On the banks of the Neva, near the great city of Saint Petersburg, stands a splendid palace, known as the Palace Grodonoff. It is the propertyof a Russian nobleman of that name, as it is also his place of residence.Were you to drive up to the front gate of this grand palace, you would see acoat-of-arms sculptured in granite over the entrance. In this piece ofsculpture, the principal and most striking figure is a bear, with the blade of aknife buried in his breast, the haft being clutched by a human hand! Openthe gate, and enter the spacious courtyard. Inside, on the right and left, youwill observe two live bears-both of chestnut-brown colour, and each ofthem as big as a buffalo. You cannot fail to notice them, for, ten chances toone, they will rush towards you with fierce growls; and were it not that astrong chain hinders them from reaching you, you might have reason torepent having entered the courtyard of the palace Grodonoff. Look aroundyou in the courtyard and over the different doors that open upon it; you willagain see the crest of the bear, sculptured in stone; you will see it over thestables, the coach-house, the granary, the kitchens, -everywhere. You mayknow by all this, that it is the coat-of-arms of the Baron Grodonoff, whosecrest is a bear with a blade buried in its breast, and a human band clutchingthe haft.You will naturally conclude that there is some history connected with thissingular tableau-that it is the commemoration of some deed done by aGrodonoff, entitling him to use the bear as his heraldic device. This is quitetrue; and if you enter the picture-gallery of the palace, you will there beholdthe deed more explicitly represented, in a large oil-painting hungconspicuously in the centre of the wall. The scene of this painting is a forestof old trees, whose grey, gnarled trunks stand thickly over the ground.There is only a little open space or glade in the middle; and this is occupiedby three figures, two men and a bear. The bear is between the two men; or, rather, one of the men is prostrate upon the ground-where he has beenstruck down by a blow from Bruin's paw-while the huge animal stands overhim reared up on his hind quarters. The other man is upon his feet, apparently engaged in a desperate wrestle with the fierce brute, and likely toprove the conqueror-as he has already buried the blade of a large huntingknife in the animal's breast, and directly over the region of its heart. Indeed, the shaggy monster already shows signs of succumbing. His paw hasdropped from the shoulder of his antagonist, his long tongue lolls out, theblood rushes from his mouth and nostrils, and it is evident that his strength 6is fast forsaking him, and that he will soon sink lifeless upon the earth. Youwill notice that the two men who figure in the painting are very dissimilar inappearance. Both are young men, and both are in hunting costume; but sounlike in their dress, that you could not fancy they followed the sameoccupation. He upon the ground is richly attired. He wears a tunic of finestgreen cloth slashed with sable fur on the skirt, collar, and sleeves; his limbsare encased in breeches of white doeskin; and his boots, reaching nearly tohis thighs, are of soft russet leather, ample at the tops. A belt around hiswaist is richly embroidered; and the hilt of a short hunting-sword, protrudingfrom the sheath, appears chased and studded with jewels. A light plumedhat lies upon the ground near his head-evidently tossed off in thestruggle-and beside it is a boar-spear that has been jerked out of hisfingers as he fell. The whole costume is similar to that used upon the stage-when some young German or Sclavonian prince is represented as huntingthe wild boar in the forests of Lithu