the ceremony of the Emperor's coronation was to take place Every available space was being filled with galleries to hold spectators Through this court he was to walk from the cathedral to the palace
The party then visited all the churches in the Kremlin in succession
The interior walls areand pictures of saints, frohted with tapers, priests, in their gorgeous vest service; incense was being waved, and people fro theain The Russians of the Greek Church see a number of churches or shrines in quick succession on the sareat facilities to the perforowith a church, or chapel, or shrine of soenerally possess any fine paintings, the pictures of their saints showing merely the faces and heads But there is one church, that of Le Vieux Croyants a la Ragosky, which has a fine collection The priests of that church, being intelligent entleave the infor renovated; nothing but the ashed walls res which appeared so rich in the churches were ainst the walls, so that a day was sufficient to turn a barn into a ates were of different sizes The largest was for the admission of the Patriarch when he came to the church, the smaller for that of the ordinary members of the community
”Exactly,” said Harry, ”like the Irish peasant who has a big hole in the door for the pigs to walk through, and a small one for the chickens
All people are ious liberty is very much curbed in the country; but they were told that every Sunday, at the Church of the assuion takes place, chiefly, however, a the persons ish to pass for savants The priests seldom or never attend It is suspected that these discussions are encouraged by the Government, not from any abstract love it possesses for truth, but for the sake of ascertaining the opinions of those who attend the powers suspect, from any of the opinions he utters, that a person is likely to prove dangerous, his movements and words are ever afterwards narroatched till he is caught tripping, when he is without further ceremony marched out of har round the Kreuns of all sizes, uns were taken from us,” observed one of their French friends to Cousin Giles ”How curiously things change in this world!
Now, in early days our two nations were cutting each other's throats, and yours was friendly to Russia; then lately we have been fighting side by side against the Russians Now, behold, here we are walking freely and at peace within the walls of this ancient capital”
Thus discoursing, they descended into the gardens on the west side, and proceeded towards the Church of Saint Saviour, then in course of erection
Their French friend s to commemorate the retreat of the French from Russia,” he observed ”The Russians may well boast of what they did in those days, and we are not likely to forget it”
The church is the finest in Moscow; the exterior is of white stone, ornaures in the deepest relief The architecture is of the purest Byzantine order The interior presented but one vast vault of brick, without pillars or any other support but the walls to its vast dome Part of the walls were covered ood painted in imitation of marble, to show the effect of the proposed style of ornament It is in the form of a Greek cross The altar is at the east end The church is ware stoves, whence pipes are carried inside the walls all round the building, with vents at intervals, out of which the hot air can be allowed to escape Broad flights of stone steps lead up to the entrances, which are on three sides Cousin Giles altogether preferred the edifice to that of the Isaac Church in Saint Petersburg
As our friends were returning hoious procession passed by It consisted of a long line of priests walking two and three abreast, in soold and coloured cloths, fringed and bespangled They were chanting loudly, but not inhar locks, which waved about in the breeze, and gave them a very wild appearance, which was increased by the careless, independent way in which they walked along
The Russian priests see the Jews, an especial virtue exists in the length of their hair As the procession passed through the streets, the people rushed out of their houses, or crowded to the turnings, eager to see the sight There they stood, devoutly bowing and crossing theh it was difficult to say what particular object claiether the procession, froaudy banners waving in the air, had much more of a heathen than a Christian character
Vast preparations were at this ti for the expected coronation
The spires and dos were being covered with laths, on which to hang the lanificent arches were being erected all round the large square opposite the Ih painted to look like stone, here and there bits of the pine peeped forth, showing the unsubstantial nature of the highly-pretentious fabric Workilt candlesticks, refreshi+ng the features of saints, adding rubies to their faded lips and lustre to their eyes, cleaning and polishi+ng in all directions Cousin Giles said it put hi behind the scenes of a theatre,--carpenters, painters, and gilders were everywhere to be seen; their saws and axes, their trowels and brushes seemed to have no rest; nor could they afford it, for they were evidently , and painting, and washi+ng, Moscow never before enjoyed The whole circuit of the walls of the Kres in the interior, were covered, from pinnacle and parapet to the base, with a network of laths; so was the Cathedral of Saint Basil, and, indeed, every edifice in the neighbourhood When the whole was lighted up, they agreed that the spectacle would be very fine, but they began to doubt whether it would be worth while to return to the city for the play itself after having witnessed all the preparations
Cousin Giles told his companions that it is said that, when the Eh her dominions, the peasants were driven up froh road, and that wooden houses were run up just before her to represent thriving villages As soon as she had passed they were pulled down again and carried on ahead to do duty a second ti compelled to pace up and down before their pretended abodes, as Swiss peasants do before the pasteboard cottages on the stage
People in Moscoere looking forith eager expectation to the event of the coronation, and it was supposed that half the great people of Europe would be there It did not appear, however, that the inhabitants were so anxious to see them for their own sakes as they were to let their houses and lodgings and roo to reap a fine harvest out of the pockets of the gaping foreigners
The eously strange of all the bizarre churches of Moscow--is the Cathedral of Saint Basil, which stands close to the river, at the north end of a broad, open space outside the walls of the Kremlin, and which space is bounded on the other side by the Bazaar It is in the e tower soht other towers round it, with cupolas on their summits There is also a ninth tohich looks like an excrescence, in the rear Each of these cupolas and towers is painted in a different way, and of different colours; some are in stripes, others in a diamond-shaped pattern, others of a corkscrew pattern, and so thealleries and steps, and ins and outs of all sorts, painted with circles, and arches, and stripes of every possible colour
”Well, that is a funny church!” exclaimed Harry, as Fred ran off to find the keepers to show them the entrance