Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

After passing under an alley of trees, I found myself among several little churches, surnamed cathedrals, with high steeples dividing them from each other; while numerous chapels, and ranges of dwellings, wherein are now lodged the disciples of Saint Ser-gius, were scattered around without design or order.

This famous hermit founded the convent of ïroïtza in 1338 : its history, as well as that of its founder, is intimately connected with the general history of Russia. In the war against the Khan Mamaï, the holy man aided Dmitry Ivanowitch with his counsels: and the victory of the grateful prince enriched the politic monks. Afterwards, their monastery was destroyed by fresh hordes of Tartars, but the body of St. Sergius, miraculously discovered under the ruins, imparted a fresh renown to this asylum of prayer, which was rebuilt by means of the pious donations of the Czars. In 1609, the Poles besieged the convent for the space of six months. It had become the retreat of the patriotic defenders of the country; and the enemy, unable to take it, was at length obliged to raise the siege, to the additional glory of St. Sergius, and to the great joy and pecuniary advantage of his successors.

The walls are adorned with turrets, and surmounted with a covered gallery, of which I made the circuit. They are nearly half a league in extent. Of all the historical associations which render this place celebrated, the most interesting is that connected with the flight of Peter the Great, saved by his mother from the fury of the Strelitz, who pursued him into the cathedral of the Trinity, even to the altar of