Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/stpetersburghjou01gran "VAT LIE OF PETER THE GREAT. ■ . 1 ST. PETERSBURGH. A JOURNAL OF TRAVELS TO AND FROM THAT CAPITAL ; THROUGH FLANDERS, THE RHENISH PROVINCES, PRUSSIA, RUSSIA, POLAND, SILESIA, SAXONY, THE FEDERATED STATES OF GERMANY, AND FRANCE- BY A. B. GRANVILLE, M.D.; F.R.S.; F.L.S.; F.G.S.; & M.R.A.S. Physician in Ordinary to H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence, Physician- Accoucheur to the Westmin- ster General Dispensary, and to the Benevolent Lying-in Institution; Principal Physician to the Royal Metropolitan Infirmary for Sick Children; Hon. Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Madrid; Corresp. Member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburgh, and Hon. Member of the Imperial Medico-Chirurgical Academy of the same town ; Foreign Associate of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Naples, Member of the Physico-Mathematical Class of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Turin ; Corresp. Member of the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Berlin; and Ordinary Member of the Natural history Society of Halle; Corresp. Member of the Prussian Physical Society of Bonn; of the Philomathic and Philotechnic Societies, and the Sodet d Medicate d’ Emulation of Paris; of the Philosophical and Literary Society of Manchester; of the Georgojili of Florence ; of the Medical and Scientific Societies of Marseilles, Florence, Pistoja, Val d’Arno, Padua, Venice, &c.; and Member of the Royal College of Physicians in London. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1828 . TO HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY KING GEORGE IV. UNDER WHOSE PATERNAL AUSPICES AND MILD SWAY, GREAT BRITAIN HAS ATTAINED, AS WELL IN WAR, AS IN PEACE, A DEGREE OF GLORY UNPARALLELED IN FORMER TIMES; THESE VOLUMES, INTENDED TO DESCRIBE THE CAPITAL OF A POWERFUL AND ALLIED MONARCH, ARE, WITH HIS MAJESTY’S VERY GRACIOUS PERMISSION, MOST HUMBLY AND RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED AND DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR i PREFACE. Three reasons induced the Author to undertake a jour- ney to St. Petersburgh, or, more properly speaking, to the Continent, in the Autumn of 1827 ; namely, a professional engagement, his own state of health, and the settlement of some family affairs with relations residing abroad. The same number of reasons now lead him to publish an account of that journey : — a desire to communicate to others the result of his observations — a little ambition — and a wish to prove, that, although he left his ordi- nary business for nearly four months, he was not altoge- ther idle during that period. The first of these reasons is irresistible, the second excusable, and the latter, he trusts, commendable. When a medical man, fully engaged in practice in such a metropolis as London, whose services have, in common with those of many of his colleagues, been considered useful to the community, abruptly absents himself from his duties, and sets off, at a short notice, to post upwards of 4000 miles over the Continent ; the public, whom he serves, and by whom he lives, have some right to ask what motives could have led to such a step. It is in deference to that right that the Author has thus openly entered into an explanation. PREFACE. \ iii Lest the greater part of those who might feel inclined to peruse the present volumes should, at the 'eiy threshold, he deterred from so doing, by the consideration that a phy- sician is the author of them,— it may he well to state, once for all, that the part of the narrative which refers to me- dical subjects is small indeed, and that all such subjects have been treated in that popular manner, which the fashion of the day has rendered consistent with general reading. Indeed, the Author’s only fears on the present occasion would be, that after the perusal of the following pages, he should be set down by the reader as too much a man of the world, and too little of a physician, if he had not, on other occasions, contributed what was in his power towards the improvement of medical science and literature. Independently of the desire he felt to occupy his time in as profitable a manner as he could during his absence from England, by collecting materials for the present work, the Author had also in view the possibility of rendering some service to travelling invalids, and travellers in general, who may feel inclined to undertake a similar excursion, or any part of it, by offering to them, in a new form, much prac- tical information in regard to health, comforts, instruction, amusements, expenses, and other points of equal importance to the tourist. 'i’he reader will find no abstract opinions or political disquisitions in the following pages. On the character of the nation the Capital of which he has attempted to describe, the Author, perhaps, has nothing new to offer. He can scarcely he said to have sojourned in Russia; and the intercourse which lie held with several distinguished Russians has been too short to enable him to give any opinion as to the PREFACE. IX moral and political state of the people in general. The Author’s views were directed to the more obvious features of “ things as THEY are.” Public Institutions and Public Buildings, external habits of society, and the more prominent manners of individuals may be accurately de- scribed, if personally and perseveringly inspected ; even during the short period of a few weeks. But the cast of the mind of a whole nation, particularly when that nation is made up of many and different elements ; the innate lineaments of the soul which fathers transmit to their chil- dren for successive generations, and which, more strongly than any geographical divisions, mark the difference be- tween one nation and its neighbour; the effects of certain systems of education and of the principles of Government on the spirit, energy, and intelligence of a people, — these may not be described after an experience of only a few weeks, because, in that short interval, they cannot be seen and examined ; and these, therefore, the writer has not attempted to delineate. The Author begs that his Work may be received for what he intends it — a minute, and, he hopes, a tolerably accurate account of the actual state of the Imperial Resi- dence of Russia ; embracing every subject which is likely to be of service to a traveller visiting that Capital, where he will find no Cicerone, or modern printed description of the city, to guide him. To this, he has added as much collateral information as he was able to bring together touching other countries through which he travelled, on his way to and from St. Petersburgh ; occasionally making use, for that purpose, of materials which he had collected in the course of former excursions. X PREFACE. If the Author adds, in conclusion, that he has endea- voured by the introduction of a variety of subjects, to make his Book less dry than a mere lime des postes, by the help of descriptions, anecdotes, and personal narra- tive, he trusts that his readers will find no reason to cen- sure the attempt. J 6, Grafton Street , Berkeley Square, August, 1828. 1 2 3 -1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Page 44 55 120 139 147 156 213 243 263 268 270 413 443 531 540 553 579 29 34 id. 35 52 53 59 61 71 138 149 160 161 226 244 266 ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. Statue of Peter the Great . . Frontispiece. Plan of Brussels ...... View of the Park, and of the Palace of the States-General at Brussels ...... Timber Raft floating down the Rhine . . . . Castle of Rheinstein, and view of the Road along the Left Bank of the Rhine. ..... The Castle of Johaunisberg on the Rhine, belonging to His High- ness the Prince Metternich .... Plan of Frankfort ..... Plan of Weimar ...... Plan of Leipsig ...... The New Royal Palace at Potsdam .... Plan of Berlin ...... The Unter den Linden Promenade . . . . Triumphal Arch, erected near the Riga Gate at St. Petersburgh, to commemorate the return of the Russian Guards from Paris The English Quay at St. Petersburgh The Imperial, or Winter Palace, at St. Petersburgh, seen through the Tropheal Arch of the Etat Major Plan of the Petit et Grand Hermitage, with the Theatre Theatre of the Hermitage on the Great Quay Plan of St. Petersburgh ..... VIGNETTES. Plan of the Penitentiary, or Central House of Correction at Ghent Church of St. Bavon ..... The Belfry ....... Peristyle of the Palace of the New University at Ghent The Kiug’s Palace at Brussels .... The Prince of Orange’s New Palace at Brussels The Hotel de Ville at Brussels . . ... The Church of St. Michael and St. Gudule, at Brussels The Tower of Janseuius at Louvain . . . . The Echo of Lurley, on the Rhine .... Ducal Palace at Bieberich , on the Rhine ... The Library, and Upper Gate on the Mein, at Frankfort The Rbinerberger at Frankfort .... Schiller’s House at Weimar ..... The Markt Platz at Leipsig .... The Royal Chateau at Potsdam .... 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page The Brandenburg Gate, at Berlin 273 'llie French Church at Berlin . 275 The Royal Chateau, aud Laugenbriicke at Berlin 280 The Arsenal at Berlin ..... 281 The New Theatre at Berlin .... 296 The University of Berlin . 302 A Droshky . 474 A Sledge ...... 475 Cottage of Peter the Great, and Summer Palace at St. Petersburgh VOL. II. The New Palace of His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke 577 Michael at St. Petersburgh Frontispiece The Admiralty aud Boulevards 55 Castle of St. Michael . . 80 The Imperial Academy of Sciences and Observatory View of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, on the Quay of the 106 Neva ... . . 138 Ground Plan of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts 139 Church of Our Lady of Kazan 184 Ground plan of the same .... 186 The Bridge Isaac and New Church 197 The New Exchange and one of the Rostral Columns 303 Villa of Yelaguine ..... 519 Plan of the City of Warsaw 540 Palace of the Minister of Finance, at Warsaw 558 Plan of the City of Dresden 593 Dresden from the Boer Bastion in Neustadt 595 The Royal Japanese Palace aud Garden at Dresden Dresden, as seen from Racknitz, the position occupied by the 611 Allied Armies in 1813, with Moreau’s Monument . 645 The Fortress of Konigstein, on the Elbe 650 The Lunatic Asylum at Sonnenstein, on the Elbe VIGNETTES. 651 The Swaika 396 Kulatchnoi Boy (Fist Fight) 398 A Milk Woman 416 A Sbitenstcliick 422 Government Palace at Warsaw 557 The Picture Gallery at Dresden 617 Plan of the same 619 Goethe’s House at Weimar 674 CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. PART FIRST. JOURNEY FROM LONDON TO ST. PETERSBURGH. CHAPTER I. FLANDERS. Departure from London. — Dover. — Advice to Invalids. — Steam-packet. — Remedies against Sea-sickness. — Calais. — Reciprocal contrast. — Colony of the King’s Bench A Fashionable Self-exile. — Coast Road Improve- ments at Dunkirk. — Douanes. — Ostend Dreadful Explosion. — Count Capo d’lstrias and the late Dutch Ambassador in London. — Ostend Oys- ters. — Bruges. — Sunday Catechism. — Ghent — Central House of Correc- tion. — The new University. — St. Bavon. — The Belfry. — Botanic Garden and Botanic Society . — Salons de Flore . — Exhibition of Paintings. — Modern Flemish Painters. — Canals. — Agricultural Aspect of the Country. — Ap- proach to the Capital . .... Page 1 — 43 CHAPTER II. Brussels. — Great improvements and extension of the Town. — Boule- vards. — English Colony. — Liberty of the Press, and Caricatures. — Enter- prizing and pirating Booksellers. — Curious mixture of Catholicism and Idolatry. — The King. — The Prince of Orange and the Grand-duchess Royal and Princely Palaces. — Fire at the old Royal Palace. — The Theatres. — The Park. — The States-generals The Alice Verte. — Palais de Justice. — Political Pandemonium The Hotel de Ville. — St. Gudule David, the French Painter. — The miraculous Wafers. — The new Lottery. — Climate. — Hospitals Doctors and Pliarmaciens . — Regulations respecting foreign Physicians Cabinet and Collections. — Intended Observatory Monument to Rubens— Departure from Brussels— Aspect of the Country. — Laechen. XIV CONTENTS. The towns of Vilvorde and-Malines, and the Steeple of Antwerp Cathe- dral.— Louvain. — University. — H6tel de Ville. — Tower of Jansenius. Cli- mate Statistics Posting. — Post Maps — Carte Generate Administrative. Liege. Another University. — System of Education. — Establishments for gratuitous instruction to the industrious Classes in the mechanic Arts. —General Statistics of the Kingdom up to 1827 — Currency — Expenses of living in the Capital, and in Provincial Towns. — Miscellaneous Observa- tions. — Road to Aix-la-Chapelle . . . Page 44 — 84 CHAPTER III. C1S-RHENANE PRUSSIA. Aix-la-Cliapelle, (Aachen.) — Recent Improvements in the Town — Inns. The Munster. — Coronation Chair. — Remains of Charlemagne. — Holy Re- lics New Theatre Redoute; and licensed gambling — New Pump-room and Fountain. Season for bathing, and drinking the mineral waters. Nature of the Springs Direction to Invalids who intend to visit them. — Mode of living during the bathing season — Expenses — Other objects worthy of the attention of strangers at Aix — The Salle du Congres — The allied Sovereigns and Sir Thomas Lawrence. — Environs Le Louisberg. — Salvatorberg Borcelle — Money-changers — Road to Cologne First view of the Rhine The Town of Cologne Cathedral The Catholic Bishops and their government. — The Lion and the Canons — The intrepid Bour- guemestre Church of St. Peter. — Rubens’ celebrated Painting of the Crucifixion of that Saint — Monument to Rubens The Three Farinas. Receipt for making Eau de Cologne — Navigation of the Rhine Steam- boat — Timber Rafts .... Page 85 — 120 CHAPTER IV. Bonn — Medical School — Collections. — Roman Relics View from the Terrace of the Royal Chateau — The Seven Mountains and the Dragon Rock — Godesberg — Rolandseck. — Erpiler Ley Basaltfelsen Vine Trees in the Rock — Kemagen — Mineral Water at Tonenstein. Andernach. Inferior Rhenish Wines — Heavy Duties — Coblentz The Moselle, and Moselle M ines — Ildtel de Treves. — Grande Place — Russian Commentary on a French Monument.— The Theatre — Schiller's Robbers.— General aspect of the Town. — Modern Fortifications. — Bridge of Boats Fort of Ehrcnbreitstein — Mineral Waters of Thalborn.— Boppart.— St. Goar — The \ irgin of Lurley. — Castle of Schonberg.- — Bacharach. — Ileimlmrg and Soncck.— Rheinstein.— Bingen Roman Bridge over the Nahe. — The Klopp — The Bingenloch and Mausethurm — Tomb of the Prefet Holt- zansen— Crossing the Rhine to Rudesheim.— The Rheingan.— Steinberg. Johannisberg.— Castle and Cellars of Prince Metternich.— Markobrun- ner— Bieberich Schloss.- Wealth of the Duke of Nassau.— Seltzer and Ems Mineral Waters — Wisbaden.— Favourable Aspect of the Town — Time for Drinking the Waters.-Mode of Living, and Amusements at Wisbaden.— Road to Frankfort . . Pane 121 155 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER V. CONFEDERATED STATES OF GERMANY. Frankfort. — Situation. — Constitution. — Population. — Striking Appear- ance of some Parts. — New Buildings. — Modern Gates. — The Zeil. — Streets in the Old Town. — Villas. — Head-quarters of Continental Bankers. — The late Mr. Bethmann. — Ariadne.— The Will The Hessian Monument and the Boulevards. — Roman Catholic Cathedral. — The Riimer. — The Golden Bull. — The Library. — Collections of Natural History. — Hospitals. — Scien- tific Societies. — The Polytechnic Society, or Mechanics’ Institute. — The Casino. — Book and Printsellers. — The Fair. — The Theatre. — Staedel’s In- stitute. — The Fine Arts and Native Industry. — Public Exhibition.— Palace of the Knights of the Teutonic Order. — Juden Gasse. — Rothschild, Senior. — The Russian Minister at the Diet.- — Prince Metternich and Pozzo di Borgo. — -The Court Puppies Combination of Wit and delicate Epicurism. — Singular Meeting. — Society. — Promenades. — Climate. — Practice of Me- dicine. — Superior Inns. — Observations on, and general List of, Rhenish Wines, with their Prices. — Cure de Raisins . Page 156 — 191 CHAPTER VI. Environs of Frankfort. — The Ridge of Heyrich. — Hanau. — Improving Appearance of the Country.. — Chaussee. — Peculiar Construction of the Houses. — Panoramic Description of the Road through Gelenhausen, Saal- miinster, Schluctem, and Newhof, to Fulda — Improvement of the latter Town since its secularization. — Eisenach.. — Luther’s Concealment. — Indus- try of the Inhabitants. — Eisenach Pipes. — Gotha. — The late Duke. — The Duke of Saxe-Cobourg inherits the Principality, and assumes the Title of Gotha. — Public Buildings. — Celebrated Collections. — Baron Zach, the As- tronomer. — Baron Grimm. — Erfurt — Fortifications. — The Emperor Alex- ander and Napoleon. — Description of the Road from Fulda, through Erfurt, to Weimar. — Aspect of this Town. — Market Concert. — The Ducal Palace. — The Grand-duke. — -The Park. — Goethe’s Villa. — The Belvedere. — The Theatre.. — The Stadtkirche. — The Alter Kirchof. — Nadeschda Yasnowsky. —Schiller without a Monument. — Table d’Hote. — Digestion and Indiges- tion. — Abernethy and Dr. Paris. — Industrie-Comptoir.— Bertuch and Dr. Froriep. — English Academy and English Residents Page 192 — 235 CHAPTER VII. SAXONY. — CENTRAL PRUSSIA. Road to Leipsig — The Kiisen — Salt-water Baths. — The Valley of the Saale — Singular coincidence and contrast Nihil. — Monumental column to the Duke of Brunswick near Eckardsberge. — College where Klopstock was educated. — Naumburg — Kotzebue’s drama. — Mineral Spring. — Weis- senfels — Autopsia of Gustavus Adolphus. — Lutzen. — Prussian Obelisk in commemoration of the battle of 1813. — Gustavus Adolphus’ Derikmal— Leipsig — General appearance of the town Autumnal Fair The Markt XVI CONTENTS. Plats Booksellers. Cheap editions, and English books reprinted. — Print, Map, and Music-sellers. — Leipsig Alouettes — Inns University The Observatory.— Church of St. Nicholas.— The “Feast of all the Germans.”— Hydrography of the Town.— Poniatowsky.— Wittenberg — German beds.— Reminiscences and Colossal Statue of Luther. — His burial-place in the Ca- thedral Melancthon Paintings of Lucas Cranach — Luther’s Room in the Augustine Convent Autograph of Peter the Great. — The Jug and the Album The Rerlin Road. — Approach to Potzdam — The Royal Cha- teau The sword of the Great Frederick and Napoleon. — The Palais Neuf. Sans-souci Magnificent appearance of Potzdam — Palaces converted into A uberges . — Road to Berlin . . • Page 236—267 CHAPTER VIII. rnussiA. Berlin. Striking appearance and extent of the Town. — The principal Streets. — Unter den Linden. — Potsdam Gate. — Brandenburg Gate. — Churches. — Squares. — The Park and Public Gardens. — Museum The Roval Palace. — The Arsenal. — Colossal Statue of Blucher. — Generals Biilow and Scharnorst. — Inns. — The Opera-House. — Mademoiselle Sontag. — Ger- man Opera and German acting. — The Schauspiel Haus. — King Lear. — Grand Concert-room. — The University. — The Professors. — Its Cabinets. — Collections of Anatomy and Zoology. — British Museum and English tra- vellers. — Institutum Obstetricum. — Hospital of La Charite. — Medical Practice. — Remuneration for medical attendance.- — Price of Medicines fixed by a tarif. — New Berlin Pharmacopoeia. — Professor Hufeland. — His opinion of Phrenology ..... Page 268- — 321 CHAPTER IX. BERLIN CONTINUED — EASTERN PRUSSIA. Royal Egyptian Museum. — Passalacqua and Baron Minutoli Baron Alexander Humboldt. — His course of Physical Geography. — Scientific Aca- demies. — The Royal Library — Collections of Paintings. — Arts and Ma- nufactures. — Sculpture — Charlottenburg. — The late Queen of Prussia, — Popular character of the King — The Princess de Leignitz. — Ball at the house of the Echanson du Roi — State and ton of Society. — Influx of Fo- reigners. — Military aspect of the Town. — Departure from Berlin. — Pa- noramic description of the Road towards the Russian Frontiers, through Custrin, Landsberg, Konitz, Marienburg, Elbing, and Kiinisberg. — Ante- diluvian Rocks.— Teutonic Castle of Marienburg The Vistula.— Com- merce and fertility. — Frauenberg and Copernicus. — Appearance of Konis- berg — The harbour of Pillau — The Town.— The Cathedral.— The Phi- losopher Kant — The Observatory.— The Strand.— Tilsit The Niemen. — Alexander the first and Napoleon on the raft. — Memel. — English sailors. Exchange of money — Last Prussian Station. — Prussian and Russian Frontiers. — Douane Polangen . . . Page 322 372 CONTENTS. XVII CHAPTER X. RUSSIA. The Jews of Polangen. — Amber and amber trinkets. — Russian Posting. — Podoroshna. — Kurlandia — Forests. — Statistics. — Roads — Topography. Mittau. — French Ancien Regime. — Princess Michel G The Go- vernor Baron de H — New Roads and Canals — Corn-harvest. — Smug- gling on the Coast.— Great public works in progress in the province of Kur- landia. — Palace of the ancient Dukes of Kurlandia. — Precipitous descent over the Aa. — Riga. — View of the Dwina The Bridge. — Picturesque dis- tribution of the Town. — Marquess Paulucci. — General Cobley. — Passports. — Police regulations respecting foreigners. — Interior of Riga. — Public buildings. — The oldest house The new Suburbs. — Liberality of the pre- sent Emperor. — News of the capture of Erivan. — Commerce — Inns. — Saving of bed-room bells. — The Post Road. — Volmar. — Dorpat — The Uni- versity Professors Struve and Ledebuhr — The Livonian Noblesse. — Specimen of modern Academical education in Russia. — Lake Peipus. — Monsieur Joukowsky Wandering Jew Minstrel. — A new wonder for a season in London Fortifications of Ivangorod — View of the Gulf of Fin- land. — Macadamized Roads. — New Post-houses. — Narva — Kupen. — Ger- man Colony. — Paper Manufactory — Imperial Palace. — Strelna. — Noble- men’s Villas. — Entrance into St. Petersbugh. . Page 373 — 414 PART THE SECOND. CHAPTER I. PICTURE OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. General Coup d’eeil. — Situation, topography, and extent of St. Peters- burgh. — Comparison between St. Petersburgh in 1801 and in 1827- — Im- provements and great additions. — Necessity of a modern Description for visiting that Capital with advantage. — Plans of the Town.— Its divisions. — The streets. — The Neva. — Rivers and Canals. — Bridges.- — The Isaac Bridge. — The Quays. — Advantage of walking in St. Petersburgh. — Panoramic promenades. — Statue of Peter the Great Periscopic bird’s-eye view of the city. — Ascent to the tower of the Admiralty for that purpose. — Striking and imposing spectacle. — General appearance of the Streets, Public buildings, Houses, Churches, Military Barracks, Maneges, Squares, and Gardens. — - Model in alto-rilievo of the City of St. Petersburgh. Page 415 — 448 CHAPTER II. Conveyances to and from St. Petersburgh. — Posting regulations. — Telegas, Kibitkas, Horses and tackle, Diligences, Steam-vessels Formalities to be attended to by Foreigners on their arrival at, during their residence in, and at their departure from St. Petersburgh. — Passports. — Custom-house. — Per- VOL. I. b CONTENTS. xviii mission to introduce books.— Hotels and ready-furnished apartments— Lacquais de Place and Servants.— Equipages.— Close Carriages, Droschkyes, Sledges— Divisions of Society.— Different classes of Nobility— The great officers of the Court The Ministers of State and Foreign Ministers— The Hereditary Nobility— Heads of Imperial Departments— Military officers of high rank.— The titular nobility— The liberal professions— The Em- ployis of Government The Merchants— Number of Foreigners in St. Petersburgh— Russian inhabitants— Remarkable feature in the character of the Russians— Busy appearance of the population— Privileges and new regulation respecting Foreigners . • • Page 449 — 492 CHAPTER III. Climate. — Facts respecting it. — Personal Observations of the Author in November and December 1827. — Nature of the prevailing Diseases. — Neces- sary precaution against cold in and out of doors. — Stoves. — Their construc- tion and management. — Clothing. — Baths. — Their description and effect. — Falls of Snow. — Snow Drifts. — High Winds. — Freezing of the River and Canals. — Removal of the Isaac and other bridges on the Neva. — Inconveni- ence resulting from it. — Aurora Borealis. — Summer Season Rapid Vege- tation. — Summer nights. — Emigration to the neighbouring Islands and Vil- lages. — Autumn. — Inundations. — Account of the Inundation of 1824. — Philanthropy of the Emperor Alexander. — Charity of the Russians Page 493—530 CHAPTER IV. Imperial Palaces in St. Petersburgh — The Winter Palace. — Apartments of the Reigning Empress, of the Empress-mother, and of the Emperor Marble Hall — Banqueting-room — Salle de St. George and Salle Blanche. Military Gallery by Dawe, and Fete of its Consecration Grand and Petit Hermitage. — Picture Rooms. — The Musical Clock. — The Horloge du Paon. —The Magic Secretaire — Collection of Prints, Medals, and original draw- ings— Pensile Gardens — The Theatre of the Hermitage— The Raphael Gallery— Mr. Dawe’s studio — Palais Chepeleff. — Cabinets of Cameos, In- taglios, and antiques — Gallerie de Malmaism The Library. — Voltaire and Diderot’s books— The Marble Palace The Taurida Palace Grand Ball-room and Winter Garden — Palais Anitchkoff— The Imperial Mews. —The New Palace of the Grand-duke Michael Architect Rossi Wooden House of Peter the Great and his Summer Palace . . Page 531 577. FORM OF A MARCHE-ROUTE AND POSTING DIARY, Kept from day to day in a journey from London to St. Petersburg]!, and back, by tlie Author, in which the distances are marked, and the amount of expense noted ; with the smallest number of horses and drivers required for a traveller and his servant, with a light open carriage, or calash, according to the regulations of each country, as well as the best inns and places of resort, with other necessary observations. Countr Distance Amount for througl Names of the in Postes Posting. Slate State of which Date. principal Towns miles, No. of No. of of the Observations. we t and Post-houses. leagues, Horses. health. weather passed. versts. 2 l + t 1st. LONDON Miles. £.s. d. £■ s. d. a Dartford 18 1 7 0 0 4 0 The amount of turn- a'; pikes on this line of road < ROCHESTER 11 0 16 6 0 3 0 is about 10^. o z Sittingbourne 15 1 2 6 0 3 0 (1) Rose Inn w (D CANTERBURY 16 1 4 0 0 4 0 (2) Ship Inn York Hotel DOVER (2) 16 1 4 0 0 4 0 Steam Vessel The Salamander Charge for a carriage 3 guineas, passengers 10s English miles 76 Od.each, servants5s. CALAIS. (3) 2 1 (3) The horses through 2nd. French Horses Postil. out France at 30 sous each. a 3d horse, six Postes. f. c. f. w u z < months iu winter On quitting Calais pay Gravelines a 3d horse, six months in winter 7 50 5 0 one half post above the distances The French postilions are entitled only to 75 centimes, but the travel- DUNKIRK 2 6 0 4 0 lershad better give 2 frs. a 3d horse all the to be civilly treated year round 4J At Dunkirk the Hotel de Flandres Douane . The Frontiers, The lieue in Flanders is half a French postc Lieues. flr. fir. ct. are 4 lieues from ct. Dunkirk Furnes H 5 25 2 56 The price in Flanders is 1 Hoi . or 2 f. 11 c. for each horse, and each Ghistel 7 7 0 3 29 poste consisting of two leagues. The postilion had better be paid at the vi 03 3rd. OSTEND (4) 2 2 0 0 94 52 same rate as in France, which makes 94 cts. for 2 lieues, though entitled BRUGES n 7 50 3 only to eight stubers a (4) Hotel de3 Pays ft z Eecloo 6 6 0 2 — 1 Bays, formerly Corn I in- periaie < At Bruges, the Fleur a 4th. GHENT 5 5 0 2 35 de BI6 Quadrecht 24 2 50 1 17 At Ghent, the Ildtel de la Poste, between the 1 88 poste aux chevaux and Alost 4 4 0 the Theatre Assche 3 3 0 1 41 5th. BRUSSELS 3 3 0 1 41 Hdtel Bellevue -- ■ - De PEurope See p. 44, part 1. 45J t These three columns are not filled up in the present case, being retained only to exhibit the diary in its complete form. In the first column, for the days of the. month, I have, in this instance, substituted the number of days that elapsed after leaving England. XX MARCHE ROUTE Country Ih'ougli which L Names of the principal Towns ,ud Post-houses. )istanc< Amount Postin for g. | State >tate of Observations. Dale. miles, cagues, So. of lorses. 1 So. of )rivers. 1 of lealth. v the eather iiuiicd versts. — ll« ut s ir. ct. tr. ct. Bro. for. 45 i r The Belgian road, as ir as Battice, is just CORTEM- 4 50 2 11 t alerable, and paved BERG 44 LODVAIN (1) 3 3 0 1 41 (1) Hotel ile Cologne. c/5 cs Tirlemont 44 4 50 2 11 The “ Plat d’Etain ’ at 'irlemont s 55 1 8 th. St. Tron 44 4 50 2 11 The “Sauvage” Inn. < Orey 44 4 50 2 11 LIEGE 44 4 50 2 11 Au Pavilion Anglais Battice 54 5 50 2 58 Prussian Douane 9th. AIX-LA- (2) 6 6 0 2 72 (2) Dragon d’Or Hotel des Etrangers CHAPEL LE The ro.td from Battice See pa gc 85, p 1. 82J to Aix is paved and very indifferent 3 horses. 1 driver, Meylen. Kix. (ir. Itix. Gr. Juliers 34 4 11 1 24 The charge in the Bergheim 24 3 3J 0 25 Prussian Provinces on the Rhine is twelve and a halt silver groshen for S3 X 10th. COLOGNE (3) 34 4 HI 1 5 each horse, and per mile (1 fr. 61 cts.)— the mile 4 11J 1 5 equal to a French poste, BONN 3§ and three and three- 1 quarters silver groshen to the postilion; but it 3 224 Remagen by the stones on 3 had better be one-third of a thaler, or ten silver «! the road it is three groshen a-mile and a half Andernacli 3 3 224 1 (3) Hotel de la Cour 2 (4) Imperiale, or Du St. Es- M 11th. COB LENTZ 2 2 15 0 20 prit m by the stones it is There are barrieres to pay for at every consi- derable village or ham Boppart 24 3 33 0 25 let 011 this road From Bonn to Bingen St. Goar If 2 5; 9 17J the road is macadam- ized j Bacharach U 2 5 0 17 (1) Hotel de Treves, on Darin. 3 BINGEN (5) 2 2 15 0 20 the Grand Place sladt j (5) Hotel de la Poste Cross the Rhine The ferry’s charges for a carriage across, is five to francs, including the pas- C * nUDESHE IM sengers Duke of Nassa LI WISBADE> Page 151, p. 1. Hoechst 3A 24 4 11 3 3 4 1 5 1 0 25 (See page 190) (See page 152) meylei 1 345 J AND POSTING DIARY XXI Country through Date. Names of the principal Towns and Post-housi s. Distance in Post- Amount for Posting. State of Observations. which miles, No. ot No. ot of the we leagues, Horses. Drivers. health. weather. passed. versts. 2 1 German Postes fior. k. Hor. k. (A) The charge for each horse is a florin Free Town. 12th. FRANK- FORT (A) on the Mein 2 6 0 2 0 and a half for a poste ol 2 miles, and 40kreutzers for the postilion ; one florin, at Frankfort, is equal to 60 kreu’zers, 1 3 0 1 0 Grand duke Hanau. HANAU Gelnhausen H’ 4 30 1 30 or 2 francs, 15 centimes (S< e page 186) One florin, however, had better be given to the SaalmUnster i Rix. Gr. 1 20 Rix. Gr. postilion. The German poste is 0 10 equal to 2 meylen. Hesse SchlUchtern i J 20 0 16 The perpetual changes of coins and charges on the road from Frank- (B) Neuliof i 1 20 0 16 fort to Leipsig, are a great source of incon- venience. The travel FULDA (1) Of 1 9 0 12 ler must, in a great measure, trust to the Grand- Hunfeld printed ticket given at 1 1 20 0 16 each poste. before start- duke ol ing, signed by the Saxe- 1 Buttlar 1 1 12 0 16 master (1) Inn l’Electcur. 41 ei- La Poste. mar. (C) Vach Of 1 3 0 12 There are bariieres to be paid at every town on this road, be- Marksuhl H 1 21 4 20 sides the chaus$£egeld, included in the charges EISENACH (2) made outin the punted Of 1 3 0 12 ticket. (1) Inn, the Rauten- Trantz, excellent and civil people. Gotha Co- burg. GOTHA (3) If 2 15 1 4 (D) ERFURT (4) (F) 4 Hor. kr. 7 30 flor. kr. 3 0 (3) La Poste, very comfortable (4) The Romishkaiser PRUS- Rix. Gr. Rix. Gr. (5)PrinccTIereditaire tolerable and the best S1A. ICth. WEIMAR(5) 4 2 0 1 0 (E)In the kingdom of Saxony, the tarif for each horse is 9 groshen Duke See p. 213, part 1. ofSaxe- Wei- Eckartsberge 4 2 0 1 0 a mile, equal to 1 fi anc 50 centimes. (The Sax- on mile is longer.) |he mar. Saxon rix-thalcr, 24 Naumburg l 1 10 0 20 gutten groshen, equal to 3 francs 90 centimes PRUS- Weissenfels l 1 10 0 20 The tarif for posti- lions is 4 gutten grosh- SIA. en, which should be (F) Liitzen l 1 10 0 20 doubled In the various Duke- doms of Saxony, the LEIPZIG SAX- 19 th. 1 21 0 20 tarif differs ONY See p. 243, vol. i. (B) Hesse-Cassel, (E) Delitzsch H 1 20 0 25 eleven gutten groshen per mile, and per horse Bitterfeld i 1 10 0 20 (C)Saxe-Weimar, nine gutten groshen per mile and horse. Grdfenliaini- (D) Saxe-Gotha, 1 floa.in 15 kreulZ' rs per J chen 4 1 5 0 21 mile, and horse. One third of a rix- czj a) WITTEN- thaler had better be given to the postilion BhK(j 4 2 0 1 25 for each mile every See p. 255, vol. i. where P-> (F) Kroppstadt l 1 10 0 20 (F) The tarif for horses m this part of Prussia is 10 silver groshen a horse per mile, or one- 20 f 1 third of a rix-thalcr XXII MARCHE ROUTE Countf) through Names of the Distance in Post. Amount for Posting. State State of Observations. Date. principal Towns miles, No. of No. of of the wt: and Post-houses. leagues, Horses. Drivers. health. weather. passed. i versts. 2 1 Bro. for. Geiman Postes. Rix. Gr. Ilix. Gr. The same ought to be given to the posti- 29 1 lion per mile Treuenbritzen H 1 20 0 25 Belitz n 1 5 0 21 POTSDAM i§ 1 25 0 26 Zelilendorf i 1 10 0 20 For the state of the 20tli. BERLIN f i 1 10 0 20 road and 111 ns, see chap- ters VII. and VIII. part i. See p. 268, paiti. 35i Vogelsdorff. 1 Mcyleo. t On leaving Berlin, a charge is made tor 3 2 0 1 0 an extra horse Mlincheberg 3| 2 15 1 74 KUSTRIN 4? 3 5 1 174 A good inn next door 25th. to tiie post house Baltz 3* 2 5 1 24 Landsberg 3 2 0 1 0 There is an excellent <- inn Cross the riv. r fl c n Warlhe. | X X Friedeberg 33 2 15 1 74 Woldenberg 24 1 20 0 25 A very decent inn at the post-house j Hochzeit 2 1 10 0 20 From Hochzeit to Kronne the road is not Schloppe 21 1 5 0 174 completed Ruscliendorf n 1 0 0 15 DEUTSCII- A very respectable inn KRONNE 93 "4 1 25 0 274 2fith. Freudenfier 14 1 0 0 15 Jastrow I’eterwalde 3 2 0 1 0 An excellent inn I 11 many of the sta- 34 2 10 1 5 tions the road is very bad, and deep in sand Schlochau 3 2 0 1 0 KONITZ Sec p. 353, part i. o 1 10 0 20 An excellent inn, the landlord speaks French Czersk 41 2 25 1 124 I 27th. 1 Franckenfelde 23 1 25 0 174 Stargardt : 3 2 0 1 0 1 L 554 AND POSTING DIARY. XX1I1 Country through which Names of the Distance iu Post Amount for Posting. State State of Date. principal Towns miles, No. of No. o of the Observations. we and Post-houses leagues, Horses. Drivers health. weather passed. versts. 3 1 German Meylen Rix. Gr Rix. Gr Bro. for. 55J 1 24 Horses are changed DIUSCHAU The Vistula H 2 5 at the post-house, at the entrance of the town, and the traveller MARIEN- proceeds to embark on BURG (1) n 1 20 0 25 the ferry, crossing two branches of the Vistula EBBING (2) 2 25 l 124 (1) A good inn, the Iiochmeister Hutte 2b 1 20 0 25 Since the new road has been made, these 1 0 post-stations stand in Braunsberg 3 2 0 lieu of those printed in the post books, or maps Quilliten 21 1 25 o 274 (2) Stadt Berliu Brandenburg n 1 20 0 25 Nothing can equal the beauty of the road from Dirschau to El- 28Ul KONIGS- bmg BERG (3) 03 1 25 o 274 Badly driven on the whole of this road Caymen 4 2 20 1 10 (3) Deutsch Ha us, good, but gloomy LABIAU 3 2 0 1 0 The Tilsit road is uninteresting, tedious, broken, irregular, and < Mehlauken 4 2 20 1 10 knee deep in sand c o To those who prefer (A D Shillupischen 3 2 0 1 0 the Strand load, the following route will be 05 of use — Oh 29tli TILSIT (4) 3 2 0 1 0 To Mulzen 3£ meyl. — Sarnau 3 — , — Rositten — Szamaitkeh- — Nidden 3A — men H 2 10 1 5 — Schwartz- liorst 4 — — Memel 3 — . Werdenberg 3§ 2 15 i 74 *4 Norkaiten 2 1 10 0 20 By the Tilsit road, the distance is 30 and and a half meylen Prokuls 24 1 20 0 25 Persons preferring MEM EL (5) to go by the Strand, 30 th 3 2 0 1 0 tafette, or avant cou- rier, at each station, Nimmerstadt 3 2 0 1 0 to order the horses, with a view to avoid Frontier of delay : the charge for it is half a rixlhaler Prussia each mile Frontier of (4) A good inu, with no name, about the Russia o 124 middle of the town polangen(6) 03 0 25 (5) The Russian Ho- tel, dirty and noisy (6) A decent, bare- 3lst Total meylen 114 4 1 driver. walled, Jewish-house, Verstes. r. k. r. k. or la Poste Rutzau 2G| 23 62 0 80 Russian custom-house at the entrance of the Ober Bartau 27 24 30 0 80 village. 0 80 Harness three horses abreast a la Russe . Tadeken 25 22 50 78J wiv MARCHE ROUTE Country Karnes of the principal Towns .»ud Post-houses. Distance Amount for Posting. State State of Observations. « wli.ch Date. miles, leagues, No. ot Horses. No. oi D river s of health. the weather. versts. 3 Vcrstes. r. I<. r. k. In stating the num- ber ot versts, I follow Bro for. cc the gieat and new post- G. Drogen 19 17 10 80 map of the Etat Major. In practice I lound the 21 37 distance of a few of the Schrunden •23? 80 stations marked in that 32(1 The Win- map and on the pillars, to disagiee with the no- ilan, n. tion of the post-master, Frauenburg 29 26 10 80 who charged one, or two versts more, in ge- - 26 10 neral; but that occurred Bekhoff 29 80 only iu a few places. C Doblen 24 21 60 80 N. B. The money meant here, is the pa. 33(1 per rouble of 100 cop- c MITTAU 28 25 20 80 per kopeeks each. The Aa, n. Olay Cross the 21 | 19 57 80 Dtvina at 8 k. each. The charge for three Hordes. horses in Courland,for every verste, is 90 ko- RIGA 20 ', 4 86 80 pecks; and although the driver is not strictly Netier Muhlen 11 2 64 80 entitled to any thing, an 80 kopeek piece, (20 of silver, and equal to Hd. English,) is given 34th Hilchensphehr 15 3 60 80 The Aa (2) n. See p. 450—1, vol. i. X X Engelhards- 19 4 56 80 N. B. After Mittau OC hof the charge for horses all the way to St. Pe- Roop tersburgli, and thence 35th 21 5 4 80 to Kobno, is 8 kopeeks per verst for each horse, Lenzenhof 224 5 40 80 and a 20 kopeek-piece to the driver. VOLMAR The Aa 19 4 56 80 The road is sandy, flat, passing through Stackeln 2.34 5 64 80 lorests, and tedious. Gulbeu 214 5 16 80 During the first 3 stations, beyond Riga, the road is as bad as Teilitz 19 4 56 80 it can be. Kuikatz 224 5 34 80 .2 Uddern 244 5 94 80 o > 36th Emlmch it. DOR PAT or Derpt 26 6 24 80 Igaphehr 234 5 58 80 The stage from Tor- ma, in the summer, is I omia 231 5 58 80 very heavy, on account of the sandy forests. Nennal 25| 6 18 80 gcr/i river a charge of' 1 rou. 5893 AND POSTING DIARY XXV . Distance Amount for Names of the n Post- Posting. State State of which Date. principal Towns miles, No. ot No. of of Observations. we md Post-houses. eagues, Iorses. Drivers. health. weather. passed versts. 3 Versts. r. k. r. k. Bro. for. 589§ 37 til Ranna Pun- 3 36 80 Coast the Great Lake Peipus, from Nennal to Ranna Pungern. gern 14 In general it will be Klein Pun- well to go prepared on gern (1) 264 6 36 80 this road with the necessary utensils for your repasts, and sel. Yewe 21 5 4 80 dom stop to sleep at an inn on the road From Nennal to Pun- Tchoudley 12 2 88 80 gern the station is very heavy. Yaivara 18 4 32 80 (1) A very comfort- able clean inn. NARVA 224 5 40 80 The road improves to Narva; whence to the capital it is equally Yambourg 204 4 92 80 as good as many of the new roads in Euiope. Opolie 15 3 60 80 At every station there is a new and excellent Kzirkowitz 224 5 40 80 hotel attached to the Post house. Ivlappendorf 14 1 3 0 12 o X Oschatz 2 1 12 0 10 < X Luppa 14 1 224 0 10 103<1 W i'RTZEN 2 1 12 0 16 LEIPZIG 3 2 6 1 0 Schkeaditz 2 1 10 0 20 104th HALLE 3 2 0 1 0 MERSEBURG 2 1 10 0 20 Weissenfels 24 1 15 0 224 X JJ At’ MBITRG 24 1 15 0 224 Eckartsherg 03 “4 1 25 0 274 80 Observations. The charge as far as the frontier of Saxony is the same as from Berlin to Polangen. (1) This road, as far as Breslau, is execrable (2) See part III. Breslau. N. B. In addition to the sum marked iu the column, there is at each stage a charge of some groshen for chawtee and wagon-meister. I'he nxthaler = 30 silver groshen. (3) Inns, Serpent Couronne, Serf Braun. The road is hard, and improves the moment you leave Breslau, with the exception of 2 or 3 stages not yet finished. The Saxon roads are perfection : the last 2 stages before Dresden are like a ride, in a gentleman’s park. The Saxon post mile is to that of Prussia, as G to 5. The charge for each horse and mile, is nine gutten groshen, 24 of which make a rix- thaler, and 8 gutten groshen to the posti- lion, though his due is only 5 groshen. See part III. The road to Ilalle from Leipsig is by no means good, and is not macadamized ; charges as above, in Pi ussia. AND POSTING DIARY. XXIX Country through 1 which i distance Amount tor Posting. Date. piiueipal Towns miles, JSo. oi I INo. ot Ol the Observations. we and PosUhouse's. leagues, Horses. 1 Drivers. health. weather. passed. 1 Veists. 2 1 Bro. for.j Jerman Mrylen. U ix. Gr. llix. Gr. Saxe- Wei- mar. 80 N. B. — Although the winter is advanced, the 105 th WEIMAR 3 2 0 i 0 line of road from Wei- mar to Frankfort is as good as I found it PRUS- ERFURT 3 2 0 0 20 in the summer. The Chauss(3e - geld and SIA. GOTHA 3 2 0 i 0 Bruck-geld are very heavy on this liue ot Saxe- Flor. k. Flor. k. Gotha Eisenach 3J 8 45 3 0 Co- Rix. Gr. Rix Gr. burg. Mark shul 14 1 3 0 12 Vach 24 1 21 0 20 Saxe- Buttlar 14 1 3 0 12 W ei- mar. Hunfeld 2 1 12 0 16 107 th FULDA 2 1 20 0 16 Newhof 14 1 9 0 12 SchlUchtern 2 1 20 0 16 Hesse Saalrniinster 2 1 20 0 16 Gelnhausen 2 1 20 0 16 HANAU 3 2 18 1 0 FRANK- flor. k. flor. k. 108th FORT o 3 0 i 0 1144 German Posies. Hesse- Hattersheim i 3 0 i 30 Briich-geld at Cassel, Darm- CASSEL 30 kreutzers stadt. Cross the The payment for horses as far as Saar- Rhine briich is in florins and MAYENCE H 3 45 i 52.1 kreutzers, as in the case of Frankfort. From the latter place to Forbach Niederulm 3 2 15 1 74 three florins for 2 horses Hesse. 4 and each poste. To the Worstadt i 2 15 i 74 postilions, one florin and thirty kreutzers each poste 109 th Alzey 3 4 2 15 i 74 < Kircheimbo- < landen 3 4 2 15 i 74 > < Standebiihl ? 2 15 i 74 M Sembach I 3 0 i 30 7 FRANCE. XXX MARCHE ROUTE Country through which we passed. Date. Names of the principal Towns aud Post-houses. 110 th Bro. for. | KAISERS LAC- TERN Landstuhl BruchmUlbach HOMBURG Rohrbach SA Alt BRUCH Forbach St. Avoid Fouligny Courcelles Chaussy* Distance in Post- miles, Leagues Verst*. Ya)METZ*( 2 ) j Gravelotte Mars-la-Tour Harville | Manlicule* j VERDUN | Doml)alle-(- j ] Clermont en ! ] Argomief ISU Menenould I Orbeval a tilth Somme Vesle CHALONS sur Marne. Gaalons-f- German Postes. 7 OJ 1 04 0$ 1 1 12 French Postes. n 2i 2 1 24 2 i 11 n 11 2 2 u 2 1 2 2 2!) j? Amount for Postin g. No- of | No, of Horses. Drivers. Nor . k. Hor. k. 2 15 3 0 1 7. 1 30 1 30 0 45 ! 2 15 1 74 3 6 3 0 fr. ct. 4 50 C 75 (i 0 10 0 8 50 3 75 4 50 3 75 6 0 8 0 4 50 8 0 3 0 0 0 1 30 1 30 fr. ct. 3 0 4 50 4 0 3 0 2 0 5 0 4 50 2 50 3 0 2 70 4 0 4 0 2 70 4 0 2 0 4 0 State of health. State of the weather. 6 0 j 4 0 6 0 4 0 Observations. The whole road is macadamized and beau tiful (1) An excellent inn at the post For charges in France, see the first page of this marclie route * At the stations thus marked, an additional horse is required, or paid for, during the 6 winter months + At the stations thus marked, au additional horse must be taken, or the two paid for, at 40 sous each, all the year round (a) From Metz, a quarter of a post is paid in addition ; the same at Chalons (2) At Metz, an ex cellent inn, HAtel de l’Europe, Rue dcs Clercs N. B. — Whenever a third horse is noted, the traveller has the option of paying 40 in- stead of 30 sous each horse, and retaining only two of them, and the present calculation is made on that under- standing. AND POSTING DIARY. xxxi Country through which Distance Amount for Posting. Date. principal Towns miles, Leagues, No. ot No. of of the Observations. we aud Post-houses. Horses. Drivers. health. weather. passed. Versts. 2 French Postes. frs. cts. frs. cts. Bro. for. 29| Epernay 2 8 0 4 0 Port-k-Binson 2 6 0 4 0 DORMANS (1) 1 3 0 2 0 (1) Good inn, the Croix d’Or Paroy li 4 50 3 0 6 Chateau .5 Thieruy 1 3 0 2 0 x -d La Ferme de <4 0) Paris U 4 50 3 0 a u a La Ferte-sous s Jouarre 2 6 0 4 0 St. Jean les deux J umeaux i 3 0 2 0 MEATIX (2) 14 4 50 3 0 (2) After Meaux, the a great beauty of the road ceases, and the z q3 e Claye 2 6 0 4 0 paved avenues begin, and continue as far as < "S Paris a C/J BONDY 2 6 0 4 0 One additional poste is paid from Bonny to PARIS 14 7 50 5 0 Paris, called Poste Royal e 11 6th St. Denis l 10 0 4 0 When a poste roy- ale is paid in addition to the regular distance, Moisselles 14 4 50 3 0 it is usual to give the postilion his pourboire in proportion Beaumont sur 4 50 0 One additional poste Oise 14 3 is paid from Paris to St. Denis Puiseux n 3 75 4 54 2 50 0 The road from Paris to Calais is not so good as many others Noailles 14 3 on the Continent, and ought to be better, con- If 5 25 sidering how much it is BEAUVAIS 2 jO frequented There are three roads Marseilles n 6 75 4 50 to Calais; 1. By Beau- vais ; 2, by Amiens; 3, by St. Pol and Ayre. GRANVIL- The first is the shortest; but all are equally bad LIERS H 3 75 2 50 and uncomfortable, and not creditable to the Poix i| 5 25 2 75 nation. The pavement lasts as far as Puiseux. Camps 14 4 50 3 0 The Inns are very bad till you reach Beauvais. Airaines U 3 75 2 50 65£ XXXII MARCHE ROUTE AND POSTING DIARY. Country through Distance in Post- Amount lor Posting. State State 0 Observations. 1 Date. principal Towns miles. 0 0 7 O C of the- vrc and Post-houses. leagues, Horses. Drivers. health. weather versts. 2 1 Trench Posies. frs. cts. frs. cts. ISro. for. 651 The traveller will take care to arrive be- fore sunset, or to send ABBE- an avant courier to o VILLE (1) 21 6 1 ' 4 50 the different fortified towns on this road, or z lie may chance to re- -< Nouviom U 4 5(1 3 main out all night, par- « ticularly at Abbeville Beruay 1 3 2 Montreuil, and Calais. (1) Hotel de TEu- rope. Nampont 14 4 50 3 MOTEEUIL SUE 31 ER 14 4 50 3 Cormont 14 4 50 3 Samer 1 3 2 BOULOGNE 2 6 4 Marquise 1? 5 75 2 75 Ilaut-Buisson 1 3 2 U7th CALAIS (2) La Manche ( sea passage ) 14. 81$ 6 4 (2) An additional half poste is paid on enter- ing Calais. 8 leagues Carriage Person. * (3) It is but justice to say, that the York Hotel is the most desi- DOVER (.1) English £. s. d. £. s. d. table at Dover. It is private, cleanly, mode- Miles. 3 3 0 10 0 rale in charges, and the attendance and civility CANTER. 16 of the landlord, are of the best description. BURY 1 4 0 5 0 *-< Sittingbourne 16 1 4 0 5 0 General recapitulation of Distances to and from St. Petersburgh. J 11 nocnESTEn 16 6 4 6 w lliltli Dartford lo 1 2 6 5 0 H 0 *1 ^ 0 2 ^ cT 3 8. ggan |«g. LONDON. 18 1 7 0 5 0 76 - 2 ST S £ sT 2- 0 3“ W | zr L/3 to 3 * ccss?3?58 I I BRUSSELS. 45 had bespoken apartments at this hotel, which we were lucky enough to find unoccupied on our arrival. Few hotels are more favourably situated than this ; but my commendation cannot extend farther. The charges are extravagant ; the attendance, where the traveller has few or no servants with him, is very indifferent ; many of the bed-rooms for single gentlemen are small and inconve- nient. The wide stairs and corridors, leading to the pri- vate apartments on the principal and second story are, like all such public avenues abroad, washed and scrubbed only occasionally; and altogether, the establishment is sus- ceptible of many improvements. As usual, however, in these large inns, the essential part (for some travellers at least), to wit, the cuisine and the contents of the cellars are capital. At least, so I have heard connoisseurs say. Brussels has received considerable extension, and has been greatly improved within the last few years. The greatest improvement of all, however, has been the demolition of the old Ramparts which went round the old Town, and the sub- stitution, in their place, of one of the finest promenades, or Boulevards, in Europe. On the one side of this extensive public walk, rows of magnificent houses, each with a gar- den before it, and much resembling English houses of the first and second class, have been erected, and are mostly inhabited by English families. Brussels, indeed, may be said to be, next to Paris, the largest English colony on the Continent. It is computed that there are at this moment not fewer than six thousand English residents at Brussels. Nor is it to be wondered at. Cheapness of living, and plenty of amusement and instruction ; liberty of thought and conscience ; mild government and agreeable society, are things not of every day, nor to be met with every where. Yet for all this, some change is now taking place in the disposition of foreign residents towards this capital ; and 46 COUNT CAPO D’lSTRIAS. during the last year the number of them had sensibly diminished. At the hotel we found Lord Herbert, now Earl of Pembroke, a nobleman remarkable for his highly polished manners; and the Prince Charles Lieven, attached to the Russian Mission. Count Capo d’Istrias joined us, once more, at dinner; and in the evening the minister of Russia, Count Gourief, with his lady, who is by birth aNaryschkine, visited the Count and Countess. It was impossible not to be pleased with the agreeable manners aud superior con- versation of both ; but the lady possesses, moreover, many of the superior attractions of her sex. The more opportu- nities I have of conversing with Count Capo d’lstrias, the more convinced I feel of the justice of public opinion in regard to his merits.* On one occasion he discoursed at full length on the state of Greece, and the form of Government best adapted for that country. On a subject that had been so long and so often discussed, I should have thought it impossible for any one to offer any thing new. The Count, however, proved by his opinions, corroborated by facts, and an appeal to long experience, that much which is novel, striking, and important, remained yet to be told on so interesting a subject. His notions respecting finances and loans, in particular, made a great impression on my mind. I had never heard those questions treated in so original a manner ; nor was I the less struck by the prudence and caution which seemed to mark the sentiments of this states- man. The facility with which, while speaking, he referred to certain facts, led me to remark to him that his memory appeared surprising. He assured me that the compliment must not be generally applied, and that he never had any memory for precise words and numbers, but only for ideas. In support of this assertion, he related an anecdote respect- ANECDOTE OF COUNT CAPO D’lSTRIAS. 47 ing his admission as Doctor of Philosophy, in the University of Padua. On that occasion he had endeavoured to commit to memory his thesis, which had been previously approved of by the professors, with a view to his defending it accord- ing to custom. But on mounting the rostrum, not a word could he recollect of his composition. He knew well enough what it was all about — recollected the arrangement of the different paragraphs by the help of the ideas which each contained ; but the words, the provoking words, es- caped his mind’s grasp. He hummed, and made the triple bow to his audience twice over, and stood mute; when at last, tired of this mummery, he took the thesis out of his pocket, and began reading it aloud, very coolly, to the great amusement of the whole assembly. I take it, that this is, in fact, the best kind of memory for men of business : it helps them to retain things and ideas, rather than mere wcft-ds and the arrangement of phrases. We saw a good deal of this distinguished individual during our stay at Brussels. His personal appearance is striking. The squareness and great elevation of his forehead — the extraordinary size of his ears, considerably detached from the back part of the head — and the remarkable paleness of his complexion, give him a very peculiar character. He has a quick and brilliant eye, and a mildness in the expres- sion of his countenance which is very pleasing. This no- bleman, who, for the interest of Greece, had resigned the best portion of his moderate fortune, and was now jour- neying towards the seat of his Government, declined every assistance proffered to him, travelled by the diligence , and with a view of being wholly unfettered by foreign influence, had formally resigned all his pensions and other pecuniary emoluments. It is to be hoped that the Greek nation will prove worthy of such personal sacrifices, by the support 48 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS AT BRUSSELS. they will give to the government of their distinguished countryman. One of the characteristic signs of a free Government, the liberty of the press, exists in this city, in its most unlimited sense. There is no censure in the Netherlands; every body may think, write, and speak as he likes best. Legal responsibility attaches to authors for any practical harm they may cause by their writings, but no farther ; and it is only justice to say, that few, if any instances of that liberty outstepping the bounds of propriety, have occurred, in which injury to individuals, disrespect to Government, or contempt for religion, have arisen. The same liberty is extended to the crayon, which has been granted to the press, — and the political or satirical carica- tures published at Brussels are numerous. They are an improvement on French caricatures, but sadly inferior to those of this country. Without a number of written labels, their figures are mute, their groups silent, their inventions unintelligible. The great military encampment and reviews held at St. Omer last Autumn by the French King, at which the Prince of Orange assisted, led to the publication of a caricature in which a Giraffe (then a popular animal,) dressed in the uniform of the French Monarch, was seen led in procession by a priest, who is ordering the military preceding the procession, to lay hold of whatever they can find that is good, and to find the best lodging for “ La plus grand bete du monde.” There is neither truth not wit in the insinuation. 1 he general knowledge of the French language which prevails in the Netherlands, especially at Brussels, has induced several very enterprising booksellers in that capi- tal to reprint not only the standard classical works of l rench authors, but also every modern production from PIRATING BOOKSELLERS AT BRUSSELS. 49 the Paris press likely to sell, particularly novels, romances, plays, political and satirical works, and books of travels, which are sold to the public for half of the Parisian prices. This practice is said to have extended so far, that Tarlier, one of the principal publishers, had reprinted, in the course of the first six months of 1827, 318,615 volumes, the value of which amounted to 1,183,315 francs. In order to put a stop to this piratical manoeuvre, so injurious to the bookselling trade of France, the princi- pal publishers in Paris, such as F. Didot, Gosselin, Re- nouard, Treuttel and Wiirtz, Sautelet and Bachelier, formed themselves into a company for the purpose of establishing a depot of their own editions at Brussels, with the intention of selling them at the same low price at which the Flemish editions are sold. This attempt has been met by another company of Flemish publishers, who, by uniting their capitals, hope to be able, in their turn, to undersell the French. At the same time, they have peti- tioned Government for protection in favour of national in- dustry, and for an augmentation of duty on books imported from France. The French are certainly treated as they deserve in this matter. One of the grumblers at the con- trefafon of his editions -by the Brussels booksellers, is Didot, who himself scruples not to join that most piratical, yet useful publisher of La Rue Vivienne, Signor Galignani, in the immediate reprinting of every English work which enjoys a high degree of popularity, and which they sell at a most tempting, and consequently to the English pub- lishers, ruinously low price. “ Fiat justitia.” It is only in Roman Catholic countries that instances of religious ceremonies, bordering on idolatry, are to be met with. A procession takes place annually in this town, the nature of which leads me to make this observation. Brussels is remarkable for a great number of perennial VOL. I. E 50 RELIGIOUS PROCESSION AT BRUSSELS. fountains, which are much more convenient than pumps. In most of these fountains, the water is distributed spa- ringly, but uninterruptedly, in small streams, which are generally made to come from the mouth of animals, or human figures. One of these, remarkable for the irreve- rent idea of its composition, is situated at the corner of the Rue de FEtuve. It has been called the iftftUtttffcCrt' — p Uer qui mingit, and represents the figure of a naked child, in bronze, of excellent workmanship, sup- plying the requisite Jilet d'eau. This fountain is cele- brated all over Flanders, and held in such reverence, that whenever a religious procession, or kertnesse, takes place, in which the Host is promenaded under a baldaquin through the streets, escorted by the military, and pre- ceded by a great concourse of priests and monks, followed by a still greater number of the inhabitants; the little person is dressed up for the occasion, in a laced coat and cocked-hat, a sword, the cordon rouge , with a proper contrivance in his dress for the continuation of the act, which he never ceases to perform, even during the passing of the religious procession before it. The statue is the production of the celebrated sculptor Duquesnoy. It bears also the name of “ the oldest burgher of Brussels.” The Archduke Maximilian, and Louis XV. made a present to it of several sumptuous suits of clothes ; and the latter went so far as to bestow upon it the Cross of the Order of St. Louis. Several citizens have left legacies to it ; and there is, actually, a valet de chambre belonging to the little gentleman, who is well paid to dress him on every gala-day. The following inscription is properly adapted to it : — “ Ma nudity n’a rien de dangereux. Sans peril regardez moi faire ; Je suis ici comme l’enfant heureux Qui fait pipi sur le sein de sa mere.’’ THE KING OF THE NETHERLANDS. 51 To judge by the improvements which have taken place in the Netherlands within the last twelve years, in every branch of the Government, industry, manufactures, and revenue, by the increase of population, the advancement in the career of political existence, the greater number of comforts which the people enjoy, and lastly by the extended embellishments of the capital ; it is impossible not to admit that the country has materially benefited by the change in its political constitution. The head of the Government too, must be wise, as well as popular, who can originate, and by his fostering care promote and secure so many advantages to his people. The King is said to be inde- fatigable in this respect. He is his own minister of finance ; and frequently suggests measures, which sove- reigns of other countries are accustomed to have sug- gested to them. The hereditary Prince, who has had the invaluable good fortune of beginning his career under an adverse star, and has been taught how to bear its malign influence, by some of the greatest men in Eng- land under whom he served — promises, by his conduct, a succession of happy and brilliant years to the Flemish nation. His amiable consort, the Princess Anne Paulowna, Grand-duchess of Russia, enjoys likewise, and certainly no princess ever deserved it more, the greatest popularity. I have heard her spoken of in terms of admiration, bor- dering on enthusiasm. This is not extraordinary, when it is considered to what l'oyal stock this princess belongs, and under whose maternal care she has been educated. The royal palaces are amongst the most attractive buildings in Brussels. The King’s Palace, as now con- stituted, presents an imposing front, two hundred and forty feet in length. The centre is occupied by a hand- some portico, lately erected, facing the principal walk of the park ; beyond which, and vis-a-vis, is the magnificent e 2 THE king’s PALACE AT BRUSSELS. palace of the States-General. It originally consisted of two distinct buildings, one of which had belonged to the Austrian Plenipotentiary resident in the Netherlands, and the other contained the public offices for the Secretaries of State. In the former of these, the General Assembly of tbe, so styled, Belgian Republic, was held in 1790. Napo- leon inhabited it in 1807, with his first, and three years afterwards, with his second wife. The situation is, per- haps, one of the prettiest in Europe, for a town residence ; it is flanked by two of the finest streets in the world, the Rue Duca/e, and the Rue Roi/ale, the former of which consists of magnificent palaces ; and from behind, it com- mands a view of the new Boulevards, near the Porte de Namur, with the aspect of the beautiful country beyond it. The King’s l’alace at Brussels. 1 he palace of the hereditary Prince is not quite com- pleted ; it is of a simple, yet handsome architecture, pre- senting a running colonnade along the principal story, im- MUSEUM AT BRUSSELS. 53 The Prince of Orange’s New Palace at Brussels. The Palais d'Orange, or the Old Court Palace, situated at a short distance from the handsome Place Roi/a/e , is a long parallelogram, with some additions at the north-west and south-east angle. In front of it is the Botanic Garden; and the use to which the palace itself has been applied, since the Court no longer resides in it, has given to the capital the enjoyment of a Museum of Paintings, a public library, and a cabinet of natural history, under the same roof. This precious assemblage of useful and valuable ob- jects, was threatened with complete destruction by fire, on the thirteenth of January of last year. The fire began in the immediate vicinity of that end of the wing occupied by the library, which contains the editions of the fifteenth cen- tury. Fortunately these, as well as the paintings, were posed on a rusticated basement. It is situated in the imme- diate vicinity of the King’s palace, and at the beginning of the Rue Ductile. Extensive gardens are attached to this palace, at the back of which, runs the Boulevard de Namur. 5 + THEATRES AT BRUSSELS. preserved, but some of the MSS. and many important papers in the archives, were consumed by the devouring element. It is fearful to reflect on the irreparable loss which a mere accident of a similar nature may occasion to the nation, in consequence of the unsafe situation of the numerous objects contained in this ancient palace. .There are two theatres in Brussels. The Theatre Royal , or Great Theatre, is perfectly new, and has only been open a very few years. It stands opposite the Mint, and rather at some inconvenient distance from the fashionable end of the town. It is insulated, with a handsome street on three of its sides, and a square in front. The peri- style is ornamented by eight ionic columns, and all round the building runs a piazza, which gives to it an imposing- air, while it serves as a sheltered walk to the inhabitants and frequenters of the theatre. The interior is much in the style of some of the best Parisian theatres, and, like them, subdivided into so great a variety of compartments, such as Premieres, Balcon, Galerie, Parquet, Loges, Loges Grillees, Paradis, and Paradis Militaire (heavenly spot !) that a stranger is at a loss what to do, and where to go, on first entering the establishment. The price, however, for the best places, is tolerably reasonable. About 2$ florins, not quite five shillings, is paid for the premieres, and as for the paiadise, oh ! that is cheap enough, not quite five-pence Fnglish money. At this house are performed comedies as well as tragedies, the grand and comic opera, and frequently ballets on a large scale. T he performances are in French. Occasionally an Italian Opera has also been performed. The second, or petit Theatre — or Theatre du Parc, is open only on Saturdays for the representation of vaudevilles, im lo-drumas, See. It is situated in the park, but the cntiance is fiom the Rue de Brabant. It is very small, of a circular form, and has four tiers of boxes. It was greatly THE PARK AT BRUSSELS. 55 embellished about three years ago, and is much frequented. The price for the best places is about two shillings and eight-pence, or one florin and a half. But the great point of attraction in Brussels is, without doubt, the Park, or ornamented garden ; for it is more like a garden than a park, although the former denomination be given to it. The ground, which occupies an area, measuring from seven to eight hundred feet in one direction, and about -five hundred and sixty in the other, is tastefully laid out, and as much has been made of it as so small a space would admit. It is intersected by two transversal and two oblique walks, with another running along the middle as far as a circular basin, within a species of am- phitheatre, ornamented with groups and statues of white stone. The whole is surrounded by an elegant railing with two principal and four lateral gates. This spot is much frequented on a fine day, from about two till four o’clock, by select company ; and on Sundays by every class of people. From its being situated on the highest part of Brussels, it enjoys a fine air, and is become the centre of the fashionable quarter. But the promenade most (lis- tinguee is the dllee verle ; which runs along the side of the Antwerp Canal, is planted with majestic lime-trees, has a centre road for carriages, and two lateral walks for pedestrians. The concourse of people, and the display of beauty and fashion, and at the same time, of every thing that is considered splendid in the way of equipages and dress, are considerable, and every day repeated. A natural feeling of curiosity led me to view the palace of the States-General. This very handsome building, as I before observed, faces the King’s Palace, with the Parc between them. It is of a much more imposing architecture than the residence of the Sovereign ; but too much com- pressed laterally, and quite spoiled by the side wings. 5() PALAIS DE JUSTICE AT BRUSSELS. Side wings, indeed, have proved stumbling-blocks to more than one architect, as we have more than once seen at home. The interior, including the principal staircase, and the hall in which the Deputies of the three States, nobi- lity, clergy, and the people, meet, is worthy of the repu- tation of M. Vander Stracten, one of the best architects of the country. The relief in the pediment is the work of Monsieur Godecharles. The Hall of meeting is in the form of a semi-circular theatre, and resembles much the Chamber of Deputies in Paris. The meetings, too, take place much in the same manner. I ought not to omit in this place, to notice another public building of great merit, the Palais de Justice ; because the great and handsome portico in front of it has only been com- pleted within the last four years, and the Palace is one of the many architectural improvements that have taken place in Brussels since the appearance of the latest accounts of that capital published in this country. The colonnade is hand- some, and the surmounting pediment is of fine proportions. The allegorical groups are appropriate and well executed. Walking up Regent-Street towards the Place Roy ale one morning, I remarked no fewer than three of those conspicuous individuals who, by ill-timed and ill-judged attempts at innovations and reform in their own country ; by their endeavours to change the tuus into tneus ; and by the sentences with which they have been visited in consequence from their Governments, have acquired a certain degree of celebrity. This class of people is very numerous at Brussels, and consists of recruits from almost every part of Europe. There are, in the first place, the regicides and the Napoleonists, from France ; next the ( onstitutionalists from Spain and Portugal; after which come the Revolutionists from Piedmont and Naples ; and these are followed by the discontented from the Austrian BRUSSELS, THE RENDEZVOUS OF FOREIGNERS. 57 States in Italy, and from the New States of South Ame- rica ; all equally driven from their homes during the very extraordinary occurrences which have marked the last twelve or thirteen years. In fact, the disaffected of all countries, who formerly used to resort to Rome, are now assembled here ; and what is greatly to the credit of the Government, are not molested as long as they conduct themselves discreetly. Doubtless the knowledge of this fact is the principal reason for so general an assemblage of this class of persons at Brussels; but it is not impro- bable that some other cause for this political phenomenon exists, which it is not easy to ascertain. In looking over the map of Europe, the possibility of dividing it into moral as well as physical regions, cannot fail to strike those who are conversant with the manner in which people of a certain description congregate in particular towns or districts. Malte Brun has divided Europe into several geographical groups. Humboldt has drawn particular lines to mark the regions of heat on the globe. Naturalists have assigned to particular families of animals and plants, certain localities; and it might not be difficult to point out the several quarters of the globe in which particular classes of individuals who are compelled to leave their homes, prefer passing the remainder of their lives. This might be called moral geography ; and as a specimen of the classification to be adopted for such a science, I would propose the following habitats for each of the corresponding groups — thus : The invalids of all nations — Nice, Genoa, Pisa, Rome, Naples. The artists of all nations — Rome and Florence. The gourmands of all nations — Paris. The defaulters, and the runaways of all nations — Calais, and Boulogne. 58 MORAL GEOGRAPHY. The monopolists, the speculators, and the projectors of all nations — London. The liberaux and the disaffected of all nations — Switzer- land and Brussels. Here is Monsieur or Le Chevalier P , Le Marquis St. P ; II General P , II Consigliere R., who wrote a curious work on Constitutions and Representative Governments. Le Comte S. M., who was “ not elected” into the nobility club, (a tolerable sort of Almack’s, by the by, and “Travellers” of Brussels,) — with the id genus omue, the mere enumeration of whom would form a goodly episode in an epic poem on Revolution. There is, however, an intruder among them, whose proper locality, according to my geographical arrangement, ought to be the fourth in my list ; El Seiior M , whose pecuniary speculations are equally notorious in Paris, Cadiz, London, or Norwich, where he was for a time at a standstill, is not deserving of the honour of parading his exiled person with men of family and real personal worth, whose only fault has been a desire to see “ Chaos returned,” under the mis- taken plea of political regeneration. To the lovers of Gothic architecture, Brussels presents two excellent specimens of that style in the fagades of the Hotel de Yille, and the church of St. Gudule; the former, with its light and singular tower, measuring as many feet in height as there are days in the year, and surmounted by the equestrian statue of St. Michael, made of gilt copper, is held to be the finest Gothic structure of the kind in the country. The statue of the saint is seventeen feet high, and yet looks like a common-sized vane. The Munici- pal Government and the director of police, occupy seve- ral of the many handsome apartments into which this building is divided. One of these is hung with very hand- some figured tapestry, from the designs of Charles Lc hotel he ville. 59 The Hotel f the country. Nor is this contrast softened down by the iqualid countenances of the country people, and the ragged :ondition of a large number of brats, or the constant succession of beggars of all ages who assailed us with their amentations of famine at every petty village, or at the foot jf the most trifling hill, where we were compelled to proceed at a slower rate. How comes it, that while Nature seems to have scattered abroad on the surrounding country, the most undoubted marks of productive wealth, its inhabi- tants wear the garb of misery P I pretend not to explain this apparent paradox, but I state facts such as I observed them ; and I must add, that these facts are not of the present day, nor the result of the present Government; for I understand that they existed in full force when this country formed part of Le Grand Empire. It will require some years to put the people of these provinces on a foot- ing proportionate with the liberal produce of the land they cultivate. Something is evidently wrong in the present system. Arrived, at last, on the eminence of a steep hill, the second we had ascended since Bergheim, we saw stretched on the distant horizon, the valley of that far-famed river, the stream of which has so often been dyed with the blood of combatants, from the wars of Caesar, to the last strife between Napoleon the conqueror of Europe, and the con- querors of Napoleon. There are associations with the name and aspect of this, the most romantic as well as the most historical river in Europe, which tend to inspire feelings of interest on approaching it for the first time, stronger even than either the grandeur or the beauty of the surrounding scenery are calculated to excite. From the height on which we stood, we could only catch a glimpse now and then at the noble stream, as the rays of the sun just emerg- ing from a dense cloud were reflected from its surface, 110 COLOGNE. whilst the whole range of Cologne was seen overshadowed by the intercepted light. We soon descended the last hill, and having, once more, gained the level ground through a succession of the richest and most extensive orchards, after three quarters of an hour, we reached the gate of Cologne, where meeting with none of the usual interruptions for passports and renseignt- rnens, we directed the postilions to drive to the Cour Tmpe- riale. This inn, to which we had been recommended as the best, was so full that we were obliged to try the St. Esprit, where we sought in vain for those excellent accommodations which are attributed to it by Fisher’s and other guides. The only redeeming quality is its situation on the Rhine opposite to Deutz, and close to the Pont a bateaux, which leads to it. The town of Cologne occupies a very large space of ground, and extends for nearly three miles from north to south, along the left bank of the river. The streets are narrow and irregular, and owing to the very great elevation of the houses, they are also dark. The architecture of most of them resembles that of the houses at Bruges, having a great number of small square windows on each floor, of which latter there are as many as seven and eight ; but the breadth of the front of the house diminishes regularly as it ascends from above the third story, not by a slanting line, but en echelons, so that the last or upper story is just wide enough to suit one window. There is no projecting roof; but the rain is collected and made to fall from the roof into the middle of the street, by pipes highly ornamented, and fantastically shaped into flying dragons, angels, and eagles, projecting several feet from the edge of the roofs. 1 here are several of these to each roof, so that the pedes- trian in rainy weather has no chance of escaping a drench- ing. Add to this, that the streets are exceedingly dirty, constantly muddy, and exhaling a very different odour CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE. Ill rom the delightful perfume which bears the name of the town. The pavement is really as bad as in the times of Agrippina, and for aught I know, has not been repaired since. There is no accommodation for foot passengers; md in short, the whole ensemble and interior of this town is calculated, at first sight, to alienate the good-will of the jest-natured cosmopolite in the world. Shall I say that it resembles in a very great degree, particularly in the vici- nity of the Rhine, those delightful quarters, Lower Thames-street, Tower-hill, Radcliffe Highway, and the adjoining lanes, courts, and alleys? No one who has seen both places would be inclined to doubt the accuracy of the simile. As the Count pi’oposed staying at Cologne but a short time, we lost not a moment in sallying forth to see the two glories of the place, namely, the Cathedral and the painting of the Crucifixion of St. Peter, by Rubens. To judge fi’om the original drawings of the architect, copies of which I had an opportunity of seeing; and also from tho%£ portions of the building which are now erecting, of what would have been the general effect and character of the Dome, at Cologne, when completed ; it is impossible not to admit that few Gothic structures dedicated to the service of God, would have equalled it in purity of design, size, grandeur, and magnificence of execution. The Cathe- dral of Cologne would, in many inspects, have then ranked next to the stupendous Duomo of Milan. But the choir and the side-aisles only are complete. The building was to have been divided by a quadruple range of massy cluster- ed columns, into a nave and two aisles on each side. Three of these remain unfinished. The intended pillars are raised scarcely one half of the designed height, and are covered over with a boai’ded ceiling. The whole of the space in the centre is also suiTounded by boards. The towers in front, 112 CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE. detached, at present, from what exists of the principal body of the church, rise to different elevations, but are far short of their original dimensions. They were to have been five hundred feet in height ; whereas the one on the left is not more than twenty, while that on the right is perhaps as much as two hundred and fifty feet high. The latter is terminated by a platform, exhibiting the large crane which served for raising the stones. This very remark- able feature may be distinguished at once in all the nume- rous engravings that have been published of this building. In the construction of these Towers the architect has united great strength with elegance of design. From one of them springs the portion of an arch, the direction of which, in reference to the neighbouring parts of the'build ing, is not very obvious. Neither is it easy to ascertain the intention of a Gothic gateway of great beauty, standing somewhat in front and at a distance from the towers, unless it were intended as a portico. We entered through this gateway into a small open space, or what may now be called an open court ; and taking the left side of it, passed through one of the doors of the church, between the two towers just described, and slowly paced along the left side aisle to the threshold of the choir. The sun, which was far below its meridian, threw its nearly horizontal rays through the fine, lofty, and beautifully-painted windows of the choir, as we were casting our eyes on the forest of clustered pillars standing before us. These are seen springing from the tessellated pavement, graceful yet mas- sive, elegant, and well-proportioned, up to a gigantic height, there to receive on their highly-wrought capitals of flowers, varied on every pillar, the collected, delicate, and beautiful tracery of the vaulted roof. The form of the church is that of a cross with the choir towards the east ; its extreme length measures 400 feet ieei CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE. 113 Rhine measure, and the breadth and height of the transept is 231 feet, while near the entrance it is only 161. An hundred pillars, four of which measure, each, thirty feet in circum- ference, were to have supported the vaulted roof of the centre and side-aisles ; but, as I before stated, most of them have never been raised higher than from seventy to eighty feet. We are informed by Alois Schreiber that the altar-piece, the monuments, the statues, and above all a sculptured ta- bernacle seventy feet high, of good workmanship, which existed before 1769, were in the strictest harmony with the rest of the building, and maintained the character belonging to chaste Gothic structures. These were re- moved at the suggestion of some ignorant canons, and the present decorations substituted, the composition and taste 'of which are ill suited to the severity of the prevailing character of the temple. After having admired two fine statues in the chancel, and examined the interior of the choir, we were conducted along the semicircular external aisles behind it, in which there are several chapels. A priest escorted us to an Ionic monument, near to the centre chapel, said to contain the remains of the three Magi who worshipped our Saviour at Bethlem. These were presented by Frederic the First, after the taking of Milan. The names Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, are worked in rubies on those parts of the tomb which contain the heads of the Kings. Revolutionary France has many sins to answer for. In this instance she has to account for the massive crowns of gold studded with diamonds and precious stones, which, it is stated, rested on the three heads in question ; though some pretend, that long before the French had entered Cologne, this precious monument, with its treasures, had been taken care of by the canons themselves, who transported it into Germany, and returned it some years afterwards to its original situation, in the present mutilated condition. The library of the Cathedral suffered also from the same mis- VOL. i. i 114 CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE. chance. It was removed from Cologne, and has never been seen since. A particular spot was pointed out to us in this chapel where rest the entrailles of Marie de Medicis, who ended her days in the Convent of our Lady of the Capitol, another and certainly the most ancient church of Cologne. This unfortunate princess, the widow of Henri IV. and the mother of Louis XIII. had been driven thither from France by the intrigues of a profli- gate Cardinal. It is impossible to survey the interior of a building like the Cathedral of Cologne, tinged by the height- ening and magic effect of reflected light, while the whole mass lies buried in solitude, and silence prevails, save where the almost invisible vaults above repeat, in successive echoes, our footsteps and our whispers — without experiencing a certain inexpressible feeling of reverence, which quickens every sentiment of religion, and lifts the soul towards Heaven. The Countess, whose mind is exquisitely framed to experience religious emo- tions, seemed affected at the scene around her. She ob- served to me, that we never visit a Gothic pile, sacred to God, hut we come out better Christians. Certainly no style of architecture is better calculated to inspire veneration and humility. And when the splendid cere- monies of the Catholic or the Greek rites, with their processions and scenic effect — when the heart-thrilling “ voice of melody, with trumpets also, and shawms singing unto God, and praises unto his name,” — when the intoxica- ting perfume of the incense ascending to the lofty vault, and lending its transitory veil to the mysterious consecra- tion of those rites — when all these circumstances conjointly contribute to heighten the impressions of the moment; we reflect on the thousands of our fellow creatures, who on witnessing them, gather themselves nearer unto the Deity, “ inwardly praising the Lord which dwelleth in Sion.” ATROCITY OF THE EPISCOPAL GOVERNMENT. 115 It were to be desired that no association should be awakened in our minds at the sight of this sacred pile, cal- culated to lower in our estimation those servants of the Church, who by their high station inflict more injury on the religion they administer, when guilty of unchristian conduct, than they can benefit it by a whole life of sanctity. Such, however, is not the case with regard to the Cathe- dral of Cologne. The Episcopal Government of this town, which is brought to our recollection by the prospect of the church before us — has left behind it annals of such con- tinued turpitude, that it is impossible not to grieve at those legends of Catholicism. Who can forget Sigefrey of Westerburgh, Archbishop and Elector of Cologne, under whose cruel and treacherous treatment, Adolphus Due de Berg expired after several years’ imprisonment, exposed to the greatest torments? Or his predecessor Engelbert, an- other mitred sovereign, who to wreak his vengeance upon Cologne, for having temporally refused to recognize his authority, instigated a monk to set fire to the principal part of the city ? And Conrade of Hochstoether, the haughtiest, as well as the most relentless priest that ever governed that unfortunate town, did he not precede both those bishops in the career of violence and cruelty ? Such was in fact the secular administration of theCatholic bishops, that the inhabitants had to sustain a struggle against their tyranny for the space of two centuries. Their chief magis- trates, however, faithful to their trust, stood firm, and resisted the episcopal excesses with all their might. But by their conduct they drew upon their own heads the vengeance of the mitred princes. Amongst those of the Bourgue- mestres who most signalised themselves in upholding the rights of the people, was Hermann Grein. Engelbert the archbishop, instated at the opposition of that magistrate to his despotic will, determined upon getting rid of him. For this purpose, the prelate engaged in a plot against his i 2 116 chef-d’oeuvre of rubens. life two of the canons of the Cathedral, and having sent to them a domesticated lion which belonged to him, and which had been purposely left without food for some days, desired them to invite Grein to an entertainment, and in the middle of it to retire and let loose the ferocious animal upon their guest. This the canons punctually executed, but the intrepid Bourguemestre quickly wrapping his left arm in his cloak, forced it down the lion’s throat, while with his right hand he plunged a poignard into its side and thus escaped. Not so the guilty priests — for they were soon after arrested by order of the same chief magis- trate, and hung before one of the doors of the Cathedral, which for several centuries has been known by the name of the Priests’ dour. Our next visit before dark was paid to the church of St. Peter, in which Rubens was baptized, and for which he painted one of his chef-d'auvi'es, as an altar-piece. This celebrated picture represents the Crucifixion of St. Peter, and for strength, truth and colouring, may be considered as far superior to most of the productions of that artist. Yet there are some connoisseurs u r ho affect to believe that this painting is not the work of that master, but of one of his pupils. This arises probably from the absence of those huge, fleshy, exaggerated figures which are generally ob- served in most of Rubens’ pictures. This painting is of considerable size, and most sumptuously framed, forming the principal altar-piece. It is made to turn on a pivot, so as to withdraw it from the public gaze for a time, occa- sionally, substituting a very fair copy of it which is on the other side of the picture, and which was executed to supply the absence of the original when it graced the Louvre from the year 1791 to the year 1815, in which year the Prus- sians claimed it from France and restored it to Cologne. The people of Cologne have not been backward in tcs- tifying their veneration for their fellow citizen, whose pen- THE THREE FARINAS. 117 cil has acquired him an immortal name. Independently of having given his name to one of the squares, ( Rubens Platz,) they erected in 1822, in the house in which he was born, i a monument to his memory. What idle traveller goes to Cologne, and does not pro- vide himself with a good stock of the delightful perfumed water, so well known as the supposed inimitable production of that place? But it is essential to know, that there are no fewer than three Farinas, one only of whom is the genuine descendant of the inventor and proprietor of the secret. The first to whom we addressed ourselves, under the guidance of the vu/et de place, is a regular impostor, and sold to one of our party some very bad Cologne water. This we soon per- ceived ; and having complained to the servant of the fact, the rogue, who was evidently in league with the other, thought of quieting us by conducting the party to a second Farina, where a large supply of excellent Eau de Cologne was pro- cured. This second Farina informed us that only 8000 bottles of the water were sold by him. He is a Johann Maria, “ in der Stadt Turin,’' like the other two, and lives in the Hoberstrasse. But we might have fared still better, had we been informed in time, that there exists still a third Farina, whose magasin is opposite to the Poste aux lettres, and whose Eau de Cologne is of the most superior descrip- tion. From a person connected with the manufacturing of this spirituous water, I learned that the principal Farina sells about three times as many bottles as the second ; and supposing the spurious Farina to sell 6000 bottles, the whole quantity of Cologne water, actually sold in that town for exportation, would amount to 38,000 bottles. It is manifest, therefore, that a large quan- tity of Eau de Cologne must be spurious ; for a much larger quantity than the one last-mentioned is consumed in Europe. The facility with which this perfume may be 118 EAU DE COLOGNE. imitated, has probably led to the manufacturing of it in most of the large towns and capitals. My fair readers will find the following an excellent receipt for making Eau de Co- logne equal to that of Farina, and at one-fourth of the price. Take of the essence of bergamot, lemon-peel, lavender, and orange-flower, of each one ounce ; essence of cinnamon, half an ounce ; spirit of rosemary, and of the spirituous w'ater of melisse, of each fifteen ounces ; strong alcohol, seven pints and a half. Mix the whole together, and let the mixture stand for the space of a fortnight ; after which, introduce it into a glass retort, the body of which is im- mersed into boiling water contained in a vessel placed over a lamp, while the beak is introduced into a large glass reservoir well luted. By keeping the water to the boiling point, the mixture in the retort will distil over into the receiver, which should be covered over with wet cloths. In this manner will be obtained pure Eau de Cologne. The navigation of the Rhine at Cologne is very important. For the exportation of the produce of all the States, situated on either bank from its very source, Cologne is the prin- cipal entrepot. The river in this place is 1300 feet w'ide, and from twenty-five to fifty feet deep. Vessels going hence to Holland have frequently double the cargo which has been brought down the river to this place, and the final shipments for the sea take place in this port. From hence the navigation is uniform, uninterrupted, and free from danger. I he entire course of the Rhine, from its source to the sea, is calculated at 303^ country leagues. One-fif- teenth part of this, near the source, is not navigable, and foi the next thirty leagues it can only be navigated by small boats. From Bale to Strasburg, boats of thirty and forty tons descend the river ; and from the last-men- tioned place to Holland the navigation is general, and of more importance, although not altogether free from diffi- culties and risks in some few parts above Cologne. Ves- NAVIGATION AND STEAMERS ON THE RHINE. 119 sels carrying from one to four hundred tons, frequently descend this principal extent of the Rhine. The conveyance of travellers, both up and down the river in boats, marktschiffes or diligences, and private boats or galiotes, lias been much improved of late years, and placed under proper regulations. The marktschiffes are very large and commodious vessels, with a state-room and other conveniences. From Mayence to Cologne, a distance of twenty-one and a half German miles by water, or forty-one hours and three-quarters reckoned as time, is performed during the fine season, in one of those boats, in two days ; and in three days from Cologne to Mayence. The passengers must sleep on shore, as the navigation is suspended during the night. The establishment of steam-boats, however, has done away, in a great measure, with this tedious and more expensive mode of travelling. One of these vessels starts twice a-week from Cologne for Mayence and back again. Two whole days are employed in the former (stopping the night), and ten hours in the latter voyage. Similar conveyances exist from Cologne to Rotterdam and back again, the distances being performed in twelve hours de- scending, and twenty-four ascending. The passage from London to Rotterdam, in the steam-boat, occupies twenty- four hours : so that a traveller, embarking at the Tower stairs for Mayence at nine o’clock on Saturday morning, in July, we will say, is sure of getting to Rotterdam on Sun- day ; whence, after taking a view of the place, he starts in another steam-vessel for Cologne, where he arrives on Tuesday afternoon. Having rested the night, he again embarks at five in the morning of Wednesday in a third steamer, reaches Coblentz the same day, and is landed at Mayence on Thursday afternoon. If his business takes him to Frankfort, a fourth steam-vessel is ready to convey him to that place on the same day, as two such vessels 120 TIMBER-RAFTS ON THE RHINE. perform that distance twice daily. Or if Switzerland be the point of direction, the Frederic William steamer will con- vey him to Strasburgh in forty-four hours; from whence, plunging into the Black Forest, a short journey by land takes him into the very heart of Switzerland. Such are the wonderful performances of steam in navigation! A man may breakfast in London on Saturday, take his supper at the Romisch Kaiser on the Thursday evening following at Frankfort, and dine in some Swiss Canton on the suc- ceeding Sunday ! and all this at the moderate expense of from forty to fifty rix-dollars, or at the very utmost ten guineas. Who will not travel ? <”> The most curious objects of human industry, that are to be met in the course of the navigation on the Rhine, are the celebrated timber-rafts, of one of which I have given a representation in this place. These singular floating ma- chines are composed of many thousand trees, disposed in layers, and properly lashed together. They are frequently from 900 to 1000 feet in length, and from 60 to 80 feet in breadth, and draw perhaps as much as six or eight feet of water. They are rowed by 800 men, who are disposed at the end of the float, as seen in the plate. This crew is lodged in a small village of wooden huts, neatly erected on the float, presenting a very curious appearance. Every arrangement, as to discipline, provisions, and such other regulations, as are generally prevalent on board of large vessels at sea, obtains in this case. To these machines may with propriety be applied the motto vires acquirit eundo. For at first starting, they consist of a few trees fastened loosely together, and their more regular construction by gradual additions, takes place at certain fixed stations, in proportion as the navigation becomes less entangled, until, at last, the whole assumes the appearance I have described. a. Timber lAFT.fiOATmfe down tie MiamiE. CHAPTER IV. CIS-RHENANE PRUSSIA. Bonn. — Medical School. — Collections. — Roman Relics. — View from the Terrace of the Royal Chateau. — The Seven Mountains and the Dragon Rock. — Godesberg. — Rolandseck. — Erpiler Ley Basaltfelsen. — Vine trees in the Rock. — Remagen. — Mineral water at Tonenstein. — Andernach. — Inferior Rhenish wines. — Heavy duties. — Coblentz. — The Moselle, and Moselle wines — Hotel de T reves. — Grande Place. — Russian Commentary on a French Monument. — The Theatre. — Schiller’s Robbers. — General aspect of the Town. — Modern Fortifications. — Bridge of boats. — Fort of Ehrenbreitstein. — Mineral waters of Thalborn. — Bop- part. — St. Goar. — The Virgin of Lurley. — Castle of Schon- berg. — Bacharach. — Heimburg and Soneck. — Rheinstein. — Bingen. — Roman Bridge over the Nahe. — The Klopp. — The Bingenloch and Mausethurm. — Tomb of the prefet Holtzausen. — Crossing the Rhine to Riidesheim. — The Rheingau. — Steinberg. — Johannisberg. — Castle and cellars of Prince Metternich. — Markobrunner. — Bieberich Schloss. — Wealth of the Duke of Nassau. — Seltzer and Ems mineral waters. — Wisbaden. — Favour- able aspect of the town. — Time for drinking the waters. — Mode of living, and amusements at Wisbaden. — Road to Frankfort. A journey performed at the close of the summer, along the banks of the Rhine, is, beyond question, a source of the greatest enjoyment — one, which in my capacity of physician, I would not hesitate to place among the most powerful auxiliaries for the cure of bad stomachs and the 122 BONN. blue devils. I have now had two opportunities of witness- ing its beneficial effects on the constitution of invalids whom I accompanied during such an excursion, and I speak therefore from experience. There is something so soothing, and at the same time inspiring, in the contemplation of the successive and magnificent panoramas which pi’esent them- selves to our admiration at every step as we proceed — that few nervous disorders can withstand its sanative power. I would say to the dyspeptic and the bilious — to those who labour under hypochondriac diseases, and a sorry state of the digestive organs : go not, in the summer, to Brighton or Eastbourne — neither cockneyfy yourselves in the Isle of Thanet with aldermen’s wives and their rubicund chil- dren ; but embark for Rotterdam in a steam packet ; pray Heaven that you may be duly sea-sick ; run away from Holland as soon as you get to it, taking the direction to Cologne, by ascending, in a pyroscaphe, the noble stream, in front of which I am writing the present observations ; and once safely landed at that place, and having seen as much of it as is worth seeing, follow us on land to the city of Bonn. Bonn is the first post station from Cologne on the left bank, proceeding towards Mayence. The road leading to it is of the very best description, and macadamized selon les regies with basalt rock broken into cubical bits of two inches square, heaps of which are very neatly piled up, at short distances, along the road. The surface of the road is hard and smooth, and the rain which had fallen in abun- dance on the morning of our departure seemed not to have made the least impression on any part of it. For nearly the first half of the road you quit the river, owing to a considerable bend in the stream towards the east, and cross richly cultivated plains forming the Valley of the Rhine. From Nieder Wessling to Bonn, the road gradually ap- FOUNDATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN. 123 proaches nearer to the river, until, on entering that town, which is sufficiently ancient to have been the residence of Drusus, it nearly touches its very margin. It was reserved for the present King of Prussia to give to Bonn the importance which had passed away with its feu- dal days, by establishing in it an university which has in a very few years acquired considerable celebrity. This uni- versity was founded in 1818. His Majesty being then at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, thought that he could not better commemorate the anniversary of the great triumph obtained by the Coalition at Leipsig, than by issuing a decree for founding that establishment, accompanied by a letter addressed to Prince Harden- berg explanatory of his motives. The King gave the Castles of Bonn and Poppelsdorf, with their appurtenan- ces, to the University, which, as at present organised, con- sists of five faculties ; two of which are theological, one being for the Protestant, the other for the Catholic students. The other three faculties are those of jurisprudence, medi- cine, and philosophy, or general science, which includes all the branches of literature. The two theological faculties are equal in rank ; and in the faculty of philosophy there are, also, two professors, one of the Protestant and the other of the Catholic confession. In the other faculties no regard is had to difference of religion. The University has the power of conferring degrees and honours. Doctor Harless, who is advantageously known to the medical world, is one of the professors of the faculty of medicine ; and the cele- brated Wilhelm Schlegel occupies one of the chairs of phi- losophy, and lectures on Egyptian and Oriental literature. A singular circumstance, unparalleled, I believe, in the annals of modern literature, has recently directed the attention of the learned of Europe towards another of the professors of this University. The learned gentleman to 124 PROFESSOR NIEBUHR. whom I allude is Niebuhr, who, in the year 1811, gave to the world an interesting history of Rome, which excited an extraordinary sensation in Germany, and revived the study of Roman history throughout that country. Prin- ciples peculiar to that learned professor, were promul- gated in that work, which were supposed, I know not how justly, to have influenced some of those scenes of turbulence that mark part of the recent history of the German Universities. Be that as it may, that work is, as it were, no longer to be looked upon as the offspring of Niebuhr. He has cast it from his paternal roof, and substituted another, (a second edition, 1827,) so totally different from the former, so completely changed in struc- ture and character, that the author himself has denounced to the world his first production as dead, and the present one as merely an indistinct image of it. Niebuhr held the office of Prussian Minister at Rome, during the greater part of the interval that elapsed between the first and second edition of his Roman history. Doubtless this circum- stance enabled him to see, that his previous historical account of the Peninsula he was then inhabiting, was not borne out by the documents and monuments he then had an opportunity of consulting ; and that, therefore, a neces- sity existed for changing a work of imagination into one of reality. This work of reality has been lately translated into English by Messrs. Hare and Thirlwall, and published at Cambridge. The same Professor is at present engaged in a new edition of the Byzantine Historians, and has taken part in a scheme for publishing a new journal in Bonn, to be entitled the “ Reinisches Musaeum,” and to be devoted to jurisprudence, philology, and the history and philosophy of ancient Greece. One cannot fail to remark in the decree of his Prussian UNIVERSITY OF BONN. 125 Majesty, respecting the University of Bonn, a liberality of sentiment on questions of religion, which calls for a tribute of admiration ; and which teaches other modern founders of public schools that the reason alleged by some for ex- cluding religious instruction from such schools is no rea- son at all— or rather a strong reason for multiplying in- stead of suppressing it. For in the case of the Prussian University, where both Protestant and Catholic students attend in great numbers, instead of such a mixture of stu- dents suggesting the preposterous idea of suppressing, al- together, the chair of Theology ; it has, on the contrary, led to the establishment of a provision for the separate in- struction of both in their respective religious faith, by the creation of two chairs instead of one in Theology as well as Philosophy. Nor is the interesting manner in which the King declares his anxiety to provide his subjects with means of acquiring solid useful knowledge, less entitled to public approbation. “ I confidently hope,” observes his Majesty, alluding to this University, “ that it will act in the spirit which dic- tated its foundation, in promoting true piety, sound sense, and good morals. By this, my faithful subjects may know, and learn with what patriotic affection I view the equal, im- partial, and solid instruction of them all : and how much I consider education as the means of preventing those turbulent and fruitless efforts so injurious to the welfare of nations.” The present building of the University stands with its front turned towards the river, between the Poppelsdorfor Allee, and another large building, in which is the public library. Before it, is an extensive garden, separated from the river by the Coblentz road. The Electors for- merly resided in this chateau, which, for situation and romantic scenery, yields to none in beauty. It is suffi- ciently large to admit of every part of the Medical School 126 ANTIQUITIES OF BONN. belonging to the University being contained under one roof, an advantage of some consequence both to professors and students. Besides the different theatres for the lec- tures — the surgical, and medical, and clinical hospitals, the lying-in establishment, and the various collections neces- sary to illustrate the lectures, are to be found in this building. In the castle of Poppelsdorf, which is joined to the University by a beautiful walk of chestnut trees nearly a mile in length, and forming a most agreeable vista, are placed the cabinets of natural history, and the botanic gar- den. The zoological collection alone contains more than sixteen thousand specimens, besides a very rich collection of petrifactions, of which there are nine thousand already, all most methodically and neatly arranged under the direc- tion of Professor Goldfus. The mineralogical history of the Rhine is beautifully illustrated by an immense collec- tion of specimens, due to the indefatigable and active re- searches of Professor Noeggerath, who employed in its formation upwards of twenty years. This collection occu- pies the largest portion of one of the galleries belonging to the cabinet of mineralogy ; the collective specimens of which amount to twenty thousand in number. The botanic gar- den, extending to twenty acres, is under the direction of Professor Von Essenbach, who affords to the students fre- quent opportunities of herborizing in the beautiful country surrounding the town. The University is not so frequented as that of Berlin, for obvious reasons ; bnt it can boast of a very respectable number of students, many of whom attend in preference to any other in the Prussian dominions, in consequence of the superior celebrity of some of its professors. There are, at this time, about one thousand and twenty students who, for twenty pounds, in University and professors’ fees, and forty more for living, get a first-rate education. THE HRACHENFELS. 