The Sadohs, or floating fish-magazines, of the Neva, are an object of even more interest to a stranger than the washing-boats. The Russians are admirably skilled In all that relates to the catching, preserving, and selling of fish. The sadoks are pretty wooden houses, neatly painted, and not unlike the pavilions on the Alster at Hamburg. The sadok is fixed on a kind of raft. Is moored close to the bank, with which it generally communicates by means of a small wooden bridge. Within is generally a large room, where the dried and smoked fish are hung up, like the hams and sausages In the cottage of a Westphalian peasant. In the middle, by way of a protection to the establishment, there are sure to be a couple of large sacred images with lamps burning before them. Besides smoking and salting their fish, the Russians have another mode of preserving thom, — namely, by freezing them. In winter large boxes may be seen, something like our German meal-chests. These boxes are filled with frozen fish : with turbot and herrings from Archangel, and with the delicate yershtshis from the Ladoga lake. At each side of the larger room, are some smaller ones, f(r the accommodation of the crew of the sadok, and one fitted up as a kind of refreshment-room for those who visit these establishments for the purpose of eating" fresh caviare in perfection. Behind the sadok are always large reservoirs in which a number of live fish are kept, for the Russians are great gourmands in the article of fish, and make a great point of popping them alive into the pot. This species of luxury is sometimes carried to a great excess. The fish of the Volga are brought alive to St. Petersburg at an enormous cost. A sterlet, which, if dead, might be had for thirty or forty rubles, will bring from 100 to 300 if alive, a wealthy Russian taking a pride in showing it alive to his guests, a little wliile before it figures on his board.
In the centre of the town, the Neva is about a verst in breadth, and, owing to the great bend which the river makes, its length within the city is not less than three German (more than thirteen English) miles. It is easy to imagine the icy waste which the surface must present in winter, when, in the centre of this great capital, a man may perform journeys by night that almost make him fancy himself travelling in the wilds of Lapland. The lamps in the houses may indeed be seen twinkling at a distance, but the moon or the aurora borealis afford the only light to guide him on his way, and he will often have occasion to consult the compass and the stars, to direct his course. People have at times been robbed and murdered on the ice, so that these night expeditions on the Neva during winter are always in very bad odour, and avoided as much as possible by all prudent people. How changed is the scene in summer, when boating on the Neva becomes a favourite amusement with all classes ! The nights then are warm and beautifully clear, and the Russians probably enjoy their gondolas the more, on account of the shortness of the period during which they can enjoy them. During June and July, the arms of the Neva are swarming, night and day, with gondolas and sailing-boats, and all the boasted scenes of Venice and her canals are insignificant to the animated pictures then constantly presenting themselves on this northern river. Imagine an atmosphere gently agitated by the mildest and most insinuating zephyrs ; the air warm but not sultry, and the night so clear that all creation seems awake, and even the birds continue to pour forth their song ; a night, in short, with all the charms and loveliness of night, combined with all the convenience of day, as though the jocund day had flung over his shoulders the majestic mantle of night. Imagine then a noble river, meandering in a multitude of arms, through an archipelago of islands, crowned with magnificent palaces, or decorated with delicious gardens. The wide sea itself, close to the city, presents itself at each of the six mouths of the river. Imagine the scene animated by thousands of ships and boats. Here the sailing-boat of the English skipper, who proudly displays his superior skill over all else that floats on the watery element ; there the German burgher with his family, abandoning himself to enjoyment after the labours of a busy day. On another side may be seen a congregation of Russian peasants pouring the sweet melodies of their nation over the bosom of the water, or the splendid barge of a Russian noble, attended by a magnificent band of wind instruments, each artist the born thrall of the master he attends on. The seamen of every maritime nation may be seen rowing about, enjoying a scene to the animation of which they contribute their share. I doubt whether there be a city on the globe that can show any thing equal to the beauty of one of these boatexcursions on the Neva, during a fine summer-night.