A PERILOUS ACHIEVEMENT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 190, 17 November 1876, Page 13

A PERILOUS ACHIEVEMENT.

Directly opposite the Winter Palace in St. Petersburgh, and one of the most conspicuous objects on the whole line of the Neva, is the citadel, or old fortress, in reality the foundation of the city — the golden spire of its church shooting toward the sky, and glittering in the sun. This spire, which rises tapering till it seems almost to fade away into nothing, is surmounted by a large globe, oa which stands an angel supporting a cross. This angel, being made of perishable materials, once manifested symptoms of decay, and fearswere entertained thatit would soon be numbered with the fallen. Government became perplexed how to repair it; to raise a scaffolding to such a height would cost more than the angel was worth. Among the crowd which daily assembled to gaze at it from below was a roofer of houses, who, after a long and silent examination, went to the Government, and offered to repair it without any scaffolding or assistance of any kind. His offer was accepted, and on the day appointed for the attempt, provided with nothing but a coil of cords, he ascended inside to the highest window, and looking for a moment at the crowd below and at the spire tapering away above him, stood on the outer ledge of the window. The spire was covered with sheets of gilded copper, which, to beholders from below, presented only a smooth surface of burnished gold ; but the sheets were roughly laid, and fastened with large nails which projected from the sides of the spire. He cut two pieces of cord and tied loops at each end of both, fastened the upper loops over two projecting nails, and stood with his teet in the lower; then clinching the fingers of one hand over the rough edges of the sheets of copper, raised himself till he could hitch one of the loops on a higher nail with the other hand. He did the same for the other loop, and so he raised one leg after the other, and ab length ascended, nail by nail and stirrup by stirrup, till he clasped his arms around the spire, directly under the ball. Here it seemed impossible to go any farther, for the ball was ten or twelve feet in circumference, with a small and glittering surface, and no projecting nails ; and the angel was above the balf, as completely out of sight as if it were in the habitations of its prototypes. But the daring roofer was not disheartened. Raising himself m his stiirups, he encircled the spire with a cord which he tied round his waist, and, so supported, leaned gradually, until the soles of his feet were braped against the spire, and his body fixed almost horizontally in the air. In this position he threw a cord over the top of the ball, and threw it so coolly and skilfully, that on the first attempt it fell down on the other side, just as he wanted it. Then he threw himself up to his original position, and by means of this cord climbed up the smooth sides of the globe, and in a few moments, amid thunders of applause from the crowd below— which at that great height soundfld only like a faint murmur— he stood by the side of the angel. After atjtachin°- a cord to it, he descended, and the next day carried up with him a ladder of ropes, and effected the necessaiy repairs.

The ' Star of the East' states that there exists in the library of a convent at Serrai, a Greek MS. relating to St. Clement of Rome dating from the eleventh century. Ib consists of forty sheets, and is in the form a letter, addressed to James, the brother of our Lord and has the title, "Life of the Holy Martyr Clement, Bishop of Rome, disciple of the Holy Apostle Peter." *