Friday, January 17, 1840

1840

January

Friday 17

7 50/..

3 1/2

Up once last night to draw my little bois de lit from the wall – Terribly bitten – Could not sleep, the biters some sort-of animals, till dozed near morning –

Out at 8 35/.. before breakfast – George had forgot to call us – we were to have been at the Trésor at 8 1/2 –

Sauntered along – too late for the Trésor till after mass – Went into the Cathedral, then into the Refectory – a particularly handsome outside-painted arabesque oblong building – arabesque, Saracenic, Byzantine, Tartaric, what is this grotesque-picture style?

Passed through the large handsome hall with chapel at the end, (the state dining room I should suppose) into a smaller orderly salle à manger where tables were laid for breakfast – A hundred monks here – 4 or 5 pictures in this room – One by a Russian artist, our Savior seated in a great arm chair – over his head, bust of God the father and above again the holy ghost in the likeness of a dove – In the foreground on the right of our Savior, standing, the virgin, and on the left, Ivan IV Vassilivitch, and in front of these (kneeling) St. Serge right – St. Nicou left –

The exterior of this Refectory is painted in fresco as under and the effect is striking and picturesque. 

In this sketch the red should have been yellow and the yellow red

 

I thought of this for Shibden – the Byzantine porches of the 2 doors and the windows this side the building are very picturesque – the whole of this building grotesque but strikingly picturesque –

Then to the Troitza or Trinity church, the principal sanctuary here – to Mass as I understood but it was some other service which lasted from 9 1/4 to 10 55/.. – 30 priests (monks) in silver tissue surplices and black cowl-hats, except the archimandrite (or abbot) who wore a cap tartar-shaped, very fine with gold and 4 enamel oval (2 inches by 1 1/2 inch?) plaques (virgin, crucifix, etc.) one in front, one behind, and one on each side – The cap apparently heavy – Whenever he had to read a little in the Evangile (large, much gold ornamented binding) the tall, big, fine bass-voiced deacon standing behind him, took his cap off, and held it the while, then placed it on his head again –

The abbot (father Antoine) a fine looking man – Took the veil from hopeless love – Lived in some family – Abelard-like, fell in desperate love – The lady too great for him to aspire to – They told him he was the natural son of her father – therefore, her brother, on which he turned monk –

Stood all the while and close to him – The voices good but singing and service not very interesting, but they had said at the Panins we ought to go to mass – But this was not mass –

The church lighted up – The iconostase a mass of gold and painting as usual , and on the usual plan of Greek churches – All gold and paint in fresco –

The tomb of St. Serge (vide Schnitzler page 99) was given by the Empress Anne in 1737 – The baldaquin rests on 4 columns all of solid silver – Weighs above dix quintaux – Perpetual reverences made to the tomb by all the monks and pilgrims and devotees – The most valuable tomb I have ever seen, i.e., I never before saw such a tomb of solid silver –

After service, sent my letter to the Archimandrite from Countess Wera Panning – And then went to the Trésor – I think we only saw 4 rooms, but the monk said we had seen all, and certainly the riches in precious stone and pearls and gold and silver are immense – One topaz in one of the Archimandrite caps cost said the monk 200,000 roubles – But the most curious thing of all and to me the most valuable is the agate (given by the Metropolitain Platon as well as the 2 little square altars and many other of the valuables) with our Saviour on the Cross and a man, a religious at a little distance, worshipping – Can it be possible that this is natural? No artist could have done it better – It is indeed a wonderful natural representation –

From the Trésor to the archimandrite’s house – 2 handsome salles – The 1st all fresco painted salle impériale – the 2nd, comfortable, a few old pictures, salle du patriarche – Saw the abbott for a minute or 2 – Very civil – Gave us each a little China painted enamel oval lockety crucifix – Could not speak French or English – George interpreted, and to him he gave his blessing more especially as we were going out of the room – The poor père Antoine looked pale and fatigued –

Returned to the Inn – Back at 12 40/.., and then breakfast till 1 25/.. – all our own except one roll, long Frenchlike bread such as we have at Mrs. Howards but whiter and better – Very fine, sunny day now at 1 1/2 p.m. –

Out again at 1 35/.. – sauntered along the Gastinoi Dvor looking into the Shops – Particularly at the toys, dolls etc. in abundance –

Then to the clocher (Schnitzler page 100) near 250 feet French high, therefore higher than Ivan Veliki at Moscow – Magnificent extent of prospect in all directions – the little river Jakhroma which runs past in a deepish dale is, they say, clay in summer !

