Passing the immense Admiralty building, the procession paused for a few moments in front of the vast edifice called Hôtel de l'Etat Major, which is the headquarters of the army. The front is semicircular, and in the centre of the building is a triumphal arch, over which is the chariot of Victory, the horses of which are headed towards at least half the points of the compass, though the team is only a pardonable exaggeration of those which draw the omnibuses.
In the vast square in front of the structure is the Column Alexander I. Opposite this monument are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, which are on the river. Looking across the Great Neva, where the Little Neva branches off, the Exchange may be seen on the point of land between the two streams. It is an imposing structure, with lofty columns around it, and flights of steps leading down to the river. On each side of it is a lofty pillar, one hundred feet high, adorned with the prows of ships, which project from the sides, and give it a very singular appearance when seen from a distance.
The omnibuses turned, and went back to the Admiralty, some of whose windows command a view down the Nevski Prospect, which is the principal street of the city. As the procession passed down this avenue, which is wider than Pennsylvania Avenue, at Washington, in places, the students had to keep their eyes wide open, in order that nothing should escape them. The droskies were as thick as snow-flakes at Christmas, and rattled at great speed through the streets. Every driver wore the long pelisse and the bell-crowned hat. A horse railroad extended through this street. There were plenty of omnibuses, drawn by three or four horses abreast, the driver having a whole handful of reins. The wagons, on which merchandise is conveyed from one part of the city to another, were really ludicrous to the students, and seemed to be constructed so as to give the horses the greatest possible amount of work. The wheels were quite small, and ran on wooden axletrees, with at least six inches' "play" between the hub and linchpins, so that, in rough places, the body slid on the wheels from right to left. From the end of each forward axletree, a rope, or a wooden bar, extended to the shafts. The vehicle was very heavy and clumsy, and evidently ran hard. The bow or arch over the ends of the shafts was very large and heavy, adding a useless burden to the labor of the poor horses.
"That's a singular-looking building," said Lincoln.
"That is the Cathedral of Kazan," replied the doctor, "or the Church of Our Lady of Kazan. It is a poor imitation, on the outside, of St. Peter's. There is a Don Cossack."
The surgeon pointed to "a solitary horseman," who was riding slowly along the sheet. He wore a short jacket, with stripes across the front, and secured by globular buttons. He had on a Tartar cap, and carried in his hand a lance.
"He don't look like the terrible being we have read about," laughed Lincoln.
"No; the Cossacks are a well-disciplined body; but perhaps, in their wild condition, they are all you imagine."
A canal crossed the Nevski Prospect, under a stone bridge near the church. At one side of it was moored a vast flat-boat, as it would be called on the Mississippi, loaded with firewood, sawed and split ready for use. Several canals like this one extend quite through the city, so that the merchandise from the Caspian Sea, the White Sea, and almost every part of the interior of Russia, may be delivered at the very doors of the warehouses.
Opposite the Great Market, which is the business centre of the city, the conductor stopped the omnibuses, to enable his charge to see the several objects of interest which were presented at this point. The Gostinnoi Dvor is an institution in every Russian city, but is more like the Bazaar of Constantinople than anything to which other Europeans apply the name of market. In St. Petersburg it is a vast structure, occupying an immense square, in which every article of commerce is exposed for sale. It consists of little shops and stalls, in front of which the merchant stands, ready for a trade. He importunes the passers-by to purchase, and it is not always prudent to stop and examine the goods, unless one wishes to be dragged into the shop. The bazaar itself has outgrown the building, large as it is, and extends into the neighboring streets; indeed, the whole territory in the rear, and to the eastward of it for a considerable distance, is appropriated to its uses. The Nevski Prospect, in front of the great market, is very wide, and a large portion of it is used for booths and stands, at which every conceivable article is offered for sale, such as provisions, fruit, fancy goods, furs, clothing, boots and shoes.