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

of its windows are of horn. It is not among the least curious of the relics in the historical repository of the Kremlin.

I was afterwards shown the little palace, which the Emperor inhabits when he visits the Kremlin. There is nothing in it worthy of notice, unless it be the picture of the last election of a king of Poland. That extraordinary diet which placed Poniato\vski on the throne, and Poland under the yoke, has been curiously represented by a French painter, whose name I could not learn.

Other wonders awaited me elsewhere. 1 visited the senate-house, the Imperial palaces, and the ancient palace of the patriarch, which possess little interest beyond their names; and, finally, the little angular palace, which is a jewel and a plaything. It gives the idea of a masterpiece of moresque architecture, shining by its elegance in the midst of the heavy masses which surround it. It may be compared to a carbuncle set in common freestone. The structure consists of several stories, of which the lower ones are more spacious than those they support; this multiplies the terraces, and gives to the edifice a pyramidal form, the effect of which is very picturesque. Each story rises behind the one on which it stands, and the topmost of all is nothing more than a little pavilion. On each of these stories, squares of Delft ware, polished after the manner of the Saracens, indicate the lines of architecture with much taste and precision. The interior has just been refurnished, glazed, coloured, and generally restored, in a manner that shows good taste.

To describe the contrast produced by so many edi-