of the innumerable churches of the lower city, with their green,
yellow, red, and gilded cupolas and domes; still beyond, the trees and
shrubberies of the outer boulevards; to the left, the great Foundling
Asylum, fronting on the river, with its vast gardens in the rear; to
the right, the Military Hospital, the Barracks, and, far in the
distance, over the gleaming waters of the river, the Sparrow Hills,
from which Napoleon caught the first glimpse of Moscow; and then the
grand Convent of the Douskoi, within the outer wall, near the Kalonga
Road; from which, sweeping over toward the right, once more we catch a
glimpse of the wooded shade of the Race-course, the Hospital of St.
Paul, and the Convent of St. Daniel; and to the left, beyond the outer
wall, of various grand convents and fortifications, till the eye is no
longer able to encompass all the wondrous and varied features of the
scene. Turning now toward the north, after we have feasted upon this
brilliant and glittering series of views, each one of which we might
linger over for hours with increased delight, we stand facing the
principal palaces and churches of the Kremlin--the Terema, containing
the audience chambers, and the Granovitaya Palata, the coronation
halls of the Czars; the new palaces; the Cathedral of the Assumption;
the tower of Ivan Veliki; the Treasury and Arsenal; with innumerable
glimpses of other and scarcely less prominent buildings, which unite
in forming this wonderful maze of sacred and royal edifices. It would
be very difficult, if at all practicable, to convey by mere verbal
description a correct and comprehensive idea of the strange mingling
of architectural styles here prevailing. The churches present, no
doubt, the most picturesque effects, but this is not owing to any
grandeur in their proportions. None of them are either very large or
very high; but they are singularly varied in form, as if thrown
together in bunches, without regard to order; some with Gothic gables,
some round, some acutely angular, and all very rudely and roughly
constructed, even the perpendicular lines being irregular. The walls
are whitewashed, and in many places stained with age. The roofs are
for the most part of earthen tiles, imburnt with strong prismatic
colors, and shining like the inner surfaces of abalone shells. The
domes are white, green, red, and yellow, and each church has a number
of gilded or striped cupolas, rising irregularly from the roofs,
shaped