In the afternoon, omnibuses were again in demand and the students rode to the Monastery of St. Alexander Nevski, on the river at the end of the Nevski Prospect. This establishment is the seat of the Metropolitan, or Patriarch of St. Petersburg, and is therefore of a higher order than the ordinary monastery. It is called a _Lavra_, and only ranks below two others in the empire--the one at Moscow, and the other at Kief. It was founded by Peter the Great in honor of the Grand Duke Alexander, who defeated the Swedes on the Neva in 1241, which battle gave him his surname. His remains were brought to this monastery with the most solemn pomp, and he was canonized. He is the patron saint of the present emperor, who takes his name. The shrine of St. Alexander Nevski in the principal church, beneath which his remains repose, is of solid silver, and weighs thirty-two hundred and fifty pounds. Over it hang the keys of Adrianople. The establishment encloses a considerable tract of land, and includes several churches, buildings for the monks, cells, refectories, towers, gardens, and a cemetery. It is endowed with immense wealth, and contains many costly gifts of the Persians, as well as valuable works of art. In one of the chapels is the tomb of Suwaroff--which is only a plain marble tablet--and many other noted men. The cemetery is regarded as peculiarly holy ground, and wealthy families pay large sums for the privilege of burying their dead in its consecrated earth. The party walked through the churches, visited the dining-room of the monks, whose fare is certainly very plain, looked into one of their cells, and inspected some of the curious monuments in the cemetery.