rywhere, as has been done in the
island, and the capital will rise here. The fort has already been
named the Fortress of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The capital will
be named alike after the patron saint and its founder--Petersburg."

They had now reached the spot. The carriage stopped and they
alighted. Charlie saw, with astonishment, that a wide deep cut had
been driven, between the road and the river, in a straight line.
Looking down into it, he saw that it was paved with the heads of
piles, and that carts were already emptying loads of concrete down
upon it.

"Every bag of cement, every stone that you see, has been brought
from a great distance," his companion said. "There is not a stone
to be had within fifty miles of this spot. The work would seem
well-nigh impossible, but it is the work of a nation. In another
month, there will be a hundred and fifty thousand peasants at work
here, and well nigh as many carts, bringing materials for the work
and provisions for the workers."

"It is stupendous! But it will take years to complete, and it will
surely be terribly unhealthy here?"

"I calculate the work will occupy ten years, and will cost a
hundred thousand, maybe two hundred thousand lives," the other said
calmly; "but what is that to the making of a nation? Before, Russia
was stifled, she could not grow. Now we have a communication with
the world. The island that lies at the mouth of the Neva will be
fortified, and become a great naval arsenal and fort. Along the
walls which will rise here will be unloaded the merchandise of
Europe, and in exchange the ships will carry away our products.
Some day we shall have another port on the south, but for the
present this must suffice. You will say that this is dangerously
near our frontier, but that will soon be remedied. As we have
pushed the Swedes out of Ingria, so in time shall we drive them
from Livonia on the west, and from Finland on the north.

"But I must to work."

And he motioned to a group of five or six officers, who had been
standing a short distance away, to approach him.

Charlie was struck with the air of humility with which they saluted
his companion, who at once asked a number of questions as to the
supplies that had arrived, the progress that had been made, at a
point where they had met with a deep slough into which the piles
had penetrated without meeting with any firm ground, the number of
huts that had been erected during the past three days