Explore "Northern Lands" by Oliver Optic on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
On the day after the arrival of the squadron at Cronstadt, when the usual recitations of the day had been completed, all hands were summoned to the steerage of the ship to listen to the preliminary lecture on Russia. As the students knew less of this vast country than of most of the others of Europe, they were more interested in the exercise than usual. Mr. Mapps had a large map of Russia in Europe suspended to the foremast, upon which he had drawn the railroads completed up to that time, and made such other additions as the recent changes in the country demanded.
"Russia is probably the largest empire, territorially, that exists now, or ever has existed," the professor began.