Explore "Northern Lands" by Oliver Optic on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
"I should like to know what the name of this place is," said Lincoln to Dr. Winstock, who was seated near him in the commodore's barge, which was leading the line to the shore. "In one book it is Viborg; in another, Wiborg; in a third, Wyborg. " "The different spellings of the same word simply indicate the attempts of authors to render the foreign sounds into English," replied the surgeon. "We have the same variety in many other words. On the English maps of Russia, you will find the names of rivers, provinces, and towns given in many different ways; as, Kief, Kiev, and Kiew, the latter being the German rendering of the word; Nyzni, Nysni, Nezhnii, and a dozen other forms. Of course you can take your choice. As for Wyborg, I think it will hardly pay to land, for there is really nothing to be seen here. Like Constantinople, the best view of the town is from the outside."
"It certainly looks well from the bay."