127 Antiquaries pretend that one of the most ancient edifices in Bonn, the ruins of which are yet pointed out near the Munster, and which had been converted into a church, was the work of the Romans. Its architecture, and dimensions, the materials of its construction, and the indication of the form of a magnificent Rotunda which it is said to have had, are the grounds on which the antiquaries rest their assertion. With better appearances of probability, have those learned admirers of antiquity considered the remains of an ancient monument inscribed with the words, De/e Victoria! Sacrum, and having some interesting bas reliefs on three of its sides, as a Roman altar. This monument, now in the Museum of Antiquities belonging to the Uni- versity, stood in the centre of an open space, supported on basaltic columns, until within the last few years ; and it is presumed that the name of Rbmerplatz, which that space still bears, had been originally given to it owing to the presence of this monument. There is also, just before the Coblentz gate, a house, the doorway of which is in the best Roman style. The superstructure, the entablature, the caryatids, all equally bespeak the origin of the build- ing. Our stay was too short to admit of making the ne- cessary enquiries on this point. On a former occasion I had visited the catacombs of Kreuzberg, an old monastic structure formerly belonging to an order of monks called the Servites. Their bodies are seen arranged in those sub- terranean chambers, in a state of the highest preservation. Few persons pass through Bonn without once taking their station on the terrace of the Royal Chateau, or on some elevated spot, either the Bastion or the Tower of the Munster, to view the distant cluster of the Sieben Ge- bierge, or seven mountains, the most remarkable of which, the Drachenfels, or Dragon-Rook, rises upwards of 1,400 feet above the bed of the river, on the right bank, crowned 128 THE BRAVE ROLAND. by the ruins of a castellated borough. This curious group of mountains, the highest of which has about one half of the elevation of Mont Cenis, forms the termination of the Thuringian chain. The Dragon-rock frowns al- most perpendicularly over the stream. It was, in times of old, the abode of a serpent monster, to which human vic- tims were immolated. The beauteous Gertrude of Lilien- stein was the last sacrifice selected. Already her fair and delicate form had been fastened to the fatal oak, and the formidable inmate of the cavern of Dombrach was seen by the timorous and distant spectators to advance on his prey, when a sudden and appalling thunder rent the gigantic rock in twain, a column of fire arose from the cleft, the monster was no more, and the damsel miracu- lously saved. Who is there that does not love to see, in this traditionary legend of the country, the confused re- collection of some volcanic eruption, which converted these masses into basaltic rocks, and by new arrangements and the deposition of decomposing and fertile lavas, con- verted a dangerous inaccessible district into a smiling and verdant amphitheatre of cultivated hills? Opposed to these mountains, on the left bank, stands the ruined castle of Roland, as gloomy and sad as the story of its proud lord. Returning victorious from the wars, that chieftain learned that his intended bride was immured in the cloister of Nonnenwoerk, the walls of which none may violate. Stung with disappointment, and his best hopes thus torn from him, Roland built a sequestered her- mitage on the rock of Rothen Landsberg, and there spent his days in watching the hallowed spot. The cloister lay on the island beneath the rocks. One morning, as he turned to gaze upon it, a new-made grave caught his eye, and presently the slow tolling of a bell, and the measured paces of the nuns with lighted torches, told the sad end of some poor sister. Roland approached with sympathetic dread REMAGEN. 129 the solemn procession, and whispered an enquiry into the name of her they were carrying to her last home. It was Hildegunde, the fair, the too sensitive Hildegunde, who had sunk under her poignant grief at the reported death in battle of her brave knight. Roland waited until the dear remains were lowered into the deep recesses of the earth, and with a mortal leap, threw his wasted body into them, and expired. The rock has since borne that chieftain’s name. The affecting ballad which Schiller 'composed from this legendary tale, has rendered it highly popular throughout Germany. The road from Bonn quits, in part, the river side, and assuming a straight direction, passes at the foot of Godes- berg, another of the feudal remains of chivalrous ages, high perched upon a rock. Beyond this place it again inclines to the water’s edge, under the Rolandseck, at the foot of which it lies upon the very rock that forms the basis of the remaining line of communication as far as Remagen. However anxious we were to get on, we could not but, now and then, regret the rapidity with which we were driven along this beautiful road. From Cologne to Coblentz we travelled at the rate of seven English miles an hour; and the last stage, which is more than eighteen English miles, was performed in two hours and ten minutes. Opposite Remagen is the picturesque and singular basaltic hill, called Erpe.hr Ley, wholly clad n vines on its south and western sides. The mode adopted for planting the vine on this formerly barren rock, must have been the suggestion of an ingenious mind. Each tree was set in a separate basket, with sufficient mould and grass, and afterwards buried within the rents af the rock. In this manner a plantation of 200 acres was formed, which yields a produce of excellent white wine. Remagen is a Roman town, in the neighbourhood of VOL. i. K 130 REMAGEN. which several remains of Roman antiquities were found, when Charles Theodore, Elector Palatine, ordered the road from Coblentz to Bonn to be constructed. Those remains, among which were several inscriptions, prove that a Roman road existed in this part of the country during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Andernach lies at a very convenient distance for a dinner, and luckily the Auberge du Lys, with an excellent Table, and the most civil buxom landlady in the whole country, affords the best reasons for stopping to enjoy that luxury ; for after all, even travellers along the Rhine must dine. Several remains of Roman buildings, particularly the Coblentz gate, and the ruins of a palace, with those of another still more ancient edifice near it, in the form of a Round Tower, are shown to every stranger passing through the town. When I passed through Sinzig, about halfway between Oberwinter and Andernach, in 1819, I had the curiosity to visit the vault of a small church to the east of the town, for the purpose of viewing a celebrated human mummy kept in it. I was disappointed in my expecta- tions. It is a shrivelled body, which appears to have been tanned, but whether accidentally or purposely, it is not easy to determine. Even this miserable object the French generals thought proper to forward to Paris; from whence it had returned but three years, when I was admitted to inspect so popular a relic. The torrent Aar, the wide and arid bed of which we crossed to reach Andernach, after running a course of twenty or thirty miles through a narrow, deep and tortuous valley, bearing on its banks the vineyards which produce an excellent claret wine, enters the Rhine at a short distance fron Sinzig. Just before reaching Andernach, we stopped at Brohl MINERAL WATER OF TON ESSTEIN. 131 a small hamlet close to the Rhine, the depot of the mineral water of Tdnesstein, several cruchons of which we purchased. In flavour, and quantity of carbonic acid, it is not unlike Seltzer water ; but it has an apres-gout which is peculiar to itself. The price is two grosc/ien the quart bottle, (or 2Jd.) The spring is in the immediate neighbourhood. A very considerable quantity of it is exported to foreign countries, and a great deal consumed in Germany. It has aperient properties, and improves, in summer, the drinking of Rhenish wine. Throughout the extent of the country to which I have just made allusions, no wine of superior quality is made. The quantity, however, is great, and could it be sold without any Government impost on ft, the advantage to the poor inhabitants of these districts would be consider- able. Unfortunately such is not the case. A heavy duty of one rix-thaler on every 160 bottles, precludes the pos- sibility of sale on the part of the grower, who has seldom sufficient funds to pay that duty before he can move his wine from his cellar, in order to send it to market. The consequence is, that on the approach of the vintage of 1827, the peasants had their cellars full of the wines of 1825 and 1826, and had scarcely the courage to gather the grapes of the present year. Coblentz, where we arrived at five o’clock on the first of October, suggests principally two things. First, the assembly of the preux chevaliers of France, who so lately, bearing on their pennons the spotless lily, strove to regain from the hands of the Terrorists the throne of their an- cestors ; and, secondly, the delightful Moselle wine. The river Moselle crosses the road and goes to join the Rhine immediately under the Northern walls of the town. A handsome stone bridge is erected over it. The Moselle wine is getting so cheap in London, that it may be k 2 COBLENTZ. 182 unfashionable to praise it; yet even amongst the more valued wines of the table, real Moselle will always bold an important rank. The bouquet of this wine is peculiar, and exquisite. In its properties it is less injurious to the stomach than the Rhenish. In facility of keeping it is superior to all of them. The Bisporter, Zeltinger, Scharz- berg and Brauneberg Moselle are equal to any Rhenish wine, saving two or three, and have, I know, merited the eulo- gies of the classical author of the History of Wines. But as in the case of some other products and gifts of Nature, we pay for more Moselle than is grown ; and consequently must be drinking trash under that name. Hinc ilia, lacryma ! This light, wholesome, and pleasant beverage is now relegue to the boisterous cross tables of Freemasons’ Hall, and to the more pacific boards of the dining clubs at Willis’s. We drove to the Hotel de Treves on the place of the same name, next door to the Theatre, not far off from the Paste, and in the vicinity, in fact, of every thing that is good and convenient in Coblentz. The hotel is of the best description. When Napoleon in the year 1812 in- vaded Russia, the Prejet of Coblentz, looking to the pos- sibility of getting into better quarters by flattering the man to whose ears the flattery of even the meanest individual was sweet music, caused a stone monument to be erected on the Grande Place to commemorate the bold enterprise and its anticipated success. At the close of that campaign which brought the assailed into the country of the assailants, the Russian General, who took possession of Coblentz, was soon informed of the existence of the presumptuous in- scription on the monument, and was recommended to level it to the ground. But Josephowitch, who had more esprit than the Frenchman by whom the memorial had been erected, ordered, on the contrary, that it should remain with the following laconic commentary, written in the very i FRENCH PREFET AND RUSSIAN COMMANDANT. 133 language of the French bureaucratic. “ Vu et approuve oar le General Commandant Russe a Coblentz, Jo- iEPHOwiTCH.” This monument, with its bitter appendix, s still in existence, and visited by every stranger. As we had only the evening to spend at Coblentz, the gentlemen proceeded to the Theatre, where we remained but i short time. The house is without a single private-box, >xcept on the stage. The centre of the first and second jalcony, or gallery, is also occupied by a large and hand- .ome box, but this is generally filled by the Etat Major of he garrison. The pit, as in all Continental theatres, is lark, and without regular accommodation for sitting, ex- epting a few moveable forms without backs. The principal )art of the audience were on foot, most of them with their latson, and by no means consisting of the best order of peo- )le. The gallery was thronged with the lowest rabble ; but ■xceedingly well-behaved. The stage, the scenery, and all he accessories, were below mediocrity. The piece per- ormed was one of Schiller’s most celebrated dramatic pro- luctions, “ The Robbers.” The two brothers, and prin- ipal characters of the piece, were represented by two •xcellent actors, particularly the one who performed the >art of the treacherous brother. His powers are great, lis conception of the character correct, and his manner of lepicting it forcible ; but his imitation of Kean was so trikingin every respect, even to the voice, that I concluded le must have frequently seen that actor perform in London, f this was not the case, the coincidence is most remarkable, t is said that public opinion may be elicited from the tage by means of a few passages — technically called clap- raps. Supposing this to be true, what conclusions ought re to draw from the boisterous and repeated expressions of pprobation on the part of the generality of the audience t the recital of the chief robber’s reasons for following his 134 THEATRE AT COBLENTZ. trade, and above all, at his enumeration of the many rings he had taken from Priests and Princes, the former of whom, he asserted, had procured those jewels by superstition, the latter through despotism ? I regretted to remark also that even on the German stage, a ranter, one of those who “ tear nature to very tatters,” is by no means an uncommon pheno- menon. Another observation which I could not fail making, where a large troop of banditti were constantly coming before us, was that they were very differently costumed from the German robbers of the English stage ; and the effect was considerably more impressive. When we pre- tend to give the character of a foreign nation on the stage, why begin by violating the first law of imitation, that which every where regulates national costume ? The general appearance of Coblentz is highly favour- able, and far superior to that of every other town on this road. The spacious squares and streets, the handsome and large modern buildings which adorn them, the nume- rous churches, the shops, and quays on the two rivers, make a pleasing impression on the traveller. I should look upon Coblentz as a very agreeable residence both in summer and winter. It has much of the character of a second-rate provincial town in France; and, perhaps, the general use of the French language may tend to suggest such an idea. Of course I am speaking of the new part of the town. The modern fortifications of Coblentz, which were in progress so far back as 1819 , when I visited thosg on the height of La Chartreuse, on which stands the Fort Alex- ander, are said, by competent judges in such matters, tc be perfect chef -d’ oeuvres. They stretch over a considerable extent of ground : permission to visit their interior is ob tained with difficulty. .Ever since the same year, a permanent bridge of boat EHRENBREITSTEIN. 135 has been established to keep up an uninterrupted commu- nication with the opposite bank of the river. This bridge, which rests on thirty-seven pontons, measures 485 feet in length. The only means of communication with Ehren- breitstein, which existed before, was by means of what is called a flying bridge, such as is still used at Bonn, Neu- wied, and on other points of the Rhine. The system of fortifications adopted with regard to Cob- lentz, has been extended to the old and often battered Fort of Ehrenbreitstein, but permission is not granted to any stranger to visit that place. Its present name is Fort Frederick William. I tasted, at a spring situated at one end of the small town of Ehrenbreitstein, an exceedingly pleasant mineral water called Thalborn, of which a quan- tity, beyond conception large, is sold to the inhabitants of Coblentz and the environs. It does not keep long, and cannot therefore be exported. I tasted some which had been kept in stone bottles a few days. It had a very dark colour, and smelt like bilge-water. When fresh, it is slightly acidulous, effervescent and aperient. Mixed with Moselle wine, it imparts to it the effervescence and cha- racter of Champagne, so as almost to deceive the taste. We now proceeded on our way to Bingen, following the circuitous course of the river, every succeeding part of which presents new and impressive beauties. The road runs, all the way, close to the river, passing through Bop- part and St. Goar, at both which places fresh horses are procured without much difficulty, and refreshments may be had at very respectable inns. Between St. Goar and the ruins of Schonberg, at a spot where the Rhine, from the direction of its deep sinuosities, assumes the appearance of successive and isolated island lakes, bounded all round by upright gigantic rocks, or sloping hills, clad with vines to their very summits : the postilions suddenly checked 1 3f) SIN U.OSITl ES OF THE RHINE. their career, and turning the wide end of their bugles to the reach of the river we had just passed, blew loud and strong their postboy tune, and then held their breath. Quickly the musical sounds were heard repeated once in a clear and distinct manner, not far from us; and again a second and a third, and even a fourth time, but as if from a progressively increasing distance, until they died away. The experiment, more than once repeated, proved equally successful. We were assured that the repetitions of the sound are more numerous when the experiment is made in a boat placed midway between the two banks. It was not to be expected that so remarkable and strik- ing a phenomenon, should go without being converted into an allegorical tale during the ages of ignorance and super- stition. IIow, in fact, was this never failing repetition of the fisherman’s choired morning prayer and evening song, which some invisible voice responded in the distant space, as he glided over the bosom of the water to or from his daily toil, to be accounted for ? Imagination, ever ready to plunge into the supernatural, created a lovely nymph and placed her abode on the rock of Lurley, from the sides of which the sounds are principally reverberated. A dangerous eddy lies in the broad shadow of this rock, and many a time, when the amazed boatman tracked its way through the stream, listening to the mysterious voice from the height of Lurley, his frail bark drawn within the vortex, would miserably perish under the rocky dwelling of the syren. Attracted by the reports of her beauty, and spurred on by the proclaimed cruelty of her disposition, the youthful son of the Count Palatine of a neighbouring country determined on seeing the virgin of Lurley, and carrying her a captive to his father’s court. His fate was sad, for on arriving, escorted by a few followers, in the agitated waters of Lurley, his boat whirled round and disap- THE NYMPH OF LURLEY. 137 i reared. Grieved at the loss of his child, the Palatine ;3ount dispatched a trusty band to seize the relentless lymph; but just as their rude leader, unmoved by her leavenly charms and dishevelled tresses, was in the act of summoning her to surrender, a sudden hurricane swelled the stream, the waves, crested with foam, rose to the top rf the rock, and encircling the lovely Undine, saved her from the rude grasp of man, and carried her to the realm of her fathers. Her voice is still heard returning the song of merriment or sorrow, but her beauteous form appears not on the heights of Lurley. In this short legend, we can trace the working of the mind, under the influence of the heart. Those were not times for the march of intellect, but for that of the pas- sions. Hence the Age of Romance. But now that the heart has lost its influence on the actions of men, under the management of Societies for diffusing useful knowledge, and of mechanical Institutes — now that the sixpenny trea- tises on natural philosophy, on hydraulics, and acoustics, all perspicacious and free from errors, enable the common- est understanding to explain on the simplest principles, what was before a complicated phenomenon — the echo of Lurley would be accounted for by the singular dispo- sition of the two elevated banks of the river, following parallel lines in a serpentine direction — thus presenting to the rays of sound, more than one reflecting surface. This disposition of the two banks, which are here in some parts scarcely more than 1000 feet asunder, while it accounts likewise for the formidable eddies which are observed in this place, explains how intricate and dangerous the navi- gation must necessarily be ; nay, fatal too, if the careless boatman, less watchful of his course, passes his time in calling on Lurley to repeat his “ halloos.” I have attempted to show the manner of the echo just 138 the echo of lurley. described, in a diagram of the relative position of the two banks beyond St. Goar, where our postilions stopped of their own accord, to indulge us with the pleasing effect of reverberated sound. A mention is made of this echo by Barthius, in his notes on the Thebaid of Statius. 1 he Echo of Lurley on the Rhine. I may add to this, that the eddy of Lurley is, in re- alitv, considered as the most dangerous spot in the whole course of the navigation of the Lower Rhine ; so that the immense gouffre , formed in this dark place by the sur- rounding hills of slate-rock and basalt, is looked upon with a degree of horror by the boatmen. The Rhine, in a dis- tance of not more than one hundred and fifty yards, has here a fall of not less than five feet. A little beyond the echo, the castle of Schoenberg stand- FREDERICK OF SCHOENBERG. 139 ing on a high perpendicular hill, forms a very prominent point of view in the landscape before us, in which the town of Oberwesel is the principal feature. Through this small town we passed on our way to change horses at Ba- charach. The intrepid Frederick of Schoenberg, whose achievements and fall at the battle of the Boyne, the late amiable and celebrated president of the Royal Academy has recorded with his masterly pencil, descended from the feudal lords of that castle. On the right bank is seen the perpendicular rock called Rostein, the surface of which presents a succession of broad steps to its very summit, bearing a vine whose produce is much esteemed among the best Rhenish wines. Before approaching the town of Bingen, we cast our eyes on the ruins of Sonech, once the resort of banditti who infested the neighbouring country ; and below it, those of Heimburg. We had here an opportunity of see- ing one of those immense floating villages on the river, which I described on a former occasion. We were now fast approaching the last reach of this enchanting river, on this side of Mayence. The village of Rheinstein forms the centre of this reach, and, seen from the spot on which we were travelling, presented so striking a feature in con- sequence of the sudden and beautiful turn of the road, that I selected it for the subject of a graphic illustration, as conveying a very correct idea of the country and the character of the c/iaussee, which, during the occupation of these provinces by the French, was brought into its present most excellent condition. It was nearly about this spot that we met Sir Charles and Lady Bagot, returning from Frankfort, and a pleasant summer excursion. Sir Charles was on his way to the Hague, to resume his station of British Ambassador at that Court. The two parties stopped for some time in the HO GEOLOGY OF THE RHINE. road, the ladies exchanging seats in the carriage, and com- muning in that free and affectionate manner, which old friendship and the circumstances of the place would natu- rally inspire. This admirable road, as the work of man, is equal to some of the best in Europe, and, with the exception of where it passes through the villages and towns, is a continued line of hard and smooth macadamized surfaces. The objects which are for ever presenting themselves to our attention in travelling over it, connected with historical records of ancient and modern times, or with the state of the pecu- liar agricultural cultivation of the country, as well as with the striking aspect of its geological features, tend to make it a most desirable excursion. The most prominent cha- racters of the geology of this road are the basalt, the com- pact red sandstone and the slate-rock. To the first we are indebted for the dry and hard state of the road itself, that rock being principally employed for that purpose. Entire hills on both banks, wholly formed of this volcanic rock, af- ford opportunities to the inhabitants to use it unsparingly as ready-shaped pillars, dwarf columns, posts, doorways, steps, &c. The second rock is freely employed in the construc- tion of houses, churches, and other buildings, for which pur- pose it is cut into cubes and parallelograms, three feet long, two feet wide, and half a foot thick, resembling the great Babylonian bricks of old. Bridges, monuments, and mill- stones, are likewise formed out of this rock. The slate- rock is admirably adapted for the purpose of roofing. W ith the exception of the basalt, which prevails too ge- nerally in the country to need being transported from place to place, the red compact sandstone and the slate rock are carried from the different quarries to the most distant towns up and down the river, where the banks and the country near them are flat, and no rocks exist for building BINGEN. 141 materials. Frankfort and Mayence, for instance, are wholly built with them. To these may be added the tuffa, of a sallow, dingy, and yellow colour, which is met with in abundance in the district between Remagen and Coblentz, and which, when cut into small square blocks, is exported to Holland, where it is employed to make a sort of cement much used in that country. The hardest sort of this rock is cut into mill-stones, and sent to every part of Germany. We entered the town of Bingen at one o’clock, passing over the beautiful bridge of Drusus, which has often been repaired since, but which rests still on the arches and piles that so clearly bespeak a Roman origin. This bridge is thrown over the Nahe , whose rugged banks bear plentiful crops of the potent Scharlachwein. At the Auberge de la Foste, the traveller will be well accommodated; but he must not look for the luxuries of the hotels he has left behind at Coblentz or Aix-la-Chapelle. Plenty and mode- rate charges — cleanliness without neatness — are the charac- teristics of most of the inns on the left bank of the Rhine. In my former visit to Bingen, a longer stay had allowed me an opportunity of ascending the tower of the ancient Klopp — one of the Castra Romana so profusely scattered over this country. To those who delight in panoramic and periscopic views, the ascent to the top of this tower, standing on a hill, and rising to the height of 150 feet above the bed of the river, will afford the enjoyment of one of the most magnificent spectacles, as well as of the richest and most impressive scenery. The ruins of this castle, once reputed impregnable, but taken and destroyed by the French in the Thirty Years War which desolated Germany, belong now (curious coincidence) to a gentleman of the neighbourhood, a namesake and relative of the German officer, Colonel Faber, who defended during the revolu- tionary war the equally inexpugnable fort of Elnenbreistein. 142 THE PROPHET HOLZHAUSEN. The two remaining objects to which the traveller at Bingen is expected to direct his attention, are the Bingen Lock, a sort of vortex or eddy in the river a little below the town, which is said to render the navigation of this part of the Rhine rather dangerous ; and the Mausethurm, a tower, in which, tradition says, that Hatto, Arch- bishop of Mayence, was devoured by mice; and the name of which, it is pretended, must have been derived from that circumstance. This unique example of so singular a death, has induced Mr. Southey to tell the story in an interesting ballad. The German critics have not made up their minds as to the real derivation of the name of Mause- thurm. It is evident that the more popular explanation is absurd, inasmuch as Hatto died in the tenth, and the tower was built in the thirteenth century. There onlv remain, therefore, two ways of accounting for the name : either that it had its origin in the word mousserie, which means arsenal, from the circumstance of artillery being placed on the tower to defend the place ; and hence Moussentlnirm, and afterwards Mausethurm: or that it arose from the monosyllable Mans, which signifies toll ; as a duty was levied on all boats and merchandize passing before Bingen. In the old Collegiate Church of Bingen is shown the spot where are deposited the mortal remains of the Pro- phet Ilolzhausen, whose memory is still held in vene- ration by the people of the town and the surrounding country. I he reader may probably recollect that this ex- travagant interpreter of the Sacred Writings had predicted, in some of those mystic revelations with which he inun- dated Germany, the fall of the House of Stuart. He was, in lact, a religious astrologer. In lieu of tracing the conjunction of the planets, he combined, in cabalistic&l figures and diagrams, certain mysterious passages of the RUDESHEIM. 143 Holy Records, and pretended to trace from them the na- ture of future events, fixing the time for their occurrence. When Charles the Second passed, in his flight from Eng- land, near Bingen, he desired to see the reputed pro- phet, whom he interrogated as to his future prospects. Holzhausen predicted that the exiled sovereign would one day be recalled to the throne of his ancestors; but, added he, “ Cave ne Catholicam Romanam religionem restaures.” The most usual route from Bingen to Mayence is to keep on the left bank of the river, and pass through Gaulsheim, and Nieder Ingelheim, crossing the Selzbach. This is the road I took in 1819. At Nieder Ingelheim, which stands on elevated ground, it is usual to stop a short time, for the purpose of enjoying one of the grandest sights that even this picturesque river, so rich in natural beauties, can present. But Count Woronzow preferred taking the oppo- site side of the Rhine for the purpose of going through that magnificent country called the Rheingau, — the head- quarters of the best Rhenish wines. We therefore embarked, shortly after dinner, in a small boat, and crossed the river imme- diately in front of Bingen, the carriages and servants follow- ing in the ferry. As the current is not very strong in this part, the breadth of the river not considerable, and the depth only eighteen feet in the middle, while the sides are shallow enough to admit of the boat being pushed with a pole, we were able to make way against the stream without difficulty, so as to land a short distance from Rudesheim, at the very foot of some of those celebrated vineyards, which produce the wine so well known under that name. The post-master of Bingen engages to have post-horses ready on the opposite shore, provided sufficient notice be given to him ; and as the large boats with the carriages are not long in crossing the river, the delay caused 144 INHABITANTS OF THE RIGHT BANK. in the whole operation is very inconsiderable. The trajet is easy and short. The charge for each carriage is a rix- thaler, and for each person half a florin. The horses from Bino-en erintended their execution. To this pavilion the wealthy lanker used to adjourn with his guests from his house after linner, in a summer afternoon, to take refreshments on the loping lawn before it, after having shown to them with ppropriate enthusiasm his “ chere Ariadne.” I had the •leasure, in the summer of 1819, to form one of a party of his description, when I beheld, for the first time, the chef- '' oeuvre in question. I derived the greatest pleasure in re- isiting it, from the original and judicious remarks made 1G4 DEATH OF M. BETHMANN. on the group by the distinguished individuals whom I ac- companied, and who are known to possess a classical taste for the fine arts. My second view of this exquisite poeti- cal composition of the best living sculptor, took place under far different circumstances from the first. In lieu of the ardent and admiring host pointing out the beauties of an object which he had so often and so long examined, we were escorted by one of the servants, whose interference extended only to the very innocent office of turning round the group on its pedestal, in order to present it to us in every point of view, and to the drawing of a pink curtain before the case- ment, through which the light was admitted into the room; a coquetterie of the worthy master of the place, who wished to give to the cabinet of Ariadne the soft atmosphere of a boudoir. But the master is no more ! We learned with grief that he had died of apoplexy only a few months before. He had entertained a large company to dinner, of which, as usual, he had himself partaken liberally ; and proceeded to the theatre for the purpose of escorting Madame Catalani. Some altercation took place at the entrance-door, during which he became violently agitated : on reaching his box he fell senseless on the floor. He was instantly removed to his house, where, after lingering for ten or twelve hour* speechless and motionless, he expired. The house wa? still occupied by his widow, who, in virtue of that title can claim the right of continuing in it during her widow hood ; but the pointed manner in which she has beei wholly overlooked in the testamentary dispositions of th< deceased, dated some time before his illness, and the pe culiar arrangement made by him in regard to his children seem to indicate that he had reason to be discontented witl her. Of the immense wealth which he has left, she is no to partake in the remotest degree ; and the guardianshi] of his children is confided to his partner, Monsieur S: MONUMENT TO THE HESSIAN TROOPS. 165 George. Against these measures the widow has since ap- pealed; and an action, disputing the provisions of the will, is now pending in a Court of Justice at Lubeck. It is sup- posed, that at one time, during his short illness, Mr. Beth- mann had probably the intention of altering his last will, as he made signs to have writing materials brought to him. After attempting to use the right hand and failing, he traced some characters with his left hand on the paper, but these were found afterwards to be perfectly illegible. The friends of the lady rely much on this circumstance, as a presumptive evidence of the testator’s relenting and kinder disposition towards his widow; and it will be curious to know how the learned in the law at Lubeck will settle the question. Mrs. Bethmann, who is a Dutch woman by birth, is a near relation of a highly respectable merchant naturalized and residing in England, and is descended from a female creole of one of the Dutch West-India Islands, whither her grandfather had gone as a private soldier, and where he had amassed a very large fortune. We quitted Mr. Bethmann’s museum with mingled feel- ings of pleasure and regret, and having stopped for a few minutes to contemplate the monument erected by Frederic William the Second, King of Prussia, to the memory of the brave Hessian troops who were killed at the taking of Frankfort in 1792, we continued our airing along the beau- tiful drive round the town. The locality of the monument, which consists simply in a group of trophies made of bronze, piled on a gigantic block of red granite placed on the summit of a basaltic rock, is very appropriate. It is in the centre of part of the great shrubbery, or public garden, formerly the site of the very bastions which the brave Hessians stormed. From whichever part of the environs the traveller looks upon Frankfort, the lofty tower of the Dome, or principal Homan Catholic Church, attracts attention. This last pro- 166 THE PFARRTHURM. — THE DOME. d action of the old German architects, called the Pj'arr- thurm, has been left in an unfinished state, by Matern Gartner, who raised it to the height of 2(>0 feet. It has a square form, and is divided into three stories. At each angle of these there is an elegant Gothic turret, resting on rusticated basements, with beautiful carvings and filagree work. The tower is terminated by a hexagonal cupola, also unfinished. This would have been, when completed, one of the best specimens of the amalgamation of the pure Gothic with the German style of architecture, constitut- ing a pleasing variety of the former, when employed for Roman Catholic or Lutheran churches. The Dome itself has nothing remarkable in its structure. It is worthy of notice as having been the seat of election of the German Emperors, who were placed on the altar after the election. The carved stalls in the choir also merit attention ; they offer a very fair specimen of the art in the fourteenth century. Some of the paintings of the old Ger- man masters, preserved in the sacristy, are valuable : but the two objects which strangers are more anxious to con- template in this church, are, first, the monument of Gunther of Sclnvarzbourg, who having been elected, in 1349, with all due forms, Emperor of Germany, was poisoned a few months after, and compelled to yield the empire to Charles of Luxembourgh, whose election had been marked by every sort of irregularity: and secondly, that of “ Le Che- valier de Saxenhausen.” There are in Frankfort four churches of the Roman Catholic confession, including Notre Dame; and six for the Lutheran service. The number of those who profess the latter creed among the inhabitants, compared to that of the former, is three to one ; and both are eligible to all the offices of state. The Rome it is an assemblage of irregular buildings, of various dates, purchased by the Government at different THE ROMER. — THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 167 periods, constituting what in other cities is styled the Hotel de Ville. The only remarkable parts of this grotesque structure, are the great banqueting hall, in which the ;oronation-dinner, given to the newly-elected Emperor, used to take place ; and the archives of the city, where the celebrated charter, the Bulla Anna , or Golden Bull, is preserved. Around the banqueting hall, the portraits of the Emperors since Conrad I. are still visible, painted in fresco on the wall. The Golden Bull is a venerable document written on parchment, measuring several feet in length, and passed in the year 1356, during the reign of the Emperor Charles IV. It settles the manner of electing the Emperor ; fixes the number of electors ; declares the dignity of electors to be equal to that of kings; and constitutes high treason every attempt or conspiracy against their persons. By one of its enactments, the place of election is fixed at Frankfort, and that of the coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle. This singular charter, the only real good of which has been ,to prove that an elective chief magistracy, whether under the dignified name of Emperor, or the less sounding title of President , or Consul, carries within itself the seeds of destruction, begins with the curious apophthegm, “ Omne regnum in se divisum desolabitur the import of which, however, seems not to have made a due impression on the successive electors. Having been struck by the appearance of the building which contains the public or Stadt library, I took a conve- nient opportunity of visiting it. The distance at which this establishment has been placed from the more inhabited parts of the city, and the little use which can be made of it, owing to the singular regulation which limits the time of admission to one hour only on two days, and to two hours on two other days of the week, must be matter of regret to those who are attached to literature. The library contains upwards of fifty thousand volumes, including some U)8 TII E LIBRARY. — LUTHER’S SLIPPERS, exceedingly rare editions, and a most complete collection of works on the history of Germany. The books, neatly bound in white vellum, with a fuller title than usual dis- tinctly written on the backs, are arranged in handsome cases around a very large central room of fine proportions, lofty, and lighted by side fanlights , so contrived that they may be made to change their relative position in regard to the sun, in order to prevent its immediate transmission into the direction of any of the bookcases. At eac h end of this principal room is a smaller one, containing, besides books, some glass-cases with specimens of Grecian, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities, together with a few remains illustra- tive of the history of the country. In each of these rooms a mahogany spiral staircase leads to the light gallery that runs round the three divisions of the library. The effect of the whole, viewed as you enter through the central door, is particularly striking; and the uniform hue of soft colour- ing which pervades every where, owing to the similarity of the binding, gives to the library a refreshing air of cleanliness, and the character of a place devoted to study. Among the objects connected with the history of Ger- many, the enlightened librarian, with whom I had the plea- sure of conversing, though but for a short time, pointed out to my attention a portrait of Luther, and two pair of his slippers. The German admirers of that sturdy Refor- mer are apt to push their veneration for his memory too far, mindless of the slight barrier between “ le sublime et le ridicule.” What possible interest can, or, at least, ought to be attached by any man of sense to the c/iaussare of a fellow- creature, however illustrious ? The exterior of this edi- fice is majestic and imposing. The portico, supported by columns of large dimensions of the Composite order, lead to a handsome vestibule, in which is a double flight of steps ascending to the library. The design and plan of this building arc by Mr. Hess, the city architect. It was com- MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. 169 pleted in 1825, and the books were transferred to it from the Romer. It generally happens, that in a country having a popular government, the most useful establishments for the promo- tion of science ami natural knowledge are formed, solely, through the exertions of private individuals, and support- ed by them without any assistance from the public au- thorities. If such establishments be not always as magni- ficent as those which owe their origin to the liberality of an enlightened sovereign, they are sufficiently important to answer their intended purpose. 1 class among these the beautiful collection of objects of natural history which has been formed and supported by the individual energies of the members of a society founded by Senkenberg, an en- lightened and philanthropic physician, for the promotion of that science. This museum, which owes much to the in- defatigable industry of Mr. E. Ruppell, the African tra- veller, and a native of Frankfort, bids fair to surpass every other collection in the minor states of Germany, particu- larly in the cabinet of birds. The beautiful order in which the specimens are kept, the neat manner in which they are classed, together with the whole arrangement of the gal- leries, are beyond all praise, and worthy of imitation. The collection rapidly increases every year. It really inspires one with the love of science to see such a rich display of the wonderful varieties of organized nature. From science to hospitals the transition cannot be said to be violent. There are two principal establishments for the treatment of the sick and lame in Frankfort ; the first is that called “ L’Hopital du St. Esprit ” It is an old building, much in need of repair, kept in tolerable con- dition, and in which every class of disease, medical or surgical, is admitted. This hospital had, I believe, in its origin, a specific destination ; being exclusively intended for poor foreigners, particularly under-clerks, servants, cou- 170 THE HOSPITALS OF FRANKFORT. riers, artificers, &c. ; but great deviation has been made from the original intention of the founder, in behalf of other suffering objects. The number of patients admitted is very limited. Professor Farrentrass is the senior phy- sician, a gentleman much esteemed by the profession, and in considerable practice. The other Hospital bears the name of its founder, Senkenberg, of whom I have already made honourable mention. This is a most creditable in- stitution, conducted with great care and attention to clean- liness and the comfort of the patients, and connected with the Academy of Medicine ; to the professors of which it serves as the means of affording practical clinical instruc- tion to the students. Besides these two hospitals, there is an “ Hospice” for the treatment of mental diseases, connected with which is another establishment for epileptic patients. The study of medicine may be prosecuted at Frankfort, as far as opportunities of attending courses of lectures, of consulting valuable collections, and of wit- nessing the treatment of diseases, can enable students to do so; but the means of procuring a complete medical education are wanting, and those of the inhabitants of the “Free City” who are desirous of obtaining the highest honours of the profession, resort either to Heidelberg, or to Geissen ; two of the German universities most in repute for this study ; particularly the former, which boasts for one of its professors the indefatigable and cele- brated anatomist Tiedemann. The Academy of Medi- cine, at Frlnkfort, is altogether an institution of a private nature : courses of lectures are gratuitously given at par- ticular seasons ; and a botanic garden, a select medical library, and a small anatomical museum, are open in a most liberal manner for the free use of all those who choose to apply themselves to medical science. The society, entitled c< Geneckenbergische Natur for- sehende Gesellschaft,” for the promotion of natural and SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 171 nedical sciences, is the first scientific body in the town, [t has two directors, Dr. J. G. Neuburg, and Dr. Cretzsch- nan. The former enjoys a very high reputation as a savant, and is considered an excellent practitioner. He s much employed. The other is, de facto, the most important member of the two, on account of his zeal for the success of the institution, his extensive erudition, and the indefatigable attention he pays to the duties of his station. There is also a society, which I must not omit to men- tion, because it may be said to be the model of the Me- chanics’ Institutions, established in England and Scotland within the last few years. The society in question is called the Polytechnic Society, for the promotion of the useful arts, and the sciences connected with them. Its foundation is anterior, by several years, to that of the first Mechanics’ Institution in London ; and it reflects great credit on the character of the inhabitants of this small, but interesting State, that they should have taken the lead in the career of scientific and mechanical instruction for the humbler yet useful classes of the community. This curious fact seems to have been overlooked in the recommendatory addresses made to the English public at the first opening of the Mechanics’ Institutions in this country. It was in 1S16 that the Polytechnic Society was first formed at Frankfort. It is composed of members taken from every class of citizens, particularly amongst artizans. Mutual instruction in mechanics, the useful arts, and the sciences connected with those arts, forms the prin- cipal object of the society. In order not to interrupt the weekly labours of the workmen, a Sunday class has been established purposely for them since 1818, which has flourished ever since the commencement, and is now in the most prosperous condition. But the committee of management of this really important institution have 172 MECHANICS’ INSTITUTION. — THE CASINO. added to their plan two striking features, which are totally wanting in the plan of those establishments of the same nature, that have since sprung up in England, France, and the Netherlands. These are a saving bank for its mem- bers, and an annual exhibition of the produce of industry and the arts, from the hands of the members, as well as from mechanics and manufacturers in general. The funds of the saving bank in question amounted in the first five years to nearly half a million of florins, proceeding from 2,500 depots. The annual exhibitions of 1826, and of 1827, had also been successful. Here are examples wor- thy of imitation.* I was introduced on the morning after our arrival to the Casino, or principal club, situated in the Ross Markt, occu- pying a large suite of rooms on the first floor of a spacious and neat building. Few clubs have so large a collection of newspapers as I found in this place, particularly those be- longing to the different towns of Germany. The arrange- ments of the house are liberal ; coffee and dining-rooms, billiard and card-rooms, reading and conversation-rooms, constitute the establishment. The introduction of foreign- * Mr. Brougham in a speech delivered at a public dinner (June 5th,) repeats in the most open manner, the assertion that the worthy President of the London Mechanics’ Institution was “the first to accomplish the useful and benevolent designs” of such esta- blishments, and that the London Mechanics’ Institution, which has existed four years, was the one which led the way “ to all other institutions having the education of the working classes for their object by whatever name denominated.’’ On reference to my account of the Polytechnic Society of Frankfort, and the date of its founda- tion, the reader will see how mistaken the learned gentleman has been and continues to be on the subject. The latter society, which in all the characteristic of popularity and facilities for the instruction of the working classes, is quite on a par with the London or any other Mechanics Institution in England, France, or the Netherlands ; is superior to them all, in respect to those important points which I have touched upon in my account of the society, and which, as yet, form some of its exclusive features. THE MODERN CLUBS. 173 : ers is on easy terms. A member may introduce at once a friend or visitor for a month, by inserting his name in an appropriate book. Every person of distinction, all men of eminence, foreigners well recommended, diplomatists, peo- ple in office, and the principal bankers, meet at this club in an unreserved and agreeable manner. But as every human institution has its faults, so has the Casino at Frankfort its peculiarities ; and these are the playing at whist throughout the day, the smoking in the dining-rooms, and drinking gob- lets of beer at the card-table in the evening. What would the author of “ Sayings and Doings” say of these doings ? In the same building with the Casino, which bears the name of Hotel Rumpf, is a literary cabinet, and, I believe, the principal lodge of freemasons ; at least, so I was in- formed. The ladies frequent the Casino every Friday evening. As the club mania has been for some time raging in London, and threatens to spoil all domestic society, why not introduce the fashion of admitting ladies on par- ticular evenings at some of the cracft-clubs : at the Travel- lers’, for instance, if they had a better house, and something to entertain their fair guests withal ? Why shovdd not the Travellers be “ at home” occasionally to their ladies ? Let but a few leaders of the ton begin, and the rest will follow. If some such improvement in the present constitution of clubs does not soon take place, they will run the risk either of being deserted, converted into common chop-houses, or of sinking to the level of gambling establishments. It is absurd to talk of objections, and of the ladies in this coun- try being averse to such a practice. They are no sucli thing ; and they have always been glad to visit a club, when the club has been open to them. Who can forget the throng of carriages, conveying, by day and by night, thou- sands of the most elegant, lovely, and clever females in the metropolis, to the University and the Union Clubs, when those two handsome buildings were first open ? And 174 MATILDA. at Crockford’s ? — but we must be silent upon that. Surely what is good and modest at one time, must be so at all times. But the fact is, that the present appears to be a race of men neither remarkable for gallantry, nor conspi- cuous for that ease of manners which distinguished polite society in former times. We are indolent, and cannot bear to be constantly on the stretch to invent civilities, compli- ments, and pretty nothings to please our fair friends with. We are too much mixed up with politics, speculations, and wild projects of all sorts, and incapable of -enjoying an intellectual interchange of ideas with the better part of society. The clubs, therefore, form a good excuse for retreating from all chances of being teazed by the one, or annoyed by the other. Walking towards the Zeil, after leaving the Casino, I was tempted to enter the shop of Mr. Charles Jiigel, one of the principal booksellers, by the appearance in the window of “ Matilda, by Lord Normanby,” at one-fifth of the price she is sold for in London. Now, although a grave physi- cian in the metropolis can have no kind of affinity with novels, particularly if he has plenty of other things to do, and his time be fully employed ; yet, when travelling, and making a holiday, he may be indulged in the enjoyment of such a literary treat ; especially when it costs only three shillings and seven-pence halfpenny. Such and no more is the price at which I pui-chased the neatest and most elegant little volume imaginable, containing the lucubrations of his Lordship, (as Mr. Jiigel will have it,) beautifully printed, with the most lovely diamond types, on excellent paper, and with surprising accuracy. This delightful pocket typo- graphical bijou served, a fortnight later, to beguile many tedious hours of ploughing through the sands of Prussia and Courland ; and I thank the noble author and his dis- interested foreign editor for the amusement I have derived from its perusal. The whole story has, unfortunately, the PRINTSELLERS OF FRANKFORT. 175 ippearance of an every-day occurrence, and seems to have jeen painted with colours found ready at hand, illustrative pf the frivolity, follies, and vices of what are called the fashionable classes of society. This edition of “ Matilda,” pf Mr. Jiigel, is not the only specimen he intends giving pf his enterprising spirit in multiplying the editions of English works of imagination ; but the first of a series of ! 4 Pocket Novelists” of the present day, which will be fol- owed by Granby, Tremaine, and Vivian Grey, typogra- phically compressed into on e-Jifth of their native propor- ions and price. The booksellers at Frankfort are, next :o those of Leipsig, the most polite and courteous race of radesmen. Their shops are fitted up with much elegance, ind rich in every description of literary novelty. As to Mr. Charles Jiigel, he will be found by the stranger in- comparably superior to most of the hard-bargain-driving nhabitants of the Row, thoroughly acquainted with the listory of his country, and full of information on the sub- ect of Frankfort and its different institutions, which he :ommunicates with the utmost readiness. Frankfort, too, has its Ackermanns and its Colnaghis. In few towns on the Continent will such extensive collec- tions of prints, both ancient and modern, be found. Of the latter description there is an endless variety, particularly of coloured views, and designs illustrative of the enchanting scenery, and of the singular and picturesque costumes in :he neighbourhood. Frederich Wilmans, in the Zeil, will tfford a high treat to travellers, who being no masters of he graphic art, may wish, nevertheless, to take home pic- uresque mementoes of their travels in Germany. Drawing rom nature is doubtless a most excellent qualification in a traveller — one which may be said to double the enjoyments pf travelling ; but the loss of time it occasions renders it one of questionable utility. It may be boldly stated that finished draughtsmen have always been unproductive 176 FRANKFORT FAIR. travellers. They have wasted their hours in seizing the external features of objects, leaving little or no leisure for examining into their intrinsic worth, their nature, and des- tination. Theirs is a journal for the eye. That of a tra- veller who devotes his time to the consideration of the last- mentioned objects, is a record for the mind and the heart. If there must be illustrations in our diary, what better can we have than those from the pencil of native artists, who being on the spot, and vying with each other in producing the best representation of objects of interest and curiosity in their country, are more likely to be accurate ? We arrived at Frankfort “ a day after the fair.” The celebrated fair held in the autumn in this town was just over: we were told that it was dull and unproductive. The whole commercial world is dislocated. There are just now as many grumblers at the fair of Frankfort as at Man- chester, or in any other place of equal mercantile import- ance. One of the principal nations in Europe is playing a losing game. This keeps the rest on their guard ; thev suspect it may be only a scheme, after all, to get the odd trick. Malice and envy, and all uncharitableness, (feelings of old towards that nation,) suggest the “ timeu Danaos et doua, fyc” Still the losing game is going on ; and at last, as in a party at billiards, she may win by losing. God grant she may ! The centre mart, during the fair, is to be found at the Braunfels, a sort of bazaar, or Palais Royal, on the principal story of a large quadrangular building, with covered galleries, and shops innumerable. I | happened to be at Frankfort during the fair of September i 1819, and no sight amused or interested me more than that of the gay, busy, many-tongued, many-mannered, and many- i costumed crowds which were assembled on that occasion. There is no reason why a purely mercantile population should not have its hours of merriment and rational amusement. The stranger who resides at Frankfort, GERMAN AND ITALIAN MOZART. 177 will find that the inhabitants can relax from business as well as their neighbours ; and that they, too, have their routs and their dinners, just as if they never touched ledgers, or calculated per s/ients. To judge, also, of the crowd at the theatre, it may be argued that they are a play-going people. The house is neat, spacious, and fitted up with some taste. The three ranges of galleries, or balconies, which run round it, free from obstructing pillars and high parapets, give an agreeable airiness to the interior. As usual, there is a privileged portion of the pit, reserved for those who choose not to be jostled in their amusements, and are willing to pay for that im- munity. I could not help being struck by the general appearance of extreme cleanliness in and about the house, contrasted with the filthy vestibules and staircases, and the offensive atmosphere of the corridors of some of the other theatres we had seen in our travels. The play performed was the Lottery Ticket one night, and the Figaro of Mozart the following night. The effect pro- duced on my ears, by the German “ Crudel perche finora” and “ Su 1’ aria,” otherwise so familiar to me in the softer accents of the only musical language in the world, is not to be described. I learned on this occasion, (the first I ever had of comparing the German with the Italian Mozart,) that it cannot be a matter of indifference, as some pre- tend, to what sort of words, accents, or pronuncia- tion, a particular music is set. Let the reader, if he has ever heard a word of Italian, fancy the amorous Count turning to his dear Susanna with these delightful words, expressive of languid tenderness, accompanied by the full and melodious chords of the great composer: “ So lang hab’ ich geschmachtet ohn’ Hoffnung dich ge- liebt !” or let him listen to the lovely Countess, dictating to a sly soubrette the billet doux, “ Che soave zejiretto, N VOL. I. 178 staedel’s pictures. in the following harmonious accents, “ Wenn die sauften A-bend liif-te,” with a succession of terminal words through- out the opera ending in ach—estein—eg — berg or afen, and he then will form an idea to himself of the importance of language in vocal music. If the traveller be an admirer of the Flemish and German schools of painting, he will not regret an hour spent in the cabinet of the late Mr. Staedel; where, amongst many mediocre performances of the earliest masters, some will be found which will amply repay the time devoted to their contemplation. This cabinet forms part of an Institute for encouraging the fine arts at Frankfort, founded by that eminent and patriotic merchant in 181G ; for the support of which he left the largest portion of his fortune, as well as his own collection of pictures, and other valuable objects. A school for draw- ing has since been established in the Institute, which is said to have had the happiest effect in improving the taste of artisans in particular, who are admitted gratui- tously. It is open every day during the fair, and three days in the week at other times, to the public generally, without any fee or ceremony. In one of the rooms there is a most magnificent collection of engravings, among which no fewer than 1800 are the production of Albert Durer. The entire collection consists of 30,000 engra- vings, a certain number of which are exhibited daily for a fortnight, when they are replaced by others. By this simple arrangement, the amateur of this branch of art, who resides in the town, and has time to spare, may successively view and examine the whole collection. Among the cabinet pictures, there are some of the most lovely Uuysdaels in existence. Heirs at law are not the warmest supporters or admirers of posthumous beneficence and liberality. In this respect, things go on much the same at Frankfort, as they do in THE FINE ARTS AT FRANKFORT. 179 largei' capitals : for this reason it is, that the Staedel In- stitute, which is formed out of the splendid testamentary gift of that individual, has been considerably checked in its progress by the litigation of those who have thought it necessary to dispute the validity of the will. The cause was in the course of trial when we were at Frankfort. Encouragement such as this Institution is calculated to give to the cultivation of painting, is much wanted here ; for at present it is impossible to compliment the inhabitants of Frankfort upon their proficiency either in the fine arts, or in those objects of industry which require some know- ledge of them. These observations are suggested by the general character of the productions of native artists, and manufacturers, which we had an opportunity of examining in the apartments of the Polytechnic Society. Historical and portrait painting seems to be at a very low ebb indeed ; and much cannot be said in favour of the present state of the fine arts in general. But every thing must have a beginning; and this being only the second exhibition of the kind ever attempted, may be succeeded by others of a superior description. In our rambles over the town, the old palace of the Knights of the Teutonic Order was pointed out, with its singular chapel, standing near the bridge in Sachsenhausen. This extensive building has nothing remarkable in its ar- :hitecture, and would not be noticed, but for the many mndred marks it bears of the attack sustained within its ofty walls by a small body of French soldiers retiring, be- ore the Hessian and Bavarian troops, after having bravely )ut ineffectually defended the bridge. The impressions ire yet visible on the red sand-stone walls left by the nitraille launched against them on that occasion. As a matter of curiosity, we were tempted to extend our firing to that part of the town where all the Jews reside. The principal street of this insulated quarter, situated at the N 2 180 THE JEWS OF FRANKFORT. east end of the town, bears the name of Juden Gasse, is ex- tremely narrow, and very filthy. Floors piled upon floors, to the number of nine and ten, are to be seen in each of the countless houses, made of wood, and black from age, which form the street. It was actually swarming with the unsha- ven, the circumcised, and their kindred, stationed before, and at the doors of their rag-shops, in a state of filth which beggars description. How epidemical disorders are not en- gendered in such a place, is a matter to me of some sur- prise. And in the precincts of this quarter the Jews were formerly shut up every night ! At present they are at liberty to go any where, and at all hours, and settle wherever they think proper. One of the Rothschilds, who is, I believe, the head of the well-known firm and family of that name, lias availed himself fully of this emancipating regulation ; for, independently of a very good house which we saw in the neighbourhood of the Juden Gasse, in an open space not far from the Jews’ hospital, and at the door of which some lackeys in sky-blue liveries loaded with lace made them- selves conspicuous ; he has a very pretty and showy villa on the outskirts of the town, immediately upon the grand promenade noticed in another place. The undeviating and uniform identity of the features and general character of the countenance, which accompany these singular people, wherever they settle, is certainly one of the most curious phenomena in nature : climate, and all those physical cir- cumstances belonging to localities, which work such won- derful changes in the physical character of man, and are, as much as any other influential agent, the cause of those dif- ferences which constitute races, — appear to have no influence upon the tribe of Israel. The circumcised of Monmouth- street is as like that of Judtn Gasse, as two individuals of the same nation can be ; let them be by birth and residence German, English, Russian, Portuguese, or Polish, still the THE RUSSIAN MINISTER. 181 one and only set of features belonging to the race will be seen equally in all. But it is time to turn from these dry matter-of-fact con- siderations to some more agreeable subject. Fortunately an opportunity is afforded me of so doing, by my introduc- tion to Baron d’A , the Russian Minister, accredited to the Diet; a gentleman universally known to his countrymen, by whom he is much esteemed, and who has held several conspicuous public situations. He was attache to Kou- tusoff, during the brilliant campaign of 1812, and formed part of the suite of the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Congress of Vienna ; where his zeal, talents, and watchful anxiety for the interest of his Imperial master attracted the favourable notice of most of the foreign diplomatists, with the single exception, according to common report, of Prince Metternich. That minister was supposed to entertain no cordial feeling towards the Baron. It happened, that du- ring a severe indisposition which confined the Baron to his bed, the Prince saw, one morning, General Pozzo di Borgo, and another Russian gentleman now high in office, coming out of the invalid’s house. The Prince, assuming an air of grief and great seriousness, enquired of the General how the Baron was. “ Helas !” replied the General, “ il n’y a plus d’espoir.” “ How so ?” rejoined his Serene Highness i eagerly, “ he is dying then?” “ Au contraire, mon Prince,” answered Pozzo di Borgo, “ c’est qu’il va beaucoup mieux.” The Baron is, in every sense of the word, what the French call spiritue/. He was walking one morning in the Prater at Vienna, with a distinguished countryman of his, when a number of merry, gamboling, pretty little dogs, bounded in all their playfulness towards them. Baron A received and returned their caresses, sporting with them at his leisure, when a thundering voice, from a tall, narrow-shouldered, 182 ANECDOTES OF THE BARON d’A. and richly-laced Imperial footman, who was following close upon the nimble-legged animals, bade him beware how he sported with the Court puppies, and rebuked him for so doing. The Baron stood petrified at so singular a prohi- bition, assumed a significant look, made a low bow, took off his hat, and with due gravity said, “ J’ai eu l’honneur d’etre presente a la cour,” and continued his pastime undisturbed by any farther interference. His anecdotes are inexhaus- tible, neat, and appropriate ; his remarks shrewd and al- ways original : he speaks with equal fluency the French, Russian, German, and Italian languages ; and having tra- velled all his life, his knowledge of men and manners is very extensive. To all these qualifications of the highest order, he joins that of being a perfect Apicius redivivus, in point of gout , but not in extravagance. Baron d’A s table is proverbially known among the higher classes of society wherever he has been. His cuisine is of the most delectable kind ; and his epicurism, instead of being of that description which looks upon plenitude of stomach as the supreme bonheur, consists in devising new combina- tions, simplifying complicated processes, and suggesting improvements in the culinary art on which he could deliver at will a series of grave lectures which would have thrown my late acquaintance, Dr. Kitchener, into the shade. Of all this we had convincing proofs at a dinner which he gave to the Count and Countess Wo- ronzow, and some other friends, in the invitation to which he was good enough to include me. It is difficult to say whether his easy, flowing wit, or his delicate epicur- ism, enchanted us most. Considering that the Baron is a very weighty authority in all that relates to the pleasures ol the table, it was with some astonishment that I heard him pronounce a sweeping sentence against Rhenish and Mo- FAMILY OF PRINCE MOROZZO. 183 sellc wines. He called the Rhenish wine, “ de l’apoplexie liqnide,” and pretended that Moselle was often apt to pro- duce the gravel. This opinion he proceeded to illustrate by examples which were told too prettily to be convincing. It would seem as if the Frankfort people were of the same way of thinking on that subject, as they consume but little of those wines, and prefer, with the Baron, the Latour and Laffitte of 1811 ; doubtless because the former are of home growth, and the others have to travel some hundred of miles, and are not so cheap. The opinion too, that old Rhenish wine is the best, has, it appears, been quite exploded. This wine, observed our culinary instructor, should be drunk young, in small quantities, and out of Bohemian glasses. It is also an absurd practice, added he, to ice the Rhenish, for by such a process the peculiar bouquet of the wine is lost. It should only be cooled in water. These several axioms he proved to our satisfaction, by circulating one of the most exquisite specimens of Johannisberg I have ever tasted. It was of two years’ growth, cooled in spring- water, and in glasses from the mountains of Bohemia. By one of those singular coincidences which happen only to travellers, I found myself placed near a lady whom I had well known as a child of seven or eight years old, at the house of her brother, the unfortunate Prince Morozzo, in Constantinople. Nearly a quarter of a century had elapsed between our last and present meeting; yet so keen is female recollection, that after the first few words which we mutually addressed to each other as strangers, it struck her that we were old acquaintances ; and she reminded me of the circumstances of our last interview, as if it had occurred but the week before. That interview had taken place on the banks of the Bosphorus, in the mansion of her princely ancestors, and in the bosom of a family not more 184 SOCIETY AT FRANKFORT. distinguished for their rank and honours, than esteemed for their superior worth by the whole Greek nation. The interval since we had met, had been to her full of afflicting events. All her relations had successively fallen by the scimitar or bowstring of the Osmanlicks. She herself, with some female relations, and many other families of distinction, were fortunate enough to make good their escape from Constantinople during the massacre of the Greeks, which has stained the annals of the reigning Sultan ; and took refuge in Odessa, there to experience the bounty of the late Emperor of Russia, who received and provided, in a most liberal manner, from his private coffers, for all those distressed and widowed mothers, and sisters of princes. A few years afterwards, my fair friend married Mons. Per- siani, the present Secretary of the Russian Embassy at Frankfort. After dinner, the party assembled in the principal suite of rooms, when some company arrived, and an agreeable con- versazione began. The corps diplomatique forms a distinct branch of the society at Frankfort. It is of course the most recherchee. The citizens holding offices, particularly the up- per branches of the legislature, and a select circle of friends, congregate together, to the total exclusion of the merchants and the bourgeoisie generally. But the two latter classes of inhabitants are said to live more splendidly, and to receive more cordially the stranger, who is sure of finding a hearty welcome, if he but brings an earnest letter of introduction. The ton of society in general may be considered as nearly approaching to that of the minor capitals of Germany where Sovereign Princes reside; but there is th eje ne sais quoi wanting in it, which dandies and exquisites have styled the supreme bon ton , and which may be seen, but is not to be described. Walking is a favourite amusement with the belles at CLIMATE OF FRANKFORT. 185 Frankfort. The extensive shrubbery, the orangery, and the public flower-garden, with hundreds of exotic plants in full bloom, are the rendezvous of all the beauty and fashion from one till three in the afternoon. Some prefer driving out in their caleche, and a great number ride on horseback, a V Anglaise. The elegants are generally foreigners, and attaches to the foreign missions. These young gentlemen, being paid to be idle, become cavalieri serventi to the ladies; while the husband, the son, or the brother, are deeply engaged at their counting-houses, conning over the rate of exchange with Amsterdam, London, and Paris. The Zeil, too, the finest street in Frankfort, exhibits its pedes- trians of both sexes, at the same hour on a fine day. But here the scene is changed. The ladies who parade up and down the south side of the street, have no husbands and no shackles, and court admiration ; while the gentlemen who follow are neither young counts nor exquisite secretaries, but the rich young banker, who has just run out for a breath of pure air, and the spruce, aping clerk, who is on his way to cash a bill of exchange — all equally intent upon one object. The climate of Frankfort is favourable to pedestrian excursions. Dry weather predominates ; the air is soft and elastic, and it seldom or ever freezes in the winter. The succession of seasons is marked by gradual transitions, which are the characteristics of temperate and healthy cli- mates. Thus far, therefore, Frankfort may be considered as a desirable sejour with regard to health. The resi- dent foreigners seem to speak favourably of the place. Judging from the conversations I had on the subject of medical practice, and from the state of the hospitals, I feel disposed to class Frankfort with a few of the principal towns of Germany, on the score of public health and the means of taking care of it. There are three physicians in 18(5 PHYSICIANS AT FRANKFORT. great voo-ue in this town. A fourth, Dr. Wenzel, whose work on Diseases of the Spine, illustrated with beautiful plates, has been well received by the profession, and whose practice was both extensive and successful, died in October last, to the great regret of the inhabitants. He was held in great estimation. The system of medical practice gene- rally adopted approaches nearer to the strictly German doctrine of the day, than to the French school. In the treatment of inflammatory complaints, however, the Frank- fort physicians incline much to the latter, and are therefore inactive. The mode in which the medical profession is remunerated does not tend to give it that character of re- spectability and importance which is so essential, even for the interest of the patients. A physician is either engaged at an annual stipend, in which case he is obliged to visit the family as a matter of course almost every day ; or he is expected to send in a bill for his attendance, charging from three to five florins each visit. It was under an ar- rangement of the former description that the late Dr. Wenzel, already mentioned, who occupied the first rank in practice, visited his patients ; whereas, many others pre- fer following the latter method. In that case, the bill is sent in twice a-year, at the time of the fairs ; a period in which all thrifty housekeepers settle their domestic and pecuniary affairs. An accoucheur, among the superior classes of society, receives a remuneration, of from twenty to forty florins. The gentleman mostly employed in that capacity at this moment, is a Frenchman by birth, named Le Jeun. lew towns in Europe, Paris perhaps excepted, can boast of such magnificent hotels as are to be found at Frankfort. These are principally in the Zeil, or in the vicinity of the Theatre. The Romisch Kaiser, at which THE RHENISH WINES. 187 our party were staying ; and the Hotel d’Angleterre in the Ross Markt, where I lodged on a former occasion, are in every way worthy of the largest capital in Europe. Even some of the inns, (as for example the Hotel de Rus- sie,) as public buildings, are very remarkable. The charges are by no means extravagant, and the attendance is of the best description. But on these subjects I refer the reader to the Appendix at the end of my Second Volume. Before I conclude my description and account of Frank- fort, I must say a few words on the extensive trade which it carries on in Rhenish wine. From the information I collected on this subject, it appears that several thousand ohms, each ohm containing about fifteen dozen of bottles of Rhenish wine, are negotiated in this commercial place. It is generally from Frankfort that the various sorts of wine, of the growth of the Rhine, are ordered. The house of Peter Arnold Mumm has a most extensive connexion in this respect, and supplies some of the choicest wines. There i are red and white Rhenish wines. The former are gene- rally more powerful than the white. They have totally a different flavour, and are apt to cause heat and irritation. The white wines are divided into classes, either according to their properties, or their topographical growth. According to the former classification, those of Nierstein, Markobrunner, Streitberg, Rudesheim, Bingen, and Ba- charach, are the strongest, and have more body in them. Those of Schlossberg (Johannisberger), Steinberg, Geissen- heim, Rothenberger, and Hochheim, are the most endowed with aroma and perfume, and of moderate strength. Lastly, those of Laubenheim, Asmannshausen, (red,) Bischteim, Liebfrau milch, are the most agreeable, possess a most delightful bouquet, with a requisite degree of perfume, and are the most wholesome of all the Rhenish wines. 188 THE RHENISH WIN ES. In point of topographical classification, those of the Rheingau come first ; of these there are ten distinct sorts 1. Hellenberg, 2. Hinterhaeuser, 3. Rodlandberg, 4. Kapellgarten, 5. Rothenberger, 6. Schlossberg 7. Markobrunner 8. Steinberg . . 9. Graefenberg 10. Hauptberg Asmannshausen -near and Rudesheim. near Geissenheim. at Johannisberg. at Hattenheim. at Eberbach. at Kiederich. at Rauenthal. Next follow the wines which grow on the left bank, and of which the principal are. North of Mayence. 1. Scharlachberger (red) near Bingen. 2. Rhein-Dieboch (red.) 3. Muscateller, ^ 4. Kuhlberger, ^ 5. Engeholle (red) near Oberweasel. South of Mayence. near Bacharach. 6. Dienheim. 7. Niersteiner and Oppenheim. 8. Liebfraumilch. 9- Laubenheim. And lastly come those on the right bank, exclusive ot those already mentioned. West of the Rheingau. 10. Guttenfels, near Caub. 11. Rosteiner. East of the Rheingau. 12. Hochheim. 13. Wiekesh. 14. Costheim. PRICES OF THE RHENISH WINES. 189 It is to be remarked, that most of the vineyards produ- cing the above wines are of small extent, and yield hut a very limited quantity of wine. This fact will show how great must be the adulteration of Rhenish wines in the trade, considering the extraordinary quantity which is sold under some one or other of the principal names contained in the above list. The price, too, at which the pretended Rhenish wine is sold in London, when compared with those obtained bv the proprietor, even on the spot, will assist in forming an idea of the imposition practised in this branch of the wine trade. It is, therefore, of the utmost consequence to deal with none but the most respectable houses, long es- tablished, and known to have direct intercourse with the Frankfort houses, or the proprietors of vineyards. The Bergwein — Riidesheim of 1825, was sold at Frankfort, in 1827, for 1100 rix-dollars the Ohm, or fifteen dozen bot- tles ; being six rix-dollars, or about seventeen shillings a bot- tle. The Schlossenberger (Johannisberg) of the same year, fetched in 1827, 700 rix ; while the Steinberger Cabinet was bought for 900 rix. These same three sorts of wines, of the growth of 1822, fetched the following respective prices in 1827, 1,400 R., 750 It., and 980 R. ; while the same wines of the grow th of 1811 stood in the following ratio : — Johannisberg 3000 R. for 15 dozen ! ! Steinberger Cabinet 1,130 R. Riidesheim — Bergwein, 910 R. The house of Arnold Munim boasts of having some Johannisberg of the year 1726, which it offers to the amateurs for the moderate sum of 4,500 R. or 16,605 francs=664 pounds sterling 15 dozen, or 55 guineas a dozen ! ! And some Markobrunner of 1719, which may be had on equally moderate terms, or 4,000 rix- dollars, or 14,760 francs=590 pounds sterling, or 48 guineas a dozen ! Truly may Baron A style these 190 LA CURE DE RAISINS. old wines de Tapoplexie liquide. There is no recovering the shock. The red wines are sold at very low prices, and are not much exported. As a medical man, I may be expected to say a word or two on the subject of the curious plan of treatment, called la cure de raisins. I made particular enquiries on this subject, and had some conversation with patients who had gone through the regular process with success. From both these sources of information, I collect, that people labouring under inveterate affections of the sto- mach, frequent indigestion, nervous irritability of the digestive organs generally, bilious head-aches following upon an obstinate condition of the bowels, soreness or ten- derness of the abdomen, and, in fact, suffering from that proteiform series of symptoms, which accompany diseases principally seated in the stomach or accessory organs, re- quiring strict diet and pure country air, cooling medicines, and the total absence of animal food, have been recom- mended to pass from a fortnight to three weeks or a month at or in the neighbourhood of Rudesheim, at the beginning of the vintage season, and to eat nothing but grapes during the whole of that time. Such patients take up their abode in one of the inns at Rudesheim, which are very tolerable, particularly the “Engel,” (enjoying a mag- nificent prospect of the river,) and agree to pay a fixed sum for the lodging and two or three pounds of grapes daily. These should be eaten immediately from the tree, and the only thing allowed with it is a small quantity of bread. Those who can walk, are recommended to pluck their morning portion of grapes from the ti’ees ; a thing easily accomplished, as all the innkeepers have vineyards of their own. '1 he second portion, about a pound, is eaten at dinner, or at about one o’clock, and the remainder at sun- LA CURE DE RAISINS. 191 set. The hours for retiring to bed are from eight till nine, and the patient rises with the sun. This treatment ldmits of no medicine or other article of food with it. The effect of it is, to adopt the language of Dr. Puff, to bring the action of the bowels to a proper standard — to quiet 3very symptom of irritability and nervous excitement — to remove headache — improve the digestion — procure sound and refreshing sleep — restore a proper degree of coolness to the skin and mouth — and inspire the patient with cheerful deas and bright prospects. These miraculous effects of the cure de raisins are in perfect accordance with the best notions respecting the modes of treating stomach com- plaints, connected with indigestion. What these com- plaints require, is a cessation on the part of the affected organ from all ordinary operations ; in other words, “ a few holidays from the fatigues of eating and drinking and the cure de raisins is, perhaps, as good a way “ to keep holiday,” as any that can be recommended. 192 ENVIRONS OF FRANKFORT. CHAPTER VI. CONFEDERATED STATES OF GERMANY. Environs of Frankfort. — The Ridge of Heyrich. — Hanau. — Im- proving appearance of the Country. — Chaussee. — Peculiar con- struction of the houses. — Panoramic description of the roac through Gelenhausen, Saalmiinster, Schluctern, and Newhof to Fulda. — Improvement of the latter town since its secularization — Eisenach. — Luther’s concealment. — Industry of the Inha- bitants. — Eisenach pipes. — Gotha. — The late Duke. — Tlu Duke of Saxe-Cobourg inherits the Principality, and assumes the title of Gotha. — Public buildings. — Celebrated collections. — Baron Zach the astronomer. — Baron Grimm. — Erfurt — For- tifications. — The Emperor Alexander and Napoleon. — Descriptor of the Road from Fulda, through Erfurt to Weimar. — Aspect ol this town. — Market Concert. — The Ducal Palace. — The Grand- duke. — The Park. — Goethe’s Villa. — The Belvedere. — Tht Theatre. — The Stadtkirclie. — The Alter Kirchof. — Nadeschdo Yasnowsky. — Schiller without a monument. — Table d’Hote- — Digestion and Indigestion. — Abernethy and Dr. Paris. — Indus- trie-Comptoir. — Bertuch and Dr. Froriep. — English Academy and English Residents. Few towns arc as favourably situated as Frankfort, ii regard to a pleasant, cheerful neighbourhood, and the at tendant enjoyments of a country life. Many agreeable villages in its immediate vicinity tempt the inhabitants, b^ their situation and rural beauties, to visit them. Those or the banks of the Mein and Nidda, at a short distance from the city, are frequented by pedestrians on Sundays and othei ENVIRONS OF FRANKFORT. 193 holidays. Of this description are the villages of Hausen, Bockerheim, Grunebourg, Oberrad, Isenbourg, and the fa- vourite spot Forsthaus, embosomed in the depths of a thick forest. Beyond these, the country affords beauties and pro- spects of a superior description. Nowhere are there so many delightful rides, and excuses for wandering from home, as are to be found within a circle of about fifteen miles around Frankfort. Mountainous districts, full of interest to the landscape-painter, the naturalist, and the geologist, present themselves on the great ridge of Mount Taunus, or at the beginning of the Thuringian chain of hills. Throughout those districts, many an elevated spot will afford to the i traveller an ample field for the contemplation of the rich gifts bestowed by Nature on these delicious countries. The view from the tower of Bergen, situated on an eminence to the north of Frankfort, about four miles distant, is one of the finest in the world, and extends as far as Mount Tonnerre, beyond Mayence. To the north of the city of Frankfort, is part of the ridge of Mount Taunus, which runs at the back of the Rheingau, as far as the river, protecting most effectually, by its sweeping amphitheatre of sloping hills, that rich and important district from the nipping north and easterly winds, so fatal to the grape. The gentle declivi- ties of all those hills are planted thick with vineyards, the uniformity of which is happily chequered by the introduc- tion of numerous fruit-trees, and tire intervention of or- chards and gardens; while their crests are crowned with woods, through the intervals of which, rugged rocks show their gigantic and frowning heads, and give a pleasing variety to the landscape. At seven o’clock on the fourth of October we were on our way to Weimar. The road, beginning at the very barriers of Frankfort, is macadamized with small fras- ments of basaltic rock from the banks of the Rhine. It VOL. i. o 194 ROADS OF GERMANY. traverses a highly-cultivated plain, and at about three miles from the town, it approaches an elbow or reach of the Mein, the course of which it follows a good part of the way, affording a view of some showy country resi- dences here and there, and of several neat villages on either side of the river. The stream, clear and tranquil, mean- ders throughout this district between highly cultivated banks. The distances, in German miles, are marked on the road by thirty-two numbered stones to each mile, beginning at 700, and the numbers progressively decreasing as we go farther from Frankfort. What is gained in having a good road, is lost in the numerous delays to which the traveller must submit for the purpose of paying the frequent and heavy charges of barrieres and cbaussee-geld. These delays, too, are not a little increased by the difficulty of procuring, as well as comprehending, the endless variety of coin of each petty State through which the road passes. The system of turnpikes in England, of which many complain, makes every journey one of pleasure or of triumph, com- pared to the vexations of peages, and barrieres, and road- money, in Germany. But it ill becomes a foreigner to complain of such an arrangement, when, thanks to it, he is placed in a condition to enjoy the luxury of travelling over a road equal to the best in England, where, only two years since, the difficulties on the way to Berlin were such, as to make a traveller, setting out from Frankfort, an object of pity to the friends he left behind him. We had only to turn our eyes towards the cross-roads as we passed them, and witness their wretched and neglected state, to judge ot what the main-roads must have been a few years back, before the system of barrieres enabled the different au- thorities to macadamize them. Innumerable finger-posts scattered in profusion at every corner, and painted in the gay colours of the State in which they are found, and the HANAU. 195 names of the villages and hamlets through which we pass, written in large characters on a board, afford great facility to the pedestrian traveller, and some degree of interest, as well as information, to others. Hanau, our first halt after leaving Frankfort, is a neat cheerful town, situated between the Mein and the Kinzig river. The Ducal Palace called the Williamstadt, is seen to advantage on the banks of the Mein, and appears to be a large handsome square building. This town is embel- lished by gardens and public promenades in its immediate neighbourhood. The Chaussee, after going round two- thirds of the town, takes a direct easterly direction, and crosses the Kinzig on a wooden bridge. The Frankfort postilions are the best-behaved as well as the best-dressed people of that class we have met ; and drive remarkably well. Immediately upon quitting Hanau we entered the nagnificent wood of Kinzigheimerhof, in which we found regetation still in great beaut}'. On emerging from this "orest, an extensive and distant view of the hills, called The Birds' mountains, broke upon us ; Vogelberge being on )ur left, and a little farther on the right the Rhon Hills. The country improved greatly as we advanced, not only in ichness and fertility of soil, but also in picturesque beauty. The prospect in the direction of the Rhon Hills is mag- lificent. Every village we passed through, and the ex- ensive valleys that here and there open between the ridges )f hills as we leave the latter behind and on each side of as, bespeak the ease and comfort of the inhabitants. The louses and cottages are well built and neat. The latter ire generally of boards and carefully thatched ; the former ire of a stronger construction, being for the most part built if strong timber, so arranged and disposed as to admit within the intervals square blocks of the compact red sand- stone, commonly met with in the neighbourhood. These in- o 2 196 WESL A R. — GO ET HE’S WERTHER. tervals, or spaces, assume a variety of angular and geometrical figures, which add to the singularity of the external appear- ance of the building, where the walls have not been stuccoed over but left in their natural state. The walls of all are, in- ternally, and of some, externally, covered with a hard and durable cement, which is capable of receiving and retaining for a length of time, water as well as oil colours. This style of house-building prevails throughout thispart of Ger- many — few, and of those only the public and important edi- fices, being built wholly of stone. Each house, indeed, may be said to be, for the greater part, the work of the carpenter, who finishes the external frame, with all its compartments, casements, doorways, and internal divisions, so as 10 form an entire skeleton of what the house is intended to be, before the stone-mason and plasterer are called in to com- plete it. The timbers employed are very solid, well sea- soned, and in pieces of great length, planed smooth, and measuring about five inches in width and thickness. These are made to cross each other in a variety of directions, ac- cording to the taste of the builder. It is a matter of regret that the chaussee is not carried through the villages and towns. These are left to the old system of paving, in which stones of various sizes and shapes are employed, and so carelessly put together, that carriages are exposed perpe tually to the risk of breaking down. This is the case ir Hanau, Gotha, Eisenach, Erfurt, Weimar, and still mort so in all the intermediate villages — the consequence of which is that you are absolutely compelled, if you have a regarc for your vehicle, and do not choose to be stunned — to drivt through those places at a walking pace. We soon left behind us, at some distance on our left, tin small town of Weslar, romantically situated, and celebratei as the scene of Goethe’s Werther. It is said that a person o that name did actually live, fell in love when he ought not GELN HAUSEN. 197 lived miserably, and died just when he should, in that town where his tomb is shown to the traveller — some such au- thentic tomb, I presume, as the old stone fountain trough, shown to Englishmen in an orchard at Verona for the tomb i of Shakspeare’s J uliet. The road widened as we advanced, and appeared in most 1 excellent order, save where the system of planting straight rows of trees on each side has been obstinately adhered to. In all those parts, the road, notwithstanding the hardness of the materials employed in macadamizing it, is generally wet and muddy, and soft near the stem and in the shade of the trees. The country through which we passed pre- sents an agreeable aspect with its extensive grass fields in the bottom of the valleys ; and these are every where sur- rounded by low hills, studded with vines to the very top, and fully exposed to the mid-day sun. In the distant horizon the hills, becoming more and more distinct as we proceed, present a cheering and agreeable sight, with their hanging woods and every sort of culti- vated ground, well-built villages and country residences happily grouped in different parts of the landscape, and cattle grazing in the intervening dells. The town of Gelnhausen lies before us in the dai'k and ample shadow of a high hill on its left, strongly detached from the back- ground, with its towers and spires, by the bright sunshine that covers the distant hills beyond it. Here we changed horses at the Golden Sun, which is represented as a good halting-place, and started again immediately, passing be- fore the large Byzantine church, built of red stone. The road is carried along the slope of a richly-cultivated hill, midway, between its summit covered with vines, and the extensive valley on our right, rich and well cultivated. On descending into this, we remarked the ample quarry which furnishes the red sandstone, noticed in the various 198 SAALMUNSTER. — SCHLUCHTERN. buildings we had passed. This valley is frequently inun- dated, and there was no regular road until lately. One, still harder, and raised much higher, is now constructing on Macadam’s principles. As we approached the termina- tion of the vale, a brilliant and delightful prospect opened before us of variously-shaped mountains, and small townsglit- terine in the sun, until we arrived at the foot of a thickly- wooded hill, where the road ascends partly in a straight di- rection, and then winding to the left, runs along its circular base. The whole valley is one extent of rich pasture, kept in the highest order, and irrigated like the plains of Lombardy. The soil, both here and on the sloping surfaces of the hills, is alluvial, deep, and rich, through which, here and there, break out the shapeless outlines of red rock. Fine young oaks, of about thirty years’ growth, form the wide-spreading forest which we are skirting. We reached Saalmunster at noon, crossing a small portion of Bavaria, without however being molested by any formalities. The whole of the next stage, as far as Schluchtern, is like a beau- tiful drive in an extensive park, the road winding between two forests of young trees. Much may be inferred of the comparative superiority of wealth and comforts in the pea- santry and other inhabitants of these districts, from the clean and neat appearance of the many light four-wheeled waggons, drawn by a long double string of fine black horses, profusely caparisoned with brass ornaments, carrying large bales of goods to Frankfort, and the produce of the land; as well as from the aspect of the well-dressed waggoner, with his large cocked hat, blue frock, and a most human- ized countenance. Beyond Schluchtern, the road follows the steep, long, and wooded ascent of Keilzelbach ; and I took advantage of the pace we were going, to leave the carriage and examine the various specimens of rocks with which the road is mac- EISEL BERG. * 199 adamized. These I found to be basaltic ; and on breaking- many of them, crystals of green and olive epidotes and py- roxenes were discovered ; but these must have been brought from the neighbourhood of the Rhine, as no such formation is found here ; and yet the expense of its transport must be considerable. As 1 penetrated through the thick part of the forest, my step disturbed its peaceable inhabitants ; and hares and young deer, graceful as antelopes, and quick- eyed, bounded by me in different directions. A very pro- minent hill stood on our right, called the Eisel Berg, as we reached the summit; and the country became suddenly open, assuming a perfectly wild aspect, heathy and barren. Still the more distant lands, spread on the declivities of the hills which surround the desolate plain in various shapes and height, tinted by the shadows of a passing cloud or the streams of sunshine, preserve, here and there, the character of high cultivation. Among the more distant ridges I caught, now and then, the glimpse of a whole range, coloured in deep indigo and violet blue, with its out- lines sharp and so clearly defined against the clear horizon, as to remind me of what I had hitherto considered as an exaggerated feature in Mr. Martin’s landscapes, and those of some others of the water-colour school in London. Here the contrast with the more brilliant parts of the hills was impressive ; but the tints were fleeting and transitory, and perhaps, as such, not proper for imitation by the painter, whose province is to seize and embody the more permanent characters of his subject. As the sun began to descend towax-ds the hoi-izon, on emerging through a wood of little extent, we found our- selves in the centre of a vast amphitheatre, with a steep descent before us. Fulda was seen to advantage at such an hour in the ample bosom of the vale below. A range of hills on its right is remarkable for their pic- 200 FULDA. turesque outline and other circumstances of arrangement Immediately before and around us, the rich pasture lands are intersected by narrow canals, by which the fields arc irrigated in the Lombard style; a circumstance which Mr. Russell, in his entertaining “ Tour in German)',” has mista- ken for casual inundation, the result of neglect on the part of the peasants. A stone bridge enabled us to cross the two narrow streams of the Fulda, separated by a strip of pas- ture land ; and as we approached the town, the showy castle and park of the Duke, placed on the lesser hills behind the town, attracted our notice. The immense plain on which Fulda stands has been, in our own days, the scene of bloody contests between the Russian and French armies, and the town suffered considerably during the memorable campaign of 1812-13. Fulda was once the see of a Sove- reign Bishop, who filled the town with churches, convents, and nunneries. With the exception of the cathedral, and one or two other churches — in one of which, by the by, is shown the tomb of St. Bonifacius — there remain but few of the former. Most of the convents have been suppressed or turned into barracks ; and one or two of the nunneries transformed into /y/ng-iw-hospitals Since its secularization, the aspect of the town has much improved ; thanks to the electoral Duke of Hesse, its present sovereign. I cannot help comparing Fulda to Modena in Italy; for, like the capital of the Duchy of that name, Fulda has its princely palace, with superb apartments and paintings — a court, one never hears of — fine houses, wide streets, and open squares. Like it, too, it possesses several public establishments — such as a library, a museum ; and it contains an idle population, with more than a common share of dulness. From this town the road follows the meandering stream of the Fulda, which is embellished by gay and lively envi- rons, with regular slopes down to the banks, winding paths LUTHER’S CONCEALMENT. 201 and vistas, that add to the natural beauties of the scenery. On our arrival at Eisenach, where the Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar was staying, we found that little town in a bustle. The handsome chateau, which serves as the Ducal residence, is situated on the right of the road just before entering the town, with a very extensive park around it. This is War- tenburg, a place that deserves to be mentioned from the cir- cumstance of its having been the abode in which Luther was subjected to a sort of temporal imprisonment. That event, which took place in 1521, originated in Prince Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who being the patron of Luther, and fear- ing the effect of the proscription issued against him by the Emperor, appointed certain noble and trusty men to convey the offending monk to a secret place, in hopes of avoiding danger. Luther was accordingly conveyed to Wartenburg, where he continued ten months, engaged in writing several of his treatises, and in translating the Bible into German. This place of refuge, or, as some will have it, of confine- ment, he has called Patmos in his writings. The papists on that occasion employed the skill of wizards to seek him out, but they were unsuccessful, and his retreat was un detected. The inhabitants of Eisenach are industrious and active, as those of Fulda are indolent and thoughtless. The manufactories, such as they are, are numerous, and symptoms of activity are every where visible. One of the branches of industry of these people is the fashioning into pipes the knotted roots of the elder tree, to which the most fantastic shapes imaginable are given. These are sold in great number, and at a very reasonable price. Most of them have carvings and bas-reliefs, representing rural sports and other objects, among which the place of Luther’s imprisonment is the most frequently repeated. The com- merce of that other species of pipe bowls, known under the name of Ecume de Mer (Meerschaum or meerstein,) which 202 GOTHA. arc so much esteemed, and so generally used throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, is carried on principally at Eisenach. The bowls are made of a species of magnesian lime-stone, commonly called soap-stone, found in great abundance in the neighbourhood of Roula near Eisenach. The best of them cost from two to five and even six rix- dollars. The bowls are elegantly cut into forms mostly taken from antique vases. The next place of importance which occurs on the road is Gotha. This small but neat and interesting town should not be treated as a mere place for changing horses. It is, on the contrary, highly deserving of the particular attention of travellers. The late Duke of Saxe-Gotha, who made himself conspicuous during his residence at Rome, was an eccentric character, but well-disposed and kind-hearted. His reign was too short to allow him to put in execution the different projects he had formed for improving the political existence of his people, and for enlarging the town. His taste for the fine arts, matured by the daily contemplation of the chef- d 1 oeuvres of Rome, qualified him for the task of embellishing the capital of his own principality. Unfortunately he was possessed of a feeble and sickly constitution, and was an invalid for a considerable time previous to his death, which took place in the month of February, 1825. The person of the Duke was gigantic and strongly muscular. During his residence of seven or eight years in Italy, he liberally gave his patronage to literary men, painters, engravers, and beaux esprits, and was well known as a professed Maecenas in those times. He frequented the highest ranks of society;! with many members of which he was on habits of intimacy, particularly with Napoleon’s sister, the Prin- cess Borghese. His death has given rise to a singular action at law on the part of his executors, who claim the THE LATE DUKE OF SAXE GOTHA. 