The Boy Travellers in The Russian Empire / Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with Accounts of a Tour across Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present Time

by Thomas Wallace Knox

CIRCASSIAN ARMS AS TROPHIES OF BATTLE.

"We were not admitted to the cells of the fortress," said Frank, in his account of the visit to the place, "as it was 'contrary to orders,' according to the guide's explanation. But we were shown through the cathedral where the rulers of Russia from the time of Peter the Great have been buried, with the exception of Peter II., who was buried at Moscow, where he died. The tombs are less elaborate than we expected to find them, and the walls of the church are hung profusely with flags, weapons of war, and other trophies of battle. The tombs mark the positions of the graves, which are beneath the floor of the cathedral. Naturally the tombs that most attracted our attention were those of the rulers who have been most famous in the history of Russia.

"We looked first at the burial-place of the great Peter, then at that of Catherine II., and afterwards at the tomb of Nicholas I.; then we sought the tomb of Alexander II., who fell at the hands of Nihilist assassins, and after a brief stay in the church returned to the open air. The building is more interesting for its associations than for the artistic merit of its interior. Its spire is the tallest in the Empire, with the exception of the tower of the church at Revel, on the Baltic coast. From the level of the ground to the top of the cross is three hundred and eighty-seven feet, which is twenty-six feet higher than St. Paul's in London.

"The spire alone is one hundred and twenty-eight feet high, and very slender in shape. It was erected more than a hundred years ago, and the church itself dates almost from the time of the foundation of the city. Fifty or more years ago the angel and cross on the top of the spire threatened to fall, and a Russian peasant offered to repair them for two hundred rubles. By means of a rope and a few nails, he climbed to the top of the spire and performed the work, and nobody will say he did not earn his money. A single misstep, or the slightest accident, would have dashed him to certain death.

"When we left the church and fortress," continued Frank, "we felt that we had had enough for the day of that kind of sight-seeing, so we drove through some of the principal streets and went to the Gostinna Dvor, where we wished to see the curiosities of the place and make a few purchases.

STATUE OF NICHOLAS I.

"Near St. Isaac's Church we passed the famous equestrian statue of the Emperor Nicholas, in which the sculptor succeeded in balancing the horse on his hind feet without utilizing the tail, as was done in the case of the statue of Peter the Great. The Emperor is in the uniform of the Horse Guards. The pedestal is formed of blocks of granite of different colors, and there are bronze reliefs on the four sides representing incidents in the Emperor's life and career. On the upper part of the pedestal at each of the corners are emblematical figures, and just beneath the forefeet of the horse is a fine representation of the Imperial eagle. The whole work is surrounded with an iron fence to preserve it from injury, and altogether the statue is one of which the city may well be proud."

While the party were looking at the Imperial arms just mentioned, Fred asked why the eagle of Russia is represented with two heads.