Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/143

Rh and chateaux on the road, as I was too busy with looking at them to remember what they were called; and besides, if I made a list it might be too long to be interesting. We visited two or three of them, but had not time for all; some were not open to strangers, as they were then occupied by their owners, and these Russian grand-dukes and duchesses are very exclusive in their ways.

"At Oranienbaum we found the little steamer which was to convey us to Cronstadt, five miles away; she puffed, as though conscious of her importance, but did not make very good speed, and we had plenty of time to study Cronstadt as we approached it. The city is not very large, nor is it particularly interesting. The chief objects of attraction are the tremendous fortifications, which are among the strongest in the world, and very extensive. They were begun by Peter the Great, in 1703, and there has hardly been a year since that time when labor on them has entirely ceased. The harbor was filled with ships belonging to the war fleet of Russia, and certainly they have a fleet to be proud of. There is a smaller port, called the 'Merchants' Harbor,' where the commerce of the city is centred. It is an active place from May to November, when navigation is open, but when the Baltic is sealed with ice in the winter months, it must be the perfection of dreariness.

"Until quite recently ships drawing more than ten feet of water could not pass the bar of the Neva and ascend to St. Petersburg, but were compelled to anchor at Cronstadt. Recently a canal has been made, with a