203 premium of an insurance on the Duke’s life, from three of the principal Insurance Companies in London, two of which have demurred to the claim, on the ground that the decla- rations of the medical attendants of the Duke were unsa- tisfactory, and not conformable with the real state of health of the person insured. The sum in dispute is large; and a commission having been appointed to enquire into the nature of the case, after several months’ meetings at Gotha, came to a resolution that the true condition of the bodily health of the Duke had not been properly stated to the directors of the Companies in question. The commission consisted of two of the directors and their agents, assisted by a medical gentleman, a native of Saxony, practising at Leipsic, who was found particularly useful, in consequence of his knowledge of the English language: on the other part there were the creditors and relatives of the late Duke. As the Duke had been almost in a state of paralysis for some time, a species of professional examination took place after his death, conducted by his own medical attendants. The result of this examination was reported to be favourable to the general medical statement, forwarded at the time of effecting the insurance ; but it failed to satisfy the mind of the directors that every thing was right. On the commission meeting under the authority of the present Duke, at Gotha, a new and a more minute examination of the remains took place, particularly of the head, when it was found that a large tumour had existed within its cavity — which had probably been of slow growth, and must, it was inferred, have affected the Duke’s health, and tended to shorten his life. This fact, it is contended, is sufficient to vitiate the insurance ; and it is understood that the sums claimed will not be paid, except under a verdict regularly obtained in a court of law. The ques- tion is an interesting as well as an important one, and is 201 THE DUKE OF SAXE-COBURG. now sub judice, in this country. I confess that I feel in- clined to side with the directors, who were evidently misled at the time of accepting the insurance, by the general statement, that the reporting physicians saw no reason for thinking that the Duke was in that state of health which rendered an insurance on his life more than usually hazardous. For some time after the demise of the Sovereign Duke, Gotha remained without any regular succession ; the pub- lic administration being conducted in the name of the widow, I believe, until by a Convention, dated the 12th of November, 1826, it was agreed that the Duke Ernest of Saxe Cobourg Saalfeld, brother to Prince Leopold of Cobourg, should take possession of the principality for himself and heirs. His Serene Highness, in consequence of that Convention, assumed the title of Duke of Saxe Cobourg and Gotha, as such, and made his solemn entry into Gotha on the 25th of that month. Few towns in Germany, of the size and rank of Gotha, possess more public buildings of interest, or more valu- able collections, both private and public, calculated to promote science, literature, and the fine arts. Gotha, in this r espect, may be considered as one of the most classical towns in Germany, and as containing among its small popu- lation of twelve thousand inhabitants, the greatest number of eminent men of letters. The late Duke encouraged the fine arts with an ardour beyond the means of his limited revenue — his liberality frequently outstripped bis prudence. He projected a museum on a large scale, which was opened with great solemnity the year before his death, and by a late testamentary disposition, be left it to the town as a legacy from its Sovereign. The public library too is the gift of the same Prince ; it amounts already to 170,000 volumes, CABINETS AT GOTHA. — BARON ZACH. 20-5 besides a smaller collection of books entirely on subjects of archaeology. The twelve rooms in which the pictures, principally of the old Flemish and German schools, have been neatly arranged, are particularly worthy of notice. Two other collections deserve especially to be mentioned, as being, I believe, unequalled in Germany — that which is called the Chinese Cabinet, consisting of a very exten- sive set of books in the Chinese language, together with many Chinese costumes, utensils, monuments, and objects of curiosity ; and another styled the Oriental Cabinet, in which have been arranged in a systematic order, and a catalogue published of them, the various objects con- nected with the ancient and modern history, as well as topography of Asia and Africa, sent home by the late tra- veller M. Scezen. I am no judge of medals, but I have been assured by some learned Germans, that the Numismatic Cabinet of Gotha is one of the richest and the most valuable of the kind in Europe. With regard to the collection of shells of Mons. Schmidt, I may assert that it surpasses in spe- cimens of great beauty and excessive rarity, all the cabinets of conchology which I have had an opportunity of ex- amining. It may with truth be said, that Gotha offers greater opportunities to the lover of science and the fine arts, than many of the larger and more important capitals in Europe ; and it adds much to the credit of those who are at the head of the numerous establishments in this delight- ful retreat of the muses, that they are open to the public at large with a liberality worthy of imitation. The astronomical observations, by which Baron de Zach has rendered his name so conspicuous among the scientific men of Europe, were made at the observatory of Gotha, BARON GRIMM. 20G situated on a hill called Seebergen, at a short distance out of the town, and a little to the right of the road which leads to Erfurt. It forms a very prominent object in the surrounding landscape, being at an elevation of 1189 feet above the level of the sea. Since the departure of the Baron, the observations have been continued by his suc- cessor, Professor Lindenau — a name well known to as- tronomers. On perusing this short notice of Gotha and its establish- ments, the reader will not fail to be reminded of that face- tious, witty, and acute correspondent of the ancestor of the late Duke of Saxe Gotha, Baron Grimm, whose saga- cious observations on men, manners, and literature, at the French court and in the French capital, during the long period of his residence in Paris, have met with such gene- ral success and applause. I visited his tomb. “ Alas, poor Yorick ! he was a fellow of infinite jest, and most excellent fancy.” His remains rest in the cemetery of the church of Siebleben, a small village on the road-side, a quarter of a mile from the city. Grimm, who had begun his career in the world as reader to the Duke, became successively his minister at Paris, and afterwards minister from Russia at the court of Saxony, until the death of the Emperor Paul, when he resigned his office on account of ill health, and once more retired to the court of his former patron at Gotha, where he died in 1807. Literature has always flourished at Gotha; some of the most celebrated German writers in our days are either native or resident in this town. Not fewer than three periodical papers are published in this place, which are generally read throughout Germany ; and there are several enterprising booksellers, who have a considerable share of business. The mania at present is to publish pocket and cheap editions of the German clas- NAPOLEON AT GOTHA. £07 les, and probably no publisher in Europe can send forth 0 the public, a neater or a cheaper edition of this kind, han that which issued last year from the press of the Bib- iographisches Institut, under the collective title of “ Mi- liatur Bibliothek derDeutschen Classiker.'” The volumes re adorned with neat portraits of the several authors. The “ Almanach de Gotha,” probably the oldest pub- ication of the kind in Europe, is another of the produc- ions of the Gotha press. It has now been in existence for 1 period of sixty-five years, and its circulation is very con- iderable, not only in Germany, but in other countries also, ds principal merits consist in the minute and generally ac- ■urate account given of the families of Sovereign Princes, ind of some of the most illustrious families on the Continent, n this l-espect, it is looked upon by diplomatists almost is an official record of the existing state of the political irrangements of the different Courts of Europe. About hirty thousand copies are sold of this periodical work, vhich is written in French, and illustrated by views, and ome indifferent heads of Sovereigns and Princes. As it was our intention to stop for a short time at Gotha, he party put up at the Post-house, in which there is a arge inn with a numerous suite of apartments, memorable or having served as the head-quarters of Napoleon, when >n his return, for the second time in two years, to France, vith his vanquished eagles, to retrieve his lost honour, ifter the campaign of Russia. In the room in which we xreakfasted, a sort of long gallery, from the windows of vhich Napoleon could observe his scattered columns fly- ng after the battle of Leipsic, did that extraox-dinary man Dace up and down, cursing the fickle goddess that had ibandoned him in the fields of Saxony, and reflecting, probably, on the fortune which awaited him in his own Empire. The people of the inn described to us his con- 208 ERFURT. duct on that day. He had appeared to them, restless, irritable, and contradictory in issuing his orders. His im- patience was very remarkable, and had extended even to the waiting-maids of the inn. The heart was already cankered ; he was about to throw for his last great stake; and the planet which had presided over his destiny, was, as he himself said, rapidly losing his lustre. A drive of three German miles brought us to the gates of Erfurt. This town stands on the confines of the same extensive plain on which Gotha is situated : the aspect of it is imposing. Flanked by two new forts on rising grounds, one of which, the Petersberg, on our left, seems almost impregnable ; and stretching itself beyond them, Erfurt raises its numerous towers and steeples as promi- nent objects in the picture before us. The road at first runs parallel to the town, and at a short distance from it ; then takes a sudden turn to the left, ascends a very gentle swell cut through the chalky rock, and again de- scending a precipitous hill, brought us at once at the foot of the first drawbridge over the double ditch, which sur- rounds and embraces the bastions and the escarpments. These fortifications, particularly those of Petersberg and Cyriacsburg, which had been completely destroyed in the late war, are now nearly restored. We observed numerous parties of workmen busily engaged in their construction, The covered gateway at the end of the last drawbridge is long, narrow, and tortuous, and shows the thickness and strength of the lateral bastions. We traversed a number of gay, wide, and clean streets, Hanked by many handsome buildings, and several good- looking dwelling-houses. In the principal street leading to the Grande Place, I remarked an ancient edifice of great merit, in the front of which there are two bas reliefs, about tour feet high, with two figures in each, which appeared to : THE GREAT BELL OF ERFURT. 209 •e of a very superior execution. On passing before the athedral, we had the gratification of seeing a considerable letachment of troops, with six field-pieces, defiling before is, on their way to a review, out of the town. Nothing could urpass, in the opinion of Count Woronzow, the handsome nd soldier-like appearance of the men. Their dress and ccoutrements seemed in the very best order imaginable. In army of a hundred thousand of such soldiers may per- orm formidable deeds, if their discipline correspond with heir external appearance. The sight of this body of Prussian troops, which forms etween the two Churches. The congregation assembled at ibout ten o’clock, the female part taking their places sepa- rately from the male, and sitting with their backs to the altar, layers began soon after, and these were not read, but sung, ind accompanied by the organ. The whole congregation oins in them, without being preceded by the clergyman. This lasts for a considerable time ; at the end of which, the >astor reads from the altar, part of the Scripture, in German, nd some formula of prayers, in a very high tone of voice. V piece of instrumental music succeeds to this, followed by hymn, accompanied with violins, trumpets, bass, and - lageolets, and a variety of other instruments. A deacon, n about a quarter of an hour, appeared before an insulated lesk, standing in the centre of the church, and below the ltar, and reading the gospel of the day, after which he nnounced the births, deaths, and marriages of the week, nd returned thanks for a favourable harvest. More pray- rs again succeeded, sung by the whole congregation, at he highest pitch of their voices, accompanied by the or- an ; after which, the pastor ascends the pulpit to deliver is sermon extempore. This he interrupts more than once, >y an invitation to the congregation to sing certain fixed payers, accompanied with instrumental music. At the onclusion of the sermon, long thanksgivings followed, with he Lord’s prayer, and a final hymn, which were accom- tanied throughout by the whole orchestra, and male ingers placed in the balcony of the organ, conducted by a 224 CEMETERY OF THE ALTEN KIRCHHOF. leader, who beats the measure in a very loud and conspi- cuous manner. In the cemetery of the Altenkirchhof, or old church, I saw the tablet which marks the spot where the remains of the painter I have just mentioned had been deposited, with other monumental inscriptions to the memory of se- veral illustrious individuals who had died at Weimar; and amongst these, the brave Prussian general, Schmetfau. Not far off, a spot on the ground was pointed out, which covers the mortal spoils of the wife of Gothe, without a shrub or a stone to tell the passenger the name or rank of the de- ceased. As I traced my cautious steps in this intricate and overgrown abode of death, a simple and affecting inscrip- tion caught my attention. It was intended to record the grief of a distressed husband, who had the misfortune of surviving a lovely and interesting wife. The monument consists of a small oblong funeral urn, placed on a double pedestal, the lowest part of which bears, on one of its sides, this simple indication : Nadeschda Yasnowsky, Born 30th September, 1787. Died 30th January, 1808. And round the urn the following affecting lines were in- scribed : “ Hos frigidos cineres Lacrimis fovet Maritus moerens.” The story attached to this melancholy record is not di- vested of interest. Nadeschda, lovely and young, had united her destiny to that of a brave Polish officer, who, report says, was not approved of by the lady’s family. It became Schiller’s grave at weimar. 225 necessary to quit the country of her birth ; and the couple, with sorrow, set off for distant parts. To a sensitive mind, the consciousness of having inflicted a pang on a cherished parent is a perpetual source of pain, and Nadeschda felt its corroding force. Her health was gra- dually undermined ; and in hopes of recovering it, Weimar was selected for a residence. But grief acknowledges no cure by the mere change of places; and Nadeschda, like a rose-bud which carries within itself a cankering insect, drooped and died, at the age of twenty-one, of a broken heart. Turning from this scene, I cast my eyes around me in hopes of discovering some sumptuous or impressive monu- ,ment erected to the memory of the great German dramatist, the immortal Schiller; but in vain. Schiller lies in the Dead- house, the common receptacle of the many and the undistin- guished, in the cemetery of the Alten Kirchof — the Ptre La Chaise of Weimar, without a monument ! Even my humble guide, who, like most Germans, seemed to speak with enthu- siasm of that extraordinary genius, and who had often seen him in his glory at Weimar, pointed with indignation through the grated door, which- closes the world for ever over hundreds of departed lying in one common grave, to the place where rest, unhonoured, the mortal remains of the German Shakspeare. This intelligent servant seemed to derive satisfaction from a repetition of the particulars of the poet’s death. Schiller died when little more than forty- five years old ; and his body was accompanied to the place I have been describing, at midnight, by the burghers of the city, and a great concourse of students and young peo- ple of both sexes. The sensation produced by his death was profound and general. The public places of amuse- ment were closed, and all hastened to testify how keenly they felt the loss of their favourite poet. He is reported vol. i. a 226 SCHILLERS HOUSE. to have died in consequence of extensive disorganization of the lungs, and from that species of disease of the heart, which has been termed hijperlrophia, or excessive growth and bulkiness of its walls : such being the principal facts obtained on examination. He left a widow, two sons, and two daughters ; some of whom are still living in the house, in which the poet died, called now Schiller’s House, situated on the Esplanade, and here represented in a sketch taken on the spot. Schiller’s House. Among the many luxuries which a traveller may freely command at any time — a table d’hote is certainly not the most desirable. Yet on some few occasions, either from necessity or whim, such an establishment may prove no despicable addition to our comforts as well as to our means of obtaining information. It was under the influence of the latter consideration, that I determined on joining one day the first and most frequented table d’hote, kept in Weimar, at which, as I had previously been told, I should be sure of meeting with a select number of highly respectable TABLE D’HOTE AT WEIMAR. people, who, having no regular household establishment, usually frequent these convenient places. Alas ! things seldom prove in reality so fair as in description. I learned, >n taking my place at the convivial board, that I had the lonour of sitting with no fewer than three Barons, Privy Councillors, superior employes in the Government, and some nilitary officers. My informant, who presided at the table, md who was master of the inn, introduced me to those who sat nearest. I first addressed one, then another, and at ast a third, with the usual introductory observations of strangers willing to enter into conversation ; but to no effect, either my German was unintelligible, or my French too nuch for them ; for I tried both languages. The replies vere monosyllabic and discouraging, and I was compelled to j'all back into my character of silent observer. As the dinner proceeded, and the conversation, with one exception, became general, a boisterous band of bugles and clarionets, enough 0 startle the whole Tlniringian forest, was admitted into he room ; and the astounding noise they made rendered 1 he voices of our guests louder and louder still, until it pecame, at last, animated to the highest degree, though no Ihenish wine, but only a single tumbler of cold punch had >een set before them. Brandishing of knives and forks in he air, as the interlocutors studied to enforce by gesticula- ion their narratives and propositions ; picking of teeth with he point of the knife or a pin during the short pauses of iffected attention to the adversary’s reply ; spitting across he room and at some distance on some unlucky piece of urniture ; despoiling every plate of the last drop of the avory sauce, with a morsel of bread held between the finger nd thumb ; these formed some of the episodes to the more general occupation of eating, enacted by these sprigs of no- jility and untravelled fashionables. Their shirt-pins, bear- ng stones of the diameter of a rixthaler, cornelian watch-keys 228 BILL OP FARE AT WEIMAR. like the pans of scales, profusion of massive rings on every phalanx, coarse linen, hair uncombed, and nails terminated by a sable crescent, bespoke them members of that privileged class, which in many of the principal towns in Germany, I am sorry to be obliged to admit, do not always combine the Chesterfieldian manners and neatness of person with their other excellent qualities of the heart and head, but whose peculiarities never strike the uninitiated so forcibly as at table. To all such, I would recommend as part of their education, a “ season in London” spent in the free inter- course with the best classes of society. I have frequently had occasion to witness the marvellous metamorphosis which such an experiment has produced in many German and Italian noblemen who visit England with the benefit of excellent introductions. One hardly recognizes them again at the time of their departure, so thoroughly changed are their manners and general appearance, by the result of example. The effects of such a change remain with them through life ; and although on their return home they may for a time be considered as singular, the superiority of their address and the neatness of their persons readily and advantageously distinguish them from the rest of their countrymen. Our dinner began with Pot age du riz, of which deep basinsful with grated cheese were speedily swallowed. To this, succeeded in single and orderly succession, plain boiled beef with sour mustard and a profusion of fermented red cabbage ; boiled carp, with its silvery scales in all their brilliancy upon its back ; large balls of a substance re- sembling hasty pudding, light and savory, swimming in a howl of melted butter resembling castor oil, and eaten most voraciously by all present, with the addition of a sweet compote de pornmes. Chevreuif pique au lard was next in- troduced ; followed by some sort of fried fish. At last a GERMAN STOMACHS. 22 ‘) boiled capon made its appearance, to which I, who had litherto been a motionless as well as a silent spectator, com- mended myself for a dinner ; and while thus engaged I jbserved that fried parsley roots, hot and hissing from he pan, were received on the table with the approving exclamation . “Das ist ganz vortrefflich l” This comedy lad now lasted upwards of an hour, and I began to repent )f my experiment. At last Dutch cheese, pears,, and ;punge biscuits, were laid on the greasy table-cloth ; coffee ind liqueur were presented to some and not to others, and he “ eonvivii turbulenti,” after having rolled up their veekly napkin, and confined it within a ring of red lea- her, paid their moderate reckoning of half a rixthaler, eighteenpence !) and departed, one after the other, in all he swaggering complacency which a full stomach is apt to nspire. Surely, said I to myself, as I retired to my room, these gentlemen’s digestive organs cannot be of that class, for vhich Abernethy and Wilson-Philip, and Paris and John- on have written their legislative codes of dietetics. Even vithin the singular, yet felicitous divergences which exist ;mong those learned contemporaries, (each preaching an >pposite sermon from the same text,) it would not be pos- ible to find a place for such stomachs, as I had the leisure f a full hour to contemplate at the Weimar table d’hote. They seem to set at nought all statutes and regulations. Hie human caldron is daily loaded to the brim with the ame ominous mixture above described, and which is not ar different from that condemned by the gay author of the reatise on diet. Still chymification and chilijication go on ninterruptedly. No hard liver, dyspepsia, or morbid sen- ibility are produced, as I have taken pains to ascertain, nd the general health proceeds uninterrupted. Something lore, therefore, must needs exist in the physical question IN DIGESTION. 230 of digestion, which my learned brethren have not touched upon — and such is in reality the fact. The formulae which those authors have propounded for solving the general pro- blem of digestion will not apply to, and cannot explain, the many contradictory phenomena, which present themselves at every step in regard to food, nutrition, and disease, among the several civilized nations of Europe. To lay down general rules for dietetics — to predict or threaten the same terrific catastrophe to every sinning gourmand — to explain by the same unvaried cause, “ indigestion,” every malamia to which flesh is heir to, is absurd, even when such generalizations are confined to a large class of society in this country, without wandering abroad. One can no more find two stomachs than two noses alike. The whole secret lies in learning o how the stomach of our patient has been educated, and according to that education to deal with it. This involves an individuality in the attention to be given to cases of “ stomach complaints,” which physicians would find too troublesome ; yet without it justice cannot be done to the patients. It is sheer nonsense to talk of classing hu- man stomachs, and civilized stomachs; stomachs of drunk- ards and stomachs of abstemious people ; stomachs of aider- men, and stomachs of Pythagoreans; stomachs of literarj men, lawyers, physicians, and parsons, and stomachs of young collegians, sportsmen, and dandies, under one and the same denomination and rule. Each has had its physical edu cation as peculiarly different from that of the rest, as tha which the possessor has received in the nursery or at college and each must be dealt with accordingly. A friend of mine who had occasion to see a physician write several direc tions for invalids labouring under what are called “sto mach complaints,” wondered that he did not give a printer circular to each, in imitation of a great authority who liar always the same printed page to refer to, and thus sav LANDES IN DUSTRI E-COMPTOIR. 231 himself trouble. Had he followed such a plan, lie would have done his patients injustice; for, as far as my own experience goes, I am confident he never met with tivo stomachs alike ! There is an establishment in Weimar which alone would he sufficient to give to that city a degree of impor- tance among the literary towns of Germany. This is the Landes Industrie-Comptoir, which for the rapidity and extent of its contributions towards increasing the printed and engraved works of science and literature, might be compared to a steam engine daily at work on those objects. The establishment consists of three distinct departments, each of which is on a scale of magnitude that would eclipse our most enterprising publishers. In the first of these there are a number of quick and clever linguists, who are daily engaged in translating, either entirely or in part, whatever foreign book is likely to be read in Germany ; and such is the rapidity with which this office is per- formed, that frequently the translation of a book pub- lished in London at the beginning of one month is in full circulation by the end of the same month throughout Saxony, and the Independent States of Germany, from the press of the Industrie-Comptoir. To this department belong also all reprints of the most popular English and French works, as well as the compilation of original works, more particularly of those on science. The works on sta- tistics, which raised Dr. Hassel’s name so high in Europe, were mostly composed in this department, at the bead of which he presides. This gentleman is, beyond doubt, the cleverest statistical writer now existing, the most inge- nious in devising methodical arrangements for classing the many subjects which that science embraces ; and the most industrious in collecting facts, data, and all kinds of requisite information. His genealogical, historical, 232 INDESTR1E-COMPTOIR. and statistical Almanack, of which five numbers have already appeared, as a work of one man, is a most sur- prising production. The number of facts collected in this volume is really prodigious. Dr. Hassel resides in the house. The second department is that in which maps are en- graved, globes constructed, and copper, as well as litho- graphic engravings, made and printed to illustrate the several translations, reprints, or compilations, executed in the other departments. In walking through the different rooms of this branch of the establishment, I was surprised at seeing the number of persons employed in drawing, engraving, colouring, and printing a variety of anatomical and surgical plates, for a periodical work or compilation in folio, intitled “ Obstetrical Demonstrations,” in which are included the principal essays and memoirs of the most celebrated accoucheurs. The branch of geography in this department is confided to a very able and experienced officer of the name of Wieland, who enjoys a great repu- tation for the construction of maps. He also resides in the house. All the maps published at the Industrie- Comp- loir have the merit of being extremely cheap. The great Weimar map of Germany, in several hundred sheets, pub- lished thirty or forty years back, during the first years of this institution, is too well known to need a particular de- scription in this place. The third department is that in which all commer- cial business connected with the various branches of the establishment is transacted. A secretary, clerks, packers, and porters, are for ever busy in taking an account of, re- gistering and dispatching to every part of Germany, the endless productions of this great literary machine. I he formation of this institution, which has become the most conspicuous in Germany, and has been productive DR. FRORIEP. 238 >f the happiest results, is due to the late Mr. Bertuch, — a earned, able, and spirited individual, who under the spe- ial protection of the Grand-Duke, embarked his whole ortune in a scheme, which had for its object the quick lilfusion of knowledge, by affording to the Germans the test and readiest means of becoming acquainted with the rorks of foreign nations. Mr. Bertuch was himself an uthor of no inconsiderable merit ; and to him also are he schemes due of some of the most instructive, pleasing, nd valuable periodical publications, on the subject of general and elementary education, travels, astronomy, and •ther heads of general reading. The successor of Mr. Bertuch is Dr. Froriep, his re- ation by marriage. This gentleman, who had already cquired considerable reputation as Professor in some of he principal Universities of Germany, was summoned o take charge of this vast establishment at the death if his relative. He entered upon it with a spirit and ctivity which have raised still higher the celebrity of he Institution. By his judicious arrangements he is nabled to collect information from every part of civi- ized Europe and America, an epitome of which he com- nunicates to the learned world in a sort of Gazette pub- ished at irregular intervals, intitled, “ Notizen aus dem lebiete der Natur-und Heilkund,” or the Natural History nd Medical Intelligencer, which has a very extensive cir- ulation in Germany. Dr Froriep is an excellent ana- omist and obstetrical practitioner, on both which subjects te has written very creditable works, particularly his Ma- mal of Theoretical and Practical Midwifery, the eighth dition of which was published last year. He possesses. Iso, a very choice and neat collection of preparations onnected with that subject and with comparative ana- oray. In this museum I remarked a foetus, ten weeks 234 WEIMAR ACADEMY. old, and well-proportioned, without the slightest indication of a cord, or of the usual mark of its insertion. I only know of two other examples of this rare aberration of Nature ; the one at Ghent, the other at Gottingen. The Doctor also showed me a regular and complete series of the foetus of the negro, in all of which, the peculiarities of the nose and lips, characteristic of the race, are distinctly perceptible, even so early as at the third month. Dr. Froriep has often visited England, speaks the language with great fluency, and entertains a high opinion of the literary and medical character of this country. He re- ceives every periodical publication which appears in Eng- land, as well as every work of merit on subjects of science, as soon as published ; and, in the most spirited manner, has them translated and published with the least possible de- lay, with all the necessary plates and illustrations, produced under his own roof and immediate inspection. It may readily be imagined that the building in which such an establishment can be conducted, must be extensive. The dwelling-house, the map-room, the library, and the nume- rous offices, occupy a large site in one of the new and handsome streets of Weimar ; and there is at the back of it a garden of considei’able extent, with a wide and ohlong basin of water ; which, when frozen over in the winter season, becomes, by permission of the good-natured pro- prietor, the rendezvous of all the beaux and belles of Wei- mar, eager to exhibit their skill and agility in the noble mastery of skaiting. Weimar boasts of an academy for young English gentlemen, who, without neglecting the more important part of their classical education, have, here, every facility of becoming thoroughly acquainted with the German lan- guage, which is spoken with great purity among the higher classes of society. At this moment there are several resi- WEIMAR. 235 tents in this establishment, and others live in private apartments, who attend the classes of the academy. A nephew of our present Prime Minister was among the num- ber. The Grand-duke and the several members of the Ducal family are very kind to these young gentlemen, and Frequently take notice of those who distinguish themselves by their conduct and attainments. SAXON Y. 236 CHAPTER VII. SAXONY. CENTRAL PRUSSIA. Road to Leipsig. — The Kosen. — Salt-water Baths. — The Valley of the Saale. — Singular coincidence and contrast. — Nihil.— Monumental column to the Duke of Brunswick near Eckardsberge. — College where Klopstock was educated. — Naumburg. — Kotze- bue’s drama. — Mineral Spring. — Weissfnfei.s. — Autopsia of Gustavus Adolphus. — Lutzbn. — Prussian Obelisk in commemo- ration of the battle of 1813. — Gustavus Adolphus’ Denkmal. — Leipsig. — General appearance of the town. — Autumnal Fair. — The Markt Plate. — Booksellers. — Cheap editions, and English books reprinted. — Print, Map, and Music-sellers. — Leipsig Alouettes. — Inns. — University. — The Observatory. — Church of St. Nicholas. — The “ Feast of all the Germans.” — Hydrography of the Town. — Poniatowsky. — Wittenberg. — German beds. — Reminiscences and Colossal Statue of Luther. — His burial-place in the Cathedral. — Melancthon. — Paintings of Lucas Cranach.— Luther’s Room in the Augustine Convent. — Autograph of Peter the Great. — The Jug and the Album. — The Berlin Road. — Approach to Potzdam. — The Royal Chateau. — The sword of the Great Frederick and Napoleon. — The Palais Neuf. — Sans-souci. — Magnificent appearance of Potzdam. — Palaces converted into Auberges . — Road to Berlin. The road from Weimar to Leipsig, though the distance is small, is quite as romantic as that over which we had lately been travelling ; and at every turn memorable for some great military achievement or general action, many of which have been marked by the fall of some of the great military leaders engaged in them, and the total reverse of fortune of others. The direction of the road on the new chaussee is, at its beginning, towards Jena ; but on arriving at Umpferstedt, at the foot of an elevated ridge, it strikes off to the left, following the line of the hills, gradually ROAD TO LEIPSIG. 237 scending northwards, as far as Eckardsberge, passing be- ween Buttelstedt and Apolda, with a distant view of lornburg and Camburg, on the smiling shores of the Saale. The Ilm, a rapid river following the turns of the many reen and rocky knolls which mark the surrounding coun- ry, crosses our path on the height of Wirthsh, and rapidly dvancing between the two lofty ridges on our right, joins he clear streams of the Saale, a little beyond Auerstadt. To those who are familiar with the reports of battles fought a this part of Saxony, between the Prussian and French rmies, on two memorable occasions, during the late war, hese topographical details will not prove uninteresting. Every foot of this ground has been again and again con- ested; and the defile of KSsen, with the valley of the Saale, will be for ever celebrated in the military annals of 806 and 1813. It is shortly after quitting Eckardsberge, and following n easterly direction, that the celebrated defile just named egins. Stretching as far as Naumburg, and crossed be- ween Kosen and Neukbsen, at its highest elevation by the ■aale, it forms to the north a lofty and gigantic parapet a the fertile and thickly peopled valley of that name, n this valley is Jena, which saw the blood of 50,000 'russians redden the hurried stream in 1806. From time nmemorial the inhabitants of the surrounding country, nd others from more distant parts of Germany, have been ) the practice of visiting the salt-water baths of Kosen s a cure for many external as well as internal com- laints. These baths are in the immediate vicinity of the alt-works on the right of the road, and close to the banks f the Saale. They consist of brine or water impregnated ith the salt, pumped up from the w'ells, which are dug t different depths in a large salt mountain. The strength f the liquid is graduated either by boiling or by evapo- ation ; and some patients use only the mother-water, or 238 THE DEFILE OF K.OSEN. the liquor left in the salt-pans, after all the salt, which it is thought proper to work off, has been taken out. This fluid is intensely bitter, and contains a considerable quantity of Glauber salt. Immersion in both the brine and the mother-water produces a purgative effect, and is attended by a tingling and general irritation of the skin. The brine is never free from other salts, particularly nitre; and this circumstance leads me to assimilate the curious action of these baths on the constitution of most patients, to that which results from the artificial medicated bath, called the nitro-muriatic bath, first introduced into general prac- tice by the late Dr. Scott, and for a period in much vogue and fashion in London. The defile of Kosen, which rears its rugged and pre- cipitous crest along the ascending road, covered by the troops of Austria on the 20th of October, 1813, witnessed the retreat of two individuals, both renowned, though in dif- ferent degrees, for military talents, but who shared during many subsequent years a similar fate. These were Na- poleon and Bertrand escaping with a handful of soldiers from the disasters of Leipsig. The situation of the French leader stood as much in need of the protecting aid of his faithful general on that and the following eventful day, as it did, in subsequent and not very distant times, of his at- tachment and unabated zeal to smooth the way to the grave. The striking similarity of the campaigns of 1806 and 1813 in this part of Germany — of the movements made by the contending armies — nay of the very posi tions taken and retaken on both occasions, as related b) French writers themselves, is such, that if we read the nar rative of the first, without scarcely altering any of the cir cumstances, except the names of the victors for those of the vanquished, and inverting the order of the places they re spectively occupied, we shall find ourselves in possession ol an equally accurate account of the second campaign, or COINCIDENCES IN THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON. 230 hat of 1813. Singular and fatal coincidence in the life of he late Ruler of France ! In October 1806 that extra- rdinary man, at the head of a brilliant army, standing on he spot which we were now surveying with increasing in- ?rest as we travelled towards Naumburg, had gathered mrels which withered in the signal defeat sustained six ears afterwards on the same spot : and the banks of the aale, which in 1813 yielded just ground enough to fix a liserable bivouac for himself and his Quarter-Master-Ge- ,eral Berthier, had only six years before resounded with ie deafening vives of his Vieille Garde, proclaiming the .efeat of the Prussian forces and the death of their heroic ;ader, the chivalrous Duke of Brunswick, which opened ie road to the capital of Prussia. Napoleon’s life, indeed, was fertile in singular coinci- ences ; but these are not to my present purpose. How lany an hour which might, perhaps, have been better lent, must the following anagrammatic combination have ccupied in its construction ? NAPOLEON. / and N CROWNED DETHRONED in in in 1805. PARIS. 1814. 1 1 8 8 0 1 5 4 Total 14 Deduction 14 14 N T H I L. Total 14 For „ b; N apoleone P russia 1 oachimo A ustria H ieronimo It ussia 1 osepho I nghilterra L uigi S vezia It is not the least curious part of this anagram that it ill only hold good in the native language of the great in- ividual. 240 DEATH OF THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK. The fate of the Duke of Brunswick at the memorable action of Auerstadt was most melancholy. He had led his followers twenty times, in the course of that bloody day. up to the cannons’ mouth, himself the foremost, withoul sustaining a wound in the midst of the general carnage, when, at the conclusion of the engagement, a subaltern ir the victorious army of France who had recognized him. springing upon him, exultingly exclaimed, “ Prince, vous etes mon prisonnier !” The only answer to this summons ot surrender which the Duke made, was a plunge at the sol- dier with his sabre. This stroke was parried and re- turned, but with very different effect ; for the weapon oi the enemy struck the Prince to the heart; and he fell life- less under a tree not far off from the road of Eckardts berge. The spot has since been marked by a monumental column, erected on it by order of the Grand-duke of Saxe Weimar. This monument is seen to more advantage or the road from Kdsen to Eckardtsberge, than in the direc tion in which we were now travelling. To the admirers of German epic poetry, the aspect oi the house in which the author of the “ Messiah” passec the early years of his college life, is not without interest Klopstock, whom the German writers call their Milton was brought up at a celebrated academy on the road t( Naumburg, at a short distance from that town, and close to a small village called Attenburg, near which we passed This institution is still in great reputation, and is knowi under the title of Landesschule Pforta. Its situation is on* of the prettiest and most romantic that are to be found oi the borders of the great valley of the Saale ; and many ai enthusiastic worshipper of the Muses has come to this charm ing spot to pay homage to the Alma Mater of Klopstock not without hopes perhaps of catching part of the estro poeti co which that great poet inhaled under the groves of Koscn NAUMBURG. 241 At Naumburg we halted merely to get fresh horses, lotwithstanding the temptation held out hy the landlord, if seeing the writing, in chalk, of John Frederick “ le Hagnanime,” Elector of Saxony, who was taken prisoner t the battle of Mubelberg, and carried hither. This rriting, it appears, is preserved with great care, and forms ne of the objects of curiosity in the town. I i - ecollect ssisting in my younger days at the representation of ne of Kotzebue’s showy melodrames, of which I was re- minded on passing through Naumburg. The plot of the rama is taken from the history of the siege of this town, arried on in 1432, during the bloody wars waged by the lussites against the Catholics. The inhabitants, being hreatened by the General of those fanatics with being >ut to the sword, were saved, and the enemy subdued nd diverted from their cruel purpose, by the ixTesistible loquence of all the children in the place, who in a body , r ent to throw themselves at the General’s feet, and rayed for pai'don. A procession takes place annually 1 the town, as I was informed, to celebrate this event l the annals of Naumburg. The town belongs to the Jrand-duke of Saxe- Weimar. Near it is a spring of ;rruginous water, which is much frequented, and enjoys reat reputation. From the report of Dr. Froriep of Veimar, I conclude that it is of the same nature as that f the wells at Tunbridge ; and, like them, serves for the ouble purpose of drinking and bathing in cases of de- ility, particularly of females. Weissenfels, which appears next on our road, on the rmmit of a very steep hill, is a very pretty town, with a rande 'place , a handsome bridge over the Saale, and the 3 mains of the old Ducal chateau, in the vaults of which >e genealogical line of the Saxe- Weissenfels Ducal family lay he traced through a series of monumental inscriptions VOL. i. R 212 LUTZEN. — DEATH OF GUSTAVUS. engraved on coffins. But to a travelling physician, the description of the state of the parts found on the examina- tion of the body of Gustavus, which is recorded in one of the chambers of the Town Hall, is a more interesting ob- ject of curiosity. The bleeding body of the brave Swede, which had been discovered under a heap of the slain sol- diers of his army, perforated by two balls, and an equal number of sword-wounds, after the battle of Liitzen, was brought into this chamber, where the anatomical examina- tion took place, the particulars of which are recorded in a long inscription. The wall bears still the marks of the blood of Gustavus, in spite of the successive removals of pari of the plaster so stained, by visitors. The spot is now ef- fectually protected by a sliding pannel. The most remark able circumstance noticed in the medical report, is the un usually large size of the heart, which weighed upwards o ten pounds, constituting the same disease which I have hac occasion to describe in speaking of the death of Schiller. Liitzen is a mere village, the name of which has becom< historical from the two celebrated battles of 1632 and 1813. On an eminence, a little to the right of Liitzen and close to the small village of Gross-Gorschen, where tin victorious armies of Russia and Prussia defeated the sol diers of Napoleon, a cast-iron obelisk has been erected surmounted by a cross, in commemoration of that grea fight. From this spot, the vast plains which on every sid< surround it, and extend as far as Leipsig, may be sur veyed with a lively interest, as the arena on which so man contests have been decided. The guide pointed to tin humble monument raised on the I’ight of the road, at tin foot of the hill, in memory of the fall of Gustavus, who having but a few months before routed the Imperial Gene ral Tilly, before Leipsig, was slain in this place by tin troops of Wallenstein, another Imperial commander, up t< that period of better fortune. The death of Gustavus, an< PRINCIPAL STREETS PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS LEIPSIG. 243 the battle of Liitzen, are beautifully described by Scbiller in his history of the Thirty Years’ war — a performance which induced Wieland to say, that by his first historical attempt, Schiller had evinced a decided capability of rising to the level of Hume, Robertson, and Gibbon. Gustavus Adolphus’ Denkmal, as the monumental stone is called, is held in much veneration, and bears an inscription import- ing that he fell fighting for religious liberty. We entered the kingdom of Saxony a little way beyond Liitzen, at a small place called Quesitz, without being in any way inter- rupted in our course. The imposing appearance of the town of Leipsig ran only be perceived as you drive through its wide ind well-built streets, flanked by lofty and stately houses, which wear an air of comfort well-suited to the ideas entertained of that great emporium of commerce. The ipproach to the city is by no means striking. The iwarf and thin plantations scattered in every direction wound it, where ramparts and ditches formerly stood, are lot calculated to break the monotony of the vast sandy olains, partly cultivated, through which we had passed. The exterior of many of the houses is highly decorated with fret- work, in the old German style; while others of nore modern structure bespeak the progress of taste and uxury amongst the matter-of-fact, plodding and calculating people who inhabit them. Many parts, such as the Briihl, he Great Market, the Peter Strasse, and, above all, the Ni- cholas Strasse, with the magnificent church erected to the Saint of that name, may stand a competition with the finest quarters of some of the largest towns in Germany. The ap- pearance of these places, and of the town in general, receives in additional interest from the gaiety and bustle which ittend the fair ; and as we arrived while it was in action, we had the advantage of seeing Leipsig in its true element. r 2 THE MARKT PLATZ AT LF.IPSIG. 244 The centre of operations on this important occasion, is the Markt Platz, a view of which I have here introduced. The adjoining streets are crowded with double and triph rows of temporary sheds, shops, stalls, and other contri vances for the display of the wares, manufactures, an< merchandize brought from almost every corner of the earth These, however, serve only for the retail trade. The prin cipal business of the fair, to an immense amount, is carriei on in the regular shops, many of which are splendidly fur nished, and may vie with those of Paris and London ; am in the houses of the resident merchants, whose establish ments arc on a magnificent scale, and who, though devote< to money-making, possess polished manners, and are coui teous and obliging towards strangers. The number of f< reign merchants who are in the habit of visiting Leipsig ? the time of the fair, is said to be very little short of a thou sand, including those engaged in the book trade, Thci L.K1 PSIG FAIR. 245 names are published in the Leipsig Almanack. In visiting some of the principal shops, I could not help being struck with the comparatively small quantity of English goods which were exposed for sale. No prohibitory laws exist — nay, I believe that where a purchaser is obstinately bent on procur- ng an article of English manufacture, the shopkeeper will lot hesitate to present something which he pretends to lave been received from England. Yet, practically, English wares, particularly Birmingham and Sheffield articles, are effectually excluded from fair competition with the im- mense quantity of home manufactures from different towns In Germany, which are sold at the fair ; and, probably, by hat spirit of rivalry which induced the German manufac- urers, a few years back, to enter into a compact not to en- tourage English productions. It is a fact, that in the ■ourse of our whole journey from the Rhine to Berlin, I lid not observe a single knife, or any other table utensil, which was not of German origin — clumsy, awkward, badly inished, indeed — -but still preferred, because German. Our business, however, so far as the fair is concerned, vas with booksellers ; and to some of the principal of these we proceeded in search of novelty and information. About sixty houses do business in the book-trade during the Au- umnal, Christmas, and Easter fairs ; but particularly at he former. Half of these are only commissioners for other louses. The greater number of the booksellers in Ger- nany, of whom there are, perhaps, from three to four hun- Ired of consequence and respectability, send a clerk, part- icr, or representative to the fair, who establishes himself n an apartment at one of the numerous hotels in the town, win the house of a correspondent, and there daily transacts •usiness. Besides these regular booksellers, there arrive at -.eipsig to attend the fair, book-agents from all the civi- ized nations in Europe, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, France, 246 LITERATURE OF GERMANY. and even England. It is computed that the value of busi- ness done at this fair, in books, amounts to half a million of dollars. The titles of the books are published at full length, and their prices affixed to them, in a catalogue which appears at Easter and Michaelmas. This catalogue, however, contains not only the new books published in the course of the six preceding months, but also old works with new faces, and works which are brought hither by foreign merchants in exchange for German books. It is calculated that about 5000 new works are published annually in Ger- many, and I was assured that the average yearly number of sheets printed in this town, amounts to 40,435,000. As- suming the average length and breadth of a sheet of printing paper to be 21 by 26 inches, the number of square inches contained in it will be 546; consequently, the total number of sheets printed annually in Leipsig, contain twenty-two thousand and seventy-seven and a half millions of square inches of paper. The side of the square con- taining such an area, is 148,585 linear inches, or 4,127; yards, or 2* miles, and the area is equal to about 5| square miles. The quantity of paper, therefore, printed annuail) in Leipsig, is more than sufficient to cover the whole towr and its environs. If we pursue this playful calculation ; step farther, and suppose each octavo leaf put togethe lengthways, the line formed would extend three billions three hundred and ninety-six millions, five hundred ani forty thousand linear inches, or rather more than 53,60 miles; being sufficient to go round twice and one-third tb largest circumference of our globe, on which such wonder are performed by the printers of one paltry city alone ! I this he not a proof of the “ march of intellect,” it may a least he assumed as a fair indication of its dimensions. The mania for cheap and portable editions has extern ed to this great emporium. The compression into one sir gle volume, of some of the largest works, has been adoptee f ■ i : 1 : ERNST FLEISCHER. 247 and is carried on with as much perseverance in Germany, as it is in England and France ; and the fever of periodical publications is raging and unquenched. About twenty or thirty new publications of this description are added at every fair to their already overgrown number. In addition to this, there are the reprints of English books, which are carried on here very extensively, as well as of some of the Italian and Spanish classics, particularly by Fleischer. To the latter gentleman I paid a visit, and had some conversation with him on the subject of his com- merce. He entered into business with a capital of 20,000 dollars, and has in a few years accumulated an independent fortune. He showed me his editions of Moore, Sir Walter Scott, and Shakspeare, each in one or two volumes, but print- ed in a way very creditable to his house. The price at which these books are sold is really trifling. Moore’s poetical works, complete in one handsome octavo volume, containing “ Lalla Rookh,” “ The Loves of the Angels,” “ The Fudge Family,” eight numbers of “ Irish Melodies,” “ The Blue Stocking,” “ The Works of T. Little,” “ The Intercepted Letters,” Epistles, Odes, and other poems in- numerable, four numbers of “ National Airs,” Songs, sacred and profane, “ Trifles Reprinted,” “ Rhymes on the Road,” “ Miscellaneous Poems and Fables,” are sold for seven shil- lings ! Ernst Fleischer has lately issued about 300 different works of English reprints. The rage for Sir Walter Scott’s novels is unabated. This induced a few of the booksellers, some time ago, to attempt a kind of clumsy hoax on their German brethren, by giving as a translation from a pretend- ed new work of that highly-gifted writer a novel in three volumes, called Walladmor, which I found regularly an- nounced as such in the catalogue of the Plaster fair of 1824. The novel hunters of Allemagne received, read, and highly commended the spurious production of the author of Waverley. 248 print and map-sellers. Two other branches of the business of the fair are those of print, map, and music-sellers. Perhaps in no city in Europe is such a mass of bad works in geography and trash, under the name of engravings, sold, as in Leipsig. But, on the other hand, many very highly-finished prints, and some really valuable maps, are offered in the market at a much more moderate price than that at which very inferior productions of the kind are sold in other parts of the Continent. Music is not so reasonable; I should almost be inclined to say that it bears a comparatively higher price than the average value of it in London. The trade in this latter article is really prodigious. It is the custom botl) with book and music-sellers to allow an im- mediate discount upon every book or quantity of music purchased. The allowance by the former is fourgroschen on every dollar, that of the latter three groschen on the same sum. This amounts to a sixth in the first, and to one-eighth in the second case of the original price. Great advantage also is derived from the paying in gold Fre- dericks, as they pass in Leipsig for three, four, and even five groschen more than in the other States of the German Empire. The thing may seem somewhat ridiculous, but one ob- ject which attracts many people to Leipsig from distant parts of Saxony, is to gourmandize, or rather friandize, on Leipsig larks, celebrated for their taste and size all over Germany. As we were indulging in this indi- genous luxury, mine host of the Hotel dc Saxe, where we were sumptuously lodged, informed us, that in a good year, nearly half a million of that species of the feathered tribe are sold at the Michaelmas fair. A great number are prepared in a particular manner, and sent to distant parts of the country. We found the inns at Leipsig quite full, and with UNIVERSITY' OF UEIPSIG. 24 9 difficulty got an apartment. These establishments are eery large, and of the first order. Nothing can exceed lie neatness of most of the rooms of the Hotel de Saxe, ncluding those which I was fortunate enough to occupy bn two different occasions; and I may with justice assert hat a stranger, let him come from England, or from any itlier part of the world, and be his notions of comfort ver so exalted, will find no reason to be dissatisfied or to grumble at his fare and entertainment in this wealthy and commercial city. The principal inns have a porter at the street-door, with a cocked hat and a halbert like an English sergeant-major. On my second visit to this place in January 1826, I ibtained some information from Dr. Hasper, a physician practising at Leipsig, on the subject of its University. There are about 1100 students who attend the different classes, and their orderly behaviour contrasts singularly ■with the conduct of the students in some of the Prussian Universities. They have indeed occasionally manifested symptoms of insubordination, but never to the extent which has been represented in some publications that lave recently appeared in England, remarkable for exag- gerating the foibles and defects of foreign nations. There s not, properly speaking, a specific building for the Uni- versity ; but colleges and academical halls, in which the ectures are given. The principal colleges are the Fursten Collegium and the Pauliuum. The collections for the jse of the classes are not numerous, nor very showy, but sufficient for the purpose. A rich collection of minerals bequeathed to the University by a rich merchant, named Lacarriere, lately deceased, will be added to the depart- ment of natural history in that establishment. The collec- tion in question is one of the finest in Europe. One of the best features of the whole establishment is the clinical 250 PHYSICIANS. — OBSERVATORY. or practical school of medicine and surgery, attached to which is an hospital containing about two hundred beds. The professor of clinical medicine is Dr. Clarus, whose practice is most extensive. This latter circumstance in- duced him to decline an offer which had been made to him by the Prussian Government, of the chair of clinical me- dicine at the University of Berlin. Dr. Hasper himself, though young, is a distinguished professor at the Univer- sity ; and Professor Castelly* is also attached in that capa- city to the establishment. The University of Leipsig enjoyed at one time a very extended reputation, and pro- duced men of great eminence, particularly in theology, phi- losophy, and history. This reputation, although perhaps more confined to Germany at present, is still maintained in full vigour by Professor Klug, the very eminent lecturer on philosophy, and by the erudite and indefatigable editors of the Greek classics, well known to English scholars, Pro- fessors Hermann and Schefer. The former has the cha- racter of being one of the best Greek philologists in Ger- many. Several very able physicians, too, have been formed at this school. But in point of medical science, the Leip- sig University is not, now, as well known in Europe as in former times. In the south-west angle of the town, on the right side of Peter’s-gate going out, are the only remains of the ancient fortifications of Leipsig, well known under the name of Pleisenburg, and still called the Castle. They form a trian- gular lunette, with an outwork at the extreme point of two converging bastions. On this point is erected the Stermvarte or Observatory, in the form of a round tower, of great elevation, but of sufficient strength to resist the shock of passing carts, waggons, and carriages, without vibration. * This gentleman has done me the honour to translate into Ger- man my work on Prussic acid. CHURCH OP ST. NICHOLAS AT LEIPSIG. 251 Oil the top of the tower is a circular apartment which is of smaller circumference, so as to allow of a space before it railed all round. The view from this balcony is exten- sive, but the country around uninteresting. The students of the University, who attend the lectures on Astronomy, have here the advantage of receiving practical as well as theoretical instruction. I recollect hearing Monsieur Arago, the distinguished Astronomer Royal in the Ob- servatory at Paris, state, in the course of his very eloquent lectures, that more of astronomy was learned in one hour spent in the telescope -chamber on a 'clear starry night, than in the course of a whole series of lectures on the nature, elements, position, and movements of the heavenly bodies. I was not fortunate enough to meet with the Pi - o- essor of Astronomy at Leipsig. The spirited merchants of this city have shown that they, too, can cherish a taste and becoming admiration for modern architecture, by erecting, at their own expense, the noble and magnificent structure of St. Nicholas. This church, dedicated to the Lutheran service, has an im- posing character in its interior. A number of lofty co- lumns, of more than ordinary size, spring from the floor to the very roof, which they support, dividing the centre from the side aisles. I know of no other church, built in the square form, with a flat ornamented roof, and deco- rated with handsome pillars, like this of St. Nicholas, except the Jesuits 1 church at Mantua : but in both, the effect is purely architectural ; and, being unsuited to our habits, is unattended with any religious awe. The paint- ings in the church of St. Nicholas are feeble productions of the modern Historical School of Germany. Nor is it to be supposed that the inhabitants of this great mercantile city are at all insensible to the beauties and pleasure of music, scenic representation, or the works of BATTLE OF LE1PSIG. 252 imagination, which they are so busy in printing, and so instrumental in circulating through Europe. When the play of the “ Jungfrau Von Orleans,’' or, “ The Maid of Orleans,” was first performed at Leipsig, a general shout arose as the curtain dropped at the conclusion of the first act, and a perpetual exclamation of “ Es lobe Friedrich Schiller,” accompanied the sound of music. When the piece was concluded, the audience crowded round the door through which Schiller was expected to pass ; and on his appearance, the admiring spectators uncovering themselves, made a passage for him ; and, holding up their children that they too might behold the great poet, exclaimed, “ Er ist hir " — That is he. We were at Leipsig ten days too soon to witness the anniversary of the Volcherschlacht, or battle of the people, as the famous battle of Leipsig of 1813 is called in this part of Saxony. The fete kept to celebrate that anniversary, takes place every year on the 18th of October, and is em- phatically styled the “ Allen Deutschen Fest.” Some of the streets of Leipsig bear sufficient evidence of that great struggle, which scarcely requires any other memento. Cannon balls are embedded in the walls of many of the houses ; and the perforated doors and shutters in some of the lower stories, show how closely the enemy had been pursued through the very intricacies of the town by the triumphant armies of the Coalition. Those armies defiled afterwards in excellent order, as on a parade-day, on the great Markt P/atz, in which the fair is held, and a view of which I have given ; and the distinguished officer whom I was accompanying on the present occasion, and with whom I had the pleasure of walking on the same spot, was one among the victorious generals who presented themselves on that memorable day to receive the thanks of the allied Sove- reigns, and the deafening applauses of the multitude. The DEATH OF PON I ATOWSKY. 253 King of Saxony surveyed, from one of the casements of the large building on the right of our sketch, with feelings not easily described, the glorious scene before him. Leipsig is surrounded by very extensive gardens and orchards on all sides, and has, on the north and west, a triple and natural barrier of water formed by the Parde, the Pleisse, and the Elster rivers. These intersect each other in a variety of ways, forming a complicated system of water-courses in the immediate vicinity of the town. The intermediate ground is laid out in gardens and fields, joined by canals, which serve for various purposes of manufacture. It is through the intricate mazes of these natural as well as artificial water-ways, which thus bar the progress of an army marching, from east to west, through Leipsig, that the discomfited regiments of Napoleon, at the memorable “ battle of the people,” had to retreat for safety. The close pursuit of the allied forces rendered the retreat ar- duous and full of danger; nor would it have been effected but for the self-devotion of a leader whose name was made illustrious on that fatal day. Poniatowsky, one of the ge- nerals whose troops formed part of the army of reserve at that great battle, observing the tumultuous and dis- orderly retreat of the French soldiers whom the Swedes were warmly pursuing, fronted the latter for a considerable time, in order to allow the troops of Napoleon to defile over the only remaining bridge across the Elster, intending afterwards to follow. When, however, it came to his turn, after performing so important a service, to cross the river, and seek safe ground beyond it, the bridge had disappeared. An order of the very man, whose last resources Ponia- towsky had saved, had cut off this last line of escape. The light troops of the allies, in the mean while, and “ a cloud” of Cossacks, were closely pursuing the brave Pole. Those of his officers who were nearest to him had already fallen 254 DEATH OF PONI ATOWSKY. under the unerring aim of the militia of the Don. Po- niatowsky, galloping along the banks of the Elster in search of a passage, hunted by that militia, penetrated into the garden of Mr. Reichenbach, and where the stream, narrow but deep, seemed to afford a chance of escape, he urged his horse, already wounded, to leap on the lofty opposite bank, but failing in the attempt, sunk and pe- rished. We contemplated with melancholy interest the plain monumental stone, bearing a Latin inscription descriptive of the event, which was raised on the spot by the Polish soldiers to the memory of their chivalrous leader. A monument of more pretension to style and de- sign, has been erected in another part of the garden hy some Polish gentlemen in the name of the Polish army. An urn placed on a cubic altar, standing on a platform raised upon two steps, and shaded by two weeping willows, thus tells Poniatowsky’s fate : — “ L’armee Polonaise au Prince Joseph Poniatowsky. Ne le VI de Mars 1761. Mort au champ de bataille le 19 Octobre 1813.” The spot is concealed within a thick plantation of cypresses and weeping willows. The Russians keep a consul at Leipsig, who visited Count Woronzow, accompanied by the son of the cele- brated Barclay de Tolly. Two roads lead from Leipsig to Berlin, through Wit- temberg, to which town we made for the night. The one by Crensitz and Diiben, or the winter road, is paved and the longest, and was moreover under repair on this oc- casion. The other by Delitzsch and Bitterfeld is shorter, and, in fine dry weather, is represented as the most plea- sant. We found, however, that we had to plough at a very slow rate, with the horses knee-deep through roads and over fields of sand ; and that it took us not less than nine hours to get over a distance of not quite five German WITTEMBERG. 255 posts, or about fifty miles on a perfect plain, bounded only by the horizon, and the surface of which was parched up, no rain having fallen for two months since the harvest. This we understood had proved most abundant. At a small place called Hayn, not quite half way to Delitzsch, the first halting-place, we entered Prussia ; and t is but justice to this power to say that the police regulations of the Government are as little troublesome to ihe traveller as they can well he. The only formality which I noticed on this occasion was the approach of a gendarme in the middle of the plain, who rode up and in :he most civil manner imaginable asked the Count’s courier For the names of the party, and was instantly out of sight. After our tedious drive of nine hours, and crossing two branches of the Elbe, we were glad to find ourselves snugly md comfortably lodged at the Raisin at Wittemherg. It Is not only in respect to their cuisine, table cVhbtes, ind domestic comforts, that the Germans differ from other lations in matters of living, hut in the shape and arrange- ment of their beds also. As this was the first place in which I observed, what subsequent experience taught me to look upon as general, the peculiarities of a genuine German bed, I took a more special notice of them. For my part, I cannot imagine how any person can sleep at all in what may be called a bachelor’s bed in Germany. VVe ire to figure to ourselves a deep wooden cradle (which, in the present instance, was made of highly polished maho- gany,) about five feet four inches long, and just three feet wide, containing a hard, thick mattress at the bottom, rest- ing on a number of cross pieces of wood, and a full feather bed at the top, covered with the sheets, over which is laid, is the only cover, a puffy silk bag, the length and breadth of the crib, stuffed with the lightest down, and weighing con- sequently a mere nothing. Two square pillows, both filled G liRMAN BEDS. U5b with feathers, and a straw bolster of the same shape, in- tended to raise the former, are so arranged as to give them considerable inclination. These, from their great size, take np at least one half of the length of the bed, so that to lie flat in it, is out of the question. A large propor- tion of the miseries of human life are really so many bonbons , compared to the misery endured in such a bed. If you attempt to stretch your legs, the solid foot- board reminds you to keep your knees bent ; if you turn on your side, again the poor knees are the sufferers, for you are sure of knocking them violently against the sideboards. The feather bed heats your loins — the down bag beats your chest — the feather pillows heat your shoulders — and by the time you are worked up into a fever, perspiration flowing from every pore, and drowsiness at last overpowering you — off flies, at an unlucky turn, the flimsy and untucked hag under which you were buried ; and a chattering shiver of the frame awakens you to the full consciousness of bruised flesh, sore bones, broken back, and stiff neck, with parched mouth, and a dreadful headache into the bargain — the inevitable results of such a feathered nest. Now all this I do not pretend to urge against the good taste of the Ger- mans ; — far from it. They like it — it agrees well with them ; things in Germany are made for Germans, and not for foreigners ; and, therefore, why grumble when you go there to seek them ? But I mention my observations, to show the necessity of being prepared (somewhat in the manner de- scribed in the first ohapter,) for a continental journey in point of bed ; or of making up your mind to bear patiently “ tilings as they are you cannot alter them, without ap- pearing a dissatisfied traveller in the eye of the natives For my part, I determined from the very first, after we had quitted the luxuries of Anglified and Frenchified hotels, to prepare my own sleeping couch every night, and MARTIN LUTHER. 257 I recommend every traveller to do the same. The ope- rations for this purpose are brief. I first demolished three of the wooden sides of the bed ; tossed the down bag, the bolster, and one of the pillows, into a corner of the room ; reversed the order in which the mattress and feather-bed were arranged; laid over the former my ample leather sheets, to one side of each of which was fastened a flannel, and a calico sheet; tucked the wide pillow double into i pillow-case of my own of moderate dimensions ; and, if the weather was cold, spread a wide military cloak over the whole structure, and put myself into a real bed. Wittenberg is the Mecca of the Lutherans. Insig- lificant as a town, unimportant as a fortress, and not very ■elebrated as an university, Wittenberg has nevertheless anked with the most celebrated towns in the annals of the xistory of religion. An humble and unknown individual, whose career began in this secluded part of Germany, and whose early prospects were by no means calculated to raise ligh expectation, accomplished, in this place, the memo- able separation of the Protestant world from the Church >f Rome. Luther, in Wittenberg, clad in a monk’s cas- ock and armed only with the sacred volume, which his iuty and inclination called him to expound in the vulgar ongue both from the pulpit and the professor’s chair, suc- eeded better in his zealous endeavours to unmask the pon- ifical errors of his time, than the chief of the Hussites, or Vpostle of Cracow, one hundred years before, who, armed s a soldier, and at the head of armies, had waged bloody ;ars against the followers of Rome. It was during the eriod of the revival of science, litei’ature, and the fine arts, lat Luther appeared. As if to place within his reach the owerful means of rapidly spreading his principles of ^formation, the art of printing had been discovered by a ountryman of his, Guttemberg, a few years before ; and vox., i. s 258 STATUE OK LU Til Ell AT WITTENBERG. to balance, for ought we know, for the world’s sake, the effect of two such events, the Inquisition was first es- tablished in Spain in the very year of his birth, A.D. 1483. Here in this town, and in the square before us, was the celebrated Bull for the sale of Indulgences committed to the flames, and thus the first blow struck at the Papal au- thority. Then it was, that the name of Wittenberg, which had until that day lain in comparative obscurity, blazed forth with a light that shone over almost every country in Europe. Such were the reminiscences of times gone by, and of the effects they left, which crowded on my mind as our travelling party was pacing the small square, in which stands the colossal statue in bronze of Martin Luther, the Augustinian monk and Professor of Wittenberg ! This statue was erected in the year 1821, and is the work of J. Gottfried Schadow, Director of the Royal Academy of Arts at Berlin; an artist, to judge by this performance, of very superior merit. It represents, in colossal proportions, the full-length figure of Luther, sup- porting on his left hand the book of the Old and New Testament, kept open by the right hand gracefully resting on the left page, pointing to a passage in the Scripture. The pedestal on which the statue stands, is formed of one solid block of red polished granite, twenty feet high, ten feet wide, and eight feet deep, which is supposed to weigh 650,000 pounds, and rests on three steps. On each of its sides, there is a central tablet, bearing a German inscrip- tion, the principal of which runs thus; — “ Ists Gottes werk, so wirds bestehn, Ists Menschens werk, wirds untergehn the import of which is, that if it be God’s work, it is im- perishable ; if that of man, it will fall. Over the figure of the Reformer is a very handsome, light canopy, in a Gothic style, supported by four corner PHILIP MELANCTHON. 259 pillars, and surmounted by eight fillagree-pointed pin- lacles ; between which rises the point of the acute Gothic rch, highly ornamented, seen on each of the four sides of he monument. This canopy is beautifully cast in iron, vhile the statue itself, as I before stated, is of bronze, ind weighs 7,500 pounds. Luther is represented, not is an Augustinian monk, but in the flowing and simple Irapery and white sleeves of the reformed clergy. There s much dignity in the position of the figure, and the coun- enance has been cast in a nobler mould than the por- raits of Luther, by contemporary painters, represent him o have had. Taken altogether, it is a most creditable >iece of workmanship, and does honour to the present state >f the fine arts in Prussia. Luther was buried in the Schlosskirche which is also he cathedral. A brass plate in the pavement of the church, narks the site in which his remains are deposited. It )ears the following inscription : — Martini • Lutheri ■ S • Theolo- gies • D • Corpus • H • L - S ' E • qui An • Christi ■ M" D-XLVI • XII • Cal • Martii • Eyslebii • in • Pa- Tria • S ■ M • O • C • V - Ann • Exili- n' IT- P-"X- In the same church is deposited the body of Luther’s riend and companion, a far more accomplished and amia- le character than the Reformer, a deep and erudite scho- ir, and professor of Greek at the University of Witten- ierg, I mean Schwartserdt, or as he was afterwards called, lelancthon. His tomb also is marked with a suitable iscription. Melancthon survived his friend some years, nd being thus deprived of his example and counsels, wavered in his opinions on religious tenets so often, that e acquired the appellation of the German Proteus. The s 2 2G0 CURIOUS PAINTINGS BY LUCAS CRANACH. person of Melancthon was dwarfish, and his countenance so ill-favoured by nature, that he could never show him- self in public without being exposed to the derision of the rabble. Yet such were the brilliancy of his wit, his elo- quence, and fluency of diction, that his lectures attracted at one time upwards of 2,500 auditors. All the portrait; observed in Saxony and Prussia of this theologian, bear t faithful record of the description given by contemporaries of his personal appearance. His pale, hollowed, ascetic countenance contrasts singularly with the well-nourishec rotundity of that of his friend the Reformer. A memento to Lucas Cranach, the painter, the conteni porary and friend of Luther, which we observed in th< same church, reminded us of the curious pictures on pan nels existing in the Town Hall of Wittenberg by tha early master, representing the Ten Commandments. Luca Cranach had visited Italy at the end of the fifteentl century, and brought back with him the hard dry style and extravagant conceptions which marked that infant pe riocl of the art of painting. Each Commandment form the subject of a picture, at the bottom of which is writ ten the Commandment itself in black German letter? The singularity of these curious performances consist in the presence of the u Evil One, or great Tempter, urging his victim to violate the Commandment ; and th representation of the dark fiend, though varied in eac picture, leaves no room for hesitation as to its identit in all. The figurative meaning of some of the picture is sufficiently clear, while in others it is not so. Th best representation is that of the sixth and eighth Con mandments. The arrangement of the figures, the e* pression ami grouping, and the presence of the evil geniu in all the pictures, strongly remind the spectator of th story of Faustus. There are some other paintings b this master and his son, particularly a Crucifixion, a fa LUTHER’S CHAMBER. 261 simile of one which I mentioned as forming the altar-piece of the Stadt Kirche at Weimar; a Nativity, and another exceedingly curious picture of the Reformation, with por- traits of Luther and his contemporaries, which, as links in the history of the art, deserve attention. As we were determined on viewing every object con- nected with the recollection of the great Reformer, we could not resist paying a visit to the chamber which he had occupied in the Augustine convent, while he formed part of that monastic congregation. The most and in- deed only remarkable object in this room is the autograph signature in chalk of Peter the Great on a door, which has resisted the effect of time owing to a glass cover placed aver it. The room contains also the large oak table on which Luther wrote his theological disquisitions ; and a rery curious stove, lofty and elegant, with several figures n bas-relief upon it, of rather a gay description. The irinking-cup, deep and ample, out of which the Augus- ;ine monk drank invigorating draughts, is here preserved, md an album is kept, in which visitors are requested to nscribe their names. I observed that the greater number >f these were English travellers. . But this is the case in ‘very album I have seen in Europe. Being again on our way to Berlin, we passed through he Schloss-gate close to the Cathedral, taking the road to Iroppstadt, which is partly paved, and partly macadam- zed. Neither the country around us, which consisted of poor, chalky and sandy soil, with only here and there ome patches of young firs ; nor the village last-mentioned, rhere we halted to change horses, was calculated to raise >ur wearied spirits. We had, however, the ugrcment of >eing well and steadily driven by postilions, whose neat tniform, clean persons, and good behaviour, reconciled us o the tediousness of the road. We next passed through Treuenbriezen, a large open 262 BEEL1Z. — LAKE OF SCHWIELOW. market-town, having several large houses, with inhabitants remarkably clean and generally good-looking. The road is excellent, and but recently finished. It continues the same to Beeliz, the next halting-place, and from thence to Pots- dam. As we approached that part of the country in which the latter town is situated, the wide and tedious plain we were traversing appeared broken on the farthest horizon, by partial elevations of the ground. On getting nearer to these we found the hills on our right covered to the very summit with dense woods, presenting an uniform mass of pleasing verdure, except in partial places where the rocky structure of the hill was seen through the clumps of trees. On our left, immense fields extended far beyond our view, and appeared in a high state of cultivation. The villages as- sumed a more rural aspect, and were every where enlivened with gardens, and clean-looking. The road we found uni- formly good and hard, following a straight line a perte de vue, and flanked on each side by a line of lofty poplars. The stones employed for this road, are the large rolled pebbles found in the beds of torrents, which when broken, exhibit a granitic structure. Many forests and recent plan- tations of fir-trees appeared here and there on the right and left of the road, the only trees, besides the poplars, which can thrive in this thin and sandy soil. To a party of travellers, who for three whole days, ant ever since quitting Weimar, had crept along heavily througl interminable plains exhibiting no natural object of interest it was a great and welcome change to be greeted with a vie' of hills and lakes, which suddenly burst upon us as w emerged from the forest of Cunersdorfe, after crossing th western extremity of the Seddinsche See. The magnificent and picturesque scenery around thelak of Schwielow on our left, with a cluster of locks and othc beautiful and extensive pieces of water beyond it — the tow of Saarmund a little way off, on our right, with the Baben POTSDAM. — FREDERICK THE GREAT. 263 berg hill rising almost in the centre of the Potsdam forest before us —and, as we proceeded at a good rate onwards, the sudden appearance of Potsdam itself, rising as it were from out the still lake which spread its bosom before it, formed so enchanting a panorama, that we could not help stopping for a moment to contemplate so happy an assem- blage of the beauties of nature, art, and situation. We then continued our way over the many connecting bridges be- tween canals and rivers, and passed through the handsome colonnade gate of the town, leaving the Radstadt-house, with its gigantic gilt statue of Atlas, on our right ; and were brought, presently, into view of the Royal Chateau in the midst of its vast and open gardens. We alighted at the door of a large palace, not far from the Royal Chhteau, once the residence of a minister, but for the last four years converted into an hotel. Im- mediately after taking refreshments, we hastened to visit the superb residence of the philosopher of Sans-Souci. The apartments which that extraordinary man inhabited for so many years, are the first which a stranger is directed to see in this place, even did not his own inclination induce him to do so. These are said to he much in the same condition in which Frederick left them, although the palace itself has received several additions and embellishments at different times since. It is with singular complacency (and it must be allowed that the feeling is a very natural one) that the chd- telain pointed to every minute object tending to recal the pe- culiar and almost eccentric manner of living of that Prince. His fondness for the canine race is retraced to our mind by the soiled spot yet remaining on the sofa, in the dining-hall, from which the faithful spaniel watched every movement of his master during his repast. Beyond it, a spacious music- room, supported by columns, exhibits an old spinette, at which presided the leader of the royal band, when Fre- derick entertained his courtiers with concerts. The library 2G4 FREDERICK THE GREAT. — NAPOLEON AT POTSDAM. comes next, in which two small bookcases remain, con- taining a few select works on geography, history, the art of war, a few classics, and the productions of those con- temporary French philosophers, of whom it is difficult to say whether the head of their Maecenas was most turned by their flattery, or their own by the condescension and familiarity of the Sovereign. They must, no doubt, have laughed heartily at each other’s foibles, and inwardly felt the egregious folly of their attempts to reform mankind. In this room, which is divided from the preceding or music-room by a dwarf balustrade of silver, ornamented with some figures of cupids of the same metal, the secre- taire, or writing-desk of the King is shown, from which one of the French marshals removed and carried away a por- tion of the covering as a relic. In another part of the library we observed the table on which lay the scarf, sword, and cane of Frederick. It was now twenty-one years since Napoleon Buonaparte entered Potsdam, and immediately paid a visit to the Royal residence of the warrior, for whose memory he ever professed to entertain a veneration. The place which had, for the space of seven years, resisted the joint efforts of half Europe, had then yielded, in as many weeks, to the eagles of France. But how far was their leader from anticipating that, from the very palace in which he stood on that triumphant occasion, would, after the lapse ol another septenary, issue that proclamation which was to animate Prussia and the whole of Europe in the accomplish- ment of his lasting destruction ! Napoleon entered the library of Frederick with rapid steps, and walked up to a writing- desk, on which lay a work of Puysegur on Strategy, and near it the sword and ribbon of the order of knighthood, which that Sovereign had worn during the Seven Years’ "War. Napoleon took up the weapon, and for some seconds contemplated it with attention : he then committed it to the care of his attendants, together with the scarf and PALACE AT POTSDAM. 265 cane, saying, in his emphatic style, — “ Qu’on depose ces objets precieux a l’Hotel des Invalides de ndtre bonne ville de Paris. Ils seront pour ces braves veterans, le bulletin le plus glorieux, le plus eloquent de la Grande Armee.” It is almost a pity to spoil the theatrical effect of this address with a statement of the fact, at least so the worthy chatelain informed us, that the said sword was not the sword of the great Frederick, but another, which had been sub- stituted for it on the approach of the French armies. The last room into which we were introduced, was the i bed-chamber, from which however the bed had been re- moved, though the bell-pull which hung by the bed-side yet remains. These apartments are embellished with a few pictures on pannels, representing principally some favourite female dancers, among whom the portrait of a Signora Barberini, who afterwards married a president and counsellor, appeared conspicuous. Next to these historical apartments, are the lately modernized suite of rooms, which serve, on some occasions, as the residence of his present Majesty ; and have been, at different times, inhabited by imperial and royal visi- tors, — by Alexander, Napoleon, Bernadotte, and others. The furniture is new, splendid without being gaudy, and in excellent taste. Beyond these come the apartments of the late Queen, like her, modest in their appearance, free from vain magnificence, and exhibiting an air of ease and comfort. In the last room, a very neat and retired boudoir, hung all round with fluted white drapery, is deposited on a marble slab a cast of the bust of that excellent Princess, taken from the statue at Charlotten- burgh. The old are separated from the new apartments, by a large and magnificent saloon or state-room, lofty and of correct proportions, embellished with four gigantic alle- gorical paintings, which contain several portraits, and record some of the Fasti of the House of Brandenburg. PALACES AT POTSDAM. 266 We had no time to extend our visits to the other Royal l’alaces, the Palais Neuf, and Marmor Pallast; neither did we pay our respects to the chambers of Voltaire at Sans-Souci. We surveyed at a distance all these re- mains of the grandeur and magnificence of Frederick, the exterior of which is calculated to excite admiration. A view of the Palais Royal will convey better than mere description, a good idea of its architecture and magnitude. The Royal Chateau at Potsdam. The charming and sylvan retreat of Sans-Souci, placed much nearer to the town, is approached through the Bran- denburg-gate. On a small hill, disposed in terraces, stands the chateau, to which the ascent is by a flight of steps, with quickset hedges on each side. Each terrace and the well-arranged shrubberies by the side of the palace, are ornamented with flowers and fruit-trees, vases and busts. At the foot of the hill the gardens, decorated with single statues and groups, and two large marble reser- voirs of water — and, a little more to the right of it, a hand- APPROACH TO BERLIN. 267 some building, which we were told contained a gallery of pictures, form together with the principal building an exceedingly pleasing landscape, which we viewed with pleasure from the western extremity of Potsdam. The appearance of this second royal residence of the Great Frederick, though now seldom animated, as it was in his time, by the presence of royalty, is still striking and magnificent, on account of the many palaces, public buildings, chambers, and private houses of great dimen- sions ; the varied and imposing exterior of which exhibits almost every style and ornament of modern architecture. Whole streets of splendid mansions are seen at every turn as you proceed through the town ; but these, like the glorious remains of oligarchical splendour in modern Venice, are either verging fast on ruin, having been de- serted by their former masters, or are converted into auberges and hotels, to shelter the stranger, to whom a pilgrimage to Potsdam will he productive of gratification, not unmingled with regret. We now began to be impatient of reaching the Prussian capital ; and bidding adieu to the colonnades, statues, and obelisks, which crowded on our passage, we followed a straight road, lying between the broad stream of the Havel, arid a small lake on our left. We soon crossed the former over a wooden bridge, where the two branches of the river, after having for a short time united, diverge in two directions. Descending the Stolpe, a steep bank, we penetrated a thick and imposing forest, which we did not quit till we were near the last post-town, called Zeh- lendorf. From thence a beautiful macadamised road, two German miles long, in one continued straight line, planted with a row of trees on each side, and lighted at short intervals by large reflecting lamps, brought us to the gate of Berlin, early in the evening of the 9th of Oc- tober. 268 HER LIN. CHAPTER VIII. PRUSSIA. Berlin. — Striking appearance ami extent of the Town. — The prin- cipal Streets. — Unter den Linden. — Potsdam Gate. — Branden- burg Gate. — Churches. — Squares. — The Park and Public Gar- dens. — Museum. — The Royal Palace. — The Arsenal. — Colossal Statue of Bliicher. — Generals Billow and Scharnorst. — Inns. — The Opera-House. — Mademoiselle Sontag. — German Opera and German acting. — The Schauspiel Haus. — King Lear. — Grand Concert-room. — The Univei’sity. — The Professors. — Its Cabi- nets. — Collections of Anatomy and Zoology. — British Museum and English travellers. — Institutum Obstetricum. — Hospital of La CharitC — Medical Practice. — Remuneration for medical attend- ance. — Price of Medicines fixed by a tarif. — New Berlin Phar- macopoeia. — Professor Hiifeland. — His opinion of Phrenology. One of those French travellers, whom their countrymen style spirit uels, considered that Berlin was not far enough removed from Paris to give him “ le droit de mentir,” (those are his expressions) in describing that place to his friends. I can conceive that the sight of Berlin may be a source of mortifying recollections to a Frenchman of the present day ; but to us the view of the Prussian capital was associated with feelings of another nature, and I therefore need not allege its short distance from England as an apology for adhering to truth, in stating the result of my observations. III 4 . 1 ? ? ? 5 *V • J ; ^ 'n J>,S -5- - 5 5-. ?■ J: 2- 2- 2- 2- i .2- gl4^ss^s5ssl sq v au^as:»¥^^,o9- ?o ; 4 -5: ^ ^ i .< > > * N § * 1 4 * | ' II S i-4 §j s H si 1 1 1 Hi s«su((5 j! ,g 32 5, jSS 5 !i saaSSSSfcSggsasi&SSSS; b^y JJem^v CoLbur'n.N^en' fiu/'U/u/ton Street ,tlzuj ^ JStS * BERLIN. 260 Berlin is justly reckoned one of the most beautiful cities in Europe; and for size and population it may be con- sidered as the second city in Germany. It coders an area nearly equal to that on which Paris stands. The distance from the gate through which we entered to the Frank- further Thor on the opposite or north-east quarter, is nearly three miles; while a line crossing this distance from the gardens of the Hospital of La Charite, to Oberbaum, near the Stralauer Thor, is very little short of four miles. The general circumference is computed at twelve miles. The Spree may be said to divide the more recent from the older parts of the town. This river, where it passes between Stralau and Louisenstadt as far as the Waisenhaus bridge, is of a uniform though not considerable breadth. It then branches into two slightly diverging streams, one narrower than the other, both bending first to the south and then taking a north-west direction until they once more meet at the Mehlhaus, beyond which the river con- tinues in a tortuous course through the remaining part and out of the town, in breadth about half the dimensions of that which belongs to it at its entrance into Berlin. The space between the two branches just mentioned con- stitutes a very important part of this city, called Old Co- logne, (Alt Coin,) which may be fairly considered as the centre of the capital. That part of the town which is properly called Berlin is situated to the north-east of this central district, and is surrounded by a ditch communi- cating with the Spree. Three extensive suburbs diverge from it, bearing the name of Spandau, Konigstadt, and Stralau. To the south and south-west of the centre of the town, or Old Cologne, are the Frederick werde, the Do- rothee, or Neustadt, and the Frederichstadt, forming the most conspicuous, the principal, as well as the most fash- ionable part of this city. A small and a larger district, in UNTKR DEN E1NDEN. 270 addition to these, have been recently added, in a south- eastern direction : the ground of which is as yet but par- tially built upon: — these are called the New Cologne and the Louisenstadt, already mentioned. Such is the general plan of the town, which I was en- abled to trace most distinctly with the help of a Cicerone, from the tower of one of the churches in the Place des Gendarmes, on the morning after our arrival. The streets in that part of Berlin which lies to the south of the river, are straight, broad, and regular. One in par- ticular, called the Frederich Strasse, is the longest and most uniform street in Europe, being nearly two English miles and a-half in length. It extends from the Place de la belle Al- liance to the Oranienburger gate, crossing the AUee de Til- leu/s, and the bridge of Weidendamer over the Spree; and is intersected in its whole extent by no fewer than twelve streets, at right angles, some of which are from a mile to a mile and a-half in length. Several handsome and some magnificent edifices are met with here and there among hundreds of neat houses which line, with uninterrupted regularity, the streets in the Neu- stadt, as well as in the Frederichstadt and New Cologne. Most of the former are built of free-stone, with considerable architectural taste ; and a few of them are splendid speci- mens of art. Those of the second class are neat, generally of an uniform exterior, from two to three stories high, and of brick covered with plaster, with a slight tinge of yellow. The largest, as well as the best private houses, are on each side of the beautiful walk called “ Unter den Linden.” This gay and splendid street, planted with double ave- nues of lime-trees, presented to my view a scene far more beautiful than I had hitherto witnessed in any town either in France, Flanders, or Germany. It extends from the Opera-house as far as the principal or Brandenburg-gate. TfflJE 1UOTK M. = JD) wK" 1LIWIDIE FRCUMJE^ABEo / THE POTSDAM GATE. 271 The central walk, appropriated to pedestrians, is fifty feet wide, and covered with hard gravel. On each side are triple rows of trees, outside of which is a wide drive for carriages. To complete this beautiful street in a suitable manner, paved trottoirs are still wanting. That part of it by which done access can be had to the different handsome shops, ind to the houses which flank it on either side, is roughly ind irregularly paved with stones, uncomfortable and in- convenient to foot passengers. Between the hours of twelve ind two in the afternoon during the winter season, and early in the evening during the summer months, this walk )ffers a most lively, cheerful, and almost theatrical ap- )earance, from the number and variety of persons who esort thither, for the benefit of air and exercise, or from dleness and curiosity. The stranger who frequents this ■valk, may, in the course of two or three days’ residence, iass in review every successive gradation among the differ- ■nt classes of society in Berlin. At night it is brilliantly lluminated with gas, as are all the principal streets in he neighbourhood. The gate through which we entered Berlin, called the ?otsdam-gate, claims the attention of the traveller for its haste and beautiful design. It consists of a barrier of ten nsulated pilasters about fourteen feet high, placed at short listances from each other, and connected by a light iron ailing, the terminal points of which are gilt. Within this carrier and on each side of it rises a handsome lodge with i tetrastyle portico of the Greek Doric order, producing a nost pleasing effect. One of these lodges is occupied by a fuard, which is constantly on duty at the gate. Immedi- itely within the Gate, is a large open space of an octagonal onn, enclosed by many handsome houses, called Leipsiger flatz, which faces a broad and straight street of the same lame, nearly a mile in length. In this street, after having 272 THE BRANDENBURG GATE. wandered about the town in search of apartments, and visitet all the principal hotels, which we found already full, wc quietly settled at the Hotel de Prusse — a sufficiently com fortable house for persons of moderate expectations. The effect of the long and straight streets in this quarter, light- ed profusely with gas, much in the same style as in Lon- don, was particularly striking. But the most imposing and magnificent specimen ol modern architecture in Berlin, and, without exception, the most colossal structure of the kind in Europe, is the Bran denburger Thor, or Gate, placed at the western extremity of the public walk just described, rising, like the Athenian Propylea, above the adjoining buildings, but with greatei elevation. Two colonnades are placed in parallel lines across the road, one hundred and five feet in length, anc each consisting of six fluted pillars of the Grecian Dori< order. These support a well-proportioned entablature surmounted by an attic, and in the centre of these stand; a beautiful quadriga, with the figure of Victory bearing in triumph the Prussian eagle. This triumphal car had. during the French invasion, met with the fate of man) other monuments of art in conquered countries, and was transported to Paris ; but after the victories of 1814 it was conveyed back to Berlin. The elevation of the columns of this gate is forty-five feet, and their largesl diameter five feet nine inches. The seventeen metope; between the triglyphs of the frieze, represent, in bassi rilievo, the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapithae ; and on the attic, immediately under the quadriga, another bas- relief represents the Margrave Albertus Achilles seizing an enemy’s standard in a battle against the people of Nurem berg. The two parallel colonnades are connected by a latera wall or humerus between each bi-columniation, and the five inter- columniations constitute the five great openings of thi- TIIR BRANDENBURG GATE. 273 gate; the principal or centre of which is eighteen feet wide, and the others twelve feet four inches The Brandenburg Gate. There are about thirty churches in Berlin. The greater , part of them naturally adhere to the Lutheran creed, in which the service is performed in German. A smaller proportion belongs to the reformed religion, where the service is performed in the French language; and two of the churches are appropriated to the Roman Catholic com- munion. As architectural objects, most of these edifices are deserving of attention. In the course of his walks or drives, the stranger cannot fail to be struck by their ap- pearance ; but two or three in particular, which I examined with some care, deserve a more especial notice. These are, the church of St. Nicholas, the Roman Catholic church, and the beautiful structures in the Place des Gen- darmes, one of which is represented in the accompanying sketch. The first is situated in that part of the town VOL. i. T 274 CHURCHES IN BERLIN. which is properly called Berlin. Considering its antiquity and Saxo-gothic design, it may be deemed the most inte- resting specimen of that style of building in this capital. Among the variety of objects shown in the interior of this church, the monument of Puffendorf claims particular no- tice. This prodigy of historical erudition, so well known as the author of “ The Elements of Universal Jurispru- dence,” was held in great esteem at the court of the Elector of Brandenburg, and died in Berlin at the close of the se- venteenth century. The second church stands in an open space at the back of the Opera-house : it is built in the form of a rotunda, with a handsome front, enriched by a portico of six Ionic columns, to which you ascend by a flight of steps ; and is surmounted by a cupola, resting on twen- ty-four Corinthian pillars. This building reminds one of the Pantheon at Rome. Of the two handsome churches, which form with the new Theatre the most striking em- bellishments of the Place des Gendarmes, that which belongs to the French service is the most imposing, from the num- ber and great beauty of its various ornaments and details. The plan of the church is in the form of a cross, having three sides ornamented with Corinthian pillars. To the prin- cipal front is attached a portico of beautiful proportions, con- sisting of six columns of the Corinthian order, under which is the great entrance, with two niches on each side, containing the colossal statues of four Apostles, and above these are representations, in bas-relief, of the most important events in the life of our Saviour. The pediment, which is large, rests on an unadorned frieze and cornice, and is in keeping with the grandeur of the rest of the elevation. The group of figures in the tympanum, disposed in the classical man- ner of the Grecian architects, represents Jesus Christ con- versing with his disciples. A colossal statue is erected on each of the acroteria, and a group is placed over the FRENCH CHURCH OF BERLIN. 275 The French Church. entre of the pediment. The tower rises immediately be- lind this. Its plan or basis is a square, with two di- ninishing horizontal compartments, or blocking courses, bout it. At each angle of the basis there is a round t 2 276 WILHELMS PLATZ. pedestal, supporting a statue of one of the Evangelists. The dome is elevated over the basis in the form of a rotunda, ornamented with statues and bas-reliefs, and a colonnade of Corinthian pillars of two-thirds of the proportions of those of the portico of the church, producing altogether a very pleasing effect. Over the colonnade is a gallery with balus- trades, ornamented with large vases. Out of the peristyle rises, within the gallery, the drum of the cupola, with circu- lar windows; and the cupola itself, of an elliptical form, covers the whole, and is surmounted by a gigantic figure of Religion, made of bronze richly gilt. This tower is of a date posterior to the building of the church, and was only completed in the year 1785. It measures two hundred and twenty-five feet in height, including the statue. For grandeur and magnificence of exterior, this noble elevation is far superior to any of the modern churches lately erected in London. The square in which the church stands is a regular parallelogram of large dimensions, into which open, at right angles, twelve handsome streets. This, however, is not the only fine open square in Berlin. The Wilhelms Platz with its statues of the five heroes of the Seven Years’ War. Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, Winterfeld, and Ziethen, shaded by a double row of trees ; the Platz before the King’? Palace ; that before the Opera House, those of Paris, Leip- sig, and La Belle Alliance, with two or three others, which I noticed in my rambles, are equal in beauty to some o; the squares in London, (though not so extensive,) and su perior to them in regard to the surrounding buildings. Tin effect of the much-talked-of Wilhelms Platz, however, i considerably lessened, by the circumstance of its not beei either paved or planted in the centre, but presenting ; dreary desert of sand, through which the pedestrian, t( avoid a circuitous course, has to wade up to his ankles THE THIKR GARTEN. — THE LUST GARTEN. 277 When the wind is high, it must be a task of no little risk to face the clouds of fine sand raised by the tempest, a cir- cumstance, too, which is a serious annoyance to the inhabi- tants of the surrounding houses. The Donhofscher Platz is another handsome though irregular square at one end of Leipsig Strasse. Berlin has also its park and public gardens, which are gay and much frequented. The Thier Garten , or Great Park, is situated immediately outside of the Brandenburg Gate, and in front of the Champ de Mars or Exercier Platz. It is planted in parterres and shrubberies, somewhat in the fashion of an English park, but wants its luxuriance of vegetation and fine trees. The Lust Garten, or Jardin Royal, occupies a large space in the centre of the town, and is bordered on one side by a branch of the Spree, and flanked on the opposite side by the Cathedral and the Exchange, a very handsome modern building. The reviews or daily parades, which take place in this garden, add to its attrac- tions. The statue of the Prince of Dessau, to whom the infantry of Prussia is indebted for its discipline, decorates part of this garden. At one of the exti'emities of the Lust Garten is a new building, which was about to be completed at the time of our visit to Berlin, intended for a museum of antiquities. The front of this magnificent edifice, which will become one of the most striking ornaments of this part of the town, already so rich in handsome monuments and palaces, presents a bold colonnade placed on a continued pedestal or terrace, forming a handsome portico, which ex- tends the whole length of the building. The ascent to the terrace is by a wide flight of steps, on the side walls of which are erected equestrian statues. Above the portico is seen part of the body of the building, of a square form, rusticated and having at each angle, on square pedestals, a group in imitation of those of Monte Cavallo. The 278 MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES. columns of the portico, which are eighteen in number, and of the Ionic order, rise to the top of the first story of the building, and produce a very grand effect. This building is destined to receive, in appropriate gal- leries and a magnificent rotunda lighted from the top, the several collections hitherto contained in some of the apart- ments of the Royal Palace. They consist of cameos and medals, mosaics and other objects of antiquity, of great merit and of every age and nation, among which is a col- lection of gems made by the celebrated Stosch, objects of art of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries ; armour, models of carriages, wax figures, and many other rare articles, of great value. To these will be added an- cient groups and statues, and bas reliefs ; casts, and ar- chitectural specimens, forming a complete assemblage of whatever can illustrate the fine arts, and the history and manners of ancient times. Paintings also will be arranged in an appropriate gallery, among which will figure the col- lection sold by M. Solly to his Prussian Majesty. This establishment is highly honourable to the liberal spirit of the Sovereign with whom it has originated, and reflects great credit on M. Shinkel, the architect. The Royal Chateau in which the Great Frederick re- sided, and which forms a very imposing and striking ob- ject from its massive and colossal dimensions, stands op- posite the new Museum, at the other extremity of the Royal Garden. This building, which is very lofty, con- sisting, besides the basement, of two principal stories and an attic, is of a mixed kind of architecture, and by no means symmetrical. The facade looking to the square is 430, while its longest side is 460 feet in length. The line of elevation of this side is broken by two projecting tetrastyle porticoes, attached to the first and second story, their double C orinthian columns resting on rusticated basements the THE ROYAL PALACE OF BERLIN. 