accommodation of the court and principal nobility; and several thousand spectators may also be accommodated within the colonnade and upon its roof.

The imperial palace of Sarsko-Selo, situated about fifteen miles from Petersburgh, was the favourite summer residence of the late empress, where she used to live in a more retired manner than when she was at Peterhorf. This is a brick edifice stuccoed white, and adorned with a profusion of gilded statues and other exterior ornaments; but it is of a disproportionate length, and built in a remarkably heavy style. The apartments are equally large and magnificent; and one room in particular is richly incrusted with amber.

The gardens are laid out in the English taste, and are prettily diversified with wood and water. Among several beautiful bridges is one built after the model of lord Pembroke's palladian bridge at Wilton: the lower part is of granite, and the colonnade of fine marble. Several buildings have also been raised in these gardens in honour of some persons who have distinguished themselves in the imperial service: among these are a triumphal arch to prince Orlof, for his humane exertions to check the progress of the plague at Moscow; a building to Count Alexey Orlof, in memory of the naval victory at Tchesme; and an obelisk to Marshal Romanzof for his brilliant successes against the Turks,

The palace of Oranienbaum, near the shore of the gulf of Finland, was erected by prince Menzikoff while he was in the meridian of his power, and afterwards chosen for the favourite residence of Peter III. The middle part of the building is the same as constructed by Menzikoff, and consists

of two stories, containing a range of small apartments; but the two wings were added by the emperor.

At a small distance is the fortress, surrounded with a ditch and rampart, and strengthened with bastions. This was raised by Peter III. when he was great duke, and contains a building, called the governor's house, which he generally inhabited himself while his court resided in the palace.

The governor's house is a brick building stuccoed, has seven or eight windows in front, and consists of about eight small apartments. It remains precisely in the same state as during the life time of the emperor, neither the furniture nor the bed in which he reposed the night preceding his deposition being removed: the bedstead is hung with curtains of pink and silver brocade, and ornamented at the top with a plume of red and white feathers; and over the bed is thrown a white satin coverlet.-In another part of the building are a neat cabinet, hung with silk; and a gallery of pictures.

In the garden is a beautiful pavilion, containing eighteen apartments, each furnished in different tastes; namely, the Greek, Turkish, Chinese, &c. As this elegant retreat is situated in the bosom of a thick wood, and the approaches to it are all circular, a stranger has not the least glimpse until he arrives at it; and as it usually excites an emotion of surprise, it has received the appellation of Ha!

On the island of Petersburgh is a wooden hovel, which, though simple in itself, is rendered worthy of particular attention by its having served for the habitation of Peter the Great, while the adjacent fortress was erecting. It still remains in its original state, and stands under a brick building,

which has been purposely raised in order to preserve it from destruction. The house is no more than a ground floor, and consists of three apartments, about eight feet in height: that for the reception of company, as it is called, is fifteen feet square; the dining room is fifteen feet by twelve; and the bed chamber is ten feet square.

CANALS, ROADS, &C.

THERE is no kingdom, probably, in the habitable world, where the inland navigation is carried through such a vast extent of country as in Russia; for it is possible to carry goods by water from St. Petersburgh to the frontiers of China, with an interruption only of about sixty miles; and from Astracan to the Russian capital they may be conveyed, through a tract of one thousand four hundred and thirty miles, without once landing them.

The celebrated canal of Vishnèi-Voloshok, which forms the water communication between the Caspian and the Baltic, was constructed under the reign of Peter the Great, and has received such considerable improvements by order of the late empress, that the transportation of merchandize is greatly facilitated, and vessels are enabled to reach Petersburgh in half the time which they formerly employed.

By an attentive examination of a map of Russia, we perceive that the Tvertza unites with the Volga at Tver; that the Shlina forms a lake

which gives rise to the Masta; that the latter, after a course of two hundred and thirty miles, falls into the lake Ilmen; and that the river Volkof, issues from the Ilmen, and flows about a hundred and thirty miles to the lake Ladoga, which supplies the Neva; so that the Shlina, Masta, Volkof, and Neva may be properly considered as the same river, flowing through different lakes, and only changing its name at different intervals. Hence it appears, that a junction of the Baltic and Caspian seas is formed by uniting the Shlinawhich communicates with the former, to the Tvertza which flows, by the Volga, into the latter. This junction is happily effected by the canal of Vishnèi-Voloshok, where the Shlina is joined to the Tvertza by the following canals and rivulets.

Near the village of Klutshina a cut was dug to the lake of the same name; a second to the lake of Gorodolub; and a third from thence to the Zna. A lock of four gates was also constructed, just below the first cut, in order to stop the course of the Shlina, and to convey water to the Zna above Vishnèi-Voloshok. To keep this supply of water in reserve, a lock of seven gates was built across the Zna; that rivulet and the Tvertza were united by a canal; and another canal was opened from the Zna to the Shlina.

These canals are all supplied with water, and vessels are navigated from Tvertza into the canal of the Zna by the following operations."

The locks of Klutshina and those of the Zna being closed, the lock of Tvertza is opened; the waters of the Zna and Shlina are conveyed into that river; and the vessels are enabled to pass into the Źna at Visknèi-Voloshok. When a cer

tain number have been admitted, the lock of the Tvertza is shut, and (the water being raised by means of the lock of seven gates) that of the Zna is opened, and the barks are then gradually let down a small fall, to the number of about twenty in an hour. Having thus passed into the Shlina, they proceed, without farther interruption, to the beginning of the Masta.

وو

With respect to the navigation of the Masta, Mr. Coxe informs us, that " several rivulets fall ing into it are confined by locks, which, being opened successively as the barks are passing, fill the river, and render the shallows navigable; and, being again closed, hold perpetual reservoirs of water for the same purpose.' This operation is generally repeated five or six times in the summer; but by the recent construction of some other works, a considerable addition of water has been obtained; and it is highly probable, from this improvement, that the Tvertza will become always navigable, and that the lock of the Masta will only be shut for a short time. In autumn the navigation from Vishnèi-Voloshok to Petersburgh is performed in little more than a month; in summer it occupies but three weeks; and in spring only a fortnight is required.

The canal of Ladoga, annexed to that of Vishrei-Voloshok, was begun in 1718, by order of Peter I. and completed under the auspices of the empress Anne. It extends, without interruption, from the Volkof to the Neva; being about sixtyseven miles long and seventy feet broad. Its mean depth of water in summer is seven, and in spring ten feet. It is supplied by the Volkof and several rivulets, which are admitted into the canal by floodgates, and the superfluous water is dis