3T. PETERSBURG. 87 



purples, reds, yellows, greens, and tints of yellow- green , 

 with broad streaks of light, widespread oceans, golden 

 islands, amethyst promontories, unfathomable abysses of 

 glory all are there, and they will remain there till 



/ 



early dawn, at two o'clock, in unchanged, undecaying 

 beauty, while we bid them good-night, and go sleep ! 



I confess to the disappointment which I have always 

 experienced when comparing any place I have ever 

 visited with the best descriptions of it which I had 

 previously read. 



The pictures drawn by the writers, or perhaps these as 

 misrepresented by the mind of the reader, have never at 

 once adjusted themselves to the actual reality. 



A revolution is necessary, in order to exchange the old 

 image of the fancy for the new one of the eye. Moun- 

 tains, lakes, and rivers, require a new arrangement 

 yet the descriptions may have been admirable, and, when 

 read on the spot, have probably assisted in pointing 

 out beauties and features of the landscape which other- 

 wise might have escaped our notice. With this expe- 

 rience I will not attempt to describe in detail, but only 

 very generally, what I saw in St. Petersburg and 

 Moscow. 



At the beginning of the last century, the site on which 

 the capital is now built was a dreary morass, shaded by 

 the primitive forest, and, like a huge black sponge, was 

 charged with moisture from absorbing, since creation, the 

 waters of the Neva that flowed through it and over it as 

 they pleased. 



