"My principal object in visiting St. Petersburg was the astronomical
observatory at Pulkova, some twelve miles distant.
"I had letters to the director, Otto von Struve, but our consul declared
that I must also have one from him, for Struve was a very great man. I,
of course, accepted it.
"We made the journey by rail and coach, but it would be better to drive
the whole way.
"Most observatories are temples of silence, and quiet reigns. As we
drove into the grounds at Pulkova, a small crowd of children of all
ages, and servants of all degrees, came out to meet us. They did not
come out to do us honor, but to gaze at us. I could not understand it
until I learned that the director of the observatory has a large number
of aids, and they, with all their families, live in large houses,
connected with the central building by covered ways.
"All about the grounds, too, were small observatories,--little
temples,--in which young men were practising for observations on the
transit of Venus. These little buildings, I afterwards learned, were to
be taken down and transported, instruments and all, to the coast of
Asia.
"The director of the observatory is Otto Struve--his father, Wilhelm
Struve, preceded him in this office. Properly, the director is Herr Von
Struve; but the old Russian custom is still in use, and the servants
call him Wilhelm-vitch; that is, 'the son of William.'
"When I bought a photograph of the present emperor, Alexander, I saw
that he was called Nicholas-vitch.
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