The poçad (bourg) around the monastery = more than 1000 houses (Schnitzler page 98), some very good ones – Several seigneurs live here – Regretted we could not go to Bethanine (Vifanii) (Schnitzler page 102) 3 versts off, that we looked down upon – but impossible – We might have spent another day here very well –

1/2 hour at the top till 2 3/4 – then not able to see any more churches because all the monks gone to mass at the Trinity church (Schnitzler page 99.) so we went too – Glad we went, for this was the mass, and the benediction of the water, – the ceremony Countess Wera Panin (the little humpbacked clever sick sister of Count Panin) [mentioned] – The service had begun I know not how long before, for they said it would be over in 1/2 hour but it last 1 1/2 hour after we were there – The same 30 monks and same dresses as before – The ceremony ended by the abbott’s dexterously putting the Cross into the tub of water and making the water run off it into a dish – From this were filled pitchers, teapots, jugs etc., the people scrambling for it, and letting their neighbours taste, of whom I was one – Be it not forgotten that just before returning to breakfast this morning, our monk took us to the pain-bénit bureau where the man gave Ann and me each a small roll of pain bénit, for which our monk prevented my paying anything –

We had this afternoon too the same good humoured French-speaking lady we had in the morning, whom we recognised this afternoon as an old acquaintance – She had lived here 3 years for the education of her son at the academy (founded by the Emperor Paul), cheaper here than at Moscow – Asked the name and history of the abbott – She fought off – Now he has taken the veil, nobody thought of what he was , but only of what he is – All the rest forgotten –

We now saw the Ouspenski Cathedral, built after the model of that of the same name at Moscow – Lofty, handsome, as usual fresco-painted church – (Schnitzler page 99.).  George said the tombs of Boris etc. were dehors – I suspect he did not inquire of the monk –

It was too late to see other churches – Sent George home to get the carriage Kibitka ready packed and Ann and I walked about – How picturesque – how well worth coming to see!  This fortress-like convent, this Kremlin Sanctuary with its 8 picturesque towers and high white walls is very striking – The inside of the wall is lined within with a useful rez de chaussée, and then a premier, and, above that, a broad covered walk, that one can walk all round the Enceinte – There are slits (narrow more like a mural crown than orderly battlements) and below them little machicolations sloping down in the thickness of the wall – We walked a little way along this covered way – The place must have been very strong in former days – In 1609 (Schnitzler page 97) it withstood the Poles under their hetman Sapiaha 16 months, and obliged them to raise the siege –

Beautiful day and evening – Sorry we were obliged to be off, though our apartment at the hospice had no great charm for us – Returned – Gave into the monks box for our room what we pleased), a 10 Rouble note (and gave the monk for himself 5/. and gave the chamber man ./70 and the man who furnished our 3 tallow candles and bread his change for the 1st ./45 and the roll ./20 as everywhere and gave him for himself ./75 and gave the Ostler at the door ./35.

Off at 5 3/4 – Back at the 1/2 way restinghouse at 8 3/4 – A poor girl who was sleeping on one of the benches jumped up and went away to leave us the hot room we had before to ourselves – Réaumur 17° in the far end of the room from the stove, on our table –

Ordered up the semovar, for which the woman charged 2/. – Tea at 9 1/4.

Our room here at 9 3/4 = Réaumur 17° and at Troitza 13 1/2° and the latter was quite as warm as we could comfortably bear – Réaumur was -4° last night in our kibitka, and the same tonight –

Off from our restinghouse at 10 3/4 – Beautiful, moonlight night –

Home at Moscow at 1 3/4 – Tea all ready – but wanted nothing more –

Réaumur -4° in the kibitka on our arriving at home –

At church this afternoon, the singing beautiful – the choruses often ending with gospodin.  The Emperor was prayed for under all his titles 2 or 3 minutes long – then the hereditary prince, princess, Mary etc. gladdeăre ……. the Emperor etc. etc. and lastly Mnogo léto (all the people) – These choruses very good – 

WYAS Finding Numbers SH:7/ML/E/23/0181 and SH:7/ML/E/23/0182