The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-05-05

case one VINO mas Deen imposed upon and
aggravated by American hackmen, could
enjoy viearious retaliation or revenge,
he may find it by coming to st. Peters
burg, inasmuch us there is not only no
tariff for droskic riding, but the occupant
seems to fix the price to suit himself -
sometimes handing the driver mere tri-
he, shamefully inadequate and coolly
walking away.
A noble row of warehouses lines the
quay where we land some of them 80
heavy and massive that it seems surpris-
ing that they do not sink down into Peter
the Greats swamp. Somebody tells us
that the most conspicuous one belongs to a
jew, "the richest man in Russia. But
our droskio driver to the hotel does not
allow us to enjoy the sightseeing to ad-
vantage. Cobblestones, anda high speed,
with driver who speaks nothing but Rus
sian, gives us repetition Of our Abo ex-
perience, SO that it is as much as we can
do to hold on. We selected the Hotel
DAngleterre, partly because it is on an
open square, and partly because the one
we first fixed upon was undergoing repairs.
As to accommodations and rates, the An
gleterre is unexceptionable; but we found
it very noisy, and from the particular ex.
posure of our apartments, very warm In
fact the only hot weather we encountered
during this entire European tour was in
st. Petersburg. But our windows looked
out on the green square, aud also upon the
great church of St. lsaacs, which is to the
Greek Church and st. Petersburg what
st. Peters is to Rome. And grand
church it is; the material granite; each of
the four fronts adorned with portico of
polished, reddish,brown porphyry; the pc
diments filed with rich bronzed groups in
relief, representing Scripture scenes-one
Of them, the Alteration of the Magi, par.
ticularly fine; lofty bronze figures sur
mounting the cntablature; bell tower on
each of the four corners; and rising in
aerial grace and beauty, the glory and
crown Of all-the great gilded dome and
glittering cross. The cost of this fine
structure was immense, the single item of
sinking piles in the swampy soil, to secure
stable foundation, being more than a
million dollars But time aud the i'm
meuse weight are severely testing the
piles, and one corner of the edifce is set.
tling, so that scaiiolding has just been put
up with view of in some way applying a
remedy. Our windows, looking directly
on st. lsaacs, gave us fine view, not only
OF the building, but of the numerous aud
deyout worshippers, of whom more here
after. We thought at the outset, too, that
We should enjoy those deep, sonorous bells,
But this proved a mistake. There was
too much bells. From five clock in the
morning, through the liveloug day, we had
boom, bang and clatter, with little inter.
mission. In the tower next us were two
or more immense bells, and u number of
small ones Two men, with rope at
tached to the clapper, would boom the great
ones alternately then there would be II
booming from another tower, and so on,
until, as a finale, they would make gen.
eral crash on the little ones. But there
was no approach to tune or chimes. In
fact there is not, with its many thousands
Of bells, chime in all Russia.
The capital of the Car is somewhat dis.
appointing. The reputation it has gained
for grandeur and elegance is hardly justi-
fed; at least if Paris or Venice are to be
taken as the standard st. Petersburg is
too much of dead level and it has the
disadvantage of some of our American
cities, it looks too new. The Imperial
Palace and the Government buildings are
stately and imposing, but even these,
though chiefly Of stone, have something
Of the fresh paint and stuccoey aspect of
newly made and pretentious town. The
neutrality-suspicious. principal street
the Broadway of st. Petersburg, reminds
me no little Of Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington; being very wide, and the
buildings not corresponding in height and
style to such an avenue. The Nevski.
Prospekt, however, is a lively thorough
fare, even in midsummer, when st. Peters.
burg is "out of town" What must it be
in midwinter, when all the world is here,
and when royalty, rank, fashion, wealth
and gaiety are vieing with each other in
high carnival? If in these dog-days one
must keep sharp look out to prevent
being run over, how can the crossing of
the street be achieved at all, when the
Nevski-Prospekt swarms with sleighs and
sledges driven as if on race course. The
ordinary rate for vehicles in these summer
days is swinging trot. The paving of
this great thoroughfare indicates that the
city authorities are in the same perpexity
as to which is best, as are tho city fathers
this side the seas We see here the cob.
ble-stone, the Nicholson wood, the Russian,
Belgian, and probably Others; whilst
through the midst Of them runs an
American horse.railway, such as we have
seen in most of the chief cities of Europe
The style of buildings is much the same
as in the cities of Central Europe, and the
shop windows look like repetition of
those of Paris, except that they are not
quito so artistic and rich; and that in some
of these malachite is much more conspicu.
ousj--this being a speciality of Russia.
But what shall say of the signboards
on the shops and warehouses With the
exception of here and there French one,
we cannot read one of them. This, in
deed, is a popularity of St. Petersburg ;
that you find the same type of civilization
with our own, and yet the language-the
new alphabet--is an unknown tongue. In
Turkey, Syria, Egypt, and Oriental lands
generally, you are not surprised at meet
ing foreign alphabet, because the whole
type of things is foreign. But in this
Russian capital you are surrounded in the
main with the same style of buildings,
costumes, equipages, &C., to which you
are accustomed, and yet the alphabet is so
unlike what you have seen elsewhere, that
the gates Of knowledge even as to the most
common things, are closed against you
The Russian a lphabet consists of thirty. six
letters-ten more than the English. OF
these, part are the Roman, similar to our
own; part are from the Greek; part arc of
their own make; aud to cap the climax,
they put in the figure 3. Now, what are
Won In do with sueh n peonle ? tn oiva