ILLUMINATION IN A RUSSIAN PARK.
"The grounds are quite as interesting as the palace. They are beautifully laid out in gardens, dotted with lakes, cascades, fountains, and little parks. No description in words could do justice to the spot, which must be seen in an elaborate picture to be appreciated. The water-works are nearly as fine as the celebrated one at Versailles, or St. Cloud in France, and of course the Russians claim that they are superior. Occasionally in summer there is a festival given by the Emperor to some of his foreign guests; the grounds and the lake are lighted up with Chinese lanterns, and the display closes with an exhibition of fireworks of no small importance. Sometimes the Emperor goes around the lake in a boat propelled by oars-men, but usually contents himself by looking on from a pavilion near the edge of the water.
TAPESTRY AND FIRE UTENSILS AT PETERHOF.
"From Peterhof we drove to Oranienbaum, about six miles away, where we took the boat to Cronstadt. I can't begin to name all the palaces and chateaux on the road, as I was too busy with looking at them to remember what they were called; and besides, if I made a list it might be too long to be interesting. We visited two or three of them, but had not time for all; some were not open to strangers, as they were then occupied by their owners, and these Russian grand-dukes and duchesses are very exclusive in their ways.
"At Oranienbaum we found the little steamer which was to convey us to Cronstadt, five miles away; she puffed, as though conscious of her importance, but did not make very good speed, and we had plenty of time to study Cronstadt as we approached it. The city is not very large, nor is it particularly interesting. The chief objects of attraction are the tremendous fortifications, which are among the strongest in the world, and very extensive. They were begun by Peter the Great, in 1703, and there has hardly been a year since that time when labor on them has entirely ceased. The harbor was filled with ships belonging to the war fleet of Russia, and certainly they have a fleet to be proud of. There is a smaller port, called the 'Merchants' Harbor,' where the commerce of the city is centred. It is an active place from May to November, when navigation is open, but when the Baltic is sealed with ice in the winter months, it must be the perfection of dreariness.
"Until quite recently ships drawing more than ten feet of water could not pass the bar of the Neva and ascend to St. Petersburg, but were compelled to anchor at Cronstadt. Recently a canal has been made, with a depth of twenty feet, so that a great many vessels which were formerly excluded on account of their size can ascend to the capital. During the Crimean war Cronstadt was blockaded by a French and English fleet; an attack was made on the forts of Cronstadt, but it was easily repulsed; and after that time the allies did nothing more than regard the forts from a safe distance. At Oranienbaum is a palace, from whose top the Emperor Nicholas used to watch the movements of the hostile fleet; the telescope he employed is still in the position where he left it on his last trip to St. Petersburg."
While our friends were looking at the naval harbor of Cronstadt and the splendid fleet at anchor there, Doctor Bronson reminded the youths that when Peter the Great ascended the throne Russia had no navy, and none of her people knew anything about building ships.