Peter the Great (Series Makers of History)

There are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the Great the founder as he is generally regarded by mankind of Russian civilization. The celebrity however of the great Muscovite sovereign among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of his having repaired personally to Holland in the course of his efforts to introduce the industrial arts among his people in order to study himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding and of his having worked with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter pursued these practical studies still stands in Saardam a ship-building town not far from Amsterdam. The building is of wood and is now much decayed; but to preserve it from farther injury it has been incased in a somewhat larger building of brick and it is visited annually by great numbers of curious travellers.The whole history of Peter as might be expected from the indications of character developed by this incident forms a narrative that is full of interest and instruction for all.