'.
:
ARTES
1817
VERITAS
LIBRARY
SCIENTIAS
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TCEBOR
EI:QUÆRIS-PENINSULAM AKO
CIRCUMSPICE
THIS BOOK
FORMS PART OF THE
ORIGINAL LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BOUGHT IN EUROPE
1838 TO 1839
BY
ASA GRAY
西
​
OF
HIGH
FINS
LT,James del?
10
PALACES of PASHKOV, MENZIKOV, APRAXIN &c. BELGOROD. Moscow.
1. Clark sculp
JOURNAL
OF
A TOUR
IN
GERMANY, SWEDEN, RUSSIA, POLAND,
DURING THE YEARS 1813 AND 1814.
BY JAT JAMES, Esq.
STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
1816.
•
<
T. DAVISON, Lombard-street,
Whitefriars, London.
D
919
J27
*
PREFACE.
THERE is so much of resemblance between the several
nations of the more civilised world at the present day, so
much of uniformity in a journey through the countries
which they inhabit, that the modern traveller in Europe
relinquishes all thought of exciting public attention by the
detail of personal adventure. Hence the examples furnished
by the simple and interesting stories of our ancient tourists
are neglected, and in their stead we are presented with
political theories, surveys military, statistical or scientific,
collections of historical anecdotes, or, perhaps, a lively essay
on the genius and character of a people.
In the present volume it is not meant either to launch
into subjects which do not fall within the province of a
common observer, or to publish unauthenticated and doubt-
iv
PREFACE.
R
ful gleanings of private scandal; or yet to undertake
disquisitions that require more time than could have
been here allotted to the task. But such topics cannot
altogether be passed over, and they will be touched upon,
though merely en voyageur; that is, as far as is requisite.
to a faithful description of the various matters that came
under observation in the course of the tour. Of these, the
changes and revolutions arising out of late events, if a tra-
veller may judge from his own feelings, will not prove the
least acceptable.
The form of a journal has been preferred, as giving an
opportunity of stating facts as well as opinions, in the order
in which they really occurred; whereby the reader will be
enabled with less prejudice to draw his own inferences.
If, in any part, a more unconnected style should in con-
sequence have been introduced, it is presumed the defect
will be amply compensated by this advantage.
The first section is, perhaps, somewhat bare of informa-
tion; but this must be referred to a circumstance which,
since travelling is so much in vogue, will be duly ap-
PREFACE.
V
pretiated by most people; namely, the timidity, not to
say incompetence of observation, which attends the first
steps upon a foreign shore. It is long before a stranger
trusts to what he sees and hears, or rather knows to what
he should trust, and still longer before he attains the just
habit of conducting enquiry.
On the subject of proper names, perhaps some apology
may be due to the fashion of the age, for not having intro-
duced (as far as I am aware) any novelties in spelling or
pronunciation. The old and received methods have been
constantly adopted, though not without due consideration.
It may fairly be asked, indeed, what reason exists to make
innovation necessary? Every other nation in Europe is
indulged in its own idiomatic pronunciation of these words,
and why should we refuse ourselves a similar licence?
While Vienna is known as Wien, or Vienne; Austria as
Österreich, or Autriche; while das Preussen and das Russ-
land in one language are the substitutes for la Prusse and
la Russie in another, there can be no reason why an English-
man should not talk of Prussia and Russia, or even Prussha
and Russha if he please.
vi
PREFACE.
The confusion that has been introduced into ancient
geography, as well as history, from the accommodation
afforded to the delicate ear of Greece, may be urged in
favour of reform in our days; but, on the other hand, this
fact, as far as it tends to prove the antiquity, as well as the
general prevalence of the custom, may be said to shew
the natural impracticability of any proposed scheme of
alteration. As to its success, indeed, in any way, we may
safely assert, that whatever variation is made in the spelling
or pronunciation of a foreign proper name, be the means
what they may, syllabic abbreviation, elongation, or elision,
we shall find, upon comparison being made, that we do
not advance one single step nearer to the native pronuncia-
tion than before.
During my residence in several towns, I have received
many civilities and attentions from individuals, which merit
every expression of gratitude; but I should think their kind-
ness ill requited if I took this opportunity of dragging their
names before the public: by my silence it is conceived their
private feelings will be best consulted, while they will still
know, as I feel, that it is not because they are forgotten.
PREFACE.
vii
My companion, during the former part of my journey,
was Sir James Milles Riddell, Bart. whom I am happy to
reckon amongst those whose intimacy I acquired early in
college life; and during the latter, W. Macmichael, Esq.
M. B. Radcliffe travelling fellow of the University of Oxford,
from the turn of whose pursuits I gathered much additional
information.
I am in duty bound to make every acknowledgment
in my power to the Honourable Heneage Legge; it is to
his friendship I stand indebted for the masterly and spirited
etchings which accompany this volume; but I feel I should
overstep the limits of propriety, were I to forestal that
praise which the public will not fail to bestow.
To Robert William Hay, Esq. of the Admiralty, I am
under the greatest obligations, not only for his kind and
friendly assistance in many other respects, but in particular
for the narrative of his visit to Tulchyzn, with which he
has enriched my last section, and which will be found to
contain a very able and interesting account of the modern
state of Polish seignoralty.
vili
PREFACE.
There are many other persons whom I should wish to
mention here, and publicly to profess my gratitude, did I
not fear that in so doing my motive would appear open to
another charge, and that I should subject myself to that of
indulging an ostentatious self gratification, by associating
their names with my own.
CONTENTS.
SECTION I.
PART OF SWEDEN AND THE NORTH OF GERMANY,
Gottenburg-Trolhättan-Commerce, &c.-Helsinburg-Lund-Ystadt-Rostock
-Mecklenburg Schwerin-Government-State of Peasantry-Berlin-Arts and
Manufactures-Prospect of Hostilities-Distress of Prussia-Opening of the Cam-
paign-Affair of Gros-beeren-Alarm at Berlin-Moreau-K. of Prussia-Victory
of Juterbock-Politics, &c.-Journey to Stralsund-English Troops-Trade, &c.
1
-Mineralogical notices..
SECTION II,
SWEDEN.
Ystadt-Carlscrona-Arsenal, &c.—Calmar-Jonkoping-Linkoping-State of the
Peasantry, &c.-Stockholm-Society, &c.-Commencement of Winter-Arts and
Sciences Agriculture-Trade-Currency-Criminal Execution-Swedish Cha-
racter-Election of Bernadotte-Politics-Treaty of Kiel-Fête at Court-Vision
of Charles XI.-Constitution of Sweden-Phenomena attending the severe Cold—
Upsala University-Clergy, &c.—Swedenborg-Mine of Dannemora-Forges,
&c.-Grisleham-Passage over the Gulf of Finland on the Ice-Telegraph-
Mineralogical Sketch of Sweden.....
SECTION III.
FINLAND-PETERSBURG.
92
Aland Islands-Abo-Present State of Finland-Sveaborg-Wiborg-Petersburg-
Original Intention of Peter I.-Consequences of the System he adopted-State
of Society-Nobles-Slaves-Tribunals of Justice-Emancipation-Education-
Charitable Foundations-Court-Theatres, &c.-Government-Public Feeling
with regard to present Politics-Trade-Manufactories-Employment of Foreigners
-The Mint-Paper Money-Its Depreciation-The probable Cause-Commerce
-Siberia-Embassy to China-Academy of Sciences-Casan Church-Religion
-Sectarists-Superstition-Religious Ceremonies on Easter Eve-News of the
Capture of Paris-Te Deum, Illumination, &c.-The Emperor-The fugitive
b
CONTENTS.
Princes of Georgia-Severe Cold-Neva breaks up-Ice of the Ladoga descends
-Return of warm Weather-Rapid Vegetation-Promenade-Orders of Knight-
hood-Imperial Palaces-Cronstadt, &c. ...
SECTION IV.
FROM PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW AND SMOLENSKO,
209
Road of Peter I.-Peasantry-Criminal Justice-Novgorod the Great-Tartar
Cottages-Barrows, &c.-Valdai-Canal of Vishni Volotchok-Communications
with Siberia-Twer-Approach of the French in 1812-Alarm in these Districts,
and again at the Capital-Mistaken Expectations of the French-Devotion of the
Nobles and the People-State of Affairs kept secret at Moscow-Sudden Arrival
of the French-Conflagration-Present Appearance of Moscow-Anecdotes of
Sufferers during the Occupation-Condition of the French Army-Kremlin; Part
destroyed by Explosion-Extraordinary Instance of Superstition-Magnificence.
of the Kremlin-Imperial Coronation, &c.-Mode of living among the Nobles-
Trade of Moscow with Boukhara, &c.-Devitchi Nunnery-Repairs of the City
since the Conflagration-Relief afforded to the Inhabitants-Conduct of the
Peasantry-Evacuation of Moscow-Return of the Russian Troops, &c.-Mojaisk
-Field of Borodino-Viasma-Inveteracy of the Rustics against the French-
Difficulties of the Retreat-Stand made at Dorogobusch-Misery of the French-
Cruelty of the Russian Peasants-Smolensko-Disorganised State of the French
341, 342
Army-Its Cause and Consequence.
SECTION V.
SOUTH OF RUSSIA AND POLAND.
•
Mode of Travelling in Russia-Regulation of the Post-Characteristic Knavery of
the Peasants-Jewish Settlers-Mglin--Starodoub-Citadels-Rude State of the
Country People-Vapour Baths-Tchirravitch-Remains of the Tartars-Ca-
ravans-Pilgrims-Tchernigoff-Kiev-Sacred Catacombs --Ancient Churches-
Hindoo Architecture-Origin of Pointed Style-Trade-Passage of English
Goods excluded by the French Decrees-Fair-Poland-Jews of Zytomir-Dress
-Novgorod Volhynski-Face of Country-Dubno-Austrian Poland-Brody—
Lemberg-Trade of Jews, &c.-Commerce in Grain-Condition of the lower
Classes-Polish Chateau-Visit to the Countess Potochki at Tulchyzu-Her
Establishment-Society-Leve-A Marriage-A Party to the Chase-Wielicsa
-Salt-mines-Duchy of Warsaw-Cracow, present State of-Quarter of the Jews
-Their oppressed Condition-Their Antiquity-Polish Nobility and Vassals-
Costume-Feelings of the Country with regard to late Events, &e.-Bièlitz. 448
DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.
Directions to the Binder.
FRONTISPIECE.
PALACES in ruin at Moscow-To the right hand appears the palace of M. Pashkov, to the left,
that of P. Menzikov, and in the distance that of Count Apraxin. The other houses in ruins shew
the style of building in this part of the town; they are constructed of brick covered with stucco.
VIGNETTE.
Passage across the frozen sea between the Aland islands.
upwards of twenty-one English miles in length. See
See p. 210.
This stage over the Delet was
To face p. 32.
The French church and the
Place de Gens-d'armes-or Frederichstadt market, at Berlin.
new church form two sides of this square, and a third is occupied by the German theatre: the
view is taken from the portico of the new church, looking towards the French church.
To face p. $6.
Brandenburg Gate-From the Unterden linden, or limetree walk; the road to Charlottenburg,
passing through the centre of the park, is seen in the distance.
To face p. 100.
Cascade at Rünneby-This is a small village on the road between Carlshamn and Carlscrona.
To face p. 112.
Stockholm-The island of the city, including the palace, Riddarholmen church, and other
public buildings, occupies the centre of the picture; to the right appears the southern quarter,
and to the left the northern.
To face P. 230.
Statue of Peter the First-The Isaac church appears in the middle distance; on the foreground
is a sledge and furieux. See p. 356.
To face P. 30S.
Casan church-from the quay of the Catherine-canal. On the foreground is a travelling sledge
with four horses; on the side of the canal are two prisoners carrying water, under guard of two
soldiers of the police.
To face p. 312.
Road to Moscow, &c.-The river Msta is seen in the distance, and the steeples of Novgorod
Veliki: on the side of the causeway are laid the wooden materials for mending the road; in this
part the balks are not pinued down by a kirb.
To face p. 349.
Village of Bronnizni-The wooden street, and houses of the same materials, are here seen, with
the overhanging roofs of Tartar fashion.
DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.
To face p. 370.
Imperial palace of Petrovski-burnt by the Cossacks during the occupation of Moscow by the
French in the distance is the city. A small caravan is on the road, the last cart bearing a wooden
cross, to which, if any accident arises, the prayers of the drivers are constantly addressed.
To face p. 388.
Chamber of the throne-or ball of audience; the throne was placed near the corner of the
room to the right hand.
To face p. 406.
Palace of Besborodko-This edifice was reduced to its present condition by the conflagration;
it was formerly the residence of the Emperor Paul, who purchased it of Count Besborodko.
To face
p. 438.
Smolensko, from the Dnieper-The cathedral appears on the top of the hill, to the right is one
of the breaches made by the French cannon during the battle which took place near this place;
below are the suburbs which were burnt at the close of the day.
To face p. 440.
Cathedral of Smolensko-This may be regarded as a specimen of the general style of the
Russian churches. See description, p. 473.
To face p. 464.
Russian burying ground-In this example no barrows are to be found: two peasants are seen
paying their devotions.
To face p. 481.
Column of Vladomir-In the distance is the Dnieper, and the country described in P. 469;
below is the Podolsk quarter of the town.
To face p. 494.
Palace of Lubomirski-This view is taken from the moat: on the foreground are examples of
the costume of the Polish seigneur and of the peasant.
To face p. 518.
University of Cracow-founded by Casimir the Great. The walls of the court are decorated
with paintings.
I. The Kremlin.
II. The Kitai-gorod.
III. The Belgorod.
IV. The Semlianigorod.
V. The Slabode.
References to the Plan of Moscow, p. 405.
VI. The quarter beyond the Mosqwa.
VII. The quarter beyond the Taoutsa.
1. The Maiden's-field.
2. The Nunnery.
3. The outer wall.
4. The inner wall.
5. The Dorgomilov Slabode.
6. The Presna.
7. The Twerskaia Jamskaia.
8. Sachtochowa.
9. The Meschtschanskaia.
10. The Kalantscha.
11. The Herb-field.
12. The German Slabode.
13. Thrasnoe Selo.
14. Pokrowskoe Selo.
15. Laferte.
16. Woronzovo Pole.
17. The imperial school.
18. The Twerskaia Sostawa.
SECTION I.
PART OF SWEDEN AND THE NORTH OF GERMANY.
Gottenburg
Trolhättan Commerce, &c. - Helsinburg-
Lund-Ystadt-Rostock-Mecklenburg Schwerin--Govern-
ment-State of Peasantry-Berlin-Arts and Manufactures
-Prospect of Hostilities-Distress of Prussia-Opening of
the Campaign Affair of Gros-beeren-Alarm at Berlin-
Moreau-King of Prussia-Victory of Juterbock-Politics,
Sc.-Journey to Stralsund-English Troops-Trade, &c.
-Mineralogical Notices.
Ir was in the summer of 1813, while the operation of the
French decrees still precluded the ordinary avenues to the
continent, that we set sail from Harwich for the coast of
Sweden. We were detained by circumstances of weather
longer than the period commonly allotted for this voyage,
and only on the fourteenth day were gratified with a sight
of the port of Gottenburg. As our haven, this spot had a
double claim to interest; but neither was it in itself devoid
Б
2
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
of beauty, or picturesque effect; a retired inlet, surrounded
with rugged clifts and ancient fortresses, busied with infinite
variety of foreign shipping, and displaying at its upper
extremity all the architectural pride of a rich commercial
city. On entering the place we were struck with the
symmetry and splendor of the buildings, and admired, at
leisure, the several bustling groups that thronged its canals,
bridges, and quays, where their never ceasing activity seemed
to bespeak the important concerns of this great emporium
of the country.
Our first night on shore passed with more than ordinary
pleasure; and we waked in the morning to the lively airs
of a military band of music that pays the compliment of
welcome to every new arrival.
Already possessing the impatience of travellers, our fore-
bud (foreboder) was dispatched in advance; and two pair
of horses in the Swedish fashion being yoked abreast to the
carriage, we set out, before the oppressive heat of the day
had well commenced, on an excursion to Trolhättan and
its neighbourhood. Our mode of conveyance, in appear-
ance so triumphal, was afforded at the moderate expense
of 12 skillings bco. (9d.) each horse per mile, nearly equal to
seven of our measure: with regard to extra expenses, two
or three shillings to the postillion at the end of the stage,
as snaps or drink money, was held a liberal gratuity. The
roads were excellent, the rate of posting remarkably ex-
peditious; and in addition to these advantages, the regula-
tion of the dag-boke (day-book), where at each stage the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
3
traveller is required to enter his name, as well as the com-
plaints he may be desirous of preferring against the post-
master, is a sufficient check upon his conduct to secure even
a stranger against any attempt at imposition.
Rye cakes, milk and fruit, were the only provisions to
be had on the way; no other circumstance however that
could give a charm to travelling was wanting. Our route
lay chiefly on the river side, and abounded in successive
changes of picturesque scenery: the valley was inclosed
with low broken hills of a rich verdure, interspersed with
forests of pine, amidst which the bare rock started out
at intervals here and there irregularly; a style of land-
scape never rising to the character of the sublime, or sink-
ing below a certain degree of interest; but its peculiar
features have not long since been traced out by so able
a pencil*, that to attempt any other delineation would be
alike useless and vain.
We arrived at our destination early in the evening,
and without loss of time repaired to the cataracts of the
Gotha, the din of whose waters had been long within our
hearing. It was a scene of stupendous horror: the whole
body of this majestic river, hurried over four mountainous
precipices in rapid succession, presented a sight which not
all the tropes and figures of the poetasters of the album at
Trolhättan, in all their several languages, can set out with
appropriate imagery.
* See Sketches of Scenery in Norway and Sweden by Sir T. D. Acland,
Bart.
4
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
But whatever attention might be due to the face of na-
ture, there were works of art at this place that challenged
an almost equal share of our admiration. A canal of 10,400
feet in length and 22 in breadth, cut through a rock of
granite at a depth in one part of 150 feet, rendering this
passage securely navigable, where the cataracts had for
many ages entirely obstructed the communications of the
country, was a conception far beyond the reach of ordinary
minds. The undertaking was completed, after six years
labour, in the year 1800, and it already* pays an interest
of 42,000 R. D. per annum upon a capital of 358,988, ori-
ginally expended in the adventure. This return, which
amounts to near 12 per cent., affords the most unequivocal
testimony both of its success and of its great public utility.
As the speculation indeed of a company of individuals un-
aided by the government, it is an example of enterprise
perhaps no where to be met with out of the limits of Great
Britain; as a triumph of skill in the art of engineering,
it has effected an object, whose difficulty is proved by the
several abortive experiments yet visible on the spot; and
as a national benefit, it connects the eastern provinces,
through the lakes Wenner and Wettern, and the Soder-
köping canal, with the western coast and the grand com-
mercial outlet of Gottenburg.
It is scarcely possible duly to appreciate the advantages
that must accrue to a country of such vast extent and so
*The toll duty is seven skillings each skeppund, or 3 cwt. English: ten
skillings per dozen for deals.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
5
thinly inhabited, from the improvement of her means of
internal communication. We hear at home an almost in-
credible value assigned as the amount of our domestic com-
merce; and it will require but little sagacity to see that in
the present condition of Sweden, this facility of circulation
can alone afford means of diffusing or equalising the general
wealth and resources of the nation.
The ingenious construction of their sawing-mills may be
mentioned here, although common in many parts of these
provinces. The balks of fir being thrown into the river for
carriage as soon as felled, are collected from the reflux of a
bason at the foot of the cataract, and each being drawn out
with machinery, is separated into planks by eight or ten
perpendicular saws ranged abreast; the whole of the ap-
paratus is set in motion by a water wheel, and acts much on
the same principle as the sawing-mills lately constructed
by Mr. Brunell at Woolwich, though by no means carried
to so high a degree of mechanical perfection.
July 8.—Our road from Trolhättan continued through
much the same country as before, till at length, after a
few miles, we came in view of the town of Wennersburg, the
seat of the provincial government, which is said to contain
1400 inhabitants: it is remarkable for little else than its
ap-
pearance of extreme poverty; the squares, the churches,
the streets, are all of wood, daubed, according to fashion,
with yellow or red ochre, and in a moderate state of clean-
liness or repair. The district was now filled with military
belonging to the army for the protection of the frontier on
6
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
the side of Norway; and a division of these troops pitching
their tents on the banks of the lake Wenner, added a new
feature to the wildness of the prospect. Journeying onwards,
scattered parties of soldiers met the eye in every direction;
some reposing in the forest shade; others encamped in small
detachments in the rocky defiles, or marching, in long array,
over the distant hills: sometimes again we heard them
chanting their evening hymn in the villages as we passed,
with a solemnity that seemed to raise a thousand asso-
ciations of elder days.
The head-quarters of F. M. Von Essen were at Uddevalla,
where, since that time, the king also established himself
during the expedition against Norway. This is a small
picturesque place, slowly recovering from one of those con-
flagrations so frequent in their occurrence, and so destruc-
tive in their consequences to the wooden cities of Sweden.
In order to secure themselves against such calamities, several
minute regulations are put in force in every large town: the
inhabitants are not only forbidden to build wooden houses
higher than one story; but, as an additional measure of
precaution, no one can smoke a pipe, or ride a horse fast in
the streets, without incurring an heavy penalty from the
lice. There is some trade at Uddevalla incidental to its
situation, but the herring fishery, once the chief source of
profit at this place, and which formerly employed upwards of
2000 boats at Gottenburg, is now lost, as their shoals, for
the last five years, have almost entirely deserted this part of
the coast.
po-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
7
On our journey to Marstrand we observed several huge
blocks of stone, eight or ten feet high, erected in the middle
of a large plain, and forming apparently part of a circular
range, but accompanied with many others irregularly dis-
posed. Ancient remains of this rude sort are frequent in
Sweden: they are traditionally reported to have been formerly
used as places of judicature, agreeably to the destination
which is assigned by an able and intelligent writer to Stone-
henge, in Wiltshire.
The people of the neighbourhood regard the spot with
superstitious awe, and believe that any person who dared
to remove a single stone from its site would be instantly
visited with a lingering sickness; and should he sacrilegiously
withhold, or fail to replace the relic, the offender would as-
suredly pay the forfeit of his life. They told us that these
unshapen monuments marked the spot of a battle once
fought between the Danes and Swedes, and that each of
these stones rested over an hero's sepulchre.
While contemplating the men who related to us this tale,
it was impossible to check a reflection unfavourable to the
present degenerate offspring of the once hardy and robust
warrior of Scandinavia.
We beheld a spare, impotent, and meager race, that tot-
tered on their legs, seeming to exhibit, in their figure and face,
every symptom of premature decay. But it is not a matter
of surprise that the constant use of ardent spirits, taking ef-
fect on a body impoverished by spare diet, and enervated
by the chill of a long and severe winter, should display it-
8
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
self in consequences of the most detrimental nature. Their
inveterate habit of drinking brandy, is the reason generally
assigned for their wretched appearance; if any other seem
necessary, it may be found in the peculiar composition of
this pernicious liquor. Certain suspicions having arisen, an
examination was lately ordered by the government, and
the professor of chemistry, on analysing the composition,
found it to contain a quantity of alcohol, very small in pro-
portion, but that a strong vegetable extract of a deleterious
quality had been introduced, for the purpose of heightening
the intoxicating power of the liquor, at a cheap rate to the
dealer.
In order to put a stop to this iniquitous practice, a
monthly inspection with the spirit gauge has been proposed,
with punishment to those who sell liquors below proof. It
is imperious on the government to adopt some preventive
regulations for the right of distilling was vested exclusively
in the crown by Gust. III, and the privilege is now farmed
out under that authority. In token of this, the inns and
brandy shops are obliged to emblazon the royal escutcheon
of the three crowns in some open part of their premises; in
the same way as the chequers (the arms of the Earls of
Arundel who granted the licences) were formerly adopted
in England, and are to this day painted on the shutters or
doors of the alehouses in every town.
The heat of the weather was now excessive, the mercury
rising even to 90° of Fahrenheit's scale in the shade, and the
days were tediously lengthened: though we rose early in
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
9
the morning, it appeared as if we had reached the mid-day,
and the ruddy beams of the setting sun were seen to gild the
atmosphere until the latest hour of the night.
A singular effect during this season is observable in the
landscape: the distant objects, when the sun is set, or con-
cealed behind a cloud, assume a peculiarly heavy colour-
less aspect, and seem to an eye accustomed to English
scenery, as the phrase is, not quite in keeping: a corre-
spondent darkness may be remarked in many of the best
Swedish engravings of country scenery, as well as in the
beautiful pictures of Falcrantz, who has pourtrayed nature
faithfully as he saw it. The phenomenon may perhaps arise
from a greater condensation of the atmospheric moisture
near the ground, in these northern latitudes, where the
mean temperature of the earth is lowest: the particles in a
semi-opake state impede the transmission of the coloured
rays; the pure colour therefore, which is always broken down
by a white tinge of haze where the particles are illuminated
and reflect the ray of the sun, becomes in its absence
obscured by a dark negative shade of black. A contrary
effect takes place in the glowing climate of Italy, where the
vapours of the atmosphere are more completely held in
solution: the tints and hues of distant objects are both bright
and clear, and even the parts in shade enlivened by the most
brilliant reflections.
July 12th. Crossing the Gotha at Bohus, we returned to
our hotel at Gottenburg. One of the chief subjects of ge-
neral conversation was the Crown Prince's late visit during
his tour of the kingdom, which had evidently rendered him
C
10
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
1
here extremely popular. Besides the good feeling which a
kind reception not unfrequently engenders in the minds
even of those that receive, he had himself personally won
the affection of every individual by that warm-hearted cour-
tesy which forms the most essential feature of his character.
Nor had he gained less favour with the mercantile world
by the abrupt dismissal of Buonaparte's agent, who was ap-
pointed as resident to superintend the execution of the
Berlin and Milan decrees. To have permitted his stay,
indeed, would have caused the ruin of Gottenburg.
These preposterous laws, so rigorously fulfilled on the
continent, had turned the course of trade into new channels,
producing a rich commercial harvest to this port, as the
chief point of communication between England and the
north of Europe. But at the same time, with these partial
advantages, there were already felt effects the most preju-
dicial to the interest of the community, and that were se-
riously deplored by the merchants themselves. The enter-
prises of trade became a series of gambling speculations;
every new violation of regularity and true dealing afforded
a fresh opening for shift or subterfuge, while faith and
honour, the basis of mutual intercourse, were as things un-
known. It would be needless to attempt the enumeration of
various instances of craft and duplicity necessary in carry-
ing on this course of systematical fraud; false oaths, false
papers, were matters of ordinary occurrence, and often even
solemn engagements of trust were broken by men whose in-
tegrity had hitherto been held unimpeachable. A merchant
from this place consigned goods to a house in a German
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
11
port: upon their arrival they were seized by the French
executive, under the laws of the burning system, and con-
demned; upon this, several small packages were made up,
agreeing with the number and description of those that
were sequestered, and publicly committed to the flames.
The French general shared, by agreement, the bulk of the
property thus withdrawn from the operation of the law with
the person to whom it was originally consigned; he on his
part informed his correspondent that the goods were burnt
(as in the eye of the law they were), and left him without
power of redress. Temptations of this nature are too great
for the spirit and feeling of trade to withstand: the high
lustre and name of the British merchant have, in certain ports
of the neighbouring seas, been obscured by yielding to the
allurements which this new face of commerce held out; and
though not concerned in transactions of so flagitious a de-
scription as those we have just mentioned, yet some indi-
viduals have undoubtedly engaged in affairs of that clandes-
tine nature, which would, a few years back, have been held
very incompatible with the strict honour of our countrymen.
The course of exchange was in nominal paper, at this
time, in favour of England, but the quantity of bullion ex-
ported on private account proves that it was not in reality
much more favourable in this quarter than elsewhere: the
fact
may be easily accounted for, since their paper was now
at a depreciation of more than one-third of its value, when
compared with the price of silver, which is made by law the
standard of Sweden.
As to the business of Gottenburg, we may form some esti-
12
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
mate of its extent, from the circumstance of the exchange
upon London being affected in its variation by so small a
sum as 25,000l. if not drawn with great caution. Since this
amount is of course within the reach of many monied men,
an advantage has sometimes been gained by influencing the
market, merely with a view to make a profit upon its fluctua-
tions. A scheme of drawing upon London, through Ham-
burgh, with this intent, has answered extremely well upon
occasion the aims of the speculator.
It was curious to see the paper notes of Denmark offered
for acceptance in the Gottenburg Exchange, where their rix
dollar, in its greatest state of depreciation, sold for about eight
skillings banco, or four-pence halfpenny. The Danish
go-
vernment, in addition to their former embarrassments, had
njured the credit of their issues by raising the nominal value
of their specie. The consequence of this measure may be
supposed: the peasant coming to town with a cargo of pro-
visions for sale demanded the same number of pieces of
small coin which he was before accustomed to receive, en-
tirely disregarding the alleged increase of a sixth in the
value assigned to each. The promissory acceptance of the
government made but little difference; and thus, with the
price of the necessaries of life all other articles rose, and
paper experienced a proportionable depression.
As to Sweden, paper may be said, from its long use, to
be almost the natural currency of the country; and on this
ground I have given the value of the nominal money ac-
cording to the present exchange, as approximating to the
truth, rather than attempted to accommodate its rate to the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
13
temporary increase of the worth of the precious metals,
when the object is simply to ascertain, for purposes of com-
parison, the average standard prices of articles in general.
The payment made for day labour, and the price of food,
being facts illustrative of the economy of a country, have
been carefully collected and noted down; the former repre-
sents fairly enough the sum for which householders, of the
lowest rank, can be maintained, and from its high price we
may draw an inference favourable to the improving condition
of Sweden. The latter shews what may be purchased with
that sum, but is liable in this respect to much variation, as
neither can wheat or rye, or, indeed, the produce of any
one grain, be called here an universal standard *.
Those concerns of traffic that look to any greater object
than the direct exportation of a cargo of deals, iron, copper,
&c. must necessarily depend upon the produce of a second
freight to be procured in the course of the voyage. In this
way their East India company traded with the settlements
of that country, by means of silver annually borrowed at
Lisbon; and the ships now in preparation to visit the new
*The denominations of the currency are two, banco, and rix geld.
Banco.
Rundstych (copper) 12 =
a skilling (copper) 48
arix dollar banco (pa-
per) in value at the pre-
sent exchange 3s. En-
glish.
Rix geld.
Rundstych (copper)12-
a skilling (copper) 48
a dollar rix geld. in
value about 2s. En-
glish.
Prices.
Day labour in the
country
Exchange upon
London, for 11.
sterling
Par of exchange
in undepreci-
Rdb. sk.
0 32
7 0
ated currency
4 32
English guineas 10 24
The golden ducat (9s. 4d.) and silver dollar, are never to be met with; the
value of the latter is 4s. 8d.
14
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
acquisition of Guadaloupe were intended to carry iron to
America, and exchange it for a cargo of provisions; with
this they were to proceed to the island, and return home
laden with colonial produce. It is hardly to be imagined
that Swedish manufactories could be in a state to sup-
ply matter for exportation; nevertheless they are daily in-
creasing in activity, and enterprises in this line become
more frequent in the neighbourhood of Gottenburg. One
of the most successful speculations at this place is that of
the sugar refinery, where, at the suggestion of a French ex-
perimentalist, a new mode has been adopted: beet-root
is chiefly used in their process; by this a large expense is
saved in the article of bullock's blood, which has hitherto
been constantly imported from London by the proprietors
of the establishment.
We had now dedicated as much time to Gottenburg as
was warranted by the interest it afforded. On the 16th
July, therefore, we prepared (and in Sweden much pre-
paration is necessary) to set out on our journey to the
south. An English fleet with troops on board was reported
by telegraph to be in sight; but our forebud was gone,
gone, and
we were obliged either to forfeit our horses or to proceed.
The first place at which we felt inclined to halt was Hel-
sinburg, where we had a fine view of the Sound and the
town of Helsineur, with Cronenburg castle about five En-
glish miles distant. Its vicinity, however, was of little
consequence, for all communication between the opposite
shores was at an end, and even hostile measures partially
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
15
adopted, though no actual declaration of war had taken
place. A Danish boat, while we were loitering on the pier,
was observed to put off and make for a Prussian galliot
then passing downward; but on a shot being fired from the
Swedish guardship, she hauled her wind, and returned with
speed to port. The demands of the duty formerly exacted
were now invariably resisted, to the no small detriment of
the Danish finances; since upwards of twelve hundred
vessels, each paying one per cent. on the value of her cargo,
were averaged on the books of the toll in the course of the
year. The Swedes were ordered to keep a strict watch,
since these claims were not only attempted to be enforced,
but several small vessels had been boarded and captured,
under pretence of visiting them for the purpose of extorting
the ancient tribute.
With regard to defensive measures, it is to the flotilla of
gunboats, in the management of which the Swedish sailors
have acquired so much expertness, that the protection of
the towns bordering on the Sound is entrusted and al-
though the adverse coast approaches so near at this point,
it is remarkable that not a single battery was to be seen on
the shore for the security of Helsinburg. The place is left
in an unarmed state, in conformity with the singular stipu-
lations of a former treaty between Sweden and Denmark,
dictated in the same spirit, and I believe inserted in the
identical instrument, which settled the long disputed three
crowns in the armorial bearings of Sweden, and forbade the
repairs of one of the towers of Cronenburg castle. It would
16
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
oherwise seem a strange instance of neglect, when the
fields immediately above the town remind the spectator
of a contest that took place at one of the most critical
periods in the history of this nation. The Danes, crossing
the sea, landed here with a formidable army that menaced
the country once more with a foreign yoke. The king,
Charles XII. was then at Bender; and the provisional
administration being feebly supported, it was with diffi-
culty that General Steinboch was able to meet the invaders
with a force hastily collected from the raw provincial mi-
litia: but the time called for promptitude and decision;
he hazarded an engagement, and Swedish valour won the
day.
The southern provinces in general bear strong marks of
foreign colonization: the people are of a larger and hand-
somer race, their dress different, their cattle (particularly
their breed of horses) less diminutive than those of the
higher district. Much may be owing to their long occu-
pation by the Danes; but it should be remembered, that
these districts also afforded an asylum to the numerous
Lutherans who sought shelter, during the reign of their
protector Gustavus Adolphus, from the persecutions in
Germany. Their descendants form altogether so large a
class, that to this time there is no considerable town in the
south without a church, where service is performed in the
German language. Some Scotch farmers too, emigrants of
the present day, had settled in these parts, and introduced
their system of agriculture into the country with great ad-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
17
vantage. That formerly in use consisted, they said, of a
continued succession of dry crops, such as oats, barley, rye,
peas, and was succeeded by one summer's fallow; a bad
system, but not therefore to be assumed as the worst spe-
cimen of the old style of Swedish farming. The natives,
however, deserve some credit for the excellent drainage of
their low lands, where the water was drawn from the ditches
by pumps worked with windmill sails, and whose general
appearance was so much better than what we had be-
fore met with, that we looked upon it as the face of a new
country and unless the feeling of travellers, which is some-
times swayed by accidental prepossessions, induced us to
think better of it than it deserved, there are few parts which
afford so great a temptation to colonists both for pleasure
and profit as the improving state of these tracts seemed
to promise. We were in the enjoyment, it is true, of all
the benefits of Swedish travelling. It was a beautiful even-
ing, with a bright sun and cloudless sky; the road led
through a country not of much interest indeed, but it was
carried along a ridge of ground that rose with a gentle slope
from the beach: the surface of the sea was studded with
vessels under sail, and in the distance rose the spires of
Copenhagen.
July 21. The university of Lund, as is usually the
case of these seminaries on the continent, resembles nearer
in its constitution that of a Scotch than of an English uni-
versity, and consists only of one establishment. It was
vacation time, but the few chance residents received us with
D
18
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
much politeness; in particular, M. Retzius, the professor
of botany, who shewed us the botanical garden, a distin-
guished ornament of the place. The public library contains
about 30,000 volumes, and some indifferent pictures of sun-
dry chancellors of the university. The observatory pos-
sessed a five-foot refracting telescope of Dollond, a quadrant
of Harris, a theodolite made at Stockholm, an old celestial
globe, with some charts of constellations and a little seleno-
graphy: but the most interesting object of our curiosity was
the cathedral, a noble structure, the period of whose erec-
tion is referred to as early a date as the year 1020. It
is built in a character perfectly corresponding with the
Norman architecture of England; and exhibited, as is fre-
quent in that style, the occasional introduction of the pointed
arch, resting on large massive columns varied in shape and
form. Underneath the nave of the eastern end is a spacious
crypt, adorned with some farther curious specimens of that
day. Amongst others, the giant Fin and his wife are repre-
sented, in rude sculpture, supporting the arcade in the
manner of caryatides.
This giant, it appears (not less mischievously inclined
than the traditional Griffin of York Minster,) removed by
night every stone of the rising cathedral which the labour
of the founder had placed during the day; nor would he
engage to desist from his wanton employment on any con-
sideration, till at last, thinking to have assigned a condition
impossible to be fulfilled, he promised to leave the spot,
when the founder's sagacity should enable him to discover
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
19
the name he bore. The unhappy man, growing careless alike
of every thing through despair (or perhaps in conformity
with the practice of classical heroes, when their wrath was
kindled) indulged his grief in a solitary walk by the sea
shore; here it chanced his meditations were interrupted by
the voice of the giant's spouse calling for her dear Fin. He
caught the sound with joy ; returned forthwith to Lund ; re-
peated the name with a loud voice three times in the dead
of the night, and dispelled at once the charm. We find (ac-
cording to the relation of graver histories), that Lund was
erected into a bishopric in the time of Eric the Good, for
the superintendance of all the churches of the North, which
were till then under the jurisdiction of the bishops of Bre-
men and Lubec. The present revenues are about 1500
rix dollars banco (or 2251.) per annum, a comfortable epis-
copal income in this land of cheapness.
We travelled hence, through Malmo, a place of consider-
able trade and formerly one of the Hanseatic towns, to Ystadt,
our next place of destination. The road was more enlivened
by the idea that we were soon to embark for Germany than
by any interest in what surrounded us, and we felt no
small pleasure in our arrival at the port. The situation of
this small town, so convenient for purposes of communication
with Germany, had rendered it now a scene of much bustle:
the inns were filled with mercantile adventurers, and a me-
lancholy band of refugees, who were flying from the prose-
cution and vengeance of the French at Hamburg; nor was it
without difficulty that we obtained accommodation. Here,
20
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
however, we were constrained to wait some days, perpetually
disappointed in our hopes of departure by the dilatory con-
duct of the Swedish packet-master; and it was only on the
27th of July, by the kindness of Lieutenant Smith, the
commander of a cutter which was there in attendance on
the English couriers, we were enabled to quit the port.
After two days sail with an adverse wind, we reached the
Defiance, the flag ship of Rear Admiral Hope, at that time
lying off Veenamunde, and were next forwarded about eight
miles up the river to the town of Rostock, where, but for
the greater degree of splendor which was displayed, we
might have fancied ourselves still in Sweden. The streets,
and in particular the market-place, afforded here, as there,
some handsome specimens of the old fashioned German style
of building; innumerable high spires and cumbrous lofty ga-
ble ends, surmounted with heavy decorations borrowed from
different systems of architecture. However they may suffer
in comparison with the more chaste fashions of modern orna-
ment, their various combinations produced in some points an
effect of considerable grandeur, and in the eye of a travel-
ler had the appearance of forms not ill sorted with the
unbending, unvarying solidity of the character of this
people.
The brick walls of the town, part of which are now re-
maining, were built as early as the 12th century; the whole
is now surrounded by earthen works of singular construc-
tion, high ramparts with a sloping escarp, and a ditch of
nearly twice the depth allowed by the later rules of mili-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
21
tary proportion, being of a scale almost as gigantic as
that of the fortifications at Vienna: height, depth and
length seem indeed at one time the only properties by
which engineers sought to give strength to their fortresses;
and so far have they succeeded that Rostock may be re-
garded, with a view to the uncertainties of the times,
as a place capable of being defended with some advan-
tage.
Frederic Francis, Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin, is the
sovereign of this country: he is of a family that may be
classed among the most ancient in Europe, being descended
from the chiefs of those northern hordes, who, under the
names of Vandals and Heruli, inundated the south of Europe
in the fourth and fifth centuries. If it is necessary to enquire
any farther, we shall be told that the hero from whom their
lineal descent is traced was Anthyrius I., who died 320 A.C.
To these people a Sclavonic colony was afterwards asso-
ciated; but the same house, as kings of the Heruli, kings of
the Vandals, as dukes or princes of Pomerania, of the Ve-
nedes, of Mecklenburg, &c. have been in possession of the
throne until the present day. We must not forget, in this
long order of sovereigns, that an Albert of Mecklenburg was
once called to the crown of Sweden, to protect the liberty
of that nation against ambitious Margaret, the Semiramis
of the north.
The chief university of this principality is at Gustrow,
at which place, and at Wismar, are established the tribunals
or seats of justice. It contains a population of near 300,000
souls, and yields an annual revenue of 1,000,000 dol-
22
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
lars*. Notwithstanding which, Mecklenburg has not in later
times occupied that rank in the Germanic body that, from
its natural extent and power, it might fairly seem to chal-
lenge, chiefly in consequence, says Frederic II., of the per-
petual dissensions kept up between the sovereign and the
diet of the states by which the power of the executive is per-
petually thwarted and counteracted. Representative assem-
blies (landstände) were at one time almost universal through-
out Germany: it was only in a few provinces that the sove-
reign was, from the first, despotic; but where the power of
convening them depended only on his will, they fell into
gradual disuse and oblivion. Their establishment arose, in
each instance, from the influence which the clergy, the
lesser nobility, or the citizens, had created previous to the
final erection of the principality; these classes therefore
form the three estates. The several systems however were
framed with an irregularity consequent upon the nature of
their origin in Mecklenburg, the nobles and citizens com-
posed the diet; in Wirtemberg, the clergy and citizens; and
in the Tyrol a fourth body was added from the deputies of
the peasants. Their power also was various; in one country
they levied the taxes, in another they were only called upon
to guarantee the promissory issues of the sovereign, but in
no instance were they regulated on a principle of equipoise
and balance of political power, or calculated to afford all
the benefits they professed to secure. Indeed the right
* The exchange upon London was 4 dollars for 17. With Sweden 2
paper dollars rix geld for a German d'. The currency was chiefly in silver specie,
pieces of of a dollar, the coinage of Mecklenburg or the neighbouring states.
A dollar 24 groschen=3s. English.
उ
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
23
1
possessed by the subject of appealing from the tribunals
of his sovereign to the high court of the empire (how-
ever necessary under circumstances) is, in itself, suffi-
cient to discountenance any idea of establishing a mixed
monarchy. It was of this very privilege, during the con-
ference at Teschen, that the Duke of Mecklenburg solicited
the abolition: his claim was heard, and its merits being
duly weighed, acceded to, but still made subject to certain
exemptions and restrictions, which render the measure a
very inefficient remedy for the evil of which he complained.
There is another peculiarity to be attended to in the
state of Mecklenburg, which is, that the peasants are still
attached to the glebe, and sold as slaves together with the
estates; nor is this the only example of the late existence
of feudal bonds in these parts of the world: certain lands of
the chapter of St. Cloud, in Franche Comté, were fiefs of a
like nature, as also some particular estates in Bohemia and
Hungary. The vassalage of Mecklenburg however does not
weigh down the peasants like the oppressive hand of the
seigneur in Russia or Poland; they are, to appearance, as
happy as their neighbours, and exhibit in their easy condition
a curious instance of the indirect influence which the re-
finement of manners, and general civilisation, may exert
upon institutions still displaying in the letter their primeval
severity and barbarism.
The present descendant of Anthyrius is a well disposed
person: he resides chiefly at Dobberan, a very fashionable
watering place, where he keeps up the festivities of the gay
24
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY
world with great spirit; but times were critical, and a cutter
was stationed off the coast, to enable him on the first ap-
pearance of the French to fly to Russia, where his con-
nections with the imperial family assured him an asylum.
But it is not meant to throw any slur upon his charac-
ter: he was the first prince of Germany who dared to
withdraw from the confederation of the Rhine, and range
himself under the banners of the allies. His people had
shewn the greatest enthusiasm, attacking the French troops
upon the first arrival of a division of the Russian army, even
before the determination of the duke was known. Of his
sons, Prince Gustavus had already distinguished himself;
and the services of Prince Charles had also gained him an
high character in the field. Considerable activity too had
been manifested by the government in this cause: the
landwehr, or regular militia, had been assembled to the
amount of 12,000; while a detachment of 3,000 men, under
aid of a subsidiary treaty with Great Britain, were on the
point of marching to join the army of the North. Besides
which, the landsturm, or levy en masse of the inhabitants of
each district, were called out and exercised every Sunday
evening: they were a motley, not to say grotesque group,
habited in their working dresses, and armed with swords,
muskets, pikes, or, as it appeared, such weapons as chance
offered; forming at all times a stationary corps in the parts
to which they belong, and capable of materially aiding the
operations of war, by acting as partisans.
Having time enough before us, we made a visit to Dob-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
25
beran, which was only two German miles distant from
Rostock. The church, the relic of an ancient monastery,
stands in a well wooded valley at the entrance of the village;
a little removed from which are the palace of the duke, the
public rooms, and the theatre; in the front of these are
the fashionable promenades, encircling a small lawn de-
corated with Chinese pavilions, the whole bearing an
air of singular gaiety and liveliness. We sat down in
the hall on Sunday (which was a day of more than usual
resort), upwards of 300 to dinner, the reigning duke and
hereditary prince being at the head of the table d'hote, for
little etiquette was observed. Several Russian, German, and
Swedish officers, from the corps of Walmoden and Vegesack,
stationed in advance of this place, mixed with the company,
and the room glittered with stars. There were present also a
number of merchants who had lately made their escape from
Hamburg: their conversation turned upon the outrageous
conduct of the French on their return to that unfortunate
city; dwelling particularly on their having compelled the
ladies that had worked the colours of the Hanseatic legion,
as well as several venerable old men of considerable rank in
the city (equally obnoxious from their patriotism), to make
their appearance with spades in their hands, and muster
with the common labourers, to labour on the fortifications.
This is not the only instance of the barbarous conduct
of the French towards the female sex that chance has
brought to my knowledge during the course of my journey;
but their "age of chivalry has long been passed," indeed;
E
26
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
revolutionary freedom of manner and speech has banished
from society the breeding of the courtier, and Paris is no
more mistress of ceremonies to the world.
As to Hamburg, there were other parties who, though
not agents in this disgraceful scene, must be considered as
answerable for events of which they were, in a great mea-
sure, the cause. The Russians had taken possession of the
place without duly considering the consequence that would
in all probability ensue: it was a step directly contrary to
the advice of the Crown Prince of Sweden, who thought
their force at that time by no means adequate to so extended
a line of operations; neither could the town have been
defended without the occupation of Altona; and the per-
verse Dane was an ally of Buonaparte. The prince had
put the Swedish officer under arrest who joined this ex-
pedition without his orders; and however this act might
appear to all an ordinary step for the preservation of dis-
cipline, yet it was now made the subject of much conver-
sation, and afforded food for speculation on his future con-
duct. At Demmin, our next station, we hoped to have
caught a sight of this extraordinary royal personage, for
his head quarters were appointed at that town; but certain
advices had induced the allies to change the plan of the
campaign, and his presence was rendered necessary in an-
other district.
Aug. 3.-Immediately on quitting the walls of Demmin
we found we had passed the frontier, and entered the ter-
ritory of Brandenburg: the line of our road (which the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
27
slow rate of German* posting afforded ample opportunity
of surveying) was occasionally interrupted by forests of vast
extent, dark and tall; the rest consisted of large, unenclosed
tracts of sandy uplands, cultivated with different grain,
more remarkable for extent than fertility, and for whimsical
variety than for any signs of the discriminating skill of the
agriculturist. From the space thus laid out, the aggregate
produce must be extremely large: it was from the exports
indeed of this soil that Frederic II., who was a merchant-
king as well as a general and philosopher, drew his im-
mense wealth. Apprenez-moi," said he, to one who pre-
sented an alchymical plan for producing gold, apprenez-
"moi des moyens de multiplier les bras des laboureurs,
"et de recueillir plus de bled de mes sables, plus de foin
"de mes plantes marécageuses,-voilà l'or que je cherche."
66
66
The want of inclosure is a sufficient testimony of a
deficiency in point of skill; but the tenure of land in this
country, and indeed on the continent in general, is not of a
nature considered to operate most beneficially towards the
interest of husbandry. It is true that, in the Lutheran
countries, it is usually freed from the burthen of tithe; but
every estate is divided in two parts, one of which is set
out in proportionate shares to be tilled by the peasants
* Price of posting, eight groschen (1s.) each horse per German mile, equal
to about four and a half English miles, or 15 to a degree.
+ Price of day labour in ordinary times, about six groschen, near Demmin,
or 9d.
28
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
for their own subsistence; the other is cultivated for their
landlords, in order to fill the capacious granaries invariably
attached to the mansion of seignoralty: thus is removed
from both parties either the stimulus to improvement, or
the power of effecting it.
The condition of these people is by no means grievously
burdensome: their Höfdienst or soccage service requires the
labour of perhaps three or four days in the week during
the busy month of harvest; at other times it is but light,
and their duties are discharged by turns. Their cot-
tages were large and roomy; the inhabitants, though few
were now to be seen, in appearance well fed and com-
fortable, partaking something of the ease discernible in this
class in countries where they are themselves proprietors,
and something of the plenty of those who are more imme-
diately dependent on their lords. It is a matter of curious
remark, that on affairs in which the king is concerned,
the mode of summoning the peasantry is by a staff sent
round the village by the schültze or bailiff from house to
house; each cottager, as he receives it, conveying it to his
neighbour, much in the same way as the members of the
Scottish clans were formerly gathered together by the token
of the burning cross.
A few miles carried us over another frontier into the
dominion of Mecklenburg Strelitz; and in a few hours we
arrived at its metropolis, the city of Neu Strelitz. This
duchy was separated from the parent state of Mecklenburg
in the person of Adolphus Frederick II. at the end of the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
29
seventeenth century, upon the same preposterous principle
which has so frequently multiplied in each family the petty
sovereignties of Germany: 300,000 dollars are the reputed
amount of the revenues, and the population is at least
70,000. From these means a due contingent of military
force, with British assistance, had been furnished to the
allied
powers. The people well know the curses attendant
upon French invasion from their neighbour's example, if
not from their own; one of their chief towns indeed was
actually plundered during the campaign of 1806, being
mistaken, on account of its contiguity, for a part of the
Prussian dominions.
Even at this early stage of the war, while success seemed
so doubtful, the zeal with which the Dukes of Mecklenburg
had come forward was worthy of the highest praise, and in
serving their own interest they had merited the gratitude
of Europe; but the ardent spirit displayed by Prussia was
of another description, and an example unparalleled in the
history of modern times. We passed again into the Branden-
burg territory near Hohenzieritz, and a marked difference
became immediately visible in the face of the country. On
every side it bore the silence and solitude of a deserted land:
swept off for the exigencies of war, not a man capable of
bearing arms was to be seen, and the village cross or the
well, usual haunts of the gaping rustic, was every where
alike forsaken. The corn stood ripe in the fields without
hands sufficient to gather the harvest. Here and there were
scattered a few groups of old people, women and chil-
dren, who were exerting their feeble efforts in the fields by
30
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
the wayside; their cottages meanwhile tenantless but for
the tutelary stork*, that, nestling on the chimney top,
seemed to bewail the loneliness around. Filled with these
dreary images, we drew near the border of a forest, where
our attention was arrested by a monument erected to the
memory of the late Queen. It was here, while on her jour-
ney, she was seized with that inflammatory complaint,
whose violence baffled all attempts at relief, and in a
few hours terminated her existence in a neighbouring cot-
tage. During the present eventful epoch we needed not
to call in aid the solemn character of this sequestered spot to
heighten those impressions, chivalrous as well as melancholy,
which a reflection upon the fate and virtues, the sad reverses
and premature death of this beautiful and amiable princess,
will never fail to excite in every honourable and feeling
mind. We travelled through the gloomy forest in silence,
and with sensations hardly to be exceeded by the gallantry
and loyalty of a Prussian bosom.
The lone and fire-stained walls of Liebenburg exhibited
again traces of the disastrous events of 1806: a few new-
built houses seemed scarcely to raise their fronts, among the
wide spread ruins of the village; and many a long year
must elapse before this plain will recover its wonted face of
cheerfulness. In the morning we arrived on the banks of
the Havel at Oranienburg, once the residence of the Princes
* In these parts, as well as so many other countries, the villagers have a
superstitious persuasion, that the stork is a bird of good omen: and under this
idea, if he settles on their houses, they preserve him with religious care.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
31
of Nassau-Usingen; but, feeling little inclination to halt
while Berlin was within reach, we hastened on, and in a short
time entered the long avenues that conduct to the city gates.
The old German mode of building, noticed in a former
page, had for some time gradually disappeared from our
road, giving way to an elegant ornamental style, formed with
peculiar taste on the Italian models. In the first streets of
Berlin we were particularly struck with some of the chastest
and most elegant specimens of this character: each house
was a model. Still as we proceeded, at every step we gazed
with fresh delight, when the first opening of the Linden
Strasse burst upon the view, eclipsing whatever we had
hitherto seen, and presenting one of the finest architectural
vistas in the world. On the right we looked down a splendid
street, shaded with a double avenue of lime trees, to the
majestic portals of Brandebourg; on the left to the royal
palace, along a line of lofty façades ornamented with por-
ticos, statues, and every variety of sculptural decoration.
No imagination can conceive a scene, in the strict sense of
the word, more beautiful than what is here presented.
The old town lies in the centre of the place, encircled by the
branches of the Spree, that in earlier times formed the fosse of
its fortifications. This part however possesses no great inter-
est, except as giving specimens of the style previous to the
æra of Frederic* II. in the palace and the arsenal; but they
* As several English authors have enumerated the Kings of Prussia in a dif-
ferent way, this may require explanation, the succession runs thus :-Frederic I,
Frederic William I, Frederic II, Frederic William II, Frederic William III.
32
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
are far outshone by the elegant edifices erected in his or in
the succeeding reigns, particularly the Italian Opera-house,
the theatre and churches in the Place de Gens d'armes,
the Brandenbourg gate, and the library built after a design
by Frederic himself. This monarch indeed seems to have
infused a new feeling of taste into the nation, and to have
given not only a different face to the condition of the state,
but to have produced a perfect revolution in the minds of
his people, and well indeed would it have been if his spirit
of theoretical improvement had been confined within these
limits. An elegant and refined taste may be held by some
superficialists to be of an exotic growth in a country situated
in so northerly a latitude. However this be, it has attained
here a degree of practical perfection, which in some respects
is perhaps unrivalled.
We visited the several manufactories soon after our arri-
val, and saw more objects worthy of our admiration than the
former accounts of travellers had given us occasion to expect.
Their porcelain is infinitely superior in beauty to any which
I have seen. The colours are dark and harmonious, the
forms elegant and classical: in other branches, their articles
of bronze, their carpets, their iron ware, as well as the
dressing up of the shops themselves, displayed a discrimina-
tion and judgment in selection equally excellent, and such
as may be called truly characteristic of Berlin.
The prevailing mode in furniture is no less correct in
taste the floors inlaid and ceilings painted, no addition
seems wanting to complete the tout ensemble of ornamental

1.1.James det
હતો
讹
​PLACE DE GENS D'ARMES, BERLIN.
London, Published by I,Murray, Albemarle Street, 1916.
Etched by the Hon H Legge.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
33
effect, yet no part is crowded to excess. Neither are they,
in certain kinds of manufacture, deficient in technical skill.
At the iron foundery they have acquired an art of casting
small ware articles which, I believe, is peculiar to themselves;
the medallions after the antique cameos and intaglios, the
medals of Lord Wellington run upon an impression of the
original cast at London in silver, as also the iron cross for
the campaign of 1813, on which they were now employed,
may be cited as fair examples; their sharpness and precision
of form are equal to what might be effected in the most
ductile metals: the work when finished is rubbed over with
burnt porcelain earth, receiving a rich hue of jet, and for
ornamental trinkets is generally set in silver or gold. It may
be supposed that the practice of the founders, with regard
to their superiority in this branch, is kept secret ; but I have
been told that the iron is fused with a small quantity of anti-
mony, and the furnaces used for this purpose are small and
low.
The manufactories of silk and cotton, which are chiefly in
repute for the article of stockings, were in no great state of
activity, owing to the war: one of the largest of these used to
make on an average about 12,000 pair every year. The
broad cloth, which before employed 1000, had now scarce 600
hands, though favoured by present circumstances more than
almost any other establishment: they are supplied with
fleeces of the finest quality from the Spanish breed of sheep
in Silesia; and their best cloths, their kerseymeres, &c. are
equal in appearance to those of England. In the course of
F
34
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
wear however, which is the surest test, their inferiority is soon
detected, and a radical imperfection becomes apparent: this
quality, as they seemed to think themselves, was not wholly
unconnected with the disadvantage that attends the ap-
plication of an horse power to their machinery; for the
irregularity which is inseparable from the nature of its action
as affecting the rate of work, cannot fail to produce a
correspondent inequality in the preparation of the materials
themselves. Their dyes, it may be added, are chiefly logwood,
and can by no means enter into competition with the
brilliancy and durability of the colours seen in the English
and French cloths.
It is less than two centuries since certain parts of Ger-
many supplied the world with those articles which at present
form some of the most considerable branches of British ex-
portation, and they are now able to undersell us, at least, if
not to rival us, in specimens of metal manufacture. But
there is a fashionable rage for articles of English workman-
ship in preference to all others; and since they certainly
found no claim to this excellence in the beauty of their form
or patterns, the great demand for them is to be attributed
alone to their known character for solidity and strength.
Of this superiority the long practised skill of our manufac-
turers is, no doubt, one cause; but other circumstances also
contribute, and in scarcely a less degree; the powerful
steady heat produced by a coal furnace, as preferable to
that obtained from charcoal, where fusion is concerned ; and
the almost universal adoption of the steam engine, a con-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
35
stant and evenly regulated power for the nice operations of
machinery.
But as to this country, the state of Prussia, even in better
times, shews that she is not yet in condition to supply her-
self with manufactures in general, much less to aim at
obtaining the advantages to be derived from exportation.
The workmen (who indeed are ordinarily said to be ill
paid) cannot average a gain of more than two dollars per
week, and a day labourer will earn at seven gr. per day
nearly the same sum, or at least the difference is such as
not to allow any great encouragement to an artisan: when
the acquirements of skill are so poorly recompensed, under-
takings of this nature cannot be expected to flourish to any
extent.
Their mode of living is not attended with very heavy
expense: the low charge for provisions, (wheaten bread being
only at one-third of its price in England,) and the cheap
and excellent pottage afforded by the most ordinary cook-
ing shops, make their fare sumptuous, in comparison with
that of an English workman. Their lodging too, for
no one occupies more than one flat or floor, costs but
little; and thus it is that one sees mechanics and ar-
*The number of the inhabitants in Berlin was about 154,000, in 1811;
7625 Calvinists, 3236 Catholics, 3281 Jews: the body of the people are Lu
therans.
Returns of births, deaths, and marriages.
Marriages.
Births.
Deaths.
A. D. 1810
1947
5738
5268
A. D. 1811
1812
5817
5642
Among whom of the small-pox by
infection.
94
4
36
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
tificers, of every description, inhabiting some of the fairest
houses of the city.
We inspected the preparations in the theatre of anatomy,
and the museum of natural history; as also a valuablé col-
lection of mineralogy, which has been lately enriched by
the treasures of Humboldt. We were shewn, among others,
a rock specimen (porphyry, containing small particles
of hornblende,) taken from the highest point which he
was able to reach on Chimboraco. This celebrated tra-
veller had, with his characteristic spirit, refused this pre-
cious cabinet to the repeated solicitations of Buonaparte,
who wished him to give it to the museum at Paris, though
the restoration of his estates, which he had lost in the
Prussian war, was proffered as a compensation for such a
sacrifice of his beneficent intentions to his native country.
The royal college, or university, a large range of build-
ings, where most of the cabinets of science were placed,
was at this day uninhabited: the students, to the number
of 800, had volunteered their services at the first breaking
out of the war; and some of the professors too had shewed a
similar ardour, quitting their sedentary occupation for the
fatigues of the field. Axtel, Amdt, Bernstein, Schleier-
macher, are names that deserve ever to be recorded in
the annals of patriotism-they were Prussians.
At the end of the street where this building stands.
is the Brandenburger Thör, a colossal structure, built
after the model of the propylæa at Athens: its majestic
and imposing front acquired additional dignity, at this un-
#

