MOSCOW. 
196 
chap. << an old man bending with years and infirmi- 
■ IX : ties.” We replied, that, on the night of the 
Ceremony of the Resurrection, we had the honour 
to see him in his greatest splendour, in the cathe- 
dral of the Kremlin. “ And what did you think 
of that ceremony?” said he. We answered, 
that “ we considered it as one of the most 
solemn we had ever witnessed ; not excepting 
even that of the Benediction at Rome j” “ — and 
interesting?” added the archbishop. We assured 
him that we considered it as highly inter- 
esting: at this he burst into a fit of laughter, 
holding his sides, and saying, “ We had lost a 
night’s rest to attend the ceremony of a religion 
we did not profess, and called it interesting." 
We accompanied him round his garden, 
admiring the beauty of the situation, and the 
serenity of the climate. “But do you, said 
he, “prefer our climate to yours?” We told 
him, that we had found the Russian climate 
severe, but the cold weather in winter not 
attended with so much humidity as in England ; 
that the atmosphere was clear and dry — 
“ O yes,” said he, “ very dry indeed! and it has, 
in consequence, dried up all our fruit-trees. 
Afterwards, he inquired whither we were 
going : and being told to Kuban Tartary and to 
I 
