like bunches of globular cactus, such as one sees on the
hill-sides of San Diego. If the comparison were not a little
disparaging to their picturesque beauty, I should say that some of the
cupolas--especially those of a golden cast--reminded me of mammoth
pumpkins perched on the top of a Mexican Mission-house, for even the
buildings themselves have something of a rude Mexican aspect about
them. The new palace of the Bolshoi Dvoretz, built by the Emperor
Alexander over a portion of the site of the old Tartar palace, is a
large, square, uninteresting building, with nothing beyond its vast
extent and grand facade to recommend it. The Terema and the
Granovitaya Palata--both remains of the old Tartar palace--are highly
ornamented with trellised work, and are interesting as well from
their style of architecture as their contents. It was from the
terraced roof of the Terema that Napoleon took his first grand view of
the city of Moscow, after entering the gates of the Kremlin. The one
contains a fine collection of curiosities, including various portraits
of the Czars; the other the royal chamber, magnificently decorated
with embroidered velvet hangings, candelabras, frescoes, gildings, and
carved eagles bearing thunderbolts, and the great chair of state, in
which the emperors sit enthroned to receive the homage of their
vassals after the imposing ceremony of the coronation. But it would be
an endless task to undertake an account of even a day's ramble through
the interior of these vast palaces and public buildings. I paid five
rubles for tickets and fees to porters, and, with the aid of
Dominico's enlightened conversation, came out after my grand tour of
exploration perfectly bewildered with jeweled crowns, imperial
thrones, gilded bedsteads, slippery floors, liveried servants, stuffed
horses, old guns, swords, and pistols, glassware and brassware,
emeralds and other precious stones, and altogether disgusted with the
childish gimcrackery of royalty. Great Alexander, I thought to myself,
who would be a Czar of Russia, and have to make his living at the
expense of all this sort of tom-foolery? Who would abide even for a
day in a bazar of curiosity-shops, bothered out of his wits by
servants and soldiers, and the flare and glitter of jewelry? It
certainly all looked very shallow and troublesome to a plain man,
destitute by nature of kingly aspirations. To confess the truth, I was
utterly unable to appreciate any thing but the absu