The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-09-01

some Fssuii.rifiss 81 Great and
Uniaus CITY.


some Fss.ii.ritiss 81 Great ana
Unfaus CITY.
wish could give you steroopticon
view Of St. Petersburg. II 4 one Of the
queerest, one Of the fastest, one Of the
gayest, and BY all odds the most unique
capital Of the world, writes Frank @.
Carpenter TO the Chicago Herald, Lying
- II does on the great gulf Of Finland,
river a. wide - the Mississippi
at st. Louis runs through IL and great
canals cut Il up 20 that it looks like .
second Venice. II isa city Of wide streets,
Of big three, four and nve-story fats; Of
vast palaces, many Of which cover acres;
Of multitude Of gorgeous churches, Of
great schools, Of art galleries, Of factories
and the thousand and one other features
which make mp the capital Of the greatest
empire on the globe. You have heard the
story Of It's building.
stood yesterday In the log hut that
Peter the Great built on the swamp here
when he decided that he would make this
point his capital All this was a forest, .
marsh and wilderness. The Russia Of
that day, as the Russia OF this, was in the
interior, but Peter decided he wanted to
have his capital where be could look out
upon Europe, and he called st. Peters,
burg his window, and, like Aladdin, he
made It rise upon the mud In almost 4
night. He made every noble In the en-
pire build . house here. Every boat on
the Baltic and the Russian rivers had to
draw load of stone to the city, and 40
900 men worked year In and year out till
the great capital rose.
Fully a generation after New York
was founded the wolves howled in the
wilderness on the site of st. Petersburg;
now city Of stone and brick twenty i've
miles In circumference floats here, a. It
were, almost upon the waters, and 1OO,-
O00, 900 heads bow down to this as the
seat Of their ruler. Piles by the millions
have been driven down to make founda-
tions. The great River Neva Ii walled for
miles with granite docks and all the
streets are paved. Our public buildings
at Washington are large, but those OF
Russia cover far greater areas. The only
things that compare with them are the
mammoth structures of the Chicago ex-
position, and as to the churches here, one
Of them, st. Isaac's cathedral, has cost
nearly go, 000, 900, or as much as will be
the total outlay Of the exposition. There
are other churches nearly as expensive,
and the whole city has been built without
regard to cost. It Is almost Sabbath
days journey to 60 through some Of these
palaces.
The winter palace, on the banks OF the
Neva, would spoil the area of ten-acre
field, and It's corridors II stretched out
would reach miles. There ID tradition
that some of the unused rooms were
turned into . barnyard by the servants
In years past, and that when the palace
once burned COW was hauled out with
the furniture. It IL the same with private
houses. The people live in fats, and
these fats make up IN area what they
lack in height. Il takes negrly square
for the ordinary house, and the Hotel
d'Europe, where am stopping, has balls
which seem to be q mile long, and lose
myself again and again going tomy room,
The business blocks are big, and there IL
great, bazaar here, WHARF hupdreds Of
merchants have stores facing yaulted
| arcade which covers q Spast area, and
which Is thronged from morning TIL
midnight with thousands Of shoppers.