L.I.James del
BRANDENBURG GATE, BERLIN.
London, Published by Murray Albemarle Street, 1816
1. Clark sculp?
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
37
certain period, from the awful recollection which it seemed
universally to excite in the minds of the beholders. It was
from hence Napoleon's barbarous hand tore the car of Vic-
tory, that once graced the summit; and it was upon this
spot that the tyrant displayed to an humiliated people all
the pomp and pageantry that decked the proud march of
the conquering legions of Jena.
The restoration of so sacred a monument to Berlin, in
1814, was accompanied with the most interesting cere-
monies: it had been removed from the Place de Carousel at
Paris, and being conveyed hither, was replaced in its former
situation, but kept constantly concealed from sight by a
covering of linen. On an appointed day, the king, accom-
panied by his chief officers and guards, entered in solemn
procession, on his return from the war; as he passed under
the gate, the veil of the chariot of Victory was lowered, and
this trophy of Prussian valour again met the eye of the
of the peo-
ple. At this moment the peals of ordnance echoed through
the air, the martial music struck up, and the loud acclama-
tions of the crowd were raised with a din that overwhelmed
every other demonstration of public joy.
Leaving this quarter, and skirting the park on the right,
we arrived at the road to Potsdam, to which we were carried
through an avenue of poplars, more than four German miles
long, for in this fashion all the roads are ornamented to a cer-
tain distance. Potsdam is a little town of palaces, seated
in a romantic situation on the banks of a small lake formed
by the river Havel: every building or ornament of this fa-
38
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
voured region is the creation of Frederic II. Here any one
that wished to settle had only to lay his foundation, and
the king generally took upon himself the direction and charge
of raising the superstructure. One man, in the Place de
Guillaume, had his whimsical fancy gratified by the erec-
tion of a dwelling in the fashion of a convent; another, who
was a Hollander, solicited a similar extension of the royal
bounty: it was immediately promised. Ay,' said mynheer,
but I want a Dutch house :' You shall have a dozen,' re-
plied his majesty. It was done, and the astonished traveller
lights upon a street of Amsterdam, in the Rue Hollan-
daise.
6
But the king, rather lavish than judicious in his plan,
when he had erected these dwellings, was unable to provide
the means of supporting such expensive establishments.
The town, which enjoys no other trade than the demand
and consumption which the residence of the court afforded,
is now reduced to a miserable and impoverished state, and
all its splendid mansions are verging fast to decay.
The charming retreat of Sans Souci consists of three se-
parate pavilions, the first containing rooms of state, the
second private apartments, and the third a picture gallery.
We were shewn the apartments occupied by Voltaire
during his visit to Prussia, and we listened with pleasure to
a recapitulation within these walls of the well-known stories
of the life of Frederic the Great, of his amusements, his re-
views, his occupation at his dying hour, &c. The interest
of the scene was much heightened by the enthusiastic man-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
39
ner of the narrator, who had passed his earlier years in the
service of that singular personage.
The gallery of paintings, although it had suffered from
the rapacity of the French, yet contained some fine pic-
tures, chiefly the works of Rubens, who was said to have
formed this collection for the Elector of Brandenbourg, in
part from those belonging to Charles I. of England. The
sketch of Moses by Rembrandt, the Roman Filial Piety by
Guercino, and the four Evangelists by Vandyke, as well as
Venus attired by the Graces, and the Judgment of Paris, by
the first-mentioned painter, are well worthy of observation.
Of modern specimens it was not uninteresting to see the per-
formances of the elèves of Frederic II. who endeavoured to
promote the cultivation of this talent among his people, at
a time, perhaps, premature: the examples were from the
pencil of artists who had been sent to study at Rome, and,
in point of brilliancy and harmony of colouring, deserved
high encomium. As for any thing beyond these excellen-
cies, we saw only rigid exactness, strict proportion of beauty,
and the academical portraiture of the cold exterior, works
of the hand alone, unenlivened, unimpassioned. Whether
owing to any injudicious selection of persons that were ill
suited to this object or not, I cannot say, but after all the
Prussians are in this respect scarcely more unfortunate than
many other nations their neighbours.
Besides three other royal seats in the environs, mention
may be made of the Palais Royal and Palais Neuf, which
rival each other in external magnitude and internal splen-
40
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
dour: all is marble, silver, gold; and the dimensions of
the apartments are such, that the glare of these ornaments
is quite lost in their vast extent, nothing remaining upon
the mind but one general impression of magnificence. In
front of the area before the Palais Neuf rises an open
semicircular colonnade of the Corinthian order, with wings
surmounted with lofty cupolas, and affording an example
of unparalleled boldness of outline and elegance of de-
sign. This truly royal structure was built by the ostenta-
tion of Frederic II. after the close of the seven years war,
and is a worthy memorial of such a triumph; but in its
present neglected state, it stood as a melancholy, reproach-
ful emblem of former greatness, and of the hopes of a nation
that, till now, had seemed obscured for ever. The wild
borderers of the Oural and the Don, riding at full speed
through the desolate court, hurraing, firing pistols, hurtling
their feathered arrows, or with their long spears tilting
against the wind, formed a singular association with build-
ings that seemed to rival the proudest monuments of the
Roman empire.
We visited a detachment of the Cossacks en bivouac (for
they never receive billets of quarter) about a mile distant,
and we understood there were some thousands dispersed in
different parts of the neighbourhood: they all were full of
life and spirits, some dressed in French jackets, others set
off with Turkish belts and pistols, and scampering through
the streets or over the fields, in all the rudeness of their
mirth without order or restraint; the citizens greeting them
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
41
as they galloped past with an 'hurrah, Cossack!' while they
grinned good humour in return. They appeared quite un-
disciplined, marauding and plundering wherever temptation
offered, and from these habits were regarded by the com-
mon people as men that had, for their rank of life, con-
siderable command of money. I once, indeed, happened to
see a common Cossack enter a shop at Berlin, who ordered a
silver chain to be made for him at the expense of upwards
of 70 dollars; it was intended as a fancy ornament for his
grotesque dress: neither was there any thing in the whim
or the expense that was held at all extraordinary in such a
character.
6
August 9.-At our return to Berlin, we found our inn
surrounded by a prodigious crowd, that welcomed, with
acclamations, the arrival of General Moreau on his way to
the headquarters of the allies at Prague: he seemed cheer-
ful, and spoke in conversation with the utmost confidence
on the aspect of affairs, tout est assommé.' Various were
the reports in circulation on the engagements of this ci-
devant revolutionary general, being the second of that stamp
who had ranged himself under the banners of the allies;
but it is probable that arrangements had for some time
been entered into with him on the part of the Emperor of
Russia, as Colonel Rapatel, his former aid de camp and
companion at Morrisville, was resident for several months
during the preceding year at Petersburg. Of the sound and
just intentions which he entertained no better testimony
can be given than his own words; "je recevrai des remer-
G
42
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
cimens de la France et du monde entier. Pour renverser
Buonaparte, peu importe la banniere pourvu qu'on reussisse:
si Robespierre avoit été tué par les royalistes, les repub-
licains les en auroient remerciés vingt-quatre heures après.”
We were much entertained with the behaviour of a
Cossack who had mixed accidentally with the admiring
crowd: at hearing the name of a French general he grew
extremely violent, and when told that the Frenchman would
command Russian troops, became quite furious, venting his
rage by the most wild and savage gestures and distortions.
The parallel instance of Bernadotte would serve for nothing:
the Prince of Sweden was a Swede; nor was it possible to
quiet him, till a by-stander humorously asserted, that the
father of Moreau was, he believed, a Muscovite.
Each day, as it came, brought some new topic of con-
gratulation. Austria had joined the coalition, and people in
general felt the strongest hope of ultimate success: yet such
was the terror of Napoleon's name, that neither the triple
alliance so happily formed, nor the assurance of the numer-
ous forces that were assembled, could dissipate a sentiment
of something more than anxiety for the future. Nor was
this a feeling confined to the vulgar and uninformed, but
extended to the highest classes of the community even
general officers of tried and well-known courage as his ad-
versaries in the field, were often heard to declare they had
felt themselves appalled when accidentally placed in the
society of such a man; a man to whose genius all appeared
to bow, and to whose destinies continued success seemed
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
43
to be indissolubly attached. In England he had created
no inconsiderable sensation, but in Germany the universal
feeling was of another description; he was dreaded as a
demon rather than feared as a human being. One indeed
there was, and one alone, of all those opposed to the French,
who had uniformly foiled his arms in the course of a long
protracted war, and for ever broken the magic spell of
French invincibility. Our victories in Spain were here
celebrated as if they had been their own; they became the
chief theme of every gazette, and were made the ground of
hope as well as of exultation. At the windows of every
shop prints and medals of Wellington were proudly dis-
played, while his name was more frequent on the tongue of
the people in Berlin than even in London itself; and these
sentiments of admiration begot a kindred flame throughout
the country, adding fresh nerve to every arm, and inspiring
new vigour to every mind, till not a thought found place
in a Prussian breast, nor aught but the hope of emulating
the deeds of British heroism.
How different are the pictures of our imagination from
the scenes that actually meet our eyes! Would it be possible
to enliven the realms of fancy with a sight more cheering
than that of a nation rising, as with one soul, to avenge their
lost honour? Could we draw more lively portraits of Patriotism
and Courage than appeared in the energies of these people?
Yet what was, in reality, the aspect of Prussia? All trade,
domestic as well as foreign, was completely at a stand
commercial confidence extinguished, under an apprehension
44
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
of the instability of affairs; heavy forced loans were levied
on every individual; the plate of the palace melted
down for the public exigencies; the government paper at
a discount of three fourths of its value; the possession of
land a burthen, from the heavy expenses which it entailed ;
the harvest rotting on the ground; immense foreign armies
in the heart of the country; their chief fortresses still in
possession of an enemy;-add to all this the anxieties of a
people, whose fear of the future was built on a sad experi-
ence of the past, and some idea may be formed of the
calamities that a nation must endure, while smarting under
the scourge of such a war.
At length the days past away, that had allowed breathing
time enough for any one to feel the full extent and pressure
of his grievances: the armistice was at an end, and the fatal
16th arrived. The morning was ushered in by beating the
generale, to keep the troops on the alert; and a cannonade
in the night had spread an alarm of attack, from the side of
Magdeburg. We saw large bodies of troops in motion upon
every side and on our road to Spandau, whither we had
proposed an excursion for the day, we were informed that
headquarters were suddenly shifted from Potsdam to Char-
lottenburg. A strong column of Swedes, fully equipped
for the field, afforded ample compensation for the delay it
occasioned us, defiling before our eyes, just as we reached
the gates of the fortress.
Scarce two months now had passed since this place, then
in the occupation of a French garrison, had been bombarded
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
45
by the Prussian forces, and one quarter of the town, in
which the magazines had attracted the fire of the besiegers,
presented a scene of devastation truly horrible. The ram-
parts of the citadel, which had been partly destroyed, were
under repair; they advanced, as may be supposed, very
slowly, for want of hands, and a number of women were
exerting themselves in the task with the greatest alacrity.
A considerable portion of the laborious duties, however,
of every description falls to the lot of the female sex, and
it may be said that this was no more than the custom of
Germany: but their exertions were far from being confined
within ordinary limits; they partook of the general feeling,
and in the love of their country forgot themselves. One trait
of patriotism in the sex well deserves to be recorded: the
house of a poor woman having caught fire from the Prus-
sian bombs, her neighbours gathered around her in haste,
and endeavoured with officious earnestness to extinguish
the flames. Hold, said she, my friends, do you not see our
countrymen have set it on fire themselves? do you not
understand that, if they cannot enjoy the town, at least the
French shall not? let it burn, let it burn!-Rastopchin him-
self could have done no more.
It seemed as if there were no exertions which the
Prussians were not willing to make, no example of national
devotion they were not capable of emulating, from the
first moment that the decision of their king allowed free
vent for the development of their feelings.
General Thumen was the officer in command of the
46
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
Prussian troops employed at this siege, and had well cal-
culated the value of the sacrifice he was about to make.
His conduct was much disapproved of in a high quarter;
but the energy and decision of this veteran, though unau-
thorised, ensured the adoption of such measures as the
necessity of the case required. What indeed would have
been the situation of the country at this moment, had the
French still retained possession of Spandau, commanding
both banks of the Spree, while Oudinot, with a powerful
army from the south, was marching upon Berlin? How
discouraging a chill might have been thrown upon the
ardour of the nation, by the first successful blow of the
enemy? What seeds of future ruin to the cause might have
been engendered by the operation of such a fond and
foolish' course of policy?
6
On our return from this place, at a late hour, every thing
bore the face of warlike preparation: the villagers were pro-
vided with beacons to be fired as signal of the enemy's
approach; the works of defence made by the citizens on
the road were complete; night patroles were every where
stationed at intervals; the fires of the picquets seemed to
encircle the town, and the streets and walks began to swarm
with the numbers of the combined army of the north of
Germany, which was before heard of only as a name.
On the 18th we visited their cantonments at Char-
lottenburg, where the Crown Prince of Sweden had taken
up his residence, and were presented to his royal high-
ness by Mr. Thornton, the English minister to the court
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
47
of Sweden. His countenance (for every trait of so noted a
character bears an interest) was one of extreme penetration,
joined to a prepossessing appearance of great affability; his
manner was equally pleasing and courteous, but we had not
much opportunity offered us of making remarks, for scarcely
had he prefaced his compliments with his usual adieu (a
provincialism in the south of France), when General Adler-
creutz came up with letters; on which he immediately re-
tired from the levee. Among other persons of note we ob-
served Sir F. D'Ivernois, Field Marshal Count Stedink of
the Swedish, and General Pozzo de Borgo of the Russian
service, a name of which the real friends of the good cause
cannot speak too highly.
It was a fine evening, and we strolled to the Swedish
camp, though it scarcely merited that appellation, when
hardly five tents to a battalion were seen in the whole
range. The troops were scattered over some extensive
fields behind the royal palace, and their bustling groups
brought forcibly to mind the lively scenes of Wouwermans.
The Princesses Wilhelm and Louisa passing just at this
moment with their equipages through the plain, each regi-
ment formed as they approached, and saluted them with
loud cheers, that evinced at once the enthusiasm and the
gallantry of the native Scandinavians.
ladies, whose bright eyes
Rain influence, and judge the prize
Of wit or arms, while all contend
To win her grace whom all commend.
48
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
These hardy sons of the north had themselves received
but a scanty welcome: though large magazines were formed
at Berlin, it was with the utmost difficulty that the com-
missary could obtain the necessary supplies; and one regi-
ment which we saw had remained two days since their arrival
at Charlottenburg without having any rations distributed
to them; yet no reason, even of a plausible nature, could
be alleged for husbanding these resources on the present
occasion; and the fatal example of Austerlitz, where similar
neglect or misconduct led to that sanguinary engagement
which overthrew the empire of Germany, was yet fresh in
the recollection of every one.
+
The Swedes are of a bold, stout make, though not, as the
phrase is, well set up; nor have they altogether that tenu
militaire which is so much cultivated in the German and En-
glish discipline: but they have other excellent qualities; they
are obedient, patient, brave, active, and of a tranquil modest
demeanour. So strikingly remarkable is this last trait in the
most ordinary concerns, that a German (whose notions of
breeding had been formed in the French school) complained
to me of the humility of these fellows, who entered a liquor-
shop with caps off, and their money in their hands, bowing
in a mute and quiet manner, totally unbecoming,' said he,
'the mien and character of a man of arms.'
.
The Russians seemed in general straight, broad-shoul-
dered men, of a middle stature, carrying in every point the
most soldierlike aspect, and formed with every mechanical
requisite which an officer could desire; steady in the field,
tractable in the camp, and, if only furnished with bread and
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
49
brandy, at all times prepared for the most arduous duties
of the campaign. Their artillery, like that of the Swedes,
was admirable, and the corps appeared ill appointed only in
one particular, namely the surgical department, which, as
usual in their service, was extremely deficient.
The Prussians were worthy of the name of Frederic II.
as they have since so often shewn; but they had experi-
enced great difficulties and disadvantages in the formation
of their army, from the limitations imposed on them by the
treaty of Tilsit. They were obliged to organise their force
secretly, by frequent substitution of fresh recruits in their
several standing corps, and by other steps of this sort.
Near 150,000 men were however now embodied, besides
an equal number of landwehr, &c. and the exercises were
carried on from morning till night in every space of open
ground in or near the metropolis. Many of the latter had
been fully trained and sent into the field; it was, indeed, an
affecting spectacle to see one of these battalions, unaccom-
panied by the enlivening insignia of military pomp, their
mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, weeping in the ranks, as
they marched from the city gates for the camp. As troops,
however, they had exerted themselves to the utmost, and
were brought to a state of discipline and efficiency highly
creditable, considering the very short time they had been
under arms.
The landsturm too was trained on stated days in each
week to the use of the pike: this levy en masse included all
men in any way fit for service that were not otherwise en-
H
50
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
rolled. In the towns, to prevent the total stagnation of
trade, the sweeping conditions of the act for raising the land-
wehr were relaxed, and the landsturm was composed of a
numerous body of able and active men; but, in the country,
only those between the ages of forty and sixty remained to
be exercised in this class.
August 20.—The army now had begun to concentrate
itself; the Russians were established near Spandau, the
Swedes at head-quarters, and the Prussians on the high
ground to the south of the capital, with detached corps
under Tauenzien and Bülow, in advance near Müncheburg.
As to the other parts of the district placed under the com-
mand of the Crown Prince, a strong body was employed to
observe Magdeburg, while General Walmoden, with the
Anglo-Russian divisions, watched the movements of Da-
voust in the north.
Such were the general dispositions, but the eye of every
one was now turned to Berlin. It was generally believed
that the attention of the enemy was drawn to this point,
and that Buonaparte had passed to the north bank of the
Elbe, with a view to direct the operations in person. For
the purpose of ascertaining however the movements of the
enemy, a strong reconnoissance was made to the south, and
again to the south-east, and they were reported to be con-
centrating their forces near Bayreuth and Luckau; it was
therefore easy to surmise their intentions. General Cherni-
chef was detached to act on their left, and another light
corps on their right flank, more effectually to conceal the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
51
intended movements of the main body of the allies, while a
corps of observation was kept in perpetual motion in their
front.
On the 22d of August, the utmost consternation pre-
vailed at Berlin; Oudinot, with 80,000 men, had advanced
within ten English miles of the gates. The regiments on
duty had been marched off by beat of drum during the
night, and at break of day the roads and avenues to the
town were blocked up with the crowds that were pressing
within the walls to seek an asylum; carts bringing in from
the army the wounded, dying and dead; peasants flying
from the neighbouring villages with their wives, their
children, their bedding, and whatever moveables they were
able to save from impending ruin. An anxious crowd of
citizens awaited them in the streets, that pouring in from
every quarter, wandered about in uncertainty, half amazed,
half appalled, each one seeming to dread the solitude of his
own home. Meanwhile a thousand stories inundated the
town: our commander in chief was a Frenchman-every
manœuvre was a measure preparatory to a retreat—our
left flank was turned, and the north of the city totally de-
fenceless-Buonaparte had directed his whole strength upon
Berlin-the armies of the south were deceived in their cal-
culation-the enemy desperate-our allies uncertain. But
these were told only as transient rumours: order was ob-
served, and no idle or factious people sought to profit by the
public consternation.
Towards evening, a cannonade was heard in the dis-
tance, announcing the approach of the enemy: the hills
52
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
near the Halle gate, as we rode out, were covered with a
throng of people, some conveying ammunition or food,
others labouring hard at the redoubts, others again tra-
versing with painful curiosity the vast plain that stretched
below, chequered as it was with the wreck of burning vil-
lages, and the clouds of dust and smoke that rose from the
armies.
August 23. Having packed up our baggage ready to set
off at a moment's warning in case of a reverse, we procured
saddle horses, and started at three in the morning for the
fields where we understood the positions were taken up.
We arrived just as the Swedes had finished their morning
hymn: the ground they had quitted was scattered with the
comfortless remains of the bivouac, boughs of trees, shutters
and doors taken from the neighbouring cottages, or what-
ever might shield them from the heavy rain of the night;
beyond, a magnificent spectacle presented itself; the sky
was gloomy, but the sun had just risen, and exhibited the
whole
army drawn up in battle array, their long lines stretch-
ing to the horizon. The Swedes, 30,000 strong, under
the Crown Prince, occupied some rising grounds in the
centre, above the village of Ruhlsdorf; the Russians, about
25,000, under Winzingerode, formed the right wing; and
the Prussians, mustering an equal force under Bulow, were
drawn up in a plain on the left; their flank rested on the
village of Klein-Beeren, and was secured by a small knoll
crowned with a battery of field-pieces; still further on the
left, Tauenzien, with his corps, occupied the hamlet Blank-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
53
enfelde, and a pulk of Cossacks were hovering about in the
interval: in front of the positions rose some extensive woods,
which concealed the columns of the French army.
In company with another friend, I rode along part of the
lines, which reached upwards of six English miles in extent,
and then returned to our station on the left, where the
attack was expected to take place: our little reconnoissance
was followed, in spite of our national cockades, with an
arrest by the officer in command of the cavalry, and we
were sent under guard to General Bulow; to him, however,
we had the honour and good fortune to be personally
known; but in these suspicious times accidents of this kind
were of not unfrequent occurrence. At nine o'clock a
cannonade on the advanced posts commenced on this side,
which continued about half an hour. At ten Tauenzien's
corps seemed to be threatened by the movements of the
enemy: Bulow then detached himself from the centre, and
took up another position still farther on the left, and suc-
cessively a third in the rear of Blankenfelde, at the distance
of about half a German mile from the Crown Prince, leaving
a few companies of jagers, with a battery of field pieces, on
the knoll before mentioned, in order to protect his com-
munications.
This was an interesting moment: the French were already
engaged in skirmish, and the heads of the columns expected
every instant to debouch from the woods; yet no anxious
silence prevailed, no awful, death-like pause-all wore the
appearance of mirth and gaiety; the troops cheered as they
54
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
fell in, and ran up where the distance of the files had re-
laxed, with the most enlivening alacrity. After waiting
here during two hours in a heavy rain, advice was brought
that the picquets at Gros-Beeren had been driven in, and
that the enemy were seen advancing in that direction. This
village was situated on the left of the centre, and about an
English mile distant. The object of their movement was
sufficiently evident: General Bulow retraced his steps, and
marched thither without loss of time. The enemy were
discovered, in force about 15,000, drawn up across an open
space between the forests; their right was appuyed on the
village of Gross-Beeren, and strengthened by a strong
battery, concealed from sight, behind a grove of firs;
their left was posted on a gentle slope, secured by the
woods on their flank. As our troops advanced, General
Vorstell was detached with a small division to act upon
their right, and the main body formed, under cover of
the artillery, in three divisions of two lines each, the bat-
talions being drawn up in masses. The heavy rain that fell
rendered the musketry of little effect, but the first division
advancing, undaunted by the fire of the battery which was
directed against them, stormed the village of Gross-Beeren
with the utmost gallantry at the point of the bayonet: this
advantage was instantly followed up by a well-timed charge
from the cavalry; the remainder of the French line then
began to waver, and as the two other divisions were coming
up, the cavalry on the right charged in their turn, and the
field was in an instant covered with the bodies of the slain.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
55
As to other parts of the position, our centre had been
threatened, and the Swedish picquets in front of Ruhlsdorf
were driven in; but the fire of the artillery soon checked
the advance of the enemy.
Tauenzien met with similar success in repulsing an
attack upon his position, which took place somewhat later
in the evening: 14 cannon, upwards of 60 ammunition
waggons, 1500 prisoners, were the fruits of the day; and
this victory was succeeded by the repulse of Girard's division
from Magdeburg, which ought to have co-operated with
the army of Oudinot. These were great advantages; but
what was of still more consequence, the feelings of the
Prussians were invigorated by the auspicious event of their
first struggle at the opening of the new campaign, and their
capital was, by the exertions of its native heroes, again
placed in a state of tranquillity. Bulow followed up his
victory, and continued a brisk pursuit during the night,
driving the broken and dispirited divisions of the French
before him to Luckau, the first place at which they were
able to make head against their pursuers.
On the following day we revisited the field of battle, and
spread among the soldiers the news of the victory gained
over the French army in the Pyrenees; for Lord Aberdeen,
on his
way to Vienna, had brought the agreeable intelligence
on the preceding day: it was received with enthusiasm,
and every regiment hailed the Britons, as they passed the
countrymen of Wellington.
Our return lay through the ground occupied by the
56
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
Swedes, and as both officers and men were now removed
at a distance from Berlin, they were extremely glad to have
any conversation with persons who might bring them news.
The Crown Prince possesses, it seems, a wonderful
talent of conciliating the affections of his men; he was as
much beloved by his present army as he was said formerly
to have been by the corps which he commanded in France.
The first two French prisoners taken had formerly served
under his orders: he sent for them, restored them their arms,
gave them food and money, and dismissed them without
delay, bidding them spread the report among his companions
that Bernadotte was there: " ils ont versé," says the bulletin,
"des larmes de joie en revoyant leur ancien general.”
A score of Cossacks, who had distinguished themselves
the day before in skirmishing, were ordered up during our
stay to receive some mark of their commander's appro-
bation he complimented them very highly, and gave
them each a Louis d'or with his own hand. Hardly had
they departed when the physician in chief of the French,
one of their prisoners, arrived: he was stripped even to his
dirty shirt, and his nakedness scarce covered with the
remnant of a pair of tattered trowsers. A greasy Cossack
cap, in exchange for his own, had been added to ornament
his droll figure, which excited a burst of laughter from the
whole suite.
The Cossacks do not, however, always confine them-
selves to such venial acts of piracy, but carry to a complete
system the irregularities that ordinarily proceed from the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
57
lawlessness of war. At one of the villages which we passed
the people were in strange confusion; the men had armed
themselves with their pikes, and were hastening to assault
a party of eight or ten of these freebooters who had entered
their dwellings a short time before, and having tied the
hands of those whom they found at home, plundered and
pillaged without reserve; carrying away every thing even to
the forage that had been provided by the peasants on re-
quisition for the Russian cavalry. The arrival of a Cossack
officer quieted the fray: he seemed enraged, and repro-
bated their conduct both by words and gesture; after this
they all rode away together. We had some conversation
with one of these singular beings on our road to the city:
he was (as they all are) of an interesting countenance, pos-
sessed of great natural quickness of mind and acuteness of
observation: he talked German tolerably well, and dis-
covered in his way considerable knowledge of the affairs of
the late extensive campaign, even of those actions where he
had not been personally concerned, being evidently much de-
lighted to give his opinion on marches and counter-marches,
plans and battles. On quitting us, he " threw his flight in
many an airy wheel," casting himself as he couched his
spear above or below the horse's neck, sometimes on the
right, at others on the left, with surprising adroitness and
dexterity. This race, in fact, pass their whole lives on horse-
back; and though their forward seat seems to an English-
man rather awkward, yet they possess a thorough command
of the animal, and are, in fact, Centaur-like, identified
66
I
58
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
with the beast itself. They acquire too, from their mode of
living, a sort of sagacity, bordering on instinct, that almost
exceeds belief. Place a Cossack with his ear to the ground,
he will tell you the numbers of a distant cavalcade. Make
him your guide to any remote spot at night, and he will
read his way in the stars, and give a thousand other marks
of that species of cunning for which savage nations, unused
to occupy themselves with other food for their thoughts,
are universally so remarkable. War upon the French is as
popular with them as a party to the chase, far different in
their estimation from the service they undergo in fighting
against the Turks, where their superior skill in skirmish is
of little avail, the horses of the enemy being equally strong
and active, the men equally expert in single combat with
themselves, and able to cope with them at all points.
From hence we may form some idea of the nature of their
operations in general: invaluable as scouts, or as par-
tisans, their imperfect order and discipline renders them
incapable of making a charge on troops of the line; yet,
with the assistance of their flying artillery (for a Cossack
will accomplish in his own fashion the most scientific duties
of the field) they have performed achievements that seemed
far beyond their power and means. If they succeed in
throwing the enemy into confusion by the fire of these
pieces, they rush in upon the broken ranks, and cause pro-
digious slaughter; if not, they will withdraw themselves
from any untoward circumstances their advance may have
entangled them in, with half the loss a regular regiment
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
59
would have sustained in a similar situation. Several scenes
of their exploits, during the preceding months, were pointed
out to us in the environs of Berlin.
Some of these Cossacks, or Bashkirs, were, from their
dexterity, appointed to train the cavalry recruits in the use
of the lance, since there were two or three regiments so
armed in the Prussian corps. The weapon is poised in the
right hand, and being struck on the hip, is whirled round
over head with the impulse, and the point brought on either
side, before or behind, as occasion may require: several
other motions were added, but this seemed the foundation
of the exercise, and to give the greatest facility in handling
the lance.
As to the habits of thievery of which these troops are so
universally accused ;—it is but fair to say, that a large pro-
portion of the number are not of the native Cossack tribes:
but a vast body of Russians, men of the lowest description,
were inrolled under this name, being armed and mounted
in a similar way, and employed in the same duties, for
which indeed alone they seemed to be in any way fitted.
Though the real Cossacks have a happy turn for predatory
excursions, it is unfair to involve them in the general cen-
sure that follows the actions of these vagabonds.
On the 27th the Russian and Prussian corps had both
quitted their positions, and we found the Swedes breaking
up and commencing their march. The infantry formed two
columns of about 12,000 men each; the cavalry again in
two columns, and the artillery, caissons, &c. made up a
60
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
fifth. From the hill above Teltow the sight was of a very im-
posing nature; these long lines, attended by the suite of the
Crown Prince, appeared, directing their march in parallel
directions over a vast plain, which was unobstructed by hill
or dale, and permitted the spectator's eye to follow them
till they were actually lost in the distance. In the course
of the week a deputation from the bourgeoisie had waited
on the Crown Prince to thank him for having averted the
storm that threatened their city. He replied, he had as yet
accomplished nothing that deserved their expressions of
gratitude. “I know," said he,
"I know," said he, "I have much to do; I
"have set myself to the task, and when I see your king
66
placed in the same situation as before the war, then,
"and not till then, can I receive your thanks." The de-
puties returned highly gratified with their reception; and
though the Gascon style of the second bulletin was not at
all understood, though their German phlegm could not
comprehend how he should predict that the landwehr of
Mecklenburg should throw themselves upon the French
parks of artillery, or the landsturm cover themselves with
glory, yet they felt a sincere gratitude for what he had
already effected, and which certainly had not been pro-
phesied from any quarter.
It was a curious circumstance, very characteristic of
French vanity and assurance, that upwards of 150 letters
were about this time received at the post-office, addressed
to officers of the French army, whom their friends (in con-
sequence of Buonaparte's proclamation) supposed to be
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
61
now enjoying themselves at Berlin: they contained many
remembrances and expressions of affection from officers to
their female acquaintances of the preceding year, who would
for once have been better pleased to have been passed
unnoticed, since several unexpected disclosures occurred,
that were the source of infinite raillery and scandal in the
town.
Aug. 29.—On Sunday the minister at the French church
took occasion, in the course of his sermon, to compare the
state of the city at that moment with the hideous con-
sternation that had prevailed seven days before; he painted
the contrast with much feeling and animation, many of the
audience seeming affected even to tears. These worthy
citizens of Berlin merited all the success that human as-
siduity could claim: if the men had exerted their utmost,
the female sex were not inferior either in activity or in-
clination. The same ladies who had before given their
jewels as contributions to the state, afforded, in the present
exigency, a still more kind assistance; every house provided
with means of accommodation became a gratuitous hos-
pital for the reception of sick or wounded men: as for
society, no topic of conversation was ever heard but the
war, and to make lint or bandages were the employments
that took place of the usual amusements of an evening
party. The Princess William and Princess Louisa, foremost
in every act of patriotic virtue, provided for near thirty
soldiers in their own houses: besides this, in order that
single ladies might share this general work of charity, a
62
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
subscription hospital was established by them in the Fre-
derick Strasse, capable of containing 100 patients; where
tender and elegant forms were seen daily nursing in turns,
and serving at the bedside amidst groans and scenes of
anguish more distressing to a mind of sensibility than all
the pictured horrors of the field.
It so happened at this time, that nearly the whole
number of officers there received were volunteers serving
in the army at their own expense: accidental this, it is
true, yet it was an accident that could not have taken place
under any other times or in any other situation. There were
numerous regiments of volunteers who had now taken the
field: a corps of cavalry of this description, 450 strong, had
marched from the city about a fortnight before; there were
two companies of chasseurs from Swedish Pomerania, who
had the honour of acting as guard to their prince: and
among many others we had frequently heard mention of
Lutzow's free corps, Schill's corps, and a strong battalion
of Mecklenburghers, who were now serving in the north
on the same conditions. Of the bourgeois, whose pro-
fessional avocations precluded them from active service,
there were, it may be added, 15,000 armed and equipped
at their own charge, now doing duty at Berlin; and besides
them, the train-band corps which were generally esta-
blished throughout the kingdom, were numerous enough to
relieve the regular troops almost every where from their
stations in the towns. Those again who were incapable of
such exertions strained every nerve to compensate in other
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
63
ways for their personal inabilities: they sent contributions
to the Hotel de Ville of whatever they thought most ap-
propriate for the use of the army and hospitals: blankets,
matrasses, shirts, shoes, &c. or as their several circumstances
would admit, daily portions of bread, meat, biscuit, wine,
&c. Indeed, the Swedish corps up to this time had scarcely
received any rations but from this irregular deposit, which
was, by its nature, exposed to depredation, and, as may
supposed, fell far short of the aggregate amount that
the liberality of individuals had designed. The detection
of this abuse alone operated as a check to that sentiment
of universal enthusiasm which pervaded all ranks and all
conditions of the inhabitants of the Prussian metropolis.
be
In the mean while the redoubts and other works on the
roads of approach from the south were carried on with the
greatest industry: the citizens laboured in rotation, each
single person, or chief of a family, taking his turn once a
week; for Berlin was defenceless, being only surrounded
with a brick wall, built to prevent the evasion of the excise
laws. By these means two strong forts were erected on the
rising ground fronting the Halle gate; and on the Potsdam
road some lesser works to defend the passage of a branch
of the Spree. They consisted of a platform for one gun
the centre, flanked by two demi-bastions; the whole rivetted
with turf, and constructed under the eye of the royal en-
gineers in an excellent style.
in
This appearance of spirit and ardour in the people might
64
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
easily be contrasted with the feelings that prevailed on the
opposite side. The materials of the French army appeared
by the prisoners to be of the most heterogeneous com-
position; Italians, Saxons, Dutch, Spaniards, Bavarians,
Wirtemburghers, Portuguese; conscripts, or allies. Some
even of the national guards had been inveigled to the field;
for the difficulty of finding men, both in France and in all
parts subject to her influence, had daily increased during
the last two months; all prices, from 1000 to 10,000 dol-
lars, were offered for substitutes, and, in many places, with-
out success.
It was impossible not to feel some compassion for these
poor victims, large bodies of whom we saw hurried along
to prison in their feeble state, footsore,. worn down with
fatigue, and the unsatisfied hunger of two days or more:
amongst them were a few French boys scarcely 17 years of
age, that seemed ready to drop from faintness by the road-
side. Hated as they were, the women of Berlin would fre-
quently stop to throw small pieces of money into the
miserable group as they passed, and then slink away as if
ashamed of having been betrayed by their feelings to such
an act of charity. To describe the interior of the places
of confinement, where numbers lay with their mangled
limbs extended on the floor, crying out for surgical aid,
that was now so difficult to be procured, would be a pain-
ful task; and I feel neither ability nor inclination to under-
take it.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
65
It was curious to observe, at this epoch, the fluctuations
of the exchange upon England; during the moment of alarm,
it rose from four dollars* to near five, and in a few days
returned to its former price. Gold in the same way, from
the increase of demand, was proportionably augmented in
value, to the no small surprise of a foreigner, who on chang-
ing a ducat or Louis d'or in the shops, gained a sixth
more than he had been in the habit of receiving. The chief
management of money transactions is here in the hands of
the Jews; this science, indeed, so inexplicable in some of
its branches, seems to form their true cabbala. From the
dark ages to the present day, these people have always
been foremost in the knowledge requisite for such pur-
suits, the ablest conductors of negociations of barter then,
as in exchange of money now, or the highest and most lu-
crative species of commerce. Being as it were but one
family, scattered through various countries, at the same
time precluded from the acquirement of real property in
many, they were compelled to apply themselves to these
objects, in which their habits of mutual intercourse and con-
nexion gave them greater facilities than were possessed
by the resident natives.
There are few places where their useful qualities have
* Exchange at par is six dollars, 16 groschen, for 17. sterling. The currency
was chiefly silver coin, as gold was not very abundant; the smaller pieces were
of six or twelve groschen, of silver much alloyed: 24 gr. 1 dollar or 3s. English.
The coinage of the neighbouring states circulated without difficulty, as ge-
nerally the case in Germany.
Prices.-Day labour, in ordinary times, six to eight groschen ; at this time ten.
K
66
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
secured them a better reception than at Berlin, where
Frederic II. the protector of all strangers, permitted them
to become proprietors of land. The colony of the Jews is
the largest foreign establishment in the city; there is one
also of the Bohemians, and another of the French, neither
inconsiderable in size, nor unserviceable in their example
and industry to the population and wealth of the place:
the latter are the descendants of those refugees who fled
from France at the time of the revocation of the edict of
Nantes, when emigrations took place to so many other
countries, some remains of which may still be traced at
London, in the neighbourhood of Soho.
To suffer an occasional act of ejectment is one of the
most ordinary calamities to which those are subject who
are involved in the ever-changing circle of French politics.
It was shortly after the affair of Gros-Beeren, that a noble
emigrè, the reigning Duke of Oldenburg, arrived at Berlin,
driven from his territorial possessions by the forcible oc-
cupation of the French army. Prince Paul of Wirtemberg
also sought shelter here, from circumstances that may be
attributed to the same origin; he was, however, a voluntary
exile, having, much to his honour, at this early period of
the war, embraced a line of politics in direct opposition to
the conduct pursued by the court of Stutgard.
August 30.-To balance the unwelcome intelligence
of Davoust's advance to the neighbourhood of Rostock,
we were told that the allies in the south had debouched
from the defiles of Bohemia, and were marching in great
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
67
force on Dresden, whither Buonaparte had retired. In-
formation too was, at the same time, received General
Blucher's good fortune in Silesia, followed by great suc-
cesses on the Katsbach, where upwards of 10,000 of Mac-
donald's corps were made prisoners; a triumphant exploit,
such as might have been expected, from the ardour and ac-
tivity of this veteran warrior, united with the distinguished
talents of General Gneisenau.
The gallant Blucher was the idol of the whole
army, and
now the more held up to their notice, as having been the
constant mark of the persecuting and vindictive spirit of
Buonaparte he was ever adverse to the insidious schemes
of France in peace as in war, and having refused to accept
a command in one of his expeditions, the ignoble upstart
had the meanness to demand that Blucher should be dis-
missed from the post with which the king had rewarded his
long-tried fidelity. The affection borne him by the soldiery
was eminently conspicuous in the late affair: the same rains
that swelled the stream of the Katsbach had rendered the
roads almost impassable, and some battalions, exhausted
by the fatigue of their long marches, halted, declaring
themselves unable to proceed farther. Blucher rode up to
address them, "Are you wearied, my children," said he,
"Are you drenched with rain? Are you pressed by hunger?
“And am not I, in my old age, subjected to all these suf-
ferings alike with every man amongst you? But the ene-
"mies of my king are in the land, and I have sworn to take
no rest-follow me." They instantly rose as if his words.
66
66
68
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
had wrought a miracle on their jaded bodies; they con-
tinued their march without a murmur, nor rested till they
reposed on the field of victory.
The hopes of the people began to rise at this moment,
and the turn of circumstances in general seemed to flatter
their best wishes; yet still the name of Napoleon was a fear-
ful sound, and rarely was it pronounced without some ex-
pressions escaping of fear and solicitude. Several political
publications had been written, and sent forth with a view
to animate the public. Das neue Deutchland, (Germany
renewed) Reden an der Deutscher Nation, and many other
works of similar descriptions. Gazettes also were frequently
circulated, composed in a style of narrative, that might strike
and catch the feelings of the lower classes; they contained
remonstrances against suffering "the strong man to enter
66 your house and take your chattels"-dialogues between
a courier and a loyal village bailiff, on the news of the day;
representations of the late British victories in Spain, &c.
in one of which it was positively averred that the French
had lost 15,000 men, while the brave Britons had but one
single horse slightly wounded (nur einziges Englische pferd
leicht blessirt): some puns too were occasionally introduced
on this topic, and the enemy retreating in the neighbour-
hood, were said to be struck with panic, (panisch) or Spanish
(Spanisch) fear.
Sept. 1.-Rumours from Dresden, imaginary, or real, now
became frequent: one reported Buonaparte a prisoner,
another Dresden taken, another on fire; but no person
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
69
was, for some time, aware of the sad reverse that had oc-
curred; the allies had been repulsed in their attacks upon
the outworks with the greatest loss, and were flying to
shelter themselves in the mountains of Bohemia. Their ad-
vance was precipitate, their retreat headlong and without
order, and the cause in general seemed to have received a
fatal stroke from the misfortune of General Moreau. Hay-
ing ventured with the Emperor of Russia, and some of the
staff, in front of one of the batteries of the allies, against
which the fire of the enemy was directed, and being about
half his horse's length in advance of the party, he was struck
on the thigh; the ball passed through the body of his horse,
and dreadfully shattered the other leg, driving him with
violence to the ground. From the heavy rains that were
falling, he was taken up so covered with mud, that one
could scarce distinguish the blood issuing from his limb,
which only appeared attached by a few lacerated sinews
to his body. Immediate assistance was given, and four
Cossacks of the imperial guard made a litter with their
pikes, and conveyed him in this miserable plight to Dip-
poldiswalde; thence, as the French troops were advancing,
he was carried to Laun, where Sir J. Wylie (of the em-
peror's household) proceeded to the amputation of the
thigh. Moreau called for a cigare, and submitted, with-
out a word. This done, the surgeon informed him it would
be also necessary to take off the remaining leg. He was
silent for a minute-" Well," said he, "Do your duty ;
"had you told me before that this would be absolutely re-
70
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
66
quisite, I would not have submitted to the former opera-
"tion. I hope, however, I have too much sense of religion
"still left to permit me to think of what would amount
"to an act of suicide." The issue of this disastrous event
is too fresh in the recollection of all to make it necessary to
enter into its details. It was fated that we should be de-
prived, at a most critical period, of those powerful talents,
which, when employed against us, had so often before
commanded success. The supporters of the great cause
were amazed and confounded; Justice herself was arraigned ;
the impiety of Napoleon was roused into exultation. But
the great Disposer of all events, whose views are unlimited
as his means, had ordained these things in a different man-
ner, and, no doubt, in a way far more compatible with
the general interests of mankind. Still, however, we must
feel for the individual; and every friend of integrity, con-
stancy, and public virtue will shed a tear for the fall of so
great a man.
Among other opinions of Moreau, for now every word he
had uttered was carefully treasured up, his last advice to the
King of Prussia is on record: it was a recommendation that
he should act with more reliance on his own judgment in
the conduct of military affairs, in which he had frequently
given proofs of that talent which is sometimes accompanied
by an amiable but injurious diffidence of mind. Buonaparte
himself, from what is said to have fallen from him, had
lately made a similar estimate of his merits. It is worth
while to place in opposition to this fact, an anecdote that
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
71
displays the contemptuous light in which he had formerly
affected to regard him. At a conversation during an inter-
view appointed by him with his majesty and the Emperor
of Russia, he addressed, by way of compliment, some few
questions relative to military matters to the emperor, such
as in what time a certain regiment of his hussars could
charge over so much ground? and so on; then turning sud-
denly to the king, "And how many buttons," said he,
"do your good men wear on their pantaloons, and how
many on their skirts behind?”
66
Moreau's favourable opinion was shortly after justified
by the signal victory of Toplitz, which may be attributed
as much to the judgment of the King of Prussia, as to the
talents and intrepidity of Ostermann; and it proved a
fair retort in the field to the insulting conduct of which
Buonaparte had formerly been guilty towards a fallen
enemy.
While the citizens of Berlin indulged themselves in all
the expressions of joy that so important an event might be
supposed to communicate, they were little aware of the
storm that was gathering, and the new dangers with which
they were menaced. Burning with rage at the failure of
Oudinot, Buonaparte ordered Marshal Ney to make another
attempt to gain possession of the place, and strengthened
him with large reinforcements. The firmness of Tauenzien
and Bülow in maintaining their positions at Juterboch,
together with the prompt dispositions of the Crown Prince,
72
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
saved the city a second time from the fury of its inveterate
enemy; and the Prussians, ever indefatigable, added new
laurels to their brows.
A bulletin, announcing these tidings, was read from the
stage at the German theatre to a crowded audience: the
actors were engaged in the representation of some common-
place story of dramatic love, when a stranger stepped for-
ward with a paper in his hand. The performance was
instantly stopped; lesen, lesen, resounded from every part
of the house, and each sentence, as it was read, was rap-
turously echoed with shouts of applause.
A fresh subject of congratulation soon after occurred ;
upwards of 3000 Saxons, who had come over to the Prussians.
during the action, marched into Berlin the next day, with
looks that seemed to anticipate the goodwill of the people,
and to claim from them a reception as friends. Consider-
ing the national antipathy that so long subsisted between
these two countries, fostered by the usual jealousies of
neighbouring states, and by the bitter feelings that still
rankled in their hearts from the former aggressions of Prussia,
this must be viewed as no ordinary proof of the influence
of public sentiment in favour of the allied cause.
The pilfering Cossacks again made their appearance be-
fore we left Berlin; they were charged with the care of the
artillery, that, with 18,000 prisoners, was the reward of
that victory, and ordered to convey it to the royal arse-
nal. This escort excited on their arrival much surprise
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
73
among the citizens, by the additional articles of booty
which they produced and offered to sale in the open streets;
bed-curtains, pans, cooking utensils, &c. and many things
of this sort for a few groschen each, or any price that the
bystanders would, give. These circumstances being sus-
picious, an inquiry was set on foot, when it appeared that
they had employed themselves on their route by pillaging
the cottages near the road; wishing to do something on
their own account, lest, when accompanying a public prize
from the enemy, they should come to town themselves empty
handed: but proper representations being made, they were
all severely knouted on the morrow.
September 12.-A Te Deum was sung in the churches
in the morning of this day, being Sunday, and according to
the custom of the country an Italian opera was given in the
evening in honour of the great victory. After these cere-
monies, we left Berlin for the north.
It may be here allowed, perhaps, to take some slight
review of a country that has lately made so distinguished a
figure, and now holds so high a rank among the nations
of Europe. From the time that the Grand Master Albert
united in his person the marquisate of Brandenburg to the
fiefs of Prussia till the self-erected kingdom was announced
to the world in 1701, is a period of about 175 years: a few
years after this epoch, Frederic II. was seated on the throne.
The continued exertions of great and wise sovereigns,
followed by the achievements of this extraordinary monarch,
raised the country from the barbarous condition in which
L
74
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
she languished at the middle of the 17th century, to a
degree of activity and power that proves a memorable ex-
ample of what political science is able to effect in the moral
world.
The times that succeed are not of so pleasing an aspect.
The treaty formed by Prussia in 1793, and her neutrality
in the war that subsequently broke out, gained her no favour
on the part of France, and her treacherous vacillation was
visited upon her by the same arm that she had helped to
raise. Whether jealousy of Austria, or a wish still farther
to increase the unjust acquisitions of Frederic II. were her
motives, it is not now to determine; her late conduct has
obliterated in every mind the wish to enter into a reproach-
ful investigation of past events. Prussia, at the end of the
above-mentioned war, was curtailed of one half of her do-
minions and population, reduced to the rank of a second-
rate power of Germany, subjected to the privations of the
continental system, and to the insults of French commis-
sioners sent to execute its decrees. She was drained of
men and money by her imperious conqueror; and yet to
complete her humiliation, the year 1812 saw the governor
of Berlin, and his commandant d'armes, superseded by a
French general and his aid-de-camp, while the troops of
the king were marched under foreign banners to assist in
the subjugation of his former generous ally.
The Emperor of Russia, when by a fortunate course of
events he had freed himself from the enemy, was induced,
partly through private friendship, and partly through a feel-
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
75
ing of public spirit, to attempt the deliverance of Prussia;
and the zealous ardor he shewed on that occasion needs
neither comment nor explanation.
As the Russian army were advancing upon Berlin, the
king, though narrowly watched by the French, contrived to
make his escape by night, and fled to Breslau. The wretched
citizens were now placed in the most awkward dilemma;
their wishes and feelings were more than suspected by the
French garrison and its commanders. The lower classes,
incapable of restraining their expressions of hatred, insti-
gated still more by the daily appearance of the Cossacks at
their very gates, seemed every instant on the point of com-
mitting some daring act of open revolt against their op-
pressors; while they, on the other hand, conscious of the ran-
corous feeling they had provoked, redoubled their menaces
of vengeance, and at one time in so high a tone of insolence,
as publicly to declare that the first act of aggression on the
part of the inhabitants should be followed by the explosion
of the military magazines in the Place de Guillaume, which
would infallibly have involved in their destruction more
than one half of the city. The atrocious temper of the
soldiery was well known, and every day seemed big with
the threat of some dreadful catastrophe. After a few
weeks spent in this fearful state of suspense, at length the
French retreated: the gates were instantly thrown open,
and the Russians took possession of the place, where they
were received as deliverers. Long tables were spread in
the streets, hospitality of every sort was profusely lavished
}
76
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
on the welcome strangers; and, to complete the general
satisfaction, the king, complying with the voice of his
country, issued a manifesto declaring war against France.
To the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen (which, though
unfortunate, afforded some grounds of confidence to the
troops), an armistice succeeded: it was granted on terms
favourable to the ulterior designs of the allies; but the peo-
ple, looking on war as the only means of escaping from the
tyranny of Buonaparte, felt distrustful of the motives of this
cessation of arms; they feared the continuance of the late
obnoxious system, and received the king, on his return to
Berlin, with sullen discontent. Scarce had a gleam of sa-
tisfaction darted upon them, when their hopes seemed at
once to close, and they began to vent their disappointment
in murmur and complaint: one or two individuals, indeed,
were thrown into prison by the police for making public
their opinions. Of the enthusiasm that afterwards burst out
we have seen ample testimony above; but it is worth while
to indulge a few reflections upon the circumstance here
alluded to, and the obvious tendency of such an order of
things.
Under a form of government that admits no legitimate
mode of expressing public sentiment, it is impossible not to
respect at least this misplaced zeal, however reprehensible.
The Prussians are a people, if properly treated, neither
factious nor designing; yet the unfortunate policy of the
court, so long persisted in, had excited complaints that were
heard from time to time, and have in fact produced the
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
77
germs of parties that may one day or other, with the aid
of that philosophy which is now so much in vogue, bè of a
dangerous consequence to the welfare of the country. A
despotism is a primitive form of government, injurious ever
to itself or its neighbours, which ought to be disavowed
amongst the more enlightened nations of Europe, in such
an era as the present.
But views of a higher nature than the rights and interests
of a single nation seem to require that in a large portion of
the European continent certain changes should be made.
The public weal of Europe demands that Germany should
be free if she is not to lie at the mercy of the first con-
queror that appears on the stage of the world, whether from
the east or the west, her sovereigns* must be supported in
*The Prussian government, by the decrees of 27 October, 1810, modified
24 April, 1812, is constituted as follows: The king, as sovereign, issues his
orders partly through the council of state, partly through the cabinet.
The Council of State comprises the princes of the royal house, the chancellor
of state (president, having the superintendance of all the superior courts); mi-
nisters of state (interior, finance, justice, war, foreign affairs); the secretary of
state, and other members appointed for particular times and purposes. The
Cabinet is composed of the chancellor of state; the ministers of state (as before);
a conseiller intime for civil affairs, and those of the court; the chief of the mili-
tary department, and other persons especially appointed for military affairs.
The Prussian subjects enjoy no political liberty; their civil liberties, if they
exist practically, only do so by sufferance. As to the much vaunted story of
Frederic II. and the miller, it appears, on the very face of it, to prove their ac-
tual servitude. We are told, that in the course of the trial, certain representations,
by private means, were made to the king; and sentence being given against the
opinion he had formed, he reversed it (for he has this power), and punished
78
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
the day of trial by the powers and energies of a free people,
without which the colossal bulwarks that modern policy has
sought to raise for her protection will stand forward but to
expose the more their real impotence.
Had Prussia been blessed with a representative system,
had the feelings of the people been consulted, she would
long since have decided, at a single blow, that war in which
Europe was now engaged in for the sixth time.
Had Austria* been so constituted, had a proper spirit
of inquiry and activity thoroughly cleansed and purged the
several parts of her political frame, that country, possessing
the greatest national resources, and the finest troops in the
world, would not have to lament the fatal reverses that have
several members of the court by imprisonment: he then directed a new trial,
when the same sentence which was before given was confirmed by the second
tribunal, and followed with the same consequences to its component members.
The reader may hence judge of the freedom of a Prussian subject. On one
point, nevertheless, they are at liberty; all religions are tolerated, and no persons,
on the ground of non-conformity to the Lutheran church, are held disqualified
from office: the Catholics however are in fact never employed.
There is a chamber of the states (landschaft) of the Electoral March, com-
posed of prelates, nobles, and citizens: but their powers only extend to the
guaranteeing the public debts of the electorate and providing the payment of
their interest; the revenues of certain imposts being granted by the king for
that purpose.
Since the above was sent to the press, rumours have arisen of an intention
on the part of the king to give his subjects a free constitution: nothing has, I
believe, yet been done.
*The causes of the failure of this war are well detailed in a work entitled
"Tableau de la Guerre de l'Annee neuf." The book was suppressed by the
Austrian government soon after its appearance.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
79
arisen from a disorganized government, administered by the
hand of imbecility.
A pure monarchy is found weakest in a defensive war.
Buonaparte never failed to take advantage of the defects
of this form of government where it existed; and where it
did not, introduced it himself, in order to abet his schemes
of universal domination: prohibiting in every state in Ger-
many the accustomed meetings of the landstände*, or par-
liament, and investing the sovereigns with despotic power.
He pursued the most obvious course of policy to serve his
purpose, well calculating the difference of persuading a
people, and cajoling or frightening their prince.
The steadiness with which the poisonous principles,
disseminated by the French revolutionists, were univer-
sally rejected in Germany, where the tri-coloured flag,
when hoisted, met only with outcry and execrations, is a
circumstance that shews, in points of no inconsiderable
importance, how far their natural temperament is of a de-
scription fit to be entrusted with the advantages of a well-
regulated freedom; they are indeed a people both morally
and physically capable of a moderation and a tranquillity
unknown to any other country, and suited almost beyond
any other for the enjoyment of such a government. Nor
* Out of respect to this ancient system, Buonaparte established in the
constitution of Westphalia an annual assembly called the Reitzende; their power,
however, was as nugatory as that of the senate at Paris or Milan: whether a law
proposed by the government was approved by the body or rejected, it was in-
variably carried into effect, after their prorogation, if it accorded with the wishes
of the king.
80
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
would the condition of society at large be less benefited
by this alteration than the general health of the Germanic
body. Although these are the last times in which hints
should be thrown out against those prejudices of prescrip-
tive rights that form the best safeguards of social order,
yet it must be confessed, the rigid aristocratic ideas of
Germany might be lowered, without proving detrimental
either to one party or the other. The nobility are much
too high, the other classes far too low. Frederic II.
felt the necessity of some relaxations on this head, and
gave great facilities to the alienation of the landed property
of the nobility, which, before his time, was not legally
possible doubtless it was done with this view; but that
very circumstance, since it has taken place, has again
essentially added to the necessity of accommodating the
form of government to those new conditions of society
which have been introduced by this partial alteration, and
which will make themselves apparent daily more and more.
But these are high topics which we must leave to those who
are engaged in more profound speculations, and pass on to
objects that necessarily fall within the province of a traveller.
September 13.-Our journey from Prentzlaw to Paise-
walde, and to Anclam, was over a tract much resembling
what we had before seen in our journey from Rostock. The
towns were mostly surrounded with high, ruinous walls;
and their houses and churches were antique structures of
brick, the latter ornamented with profusion of carvework
in the same material. Near to Anclam two sentry-boxes, a
few yards distant from each other, painted with the colours
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
81
of their respective sovereigns, marked the line of the fron-
tier: we passed from the black and white barrier to the
blue and yellow, and entered the province of Swedish Po-
merania.
The university of Griefswalde was the first place we saw
of note; here however we were in danger of being detained
longer than its curiosities would have afforded food for our
amusement. Some of the new Russian regiments, embodied
from the German prisoners taken in the late campaign, had
just disembarked; and from the number of horses they put
in requisition, it was with much difficulty that we were
provided for our next stage to Stralsund, whither we ar-
rived, with tired and jaded cattle, at a late hour.
To our great delight we were challenged in our own
vernacular, and the gates of the garrison were speedily
opened. We found the British troops were stationed here,
whose passage through the Sound had so much alarmed the
Danes, and whose arrival on the Continent had excited so
many conjectures. Their number was not very considerable,
amounting on the whole to not more than about 3,600
men: but they were full of life and spirit, and possessed of
a well assured confidence in the character of their com-
mander, Major-general Gibbs; the same gallant officer
who stormed the Cornelius bastion at the capture of Ba-
tavia, and who so lately distinguished himself but too fa-
tally in the unfortunate affair before New Orleans.
The appearance of an English parade was a splendid
novelty at Stralsund, as striking in respect of dress and
discipline, as in every other point of military show; the
M
82
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
men, from the largeness of their pay, were looked upon
by those engaged in foreign service as comparatively
opulent personages; almost all sorts of liquor were within
their reach, and their subsistence was provided at a much
lower rate than the ordinary stoppage money at home
amounted to. Indeed an offer* made by some of the towns-
people to furnish them on terms scarce equalling half the
price at which the same might have been done in England,
may serve to give an idea of the affluent condition of our
soldiers when quartered in these parts.
The mode of maintaining a French garrison, to which
the inhabitants had been long accustomed, entirely super-
sedes the necessity of stipulation in such matters. Lodg-
ings are of course provided, and with the ticket of billet
is delivered a list of the articles that each householder pro-
vides gratis for his inmates, in which an increase is regu-
larly made according to the rank of the claimant: their ge-
neral amount may be guessed by the daily allowance which
is specified in French and German measure, for the subsist-
ence of each common soldier.
Onces
Bread.
28
Meat.
10
Rice or Pulse.
2 4
Salt.
Pfund 28
20
4 8
z livre
175
20
25
Liquor, per quart.
brandy, or
vinegar, or
Loths
beer.
Generals and colonels 'ne pourront exiger de leurs hôtes
que
le chauffage, l'éclairage & les utensiles de cuisine linge de
table, &c. dont ils auront besoin :' officers of inferior rank
have the right of boarding at the table of their landlord,
* They would provide a man with three hot meals each day for an allowance
of 2 d. at the same time receiving from him his rations.
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
88
where they generally take care to order the dinner, and
prescribe the number of dishes.
It is not difficult to imagine the surprise that strangers
expressed at the expensive nature of our army establish-
ment; so little sparing of money, and so independent in its
principle.
When the Crown Prince was at Stralsund, he remarked
to General Gibbs, among other particulars, his surprise at
seeing the vast number of women who accompanied the
troops, "Perhaps," said he, " near 200:" he was answered
that about 300 half rations were daily served out as the
allowance for them on the part of government.
"What
"an expense!" exclaimed the prince;
females,” he asked of his aid-de-camp,
"Swedish army?" "Only one, your royal highness,” was the
answer, "and she is a colonel's lady." "What a marvellous
66
"And how many
"have we with our
expense! What immense resources!" continued the prince,
"but it must be remembered you are the British nation.'
Though these forces were not destined to take a very active
part in the war, they had been kept on the alert by the re-
cent attempt of Davoust upon this part of the country.
His advance was the cause of great agitation to the people
of Stralsund, and their fears were not a little increased by
the sudden arrival of the Duke of Mecklenberg Schwerin, a
fugitive from Dobberan, spreading consternation on every
side. The merchants instantly embarked their goods and
valuables on board the vessels in the harbour; others, still
more terrified by persons interested in the outcry, sold all
the moveable articles they possessed, in order to furnish
84
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
themselves with the necessary money for flight, and half
ruined themselves by this useless precaution. Neverthe-
less, in the midst of this confusion, the citizens were not
by any means wanting in display of a spirit suitable to the
occasion: the landsturm of the district were instantly assem-
bled and marched into the town; the citizens were mustered,
and persons alike, of all ranks, joined in the common la-
bours on the fortifications. The chevalier, with stars and
crosses on his breast, and the pampered and wealthy burgo-
master, were seen mixed indiscriminately with the poorest
and meanest village peasants that were attached to this daily
employment.
The alarm was fortunately not of long duration; Ge-
neral Vegesac, with a corps of 7000 men, stationed on the
plains near Rostock, held the French completely in check,
and, after a few affairs with the outposts, they suddenly re-
tired. Had Stralsund been their object, one may, without
hesitation, affirm that notwithstanding the famous history
of the siege of this city, where Charles XII. made so long a
stand against the united forces of the allies, it is incapable
of making any protracted defence under the present system
of war.
Seven insulated bastions are constructed round
the body of the place, but its chief protection on the land
side consists in the inundation of a small marsh, kept up
by means of dams on the north and south; the works of
offence, however, as well as the whole of the town, are com-
manded by the rising grounds on the west, lying within the
distance of six or seven hundred yards, which are far too ex-
tensive to be occupied (with a view to defence) by any thing
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
85
short of a powerful army.
A parapet would have been
thrown up in a single night sufficient to shelter the troops
from an enemy's fire, but no exertion could possibly have
saved the town. Should it have been held advisable to
withdraw the forces, this measure was also provided for; a
bridge of boats had been established to Dannenholm, (an
island adjoining Rugen) and protected by a strong tête du
pont. The access was not difficult, the passage being only
a few hundred yards in length from the gates of Stralsund,
and covered by the remains of some works which the French
had formerly erected, for the purpose of commanding cer-
tain situations under the heights where the batteries of
a besieging corps might have been advantageously esta-
blished.
It was from the north-west that Stralsund was attacked
and carried by the allies in 1716: the relics of the fortifica-
tions of that date are few, though some remains may be
still observed in detached parts on the side of the sea. The
French, as might be expected,. with their characteristic love
of plunder, had taken down and sold the greater part of
the materials previous to their departure.
In one of our daily rambles we came upon the spot
where the famous Schill was murdered in 1809: one of the
neighbouring inhabitants pointed out to us a cellar head
that marked the place where he fell. It was at the junction
of two narrow streets above the Farn Gate, where he left
his followers on the point of embarkation; himself returning
on some trifling errand, unaccompanied, into the town,
86
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
little anticipating the fate that awaited him. A party of
Dutchmen, induced by the reward which Buonaparte had
offered for his head, seized this opportunity, surrounded
and attacked him in a body. He defended himself for some
time with great courage, and at last dropped, pierced with
upwards of eighteen gun-shot wounds! His mangled corpse
was then carried to the hotel and exposed to public view,
for the sake of identifying his person, that the reward might
be adjudged to those concerned in the perpetration of the
murder. This deed, though unavenged, is not forgotten: a
brother of the unfortunate hero, leagued with the sons of
Palm, and the nephews of Hofer, had raised a standard,
round which numbers of injured patriots eagerly rallied, all
united in one and the same feeling of personal enmity to
the author of their wrongs. Their long beards, their lofty
plumes, and their uniforms of black, were so many perpetual
emblems as well of their grief, as of their deadly and impla-
cable hatred ; and they entered into an engagement, by oath,
when first received into this body, neither to give nor receive
quarter. But the hope that the hour of retribution was at
hand seemed now to be daily strengthened by the arrival
of every fresh courier, and the tide of success rolled on. It
was on the 23d we heard of the victory gained by General
Walmoden, with the Anglo-Russian corps at Danneberg,
cutting to pieces and dispersing a detachment of 10,000
men, who were on their way to join the French army at
Dresden. The British 73d regiment, that had for some
time before acted with this division, had the good fortune
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
87
to share the glory of the day. This continued series of
triumphs on the part of the allies seemed daily to gain pro-
selytes to their cause: still the feeling was not every where
equally prevalent, and even at Stralsund, where the com-
mercial interest might be supposed to have bred a contrary
sentiment, there existed a party friendly in secret to the
French cause. There were in fact no places without some
few individuals who embraced this side, either regretting the
loss of the power they had enjoyed under the former admi-
nistration, or, as was the case with the mob, dazzled by the
imposing style of French politics; for these had long been
the ruling fashion, and were still ably maintained by the arti-
fices of many ingenious and sophistical writers. I have fre-
quently heard the more uninformed people, in the middling
class of life, declaim strongly against the several prohibitions
of the Berlin and Milan decrees, but at the same time at-
tribute them, in the true whimsical spirit of the French
journalists, to the maritime oppression of the English, rather
than to the ambitious schemes of France: it was they, for-
sooth, whose encroaching system made such acts necessary,
while the French (poor innocents) were but the unwilling
promulgators of a severe but salutary code of laws. It is
fruitless to contend with prejudices that arise from in-
terested motives, and needless to attempt the refutation of
principles that must eventually find themselves their own
corrective.
The port of Stralsund was now free from these restric-
tions, and wore the appearance of a considerable commercial
88
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
depot. The articles with which the vessels were freighted
consisted chiefly of colonial produce, for from the use of
these the continent had been long debarred. On some goods
of this sort immense profits were realised; coffee in par-
ticular has at times borne a charge of 500 or 600 per cent.
But the sale in general was now growing dull; the uncertain
prospect of political affairs had a very sensible influence on
the market, and the whole of Germany, as yet liberated
from French oppression, was fully supplied, at least to the
extent they dared to receive.
The heavy exactions of the Prussian tariff imposed another
check upon the activity of commerce; but great expecta-
tions were raised of opening a larger field for concerns of
this nature, if the success of the campaign should deliver
Leipsig from the hands of the enemy, before the annual
meeting at the fair. There were a few Russian mer-
chants at Stralsund and some other foreigners, yet none
seemed to equal, in any way, the quickness and skill of
the English and Scotch in discovering a vent for their
goods.
Sept. 27.-We set out for Bornhoft by land, in order
to avoid the tediousness of a voyage up the Streights, in-
tending to embark at that point on board the Swedish
packet for Ystadt; nor had we reason to repent of our plan,
for the continuance of a south-east wind lowered the depth
of the water to such a degree, that the vessel took ground
more than once in the course of the day: even some of the
hulks, which the French had formerly sunk with a view to
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
89
obstruct the passage, shewed themselves in part above the sur-
face, so astonishing was the diminution that had taken place
in a few hours. A similar example of this phenomenon occa-
sioned the loss of Stralsund to Charles XII.: but it is of very
frequent occurrence in the narrow and obstructed seas of the
Baltic, as well as the Adriatic, and, probably, other places
similarly situated: it arises from the great accumulation of
the waters under the operation of a wind blowing constantly
from the same quarter; and in the present instance a change
happening to the north-west, they were again raised three or
four feet during the night. Unfortunately this point was an
unfavourable one for our voyage, and a circumstance which,
together with the sluggish timidity of our captain, delayed
us seven days off the coast. On the eighth, we finally set
sail, to our great delight, for the coast of Sweden.
The sinking of the hulks above-mentioned was not the
only measure which the French had taken to impede the
passage of this streight to the British shipping; we saw
some batteries which they had erected on the coast with
this view. As they took into their own hands, however,
the administration of the government of Swedish Pomerania,
this step cannot be viewed with surprise; but similar erec-
tions which we had before noticed on the coast of Meck-
lenburg were flagrant instances of their interference, in a
part where they had not even a colourable pretence for the
act.
In a mineralogical point of view, the tract we had
N
90
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
passed presented no great varieties: it was a plain country,
whose soil contained a large portion of a reddish-coloured
sand, arising from the partial decomposition of those
rocks which are now found scattered in loose fragments on
its surface. These were large boulder stones of granite, or
gneiss, intersected with veins of quartz, and of different
sizes, from three to four tons weight to the size of an
ordinary pebble, all of them partially rounded in their
form.
The general face of this district bore a strong resem-
blance in these respects to the lowlands of the south of
Sweden; it differed indeed only in displaying a more level
surface, and in abounding more frequently with rivers and
lakes. The soil of the valleys was blacker and richer where
these appeared than in the uplands; and the same observa-
tion may be made of the nature of the soil of the island of
Rugen, as well as of the coast of Pomerania, which grows
less sandy on approaching the sea. The broken cliffs on
the north of Rugen, at Cape Jasmund, &c. are, however,
of a white sand, lying under a thick crust of mould.
These heights were as a middle point, that seemed to
carry on the idea of a connexion between the two long
ranges of hills that appear in a direction north and south
on the opposite coasts of Sweden and Germany. They
may be traced in the former from the branches of a primi-
tive formation, near the lake Wettern, to Ystadt, and are
denominated the Linderöds Naen: in the latter there is a
SWEDEN AND NORTH OF GERMANY.
91
line similarly formed, and in like way scattered with boulder
stones, which may be observed to rise at a short distance
from the coast, whence they continue till they subside into
the plains near Gransee.
The lime used at Berlin came from Rudersdorf; the
coal, we were told, from Glogau, Schweidnitz, &c.
•
92
SECTION II.
SWEDEN.
Ystadt-Carlscrona-Arsenal, &c.-Calmar-Jonkoping-
Linkoping-State of the Peasantry, &c.-Stockholm-So-
ciety, &c.-Commencement of Winter-Arts and Sciences
·Agriculture—Trade-Currency-Criminal Execution—
Swedish Character-Election of Bernadotte-Politics
Treaty of Kiel-Fête at Court-Vision of Charles XI.-
Constitution of Sweden-Phenomena attending the severe
cold Upsala University-Clergy, &c.— Swedenborg-
Mine of Dannemora-Forges, &c.-Grisleham-Passage
over the Gulf of Finland on the Ice-Telegraph-Mineralo-
gical Sketch of Sweden.
THE short voyage we were about to make seemed scarcely
to need the protection of a convoy; it was said, however,
that the Danish island of Bornholm swarmed with pirates,
and we were escorted by a smart gun-brig, called the
Venta Littel*. Her singular name consists of two words of
the most frequent occurrence in the mouth of a Swede, as
every traveller in that country must have experienced. It
was given from the accidental expression of the late Gus-
* Wait a little.
}
SWEDEN.
93
tavus IV. at the launch of the vessel. He was not, it seems,
quite prepared when the time of her quitting the stocks
was announced: this phrase escaping him at the moment,
the "
king of dreams" seized the omen with a truly clas-
sical avidity—and the ship was christened accordingly. Our
fellow passengers, during the voyage, consisted of a motley
company a Swedish major and family, a Westphalian
merchant, a Gottenburgh supercargo, two German and
Swedish barons, a student of Schwerin, a British messenger,
an English esquire, a Russian envoy, a Rostock burgo-
master, a Scotch mercantile traveller, and a captive pirate,
who was about to suffer judgment for his marauding expe-
ditions off the coast, under the licence of the French ad-
ministration. We had another prisoner on board, a French
deserter, whose lank-worn looks bore testimony to the long
course of suffering which he related, and but ill accorded
with the feeble efforts of his innate cheerfulness and levity.
Originally a conscript of the department of the Loire, he
was marched to Russia in the campaign of 1812, and having
survived the calamities of that memorable retreat, bivouack-
ing on the snow, witnessing the savageness of cannibalism,
and a thousand other acts of horror, he arrived at Stettin,
where, amidst a half-starved garrison, he underwent for
several months all the privations that attended the siege.
So familiar had he grown with misery, that he described
his abode there as a season of comparative comfort and
repose: his stomach was become so habituated to fast-
ing, that although he had not, he said, taken any food for
94
SWEDEN.
near 40 hours before he was received in the packet, yet
he felt no strong symptoms of pain or uneasiness, and eat
what was given him without betraying any signs of a
voracious or ravenous appetite. The Crown Prince's pro-
clamation, offering 200 francs and a settlement in Sweden
to any French soldier who should desert, had induced him
to quit the service, a step that he effected with great dif-
ficulty. How far his expectations were afterwards realised
I know not, but we left him in the jail at Ystadt.
The day after our landing we pursued our journey over
a fine open tract of land covered with grain, containing
nothing to attract our attention, except a few solitary
barrows on the road side, similar in shape to those we
had before seen on the western coast near Halmstadt.
These are monuments of ages too rude to be borne in re-
cord on the lettered page of history; but their appearance,
wheresoever in the world they are met with, on the Shannon
or the Ohio, in the wilds of Mexico or of Siberia, never fails
to create a feeling of interest and enquiry that would gladly
unravel the uncertainty of their story.
Oct. 4.-The fortress of Christianstadt, our first station,
was noted as the scene of the debut in arms of the great Gus-
tavus Adolphus, who won it from the Danes at the early age
of 16. Considerable fortifications are still remaining to mark
its importance, though probably of a later date than the
reign of that monarch.
On leaving the town and the marshy swamp that sur-
rounds it, we passed from the southern lowlands to a new
SWEDEN.
95
region. The country, gradually rising from the plain, as-
sumed a more varied and pleasing form, adorned with hill
and dale, and rocks and woods; numberless scattered frag-
ments of stones, with the trees writhing from amidst their
clefts, formed in places the most picturesque combinations;
while time after time, as the carriage emerged from the shade
of the forest, the eye was cheered by the glitter of the sea
inlets that intersected its borders. Amidst this beauti-
ful scenery we were conducted to the romantic environs
of Carlsham, a town which hung like a nest upon the
cliffs.
As we entered its streets we observed a more neat and
flourishing appearance than could have been expected in so
wild a quarter, owing chiefly to the temporary advantages
thrown into the hands of the inhabitants by the French con-
tinental system. For not only Gottenburg and Malmo, but
this port also, whose situation indeed was better adapted for
the purpose, had become of late years an entrepot for British
goods and colonial produce on their way to the continent.
They were reshipped, and exported as opportunity might
serve, upon paying only the moderate duty ad valorem of
one per cent. to the Swedish government. Fortunately
for Europe, this state of things was now at an end, and we
congratulated ourselves on seeing the port of Carlsham
nearly empty.
Oct. 6.-Carlscrona was the next town on our road: it oc-
cupies a cluster of small islands lying on the sea-coast: three
96
SWEDEN.
of these, connected together by long wooden bridges, form the
site of the town, the rest of the group serve for the erection
of works of defence to protect the harbour. On some are
built square castles of stone, well furnished with ordnance,
and containing in the centre lofty towers with two tiers
of embrasures: their appearance is formidable enough,
though probably they are not capable of coping with the
tremendous battery that a ship of the line would open
against them: a similar mode of fortification, nevertheless,
seems to have been formerly much in vogue on the coasts of
Sweden and Finland. We observed examples of the same
nature at Gottenburg, Bohus, Marstrand, as afterwards at
Wiborg and other places; many of them are still maintained
as fortresses.
The arsenal of Carlscrona is interesting as the chief naval
depot of a power who so much distinguished herself during the
first war of Finland, although it has happened of late years
that she has had very little occasion for armaments by sea.
At this time not more than six sail of the line were in port,
and of those only one apparently ready for service; but,
together with one ship on the stocks, and the Gustavus JII.
stationed off Helsinburg, they formed the total amount of
Swedish shipping of that class.
Here is likewise a station for the flotilla, or flotte de
l'armée, which is in Sweden a totally separate establishment
from that of the navy. We were not, however, much interested
in these matters. To strangers the objects chiefly pointed
SWEDEN.
97
out to their notice are the covered docks, for which the
place is celebrated; and having obtained permission of the
port admiral, we proceeded to inspect them.
The first and original work consists of a large bason ex-
cavated from the solid rock, and secured at the top by a
roof resting on 12 square massive pillars. Surrounded as it
is in the interior with steps rising one above the other like
the gradini of an amphitheatre, and being of dimensions
capable of receiving a second-rate ship of the line, it has
an air of no ordinary grandeur: very different in effect
from the appearance of the covered slips, of which so
much boast is made, in the arsenal at Venice, that shew but
as large wooden barns or granaries when compared with
this magnificent edifice. At a little distance was a spot
allotted for the erection of some new docks on a similar
principle of construction: there was
there was a large reservoir,
around which ten of these buildings were to have been
formed in masonry of granite: only five, however, were
in any state of forwardness, and of these, two alone were
covered in.
The want of the advantages derived from the alternate
ebb and flow of the tide is, in some respects, attended with
inconvenience on the coast of the Baltic; but an easy
remedy is provided by an artificial rise and fall: for the
reservoir with which the docks communicate is filled by
sluices opening to the port, and emptied again at pleasure,
the water being drawn off with a pump that acts by wind-
mill sails.
98
SWEDEN.
Their machinery for stepping masts was after the fashion
of the one in use at the East India docks in London. The
model rooms contained some beautiful draughts and mould-
ings of the hulls of ships, which were chiefly also of English
construction, with other miscellaneous articles, of more
credit perhaps to Swedish ingenuity than of real practical
utility.
It may not be amiss at this place to hazard a few re-
marks on a subject much canvassed by certain modern
writers, the supposed subsidence of the Baltic sea. As far
as I have been able to ascertain, this notion seems to have
been founded on sundry local remarks made in detached
situations, all of them capable of explanation from plain
and natural circumstances, without having recourse to so
extraordinary a supposition. Either the encroachment of
the coast upon the sea in some parts, by reason of new al-
luvial formations; or in others, the diminished depth of the
soundings, on account of the accumulation of sand amidst
the obstructions of a broken shore; or again, ancient me-
morials of those occasional phenomena that arise (as was
before mentioned) from the long continuance of the wind in
particular quarters, have furnished the groundwork of this
fanciful theory; or indeed it may happen that some vestiges
are traced of that great lake which, no doubt, once covered
the countries bordering upon the Baltic before its waters
forced themselves a passage to the German ocean. With
regard to the fact of a gradual and constant subsidence,
it is to be objected that no complaint of a diminution of
SWEDEN.
99
water in the port is heard at Carlscrona, although esta-
blished as a naval arsenal in the reign of Charles XI.; nor
indeed has any injury been sustained by the old dock,
where a more particularly accurate observation must ne-
cessarily have been taken, and in which the alleged decrease
of 40 inches in a century could not fail to have a sensible
effect. But neither at any of the towns where the harbours
are fenced by old piers has a want of water been ex-
perienced, unless from the ordinary deposition and lay-
ing up of the mud; nor in those where new works have
been erected is any regard had in their plan to this sup-
posed operation of nature, which, if it really took place,
must inevitably unfit them in the lapse of a few years for
the purposes they are intended to fulfil. Enough, however,
has been said of so visionary and chimerical an hypothesis.
Leaving Carlscrona, we made for Calmar, one of those
towns which was fortified during the Danish wars, and con-
sidered an important hold on the frontier of Sweden before
the southern provinces were added to her dominions. A
Swedish garrison has at the present day a slovenly ap-
pearance: the men slouching, negligent, and aukward; their
clothes (for the frock of Charles XII. is disused) cut in a
bad French style, and their accoutrements in very ordinary
trim. The high yellow feather in their round hats is a
whimsical addition to their figures; it is said to be the
device of Gustavus Adolphus, who, observing his men had
not any cockades such as the other troops in Germany wore,
ordered them to carry a wisp of straw in their caps by way
Uor M
100
SWEDEN.
of distinction: and a few years back, one of the Swedish
regiments of guards still bore the knot of straw when mus-
tered on parade; it was neatly made up, and the officers
substituted for it a tuft of yellow fringe with threads of
silk.
Close on the beach stood the castle, a venerable man-
sion, that would have arrested our attention, even were it
not a place otherwise remarkable from the signature of a
league celebrated in modern history: the room, though now
used as a magazine, is yet shewn, where Margaret, the
daughter of Waldemar, concluded the union of the three
kingdoms of the North.
The gold mine of Adelfors was on our road the second
day after we left Calmar: notwithstanding its promising
title, this property is but of little value to the owner, scarcely
repaying the expense of working: only sixty or seventy
ducats were the amount of the produce of last year. The
precious metal is found in small grains, imbedded in a rock
of mica slate, which is intersected by veins of quartz and
pyritous matter; this stone being broken down and ground
to powder, the gold is procured by the usual mode of wash-
ing, for which an ingenious apparatus was constructed on
the spot.
Oct. 8.-This part of our journey was far from agreeable:
the wretched cottages of the post-master afforded but poor
accommodation; besides which, the heavy autumnal rains
that had set in rendered travelling wearisome and tedious, by
the gloom it cast on the scenery around. The country con-

1.T.James del
SCENE in the VILLAGE RUNNEBY, BLEKINGEN.
London, Published by LMurray, Albemarle Street, 1876.
Etched by the Hon H Lego.
101
SWEDEN.
sisted chiefly of forests of fir, with large open spaces cleared
out here and there by the fire of the husbandmen; its face,
otherwise extremely monotonous, so much so, that however
delighted with the first appearance, we now grew tired of
its unvarying features and the accustomed routine of wood,
rock, and lake. At length, on the morning of the third
day after we quitted Calmar, at a sudden turn of the
road, the lake Wettern broke in upon the horizon: a smooth
expanse of water, with a long range of hills rising majes-
tically over its borders. The view was magnificent and
grand, and though, perhaps, chiefly meriting this character
from its extent, yet so vast, that the eye felt no regret for
the want of the interesting and varied detail which forms
the charm of landscape on a smaller scale. Just below our
feet the scattered town of Jonköping shewed itself, stretch-
ing across the head of the lake, and appeared the only
feature that relieved the natural wildness of the prospect.
The favourable impression its first glimpse had afforded
was not lessened on our arrival within its precincts; we
found a place decorated with numerous public buildings,
as well as the mansions of many people of condition who
were induced to settle here from the amenity of the situa-
tion. It is, in fact, a sort of metropolis for the south of
Sweden, and is become, from its local advantages, not only
the residence of the government of this province, but also
the seat of the grand parlement, the high court of appeal
from the lower Haräds or districts of the judicial circuits.
We rested ourselves a short time in this delightful abode,
102
SWEDEN.
1
and thence pursued our road on the banks of the lake.
Vadstena bore formerly a name of greater importance than
its present state seemed to indicate. We were here shewn
with much veneration the palace of Gustavus Vasa, who fre-
quently made this town the residence of his court. It now
lay in a mouldering and neglected condition, only inhabited
in obscure and detached parts by poor people, occupied in
weaving of damask linen, which is the chief article of trade
in these parts.
The air and character of the edifice is of a picturesque
style, but, when examined minutely, exhibits all the in-
congruous deformities of the Gothic combined with the
inelegance of misproportioned Grecian architecture, and
bears the strongest resemblance to the mixed fashion of
building in England, which was so prevalent during the
16th and 17th centuries.
We were surprised to fall in with two Scotchmen at the
inn: they informed us they were employed under our coun-
tryman, Mr. Telford, to superintend the labourers on the
East Gotha canal, which is entrusted to his skill and ma-
nagement. This work is intended to complete the chain of
communication with the Baltic through West Gothland and
the lakes Wenner and Wettern to the Trolhättan canal,
the same that we had seen in a former part of our journey.
The town of Linköping, our next stage, claims also its
share of historical interest. It was here that Sigismund,
who had been elected to the crown of Poland while here-
ditary Prince of Sweden, gained a victory over his uncle,
SWEDEN.
103
Charles, the protector of the kingdom: the prejudices,
however, he had shewn in favour of the Roman Catholic
religion entirely alienated the wishes of the nation from
his cause even the success that attended his arms availed
him but little. A meeting of the Diet was afterwards con-
vened in 1600 at this same place, where he had been saluted
as conqueror, when he was, by general consent, declared
unfit to reign, and the crown settled, to the exclusion of the
true line of descent, on Charles and his posterity. This
memorable assertion of political rights is worthy of record
in the annals of the liberty of the North, and a case to which
a parallel may be easily found in the history of our own
island. The cathedral of Linköping, a venerable witness
of those days, is, perhaps, the finest ecclesiastical structure
in the kingdom; but since it was rebuilt, after a conflagra-
tion, near four centuries ago, it can serve to throw very little
light on the mysterious subject of the origin of pointed
architecture.
Among the curiosities in the library are preserved some
cups curiously wrought of wood thin as paper, and enclosed
one within the other to the number of an hundred. These
samples of ingenuity are from the lathe of General Steinbock,
the hero of Helsingburg; who, after a long career of glory,
was made prisoner at Toningen, and obliged to have re-
course to these mechanical labours to soothe the tedium of
his long confinement in a Danish prison; for (shame to an un-
grateful nation!) when the ransom demanded was only 9000
dollars, the gallant general passed the remainder of his life
104
SWEDEN.
in captivity. Possibly some political reasons might be
assigned to account for the fact; but Sweden was at that
time exhausted by the expensive and ruinous wars of
Charles XII, and impoverished to a degree that she has not
even yet recovered. But without this additional cause of
misfortune, the country labours under the pressure of a
constant natural poverty, of which abundant proofs daily
meet the eye; that are to be recognised in customs and
usages, differing so much in many respects from those to be
met with elsewhere.
One of the most obvious instances is seen in the singular
footing on which the posts are established: we were surprised
at each station by the different description of people that
presented themselves as our drivers; they were shoemakers,
carpenters, blacksmiths, and sometimes even women: they
were also, for the most part, the proprietors of the horses
themselves; for these were collected in turn from the cot-
tagers of the neighbourhood; one moiety of the charge alone
being paid for their hire, and the rest defrayed by the
land proprietors of the district. On this account, the
small sum demanded for their hire places them, not in
the light of a luxury for the use of the rich alone, but
throws them within the reach of all classes of the commu-
nity: the opulent baron, and the poor peasant, are seen
posting on the road indiscriminately, habited in every va-
riety of costume, and conveyed in every strange species of
carriage, cart, or waggon.
Amongst a widely scattered population, whose con-
SWEDEN.
105
dition is not able to support the establishment of regular
public carriages, it is necessary to provide some cheap
mode of transport, and to facilitate as much as possible
the communications of the country. The legislature, seeing
this, have adopted a measure, perhaps not ill suited to
circumstances, and have laid the burthen on those to whom
the greatest benefit must immediately accrue; the Swedish
seigneur is more than repaid, for the sum disbursed, by
the increased value of every article that his estate pro-
duces.
The poor cottagers are not neglected by the govern-
ment, in point of education, or in other respects sparingly
supplied. Parochial schools are universally kept up, under
the salutary provisions of a law of Gustavus III.; and there
are few among the peasants but what are able both to read
and write. With regard to their maintenance, when in
distress, constant parochial aid is afforded, and a poor
house supported in every parish, at the expense of a light
rate upon the property of the wealthier inhabitants.
The funds, moreover, arising from the charity boxes for
gratuitous donations, are in part destined to the same
benevolent purpose; a distribution of their receipts is
made to a certain number of out-pensioners, as well as the
inmates of the poor house, who are generally portioned in
four classes; the sick, the aged, those who have large fa-
milies, and those who are helpless from their state of ex-
treme poverty.
The honesty of the Swedes is as proverbial as that of
P
106
SWEDEN.
the Highlanders of Scotland, a nation whom they resemble
in many particulars; neither are these charity boxes,
though frequently placed in the most exposed situations
on the road-side, ever fraudulently opened, nor is any other
unguarded property, public or private, liable to depreda-
tion from the hand of the harmless rustic.
Of other moral qualities I cannot say how large the
catalogue may be, but they indisputably possess in a high
degree that feeling of rude pride, (I had almost said sulki-
ness) which distinguishes the manners of the lower class
of people under a free government: occasionally, however,
higher traits of mind are displayed, and those of a nature
to reflect infinite credit on the national character. Hokan-
son was a peasant of the province of Blekingen, whose
name for probity and honour had procured his return to
eight successive meetings of the diet, in most of which he
received the appointment of Orator or Speaker to his
House. He was so greatly respected, and regarded with
such esteem, that the King Adolphus Frederic thought it
proper to pay him a visit on passing through the district,
and even condescended to partake of his cottage cheer.
During his abode at Stockholm, he was much caressed by
the court; and the Queen amongst others, who sent him pre-
sents, gave him a very handsome robe of velvet. On the
following day her Majesty happened to meet Hokanson in
the streets, and seeing him in his usual dress, she asked,
with an air of surprise, whether he had received her gift-
“Yes,” said he, (opening his coat and exhibiting the velvet
SWEDEN.
107
sown on the lining), " I hold it here next my heart, but no
"shew of splendor or finery shall ever induce me to forget
66
my real situation, or to forego the title in which I glory,
"of a free peasant of Sweden."
The cottages in this country are built of logs of wood
squared and neatly mortised at the coins; they bear too a
singular ornament (common also in Germany) of horses
heads cut in wood over the gable end. The whole is
ge-
nerally coloured for the purposes of preservation, as well
as embellishment, with an artificial ochre, which is procured
from the metal founderies. The roofs are planked with
fir, or, in those of better condition, covered with thin iron
plates painted black. In the interior, the chief article of
furniture is an iron or brick stove, which with fuel from
the forest (a matter of small expense to the poorest per-
son) affords a comfortable assurance against the rigours of
the climate; it is lamentable to add, however, that this
method of warming their apartments frequently occasions
the death of many of this class: being ignorant, or at least
careless of the noxious effect of the vapour of the carbonic
acid arising from wood in a state of ignition, they are apt,
for the sake of warmth, to shut the damper that closes the
chimney flue, and the suffocation of all who may chance
to be confined in the room of course ensues: many lives
in Sweden are annually sacrificed by this pernicious
practice.
The best conditioned, as well as the most wealthy and
intelligent race of peasantry, are found in the provinces
lying to the north of Stockholm; where in many districts
108
SWEDEN.
there exists no class of great landholders, but every indi-
vidual is himself the proprietor and cultivator of a small
plot of land, as is the case among the independent inha-
bitants of the Tyrol. The tenure of farms or Hemmans in
the country, in general, is of much the same nautre as
that before mentioned to have obtained in Germany; and
since they are here free people, the conditions cannot be
very oppressive.
In such a wild region, the uncertainty of the limits,
or marches, which may be assigned to any man's pro-
perty, occasions the necessity of establishing a corps topo-
graphique, for the arbitration of all disputes on that score.
Of this body, who are resident at Stockholm, I cannot
refrain from remarking, that considering the accurate geo-
graphical information, which must be in their possession, it
is somewhat singular that no good maps of Sweden have
ever been published, from these sources, or under any au-
thority from the government. The invaluable work of
Baron Hermelin was the undertaking of an enlightened
and public-spirited individual, who has exhausted the
greatest part of his private fortune in a labour, that can
only make him a return by name and reputation.
Oct. 14.-The town of Norrköping is intersected by
the rocky streams of the Motala, which exhibit themselves
in a thousand beautiful points of view. The place is built
with neat red houses of wood, ranged in squares, owing
their regularity, perhaps, to the frequency of conflagration,
but indicating, by their present handsome appearance, the
prosperity of the trade afforded from the situation of the
SWEDEN.
109
place. It contains about 9,000 inhabitants, and may bė
said to be the fourth town of Sweden, in point of size.
The chief manufactory is one of broad-cloth; some idea
of the nature of whose success may be drawn from the fact
that their finest black is offered for sale at the price of nine
R. D. B. (27s.) per ell, (the measure being three-quarters
of a yard English and one yard broad :) yet it is, as may be
supposed, much inferior in quality to that imported from
England. This branch, however, has met with as much en-
couragement and assistance as the circumstances of the coun-
try allow. The native fleeces of Sweden have been greatly
ameliorated by the spirited experiments of Herr Alsomer,
about ninety years since: notwithstanding the former
fruitless attempts of Queen Christina, he succeeded in pro-
ducing a mixed breed of sheep, whose wool, though not of
the finest quality, yet was equal to that of a second sort in
Spain. The Merino ewes that were imported died gene-
rally within a year after their arrival, being unable to sup-
port the severity of the climate; and their lambs, an ill-
conditioned offspring, partaking of the weakness of their
dams, survived in general, only a short time: upon this
Alsomer changed his plan; and by breeding with Merino
rams, from the native ewes of Sweden, effected the pre-
sent improvement. It must be viewed, altogether, as a
scheme that redounds greatly to the honour of the country,
especially taking into consideration how early a period
it was to originate speculations in this branch of agricul-
tural economy.
110
SWEDEN.
2
Of other establishments at Norrköping, there is but one
worthy of notice, which is a secular convent, for the educa-
tion of the daughters of the nobility. A girl is here secure,
under any circumstances, of a retreat and provision for
life, on the stipulation of a small sum, which is paid at
the time of her birth. She is permitted to frequent so-
ciety at pleasure; and is only distinguished by wearing
a particular dress, being of an azure colour, and of a
neat and simple form. No forced rules compel the vota-
ries of this Lutheran nunnery to a life of celibacy; they
are at liberty to contract marriage at any time, only sub-
mitting their choice to the approval of their superior, or
priorinna.
The agriculture, in the country we passed, seemed in a
very creditable state; and the land bore evident marks of
an increased value as we approached the metropolis: the
fields were in some places enclosed; their fences made of
stakes of fir, driven into the ground in a slanting direction;
a mode very common throughout the north of Europe.
Besides this, surface drains were cut, their grounds well
kept, and clean; and the rye was already appearing above
the ridges. Tobacco we were told was one of the articles,
whose produce ensured the greatest pecuniary returns;
we saw several fields that had been cultivated with this
plant, and in this situation, so near to Stockholm, it is
stated to yield near eight times the profit of any other
crop: but its culture has not been long introduced, or very
widely extended.
111
SWEDEN.
From Nyköping we made for Sodertellje; the last town
on this long route, of near 500 English miles, that we had
Here we
traversed since our departure from Ystadt.
passed over the line of another canal, which is intended
to form a communication between the southern coast of
the Mæler and the Baltic sea; since the difficulties of
the narrow and winding passage of the entrance from the
west present great obstacles to the ready dispatch of com-
mercial business at the metropolis. A second cut connects
these waters with Stromsholm, in the province of Westman-
land, so that the projected alteration will be productive of
double advantages. It must be confessed indeed, that at
the present day, a new era of exertion and improvement
seems to dawn among the Swedes; and every effort is
made to surmount those natural impediments, which have
hitherto retarded their progress towards a higher state of
national prosperity.
.The visit of custom-house officers, with a tediously formal
inspection of passports, are the ordinary vexations which
the ceremonious and rigid Swedes impose every where
upon a traveller; and no where more rigidly, or pertina-
ciously, than at Stockholm: but since a resident citizen
himself, when driving out 'for an airing, is subject to the
same inconvenience, a stranger cannot fairly expect to
escape unnoticed. After some delay with these trouble-
some inquisitors, we at length, however, entered the town;
which, though much spoken of by travellers, was a place that
far exceeded in interest the utmost limits of our expectations.
112
SWEDEN.
Uniting every beauty of wild nature, with the charms
attendant upon the scenes of more active life; echoing the
clamour of the bustling populace amidst rocks, that have
not yet ceased to ring with the woodman's axe; rivalling
at one display the boasted cliffs of Edinburgh, the broad
lake of Geneva, and the streets and shipping of Venice : its
view presents a romantic vision, that not even the highest
powers of the art of description could ever attempt to
delineate.
The examples of architecture within the town, if we
except the mansions of the royal family, are not of a style
at all corresponding with these delightful environs. The
private houses make little show; and the general air of the
public buildings is not of the first style of magnitude, or
in any way remarkable for good taste. One point
One point may be
selected, that exhibits in a single prospect all that the capi-
tal can boast, of this description. There is a long bridge
of granite, connecting the city in the centre with the
northern quarters of the town: immediately at one ex-
tremity rises the Royal Palace, a large square edifice,
with extensive wings, and of the most simple and elegant
contour: the other extremity is terminated by an eques-
trian statue of Gustavus Adolphus, forming the chief object
of a square, that is bounded, on the sides, by handsome
edifices of the Corinthian order; one the palace of the
Princess Sophia, the other the Italian Opera-house.
At a little distance, a low portico obtrudes itself to
notice, serving rather to disfigure than to ornament the

1.James del
STOCKHOLM and the LAKE MÆLAR.
London Published by Marnay
1816
1. Clark Joule
SWEDEN.
113
view: it is no way worthy of mention, except on account
of its singularly fantastic fashion and bad conception. One
corner of the building of the Mint being bevelled off, a
four-legged protuberance, of the Doric order, was affixed
thereto, in conformity with the whimsical fancy of Gus-
tavus III. who was misled by an unfortunate prepossession
in favour of his own talents, as an architect. There cer-
tainly is not an instance in all London, (and it is saying
much) of a portico constructed with so little deference
to correctness of judgment or true classical feeling.
But Swedish taste, in general, has its peculiarities, and
of this ample specimens are seen in the houses, both in
town and country: whatever their date may be, whether
they are built in the Italian fashion, the Gothic or the
mixed, the same air and character almost universally pre-
vails. They are formed in a meagre and hungry style,
with small windows, puny decorations, niggardly propor-
tions, and devoid of any attempt at relief in their parts:
they look bare and naked, resembling rather the outlines
of the drawing of an elevation, before it is filled
shade, than a finished work.
up with
The nation is not now likely to be improved by many
modern examples: they have wisely turned their atten-
tion to those matters of political economy, which ought, in
the course of nature, at all times to precede the develope-
ment of taste in the fine arts. Unable to support extra-
vagance by their own resources, they have ceased also to
seek the means from abroad; and the modern residences of
૨
114
SWEDEN.
the Swedish nobles are built with an appearance of far more
honourable mediocrity than those that were erected in former
days with the retaining fees of the intermeddling and offi-
cious agents of foreign powers. Many mansions of this
latter description are yet left standing; but they are consi-
dered as of too large a scale, and for the greater part aban-
doned by their proprietors.
The king ap-
Nov. 1.-We were presented at court.
peared in an extremely feeble state; and when he had
asked a few questions relative to the military operations of
the Crown Prince, during the time we had stayed in Ger-
many, we were dismissed from his presence. The chamber
where he held his levee was the same in which his nephew,
Gustavus IV., had but a few years before been placed under
arrest by General Ardlercreutz; when all the ties existing
between a people to their sovereign were, by one arbitrary
act, in a single instant dissolved. Without stopping to
dwell on the hackneyed topic of faded royalty, it must be
confessed that a momentaneous reflection could not but
come across the mind, on viewing the theatre of revolution
in a country so subject to political change as Sweden; and
a presentiment would occur of something that might befall
hereafter.
We were received by the queen in the chapel, after divine
service. The melancholy aspect of the court, in conse-
quence of the death of the queen dowager, was fortunately
relieved at this juncture by the tidings received from the
army in Germany. A courier had arrived in the morning,
SWEDEN.
115
with the news of the great battle that had been fought at
Leipsic, ending in the entire discomfiture of the army of
Buonaparte. There seemed few exceptions to the general
feeling of satisfaction which this intelligence diffused: though
no one could venture to anticipate the glorious consequences
to which such signal success eventually paved the way.
The account was not productive of less sincere joy in the
city than in the palace. The orders issued for a general
illumination were obeyed with alacrity, and preparations
made that for such a place may be considered proud and
sumptuous. Numerous transparencies were exhibited in the
streets, fraught with divers allegorical ingenuities. Lernæan
Hydras on the one side, and Polar stars on the other, were
among the most favourite emblems. A spectator was not
dazzled by London magnificence, or elbowed by a noisy
mob; but the deficiencies of the one and the absence of the
other were both amply compensated by the peculiarities
of the situation of this scene. It will be impossible ever to
erase from my recollection the splendour which the fairy
islands of Stockholm reflected on the lake below, or the ro-
mantic effects of the cannonade, pealing from rock to rock;
while every object around seemed to accord in still but pleas-
ing harmony. Over the face even of the people them-
selves one spirit of tranquil gladness seemed to prevail;
and they viewed the various novelties presented to their
eyes with a sober and almost phlegmatical complacency.
Early in the course of this month the severity of the cold
began to be felt, and the natives shrouded themselves in
116
SWEDEN.
their first surtouts for the winter. There are certain plea-
sures, notwithstanding, that accompany this season. The
preceding week had been productive of a vast quantity of
snow, and fortunately (being the necessary conditions for
good trainage) it had fallen on a ground already hardened
by frost. The atmosphere, disburdened of its load, imme-
diately clears up, giving place to a settled state of weather.
The sledges are brought out, the horses harnessed, and all
the world, before so sluggish and inactive, at once is set in
motion. Figures innumerable are seen gliding over the
white carpet of snow, with a pace so quick and yet so
silent, that it appears to a stranger as an exhibition of en-
chantment. The cart of the peasant, the carriage of the
noble, shoot by swift as lightning: you hear nothing but the
safety bell*, which tinkles in your ear as it passes, and de-
clines in the distance, before you have yet well recognized its
sound. The gladdening ray of a bright sun, and a sky per-
petually serene, lend so pleasing a variety of colours to the
view as would render a picture of Stockholm, in the month
of November, one of the liveliest prospects in nature.
The evening entertainments now commence, as the chief
families arrive from the country to winter in the metropolis.
An early dinner, at two o'clock, or a profuse supper at
ten, are the usual offers of Swedish hospitality: but nei-
ther are these private parties frequent, or the public
* The proprietors of horses that traverse the streets are obliged by law, in
order to prevent accidents, to affix a bell on their collars, as a warning of their ap-
proach; so soft is their tread on the beaten snow.
SWEDEN.
117
amusements very numerous.
numerous. An Italian opera-house, anda
small Swedish theatre, alone, were open during our stay:
for the company of French comedians, who had lately at-
tracted so much notice, had been dismissed, by order of the
Crown Prince. There were, however, several clubs and insti-
tutions. The first of these, the Society, or Helskapet, was
regulated on the same plan as the clubs in London. The
others were lodges, that held assemblies and balls at stated
times; the Amaranth, the Innocence, the Narcissus, &c.
The Amaranth is by far the most fashionable, and the best
attended. There was formerly an order of knighthood, in-
stituted by Queen Christina, under this title, to perpetuate
the memory of her lover, Pontus de la Gardie; but having
afterwards fallen into disuse, it has only been nominally re-
vived in this shape by a company that established them-
selves about 70 years since. The ceremonials of inaugura-
tion are conducted with all the due forms of chivalry. On
the ballot for a new member being declared, the elect is in-
troduced by a lady, and a procession arrayed to the strains
of solemn music: when this is concluded, she decorates
him with the ribbon and insignia of the Amaranth, and he
receives on his shoulder the sword of the president, who is
usually one of the first officers of the state. The grand
cordons, and grand crosses and collars, are distributed in pro-
fusion-mock honours*, that give, nevertheless, a strikingly
* The real orders of knighthood in Sweden are four: the Seraphims, the
Polar Star, the Sword, and the G. Vasa. They are excellent rewards in the
hands of a government that has not the means of recompensing merit by more
substantial acts of compensation; but they are distributed somewhat lavishly;
and of the order of the Sword alone are enrolled more than 1000 Chevaliers.
118
SWEDEN.
gay air to the whole assembly. In the midst (not the least
conspicuous) shone the Marechalls of a late noble marriage,
wearing, in similar knightly guise, the garters of the bride;
which, according to custom, are the prize of those who light
the bridegroom to his chamber on the nuptial night. But
ceremonious decorations, so universal on the continent in
general, are objects of a nature particularly captivating to
the ostentatious mind of a Swede. At a meeting even of
this description the full dress is ordinarily worn by all that
are entitled to it; and exceptions can only be few, when the
members of every rank and profession, from the officers of
the crown to the Royal Academy of Artists, have their di-
stinctive and appropriate uniform. The citizens, too, have
their regular gala habit; a Spanish cloak and hose of
black, not much differing in colour or shape from the com-
mon dress of the court. It is but fair to add that, among
other accomplishments, they all dance extremely well, and
in a style inferior perhaps only to the beau monde of Paris.
Among the lower classes the first indication of the ap-
proach of winter gives them the hint to lay up their stock
of eatables for the frozen market; the provisions lasting, in
a congealed state, unhurt during the whole season. They
next pile their stocks of wood for firing, and light up the
stove of their wooden cabin, that is never suffered to grow
cool, or even to undergo ventilation, from this day till the
arrival of the genial month of May.
One of the most pleasing sights of this time was the
return of the seamen, discharged for the winter, to their
SWEDEN.
119
1
Bostellars, or apportionments of land. We saw a division
of them on their march, carrying their families, with all
their little store, in light Swedish waggons from the port to
their homes: here they were housed, each with his hut and
plot of ground, in separate ranges according to the gradation
of their respective ranks; the habitation of the cominander
of the ship's company being placed in the centre of the
permanent encampment. It is a mode of provision pecu-
liar, I believe, to Sweden; and was made, during a former
reign, by the application of certain lands of the crown to
this purpose. The advantages of this plan of maintenance
are extended to the army as well as the navy. The regi-
ments of provincial militia are all supported in the same way;
and these (if we except the artillery, and a few regiments of
guards), form, in fact, the only standing force of the country.
We dedicated a few days, while the weather was yet
supportable, to the inspection of the curiosities of Stock-
holm and its environs. The royal palace does not contain
many other things which may be characterised as worthy of
remark: still there are some good paintings, and a fine gal-
lery of statues, chiefly antique, collected by the taste and
munificence of Gustavus III. The Endymion is a chef
d'œuvre of its kind. The Raphael china is of infinite value :
but a splendid example of genius and talent misapplied.
Of the royal palaces in the neighbourhood, Drott-
ningholm is the largest: it stands in an highly picturesque
situation on the banks of the Mælar, and though not built
in the first style of magnificence, yet fully answered the end
120
SWEDEN.
intended by its erection, which was to exhaust the treasures
of the mother of Charles XI., since it was feared they might
otherwise have been squandered in a less objectionable
mode. The room where the late Gustavus Adolphus was
confined, upon his removal by the conspirators from Stock-
holm, was shewn to us: he staid here no longer than one
day, and was removed for the three succeeding months to
Gripsholm, another royal seat on the Mæler, and about 20
miles distant from the capital.
This last castle has sometimes been not unaptly called
"La Maison de force des Rois de Suede :" it was in former
days the place of confinement of Eric XIV. and of John III.,
whose wretched cells in the round tower are now pointed
out to the stranger: that of the latter is a small apart-
ment encircled by a second wall within the round tower;
the brick flooring was half worn through by the constant
tread of the royal prisoner in the only spot where the co-
incidence of the windows afforded a direct opening to the
realms of day; and seemed, by this mark yet remaining, to
bring all the irksomeness of captivity in the most forcible
manner before our eyes. But his crimes merited (if pos-
sible) a more severe retribution.
Haga is a small elegant pavilion, the favourite retreat
of Gustavus III., situated within one mile of Stockholm,
and surrounded, as is the general fashion, with gardens à
l'Anglaise.
If it were needful, however, to enter into description,
the arsenal, the depot of the trophies of the Swedish wars;
SWEDEN.
121
the Maison des Nobles (House of Peers) filled with the
escutcheons of all the first families of the country; or the
royal cemetery in the Riddarholmen church would afford
ample materials, but these may be considered as objects
rather interesting personally to a traveller, than as fit to be
given in detail here.
To pass on to another point connected with the general
spirit of improvement which we have already noticed, it may
be worth while briefly to touch upon the state of the fine
arts in this northern metropolis.
Music is by no means neglected, though very few of
the old national airs are now to be met with. The comic
opera of Frigga, and the collection of songs named Fred-
man's Epistlar, contain almost the only examples. But the
generally prevailing taste for the Italian style has banished
every other idea, and their native composers would be but
little esteemed, if they did not conform to the fashion.
It is to be lamented that they should not have persevered
in a line which might place higher attainments within their
reach, as well as entitle them to greater claims of ori-
ginality; instead of this, they yield to the seduction of a
foreign style, meriting certainly its reputation from the
high pitch of excellence to which it has been advanced, yet
(it should at the same time be remembered) that, in point
of exquisite feeling and high wrought melody, it is never
heard in full perfection unless on Italian ground.
As to painting, we must forbear to speak of those
branches of art where the higher powers of genius are called
R
122
SWEDEN.
for; but in such as are purely imitative in their nature, we
must allow that the Swedes display no mean share of talent.
Falcrantz, as a painter of landscape, stands the first
in reputation, and, indeed, may fairly be ranked among the
best artists of the present day. He is almost self-taught,
formed by a judicious course of observation, under the
guidance of an excellent judgment and an accurate eye for
colour. His principles of composition were chiefly gleaned
from prints, and his fancy pictures shew a high degree of
excellence in this particular: perhaps he is not quite so
successful in the application of his rules to the combinations
of real landscape; far however be it from any one to de-
tract by trivial points of criticism from the merits of a
person that deserves so greatly the patronage of his country
and the admiration of the art in general. It is to be hoped
he will one day improve still more in technical knowledge,
as well as enlarge the sphere of his acquaintance with the
world by visiting those rare and precious collections that are
now scattered throughout the cities of Europe, and which
make foreign travelling, according to the present mode of
study, so necessary a point of education to a painter.
It is not enough in modern days that a man should de-
sign and execute with taste and spirit; our ideas of ex-
cellence are formed on certain fixed models, and our pre-
judices are become by association so strong, that any
recent production, whatever its intrinsic merit, is disre-
garded, if it does not savour in some respect of the style of
the old masters. Nor is this a mere outcry of fashion, but
SWEDEN.
123
a fictitious feeling which has grown upon us by habit, till it
has entirely overpowered the natural bias of our minds.
The arts, we say, are lost to our days, that is, they have
flourished in times past, and for this very reason they never
will or can attain again the same degree of excellence. The
great masters of the several old schools of painting have left
nothing to their successors but imitation: and the necessity
of following the beaten track lays a restraint on the efforts
even of the most daring, and effectually suppresses the ex-
perimental ardour of native genius.
Raffaelle, Poussin, &c. it will be said, founded their notions
on the works of others, and studied deeply the models of ex-
cellence which the ancients had left behind them. This is
true; but chiefly examples of sculpture, a branch requiring
a totally different application of talent; their style, there-
fore, did not partake of the nature of precise and mechanical
imitation, but was rather formed by the deduction of certain
general principles that developed themselves amidst the pro-
ductions of their mighty predecessors, and which a strong
faculty of discrimination enabled them to bend and adapt
to their own use.
In another point of view we ought not to regret that the
art itself has arrived at this point of its progress; all the
moral advantages held out from its study are to be gained
by pursuing it under these circumstances: while its utility
is finally more widely spread, because its exercise is more
universally attainable; and it is with this view alone it can
ever be successfully cultivated in Sweden.
124
SWEDEN.
The great works of genius are but the ornaments and
decorations of the art in general, objects that give a grace
and dignity to it abstractedly in itself; but to rival whose
rank of excellence is by no means requisite at this day to
advance the chief ends of its pursuit.
The collections of pictures in the country are not nu-
merous; the only private ones of note are those of Count
Brahe, the Baron de Geer, and Mr. de Wahrendorf; so
that, notwithstanding the liberal spirit with which these
noble personages display their treasures, foreign travel
becomes doubly necessary to a Swedish artist. The late
king, whom some call Gustaf Adolf den liten (or Gustavus
Adolphus the little) favoured Falcrantz with his advice on
this point; and, in furtherance of his recommendation that
he should make the grand tour of Europe, presented him
with a donation from his royal purse, of a draft for no less a
sum than 200 R. D. B., about 301. sterling. We may hope
that a provision more suitable to the purpose will be af-
forded by the Crown Prince, who is possessed of the same
spirit of zealous admiration for the arts, which appeared
to characterise all the members of the late French go-
vernment.
Among the sculptors, the name of Sergel (il Michel
Ange du Nord) has long been justly celebrated: his work-
shop abounds with models of beauty and grace, executed
with a spirit of taste and fidelity that deserves the highest
encomium. The Cupid and Psyche, Mars and Venus, &c.
are to be ranked among the most elegant examples of the
SWEDEN.
125
beau ideal: but this is a lofty walk of art, and, I must con-
fess, they seemed to me to lack something of the Prome-
thean fire.
There is no country in Europe which, in proportion to
her numbers, has contributed so largely to the advance-
ment of science as Sweden, and none where it is still more
steadily and successfully pursued. We met several of the
most distinguished characters at the evening parties of Herr
Edelcrantz*, president of the Board of Commerce, whose
house is the focus of literature at Stockholm.
An introduction to Professor Berzelius' was not among
the least of the advantages we owed to the president's kind-
ness he is a person well known in the annals of chymistry,
and that has lately gained additional renown from his in-
defatigable researches in illustration of the theory of definite
proportions. It would be presumptuous, however, to speak
* Herr Edelcrantz was a native of Finland, much patronised by Gustavus
III. to whom he owes his chief honours. He unites to his other accomplishments
that of great mechanical ingenuity, of which we saw several specimens: he had
made some improvements in the steam-engine; a second barometer, with a com-
parative scale, was added to the steam gauge, in order to shew the variation of
the pressure of the atmosphere, which may affect the instrument of measure to
the amount of one-seventh. He had also made a self-regulating door to confine
the heat of the fire when increasing too fast. This steam-engine was employed in
working a corn-mill, and there was no part but was converted to use in his
admirable establishment: on mounting to the upper story we were shewn an in-
genious apparatus for making pearl-barley; in another part was the chimney
of the fire, within this was a machine for drying corn; an iron cylinder con-
taining a spiral chamber, through which the grain was passed by a regular ro-
tatory motion, and there subjected to the moderate action of the heat of the air
in its passage upwards.
126
SWEDEN.
even in praise of the scientific acquirements of such a man.
But I felt happy and proud to cultivate the acquaintance
of one so much beloved in general, and who proved as
estimable in private life as respected in the world of letters.
At the same place we fell in with Professor Schwartz,
one of the most celebrated writers of the Flora Indiana Oc-
cidentalis, and were afterwards indebted to him for a sight
of the Cabinet of Natural History. A general description
of this collection would require the pen of a skilful na-
turalist; and as to the indigenous productions of Sweden,
they have been already too well detailed in books of science
to admit of the cursory observations of a traveller. It was
impossible, however, not to be struck with a specimen that
was pointed out to our notice of the food of the peasantry
during a hard season in many of the provinces. It was
a cake from Dalecarlia, made of the bark of trees: the
birch is the most common in use, while that of the pine
is held luxurious and dainty fare; but to procure a little
rye-flour and add it to this wretched mixture, is an hap-
piness that falls to the lot of few indeed. The inner
bark or parenchyma is applied to this purpose; it is simply
macerated in water, ground up, and formed into cakes
of the consistence of a wafer; their taste is slightly bitter,
but seemed, I thought, by no means less palatable than the
coarse leaven bread of rye made with old sour yeast, which
generally may be called the " staff of life" even throughout
the more fertile parts of Sweden.
The use of so poor a diet in a climate that requires the
SWEDEN.
127
most nutritious regimen is attended with its inconveniencies:
the rustic peasants in general, though large and bony, are of
a spare habit, and on the smallest alteration or improvement
of their food, are subjected to severe attacks of plethora.
Many of these poor creatures do not survive their first visit
to Stockholm, where, when they are ill.of a surfeit, their
disease is usually called the Dalecarlian malady, from its
prevalence among that people: this complaint, indeed, seizes
upon them in so great numbers, as to give an idea to the
vulgar of its being contagious, and one frequently hears, as
the phrase is, that it is "going about."
A remarkable instance occurred in 1788, when the
Jemtland regiment of militia was ordered to do duty in the
capital: the men had not long been settled in their quarters
before a violent mortality broke out, and increased to so
alarming an extent, that enquiry became necessary. After
due attention to the subject, a medical report was prepared,
which attributed the mischief entirely to the nature of the
soldiers' food; its quality, though they partook of no
higher luxuries than wheaten bread and a little meat, was
yet too strong and nutritious for stomachs accustomed to
other fare; and a coarser aliment in consequence pre-
scribed. An inferior bread was then baked for the re-
giment, adulterated to the requisite degree of meagerness
and indigestibility, and a strict attention enforced to the
poverty of the rest of their diet. Upon this the stomachs of
that hardy race soon regained their former tone; the num-
128
SWEDEN.
ber of deaths gradually diminished, and in a few weeks the
sick list was entirely clear.
Although it is asserted that some years back a con-
siderable export trade in grain.was carried on from the
ports of Sweden, yet their present growth falls far short of
the ordinary demand of home consumption. Since, how-
ever, Esthonia, Livonia, and Finland, that were once her
granaries, have been successively wrested from her grasp,
necessity has turned the attention of the nation towards.
other sources of supply; and they have begun to learn that
industry at home may not only afford them a compensation
for their losses, but place their dependance on a footing less
precarious, and more conducive in itself to the general pro-
sperity of the country.
I inspected the rental of a well-managed estate not very
distant from Stockholm, which then yielded more than dou-
ble the amount of its produce in the year 1805; though
fewer labourers were stated to be employed in its cultivation.
The agriculture was carried on in the English system, and
much money had been laid out in its improvement; yet
in no one year was a sum expended greater than its annual
income. It is not meant to draw a general conclusion
from a particular fact; but it is the opinion of those best
informed on this subject, that if the present zeal for im-
provement* continue, Sweden will be enabled in fifteen or
late
*The farmers affirm that certain atmospherical changes have taken place of
years, and that they cannot depend on the same signs as indications of thẹ
SWEDEN.
129
twenty years to supply herself with grain from her own
soil.
The crops within the last four years on an average, taken
throughout Sweden, give a proportional improvement of
5-0, as may be seen by the table* annexed: a further
proof of what may be effected on a soil hitherto stigma-
tised as barren may be drawn from the fact, that in three
of the provinces bordering on Stockholm, the additional
stimulus afforded to the exertion of the husbandman has
carried this increase to 6-2, and in some parts even to 6.7.
Our next enquiry must regard the number of inha-
bitants of the country: we shall find, on inspection, it is
not such as poets relate, "the populous teeming North
"once poured from her frozen loins," but a meagre popu-
lation, thinly scattered over an immeasurable tract of land.
The difficulty of rearing children in a climate where the
weather, which formerly answered that purpose. The draining of land and clear-
ing of forests has not been carried on to such extent that it should be assumed as
the cause: and it must be observed, that the Aurora Borealis, once so commonly
seen in these parts, has not appeared here more than once in the last eight years:
it is now, I believe, equally rare in the parallel latitudes of Scotland.



