stone. Cognates: Monarch; monogram; lithography stone). Insurrections, monotonous ; (writing on risings against surge; resurrec Inundation, flood. From Lat. in, in, and unda, a wave. Disastrous, very unfortunate. From Gr. dis, evil, and astron, a star. (The idea comes from the time when astrology was believed in; and every one was supposed to be born under some particular star.) 1. ST PETERSBURG is one of the most remarkable monuments of the determination and perseverance of man that the world can shew. It stands in a cold and barren region, upon marshy ground, under an inclement sky; and it is yearly attacked by the terrible powers of frost, and yearly threatened by the irresistible powers of water. The position of the city forms a remarkable contrast with that of Naples. The one in the far north, the other in the sunny south; the one in the neighbourhood of the eternal agencies of frost and water, the other standing near the internal power of fire; the one in the midst of a barren country, the other in one of the most fertile regions of Europe-both form together, internally as well as externally, the most striking contrast. 2. St Petersburg stands on both banks of the Neva, and on two islands which are formed by the river dividing there into three large branches. It is in the latitude of nearly sixty degrees, and is thus about ten degrees north of London. The climate is terribly hot in summer, and extremely cold in winter. During the long days of midsummer-when there is no night at all-the heat is accumulated, until it marks more than one hundred degrees in the shade; while in the winter, the thermometer has been known to fall to fifty-four degrees below 3. The moisture of the warmer months penetrates zero. into the stone and the joinings of the buildings; and this moisture is frozen in the winter-so that the expansion of the ice thus formed breaks up even the strongest edifices in the city. Nothing stands. It is a kind of proverb in St Petersburg that the city has to be rebuilt every year. 4. If St Petersburg were not constantly rebuilt,' says the Marquis de Custine, a French traveller, it is certain that in a few years-in less time perhaps than was needed to reclaim her from the marsh, the marsh would take the place of the city. The Russian workmen pass their life in repairing in the summer-time what the winter has destroyed; nothing can resist the influence of this climate; the buildingseven those which look oldest-were really rebuilt but yesterday.' 5. The longest day of the year lasts nearly nineteen hours; and the twilight melts into the dawn with undistinguishable gradations. There is no night at this season. Midnight is but a softened continuation of the day; and, when the beams of the full moon mingle with the lingering daylight, the clear water of the river, the lofty palaces, the gilded domes, and the splendid granite quays are clothed in a garment of unearthly light, which invests them with a beauty such as is seen in no other part of the world. 6. The impression produced by the first view of St Petersburg is that of the grandiose and the colossal. In no capital in Europe are there so many large buildings, and such long regularly laid-out streets. It has not the look of a Russian city-like Moscow or Kiev. It is rather an architectural mixture of all styles, of every order, borrowed from every country in Europe at the most different stages of growth. The buildings, many of which are profusely gilded externally, glitter in the sun with an effect surprising to those who view it for the first time. 7. The contrasts within the city are very striking. Not only are buildings of ancient Greek or Byzantine architecture side by side with the most modern forms; but the dresses of the Oriental and the Tartar brush the modern frock-coat of the Frenchman and the Englishman, The contrast of density of population is also very great. The north side of the city is comparatively empty; the south side is as lively as London or Paris. In the long wide streets of the north, lined with lofty lifeless palaces, a single droschky may be seen-like a small boat on the high seas—while in the distance appears an occasional footpassenger. 8. The streets are long, wide, and bordered with lofty buildings. The Nevski Prospekt-a name which means Neva View-is nearly three miles long, and about sixty yards broad. It is calculated that if all the inhabitants-every man, woman, and child—were to walk through the city, there would be between each person an interval of at least ten paces; so vast is the extent of the city, and so small is the population in proportion. 9. The population of St Petersburg amounts to seven hundred thousand inhabitants. It has increased with considerable rapidity, though not so quickly as the population of London or Paris. In 1750, there were about seventy-five thousand inhabitants; in 1804, two hundred and seventy thousand; and in 1858, five hundred and twenty thousand. Of the present inhabitants, fully a hundred thousand are foreigners. 10. The annual mortality is higher than that of any other town in Europe; it reaches the terrible number of forty-four persons in every thousand, One curious feature in this mortality is, that it is greatest in the case of young people of the age of from twenty to twenty-five. At that age, one hundred a year die in every thousand; that is to say, one in ten. 11. As has been said, the buildings of St Petersburg are remarkable for their size. The Admiralty is the largest building; and it alone is nearly half a mile long. In no capital in Europe are there so many palaces. There are twelve destined for the Czar alone: eight of stone, and four of wood. The Winter Palace-the residence of the Czar for seven or eight months—is one of the largest buildings in the world. It required eight years to build; and yet, when it was burned down in 1837, the Emperor Nicholas ordered that it should be. rebuilt in one year. The task was done; but it cost the lives of thousands of moujiks. 12. The church of St Isaac is the largest church and also the most splendid. It is not unlike St Paul's in London; but the model of the architect was the Pantheon at Rome. The exterior is built of Finland marble and granite-there are fortyeight monolith pillars of red granite; and the interior is a marvellous intermixture of gold, silver, bronze, marble, agate, and malachite. 13. The Neva is lined with the most magnificent granite quays. The different parts of the town, which are separated by the branches of the Neva, are connected by a hundred and seventyseven bridges-thirty-six of which are of stone, and nineteen of iron. 14. The history of St Petersburg is monotonous and uninteresting. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1703, and proclaimed as the capital in 1712. It does not possess the ancient and varied history of London, or the intensely interesting dramatic story of Paris. It has never stood sieges, or been threatened with insurrections from within. 15. The greatest danger is from the Neva. |