279 whole height of the ground story. On the top of one of these porticoes, supporting an irregular ornamented entabla- ture, four statues are placed, and a handsome balustrade runs all round the building. The principal entrance into this palace is very lofty, and ornamented by a bold archi- trave with columns of great dimensions, supporting a mas- sive entablature. I visited the fine suites of rooms, halls, and staircases, which are to be seen in this royal residence. Some of the rooms are very striking, particularly the Sal/e Blanche and the Salle des Chevaliers. In the former of these, which is ninety feet long, and fifty wide, with an elevation of forty feet, are held the festivals given by the Court on great occasions, particularly on the marriages of any of the mem- bers of the Royal Family. Part of the palace is occupied by the picture gallery, which is 196 feet in length, and contains nearly three hundred pictures, most of which belono- to the Flemish and German schools. Rut the most O interesting apartment in this Chateau, is the suite of rooms formerly occupied by the Great Frederick, which command a view of a branch of the Spree. They are now inhabited by one of the Princes Royal. The most favourable point of view for the Royal Chateau, is from the quay, a little below the Langen Briicke, by which not only two whole sides of the building are perceived at the same time, but the equestrian statue of Frederick William, standing on a projecting arch of the bridge, is brought into the view, adding considerably to the grandeur and striking effect of the whole. This statue is of bronze, of colossal dimen- sions, and is said to weigh fifteen tons. I cannot speak highly of its execution. 280 ROYAL PALACE OF BERLIN. The Royal Chateau and Langenbridge. Before I returned home, after my first day’s excursion through the town, I could not help stopping for a mo- ment to contemplate another magnificent building, which I observed on my right, as I was going from the Royal Castle, in the direction of the Linden Walk. The profu- sion of trophies which decorate the balustrade at the top of the edifice, the variety of bronze helmets placed on the key-stone of each window of the basement story, and the i statues of heroes ornamenting the exterior of the principal 1 entrance, soon told the object and intention of the building. As a specimen of modern architecture, the Arsenal pos- ! sesses great merit. Its style, which approaches to the Palladian, is grave, and bears a character of great solidity. These qualities of the building are in character with its purpose. The portico attached to the principal story THE ARSENAL AT BER LIN. 281 forms a very striking and pleasing feature in the compo- sition of the facade; and the whole constitutes, perhaps, the finest building of this class in Berlin. The interior if the Arsenal, for one who is neither a military man nor fond of military parade, offers but a monotonous and unin- teresting sight. Here is a long range of guns and field- lieces, with tumbrils and caissons : there, bombs and nortars, howitzers, blunderbusses, and musquets. One )f the walls groan under a load of sabres, swords, and lick-axes : another is almost too small to hold the groups if battle-axes, halberts, sarbacans, and eulverins. In fact, ill the instruments of destruction that have been devised >y man to injure, maim, and annihilate his fellow-creatures, ire here systematically and beautifully arranged, ready to gratify curiosity, or serve as models for the instruction of uture heroes. These are the museums and their scientific classifications for a soldier. The Arsenal. 282 STATUE OF BLUCHER. It is not without reason that the good people of Berlin have selected the immediate neighbourhood of the palace of their King, and such a warlike place as the Arsenal, for the purpose of placing the colossal statue of Bliicher, intended to commemorate the glorious achievements of that great general. The hero stands on the opposite side of the Arsenal, and seems by his attitude, and the daring expression of his manly countenance, to bid his country- men be of stout heart; for the Brandenburg banners had under him once more triumphed, as in the days of Fre- derick ; and the Prussian eagle, which had drooped for a moment in the field of Auerstadt and in the defile of Kosen, had soared higher than ever after the glories of Liitzen and Waterloo. This fine statue of the Prussian hero is of bronze, and the production of Rauch, probably the most eminent German statuary now living. The ve- teran general is represented in the act of pressing his left foot on a dismounted cannon, and grasping a sabre in his right hand. This statue was erected on the anniver- sary of the battle of Waterloo, 1826, amidst the enthu- siastic applause of the whole population of Berlin. Its design is chaste and generally correct ; but the attitude given to it has betrayed the artist into the error of rais- ing his figure out of the line of gravity ; so that viewed in front, one is struck with the apparent impossibility of any man maintaining himself securely in such a posture for more than a minute. By the skilful disposal of a mili- tary cloak thrown over the shoulder, Rauch has been able to overcome garments the most inimical both to painting and sculpture, hussar jackets, Prussian pantaloons, and Hessian boots. With equal gratitude towards two other Prussian champions in the late contest, the Government has erected statues of Biilow and Sharnhorst in marble on the parade ground, which were executed by the same artist. HOTELS AT BERLIN. 283 I returned home much gratified by what I had seen, following the outside carriage-road, formed by the last row of trees of the Linden promenade, and the houses, many of which, as I had now an opportunity of seeing, lave an imposing exterior, and are the abodes of the great, lie military, and the diplomatic, with here and there a splendid Magasin de Livres or de Modes, an extensive lotel, or a restaurant, much frequented by young men if fashion and by strangers. Some of the finest hotels in Europe are to be found in Berlin ; all exceedingly well regulated, and in respect to charges, the introduction of servants, and admission of strangers, under the immediate surveillance of the police. The mention of such a system may sound harsh to the ear of in Englishman, free born, and at liberty to be fleeced as he ileases by both landlords and waiters at home, without the nterference of Sir Richard : but to those who, without Tuide or counsel, without friend to instruct them or pre- vious experience of their own, find themselves, on their ar- ’ival in a capital, placed at once in the midst of an immense istablishment, where language, wages, servants, and the va- ue of things are all equally unknown — the knowledge that hey are under the direct protection of a power that watches ;o prevent fraud, imposition, and the chance of a swindling wlet de place from unduly diminishing their resources, md to which appeal may be had for immediate redress in inforeseen conjunctures, is comforting in the extreme. For ill these boons, the stranger has only to submit to have his lame, quality, place of birth, &c. entered in a register kept id hoc by the landlord of the hotel, who procures without iny further ceremony, the necessary authority to reside in he town for an indefinite period of time. Living in an lotel at Berlin, is au prix Jixe for every thing, from the ipartments down to the wages of your servant. An unin- 281 THE OPERA-HOUSE. cumbered traveller may get an excellent room, breakfas and dinner, keep a valet fie place, and a hired carriage, fo seven rixthalers a-day. The inns at Berlin are divided into classes. Atnonj those of the first class, some are positive palaces, both ii external appearance and internal arrangements. The Villi de Paris, L’Hotel de Russie, or widow Obermann’s, as i is called, from the name of the landlady, are situated in th most desirable parts of the town, and for internal decora tion, comforts, and good living, resemble much some of th first hotels in Paris. There are some, however, of the firs class, which are not remarkable for cleanliness or com fort. This I had occasion to notice on my visiting a frienc at the Hotel de Rome, the most straggling establislnnen imaginable. In the evening we prepared for the Opera. The hous is situated at the eastern extremity of the Linden-walk nearly opposite to the University. It is a handsome build ing, two hundred and seventy feet long, and one hundrci and ten feet wide, perfectly insulated, with a portico o fluted Corinthian columns, supporting a handsome pedi merit, on the acroteria and keystones of which, are allego rical statues. The portico rises on the top of an advancinj rusticated basement, in front of which is the lower entrant into the theatre ; while on each side of it, a flight of step leads to the principal entrance placed under the porticc The face of each side of the building is divided by hand some windows, arranged in such a manner as to give it th appearance of a handsome private palace, rather than of public building. The form of the interior is that of perfect horse-shoe. The pit is divided into a double rang of fifteen rows of seats, regularly numbered, which are oc- cupied according to the number on the ticket purchase! at the door. Around the pit runs a range of boxes, am THE OPERA-HOUSE 285 ibove these there are two principal tiers, and a third row >f boxes which is divided into two parts, that nearest the >tage being called the amphitheatre. The lower boxes are upported by very handsome caryatides of white scagliola, md the upper boxes by consoles. The ornaments are of i superior description, and in excellent taste. The house s lighted much in the style of an English theatre. Two ery rich Corinthian columns at each end of the stage en- loble the proscenium, between which there are three hand- ,ome private boxes. One of these is generally occupied by he King, who prefers it to the Royal or centre box. The atter is of an oval form, with a cupola supported by eight luted Corinthian columns, the capitals of which are richly rilt. The decorations of this box are magnificent. Not inly the Royal Family, but a great number of the King’s Ministers, the principal general officers resident in Berlin, ind having commands, and the great officers of the Court, lave the entree to this box. The range of boxes are per- fectly open, as in the national theatres in London — their p-eat depth, however, is a great objection, as it prevents people, seated at the back, when the house is crowded, rom seeing the stage, and hearing the performers dis- inctly. I have been informed that this theatre will ad- nit comfortably more than four thousand spectators. On our arrival at Berlin, we had found the whole city n an uproar, and people running in all directions to pro- cure a ticket, an admission, or a corner in a box for the Dpera, for the purpose of hearing Mademoiselle Sontag. Entreaties, bribes, extravagant prices for a place, were all n turn resorted to, as the only means of gratifying a wish which seemed to animate at one and the same time the whole town. I soon discovered that the inhabitants were positively wild about this much-talked-of Mademoiselle, and I insensibly caught the general enthusiasm. What was mere 286 THE OPERA-IIOUSF,. curiosity on my part, to hear this celebrated songstress, ol whom so many and singularly romantic reports had beei circulated in England, was soon changed into an irresistible desire to be present at her performance in the evening. Ii th is, however, I should have been disappointed, but fo the kindness of the English Minister, who very fortu nately sent me in the afternoon a ticket for his box, jus as I had been told by our landlord and valet de place, tha it was impossible to procure an admission for that even ing, for love or money. At a very early hour, the houst was full. The King, two Princesses, one or two Prince: Royal, the Duke of Cumberland, with a long string o grandees, glittering with stars and crosses, attended the representation. With the exception of his Majesty, wh( sat in the side-box, near the stage, they all occupied the magnificent box in the centre of the house, already de- scribed, brilliantly illuminated, hung with a rich drapery and ornamented with mirrors and gilding. The boxes contained the most select society. Among the ladies there was a fair sprinkling of beauty ; but Lady B who graced the box in which I had the honour of sitting, and who had just returned from a trip to Moscow during the summer holidays, was easily distinguished amongst the fairest Berlinoises ; and, from the first of her entering the house, attracted universal attention. The Duke ol Cumberland, on perceiving her from the Royal box, came round to pay her a visit, during the lead-footed minutes which toiled heavily along, before the long-wished opera began. At length the orchestra, consisting of nearly double the number of performers composing the orchestra of the King s Theatre in London, began the magnificent over- ture to Winter's new opera, entitled “ The Interrupted Sacrifice, ’ (DasUnterbrochen Opferfest), which w'as divinely MADEMOISELLE SONTAG. 287 executed. No one can form an idea of the difference be- tween the performance of this, or any other piece of music, by a German orchestra, and the orchestra of any other nation, who has not heard both. One of the highest gratifications which a successful composer can enjoy, must be that of hav- ing his productions executed in such style, and in so admi- rable a manner. When the uproar which the overture ex- cited had ceased, all eyes and opera-glasses were at once directed towards the stage, and we watched with impa- tience for the appearance of the idol of the night. At last, Mirrha entered, and every hand was instantly in motion. The star — the comet — the attraction — the Hen- riette Sontag, Kbniglich Kammersangerin, of whom poets, sonnet-writers, newspaper-compilers, prose-composers, and travellers, have raved so much about, stood before us. She is slender, rather petite and mignonne. Her counte- nance, like that of Canova’s nymph, is full of that sweet- less, which belongs more to the beau idea/ than to mortal -eality. I would say, that her foot is the prettiest thing imaginable, if her hands were not prettier still. She is 'aultless as to teeth, which the sweetest smile imaginable, or ever hovering round her mouth, sets off at every warble n all their glory. Her chevelure, between auburn and blonde, is magnificent ; and to conclude with the most essential part, the quality of her voice is, beyond measure, ^leasing, and she possesses great and remarkable facility. i r et, with all these attributes, she is not a first-rate opera- •inger — lacks judgment — is indiscriminate in the introduc- ion of ornaments — knows no method, and belongs to no chool. Of all these negative qualifications, the first only t will not be in her power to alter. Nature has refused o her the two principal requisites towards forming a first- ate opera performer — expression both of countenance and n the tone of her voice, and a commanding person. Ma- 288 MADEMOISELLE SON TAG. demoiselle Sontag can never attempt the grand style; six cannot depict strong passions, and is as much the reversi of Pasta or Pizaroni, as any singer can well be. She is, ii fact, a pretty thing, a pretty singer, a pretty bijou , am nothing more. Madame Catalani was quite correct whei she said, that “ Elle est la premiere dans son genre — mai son genre n’est pas le premier.” It is impossible not t< agree with this description. My own disappointment a her performance, however, was not very considerable afte all ; for I could have listened to her warblings, such a they were, for ever. My expectations, however, had beei raised too high ; I expected a cantatrice di prime cartellc and I found only an agreeable songstress. Mademoiselle Sontag’s voice is a soprano of a pleasing clear, and sonorous timbre. She can reach the high 1 without screaming. The flexibility of her organ has se disced her into that peculiar style of singing which mad Madame Catalani the wonder of musical Europe for a fe\ years, but which disables the performer from ever being ; scientific singer. It is this quality of the voice, united t< the personal gifts so profusely lavished by Nature on thi favourite daughter of hers, that brought Mademoiselle Son tag forward as a miracle on the German stage, and made he at once, without any preliminary step, a precocious prinu donna , at the age of seventeen ! But the first station at tin Opera cannot be held on such easy terms. There must In science, and we must have acting and correct declamation We require a just and impassioned conception of the elm racter to be represented, a classical acquaintance with tin drapery of the subject, to constitute a real prirna donna Now, none of the ornamental singers, whose astonishin; facility for flourishes, roulades, and chromatic notes, lifted them up prematurely to the seat of pre-eminence for ; time, have ever possessed any of those important quali MADEMOISELLE SONTAG. 289 nations. The necessary time for acquiring them has >een spent in receiving early applause to the one dazzling ;ift of Nature — a flexible voice, rendered more seductive py personal beauty. Such applause has spoiled all these nfant Lyras; and, in their adult years, they have found hemselves deserted. Who could have patiently listened to Catalani, any night within the last twelve years ? On the ther hand, look at Mara, Banti, Grassini, Camporesi, Pasta, ’izaroni, toiling through the difficulties of the profession, loulding their taste to the best models, forcing their early ‘ ay through hisses or chilling silence, and at last com- pelling the capricious public to bestow admiration and pplause, where they displayed but indifference. They ecome absolute on the stage, and retain their post, with lcreasing credit, to the end of a long and brilliant ca- eer. The part of Mirrha is suited to Mademoiselle Sontag, xcept in the last two scenes, where she is required to re- resent great feeling and acute distress of mind. In both lese she fails. Her unalterable sweet face is the same nder the influence of pleasing as of afflicting passions; nd the extent of the expression of her large beautiful yes consists in lowering them with the bashfulness of one f Carlo Dolce’s Madonnas, or in raising them towards eaven with the tenderness of Cleopatra. These two lovements are introduced into every character, and at very step of the representation, succeeding each other at mes with unceasing rapidity. If ever Mademoiselle ontag visits London, the frequenters of the King’s The- ;re will not be long in remarking this singular limitation f power in a lady, who, I doubt not, will nevertheless e received with enthusiasm. Such prettiness is sure of ngning supreme in that house — the emporium of gallantry id fashion. VOL. i. u MADEMOISELLE SONTAG. 290 On the following evening, the same enthusiasm and ardour prevailed at the representation of the ‘ Barbierc of Rossini. This master is now as popular in Germans as he is in Italy or France. The part of Rosina seerm to have been written expressly for Mademoiselle Sontag She is unequalled in that character, and leaves even Fodoi behind her. Her grace, and the charm of her voice, ii ‘ Una voce poco fa,' heightened, no doubt, by herfaultles; person, drew down such thunders of applause as had neve been before heard within the walls of the Berlin Theatre. The Germans are perfectly enraptured with their charm ing countrywoman — the more so, as her private characte is spotless, and her conduct perfectly lady-like. Exposed by being placed on the stage, not so much to temptation (which real virtue can withstand in any station in life) a to calumny and illiberal reflections, Mademoiselle Sontag being without any female relatives of consequence, ha selected, it is said, from amongst her acquaintances, a lad of the strictest principles, the widow of a superior office) to whom she allows a very liberal pecuniary consideratior to be constantly with her. For the twelve representations for which she was ei gaged at Berlin she received 600 louis d’ors, and tli receipts of the last night, free of all expenses. The adm nistration of the national theatre made her an offer c 4000 ducats (2000/. sterling) for a season, which she n jected ; probably owing to a previous engagement wit the Parisian manager. In the French capital, Mademo selle Sontag is also a very great favourite ; but the Frenc admiration for her talent does not, like that of the Ge man, border on extravagance. She has performed at ti Theatre dcs Italiens, in some of the first master-pieces < Rossini. In “ Tancredi,” unquestionably one of the mo magnificent productions of that composer, she does n< MADEMOISELLE SONTAG. 291 appear to advantage. The part of Amenaide is too full of 'sentiment and elevation of character to be at all repre- sented with effect by an actress and a singer of the calibre of Mademoiselle Sontag. She seems aware of this, and consequently omits one or two pieces which require much and sweet expression. The Amenaide of Mademoiselle is a coquette, looking almost too innocent for such a cha- racter, but still a coquette, elegant, graceful, agile, smi- ling, bewitching — but not the Amenaide of Rossini. In “ Otello” again she has attempted the character of Desde- motia, and has failed, even in the opinion of her fondest ad- mirers. Her mignonne figure will not yield to the impres- sions of tragic emotion ; her destiny is to shine and be un- rivalled in the Opera Buffa. If she appears on the Lon- don hoards, and consults her own credit and fame, she will select for her debut, “ La Donna del Lago,” “ La Cene- rentola,” or “ II Barbiere di Seviglia.” On my return from Russia to England, I had the good fortune of again hearing this popular singer in Paris. The performances were “ La Donna del Lago” and “ La Cenerentola.” In the former opera, Mademoiselle Sontag had, by her side, a most powerful rival for public favour, in Signora Pizaroni, that giant of strength, grandeur, and energy, both in singing and acting — that unparalleled con- tra/to, some of whose notes thrill through the veins, and make the very heart quake against the course of nature. This circumstance seemed to give Mademoiselle Sontag more animation. From the moment in which she sung a beautiful duet with Pizaroni, her voice, her taste, even her science, I was about to add, seemed at once to improve. She strove to give more energy to her action, and more ex- pression to her pretty countenance ; but with little success. Mademoiselle Sontag must study, for some time, the great Italian models of her art, before she can hope to succeed u 2 oqo MADEMOISELLE SONTAG. in her praiseworthy efforts, or equal that great singer, in whose company she has so often performed. With- out exaggeration, I may say, that in no country in the world have I been a witness to the degree of rapturous and enthusiastic expression of applause which followed the con- clusion of Madame Pizaroni’s cavatina, “ Oh, quante la- grime!” The ardent passion, the affecting melancholy, the anguish of mind, pourtrayed by that extraordinary performer in the course of this cavatina, with a display of mastery of her art seldom equalled, and never surpassed by any other singer — positively turned the head of most of the metomanes in the crowd, who, with screams and vocife- rations, clapping of hands, and beating of sticks, bravoino and vivaing , and waving of handkerchiefs, and throwing o! flowers on the stage, testified, for some minutes, their con- viction of the superiority of science, taste, action, and voice, unassisted by a single spark of feminine beauty over mere beauty and facility of execution. These an the models that Mademoiselle Sontag will see the necessity of studying. The “ Cenerentola’’ is, in the opinion of many, one o Rossini’s best productions in the comic style. Most of the principal songs and pezzi concertati in it, had been sen forth to the public by their eccentric composer, in otlie operas, with a view to try the taste and judgment of tin connoisseurs respecting them. They were ingrafted on tin “ Pietra di Paragone,” performed at Milan in 1812; in tin “ Turco in Italia,” which appeared also at Milan in 1814 lastly, in “ Otello,” which was first played at Naples ii 181G; and, being afterwards collected together, they wen introduced as the forte of the “ Cenerentola,” the first re presentation of which took place at the “ Teatro Valle,” a Rome, in 1817. Mademoiselle Sontag has taken a grea many liberties with her part in this opera, and has mad< MADEMOISELLE SONTAG. 293 transpositions of keys, which are not always compatible with what is to follow. She is very fond of singing in G. This, indeed, appears to be the key in which she can mostly display the extent and power of her voice. One of her most successful transpositions is that in her cavatina in the finale, which, from E, she raises a tone and a half to G. This cavatina may be assumed as a favourable speci- men of the utmost which this sweet songstress can do. She descends to the G below the lines, sliding over, in the prettiest manner possible, a chromatic scale of great extent, with a grace and neatness that are absolutely irresistible. Her appoggiaturas are expressive ; her sostenutos firm, dear, and sonorous; the silvery tone of her voice is deli- vered with a well-managed breath ; she is daring, and aunches, at all hazards, into a sea of flourishes, of the re- sult of which she appears not to be certain, but which is generally successful, and concludes by darting towards the ludience those glances, which have called down, in Berlin, ind which will call down in London, if she comes hither, handers of applause. In her dress, Mademoiselle Sontag requires also much vholesome advice. She seems more intent on finding a oilette that best suits her person, which nothing can suc- essfully embellish, than in discovering the most appropriate Irapery for her theatrical character. She is too fond of rinkets and ornaments, and whether she appears as the re- iresentative of a heroine or a suivante, the presence of 'rooches, necklaces, rich waistbands, rings, and ringlets in rofusion, proclaim her only as a lady fond of showy dresses, nd following the fashion of the day. In “ La Donna del ..ago,” for instance, I have seen her in a rich plaid dress, overed with dazzling ornaments, her head surmounted by ie most preposterous structure of bows d la giraffe of the ime etoffe, mingled with others formed by her own hair. GERMAN DRAMA. 294 - In this humble attire the simple boat-girl of the Ldcl leaps upon the stage to sing her Cavatina.* As I am on the subject of Theatres I may as well dis- pose of what I have to say regarding the new Schauspiei Haus, or National Theatre. I visited it the next evening and actually stood out the best part of the representatioi of King Lear in German. The actor who played tin part of the distracted father, and whose name is Gossmann gave me but a feeble notion of the state of tragic actin' in the capital. I have, in common with many thousands heard a great deal of ranting on the London stage, am that not unfrequently. I have heard it still more violen on the classic boards of the Comedie Fraiifaise ; but in th< whole course of my life I have never been stunned b such boisterous vociferation as my tympanum was ex posed to on this occasion. I really expected at one tim to see the audience take their departure from incapacity t resist much longer the appalling effect of such thunder on their brain, and I dreaded, when Herr Gossmann crie out with a violence which increased at each syllable, “ ( Lear ! Lear ! Lear ! beat at this gate,” that his head, an the organ of his voice would crack at one and the sam time, and put an end to the tragedy. It is but justice t say that this actor is what the Germans call gastroll * This account of Mademoiselle Sontag found its way into periodical publication a fortnight before the first appearance of tli lady on the English boards. It was from thence copied in sever daily papers, and variously commented upon by some of thei or objected to by others. Her debut, however, has shown tl correctness of the description therein given of her person and voic as well as of the strictures on her singing. She very judicious selected one of the operas which seem better calculated for her t lents. The author has had no leisure, since his return, to hear M demoiselle Sontag ; hut on perusing the daily accounts given of li performance, he is glad to find that not only his opinion, hut 1 very language, respecting her, have been adopted in their articles! FREDERICK WI 13 LI AM. 295 namely, a stranger, and not regularly belonging to Ilis Majesty’s servants. Goneril was as vulgar as her father was stentorian ; and of Cordelia little more can he said, than that her beauty made amends for her indifferent acting. But I must have been unlucky in the choice of my night, for to judge by the number of spectators, there must have been some sad yet timely misgivings about this said Herr Gossmann. The audience consisted of twenty people altogether ! and this in a house calculated to receive two thousand spectators. His Majesty, who is reported to be partial to theatrical representations, was present on the occasion, in a private box. He is indeed seldom absent from either the opera or the play, both of which he seems greatly to enjoy. The King of Prussia is accustomed to appear among his subjects with much less of that reserve and form which are deemed, in some other countries, indispensable to the dignity of the So- vereign. It is the common opinion in Berlin, that this practice only tends to make their King, if possible, the more beloved. It is true that no demonstration of loyalty, beyond that of respectful behaviour, follows the almost daily appearance of Frederick William in public. But when on extraordinary occasions the Sovereign shows him- self to his subjects in form, the enthusiasm with which he is received by all classes of people is sufficient to prove, that if the person of the King" be familiar to them, their respect for Majesty is not diminished on that account. This national Theatre, (which has only been in ex- istence since 1824, and rose out of the ashes of another built by Langhans,) is a most singular building, and as an example of genuine German taste in architecture, one of very doubtful character. It has not, perhaps, occurred to one other architect in the world, besides Professor Shinkel, to place two pediments, one above the other, in the same 206 THE NEW THEATRE AT BERLIN. building. By this extraordinary arrangement, the effect of a beautiful Ionic hexastyle portico, thirty-eight feet high, is destroyed, which would otherwise have been mag- nificent. This portico is erected in advance of the main body of the building, on a rustic basement, in front of which is a very bold but too steep flight of steps, confined by lateral walls of the same height with the stylobate. Under the portico a carriage-way has been formed, by which contrivance the company is set down at the entrance to the boxes in wet weather, without being exposed to the rain. A colossal group is placed on each lateral wall of the stairs. The inscription on the frieze is commemora- tive of the present King’s liberal patronage of the arts in restoring this edifice. Single statues are erected on the acroteria of the lower, and vases on those of the upper pediment. On the summit of the latter, high in the air, Apollo, placed in a triumphal car drawn by two pegasean coursers, seems in the act of taking his flight from this abode of Thalia and Melpomene. The New Theatre. 1 he body and wings of the building are disfigured l)\ two rows of thin tapering windows, which are dispro THE NEW THEATRE AT BERLIN. 297 portionate to each other; and the reader will not fail :o be struck, in looking at the woodcut, with the sin- gularity of the pedimented attic, which reminds one for- cibly of a large paper manufactory. In the interior ar- rangement of the building, the architect has been more fortunate. The form of the house is that of a con verging' ellipsis. The pit, divided into a double series of ten ranges of seats, to the amount of 261, rises from the or- chestra, up to the lower part of the royal box, placed in the centre of the house. On each side of this box extend ten handsome private boxes, constituting what is called the royal tier, in front of which is the first balcony, stretch- ing as far as the proscenium on either side. Above the royal tier, is the first range of private boxes, with a second balcony before it ; and higher still, a second tier, with .ateral amphitheatres. The decorations of the house are chaste and simple. The stage is contracted ; deep, but not roomy. Over the centre of the stage is a transparent clock, and the house is lighted by a very large and hand- some chandelier, bearing a multitude of argand lamps, the jflare of which is increased by reflectors placed above them. One great improvement introduced in this building by the architect, for the advantage of the spectators, is the having Joubled the corridors, which run all round, behind each tier of boxes. By this contrivance all draughts and the possibility of more external air than is desirable being ad- mitted, are effectually prevented. The vestibules, which lead to the stairs conducting to the boxes and balconies, are of handsome proportions. Through the front, under the portico, the public is admitted, on particular occasions, into the concert-room belonging to the theatre, capable of containing about 1000 people. This saloon is of an elliptic form, and of large dimensions. The orchestra is placed at its upper extremity, on ascending steps, with a handsome balus- 298 GERMAN LANGUAGE. trade in front, and accommodations at each end for the chorus singers. The audience is arranged in the centre, as well as round the room : on one side of it are the royal boxes. The room is lighted like the theatre, by a single chandelier, suspended from the ceiling, and by side-lights projecting from the wall. The chasteness and simplicity of the ornaments of this concert-room are in character with the beauty of its proportions. Concerts, declamations, and improvisations are given frequently in this room, during the winter season, which are much frequented, and in which most of the first-rate performers take an active part. I was obliged to be satisfied with viewing the local, with- out having an opportunity of enjoying the entertainments. As I shall not, probably', have occasion again to revert to the subject of German operas and plays, sufficient speci- mens of which I have seen in the course of my journey at Aix-la-Chapelle, Cobientz, Frankfort, Weimar, Berlin, St. Petersburg!), and Dresden, I will say a word or two on their merits in this place. I have already observed, that the German language ap- peared to me ill suited for the musical expression of the softer passions ; and of this truth, the performances of Mademoiselle Sontag, in German, have only served to con- vince me. If any actress could have made German operas palatable, it was most assuredly^ this fairest of all the Ger- man songstresses ; but her exertions have had a contrary effect on my ears, accustomed to the harmonious sounds of Italian words in music. That which gives energy to Italian music, is the facility with which it lends itself to the adaptation of impassioned notes, on sonorous mono- syllables or on strongly accented words, either substantive nouns, or the futures of verbs. Who that has seen Pasta represent the heart-struggles of Medea, can ever forget the single “ lo l' 1 which thrills the audience, and actually makes the theatre vibrate P On that very monosyllable has GERMAN COMPOSERS. 299 the great Master placed one of his most powerful combina- tion of notes, and there stamped the vigour of a whole scene ! Fancy now a German Medea exclaiming “ Ich !” n all the sepulchral drawl of guttural pronunciation — what becomes of the expression of music wasted upon it ? Again, substitute to the accented words virth, Je, cola, sard, cos), noted with the exquisite art of Cimarosa, or the vivacious gaiety of Rossini — the corresponding German expressions, Tugend, Glaube, Dahin, Ich werde seyn , and judge of the effect. It may be laid down as an indispu- table truth, that languages abounding in gutturals are not susceptible of melody. One or two such languages, besides the German, may be moulded into something pleasing, affecting, amorous, merry, or martial, in the shape of a glee ar a ballad, a seguidilla, a jovial song, or a loyal anthem ; but neither they nor their guttural kindred will ever produce the magic effects of litaliana favella, on the heart and ima- gination, even though Mozart, Winter, or Weber, should have lavished their best inspirations on them. It is a curious fact, that all the music recognised as barbaric, such as the Turkish, Arabic, the Moorish, the Persian, the Hindoo, belongs to strongly guttural languages. It is the charm, the force, the irresistible conception of the instrumental parts, so peculiarly the gift of German musicians, that have given a name to, and upheld the exis- tence of German operas. Hence it is that before Mozart introduced, and each of his followers adopted, the practice of frequently giving the singer’s part to the orchestra, and of drowning with the rich, full, and playful rioting of the instrumental accompaniments, the monotonous and necessarily insignificant notes of the singer, few, if any of us, ever heard of the merit of a German opera. Then, as much as now, was the triumph of the Italian lan- guage conspicuous ; when, left to its own intrinsic melody evolved by the simple yet tender notes of Cimarosa and 300 UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. Paesiello, with a murmuring arpeggio as its only orchestra accompaniment, it exhibited, in all its force, its great capa- bility, its exclusive power in music over every other idiom in Europe. As to German plays, the case is very different. Judg- ing from what I have had occasion to see, I hesitate not in placing the German next to the English tragedi- ans, always excepting my friend “ Herr Gossmann.” In the walks of genteel comedy, the Germans may also claim a considerable degree of merit. But broad farce seems to be their forte; and their idioms, customs, bon- hommie, and absence of all sophistication, seem calculated to facilitate the acquisition of that species of talent. But to bid adieu for the present to architecture and singing, let me proceed to some more important occupa- tion. I went the next morning to Professor Lichtenstein, the Rector Magnificus of the University. I had been paying my respects to that gentleman the day before, and on the present occasion I called at his apartments in the Palace of the University, for the purpose of examining that establishment under his sanction. A physician, or a scientific man, has one great advantage over any other individual travelling through the different capitals and principal towns of Europe, particularly if he has pub- lished any thing on subjects of interest to the world of science at large. This advantage consists in being certain of a gratifying reception from his fellow-labourers in what- ever part of the Continent they may be resident, and he may visit them. The recollection of the name of such strangers, associated with any known work they may have written, ensures to them everv facility for examin- ing public and private institutions, collecting informa- tion, assisting at the meeting of learned academical bo- dies ; and, by an insensible transition, it also procures them an introduction into society, kindly treatment, and UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. 301 leads to the formation of valuable friendships, which frequent- v remain through life. In all such cases, the individuals n question need no letters of introduction ; neither will :hey have to complain, as travellers of a more general cha- •acter do, that they are compelled, at every moment, to lip their hands into their pockets for admission to sec lublic buildings and public establishments. Such are the idvantages which name or authorship produces abroad; advantages which convert you at once, in whatever place >f importance you may happen to be residing, from a mere tranger into a member of the great and numerous family >f those who cultivate science in all its branches. There is i freemasonry among scientific men, which, I would ven- ure to say, is more advantageous to the members than he real freemasonry of the craft. In the short space of the first thirty hours passed in Berlin, I had visited, and been visited in return, by men vhose names and productions had inspired me with a strong lesire to form their personal acquaintance. Each proffered lis assistance in forwarding my views of examining col- ections, buildings, and hospitals, with an earnestness that eft no doubt of his sincerity. Of several of these offers availed myself immediately. By means of notes or lersonal introductions, I obtained free access every where. The gentlemen belonging to the several establishments af- orded me every information ; and, not unfrequently, would oint out to my notice objects of great interest, which might therwise have escaped my attention, and the consider- tion of which served to prolong an interview of so much mportance to me. Some, particularly Professor Wagner, 0 whom I had had an opportunity of showing some civility 1 London, would devote two or three hours together, lthough engaged in considerable practice, to convey me rom one distant institution to another, in order to procure ie the gratification of examining them under their own 302 UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. guidance. Invitations — tickets of admission — written in- formation of every description — documents illustrative of the state of science, poured in from all quarters; and at the expiration of the second day after our arrival in Berlin, I found myself as fully installed in that class of society in which it must be the ambition of a physician to move, as if I had been long resident in the capital. The University of Berlin stands high in public estima- tion on the Continent ; and, as a medical school, it is pro- bably the first in Germany, although some may consider Gottingen as disputing with it the palm of pre-eminence. The number of students who frequented this celebrated school during the scholastic year of 1826, amounted to 1642. Of these, 466 studied theology, 602 the law, 346 medicine, and the rest philosophy and literature. Among this number, 379 are strangers to Prussia ; and among these, some were natives of England and America. In the course of the present scholastic year (1827) the number was increased. The University of Berlin. UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. 803 The faculties composing the University are four in num- )er, namely, theology, jurisprudence, medicine, and phi- losophy. The latter comprehends Grecian and Roman iterature, antiquities, statistics, modern languages, mathe- natics, mechanical and natural philosophy, history, geo- jraphy, chemistry, mineralogy, and every branch of na- ural history. Although the Berlin University has been in existence nit a few vears, having been founded by the King in 809, it has been more fortunate perhaps than any other imilar institution, in quickly collecting together such a ga- axy of talents, to fill the chairs of professors, as at once to stablish its reputation, and irresistibly attract students rom every part of the country, as well as from abroad, t is not given to every infant enterprize of this descrip- ion to be so supported in its outset ; nor could such an vent be anticipated, except in a great capital, where men nd means are always to be met with at the disposal of hose in power, and where these are sufficiently upright nd impartial to allow their own sagacity to guide their hoice, and sufficiently sagacious to make that choice use- ul, as well as creditable to the public. Berlin possessed 11 these advantages, anti the result has proved most pros- lerous and successful. In matters of science alone (for I lave had no leisure to enter into the examination of the ther branches of learning at this institution,) the names >f Humboldt, Hiifeland, Rudolphy, Lichtenstein, Graefe, heboid, Heyne, Rust, and Schultz, without mentioning aany others of the highest respectability, are sufficient at nee to stamp the character of, and give celebrity to the nstitution. Who that is at all acquainted with the mo- lern history of science, would hesitate in placing his chil- Iren under such teachers? These men were all at hand, vith their labours and fame, when the University w'as 30 1 l’ROFKSSOK RUDOLPHI. projected, and the choice for the professorships natu- rally fell upon them. Nor was it the desire of gain that prompted such men to accept the task, s nee many like Humboldt, for instance, lecture gratuitously, and those who have salaries, are very moderately paid. It was zeal for their own individual branches of learning that moved them ; the same zeal which stimulates them now to farther exertions. The largest salary given to a professor, I believe to be from twelve to fifteen hundred rixthalers, (170 guineas) ; but the majority have a much smaller sum. Those who have large collections to keep up, are allowed an additional sum, varying from two to three hundred dollars, for that purpose. Such is the case for instance with Rudolphi, the professor of anatomy, and Lichten- stein, the amiable professor of natural history. Charles A. Rudolphi is by birth a Swede. He was formerly professor of medicine in the University of Kdnigs- berg, from which he removed to that of Berlin, where he fills the chair of general and comparative Anatomy with considerable success. He has edited several periodical publications; but the two works which have raised him highest in the estimation of the profession, are his natural history of intestinal worms, which appeared first in three volumes at Berlin in 1808 — 1810, written in Latin ; and his Treatise on Physiology, in two volumes, written in German, and published in 1821 and 1823. This last production of the professor of anatomy at Berlin is re- markable for the very luminous manner in which the most difficult questions in physiology are explained and dis- cussed, and for the opinion expressed in it in favour of spontaneous generation. It was likely indeed, that the classical historian of those singular animal productions, the intestinal worms, the origin of which is enveloped in so much obscurity, shoidd have adopted an opinion ANATOMICAL PREPARATIONS. 305 so strongly suggested and corroborated by what he must have repeatedly observed in the course of his studies. Rudolphi is the sworn enemy to quackery : it is not only igainst the doctrine of Gall that he has waged a scientific ,var ; he has also raised his voice, at various epochs, against he mystic exaggerations of animal magnetism. The collections belonging to the two last-mentioned pro- essors, and more particularly that of natural history, are uperior in extent, in the number of valuable and rare prepa- ations and specimens, and for the beautiful order in which hey are kept and arranged, to any collection I have had an pportunity of examining in other Universities. The Ana- omical Museum contains the well-known collection of the ate Professor Walther, among which are several fine spe- imens of injections of the lymphatics, and preparations of he nervous system, both dry and moist, extremely va- uable. One of the prosectors of the Museum, Dr. chlemm, had just completed the dissection of all the ex- acranial and facial arteries, which for minuteness of etail, neatness and distinctness of the origin, connection ad intricate ramifications of even the smallest vessels, sur- asses every thing of the kind produced by modern ana- mists. This valuable preparation was in progress of sing engraved, and will he published shortly. Another irious if not interesting specimen, which was pointed out ) my attention, and which I was allowed to take out of the >irits, and minutely examine with proper instruments, is i example of intro-abdominal hermaphroditism, which id lately occurred in a foetus, and which leaves no doubt to the existence of the capricious yet real combination, of e two sexual systems in the same individual. This corn- nation, however, did not extend beyond the internal pe- nhery of the abdomen. The profession will soon have an •portunity of judging for themselves of the merits of this VOL. i. x 806 ANATOMICAL PREPARATIONS. singular preparation. In this place I must forbear enter- ing into particulars, nor can I be expected, in a book of this nature, to use strictly professional language in describing anatomical preparations. The great facility which was afforded in my instance for the minute examination of the specimen in question, is not a solitary example of that spirit of liberality which presides over the studies in this seat of learning, and which ought to preside over every university in Europe, as well as over every institution founded for public instruction. With regard to the Anatomical and Zoological Mu- seums of Berlin, every matriculated student, or scientific stranger, is permitted in both those establishments, to re- move preparations from the public into adjoining pri- vate rooms, kept open for the purpose, for a more particular study of the specimens ; and on this, as well as on all other occasions, they are allowed to make drawings, write descrip- tions, and publish an account of the various objects which they have selected for their own especial study. Hence comes it that the Prussian Journals of Medicine, Surgery, and Zoology, and the Theses publicly defended at the Ber lin University, often contain so many valuable and interest- ing facts, taken from these great emporia of science, wit! the concurrence and frequently the co-operation of the Pro fessors. The Anatomical Museum occupies two immense saloon and several smaller rooms. The preparations are arrange! as usual round the room on shelves ; but in addition t< this, another contrivance exists which is peculiar to thi Institution, and only practicable where the rooms are o such colossal dimensions. This consists in the arrangemen of a great number of tables, five feet high, placed ii rows in the middle of the room, with spaces betwee them, which allow a free passage around each. On thes " ■ 'i a; t ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM. 307 tables, preparations, illustrative of particular branches of Medical Science, are disposed in double or triple lines, the largest behind, the smallest in front, in such a manner that a student, having made his election of his subject, is cer- tain of finding on the table whatever specimen may tend to its illustration. Besides a number referring to a descriptive catalogue, each glass bottle bears a concise Latin descrip- tion of the preparation and the history attached to it. That such is the intention of these tabular subdivisions of the Anatomical Museum, I feel convinced ; but candour requires me to state, that a degree of confusion seemed to prevail in the disposition of the preparations when I exa- nined the tables, and that a greater degree of neatness should be displayed to complete the useful intention of the Professor. But the glory of the University — the jewel that shines airest in the crown of this great school — is the Zoological Vluseum. When it is considered that in the department )f Ornithology alone it contains 7000 individual birds, of vhich 500 are distinct species, an idea will be formed of the /alue of this collection, which is but, as it were, the creation >f the other day, and yet abounds so much in duplicates, hat at this moment the director of the Museum, Professor Lichtenstein, can spare to any infant university, and at a 'ery moderate price, a finer, and more useful, and better rranged zoological collection than can ever be hoped to be ormed, by joint or individual exertions, in the course of everal years. As the Council of the London University tas reared a gigantic structure, with a room for a Museum >f Natural History, which years of industry will scarcely nrnish at the rate at which such matters proceed in this ountry, they may perhaps, when means are placed at their lisposal, think this hint worthy of consideration. The zoolo- gical department of the University occupies, altogether, x 2 808 ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM. fourteen large rooms, on the door of each of which is in- scribed the name of the particular branch of Zoology contained in it. The distribution of this Museum is ad- mirable. The specimens are prepared in a style that has induced the directors of several of the German and foreign Universities to procure some of them as models. This pro- cess is peculiar to the present professor, to whom is also due the new and ingenious mode in which they are arranged — and the manner by which the geographical distribution of the animals is marked by particular colours on the stand of each specimen. The rooms follow each other en suite, but not in a line. They are handsome, lofty, and well lighted. No meretricious ornaments have been admitted into them, and the cases in which the specimens are placed, arranged around, or placed in rows in the middle of the room, are remarkable for the simplicity and great beauty of the large plate glasses, which admit the most perfect view of the object in every direction. The mammiferous animals occupy the two first rooms. In the two following are dis- played the great variety of birds already alluded to. The next room contains fragments and skeletons of mammife- rous animals and birds ; with the numerous and differently constructed nests of the latter. The amphibious animals are placed in a sixth room, near to which is another for fishes. Then follows a very large room, around which art disposed the Zoophyte, and in the centre the Crustacea and Mollusc*. The insects occupy one whole room, and this collection, though not so striking in appearance as that ol the birds, is stated to be one of the most valuable in thi Museum. Lastly, a room is set apart for the stuffed skin- of all the Mammalia. The remaining rooms are usee for the various purposes of preparing specimens, for dis- sections and injections, drawing, shading, &c. consti- tuting an establishment unequalled by the best zoolo ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM. 309 gical galleries in Europe. There can be no question as to the superiority of an arrangement of this description over those lengthened and interminable galleries, in which objects are displayed for vain national pomp more than for study, and in which the earnest observer is disturbed at every instant by people promenading for the sake of diver- sion and curiosity. The collection of Zoology owes much to the young and zealous Prussian travellers, who have, of late years, under- aken voyages and journeys to remote parts of the globe n search of scientific information ; and likewise to the ndustry of the commercial agents and other residents from Prussia, established in foreign countries. It is incredible low much may be effected by sucb means in forming a ollection of natural history ; — and although in the case of he Berlin University, it has been found that a great num- >er of duplicates have been brought together by such a nethod ; that circumstance itself has proved advantageous o the institution, since it has given the director an oppor- unity of procuring, by way of exchange with other esta- blishments or individual collectors, objects which could ot otherwise be procured, or were not to be obtained •itliout considerable expense. The surplus, too, or du- licates out of the patriotic and scientific gifts sent from broad to the Museum, being disposed of, by sale, have roduced additional pecuniary resources, which have in- ariably been applied to the enlargement of the original Election. It is matter of just surprise to all who cultivate science in ingland, that some such system has not been adopted there ith a view of forming a museum of natural history worthy the character of the nation and of the rank it holds nong the most enlightened countries in Europe. No ation can boast of more travellers or more commercial 310 ZOOLOGY IN ENGLAND. agents, ministers, and residents settled abroad than Eng- land. None possesses such an extent of power and govern- ment-influence as England does over countries “far and wide apart,” and rich in evei’y object dear to natural science. Scarcely two other nations can stand on parallel ground with this country for universality of trade and navigation. And yet what results have these gigantic means produced in favour of natural history, particularly Zoology P None. We blush when we look at the depart- ment of Zoology in the British Museum, and recollect the zoological collections to be seen at all the principal towns on the Continent, even in the modest and quiet “free city’ of Frankfort, where the Museum of Zoology, as has been observed, is to the zoological department of the British Museum, what the Elgin frieze is to the has relief regi- ment of cavalry over the new colonnade at Hyde Park and yet the Frankfort collection is the result of mere in dividual efforts ; while with us public money is yearly voted for the support and improvement of the genera establishment, and of course of its specific departments. But, from whatever cause, England has done little 01 nothing towards a real national collection of Zoology ; anc the superiority she may boast of over other nations ii the number of her travellers, has been of little or nc avail to natural science. History, antiquity, and the fine arts, have derived immense benefit from that circumstance but science none. Does the fault lie in the education o her youth ? Greek, Latin, and the branches of manlj knowledge which spring from it, are certainly excellen and indispensable things to acquire. Armed with these the traveller is prepared to see with advantage, and collec information with profit; but science in the meanwhih makes no progress, and derives no benefit from their end less peregrinations. Such travellers neither know nor car< ZEAL OF PRUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC TRAVELLERS. 311 about science, and on their return home, its different branches look in vain to them for an addition to their store of valuable information and new discoveries. With the exception of the voyages lately undertaken under the patronage of the Admiralty, what other voyage or journey by an English traveller has added one solitary specimen to public or private collections of Zoology ? and yet many such travellers, in other respects highly gifted, have re- turned with interesting information, who might have been of the greatest service to science, had they devoted but a portion of their time and study to scientific pursuits. Now in the capital of Prussia, (not to mention Paris, Munich, and even St. Petersburgh and Moscow,) things are very different. Travellers have gone abroad, and travellers have come home as in England ; but instead of publishing a book on antiquities and the proportions of temples — instead of giving dissertations on the manners, prejudices, and pe- culiarities of nations, which have been for the hundredth time repeated ; those travellers have brought home va- luable collections of objects of natural history, and en- riched their country with additional and lasting means of knowledge. Bergius, Chamisso, Dr. Eversmann, have added .to the Berlin Museum, within the last few years, valuable specimens from the Cape, and from the northern- most countries in Europe. From the Brazils, upwards of 2,000 birds and 7,000 insects have been sent home by Freyress and Sello. Mund and Le Maire forwarded from the South hemisphere, in 1816, large collections of birds, ashes, and shells, among some of which there were many lew conquests to science ; and lastly from Egypt, Don- jola, Syria, and Arabia, Dr. Erhenberg, Professor Ex- raordinary in the University, to whose modesty, pro- found knowledge of natural history, and affability, I am lappy in having the opportunity of bearing my humble 312 UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. testimony, as uniting in himself the double character of an excellent scholar and a scientific man, has presented to the University his rich harvest of objects of natural history, and is now publishing the first part of his “ Voyage de deux Naturalistes dans le Nord le V Afrique et dans VOuest de VAsier The palace of this University was formerly the residence of Prince Henry of Prussia. Its exterior is very striking. The centre building is decorated with a handsome portico of six Corinthian columns, attached to the two stories of the building above the basement story ; and the two wings, which are considerably in advance of the main building, so as to form three sides of a square, are ornamented with pilasters of the same order. A handsome iron railing, with a gate in the centre, connects the two wings in front; and a balustrade runs round the building at the top, rendered more imposing by statues placed on the attics, surmounting the portico of the main building, as well as the pilasters of the wings. In this building are the collections I have described, the anatomical in the left, and the zoological in the right wing, with the residences of the Professors and Sub-pro- fessors, charged with their superintendence. The centre of the building is occupied with the theatre, lecture rooms, and audience-hall, one of the handsomest rooms in Berlin, highly and richly gilt, and having valuable paintings on the ceiling. The festivals of the University are held in this hall, but the examination takes place, and the degrees are granted, in another part of the building. Degrees are granted at any period of the scholastic year, whenever there are candidates, (or even a single candidate,) ready to receive them. As students will enter at different periods of the year, the facility thus afforded to them of quitting the school as soon as they are entitled to do it, without having to wait for the periodical return of tei'ms or seasons, UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. 313 is an improvement on the more common practice observed at other Universities of only making doctors en masse. Besides the ordinary professors, the number of which is considerable, there are several professors extraordinary, who either lecture on separate subjects, or perform the duties of the former, in case of illness or absence. In addition to these a third class of teachers, without the title of professors, are authorised to lecture, their names being enrolled in the Curriculum, as “ privatim docentes.” The University of Berlin, unlike that of Bonn, is strictly Lutheran ; no provision being made, as in the former institution, for theological instruction on the principles of any other religious communion. This is so much the less necessary in Berlin, as the Roman Catholics and dissenters resident in that capital are very inconsiderable in number. The success of this University, in the very heart of a capital, not more remarkable than either Paris or London for the absence of temptations to irregularities, is another strong proof that such institutions will flourish as much (I am inclined to think more) in large cities, as in small pro- vincial towns. To the University also belongs an observatory, a bota- nical garden, a collection of mineralogy, one of surgical instruments, and a clinical or practical school for study- ing the nature and treatment of both medical and surgical diseases. This latter establishment, which is known under the name of Polichlinic Institute is open daily to the stu- dents, who are sufficiently advanced to profit by their at- tendance on the practical illustrations given daily by the senior professor and Counsellor Hiifeland, with Professors Osann and Buss. The clinical lectures on surgery and Yn diseases of the eyes, given by Professor de Graefe, are exceedingly popular. My character of accoucheur, and the publication of a 314 OBSTETRICAL INSTITUTION. few works connected with midwifery, procured me a ready admission into the Institution Obstetrician, which is other- wise held too sacred to allow of the introduction of stran- gers. This establishment is dependent on the University, and has two professors attached to it, who reside in the house. I received the greatest attention from the only one present at the time, Dr. Siebold, junior, to whose father obstetrical science is much indebted. I could not but approve of every thing I saw connected with the esta- blishment. Cleanliness, great precision, and order, seemed to prevail throughout. But to the complication and size of some of the instruments, and above all, to the contri- vance of a complicated though ingenious lit de travail , of which Siebold is proud, I cannot extend the humble meed of my approbation. The latter is perfectly unnecessary, not to say disadvantageous ; and instead of multiplying the former, or augmenting their size, obstetrical practi- tioners would do well to diminish their number, as well as their proportions. To follow a different course, is one of the strongest marks of the decline of obstetrical science. I felt disappointed also at the manner in which the registers of the result of practice are kept. The model is simple, and kept with regularity ; but the heads of information, of which it consists, are, as usual, very limited, and would supply but meagre facts, when consulted for statistical and physiological purposes. I had brought with me from England blank models of a tabular arrangement for class- ing facts, connected with the physiology and practice of midwifery, in such a manner as to supply a vast number of curious as well as valuable deductions, which tabular classifications have been kept for the last ten years, at two lying-in institutions in London, under my direction, and the deductions from which will shortly be submitted to the Royal Society. These blank models, however, I was not able to fill up either at Berlin, or at any other place I OBSTETRICAL INSTITUTION. 315 have visited in the course of my late journey, in con- sequence of the registers kept at all the lying-in hospitals containing only the name and age of the patient, with little else than the result of the case. For the sake of science, such deficiencies are to be lamented. There were about twelve females enceintes , or just con- fined, in the house. They occupied very neat and clean apartments, where the greatest order and silence seemed to prevail. A matron has the superintendence of the esta- blishment under Professor Siebold and his son. With an adherence to the strictest decorum, and with proper limita- tion, this establishment is rendered instrumental in afford- ing that practical instruction to male as well as femalestu- dents, without which oral lectures are of little use : by the laws of the country, none can practise midwifery with- out having previously had both theoretical and practical instruction. I cannot say that I found the inscription in front of the Clinical Institution in good taste. Why any inscription at all ? But the mania for Latin inscriptions is carried to a great excess in Berlin. The outside of the theatres, the arsenal, the churches, the King’s Palace, the University, the Hospital, all bear Latin inscriptions, in which the name of the sovereign is generally introduced. That of the Ob- stetrical Establishment runs thus : “ Institutum Uni- versitatis Lutheranae Regium, Lucinae sacrum. Perenne in JIvum Monumentum, Clementissimi, Sapientissimi, ac Justissimi conditoris Regis Frederici Gulielmi. A. M.DCCCXVII. But, apropos of hospitals, I must beg my reader’s forbear- ance while I visit the principal one in Berlin, in company with Professor Wagner, and the only one I had leisure to examine. This is the hospital of La Charite, situated at one of the farthest extremities of the town, which we reach- ed, after a long drive through deep sands, by the Louisen 316 HOSPITALS AT BERLIN. Strasse, and Carl Stvasse, and Charite Strasse, and I know not how many Strasses; returning by a much pleasanter road, which passes close to the Royal Manufactory of Por- celain, an establishment well worth seeing, for the extreme beauty and finish of the painting on the china. La Charite is a large building, forming three sides of a square. Its front faces an open ground, on which, how- ever, building is going on at present at a great rate. On the north-west there is a large garden, cut out in squares and parallel walks for the convalescents ; and the back looks over the Spree, and enjoys a fine view of the Thier Garten and neighbouring country. The elevation is not remarkable for architectural beauty, and there can be no doubt that the interior is susceptible of the improvements which the medical officers themselves are aware it requires. Some alterations, and even considerable, additions, are al- ready in progress. The establishment will then be more worthy of the capital. As it is now constituted, it consists, first, of a number of wards for the admission of cases of medical and surgical diseases of every description, divided into two classes or wards. In the one, the poor are gra- tuitously admitted ; in the other, patients are received who can afford to pay a moderate weekly sum, as is the case in the Maisons de Sante in Paris. Secondly, of a lying-in institution. Thirdly, of a separate building for the treat- ment of cutaneous and other foul disorders. Fourthly, and lastly, of an hospital for the admission of insane persons. The whole establishment is supported by fundecl and land- ed property, besides the produce of certain municipal taxes authorised by Government. The Clinical Institute, and the military department of medical instruction, are connected with this hospital. There are physicians and surgeons be- longing to the establishment, as well as assistant physi- cians and surgeons. The latter are compelled to reside in PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN PRUSSIA. 317 the house, and are precluded from private practice. Pro- cessor Rust is the principal surgeon ; he enjoys a very high reputation both as a surgeon and an oculist. The resident surgeon is also the accoucheur, superintending the lying-in department, and is allowed to give lectures on midwifery, to pupils, who pay a fee of about two guineas. About four hundred of them attend annually these lectures. The wards of these hospitals are open, under wholesome and proper regulations, for the instruction of the students of the University As it cannot be expected that I should enter into the particulars of medical practice, either public or private, in pages destined for general readers, I shall merely state, that from general observation, personal communications, and the perusal of some of the most approved medical pub- lications of the day, I have ventured to conclude, first, that the knowledge of diseases in Prussia, as well as in many other parts of Germany which I have visited, Avhen not dis- figured by an occasional singularity bordering on eccen- tricity, is, in general, sound, because founded on an excel- lent academical and medical education ; but that it is also too systematic, and partakes of that propensity to idealism, which is the delight of a German mind ; — and secondly, that the treatment of diseases is too experimental and phar- macological, to be steadily successful. Not that the Prus- sian practitioner is rash, far from it ; but that ascribing, in his own conception, the fancied virtues of certain remedies to the fancied peculiarities of the disease, suggested by sys- tematic theories he will not unfrequently make experiments on those grounds, predicating effects which, in reality, do not, or cannot take place. The most celebrated and successful practitioners, the Halfords and the Matons, and the Coopers, of Berlin, are Counsellors and Doctors Heime, Horn, and Graefe, all of 318 MEDICAL PRACTICE IN PRUSSIA. whom have a most extensive practice, and begin their morning visits as early as eight o’clock. By popularity, however, I do not mean to assert that these professors are either more learned or eminent for scientific lore than some of their brethren, whose practice is more limited. Publicfavour, in Berlin, as well as in other capitals, is apt to settle itself par hasard. Remuneration for medical attendance, is generally a spontaneous act on the part of the patient ; but at Berlin it is regulated by law. Many physicians are paid yearly ; a few receive a consideration at each visit. The remu- neration, however, in either case is not considerable ; notwithstanding which, all the principal physicians and surgeons live in a superior style, keep an elegant equipage, and receive their friends very hospitably. A few of these are decorated with Prussian and foreign orders of knight- hood, and have the honorary title of King’s counsellors conferred on them. It is not the practice of medicine and surgery only, the price of which is fixed by the law, but the price of medicine and drugs also, and of all pharmaceutical preparations. A list of such drugs and preparations, with the price which it is lawful for a chemist to charge, is pub- lished from time to time by authority, under the name of Medizinal taxebuch. This is an excellent regulation. Some of our wealthy apothecaries, who sell their practice for five or six thousand pounds on retiring from the pro- fession, would be appalled at the low rate at which a draught or powder is rated in that tarif. Another ex- cellent regulation respects the delivery and sale of medi- cines, however trifling in quantity, or innocent in their nature, which may not take place without a written order, or prescription, from a physician or surgeon regularly authorised to practise. All officinal preparations are to be kept prepared, or extemporaneously made up where neces- PROFESSOR HUFELAND. 319 ary, agreeably to the formulae contained in the Pharma- copoeia Berolinensis Borussica. Of this book, a new edition, greatly improved, had just appeared in quarto, which .old for a rixthaler and a-half, half-hound. The edition onsists of five thousand copies, of fifty sheets each, and osts the department of the interior, in which it is publish- 'd under the direction of the University, about a thou- and rixthalers. The whole edition is generally sold in the ourse of two years, by which time, the department in [uestion finds itself a gainer to the amount of five or six housand rixthalers, which are set apart, as I understand, or the promotion of science. It was not to be supposed that a foreign physician could emain some days in Berlin without paying his respects to he patriarch of medical literature in Germany, Professor dufeland, whose name is as familiarly known to the >rofession in England as it is in Prussia, or any other part )f civilized Europe. I found it necessary to wait on him is early as eight o’clock in the morning in order to see him ; is he is daily in the habit of leaving home before nine (’clock to visit the King at that hour. Hiifeland is a iaxon by birth, and about sixty-five years of age. He is '.onseiller as well as physician to his Majesty, principal medical officer to the Hospital of La Charite, and pro- essor at the University. In his younger days he had jeen professor at Jena and physician to the Grand-duke )f Saxe-Weimar. His countenance is that of a man of •agacity rather than genius. The ample and uncovered orehead, bounded on each side by a few falling silvery ocks, would give great character to his face, were not the ustre of his eyes dimmed by age, and his sight greatly mpaired. In his person he has what the Germans call a philosophical tournure, and his manners are simple. There s nothing recherche either about his di’ess or the interior 320 PROFESSOR HUFELAND. of his house; and I thought I even perceived a want ol method in the arrangement of the papers and books lying about the table in his study. My conversation was neces- sarily short and rapid. We spoke of the state of medicine in Germany and England ; of the public and scientific institutions in the two countries; of our mutual literal-) productions connected with medical science ; and of modern discoveries. Few living physicians have written so mucli as Professor Htifeland. He has touched upon almost every subject ; and although it cannot be said of him, as was said of his illustrious countryman Hoffmann, that whatever branch of medical science he treated, there he shone preeminent, Hiifeland, nevertheless, amply deserve: the praise of originality in many of his writings. In dependently of his works, this indefatigable writer has for many years published a journal of practical medicine and surgery, which is much esteemed by the profession: and with the same zeal for the promotion of medical know- ledge, he gives an account of his practice at the hospital oi LaCharite at the expiration of every year. The works by which he is best known in this country are his Treatise on Scrofulous Diseases, and on the Art of Prolonging Life. The pages of both these volumes abound in oi'iginal and valuable facts, and in luminous views of the most abstruse parts of the subjects under consideration. There is sc much varied information throughout the works in ques- tion, that the reader is insensibly led on, ah ovo usque aa mala, without being wearied of his task. I asked Hiife- land what he thought of phrenology now ; for I recollected that he had, at one time, taken an active part in that branch of cephalomantic knowledge. His reply did not convey his opinion on the subject very distinctly. “ The ‘ skull doctrine,’ 11 said he, “ as phrenology is now styled in Ger- many, is undergoing the fate of your Brunonian system PROFESSOR IIUFELAND. 321 of medicine. We, who were the first to adopt, and both strenuous and in earnest to defend the philosophy of Gall, while you remained sceptical on the subject, and full of mirth at our expense, are now smiling in our turn at the seriousness and pertinacity with which you en- deavour to uphold the falling structure. Precisely as we lid with regard to the system of medicine of the Scottish arofessor, which we were maintaining to be excellent with til our might, while you, who had been the first to adopt t, were laughing at our bonhommie , and what you were (leased to call ‘ German stupidity’ for yielding credence to t, though not till after a period of incredulity. But if you rish to hear more on the subject of the skull doctrine, see tudolphi about it.” Unfortunately, the professor of ana- omy was absent from Berlin ; a circumstance which I re- retted much on this as well as on many other accounts, had, however, been informed beforehand, that Rudolphi r as one of the most powerful opponents to the doctrine of rail, and that his testimony goes a great way in settling that luch-debated question. VOL. i. Y 322 BERLIN. CHAPTER IX. BERLIN CONTINUED. EASTERN PRUSSIA. Royal Egyptian Museum. — Passalacqua and Baron Minutoli. - Baron Alexander Humboldt. — His course of Physical Geograph) — Scientific Academies. — The Iloyal Library. — Collections o Paintings. — Arts and Manufactures. — Sculpture. — Charlot tf.nburg. — The late Queen of Prussia. — Popular character o the King. — The Princess de Leignitz. — Ball at the house of tli Echanson du Roi. — State and ton of Society. — Influx of Fc reigners. — Military aspect of the Town. — Departure from Ber lin. — Panoramic description of the Road towards the Russia Frontiers, through Custrin, Landsberg, Konitz, Marienburg, El bing, and Ivonigsberg. — Antediluvian Rocks. — Teutonic Castl of Marienburg. — The Vistula. — Commerce and fertility. - Frauenberg and Copernicus. — Appearance of Kbnigsberg. - The harbour of Pillau. — The T own. — The Cathedral. — T1 Philosopher Kant. — The Observatory. — The Strand. — Tilsi — The Niemen. — Alexander the First and Napoleon on tl raft. — Memel. — English sailors. — Exchange of money. — La Prussian Station. — Prussian and Russian Frontiers. — Douan — POLANGEN. In that quarter of Berlin which bears the name Spandau, is an irregular and tolerably modern buildii called Monbijou, surrounded by a garden which extern down to the bank of the Spree. The entrance into tl grounds is through a large gate, facing a square of the sai name, and Hanked by two handsome lodges. This buil EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. 323 ing, which had once been a Royal residence, but had lately been in a great measure neglected, has now again icquired a high degree of interest, in consequence of the 'xtensive collection of Egyptian remains brought to Eu- ope by Signor Passalacqua, having been placed in it. To his has been added the smaller one formed by Baron Vlinutoli, which, although considerably inferior in value to he preceding, serves nevertheless to complete the collec- ion ; forming together the largest and most important nuseum of the kind now existing in Europe. Having earned that this Museum was not yet open to the public, nd that Signor Passalacqua had only just completed the rrangement of its numerous objects previously to its being isited by His Majesty and the Royal Family, I waited n that gentleman, and requested permission to accompany im to see his interesting collection before I quitted Berlin. Vith the utmost good-nature and readiness, he fixed an arly hour in the afternoon of the same day ; and it may 'adily be imagined that I failed not to keep my appoint- lent. The return of peace having afforded to travellers of all ations innumerable opportunities of visiting Egypt, the isult of their enquiries and discoveries has been most bene- cial to science, literature, and the fine arts. Collections of Very object that can serve to illustrate the history of the ce- brated people which formerly inhabited that country, have ->en made and sent to Europe at different epochs. These ive either become the property of particular Govern- ents, or have continued in the possession of private in- viduals. In the former case, the collections have been evoted to public use and instruction ; and hence has isen that strong interest which is at present felt in almost 'ery part of Europe respecting Egyptian antiquities, urin, Paris, Vienna, Florence, Rome, Naples, and London, Y 2 EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. 324 now possess collections of such antiquities of various de- grees of extent and importance, most of which are of a very recent date. By the fortunate acquisition of Passalacqua’s collection, Berlin may now boast of the same advantage, and may fairly claim the palm of superiority with resped to that class of ancient remains which serve to make us acquainted with the private life of the early Egyptians These are comprehended under four general heads. The first refers to religious rites observed at different epochs of human life, and under different circumstances, during the most important period of the history of Egypt. The second embraces every object which has served for the various purposes of domestic and social life. The thire relates to objects connected with funeral ceremonies ; am the fourth contains miscellaneous articles. It would be possible, by means of a simple description to give an account of the number and character of eac! of the sixteen hundred objects contained in Signor Passalac qua’s collection ; but no words can convey the impressio and effect which that collection produces on the beholdei when seen en masse, nor the interest excited by it, whe examined in detail with the aid of the patient and eloquer explanations of the enthusiastic traveller who formed it. The objects relative to religious worship and cerenn nics among the Egyptians, which this museum contain are subdivided according to the material of which they at composed, as follows : — Objects in wax, bitumen, and ten cotta, (30 in number.) Of glazed or enamelled earth, (108 Of different kind of stones, including lapis lazuli, serpentin cornelian, amethysts, hematite, and alabaster, (144). Ofv rious metals, such as bronze, silver, and gold, (35). Ofai mal substance, such as ivory, and leather, (4). To the are added 131 sacred animals, embalmed or dried, amor which I observed a human monster from Hermopolis ; t< EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. 325 mummy cats, two of which are inclosed in coffins, found at Thebes; two rats; twenty-four Theban mice; four toads; four small fishes, enveloped in bandages and inclosed in boxes, having the form of the animals, three other fishes dried, inclosed in boxes, but without bandages, two vipers, a scarabmus, and one cantharides. The objects which serve to illustrate the civil and domestic life of the Egyptians, are classed as follows: — 1st. Instruments of agriculture and fishing, including some of the agricultural produce, such as fruits, wheat, and even bread, found in the tombs at Thebes, (22 in number), dd. Linen, cloth, male and female garments, a variety of specimens of shoes, sandals, &c. — implements for spinning md weaving, (23). 3d. Baskets made of palm-leaves, ;hree of which are filled with fruit, (15). 4th. Objects •elating to medicine and surgery, (33). A most inte- resting object in this division of the collection is a inedi- ble chest, two feet high, and one foot four inches and i half wide, contained within two external cases, orna- nented and inscribed with hieroglyphics. The chest has i lid, which is lifted up by means of a small wooden button, nlaid with ivory ; it contains six vases of the most exqui- site workmanship, five of which are of Oriental alabaster, ind one of lava. These are filled with medical prepara- ions, that have not yet been analysed. There are also in he chest a small number of pharmaceutical implements, nd twenty-five different sorts of roots of aromatic )lants. In this same division are two of the hooks which rere used for drawing out the brain through the nostrils in he process of embalming, several spatulas in bronze or iron, cissors, scalpels, lancets, and a variety of other surgical nstruments, the existence of which, at so remote a period, iad never been suspected. 5th. Arms, (10) including moden and flint knives, bow and arrows, a lance, hatchets, 326 EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. a poniard. 6th. Implements and substances relative tc the art of painting and calligraphy, (14) : among these, ; wooden palette of a rectangular form, is worthy of remarl for the beauty of its ornaments, as well as for the existeno of several colouring substances, contained in as many shal low cavities dug in the palette. 7th. Musical instruments seven in number. 8th. Articles belonging to the toile and jewellery, ninety-six in number. These form, with out question, the most valuable, if not the most interest ing part of the collection ; and whilst they illustrate tli habits of life and fashions of the Egyptian ladies, the; bear witness to the luxury of their dress, being mosd; composed of precious metals and precious stones. No thing that modern ladies have invented to set off thei persons, appears to have been unknown to the ancients there are splendid combs and head-pins, tresses of hail necklaces of the utmost beauty, and in the purest taste including pearls, lapis lazuli, enamels, gold, vermilion cornelian ear-rings of all forms, some of them of exqui site beauty, bracelets, armlets, rings, cameos, engravei onyxes, cornelian, hematites, mirrors, vases with cosmetics some of which contain the black dye that served t tinge the eyebrows. 9th. Various vases and cups (13] 10th. Four buckets. 11th. Two different weights. 12th Implements of play, such as dice, and a stuffed leathe ball. 13th. Instruments appertaining to the mechanics arts, (45). 14th. Coffers, boxes, cases, three in numbei 15th. Different objects. 16th. Coins. The third class or division of the Museum, relating t sepulchral monuments and ceremonies, embraces a sene of objects of the highest importance, which may be cod sidered as unique in their kind, and amount to one bun dred and ninety-six in number. Among these there ai no fewer than ten mummies, three of which are of children EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. 327 and therefore rare. There is also a most beautiful hand with part of the arm of a young female, on which a great number of ornaments and trinkets were found. This hand is of a waxy white colour, without a wrinkle, and prepared with some pleasant aroma, by a process different from those in more general use, but the basis of which is still the same as that which I discovered and published in my Essay on Egyptian Mummies. The fourth division of the Museum is entirely miscella- neous, and contains about forty different objects. These various collections are arranged on both sides of ,a very long gallery, and displayed with much taste and skill on lofty tables and shelves ; many of the more pre- cious articles being inclosed in glass cases. Signor Passalac- qua explained them to us with great fluency and erudition, and in that easy and perspicacious style which belongs to one who is completely master of his subject. By following the arrangement he has adopted, we traced the ancient Egyptian in his private character, through every stage and situation of life, from his birth to his death, learning, in the most practical and interesting manner, by means of visible objects, how he was treated during his infancy — what were his customs, his manners, occupation and incli- nations, during his adult and advanced age — by what reli- gious ceremonies, in public as well as in private life, he was bound — and lastly, what were the circumstances that ittended and followed his dissolution. The part, however, of Signor Passalacqua’s discoveries which does him most credit, and the results of which are likewise placed in the Royal Egyptian Museum of Berlin, irranged as they were found, is that which refers to a Sepulchral Chamber opened by himself in the Necropo- is of Thebes, and found in the highest state of preser- vation. Equally fortunate with his countryman Belzoni 328 SIGNOR PASSALACQUA. in directing his researches to a spot where the hand of the military invader, or the Arab wanderer had not committed those ravages, the effects of which are visible in so many parts of the sepulchral town of Thebes, Passalacqua dis- covered on the fourth of December, 1823, the sepulchral chamber in question, containing a great variety of objects, which he successively removed, after taking notes of their relative situation. The witnesses to this interesting dis- covery, were Mr. John Maddox, then at Thebes, and an Agent of Mr. Salt, the English Consul-general. The description given to us by Passalacqua, of the manner in which the discovery was made and of the contents of the chamber, was highly animated, and displayed in every part of it that intense enthusiasm, which alone seems calculated to produce important results, in a country where researches, such as he had undertaken, are beset with difficulties of every description. Signor Passalacqua was born at Trieste, and at a very early age went to Egypt, with no other intention than that of examining the abodes in which the ancient inhabitants of that country deposited their dead. To effect this, he had no other resources than his own private fortune, which, in the course of six years passed in Egypt, was consider- ably diminished. His health too, although robust, suffered in a great degree; and the dangers he incurred, the fatigue he underwent, during the period of jiis residence, and his repeated excursions in different parts of that region, were only equalled by those of his contemporary and country- man already mentioned. The results of his researches and labours, however, must be as highly gratifying to him, as they have already proved advantageous to Science. This collection had been exposed to public view for some time in Paris, and became the subject of general admiration. The various branches of which it consists were SIGNOR PASSALACQUA. 329 with great liberality submitted to the inspection and exa- mination of scientific men most capable of appreciating their value. Reports were published, highly commendatory of their contents, by those individuals, as well as by several public scientific bodies in France, and the Royal Aca- . demy of Sciences elected Signor Passalacqua one of their foreign associates. Ilis origin and family, his education and gentlemanly manners, together with his enlarged infor- mation on subjects connected with Egyptian antiquities, all seemed to point him out as worthy of that distinction. In the meanwhile, anxious that France should become possessed of a collection, to which the character of the Egyptian Museum already existing in Paris seemed to give her a preferable claim, Passalacqua offered it to the Go- vernment on very moderate terms. The proposition was acceded to ; but the execution of the contract being unac- countably delayed by futile excuses and forms of office, Passalacqua determined on disposing of his valuable collec- tion to His Majesty the King of Prussia, in whose name and behalf Baron Alexander von Humboldt, then resident in Paris, offered the sum of one hundred thousand francs. His Majesty had already ordered the smaller collection of Baron Minutoli to be purchased, and with the two, it was Baron Humboldt’s opinion that a Museum of Egyptian Antiquities might be formed worthy of the other great establishments of Berlin, and equal in impor- tance to similar galleries formed in other capitals of Europe. No one can deny, after visiting the Museum of Monbijou, that Humboldt’s expectation has been most fully realized. To the indefatigable industry and zeal for science of the last-mentioned illustrious individual — to his extensive knowledge of natural history, chemistry, mathematics, and other branches of science, the Prussians have been, and are still likely to be greatly indebted. After spend- 330 BARON ALEXANDER VON IILMBOLDT. ing a great many years in the French Capital, which he seemed to have considered almost as his own country, Baron Humboldt has at last returned to Berlin and esta- blished his permanent residence in that city, where I had great satisfaction in renewing an acquaintance formed many years since, and conversing with him on many of his favou- rite pursuits. Although without any ostensible official character at the court of his sovereign, this accomplished traveller is known to be in the full enjoyment of his confi- dence, and invariably consulted on all subjects connected with scientific as well as literary institutions. His Majes- ty’s intercourse with the Baron is constant and unreserved ; a homage to merit, which proclaims at once the liberality of sentiment of the sovereign who pays it, and justifies the great popularity enjoyed by the highly-gifted individual upon whom it is bestowed. Baron Humboldt has been elected Professor emeritus of the University — and at the time of my visiting that establishment, preparations were made on a grand scale for a theoretical and experimental course of Physical Geography, which he intended to deliver gratuitously, and at which it was expected that the Royal Family, as well as all the great Officers of State, would attend. Applications for admission from every quarter were incessantly made to Professor Lichtenstein, (then Rector of the University, and, at the same time, the King’s Commis- sary in that Institution,) one half of which it was impossible to comply with for want of space, although two lecture- rooms had been thrown into one, and were then pre- paring for the purpose. I was myself present, when ge- neral officers in the army, and individuals high in society and among the clergy, came to Lichtenstein to supplicate for tickets of admission, which it grieved that gentleman to be obliged to refuse ; and I could easily comprehend the mortification and disappointment that must have been felt THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 331 at being excluded from one of the greatest intellectual treats which science can offer, even in these days, so prolific of men celebrated for talents and information. Baron Humboldt’s brother, the well-known statesman, leads a retired life, devoting himself to literature and ab- stract philosophy, and spends the best part of his time at his country residence, near Tegel, in the neighbourhood of the capital, and near a lake formed by the Havel, where he gave a grand entertainment to the royal family during our stay at Berlin. It may he supposed that a city possessing such men and such institutions cannot he destitute of scientific societies. Berlin has, in fact, a Royal Academy of Science, modelled much on the plan of that of Paris ; a plan which has, in- deed, been adopted by most Continental capitals, and which is far better calculated to promote science, and give it that importance in the eye of the public which it requires, than that of our Royal Society. The Royal Academy of Sciences is composed of four classes : — the physical, the mathematical, the philosophi- cal, and the historico-philological. The ordinary mem- bers are thirty-six in number ; and these have a pension from the State. Each class of ordinary members has a veteran, or president, and a perpetual secretary. Walter is the veteran of the physical class, and Erman the secre- tary. The foreign members are only seventeen. Sir H. Davy is the only Englishman amongst them. Cuvier, Goethe, Berzelius, Volta, Scarpa, Blumenbach, Soem- mering, and others belong also to it. There are likewise seventeen honorary .members ; amongst whom, I read the names of W. R. Hamilton, late English Ambassador at Na- ples, and of Colonel Leake, the well-known traveller in Greece, distinguished both as an antiquarian and geogra- pher. The list of corresponding members is much more 332 ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. numerous; but Robert Brown, the eminent botanist, is the only English name to be found in it. The Royal Academy's apartments are in one of the King’s palaces, commonly called the King’s Mews. They form the principal story of the building towards the Unter den Linden Walk, and are in immediate communication with the Observatory at the back, and the University on the left. The rooms, like those of most of the public buildings in Berlin, are spacious and imposing. There is in the centre window of the Aca- demy’s apartment, a transparent clock of superior work- manship, made by Mbllinger, and a solar quadrant, placed below this, which serve to regulate all the clocks and timepieces in Berlin, in consequence of a suggestion of Professor Bode, which has been found productive of much convenience from the uniformity it has established in the measure of time. The Royal Academy of Sciences has an extensive botanic garden at the outside of the Potsdam gate, rich in exotic and medicinal plants, and open to the public all the year i - ound. This scientific and learned body celebrate, by a general meeting, the anniversary of the birth of Leibnitz, of whom they are so justly proud. They publish their memoirs from time to time, several volumes of which have been well received by the savans of all nations. The vo- lume for 1824 contains twenty memoirs of great interest, among which, eight are on subjects of natural science. In January 1825, they manifested their veneration for the me- mory of Frederick 1 1. by an extraordinary meeting, in which a report of M. Alexander Von Humboldt was read, detail- ing the proceedings of Ehreuberg and Hemprich, w ho had just returned from their travels through Egypt, Dongola, Syria, Arabia, and part of Abyssinia, in the pursuit of natural history. MEDICO-CIIIRURGICAL SOCIETY. 333 The Society next in importance, of which I was able to obtain information, is the Medico-Chirurgical Society, at the head of which is Hiifeland. Most of the physicians and surgeons resident in Berlin, who stand high for cha- racter and learning, are members of this society, which holds its meetings at the house of the president every fort- night, throughout the year. The Journal of Medicine, edit- ed by Hiifeland, gives an account of its sittings, and of the papers read, and discussions which take place in the course of them. The meetings begin at five and end at seven o’clock in the afternoon. This practice of early hours for business as well as amusement, seems strongly prevalent throughout that part of Germany which I have visited. There is not a shop to be seen open after seven o’clock in the evening in the winter; the theatres are all closed by nine or a little after, and at ten the streets are as silent and deserted as they are at two o’clock in the morning in London. I received a formal invitation to assist at one of the ordinary meetings on the day before our departure ; but my other engagements prevented my availing myself of so excellent an opportunity of seeing, assembled toge- ther, the most eminent, as well as the most respectable members of the profession in Berlin. The Society at pre- sent consists of ninety-four members, among whom they have done me the honour of admitting me since my visit to that capital. By the side of the Opera-house is the Royal Library, to which I paid but a cursory visit. Dr. Spiker, who travelled in England, and published an account of his journey, is the principal librarian. The establishment is highly creditable to the country. It is not only open daily to every one, but students and scientific foreigners, well recommended, are even allowed to take books away for the greater conveni- ence of study. The library consists of about 200,000 vo- 3 ‘3i ROYAL LIBRARY OF BERLIN. lumes, and contains some interesting MSS. and specimens of early printing. The works illustrative of the Reformation are numerous, particularly those which have reference to the immediate history of Luther; of this number is an ori- ginal translation of the Psalms by that great theologian, which has been adopted almost entirely by the Lutheran churches throughout Germany. Upon what authority rests the authenticity of a Bible, said to have been that which the martyr Charles the First held in his hands on the scaf- fold, I could not learn ; but such a Bible is shown to stran- gers in this library, particularly to those in any way con- nected with England ; and is calculated to excite a lively degree of interest. A few weeks after our visit to this esta- blishment, I learned, that, ever anxious to promote the cause of science, the King had assigned a sum of fifteen thousand rixthalers for the purpose of filling up several hiciuid’ which existed among the different collections of books; and that he had also added a sum of three hundred rix- thalers to the already existing annual revenue of the Royal Library, and had increased the salaries of the librarians. Dining one day with Monsieur D’Alopeus, the Russian ambassador, I sat by the side of the minister of the King of Saxony, whose conversation, principally on subjects con- nected with the fine arts, gave me some notion of the state of painting in Prussia, and of the different collections of pictures in the capital. The only one which I visited, and which in point of importance may be considered as the first, is that in the Royal Palace. This may be said to con- tain the best and only specimens of Italian masters to be found in Berlin ; but amongst them there are some of in- ferior execution and doubtful origin. Although the Gius- tiniani Gallery from Rome was added to the Berlin col- lection some years ago, the Potsdam Gallery is said to be considerably richer in that respect. It was more easy for ROYAL GALLERY OF PICTURES. 335 Prussian money, and Prussian connoisseurs to procure ge- luine productions from the pencil of Rubens, Vandyke, and Rembrandt ; and in this they may be said to have succeed- ed. In the Royal Gallery, and adjoining rooms, several exquisite portraits, by the two latter artists, are to be found, md a few good specimens of Rubens and his school ; but n general, the collection cannot be looked upon as deserv- ng to rank amongst the well-known public galleries of the .Continent. I have mentioned in a preceding chapter, Mr. Solly’s collection of pictures which is to be placed in the Museum. This will certainly add to the value of the in- ended Royal Gallery. Specimens of considerable merit of Italian masters of the second order, and of a comparatively modern date, are to be seen also at the Berlin college. Some of these by Amiconi, Nogari, Zuccarelli, and Antonio Be- otti, of undoubted originality, are very pleasing pictures. It would be well if modern painters could excel even thus far in their art. Painting is not in a flourishing state in this part of Germany, although every facility is given by the King to native artists, of studying from the best mas- ters contained in the Royal Gallery ; and I believe that students are maintained at Rome at his expense, for the purpose of forming their taste, and affording them the best means of improving their style, and of learning to draw cor- rectly, a quality by no means common to the best and most popular painters of our days. Looking at the productions of the modern German school of painting, one is forced to admit that it is inferior even to the French, although, in regard to colouring the superiority may lie on the side of the former. The public exhibitions of modern pictures at Berlin, do not tend to raise the character of its school very high ; but every effort is laudable, and should pecuniary . encouragement be given to historical and composition pic- tures, a visible improvement may take place in the course 336 ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OF PRUSSIA. of a few years; for the German is patient, has a correct eye, an excellent idea of tints, and can copy accurately. The spirit and imagination are, perhaps, wanting, and some say genius also ; but in that respect I cannot agree, since they have shown enough of it in a variety of instances. In the useful arts, and in some of their manufactures, .no one will deny great merit to the Prussians. I attended at one of the exhibitions of the products of arts and ma- nufactures, which was fortunately open at the time of our stay in Berlin, and the impression I received was highly creditable to. the industry of the artificers. The exhibition takes place in a large building close to the University, and the different articles are displayed in a suite of rooms which are crowded with the best company. A very small sum, amounting to five groschen, is paid for admission, and a catalogue, which is given to the visitors, enables them to form a full and correct notion of each of the objects they intend to examine. The admission fees this year had pro- duced a sum of 2760 rix, which sum has been appropriated to the support of the School of Industry in those provinces, from whence the largest proportion of manufactured articles had been sent to the exhibition. I had the good fortune of being introduced by the son of Mons. D’Alopeus, the Russian ambassador, who seemed so thoroughly au fait of every thing we saw in the several apartments, that he did more in making me acquainted with the state of ma- nufactures in Berlin in the short space of an hour, than I could myself have effected after many days of inquiry. Three things struck me as being particularly deserving of admiration. The first was an imitation of gold, which has now stood the test of experience for some years, and which for colour, lustre, weight, and compactness, leaves nothing to be desired. The dinner-services made of this composition, called Airain Caldarique, which I saw, ap PRUSSIAN PORCELAIN. 