Sq. Miles
Swedish. Population.
Norrland 2061
Proportion of
those living in
towns to those
in the country,
are as 10 to
Mortality, one
in
Annual increase
Cultivated
in 100 persons.
ground to the
waste as one to
159,100 240 47 1.5 915
Spans of
seed sown.
measure:
each
Return in span-
span being two
bushels three
quarts Eng.
Proportion for
Increase of corn
| each person.
in four years.
49,683 245,998|| 1·2 49
Svealand
917.15
Götaland 807'6 1,364,583
Lakes
Total
85.2
890,457
63
40
116
40
0.6 45
0'7 20
359,091 2,009,017 1.9 5.6
731,791 3,204,184 19 4-5
43 0.8 62 1,140,565 5,459,199 1.8 5.0
3870'95 2,414,140| 92
The above is taken from Akrell's survey, published in 1811.
S
130
SWEDEN.
most robust alone can survive the tender years of infancy,
materially diminishes this source of national prosperity; and
the augmentation is said to proceed only at the slow rate
of 0.8 annually in every hundred, or eight persons for a
thousand.
60
The constant drain upon mortality in Sweden (for it is
stated at a greater proportion than in the annexed table)
does not pass unnoticed by the celebrated author of the
Essay on Population: he thinks "the continual cry of the
government for an increase of subjects tends to press the
66 population too hard against the limits of subsistence,"
and that hence arises the evil complained of. It is never-
theless probable, that more obvious and natural causes
might be assigned; and I would venture to assert, that
under no circumstances of encouragement whatever, though
the means of support were multiplied to the utmost extent,
could this country ever become populous. He recommends
to them an improved system of agriculture, such as has
been adopted since the period of his visit; but blames
severely the Swedish government for their injudicious erec-
tion of lying-in and foundling hospitals, inasmuch as by
promoting vicious habits, their real effect is to check in-
stead of promoting the main-spring of population. The
principle is, no doubt, abstractedly true; but in that par-
ticular stage of population and condition of society under
which Sweden now exists the case is altered, and arguments
that might be justly urged with regard to London or Paris
may yet be inapplicable here.
Mr. Malthus's great and important theory must be con-
SWEDEN.
131
sidered as an outline that is to be perfected and filled up
hereafter: its primary principles are no more to be reasoned
upon with a view to practical purposes in detail, than the
naked theorems of mechanics or any other branch of mathe-
matical science are to be acted upon as producing the same
result in theory and experiment. The accompaniment of
circumstances must never be neglected in the calculation
of one case more than the other: and if all the fundamental
doctrines of the Essay on Population were to be considered
and modified with this aim, it would put a stop to the
frequent citation of crude and undigested arguments that
the half-learned daily bring forward from a treatise, which
was intended by its author, no doubt, for far other and
more noble purposes.
The Board of Agriculture, of which the Crown Prince
is president, has applied itself with great assiduity, inciting
as well as directing the labours of the husbandman, and
making the occupation of farming not a pleasure alone, but
gilding it with the name of a fashionable recreation in the
eyes of the wealthier classes of society. The attention of
his royal highness was at an early period called to this sub-
ject: he had witnessed a very severe year of scarcity during
his abode in Sweden, and to alleviate its immediate pres-
sure, had been induced to expend the greater part of his
private fortune in the purchase of foreign corn. Nor was
this all; but amidst the urgency and distress of that ne-
cessitous period, he drew schemes of improvement for the
future. "Born in the camp," said he in his speech to the
132
SWEDEN.
66
board," I yet know well how to appreciate the art of agri-
culture and the toil of the husbandman.-We know that
"Sweden has an extent equal to that of old France, though
"she possesses not more than a tenth part of her popu-
"lation. To the labours of cultivation, therefore, must
66
our exertions continually be directed. With the brave
"Swedes, my companions in arms, you shall be protected
"from every foreign enemy, while the fruits of the harvest
"shall be gathered in security and tranquillity." It was
one proof of his earnest attention to these concerns, that
at the conference at Abo he procured a promise from the
emperor of Russia of some select stallions, from the differ-
ent breeds of horses, which are scattered in the provinces
of that empire: the stud, about 60 in number, arrived in
the course of this month at Stockholm, all of which were
intended to be distributed as presents to gentlemen residing
in the country, on condition of their affording certain ac-
commodation to their neighbours. They were of a shewy
exterior, and beautiful contour, probably not ill suited to
cross with the native Swedes, which are clever active horses,
their loins strong, their limbs well knit, but though possess-
ing many excellent points, yet small in stature, and without
any pretension to elegance of figure.
In considering the value of landed property, the im-
portable produce, that in many cases forms nearly the
whole revenue, must not be omitted. Those who go by
the name of merchants at Stockholm are in fact only com-
missioners or agents in a concern where the landholders
133
SWEDEN.
themselves are the bona fide dealers. It is a wholesale
traffic that is carried on. They send out timber, pitch,
copper, pig iron, &c., and only very few wrought articles,
except pieces of heavy ordnance, sheet-anchors, or things
of that nature. Manufactories, as has been before said,
cannot, in the present state of Sweden, flourish to any great
degree. They are insufficient in number and activity to be
able to meet the demand at home, and utterly unfit, in point
of the quality of their goods, to stand any competition with
those from abroad. It is singular that the making up pig
iron (notwithstanding the numerous mines in Sweden) was
not practised until the sixteenth century; the ore being
constantly exported, and returned in the shape of metal: a
circumstance from which we should be inclined to draw an
inference somewhat unfavourable to the general encourage-
ment of manufacturing establishments in this country.
The adoption of strict regulations at the custom-house
is in some sort necessary, under the prevalent European
system of commercial jealousy: but by prohibiting, in
one sweeping clause, the introduction of new-made articles,
the government holds out too great a stimulus to the acti-
vity of the smuggler, and in the end cheats itself of one of
the most productive branches of revenue: for, in spite of
the laws, English articles of every description are to be
found in every shop at the capital; where a certain en-
hancement in price, from the increased difficulty of im-
portation, is the only effect produced.
When the call for foreign articles is so great, and the ob-
jects of export so few, it must appear singular to be told, in
the official reports, that the balance of trade is in favour of
134
SWEDEN.
Sweden: but such an assertion is no novelty. Almost
every nation publicly notifies the same result of their an-
nual examinations: so that one would be inclined to believe
all the world were gainers alike. The fallacy arises, not
only from the incorrect statements of the custom-house,
which fall short from the above cause, but from a confusion
of the nominal prices of foreign articles here with those
they bear in the country from whence they come.
The apparently high value of money in Sweden is a
matter of great importance to her, as an improving nation
especially with regard to the encouragement of her export
trade: but at the same time it affords us a sure criterion of
the actual poverty of the nation. Every article of life is
cheap, and the private fortunes of individuals are at a low
estimation, in comparison with their average amount in the
rest of Europe. 70,000 R. D. B. (or 10,000l.) is reported
to be the income of the first landed proprietor in Swe-
den; and there is scarcely an instance of a much larger
annual profit being realised in trade. Being engaged, how-
ever, in a question of this sort, it is fair to add that the
prices of articles have risen very much of late, and in a
greater proportion than the slight and temporary depre-
ciation of the paper money can serve to account for. The
increase of the price of one tunna of grain in two years,
taken at an interval of six, was as follows.
Rye..
1805
R. D. B.
4
Sch.
36
1811
8
12
Barley.
Sch.
R. D. B.
3 28
6
4
* The capacity of the tunna has been mistaken by a late learned traveller
in Sweden: it equals four bushels five quarts Winchester measure.
SWEDEN.
135
But on taking the average crops for the last ten years,
the increase* of prices appears to have been progressive in
a ratio of four to nine, and the scale of things, in general,
has been similarly enhanced. We must congratulate the
country, I believe, on this sign of increasing wealth.
Of another circumstance, nevertheless, the possession
of an inconvertible medium of circulation, which many
writers hail with the same tone of exultation, I may at
least venture to say, that it is a most equivocal symptom
of prosperity; but one which has long ago made its appear-
ance in Sweden.
The first paper note bears the date of 1717, being
stamped in the reign of Charles XII.; though it was not
till the year 1789, upon the embarrassments succeeding
the first war of Finland, that gold and silver began to grow
really scarce; and some years after that time, the con-
tinued demand for specie, which was created throughout
• I have seen a table, comparing the prices of corn in different years, be-
tween the London and Stockholm markets, with the medium of the Hamburg
exchange it is singular that they varied nearly in corresponding proportions.
Rate of exchange, Jan. 7, 1814.
R.D.B. Sch.
London
Petersburg
7 40 for £1
20 for 1 rouble paper.
Prices of articles.
R. D. B. Sch.
s. d.
Day labour
32
2 0
Fuel for fire for a week
32
2 0
Hot meats each plate
8
0 4
Bourdeaux wine
2 24
4 6
Landed estate of 10,000 acres near Helsinburg, valued at 60,000l. sterling.
136
SWEDEN.
Europe, entirely exhausted the remaining stock. This
took place much about the same period that guineas were
discovered in England to be "an unnecessary incumbrance:"
the system, however, is more perfect here, for literally
nothing but the base metal copper is ever seen in circula-
tion. It is worthy of remark, that the golden ducat, bear-
ing the king's stamp, may be purchased at the Bank for the
market price of gold, because silver, as was before stated,
is the standard of the currency fixed by law. The credit
of their paper money is good at home, having suffered
no other depreciation than that which is become general
throughout Europe, arising from the increased demand for
the precious metals; and in consequence of this, certain
restrictions have been laid down by government, which
prevent the Bank from answering calls for payment in cash.
The national establishment is a Bank of deposit, founded
in 1657, upon the plan of Palmstruck, a Livonian: it is
placed under the administration of all the estates of the
realm, except that of the peasants, who formally refused to
participate the charge.
Their issues are made upon certain depositable securi-
ties, such as iron, timber, goods, &c. ; houses and land being
never accepted, since, if seized in case of default, the re-
turn is too slow to admit a sufficient profit to be realised.
There is an office also where bills are discounted, in which
some of the managers of the Bank have the chief share;
but as more risk is incurred, it is a distinct concern, and
constitutes no part of the national establishment.
SWEDEN.
137
It was not without some feeling of surprise, that an En-
glishman at Stockholm listened to a conversation upon
detail points of political matter, and especially such as now
occurred: the restrictions of the Bank, the daily increasing
prices of things, the exclusion of Roman Catholics from a
seat in the Diet, or the severity of the penal code. They
were not made the subject of speculation in a review
or a gazette; they were not hawked about by loungers
in the streets, or commented upon by the clamorous
orators of an evening forum. Nevertheless, these topics
were occasionally brought on the table, and always treated
with that dignity and decorum, which those who are really
interested in their subject can never cease to feel. The
three former exist, in fact, beyond a doubt; but as to any
complaint on the last mentioned circumstance, whatever
may be the literal ordinance of the law, its practical se-
verity is little or none: and the necessary arbitrary power,
which is entrusted to their judicial magistrates, is admini-
stered (it is impossible to say more) as in England itself.
The mode of punishment differs from our own: for a
common misdemeanour, the offender is mounted astride a
wooden horse, and exposed to the derision of the populace:
formerly with a pair of heavy weights attached to his legs,
like the punishment lately discarded from our regiments of
dragoons. For petty offences, public whipping with rods
at the Treska is awarded to either sex indiscriminately.
For robbery on the highway, or for house-breaking, the cul-
prits are sentenced to be hung, and in case of murder they
T
138
SWEDEN.
are always beheaded. The right, however, of making three
separate appeals to the superior courts, which is granted in
civil causes, is extended also to the criminal; and what
may be reckoned a still more extraordinary provision, no
man can suffer death according to his sentence, until he
has made an actual confession of his crime. This apparent
act of lenity had its origin in a most unmerciful custom,
for torture was anciently employed to extort the necessary
avowal, and Gustavus III. having abolished that iniquitous
practice, the remaining clauses of the law were left, I ima-
gine, unaltered.
Nov. 17.-The example of an execution, when after
some weeks the necessary admission of the crime had been
made, happened to take place in the month of November.
The offender was an Italian, who murdered his companion,
in consequence of a violent quarrel at cards: he had
repeated the blow five and twenty times, following his
unfortunate victim from room to room, and therefore no
plea of sudden passion was admissible in mitigation. It
was two years since the spectacle of such a punishment.
had been witnessed at Stockholm, and on the appointed
morning an immense crowd was assembled, notwithstand-
ing the extreme rigour* of the season. Two file of armed
soldiers (from the regiment of the police) with their officer,
who superintended the execution, were stationed in attend-
ance at the prison door; for such is the fashion of the
* The mercury stood at 17° Celsius, or + 2 Fahrenheit.
SWEDEN.
139
country. However enormous the custom may seem in
the eyes of an Englishman, the same must be said to be
the practice of all European nations, I believe, except our-
selves: those delicacies of British liberty, that forbid the
agency of the military to put in force the awards of the
civil power, are not points intelligible to the patriotic sen-
sibility of any but our own countrymen.
At nine o'clock, the gates were unbarred, and the
culprit walked forth with a crucifix and beads in his hand,
(for he was a papist) accompanied by a French priest: the
procession, moving slowly up the street, passed the Stadt
Huset, where a glass of wine was presented him, according
to ancient custom: some support, indeed, seemed neces-
sary, as the distance from the prison to his place of de-
stination was upwards of two English miles. In about
half an hour's time the fatal spot appeared: in the middle
of a spacious amphitheatre of rocks stood a low circular
tower, surmounted with a triple gallows; below was a
wooden scaffold with a few fir boughs scattered about, en-
circled by a range of soldiers. Being arrived within the
ring, he cast a look around, and for a moment fixed his
eyes on the block: the priest recalled his thoughts that
seemed to wander, and holding up the cross, besought him
with earnestness to join in prayer; he then received solemn
absolution, again confessing his guilt, and expressing a hope
that his voluntary submission to punishment might be ac-
cepted, in some sort, as an atonement for his crime. A
little chorus of Catholic orphans, whom the Abbé had
140
SWEDEN.
brought up, kneeling around him, commenced the chaunt
of a sacred hymn.-" Allons depechons," said the police
officer, with a fierceness that disgraced humanity-" We
have no time to lose."-The man of authority was obeyed
-the hymn ceased; and the unfortunate offender in-
stantly undressed. He tied a bandage round his eyes
with a firm hand.-" Now," said he, "I am ready, lead
"on:" he marched steadily forward and mounted the
scaffold-All was silence-" Stay awhile, let me pray
" alone;”—He knelt down and stretched forth his hands for
a few seconds to heaven, then clasping them over his head,
threw himself on the fatal billet: at that instant the axe
fell; but the blow was ill directed, and the body shrunk
back: again the axe was reared in the air covered with
gore-and yet a third time. A scene like this is too horri-
ble a piece of butchery to admit of description: even
Swedish phlegm was moved to murmur at the sight.
The just discrimination of national character is a task of
infinite difficulty: it is denied to the native from prejudice,
to the resident from too great familiarity, to the visitor
from too little means of observation; it is imperious, there-
fore, on every one to contribute whatsoever he may be able
towards the illustration of such a point, and to leave it to
those persons who may succeed better in forming abstract
views on the subject.
This nation has its singularities: and if, as philosophers
tell us,
the chill of a northern climate tinges the minds and
manners of the inhabitants with an unimpassioned species
SWEDEN.
141
of reserve, it is certain that there exists something of a re-
ciprocity between the moral and physical constitution of
Sweden. Rigidly ceremonious, they make their stiff and
measured courtesies the essentials rather than the forms of
life, and seem, in a stranger's eye, a people cold in their
nature as the very snows they dwell upon. Their charac-
teristics, a passive courage not unmixed with indolence; a
pride, not free from ignorance; a disposition, that is not
ill-humoured from having no humour at all, from indiffer-
ence-from apathy.
But a Swede is never in extremes: even these traits
are not deeply marked, and if we review the more favour-
able side of his character, we shall find in him an undaunted
spirit of perseverance, and an honest love of freedom, to
which the feelings of every one does homage; and I may
truly affirm that no traveller passes from their shores but
he quits them with regret, and ever afterwards takes the
strongest interest in whatever tidings he may hear that
concerns the welfare of the nation. In the higher classes
the mind is necessarily tempered by the grace and fashion
of society, and there are many whom private sentiments of
respect would lead me at all times to acknowledge with
warm expressions of gratitude, and to recall with peculiar
pleasure many a happy hour I have spent at Stockholm.
But we must not look for traces of national character
in assemblies of this description'; it is rather among the
middle and inferior ranks that we see the "mirror held up
to nature." The members of polished society throughout
142
SWEDEN.
Europe are, in all essential points, nearly alike in manner, in
sentiment, in morals; save only that some allowances should
be made for the different temperament produced by the in-
fluence of a voluptuous southern climate.
With regard to their inattention to this very point the
Swedes are chiefly to blame. They aim at the imitation
of a peculiar style of refinement, which is not congenial to
their constitution. French or Italian manners and customs
are introduced to the drawing-room, and even to the
nursery; while persons in a lower condition of life seek
apishly enough to follow the example of their superiors.
So far was the principle of schooling carried, that previous
to the French revolution, a Swedish regiment was con-
stantly maintained at a large expense in the French capital,
whence they returned to Stockholm with a large assortment
of phrases and forms of courtesy.
If this people must imitate, they should seek examples
better suited to their nature; morality and manners are
soon confounded; and the introduction of such as the
above is an engrafting of incompatibles, that must produce
only the cold debauchery and deadly poison of viciousness,
without engendering that lively feeling and open generosity
of sentiment which tempers vice itself with at least a pal-
liative, and perhaps a corrective power.
For a further illustration of character, it is fair to recur
to the developement of public sentiment which is mani-
fested on great occasions; and refer to historical facts in
support of the argument. We shall observe, in spite
SWEDEN.
143
of their cold-blooded obduracy, or perhaps arising from
this very cause, a sanguinary turn of mind to have been
predominant here from early times. There was a précis of
the Swedish annals lately published, whose title was not ill
imagined, "Swenska Konungars olycks Oden," (Calamities
arrive to the kings of Sweden); and it must be confessed,
it contains a catalogue of horrors beyond compare: few
were the monarchs of this country that were not either
killed or forcibly dethroned: and since the two last reigns
have afforded each an example of its kind, one must be
permitted to hope that their names will close the list.
The story of a recent murder might be added (not indeed
of one possessing royal dignity) but who merited a rank
among the first of his country for birth, for talents, and for
rare accomplishments. The assassination of Count Fersen,
both from its manner and nature, is an act that would stain
the foulest page of history.
It was on the occasion of the sudden death of Prince
Augustenberg, the late Crown Prince, that a thousand ru-
mours and conjectures arose on the cause of so unexpected
a catastrophe. A physician was sent to examine his body
in Schonen, where the accident happened. Upon his
arrival there, he found an inspection had already taken
place by some of the faculty from Lund, and the contents
of the stomach were unfortunately thrown away. The
official paper, therefore, stated his full confidence in the re-
lation which had been made to him, but that he could not
sanction the report with his name.
144
SWEDEN.
Murmurs in the mean time daily grew more loud and
violent at the capital; suspicions that are not even yet for-
gotten were attached to those whose rank and eminence
alone made them obnoxious to attack. The unfortunate
nobleman above-mentioned, his sister, Countess Piper, and
even the queen herself, became the object of execration
with the ignorant and misguided multitude.
The friends of Fersen, aware of the state of the public
mind, repeatedly admonished him to avoid appearing in
public, but to no avail: presuming on the consciousness
of his innocence, he resolved not to neglect his last duty
to the remains of the prince, and took his place in the
funeral procession as it entered the streets of Stockholm.
No disposition to riot was any where displayed until the
hearse reached the Maison des Nobles, when a party from
amidst the crowd of spectators rushed upon the count
and dragged him from his horse; sticks, umbrellas, and
whatever other articles were at hand, were converted by
their fury into weapons of assassination; and in one short
half hour he was no more. Singular to relate, all this passed
without interruption, at an early hour in the evening: the
guard was on duty at the palace; the police-office hard by;
the intended murder had been publicly talked of; and
when actually committed, every one seemed amazed and
astonished: but no one was punished, or was any enquiry
made; all that is said is, that some people of a decent con-
dition of life were supposed to be concerned in the per-
petration of the bloody deed.
SWEDEN.
145
It might be added, that the same notoriety as to the in-
tentions of the conspirators preceded the assassination of
Gustavus the Third: the time, the place, all was known
and made the subject of conversation at Stockholm. The
king himself, who thought to overawe the conspirators by
boldly facing their treasonous attempts, was aware also of
all these circumstances.
The plot carried on against the late king, Gustavus
Adolphus, was in like manner made public beforehand, but
his acts of folly had justly excited the general execration
against him; still it is surprising that greater secrecy should
not have been requisite for the execution of a plot against
the sovereign. Except the quiet substitution of one em-
peror or empress for another, which sometimes has occurred
at Petersburg, I know of nothing parallel in history: but
in Russia the people are not parties concerned, the affair
resembles the transfer of a private right; here the case is
different, and admits of no excuse for such insensibility.
But it is time to return to that point of our story which
gave origin to this digression. Upon the death of Prince
Augustenberg a. diet was immediately ordered to be con-
vened, and public attention was universally turned to the
great object that had devolved to their charge. The re-
membrance of the former glory of Sweden, the sense of
their recent misfortunes, and the threatening situation which
Russia held from the possession of Finland, made the
nation almost unanimous in the wish to select a man of
military talents. It was natural at this epoch, therefore, to
TI
146
SWEDEN.
turn their eyes towards France. The French officers were
for the most part in disrepute from the tyranny which they
had exercised, and seemed disqualified to fulfil the duties
of government; but it so happened that Bernadotte's ad-
ministration of the district entrusted to his charge, together
with his consequent removal from that command for his
lenity and humanity, had become lately a general subject
of encomium in the North of Germany. Bernadotte,
moreover, had been personally made known to General
Essen, General Wrede, and many other Swedish officers of
distinction, at the time of the capture of Lubec in the Prus-
sian war. He had exerted his influence with Buonaparte to
procure an armistice for the troops; and every individual
concerned felt grateful for his friendly zeal. Thus far he
was befriended by a happy concurrence of circumstances ;
it still remained, however, for those who wished him well
to interest the people in his behalf; and they too had heard
at least of his military character and renown.
The project of putting him in nomination for the vacant
dignity was first only canvassed among a small party in-
cluding the above personages, but they soon opened a cor-
respondence on the subject with some young Swedes who
chanced to be resident in Paris, and while as yet the scheme
was in embryo, the young Count Mörner waited on Ber-
nadotte in person, and made him acquainted with their
wishes. He received such an answer as might have been ex-
pected, and the party at Stockholm being apprised of his
concurrence, redoubled their exertions.
SWEDEN.
147
1
National animosity against the Danes, as well as the
disadvantageous competition of personal merit, made the
cause of the Prince of Denmark daily grow unpopular, and
the officious zeal of his emissaries served only to promote
the cause of Bernadotte. By the time that the Diet as-
sembled, the House of Nobles had been almost wholly
gained over; but the three other houses were still un-
certain; to prevent any disturbance, therefore, in case of
an equal division of the four, several precautionary steps
were adopted. A committee of sixteen was delegated
from each, with whom the final decision was to rest. It
was much to be wished that recourse to this measure
should not be rendered necessary: a question of such im-
portance ought to be carried by the full concurrence of the
assembly; and to compass that end, every spring was set in
motion. The day of election arrived. The nobles, con-
scious of their secret agency, were unwilling to be the first
to declare their voice in public: they protracted their
debate for upwards of an hour with much feigned earnest-
ness, when, to their inexpressible delight, a deputy arrived
from the House of Peasants, to inform them that their
choice had fallen on Bernadotte: the House of the Clergy
and that of the Burghers followed with acclamations. The
Nobles closed the scene. The election was then publicly
proclaimed, and a courier instantly dispatched to carry
the intelligence to France.
It may here be fairly asked whether Buonaparte had
any influence in the decision of this election: the story
148
SWEDEN.
1
above recited is sufficient to induce one to suppose him un-
connected with any part of the transaction. It is besides
well known that he at one moment actually refused his per
mission to the field marshal to accept the offer of the
Swedes, because he had professed himself unwilling to give
any pledge on the subject of the continental system; and in
the end Bernadotte received a reluctant consent, and this
only upon the ground that he should trust to his honour for
the fulfilment of the part Sweden must take in the grand
plan for the salvation of Europe. He bowed and retired.
In addition to this, one might venture to assert, that
having incurred Buonaparte's displeasure at Wagram, and
been since left unemployed, he was the last person on whom
the king-maker would willingly have wished to confer
this dignity. He had subsequently been in command at
Antwerp; but it was the act of a volunteer, as being re-
sident at Paris when the news arrived of the landing of the
English in Holland; and even here he was soon super-
seded.
It was a French faction that introduced him to Sweden,
no doubt, as the higher classes are generally known to pos-
sess a strong attachment to that nation; but the party was
totally uninfluenced by the intercession or even will of
Buonaparte.
The election being officially made known to him at Paris,
the marshal changed his uniform for that of a Swedish noble-
man, and with the same happy facility abjured the Catholic
for the Lutheran faith; then set out without loss of time on
SWEDEN.
149
his journey to Elsineur; from thence he was conveyed by a
formal deputation of nobles, senators, &c. to the seat of
Mr. Wahrendorf, in the neighbourhood of Stockholm, where
he remained a few days.
His first object at the capital was a private visit to the
king and queen, his adoptive parents, who received him with
great cordiality. On the following day he made his public
entry, and was introduced at court with the honours due to
his new rank.
Three days were devoted to public reception at the
palace, and fêtes prepared of the most splendid description.
The first day was chiefly occupied by presentations; on the
second was exhibited a theatrical spectacle, where persons
of high rank in the country sustained the several parts of
the drama: on the third a grand ball was given, that was
enlivened by the introduction of an allegorical device much
admired for its ingenuity.
The company were variously engaged, when on a sudden
a bevy of ladies enter the room performing a national dance,
and dressed" à la bergere Suedoise:" while every eye is
turned towards them, a set of young cavaliers appear ha-
bited " à la mode Française:" they accost the Swedish
damsels, are received with great complaisance, and after a
short parley they join in the dance together, chanting
strains of fidelity and pastoral love.
The fêtes were succeeded by the presentation of the
deputies from the several provinces, who came with con-
gratulatory addresses to his royal highness. Of all these,
150
SWEDEN.
that of the Laplanders (who came somewhat later in the
year) was the most remarkable. Their diminutive stature,
their costume of fur, their ten small sledges each drawn by
rein-deer, parading round the area of the palace, must have
displayed a spectacle of a novel kind to a native of
Gascogne.
With regard to home policy, no great changes were
deemed necessary on this occasion; the diet of 1809 had
revised the articles of the constitution, and nothing was re-
quired to be done at their present session but the intro-
duction of the French conscription, which the Crown Prince
earnestly solicited. Being foreign to the tenor of the
Swedish laws, it was no easy point for him to gain, and he
awaited the decision of the houses with considerable anxiety:
on the arrival of the officer who informed him the bill had
passed, he sprang from his seat, and embraced him eagerly,
exclaiming, c'est fait-nous sommes independans. The expres-
sion will be held equivocal by some people, but we should
add that it was the cause of the nation which his words
alluded to, and subsequent events have proved the truth
of his views.
The stipulations of this law included young men of every
rank indiscriminately, between the ages of twenty and
twenty-five, placing at the disposal of the crown a force of
about 80,000: only two of these years were afterwards put
in training, and to judge from the usual bounty given at
this time for a substitute (100 R. D. B.) it cannot be con-
sidered as a measure that may be called oppressive in its
SWEDEN.
151
operation; notwithstanding which it excited some rebellious
tumults among the peasantry in the provinces lying to the
south of Stockholm.
The class of the commonalty were those that had least
real ground of complaint; the law might be looked upon as
a sort of constitutional victory on their part over the higher
privileged orders, rather than as an infraction on the rights
of the lower. The nobility previous to this day were not
personally liable to serve, neither was it without much oppo-
sition on their parts that so sweeping a clause was carried.
This concession once made, led the way to the abolishment
of a second exemption not less iniquitous in its principle
than the former; and before the diet dispersed, the nobles
subjected themselves also to the burden of taxation, anti-
cipating by a voluntary act what must otherwise sometime
have been extorted by harsher means, and conceding to
public feeling a point, whose relinquishment a few years
back would have been branded as the basest dereliction of
duty.
Soldiers were formerly raised by a levy on the several dis-
tricts in the usual proportion of one from each Hemman*, and
from hence arose a new difficulty in framing the conscription
act. The lands now held of the crown, and some of those
formerly annexed to it, were by the old law freed from this
onus. Such an immunity was not now to be endured; yet
it was unfair to abolish this privilege without affording some
* The ordinary extent of an Hemman is under 30 acres.
"
152
SWEDEN.
compensation. The ministers therefore proposed that in
alleviation of the new change, the quota of recruits levied
on these estates should be commutable at the pleasure of
the proprietor for a certain charge not exceeding five barils
of corn each man; but the diet was now filled with projects
of equalisation, and returning their answer by a direct
negative, the question was carried as before stated.
It has been often said, from these circumstances taking.
place soon after his arrival, that the Crown Prince was in-
clined to favour the popular side in politics: if it should be
his intention to raise the power of the merchants and the
peasants, so as to form a counterpoise to the overbearing
weight of the nobles, he will follow the wisest course which
historical experience can point out for imitation.
With regard to foreign views and relations, the prospects
of Sweden by his means took a new direction: but this
system was in opposition to general opinion, and regarded
by few persons in a proper light, Circumstances had un-
dergone an alteration, but the public, who are ever slow to
change, were not in any way sensible of the different line
it was become advisable to adopt.
While Finland was the object of contention (and it had
constantly been so for the last century) Russia was the
natural enemy of Sweden, and the alliance of France of
course was sought after for the sake of protection. Finland
was now lost; the objects of alliance changed; Russia had
nothing more to demand; France no offers of succour to
make which it could be deemed necessary to accept,
}
SWEDEN.
1.53
But the policy of the ruler of France introduced the
consideration of another question: to preserve good terms
with him, was to forego all the advantages of commerce,
and to cut off at once both the present resources and future
hopes of the country. At the same time he insulted the
national flag, plundered the ships, treated the seamen as
prisoners, and took forcible possession of Pomerania; seem-
ing to threaten by his haughty conduct, that he would
accept no other than a forced compliance with his wishes
on the part of Sweden.
War against England had meanwhile been declared; it
was nominal indeed with regard to acts of hostility: the
British cruisers returned, in most cases, their captures un-
touched, and even sent back to their ports the vessels that
they had retaken from the French, with a charge only of the
usual salvage.
Instead, however, of being exposed to the hostility, open
or concealed, of both these two parties, as affairs were more
advanced, Sweden became the general object of solicitation.
On the one side she was offered the provinces of Finland
on condition of taking the field with 40,000 men, to co-
operate with the grand French army by marching against
Petersburgh on the northern coasts of the Baltic; but, at
the same time, engaging to submit to the continental
system, and lending herself to the further aims of the French
government, into which Bernadotte had no doubt some
insight.
On the other side, an alliance with Russia promised her
X
154
SWEDEN.
possession of Norway as a compensation for the loss of
Finland; while England gave a free commerce, an island
in the West Indies*, and a subsidy of 1,200,000l. to
equip a contingent of 30,000 men; but these were to be
employed in the common cause of Europe against France.
The Crown Prince balanced but for an instant the
choice of these proposals, and a treaty of alliance was ar-
ranged in 1812 at Abo, between Sweden, Russia, and Eng-
land. His mind had always been bent upon the acquisition,
of Norway; it is related of him, indeed, that when one of
the agents of Buonaparte arrived at an early hour at Stock-
holm, the Prince drew aside his bed-curtain as the man ap-
proached, and eagerly asked—"Est ce que vous m'apportez
la Norvege?"—"Non sire," was the answer; on which he in-
stantly dismissed him without adding another word.
From the circumstance of the late diet having ordered a
great road to be made in a line from the south through the
north of Westmanland, bearing directly upon Drontheim, the
key of Norway, it should seem that schemes in that quarter
had for some time been in view. Nevertheless, the Russian
and English treaty was highly unpopular throughout Swe-
den. Although French alliance was a fraternisation that
*The cession of the island of Guadaloupe was looked upon in Sweden as a
transfer, chiefly advantageous to England, in whose possession all the neigh-
bouring islands were, and who must ultimately furnish the chief supplies for the
use of the inhabitants: so little did they consider themselves as the chief gainers,
that the arguments which the English journals urged against the Swedish treaty
in the earlier part of this year were looked upon as factitious, and only written
with a view to cozen their friends the Swedes.
SWEDEN.
155
must have proved ruinous to a large class of merchants and
landholders, yet the abandoning a nation, whose cause had
been so long identified with their own, the confirming to
Russia the possession of Finland, and the disappointment
of those who had supported Bernadotte's election merely
with a view to regaining this province, created so strong
a party in opposition, that many persons were fearful
of the consequences which might ensue at the Prince's
return.
T.
Under these circumstances it was he undertook to en-
gage in the cause of the allies, long before the great Eu-
ropean coalition was formed, and at a moment when the
possibility of realising such a scheme was yet doubtful.
But his conduct answered well: the glory of the success
that attended the opening of his campaign in Germany had
its due effect, and overwhelmed at once every complaint
which had been raised against him at home. The people
thought they beheld another Charles XII.; public opinion
underwent a thorough revolution, and recantations of their
former sentiments were made by several persons of high
rank and consideration, who had before shewn the greatest
spirit of hostility to his measures.
The alteration that took place afterwards in the military
conduct of Bernadotte it is not my province to discuss.
He was a French officer, and one that had been exalted by
a singular concurrence of revolutionary events to his present
high station, and, no doubt, did not on any ground wish to
see the downfall of Buonaparte.
156
SWEDEN.
Sweden however was, during this month, on the point
of realising by his means the prospect that had been laid
open to her. We were engaged at an evening party on the
24th of January, employed in the diversion of l'oracle, le
voyageur racontant, à la guerre, and other petits jeux, when
the arrival of a courier from the army in Holstein was an-
nounced; in an instant all the parties of amusement were
broken up.-Who was it that brought the dispatches? What
officers were killed? What news?-Unfortunately the curio-
sity of these insatiable querists was not destined to be gra-
tified: the rigorous superintendant of the custom-house
had refused admission even to the messenger of good tid-
ings; and a long pause of suspense ensued. A peremptory
order was instantly sent out, but, alas! the peremptory
order was disobeyed; and, finally, * *** himself set out
in order to unravel this mysterious business: the company,
in short, dispersed at twelve without having received the
much wished-for information.
On the following morning congratulations were in the
mouth of every one we met. Kiel had surrendered to the
Crown Prince; the preliminaries of the Danish treaty were
announced, and the cabinet of Copenhagen had made peace
by the cession of Norway. It may be easily imagined that
a great sensation was caused by the receipt of this intel-
ligence, and the new domain engrossed the whole conversa
tion in every meeting, public or private, at Stockholm.
The politicians regarded it in the light of an "arron-
dissement;" the court as another jewel added to the
SWEDEN.
157
crown: the merchants began to originate new speculations;
already they revelled in imagination at Christiania and
Bergen: the peasants said they were told it was a matter of
great benefit to Sweden, but, nevertheless, could not help
entertaining a dread lest the two nations now united should
one day die together of famine.
On the other hand, those were not wanting who found
motives for more serious discontent; and some well-in-
formed persons expressed their fears that the new channels
of commerce which would be opened might prove highly
injurious to the ports of Stockholm and Gottenburg. But
on a general view, the course of policy adopted on this oc-
casion was wise and judicious, and best calculated in the
end for the mutual improvement and advantage of both
these two countries.
Norway, in a military point, is a possession of the highest
consequence to Sweden, as increasing her powers of de-
fence, and as placing her in a state to protect herself against
any invasion from the east, without fearing the irruption of
an enemy at her back. Her internal strength and resources
will likewise be greatly increased by this consolidation of
the means of the whole peninsula; her maritime interest
infinitely enhanced by her enlarged extent of coast and ac-
cession of commercial prospects; besides which, she had
now strengthened her connexion with a great naval power,
whose interest it was that Sweden should become strong by
sea, when, from her limited population and other natural
1
158
SWEDEN.
inabilities, it was impossible she ever could aspire to the
rank of being a rival.
On the 26th a Te Deum in honour of these tidings was
ordered to be performed at the chapel royal: it was nu-
merously attended, and celebrated with the greatest pomp.
In the evening a grand fête was given at the palace, whither,
on such an occasion, the corps diplomatique were invited,
though contrary to usual etiquette *.
The company assembled about seven in the evening,
and were ushered from the hall of state to the private the-
atre, where a comedy was admirably performed by the
actors from the opera. The drama was succeeded by the
representation of an allegorical piece composed for the oc-
casion. Behold Europa enters the scene surrounded by her
fair daughters, Austria, Holland, Italy, Prussia, Russia,
Spain, &c. they all seem alike afflicted, and utter in doleful
strains their common lamentations. Next the Horrors of
War, a ghastly crew, rush in; each seizing his struggling
victim, binds her in chains, and adds new torments to her
sufferings; to put an end to the scene of woe, a prince ap-
pears (it was thought of Scandinavia) and " en preux che-
valier," encounters and overthrows with his own valorous
right arm these several grim-visaged monsters, setting free
at once all the helpless damsels: this done, as no other
*This rule of exclusion from fêtes at court was long ago adopted in conse-
quence of the intrigues formerly kept up by the agents of foreign powers, and it
is still adhered to.
SWEDEN.
159
similar prodigies yet remained for an hero of his calibre to
attempt, a quiet spectacle ensues. Apollo, the Muses.
nine, the Arts, and all the corps celeste, descend from the
arctic circle, to grace the hero's return; then the ballet
is introduced, and at the conclusion the prince receives a
chaplet of laurel from the nymph who personates the God-
dess of Peace. Not being able to discover exactly to what
parts of the life of the Crown Prince this mystical repre-
sentation could possibly have reference, I should make a
very awkward attempt at explanation; but certainly every
one will admit that the laurel was bestowed by no improper
hand.
After this entertainment we retired to the saloon, where
the queen held her court, and at midnight supper was
served in three halls; the royal family, according to their
etiquette, regaling themselves apart in a private room.
The king, who was but in a bad state of health, retired at
an early hour, and at two o'clock most of the company had
dispersed.
It would be needless to give a long description of the
court. The Crown Princess (of whom some, perhaps, may
make enquiry) has never made her appearance at Stockholm
but once; her stay was short, and she will probably never
more return. Her son, Prince Oscar, created Duke of
Sudermania, was present at these festivities: he is of an
elegant person, and possesses considerable natural acute-
ness of mind: although only fifteen years of age, he held
his levee, going through the routine of ceremony with the
3
160
SWEDEN.
utmost ease and grace, occasionally entering into con-
versation with no small fluency in the Swedish language.
On the subject of future destinies, it must be said that
the Crown Prince personally deserves every mark of gra-
titude that the nation can confer upon him for his exertions,
his spirit, his activity, his generosity: but there are still
many parties friendly to the old dynasty, and as to what
may take place hereafter, I have too little skill in prophecy
to hazard even a conjecture. Such persons as are desirous,
however, to look into what is to come, may be amused by
perusing the following narrative of an extraordinary vision
of Charles XI. It is taken from an account written with his
own hand, attested by several of his ministers of state,
and preserved in the royal library. It contains, upon the
whole, so curious a specimen of the mind and manner of
one of the greatest Swedish monarchs, that no apology, I
am sure, is needful for its introduction.
Charles the Eleventh, it seems, sitting in his chamber
between the hours of eleven and twelve at night, was sur-
prised at the appearance of a light in the window of the hall
of the diet: he demanded of the grand chancellor, Bjelke,
who was present, what it was that he saw, and was an-
swered that it was only the reflection of the moon: with
this, however, he was dissatisfied; and the senator, Bjelke,
soon after entering the room, he addressed the same ques-
tion to him, but received the same answer. Looking after-
wards again through the window, he thought he observed a
crowd of persons in the hall: upon this, said he, Sirs, all is
SWEDEN.
161
not as it should be-in the confidence that he who fears
God need dread nothing, I will go and see what this may
be. Ordering the two noblemen before-mentioned, as also
Oxenstiern and Brahe, to accompany him, he sent for
Grunsten the door-keeper, and descended the staircase
leading to the hall.
Here the party seem to have been sensible of a certain
degree of trepidation, and no one else daring to open the
door, the king took the key, unlocked it, and entered first
into the anti-chamber: to their infinite surprise, it was
fitted up with black cloth: alarmed by this extraordinary
circumstance, a second pause occurred; at length the king
set his foot within the hall, but fell back in astonishment at
what he saw; again, however, taking courage, he made his
companions promise to follow him, and advanced. The
hall was lighted up and arrayed with the same mournful
hangings as the anti-chamber: in the centre was a round
table, where sat sixteen venerable men, each with large
volumes lying open before them: above was the king, a
young man of 16 or 18 years of age, with the crown on his
head and sceptre in his hand. On his right hand sat a per-
sonage about 40 years old, whose face bore the strongest
marks of integrity; on his left an old man of 70, who seemed
very urgent with the young king that he should make a
certain sign with his head, which as often as he did, the ve-
nerable men struck their hands on their books with violence.
Turning my eyes, says he, a little further, I beheld a
scaffold and executioners, and men with their clothes tucked
Y
162
SWEDEN.
up, cutting off heads one after the other so fast, that the
blood formed a deluge on the floor: those who suffered
were all young men. Again I looked up and perceived
the throne behind the great table almost overturned; near
to it stood a man of forty, that seemed the protector of the
kingdom. I trembled at the sight of these things, and cried
aloud-“It is the voice of God!-What ought I to under-
stand? When shall all this come to pass ?"-A dead silence
prevailed; but on my crying out a second time, the young
king answered me, saying, This shall not happen in your
time, but in the days of the sixth sovereign after you. He
shall be of the same age as I appear now to have, and this
personage sitting beside me gives you the air of him that
shall be the regent and protector of the realm. During
the last year of the regency, the country shall be sold by
certain young men, but he shall then take up the cause,
and, acting in conjunction with the young king, shall
establish the throne on a sure footing; and this in such a
way, that never was before or ever afterwards shall be seen
in Sweden so great a king. All the Swedes shall be happy
under him; the public debts shall be paid; he shall leave
many millions in the treasury, and shall not die but at a
very advanced age: yet before he is firmly seated on his
throne shall an effusion of blood take place unparalleled in
history. You, added he, who are king of this nation, see
that he is advertised of these matters: you have seen all;
act according to your wisdom.
Having thus said, the whole vanished, and (adds he) we
SWEDEN.
163
66
saw nothing but ourselves and our flambeaus, while the
anti-chamber through which we passed on returning was no
longer clothed in black.-" Nous entrames dans mes ap-
partemens, et je me mis aussitot à écrire ce que j'avois vu :
" ainsi que les avertissements aussi bien que je le puis. Que le
"tout est vrai, je le jure sur ma vie & mon honneur, autant
le Dieu m'aide le corps & l'ame.
66
que
"Charles XI. aujourd'hui Roi de Suède."
"L'an 1691, 17 Dec.
"Comme temoins & presents sur les lieux nous avons vu
"tout ce que S. M. a rapporté, & nous l'affermons par notre
“serment, autant que Dieu nous aide pour le corps & l'ame.
← H. L. Bjelke, Gr. Chancelier du Royaume,-Bjelke, Se-
"nateur,-Brahe, Senateur,-Ax. Oxenstierna, Senateur,—
"Petre Grunsten, Huissier."
The whole story is curious, and well worth attention;
but unless the young king's ghostly representative made an
error in his chronological calculation, it will be difficult to
reconcile the time specified with that which is yet to come. I
can offer no explanation, and bequeath the whole, like the
hieroglyphic in Moore's Almanack, to the better ingenuity
of my readers.
At a time when the renewal of systems of representation
seems to be the fashion of the day, it cannot be uninteresting
to take a review of one of the few popular forms of govern-
ment yet remaining, which, though now generally sup-
pressed, were once prevalent throughout the greater part of
Europe.
164
SWEDEN.
But to an Englishman the constitution of Sweden has
stronger grounds of attraction. It is a nation
It is a nation sprung from
a kindred stock with ourselves, and who, in a different
stage of
progress as to wealth and civilisation, now display
the same practices and customs that we recognise as men-
tioned in the earlier pages of the British annals. Many
points may be observed that seem suggested by the events
of our history as well as by those of their own, and many
where forms, long obsolete with us, are here still retained in
full force.
The following short abstract is taken from the reso-
lutions of the diet of 1811.
The crown is hereditary in the heirs male of the king
(according to the order that shall have been established by
the diet) on the condition that they profess the pure evan-
gelical faith, i. e. confession of Augsburg.
The king's person is sacred, he is not responsible; he is
vested with the supreme power and right of appointment in the
civil, military, and naval services.
Councils.
The king shall govern the kingdom with the advice of
his council of state, consisting of nine members, ministers,
secretaries, and ex-secretaries, &c. professing the pure evan-
gelical faith. All foreign relations, peace, war, &c. &c. are
here decided; the first officers of the government are ex
officio members; as also
SWEDEN.
165
The minister of justice, minister for foreign affairs, and
chancellor of the high court of appeal.
The secretaries of state are four: war; interior admi-
nistration (agriculture, mines, &c.); finance and commerce,
&c.; religion (church, public instruction, regulation of the
poor, &c.). Under these are placed the respective colleges
or inferior boards of each department.
General Rights.
Justice, liberty of conscience, and free exercise are al-
lowed in matters of religion. No one can suffer in person or
property under any authority, unless according to the forms
prescribed by law.
The judges shall be men professing the pure evangelical
faith.
For the preservation of justice, twelve men shall be ap-
pointed by the king, six nobles and six others, to act under
his seal as counsellors of justice, forming a body called the
high court of appeal.
The power of reprieve and restoration of property is
vested in the king; but the arguments of the high court
shall be heard in plea.
The king shall deliver his final decision * in the council
of state.
* A singular form is in use on occasion of a reprieve by the king, when
the criminal has been condemned by the judgment of the court. He is desired to
make his free choice, and declare whether he accepts the king's grace, or prefers
to undergo the sentence before passed upon him.
166
SWEDEN.
:
For the superintendance of the conduct of the inferior
courts, the king shall appoint one procureur general,
and the states of the diet shall conjointly elect another;
these officers shall assist when they think proper at the sit-
tings of any of the courts, and make their report accord-
ingly, being bound to prosecute such functionaries as ap-
pear culpable.
The procureur general of the states is also obliged (at the
instance of any one committee of the diet) to prosecute*, ex
officio, the king's ministers or secretaries before the proper
tribunal.
Honours and Appointments.
The king may select any Swede for office on a list of
candidates being presented: he may appoint also foreigners
of extraordinary talents to any military employment, ex-
cept to the command of fortresses.
In the ecclesiastical line, the archbishop and bishops are
appointed by the king out of three candidates proposed.
In the municipal, the burgomasters of each town in like
form, much as the sheriffs are pricked with us.
The council of state shall deliver their opinions on the
nominations of the king, and have the right to make their
* The tribunal for these prosecutions is a special one, consisting of nearly
all the chief officers of the civil, military, and naval services, resident, ex
officio, near the capital. A different provision from that of parliamentary im-
peachment in England: but it must be remembered also that neither in ordinary
judicial affairs is the trial by jury, or by the peers of the accused, adopted in
Sweden.
SWEDEN.
167
•
humble representations: all such remonstrances shall be
produced in their defence in case they are called to trial
for having abetted the king in acting contrary to the law of
the constitution.
The king may dismiss any one from these appointments
upon making known his reason in the council of state. No
person, however, employed in the department of justice
can, on any ground, be dismissed or removed by the king,
unless by his own consent.
The rank of nobility is conferred by the king: titles
created after this year shall only descend to the eldest son: a
practice contrary to that which generally obtains through-
out Europe.
No appanage or civil employment can be held by a
member of the royal family.
Regency.
The king may leave the country at any time, having
duly explained his reasons in the council of state.
In this case, or during illness, or indeed minority of the
king, or failure of issue, the council of state form the tem-
porary regency.
If the king stays abroad beyond twelve months*, the diet
shall be convened in fifteen days after the expiration of that
time. The same course shall be adopted if he is incapacitated
from duty by illness for so long a space.
* Every one will call to mind the remonstrances made to Charles XII.
while at Bender.
168
SWEDEN.
Should the regency neglect to convoke the diet under
these circumstances, then the provincial authorities and con-
sistories are held to do the same by the 50th day at the
latest after the expiration of the above term.
A provision somewhat similar was made in England
during the reign of Charles I. when, in case the king ne-
glected to summon the parliament once in three years, the
House of Lords were directed to issue the writs for the elec-
tion of the commons: this act was repealed in the reign of
Charles II.
Houses of Diet.
The four estates, nobles, clergy, burghers, peasants, sit
in four separate houses; they assemble necessarily at the
expiration of every five years; and on other occasions only
when they may be convoked by the king.
The session lasts three months, but the king has the
right of prolonging this period if necessary. No officer or
functionary of the crown shall influence the election of deputies
under pain of losing his place.
The persons of the members are inviolable during the
session.
The immemorial right of the nation to tax themselves can
only be exercised in full diet.
The king may of his own authority, however, levy re-
quisitions of victuals in those parts of the country through
which his troops are on their march.
Neither the national domains or rights can be alienated,
SWEDEN.
169
nor can any money be borrowed for public service, either at
home or abroad, without consent of the diet.
The king names the marshal of the diet (speaker of the
House of Nobles) and the orators (speakers) of the burghers
and peasants, as also the secretary of the latter.
The archbishop is ex officio orator (or prolocutor) of the
clergy.
No decision can be made by the diet in presence of the king.
In the same manner as the committees of justice, trade,
religion, and grievances, are appointed on the meeting of
the British Parliament, so here the following are regularly
made out.
Committee of the constitution: to examine, report, and
propose amendments of the laws; to review the state of the
public debt, and to examine the procès verbaux of the coun-
cil of state.
Committee of state: to examine and report on matters
relative to finance*.
*
Committee of indirect taxation: customs and imposts;
plan of repartition.
1
Committee of the bank: to regulate and report.
Committee of laws, ecclesiastical, &c.
* The method of levying and apportioning the income tax savours of the
simplicity of the country. A board is formed in each town or district of dele-
gates from every profession, who estimate the annual receipts of their neighbours,
and charge them at a rate of about two or three per cent. Any one designated by
a title, as professor, herr, doctor, &c. (matters of great importance in Sweden) pays
a higher rate, in consequence of such distinction.
Z
170
SWEDEN.
Committee of economy: to point out defects in the public
administration under this head.
The diet also selects each session a body of twelve to
examine the proceedings of the high court of appeal.
Laws.
A law is the conjoint decree of the king and the four houses
of diet.
If on any point the houses are divided two against two,
the committee of state shall be augmented to the number of
thirty from each house; then one member going out by
ballot, the majority of remaining voices shall decide the
question.
The subject of a law to be made is proposed to the
committee for that branch, and they report to the several
houses: if agreed to, the orators report to the king in the
succeeding session at the earliest; the king takes the advice
of the council of state, and thereupon either approves or
refuses his consent.
To amend a law the same forms are necessary, only that
in this case a majority of three houses is sufficient; if two
against two, those that vote for rejecting the alteration pro-
posed have the right to decide the question.
Liberty of the Press.
The liberty of the press is decreed-no Swede can be
punished for any publication unless upon judgment obtained in
a tribunal of justice, stating that its tenets militate against
SWEDEN.
171
public peace, or the progress of light and knowledge; for
ascertaining which purposes, a regular board of twelve
members used to be appointed.
This article, however, has been superseded since the ar-
rival of the Crown Prince; and the police are now charged
with the duty of superintendance over all publications.
?
Such are the articles of the Swedish constitution: some
variations, however, from the apparent aim of these prin-
ciples are necessarily introduced in its practical administra-
tion. The king, in the first place, enjoys a more absolute
sovereignty than is here laid down: the infrequency of the
meetings of the diet not only removes the constant check of
the parliament upon his public acts, but places him in the
light of almost the only permanent authority in the country:
while being the dispenser of honours and of the lucrative
appointments of office, his party too at all times embodied
and in activity, he has the means to create a strong faction
in his favour. The balance of power, which is so unequally
divided in this as all the other Teutonic forms of repre-
sentation, allows also sufficient room for encroachment: the
greatest share of natural strength, of property, of weight, lies
either in the hands of the crown or those of the nobles; and
the struggle for superiority between these two parties would
be an unequal conflict at the present day.
The revolution of 1772 materially impaired the strength
which the latter had acquired through the terms made at
the accession of Frederick Adolphus: there is, therefore,
no reason in Sweden to dread the occurrence of such a
172
SWEDEN.
す
​catastrophe as befel the sister kingdom of Denmark, when
the commonalty surrendered their rights to the king, that
they might be protected from the oppression of their minor
tyrants. The two houses of the tiers état are daily increasing
in strength, and in time will know and feel their own import-
ance: the contest indeed alluded to before on this subject of
military service and taxation, affords sufficient testimony to
this fact.
The House of Nobles consists of about 1200 members,
the head of each family being by inheritance the legal re-
presentative: they are divided into three classes, the Herra
classen, consisting of counts, barons, &c. ; Riddar classen, of
knights, &c.; Swena classen, of gentlemen without titles, but
possessing letters patent of nobility. A regular faction in
opposition to the government always displays itself in this
house each session, but of late the court party has been con-
stantly gaining ground.
The House of Clergy consists of the archbishop, the
bishops, and a certain number of deputies elected from the
ecclesiastical body. In party questions they generally take
the side of the government.
The House of Burghers consists of deputies chosen from
the towns, every freeman paying taxes being allowed to
vote: still very little stir or anxiety is shewn on occasion of
the election, and the honour of a seat in the house is not
eagerly coveted. This body acts with perfect independ-
ence.
The House of Peasants is not a meeting of that descrip-
tion which its name would seem to import, but rather a
SWEDEN.
173
selection from a minor class of country gentlemen. They
are called, as proprietors, the free peasants, in contra-
distinction to those who hold land on a similar tenure with
that of the German peasant; and their title either to vote
or to sit in the house arises from the possession of certain
lands belonging to the crown, for which a small acknow-
ledgment of the nature of a quit rent is annually paid.
Their qualification resembling so far that of the electors in
Scotland but we must remember indeed, that in England
it was the tenants in chief of the crown who were originally
summoned to the king's parliament. It is curious to remark
that here, as was at one time the practice with us, the
expense of attendance at the diet is, in many instances, de-
frayed by the subscription of their constituents; a dollar
is given to some members of the House of Peasants per diem:
and where this appears too high a charge upon the electors,
two or three districts unite together for the sake of economy,
and send one deputy to represent the whole; so that the
numbers of the house are never actually filled up.
The nobles, while in the enjoyment of their full power,
were always extremely anxious to keep down this rising
class of people; they were prevented by a certain degree
of jealousy from being able to exert any great influence at
the elections; but in order to exclude men of spirit and
weight in the country from a seat in the house, they pro-
cured the enactment of a law, which declared no person to
be legally eligible as a deputy to the fourth estate who as
sumed the address of herr, or was habited in any other dress
174
SWEDEN.
than that of an ordinary peasant. Occasionally it has hap-
pened that men of talent and respectability have submitted
themselves to these nominal degradations; and being re-
turned to the diet, have been enabled to raise a feeling of
party in their favour: but the want of a proper under-
standing in the body at large has hitherto rendered such
efforts in great measure unavailing.
Upon a general view it is easy to see that in a future
age, if the promising prospects of Sweden shall ever be
realised, many changes will become necessary in the frame
of her constitution. Those moral facilities of action that
prevent any inconvenience from being felt in a poorer or
less populous establishment are unable to keep pace with
the
progress of a growing evil: as the political body swells
in bulk, the tendency to mischief is augmented in a tenfold
proportion; such imperfections as before seemed trifling in
their nature increase by neglect, till at length they involve
the whole in ruin. The corpulent and bloated mass but ill
withstands the first attack of disease; a morbid disposition
lurks in the system; and long ere it appears on the surface,
the malignant cancer has corroded the very sources of
vitality. Let it be hoped no over-rigid prejudices will pre-
vent that gradual alteration from taking place, which can
alone prevent the dangerous consequences of an ill-judged
and spiritless system of procrastination.
Among those now high in employment in the state are
many men of acknowledged talents, and, which reflects still
more credit on the country, who have raised themselves by
SWEDEN.
175
their own exertions to their present eminence from a very
inferior condition of life.
Count Gyllenborg is the minister of justice, the first
officer of the realm; the next in rank is Count Engerstrom,
the minister for foreign affairs, a person possessed of strong
discernment and of sound integrity; his countess is a Polish
heiress, full of zeal and patriotism for her native country-
a feeling which, though adverse at this day to the system
of policy that was in fashion, could not fail to raise her in
the estimation of every one who loved his own.
Baron Wetterstadt, the chancellor, is considered as a
character of the greatest promise; he enjoys the perfect
confidence of the Crown Prince, whom he now accompanies
in the character of diplomatic agent during the war on the
continent. Of Frenchmen, followers of the Prince, only four
now remain out of the suite that came with him to the
capital: no great ground of jealousy or ill-will therefore can
be afforded to the Swedes on that score.
Jan. 25.-At this time the cold was excessive, generally
below 20°, and on the 21st day of this month the mercury
stood at 33° of Celsius's * scale below freezing point, or 28°
below zero of Fahrenheit. It is impossible to recount all the
horrors of such a season: no example had occurred during
the last sixty years of one so severe. The peasants attend-
ing the market came with their faces, arms, and legs, frozen:
the soldiers on guard, though relieved every hour, were
* This is universally used in Sweden, being the same with the centigrade
scale of Paris, freezing point 1, boiling point 100.
176
SWEDEN.
often taken up in the same condition; and one, it was said,
had been found dead at his post. Besides the miserable
cases of persons frostbitten that daily thronged the hos-
pitals, several deaths took place among those who were out
of the way of immediate assistance. A poor woman, to
mention one instance, being ignorant of the unusual in-
clemency of this morning, had gone early to her usual oc-
cupation of washing on the river side; scarce half an hour
elapsed before we saw her on her return borne under our
windows to her home a lifeless corpse.
It will be well to observe, that the extraordinary increase
of cold is not directly made known by symptoms such as
might be expected; no external sensation will enable any
person to form an estimate of its comparative rigour. The
action of a temperature such as the above is not like the
nipping of a frost in England, but a general extension of its
baneful influence is felt over the whole body, its access
being so gradual that, for several minutes after leaving a
warm room, the air seems to make little or no impression:
an attempt, however, to endure it for even a quarter of
an hour, unless extraordinarily well wrapped up in fur or
wadded clothing, would be attended with the highest de-
gree of danger. Exercise alone is totally unable to keep up
the necessary vital warmth: the linen becoming moist is
instantly converted to a covering of ice, and the animal heat
escapes as fast as it is excited.
Even with the adoption of every possible precaution,
its injurious effects will sometimes manifest themselves. A
SWEDEN.
177
soreness in breathing, an oppressive head-ach, a want of
sense in the extremities, and a stiffness in the thighs, are the
first symptoms which give the stranger warning to seek
again the timely shelter of his house.
Frequently did we remark the dead white patch on the
cheek, the ears, or the noses of the lower class, who were
moderately provided in point of clothing; and to guard
against such contingencies, it was usual to see many of the
well furred gentry with the upper part of their faces in
masks, with coverings applied to their ears, and applying
their fingers with incessant care to every part of their vi-
sages in succession: or sometimes, which is the best pre-
servative for travelling, their skins, where exposed, were
greased with oil. Salutations in the street are short; scarce
a word or an answer; and the greatest assemblage of people
(for the groups are seldom numerous) can be compared
only to a meeting at a deaf and dumb asylum. A north-
east wind, during such weather as this, is a chill blast of
death that exceeds in horror any other curse of heaven.
It is not without reason that so much care is used to
prevent the face from being taken by the frost, for as the
skin is destroyed by its action, a blemish like the sore of a
burn serves to recal the memory of the accident during the
whole of the succeeding summer. As to the general effects
of the constant cold on the body, I cannot help remarking
that the women of all classes both here, and as I afterwards
observed in Russia, seem to be much less affected than the
men. It
It may be that they seldom stay out of doors for so
great a length of time as the other sex, but it is certainly
A A
178
SWEDEN.
true that the influence of the climate on the body varies
much in degree upon different habits; it is most commonly
manifested in a determination of blood to the head, and a
tendency to lethargy, but this is by no means universal.
The extreme accumulation of animal electricity in the
frame is also remarkable; the natural moisture necessary to
carry it off not having been produced during the day, it is
visibly discharged in great quantities at night on undressing
in a warm room.
The power of the constitution to bear against cold, con-
trary to vulgar ideas, is weakened gradually more and more
by endurance; the frame is enervated, in artificial life at
least, and a stranger, instead of growing more hardy and se
cure, braves the sharpness of the first winter with much
greater success than he can attempt a second year. In the
course of the first spring, indeed, after his arrival, he feels
infinitely more sensible of its injury than he had been of à
similar temperature in the preceding autumn.
Several striking natural phenomena attend this season.
The smoke seems to ascend from the chimney tops a dense
compact cloud, and the atmosphere itself, though not ob-
scure, assumes a heavy aspect, particularly observable at
the rising and setting of the sun. Some signs moreover
appear to indicate to a certain extent the quantum of cold:
scarcely has the thermometer fallen to 20°-(Celsius), or
4° below the zero of Fahrenheit's scale, when the cel-
lars of the houses emit a strong vapour to the streets; and
all the streams of water, whose rapidity is sufficient to check
congelation, give out in similar way a powerful steam dur-
SWEDEN.
179
ing day and night from their surface. It was an extraor-
dinary spectacle to see the bridge at Stockholm, through
which the waters of the Mælar were discharged, constantly
enveloped during the month in a thick exhalation, as if
rising from boiling water *.
This effect admits of an easy explanation: a perpetual
supply of water takes place from under the ice, great part
of which (since the freezing of its surface) has reassumed
a higher degree of temperature from the warmth of the
earth; the interchange of particles occurring in the stream,
because they are in this way possessed of a different quantity
of heat, prevents the whole from being cooled down to the
point necessary for congelation: the declivity continually
keeps up the effect; and so great a difference existing be
tween the temperature of the air and that of the water will
occasion steam to be given out from its surface at any
point of the thermometer.
:
* About five years ago an extraordinary circumstance (not wholly uncon
nected with the above statement) took place: it was during an intense frost
(thermom. 24-) that a part of the ice at the mouth of one of the basons con-
nected with the Mælar (called Clara Sjon) thawed and gave way, in consequence
of which several lives were lost. The cause of the accident is thus explained: a
westerly wind had carried off the water of the sea from the coast, and of course
drained it partially from these creeks; its place was supplied by a more than
usual draught from above, and in the disturbance that ensued some water of a
higher temperature was brought in contact with the ice that covered this outlet of
the creek, and caused its dissolution.
+ Fogs and falling weather sometimes occurred, though not when the cold
was in extreme; at that time the sky was always clear and cloudless: an example,
perhaps, to be applied to the ingenious theory of the radiation of heat.
180
SWEDEN.
The wolves at this time, severely pressed by famine, lost
their usual dread of man, and prowled fearlessly on the roads,
following the track of the carriages, to a great distance:
In one or two instances they were known to venture, during
the night, into the villages in search of prey.
All communication with England, through the port of
Gottenburgh, was entirely cut off; the packet-boat came
in sight, but was inaccessible from the regions of broken
ice that encircled the coast: an hundred guineas were
offered to any one that would undertake the perilous office
of fetching the mails ashore, and in vain.
The roads by land also were blocked up for several
days: we had some difficulty to ascertain the period of
their being opened, when the arrival of some travellers from
Petersburgh removed all uncertainty on that score, bring-
ing also with them the agreeable intelligence that the Haff,
the straight separating Sweden from the Aland islands, was
entirely frozen over. This circumstance determined us in-
stantly to prepare for our journey, as, besides the novelty of
passing over a sea of ice, it afforded us the only means of
avoiding a disagreeable detour of 1400 miles by Tornea, in
order to prosecute our route to the Russian capital.
We were accordingly presented to the king, for the
pur-
pose of taking leave: his majesty did us the honour to ex-
press himself with great condescension and kindness; he
said, that "he owed much to our country, and was proud
of the obligation. The treaty of peace now established, he
hoped, was sealed for ever." The table before him was
!
SWEDEN.
181
almost covered with the keys of towns that had surrendered
to the arms of the Crown Prince, and a chapter of the Order
of the Sword had just been held, for the purpose of investing
with the insignia some meritorious officers of the Swedish
army, who had lately arrived.
His majesty could duly appreciate merit, and sympathise
with the feelings of those whom he rewarded; he had served
himself in his youth with distinguished honour, and ob-
tained the highest approbation of his countrymen for his
courage
and conduct at the naval battle of Swenskund. It
was a satisfaction to see this period of his life marked by
events that reflected a new lustre on the exalted situation
to which he had been called.
We took leave of the queen and Prince Oscar on the
following day, and prepared for our journey.
February 13.—We got ready our Finnish sledges, which
were simple narrow four-sided wooden troughs, matted over
the head: having now too provided. ourselves with boots,
gloves, and double pelisses of thick fur, and laid in our
stock of brandy, frozen meat, and bread, we at length set
out on our road.
The country wore, as may be supposed, a dreary aspect;
but when objects of present interest are denied, a traveller
must content himself with a retrospect of the past, and in
this view the tract we were traversing was by no means
deficient. These parts have immemorially held the chief
rank in Scandinavia. We were quitting Stockholm, the
foundation of ancient Birger Jahl; on our left lay Siggtuna,
182
SWEDEN.
the city of Odin, and capital of the kingdom of the Goths;
before us was Upsala, the old metropolis of the Swedes, and
for
many ages, as at the present day, the chief seat of learn-
ing in the north of Europe.
It was Steno Sture who built the first establishments of
this university, as far back as the year 1476, which have
since received liberal endowments from the munificence of
Gustavus Adolphus. But a brief account of its constitu-
tion may, perhaps, be more acceptable than its history.
The body corporate consists of twenty-two professors,
with their adjuncts or assistants, the independent members
having neither power nor vote on any occasion. The income
of a professor may be laid at about 2000 R. D. B. per
annum (or about 3007.) a comfortable and easy subsistence
in Sweden: it arises from an annual corn rent of 250 tunna,
besides which an hemman (or farm) is allotted to each, unless
in the case of his being a minister of the church, when a
living is usually given in its stead.
The rest of the foundation is not large: there are several
scholarships of from 60 to 150 R. D. B. per annum (97. to
227. 10s.) the produce of private benefactions, and some of
an inferior value endowed by the crown, few of them yield-
ing more than 20 R. D. B. or 37. per annum.
Upon the whole, the number of students is about 500.
As they are usually sent at a very early age, and as no one
can be employed in church or state without a degree from
one of the universities, this number must not be considered
as extraordinarily large. A considerable class besides re-
¡
SWEDEN.
183
ceive their education from private tutors at home, obtaining
their degrees with no other trouble than the exhibition of
the necessary attainments at the expiration of a certain
period from the time of their entrance, for no residence is
required. The examination for this purpose takes place
once every three years, when seventy-five candidates are
selected and presented for their degrees. They are ex-
amined by a board of thirteen professors* of the several
arts and sciences, of which theology and political œconomy
are made the chief. As to distinctions of merit, no acade-
mical honours are granted to any one, but each professor
as he signs the videtur (or certificate of the candidate's ex-
amination) adds a term expressive of his satisfaction or dis-
approbation, Laudo in optima forma, Laudo, cum laude ap-
probo, approbo, admitto; and occasionally, if the attainments
exhibited are of a moderate stamp, ægre admitto, or even
@gerrime. In the wholesale mode of admission above stated,
the satisfactory testimonies of four professors, upon the
average, will commonly ensure success, and a certain allow→
ance is made for the higher terms of praise.
The young students now on the spot, although some of
them were only boys, did not show that playfulness and
buoyancy of spirits usually attendant on their age. There
* These are,-Theologia.; Juris Patr. et Roman.; Jurispr. econom. et
Commerc.; Med, et Botan.; Med: Theor. et Pract.; Anatom. et Chirurg.; Med.
prof. et ord. Botan. Demonstrator; Histor.; Physic.; Chemices.; Litt. Human.;
œconom.pract.; Eloqu. et Polit.; Astronom. Eloqu. et Poes.; Logic. et Metaph.;
Ling. Orient.
184
SWEDEN.
were taverns at which they met in an evening to drink their
liquors, beer being the favourite: after this recreation, their
favourite pastime seems to consist in parading the streets
in parties, singing songs, that sounded rather of a doleful
cast, throwing in now and then an occasional pereat to the
more obnoxious of their professors.
The gymnastics used at Hanover and other academies
in Germany have been introduced, by order of the prince;
and we were shown in the court-yard a kind of moveable
scaffold, with arms and ropes fixed in various directions, by
means of which different feats of agility and suppleness are
put in exercise.
The system of education in the branches of literature
is carried on by free public lectures; classical studies are
not pushed to a very high pitch, at least in Greek.
The Crown Prince is the chancellor of the university,
and the archbishop of Upsal, who resides here, acts as his
deputy. The third person in rank is the rector, whose
office is elective, commencing from the expiration of each
half year. The chair was now filled by Professor Thunberg,
a name well known in the world of letters, from the publica-
tion of his travels to Japan. He had gone thither in the
train of the Dutch embassy, at that time the only possible
mode of obtaining a footing in the country, for even their
neighbours, the Chinese, were excluded by the Japanese laws
of non-intercourse; while Dutch intrigue (for to them this
system is chiefly attributable) had so far fostered the na-
tional habits of jealousy, that the whole European world,
SWEDEN.
185
except themselves, were prohibited from communication.
The professor was in consequence required to declare himself
a Dutchman born, and that he did not profess the Christian
faith-such was the form of oath. He acquired the greater
part of his information by trafficking his knowledge of
medicine with a native physician; it was thus he discovered
(a matter of high mystery) the name of the present sovereign,
which it seems is never publicly revealed during his reign,
and was unknown even to the Dutch envoy, whose cre-
dentials he received. The professor gave us many curious.
and interesting anecdotes, but the reader must be referred
to his book, where he will find unravelled many secrets of
more account than the name and titles of the emperor of
Japan.
:
Among the most considerable men that Upsala may
boast, the great Swedish botanist and natural philosopher
stands in the foremost rank. In the gardens we saw a
portico named after Linnæus, which led to a spacious hall
containing a collection of natural history: there was also a
magnificent conservatory, where a jubilee dinner, in honour
of the day that gave him birth, was held a few years since,
to shew the respect borne by his countrymen to his memory.
His habitation, and the room in which the chirping cricket
so much engrossed the attention of his last hours, are dis-
played to the stranger with veneration; but his lecture-room
was now somewhat whimsically employed by an itinerant
exhibitor of Fantoccini, whose puppets were this evening
B B
186
SWEDEN.
performing Don Juan for the amusement of the Swedish
rustics, that flocked to the annual fair of Upsala.
The tenant of his quondam dwelling was a graduate of
the university, who had formed a vast collection of ento-
mology: he offered it for sale, and it was said to be very
perfect; one of the grey butterflies, nevertheless, was miss-
ing, having been lately sent to Germany, in order to settle
a dispute concerning its species, and it might possibly, he
seemed to think, be detained some time by the circum-
stances of the war. We were shewn, moreover, by our
accurate friend, two Swedish butterflies, which, said he,
Acerbi not having seen before, thought they were unnoticed
by others, and, with a boldness unparalleled in the country
of Linnæus, gave them names himself; the papillio Emilia,
and the papillio Sophia, after two ladies of his acquaintance
at Stockholm.
Various branches of natural history appear to be pursued
here with much ardour: we were next shewn a collection of
shells belonging to the Dilettanti society, formed on the
most extensive scale, neither expense in procuring them
having been spared, nor pains in their arrangement.
On the 17th we attended the Parentalia of the late
queen. The ceremonials were opened with solemn music,
after which, two orations, one in the Swedish tongue, the
other in Latin, were pronounced in honour of the deceased.
The cold being on this day upwards of 16°, the professors,
though placed in their seats of dignity, were wisely pro-
SWEDEN.
187
+
vided with clothing of divers skins, from that of the shaggy
wolf, to the bear of the north; and their disciples were
habited in similar iguise: a sight which, when put in com-
parison with the scholastic pomp of our English universities,
seemed to partake of a ludicrous character; but it was
according to usual custom, and a course dictated by sheer
necessity.
The hall of the academy, where the formalities are car-
ried on, is a plain structure, without any striking beauties
of shape or arrangement. Directly vis-à-vis rises the cathe-
dral*, which is built of brick, after the model of the Notre
Dame at Paris. Among other objects of curiosity is pointed
out the place where the kings of Sweden are crowned,
as also some antiquities highly interesting to a reader of
Swedish history :-the jacket in which the Protector Sture
was assassinated by Eric:-the whetstone sent by Albert
(of Mecklenburg) to Margaret of Waldemar, whereon to
sharpen her arrows for her threatened hostilities:-a wooden
idol, supposed by some to be a representation of the god
Thor-the ring given by Gustavus Adolphus to Ebba
Brahe, &c. &c. But the library contains one of the most
valuable treasures connected with the biography of their
kings: the sealed chest inclosing the secret papers of Gus-
tavus III. which was given with injunctions that it should
¿
*The old Swedish custom of announcing each hour by a trumpet from the
church steeple, and singing a song, to assure the people that no conflagration is
to be observed, is still kept up here, and in all the ancient towns of Sweden.
188
SWEDEN.
not be opened till the expiration of 50 years after his de-
cease: the attraction arising from the circumstances of his
times will have passed away before the period arrives, but
they may probably contain hints for a new historian of
Catherine II. There is also preserved here the Codex
Argenteus, a MS. copy of the Testament in the Sueo.
Gothic language, written in silver letters on purple co-
loured parchment; it is well known from its publication in
England.
&
The first book printed in Sweden is also shewn, a col-
lection of fables, edited by Snell, bearing the date of 1487.
The journal of Eric XIV. a note book filled with mysterious
signs and characters of necromancy, is curious, for this
seems to be always a favourite study at the royal palace.
As to religion, the Roman Catholic and reformed
churches may be called those of the south and north of
Europe respectively, and the established church of Swe-
den is the Lutheran; but the spirit of piety is quiet and
dormant; unfomented by the fostering warmth of jarring
sectarists, it sinks to a state of tranquillity and almost utter
indifference, rarely becoming the foundation of moral con-
duct or principle.
I remember to have heard an oration of the president of
the academy of sciences at Stockholm, which turned upon
the dangerous precepts inculcated by the modern philosophy
of Kant, Schelling, Halle, or others of the new sect, which,
he averred, had been embraced too eagerly of late by many
of the young students at the universities. To whatever ex-
SWEDEN.
189
tent this may have taken place, I do not believe that the
religious apathy of the sluggish Swede is at all attributable
to the poison engendered by these crude dogmas, but to
causes that are most obvious upon even a slight review of
their national habits and customs.
It is true that the fanciful tenets of Swedenborg owe
their birth, as well as, in some sort, their celebrity to this
country: they did not, however, grow much into fashion;
and though there are to this day certain of his disciples re-
maining, there never was a time when they formed a very
numerous party.
The most imposing part of his doctrine, which concerns
the reappearance of departed spirits, is written in so al-
legorical and symbolical a style, that few persons have ever
given themselves the trouble of perusing his volumes. It is
sufficient to give an instance of its obscurity by stating,
that a stag is the representation of a courtesan; and in
general it may be said, that no hieroglyphical writings,
Mexican, Egyptian, or Hindoo, are half so mysteriously
involved.
One of his first attempts to induce the world to believe
he held converse with the dead was practised upon the
Countess Brahe. She had just lost her husband; her friends
were paying visits of condolence, amongst others Emanuel
Swedenborg: he informed her he had seen her husband
since his decease, who commended himself to her, and
demanded an interview with his son: the countess, nothing
alarmed at this appearance of collusion with supernatural
190
SWEDEN.
powers, gave Swedenborg permission to do what he pleased:
he took the boy into a pavilion in the garden, where he pre-
tended to hold a conversation with some one unseen; on
returning, he told her the count was satisfied, and highly
delighted with the indulgence shewn to his request. She
was amazed, and whatever she really thought, some of her
neighbours certainly betrayed symptoms of credulity.
But he gained still more credit from relating, by an-
ticipation, to the Dowager Queen, Louisa Ulrica, the con-
tents of sundry letters, which she afterwards received from
the cabinet of the deceased king, her brother, at Berlin.
He is said to have given the substance very accurately.
A third story, for he as yet confined his schemes of
imposture to the female sex, was a miracle wrought
in behalf of the widow of the envoy from Portugal. This
lady was much importuned by one of her late husband's
creditors for the payment of a debt. The claimant she
well knew had been satisfied long ago, but having no papers
to produce that could prove the fact, was placed in a
most unfortunate dilemma. Swedenborg, with his usual
assurance, promised that he would consult the shade of her
departed husband. In the mean time it happened that the
poor woman, whose mind was occupied on the subject day
and night, dreamt she saw him herself, and that he pointed
with his finger to a certain secret drawer in his cabinet;
on waking in the morning she flew to search this spot,
and to her surprise really found the quittance for the
bill, which had been carefully laid by. The story of her
SWEDEN.
191
vision was instantly noised abroad, and in a few days Swe-
denborg called upon her himself; he pointed out the same
secret drawer where she had discovered the receipt, and
said her husband had made a similar revelation to him.
Upon this his fame increased daily, and his after-prediction
was talked of by the inhabitants of the capital with wonder
and astonishment.
Swedenborg, in his zeal for propagating his strange
doctrines, did not conduct himself with much judgment,
and when he left the country he had quarrelled with all his
former friends on one ground or other. He then fled to
England, where he finally took up his residence.
It is probable that, in pursuit of his system of imposition
on others, he had succeeded at last in almost deceiving
himself, and become a staunch convert to his own fallacies;
but certainly the scheme is looked upon in Sweden as
having been a speculation of a pecuniary nature, or at least
so on the part of his chief followers. Enough, however, has
been said of Swedenborg.
With regard to the ministers of the established church,
though they form in this country a body of the highest re-
spectability, yet the profession is very rarely embraced by
any one of noble family; the late archbishop of Upsal
and the present bishops of Stregnæs and Wexio, never-
theless, stand as exceptions. The parochial benefices are
partly in the gift of the crown, and partly vested in the
presentation of the parishioners themselves; in which latter
case, where a seigneur holds any large property in the place,
192
SWEDEN.
he necessarily enjoys so great an influence, that the election
may almost be said to be placed in his hands: and the time
is probably not very far distant when his power will have
grown
into a sort of prescriptive right.
For the support of the clergy tythes of the produce of
the land are every where allowed; though of this, except in
the province of Smäland, Bleckingen, and Schonen, two-
thirds belong to the state, and the remaining quota only is
the property of the pastor: the former portions are paid
according to the rate of an ancient composition; but the
latter, being under no similar restrictions, increases in value
with the necessities of the times and the daily improvements
of agriculture; and some of the livings afford a very hand-
some income.
The prison of Steno Sture, as well as Mora Stenar, the
circle of Runic stones, within which the coronation of the
ancient kings was performed, have been the theme of many
a traveller; nor have the barrows at Gamla Upsala, the
tombs of these sylvan monarchs, or the temple of the Pagan
gods at this village, been passed unnoticed. To cite all
those who have mentioned this building would be a long
task, for the Swedish writers carry the story of its fame
to high antiquity, and quote the same passage of Dio-
dorus Siculus, which, with us, is generally referred to
Stonehenge. However it may be, every succeeding author
speaks in high terms of admiration, though except the usual
epithets, egregium & mirabile, I do not know that much in-
formation is afforded: we are told that it was surrounded
-
SWEDEN.
195
by a chain of solid gold, and built in the form of a cross,
that is, of a hammer, the attribute of the pagan god Thor.
With regard to its antiquity, says Rudbeck, it was so old
that it was believed to have been founded by one of the sons
of Noah: he ascribes it, however, modestly enough to the
youngest.
It now appears in the shape of a modern church, shew-
ing, in some parts, the remnants of another structure,
which was, no doubt, the Christian church built in the
reign of Suercherus from the ruins of the original temple,
and upon the same foundations: a practice that was not
uncommon with the early Christian missionaries, who thus
associated the local veneration of the pagan altars to the
solemnization of the new rites which they were about to
introduce.
From hence we set out under the ungenial influence of
the N. E. wind for Osterby, where we were kindly received
in the hospitable mansion of Mr. Tamm. The introduction
to his acquaintance was a favour we owed to Herr Berzelius,
who did us the kindness to accompany us on our excursion.
We accounted ourselves particularly fortunate in this cir-
cumstance. Mr. Tamm was a person possessed of con-
siderable information, strong natural talent, and endowed
with all that courteous respect for others which is the off-
spring of a real knowledge of one's self.
Besides these qualifications, he was a man of a firmness
of spirit and strength of mind rarely to be surpassed. His
conduct at the diet of Norrköping is a memorable example :
C C
194
SWEDEN.
when in conjunction with three other noblemen, he vo-
luntarily renounced his rank rather than sanction by his
vote the cession of those privileges which the late king de-
manded. However mistaken the ground on which they
acted might be in some respects, their high and noble feelings
have been duly appreciated by the present government;
one of them now enjoys the office of governor of a neigh-
bouring province, and handsome offers are understood to
have been made to the others; Mr. Tamm, however, pre-
fers the enjoyment of his retirement here to any reward
that the king's munificence can bestow.
The celebrated iron mine of Dannemora was within a
short drive from Osterby. It presented a sight of fearful
wonder: a long yawning chasm of upwards of ninety fa-
thom in depth has been excavated by the successive toil
of near five centuries: whose extent, great as it is, would
never suggest the idea of human labour having been able
to achieve such an object, but appears as if the effect of
some stupendous convulsion of nature.
The brink was crowned with various machinery, and
long wooden chain-pumps that reached more than an En-
glish mile in length; the sides were fancifully hung with
clusters of icicles, and happily diversified by the figures of
men and women in their ascent and descent, "winging the
midway air." We were let down in a bucket after their
mode to the spot where the workmen were employed, and
from a temperature of 12° found ourselves transported to
a comparatively warm region; the water at a few yards
46
SWEDEN.
195
distance from the mouth of the level was not even con-
gealed; and in the innermost recess, to judge from the ex-
periment we made, the heat of the earth seemed about
4°+. (Celsius).
In point of exportation, the value of these mines, which
produce the best material for bar iron in the world, has
very sensibly decreased since the use of coke has been
adopted in England, and applied so universally to the pur-
poses of cementation; for it was to England that they
formerly exported the greatest quantity of iron: the present
defalcation, in short, of the revenue, amounts to 6000
R. D. B., out of 10,000 R. D. B. which was once the average
of their receipts.
The iron foundry at Osterby is a considerable establish-
ment; the workmen are descendants of the old Walloon
refugees, who still forge the iron after their own ancient
fashion, heating the pig at one end till it drops off piece by
piece, and thus taking it in lumps to the hammer.
But, perhaps, the greatest curiosity of these parts of
the country is the foundry at Söderforss, where the superior
quality of the ore enables the manufacturers to forge an-
chors immediately from the pig iron without the interme-
diate process of forming it into bars; these are said to pos-
sess extraordinary qualities of lightness and strength, in
which they stand unrivalled except by some I have heard
mentioned of a similar description that are made in the
province of Biscay.
The winter is the time selected for moving all heavy
196
SWEDEN.
loads, as ore, iron, &c. on account of the facility for draught
which the sledging affords; the snow, in fact, is compressed
on the beaten tracts of the high roads to the consistence of
ice, so that very little impediment arises from friction to
the motion of the sledge: the ordinary draught of a horse
on this track is not, however, laid at more than one ton
English, from want of uniformity in its surface.
The copper mine at Fahlun, and that of silver at Sala,
we were prevented from visiting by the advanced state of
the season.
But we had intelligence by the post from that side of
the country, which was not of the most agreeable nature:
great discontent had manifested itself in Norway, and
symptoms of tumult and rebellion, so that it seemed the
King of Sweden and heir of Norway (arfvinge till Norrige)
in spite of his old title and new pretensions, was not likely
to enter quietly into possession. The poor Norwegians had
suffered dreadful distress, being obliged to make bread of
mosses or whatever else could afford nourishment, and a tun
of bark (écorce à manger) was sold this season at the price
of 14 R. D. B. or about 21. 12s. sterling: the Swedish go-
vernment was regarded by them as the chief promoters of
the blockade which had so much harassed them, and this
idea was one cause of their unpopularity.
Feb. 19.-Feeling no great concern on that head, we
recommenced our journey, and on the following morning
reached Grisleham at break of day: the sun-beams were
just rising over the frozen ocean which here lay before us,
SWEDEN.
197
and the presage that we drew of fine weather was too al-
luring to allow us to loiter long on shore; as soon therefore
as our bargain for horses could be struck with the chaffering
peasants from the islands, we set out on our course.
It was an extraordinary sight: although the streights
lying between the islands and the coast of Finland are
frozen every year and made passable to travellers, yet this
grand channel of the Häf, that separates the Aland group
from Sweden on the west, is very seldom completely co-
vered: being upward of forty miles (English) in breadth,
and of a great depth, it is not probable that such a cir-
cumstance should often occur except by chance from the ac-
cumulation of masses of ice floating down from the north :
this year, however, in consequence of the severity of a single
night, the whole surface at once became fixed, and was
congealed, a phenomenon that had hardly ever happened
before in the memory of the oldest man living. Being
spread over by the falling weather that succeeded, it was
now to appearance a smooth immeasurable desert of snow,
gradually changing its hues from the sparkling white be-
neath the feet, till it faded on the horizon with tints of
azure exquisitely delicate. One spot only appeared on this
spacious waste; it was a caravan of peasants bound with
their cargoes of wood for Stockholm, whom, on our meet-
ing afterwards, we discovered to our surprise to be near thirty
in number. We enjoyed a still quiet day, without a breath
of wind, and felt the ray of a bright sun that raised the
198
SWEDEN.
thermometer* some few degrees above the point of congela-
tion. The line of our road, from the tracks of former travel-
lers, remained visible in almost every part, nor were we at
any time obliged to have recourse to our compass for the
sake of ascertaining our bearings. These circumstances
amply compensated in pleasurable sensations for whatever
the scene wanted in more romantic accompaniments, and
made a strong contrast with the strange accounts we had
previously heard relating to this part of our journey.
After we had travelled about ten miles (English) in a
direction E. N. E. the little rock of Signilscar was descried
like a black streak in the distance, and our utmost ex-
ertions could not enable us to reach it till three or four
hours after sun-set. Here we stopped to refresh ourselves,
and having procured a relay of horses, set out on that part
of our voyage which yet remained to be performed, before
we reached our halting place at Eckero.
During the disastrous war of 1809, when the Swedes
were driven from hence, a Russian general, in frolicsome
mood, crossed over the ice with a band of an hundred
Cossacks to Grisleham, merely for the sake of boasting of
making a march in imitation of the memorable and daring
act of Charles the Tenth; but the exploit excited the most
serious alarm on the coast, and no small consternation, as
might be imagined, at Stockholm.
* Of Celsius thermometer 50+ in the sun, 5º - in the shade. The po-
pulation of Signilscar consists of about 9 souls.
SWEDEN.
199
Yet provision was made, as far as the conveyance of
intelligence was concerned, against surprise from this quar-
ter, for Grisleham was one of the telegraphic stations. Such
establishments are not numerous here, but the one we were
surveying deserved notice, as being, perhaps, an example
of the longest line of communication that has been per-
manently established on this principle; since from that place
to Signilscar is a distance of more than 28 English miles.
It is curious, moreover, that it is claimed as an instance of
original invention: it was erected by the president Edel-
crantz, in September 1793, about four months after an ex-
periment upon a similar construction had been exhibited at
Paris, by M. Chappe, but this was, at the time, unknown
to the Swedish projector.
The correspondence is carried on by numerals, answer-
ing to certain conventional syllables and words. The signs
are made by nine flat boards, which may be turned edge-
ways or placed upright, similar to those adopted in the
old French telegraphs and in our own, with this difference
only, that an additional one is added at the top, in order
to double, upon occasion, the number which has been in-
dicated below. These nine boards were ranged in three
upright lines, denoting the several places of units, tens, or
hundreds respectively: the numbers adapted to them were
1, 2, 4, in each line, which will be found to afford the most
useful combinations for expressing the digits, and indeed
to answer every number up to 999, a limit admitting very
sufficient powers of intercourse upon this principle,
200
SWEDEN.
Of the two telegraphs, that on the coast of Sweden
alone was now remaining, for the Russians destroyed the
other upon taking possession of the island of Signilscar.
The following short mineralogical account of Sweden is
abridged from a public lecture, delivered before the Aca-
demy of Sciences at Stockholm, by Hisinger, than whom
no one was better qualified to do justice to such an un-
dertaking.
It commences by laying down the chief ranges of moun-
tains *. The great central chain of the peninsula, dividing
Norway and Sweden, branches out on both sides into in-
numerable lesser divisions. On the western or Norwegian
slope the base is in general a rock of gneiss, covered with
*The height of the chief mountains, above the level of the sea, is given in
Paris feet from the above mentioned essay.
Sulitelma
Lapland.
Jemtland.
Norway.
The mountains of Dalecarlia, ap-
proaching the Norway frontier,
are from 3000 to 4000.
6652 | Inshætan, highest of the
Dofre chain
Near Cape Nord, their
elevation is about
7620
3300
5173 | Syttorp
Norden top
5796
Vallispitz, near Quickjock 4100
Vegetation is not found at an height exceeding 2000 feet above the line of
perpetual congelation.
sea.
The vegetation of trees ceases in Jemtland, lat. 631° at 3420 feet above the
In the island of Stegen, lat. 68°, on the coast of Norway, at 1277.
The line of perpetual snow is carried in Lapland at Quickjock, lat. 67° 6",
to the height of 4100 feet.
In Norway (says de Busch) lat. 61° to 5200, lat. 62° to 4860, lat. 67° to
3600, lat. 71° to 2200.
The line of perpetual snow on Chimboraço is at the height of 14,760 feet;
on the southern side of the Alps at the height of 8400.
SWEDEN.
201
1
micaceous or argillaceous schist, on which repose transi-
tion rocks of limestone, argillaceous schist, sandstone, por-
phyry, grauwacke, &c. On the eastern side lies the country
of Sweden, containing rocks chiefly similar to the above, of
which a description is here subjoined.
Primitive rocks.
Granitic gneiss is the common basis, having in some
part scarcely an appearance of stratification*; it contains
many extraneous substances.
1. Hornblende, garnet, black tourmalin, iron in grains
slightly oxidised, pyrites, and occasionally gadolinite and
titanite.
2. The veins are filled with quartz, feldspar, and some-
times compact hornblende.
3. This formation is also rich in subordinate beds, mica
slate, hornblende, limestone, talc, iron slightly oxidised,
copper, pyrites, galena: these are rich enough to afford
mines which amply repay the expense of working in Suder-
mania, Upland, Nericia, Ostrogothia, Westermania, Dale-
carlia, Lapland, Westrogothia, &c.
Micaceous schist lies next in order, and is more regularly
stratified: it covers the top of the central chain of moun-
* The gneiss is sometimes divided into banks or steps, as in M'. Luppiovara
and d'Avasana, in the parish of Ofver Tornea, as also near Carlstadt; sometimes
in tables, as at the foot of Kineculle on the banks of the Wenner near Wester-
planos; another variety is distinctly stratified, but the beds are thick and undu-
lated; the sides of the L. Wenner are of this latter description.
D D
202
SWEDEN.
tains, and some of the lateral branches: it never occurs in
the plains, unless in subordinate beds to the gneiss.
Extraneous substances:
1. In the rock, chiefly garnet and hornblende.
2. In the veins, metal, as gold at Adelfors.
3. In the beds, iron oxidated, in a greater or less de-
gree, copper pyrites, galena; sometimes these beds are
united to an extraordinary thickness, and form what is
called stockwerk, as at Fahlun: among the subordinate
beds are lime, schistose hornblende, compact feldspar,
quartz, talc, and schistose talc.
Primitive limestone lies on the lateral, branches, as in
Sudermania, to the extent of many miles, but very seldom
on the great central chain. This rock never occurs (in
thick beds at least) to the south of Ostrogothia, Westro-
gothia, and the Dahl. It sometimes contains manganese,
sometimes magnesia (dolomite).
Extraneous substances:
1. Serpentine, tremolite, talc, hornblende, garnet, quartz,
mica.
2. Beds of compact feldspar, iron slightly oxidised,
copper pyrites, galena: the mines of Sakha, Häkansbóda,
Langbanskytta, and iron mines to the west of Norberg, lie
in this rock.
Primitive argillaceous schist is found on the Dahl: an-
other variety of a softer nature at Hellefors, in Westmania.
This rock is found also near Saggatjervi in Lulea Lap-
land.
}
SWEDEN.
203
Quartz rock of a whitish or reddish colour, intermixed
in parts with feldspar, in the mountains of Smöland and on
the Dahl.
Porphyry of a brownish red colour; reposing on a bed of
siliceous schist over the gneiss: in Smöland, near Sæthalla,
Willkjol, and at Ingatop.
Hornblende often mixed with feldspar, copper pyrites,
and sometimes mica, in Smöland. The mass of iron ore at
Taberg belongs to this formation of grunstein: in the parishes
of Olmchæsad, Væschærad, Nyed, in Wermeland, are rocks
of gneiss, crowned with grunstein.
The inclination and direction of the mica, schist, and
gneiss follow the same laws: on the central chain they seldom
incline at an angle of more than 45°, but, on the branches,
are sometimes nearly vertical.
Their direction is mostly parallel to that of the central
chain, generally from N. E. to S. W.
Their inclination is more variable, sometimes to the
west, but generally to the S. E. and E.
The inclination of all the primitive rocks, and also of
the newer formations, follow the same order, and this too
when their beds are almost vertical.
Transition rocks, the most ancient.
These occur more irregularly as to their number, in
covering the primitive, but their relative age is well ascer-
tained: the oldest are laid near the principal chain, and
204
SWEDEN.
even on the high mountains; the less ancient farther re-
moved; the newest or secondary still farther on the side of
Schonen.
The petrifications are of vegetable and animal species,
no longer in existence. Ortoceralites, echinites, madre-
pores, entrochites, entomoli (paradoxi), anomites, mytilites,
&c. rarely ammonites and lituites. They are found in the
limestone, bituminous schist, argillaceous schist, and some-
times in the sandstone.
Veins are more uncommon than in the primitive rocks:
fluate of lime, calcareous spar, galena, fill some veins in the
sandstone: galena and blend, and iron with the slightest de-
gree of oxidation in the porphyry of Elfdal: galena and blend
in the limestone of Boda in Dalecarlia. The banks of
limestone sometimes contain subordinate beds of argilla-
ceous and marly schist, the bituminous schist producing
alum, pierre de porc, and balls of hepatite. The secondary
sandstone contains beds of coal and of clay. In the chalk
are knots of flint: among the substances dispersed in the
generality of beds, one ordinarily finds pyrites in the bitu-
minous schist (whence its use in the manufactories of alum)
as also in the limestone, sandstone, and grunstein. Yellow
blend in the bituminous schist of Hunneberg, and grains of
iron slightly oxidated, and leaves of mica are seen in the por-
phyry of Elfdal.
The mountain of Kurrovaara, in Tornea Lapland, is of
pudding stone. The same rock appears on the chain of high
SWEDEN.
205
mountains (on the Norwegian frontier of Jemtland). Below
this is, in many parts, argillaceous schist, apparently belong-
ing to a formation of this epoch.
In descending from this last covering we meet at Sorna,
Elfdal, &c. a vast formation of siliceous sandstone; and
above this, in the parish of Lima, grunstein in some places
porphyrous, as also amygdaloide. In Elfdal and near Mora
and Orssa, porphyry, a conglomerate of porphyry, siliceous schist
and grunstein, in beds nearly horizontal. Leaving the high
mountains, but yet among the elevated hills near the limit
of the region of porphyry, one finds a less ancient forma-
tion of sandstone and lime of transition, which contains beds
of argillaceous schist. The land is here and there covered
with puddingstone and sandstone, with argillaceous and marly
schist in the isles of Visingö, Rosknö, and some other sum-
mits; and by an uninterrupted suite of this description on
the eastern side of this lake, at Nykyrka and Motala, as
also near Grenna, &c.
Transition rocks, less ancient.
The general accord in their substances, their order, their
structure, and their petrifications, are proofs of their con-
temporaneous formation; they are more regular than the
former in their occurrence, and their position is generally
horizontal. Two of these formations are placed high, near
the great mountains in Jemtland and in Dalecarlia : the
others are lower, and either surrounded with chains of
hills, as in Nericia and Ostrogothia, or in the plains, as in
206
SWEDEN.
Skaraborg on the eastern side of Schonen.
The most
regular in occurrence are those in Westrogothia; they are
not always contiguous, but form little hills, sometimes in-
tersected by the primitive basis, gneiss: their order on the
gneiss is thus, sandstone, bituminous schist, limestone, argil-
laceous schist, marly schist, and above all a bed of grun-
stein. Isolated masses of grunstein are found in some parts
of Schonen.
Secondary rocks.
These are only found in the plains of Schonen, in the
south. Near the sea at Helsinborg are beds of sandstone
mixed with those of coal and clay, reposing on the sand-
stone of transition, which is found even in the middle of
the country, and extends to the Baltic on the east. Near
Oresund, south of Malmo, are beds of chalk with black
flint: these beds continue under the sea, and are met again
in Zealand and in the isles of Moen and Steven, in every
other respect the same, but more elevated.
To the N. E. of Schonen, on a basis of gness, are the
newest formations of secondary limestone, with shells slen-
derly united, and for the most part broken.
Alluvion.
This is composed of the debris of the above rocks in
different gradation as to the size of the particles, large
blocks, pebbles, gravel, common sand, and shifting sand.
The direction of these from the mountains to which they
SWEDEN.
207
belong is to the S. and S. E., following in general the
course of the valleys; those fragments that are the largest
in size, and most frequent in occurrence, are on the high
grounds, having been stopped in their progress by their
weight, or by the ridges of the rocks. The rideaux of sand,
found chiefly in the middle of Sweden, are generally in a
direction parallel to the chief valleys, nearly from N. to S.
B
Clay is found mostly in the valleys of the mountains,
and often covered with sand: in the plains resting on the
primitive basis, it generally occurs in horizontal beds. When
the base is lime it is mixed with other beds, as the debris
of the rocks on which it lies. There occurs in Schonen
a more refractory clay, that is fitted for the manufacture
of pottery.
The beds of testaceous animals in a state of calcination
are seen chiefly in the islands on the side of the govern-
ment of Bohus, and on the land near Uddevalla, lying at
an elevation of near 200 feet. Their analogous productions
are generally found in the adjacent sea. The same sort
of shelly appearance has been observed in the clay at
Akesvass, during the excavation of the Trolhætan canal, as
also at Lilla Edet; they lie about 100 feet above the level
of the river.
Since iron is in the north so generally spread among
the rocks, it is not surprising that we find its ores among
the alluvial beds in grains, or more oxidated in the form of
bog iron ore, or else deposed by the water in the form of
ochre.
i
.208
SWEDEN.
The beds of saline earth are not common, nor when
they occur do they appear to be powerful; on the river
Umea, in the province of Ostrogothia in Sudermania, and
in the government of Skaraborg, are some springs slightly
saline, though too weak to admit of being made use of for
the extraction of salt.
}
209
SECTION III.
FINLAND-PETERSBURG.
Aland Islands—Abo-Present State of Finland-Sveaborg-
Wiborg-Petersburg-Original Intention of Peter I.—Con-
sequences of the System he adopted-State of Society-Nobles
-Slaves-Tribunals of Justice-Emancipation-Education
-Charitable Foundations-Court-Theatres, &c.-Govern-
ment—Public Feeling with regard to present Politics—Trade
—Manufactories-Employment of Foreigners-The Mint
-Paper Money-Its Depreciation-The probable Cause—
Commerce-Siberia-Embassy to China-Academy of
Sciences-Casan Church-Religion-Sectarists-Supersti-
tion-Religious Ceremonies on Easter Eve-News of the
Capture of Paris-Te Deum, Illumination, &c.—The Em-
peror-The fugitive Princes of Georgia-Severe Cold-Neva
breaks up-Ice of the Ladoga descends-Return of warm
Weather-Rapid Vegetation --Promenade
-Promenade—-Orders of
Knighthood-Imperial Palaces-Cronstadt, &c.
ON
N setting foot in the Aland islands we passed the frontier
of the Russian Empire, their coast being settled as the
boundary by the treaty of 1809: it is singular, that notwith-
standing their vicinity to Stockholm, so dangerous in case of
a rupture, the Swedish government has since made no at-
tempt to reclaim these important posts.
E E
210
FINLAND.
Our arrival at the first town, called Eckero, was of
course succeeded by a visit from the customhouse officers
to examine our baggage, and to demand (according to law)
whether we had any Russian paper-money in our posses-
sion; for to carry it into the country, it seems, is, by no
unwise policy, made an equal crime with its exportation.
Our passports had been procured near two months before
from Petersburg, as was necessarily the case with every
foreigner, and the governor of Eckero (a lieutenant in the
Russian service) was fully satisfied with the production of
our documents.
The island scenery appeared, as we journeyed, even at
this time, beautiful; the dark lush of the fir formed a strong
contrast with the silvery fleeces of snow that roofed the
forest, and the whole seemed to have assumed a new charm
in this livery of winter. Our road was an undeviating line
from place to place, no obstacle presented itself; we passed
over the fields, through the woods, across the ice; hill and
dale, land and water, were all alike: sometimes we tra-
versed the rocky channel of a deep-bedded river, at other
times wandered among the inlets of a lake, at others again
steered our way between the islands over the open sea;
the path was traced out on shore by large poles headed
with straw, over the ice by boughs of trees, stationed at
intervals, that drew a long thread over its surface to the very
edge of the horizon; we were skirted, indeed, by one of
these hedges in our passage across the Delet, for the dis-
tance of more than twenty English miles. The burden of
3
211
FINLAND.
providing these necessary marks, is a duty that falls upon
the inhabitants of the several parishes respectively; notice
is given at the church as soon as the ice may be reckoned
secure, and certain distances are allotted to the share of
each individual. Without such an arrangement all com-
munication would be entirely at an end, not only during
the long winter nights, but every time that the snow was
falling, or that a mist should arise to intercept the sight.
The cottages of the islanders were rough-hewn log
houses, and they were themselves people apparently of
such simple manners and habits, as their secluded situa-
tion and scanty number might lead one to expect: each
rustic householder was provided with the tools and imple-
ments of a dozen necessary arts or professions, performing
for himself with equal address the duties of carpenter, shoe-
maker, tailor, fisherman, baker, miller, &c. So little was the
division of labour studied, or the appropriation of means,
that we observed the corn-mills almost equalled in number
the houses of the villages; they were cheap and of simple
form, acting by sails constructed of wooden planks, and
their mill-stones shaped like the querne or old Celtic ma-
chine for grinding with the hand.
Luxuries, such as ochre paint for their cabins, or coats
of woollen cloth, where sheep-skins would suffice, were not
common. Caps of the most ordinary fur served as covering
for their heads; and for their feet the want of shoes was
supplied by a mis-shapen bag of dried seal-skin: the harness
of their horses consisted of nothing more than a plain col-
212
FINLAND.
lar attached to the shafts of the cart or sledge; the horse's
neck was thrust in, and he had nothing to do but proceed:
the contrivance answers all the purposes of draught, because
neither here nor in Sweden is the animal trained to resist
the weight of the carriage on a descent, however steep it
may be.
Very little grain is produced; the chief dependance of
the people is placed on the purchases they are enabled to
make at Stockholm by the sale of their wood. For our own
subsistence, it was absolutely necessary to carry with us
our provisions: coffee was the only article of luxury which
they had hoarded up for the use of a chance traveller.
We cut off our meat and bread, as occasion required,
from our store with a cleaver or hatchet, and having
been dressed at Stockholm before we set out, the beef
steaks, &c. were unfrozen by the application of cold water,
then placed for a few minutes in the stove-oven, and served
up to table as if fresh from the hand of the cook. Our
wine and brandy underwent a partial decomposition, and
the watery particles were converted to a core of ice: never-
theless, after what we had before endured, the weather
could not now be called severe, except during a few hours
of the night, and these accidents were regarded but as so
many agreeable novelties that relieved the weariness of our
journey.
Four days were spent in our passage, when we once
more set our feet on the continent, and after a short stage
arrived at Abo, the great university of Finland, where
i
FINLAND.
213
we thought a halt for a short time might not be ill re-
quited.
The first establishments for literature were founded
during the minority of Christina in 1640; but the build-
ings of the college have been lately renewed at the expense
of the present Emperor of Russia; nor was his generosity
confined to the act of giving alone, but, with a truly liberal
spirit, he has deigned to follow the plan that was intended
to have been put in execution by Gustavus IV. It is a
plain edifice constructed with the red granite of the country,
containing the several lecture-rooms, a library, a consistory,
and a hall for state occasions; the last in an unfinished
state, but shewing great promise of magnificence. It is
adorned with some beautiful columns of polished granite,
and (as we particularly remarked) with the bust of its in-
tentional, as well as its real benefactor. There were also
six bas reliefs in compartments on the wall, executed by a
pupil of Sergel, and neither deficient in taste or spirit: their
subjects were illustrative of the history of learning in these
parts, and commenced with a fable from the Edda of the
miracles of Vienamunda, the Finnish Orpheus, who taught
the bears (the undoubted aborigines) to dance to the sound
of his oaten pipe: the series finished with a representation
in prospect of the ceremonies that were yet to take place
on the solemn inauguration of the Emperor Alexander.
The professors are eighteen in number, and enjoy each
a salary of 4000 roubles per annum from the crown, besides
ten from every student attending the lectures. The number
214
FINLAND.
of these is large, since a degree is made a necessary qualifica-
tion also in Russia for attaining not only the inferior offices
of state, but becomes also a title for a certain rank in the
army; one year's residence at a university, however, is re-
quisite in order to obtain it.
The cathedral is a plain edifice, though erected in a
more tasteful style than Abo Slött, or Castle; the latter de-
serves the traveller's notice only as being celebrated in
Swedish history for the capture of John III. by Eric XIV.:
after which, by a singular reverse of fortune, it became for
some time the prison of Eric himself.
On Sunday we attended divine service in the Lutheran
church, for this is the prevalent religion here as in Sweden:
the officiating minister, previous to his concluding prayer,
read out to us with an audible voice a list of the births,
deaths, and marriages of the preceding week, as I believe is
customary in that religion. His succeeding catalogue some-
what surprised us : he recounted the sales of houses made, or
about to be made, and then added the directions of the un-
claimed letters now lying at the post-office, with some other
notices of a similar description: it is a singular practice, but
nevertheless one that is infinitely useful in such a country
as Finland, and I must add in compliment to the piety
of the Fins, that certainly no other mode of publication
would have given these matters an equal chance of no-
toriety.
The solemnization of marriages takes place only once a
year, and that on a fixed day in the teeming autumn. Be-
FINLAND.
215
fore this time arrives, the expectant lover is not permitted,
by the custom of the land, to pay his addresses in person
to the object of his wishes: his offer is made by sending
a piece of money, that is accepted or not as the fair
one is inclined to approve or reject his suit: but both the
conveyance of this token of love and the whole of the after-
ceremonials of courtship are carried on through the inter-
vention of some old woman of the village, whose occupation
and calling may seem enviable to some bustling gentle-
women in other countries, being that of a regularly esta-
blished match-maker.
We first heard the sound of the Finnish language* at
Varsala, in one of the Aland islands; it was a matter of
astonishment to recognise again the Swedish tongue upon
our reaching the third stage from Abo; and on pursuing
our journey we found it prevailed for a considerable di-
stance: it is possible that this change may only have taken
effect on the coast in consequence of the former frequent
communications by sea with the Swedes; but the fact of
its existence is authenticated by better evidence than the
cursory observations of a traveller.
The Finnish is by no means so harmonious as the Swe-
dish language, which may be called a softer dialect of the
German: its roots indeed are from a different stock, and it
is well known to be nearly the same as the vernacular lan-
*This language has the peculiarity of being without prepositions; to remedy
which defect, the cases of the nouns are varied to the number of sixteen.
216
FINLAND.
guage of Hungary; bearing also in common with that
tongue the strongest affinity to a dialect spoken in some
parts of the north of Asia.
These several nations, however remote their present set-
tlements, are traced to one common Scythian stem. The
ancient Ouigres of Siberia, a short time before the Chris-
tian æra, separated themselves into two distinct hordes; the
Uni-ouigres wandered to the north, the Tokos-ouigres to
the south, fixing their capital not far from the city
of Turphan. From the migrations of the last arose the
Huns, from the former the Samoyedes, Vogouls, Ostiaks,
Tchouvaks (Livonians) Tcheremisses, Permians, Fins, Lap-
landers,
Upon a general view of their condition, these people
are not much improved (the rustics at least) since the days
when we first hear their names mentioned; and the short
pithy description of Tacitus is often quoted in allusion to
their present habits and character. It would be unfair
to expect much of such a nation, considering that in ad-
dition to the incapacitating rigour of their climate, they
have, for a great part of the intervening ages, laboured
under the subjection of their more powerful neighbours:
the continual prey of the kings of the Goths and Vandals on
the one side, or of the Emperor of all the Russias on the
other. We hear no more of their native kings after the
time that Eric II., at the close of the ninth century, added
Finland to the crown of Sweden.
I do not know that their late annexation to the Russian
1
FINLAND.
217
dominions has been productive of any symptoms of dis-
content or ill-will: the peasants in Aland, it is true, com-
plained of the exactions of the soldiery, and, generally
speaking, their honest prejudices seemed to incline them in
favour of the government they had been so long accustomed
to obey. Yet the more wealthy and thinking classes can-
not but feel the advantages of their present situation: in-
corporated with a more powerful state, they are delivered
from the perpetual dread of seeing their country made the
seat of war: their trade and commerce is more free, and
more liberally encouraged, while, as far as it can be made
compatible with the Russian system, they are granted the
exercise of their ancient liberties, customs, and privileges;
for the policy that attends the Russian schemes of aggran-
dizement in this respect as well as others, is ever that of the
Roman conqueror.
Still farther to conciliate the people, several other
allowances have been made in their favour: not only are
they exempted from furnishing draughts for the army, but
they were relieved from taxation during the first three years
after the act of incorporation; all previous arrears were can-
celled; and of the sums now levied, two-thirds are made
payable in kind, at the option of the individual. The
amount is greater than what they formerly paid, but in
part only nominally so, by reason of the depreciation of the
paper. A still more beneficial regulation of the emperor
is, an order that the whole of the sum thus raised should be
expended in the improvement of these provinces alone,
F F
218
FINLAND.
whereby much has been done: besides other plans, two
banks were set up Abo*; one for discounting bills, and
one for uttering notes; to the former, as it would be
some time before any great profit could be returned, a do-
nation was made of 100,000 roubles towards establishing a
fund. The excellent effects of these establishments have
been very generally felt, and it is said (by the Russians at
least) that no bankruptcy has taken place at Abo for these
last four years, though failures were frequent before this
golden æra.
The minister, to whose hands the administration of the
provinces of Finland was entrusted, was at this time himself
a native, the celebrated Count Armfeldt, Chevalier (as his
style runs) de tous les ordres du Nord. He was once the
favourite and bosom friend of Gustavus III., and for many
years a leading character at the court of Stockholm, as well
as a distinguished commander in the field.
There is a military governor constantly resident at Abo:
the office was now filled by General Count Steinhill, the
same officer who so honourably distinguished himself under
Wittgenstein in the defence of Riga.
On the 2d of March we set out on our road for Hel-
singfors, whither, notwithstanding the reputed celerity of
* The chief trade of Abo is in timber: it was now reckoned dear; a piece of
eight yards in length, and squaring upwards of one foot, was in value 6 R. D. B.
Small timber: two pieces of ten or twelve yards in length, 1 R. D. B.
Posting: six copecks per verst, or two-thirds of an English mile.
Day labour 24 schillings. Corn per coul 12 R. D. B.
= =
200 denuscas 100 copecks I rouble (in paper) 101d. English.
FINLAND.
219
sledge travelling, we did not arrive till late in the following
day. We had just satisfied our hunger at the hotel, when
the church bell tolled, and the muffled drum was beat with
a tone that sounded mournfully amidst the stillness of a
winter evening; it was for the purpose of announcing to
the public the appearance of one of the greatest subjects of
alarm in these countries-a conflagration. Our curiosity
led us out of doors, where a strong bright flame issuing
from a distant island, which we were told was Sveaborg,
pointed out the source of alarm, and seemed to direct the
steps of the crowd that assembled from all quarters. On
arriving we found that a large house had taken fire from a
wooden windmill, which (as is the custom) was affixed to its
roof. The building was in a short time consumed to ashes;
little other mischief, however, ensued, although it would be
impossible to compliment very highly the skill of those en-
gaged in extinguishing the fire. A sight of this nature is
never devoid of certain features of grandeur and sublimity,
and the peculiar circumstances of the place rendered it
here wonderfully striking; the glare of its pale light reflected
over the snow for many a dreary mile, added to the general
confusion and hurry of the moment, presented a scene that
amply repaid us for our trip of five versts, even during this
weather, over the frozen sea, and was a sight which no lapse
of time will ever efface from my
recollection.
About two years ago a similar accident occurred at the
town of Helsingfors, and was attended with consequences
infinitely more destructive.
220
FINLAND.
The emperor, however, shewed his usual generosity in
making a loan of 100,000 R. to the sufferers on handsome
terms; repayment was required to be made by instalments,
and the whole to be completed in the course of twenty
years; the houses of the town were in consequence already
rebuilt, and, for the most part, in a neat and comfortable
condition.
On the following morning we revisited the fortress, and
by favour of a letter to Admiral Badisco, were permitted to
view the place. The harbour, whose surface we had tra-
versed on this excursion for about four English miles, is ca-
pable of holding sixty sail of the line or more. It is pro-
tected by six islands strongly fortified; the three largest
of which, being connected together by bridges, form the
fortress of Sveaborg. The works are partly blasted from
the granite rock, and partly built of masonry from the same
material: they mount upwards of 800 pieces of cannon,
and contain barracks and casemates for a garrison of 12,000
men, so that ample provision is made in this respect for its
defence.
The fort commanding the passage of entrance occupies
the crown of a cliff that rises to more than forty feet of
elevation above the sea, and displays a prodigious shew of
ordnance. At the foot of this, on the southernmost point,
a well has been sunk through the rock, from whence, for
nothing is wanting to complete the strength of the place,
the garrison may be at all times supplied with water. With
these advantages it is singular that a strange instance of
FINLAND.
221
neglect occurred in its construction, for the island rising on
the other side of the passage, which is too high to be brought
under the guns of any part of the fort, has not been occu-
pied by fortifications: but the Russian government have
projected a scheme of improvement, which will probably
embrace this spot amongst others; it is their intention also
to make alterations in various parts of the works that are
defective in many essential points. They were first con-
structed by Ehrensvard, a Swedish engineer, in 1748, and
will ever stand as a curious example of the insufficiency
of the best measures which political foresight is able to
provide; for it is a fact, that notwithstanding the boasted
strength of these works, they have not, at any time of trial,
afforded the least advantage to the government which
bore the expense of their erection: but were given up to
Russia by treachery, both in the first and second wars of
Finland.
At the back of this island is another large fort, and be-
low this are the rope-walks, the naval arsenals, &c. There
were also eight docks intended to be covered for the recep-
tion of frigates of the largest class: though they were now
incomplete, nothing appearing except the pillars that were
to form their sides. A large flotilla of gun-boats and some
small ships were moored in the bason; the former chiefly
drawn on shore, and the latter, for security's sake, moated
round by a channel that was daily sawn out from the ice,
to prevent the injury that would otherwise ensue to the
hulls from its expansive force. This, however, seemed a
222
FINLAND.
very common precaution. The other works and buildings
that covered the rock, with the walls erected on the northern
side of the fort, being of wood and earth, were not worthy
of remark.
After our walk we had the pleasure of dining with the
hospitable admiral, who spoke English extremely well, an
accomplishment, however, that is by no means uncommon in
the Russian navy, since so many of the officers have at one
time served in the British fleet. Dinner concluded, we sallied
forth again, and partook, for the first time, of the amusements
of the ice-hill, the merry-go-round, &c. and what was still
more diverting, made a trip over the sea in a vessel moving
with skaits on the ice: it was a frame of wood laid down as
the deck of a ship: two skaits were placed under the bows,
and a third, being moveable on a pivot, supplied the place of
a rudder: for obvious reasons, she was rather awkward in her
stays, and unless her crew shifted their seat from one side
to the other with great adroitness, was infallibly overset.
Her motion was tremendously rapid, and she held a com-
plement of twenty or thirty persons: but as the snow was
necessarily cleared out for her track, the voyage was limited ;
the circuit was ingeniously carried in the form of a pen-
tagon, so as to enable her to take advantage of every wind.
All these preparations for public amusement were now
deserted by the public on account of the feast of Lent,
which is held by the Russians with the strictest observance.
We finished our evening at the little theatre of Helsing-
fors, and at night resumed our journey. Our next hundred
FINLAND.
223
versts were, in appearance, dreary and lonely enough both
by night and day: here and there the distant tinkling of
the sledge bell of some chance traveller or courier met the
ear, or occasionally the voice of the peasant at work with
his snow-plough to clear the road. Except this, every
object around bore the aspect of uninterrupted solitude:
with regard to scenery, the same interchange of rocky hills,
frozen lakes, and forests of fir, wrapt in one universal mantle
of snow, accompanied us every where, that scarce may be
said to afford any variety capable of giving substantial re-
lief to the eye.
In our next day's journey, at a short distance from the
town of Fredericksham, we passed the bridge that once
marked the point of separation between Swedish and Rus-
sian Finland. It claims a sort of historical notoriety from
the mad caprice of the late Gustavus Adolphus, who, out-
stripping the limits of his jurisdiction, ordered the half of
the bridge on the Russian side, as well as that on his own,
to be painted with the Swedish colours: this pitiful act of
aggression afterwards formed one of the pretexts of a war
that led his country to the very brink of destruction, and,
by its consequences, deprived the ancient blood of Vasa of
their inheritance.
However vague and ideal these marks of geographical
boundary may appear, it must be allowed that on passing
the line an almost instantaneous difference is every where
apparent: the inhabitants of this province have assimilated
themselves entirely to the taste and manners of their con-
224
FINLAND.
querors, and, mixed with numerous resident settlers, are now
become a truly Russian people.
On waking at an early hour after a sound sleep in my
sledge, I gazed with wonder at the spectacle that presented
itself in the streets of Wyborg: the glare of white houses,
their green roofs and oriental cupolas, the noble mansions
of the wealthy and the religious fane, all so spacious and
splendid in comparison of what we had lately been accus-
tomed to see; and yet above all, the new costume of the by-
standers dressed in long caftans, their bare necks, their
flowing beards, their sash, cap, and boots of red, were alto-
gether objects so singular, that the spectacle impressed
itself on my mind rather as a dream of the morning than as
a scene of real life. The men seemed quite another race of
beings; no longer the modest homely Fin, but persons of
strong masculine habit, carrying a stubborn and listless
mien, that, combined with their majestic stature, seemed not
altogether devoid of dignity: while the coloured ornaments
with which they were set off lent them an air of grotesque.
magnificence, not ill according with the shewy buildings
that surrounded us; every object, in short, which met our
eyes, partook of the same character, and bore a hint of
Asiatic origin.
We strolled about the town for some hours in contem-
plation of these novelties, and employed ourselves in taking
a survey of the castle, which is an interesting building, and
of other remains of the old town. If we are inclined from
its present aspect to make any enquiry about the past, it
1
FINLAND,
225
will be necessary to recur to the Swedish history, and to
those times when Russia held a different rank from what
she has now attained in the scale of European nations.
Wyborg was founded by Birger Jahl in the thirteenth
century, as a military hold that should enable him to check
the increasing power of the republic of Novgorod, so famous
in those days. We hear its name but seldom mentioned
afterwards till its capture by Peter I. in the year 1711, when
its possession was thought necessary to ensure the security of
the new metropolis. Its fortifications still remain, though
somewhat in a dilapidated state and regarded as of little use.
On quitting the environs of this town, all the gaudy
splendour we had so much admired instantly vanished,
and we found ourselves again transported to the forests,
and the rocks, and boundless regions of snow. The vil-
lages we saw were of the meanest appearance and cha-
racter, for whatsoever in this country is not made for dis-
play and shew, is poor indeed; and by our recollection of
the different state of things we had left behind, Sweden was
now as much raised as she had before been sunk on com-
parison. Instead of the neat-built red-ochred cottages, the
road-side was disfigured by large dismal huts with walls
made of the round trunks of trees barely stripped of their
bark, and resembling, externally, a casual pile of timber,
rather than a human dwelling. The interstices of this
frame-work were caulked with moss and clay, and though a
few glazed windows were seen, their place was generally
supplied by square open crannies. These structures called
G G
226
PETERSBURG.
to mind the first rude efforts of primitive man after he
left the shelter of the forest oak, and looked as if age after
age had passed over the heads of the people without their
attempting any improvement in the arts of civil life. The
ancient Russian Chronicles, who speak of the founder of
any place as having cut the town (roubitgorod) might easily
be supposed to be describing in that phrase the builders of
the present day:-so little different is the modern process ;
the felling of the timber, in fact, is the only part of the
labour which a peasant thinks it behoves him to calculate
when about to erect his habitation.
The roads being more beaten as we advanced towards
the capital, were, in some parts, worn bare to the balks
that formed their substratum; in others, where the snow
had drifted, they were furrowed with deep hollows inter-
posed in succession for a considerable distance, giving an
undulatory motion to the sledge of the most disagreeable
sensation. But even without any additional grievances, a
speedy termination of our journey was an highly agreeable
prospect at this season, and it was with no small joy that,
as we descended from the last of the hills of Finland to the
woody plains of Ingria, we discovered the white line of the
frozen sea crowned with the steeples and domes of Pe-
tersburg.
A wild uncultivated tract was now traversed for about
twelve versts, when on a sudden we found ourselves
ushered into the fauxbourgs of the town, and again enjoyed
a glimpse of Russian grandeur. Here all that we saw was
PETERSBURG.
227
on a great scale indeed; and on passing to the banks of the
Neva we came at once in sight of the glory of the fairest
city of the world. It was a scene at once gay, lively, and
sublime; replete with every fancied ornament that taste
and wealth could bestow, it united in the same view all the
elegant symmetries of Grecian and Roman art, with the
gorgeous pride of the East.
The Marble Palace, the Imperial Winter Residence, the
Admiralty, the Isaac Church, the Academy, the Fortress, and
a thousand other sumptuous edifices, rose on either side over
the quays of granite, and lined the long perspective till it
was almost lost in the distance. Their colours were varied
but harmonious, and the white surface of the river lying
between them was spotted with a thousand figures, which
flitted in rapid succession before our eyes. To add to the
pleasure arising from this spectacle, we were fortunate in
the state of the weather; it was a serene and tranquil sun-
set, the departing ray glancing through the avenue of a
lofty colonnade that rose in our front, shed a blaze on the
gilt spires and domes around us, and brightened with fresh
lustre the gloomy splendour of a winter evening.
It is not possible to give an account capable of pour-
traying faithfully the surprise and astonishment generally
experienced by the stranger, who, after the wild country he
has just quitted, enters the city of Petersburg: its effect
would be stupendous even without the aid of this contrast:
whatever beauties may have been shadowed out by ima-
ginary anticipation, every idea falls short of the excellence
228
PETERSBURG.
of the original, and every former relation one has heard
seems to describe it in terms of admiration far too cold,
It is a city of new-built palaces, where the residences of in-
dividuals vie with the effusions of imperial magnificence,
and where the buildings, destined for public works, hold a
rank of ostentation still more striking, and are of a magni-
tude well agreeing with the mighty concerns of this vast
empire.
In the middle is the quarter of the Vassili-ostrof, built
on an island formed by the river, and connected with the
city on either side by bridges of boats: on the right bank
lies the old town, with the cottage of Peter I. yet standing;
on the left is the new town, divided by three canals, taking
their course in a concentric semi-circular direction through
the several quarters of the place, and furnishing, with their
bridges and quays of granite, and balustrades of iron, many
additional embellishments to its general appearance. Nor
are they merely ornamental, for, besides their use as drains
to the swamp on which the whole is built, they afford a vent
to the inundations that sometimes arise from the temporary
accumulation of the waters of the gulf under a westerly
wind, and which about half a century* since had so near
overwhelmed the infant city.
- Three long, straight, and level streets (one of which,
St. A. Newsky, extends five versts) branch out from the
centre of the Admiralty, where the lofty gilt spire and dome
* In the
year
1777.
PETERSBURG,
229
form in each line an object for the termination of the vista.
These streets are again intersected by others to the north
and south, almost uniform in their direction, but varied here
and there with frequent and handsome esplanades.
The houses are (like those of most cities on the con-
tinent) built of brick, faced with stucco; the composition,
though it is not liable to be destroyed by a humid atmo-
sphere like that of England, yet the changes of weather,
from the extremes of heat and cold, materially affect its
durability; it generally, indeed, requires repair at the end
of two years. The gay dwellings are coloured white or yellow,
and finished with roofs of thin iron plates painted of a black,
a red, or, as is the favourite mode, a green hue, being a tint
that is procured from a mineral oxide of copper at no great
expense.
Foreign architects, Italians, and others, who have been
attracted hither by the lucrative patronage of the court,
are, for the most part, the authors of every architectural
design that is executed: and nothing can exceed the models
that are given of elegant taste and style; barely to mention
the objects worthy of description, would be to draw out a
tedious and fulsome catalogue of magnificence.
The fashionable promenade of the boulevards consists of
three avenues of trees in front of the Admiralty, a building
which exhibits perhaps the longest regular façade in Eu-
rope it is upwards of a quarter of an English mile in ex-
tent, adorned at intervals with six several porticos, and sur-
mounted, rather fantastically it is true, with a thin taper
230
PETERSBURG.
dome and spire. The air of this structure is at present
much disfigured by the ramparts and ditch which the mad
Emperor Paul caused to be constructed in the very heart
of the city round three of its sides. The fourth side, or the
back, is open to the river, and occupied by the dock-yard
and slips for ship-building.
Immediately below the boulevards is the Isaac Place,
where stands the equestrian statue of Peter the First.
This work, which is by Falconet, in itself, perhaps, possesses
no extraordinary merit, but derives its chief celebrity from
the gigantic mass of granite that forms its pedestal, and
which was brought, as is well known, with great mechanical
skill and ingenuity from a morass at a considerable distance.
Its weight was 1600 tons, but the original size is much re-
duced, and its shape impaired by the injudicious applica-
tion of the chisel. A large block is also added on one
side, which still more impairs the effect of surprise intended
to be excited on the spectator's mind on beholding this
mighty miracle of Catharine's reign.
In the month of May, 1803, on the day that completed
the first century since the foundations of the city were laid,
an interesting exhibition was made on this spot. The cen-
tennial jubilee was announced in by peals of ordnance from
the fortress, the ringing of bells, and all the demonstrations
of a grand fête: the hulk of the first ship built at Petersburg,
being yet in existence, was brought down the river and
moored opposite to Peter's statue; and close alongside of
her lay a new ship decorated with flags, streamers, and
1

