There are only two convents in St. Petersburg; this of Smolnoi, — one only in name, for the Empress Catherine's 20 nuns have long since been dispossessed by the 800 young ladies, — and that of St. Alexander Nevskoi, for monks. The latter is one of the most celebrated in Russia, a Lavra, and inferior in rank only to the " Lavra of the Trinity" in Moscow, and to the Lavra of the Cave in Kiev. Its proper name is Alexander Nevskaya sviltotroitzkaya Lavra (the iVlexander Nevsky sacred Trinity Lavi-a). It is the seat of the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, and stands at the extreme end of the Nevskoi Prospekt, where it occupies a large space, enclosingwithin its walls, churches, towers, gardens, and monks' cells. Peter the Great founded it in honour of the canonized Grand-Duke Alexander, who, in a great battle here defeated the Swedes and knights of the military ordei's, and whose remains were brought hither in a silver coffin. Peter's successors increased the possessions and buildings of the cloister, and Catherine built its cathedral, one of the handsomest chm-ches in St. Petersburg. For the interior decoration, marble was brought from Italy, precious stones from Siberia, and pearls from Persia ; it is further adorned with some good copies after Guido Reni and Perugino ; the altarpiece, the Annunciation of the Virgin, is by Rafaelle Mengs, or as the monk our guide assured as by " Arphaele" (Rafaelle) himself. In one of the chapels are some pictures by " Robinsa," that is, not Robinson, but Rubens. " On Italianskif (He was an Italian), as our worthy Father added in explanation. Pictures by foreign masters are otherwise something unheard of in a Russian church. From Robinson to the Cannibals is no great leap, and therefore we were the less frightened when our guide, pointing to a corner of the church said, " There lies a Cannibal." We read the inscription, it was the well-knovn Russian general Hannibal. The Russians, who have no H, change that letter almost always into K.
On two great pillars opposite the altar, are two excellent portraits, Peter the Great and Catherine the Second, larger than life. These two, as " Founder' and "^ Finisher," are every where imited in St. Petersburg, like man and wife. What might have been the residt had they been really so ? Would he have driven her out as he did his sister Sophia ? or she him, as she did her husband Peter the Third ? or would Russia have gained doubly by the union ? In a side-chapel stands the monument of Alexander Nevsky. It is of massive silver, and contains not less than five thousand pounds of pure metal ; it is a silver mountain fifteen feet high, on which stands a silver catafalco, and silver angels, as big as a man, vnth trumpets, and silver flowers, and a quantity of bas-relief in silver, representing the battle of the Neva. We lighted up two wax tapers at his grave, and were pleased to see how calndy they glimmered in his honour. This kindling
The holiest convents in the empire, the seats of the Metropolitans, are called Lavras ; the other convents are only monastTs.
of lamps and tapers in Russian churches is a pretty custom ; the little flame is so living a symbol of the continued life of the soul, and beyond all other material things, flame is the best representation of the spiritual. The Russians have so closely adopted this idea, that there is no interment, no baptism, no betrothing, in short, no sacred ceremony without torch, lamp, or taper to be thought of ; fire is for them the pledge of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and hence illuminations play the most important part in their church ceremonies.
The keys of Adrianople are suspended to the tomb of St. Alexander ; they are strikingly small, not much larger than the keys of a money-box, which, in fact, Adrianople has in many respects been to Russia.
The Nevsky cloister has profited yet more by the presents sent from Persepolis to the northern Petropolis, when the Russian ambassador Griboyedoff was murdered in Teheran, than by the Byzantine tribute. The Persian gifts consisted of a long train of rare animals, Persian webs, goldstuffs, and pearls. They reached St. Petersburg in the winter. The pearls, and goldstuffs, and rich shawls were carried in great silver and gold dishes by magnificently-dressed Persians. The Persian prince Khosreff Mirza drove In an imperial state equipage with six horses ; the elephants, bearing on their backs towers filled with Indian warriors, had leathern boots to protect them from the cold, and the cages of the tigers and Hons were provided with double skins of the northern polar bears.
It was like a procession In the Arabian Nights, it would have been said among us, and the population of whole provinces would have run together to behold it. " It was a trifling afl"air," they said in St. Petersburg, " and some of the pearls were false." It excited but little attention. The elephants soon died of the cold, and a part of the pearls were given to the Nevsky cloister. We saw whole boxes full of them there, besides a rich collection of mitres set in jewels, pontifical robes of gold brocade, and souvenirs of individual metropolitans and princes ; among them, an episcopal staff turned by Peter the Great, and presented by him to the first St. Petersburg metropolitan, another of amber, from Catherine II., and a number of other valuables which, found elsewhere, singly, would be admired and described, but here in the mass of treasure are unnoticed. The library of about ten thousand volumes, independently of a nmnber of very valuable manuscripts, concerning which many books quite unknown to us have been written, contains many rare specimens of the antiquities of Russia.