Northern Lands by Oliver Optic — Read

The guide led his party directly to the Tower of Ivan Veliki, though the students saw the great bell and a dozen other objects which challenged their attention at the same moment. The curious spires, domes, and cupolas, so different from anything they had seen before, were full of interest. They were covered with gold, and glittered in the sunshine. These domes are not such as are seen in the United States, but are purely Oriental. They are somewhat in the shape of an inverted onion. But there are also cupolas of almost every other shape -- round, square, and octagonal, and even all three in the same one. The doctor hurried the boys into the tower, wishing them to obtain a general view before they attended to the details.

This tower is a very singular structure. It was built in 1600, by Boris Godunoff. It is three hundred and twenty-five feet from the ground to the top of the cross, and contains five stories, the first four of which are square, and the last circular, with a dome. In the lower story is a chapel, and the next three contain thirty-four bells of all sizes, the largest of which weighs sixty-four tons. Though it is a pygmy compared with the great bell at the foot of the tower, it is a monster beside those in ordinary use, for our church bells rarely exceed one sixth of its weight. There are forty or fifty bells in the entire tower, all of which are rung at Easter, to proclaim anew that "Christ is risen. " The great bell thunders forth the glad tidings, which are also gently chanted in the sweet tones of the small silver bells.