Wichita eagle., 1888-10-30
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL
A SAD CITY WITH A STRANGE
LACK OF LIFE.
First Impressions Of st. PetersburE-Yts
Unhealthy Poeition-coarsencss Of the
Lower Classes-The Droske and It's Rev
ereEt DriverAt Church.


Lower Casses-The Drosks and It's Rev
ereHt Drive-At Church.
The first impression Of the traveller on
approaching St. Petersburg is Of wonder
at its size and It's position On every side
stretches of what is apparently low, fat
marsh, covered with innunerable build
1ngs; the strangeet place for city ever
chosen by thu obstinate viii of man, seek
ing to dispense with ell natural advan-
tages. Peter the Great chose 1t, 1t Is said,
Europe" but surely site might have
been found with an equal outlook anda less
desoIste and fatal position Unlike Stock
holm, which is likewise surrounded by
water, but which sits on her rocky thrones
Ike queen above the dangerous element.
st. Petersburg lies helplessly at It's
mercy. In autumn, when the NeFa 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
| pare boats for rescue. Another conse-
| quence OF this marshy situation is its Tn
healthi,less, The sewage Il not properly
carried OF, 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 iguor-
| ance Of what lie was doing. Es laid its
| fOT7ndafio TDo- lives roa.
years 20, COO 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 quaint
ties to raise the level of tie place, and
massive granite quays built along the
rapid river; but nothing has availed to
prevent disastrous inundations, seven or
eight of which are particularly mentioned
since the foundations were laid in 1903
At one time the river rose thirteen feet
But it is not only the want of elevation
and Of picturesgueness 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. It is
evident that there are not enough people
to fill it's streets and it is positive re-
lief to enter the few thoroughfares where
business and life is conferred such as the
Ncvsky 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 at the church doors, but seldom
elsewhere, and poverty is by no means so
obvious and distressing az in many cities
1t is not the poverty, but the coarseness,
almost brutality, in the lower classes that
impresses you most WILDLY. The men
that you meet in their sordid rags or
their undressed sheepskins seem not to
need nor desire any better raiment. 1t is
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-
gence or good humor, Actually [ have
never seen a 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 it is the
3th. The Russian alphabet is very diff
ferent from ours, ard the names of til,
streets and the signs over the shops
night as well be written il Runic. AS
very few Of the natives, however, are
better off than yourself in this respect,
the shopkeepers do not trust to the al
ohabet for setting forth their wares.
/ have complained Of the want of life In
The streets. | must make On exception
N favor CT the dfoskas- These Little car
riages fly about in every direction, for
everybody rides. You look down one of
the long qnays perhaps and see Eo walk
ors, no loungers, but you are sure to see
droskas, They ere small. low vehicles.
each holding two passengers, with q
driver on high seat in front clad in a
long blue blouse, with q leather girdle
and . peculiar cap OF his head. The
horses. with their hugo 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
family convenient; you have only to
raise your hand aud droskhs sweep down
upon You like vultures on their prey,
sometimes iostling each other in their en-
deayor to reach you the first; hut as none
Of the drivers know word OF anything
but Russian, you may not find 1t very
easy to make them comprehend where
ycu want to go This difficulty overcome,
however, YOU viii sooa be spinning at a
rapid rate over the badly paved streets.
You viii probably soon notice the driver
snatch q KS cap, wSye It ii the al, and,
replacicg il, make hasty sign OF tho
cross by touching tbs forehead, trsast aid
each shoulde- II succession. This is whan
q church Is passed, and such recognition
OF tie z2cre9 edi2ces ard eh-ines Is con-
rlon among both walkers ard r2de-s-
There Is 10 D.-..ioa probably so Gevoted
to religious fo--ns Is tie Rassiaa-cer-
tainly none which belicvez so implicitly
in the value Of signs and gen.aexions:
L is strange enough 10 watch tho crowd
which fills the church during service
time. There are never aay seats; 81,
rich and poor. staad tose.he.; but Ia
place of standing quietly. or. 81 most.