Page:Decisive Battles Since Waterloo.djvu/187

Rh work of destruction. There are still entire blocks of ruins in the heart of Sebastopol, and at almost every step the visitor of to-day is reminded of the memorable siege, and the devastation it created. A railway connects the city with Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the port has assumed a commercial importance that bids fair to surpass that of Odessa. In 1885-86 its population increased more rapidly than at any time since the war, partly in consequence of the activity of the government in restoring its naval supremacy on the Black Sea, and partly owing to large shipments of wheat and other Russian products.