The exterior similarity of Rome and Moscow may be followed out much farther w^hile examining the position of their chief temples, their tribunals, money-changers' shops, &c. In the Roman Forum stood the metal statue of the wolf-nurse of Romulus and Remus. In the Forum of Moscow stands the monument of two men who preserved Moscow and Russia with their wealth and their lives, Minin and Poshai-skoi. The Lacus Curtius, which was in after times diverted from its course, and then resembled a dry moat where the idle people of Rome used to sit, whence its name, Canalicola, finds a countcrpa,rt in the garden of Alexander, formed on the muddy bed of the Neglinya, and the little lake that communicated with it. And I may add, thtit in the Moscow Lacus Curtius, there is no want of idle people, or of the Venus vulgivag-a.
The most important gate of Moscow is beyond doubt the " Spass Vorota" (tlie gate of the Redeemer). It is the 2orta sacra, and porta iriiimphalis of Moscow. Througli it entered the triumphant warriors of Ivan VassiUevitsh after the conquest of Kasan and Astrakhan, and through those of Michaehs and Alexis, after the victories obtained in the Ukraine. It is the Propylae of the Acropohs of Moscow, Over the gate is a picture of the Saviour, under a glass : this is the holiest part of the holy gate. Before the picture hangs a large ill-formed lamp, in a massive metal frame. All here is antique, even the manner in which the lamp is drawn up. It is suspended by a heavy chain, and under it, to wind it up, stands a complicated old machine, that jarred and rattled here in the time of Michael. A man stands here, whose sole business it is to wind it up. He has a table beside him with wax tapers, which he sells to light up before the picture. This picture is an object of the greatest reverence with the Russians, although few know wliat it represents. It hangs so high, and the colours are so much faded, that notwithstanding many efforts and much inquiry, 1 could not find out whether it represented the Redeemer in the act of teaching, or of praying, whether crowned with thorns, or suspended on the cross.
This gate forms a passage under the surmounting tower, of about twenty paces long. Before he enters, every one, be he what he may, Mohammedan, heathen, or Christian, must take off his hat, and keep it off till he have passed througli to the other side. It is a singular sight, to watch the carriages-and-four, coming along at full speed, and slackening their pace as they approach the sacred gate, while lord and lackey cross themselves reverently, and drive through hat in hand. Any one passing through and foigetting to uncover, is immediately reminded, nor would it be safe to neglect the warning. Some Germans told me that they had received manual instruction to that effect ; for my own part, when I once forgot to take off ray hat, I was reminded of it merely by a gently murmured warning, " Shlilpa, sldiipa batiushka" (The hat, the hat, fatlier).
The gate has naturally obtained its sacred reputation in the course of centui-ies, through many miracles wrought through its means. Often, as the people relate, the Tartars have been driven back from it ; miraculous clouds have veiled the defenders of the Kremlin who sought its shelter, while the pursuing Tartars were unable to find the entrance. Even the presence of the temple -plundering French only served to increase the renown of this gate. They thought the frame of the picture was of gold, and endeavom'cd to remove it. But every ladder they planted broke ni the middle, as the taperseller assured me, when he told the story. This enraged the French, who then brought a cannon to batter down door and pictm-e together ; but do what they would, the dry powder was possessed by the devil of water, who was too much for the devil of fli'e, and would not explode. At last they made a great fire with coals over the touch-hole. The powder was now subdued, but it exploded the wTong way, blowing the cannon into a thousand pieces, and some of the French artillerymen into the bargain, while gate and picture remained unharmed. The French were now over-mastered by dread, and withdrew, acknowledging the miraculous power. It would be worth while to write the history of the campaign of 1812, under the dictation of a Russian of the lower class. What a romance of miracles would that period afford, so rich in wonders even in an unadorned narrative !