337 peared to me superior even to the dessert knives and forks of silver gilt which have been in so much use of late years. The second is the fabric of cast-iron trinkets and female ornaments, some of which are of exquisite workmanship. In this article of manufacture the Ber/iituis stand un- rivalled. The best shop for these articles, specimens of which we saw at the exhibition, is that of C. E. Rosenberg on the Schloss-platz, at the corner of Breite Strasse. Every object of light ornament for a lady that one can wish for, from the most complicated down to the most simple in its form, is to be found here. The beauty of the workmanship of these cast-iron ornaments can only be equalled by that of the Chinese silver filagree, or of the Venetian and Mal- tese chains. Their price is not extravagant. For the , sum of twenty-one rixthalers, or three pounds sterling, a lady may furnish herself with two handsome chains and crosses, a pair of bracelets, a pair of ear-rings, and a brooch of a very superior description ! The third was the display of Porcelain from the Royal Manufactory, which I have already had occasion to mention; as well as from one or two private manufactories. In point of flow- ers painted on China, the Prussians excel the artists both of Paris and Dresden ; but they are inferior to the W ar- wickshire China in landscape paintings. The paste is sonorous, but the colour indifferent. The net produce of the Royal Manufactory of China is said to amount annually to 200,000 rixthalers. The reader will probably recollect the account inserted at the time in the public papers, of a grand service manufactured in this place, which was pre- sented by the King to the Duke of Wellington, estimated to be worth 80,000 rixthalers, equal to .Ell, 444 sterling. There is also a branch of industry connected with science in which the Berlin handicraft excel, and the pro- lucts of which I had an opportunity of examining. I VOL. 1. z 338 M. RAUCH. allude to the construction of geographical maps in bas- relief, made of Papier tnache, executed with the utmost accuracy and neatness, and sold for a very moderate price by the inventor Carl W. Kummer, in Dorotheen Strasse. The principal mountains, all the most important ranges and chains of hills, the elevation of roads and other objects generally marked in maps, are here raised above the sur- face ; as are also the divisions of countries, banks of rivers, &e. The effect is altogether pleasing. For the represen- tation of terrestrial globes in particular, this invention seems to have been adopted with complete success. To judge by the specimens which I had an opportunity of seeing in different parts of Berlin, and in the studios of the principal artists, I am justified in assuming that sculp- ture has made great and rapid advances in Prussia. The principal sculptor is Rauch, whose productions will per- petuate the memory of his name as long as good taste and sound judgment hold their sway in Europe. Rauch is as superior to some who have been styled great sculptors in some other capitals, for his modesty, unassuming be- haviour, and affability of manners, as he is in regard to boldness of conception, powerful imagination, correct draw- ing, and finished execution. His are indeed works foi posterity, and not for contemporary adulators to praise to the skies in order to serve some national or individual pur- pose. Since Canova’s death, I know of no other sculptoi equal to him except Danneker, Thorwaldsen, and a younp Swedish artist, whose name is Gothe, and whose earl) productions give promise of most brilliant talent. West- macott is, perhaps, the only sculptor in England wht approaches the Berlin artist in softness and finish ; bui without disparagement to the great talent which exists ir this country in thia interesting art, it must be acknow ledged that Rauch stands far aloft in the higher class o! TOMB OP QUEEN LOUISA OP PRUSSIA. 339 modern sculptors. This artist was originally in the service of the late Queen as a page, and was observed on one oc- casion by her Majesty, in the act of modelling a head in wax. An explanation ensued, which gave rise to some in- quiries ; and the result of these was that Rauch was sent to Rome at the expense of Her Majesty, where his natural talents were ripened by experience, and where he acquired that superior excellency in his art, which he was soon to ie called upon to put in practice for the purpose of hand- ng down to future ages the memory of his Royal Mistress. The monument of that most interesting Princess, erected )y His Majesty in a secluded and romantic spot in the 3 ark of Charlottenburg, is one of the best productions of dauch’s chisel. In treating such a hallowed subject, the rtist had not to torture his imagination in search of com- lemorative symbols, and adulatory attributes. His was much more affecting task, and the composition having een dictated to him by the afflicted Royal Consort, he ad only to allow his gratitude as an artist, and his venera- on as a Prussian toward the illustrious deceased, to work pon his genius, to be certain that the result would tell at nee, in most eloquent language, the sad tale of his Royal listress’s fate, and the success of his talents as a sculp- >r. Precisely under such circumstances, was the monu- ent of Louisa of Prussia conceived and executed ; and ie feelings of the widowed sovereign who commanded, as ell as those of the eminent artist who completed it, are lly perceived in every part of that magnificent, though elancholy production. The Mausoleum, erected by the King to receive the hes of the most interesting, as well as the most unfortu- te Princess of her day, whose virtues and misfortunes e deeply engraven in the hearts of her subjects, justly comes one of the principal objects which claim the notice 7. 2 340 QUEEN LOUISA OF PRUSSIA. of the stranger who visits Berlin. On entering the Park of Charlottenburg, our steps are directed through a som bre alley of pines, which terminates in a small grove sur rounded by sable pines, cypresses, and willows of Baby Ion, where also bloom the lily and the white rose. I simple portico of four fluted Grecian Doric columns pre sents itself at one end of the grove, supporting an entabla ture and a pediment bereft of every kind of ornament The ascent to the entrance under the portico is by eigh steps of granite, terminated by lateral dies, on each c which is placed a colossal vase of flowers. The interic of the building is in the form of a parallelogram, dividec by steps, into two parts of different elevation. Two later; flights of eight steps of marble lead to the farthest part ( the Mausoleum. Between these a descent of nine marb steps, conducts to a massive unornamented mahogany doo which opens into the chamber of death, where repose tl ashes of the beloved Queen, in a leaden coffin, bearing tli inscription : — “ Louisa Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia, Queen of Prussia, Princess of Mecklenburg Strelitz, Died at Hohenzieritz, the 19th July, 1810.’’ That part of the Mausoleum which is immediately abc the tomb, and is raised higher than the anterior part, > separated from the latter by four columns of porphyri ' marble with Doric capitals, and resting on dies of wh ; marble. The upper part of this interior apartment, tJ walls of which are incrusted with white marble, is light 1 from the top, and a Grecian bronze lamp, suspended fra the ceiling, serves at night to throw a melancholy glare o r the surrounding objects. In the centre of this elevati floor stands a handsome marble sarcophagus, on which s QUEEN LOUISA OF PRUSSIA. 341 lying a full-length figure of the late Queen, in white mar- ble, the work, as I have already observed, of Rauch’s chisel. Her handsome countenance has the expression, and even the smiling animation of innocence buried in a tran- quil sleep, and dreaming a dream of happiness. This, and the air of perfect repose which pervades the entire attitude of the figure, seem to inspire the observer with some feeble consolation for the irreparable and premature loss of so much worth and loveliness. The whole form is shrouded in an ample drapery, the folds of which are skilfully and gracefully managed. The countenance and part of the neck are alone uncovered, and the former is said to pre- sent a perfect likeness of the departed Queen. The King, cherishing the memory of his sainted consort with as much feeling as if the loss were of yesterday, frequently repairs to this sepulchral chamber, to which he annually brings his children on the anniversary of her death, and assists at the celebration of a solemn service, in commemoration of her virtues. None but the most depraved among the lawless soldiery of Napoleon ever dared to raise the shadow of suspicion on the spotless integrity of her character. It was reserved for a Parisian esprit , to attempt to check the general voice of praise, which had for so many years sounded in favour of that too sensitive Princess, and to throw out insinua- tions, to which the voice of millions gave the lie. None can envy the fiendish pleasure of such a man. But his coun- trymen have since done her memory full justice, and among them it gives me pleasure to quote the sentiments of one, who in speaking of her in a recent publication, expresses himself as follows : — “ Cette jeune Princesse, si bonne aux jours de la gran- deur, si imposante aux jours de Padversite, douee d'une ame forte, elle s’indigna du joug qui pesait sur PEu- 342 QUEEN LOUISA OF PRUSSIA. rope; les triomphes du grand Frederic tourmentaient sa pensee ; revant de hautes destinees pour son epoux et pour sa patrie, elle appela la victoire ; le malheur lui re- pondit, et son courage seul lui resta fidele. Les maux sans nombre que sa genereuse mais fatale resistance avait attires dans sa patrie retomberent sur son cceur. Se con- damnant aux plus rudes privations, elle exigea sa part des souffrances qui assiegaient son peuple ; couverte de vetemens obscurs, n’acceptant que les alimens les plus grossiers, elle s’accusait de l’indigence de ses sujets, et voulait, du moins, la partager. Ce peuple dont elle avait desire la gloire et cause les infortunes, donna des larmes sinceres a sa mort, et une douleur religieuse bonore encore sa memoire.” * The assertions contained in this sentimental eulogy, which I have marked in Italics, are introduced by the writer merely for the sake of theatrical effect, and are not more correct than the description, which the same author gives,, immediately before, of the attitude of the ligure of the Princess as she reclines on the sai’cophagus, and in which he remarks, “ l’abandon de ce beau bras qui tombe mollement ti son cote, tandis que l’autre soutient une t&te enchanteresse. 11 In reality the hands are modestly folded upon her breast ! The many examples of devotion given by the Prus- sians and the inhabitants of the capital to their King, during the late conflicts, which mark the history of the last thirty years, sufficiently speak for his great popu- larity. No sovereign in Europe is more beloved by his subjects than Frederick William. Goodness of heart, up- rightness of judgment, a desire to promote the utility of public institutions, an anxiety to see men of talents fill the most important offices of the state, a watchful jealousy over the interests of his country, and over the honours and * Ancklot. Six Mois en Russie, p. 28. KING FREDERICK WILLIAM. 343 power of his army, so necessary for their preservation, a readiness in affording support and adding splendour to public amusements, a strict observance of the religion of his ancestors, an unassuming demeanour in public, an amiable deportment in the relations of domestic life, an unbounded attachment to his children ; these are the fea- tures in the character of Frederick William, which I have been able to cull from the many eulogies bestowed on his Majesty by the several classes of people, from the highest to the lowest, with which I mixed during my short stay in Berlin, as well as in the course of my journey through Prussia. What nation would not rather be governed by such a monarch, than by some renowned conqueror, or prince endowed with brilliant talents, but without any of the qualities of the heart here enumerated P His Majesty, with an annual income of one million of rixthalers, which, in such a country as Prussia, would be sufficient to purchase pleasure and luxuries in profusion, prefers living in a simple and unostentatious manner ; re- serving his pecuniary resources for acts of benevolence, many of which have been related to me ; and for the acquisition of such collections, as will not only add lustre to his capi- tal, but promote knowledge and the improvement of his people. It is by frugalities, so creditable to his heart, that the King has been enabled to procure to Berlin the ad- vantage of an Egyptian Museum, which, as I before ob- served, rivals those of Paris and Turin, and is superior to any thing of the kind to be found in London ; and to in- crease the splendour of the museum of pictures and ob- jects of curiosity, just erected by his command. His Ma- jesty spends a great part of the year at Charlottenburg, from whence he rides into town every morning before eight o’clock, and begins immediately to transact the business of the state with his ministers. When in Berlin, he does not 344 PRINCESS DE LEIGNITZ. reside in the royal Palace, but prefers living in a small house of the most unostentatious exterior possible, situated nearer to the fashionable walk, so often mentioned, and in the immediate vicinity of the statue of Bliicher. In this simple abode, his beloved Queen shared with him those years of misfortunes, the recollection of which, with the irreparable loss of her to whom his heart “ was more fondly and firmly riveted than to his crown,” has stamped on a countenance, naturally serious, an air of melancholy and re- serve which peculiarly characterises the features of this sovereign. At a ball given by the Echanson du Roi, I had an op- portunity of seeing the Countess d’Harrach, whom the King, by a solemn document, dated Berlin, the 9th of No- vember, 1824, created Princess of Leignitz and Countess of Hohenzellern, on account of “ her amiable and estima- ble qualities,” such being the expressions used by his Ma- jesty, and which, every one seemed to agree, were fully de- served by the Countess : she is united to the King by what is termed un Manage Morganatique. By the same docu- ment it is emphatically provided, that in case Heaven should grant the Royal Consort any children, they and their de- scendants are to bear the title, and inherit the property of the mother, but be for ever excluded from all suc- cession to the royal title, rank, honour, and estates there- unto belonging. The Princess de Leignitz is one of those persons who need not the pageantry of state to show that they are distinguished among their sex, and that the station which they occupy in society is one of importance. Her carriage, and her dignified yet unaffected manners, sufficiently pointed her out in the crowd of the ladies of rank by whom she was surrounded ; her features, without being strikingly handsome, are pleasing, and her counte- nance equally free from solemnity, or too much animation, has a character of liveliness, which bespeaks good temper SOCIETY AT BERLIN. 345 and kindness of heart. She took part in the amusement of the evening, and by the affability and condescension of her ; manners to those with whom she had occasion to converse, i removed all restraint on the hilarity of the scene. At this ball, the whole world of fashion attended ; the King’s ministers, the foreign ambassadors, officers high in the military service, strangers of rank, and most of the ladies of ton and their daughters, all equally anxious to partake of the hospitality of Count — . Amongst the most active dancers of the evening, every one noticed the gay and buoyant Prince Henry Albert, the youngest son of the King, a very good-looking person, about eighteen years of age, with very light hair, and an animated countenance. It is on such occasions as these that an attentive traveller may, at once, acquire some accurate notion of the state of society, and of the manners of the upper classes. It would be in vain to expect any very great degree of splendour among the Prussian aristocracy. The pomp and shc\w ge- nerally met with amongst the German nobility, does not seem to distinguish the great in Berlin, or those who by their situation are in perpetual contact with the sovereign. These appeared to me gay without hauteur, hospitable without ostentation. Education did not show itself here in the mere garb of etiquette, nor did effrontery assume the appearance of fashionable nonchalance. I should not say that the majority of the individuals of both sexes, thus col- lected together from almost every family of consequence, in the town, had sacrificed largely to the graces, or paid an undue degree of attention to the embellishment of their persons ; but it is equally certain that they presented no- thing in their conduct to the superficial observer which was not marked with the utmost propriety. Through the live- liness of a gentleman whom I met at this soiree, and who had long enjoyed opportunities of mixing with the higher ranks, and of becoming intimately acquainted with most of 346 SOCIETY AT BERLIN. them, I soon learned the private history of the greater num- ber of the personnages tnarquans of both sexes in the room. This gentleman, who was himself a foreigner, bore honour- able testimony to their excellent behaviour, and the im- provement which had taken place in their domestic man- ners ; and he seemed to think that few capitals could boast of privileged classes so little liable to the inflictions of public scandal. Doubtlessly the example of their King and la- mented Queen must have had a great share in forming and giving currency to this laudable state of things in Prussian society. It does not appear that the influx of foreigners, which is said to be very considerable in Berlin, has had the effect of altering, masking, or in any way disfiguring the genuine- ness of the national manners. Frederick the Great encou- raged foreigners, particularly the French, to settle in his capital as well as at Potsdam, and a great number of the latter remain still in Berlin, and constitute a separate colony, which, until lately, was governed by its own laws. The entire population of Berlin, in 1826, amounted to about 221,013 inhabitants; of which number, those professing the Catholic religion are as one to twenty. The number of Jews is very inconsiderable. I had heard it observed by some excellent travellers, that Berlin had more the appearance of a military garrison, or a large barrack than of a capital. Doubtlessly the ob- servation is founded on exaggeration ; but one cannot help being struck at the military aspect which this city wears in all quarters, not only on account of the numerous and ex- tensive barracks to be seen in different parts, but also in con- sequence of the many sentinels placed at almost every prin- cipal building; at the perpetual drumming and parading, and encountering of piquets and files of soldiers ; the pre- dominance of military officers over the other people which CUSTRIN. 347 one meets in society ; and finally, the endless display of uniforms of all sorts, which one cannot help noticing in all public places, particularly at the theatres. Nor does the appearance of the civil servants of the Government and officers of state, dressed in blue coats with red collars, tend to neutralize, by the display of a certain number of plainly- dressed civilians, this martial aspect of the Prussian capital. But martial or not, when the time for our departure from Berlin arrived, I left it with regret, and with an impression that the man must be of a very discontented and intractable disposition, fastidious and sour-tempered, who could not live in it cheerfully, happily, and advan- tageously. We quitted the Prussian capital late in the afternoon of the 13th of October, three weeks after leaving London, and we looked upon Berlin as the half-way house of our journey. Our way lay over a paved road, which, although in good repair, was rather a disappointment to travellers, who had been spoiled by the long continuance of chaus- stes, like bowling-greens. Daylight broke upon us as we stopped to change horses outside the town of Custrin, a strongly fortified place, at the confluence of the Warthe and the Oder. The country around is low and marshy ; both rivers have been turned and twisted into fossees and ditches, forming a triple aquatic circumvallation to some of the stoutest as well as loftiest bastions I ever beheld. The approach to such a fortified town must be matter of no small difficulty, and I thought there would be no end to the drawbridges over which our carriages rolled with a deafening noise. Our object was to have reached Lands- berg early in the morning, with the intention of breakfast- ing at a very excellent inn, which had been recommended to us by Lord and Lady Belgrave, who very kindly fur- nished Count Woronzow with their list of the post sta- 348 LANDSBKRC2. tions, through which they had just been travelling on their return from Moscow ; and their personal observations on the respective inns, at which they had stopped, either to take refreshment or to pass the night. Landsberg is only seventeen and three-quarters German miles from Berlin ; but owing to wretched driving in the course of the night, we did not reach it till twelve o'clock ; that is, we had been travelling at the rate of five miles an hour. Aware that such would be the case, when we got to Baltz bv nine in the morning, we made the best of a bad bar- gain, and accepted a cup of coffee and some black bread, which were offered to us in the post-house with great good nature by a very civil set of people. Extensive forests of pines surround Landsberg in every direction ; many are recent plantations, the old ones having been felled or burnt during the war. These are some of the Prussian forests which supply the ship-timber imported from the port of Stetting, to which place they are floated in rafts over the Warthe and the Oder. The road, from the time of leaving Custrin, is macadam- ized, and of recent construction. The stones employed are very small fragments of granite rocks, in all varieties, mixed with gravel and rolled pebbles brought from the bed of the Oder. At the approach of every village or small town, the system of stone pavement is resumed, and again abandoned a short distance from it. The road insensibly rises before reaching Landsberg, and presents parallel ranges of chalk hillocks, like truncated cones on our left, in the direction of N. E. by E. A regular system of marking distances, is again observable on this road, con- sisting of large and small white stone obelisks, on the former of which the whole distance from Berlin is marked, and on the latter the quarterly divisions of each mile. On the opposite side of the road, the whole distance of each LANDSBERG. 849 mile is subdivided by 100 small cubic stones. By obser- ving these duly, an experiment which I have had already occasion to mention, I ascertained that in spite of all our exhortations and bribes, our phlegmatic postilions would not move a step beyond five and a half miles an hour upon an excellent road. Yet the fellows are well-equipped, the horses very tolerable, and the system of posting, as far as I could ascertain, on a respectable footing. We met on the road, a great number of char-a-bancs , which are the com- mon carriages of the country, on four wheels, and without springs. They were transporting the merry population, in their holiday clothes, from one village to another, thus ce- lebrating, with innocent amusement, the Sabbath day. The small town of Landsberg is seen to advantage at a short distance, from the picturesque appearance of its gate, surmounted by towers, and the spire rising over the town-hall. In the suburbs there are a few tolerable streets, and some neat buildings ; but the most attractive objects are the extensive stacks of firewood, piled on both banks of the Warthe, ready to be embarked either for Posen or Frankfort on the Oder, and from thence by a canal, into the Spree, and to Berlin. The country, in this part, is a dead flat, principally divided into corn-fields, and well wooded. The peasants wear a tolerable look of comfort, and appear healthy. Groups of villageoises, in their best apparel, and remark- ably clean, saunter about the road, in the immediate neigh- bourhood of their home ; while the men, clad in their best, and with newly shaven faces, and large slouched hats, stand in rows outside of the house, or lean against the parapet of a bridge enveloped in smoke, and as we passed, would doff their hats in token of civility, and drawl out, with a whiff, a “ gliichliche Reise, mein Herr.” At Landsberg the road crosses the Warthe river, and 350 FREIDERERG. continues uninteresting until you reach the small town of Freideberg, situated near two lakes, and inhabited princi- pally by a Jewish population, as the vast cemetery with- out the town filled with Hebrew inscriptions sufficiently indicates. The road has been lately completed through- out this part of the country; and such is the precision with which it was made, that wherever the slightest rising appeared in the ground it has been cut through and le- velled ; and instead of leaving the cut surfaces barren, these have been arranged into steps, and turf laid down, giving a very pleasing appearance to the sides of the road. The gates, or barrieres, also are embellished by very neat lodges, in which comfort and a degree of style have been attended to. A mile or two farther, the country around assumes a most cheerful aspect. An extensive and magnificent forest of fir and pines, standing on an undulated ground, appears in the nearest horizon, and presently, as we enter its various mazes, two or three lakes, reminding us of those of Switzer- land from their situation, appeared in view, and succeeded each other, — the road passing between them, and, for a little while following their well- wooded banks. We had not seen so pretty, and so picturesque a road since we left the Thu- ringian Forest, nor had we travelled over a better one even in England. The construction of this road I had the means of observing in the course of this stage of our jour- ney, where a portion was being made to unite two hills of easy ascent with a view to avoid the circuitous route of the old road. The sand, which is the prevailing soil throughout this part of the country, is first dug out to the depth of two feet of the intended width of the road, with the exception of four feet on each side. Granite and other stones, broken into fragments, which weigh about two pounds, are strewed over to cover this new sandy bed, and the original soil is IMPROVED M AC AD AM I Z AT ION. 351 eplaced at the top of them. When this foundation is be- onie fully consolidated, the usual process of placing very mall granite fragments on the plan of Macadam is followed, nd these are mixed with a large proportion of loose gravel. ditch is dug on each side, the edges of which are cut harp, and are very compact, and a row of poplar trees 5 planted, at short distances, on each side of the ditch. Tilsit, where the Boulders-stones occur in such numbers and of such variety of dimensions and species, that a geo logist might study, for days together, in this collection o gigantic specimens spread for many miles before him, tin structure of those singular chains of the northern Alp of Europe, which von Buch and other eminent naturalist: have so ably described. The Prussian and Russian Governments have availec themselves of the presence of these most excellent mate rials for road-making, to begin a line of connnunicatioi between the two countries, which has been effected in part CONITZ. — MILITARY ASPECT OF PRUSSIA. 353 and which, there is no doubt, will be completed in the ;ourse of the next few years, so as to present a system of oads equal in solidity and durability to the best roads in Europe. Conitz is a small walled town, situated in the centre of i sandy waste. Our civil and talkative landlord at the lost-house where we stopped for refreshment, on hearing hat we had recently left England, inquired into the state >f public opinion in that country respecting the merits of dr. Canning, whose death he bewailed most piteously ; .ssuring us that it had struck with dismay the numerous andholders and cornfactors in the neighbourhood, by whom tis great talents were most justly appreciated. This lonest Boniface, with equal disinterestedness, and, we aust suppose, a sincere regard for our personal safety, trove to detain us for the night by the sad description e gave us of the road over which we should have to ravel. His entreaties, however, had no effect. The di- ection of the old road to Elbing, whither we were proceed- lg, and which passed through Kossabude and Kuyschau, ad been changed for that of Czersk, Franckenfelde, and targardt. The distance to the first of these three latter laces is four German miles and a quarter, to perform hich we employed nearly the whole night. The diffi- ilties which this tract of the road presents to macadami- ition, have hitherto been considered as insurmountable ; ut beyond Czersk, that system has been adopted with iccess. We were now traversing that part of Poland hich Prussia obtained at the memorable tripartition of lat kingdom ; and we found the people speaking the icient language of that country, in preference to German, very thing and every body wears a military aspect in iis part of Prussia. A large board at the entrance of ery village bears inscribed on it the number of the regi- vol. i. 2 A 354 SCHWARTZ W ASSER. — D I R S C H A U . ment or detachment of the Landwehr, to which all the male inhabitants capable of bearing arms are censes to belong. Soldiers and gendarmes, by no means trouble- some or insolent, are seen in every small town. The meanest employe wears a kind of uniform. The postilions have a uniform, and a cockade in their glazed hats ; so have those who guard the forests, and those who super- intend the macadamization of the road. In a country like Prussia, exposed to the attacks of three powerful neighbours, and in the present state of what has been styled the balance of power, who can ridicule or find fault with a system intended to maintain a military spirit among the male population, and to pi’epare them to forir an army capable of defending their country in case ol aggression ? Immediately after crossing the celebrated stream callec Schwartzwasser, which from one of the numerous lake: that are met with in this part of Pomerania, falls into tin Vistula — a travelling-carriage halted in front of us, in whicl Count Woronzow recognized one of his old companions ii arms, the heroic defender of Culm, General Count Oster mann, who, on account of ill health from the numerou wounds he had received in the late war, was compelled t leave the inclement region of the North, and direct hi steps to a more genial climate. This rencontre, after day and nights of tedious travelling, served to throw soui degree of interest on our monotonous journey ; and w hailed the appearance of this carriage, as the mariner hail the first friendly sail in the course of a long voyage. Dirschau at last, and the Vistula gliding past it, appeal ed in view. Quitting with delight our sandy road acro:- ficlds, in which groups of children were heard singing th hunting-chorus of the Freischiitz, we trotted through tli town, having previously changed horses, and reached th : ROAD TO MARIENBURG. 3 55 vater’ sedge over a most detestable pavement. Here the •arriages were placed on a flat boat or flying-bridge, and anded with the party on a sandy island, which divides the Vistula from the Nogat river, and is itself intersected by a mailer branch of the former stream. As we walked across his island to the banks of the Nogat, numerous parties of ountry-people met and saluted us with a low reverence nd a »ash countak in the patois dialect of the country. The remainder of the road to Marienburg is bard, straight, nd quite new. The country around is enlivened by vil- ages, farm-houses, and clusters of cottages, which be- peak, by their appearance, the easy circumstances of the ihabitants. Indeed, the improvement in the aspect of the ountry and the state of the road is striking and most gra- cing all the way to Kbnigsberg. Every possible variety f ground, woods of stately pines, amongst the glades of 'hich we perceived groups of those gigantic rocks, that ave been already described ; fields of the richest soil in high state of cultivation; numerous parties of neatly ressed females and children, some walking barefooted, thers riding on light char-a-bancs and four-wheel carts, arrying the produce of their farms to the nearest markets f Marienburg, Elbing, or Kbnigsberg; excellent post- orses ; drivers, active and good-tempered ; civil land- >rds and tolerable halting-places are the distinguishing ;atures of the road between Marienburg and Kbnigsberg, i different from that over which we had travelled between lerlin and the Vistula. The fertility of this little Delta of le Vistula, near and about Dirschau and Marienburg, is lid to be prodigious. The corn-harvest returns from venty to thirty per cent. Along the left bank the soil is a ch black mould, cultivated for corn and grass, and entirely ee from wood. The low lands and marshes have been radually drained since tbe settlement of Swiss, French, 356 MARIENBURG CASTLE. and Alsacian emigrants in and about this part of Prussia. On the right bank, as far as I have been able to see during our journey, the country abounds in lakes, and the deep clayey soil is covered with immense forests. From a re- port published a few years ago, it appears that there are no fewer than three millions of acres of woods in Eastern Prussia. To the north-east of the town of Marienburg, and on the summit of a small hill, fifty feet above the level of the Nogat, or right branch of the Vistula, and an equal num- ber of feet from the bank of the river, stand the ruins of the Teutonic Castle, which is so often mentioned in the history of chivalrous times. The whole mass is at once imposing and picturesque, bespeaking the grandeur of its former occupants and the purposes to which it was destined. The precise time in which this castle was built is not sufficiently known. As a simple citadel, it was in existence as far back as the close of the thirteenth century. It was then the residence of one of the officers of the religious Order of chivalry, called Teutonic, from its being composed of Germans, Teutones. In 1281 it was greatly enlarged by the addition of that part which was afterwards known under the name of the ancient castle. The Grand-master ol the Order, Godfrey de Hohenlohe, having visited Prussia, and found the knights in that country in a flourishing condition, transferred the seat of the Grand-master from Venice to the castle of Marienburg, which he at the same time caused to be considerably enlarged. This transloca- tion of the Principal and Grand Sojourner was approved ol and confirmed by an encampment of the knights held at Elbing, on which occasion many of the propositions of the Grand-master being opposed, he resigned his high office, and retired in disgust from Marienburg. His successor KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER. 357 built the middle and lower castle, as he found the existing edifice insufficient for the accommodation of the splendid and numerous retinue of himself and others. Succeeding Grand-masters built the church of Notre-Dame in the im- mediate vicinity of the castle, which is still in existence, and forms a very prominent feature in the romantic land- scape of these ruins. After half a century of repose, in the year 1410, Marienburg was surrounded and vigorously at- tacked by Jagellon, King of Poland, at the head of a considerable army ; and it was during this siege that a plan was formed by some Bohemian brethren of the order, living in the castle, for the total destruction of the knights. These traitors, corrupted by the gold of the Polish King, promised to give a signal whenever the whole chapter should be assembled in the grand hall of the council, in order hat the Polish artillery-men might fire a cannon shot in lie direction of the centre of that hall, in hopes that the .ingle pillar, which supports the many ribbed arches of ts vaulted roof, might be carried away, and thus crush it one blow the whole confraternity. The signal was pven by showing a red cap out of one of the upper case- lients of the building facing the Polish army. The shot vas fired, but passed by the pillar at a short distance rom it, and lodged in the upper part of the farthest wall, vhere it is to be seen to this day. The castellan, who iccompanied us, took care to point out to our attention his memorable shot, and in narrating the preceding tra- lition, added, that the safety of the Order on that oc- casion, was attributed to the intervention of a miraculous mage of the Blessed Mary, which was at that time in a hapel belonging to the castle. The besieging army soon fter broke up their camp and retired, leaving the knights n the full enjoyment of their lordly domain for the space 4 thirty years more ; during which time they were guilty 358 THE KNIGHT-MONKS. of every species of tyranny and vexation, respecting neither the personal liberty nor the property of the neighbouring people ; and trampling equally under foot the laws of justice and decorum. Galled and disgusted at the abomi- nations of the knight-monks, the neighbouring burghers entered at last into a coalition against them ; brought mer- cenary troops to combat them ; and having claimed the assistance of Casimir, King of Poland, in 1457, the latter took possession of Marienburg, and drove the Grand- master from the castle. That officer retired to Dirschau, on the left bank of the Vistula, and left behind him the relics and sacred paraphernalia of the Order. The treaty of Thorn concluded in 1466, confirmed the possession of this fortified place to the crown of Poland, to which it continued to belong for upwards of three centuries. Since that time it was, once and again, taken by the Swedes, re- taken by the Poles, and ultimately made an integral part of the Prussian dominions under the great Frederick. In the year 1644, that portion which was called the Old Cas- tle became a prey to the flames, and was levelled to the ground, even to the subterranean chambers. The interior of what remains standing, has lately been put in complete repair by order, and under the immediate superintendence, and, I believe, at the expense, of Prince William of Prussia, who, with a laudable zeal for an- tiquities, and great respect for the relics of former times of glory existing in his Royal Father’s dominions, has of late years undertaken to restore and keep up the most celebrated and interesting remains of Gothic architecture. In the present instance the Prince’s taste and judgment are alike conspicuous. We examined every part of this extensive building, preceded by the castellan, carrying a heavy bunch of massive keys, under the action of which, portals, secret THE HALL OF THE CHAPTER. 359 pannels, and trap-doors, suddenly gave way to admit us through lengthened corridors, lined with the cells of the knight-monks, into their halls, their dormitories, and re- fectory, and down into the subterranean caverns, where we remarked parts of the building resembling tombs, deep wells, and dungeons. Filled with the reflections which such scenes were calculated to excite, we returned, with minds but ill-disposed, to view with admiration some of the relics and sacred vases belonging to tbe Order, now preserved in the chapel, into which we were also in- troduced. The hall of the chapter, which is by far the most inte- resting part of the building, is a square of forty-five feet, and thirty feet high. An octagonal pillar, placed in the centre, supports the vault, most ingeniously framed. The shaft of this pillar is made of one piece of reddish dark granite ; the capital and pedestal are of a calcareous stone. There are twenty windows in the room, placed in double rows ; and there are still visible on the walls, the representations of the knights in armour, painted in blue colours. The celebrated and historical bullet fired from the opposite bank of the river, after the battle of Tannen- berg, is seen imbedded in the wall, about ten feet from the ground, and a little to the right of the chimney. The in- scription, which was formerly near it, has been completely dfaced. Among the restorations executed in this place by order )f Prince William of Prussia, is the substitution of stained rlass in the casements, on the greatest part of which are •epresented the arms of the successive Grand-masters of he Teutonic Order. In contemplating these remains of he days of chivalry, now blotted from the memory of those vho live nearest to the ruins, and scarcely recollected by )thers as a fleeting tradition— in looking on these castellated 3G0 ELB1NG. works — tliese turrets and battlements — the gloomy clois- ters, and secret porch which covers the entrance into the sunken hollow cells, where many of those adventurers, who returned full of glory from the Holy Wars, had passed the last days of their lives, or in which the victims of lust and revenge had ended a miserable existence ; it is impos- sible not to recollect Congreve’s beautiful lines, constituting, according to Dr. Johnson’s opinion, the most poetical description in the English language. “No, all is hush’d and still as death! ’tis dreadful ! How reverend is the face of this tall pile, Whose ancient pillars rear their marble heads To bear aloft its arch’d and pond’rous roof. Looking tranquillity ! It strikes an awe And terror on my aching sight ; the tombs And monumental caves of Death look cold. And shoot a chillness to my trembling heart.” Mourning Bride . The Weichsel, or Vistula, at Dirschau, is not so pic- turesque as higher up in Poland. Its stream is narrow and rapid. Large flat-bottomed boats convey the produce of the countries, through which it passes, to the port of Dantzig, and Warsaw is thus placed in direct communica- tion with the Baltic ; while, by means of the navigation of the Nogat, which falls into the Frische-Haff, the colonial produce, imported into Kbnigsberg, finds a ready access to Poland, Moravia, and Hungary. Elbing is the guardian port of the entrance into the Vis- tula. It is not, properly speaking, a sea-harbour, being now placed at some distance from the Baltic, since the re- treat of the waters of the latter from the Pomeranian shores. The town has a very neat and favourable appearance, with a bustling population and active commercial people. It communicates by canals, and the several embouchures of the Nogat, with the Frische-Haff*, from which there is no FRAUENBURG. — COPERNICUS. 361 outlet but by the port of Pillau. This intricate navigation is injurious to Elbing as a maritime town ; nor would it be frequented by foreign traders, but for the privilege granted to it by the King of Prussia since its annexation to that country, of an exclusive commerce, in two or three articles of agricultural produce, from the countries bordering on the Vistula. Not far from Elbing, where we had passed the night, on ascending the hill of Truntz, after crossing the most lovely and fertile country imaginable, the dark blue waters of the Frische-Haff suddenly appeared before us, with the small but picturesque town ofFrauenburg standing on their margin, sheltered under a sandy ridge, which stretches pa- rallel with the Bay. On part of the rising ground is seen the Catholic church, or Duomo, of a tudesque structure, in which the illustrious Copernicus officiated as one of the canons, and where his ashes are now deposited. It was on the very day of his death, in May 1543, at the ad- vanced age of seventy years, that this eminent astronomer received from the printer the first perfect copy of that celebrated system, which being afterwards adopted and defended by Galileo, drew on the devoted head of the il- lustrious Italian the most fanatical persecution. In one of the angles of the wall, by which the cathedral is sur- rounded, rises the observatory, in which the original no- tions of the Pythagorean philosopher, Philolaus, respect- ing the solar and planetary systems, were long and assi- duously examined, put to the severest test of celestial ob- servations, and ultimately confirmed by the most acute yet the most modest astronomer and mathematician of the age. A plain tablet, with the figure of a globe en- graved upon it, marks the place where his remains repose within the temple. A commemorative monument of Co- pernicus is also seen in the cathedral at Thorn, the place of his birth. 362 KONIGSBERG. We were apprized of our approach to Konigsberg by the distant view of its harbour at Pillau, placed at the north- eastern extremity of the Frische-HafF. The town itself came soon after in sight, impressing us with an idea of its magnitude, venerable antiquity, and great importance, as being still the second city in Prussia, of which it was once the capital. All these pleasing anticipations, how- ever, vanished on entering the town, and being driven through long, narrow, dirty, ill-paved, and very offensive streets, lined by lofty old-fashioned houses, the basement stories of which project far out in the shape of terraces, with their flights of steps guarded by antiquated brass railings, and are not only very inconvenient to the passage of car- riages, but render that of pedestrians a work of real dan- ger. Konigsberg is, probably, the only town of its size, which, with a population of about one hundred thousand in- habitants, has been so little enlarged and embellished since the return of peace. Every thing is as old-fashioned as if the Court of the old Dukes of Brandenburg were still held here. Nor are the private and public buildings the only antiquated objects in Konigsberg; for the inhabitants themselves, in dress and appearance, seem as far removed from the present age as their habitations. In one part only of the town did I perceive symptoms of gay or mo- dern architecture. On crossing over a bridge, shortly after having traversed this part of the city, we first observed a range of boats, cutters, and galliots, in a sort of canal or basin, and farther out on the left, Pillau appeared in view, with a few masted vessels of heavy burthen. Another gate, the third we had already gone through, admitted us into a third long narrow street, dirty and dark, with houses fan- tastically terminated in points and spires. The system of large and elevated terraces above the street, and in front of each house, prevails here as in all other parts ; and where a KONIGSBERG. 363 number of shops or warehouses are situated, the merchants lor tradesmen, with a view of attracting the notice of the passenger to their articles, (necessarily placed, by the ele- vated situation of the shops, completely out of sight,) ex_ pose in front of the terrace a wide painted board, on which are represented the different commodities to he found in their houses. Thus in one part we observed, that the linen and woollen draper had exhibited, as models of his mer- chandize, wooden blocks representing bales of cloth and pieces of linen ; while in another, a bookseller and stationer had placed before the eyes of the pedestrians, shelves of books well carved in wood, and painted with full titles on their back, and wooden reams of paper in abundance, and curious imitations of hunches of quills. Our progress through the town was beginning to he sadly irksome to us from its slowness and duration ; when, after having ascend- ed a very steep and narrow street, we were at last deposited at the Deutschen Haus, in a quiet and retired part of the town, and in a house which, from its appearance, must have been the residence of some Prussian grandee of old. Of the more modern part of the town we saw nothing. Among the numerous churches which formerly existed, few of them remain now worthy of attention. But the traveller whom commercial business does not bring to Kdnigsberg, and who is merely passing through it, however anxious he may feel to quit it as soon as possible, should not omit to pay a visit to the cathedral — a building in every v T ay re- markable, on account of its organ, the tombs of the old Dukes of the House of Brandenburg, founders of the Prussian monarchy ; and the monument which marks the spot where are deposited the mortal remains of Kant, the author of that singular system of “ Pure Reason, ” which had nigh produced, at the conclusion of the last century, a popular commotion in Germany. Kant died at Kdnigsberg in 1804. 364 rillLOSOPIIY OF KANT. The air of mysticism which prevails in the system of the Konigsberg philosopher— the novel phraseology, adopted with a view to make it intelligible — the happy art of ren derinsr that which is clear, abstruse — and the almost ini- penetrable darkness of the definitions which the systen: contains, instead of proving fatal to the whole fantastic con- ception, served only to stimulate the German literati to ex- ertion in endeavouring to comprehend it. They began by admiring the system before they understood it, and their entire approbation soon followed, though on no better foun- dation. Having found it impossible to decypher its meaning, they proclaimed it a sublime production, lest they should be laughed at for the premature eulogiums they had be- stowed upon it. A system founded on such principles, and upheld by such blind veneration, stood on the same quick- sand on which two of Kant’s countrymen have since erect- ed a pretended physiological instead of a metaphysical structure. No wonder that it should soon fall into ob- livion, from which it cannot be recalled by any human in- genuity or power. The philosophy of Kant has not un- aptly been compared by a modern writer to a dark lantern. The astronomical observations and papers published by Professor Bessel have long given to the Observatory of Konigsberg a high degree of celebrity among the scientific men of all nations. This gentleman was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society two or three years ago. It is a piece of justice rendered to his great merits by the late President, who was never slow in paying that homage to foreign talents, which foreign academies readily paid to his own. Professor Bessel has published a variety of in- teresting memoirs on astronomy, and has deserved well of English astronomers, by his reductions of Bradley’s Obser- vations, which, for want of that operation, had been lying useless in the closets of the English, as well as of foreign TIIE STRAND. 365 astronomers. Professor Bessel’s annual communications to the scientific world on the most interesting points of phy- sical astronomy, I have heard spoken of in terms of high commendation. His letter addressed to another eminent man in that science, Professor Schumacher, which contains a defence of the Greenwich Ephemerides, the accuracy of which had been impugned by an anonymous critic in one of the London periodical publications, is deserving of praise, as ingenious though not unanswerable. On our arrival at Konigsberg, a sort of council was held, with two or three experienced people and the land- lord of the inn, on the most prudent course to be adopted in regard to our road to Memel, discussing the number of horses required for the three carriages, the great weight of two of them, the advanced season of the year, and the boisterous weather w'hich had been lately prevailing on the coast. Half an hour given to the consideration of that point was not deemed thrown away ; and I would recom- mend to travellers placed under similar circumstances to our own, to follow the same proceeding. Two post- roads lead from Konigsberg to Memel. The one runs along a narrow strip of land, which is in the form of a bow, with its convexity towards the main-land, and separates the Currische-Haff from the sea. This is called the Strand. The other follows a circuitous route, and passes through Tilsit. The first requires, on an average, twen- ty hours’ constant driving (for it is not prudent to loiter at a post-house when once on the Strand) to accomplish the distance. The second is one-half as long again, and cannot be got through in less than thirty hours. The carriage- wheels on the first road are often up to their axle in sand, or plunging through waves. During stormy weather, which may supervene at any moment in these boisterous latitudes, the situation of a traveller on this ROADS TO MEM EL. :306 road is not very comfortable : and it becomes still more embarrassing towards the termination of the road, as he is obliged to wait at one or two stations, exposed some- times to real danger in a dark night, for horses, which must be sent for from very distant post-houses. Lastly, he will experience an additional inconvenience in having, on his arrival at the extreme point of the Strand, to embark with his carriage in a boat, for the purpose of being trans- ported to Memel. The melancholy accidents, though few in number, that have occurred on this road, (one or two of which were related to us,) combined, with the several considerations above detailed, to induce Count Woron- zow to select the second road with an intention of sleeping at Tilsit the first night, so as to arrive at Memel about the afternoon of the following day. We departed early in the morning from the ancient capital of Prussia, and plunged boldly through the deep holes and deep sands of the roads to Labiau, with waste and desolate land on each side of us, where none but large blocks, pro- fusely scattered in every direction, of granite, gneiss, schist, grunstein, and greiwake; and huge wooden granaries, filled to the very roof with sacks of corn ; small and mi- serable-looking villages, barefooted paysannes, and now and then a ludicrously shaped “ accelerated post-waggon,” broke the monotony of our journey. From Labiau to Mehlauken, a distance of four German miles, I preferred walking through the antediluvian fields, examining the character and positions of the straggling rocks, so pro- fusely deposited in this part of Prussia. The slow pro- gress of the carriages, and the precaution of starting half an hour before them, enabled me to accomplish my pro- menade without great inconvenience. One is really glad of any excuse to kill time in this dreary and uninterest- ing reo-ion. O O TILSIT. 367 The interest which a modern traveller necessarily at- taches to the town of Tilsit, was not at all necessary to induce us to rejoice at our arrival in that place, after the most tedious day’s journey we had ever had since we left England. The town itself, consisting of a long and wide street, with a few good-looking houses, is too insignifi- cant to detain any one beyond a few minutes ; but the political events of the last twenty years give the place a degree of importance which does not intrinsically belong to it. Tilsit is situated on the two banks of the Niemen, not far from the Currische-Haff, and midway between Kb- nigsberg and Memel. The river is wide, and the stream rapid, but shallow. Numerous flat-bottomed barges descend it annually with Russian produce, and return loaded with foreign merchandize. The navigation of the Niemen, how- ever, is by no means free from difficulties, owing to several shallows and falls. By the cutting of the canal at Oginsky, and by means of this river, a free communication will be established between the Black Sea and the Baltic. A great number of smaller rivers pour their tributary streams into the Niemen, which in modern times has witnessed perhaps as many military achievements as the Rhine. The meeting of Alexander the First, the King of Prussia with his Queen, and Napoleon, in this town, after the campaign of 1807, has given to Tilsit its present celebrity. It was in front of this town, on a raft moored a few yards from the bridge, and in the middle of the river, that the interview between the Emperors of Russia and France, for the settlement of Prussian affairs, took place on the 14th of June of that year. That interview led to successive conferences, and these terminated at last in the well-known treatv of peace which bears the name of the town where it was concluded. The house in which the conferences were held, and the. residence of the crowned MEM EL. i(>8 heads who were parties to that treaty, which was destined to be so soon violated, were pointed out to us by the in- habitants, who seem to cherish the memory of that event as the most remarkable in the annals of their native place. Having satisfied our curiosity on these points, we left Tilsit, crossing the Niemen over a wooden bridge, the centre part of which is built on flat-bottomed boats, in order to allow of the occasional passage of vessels by their removal. We pursued our way over the most execrable road in Europe, and reached Memel late in the afternoon, where we put up at a tolerably decent inn, one of the best in the town, called the Hotel de Russie. I w r as no sooner comfortably settled in my room, than my ears were assailed by a volley of “ Hip, hip, hip ! hur- rah ! Again, again, again ! hurrah !” and a loud knocking of glasses against a table. The short silence which suc- ceeded to this surprising impromptu, was followed by a stentorian voice, bawling out the first line of “ Cease, rude Boreas,” so outrageously out of tune, that I had no diffi- culty in recognizing, both from that circumstance and the noisy acclamations which had preceded it, that a party of English seamen was beguiling a few dull hours of the evening in this dullest of all the sea-ports in Europe. Had I en- tertained any doubt on the subject, I should soon have been satisfied of the correctness of my conjecture by the boisterous farewell compliments of the night, hiccuped forth by two or three voices on the stairs shortly after, and certain common-place observations made in a loud tone, and in English, by the same parties, in a room adjoining to mine. Silence being at last restored, I took advantage of the calm to commit my tired carcase to the wooden crib as- signed to me for the night, and soon forgot my recollections of England suggested by this revel, and the English sailors 1 MEMEL. 369 at Memel. In the morning I learned from the servant, that the carousel’s of the preceding night, and my neigh- bours, were a party of masters and mates of some Eng- lish timber- vessels, trading to Memel, where they had been detained some weeks; and that they frequented the Russia Hotel, where they were very well known as jolly ;ompanions and excellent pay-masters. One of the few occupations of an occasional traveller at Memel, is to get what remains of his Prussian money .hanged into Russian currency. The loss sustained on ;uch an occasion is very considerable, and I would, tbere- ore, recommend travellers, in whatever country they may lappen to be, always to calculate their pecuniary resources n such a manner, that either they shall have but little eft of the money of the country which they are about to eave on reaching the frontiers, or that they may keep what ■emains for their return. On a sum of 980 Prussian rix- halers, which were changed by a broker on the present oc- asion into silver and paper roubles, the currency of Rus- ia, a loss was sustained equal to 326 francs. This may ppear an unimportant subject to some of my readers ; >ut the effect of such repeated exchanges is such, that a >erson starting from England, with the whole sum of noney necessary to carry him through all the principal ountries in Europe, and choosing to possess whatever sum >e may chance to have left, in the current coin of each lew state, will find, at the conclusion of his peregrina- ions, that one-half of his original sum has actually passed ito the hands of money-changers^ I am sorry also to be ompelled to state, that the disposition to cheat on the art of landlord, servants, brokers, and shopkeepers, with 'hom I had to deal in this place, and most of whom be- mged to the tribes of Israel, was such as completely to VOL. i. 370 PRUSSIAN FRONTIER. discourage me from having more intercourse with them than was strictly necessary. Verbum sat, to those who may be inclined to visit Memel. The road from Memel to the frontier follows the sea- shore, and is consequently none of the easiest. It is in fact a desert of deep sand, through which it is not possible to wade without an additional number of horses. At Im- mersatt, the last Prussian post-house, we alighted while the horses were changing, and proceeded on foot to the frontier barritre. After exhibiting our respective pass- ports to the Prussian officer on duty, a bar, painted white and black in serpentine stripes, which lay across the road, was raised at a signal, and the carriages drove through, leaving Prussia behind, and entering on the neutral ground, or sea of sand, which separates that country from the ad- vanced frontier-line of the Russian empire. On proceeding towards the barritre of Russia we had a full view of the Baltic, and an immense forest of pines stretching from the seashore to a great distance on our right, the road appearing to pierce through it. Our pass- ports were now, once more, exhibited to a subaltern officer of Cossacks; and the red and white painted bar being i-aised, we entered the mighty empire of Russia exactly one calen- dar month after quitting London. The Count, who had all along travelled in plain clothes, had, on approaching his native country, assumed the undress uniform belonging to his rank, and was received at the barrier with military honours. A Cossack soldier, immediately after, mounted his fleet horse, took up his lance, and escorted us to Polangen. The great business of travellers, who enter Russia at Polangen, is with the Custom-house-officers, who, it must be acknowledged, perform their duties strictly and to the very letter. To such travellers two words of advice will not ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN DOUANES. 371 be useless. Declare at once every article in your baggage liable to pay duty, or it will be confiscated ; and be civil. The carriages were driven into the yard of the Custom- house ; to which are annexed several spacious magazines, serving as depots for merchandizes introduced in Russia Trough this frontier. The servants were left to attend to he necessary ceremony of visiting every part of the bag- gage, which occupied about two hours, while we proceeded o the post-house in the village, kept by a Jew, the place )eing mostly inhabited by people of that nation. There, or the first time, we experienced the luxury of a travelling French cook and batlerie de cuisine, which until now had seen useless appendages to our equipage. That most use- ul person had preceded us on this occasion, and prepared delightful little repast, which was improved by the excel- ent wheaten bread to be found in the place. In front of the post-house is erected a high and square lillar, bearing on each of three of its sides one of the fol- ding inscriptions, written in the German and Russian lan- uages : “ 32d post station from St. Petersburgh,836| versts; •om Mittau 230| versts; from Moscow 1343g versts.” After dinner I attended at the Custom-house in order to icilitate the expedition of our baggage. The officers had lost minutely rummaged the whole, and made out a list of rticles for which duty was to be paid, amounting to about >ur hundred roubles. This being done, we soon found urselves at liberty to proceed. It has often been as- >rted by English travellers, that the douane on this frontier vexatious and unusually strict, and that every thing is irned out, handled, and examined. To judge from my vn experience, I should say that the system is as like that llowed by the officers at Dover as any two systems can be. here also, as I know to my cost, every article was turned it, handled, and examined with perfect civility, on my 2b2 372 CUSTOM-HOUSE REVENUES AT POLANGEN. return to England; and with baggage consisting of a couple of imperials only, after experiencing a delay of nearly two hours, I found myself taxed to the amount of nineteen pounds, although I had not a single article of mer- chandize. At Polangen, on the contrary, with the same quantity of baggage, and a great many medical books, I had not a single kopeeck to pay, even after the severest scrutiny of the contents of my imperials. The charge ol four hundred roubles was borne by the General for Eng lish articles contained in that part of the luggage whicl belonged to his lady ; which articles, having never heer used, were necessarily liable to the existing duties. Now. at both the Dover and London Custom-house, I have beer compelled to pay, within the last few months, for foreigr linen, which had positively and bond Jide been used. Or which side, therefore, is the difference for the worse, if s difference exists between the two systems ? Soyons di bonne foi. I am no admirer of custom-houses. I thin! them the pest of society, and smuggling its antidote But as such evils, it seems, must exist, and as Englanc has them in as full force as any nation in Europe, let u be just, and not grumble against foreigners for following a similar system. It is incredible how rapidly the amoun of revenue derived from the Polangen Custom-house ha. been increasing in the last six years. In 1822 it was les than three thousand roubles ; in 1827 it was little shor of one million of the same money. How will politica economists explain this phenomenon ? POLANGEN. 373 CHAPTER X. RUSSIA. The Jews of Polangen. — Amber and amber trinkets. — Russian Posting. — Podoroshna. — Kurlandia. — Forests. — Statistics. — Roads. — Topography. — Mittal’. — French Ancien Regime. — Princess Michel G . — The Governor Baron de H . — New Roads and Canals. — Corn-harvest. — Smuggling on the Coast. — Great public works in progress in the province of Kurlandia. — Palace of the ancient Dukes of Kurlandia. — Precipitous descent over the Aa. — Riga. — View of the Dwina. — The Bridge. — Pic- turesque distribution of the Town. — Marquess Paulucci. — Ge- neral Cobley. — Passports. — Police regulations respecting foi'eign- ers. — Interior of Riga. — Public buildings. — The oldest house. — The new Suburbs. — Liberality of the present Emperor. — News of the Capture of Erivan. — Commerce. — Inns. — Saving of bed-room bells. — The Post Road. — Volmar. — Dorpat. — The University. — Professors Struve and Ledebuhr. — The Livonian Noblesse. — Specimen of modern Academical education in Russia. — The Lake Peipus. — Monsieur Joukowsky. — Wandering Jew Minstrel. — A new wonder fora season in London. — Fortifications of Ivan- gorod. — View of the Gulf of Finland. — Macadamized Roads. — New Post-houses. — Narva. — Kupen. — German Colony. — Paper Manufactory. — Imperial Palace. — Strelna. — Noblemen’s Villas. — Entrance into St. Petersburgh. It being Saturday when we halted at Polangen, we were saved from the attacks of the Jew traders in amber, who are numerous in this village, and who on any other day in the week seldom fail to surround the travellers with all 374 POLANGEN. sorts of trinkets made of that material. Strong as is ge- nerally supposed to be the desire of making money, which actuates that nation, it is creditable to them as observers of their religious tenets, that on no account will they infringe the solemnity of their Sabbath-day by commer- cial transactions of any kind. On this occasion, when there would have been a fair opportunity of turning their industry and ingenuity in the manufacture of articles of amber to a good account, neither spontaneously, nor after some solicitation, could one individual of that nation be prevailed upon to show a single specimen of their manu- facture. We had, however, procured some at Konigs- berg and Memel, in both which places the trade in am- ber is pretty brisk ; and at Polangen we were contented with contrasting the difference, between the despised Is- raelite and many of the Christians, in the observance of the precept of “ keeping holy the Sabbath day,” so much in favour of the former. Of a population of 1400 inhabitants in Polangen, no fewer than COO are of the Jewish persuasion. We ob- served them perambulating the different streets right and left of the wide road which traverses the village, in their gala dress. The men were uniformly clothed in a long loose garment of an ash colour, reaching to the ground, and fastened round the waist with a broad belt, wearing a very broad brimmed round hat, and a beard which reaches be- low the chest. The women, clad in the costume of their nation, in gaudy colours, and glittering Avith gold, particu- larly in their head-dress, reminding us of the fair Rebeccas painted by the great Italian masters, and of the appearance of the lovely Rachel so beautifully pourtrayed by Scott in the Crusaders. During our stay at Polangen, I employed my time in a very instructive conversation with the post-master, an AMBER, AND AMBER TRINKETS. 375 intelligent young man, on the subject of amber. It ap- pears that this substance is found by the inhabitants on the coast between Polangen and Pillau, either loosely on the shore, on which it has been thrown by the strong north and westerly winds, or in small hillocks of sand near the sea, where it is found in regular strata. The quantity found yearly in this manner, and on this small extent of coast, besides what little is sometimes discovered in beds of pit coal in the interior of the country, is said to amount from 150 to 200 tons, yielding a revenue to the Govern- ment of Prussia, of about 100,000 francs. As amber is much less in vogue in Western Europe than in former times, the best pieces, which are very transparent and frequently weigh as much as three ounces, are sent to Turkey and Persia, for the heads of their expensive pipes and hookahs. Very few trinkets are now sold for ornaments to ladies’ dresses, and the great bulk of amber annually found is converted into a species of scented spirits and oil, which are much esteemed for the composition of deli- cate varnish. In the rough state, amber is sold by the tun, and forms an object of export trade from Memel and Konigsberff. The starting from the first Russian post-station, with post-horses, calls for a trifling operation on the part of both native and foreign travellers. Both require a special permission for the hiring of post-horses, without which no post-master is authorized to supply horses — but foreigners must, in addition to such a permission, procure a written de- claration from the superintending officers of Government, that having presented themselves to his office in due form, and furnished with the necessary passport, they are al- lowed to proceed. Being anxious to comply with every existing regulation of the country I was about to enter, I dispatched my own personal passport to the proper .‘37 6 RUSSIAN PASSPORT. authority, with tliat of the nobleman with whom I travelled; although it is probable that I might have been considered as part of his suite, and as such, suffered to proceed unmo- lested. The passport was returned to me with a written declaration, purporting that the bearer, mentioning the name, from London, had presented himself at the frontier of Russia ; had undergone, with his luggage, a proper and strict examination, and was allowed to proceed to St. Petersburgh, after having presented himself at the Polizei Bureau , to receive all necessary instructions as to his jour- ney. These instructions are a mere matter of form. On this subject again, much illiberal animadversion, savouring of partiality, has been bestowed by English travellers. Whe- ther such a system of inquiry into the name and condition of foreigners about to enter a country is just or political, or the reverse, it is not my province to determine ; hut that a system in toto similar to the one just described, exists at the frontier town of England, Dover, is so noto- rious, that the travellers to whom I allude, must have been aware that the force of their animadversions fell equally on the institution of their own country, as on that which more particularly called for their displeasure. A foreigner who arrives at Dover, even at this time of profound peace, is bound, besides going through the different cei'emonies and rummages of the Custom-house, to exhibit his passport ; de- clare the purport of his visit to England, his trade, pro- fession, or other personal character and occupation ; give in the name of two w r ell-reputed housekeepers in London, to whom he is known — and lastly, leave in the posses- sion of the officer or clerk his passport, receiving in ex- change a printed permission to proceed to London. This striking parallel might be pursued farther; but such a course is not to the present purpose of my observations, which go simply to prove that w'hat an Englishman com- jiii • '-nr •s® ’ y U I; I ilfl mfa : '! n ! bat 1 ili ] Stt litki i *» t reni ’I, Ita ; til 1 % GOVERNMENT OF COURLAND. 377 plains of in Russia, is precisely that of which a Russian or any other foreigner would have as much right or cause to complain of in England. Again, I say, Soyotis c/e bonne foi. The permission respecting post-horses, which I before mentioned, and which both Russian and foreign travellers must take out before they can proceed, is called a Podo- roshna. This is a mere order for horses chargeable with a tax, addressed to post-masters, perfectly distinct from a passport, and granted by the Governor-general of the pro- vince or government, in the name of the Emperor. The produce which this source of revenue yields to Government serves to keep up, in part, the posting establishments. The charge for horses is so low, that without some extra resource and assistance, post-masters could not exist. The charge paid on the delivery of the Podoroshna is calculated on the number of horses which it is intended to take on the jour- ney, and on the whole distance in versts. The Government of Courland (Kurlandia), through which we travelled after leaving Polangen, extends over a surface of four hundred and seventy-three square miles, its extreme length being fifty-four miles, and the extreme breadth thirty miles. The country in general is flat and sandy ; and the only really fertile soil to be found, is an extent of little more than sixty miles, near the frontier of Lithuania. Two-fifths of the surface of the country arc covered with woods, through one of which we passed before evening. In penetrating these northern forests, as the pos- tilion, quitting the deep sandy road, followed the various and tortuous tracts through one of them which laid on our left, and ran over a soil made hard and smooth by successive deposits of fallen leaves, the impression received was grand in the extreme. Here the fir, the Scotch pine, the spruce, and the silver-leaved fir, and the larch, mingled together, form 378 STATISTICS OF COURLAND. those vast magazines which supply Europe with masts, deals, pitch and tar. The ulmus campestris, too, or elm ; the tilia Europoca, or lime, the inner bark of which serves for so many useful purposes in Russia, and affords materials for their mats; the birch, the alder, and sycamore, the mountain ash, the beech, and poplar, and occasionally a stately oak, are seen, either in groups or large masses, or occur only as solitary trees, in various parts of these forests. From the statistical accounts published in 1825 , in a pa- per called Feuille des Provinces de la Baltique, by the Rev. E. Watson, the materials of which Avere collected in the course of a residence of twenty-nine years in that country, it appears that tAventy-three square miles of the Avhole surface of Courland are occupied by marshes, upAvards of three hundred lakes, and one hundred and eighteen rivulets, of which forty-four enter the river Aa, thirty-five the Vindau, six the Dwina, and thirty-three fall into the sea. At the last census, the number of inhabitants through the govern- ment amounted to 384 , 789 ,* of Avhom 361,162 profess the Lutheran religion, with one hundred and forty-one churches, and 23,627 of other persuasions, Avith nineteen churches. With the exception of 30,000 people Avho inha- bit the towns, boroughs, and hamlets, the Avhole of the above population live in farms or other country habitations. Of six hundred and ninety-two farms in Courland, one hundred and seventy-tAvo belong to the Crown. Assuming the total extent of surface of this Government to be only that which is not covered by Avoods and rivers, the number of souls to each square mile is 1500 . There are in the Avhole * The number quoted by the Journal de St. Petersbourg, 1st March, 1828, amounts only to 383,003; there has, therefore, been a decrease in the population of 1786 inhabitants, in the course of three years, according to the two accounts. RUSSIAN POSTILIONS. 379 government or province 20,839 houses, consequently each house has from thirteen to fourteen inmates. The roads are very sandy ; their great width particularly struck me; they are about three times the breadth of the German roads ; the soil is loose, and confined on each side by basket-work. Beyond the side ditches, a double row of trees, generally small and stunted, is planted all along the road. The postilions drive at a brisk rate, and at each verst, or one-third of two English miles, the traveller has the comfort of knowing, by the inspections of the lofty stakes on the road, not only how many versts he has run since he left the last post-house, but also the number he has to perform before reaching the next. At each of these establishments also, he finds a post, on the outside, similar to that at Polangen ; which bears tbe name of the place and the distances from the frontier to the capital — to Moscow, and to one or two principal towns in the go- vernment. By copying with accuracy the information, thus successively obtained, I was enabled to draw up a march-route from Polangen to St. Petersburg!), more ex- act than those I had found in my guides or foreign post- maps. This will be found in an Appendix at the end of the Second Volume. At every post-house, the podoroslma is shown to the post-master, who is obliged to register an extract of that document, including the name of the tra- veller, number of horses allowed, and destination. The first forest which we entered continued for upwards of twenty English miles, and the road through it, selected by the postilions, in order to avoid the deep sands of the main road, is at times very uneven, full of holes, and incumbered with stumps of trees. The jolting is consequently fre- quent, and almost intolerable. We at last emerged from this wood, and after crossing the Lwke and Bartau rivers, reached Tadaiken, where we breakfasted at the post-house, 380 ROAD FROM TAD AIK EN TO SCIIRUNDEN. in a warm and commodious apartment. The villages through which we passed, consist of a row of wooden houses on each side of the road, strongly built, and at some distance from each other, generally thatched, and warmed by stoves made of a species of terra cotta. The furniture of the post-houses is plain and neat. The wooden floors are strewed with sand and small branches of fir-trees, which impart to the room the peculiar smell of that plant. Having taken the precaution of sending an estaffette or avant-courier to order the horses, we had the satisfaction of not being detained at any of the post-houses. This circum- stance, and the furious rate at which we were driven, com- bined to render our journey less tedious than the monotony of forest scenery, perpetually recurring, and seldom diver- sified by any break or undulation in the landscape, — and the unintelligible jargon spoken by the people with whom we had to deal, (a jargon bearing no affinity to German, R ussian, or Polish,) would otherwise have made it. From Tadaiken to Schiundcn, the country presents the appearance of more careful cultivation, and the villages and farm-houses are more numerous. The road between these two places ascends a gentle ridge, which runs in a north and south direction. At Schriindcn we crossed the Vin- dau, one of the principal rivers in the government of Cour- land, which falls into the Baltic, near to a small town bearing the name of the river, where formerly existed a building-yard for merchant-vessels. We stopped to dine at Frauenburg, where we were quite delighted with the entertainment and accommodations afforded us by a most civil and well-mannered landlady and her daughters, whom, to judge by their dress, demeanour, and easy conversation, we could hardly have expected to have met with in such a place. Beyond Frauenburg, the road is very sandy in the plain, and rough and uneven over the hills. Forest I.OUIS XVIII. AT MITTAU. 381 scenery prevails again throughout this district. Night overtook us on the border of one of these forests, at a small place called Bechhof, where the accommodation for our party being very scanty, I volunteered passing the night in the close carriage, the external temperature being then at twenty- five degrees of Fahrenheit, or seven degrees below the freez- ing-point. The night was magnificent, and I do not recol- lect contemplating a more brilliant starry firmament than I did on that occasion. On the following morning, the 22d of October, the first snow fell which had been seen that sea- son. Having changed horses at Doblen, a small village . to situated on the banks of the Weise 5 we proceeded on our waytoMittau. On this part of the road, which is tolerably good, and on which we were driven at a full gallop, we crossed no less than three small rivers, the principal of which falls into the Aa. The country in general is barren. Forests are seen at various distances, and, here and there, some ploughed fields and flax plantations. At the end of a long and tedious sandy common, the town of Mittau, the ancient capital of Courland, presents itself, where we arrived at twelve o’clock in the day, and put up at the St. Petersburgh Hotel, the best inn in the town, consisting of a great number of scattered apartments, a long billiard room, and two or three private sitting-rooms near it, tolerably clean. The French landlord, a chatty old fellow, be- longing to the ancien regime, had been maitre d’hotel to Louis XVIII., when that monarch resided at Mittau, du- ring part of his long exile from France. He told us, that having left Paris after the storming of the Bastille, he had followed the fortunes of the emigrant Bourbon princes ; fought in many bloody actions by their side, was wounded, maimed, and rendered incapable of effective service, and being rewarded with a situation in the household of the Count de Lisle, came with his Christian Majesty to this 382 PRINCE AND PRINCESS MICHAEL G place at the close of the last century. When that mo- narch quitted Courland for Warsaw, our Parisian host took the large house he now occupies, and embarked in his present career of landlord, during twenty years of which he had x'eceived under his roof. Emperors, Kings, and Princes, together with a long list of illustrious cha- racters, many of whom had since made their exit from the worldly stage. Although Monsieur Morel (for that was his name) had married a woman of Mittau, and had been living in Courland upwards of twenty years, he had not learned a single word of the language of the country ; and yet he was fully acquainted with the affairs of every body of consequence who lived in it. He seemed not to have forgotten his own history, and to have learned at the same time that of every one else. We however forgave him freely his little impertinences, for the excellent dinner a la Francaise, with which he regaled us. Only imagine a dinner a la Very, in the sandy desert of Courland ! The Prince and Princess Michel G , who is a niece of the Count, and an intimate acquaintance of the Coun- tess, called on them on healing of their arrival. Besides her own personal attractions to recommend her to respectful notice, this lady has the advantage of being the daughter of the late Prince Souvaroff, who bore so distinguished a part in the military achievements of the last fifty years of the past century. The Princess had just returned from Italy and Dresden, to both which places she had gone for the recovery of her health, and was now impatient to return to St. Petersburgh. The opinion of her physician, however, being decidedly against such a plan, she preferred remaining at Mittau, on the very threshold of her native country, rather than again lead a wandering life as an in- valid, subject to the fancies and schemes of French, Italian, and German doctors, by whom she had been attended. NEW ROAD FROM KONIGSBERG TO RIGA. 383 Baron de II , the Governor of the Province, also visited the Count, and informed him that the Emperor was expected to leave the capital in a few days, on a visit of inspection to some important military stations in the governments of Pscow, Vitepsk, Wilna, Kurlandia, and Livonia, with other news of interest, which were highly welcome to a party of travellers who had been, as it were, secluded from the busy world for the space of nine days after quitting the capital of Prussia. We learned on this occasion, that indifferent as the roads had appeared to us, they were considerably worse, par- ticularly in the immediate neighbourhood of Mittau, when the Baron took possession of his government. On the side of Riga the road consists chiefly of an arti- ficial soil, raised and contained by basket-work on each side, and strengthened by trunks of trees with their branches laid crossways, and a great deal of sand thrown over them. It appears that some notion exists of the Russian and Prussian Governments uniting to make a macadamized or hard road, from Riga to Kdnigsberg, in a direct line, and through Tilsit, avoiding Polangen, Me- mel, and the Strand, or sea-road ; thus rendering the entrance into their respective States worthy of the two Sovereigns. Should this project, which as yet remains in petto, be carried into execution, travellers going to or coming from Russia on this side, will have reason to bless the memory of the monarchs by whose orders so desi- rable an improvement will have been effected : for the crossing of the Alps, the ascending of the Pyrenees, or the traversing of the Sierra Morena, are comparatively more easy, although more hazardous journeys, than that which we performed from Kdnigsberg to Riga. The new or projected road will also have the great merit of being shorter than the present one, if it be made to pass by 384 RUSSIAN ROADS, CANALS, &C. Boloky, Koltiniany, Varny, Berschany, cross the Blandan- gersche Berg, a low range of hills running in a north-west and south-eastern direction, nearly through Courland, at Schawly, whence there is a high road, (although bad and to be re-made of course,) in a straight line to Mittau and Biga. By the present road, the distance from Riga to Polangen is 272^ versts, and 22 German miles from the latter place to Konigsberg, taking the road by the sea-shore, but ten miles farther if the circuitous road through Tilsit be pre- ferred. But should the new road be accomplished, the distances would be reduced to eight and a half German miles from Konigsberg to Tilsit, (this road to be made good,) and 190 versts from the latter place to Riga. Several canals are about to be constructed in this part of the Russian empire, already so celebrated for its internal navigation. Baron de H stated, that it is thus intended to afford to the farmers an opportunity of sending their corn down to the sea-side, which, being embarked on the Aa, will from thence, by a canal, pass into the river Vindau, and to be conveyed by a second canal to Liebau, a seaport on the coast between Polan- gen and Vindau. At present the country people are compelled to send the produce of their land in carts, over sandy and difficult roads, to that port. The navi- gation and commerce of Liebau have made great pro- gress in the course of last year. The number of vessels which sailed from that port were, in 1826, 180 only, and they had increased to 234 in 1827. The value of goods ex- ported in the same year amounted to 3,428,493 roubles ; that of the goods imported to 450,886 roubles. This proves the importance of having a direct water-communi- cation to that seaport ; and furnishes also one other ex- ample, out of many, of the active trade carried on by Russia, which receives in foreign goods little more than CORN AND CONTRABAND IN COURLAND. 385 one-seventh of the value of her own goods exported. An- other projected line of canal communication will join the Dwina to the Aa and the Memel, so that a free inland communication will exist between Riga, Mittau, and Me- mel. The difficulties, arising from the want of proper means of conveyance in the disposal of the abundant crops of Courland, in this and several of the preceding years, which had filled their granaries to a degree almost un- precedented, were increased by the existent prohibitory laws respecting the introduction of foreign manufactures as a part payment and in return for the corn to be sold. These circumstances, I had heard it asserted afterwards by other intelligent individuals, had caused a great depres- sion of the agricultural interest, and obliged several farmers to throw up their farms; whilst the same pro- hibitory laws had given rise to a most extensive and daring contraband, which was carried on along the coasts of that province. It was reported, however, that the great vigi- lance of the Government would ultimately succeed in put- ting down this illicit traffic. Other public works of importance are now carrying on in Courland as well as in the neighbouring Government of Livonia. Among these may be mentioned a vast under- taking, which was begun as far back as the year 1810, and is now carrying on with activity, for the purpose of discovering the salt mines, supposed, from tradition, to have existed in those two governments. Messrs. Ulman and Liachnicki, a rich landholder in Lithuania, with two persons belonging to the mining corps, have been authorized by the Minister of Finance to begin every requisite operation for so desirable an object : and the report of the last-mentioned gentleman, who relies on the known existence of some saline springs in the country for the discovery of more extensive salt mines, seems to lead 2 c? VOL. I. 336 M1TTAU. people to hope that an article so essentially necessary to life may be found in Courland. At present salt is im- ported into that country from abroad, and its great con- sumption causes a heavy los9 of capital, tends to keep up its price, and frequently to cause a distressing scarcity of the article itself. It does not, however, appear that any very decided success has crowned the efforts of these geologists. We left the St. Petersburgh Plotel in the afternoon, becoming naturally more impatient to conclude our jour- ney as we approached nearer to the capital. As we drove through the streets, we had sufficient opportunity of ob- serving that the town is small, ill built, and worse paved. My second visit to it, on my return from St. Petersburgh, confirmed these observations. The houses are chiefly built of wood, painted either green, a dark sienna or brown, with the architraves of the windows white. The grotesque ap- pearance which these pictorial decorations, so generally adopted, give to the streets is very striking. Insignificant as the town may appear in general, to us who had spent so many days in deserts of sand and forests of pines, it was quite cheei'ing to behold its buildings, and squares, and bustling population, which amounts to about 10,000, and is composed of Livonians, Russians, Prussians, French, Poles, and Jews, besides the Courlandians. The nobility and gentry of Courland assemble at Mittau at stated times for the dispatch of business connected with the pro- vincial administration, such as the levying of taxes for mu- nicipal purposes, the making and keeping the roads in repair, the maintaining the troops stationed in the coun- try, and other matters ; and they also reside in it during the winter, when Mittau is said to become the scene of mirth and gaiety equal to that of any other city in Europe. After leaving the town, we passed in front of the Palace FLOATING BRIDGE OVER THE AA. 387 of the ancient Dukes of Courland, rebuilt by the last Duke Bironoutof the ruins of the old castle. It stands on a broad elbow of land formed by the river Aa. It is a large pile of building of a dazzling whiteness, and of an ir- regular form, yet altogether pleasing to the eye, were it not for the red tiles, or some other outrageously red cover- ing on its roof. In this chateau, which even so late as a few years back was surrounded by bastions and a moat, now no longer existing, the exiled Count de Lille was permitted by the Sovereign of Russia to hold his court for some time ; and the illustrious daughter of Louis XVI. gave her hand to the Duke of Angouleme. Proceeding a little farther we crossed the Aa twice, on a floating bridge, consisting of loose and thick planks of timber, connected together at each extremity, and a fleur d'eau. Near the first bridge is the port, where we observed a number of large barges and single-masted ves- sels, moored on each side. The second bridge lies over a narrower branch of the river, and offers a curious descent upon it from the road, which is overlaid with tim- ber, and nearly perpendicular, and from which the car- riages are literally precipitated, rushing in that manner upon the loose planks of the bridge with a tremendous crash, the water splashing in all directions, and the posti- lion driving all the while at a furious rate down the pre- cipice, and over the bridge, to save the horses from being overpowered by the weight of the carriage. As I had a full opportunity of first witnessing the passing in this man- ner of Count Woronzow’s travelling chariot, which to me appeared to have been actually precipitated from the bank into the river, I did not quite admire the necessity I was under of following it, until at last I perceived it safe on the other side of the river. The Aa, at Mittau, must not be confounded with another o P o 388 ROAD TO RIGA. river of the same name distinguished by the prefix Boulder, which, taking its origin in the district of Vender, near Pebalch, in Livonia, passes under the towns of Wolmar and Vender, and falls into the Gulf of Riga. The Aa, which passes through Mittau, enters the same gulf, but so near to the mouth of the Dwina that it mingles its waters with that river before it loses itself in the sea. The free sovereignty of Courland ceased to exist in 1785, when Catherine II. annexed it to the Russian Empire. The road to Riga, passing through Olai, is much of the same character as the rest of the journey from the frontier. The jolting is intolerable where the road is hard, and the tadium vita excessive, where it is soft, that is to say, so sandy that there is no going through it beyond a foot- pace. This road is much frequented, the intercourse be- tween Riga and Mittau being incessant. A diligence starts from the latter place for Riga twice a-day, and re- turns. We met one of these vehicles, and it appeared to us to be an improvement on some of the French di- ligences. On reaching, late in the evening, the summit of a hill beyond a small village called Portenhof, on the border of the Tyrul Morast, a mass of light burst sud- denly on the dark horizon pointing to the situation of Riga, the capital of Livonia. The hundreds of lamps which we distinguished as we approached nearer, sketching a great way right and left, showed the great extent of the town. Having descended to the margin of the wide Dwina, we followed for a short time the left bank of that river, entered a small fauxbourg situated upon it, and found ourselves on the floating bridge, which being lighted by lamps hung across it, and flanked on each side, at the extremity nearest to the town, by the sterns of several two and three-masted vessels of heavy burthen, and illuminated, bv the lights seen through the cabin windows, presented BRIDGE ON THE DWINA. .389 a novel and pleasing sight. We drove through a fortified gateway between two lofty ramparts, and following the direction of the principal street from thence, readied the Hotel de Londres, where apartments had been prepared for our reception. This inn requires only the luxury of a carpet to be as good, in every respect, as some of the best hotels we have seen on our journey. Its situation, in a narrow and noisy street, is a great objection in general ; but to me, who felt already tired of the monotony of our late excursion, even the noise of a bustling town was welcome music to my ears. On the following morning I rose with the dawn, and proceeded to reconnoitre the situation of the town, and cast a look at the noble river Dwina. The population was already abroad and busy. Crowds of people were seen directing their steps to the port, outside the gates, where a large market is held. Hundreds of small slight country carts, loaded with vegetables, poultry, and live cattle, kept pouring in over the bridge, and the whole scene soon became very animated. I paced twice the whole length of the bridge, which was thronged with sailors, and masters of vessels from every part of the world, and I found it to measure 710 paces, which give a length equal to 1600 feet. The breadth is forty feet. The bridge consists of a number of stout timbers, placed near to each other, parallel with the course of the stream, lashed together at their extre- mity, floating on the water, and maintained in their position by piles driven, at regular distances, into the bed of the river, and rising considerably above the level of the water, to which the bridge is fastened by chains. Over the cross timbers are placed two carriage-ways, made of planks, even and of proper breadth. Some parts of the bridge are so con- trived that they may readily be removed, in order to admit vessels passing up and down the stream to take their posi- 390 RIGA. — MARQUESS PAULUCCi. tions on either side of the bridge, to which they are moored by the stern, or for the general purpose of navigation. The Dwina, seen in this part of its course, is a magnificent river. Below the bridge its expansion is such that it might easily be mistaken for a large sea-port ; while far above, its windings are really imposing. The sea is about five miles from the town. The view of Riga from the right bank is pleasing, and has a picturesque effect. The manner in which the build- ings are grouped, and the distribution of the town over an extensive ground, surrounded by bastions, give the place an impressive character. The principal mass of the town is placed at the foot and a little to the left of the bridge. Four or five towers and steeples are seen to rise in this quarter, one of which attracts more attention from its Oriental structure of three stories high, covered by. a dome placed over a light and open colonnade, and terminated by a pointed spire. This tower belongs to the Church of St. Peter. Riga is the residence of the Governor-General Mar- quess Paulucci, who was absent on the present occasion. This nobleman is a native of Venice, and brother to the admiral who now commands the Austrian naval forces in the Archipelago. He began his career as an officer - in the Russian army, against the Turks, and having distinguish- ed himself in some general actions, rose successively to the rank of General and Governor of Provinces, until he reached his present dignity and power. His government comprehends Esthonia, Livonia, Courland, and Pskoff. He married the daughter of General Cobley, an English- man, who, after having served in the Russian army, has retired to his estates in the neighbourhood of Odessa, where, Cincinnatus-like, he employs his time in agricultural pursuits, and the breeding of Merino sheep, of which I am GENERAL COBLEY. 391 told he has a flock of seven or eight thousand, the best on the Steppes. This gentleman, who, from a long residence abroad, speaks his native language with nearly the same difficulty with which he speaks either Russian or French, seems not to have lost that frank and blunt style of man- ners and address which characterised an English soldier in the times of the Marlboroughs and the Elliots. He had just arrived at Riga on a visit to his daughter, having at his advanced age traversed a great part of Russia for that purpose. He called on Count Woronzow, and gave a flourishing account of the present state and progress of Odessa, which, from an insignificant town, had been changed into a place of importance by the late Due de Richelieu, and has since been raised, by the exertions of the nobleman, whom I accompanied, and who is Governor-General, to a rank equal to that of the principal commercial ports in the Mediterranean. He spoke highly also of his friend and countryman the veteran Admiral Greigh, and of the high state of discipline of the Russian fleet under his command in the Black Sea. Having, on our arrival at Riga, sent my passport to the police, I was requested to attend at the office, for the pur- pose of enabling them to write my signalement, or personal description, on a fresh passport, which was written in Ger- man, and was delivered to me on payment of one silver rouble, or three shillings. My own passport from the fo- reign office in London was detained and afterwards forwarded to the Government at St. Petersburgh. This is an indispen- sable formality with foreigners who arrive at Riga, either by sea or land, and who are desirous of proceeding to the ca- pital. The only trouble I had on the occasion, was a walk from the inn to the police-office, accompanied by a valet de place. The interior of Riga reminded me very forcibly of some 392 RIGA. of the towns in the Netherlands and on the Rhine. The streets are generally very narrow, seldom straight, clumsily paved, and have a narrow foot-pavement on both sides, made of bricks laid edgeways. The stream of dirty water ill the middle gutter, and the splashings from the pipes attached to the outside of the houses, and coming down to the level of the passengers’ ankles, are worthy even of Paris. Most of the houses are high and terminated with pointed gable-ends, like those at Aix-la-Chapelle or Bruges. The squares are irregularly-shaped open places, with the exception of two, in one of which is the residence of the Governor-General, having somewhat of a castel- lated form, and a lofty pillar, bearing a bronze statue of Victory, erected in 1817, at the expense of the merchants, to commemorate the glorious part which their town took in the war of 1812. The other is surrounded by a double plantation of trees, within which the military exer- cises and parades take place. The house of Mr. Cummings, the English Consul, resident in Riga, a gentleman of much urbanity of manners, is one of the most conspicuous in this square. There are few public buildings of importance in Riga, or remarkable for their structure, except a singular-looking house opposite to the Rathhouse, having in front a great number of niches filled with grotesque statues. This is said to be the first house that was built when Riga was founded, and the only one of the same date now standing, being six hundred and thirty years old. The historical records of the country state that the Capital of Livonia was founded in 1201. The Rathhouse, or Town Hall, is of a much more mo- dern date, and has some pretensions to style in its archi- tecture. The exchange is another modern building of some importance. The most remarkable structure, how- SIEGE OF RIGA. 393 ever, in Riga, in more respects than one, is that which belongs to a confraternity called the Sdhwartzen Haupter, or Black-heads, and is likewise the Imperial residence. All these houses, as well as the greater part of the private dwellings, are built of stone — a few are of brick, covered with plaster. From the top of the tower of the Church of St. Peter, the view of the town, and the small territory around it, bounded by extensive and impenetrable dark forests of firs and pines, is imposing. The eye wanders as far as the Baltic, and plainly distinguishes the Bay, where are seen riding at anchor several large vessels, many of them bear- ing the English colours. Riga, though exposed to imminent danger during the advance of the French and Prussian troops to the Dwina, in 1812, resisted successfully the aggressors ; and in order to place the town in a fit condition to stand a siege, the inhabitants agreed to destroy by fire some of the sub- urbs which were the most exposed to the attacks of the enemy. By this measure a large quantity of naval stores and building timber was destroyed, which might otherwise have fallen into the hands of the enemy. In September of that year, the Governor of the town, having formed a plan for surprising the corps of General d’Yorck, sallied forth, and compelled that officer to fall back upon Mittau. The suburbs, destroyed on that memorable occasion, were gradually rebuilt in a more modern style of ar- chitecture, after the year 1816 ; the late Emperor Alex- ander having granted a loan to the inhabitants of one million and a half of roubles for that purpose. During his visit to Riga in October 1827, (a few days after we had left that city,) his present Imperial Majesty having learned that those who had had the benefit of that loan were not then in a condition to repay the capital, and that some of 394 COMMERCE OF RIGA. the new houses had been seized and sold in consequence, with the greatest liberality ordered that the time for the final repayment of the loan should be prolonged to 1844, and that the houses seized should be restored to the pro- prietors, on their engaging to repay their respective sums within that period. It was on that same occasion that the Emperor Nicholas, having received through the capital the news of the capture of Erivan, in Persia, by his army, addressed to the Gover- nor-General, the Marquess Paulucci, the following rescript : “ Marquess Philip Ossipovitch. My first visit to Riga, since my accession to the throne, has just been signalized by the receipt of the glorious news of the capture of Eri- van by our troops. “ Wishing to leave to my dear and faithful city of Riga, a remembrance of so happy an event, I give to it the arms which belonged to the chief of the Persian troops, Hassan Khan, made prisoner in the town of Erivan, of which he was the commandant. In sending you these arms, namely, a lance and a poniard, I desire you to see them deposited in the Hotel de Ville, where they are to be preserved, and to inform the inhabitants of Riga of this my disposition. I am your affectionate, “ Riga, 26th October, O.S.” (Signed) Nicholas.” The commerce of Riga is very considerable ; the number of foreign vessels, which arrive in this port in the course of the navigable season, amounts frequently to 1200. The indigenous produce, which is exported hence to England, Holland, France, Spain, and the northern parts of Ger- many, is flax, tallow, potash, iron, corn, linseed, &c. In the year 1825, the total exportation amounted to 49,041,537 roubles, of which sum, 34,177,484 roubles had COMMERCE OF RIGA. 395 been for goods shipped to England. In the year 1827, the number of vessels which entered Riga, up to the day on which the bridge was removed, and the Dwina froze, amounted to 1442; of these, 1423 sailed again from Riga, loaded, 1368 of which had cargoes of Russian produce. We were informed, that within the last two or three years trade had greatly revived in this place ; and, indeed, the official returns of the amount of custom-house duties, paid in the course of the last six years, sufficiently prove this ; as will be seen from the following report. Years. Roubles. Kopeeks. 