gue, and the operator rings
the bell by this means. Our hotel was on Isaac's Place, and our
sleeping apartment nearly under the shadow of the lofty dome of the
church. It seemed as though the bell was never permitted to rest,--it
was tolling and ringing so incessantly, being especially addicted to
breaking forth at the unseemly hours of four, five, and six o'clock
A. M. Of course sleep to one not accustomed to it was out of the
question, while fifty-three thousand pounds of bell-metal were being
so hammered upon. It was not content to give voice sufficient for a
signal to the specially devout, but its outbursts assumed chronic
form, and having got started it kept it up for the half-hour
together, causing the atmosphere to vibrate and the window sashes to
tremble with thrills of discomfort. Sometimes it would partially
subside in its angry clamor, and one hoped it was about to become
quiet, when it would suddenly burst forth again with renewed vigor,
and with, as we fancied, a touch of maliciousness added. Then,--then
we did not ask that blessings might be showered upon that bell,
but--well, we got up, dressed, and took a soothing walk along the
banks of the swiftly flowing river!

On the right of Isaac's Place as one looks towards the Neva is the
spacious Admiralty, reaching a quarter of a mile to the square of
the Winter Palace. On the left is the grand and effective structure
of the Senate House. Immediately in front of the cathedral, between
it and the river, surrounded by a beautiful garden, stands the
famous equestrian statue of Peter the Great in bronze. The horse is
seventeen feet high, and the rider is eleven. Horse and rider rest
upon a single block of granite weighing fifteen hundred tons, which
was brought here from Finland at great cost and infinite labor. The
effect of this group struck us as being rather incongruous and far
from artistic; but it is only fair to add that many able judges
pronounce it to be among the grandest examples of modern sculpture.
Falconet, the French artist, executed the work at the command of
Catherine II. On the opposite side of the cathedral is the more
modern equestrian statue and group reared in memory of the
Emperor Nicholas, one of the most elaborate, costly, and
artistic compositions in bronze extant. At each corner of the
profusely-embossed pedestal stands a figure of life size, moulded
after busts of the Empress and her three daughters. We had not
chanced to know of this