seen, a boat and sails,
with an old armchair, all which are said to have been made by his own
hands.

The place was crowded by his devoted admirers, more particularly the
chapel, which with numerous lighted candles purchased by the visitors,
was heated almost to suffocation. The whole is covered over by a brick
building to preserve it from the effects of the weather.

We then proceeded to the Botanical Gardens, situated on another island.

Here are numerous conservatories, comprising a great variety of
camellias, heaths and ferns and several very large palm-houses,
containing some very fine specimens.

We then visited the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which we found
undergoing extensive repairs.

In this church are deposited the remains of Peter the Great and all his
imperial successors, the preceding Emperors having been buried at
Moscow.

The very great simplicity and absence of all ornament form a striking
but most becoming contrast to the usual display in many other churches.

The coffins, being placed in walls, are covered with a plain stone
sarcophagus. On some the pall is embroidered in golden letters, on
others nothing but the initial. From the roof are suspended numerous
tattered banners, and on one side are hung the keys of Paris and other
French fortresses.

Hitherto we had taken advantage of the fine weather in driving about the
city, visiting the islands and the public gardens, but this favour not
being continued we turned our attention to the palaces, of which, Murray
says, no other modern city can boast an equal number.

The Winter Palace, the most splendid and largest royal residence in the
world, is 700 feet in length, three storeys high, and nearly square, and
is said to have 6,000 persons under its roof during the Emperor's
residence in the capital.

Among the extensive suite of apartments, galleries and halls filled with
marbles, precious stones, vases, and pictures may be mentioned, first,
the hall of St. George, where the Emperor gives audience to foreign
ambassadors. It is 140 feet by 60 feet, on the splendour of which the
Russians most pride themselves.

The Empress's drawing-room is considered to be a perfect gem of taste.

Beyond this is the Salle Blanche, or White Saloon, a very chaste and
most elegant apartment, its decorations and marble columns all in pure
white relieved only in gilding, the dimensions being nearly the same as
the hall.

Then the Diamond room, containin