English: The North Sea steamer forcing her passage through the ice at Cronstadt. Sketched by R. T. Landells. Illustration for The Illustrated London News, 6 December 1856. The North Sea screw-steamer (Captain Marshall), from Hull.

Read the ILN THE ICE AT CRONSTADT. Letters received from St. Petersburg within the last few days announce that winter has set in much sooner this year than usual. During the period of 141 years in which account has been kept the Neva has only been sixteen times frozen over in the first half of the month of November ; and it was only in 1812 that this took place so early as this year-viz., on the 10th ult. The suddenness and severity also with which it set in enabled it to o ertake and tmake' Ir-oners some fifty or sixty yes els which hald already cleared out of the inner bai; and anchored its the Tolbonkin Light, to th.e er It urpri-e .o their crews. These suddenly fiunl tlb insi'lvtes inclosed in ie on the loth ult. Soon afterwards. however, a stiff north-east breeze bl.1,-,. the i'e, out of the inner bay and s-t at liberty most of these ice-bound re'- l ; Iu t one of them, however (the Ceres) was so damaged by the floating ice that she sank. At the -it., time the wind, whi h released all those that were lying in deep water, brought many others ag run.th III it were 1i tni a' thh time in the s '-calld .ittle RIt ad1 between Cronstadt and Fort Menschikoff; for the effect of a high wind blown, either way in that n llrrow channel is to increase ior diminish its delth tl y several feet. TI',' ptain of' sui vesels a,, did not cme under the bnei inlunc of this sti:I. ,rhi-ea.iter, an It:e niot thus bl 'wn ,out , tI..- r difficulties, have in most cases, where they did not lie toi o si, r troiL tlw open water, cont racte I with 10i.., rrs to, have passaeIs sawn for them ithrough the i-, i ip era'in iii thi e.s a,'aut 1.ai silver rouitl- f ,r. e., h v stl,hs ii thug lt requires a fu:ther combinat ,i of favoiurable ,ircltuinstanCes to enaile them in atvail themselves of thli opening. All further exiort frl,,to i . tPetrshuri n of tur e. at an end, bu:t !-arcains for e\xprt i netx spring are rel, td as thavi t 2. -n madet , vert ,i ci rable ant,'units. (i n the' other hand, the pleIi t iul falls of sn iw t aht to ,k ipli, in the nihts f 1t h 1 1th, 1 2th, :and 1th tilt , cr e'.led the home tratiec with every possible t i ility soir -litdgu' trai '.lling and -. in .:ince. Another a- co'un s'.ats that the pri'ie tf' all ,it riptins of fuel for familiies !as risen wery iigh at St Petersburg, i:viin at this earltt pcri-d' o, f the win*er a i the Government is abt[u tixini the rate of prie'-. so r the general i f thinht f th iii it is, and to I ren't any contion aon t ' porer cla S. , l ships have mange d, by cuttin- through the in at I 'ln tadt, .lid by the aid tf s etut. r-, for whi.h .- much as :u roulles La"ve been p'aidl. to g"t a:iway'., bu;t C ters have again 1been . lie' ' . n tu w.'I : attaining this obje.ct. tir Artin t has rcit.rued from St. Petersbur, briin. t, with him several Si' ! es f 'L, rly f i -t, which has set in see unexpectedly, and made aptiat s, ", ny Tel' 't and their r: ,:, and a ' e i to be no irispect 'of ti:t vst-etl' gettiticaway till s'- II ,,, it will ' it' a e-ry L ra' Io . hte norih-ci 'ntr' -liip' a iners, astle crews v is ll h.v, t, i. 1- it in wages all the wvtut' r A sai" , Ir.,.'e, n at Cronstadt is in no I nxiabl 1i-osIi tn, if his ship is in "iL r of the mInles, as fitl :i'r nit l' 1'i," ,. t hlre is a arge ,ok-ht nteo ,. h,-r, in is co, ked iltl ti 'i" - r. iu ired; aId when t a, . -el is s It:a tl-I thi, men have to wa . a 1 ti nd fli:n the utn-in'e whih i- ., i-riat hardship Wis.n rs-e'- are nits:de the inle, nd tee o i cli it'e ief getting awav.y, the. ire , '1 lii k into the mile, al 1 ,,in e :: taln lit shore for thie men diurin the i winter. There ill be -. t:n'e mixture of nt.tit. - thl- ti: -, and it '; doubtful whether thi y \ill live in perfect harmony, tr -a' lors on shore, with n ,thinc' particular