XLVII.
Moscow, Russia, 1848.
I came to this city by extra post from St. Petersburg over the imperial macadamised road, which terminates here, a distance of about four hundred and sixty American miles, in forty-eight hours, including stoppages. Our change of horses ordinarily required only three minutes, and in consequence of some little delay on the road, the last ten miles to the gate of the city were made in forty minutes by three horses abreast, the lead with postillion on, coachman and conductor in front, and four inside passengers, the horses on the full gallop. I have never travelled faster in any country, by mail coach, than in Russia.
I wrote you from St. Petersburg, with some details of that brilliant capital, which is, however, modern and European; but whoever has visited it and not gone into the interior, has seen but little of Russia. There are several important towns and cities on the route between Petersburg and this city, Novogorod being one of the principal. The villages of the peasants, which are composed of log cabins mostly, and which, with the immense estates, belong to the nobles, are frequently seen. The serfs, usually clad in a long frock or surtout, made from sheepskin with the woolly side reversed, rough coarse boots or sandals, made from the bark of trees, an old small-brimmed conical hat, with long beard and mustache, and an ugly strap or girdle around the waist, present a rather uncouth appearance. They are conveyed with the land, yet sometimes separately, and are worth about three hundred silver rubles, or two hundred dollars each. The females are much less valuable, and can be bought for one quarter the sum. The usual custom is for them to employ one half their labor for the master, who must be noble, and the balance on their own account. The emperor is disposed to ameliorate their condition, and in time will effect it, but the power and influence of the nobles are so great he cannot directly. There are nobles in St. Petersburg and Moscow, who possess immense landed estates, with from eighty to one hundred and fifty thousand male peasants, and females in proportion, and you can well imagine the princely edifices and equipages these persons can maintain.
I was enchanted with the entrance to this magnificent city at mid-day. The plain where once encamped the defeated Army of Napoleon, in consequence of the Russians burning their own homes and palaces, was in part occupied by a grand review of a portion of the Russian army, the most powerful as a concentrated force, and the best disciplined troops in the world. In the distance, as far as the eye can reach, from some points, can be seen hundreds of temples, churches, towers, of all kinds of architecture, with domes and minarets gilded with gold, the buildings generally painted white or cream color, and the roofs of plated iron, painted green or brown, and presenting a remarkable appearance. I have never yet seen any city in Europe which bears any general resemblance to it, except Constantinople, which for its locality upon the Bosphorus and its general objects, presents itself more beautifully than any other port perhaps in the world.
In this ancient city of the Czars I find reminiscences of the African cities of Grand Cairo and Alexandria. It would be idle to attempt a description of the renowned Kremlin, which incloses within its walls a town of itself, comprising the palace of the Czars, the palace of the Patriarchs, the Senate, the Arsenal, the new palace of the emperor (not yet occupied), the Tower of John the Great, which incloses thirty bells of large and small sizes, from sixty tons weight down, and from which you have a magnificent view; the Cathedrals of the Assumption and the Archangel, which are extremely rich, and dazzle the eyes with gold and silver plating and ornaments. The Czars are crowned here, and here rest the ashes of the emperors prior to Peter the Great, since which time they are interred within the church of the Fortress, at St. Petersburg.
In one of the palaces are five immense saloons, which are entirely occupied for the treasures of the country, and contain riches beyond description. Here are seen the crowns of all the kingdoms that have become subservient to Russia, as well as all the sceptres, crowns, and regalia of the emperors, not including that of Nicholas, which is in the winter palace at St. Petersburg. To give a faint idea of the value of this collection of gold and silver, ornaments, horse armor, &c., I will mention one object which struck my attention particularly for its beauty—a saddle, presented by the Sultan to the Empress Catharine; the pommel is of gold and set with diamonds, rubies, pearls and emeralds, the bridle and straps are dazzling with brilliants; it is said to have cost two hundred thousand rubles or one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The crown of Peter the Great is said to contain eight hundred and forty-seven diamonds. This collection struck me as being richer than any I had seen, richer even than that of the Sultan or of the crown jewels of England.
The great bell of Moscow, of which so much has been said, and which after its fall remained buried in the earth, is placed upon a circular wall, corresponding to its size, near the tower. Its weight is said to be two hundred tons, and in its composition is a large proportion of gold and silver, contributed by the inhabitants. It is twenty feet high, and twenty-two feet in diameter. A piece of about six feet was broken from it by its fall.
