barge, almost entirely covered and concealed by the mass with which it is loaded.

We have, of course, visited the Summer Garden, the principal public promenade of Petersburg, which in this respect is very deficient. The garden has

little beauty to boast of, but it is thickly planted with trees, and it, at least, offers abundance of shade. The walks are laid out in straight lines, and adorned by marble busts and statues, but the principal ornament is the celebrated palisade facing the river, which is exceedingly fine. The Russians have a story of an Englishman who came to Petersburg on purpose to see this palisade, and who rowed up the river to it, gazed at it, and having gratified his curiosity, returned home without having set foot on Russian soil. Though not quite worthy of so long a pilgrimage as this gentleman is supposed to have taken, it is a most beautiful work.

We drove, one lovely evening, through the islands formed by the different branches of the Neva, and which are crowded with pretty villas and gardens which in this hot weather look exceedingly cool and tempting, but which are uninhabitable, from damp, excepting in the height of summer. They, however, form at present a very gay and attractive scene as one drives among them, along a well watered road, a luxury which, as I have already observed, the city itself does not furnish.

One evening, about seven o'clock, we went out to

walk, crossing the Isaac Bridge, and following the bank of the Neva on the other side up to the Exchange, and the scene, as we walked slowly along, was certainly exquisitely beautiful. We were on the shady side of the river, while the light fell directly on the opposite side,—on the Admiralty, the Imperial Palace, and the other fine buildings which line the bank, as well as on the gay pleasure boats which crowded the broad bright stream; while facing us stood the well-known and splendid equestrian statue of Peter the Great on a granite rock as its pedestal. We could not help regretting that the ugly bridge of boats was not replaced by a structure worthy of the Neva and of the city which lay before us; for the beauty of the river, enhanced as it is by the fine granite quays facing it on either side, leaves nothing but a handsome bridge to be desired. The construction of one has hitherto been prevented by the extreme depth of water, which renders it impossible to build piers. A chain-bridge is talked of, but here also there are, it is said, some serious difficulties to overcome. We returned home by the garden adjoining the custom-house; it is, however, remarkable for nothing but the immense numbers of birds of all sorts, from a parrot to a linnet, which are exposed here in cages for sale.

One thing has struck us in walking about Petersburg, namely, the small appearance there is of communication with the country. Instead of the count

less coaches, omnibuses, and travelling carriages of London, a solitary diligence, or a rare carriage with the appendage of trunks and imperials, is all that meets the eye.

We went yesterday to see the Hermitage, a friend having procured a ticket of admission for us. This palace is used as a picture gallery. Room after room is entirely covered with paintings, to examine which properly, would require frequent visits for weeks together. The collection is fine, but there are no catalogues, at least none are placed in the hands of visitors, so that a stranger wanders on without knowing where to find the pictures most worthy of attention, a very serious drawback to his pleasure in so extensive a gallery. Besides the paintings, we saw some splendid vases of Malachite, a beautiful green stone, which is found in copper mines in Siberia ; with other works of art, antiquities, and curiosities.

From the Hermitage we passed into the Winter Palace,* which adjoins and communicates with it, and which is the town residence of the Imperial family. The Hall of St. George, in which the Emperor holds his courts, is a magnificent room, both in its proportions and its decorations. The White Hall, in which the court balls are given, is

* The Winter Palace was burnt, and every thing but the bare walls completely destroyed, a few months afterwards, viz., on the 29th of December, 1837.

extremely beautiful, and when it is lighted up, the effect must be most brilliant. Adjoining this hall is a smaller room, hung with crimson velvet, studded with the Imperial Eagle, embossed in gold: this is used for the reception of foreign ambassadors. A gallery, which opens into the Hall of St. George, is filled with portraits of all the Russian generals, who served, with that rank, during the French war: they were all painted by an Englishman, named Dawes, in a very creditable manner, and they are said to be in general good likenesses: Dawes received a thousand roubles, about forty pounds for each. In another room are the portraits of field-marshals only; of this rank the Emperor is extremely chary; he has at present but two, of whom one only is actually in his service, viz., Count Paskewitch, Prince of Warsaw ; the other Russian field-marshal being the Duke of Wellington. Nothing can be more beautiful than are the private apartments in the Winter Palace: the decorations, which are chiefly in white and gold, are extremely rich, but in admirable taste; gilding of every kind, and the imitation of marble, especially white marble, are arts carried to a high degree of perfection in Russia: the splendid plate-glass windows complete the beauty of the rooms. The last room which we were shown amused us much, being the play-room, in winter, of the young Grand Duke Constantine, who is eleven or twelve years of age. It was full of ingenious and pretty inventions

for the amusement of the little prince: there were diminutive carriages and droschkas, sledges upon concealed castors, so as to run on the floor; a boat with a mechanical contrivance, so that a boy might row himself about the room in it; and a ship fully rigged, with a mast large enough to climb. There was also a slide of polished wood, in imitation of an ice-hill, and in one corner stood a little guard-house for playing at soldiers. In short, this room, with all its contents, was a perfect little boy's paradise, and was a very amusing sight to grown-up people.

To an English eye, nothing perhaps at Petersburg is more striking than the number of military in the streets: the usual force quartered in and about the city, amounts, I believe, to sixty thousand men; but at this time the greater part of them are absent, being encamped twenty or thirty miles off, for training and manœuvres: yet even now cocked hats, plumes, and uniforms encounter us at every step. We were at first somewhat surprised in this hot weather, to see the soldiers always buttoned up in their great coats, and the officers wrapped in their cloaks; I believe, however, that the former thereby save their jackets, which they leave at home, and that the latter are obliged to wear a cloak in the streets as a protection to the uniform, which would otherwise be very soon spoiled in this most dusty city. Though, however, economy or cleanliness may be one cause for this habit, the Russians are undoubtedly a very chilly race, and