Councillor Grimm, an antiquarian, whom I found in I
the department of coins in the Hermitage ; as also of I
several literary gentlemen, all of whom received me I
kindly, , and most of whom gave me or put me in the I
way of procuring information respecting the little-1
known parts whither I was proceeding.
But to Petersburg, indeed, was a “ far cry from I
Central Asia, and I hoped to feel nearer at Moscow, I
as there was the chance of meeting persons from the I
East, and, as I hoped, about to return. This anticipa-1
tion was fulfilled on the first evening I was there, for I
whilst in Kamensky’ s office, arranging about the!
carriage of my books, there came in two men of dark I
complexion, whom I ventured to ask from whence I
they hailed. They said they came from Bokhara, and!
told me of two others from the same place staying m I
Moscow. Afterwards, strangely enough, as I was I
leaving the office, there passed by a Jew, whom 11
saluted and found that he, too, was a dweller an I
the city of the Emir. These men gave me sundry!
pieces of valuable information, and cleared up several!
obscure points, so that already some of the dangers!
I had supposed to becloud my way began to dis-l
^ There were two sights at Moscow I wished to seel
in passing, namely, the National Exhibition, and the!
new Cathedral of the Saviour. I had the advantage!
of visiting the former with our obliging Vice-Consul,!
Mr. N. W. Hornstedt, who had intended to draw up!
a report with a view to giving such information!
respecting the exhibition as would be interesting to!
English men of commerce. The exhibition was sup-1
posed to be restricted to manufactures and productions!
of the Russian Empire, upon which feature the Mus-I
iovites plumed themselves duly, though the boast
Irould not bear too rigid an investigation, for one
wickedly disposed might twit his Russian friends by
ieminding them that some of the things they claimed
for their own were in reality the outcome o f English
■rains and hands, as, for instance, an excellent boiler
made in the Baltic Provinces, and so admissible to the
Exhibition, but fabricated of English plates by British
workmen. I must not be tempted to enlarge upon
Retails, but will only add that the sight, as a whole,
iterested me exceedingly, illustrating, as it did so
lividly, the enormous size and immense fecundity of
the Empire. The products of the frigid stood side by
sjde with those of regions near the torrid zone, and
»ere seemed to be no variety of human wants which
Russia was unable to supply either from above or
below ground.
■As for the Cathedral of the Saviour, built in Ancient
Russian or rather Graeco-Byzantine style, a remarkable
ff-ct in my eyes was that it had been erected in a
single lifetime, and that there was given to the people
Moscow, what falls to the lot of few generations
to [see— a grand cathedral new in all its parts. The
building, covering an area of 73,000 square feet,
awaited consecration, and was rigidly closed to the
pujblic, except by special order of the Governor, with
^Rich I was favoured. I will mention only a few
jBjta to show on what magnificent lines it has been
built. Thus, on the exterior of the building, 900 lbs.
^■gold were used for overlaying its five cupolas. O f
its, 13 bells the largest weighs half as much again as
^Breat Paul” in London, and the doors of the temple,
ofjwhich the largest weighs 13 tons, cost ¿62,000!
I the lntenor, I have seen most of the celebrated