rdens and
villas. The country surrounding the city seems barren and desolate in
the extreme, either an arid steppe or a stagnant marsh telling of the
agues and fevers afflicting those dwelling near it. To the north,
however, not many versts from the city, rise the hills and woods, and
fields and orchards of Finland, inhabited by the finest peasantry of the
Russian empire. To the west appear the shining waters of the head of
the Gulf of Finland, with the fortifications of Cronstadt in the far
distance, and a fleet of men-of-war before it; while higher up is a
whole squadron of gun-boats, which were lately built and fitted out in a
great hurry to meet those England had prepared to send into these
waters. Across the head of the gulf, looking down on Cronstadt, peep
forth amid a mass of green foliage the golden spires and domes, and
white-walled palaces, and Swiss-looking villas of Peterhoff, beyond
which, and far away as the eye can reach to the southward, and very,
very much farther on, one great desolate steppe or plain, bearing for
miles and miles scarcely a tree higher than a gooseberry bush, or a hill
boasting a height of greater elevation than a molehill. Now let us
bring our eyes nearer to our feet, to the mouth of the river. We see it
crowded with steamers and every variety of craft of moderate size of all
nations, and yet we know that the greater proportion of vessels which
bade to the city do not come higher than Cronstadt. The large barges
and lighters which we see moving up and down the river convey their
cargoes to and from that place. High up the river, above the bridges,
is another collection of vessels, and several are to be seen moving up
and down the different channels; while the canals, which meander through
the city in various directions, are literally jammed up with barges,
chiefly unloading firewood. The canals pass down the middle of the
broad streets, many of which are fringed with trees. At the mouth of
the river, on the south side, is Mr Baird's iron factory, where
steam-engines and iron machines of all sorts are made; near it is his
private residence. He is now a Russian baron, and is much esteemed by
the Emperor. A little higher up is the new naval arsenal, with long
sheds, where gangs of workmen are employed in chains, and through which
runs a canal. Some men-of-war steamers are moored off it. Others are
seen in different parts of the river, their guns commanding the quays;
so that