MOSCOW. 
147 
tinue to pace and champ the bit, without ad- C y I A I p ‘ 
vancing a step; occasionally plunging, like those ■“ 
exhibited in ampitheatres ; while their riders, 
in laced coats and ruffles, with cocked hats, 
and saddles sumptuously embroidered, imagine 
they display surprising feats of horsemanship. 
Several families preserve the old Russian cos- 
tume, in their servants’ habits; others clothe 
their attendants like the running footmen in 
Italy ; so that the variety formed by such a 
motley appearance is very amusing. 
The numberless bells of Moscow continue to 
ring during the whole of the Easter week, tink- 
ling and tolling, without any kind of harmony 
or order. The large bell near the cathedral is 
only used upon important occasions: when it 
sounds, a deep and hollow murmur vibrates all 
over Moscow, like the fullest and lowest tones of 
a vast organ, or the rolling of distant thunder. 
This bell is suspended in a tower called The 
Belfry of St. Ivan, beneath others, which, al- 
though of less size, are also enormous. It is 
forty feet nine inches in circumference ; sixteen 
inches and a half thick ; and it weighs more than 
fifty-seven tons*. 
(l) 3551 Russian pouds. [ Voyage lie Deux ’ Franfuis, tome III. 
p. 295. 
L 2 
