ABO. [DENMARK, NORWAY, AND SWEDEN.] was taken by the combined British and French fleets in August, 1854. After a sail of eighteen hours the steamers reach Abo (pronounced Obo), the ancient capital of Finland. This was at one time one of the principal provinces of Sweden, wrested from her in 1809 by Russian forces, who crossed the frontier without any declaration of war, and by overwhelming numbers decided the fate of the duchy. It is, however, as nearly independent as a province can be, coining its own money (marks and pennies, about equal to francs and centimes) and making its own laws. The sympathies of the people of Abo being strongly Swedish, the Russian government, as a punishment, removed the capital to Helsingfors. Abo stands on the Aurajoke, about three miles from the gulf; it is a place of considerable importance, and has much improved during the last five years. Population, 25,000. Ship-building is carried on to some extent; there are also numerous cotton-mills and sugar-refineries. Butter, cattle, and wood are exported to Stockholm in large quantities. Near the steamers' wharf there is a very nice café, where an hour may be pleasantly spent should the sights be exhausted before the departure of the steamer; it is immediately opposite the Societats Haus, the only hotel in the place. Abo is the seat of an archbishopric. The cathedral was the first Christian temple in this northern land; but its saints have been destroyed, altars demolished, walls whitewashed, and columns pewed. Its treasures are a few old monuments and the bodies of various dignitaries, which, after the lapse of a few centuries, have been converted into adipocere. The streets of the town are very wide, and the houses mostly of one story. Helsingfors is reached after a three-hours' sail from Abo. This is now the capital of Finland, and has certainly one of the strongest of naturally fortified harbors. The channel is not more than 200 feet wide-not half the width of that at Balaklava-and through this all vessels of war must pass. On either side the channel is VOL. III.-I WIBORG. protected by the fortress of Sweaborg, called the Gibraltar of the North-not that there is any resemblance to that celebrated stronghold except in strength. This citadel, in August, 1855, was attacked by the combined British and French fleets, but not taken, though some damage was sustained. The harbor is very good-suitable for the heaviest line-of-battle ships. Helsingfors has a population of 16,000. Hôtel Kleineh. The new Greek church, seen on a hill to the right as you enter the harbor, is very imposing: it is built of brick in the usual style of Greek churches, with a large gilt dome surmounted by a Greek cross, and surrounded by thirteen smaller domes, also gilt. All parts of the roof or different domes on which the rain could fall are of zinc, painted white, which gives the building the appearance of having been visited by a snow-storm. The University of Helsingfors has a library of 40,000 volumes. The town was nearly destroyed by fire some forty years ago, since which time it has been rebuilt with plastered and yellow-washed houses, giving it the appearance of a town built to order. The town-hall is quite a fine building; there is also a very good theatre, situated in the public square. Wiborg is twelve hours distant from Helsingfors. This is one of the principal towns of Finland, and was taken from the Swedes by Peter the Great in 1710, since which time it has belonged to Russia. It contains 20,000 inhabitants and 5000 soldiers, fine-looking men. Hotels, Imatra (after the falls) and Societats Haus. The town is of wide extent, surrounded by rivers, canals, etc., and much resembling Washington in former years. Chief exports, butter and wood. As the vessel steams along the Gulf of Finland, the dome of St. Isaac's Church is visible long before reaching St. Petersburg. The steamer arrives at Cronstadt after a sail of eight hours and a half, and, passing its docks filled with shipping, arrives in another hour at its place of anchorage near St. Petersburg. 835 THE widely spread Empire of Russia embraces over one half the area of the European Continent, while its Asiatic possessions are three times the extent of those in Europe; and its territory in Finland and the Caucasus is nearly double the area of our Middle States, The whole of this vast region covers an area of 8,000,724 square miles, being more than double all our states and territories, including Alaska, and contains a population of 81,725,428. [These statistics are taken from the "Annuaire Statistique de la Russie," published in 1871 in the Russian language, and by authority of the government.] These vast possessions form almost a continuous region over nearly two thirds of the earth's circumference, and are naturally divided into three parts. The southern portion, called the steppe or prairie land, is every where the same-burned up with heat in summer, a vast expanse of snow in winter, but during the spring months glowing with verdure and luxuriant pasturage. The middle portion is composed of forest, morass, and arable land, embracing a most fertile corngrowing region. The northern portion is beyond the growth of trees, and contains but ice-covered plains that border the Arctic Ocean, buried three quarters of the year under ice and snow. The empire is divided into ninety-six governments or territories: fifty in Europe (in Russia proper), containing 63,658,934 inhabitants; ten in Poland, containing 5,705,607 inhabitants; eight in Finland, with 1,830,853 inhabitants; twelve in the Caucasus, containing 4,461,824; eight in Siberia, containing 3,327,627; and eight in Central Asia, containing 2,740,583. In Russia proper, which extends over all the eastern portion of the Continent of Europe, over. fifty-three millions profess the Russo-Greek religion; there are nearly a million Dissenters (Raskolniques) from the Established Church; 2,882,991 Roman Catholics; 2,234,112 Protestants; 2,358,766 Mohammedans; 1,829,100 Jews; 255,503 idolaters; and 37,136 Armenians. The total national debt of Russia in 1873 was 2,000,414,345 rubles, equal at par to GOVERNMENT. $1,600,331,476, or about half of our national debt at the close of the war. The entire expense of the government for 1871 was 496,813,581 rubles (80 cts. at par), and the income 497,197,801; excess of receipts over expenses, 384,221. More than 156 millions were devoted to the army, and over 20 millions to the navy. The emperor's household expends nearly nine millions, double the amount spent by the household of the Emperor Napoleon III. during the last year of his reign. According to the budget of 1872, over 86 million rubles were expended in paying the interest of the national debt. The regular army of Russia, on a peace footing, is composed of 33,049 officers and 732,830 men, in all 765,879. On a war footing, 39,280 officers and 1,173,896 men, in all 1,213,176. The irregular army is composed of 70,568 men. There are also, in case of war, 1,234,460 mobilized troops in readiness to be called out. The navy of the Russian Empire is composed of 261 vessels, 1585 guns. The Baltic fleet comprises twenty-five iron-clads of different species, and one hundred and thirty-five other vessels. There are thirty-two vessels in the Black Sea; thirtyone in the Caspian; and thirty-nine in the Siberian fleet. The whole tonnage is 210,000. The imports of the empire in 1870 amounted to 315,000,000 rubles, and the exports to 351,000,000 rubles-thirty-six million rubles in favor of the empire. The natural wealth of Russia is very considerable, both in the mineral and vegetable kingdoms; iron, lead, gold, copper, sulphur, arsenic, and salt are found in many parts of the empire. Coal, however, is very scarce, if we except the valley of the Donetz (the principal tributary of the Don). This want, however, is somewhat compensated for by the immense forests which exist in most parts of the country; in fact, it is estimated that they cover fully two thirds of the empire. The Scotch fir is one of the most serviceable of its trees; in addition to its use as fuel, the peasantry construct with it their cottages, boats, and fences. The Russian potash is obtained |