MOSCOW. 
126 
chap. a t twenty-four thousand roubles. Some modem 
VI. J 
i > Manuscript Bibles, in the Russian language, 
presented by the late Empress, are shewn, 
sumptuously bound in covers of gold, studded 
with enamelled paintings ; these are set round 
with the finest Siberian emeralds, and with other 
precious stone 
The approach to this Convent is by a gentle 
ascent, on a fine verdant plain. It is situate 
in a pleasing country ; and the excursion to it 
conducts a stranger through the most agreeable 
of the environs of Moscow. It was once fortified : 
a few pieces of artillery lay neglected near the 
gate, beneath some trees. We were presented 
to the Superior, the most greasy monk, without 
exception, we ever beheld. He spoke to us in 
Latin, and gave us the history of their great 
patriarch Nicon, whose portrait we had seen in 
the church, and who rose from the lowest 
station to the high office he held. After his 
marriage, a separation took place, out of pure 
devotion, by the mutual consent of husband 
and wife ; one becoming prior of a monastery, 
and the other prioress of a convent. 
When we returned to Moscow, we found the 
inhabitants murmuring in consequence of new 
prohibitions. An ukase had appeared, forbidding 
