This palace, which, prior to the sera of Peter the Great,
i was efteemed by the natives as an edifice of unparalleled
magnificence, in which the tzars held their courts in all the
fplendour of Eaftern pomp®,is now, fince the late improvements
in architecture, far furpaffed by the ordinary manfiojis
of the nobility, and by no means calculated even for the
temporary refidence of the foyereign. In this palace Peter
the Great came into the world, in the year 167 2 ; an event
here mentioned, not only becaufe it is remarkable in the
annals of this country, but becaufe the Ruffians themfelves
were, till very lately, -ignorant of the place in which their
favourite hero was born. That honour was ufually afcribed
.to Columna, which, on that fuppofition, has been profanely
by led the Rethlehem of Ruffia; but the judicious Muller
* T h e author o f Lord Carliflé*s Embaflÿ
<îeicribes,'i-n the following hyperbolical ex-
preffions, the Afiatic magnificence o f the
..court o f Aléxèy Michaelovicch, at the fir ft
audience of .the embafladors. “ And here
*•“ (in the audience ¿-chamber) i t was we
“ were like thofe.who-coming fuddenly out
o f the dark are darted with the 'bright-.
“ nefs o f the fun : the fplendour o f their
“ jewels .feeming to -contend for priority
“ witn that o f the day.; fo that we were .
“ loft as-it vveré in this confii-fiön o f glory.
•“ The tzar, l»ke a fparkling fun, (to fpeak
“ in the Ruffian dialeét) darted forth moft
1 “ fumptuous rays,'being moft magnificently
placed upon his throne, with bis fceptre
“ in his hand, and having his crown on his
“ head. His throne -was o f -maflive ftlver
“ gilt, wrought curiouily on the top wi.h
“ feveral works and ¡pyramids ; and being
f ‘ feven or eight fteps-higher than thé floor,
“ it rendered the perfon o f the prince
“ tranfceqdently .majeftic.. The fceptre
■“ glittered all over with jewels, his.veil was
♦‘ let with the like from top to the bottom
“ down the opening before, and his collar
.was anfwerable to the famç. By his fide
lt he h id four o f the talleft lords 'Handing
“ below his throne, each o f them with a
“ battle-ax upon his ihoulder, and with a
“ profound gravity1 calling their eyes now
“ ai^d then upon the? tzar, as inviting us to
“ an admiration o f his grandeur., Their
“ habits were no lefs remarkable than their
■“ countenances, being, all four o f them,
“ from the top o f their head-to the foie of
“ their f o o t , ; clothed in white veils of er-
mine, ^and having chains o f gold. But
“ that which was farther admirable was
“ the glorious equipage o f the Boyars pre*
“ 'dent at this audience, who were as fo
“ many beams o f the fun elevated in his
“ triumphant car, and feemed to have no
“ lull reb u t to do homage withal to their
“ .great monarch. They were about t.wo
“ hundred, clothed all with vefts of cloth
“ and gold, cloth o f lilver or velvet fet with
“ jewels, all placed in order upon benches
“ covered with tapeftry,” &c. p. 147 to 149-
The reader will !r d many defcriptions oi
the tzar’s rr a^nificimcc and court, in the
feveral accoun s o f l:.e different emballioji
in Hackluyt’ s Coileit ion o f Voyages,
lias
has unqueftionahly proved, that the Imperial palace of Mof- C^ F'
eow was the place of Peter’s nativity f ., .. . -
I was greatly disappointed that we could not view that
part of the palace called the treafiiry. The keeper being
lately dead, thé door was fealed up, and could not be opened,
until a fuccefidr was appointed. Refide the crown, jewels,
and royal robes, ufed at the coronation of the Sovereign, ¿his
repofitory, as we were informed, contains feveral cun.aides,
which relate to and illnbrate the hi dory of this country. I
There are two convents in the Kremlin ; one is a nunnery,
and the other a monabery. for men, called Tfçhudof.
The latter does not merit any particular defcripdon ; I- entered
it merely becaufe it is well known in the Ruffian hif-
tory as the place wherein the tzar VaffiliShuiiki was condned A- D*
after his depofition, and*from whence he was taken in order
to be carried into Poland : where he only exchanged one
prifon for another dill more, didnal ; and where he fell a
viitim to his own disappointment and chagrin, as well as to
the ill-treatment of the Poles. We are naturally led to com-
paffionate the fate, of an exiled and depofed monarch, who
dragged on a miserable exideh.ee amidd the horrors of perpetual
imprisonment : but the black ingratitude of Vaffili
Shuiiki towards Demetrius, his fovereign and benefactor, al-
moft extinguidres bur fenfe of his calamities. For even i f
the perfon who affurrted the name of Demetrius was an
lmpodor, Shuiiki, when condemned fpr high-trealon to an
ignominious death, was equally indebted to him for his pardon
; an a£t of clemency ill requited by the deposition and
murder of his benefadlor +.
The nunnery, called Viefnovitikoi, was founded in 1393
by Eudoxia,wife of the great-duke Dmitri ivanovitch Doniki.
’* "See Jour. St. Pet. ' f See Chap, V I I .
Vol. I. Q q The