Ccchrane's Journey to the 



tslean, and regular streets; a beautiful 

 stone bridge, in a picturesque and fertile 

 country, with its local situation between 

 two lakes, bespeak its important rank, 

 independently of its antiquity. 



PETERSBURG. 



At noon, on the 30tli of April, I 

 reached St. Petersburg, having been 

 eighty-three da3s from London in per- 

 forming a distance of sixteen hundred 

 miles, an average of nearly twenty 

 miles a-day. 



I transmitted a memorial to Count 

 Nesselrode, the foreign minister, who 

 lianded it to Count Kotchubey, for the 

 approbation of his imperial majesty. 

 The memorial contained a request that 

 I might be permitted to pass through 

 the Russian empire, on my vvay to 

 America, either by Kamtchatka, or 

 Behring's Straits. I also solicited a 

 sealed mandate from the emperor, with 

 an order to all governors and persons 

 in authority to assist me to the utmost of 

 their power ; besides an open order to 

 the police not to interfere with or molest 

 me. I requested, in addition, an es- 

 pecial letter to the Governor- General of 

 Siberia. 



I liad been given to understand that 

 his imperial majesty had no objections 

 to my proceeding, although he expressed 

 a belief that, when I should be furnistied 

 with tiie required documents, I should 

 flincli from my purpose. I soon, how- 

 ever, satisfied the minister upon this 

 point, by declaring I would be ready to 

 set out at half an hour's notice. In 

 the mean time the Intendant-General 

 of Police gave me tlin e audiences, ex- 

 amining me as to my rank and con- 

 dition, my plan and iis ohjrct, with 

 the et cetera of interrogatories, admi- 

 nistered by persons in oHicial situations, 

 when desirous of extracting information 

 beyond the avowed object. 



Through his interference, sanctioned 

 by the generosity and noble-mindedness 

 of the emperor, I procured even more 

 than I had expected, or demandt.'d. 

 His imperial majesty had the considera- 

 tion to ask Colonel Cathcart, who had 

 recently arrived as successor to Mr. 

 Cassamajor, whether 1 wanted money, 

 and how much, to enable tne to start. 

 I re|)lied in the iiegitive, expressing, 

 very trnly, my surprise iinil gratitude at 

 the oll'er. I was, moreover, iiisti ueted, 

 in case(ifsui!h iKcissity, to a|)ply to the 

 respective governors, at the places I 

 should pass. 



I employed the spare time in walking 

 about the ca|)ital and \icwing its 



Frozen Sea and Kamtchatka. 609 



wonders ; and although I abandon the 

 description of thenj, as a task beyond 

 my power, I cannot help saying that no 

 city 1 have seen can equal it in external 

 magnificence. Large, straight, and 

 parallel streets, noble public buildings in 

 every stjlc of architecture, numerous 

 imperial and private palaces, handsome 

 pavements for carriages and foot-pas- 

 sengers, several beautiful canals running 

 round and through the city, and carrying 

 away every ofTensive matter, the perfect 

 cleanliness in every part, its immense 

 number of churches, and, Ustly, its mag- 

 nificent river, washing the finest quays 

 in Europe;— these are only the more 

 striking features of St. Petersburg, 

 The bustle in most of the principal 

 streets, and the number of vehicles of 

 various descriptions, add to its import- 

 ance. It is, however, a little too stiff- 

 ened with a military air, being every 

 where crowded with soldiers and police- 

 officers, and the daily parades are better 

 attended than the workshops and ma- 

 nutaetories. Nor is this tendency sur- 

 prising, when it is considered that, in 

 one short war, Russia has arisen from 

 comparative insignificance to rank as 

 the third, if not the second, military 

 power in Europe. It may, indeed, be 

 objected that her advances are too rapid 

 for her age. 



I was furnished with all the docu- 

 ments which I had deemed necessary ; 

 they consisted ol the following: The 

 customary passport, with the substitu- 

 tion of the minislei's for the governor- 

 general's signature ; a secret letter to 

 the governor-general of Siberia; and 

 two official documents, which 1 shall 

 give at length. 



The first of these (addressed — "To 

 all civil governors," and signed by the 



minister of the interior) slates that 



"The bearer hereof, Cajitain John 

 Cochrane, of the British royal navy, 

 purposing to travel through Hussia on 

 foot, is now on his depart tne for Kamt- 

 chatka, with the inlenfionof penetralin"" 

 from thence to America. 



" Having, by the command of his im- 

 l)erial majesty, provided tliis traveller 

 with open instructions to tlie pcdicc of 

 all th<! towns and provinces lying in his 

 tract from St. Pete rsbuigtoKiinitchatka, 

 this is also to desire ail the chiels of the 

 (liderent governments through which ho 

 may travel, to aid Captain Cochrane, as 

 far as possible, to proceed on his journey 

 w illiont interruption, as well as to all'ord 

 him lawful defence and protection in 

 case it sliould be deiaircd." 



Tiic 



