Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/282

276 by itself. We examined it carefully to see if there was any deception about it, but could not detect it if there was. The monk, the cross, and the rock on which the cross stands appear to be wholly formed by the natural lines of the agate. The stone is about four inches high, and oval in shape; on one side it is rather dull and opaque, but it is bright on the other, and distinctly shows the eyes of the monk.

"The monks of Troitska wear black caftans topped with high black hats without brims; black veils hang down over their shoulders, and nearly every monk wears his hair as long as it will grow. We saw them at dinner in their refectory, where one of the number read the service while the rest went on with their eating and drinking; they were talking freely among themselves, and did not seem to listen at all to the reader. In general they appear to be well fed and cared for, and, so far as we could observe, their life is not a rigorous one. They offered carvings in wood ivory, and mother-of-pearl, and we bonght several of these things to bring away as curiosities. Among them was a paper-knife, with the handle representing St Sergius and the bear in the forest. The work was well done, and the knife will make a pretty ornament for somebody's desk in America.

"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