MOSCOW

Next morning at Koslov Bro. Roth and I were obliged to separate, his return ticket taking him by the southern route, while I took the much shorter and quicker route by the way of Moscow. I arrived in Moscow Sunday night, and as my train was not to leave until Monday evening, I started out early in the morning to see some of the sights in this ancient capital of Russia. My first visit was to the Kremlin, a celebrated fortress in the heart of the city. On my way I noticed a fine carriage with six large black horses driving through the streets. As it passed, every one uncovered his head, bowed reverently, and crossed himself. It stopped beside a chapel, and the people, rich and poor, rushed up to it, some gentlemen and ladies even leaving their carriages. Drawing nearer, I saw in it two priests clad in rich garments, one holding a light and a large cross. The people kissed the cross, and the hands of the priests, and even the seams of their garments. It seemed very hard to tell to which they paid the most homage, to the cross or to the priests.HSFM 268.4

[Illustration] A View in Moscow.

A few steps farther brought me to the famous Red Square, where is the sacred place from which the emperors proclaimed their will to the people. Here stands the St. Basil cathedral, a very odd-looking structure, with its many different colors, and here is also the most noted gate of the Kremlin, that of the Redeemer. The picture of the Saviour which hangs over the entrance is regarded with great veneration by the Russians, those who approach it uncovering their heads while yet at a distance. As I forgot to do so, several shouted to me at once to take off my hat. Passing through the gate, I saw the tower of Ivan the Great, and on a granite pedestal at its base the king of bells, the largest in the world, a monster twenty-six feet high and sixty-seven feet in circumference, and weighing four hundred and thirty-two thousand pounds. It has fallen twice from the tower, first in 1706, and again in 1737; the last time a large piece was broken out.HSFM 269.1

As it was too early to ascend the tower, I visited some of the public edifices within this vast fortress; for the Kremlin is not one single building, but an immense pile of buildings surrounded by walls and battlements. I went first to the cathedral of St. Michael, which contains the tombs of the czars down to the time of Peter the Great; and afterward visited the beautiful Cathedral of the Annunciation, with its rich interior covered with gold and gems, its gilded roof and nine cupolas.HSFM 269.2

Then passing a number of monstrous cannon, I went through the arsenal, which contains a famous collection of arms, and many jeweled thrones and crowns and other historical relics. Here I saw the oldest golden crown, worn by Vladimir 1., 956-1015; also an imperial globe on which were eighty-nine rubies, twenty-three sapphires, fifty emeralds, thirty-seven pearls, and fifty-eight diamonds. Among the splendid robes and imperial regalia were those worn by the present emperor and his wife at their coronation. As I viewed the vast collection, presenting the greatest treasures of this mighty empire, the finest spoils of Asia, and the choicest gifts of kings, and noticed how carefully they had to be guarded, many of the showcases being kept sealed, I thought of the words of Solomon: “I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces.... Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”HSFM 270.1

The emperor being absent, I with other visitors was allowed to pass through the imperial palace with its grand reception halls and its multitude of rooms, some furnished in modern style, others after different ancient fashions. In every part of the palace there were chapels for worship, and many of the rooms were decorated with scenes from the Bible. In one portion of this vast building was the room where the synod has its sessions. I was glad when my wanderings were over, pitying rather than envying those who occupy these rooms from time to time.HSFM 270.2

As the sky was now clear, I ascended the great tower, to enjoy from its summit one of the most remarkable views in the world. Below was Moscow, with its seven hundred thousand inhabitants, the center of the national life of Russia, the place of the coronation of the czars, the commercial emporium of Central Russia and Western Asia, the “holy mother city,” in the creed of the people. Its thousand spires, domes, and minarets, with their diversity of shape and color, sparkled in the bright sunlight. There was the Kremlin, with its fine-public buildings, its rich cathedrals, and grand palace. There were the lofty walls of the Kremlin, forming a triangle nearly a mile in length, the battlements, the eighteen towers, the five gates, and the fine boulevards surrounding all. There was the river Moskva winding its way like a silvery thread through the city; the great bazaar with its thousand shops occupied by merchants trading with Siberia, China, Tartary, and almost all other portions of the world; the great mass of houses reaching to the hills beyond,-truly, it was a magnificent view. From its promiscuous mingling of palaces and huts, Moscow has been fitly described as being at once “beautiful and rich, grotesque and absurd, magnificent and mean.”HSFM 270.3

It seemed hard to leave such a sight, but the hours passed rapidly, and I had to hasten. Looking for a moment at a few of the thirty-four bells which this tower contains, some of them of enormous size, making a brief visit to the Church of the Assumption, where the emperors are crowned, and pausing for a glance at the great bazaar, I hastened to the train.HSFM 270.4