The Boy Travellers in The Russian Empire: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with Accounts of a Tour across Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present Time — John Shaqi
The Boy Travellers in The Russian Empire: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with Accounts of a Tour across Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present TimeKnox, Thomas Wallace
History
The Boy Travellers in The Russian Empire: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with Accounts of a Tour across Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present Time
Knox, Thomas Wallace
Adventure stories; Children -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Exiles -- Juvenile fiction; Friendship -- Juvenile fiction; Natural history -- Juvenile fiction; Rivers -- Juvenile fiction; Russia -- History -- Juvenile fiction; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile
"From the castle we went to the cathedral, which was built in the
thirteenth century, and contains monuments to the memory of several of
the kings and other great men of the country. It is proper to say here
that the Catholic is the prevailing religion of Poland, and no doubt
much of the hatred of Russians and Poles for each other is in
consequence of their religious differences. By the latest figures of the
population that we have at hand, Russian Poland contains about 3,800,000
Catholics, 300,000 Protestants, 700,000 Jews, and 250,000 members of the
Greek Church and adherents of other religions, or a little more than
5,000,000 of inhabitants in all. Like all people who have been
oppressed, the Catholics and Jews are exceedingly devout, and adhere
unflinchingly to their religious faith. Churches and synagogues are
numerous in Warsaw, as in the other Polish cities. In our ride through
Warsaw we passed many shrines, and at nearly all of them the faithful
were kneeling to repeat the prayers prescribed by their religious
teachers.
"From the cathedral we went to the citadel, which is on a hill in the
centre of the city, and was built after the revolution of 1830. The
expense of its construction was placed upon the people as a punishment
for the revolution, and for the purpose of bombarding the city in case
of another rebellion. From the walls of the citadel there is a fine view
of considerable extent; but there is nothing in the place of special
interest. The fort is constantly occupied by a garrison of Russian
soldiers. It contains a prison for political offenders and a military
court-house, where they are tried for their alleged offences.
[Illustration: LAKE IN THE PARK.]
"There are ten or twelve squares, or open places, in Warsaw, of which
the finest is said to be the Saxon Square. It contains a handsome
monument to the Poles who adhered to the Russian cause in the revolution
of 1830. Some writers say it was all a mistake, and that the Poles whose
memory is here preserved were really on their way to join the regiments
which had declared in favor of the insurrection.
"There are several handsome streets and avenues; and as for the public
palaces and fine residences which once belonged to noble families of
Poland, but are now mostly in Government hands, the list alone would be
long and tedious. One of the finest palaces is in the Lazienki Park, and
was built by King Stanislaus Poniatowski. It is the residence of the
Emperor of Russia when he comes to Warsaw; but as his visits are rare,
it is almost always accessible to travellers. We stopped a few minutes
in front of the statue of King John Sobieski. There is an anecdote about
this statue which the students of Russian and Polish history will
appreciate. During a visit in 1850 the Emperor Nicholas paused in front
of the statue, and remarked to those around him, 'The two kings of
Poland who committed the greatest errors were John Sobieski and myself,
for we both saved the Austrian monarchy.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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