II. James del
OF
FINA
UN
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STATUE of PETER the first in the ISAAC PLACE, PETERSBURG.
1. Clark sculp
PETERSBURG,
231
garlands, whose launch had taken place in the morning.
A solemn military procession succeeded, and 30,000 troops
of the line in parade uniform, with colours flying, and ac-
companied by bands of martial music, defiled around the
hero's effigy.
It is worth while to pause here a little on the reflection
which such a spectacle must naturally have suggested at this
day, and on the designs of the great monarch, who bade the
race of savages start at once into civilisation, and called to
birth this enchanted city from the midst of a desert. But
notwithstanding the imposing aspect which such a place
affords, and the wealth and power and consequence that its
erection has produced to the empire of Russia, its real ad-
vantages have perhaps been somewhat overrated by the
warm panegyrists of its founder.
It is beyond a doubt that it was not his original inten-
tion to have erected his new capital in this situation; a
plan is preserved in the Imperial Archives which details
a scheme for building a great city at Nisni Novgorod,
and there fixing the imperial residence. Seated at the
conflux of the Volga and the Oka in a country the most
fertile, and in a central point that would have united the
seat of supreme power with the natural focus of commercial
circulation, it would have possessed numerous advantages
that Petersburg can never attain; neither was it to be dis-
regarded that its locality would have enabled the govern-
ment at all times to check and overawe, with little effort,
the several more remote parts of the empire.
¡
232
PETERSBURG.
With regard to Petersburg itself, it was not, it is said,
his intention that the place should have increased to
that disproportionate and unwieldy bulk to which it has
latterly been forced, in spite of the disadvantages of its
position. He meant to unite here the court and the mer-
cantile world, but never could have wished the influx of
settlers to be so great, as in some measure to curtail the
benefits of his commercial scheme.
A port opening to the Baltic was necessary to him, and
he was constrained to seek a spot whose remote situation
might secure him against the hostility of Sweden; but this
very circumstance, as it carried him to an almost inacces-
sible place on the utmost verge of his dominions, infinitely
augmented the difficulty of supplying* his city with pro-
visions, and could not fail to have the effect of enhancing
the prices of all articles, both to the inhabitant of what he
bought from the peasant, and to the peasant of whatever
he carried back in exchange. Thus the value of colonial
produce and manufactures, and every thing which the
people of the country stand in need of, is increased in more
than a fair proportion; and the effect of an inordinate aug-
mentation of prices in this way is very different from that
which is the consequence of a more intimate and more
abundant circulation of wealth. Had the project before men-
tioned been carried into execution, or indeed had the mode-
* The supply of cattle is chiefly from the Ukraine, and the necessary article
of grain from the provinces of the Volga: even of firewood near 200,000 fathoms
are annually brought from a distance.
1
PETERSBURG.
233
rate schemes of reform projected by Gallitzin (the minister
of Sophia) taken place, instead of the violent and immature
changes which this mighty man effected, Russia would have
grown, in the quiet and natural order of things, to a state of
power and command, that would have in time developed a
force capable of inspiring dread to all the nations of Europe.
In her present circumstances I cannot suppose that there
really exists so great and immediate a cause for alarm as
some speculatists are wont to imagine. Men and money
do not constitute national power and wealth, but the ef-
ficiency of one, and the circulation of the other. As mat-
ters are now arranged, the internal state of Russia militates
in the strongest way against the improvement of her means;
and some few examples of the moral disabilities under which
she labours will be detailed in these pages.
Oppressed as she is by an autocratical government, with
an all-powerful nobility, with an half digested feodal system,
with an incapacitating spirit of corruption in every branch
of administration, with foreigners in possession of every post
of honour or profit; it is not too much to say that Russia
has reached in the present reign the highest pinnacle of
rank and power which her circumstances can ever admit her
to attain, and should an alteration in her system be con-
templated, it is hardly possible from such a melange of in-
congruities to augur that any change should be lasting, or
productive in the end of consequences really beneficial to
herself. The imperial authority, now all-powerful, will
H H
234
PETERSBURG,
hereafter find itself unable to check the influence of know-
ledge and sense of partial liberty that daily diffuse themselves
more and more throughout the nation. It requires no great
foresight to predict the divisions and factions that must ul-
timately arise from the irregular distribution of wealth and
power over so enormous an extent of territory; and where-
soever accident shall cast the balance, it will be an easy task
of ambition to throw off all dependance on the semi-Russian
capital: the storm is now preparing, and every fresh act of
aggrandisement brings nearer the hour of dissolution.
As to other prospects, and the view in which her pre-
ponderating strength may be regarded by her neighbours,
it should be remembered that Russia has not hitherto
been able to bring into the field an army capable of over-
whelming any one of the superior states of Europe; though
supposing that she were, in the existing state of the ci-
vilised world, it is not by the inroad of numerous hordes that
European independence is threatened, but by the country
which shall have advanced to the highest degree of emi-
nence, activity, and skill, in arts and in science, in intelli-
gence, in wealth: this superiority alone can ever justly be
looked upon with fear, and notwithstanding the laudable
efforts they have made, the Russians cannot be said even
to approximate to such a state at this epoch. The nation
has made great efforts, but there yet remains much to be
done. It was well answered by a foreigner to a person
who asked why the old style was still adhered to in the
PETERSBURG,
235
Russian calendar; in order, said he, that they may imagine
themselves only twelve days behind the rest of Europe,
when in fact they are a whole century in arrear.
But notwithstanding this, such is the covetous system
of encroachment which Russia invariably pursues, and such
her insatiable policy, that in spite of appearances we must
not be lulled into security; affairs may take a different
turn from what their present aspect seems to promise; and
even in case our surmises prove well founded, it should be
held in mind that the dissolution of so mighty a mass is
not in itself an object to be viewed with unconcern, but its
fall may involve many others also in destruction, and en-
cumber all Europe with the ruins.
Having here alluded to the progress of civilisation, I
must add, that it is not intended to convey any undue
satire upon the Russian people, who have been already ca-
lumniated more than enough, both by English and French
writers. General conclusions have been drawn from par-
ticular instances of misconduct or meanness; habits com-
mon to all the continent have been quoted as peculiar to
them alone; and manners and usages that really were their
own, and from that circumstance deserved a milder judg-
ment, have been exaggerated into heinous crimes, with the
most indecent acrimony. In other instances different ranks
have been confounded, and sketches of high life given by
those who appear seldom to have mixed with even the
better classes of society; while facts which only ap-
peared in a bad light from the temporary irritation of the
236
PETERSBURG.
!
traveller's mind have been misquoted and applied as evi-
dences of the real Russian character; although nothing
could be more out of place than the idea of generalising
on the subject.
Besides this, allowances are to be made for the unin-
tentional errors which even the most accurate observer is
liable to make, in consequence of the singular spectacle
which the inhabitants of this country afford. They are a
people, half European, half Asiatic, who, from a state of
barbarism, have been forced into immature civilisation, and
whose frame of society has been injudiciously reorganised
on principles borrowed from nations of the highest refine-
ment and polish. Under such circumstances, the same laws,
are frequently productive in their operation of a totally
different, perhaps opposite effect; and their results ma-
nifested in a shape not always intelligible to the eye of a
foreigner. Were they a race of savages, one might reason
on their moral condition as philosophers; if a community
perfectly refined, as politicians; but their present state.
baffles the usual modes of enquiry, and is referable to no
scheme of analytical rule whatsoever. Many of the laws:
and customs appear, at first sight, contradictory to them-
selves, and repugnant to the general system of order and
policy, and certainly they do not correspond to the idea
we form upon such subjects; but upon more mature ob-
servation, when even a short residence has given some little
insight to the nature of things, we shall find these regula-
tions admirably calculated for the genius and character of
PETERSBURG.
237
those to whom they are addressed, and to contain the only
principles that are in fact well suited to their condition.
Frequently, again, in a case where we object to the con-
duct of some individual, we shall discover upon reflection
that he has not only acted like the rest of his countrymen,
but, under existing circumstances, chosen the best and
wisest course which it was in his power to adopt. Looking
to society in Russia, we shall find that there exists in fact
only two distinct orders, the nobles and the slaves. The
interval between these classes, as far as the purposes of life
are concerned, is filled up by foreign residents, who once
exclusively negotiated all the more lucrative branches of
commerce, and now participate them with only a few of
the natives. It is true that some slaves have received their
liberty, and they have been said to compose a tiers état ; but
they are in number so few, when compared with the mass,
as to be scarce worthy of mention, and are so far (politically
speaking) from forming a class apart, that they are unable
to sustain the place in society which they ought to occupy:
the very act of manumission itself is considered as prejudi-
cial rather than advantageous to a man's interest; he be-
comes an isolated creature, whose claims and rights are
neither known nor respected; he is unable to protect him-
self, and being without a claim to the guardianship of a
seigneur, soon falls a prey to the rapacity of the police or
other corrupt administrators of the government.
The privileges of a nobleman consist in being exempted
from military conscription and from corporal punishment,
238
PETERSBURG.
in having the right to establish manufactories, to possess
land and slaves, to impose taxes and to inflict chastisement
upon them, &c. The charges on this class are to furnish
recruits to the crown, and to pay a certain fee on the aliena-
tion of their property. The titular nobility are numerous,
because the titles descend to all the children; but besides
those who enjoy the above-mentioned rights by inherit-
ance, these advantages are attached to certain stations
in the civil and military lines: assessors in the chancery, for
instance, and all officers of the army or navy, are called
noble, though the possession of slaves is limited to persons
above the rank of major. The imperial companies of trade
at Petersburg, also, participate certain of these immunities,
and are allowed to use carriages with one pair of horses.
Among the hereditary nobility are many families of high
antiquity. The Gallitzins claim descent from the dukes
of Lithuania, the Dolgorucki (once princes of Tchernigoff)
as well as the Bielosovski, and other families, trace their
line to the conqueror Rurick, the founder of the Russian
sovereignty; with these are several that date their titles
from the reign of Peter, of Catherine, or of Paul, when new
creations were not unfrequent, in consequence of the pre-
dominant system of favouritism. An anecdote of Suwarrow
bears ample testimony to the capricious patronage of the
last mentioned monarch. It is related, that seeing a servant
pass by, dressed in a smart laced livery, and set off with a
cocked hat of the accustomed Russian dimensions, he un-
covered his head and bowed to him most courteously. A
PETERSBURG.
239
friend standing by, thinking the field marshal had saluted
this person through inadvertency, informed him of the
error, adding, that it was no other than a valet to whom he
had shewn such profound marks of respect. "It may be,"
said Suwarrow, "but the valet will, perhaps, be made a
"count in a month or two; strange things come to pass;
"he will be a great man at court one day or other, and
"an old soldier may, perhaps, have need to solicit his pa-
tronage."
66
All distinctions of family, however, were confounded
by one levelling act that took place in the reign of Feodor
Alexievitch: the numerous records and pedigrees of the
nobility were collected, and in order to put an end to the
feuds and quarrels that daily arose from contention for pre-
cedence, were consigned to the flames together; one step
more was taken in the succeeding reign, when the titles
of kniaz (generally translated prince) of count, and of baron,
lost their several pretensions, and Peter I. subjected all
ranks alike to the standard of military office, exciting by
this means a passion for a martial life, that has since proved
well suited to the schemes of his policy. The system is
not attended with those ridiculous inconveniencies that
some persons have supposed. It sounds singular, no doubt,
to our ears, to be told that the maids of honour are major
generals by virtue of their office, and on looking at the
choir of the chapel royal, to be informed that his excellency,
the singing master has the same title: yet the distinction
is, in fact, but a nominal one, and answers the same pur-
240
PETERSBURG.
pose as any other rule of priority which might be made the
basis of a table of precedence. An unmarried lady, in the
service of the empress, must have rank in her own person,
and the discretion with which it is bestowed, either in this
case or in the other, depends only on the etiquette observed
at the court, or the value which is attached to such a name.
The name of general does not give any command in the
army to those employed in the civil service, or even the
liberty to wear the military uniform; and if that line is after-
wards adopted, the transfer is made according to a certain
rule of exchange; a conseiller intime, with rank of major
general, enters the army as a major only; a gentilhomme de
chambre, with rank of lieutenant colonel, enters as a simple
lieutenant, and others in similar proportion.
The power exercised by the emperor over all these
classes of the nobility is of as extraordinary a nature as the
dominion of the latter over their slaves; neither can they
marry without the imperial consent, or select for themselves
a profession; and their property, though by more indirect
means, is in some sort subjected to the same authority.
An instance of this lately happened: a certain nobleman
indulged his passion for ostentation by giving a splendid
entertainment to his majesty, at Petersburg: well knowing
the embarrassed circumstances of his host, the emperor en-
quired whence the funds for this expenditure arose: he was
answered, humorously enough, that the expense was very tri-
fling; the whole was afforded for two hundred roubles, being
the amount of the duty laid upon the sale of land. This
PETERSBURG.
241
¿
was at the moment well received, it passed off, and no more
was said. But lo! on the following day an ukase issued
forth, ordaining that no court of justice should admit the
prosecution of any claims whatever on this nobleman's
estates, dated after the promulgation of the same; whereby
it became impossible for the prodigal to borrow more money,
since he could offer the lender nothing but an unprofitable
security; and the hereditary possessions were preserved by
a despotic though salutary act, for the inheritance of his
children.
It was by a similar stretch of paramount authority that
certain lands, the subject of long contest in the courts
of law, between the Dolgorucki and Havansky families,
changed alternately from hand to hand five times during
the course of the last century, according as one party or
the other happened, at the time of prosecution of their
suit, to be highest in favour at the imperial court. But
occurrences of this sort, it need scarce be added, are not
frequent, though the power still remains.
The private fortunes of some individuals are of an enor-
mous extent, such as are met with in scarcely any other
part of Europe; they are equal in nominal amount to the
incomes of the wealthiest proprietors in Great Britain, and
when referred to the comparative scale of the prices of
articles in each country respectively, must be pronounced
infinitely superior in real value. Their expenditure also
corresponds with their means, or not unfrequently exceeds
them; but habits of shew and magnificence are now grown
I I
242
PETERSBURG.
ૐ..
•
upon them as a part of their nature, and are impossible to
be restrained. Every thought with a Russian savours of
greatness; all about him bears a striking and imposing air;
he neglects the observance of those minutiæ that compose
the real comfort of an Englishman, and is delighted with a
dazzling aspect, because it suits the sphere of his ideas.
They are as yet a young nation, and better pleased by shew
than reality. Generally they are accused of too great a
fondness for ostentation, and it is partly true; but we must
confess, it is always the splendour of an hospitable and
liberal mind which they exhibit, the pride of display
does not shew itself in a coarse luxuriant profusion, but is
regulated in each branch with taste and elegance, and
supported by the introduction of the choicest articles from
every quarter of the globe.
As a specimen of the grand style of entertainment, that
which was given by Scheremetov to the Emperor Alexander
after his coronation, affords a memorable example; when
the road from the capital to his seat in the country, for the
distance of 100 versts, was lighted with lamps for the con-
venience of 10,000 guests that were invited to the feast.
The head of this family is reputed to hold the largest
possessions in Russia; his property consists of (in their
mode of calculation) at least 125,000 slaves*. Of this
+
*This is the usual mode of computing wealth in Russia. The value of
a male slave (for these alone enter into the calculation) may be at an average
about 150 roubles; but the price differs in various provinces, and in some the
value has been lately enhanced, by the drain of the war, to upwards of 500 roubles.
PETERSBURG.
243
number, near 6000 are employed in his domestic establish
ment in different parts. It is not the custom to retain more
than thirty or forty servants at a residence in Petersburg;
but in the country, where they are generally far removed
from towns, &c. an household of 500 or 600, or more, is
not uncommon; these serve the several occupations of
surgeons, butchers, bakers, tailors, shoe-makers, &c. &c.
and sometimes a company of comedians is added, a band
of musicians, cornes de chasse, and perhaps half an hundred
footmen and valets. For these separate duties they are
selected without discrimination; their destinations are made
out, and they are accomplished for them by the means of
the cudgel. Their power of imitation, however, like the
skill of mimicry which savages always possess, seems to
render them equal to the undertaking, whatever it may be:
and the veriest boor taken from the country seldom fails
in performing the task which is allotted to him, at least in
a certain way.
The sulky obstinacy with which the brutified creature
withholds from his superior whatever is in his
power to
secrete, prevents the possibility of individual adaptation of
innate talent: it is almost the only case wherein he is able
to gratify his mind by an exhibition of his natural rights,
and his determined spirit of concealment is carried to a
length inconceivable to those who have never experienced
their obduracy.
A stranger perpetually meets with a similar sentiment
of opposition in the most ordinary occurrences. If they can
244
PETERSBURG.
impose upon him, they exercise their craft as another mode
of satisfying a temporary feeling of superiority. The tempta-
tion of money itself is often unable to move their stub-
bornness, when they know he has no right of compulsion.
But let them be once possessed with the idea that he has, and
no farther trouble ensues. In England, pay a man, he will
do whatsoever you require: in Germany it is necessary to
add, that he must; and in Russia to give a blow.
Such is the moral state of man under this system of
degradation: these miserables are as much depressed be-
low the ordinary conditions of humanity, as their lords are
elevated above their natural rank; and each (for all here is
in extremes) are furnished and cultivated in a scale accord-
ing to their respective ranks: the noble is ever a man of
external polish, the slave a beast unredeemable.
: It may seem hard to lavish abuse on this class for faults:
incidental to the life which they are constrained to bear,
but it is impossible to have seen them, and to give another
picture consistent with truth. They are characterised in
general by a sentiment of acquiescence rather than of con-
tent, by an untameable passive courage, and a species of
cunning that is truly surprising; in other respects they are
usually cheerful and good-humoured in their conduct to
one another, and have at least a feeling of superstition "for
their God.
The arbitrary dominion of their masters, their power of
taxing the industry of the peasants, is productive of as
much debauchery and fatal extravagance in the higher
PETERSBURG.
245.
orders by the temptations it holds out, as of wretchedness
and poverty in the lower, by the calamities it creates.
In another point of view, this iniquitous system does not
fail to operate in a mode highly prejudicial to the accu-
mulation of national wealth. The pressure of the hand of
extortion acts very differently from that stimulus of am-
bitious industry which urges a constant and well-regulated
exertion its very nature is forbidding, its want of order
destructive, and in the rough mind of a Russian peasant it
displays itself in any thing rather than a beneficial feeling.
Who indeed would work uncompelled while aware that the
increase of his possessions can only afford fresh temptation
to the rapacity of his master? Let him be forced, and all is
well. Suppose the owner of an estate has lost money at the
gambling-table, his wants must be supplied, and the obrock
of his peasants is raised. Upon this the wretched rustic
will weep and stamp, and tear his head, but it avails
nothing, he has not a soul to whom he can pour forth his
complaints, and he gives a vent to his farther violence in
the passion and ardour with which he pursues his work.
He thumps the oxen at the plough with increased ve-
hemence, or, in a fit of temporary rage, throws on his own
shoulders a double load of sacks: in a few minutes he be-
comes tranquil at his labour, his passion works itself off, and
he resumes his song with an appearance of resignation
which shews obligation and compulsion to be so familiar
to him, that the burdens they imposed cease to be a
·
246
PETERSBURG.
source of grief. After some days of this extraordinary la-
bour, he gratifies himself by a commensurate season of indo-
lence; and indulges himself to satiety with drink and sleep.
Some assert that, as is said of spaniels, when well treated
and well beaten, this breed of men are capable of affection
for their masters: but their conduct depends on points of
more vital consequence than any feelings which give rise to
personal attachment, and they display marks of a well-
grounded anxiety when any change is threatened in the
property of the land they inhabit.
Mons'. finding himself in embarrassed circum-
stances, proposed to sell a part of his estates in order to
extricate himself from the unpleasantness of his situation.
His peasants had long experienced in him a kind lord, and
the first moment that his intention was made known, en-
tered into a subscription among themselves for the sum of
250,000 roubles, which they tendered him in a body, so-
liciting only in return, as an indemnification for the advance
of this sum, that their obrock or rent should not be increased
for the next ten years.
Another similar instance of the sentiments produced by
good treatment happened about this time: the town and
estate of Sloff on the Dnieper was offered for sale at the price
of 12,000,000 R. The vassals, who were informed that a cer-
tain person of bad character and much involved in debt
was about to negotiate for it, immediately held a meeting,
and, with the assistance of the resident Jews, made the
up
י
PETERSBURG.
247
purchase money, after which they passed an unanimous re-
solution to offer it to the amiable Countess B. The
terms required, if she chose to accept their offer and buy the
estate, were simply an annual interest of 5 per cent. upon
the principal, with promise of repayment in the course of
ten years.
·
1
On the other hand, it is not difficult to multiply stories
of an opposite nature: in one account cruelty and vanity
are mixed up together, and the female sex, than whom
none more amiable in the whole world are to be found than
in Russia, are selected as objects of abuse. Thus a gentle-
man paying a morning visit, finds a certain lady extremely
ill; we are told how she lay in this state on a couch
of velvet, arrayed with rich ruffles of Mechlin lace, with
silver ewers placed before her; but this luxury availed her
nothing, she complained most grievously, and had, it ap-
peared, burst a blood vessel, in consequence of the violence
she had herself exerted in beating one of her male slaves.
A second person will speak of the cruel Madame Soltigoff,
who was confined at Moscow for murdering her servant, or
of another lady who imprisoned her hair-dresser for six years
· before her death, that no one might discover the secret of
her false wig. These, however, are stories of old times, and
if true, only serve to shew what have been the consequences
of such evil conditions of society as are here maintained.
Slaves are beaten and pillaged beyond a doubt, but in-
stances of wanton cruelty are not heard of; and if one or
two persons are pointed out as having the reputation of ill-
248
PETERSBURG.
+
treating their people, this fact is, in itself, a proof at least
that the vice is rare.
This class of society may be divided into four sorts, the
peasants of the crown, those of the economy (belonging to
the estates of the clergy, being administered by the crown);
those that are given out of the emperor's levies to the pro-
prietors of mines for their use; and lastly, those who are
the property of individuals. The two first are in the best
condition; a large proportion of them are employed in the
post and other public labours, and, in general, their state
admits of much more ease and comfort than that of the
others: the third also are under certain terms by which the
severity of their burden is relaxed; but the fourth division,
or great body of peasantry, suffer a heavy bondage.
The general statutes relative to all the four classes are
the same: they have no existence in the eye of the law, and
since their property (even their wives) belongs to their
lords, their insignificance so far protects them, that no
one can sue a slave for a debt that amounts to more than
five roubles; though the case is altered if the peasant is
furnished with his master's passport, or permission to trade.
They cannot marry or leave their village without his con-
sent. They are imprisoned and suffer corporal punishment
by his order and it is only lately that a law has been pro-
mulgated for the purpose of bringing the master to justice
in case the slave should die within twenty four hours after
receiving chastisement. Certain provincial establishments,
called marshal's courts, have also been made, where slaves.
PETERSBURG.
249
may appeal against their lords: their inefficiency under pre-
sent circumstances may be well imagined, but their existence
is at least a proof of the beneficent intentions entertained
by the crown towards this class of subjects.
The village peasants pay soccage service, and receive
(much as in Germany) certain allotments of ground from
the starosta, or elder of the village, on behalf of the seigneur.
For permission to cultivate this, they pay a fixed obrock
or rent, which amounts in general to ten or twelve roubles
per ann.: on the crown lands it is not higher than eight, and
what is of more consequence, the slaves have full con-
fidence in their superior, and know that it will not be
raised beyond this sum, even if they should hereafter thrive
in wealth.
The seigneur, on his part, is obliged by law, as well as
by a regard for his own interest, to support the peasant
during illness or under misfortunes, and this same con-
sideration is their chief protection against his avarice and
rapacity: though perhaps some of the stories above cited
might lead one to suppose that these people had something
which they might call their own, it is only by sufferance of
the seigneur, and the fear lest he should be left in the same
condition as the man in the fable who killed the hen that
laid the golden egg.
The burden of the charges for maintenance, as also that
of mending of the roads, of furnishing clothes and accou-
trements of the recruits for the army, &c. are all paid from
the village chest, as well as all demands to which the
K K
250
PETERSBURG.
seigneur is liable by law: a mode of provision, perhaps,
more equitable in practice than if the payments were di-
rectly made by the seigneur himself; as it would only form
a pretence for raising the obrock, and be liable to much mis-
management and peculation on the part of his agents. The
fund is now made up by subscription from each individual,
and amounts in ordinary to about three and a half roubles
annually per head: besides these sums, little is required of
them; they have only to pay a small capitation tax to the
crown, according to a census that is revised once in ten
years. Their condition, therefore, under a kind landlord is
capable of much enjoyment and ease.
Their chief food is coarse bread and broth or schtschi,
but in several of the more fruitful provinces they fare ex-
tremely well, eating meat three or four times a week. An
increase of family is an increase of wealth, as adding to the
means of cultivation; and under this hope it not unfre-
quently happens, that where the priest is base enough to
connive at the practice, the father espouses his son,
his son, while
yet an infant, to a girl of mature age, and himself performs
the matrimonial duties. This is but one more example to
add to the numerous instances of immoral conduct that ac-
company these degrading conditions of humanity.
Hitherto the life of the rustic peasant alone has been
alluded to, but other chances and ways of life are open
to this class. If a slave wishes to try his fortune in a
new line, he solicits a passport or leave to emigrate from
the estate, and betaking himself to some town, tries his
Į
T
PETERSBURG.
251
luck in any way that offers itself, as a servant, an ar-
tificer, a pedlar; or sometimes, if possessed of a little stock,
he sets up a retail shop, raising himself by degrees to
higher and more lucrative concerns of traffic, and finishing
his career as a merchant at the capital. Under these cir-
cumstances the obrock is increased: settling in a town the
gains of the slave are supposed to be larger than in the
country, and his expenses on this head, including both the
tribute and the additional stamps, &c. amount to perhaps
more than thirty roubles per annum: this again is aug-
mented in proportion to the growth of his wealth; and there
are instances of those who pay an annual sum of a thousand
roubles, or even more. One of the chief commissaries of
the army is now a slave of Count Orlow; and there is a
slave of Prince Sheremetov who possesses a manufacturing
establishment near Petersburg, where he finds employment
for upwards of 4000 brother vassals; though of course the
concern is carried on under the name and protection of his
master. The architect of the Kasan church was a slave of
Count Strogonov, working on a passport; and many of the
boys now studying at the Academy of Arts are of this de-
scription, placed there either by their masters, or at the
expense of their friends. A certain proportion in that
establishment are supported by the crown; in default how-
ever of such nomination, the expense is but trifling, amount-
ing to only about 500 roubles per annum.
The grounds on which persons in these situations still
continue their state of vassalage have been above men-
252
PETERSBURG.
not numerous.
tioned. Emancipation indeed does not often take place
except in the cases regularly provided by law, and they are
All the clerks, &c. employed in public
offices become ipso facto free: all soldiers and seamen
(though these are not discharged till after twenty-five years
of service) have the same privilege. Their wives are free,
as also the children born after the commencement of their
service: these latter are taken care of and educated in
the regimental schools, generally qualifying themselves for
the situation of bas-officiers, which they seldom fail to
obtain. Notwithstanding such apparent advantages, the
peasants shew great unwillingness to enter the military or
naval service, and frequently desert to the forests in order
to escape the vigilance of the officers appointed to conduct
the levy.
▸
The generosity of the present emperor, who has been
brought up by his preceptor in the principles of Swiss in-
dependence, would gladly set free the class of peasantry
in general; and even forget in the zeal of his wishes that
tedious accompaniment of necessary conditions which alone
can make any great innovation really beneficial to his
country. A plan was suggested no long time since for
the manumission of a certain number of villagers, grant-
ing them each a portion of land, on condition of their
being bound to pay the fee-simple within the space of ten
years but their moral state is such as not to admit of the
application of the principle laid down in this project.
It was wisely alleged in objection, that the habitual in-
PETERSBURG.
253
dolence of the Rússian peasant militated strongly against
the adoption of such a scheme: he has not been accus-
tomed to exert himself uncompelled, and no doubt the
greater part of the body placed in these circumstances
would revert to their former state of indigence and slavery,
from inability to fulfil their compact.
Two ukases have been promulgated in the reign of the
present emperor, to limit the costs and charges for the ne-
cessary agreement between the master and the slave, and
its conditions are ordered to be communicated to his ma-
jesty: but encouragement alone is insufficient to promote
the great work of emancipation, and it is thought that some
farther steps are in contemplation by the government.
Whatever measure shall be proposed, it will necessarily
meet with much opposition from the nobility, who are, for
the most part, attached to the good old course of things,
and wish to see affairs in no other than their present state.
So difficult is it to eradicate existing prejudices, and so hard
to persuade any class of men that private interest and the
public good are in reality ever inseparably the same.
Much has been done with a view to remove the general
ignorance of the peasantry, that forms a second obstacle to
any great improvement of their state. Gymnasia *, schools,
* So far back as the year 1806 the minister of public instruction stated in
his report the number of establishments for education throughout the empire at
1022, viz. six universities: 43 gymnasia in the chief towns of departments:
442 secondary schools in the district towns: 296 parish schools: 235 private
academies.
254
PETERSBURG.
and academies, were erected in most of the towns for their
instruction by Catherine II., nor have they been unsuccess-
ful in their way. If, however, it might be allowable to
hazard an opinion on a subject so delicate, it would, per-
haps, be wise that the fetters should be loosened (in some
part at least) while their ignorance knows not what freedom
is: no intoxication of the moment will occur, no visionary
enthusiasm will be able to insinuate its poison into those
minds that are not capable yet of being opened even to de-
lusion. The use of liberty will come with time, and it will
come mellowed by that gradual experience which moves
hand in hand with the progress of the more substantial
schemes of amelioration.
The Russian historians inform us that the system of
feodal vassalage was introduced by the Tartars when they
conquered this country; but that the strict laws which re-
strained the emigration of the peasantry, and gave their
bodies to their master, were enacted in consequence of the
turbulent spirit of the times that prevailed, when so many
impostors, under the name of Demetrius, successively laid
claim to the crown, that they might be prevented from
joining as before the standard of every fresh adventurer.
However this may be, there have been different accounts
given in different countries of the origin of similar rights; but
they seem (for all the conquering hordes were from the east,)
to have been not altogether unconnected with the usages of
the Asiatic nations in general, among whom the property
of all lands was vested in the person of the sovereign. It is
PETERSBURG,
255
somewhat worthy of remark, that the feodal system is not
any where found in so full vigour at the present day as
in Russia, Poland, Bohemia, and Mecklenburg, countries
which were chiefly peopled by the slaves or wenden.
it
Under a prudent system of management, sooner or later
may be imagined possible to effect the great object of
emancipation here: but there is another evil no less injurious
to the public weal, no less offensive to morality, and no less
destructive of the powers of industry, that it will be found
far more difficult, if not impossible, to remedy. There
exists a system of bribery and corruption throughout every
public department in this country that exceeds all belief. It
is a mischief, no doubt, inseparable in its nature from the
principle of a despotic government, and has been felt here
from ages the most remote. Even in the time of the great
reformer, Peter I., we read of Prince Menzikov's second con-
viction before the senate for peculation, and we are told
he was sentenced to pay a heavy fine to the state, and that
the emperor promised to take the corporal punishment into
his own hands; when his excellency, the governor of Ingria,
accordingly underwent the discipline of the cane.
It would not, perhaps, be wholly irrelevant to mention
the injudicious conduct of the government in paying their
officers so ill. The salaries in many of the civil depart-
ments have been augmented, but in the military and naval
services the same nominal sum is received as the allowance
which was fixed by an ukase of Peter I., although the
prices of articles are risen to more than twenty times the
256
PETERSBURG.
value they bore in his day. A captain in the sea service
now receives no more than 400 R. per annum, a sum equal
to about 201. sterling. How is it to be expected he should
maintain himself? Of this, however, I know nothing; but
into those departments by which the administration of the
country is carried on, the profligacy of the late reigns has
introduced an open and avowed system of venality, to
which no other European country can find a parallel. It
is to Catherine II. this evil must chiefly be ascribed. She
was in the habit of granting public situations to the friends
of her upstart favourites as places where they might amass.
a fortune, to gild over the lowness of their origin by wealth
and profusion; while every act, even the most infamous,
was authorised and accredited, so as it afforded a prospect
of pecuniary recompence. The same practices have been
indulged, and even increased, with the spirit of the times.
The police, from its inquisitorial nature, has infinite-
sources of gain; they sell the liberty of the press, defraud
the stranger, plunder robbers of their stolen goods, and re-
ceive fees alike of the accuser and the accused. Provincial
officers favour the wealthy merchant with the permission
to introduce contraband goods; and again, out of the
number of slaves sent by the seigneur for the imperial
levies, they select the empty-handed peasant for military.
service in the former case, the agents of the custom-house
step in also for their due share of pillage; in the latter, the
surgeons and procureurs follow pari passu the example of
their superiors. It would be endless to attempt a catalogue
PETERSBURG.
257
of these enormities, all of which, nevertheless, custom has
sanctioned with, as it were, a prescriptive right. The sums
paid are regarded only as regular fees or perquisites of
office: the functionaries themselves have been bred up with
the knowledge of no other system, and are surprised to hear
a foreigner say that acts which are done openly every day
can savor of illegality or injustice; in fact they do but
follow the principle and common basis of every branch of
the Russian government.
It will be sufficient for illustration of these circumstances
to relate an anecdote or two connected with the adminis-
tration of justice, as being the most material of the several
public departments.
66
An American merchant sought redress by law for some
unfair dealings on the part of a Russian trader; the lawyer
whom he retained came to him on the second day after his
application-" I have," said he, "opened the prosecution,
"and will fairly relate the present state of your case: the
judge says your cause seems fair and equitable, and you
"offer 5,000 R. to the court; he would, he admits, wish to
"incline to your side, but, on the other hand, the defendant
"offers 10,000. What can he do?" The American laid
down immediately 10,000 R. it was taken to the Tribunal
of Justice, and he triumphed over his opponent.
Another gentleman instituted a suit for the recovery
of a debt, but offering no bribe, the case was of course
held to be perfectly clear, and he was nonsuited; the de-
fendant, in the plenitude of victory, then commenced a
L L
258
PETERSBURG.
process against him for defamation, and damages were
found to the amount of 300,000 R. with a farther punish-
ment of a sentence to clean the sewers, because, forsooth,
it was a Russian magistrate whose fair name had been
thus brought into question by the object of the action.
Upon this the gentleman appealed to a superior court, but
with ill success; they confirmed the verdict, and still farther
added to its iniquity by sentencing him to undergo flagella-
tion. The matter now grew serious, and he made applica
tion through an high quarter to one of the presidents of
the senate; the cause was heard again, but the result was
of another nature: the sentences of the former tribunals
were instantly reversed, the debt recovered, and the of
ficers that had sat in judgment on him came in a body
submissively to beg his forgiveness, and entreat him to
pursue the enquiry into their conduct no farther.
t
These acts of injustice were not, however, committed
merely because the appellants were foreigners; for the or-
dinary conduct of the courts towards the native Russians is
of a stamp precisely similar. A few years since a relation
of Prince ➖➖➖➖came from Moscow to claim his patrimonial
inheritance, that was withheld from him by his guardian:
Arrived at Petersburg, he met by accident with one of the
highest officers of the law on a visit at the house of a rela-
tion, and after some conversation on indifferent matters,
ventured to open his case to him; he received for answer,
that his suit might probably occupy 8 or 10 years con-
sideration, but, added he, follow my advice, sacrifice a part
な
​i
PETERSBURG,
259
of your property to save the rest, and you shall be put in
possession in the course of as many days. He then wrote
down a list of fees to be paid to the several members of the
court (himself included) and gave it to the
young noble-
man, who, on his part, obeying this friendly monitor, came
on the following day as plaintiff to the senate with his peti-
tion, and presented each of these functionaries with the
sum specified, wrapped up in the body of his
papers. The
event exceeded his expectation; in four days time an award
was given in his favour.
A similar looseness of principle is displayed in many
other public acts, that seems by long habit almost to have
become essential to the nature of the Russian government.
The police, the guardians of the press, and censors of the
literary world, extend their dominion over another depart-
ment, and limit the notification of political events to such a
degree, that their mode partakes of the nature of a falsifica-
tion, rather than of a concealment of facts, while they
draw long inferences by misconstruction, which prevent
the appearance of many an useful work, in its nature per-
fectly harmless. They suppress, on the most ungrounded
suspicions, the manifestos of foreign courts, and in their
own domestic state papers cause a new gloss to be given
to the statistical reports as well as to the dispatches re-
ceived from the army; in the latter, the returns of killed
and wounded are never suffered to be made known; and
the general detail is of a description, that seldom meets with
much credit with the people.
260
PETERSBURG.
A story is current relative to a bulletin of Suwarrow in
his Turkish campaign, who preferred making his own mis-
representation to such a garbled statement as the police
would have prepared. After the affair of Persan, he ordered
his secretary to draw up an official account for the gazette;
the faithful Cossack (for such he was) proceeded to narrate
the whole engagement most circumstantially; here the
Russian positions, there the Turkish; here the advance,
there the retreat, and so on; in fine, of the Turks were
killed 300, of the Russians 2000. Suwarrow regarded him
for an instant. "It is well done," said he, " a plain story
ત
enough, but I must confess you do not seem to have
"reflected much on the nature of your subject: the Rus-
"sians, remember, are our friends, we must spare them;
"write down 250 killed: but the Turks are infidels, and
"we must utterly exterminate them; write 22,000" the
unjust servant did as he was commanded, and the dispatch
appeared in due official shape.
But we may quit this subject for others of a more pleas-
ing nature. A philosopher might be drawn, naturally
enough, to enter into long disquisitions on the comparative
state of the arts and sciences in Russia; but without engag-
ing very deeply on the subject, the most trivial observer
cannot fail to observe the different progress made by the
one and the other. Newly extricated from barbarism, the in-
fant mind is seized with the desire of pursuing whatever strikes
the fancy, or serves to interest and amuse, while the labours
of more rigid science and learning are entirely thrown aside.
1
PETERSBURG.
261
3
We find at Petersburg few men of abstruse acquirements,
yet musicians, poets, and painters in abundance; and the
nation has arrived in these arts, it must be confessed, at an
highly reputable pitch of perfection. The works of art,
though not fraught with the spirit of originality of the
southern professors, yet display, in almost every branch, the
most correct and refined taste; and even the natives shine,
while the prejudices of their countrymen have denied them
a fair share of patronage.
The academy of arts is fostered by the superintendance
of the crown, and from the revenues allotted to it is well
furnished with models from the antique, as well as other
matters suited to its institution. The labours of the students
exhibit some of the highest specimens of imitative excel-
lence: their designs in architecture are of great merit, and
their pictures' possess a free style of execution, combined
with chasteness and harmony of colour, seldom equalled in
any modern school. Ygorow and Zuboiof rank among the
first; their productions are in the style of pastici, but the
combinations are excellent, and their mechanical dexterity
in the art is admirable. The sketches of Orlovski again
possess infinite spirit; Korlossky and Martos also, as sculp-
tors, display qualities of a still higher description.
In the province of poetry they have not so much to
boast, if it is fair to judge through the medium of transla-
tion.
Their music is for the greater part here, as elsewhere,
modernised on the Italian taste. The simple national airs,
262
PETERSBURG.
many of which are preserved among the peasants, and
indeed in a few pieces of the composers of the present day,
are of a singular style, without any regular cadence, break-
ing into transitions the most abrupt and irregular,—" "Tis
"sad by fits, by starts 'tis wild." At first their modula-
tions strike the ear rather with surprise than pleasure; yet
some examples have a grandeur and simplicity about them,
that, it must be confessed, is wholly their own.
Men of letters and science are not much valued for
their acquirements among the higher classes, or even con-
sidered as of a condition to intermix at all with their
ranks. But being chiefly foreigners, they are, by a libera-
lity peculiar to the nation, always entitled to a certain de-
gree of esteem.
From hence it may be imagined, that the mode of edu-
cation for boys, according to English or German ideas, is
very defective. The tutorage of a French Abbé at home,
(though the person employed is not always of this descrip-
tion) and a short residence at one of the universities, is the
only chance given to the son of a man of consequence for
pursuing the belles lettres, or for acquiring any other know-
ledge than such as may be picked up in society. A school
that was lately established at Petersburg by the Jesuits
received considerable encouragement. This sect never
was banished from the empire of Russia, and we might
have prophesied that they would now make a good return
for their reception into the country. It appears, however,
that by officiously interfering in religious matters, and
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263
diverting the minds of their pupils from the principles of
the Greek church, they have incurred the imperial displea-
sure, and since the period of my residence have been pub-
licly expelled from Petersburg and Moscow.
The system of education adopted with those brought
up in particular lines, civil, military, or commercial, is of
course under good regulations, but it is that destined for the
unprofessional ranks of society, or what is called the liberal
formation of a gentleman, which meets with so slender pro-
vision. The purposes, indeed, for which knowledge could
be acquired are so limited in extent, as to hold out but
few inducements for any one to make himself a pro-
ficient in such subjects as would fit him for public employ-
ment. The civil service of the crown is confined to a cer-
tain number; and an active mind, unformed, is constrained
to seek either a frivolous occupation or a mischievous one.
This accusation, it will be urged, may admit of more ge-
neral application than to the case of Russia alone, and be
referred to the greater part of the continent. It is only
in Great Britain that we see a due measure of employment
allotted to all, the greater part too in its nature gratuitous
and honourable. The course of parliamentary duties, the
attendance on special committees, &c. and, in another line,
the very active parts of the magistracy assigned to men of
affluence in a country life, oblige the English gentleman
to look to acquirements of real and practical knowledge, as
the most obvious source of distinction, and to study the
¿
264
i
PETERSBURG.
The I
forbidding points of abstruse and dry subjects from the in-
citements of fashion and honour.
The nature of our education in public schools may be
added as another peculiarity which contributes towards the
early formation of our national character; and it is one
among the
usages and customs of Great Britain that strikes
all foreigners with a more than ordinary degree of admira-
tion: neither academies nor universities, though places of
resort at an early age, can be looked upon in the same
light with these institutions; and it may be well supposed
that there is a wide difference between the spirit generated
in a school of little men, or in an university of great boys.
The girls are brought up with a degree of attention
pro-
portionate to the neglect with which the other sex is treated.
The Couvent des Demoiselles nobles, and the Institute of
Catherine, both flourishing under the patronage and per-
petual inspection of the Dowager Empress, are the chief
seminaries at Petersburg. In spite of the repugnance and
timidity of the female character, a public examination is
held every three years at each of these establishments, when
such of the young ladies as have completed their educa-
tion exhibit their various accomplishments before a very
numerous assembly. All the grand officers of the court
and the corps diplomatique are invited to attend, and every
mark of notoriety is given to this display. In order also
to excite competition, those who have made the greatest
progress receive the decoration of the empress's cypher in
M
PETERSBURG.
265
diamonds, which is carried on the left shoulder, a badge of
honour they are proud to wear during the rest of their.
lives.
This ceremony had taken place about a month previous
to our arrival at Petersburg; but on presenting ourselves
at the convent, with the permission of the Dowager Em-
press, we were gratified with a private display of the several
classes of these schools.
The convent contains two separate establishments, one
for the education of 260 girls, daughters of the bourgeois,.
and the other for the girls of noble birth. The period of
education is about nine years, during which time they re-
ceive instruction in the French, German, and Russian lan-
guages, in the Russian history, in natural philosophy, in
music, singing, dancing, embroidery, writing, arithmetic,
and geometry: two young ladies, indeed, (much to our
surprise) during the course of the last mentioned lecture,
gave us the admeasurement of a polygon, with very good
mathematical phraseology; but natural philosophy ap-
peared, by universal confession, to be the favourite study.
I hope it will excite no envy in the breasts of such of the
fair sex as patronise the Royal Institution in London, if I
relate that one evening dropping into the house of a lady
of very high rank, in Petersburg, we found her party em-
ployed in a discussion on the polarity of rays of light, and
the late discovery of the magnetic property of the violet.
This circumstance was, however, purely accidental. The
system of education they here go through places the sex
M M
266
PETERSBURG.
above the wish of making any ostentatious display of their
attainments; and with regard to every other qualification
that
may adorn the character of women, there is no stranger
who visits Petersburg without bearing witness to the elegant
manners and the unaffected graces of the Russian ladies.
Some persons, no doubt, will question the policy of
these establishments, and it is true that out of the large
number placed in the convent, many will be necessarily
brought up in a style with which their future condition of
life may not well assort; part may be destined to pass
their lives in the country, others will form connexions in
marriage below their apparent rank; but at the same time,
in the present stage of civilization of Russia, certain ad-
vantages may result, even from the exuberance and super-
fluity of learning among the sex.
The last room we visited afforded one of the most in-
teresting sights I ever beheld: the whole society were ranged
in the hall at the hour of dinner; they were dressed in their
plain and simple habits of white, brown, and blue, the dis-
tinguishing mark of their several classes, the whole amount-
ing to more than four hundred in number; and when on a
signal given the hymn of praise swelled along these fair
ranks of youth and health and innocence, the sound burst
on our ears as a touch of something more than human, and
filled our imaginations as the voice of an heavenly choir.
It is but a few years ago that the beautiful and accom-
plished daughter of Poniatowski, the late king of Poland,
was living at this seminary, where she had passed the
PETERSBURG.
267
greater part of her life. It happened that one day a young
Polish nobleman, possessed it seems with the courteous as-
pect and high breeding that usually characterise the un-
known knight of a romance, made his appearance to claim
her as his spouse, alleging that they had been betrothed
together in their infancy. He was admitted to her pre-
sence, saw and loved; the dowager empress approved his
suit, and he led her directly from her school to the hy-
meneal altar.
There are many other institutions of this sort at Peters-
burg, of which the deaf and dumb asylum (regulated on the
plan of l'Abbé Sicard); the orphans and widows asylum,
the school where boys and girls are educated for the theatre,
are the most conspicuous after the two above mentioned.
The public hospital is under an admirable system of ar-
rangement, both with regard to the cleanliness and comfort
of the inmates. The bedsteads are all made of iron, the
apartments are well kept and ventilated, each being su-
perintended by widows from the military asylum, who are
required by their rules to perform a certain routine of cha-
ritable duty at this place. The revenues arise from the
surplus profit of the Lombard bank, and amount to 105,000
or 120,000 roubles per annum; by which means provision
is made for upwards of 200 people in the house, and assist-
ance given to about 15,000 out-patients. It is worth stat-
ing, as a point of comparison between the two countries, that
at St. Bartholomew's hospital in London, about 6000 per-
sons are relieved annually, of whom 440 are generally within
268
PETERSBURG.
the walls but this is not effected at a less expense than
27,000l. per annum. The want of such aid is nowhere
more strongly felt than at Petersburg; the doors were beset
by an host of applicants during our visit here. It was
observed to us, and indeed the remark was confirmed in
other similar establishments, that the most ordinary cases
were those arising from scrofula, in consequence of the im-
poverishment of the system by the severity of the climate,
and the want of sufficient nutritious support in the aliment
of the lower and poorer classes. I must here add that a
special board, called the College of Provision, is erected in
every province throughout the empire for the superintend-
ance of these charitable foundations: they have received
considerable funds from the crown to be applied to these
purposes, and their endowments have been in many cases
largely increased by private benefactions: there is, per-
haps, no country in Europe where the liberality of in-
dividuals is so much exerted, unless in Great Britain.
The Foundling Hospital, though inferior in magnitude
to that of Moscow, has been much celebrated, and our
curiosity naturally led us to its inspection. The number of
children on their lists is about 6,000, of whom 600 are
kept within the house; their expense upon the whole
amounts to 400,000 R. per annum. Upon being sent
hither they are immediately vaccinated, and then placed out
with different families to nurse till the period of their edu-
cation commences. They are next selected according to
their natural talent for the several employments, liberal or
PETERSBURG.
269
mechanical, to which they seem most inclined, and are
brought up accordingly under excellent preceptors. Some
are sent to the manufactories, others to the military schools,
others kept at home and instructed in the arts or the belles
lettres.
We were interested extremely by the appearance of
two Spanish children among the number, who were, as far
as could be ascertained from their account, the offspring of
a chaplain from Madrid, accompanying the division of
Spanish forces employed in the French service during the
late invasion of Russia. He, however, died at Moscow, and
their mother, who had been delivered of an infant during
their stay, fearing to hazard the vengeance of the inha-
bitants in their return to the city, endeavoured with her
little family to accompany the retreating French army.
Her strength seems to have been very unequal to the at-
tempt; and when they last saw her she was lying on the
road-side unable to proceed, her body doubtless perfectly
exhausted, and her mind, as might be gathered from their
description, in a complete state of delirium. The daughter,
though only eleven years of age, took charge of her brother
as well as her infant sister, whom she carried on her back
for many leagues. This little party followed the troops
during all the severity of the weather without any other
provision than the few scraps of horse-flesh or offal which
the half-starved soldiers could spare from their meals. After
many escapes, they at length reached Krasnoi: but during
the action which there took place they were frightened at
270
PETERSBURG.
;
the appearance of a squadron of Cossacks, and fled to con-
ceal themselves in the forest; here they staid for two days
without any food, and were at last accidentally found by a
Russian soldier, crawling as well as their little remaining
strength would permit them along the snow. Their feet
were entirely bare, and being seized by the frost, had be-
come useless: their language was not understood; and had
they even been skilled in the Russian tongue, their voices,
feeble and inarticulate, could have availed them nothing:
their appearance, however, was sufficient to proclaim their
situation, and to ensure them commiseration in this country.
The Grand Duke Constantine happened to fall in with
them after their discovery by the soldier, and ordered them
to be well taken care of, finally giving them a place in this
asylum. They were of an intelligent countenance, and
were said to possess some talent; and we must hope the sin-
gular story of the first part of their lives will be followed by
a more happy career in the land that has adopted them.
The greater part of these institutions owe their flou-
rishing condition to the fostering patronage of the em-
press dowager, to whom we had the honour of being pre-
sented in the course of the month, and who, with the Grand
Duchess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Wirtemburg,
formed the only part of the imperial court now resident at
Petersburg. Her majesty paid us many compliments on
the politics of our country, in favour of which all the world
seemed now so much inclined: if at any other moment she
has acted on different principles, it was probably through
!
PETERSBURG.
271
circumstances connected with the conjugal reverence with
which she follows the memory of the Emperor Paul, and no
one can do otherwise than respect at least her feelings on
this head.
The personal character of the reigning emperor is
chiefly distinguished by great affability and condescension,
which is carried to such a degree, as would be wholly in-
compatible with his situation, if the government were of
any other form than that of an absolute monarchy. Con-
sidering the disadvantages of his early life, he must be re-
garded as one who has, as far as possible, overcome, by
natural goodness of temper, those evil habits which cir-
cumstances seemed to form for him; and whatever blame
some may attach to his caprice, his artfulness, his inflexi-
bility, his vanity, or his gallantry, he nevertheless has great
merit; and, indeed, his very foibles may be said to be well
suited to the part he is destined to sustain, and to the
nation whom he governs. Of the empress it is sufficient to
say, she is adored by all classes.
After the ceremonial of our presentation had taken
place, the chief houses of Petersburg were open to us, and
we were in many of them most kindly received: at some
public days for dinner were announced; at others, general
invitations given, and evening conversazioni or balls were
the amusements of every evening.
I may add, that neither here nor in Sweden do the
ladies, like those in the most southerly parts of Europe, mix
indiscriminately with men at the coffee-houses, wherefore
272
PETERSBURG.
private societies are more in vogue, and always sure to be
well attended. With regard to the distribution of the
houses, the chief apartments are upon the second story,
and, as is generally the practice throughout the continent,
the ground floor, the cellars, with perhaps the garret, are
tenanted by the lower class of people; the court-yard also,
for they are mostly arranged in this fashion, is disposed of to
various inhabitants; a mode of lodging the poor, which I
have before remarked adds greatly to the beauty of the
foreign cities, since no mean dwellings are to be seen.
The public entertainments at Petersburg were not
splendid; the French theatre had been destroyed by fire,
and the only places of resort were the Hall of Music, where
some admirable concerts were given, and two sinall theatres
for the representation of the German and Russian drama.
Their tragedies, having for their subject the earlier events of
the history of the czars and grand dukes of Moscow, were
particularly interesting. But of all the spectacles lately
produced, a piece of another description, entitled Le Cos-
sak à Londres, had met with the greatest general applause.
This personage, one of so ordinary an estimation at Pe-
tersburg, was introduced on the stage as newly arrived
in the English capital, where he was courted and admired,
caressed and beloved, by crowds that thronged to gaze upon
him he was exhibited on the Exchange, feasted in pri-
vate houses, and visited by those of the highest rank. His
appearance, indeed, was represented as having given a new
turn to popular fancy and fashion; and in the conclusion,
:
PETERSBURG.
273
Ackerman's repository in the Strand was introduced, with
various prints of new Russian costumes, and the English
ladies were seen jigging in the street a new dance à la
Cossaque.
Hitherto little has been said of the existing form of
government in Russia; nor, indeed, is it of that nature
which requires much elaborate explanation: it is a pure
oriental despotism, which, in these days, labours hard to
suppress the growing sentiment of European liberty. The
sovereigns, persons such as the accident of nature may
have fashioned for the time being, voluptuous, impotent,
ambitious, mad; various specimens have been presented in
the last century. The nobles, ever a spirited body, many
of them men highly polished and refined; the people, in-
variably a race of ignorant and illiterate slaves. The tout
ensemble exhibits indeed an anomaly in the political world,
on which the extravagances of Paul, with the catastrophe
that succeeded, the present security and even employment
of some of the authors of his death, will furnish the best
comment and illustration.
The emperor, or as he is styled, autocrat of all the Rus-
sias, possesses a supreme unlimited power over the whole
empire, and his word is law.
The grand chancellor is the first officer of state; the
other ministers are those of the foreign affairs, finance,
war, marine, interior, public instruction, divine worship,
police.
There is a supreme council of state composed of 35
N N
274
PETERSBURG.
members, including the above, who are invested with
powers of superintendance and control over all the public
offices.
The only public body besides this is the senate, which
is the organ of the decrees or ukases of the emperor, and
the highest tribunal of justice in the empire. The seats are
filled by the nomination of the emperor, and are sometimes
made honourable places of retirement for superannuated
military officers, or at others again conferred as employ-
ments of credit on favourite courtiers. Another senate is
also established at Moscow. An appearance of authority
is attached to these bodies as promulgating and regulating
the ordinances of the law; but it must be remembered that
they have not the slightest resemblance to a legislative
assembly, and speak neither the voice of the nation nor even
of the nobles, but of the emperor himself alone. So far,
indeed, is the principle of autocracy carried, that a vast
deal of business, apparently of a trivial nature, is transacted
by him in person, and many of those acts where the name
of the sovereign in other countries is used merely as a form,
here are immediately and personally directed by the em-
peror. A governor is appointed to each province with the
necessary administration, and a large corps of military
police or gensdarmerie, which constitutes every where one
of the chief organs of administration.
As to the bias of the public mind with regard to foreign
relations, it does not seem that the general current of opi-
nion turns to the side of English politics. The naval glory
PETERSBURG.
275
and commercial preponderance we have acquired make
our career a constant object of envy, and never fail to
afford topics for those who are inclined at heart, perhaps
from meaner motives, to decry the part we have taken,
Our subsidising system does much in aggravation of this
feeling, and instead of exciting good-will, draws upon us the
malice and hatred of all the contracting parties. The
treaties made with Frederick II. of Prussia, with some in-
stances of more modern date, are frequently quoted against
us; we are accused of encouraging animosity between
nations, with the same sanguinary feeling with which we
match two boxers to fight, sometimes paying money to
both sides in succession; with our purse we feed, say they,
-hostility in the abstract, and strain the sinews of war beyond
the limit which nature has imposed to the exertions of eacli
individual power.
Many circumstances, moreover, attendant upon this
course, tend to depress the warmth that might otherwise
be felt for the party which a country is obliged to espouse;
the national energies are restrained by the easy manner
in which their supplies are procured; we see not that ex-
trication of enthusiastic and ardent feeling which arises
from struggling amidst difficulties; far from this, they con-
sider themselves acting only as secondaries, and their,
exertions are cheerless and dull because for value received.
If we reason on nations as on men, and expect a large
return of gratitude, it is fair to admit the operation of the
same principles which men act upon, and we shall be told
276
PETERSBURG.
that no one feels thankful to him who pays him for his
services.
To descend to minor points, our cause is injured by our
unassuming appearance, by our frankness and plain deal-
ing; to claim nothing, is to want just grounds for preten-
sion; to make restoration, is to shew signs of fear. Besides
which, we have for years past been engaged in the unwel-
come task of rousing the neighbouring nations to a sense of
their own duty, and pointing out to their notice the just
view of the degradations they laboured under: our steadi-
ness, no doubt, is allowed to merit praise, but our honest
advice is felt as a reproof, and savours of the nauseousness
of a medicine.
If, as Buonaparte said in his speech to the legislative
body, the European war lies only between France and
England, if the political opinions of these countries are those
on which others place their faith, we may discover nu-
merous circumstances besides these, which materially preju-
dice the great cause. We must look to such things as are
likely to influence the ideas and the inclinations of indivi-
duals, which, however trifling they may appear, ought never
to be omitted in a just calculation of our means of acquir-
ing popularity. It is by no means a small class, especially
on the continent, who, neglecting more important consi-
derations, ground their notions on the opportunities they
may have had of making observations on the character of
private persons, and thus pass judgment on the whole na-
tion. Englishmen, less mixed in foreign intercourse, are
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277
not gifted with those talents of conversation in society,
that power of self recommendation of which other nations,
particularly the French, make so brilliant a display. We
are looked upon as a distinct race of beings, as inhabitants
of a secluded island, that have formed to ourselves peculiar
habits and manners, which, though universally respected,
are never, in spite of the best exertions of our most fashion-
able tourists, made the subject of admiration or applause,
These are personalities that, if they do not form the founda-
tion of political sentiment, yet have a powerful effect in
giving a tone and colour to feelings of an higher interest.
French politics, on the other hand, have every external
advantage to lend them a gloss and brilliancy, and beside
what has been stated above, many powerful engines are set
at work in another way. Their language is common, and their
literature universally cultivated; the great work of education
of children is chiefly in the hands of Frenchmen, who instil
to their minds whatever principles they please, French
manners and fashions give the ton, and their poison, which
is not always rejected by men, is incense to the female heart.
Women (they think no farther than the present day) are cap-
tivated with every thing that breathes the air of Paris; and
when we state the sex numerically, as one half of a nation,
we may add, that their influence involves no small portion
of the other. We find universally, that whenever French
politics are said to be prevalent, the focus of the party is
chez Madame whoever she may be.
The views of England are never treated impartially.
278
PETERSBURG.
Many even now ventured to assert that the feelings of the na+
tions on the continent were ripened into an animosity against
France, which, in the natural course of things, sooner or
later, would have produced the same association that had
now been set on foot, when the same results must neces-
sarily have fallen out; and this (as they would wish) with-
out having recourse to Great Britain for the means of com-
mencing hostilities. Europe was sufficiently exasperated, it
is true, but at the same time we must add, on our parts,
that if the time of action had been postponed, nay, had it
been delayed even for two or three years, France would
have amassed so preponderating a power as to have enabled
her to rivet her fetters, perhaps for ever.
The struggle is now passed, but the embers of faction
still remain unextinguished; in spite of former examples,
French and English interests will rise again in opposition,
and we may then view the consequences of our thankless
efforts. We shall see, that while restlessness, temerity, pro-
fligacy, have admirers; while gaiety, falsehood, and flattery,
have friends; the French will ever secure a certain hold
for themselves, and however great their success may be in
the field, will gain an higher ascendancy in the world by
their arts than by their arms.
Europe is as a parent with two sons, the one frank, open,
honest, industrious, performs his duty and thrives; the
other, gay, thoughtless, petulant, extravagant, always want-
ing money, always in need, affording a daily source of pa-
rental uneasiness. But what is the natural consequence?
PETERSBURG.
279
The steady boy is praised and disregarded, while the whole
tide of maternal fondness is turned towards the offending
child.
These feelings, nevertheless, were now suppressed at
least for a season. The glory attending upon our trium-
phant success weighed with some, while others saw an ab-
solute necessity of espousing our cause in the aspect of the
times; a third party were brought over by private interest,
and the hope of finding a sale for the produce of their estates
that accumulated on their hands; and a fourth, perhaps,
were our friends, from a thorough conviction of the manly
rectitude and integrity of the British government, though
these are points that ordinarily gain only a few proselytes.
It was highly amusing to hear the various descriptions
that were daily given in conversation respecting that nation;
many of them were ludicrous enough, but significant at
least of our peculiarities as they strike a foreigner, and
symptomatic of the light in which they are constantly
viewed. One spoke of it as a country from whence the
people had right of emigration when they pleased; where
there was no military police; where soldiers were raised by
bounty-money. Another would express surprise at the
dainty appetites of the common people, who all eat white
wheaten bread, or perhaps sneer at us for our piety, because
all the shops were shut and theatres closed on the Sabbath-
day. It was asserted, indeed, by a person who had visited
London, that he had once been prevented by a waiter at
a coffee-house from playing an harmless game at chess,
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PETERSBURG.
because, forsooth, it was Sunday evening; the story caused
great astonishment, and was hardly credited. This ended,
a set of enquiries were next set on foot, reflecting on our
cold unfeeling dispositions. Was not conjugal infidelity va-
lued at certain prices by our law? Were not horrible stories
of murder sufficient to shock the public mind related in
the daily gazettes? Might not a man sell his wife with an
halter about her neck in the market? Was it not lawful for
the body of a man deceased to be seized by his creditors
for his debts? and so on. Or, perhaps, if the gentleman's
speculations were of a political turn, he would launch a
few dark hints on the subject of our disinterested political
conduct, as it was called, proclaiming that all we did was
with the same aim, and that we were as oppressive tyrants
on the sea as the French on shore, and possibly he might
wind up his philippic with an insinuation that the subsidies
of this year (for they are regarded as a matter of course)
seemed to him to be mean and shabby.
But to turn from these expressions of popular ill will to
matters in which the same feeling displayed itself amidst the
higher powers, it is impossible not to notice the fact, that
in spite of the services we had accomplished for Russia
in the hour of trial, though the most friendly contract of
alliance had lately been concluded at Abo, and notwith-
standing the right we had to claim all she could grant, yet
no treaty of commerce existed between the two nations.
The regulations against the importation of English articles
remained in full force now as during the war; with this re-
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281
laxation only, that the admission of raw colonial produce
was allowed, and vessels were suffered to enter the ports
without demanding, in the same fashion as before, their
certificate of origin. The continuance of this system was,
it may be imagined, highly detrimental to the Russian
finances, injuring both the export and import trade, with-
out affording the prospect of any real advantage in return.
Our manufactured goods are articles of prime necessity
in such a country; and, as it turned out, silks, cloths,
cottons, and an hundred other things, were introduced
by stealth, either addressed fictitiously to the Hofcontoir,
as if for the use of the imperial court, or sometimes
more directly evading the prohibitions by bribery. They
were to be found at a certain price in the shops, where it
was the practice to stamp them with the Russian mark, and
they then passed nominally as home made. I might, in
addition to numberless other examples, mention the case of
a sugar refinery at Abo, that had sent more sugar to Peters-
burg during the last month, than the smallness of their esta-
blishment could have enabled them to prepare in the course
of a whole year. But the entire system of the Russian laws
relative to trade displays one uniform course of ridiculous
chicanery, proving, by the regulations put in force, how
little the nature of the subject is really understood. They
adhere, it seems, to the strictest letter of the law with a
speciousness of fidelity that only cheats itself. A singular
instance occurred during our stay at Petersburg. A ves-
sel laden with oysters arriving at Riga from England,
!
0 0
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PETERSBURG.
threw the officers at the custom-house into the greatest dis-
tress; these things could not be excluded, for they were
not manufactured articles, neither were they admissible as
colonial produce: many, therefore, were the difficulties that
arose on this knotty point, and various communications
passed to and fro between the department of the interior
and the custom-house. How it was finally settled I know
not; but long before the final adjustment of the question,
the disputed cargo became putrid, and was thrown away.
The police officer, who, some years ago, when it was for-
bidden to appear in the streets without carrying a lantern,
arrested a gentleman because his servant carried it for him,
did not commit an error of more punctilious absurdity.
If the end proposed by these regulations is the encou-
ragement of the Russian manufactories, how inconceivably
strange is so perverse and mistaken an application of the
first principles of political economy! A nation must have
arrived at a certain point in her progress towards general
prosperity, before she can be declared in a state to support
concerns of this sort. Articles of vital necessity should
abound, before she can afford to turn her hands to those of
a more superfluous nature. It is not in the power of the
greatest autocrat in the world to control the nature of
trade, or to force it prematurely to an healthy increase: to
attempt, indeed, so preposterous a measure here, is to add
one more source of mischief to those evils which the pre-
cocious condition of Russia has already so visibly produced.
From the observation, that there are but few manufac-
283
PETERSBURG.
turing establishments except such as are paid by the
government, we should naturally enough be led to infer,
that the real temptations to adventure in this line are few,
nor can the fact be denied. It is not, perhaps, in our
power to draw an argument from the comparison of the
alleged prices of the work of the artisan and the rustic, for
our decision is liable to much fallacy, in a place where
slaves are generally employed, and their labour not esti-
mated at its natural rate. But when we are told that a landed
estate returns 10 per cent. and if well managed more than
20, or even 30, of annual income, no one can have any
doubt in pronouncing the condition of the nation as most
unfavourable to the encouragement of manufactures; and
we shall find, on examination, various circumstances that
serve to corroborate the idea. As for articles which
the bounty of nature has bestowed more plentifully upon
the country, it may be expected that they should not be
included in this class: leather, cordage, linen cloth of
various sorts, linseed oil, &c. are manufactured and ex-
ported in large quantities. It is those for the produce of
which no such facilities are offered that are here alluded to.
The imperial manufactory of cotton, on the Neva, is
carried on under the greatest advantages the government
can bestow, and by their means 600 boys and girls are
furnished from the foundling hospital for its service. The
stockings, which form one branch of their trade, are neces-
sarily offered for sale at the low price of those imported
from England; otherwise they could not enter into com-
284
PETERSBURG.
petition, as they are not of so strong a texture, or likely to
last so long; but they are confessedly sent to market at a
considerable loss to the manufactory. Here is machinery
also for carding and spinning cotton, of which about
5000 pouds* are annually made up: yet even this part of
the concern barely repays its expenses, at the present price
of the raw article; and the importation of it from China
overland would only be an addition to its charge. The
flax which is spun, being an home produce, under the ad-
vantages of the establishment affords, it is true, a very fair
profit, and near 20,000 pouds of twist are sent out each
year.
The imperial plate glass manufactory is worked by the
emperor's slaves, who are paid by the piece, and earn
sometimes twenty-five or twenty-eight roubles
per month.
Their glass is sold at a cheaper rate in the market than the
English; but when we take into the account that the
English is raised near three times its natural value by the
heavy excise laid upon it, our inference as to the nature of
such business in Russia will be the same as in the ar-
ticle before mentioned. Its quality, it may be mentioned,
by the by, is far from being so transparent as that brought
from England, nor does it, upon ringing, return so clear
a sound. This deficiency was attributed to a supposed in-
feriority in the quality of the oxide of lead used in refining,
but the unequal strength of their furnace, in which charcoal
* A poud equals 36lb. English, or 40 Russian.
285
PETERSBURG.
only is burnt, was, perhaps, the real cause. It is worthy of
remark, that the glass sometimes came out (by accident)
perfectly fine. These instances would easily be farther
extended; and we might observe that the inferior quality
of the things produced is no matter of light consideration,
but in some instances more prejudicial to the public than
the bare increase of price.
In the manufactories of cloth the effect of the restric-
tions upon importation from England has been an induce-
ment to many to turn their machinery to the making the
finer sorts of broad cloth, in consequence of which an article
of a very inferior quality has been sent forth, while the
coarse cloth used by the poorer classes, which they were
better competent to make, is grown so scarce as hardly to.
be met with in the market.
There is also established an imperial porcelain manu-
factory, that the country may boast of its existence: profit
is out of the question, for great part of the materials are
imported from Germany; but the government are at the
whole expense of maintaining it. Besides these, there are
imperial iron founderies, an imperial fayence manufactory,
imperial bronze, and many others.
At the head of those which we inspected, there was al-
most invariably seen a Scotchman or Englishman employed
as superintendant. The integrity of these men, as agents,
makes them invaluable in Russia; while the regularity
and preciseness of arrangement which they introduce still
more enhances the value of their moral qualities. Nor
A
286
PETERSBURG.
1
have they been found less serviceable in matters of an
higher description than the conduct of commercial busi-
ness. Several Scotchmen are now high in the military ser-
vice; and at the head of the medical profession, in its
several branches of military, naval, and civil, are placed
three gentlemen of the same country. I could indeed in-
stance a department in which the expenses of the office
were reduced by no less a sum than 22,000 R. within the
first year of the administration of the present governor, nor
did
any diminution ensue of the advantages to be received
from the establishment, but it was placed in a more efficient
state, notwithstanding the economical plan which had been
executed.
It is not difficult to account, on very reasonable grounds,
for a certain predilection that exists in Russia in favour of
the qualifications of foreigners; it ought not, nevertheless,
to operate so forcibly as it does in many instances, to the
utter exclusion of native talent and industry, or to be car-
ried such lengths as to place an effectual bar to the exer-
tions of any individual who may wish to redeem his cha-
racter from the universal stigma. Of strangers, it is not
too much to say, that not the Scotch alone, but the settlers
from Great Britain in general, have been found most ser-
viceable: a few Frenchmen were introduced, upon ex-
periment, during the time of the residence of the French
embassy at Petersburg; but they have neither been found
so steady, nor so intelligent, nor so capable as men of
business.
PETERSBURG.
287
Steam-engines were in use at many of the manufac-
tories, having been for the most part imported from Eng-
land: though we saw an example (at the arsenal) of a
machine which had been constructed on the spot under the
direction of a Scotchman; and it seemed (which is an un-
common case with those made abroad) to answer extremely
well. We had an opportunity of observing also some other
machinery which had been formed under similar directions,
and with similar success in its application; but on the
subject of which it may be fair to indulge a few reflections.
At the present æra, when the various modes of abridg-
ing labour appear to be so much in vogue, and when some
new scheme of mechanism supersedes in almost every
branch the skill of the artisan, it is worth while to observe
the general consequences that will finally result from the
prevalence of such a system. In former days, when each
successive operation was performed by the hand, an almost
insurmountable obstacle was thrown in the way of a coun-
try which might aim at supplanting, or even rivalling, the
ancient establishments of her neighbour. A length of time
was required to form hands for work; a service of appren-
ticeship was necessarily gone through, not merely by the
chief workmen, but by the boys and the women employed
in the lowest branches; in short, every one was obliged to
acquire by practice a certain degree of manual dexterity,
and the whole population in the vicinity of a manufactory
was gradually trained up to its use. In this way thirty or
forty years usually elapsed before a concern could be said
288
PETERSBURG.
¡
to have acquired perfection, and to be completely organised
in all its functions. A business, when once well established,
might be regarded as promising a certain continuance of
success; changes in the line of trade could not possibly be
effected so suddenly or so injuriously as we may hereafter
expect to see. With modern improvements the case is al-
tered. The distaff and the needle are thrown aside; ma-
chinery effects the whole. Great is the saving of labour
and expense: but what follows? It is not possible for any
law effectually to prevent models or drawings in one shape
or other from being carried out of the country, and together
with these the means, and the power of the establishment,
nay, its
very name and credit are at the same time conveyed
away. While our economical abridgment of labour therefore
produces a worse article for the market than before (for this
cannot be denied); while it deprives many an honest man of
support,―it lays open to our enemies the means of cutting
off the sources of our national wealth, and of reaping all the
advantages that result from our experience as well as our
ingenuity.
This is reasoning on narrow grounds, I am well aware,
and much remains to be said on the other side; but such at
least is the nature of the immediate practical inconveniences
that arise from our new mode; and when treating the sub-
ject of an empire, where so much unnecessary jealousy is
shewn in commercial matters, some indulgence may be
granted to a like feeling on our own parts.
It is not with the same spirit of objection that the in-
PETERSBURG.
289
troduction of the English machinery at the Mint is men-
tioned here, but merely as an instance of the esteem in
which our countrymen are held for the perfection of their
mechanism. The whole of the apparatus employed in
coinage was constructed by Messrs. Bolton and Watts, and
is precisely similar to that erected in our splendid edifice on
Tower-hill, London. The same has also been sent, as I
understand, to Copenhagen: indeed its superiority to that
of
any other invention of this sort is universally acknow-
ledged. The famous Zecca, a chef d'œuvre of the French at
Milan, is not comparable in point of ingenuity of arrange-
ment, or in practical utility; scarcely producing in a week
the same number of pieces which may be here done in a
single day.
The labourers are here all peasants of the emperor, re-
ceiving soldiers' pay: and it may be permitted to cite one
fact relative to their management, which affords a striking
proof of the difference of character that exists between the
English workmen and the Russian slave. The men em-
ployed at our Mint are select in character, and are held
capable of trust: the metal delivered out to them is of
course duly weighed and accounted for; but on their
leaving the place after the day is over, no search is ever
made on their persons; so injurious to their moral principle
would be held the bare suspicion of dishonesty: this ap-
pearance of confidence has not been attended with ill con-
sequences, I believe, in any case. At Petersburg every
PP
290
PETERSBURG.'
66
artificer is daily stripped to the skin, and so narrowly
searched at night, that even the cunning of a Russian can-
not find a secure mode of peculation: besides this, the
working clothes are annually destroyed by fire, lest the dust
of the metal that adheres should give them an itching
"palm.” Degradation of the human character is by many
people looked upon as a term of philosophy, imaginary
perhaps in itself, and not really applicable to life; but the
traveller in Russia will frequently see its effects displayed
under a form most hideously visible.
The Mint was now employed in coining silver to be ex-
ported for the use of the army. To offer a supply indeed
for home circulation would have been useless labour, since
whatever issues were made, the country was but little be-
nefited; they got into the hands of speculating merchants,
and soon disappeared: it is a fact, that out of 500,000
English guineas and ducats which, with other metal, had
been restamped and sent out from hence in the course of
last year, not a single piece was at this time to be met
with.
The circumstance will most probably be accounted for
from the depreciation of the paper currency, which has
been for some years declining in credit. It is at present
so low, that the army, which is paid in silver roubles in-
stead of paper, from the moment they pass the Russian fron-
tier, receives, though nominally the same sum, an intrinsic
augmentation of three-fourths of their pay. The present
PETERSBURG.
291
actual value of a paper rouble, estimated by the quantity
of silver* it will purchase in the market, is equal to only
about 10 d. of English money, instead of 3s. 4d. the value
of the silver which it is meant to represent. Now it is
singular that about twenty-five years ago it was not merely
at par, but, so excellent was the credit of the bank, that
a small agio, of about two copecks, was regularly given
for the paper rouble, on account of its lightness and con-
venience.
Of the fall in its value, the embarrassments of govern-
ment must be attributed as the original cause: but its de-
terioration has been of late years rapidly accelerated by
the same circumstances that have acted so powerfully on
the promissory issues of every neighbouring country. In
England we have noted this comparative depreciation, and
being aware that the credit of the Bank is unimpeachable,
have learnt to attribute it entirely to the unfavourable state
of our foreign exchanges. In the United States of America
the circulating medium has changed in the same way; the
war that cut off the trade had the effect of introducing
paper where the precious metals were before abundant,
and we ascribe the fact, without hesitation, to the same
* The proportion of alloy was as follows:
83 silver
12+ copper S
}for the rouble.
72 silver
24 copper } for small coin.
The heavy metal copper was abundant in circulation. It is worth while to ob-
serve, that there is a difference of one-fifth in value between the copper coinage
of 1795 and that of 1811; yet the first, which was the most valuable, was still in
circulation, and I believe very seldom melted down for profit.
292
PETERSBURG.
!
source. But in countries where foreign trade is not so con-
siderable in its extent, or of such vital importance to the
nation, where unfavourable exchanges have not existed
in the same degree, and where, if they had, the drain
could not have been of the same exhausting nature, we
must refer our argument to another principle, and look for
a new operating cause; we shall probably find that the ex-
changes (as far as they were against them) must be quoted
rather as the effect of the loss of their gold and silver than
the cause, and certainly this fact contributed most power-
fully to render them permanent.
ני
There were moments during the late continental wars
when the alarming aspect of affairs, and the overthrow of
crowns and principalities occurring on every side, made
each individual tremble for the stability of the government
to which he was attached: incendiary writings, treacherous
negociations, and unjustifiable invasions, seemed the order
of the day; no reliance was to be placed on the imaginary
vouchers of public credit; and every man sought to hoard
up whatever specie he could collect for subsistence in
the day of need, or to provide the means of flight from
oppression.—The universal demand for gold, in conse-
quence of these fears and uncertainties, was soon felt in
the market; the fluctuating price of gold and silver
changed with the vague reports of the day; and the Jews
taking advantage of this general impression, in a short
time organised the supplies on a regular system, while, by
the slow but constantly increasing demand, specie was en-
PETERSBURG.
293
hanced to its present value*. Now, allowing the smallest
possible quota as the average amount of what each man
thus may withdraw from the circulation, and there were
few who had not some specimens in their possession, the
aggregate swells to an immeasurable amount. Wherever
hostilities appeared, gold was called for: the armies re-
quired it for their necessary supplies; the citizens sought it
through their fears; and the money-dealer was sure of a
high price for his article. If, therefore, during twenty years
of unintermitting war in one part of Europe or the other,
this constant demand and difficulty of
procurance should
have grown into a settled system, there is no great reason
for astonishment. We had seen an example of this at
Berlin during our residence the preceding year, though
similar instances might be multiplied without end.
During the summer of 1812 the agents of a Jew's
house at Gottenburg collected all the gold coin and bullion
which they could procure at every price in any quarter,
and exported the whole to Russia. Buonaparte was then
marching upon Moscow; alarm was at the highest pitch,
and the gold was bought up with such thoughtless eagerness
* Three banks are established under the government.
1. Bank of paper, for the change and issue of notes: it may be remarked
that the French forged during their invasion 10,000 R. To prevent confusion
in the country, they were all received at this bank and paid.
2. Bank of loan for eight years: houses or slaves are admitted as security;
but the latter never at more than 100 R. per head.
3. Bank of loan for 20 years: 5 per cent. interest, and 3 per cent. of the
capital lent, are to be repaid annually by the borrower.
294
PETERSBURG.
and avidity, that upwards of 40,000l. sterling is said to have
been realised as the profits of the transaction.
Looking to the condition of another country, we find
the paper florins at Vienna not only were at par in 1790,
but bore an agio similar to what has been stated of the
rouble at Petersburg. It was not till the approach of the
French in 1797, that paper became of less value than gold;
but since that time the value of the latter has gradually
augmented from day to day. The over-issues made by the
Austrian crown have also lowered the value of the paper;
but the rate of increase in the price of specie far exceeded
the comparative rate of depreciation which might appear
to correspond with the declining credit of the govern-.
ment.
In addition to these facts, it is a singular circumstance,
that one may observe, during the few last years, Russia,
Sweden, Austria, and England, have carried on almost the
whole of their circulation by means of paper notes: while
in those countries where French intendants and admini-
strators appeared, in France, Italy, Germany, Prussia, and
the duchy of Warsaw, abundance of specie was to be found;
no one was eager to hoard, because the colossal power of
France, under whose protection they stood, and her unin-
terrupted career of success, seemed to promise permanence
and security. But this subject admits of much speculative
discussion; and I should consider myself as overstepping
the limits of a traveller's jurisdiction were I to pursue the
question any farther.
PETERSBURG.
295
The commercial concerns of Petersburg are of considera-
ble extent, and to give an idea of the amount of their trans-
actions with England in particular, it may be stated that the
draught of 100,000l. sterling upon London would not make
any sensible increase in the rate of exchange. The number of
ships entered at the port in the course of the year 1813 was
690, of which 343* were British. From various reasons,
however, chiefly on account of the prohibitions laid on En-
glish articles, the course of exchange was very unfavourable
* Goods exported in British ships in the year 1813.
Bar iron, poods
Hemp
360,941 Linseed
1,432,785 Quills
18,013
8,996,000
Flax
320,726 Mats
47,614
Tallow
1,207,810 Lathwood, pieces
49,390
Bristles
30,916 Deals, stand.
404,759
Potash
108,280 Cordage, poods
72,071
Isinglass
6120 Sailcloth, pieces
12,155
Linen, arshs.
324,027
Ravenducks
23,456
Crash
187,182 Flems
10,363
Hareskins
489,165 Diaper, arshs.
324,027
Wheat, chetverik
36,904
Candles, wax, glue, hides, lead ore, black lead, caviar, raw silk, cantharides,
mercury, rhubarb, aniseed oil, tongues, timber, sole leather, feathers, horses
manes, treacle, soap, tobacco, squirrel skins, oats, buckwheat, morocco lea-
ther, &c.
The ordinary Russian measures.
Verst 500 sajene.
Sajene = 7 feet.
Arshine 2 feet 4 inches.
-
Chetverik (corn measure) holds one pood of dried rye.
A coul or sack equals 8 chetverik, of wheat, or 10 of rye, though it is not a
fixed measure.
=
Pood 40lb. Russian 96lb. English.
296
PETERSBURG.
!
to that country. Still, notwithstanding the impossibility
of balancing accounts by consignments of goods in return,
very little difficulty was experienced in the mode of pay-
ment; and though it was impossible to diminish the loss
upon the exchange by the transport of bullion, yet so
brisk a commerce of bills and acceptances was established
through the hands of the Prussian Jews and others, that
the market was fully supplied, at least to the amount of
the demand.
The present prices* of articles is given below: rye bread
must be assumed as the standard of the country, rather
than that of any other grain; for the rest, it should be re-
marked that every article is enhanced beyond its natural
price by the situation of the town, because so long and so
expensive a transport from the interior is necessary even
for the most common matters of life. A generally progres-
sive increase of prices has taken place in Russia, inde-
pendent of the depreciation before-mentioned: it is difficult
under the confusion arising from the present condition of
* Prices in Paper Money.
Day labour, 27 R. per month and food; sometimes 2 R. per day is demanded.
Wheaten bread, 1 R. 60 cop. per lb. English.
Rye bread, 2 R. the pood, or 36 lb. English.
Meat, 25 cop. per lb. Russian.
Hire of carriage, 4 horses, and two drivers, 350 R. per month,
170 acres of land (without slaves) 6 versts from Petersburg, was advertised
for 3000 R.; but the land was poor.
Dutch Ducat, 13 R.
PETERSBURG:
297
their circulating medium, to ascertain the exact degree.
Mr. A. Young, in a late pamphlet, states it at an average
of 40 per cent in the price of rye, during a period of twenty
years, ending in 1806; while wheat (our standard) has risen
during the same period, in England, about 36 per cent.
The progress, indeed, in Russia ought, on obvious grounds,
to exceed that in England; and may it be permitted to
suggest, that this increase, which has taken place, though
in proportions somewhat dissimilar, over the whole Euro-
pean continent, ought rather to be attributed, as it doubt-
less must here, to the growing activity and general in-
crease of demand throughout the several countries, than to
any variation in the supply of the precious metals from the
mines.
Looking to the various sources whence Russia draws
her materials for trade, it is natural to turn our eyes to
those dependencies which make so large a geographical
display in the north of Asia. They are valuable only on
this score: the furs they afford are of an admirable qua-
lity, and the produce of the mines is very large, besides
which, the possession of these tracts ensures at all times the
means of carrying on a trade overland with China. The
profits arising from these different branches necessarily ex-
perience a considerable drawback from the expense of long
conveyance which is required through the interior.* There
*The silver caravans from Kolivan and Nertchinsk are the most valuable ;
from Kolivau two are sent annually, one in December, the other in January. They
are about two months on the road; the expense of carriage for their united
Q. Q
298
PETERSBURG.
was a time, during the height of speculation, when the duties
on the China trade, at 25 per cent, produced 400,000
roubles of annual revenue, a sum which the whole value of
the imports themselves does not now exceed, and future
experience will rather tend to diminish than increase it.
The caravans to India, by the Caspian sea and through
the Persian territories, have been relinquished, partly on
the score of carriage, and partly on account of the war.
Few of the more bulky articles, indeed, of the China trade
can be made objects of importation: a trifling quantity
of nankeens, silks, and tea; some precious stones, rhu-
barb, musk, &c. are brought annually, and some ingots
of gold; which last the merchants are obliged to give up
to the emperor, receiving silver in its stead. The tea is of
a most delicious flavour; it is perfumed by being packed
with the flowers of the olea fragrans, and exhales a power-
ful aromatic odour upon an infusion being made.
up
The exports from Russia, in return, are light furs, such
as those of otters, foxes, or beavers; camlets, English or
Silesian cloths, coral, watches, iron, cutlery, &c.
The government have interested themselves constantly
to keep up a good understanding with the court of Pekin,
though not always with the same success. The last em-
amount (being about 1000 pouds) is 5000 roubles for 5000 versts; but when
this estimate was given, the rouble was at least double its present value. The
caravan from Nertchinsk is about three months on the road, being a distance of 7000
versts. It brings 250 poud, and sets out in December. The lead is brought from
Nertchinsk by water.
'ร
PETERSBURG:
299
bassy was that of Count Golovkin, about seven years ago,
which was equipped in the most splendid style. The retinue
consisted of an hundred and forty persons, including savans
and artists of various descriptions; and the presents to the
emperor, of which they were the bearers, were of the highest
value; they consisted chiefly of velvet cloths, Russian porce-
lain, and large mirrors, and other costly articles. After
a journey scarcely remarkable for any thing but its tedious
length, they arrived at Kiachta, the usual point of inter-
course between the two nations, and thence passed the
frontier to the palace of the Lama, where they represent
themselves to have been handsomely entertained.
They partook of various amusements peculiar to the
country, and, among others, made a party to hunt in the
district of the Barianski; a people, it seems, famous for
their skill in the chase: their mode of preparation was by
beating the woods and driving the hares into the plain,
where the marksmen being placed in certain stations, shot
them as they passed at speed; the weapons used for this
purpose were bows and arrows, the latter of which were
loaded with a very heavy barb, and, it is singular to remark,
were never directed with a point blank aim, but at a very
considerable elevation.
Every instance of mechanical skill exhibited here does
not appear to have been equally commendable. The Rus.
sian mirrors, which were of a vast size, seventeen feet in
length by nine in breadth, had been packed on cushions at
Petersburg, and laid on a carriage adapted for the purpose,
300
PETERSBURG.
པ
and arrived hitherto uninjured. But on passing to the
Chinese side, a mountainous road was to be traversed, and
the only provision made for the draught of these carriages
was by a range of a dozen horsemen placed in a line, who
pressed the cross bar at the end of the pole of the carriage
with their bodies, and in this manner performed the office
of draught. The insecurity of the scheme on a descent
soon manifested itself; there was no mode of resisting the
accelerated rapidity of the carriage, owing to which, one
of the mirrors, during the return to Kiachta, was overturned
and dashed to pieces.
After some days of repose the parties entered into
conference; but an unforeseen accident soon arose to pre-
vent an happy conclusion to the negociations. It was re-
quired in the course of the preliminary ceremonials, that
the Russian envoy should prostrate himself nine times be-
fore a yellow skreen, which, by the whimsical construction
of an eastern allegory, was supposed to shroud the blaze of
majesty that encircles the august emperor Kia-king. So
extraordinary an act of homage, however, was not to be
endured on the part of the plenipotentiary representative
of all the Russias; and, unfortunately, advices being re-
ceived from Pekin that the entrance of a Russian ship to
the forbidden port of Canton had excited the utmost dis-
pleasure of the government, the conference was instantly
broken up; the Wan, the Mongol governor of this part of
Tartary, retraced his steps homeward, while Golovkin slunk
back to Petersburg to report the total failure of his mission.
PETERSBURG.
SOL
The embassy sent to the Lama of Thibet, with a view
of soliciting the establishment of a sub-Lama at Kiachta,
proved equally fruitless. Had it succeeded in its object,
very considerable benefit would have been derived to the
Russian colony. Many persons of this religion would have
been induced to pass over to their settlements, and the
number of the population, as well as activity of trade, would
have been greatly enhanced. The commercial intercourse
of these provinces of the frontier is of an extremely lucra-
tive nature; so much indeed has wealth accumulated, that
some people, competently informed on the subject, do not
hesitate to assert, that the line of the river Amour, the
former boundary, was conceded by the Russians merely
from motives of fear, on account of the formidable increase
in wealth and strength of the mercantile body resident in
that quarter.
With regard to the provinces of Siberia in general, they
are held in dependence at a very small expense to the
crown. Jermak, a rebel Cossack, with the aid of a merchant;
Strogonov, in order to regain the favour of the Czar Ivan
Vassilievitch, first undertook an expedition into these parts
with a small body of men, and succeeded in conquering
the most valuable and most powerful districts of the country.
on the banks of the Irtish. This was early in the sixteenth
century; the scheme was afterwards followed up, and the
whole of Siberia taken possession of; but though so many
ages have intervened, it is singular that in the peninsula of
302
PETERSBURG.
*
Kamschatchka there existed a few tribes of marauders who
enjoyed their liberty till within these last few years.
The country in other parts, however, has been long
quiet and undisturbed; the inhabitants are, for the most
part, a lazy people, their character inoffensive and harm-
less in proportion to their scarcity of population and infre-
quency of intercourse.
}
A few pulks of Cossacks, scattered in the towns, are the
only species of armed force which it is thought necessary
to introduce; in addition to which a sort of militia is
formed from among the natives; those who are willing to
undertake this service being relieved from the burden of
taxation, and indulged in the enjoyment of some other pri-
vileges of no great account.
The Russian governors of provinces are not long con-
tinued in office, unless sent hither in consequence of dis-
grace at court: the dislike to the service is so great, that a
reward is held out even to those who accept the inferior
stations of administration; and to be employed for the
space of three years in Siberia gives a title to the rank and
privileges of assessor in a college or bureau, without ex-
hibiting the certificate of a degree from one of the univer-
sities, which is otherwise made a requisite qualification.
The landed property is chiefly vested in the hands of
the crown, and is managed through the medium of bailiffs
or superintendants, a system which would naturally be
commuted in the course of time for a sort of copyhold
PETERSBURG.
503
tenure, if the condition of the country were in any way
capable of improvement. But the checks to population,
incidental to such a climate, have a very prejudicial ef-
fect upon their prosperity, and preclude for ever the pos-
sibility of realising any promise of amelioration. Other evils,
that go hand in hand with this state of things, contribute
also to render the wild tracts still more forlorn: it was about
ten years back that the ravages of the small-pox reduced
one tribe of the Kamtshadals from three or four hundred
to a number scarce exceeding twenty or thirty; and si-
milar instances of misfortune have occurred, though per
haps not to so great an extent, in many districts. There
was an hospital for inoculation established at Irkutsh, the
capital of this government, in 1772, but the immense ex-
tent of the country makes all precautionary measures, to a
certain degree, ineffectual.
* taken a few years
It may be observed, that at a census
since, only three persons were averaged to each square of
seven versts throughout this province, so scanty are the
germs of population: the few roving tribes, however, be-
* A census of the population of the Russian empire is taken every ten years.
The total amount is about 42,299,000 souls, who are scattered over a surface of
341,000 square miles of this, the proportion residing in the dominions situate
in Europe (including Finland) is about 33,000,000, and the square miles of
surface are nearly 82,000.
t
The bills of mortality throughout the empire (that is, including only persons.
of the Greek church) give the following results:
Marriages.
i
Born.
Died.
1811. 1,306,147
9$6,368
278,600
1812. 1,264,391
971,358
289,073.
>
304.
PETERSBURG.
契
​fore mentioned, were of course omitted in this calculation,
as being at that time not under control of the police. The
most cultivated parts are in the province of Tobolsk; the
capital bearing also this name, and the city of Beresov,
being both places of banishment, are spoken highly of in
point of society and amusement.
The Academy of Sciences at Petersburg displays an in-
teresting collection of the several costumes of the nations
inhabiting Siberia; of the Samoieds, Ostiaks, Kouriaks, the
Troglodyte Kamtshadals, &c. with some specimens of
the dress of the prophetic pagan priestesses, called Cha-
mans. These women are objects of worship and veneration
with a numerous sect of votaries in the north: the sacerdo-
tal instruments are of a nature to inspire terror and awe into
the beholders; a cap and horn of iron, a mantle strung with
rings, and a large deep-toned drum; whereby, when the
priestess falls into her trance of ecstasy, the most horrible
combination of inharmonious noises is produced, and her
audience proportionably convulsed and alarmed. There were
From the increase of population in ordinary years, it is inferred that the
number would be doubled in 70 years; from the year 1801 to 1806 the excess
was laid at 2,665,874.
At St. Petersburg in 1813, all communions included:
Born.
3,828 boys
3,730 girls
7,558
Died.
10,870 males
4,114 females
14,984
This was a year of unusual mortality. The most dangerous maladies were
nervous fevers, colic, and consumption.
PETERSBURG.
305
also some of the dresses of the semi-brutal inhabitants of
the Aleoutine islands; creatures ignorant of the existence
of any supreme power whatsoever; they worship neither
stone, nor wood, nor man, and seem scarcely elevated, in
the scale of humanity, to a par with an ordinary savage.
Some Japanese habits and armour made of varnished
leather and blue cloth were shewn us too: they were trophies
from the establishments of that kingdom in the Kourile
islands.
A very good collection of minerals is also preserved
at the Academy of Sciences. The fossil skeletons of the
mammoths, found on the banks of the Obi, have been fre-
quently described: the height of the largest is about twelve
feet, but it differs in no other respect from the Asiatic ele-
phant, except that the tusks diverge from each other instead
of projecting in a parallel direction. It is presumed from
the hair found on part of its body, that the animal was
thus provided by nature against the inclemency of a cold
climate, and was not, as at first supposed, brought by
the stream of the river from the more central regions of
Asia. Professor Fischer, at Moscow, afterwards shewed us
a jaw-bone of an animal that could not have been inferior
in size to the above, but evidently belonging to another
species. It was named, for want of a more distinctive
title, the Elasmotherium, but had as yet afforded little
matter of speculation.
:
The mass of native iron, forty-six pood (or 1656lbs.) in
weight, that was discovered by Pallas in Sibéria, is also
R R
306
PETERSBURG.
kept here. Speaking of this collection, it may not be amiss
to touch upon the mineralogy of the country we had tra-
versed since our departure from Sweden, though the season
in which our journey was made admitted scarce any op-
portunity of observation. It appeared, however, that the
rocks of the Alands group, as well as those of Finland in
the direction of our route, were a continuation of the same
red-coloured granitic formation, which prevailed so ge-
nerally in Sweden: it abounded in most places with horn-
blende; though at Abo the feldspar seemed predomi-
nant; at Sveaborg it became almost a feldspar rock; at
Helsingfors we observed mica slate occurring in veins, and
at Wiburg the surface was more diversified, bearing at a
little distance the exact resemblance of a breccia, in con-
sequence of the numerous large nodules of feldspar that
were imbedded. The varieties, otherwise, seemed but few:
the hills were constant in their recurrence, and of an uniform
character, till, on the borders of Ingria, they suddenly dis-
appeared, and were succeeded by an immense plain, bound-
less to the eye. This change in the face of the country is
equally abrupt on either side to the east or to the west,
forming a regular escarpment as a sort of natural frontier to
the Finnish provinces. Along its line several beds of the
secondary formation occur, lime-stone, sand-stone, &c.;
the free-stone, indeed, used in building the Casan church
and other edifices at Petersburg, is brought from Kexholm,
a place lying in this situation. The continuation of this
line of secondary rocks, skirting similar primary formations,
PETERSBURG.
307
may be traced for a considerable distance to the north-east,
and it appears again on the other hand in the southern pro-
vinces of Sweden and the neighbouring islands, whence a
second time crossing the sea, it may be traced in the same
direction through the southern highlands of Scotland.
The edifice alluded to above, of which as yet notice
has been taken only by name, deserves notoriety on more
grounds than one. The cathedral or church of the Holy
Virgin of Casan is one of the most splendid structures that
modern art has realised. Fifteen years have been consumed
in its erection, and the money laid out amounted to no less
a sum than 15,000,000 roubles.
Numerous plans were presented to the Academy when
the intention of the emperor was first announced: some of
these, in particular that of Cameron, a Scotchman, were
more correct in taste than the model which we now see put
in execution. But it was no unwise sentiment of patriotism
that gave the preference to Woronitchki. This architect
was a Russian slave, the property of Count Strogonov,
brought up under the patronage of his master in the Im-
perial Academy, where his talent procured him universal
admiration. Being appointed to this new employment, he
not only did honour to his country by his own exertions,
but accomplished his great undertaking entirely through
the hands of native workmen. So laudable an essay me-
rited the success he met with; and it is singular enough, he
just lived to see it opened to the public at the beginning of
the present year,
308
PETERSBURG.
1
The plan is laid in the form of a cross, terminating in
each arm with a Corinthian portico: a lofty cupola rises
from the centre, and the front is received into a grand semi-
circular colonnade four columns in depth: the area of the
crescent was intended to have been ornamented with the
statues of St. Peter and Paul, raised on gigantic blocks of
solid granite ten or twelve feet high: one of them, however,
was unfortunately sunk in crossing the Neva, and the other
still rests on the rollers by which it was conveyed, in one of
the by streets near the place of exercise.
In point of architecture, the composition of the building
is not quite harmonious throughout; and the dome is so
contracted in its dimensions, as to give, in some points of
view, an air of insignificance to the whole. It deserves,
however, notwithstanding these defects, considerable praise
for the chastity of the decoration, as well as for the noble
effect of the approach: in each line as the eye is directed, it
is met by a forest of lofty columns, which form, at every
step, combinations of the most classical variety.
of
On entering the interior the spectator is struck by a blaze
pomp and magnificence that would ill assort with any
structure, other than the temple of religion. The columns of
the aisles are of purple granite highly polished; their capitals
of brass and gold; rich paintings line the walls, and a dim,
mysterious gloom pervades the whole fabric. As we ad-
vanced up the nave, we perceived the rites of the church
were under celebration; the solemn chant of the priest was
hcard-Gospodi Pomilloui!—Gospodi Pomilloui! On a
+

