Volume 1

A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore].

  • John Hamilton Moore
Date:
[1785?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    640/684 page 562
    [1768 menfely large; the palaces of the nobility exceed in jl Only one monarch is excluded, as if unworthy to be fize, thole of any city ; and that of the emprefs is jl entombed with his progenitors and predeceflors in the an amazing ftrudlure : but all is gigantic, they are ra- throne of Rufiia. This is the late unhappy Peter III. ther great than beautiful; the fizeis all thatllrikes the I who after his death, was expofed during fome days in eye; and thefe prodigious piles are ftuck fo thick with the monaftery of St. Alexander Newfskoi, a few miles ornaments, that there is hardly any fuch thing as out of town, to convince the people that he had not judging of their proportions: the Italian architec- fuffered any violence, but ended his life naturally, he ture is mixed with the Dutch, and the whole forms I was afterwards privately interred there.” very inelegant buildings, in which true tafle is wholly The public buildings of different kinds are prodigi- facrificed to a profuiion of ornament. The Czar oufly numerous in this city. Some of them are flone, himfelf fpared no pains in rendering it as ftrong as but the larger part are only brick, or wood plaiftered! poflible ; for being at the very extremity of his do- The winter palaces is compofed of the former mate- minions, clofe to his enemies the Swedes, and open rials, and waseredted by the late Emprefs Elizabeth; to all the attacks which are poffible to arife from his 11 it is very large and very heavy; one would have fup- European connexions, he made a point of having it pofed Sir John Vanburgh was invoked to lend his impregnable ; but herein he certainly failed. There aid in the plan of it, fince nothing can more ftrikingly are many forts, and whole fhores converted into plat- refemble his ftyle. It is not yet quite finilhed, like forms, and lined from end to end with great guns, almoft every thing elfe in Ruflia. The fituation is Thefe works begin at Cronftadt, which is made very very lovely, on the banks of the Neva, and in the ftrong, and they Iaft to the city. There is a citidal centre of the town, contiguous to it is a fmall palace, regularly built, and capable not only of protecting built by the prefent Emprefs, and called, The Her- the city on one fide, but alfo itfelf of {landing a mitage. When her majefty refides in this part of the liege* _ building, fhe is in retreat. Thefe apartments are There are many public buildings well worth the very elegant, and furnifhed with great tafte. There attention of a traveller, particularly the dock yards are two galleries of paintings, which have been lately and the naval magazines, the arfenal, foundry, ad- purchafed at an immenfe expence in Italy. The crown miralty, &c. without infilling on th^ imperial palace, is perhaps the richeft in Europe. It is lhaped like a the cathedral, or many churches. bonnet, and totally covered with diamonds. The Here is a foundry : the iron is brought from Kex- fcepter is the celebrated one, purchafed by Prince holm by water, and the number of cannon and mor- Orloff for five hundred thoufand rubles (a coin tars that are caft here are very great; alfo cannon-balls, of the value of about four {hillings and fix-pence {hells, and all forts of military implements in which Englifh) and prefented by him to his foveremn iron is ufed ; which are made here at as fmall an ex- | miftrefs. pence as in Sweden, or any other part of the world. There are two academies here, one of arts and th« The arfenal is always well ftored with them; and other of fciences. The prefent emprefs has founded there are vaft quantities made on a private account for the firft, which will be, when finifhed, a fuperb edi- exportation, forming a very confiderable branch of fice : it is furniflied with mafters in the different commerce. . Jl branches of polite letters, and filled with cafts from “ This city, (fays Mr. Wraxall) is as yet only an the moft renouned of Greek and Roman fculpture; immenfe outline, which will require future empreffes, but it does not appear that any eminent geniufes have and almoft future ages to complete. It ftands at arifen, though they have not been without artifts. prefent on a prodigious extent of ground; but as the ] Nature feems to have confined perfection in thefe houfes in many parts are not contiguous, and great jl elegant and exquifite productions, to certain climates fpaces are left unbuilt, it is hard to afcertain its real and people, among whom they fpring fpontaneous fize and magnitude. Devotion has not been wanting for centuries ; and which are only imperfeCfly copied to add to her magnificence, and to eredl places of wor- by other nations, where the feeds are not fo happily fhip in almoft every part. Curiofity and novelty have difpofed, or the organs fo juftly adapted, carried me to all of them. The external architec- Our modern travellers obferve that the Thames is ture differrs very little in any : the Greeks feem as not comparable to the Neva, in beauty; and as the fond of domes, as the Mahomedans are of minarets in ftreain fets conftantly out of the Lake Ladoga into their churches. They ufually encircle one large with the Gulf of Finland, it is always full, clear, and four fmaller cupulos, and cover them with copper gilt, perfedly clean. Along its banks is the fineft walk •which has a fine effeCl on the eye when the fun fhines in the world. It is not a quay, as vefiels never come upon it. The ornaments within are coftly and bar- to this part, but a parade running a mile in length ; barous: a Mexican temple can hardly be more fo. the buildings on which, are hardly to be exceeded in They furround a daubing of the Virgin Mary and elegance. It is yet to be continued to double the Jefus, with gold and filver head-drefles, and fome- length. Over the river in the narroweft part is a times complete habits, and leave only expofed the fing- || bridge on pontoons. From this noble river, canals gers, which the multitude very devoutly kifs. Some are cut to all parts of thecity; nor could any fituation of thefe ftrange compound figures of paint and me- J| be more favourable to the genius of commerce, if the tal, are very laughable, and the poor Madona feems I inclemency of the latitude did not keep it frozen up at like a prifoner in golden fetters. The priefts, j leaft five months annually. are deeded in veftments, which very much refemble “ As this place (fays Mr. Wraxall) is the for- the Romi{h,and are generally compofed of tiiTue and J| mation of fo few years, it is laid out with ^reat re- expenfive lilks. 1 he manner in which they perform gularity; there is not any thing that looks odd, and the fervice, rather reminds me of an incantation, much is ftill imperfeft and unfinilhed. The build- than a prayer offered to the Deity; and they repeat ings throughout have a very handfome appearance, much of it fo incredibly fall, that one is tempted to and are like every thing elfe, on a larger fcale than is fuppole it impofiible the auditory can underftand one to be feen elfewhere. The llreets are moftly paved 1 articulate word the prieft utters, let their attention be but they have a cuftom here of laying in many places ever fo ftrong, . a flooring of timber on the ground. This was more In the church of the citadel repofe the body of common formerly in .Mofcow, where, in the frequent Feterl. and the fucceflive fovereigns fince his death; fires they ufed to have, the ftreet itfelf caught the who are ranged in coffers fide by fide, but have not flames, and the conflagrations became terrible, as the any or them marble monuments eredled to their memo- houfes likewile are moftly made of wood even at nes ; nor is there any other motive to induce z traveller 11 prefent*” to enter this church, except the confcioufnefs that he The trade of Peterlhurg is much more confiderable beholds the wood which contains the afhes of Peter, and than that of any other town in the Ruffian Empire; t at ming e fentimentot reverence and pleafure, which j| and would figure in comparifon with many very <neat t e mind may experience from the contemplation of it. I marts in other parts of Europe; but unfortunately ii that
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