d occurring at the time of the annual breaking
up of the ice in the Neva would surely submerge this beautiful capital,
and cause an enormous loss of life. The Neva, which comes sweeping
through the city with such resistless force, is fed by that large body
of water, Lake Ladoga, which covers an area of over six thousand square
miles at a level of about sixty feet above that of the sea. However, St.
Petersburg has existed in security for nearly two centuries, and it may
possibly exist as much longer, independent of possible floods. What the
Gotha Canal is to Sweden, the Neva and its joining waters are to Russia.
Through Lake Ladoga and its ramifications of connecting canals and
rivers, it opens communication with an almost unlimited region of inland
territory, while the mouth of this river receives through the gulf the
commerce of the world.

As regards popular amusements, Sunday is the favorite day of the seven
at the public gardens, on which occasion, day and evening, theatrical
performances take place. The Greek churches, like the Roman Catholic,
are always open through the entire week, so that the devoutly inclined
can turn aside at any hour and bow before the altar, which to him
typifies all that is holy. Sunday is therefore regarded here, as in
Rome, Paris, or Seville, in the light of a holiday as well as a
holy-day. After having attended early morning service, a member of
either church unhesitatingly seeks his favorite amusement. The
horse-races of Paris, the bull-fights of Madrid, and the grand military
parades of St. Petersburg, all take place on Sunday. Few European
communities find that repose and calmness in the day which best accords
with American sentiment.

The one vehicle of Russian cities is the drosky, the most uncomfortable
and inconvenient vehicle ever constructed for the use of man, but of
which there are, nevertheless, over fifteen thousand in the streets of
the imperial city. It has very low wheels, a heavy, awkward body, and is
as noisy as a hard-running Concord coach. Some one describes it as being
a cross between a cab and an instrument of torture. There is no rest for
the occupant's back; and while the seat is more than large enough for
one, it is not large enough for two persons. It is a sort of sledge on
wheels. The noise made by these low-running conveyances as they are
hurried over the uneven pavements is almost deafening.

The winter season, which sets in about the first of November, cha