na; very few lines of manufactured goods are produced in
the country. Opera and theatre tickets cost three times as much as in
America; and all select public exhibitions are charged for in a
similar ratio, except a few which are organized on a popular basis
for the humbler classes, such as the tea and beer gardens. The
theatres of St. Petersburg are after the usual European style of
these structures,--all being large and convenient. As they are under
the sole charge of the Government, they are conducted on a grand
scale of excellence. Nothing but the choicest thing of its kind in
dramatic representation is permitted,--only the best ballet and
opera, aided by the most admirable scenery and mechanical effects.
The establishment known as the Italian Opera accommodates three
thousand spectators without crowding. In what is called the Michael
Theatre the best French troupes only appear; and it may be safely
said that the average performances excel those of Paris. A Government
censor critically examines every piece before its performance. The
prices paid by the directors for the services of the best European
performers are almost fabulous; no private enterprise could afford
to disburse such liberal compensations to artists. The necessity for
paying such extravagant rates arises partly from the disinclination
of prima-donnas and other dramatic artists to subject themselves to
the arbitrary direction of a censorship which is sure to hold them
strictly to the letter of their agreement, and which does not
hesitate to inflict exemplary punishment for wilful departure from
the same. Besides which, the rigor of the climate is such as to
create a dread among women-artists to encounter its exigencies. It is
only during the winter months that the theatres are open, as in the
summer season the court and fashionable people generally are absent
from the capital.

Here, as in Copenhagen and Stockholm, the people are assiduous in
improving the short summer weeks by devoting themselves heart and
soul to out-door amusements. Night is turned into day; the public
gardens are crowded,--the entertainments consisting of light
theatricals, music, acrobatic performances, dancing, and the like,
which are kept up alternating with each other until long past
midnight. The people in the mean time sit at little marble tables,
and sip tea from tumblers, drink beer, coffee, and spirits,
supplemented by various light condiments, until finally those who
dri