Though Moscow is an old city, great effort and large sums of money have been spent making the place modern and attractive. Everywhere are the houses surrounded with trees and gardens brilliant in color and laid out with exquisite care.

That the city is old is shown because it is irregular and without plans, but there are new sights at every turn. The city is inclosed by a number of old gates. Passing under an ancient gate one reaches a narrow street suggesting an Eastern town. Then crossing the Red Place, one passes through the Holy Gate to the platform of the Kremlin. This part of the town is as old as it is interesting. It is more picturesque because of the large square and round towers surmounted by spires. The walls on one side are skirted by the river. A splendid effect in color is had by the gold and silver domes shimmering against the brilliant green, blue and red of the sky. A magnificent view is had from Sparrow Hill; the ascent is made by a steep and tortuous road. From this point the river looks like a silver belt girding the city. On the opposite side the wooded hills run steeply down to the water.

The general view of Moscow is brilliant and grand. The many-colored roofs give richness to the picture. From the middle rises the fortress of the Kremlin, the many churches send up a forest of dome-capped towers. The Kremlin speaks of many centuries, as it was founded 800 years ago. The principal place is the Kittye Gorod in front of the Spasskie Gorod. It is entered by a vaulted road, where is seen a handsome and a world-famous bell, supposed to have been cast in 1800. A great quantity of gold and silver was used in the making; the height from the summit to the base is 16½ feet, while the greatest thickness is 22 inches.

Another interesting feature is the Museum of the Imperial Treasures. The interior is wonderfully light and graceful. In the first hall are resplendent banners and suits of ancient armor; the other halls are filled with many costly treasures. There are gold, silver, agate and crystal vases, silver tables and gold plate of every description.

The city proper is as unusual looking as the fortress. It is a lozenge shape, lying northeast and southwest. In the center of this is an octagonal area inclosed by a second line of ramparts or walls. This part is really the city; beyond is a suburb laid out in gardens densely inhabited. Within the octagon is a third area called the "Chinese City." Its southern wall is washed by the small river Moskya. This is a southern barrier of the Kremlin and is a fortress of nearly triangular shape. The two outer walls are modern in style. The city is laid out in a succession of concentric zones which start from the Kremlin. The streets are hilly, therefore the tram cars are drawn by four and six horses.

Then there are the droskys—vehicles set on either side with no support to the sides or to the back. But the peasants consider the tiligae their national vehicle. It is a rough sort of basket fixed on four or six poles. Primitive though these carts are, they are well adapted to the hilly and uneven roads. In the street one sees a motley crowd of venders, myriads of women with bright-colored kerchiefs over their heads, street-hawkers, beggars and priests in long, black, flowing robes. The streets are lined with cobble stones and bowlders and low, white houses, mostly one-story high.

Moscow has a number of pretty parks; the Petropki Park is the most noted. A part is ornamented with flower-gardens and statues, and the remainder is woodland. At the entrance are some pretty summer villas built of wood and ornamented with fretwork.

Moscow, like all others in the empire, is rich in churches and shrines. The most sacred of all these minor chapels is the Iversky Virgin, situated at the gate. The exterior walls are made of imitation malachite; the roof is a sky-blue cupola spangled with gilt stars. The facade is panelled with paintings of saints, framed in embossed brass; in front is a platform raised three steps from the ground. The number of worshipers and visitors to this shrine are so many it was found necessary to make the steps of iron. When the Czar arrives at Moscow, the first thing he does is to worship at the shrine. Another interesting church is that of Vasseli Blagemor, which occupies one end of the place with its bouquet of fantastic cupolas and spires built by order of Ivan the Terrible. This church is considered unusual because there are two chapels in the basement. Above are nine chapels. The interior glitters with hundreds of brass tapers that are always lighted. The image, which is the usual Byzantine type, is a dark brown color. It has a big jewel on the brow, another in each shoulder and a net of real pearls on the brow. Because of the many styles of architecture and the many chapels, this is considered the most original church in the world. The belfry building is a curious mixture of styles. The tower is Arabian and Byzantine, with a suggestion of Indian on the fourth story.

The palace is in the form of a square. The state apartments are particularly rich and are in good taste. The hall of St. George is 200 feet by 65 wide and 58 high. The handsomest of the state apartments is the banqueting hall. The ceiling is splendidly decorated and the windows richly draped. The hall is large enough to accommodate 200 guests. The service is wonderfully beautiful; most of the food is served in gold vessels.

Not far off is the Tower of Ivan Veliki, which serves as a campanile for three cathedrals and has thirty-four bells. The largest is 65 feet in circumference.