1.T.James del!
CATHEDRAL CHURCH of the VIRGIN of CASAN, PETERSBURG.
London. Published by 1.Murray, Albemarle Street, 1816-
UN4
OF
1. Clark sculp
231
PETERSBURG.
309
sudden the doors of the sanctuary were thrown
apen, and
the bearded bishop appeared, clad in raiment of purple and
gold: the clouds of incense floated in the air, and the manly
sonorous voices of the priests again echoed through the
dome.
It was a striking and impressive sight; but, far beyond
all this shew of parade, one's feelings were moved by the
earnestness and enthusiasm that reigned over the face
of the people at one time the whole crowd were pro-
strated on the floor; at another they were seen scattered in
different parts of the church, some paying their devotions
to the picture of the Virgin, others carrying the lighted
taper to fix it before the shrine of their patron saint, others
kissing the hands, face, and feet of the holy paintings,
others bowing their heads to the pavement, with an aspect
of humility that seemed to shun the light of heaven. All
alike equally careless of one another, wholly wrapt up in
their several acts of piety and adoration.
-
Among them an old peasant, who had just entered, par-
ticularly drew my attention: he appeared to be about
seventy years of age, strong built, erect in his gait, and
something above the middle stature; his neck was bare, his
head bald, and his beard as white as snow; a simple caftan
of sheepskin, girt about his loins, was his attire. He re-
garded the holy picture of the Virgin with a stedfast gaze
for some time, standing at a distance: then, his eyes still
fixed, he laid down his staff and bundle, and began to cross
himself with much devoutness; while every now and then
310
PETERSBURG.
:
he bent forward on his knees and touched the ground with
his forehead: this exercise he continued so long, that he
at last was ready to faint from weariness. His slow and
aged hand seemed always to move with a singular air of
dignity, and the open majesty of his countenance, com-
bined with the apparent simplicity of his mind, constituted
altogether a picture that Da Vinci himself might have at-
tempted to imitate on the canvass, but never could have
equalled in sublimity of conception.
Whence comes it, we may ask, that such different emo-
tions are experienced by a person who enters a Roman
Catholic place of worship, from the visitor of the Greek
church? In both, the lighted tapers, the pictures, the gaudy
shrine, the incense, are the same; in short, every thing that
can be supposed to address itself to the imagination is pre-
sent in the one as in the other; yet it so happens that the
former, deficient in sentimental greatness, always savours of
a dramatic exhibition, while the latter bears the semblance
of a real scene.
1
It was on this ground indeed, that the ceremonial wor-
ship of the Greek church was purposely selected for the use
of the Russian nation. The deputies of the Grand Duke
Vladomir were sent in the tenth century to examine and
enquire into the different Christian churches, in order to re-
commend that form for adoption which should appear to
them most worthy of imitation. Their report stated that
they proceeded for this purpose to Germany and to Bul-
garia, where they witnessed the celebration of the Roman
PETERSBURG.
311
Catholic service in all its splendor: after this they visited
Constantinople for the purpose of inspecting the rites of
the Greeks: they attended the high mass and heard the
chant, and their choice was at once decided; "we know
not," said they," how to express by words the sublimity
"of what we have seen and heard; this far surpasses all
"the rest; we thought ourselves transported to heaven-
"itself."
66
Their account was perfectly satisfactory to the court,
and it only remained to convert the nation to the same way
of thinking. From pagans they were simply to be made
christians, and this was a matter of no difficulty to a
despot: the people instantly received orders to adopt the
new religion; all idolaters were declared enemies of Jesus
Christ and of the grand duke; while on a stated morning,
the inhabitants of the capital were commanded to assemble
on the river side, and, without farther preparation, submit
to baptism. Not a murmur occurred: "If it were not
good for us," they cried, "our prince and the boiars would
"not have decreed it so." It was in vain that the angry
god Peroun was said to have started in the dead of the
night from the waves of the Volkoff, and to have thrown his
club against the bridge at Novogorod, accompanied with
heavy denunciations of vengeance against the apostates.
He, the mighty Jupiter of the slaves, so lately the object of
their prayers, was now almost every where neglected. The
grand duke had spoken, and his voice must be obeyed.
66
The effect of the Russian religion upon the mass of the
312
PETERSBURG.
1
people, though it impresses them with a solemn awe of the
Supreme Being, and in other respects is not without its use
with regard to doctrines of obedience and of self-denial, has
yet very little influence on their moral conduct. It
It may be
questioned, perhaps with propriety, whether it is in its nature
well calculated for this end: the quibble on the procession
of the Holy Ghost; the crossing from the right breast in-
stead of the left; the use of pictures, with no other part.
but the drapery in relief, because image worship is for-
bidden, are so many evidences, that the chief character of
the church consists in observance of punctilio. But even
were this not the case, the ignorance and degradation of
the lower classes in this country is such as almost to extin-
guish every generous feeling that could serve to assist the
operation of their religious faith.
Another reason may be found by some, perhaps, in the
vicious lives of their instructors. The priests are, it is true,
a race that hold a condition in society of a rank not much
above the lowest; that associate with the vulgar herd alone;
that give indulgence to their own passions, conniving at
the evil practices of others, and few of whom deserve a
higher character than public estimation has generally al-
lotted to them. The profession descends levitically from
father to son, and they are consequently often brought up
in a state of hereditary ignorance and vice. I have heard a
story related of a priest in the government of Smolensko,
who, being unable to read, performed his functions con-
stantly by rote and repetition. The seigneur of the village
PETERSBURG.
313
having good ground for suspecting his deficiency, requested
him one day to introduce a certain new prayer into the
service from one of the different liturgies admitted in the
church. The priest learnt it by heart, and so far obeyed:
he then was requested to change it for the substitutional
one that followed; the ignorant wretch affected to ac-
quiesce, but, in fact, went on as before, repeating ever
again the same. Instances of actual incapacity for the
sacerdotal office.are, nevertheless, not very common, except
in the more remote provinces: and it is in the rank of the se-
culars alone, we must observe, that ignorance is to be found.
The monks are well educated, and many of the higher dig-
nitaries of the church (for these are all selected from the
monasteries) are men of high literary character and attain.'
ments.
In order to prevent immoral practices among the secu-
lars, they are not only allowed to marry, but enjoined to
enter the matrimonial state on taking a parochial cure, and
even obliged to quit their benefice if they become widowers.
As to the provision made for them, tithes are abolished,
and the clergy depend on the produce of certain domains
belonging to the body at large; the administration of which
was taken into the hands of the crown during the short
reign of Peter III. stated annual stipends being distri-
buted. Their official fees, however, are not inconsiderable,
and besides the sums gained in this way, they are paid
largely by the noblemen, at whose houses they attend to
celebrate private mass: their time is, in great measure,
SS
314
PETERSBURG.
taken up by this duty, for the wealthier orders hardly ever
make their appearance in the public churches, while every
one has a private chapel at home.
+
Having touched on the religious sentiments of these
classes of society, it may not be amiss to say something of
the morality of the higher, which seems to me to have been
the subject with various writers of much misrepresentation.
There are many families at Petersburg, as. will be allowed
by all, where the girls are brought up with the utmost re-
gularity and attention; I hope it will not savour too
strongly of national prejudice if I should say in the English
mode. But to speak more at large, we should draw an in-
ference favourable to their morale from the nature of the
distinctions and parties of society; and when we see a line
drawn that separates conjugal infidelity from the general
resort of those who know how to value the real luxury of a
domestic state, we acknowledge a feeling unknown to the
lascivious climate of the south, and which proves, beyond
all possibility of contradiction, that the basis of social life
and virtue is here maintained. I have confined my remarks
to the female sex, as the same may not, with equal pro-
priety, be said of the men: but the character of the female
world once established in any country, debauchery, it may
be observed, meets with an almost impassable limit.
A certain degree of superstition is to be seen even
among the people of education. It was impossible not to
feel a degree of pity, though at the same time it was a
pleasing sight, to behold the amiable and lovely princesses
T
PETERSBURG.
315
--
making pilgrimage to the monasteries of Sarai or Mermest;
labours that were the offspring of some holy vow under-
taken for the sake of those who were now absent in the
war, a father, a husband, a brother, or a lover. Nor are
these signs the only traces of over-pious weakness; it is
common to meet with persons who never dare to inhabit
a house where a person, however distantly related, may
have expired. Numerous changes of habitation, for this
reason, perpetually take place at Petersburg, the family
mansion losing its hereditary proprietor. Others have sin-
gular notions about the ominous presage that attends the
giving salt at table; and on more serious occasions, a sick
man receiving the cup from the priest is not allowed to eat
or drink, or even to take physic, for six hours after the
ceremony; many persons obstinately refuse to pollute the
sacrament by receiving any food into their stomachs after
its administration, and the consequences that ensue may
be surmised.
Every sect of religion is tolerated by the government,
or rather admitted with indifference. Of the rasholnicks
(schismatics) from the established church there are some
few communities; the greater part those who apostatised
on the introduction of the modern edition of the Bible
put forth by the patriarch Nicon, in the seventeenth cen-
tury. They are remarkable for a more scrupulous ob-
servance of the ceremonies enjoined in the old forms, par-
ticularly of days of fast and rules of abstinence; among the
last of which, the forbearance from tobacco, în conformity
316
PETERSBURG.
with the ancient injunctions of the clergy, is rigidly en-
forced. They do not form any where a very numerous class;
and have only met with success among the poor, by their
priests affording confession at a cheaper rate than those of
the established church, and practices of a like description.
Disputes on doctrinal points are not likely to arise very
frequently the only translation of the Bible that is permit-
ted is one written in the old Sclavonic language, with an
admixture of Greek; and though the Russe is also a Scla-
vonic tongue, yet this antiquated dialect is as unintelligible
to a modern Russian as the Latin language to an Italian
of the present day. We may collect that the public cu-
riosity is awake, however, to speculation, from the late suc-
cessful publication of one of Ancillon's philosophical works.
It was translated into Russian with comments by Theo-
phanes, bishop of Casan, and was bought, up with avi-
dity; but the book received an answer, and its principles
were ably controverted by Philarete, bishop of Novogorod,
upon which a violent rejoinder ensued from the other side.
An imperial ukase at length put an end to this paper war,
by entirely prohibiting the sale of Theophanes's book, while
the bishop himself, after a sharp reprimand from the synod,
was confined to his diocese.
It is in this way, notwithstanding the avowed principle
of toleration, the unlimited authority of the crown some-
times is known to interfere in religious matters; nor is
it a measure of lenity or moderation that is resorted
to. The proceeding is, for the most part, in the same au-
PETERSBURG.
317
thoritative tone as that which enjoined their first con-
version to Christianity. We have an instance of mis-
placed severity in the punishment of Prince Galitzin, an
apostate to the Roman Catholic religion during the reign
of the Empress Anne. This unfortunate nobleman was
forced to marry a woman of low extraction, and his
espousals were celebrated with every circumstance of bur-
lesque pomp that ingenuity could invent. The bride and
bridegroom were carried in a cage of iron on the back of
an elephant, followed by a procession of rustics two by two,
habited in the costumes of the various nations of Siberia.
On their arrival at the place of destination, they were con
ducted to a sumptuous edifice of ice, adorned with columns,
and porticoes, and domes. A salute of ordnance was fired
from pieces made of the same substance, while every article
of furniture, even to the nuptial couch on which they were
constrained to pass the night, was framed of this cold
material...
In another case that occurred within the present reign,
an act of coercion of no less imperious a nature was adopted;
but it was an example that really demanded the most
immediate and peremptory measures. A sect of enthusiasts
sprung up in the government of Moscow, who, in a spirit
of misinterpretation almost incredible, " made themselves,"
as they said, "eunuchs for the kingdom of Heaven's sake.”
So strong was the first burst of enthusiasm, that they gained
a large body of proselytes, some of whom were now to be
seen at Petersburg; but the affair soon became public, and
318
PETERSBURG.
government taking cognizance of the sect, prevented (it
was said) the farther dissemination of their doctrine by the
irresistible operation of the knout.
Privation is the essential doctrine of the church: 66
Que
"les Russes ne savent prendre le ciel que par famine,” is an
old saying; and in truth the length of their regular fasts
fully justifies the remark: seven weeks of abstinence are
enjoined by the Greek church during lent, the same from
the first week after the Pentecost to All Saints day, then
again, fourteen days before the Assumption, and forty days
before Christmas; during which times animal food and
sexual intercourse are rigorously forbidden. The first period
is terminated by extraordinary ceremonies relating to the
history of the death of our Saviour, much in the same
fashion as those exhibited by the Roman church in the
course of Passion week; but on Easter even the whole is
wound up with, perhaps, the most striking and imposing
spectacle ever invented by the votaries of religion.
A representation of the sacred tomb is exposed to the
people during the whole of the evening, and at night the
resurrection is announced formally in all the churches.
We entered the Casan church at a late hour; the nave, the
aisles, in short every part was crowded to suffocation with
an host of devotees: thousands of lighted tapers (for each
bore one in his hand) glittered over the whole area, spread-
ing an illumination as bright as noon. As the hour of
twelve approached, all eyes were earnestly bent on the
sanctuary; at length it opened, when there issued forth a
A
PETERSBURG.
319
long train of banners, crosses, &c.; with archimandrites, pro-
topopes, and priests of all ranks, dressed in their sumptuous
robes of embroidered silk, covered with gold and silver, and
jewels; they moved slowly through the crowd, and went out
from the doors of the church as if to search for the body of
our Lord; in a few minutes the insignia were seen again, on
their return, floating above the heads of the mob, along the
nave; and when the archbishop had regained the altar, he
pronounced, with a loud voice, Christos volseress,“ Christ is
risen." At that instant the hymn of praise commenced, and
a peal of ordnance from the fortress re-echoed the joyful
tidings through the city. The world of Mongiks now sa-
luted and congratulated one another in turn; the days of
fasting were at an end; tables spread with provisions in
a short time made their appearance in the church: the
forbidden meats were tasted with eager appetite, and a
feast of gluttony, that annually proves fatal to some of the
followers of this religion, took place of penance and prayer.
A second carnival of one week succeeded this day,
and afforded, though in a different way, an equally grati-
fying spectacle. The Isaac Platz was filled with people,
drinking quass and kislistchi, visiting puppet-shows or rope-
dancers, enjoying themselves in the tcherkeli or round-about,
and following each other in succession, down the slope of
the summer-hills. This last is one of the most favourite
amusements; the apparatus consists of a scaffold between
thirty or forty feet high, with an inclined plane in front, con-
structed in imitation of the ice-hills, the ordinary diver-
sion of the winter season. It is tastefully adorned with
320
PETERSBURG.
flowers and boughs of trees, amidst which an amateur of the
sport is hurried in a small narrow cart with four wheels;
descending the steep, and traversing with the impulse a level
stage below, of some hundred feet in length, though not quite
so securely as in the case before mentioned.
The infinite variety of gay colour and costume exhibited
by a Russian mob adds to the pleasure of the scene, and
besides the novelty of the aspect in this point, it is the most
extraordinary sight to a foreigner to behold these stout
majestic men, with solemn beards and placid countenances,
sliding down these hills in go-carts, or whirled round one after
the other in the light round-about, or (as permission is
universally given in this week) jingling the church bells as
an act of serious devotion.
But still more singular is the charm produced by the
sight of so vast a concourse of people all still and quiet.
An universal face of merriment and good humour un-
ceasingly prevails, but it is every where accompanied with
the same noiseless appearance. A sight that forms a strong
contrast with the loud mirth of an Italian, or the joyous
boisterousness of an English mob. But with the forced and
artificial Russian, even their quantum of gladness is regulated
by the strict order of the police.
The presentation of an egg in sign of the termination of
the fast, is the usual compliment of the season among the
people of all ranks, high or low; the handsomest are made
of porcelain, and it is a gift generally made to the fair sex.
The lady in complaisance grants the donor permission to
kiss her hand, which, on his rising, is returned according to
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321
arose.
the graceful mode of Russian salutation, on the gentleman's
cheek. By old established custom, no lady of any rank
whatsoever can refuse the salute fo the meanest person
in the streets that does but make her the offer of an egg.
April 19.-Soon after Easter a new cause of congratulation
The affairs of Troyes, Laon, Rheims, Arcis-sur-
Aube, la Fere Champenoise, had followed in rapid succession,
and on this day the arrival of an estafette from France
brought the news of the battle fought under the heights of
Montmartre, and of the subsequent capitulation of Paris;
together with the information that Buonaparte had abdi-
cated the crown of France.
Nothing could exceed the demonstrations of public joy
on this glorious termination of the campaign. The national
glory was concerned, and the emperor was the chief of the
coalition, so a Te Deum was ordered to be celebrated, and
illuminations prepared for three nights. On the appointed
fête again we repaired to the cathedral church of the Virgin
of Casan; it was now another scene,-illuminated with
fashion and rank, and youth and beauty, and all the costly
magnificence of the Russian court. In the centre, below the
dome, stood the Empress Dowager, the Grand Duchess
Anna Paulowna, Duchess of Wirtemburg, with the queen
and princesses of Georgia and Mingrelia, the ladies of
the household, and the female nobility of the country.
Splendid jewels, rich brocades, shawls of Cashmir, united
their dazzling hues, and formed a coup-d'ail splendid beyond
conception. Behind stood the citizens' wives, attired in
T T
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dresses not less costly or profuse of decoration. The corps
diplomatique, the representatives of the allied courts of
Europe, held the left of the altar; and the officers of the
emperor, in their appropriate uniforms of the civil and mili-
tary lines, occupied the space between.
The ceremony commenced with the official bulletin, which
was read by a general officer; after this succeeded a priest
with a few verses from the Testament, then the Litany,
and then a special thanksgiving; next the Te Deum, the
prayer for the emperor and each of the imperial family,
&c. This done, the grand chamberlain, stepping forward,
conducted the empress to the door of the altar, where she
prostrated herself three times before the Virgin; the grand
duchess followed, and went through the same ceremony with
an air of grace inexpressibly striking. The priests were now
presented in succession to the empress; the bishop received
from her the kiss of peace, and thus the whole was closed.
It added not a little to the effect of these solemn cere-
monies, that they were performed under the same roof where
reposed the ashes of Kutusow and Moreau, amidst walls
decked on every side with the trophies of Russian valour,
the eagles and standards wrested from the French legions,
the proud memorials of Taratina, of Malojaroslavetz, Kras-
noi, Lutzen, and Bautzen,* which were now about to be
united to the recent tokens of still more glorious victory.
* Among the most remarkable were the bâton of Davoust taken at Krasnoi,
and the vexillum of the 10th cohort of the national guard, taken in the campaign
of the last year.
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PETERSBURG.
The public illuminations were ordered for three nights,
and the inhabitants of Petersburg exhibited every device
which their ingenuity and munificence could devise. It was
indeed an endless and ever varying blaze: but even the effu-
sions of loyalty are placed under the eye of the police; no
transparency or inscription being set up without permission.
An unfortunate pastry-cook, neglecting this precaution, had
nearly involved himself in a dilemma, by a picture which
appeared in his window. He had represented the initial
letter of Alexander surrounded with a little wreath of A's
entwined, which was intended as an allegorical allusion to
the a-liés or alliés, rallying round his sovereign. The device
at least was harmless; a compliment, as the pieman averred,
neither ill-meant nor ill executed. The police, however,
hold other matters of greater weight than simple argument;
it might be, no fees were offered, but certainly, from some
reason or other, the unfortunate transparency was ordered
to be removed. In respect of more vulgar exhibitions of
public feeling, a licence and liberty, such as we had not
before witnessed, was allowed on this occasion, and the
greasy crowd," (for they are greasy) raised a confused
sound of hurrah in every street through which the imperial
carriages passed.
66
The fortunate issue of this war had hitherto accumulated
every species of honour on the head of the emperor; no
individual employed in the civil or military services could
stand forward to challenge any competition with him in
the public estimation. None of his generals, though men
324
PETERSBURG.
highly distinguished, had enjoyed a distinct command, at
least of
any consequence. While the minister Romanzow,
(whom no one would consider partial to English politics)
in spite of the tender of his resignation, had constantly
been retained as minister of foreign affairs. The emperor
was all in all; abroad the sole ostensible agent, at home the
sole depositary of the vows, the prayers, and the hopes of
his country.
A profusion of compliments, as may be supposed, were
designed to honour his return to the capital. Amongst
others, the senate was convened for the
purpose of decreeing
him some new title appropriate to his deserts. The august
body debated for three days, with closed doors, on this
important and difficult subject; Italinski, and Crimski, and
Donski, and Zadunaiski, honourable additions to the names
of great Russian commanders, formed no precedent for the
designation of an emperor; and unfortunately, a redoubtable
hero of antiquity had pre-occupied in history the only
agnomen suitable to his dignity. At last, however, they
came to a decision, and a motion having for its object the
grant of the name of Blagoslovenni (benedictus), was car-
ried nem. contradicente. A solemn deputation was then
ordered to convey to him the respectful resolution of the
body, and Kourakin, Soltigov, and Tormasov, set out to
meet him on his journey.
Besides the titular honour, it was proposed to commemo-
rate his conduct during this war in a more substantial way,
and a subscription was entered into for the purpose of
PETERSBURG.
325
raising a triumphal arch on the road through which his
majesty was to approach the city. It was commenced in
wood, to be renewed in stone, and an elegant design
given by Signor Guarenghi for its construction. But of all
these, the most judicious compliment was the offering pre-
pared by the provincial government of Petersburg. They
caused to be made two silver salvers, handsomely decorated
with emblematical carved work, and on these they intended
to present him with bread and salt, the old compliments of
a Russian welcome. The building of the triumphal arch
was afterwards stopped by imperial command, the title
refused, and the last mentioned was the only tribute of
public gratitude which he condescended to accept.
The mention of a certain royal family that swelled the
train of the empress dowager may perhaps have created the
surprise of some of my readers; we ourselves, indeed, felt no
small astonishment at their first appearance. Independent
of the interest attached to their situation, it was impossible
not to notice them from their singularity of air and mien.
The princes were handsome men, but the princesses, though
not young, displayed features of unparalleled beauty: they
were dressed with small round coifs upon their heads, from
which a long white veil, open in front, descended to their
feet, lending by its novel fashion a new grace to the elegance
of their persons. The cause of the flight of the court of
Teflis to Petersburg may be shortly detailed. The country
of Georgia had been long exposed to the intrigues of its two
powerful neighbours, Russia and Persia, and become, partly
326
PETERSBURG.
through their means, the constant prey of civil war. The
ancient royal family was deposed early in the last century,
and though with a view to tranquillise all existing differences,
a red and white rose union was brought about by intermar-
riage with the usurper's family, yet this step afforded only
a short repose; jealousies and factions, gathering strength
from temporary intermission, soon broke out with more
animosity than before. In the end, finding himself unable
to withstand at once the attacks of his domestic as well as
foreign enemies, the tsar George Heraclievitch voluntarily
surrendered his kingdom to Paul the Emperor of Russia.
Handsome appointments at Petersburg were by stipulation
to be provided in return, and in the year 1801, his whole
family arrived at Moscow. But it was reserved for the
Emperor Alexander to fulfil this contract, which was done
as soon as the confused state of things at the death of the
late emperor would allow, and Georgia is in consequence
now placed under the administration of a Russian governor.
The rigour of the season, which we had felt in the pre-
ceding winter at Stockholm, had been extended with more
than equal severity to this place; the mercury in the ther-
mometer was observed at 33° of Reaumur, or 74° below the
freezing point of Fahrenheit, in the month of January last,
at least eight or ten degrees lower than in an ordinary year.
Upon this many precautionary measures were adopted
by the care of the police. The public stoves set up in
various parts of the city were kept constantly lighted, and
the theatres were ordered to be shut, as is always done when
PETERSBURG.
327
the cold reaches 20°. On the day of its greatest excess,
guards were stationed on the side of the town towards
Cronstadt, in order to prevent any of the poor classes from
attempting a passage over the ice to that place: so long
a journey without shelter would infallibly prove fatal to
any person attempting it on foot, particularly those whose
clothing was not of the warmest kind; and no one, I should
add, in Russia is allowed to hazard a life that, if no in-
termediate claimant occurs, at any rate belongs to the
emperor.
The hospitals abounded with miserable objects, frost-
bitten in their extremities, and several people were daily
sacrificed. This season, however, to mention the blessings
as well as curses of the climate, was reckoned extremely
advantageous to the poor; it had not been interrupted by
a single day's thaw, so that they kept their provisions
for the frozen market during the whole of the winter un-
tainted, and these articles form with a large class their
chief dependence for their livelihood.
It is worthy of remark, that the ice of the river was a
foot less in thickness than in former seasons, the average
being about one yard; so plentiful a coating of snow
had fallen upon it early in the winter, as in great measure
to afford protection against the increased action of the
frost.
The snow might be expected therefore to be accu-
mulated to an enormous extent, but neither was this the
case, nor indeed can it very well take place at any time:
A
328
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for the constant evaporation carried on from every part of
its surface diminishes its bulk to an extraordinary degree,
and I seldom observed it, unless within a few days after a
very heavy fall, to lie at a depth of more than one foot in
any open spot.
In the habitations of the wealthier classes the rooms
are kept at an unvarying temperature of about 14° + during
the winter by means of stoves; a practice that serves ef-
fectually to restore the perspiration if it has been checked
by staying out of doors, as well as provides a remedy for
any want of tone which the body may have acquired.
There is no need to enlarge upon this subject; it is un-
doubtedly true that the constitution is not so liable to
catarrh and complaints of that nature here as in the more
temperate climate of England, though prejudice may con-
demn the means.
In fact, the nice observance of cold, and the means of
defending the body from its attacks, are as much a matter
of study and science in these parts as that of guarding
against excess of heat is become in the south: it is only in
the countries situate between these extremes, where the
obligation is not so imperative, that danger on such points
arises from ignorance and neglect. As to the nature of the
variation of the Russian climate, the atmosphere is not cer-
tainly very frequently charged with moisture, seldom in-
deed except at the turn of the seasons; but the change from
hot to cold is infinitely more abrupt, and a decrease of 34 of
Fahrenheit in the course of a single night is not uncommon.
f
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329
This season calls to recollection the extravagant humours
of the late Emperor Paul, who, even in the depth of winter,
forbad his officers the use of any sort of pelisses, and pub-
lished, moreover, an ukase, enjoining all men, civil or mili-
tary, to stand still and unbutton and open their coats or
cloaks as he passed by, in order to see whether they
were dressed in conformity with his whimsical regulations.
An English merchant, who had accidentally neglected the
observance of this rule, was instantly attacked by the
police: he pleaded in excuse, that he laboured under the
misfortune of a short sight, and had not, which was really
the case, observed the emperor's carriage as it approached.
On this ground the threatened punishment was remitted
but the next morning an ukase came out, ordering Mr
B― never to stir abroad again without spectacles, and
B-
the police were charged to see the decree put in execution.
Without being exposed to the unpleasant effect of such
ordinances, it was with no small pleasure that we beheld
the first symptoms of the return of milder weather. In the
beginning of April the snow carpeting of the streets shewed
signs of decay, and the stones of purple granite, or, as they
are called, the violets of Petersburg, began to shew them-
selves; it was not, however, a vernal season that succeeded,
but one that bore much the same temperature as an ordi-
nary winter in England.
April 14.-The masses of ice on some of the higher parts
of the river now began to separate, and large flakes were
per-
U U
330
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ceived passing with the current* underneath the surface of
the river near the town; for here it was still entire, since
the frequent roads and paths that crossed it in every di-
rection gave it a harder and firmer consistence. At length
the pools of water produced from the influence of the sun
on the surface began to disappear, the ice assumed a grey
colour, and indicated the approach of the great event, that
was regarded with so much earnestness-the breaking up of
the Neva.
On the 18th of this month the police, ever careful of the
lives of his imperial majesty's subjects, were observed to
station their guards on the river side to prevent any per-
son from adventuring across, and a severe beating was
the sure punishment to any one whose rashness tempted
him to hazard the experiment. We were soon convinced
they were no mean judges with regard to time: on the
next day, at seven o'clock in the morning, fresh symptoms
of the expected dissolution became visible. The quays
were lined with spectators, and many a wager on the first
parting of the great sheet was to be lost and won. Pre-
sently portions of ice in the centre of the river began to
sink, the holes rapidly increased, in a few minutes the
mass split in various directions, and every part was at once
set in motion, grating and tearing flake against flake under
the heavy pressure of the current.
* It is this circumstance which proves so destructive to the piers and founda-
tions of buildings on the river side, cutting to pieces the timbers, and frequently,
by its buoyancy, tearing them up.
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PETERSBURG,
From this moment the three quarters of the city were.
entirely cut off from communication with each other; the
passage for boats was not only attended with danger, but ac-
tually prohibited, and the bridges were useless, being always
loosened at one end, and parting with the stroke of the ice
to one side or the other, so as to afford no obstruction.
In the course of three days, however, the river became
tolerably clear, and at twelve o'clock on the 22d a salute
was fired from the fortress to announce the passage of the
governor and suite, who annually presents a goblet of pure
river water to the emperor or any of the family resident at
the palace. After this ceremony was gone through, the
ferrymen dashed fearlessly through the stream, each striv-
ing with emulation to be the first to reach the opposite
shore, and a free passage was open to all.
On the 1st of May, a day which is kept as a fête
throughout the North, a promenade is made en voiture to
Catherinoff, whither the empress and all the gay world re-
pair in mutual congratulation to hail the first burst of the
genial season. Vegetation, however, as yet, shewed itself
but scantily; on the hills of Finland, and the higher
grounds towards the south of the city, some slight symp-
toms of verdure were to be traced; but the plains below
were on every side still covered with the same mantle of
brown.
On the 15th a cruel reverse took place: the weather,
which never is settled till the ice from the Ladoga has come
down, was disturbed by the blast of a northerly wind: the
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surface of the river was again strewed with icy flakes,
reaching in continuance from the mouth of the lake to the
sea shore, chilling the air for many a mile, and bringing
with them a second winter. Their passage was accom-
panied by a fall of snow and a hard frost, both highly un-
acceptable, though no more than had been predicted by
those acquainted with the climate, who always, indeed,
speak of the shock of this season as more prejudicial to the
health than the rigour of all the previous winter. After
this, to our inexpressible delight, the river again grew clear.
It was indeed a fortunate event, for the duration of the
passage of the ice is various, sometimes lasting for a fort-
night, or even longer. It must be at all times uncer-
tain; for it is obvious, only a small part of the immense
mass that covers the Ladoga can be conveyed through
the comparatively narrow channel of the Neva: the rest is
broken on its shore, and melted down as the season ad-
vances; but of course, as long as the northerly breeze con-
tinues, the river is always served with a constant supply
from above. The appearance of these flakes is worth ob-
serving: their texture is so rotten as to yield to the slightest
concussion; their surface is completely honey-combed; and
on being taken into the hand they separate into small thin
spicula, perhaps formed by the melting of the snow, that
before overspread them.
When all this had passed away, the bridges were again
established, and we began to congratulate ourselves on the
assurance of the times. Among other symptoms of the
PETERSBURG.
333
improvement of the weather, one in which we felt most
interested was the arrival of the mails from England; for
upwards of thirty-six were now due, an arrear almost un-
precedented in the course of any former winter.
May 29.-Spring and autumn are seasons that might
be well omitted in the Russian calendar; from summer to
winter, or winter to summer, is only one step. Scarcely
had a complete week now elapsed when the trees, that
before hardly shewed their buds, were clothed in full leaf,
and afforded a refreshing shelter against the sun,
whose rays
were already too warm to be agreeable; and the face of
nature was every where renewed to a state of beauty, of
which one had almost lost the remembrance. In the fer-
vency of the ostentatious gratitude that characterises the
Russian church, the verdure annually receives a solemn
benediction; the places of worship, as well as private
houses, are filled with the consecrated boughs born by
the devotees; and on the first Sunday after Ascension-
day, the same priests, who poured their blessing on the
frozen water in the winter*, hail, with similar ceremonies,
the summer vegetation. The fête was farther solemnised by
another promenade to Catherinoff as before: coaches,
droshkas, landaus, caleches, every carriage that could be
produced, was pressed into service, and by the returns it
appeared that above 2000 made their appearance in the
procession. The eternally vexatious police were again in
*This is performed on the 6th of January, O. S.
334
PETERSBURG.
attendance, and they preserved the strictest order, not to say
most tiresome regularity: all the carriages were ranged in
lines passing and repassing, and while perpetually watched
by the corps of spies, it was impossible, on any excuse, to
change your direction. On the following day was a pro-
menade on foot in the summer gardens.
Perhaps the greatest singularities in a spectacle of this
sort are the numerous decorations of Russian knighthood,
which seem worn by persons of all ranks and descriptions:
St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. Alexander Newsky, St.
George, St. Vladomir, St. Anne, and the cross of Malta;
with all their several classes and gradations. Some military
officers, lately returned from Paris, appeared to carry a
bouquet of ribbons on their breasts. Chevalier de plusieurs
ordres, or even de tous les ordres de l'empire, is not a title
very uncommon: the great cross of St. Andrew indeed
gives a right to wear all the other insignia, except the first
of St. George. This may be called perhaps the most
honourable badge of merit that any European sovereign
has it in his power to bestow in reward of services: by the
rules of its institution, it can only be granted to those
officers who have won a general battle as commander in
chief; and had been worn by only four knights previous
to the investiture of Kutusow. Other decorations are
granted with such profusion as to challenge but little
distinction for their wearer; one, indeed, of the emperor's
valets is adorned with the fourth class of a most respectable
order.
PETERSBURG.
335
The Maltese cross used to be sold for a stipulated sum,
and was bought and worn, not only by men young and old,
but also by several chevaleresque ladies resident at Peters-
burg. But the validity of the right, by which the honour
can be conferred by the emperor, is liable to some question:
the claimants to the grand-mastership of the order of St.
John were more than one, and the Emperor Paul's title
none of the strongest. He was called to the vacant dignity
(in pursuance of his own recommendation) by an irregular
chapter, composed of a few accidental chevaliers at Peters-
burg, at the time when the French, finding themselves
unable to keep possession of Malta, made a cession of it to
Russia just as it was about to yield to the British arms.
This mock election was followed by the ridiculous farce of
dispatching Count Litta a few miles out of the town, with
directions to return in quality of an ambassador from
the knights of Malta, declaring himself charged with full
power to invest his imperial majesty with the insignia of
the title he so much coveted. The self-appointed envoy
was received in due form at the palace, and the emperor,
being completely satisfied, distributed crosses, grand crosses,
and pennyless commanderies without reserve.
The objects of curiosity at Petersburg are numerous:
the winter gardens of the Taurida Palace, and the hanging
gardens of the Palais d' Hyver, as well as those of Prince
Gazarin, are true specimens of Russian luxury. The for-
mer is a shrubbery planted with evergreens, inclosed in a
spacious saloon, and has been often described; the latter
336
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are parterres warmed by heated flues: they are raised on
terraces to the level of the first or second story of the
house; whither having mounted, the stranger, to his great
surprise, finds himself ushered into shady walks, and trees,
and groves. The Mikhail Palace, built by Paul, is singu-
lar only for its whimsical taste, and as the scene of the
murder of its founder. The imperial palaces of Czarskoselo,
Peterhof, and Oranienbaum, have but little claim to distinc-
tion; they are spacious country seats built from the designs
of foreign architects, with gardens in the English style. It
is scarcely worthy of remark that at Peterhof we were
shewn the picture of the naval engagement in Tchesmi
Bay; the same for the sake of which a ship of 300 tons
was bought and set on fire at Leghorn, by the order of Ca-
therine II. that her painter might learn to represent, in
true colours, the explosion that occurred during this cele-
brated battle. What his unassisted imagination would
have produced is a difficult problem to resolve, perhaps
nothing better; but here he certainly has completely failed
in his undertaking.
June 1.-Finding ourselves on the coast of Oranienbaum,
we embarked for Cronstadt, from the same shore whence
Peter III. set sail for this fortress, upon the breaking
out of the conspiracy of his consort. Being furnished with
permission from the governor-for without this we should,
like his majesty, have met with a rebuff―we were admitted,
and carried to view the town, the harbour, and the forti-
fications.
PETERSBURG,
337
It is a naval station, situated conveniently enough for
the defence of Petersburg, at about 10 leagues distance:
two passages lead to the mouth of the Neva, one on the
north, the other on the south, both commanded by islands
strongly fortified. The fort of Cronslot is the most consi-
derable of these: it is formed of a pentagonal rampart rising
directly from the water, with two tier of embrasures for
cannon; the whole constructed in solid masonry of granite,
of which material, indeed, all the works are now renewed
that were originally built by Peter I. of wood.
The arsenal and docks of Cronstadt are similarly for-
tified towards the sea, having the appearance of great
strength; though on the side of the west, looking to the
remaining part of the island, the place is very slenderly
defended.
The display of shipping was not very large: about 30
English vessels lay in the Merchant's Mole; on the other
side were eight sail of the line, and one more was in
dock; but to add to the shew, the fleet from England was
expected to arrive in the course of the month. We saw the
camels which are used for the ships launched at the docks of
Petersburg, in order to enable them to surmount the bar
at the river mouth: they consisted of two immense wooden
caissons, made to fit on each side, so as to embrace the hull
of the ship; for that purpose they are filled with water, then
sunk, and grappled on; this done, the water is pumped out,
and the whole mass buoyed up together, so as to lessen the
draught by many feet. These machines are not unique
X X
338
PETERSBURG.
of their kind; the same are in use at Hamburgh, and they were
adopted in a certain way by the French at Venice, to carry
their ships over the lagunes, with their ordnance and am-
munition on board, at the time they were in danger from
the activity of the English cruisers in the vicinity.
The docks at Cronstadt are cut in the shape of a cross,
with a bason in the centre: each of the three arms is made
capable of receiving two ships, one ahead of the other, the
fourth being left clear for the entrance: the whole was lined
with granite, and provided with the requisite apparatus of
pumps. The construction of their ships is not a charge of
so light a nature to the Russian government as might be
expected, except in the case of those furnished from the
dockyard at Archangel, which are entirely of fir; but oak
is used at Cronstadt, and is very expensive, on account of
the distance whence it is brought, coming chiefly from the
province of Casan. The actual cost to government I have
no means of ascertaining: the merchant vessels are ge-
nerally calculated about 100 R. per ton; which is cheap
in comparison of what is generally paid in England, but
not so low as might be supposed on the coast of the Baltic.
Complaints are raised here also, as with us, of the defective
nature of the timber employed in the dock-yards: their
ships last, on an average, about fourteen years; nevertheless,
in one or two instances, they have been condemned and
broken up after a service of only four.
It is remarkable that the timber of many of the old
wooden dwellings, built in the time of Peter the Great, have
PETERSBURG.
339
frequently been found perfectly sound, even to the day
of their being pulled down, appearing, even now, much
more likely to resist decay than any that have been used
within the last twenty or thirty years. It may be said,
however, and perhaps with truth, that only those houses
where the timber was originally of the best quality have
thus defied the lapse of years, and remained for the inspec-
tion of succeeding architects.
With regard to the ordnance one peculiarity may be
mentioned, that the pieces are furnished with a small spike
on the ring of the muzzle, elevated so as to give the line
of vision from the breech exactly parallel with the bore
of the piece: a similar scheme is generally adopted in the
English carronades for the sea service. But this provision
seems to have been made in all the old Russian cannon,
even of the reign of Ivan IV., of which sufficient examples
are seen in the imperial arsenal. Here, also, another inge-
nious contrivance, equally adapted for acquiring precision
in firing at an horizontal range, is displayed in some of
their artillery, a few of which, calculated for balls of
three or four pound weight, were made with rifle barrels.
They were evidently, by their shape, of certain antiquity,
and one bore the date of the reign of Michael Feodorowitz
in the 16th century, a period certainly long anterior to the
use of the rifle-barrelled guns in the rest of Europe. We
were told that the invention had been long known in cer-
tain parts of Russia, and the peasants in the government
of Olonetz, who are celebrated as marksmen, were said to
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have had among them fowling pieces on this construction
long anterior to that time.
Having mentioned these instances of Russian ingenuity,
it is not unfair to state a circumstance which does not re-
flect much credit on the skill of their workmen. About
the beginning of the month, the greatest part of the plaister
ornaments of the ceiling of the Casan church fell down, leav-
ing the vault in many places quite bare. The accident hap-
pened to the infinite joy of the foreigners employed in the
architectural line, and discomfiture of the natives; but
the fact was that the iron claws, necessary to sustain the
coffer and roses in the several compartments of the roof, had
been made too small, either through knavish parsimony, or
ignorance and neglect. If the former was the case, the
persons employed deserve serious punishment from the
police, as the lives of his imperial majesty's subjects were
endangered thereby if the latter, it must be confessed.
it was done in the usual style of Russian workmanship,
where any specimen is imitated to the eye with wonderful
neatness and precision, but the solidity or durability, in-
separable from the productions of a well practised artisan,
are qualities neither known nor thought of.
助
​341
SECTION IV.
FROM PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW AND SMOLENSKO.
Road of Peter I.-Peasantry-Criminal Justice-Novgorod
the Great-Tartar Cottages-Barrows, &c.-Valdai-
Canal of Vishni Volotchok-Communications with Sibe-
ria-Twer-Approach of the French in 1812-Alarm in
these Districts, and again at the Capital-Mistaken Ex-
pectations of the French-Devotion of the Nobles and the
People State of Affairs kept secret at Moscow-Sudden
Arrival of the French Conflagration-Present Appear-
ance of Moscow-Anecdotes of Sufferers during the Occupa-
tion-Condition of the French Army-Kremlin: Part de-
stroyed by Explosion-Extraordinary Instance of Supersti-
tion-Magnificence of the Kremlin-Imperial Coronation,
&c.-Mode of living among the Nobles-Trade of Moscow
with Boukhara, &c.-Devitchi Nunnery-Repairs of the
City since the Conflagration-Relief afforded to the In-
habitants -Conduct of the Peasantry-Evacuation of
Moscow-Return of the Russian Troops, &c.-Mojaisk—
Field of Borodino-Viasma-Inveteracy of the Rustics
against the French-Difficulties of the Retreat-Stand
made at Dorogobusch-Misery of the French-Cruelty of
342
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
the Russian Peasants-Smolensko-Disorganised State of
the French Army-Its Cause and Consequence.
JUNE
A
UNE 12.-We had for some time been in preparation to
leave Petersburg; our names, as is necessary, had been ad-
vertised three times in the gazette, our podarashna or order
for horses procured, and our passports had gone through
all the tedious formalities required by the regulations of
the police we set out, therefore, on this day on our
journey for Moscow. A few versts from the city barriers in-
troduced to our notice the wooden road constructed by
Peter the Great to his new built city: it is of singular con-
struction, an elevated causeway, carried in one long, level,
unvarying, straight line for many a league, over marsh and
bog, and through thick forests of birch and fir. On each
side is an esplanade, cleared for the breadth of about a
hundred yards, for the accommodation of cattle coming up
for market, and the same provision is made by law on all
the great provincial roads; by which means the journey, even
of two months from the Ukraine to Petersburg, becomes
practicable at no great expense to the graziers, and without
much fatigue or injury to their herd.
The causeway is thus constructed: three poles or sleepers
are laid lengthways on the ground, over these is a floor-
ing of small trees closely compacted and pinned down at
the edges with a piece of timber used as a kirb; in very
marshy situations, two of such floorings are generally used.

II.James del
ROAD to MOSCOW from a Spot near NOVGOROD.
London, Published by 1.Murray, Albemarle Street, 1810.
Etched by the Ion Legge.
OF
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
343
The trees are here and there, in villages for instance, neatly
joined together; but in other parts, where the round trunks
only occur, the incessant jolting of the carriage over so un-
even a surface is the source of many a bruise to the weary
traveller. The inhabitants of Russia are too familiar with
this inconvenience not to have found means of alleviating
it, and they universally fill their travelling carriages with
soft pillows taken from their beds, which give a particularly
luxurious though grotesque appearance to their equipages.
We passed two German colonies planted by Catherine,
near Petersburg, for the improvement of agriculture; but
beyond these settlements every thing was in a state of un-
cultivated nature.
The roar of the wolves indeed (which we actually heard
during the night), a sound scarcely more dissonant than the
unceasing song of the shaggy Mougik that drove the car-
riage, was yet sufficient to afford a hint of the sort of coun-
try we were traversing, though only between thirty and forty
versts distant from the great metropolis. The inhabitants
of these parts, the peasant race, seem as wild savages just
caught from the woods, with whom you can only hold con-
verse through the medium of a rouble or a thick stick,
either of the two are equally efficacious, and both some-
times necessary. They lie out day and night, sleeping on
their sheepskins by the road-side, careless of any enjoy-
ment but those of animal existence. Our driver seized a
rope, and, as we passed, most soundly thrashed two of these
creatures who were asleep before the house door; the hairy
344
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
brutes awoke, half raised themselves, stared about, but find-
ing the blow was not from their master, and that nothing
was required, composed themselves again in the dirt to sleep
as before. I have seen an hundred quarrels in Petersburg,
but never saw one blow struck, unless by a superior: it is
not, indeed, ever held so much a mark of anger, as an asser-
tion of superiority, and where respect is due, is put up
with
accordingly.
All general occurrences in their routine of life are met
with a sort of stupid good humour; and the practical jokes
of which this class seem so fond are given and taken in
turn.
As contrasted with their rude appearance, it has a sin-
gular effect to observe the strict regularity with which they
cross themselves at every church or oratory by the road ;
as also to remark the ceremonious salutations they con-
stantly use towards each other on meeting. The meanest
Mougik takes off his cap to the meanest Mougik his friend;
he walks hand in hand with him, and kisses him on the
cheek when they part, each calling the other by the endear-
ing appellation of brother. In the same way they speak of
their master or the emperor, with a sort of filial respect,
always coupling with his name the title of father. Similar
forms of external courtesy, at least in salutation, occur to
one's recollection as being practised by the common people
both in Sweden and in Scotland; but in neither is it mani-
fested so strikingly as here.
A stranger would be inclined almost to attribute these
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
345
expressions of fraternal feeling in the Russian boors to a
sense of their companionship in misery. It is really painful
to humanity to see these miserable rustics chained in pairs,
working or begging on the road-side, when, perhaps, their
only crime is to have offended the whim of their master.
On their part, however, they seem by no means alive to any
sentiment of disgrace or degradation; their situation seldom
checks their mirth, but they sing even in their fetters as
loudly and noisily as ever.
All those who are so punished are not, nevertheless, to
be supposed entirely undeserving of their lot; many are sen-
tenced for petty thefts, others for their debts, and so on:
but they are confounded together, servant, debtor, or male-
factor, all in one prison, and sometimes linked in the same
chain. The limitation of arrests has been before alluded
to; it is sufficient to add, that personal liberty is held so
cheap in this country, that the sum of one rouble and a
half is sufficient to place a man in a state of confinement.
+
Corporal punishment, as adjudged by law (it only be-
longs to these classes) is usually inflicted with the battorge
or rod on the buttocks; where heavier offences require
severer chastisement, the knout is applied. The instru
ment is a whip made of dried fish-skin cut to a point and
fastened on a steel handle; the executioners are said to be
so expert in the use of it, that they can inflict a mortal
wound with fifteen or twenty blows: this is not often re-
sorted to, and when it is done, it is generally supposed to
Y Y
346
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
be under a private injunction from the judge: for the prin-
ciple of legislation in Russia, like the mistaken clemency
of the American government, forbids any tribunal to pass
sentence of death upon a malefactor. The regulation
here exists in consequence of an ukase of the Empress
Anne, by virtue of which the punishment of 200 lashes
with the knout, the tearing off the nostrils with red hot
pincers, a journey on foot to Siberia, and perpetual con-
demnation to the mines, is substituted as a more humane
species of retribution for capital crimes.
To assist the preservation of order in the country, a
civil magistrate, called the Captain Yprasnik, is nominated
in every district, being an officer who was intended by
Catherine II. to supply the place of a justice of the peace,
and he is vested with the same powers as that important
functionary in England: but the scheme failed from want
of persons properly qualified in point of information as well
as character and rank, to take upon themselves the dis-
charge of such duties. The place was not gratuitous, a
fixed salary being allowed; from the smallness of which,
none but the poorest members of the nobility (men ill
adapted in every way) were found to accept the appoint-
ment.
After making 180 versts, we approached Novgorod Ve-
liki, Novgorod the Great, a city whose antiquity amounts
as high as the fifth century, and one whose splendour under
her dukes, as well as subsequent power and wealth under a
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
347
republican* form of administration, occupy a large portion
of the Russian history. The spirit of liberty was once felt
in this nation now so degraded, although it never made
those vigorous shoots which it did among the other nations
of the north. The crown was originally elective, and the
boiars, of whom we read so much, were a sort of permanent
house of peers, without whose advice the czar never dared to
act; their influence, both direct and indirect, seems to
have been very considerable in the concerns of the empire.
They made but little figure, however, after the days of
Tartar oppression, when a new system and new ideas seem
to have changed the face of every thing in Russia: while
the absolute power acquired by succeeding sovereigns, ren-
dered necessary, indeed, by the confusion and anarchy of
the times, entirely overwhelmed the small remains of their
former authority.
But to return to Novgorod, though it once contained
more than 400,000 inhabitants, and covered an area of 63
versts in circumference, little now is left to remind the
traveller of its former grandeur. The streets presented
mouldering walls, empty courts, churches in decay, and a
* The administration of Novgorod very nearly resembled that of the free
cities of Germany at the present day. The officers were as follows:
Posadnik (bourgomaster) annual.
Tyriatski, an officer who tempers, by his authority, the exercise of the power
of the posadnik.
Boiars (senators) elected from the citizens.
Starosta (police officer).
Namestnik, an officer of the grand duke.
348
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
few dwellings thinly scattered amidst large void spaces of
desolation. We were shewn, nevertheless, though it was
almost the only relic, a house formerly occupied by Marpha
Posadnitza, or widow of the Posadnik, an intriguing he-
roine, who headed the troops of the city against the hosts
of Ivan III., and supported the last efforts that were made
by the declining republic: at her decease the liberties of
Novgorod were extinguished for ever. Not content, how-
ever, with its humiliation, the conqueror caused the most
horrible massacres to be committed, whose consequences,
together with the atrocious cruelties that succeeded in the
reign of Ivan IV., were such as to reduce the great city to
its present condition of poverty and insignificance.
The walls of the Kremlin still remain, containing within
their circle the church of St. Sophia, with the tombs
of Vladomir and Feodor, and the brass gates brought (says
Gibbon) from Kherson in the Crimea at the time of Vla-
domir's expedition against the Greek empire. There were
also some curious specimens of architecture as well as of
painting, of the date of the 11th or 12th century; the latter
have been much celebrated, but I think do not possess any
great interest, being apparently retouched, or rather re-
newed. These matters did not delay us very long; and since
our curiosity was not sufficient to tempt us to visit the mill-
stone on which St. Anthony was carried from Rome to his
church at Novogorod, we rested ourselves, repaired our
carriage, for it was already necessary, and continued our
route.

