New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-03

objects ~ at first not apparent 10 tic w. INC
Square is about mile in length, ty quarter oi a
mile in breadth In front Of Is the Admiralty
Building, with front Of 500 fee;, and wings rest
ing on the Neya, go feet in length. To the night
Of il is the Winter Palace with 700 feet front, and
still further the Hermitage, nearly az large. Op-
posite these two is the Holel de l'Etat Major, Of
corresponding proportions, while the Alexander
Column-a mOnolith Of red graaite 100 feet in
hight. including pedestal and captal-rises from
the center Of the square between. Turning TO the
left We see the huge golden dome Of the lzaak's
Cathedral, lifted between three and four hundred
feet into the air, and cleaning like fallen sun on
the summit Of granite mountain. The western
end Of the great squsre is taken up by the Synod
and Senate Houses, whose fronts are united IN one
long facade by sort Of triumphal arch. Between
them and tho Admiralty, on the bank Of the Neva
is the celebrated equestrian statue Of Peter the
Great.
Here are the elements Of an architectural pan
Drama Of the grandest kind, yet the general effect
is by no means such as one would anticipate, and
simply because one indispensable condition has
been Oyerlooked-prOportion With the exception
of the Izaaks Cathedral, there is not single edi-
fee in this square which ls not much too low for
the extent Of its base. Hence, they all appear TO
be lower than il really the fact, and ss they are OF
very nearly uniform hight, the eye ranges around
the square, seeking in vain for some picturesque
break in the splendid monOtony. a sklllful archi-
tect might have at least mitgated this fault, but
those who planned the Admiralty and the Winter
Palace seem to have been even incapable OF per-
ceivng it, The latter building is quite disfgured
by the placing Of sort Of hafstory above the true
cornice. On the other hand, the Izaak's Cathe-
drsl, Of which i shall have more to say hereafter,
is one Of the very finest specimens Of modern arch
lecture in existence. 1t stands in the center of
small square Of its own opening into that OF the
Admiralty at ts western end; and here, decidedly,
is the most striking view of st. Petersburg. On
one side is The Cathedral, on the other the Neva,
against whose sparkling current and the long line
of buildings on his northern bank gallops Peter on
his huge block of granite; while far In front OF the
Alexander Column, soaring high above the sur
rounding buildings is seen in its true proportions
Crossing the Square, between the Admiralty
Building and the Winter Palace, we stand upon the
bank of the Neva. Directly opposite opens the
main branch or little Nevs, dividing Vassili Ostrov
and the AptekarskOi Islands. The river is here
more than third of d mile in breadth, of clear,
pale green color, and rapid current. at the inter
section of the two arms, Vassili Ostrov, stands
the Exchange, square building with Grecian
facade To the left Of it is the long front of the
Academy of Sciences, then the Academy of Arts,
md ~ tba trarnit, If our view Whprp the
branch of the Neva turns Dorthward into the Gulf
of Finland, the School of Mines. In front OF the
Aptekarskoi, and separated from it only by moat,
is the old fortress of Peter and Paul, now prison
for mobiles, with its tallspired church, in the vaults
of which rest Peter the Great and all the mon
archs since his time. On the southern bank, on
which we stand, a row of palaces stretches away
on our right TO the Trinity Bridge, beyond which
we see the green linden-tpes of the Summer gar
dens. From either shore of the river. or from the
bridges which span it, the pictures are always
broad, bright and cheerful. Splendid granite stair
ways lead down to the water, gayly-painted boats
dart TO and fro, little steamers keep up commune
cation with the further islands, and the miles OF
massNe quay on either side are tbrOnged with
busy populace. Here the midsummer heat is al
Ways tempered by delightful breeze, and the very
sight of the dancing water is cooling, under this
pale. hot. quiet sky. do not wonder at the en-
thusiasm of the ST. Petersburgers for the Neya. Its
water is so remarkably soft and sweet that they
prefer il to all other water in the world. The Elm
peror Alexander always carried supply with him,
bottled, when he was absent from the capital. Inc
stranger, however, cannot drink it with impunlty,
a. lis effect on an unaccustOmed body is medical IN
the highest degree.
The Winter Palace stands upon the site OF the
old one which was destroyed by hre IN 1851
Kohrs account of this latter structure is worth
quoting. "The suits of apartments were perfect
labyrnths, and even the chief of the Imperial
household who had filed that post for twelve years,
was not perfectly acquainted with all the hooks and
corners of the building As in the forests of great
landhoders, many colonies are settled OF when tue
owner takes no notice. so there nestled many one
in this palace not included among the regular III
hsbitsnts For example, the watchmen on the
roof, placed there for different purposes, among
others TO keep the water in the tanks from freezing
during the Winter, by casting in red-hot balls, built
themselves huts between the chimneys, took their
wives and children there, and even kept poultry
and goats which fed the grass of the roof; II Is
said that at last some cows were introduced, but
this abuse had been corrected before the palace was
burnt" Fortunately, the new palace is not 50
labyrinthnc, though Of equal extent. During the
residence of Nicholas there, COCO persons fre-
ouenty lived in it at one time. Strangers are freely
x;c nf nn "A