"When we entered the refectory the monks invited us to dine with them, and we regretted that we had already breakfasted at the railway-station. There is a lodging-house for travellers attached to the monastery, and comparing favorably with a Russian hotel of the rural sort. Nothing is charged for the rooms, but the lodger who can afford it must pay for his food, and in addition he is expected to drop something into the contribution-box which the monks will show him before his departure. The cooking is said to be excellent, and the table as well supplied as any in Moscow. They have a pilgrim's table, where one may dine free of charge, but the food is simple and limited in quantity.
"There is a studio of painting in the monastery, where the monks and their pupils, forty or fifty in all, were busily at work copying from religious subjects of both Greek and Latin origin. They are not confined to church paintings, as we saw portraits of the Emperor and other members of the Imperial family, and several battle-scenes in which Russian arms have figured. There is a very good painting representing the attack of the Poles upon the monastery, and another illustrating the defence of Sebastopol during the Crimean War.
[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF ECCLESIASTICAL PAINTING ON GLASS.]
"The monastery was enormously rich at one time, not only in the treasures it possessed, but in grants of land and serfs which had been given by the Government. In 1764 it had one hundred and six thousand male serfs, and its lands covered many thousands of acres. Though losing its serfs, it has not been without compensation, and the monastery is handsomely supported, partly by an annual donation from the Government, and partly by the gifts of pious Russians."
Doctor Bronson and the youths returned to Moscow in the evening, as they had planned, and on the next day made their preparations for continuing their journey.
Their next place of destination was Nijni Novgorod, where they wished to attend the great fair, which was then in progress. They decided to go by the express train, which leaves Moscow in the evening and reaches Nijni Novgorod in the morning. The distance is about two hundred and seventy miles, and there is very little to see on the way.