The city is ornamented profusely with statues and triumphal arches; the most splendid is the Arch of Triumph. This is made of marble and is surmounted by a beautifully carved statue of Liberty, while the arch is ornamented with handsome bas reliefs.

Moscow has a number of attractive suburbs. One of these is Ostaukea; it is well laid out and has many handsome buildings. This place is especially well known for the splendid churches made of stone and marble.

Moscow, beside having a great deal that is beautiful, is interesting because the old and new meet in an unusual, almost grotesque, fashion. They are not apart, as in Paris, London and many other European capitals. They jog hand in hand as unevenly as the streets on which they stand.

The traveler to whom St. Petersburg is unknown, imagines the city as ancient, picturesque and irregular. But it is laid out as regularly as many American cities. It is an ancient city, dressed in a new guise. It is situated along the Neva, with many modern buildings and parks on the one side, churches and old buildings on the other.

The location of the city is not attractive; it is built on several islands in the delta. The ground is so low in many places that the buildings have to be raised on piles. This morass was changed into a splendid city by Peter the Great, who was insistent that he was going to train himself and his people to a fondness for the sea. As a child he had been frightened by the sudden rushing of a cascade, and for years he could not see water without trembling and fear. When he was grown, he said, "I shall build St. Petersburg here without bridges, that our people may be constantly on the waters of the Neva, crossing and recrossing." Since this time the city has grown and expanded greatly, and bridges are a necessity. The St. Nicholas is a large, massive, stone structure built on huge, granite piers. Three other bridges are large floating structures which span the river in the summer, but are removed as soon as the river is frozen.

On one side of the river are many pleasant summer homes and cottages surrounded by beautiful flowering gardens. On the other side are the barracks and the poorer part of the city.

Most of the public buildings are placed in a public square, so they are seen with little difficulty. At one end is the large senate and synod; before it stands the colossal equestrian statue of Peter the Great. To the south of the Admiralty, the most important part of the city is seen, the Bolshar Storma or Greater Side. Towards the west lies the Basilius Island with the large splendid exchange, the important Academy of Sciences and the university.

The city is divided into four large divisions, separated by the Great and Little Neva and by the Great Nefka. The great side includes the court, the nobility and nearly half the population. Here many of the best streets and some of the handsomest residences are seen. The streets are broad and well paved. Here are spacious and well-built houses, while beyond are a succession of magnificent palaces. This need not sound strange, as there are no European cities having so many princes and palaces. Even the dwellings of the poor have a showy magnificence about them. Everything is built on a gigantic scale. It is not unusual to find a house occupied by two hundred families, but they are not built high, two stories being the average height. Building a home in this city is usually an expensive affair. The driving of the stakes alone often costs hundreds of dollars.

But the palaces of the princes and nobility are usually as beautiful as the other homes are plain and unattractive. Here are found richly hand-carved furniture, splendid jade and malachite vases. There is so much of everything that it is really overpowering. The royal palaces are large and furnished at great cost. The Annitschoff palace is inhabited more by the present imperial family than the Tauride palace. The former stands on the great Pr'pektin, the neighborhood of the Fontanka, and closes the brilliant range of palaces in the street. It was originally built by Elizabeth. Some years ago it was bought as one of the Emperor's abodes. It is handsomely built, though it has no historic significance.

A part of the court are usually here in residence, and it is here that the Emperor holds many of his most important councils. Those who saw the Winter Palace before the fire recall the mass of wealth devoured by the conflagration. In six hours priceless furniture, ornaments and rare pictures were destroyed.

The Hermitage is the San Souci of St. Petersburg. This was built by Catherine and used for her retreat after her work and that of her courtiers was done for the day. This palace is surrounded by beautiful shade forests, refreshed by fountains and pleasant grottoes. On cool days concerts and theatricals were given within the palace, while in the warm weather these were held out of doors; beautiful music and rare voices resounded through the forest then.

The people in Russia do not object to the cold, uninviting houses. Pleasant days bring thousands into the streets below. The Nevsky Prospect is a splendid street that intersects all the rings of the city. It winds its way between the handsome residences, pierces the Chamber of Commerce and touches the poorest parts of the city. Here all types of Russian life are seen, from the proudest nobility, driving in their auto-cars and handsome carriages, to the poorest peasants living in one of those immense, densely crowded apartment buildings. The scene in this portion of the street at about midday may challenge comparison with any street in the world, and the spectacle is enhanced by the magnificence of the decorations. Besides the handsome residences, there are many large shops and cafÉs offering recreation to the crowds promenading up and down.

