FOOTNOTES:

Upon our calling in the evening we found the two ladies not returned from Court, but another sister received us most graciously, and after a long conversation, chiefly on the emancipation of the Serfs, which they did not approve of, having about 2,000 of them on their own estates, but at the same time giving the Emperor credit for the best intentions. Before leaving we were asked by the particular desire of the absent ladies to renew our visit the following evening, which we regretted not being able to do, having to make arrangements for our return home.

The manufactures at St. Petersburg are numerous, and some of them very extensive in tapestry, porcelain, glass, carpet, paper and cotton, all under the patronage of the State, but chiefly owned or managed by foreigners.

One of the cotton factories we visited, situated at Octi,about three miles up the river Neva, is a good-sized mill, worked by four engines of 250 and 260 horse power, spinning yarn about forty or fifty hanks, and employing 700 or 800 hands, chiefly serfs, from the neighbouring villages, with managers, mostly English, occupying cottages surrounding the establishment.

The proprietors, De Jerseys, well known in Lancashire, have other concerns in Russia, and are now erecting very large works in Finland for the purpose of spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing and printing.

At the Misses Bensons there were three English gentlemen, a Captain Glascott and two others, who had been engaged several years in an extensive survey through Russia and a part of Turkey. They kindly exhibited their plans, beautifully drawn upon a large scale.

Before leaving St. Petersburg you have to give two or three days' notice, so that your name may appear in the Gazette, and thereby ensure the due discharge of claims upon you. You are also furnished with a new passport, instead of viséing the one you brought with you, thereby supplying a few extra fees to the officials, which I consider to be the chief object in keeping up this abominable system.

We left St. Petersburg in a small steamer, and embarked at Cronstadt in the "Vladimer," a Russian steamer, very beautifully fitted up, with two cabins on deck, one for the captain and the other for the use of the passengers; the bulwarks, rather too high, and so obstruct the view, but at the same time protective in foul weather. The accommodation was very good, and the supply of provisions most ample, but not all suited to the English palate.

In the evening we had a glorious sunset, and the following day passed a lighthouse built upon a rockjutting out of the sea; then Reval, situated on a high coast, and in three days arrived at Stettin, having had a most enjoyable passage.

Among the passengers was a young Russian count, an officer in the army, and, though only 27, had been in several severe engagements without receiving a single wound. He was a most intelligent young man, well acquainted with the history of most of the countries in Europe, and free in his remarks upon the faults of his own, so much so that I did not fail to remind him of Siberia.

Approaching the Prussian coast, I observed the first star since entering the Baltic.

A few miles before landing we were boarded by a number of custom house officers, a very good arrangement, saving much time and inconvenience. The search was in no way strict after declaring that we had no tea or leather.

Having to wait three or four hours for the train to Berlin, we walked about the town, viewed a very remarkable statue of Frederick the Great, and also entered an old church containing a very ancient organ and pulpit wonderfully ornamented.

The railway carriages, like most others on the Continent, greatly excel ours; the 1st class have three spacious seats, the 2nd two double seats, and the 3rd much like our 2nd. It is a good line, and I should think made at a moderate cost, there being few cuttings or embankments, and not many bridges; the rails appeared to be about seven yards long. On both sides we observed extensive fields of grain, and many women among the reapers.

The city of Berlin is situated on a level sandy plain, and has many wide streets and numerous public buildings, boulevards and other delightful walks.

The king's palace, though very extensive, has a shabby appearance.

The state apartments are decorated with good paintings, tapestry, and large chandeliers of solid silver; and there is a beautiful chapel, with the floor ornamented with various marbles; also a library containing 500 Bibles in different languages and editions.

There is a most noble equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.

The Arsenal, a noble structure, containing arms arranged in excellent order for 200,000 men, probably like our guns at the Tower, more ornamental than efficient; also the rich accoutrements of the horse on which Frederick the 1st rode when he made his public entry, all the ornaments being of gold adorned with brilliants.

