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

are grand, the works of physical power are great: and this alone is something.

To divert my mind for a moment from the terrific Kremlin, I have paid a visit to the tower of Souka-reflf, built on an eminence near to one of the entrances of the city. The first story is a vast structure, containing an immense reservoir, from whence nearly all the water drunk in Moscow is distributed to the different parts of the city. The view'of this walled lake, reared high in air, produces a singular impression. The architecture is heavy and gloomy ; but the Byzantine arcades, the massy flights of steps, and the ornaments in the style of the Lower Empire, make the whole very imposing. This style is perpetuated in Moscow: had it been applied with discernment, it would have given birth to the only national architecture possible to the Russians: though invented in a temperate climate, it equally accords with the wants of northern people, and the habits of those of the south. The interior of Byzantine edifices are very similar to ornamented cellars ; the solidity of the massive vaults, and the obscurity of the walls, offer a shelter from the cold as well as from the sun.

I have also been shown the University, the School of Cadets, the Institutions of St. Catherine and of Saint Alexander, the Hospitals for Widows and for Foundlings, all vast and pompous in appearance. The llussians pride themselves in having so great a number of magnificent public establishments to show to strangers: for my part, I should be content with less of this kind of splendour ; for no places are more tedious to wander over than these white and sumptuously-monotonous palaces, where every thing is