tedious to inspeet, especially under the conduct of one of the executors of the
When I believed I had strictly accorded the time and the praise that were due to the wonders I was obliged to pass in review in return for the favour which, it was supposed, I had received, I returned to the original motive of my journey, and, disguising my object in order the better to attain it, I asked permission to see the source of the Neva. This wish, the insidious innocence of which could not eoneeal the indiscretion, was at first eluded by the engineer, who replied, ' It rises up under the water at the outlet of Lake Ladoga, at the end of the channel, which separates the lake from the island on which stands the fortress.'
I knew this already, but replied: ' It is one of the natural curiosities of Russia. Are there no means of reaching this spring ? '
' The wind is too high; we could not see the bubbling up of the waters. It is necessary that the weather
186
SOURCE OF THE NEVA.
be calm, in order that the eye may distinguish a fountain which rises from the bottom of the waves; nevertheless I will do what I can in order to satisfy your curiosity.'
At these words the engineer ordered a very pretty boat to be manned with six rowers, who were handsomely clad. TVe immediately proceeded, as was said, to visit the source of the Neva, but, in reality, to approach the walls of the strong castle, or rather the enchanted j)rison to which I had been refused access with so artful a politeness. But the difficulties only served to excite my desire : had I had the power to give deliverance to some unhappy prisoner, my impatience could scarcely have been more lively.
The fortress of Schlusselburg is built on a flat island, a kind of rock, very little elevated above the level of the water. This rock divides the river in two parts; it also serves, properly speaking, to separate the river from the lake, for it indicates the point where the waters mingle. We rowed round the fortress in order, as we said, to approach as nearly as possible the source of the Neva. Our rowers soon brought us immediately over the vortex. They handled their oars so well that, notwithstanding the rough weather and the smallness of our boat, we scarcely felt the heave of the waves, which, nevertheless, rolled at this spot as much as in the open sea. Being unable to distinguish the source, which was concealed by the motion of the billows, we took a turn on the lake ; after which, the wind having rather lulled, permitted our seeing, at a considerable depth, a few waves of foam. This was the spring of the Neva, above which our boat rode.
INUNDATIONS OF PETERSBURG.187
When the west wind drives back the waters of the lake, the channel which serves as its outlet remains almost diy, and then this beautiful spring is fully exposed. On sueh occasions, which are fortunately very rare, the inhabitants of Sehlusselburg know that Petersburg is under water. The news of such catastrophe never fails to reach them on the morrow ; for the same west wind which causes the reflux of the waters of Lake Ladoga, and leaves dry the channel of the Neva near its source, drives also, when it is violent, the waters of the Gulf of Finland into the mouth of the river. The course of this stream is therefore stopped, and the water, finding its passage obstructed by the sea, makes a way by overflowing Petersburg and its environs.
When I had sufficiently admired the site of Sehlusselburg, sufficiently siu`veyed, with a spy glass, the position of the battery which Peter the Great raised to bombard the strong fort of the Swedes, and sufficiently praised evei`y thing which scarcely interested me, I said, in the most careless manner imaginable, ' Let us go and see the interior of the fortress: ' — 'its situation appears extremely picturesque,' I added, a little less adroitly; for in matters of finesse it is, above all, necessary to avoid overdoing any thing. The Russian east upon me a serutinising look, of which I felt the full force. This diplomatic mathematician answered:
' The fortress, sir, possesses no object of curiosity for a foreigner.'
' Never mind : every tiling is curious in so interesting a land as yours,'
188
THE INTERIOR OF THE
' But if the governor does not expect us, we shall not be suffered to enter.'
' You can ask his permission to introduce a traveller into the fortress ; besides, I rather believe he does expect us.'
In fact we were admitted at the first application of the engineer; which leads me to surmise that my visit, if not announced as certain, was indicated as probable.
We were received with military ceremony, conducted under a vault, through a gate ill defended, and after crossing a court overgrown with grass, we were introduced into—the prison? Alas! no: into the apartments of the governor, lie did not understand a word of French, but he received me with civility, affecting to take my visit as an act of politeness of which he himself was the object, and expressing to me his acknowledgments through the engineer, accordingly. These crafty compliments were by no means satisfactory. There I was, obliged to talk to the wife of the commandant, who spoke little more French than her husband, to sip chocolate, in short, to do every thing except visit the prison of Ivan—that imaginary prize, for whose sake I had endured all the toils, the artifices, and the wearisome civilities of the day.
At length, when the reasonable time for a call had expired, I asked my companion if it was possible to see the interior of the fortress. Several words and significant glances were hereupon exchanged between the commandant and the engineer, and we all left the chamber.
I fancied myself at the crowning point of all my
FORTRESS ОГ SCHLUSSELBURG. 189
labours. The fortress of Schlussellmrg is not picturesque: it is a girdle of Swedish walls of small elevation, and the interior of which forms a kind of orchard, wherein are dispersed several very low buildings; including a church, a house for the commandant, a barracks, and the dungeons, masked by windows the height of which does not exceed that of the rampart. Nothing announces violence or mystery. The appearance of this quiet state prison is more terrible to the imagination than to the eye. Gratings, drawbridges, battlements, and all the somewhat theatrical apparatus of the castles of the middle aces, are not here to be seen. The o;ovemor com-menced by showing me the
' The tomb of Ivan,' I continued, without suffering myself to be disconcerted, 'where is it?' This time they conducted me behind the church, and, pointing near to a rose bi·ier, said, ' It is here.'
I conclude that victims are allowed no tomb in Russia.
?i And the chamber of Ivan,' I continued with a pertinacity which must have appeared as singular to my
