After this the deacon read a short passage from one of the epistles, and went into the Holy of Holies to fetch the Gospel, which he presented with a reverence to the chief priest, who read a portion of the Scripture and delivered a blessing. The Gospel having been taken back into the _Sviataia Sviatuich_, the chief priest fell upon his knees and made two low obeisances, each time touching the floor with his forehead; drawing near to the bier, he kissed the head and feet of the image and the book of the Gospels which lay upon the breast, and retired with a third obeisance. Two by two, the other priests followed his example, each, as he retired, bowing to the chief priest and to his colleague. Next the deacons, and after them the congregation, beginning with the ladies present, went through the same reverent formalities, and the ceremony was at an end. No description, at least none of which I am the master, can convey an adequate idea of the solemnity and impressive grandeur of this rite. I can but set down what I saw. Let each man fill in the colouring for himself; the trappings of woe; the hushed voices of the dirge; the thunder-peals of the deacon in the _Ektenia_; the choking emotion of the celebrants; the burial of the dead Christ! More precious than all the gold and jewels and ornaments with which the piety of potentates has enriched the Imperial chapels are two relics which are held in great veneration: the hand of St. John the Baptist, and the portrait of the Blessed Virgin painted by St. Luke. The hand of the Baptist was a present given by the Head of the Order of the Knights of Malta to the Emperor Paul. Of the picture by St. Luke I had but a very hazy sight. I should have liked to have held it in my hand, or at any rate, to have been allowed a close inspection of it. No doubt I might have obtained that favour for the asking, but I did not like to risk being considered indiscreet. As it was, I could see nothing but a gorgeous frame with a golden crown and precious stones such as adorn all the sacred pictures of the Church. Dim with age, the picture itself at the distance at which I saw it was a cloud. I wonder how much money was spent in St. Petersburg on Saturday, April 18th (30th), being Easter Eve. It is a great day for buying and selling, and the market is so beset by crowds of eager customers, keenly bent on buying the wherewithal to break the long fast which ends at midnight, that the mounted police have to muster in force in order to preserve some semblance of order. Shortly before midnight on Easter Eve the town was illuminated by candles placed at intervals along the pavement, the guns of the fortress began to crash out their joy-signals, and the pious folk flocked to the churches to hear the priest give out the glorious news of the resurrection of the Saviour.