"This seems to be about the end of this cruise," added Lincoln, as he glanced at the bridge. "The steamer stops at this floating stage on the left; but there is a draw in the bridge, by which vessels may go up into Lake Ladoga." The boat came up to the stage, on which was a house. Mr. Fluxion, the first vice-principal, was there, for he had been sent up the day before to make the arrangements for the visit. A dozen omnibuses stood in the broad street, in and on which the students bestowed themselves. The surgeon and the commodore took places with a driver. The two horses at the pole were harnessed as in America; but on the nigh side was a third horse attached to the carriage by an extra whiffletree. Some of the omnibuses had four horses, but they were all abreast. The two wheel horses were driven by four reins, while the outsiders had only a single rein. Half a dozen _commissionaires_, who spoke very indifferent English, had been engaged, and one of them was with the surgeon. The procession started, and crossed the Nicholas Bridge, near which is the English Church. At the north end of it is the Academy of Arts, an immense structure, which conveys a good idea of the general size and splendor of the public buildings of the city. Turning to the left, after crossing the bridge, passing Nicholas Palace, the Senate, and Synod, the line entered St. Isaac's Square, in the middle of which stands the church, one of the most imposing in the world. Admiralty Square is opposite, in which is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great. The great Czar is represented as reining in his horse at the verge of a precipice. The artist modelled his design from a bold Russian officer, who rode a spirited Arabian steed up an artificial slope. The horse is gracefully poised on his hind feet, beneath which is a serpent, emblematic of the difficulties that Peter overcame. The tail of the animal appears to rest lightly on the serpent, but is in reality part of the support of the figure. The rock upon which the statue is elevated was brought from a Finnish village, four miles from the city, and weighs fifteen hundred tons. It is forty-three feet long, fourteen feet high, and twenty feet wide. Passing the immense Admiralty building, the procession paused for a few moments in front of the vast edifice called Hôtel de l'Etat Major, which is the headquarters of the army. The front is semicircular, and in the centre of the building is a triumphal arch, over which is the chariot of Victory, the horses of which are headed towards at least half the points of the compass, though the team is only a pardonable exaggeration of those which draw the omnibuses.