remarkable fabulist died as late as 1844. In the autumn these statues
are all carefully enclosed in boxes, and those of the shrubs and
trees which are not housed are also packed securely to protect them
from the extreme severity of the climate. It must be remembered that
although the thermometer rises here to 99 deg. Fahrenheit in summer,
it also descends sometimes to 40 deg. below zero in winter,--a range not
exceeded by the temperature of any other city in the world. It would
seem as though nothing which is exposed can withstand this frosty
climate. Even the granite monolith which forms the shaft of the
Alexander Column has been seriously affected by it. The same may be
said of the heavy stone-work which forms the embankment bordering the
Neva and the canals; so that workmen must rebuild annually what the
frost destroys.

In this famous and popular Summer Garden, on Monday the second day of
Whitsuntide, a ceremony used to take place of which we have all heard
and many doubted; it was called "The Choosing of the Brides." Young
girls, mostly of the middling class, dressed for the occasion in
their finest clothes and ornaments, came hither with their mothers
and were marshalled in line upon the broad paths. In front paraded
the young men accompanied by their fathers, walking back and forth
and freely examining with earnest eyes the array of blushing maidens.
If signs of mutual attraction were exhibited, the parents of such
would engage in conversation, which was intended to introduce the
young people to each other. This often led to an acquaintance between
those who had heretofore been perfect strangers, and, being followed
up, it finally led to betrothal and marriage. This annual custom was
looked upon with favor by all the common people, and was continued
until late years; but as a recognized formality it has become a thing
of the past. We were told, however, that it is still indirectly
pursued by maidens appearing in the garden on that special day
dressed in their best, where they are sought by young men who are
matrimonially inclined. No indelicacy is thought to attach itself to
this admission of purpose on the maiden's part, who is as of yore not
only incited but always chaperoned by her mother.

Near the Summer Garden is the little log building which was occupied
by Peter the Great while he superintended personally the work he
inaugurated here, and more especially the important part of laying
the foundations of