Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/172

166 beautiful picture. Nothing ever produced on the stage of a theatre could equal it.

"Occasionally we came near the water, and wherever we did so it was covered with boats which were as freely illuminated as the trees and houses on shore. Boat-houses and bath-houses were similarly lighted up, and as they are numerous in this part of the Neva, they formed an almost continuous line along the river's bank. We were compelled to go at a

walk, as the streets and roads were crowded with vehicles, and consequently our drive through this city of lanterns occupied more than an hour."

Doctor Bronson gave other details of the celebration winch we have not time to repeat, or, rather, they did not find a place in the note-books of the youths. The time was passed pleasantly in a contemplation of the scenes by the way-side—the pretty villas among the trees, the carriages and their occupants, the people on foot, or gathered in front of the houses or on the verandas, the crowds in the cafes and restaurants, which are scattered here and there over the islands, together with other sights that met