e too slender hair pins on which they had been
done up stood out in painfully isolated disagreement. What would they
not have given for such splendid manes as these Kieff singers possessed!

We ascended to the gallery, to obtain a better view of the scene.
Peasant men in sheepskins (_tulupi_),--the temperature verged on 100
degrees Fahrenheit,--in coats of dark brown homespun wool girt with
sashes which had once been bright; female pilgrims in wadded coats girt
into shapelessness over cotton gowns of brilliant hues, knelt in prayer
all about the not very spacious floor. Their traveling-sacks on their
backs, the tin tea-kettles and cooking paraphernalia at their belts,
swayed into perilous positions as they rocked back and forth, striking
the floor devoutly with their brows, rising only to throw back their
long hair, cross themselves rapidly, and resume the "ground
salutations," until we were fairly dizzy at the sight. Some of them
placed red, yellow, or green tapers--the first instance of such a taste
in colors which we had observed--on the sharp points of the silver
candelabra standing before the holy pictures in the _ikonostas_, already
overcrowded. A monk was incessantly engaged in removing the tapers when
only half consumed, to make way for the ever-swelling flood of fresh
tapers. Another monk was as incessantly engaged in receiving the
_prosfori_. A _prosfora_ is leavened bread in the shape of a tiny double
loaf, which is sold at the doors of churches, and bears on its upper
surface certain symbolic signs, as a rule. The Communion is prepared
from similar loaves by the priest, who removes certain portions with a
spear-shaped knife, and places them in the wine of the chalice. The wine
and bread are administered with a spoon to communicants. From the loaves
bought at the door pieces are cut in memory of dead friends, whose souls
are to be prayed for, or of living friends, whose health is prayed for
by the priest at a certain point of the service, in accordance with the
indications sent up to the altar with the loaves on slips of paper, such
as "For the soul of Ivan Vasilievitch," "For the health of Tatiana
Pavlovna." Thus is preserved the memory of early Christian times, when
the Christians brought wine and oil and bread for their worship; and the
best having been selected for sacred use, portions were taken from the
remainder in memory of those who sent or brought them, after the rest
was used to refresh the congrega