The Nevada Democrat., 1856-12-10
English Opinions of Russia, Before and
After the War.

We are not aware, says Punch, that we are
laying down any new truth in saying that opin-
ions change with time and place. What is black
as an Ethiopian serenader to-day may become
couleu de rose as May Queen tomorrow; a
slice of good luck, or piece of orange-peel, a
chimney sweep, or a fine day, smile from q
balcony, or chimney-pot from housetop may
make all the difference to our thoughts. If it
is thus With tri6es what must 1t be with gre-
vances as big as a battlefield! How differently
we think of Russia now from what we did six
months ago? We could not bring forward two
better proofs of this changeable feeling than the
proofs of two articles written by the same critic
on Mr. Buford's Panorama of st. Petersburg"
in Leicester Square.
This is the first article, written by him before
the treaty was signed:
ST. PETERSBURG AS 1T WAS DURING THE WAR.
This is q city every way worthy of the stone
hearted Despot who holds 60,000,000 of human
beings in chains. The Palaces look like jails;
the houses have all the forbidding look of spong-
ing-houses about the place. II is Newgate en-
larged, with the Fleet Ditch for river. The
mouth Of the latter is as black as the mouth of
q cannon The sable stream cncrcles the town
like the band Of Grape around burglars hat
There is a choking feeling Of mourning that
hangs over the town like pail and casts deep
shadow of sorrow on all things. The trees bris-
tie as with bayonets, the spring plants appear
no better than the spring guns the very pistils
of the flowers seem as if they would like TO
shoot you. The air whistles by ones ear with
the Kissing sound Of rife BALL The church
bells when they ring must have the jingle of u
turkeys bunch of keys In them. You may be
sure Joy never entered such town 1t would
as soon think Of playing at leap-frog with Mr.
Hunts "Scapegoat' Oil the saltcrusted banks
OF the Dead Sea, or giving q juvenile party in a
I IL.
from this Bastile Of a capital, or else the bars
will be closing in upon us, and we shall be
treated like criminals, or worse still, like Rus
SLAMS. Such Vicennes of q dungeon has u fit
military keeper in that monumental man of
iron, Alexander!
This is the second article, written by the same
unbiased authority:
ST. PETERsBtRG AS 1T Is AFTER THE WAR;
Here is a fair light-hearted city! Every win
dow has sparkle in it, every door is on the
broad grin. 1t seems stepped in sugar, like q
huge twelfth-cake; and what shall we say of the
bright, glttering Neva? Why, it is q broad
sheet of silver, that runs round the twelfth-cake
II the town had been spun TO order by Fairy
there could not be q lighter touch about it. II
shines with thousand delicate shifting colors
like a pigeons neck, or q monster opal flashing
In the sun. Do not breathe, or else you will
blow the fairy bubble away, Il bubble that you
would swear had been blown by the Titiana
herself out of the prismatic spray of a rainbow
that had been caught span-new in Utopia. II
isa long-exploded fable about the auiferous
paving Of London, but here is the metallic reali-
ty ready to ring like new shillings under your
feet, FOR in truth the pavement looks sheeted
with silver. The houses too, are creamy white,
giving one'Ihe idea that they were washed eve
ry morning in new milk. The smoke is not
black bituminous smoke, like ours. 1t curls
gracefully upwards, in light-blue wrcaths, like
perfume from choice Havana. But we notice
we have boots and black trousers on, and on
our head we have heavy white hat, in form
and color not unlike Stilton cheese. Our
presence by its yulgarity insults the ideality of
the lovely scene before us. Such highly sill
vercd metropolis is the fit casket for such Jew
el of on Emperor as Alexander, who only rules
to make 60,0OO00O beings happy. We will
rush out and allowing our aching eyes to rest
awhile after this bright illusion on the dingy
realities of that big, untidy brlcklayers' yard
called Leicester Square.