Yesterday I went to Sparrow Hill, some five miles from the Kremlin, to see the convicts examined by the physician before their departure for Siberia. After being presented to the General of Police, the Royal Counsellor, and other officers present, Doctor Haas, who is very kind to the prisoners, and quite unwilling they should leave on a pilgrimage of four thousand and five hundred miles without being in health, or supplied with all that the government furnishes, drew them up in line to the number of about one hundred, men, women, and some children, and asked three questions, to which they answered in Russian. Are you in good health? Are you in want of anything? Are you satisfied to depart? To all of which they gave satisfactory answers, with few exceptions, which were inquired into. The largest proportion were going to the colonies for life; the worst subjects were branded on the forehead and both cheeks, and condemned to the Siberian mines. To-day I saw them take their departure on the Siberian road; prior to which they were conducted by the soldiery to the suburbs of the city, where, in a building adapted for the purpose of confinement, they received from their friends and the charitable of both sexes, supplies of food, clothing, and considerable sums of money. Those who can read are supplied with books by benevolent societies. They were drawn up in line, having a light leather strap from the shoulders to support the chains on their ankles, and received the gifts of the benevolent as they passed them for the last time. I could not help but feel for the poor wretches, guilty as they may be, and followed in the train giving each a small piece of money; they perceived I was a stranger, and some of them, learning from my valet that I was an American, gave a hearty shout.
The weather is still mild and agreeable, much more so than at St. Petersburg, lying several degrees further south and east. It is now the 17th of September by Russian time, but with us the 29th, there being twelve days difference in style. Here the macadamised roads terminate, and those who wish to travel south and east must in most cases have private conveyances and post horses, which are to be found everywhere, but the living is horrible. In the country inns, which are detestable, scarcely anything eatable is to be found; white bread is a luxury. The peasants subsist mostly on black rye-bread and water. The article of tea, which is a favorite beverage of the Russians, may almost always be found, and of the best quality of Caravan, which comes across the country. It is amusing to go into the new park, a favorite drive and promenade in the suburbs of the city, and see a hundred tables belonging to as many girls or women, who furnish the boiling water from as many kettles, to those who come provided with the aromatic plant.
The cholera, which has been frightful the past summer, is now almost entirely subdued, and is wending its way westward. Notwithstanding that the streets are broad, and an infinity of gardens and promenades is scattered and extended on both sides of the Moscow river, with a circumference of twenty-five American miles, still the disease has been awful. With a population of three hundred and fifty thousand, there have been as many as twelve or fifteen hundred cases, and six hundred interments per day. On visiting the city hospital, a fine large structure, admirably adapted to ventilation and comfort, and well deserving a visit from a stranger, I saw only a few cases of the disease remaining.
The great Railroad in process of construction, has met with unforeseen difficulties in the grading, and as the contractors, in order to make the most of it, will procrastinate the work, it will not be completed in all probability short of five years. Our enterprising countrymen, Messrs. Eastwick and Harrison, whose establishment I visited, about six miles from St. Petersburg, and who have employed sixteen hundred men in their foundries and wood-work shops belonging to the government, had a contract for one hundred and sixty-two locomotives, and twenty-five hundred passenger and freight cars, and the emperor gave them four years for their completion. At the expiration of the second year the work was completed and the emperor was informed of the fact, which he could not credit; the answer was, “Will your majesty please visit the establishment?” which he did, and expressed himself in warm terms of satisfaction. Those gentlemen are now engaged in throwing an Iron Bridge across the Neva.
The Russian religion is Greek. It does not acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, the emperor being at the head of the Church. There is more form visible than among the Latins, and more repetitions of the sign of the cross, and they prostrate themselves in the churches frequently. This is the birthday of one of the Russian saints, consequently one of their festivals, of which they have a great number in the course of the year. Last evening I attended the imposing service of the nuns in the dazzling chapel of the convent of Strachnoy, preceding the anniversary of the patron saint of to-day. The bleeding form of Christ, suspended on the cross, surrounded by burning lights, the reflection of a thousand candles on the gilded images, and the burning of incense, carried my mind back to the ceremonies of the Greek church at Jerusalem, during the Holy Week.
Leaving the interior of the Kremlin by the Gate of our Saviour, where all who pass, by an ancient custom, uncover the head, one passes on the opposite side of the square into the bazaars, which are worth a visit, and where, it is said, there are ten thousand shops, of every branch of industry.
I found here a well-ordered hotel, kept by an Englishman, where I am quite at home, although the only traveller in the house. The landlady tells me I am the only American who has visited them this year, in consequence of the cholera and the revolutions in Europe, with the difficulty of procuring passports.
In Russia, all strangers are obliged to publish for ten days in the public journals, their intention to leave the country; which publication, with the permission of sojourn, is quite a tax. I have, however, escaped all that, and shall depart soon for Warsaw.