1822 . . . 4,231,770 „ 141 1823 . . . 5,073,689 „ m 1824 . . . 6,801,941 „ 99 1825 . . . 8,053,551 „ 18 1826 . . . . 7,253,318 „ 63 1827 . . . 8,215,400 „ 41* The population of this town amounted, at the end of 1827, to 47,949 inhabitants. Besides the Hotel tie Londres, there is the Hotel de St. Petersburgh at Riga, which I found very comfortable on a second visit. Its situation is preferable to that of the London Hotel; but the latter having been lately modern- ized, and newly furnished, is the most desirable of the two. The rooms are airy and commodious; they are heated by means of Russian stoves, and they have beds in them after the exact fashion of those in Germany. A singular ar- rangement occurs in these inns in regard to that most ne- cessary appendage to a bed-chamber or sitting-room, name- ly, a bell, which seems intended to economize their number, at the risk of incommoding the guests. In truth, I have had occasion before now to remark, that throughout Ger- many there seems to exist a degree of antipathy against 396 BEDROOM BELLS. such a useful piece of furniture ; for it is rare indeed that you find one in your room, and that you are not obliged to go outside, either to call for a servant or to pull at a bell, the rope of which hangs in the open space of the square staircase, from the top to the bottom of the house, and serves for the general use of the lodgers on every floor. In the latter case, after pulling the bell, you are compelled to stand watching for the servant, in order that you may dii’ect him where to go — an occupation by no means pleas- ing at any hour, much less at night, when, getting out of a snug and warm bed, you stand shivering en bonnet de nuit on the landing-place. Now the arrangement I allude to, and which I noticed at the Hotel de Londres, does away the necessity of the latter part of the ceremony. A large square board is fixed on the landing-place of each floor, having several horizontal narrow slides in it, placed one above the other, each of which is marked at one of its ex- tremities with the number of each of the rooms or apart- ments on that floor. In these slides a square piece of wood is fitted, which admits of being easily pushed from one end of the slide to the other. When a lodger has had his tug at the pro bono pnblico bell outside his room, he need not wait for the servant, but, after pushing the square piece of wood right against the number marked at the end of the slide which corresponds with the number of his room, he may retire, certain that the servant will wait upon him. This contrivance no doubt shows some ingenuity, and for that reason, I take the trouble of describing it, although it will appear perhaps to my readers too trifling a subject to be introduced in this place ; but it also shows (and that is the important feature of the anecdote) either a want of inge- nuity in adopting, or a thorough indifference to, the more re- fined conveniences of life, and in both cases a certain degree of backwardness in the useful arts of civilized so- ROAD TO VOLMAR. 397 ciety. This deficiency of room-bells I noticed even in the Berlin hotels. It is, in fact, a general failing throughout Germany ; and Riga must be considered as a German town in that and many more respects. The necessary arrangements for posting, d la Russe, being completed, our party started from Riga in the afternoon, the carriages having four horses abreast, and being driven by bearded postilions seated in front, who beguiled away their time by talking aloud to their horses without once ceasing. We had received very discouraging accounts of the state of the roads, owing to some rain which had fallen ; and we determined on getting over them as fast as we could by travelling all night. I thought the road from the first post-house after we left Riga as had as it could well be — worse even than the stage after Conitz, in Prussia; but the road from Hilckensfehr to Roop, including the third and fourth stages, surpassed them all in difficulties and badness. We had hills, sand, broken ground, a perpendicular descent unto a floating bridge, like the one over the Aa, with the horses, tackle, and postilions as bad as possible, and a pitch-dark and rainy night withal to mend the matter. At last morning came, and after a short drive over a better sort of a road, and through a country diversified by wood, cultivated fields, undulations in the ground, and neat villages, we reached Lenzenhof, where we breakfasted in a most comfortable house, clean, tidy, well-furnished, and affording every sort of accommodation. After such a night’s tossing, to fall into such a place as this was a piece of good fortune which those only can appreciate who have travelled the same road. The country before reaching Volmar offers a tolerable specimen of the state of agriculture in this part of Livonia. Forests, both old and new, in considerable number are met 398 VOLMAR. with here and there, succeeded by corn-fields already sown ; barren heaths, on which are seen scattered in all direc- tions the same sort of primitive blocks so frequently no- ticed in this journey ; farm-houses, consisting of one or two wooden buildings, and a yard in tolerable good condition; small horses and diminutive horned cattle ; no inclosures, except a kind of palisade, marking the division of property, or protecting the farm-houses from intrusion ; extensive buildings, serving as granaries to hold the crops. These are the most prominent agricultural features of the country. The Livonians have the reputation of being good farmers. On the road we observed a great part of the crops of the present year, particularly of barley, still in the fields, in large stacks, and thatched, to stand the winter out, as the granaries were already quite full. Occasionally we met a party of carriers with light telegas, frequently amounting to twenty and thirty in number, loaded with the produce of the country, bales of goods, or barrels of brandy ; but none of that bustle of land-carriage which one witnesses on the main roads leading to a great capital. For the convenience of these parties of carriers and their cattle, there are, at the distance of forty and fifty versts, very large hangards or caravanserais, with their longest side placed parallel to the road, and a large gate at each end, in which from one to two hundred head of cattle may find shelter at night or during heavy falls of snow. A house of refreshment for the drivers is generally at hand ; although the number of public-houses for the inferior classes throughout this road, seemed not so con- siderable as on any of the high-roads in England. The small town of Volmar, situated on the river Aa, the second of that name to which I have alluded in my account of Mittau, consists of about a hundred houses, painted yellow and green, with one church, and a post- DOR PAT. 399 house, which, from its exterior, is not calculated to give the traveller a favourable opinion of the accommodations he is likely to find within. The town takes its name from a place not far distant from it, in which Valdemar, one of the Danish kings defeated the Livonians in 1220 : it was not till thirty years after that Volmar was founded. The road passes along the outskirts of the town through a sandy soil, and soon enters a most magnificent forest, skirting at the same time the Aa, whose steep and broken banks and tor- tuous course serve to vary the great sameness of the scene around. The road in this part is at least two hundred feet wide. After changing horses five different times, we reached Dorpat, or, as it is frequently written, Dbrpt. Between Giilne and Teilitz we crossed a low range of hills, which runs first in a north-west, then in a north, and again in a north-western direction, as far as the shore at the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, dividing, nearly into equal parts, east and west, both Livonia and Esthonia. As we stopped on the road at Kuikatz, I had an opportunity of observing that iiowever neatly decorated and neatly furnished you find most pf the post-houses, their accommodations for sleeping are generally inferior. If the party be numerous, a great pro- portion of them must make up their mind, as I did on the present occasion, to sleep on a hard sofa without taking heir clothes off. Dorpat is the seat of an University, which was founded n 1632 by Gustavus Adolphus, re-established in 1802 by he Emperor Alexander, and has since received much en- ourasement from the Russian Government. It is not lowever much frequented, the average number of students teing seldom more than four hundred. The great reputa- ion which this University enjoys at this moment, among he scientific men of Europe, is due to its Professor of Astro- 400 PROFESSOR STRUVE. nomy, Monsieur Struve, who has, in the space of the last three years, received a golden medal from the Royal Society, as well as from the Astronomical Society of London, of which he is an associate. These awards were made to him for his valuable and numerous observations on double stars, those curious binary systems in the planetary world, in which two stars perform to each other the office of sun and planet. M. Struve, with but indifferent instruments, until the late Emperor presented the Observatory with one of Fraunhofer’s colossal telescopes, which, with many other new astronomical instruments sent on the same occasion, is now to be seen in the Observatory, had, as late as the year 1825, succeeded in discovering one thousand double stars belonging to the first four classes, among which eight hun- dred are new, and of these three hundred belong to the first class. Two more years’ indefatigable labour have since enabled him to ascertain that of more than 120,000 stars, 3060 belong to the first four classes. The Univer- sity, therefore, has published a new catalogue of double stars, which, with a well-executed chart of the heavens, and a report detailing the discoveries, has been presented to, and is now in the possession of the Royal Society in London. In that report there are some preliminary and general observations on the nature of the fixed stars, and the motion of those celestial bodies which all astronomers, at no very distant period, considered as immovable. Pro- fessor Struve is a patient and industrious astronomer. His observations, published from time to time, are said to offer a most remarkable coincidence in most of the measurements, with those of the late Sir W. Herschel; although made with different instruments, and a different micrometer. The Professor appears not to have been aware that the same subject was engaging, at the same time, the atten- tion of two eminent astronomers in this country, and the PROFESSOR LEBEBIFIR. 401 coincidence in their results tends to confirm the general ac- curacy of the observations. Using the language of the urbane and distinguished President of the Astronomical Society of London, when speaking of M. Struve, every lover of astronomy will agree that “ his services to science, and the progress of his discoveries, have placed the name of the Professor of Dorpat among the most celebrated of modern astronomers.” The Emperor of Russia has lately bestowed on M. Struve the cross of the Order of St. Ann of the Second Class, as a mark of approbation of his zeal in the discharge of his duties. Professor Ledebuhr is another ornament to the Univer- sity of Dorpat. His journey over the chain of the Altay Mountains, which separate China from Siberia, underta- ken in 1826, with a view of studying the natural productions )f that country ; and the result of his researches, and that >f his travelling companions Doctors Meyer and Bunge, vhich has been communicated to the Council of the Uni- 'ersity since September last, place this gentleman among he most able and zealous naturalists of Russia. Botany ppears to have been the principal object ; but Zoology nd Mineralogy, as well as the Geography and Statistics of lat immense, and hitherto little known, tract of country, ave not been neglected. The number of species of plants mnd in the course of their travels amounts to 1600, of hich from four to five hundred were totally unknown be- *re ; while the existing information respecting the nature id locality of the greater part of the remainder was found have hitherto been generally inaccurate. The Professor is therefore expressed his intention of publishing a Flora Itaica, which there is no doubt will be received with ;atitude by the botanists of every nation. The collections ude by Professor Ledebuhr and his companions, in the ‘urse of their travels, consist — 1. Of an Herbarium, con- vol. i. 2 i> UNIVERSITY OP DORPAT. 402 tabling 1600 species. 2. Of 241 living plants. 3. Of 1341 species of seed. 4. Of 700 species of animals. 5. Of fine specimens of emerald, and other mineralogical substances. Lastly, of some remains of antiquity found in the tumuli of the Tchoud nation. An excellent spirit seems to prevail among the students at this University ; and the reciprocal regard which exists between them and the professors, serves most materially to promote the welfare and utility of that institution. On a very recent occasion, some of the gentlemen who had been educated at Dorpat, and who reside in St. Peters- burgh, having learned that one of their former fellow students, whose talents and good conduct had commanded their respect, had, from inevitable family misfortunes, been deprived of the means of continuing his studies at that University, met together, and came to the resolution of sub- scribing the necessary sum to enable him to complete his edu- cation — aresolution which was immediately carried into effect. Would not such a trait of liberality have been blazoned forth in every newspaper in some other country in Europe ? The principal college of the University is a large build- ing, upwards of two hundred feet in length, with an unpretending and unadorned elevation, having a Doric 1 portico in front. It is built of brick plastered over, and its roof is covered with sheets of iron. This college was erected a few years after the restoration of the University. The interior structure and arrangement of the lecture- rooms, and the decorations of the Academical or Examina- tion Hall, are worthy of the best establishments of this description in Europe. The library of the University is placed in a part of an old church, which, from its elevated situation on the old ramparts, forms a conspicuous object, near to which is the Anatomical Theatre. The town of Dorpat is situated on the Embackh river, LIVONIAN NOBLESSE. 403 called by the Livonians, Emma-Jogui, which crosses the road to St. Petersburg!!. The river unites a small lake on the left of our road called Vourtz, or Vourtz-ere, with the great lake Peipus, seen from the fortifications and sub- urb on the hill, which command an extensive view of the country : thus the town appears placed in a hollow. The old fortifications around it, together with some of the ditches, have lately been converted into ornamental gar- dens, shrubberies, and public walks. The appearance of the interior of Dorpat is highly favourable. Most of the bouses are modern, and several new streets add to the gaiety of the place. On my return from St. Petersburgh, [ had more leisure to notice this place, which, as a seat of earning, is certainly deserving the attention of travellers. Dorpat is the resort of the Livonian noblesse, who, for ■ducation and manners, are said to be equal to the best dasses of the same rank in Germany. Out of a popula- ion which in 1827 amounted to 644,701 in Livonia, '.bout 3,892 belong to the nobility. They have a number >f seats and villas in the neighbourhood, many of which re most romantically situated, and command a view of he river and the distant lakes. A large proportion of he Livonian nobles enter the army and the public service, nd have distinguished themselves greatly in whatever lepartment they have been placed. I have had the good ortune of forming an acquaintance with several of them, ioth in and out of Russia, and I have invariably found hem well informed, of agreeable manners, and well ducated. The Livonian noblesse have at all times en- )yed a certain number of privileges, and a degree of •olitical independence, which the successive conquerors f their country have more or less respected. Even under le government of Russia, the town of Dorpat enjoys the dvantage of having a magistracy and municipal adminis- 2 d 2 404 REVENUE OF LIVONIA AND COURLAND. tration of theii- own. I observed, while at St. Peters- burgh, that a great number of the medical officers of the army were natives of Livonia. I have quoted the population of this entire government at 644,701. It is remarkable that of this number 289,266 only are males, leaving an unusual and unaccount- able excess of 66,169 females. The city of Dorpat had only 8,841 inhabitants in 1827. The revenue which the crown derives from this government and that of Courland, during the first eleven months of last year, amounted to Livonia taxes, &c. Custom-house, { ill paper, 10,117,870 7J { Courland taxes, &c. Custom-house, in silver, in paper, in silver, in paper, in silver, in paper, in silver, 168,899 R. 62 K. 78,087 7,797,582 65,416 2,670,754 11,813 988,65,2 m paper, Making a total of 22,790,663 current roubles, or about one million sterling. The means of attending religious worship in these two essentially Lutheran countries, with an aggregate popu- lation of 1,027,704 inhabitants, would appear, from the number of churches quoted in the Gazette of the Baltic Provinces, to be very inadequate; for it amounted in 1827 to onlv fifty-seven churches built of stone, and twenty-one built of wood. Shortly after leaving Dorpat, our travelling party was increased by the addition of one of the Count’s private secretaries, who had left St. Petersburgh two days before to join him, and brought him large packets of letters and the latest news from that capital. He had travelled the whole of the night in one of the open telegas, or post- carts of the country, without apparently feeling any ill effects RUSSIAN EDUCATION AT MOSCOW. 405 from it, although snow had fallen the whole time, and the temperature of the atmosphere had been as low as six degrees below the freezing point. This gentleman is a native of Moscow, and connected with some distinguished n families in that city, of the University of which he is also an e/eve. I availed myself of the knowledge of this last circumstance, to inquire into the system of education followed in that school, decidedly the first in magnitude of the Russian Empire; and as he occupied a seat in the same carriage with me, and we had therefore full leisure for conversation, the information I thus obtained was most complete as well as interesting. By considering his acquire- ments, the result of a Russian education at Moscow might in a great measure be ascertained. Although not yet two- and-twenty years of age, and never having travelled out of Russia, he not only spoke both French and English with fluency, and the appropriate idioms peculiar to the genius of those languages, but seemed well versed in the know- ledge of the principal authors of both nations, many of whom he quoted with ready facility. In the progress of our acquaintance, I found him similarly well-informed in the German and classic languages, which are taught with much assiduity at the University of Moscow ; and I was much surprised to find him, at the same time, well acquaint- ed with the nature and history of most of the modern dis- coveries in science, particularly those which originated in England. It may well be supposed that the society of such a travelling companion must have mitigated the in- conveniences of our journey, and served to make us pass our time more agreeably. But, in addition to this, the dif- ficulties which had hitherto attended our progress, were beginning to subside ; and even the road, with the exception of one or two short stages, began visibly to improve. It is not often that a traveller meets with such accommodation 406 POST-HOUSK AT TORMA. as we had at Torma, where we stopped to dine, in a very "omfortable, well arranged, and very well furnished suite of rooms at the post-house, and had an excellent enter- tainment. If this establishment deserves commendation on account of the accommodation it affords, it is not less enti- tled to credit for its very moderate charges. For our din- ner, consisting of a variety of dishes, and including two bot- tles of wine, one of which was excellent Bourdeaux ; and the dinner for four servants, the price charged amounted onl}" to ten paper roubles, or little more than nine shillings. Count Woronzow imagined the landlord had made a mistake in his demand, and insisted that the charge was too little to be correct. Upon this, the landlord, who had not made out a regular bill, but had asked the above sum off-hand, observed, that he might perhaps have omitted to bring the bottle of Bourdeaux into his calculation, and begged there- fore to add two franks more for that to the reckoning. Fancy now, gentle reader, a nobleman and his lady, with their suite, preceded by an av ant -courier, and followed by four servants, arriving in three carriages at an inn any where on the road to London, and being there entertained as sump- tuously as we were at Torma, in one of the forests of Li- vonia, and three hundred versts from the capital ; and think, think with dismay at the long slip of paper headed “ The King’s Arms/’ or “ The Rose,” which would be presented by honest Boniface with his best bow, and in which the charge of one item alone, the solitary bottle of claret, would be found to equal the whole reckoning of our repast in Livonia ! The distant roaring of agitated waters announced our approach to the great lake Peipus, called by the natives Tehoudskoe-Ozero. The road runs along the coast of this inland sea, which is fifty-three miles long and forty miles wide. The sight of this fine expanse of water suddenly LAKE PEIPUS. 407 bursting upon us, in a country generally flat and distant from any considerable range of bills, causes both pleasure and surprise. It is not a very ordinary feature in physical geography, to find a lake of such extent at such a distance from any important mountainous district. There are several islands in this lake, the principal of which is well cultivated and wooded, and contains some villages. Storms are very prevalent during the autumn and winter season, and cause great damage to the numerous barges which navigate the lake. The fishery is said to be very productive. Of the several varieties of fish caught in this lake, those most es- teemed are, carp, perch, pike, gudgeons, merlan, and bar- bet ; a great quantity of which are sent in a frozen state to ! the capital during the winter. An accident detained us the greater part of the next day at a place called Ranna Pungern, situated at the head of the great lake in the government of Esthonia. This cir- cumstance afforded me the satisfaction of being intro- duced to Mons. Joukowsky, who stopped at Ranna to change horses, on his way to St. Petersburg’h. This gen- tleman remained with the Count and Countess Woronzow but a short time, being anxious to arrive in the capital before the Emperor’s departure. He is instructor to the hereditary Grand-duke, and, as a literary character and a poet, enjoys very considerable reputation in R ussia. His manners are very affable ; he is cheerful and pleasant in conversation, and his personal appearance is prepossessing. Mons. Joukowsky had scarcely left us, when a travelling minstrel, whose raiments bespoke him of Israel’s tribe, enter- ed our dining-room, offering to entertain us with his perform- ance on a new musical instrument, which he called a wood harmonicon. The party were at first inclined to dispense with his services; but as the instrument which he carried on his arm appeared unknown to us, and singular in its 408 VV OOD-HARMON ICON. form, he was at last permitted to exhibit his skill upon it. This he did in so able a manner as actually to surprise, as well as please us, by his accurate performances of the overture to the Caliphe de Bagdad, followed by a Tyro- lese and a Russian air, and lastly by a set of French quadrilles. The instrument consists of three ranges of pieces of wood, all of the same diameter, being about one inch in thickness, but not of equal length. The longest, which is also the first piece, is about one foot and a half long, while the last, or the twenty-fourth in order, is only six inches long. The intermediate pieces regularly diminish in length from first to last. Pine is the wood of which they are made. Each of the three rows consists of eight pieces, strung together at their extremities by means of a cat-gut string passing through the centre of the piece. Each row forms an octave, and the centre octave is so strung, that the two extremities of its eight pieces are received between the extremities of the pieces belonging to the first and third octave to the extent of an inch and a half. These three rows are laid on four cylindrical bundles of straw firmly bound with string, and of the size of an ordinary walking-stick, and placed on a table. The performer, then holding between the fore and middle finger of each hand a slender stick made of a more com- pact wood, and notched so as to fit the forefinger, strikes the different pieces with a rapidity and adroitness quite surprising, preluding in the most agreeable manner, and eliciting sounds which sometimes approach very near to those of a glass harmonicon, and at others resemble more those of a soft flageolet. © As the present modification and improvement of this species of instrument is of recent invention, having existed only about six years ; and as I did not recollect hearing of or VILLA OF THE DUCHESS OF KINGSTON. 409 seeing it in London, I suggested to the wandering minstrel the speculation of proceeding thither the following winter ; telling him that as London was the place for all new wonders, he might stand a chance of taking the place of the Tyrolese singers, and turn his trip to as good an account. Whether he followed or not this suseestion, public report has not informed me ; but if he has, the amateurs of novelties of all descriptions will be indebted to a broken carriage-spring being repaired at Rauna Pun- gern for their new entertainment. Two versts beyond the post-house at Tewe we ascend- ed a gentle eminence, and beheld the grey waters of the Gulf of Finland, and the small marine hamlet of T’houdley, formerly the seat of the celebrated Duchess of Kingston. The road following this line of coast, though at some distance from it, passes through a barren common, on the surface of which the so often mentioned primitive blocks or boulders-stones again made their appearance in great number. Our course lying due east, the promontory of Tiskalowa, and the shore which connects it with Narva, are distinctly seen in the horizon, forming within the larger gulf a smaller one, at the extremity of which is situated the town of that name. The coast is here very low, and marked by sandy hills of considerable extent. A very striking change and improvement in the road was observed from this point till we reached the capital : it is macadamized all the way, and we travelled with much ease at the rate of thirteen and fourteen versts an hour. At every post we found a modern and elegant building, erected for the accommodation of travellers within the last few years, at the expense of the Provincial Governments, containing several excellent sitting-rooms, handsomely furnished ; in some respects, indeed, almost with unnecessary luxury. The elevation, which is of 410 NARVA. brick, covered with plaster, and painted yellow, consists of one story, the centre of which, leading to the entrance hall, is occupied by a porter. On each side is a Corps de Logis, with four rooms, two in front and two at the back ; and beyond the Coips de Logis a wing for the accommoda- tion of servants, through which there is a large gateway conducting to the stables and coach-houses. There are ten such post-houses between Tewe and St. Petersburgh, and all of them nearly alike. There are, properly speaking, no beds, but from two to three very large square sofas of polished mahogany in each room, with squab and cushions of black leather stuffed with horse-hair, on which the traveller may either lie without any additional trapping, or may have his own bed made, or order the necessary linen for making it from the landlord. The rooms are heated with stoves, and the temperature throughout them, is uniformly, both by day and by night, at 65° of Fahrenheit, while it freezes out of doors, and the snow lies on the ground. Narva is a small town pleasantly situated on the left bank of the Narova, which flowing out of the Lake Peipus, follows a north-eastern course, for about sixty or seventy versts, forming the frontier between Esthonia and the government of St. Petersburgh ; and after passing between Narva and its fortified suburb, Jvangorod, enters the Gulf of Finland, two or three miles below that city. This river has several falls, one of which is of consi- derable height, and causes the conveyance of goods, by water, from the interior of Pskoff and Novgorod, by the Lake Peipus and the Narova, to the Finland Gulf, to be interrupted, at a distance of two or three versts from Narova, where the barges are unloaded, and the merchan- dize carried over-land to the sea-shore. The principal fall is about 300 feet wide, and seventeen feet in descent- The town is in itself insignificant, but the environs are kl PEN. 411 picturesque. The fortress of Ivangorod, placed on an emi- nence immediately over the river, and its many towers in a ruinous state, with an extensive range of ancient bastions, under which we passed, after descending a very steep and narrow street, form beautiful and prominent objects in the groups lying before us, heightened by the picturesque back-ground of immense forests of dark pines. The next place of importance which we reached, after quitting Narva, was Kupen. This village lying in one of the plains which surround St. Petersburgh, and which are covered with boulders- stones, consists of a number of very neatly built and cleverly thatched cottages and their out- buildings, standing at some distance from each other. At one end there is a chapel, built with much taste. These houses belong to German artificers and farmers, whose re- spective names, written in gold letters on a blue ground, are fixed in front of the building : their structure is par- ticularly neat, and with some pretension to elegance. There is a whole colony of Germans in this place, many of whom are employed in a very considerable paper-ma- nufactory belonging to the Crown, the large building be- longing to which we observed on our right. There is near the village of Kupen an Imperial palace, now the property of the reigning Empress, with extensive gardens, a small river which passes through them, cascades, ex- tensive hot-houses, and a celebrated menagerie. These, as well as the palace itself, the exterior elevation of which is handsome, are perceived from the road to advantage. It was in this palace that the Emperor Peter the Third died. The appearance of Strelna, with an imposing palace on our left, belonmno; to the Grand-duke Constantine; the number of carriages and light carts on the road, the air of bustle which prevailed in all the villages through which we 412 STRELNA. passed, with the hundreds of busy people, moving in oppo- site directions, whom we met at every step as we advanced, betrayed our fast approach to the capital. Strelna is a pleasant village, commanding a view of the Gulf of Finland, on the border of which it stands, be- tween Catherineoff and Peterhoff, and at a distance of eighteen versts from St. Petersburgh. It is encircled by a sunken mound or bastion, and a running cheval-de-Jrieze. A barrier, and a sentinel of lancers, announce the entrance into a place having an Imperial residence. Here our names were asked, and we were suffered to pass without any other interruption. Half-way between the barrier and the post- house, we crossed a granite bridge over the same river, which, after quitting the Imperial gardens of Ropscha, near Kupen, follows in a thousand tortuous lines the road, meandering sometimes on our left and sometimes on our right, and ultimately mingles its narrow stream with the waters of the Finland Gulf below Strelna. The road hence to St. Petersburgh is worthy of the capital. An uninterrupted line of sumptuous palaces, built in every variety of chaste, fanciful, and imitative architecture, flanks the right side of the road ; while on our left, fields, with many clumps of trees and brushwood, separate us from the Gulf. Most of these country resi- dences, belonging to the nobility and gentry of St. Peters- burgh, have gardens and pleasure-grounds in front and around them ; and some few a piece of artificial water, or the river already mentioned, passing through the grounds. Many are large, consisting of two and three stories ; a few only have one story, and affect the form of an Italian villa. The prevailing colour with which the houses are painted is yellow ; the columns, pilasters, and architraves being white, and the roof of a copperas-green. In front of the gardens, and immediately on the border of the road, a lofty ENVIRONS OF ST. PETERSBURGH. 4P3 post bears, inscribed on a small square board, the name and rank of the proprietor. The magnificent house of ' Count Stcherevathieh, with a church annexed to it, and a small but rich chapel, open all day to such as are devoutly inclined, much in the style of the oratories or sanctuaries to be found in Catholic countries; the villa of the late ! Mons. Nary sch kine ; the palace of Prince Sherbatow, which has, however, the disadvantage of being too near the road, ! are among those objects which most attracted my atten- tion, and the names of whose proprietors I learned from my I travelling companion. This line of villas and chateaus, in which some of the most distinguished families, resident in the capital, come to j seek a retreat during the heat of a short-lived summer, is here and there interrupted by a small village having the ' appearance of great neatness, in which country lodgings and ! a temporary residence are sought by the less wealthy and humbler classes of citizens during the fine season. On the left of the road, the distance at every verst is marked on very high marble obelisks, which serve, at the same time, as embellishments to the road. At length, the Imperial residence of St. Petersburgh ap- peared in view, marked by a triumphal arch thrown across the road. Under this we passed, traversing afterwards a very airy and long suburb, at the end of which a barrier placed at the Great Entrance arrested our progress. Here our names, and the place where we proposed to reside, were required of us by the sentinel on duty. This imposing gate, built of granite, consists of one bold arch of a noble yet simple style of architecture, supporting an entablature, on which are raised vases of white marble. Quitting the barrilre , we proceeded over two handsome bridges of granite, decorated with pillars of the same mate- rial, and passing through several very fine streets, which, ST. PETERSBURG II. 414 from their extreme cleanliness and great width, as well as from the style of buildings by which they were flanked in straight lines, particularly attracted my attention : we were conducted to the house of Count Michel Woronzow, situated in a wide and handsome street called the Mala-morskoy, where we arrived on the 27th of October, thirty-five days after having left London, during which time we had tra- velled seventeen hundred and sixty-five miles. PART THE SECOND. PART THE SECOND. CHAPTER I. PICTURE OF ST. PETERSBUItGH. General Con p d'ail. — Situation, topography, and extent of St. Petersburgh. — Comparison between St. Petersburgh in 1801 and in 1827. — Improvements and great additions. — Necessity of a mo- dern Description for visiting that Capital with advantage. — Plans of the Town. — Its divisions. — The streets. — The Neva. — Rivers and Canals. — Bridges. — Pont Isaac. — The Quays. — Advantage of walking in St. Petersburgh. — Panoramic promenades. — Statue of Peter the Great. — Periscopic bird’s-eye view of the city. — Ascent to the tower of the Admiralty for that purpose. — Striking and imposing spectacle. — General appearance of the Streets, Public buildings, Houses, Churches, Military Barracks, Maneges, Squares, and Gardens. — Model in alto-relievo of the City of St. Peters- burgh. The general coup d'ail which the “ Imperial Resi- lence” of St. Petersburgh presents to the traveller, is one )f the most magnificent in Europe. It does not, like that )f Naples and Constantinople, heightened by the magic 'ffect of the surrounding country, convey the idea of leautiful nature and picturesque situation ; neither is VOL. i. 2 E 418 ST. PETERSBURGH. the impression first received on entering the spacious streets and extensive squares of St. Petersburgh like that which the capitals of London and Paris excite when first beheld, imparting at once just notions of the wealth, splen- dour, and luxury of their inhabitants. But it surprises more than either, from the great number and magnitude of the public buildings, from the bold style of architec- ture which pervades every part, and from the total absence of those dark and wretched courts and lanes, the abode of the lowest classes, which in other cities obtrude themselves on the notice of the traveller, in the midst of grandeur and stateliness of exterior. It was not without some reason that a French traveller newly arrived in this city, asked where the people lived? “ Partout je ne rencontre que des palais et d’innombrables edifices,” he observed ; and the remark thus far was cor- rect. No capital in Europe can, in this respect, be com- pared to St. Petersburgh ; for no where else do we meet with buildings of such striking appearance, nor does any other city contain so many private houses which might rival the palaces of Rome. St. Petersburgh is, in fact, a city of palaces. To a sovereign who felt the desire and saw the necessity of bringing his people more immediately into contact with the maritime nations of Europe, and who by the nature of political events was obliged to keep a watchful eye over its nearest neighbours, who were also his most inveterate enemies ; the situation of this second capital of the Empire was not a matter of choice, but one of compulsion. To place a town destined to be the principal seat of govern- ment, where St. Petersburgh now stands, has been con- sidered a great fault on the part of its founder. It has been alleged that to select a low and swampy soil, on the banks and at the mouth of a river which divides the coun- TOPOGRAPHY OF ST. PF.TERSBURGII. 419 try into a number of islands, was to perpetuate incon- veniences which might never be overcome, and to create a new population that it might become the prey of an unhealthy climate. But Peter the Great, convinced of the important political and commercial advantages of the chosen site of his new city, deemed any inconvenience which he might have to struggle with, arising from the nature of the situation, a matter of secondary consideration. He knew mankind in general too well, and the people in particular whom he proposed to bring together in this place, not to rely upon the efforts of human industry and skill for pro- ducing a gradual and beneficial change, and for deriving advantages even from the difficulties in which they were placed. He had the example and success of the first foun- ders of Venice on his side : he knew that the great towns in Holland had had no other bea.-inni.nff. St. Petersburgh, according to the latest observations, is situated in latitude 59° 56' 31". This line passes pre- cisely through the principal island in the Neva, the ob- servatory, and the Imperial Palace, at which latter point t is intersected by the meridian 48", east of the Island of Ferroe. The most important part of the town is placed >n the left bank of the Neva, having a western aspect in- lined to the North. Opposite to this part are two large ind three lesser islands, formed by the Neva and its •ranches, swarming with population, and crowded with •ublic buildings and establishments. On the mainland, astward of the islands, and stretching along the right bank f the river, is another division of the town, which is be- oming every day more worthy of notice. All these divisions of St. Petersburgh are grouped at ae entrance or mouth of the Neva, at the eastern extre- lity of the Gulf of Finland, which reaches to the very kirts of the capital. The names which they bear, men- 2 e 2 420 TOPOGRAPHY OF fST. PETERS BURGH. tioned in the topographical order adopted in the preceding description, are, the Admiralty Quarter; the Island of St. Petersburgh ; the Island of Yassilei, or the Vassileios- trow ; the three lesser islands of Kamennoi, Yelaghinskoi, and Krestofskoi ; and Vibourgh. The two greater islands are subdivided into smaller ones by narrow streams; and there are, besides, no fewer than six still smaller island* connected with the principal part of the city. The Island of St. Petersburgh stands first in point of chro- nological order of building. It was on this spot that Peter the First laid the foundation of his great capital in the year 1703, and dedicated it to the apostle whose name he bore. Nearly at the same time some buildings were erected on the opposite shore, with an establishment for the construc- tion of ships, and the Admiralty. And on the day of the memorable battle of Pultawa, the Emperor ordered that both those parts of the town should be enlarged ; and subsequently traced a plan for making the Vassileiostrow the centre and principal division of the city. Circum- stances however, over which the sovereign had no control, made of the Admiralty quarter the most important part of St. Petersburgh, and assigned to the last-mentioned island a secondary character. In general, the soil on which St. Petersburgh is founded, may be said to be marshy. Most of the houses are built on piles, as in Venice and Holland ; the ground not being sufficiently firm for a stone foundation without them. No inconvenience, however, seems to arise from this circum- stance, either with regard to health or to comforts. The surrounding country is flat ; the soil sandy, though not so much so as around Berlin ; vegetation is not very lux- uriant, except on the smaller islands, and the surface does not present that beautiful variety of ground which forms the charm of the situation of most other capitals. But with all these difficulties to contend with, industry and the ST. PETERSBURGH IN 1801 AND 1827. 4f21 hand of man have produced, in little more than a century, results, which, in other parts of Europe, have been the work of many centuries together. A province of about 84-8 square geographical miles sur- rounds the capital, forming what is called the Government of St. Petersburg!). The great Lake Ladoga is to the east of this government distant twenty-five versts in a direct line from the capital, and fifty-eight versts following the road t the government of Vybourg lies to the north of it ; that of Esthonia and the Lake Peipus to the west ; Pskoff and Novgorod to the south and south-east, and Olonetz to the north-east. The population of the Government of St. Petersburgh amounts to 844,900 inhabitants, or 994 on each square mile; which includes that of the capital, amounting in 1827, to 312,970 inhabitants. The city, including the various subdivisions and islands already mentioned, occupies an area, the circumference of which is equal to twenty-eight versts, or somewhat more than eighteen English miles. Taking the western ex- tremity of the Vassileiostrow, and as far as the suburb called Great Okhta, as the transversal diameter . of this area, it will be found to measure nine and a-half versts east and west ; and the same distance is found from north to south, that is to say, from the right bank of the great Nevka to the City canal. A comparison between St. Petersburgh as it was in 1801, when Storck’s description of that town was first translated into English, and as it now is, shows its rapid increase in size and importance in the course of a quarter of a century. The difference is manifest, not only in the great addition of dwelling-houses and public buildings since the former pe- riod, but in the many improvements and multiplied embel- lishments which have from that time become conspicuous features of the capital. Two new districts have been added in one part of the 422 ST. PETERSBURG!! IN 1801 AND 1827. town since that time, and the other parts have considerably extended their limits. New streets and new squares have been opened; the former are now nearly double in number. A new Imperial Palace in town, and two Imperial residen- ces in the country have been erected. New churches have been built, as well as new places of amusement. Another moveable bridge has been added to the two already existing on the Neva ; and several new granite and suspension-bridges have been erected across the canals. Two new museums are forming ; several new literary and medical institutions have been founded. Most of the collections of natural history and antiquities have been augmented. An extensive botanic garden has been opened. The principal Imperial palaces have been embellished, their internal decorations and arrangements changed, and new collections of ob- jects of the fine arts added to them. A new exchange with extensive magazines has since risen on one of the points of Vassileiostrow, and Rostral columns to carry a Pharo light have been placed in front of it. The ex- terior of the great edifice of the Admiralty has under- gone a complete change, and most of the streets leading to it have had trottoirs added to them. Other altera- tions also, too numerous to describe, although not less im- portant, have taken place in the same period of time for the improvement of the city. The necessary conclusion of all which is, that a more modern description of St. Pe- tersburgh than exists at present, is absolutly required. Not such an one as the modern authors of “ Baga- telles,” “ Coup d’CEil sur Petersbourgh,” “ Six Mois en Russie,” and other works have given; lively, light, and miscellaneous, though not always correct, in which the writers, starting from one subject to another, leaving a palace to describe a sumptuous equipage, or passing to the contemplation of a church after quitting an assembly, have MODERN DESCRIPTION OF ST. PETERSBURG II. aimed more at composing books which should please by their liveliness, than be serviceable as guides; nor do we want such short details as are to be found in the “ Modern Travel- ler,” “ The Pedestrian Tourist,” and “ Captain Jones,” well written travels ; but a methodical account of the place and its establishments, which may be consulted by the stranger newly arrived in the capital of Russia, anxious to become successively acquainted with the various objects of interest existing in that city, and to be instructed as to the best manner of examining them with advantage. Such an account may be deemed a dry subject, yet it is absolutely requisite in St. Petersburg!), where so much is to be seen without a single printed “ Guide” existing in any foreign language to direct the enquirer. The want of sucli a work I myself experienced during my visit to that city ; and but for the unusual facilities which were afforded me through the interference and friendly offices of the nobleman with whom I had travelled thither, I should not, in the short space of five weeks, have been able to form a correct notion of the importance, grandeur, and many valuable institu- tions of that capital. It was with some hope of being able to supply such a desideratum by the present volumes, that I collected with assiduity the materials for their com- pilation, during my stay in St. Petersburgh ; and as the number of English who visit that city, either from curiosity or on account of business, is yearly increasing, owing to the greater facilities of communication now existing between the two countries, I trust that my task will afford them the means of enjoying as well as profiting by their temporary residence in the maritime capital of the Russian Empire. Although there are not, as I have first observed, any “ Guides,” or printed descriptions of St. Petersburgh, of a very recent date, engraved plans of the town are not want- ing to point out to the stranger the situation of those 424 PLANS OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. objects which are most deserving of his enquiry. The plan which I have annexed to the present volumes is drawn up from the most authentic sources, and is so arranged that the relative locality of any place described in the body of the work will be found by a reference to the different squares into which it is divided. This will afford a correct notion of the extent of the city, and the disposition of its various parts, sufficient to direct a foreigner in his perambulations, with scarcely any other assistance. The date of publication (1827) of the plan, from which the one now presented to my readers has been taken, enables it to present the very latest improvements. As to its accuracy it is only necessary to state that its basis is founded on the result of a trigonometrical survey of the capital by General Witzthum, who published in 1823, a small and exceedingly neat plan of it, at the Topographical Military Depot, to which establishment he belongs, and where he is now engaged in composing ano- ther on a much more extensive scale. If the reader has the means of comparing the plan in question, with one pub- lished in 1812 at Paris by Monsieur de Raymond, in his “Tableau de l’Empire de Russie,” — with a second published at St. Petersburgh in the year 1817, on a scale of 250 fa- thoms to an inch, or with the plan given by Storek in his Picture of St. Petersburgh at the close of the last cen- tury, or finally, with a still older one published in 1744* with an Atlas of Russia, at that time considered the most correct in existence : he will not fail to see, first, that in the course of the last sixty years St. Petersburgh has nearly doubled in size. 2dly. That the principal altera- tions in several parts have taken place within the last twenty years ; and 3dly. That the improvements, embel- lishments, public buildings, and institutions, which have raised St. Petersburgh to the rank of one of the principal QUARTERS OF ST. PETERSBU RG II. 425 cities in Europe, have either originated, or been put in execution during the twenty years which have just elapsed under the three last Sovereigns, and are still car- ried on with great vigour under the auspices of the pre- sent Emperor. St. Petersburgh is divided into twelve districts or quar- ters, (Tchasty). Four of these are included in that part of the town which takes its name from the Admiralty. The others are The Litteinoi, (quartier de la Fonderie,) The Moscovskoi, (quartier de Moscou,) The Narfskoi, (quartier de Narva,) The Rojestvenskoi, The Karetnoi, The Vasiliefskoi Ostrow, The Peterbourgskoi, (quartier de Petersbourg,) and the quartier de Vibourg. Each district is subdivided into sections (kvartala.) The largest has as many as six, the smallest only two sections. The name and number of the district and section are marked in large cha- racters at the corner of every street. A stranger, there- fore, may easily find the district in which he resides, or any other to which he may be desirous of proceeding, without the trouble of much enquiry, if he can but read the Russian characters, a knowledge of which is easily acquired. This arrangement, which does not exist in London or Paris, facilitates very considerably the re- searches of a stranger, who may not wish to be troubled either with a cicerone or a hired carriage ; and in my own case I found it exceedingly convenient. It is a matter of no great difficulty to recollect the relative position of each of the twelve districts and their names, when the plan of the city has been consulted ; but none will under- take the task of bearing in mind the names of all or most of the principal streets. Another excellent arrangement with regard to the streets, is the uniform adoption of the practice, which in England is only optional, of inscribing the name of the proprietor 426 STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. ox - tenant of evei’y house on some conspicuous part of it. In St. Petersburgh this is done by authority and cannot be dispensed with ; the names of all such per- sons are written on a small squai’e board, and affixed in front of the house, genei-ally on one side of the great gateway. The houses are also numbered as in other cities. Most of the streets of St. Petersburgh are paved with small stones, which ai’e apt soon to become loose by the succession of frost and snow, and the pavement is thei’cby made uncomfortable to pedestrians. A great improvement, however, has taken place in favour of this class, namely the introduction of foot-ways, paved with wide granite flags, l’aised three or four inches above the general level of the street. This regulation has been adopted in almost evei’y street, and no new ones can be opened without them. The pedestrians of St. Petersburgh are indebted to the late Emperor for this comfort, the idea of which was, it is said, suggested to him by what he had seen during his visit in London. Having on that occasion observed the great accommodation which the trottoirs afforded to the public, and being asked his opinion of them, he replied, “ On a tout fait pour le peuple en leur donnant les moyens de marcher ; ” and forthwith, he ordered, that as soon as possible the inhabitants of his capital should be put in possession of the same convenience. A few of the streets, and some of the squai’es, have been vei’y l’ecently macadam- ized. This system is more likely to succeed in a town like St. Petersburgh, where for the space of nearly six months in the year scarcely any traffic of carriages on wheels takes place. St. Petex'sbui’gh is one of the few continental towns which can boast of common sewers under the streets. These sub- terranean watei’courses are placed at the depth of two feet STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 427 below the surface, are arched with brick, and have a gentle inclination towards the Neva. They were begun in the reign of the Empress Catherine. The number of streets is not so large as might be expect- ed in such a capital ; but this arises from their great length, as well as from their not being named differently at each in- tersection by a cross street, as is the case in a great many of the parts in London and Paris. These streets are in general wide and very regular, running in straight lines, but intersect- ing each other at different angles, and thus varying the tire- some monotony, which the symmetrical arrangement of the streets of Berlin, and some other continental towns, and more particularly of the modern towns in the United States of America, is apt to create. There are, however, two or three exceptions to this general disposition of the streets in the 1 case of the Rojestvenskia and the Ismailofskia ; and also in the quartier de Moscou, and the Islands of St. Peters- burgh and Vassileiostrow, where several streets run pa- rallel to each other, and are intersected by several others at right angles. These are called lines, and are num- bered instead of having any particular name. Each row of houses is a line, consequently there are two lines in every street of this description. Most of the streets are from sixty to one hundred and twenty ieet wide ; but there are a few which are considerably wider. The length of them is various ; but in general it may be said to be considerable. There are six or eight of them which are about 6062 feet long — two or three are still longer, likewise the principal street, called the Nevski Prospekt, and ano- ther called the Great Perspective in the Vassileiostrow, one of which is 14,350 feet, and the other 10,220 feet in length. The name of Perspective (prospekt) is given to several of the streets in St. Petersburgh ; not because they all look towards one great object, the Admiralty, as it is TIIE NEVA. 428 stated in some recent English and French publications, (for there is more than one street bearing that name which is not situated so as to present that great edifice at either of its extremities;) but from their analogy to those extensive avenues which lead to the country residences of the great in Italy, and each of which is called, Vista or Pros- pettiva. One of the most remarkable and striking features of this great metropolis is doubtlessly the Neva ; a river which, whether we consider its origin, its rapidity, great depth, and the beautiful transparent blue colour of its water, or the advantages it affords, stamps the character of the capital as one, on that account, unrivalled in Europe. Tra- vellers accustomed to behold only the muddy streams that traverse the principal cities of Europe — impressed with the recollections of the clay-mixed currents which flow between the banks of the Thames, the Seine, the Po, the Arno, and Tiber, the Elbe, the Spree, and the Vistula — on approach- ing the embankments of the Neva, as it rushes past the palaces of St. Petersburgh, must be struck at once with surprise and delight at the novelty of the scene. The Neva flows out of the Ladoga, at its south-western extre- mity, where a fort called Schlussenburg has been erected; it takes a semi-circular course between the latter place and St. Petersburgh, with its convex part to the south, and is in extent fifty-eight versts and a half ; and enters the metro- polis between the convent of St. Alexander Nevskoi, and the great and small Okhta, the site of the ancient fortress of Nienchatz, of which Peter the Great took possession before he founded the capital. Having reached the Vibourg district, it sends off in a northerly direction a principal branch, which bears the name of the Great Nevka, while its main stream, swelling for the space of a mile and a half to double its former breadth, afterwards divides CANALS INTERSECTING ST. PETERSBURG!!. 4g<) itself into the great or southern, and the lesser or northern Neva which form, between them, the Vassileiostrow, and pour themselves below that island into the waters of the Fin- land Gulf. The Great Nevka too, or first northern arm of the Neva, after having run an even course of two miles and a quarter, separates itself into two branches, about four miles before it reaches the gulf, forming, by means of two other subdivisions, the three lesser islands already named in the present topographical description of the metropolis. Independently of the Neva, St. Petersburg!! has the advantage of being watered by other smaller rivers, which, with three handsome canals, serve to fix very distinctly the limits of the different districts, while they also add to the beauty and salubrity of the town, as well as to the accommodation of the inhabitants; for in summer most of these are navigable, and all of them communicate, in some way or other, with the Flavius Fluviorum , the Great Neva. Thus the Moika river, artificially enlarged, surrounds in a serpentine line the first Admiralty quarter, or that which lies nearest the Neva. The Catherine canal marks the division between the second and third Admiralty quarter, by a line nearly parallel to the Moika, and the Kriukof Canal, running at right angles with both, divides the three first quarters from the fourth ; while a second wide canal, called the Fontanka, surrounding them all in a semi- circular line further south, serves to separate them from the three adjoining districts ofNarfsko'f, Moskovskoi, and Li- theinoi. The latter are themselves bounded by what is call- ed the City Canal, which, beginning below or to the south of the fine garden of St. Alexander Nevsky, terminates in the Gulf of Finland, between the Imperial country residence of Catherinoff, and the entrance to St. Peters- burgh. Thus, even the largest and most important part of the metropolis, south of the Neva, may, strictly speak- 430 THE ISAAC BRIDGE. ing, be considered a great island, and forms an additional point of resemblance between the cities of St. Petersburgh and Venice. The other small rivers are the Priachka, in the fourth Admiralty quarter, forming the island called the Matysofs- koi ; the Tarakanofskoi', which crosses the city canal near the Peterhof road ; with two or three others in the Vibourg, Vasileiostrowskoi and Karetno'i districts. It may readily be supposed that such an extent of water communication cannot exist in a capital without a great number of stationary and navigable bridges to facilitate the intercourse between the different parts of the town. There are, in fact, not fewer than seventy bridges, one half of which are of granite, eight or ten of iron, (three or four of which are on the principle of suspension,) and the rest are built of wood. There is no permanent bridge on the Neva. The coming down of the large pieces of floating ice from the Ladoga lias hitherto prevented the establishment of any other than ponton-bridges on that river. Of these there are at present three, a third having recently been added to the two already existing, in order to facilitate the communication between the Litteino'i and Vibourg districts. The principal of these three bridges is situated nearly in the centre of the first Admiralty quarter, communicating with the Vassileiostrow. It bears the name of Isaac bridge, and connects the two most populous districts of the city. The construction of this bridge is both solid and handsome. Twenty large and lofty pontons, decked and having both extremities point- ed, are fastened together by proper means and held in their places by anchors. Over these a thick and solid floor of planks is laid with a foot-path on each side. The bridge is a thousand and fifty feet long and sixty feet wide, and has two drawbridges, which are opened at night BRIDGES OP ST. PETERSBURGH. 431 for the purpose of letting ships through. The second bridge on the Neva, which is of a similar construction, is placed to the eastward of the fortress, between the Island of St. Petersburgh and the eastern side of the Winter Palace, at the end of the first Admiralty quarter. It is called the Troitskoi bridge, and measures 2456 feet in length. The situation of the third bridge on the Neva I have already mentioned. It bears the name of Voskresenskoi, and is 1260 feet long. It is between the first and second bridge, or in other words, between the Great Nevka and that part of the Neva which divides itself into two branches, on the side of the St. Petersburgh district, and where the Neva measures 3500 feet in breadth, that the fortress is situated on a small island connected by two short permanent bridges to the mainland, on which there is a corresponding line of fortifications. It is greatly to be lamented that difficulties hitherto deemed insurmountable, should deprive the city of St. Pe- tersburgh of the advantage of a permanent bridge to keep uninterrupted the communication between its north and southern districts. As it is natural to suppose, projects with- out number have been submitted to the Government for that purpose ; but hitherto, the means proposed have been deemed ineligible or impracticable. Among other eminent engineers who have been consulted on the subject, I have heard mentioned the names of the late Mr. Rennie and of Mr. Brunei. Two circumstances in particular seem to op- pose themselves to the erection of either a stone or a sus- pension-bridge: first the great depth of the river in the place where a bridge is most needed, which seems to preclude the possibility of erecting piers for carrying the arches of such strength and magnitude as shall resist the action of the floating masses of ice ; secondly, the general flatness of the ground near the river, and the little elevation of its banks, — 'two great obstacles to the establishment of a suspension- 432 MODEL OF A WOODEN BRIDGE. bridge. It has been proposed to throw across the Neva an iron bridge with one bold arch, sufficiently raised above the level of the water, so that the masses of ice shall not affect it; but, independently of the extreme difficulty of projecting an arch of such dimensions, its elevation would necessarily be too considerable to allow the passage of vehicles of any description. A model of a wooden bridge of peculiar con- struction, with a single arch, is shown in St. Petersburgh ; the invention of a man who, I believe, was self-taught in mechanics, named Kouliben ; he was a real genius, a boor by birth, and a meal-chandler by profession. Without in- struction, or any previous acquirement of mechanical know- ledge, he unfolded talents that surprised every body. The first work by which he attracted notice, was a curious piece of clock-work. This was presented to Catherine, who res- cued the author from his obscure condition, and placed him in a situation in which his talents could be matured, and be- come serviceable to the state. She honoured him likewise with a golden medal of merit to wear round his neck, and he became at last mechanical assistant and demonstrator at the Academy of Arts. It was in that situation that he con- ceived the design of constructing a bridge of timber across the Neva ; for which purpose he set about preparing a pro- per model, which, upon repeated trials, was found capable of bearing a weight of 127,440 pounds. According to this model, the bridge was to have consisted of several thousand square pieces of wood, all alike in size, and most ingeniously connected, so as to be light as well as durable. The arch would have measured eighty-four feet in height, and the expense was calculated at considerably less than half a million of roubles. In order to comprehend fully the difficulties here alluded to, in regard to the estab- lishment of a permanent bridge, it is necessary to state, that near the Isaac bridge, I have heard the depth of the Neva TIIE QUAYS OF ST, PETERSBURGH. 433 quoted at fifty-two feet, and of its rapidity a good idea may be formed from Colonel Henry’s recent experiments, from which it appears that this river gives 116,300 cubic feet of water in a second. Of the five new bridges which the Duke Alexander of Wurtemberg was ordered by the late Emperor, to see con- structed over the interior rivers and canals of the city, two deserve particular notice for their elegance, and the inge- nious method by which they are suspended. One of these is situated on the Fontanka, not far from the New Palace of the Grand-duke Michael, and is called the Panteleimon Bridge. The other is on the Moika, and is destined only for foot passengers. For the manner in which the chains of the former are disposed, and the ornamental design of the whole, great merit is due to Colonel Trait- teur of the engineer corps, under whose direction anil after whose plans the bridge was built ; nor is it less creditable to him that the expenses of such a bridge, which is 124 feet long and thirty-five feet wide, amount only to the sum of 161,260 roubles, or little more than £7000. sterling. The Quays of the Neva and canals are among the objects worthy of admiration in St. Petersburgh. Most of them are built of granite. The quay which extends from the foun- dery eastward, to within a short distance of the mouth of the river, and along its left bank, is four versts in length, and interrupted only by the Admiralty wharfs. The bank is raised on piles ten feet above the level of the river, and lined with solid granite. It has a foot-pave- ment of the same stone, seven feet wide, with a parapet two feet and a half high, and more than a foot in thick- ness. At certain distances are placed handsome flights of stairs for landing and procuring water, with seats for the accommodation of passengers. The carriage-way on 2 r VOL. I. 434 TIIE ENGLISH QUAY. this Quay is from thirty to forty feet wide. All that part of the quay which is to the westward of the Isaac Bridge, is known by the name of the English Line, in consequence of its having, originally, been inhabited principally by English merchants. At present that is not the case. VeTy few English families live in this part of the city. The generality of them reside on the Vassileiostrow, or in some of the streets adjoining the English Line, or Quay. That part of the Quay which lies to the eastward of the Admiralty, is called the Great or Russian Quay. The sides of the Catherine Canal and the Fontanka are like- wise faced with granite, have a handsome foot-pavement of the same material, with a railing or fine balustrade, running between dwarf granite pillars. The quays of these canals are lined with very large and handsome buildings. Some of the other canals are faced with timber. The distinction between the fashionable and unfashion- able parts of the city is as strongly marked in St. Peters- burgh, as it is in London. The four Admiralty districts, and part of the Litteinoi', form what may be called the Court-end of the town. In those districts the most sump- tuous palaces are to be found ; although, here and there, a splendid edifice attracts attention in some other parts of the city. Having now endeavoured to lay before my readers such topographical details as may enable them to understand the plan annexed to the present Volumes, and induce them to become better acquainted with a place so full of interest, I shall proceed to describe more particularly the appearance of the most striking parts of the town, which present themselves to the stranger in the course of his walks. Walking is by no means fashionable in St. Petersburgh ; and yet during a clear frosty morning, late in the Autumn or in the Winter, I know of few enjoyments for a stran- STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 435 ger, that can be compared to that species of exercise, where wide and well-paved trottoirs invite the pedes- trian, and every step almost offers points of view and ob- jects of interest, to encourage him in his rambles. Here nei- ther horses nor carriages can endanger his limbs; nor will his progress be interrupted by scaffoldings and palings pro- jecting to the very verge of the street, nor by sturdy crowds gathering around a ballad singer and an Italian polichine//a. The space allotted to the pedestrian is liable to no such trespasses or encroachments — the police takes care that each householder shall keep that part of the foot-pavement which lies before his dwelling clear of mud, snow, and other incumbrances. Though last, not least, the advantage of not being pestered by beggars of all descriptions, to whose tormenting importunities you are so much subjected both at home and abroad, is another source of encourage- ment to perambulation through the streets of St. Peters- burgh, where much less of art is required for that purpose, than through the streets of London. To a stranger, walking is decidedly the best mode of becoming acquainted with St. Petersburgh. By this means he may penetrate where no carriage could convey him — select the station that best suits the scenery which he wishes to contemplate— change his position as often as con- venience or caprice suggests, without the apprehension of a surly answer from an unwilling driver — and multiply his enquiries at different places, and of different individuals, without the trouble and risk of the in and out movements attendant on carriage excursions. To this great source, therefore, both of enjoyment and information, I betook myself, the day after our arrival, unaided by guide, Cicerone , or valet de place ; performing my first panoramic promenade, with a view of becoming practically acquainted with the exterior before I proceeded 2 r 2 43G PANORAMIC SURVEY OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. to visit and examine the interior of the numerous and superb edifices which rose before me in so many directions. The first architectural object tliat attracts the attention of the traveller, is doubtlessly the Admiralty, with its lofty and richly-gilt spire, glittering in the sun, and marking, as it were, the centre of the city. This imposing edifice, placed on the left bank of the Neva, extends from the Win- ter or Imperial Palace, eastward, to within a short dis- tance of the Isaac Bridge westward. Its principal front is towards a large square, lined with stately buildings, among which the Colossal Palace of Prince LabanofF, and that of the Government Tribunals, and the Hotel of the Staff of the Guards, appear most conspicuous. The two lateral wings extend towards the river, and terminate in a splendid flight of steps of granite, leading to the water-edge. Between these is the space used as a dock-yard, where vessels of war of the first class are built, and from which the Alexander of one-hundred-and-twenty guns had been launched only a day or two before our arrival. The view of this handsome edifice from the river is not so striking as from the square, from the circumstance of the ship-yard intervening, an establishment which, though picturesque in itself, is not a fit associate for a building of such superior architecture. Around the land-sides of the Admiralty, is a promenade planted with trees, which resembles a Parisian boulevard, and which is much frequented both in summer and winter by all classes of persons. The next object which attracts attention on account of its gigantic dimensions and princely purpose, is the Impe- rial or Winter Palace. This great and imposing pile is best seen from the top of the granite steps at the end of the eastern wing of the Admiralty, from which building it is separated by a handsome square. From this spot, not only the western, but the northern elevation of the Palace is PANORAMIC SURVEY OP ST. PETERS BURGH. 437 seen with the noble Quay of granite in front of it, consi- derably wider in this than in any other part of that superb range of Quays which line the left bank of the Neva. Altogether, this palace has a most imposing ap- pearance. Following the line of this building towards the East, the eye reposes successively on an interrupted range of grand and beautiful structures situated along the gentle sweep of the river, and forming an immense crescent. First the great and smaller Hermitage, two more modern and tasteful buildings than the Imperial Palace, connected with it and with each other by covered ways, on bold arches, please for their Palladian style ; and next the stately Grecian theatre belonging to the Hermitage excites admira- tion. Beyond these, appear the barracks of the Guards Preobrajenskoi, the officers of which regiment, from the proximity of their quarters to, and ready communication with, the two Hermitages, have the facility as well as pri- vilege of visiting, whenever it suits them, the superb suite of apartments contained in those palaces. Such a lounge equals in beauty that which the traveller enjoys in the Louvre, the gallery of Florence, or the Vatican. The house of the French Ambassador with its attractive exte- rior, and the Hotel des Appanages next to it in locality and beauty, succeed each other to the left of the Military Barracks. Farther on, the Marble Palace with its base- ment of granite, and the superstructure of blueish marble ornamented with marble columns and pilasters, seem to shine even amidst the neighbouring specimens of grand and varied architecture. It is in this palace that Stanis- laus Poniatowsky, the last of the Polish Sovereigns, ter- minated his existence. These various buildings, commanding a view of the Neva, being placed on its left embankment, which is cased with 438 PANORAMIC SURVEY OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. solid granite, present an uninterrupted frontage of upwards of one mile in length, unequalled in any city in Europe, extending from the eastern boulevard of the Admiralty, to the monument of SouvorofF, which terminates the superh vista near a large square called the Champ de Mars, for- merly called Tsaritsinskoiloug. Opposite this splendid range of buildings is the Citadel with its low bastions of solid granite, washed all round by the Neva, and forming one of the many beautiful objects seen on this river, not only on account of its structure, but for the tall, slender, and richly gilt spire of its church. Looking to the right of the citadel with our back to the Palace, the Neva is seen to spread into a wide expanse looking much like a sea-bay, on the distant shores of which several other handsome buildings are discerned, particularly the great military and naval Hospitals; while, a little to the left of the Citadel, the eye of the observer rests on a magnificent portico, appearing between two colossal rostral pillars, and belong- ing to the Exchange. This large edifice, of Grecian archi- tecture, is placed on a double granite key with bold flights of steps, down to the water’s level. Extensive magazines, recently erected, stand on each side of it, and beyond them the house containing the museum of the Academy of Sci- ences, with the tower of the Observatory, and the palace of the Academy with its handsome colonnade, cover that point of land of Vassileiostrow which parts the stream of the Neva into a northern and southern branch, not far from the Citadel. Turning from this enchanting spot, so rich in architec- tural scenery, and retracing my steps to the Admiralty square, I observed immediately opposite to the south fagade of the Imperial Palace, a crescent of lofty buildings with an extensive Aving on one side, at right angles, all of uniform design. The whole of this range is designated by the general denomination of Etat Major , and is of very STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. 439 recent construction. The central portion of the crescent is occupied by a colonnade of the Corinthian order placed on a high rustic basement, running along the principal story, and having in each intercolumniation a balustrade of solid bronze gilt before each window, similar to the balustrades that decorate the balconies which at fixed distances orna- ment three of the windows in the principal story. In the middle of this part of the edifice an arch is seen, which, with its frieze, reaches nearly to the upper part of the lofty building, and has a span of seventy feet. The en- tablature of this triumphal arch is sculptured with military trophies, and the soffits are enriched with bold Jieurons and allegorical figures and groupes in alto relievo. We will now follow the public promenade in front of the Admiralty, leaving on our left the finest street in St. Petersburgh, called the Nevskoi Prospekt ; and after having bestowed a moment’s attention on the exquisite portico of the Manege of the Horse-Guards, one of the happiest efforts of Guarenghi, in front, and a little to the left of us, proceed to the square opposite the Isaac Bridge at the western extremity of the Admiralty. Here the co- lossal equestrian Statue of the founder of this magnificent city, placed on a granite rock, seems to command the undivided attention of the stranger. The history of this unique monument has been too often told to re- quii’e a repetition in this place. The manner in which the huge block of granite which forms the pedestal, upwards of fifteen hundred tons in weight, was conveyed from a marsh at a distance of four English miles from St. Pe- tersburgh, and two miles from the sea, has been x-elated by every traveller, and needs no farther description. On ap- proaching nearer to the rock, the simple inscription fixed on it in bronze letters “ Petro Primo, Catharina Secunda, MDCCLXXXII” meets the eye. The same inscription 440 STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. in the Russian language appears on the opposite side. The area is inclosed within a handsome railing placed between granite pillars : a glance at the frontispiece of this Volume will give a correct idea of the design and effect of this monument. The idea of Falconet, the French architect, commissioned to erect an equestrian statue to the extraordinary man at whose command a few scattered huts of fishermen were converted into palaces, was to represent the hero as conquering, by enterprize and personal courage, difficulties almost insurmountable. This the artist imagined might be .properly represented by placing Peter on a fiery steed, which he is supposed to have taught by skill, management, and perseverance, to rush up a steep and precipitous rock, to the very brink of a precipice, over which the animal and the Imperial rider pause without fear and in an attitude of triumph. The horse rears with his fore-feet in the air, and seems to be impatient of restraint, while the sovereign, turned towards the Island, surveys with calm and serene countenance his capital rising out of the waters over which he extends the hand of protection. The bold manner in which the group has been made to rest on the hind legs of the horse only, is not more surprising than the skill with which advantage has been taken of the allegorical figure of the serpent of envy spurned by the horse, to assist in upholding so gi- gantic a mass. This monument of bronze is said to have been cast at a single jet. The head was modelled by Ma- demoiselle Calot, a female artist of great merit, a contem- porary of Falconet, and is admitted to be a strong re- semblance of Peter the Great. The height of the figure of the Emperor is eleven feet; that of the horse, seventeen feet. The bronze is in the thinnest parts the fourth of an inch only, and one inch STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. 411 in the thickest part : the general weight of metal in the group is equal to 3G,G36 English pounds. I heard a venerable Russian nobleman, who was livinsr at St. Petersburgh when this monument was in progress, re- late, that as soon as the artist had formed his conception of the design, he communicated it to the Empress, together with the impossibility of representing to nature so striking a position of man and animal, without having before his eyes a horse and rider in the attitude he had devised. Ge- neral Melissino, an officer having the reputation of being the most expert as well as the boldest rider of the day, to whom the difficulties of the architect were made known, ottered to ride daily one of Count Alexis Orloff’s best Arabians out of that nobleman’s stud, to the summit of a steep artificial mound, formed for the purpose ; accustoming the horse to gallop up to it, and to halt suddenly, with his fore-legs raised, pawing the air over the brink of a precipice. This dangerous experiment was carried into effect by the general for some days, in the presence of several spectators and of Falconet, who sketched the various movements and parts of the group from day to day, and was thus enabled to pro- duce perhaps the finest — certainly the most correct statue of the kind in Europe. It will be always a matter of regret to the admirers of the sublime in the fine arts, that the chisel of Falconet which had been so successfully employed in giving to the world so perfect a group, should have interfered with the rude form and outlines of the gigantic block of granite selected for its support. The paring, and bevelling, and scooping out to which the original rock was subjected, have greatly injured the grand and imposing effect it would otherwise have had ; have diminished the size of this unique pedestal to almost incorrect proportions, and 442 PANORAMIC SURVEY OF ST. PETERS BURG FI. given it the appearance of an artificial inclined plane, where a rude and broken rock with its natural and pictu- resque angles and fractures was required. Falconet, by this proceeding, has placed himself in contradiction with his own original conception. Instead of presenting diffi- culties, he has smoothed the way to the great hero, whose bold achievements he had been instructed to commemorate. The building represented in the engraving, near the mo- nument, is the palace of the directing Senate. Its archi- tecture is severe. Advancing a few steps farther, the English Quay opens on the view, with the opposite bank crowded with public buildings, amongst which appears conspicuous, the Palace of the Academy of Fine Arts, one of the most imposing structures in St. Petersburgh. The obelisk which rises near it in the centre of a wide square, records the glory of Roumiantzoff, the conqueror of the Osmanlich race. If we direct our view to the left of this spot, the buildings of the Naval Cadet Corps, with its hand- some front, and the Barracks of the Guards of Finland, arrest our attention ; while on the right, and fronting the bridge, the great pile of buildings having a palace-like aspect, belonging to the Land Cadet Corps, is seen to occupy a large extent of the Quay, and to reach nearly to the Palace of the Academy of Sciences. From this latter, however, it is separated by the numerous colleges of the Holy Synod, now forming part of the buildings of the Uni- versity of St. Petersburgh. When I beheld for the first time both banks of the Neva lined with such magnificent buildings, and their varied architectural beauties reflected in the unruffled mirror of the most majestic river 1 had ever seen, my surprize equal- led my admiration. Numerous vessels were sailing down its stream, pleasure-boats and gondolas plied on the still surface ; and to give to the whole a still more interesting THE ENGLISH QUAY AT ST. PETERSBURG!!. PANORAMIC SURVEY OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 443 appearance, the hulls of a ship of war of three decks, and of a seventy-four, both launched at the time of our arrival at St. Petersburgh, were lying in front of the superb building of the Academy of Arts. The charm of this scenery, and that of the still more im- posing spectacle presented by a range of stately palaces running westward for the space of a mile on the left em- bankment, are not lost even on a winter’s morning when the weather is clear, and the sky of that deep azure which is alone to be seen in frosty regions. At an early hour on such a morning late in November, I directed my steps to the English Quay, and taking my station a few paces from the Senate-house, I cast my eye on the numerous insulated public buildings which on the opposite bank present their front-ends, with one of their sides gilt by the rising sun. Last of this range appeared the Grecian Portico of the JLcole des Mines, showing its white front, as if to crown the vanishing point of the vista. I could not help contrasting this almost theatrical perspective, with the more grave and imposing edifices standing in the dark shade on my left, with a handsome and wide granite quay before them. As I paced by the side of its massive parapet, I successively surveyed the handsome Ionic portico of the northern front of the Senate-house, the princely palace of Count Laval, the newly erected and colossal edifice bequeathed by the late Chancellor to the country for a public museum, and the handsome elevation and colonnade of the English church, with fifty private houses, on all of which, archi- tects have lavished their best ornaments and designs. Oc- casionally, I turned to the half-frozen Neva, lying between these two magnificent scenes, and beheld the few small and tortuous streams which yet remained free, struggling through narrow channels of ice to get to the sea. Such arc the delightful and peculiar features which distinguish this 444 PANORAMIC VIEW OF ST. PETERSBU RGH. part of the capital ; — features, the beauties of which, even the effects of winter cannot despoil. A few days after our arrival, the Count requested one of his aide-de-camps, the Prince Herheoulidzeff, a Circassian nobleman, whose amiable disposition and refined manners have won him the affections of a large circle of friends, to accompany a medical friend and myself to see the interior of the Admiralty- The elevated tower of this building offers an excellent opportunity of taking a periscopic bird’s-eye view of the city; we at the same time ascended to the external gallery placed around the lantern, which, sur- mounting the dome, serves as a base to the beautiful and richly gilt spire that rises from this point, eighty-five feet high. In this situation, we found ourselves at an elevation of one hundred and forty-five feet above the level of the Neva ; and never did a more magnificent spectacle greet the eye of an enquiring traveller, than burst upon us, when we stepped out on the circular balcony. The day was one of the finest seen in this climate. An uninterrupted sunshine lighted up every part of the surrounding panorama, and there was a transparency in the atmosphere which made every object still more conspicuous. The first impression received on looking around, when hundreds of fine palaces, colonnades, statues, and towering spires, with not a few specimens of the pure Grecian style of building, attract the attention, would lead one to ima- gine oneself suddenly transported to a newly erected city of Greece, in the time of Pericles. But when we connected those different objects with the long, straight, and wide streets, flanked with houses of various but generally hand- some designs — when we marked the bustle of the multitude — the great and motley variety of costumes, most of them picturesque— the bizarrerie of the different vehicles that glided before us, some training silently along the hand- PANORAMIC VIEW OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 445 some area that lay immediately below us, intersecting each other in a thousand directions ; others rapidly coursing on low wheels with horses that are taught antics and gambols in their course — and now and then a stately carriage drawn by four horses, guided by a long bearded coachman, whose waist is compressed by a silken sash, with a square cap of crimson velvet placed diagonally on his head, and who was heard urging the distant leaders under the control of a little urchin ; we were recalled in our imagination to present times and to reality, and we surveyed with admira- tion this youngest of the European capitals, and the capital of the largest empire in Europe. The prevalence of the light and soft tints with which most of the public buildings are painted, give to the city a gay and refreshing aspect. Immediately in front of us three noble streets, diverging like rays from a centre, pene- trate into the heart of the city, and open to the view the facades of churches and palaces without number, and present lines of dwelling-houses of the first magnitude. These are mostly built of stone, or are of brick stuccoed over. Timber houses are only perceived in a few of the distant suburbs of the Litteinoi, and Narfskoi districts, or in the more remote parts of the Vassiliefskoi and Peter- bourskoi Islands. Although higher than the houses in Lon- don, those of St. Fetersburgh have seldom more than two Stories, the elevation of each of which is consequently con- siderable. These are frequently ornamented with handsome balconies, and light balustrades surround the flat roofs, which are generally covered with sheet iron, painted green or red. Columns are profusely introduced ; but their application is mostly confined to the principal story, being seldom em- ployed for the construction of porticos before the principal entrance. The number of spires, domes, and towers, with which 446 PANORAMIC VIEW OF ST. PETERSBURGH. the general map of the city is interspersed, give to the whole a pleasing variety. The Byzantine bulbous cupolas distinguish those dedicated to theGreco-Russian communion from the other churches. One of the principal ornaments of this modern Palmyra are indeed its churches. Seen from an eminence, the Greek churches appear, both far and near, with an imposing aspect, alike removed from the masterpieces of Gothic architecture and the modern temples. Five domes, the central one of which is higher than the others, and of larger proportions, in many instances gilt with profusion, would remind one of the mosques of Constantinople, but that the Greek Cross towers here in proud triumph over the Ottoman Crescent. We were struck with the fine appearance of the several military bar- racks, and the riding-house adjoining those which belong to the several cavalry regiments of Guards stationed in the capital. The uniform beauty of these buildings, most of which have been erected by eminent architects, is very re- markable. The squares and gardens, seen to interrupt the monotony of large masses of dwellings and streets, form at the same time a number of important openings in the great map of the city, on which the eye dwells with pleasure. We particularly noticed, on the eastern side of our station, and on the bank of the Moika, the Imperial Mews, with the church belonging to it, one of the most superb specimens of archi- tecture existing in St. Petersburgh : its running portico, of the order of Pestum, is unequalled in beauty. The sum- mer-gardens, and the Castle of St. Michael near them, the pleasure-grounds belonging to the recently finished and magnificent Palace of the Grand Duke Michael, are like- wise seen grouped on this spot. The wide Fontanka, with its many granite bridges, marks the boundary of this district, beyond which the view stretches to the old and new Arsenal, to the Taurida palace and its park, and PANORAMIC VIEW OP ST. PETERSBURG!!. 447 farther still to the splendid convent of Smolnoi. Turning n gently round over the neighbouring scenery, the elevated church of St. Alexander Nevoski with its monastery, cemetery, and cloister, caught our attention ; while in the intermediate ground we observed the long line of shops of the Gostinoi'dwor, the tower of the Town-hall, the private palace of Anitchkoff, belonging to the Emperor, the semicircular front of the Cathedral of our Lady of Casan, the Bank of Assignats, the handsome building of the Poor’s Hospital, and that of the Institute of St. Catherine. Directing our attention to the south-western part of the city, new wonders offered themselves to our view. The colossal pile of marble forming part of the intended new church of St. Isaac, the Palladian struc- ture of the Post-office, the barracks and riding-house of the Gardes a clieval, the great and handsome portico of the Opera, with the picturesque church of St. Nicholas not far distant from it, successively presented themselves as ob- jects for our admiration. The scene, too, in this direction, is pleasingly varied by the many intersecting canals which meet to mingle their waters with those of the gulf placed at the extreme point of our picture, and forming its distant horizon. We left with regret our elevated station, where pleasure and surprise had riveted us for nearly an hour to the con- templation of a living panorama, to see which alone, it is not too much to say, that a journey of 1700 miles is not too great a sacrifice. But the inhabitants of London will have shortly an op- portunity of forming an idea of the grandeur and beauty of St. Petersburgh without going so far from home. A model of that city, on a scale never before attempted, in which every building is represented in all its various and most minute details, and the proportions, distances, and relative positions are most strictly observed, is about to be 448 MODEL OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. imported by Signor Rossi, the ingenious artist who exe- cuted it. The space it occupies is more than sixty feet in breadth, and seventy-four in length, without including the monastery of St. Alexander Nevskoi, the. College of the Demoiselles Nobles, and the Taurida Palace, which are executed apart. 'When the model left St. Petersburgh for Paris, it filled five large waggons. It was exhibited in St. Petersburgh in 1826, *and shown publicly last year in the French capital, where it met with general admiration ; whence it was to have been brought to this country in the course of the present year for public inspection. Such a mode of representing large towns on an adequate scale, has many advantages over a painted panorama. The one is, in fact, the substance of that of which the other is the shadow. Illusion is the pride of the one, reality the boast of the other. Should the great Panorama of London, painted for that magnificent building the Coliseum, in the Regent’s Park, be open to the public at the same time that the great model of St. Petersburgh shall be exhibited in this metropolis, a remarkable op- portunity will offer itself of comparing the respective merits of the two systems of imitative representation applied to two of the most celebrated capitals in Europe. CONVEYANCES. 449 CHAPTER II. PICTURE OF ST. PETERSBURGH. Conveyances to and from St. Petersburgh. — Posting regulations. Telegas, Kibitkas, Horses and tackle. Diligences, Steam-vessels. — Formalities to be attended to by Foreigners on their arrival at, during their residence in, and at their departure from St. Peters- burgh; Passports. — Custom-house. — Permission to introduce books. — Hotels and ready-furnished apartments. — Lacquais de Place and Servants. — Equipages. — Close Carriages, Droschkyes, Sledges. — Divisions of Society. — Different classes of Nobility. — The great officers of the Court. — The Ministers of State and Fo- reign Ministers, — The Hereditary Nobility. — Heads of Imperial Departments. — Military officers of high rank. — The titular no- bility. — The liberal professions. — The Employes of Government. — The Merchants. — Number of Foreigners in St. Petersburgh. — Russian inhabitants. — Remarkable feature in the character of the Russians. — Busy appearance of the population. — Privileges and new regulation respecting Foreigners. It was a saying of Pope Ganganelli that he liked well to enter a large city, but still better to depart from it. For both these purposes some conveyances are necessary. Even those travellers who boast of having traced their lonely way to Kamtchatka on foot, have been glad to avail themselves of every opportunity which spared them a part of that labour. A pedestrian tour to St. Peters- burgh is not the sort of pilgrimage I would recommend to my readers, though I am in the habit of urging the VOL. i. G 450 POSTING. advantage of walking exercise to my patients. In no part of civilized Europe, excepting Sweden, can a traveller get himself conveyed to and from any part of the empire, and consequently to and from the capital, on such reason- able terms, as well as so expeditiously, as in Russia. The means of conveyance to and from St. Petersburgh, are as numerous as those to be found in any other country. Posting, stage-coaches, or diligences, voituriers, and steam- vessels, or the more ordinary course of sea navigation, are all equally available for the purpose. Posting is under the immediate superintendence of Go- vernment, as is the case in most countries on the Continent. There is no printed tarif-book, as in France or Germany, to point out the roads and post-stations to the traveller, together with the regulations respecting his own and the post-masters’ conduct, which are found so convenient in the Parisian livre des postes ; but on application at the general post-office, a written march-route may be obtained by any respectable person ; and, moreover, the distances being, without exception, marked on the road, as well as at all the post-houses, such a book would be almost superfluous. The charges for posting consist in the fees or duty paid on obtaining the permission from the military governor of St. Petersburgh for post-horses, and in the tax paid to the post-masters for the horses themselves. The first amounts to two kopeeks, or one-fifth of a penny, for each horse and verst, paid in advance for the whole distance. The second is equal to eight kopeeks a horse, or four-fifths of a penny, for every verst. Thus, for example, the distance of 564 versts from St. Petersburgh to Riga, with four horses, would cost 45 roubles 32 kopeeks for the permit or podorosclma, paid before starting, and 180 roubles 48 kopeeks paid on the road to the different post-masters. Strictly speaking, there is no regular or obligatory charge for the drivers. The sum paid to the post-master for the horses, is supposed to remu- POSTING. 451 Derate his servant also ; but in general, foreigners are in the habit of giving at each stage a small coin of the value of twenty kopeeks in silver, which are equal to eighty kopecks of paper-money, or eight-pence. As there are twenty-eight stages from St. Petersburg!! to Riga, the total charge for the drivers amounts to twenty-two roubles and forty ko- peeks; consequently, the entire distance would cost for the four horses and drivers, two hundred and forty-eight rou- bles and twenty kopeeks, which is equivalent to ten pounds six shillings and eight-pence, being at the rate of sixpence- halfpenny a mile (English). Posting is therefore nearly one-half cheaper than in France, and two-thirds cheaper than in Germany, while the same mode (with four horses) of travelling in England, is six times dearer than in Russia. To guard against any imposition on the part of the post- masters, it is ordered that they shall keep suspended in their office an abstract of the regulations and tarif, written in the Russian, and German, and sometimes in the French language, with the chargeable distances marked thereon, for the guidance of travellers, who have a right to insist on its being produced when any dispute arises. Notwith- standing these precautions, attempts are sometimes made to charge foreigners more than is due, and to compel them to take a greater number of horses than is requisite. In all such cases, the traveller may insert his complaint in a re- gister kept for that purpose at each post-house, which being examined, from time to time, by the inspector of the district, will inevitably lead to the punishment or repri- mand of the transgressing post-master. In this respect, the system is the same as that which obtains in Germany. I had occasion, on my return from St. Petersburg!), to in- sert a complaint twice in this liber malejicus, and I was much amused at the perusal of some of the entries I found n it. In general, the alleged causes of complaint were lot worth the time wasted in making them, and, for aught o c o 452 RUSSIAN VEHICLES. I know, my own were probably of the same description. Travellers are frequently, from fatigue and bad nights, in that state of health which induces feverish irritability and dissatisfaction. We are also apt to be over-jealous of our powers of discrimination and knowledge of the customs of the country through which we travel, and to resist with petulant indignation the least apparent attempt to question either. We embark in serious disputations on matters which, at a period of cooler reflection, would excite our risibility. Travellers have mentioned with contempt the appear- ance of the Russian post-horses, and of the tackle belong- ing to them ; but these eye-sores are fully compensated by the rapidity with which one is generally driven, wherever the state of the road will permit. It matters little to me whether the animals which are to convey me through the interminable forests and lands of that country, are fresh taken from the plough, or gathered home from the neigh- bouring heath, wild and uncouth, and of all sizes and co- lours, if they do but carry me to the termination of the stage at the rate of twelve versts an hour. And I have been told by a gentleman, on whose veracity I can depend, that even twenty versts an hour is not a very extraordinary performance. Besides the usual vehicles for posting, such as chariots and dormeuses, berlines, britschkas, and caliches, which I saw used by the superior classes in the part of Russia that I visited, the inhabitants are accustomed to post in light carts called telegas, built on four low wheels, without springs, having an open or a full railing all round, occasionally a bench suspended inside, but more commonly nothing be- yond a great quantity of hay, in which the traveller lies down rather than sits; so that the jolting in such a carriage must be dreadful. I never felt the inclination to try it. Another national carriage in use on the road, is a slight RUSSIAN VEHICLES. 453 modification of the former, and is called the kibitka. This is indeed the more usual carriage to be met with at the post-houses in Russia. Sometimes these vehicles are hung upon springs, in which case it is said that they are neither disagreeable nor inconvenient. These, as well as private carriages of all descriptions, are seldom drawn by fewer than three, and oftener by four, six, and eight horses. In the first and second case, the horses are placed abreast, one of them in the shafts with an arched piece of wood, called Douga, immediately above his head, from which are suspended a number of bells ; some are driven by a coachman who sits in front of the carriage, making room for himself as he can, if no proper accommo- dation be provided in the construction of the carriage, and sometimes placing himself on a high pile of trunks or impe- rials, without ever complaining of his uncomfortable birth. In the third and fourth case, the horses are disposed in two rows, and a postilion rides one of those in the centre of the front row. I have, however, seen more than once a single coachman drive the two teams, and have admired the skill with which he held control over each of the eight animals, by means of the slender strings he grasped in his hands, and which performed the office of reins. In order to put the horses in this manner to private travelling carriages, a very wide splinter bar is fixed to that which belongs to the carriage, and is made to project beyond it at least a foot on each side. Hence the necessity of those extraordinary wide roads which are so common in Russia. Families who live at a great distance, and are indifferent as to time, when they have occasion to visit the capital, engage, in preference to posting, a ) amstchick or V oituiiei , who supplies the necessary number of horses for the journey, and performs a distance of about sixty versts a day, stop- ping every night. I have met more than one party of this description, both going to and returning from St. Peteis- RUSSIAN DILIGENCE. 