Etched by the Home Legge.
UNI
OF
ICH
II.James 27
VILLAGE of BRONNIZUI, NOVGOROD
London, Published by IMurray Albemarle Street, 118.
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
349
Several barrows were to be seen in these stages; they
were, for the most part, situated on the side of the river
Msta, varying perpetually in figure and form: conical,
circumvallated, truncated, &c. General tradition attri-
butes their erection to the Tartars; and the idea is certainly
far from improbable, since the troops of the Golden Horde
were repulsed by the army of Novgorod somewhere within
this district. The same origin is ascribed to the fantastical
taste that adorns the cottages in these parts, which being a
style entirely new to us, deserves description. These dwell-
ings are built of large round logs of timber, resembling in
construction those we before mentioned as having seen in
Ingria. and differing only in fashion. Their high gable
roofs project to an enormous length over the front, some-
times overhanging as much as sixteen or eighteen feet, pro-
fusely carved and adorned with small pendants at the ex-
tremities, in the form of which, as well as their collocation,
a curious resemblance may be traced between them and
the houses in the northernmost parts of the Tyrol; they are
similar also in this respect, that the communications in
the upper story are carried on by means of a gallery out-
side of the wall. I know, however, no reason to account
for these coincidences.
On the 14th we arrived at Walda, a modern Polish
colony, which exhibits strong traces of its origin in the
beauty and complexion of the women. In point of situa-
tion, it is an Oasis in the desert; the town itself well built,
and placed romantically enough on the banks of a small
350
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
lake. In the centre of this is a woody island, crowned
with the glittering domes of a Greek monastery; and the
whole scene around glows with that luxuriant interchange
of white and red, and green and gold, that enters so
largely into the composition of a Russian view. The rising
grounds which we had surmounted before our arrival at the
town, are denominated in this level country the Waldai
mountains. They form, in fact, the highest point of ele-
vation between the Gulf of Finland and the Euxine sea;
the rivers taking from hence their course in both directions.
Induced by this circumstance, Peter I. looked upon the
spot as affording the means of organising a scheme of com-
munication by water between the north and south of his
empire. He accordingly opened a canal, which has met
with much success since his day, and become the great
channel of circulation for the produce of the remotest
points. On one side a passage is open through the Twertza
and the Volga to Astracan and the Caspian sea: on the
other, through the lake Ilmen, the Volkof, the Ladoga, and
the Neva, to Petersburg and the Baltic; while again from
the east are brought the merchandise of China and produce
of the Siberian mines.
This grand scheme, however, was not to be effected
without difficulty; though the ascent and descent to the
Twertza was accomplished by ordinary locks: the fall of
ground towards the Msta required different management
to render it in any way practicable for navigation. But
Peter I. was not to be discouraged: an immense reservoir
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
351
was constructed, which, by collecting the water from the
small lakes in the neighbourhood, supplies a stream suf-
ficient to carry the boats down these steeps: this neces-
sarily flows off rapidly, and therefore is husbanded with care;
vessels being only permitted to pass once in eight or ten
days, in caravans of 15 or 20 at a time.
The nature of this voyage is curious enough when they
are all assembled, which is done by beat of drum, the
sluices are opened, and they follow one another with the
flush of water down the precipitous passage, called the
Borovitsky falls. Sundry provisions are made for their
safety. In the most difficult windings of the river are
moored large buoys which throw round the head of the
boat when it strikes against them, if their sweeps have
failed of their purpose; and in case any accident should
occur, the Cossacks who are stationed at certain intervals
instantly give notice above, when the sluices are closed and
the supply of the current cut off. This dangerous course
continues for near 33 versts; and with a view to their secu-
rity, each boat is built slight and supple, and the freight
set apart by an open space of one or two feet in the
middle, so as to give room for the play of the timbers of
her frame, which is sometimes so much shaken that the
two sides of the cargo are brought to meet. To remount
the cataracts is impossible; the vessels, therefore, are all
burnt for fire-wood at Petersburg.
The conception of a scheme like this is unique of its
sort perhaps in the world; how much, therefore, are we
352
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
bound to admire the mind of Peter I. that gave it birth,
ạt such a time among such a people. For the sake of
comparison with our own country, we may add that the
first river made navigable in England was the Thames,
under an act of parliament passed in the reign of James I.;
and the first commercial canal which was cut, I believe, was
that from the Mersey to St. Helens, at no earlier period
than the middle of the last century.
The route of the caravans coming by water from China
and Siberia may excite some curiosity, for they are
brought chiefly by water; from Kiachta they make their
voyage by the Selenga and the Baikal, the Angara, Ton-
gouska, Jeneissei rivers, without interruption; here, how-
ever, they disembark and travel 60 versts over land to the
Kett, thence by the Obi, the Irtisch, the Tobolsk, into
the Isset; after which they again quit their boats, and
make about 60 versts over the Oural mountains to the
Tschoussovaya, and then by the Kama, the Wolga, and the
Twertza, to this place and to Petersburg. The expenses
of these journies, as well as the distances, have been before
stated when treating of Siberia.
The facilitating the communications by water has been
made a particular object of attention with the Russian
government. The Mariensky canal, between the Kofgia
and the Vitegra in the north, and the Ladoga canal, for
the purpose of avoiding the dangerous passage of the lake,
are completed. The junction of the Markta and the Volga,
the Oka and the Don, the Priepicz with the Niemen and
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
353
the Bog, the improvement of the navigation of the Dnieper,
all schemes projected, and some in an advanced state, are
sufficient examples of the attention they have bestowed on
this matter. These matters are, without exception, the
undertakings of the crown; it is not to be expected indeed
that the speculation of individuals should hazard much on
such concerns.
The carriage of goods by land, however advisable
these plans may be, is carried on at an extremely cheap
rate; and, during the winter, the nature of their climate
allows still greater facilities for the conveyance of heavy
loads than at this time of the year.
It is by giving aid to her domestic circulation that the
real national wealth of Russia must be accumulated :
every circumstance conspires to point out the necessity of
improving her internal advantages before she should look
to those ultimate objects which she now vainly hopes to
attain. Her condition places insurmountable obstacles in
the way of her manufacturing trade, and the struggle is
useless.
Bounded on the north by Tornea and the Frozen Sea,
on the south by the Sireth, the Danube, the Oural, the
Aras, and the Caspian; occupying from east to west an
extent of 170°; she possesses within herself every variety
of climate and soil, and almost every species of vegetable
and mineral production that foreign trade can offer for her
supply. It is by the cultivation of these means, and the
amalgamating and equalising, as far as possible, the several
Z Z
354
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
local bounties of nature, that the country must hope to
thrive.
Of the promise held out by speculations in this line
many instances might be given, but it will be sufficient to
mention one, which bears a reference to the standard food
of Russia. I have been informed that a coul of rye has
been sold at Chevalinsk, on the Volga, for one rouble,
at the same time that the price in Petersburg market was
no less than nineteen. The point, however, receives the
best illustration from the uncommon activity of the transport
trade, which is displayed in every direction, and this neither
regulated, as is the case in other affairs, by the interference
of the government, or, indeed, requiring any ascititious aid
for its support.
We seldom met less than from four to
six caravans each day, consisting of strings of twenty or
thirty single horsed carts, carrying half a ton each; these
were in motion at all times and in all parts; wherever a
plain was open to our view they appeared like ants over
the face of the earth, realising a prospect of lucrative
traffic, to the extension of whose concerns no possible limit
could be drawn. They were laden, some with the produce
of the neighbourhood, and some with that of the southern
districts; tallow, leather, bristles, hides, &c., all bound for
Petersburg: those on their return carried colonial produce,
of various sorts, to the interior: sugar, coffee, logwood and
other articles for dyeing; a few of them, much to our sur-
prise, were freighted with small cargoes of English lead, for
we were told it could be afforded at a cheaper rate here
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
355
than the metal brought from the Siberian mines. The cir-
cumstance makes in favour of the views of the Russian
government as to the necessity of the improvement of the
means of internal circulation, but bears an irrefragable testi-
mony to the impropriety of giving a check to foreign com-
merce at this present time.
The Russian leather, another great article of trans-
port, was manufactured in abundance at Torjok, our next
stage. It is tanned with oak bark in general, and coloured
with cochineal, a perfume being added by the use of a cer-
tain oil, the nature of which is kept a secret in the manu-
factories. Torjok contained nothing else very remarkable.
The town was pretty, the country wild and bare: the
costume of the people chiefly attracted our attention: it
is varied in almost every province of Russia, and here
bore the strongest marks of an oriental character, both
from the small double horned coif, as also from the long
white shawls in which the women were enveloped from the
crown of their heads to their feet: underneath this was worn
an habit fitted to the body like a gown, and even amongst
the lowest classes, gorgeously ornamented. They were
coloured blue or red, bordered with broad stripes of varie-
gated lace, made with open sleeves and a profusion of foil
and beads. The men were dressed generally in red shirts,
worn over trowsers of blue or white; their legs bound up with
dirty rag or thick rings of woollen, and their feet thrust
into shoes, matted of the bark of the lime-tree. In their
girdles, they usually carried an hatchet, which is the fac-
356
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
totum of a Russian clown, and wielded with the dexterity
which all savages accustomed to the use of a single instru-
ment invariably acquire.
As for travelling, we journeyed according to the preju-
dices of the country with four horses abreast, and some-
times, where the wooden road was damaged or in want of
repair, we employed six. The part of the Russian apparatus
which seems most worthy of admiration is a bow of wood
arched at an height of two feet above the horse's shoulders;
through a ring placed at the top is passed the bearing rein,
which, from its position, affords much greater security to the
horse against falling, than when, as in our English mode, it
is hooked on the horse's back. I do not ever remember
to have seen a broken-kneed horse in Russia: something
similar may be observed in use among the waggon-teams
in Austria; the collar of the horses is raised into an high
peak, over which the rein is carried for the same purpose:
but it is by no means either so little burthensome to the
beast, or, in other respects, so efficient as the plan adopted
in Russia. The scheme is applied not only to the carts and
waggons, but brought into use in all the most elegant har-
ness of the sledge or droshka, or other carriages drawn by
a shaft, becoming, when well managed, a very ornamental
addition to the equipage.
Another fashion, as prevalent as the above, but which
does not merit the same share of praise, is the use of the
furieur; this is an horse that, although attached, is not
employed in the draught of the carriage, but serves merely
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
357
for ornament, capering and curvetting by the side of the
shaft horse: in order to improve his action and fit him for
this duty, he is constantly kept with his neck drawn awry
by a short rein affixed to his side, and, to assist the
graceful twist of his head, he is placed under the same con-
straint even in the stable. I know not to whom to give
the merit of invention.
The outermost horses of our own range, when six were
employed, appeared not to be of much more service during
the journey than those used as the above, as indeed may be
easily surmised. The day had already broken when we
arrived in sight of the city of Twer, and the spreading waters
of the Volga. There is a certain degree of vague and in-
determinate respect attached to some names, when we can
scarce assign any reasonable ground for such a feeling, and
we discovered mingled impressions of delight and wonder as
we touched the banks of this sacred stream: yet I know
not that the river god boasts any peculiar attributes, or
claims our notice from any more striking powers than those
of bestowing fertility on pasture lands and corn-fields.
The town was noted for the massacre of the Tartars, in the
reign of the Grand Duke Alexander Mikailovitch, when a
tragical scene, like that of the Sicilian vespers, was exhibit-
ed; but this is no extraordinary feature in the Russian
annals. We passed the river by a bridge of boats, and
entering the streets found ourselves again encircled by
splendid public buildings (for it is the seat of the pro-
vincial government) and walled convents, and churches
958
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
covered with cupolas. Its general wealthy appearance
is owing to the trade it enjoys as an entrepot for goods
brought by the river: which are forwarded in various di-
rections, chiefly, however, over land in a straight line to
Riga. One of the great water caravans was at this time
hourly expected to arrive, and four or five of the vessels
were already in sight, towed by horses against the stream;
a tedious labour that interested us but little.
We were now entering upon a new field of specula-
tion, and about to tread those grounds that had so lately
been the seat of a war, the most important in its conse-
quences which the world ever saw. The association of
locality, it must be confessed, gives an hold to the imagi-
nation when wandering over this momentous period, and
in traversing the scene of operation, seems to place before
us, in a tangible shape, all that our mind had fancied or
pictured to itself of great events. Here we identify our-
selves in thought with the actors in these revolutions them-
selves, and enjoy the delight of a more than theatrical
representation. Every spot partakes a shade of gloom or
horror, of grief or pity, from the sights it has witnessed; and
the cry of danger and alarm seems still to reside in the
haunts where the din of war has once been heard.
When the rapid advance of the French army in 1812,
and the occupation of Moscow, seemed at once to have
decided the fate of the campaign, the general consterna-
tion in these quarters was at its greatest height; all the
merchants at Twer removed their goods to more distant
·
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
359
parts, and orders were said to be issued that the town
should be committed to the flames, in case the chance of war
should render it liable to the occupation of the enemy; so
the chance of a few hours might have involved it in the fate
of Smolensko, Mojaisk, Viasma, and Moscow.
To prevent, however, their advance in this line, a corps
of 50,000 men had been collected under General Witzinge-
rode, and posted in the neighbourhood of Klin. Yet no
appearance of protection could relieve the fears of the
people, either in the towns or the country; every mode of
conveyance was put in requisition, and the inhabitants of
the district dispersed in various directions, flying to Vladomir,
and to N. Novgorod, while some scarce thought themselves
secure at a place less remote than Kasan. But it was not
in this neighbourhood alone the alarm was felt; even at
Petersburg, the dreadful news that was announced over-
powered their senses. Kutusow's motions were unknown;
the French appeared irresistible, and every one fancied they
saw their legions already entering the city gates. Prepara-
tions were made to move the court to Casan; the valuables
of the palace were packed up; the several imperial institu-
tions ordered to be in readiness for a journey to Finland;
the fleet departed; and all persons who had connexions in
England, hurried their wives and families, or even their pro-
perty, to London. It is indeed a curious instance of unfor-
tunate precaution, that a Russian nobleman's pictures being
sent thither to be placed out of the way of French rapacity,
were burned in the fire which broke out at the custom-
360
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
house. But the fears of individuals had been infinitely
augmented by these public demonstrations of alarm; and in
proportion as people were further removed from the scene
of action, they became the more a prey to vague conjecture
and phantoms of the imagination.
In the course of our journey, the day after we quitted
Twer, we came upon the place where the advanced posts of
the French army had been established during the occupation
of Moscow. It was a small village belonging to Count
Strogonov, at about the distance of forty versts from the
city, and had been the theatre of many a sanguinary ren-
contre. The spot at this time presented no features
of ravage; the houses were renewed, and the whole bore
a quiet and tranquil appearance. The villagers, sitting
before their doors, were chanting their wild songs over their
work: the women for the most part industriously employed
in making laces; the children playing around with baffis;
and the men, as usual, apart, sluggish from the sultriness of
the evening, were sleeping here and there on the bare
ground. The contrast of their dingy wooden cabins with
the merry air and gay attire of the female groups, formed
a picture of the most striking singularity.
How mistaken were the notions that induced Buonaparte
to think that these people would ever lend themselves to a
scheme like his! How erroneous the representations of his
treacherous emissaries! He had himself found by experience
that the volatile Italian, even in the highest days of revolu-
tionary frenzy, was seldom able fully to co-operate with the
361
*
ROAD TO MOSCOW.
frantic desires of his mind. What could be expected from
the bigotry, obstinacy, and ignorance of Russian slaves?
Utterly incompetent to picture in imagination those visionary
ideas of liberty that were offered, they felt content with the
state of things as they were, because they were so, without
the power of exercising more than an inert, sluggish attach-
ment, even on any score. Their constancy did not arise
from respect for present customs and ordinances, not from a
sober dislike to change, but from an absolute incapacity to
discover what the prospect of change might be.
"Avant
de voir les democrates, les demagogues, les jacobins, il
“faut en avoir eu des royalistes, des aristocrates, des monar-
"chiens; ils n'ont encore que des esclaves*
If French promises succeeded in deluding a few indivi-
duals in the manufacturing districts of Toula and Kalouga,
it was a rare exception. For the rest,-far from receiving
the demonstrations of fraternisation with satisfaction, the
Mougik, who saw that, in spite of the proffered kindness, his
dwelling was invaded, his wife and daughters violated, and
his church polluted by the wantonness of a stranger, was
roused by rage from his apathy, and flew at once to arms.
This exasperation was constantly increased by fresh instances
of aggravation, and every day brought new proofs of the
growing enthusiasm of the country.
Twenty of these poor creatures, who refused to act as
guides to some detachments of the French army, were tried
* Mémoires Secretes sur la Russie. Paris, 1800.
3 A
362
MOSCOW.
for disobedience, and sentenced to be shot. They were
marched to the fatal spot, when, embracing one another,
and taking leave, each man stepped forward in his turn,
and, after crossing himself, submitted to his fate without a
groan.
The peasants of Prince B. Gallitzen afforded a bright
example of love for their country, though of another descrip-
tion. They assembled one morning, and surrounded the
house of their lord, to the number of near three thousand,
in a tumultuous body, that might have excited a different
suspicion in a stranger's breast. The prince was absent,
having a command of militia in the neighbourhood, but the
princess made her appearance, and demanded of them what
it was they wanted; they answered, they had placed their
wives and children, and their goods, in security in the forest,
and came to her to ask for arms, that they might share with
their master the duties of the field. A more simple and
impressive exhibition of patriotic sentiment could hardly be
conceived.
The nobles displayed a spirit of earnestness and devotion
such as had never been experienced in any other enemy with
whom the French hitherto had measured strength. Indivi-
duals exerted themselves to the utmost: Countess Orlov
gave 4,000,000 roubles as a contribution towards the ex-
pences; Count Mamounoff the amount of his income for
that year, offering also some valuable jewels to the emperor
for the same purpose; Count Zouboff, Soltigoff, Demidoff,
and
many others too numerous to be particularised, followed
MOSCOW.
363
*
the same example. The nobles of the government of Moscow
met the emperor in a body, at their capital, in the month
of July, and far outstripped, by voluntary offers, all the
demands he made upon them. Notwithstanding the heavy
draughts of men that had taken place, 80,000 men
were instantly enrolled under the name of opolchanie, or
militia, by them alone, and placed at the disposal of the
emperor. The numbers levied under the same denomina-
tion throughout the empire did not fall short of 900,000 men,
which was at least two-thirds beyond the quota that was
required.
All these were to be clothed, armed, and furnished with
provision for three months, at the expense of the seigneur,
who had no other right reserved to him than the nomination
of their colonel. Many of these troops who afterwards were
actually called into service, proved themselves worthy com-
panions of the soldiers of Borodino; their steadiness was
irreproachable, and their spirit undaunted.
The conduct of a corps of 10,000 raised in the north
bears ample testimony to those feelings that were said to
pervade the whole: they had been trained and assembled
* The ordinary recruiting for the army is light: one man out of 250 is taken
each year; here one man in ten was drafted for the militia service. Prince
Sheremetov alone raised 12,000. Every nobleman on appointing the commander
to his own corps nominated Kutusow, and the emperor was hence induced to
confer on him the command of the grand army. The greater part of the
army employed at the siege of Dantzic were composed of these regiments of
militia.
364
MOSCOW.
at Petersburg, whence they received orders to march to
Velikaya, the nearest point which the advance of the French
had reached in that direction. The emperor reviewed them
before their departure, and is said to have shed tears on
witnessing their expressions of enthusiastic devotion to his
cause, as if presaging the melancholy fate which awaited
them. It so happened that at the time of their arrival at
Velikaya, Witgenstein was unable to detach troops to sup-
port them, and sent an order that they should fall back to
a certain distance. 66
No," said they, "the last promise we
"made to the emperor, our father, was, that we would never
"fly before the enemy; we keep our word." They did so,
and 8000 out of the number fell on the spot, the victims of
their obstinate but misguided courage.
Notwithstanding the favourable state of the public mind,
such is the principle of the Russian government, that it was
held expedient to keep the people, as far as possible, in
ignorance of the real condition of affairs, and most singular
were the devices adopted. About ten days before the
French forces entered Moscow, the governor, Rastopchin,
issued a proclamation, stating that a balloon was preparing
which was to be filled with various combustibles, and would
accomplish a great scheme for the deliverance of the country;
that on the following Sunday a small one would be launched
by way of experiment, and the inhabitants were forewarned
of its appearance, lest any unnecessary alarm should be
excited, for it was only the forerunner of that which was to
destroy Znodoy, the wicked one. Another proclamation
MOSCOW.
365
requested the youths of Moscow to meet on the Sparrow
Hills, on a stated day, in order to repel the presumptuous
hosts of the enemy. In short, every measure that could
encourage a fallacious hope of confidence was resorted to
on this occasion. Some reported the battle of Borodino
to have been a victory on the part of the Russians, and a
celebrated personage gave a grand dinner in honour of the
event.
On Friday the 11th September, a public masquerade
was advertised; but the general consternation had by this
time gained too much ground to permit the citizens to join
in diversions of this sort, and only two persons shewed
themselves at the doors, where they viewed the entertain-
ment of an empty room.
On Sunday, 13th September, all uncertainty was put
at an end. The Russian army, in full retreat, entered the
town, and the vanguard already held the road of Vladomir.
Every one who had been deceived by idle tales, or who,
fondly hoping his own wishes might prove true, had pro-
crastinated the evil hour of departure, now hurried to join
the crowd of fugitives at the city gates, and a scene of con-
fusion ensued, that served to increase a thousand-fold thes
general dismay.
On the following morning, when the tumultuous passage
of the troops was concluded, the police and the officers of
government took their departure: the few miserable people
who were unable to fly, shut themselves up within their
houses, and waited, in pain and anxiety, the dreadful inter-
366
MOSCOW.
val that elapsed between the passage of one army and the
entrance of another. Here and there the outrages of a few
half drunken wretches, escaped from the prisons*, were
heard; but every where besides a stillness of death pre-
vailed; a fearful calm, that seemed destined to be the pre-
cursor of some dire convulsion.
It was about five o'clock on Monday evening, when the
sound of the trumpets and clatter of horses' feet, announced
the approach of the forces of Murat, who led the advance
of the French. The streets were filled in rapid succession;
guards were quickly posted at every open spot or avenue,
and immediate possession taken of the Kremlin.
Before night closed in, Buonaparte arrived in person
at the barrier on the Smolensko road, where his tem-
porary residence was the scene of a singular occurrence.
He waited some time in seeming surprise at not receiving a
formal deputation from the municipality to present him
with the keys of the town; but supposing a mistake might
have caused the delay, he dispatched an aid-de-camp to
inform them of his arrival. The officer soon returned to
him with the account that neither magistracy nor police were
any where to be discovered, and that the whole place was
apparently deserted. Buonaparte was amazed; again he
sent an officer to endeavour to search for some person at
:
A party of these vagabonds pillaged the arms from the arsenal, and posted
themselves in the Kremlin, which they thought sacred and impregnable; here
they made an useless attempt to defend the walls, and were massacred to a
man.
MOSCOW.
367
least, who might afford him intelligence respecting these
extraordinary circumstances: his messenger wandered about
for an hour or two in vain; at last he lighted upon a
poor school-mistress, who was reported to be tolerably well
versed in the French language; she was instantly taken
from her house, mounted on a droshka, and sent in haste to
a conference with the mighty Napoleon. Her story was
such as might be expected; and this ambitious despot felt
the first shock of the great catastrophe that awaited his
fatal expedition.
Meanwhile the secret preparations to burn the town,
and to deprive the French army of the resources they hoped
to secure, had been partially carried into effect. Under
pretence of constructing the balloon before mentioned, a
large apparatus of fire-works and combustibles were made
ready by the direction of M. Smith, at Voronzovo. In the
course of this day, they were conveyed and distributed, by
the hands of various emissaries, throughout every quarter of
the town, and applied with the greatest assiduity. The
confusion that ensued upon the occupation of so large a
place aided the secrecy of their operations, and in a few
instances some of the inhabitants on the eve of departure
were found to lend their assistance to the scheme. Fraught
as they were with the zeal of the moment, they set fire
with their own hands to their empty habitations; even
women were seen kneeling, crossing themselves for an
instant before their own doors, and then flinging in the
368:
MOSCOW.
:
fatal brand, and hurrying away half dismayed at what they
had done.
On this very night the French observed a flame breaking
out in the Twerskaia, a part of the city situated on the
north; a short time after, a bright light was seen in the
Taoutsa quarter, and several buildings of the Exchange in
the Kitaigorod were reported to be on fire. These phe-
nomena, however, were disregarded at the time; they were
looked upon as occurrences of accident, orders given to
extinguish them, and little further notice was taken.
By Tuesday evening the fires before observed had
assumed a very serious aspect; the detachment employed
to stop their progress reported their labours to be in vain;
the blaze arose in a thousand places at once, and encircled
them while plying their ineffectual labours. A south-west
wind, which prevailed the whole day, increased its destructive
fury, involving in ruin all the parts of the town lying in that
direction. Of the real origin of this mischief a suspicion
was as yet scarcely entertained, though some persons
charged as incendiaries had been apprehended, and one
daring hand, that feared not to advertise the hated invaders
of what was going on, had thrown a rocket within the walls
of the Kremlin.
The imperial palace, where Buonaparte had taken up his
abode, after the first night spent at the barrier, was situated
within the holy citadel; and whether from this circumstance,
or from general alarm at the fire that threatened to surround
****
MOSCOW.
369
him every way, I know not, but it is certain that he was
induced for one night to shift his quarters to the Petrovski
Palace. Hither he was followed by between three and
four hundred miserable objects,-hungry, houseless citi-
zens, plundered and insulted by the soldiery, who crowded
around the doors, and with dumb shew and pale faces of
despair, implored the protection of him that was the cause
of all. But what could be done? To stop the flames was
impossible; for the rest, leave to pillage had already been
granted; and numerous bands of marauders infested every
place that the fire permitted to their rapacity. The licen-
tiousness of the army was uncontrollable.
On Thursday, the wind, which had veered round by the
south, set in violently from the east, as if it were destined
that the destruction should on all sides be complete. On
Friday it became still more boisterous; and the fiery current
quickening along the wooden alleys, instead of spreading
from house to house, at once wrapt whole streets in confla-
gration. Throughout this vast place nothing was heard
but the crash of timbers and walls, with the hollow murmur
of the fire, while to the sight was exhibited a circle of
dismal and smothered ruins; the whole one unvarying
In some distant parts the breeze occasionally fanned
out a momentary flame; but even this in a few seconds
died away, sinking into the black and vaporous deluge that
inundated the atmosphere.
scene.
Such were the features of horror that shewed themselves
within the gates; without, a wretched crew of fugitives,
3 B
370
MOSCOW.
દ
nobles and peasants, all alike fatigued with their march, and
destitute of food, lay on the roads, and watched through
the long night, " afar, afar off," the flames of the burning
city. Murder and rapine stared them in the face,—the
lawlessness of confusion reigned throughout,—and the eter-
nal distrust that is engendered by calamity added distrac-
tion to their sufferings.
But to return. On Saturday morning the wind fell,
and as the smoke gradually cleared off, exposed to view
a field of desolation that no words can attempt to describe.
To the feelings of a native it was an heart-rending
prospect indeed; no one is more alive to the pride of his
country than a Russian. But setting aside the sense of
disgrace, it was a sight involving so many feelings inseparable
from human nature, that few ever venture even to reflect
upon the measures which had been adopted; and noble as
this sacrifice appeared,-greatly as it has been admired
throughout Europe, there is no Russian at this day that
will avow from what means the conflagration arose; but it is
invariably ascribed by people at Petersburg, as well as here,
to the malice of the French army. History, however, will
do justice to the nation, and blazon in its true colours this
signal triumph of Russian magnanimity.
It was from the road as it passed under the turrets of
the Petrovsky Palace, that we first beheld the myriads of
domes and steeples that yet glittered among the relics of
Moscow; and a short hour brought us to the barriers. At
our first entrance few symptoms were seen of a nature to

1. James del
IMPERIAL PALACE of PETROVSKI, MOSCOW.
1. Clark sculp?
MOSCOW.
371
correspond with the gloomy appearance which we had been
led to expect; but as we advanced, the quarters of the
Slabode or fauxbourg, where wood had chiefly been used
in building, exhibited destruction in its fullest extent,—for
the most part a campagne rase: now and then the shell of
a house was seen standing in a blank space, or here and
there a few brick stoves yet remaining, pointed out the
spot where a dwelling once had been. Moving onwards,
we crossed the avenues of the boulevards; the trees were in
full leaf and beauty, seeming to vary the view only to
heighten its melancholy aspect. Leaving this, we passed to
the central parts of the town that were constructed with
more durable materials, exhibiting occasionally a richness
and elegance of exterior that must have equalled, if not
surpassed, the architectural magnificence of the most beau-
tiful towns of Europe. All was now in the same forlorn
condition; street after street greeted the eye with perpetual
ruin; disjointed columns, mutilated porticos, broken cu-
polas, walls of rugged stucco, black, discoloured with the
stains of fire, and open on every side to the sky, formed an
hideous contrast with the glowing pictures which travel-
lers had drawn of the grand and sumptuous palaces of
Moscow.
The cross lanes looked even at this interval as if unused
to hear the sound of human tread: the grass sprung up
amidst the mouldering fragments that scattered the pave-
ments; while a low smoke, issuing perhaps from some
372
MOSCOW.
obscure cellar corner, gave the only indications of human
habitation, and seemed to make desolation 'visible.'
•
If such were the impressions on a stranger's mind at the
present day, how poignant must have been the feelings of ci-
tizens who, on the evacuation by the enemy, returned hither
to contemplate the wreck of their fortunes and their homes!
They were not nevertheless so much to be pitied as
those who were constrained to remain in the town during
the reign of the French; witnessing the daily progress of
their misfortunes, as well as experiencing in their own persons
the bitterest sufferings which want and oppression could
inflict. The number was not large; only about 20,000, out
of a population of more than 300,000, having been detained
by poverty or other causes. Some people will regard the
proportion as greater than common expectation would have
calculated upon; but it should be recollected that the dan-
ger
of their situation was for a long time concealed from the
citizens; and, flashing upon them as it did, on a sudden, it
augmented in a marvellous degree the difficulties of pro-
viding the necessary means for flight. The demands for
horses, mules, carriages, were exorbitant beyond measure;
on the last day, four and even five hundred roubles were
offered for horses to the first stage out of Moscow, and
repeatedly refused.
Many, also, helpless through bodily infirmity, were con-
strained, under these circumstances of aggravation, to
abide the fury of the storm; and when in this account we
;
MOSCOW.
373
include between 7,000 and 8,000 wounded soldiers of the
Russian army, who perished either through want of surgical
assistance or were involved in the general conflagration, it
is impossible for the most inventive genius to imagine a
tale of greater horror.
Another class again was composed of foreign residents,
to whom an attempt to depart, unless under protection,
would have been at the imminent peril of their lives. The
prejudices, ignorance, and rage of the multitude were equally
ungovernable: every stranger was with them a Frenchman
and a spy; and several were cruelly butchered by the
peasants on the road, no farther ground of suspicion
appearing than their ignorance of the Russian language.
The hardships underwent by one of the German mer-
chants were related to us as we passed the remains of his
former dwelling; it was a small house situated at a short
distance from the city fearing he might here be exposed
to the insults of the soldiery, he resolved to seek the
shelter of the town, setting out for this purpose the very
day on which the French troops entered. He was unable
to undertake a journey, and scarce, indeed, could look to
an easy accomplishment of this short trip, being himself
afflicted with a severe dropsical complaint, his wife far
advanced in pregnancy, and burthened moreover with an
infant daughter nine months old. The party was joined.
by the son-in-law and the daughter, who were unwilling to
quit their side, and they repaired to the habitation of a
friend in the Nikitskaia, where they remained during the
374
MOSCOW.
convey-
entrance of the troops. On the 3d of September they were
assaulted and plundered of whatever articles the military
robbers chose to lay their hands upon: after which, seeing
their house was threatened by the rapid advance of the
flames, they were again forced out of doors. A droschka, that
they lighted upon by chance, afforded a mode of
ance for the sick man, his daughter and son-in-law drawing
it by turns on their route, they were attacked by a
second body of plunderers, who stripped them of the
greater part of their clothes, and robbed even the child of
its swathings: feeling thankful that no farther violence
was offered, they pursued their journey till they arrrived at
a house near the barrier in the Twerskaia, but from hence
were again driven on the following day by the flames.
They now sallied forth for the third time in quest of an
habitation, and, having the good fortune to be accompanied
by two French officers, were preserved from insult by
their polite attendance. They journeyed near five versts
through the smoking ruins of the town, and finding a
bathing-house which was entirely deserted, halted, and
fixed upon it for their abode. Scarcely had they been
settled a fortnight when they were assailed by a new source
of danger: the Cossacks, in the course of their inroads to
Moscow, paid them a visit, and imagining them, from
some circumstances or other, to be a French family,
were preparing to put them to death. Some of the party
had fortunately concealed themselves, and only the sick
man, with his wife and child, appeared: she, having com-
MOSCOW.
375
petent knowledge of the Russian language, endeavoured to
persuade them of their error; while he, whose imperfect
accent would have increased their suspicion, answered their
interrogations only by sighs and groans; feigning, though
perhaps it was scarcely a counterfeit, that he laboured
under pangs of the acutest suffering: the intruders were at
last, with much difficulty, appeased, but on their departure
left our poor foreigners in such a state of agitation and
alarm that they dared not stay another night in this ex-
posed part of the town, and set out on their travels for the
fifth time. They now repaired to one of the toll-houses,
where three, who alone survived the miseries of their situa-
tion, remained till the final evacuation of the city.
There were none of these people but had some peculiar
anecdote to relate of their sufferings, and all bore yet in
their looks some mark of the privations and anxieties they
had undergone. Mr. C represented himself to have
been seated in his chamber the evening of the arrival of the
French; where he heard the bustle of the military undis-
turbed at night, however, two dragoons entered suddenly,
demanding, with pistols in their hands, whether any
any Russian
soldiers or Cossacks were concealed? He replied that there
were not-"If you deceive us," said they," you die." They
went up stairs to search, and presently returned, asking for
some brandy and a pair of boots; these were given, and they
went their way. Soon afterwards a thick smoke began to
make itself perceptible from the upper part of the house,
and in a short time the whole burst into a blaze: Mr. C-
376
MOSCOW.
was obliged to seek shelter elsewhere at a late hour, and
wandered some time in vain, till at length discovering the
house of a person in the Slabode with whom he had some
slight acquaintance, he knocked, and requested a lodging;
this was soon granted: the favour was not indeed confined
to himself, for he found the whole establishment converted
into a place of general refuge, containing upwards of an
hundred wretched persons littered down in the several
rooms and out-houses. It was hardly to be expected they
should enjoy the sleep of this night unmolested, and they
were visited successively by four several parties of maraud-
ers, of whom it can be only said that the first left nothing
for their successors to deprive them of. Alarmed by the
continual reports of assassination in the streets, he told us
he never quitted the house except once during the six
weeks of his abode, and then he had cause to repent of his
temerity, being insulted by some of the soldiers, robbed of
his coat, and congratulating himself to have escaped with
his life. Some time afterwards a few French officers, as
quarters began to grow scarce, came and billetted themselves
in the house, where they were received as welcome guests,
since their presence afforded hope of protection. This
increase of company, however, added to their difficulties in
some sort, and filled them with fears lest they should be
unable to find subsistence enough for so large a party.
Meat, which had been abundant during the first week, was
not now to be had: they doled out day by day to each,
a small allowance of flour from the household store, which
MOSCOW.
377
they kneaded into paste and baked themselves over their
fires. This supply began at last to fail, without the pos-
sibility of its being replenished from any quarter: for
the peasants who had ventured to market being beaten
and robbed of their provisions, carts, and their horses;
had ceased their visits. Feeling themselves deprived,
therefore, of every other resource, they were driven to
forage, accompanied by the French soldiers, in the gar-
dens of the neighbourhood, digging for potatoes and
roots, or whatever they could find: yet even this was
precarious, and their work often interrupted by the in-
cursions of the Cossacks. In a half-starved condition,
without a single change of clothes or linen, this gentleman
passed the greater part of the time the French stayed at
Moscow: but, pursued by more than an ordinary malignity
of fate, his sufferings were not brought to a conclusion at
their departure. The excellent character which he bore,
had led the French governor to solicit his acceptance of a
temporary appointment in the provisional municipality;
he was urged on the score of putting him in a way to
assist his fellow citizens, and, preferring the calls of duty
to a consideration of the consequences to which it would
expose him, unfortunately yielded to the request. On the
return of the Russian police, no argument that he could
urge was held a sufficient plea for such conduct: it was
necessary, in compliance with the feelings of the times,
that the utmost abhorrence should be shewn against every
person who bore the slightest mark of connexion with the
3 c
378
MOSCOW.
enemy, and to have merited their confidence was the
highest crime. For this he was condemned by the unani-
mous voice of his tribunal; and the punishment awarded
was, that he should be obliged to labour half an hour (pro
forma) on the public works, with a badge of infamy affixed
to his arm; after which exposure he was thrown into
prison for three months, and ever more forbidden to quit
the city of Moscow on any pretence.
This story, nevertheless, presents but an imperfect
epitome of scenes of distress, that varied with every dis-
tinction of age or sex. The females were of course no less
subjected to the miseries of so calamitous a period; Madame
related to us her tale of woe. Feeling, as was natural,
great alarm on hearing of the arrival of the French, she
had retired to an open space of ground near one of the
churches, whither a number of the inhabitants had fled
from similar motives. The party waited here near an
hour without seeing any one, when a troop of cavalry
came up and asked (it was the ordinary inquiry) whether
any Russian soldiers were concealed amongst them? "No,"
answered the women, covering up with their cloaks a
poor wounded man who lay half dead upon the ground.
The French said they; were content, and, with much ap-
pearance of politeness, demanded next if they stood in need
of any thing which it was in their power to procure: they
received a second answer in the negative, and passed on.
Presently one of them returned with a bottle of brandy in
his hand, and kindly offered them to drink: after this, as
*
«
$
MOSCOW.
979
night came on, the whole group dispersed to seek for shel-
ter where occasion might serve. The lady, with her hus-
band and daughter, retired to an empty house, and re-
mained there for two days, not daring to stir out of doors:
when, being almost famished, the husband was obliged to
go abroad with the hope of procuring provisions. In cross-
ing the street he stopped, either from curiosity or other
trivial motive, and picked up a rocket-case which was lying
on the ground, with the appearance of having been used in
the conflagration: seeing, however, that he was observed
by two French soldiers, he put it away in his pocket some-
what perhaps in a hurried manner: they at the instant
came up, and demanded, in a threatening tone, to see what
it was he had concealed. On being shewn, one of them
accused him as an incendiary, and without farther parley
took a step back, levelled his musket, and shot him through
the heart. His daughter beheld this scene from the window
with such feelings as may be well imagined, and the wife
ran up but to behold him weltering in his blood. At this
juncture they were discovered by a French officer, who
happened to pass that way; he took pity on them and
removed them to the palace of Count A. Rasumofski, then
the residence of King Murat, where they remained till
the evacuation. His majesty had been driven by the irre-
verent flames to this hotel, in which, much to his credit,
(be it said) he opened an asylum for the poor sufferers, and
afforded them every means of relief that was in his power.
Circumstances, however, did not admit of the enjoyment of
380
MOSCOW.
much comfort: a large assembly of both sexes was crowded
into one apartment, where the companionship in misfortune
served rather to increase than relieve their pains. It is dis-
tressful to delicacy to relate, that in this very room a woman
of good condition in life was actually delivered of a child,
her female friends standing around, and endeavouring with
their handkerchiefs and clothes to skreen her as far as they
were able from public sight.
Mr. B—— was another resident at Moscow during this
dreadful period; but, more favoured by accident, he lived
at an inn near the Twerskoi in the society of several French
officers, from whom he received much kindness and atten-
tion. His account furnishes an idea of the want of dis-
cipline, or, as it is termed, demoralisation, that prevailed in
the ranks of the army. He had one morning, he says,
ventured out in the street imprudently alone, when he was
met by two Poles, who attempted, on some pretence or
other, to decoy him into a private lane; he refused to ac-
company them, and as they added menaces to entreaties,
he took to flight; the street, however, was empty, so they
pursued him, and he was on the point of being overtaken,
but fortunately turning a corner, he stumbled on a French
officer, to whom he lost no time in applying for protection.
The officer complied, enquired into his story, and very
severely reprimanded the Poles, striking them repeatedly
with his sabre; they answered him, nevertheless, impudently
enough, asserting that leave was given to plunder, and
that they had a right to do so: he told them that the
per-
MOSCOW.
381
mission had been revoked at the end of the first week, but
as he had no actual accusation to bring forward, he dis-
missed them, and kindly promised Mr. B-to accom-
pany him to his lodgings. On the way they met a French
soldier carrying a bundle that bore a suspicious appearance.
He stopped him, and insisted on its being opened, when
several watches, rings, &c. and other articles of plunder,
were exposed to view.-" Scoundrel!" said he, in amaze-
ment," is it not disgraceful enough for a Russian to com-
"mit acts of thievery, but must a Frenchman also turn
66
rogue, and bring dishonour on his nation? Are you not
a soldier of the grand army?" So saying, he gave him a
blow on the cheek with his sword, which he then coolly
wiped and returned into the scabbard; and drawing an
order for the man upon the hospital for his cure, resumed
his conversation with our friend.
It is not at all surprising that the grand army, on find-
ing their situation here so different from their expecta-
tion, should have been driven by their discontent to acts of
irregularity and disobedience. Repose in a great capital
was the lure constantly held out before their eyes, to cheer
their long and toilsome march to Russia. They arrived
foot-sore, with shoes and clothes worn out, and destitute of
every thing but the mere materiel of war. Moscow in its
deserted state afforded them scarce the necessaries of life;
while new labours and hardships were substituted for the ease
and enjoyment to which they had looked forward. Thus
disappointed, they next placed their hopes in the arrival of
382
MOSCOW.
J
their heavy baggage, which was moving up on the road
from Smolensko; but the Cossacks broke in upon their line
of communications and plundered the whole. A French-
man, however, is always loth to despair; still another ex-
pectation was held out,-peace was promised them; they
confided in this idea, and peace might restore them to the
enjoyment of every comfort which their toils entitled them
to. Alas! even this prospect, after a time, was found de-
lusory and vain. The crafty Kutusow baffled every en-
deavour to obtain the wished-for end, and defeated each
attempt of Buonaparte to work upon the feelings of the
emperor. Various were the pretences for delay; one while
he bantered him by refusing to forward the dispatches to
his master, because the form of direction was incomplete-
the Emperor of Russia, instead of all the Russias: another
time he sent a dispatch to Petersburg feigning the greatest
alarm, and asserting the utter impossibility of attempting
to contend against the invincible legions of their opponents;
the courier was ordered to keep a certain route, which neces-
sarily threw him into the hands of the French; while, on
the same day, a true account of what had been prepared,
and of the hopes consequently entertained, was conveyed
to the emperor by a more secure road; both these schemes
succeeded.
During this interval the country around was rising to
arms in every direction; the rustics were formed into re-
gular bodies, standing constantly on the defensive, while
the more vigorous warfare of the Cossacks harassed the
MOSCOW.
383
enemy by frequent incursions into their very quarters; in
short, from these circumstances, the duties that were neces-
sarily imposed on the French forces, called forth the same
perpetual watchfulness and exertion which had fallen to
their lot during the former part of the campaign. No one
dared to venture out of the city, unless under the protection
of an escort; and the foraging parties were obliged to be at-
tended with strong detachments of infantry and artillery,
resembling rather a division of the army equipped for the
field, than troops sent on a temporary excursion.
Thus dispirited by fatigue, and daily subjected to
fresh proofs of the growing insecurity of their situation,
conversations of a seditious nature were excited, and loud
murmurs manifested themselves against the author of their
misfortunes; so high were their feelings carried, that they
were not concealed from the throne, and Buonaparte scarcely
was seen to venture in the streets, some say twice only dur-
ing his stay at Moscow, and then he rode at full speed. The
general state of insubordination was little short of open
mutiny; many of the officers declared, that during the
worst times of the revolutionary armies, they never had
witnessed so shameless and daring a spirit of resistance.
The common men not only thought themselves equal to
their officers, but even frequently defied their authority;
and many instances occurred where the commanders were
robbed of their money or their horses by the rapacity
of their own soldiers: plunder was the universal cry.
Buonaparte's proclamation of prohibition was disregarded:
鳖
​384
MOSCOW.
"Je me
de lui et de sa proclamation." His name
seemed to have lost its value, for his word was no longer in-
fallible. Churchyards were disturbed, cellars ransacked
and destroyed, kettles of water poured on the ground or
the walls to discover where they had been newly broken,
and every plan of refined ingenuity which had been resorted
to in the early days of the French republic was practised
here. It is said, indeed, that the soldiers invented a new
and simple process for extracting the most valuable and
essential articles which an house might contain. They
threw their lighted matches and other combustibles through
the windows, and then, making fast the back-doors, seated
themselves quietly in front, waiting till the unhappy pro-
prietor should come out prepared for flight, carrying in his
hands whatever moveable articles he held of most value;
they then pounced upon him and relieved him of his burden.
Many a house, no doubt, in the course of pillage was set
on fire by the wantonness of the French; but with regard
to what has been advanced before, relative to this subject,
it must be evident that if we allow the utmost to the bar-
barous activity of the plunderers, yet very little could have
been effected in four days, when compared with the immense
mass of ruin that presented itself in every part of the city.
Considerable magazines of flour and brandy which had
been laid in for the use of the Russians, were discovered
during the third week, but so insufficient was the discipline
of the army, that the whole was dispersed and laid waste
before the commissariat could take the necessary steps to
MOSCOW.
385
>
!
secure it for the public use. This state of disorganisation
is natural to a French army when overtaken by a reverse of
fortune, but the troops of their foreign allies were generally
said to indulge in still greater excesses than the French
themselves, and the Poles in particular appeared to gratify
a feeling of retaliation in every act of licence which they
committed. It is but fair to add to this account, that the
allies were infinitely worse provided, in every respect, than
the French, and their conduct therefore admits of some
palliation. Of the latter, the imperial guards, whose orderly
behaviour was held out as an example worthy of imitation
to the rest of the forces, were so well taken care of, that
they were placed beyond the immediate reach of want, and
deserved but little encomium for their observance of a
certain degree of regularity. Many other instances of
similar partiality might be quoted, for it formed a part of
the system.
But this is a digression that may be said to relate to
what we heard, rather than what we actually saw during
our stay: it will be well to recur to our former subject, and
essay a short description of the town of Moscow.
#
A general idea may easily be formed, since there are,
perhaps, few towns whose quarters present a more simple
plan of distribution: the ancient Kremlin and Kitaigorod
are situated on a central eminence above the river Moskwa;
and around these, as a nucleus, the circles of the Belgorod,
the Semlianigorod, and the Slabode or Fauxbourg, are
3 D
386
MOSCOW.
severally discernible, marking by their lines the growth of
the place in successive æras.
1
The Kitaigorod, or Tartar town, besides some religious
buildings, contains within its walls the public exchange and
the chief houses of trade. All these had been completely
gutted by the fire, but the spirit of the place still remained;
shops and stalls, and tents of every denomination, were
erected amidst the ruins; and the chief street was, even
now, the theatre of much bustle and activity.
The Kremlin contains the public offices and apartments
of state, and hither we made a daily visit, as to a point that
afforded the only specimen of the ancient magnificence of
the capital of the grand dukes and the czars. It stood
uninjured amidst the times of the conflagration, but the
barbarous fury of Buonaparte attacked whatever Rus-
sian piety had spared, and with unutterable malignity he
marked out for devastation some of the fairest portions of
this proud citadel. The most peremptory orders were given
to the detachment occupying the Kremlin after his de-
parture; the mines were prepared, and at two o'clock on the
last night of their stay this horrid purpose was carried into
execution. By the two first explosions part of the walls
and one of the towers towards. the river were destroyed:
by the third, the church of St. Nicholas and the four great
bells of Moscow were blown up with tremendous violence;
at the same moment the lofty tower of Ivan Veliki, the first
of the Czars, was rent from the top to its base, and the
(
MOSCOW.
387
cross of the cupola, crowning its summit, buried in the
ruin below. The fourth shock was by far the most dread-
ful; the walls of the arsenal, which were upwards of
three yards in thickness, with a part of the gate of St.
Nicholas and several adjacent pinnacles, were at once
blown into the air, a concussion succeeding that shook the
whole city to its foundations.
3
When the spot was visited by the people on the follow-
ing day, it was not without much awe they seemed to tread
this ground, almost dreading to look on the ruinous chasm
that was yet smoking. The impression of fear, however,
is easily transferred by the mind from one source to an-
other, and the superstitious Russian soon discovered that
divine agents had been at work as well as human. Day
after day these gates seemed to attract the gaze of the
multitude; for the first week or fortnight hundreds of
peasants were seen perpetually collected, crossing them-
selves, and bowing to the ground in the most fervent
adoration. It was some time before a stranger could dis-
cover their object, but it appeared that a marvellous inter-
position of St. Nicholas had preserved the glass which was
placed before his picture from being injured by the explo-
sion, although it took place within the distance of a few
yards, while it was notorious that many windows in the most
distant parts of the Fauxbourg had suffered from its effects.
Part of the wall to which it was attached, it is true, was at
the same time thrown down, so that the concurrence of
these circumstances might well excite astonishment. The
388
MOSCOW.
tutelary saint of Russia had certainly never wrought a
greater miracle; his fame increased daily, and even at this
interval of time, the picture was the object of constant de-
votion with the mob.
ta:
Profane persons might attempt an explanation of the
phenomenon in a different way: it was observable that the
centre of explosion was somewhat removed behind the
building on which the picture stood, so it was completely
sheltered from the scattering of the stones and other ma-
terials, which in these cases are generally the occasion of
the greatest havoc. In the next place, it is probable that
the strength of the glass was able to withstand the pressure
arising from the expansion of the small quantity of air con-
fined behind, in spite of the great rarefaction that had
taken place without. We may find upon enquiry that
much greater miracles have sometimes been witnessed at
the blowing up of an ordinary powder-mill-in England.
The imperial palace, which stands on a point command-
ing the whole town, was the residence, as before stated, of
Buonaparte: but even these walls, that had been his abode,
were given to destruction by his orders, and now shewed
themselves in the most forlorn condition, stripped of every
article, and completely gutted from top to bottom. The
same scene of waste was exhibited in an interesting antique
edifice, containing the chamber of the throne. As the
public hall of audience at the coronation of the czars
*The title czar was only borne by two sovereigns of Russia: the word is
a Sclavonic translation of the Tartar khan or king: in the Old Testament it con-

3.T.James del
CHAMBER of the THRONE. Moscow.
London Published by L. Murray Albemarle Street, 1016.
FIND
HS/
OF
Etched by the Hon H
Legge
MOSCOW.
389
and emperors, it had been often made the scene of festivi-
ties in this most pompous and splendid court. But now
not a vestige of ancient ornament could be traced; the
activity of devastation had been great, and scarce a beam or
a stone rested one on the other.
}
The other parts of the Kremlin remained untouched,
and it was impossible to conceive a more imposing spec-
tacle. An high terrace overhung the walls towards the
river, at the extremity of which, to the left, appeared the
fantastical structure of the Trinity church and the awe-com-
manding portals of the Holy Gate, through which every
passenger walks bare-headed. At the other end was a clus-
ter of domes rising from the church of St. Nicholas, that of
the Assumption, and the chapel and palace of the Czars ;
with the lofty steeple of Ivan Veliki towering far above them
all, and reflecting the beams of the sun from a globe of gold.
The palace of the Czars does not boast an antiquity of
more than two hundred years, but it is an edifice raised
with princely costliness in the Hindu fashion, and marked
with every peculiarity of massive squareness in the carve-
work with which that style abounds.
, 整
​This was one of the most shewy examples of the gor-
geous architecture of the Kremlin: though the whole circle
offered an assemblage of bright gay colours, and a display
of gaud and richness that vied with "the wealth of Ormus
and of Ind." The cupolas and roofs were gilt or stained
stantly occurs in this sense. The czar Solomon or `czar David being the ordi-
nary terms used.
*
}
} 1
;
390
MOSCOW.
green or red, the walls and towers covered with glazed tiles
of blue, and white, and yellow, in other parts adorned
with storied paintings from holy writ, while a melange
was seen on every side of pear-shaped domes, Tartar bat-
tlements, Gothic tracery, Grecian columns, the star, the
crescent, and the cross. Looking below appeared the
stream of the Moskwa, winding its course amidst the streets
and houses of the town, all indeed now in ruin, but still
interspersed with many a glittering steeple, with cottage,
garden, and palace intermixed, and offering to view the
eternal variety of a Russian city. This scene was backed
by an extensive landscape of the country on the west,
dotted with country houses and monasteries, and sur-
mounted by the long gloomy line of the Sparrow Hills,
over which the French army first shewed themselves be-
fore the work of abomination was begun. If we looked to:
the ground on which we stood, it was strewed with the
relics of the church of St. Nicholas: the great bells that
were its chief boast (one of which weighed more than
200,000 lb.) laid scattered in different directions, as they
chanced to have fallen at the time of explosion; and of
the celebrated bell, cast by the Empress Anne, nothing
was discoverable but the ring of the top, so deep was it
buried in rubbish. In other parts remnants of military
stores of various descriptions met the eye; and at a little
distance, in front of the arsenal, were ranged the 1,100
pieces of artillery which the French lost during their cam-
paign in Russia. These formed an heterogeneous collection,
MOSCOW.
391
being trophies from the several nations whose mark they
bore; Italy, Holland, Austria, Prussia, Poland, Saxony,
Spain, &c. To add to the endless confusion were others
that carried the names not only of the ancient kings of
France, but of the heroes and princes of the revolution, and
of the fields of their glory: with these again cant terms
of empty sentimentalities, that once domineered in that
country over men and things. Here Louis and Napoleon,
there Essling and Marengo, on another side le Tage and
le Danube, or, with still worse appropriation to its subject,
la vertù, l'egalité, la liberté; high sounding words that
served only to swell the pride of the Russian triumph; in
themselves of as little force as the now mute and powerless
engines of destruction on which they were inscribed.
Having incidentally mentioned the splendour of a Rus-
sian coronation, perhaps a few particulars relating to that
solemnity may not be deemed unacceptable. A great deal
of the barbaric magnificence of their ancient court is still
preserved, and the coronation of the Emperor Alexander
was conducted in a style of national pageantry, of which
other courts of Europe have but little conception. The
procession was composed of the several chief functionaries of
state, of all the constituted authorities from the different
provincial governments, the first military and naval of
ficers, nobility, &c. in their robes and uniforms: they ex-
tended many a verst in length, and continued to defile on
the day of entrance, through the city gates, from seven in
392
MOSCOW.
the forenoon, without intermission, till nine at night. On
the following morning the company were ranged in benches
step above step, forming a circle about the tower of Ivan.
The emperor, with the chief officers, paraded three times
round the esplanade, and made a pious visitation to the four
churches in succession, bowing to the shrines and kissing
the holy relics. To this succeeded a time of festival, when
the nobles and the merchants, on two successive days,
were regaled in the chamber of the throne; and on the
third a grand entertainment was given to the peasantry,
upwards of 30,000 persons partaking of the imperial hos-
pitality. Long tables were spread, and amply furnished
with provision of every description, while fountains of beer,
of brandy, and of wine, displayed in profusion the joyous
sources of inebriation. The ancient custom at these fêtes
was also complied with: and an huge pyramid of roasted
meat was raised, surmounted at the top by an ox with gilded:
horns. On a signal being given the populace rushed forward
to scramble for the contents of this pile, and a prize of an
hundred roubles was the reward of the happy mougik who
succeeded in gaining possession of the summit. Various
other exhibitions of this nature took place; but even these
contentious scenes bred little riot: the order of the day
(à la russe) was preserved most pertinaciously: if any
symptoms of rage between two parties exhibited them-
selves, the water engine was, at hand, with whose full and
cooling stream the police never failed to assuage the feel-
2
↑
MOSCOW.
393
ings of the mettlesome slave. The usual ceremonies, pre-
sentations, grand military reviews, and fêtes succeeded, and
all in a proportionate scale of grandeur.
3d July.—On this day we took advantage of an invitation
from Prince and made a visit to his palace as well
as to that of another seigneur in the neighbourhood. Our
arrival at the latter was unexpected, and we met with a
most splendid reception, though all which we saw was in
the ordinary course of Russian hospitality. It was unaided
by any temporary parade, or by what some persons so
often lay to the charge of this generous people, the wish to
make an ostentatious display before strangers.
The gardens were laid out with much taste in the
English fashion, and included a winter palace as well as
an elegant pavillon d' été, where our host was now residing.
As it was Sunday evening, the place was given up to the
public, and a large company from Moscow and the neigh-
bourhood were amusing themselves, parading in the walks
and shrubberies, or taking the diversion of exercise on the
water. At six o'clock the theatre was thrown open, and
the various groups of company were all seen bending their
steps towards the door; a few minutes afterwards a servant
entered the saloon where we were assembled, and announced
that the actors were prepared, and only waited the ap-
pearance of their lord. On entering we found the house
already crowded, two rows only reserved in front for pri-
vate friends, the rest of the seats entirely occupied by the
promiscuous parties of holiday visitors.
3 E
394
MOSCOW.
The piece was a Russian comedy, and appeared, as far
as one could judge, to be extremely well acted. After the
spectacle we returned to the saloon and partook of refresh-
ments, while our ears were saluted with a concert of Russian
music, from a full band of well practised performers. The
songs were both conceived and executed with all the wild-
ness of the national taste, varied and abrupt: one of them,
lately composed in honour of Miloradovitch, was peculiarly
striking, and perhaps excelled, in loftiness and grandeur of
style, by none of the finished melodies of more fashionable
masters.
At night we sat down to a sumptuous repast, with every
variety of wine from Burgundy and la Fitte to the worm-
wood-flavoured juices of Moldavia: nor were we permit-
ted to leave the hospitable mansion till a very late hour.
The large domestic establishment of slaves which this
nobleman kept, amounting to about four hundred, easily
furnished the means for these several diversions. He apolo-
gised, however, to us, and without affectation, for not having
received us in a more magnificent way, complaining that his
losses in the late campaign had been very severe. His
house at Moscow had been burnt, with all its furniture, and
he had lost besides a vast number of his peasants. Some of
these, whom he much regretted, had in a great degree crip-
pled his means of entertainment; the cornes de chasse, and
corps du ballet, had been entirely broken up, and some of
his best actors, as well as most 'accomplished musicians,
sacrificed to the exigencies of the war.
MOSCOW.
395
To give a fair idea of an household like this, it should
be observed that these slaves are not maintained distinctly
and solely for their separate avocations. Education, not-
withstanding their natural aptitude for every employment,
is from its nature attended with considerable expense.
Each one, therefore, who has the advantage of being
well brought up, is prepared to fulfil three or four several
functions, however incompatible they may seem. The
house surgeon, a first-rate comedian, an admirable performer
on the violin, officiated also as his master's principal valet
de chambre; and I was surprised to see the "gay Lothario,"
who had likewise distinguished himself in the concert,
standing behind my chair at supper.
The whole establishment bore, in their gay and easy looks,
the marks of the generous disposition of the seigneur, who
was represented by all to be remarkable for his frankness,
openness and humanity. An instance occurred during
the late times, which sufficiently put to test the attachment
of these poor creatures: he had divided all his plate into
small lots, and doled it out to them as they dispersed on
the approach of the French army; to one he gave a chan-
delier, to another a tureen, to another plates and spoons,
&c. with orders that they should place them in conceal-
ment. In October, when he appeared again amongst them,
he required an account of the articles so disposed, and not
one was found to be missing.
Nor was this all. This poor people, upon his first taking
to flight, shewed their gratitude to him by their care of his
396
MOSCOW.
favourite female slave. She was well provided by them
with every requisite; and when they understood that he
was settled in a comfortable retreat, they furnished her, of
their own accord, with money and horses to follow him.
He seemed to pride himself much in these traits of good
feeling, as well he might; no doubt they are not very com-
mon, but probably are as often seen on the part of the slave
as generosity and kindness are to be met with on the side of
the master.
This description of household is by no means considered
as large; five or six hundred slaves are kept in many of
the great palaces at Moscow, and in the country residences,
as has been before remarked. They live huddled together
in a miserable state, without beds (which indeed are not
required by a Russian) and destitute of all that we should
style comfortable. But it is through their means that the
wealthy seigneur, besides providing the amusements of thea-
trical entertainments and concerts at home, besides ex-
hibiting an antichamber constantly filled with menials, and
a dinner table open to all his friends, is able to give to
the world more durable testimonies of his wealth. The
number of hands consigned to any employment (though
at this moment the supply is diminished) is almost incre-
dible, but may be surmised by the labours that are some-
times witnessed. Count Apraxin had lost his palace at
Moscow in the late conflagration; nothing dispirited, how-
ever, at the misfortune, "That stately edifice," said he,
was built in twenty-two successive years; it was destroyed
66
MOSCOW.
397
66
"in as many hours, and yet before twenty-two months are
expired shall be renewed in the same state as before."
It was done, and we saw his new building, with all its
domes and porticoes, completely finished, at this moment
the actual residence of a population of between 400 and 500
souls.
This rapid power of creation is truly consonant with the
Russian taste: when the King and Queen of Prussia paid
a visit to Petersburg, a suite of fourteen apartments, with
the carving, gilding, painting, and different elaborate deco-
rations, were prepared at a short notice of fourteen days;
and which is still more extraordinary, the gigantic pile of
the Mikhail Palace, the residence of the Emperor Paul at
Petersburg, was planned, built, and inhabited within the
short space of three years.
A certain northern sceptic, with whom every thing that
exceeded the ordinary limits of ocular demonstration was
alike "majus fide," would perhaps have been induced, on
the inspection of one of the curious establishments of seigno-
ralty in this country, to acknowledge that the reported
estimate of the population of Athens was by no means ren-
dered impossible by the small size of the town; where
accommodation more than enough might doubtless have
been found. And in reference to the magnitude of their
architectural monuments, which has been insisted upon by
an ingenious writer as affording matter of argument in sup-
port of the alleged number of the people, these speci-
mens of Russian grandeur may also be quoted.
On the 26th of June the heat was oppressive, the mer-
398
MOSCOW.
cury standing at 22° (Reaumur) in the shade*. As the fine-
ness of the evening, however, was expected to be unusually
attractive, we strolled down to the boulevards, where we
saw numerous singular and interesting groups of people.
Infinite was the variety of national costume. The Russian
tradesman, in his blue caftan, promenading with his wife,
in her head-dress of pearls, and plaited tippet of crimson
velvet and gold; the Greek in his gown of silk, blue or red;
the Persian in his peaked cap, his vest of flowered cotton,
and flowing robe; the Boukharian merchant, the Kasan
Tartar, the Mongoul, with their appropriate ornaments; and
the stately unbending Turk, stepping the walk with grave
and dignified air, a type of the only people in the world
with whom a smile does not seem to pass for current. But
the Sunday butterfly, dressed in the last arrived fashion
from England, patent white boot-tops, long breeches below
his calf, and waist below his middle, bore the bell, and car-
ried away all the admiration of the company.
We had little expected, from the deserted appearance
of the streets, to see so large a concourse of people in these
walks, but were told it was a thin attendance in compa-
rison with the exhibitions of former years. It was cer-
tain that the lucrative nature of the trade from the east had
already brought back a considerable number of the previous
residents, commerce was daily increasing in activity, and
* The cold is generally more severe in the winter at Moscow than at Peters-
burg, from its inland situation; in January 1814, the mercury of the ther-
mometer stood at 40° of Reaumur.
MOSCOW.
399
the promenaders were mostly persons engaged in that
line.
Of all the different branches, that which was carried on
by the Boukharian merchants seemed to be one of the most
gainful; it consisted chiefly in exchange; cloth, leather, in-
digo, small iron ware, &c. being given for cotton, stuffs,
and vests, lambskins, dried fruits, saltpetre, tourquoises*,
lapis lazuli, and other precious stones; the shawls also of
Cashmir, some at a value of not less than 5,000 or 6,000
roubles, are frequently imported by the same persons for
sale. Nor is it to Moscow alone that they resort; number-
less Boukharian caravans arrive annually by the Volga, to
attend the fair at Makarief, in July, which is the first esta-
blished mart of these parts; upwards of 100,000 persons
indeed are said regularly to assemble there for the transac-
tion of business.
The people of the country, the objects of this intercourse,
are a quiet industrious race of Tartars, living under an inde-
pendent khan, that holds his court at Boukhara, a city not
far distant from Samarcand. The tract lying between this
state and the Russian frontier presents the most serious
obstacles to a direct trade, being unprovided with water,
and besides much infested by the wandering piratical tribe
of the Kirgisses. Though the caravans are large, and con-
* This mineral is found at Nikapour, three days journey from Mecshit; it is
brought over in small pieces, packed in sacks. I have seen one of these spe-
cimens with the matrix attached; it was a red ferrugineous argillaceous earth,
bearing the appearance of stratification.
400
MOSCOW.
tain from 200 to 900 camels, they are frequently attacked
by these lawless freebooters, the only alternative being to
purchase their protection, which must be done at a dear
rate before they set out.
The armed bodies of the latter people are exceeding
strong; so much so, that the Russian engineers who were
sent attended by a squadron of cavalry and two pieces of
artillery, to survey the country, some years since, were
actually driven back before they reached the shores of lake
Aral.
The imperial government has long turned an eye to
these quarters; and in the present reign, an offer of a con-
stant escort of 1,000 men was made to any company of
merchants that were willing to embark a capital of 1,000,000
roubles, in a scheme for opening a direct trade with Bouk-
haria. No one, however, thought it advisable to close with
the proposal.
Besides the ordinary course of trade, curious fields of
speculation are open to adventurers in the eastern parts.
One merchant speculates upon the discovery of jewels,
deposited in flight or hoarded through fear, during the vari-
ous revolutions that have desolated Persia and the neigh-
bouring dominions. Another buys up emeralds and coral
for the Usbek Tartars, who, from custom immemorial, are
in the practice of ornamenting the eyes and forehead of
the dead with these valuable articles. Another told me he
had made a profitable journey with a cargo of wool from
Cashmir: making his way by the route of Palatinsk, across
MOSCOW.
401
a great portion of the desert; where he passed several days
trusting to the guidance of two honest Usbek Tartars,
who served him throughout for the moderate wages of one
ducat each.
The sum specified may seem extraordinary, but com-
merce has given the same notoriety to the Dutch ducat in
these remote provinces of Asia, which it has so long borne
in every kingdom of Europe. The French Napoleon, he
told us, though the gold was excellent, passed generally for
something short of its real value, being the specimen of a
currency whose stamp was not yet sufficiently known as to
have acquired the same credit with that of an older coinage.
He had heard, however, the name of Buonaparte mentioned
even in the wilds of Tartary, and had seen in the course of
the journey an history of his life, containing a pompous
account of his successful enterprises and actions, down
to the marriage with Maria. Louisa, in 1810.
It was
composed in Arabic, a language which is there familiar
to every person of education, and having been printed at
Paris, several hundred copies were sent to Aleppo, and dis-
tributed for circulation. Whether this was merely with a
view to propagate the glory of his name, or intended to
assist some future plan of conquest in the East, was not
manifest. We have heard of no undertaking of this nature
since the days of the Emperor Paul, who, in one of his
paroxysms of frenzy, ordered several hordes of Cossacks to
set out on a march that was to lead by the line of the
Aral, towards the confines of Hindostan. Each successive
3 F
402
MOSCOW.
body was to fill the place of the preceding one,
" velut
"unda supervenit undam," as they might have perished in
the desert or by the hands of their opponents; and thus
it was hoped the object might finally be attained. The
wild scheme was afterwards for some reason, no doubt as
good as that which first gave it birth, most happily re-
linquished.
Looking to the traffic of Moscow, the late ukase of the
Emperor Alexander, which forbids any foreigners, unless
naturalised, to establish themselves in business there, is
unfortunate in its application to the present time, when
encouragement should be given to settlers on almost any
terms: otherwise, no doubt can be entertained of the
general expediency of such a decree, in an empire where
foreign agency has been so widely diffused. Several regu-
lations with this view have been promulgated at Petersburg,
though the government could not venture to carry into
execution the step adopted at Moscow.*
On another day we made a short excursion to the De-
vitchi nunnery, once the place of confinement of Sophia,
* In the year 1810, a new tax was ordered to be levied on the foreign trades-
men at Petersburg who were not naturalised; 100 roubles was the sum demanded
from every master, and 40 from each journeyman. The ukase stated it to be
the intention of government that the rich should pay for the poor, in order to
avoid oppression on any class. The foreigners were assembled by order of the
police, locked in a room together, a guard mounted over them, and commanded
to select twelve men who should be responsible for the rest. This was done,
but the tax was afterwards remitted. The object of the measure was to force
them to enter into the established companies of trade.
الرشيد
MOSCOW.
403
the sister of Peter I. The court was open to the public;
no envious grate opposed our entrance, but we surveyed at
leisure every part of the melancholy establishment. The
black caps, and habits of the devotees, appearing through
the gloom of a Russian church, gave a most impres-
sive solemnity to their vespers, which was still heightened
by the plaintive tone of the female voices, joining in the
chant; for they officiated themselves during a part of
the service, priests being only in attendance at the sanc-
tuary door, which it is never permitted to a woman to
pass on the whole, we were much delighted with our
visit.
These religious edifices, which, during the disorderly
time of the reigns of the grand dukes, were all built and
provided as fortresses, might be even now considered strong
holds in a military view. But added to this consideration,
the angle formed by the river, towards the great western
road, immediately under the Sparrow hills, rendered the
nunnery a post highly necessary to be occupied by the
French. A detachment of near 4000 men were accordingly
placed in garrison, to watch the passage, and prevent the
Russians from establishing themselves in that quarter.
The officers of this division were represented to have
behaved extremely well; they professed to acknowledge the
same God as their female hostesses, and crossed themselves
before the painted images with a specious shew of devotion.
In short, they gave such general satisfaction by their con-
duct, that when Davoust offered to replace half of his men
404
MOSCOW.
with an equal number of wounded Russians, the goodly
Igoumena, or abbess, declined without ceremony the prof-
fered exchange. Lest any suspicion should arise that
might bear hard upon her character or that of her com-
panions, it is but justice at the conclusion of the story to
add, that the nuns seemed, to us at least, neither
handsome.
young nor
Another evening took us to the monasteries lying on the
Moskwa below the town, which are all remarkable for the
beauty of their situations: they were mostly buildings like
that of St. A. Newski at Petersburg, with patch-work
walls of red and white, and, one only excepted, seemed of
no great antiquity.
In making these various excursions, it was lamentable
to behold, in whatever direction we passed, similar scenes of
wreck and havoc were constantly before us. It is not difficult
to picture to one's mind the appearance of an ordinary
town reduced to a state of ruin; but to traverse a place of
35 versts in circumference, and find every where the same
features, was a display of horror that far exceeds the
utmost limits of fancy. The citizens had been diligent
in repairs, it is true, though little, indeed, could the
labour of two years produce in a city of such dimensions.
The few habitations that were renewed shewed but as
spots in the wide waste, and seemed scarce to diversify this
universal scene of desolation.
Of the whole original extent, the more distant parts of
the Slabode alone, with a few streets of the Belgorod on
MOSCOW.
405
the north, had escaped. The former from the circumstance
of the dwellings being so loosely dispersed; the latter owing
to the exertions of the new imperial guard, who saved the
houses in which they were quartered, nor was it probably
less indebted to the presence of the governor Mortier,
who occupied the private house of Rastopchin. The an-
nexed plan will furnish an idea of the extent of the mis-
chief, the parts of the town which were consumed being
shaded black. It appears by the official returns, that before
the fire the wooden houses amounted in number to 6591,
and those built of stone or brick to 2567; of the former,
when the French evacuated the town, only 2100 were re-
maining, and of the latter 526.

m
18.
וה
90000
D
00000
406
MOSCOW.
With regard to the funds for purposes of rebuilding, we
must observe, that the losses of the nobility were, generally
speaking, too extensive to admit of their bestowing any
thoughts on this subject for the present.
The Princess D. whom I mention rather for the sake of
more credible authority than as furnishing an example of
misfortune greater than ordinary, estimated her losses at
2095 slaves, besides an amount in houses, furniture, cattle,
&c. of 2,000,000 roubles. Under these circumstances, when
not only the direct privation is to be taken into account,
but also the diminution of the sources of profit, it cannot
be expected that many of the palaces at Moscow should
be yet restored. The mansions of Count Apraxin and Mon-
sieur Batachov alone formed an exception: the rest, those
of Pashkov, Menzikov, Pushkin, Troubetskoi, Scheremetov,
Dashkov, Orlov, Dolgorucki, Panin, Kasselov, Besborodko,
Durassov, Soltigov, Gagarin, with many others, lay in the
same neglected and forlorn condition. The ranks of society
were thinned in proportion, and at the promenade on the
1st of May, instead of 5000 carriages being seen in the train
as heretofore, only 1500, including those of many country
residents, were mustered.
હૈ
Among the lower classes, several of the little retail shop-
keepers and the owners of inns, &c. had rebuilt their houses
in those situations where a ready and quick return of money
might warrant the speculation, for it was accomplished at
a heavy expense.
* The hotel of the German tractir, as he
* Day labour was at two roubles, and the price of bricks had risen at
this time from 15 roubles to 45. A subscription was made at Petersburg
*

I.T.James del?
BESBORODKO PALACE, SLABODE, MOSCOW.
London, Published by IMarray, Albemarle Street, 1816
1. Clark soulp?
UNI
OF
FISH
MOSCOW.
407
is called, in which we lodged, was of this description; it
stood almost single in a ruinous street, and the marks of
the fire were still visible over the windows and doors, as
well as various other parts of the walls. The total amount
of the numbers refitted were in wood 1480, in stone 1312.
It
may be asked by some persons what was the effect of
the subscriptions which English liberality had afforded in
relief of these cases of distress. I am sorry to say that it was
not in the nature of things that much could be effected by a
measure of this sort; it was some time, indeed, before the
Russian government prevailed upon themselves to accept
this generous mark of consideration. But it must be
recollected that the class of persons to whom we would
in such cases give assistance in England, under the deno-
mination of" poor sufferers," have in this country no exist-
ence; they are all slaves, and can possess nothing legally
of their own. The money sent out therefore was to be dis-
tributed in grants to such of the seigneurs as chose to avail
themselves of the offer. In this way, perhaps, it answered
its purpose, however indirectly, since it might relieve their
peasants from the immediate call for money, which they
would otherwise have experienced. If such an arrangement
was not according to the wishes of the liberal contributors
to the subscription, it is a painful task to record the failure
of their well meant benevolence.
for the relief of the fugitives from Moscow. The town was divided into 12
districts, over each of which a lady presided to give aid to any who might be
found there.
408
MOSCOW.
The number of inhabitants resident at Moscow, while
the heat of the summer months admitted them to bivouac
in the streets or in the ruined houses, amounted to about
170,000; but this vast accession was only temporary, and
did not in reality amount to much more than half the
number which the city was estimated to contain before the
war.
The existing appearances afforded, no doubt, very in-
sufficient memorials of the real calamities which had been
inflicted on this people by the ambition of France. To see
so many unoffending souls deprived at once of every thing
they had in the world, was a sight too much for a heart of
the sternest mould to regard unmoved. Murat, as was
before stated, and Mortier, had each opened a large asylum
in their respective houses; but, which is still more a matter
of astonishment, Napoleon himself was melted to pity, and,
though in direct opposition to his former conduct, seemed
desirous of alleviating their state of misery. Human na-
ture, it is true, is not at all times consistent in herself;
our frail habits are as incapable of accomplishing perfection
in one character as in another; and the villain shews occa-
sional feelings of remorse as the good man his vicious
weaknesses.
We may suppose that prudential motives entered largely
into his calculations; but, nevertheless, it was certainly
owing to his orders that the permission to pillage was form-
ally recalled at the end of the first week; that the governor,
Mortier, was charged to organise a provisional municipality
MOSCOW.
409
from among the citizens; that syndics were named to re-
port on the number of the poor and destitute; that rations
were promised to them; that the French surgeons were
ordered to attend the sick of both nations without distinc-
tion; and that Monsieur Toutolmin was required to draw up
a report* of the present state of the Foundling-hospital (for
it had escaped the flames) specifying the means it afforded
of giving assistance.
These steps were not altogether without effect, though
the new municipality met with a thousand difficulties in the
execution of their office; though neither civil nor military
authorities seemed respected; though the promised rations †
could not be furnished for the poor; and though the hos-
pitals were reported to have been left unprovided with any
means of aid: yet in consequence of such regulations, a
material difference took place in the general condition of
* In order to secure Monsieur Toutolmin from any ill consequences,
Buonaparte promised to forward this document, as from himself, to the Dowager
Empress, which was done, but no answer was ever received.
+ Buonaparte in consequence of this distributed 30,000 roubles, that had
been coined in copper, among the wretches mentioned in the above report, who
amounted to 500 in number. The copper, however, was nearly useless; the
French, who were in chief possession of all articles of food, would not accept it,
because too weighty to be carried off; so that being disregarded as useless in
the town, it was carried away by the peasants to be buried in their gardens for
future use.
It is singular that, before the war, an ukase came out ordering 33 churches at
Moscow (where there were anciently said to be near 2000) to be pulled down.
The superstition of the people attributed their calamities to this circumstance.
The emperor has vowed to build a new church at Moscow in commemoration
of the late deliverance of Russia.
3 G
410
MOSCOW.
the citizens, and even at the beginning of the third
week the town had assumed an appearance comparatively
tranquil..
In consequence of this the people began to turn their
thoughts to a new subject; hitherto no mass had been
celebrated in Moscow since the day the French entered; it
was proposed, therefore, to open one of the churches for
public accommodation. After a long search a priest was
discovered (aumonier du regiment de chev. gardes) who un-
dertook to officiate; preparations were made with due
solemnity, and a French guard mounted at the doors to
preserve order. The church of Eupla-Diacona was selected
for this purpose; long before the appointed hour the en-
trance was beset by the populace, and on the doors being
thrown open, the area was in an instant thronged by
the anxious crowd that hurried to their devotions. Eye-
witnesses report the scene of religious earnestness which
here took place, to have been such as far exceeded in
interest any of the most striking spectacles exhibited by
the ostentatious ceremonials of the Greek church. It so
happened that this day was the feast of St. Alexander, the
emperor's name's day; a Te Deum was chanted on the oc-
casion, and the happy omen hailed with joy.
C
*
As better treatment began to prevail, the country pea-
sants occasionally shewed themselves at the barriers, and a
few even ventured into the town, where, mixing with the
French soldiers, and finding themselves kindly received,
they began to bring provisions to the market as before.
}
MOSCOW,
411
All this, however, was not merely with the desire of gain,
but they hoped also, under the mask of good humour, to
conceal their projects of revenge. They would constantly
laugh, and shake hands, and dance (as they said) with
monsieur, calling themselves son ami, son humble serviteur,
for they are gifted with an extraordinary facility in catching
the phrases of a foreign tongue. But, notwithstanding
this, whenever they were fortunate enough to light upon
monsieur alone, they infallibly murdered him, and some-
times with circumstances of aggravation the most cruel
and barbarous.
The soldiers were so far deceived by these demonstra-
tions of friendship, that they sometimes sat down to
dinner at the village cottages, leaving their muskets, in un-
suspecting confidence, piled outside of the door: the pea-
sants then watching their opportunity, assembled together
and butchered their guests with their own arms, while
enjoying the proffered hospitality; triumphing in the
glory of an act of vengeance, but still more proud of the
devilish subtilty of the scheme. Many foraging parties were
in this way cut off by the crafty rustics. An extract of
a letter, written by a steward of an estate in the country to
his master at Petersburg, giving a simple account of his
success, deserves to be quoted." The French came to us,
"and took from us hay, oats, bread, and some cattle;
"however, we have got still sufficient for the winter. In
some of your estates they have committed great ravages :
"about three weeks ago they came to us again with an in-
1
•
412
MOSCOW.
"tention to burn our village, but by the assistance of God
"and your peasantry we have killed them all, like so many
"starved dogs. We found in their baggage many church
"ornaments, a priest's surplice, and a string of pearls. I
"have given all these for the use of our parish church: we
"want nothing belonging to the French; we are contented,
"and must not provoke divine vengeance." Some curi-
ous anecdotes are also in circulation illustrative of their
zeal and perseverance A story is related of a slave living
on Count Romanzov's estate, in the neighbourhood of Mos-
cow, who was shot at and wounded by a soldier that was
diverting himself in making a predatory excursion; the
poor wretch, feeling he had not long to live, crawled as well
as he was able to his cottage: the Frenchman, thinking this
a fair occasion of making some booty, followed the steps of
his victim, and found him, when he entered, stretched at
length on the floor in the agonies of death. Upon this he
proceeded without delay (“ Attali ignotus hæres") to put in
his claims to the most valuable moveables of the cabin, and
was descending through the trap door in the centre where
the store is kept, when the dying peasant, summoning his
remaining strength, seized his hatchet and staggered to the
spot; with one blow he cleft the Frenchman's head in
twain, and then himself dropping down from loss of blood,
breathed his last gasp at the same moment with his cruel
assassin. Various examples of the courage and spirit of
individuals might be afforded, for no one was a quiet spec-
tator of what passed; but it is time to close this account
MOSCOW.
413
for the sake of recurring to what was said on the state of
circumstances on the other side.
In the beginning of October the cold had began to set
in; and at the same time the increased activity of the
Russian army posted near Kalouga redoubled the anxiety
of the French generals. Every possible expedient was re-
sorted to that might animate the drooping spirits of the
soldiers, or at least to divert them from ruminating on
their condition. It was their turn now to practise such
stratagems of deceit, as the Russians had resorted to before
their departure from the city: a second envoy to the
Emperor Alexander was talked of; various amusements and
spectacles were proposed. I have seen indeed a bill of one
of the performances at their temporary theatre, bearing
date October 12th, being only five days previous to the
evacuation of the city. But all was in vain; the victory
gained by Benningsen at Taratina, led them to form such
inferences, with regard to the prospect now open to them,
as produced a marked change in the countenance of all
the French officers. Their communicative spirit seemed
sunk, and their gaiety and usual face of assurance were for
once dismayed: "c'est fait de nous-nous voila bien flambès,”
now and then was heard to escape their lips: but they grew,
in general, cautious of entertaining conversation, and never
talked of affairs but in dark hints or in whispers with one
another.
Immediate retreat from Moscow was become a matter
of necessity rather than choice, and it was a step that
414
MOSCOW.
could not be taken without infinite hazard. At last the
mind of the Emperor appeared to be made up: orders
were given that the convoys of the wounded should
set out on the road to Smolensko, with directions to the
commissariat to prepare biscuit for twenty days. This
was soon bruited through the town: after which, at four
o'clock on the evening of October 18, the generale was
suddenly beaten, and in the space of one hour several
regiments were already put in motion towards the south.
Mortier was left in charge of Moscow, with a garrison
of 5,000 men. His first act was to remove his quarters
to the Kremlin for the sake of security, since it could
not be expected that the deserted situation of the place
would be long unknown to the Russians. On the 20th,
indeed, a party of Cossacks, trusting to their own observa-
tion, penetrated into the town, and proceeded through
great part of the Twerskoi before troops could be collected
to repulse them, which was not effected till after a hard
struggle.
A day or two afterwards General Witzingerode, with
his aid-de-camp, entered for the purpose of making a re-
connaissance : having reached the boulevards, he was sur-
prised to see a squadron of French cavalry appear suddenly
in his rear. Upon this he bethought himself of a ruse de
guerre, and holding up his white handkerchief as a flag of
truce, addressed himself to the officer commanding the
squadron, purporting to be an envoy from the Russian
army, and desirous to be led instantly to head-quarters. He
MOSCOW.
415
was conducted accordingly to the Kremlin. But Mortier
was not to be deceived by so shallow a device; he dis-
covered him, and protested in strong terms against the
idea of a commander in chief becoming his own messenger:
the excuse being on this ground, therefore, totally inad-
missible, he said he should consider him as a prisoner of
war, and sent him, under guard, to Buonaparte. Here
this story was nearly brought to a tragical conclusion. The
emperor's temper was soured by disappointment, and in
open violation of all just principle, he condemned Witzin-
gerode to death: acting upon one of those political
sophisms, for which he is so remarkable, and seeing his
captive, for he was a Westphalian, in no other light than
that of a rebel, bearing arms against his king and master.
The general's extraordinary preservation and subsequent
escape are well known.
As to the original intention of Buonaparte, with regard
to the occupation of Moscow, many speculations have been
entered upon by various people: since, from the circum-
stance of an esplanade being cleared with some labour, on
that side of the Kremlin which fronts the Kitaigorod, and
also from the entrenchments and barricade, constructed
before the gate on the water-side, fears had been enter-
tained at one time, that he meant still to keep possession
of the place. The 26th bulletin indeed gives an hint of
such an intention, although, it is added, for certain reasons,
the Kremlin was held untenable, and altogether, “the un-
"healthy and impure sink of Moscow" was abandoned.
416
MOSCOW.
The preparations, however, for blowing up the walls and
other parts, of which no secret was made, first gave to the
citizens an assurance that he would really evacuate. Yet
nothing was known for certain, until two o'clock in the
morning of the 23d October, when the four explosions, be-
fore alluded to, were heard in succession, giving a terrible
annunciation of what was passing, and putting a finishing
stroke to the wanton insults that had been heaped upon
this nation.
The French troops, who, for the sake of shew, had been
paraded in various directions during several hours, com-
menced their march at 7 o'clock in the evening of the
22d; and at sunrise on the following morning no trace was
to be seen but the frightful ruin they had occasioned.
In the course of this memorable day the Cossacks took
possession of the town; but instead of their arrival being a
subject of congratulation, this was a new hour of trial
for the persecuted inhabitants. In the heat of their mis-
guided fury, these troops commenced a search in all the
houses for plunder, under the pretence of looking for French
soldiers; whom, if by chance they found, they instantly put
to death, sick or wounded, as they lay in their beds.
Those to whom the French had manifested any par-
tiality became, in the moment, the objects of their rage,
and were pursued with similar assiduity. A score of
Cossacks burst into the house of Mons. Beketov, near the
Pont aux Marechaux, where they beat the women with their
sabres, and would have killed the men had they not made
MOSCOW.
417
a precipitate escape during the tumult. After this the mob
of peasants led the way to the French colony, which was a
long established fraternity of refugees, who had taken
up
their abode in one of the northern quarters of the Sem-
lianigorod: “Behold,” said one of the Mougiks, address-
ing himself to the Cossacks, "behold a nest of spies
“and traitors whom we have long nourished in the
"heart of our city-kill without reserve." Upon this ad-
dress they prepared to execute the bloody design: but
the venerable Abbé Savagnè, rushing forward, besought
them to hear a few words in defence of himself and his
flock. The firm air and manner with which he spoke
assured them of his innocence. The Cossacks listened
patiently, and not only obeyed his request, but even them-
selves promised to engage the people to retire without
seeking to glut their revenge with such acts of unjust re-
prisal.
This time of confusion and anarchy was indeed a
dreadful interval, which assumed every hour a more serious
aspect. General Benkendorf, who arrived with three bat-
talions on the following day, exerted himself to the utmost;
yet the exasperation of the mob knew no bounds, and it was
with the greatest difficulty that tranquillity was restored.
It had been noised abroad that 2,000 sick and wounded
Frenchmen had been left in the Foundling and Gallitzin hos-
pitals. A few of the poor creatures being in a convalescent
state, set out to follow the retreating army, but were in-
stantly murdered, and the mob discovering whence they
3 H
418
MOSCOW.
proceeded, assembled in crowds before the doors with denun-
ciations of vengeance. The thirst of blood seemed to have
increased with every fresh act of gratification: three times
did they address themselves, by deputation, to General
Benkendorf, soliciting permission to enter the hospitals
where these wretches lay. They were of course as often
denied; yet all explanation or reasoning was useless; the
last time, however, of their coming, the general spoke so
strongly, and threatened them with such severe punish-
ment if they returned, that they were compelled, though
reluctantly, to disperse.
With regard to the Cossacks, as their name has been
mentioned, it is not meant to assert that they are likely
to abstain from such conduct, when incited by the rage
of the people; yet on this subject we must refer to what
was said at a former occasion. Many are the acts of out-
rage that are undeservedly attributed to them. Cossack
is a term in this country, which being transferred from
the tribes usually employed in certain duties, is used to
express any irregular body of militia whatsoever. Every
one so serving is not necessarily of their race, any more
than an hussar in any other service is an indigenous
Hungarian. There were several new regiments during
the war, as is the constant practice, armed and ap-
pointed à la Cossaque. I remember indeed that on our
passing through Twer, a body of Cossacks (as they were
called) had just returned from the army, and were disbanded
at that place, being almost all of them natives of the pro-
MOSCOW.
419
vince; they had been crown-slaves, drivers, lacqueys, barge-
men, serving in various capacities, but that had no fur-
ther pretensions to their name, than their carrying long
pikes, wearing loose hose, and displaying certain powers of
knavery.
July 4th. It is on this day that a solemn procession
takes place to the monastery where is preserved an image
of the Virgin, which once struck the Tartars with blindness
upon their making an attack on Moscow. As, however, she
had wrought no miracle on the late occasion, we neglected
the persuasions of her devotees, and set out, as we had pro-
posed, on our road to Smolensko; having it in view to trace
the route of the French army during their retreat.
A few mansions appeared in ruins on the side of the
way, but this was a sight with which we had now grown
familiar. The first objects which arrested our attention
were the remains of the batteries erected at Poclonigorod,
(the bowing hill) where it was at one time intended to have
made another stand against the French army, after the loss of
the battle of Borodino. The road passed over a gently rising
ground on which the works were constructed; the flanks
of the position were secured to a certain degree by large
and thick forests, but the country beyond was open and
practicable for every sort of operation, and it was judicious
perhaps not to risk an action against the numerous force
that the enemy was moving up, especially as a reverse would
have been attended with the worst possible consequences,
since the distance from Moscow was no more than 12 versts.
420
BORODINO.
The town of Mojaisk was for the greater part destroyed
by conflagration; its inhabitants, as well as the peasantry
of the vicinity, had fled, they said, on the advance of the
French to Vladomir, and their houses were set in flames by
the retreating Russians. The French afterwards, retreating
in their turn, set a finishing hand to the work.
It was at this place that the army regained the Smo-
lensko road, after that the manœuvres of Kutusof, toge-
ther with the loss of the battle of Malojareslovetz, had frus-
trated their intention of accomplishing a passage through
the southern provinces. While the grand Russian army
marched in a direct line upon Krasnoi, intending to
intercept them, they were here actively pursued by Pla-
tow and Miloradovitch, and Orlow Denisov; the first of
whom coming up at Mojaisk, made a successful attack,
forcing them over an eminence at the back of the town,
which was pointed out to us with much glee by our rustic
driver.
But the fields of Borodino were now within six versts,
and we were wholly occupied in anticipating the pleasure
of viewing a spot of so great notoriety. Advancing from
the rear, we first passed the little cottage at Tatarinova,
where Kutusow's head quarters were established, and soon
after arrived on the ground occupied by the Russians
during the ever-memorable battle of the 5th of August.
As the road passed through the centre of the position, we
had an excellent view of the whole. In this respect, it
bore a peculiar interest, that it was not a post casually
BORODINO.
421
taken up in the course of the campaign, but long selected
beforehand, and fortified with great care. General Be-
ningsen, to whom this duty was entrusted, resided here
with the engineers for a week; it was the same officer indeed
who afterwards put the works to the test, and in conjunction
with B. de Tolli directed the chief operations of the day.
The point at which we had arrived presented to our view
a straight natural terrace of about thirty or forty feet of
elevation, falling with a gentle descent in front, and extend-
ing three or four English miles in length; along the foot
ran the Kologha, a small tributary stream to the Mosqwa,
which was fordable in many places. The right flank was
secured by the last mentioned river, and otherwise so strong,
that no attempt was made by the enemy in that quarter.
The left was protected by a deep ravine, beyond which
was an height occupied with three redoubts. Besides this,
two knolls, crowned with batteries, strengthened the left
centre, commanding, by their towering station, the whole
field around; immediately below stood Borodino.
The French occupied an eminence on the other side of
the Kologha, in a line extending from a point opposite the
Russian centre, and reaching round the extremity of their
left, which they in fact completely turned; their ground
was of an higher elevation, but not such as to afford any
command within cannon range. They were supported by
two batteries on the south, and the parapets of two others
were yet remaining near Kaloueva, which had been con-
structed to favour their latter operations.
422
BORODINO.
The redoubts on the height before mentioned, which
protected the left of the Russians, were carried on the
first day of the action, after which the plan of the enemy
underwent a change, and an attack commenced on the
centre. Notwithstanding a double range of guns that poured
their fire down the long natural glacis opposed to them,
the impetuous valour of the French bore them on un-
daunted. Early in the morning, they carried the village
of Borodino, before the Russians had time to destroy the
bridge, and crossing the Kologha, advanced up the heights,
and made three desperate charges; but being received by
troops brave as themselves, they were driven back with
immense slaughter. Upon this they again altered their
plan, and returned to the left to follow up the advantages
gained in that quarter. This wing of the Russians had
been much weakened by the loss of the height before men-
tioned; for what reason it was not recovered I cannot say,
since the French batteries were too far removed to be able
to afford any efficient support, and the situation of a corps
in the wood behind rendered its recovery practicable by an
attack in reverse. Its possession by the enemy certainly
gave them the most decided superiority, and in consequence
they succeeded, on the third day, in gaining possession
of the ground on which their adversaries left wing had
stood. At night the parties mutually drew off, and the
Russians seized this opportunity of effecting their retreat
unmolested. Their army was not in a condition to resume
the field with any prospect of advantage: the French were
BORODINO.
423
already superior in number, and an overwhelming force was
coming up; while at the same time a second contest, at-
tended even with better success than the first, could not
have saved the city of Moscow.
A more sanguinary conflict had never been fought
in any preceding war; upwards of 63,000 bodies, the vic-
tims of three days, were left for interment, the loss be-
ing on both sides nearly upon an equality. On viewing
the numerous difficulties that were here surmounted; on
the one hand the commanding situation of the redoubts,
the strength of the ravines, and the artificial aids that
were opposed; on the other, the obstinacy of the de-
fence, and the steadiness and intrepidity with which every
attack of their daring enemy was resisted, one cannot
but look on this memorable engagement as one of those
great examples of spirit and courage, that not only form
the pride of military history, but, morally speaking, seems
to elevate the character of human nature.
On descending from Gorrha to the village of Borodino,
we lighted upon a foreigner who was sitting in a meditative
posture on the banks of the Kologha. In a place so unfre-
quented, a casual rencontre is an introduction: we address-
ed ourselves to the stranger, and were received with great
politeness though startled at our sudden appearance,
he seemed pleased at an opportunity of finding any
person to whom he could communicate his thoughts. He
informed us he was a native of Poland who had served
as an officer in Sebastiani's division at the battle, where
424
BORODINO.
P
where he was struck by a ball during the attack upon the
centre, and being left on the field, was taken prisoner by
the Russians, and sent to Archangel. Now set at liberty,
he was returning to his native country, and happening
in his route to pass over this place, had stopped to sur-
vey once more the field of carnage. The spot on which we
stood was the same where he had received his wound; and he
had been sitting, he said, nearly an hour, tracing in his mind
the various images of the past. He was unable to tear him-
self away; the view made such an impression on him as
quite bewildered his ideas; and when he looked on these
fields now so tranquil, and so different from the tumultuous
scene they had before exhibited, it seemed as if his former
recollections were but the memory of a dream.
All, all is peaceful, all is still,
As if these waves, since time was born,
Had only heard the shepherd's reed,
Nor startled at the bugle-horn.
After gathering what information we could, we left our
new acquaintance to pursue his journey; and feeling our-
selves too much interested to hurry from the ground so
soon, we proceeded to the height on the left of the positions,
where we found the field works still remaining. The ravine
separating this post from the main body was commanded
by a strong battery at Semenovski, which swept the greater
part of its length, and the ground yet shewed many memo-
rials of the havoc that had taken place. But on arriving at
BORODINO.
425
the redoubts, these melancholy tokens were still more
abundant; the interior was literally strewed with caps,
feathers, scabbards, picces of camp kettles, scraps of uni-
forms, French and Russian mixed together in confusion,
apparently in the place where each man had fallen. A
little farther was the spot where General Montbrun was
killed by a cannon-ball; an officer whose intrepidity well
deserved the encomium of his comrades. Over his grave,
a small wooden tablet, attached to a rough stake, bore an
inscription to his memory. It had been penned in ink
after the hurry of the day was past; but the simple and
classical turn of its style well entitles it to record.
Ci git
Le General Montbrun.
Passant, de quelque nation
qui tu sois,
respecte ces cendres:
Ces sont les restes d'un des plus
braves parmi tous les
braves du monde,
du General Montbrun.
Le Maréchal d'Empire, Duc de Dantzic,
lui a érigé ce faible monument.
Sa memoire est dans tous les cœurs
de la Grande Armée.
Of these field works it was easy to see, said the 18th
French bulletin, that they "were but half formed, the fosse
3 I
426
BORODINO.
"shallow, neither pallisadoed nor defended with chevaux
"de frise," yet this was the key of the position: the cri-
tique does not seem to have been ill applied; there was
no sufficient obstacle to have prevented a body of cavalry
from forcing their way directly over the parapets; and,
judging from present appearances, one of them had been
carried in this manner.
After the expulsion of the French army from Russia,
a question of some importance arose regarding the best
mode of getting rid of the innumerable carcases of men
and horses which covered the surface of the ground. The
method of burying in quick lime was suggested; but as it
occurred that the wood necessary for burning so large a
quantity of lime would in all probability be sufficient to
consume the bodies themselves, the scheme was dropped,
and the more summary process preferred of committing
them at once to the flames. They lay during the hard
season in a frozen state, until a short time before the
thaw was expected to commence; they were then hewn in
pieces, collected in heaps, and consumed upon piles of
wood.
The contractile convulsions of the limbs upon being
thawed by the action of the fire is stated to have given rise
to a very witty saying on the subject, in allusion to writhings
and contortions in realms of fire below. Possibly the turn
of the idea in the Russian language may give a gloss to the
expression, but it does not seem to claim any great merit
for the neatness of the allusion, nor yet for its originality.
BORODINO.
427.
Considerable fear prevailed at one time, lest pestilential
fevers should be generated from the corruption of these car-
cases, in case they had been left to rot in the open air. It
was asserted in opposition to this doctrine, that the miasmata
arising from animal putrifaction were not found by expe-
rience to possess those detrimental qualities which attend
the decomposition of vegetable matter. With what truth
such an argument may be urged, let those who are better
informed take upon themselves to decide; but certain it is
that many of the bodies were left unburied, exposed only
to the rapacity of the wolves, or the still more tedious ope-
ration of the forest ants; nor at any place, as far as I
could hear, did those who lived near suffer the ill effects
from this circumstance, which had been so often predicted.
The village of Gridnevo, our next station, was the spot
where Buonaparte encamped the night before he marched
for Borodino, and had been the scene of some trifling affairs.
Our post-master had remained here during the whole cam-
paign, witnessing the march and retreat of both parties;
but he seemed to know very little concerning what had
passed, as it may be said, before his eyes, which, neverthe-
less, was no uncommon case. It is worthy of remark, that
this part of the road, the hamlet itself, the Kolozki monas-
tery, and other neighbouring places, were frequently sur-
prised and taken possession of by detachments from the
army of Witzingerode, during the occupation of Moscow;
intercepting, by these movements, the communications of
the French with their rear.
428
VIASMA.
Gshatsk shewed less signs of ravage than any other
town in this line; but Viasma, on the other hand, presented
as dismal a scene as we had any where witnessed. Nearly
all the large houses were gutted and burnt. It contained
before the war, 15,000 inhabitants, and might boast a name
of high antiquity, being formerly made an appanage to the
family of the grand dukes of Russia. Some traces of old
towers and ramparts were discoverable, though these too
had been in part demolished.
At the entrance to the town from the east was a large
plain, where the retreating army of the French drew
up, and
sustained the attacks of the corps of Orlov Denisov and
Miloradovitch, on the 21st and 22d of October, (O. S.).
Their exhausted state compelled them on the latter day,
after some severe fighting, to give way, and being thrown
into disorder, they took to flight with precipitation.
Their victorious enemy pursued them through the streets
with trumpets sounding and colours flying; and upwards
of 6000 men were sacrificed to the fury of the Russians.
The hatred and exasperation of all ranks of people
against the French was so inveterate, that even at the time
of our making this journey, their feelings ran as high as ever,
in testimony of which I must add the narrative of a circum-
stance that occurred here.
It will be necessary to apologise to my reader, who has
accompanied me thus far, for detaining him with any tale
of self adventure; but the story is so illustrative of the man-
ners as well as sentiments of the people, that I hope to
stand excused for its introduction.
VIASMA.
429
Being employed in sketching a view on the skirts of
the town, a citizen came up, and after surveying me
with symptoms of disapprobation, shouted in a vehe-
ment tone, “Plan-espion—Napoleon dobry—Francosen !”
I was unable to answer this strange disjointed jargon, but
by a single "Engliska," which, as it asserted the name of
my country in answer to his last accusation, I thought
might prove satisfactory, and continued my occupation.
This seemed to inflame his rage the more; he again ad-
dressed me with the same words and received the same
answer; for a moment it pacified him, and, in the true
Russian style, he proceeded to offer me the kiss of peace;
I naturally enough refused his overture, venting, in my
turn, a few loud words, as unintelligible, no doubt, to him
as his had been to me. Supposing this to be fresh ground
of suspicion against me, or perhaps fancying himself in-
sulted, he became frantic with passion, he spit on his
fingers several times, rolled himself with violent gestures
on the ground; but finding that I still continued my work
he left me, and I congratulated myself on being rid of my
troublesome companion. He presently returned, followed
by a serjeant of the police and a third person; another
furious volley of abuse now succeeded from all the three,
and the police officer without farther delay seized upon
me. The affair was thus growing serious, and as I had
seen these men, upon taking any person into custody, usually
give the culprit a thwack upon the back as if in detestation
of his crime, I expected no better treatment, and prudently
430
VIASMA.
struck him myself by way of prevention. He immediately
loosed his hold, recoiling a few steps in amazement; yet it
availed me nothing, for he called up six or seven soldats of
his guard to attend him. I, on the other hand, vociferated
for my domestic, who was within hail; but since
my force,
even with this accession, was far out-numbered by that of
my adversaries, it seemed wise to essay a parley, and I
directed the servant to explain to these brutes the nature
of my occupation, and display at the same time a written
permission which was furnished me by the vice governor of
Moscow, allowing me to make drawings any where within
his province. It was something in justification at least,
though by no means a document thoroughly satisfactory;
a similar certificate from the governor of this district would,
however, have served no better, for these men were unable
to read a single word, and using less ceremony with the
poor fellow than they thought it right to do with me, they
seized upon him as an accomplice in my treasonable act, and
hurried him to prison, for it was hard by, without listening
to his harangue. Having done this, they surrounded me
in a ring; their numbers being now very much increased
by the arrival of several idle Mougiks whom curiosity
had attracted: and since their threats were growing every
instant more violent, and, furthermore, as a priest, who
accidentally passed by at this juncture, appeared rather to
encourage the outcry than inclined to take my part, I
yielded to the repeated solicitations of the turnkey, and
entered the prison door.
VIASMA.
431
66
After waiting for some time, a messenger came from
the governor desiring to speak with me: being introduced
to his presence, he received me with great politeness, an-
ticipating my address by begging my pardon, as he said,
for himself and for his poor people.—“ I hope you will ex-
cuse them, they are so ignorant, and have suffered so
much-they are sorely exasperated against the authors
"of their sufferings, and in their eyes every foreigner is a
"Frenchman." I assented to what he said, but could not
help letting a wish escape me that they should be corrected
in the very awkward mode they adopted of expressing these
sentiments. He immediately turned round, and ordered
the punishment of the "coup de baton" to the serjeant of
police. I now interceded in my turn, begging that no
measure should be put in execution which might check,
even in a single individual, those rude feelings of Russian
patriotism to which all Europe, in the present æra, stood so
much indebted; and professed that I should be satisfied
if he were brought to beg my pardon in token of his
error. His excellency returned a polite answer, and the
offender was immediately ordered up and prostrated before
me, uttering some strange noises in penitence, which, though
I comprehended not one word, had, nevertheless, a most
agreeable and refreshing sound.
In some measure the interruption I received was not
unmerited, having been often before cautioned by the civil
officers of government to avoid making sketches; but the
temptation, while viewing places so interesting as these,
432
VIASMA.
could not be resisted; besides, the accident was an amusing
one, and it may be said to be something at least in the way
of novelty, to have seen the inside of a Russian jail.
The prisoners immediately on my entrance had assem-
bled around me with eager and enquiring looks, losing no
time to signify by signs, according to the force of their re-
spective imaginations, that I should be shot or knouted, or
hung; all seemed agreed as to my guilt and my certain
condemnation, varying only in the apportionment of my
sentence. One poor fellow, indeed, to whom I had given
some few copecks in the morning during the hour they are
permitted to beg in the town, ventured to hint (though dif-
fidently) that perhaps they might have selected a worse
Another contented himself with making a few re-
marks on my dress, adding, he had remembered a person
of his own condition who quitted his village about twenty
years ago, with a passport to go to Petersburg, and re-
turned habited in as fine clothes as what I then wore.
man.
As they all seemed communicative, I enquired in my
turn, through the medium of my servant as an interpreter,
the reasons for which they were severally confined in this
dismal place of abode; some told me they were detained
for small debts, others for small thefts, and a considerable
number were slaves, imprisoned, on different grounds, by
the sentence of their master. Among these were a man
and boy who had served as coachman and postilion in the
household of a neighbouring seigneur: they probably de-
served punishment, yet their fate appeared peculiarly hard.
;
DOROGOBUSCH.
433
Having gone out in the morning to water the horses, one
of them was brought back, from some accident or other,
with a broken knee: the master, enraged at what had
happened, ordered them instantly to prison, where, for
the first week, they were daily beaten with rods; and
had since that time, a period of eighteen months, been kept
in close custody. It is to be hoped that such instances of
oppression and cruelty are rare.
On leaving this town we passed several tumuli on the
road side, covering the remains of those who had fallen in
the war of 1812: every place, indeed, bore the memory of
some event connected with that campaign: at Jeremin
1000 prisoners were taken by Platow; at Semlovo, again a
thousand; and at the latter place our post-master related,
in simple terms, how the men were scattered in parties
here and there; how they sheltered themselves behind
the banks; how large bodies of the retreating army had
three times passed and repassed the bridge in front of his
house, repulsing their enemy and being repulsed them-
selves in turn, with many amusing observations on what
he saw.
Hitherto the French army had retreated in an orderly
style, and defended themselves with courage; nevertheless
they were placed in circumstances of the severest distress;
they were closely pursued by Platow with a large force of
cavalry, while but a small division of their own could be
mustered, and that both in bad condition, and diminish-
ing daily in strength from the want of provender. Even
3 к
434
DOROGOBUSCH.
:
during the stay at Moscow much distress had been occa-
sioned by this circumstance: though the men frequently
slept in the streets, that they might place their horses under
shelter of the house, and took every care of them, yet a
great mortality prevailed. Nothing could cripple the army
more effectually; not only were their dragoons dismounted,
but, for the same reason, they were forced to blow up more
than an hundred ammunition waggons, and, within the two
or three last stages, to abandon the greater part of their
artillery for want of horses to carry it away.
It was
curious, indeed, we were told, to trace, in the course of their
flight, the successive diminution in size of the different
pieces of ordnance which were taken, at first the twelve
pounders, then the eights, and then the sixes; their means
of transport constantly decreasing as they advanced farther
on their march.
In the mean while the Russian troops, in pursuit, were
furnished with every article that could assist their activity;
they harassed them perpetually, driving in on every side
their scattered parties, and cutting off their only hopes of
finding subsistence. Orlov Denisov pushed on so far, that
he intercepted on the 25th, (O. S.) a convoy of 30 waggons
laden with provisions, which were coming up from beyond
Dorogobusch.
But now a fresh source of calamity arose; the severe
cold set in unusually early this year, and aggravated in every
way the sufferings to which they were exposed. The men,
no longer capable of exertion, dropped in numbers by
DOROGOBUSCH.
435
the road, overpowered by famine or exhausted by fatigue;
listless, inactive, and unable to defend themselves, they
yielded an easy prey to the victors: in short, here was
felt the commencement of that fatal period which few ever
lived to see completed.
July 7.-We passed the little stream of the Osma at
a comfortless hour in the chill of the morning; the rafters
and half burnt stakes of the bridge, which was destroyed
during the retreat, were still remaining, and the steep banks
seemed yet to bear the marks of the tumult which had
taken place. Amidst
Amidst the hazy uncertain twilight, it
was not difficult to picture to the imagination the plain
around, scattered with carts, and waggons, and cannon, all
abandoned at this spot; or to fancy a thousand miserable
wretches that wandered up and down the water side, in
vain looking for a passage, or the half stifled cries of the
drowning soldiers mingled with the triumphant shouts of
their pursuers.
Those, however, who surmounted this difficulty found
a season of relief: at the distance of about eight versts,
they succeeded in gaining a strong position on the heights
above Dorogobusch, which commanded the town, the
road, and the river Dnieper; and here they defied for a
while the utmost efforts of the Russian troops: some parties,
who were fortunate in their time of arrival and departure,
gaining upwards of two days rest.
Dorogobusch is gaily described in the French bulletins
as a "town of 10,000 souls and eight steeples:" and we
436
DOROGOBUSCH.
found it, even in its present state, no unpleasing station.
Its ruinous aspect was enlivened by the presence of several
bands of country people indulging in the humours of a fair;
and the rafts on the Dnieper were crowded with a variety
of figures dressed in all the finery of the Russian costume.
It was an annual assembly of the people from the neigh-
bourhood, at which certain rustic festivities were kept up
for the space of three days; the last of these was the chief
resort of persons of a better condition in life, who came to
purchase provisions for their household store; such being
the custom of the country, and, indeed, one that is dictated.
by necessity in so wild a district.
We conversed with several seigneurs and their ladies
from the vicinity; the latter entertained us chiefly with their
complaints of the great want of British manufactures, stuff
for gowns, &c. and when this topic was exhausted, the
former gave us long stories of their Cossaquing with their
domestics in the forests and fields during the course of the
late war: some of them had received the order of Vladomir
for their services, but the narratives contained nothing new.
From this place it was that the corps of Murat turned
off from the Smolensko road, directing their march upon
Duchowschtschina, whither they were followed by the in-
defatigable Platow. After their separation, the main body
of the French army seeing that Miloradovitch was already
in advance on their flank, quitted their position at Dorogo-
busch, and again set out on their road. The tract they
here passed over appeared to us much more diversified with
DOROGOBUSCH.
437
hill and dale than what we before had traversed, and
intersected less frequently by lines of forests, affording
in many respects an advantage to the retreating army.
As to the present general aspect, to speak of those
parts which were remote from the towns, they had never
been in a cultivated state, and the marks of ravage were
therefore not very easily traced. The wooden cabins of
the people were rebuilt almost as soon as destroyed, the
posts had been re-established within these few months, and
except for the scarcity of horses, and murmurs of our
drivers at being compelled to their duty when other employ-
ment called for their exertion, we should have remarked
few visible symptoms of the late disasters.
The feeling of the peasants nevertheless sufficiently
manifested, in eternal execrations of the French, and every
thing belonging to that nation, a sentiment which they had
before displayed, as furiously by their actions as now by
words. It was during this part of the retreat that, em-
boldened by their apparent weakness, the rustics ventured
to attack detached parties and stragglers wherever they
found them unsupported; and when once fallen within their
power, they had no chance of escaping assassination. In
some places they burned them within their cottages; in
others they would excavate a pit, and throw in as many of
the prisoners as they could collect; inviting them courte-
ously with a few French phrases,-Entrez, Messieurs—je
vous en prie-soyez tranquille—il y a assez de place—entrez,
entrez :—when they had filled the hole sufficiently, they
438
SMOLENSKO.
threw in the mould, and buried the whole party alive.
Many, it was said, also bought prisoners from their escort,
for the pleasure of killing them with their own hands: how
far this is true, I know not; but the number that perished
on the road from fatigue or ill-usage was inconceivably
great.
An officer, who had been marched from this province
to the borders of the White Sea, informed me that out of
1,400 men, with whom he set out, only 400 finally arrived
at their destination. After that they had passed Novogo-
rod, they proceeded on their route unaccompanied by any
military escort; and the peasants taking advantage of the
circumstance, not only abridged them of their food, but
murdered them frequently on the most trifling pretences.
July 9.--We now crossed the Dnieper on one of the
rafts of the country, and had travelled a few versts in the
valley through which it winds its course, when on a sudden
turn of the road the hills opened, and disclosed, at a short
distance, a view of Smolensko. It was no longer the
"Volcano of fire," but a quiet and peaceful scene. The
heights on which the town stood shewed the domes of
the venerable cathedral rising majestically over their sum-
mit, while their sides, from the top to the very base,
were covered with trees and gardens in rich luxuriance;
the few ruined houses that were discoverable at this dis-
tance, together with the turrets and ancient walls that
encircled them, rather lent a picturesque effect to the scene
than excited any feeling of horror. Advancing a little

