About twenty years ago this gigantic pile of building fell a prey to the ravages of fire, and in a few hours were consumed much of those treasures and works of art which had been collected during the prosperous reigns of Elizabeth and Catherine. Kohl, speaking of its immense extent, says: "The suites of apartments were a perfect labyrinth, so that even the chief of the Imperial household, who had filled the office for twelve years, was not perfectly acquainted with all its nooks and corners." Though the crown jewels and most valuable articles were saved from the flames still the destruction of property must have been immense, spread over a surface of such enormous extent; the principal rooms alone, nearly one hundred in number, occupied on the first floor an area of 400,000 square feet. So great was the daring exhibited by the watchmen to preserve the property that, to the credit of the Emperor Nicholas, it is said that he ordered some officers to go and smash the large mirrors in order to prevent the soldiers and people from sacrificing themselves in making any further attempts to save the property. In one point of view this destructive fire has proved an advantage, for the custom of consigning to solitude those suites of rooms occupied by deceased sovereigns had here closed so many of the finest apartments that in a few more generations the reigning monarch would have been fairly turned out by the ghosts of his predecessors. The Hermitage is connected with the Winter Palace by several covered galleries, and forms a sort of continuation of that vast building. It was erected by the Empress Catherine as a luxurious retreat. The collection of paintings occupies about forty rooms, and is of immense value. Three or four rooms are entirely filled with jewels and articles of vertu, among these a superb vase of Siberian jaspar of lilac colour, and others of malachite, with two magnificent candelabras valued at L9,000. The ground floor with statuary. Three rooms containing more than 30,000 specimens of engravings, and two rooms are occupied by a collection of coins and medals. The cameos amount to the number of 10,000, including specimens of the greatest beauty and scarcity. Besides a theatre, there is a library containing more than 120,000 volumes, 10,000 in the Russian language. The Marble Palace, so called, is built of red granite, and is the residence of the Grand Duke Constantine. The Taurida Palace, now in a neglected state, is famous for its ballroom, 320 feet long by 70 feet wide, and lighted up with 20,000 wax candles. Among other numerous palaces may be mentioned the Michaelhof, erected by the Emperor Paul with extraordinary rapidity, there being 5,000 men employed daily, and in order to dry the walls more quickly large iron plates were made hot and fastened to them. Yet after the Emperor's death it was abandoned as quite uninhabitable after a cost of eighteen millions of roubles, or three millions sterling.