The Museum is very extensive, all the articles beautifully arranged.

In the Hall of Arts is a very large ale-cup belonging to Luther showing that he was no teetotaller.

Amidst the numerous fine streets in this city should be mentioned the Unter den Linden. On looking across from our hotel we observed it laid out in the following manner: First, a footpath of flags, then a pavement of large square sets, trees (acacias and other sorts); then a pavement of small pebbles, trees; a broad gravel walk, trees, small pebbles, trees; a pavement of large sets; and, last, a range of flags. The street is 60 yards wide, and so full of trees as almost to obscure the houses opposite, and looking down about one and a half miles, presented a very extraordinary appearance.

But the great defect in this beautiful city is the want of proper sewerage. In some of the principal streets the water is suffered to lie in open drains on each side of the street, in a most stagnant condition.

We went by railway to Potsdam, and after walking through numerous palaces, we visited Babelsberg Castle, the residence of the Prince Frederick William.

Its approach is along a fine gravel road, through a beautiful plantation of various trees and shrubs, gradually rising to a considerable eminence, so as to command a very extensive view of the most beautiful scenery all around.

This charming chateau, of very moderate extent, is surrounded by terraces and gardens, containing the choicest shrubs and flowers, and interspersed with fountains and statuary truly delightful.

All the rooms, which are fitted up in a simple style, without any of the usual costly decorations, were thrown open to the public excepting the more private apartments and the one then occupied by its regal owner.

We left it deeply impressed with the real comfort of such a dwelling, so vastly superior to all the magnificent display we had so lately witnessed.

At Charlottenhof there is a grand palace, containing an immense room, with the ceiling and walls entirely covered with shells of every variety, and forming the most curious figures.

And at Charlottenberg, about two miles from Berlin, there is another palace with a beautiful garden, orangery, and the choicest flowers; but the most attractive object here is the mausoleum, a beautiful structure, containing two most remarkable statues of the late King and Queen, on which the light is transmitted through richly stained windows, producing a very solemn and imposing effect, not excelled by the tomb of Napoleon recently erected at Paris, or that of Marie Louise and their son at Vienna.

From Berlin we proceeded to Hamburg, which on my former visit had suffered from an extensive conflagration. All that part of the city has been since rebuilt, and isnow covered with streets of warehouses on a most magnificent scale.

There is also a very fine range of buildings along the Aster, a fine sheet of water connected with the Elbe, containing great quantities of fish and numerous swans floating on its surface.

There is also a very large Exchange, very numerously attended at high change time, presenting a very extraordinary spectacle to those in the gallery above, and leading some of us to wonder how many false statements were mingled in the sounds then produced.

We took a drive round the city, and on returning through some parts of the old town we found the streets so narrow and dirty that we thought the fire had hardly gone far enough.

As we approached nearer home our desire to arrive, like falling bodies, increased in intensity, and we engaged the first steamer to Hull.

It proved to be the "Transit," very improperly named, being one of the slowest on that station. We found it very small and the deck entirely covered with hampers of cherries and cucumbers, and the interior accommodation little better.

This, with unfavourable weather, made the three and a half days' sail appear very long and disagreeable, but at the same time rendered doubly dear, home, sweet home.

We completed the excursion in little over five weeks, and considered ourselves very amply repaid for all the trouble and expense, and do not hesitate to recommend the same trip to all persons having the three important requisites—means, time and inclination.

FOOTNOTES:[1]Count Alexander Adlerberg.[2]Count Vladimer Adlerberg, Minister of the Imperial Household and personal friend of the Tsar.[3]Mrs. Heywood.[4]Serfdom was abolished in 1861.[5]Mrs. Heywood.

[1]Count Alexander Adlerberg.

[2]Count Vladimer Adlerberg, Minister of the Imperial Household and personal friend of the Tsar.

[3]Mrs. Heywood.

[4]Serfdom was abolished in 1861.

[5]Mrs. Heywood.

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