to do. a not the most quiet lohdgers. There is a great run on bot. lined with fur gauntlets, gloves made of leather, and lined with wool. Sheepskins have gone up considerably in value; in fact, there will be a great harvest reaped from these poor fellows in consequence of their being thus frozen in. Hereafter we shall engrave a few of our Artist's sketches of this life in the ice at Cronstadt. The accompanying Illustration represents the North Sea screw steam-ship forcing her way up through the ice, on the 12th of November. " On the day of her arrival (says our Artist) we were all firmly fixed in the ice, and reports were spread that the ice continued for about thirty miles down the gulf. About one o'clock in the day smoke was seen in the distance, and a white form gradually approaching. It turned out to be the North Sea (Captain Marshall) screw-steamer, from Hull. It was a curious sight to see her bows covered with ice, and hanging down in masses at her stern. She succeeded in getting up to the entrance of the mole, where, after remaining a short time to discharge his passengers, the captain retraced his steps, not liking to risk being frozen in. I believe he returned to Revel, to unship his cargo. The people out there gave him great praise for the masterly way in which he brought up the vessel through the masses of ice. The ship being painted a light green, and so much white about her, gave her a very spectral appearance." We add a few historical and descriptive details - Cronstadt, which has, with its garrison, about 10,000 inhabitants, may be considered as the water-gate of St. Petersburg, for here most ships coming from seaward anchor; the smaller vessels run up to the mouth of the Neva, but the larger stop here to discharge apart of their cargo before going further, or they discharge it altogether into the warehouses that belong to the merchants of St. Petersburg. Here is also the chief station of the Russian fleet, the chief Customhouse, and the harbour for vessels of war, which will contain about thirty ships, and is protected by a mole, 450 fathoms in length, from the violence of the waves. Near this lies the middle haven, destined for the fitting out of ships of war; for at St. Petersburg only the hulls 'of vessels are built, and they are then, with infinite labour, transported on camels over the shallow bay of Cronstadt to this haven, to be finished and fully equipped. Further to the W. lies the Merchants' Harbour, capable of containing a thousand vessels, and therefore the most interesting and animated of the three. This harbour is protected on the N.W. by a bastion constructed of granite blocks, and on this is the most agreeable promenade of Cronstadt. From the Middle and the Merchants' Harbour two great canals run into the interior of the city. The quays on these canals, as well as those of the harbour, are also of granite, and in a style of magnificence such as scarcely any other commercial city can boast of; they were erected by the late Emperor, who has done more for Cronstadt than any other Russian Sovereign since the days of Peter the Great. The canal running from the Middle Harbour, begun by that extraordinary man. and finished by the Empress Elizabeth, brings up the men-of-war to the dock for repair. It will admit the large ships at once. The whole basin, which is built with granite, can, by means of a steam-engine, be laid dry in two days, and filled again within six hours. The fortifications of Cronstadt are very extensive; they were partly erected by Peter the Great, who soon became aware that this Spot must be the key and outwork for the defence of his capital. He built the fort of Cronslot. and commenced one on the island itself. Succeeding Governments completeded these; and Paul I., in providing the Rock of Riesbank wih fortifications, under whose cannon any vessel must pass to enter the Bay, seemed to have perfected the defences of the place; some batteries have, however, since then been erected in the Russian service.

SS North Sea