454 buro'h. I understand that this manner of travelline is ex- ceedingly cheap, and is preferred by several on that account. Foreigners have been known to arrive at St. Petersburg!), from Italy, Switzerland, and France, with a Swiss, a French, or an Italian Vetturino, who meets with no impe- diment at the frontiers, and being once arrived in the capi- tal, after resting his horses, will not unfrequently leave it on his return with a fresh party of travellers. The recent introduction of diligences has been a great im- provement in travelling for those who cannot afford, or like not to post. At present, these conveyances are under the direction of a private company, and under the protection of the Post-office : at least, the best regulated are so ; but they are not to carry either letters or parcels, except those belonging to the passengers to and from St. Petersburg!). On the Riga and Moscow roads, these vehicles are kept in excellent order, and perform their journey with great regu- larity ; on the former road, in three days and three nights ; on the latter, in four days and three nights, stopping only for refreshments. The carriages are of considerable length, and are necessarily heavy, but their progress is not much impeded from that circumstance ; and the speed is equal at least to any of the ventures accelerees in France. The rate of going is about seven English miles an hour. The di- ligence to and from Moscow sets off every day, carrying four inside, two in the arriere cabriolet, and one passenger with the conducteur. The fare is the same for all, namely, seventy-five I’oubles in the winter, and one hundred and twenty roubles in the summer, when the cabriolet passen- ger pays only the half. The price for the refreshments, taken during the day, is fixed at two and a half roubles. The General Administration of the Postes established in the course of last year a similar means of conveyance from Revel to St. Petersburgh. The former is become a very fashionable watering-place ; and the accommodation thus STEAM-VESSEL TO ST. PETERSBURG!!. 455 afforded to travellers will prove of essential service. A second has been established, within the last few weeks, on the line of roads to Radzivill, on the Austrian frontiers facing Brody. Before quitting the capital, I had an oppor- tunity of seeing several new public carriages built for the service of the Post-office and the conveyance of travellers on the Moscow road, and I thought them infinitely supe- rior to the Continental diligences in general. One or two friends of mine, much in the habit of travelling; abroad, assured me that the Moscow diligence, or stage-coach, offers a very convenient and comfortable mode of travelling. In the winter the carriage is placed on two large sledges, and the journey is performed more speedily, and conse- quently more economically. But by far the most tempting mode of travelling to St. Petersburgh ever offered to the English nation, is the spirited undertaking of Messrs. Joliffe and Banks, who have established a quick and certain mode of communica- tion between London and that city, by means of a steam- vessel, thus bringing almost into immediate contact the capital of the greatest maritime nation and that of the largest empire in Europe. The steam-vessel employed to perform the voyage to St. Petersburgh, began its ope- rations in May 1827, in which year, up to the end of October, she performed four outward and four homeward voyages. She carries 700 tons of merchandize, and can accommodate about a hundred passengers. She has two steam-engines of eighty-horse power, and since her last voyage has been newly fitted up and embellished. There are two classes of accommodation in her, called the best and second cabin. Each consists of several neatly fur- nished cabins, having two beds in each. There is a common or general sitting-room, and the ladies have, be- sides, a withdrawing-room solely appropriated to their use. There are also abaft two large state cabins calculated to 456 STEAM-VESSEL TO ST. PETERSBURGII. receive private families. Although each cabin contains two beds, it is seldom that the vessel is so full as to make it necessary for two strangers to sleep in the same cabin. The fare for the best cabin accommodations is twenty- eight pounds. This includes attendance, bedding, and provisions of all sorts ; and there is no other charge made. For the passengers of the fore cabin, the fare is eighteen pounds. The accommodations in this part, though equally good with the rest, are not so handsomely fitted up ; neither is the table kept in the same superior style. I learned from a gentleman who made a voyage in her last year, that nothing can equal the liberal manner in which the table is supplied, or the excellence of the ac- commodations in general. Indeed, it is stated that unne- cessary luxuries are to be found at the table, such as Champagne and other choice wines, all included in the general price or fare. A great comfort, also, is that of having fresh provisions on board during the passage, the short duration of which admits of such an arrangement. The proprietors may perhaps find it to their interest hereafter to suppress all luxuries and superfluities at the table, and in the fitting up of the cabins, so as to be able to lower the fares respectively to 25/. and 15/., by which reduction it is probable that a greater number of passen- gers will be obtained to more than compensate for the amount reduced. The George the Fourth is longer than a first-rate frigate, and performs the voyage in nine or ten days. In saying that a naval officer is captain of her, it is almost unneces- sary to add that she is commanded by an able and expe- rienced officer.* * Every passenger is allowed to have lOOlbs. weight of luggage free of expense ; all extra quantities are charged as merchandize, namely, Is. 6d. per cubic foot. Carriages and horses are also shipped in the George the Fourth for St. Petersburg!!. The freight for a four-wheel A QUICK WAY TO ST. PETERSBURGH AND MOSCOW. 457 Thus, then, a person having six weeks in the summer to spare, may, in that space of time, and for the sum of sixty guineas, take his passage in the steamer in London, get to St. Petersburgh, from thence proceed to Moscow bv a post-coach, remaining in each city a week, in order to examine them and their environs, and return by the same conveyance to St. Petersburgh, in sufficient time to embark once more on board the steam-vessel' on his return to London. By land, the shortest distance to both those capitals, and back again, would be 4,300 miles ; and the time employed, travelling night and day, without allowing for any stay in either city, could not be short of seven weeks, and the expense for posting alone, not far short of triple the sum expended by the mode of conveyance which has just been described. As an instance of the celerity with which the voyage hence to St. Peters- burgh is performed by the steam-vessel, it may be men- tioned that on one occasion last year the George the Fourth, having left the Thames on the 20th of July, arrived in the Neva on the 30th, having only been nine days on its voyage, during which it stopped two days at Copen- hagen and Christianstadt to take up passengers.* Foreigners are in every country obliged, on their arrival, to submit to certain formalities, which, however Carriage is twenty-five pounds, and for a two-wheel carriage six- teen. The passage-money for a horse is 20/. including forage. * Since writing this account of the steam-vessel, I learn that the George the Fourth now plies only between St. Petersburgh and Lubeck, near the town of which it lands its passengers. Land con- veyances, of every description, with post-horses, and at an expense of about 23 or 30 marks, (2/.) will carry the passenger over forty miles of the worst road in Europe in eight hours to Hamburg, whence the regular steam-packet sails with them for London every Friday night or Saturday morning. Lubeck and Hamburg being free towns, no vexatious regulations exist with respect to luggage at either of those ports. By the present arrangement, St. Petersburgli has been brought at least three days nearer to London. 458 PASSPORT, OR TRANSIT-PAPER. annoying or troublesome they may seem to the traveller, ought not to excite his irritability, or call forth the ex- pression of his discontent, since they are of his own seek- ing, and probably not very different from those which he has left in full operation in his own country, in regard to the natives of that which he is about to visit. A fo- reigner has three things to attend to on his arrival in Rus- sia, if he intends to reside in it unmolested. He should prove first his personal identity and character. This part is done by presenting to the proper authority the pass- port, if the traveller has landed from a vessel, or the transit-paper,* if he has entered Russia by land. The lat- ter, it will be recollected, he received at the frontier, in ex- change for his passport. All foreign passports must have the counter-signature of a Russian ambassador or consul residing in the place whence the passport was obtained. The omission of this essential formality is generally fol- lowed by non-admission into the empire. I have heard the English minister who has lately left St. Peters- burgh, mention the case of some Englishmen who, in the course of last year, had arrived by the steam-ves- sel, without the signature of any Russian authority in England to their passports. They were not permitted * The wording of this document, as it was delivered to me at Riga, and written in the Russian language, ran as follows : — “ Billet delivered for a free transit to St. Petersburg}), to the subject of Great Britain, surgeon in His Majesty’s Navy, Doctor A. B. Granville, who arrived here with a passport from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain, dated the 25th of August, 1827, No. 219, signed at the Russian Embassy in London, 1827, No. 83, and who came to Russia the ^ of October, 1827. He is to be allowed to go through all the barriers without impediment ; and on his arrival at St. Petersburgh, he must present himself immediately to the local authorities, in order to receive another permission for all the time of his remaining there or departing to another place.” PASSPORT, OR TRANSIT-PAPER. 459 to land ; and that gentleman having already successfully interceded on two or three former occasions with the Emperor in favour of some of his countrymen, who had also omitted the same formality, felt that he could not with a good grace repeat his solicitations a fourth time, — the more so, as it was found that no other class of foreigners transgressed so repeatedly with respect to this simple regu- lation.* I am therefore somewhat particular in my de- tails on this subject, with the view to prevent farther dis- appointments. Having strictly conformed myself to every existing regulation, and obtained all the information I wished at the Alien-office in St. Pctersburgh, I am enabled to state every circumstance connected with the present sys- tem of police respecting foreigners. The passport which has been retained on passing the land frontiers, or at Riga, as happened in my case, or at Cronstadt, when a foreigner arrives by sea, is forwarded through the Chan- cery of the civil or military governor, or chief magistrate of those places, to the military governor of St. Peters- burg!), and transmitted by him to the third section of his Imperial Majesty’s Chancery. The transit-paper or permit received in exchange for that document, on enter- ing Russia, must be delivered at the barrier to the officer on duty, who forwards it the same day to the military governor of St. Petersburgh, by whom, after having been * This seems by no means an uncommon failing with English travellers. The lively writer of “ Letters from the North of Italy,” has a whole chapter of lamentations against the Austrian Govern- ment for turning back all foreigners whose passport had not been visto by some Austrian minister or diplomatic agent. Although fur- nished with a passport from Lord Castlereagh, invalid as he was, the author, having omitted that formality, was compelled to deviate from his course, and betake himself to Genoa, there to obtain the necessary qualification for proceeding on his travels. 460 CUSTOM-HOUSE DUES. registered and compared with the original passport, it is sent to the Alien-office- The second thing to be attended to by a foreigner is, to get his effects cleared at the Custom-house.* I have al- ready mentioned how this is done at the land frontiers ; when, however, a foreigner arrives at St. Petershurgh by sea, his luggage is sent to the Custom-house situated on the Vassileostrow, to the left, and not far from theExchange, a remarkable building already noticed. Few things likely to form part of a gentleman’s luggage are liable to any duty. But a fee for entry, amounting to ten or eleven roubles, is charged on the whole of the effects taken en masse. The ope- * The following bill of expenses incurred at the Custom-house of St. Petershurgh, for two cases which I sent by sea from London, con- taining an Egyptian mummy, surgical instruments, and books, will con- vey an idea of the trifling duties paid on the last two articles, and of the very low freight at which masters of vessels, trading to St. Pe- tersburgh, were then compelled to ship goods for that port ; while it will afford a specimen of the exorbitant charges called Sound dues, which maritime nations submit to pay to the Guardian Sovereign of the Baltic, the King of Denmark. Duty on various anatomical preparations (mummy) R none Do. on surgical instruments (four small cases) . 9 18 Do. on books (about thirty in number) 5 15 Accidents 2 81 R ir 14 Entry of Custom-house charges 10 — Freight from London and lighterage 15 — Sound dues 68 85 Landing charges, Isvoschick (hired carriage) . 4 21 R 115 K 20 Thus, on so small a sum as 4/. 16s. sterling, expended on this occa- sion, the English captain, who navigated the goods a distance of two thousand miles, safe to port, gets one-eighth only, while the Danish King touches nearly seven-ninths of the whole. CUSTOM-HOUSE AT ST. PETERSBURG!!. 4G1 ration of examining and clearing the luggage, is performed much in the same manner as at the King’s warehouses in London, and occupies but a short time. The Establishment comprises a fine suite of rooms on the first floor ; in each of which a separate branch of business is transacted, as the inscription written in French, Eng- lish, and German over the door of them informs the stranger. The access to all these offices is perfectly free to all merchants and strangers. The third step to be taken concerns the books which the traveller may have with him. No foreign work is permit- ted to be introduced without the previous sanction of the Board of Censure ; and for that purpose all books in the possession of a traveller arriving at St. Petersburgh, are sent to that board or commission for inspection by the Cus- tom-house officers, and are returned to the party if ap- proved of. I have been told that when a traveller of known respectability has with him a large number of books, which it woidd be too troublesome and inconveni- ent to send to the Office of Censure, a list of the titles, faithfully copied, has been considered by the board as a sufficient document to judge of their admissibility. Such are the formalities necessary to be attended to on arriving at St. Petersburgh : those which are necessary to enable a foreigner to reside in it, are the following. As soon as he has taken a lodging, or settled himself in an hotel, or within three days after his arrival, he should make his appearance before the principal officer of the Alien Department, situated near the bridge Torgovoi, on the Kroukof canal, where he will either find his transit- paper or permit, which he delivered at the barrier of the city; or if that document be still in his possession, (for it will sometimes happen that the name only is asked at the gate,) he then and there presents it. On the same occasions, he re- m BILLET DK SEJOUR. ceives a billet from the officer, giving an account of his per- son and character, which the landlord of the house he resides in takes care to have entered at the police-office of his district, after which it is again returned to the Alien Department, where it remains. A permit of residence in St. Petersburgh is lastly granted, written in three languages, Russian, French, and German, on a large sheet of blue paper, for which the sum of ten roubles (paper) is charged to a male, and five roubles to a female. This permit must be renewed every year, in January, on paying the same tax. Foreign mer- chants are exempted from these regulations, if recognized as such by the guild ; and so are foreign artists, mechanics, servants, and professional persons resident in St. Peters- burgh, such as physicians and apothecaries actually prac- tising, provided they have complied with certain other prescribed formalities, which it is not my purpose to describe. The billet de sejour ought, strictly speaking, to be carried about the person wherever the stranger has occasion to go, as he is liable to be asked to produce it at any time by some one or other of the officers of the police ; but I am told by persons who have resided long in St. Petersburgh, that such a proceeding is seldom had recourse to, and then only in the case of suspicious persons. By the Alien Bill now in force in this country, passed 26th May 1826, and entitled an Act for the Registration of Aliens, foreigners already resident in England for a less period than seven years, are to make a declaration in writ- ing, of their abode, name, rank, occupation, and descrip- tion, to be transmitted to the Alien-office, in Westminster, and repeat the same twice in every year. Aliens arriving from abroad are to surrender their passports to the officer of customs having the superintendence of aliens, and re- ceive a certificate in lieu of it, with which they are to present themselves to the Alien-office in London, to exchange the PASSPORT FOR DEPARTURE. 463 same for a permission to reside in England. The neglect- ing to make the declaration twice a year, subjects an alien to a 50/. penalty, or imprisonment for any time not exceed- ing six months; and aliens found to be without the cer- tificate, or permission of residence from the Alien-office in their possession, are punishable by a fine of 20/. Similar measures of police regulations in regard to stran- gers are prevalent in other parts of the Continent, and Russia is by no means singular in this respect, or more strict than the rest. Nay, if we look back to the most outrageously democratic governments, they will be found to have been the most severe in enforcing similar regula- tions in regard to foreigners, while they were preaching liberty all over the world. I have still in my recollection the dismay and inconvenience I experienced in travelling through Republican France and Republican Italy, where not only foreigners, but even natives, were forced to have constantly in their pocket a carte de surete, which was re- quired to be renewed every three months at some expense, and on which depended the personal liberty of the citizens of the “ free and indivisible” republics of those days. The foreigner who intends leaving St. Petersburgh and the country altogether, has other formalities to comply with, which it is proper to add in this place. . First he must insert an advertisement either in the Russian or the German Gazette, published in the house and under the direction of the Academy of Sciences, stating his name and address, with his intention of departing. This insertion is to be repeated in three distinct numbers. As these Gazettes are published only twice a week, this formality alone will occupy at least eight days. An exception in favour of persons arriving in the steam-vessel, and at once declaring their intention to return by the same, has lately been made in this respect by an order from the Emperor, 464 PASSPORT FOR DEPARTURE. who has shown throughout a great anxiety to encourage that praiseworthy undertaking. Such persons need only advertise once in the Gazette : they also enjoy another im- portant advantage, if the steam-vessel proceeds to St. Pe- tersburgh, namely, that of having their luggage cleared immediately on board, without having to send it to the Custom-house. With the Gazette containing the third insertion, an ap- plication is made to the superintendent of the police of the district in which the foreigner resides, for a certificate that there exists no impediment against his departure ; after which a petition accompanied with both these documents and the billet de stjour , is sent, through the Alien-office, to the Military Governor of St. Petersburg!), who grants the passport in the name of the Emperor, written in the Rus- sian and German languages. The petition is drawn up by one of the clerks at the Alien Department, to whom a small present of four roubles is made for his trouble. The official fee for the petition is 9.!d., and the passport is delivered gratis.* At the Foreign-office in London, a passport costs c Zl. 7s. 6d. * This latter document is valid for the term of three weeks only, after the lapse of which it must be revised, by the Governor. The form of the passport is as follows. — By the authority of flis Imperial Majesty, Nicholas the First, Autocrat of all the Russias, &c. &c. To all and each who shall see or read these presents, it is made known that the bearer thereof is permitted to travel through the Governments of Novgorod, Twer, Moscow, &c. even into foreign parts. In witness whereof, and in order that he may pass onward freely and unmolested, this passport is granted to him, being in force during three weeks, bv the Military Governor-General of St. Petersburgh, under his Imperial Majesty’s seal. St. Petersburgh, ^ December 1827 - (L.S.) G. Kutusoff, &c. &c. &c. And PODOROSCHNA. 465 It is necessary to state that most of the formalities I have so minutely detailed, and the various steps to be taken, may be accomplished without much trouble or personal interference. The landlord of the hotel, or the intendant of the household, where a foreigner resides, will transact the whole business for him; and excepting on two occasions, namely, when the billet of residence and the pass- port for departure are delivered, (in both of which cases a receipt must be signed,) the foreigner need not make his ap- pearance. As far as I was concerned, however, I preferred going through the whole routine in person, with a view to obtain positive information on all points, with the pre- cise nature of which I found even the inhabitants of the capital but imperfectly acquainted. I must in justice to the parties state, that both from the officers of the Imperial Chancery, and the superintendent of the Alien-office, I re- ceived every possible facility in the pursuit of the measures just enumerated. The same observation has been made by an anonymous writer, who published a “ Coup d’CEil sur Petersbourg” in 1821. That gentleman says, on the sub- ject of the office in question, “ I/ordre qui regne dans ce bureau, et l’extreme politesse des employes ne laissent plus rien a desirer.” It is with the passport that an order for post-horses is obtained from the governor-general, as already mentioned, when speaking of the podoroschna.* This formality is by And in the margin the personal description of the traveller appears hus ; — age, make, hair, face, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, ;hin, and other special marks. In some cases, a foreigner may also obtain from the third division 4 the Imperial Chancery his own original passport with which he rossed the frontiers of the empire. * This document, in English, runs thus ; By order of his Majesty NICHOLAS THE FIRS1, Autocrat of all the Russias. From 466 HOTELS AT ST. PETERSBURGH. no means peculiar to Russia. In France, Germany, Aus- tria in particular, and many of the States of Italy, the same regulation exists with regard to post-horses. In Piedmont, for example, no post-horses can be obtained without a Bollettone from the general-direction of the post-office, which Bollettone contains the names and distances of the different places at which horses are to be procured. To a traveller, a bad inn or an indifferent lodging is, perhaps, one of the most serious inconveniences attendant on his vocation. We can put up with a great deal that is uncomfortable on the road ; but when we arrive at our rest- ing-place, we like to be well housed and well fed. St. Pe- tersburgh in this respect will, if I am not misinformed, be likely to disappoint the stranger. The hotels or principal inns are few, and those, I am told, not very good. From experience I know nothing of them ; but from the report of friends who have lived in those establishments, I have learned that there are no establishments of that class equal to those which are found in Berlin, Leipsig, Frankfort, Brussels, Paris, or London. The best among those that are frequented by foreigners, are kept by English, French, or German landlords. The Hotel Demuth , in the Kanoushny-street, leading out of the Nevskoi Prospekt, is considered the first. This is kept by a Frenchman, who knows how to charge. Next comes the Hotel de Londres, placed at the corner of the last-men- tioned street, and opposite the Admiralty, in a cheerful but noisy situation. In each of these, a sitting-room, and From St. Petersburgh to Warsaw, in Poland. Order to all the post-offices to give Doctor , with his servant four horses, with their drivers, at the price fixed by law. St. Petersburgh, SeceTbe^ } l827 ' Distance > “ verst Signed G. Kutusoff, Military Governor, &c. &c. The seal of office. LODGINGS. 4G7 a bed-chamber, with breakfast and dinner at the table d’hote, will cost from ten to twelve roubles a day, (from eight to ten shillings.) Wine, fuel, and attendance paid apart. There is a very respectable house in a street called the Back Line, behind theEnglish Quay, kept by an English- man of the name of Ileay, which is frequented by mer- chants and captains of vessels ; and a fourth house, called the English Hotel , in the Nevskoi, is in good repute, from its excellently furnished apartments, and still more excellent table d’hote, at which a dinner costs five roubles, without the wine. The proprietor of this house is a person of the name of Gordon. There is also a far-famed table d'hote in the Admiralty Prospekt, where I once met some of the first people in St. Petersburgh ; but it is more for a frolic than from habit, that such a class of persons ever frequent places of this description. Page’s hotel, which is men- tioned in some late English travels, exists no longer. Lodgings are plentiful in every part of St. Petersburgh. The best and most fashionable are in the Nevskoi Prospekt, or on the English Quay. The cheapest and sans preten- sion are on the Island of Vassileiostrow. In the former situation two hundred roubles a month are charged for a sitting-room, with an ante-room, and a bed-chamber. In the latter situation, very little more than half that sum will be required. These lodgings are handsomely fur- nished ; but they are not carpeted, want a few essential conveniences, and have a common access, by a large stair- case, with other apartments, as in Paris and Edinburgh. There are two or three very large houses in the Nevskoi, with very imposing exteriors, looking like palaces, which ire divided and let into separate apartments or chambers, ind are productive to the proprietor of the enormous an- iual sums of sixty, seventy, and eighty thousand roubles. Sufficient reasons for the want of good inns, and readi- 2 h 2 468 HOSPITALITY OF THE RUSSIANS. furnished apartments in St. Petersburgh, will be found in the situation of that capital, which forbids any great influx of foreigners, except on business ; in the disinclination on the part of the natives to dine at public tables; and in the ready hospitality of the upper classes of society, frequently imitated by the wealthy merchants, and the middle classes of inhabitants. If a foreigner is but known or properly introduced, he need not give himself the trouble of think- ing much about his dinner. He may reckon upon being asked to dine out almost daily ; or he will become suffi- ciently intimate with some family of independent fortune to be considered as a constant guest at their table. This practice is perhaps not quite so general as it formerly used to be among the great ; but enough of it yet remains, and of this I have known a sufficient number of examples. St. Petersburgh is also behind other great capitals in another luxury, and that is a sharp, intelligent, honest, and well-behaved lacquais de place. Five roubles a day will procure one to whom no extra-payment is made on the score of board-wages, or lodging-money. If the master is in ready-furnished apartments, the landlord is obliged to find a sleeping-room for the lacquey, who may then be re- quired to remain in the house at night for the same wages. Few of the lacquais de place speak French with sufficient fluency to be fully serviceable. Most of them, from the nature of their attendance, are very idle, lying down in the ante-room to sleep the best part of the day, or running into the ‘nearest kaback, or public house, to get muzzy. Part of the duty of these lacquais is to make their master’s bed, and that is the worst part of it; attendance of female servants is confined to the ladies’ apartments. I believe that most of the lacquais de place are honest, as far as to taking care of their master’s property ; but they are decidedly not trustworthy with regard to buying, for I have known ROGUERIES OP LACQUAIS DF, PLACE. 469 them charge double what they paid, and go hand in hand with shopkeepers, whom they allow to impose on their master for a remuneration. It is in this manner that this class of servants are enabled to sport their handsome schoubs or fur pelisses, rings on their ten fingers, large cornelian seals and brooches, and a stiff' cravat, with the small pit- tance of five roubles per day, and no board-wages ! I have been assured by persons well acquainted with the fact, that the sejour at St. Petersburgh of the two Em- bassies Extraordinary from England within the last three years, has proved a most fruitful harvest to every sort of tradesman and shopkeeper in that city. Not only because the known liberality of the two distinguished noblemen who represented the British Sovereign, and of their superior attendant officers, led them to order freely, and pay hand- somely for cart-loads of articles, so that the market would at times be empty of some particular articles, as was the case with the Tanjor Couschaks ; but also because of the dishonest connivance of the lacquais de place with certain shopkeepers, in imposing on those gentlemen in respect to payment. Thus the fellow whom I engaged had decked himself out most sumptuously at the expense of a noble marquis who had last visited St. Petersburgh as Ambassa- dor Extraordinary, in whose service he had been for a short time. But such tricks are played off by lacquais or valets de place in almost every great capital, arid no where more so than in Italy. None of the servants here men- tioned are Russians. A very few are French — but most commonly they are German, Polish, and Jews. Servants, in general, are under the immediate inspection of the police. Register-offices are appointed by authority, where, at stated hours of the day, servants may be inquired for, and procured under fewer disadvantages than if they were engaged at random. No domestic should be engaged 470 RUSSIAN CARRIAGES. who cannot produce a certificate of good conduct from the inspector of those establishments, and of being known in it as a professed servant. There are some capitals in Europe in which a stranger may dispense with the luxury of a carriage without much inconvenience. In St. Petersburg!) that is next to impossi- ble. The town is spread over such an extent of ground, that the distances are necessarily great. Added to which, walking is not in fashion, and even the maitre d'hotel and the cook of a “ grand seigneur” will go to market in some kind of vehicle. The Russians display great magnificence in their equi- pages. They have excellent horses, and the manufacture of carriages at St. Petersburgh has been greatly improved of late years. I know not on what data the calculation is founded, but the number of vehicles of all sorts used in the capital has been estimated at nearly 50,000. Persons of all ranks and stations in society keep some kind of carriage, either for pleasure or business ; but as it is more common to hire the horses, few of the better sort are to be seen about the town except on gala-days. A close carriage is more commonly the distinguishing mark of su- perior rank or wealth. These are drawn by fou - horses, the leaders being placed at such a distance from the wheelers, that in the intervening space, another horse might t be harnessed. The off-leader is ridden by a boyish postilion, and the wheelers are driven by a coachman, mounted on a box or dickey, much in the manner of other Continental nations. The form and ornaments of the carriage resemble very closely some of the best Parisian carriages. Now and then one of real English manufacture makes its appearance, and shows how infinitely superior the art of coach-making is in England. It is said, however, that the varnish of Russian carriages is an improvement upon that of the English ; but RUSSIAN CARRIAGES. 471 neither their durability nor elegance of form is equal to the latter. Although they manufacture carriages in St. Petersburgh in all their parts, from the simplest screw to the finest varnish, and the coach-makers’ trade is in a very flourishing condition, I have been told that almost all the springs, particularly for the lighter species of vehicles used in St. Petersburgh, are made in this country. T. he duty on English and all foreign carriages imported is very considerable : yet the rich and the noble will pre- fer to pay a larger sum for a foreign carriage, rather than to have one of home manufacture, quite handsome enough, for two, three, or four thousand roubles. This, however, is not so much the case now as before the late French invasion. The costume of a Russian coachman is very picturesque. It consists of a caftan or tunic of fine blue, crimson, or green cloth, closely drawn over the chest, reaching only as high as the lower part of the neck, which is generally left uncovered, and either buttoned down the middle, with small round-headed gold buttons, or the two front plaits laid one over the other obliquely, clasped at the upper part with a gold clasp, and as low down as the loins, where it expands in folds, which are gathered together by a rich silk waistband, called a Koushalc. The tunic reaches to the middle of the leg. The sleeves are tight, and at the wrist have a vertical row of gold buttons. Wide trowsers generally of the same, or of some fancy colour, with boots, complete the dress. The head in summer is covered with a round hat, low in the crown, and with a wide brim, which is curled up side-ways. The upper part of the crown is very large, and the lower part surrounded by a wide-band of velvet, buckled in front with a gold buckle. In winter, the head-dress is different. Instead of a hat, an expanding four-cornered turban, very high, and mostly of rich crimson velvet, with a gold band 472 RUSSIAN COACHMEN. and a rim of fur, is generally worn. To complete the picture, this important personage wears a bushy beard, of which he is exceedingly careful, and his hair is cut square all round level with the eyebrows. The postilion’s dress is uniform with that of the coachman. This hand- some livery costs about four or five times as much as an ordinary European livery, and is the only part of the native costume which the great preserve among their ser- vants ; for, with regard to the footmen, their dress is much the same as that of the same class of Pai'isian or London domestics. Even foreign ministers at St. Petersburgh seem to prefer the national costume for their coachmen, who are of course natives of the country. I observed a few carriages driven by a coachman in an ordinary livery and cocked hat, and on the other hand some few equipages had a footman behind in the national costume. The Russian coachmen have the reputation of being ex- cellent drivers : I cannot say whips , for they seldom use that weapon, which, instead of being held up in a me- nacing attitude, is suffered to hang indolently by the side of the box, suspended by a loop passed through the little finger of the right hand. Another distinction between a R ussian and an English coachman, consists in the manner of holding the reins with both hands considerably apart, and with the palm turned upwards. The harness is as pe- culiar as the dress of the driver. Its various parts are made of narrow and flat twists of leather, fully ornamented with yellow or copper-coloured brass, or plated. The length of the traces, one would feel inclined to suppose, must give rise to great inconvenience, if not to accidents ; but such is not the case, owing, no doubt, to the great width of the streets. Yet I have seen them frequently entangled between the feet of the leaders, when suddenly checked RUSSIAN COACHMEN. 473 by the crossing of another carriage, or any other impedi- ment, particularly in turning a corner. The horses, how- ever, are accustomed to such contretems , quickly arrange themselves de novo, under the directing voice of the coachman and postilion, and the thing proceeds excel- lently well. It would, indeed, puzzle a London coach- man to get up to the door of one of the mansions of the great, during a grand rout, where probably from four to six hundred carriages and four arrive, and many of them remain in waiting. Yet all this is done very cle- verly, and with no accidents from poles struck through the back of preceding carriages, which are protected by the intervening leaders, as well as by the regulations and presence of the police. But whether an attelage of four horses he inconvenient or not, few would like to drive up to the gate of a great house to a party in a carriage and pair. Very little respect is paid to such an equipage on those occasions; and a person often prefers going with four miserable-looking jades, tackled to a handsome car- riage, rather than be seen in a modest equipage drawn by a pair only, however fine and showy the horses may be. In some of the fashionable parts of St. Petersburgh, and particularly on Sundays and gala-days, even some of the coachmen of hired carriages are dressed in the handsome costume just described; and I have witnessed no little dandyism among them. Of late years, cabriolets, and English stanhopes, and til- bury s, have been introduced into St. Petersburgh ; but the real national carriage for the town is the Droshky. A glance at the sketch here annexed will convey at once a proper idea of this curious and light vehicle, and the man- ner in which it is drawn, either by one or two horses. 474 A DROSHKY. A Droshky. There are single and double Droshkyes : in the former, one person only rides astride, and the coachman either sits in front or on the off-side. There is, however, room enough, between, for a third person to sit sideways; but his situation is not a very enviable one. In the double- droshky two persons sit abreast, fronting the horses. There is a circular low back attached to the carriage to support them. Although the body of the Droshky is sus- pended on four springs, and is placed on low wheels, the jolting is excessive, and the noise over the stones very considerable. Some of these carriages have a head or cover. Much magnificence is displayed in their manufacture and orna- ments, as well as in the choice of horses and harness. A handsome carriage of this kind may be procured for one thousand roubles ; but some at double that sum are by no means uncommon. The harness and the dress of the drivers are as splendid as those of a close carriage. A SLEDGE. 475 On the approach of winter, and as soon as the ground is tolerably covered with snow, the droshky gives place to the Sledge (Sany), the number of which soon become quite astonishing ; for not only all the proprietors or drivers of hired Droshkyes produce their sledges in lieu of them at that season, but country people, from the neigh- bourhood of St. Petersburgh, suddenly make their ap- pearance in the streets with vehicles of the latter descrip- tion, most of them in a primitive state of simplicity, for the accommodation of that class of people who can afford but a few kopecks for it. A Sledge. Some of the private Sledges, of one of which I have endeavoured to give a sketch in this place, are really mag- nificent, and objects of great luxury. The body is fre- quently made of handsome wood, richly carved, painted in gay colours, and highly varnished. The livery is of the finest cloth, and at the feet is spread a costly bear’s-skin. The apron, also of leather or cloth, is lined with fur 476 RUSSIAN SLEDGES. equally. expensive, the sides of it hanging down with rich tassels. Behind the Sledge a projecting platform, a little raised from the ground, serves for the footman to stand upon. The form of the Sledge improves or changes every year. Some of them are very fine, and cost not less than two hundred roubles; but more common ones may be had for one-fourth of that sum. The same luxury prevails on the score of horses and har- ness in regard to Sledges, that has been noticed in speaking of the Droshky, and both carriages are atteles in the same manner. If drawn by a single horse, it is in shafts which are terminated by a graceful and high bow crossing from one side to the other, through the centre part of which, at the top, the bearing-reins are passed. If drawn by two horses, the second is fastened to an outrigger on the near side, its head kept down in a graceful curve, and tui’ned outwai'dly by an additional rein fastened to the lower part of the carriage. This horse is taught to prance and gallop by the side of the shaft-horse, which as invariably trots, and has, in fact, almost the whole of the draught to him- self. The former horse is called the pristiashnaya , and the shaft-horse corennaya. The effect of several l'eal handsome equipages of this kind, going with a rapidity which in any other country would be considered dangerous, is really very striking, and forms a very interesting sight for a foreigner. Of late, double and even single Di’oshkyes, driven by two horses, have a pole instead of shafts, and the cantering horse is dispensed with. The sensation experienced on first riding in a Sledge is of the most pleasing description : its quick and dumb mo- tion through magnificent streets, and between two ranges of palaces ; the passing, crossing, and recrossing of similar vehicles in all directions ; the near approach of some of them, almost to contact ; the level slide and the soft undu- RUSSIAN SLEDGF.S. 477 lating motion over the waved surface ; the frequent warning cry of Padi! Padi !* * * § of the driver, or its directing halloas of Na prava! Na leva ! t which serve to keep him clear of vehicles coming in an opposite direction, strongly re- mind one of Venice, and its rapid, agile gondolas moving through streets and avenues of stately mansions, carrying the gay, the fashionable, and the busy, and protected in their course by the peremptory tone of the gondolier cry- ing out, Sta/li , scia ! t But the land gondolas of St. Petersburgh are not quite so agreeable as their analogous vehicles of the Adriatic Queen ; for the face is exposed to a nipping cold, and, what is worse, to the spatterings of snow and mud thrown up by the kicking hoof of the gambling near-horse, notwithstand- ing the intervention of a species of splashing-leather. Im- patient to escape such a pitiless pelting, the passenger urges his coachman with the encouraging words of Pashol ! Pashol /§ and is glad when he finds himself safely arrived at his destination. Both Droshkyes and Sledges are to be had for hire in every street or part of the city. They are seen clustered together, or standing in a row close to the foot-way before some convenient or movable mangers of wood filled with hay. The driver, or isvost chick, habited in the costume of the country already described, is recognized by a square tin plate hanging between his shoulders, on which is en- graved the number of his vehicle, and the date of the year. Before engaging him, it is necessary to bargain for the payment, however short the distance may be, for which * Get on ! Take care ! Get out of the way l—Gare of the Parisian cabs. t To the right ! To the left ! | Back water ! Keep close !— (Venetian dialect). § Expressions corresponding in meaning to the French Allons done! Allons done ! 478 FARE OF RUSSIAN SLEDGES AND DROSHKIE. his services are required, as there is no tarif or fixed price, or fare, for any of the public vehicles in St. Petersburgh. The isvostchick will frequently ask double what he is glad to take. From the Russian shops in the Nevskoi Pros- pekt to about midway on the English Quay, a distance of two versts (one mile and one-third) a Droshky may be en- gaged for sixty or eighty kopeeks (from 6d. to 8 d.) and a Sledge for forty kopeeks. A Droshky with two horses may be hired for the day for the sum of fifteen roubles, every charge included ; and if with a single horse, for as small a sum as six or eight roubles, (from 5s. 6d. to 7s. 4r/.). Much will depend on the sort of style of the equipage; those of an inferior description may be hired for less than the fares above quoted. The same is the case with re- gard to Sledges. I have paid six roubles a day for a very excellent Sledge, which I used rather unsparingly, and till late at night, making amends to the isvostchick with a trifle for his trouble. There are three or four stations only for hackney close carriages with four horses in the fashionable quarter of the town. The fare of these is proportionably greater, and not fixed. But as a foreigner can scarcely do without a close carriage, if he intends to frequent society and the public places of amusement, the preferable mode is to engage one with four horses, which may be had, in a tolerably good style, for four hundred roubles (17/. 10s.) a month, the wages of the coachman and postilion included ; or, having a carriage of his own, he may hire two pair of good-look- ing horses for two hundred roubles (8/. 15s.) a month. Having now become acquainted with the locality and extent of St. Petersburgh, its external aspect and topo- graphical divisions, and the accommodation it offers to the stranger ; the next point which seems to require a few ob- servations is the division of society into which he is about to be introduced. DIVISION OK SOCIETY. 479 Although the facilities of an immediate introduction to a few of the select circles afforded me through the kind- ness of Count and Countess Woronzow, and of half a do- zen friends whom I happened fortunately to find in St. Petersburgh ; and my intercourse with persons in office, physicians, artists, and merchants, enabled me, even in the short space of time I remained there, to form some idea of the society to be met with in that city ; my per- sonal experience is but limited, and the information I can give rather superficial. Still, it may serve to give some notion to persons who would otherwise arrive in that capital totally unacquainted with the subject. It is usual to say of Russian society, that it consists of only two great divisions, the Nobles and the Serfs. How far this may be true, in a political point of view, it is not the purpose of the present work to discuss. Speaking of the accessible society, or in other words, of the persons of whom good society is composed, there can be no doubt, but that as many classes exist in St. Petersburgh as in any other large capital in Europe. The families of persons holding high situations at Court, the Ministers of State, and Fo- reign Ministers, military officers of high rank having im- portant appointments, or being attached to the person of the Emperor, the hereditary nobility not connected with the Court or the Army may be considered as forming one group, of the first or highest class of society : an- other group consists of persons who are not distin- guished by any hereditary title, but who belong to the first four classes of nobility, on account of their rank in the civil or military service.* The superior employes under Government, and the heads of the great Imperial * Persons who have no hereditary title, but who hold certain situa- tions in the Army, Navy, or Civil Service, are considered as nobles, and are divided into thirteen classes. They are as follows : 1st Class. The Chancellor of the Empire, General Field Mar- . shal, Admiral in chief. Actual Privy Councillor of the first class. 2d 480 CLASSES OF SOCIETY OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. Establishments or institutions, may be included in this se- cond group. The mutual intercourse among these various denomina- tions of persons in high life, and their families, appeared to me frequent, and distinguished by that ease and those ele- gant manners which characterise the same classes of persons in the first capitals of Europe. A foreigner can only judge of them by what they appear in the midst of their friends and their guests. On such occasions, their deportment is free from hauteur, and their address engaging ; what they may be with their inferiors I know not. Much has been said of their hospitality, particularly to strangers. As far as I have had an opportunity of seeing it, I am free to ac- 2nd Class. General of Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery ; Admiral, Actual Privy Councillor. 3rd Class. Lieutenant General, Vice Admiral, Privy Councillor. Major General, Rear Admiral, Actual Councillor of 4th Class. State. 5th Class. 6th Class. 7th Class, of Court. 8th Class. 9th Class. Brigadier, Commodore, Councillor of State. Colonel, Post Captain, Councillor of College. Lieutenant-colonel, Captain in the Navy, Councillor Major, Lieutenant, Commander, Assessor of College. Captain in the Army, Lieutenant in the Navy, Mili- tary Councillor. 10th Class. Captain of second rank, Secretary of College, Inter- preter in the College of Foreign affairs. 11th Class. Lieutenant in the Army, Midshipman, Provincial Secretary. 12th Class. Second Lieutenant, Senate, or Synod-Registrar. 13th Class Ensign and Cornet, Registrar of Colleges. There is a peculiar general title by which these different classes should he addressed ; but with the exception of the titles of Y our High Excellency, by which the two first classes are distinguished, and that of Your Excellency which belongs to the third and fourth classes, I do not think that such general distinguishing titles are familiarly used, unless it be in addressing letters. SOCIETY OF ST. PETERS BURGH. 481 knowledge that there is no exaggeration in placing it above that of the higher classes in other countries. To persons well recommended and properly introduced, be they Rus- sians or foreigners, it is unbounded ; neither is it, as else- where, limited to a mere matter of form invitation to a din- ner or a soiree, but extends to many friendly offices, and a frequent repetition of kindness. With regard to the ladies of this class of society, it is the least to say, that in point of manners, politeness, and unaffected dignity of deportment, they yield to none of the most distinguished of the fair sex in other countries in Europe. Nay, constituted as society is at this moment in other capitals, it is impossible not to admit, that in regard to accomplishments, and the more so- lid advantages of education, some of the Russian ladies of rank are superior to those of other nations. There are few indeed among them, who do not speak with equal facility French, German, and English, besides their own native language. Many of them write these languages with equal ease and correctness. This is the case, particularly with regard to the younger branches of the nobility, owing to the new and happy direction given to their education, by the successful efforts of the Empress-mother. Nor is a know- ledge of languages the only prominent qualification which these ladies bring into society; but varied and useful in- formation also ; an extensive acquaintance with the literature and history of Europe ; an exquisite Jinesse (F esprit dis- played in an easy and well-supported conversation ; and a number of agreeable talents which tend to embellish their existence. An introduction to the society of these distinguished persons is not a matter of very great difficulty to a stran- ger, whose qualifications and character, or rank, are such as to entitle him to that advantage. Mere acquaintance with a single individual of the class in question, will ire- 2 i VOL. I. 482 MERCHANTS OF ST. PETERSBURGH. quently afford a foreigner the means of a general introduc- tion to the houses of the great. After the first presentation at Court, a ceremonial visit, paid to the highest officers of the state, has occasionally been followed by an invitation to dinner from one of them, which has, at once, proved a source of multiplied and most agreeable connections. The intro- duction to an evening party by a foreign minister is suf- ficient to ensui’e a flattering reception and a succession of invitations. That which in other countries is called the tiers etat, does not, properly speaking, exist in St. Petersburgh ; but there is a class of persons distinct from that just described, and composed of the next five classes of nobility, the liberal professions, the second order of employes under Government, and the bankers, which may well stand in lieu of the tiers etat. Within this circle, a stranger, for whom the magni- ficence of the great and the splendour of their establish- ments may have little attraction, or whose station in so- ciety precludes all access to the higher classes, will be sure to find the most friendly disposition, together with un- reserved affability and the exercise of great hospitality. The foreign merchants in St. Petersburgh form a distinct class. Formerly many of them, especially the English merchants, used to live in a style of splendour equal to that of many noblemen. The intercourse between them and the best classes of Russian society was, at that time, much more general and frequent than it is at present : yet even now, persons of the highest station accustomed to re- ceive every body at their houses, will not unfrequently accept from and give invitations to respectable merchants. The English merchants at St. Petersburgh live with that cautious reserve which every where distinguishes them. They do not visit generally, or maintain an unlimited social intercourse among themselves, as the French merchants, and those MERCHANTS OF ST. PETERSBURG H. 483 from Germany settled there, are in the habit of doing. They are more usually divided into sets, and a line is drawn around each circle of acquaintances, which is seldom outstepped or infringed upon. If an exception is to be made to this general description of the constitution of society among the English merchants at St. Petersburg!), it is in regard to the young and unmarried, particularly those of good address and pleasing manners. For such there is no limitation. Their field of action is everywhere. They frequent equally the houses of their own country- men, and those of merchants of other nations. Many of them are welcome at the tables of the great ; and it is not unusual to see intimacies between them and the junior branches of the nobility, creditable to both parties. To be a bachelor seems indeed an enviable qualification amongst many of the English merchants at St. Peters- burgh, and they once showed how they gloried in their un- blessed state, by a magnificent fete and ball which they gave not long ago at the fourth verst on the Peterhof road to the rest of their countrymen. The foreign merchants in St. Petersburgh, — I speak of the English in particular, because I came more frequently in contact with them, — enjoy a character for integrity and punctuality which commands respect. They have ne- cessarily accommodated themselves, in a great measure, to the customs of the country in which they live ; but the more prominent features of their nations arc perceptible in their domestic circles. They do not pretend, however considerable their wealth, to vie with the great and the noble, but are satisfied with showing that they are not behind them in genuine hospitality ; although unattended with that parade which is only becoming among people of rank. A person recommended to the house of an Eng- lish merchant is sure of being well received, and of partaking 2 t 2 484 MERCHANTS OF ST. PETERSBU RGH. of their good offices. I owe a debt of gratitude to one house in particular, which enjoys a very respectable rank in the commercial world at St. Petersburgh — that of Messrs. Anderson and Moberly. From every member of the family of the former gentleman, and from his part- ner, I have received many acts of kindness and of disin- terested service, which were the more valuable to me, as they were not called forth by any claim which I had to their friendship. The Russian or native merchants resident in St. Peters- burgh, can scarcely be said to form any particular class of society, since they seldom, if ever, keep up any intercourse, excepting in the way of business, either among themselves, or among merchants of other nations. Still they have, on particular occasions, their holiday-keeping, and their up- roars like the rest, to which they will occasionally invite strangers. I once gladly accepted an invitation to one of their fetes. What struck me most was the near ap- proach to the manners of the better classes, which was visible in several guests invited to the rejoicing. Many of these merchants had given up their native costume, and assumed the more European garb of other nations. The younger part could not well be distinguished from persons of the same age and class to be found in Germany, and many of the provincial towns in France. They spoke French, talked with the familiarity of equals to military and civil officers assembled in their suite of rooms, and seemed acquainted with that routine of ceremonies which is supposed to distinguish the well-bred and the fashion- able. Among the female portion of the company the change which must have taken place since their manners and dress have been described by Storch, Georgi, and Clarke, was still more strikingly manifest. They sat with perfect nonchalance in any part of the room — stood up in FOREIGNERS AT ST. PETERSBURG!!. 48,5 groups with many of the other sex, or promenaded up and down the apartments, sporting their tight-laced figures and tapering waists, with as little gauclierie and mauvaise honte as possible. Of course among these some seemed rather uncomfortable in their new character; and their latest Parisian dress appeared not to have been imported for their persons. The conversation too, of those few who spoke French, betrayed the very limited use to which their fashionable accomplishments had been applied. Never- theless, taken as a whole, and considered as a fair example of the present state of society among the Russian mer- chants, on extraordinary occasions, the assembly in which I mixed proved to me that a great change is taking place in their manners ; but whether indicative of the progress of civilization or not, I leave to modern philosophers to determine. A great part of the population of St. Petersburgh con- sists of foreigners. The Germans are the most numerous ; many of these, it will be recollected, are subjects of Rus- sia. The French are the next as to number ; the English, Swiss, Swedish, and Italians come in succession. Rut almost all these foreigners are attracted to the capital by business and interested motives, and not as in other capitals, by the pursuit of pleasure, or by mere curiosity. Few come on simple speculation, and most of these are generally disappointed. With the exception of the Eng- lish, who, I may say, are all connected with trade, or employed in the manufactures of the country, the rest of the foreigners exercise almost every calling, profession, and handicraft. This influx of foreigners in St. Petersburgh cannot but influence the general character and manners of its inhabitants ; nay, a few of the natives whom I have heard converse on this subject, and who are staunch Russians at heart, pretend that the “ Imperial Residence” does not 486 THE RUSSIANS OP ST. PETRRSBURGH. exhibit a single lineament of the character of their coun- trymen — in fact, that St. Petersburgh is not Russia. Be this as it may, and making every allowance for the presence of such a large proportion of foreigners, it is absurd to deny, that in St. Petersburgh one can see the real Rus- sian, and even the very best classes amongst them. It is not, surely, pretended that the Imperial Court is sur- rounded by the less ancient and least important families of the empire ; or that if any of the more weighty of their nobility are to be found in St. Petersburgh, they have divested themselves of the character and exterior of Rus- sians. The facts tend to gainsay both assertions. Most undoubtedly the Volkonsky, (I speak at random, and from recollection,) the Dolgorouky, the Kourakine, the Galitz- ne, the Narischkine, the Stroganoffs, the Lieven, the Kotchoubey, the Nesselrode, the Woronzow, the Benck- endorf, the Stcherbatoff, and fifty others, may without hesi- tation be admitted to represent what the upper classes of Russians are in reality. Nor is the display of Russian manners and character in the middle and inferior classes of people less striking, notwithstanding the great mixture of foreigners. Almost every custom connected with the religion, habits, amusements, and peculiar mode of living of the Russian, is to be met with as strongly illustrated in every part, and on every occasion, at St. Petersburgh, as in the second capital of the Russian Empire. The notion that St. Petersburgh is not Russia is far- ther shown to be incorrect by the numerical predominance of the Russian inhabitants in the whole population of the city. According to Krafft, the proportion of Russians to the whole population, fifty years ago, when foreigners flocked to St. Petersburgh from every quarter at the in- vitation of Catherine, was as seven to one. As the po- pulation increased, the proportion was even considered by CHARACTER OF THE RUSSIANS. 487 Georgi, several years after, to have become greater. It is now supposed to be as nine to one, a proportion obviously large enough to constitute St. Petersburgh a genuine Rus- sian city. There can be no doubt that the real character of the Russians at large ought not to be deduced from what a stranger sees among the proportion of Russian inhabitants of the capital, large as that proportion is ; and more particularly if such a stranger has resided in it but a short time ; and there is little doubt that he can form a correct opinion of what that character will be, when those changes which have taken place in that of the Russians of St. Petersburgh shall have extended to the population of the whole empire. In my introduction to these volumes I disclaimed all ideas of describing and estimating the character of the people whose numerous and useful institutions I have had an opportunity of examining. The reason is obvious. The circumstances in which I was placed afforded me but little scope for judging of the national character. This, as I before remarked, can only be studied in the interior of the country where it is unmodified by contact with strangers, and can be observed on a large scale. It should be studied too, with the assistance of an intimate acquaintance with the language, and a gradually acquired knowledge of the natural as well as artificial dispositions, habits, and man- ners of the people. Those among foreign travellers who visited Russia with the rapidity of a posting telega, and have assumed at the same time the task of sitting in judg- ment over the people they had just leisure to look at; or who having conversed through the means of an interpreter, or in a foreign language, with, probably, about a dozen Russians, hesitate not to define with the boldest precision the national character, the virtues, and defects of fifty millions of inhabitants — like the Frenchman who judged of 488 WRITERS ON RUSSIA. the whole English nation bv the conduct of a drunken sailor whom he saw emerging from a pot-house at Dover — such travellers may reconcile to themselves a practice so inconsistent with notions of candour and veracity : I care not to follow their example. Again, there have been stran- gers, who after a long residence in Russia, and with the possession of a sufficient knowledge of the language, having employed their whole time in the pursuit of wealth, honours, and distinction, in which they have been foiled, mistake their rancour and spleen for the genuine expressions of an impartial observer, and revenge themselves on the cha- racter of the nation for the caprice of fortune, or the na- tural consequence of their own misconduct. The opinion of such travellers may be trusted as much as that of the Irish culprit who, finding his hopes dashed to the ground by the passing of his sentence, turned to his judge and exclaimed, “ Bad luck to your honour ! you are a d — d bad judge!” There is a third class of visitors who have undertaken to write on Russia, and among whom I hope not to be found. Their peculiar vein is to split history into epigrams, and biography into scandalous anecdotes ; sacrificing to this vein of humour every other considera- tion. It would be an easy task to mention works of this character even among the latest publications on Russia. England, France, Germany, and Italy, have supplied ex- amples of these various kinds of writings on that nation ; and my aim has been not to add to their number. But although I hold myself unqualified to speak of the Russian character in general, there is one striking feature belonging to it, which the history of recent events has con- secrated, and cannot, therefore, be passed over in silence even by the superficial observer. I mean that unbounded devotion to the cause of their country displayed by the whole population during the unprovoked aggression of the RUSSIAN PATRIOTISM. 489 late ruler of France, affording the striking example (one which is unparalleled in the records of the numerous con- quests of foreign countries made by that extraordinary man) of not a single inhabitant, high or low, either of the towns or provinces occupied by his legions, joining his for- tune and party ; and by either words or deeds promoting the scheme of plunder and devastation then executing against the Russian territory. When Napoleon sent his eagles to Holland, conquered Prussia, penetrated into Austria, and took possession of its capital ; when he entered Italy, occu- pied Spain, and found reasons, in diplomatic sophistry, for ejecting the House of Braganza from Lisbon, he ever met with a number of high and powerful individuals, and not unfrequently with a great portion of the population, who, unmindful of their duties as citizens, and unmoved by the more general example of patriotic resistance, or the dis- tresses entailed on their countrymen, espoused and assisted his cause. But in the vast empire of Russia, no such hu- miliating occurrence took place from the day in which Napoleon set his foot on that territory, to that in which he bid a hasty adieu to the skeletons of his few surviving regiments. It is a curious fact, which the historians of modern times have failed to remark, that in none of those studied compositions called the Bulletins of the Grand Army of the North, with which Buonaparte endeavoured to keep up the prestige in favour of his great enter- prise among the people of his good city of Paris, has the writer boasted (as he invariably had done in similar despatches written from other foreign countries which he had invaded) of having been joined by any part of the people or by a single Russian individual of note. T rue it is, that when propitious Fortune had once more, after that disastrous campaign, restored him to his capital and his palace on the 1 8th of December 1812, he declared to the 490 POPULATION OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. surrounding senate, who had gone to greet his return, — “ Qu’il aurait pu aimer la plus grande partie de sa popu- lation (meaning Russia) contre elle me me en proclamant la liberte des esclaves qu’un grand nombre de villages lui avaient demande.” But such a declaration is too absurd in itself to deserve credit : for what liberty could a flying enemy grant to the Serfs, which these could for a moment look upon as permanent in regard to their masters ? I am, therefore, entitled to conclude that the Russian character has this striking feature in it, which has not been observed in a degree equally remarkable among the other Continental nations, previously to the last great and suc- cessful struggle against the aggressions of France — an un- qualified and unbounded patriotism which admits of no compromise. The present population of St. Petersburgh is stated at 320,000 by Weydemeyer in his statistical tables published this year. In 1801 it was 230,000 according to Storck. It has, therefore, increased one hundred thousand inhabitants in the course of the last quarter of a century. Yet I have seen the returns of the Hoh/ Syaode, containing the yearly number of births and deaths in St. Petersburgh, for 1825 and 1826, among the inhabitants professing the Greco-Rus- sian religion, in which the latter exceed the former by about one-tenth. But probably this may be owing to the number of foundlings sent before baptism to the hospital of reception for the enfcins tr oaves, not being taken into account. I have not been able, however, to ascertain this point, as no specification is made in those reports of the sources of information from which they are drawn up, and of the date on which the calculations are made. In a table, published by the same Department, of the progress of the whole population of the empire for the year 1825, the num- ber of deaths in the Government of St. Petersburgh, is POPULATION OF ST. PETERSBURGH. 191 stated to be 23,644, and that of births 24,947. From which it appears that a difference of one-eighteenth in favour of population lias been observed in the whole go- vernment; but the same table does not mention what part, if any of this balance, applies to the population of the capital. The same degree of difficulty exists in another statistical table, published in the Journal de St. Pelersbourg , pur- porting to give an account of the casual losses which the general population of the empire sustained during the years 23-24-25-26 and 27. It is stated in that table that the losses in question have been as follows : — 1823. 1824. 1825. 1826. 1827. Accidental deaths 12, 146 12,542 13,363 12,929 14,825 Murders 1,099 1,287 1,110 1,095 1,226 Suicides 986 1,069 1,066 966 1,176 Children born Monstrous, ... 14 7 6 12 11 Total 14,245 14,905 15,545 15,002 17,238 But what proportion of these belongs to the population of St. Petersburg!!, I have not had the means of ascertaining. I had been led to expect, before my arrival at St. Petersburgh, that I should find *the streets and squares nearly deserted, and that the bustle and activity of the population seen in London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples, were not to be observed in that capital. I felt, therefore, some surprise in witnessing most of the principal streets thronged with people of all ranks and degrees; many of them intent on business — others in search of pleasure; some on foot, and many more in some sort of carriage, flying, running, or walking, in every possible direction during the best part of the day, but particularly from twelve to three o’clock. Placed for an hour on the Isaac Bridge to see the multi- tudes of every class and degree that passed and repassed incessantly over it, I soon felt convinced that the popula- 492 POPULATION OK ST. PETERSBURGH. tion of St. Petersburgh was neither idle nor insignificant. Doubtlessly, there are parts where few people are to be seen abroad beyond their own habitations at any period of the day ; — but so it is likewise with many of the streets and districts of London far removed from places of business and public resort. The great extent of ground on which St. Petersburgh stands is likely to make a population, equal only to one-fourth of that of London, appear insignificant ; whereas, were it huddled together as it is in such towns as Naples or Milan, which have nearly the same number of inhabitants that St. Petersburgh has, it would be looked upon as considerable. However, the small proportion of the population of St. Petersburgh, in reference to the mag- nitude of the city, is rather an advantage, than a circum- stance to be deprecated; and I imagine, that no farther temptations will be thrown in the way of foreigners to in- duce them to settle in Russia, except as Colonists, for the mere purpose of increasing its population. Nay, some recent regulations respecting foreigners would seem, almost, to indicate a wish of throwing impediments in the way of their settlement in any very considerable number. Among the various privileges and immunities formerly enjoyed by foreigners settled in Russia, that of being exempt from taxes was not the least important. But by an Ukase pub- lished in November 1827, by the Directing Senate, with the advice of the Council of the Empire, and the approba- tion of the Emperor, all foreigners, who in future shall settle and become naturalized in Russia, not as Colonists, but for the purpose of commerce, or to exercise a trade or profession, will be taxed according to their means and con- dition, like every other subject of Russia. CLIMATE OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 493 CHAPTER III. PICTURE OF ST. PETERSBURGH. Climate. — Facts respecting it. — Personal Observations of the Author in November and December 1827. — Nature of the pre- vailing Diseases. — Necessary precaution against cold in and out of doors. — Stoves. — Their construction and management. — Clothing. — Baths. — Their description and effect. — Falls of Snow. — Snow drifts. — High winds. — Freezing of the River and Canals. — Removal of the Isaac and other Bridges on the Neva. — Inconvenience resulting from it. — Aurora Borealis. — Summer Season. — Rapid Vegetation. — Summer nights. — Emigration to the neighbouring Islands and Villages. — Autumn. — Inundations. — Account of the Inundation of 1821. — Philanthropy of the Emperor Alexander. — Charity of the Russians. The consideration of the climate of a large capital is important on more accounts than one. The most obvious of these is the influence which it exerts on the health of the inhabitants. Another is its effect on their disposition, manners, and intellect. To determine in what mode and to what degree such an effect is produced is a problem doubtlessly full of interest, but too complicated, and em- bracing too vast a field of inquiry to be discussed in this place. Neither can I be expected in the present instance to speak of the former part of the subject, namely, the 49^ CLIMATE OF ST. PETERSBURGH. connection of the climate of St. Petersburgh with the health of its inhabitants, in that ample manner which its importance demands, and the Profession have a right to expect from one of their brethren. I have already re- marked that in a work purposely intended for general reading, I can only present to the public, general and po- pular observations on those branches of the medical science which form necessarily a part of the narrative of my tra- vels. To this determination I must adhere even at the risk of appearing superficial. At a future period I may perhaps find leisure to throw together the documents, facts, and information strictly professional, which I have col- lected in the course of my excursions, and particularly at St. Petersburgh, and offer them to the consideration of my brethren at a fitter opportunity, as intitled to their attention. The climate of St. Petersburgh has been the theme of many discrepant opinions. Each may have had some foundation on facts; but in general, opinions respecting climates are loosely given, and without any data. Infe- rences, too, have often been drawn from very scanty pre- mises; and the observations of a few years have been assumed as conclusive in regard to the character of recur- ring atmospherical variations. Thus, at the beginning of the present century, the observations of Krafft, which extend to the previous ten years only, were considered as sufficient to authorize the opinion that the climate of the Imperial residence was unhealthy, and injurious to the human constitution. This opinion many of the Russians entertain to this day. Subsequent observations, however, have tended to show that such unqualified assertions are not strictly correct; and the Meteorological Reports published from time to time previously and since 1800, by the Imperial Academy of Science, are calculated to pi'oducea very different impres- sion as to the nature of the climate of St. Petersburgh. CLIMATE OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 495 The following general conclusions respecting the prevail- ing states of the weather in that metropolis, are taken from observations made at the Imperial Academy, and extend to a period of twenty years. January is the coldest, and July the hottest month. Each year has about 112 complete winter days, 59 harvest days and spring days, with frost in the night, and 194 summer days. In each average year the days may be thus meteoro- logically characterised. Fair days 91, completely dull days 118, partly cloudy 156, rainy 106, showery 73, hail four times, thunder from thirteen to fourteen times, and north- ern lights twenty-one. The extreme number of thunder storms has been eighteen in one year, and the minimum six. The most serene months are April and June; next March, May, July. November, December, and January, are the dullest. The greatest fogs are in February. The most rain falls in July, August, and September. With respect to the prevalence of winds, during the same period ; the yearly average appears to be as follows : calm days 69, strong wind 166, windy 103, very strong wind 27. The westerly wind prevails the most, and the south wind the least. January is the most stormy month, with prevalence of westerly winds. The same winds, but moderately, prevail also in August. July is the calmest month. 1 he north wind prevails in April, east wind in July, and south wind is observed mostly in November. Taking now into consideration some more recent obser- © vations, and selecting two or three years at random out of those respecting which I possess positive information, Me shall find that the climate offers a marked difference from the above authentic statements, and that a change for the better has taken place in the last few years. 496 CLIMATE OF ST. PETERS BUR GIL The number of days in which the temperature was be- low the freezing point in 1818 and 1819 were respectively 150° and 174° Fahrenheit. On two of the latter number of days the thermometer out of doors was 80° below 0. and on three of those days it ranged from 30° to 18° below 0. During about twenty days of 1818 and forty-one days in 1819, the temperature was between 8° and 20° above 0. In the latter year the thermometer ranged between 20 and 32° above 0 for the space of 84 days : and in 1818 for the space of 112 days. The greatest cold in 1818, 1819, and 1820, occurred February 17, December 29, and Ja- nuary 18, on which days Fahrenheit’s thermometer, out of doors, marked 12° 66' : 24° : and 18° below 0, or 34, 56, and 40 degrees below the freezing point. The greatest heat in those three years occurred July 9th, 1818, June 8th, 1819, and August 7th, 1820, when the same thermometer in the shade was 80, 84, and 74 degrees. In the course of the same three years the following re- marks were made by Mons. Petrow : 1818. 1819. 1820. No. of days. No. of days. No. of days Perfect clear days . 72 60 43 Partially so . . . 153 167 225 Overcast . . . 140 159 168 Misty days . . 218 173 61 Rainy days . 88 70 96 Hail 27 6 0 Wind, stormy, and hurricane . J 14 17 8 Very windy . 25 74 62 Windy . . . . 60 201 241 Moderate . . . . 251 164 178 Calm 15 55 22 CLIMATE OF ST. PETERSBURGH. 497 ISIS. 1819. 1820. Direction of the Wind. N T o. of days. No. of days. No. of days. North wind prevailed 27 39 20 East 51 59 72 South 34 49 63 West 124 61 128 North-east . . . 36 74 43 South-east . . . 24 48 39 South-west . . 32 65 47 North-cast . 22 61 77 In the Meteorological Essays of Mr. Daniell, I ob- serve a Journal kept in London, to all appearances with great precision and attention to minute details, for the space of thirty-six months, from 1819 to 1822. During that time, there had been 404 rainy days, giv- ing an average of 134 rainy days in each year. On the score of rain therefore, St. Petersburgh has the advan- tage over London ; for assuming, on the one hand, the average of 106 rainy days and 73 showery days, de- duced from the observations of twenty years already mentioned, for one year; and the 88, 70, and 96 rainy days of 1818, 19, and 20, for the other tlmee years, we shall find that the mean number of days in which rain fell in St. Petersburgh and London, during three years, is as 111 to 134. The real summer days in St. Petersburgh, during 1818, 19, and 20, amounted to 118, 169, and 180 days, or one-third of the year in the one instance, and a little less than half a year in the other two instances ; while the number of perfectly clear and serene days was as high as 72 in 1818. Now, it will be found, on reference to the Meteorological journals of the same three years, published in several periodical works in this country, that the account 2 K VOL. i. 498 CLIMATE OF ST. PETERS BURGH. of the London climate at that period, was far less favourable in these respects than that of St. Petersburgh. Another feature in the climate of St. Petersburgh, which renders it, so far, preferable to that of London, is the preva- lence of western instead of easterly winds. There can be no doubt but that east and south-easterly winds are the most inimical to the human constitution, wherever they prevail; and in St. Petersburgh they occur very seldom. If, notwithstanding this peculiar and striking advantage of climate, the mortality in St. Petersburgh appears to exceed the annual number of births, that excess might be ascribed to either of the following causes, or to both. First, To the possibility of a great number of illegitimate children being born, which are not registered, and taken into ac- count in casting up the sum total of the returns of births and deaths; or to the different mode of treating diseases adopted by the majority of physicians and surgeons settled in St. Petersburgh, which mode some may, perhaps, con- sider as too systematical and metaphysical to be effective and successful. During my short stay at St. Petersburgh, I made some memoranda of the state of the weather, and noticed the effect of the climate on some of my friends and myself, all newly arrived in that capital. I had also several opportu- nities of learning the practical opinion of impartial and unprejudiced persons on the subject; and I have come to the conclusion that there is a very perceptible improvement in the climate of St. Petersburgh at the present day, when compared with what it was represented to be fifty years ago ; a difference which may be accounted for in some measure by the draining of large portions of land, the ex- tension of building and colonization, and the influence of those physical variations which have been noticed of late years in the general climate of Europe. CLIMATE OF ST. PETERSBURG!!. 4J)9 The average temperature out of doors, during the month of November 1827, was from 25° to 28°, and seldom more than 27° of Fahrenheit in the day, and from eight to ten degrees below the freezing point in the night. Towards the close of that month it became more uniformly cold, the thermometer being seldom more than twenty or twenty- two degrees early in the morning and in the evening, and generally ten, twelve, and fifteen degrees, below freezing, late at night. 1 owards noon, when the sun shone for an hour or two, the temperature rose about seven or eight degrees. I find from my notes that in December the thermometer outside of my window was seldom higher than ten or twelves degrees, and on three occasions it ranged as low as four degrees below zero. This was par- ticularly the case on the 11th of December, the day I left St. Petersburgh for England. The nature of the prevailing diseases in a large city is not very readily ascertained by a foreign physician who remains in it but a short time. To judge of it by the general opinion, or by the recorded statements of the medical men in the place, is to follow^ very unsafe guides. It is the nature of the prevailing system of medicine which those statements more usually record, rather than the nature of the diseases. Thus, in France a system of medicine has prevailed, and become popular to a great degree within the last fifteen years, which proclaims, as the source of the greater part of the complaints observed in Paris, irritation, productive of inflammation. What has been the influence of such a system on the monthly or yearly reports of the prevailing diseases in that capital? Why, that two-thirds of them have been placed under the head of acute and s»6-acute inflammatory complaints. I re- collect, not very many years ago, hearing the name of Typhus fever lisped for the first time by a respectable 2 k 2 500 REMARKS ON TYPHUS FEVERS. general practitioner, who had read a very popular and well-written treatise on fever headed with that title, then recently published. He thought, after reading it, that he had observed several cases of that fever in his own practice, although he then knew not that they were of the class “ typhus a name he scarcely understood the meaning of; but he would watch more narrowly. At the end of the season, dining with him, and the discourse running on fevers, I heard him assert that he had seen and treated a large number of cases of typhus. His example was fol- lowed by many other practitioners. Every apothecary had his cases of typhus fever, and at last the name became a very hobgoblin to mothers and nurses, directors of public establishments, and masters of private schools. The monthly reports teemed with the number of cases of this fever ; and it was a common question put to us by parents and nurses, “ Do you think the fever will turn to Typhus ?” or, “ Mr. So-and-so says it is Typhus.” The very etymology of such a name was unknown to most of the persons who pronounced it; and as to its nature, opinions were very far from being settled. Yet the prevail- ing disorders were all made to assume more or less of the garb of that complaint, and the concluding remark of journalists and reports was, “ Typhoid fevers continue to prevail.” Now, although I do not pretend to assert that there were not very pernicious and rapidly fataJ fevers among the poorer classes at the close of the last war in London, and occasionally, too, among a few of the middle classes, yet I am convinced, that more fevers were denominated typhus than have in reality existed ; and that this circumstance must evidently have vitiated the reports of the prevailing diseases of the metropolis. Many a time have I been called to see patients said to be labouring under the dis- DISEASES INCIDENT TO ST. PETERSBURG!!. 501 ease in question, whom I found to have only a common lemittent fever. The mania of discovering typhus fever everywhere has for the present considerably subsided, and that name consequently figures but little in the pe- riodical reports of prevailing diseases. At St. Petersburgh much the same thing takes place. Some of the principal medical practitioners assured me, that rheumatic complaints were almost the only ones peculiar to the climate. These gentlemen professed, that every cause which tended to check perspiration produced rheumatism of necessity ; and, as they also believed that the climate was a perpetual cause of checked perspiration, the conclusion they drew was, that rheumatism is a pre- vailing disease in the capital. This method of reasoning does not place the question in a very clear light. A second class of physicians contend that the real endemic disorders in St. Petersburgh are intermittent fevers and consumption. There is no doubt with regard to the former. Every one is agreed on that subject, and the cause is too obvious to deny the effect; but with respect to the second class of disorders, the correctness of the asser- tion is not so self-evident. In London and Paris, one- fourth of the diseases observed in the course of the year affect the chest, and terminate generally in what is termed consumption ; but we should not say that such a disease is endemic to either of those capitals, although of frequent occurrence. In every 5,000 deaths which take place in St. Petersburgh, nearly 1,900 are from consumption. It is a fact which will startle my readers, that “a cold” is seldom to be heard of in St. Petersburgh. That ano- malous species of disorder is indigenous to England, and above all to London. It does an infinity of mischief, and covers many a blunder. In the capital of Russia few people complain of “ a cold and if a person of conse- 502 DISEASES INCIDENT TO ST. PETERSBURG!!. quence (who has been for a great length of time dying of disease ill understood, or badly managed,) does actually fall a victim to the complaint, the candid physician does not, as in some other capital, attempt to mystify the friends, by re- marking that “ the patient was getting better, but caught cold and died.” There are, seriously speaking, so few dis- eases of the chest, catarrhs, and defluxions, and feverish colds in the Russian capital, that I was quite surprised on hear- ing consumption quoted as an almost endemic complaint. However, to make up for the want of those sources of con- sumption, another still more prolific source of that disorder, namely scrofula, exists in great force in St. Petersburg!). Diseases of the eyes and ears are particularly prevalent in that city. They are of a very acute inflammatory na- ture, particularly the latter, and are productive of great and lasting mischief. I speak from the result of personal enquiry and examination. Scarlet fever and erysipelas are two complaints which prevail, perhaps, more at St. Petersburgh than in any other city of the same extent. The former raged epide- mically on two occasions, when it attacked people of all ages and conditions, and proved very fatal. Both gene- rally prevail in November, at the approach of the first in- tense colds. Erysipelas was very common during my stay in St. Petersburgh. In the year 1811, the scarlet fever, accompanied with putrid symptoms, carried away whole families in a few days, and manifested such a determined character of contagion, that the police was compelled to issue certain sanitary regulations to prevent the dissemina- tion of the disease. Determination oj blood to the head , probably from the use of stoves in confined rooms, is of very frequent occur- rence. I was summoned in the course of the same morn- ing to two patients, the one a lady of rank, the other an DISEASES INCIDENT TO ST. PETERSBURG!!. 503 upper servant, who had both been taken seriously and sud- denly ill with this species of attack the day before, and both from the same cause, namely, confinement to rooms heated to twenty-three degrees of Reaumur’s thermometer. They were both attended by German physicians, of whom there is a very considerable number in St. Petersburgh, and who were employing means to produce perspiration — but had never thought of using the lancet — the only means which ultimately saved both patients. In visiting the hospitals, I observed several cases of inflammatory complaints of the head ; but they were set down under different names, affections of the head being considered only as sympathetic. The only complaint, strictly indigenous to St. Peters- burgh is the hemorrhoids. I think I go not beyond the confines of truth when I assert, that one out of every three persons of both sexes labours under this complaint, and foreigners seldom escape it, be they resident there for a long or a short period. This singular disease, to which I particularly directed my attention at Constantinople, where it prevails permanently and extensively to a very great de- gree, is, at one and the same time, a symptom and cause of more than one complaint. Under certain modifications, it is essentially beneficial to the constitution of the inhabitants of St. Petersburgh; but more generally it is productive of mischief, and lies at the bottom of almost every species of physical malanno to which that constitution is liable. As many of the more serious disorders which prevail in St. Petersburgh are the effect of severe atmospherical cold, it is important to guard the system against its in- fluence even before the approach of winter. A Russian is so aware of the necessity of this, that he seldom waits later than the month of September before he prepares himself and his house for winter-quarters. 504 DOUBLE WINDOWS AND DOOKS. The precautions adopted in-doors consist in having dou- ble windows put up, an extra door at the principal entrance into the apartments, and in heating the stove or petch. There is a little art required in putting up the double windows. In the first place, a very dry day must be se- lected for the purpose ; and next, care is to be taken that the first window is perfectly dry in all its parts. When these precautions have been neglected, the heat of the room has converted what remained of moisture between the two windows into vapour, which dulls the glasses and penetrates through the crevices into the room. With a view to avoid as much of this effect as possible, a layer of very dry sand is placed at the bottom, between the two windows, in order to absorb every particle of moisture ; and some push their precision so far as to put powdered kitchen salt over the sand to render that absorption still more certain. It becomes at the same time an hygrometrical means of ascer- taining the moist or dry state of the external atmosphere. Both windows, but in some case only the inner one, are caulked with tow all round and down the middle, and papered over. One of the panes of glasses at the lower part of both windows is framed and hinged in such a man- ner as to admit of its being open for the purpose of let- ting in external air whenever required. The extra door at the entrance of the apartment, is thickly wadded and covered all over with voilock, a species of cloth made of long hair, which by its making the door shut very exactly, pi’ecludes the possibility of any current of air coming in that way. A Russian petch or stove is one of the greatest luxuries of civilized life that can be found in cold climates. It is, by far, a more rational and effectual mode of warming a house, than either the coal-grate of England, the blazing hearth of France, or the iron-stove of Germany. It supplies the best substitute for the genial warmth of summer within doors — WINTER TEMPERATURE OF ROOMS. oOo and affords an equal degree of heat so universally spread in every part of the room, that when the external air has been at twenty degrees of Fahrenheit, I have gladly remained, without any other than the lightest dressing-gown, in my room, taking my station, indifferently, in any part of it, far from the stove, and frequently near a window, without any other than the most pleasing sensation of an equal warmth. This same sensation is experienced at night, the heat of the stove continuing unabated,' — so much so, that there is no need of a blanket or any heavy clothing on the bed. In- deed, I found that many of the inhabitants habitually slept with a single sheet throughout the winter, the temperature of the room at night being from 63° to 66° of Fahrenheit. Such an inner temperature would^not be sufficient to allow of a similar practice in London, where there are draughts of wind in every corner and in the vicinity of every window ; but in St. Petersburgh there are no such intruders, and the temperature above quoted is quite sufficient and com- fortable. During the five weeks I resided in the apartments allotted to me in Count Woronzow’s house, my in-door thermometer did not vary once, more than half a degree from 64*° in any part of the rooms, except for the three days when the stove had not been lighted. A Russian petch forms a principal, and by no means an unsightly appendage to every room. \\ hen ornamented, as they are in the great houses, or erected with architectural taste, they are an important embellishment to a spacious apartment. If there is a suite of rooms, the stove is placed in the centre of the wall which separates two rooms ; or, where the centre is occupied by a door, between the lattei and the side wall, so as to warm both rooms. In some houses the stove occupies a corner of the receiving-room fai- thest from the windows ; and in that case, a corresponding || stove occupies the other angle. ' One of these has a 1' lench chimney at the lower part, in which billets and faggots 50(i RUSSIAN STOVES. are burnt, as in France. In many of the more modern houses of the rich and the nobles, the latter practice has been lately much adopted. The stoves are built of stone or brick, cased with white porcelain ; they are of con- siderable dimensions, and rise to the top of the room, thus presenting a very extensive radiating surface. The in- ternal structure is very simple. It consists of a fire-chamber, in which the wood is burnt. This occupies of course the lower part, and extends from one front of the stove to the other. It is a foot and a half wide, and two feet high, and is closed by a single iron door. A system of tubes leads from this chamber, one of which, when open, serves to carry off the smoke and soot of the burning wood, while the others receive and carry heated air all round the interior of the stove, after the combustion is completed and the former tube closed. The air in these tubes communicates with the air in the room, by means of a small door or ven- tilator at the upper part of the stove. The management of such a stove is as simple as possible, and is confided to a particular servant, who is at the same time the porter of the house, and is called the dvornick. He begins his operations as early as six o’clock, and dis- patches the whole business in a few minutes. If the stove be of the usual size, that is, large, and a sufficient quantity of wood is burnt in it, there is seldom occasion to light it more than once in forty-eight hours. The dvornick begins by cleaning out the fire-chamber; he then puts in a few small pieces of strongly resinous wood, which he lights and covers immediately with a superstructure of billets of elm wood, about fourteen in number, two feet and one-third in length and three inches thick. These take fire imme- diately, and burn with great vehemence while the door of the fire-chamber is half closed and the upper one quite shut. The whole of the wood is burnt generally in five or FUEL AND CLOTHING. 507 six minutes, when the hot cinders are raked and equally spread, in order that all the charcoal may continue to burn until it is reduced to ashes, during which part of the combustion, the lower door is still left half-closed. In ten minutes more the combustion is complete ; the lower door is closed entirely, and the upper one open partially or en- tirely, according as the room seems to require more or less warmth. I remarked on one particular occasion, in which my room had been suffered to get as low as 42°, because the stove had not been lighted for three days, that the temperature gradually rose from that to 56° during the time that the dvovuick was busy in heating the stove, and that before I had done dressing the warmth had uniformly spread all over the rooms, and the thermometer had risen to 64°. Nor is this very delightful species of internal atmosphere purchased at a very expensive rate ; for the quantity of wood burnt each time that the stove is lighted, amounts, as I before observed, to no more than fourteen bil- lets. The billet of wood measures an archine in length, or two feet and one-third English. A pile of these, seven feet in length and three-quarters of an archine deep, and con- taining, therefore, ninety-eight billets, which are sufficient to heat the stove for seven days, costs from seven to ten rou- bles, or from 5s. lOd. to 8s. 4d. ; consequently, supposing the stove to be heated daily, the expense for fuel would amount sometimes to a little more, and sometimes to a little less, than one shilling each time, or from twelve to eighteen guineas a year. Clothing is an object of the first importance in St. Pe- tersburgh on the approach of winter. Every class of peo- ple take care to provide themselves with every necessary garment. A Russian of the lower class drops the kaftan for a shoob, or sheep-skin pelisse, made tight round the body, and girt round the waist with a sash, in which he 508 WINTER CLOTHING AT ST. PETERS BURGH. sticks his long one-fingered gloves or rukawitzas, and his hatchet or his whip : he also changes the broad-brimmed round hat for a fur cap. The upper classes continue in the same habit, which is similar to that of their equals in other parts of Europe ; adding only to the ordinary dress some splendid fur pelisse when going out. In an open sledge they not unfrequently wear a cap made of the fur of a Siberian cat or a sable. Nobody ventures out without having either a pair of golashes over their shoes, or a large and wide pair of boots, lined with flannel, drawn with great ease over the ordinary chaussure. In addition to these protections against cold and wet, I would recommend every person who has to pass a win- ter at St. Petersburgh, to wear an under-waistcoat with sleeves of knit cotton, and a leather jacket above this and under the ordinary shirt ; and, also, never to venture out, even to parties at night, without woollen socks to his feet under the dress-stockings. Thus accoutred, the feet and legs cased in fur or flannel, the head and ears well covered, and the whole body wrapped round with an ample shoob , lined with racoon or sable fur, that costs from four hundred to a thousand roubles, and the hands protected by furred gloves, one may safely bid defiance to the elements in an open, sledge, which, as rapid as lightning, wafts us over the hard-pressed snow to the dinner-party or the soiree, without allowing time for refrigeration. Care must be taken, at the same time, to keep the nose within the protecting influence of part of the external clothing. It is evident that the transition from a room in which one has dressed at a temperature of 65°, to the street with the external air at a temperature probably of six, eight, or ten degrees below the freezing-point, and even more, cannot be attended with inconvenience, or be at all felt, when all these precautions are taken ; for the several RUSSIAN BATH. 0()9 articles of additional and warm clothing are put on in the ante-room of one house, and deposited in that of another, where the servant follows his master to disrobe him of all his outward trappings. Unused as I was to such severe cold weather and perpetual snow — subject for many years to rheumatic complaints, I found from experience this mode of living not only innocuous, but highly beneficial to my state of health. The winter, when the ground is covered with snow, the rivers and canals frozen, the air pure, and the sky serene, may well be considered as one of the luxuries of the climate of St. Petersburgh. Every body feels more energy and elasticity than usual at such a season, is inclined to more bodily exertion, digests his food better, has excellent nights, grows robust, keeps disease at bay, and smiles at the doctor. It is remarked by every stranger newly arrived in St. Petersburgh, that the intensity of cold, and its severe attendants, affect him but little, if at all, during the first two winters, and certainly much less than they do the Rus- sians themselves. Some have attempted to account for this immunity by the much greater quantity of clothing which a new-comer will wear than he has been accustomed to in his own country during the winter; but the explanation is by no means satisfactory : for there are foreigners who, like myself, wear, at first, none other than the common English winter dress, and yet experience no inconvenience from cold when the Petersburgh ers are complaining bit- terly of its effects. Another great luxury of that capital is the Russian bath, which, in the winter season in particular, offers the double advantage of promoting health and cleanliness. Having determined to ascertain with my own eyes, and by my own experience, the nature and form of such a bath, I accompanied one evening a Russian and an English gen- 510 RUSSIAN BATH. tleman to the establishment situated near to the Krasnoy Most (Red Bridge), and next to the English club, being the most frequented at the court-end of the city. We entered a large court-yard, which was already filled with carriages and sledges, while others were arriving in quick succession, it being the usual hour of bathing, (7| o’clock, P.M.). Men and women of all classes, some followed by a servant, carrying bundles of clothes, others with their own bundles in their hands, were seen going and coming to and from the bath-rooms. On the left, through a wide gateway, is a large corridor, leading to the two public bathing-rooms for males and females, as well as to several private bath- rooms of an inferior price ; while on the right a narrower corridor leads to other private rooms and baths, placed on each side, the price of which is higher. We preferred the latter. On our way to our allotted baths we met the banstchick, or foreman, dressed in a red thin tunic, gathered round the waist, with a well-combed flowing beard, who directed one of a party of young men, clothed in the same red cassock, standing up in a row, some with beards, and others as yet beardless, to precede me. I was then shown into a lofty room, ten feet long by six wide, which was divided at the end nearest to the entrance by a fixed wooden screen, half of the height of the room, having a door in the middle, and leaving a sort of ante-room between the cor- ridor and the room proper. In the latter we found a long and wide sofa, some chairs, a small table, and a looking- glass. The temperature of this room varies from 90° to 100°, it being readily diminished or increased, by opening the entrance door, or a small wicket in the window, or the door of the inner room, which is the bath-room, thereby admitting a certain quantity either of cold or heated air. The inner room has a wooden floor, is about seventy-five feet long, by thirty-three wide, and of considerable height. RUSSIAN BATH. 511 In one of its angles there is a large stove, opening at its upper part inside of the room, with a door of large di- mensions. The stove is heated from below, and the door in question stands before a large chamber filled with stones and iron shots kept constantly heated, and resting on a grating which separates the lower from the upper part of the stove. From the stove to the wall of the oppo- site side of the room, three wooden stages, brightly clean, are erected at different elevations, which, with a fourth placed at right angles with the middle stage, are reached by wooden steps. These stages or benches are about six feet long and two feet wide, with a scroll at one end to serve as a support for the head. On the floor opposite the door is a low dresser, on which are displayed high- polished brass pans and wooden pails, of all sizes, kept in the utmost state of cleanliness ; and under the lofty double windows is placed a cistern with two spouts, which give out hot and cold water in abundance, and a brass tube rising between them to a height of ten feet, bent hori- zontally at its upper extremity, and terminating in a round, hollow, and flat rose, pierced with many holes, through which, by the turning of a small cock, water, either hot or cold, may be showered instantaneously and with considerable force. This is, in fact, the identical shower-bath which has lately been offered to the British public, under a patent, and as a new invention, by an ironmonger in .Wigmore-street. I he bath-room is sel- dom less than 120 degrees, and frequently from 132 to 140 degrees of temperature. The operation of bathing proceeds thus. The bather undresses in the outer-room, where he soon gets into a general perspiration. The heat, which at first appeared excessive, becomes gradually more tolerable, nay, one soon gets anxious to experience a little increase. He is then 512 RUSSIAN BATII. invited into the bath-room, in which the Parilstchick or bathing-youth, stripped of his clothing, has been for some time engaged in preparing a quantity of soap-suds, and filling the various vessels with cold and tepid water. The temperature of the bath-room is so managed as to be kept from ten to fifteen or twenty degrees higher than that of the ante-room ; and increases in proportion as we ascend to the highest stage or bench. The bather first tries the lowest stage for a while, on which he either sits or lies down ; he next ascends to the second, where the heat felt is much more considerable ; and, if desirous to try a still greater degree of heat, mounts to the stage not far from the ceiling, where upon trial I could not remain more than an instant. During the whole of this time the atmosphere of the room is generally clear, and being lighted by a lamp placed between the inner and outer sash of one of the windows, is in no part ob- scure. The sensations at this period, before the perspi- ration is fully established, are unpleasant — the head feels greatly oppressed and burning — the skin is hot — the respi- ration difficult. The Parilstchick now approaches to feel the state of the skin, and finding it not quite over- spread with perspiration, opens the front door of the stove, and with force throws into it a bucket-full of water. Vo- lumes of steam instantly pour forth from it into the room, and a thick fog pervades every part, bringing additional heat to the surface of the body, which breaks forth more quickly than can be stated, into a deluge of perspiration, when the breathing becomes natural, and the head clear and light, imparting at once such a general sensation of comfort as I can scarcely describe. In this state, and while the atmosphere gradually clears away, the vapours returning to the upper part of the room, the bather lies down in a sort of apathy and general relaxation, which are RUSSIAN BATHS. 