s those of
Kazan, Georgia, Astrakhan, and Poland,--all heavy with precious stones.
The crown jewels of England and Germany combined would not equal in
value these treasures. The most venerable of the crowns is that of
Monomachus, brought from Byzantium more than eight hundred years ago.
This emblem is covered with jewels of the choicest character, among
which are steel-white diamonds and rubies of pigeon's-blood hue, such as
are rarely obtainable in our day.

While viewing the many attractions of Moscow one is apt to recall a page
from history and remember the heroic, self-sacrificing means which the
people of this Asiatic city adopted to repel the invading and victorious
enemy. It was an act of sublime desperation to place the torch within
the sanctuary of Russia and destroy all, sacred and profane, so that the
enemy should also be destroyed. It was the grandest sacrifice ever made
to national honor by any people. "Who would have thought that a nation
would burn its own capital?" said Napoleon.

Strangers are hardly prepared to find Moscow so great a manufacturing
centre, more than fifty thousand of the population being regularly
employed in manufacturing establishments. There are over a hundred
cotton mills within the limits of the city, between fifty and sixty
woollen mills, over thirty silk mills, and other kindred establishments,
though enterprise in this direction is mostly confined to textile
fabrics. The city is fast becoming the centre of a great railroad
system, affording the means of rapid and easy distribution for the
several products of these mills.

The favorite seat of learning is the Moscow University, founded by
Peter the Great in 1755, its four principal faculties being those of
history, physics, jurisprudence, and medicine. It is a State
institution, and has at this time some two thousand students. The terms
of admission as regards cost to the pupils are merely nominal, the
advantages being open to all youth above seventeen who can pass a
satisfactory examination. Here, also, is another large and valuable
library open at all times to the public, containing over two hundred
thousand well-chosen volumes. This liberal multiplication of educational
advantages in the very heart of Oriental Russia is an indisputable
evidence of progressive civilization.

One is struck by the multitude of pigeons seen in and about the city.
They are held in great reverence by the common people, and no Russian
will harm