Most noteworthy among the paintings illustrating the history of Moscow are:--The murder of Alexis by Ivan the Terrible, by J. E. Repin (No. 782); a portrait of the same Tsar, by V. N. Vasnetsov (No. 966); The Execution of the Streltsi, by B. J. Surikov (No. 737); St Nikita, the impostor, before the Tsarina Sophia, by B. G. Peroff (No. 733), and the same Tsarina in the Novo devichi Convent during the execution of the Streltsi, by J. E Repin (No. 761). Some of the ancient customs and costumes of Moscow are represented in No. 808, A Boyard Wedding, by C. B. Lebedev, and No. 1367, The Handsel of Innocence, by Polenov--an excellent specimen of this painter's best work, who does not show to advantage in his views of the Terem (Nos. 1356-1366) and church interiors (Nos. 1349-1355). Instructive also are the sketches Nos. 304-307, made by V. G. Schwartz to illustrate Count A. Tolstoi's novel "Prince Serebrenni," and 308-312, those made to Lermontov's "Bread Seller." Notable pictures taken from scenes in Russian history are:--The Battle of Igor Sviatoslaf's son against the Polovsti (No. 950), by V. M. Vasnetsov; The "Black Council," held during the rebellion of monks at the Solovetski Monastery in 1666, by S. D. Miloradovich (No. 742); Peter the Great questioning his son Alexis, by N. N. Gay (No. 636); The Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861, by G. G. Myassoiedov (No. 495), and No. 252, by C. D. Flavitski, the imprisonment of Princess Tarakanov in the fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul, during a rise of the Neva--a sensational incident the truth of which was questioned and disproved, when this picture was exhibited at Paris in 1867. The incident represented in No. 394 by N. B. Nevref, the enforced taking of the veil by the Princess Usupov, was of such common occurrence in mediæval Russia, that no question as to its possibility need be raised. Some of the best of the war pictures of Vereshchagin are in this collection, and other painters have contributed works illustrating the French invasion, and more recent events, in a style quite as original and striking as that of the Russian artist best known in western Europe. In all the subject appears to be far more suggestive and interesting than the craftsmanship. This is often weak, or worse, an unsatisfactory imitation of the most impressive methods of the modern French school.