Washington sentinel., 1898-01-08
Sc. Pe.ersburg ana lta PeopIe.

OF all the eccentric actions COM
mitted by Peter the Great--and
they were not a few--the founding
OF St Petersburg deserves 70 rank
among the foremost. He wanted,
he said, ga window looking out
into Europe" and with despotic
inconsistency he fixed upon one.
the panes OF which are, to continue
the simile, frosted half the year,
and, therefore. useless for spectacu-
lar purposes. Stranger still, the
site he selected for his building
operations was nothing but a vast
quagnire. Auw -auAsl
AS you stand in the gallery that
rings the vast golden dome OF St.
Isaac's Cathedral. this capital with
so strange an origin is spread like
a map before you. AS some water
logged bark it lies, wallowing in
the midst OF the streams OF the
many channelled Neva. The black
waters run almost level with the
granite embankments that hold the
river god in order: while a great
arm from the Baltic. stretching up
to the lower city in a broad ex-
panse of rolling waves, seems ever
to threaten a terrible inundation.
Fortunately, the Baltic, like the
Mediterranean, is tideless sea.
But as it is, matters look black
enough when the river, swollen by
heavy rains, roars foaming through
Le creaking wooden bridges and
a gale from the south raises the
short Baltic swell to check the flow
OF the stream seaward. AT such
times warning gun will thunder
forth from the gloomy castle Of
Peter and Paul, and another and
another in quicker succession as
the danger grows apace. The
dwellers in cellars seek shelter in
attics; the police look to the boats;
the sentries are relieved. Despite
its natural disadvantages, the fact
remains that this is the capital of
the great Russian nation-a nation
which, at the present time, holds
the peace Of Europe in its hands.
Within its walls a million human
beings live and, with some fire.
quencY, die. 1t has a ruler more
autocratic, court more gorgeous,
a society more dissipated. garri-
SON more vast, and populace
more ignorant than any other city
of civilization. Amusements these
people will have, cEaeHD a sen g0Hf
each to his taste.
There are two ST. Petersburgs,
between the pleasures and amuse-
ments Of which there is a great
guilt 6xsd--one is the St. Peters
burg of summer, another is the
St. Petersburg OF winter. The
very nature of the people seems to
change with the seasons. In sum
mer they are a nation OF the open
air. They drive through the
green elm avenues Of the sunny
Neva islands; they throng the
pleasant parks and cluster round
the band stands in the gardens;
they dine with no other root than
the daTkening heavens; their very
theatrical performances are out Of
doors. They yacht, they picnic.
But with October the scene is
changed: the city is polar region.
Vast plains of whiteness that
dazzles and exhausts the eye
stretch to the horizon. 1t is an
Eastern desert, with snow for sand.
Between night and day the liue
may scarcely be drawn. The peo-
pie accommodate themselves to
their environments like their own
foxes that change the color Of their
coats with the seasons. The air is
Stunned as a deadly foe. Their
homes are heated to temperature
almost unendurable to a dweller
in the south. Yet 1t is time of
great gaietv-a-time Of concerts
and operas. of balls and receptions
innumerable. Iffolk venture forth,
it is to whirl madly along in sleighs,
muffied to the eyes in furs. The
poor shudder in their padded cot
ton tloaks. Is it surprising that
they try to find warmth, oblivion,
and even death in the fiery vodka,
a spirit the most poisonous in
Europe, absinthe perhaps ex-
cepted1 "EnRlishmen," sol the
runs, take their pleasures
sadly" Russians, have no hesi-
tation in saying. take their pFeas-
ures "madly." They are a nation
of extremes; it is the Tartar blood
that runs in their veins. Watch !
the faces in the streets as you drive |
along. From the polished Eoble1
man 70 the miserable. mnniilc thew