nd, the Palace and surroundings of
Peterhoff were lit up by the sun's rays playing upon the collection
of gilded and fantastic domes. It was a fete day. A baby of royal
birth was to be christened, and the Emperor, Empress, and royal
household were to assist on the auspicious occasion; hence all the
out-door world was dressed in national flags, and the passenger
steamers were crowded with people bent upon making a holiday. The
sail up that queen of northern rivers presented a charming panorama.
Passenger steamers flitting about with well-peopled decks; noisy
tug-boats puffing and whistling while towing heavily-laden barges;
naval cutters propelled by dozens of white-clad oarsmen, and steered
by officers in dazzling uniforms; small sailing yachts glancing
hither and thither,--all gave life and animation to the maritime
scene. Here and there on the river's course long reaches of sandy
shoals would appear covered with myriads of white sea-gulls, scores
of which would occasionally rise, hover over our steamer and settle
in her wake. As we approached nearer and nearer, hundreds of gilded
domes and towers of the city flashing in the warm light came swiftly
into view. Some of the spires were of such great height in proportion
to their diameter as to present a needle-like appearance. Among these
reaching so bravely heavenward were the slender spire of the
Cathedral of Peter and Paul within the fortress, nearly four hundred
feet in height, and the lofty pinnacle of the Admiralty.

Notwithstanding its giddy towers and looming palaces rising above the
level of the capital, the want of a little diversity in the grade of
the low-lying city is keenly felt. Like Berlin or Havana, it is built
upon a perfect level, the most trying of positions. A few
custom-house formalities were encountered, but nothing of which a
person could reasonably complain; and half an hour after the steamer
had moored to the wharf, we drove to the Hotel d'Angleterre, on
Isaac's Square. Then followed the first stroll in a long-dreamed-of
city. What a thrilling delight! Everything so entirely new and
strange; all out-of-doors a novelty, from the Greek cross on the top
of the lofty cupolas to the very pavement under one's feet; and all
permeated by a seductive Oriental atmosphere, as stimulating to the
imagination as hashish.

We will not describe in detail the bill of fare at the first regular
meal partaken of in Russia, but must confess to a degree of surprise