51 ; 3 by no means disagreeable. The Parilstchick next brings his large panful ot soap-suds, and grasping with both liis hands a quantity of the inner bark of the lime-tree (com- monly called bass) cut into fine slips, soaked in the soap- suds, rubs every part of the body, softly pressing on every joint, and bidding you turn whenever he thinks it requisite. After continuing this operation for some time, tepid, or per- perfectly cold water, at the pleasure of the bather, is scat' tered over him as he lies, and lastly over the head and body generally, while sitting. Some at this stage of the operation jump from the bench to the floor, and have cold water showered over them, while every pore is open, with- out feeling any inconvenience; but I declined such an ex- periment, perfectly well pleased with returning to the outer room, where I dried and dressed myself at leisure. The price of these private baths at all the best establish- ments varies from two to four, and even five paper rou- bles, an expense to which one gladly submits, as it saves you from performing all the operations above described, in a large room with hundreds of people similarly engaged, of all classes, and degrees of cleanliness, and in a state of nudity. To those, who, from motives of economy, prefer the latter, or public bath, the expense is very trifling, amounting to no more than ten, fifteen, or twenty kopeeks (Id. to 2d.) in proportion to the respectability of the establishment. But in the public baths, which are only frequented by the com- mon people, no attendance is afforded, and the persons bathing perform by themselves, or reciprocally upon each other, the several operations of rubbing, lathering, and wash- ing. They are also obliged to bring their own soap, linden- shavings, and linen, although very little of the latter is used by those of the lower classes who frequent the public baths. The linen is also charged separately at the private baths. Until very lately, the common or public baths admitted VOL. x. 2 L 514 RUSSIAN BATHS. promiscuously into one large room both men and women at the same time ; when even some of the most respectable females of the middling classes would attend free from “ evil thought,” such being the force of custom : but the police has very properly put an end to all such miscella- neous assemblies ; and there is now in all bathing establish- ments at St. Petersburgh a separate room for the two sexes. The accounts given by Clarke and others, of naked men and women standing in the street outside of the door of the baths, and of the principal of these establishments being filthy hovels, do not apply in the remotest degree to the present manners and condition of those places, what- ever may have been the case five-and-twenty years ago. In order to excite more perspiration and stimulate the skin, some purchase at the street-entrance of the baths a few twigs of birch-tree with leaves on them, called venick, with which the Parilschick gently whips the back of the person bathing ; an operation which, when performed on the highest bench, brings along with it a sensation of burning to the parts, owing to the extreme heat of the atmosphere immedi- ately above, in which the twig is waved backward and for- ward previously to each flagellation. Under this discipline, which the common people inflict very frequently on them- selves, the skin becomes of a crimson colour, and perspira- tion runs out at every pore in such profusion, that none would credit it without actual experiment. It is in this state that many of the Russians will have cold water thrown over them, or will, when opportunities offer, roll themselves in the snow, or plunge into the nearest half- frozen canal, in order to change, by this rapid transition, a pleasing state of lassitude of the body into one of delightful vigour and elasticity ; in such cases they again immediately return to the hot-bath. Recent regulations, however, of the police, have forbidden the latter practice, which necessarily involved a public and indecent exposure of the bathers. RUSSIAN BATHS. 51.5 The physical effects of a bath of this description are highly favourable to the constitution. Judging by my own feelings I should be inclined to place it above every form of bath in general use ; and I think I am indebted to it for the removal of severe rheumatic pains which before nothing seemed to alleviate. A Russian is apt to think that almost every disorder to which he is necessarily liable from the severity of the climate, may be removed by the hot bath, and he flies to it on all occasions when ailing. This general impression on the mind of a whole nation, who are naturally keen observers, has its foundation on long experience, and although not strictly correct to the whole extent, is not to be contemptuously rejected as the effect of ignorance. Most of those who have tra- velled in Russia, or in the Levant, where a similar kind of bath is used with even greater frequency by every class of people, can bear testimony to the efficacy as well as the comfort of a Russian or Turkish bath, in their own case when afflicted with colds, rheumatism, cutaneous affections, or incipient fevers. On two other occasions besides the one already alluded to, I attended the same establish- ment in the course of five weeks spent in St. Peters- burgh, and both times derived the full measure of benefit from it which I expected. I went thither with every symptom of an approaching feverish cold, and returned quite well, and continued so. The external temperature was on both occasions seven and eight de- grees below the freezing point ; snow was on the ground. In the ante-room, the temperature was at 100, and in the bath-room, 132 degrees. Yet, notwithstanding this strik- ing difference of temperatures, I walked home the dis- tance of nearly half a mile, without the least inconve- nience or ill effect. That the ancients followed a practice similar to that of 2 i. 2 516 FALLS OF SNOW. the Russians, of plunging into cold water on coming out of a hot bath, is rendered evident by the testimony of Pau- sanias, who, speaking of the baths at Methana, formed by a hot salt-spring, which had made its appearance in that place after the breaking out of a volcano, adds, “ that there was no cold water for the use of the bathers, neither could they, with safety, immerse themselves in the sea, as it abounded with dogs and other sea monsters.” It is principally on a Saturday evening that the Rus- sians flock to their baths. At that time it is a difficult matter to procure a private room, in consequence of the great iuflux of fashionable and wealthy people who attend at the same time. I have seen the spacious front court-yard at the baths of Thrall, the principal establish- ment of the kind in St. Petersburgh, literally crowded with handsome equipages, which had conveyed thither a great number of ladies. My enjoyment of that most beautiful river, the Neva, was of short duration. Snow, which had continued to fall at different times every day, but principally at night, in the first week of November, increased with the decreasing temperature at or about the tenth of November, when about three feet of snow fell in the course of one night. In general there are from eighty to ninety snowy days in the year at St. Petersburgh. There is seldom a greater differ- ence than ten or twelve days between any two years on this point. In the years 1818 and 1819, for example, the num- ber of days in which snow fell, were seventy- seven and eighty-nine ; and it is surprising how regular is the appear- ance of both the first and last snow observed in each year. In 1818, the first snow occurred on the 14th of October, and the last snow on the 5th of May. In the following year they occurred October the 17th and May the 10th. The largest quantity of snow falls in the month of December. SNOW STORMS. 517 I he falls are frequently very heavy; and it is curious to watch very early in the morning the first pedestrian tracing Ins way across the great square of the Admiralty, with Ins legs buried m snow some inches above the knees. In less than an hour, however, all this quantity of snow will be pressed down by thousands of sledges running in every direction with astonishing rapidity, so that by night it will have formed a sort of hard solid pavement. Over this a second fall of snow takes place, which is pressed down in the same manner, and thus a bed of snow of considerable thickness, and consisting of several strata, is formed in every street and square, which does not yield to any slight occasional thawing, but lasts till about the middle of M^y, affording an increased facility of conveyance to and from every part of the capital. The breaking up of this mass of snow is forbidden ; and only a few pioneers here and there are allowed to hoe it and make its surface rough for the benefit of horses, when the great traffic of the sledges has rendered it too smooth and slippery. The trottoirs alone are kept free from snow by the respective house- keepers ; and the police is very strict on this point. Delightful as sledge-driving is, to be out in one of the snow-storms or snow-drifts, which are both sudden and frequent in St. Petersburgh, is by no means agreeable. The novelty of the appearance — the bustle and confusion which attends it — the loud whistling of the high wind by which the storm was raised — the sudden appearance and disappearance of the surrounding objects, in proportion as the snow-storm or the drifting of the snow on the ground lifted up by the tempest, thickened or subsided, were so many points of interest which such a scene presented to me for the first time. But the novelty once over, I became alive to the inconvenience and danger of my situation when surprised in the middle of a street by such a storm ; and in order to 518 FREEZING OF THE NEVA. avoid accidents, always directed my isvostchick to pull up and to allow me to take shelter in some shop. The vio- lence with which the snow beats against the face is such, that mine smarted for several hours after, and actually exhibited marks and weals on its surface. The prevalence of very high winds in St. Petersburgh is perhaps one of the greatest inconveniencies of the climate. They occur as we have already said about 150 days in the year. A few days after these heavy falls of snow, the smaller rivers and the canals began to freeze — large pieces of ice came sailing down from the Ladoga, and the Neva soon after was partially frozen over. According to the tables of the Academy of Sciences already referred to, the first frost in St. Petersburgh always occurs between the eighth of Sep- tember and ninth of October, but in general about the 27th of September ; and the last frost always between the first of April and the 12th of May, but mostly in April. The canals freeze in the beginning of November : the Neva never freezes before the 16th of October — mostly on the 14th of November, and never later than the 12th of Decem- ber. It is navigable about 218 days, and covered with ice 147 days in the year. In 1818 the Neva froze November 15th ; in 1819, October 27th. The ice breaks up sometimes about the 20th or 25th of March, more generally in April, and never later than the 30th of that month. These are the results of twenty years’ observations. In 1818 the ice broke up on the 17th of April, and in 1819 on the 9th of the same month. On the first appearance of the floating blocks of ice which descend from the Ladoga, the ponton or boat-bridges on the Neva are removed, and all carriage communication ceases for a time, between the Southern and Northern districts of the city. At first a few boats, and those only of a large size, are allowed to carry passengers from one bank to the REMOVAL OF THE PONTON BRIDGES. 519 other ; but in a short time after, as the river becomes more and more blocked up, and its navigation is interrupted by the ice, no boat is allowed to cross by the police, who are exceedingly vigilant in every tiling relative to public safety connected with the river. Formerly, when the Isaac Bridge consisted of a number of ordinary barges, the operation of breaking it up and removing its various parts, was much more slow and trou- blesome than at present. By letting go the chain-cables at the upper end of the boats, and loosening the fastening of the extremity of the bridge nearest to the Admiralty, the entire bridge floats round with the stream to the opposite side, along the quay of Vassileiostrow. Sometimes the ice disappears again for a few days, when the bridge is re- placed by carrying a hawser from the in-shore anchor off the south bank to the free end of the bridge, and warping it back to its place. During my stay at St. Petersburgh, the bridge was replaced on the 19th of November, after a few days of thawing and rain. In the course of the night of the 20th, although the wind was very high, the ice above the bridge sat firmly from bank to bank, while every where below it the Neva remained perfectly liquid. The temperature, which for a few days had been at four degrees above the freezing-point, fell on that day to four and a half degrees below it, and it was supposed that the general freezing of the river would take place. Contrary to general expectation, however, the partial ice, already formed, after another stormy night broke up, and caused the removal of the bridge for the second time ; nor was it replaced until five days after, when the river became completely frozen; and I understand remained so the rest of the season. The replacing of the bridge, when the ice is fast, is not so easily nor so expeditiously accomplished as under more ordinary .circumstances. They are obliged to loosen all the boats 520 NARROW ESCAl’E ON THE ICE. after removing the road-way above them, which serves to fasten them together, and place them one by one in a canal cut on purpose through the ice across the river. The ice is seldom more than four, six, or eight inches in thick- ness; and yet, during the remainder of the winter, it will bear vast numbers of people and carriages of all sorts upon its surface, in all those parts which are marked out by the police, by means of leafy branches of fir stuck upright on each side like rows of trees. At that time the intercourse between the two sides of the river is constant, and at all points ; and excursions to and from Cronstadt in sledges are very numerous and frequent. Towards the close of the win- ter the police is obliged to be ever watchful lest imprudent people, heedless of danger, should meet with serious acci- dents by trusting themselves on the ice where it is unsafe. I heard a gentleman state, that he and a friend had, on one occasion, towards the close of the winter, started in a sledge from Cronstadt when the ice was in a doubtful state, and that before they had reached the bar, the ice behind them cracked and separated, and continued to do so as fast as they urged their horses over the ice-road marked before them, which gave way the moment they had passed. They at last arrived safe at the foot of one of the landing-stairs of the English Quay : the sledge drove past them, farther up the river, where the bank is shallow; and they beheld, not a little terrified at their recent danger, the Neva below the bridge suddenly converted into a moving surface ! On the first breaking up of the ice, in March or April, the Isaac Bridge is again removed until the last blocks of ice from the Ladoga have floated down the river. This frequent removal of the only means of communi- cation between the populous parts of the metropolis on the north, and those to the south of the river, is productive of great inconvenience, as I had occasion to experience in my THE AURORA BOREALIS. 521 own case more than once in the short space of five weeks. It is also prejudicial as well as inconvenient, since the whole population of Vassileiostrow is principally dependent on the southern districts for a daily supply of some of the necessaries of life, and also for the best medical and surgical assistance. The inhabitants of St. Petersburg, therefore, watch the appearance of the first masses of ice on the Neva, which announce its coagulation, with great anx- iety ; and the probable removal of the bridges at those times forms one of the most prominent topics of conver- sation in every class of society. And hence, too, the final breaking up, and disappearance of the ice on the Neva in the Spring, is a subject of general rejoicing. The public ceremony which takes place on that occasion is said to be of the gayest description. The commandant of the for- tress, rowing in state across the river at the firing of artil- lery, waits on the Emperor in his palace, and presents his Majesty with a cup filled with the pure element in token of the restored navigation of the Neva. The northern hemisphere has its delights, as well as the southern. One of these arises from the contemplation of that beautiful phenomenon called the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. Such a phenomenon is of frequent occur- rence at St. Petersburg!!. According to the meteorological tables of twenty years, so often alluded to in this chapter, northern lights appeared on an average twenty-one times in each year. In the year 177 4, they appeared forty-eight times. From 1782 to 1786 they decreased, having been seen only one hundred and ten times during that period, and only thirty-nine times from 1787 to 1791. d his dimi- nution in the yearly number of northern lights has con- tinued more or less ever since; and looking for illustration at the tables of the same two years nearer us, which have supplied us with other data, namely, 1818 and 1819, I find 522 THE AURORA BOREALIS. that in the former year northern lights occurred only six, and in the latter twelve times. At the close of last Autumn, this curious phenomenon appeared on one occasion, mag- nificently bright. The sky was illuminated from the horizon to the zenith, extending east and west to a consi- derable distance. Masses of fire in the form of columns, and as brilliant as the brightest phosphorus, danced in the air, and streaks of a deeper light, of various sizes, rose from the horizon and flashed between them. The bright- ness of the former seemed, at times, to grow faint and dim. At this conjuncture the broad streaks would suddenly shoot with great velocity up to the zenith with an undulating motion and a pyramidal form. From the columns, flashes of light, like a succession of sparks from an electric jar, flew off and disappeared ; while the streaks changed their form frequently and rapidly, and broke out in places where none were seen before, shooting along the heavens, and then disappearing in an instant. The sky in various places became tinged with a deep purple, the stars shone very brilliantly, the separate lights gradually merged into one another, when the auroral resplendence of the horizon in- creased and became magnificent. This phenomenon lasted nearly four hours; and at one time a large triangle of the strongest light occupied the horizon, illuminating in the most magnificent manner nearly the entire vault of hea- ven. From six to seven falling stars were observed at the time, leaving in their train a very brilliant light. Although I cannot be expected to say any thing respect- ing the summer season in St. Petersburgh in a book pro- fessing only to give an account of that city at the close of last year, those readers who may feel an interest in the description of a capital which every day increases in impor- tance, and at this moment engages no ordinary share of the public attention, will be glad to find that description RUSSIAN SUMMER. 523 complete in all its parts. I have therefore availed myself in this place, of the information kindly afforded me by some very intelligent English residents, and by some Russian inhabitants, in respect to the nature and character of the season of which I have no personal experience. I may here state, also, that I have for the same cause, made use of similar means for procuring a sufficient knowledge of those customs, festivals, and ceremonies, which will be spoken of hereafter, and which are only to be witnessed during that part of the year in which I was not at St. Petersburgh. The summer season in that capital is said to be as bril- liant and animated as it is short ; a striking image of the joys of this world. As soon as the ice has completely dis- appeared from the Neva, or about the beginning of May, the scene which the city had hitherto presented, changes, and the winter dress entirely vanishes. Serene days all at once succeed the gloom and grey atmosphere of March, and the transition from a cold and stormy Spring, scarcely distinguishable from winter, to the oppressive heats of summer, is brusque and sudden. Northerly and westerly winds, however, prevail, and seem to bring with them a delightful freshness from the mountain ridges of Finland and Norway. Nature, too, at this time bursts at once upon St. Petersburgh and its neighbourhood, in all the glory of blooming vegetation. To behold in the short space of three weeks, snow, ice, and verdant trees, and sweet smelling flowers in the private and public gardens, is by no means an unusual occurrence. Vegetation is, in fact, most rapid. Two days of heat produce a greater change in the appearance of the country here, than a fortnight else- where; and fruit-trees, yet bare of their honours, put forth young shoots, deck themselves with leaves and blossoms, and are loaded with fruits in little more than the time 524 SUMMER NIGHTS AT ST. PETERS BURGH. which one or two only of these stages of vegetation would require in England or the north of Germany. This ra- pid progress of nature is indispensable in such a climate, and is the necessary result of that uninterrupted state of compression or coercion, in which the vegetable world had been retained for the space of seven successive months by the thick coverings of ice and snow. Among the peculiar charms of summer in St. Peters- burgh, the bright and genial nights are probably more delightfully felt than any other, by the stranger as well as by the inhabitants. The sun scarcely setting in the evenings of June and July, keeps the horizon during the few hours of night in that state of splendour which almost rivals the clearest light of day ; hence, not unfrequently the people will turn night into day at those times, and transact busi- ness or enjoy recreation then, which the prevailing excessive heats forbid them doing during the day. On the appearance of this delightful season, the Court, the principal families, the merchants, and even the better sort of tradesmen, quit the parched and dusty streets of St. Petersburgh, and betake themselves to the neighbouring islands or villages, where the remainder of the summer is spent in hospitality and social amusements. The hundred villas scattered on the Kamennoi, Yelaghin, Krestofsky, the Aptekarskoi, and Petrofskoi, as well as on the Yibourgh shore, and on the Strelna road, are filled with gay and happy parties, and every where returning warmth gives fresh animation to organic nature. “ The noisy bustle of the street,” says an accurate observer, “ is changed not into a death-like silence, but into that idle occupation which is even more delightful than repose ; walking parties are met every where, frequently attended by music. On the smooth and blue bosom of the Neva, and on all the canals, boats are gliding, from which resounds the simple melody of the RUSSIAN AUTUMNS. 525 popular ballad, as sung by the watermen. Beguiled by the novelty and delightfulness of the scene, and in the expecta- tion of the coming night, we find ourselves, by an agree- able surprise, cheated of our sleep, when the first beams of the rising sun are gilding the tops of the houses. I have never yet known a single foreigner who was insensible to the first enjoyment of these summer nights.”* To this brilliant and short season succeed the autum- nal days, with their dark heavy clouds impervious to the solar rays, like the gloom of November in London. Inces- sant rains or fogs supervene, and these are often sucecd- ed by storms of wind, and the rising of the water in the river considerably above its ordinary level. The latter phe- nomenon sometimes occasions inundations, to which the city is liable from its peculiar situation, and which are at- tended by more or less sacrifice of human life and destruc- tion of property. November, indeed, seems a dreaded month, and the calamity in question occurs oftener in that, than in any other of the autumnal months. Whenever a strong and continued gale of westerly winds prevails for a day or two at that time of the year, there is great danger of an inundation. In the course of the last seventy-five years, no fewer than five inundations to a great extent have taken place. That which occurred in November 1796, caused the loss of many lives. The water rose seventeen feet above the level of the river, and laid almost the whole city under it. But the most awful inundation in our times, is that which happened in the month of November 1824. The city in many parts bears still the marks of its devastation, and all the houses and public buildings of the districts, which suffered from this calamity, have a red line drawn in * See Storch on St. Petersburgh. 526 NUNDATION OF a conspicuous place to denote the height to which the water reached, and as an ominous memento of this species of disaster to which the capital is liable. Projects without number have been started since the foundation of St. Pe- tersburgh, with a view to obviate the effect of such dire ca- lamities; but it is curious to remark, that on inspecting some of Peter the Great’s MS. papers which have been very lately looked into, it was found that the same form and kind of projects had been devised in his life-time ; and mostly by his own creative mind, for that desirable pur- pose, and considered by him, after due deliberation, to be either ineffectual or impracticable. On the night of the ^ of November, lamps were hung round the top of the cupola or dome of the Admiralty, to warn the inhabitants who occupy the lower apartments, that a rise in the Neva had taken place, and guns were fired to mark the urgency of this warning. A strong north- westerly wind arose, and caused a tremendous swell in the river and all the canals. The wind increased early in the morning and soon became a perfect hurricane, blowing di- rectly against the current of the Neva, and driving the water over the south bank. The Galerenhof, and all that part which lies between the Riga Gate and the English Quay was presently overwhelmed. “The rapidity,” says a contemporary writer, “ with which the water rose to four- teen, and in some places, to fifteen and even sixteen feet ? was so great, that the inhabitants had no time to save them- selves, but men, women, and children indiscriminately pe- rished. So violent was the storm which accompanied this visitation of the waters, that it rolled up the sheet-iron which covered the roofs of many houses, as if it had been paper, broke in doors and windows every where, and combin- ing its force with that of the current, swept away bodily some of the slighter habitations. The magazines of wine, ST. PETERSBURG!! IN 1824. 527 sugar, and other merchandize, being in cellars under- ground, damage to the amount of millions was sus- tained by the merchants on this melancholy occasion. The stores of raw sugar near the custom-house, and the herring magazine, containing upwards of 50,000 barrels of that article of food, were irretrievably lost.” Guard- houses and bridges were destroyed; and the streets of St. Petersburgh were covered the following day with bodies of animals which had been drowned, with fire- wood which had been drifted away in all directions, with ships even, which had broken from their moorings, with the contents of ravaged shops, the materials of which wind and water had overturned. No food could be had for two or three days after the deluge had subsided. The ordinary transactions and affairs of men seemed altoge- ther displaced and forgotten amidst the general scene of overwhelming misery. The neighbouring villages, particularly that of Cathe- rinehof, with its adjacent Imperial villas, and recent improvements; Cronstadt, the Imperial navy, the iron- foundry, most of the barracks, suffered considerably, and some of them were demolished or devastated. The Rus- sian bazaar, and the splendid shops in the Nevskoi Pros- pekt, were under water ; and water, half a’yard deep, found also its way into the lower apartments of the Imperial palace. Two steam-boats, from the harbour of Cronstadt, lay in the middle of the town, not far from the great Theatre. To increase the awfulness of the scene the burial-grounds were disturbed and gave up their dead, whose bodies, with other human bones, floated into the streets of St. Peters- burgh. The loss of human lives was considerable : that of money has been computed at about 150 millions of roubles. The waters began to subside in the afternoon, and by 528 INUNDATION OF nine in the evening had returned to their proper channel, the wind having, in the mean while, veered round to the North. During the continuation of this awful catastrophe, in- dividuals of every class exerted themselves to assist the unfortunate. One of the Emperor’s aide-de-camps par- ticularly distinguished himself by his courage in saving many of his fellow-creatures from perishing in the flood. The late Count Miloradowitch rowed about in a boat in the Nevskoi Prospekt, and saved the lives of many per- sons. General Benkendorff’s humane exertions were also strikingly successful. A day or two after the subsiding of the water, the Emperor Alexander visited the scene of desolation in the city and neighbourhood ; walked about among the ruins without attendants ; condoled with the sufferers ; and as- sured them that they should be relieved. Accordingly his Majesty ordered immediately, out of the savings of a particular department, a million of roubles to be applied to the relief of the sufferers ; and desired that a committee should be formed for the due application of that and other funds which might be subscribed, appointing the Privy Counsellor, Prince Alexis Kourakine, its president, to whom His Majesty addressed on the occasion an Impe- rial Rescript, which bespeaks great sincerity of feeling, and a lively desire to relieve distress. That document is become historical for the city of St. Fetersburgh, and ought, consequently, to find a place in a book which pro- fesses to give a description of that city. “ Prince Alexis Borisovitch. “ The disaster caused at St. Petersburgh by an inun- dation equally sudden and extraordinary, has filled my heart with sentiments of affliction. ST. PETERSBURG!! IN 1824,. 529 The decrees of the Supreme Being are just and in- scrutable. Profoundly submissive to his will, and pitying the fate of those who have suffered the loss and ruin of their property, the Government cannot repair all the evils of this disastrous day. But I have imposed it on myself as a sacred duty to afford prompt and efficacious succour to those in particular who have been ruined, and to the indigent. They, more than all others, are entitled to my paternal protection. I assign them a gratuitous distri- bution of a million of roubles. “ The first care of the Committee shall be to provide shelter and subsistence for those who are deprived of both ; and in general the relief afforded out of the sum assigned o shall be given only to those whose complete poverty ren- ders it indispensable. “It shall be exactly and faithfully distributed accord- ing to the allotments made. “It shall be given promptly and without obstacle. “ These rules will serve as the basis of the operations of the Committee. The sentiment of compassion, of ge- nuine philanthropy, and of duty owing to God and to your country, will point out to you and your colleagues the path you must follow in this great work of charity. “ I remain, &c. (Signed) “Alexander.” The example of the Emperor was followed by the Em- press-mother, and the Grand-dukes, each contributing 50,000 roubles. Count Sheremetieff gave a similar sum, and the Common Fund of the Colonies subscribed 100,000 roubles. Hundreds of other individuals hastened to con- tribute according to their means; and relief was forthwith distributed by great establishments being promptly formed in the principal quarters of the city, where persons who 2 M VOL. I. 530 INUNDATION OF ST. PETERSBURGH IN 1824. had lost every thing, were provided with shelter, fire, pro- vision, and clothing. Such was the alacrity with which every citizen added his mite to a fund which was to afford succour to his suffering fellow-creatures, — and such were the zeal and diligence with which that fund was administered, that three years after the disastrous event, when all claims to charitable assistance had been made and attended to, there remained a surplus of money which was employed to found a charitable medical institution. But it was reserved for the keen feelings of a highly exemplary mother, in such calamitous times, to discover objects who required more than the mere aid of a pecuniary fund. The orphans of those who perished in the flood, had claims to their future pro- tection as well as to their present assistance. This was par- ticularly the case with respect to the females; and these the Empress-mother collected together, and formed into a school, or asylum, adopting them at once and entirely as her children, and taking charge of their present and future destiny. VIEW OF THE IMPERIAL OR WINTER PALACE AT ST. PETERSBURG!! CHAPTER IV. PICTURE OF ST. PETERSBURG H. Imperial I alaces in St. Petersburg]!. — Hie Winter Palace. — Apart- ments of the Reigning Empress, of the Empress-mother and of the Emperor. — Marble Hall. — Banquetting-room. — Salle de Sf. George and Salle Blanche. — Military Gallery by Dawe, and Fete of its consecration. — Grand and Petit Hermitage. — Picture Rooms. — The Musical Clock. — The Horloge du Paon. — The Magic Secretaire. — Collection of Prints, Medals, and original drawings. Pensile Gardens. — The Theatre of the Hermitage. — The Ra- phael Gallery. — Mr. Dawe's studio — Palais Chifpeleff. — Cabinets of Cameos, Intaglios, and antiques. — Gallerie de Malmaison. — The Library. — \ oltaire and Diderot’s books. — The Marble Palace. — The 1 aurida Palace. — Grand Ball-room and Winter Garden. — Pa- lais Anitchkoff. — The Imperial Mews. — The New Palace of the Grand Duke Michael. — Architect Rossi. — Wooden House of Peter the Great and his Summer Palace. Few cities in Europe present such an assemblage of Royal mansions as St. Petersburgh. The Imperial pa- laces in that city are very numerous, and on them has been lavished all that taste, architectural skill, and decora- tion could contribute to render them, each in its proper degree, imposing objects of grandeur, such as might and ought to mark the habitation of a great sovereign. The first of these which attracts the attention of the tra- veller, is the Winter Palace. This great and imposing struc- ture has a square form, three sides of which are unconnected 2 m 2 532 THE WINTER PALACE. with any other building. The north side, or that which presents its front to the Neva, is 721 feet in extent, one- fourth of which line, at each extremity, projects twenty-four feet from the centre. It is composed of a basement story of the Ionic order, surmounted by a principal and a second story or attic of the Corinthian order. The roof is sur- rounded by a light balustrade adorned with vases and sta- tues. The Corinthian columns and pilasters, placed be- tween the windows of the principal and second story, twen- ty-six of which are single and six double, are thirty-five feet high. The upper entablature is interrupted in the centre, and at the two extremities, by appropriate pedi- ments. This may be considered as the principal, and cer- tainly the finest elevation of the building. The granite Quay in front, separating it from the river, and forming part of that magnificent one which I have elsewhere de- scribed, and which extends along the southern bank, is wider here than in any other place. The style of the Win- ter Palace would be called heavy, were it not that so great a mass of building requires perhaps less of that airiness which becomes edifices of smaller dimensions. Its archi- tect, Rastrelli, who owes his subsequent elevation to the dig- nity of Count to the erection of this structure belonged to that school which loved to pile, one upon another, the more majestic orders of architecture, frequently injuring the effect of both by the introduction of ornamented archi- traves, flowers, festoons, and arabesque carvings, with pe- diments over the windows, formed of disjointed cornices, terminating in scrolls. In these extravagant designs Ras- trelli followed the perverted taste of his day. Still, as a mass, its appearance is more striking than either the Tu- ileries, the Royal Castle at Berlin, or any of the Royal pa- laces I have seen in Europe, excepting that of the King at Madrid, which, though smaller, has a more imposing front. I M P ERI A L A P A R T MEN TS. 533 1* 01 size, the I\ inter l'alacc I helicve to be superior to all these, and in internal decorations it yields to none of them. The ordinary entrance to the palace, leading to the apartments occupied by the Imperial Family, is through a large door in the centre of the western side, opposite the eastern wing of the Admiralty, from which it is separated by a wide square. The principal story of this side, measuring 560 feet in length, contains thirty-seven large windows, the apartments of the reigning Empress, of the Imperial children, and of the Empress-mother ; while those occupied by the Emperor are on the second story, commanding the most magnificent and extensive view of the city and its enchanting river. The south side, facing a large square, corresponds in the general style of elevation with that of the north side, and in its centre is placed the grand entrance to the palace, and two lateral smaller entrances, covered, like that at the western side, by a lofty portico, under which the carriages drive and are sheltered from the weather. The great, or parade staircase, which leads from the basement to the principal story by a flight of marble steps, is remarkable for its magnificence and the grandeur of its architecture. Most of the Imperial apartments, particu- larly those of the Empress-mother, have very recently undergone considerable alteration and improvements, and are in point of decoration, gilding, painting, and other ornaments, worthy of the illustrious residents. Monsieur Montferrand, a French architect, and Signori Scotti, Me- dici, and Vighi, Italian painters, are still engaged in the alterations. It would be an endless task to attempt a de- scription of the different apartments of this palace, which occupies an area of 400,000 square feet. I here are from 90 to 100 principal rooms on the first story, forming almost a labyrinth, through which it requires great prac- 534 THE HALL OF ST. GEORGE. tice to proceed. The great banquetting-room, the Great Hall of St. George, the Salle Blanche, are amongst the most striking. The former is a noble room, 189 feet by 110, lofty, and incrusted with some of the finest marble, having a row of columns at each end, and the sides decorated with attached columns of the same material, rich gilding and mirrors. Adjoining to the banquetting hall is a smaller one, 100 feet by 110, similarly embellished, in which those persons occasionally assemble who are to have the honour of being presented to her Impe- rial Majesty. The Great Hall of St. George is one of the richest and most magnificent rooms on the Conti- nent. Neither the Tuileries nor the palace at Versailles can boast of any tiling like it. It is a parallelogram, 140 feet by 60, surrounded by forty fluted Corinthian columns of porphyritic marble, ranged two and two, on which rests a gallery with a gilt bronze balustrade of exquisite workmanship. The capitals, as well as the bases, are of bronze, richly gilt. At one end is the throne, placed on a platform, with a flight of eight steps leading up to it, covered with the richest Genoa velvet embroidered with gold. The llussian arms are placed above it. At the other extremity is the great entrance through a door of great dimensions, on each side of which stand a cluster of four columns, supporting a projecting part of the gallery. The room is lighted by large windows on both sides, hung with the richest drapery, and is em- bellished by magnificent mirrors and colossal candelabra profusely gilt. The light is admitted to the gallery through semilunar windows placed above the other win- dows. The deling is flat and painted in oil. Had it been coved, the general effect of this superb audience- chamber would have been much more imposing. At present, owing to the great length of the room, th e plafond LA SALLE BLANCHE. 535 seems almost to sink in the centre, and takes away from the height of the room, the more so as the galleries are raised very near to the cieling. In this department the Emperor receives the foreign ambassadors in state. It also serves for holding the Chapter of the Military Order of St. George. An opportunity was afforded me through the intercession of Count Woronzow, of seeing the Knights of that Order, on which occasion the Duke of Wurtemberw presided, assembled in this magnificent hall, on the 3d of December, when they had met by command of the Emperor, on matters connected with some alterations in the statutes, the admission of knights, and the distribution of the smaller crosses of the Order, upon the receipt of the news of the victory of Navarino. The interest created in a stranger by the splendour of the military uniforms, with the stars and decorations of the several orders exhibited on that day, yielded necessarily to that which the sight of so many distinguished generals was calculated to excite. One naturally reverted to those high deeds of renown by which those officers had acquired the brilliant marks of distinction which shone on their breasts. Another very striking apartment in this part of the Winter Palace is the Sal/e Blanche, or White Hall ; not so much on account of its dimensions, which are nearly similar to those of the Hall of St. George, as for the total absence of any gorgeous trappings or rich ornaments. The desio-n of the room is beautifully chaste. Its elevation is greater than that of the preceding department, and the sides are decorated with pilasters, columns, and bas-relief of a soft white tint without the least admixture of extraneous or gaudy object or colour. The Sal/e Blanche runs at right angles with the Hall of St. George, but is not immediately adjoining to it. The space between them was formerly occupied by aline of apartments, which ha%e disappean.d 536 THE GREAT MILITARY GALLERY. within the last few years to make room for what is called the Military Gallery, erected by command of the late Em- peror and after the design of the architect Rossi. The walls of this Gallery are 180 feet long, entirely covered with half- length portraits of the general officers who have distin- guished themselves in the Russian service during the eventful war which their country had to wage against France. The Grand-duke Constantine and the three Field-marshals of the Russian army, Kutusoff, Barclay de Tolly, and the Duke of Wellington, are represented at full length and occupy conspicuous places in the Gallery. The manner in which the subject of the portraits of Ku- tusoff and Barclay de Tolly has been stated, gives an additional historical interest to the Gallery. The dismal livery of that Russian winter which marked the glorious progress of Kutusoff, and his advancement to the dignity of a Marshal, and which is ably executed in his picture, seems to indicate the beginning of that great struggle which terminated on the spot where the full-length figure of De Tolly is represented to stand, in the sight of the French capital, and on the height of Belleville. Here he received from his sovereign the meed of his services, by being elevated to the same high station which had already been granted to his successful com- panion in arms. The symbol which accompanies the portrait of the third Marshal of Russia, the Hero of Wa- terloo, is that of imperishable strength, the British oak, “ the triumpher of many storms,” under which the Duke is placed. At one extremity, the picture of the late Em- peror Alexander, nearly twice the size of life, on his white charger, a very recent production of Dawe’s pencil, and highly creditable to him, attracts notice for the grandeur of the design and the boldness of its execution. I believe it is the intention to place this picture in a sort of recess, in THE GREAT MILITARY GALLERY. 537 which the light, if properly managed and thrown entirely upon the group, will impart to it additional beauty and animation. r i he Gallery is lighted from the top, and from the cieling are suspended three very large horizontal circles of metal, painted green, each of which is intended to re- present a crown of laurel, and serve to support a number of wax candles for the purpose of illuminating the Gallery at night. Rich and massive candelabra are placed at short distances, and other striking ornaments embellish this mo- nument of the gratitude of Alexander and the valour of his generals. The ensemble of this Gallery has a very im- posing effect. Its solemn inauguration took place with great pomp a year and a half ago; the Imperial Family and officers of state being present on the occasion. It was a happy idea of Alexander to grant to those who had so materially contributed in upholding his throne, the guerdon of posthumous honours during their lifetime, as a farther incitement to their exertions, and an encoura< a s O H h r a < a 3 z a a H a O z < a a Lontion Published bj Henry Colburn, Augu»t I, IB28 * THE PICTURE GALLERIES. 541 a suite of magnificent rooms, each richer than the last in objects of the fine arts, science, and literature, embellished by a profusion of splendid ornaments and furniture and remarkable for beauty of proportion and variety of design. The first room, beginning from the extreme end of the Petit Hermitage, and going towards the Winter Palace, is filled with landscapes by Flemish masters, many of which are of considerable merit. In the middle stands a superb vase of Siberian jasper of a lilach colour, five feet high, and remarkable for its form and high polish. The collection fff landscapes is continued in the second room, which is the first in front of the building facing the Neva, and commanding a most delightful prospect. Hin s- dale shines here in all his glory. A forest scene in parti- cular, by that pleasing master, attracts attention. It is reality itself. The paintings of the Italian school are arranged in the next three rooms, the middle of which, for its loftiness, beauty of proportions, and rich decorations, may be con- sidered as the principal room in the suite. To the very verge of the elevated cieling of the room are the produc- tions of the Italian pencil suspended around the spacious walls, and in such a multiplicity of attractive objects, and the great distance of many of them, it is difficult to bestow any attention on one in particular. Labensky, the keeper of the Gallery, who has published two volumes of descriptions of the principal paintings in it, illustrated by numerous engravings, some of which are the productions of Russian artists, and under whose direction the pictures have been lately arranged, speaks highly of the Pro- digal Son, attributed to Salvator Rosa, contained in the third room. The repentant youth, in the garb of a shepherd, is on his knees addressing a fervent prayer to Heaven. Grief 542 THE PICTURE GALLERIES. and repentance are strongly portrayed on his countenance, which bespeaks superior birth in spite of his tattered gar- ments. The colouring is rich and vivid, the composition eloquent, the accessories highly finished ; yet one feels in- clined to doubt whether that painter of romance, glorying in the representations of terrific nature, could paint so much calm and affecting sensibility. There is, near to this paint- ing, an excellent Sasso Ferrata ; and in another angle of the room a Cupid and Psyche, said to be by Guido ; within a short distance of which are suspended a Judith who has just struck the head of Holofernes at her feet, by Raphael ; and Titian’s Mistress, by that incomparable master. A grand porcelain vase decorates the centre of the room. The fourth, or principal room, to which I have alluded, is rich in chef -d’ oeuvres of the Italian School. The Cir- cumcision, by Cigoli, the successful rival of Baroccio and Caravaggio, is an example of magnificence of colouring sel- dom witnessed. The Dispute of the Doctors, by Guido, is an undoubted and most striking performance. The same might be said of the Andrea del Sarto, not far from it, but that it is in indifferent condition. There is a small cabinet picture representing the Virgin praying over the infant Sa- viour buried in sleep, which for loveliness scarcely yields to the charms and soft finish of the St. Cecilia of Carlo Dolce in its immediate vicinity. Mantegna, Andrea del Sarto, Titian, Luca Giordano, and other great masters, contribute to give this room a degree of importance for which it would be in vain to look elsewhere. Before quitting it, the stranger will not fail to admire a most superb jasper tazza of gigantic dimensions, very recently received from Ecathe- rinburgh, in which the workmanship seems almost to excel the precious material ; together with the two magnificent candelabras, seven feet high, made of the same rock, and the value of which is stated to amount to 220,000 roubles. the musical clock. 543 On passing through the fifth room, or the third of the Italian school, fresh wonders hurst on the astonished beholder. To select where every thing seems excellent is no easy task ; but a David and Bathsheba at the bath, by Bronzino; a small head of our Saviour in the act of ad- dressing the Marys, by Annibale Caracci, a most heavenly performance; a Holy Family, by Guido, a spirited com- position, with a richness of colouring that scarcely belongs to the manner of that master ; a fine specimen of Perugino, representing the adoration of the Infant Jesus, by Saints and a choir of Angels; the Iloly Virgin performing the first of a mother s duties to her infant, under the shadow of an oak-tree, attributed to Correggio ; a Holy Fa- mily, by Luini, but called a Leonardo da Vinci, are a few out of the many which principally attracted my attention. The sixth room has a semi-circular form, and is actually and literally covered with the productions of Philip Wou- verman, forming, I imagine, the richest collection, fifty- eight in number, of that excellent artist. Some of these are very remarkable. The Attack of some Peasants by Ban- ditti ; the Fete du Village; and the Game of the Cat sus- pended in the air, may be quoted as really precious morsels. Two battle-pieces, by Vander Meulen, decorate the next small cabinet, the principal object of which, however, is the celebrated musical clock, by Strasser. This curious piece of mechanism represents, externally, an antique Gre- cian temple, and contains, within, a combination of instru- ments capable of representing two orchestras, which ac- company each other, and execute with great sweetness and harmony of sound some brilliant passages of Mozart and Haydn. A curious story is attached to this clock, which explains how it found its way to the Palace of Catherine. Late in the winter season, a benighted officer, who was on 544 THE PICTURE GALLERIES. his way to join the army, knocked at the humble cottage of the widow of a shepherd of Libau, and requested shel- ter from a snow storm. The worthy dame supplied the stranger with refreshments, and afforded him an asylum for the night. On the succeeding morning the stranger, having in vain pressed his kind hostess to receive pecu- niary remuneration for her good offices, threw on her lap a lottery ticket for the clock in question, which was estimated at 80,000 roubles, and disappeared. The adventure was soon forgotten, and with it the ticket also. Three times was the lucky number which had drawn the prize an- nounced in the Imperial Gazette, and no applicant appeared to claim it. At last the Inspector of the Post- office of Libau happened to enter the widow’s cottage, attracted by the comeliness of her young children, when he observed the fortunate ticket pinned to the side of her bed, and explained to the good woman the extent of her fortune. The clock was immediately delivered over to her, and the singular adventure having come to the ears of the Empress, she ordered it to be purchased for the sum of 20,000 roubles, and to be deposited in the Her- mitage, granting at the same time to the shepherd’s widow a pension for life of 1000 roubles. What an indefatigable painter must Teniers have been to have produced the hundreds of pictures justly attributed to him ! An entire room, in the Hermitage, which adjoins the clock cabinet, is filled with his produc- tions. His passion lay in the representation of village dances, of which there are here not fewer than three of the highest merit. The valuable collections of Berghem and Cuyp occupy the ninth room ; by the side of them is placed an historical composition of Vandervelde, presented to the late Emperor when passing through Holland, and representing Peter the Great in his cottage of Saardam, THE PICTURE GALLERIES. 545 pulling on his boots, while his Dutch cuisiniere is making his bed. In the centre of tnis room stands a grand tuzzu of hard marble, from Siberia, of a green tint, with flesh- coloured streaks. The next room is justly called the Rembrandt Gallery. I believe I shall not be contradicted, if I state that this is considered to be the richest and most complete collection of the productions of that powerful master. Two golden tripods, several feet high, form part of the decorations of this room. They support the identical gold salvers on which salt and bread were exhibited to the Emperor Nicho- las, during the ceremony of his coronation, as an augury of wisdom and plenty, and which were presented, the one by the nobility, the other by the merchants. In one of the last-mentioned rooms is the large musical and magical secret dire, constructed by Hams, which opens spontaneously at the sound of music in a hundred direc- tions, by means of concealed springs, unravelling and de- veloping innumerable secret drawers and recesses, as tes- timonies of the ingenuity of man. The late Emperor purchased this bijou for eight hundred guineas. The white or oval room is of considerable height, and has a handspme gallery running round it, supported by pilasters. At one end of this apartment, in a recess lighted from above, appears a striking and full-sized portrait of Catherine, by Lampi, which, to judge from other repre- sentations of that sovereign, and from her coins, must be a striking likeness. The attitude is commanding; there is benignity with penetration in her looks ; and her high and well-rounded forehead bespeaks great intel- ligence and an ardent imagination. I his performance of Lampi places him far above most of the modern por- trait-painters of Europe. Several marble busts of the 2 N YOL. I. 546 THE PICTURE GALLERIES. great Russian Statesmen, and Captains of modern times, are placed in different parts of this room. We ascended by a staircase placed in one of the angular recesses of this room, to the gallery which is surrounded with books. Catherine had, originally, placed some here for the use of the domestics, to keep, as she said, the devil out of their heads. From the gallery, we passed into the larger saloon, which contains one of the most extensive col- lection of prints and print-books in Europe, amounting to upwards of thirty thousand, by most of the eminent mas- ters. Monsieur Le Conseiller Nott is the conservateur of this department, and Monsieur Warnick has the charge of a most interesting collection of original drawings, to the number of seven thousand, from both which gentlemen permission must be obtained to inspect the two collections. In enriching this vast emporium of every thing that is great and valuable in the various departments of art, Catherine, with the zeal of a real amateur, and with Im- perial profusion, omitted nothing to complete the important collections. Hence we find an extensive cabinet of medals, next to the print-room, and another of gems and pastes, the latter of which is unique of its kind, and valuable as a means of study to the antiquarian and the artist. Descending from this gallery, and following the con- tinuation of the apartments, we traversed a small passage, with landscapes on each side, of moderate merit, leading to a thirteenth and a fourteenth room, of considerable dimensions, containing some of the productions of the French school ; among which I admired a large painting by Mignan, and the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, by Le Sueur. Madame Le Brun’s pencil has the honour to figure in it, more on account of the dignity of the subject on which she was permitted to exercise it, — a full-length portrait of the Em- press-mother, — than for any striking merit in her perform- TIIE PENSILE GARDEN. 547 ance. lo do full justice to such a subject, the pencil of Lampi, and his brilliant yet natural colouring, his tire and correctness of design, and, above all, his grace, are re- quiied; and not the languid, pale-coloured, inanimate style of that lady-painter. Several richly gilded vases are placed in different parts ot these two rooms ; and in the centre of the first is a magnificent tazza of malachite. At one end of the room, containing the French school, on the right, there is a cabinet filled with exquisite little pictures, by the best Dutch masters, Mieris, Gerrard Dow, Vandervelt, Vanderaeer, Metzu, and others. I could scarcely withdraw my eyes from a delightful cabinet pic- ture of Gerrard Turburg, representing a lady reading a letter, in a white satin dress, mocking the very reality of nature. A model of the house which Peter the Great in- habited, at Saardam, and the figure of his housekeeper, are placed in this part of the palace. Here terminates the line of apartments in front of the two “ Hermitages,” when, turning our backs to the Neva, we proceeded up a gallery two hundred feet long, lighted by a great number of lofty windows, through which the Win- ter-garden may be seen. The gallery is full of pictures of various merit, but several of the Canalettis which it con- tains, are so ill placed between the windows, that one can- not judge of their merits. The Winter-garden is a large quadrangular conservatory, planted with laurels and orange-trees, among which, in former times, linnets and canary-birds were allowed to fly about at perfect liberty. But the feathered tribe have disappeared from this formerly enchanting spot, which is now reduced to a simple orangery. The summer-garden, connected with it, and having the form of a parallelogram, is fifty-six sajenas, or 392 feet long, divided into numerous parterres, and entirely composed of artificial soil raised forty-two feet above the surround- 2 N 2 THE HERMITAGE. r,48 ing ground. This Pensile Garden forms certainly not the least interesting of the curiosities of the Hermitage. The period of my visit to St. Petersburgh precluded the possi- bility of my seeing it in its brilliant state ; but an English traveller, who had an opportunity of contemplating and en- joying its beauties, speaks of them in the following ani- mated strain : — “ Here, suspended as it were in the air, the visiter to his amazement treads on gravel walks ; sees the green turf vivid around him, and finds shrubs and even trees growing in luxuriance, under the shelter of which he may take refuge on a couch, and contemplate the execution and fair proportions of some favourite statue, se- veral of which are to be found in the garden. The novelty of the whole scene, and the recollection where it is situ- ated — not on the ground, but on or near the top of a palace — added to the overpowering influence of the bound- less riches of nature and art which I had just examined, produced an effect that for some time kept me tongue-tied, and induced an opinion that the wonders of the Hermitage alone are almost worth a journey to St. Petersburgh.” About the middle of this gallery, a door leads into a white scagliola room, immediately before the Hall of St. George, and thus the connection between the different palaces is effected. Leaving this part behind us, and pro- ceeding to the opposite side of the garden, we found our- selves in another gallery 200 feet long, divided in the middle by a room, in the centre of which, sunk in the floor, is the Pente Douce, a curious contrivance, by means of which a facility was afforded to the Empress of leaving the Hermitage without descending any stairs ; that opera- tion having been found troublesome to her in the latter part of her life. The first division of this corridor contains the celebrated Houghton’s collection, which Catherine purchased for the hermitage. 549 20,000/. to form the nucleus of the intended Imperial collection of paintings for the Hermitage. England will never retrieve such a lost opportunity of establishing a National gallery worthy of its rank as a civilized nation. The present endeavours at the formation of one, tardy as the scheme may seem to many, are praiseworthy, and much may probably be effected by judicious and disinterested discrimination, by perseverance, and, above all, by time and fit opportunities: but the chance of, at once, possessing chef-cT oeuvres of so many celebrated masters, and for so trifling a sum, will never again occur. Round the upper part of this division are arranged some of the best and largest specimens of still-life, by Schneider. In the se- cond division is found the French school, consisting of some of the finest paintings of Le Sueur, Greuse, Poussin, Claude, Vernet, and others. Most of these aie unfortu- nately placed very disadvantageous^ as to light, and seve- ral have been repainted, or otherwise injured by cleaning and retouching them. There are, notwithstanding, some splendid specimens of both Claude and Poussin, and to those who admire Vernet, this collection, in particular, will probably afford ground for comparing the latter painter of marine landscapes, to his more celebrated countryman of Lorraine. A small boudoir placed at the end of this gallery leads back to the apartments fronting the Neva. Out of the semicircular room already described, con- taining the large collection of Wouvermans, a way leads into another extensive suite of apartments, looking into one of the spacious courts of the palace, in which a handsome cir- cular edifice was being erected at the time of my visit ; the upper part of this is meant to be connected with, and to form a continuation of the Hermitage. In these apart- ments are found the principal paintings by Vandyek and 550 THE HERMITAGE. Rubens, forming part of the Houghton collection. The full-length portrait of Charles the First, in armour, almost equals in beauty that of Wilton House; several portraits of English noblemen, and a fine portrait of Vandyck, by him- self, deserve particular attention. The large bacchanalian picture of Rubens is perhaps one of the most attractive in this part of the collection. It is spirited, well painted, highly finished, and freer, than any of his other paintings, from those singular and sometimes revolting exaggerations, which are almost common to that famous artist. In one of the smallest of these rooms are arranged several works in ivory and fish-bones, principally the productions of the inhabitants of Archangel, who are celebrated for this species of workmanship ; and in another and much larger apartment, is that curious piece of mechanism known by the name of PHorloge du Paon, representing a menagerie, on a square parterre of flowers and shrubs, of metal gilt, covered with glass. On the largest of these a peacock is placed, which is said to turn to the spectators, expanding its brilliant tail when the chimes begin, while a cock crows, an owl rolls its eyes with the peculiar stare of that bird, the cage turns round, bells tingle, and a winged insect marks the seconds by as many leaps on a mushroom, which contains the machinery of the clock. Potemkin caused this piece of mechanism to be purchased in England from the inventor, Cook, and presented it to his Imperial mis- tress. The clock is now, and has been for some time, out of repair, and does not consequently perform ; nor has any artist, hitherto, been able to rectify the defect. An Italian mechanic made last year a proposition to the Mare- chal de la Cour, for restoring this wonderful workmanship. There are, in another room of this suite, two remarkable paintings by Paul Potter, one of which in particular, “ La Vache qui pisse,” is too well known to require THE HERMITAGE. .551 any minute description in this place. The other represents The Court of the Wild Beasts, and the Trial of the Shepherd and his Dogs,” the natural enemies of the mem- bers of that court. To the bears and the wolves, Potter lias assigned the duties of officers of police, and the secre- tary or clerk to the court, is the fox. The lion holds the high dignity of judge, and his ministers are the elephant and the tiger; the poor defendants are cast, sentence against them read, and soon after put into execution to the universal joy of all apes and monkeys. The allegory of this beautifully finished painting, divided into several compart- ments, may be considered as an anticipation of the poem of the Animali Parlanti.” In this, as well as in several other rooms, I observed both male and female students and artists engaged in copying some of the best pictures; for which purpose, they had obtained, with the utmost facility, the necessary permission. The liberality shown to artists and amateurs, in this respect, is without limit, and renders this great treasury of art more useful to the public. There is a gallery set apart for the Spanish painters, in which Murillo shines unrivalled. The total number of pic- tures contained in the Hermitage is 1300. Many of them are necessarily by masters of inferior merit ; and not a few of those performances which are attributed to great masters, are asserted to be of doubtful origin, not to say manifest copies; still the greater mass of paintings is of unquestion- able originality and value; and were it further enriched by three or four of those striking master-pieces of the ancient Italian school, which are universally admitted to bear away the palm of priority and superexcellence over all others, the galleries of the Hermitage would surpass, in regard to number and value of pictures, those of the Louvre and the Florentine palaces; as it is, they are superior in point of splendid ornaments, rich and unique objects of furniture, 552 THE THEATRE. and costly jewels. It is a subject of regret to all strangers, that no catalogue or printed indication whatever of such an extensive and varied collection should exist to guide them in their inquiries. There is indeed, written on a hand- some gold tablet on some part of the frame of each picture, the name of the artist, and a nominal list of the objects contained in each room is suspended near the door of the apartments; hut these are unsatisfactory sources of in- formation, and the visiters are left to learn and find out with much difficulty the rest. The Hermitage, like the Winter Palace, has its cabinet of jewels, in which are assembled around the room, in appropriate glass-cases, the rich ornaments which have served for the toilette of succeeding Empresses, and con- tain diamonds, precious stones, and pearls, many of very extraordinary magnitude, that have been collected from almost every part of Russia. Going back to the entrance through which we were first introduced to the Hermitage, we found facing us a handsome ante-room richly fitted up, and lighted on each side by large and lofty windows. This room, like the theatre to which it leads, is the production of Guarenghi, the Palladio of St. Petersburgh, and is placed upon a bold arch, thrown across a canal. Nothing can ecjual the fine view enjoyed from this spot over the Neva on the one side, and the Great Milliona, a very handsome and broad street, on the other. Unlike its prototype, the Bridge of Sighs at Venice, this covered way conducts the astonished stran- ger from the most gorgeous palace in existence, to the joy- ous scenes of a theatre, on which have shone at various times, and in their brilliant days, Mademoiselle George and Burgoing, and which have resounded with the melodious notes of Viotti, Rhodes, and Lafont. The theatre is not large, and has no boxes. The au- / THE THEATRE OF THE HER3IITAGE ON THE GREAT QUAY. THE RAPHAEL GALLERY. 55 3 (lienee seats rise in the shape of an amphitheatre, as in the Olympic Theatre of Vicenza by Palladio, and in front of it are placed several richly decorated arm-chairs for the use of the Imperial family. I happened on a second visit to the Hermitage to assist at the rehearsal of one of Rossi- ni s operas, which was intended for representation, with the assistance of a few Italian singers, then at St. Peters- burgh. The local seemed admirably well adapted for the display of a fine voice, and the stage is sufficiently large to allow of some of the most showy representations. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the interior of the theatre is superbly decorated ; and with regard to its exterior, as seen from the quay on the Neva, it is sufficient to ob- serve, that it is perhaps (next to the exercise-house in the Isaac Square already alluded to) one of the happiest efforts of Guarenghi’s imagination. As far as a woodcut can present the character of such a building, my readers will find it delineated in the annexed print. Returning from the Theatre, a noble and imposing gallery, of considerable extent, presents itself on the left, gay from the profusion of liuphaelesque arabeschi , copied from the Loggie of the Vatican, under the superin- tendence of Mengs, the enthusiastic worshipper of Raphael : and also on account of the great mass of light, which, from numerous windows, has been admitted into the in- terior, where it is reflected by as many superb mirrors. This is called the Raphael Gallery. Besides its intrinsic beauties, the gallery derives additional interest from the presence of the valuable cabinets of mincralogical speci- mens, formerly belonging to Professor Pallas, and Mons. Nary schkine, placed before each window, under glasscovers ; as well as from that of three magnificent specimens of the Russian porcelain manufactory, in the shape of vases, fif- teen feet high, handsomely painted, and richly gilt. 554 THE RAPHAEL GALLERY. At the end of the Raphael Gallery, we entered a hand- some square and lofty room with a coved and highly, but tastefully, ornamented deling. Rich Corinthian pilasters decorate the sides of imitative white and veined scagliolas, while the panels between are of bright siena. It is in this room that, through the liberality of the late Emperor, Mr. Dawe established his studio, and in which were con- tained, at the time of my visiting it with that excellent artist himself, a profusion of his productions. Among these, I may mention, as pictures of great merit, a full-length portrait of the Emperor Nicholas in his coronation robes ; another of the reigning Empress, as a pendent, likewise in the coronation robes, wearing the collar of the Order of St. Andrew Nevskoi and the ribbon of tbe Order of St. Ca- therine ; a second portrait, rather smaller, of the Empress sitting with the eldest Grand-duke and her eldest daugh- ter, — a most pleasing and delightful group; a portrait of the late Emperor, in the uniform of the Chevalier Guardes ; and that of his Empress, dressed in a plain black velvet robe, wearing a black velvet chapeau a I’Espagito/e, with a white plume of feathers, and for landscape a distant view of the colonnade at Tzarco-gelo. This picture, however, yields the palm of superiority to another, the subject of which is truly affecting. The late Empress is represented clad in full sable, and covered with a large veil of the same complexion. She is at her devotions, and is supposed to be in the attitude in which she frequently appeared at Taganrog, after the fatal termination of the short illness of Alexander. The bust of the Emperor, entwined with ivy to mark her attachment, is placed before her, and is illu- mined by the last ray of the setting sun on the sea of Asoff. Of two portraits of the Empress-mother, there is one, the smallest, which is, without doubt, one of the happiest efforts of Dawe. The head of the President of the Council of the MR. DAWE. Empire, Count Iv ; that of the beautiful Countess Z ; the interesting portrait of the venerable Admiral Mordvinoff, a gentleman much advanced in years, and high- ly esteemed by all classes of persons ; and lastly, a full- length portrait ot the Prince of Orange, are a few among the productions of this indefatigable and prolific artist which demand special mention. Many of these portraits have been engraved in a very superior style, as have been also, or are about to be, most of those contained in the Mi- litary Gallery. The room itself, with its various contents, forms a picture of no common interest, and the happy idea of representing his own studio occurred to Mr.Dawe, — an idea in which he has admirably succeeded. The interior of the room, with its architectural details and pictorial treasures, is given with much spirit. The several portraits are either arranged or grouped in different parts of the studio. The entrance-door is wide open, and admits a glare of light, while it allows a full view of the Raphael Gallery. The Emperor Alexander is just entered to visit the studio, and is received with becoming respect by the artist holding in his hands the implements of his art. A coloured copy of the print of this painting forms a very agreeable cabinet picture. Mr. Dawe is mainly indebted, I believe, to his popular production of the portraits of the late Princess Charlotte and her Royal Consort, as seen from a box at the Opera, and other works, for that reputation which caused him to be employed in painting several of the generals of the armies of occupation in France. His intercourse on that occasion with some of the Russian general officers led to propositions from the Emperor, which being at length listened to, soon led to an engagement for his pro- ceeding to St. Petersburgh. Here he has resided about eight years, incessantly devoted to his profession, and 556 MR. DAWE. occupied in more works than any three or four of the best modern portrait-painters in England can expect to receive commission for in the same short period of time. He was originally engaged to paint all the officers of distinction who took part in the campaigns of 1812, 13, and 14, at a settled price of 1000 roubles each, and all these, to the number of about 400, he has now executed. Private commissions succeeded or intervened, at the same time, with persons of note or rank, who flocked from every part of the empire to have their portraits painted by Mr. Dawe. For these the remuneration was made to depend on the size and style of composition ; but in no instance was it inferior to that which the artist received for his military portraits. In addition to these sources of emolument, there were all the repetitions of full or half-length portraits of the late and the present Emperor, required for the members of the Imperial Family, as well as for all the principal pub- lic establishments, and the portrait of almost every person of distinction at Court, or residing in the capital, not con- nected with the army. If Mr. Dawe, in the short space of eight years, has amassed a fortune of one million of roubles, as public report asserts, I hope he may find it a sufficient and satisfactory remuneration for the health he has in some degree lost in the arduous and unceasing practice of his art. Mr. Dawe is perhaps the only Englishman in direct com- munication with the Imperial Court, who has not solicited those marks of favour and orders of knighthood which are so liberally bestowed on others. I learn, however, with pleasure, that the Emperor has, by a decree of the 15th of March last, conferred on him the title of first portrait- painter to his Imperial Majesty. The room in which Mr. Dawe has his studio, is ever open to those of his countrymen and other strangers who are anxious to witness the progress made in his art. M. KOEHLER. 557 That gentleman feels a pleasure in affording every in- formation of which they may stand in need on the subject of public institutions and places, with which he is well acquainted ; and I am greatly indebted to him for the good effects of that friendly disposition which I experi- enced during my short stay at St. Petersburgh. The room in question is part of the Palace Chepelff, the front of which is in the street before mentioned, called the Great Millionna, running parallel with the Neva, at the back of the Imperial palaces. It is the fourth great edi- fice connected with that mass of Imperial palaces which I have endeavoured to describe. Until within the last two years, the superb collection of antiques and cameos, contained in the Hermitage, was displayed in some of the rooms on the first floor. They have since been transferred to an extensive suite of rooms on a lower floor, where several cabinets, disposed witli great taste, and richly fitted up, serve to exhibit this valuable and extensive museum. Antique as well as modern statues, groups, bronzes, and other objects of virlH , are profusely distributed around and in the centre of the arched and well-lighted saloons, forming an ensemble worthy of the reputation of a Louvre. The museum is under the chief superintendence of the ConseiUer Koehler, who is likewise librarian for the foreign department of the Library of the Hermitage. Monsieur Koehler is a profound and learned antiquary, whose writings arc well known in Europe. He is a lively, obliging, and erudite person, whose conversation is both amusing and instruc- tive. His acquaintance with the fine arts is extensive, and he possesses an inexhaustible store of anecdotes respecting the different collections of cameos and antiques, both public and private, scattered all over Europe, their relative and intrinsic value, and the manner in which 558 THE HERMITAGE. they were formed. He seemed not, however, to have been aware of the curious mistake committed by that colossus of learning in matters of bronzes and cameos, the late Mr. P. K , who not only purchased the fragment of a modern head of a Flora for an antique, but when the artist offered to point out his initials on the supposed ancient fragment, and bring other corroborative evidence to prove its modern origin, preferred continuing in his error, to the admission of having been deceived. Con- seiller Koehler related several similar blunders which had been committed by men much more skilled in antiquities than the late worthy member of the dilettanti society was in reality, and in particular by Visconti, at whose recom- mendation, Count, or Prince V , I know not which, now no more, purchased a pretended chef-d'oeuvre of an antique cameo for an enormous sum of money, the au- thor of which was at the time living. Among the valuable cameos of this collection, there is one which enjoys an European reputation. It was the gift of Josephine of Fiance to the late Emperor Alexan- der. It represents the busts of Ptolemy Philadelphus, King of Egypt, and his cherished queen, Arsinoe, daugh- ter of Lysimachus. The two heads are cut on a three- coloured lapis sardonyx of very large dimensions. This cameo formed part of the Museo Gonzaga of Mantua, whence it found its way to that of Christina of Sweden. When that sovereign was travelling in Italy, it again changed masters by falling into the hands of the Odescalchi family at Rome, of whom it was purchased by a French General as a propitiatory cadeau to Josephine, at that time the indirect arbiter of the destinies of France. The cameos and intaglios of every age, style, and merit, and upon every species of hard stone, contained in this collection, amount to upwards of fifteen thousand, and are THE HERMITAGE. 559 arranged in a manner highly creditable to the Director, as well as with a luxe of display worthy of an Imperial cabinet. Among the modern productions of this kind, the stranger will not fail to notice some which are from the hand of the present Empress-mother, who to many other higher qualifications unites the agreeable talent of cameo- engraving, and a genuine taste for the fine arts. 1 he gallery of antiques, as well as those of paintings, has been greatly enriched by the addition of the splendid and valuable contents of the Gallerie de Malmaisou, which Alexander purchased from the heirs of Josephine. The lovely Hebe of Canova, and the group of Cupid and Psyche, both by the same great master, grace the apart- ments of the Hermitage. The Library contains upwards of 110,000 volumes, ten thousand of which are in the Russian language. Ca- therine added to the original collection of books the libraries of Voltaire, Diderot, and Galiani. That which belonged to the philosopher of Ferney, arranged under the care of his secretary, whom the Empress sent for to St. Petersburgh, in the same order in which it was in his house, consists of 6,760 volumes ; to which are to be added a very considerable number of MSS., many of which are still unpublished. The world will not be the worse for this privation. The manner in which Diderot’s library was acquired by Catherine, and in which the liberality of that sovereign shone so conspicuous, is too well known to need repetition. There are 2,900 volumes, most of which are philosophical works, that belonged to that misguided writer. Those which formerly constituted the library of the lively Abbe Galiani, are chiefly on subjects connected with the fine arts, and especially on architecture; their number is small. A bust of Voltaire, by Houdon, deco- rates the gallery which contains his books. 560 THE MARBLE PALACE. Here I conclude my superficial, and, I fear, too metho- dical description of this vast and surprising Palace, so unaptly denominated a “ Hermitage,” which, instead of courting retirement and tranquil life, seems calculated to excite the most extravagant notions of grandeur and lux- ury. True it is that the Imperial foundress intended this as a place in which she might throw aside the so- vereign, and even drew up with her own hands regu- lations for the guidance of those who were to be ad- mitted to enjoy the pleasures of such a retreat ; but those regulations, a copy of which is still preserved, hung up in one of the rooms, and shown to strangers, have been altered since her death, agreeably to the will and pleasure of her successors. Not far from the Hermitage is another colossal pile pre- senting one of its fronts to the Neva, and known under the name of the Marble Palace. Although nominally consi- dered as the palace of the Grand-duke Constantine, it is not inhabited by any person of distinction, nor does it contain any object worthy of attention. As a building it is remarkable for the richly gilt bronze ornaments, pro- fusely employed in its exterior ; the number of marble co- lumns and pilasters placed around each of its three stories; and the materials of which it is constructed, the basement story being of granite, and the rest cased with marble of a dark colour. The great staircase is by far the most striking part of the interior structure. It is lined through- out with grey and black marble, and a great number of lofty columns decorate its sides, or support the richly carved soffit. Storch, in speaking of this palace as it Avas in 1799, observes of its interior arrangements, “that the pro- digies of enchantment which we read of in the Tales of the Genii are here called forth into reality, and the temples raised by the luxuriant fancy of our poets may be consi- THE MARBLE RALACE. 561 tiered as a picture of the marble palace which Jupiter, when the burden of cares drives him from heaven, might make his delightful abode.” Nothing of what now re- mains in the apartments, except indeed some exquisite fresco paintings, reminds one of such Olympian magnifi- cence. The only imposing part now left, is the whole of its exterior design and elevation. All that solidity and massiveness can impart to an edifice designed to be, as it were, imperishable ; and whatever can give splendour to the more solid performance of the architect, have been unsparingly employed in the construction and deco- ration of this building. Whichever way the eye turns, the objects on which it rests are either of marble or gilded bronze. The capital and bases of the columns and pilasters and the window-frames are of cast bronze highly gilt. The balustrades of the balconies on the side towards the Neva, and on that which faces the street, are of the same metal, and have a striking effect, heightened by the unusually large dimensions of the panes or squares of fine plate- glass seen through and above them. This palace, which was erected for one Imperial favourite, witnessed a few years afterwards, within its splendid chambers, the death of another. They have since remained nearly uninhabited. The inscription “ from grateful friendship” placed on the front, which faces the Neva, recorded the feelings that had suggested its construction — and a golden medal, struck in honour of the same distinguished individual, who first inhabited this princely mansion, is to be seen in the collec- tion of the Hermitage, and represents Count Gregory Orlof, as rivalling the fame of Curtius for having quelled the dis- turbances of Moscow, and extinguished the plague, which raged in that capital. Another stately palace, belonging to Admiral Ribas, to whom Catherine had confided the edu- cation of OrlofTs son, Bobrinsky— stands within view of the 2 o VOL. I. 562 THE TAURIDA PALACE. Marble Palace, as if to complete, by means of associating recollections, the remembrance of the liaison which existed between the Empress and her favoured subject. All Europe resounded at the time Potemkin enjoyed a high popularity, with the reports of the brilliant entertain- ment, which the conqueror of Taurida gave to his Impe- rial Mistress, at his magnificent residence, situated on the left bank of the Neva, not far from the Champ de Mars. Many of the arrangements made on that grand occasion, in which Asiatic splendour vied with European taste, still exist in its interior; and the traveller will find himself amply re- paid for the trouble of visiting Potemkin’s Palace, since become the property of the Crown, occasionally inhabited by the Empress-mother, and called the Taurida Palace. This building consists of only a ground story, with a handsome doric portico, behind which rises a large cupola. The wings extend considerably in front, and are also ornamented with a central portico. The right wing joins a range of additional neat buildings fitted up as dwelling- houses for the officers of the Court. On entering the pxincipal building, a spacious hall, or ante-room, presents itself, of an oblong form, at each end of which are communications with the lateral apartments. In front is an open colonnade, the centre intercolumniation of which is wider than the rest, and leads to an octagonal vestibule of extraordinary magnitude, called the Ro- tunda, decorated with several busts and statues in mar- ble, most of them copies from the antique. This ro- tunda is lighted by the windows of the lofty and highly ornamented cupola, around which runs a gallery of a very light and elegant form, having an organ, with the group of Laocoon in front of it. We then proceeded through a double range of Ionic columns into the ball-room, the gigan- tic architecture of which it is scarcely possible for words to THE TAURIDA PALACE. oGd describe, so as to produce the same impression of astonish- ment on the reader which the beholder receives on enter- ing this truly princely apartment. The ball-room is two hundred and eighty feet long, and seventy-eight wide. The lateral or longest sides are each formed by an open double colonnade of eighteen Ionic pillars, thirty-five feet in height, and nine feet in circumference, the shafts of which are decorated with gold and silver festoons in imita- tion of laurel. In the passage formed on each side of the room by the double row of columns, there arc, at regular distances, chandeliers of cut-glass, the lights of which arc reflected by mirrors of great magnitude. In the centre, a superb lustre, bearing sockets for seven hundred wax tapers, is suspended from the Ionic soffit, which is borne on a very handsome cornice and frieze, supported by the two colon- nades. At its extremities the room has a circular form, with large windows down to the ground ; near them are placed two colossal vases of carrara marble, and statues on the same large scale of proportion. Along the side of the room opposite the entrance is the winter-garden, separated from the ball-room by the double row of columns already mentioned. The extent of this garden, which, with the more magnificent summer gardens and pleasure-grounds of the palace, is under the superintendence of a very intelli- gent English gardener, Mr. Cowl, affords sufficient space for meandering gravel-walks, through shrubberies, and amidst flowery hedges, fruit and forest trees, choice exotics, and other specimens of the vegetable world, in all their luxuriant variety, even at the time of our visit, early in December. The apartments are numerous, and richly furnished, having been recently fitted up for the reception of part of the Imperial family. A theatre is connected with them, in which the front parapet of the boxes is made of solid cut crystal, with a contrivance to admit lights behind them, s. » 2 o 2 564 THE AN1TCHK.OFF PALACE AND IMPERIAL MEWS. as to produce at night a dazzling splendour around the audience. Every part of this Imperial mansion, together with the winter-garden, is heated by flues and stoves; and while the face of nature, seen through the large windows of the ball-room, or the glass walls of the inner garden, looks stricken with the severity of a northern winter, the genial warmth within, the fragant odours of the blooming shrubs, the multiplicity of enchanting objects, and the recollections that attach themselves to this magic spot, seem, for a mo- ment, to transport you in imagination to the palace and gardens of Armida. Besides the Imperial palaces hitherto enumerated and described, his present Majesty possesses another, situated in the Nevskoi Prospekt, on the quay of the Fon tanka, near the bridge AnitchkofF, from which it takes its name. This palace belonged to his Majesty as Grand-duke, and is remarkable for its handsome exterior, as well as for the Imperial cabinets appertaining to it, in which the private treasury of the Emperor, the Imperial robes, and the armoury, are preserved, all of which may be inspected by permission from Prince Volkonsky. As an object of splendid architecture, the Imperial mews, to which allusion has already been made, should not be passed over in silence in this place. The building oc- cupies a considerable extent of ground. The principal front, and superb elevation, face a spacious square, on the opposite side of which is a second range of building, serv- ing as dwelling-houses and offices to those employed in this department. The back of this structure extends along the western quay of the Moika, which canal it singularly embellishes, by one of the most handsome piazzas, of the order of Pestum, I have ever seen in any part of the Con- tinent. The centre of the principal front is occupied bv the church belonging to the mews, constructed in a truly PALACE OF THE GRAND-DUKE MICHAEL. 565 Grecian style of architecture, and on a scale commensurate with the imposing magnitude of the entire edifice. Co- lossal statues, emblematic of religion, are seen within the spacious intei columniations ol a magnificent and deep por- tico, terminated by another, which is placed against the principal story, and is supported by a hold and massive lusticated basement. It is incredible how much the care taken to keep the exterior of all these stone or stuccoed buildings, constantly of an unsoiled and delicate white tint, tends to heighten the striking effect which the sight of them cannot fail to produce on the imagination of a stranger. 1 his handsome edifice is by Trombara, an Ita- lian architect. But the triumph of modern architecture in St. Peters- burg is the palace begun and completed under the late Em- peror, and now occupied by the Grand-duke Michael, and hence called Palais Michel. The architect of this import- ant and recent embellishment of the capital, Mons. Itossi, was so kind as to accompany me in my visit to it, and presented me with some original drawings, made on a large scale, of the elevation, sections, and plans of the building, with its extensive offices, elegant riding-house, and pleasure-grounds. By means of these, and with his personal assistance, I was enabled to take the following notes on the spot, and also to procure a sketch of the facade of the palace, which forms the frontispiece plate to the second volume of these Travels. The choice of a situation for erecting a stately residence, intended for the use of his Imperial younger brother, was left by the late Emperor to Monsieur Rossi himself, w ho se- lected the present spot, which was formerly a morass. By the elevation of one of the finest buildings of the present day, the distribution and arrangement of a garden and pleasure- grounds behind it, and the formation of a large square in 566 PALACE OF THE GRAND-DUKE MICHAEL. front, planted in the centre in the English style, and flanked with handsome private mansions on three of its sides; toge- ther with the opening of new and fine streets leading to it — that eminent architect has given to this part of the city a grandeur, which at once strikes the stranger, and in a par- ticular manner arrests his attention. No choice of situation could be more happy, whether in reference to the palace and the dignified individual who was to occupy it, or to the quarter of the town which it so materially embellishes. The distance from the Imperial palaces, the cathedral, and the great public walks, is inconsiderable. The house is placed a short way between the Imperial mews on the north-west, and the castle formerly occupied by the unfor- tunate Paul on the east ; and its extensive pleasure-grounds reach to the quay of the Moika canal, which separates them from the Champ de Mars and the summer-gardens. Besides the handsome square in front of the palace, a wide street is intended to be opened facing it, which will pass between the Catholic and Armenian churches, and, crossing the Nevskoi Prospekt, will join the projected improvement in the immediate neighbourhood of the Russian shops. For convenience therefore, for health, and agreeableness of neighbourhood, the situation of the new palace is be- yond question the best that could have been selected in the capital, and does great credit to the judicious discrimi- nation of the architect. Nor is this a trifling merit on his part; since we are perpetually seeing architects of the first reputation placing magnificent edifices in situations which accord neither with the splendour of the building, nor the objects for which they are erected. The magnificent structure which Monsieur Rossi has raised on so favourable a spot, presents a facade fifty-two sajenes, or 364 feet in length, and consists of a main-body, or corps de logis, and two projecting wings. The former PALACE OF THE GRAND-DUKE MICHAEL. 567 is united to the latter by pavilions, without any interrup- tion in the line of communication ; and by its projection toward the wings, forms, with the main body of the build- ing, a spacious court, which is separated from the street by a lofty railing of cast iron, connected by colossal pillars, representing fascioe, in which the beauty of workmanship equals the richness of the design. In the centre of this railing, four square granite piers, surmounted by handsome trophies, form the grand entrance into the court, around which the carriages drive on the left or right side, and set down under a covered archway in front of the ground or basement story. 'Ibis story, rusticated by horizontal lines only, and very lofty, contains on the left the ordinary dwelling apartments of the Grand-duchess, and on the right those of the Grand-duke. The windows, by their boldness and size, bespeak the magnitude of those apart- ments. Upon the basement story is placed the state floor, of the Corinthian order, with an octostyle portico in the centre, of the greatest beauty, resting on the rusticated archway of the ground story, and having on each side of it a series of seven handsome pillars, continued as far as the pavilions, with seven lofty arched windows, one in each intercolumniation. The order is not crowned either by a second floor or an attic, but by an entablature of rich con- struction, under which and above the windows a wide space intervenes, which is filled up with a running bas-relief. The portico is surmounted by a well-proportioned pediment, and an elegant balustrade runs along the top of the build- ing and conceals the roof. The two large pavilions consist likewise of a ground and state floor, in continuation of those of the main building, to which they are united, and beyond which they project several feet. On the state floor of these pavilions there are no pillars, and only three windows, the centre of which is a triple Venetian arched window, rising 568 PALACE OF THE GRAND-DUKE MICHAEL. to the architrave of the entablature, and contrasting favour- ably with the surrounding objects. The wings are of the Doric order, and rise a little higher than one-half of the ele- vation of the main building. That part of each wing which fronts the street is very extensive, and presents a Doric co- lonnade, half-fluted, of the utmost elegance of proportions, and neatness of execution. A large porte cochere, in the centre of each of these, serves for the more ordinary ingress and egress of the inmates of the palace and their carriages, the grand entrance in the fore-court being only used on state occasions. In its interior, this imposing structure combines every thing that decoration, rich and beautiful workmanship, costly material, and a profusion of other means, directed by consummate skill, and the purest taste, could accomplish. It is seldom that, in a princely palace of such magnitude, the arrangement of its different parts can be made to unite beauty with convenience, — -display of architectural grandeur with utility. In the present instance, however, all this has been effected ; and it would be difficult to find in any other capital, or even in St. Petersburgh, so com- plete, so exquisite a specimen as the Palais Michel offers of a plan, every sub-division of which is equally well con- trived for its individual purpose, and neither interferes with, masks, nor otherwise injures, the usefulness and effect of the rest or of any part of it. The principal vestibule within the grand entrance has a character of grandeur, which the bold double flight of gra- nite steps occupying the centre tends greatly to heighten. It is impossible to do justice in words to the imposing effect of the grand staircase, around three sides of which extends a wide gallery with handsome columns, support- ing the highly ornamented roof, raised to the height of the entire building. Two statues of great merit, representing PALACE OF THE GRAND DUKE MICHAEL. 5C>0 Achilles and Hector, by Russian sculptors, decorate this pai t of the building, and the lofty walls bear a running f ascia of bas-relief, ot beautiful execution. The general effect, however, is much diminished by the substitution of a slender common iron bannister, covered with a narrow mahogany hand-rail, placed along the stairs instead of * uiu£> IKvtAn ffoutt P Th» £ji 4^0< 0 T/t .■ riuttmi ffouf* R 71>- o'/.Jv SS I J.vi,,,, ..f.lliw, av.Mutun, !•»*' O&ntiutwv 1 OurEiJy ct’taam OR EAT \okuta jinr: e ~ i \r<5s de la Nouvelle-Hollande. M-10. Pratchechnoi, sur la Fontanka. II- I t. Sadovoi, sur la Tchernoi ritchki (Ka- r<5tnoi Quart.) N-19. Sadovoi most, rue des jardins, sur In Moika. 1-13. Samsoniefskoi, sur la Grande Nevka. pour aller a Vibourg F-14. Schlisselbourgskoi, sur la Tchernoi retchke (Karetnoi Quart.) N-19. Scmcnofskoi most, sur la Fontanka, rue aux pois. N-13. Siline most, sur la Karpofka. D-l 1. Simeonofskoi most, sur la Fontanka, pres de la Makhovoie. K-1.5. Sinnyi most, sur la Moika. L-ll. Smechnoi, sur le Canal Kroukof . 0-11. Soukharnoi most, sur la Moika. M-9. Souvoroff most, sur la Grande Neva. pres du Jardin d’^te. G-H-13. Stroganofskoi most, sur la Grande Nevka, a Kamennoi-Ostroff. A - 1 1 . Tchernicheff most, sur la Fontanka, pres du march^ a la volaille. M-14. Tehougounnoi most. N-8. Tchoutchkoff most, sur la Petite Neva, au bout de la rere ligne de Vassili- Ostroff. H 9. Torgovoi, sur le Canal Kroukof . N-10. Tretiy Tarakanofskoi most, sur la Tarakanofka. Q-9. Voskresenskoi, sur la Grande Niva, du cot<5 de la Tauride. H-17. Vosn&enskoi most, sur le Canal Ca- therine, rue du pont bleu M-ll. Vtoroi Kroukof most, sur le Canal Kroukof, rue des Galeres. L-10. Vtoroi Tarakanofskoi, sur la Taraka- nofka. P-9 Vtoroi most, sur la Tchernoi ritchki. (Quartier de Vibourg.) D-l 5. Yelaghinskoi, sur hi Grande Nevka, vis-a-vis Crestofsky. B. C-7. Pont Bleu, sur la Moika, rue Vosne- senski. L-ll. Pont de Casan, Perspective Nevsko'i. L-13. Pont en ebaines pour pistons, sur la Moika. L-ll. Nouveau Pont en chaines, pour les pistons, pres de la Banque, sur le Canal Catherine. L-13. Pont de Panteleimon. I- 14. Pont de Cr<£stofski. C-9. Nouveau Pont de Crestofski. B-7. Nouveau pont de pierres, sur le Canal de ville. 0-15. Pont des GrandeS-Ecuries. I- 1 3. Pont des Petites-Ecuries. 1-13. Pont d’lsaac, pres du Senat-Dirigeant, pour aller a Vassili-Ostroff. K-ll. Pont du Jardin. 1-13. Pont de Pierres, rue aux pois. M-13. Pont de Police, sur la Moika, Perspec- tive de Nevsko'i. L-13. Pont Rouge, sur la Moika, rue aux pois. L-12. Pont de Souvoroff, sur la Grande Neva. 11-13. PRINCIPAL STREETS. De l’Amiraut£. K-I2 a N-14. Grande rue des Ecuries. K-13. Fonarnaya. M-ll a N-9. Fourchtatskaya. 1-16 a 1-17. Galernaya. L-9 a K-ll. Gorokhovaya, aux pois. Iv-12 a N-14. Grebetskaya. M-16 a N-15. Ilochpitalnaya linia. 0-13 a P-14. I talianskaya. K-15al7. Grande rue des Jardins. M-13 a L-l 1. Petite rue des Jardins. K-L-14. Jekaterinskoi prospect. N-O-ll-12. Grande Mechtchanskaya. L-13 a M- 1 1. Petite Mechtchanskaya. M-12. Grande Millionne. 1-12 a 13. Petite Millionne. K-12. 582 PRINCIPAL STREETS. Grande Morskoi. K-12 a L-ll. Petite Morskoi. L-12 a K-12. Grande rue des officiers, N-14 a M-15. Pantdeimonnaya. 1-16. Pechtchonnaya. 1-19. Perspective de l’ile des Apothicaires. C-D-12-13. Perspective de Catherinkof.N-O- 1 1-12 Perspective d’lsmailoff. O-P-ll. Perspective de Kamennoi-Ostroff. G-13 a B-l I. Perspective de la Litaine.L-15 a H-15. Perspective de Nevsko'i. K-12 a Nl9. Perspective de Peterhoff. 0-9 a NlO. Grande Perspective a Vassili-OstrofF. M-5 a 1-10. Perspective deTsarsko^-Selo.Oa Q-12 Petite Perspective de Vassili-OstrofF. I-H-7-8. Perspective de Vorn&sensky. L-ll a 0-12. Petite Peftcheskaya. E-F-13. Grande Podiatcheskaya. 0-11 a L-ll. Petite Podiatcheskaya. PokrofFskaya. Posadskaya. Port des Pyroscaphes. Quai Anglais Quai du Canal Catherini Quai de la Cour. Quai de la Fontanka. Quai Gagarin Quai de la Moika. Sadovaya. SampsonieFskaya. Sergieefskaya. Simionofkaya. Slonovaya, Stremiannaya. Tavritcheskaya. TchernichefF per&mlok. Voskresenskaya naberejn Rue de Vosn^senskaya. Zakariefskaya. Petite Zeleinaya. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LONDON : PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, Dorset Street, Fleet Street. M-ll. E-F-ll. E-F-12-13. N-8. L-9 & K-l l. 3. 0-9 a 1-13. 1-12 a H-13. O 8 a H-14. H-15 a 18. M-8 a 1-14. H a K-18. F-15 a A-14. L-14 a K-l 4. K-15. L-17 a K-18. L-15 a L-16. H-17 a 1-17. L-13 a M-14. aya.H-17 al9. K-O-ll. H-16 a 17. E-8. SPKial 8S-& m.I GETTY CENTER LIBRAS Saiai