Excerpt from Russia, Vol. 2 of 2The spring had already arrived: the great break ing up of the Neva had taken place, and only a few tardy masses of ice were floating down the /cur rent, to be lost in the gulf, which was already open to navigation. The roofs had lost their ermine covering, and the snow in the streets had turned into black mire and hopeless slush. The ravages of winter, hidden for so long under a white cover ing, showed in all their ugliness. The pavements were disjointed, the streets broken, and our droskies, pitching from one quagmire to another, jolted us so terribly that we jumped about like peas on a drum, for the bad condition of the streets did not at all prevent the drivers from tearing along as if the devil were after them. If only the two little wheels follow them, they are quite content, and do not in the least trouble themselves about the trav eler.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.