202 PETERSBURG IN WINTER 



which contains the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul with 

 its lofty spire, may be seen in the distance across the river. 

 Prince Kropotkine (Russian and French Prisons] tells us that 

 "a sensation of horror is felt by the inhabitants of St. 

 Petersburg as they perceive on the other side of the Neva, 

 opposite the Imperial Palace, the grey bastions of the 

 Fortress ; and gloomy are their thoughts as the northern 

 wind brings across the river the discordant sound of the 

 Fortress bells, which every hour ring their melancholy tune. 

 Tradition associates the sight and the name of the Fortress 

 with suffering and oppression. Thousands nay, scores of 

 thousands of people, chiefly Little Russians, died there as 

 they laid the foundations of the bastions on the low, marshy 

 island of Jani-saari. No remembrance of glorious defiance 

 is associated with it ; nothing but memories of suffering- 

 inflicted upon the foes of autocracy." As the Prince did 

 "time" in the Fortress, he ought to know something about it. 

 As persons are supposed to get a permit before being- 

 allowed to photograph in Russia, I applied to the police for 

 one, and obtained it without any trouble. In fact, so little 

 restriction is put upon this art in that country, that I was 

 not asked on any occasion to produce my permit. Despite 

 the nonsense talked and written about the absence of freedom 

 in Russia, I found that there was singularly little interference 

 with individual liberty, except on points that were of trifling 

 consequence to a private party like myself. Although' the 

 Censor blocked out in the newspapers political remarks that 

 were unfavourable to Russia, he left in all the literary matter 

 and sporting intelligence. He was careful that my morals 

 were not corrupted by seditious and irreligious books ; but he 

 had no objection to Paul Bourget, George Moore, or even 

 to my witty friend, Frankfort Moore. His confrere in 

 the Custom House treated revolvers with flippancy ; but 

 regarded typewriters as more dangerous than dynamite. 



