The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-11-09
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL.
A SAD CITY WITH "A STRANGE
LACK OF LIFE.

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First impressions Of st. Petersburg-Its
Unhealthy Position--Coarseness of the
Lower Ciasses--The Droska and Its Rev
erent iDriver--At Church.
The first impression Of the traveller on
approaching st. Petersburg is of wonder
at its size and its position. On every side
stretches of what Is apparently a low, fat
marsh. covered with innumerable build
ings; the strongest place for a city ever
chosen by the obstinate will of man, seek.
ing to dispense with all natural advan-
tages. Peter the Great chose II, It is said,
as being "a window looking out upon
Europe" but surely site might have
been found with an equal outlook and less
desolate and fatal position Unlike Stock
holm, which is likewise surrounded by
water, but which sits ON her rocky thrones
like queen above the dangerous element,
st. Petersburg lies helplessly at it's
mercy. In autumn, when the Neva Is
rough and stormy, and in spring, when
the ice is breaking up. the danger is
greatest. The waves rise to the level of
the streets, the numerous canals overflow;
guns from the fortress are constantly
fired to warn the people of their peril,
while the inhabitants seek the upper
stories Of their houses and the police pre-
pare boats for rescue.g eAnotbag conse-
quence of this marshy situation is It's un-
healthiness, The sewage is not properly
carried off, the water Is undrinkable and
dysentery and similar diseases prevail
whenever the friendly frost is not present
to turn everything to ice Peter the
Great did not build his capital in ignor-
ance OF what he was doing. He laid it's
foundation upon human lives For many
years 40,0 men were annually drafted
from all portions of his empire to work in
this poisonous marsh. Every cart and
vessel entering the port was obliged to
bring certain number of stones to pave
its streets. and hundreds of thousands Of
wooden piles were buried in its depths.
Soil was also brought in In great quanti-
ties to raise the level of the place, and
massive granite quays built along the
rapid river; but nothing bus availed to
prevent disastrous inundations, seven or
eight of which are particularly mentioned
since the foundations were laid in 1908.
At one time the river rose thirteen feet.
But 1t Is not only the want of elevation
and of picturesqueness that Is depressing
to the visitor; it is no less the wide DESC
lation Of the vast open spaces Of the city.
From the busy moving multitudes and
crowded quays of Stockholm we have
come to quiet and deserted squares, end
| less rows Of immense buildings, mo-
notonous grandeur and regularity 1t is
| evident that there are not enough people
to fill its streets, and it Is positive re-
lief to enter the few thoroughfares where
business and life is conferred, such as the
Nevsky Prospect. OF course, in winter,
when the court is here and the richest
citizens come In from their summer homes
in Finland and the islands, when the
sleighing is lively and all the gayeties of
the season in vogue, st. Petersburg would
show to much greater advantage.
We had been told that the contrasts Of
luxury and poverty on the streets would
be most painful, and we expected to meet
beggary on every hand, but such has not
proved to be the case. There are always
beggars az the church doors, but seldom
elsewhere, and poverty is by no means 30
obvious and distressing as In many cities.
1t Is not the poverty, but the coarseness,
almost brutality in the lower classes that
impresses you most vividly. The men
that you meet In their sordid rags or
their undressed sheepskins seem not to
suitable to them. Wild of face, with
long, tangled hair and inexpressibly
dirty. often half drunk, but never scring-
ing, you shrink from rather than pity
them. The pictures drawn by Tolstoi are
seen to be fearfully realistic The women
are less forbidding, but with little intelli-
genoe or good humor. Actually | have
never seen smile nor heard laugh in
the streets since we have been
here. Nobody understands or wishes
to understand you; the poor are
,sullen, the well-to-do careless or in
solent. And then there is SO much that
is strange and utterly foreign. For some,
to us, unexplained reason the days of the
month are changed. You thought it was
the Goth of August-you find 1t is the
Sth. The Russian alphabet is very diff
ferent from ours. and the names of the
streets and the signs over the shops
might as well be written In Runic. As
very few of the natives, however, are
better off than yourself in this respect,
| the shopkeepers do not trust to the al
phabet for setting forth their wares.
/ have complained of the want of life in
the streets. / must make an exception
in favor of the droskas. These little car.
riages fly about In every, direction, for
everybody rides. You look down one OF
ers, no loungers, but you. are sure TO see
droskas. They are small, low vehicles,
each holding two passengers, with q
driver on a high seat in front clad in q
long blue blouse, with leather girdle
and peculiar cap on his head. The
horses, with their huge arched col
lars, are active and gentle and
apparently well treated. and If you
know enough Russian to make a bar
gain, you will find this method of tran
sit cheap and convenient one 1t is Ger
tainly convenient; you have only tC
raise your hand and droskas sweep down
| 1;lya fhair
sometimes jostling each other In their en-
deavor to reach you the first; but as non,
of the drivers know word Of anything
but Russian, you may not find it very
easy to make them comprehend wher'
you want to go. This difficulty overcome
however, you will soon be spinning at I
rapid rate over the badly paved streets
You will probably soon notice the driyel
snatch off his cap, wave it In the air, and
replacing It, make hasty sign Of tn
cross by touching the forehead, breast an'
each shoulderi In succession. This is whei
q church is passed. and such recognition
OF the sacred edihces and shrines Is com
mon among both walkers and riders.
There is no nation probably so devote'
to religious forms as the Russian-cer
tainly none which believes SO implicit
In the value OF signs and genuhexions
Ii is strange enough to watch the crow,
which fills the church during servic
time. There are never any seats; al
rich and poor, stand together; but l
place of standing quietly, or, at most
kneeling occasionally, like the congrega
tion in a Catholic church, the whole bod
of worshipers in Greek church are 1
motion; bowing, prostrating themselves
waving the arms up and down, continu
ally making the sign of the cross d.
scribed above, they resemble a garde
tossed by great wind.-Cor. San Fran
cisco Chronicle
There Was q Little Boy.