The river will be embanked, the morass
drained, and piles driven everywhere, as has been done in the
island, and the capital will rise here. The fort has already been
named the Fortress of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The capital will
be named alike after the patron saint and its founder--Petersburg."
They had now reached the spot. The carriage stopped and they
alighted. Charlie saw, with astonishment, that a wide deep cut had
been driven, between the road and the river, in a straight line.
Looking down into it, he saw that it was paved with the heads of
piles, and that carts were already emptying loads of concrete down
upon it.
"Every bag of cement, every stone that you see, has been brought
from a great distance," his companion said. "There is not a stone
to be had within fifty miles of this spot. The work would seem
well-nigh impossible, but it is the work of a nation. In another
month, there will be a hundred and fifty thousand peasants at work
here, and well nigh as many carts, bringing materials for the work
and provisions for the workers."
"It is stupendous! But it will take years to complete, and it will
surely be terribly unhealthy here?"
"I calculate the work will occupy ten years, and will cost a
hundred thousand, maybe two hundred thousand lives," the other said
calmly; "but what is that to the making of a nation? Before, Russia
was stifled, she could not grow.
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