3x

1.I.James del?
SMOLENSKO from the BANKS of the DNIEPER.
1. Clark sculp?
FINA
OF
SMOLENSKO.
439
farther, we entered the suburbs on the right bank of the
river, the same which had suffered from the conflagration
that took place at the close of the battle of Smolensko.
These too had now been entirely renewed; and the wooder
bridge over the Dnieper, which had been destroyed by the
retreating army of the Russians, was supplied by one of
a light military construction, the work of the French en-
gineers.
As we drove up the hill we heard the sound of music,
and observed a display of lights in the streets that be-
tokened some occasion of public rejoicing. The governor,
it seemed, had issued orders that the citizens should illumi-
nate on this night, in honour of the general success of the
allied arms, and the capture of Paris. It was done (à la
Russe) about three months after the event had taken place;
but of all people, we had the least reason to complain of
the circumstance: and we gratified our curiosity by strolling
about for some hours in the dusk, to view this exhibition of
loyalty. It could not be called splendid in comparison
with the similar spectacles that the same events had given
birth to elsewhere; but when we beheld these signs of
triumph glittering amidst the desolated mansions of Smo-
lensko, it must be confessed they excited a feeling far be-
yond the charm of the most splendid pageantry which art
could have devised.
On the next morning we rose early, to make a second
tour round the town. The cathedral, notwithstanding all
the reports in circulation, was uninjured, and afforded a
*
440
SMOLENSKO.
fine specimen of the style of ecclesiastical magnificence in
this country.
But this building stood almost single amidst heaps of
ruins the scene at hand presented a detail far dif-
ferent in its aspect from the gay prospect which before
had flattered the eye. The chief street of the town, the
great square, even to the very house which was pointed
out as having been the lodging of Buonaparte, had all suf-
fered the same destruction. The walls too of the town
were breached in several parts, and the towers, on which
batteries of howitzers had been planted during the action
of the 18th of August, were in a very shattered state.
sides the devastation of that day, the retreating French
army occasioned much mischief, and many private houses
were burnt and ransacked by them which had escaped the
hands of the Russian incendiaries.
Be-
The power of defence of these ancient fortifications had
been aided here and there by the addition of modern out-
works, and, upon the whole, the place must have been re-
garded as a very strong and commanding post at the time
of the first approach of the French. When it had changed
possession and passed to their hands, it might have enabled
Buonaparte, could he have been content to have wintered
here, to have given a very different termination to his cam-
paign in the following year, and, if no enemy had started
in his rear, would probably have enabled him to compass
the destruction of the Russian Empire.
We saw the field of battle, and the positions which the

I.T.James del
Etched by the Hon Legge
CATHEDRAL CHURCH of SMOLENSKO.
London, Published by I.Murray, Albemarle Street, 1026.
SMOLENSKO.
441
Russians occupied at about 3 versts in advance of the
place, on the road to Witepsk. The two armies were
ranged on the opposite sides of an extensive ravine. The
Russians were strongly posted, but the operations of the
French on their left flank, which threatened, at one time,
almost to cut off their communications with the town,
obliged them to fall back on the third day, and in executing
this movement they suffered severely. They were, however,
not so dispirited as their enemies represented them to have
been; and, notwithstanding the boastful air of the French
bulletin, Buonaparte experienced a resistance here which he
had but little expected. It is asserted, indeed, that, fore-
seeing, from the obstinacy with which this struggle was main-
tained, the sanguinary nature of his future campaigns, he
ordered some hundred officers immediately to the rear,
with
their heads bandaged as if they had been wounded, giving
them secret directions to return and assist in forwarding
the discipline of his new levies in Poland, because recruits
would be wanted for his army.
What were, at that period, the feelings of the poor
citizens of Smolensko, it would be a difficult task to
describe: they had previously been fed with the most-
flattering tales: the emperor, who passed through a short
time before, assured them all was well; and yet in a few
days the enemy shewed themselves at their very gates. They
were then, at a moment's warning, ordered to leave their
homes and follow the flying army, for that Smolensko was
to be a city no more. Even this notification was, in some
3 L
442
SMOLENSKO.
instances, followed by rigorous enforcement: many inha-
bitants were actually torn away from their houses, and the
few that ventured to stay behind were afterwards severely
called to account by the police for disobedience of orders.
Those who had been the cause of all these miseries were
destined to suffer a heavy retribution in the months that
succeeded, as has been partially related above.
Buonaparte entered Moscow in September, with an army
of 100,000 men, and he arrived at Smolensko on the 9th of
November with the remains, mustering about 60,000 strong;
many of them unarmed, and otherwise unfit for duty.
He halted here three days, which was no more than was
absolutely necessary, from their disorganised state. Much
abuse has been lavished on him for his delay, but it may
be observed that the French troops executed a march of
985 versts, from Malojaroslavetz to Wilna, in the space
of 49 days, including five engagements, which, with so large
a body, even in good condition, well equipped, and under
excellent discipline, it would be held no inconsiderable task
to perform.
As soon, however, as it was known that Kutusow had
advanced in the direction of Krasnoi, Buonaparte was forced
to proceed; and his harassed troops marched from hence
to the endurance of fresh aggravations of suffering and mis-
fortune.
It was impossible effectually to restore the system of
the army, though the increasing want of regularity added
so infinitely to their calamities. The sudden death or fre-
SMOLENSKO.
443
quent illness of some, and the capture of others, incapacitated
the several necessary departments, and prevented a regular
distribution even of the means of assistance that were at
hand; while, as is wont in so desperate a situation of affairs,
private feeling absorbed in every one both his wishes for
the public good and his sense of individual duty.
But it may be urged that the very principle of the
French army is, from its constitution, highly injurious to it-
self, whenever a reverse of fortune takes place; and we shall
find on this occasion the proportion of their loss * was much
greater than that which the Swedes suffered under Charles
XII. with circumstances nearly similar. The same spirit
of national character which fits every Frenchman for the
* The official returns published in Russia of the losses of the French army,
from the 19th of June, 1812, to the end of the year, are as follows:-besides
which a large number perished unheard of and unaccounted for.


KILLED AND WOunded.
PRISONERS.
Gene-
rals.
Offi-
cers,
&c.
Privates.
Off-
Gene-
cers,
rals.
&c.
Left in
the
Privates. hospitals.
Colours,
standards Can-
and
eagles.
Powder
waggons
Flints.
non.
and car-
tridge
10
chests.
144 |128,421 52 2,898 186,350 12,360| 78 |1,124|66,109| 3,035
If we deduct 45,000 Austrians and Prussians, who returned to their respective
countries, out of the whole army employed in various parts, amounting on paper
to 570,000 men, only between 30,000 and 40,000 escaped; and of those who
actually entered Russia scarce 10,000.
The loss of the Russians was also very extensive, from the severity of the
weather, and the hardships they underwent: exclusive of the corps they left to
observe the fortresses in their rear, the army, on entering Germany, mustered
no more than 40,000 men: some of the corps had lost upwards of two-thirds of
their men in the previous campaign.
444
SMOLENSKO.
activity of war, that fills him with the strongest ardour
wherever the least expectations of success can be held out,
and gives to the lowest individual an insight and interest in
every operation that is undertaken-this same quickness.
enables him to catch at every appearance of misfortune
with equal rapidity, and the " prophetic eye" is scared and
terrified by a prospect which it were better should be con-
cealed from public view.
Are they broken-they rally; are they once defeated-
they are undone: a fact which has received abundant illus-
tration from the disasters of their late campaigns. Their
self-sufficiency is really their destruction.
Buonaparte, on this occasion, would probably not have
been
sorry to have availed himself of those strict and rigorous
regulations, whose adoption, when proposed to him, on first
entering the friendly country of Poland, would, he said,
have demoralised the army: it was better the Poles should
suffer than that his success should be endangered. The
insults of his soldiers now read him a new lesson.
In truth, the principle of honour, which forms the
basis of the French military system, is, in many cases, a
poor substitute for real discipline. When it is once in-
fringed upon, when the men feel that they are already de-
feated and disgraced beyond redemption, their support is
gone, and they have nothing more to fear.
Such is the mode pursued, that their modern armies
can scarcely be said to be placed under the correction of
any discipline at all. A soldier may be shot or imprisoned,
SMOLENSKO.
445
or condemned to labour on the public works with an iron
ball chained to his leg: but these are the punishments of
heavy crimes, while for lesser offences, for those minor
points, the certain and constant visitation of which inures
vast unmanageable bodies of men to notions of orderly
subjection, no adequate remedy is provided. Corporal
punishment is forbidden: an officer, it is true, some-
times strikes a soldier with his sabre, but he is for this act
amenable to the law. There is no need to comment on
the nature of the assumption of such a power, or its con-
sequences.
It happened in one of the early periods of the revolu-
tionary war, that the army of the southern Pyrenees was in
the utmost state of disorder; and Augereau's division was
I believe, unique :
With the Russians
verges, which are
* In this respect the constitution of the French army is,
nothing similar is to be found in any other European service.
the corporal punishments are the plat de sabre, or les
switches furnished to each soldier in the ranks, when the culprit is ordered to
run the gauntlet. In the Swedish service I think the baton is used. In the
Austrian again the baton: a captain may, of his own authority, order twenty-
five blows to be inflicted, a field officer more, even an hundred: for heavy of-
fences the men are imprisoned, or sentenced to run the gauntlet. In the Prus-
sian service a distinction is made of three classes: in the first class certain re-
wards are given, and in this as well as in the second, the men are exempt from
corporal punishment; the third class alone are made liable: but all soldiers
upon enlisting are placed in the second class, whence they are raised to the first
or degraded to the third, according as their conduct deserves.
For the punishment of the plat de sabre, which is so general on the continent,
thin swords are specially made for the purpose; but it may be added, both of this
and the baton, that they are universally allowed to do a man more serious injury
than the military punishments adopted with us in England.
}
446
SMOLENSKO.
one of the most licentious in its conduct: the measure
taken by that general to effect a reform was the erection
of a post in the centre of his camp, to which every man
guilty of any offence was attached, and in this situation ex-
posed to the derision of his comrades. Even now, if a sol-
dier acts cowardly, or, as it is said, unworthy of the "great
"nation," his coat is turned, he is exposed to ridicule on
the parade, and drafted to another regiment, where he is
to form a new character.
character. Such is the description of
punishment adopted: nor is it always without effect. But
however peculiar the character of Frenchmen may be, how-
ever alive to a sense of honour, however susceptible of
shame, yet there are certain principles which apply to
human nature in general, and never vary all mankind
being, to a certain extent, alike, are manageable in the
same way; and it requires no great sagacity to see that
these large tumultuous bodies cannot possibly be kept
in real subjection by the excitement of moral principle
when unaided by the more binding power of fear. The
intelligence and activity of a Frenchman may sometimes
compensate the want of discipline in the field, as their
esprit du corps in the camp; but on occasions where it is
most wanted, on a retreat or under circumstances of
misfortune, their code of honour is found useless and nu-
gatory.
For this system they are indebted to the revolution, and to
that mimickry of virtue and principle which was introduced
by the ruling men of the day. If I mistake not, French
SMOLENSKO.
447
i
armies were once of a different composition; and we shall
find, upon reference to history, that a different spirit per-
vaded the troops of Villars, Montmorency, or Turenne.
As to the army retreating from Russia, implicated in
every calamity which their evil destiny could inflict, they
were, without the accession of these peculiar evils, irreco-
verably devoted to ruin. It would often excite the pity
even of their enemies to behold the misery which the mad
ambition of their chieftain had entailed upon the finest
and best appointed army the world ever yet saw; and to
contemplate the scenes of horror* and dismay, that even
the romantic talent of Labaume has not painted in too high
colours.
*It has often been asked whether the French army were ever so far reduced
as to turn cannibals. I have been told by a private soldier, who had survived that
campaign, that he had seen some of his comrades forced to make such a meal,
but that he never had done so himself. It may be fair to add the words of a
Russian officer on this subject. "During the campaign of 1812, I have seen
"three Frenchmen roasting one of their companions, and eating his flesh; and
"when asked why they did not devour the dead horses which were not far off,
one answered 'cette chair vaut mieux.' In another instance I have seen two
"men naked at a fire, and a third, who having laid himself down with his back to
"the fire almost dead, his blistered flesh was eaten by the two others. I have
"never been able to learn that any other soldiers, except the French, did this;
"the rest spoke of it with horror and aversion, but the French merely with
regret of the hard necessity that compelled them."
<<
i
448
SECTION V.
SOUTH OF RUSSIA AND POLAND.
Mode of Travelling in Russia-Regulation of the Post-
Characteristic Knavery of the Peasants--Jewish Settlers
-Mglin-Starodoub-Citadels-Rude State of the Coun-
try People—Vapour Baths-Tchirravitch— Remains of the
Tartars-Caravans-Pilgrims-Tchernigoff-Kiev-Sa-
cred Catacombs-Ancient Churches-Hindoo Architecture
-Origin of Pointed Style-Trade-Passage of English
Goods excluded by the French Decrees-Fair-Poland-Jews
of Zytomir-Dress-Novgorod Volhynski-Face of Coun-
try-Dubno-Austrian Poland-Brody-Lemberg-Trade
of Jews, &c.—Commerce in Grain-Condition of the lower
Classes-Polish
Classes Polish Chateau-Visit to the Countess Potochki
at Tulchyzu-Her Establishment-Society-Levee-A Mar-
riage-A Party to the Chase-Wielicsa-Salt-mines-
Duchy of Warsaw-Cracow, present State of Quarter of
the Jews-Their oppressed Condition-Their Antiquity-
Polish Nobility and Vassals-Costume-Feelings of the
Country with regard to late Events, &c.— Bièlitz.
THE strong hold of Smolensko was formerly the theatre of
many a sanguinary combat between the rival Poles and
Russians, but all interest in those times was merged in the
greatness of modern events. Having gone over, therefore,
SMOLENSKO.
449
whatever was pointed out to our notice as bearing re-
ference to this object, we set out on our road for the
south. Kiev was our next place of destination: the line
of route lay through an unfrequented tract, and we were
threatened with all those unpleasant circumstances of ac-
companiment, that render travelling in Russia, in general,
so disagreeable.
It is a rare case that travellers really endure all the evils
which the ill-boding stories of their friends predict; but
we had already some experience of the nature of Rus-
sian travelling, and exaggeration was not needful. From
Moscow to Smolensko, a journey of 384 versts, had occu-
pied six days, with little other intermission than the delay
arising from the difficulty of procuring horses; and a week
was hardly deemed sufficient for the accomplishment of 650
versts, through a country, not exhausted indeed, like that
we had just quitted, but which, from its poverty and unfre-
quented state, was ill provided with accommodation. "All
the way," says Ant. Jenkinson, who travelled in Russia
during the 16th century, "I never came in house, but
lodged in the wilderness by the river's side, and carried
provision for the way,-for there be small succour in
"those parts" The condition of these tracts is not even
now much altered. Nevertheless, we set out on our road,
and after a tedious journey of a day and night, by dint of
a few roubles, a little wrangling, a little cudgelling, and a
little patience, arrived safe at Roslavle.
<<
66
At this town, as at the lone posthouses of the previous
3 м
450
SMOLENSKO.
stages, it was by no means easy to procure provisions:
meat we carried with us; but the articles of bread, milk,
and coffee, which we thought to have purchased easily in any
quarter, were for some time denied us, and given at last
with an evident air of reluctance.
This sullenness and inhospitality is a consequence that
arises naturally out of the habits of the country. Every na-
tive, when on a journey, carries with him his own food, as
well as other articles of which he may stand in need; and
since it is usual with a Russian to take his own bed, even
when on a visit at a friend's house, it is not surprising that
he should be worse furnished for his route. Hence neither
bed nor board are to be met with, and the demand for such
articles is viewed by the landlord of a public house as
something unreasonable.
The same is the practice of every family who take their
departure from Petersburg or Moscow to their residences in
the more distant parts of the provinces. Nothing, indeed,
can be conceived more independent than the appearance of
one of these patriarchal circles at halt on the road. We
passed, near Roslavle, a seigneur of some distinction, tra-
velling, with a large family. The carriages, six in number,
were ranged in a row; at a little distance a fire was lighted,
round which a score of domestics were employed in cooking
dinner; still farther, under the shade of the trees, he, with
his children, and several ladies, were seated, regaling them-
selves on the provisions they had brought; and the horses,
near thirty in number, were browsing hard by.
SMOLENSKO.
451
These steeds are in general private property, for it would
be impossible to be furnished with such a supply by the
way. We found that the post-horses, notwithstanding our
podaroshna*, were perpetually withheld from us, yet for
this some sort of excuse may be offered. It is as neces-
sary that the means of intercourse should be facilitated in
this country, as it was before remarked to be indispensably
requisite for the public benefit in Sweden. But though
the reason is the same, the remedy is not administered in
so salutary or efficacious a mode. The Russian
government
issues orders that a certain number of horses shall be main-
tained on the several roads, for the use of the post and the
couriers; for this a regular compensation is made, and
though the number varies, as well as the proportions of
payment, according to the circumstances of each district,
we may lay it, perhaps, at 1000 roubles per annum, on an
average for six horses, which is the least number any
where kept up. When these are not employed on govern-
ment duty, they are let out to hire for the benefit of the
postmaster, charging always, however, at a certain fixed
rate: on the chief roads five copecks per verst, on the cross
roads, as here, only three.
If these horses are really engaged, the postmaster
offers to procure for the traveller isvoschtschik (or hired
peasants' horses,) which is always done at an advanced
* This is an order for horses from the crown, at receiving which you lay
down the amount of duty, instead of paying it, as in England, to the postmaster.
452
SMOLENSKO.
}
price. As far as it was in our power to judge, a fair com-
pensation would be about fifteen copecks per verst, but they
frequently demanded eight or ten times this sum, and con-
tented themselves with merely the double. This difference
between the natural price and that established by law is
the cause of constant wrangling and chaffering; but it was
satisfactory to us to see that other travellers besides our-
selves, even the natives, were in places obliged to submit
to the same imposition.
I might state instances of oppression in this line,
which would seem almost to justify extortion.
Since an
allowance for the post is made on the part of the crown,
it happens, in some places, that the seigneur, actuated by
a disgraceful spirit of meanness, takes the stipend to him-
self, and then, in order that the duties of the post may not
be neglected, lays the burden of furnishing the necessary
horses on one of his own peasants. The poor man's cattle,
therefore, are not only obliged to do this duty, but also, as
belonging to the posthouse, must lie at the mercy of every
traveller who offers three copecks per verst for their hire;
and as may be supposed, the greatest resistance is always
shewn in such a case to the demand.
The cautious and cunning management of a Mouġik,
while striking his bargain on these and similar occasions,
is one of the most entertaining pieces of comic acting that
can be conceived. With a well-told story of distress, im-
plying the difficulty, or perhaps the utter impossibility of
his satisfying your demand, he leads you to pause for a mo-
!
१
SMOLENSKO.
453
ment on your own apparent unreasonableness; and it may
be too he succeeds in gaining your good opinion so far as
to recommend himself for a seeming character of frankness
and honesty. Three couriers had been forwarded that
morning-two more expected-no horses for them on their
arrival: he lost a large stud, which was carried off by the
French, or died of a contagious disease. His wife and
children are starving, because he cannot send his cart to re-
plenish his store of rye meal; but he promises, if the stranger
will wait three hours, to find him some horses, which he
passes off as belonging to one of his neighbours; and
having received one rouble for his trouble, will charge
only ten extra for their use. On the completion, however,
of the bargain, the half suppressed smile of triumph breaks
forth from the rogue as he turns away his head, and informs
the traveller at once of the successful deceit that has been
practised upon him; but the argumentum baculinum, if well
applied, materially alters the features of the case in every
stage, and sets at nought the starving children, the expected
courier, or the impracticability of his wishes.
In the trading towns the system of deceit is carried to a
still greater degree of perfection, as may be imagined; but
that it should prevail in the country, is a fact which fixes it at
once as a trait of character peculiar to the nation: so natural,
indeed, and habitual is it become, that the very children of
whom we bought strawberries on the road would haggle
and chaffer, consult with one another, and reconsider our
offers, with the most amusing dexterity. One may venture,
454
SMOLENSKO.
from the instances we saw in both old and young, to assert,
that not the Chinese themselves, or any other orientals, are
greater adepts than the Russians in the school of fraud and
artifice.
At one of the lonely stations in this province, where we
stopped to change horses, we were much surprised by the
extraordinary neatness and cleanliness that appeared, as
well as civility and kind attention which we experienced
from our hosts. To our surprise, they readily furnished us
with milk, eggs, quass, &c.; pointed out a comfortable
corner in their wooden cabin, entirely free from dirt, and
seemed almost (as the phrase is) to take a pleasure in set-
ting before us whatever they could offer for our service. Nor
were they, for their circumstances, ill supplied. Although
the whole prospect in front was wild as nature, they
shewed us, on walking behind the house, a little garden full
of every sort of vegetable, with a neat farm-yard, well stocked
with cattle, and kept in admirable order. To unravel this
mystery, we found, on further conversation, the owner was a
freed man. He had formerly lived as a servant in a Russian
nobleman's family, where he acquired a sort of polish; and
taking a fancy to marry and settle in the world, he purchased
his liberty, and procured a farm in this remote spot, apart
from the vexations of the district officers, and still more ra-
pacious agents of the police. He appeared, it might be
urged, a striking example of the improvement in moral con-
dition as in wealth which these people might even now be
made capable of receiving: but I fear it was one of those rare
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
455
instances of a fortunate combination of circumstances, from
whence no general argument could safely be drawn.
66
July 16. We now entered the government of Novgorod
Sieverskoi, the limits of which we passed at no great dis-
tance from Mglin. This was a wretched wooden town,
sprinkled over the slope of three small hills, and containing
very few regular streets; nothing of decent appearance,
or even of Russian finery, was discernible, except in the
churches. It was here we first observed the houses of
Jewish settlers: Peter the Great, it seems, forbad their
residence in his dominions, because," said he, "
people have craft enough in their dispositions already;" yet
they are now admitted, without reserve, into the districts
bordering on the provinces of Russian Poland. As far as
our experience went, Peter I. spoke too modestly of the
subtilty of his subjects: they had nothing to learn from the
Jews, and we thought ourselves much less liable to be
cheated in their hands than those of the natives, feeling
delighted whenever the chance of the road threw us into
their way.
my
It was no slight satisfaction, when traversing so re-
mote a country, to observe a people, with whose singular
customs and ceremonies one was in some degree familiarised
at home, differing only in some trifles of their dress, and
what is indeed more essential, the higher character which
they seemed here to maintain. They considered themselves
as a race far superior to the native rustics, domineering
over them in the most authoritative style; nor were their
456
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
pretensions ill founded, for they owned no masters, but
were in the full enjoyment of their personal liberty. The
gipsies, or Bohemiens, as they are called, are another migra-
tory race that claimed from us the same local associations
and recollections; but they are not very numerous, or in-
deed very often to be met with.
Staradonb was the next town at which we arrived: though
a place possessing not above 600 inhabitants, it displays, in
several of its buildings, certain pretensions to antiquity.
It was the appanage of Ivan, a son of Vsevolod, Grand
Duke of Kiev, at the beginning of the 13th century, and its
name occurs again in the Russian history, as the opening
scene of the imposture of the second false Demetrius. As
to appearance, the quarters now inhabited were almost en-
tirely built of wood, the houses chiefly of one story, and di-
vested of paint or any other decoration; their streets ex-
tremely irregular, looking as if formed without a plan.
There was one striking feature, however, which I can-
not avoid mentioning. Just upon the skirts of the town rose
an high earthen hill, with the appearance of having been
rudely fortified. It was similar, in most respects, to what we
had before observed at Viasma, Dorogobusch, Mglin, &c; in
all of which, a church seemed the only object which occupied
the area of the platform at top. The sides of the hill were
neatly cut to a slope, in the same way as the donjon in our
ancient Norman fortresses, in England; not being wholly
artificial, but a natural elevation, of which advantage had
been taken. At Roslavle (where nevertheless no church
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
457
was now standing within the precincts) there was a large
mound of more than 100 yards square, shaped with pre-
cision and regularity. The Kremlin at Novgorod Veliki,
and that at Moscow, are similar elevations, only varying by
the greater extent of their dimensions, by being walled
around, and by containing other public buildings, of which,
however, the church occupies the most conspicuous situa-
tion.
From the date of the towns where they are found, as
well as from concomitant circumstances, we should be in-
clined to annex some idea of superstitious protection to
these spots, and to view them, not only as citadels, but as
sanctuaries or places of refuge during the constant civil
wars and broils that disgrace the early Russian history.
The institutions of the police, which may prove either
the blessing or curse of the first steps of civilization, accord-
ing to the use that is made of them, seemed here cal-
culated to introduce the exercise of a most detestable
petty tyranny over the peasantry of these remote spots:
the lowest halberdier scarce ever spoke to a rustic without
adding a blow. Where they lived apart from the towns,
these miserables, we thought, led a much more comfortable
and easy life.
It is clear that neither the advantages nor disadvan-
tages of civilization extended to any great distance from
the larger towns: the country shewed only as one large
plain, intersected with rivers, bogs, and forests: the up-
3 N
458
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
>
lands were generally of a light sandy soil, but in very
few parts did they exhibit any signs of culture, or even
habitation. Nothing could be more strikingly wild than
our passage over the Ypoote: a raft of trees loosely pinned
together was provided; a rope made from the bark of trees
served for its draught: on either bank of the river rose a vast
forest, not thick and luxurious, but bared in many a line
by the progress of age and decay: amidst its shades were
seen the white shirts and black fur caps of the Tartars as
they scampered along in the wantonness of sport, with their
horses at full speed; their caravan, just arrived, was ranged
on the river side, and the oxen were seen every now and then,
as the raft put off, plunging into the stream, and swimming
to the opposite shore.
In a country of this description it cannot be that any
great progress should have been made in the arts of civil
life. Mechanical contrivances of any sort do but little to
occupy the minds of the villagers: their plough is the same
as the rude instrument represented in Egyptian sculpture,
or rather that of the Georgics of Virgil; a wooden hook
turned downwards, armed with iron, and sometimes with
two twigs tied on the back as handles or tillers. Their
harrows were simple hurdles, in which the ends of the
twigs being bent downwards, performed the office of teeth.
Boats of one piece, rudely hollowed from the trunk of a
tree, were common both on the Soz and on the upper part
of the Desna; and the only skill of workmanship which
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
459
displayed itself was in the carve work that ornamented the
bodies of their carts, or the gable ends of their houses, and
these were sometimes very elaborate.
The interior of the dwellings was in the same unfinished
style as what we had before seen: the walls of logs were not
even lined with planks; the moss that caulked. the inter-
stices hung out in shreds and patches, nor was the appear-
ance at all correspondent to the degree of attention which
seemed to have been bestowed without.
The whole family slept in the same room, on mats, or
straw, or sheepskins, and the men generally in their day-
clothes; but the favourite station for the night was on the
ledge of the stove, or lejanka, which is always raised with a
few bricks on a slope at one extremity, in order to supply
the place of a pillow.
Where an infant child was seen, it was packed with a
few clothes on a square canvass frame, and suspended by
strings to a nail in the wall or the ceiling: a horn, having
a small aperture at the bottom, and closed at top, was
filled with milk, that being suspended over its head, it might
indulge itself in sucking at pleasure.
Rye cakes, or black sour bread of the same grain, with
a little salt to give it a flavour, formed their chief diet; to
this was added cabbage broth, or schstchi, thickened with
oatmeal, and perhaps a little meat: all this is procured at
an easy rate; and during the several periods which the rites
of the Greek church prescribe certain rules of abstinence,
(for these materially diminish the expenses of the poor
460
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
man's housekeeping), their ordinary meals may be procured
at an extremely reasonable price.
The only attempt at manufacture to which I was an eye-
witness was the making of oil from linseed, the plant being
much cultivated in these provinces. The stamper was a
beam of wood fastened to a branch of a tree, forced down
by strength of hand, and recoiling again by natural elas-
ticity; a simple contrivance enough, but it is worth ob-
serving how nearly this machine resembles in construction
the apparatus, even at this day, used in our English oil-
mills.
As to the moral effects of civilization, such as a sense of
modesty or delicacy, this was still less to be traced in their
manners; men, women, and children were bathing promis-
cuously on the road side, and very rarely indeed did they
betray any wish to conceal their nakedness on the approach
of strangers: the same was the case at Moscow, only that
of the two, the people of the country displayed, perhaps,
a greater portion of shamefacedness. They had in general
brown sallow complexions, but not of unhealthy appear-
ance; nor, except the marks of scrofula or sometimes the
limbs of a few persons crippled by the winter frost, did
we see any examples of malady or suffering. Of the latter
some victims appeared in almost every place which we
passed from Petersburg downwards.
The venereal complaint, when it shews itself, as it some-
times does, makes dreadful ravages. The person infected
has as little chance of being cured here as a poor savage of
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
461
the South sea islands. Ignorant in himself, and unable to
obtain the assistance of those who are better informed, he
acts according to the usage of the country, and endeavours
to close the ulcer by fumigation with cinnabar, or some
other similar application, that heals the sore to the eye
without effecting any radical cure. The consequences may
be imagined: cases have sometimes been sent to the pro-
vincial hospitals, where people have been discovered to have
laboured under this malady for upwards of fifteen years.
The villages were more mean in their appearance than
those of the wealthier governments comprehended in our pre-
vious route; yet even here there was one luxury which never
seemed to be wanting, and there was no hamlet, however
inconsiderable, but was provided with the universal indulg-
ence of a vapour-bath. In some conspicuous spot one
might espy, towards evening, the wooden hut pouring
forth steam from every chink and cranny; generally sur-
rounded by seminudes, with their leafy rods in their hands,
joking and sporting with each other unconcerned. The
universal prevalence of the practice is remarkable. To-
wards the end of the week the Mougik complains that
his skin begins to itch, and, whether it be summer or winter,
his first leisure hour, if he possess but three copecks, is
employed in the bath. The process here undergone has
been often described: to judge from its effect on myself, I
can only say, that being heated as in general to 120° Fah-
renheit, or 130° Fahrenheit, it is far from affording to a
462
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
stranger any very great gratification. At first, it is true, a
luxurious sense of lassitude comes on, but this is succeeded
by an oppressive debility, which continues so long that
should be very unwilling to undergo its discipline a second
time; the body is completely exhausted by the strong tem-
porary stimulus which is applied: its power indeed may be
imagined from the well known fact, that it is the common
custom, with the lower classes of people, to roll in the snow
in winter time, immediately on leaving the bath: nor is the
sudden change ever succeeded by illness, or productive of
the least inconvenience.
The heat of the atmosphere was in this month very great,
the mercury standing at upwards of 80° Fahrenheit in the
shade; and this sort, therefore, of vapour-washing, which
is so universal in hot countries, seemed nothing more than
the natural course of things. But to what can we ascribe its
adoption in the northern districts, in Finland, in Ingria, at
Archangel, where it is as constantly applied during the eight
months winter, as throughout the short period of their sum-
mer? Unable to form a judgment of its medicinal advan-
tages, it remains only to say that it is not from the physical
necessities of a cold climate that it has been put in prac-
tice. It is not common in Sweden or Canada, countries
nearly parallel in point of latitude, and suffering the rigour of
seasons equally severe. But probably, like many other cus-
toms of the Russian nation, the use of the bath was borrowed
from the habits of their eastern or southern neighbours, and
NOVGOROD SIEVERSKOI.
463
thence been gradually extended by fashion and imitation
over the whole empire.
July 18.—Our days passed here under much the same
circumstances: the morning breaks, and we waken as the
carriage stops at the end of the stage: the musquitoes, begin
to allow us some respite from their torment-the peasants
bawl out their uncouth airs as they drive a-field-the Jew
puts on his phylactery, and mutters his orisons—the cara-
van driver is heard bustling among his horses—and after a
refreshing sleep, in which the turmoils of the foregoing day
were forgotten, we look forward to a more comfortable jour-
ney;—but soon vexations begin anew-no horses are to be
had, and breakfast is denied; after much trouble we drive
another stage, but still the same complaints accompany us;
we at last contract with some old woman of the village for a
few
eggs and a little coffee; thence proceeding to a third
station, we find a Jew's house situated in a large town;
it is early in the day, but the opportunity is not to be lost,
and we order dinner, a comfortable meal in the German
fashion ;—while again waiting for horses, we amuse ourselves
in sketching some of the objects around; the police officer
interferes,—we are taken to the governor, are acquitted, and
conclude by drinking tea with his family we set out a
fourth time, and make one more stage-again no horses-
the post-house a lone habitation in the woods; we are con-
strained to wait, and pass the night sleeping on the road,
or in the carriage: and so on, with little variety or relief.
Tchirravitch was a large village of Sieverskoi, wildly
464
'TCHERNIGOFF.
scattered on the banks of a lake: it was here we remarked
the recurrence of the same style of ornamented gables over-
hanging the cottage front which had appeared in the govern-
ment of Novgorod; though not so profusely carved, or built on
so large a scale. The tumuli too, or barrows similar to those
we had before seen, were common in the plains; and these
two circumstances, accompanying each other, since this
district, as well as the former, had been visited by the Tar-
tars, seemed favourable to the opinion of those, who attri-
bute both the introduction of one and the other to that race
of people.
These barrows, besides other parts, are of frequent occur-
rence in the eastern side of the government of Moscow:
one of them, which lay on the estate of Count Romanzov,
was opened a few years since, when it was found to contain
the skeleton of a man placed in a horizontal posture, with
a stone at his head, and another at his feet: many silver
ornaments, which were recognised to be of Tartar fashion,
were also discovered in the course of the excavation.
No place which we had seen exhibited so great a number
as the plains of Sednovo, in the government of Tchernigoff,
where they completely covered the ground to a consider-
able extent around the town: there were also some remains
of earthen walls, probably erected in former days as a
defence against the predatory excursions of their neigh-
bours, and which at least bespoke the antiquity of the
settlement.
The grounds marked out by these tumuli were selected

LT. James det?
RUSSIAN BURYING GROUND in the GOVERNMENT of TCHERNIGOFF.
1. Clark sculp
UNLY
OF
WIGH
TCHERNIGOFF.
465
as favourite places of interment by the natives at the present
day: often being planted around with trees, and studded
thick with wooden crosses, oratories, and other perma-
nent marks of reverence. The general appearance of piety
with which they are kept up, their sequestered situation
apart from any town, the profound veneration with which
they are saluted by the natives, added to the dark and
sepulchral shade of the groves, lent them an interest with
which the tinsel ornaments of more gorgeous cemeteries
can in no degree compare.
The caravans that we met on the road were extremely
numerous, more so than even on the line from Petersburg
to Moscow. We frequently encountered eight or ten each
day, consisting of thirty, or forty, or sometimes an hundred
carts. A few were travelling towards Petersburg, drawn by
the mouse-coloured oxen of the Ukraine, that were them-
selves destined for the market, as well as the goods they
conveyed: but the greater part came with horses, and were
bound for Riga, bringing cargoes of the various produce
of the southern provinces. Occurring under various cir-
cumstances, they contributed to enliven our cheerless route,
now drawn in long lines across the plain, now grouped in a
body at halt, their cattle reposing in the shade; at another
time we heard them at a distance, the loud shouts of their
drivers echoing among the woods; or again, we saw them
ranged in a circle around their fires for the night. The wild
looks of the people, many of whom were Tartars, im-
proved the effect of this spectacle; though I cannot say
80
466
TCHERNIGOFF.
that their employment at the evening resting-place would
add much to the delicacy of the picture, as it was usually
an exhibition of naked men divesting their bodies of
vermin.
Besides these, there was but one other sort of company
whom we passed on the road;-those who were making a
pilgrimage to the sacred relics at Kiev. They were mostly
persons of the lower classes of life, travelling on foot: we
fell in, however, at Tchernigoff, with a family of respecta-
bility, who were bound on the same errand: they consisted
of the seigneur of a considerable property in the govern-
ment of Moghilev, with a young wife and two children.
He had been, as he informed us, an officer of the army,
having served under Kutusov at the unfortunate battle of
Austerlitz; but though he seemed a very well disposed man,
I am apt to think it was chiefly the piety of his spouse that
had induced him to set out on this excursion. The old
soldier, liking ease, furnished his carriage with the luxurious
indulgence of soft pillows, with which it was completely
filled: a practice that, notwithstanding its being in con-
formity with Russian fashions in general, was surely very
reprehensible in a pilgrim.
We met also at Tchernigoff several bodies of prisoners, who
were on their return to France, having been discharged by the
Emperor's late proclamation. It was amusing to observe the
manner in which they received the news of the success of
the allies; and, as if their affection was fed by the recollec-
tion of what they had suffered for him, they all spoke in
KIEV.
467
terms of the highest admiration for Buonaparte, and devo-
tion to his cause. The common men could not be brought
to believe that he had ceased to reign: they supposed, they
said, the allies had been forced to sue for peace, and, on
having obtained it, claimed a victory :-that the war was at
an end was evident, but for the rest, it was quite impossible.
The officers spoke of the new situation of things as a tem-
porary change in the affairs of the great nation; and some
few, in the true style of gasconade, talked with infinite
assurance of a second future visit to the Russian dominions.
Tchernigoff, the capital of the government of that name,
is a handsome, neat-built town, upon the banks of the
Desna. It was formerly the appanage of one of the sons of
Jouri Dolgoroucki (or Longimanus); for in this manner
most of the chief towns and districts of Russia seem at one
time to have been separated from the crown: they have
been all, however, in subsequent reigns reunited, and in
general by force of arms. Tchernigoff afterwards passed
into the hands of the kings of Poland, and was only given
up by them, together with Smolensko and Kiev, in 1686, as
the price of the accession of Russia to an alliance formed
with that nation and the republic of Venice against the
Ottoman power.
The city of Kiev, to which we were now approaching, is
called the cradle of the Russian sovereignty: its foundation
is referred to a colony of Sarmates, who came hither at a
time antecedent to the Christian æra; these were expelled
by the Slaves; who, being driven from their former settle-
468
KIEV.
ments by the Romans, about the year 400 A.D., divided
into two distinct parties, and established themselves in this
country; the one at Kiev, the other at Novgorod on the
Ilmen. In the ninth century, the prince of Novgorod,
with the assistance of Oleg his guardian, perfidiously made
himself master of Kiev; and the city became, from that day,
the seat of the united sovereignty of the two powers. The
grand dukes constantly made it their residence, till it was
ruined and depopulated by the incursions, first, of the
Lithuanians, and afterwards of the Tartars. In conse-
quence of the waste thus occasioned, Andre Jourievitch
transferred the seat of power in 1156 to Vladomir; whence
it was again removed to Moscow, and then finally fixed at
Petersburg.
Amidst the toils of a long journey, oppressed by the con-
stant heat of the climate, and wearied with the restless tra-
velling of many days and nights, there are yet some few mo-
ments when the local interest of a particular spot, height-
ened perhaps by the accidental glow of sunset, or other ad-
ventitious circumstances, has power to excite a sentiment of
ecstacy that amply compensates all the privations and in-
conveniences one had undergone. The imagination, which
riots to satiety on the battle-ground, or dwells with rapture
on proud memorials of ancient art, may yet feel a quiet en-
joyment in the contemplation of a scene which appears to
lull in harmonious repose all the higher feelings of our
nature. Such was the delight with which we closed our
journey on the evening of the 19th. The Dnieper rolled at
KIEV.
469
our feet, a smooth majestic river, of more than a verst in
breadth; on its banks was a caravan of Tartars and Rus-
sians, listening to the simple notes of the balalaika; above
our heads rose a long range of hills encircled by a rich
foliage of trees and crowned with the gilt domes of the
sacred city.
We crossed the ferry, and toiled up the steep ascent,
over a road as usual covered with planks. Arrived at the
top, a new scene presented itself: the cupolas that before
were but as spots in the view, faced us with a blaze of gold,
and a thousand gay colours dazzled the eye: the country
below shewed one unvaried plain of immeasurable extent,
covered with a thick forest, through the middle of which the
Dnieper, now dwindled to a streamlet, was seen winding its
silvery path into the horizon: it was a land seemingly
untouched by man, and affording a prospect as wild to
appearance as any that the most uncivilised tracts of Ame-
rica could furnish.
It is fair to bring to the reader's recollection a well
known story of Catherine II. Arrived at this spot, in the
course of her southern tour, she demanded of the three
ambassadors who accompanied her what they thought of
the country before them. Count Cobentzel was enraptured
with what he saw. M. Segur said much might be made of
it in the course of time. Mr. Fitzherbert (Lord St. Helens)
declared the place was detestable, and the view nothing
extraordinary. The Empress said with a smile-" Le Comte
Cobentzel est un courtisan; M. Segur est un homme poli; mais
M. Fitzherbert est un homme vrai.”
470
KIEV.
1
After a passage through such tracts, almost any opinion
may be ventured in their dispraise, however they may at-
tract attention when mellowed and softened by distance.
Our first duty on the following morning, in the true
spirit of pilgrimage, was to pay a visit to the catacombs.
Upon proper application being made at the fortress,
within which the monastery is situated, we were admitted;
and received infinite gratification from all we saw. The
entrance was beset with a numerous crowd, the purchasers
and venders of crosses, relics, and various other articles of
superstition: the walls of the court were covered with huge
religious paintings; and numberless pilgrims, of both sexes,
were assembled in groups, reading, admiring, bowing,
praying. The pictured stories were chiefly selected from
the legendary tales of the lives of the saints: on one side
was represented the virgin Theodosia, accompanied at
each stage of her life (a continued series of temptation)
by two guardian angels, and three or four ministers of
darkness; the devils always defeated, the angels ever
triumphant; and in the last painting she was represented
as having surmounted all her difficulties, and arrived in
heaven. The artist's imagination, however, has some-
what failed, and seems not quite to have seized, on this
occasion, the true notion of the sublime, or the beautiful;
but we should recollect that, in the Russian vocabulary,
the terms beautiful, red and coloured are all three represented
by the same word, so that a confusion of ideas might easily
occur.
On another side an old miser is seen on his death-bed:
KIEV.
471
the company surrounding him are, as before, angels and
devils; the latter, being very urgent to seize upon his
parting soul, are prevented by the former, who claim him
to themselves, because, forsooth, he had bequeathed a
large sum by will to the monastery. The devils, thus disap-
pointed, peruse the will and codicil with much earnest-
ness and apparent chagrin. The moral of the tale needs no
explanation.
The profound respect and awe impressed on the counte-
nance of every one we met lent an air of solemnity even to
their ludicrous superstitions; and a stranger almost felt in-
clined to chide himself for making a visit of mere curiosity.
Our meditations, however, on this singular spectacle were
interrupted by our guide arriving to inform us the priest
was waiting to conduct us to the relics. We descended
a long staircase en ramp, to the mouth of the sacred cata-
comb, and formed into a regular procession; each bare-
headed, with a lighted taper in his hand. It was a laby-
rinth mined in the solid rock, consisting of walks, chambers,
branches, &c., ascending and descending for the distance
of several hundred yards; the passage about six feet
wide, and coved at the top; its sides neatly plastered
and stained with a black wash; the flooring laid with iron
plates about a foot square. The remains of seventy-three
saints, or primitive Christians of Russia: the objects of vene-
ration were deposited in semicircular niches that occurred at
intervals on the passage. These personages were the same
who once found an asylum here while alive, at a day when
472
KIEV.
the unsettled nature of the times rendered them liable to
perpetual persecutions abroad. The bodies were wrapped
round and bandaged up with swathings of silk after the
fashion of mummies, though no part, not even the face, was
left visible: what was within, I know not; but they were
scattered over with pieces of money, the offerings of the
devotees. The coffins, which were always left open, were
of an oblong square figure, decreasing in breadth from
the head downwards, adorned on the interior with flowers
of gold painted on a red ground.
St. Anthony is the chief and patron saint: we were first
shewn his oratory, and the cell in which he dwelt, say they,
forty years, which, in memory of the holy man, the monks
are constrained to visit at least twice every day. Next we
proceeded in regular order to the shrines of St. Precop, St.
Polycarp, St. Theodore, St. Luke (the Russian), St. Nicho-
las, who died at the distance of 3000 versts, and was wafted
hither by the angels in one hour; St. Mark, who, to outdo
all other acts of abstemiousness, never drank even of pure
water oftener than once each day, and then only the con-
tents of a small cruise made in the shape of a cross, containing
about a gill in quantity: and of a certain St. John who was
pointed out, being buried up to his shoulders in earth; a
penance which he imposed upon himself for forty days, when
he expired. Here we halted, and the priest, placing the
saint's cap on our head, gave us (for it was the custom of
the place) a short blessing. The only other persons whose
good works entitled them to look for repose here, were the
+
473
KIEV.
twelve men of Constantinople who excavated this subter-
raneous retreat, about 800 years ago: their bodies were
seen collected together in one chamber, and were the last
of the series that were shewn us.
On our return to the realms of day, we heard the chant
of mass sounding from the church of the monastery, and
thither we instantly repaired. The ground plan of this
building was the same, as to distribution, which seems
commonly to have prevailed in all the older Russian
churches; a Greek cross divided by four square pillars in
the centre, with a vestibule or parvis, one arch in breadth,
advanced in front; the rood was, according to custom,
covered with three several ranges of pictures of saints, in
compartments of rich gilt carved work, profusely inter-
spersed with pearls, lapis lazuli, turquoises, enamel, &c.
and exceeding, in gaudy costliness, whatever we had before
seen displayed. As for the people whom we found as-
sembled, they completely filled every part of the area: a
herd of pilgrims, habited in all the various costumes of the
southern provinces of the empire. Some of them were said
to have made a journey on foot of fifteen hundred versts, in
order to discharge their vows at Kiey: and indeed their lank
worn looks and tattered garments seemed, in many in-
stances, to bespeak the toilsomeness of their undertaking.
While their devotions detain them here, they are for the
most part obliged to lie out at night, being destitute of
money to pay for lodging, and by day only perhaps once
3 P
474
KIEV.
receive refreshment, at the gratuitous repast which is pro-
vided by the Emperor in the refectory of the monastery.
But the enthusiasm, devotion, and superstition of a Rus-
sian is easily able to surmount all these difficulties; and
there is scarce a person in the south, either of those who
have sins to expiate, or of those whose quiet and holy life
requires some notable act to grace its monotonous career,
but imposes on himself, at one time or other, the task of
performing this burdensome act of over-zealous piety.
From hence we visited the churches of St. Sophie, and
of the miraculous St. Avare in old Kiev, where ends the
ordinary course of pilgrimage.
The former is the oldest church in the Russian domi-
nions, and though not, as is said, built strictly after the
model of the famous church of the same name at Constan-
tinople, yet was, no doubt, the work of architects who
came from thence; and bears on the interior many traces
of Byzantine architecture. It is, however, almost a singular
instance of that style; while the fashions and taste of
those oriental nations, whose character is so strongly
imprinted in the lineaments of the Russian visage *, are
easily recognised in the more durable monuments of archi-
tecture.
*The general character of the Russian countenance differs as much from
the European face as the Mantshoo Tartar from the Mongol, or Chinese from
the Hindu; and may be said to bear the same genuine character as the two former
of these nations. The Russian face is marked by high, broad cheek bones, and
a short triangular form of face.
KIEV.
475
The Gostinnoi dvor, or square market-place, which we
see in every town, constructed with double arcades, one
above the other, as in an eastern bazar; the bulging form
of the cupola, the thick balluster-shaped column, the
pagoda fashion of the old steeples, and other peculiari-
ties, sufficiently point out the source of that taste in which
their edifices were first conceived. And many of these
points, which may be said to be almost universal through-
out Russia, will be found to agree with the character of
the Hindu architecture, as depicted in the beautiful plates
of Mr. Daniel.
I should suspect that the style in use, previous to the
Tartar invasion, was of this description, and the church
of Novgorod (if not the first erected church of Ivan, in
the Kremlin at Moscow,) may be quoted in support of the
notion. That a form and fashion of architecture should
have been borrowed from them as teachers is by no means
extraordinary*; we know that the only places in the
adjoining districts of Tartary, where science and letters
were cultivated, were settlements of the Hindus, who sup-
A learned prelate, who lately published at Petersburg Recherches sur l'ori-
gine des Slaves, considers them as of Medish origin, and of the same tribe with
the Pelasgi.
*See Sir William Jones's Discourses, published in the Asiatic Researches.
It is curious that at the remains of the monastic establishment of the Tartars at
Semipalatnaia, in the province of Tobolsk, the chief books discovered were in
the Mongolese and Tangout languages.
476
KIEV.
plied the hordes with all the learning and ingenuity of
which we can discover any traces. On this supposition, if
we extend the idea to the Golden horde of Bati, the Tartar
invasion would have introduced little or no change in the
Russian architecture: unless we attribute to them the in-
troduction of the form of the mosque, which the later
Russian church so much resembles in exterior.
It is impossible to avoid remarking that certain points
of resemblance, between this style and that of the Euro-
pean pointed architecture, are to be observed here, as well
as in Hindostan; we trace it in the high pointed, gable-
headed windows, in the contrasted arch, in the long slender
shafts of pillars in relief, in the broad astragals that inter-
sect their length, and in the minutiae of their ornamental
carve-work: and one can imagine we see, though in a dif-
ferent stage of perfection, the same taste in building which
has since made so great progress throughout Europe.
Infinite are the disputes that have arisen concerning the
origin of this style: the English writer who is certainly best
informed on the subject attributes its rise to the inventive
powers of our native architects. I must add, in answer to
this idea, that on my asking a well-informed German artist
whence he thought it had sprung, he told me, without
hesitation, it had received its birth on the banks of the
Rhine; for the specimens found in that quarter were the
purest and most elegant he had ever seen, and bore the
strongest marks of originality. The reason he gave was
KIEV.
477
by no means ill imagined; but, no doubt, many other
nations might put in their claims to the invention, on
grounds equally strong.
I must confess that, in treating this subject, it seems
rather absurd to limit the proofs of identity of style to the
existence of a feature like the pointed shape of an arch,
which was no uncommon form in any age, and may be
traced in Roman monuments as well as those of an ear-
lier date but still more is it exceptionable to attribute
the growth of this perfect system of architecture to a chance
intersection of arches, to the groining of a roof, to the
ramification of twigs, or such circumstances of accident.
The distinguishing marks* of its early character are the
pyramidal form, the infinite division of parts, and the pro-
fusion of minute ornaments, &c.; and these we shall find,
if an argument may be drawn from thence, to be alike
the essential characteristics of oriental fashion of almost
every description.
+
Perhaps it will hereafter appear that the same eastern
or primitive style, which we trace under similar features in
the oldest monuments of the world, at Persepolis in Egypt,
and Hindostan, was in fact the prototype of the two chief
prevalent styles of the present day; of both the Grecian
*The chief examples in Russia are to be seen in the western door of St.
Sophie at Novgorod, the old church and other buildings in the Kremlin, at
Moscow, in an old church in the southern quarter of the Semlianigorod, and
in the old Tartar remains at Bolga; we trace a similar style of ornament in the
carve-work of the ancient crown of the Khan of Casan, but that was probably of
Mahomedan fashion.
478
KIEV.
and the pointed architecture: since we may discover in its
lineaments strong features, not only of the one but of the
other.
The rude and half-formed notions of taste, passing from
Syria and Egypt into the hands of the polished Greeks, re-
ceived, from the elegance and simplicity of that peculiar
race, a new and graceful form; whence arose the finished
symmetry of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian models. On
the other side, this style, when cultivated on its native
ground, and nurtured among a people naturally ostenta-
tious of finery and gaud rather than plainness, partook, in
its change, of the form and impression which their habits
imposed; it received that pointed character which pre-
vails in every structure from the pagoda to the pyramid,
and that lavish combination of gorgeous irregularities that
belongs to orientalism.
When this taste, with many varieties, was diffused over
the whole of Asia, it was transplanted to Europe by the de-
votees who frequented Syria, at a later epoch; among whom
it was no uncommon practice to vow the erection of some
religious building at their return to their home. It was not
likely they should wish to adopt any fashion of architecture
in preference to that which afforded so many associations
with the sacred spot they had visited; and being thus re-
ceived, we may suppose it assumed that beauty and per-
fection, which is peculiar to the architecture of the middle
ages, in European hands, giving many distinct styles of
this taste throughout different countries.
.1
KIEV.
479
This digression has already gone too far: nevertheless,
on the subject of religious buildings in Russia, one word more
remains to be added. There is no traveller who has visited
this empire without observing the curious ornament of the
crescent surmounted by the cross, which adorns the domes
of almost every church of any antiquity either at Moscow,
or in the towns of the southern provinces. Several unsatis-
factory conjectures have been made on this extraordinary
union: some said the ornament was only given to those
churches which had once served as mosques to the Tartars;
others assigned different reasons, but all were equally unsa-
tisfactory. We must not, however, forget that the crescent
was not originally the device of the Turkish empire, but
only adopted by the government after its establishment at
Constantinople; because that city had borne it on her en-
signs from the highest antiquity. The crescent was, there-
fore, probably introduced to Russia at a time coeval with
the establishment of the cross, and might perhaps (for the
schism took place soon afterwards) be considered as an
emblem of distinction between the early Greek and the
Romish churches.
The trade of Kiev, though it has attracted a few settlers
from Germany, is extremely dull; it consists chiefly in
exportation of corn and wood to the south, for which salt
or money is received in exchange. But a very considerable
business of transit had been carried on, through this place,
during the last year or two. The articles of English manu-
facture, or the produce of our colonies, which the French
prevented from being introduced by more direct means,
480
KIEV.
found their way into the interior of the continent, by the
circuitous route of Riga or Petersburg, Moscow, and the
south of Poland. Some parts of Austria and Germany
were latterly supplied in this way; and the quantity of
goods was so great, that a merchant, who had considerable
dealings in this line, told me he had sometimes forwarded
three or four hundred carts in a single day.
Expense of carriage, as was before remarked, is not
very heavy; and these articles, when in large quantities,
were forwarded under contract for three roubles and a
half, or four roubles, each poud, (36 lb. English,) from Mos-
cow to Kiev. As this distance is about 750 versts, or
500 English miles, the rate may be considered as some-
thing lower, in nominal value, than the average amount
of the price of water carriage in England.
The necessaries* of life were much cheaper here than
in any other town of Russia which had fallen within our
route; though the inhabitants of Kiev complained that a
great augmentation of prices in general had taken place,
during the visit of the Empress Catherine, and that they
never afterwards recovered their former value.
The town has become, within a few years, a place of
greater resort than formerly; for the fair, which used to be
held at Dubno, has been transferred hither by the empe-
ror's command. It is to this the Polish nobles, and indeed
* Price of day-labour, (a slave, with a passport from his lord,) 50 copeks.
Gold was cheaper here than in Poland, on account of the commerce with
Odessa. The ducat was valued at 11 and a half paper roubles.

1. Clarke sculp
UNIV
OF
WICH
II.James del?
+
COLUMN of VLADOMIR, KIEV
VOLHYNIA.
48.1
all the people of the country around meet for the sake of
transacting business, and making leases or transfers of land,
while at the same time the merchants attend with stores of
provision for sale, which are purchased for the baronial
household in the wholesale way; so the concourse is immense.
The resident population of Kiev, including its university,
is supposed to be about 20,000; they inhabit, however,
three distinct towns; the Perchask fortress, with its adjoin-
ing streets, standing upon the summit of a hill on the east ;
Old Kiev, with its Polish fortifications, lying to the west;
and below, the Podolsk quarter; which last is in a dilapi-
dated state, having suffered a dreadful conflagration about
four years ago. Many houses had been renewed, but it
contains nothing very striking, except the remains of some
old Greek convents, and buildings of that nature. On
ascending the hill from hence, the road passes near the
spring where St. Vladomir baptised the first Russian con-
verts: a column bearing a cross is erected over it to com-
memorate the pious act, as well as to record the former
importance of Kiev as the seat of sovereignty.
July 23.—We now crossed the frontier of Poland, and
passed from the land of the credulous to the habitations of
the unbelievers, for every house we saw was in the hands
of Jews. They seemed, indeed, the only people who were
in a state of activity, exercising almost all professions, and
engaged in every branch of trade; millers, farmers, white-
smiths, sadlers, drivers, ostlers, innkeepers, &c. Their con-
stant bustle makes them appear more abundant in numbers
3 Q
482
VOLHYNIA.
than they really are; and although the streets of Zytomir
seemed full of them, we were informed that out of a po-
pulation of 6000, not more than one third were of this
sect, when we could easily have imagined the reverse.
The day of our arrival was the Sabbath, and the Jews
were habited in their best garments for attendance at the
synagogue. The married part of the community were dis-
tinguished from the rest, the men wearing a white shawl of
muslin (or tuch) thrown over their long black mantle;
which, with the addition of a bushy beard and a fur cap
on the head, gave an air of no ordinary stateliness and
dignity to their persons. This singular article is worn over
the head or on the shoulders, according to fancy, and is
a part of their dress on which they pride themselves highly,
laying out sometimes as much as four hundred ducats or
more in its purchase; the best are brought from Constan-
tinople, and are of the finest texture, handsomely em-
broidered at the top. The married women too have their
peculiar mark, which consists of a thin scarlet stripe of
cloth, hanging in a horse-shoe shape over the front of their
headdresses. The colour of their gowns is, in common,
plain red or blue, with a short lappet of different colour
pendent in front, and falling down over the bosom; but
on this day they were more shewy in their appearance,
bedizening themselves with laces of gold or silver: the chief
expense, however, is lavished on their headdress, being,
in the more splendid, a complete tissue of pearls. It
is not unfrequent to see a woman of the lower class with
VOLHYNIA.
483
a cap of this sort, 3000 or 4000 ducats in value. They are
not always the purchase of the wearer, but handed down
in hereditary succession from one generation to another;
and since as much pride is placed in their possession as in
a pedigree, it would be difficult, indeed, to oblige a Jewess
to offer one at any price for sale.
At the synagogue they were seated with their heads
covered, employed in diligent perusal of the scriptures;
the whole meeting gabbling aloud at once, each his chapter,
and to our ears the ceremony sounded not unlike what we
read of the confusion of tongues. Their phylacteries are
only made use of in their private orisons, and are thrown
on the head or borne upon the arm; they do not differ in
other respects, it is true, but they seemed to be fashioned
of a more Pharisaical breadth than those carried by the
Israelites of Monmouth-street in London.
*
We could not help being very much struck with the
beauty of this race of people, for they seem by no means
to have degenerated by limiting themselves to intermarriage
with their own breed. The character of countenance is
from this circumstance almost invariably the same, though
not in any way resembling what we call in England a
Jewish turn of feature. The women were remarkably
handsome, their persons large and full made, their faces
very regularly formed, with black eyes and hair, set off
with delicate complexions of white and red. The men
tall and straight, but rather of a spare habit, their features
small, and very much fashioned like that meek and placid
484
VOLHYNIA.
countenance which the Italian painters have invariably
given to the picture of our Saviour. This peculiar style of
visage, however, was gradually lost as we approached nearer
to the confines of Germany, nor did it any where seem so
prevalent as in this province.
Our journey was here rendered much more agreeable
from the absence of the mosquitoes: these obnoxious in-
sects had not ceased to torment us from the time we left
Moscow, till we passed the Dnieper at Kiev; from that
time it is singular that they partially intermitted their
nocturnal visits, and after a few stages disappeared alto-
gether; and we felt so well satisfied with the fact, that we
made little or no enquiry after the reason: similar instances
are, I believe, by no means uncommon.
The part we were now traversing was in general an un-
cleared tract of bog and wood: nothing occurred to cheer
the way; we heard nothing but the crack of the driver's
whip as it was echoed back from the depth of the forest;
we saw no trace of human beings, but by chance here or
there, under a tree, the mark of some lone traveller's fire.
Our horses were usually changed at the end of the stage, in
a sort of caravansera, which was a large barn upward of
200 feet in length, attached to the miserable hut of the
post-master, and made capable of receiving all the carts
and horses of the largest company. Among the first
symptoms of the works of man, we observed the crosses
that were erected at the junction of the by roads and in
other spots; they were adorned in the true popish taste,
VOLHYNIA.
485
with the pincers, nails, spunge, and reed, inscription and
ladder: tokens that were to be recognised as significant of
a change at least in the forms of the superstition of the
people whom we were about to visit.
After some dreary stages, we at last arrived on the rocky
banks of the Slucz, and came in sight of the castle and
scattered cottages of Novgorod, the worthy capital of the
wild Volhynia. As we ascended the hill on which it is
seated, we caught the sound of the " jocund fiddle,"
and the merry rustic step tripping it most lustily: we
hastened to the cottage from whence it proceeded to in-
dulge our curiosity, and found a party of Polish peasants
entertaining their friends at a marriage feast, while the
younger part of the company were performing the favourite
national dance of the Mazurco. It was one of the most
characteristic scenes of mirth in this line of life that I ever
beheld it is true the women were not handsome in their
persons, or graceful in their movements, but so fully oc-
cupied with their amusement, and so wrapt up in this oc-
casional enjoyment, that our intrusion passed unnoticed.
They were dressed in white chemises, with petticoats of
blue, edged with borders of red, these being the favourite
national colours of Poland: their hair was adorned with
large wreaths of flowers, and a great profusion of ribbons
of the same hues hung in stripes down their backs. The
men were not so gaily attired, but they had shaved their
chins, and this to strangers arrived from Russia was a gra-
tifying mark of novelty.
486
VOLHYNIA.
i
We were here also agreeably surprised by hearing the
chime* of bells once more; while the tones of the pealing
organ that echoed the chant of vespers, from a venerable
abbey church opposite to our hotel, seemed to welcome us
to a more congenial country.
The Roman catholic is the established religion of Po-
land, though it is by no means so universal in the southern
as, I believe, in the northern provinces. There was not
a village we had yet passed (unless its population wholly
consisted of Jews) but was provided with a Greek church:
and it is from a date long antecedent to the usurpation of
the Russians, that this form of worship has found numerous
votaries in Volhynia.
We were much disappointed to hear that the great fair
of Berditchev, which we intended to have visited from
hence, was just terminated. Being an annual assembly
of all the seigneurs of the country, with their families,
who remain there, many of them, encamped for upwards of
three weeks, it would have afforded an interesting example
of national manners and customs. The chief sale is for
horses; and there was a shew this year of upwards of
40,000: the saddle-horses bore a price of about 400 rou-
bles each, those for draught not above half that sum; but
the value of the former had been enhanced to near three
times what they formerly bore, in consequence of the
*The Russians tie the clappers of six or eight bells to one rope, and ring
them all together. In their churches no music but vocal is allowed.
VOLHYNIA.
487
large purchases made by the Prussian government for the
late campaigns.
Thus having failed of our object, we had no alternative
but to proceed to our next station at Ostrog, a place that was
once enlivened by the residence of the Dukes of Ostrogski:
it is now a jewish town, shewing only a few remains of its
former consequence, in the ruins of its monasteries and the
relics of its fortifications. The country hereabouts began
to assume an appearance of fertility; there were some few
meadow lands, but the rest almost wholly cultivated with
grain. The houses on the road side were built of wood,
in some instances, however, covered with plaster, and all
certainly in far better condition than those we had seen
on the other side of the Dnieper: the accommodation too
afforded us at the inns was quite of a different description.
The town of Dubno had some shew of fortification; it
was, in fact, formerly secured by regular works, to insure
it against the incursions of the Turks, an enemy who
now afforded no great source of inquietude. The place
enjoyed a considerable trade before the late French de-
crees, which, though they had not succeeded in depriving
these parts of their usual supplies, had nevertheless thrown
the profit of the carrying trade into new channels. The
removal of the fair to Kiev, also, as above mentioned,
since it had formerly attracted near 30,000 people annually
hither, put a finishing blow to the prosperity of Dubno.
Radzivilov was the frontier town of Russian Poland on
the west, and this circumstance alone gave it any ap-
488
GALLICIA.
pearance of bustle and consequence. At our arrival we
found the way was thronged with caravans of carts, and
crowds of Italian prisoners on their return from Russia.
The name of Englishmen, however, procured us attention;
and having submitted to a trivial inspection of our luggage,
and gone through the usual formalities of signature, &c.
which are required for a Russian passport, we passed the
barriers marking the line of demarcation, and arrived at
Brody, the first town within the pale of the Austrian do-
minions.
We were here detained some days before a passport
could be obtained from the governor of Gallicia, who re-
sided at Lemberg, and thus were indulged with a longer
stay than would have been agreeable, but for the wearisome
nature of our previous journey. The town is chiefly re-
markable as a colony of Jews, and we made the experiment
of contracting with these people, who are a sort of vetturini
in this country, for horses to carry us to Lemberg: they
afford them at a cheaper rate than the regular post-house,
but their plan is liable to many objections, and by no
means to be recommended to a traveller. We set out again
on the 31st of July, and in spite of the obstinacy of the
driver and the drowsiness of his jaded steeds, we enjoyed
this part of our journey very much. The well wooded hills
rising above Sokolavla formed a pleasing change to our
prospect, after the vast and uniform plain that we had
traversed since we left the borders of Finland: and the coun-
try was not only varied in feature but fertile in production,
GALLICIA.
489
and the town of Lemberg itself struck us by its appearance,
as singularly romantic and beautiful. It was embellished
by an university, a large public library, a cathedral, &c.
The private houses were extremely handsome and shewy
in their exterior, being decorated in the ornamental style,
so much in vogue throughout Germany. Indeed, generally
speaking, a mixture of German fashions, customs, or, one
may say, symptoms of improvement, seemed to dawn every
where as we advanced, introduced through the patronage of
the new government or the influx of Austrian colonists.
These intruders have, however, by no means been
able to draw exclusively into their own hands the whole
of the vast commerce which is afforded by the situation of
Lemberg; it is largely participated by the Jews, as well as
the Armenians and Greeks, both travellers and settlers.
Their wine, corn, and wax, or coffee and sugars, &c. are
brought, both for consumption here and as articles of transit:
for the town is a common centre of intercourse for this part
of the south, carrying on frequent communication with the
ports of Riga on the north, and Odessa on the east. Through
this last mentioned line, as well as from Salonichi, the co-
lonial produce and British manufactures, which formerly
were introduced through Vienna from Trieste, had chiefly
made their way: another course for these commodities was
before mentioned, but which also passed through Lemberg.
The Jews, never neglecting any mode of gaining money,
however novel, had been very active in this business,
and seemed severely to lament that commerce should be
3 R
490
GALLICIA.
on the point of being restored to its former channel*: they
would, indeed, on the ground of their late gains alone, in
spite of the murmurs of the Sanhedrim at Paris, have
almost idolised Buonaparte.
At the beautiful little village of Moscyko we observed
again the Greek church surmounted with the crescent and
the cross; for we were still within those tracts which for-
merly bore the name of Russia, and are supposed by some
to have been originally colonised from Kiev: but here
they terminated, and a bridge over the Sann near Premzyl
was pointed out as marking the ancient boundary of this
district, or Red Russia.
The bridges, which are generally of one arch, are
built of timber, and fenced with wooden posts in front to
ward off the ice, as it descends in heavy flakes during the
winter flood; they are covered over at the top, in order
to preserve the frame-work, much in the same way as those
which may be noticed in several of the vallies of Swit-
zerland. The principle of their construction is simple
and ingenious: the real centre or key, if one may so say,
of the arch of wood is at a point much elevated above the
platform of the causeway; the several beams of support
being inclined to it at different angles, and the apparent
arch suspended from the strong frame-work which they
afford. We had often observed bridges in Sweden built
* The exchange with England was quoted at 17 paper florins for 17.
sterling but the Austrian paper currency only bore in reality 2-5ths of its
nominal value.
:
GALLICIA
491
upon the same plan; which I imagine gives greater strength
of resistance than any other mode could effect with the
same materials.
There were several detachments of Austrian troops on
the road, as it seemed the design of government to form a
strong cordon on the frontier of Gallicia: they were fine
men, well mounted, and with their light-coloured clothes,
their panaches of green leaves in their caps, and ropes of hay
attached to the saddle bow, made extremely picturesque
accompaniments to the road side.
As to the face of the country, it was every where
covered with cultivation; it is scarcely possible, indeed, to
form any estimate of the immense produce which these
interminable plains must afford: from Ostrog to this place
we had gone over a tract of inexhaustible agricultural re-
source the land was frequently covered, as far as the eye
could reach, with nothing but grain. The soil on which it
grew was rather of a red colour with a texture slightly
sandy, and was said to possess strength enough to yield the
annual crop, without any other labour than that of the
plough and the harrow: no manure is ever laid on, nor does
the system even admit of a summer fallow the course is
simple, wheat, in one year; oats, (chiefly Tartarian) or rye,
or buckwheat, or barley, in the next, and so on in alternate
recurrence. Hemp and flax too are grown in some parts,
giving a supply to some small manufactories in the neigh-
bourhood. But though the aggregate produce of these
492
GALLICIA.
provinces is large, it is by no means abundant in pro-
portion to the extent of land taken into cultivation: the
appearance of these fields has but little resemblance to the
full crops that attend the exertions of English husbandry,
seeming every where thin and meagre: while five times
the measure sown is reckoned throughout the country a
return rather above the average produce: the remark,
however, as to this deficiency will apply, I believe, with
almost equal truth to many other parts of the continent.
The seed wheat, they told us, was for the most part brought
from the Bukhovine.
Grain is the chief article of trade in Poland, and
upwards of 365,000 lasts are said to be annually ex-
ported: it is carried chiefly in boats down the rivers,
thus finding its way to Dantzic, Pillau, Memel, Libau,
Odessa, &c. Wheat is never grown but with this view,
and often left to spoil or waste if no opportunity of sale
occurs yet it would be difficult to say at what price it
is generally afforded, for all advices are here received
from the lower country through the hands of the Jews,
who are the factors, and as the selling prices vary not
only in proportion to the urgency or slackness of the
demand, but also to the honest or roguish representations
of the above persons, the fluctuations in the same year are
innumerable. The best bread, however, at Cracow I think
I may state as being sold at a something cheaper rate than
it was at Berlin during our stay, and the province of Bran-
GALLICIA.
493
denburg was the only corn district which we had before
visited. Rye bread is the food of the country, and so much
in use, that a slice is always placed at the table d'hote,
together with the wheaten roll, much as it is the custom to
give oaten cake in Scotland.
The tenure of land is nearly on the same conditions as
in Germany, a portion being allotted to each slave, for
which soccage service is paid to his lord. At this time they
shewed themselves on the road side, employed in making hay,
or in other works of the field, under the superintendance of
the task-master; the tithe of the seigneur being regularly
set out, with a bough stuck at the top of the cock, in the
same fashion as it is the custom to mark the several deci-
mations belonging to the church in England,
The condition of those of the poorer classes who are
unable to labour is miserable enough; they are but slen-
derly provided for throughout the whole empire; a small
rate for their support is levied on the houses of each pa-
rish, but extremely inadequate to its purpose. The roads,
therefore, are constantly beset with beggars, mostly old men
that have overlived the days of their strength, or been ac-
cidentally maimed. They stretched forth their hand with
the beads and crucifix, and supplicated for charity in a tone
of the most abject distress. Their favourite stations were
seats under the image of the Virgin or some patron saint,
figures that ornament almost every part of the Austrian
provinces, and with these accompaniments they seldom
failed to attract the notice of the traveller,
494
GALLICIA.
Scarce can one travel half a mile without seeing here
one or more of these remnants of Catholic superstition,
though they have been some years since swept away'
by modern revolutionary zeal, from most other Catholic
territories. Scattered as they were over the fields, they had
the appearance of Termini, or images of sylvan gods, the
relics of classical paganism, rather than the monuments of
any Christian form of worship.
As we entered a shady avenue in the environs of Land-
shut, we observed a handsome and spacious palace belong-
ing to the ancient family of Lubomirski, which was the
completest specimen we had seen of the old baronial style
of magnificence. It was built by a famous Prince L. who
commanded the Polish forces in the Turkish wars during
part of the 17th century, and had the air of that splendid
and grand style which might be supposed to be the order
of the day when 5 or 6000 men in livery were at the beck
of their seigneur. It was fortified with regular bastions, a
rampart revetted with brick, and a broad ditch, as was
the ordinary fashion: for it was necessary to be guarded
against surprise, when the little feudal sovereigns of the
neighbourhood were perpetually engaged in warfare with
one another.
A
The present establishments of the nobility are still of a
large scale, some of them now giving their livery to several
hundred vassals, but the general system of life is reduced
much nearer to the standard of the rest of Europe than it
was in the days of the republic.

