GLIMPSES OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE 



1071 



and frequently the faithful horse is in- 

 cluded in the family group. Enterprising 

 women and children are busily engaged 

 beside the track picking the little wild 

 strawberries, and at the stations they are 

 like swarms of bees offering the berries 

 for sale at about ten cents per quart. 

 The fruit is ripe and of a peculiarly de- 

 licious flavor. 



At half past three, July 8, we arose, 

 but even at that early hour the sun had 

 preceded us, thus affording a good light 

 at Samara to view the greatest of Euro- 

 pean rivers — the Volga, whose waters, 

 before mingling with those of the Caspian 

 Sea, 2,300 miles distant from its source, 

 are navigable for 1,800 miles. At Sa- 

 mara the river is spanned by a substantial 

 iron bridge almost a mile in length, and 

 from our car window we view the waters 

 as they flow 140 feet below. 



the; city o'e spires : Moscow 



The numerous cathedral spires of Mos- 

 cow, with their copper domes, are as 

 strikingly characteristic an indication 

 of one's approach to the old Muscovite 

 capital as the great stacks, with their ac- 

 companying clouds of smoke, presage the 

 entrance to some of the American manu- 

 facturing cities. 



We alighted from the train at the sta- 

 tion in Moscow ten and one-half days 

 from Peking, only eight minutes behind 

 schedule time. 



Our first efforts were directed to ob- 

 tain permits to use the kodak, since the 

 principal occupation of both the police 

 and the soldiers of Russia seems to be to 

 inspect passports and kodak licenses. In 

 Moscow it was necessary to procure two 

 licenses ; one from the military and the 

 other from the police authorities. The 

 possession of these licenses saved us much 

 annoyance and furnished considerable 

 amusement. Many of the guardians of 

 the law were unable to distinguish be- 

 tween them. In fact, any official-appear- 

 ing paper would probably have been as 

 satisfactory. 



SAINT saviour's CATHEDRAL 



Of this great city of spires, Saint Sav- 

 iour's Cathedral (see pages 1066-1067), 

 which occupies the highest prominence 



in Moscow, is the most magnificent and 

 striking church building. It rivals in 

 splendor, if not in cost, any other sanc- 

 tuary in the world. It commemorates 

 the expulsion of the French from Russia, 

 and was begun in 181 3 and completed 18 

 years later. Around its four sides is a 

 marble frieze of life-size figures. The 

 beauty of the exterior conveys but a 

 slight intimation of the wonders of its 

 interior, which comprise quantities of 

 semi-precious stones of Siberian jasper, 

 green malachite, and alabaster, with 

 many life-size pictures in mosaic, en- 

 crusted with jewels of fabulous value. 



One single piece of Siberian jasper, in 

 the form of a medallion, set in the mar- 

 ble wall, represents an outlay of $15,000; 

 and the total cost of the structure is 

 stated to be nearly $13,000,000. 



Wishing to obtain a picture of this 

 edifice, we directed our steps in that di- 

 rection the morning of our second day 

 in Moscow. We were fortunate in so 

 doing, since on arriving there we found 

 a great service being held in commemora- 

 tion of the two hundredth anniversary 

 of Peter the Great's victory at Plevna 

 over Charles XII of Sweden. 



The dimensions of the interior of Saint 

 Saviour's seemed greater on account of 

 their being no pews. We were impressed 

 with the earnestness of the worshipers. 

 During part of the service worshipers 

 prostrated themselves until their heads 

 touched the coarse mat of the covered 

 floor. At our side was a poor woman in 

 black who spent most of the time on her 

 knees, devout but entirely undemonstra- 

 tive. A short distance from her was 

 another woman so affected that had not 

 the tiles of the floor been well fastened 

 she certainly would have removed them 

 that she might in her prostration get her 

 head to a lower level. On the opposite 

 side was a strongly built, full-faced 

 bearded man, with a noticeable rotundity 

 of form, who, from the rapidity of his 

 movements, acted as though his piety had 

 for some cause been long deprived of the 

 privilege of a public demonstration. 



The chancel, constructed of white mar- 

 ble, is of especial beauty. On either side 

 of it are seated antiphonal choirs, each 

 containing, at the time we saw them, 28 



