OLD PICTURE IN THE CHURCH.
"We visited several of the churches and monasteries which make up the attractions of Novgorod," said Frank, in his journal. "The principal church is the Cathedral of St. Sophia, which was called in ancient times 'The Heart and Soul of the Great Novgorod.' The first cathedral was built here in 989; the present one dates from about 1045, when it was erected by order of the grandson of St. Vladimir. It has been altered and repaired repeatedly, but the alterations have not materially changed it from its ancient form. It is one of the oldest churches in Russia, and is held in great reverence by the people.
"The church has suffered by repeated plunderings. It was robbed by John the Terrible, and afterwards by the Swedes; the latter, in 1611, killed two of the priests and destroyed the charter which had been granted to the cathedral more than fifty years before. In spite of these depredations, the church contains many relics and images, some of them of great antiquity. There are shrines in memory of Yaroslav, Vladimir, and other of the ancient rulers of Russia; the shrine and tomb of St. Anne, daughter of King Olaf of Sweden, and wife of Prince Yaroslav I.; and the shrines or tombs of many other saints, princes, archbishops, patriarchs, and other dignitaries whose names have been connected with the history of the church and the city. So many tombs are here that there is little room for more.
A BISHOP OF THE GREEK CHURCH.
"You would hardly expect one of the curious relics of a church to be the result of piracy, yet such appears to be the case in this sacred building. The doors leading into the Chapel of the Nativity are said to have been stolen from a church in Sweden by pirates. Several men from Novgorod belonged to the freebooting band, and brought these doors home to enrich the cathedral of their native place. The doors are of oak, covered with metal plates half an inch thick; the plates bear several devices and scrolls which we could not understand, but our guide said they were the armorial bearings of Swedish noblemen. There is another door, which is also said to have been stolen from a church, but its exact origin is unknown.
"In the sacristy they showed us an ancient copy of the four gospels on vellum, and a printed copy which is said to have come from the first printing-press ever set up in Russia. There were several flags and standards which once belonged to the princes of Novgorod, one of them a present from Peter the Great in 1693. There was once an extensive library connected with the cathedral, but it was taken to St. Petersburg in 1859. They showed us a collection of letters from Peter the Great to Catherine I. and his son Alexis, but of course we could not read them.
"There is a kremlin, or fortress, in the centre of the city, but it is not of great consequence. Near it is a tower which bears the name of Yaroslav; in this tower hung the Vechie bell, which summoned the vechie, or assemblage of citizens, when any public circumstance required their attention. We tried to picture the gathering of the people on such occasions. In the day of its greatness Novgorod had four hundred thousand inhabitants, and its assemblages must have been well worth seeing. The vechie bell was carried off to Moscow by Ivan III., and many thousands of the inhabitants were compelled to move to other places. For a long time it hung in a tower of the Kremlin of Moscow, but its present whereabouts is unknown.