The foundation of this immense library was one of the spoils of war between Russia and Poland. It belonged to Count Zalewski, a Polish bishop, and contained three hundred thousand volumes. After the capture of Warsaw, in 1796, the library was removed to St. Petersburg, and since that time yearly additions have been made, until it has reached its present condition. Among other things there is a collection of books relating to Russia in other languages than Russian. They number forty thousand, and cover all dates from the invention of the art of printing down to the present time. Then there are nearly one hundred thousand books in the Russian language, beginning with a volume of the 'Acts of the Apostles,' printed at Moscow in 1538.
"There is a prayer-book which belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, and which contains many notes in her handwriting. There are autographs of kings, queens, emperors, princes, and other persons of blue blood--so many that I can't begin to enumerate them. In fact there are so many things here that one might spend weeks in the library, and find something new and interesting every few minutes. The reading-room is well arranged, and has all the leading papers of Europe. To show its growth in popularity, let me say that it was visited by twenty thousand persons in 1854, and by seventy-three thousand in 1864. In more recent times as many as one hundred and fifty thousand persons have visited the reading-room in a single year.
"Well, we have had enough for one day of schools, libraries, museums, and the like--so many of them that our heads are fairly swimming. Let us go home and think over what we have seen; if we remember a tenth part of it we shall be fortunate."
Naturally the conversation, after their return, related to what they had seen; and in this connection the Doctor gave the youths some interesting information.
"The university we have seen to-day," said he, "is not by any means the oldest in Russia, nor is it the largest. The honor of age and extent belongs to the University of Moscow, which was founded in 1755, while that of St. Petersburg was founded in 1818. The Moscow University has one thousand eight hundred students, and seventy-two professors and lecturers, and there are one hundred and fifty thousand volumes in its library. The Government gives about three hundred thousand dollars annually in aid of the Moscow University, and many of Russia's most celebrated men have been educated there.