Note 99 — Chapter XIII · THE WATERWAYS OF RUSSIA.

Peter the Great, as is well known, was a keen observer of everything that tended to open up the internal commerce of a country, and especially of all that tended to advance maritime progress, in which he took a deep interest. When Peter was residing in England canal navigation was hardly yet begun, but many rivers had been canalised, including the Aire and Calder, the Trent, the Witham, and the Medway.