St. Petersburg has a number of large summer gardens, which are an adornment to the city and offer a pleasant rest to thousands in warm weather. The Summer Garden is the largest and most attractive of these. Everywhere are the large, well-shaded benches, thronged with matrons, while the children play in the sand and catch their balls. On one side of the Summer Garden is the Tzariziuski Lug, or Field of Mars. Now these resorts are well nigh destitute of men.

There are a number of buildings in St. Petersburg that are worth noticing. Of these the Exchange is certainly the most prominent. It stands on the farthest point of Vassili Ostroff, with a large open space before it, and it is reared on an elevated foundation. The granite quays on either side give solidity, while a long flight of granite steps leads down to the river. The space before the building is decorated with two immense columns, supporting the prows of ships cast in metal and erected to the memory of Mercury. The building is of immense proportions and took twelve years to build. The great hall is lighted from above, while at either end and on both sides are spaces in the forms of arcades. There is an altar at one end, and a light is always kept burning for the pious merchants, who offer up a prayer before they commence the undertakings of the day.

The Hermitage Museum is a veritable treasure prison; there is a large picture gallery, one of the finest and most celebrated in Europe. The collection includes a large number of Dutch cottages, such as Van de Meer and Ostada painted.

The gallery is equally rich in the old Italian and French masters. A most interesting part of the collection are the treasures that were once housed at Malmaison. When the Emperor Alexander was in Paris, he visited the divorced consort of Napoleon, who spoke of the property that remained to her and the insecurity of the possession. To protect it until it could be reclaimed, Emperor Alexander bought the treasure and took it to Russia.

The Foundling Hospital is another of the public institution of which the people are justly proud. Though Russian, it is under German supervision. The place is extremely large; this is necessary, for it is never without 5,000 or 6,000 children. The principal buildings are in St. Petersburg, where the children are kept a few weeks. They are then sent to the peasantry in the country, where they remain until they are six years old. The girls return to St. Petersburg, while there is a branch for the boys at Gatshina. The building at St. Petersburg is much more of a palace than a foundling home. The main building is composed of what was formerly the palace of Prince Bohinski and Count Rasumoffski.

When the children are grown they are relieved from all obligations toward the institution. The boys are easily provided with positions in the trades' and imperial factories; the girls are given positions as teachers and governesses.

Though St. Petersburg has fewer churches than Moscow, it has churches of all denominations and every style of architecture. Here are seen Grecian, Byzantine, old Russian, new European architecture and what not. The handsomest of these is St. Isaac's Church. The church is large and imposing without. Inside it has many handsome decorations, costly pictures of saints and gold crosses.

The roof is supported by granite monoliths from Finland, buried for centuries in deep swamps. They are crowned with capitals of bronze and support the enormous beam of a frieze formed of six polished blocks. But the cupola is the crowning glory to all this splendor. It is made of copper and overlaid with gold that glitters like the sun on a mountain.

The Russian capital is most attractive on a pleasant summer evening. The scene presented by the Exchange, the university buildings, the Academy of Arts, the Corps de Cadets and the Academy of Sciences, surrounded as they are with well-kept greensward and splendid flower beds, present an inviting appearance. The river is lined with sailing craft of nearly every description, devoted to pleasure. It has several fine steam yachts which are used by members of the club for making trips up the gulf. On a summer's evening as one sits on the balcony of the English Club or strolls up the quay, listening to the band in the garden of the Summer Palace, the swift-moving passengers in their gayly trimmed barks made a pretty sight against the splendid buildings and gilded spires of the churches.

Not all the beauty of St. Petersburg lies in this one island. The city is in a delta and is surrounded by a whole chain of islands. The wildest and least inhabited is Neva, visited principally by seals and wolves. Then there are the Volny Islands, the Truktanoff Islands, and some others. These are swampy and overgrown with birch and scarcely known by name to many Russians. They contain magazines and are used for powder and other stores. The most interesting of these are the Gardens Islands, which at one time were covered with scrubs, but Alexander and Nicholas saw in them possibilities for raising flowers, and they have gradually been transformed into splendid islands. Yelagin belongs almost exclusively to the court; it is occupied by a chÂteau and beautiful gardens. The court live here in the spring and early summer, when the gardens blaze with brilliant colors. The houses are certainly modest looking. The most interesting feature is that they are built on the bank of the rivers and in different styles of architecture; one Gothic, a second Italian and a third Chinese. The hothouses are wonderfully supplied with cut and exotic plants and the peasants' cottages are filled with splendid window boxes.