LI.James del?
PALACE of LUBOMIRSKI, LANDSHUT, GALLICIA.
1. Clark sculp
GALLICIA.
495
We do not hear of the villages of a great proprietor
being burnt to revenge a personal insult offered to his
neighbour, or of a wealthy Lubomirski being cut and hewn
in pieces by an injured family of Mikolaievski. Still,
however, these barbarities apart, something of their ancient
manners may be traced in the appearance of state and
grandeur yet kept up, and the modern establishment of a
noble Polish family well merits attention.
For the following interesting account of a visit to the
Countess Potocki I am indebted to the kindness of a
friend who travelled in that country a few years since;
and whose narrative has supplied me with that inform-
ation which I stood in great need of, having been pre-
vented by ill health from paying my respects in the same
quarter.
"I look back with peculiar interest to the time which I
spent in Poland, during my last visit to the continent; and
the recollections of my sejour at Tulchyzn, (which was
unexpectedly prolonged by the rupture between the two
countries) rather resemble the visions of an enchanted
palace than the sober reveries of an inquisitive traveller.
66
My curiosity, I confess, had been greatly excited
by all that I had heard and read, of the air of feudal
state with which the Polish magnat is surrounded, when
residing on his estates; and my visit to Madame P.
by no means dispelled the illusions which my mind had
formed on this subject. I was desirous of becoming in
some measure acquainted with the habits and manners
4.96**
GALLICIA.
which belonged to the nobles of our own country in an earlier
period of the English history; and as many vestiges of the
iron age are still to be traced in Poland, most strangely com-
bined with the refinements of society in a later time, I had
them, whilst at Tulchyzn, sufficiently brought under my
view, with all the advantages of superior civilization, and
increased means of enjoyment.
:
That cumbrous magnificence and ostentatious hospi-
tality which so strikingly pervades the spacious, though un-
comfortable, dwellings of the grandees of Moscow, is dis-
played in a greater degree, if possible, by those Polish
noblemen whose extensive possessions still allow them to
keep up that profuse style of living and entertainment
for which their ancestors were so peculiarly distinguished.
The opulent representatives of this aristocracy are now few
in number, and they must gradually disappear as estates
become subdivided on the death of the great landed pro-
prietors.
66
"Of this turbulent and restless body, so impatient of fo-
reign rule, and so perfectly unfitted for that state of political
ndependence which they are so anxious to enjoy, the
great names who have chiefly figured in the various revolu-
tions and convulsions of this unhappy country still support
the ancient dignity and splendour of their houses. The
Czartorinskis, the Lubomirskis, the Sapiehas, and the Po-
tockis, may still vie with the Esterhazys and Palfys of
Hungary; and as I apprehend that the race of powerful
German barons, (though some may display as many quar-
GALLICIA.
497
terings as Candide gives to his patron) have ceased to exist
in this "best of all possible worlds," on the extinction of
the great Polish and Hungarian families above mentioned,
we shall look in vain for that class of subjects, so princely
in their establishments, so dangerous in the authority and
means which they possessed.
"I arrived at Tulchyzn on the evening of the 31st De-
cember, 1806, having in my way from Odessa made an
excursion to Bender, and having suffered all the minor
inconveniences of delays and vexations in crossing the
Steppes. The snow was already beginning to fall, and the
following day it lay thick on the ground, where it remained
most pertinaciously during the whole of my stay. I had
little inducement, therefore, to stir out of doors, excepting
for the sake of exercise, and no opportunity of forming any
judgment of the state of cultivation in the country around.
"The palace is situated at the extremity of a large village,
of which Madame P. is the sole proprietor; its inhabitants
consist almost entirely of Jews, who, with their usual acti-
vity, carry on here every trade under heaven. I had occa-
sion for a taylor to recruit my wardrobe, which had suffered
materially by our late expedition over the mountains of the
Crimea; and an artist was sent me of so respectable a de-
scription, as to set my mind quite at ease on this moment-
ous point.
"At the back of the house, the ground was laid out
somewhat in the manner of an English garden; its chief
ornament, however, was a large piece of water, with a
3 s
498
GALLICIA.
greater number of poplars on its banks than good taste
would have desired.
"This spot, as may be supposed, was, at the time of the
year of which I am speaking, but seldom visited, and the
large place before the palace became the chief rendezvous:
here also, in the evening, an old carriage or two were con-
stantly stationed, to convey those who lived in the wings
to the main body of the building.
"The house is a handsome edifice of three stories, forming
three sides of a square, of which the centre is entirely taken
up by the apartments of the family, or by those which are
appropriated for the reception of company: the wings, being
almost exclusively devoted to the reception of strangers,
are scarcely superior to the caravanserais of the East; for
the rooms, although not entirely destitute of furniture, are
most lamentably deficient in many necessary articles. A
tawdry and tattered French bed, not intended for repose, (for
as most travellers carry their own sleeping apparatus, a
bedstead is all that it is considered necessary to provide)
or perhaps a chaise-longue under equally equivocal cir-
cumstances, a couple of chairs, and a tottering table, a
scanty carpet, and an unwashed floor,-all these inconve-
niences must be submitted to by him who ventures to
explore the southern parts of the Russian dominions.
"Your vanity may perhaps find consolation for a time
in surveying your figure in a looking-glass of the largest
dimensions at the foot of your bed, or in contemplating the
valuable lustre which may be hanging over your head. The
GALLICIA.
499
writing table which shakes at every motion of your pen, or
the torn gilding of the chair which makes havoc with your
dress every time that you rise, may probably shew symp-
toms of better days in their form, and the Parisian orna-
ments which still adhere to them; yet they, in the long
run, but ill supply the place of more substantial com-
forts.
"You will say the visitor must fare badly in such
quarters, and that the host is to blame in not correcting
such disorder in his household establishment; but the fact
is not so. No one can travel long in Russia without learn-
ing to establish himself in some degree of comfort under
circumstances the most unpromising; and the delight of
returning to civilized society makes up for many minor
inconveniences. It must, too, be observed, that if the guest
on his arrival be not provided with all that he requires, it is
entirely his own fault if he long remain so. A Cossack
attends constantly at his door (like a dog on the mat) to
keep up the fire in his stove, and to execute those orders
which his servant may be at a loss to perform. The maître
d'hotel will either change his quarters, or will furnish him
with such articles as are not to be found in those which he
inhabits; and the cook and caviste, and the chief man in
the stable, will attend daily to know his wishes in regard
to his amusement in the morning, or his entertainment at
night; and if inclined to dine in his rooms, and to see his
friends there, instead of encountering a larger society, he
500
GALLICIA.
1
has only to signify his wishes, and the master of the house
will even sometimes condescend to make one of his guests.
In the apartments which are appropriated for the recep-
tion of company
company (though here and there the same strange
mixture of discomfort and magnificence which we have
remarked in the private rooms cannot fail to strike the
eye), a degree of splendour and taste in furniture and
decoration appears which suits extremely well with the
sort of homage which is exacted from all around her by the
lady of the house; a stricter attention, perhaps, to order
and cleanliness in the economy of the lobbies and anti-
rooms would certainly be desirable, yet a more simple (and
therefore to an English eye more comfortable) style of
furniture would not so well correspond with the air of
show and display which belongs in so marked a degree
to the manners and establishments of the great people of
this country.
"The number of domestics in constant attendance
(though we should in this country consider them as an use-
less incumbrance) are also necessary appendages in keeping
up the degree of show and parade which is here thought
requisite; and it is carried to such an extent, that there is
scarcely to be found a Polish lady who has not a young
Cossack whose exclusive duty it is to act as her page.
"The very hospitality of the Poles renders it hopeless to
look in their dwellings for cleanliness and order, and it is
fair to state the obstacles which must effectually prevent
GALLICIA.
501
the adoption, with them, of more comfortable habits, when
we mention the annoyances which prevail in the best houses
in Poland.
"In the first place, it must be remarked, that as the feudal
habits of connexion between the lord and his vassal are less
obsolete here than in any other part of the world, a con-
siderable portion of every nobleman's mansion is a mere
receptacle for his friends and dependants. They come
without invitation, and depart without taking leave: their
stay, which is sometimes prolonged for months, may be, as
it often is, for weeks unknown to their landlord; and they
enter into such complete possession of the rooms allotted
to them, that it is not surprising if, in the course of these
tremendous visitations, the quarter assigned to them should
generally suffer materially by the etourderie of the master,
and the filthiness of the servant.
"I remember my surprise when the son-in-law of our
hostess proposed to try my pistols at a mark fixed against
the door of one of the rooms I was inhabiting. It was in
vain that I remonstrated against such a disorderly proceed-
ing; the votes went against me, and a few hours' practice
reduced one end of my apartment to the condition of a
target.
"I cannot either easily forget a scene which took place
at an entertainment given by the eccentric though good-
humoured person I have just mentioned, on the departure
from Tulchyzn of one of our English friends. Count S.
amongst other travelling appendages which are considered
502
GALLICIA.
indispensable by a Polish grandee, had brought with him a
considerable stock of wine, and an excellent French cook,
with a very powerful batterie de cuisine. It was decided
that Francois should display his art, on the occasion to
which I have alluded, in providing an ambiguous sort of
meal at two o'clock in the count's own rooms: the talents of
the artisan were highly extolled, and such was the effect of
his artillery upon the party, that with the aid of consider-
able reinforcements of champagne, the feast ended as many
have done among people less given to intoxication than the
Poles, and it is not to be imagined that the ornaments of
the count's apartments suffered less damage than the heads
of some of his guests.
"If the eye be offended by the havoc made on such
occasions, the olfactory sense suffers in an equal degree, for
smoking is the never failing accompaniment of such convi-
vial meetings; and though the Turkish tobacco is of the mild
sort, and the practice dignified by all the parade of amber
mouth-pieces, and cherry and jasmin pipes, yet the cham-
ber-furniture remains without any chance of purification.
"I found, upon enquiry, that I was fortunate in the time
I had chosen for my visit to Tulchyzn; most of the mem-
bers of the family were assembled, to settle some affairs of
importance respecting the property of the late Count P.:
several of my English friends were also here, and amongst
the foreign birds of passage I was glad to find the Prince of
N., Count M., and General M., the commander of the
Moldavian army.
GALLICIA.
503
“A short interval before dinner is devoted by Madame
P. to receive the salutations and enquiries of her guests, and
to welcome the new comers; and as attendance at her apart-
ments in the morning is by no means expected, this process
is conducted with nearly as much form and ceremony as can
be witnessed at the court of one of the minor German poten-
tates. The operation of dining forms a considerable feature
in the internal economy of every foreigner's house. As in
Germany and Russia, it is here tediously long; and the chief
domestics of the family being admitted to the seats at the
bottom of the table, the party seldom consisted of less than
35 or 40 persons: to this practice, so calculated to keep up
the intimate connexion which subsisted in the feudal times
between the chief and his dependants, I should have no
objection to urge, if a greater degree of equality was pre-
served in the distribution of the good things of which all
should partake; but the choice wine is not intended for
general circulation, (though I could not discover that its
precise limits were marked by the salt-cellar, as in our own
country of old) and a more tantalizing situation cannot be
imagined than that of the hungry vassal who sees an invit-
ing dish, which is never to return, carried from under his
nose to the side-board for dissection.
"The après diner is short: coffee is served, and the
whole party retire till nine o'clock, as if by mutual con-
sent, to their own or each other's apartments, when the
hostess again appears, ready to receive them: if the pup-
pets are in operation, this interval is passed in the theatre
504
GALLICIA.
belonging to the house, which is sufficiently large for the
representation of more important performances.
"Gambling, and that for considerable sums, forms, I
believe, a necessary part of the daily occupation of every
Polish gentleman. No evening passed without it; nor
could it be expected where Count M. was in company.
I observed that cards were only occasionally introduced,
but that the favourite game consisted in pitching ducats
from the edge of the table so as to cover one placed in
the middle. The winner sometimes carried off a handful
in this way.
"Amusement, however, of other kinds, was always
to be found; music, and dancing, and supper had their
turn; and on the first day of the year, on which occasion
all the neighbourhood were collected, as much waltzing
and polonaizing was exhibited, in as full an assembly as
would satisfy the most persevering frequenter of parties in
London.
"This day was also marked by the marriage of a very
beautiful female, related to the family. A dinner, more
splendid in its decorations, more crowded, and of longer
duration than ordinary, formed the prelude to the perform-
ance of the matrimonial rites, which ceremony took place
in the adjoining room.
"The repeated bumpers to the bride's health, which
had succeeded each other at dinner with more than usual
rapidity, could not fail of producing their natural effect;
and so marked was their influence upon that member of the
505
GALLICIA.
family to whose lot it fell to give the fair creature away,
but the ceremony had nothing of the solemnity and tribu-
lation belonging to it, which is generally observable else-
where. It certainly had the recommendation, in my eyes,
of being the merriest wedding I ever witnessed: what the
forms of proceeding are in more sober moments, I do not
pretend to say.
"The new married couple did not consider it neces-
sary, for the sake of retirement after the bustle of the day,
to run the risk of being frozen to death by decamping in
a chaise and four (or, as I should express it more cor-
rectly, in a britzcki or kibitki, the winter carriages of this
country); but I found afterwards that they had suffered
a still worse persecution, in being exposed, at a most in-
conveniently early hour the next morning, to the congra-
tulations of those who, to do honour to their nuptials, had
sat up the whole night, making copious libations to their
health.
"This evening is impressed on my memory as well by the
circumstances I have detailed, as by a conversation I held
(or rather attempted to hold) with a venerable old Pole,
splendidly habited in the ancient dress of his country. He
spoke no language but his own, and Latin, which at first
was to me equally unintelligible; my ear at last became
accustomed to his pronunciation of the latter, and I
listened, with great interest, to the account of his early
achievements against Lord Heathfield (of whom he spoke
with high admiration) at Gibraltar; to his lamentations
3 T
1
GALLICIA.
506
66
on the present state of Poland, on the bitter disappointment
which his countrymen had suffered, when their eyes were
opened to the true nature of all the promises of Buonaparte.
Foreigners are, in general, extremely deficient in re-
sources for the occupation of their mornings in the coun-
try; for exercise is not with them an object of importance.
Their breakfast is an uncomfortable meal, taken en robe de
chambre, between sleeping and waking and smoking; and
here, as well as elsewhere on the continent, few leave their
apartment for that purpose.
66
Excepting when any great general scheme of amusement
was in contemplation, the immediate retainers of the house
were the only attendants at the public breakfast, which was
always prepared in the palace for those who chose to go there:
but on the occasion of a grande chasse, or similar project, a
great display of oysters from the Black Sea, with champagne
and other luxuries, presented too inviting a repast to be re-
sisted in the middle of the day; the result, however, as may
well be imagined, seldom tended to render the aim of the
sportsmen in shooting more deliberate or precise.
"The trainage being in excellent order, and the
weather uncommonly mild for the time of year, the ladies
were induced to assist at one of the first hunting expedi-
tions which took place after my arrival. It was amusing
enough to see the vehicles which were brought to the door
for their especial conveyance. They had the air of those in
use at the court of Louis XIV. with the substitution of a
light sledge for the ponderous wheels belonging to the
GALLICIA.
507
carriages of that time; and six horses were required to set in
motion such weighty machines. The men who were to be
conveyed found places as they could, in open traineaux of
various descriptions.
"I should imagine that the country around Tulchyzn
must be extremely agreeable in the finer season of the year.
It is prettily diversified with hill and dale, and the large
open cultivated spots are here and there broken very hap-
pily by masses of wood of considerable extent.
"The wolf being the particular object of this day's sport,
our motions were directed to one of these insulated woods,
which we found had already been carefully surrounded
with nets, and in the centre was assembled a motley collec-
tion of mongrels ready to be let loose for the purpose of
securing the game: the sportsmen were then stationed
at the different passes, and the halloo began. I observed
that the wolf never condescended to turn upon the currish
tribe which followed barking at his heels, except with an
occasional snarl of contempt, but constantly made for the
nearest point for escape, and it generally ended with his
being shot in attempting to break through the nets; in this
way four were disposed of in the course of the morning,
and a fifth was added to the list of slain, though not until
he had afforded us a more than usual degree of sport:
having contrived to escape from the toils into the open
country, three of the large Siberian greyhounds were let
loose upon him; as he went away in a most gallant style,
we were obliged to mount our horses in order to follow
508
GALLICIA.
:
him, and after a gallop which was amply sufficient to ex-
haust the united efforts of all Madame P's stud (who
were by no means used to such lengthened performances),
we succeeded in coming up with him when on the point of
being seized by the dogs. He then stood at bay, made a
desperate leap at the throat of the horse I was riding, and
falling back in the effort, was immediately seized by the
greyhounds, and shortly dispatched by a couteau de chasse.
This was the best day's sport that I recollect, and I perhaps
found it the more interesting from having accidentally been
posted near the Prince of N. As our patience became ex-
hausted, the necessity of keeping silence was forgotten;
and he gave me a very amusing detail of his exploits at the
great siege of Gibraltar, in which he had taken a very con-
siderable share.
"I assisted at various other parties de chasse, which were,
for the most part, extremely dull, except as they led us
into a new part of the country; a great slaughter of hares
was the general result, but no game of a nobler descrip-
tion.
"I cannot dismiss the subject of Poland without bearing
testimony, in the fullest degree, to the agreeable qualities
of the higher orders of society, both male and female, and
to the great attention, as far as I could discover, which
strangers invariably receive from them. The women pos-
sess in general a more than common degree of beauty, a
superior figure, and great powers of pleasing: the men are,
for the most part, thoroughly practised in the ways of the
GALLICIA.
509
world, and peculiarly calculated to shine in society. Every
Polish nobleman has seen more or less of foreign countries,
and has something to say upon every subject; and though
it may be doubted whether any great depth of information
or sincerity of feeling is to be found among them, yet as
casual acquaintances, few people are more agreeable.
"Of the kindness which I, in common with others, ex-
perienced from our hostess, I cannot say too much; her
means are ample, and she possesses the art of enjoying
them: the rupture between the two countries, of which we
received intelligence whilst at Tulchyzn, and the refusal of
permission for the English to proceed to St. Petersburg,
(which became, by the turn that public affairs had taken
in Austria and Turkey, the only outlet) rendered our situa-
tion at one time a little embarrassing.
"To attempt a retreat at last became necessary, and after
a good deal of discussion with general K. who then com-
manded at Kiev, the first town of importance that occurred
on our road, we succeeded in obtaining permission to pro-
secute our journey to the capital, although not without
being placed under the surveillance of a Russian officer,
who accompanied us the whole of the way."
In the present æra of general peace we were happily
free from such occurrences as might have been the lot of
travellers a few years back; no difficulties indeed of any
sort occurred. Our horses were good, our roads excellent,
and so much intercourse was kept up on this line, that a
stage coach was constantly travelling between Lemberg
510
GALLICIA,
and Vienna, and this in no way inferior, as to equipment,
to those which are seen in France or Germany, though the
journey of 96 German miles occupied 12 days. The inns
had gradually improved since we entered Poland, we were
provided with clean beds and excellent accommodations,
and a table d' hote was always found prepared towards the
middle of the day, which we made a point of frequenting.
The company generally consisted of some Austrian officers,
a few merchants, and some of the petty seigneurs of the
country. The French language was not commonly talked,
few seeming masters of it, but Latin was used in its stead;
for to converse in that tongue is made a necessary point of
education at all the schools, and we met no one but had ac-
quired the art of speaking it with fluency. I should add,
that the Poles are celebrated for their ready talent in this
respect, and are in general better linguists than even the
Russians themselves.
man,
It was at one of these meetings in the hotel at Jaroslav,
that we were accosted, to our surprise, by a fellow-country-
who made many enquiries about England;-having sa
tisfied him, he told us in return, that he had been brought
hither by a Polish nobleman, and employed in the super-
intendance of a brewery near this place; but that the
speculation failed, and he met with great losses. He had,
however, nearly forgotten his mother tongue, and his story
was to our ears scarcely intelligible.
From Tarnov to Bochnia and Wielicsa, we viewed no-
thing but a repetition of what we had before seen; an open
GALLICIA.
511
country of grain, varied by low ranges of hills, and inter-
sected by the small rivers that characterise a remote inland
district.
The salt-works at Bochnia would have detained us, if
we had not a greater object in view at our next stage,
the mines of Wielicsa, which have been so much celebrated;
they form, indeed, one of the largest labyrinths of excava-
tion in Europe, and being peopled with upwards of 2000
souls, give a complete idea of a subterranean world.
Some notion of their extent may be conceived when it is
related that the whole town is completely undermined: the
galleries extending in length, from east to west, about 6000
feet, and about one third of that distance in breadth; the
total depth is estimated at 140 cläfter or fathoms; and
this is perpetually on the increase. We were lowered by a
wheel down one of the shafts, for about forty fathoms, being
a party of sixteen seated in slings that were attached to a
large cable arrived at the first gallery, we halted, and
thence descended to a second, a third, and even a fourth, by
means of regular stairs cut in the rock of salt. But the more
splendid part of the sight consists in the chambers or vaults,
of which upwards of three hundred are contained in the
circuit, many of them of very large dimensions; the chief
was that called the Psikos, in which nearly the whole of the
area was filled with water.
At the time when the King of Saxony paid a visit to
this place, after taking possession of his moiety of the
512
GALLICIA.
mines as Duke of Warsaw, in the year 1810, the Psikos
cavern was selected for exhibition: it was splendidly lighted
up with tapers, and a full band of music floating on the
dark lake, made the roof re-echo with patriotic airs in
honour of the re-establishment of the Polish sovereignty.
It was on the same occasion that a ball was given in the
great hall on the first gallery, which is a large room re-
gularly shaped, and of about fifty or sixty feet in length.
The sparkling surface of the rock salt reflecting the blaze
of the chandeliers, and the various coloured dresses of a
numerous assemblage of company, are said to have dis-
played an appearance inconceivably brilliant: but having
no means of judging, from our humble survey, of the effect
of such preparations, we were more delighted with many
other parts than the present cheerless aspect of the great
hall; and perhaps the chapel of Cunegunda struck us as
more beautiful than any thing else that had on that day
been exhibited. The æra of its formation is almost coeval
with the opening of the mine, and is calculated to have
taken place about 600 years back; the simple round style
of its architecture bears, indeed, testimony to its antiquity.
It is chiefly remarkable, however, for its material: the
columns with their high wrought capitals, the arches with
their ornamental groins, niches with the images of saints,
and all the decorations of the altar, are carved in the trans-
parent rock-salt; and two priests, whose figures are cut out
in the same way, are represented at prayers before the shrine
GALLICIA.
513
of the patron saint. But these wonders have already furnished
matter to more vivid imaginations, and found a place among
tales of romance; I shall therefore conclude my story.
The article, as prepared for traffic, is cut in large cu-
bical blocks, and carried away without farther package, since
its quality is so pure by nature, that to perfect it for use it
is simply reduced to powder; no process of solution being
requisite, or any other mode of manufacture.
The net receipts arising from the mines are not of so
great an amount as might be expected; they are stated, it
is said, at 2,000,000 florins of annual revenue *
Leaving Wielicsa we continued our route, having re-
ceived the permission of the governor of Lemberg to extend
our journey a few miles beyond the frontier of Gallicia.
The country was bare of trees, and void of any features of
dignity; but the stream of the Vistula, with the spires of
Cracow rising in its valley, were sufficient to diversify the
appearance. Neither were memorials wanting that should
illustrate the antiquity of the' spot, or its claim to interest.
Immediately above the river side stood a large earthen
tumulus, that marked the grave of Cracus the founder of
the city: a little higher up the river side was a similar
earthy erection, in honour of his daughter Wenda, whose
history borders upon the marvellous. She was a princess
*The workmen can make, with industry, about two paper florins each per
day. The thermometer stood at 58° Fahrenheit, being at this time 82° in the
open air; but the number of lights constantly burning perhaps increased the heat
beyond the natural temperature of the earth.
J
3 U
514
CRACOW,
whose soul was given to war; and, unwilling to yield to the
controul of any softer passion, she promised to give her
hand to him alone who should prove her conqueror in the
field. Ritigner was the last of a long list of lovers who
marshalled a body of troops to woo by force of arms the
Amazonian heroine. But his soldiers possessing less ardour
in the cause than inspired their chieftain, ignominiously
refused the combat, and fled before the Cracovite forces.
Ritigner upon this (and indeed he could not well do less)
threw himself upon his sword in despair, and expired in
the sight of his mistress. To conclude the tale, Wenda
returned victorious to her capital; but feeling unhappy in
the celebration of such a triumph, she also played the
Roman, and made away with herself by plunging into the
Vistula, and devoting herself, yet a virgin, to the embraces
of the river god.
Stretching our eyes beyond these monuments, a place
of interest in later history was eagerly pointed out to us by
our peasant drivers; it was the field of Zechokino, a spot
where the brave Kosciusko, with his band of peasant
soldiers, gained a victory over the Russians during their
second attack upon the liberties of Poland. He lay with
his men in ambuscade, and falling upon the enemy un-
awares, slaughtered near half the number on the spot.
Cracow was already in the hands of the Poles, this success
seemed to rouse the whole nation at once to exertion, and
faint hopes of success were for a while entertained.
But it was useless now to sigh after the phantoms of
CRACOW.
515
freedom and independence. The antiquity of the foundation
of this place, and the celebrity which it once enjoyed, were
but melancholy recollections at this day, when Cracow
shewed itself stripped of all its former wealth, and accus-
tomed by long experience to the yoke of foreign tyrants.
This last circumstance was curiously exemplified. The
barriers of the Podgorge or southern suburb were painted
with the white eagle; but we were accosted by an Aus-
trian guard from the military detachment who occupied
the right bank of the river. On crossing the ferry to the
second quarter of the town, a Russian officer commenced
his examination; and a few yards farther we were simi-
larly visited by the civil authorities of the Saxon, or, aș
they called it, Polish government, who were, it seemed,
still continued in their functions. On driving through the
place, the streets appeared old and dismal, and marked in
general with that aspect of gloom which the decay of a
once flourishing trade never fails to produce.* In the out-
skirts appeared many houses fallen into neglect, and in an
absolute state of ruin. The fact indeed, that out of a po-
pulation which once consisted of 80,000 only a fourth part
should now remain, is conclusive, and may serve to give an
* Day labour, 30 creutzers. 60 creutzers = 1 florin (silver) = 3 shillings
English.
The currency of the place, on this side of the Vistula, was carried on in
specie, chiefly the 20-creutzer pieces of Prussia, or the coinage of the dukedom
of Warsaw.
There was a manufactory of cloth, another of blue dyes, and a brewery; but
none of these were in any great state of activity.
516
CRACOW.
idea of the present lonesome and impoverished condition of
Cracow.
So much were the national customs superseded by
the introduction of foreign habits, that we observed very
few examples of the Polish dress any where in the streets:
one or two seigneurs only were seen who wore the short
cassoc of blue or brown, tied with a red sash about their
loins, and the white square-topped cap on their heads, a
costume well adapted to the tall and comely figure of
a noble Pole. A few also of the older men among the
peasantry displayed their loose hose and boots, and the
white cloth gown over their shoulders, and their heads
shaved with only a circle of hair left on the top: but these
symptoms of attachment to ancient form were very rare,
and the ladies were invariably attired in the French or
German fashions.
The citadel of Cracow stands proudly on an eminence
commanding the town: it is surrounded with lofty walls
and high towers, and contains within its precincts the re-
mains of several public buildings belonging to the former
government. But the palace, as well as the house of diet,
have been demolished by the Austrians, and barracks for
their soldiers (no inappropriate substitution) erected on
the foundations.
The cathedral is a handsome structure, and well de-
serves the observation of strangers, for many other points
than its great bell, or its chapel covered with a roof of
golden tiles. Among the tombs of their kings we read the
CRACOW.
517
names of Mcislas, Jagellon, Casimir the Great, Sigismond I.
Stephen Battori, and Sobieski the saviour of Vienna; men
that once had an influence in the great affairs of Europe,
and respect for whom ought to have ensured a better fate
for their unhappy posterity. The chair formerly used at
the solemnities of coronation is also preserved here: the aged
guide seemed almost in tears when he pointed it out to our
attention, and told he was present when Poniatowski was
placed in that seat.
This was an overflow of patriotism that might have
been spared: their last king was sovereign of Poland, it is
true; but the name was the only claim he had in that ca-
pacity to the affection of the nation. All other circum-
stances, however, are now forgotten in the general regret
for the extinction of the crown. We might judge from
our friend's sensibility of the incoherent nature of his ideas:
he afterwards pointed out to us the sewer, through which
a party of his countrymen, the members of the confedera-
tion of Barr, crept into the castle by night, with the inten-
tion of stealing away the puppet Poniatowski; and he
displayed, on this occasion, the same emotion as we had
witnessed on beholding the chair of coronation, or the
tomb where his ashes reposed. Of this description, in
general, are the sentiments of the people who cry out for
independence, but neither know what it is they have lost,
or what is the nature of that tyranny which they so much
wish to see renewed.
The church of N. D., the monastery of St. Stephen,
518
CRACOW.
the botanical garden, the university, built in a semi-
gothic style, and the public promenade of the garden of
Lodi, were also objects worthy of attention: though the
most curious quarter of Cracow is that of the Casimir town,
being wholly inhabited by Jews, and having been originally
built for that people by the monarch whose name it
bears.
The Jews are first said to have been introduced into
Gallicia by Boleslaus, King of Haliez, in 1264. But the
period of their prosperity commenced in the reign of
Casimir the Great, who, instigated by his beautiful Jewish
concubine Esther, granted them so many immunities and
privileges as attracted settlers from all parts of Germany to
his dominions. They afterwards became a body highly
useful and acceptable to the nobility, not only by their
commercial connexions, but by the activity with which
they engaged in their domestic concerns: and by degrees
they made themselves necessary to them, completely oc-
cupying the place of that middle rank in society, to which
a wiser system of policy would have elevated the native
vassals. They filled all the chief houses of trade in the
town and country, and were, in general, the stewards and
agents of all landed property, and finally grew to form so
powerful a class, that they not only procured the right of
establishing judicial tribunals among themselves (subject
only to the way wode) but were allowed to have an officer,
nominated by the king, who should attend the meetings of
the diet on behalf of their sect.

1.T.James dat?
UNIVERSITY of CRACOW.
London, Published by L.Murray, Albemarle Street, 1916.
I.Clark sculp
UNL
OF
CRACOW.
519
By their present governors they seemed rather viewed
as profitable objects of taxation than in any more honour-
able light, and they suffered accordingly the most enor-
mous exactions: a capitation tax is fair enough, but it
is not on quite so equitable a principle that the law, taking
advantage of their peculiar habits and customs, lays an
heavy burden upon them which is impossible to evade:
thus, as they never shed blood themselves, the privilege of
having an animal killed is valued at 15 groschen; if a tur-
key, one florin and a half is paid, or for a goose one
florin. This last is a very productive impost, for the
greasy nature of this bird makes it a favourite dish among
the Jews, who cannot taste the forbidden flesh of swine.
They are taxed again for the candles burnt in their syna-
gogue, and for the large flambeaux used at the ceremony
of marriage, and for many other similar articles.
To give an opinion of them, they are, as far as strangers
could judge, an industrious and persevering people, and of
a nature that, notwithstanding the oppressive hand of go-
vernment, seem every where to thrive; some, indeed, have
amassed large fortunes in spite of all difficulties, and set-
tling in one or other of the jewish towns, live in a state of
considerable opulence and luxury.
With regard to the Polish nobility, the extent of their
power as individuals, as well as politically speaking, has
been much diminished since the annihilation of the semi-
republican form of government. In the parts under the
government of Austria and Prussia, the inordinate autho-
520
CRACOW.
rity of the seigneur over his vassals has been restrained by
law. They do not now enjoy the right of inflicting cor-
poral punishment; nor, indeed, are slaves now, as for-
merly the case, attached to the glebe, so that their con-
dition, in some respects, assimilates to that of the German
peasant. Besides this, the manners of the nobles them-
selves are greatly changed and improved (as was before re-
marked) by intercourse with their neighbours. There are
those, it is true, who confine themselves almost entirely to
their country residences; but a great proportion are to be
found in society, at the respective capitals of their sove-
reigns, particularly at Petersburg and Vienna. They are
many of them also employed in official situations, for which
they are made equally eligible with the rest of their fellow
subjects.
Those who have fallen under the domination of Prussia
are excluded from any share in public employments; but,
notwithstanding this unjust exception, the mild nature and
excellent regulations of the Prussian government have suc-
ceeded in making it more generally popular and acceptable
among all classes in Poland than either the Russian or Aus-
trian administrations.
As to the feelings of the country in general, and
their desire to recover that independence which had lately
been so much talked about; a strong spirit of enthusiasm
appeared almost every where to prevail. The nobles
viewed in the common cause the recovery of their fancied
rights; the people heard it only as a name: still it was the
་
CRACOW.
521
and
watchword of patriotism, and all were actuated by the
same wish to see Poland re-established in the rank of nations.
The levies made in the neighbourhood during the occupa-
tion of Cracow by the French were raised by ballot, but
without resorting to any harsh means of compulsion: the
people were ripe for action, and every Pole has a soul for
war. One of the citizens amused us much, by recounting a
go
story of his being called upon by a French officer to
inspect one of these bands of irregulars: they were pea-
sants, in their working dress, armed with scythes fastened on
long staves, weapons that promised, in their hands, to be by
no means inefficient. They had gone through several evolu-
tions in excellent style, when our friend paid some com-
pliment to their cominandant on their proficiency. He
allowed they succeeded extremely well, and that their for-
wardness was very creditable to the corps, considering the
short time they had been embodied; but, added he, this
is not all; wait a few instants, and you shall hear my re-
gimental music. Upon this the word was given, and the
whole line drew forth their whetstones from their sides, and
began to sharpen their scythes with such a blithe and merry
sound as dinned the ears of his astonished companion.
It cannot be held surprising that the proclamations of
Buonaparte should have produced a certain effect upon the
minds of the people of Poland, when they had so long looked
to France for deliverance. The legion of Dombrowski at the
time of the second partition, finding all the efforts of the
country to be unavailing, retired to that country, offering
3 x
522
CRACOW.
its services to the friends of revolutionary liberty. From
hence a constant connexion was kept up between the two
nations; and Dombrowski being sent hither during the war
of 1809, his presence excited an enthusiastic feeling that
induced numerous volunteers to join the French army. The
subsequent appointment of Poniatowski (nephew of the late
king) to command a corps d'armee, seemed to raise their hopes
to the highest pitch; at the same time the most flattering
promises were uttered by the French government, and up-
wards of fourteen millions of people heard the call. When
the marshal entered Cracow, the shops were lighted up,
every public honour lavished on his arrival, and the citizens
seemed to think the emancipation of their country was
at hand. This spirit, however, was sufficiently repressed in
the eastern parts of Poland by the Russian troops: the levies
were scanty, and, indeed, says Pradt, Volhynia "afforded us
only two soldiers;" but where these tyrants were not nu-
merous, symptoms of insubordination manifested themselves
in daily murmurs and discontent. Even at Kiev we were in-
formed that a tone of insolence and presumption, before un-
known, was constantly in the mouths of the Poles who were
resident there, from the highest to the lowest orders, and an
almost revolutionary freedom of manner reigned throughout.
At this time, now that the power of France was hum-
bled, the fallen chieftain was still regarded with the most
friendly eye; and the reports that we heard in circula-
tion of open dissensions between the new king and his
people, of armies in the field, &c. of French marshals
GALLICIA.
523
divided into parties and exciting the broils of civil war,
were sufficient evidences in themselves of the real wishes of
those who forged and propagated these stories.
The name or even semblance of independence is so
popular, however, and the creation of the dukedom of War-
saw was so much approved, that I have no doubt but that
the promulgation of the new constitution, under the vice-
royalty of Russia, (promising at least the reunion of the na-
tion) will be not ill received on the part of the people.
August 9.—We now repassed the Vistula to the Austrian
territories, and after some trouble with the douaniers, who
were very diligent in their search after tea or tobacco, we
regained the road to Vienna. On passing under the beauti-
ful monastery of Calvary, and ascending the first offset of
those long ranges that branch out from the Krapaks, the
scene opened to us a noble amphitheatre of mountains,
stretching from the Silesian frontier far round to the southern
horizon. The foreground was not much diversified: we were
met now and then by a Jew trader, with cargoes of hides
or salt, and our ears were sometimes assailed by the creaking
waggons that conveyed the copper money to Vienna which
had been received from the salt mires, or here and there
were more agreeably saluted by a chorus of women chanting
hymns as they returned from working in the fields. Occa-
sionally we encountered a solitary traveller on the road, and
of these we were most interested for a poor Pole at Zebnik,
who requested a seat at the back of our carriage: he had
:
1
·
524
GALLICIA.
i
served as a soldier in the French army, in the war of 1812;
had been at Moscow, Viasma, Dorogobusch, Smolensko,
&c. and was finally taken prisoner at Dresden in the late
campaign he was now on his return home, having refused
service in the Austrian army, and about to live in retire-
ment, a suspected character, as was naturally the lot of but
too many who were engaged in the late transactions.
We saw on this side of Gallicia also, as well as we had
on the other, numerous bodies of Austrian troops on their
way to the frontier. They were provided with trains of ar-
tillery, of caissons, of pontoons, and every material of war;
and carried but little the appearance (which we were told
was the object of their march) of being intended as a mere
guard of honour, to receive the Emperor of Russia on his
expected arrival. The Russians, on their side, did not seem
to be inactive; and from appearances one might judge that
a large army was drawing together in the neighbourhood
of Cracow.
It was easy to foresee that if the cession of Gallicia* were
insisted upon by Russia, war must ensue.
But now being
* Gallicia (or Lodomeria, according to its name in diplomacy) was for-
merly a part of the kingdom of Hungary. It was separated in the person of a
daughter of Lewis, King of Hungary and Poland, Hedwigi by name, who
married Jagellon, Duke of Lithuania, and taking Gallicia as her portion united
it to the crown of Poland. This sort of claim, however, is now out of fashion
in modern political arrangements: and it must be observed that it is called a
separate kingdom, the emperor's titles being Hungariæ, Bohemiæ, et Gallicia
Rex.
"
}
GALLICIA.
525
on our way to the congress at Vienna, it was folly to specu-
late on political contingencies, and we pursued our road
heedless of the promise of these warlike demonstrations.
At Belitz we took our leave of Poland, and passing
through Austrian Silesia and Moravia, arrived in the course
of the month at Vienna.
To the eye of a mineralogist, the country we had traversed
would present one vast plain, from the rocks of Finland to
the foot of the Carpathian Mountains: the eminences that
occurred at Valdai, at Moscow, Smolensko, Kiev, &c. can
scarcely be said to make any material variation in its form.
Numerous rivers, it may be supposed, intersect this sur-
face, and the soil, as to its fertility, shews many degrees of
excellence.
The plains about Valdai, as well as the hills themselves,
were covered with sand; and on their summits, which had
in some parts a broken appearance, we found numerous
boulder stones of red gneiss, mica slate, and other fragments
of primitive rocks: the height may be about 400 feet. It
may be worth while here to make an observation which is
not wholly inapplicable to this subject; namely, that the
tracts lying to the north of this point seem to have an higher
general elevation than those on the south: inasmuch as
the rivers taking their course in that direction are slow
and torpid, while the Don, the Wolga, and the rivers on
the opposite side, flow with great rapidity, although the
course they have to run to their respective seas is much
longer than the line to the Baltic; and therefore, if these two
526
GALLICIA.
plains were of equal elevation, the force of their currents
would be proportionably diminished.
Boggy ground and black mould succeeded occasionally;
but the soil assumed a redder hue as we approached the
government of Moscow; and the little cliffs that overhung
the Moskwa river to the east and west were entirely of red
rock marl. This soil generally predominated in the line we
took to Smolensko, though here some calcareous sandstone
also broke out in places. The river Dnieper, at this part,
lies extremely deep in its bed, bearing a striking resem-
blance, both in the colour and form of its banks, as well as
its size, to the river Severn, in Shropshire and Worcester-
shire. The same soil continued on our road to the south,
only growing blacker as we approached the beds of the
Desna or the Dnieper; and some distance from the latter
we observed large plains of sand, extending on both sides,
as is generally the case with great rivers.
The Hill of Kiev, which is of considerable elevation, is
entirely of fine sandstone; on the south is a naked steppe,
and on the west our road soon carried us from the rising
ground on which the town stands to a level plain.
The banks of the river at Zytomir were again of a
red soil, and on the Slucz, at the town of Novgorod Vol-
hynskoi, we were surprised with the appearance of a sienitic
rock, which rose thirty or forty feet over the river banks.
The ground above was of the same nature we had so often
met with, but perhaps of a more decided ochrous colour.
The grounds of our approach on the left side of the river
GALLICIA.
527
had been for some distance a little more varied in their form
and height; and a few boulder stones of a granitic forma-
tion were scattered in various directions.
At Sokolavla we passed over one of the secondary
branches of the Krapaks. The rock was a yellowish, gra-
nular, shelly limestone; the same appeared at Lemberg, but
surmounted by high sand hills as we receded from the
limits of this formation, we came again upon the red soil,
which, however, was mixed with sand.
At Wielicsa we were on the immense bed of fossil salt
that breaks out on every side of the Carpathian ranges.
It lay imbedded and stratified in parts with shale; the
point where the pure rock salt commenced was at a depth
not much short of an hundred feet under the argillaceous
stratum.
Near Cracow we again came on the limestone forma-
tion; it was an extremely compact rock, containing shells,
and what was more extraordinary, occasionally exhibiting
small black flints imbedded in it. We were told there was
coal to be found about six miles higher on the Vistula.
As our road only passed over the secondary formations
of the great range of the Krapaks, any further hint on this
subject would be useless; and indeed their description has
already been published by a writer far better informed on
the subject.
THE END.
I
T. DAVISON, Lombard-street,
Whitefriars, London.
NARRATIVE
OF A
JOURNEY IN EGYPT,
&c. &c.
London Printed by C. Roworth,
Bell-yard, Temple-bar.

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LEGH'S TRAVELS
IN EGYPT

LS IN E

24.
Gerb AssourViziere
Cony of S Georgs)
nven
ESSOUAN
Ant Syene
Shellaale
or the Cataracts
Shallal
Debede
MAP
of the
NILE, from the CATARACTS
to Ibrim by
R
THO LEGH ESQ M.P.
and the
REV CHA SMELT.
•
•
Sardab R
El Umbarakat R
Kalaptshi R
A.D. 1813.
•Siala Baharie
Deyhimeer
Aboughor
English Miles
To
20
Rs of Dondour
Dondow
Thorwan
Mahagga
Barde
239
Derr R
Amada
Ruins of a Temple
Caravi
Gatter
Gusca
brim
Enynard under the direction at AArrow smith
Sibhot R.
Chatourme
•Singuard
Malkie
•Meriah
Guerfeh Hassan
Guerche
Dakki R
Eshtambi
Allaghi
Goert
Siula Kibly
Deramsil
33
24.
23.
↓
1
NARRATIVE
OF
A JOURNEY IN EGYPT
AND THE
COUNTRY
BEYOND THE CATARACTS.
BY THOMAS LEGH, Esq. M. P.
=
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
1816.
PREFACE.
Ar a period when political circumstances had
closed the ordinary route of continental travel-
ling, and when the restless characteristic propen-
sity of the English could only be gratified by
exploring the distant countries of the East, an
entirely new direction was given to the pursuits
of the idle and the curious.
A visit to Athens or Constantinople supplied
the place of a gay and dissipated winter passed in
Paris, Vienna, or Petersburgh: and the Tra-
veller was left to imagine, and perhaps to regret,
the pleasures of the modern cities of civilized
Europe, amidst the monuments of the ruined
capitals of antiquity. Interviews with the Beys
vi
PREFACE.
and Pachas of the empire of Mahomet succeeded
to the usual presentations at the courts of the
Continent; and the Camel, the Firman, and the
Tartar were substituted for the ordinary facili-
ties of the Poste, the Passports, and the Couriers
of the beaten roads of Italy or France.
It was during this period of partial exclusion
from Europe, that the Author of the following
Narrative, having made the tour of Greece and
Albania, was induced by the continuance of the
unhealthy state of the countries in the Levant,
to direct his steps to the shores of Egypt. That
he was afterwards enabled to push his researches
beyond the usual boundary of his predecessors
was an advantage it was impossible to foresee,
and which, on his leaving Cairo, he could scarcely
venture to anticipate.
To observe what had previously been described
by others, and, guided by their delineations, to
PREFACE.
vii
admire the remains of antiquity scattered over
the face of that wonderful country, was the ori-
ginal intention of a Journey in which neither
himself, nor his friend Mr. Smelt, in whose so-
ciety he had the pleasure of travelling, could
hope to make fresh acquisitions, or point out the
road to future discovery.
But on their arrival at the Cataracts, when
they found themselves on the borders of a com-
paratively new country, and were unexpectedly
permitted to penetrate into the interior of Nubia,
every object assumed an additional importance;
and it is hoped that the novelty and curiosity of
the observations made on the spot may in some
measure compensate for the deficiencies of a
work, which makes no pretension to scientific
research, or depth of antiquarian erudition. For
the hurried manner in which the Temples of
Egypt are described, and in some places
viii
PREFACE.
altogether passed over in silence, the Author has
only to account, by referring his readers to the
numerous Travels in that country already in the
hands of the Public, from the writings of Pococke,
Norden, and Niebuhr, down to the more recent
Mémoires of the Savans of the French Institute.
To his fellow-traveller, the Rev. Charles Smelt,
he is particularly indebted for the use of his
Journal, from which have been extracted many
valuable notes and observations; and to the kind-
ness of his friend Dr. Macmichael his acknow-
ledgements are due, for the assistance afforded
him in arranging his Memoranda and preparing
his Narrative for the press.
CHAPTER I.
Cruize in the Archipelago-Phigalian Marbles.-Return to Malta-sail for
Alexandria-Shekh Ibrahim.-Arrival at Rosetta. Cairo-Pyramids-
Mahomed Ali, Pacha of Egypt-Termination of the war against the Waha-
bees.-Sail for Upper Egypt-Grottoes at Benihassan-Antinoë-Portico
of Hermopolis.-Arrival at Siout-tribe of Bedouin Arabs.-Cafflet-es-
Soudan. Antropolis-condition of the labouring Arabs-Crocodiles.—
Kamsin, or Wind of the Desert.-Thebes.-Essouan.-Elephantine.-
Philæ. Cataracts.-Design of penetrating into Nubia-difficulties encoun-
tered by former travellers-Barâbras.
CHAPTER II.
Departure from Essouan.-Debodé.-Siala-interview with Douab Cacheff-
inoffensive mauners of the Barâbras.-Tropic.-Description of the temple at
Dondour.-Ruins at Sibhoi.-Arrival at Dehr-Hassan Cacheff-obtain per-
mission to go to Ibrîm-its ruined state-present condition of the Mame-
lukes.-Return to Dehr-ruins of Amada-appearance of a Mameluke.—
Unexpected meeting with Shekh Ibrahim.-Description of the temple at
Dakki-Greek inscriptions.-Excavated temple at Guerfeh Hassan.-Ruins at
Kalaptshi.-Remains at El Umbarakat.-Sardab.-Philæ.-Return
Essouan.
to
NARRATIVE
OF A
JOURNEY IN EGYPT,
&c. &c.
THE
HE plague which raged at Constantinople and through-
out Asia Minor during the summer and autumn of 1812
had compelled us to quit the Archipelago, and abandon,
with reluctance, a most interesting cruize, of which the
following outline embraces the principal circumstances.
We left Athens in the month of July, and having embarked
on board a Greek vessel belonging to the island of Hydra,
which had been hired for the voyage, we visited the
northern islands of the Egean sea, and landed on the coast
of Asia to examine the Troad.
It was here that we received the first intelligence of the
alarming mortality which prevailed in the capital and at
Smyrna, and that we felt the necessity of making a mate-
B
2
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
rial alteration in our plans as well as the prudence of
leaving the Levant as early as possible.
Our intention had been to have continued our cruize
some months longer, to have dismissed our ship at Bodrun,
(Halicarnassus,) and to have travelled over land by Smyrna
to Constantinople; but we saw ourselves, with regret,
obliged to relinquish our design, and steer from the coast
of Anatolia. On our return we touched at Mitylene, Scio,
Delos, Myconi, and some of the neighbouring islands, and
cast anchor in the port of the Piræus, after an absence of
only three months. After lingering a short time at Athens
we re-imbarked on board our Hydriote brig, and in a few
hours were landed on the eastern shore of the Isthmus of
Corinth.
We hired a caique on the other side, which conveyed us,
in five days, down the Gulph of Lepanto, and the day
after our return to Zante we had the pleasure of witnessing
the arrival of the celebrated Frieze which had recently been
discovered in the Temple of Apollo at Phigalia.
The circumstances attending the discovery and removal
of this magnificent relique of antiquity give, perhaps, an
additional interest to its intrinsic merits as a piece of
sculpture. The person sent to negotiate with the Pacha of
Tripolliza was unable to obtain, by the offer even of a
large bribe, a general permission to excavate in the Morea,
and he was obliged to content himself with promising the
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
3
Turk the half of whatever might be discovered in the
course of his researches. On his part, the Pacha promised
every aid; and the Greeks in the neighbouring villages
were required to lend their assistance in removing the frag-
ments of the Temple which had fallen down and con-
cealed the bas-reliefs. After much labour the area was
completely cleared, and the Frieze, finally, brought to light.
Some drawings were made on the spot and sent to Tripol-
liza for the inspection of the Pacha, but he confessed
himself unable to form any opinion of the figures from
their representations, and required fragments of the Frieze
itself to be sent. His request was complied with, and some
of the marbles were actually carried on horses to Tripolliza.
It was now that the fatal question of division came to be
discussed; and it was feared that the Pacha would insist on
the strict performance of the agreement, as it would have
been next to impossible to convince him of the absurdity
of dividing a series of marbles which owed much of its
value to the continuity and completeness of the story
represented on them.
At this critical moment a Caimacan appointed by the
Porte arrived in the Morea, with an order to Veli Pacha to
give up his government and retire to his estate at Tricala
in Thessaly. His tyrannical conduct had occasioned his
recal; and for many months previous to this period Napoli
di Romania, and some other of the towns in the Morea, had
B 2
4
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
shut their gates and disclaimed all submission to him.
The Pacha did not instantly obey the summons from
Constantinople, but was at length obliged to submit, and,
under these circumstances, willingly accepted of a sum of
money in lieu of his share of the Frieze, which he had now
neither time nor opportunity to dispose of in any other
manner.
We embarked on board the first ship which sailed for
Malta, and on our arrival were ordered into the Lazzaretto,
where we performed a quarantine of twenty days. The
reports of the increasing mortality from the plague ren-
dered it every day less likely that we should soon be able
to resume our travels to the east, and we had resolved, on
the expiration of our quarantine, to return to England.
But Egypt was still open to us: and though the commu-
nication between Constantinople and Alexandria had been
uninterrupted, that country had hitherto continued in a state
of perfect exemption from the contagion. There is something
inexplicable, and that one might be disposed to call capri-
cious, in the way in which this dreadful disease spreads
from one country to another, and we had been particularly
struck with the observation of the Greek who acted as
English consul at Scio. Though within a few hours sail of
Smyrna, where numbers were dying daily of the plague,
he had no fear of its approaching the island; and, during
our stay of some days, we saw many Turks who had come
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
5
66
directly from that place, leap on shore without any inter-
ruption. But," added the Consul, "
"should the plague
declare itself at Alexandria, distant some hundred miles,
we shall certainly have it at Scio.” He spoke confidently,
and quoted many instances within his own memory of the
like coincidence.
After a residence of a few weeks at Malta we sailed, on
the 21st November, on board a merchant vessel belonging
to Trieste, bound to Alexandria.
In consequence of the flatness of the shore, and the
white deceptive appearance of the sand of the desert, it is
extremely difficult (in the seaman's phrase) "to make the
land;" and owing to the unfavourable winds we had en-
countered, it was not till the 7th of the following month
that we descried the Arab's Tower, situated about twenty
miles to the west of Alexandria, and soon after came in
sight of the two date trees and Pompey's Pillar, which
form the other sea marks. The current which sets in from
the Adriatic and the Archipelago is felt so strongly be-
tween Candia and the coast of Egypt, as to carry a vessel,
sailing with a moderate breeze, twenty miles south of her
course during the twenty-four hours, and so far adds to the
difficulty of entering the harbour, that when we were off
the island of Mirabou, we were obliged to take a pilot on
board to steer us through the numerous sand-banks which
obstruct the mouth of the Western Port of Alexandria.
6
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
The old or Turkish harbour in which we cast anchor was
formerly reserved for Mohammedan ships, but it is now ac-
cessible to vessels of all nations. An ancient prejudice existed
that, as soon as a Frank vessel should enter it, the Mussul-
man would lose the empire of Alexandria; but the French
have been driven out, and the English have evacuated
Egypt, and the Pacha is still tributary to the court of Con-
stantinople.
Of the ancient, populous and magnificent city of Alex-
andria, which abounded in palaces, baths, and theatres,
ornamented with marble and porphyry, and which reckoned
300,000 freemen among its population at the time it fell
under the dominion of the Romans, the only inhabited
part is confined at present to the narrow neck of land which
joins the Pharos, or ancient light-house, to the continent.
It is this langue de terre that divides the harbour into two
ports, distinguished by the names of East and West, or
Old and New, but neither of them affords good anchorage,
being exposed the one to the N. E. and the other to the
S. W. wind.
To repeat what has been so often written of the present
and former condition of this celebrated city, would be both
tedious and superfluous, as the expedition to Egypt has
rendered this part of the world familiar to many of my
countrymen; and by those who have not had an opportu-
nity of visiting the country, the full descriptions to be
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
7
found in the various books of travels will be deemed suffi-
cient to satisfy the curiosity of the most inquisitive. If in
the course of the following narrative I may be accused by
some of passing too hastily over places famous in antiquity,
and still offering objects of the most lively interest, while
others, on the contrary, should think I have run into the
opposite error, and indulged in useless repetition, I have only
to answer, that the recollection of the sensations excited by
the sight of those wonderful monuments of former times will
never be obliterated from my memory; but I shall mention
them rather with an intention to complete the narrative,
than with any design of increasing the number of detailed
descriptions already in the hands of the public. The tra-
veller who sees for the first time the pyramids of Gizeh, or
the ruined temples of the Thebaïd, feels as if he had never
heard or read of them before; but an author must have very
considerable confidence in his own powers of writing, who
would venture to add to the descriptions of Denon, Hamil-
ton, and, above all, of the costly and elaborate work lately
published by the French government.
When we stepped on shore, the novelty of every object
which met our view convinced us that we had quitted
Europe. Instead of horses, oxen, and carts, we beheld
buffaloes and camels; and the drivers of caleches, by whom
we had been beset and importuned in the streets of Valetta,
8
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
were here replaced by Arab boys, recommending, in
broken English, their asses to carry us to different parts of
the town.
These animals are seen in great numbers in a small
square near the southern gate, plying for hire, and the
Arab runs by your side, carrying your gun, pipe, or any
thing else entrusted to his care.
Egypt seems the native soil of the ass, where the breed,
though small, is extremely docile and active, trotting or
ambling at the rate of four or five miles an hour, and for
these qualities it is preferred throughout the country as the
ordinary means of travelling.
Mounted on these animals, we traversed the various parts
of this once extensive city, and visited the numerous
remains of ancient edifices with which it was formerly
adorned, but which are now nearly buried in the sand.
Pompey's Pillar stands without the walls of the present
town, and the obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle is on the
shore of the Eastern Port. The ruins of a Gymnasium near
the ancient Canopic Gate, and the Baths of Cleopatra,
situated to the west of the old harbour, are the other chief
monuments which attract the attention of the traveller.
The present walls of Alexandria, which were raised in
the thirteenth century by the Saracens, are in some places
forty feet high, and are flanked by one hundred towers;
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
9
they inclose a circuit of nearly five miles, now for the most
part a deserted space, covered with heaps of rubbish, and
strewed over with the fragments of ancient buildings.
Immediately around, the country is a desert, and pro-
duces absolutely nothing; but the city is well supplied with
provisions from the Delta, the coasts of Syria, and the
islands of the Archipelago.
The importance of the canal which conveys the water of
the Nile from Rahmanhieh, a distance of fourteen leagues,
into the reservoirs formed under the town, has at all times
furnished an enemy with a most powerful means of annoy-
ing its inhabitants. History informs us that when the
Emperor Diocletian opened his campaign in Egypt by the
siege of Alexandria, his first measure was to cut off the
aqueducts which carried the waters of the river into every
quarter of that immense city; and during the first Egyptian
expedition, this plan was adopted by our army, not so
much however for the purpose of depriving the city of its
supply of fresh water, as to diminish the extent of our lines,
and lessen the duty of our troops, whose exertions were
required in another quarter. On the 13th April, 1801, the
canal and the embankment of the Lake Aboukir were cut
through, and the water of the sea rushed with great violence
into the ancient bed of the Lake Mareotis; it continued to
flow during a month with considerable force, at first with
a fall of six feet, gradually diminishing, till the whole was
C
10
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
filled up to the level of the adjoining lake. By this inun-
dation, 150 douars, or villages, were destroyed, and a very
considerable quantity of land lost to agriculture. Since
this period, the canal has been repaired, and the city is
again supplied with the water of the Nile; and a perma-
nent advantage has been supposed to be derived from the
inundation, in the increased salubrity of the atmosphere,
which is now no longer infected by the marshy vapours of
the Lake Mareotis.
The houses of Alexandria are flat roofed, as in all coun-
tries where there is little rain; the streets narrow, not paved;
and the town, upon the whole, is ill built and irregular.
According to the most accurate information we could col-
lect, its population amounted to about 12,000; but this
number was reduced to less than one half by the ravages
of the plague that declared itself during our absence up
the country, and which we found still raging, on our return
some months afterwards from Upper Egypt.
During our stay at Alexandria, we were much indebted
to the friendly and polite attentions of the English resident,
Colonel Missett, who furnished us with letters to Cairo, and
amongst others, with one to a very intelligent traveller, from
whom we afterwards received the greatest assistance and
most valuable information. He was known in Egypt by
the name of Shekh Ibrahim, and was travelling under the
auspices of the African Society, chiefly I believe for the
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
11
purpose of investigating the various tribes of Arabs. Colo-
nel Missett, though apprised of the arrival of the Shekh at
Cairo, had never yet seen him, but gave us the following
particulars of his former travels, which raised our curiosity,
and made us eager to form his acquaintance. He had
been taken prisoner by the Bedouins in Syria, and, after
having been detained six months in captivity, and robbed
of all his effects, had, after many adventures, succeeded
in making his escape, and at length presented himself
under the disguise of an Arab shepherd at the residence of
the English agent at Cairo. He remained in the outer
court of the house for some time, and it was with some
difficulty he obtained an interview with M. Aziz, whose
astonishment may easily be imagined when he heard a
person of such an appearance address him in French.
We quitted Alexandria on the 12th, and took the road
that led to Rosetta, over a tract of country extremely
dreary and uninteresting in its appearance, but exciting,
by the recollections it occasioned, feelings of the most
animating nature in the breast of an Englishman.
Immediately on leaving the walls of the town, the road
passes through the lines where the French were encamped
before the battle of the 21st; and the place marked by the
fall of the gallant Abercrombie, and the repulse of the
enemy's cavalry, is seen a little to the left.
In a short time we reached the Lake of Aboukir, and
C 2
12
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
having engaged a boat, sailed to its opposite extremity,
when we entered the sea at the ancient mouth of Canopus,
and hailed the spot sacred in the annals of British valour,
where a few fragments of ships and some scattered bones
still mark the scene of the brilliant victory of Lord Nelson.
After coasting along for an hour, we entered the Lake of
Etko, and soon reached the town of the same name, when
again mounting our asses, we arrived in about three hours
more at Rosetta. This journey, which occupied us fourteen
hours, though, with a fair wind to pass the Lakes, it is
usually performed in ten, had completely initiated us into
the system of Egyptian travelling.
The latter part of the road, that conducted us over a
desert, unenlivened by a single date tree to guide the tra-
veller, gave us an excellent foretaste of the barren scenes
of Egypt which we were destined to have so many oppor-
tunities of observing.
The beauty and fertility of the immediate vicinity of
Rosetta have been a subject of praise with every traveller,
who, after quitting the burning sands of Alexandria, finds
himself in the midst of date trees and groves of oranges,
surrounded by verdant fields of rice, and well cultivated
gardens. Though the picture may have been perhaps too
highly coloured, we could not help pronouncing the situa-
tion upon the whole very picturesque and extremely agree-
able to the eye, after the barren waste we had left behind
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
13
us.
The expectation also of beholding the Nile, a river
with whose name and celebrity we had been familiar from
our infancy, did not contribute a little to lessen the unfa-
vourable impressions with which we approached the city
of Rashîd.
But the feelings of pride and exultation with which we
had contemplated the vicinity of Alexandria now gave way
to the mortifying recollections of the disasters suffered by
our army during the second Egyptian expedition in 1805.
When our troops had gained possession of the town of
Rosetta, and were dispersed in various parts of it, regaling
themselves at their different quarters, after the exertions
they had made, a single Turk, armed with no other weapon
than a pistol, began an attack on the straggling soldiers,
of whom he killed more than a dozen, before the house
where he was concealed and from which he directed his fire
could be broken open and the assailant dislodged.
The Turkish governor, encouraged by this unexpected
success, as well as by the arrival of 800 troops from Cairo,
and the certain information that the Pacha was descending
the Nile with an additional force of 8000 men, resolved to
make a desperate effort, and second the spirited attack of
an individual. Before the English troops had time to form,
they were driven from the town, and being obliged to
retreat through the desert without cavalry to support them,
14
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
their losses in killed and prisoners were very considerable.
The conduct of the Governor, after this unfortunate affair,
offers an example of refinement of cruelty in a conqueror,
seldom seen in these modern times-for each of the pri-
soners was compelled to carry the head of one of his com-
rades who had perished in battle, as a present to the Pacha
of Cairo.
Rosetta itself is a modern town, though there are some
few remains of antiquity in its neighbourhood; but it owes
its consequence entirely to its commerce, which consists
principally in the carrying trade between Cairo and Alex-
andria. The canal which conveys the water of the river to
the latter place being no longer navigable, all goods des-
tined for Cairo are embarked at Alexandria, and sent by
sea to Rosetta, from whence they are forwarded in djerms
to the capital.
Of the seven mouths by which the Nile formerly dis-
charged itself into the Mediterranean, the only branches
which now remain navigable are those of Damietta and
Rosetta; the others, from neglect, or the gradual accumu-
lation of detritus annually deposited in the Delta, having
been gradually filled up, are with difficulty to be traced.
The style of building in Rosetta is somewhat peculiar
the houses are very high, and each story projects beyond
the one below, so that the opposite buildings nearly meet
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
15
at the top; but though the streets are, in consequence, ren-
dered very gloomy, they are at the same time shaded from
the scorching rays of the sun.
There was little to detain us at Rosetta, and we occu-
pied ourselves in making preparations for our journey to
Cairo, and for that purpose hired a maish to convey us up
the Nile.
At this time of year (December) the river had retired
within its banks, but its waters were still muddy, and indeed
they are never quite clear, having, even in the months of
April and May, when they are least turbid, a cloudy hue.
The colour of the Nile is a dirty red, during the inunda-
tion, which begins to take place about the end of June,
continuing to rise till the latter end of September, from
which period to the following solstice it is gradually
falling.
It may be proper to observe, that the term inundation,
strictly speaking, is correct only when applied to the Delta,
as the river is confined in Upper Egypt between high
banks, so as to prevent any overflowing of it into the
adjoining country, which is watered entirely by the canals
cut in various directions, and opened at a certain period
for the purposes of irrigation.
On the 14th, as it was the little Bairam, a feast kept by
the Mussulmen in commemoration of the Sacrifice of Abra-
ham, we could not procure a boat to go to the mouth of
16
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
the Nile; but we passed into the Delta and amused our-
selves with strolling amongst the delightful gardens of
oranges and banana trees with which the country
abounded.
On the 17th we embarked on board our maish, our party
having been increased by the company of Major Vincenzo
Taberna, secretary to Colonel Missett, and of Capt. Moles-
worth and Mr. Darley, British officers, who had been
sent from Sicily to purchase horses for our army in Spain.
The wind was unfavourable, and we had a long voyage
of nine days; but the novelty and richness of the country,
and the excellent shooting we found on the banks of the
Nile, which swarm with prodigious flocks of pigeons,
made us forget the tediousness of the passage.
Provisions are so extremely abundant and cheap in this
part of the country, and in Upper Egypt they are still more
so, that we frequently bought 1000 eggs for a dollar, and for
the same sum could purchase 14 fowls and innumerable
pigeons; but the fertility of the soil, which produces three
crops in the year, clover, corn, and rice, offers a striking
contrast to the miserable appearance of the inhabitants,
who are excessively dirty, and in a state of almost perfect
nudity. They are, however, at the same time remarkable
for their great patience, the power of bearing fatigue, and
the faculty they possess of living almost upon nothing.
Since the expulsion of the Mamelukes, the population
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
17
of Egypt consists chiefly of Copts, Arabs, and the Turkish
or Albanian soldiers, who are employed in the service of
the government.
The Copts are generally supposed to be the descendants
of the ancient Egyptians, a conjecture suggested by the
similarity of the name, as will appear by the following
observations from the Travels of Pietro della Valle, which
afford a most exquisite specimen of such etymological rea-
soning.*
But whatever opinion may be adopted of the origin of
these Christians of the sect of Eutyches, they are a clever
and intriguing race, and are employed by the government
in keeping the registers of land and tribute, and generally
become the gens
d'affaires of the Beys and Cacheffs, which
* He is giving a description of Alexandria, and, after speaking of Pompey's
Pillar, says-
"De plus, j'ai vu la petite église de St. Marc, qui étoit autrefois la Patriarchale,
que les Chrétiens, Coftis, c'est à dire les Egyptiens, occupent aujourd'hui, où
vous remarquerez, s'il vous plait, que ce terme Egittio, qui signifie Egyptien,
signifie aussi Guptios; si on en soustrait l'E qui est au commencement, et que l'on
prononce le G comme anciennement, et la lettre I comme si c'étoit un V; or,
au lieu de Guptios ou Gubti, selon les Arabes, les nôtres disent plus correcte-
ment, Cofto."
He afterwards reasons about the respective antiquity of the Copts and the
Greeks, but leaves it doubtful to which he gives the preference; and indeed it is
so difficult to draw any conclusion from all the learning he displays on the occa-
sion, that one is strongly reminded of the character given by Gibbon of this
celebrated Roman traveller: "He is a gentleman and a scholar, but intolerably
vain and prolix."
D
18
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
posts, however, they have to dispute with the Jews, who
abound in Egypt as in every other country.
With respect to the Arabs, who form the great mass of
the population of the country, they are divided into three
tribes.
The Pastoral, which appears to be the original race---the
Bedouin, who is distinguished by the warlike and inde-
pendent spirit which he derives from the free and restless
life he leads in the desert----and the Fellah, or cultivating
Arab, the most civilized and patient, but at the same time
the most corrupt and degraded class.
The Turkish and Albanian troops are distributed through-
out the country to garrison the different towns, and to levy
the miri, or contribution, which they do with every circum-
stance of cruelty and oppression.
On the 24th we came in sight of the stupendous pyramids
of Gizeh, and landed at Boulac on the following day.
Boulac, which is the port of Lower Egypt, and the chief
custom-house of the country, is situated at the distance of
rather more than a mile from Cairo, and still bore marks of
its destruction by the French during the siege in 1799.-
On the following morning we rode to Cairo on asses, deli-
vered our letters of recommendation, and were received
with much kindness and hospitality by the Frank families
established there.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
19
Misr, the appellation by which the metropolis of Egypt
is known to the natives, stands on the eastern side of the
Nile; and though its extent and population have been
much exaggerated, the walls which inclose the city may be
fairly estimated to have seven miles in circumference.
Boulac, the suburb where we landed, and old Cairo, which
is situated to the south, and is the port of Upper Egypt,
form its two points of contact with the river.
The chain of mountains which accompanies the course
of the Nile through Upper Egypt, terminates to the south
and south-east of the city, in what are called the Mokattam
heights, immediately under which stands the citadel of
Cairo. It was fortified by the French, during their tem-
porary possession of the country, and may still be consi-
dered a good position, as the numerous ravines over which
artillery must be dragged would render the occupation of
the heights which command it nearly impracticable.
In the castle where the Pacha resides, is the mint, the
well of Joseph, 276 feet deep, which is cut out of the soft
calcareous rock, and the palace, or hall, attributed, with
equal propriety, to the same celebrated personage. It was
built by Sultan Saladin, and offers an extraordinary instance
of the use of the pointed arch. With respect to the city
of Cairo itself, the houses are built of brick, and are remark-
able for their extreme height, while the streets are mean and
dirty, and so narrow as scarcely to allow two loaded camels
D 2
20
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
to pass. The only part which has any claim to be exempted
from this general censure is the place, or square, called Esbe-
quich, into the centre of which the water of the Nile flows
at the time of the inundation.
At this period, about the middle of August, the Chalige,
which commences near old Cairo, and pierces the city in a
direction nearly from north to south, is opened with a cer-
tain degree of ceremony, and from a general receptacle of
filth in the highest degree disgusting, is changed at once
into a canal covered with boats, offering an imperfect
resemblance of the gondolas and gaiety of Venice.
During the months of August, September, and October,
when the inundation is at its height, the Chalige continues
full of water, after which it gradually reverts to its usual
state of uncleanliness. The descriptions of it have been
much magnified, since, at its commencement near Old
Cairo, where it receives the water of the Nile, it is not
more than twenty feet broad, and the term ditch would not
perhaps convey an incorrect idea of its appearance.
Among the chief curiosities which attracted our atten-
tion, may be ranked the bazaars, of an appearance far
superior in splendour to any we had witnessed in our tra-
vels in Turkey. Each trade has its allotted quarter, and
the display of superb Turkish dresses, costly Damascus
swords, ataghans, and every species of eastern luxury and mag-
nificence, formed a most brilliant and interesting spectacle.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c,
21
We visited also the slave-market, where, to say nothing of
the moral reflections suggested by this traffic in human beings,
the senses were offended in the most disagreeable manner,
by the excessive state of filthiness in which these miserable
wretches were compelled to exist. They were crowded
together in inclosures like the sheep-pens of Smithfield
market, and the abominable stench and uncleanliness
which were the consequence of such confinement, may be
more readily imagined than described.
The population of Cairo has been estimated at between
3 and 400,000, and that of all Egypt at two millions and
a half. The inhabitants of the capital are of a most mot-
ley description, consisting of Arabs, Copts, Turks, Alba-
nians, Greeks, Syrians, Armenians, Jews, negro slaves from
Sennâr, and Barbarins, or the natives of the country beyond
the Cataracts. These last are in considerable numbers,
and, like the Gallegos of Lisbon, are in great estimation
for their habits of honest industry.
Cairo is a place of considerable commerce, and is the
metropolis of the trade of Eastern Africa, and the chief
mart of the slaves who are brought from Abyssinia, Sennâr,
Darfûr, and other parts of Soudân. The caravans which
arrive from these countries bring also gold dust, ivory,
rhinoceros' horns, ostrich feathers, gums, and various
drugs.
1
22
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Such is a hasty sketch of the capital of Egypt, which
has been described in the most pompous and exaggerated
terms, and is still called, in the figurative language of the
East, "
"Misr without an equal, Misr the mother of the
world."
The day after our arrival we went, in company with the
English officers and the secretary of Colonel Missett, to pay
a visit to the Pacha in the citadel. His Highness sent horses
and attendants to conduct us to his residence, and received
us in the most friendly manner, with every flattering
expression of esteem for our country, and promise of pro-
tection and assistance in the further prosecution of our
travels in Upper Egypt.
On the 2d January we crossed the Nile, and landed
at Gizeh on the opposite side, where we passed the night,
intending to devote the next day to the examination of the
Pyramids, which are in the neighbourhood. At the dis-
tance of two hours from Gizeh, we found ourselves, on the
following morning, at the foot of the largest of these won-
derful monuments, the period and object of whose con-
struction have been, for so many ages, the theme of wonder
and discussion.
As we mounted the heap of sand and rubbish which
leads to the opening into the Pyramid, and prepared to
explore the galleries which conduct to the interior, we had
every reason to applaud our prudence in bringing with us
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
23
a Turkish soldier, as a guard; for it required all his exer-
tions and authority to prevent the entrance of a crowd of
importunate Arabs, who are always ready to guide, and, if
occasion offers, to rob the traveller whom curiosity may
conduct to this celebrated spot.
The account given by Denon of the interior of the large
Pyramid, the only one that has been opened, and indeed
which it is practicable to ascend, is so correct and com-
plete, that it would be difficult and quite unnecessary to
attempt to add to his description.
On our return from the galleries, we ascended to the top
of the Pyramid, but from the unfavourable state of the
weather, it being a rainy misty morning, our exertions were
not repaid by the view of the boundless expanse of desert,
which is usually seen from that enormous elevation,
though the fatigue of reaching the summit considerably
exceeded that of climbing the cone of Mount Etna. On
our descent we breakfasted at the base of the Pyramid,
and after admiring the graceful outline of the Colossal
Sphinx, returned to Cairo, which we reached by two
o'clock the same day.
At the time of our arrival at Cairo, we found Egypt in a
state of greater tranquillity than it had enjoyed for many
years, a change for which it is entirely indebted to the
vigorous administration of the present Pacha.
When the English evacuated the country, Mahomed
24
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
Pacha, supported by some Turkish and Albanian troops,
possessed the Pachalic of Cairo; but the Mamelukes,
though they had been driven into Upper Egypt, made
various struggles to recover their authority.
Their views were forwarded by the mutinous disposition
of the Albanian troops, who, calling in their assistance,
succeeded in deposing the Turkish Pacha. In a short
time the Beys threw aside the mask of friendship and
became masters of the Arnaut soldiers, who, in their turn,
used every effort to get rid of their treacherous allies.
The Mamelukes were attacked with very superior forces,
and Osman Bey Bardissi, who was at the head of them,
was compelled to retreat, with a few only of his attendants,
into Upper Egypt; and it is said that in making his
escape he performed prodigies of valour.
The choice of the Albanian troops soon after fell on
Mahomed Ali, the present Pacha, a man of extraordinary
talents and enterprize, and who, from the humble station of
captain of a pirate boat in the Archipelago, has raised him-
self to his present rank in the government. Indebted as
he was to the restless spirit of his soldiers for his elevation,
the Pacha was compelled for some time to yield to their
turbulence, and connive at their licentious excesses. The
state of the country is thus described by Ali Bey, who
was at Cairo a short time after the appointment of Ma-
homed Ali to the Pachalic. "D'un autre côté, Ma-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
25
homed Ali, qui doit son élévation au courage de ses
troupes, tolère leurs excès, et ne sçait pas s'en rendre indé-
pendant; les Grands Sheiks d'ailleurs, jouissant, sous cette
espèce de gouvernement, de plus d'influence et de liberté,
appuient de tout leur pouvoir le systême existant. Le
soldat tyrannise; le bas peuple souffre; mais les grands ne
s'en ressentent nullement, et la machine marche comme
elle peut. Le gouvernement de Constantinople, sans éner-
gie pour tenir le pays dans une complète soumission, n'y
a qu'une sorte de suzeraineté, qui lui rapporte de légers
subsides, qu'il cherche tous les ans à augmenter, par de
nouvelles ruses. Le très petit nombre de Mamlouchs qui
restent sont relégués dans la Haute Egypte, ou Mehemed
Ali ne peut pas étendre sa domination, &c." Vol. ii. p. 237,
Voyages d'Ali Bey.*
Since that period the Pacha has not only driven the
Mamelukes out of Upper Egypt but pursued them be-
yond the Cataracts as far as Ibrîm, and compelled them to
take refuge in Dongola.
The police of the city of Cairo is also highly creditable
to the vigour of his government, and he has so far repressed
the disorders of his troops as nearly to verify a promise he
made on his appointment to the Pachalic, that in a few
* The pretended Ali Bey is a Spaniard of the name of Badia, who was em-
ployed by Buonaparte as a spy, first in Morocco, and afterwards in Egypt and
the east.
E
26
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
(6
years you might walk about the streets with both hands
full of gold."
Every street in Cairo is shut at night by gates at each
end, so that returning home after eight o'clock you are
constantly obliged to stop and shout to the porters of these
different barriers; the cry, " Ephtha!" OPEN! is heard by
the different patroles of Albanians; and this precaution,
added to the obligation which every person is under of
carrying a light as soon as it is dark, contributes greatly to
the security and tranquillity of the city.
During our stay at Cairo we found the Pacha engaged
in organizing a large body of troops to act against the
Wahabees, who had in the preceding campaign nearly an-
nihilated his army in a battle near Jedda.
From about the middle of the last century the sect of
Wahabees, which was founded by Abdoulwahab, (whose
object it was to reform the abuses that had crept into the
true religion of the Koran, and even to deprive Mahomet
of the honours that had hitherto been paid to his memory.)
had been continually adding to its proselytes.
They affected a peculiar austerity of manners, enjoined
the complete shaving of the head, and proscribed some of
the favourite customs of Mahometans, such as the wearing
of silk garments and the habit of smoking. These priva-
tions, as in all cases of fanaticism, increased rather than
diminished the number of their followers.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
27
In 1802, Abdelaaziz was at the head of the Wahabees,
and after making himself master of the interior of Arabia
sent his son Saaoud to take possession of Mecca, and the
Cabah, or House of God. They became masters of Me-
dina in 1804, and from that time obstructed the approach
of the caravan from Damascus, and forbad, as idolatrous,
the yearly offerings sent from Constantinople to the tomb
of the Prophet.
The authority of the Wahabees was not however fully
established at Mecca till the year 1807, when the Turkish
troops retired from thence to Jedda, which latter place
they were soon after compelled to evacuate.
Masters of the whole of Arabia and the strong places
upon the Red Sea, the Wahabees became formidable
neighbours to the Pacha of Egypt. To dispossess them
of the holy shrine of Mecca, to restore it to the Turks,
and to secure the tranquillity of his own dominions, were
the objects of the war which Mahomed Ali was now car-
rying on against them. To find employment also for his
own troops might possibly enter into the views of the
Pacha, who had, at the time I am now speaking of, nearly
15,000 soldiers in the field.
From the nature of the country in which the war was
carried on, his army was supplied with provisions both for
men and horses from Cairo, from whence they were car-
ried in boats up the Nile as far as Kenneh, and afterwards
E 2
28
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
transported on camels across the desert to Cosseir. From
this latter place they were shipped for Jambo, or some
other port on the eastern side of the Red Sea; but we
heard it asserted that, notwithstanding every exertion on the
part of the Pacha, the horses belonging to his army were
frequently reduced to the necessity of subsisting upon
dried fish, as the distance of the capital rendered the arrival
of the supplies very uncertain. The burthen of so ex-
pensive a mode of warfare could only be borne by the
enormous profits the Pacha derived from the commerce
in corn which he carried on with the English govern-
ment.
The particulars of this transaction, with which we be-
came acquainted during our stay in the country, are as
follows:
An agent of the British government whom we met at
Alexandria on our first landing, and who was then on the
point of returning to Gibraltar, had made a contract with
the Pacha of Egypt for 40,000 ardebs,* equal to about
70,000 quarters, of corn, to supply our troops in Spain.
The terms of the agreement were, that eighty piastres
should be paid per ardeb, and that the corn should be de-
livered in the month of April at Alexandria.
As soon
as the Pacha had concluded this favourable bargain, he
laid an embargo on all the boats upon the Nile and sent
* An ardeb is equal to 14 bushels English.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
29.
them into Upper Egypt for the corn, part of which was
collected in lieu of contributions, and the rest was bought
of the fellah, or labouring Arabs, at the rate of ten pi-
astres per
ardeb: so strict indeed was the embargo, that
it was with great difficulty we could hire a boat to take
us up to Cairo, and the moment we arrived at Boulac it
was seized by the government. The Pacha used such ex-
ertion in fulfilling the conditions of his advantageous con-
tract that the corn was delivered at Alexandria by the
appointed time;-but it was not until the month of May
that any transports arrived, and they carried away only a
fourth of the whole quantity.
In July following, a convoy took away 10,000 ardebs
more, and it was by that opportunity that we left the
country. At what period the rest was removed, it is im-
possible to say; but certainly no contract could have
been made more disadvantageous to the British govern-
ment.
Instead of fixing April for the delivery of the corn, had
the following month of May been appointed, which, as it
appeared, would have been quite early enough, the harvest
would have been got in, and the wheat would not only
have been much cheaper, but greatly better in quality.
At the time we left Egypt, the corn was sprouting in the
impurities with which it was mixed, and we saw it actually
smoking on board the transports which carried it away.
30
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
The Pacha was supplied also by the English with arms;
and it is ascertained that the Wahabees received the same
assistance from the French government, when in possession
of the Isle of France.*
To co-operate with these formidable preparations by land,
Mahomed Ali had equipped several vessels in the Red Sea,
which contributed greatly to the success of his arms against
the Wahabees. It is well known that he had sent, in the year
1811, Ishmael Capitan to England, to endeavour to obtain
permission to sail round the Cape of Good Hope; but the
jealousy of the East India Company prevented a voyage
in which his miserable corvette would in all probability
have foundered. Thwarted in this scheme, the enter-
prizing Pacha, by the advice and at the suggestion of an
Italian, procured timber from the coast of Caramania and
the Island of Cyprus, and built at Alexandria some gun
boats, two brigs and a small corvette, which, when finished,
were taken to pieces, conveyed up the Nile to Cairo, and
being there placed on the backs of camels were carried to
Suez.
By this means the Pacha had soon a very respectable
*This fact, of which I believe there is no doubt, affords another proof of
the ultimate object of the French in their invasion of Egypt; since had they
succeeded in their expedition against that country, the co-operation of the
Wahabees would have opened to them a safe and uninterrupted march as far as
the Persian Gulph, whence an attack on the British possessions in India would
have been made.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
31
fleet, acting in the Red Sea, and bombarding the towns on
the coast.
The most successful termination of the war is to be
expected from the activity and enterprize of Ali, who, as
we were informed on our arrival at Cairo, had lately made
himself master of a strong pass, by the aid of a bribe,
which promised to lead to important results.
On our return down the Nile several months afterwards,
we heard of the taking of Medina, Jedda and Mecca by
the troops of the Pacha, and were favoured with the sight
of a letter from the English agent at Cairo to Colonel
Missett, which, as it closes the history of the campaign
against the Wahabees, may be properly inserted here by
anticipation.
The Pacha had sent his youngest son to Constantinople,
with the keys of Mecca, to be laid at the feet of the Grand
Signior; and the following is an account of the envoy's
reception at the Porte:
"The Viceroy of Egypt is highly pleased with the very
honourable and unexampled reception given by the Grand
Signior to his son Ismaël Pacha; besides the honour shewn
him on his entry into Constantinople, which was celebrated
with great pomp, the Grand Signior granted him an
audience in the apartment where the Robe of the Prophet
is kept, and permitted him to kiss his feet three different
32
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
times, to thank him for the superb presents which his
Highness condescended to confer upon Ismaël Pacha at
that moment. These presents consisted of a district of
Romelia, a chelenk* of extreme richness, and a cangiar set
in brilliants, which latter the Grand Signior had worn
himself in his girdle.
"His Highness has granted Toussann Pacha (second son
of the Pacha) the third tail, with the command of Jedda.
Ibrahim Bey, the eldest son of the Viceroy, has received the
command of Girgeh, in Upper Egypt, with the dignity of
Pacha with two tails. As this last, on his becoming a Pacha,
can no longer occupy the post of Tefterdar, his Highness
will nominate to this place a person who shall be the son-
in-law of Ibrahim Bey.
"Each individual in the suite of Ismaël Pacha has re-
ceived a gratification of five purses, and each of his officers
has received a chelenk according to his rank. In con-
sequence of his victories over the Wahabees, and the re-
establishment of his authority in the sacred places, the
Grand Signior, with the approbation of the Ulemas, has
* Chelenk, a sort of plume made of brilliants, given to such as have distin-
guished themselves in battle.
† Cangiar, a knife worn in the girdle.
Tefterdar, Defterdar, accountant general, an office or dignity conferred by
the Porte.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
33
assumed the title of Gazi, or Conqueror, and has conferred
upon the Pacha of Egypt, that of Khan."*
In addition to this account of the rejoicings at Constanti-
nople, and the gratitude of the Porte for the signal services
of the Pacha, I may add, that during our stay at Rosetta,
while waiting for an opportunity of quitting Egypt, the
Coffee-bearer of the Grand Signior arrived, on his way to
Cairo, whither he was carrying a present to the Pacha,
consisting of a very rich cafftan, and some other vests.
In consequence of the strict embargo on all the vessels
upon the Nile, we were under the necessity of applying
personally to the Pacha, for permission to hire a cangia,
which he ordered to be transferred to our use; and on the
18th of January we sailed from the port of Cairo for
Upper Egypt, having engaged Mr. Barthow, an American,
who had resided many years in the country, to accompany
us and act as our interpreter.
On the 14th we passed the Pyramids of Abousir, Saccara
and Dashour, and the day following we were favoured with
a good breeze, and came in sight of the Pyramid of
Meidoun.
On the 17th we passed Benisouef, and on the 21st we
left Miniet, and early in the morning landed under the
ruined village of Benihassan, to visit the grottoes of which
* Khan.—The privilege attached to this title is, that the Grand Signior cannot
cut off his head.
F
34
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Norden has given a view, attributing them to "holy hermits
who made their abodes there." Mr. Hamilton has given
a very elaborate account of the paintings which cover the
walls of the chambers; but we found it difficult to follow
his descriptions. The ceilings of these grottoes are gene-
rally arched, while others are supported by columns cut out
of the rock, having a truly Egyptian character, and the
appearance of four branches of palm trees tied together.
The largest chamber is 60 feet in length, and 40 in height;
to the south of it are seventeen smaller apartments, and
probably the same number to the north. Ten columns.
have supported this large chamber, but four of them have
fallen down; we measured also two other chambers whose
length was 52 feet 5 inches, breadth 39 feet 4 inches, and
height 14 feet 3 inches. From these are doorways leading
into smaller apartments.
We spent some hours in examining these excavations,
and soon after arrived at Sheikh Ababdé, the site of
ancient Antinoë. This city was founded by Adrian, who
here, according to some accounts in history, accepted of
the voluntary sacrifice of his friend Antinous, to gratify
his own superstition. The ruins are very extensive, but
none of very high antiquity, being evidently of Roman
architecture.
An avenue of granite columns leads from the river to the
chief entrance into the city; and amongst the most con-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
35
spicuous of the ruins are to be observed a large arched
gateway, a quadrivium, the remains of a Roman theatre,
and of three temples.
From the ruins of the Roman city of Antinoë, we
hastened to see the splendid portico of Hermopolis, which, as
it was the first Egyptian monument, with the exception of the
Pyramids, we had examined, it was impossible to approach
without partaking of the enthusiasm with which Denon
speaks of this superb relique of antiquity. At Erramoun, a
small village on the west bank of the Nile, and the port
of the town of Melaoui, which is situated at the distance
of an hour from the river, and famous for a large factory
of sugar, we took asses, and in about two hours reached
Ashmounien, the site of ancient Hermopolis.
The Portico is all that remains of the Temple, but it is
quite perfect and consists of twelve massive columns, which
are not built of cylindrical blocks of stone, but each block
is formed of several pieces so neatly joined together, that
where they are not injured by time, it is difficult to dis-
cover the junction of the several pieces.
The columns are arranged in two rows distant from each
other twelve feet, and the roof is formed of large slabs of
stone, covered with stucco, and beautifully ornamented.
The columns and the whole of the interior of the Portico
have been painted; among the colours, red, blue and yellow
seem to be the most predominant.
F 2
36
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
The hieroglyphics on the plinths are different on each
front, but they are the same on every plinth on the same
front.
The capitals, which in some degree represent the tulip in
bud, are let into the columns. Several other columns of
granite are scattered about near the temple, and we ob-
served some also in a ruined mosque, built on the site of
the ancient town. The views given by Denon of Egyptian
monuments are, in general, highly creditable to the talents
and zeal of that traveller, but his delineation of Her-
mopolis bespeaks the haste with which he travelled, and
the rapid glimpse with which he was sometimes obliged
to content himself; for the winged globe he has repre-
sented on the frieze does not exist in the original.
Owing to light breezes, we did not arrive at Siout till the
26th January. This city, which has succeeded to Girgeh,
as the capital of Upper Egypt, is situated about a mile
and a half from the Nile, from which an elevated causeway
leads across an arched bridge, built of brick, to the town.
A canal dug at an early period parallel to the river
washes the foot of the mountains in the neighbourhood,
and having surrounded the city and adjacent villages,
descends again into the Nile.
At the time of the inundation, when the water is admitted
into the canal, Siout communicates with the river, by the
artificial elevated road mentioned above. On our return
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
37
down the Nile, we visited the celebrated catacombs of
Lycopolis in the vicinity of the town; but as we had
examined some excavations of far greater magnitude in
Upper Egypt, our curiosity was somewhat abated, and
we were rather disappointed.
Here we had the good fortune to fall in with our friend
Shekh Ibrahim, who had left Cairo about the time of our
departure, but had preferred the mode of travelling up the
country on asses, and was now waiting at Siout for a guide
to conduct him to the great Oasis, where a tribe of
Bedouins, who were at war with the Pacha, had lately
established themselves.
The history of their wanderings, as related to us at
Siout, is somewhat curious, and affords a remarkable in-
stance of the unsettled life of these singular tribes.
They had been driven from the neighbourhood of
Tripoli, by the Bey of that country, and had crossed the
Great Desert, with the intention of passing the Nile at
Benisouef, and afterwards retiring into Syria. But the
Pacha of Egypt, fearing probably that they might join his
enemies the Wahabees, refused them permission to proceed,
and they were thus obliged to retrace their steps into the
Western Desert, where they ultimately settled in the Oasis.
Shekh Ibrahim had heard of a merchant who dwelt at
the distance of three days journey from Siout, and who
38
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
trafficked with this tribe of Bedouins, and he was now
awaiting his arrival, in the hopes of being able, through his
interest, to reach the new settlement.
Ibrahim Bey, the eldest son of the Pacha of Cairo, com-
manded in Upper Egypt, and we found him residing in
the capital of Siout. He was a man of some talent, and
had the reputation of excessive cruelty, but he received us
well, and we had every reason to be satisfied with his
civility and attention. Neither during our stay, in passing
up, nor on our return from the Cataracts, did we witness the
arrival of the Cafflet-es-Soudan, or the caravan of slaves
from the interior of Africa, but we learned some particulars
of this horrid traffic.
The route taken by the caravan of Jelabs, or slave mer-
chants, is partly the same as that traced by Poncet at the
beginning of the last century on his way to Abyssinia,
who passed by Sheb and Selimi, and thence striking
across the desert to the south east, crossed the Nile at
Moscho.
In the course of this long and tedious journey, they
suffer occasionally great hardships, and we were informed
that the Jelabs seized upon these periods of distress,
arising from a scarcity of water or provisions, to perform
the operation of emasculation, which, according to our
informant, was done completely by the entire removal of
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
39
the genitals. The wretches were afterwards buried in the
sand to a certain depth, and in this rude manner the
hemorrhage was stopped. The calculation was, that one
out of three only survived the operation, which was per-
formed at a moment of distress, that the risk of mortality
might be incurred, at a time when the merchants could best
spare their slaves. Their method of travelling was to
sling a dozen of the negroes across the back of a camel.
With respect to the value of these slaves in Egypt, it is
various, according to their age, sex, and other qualities.
An eunuch was estimated at 1500 piastres.
Girls whose virginity was secured by means more power-
ful than moral restraint were valued at 500 piastres: but
such is the state of degradation to which the human
species is reduced in this country, that the precaution
serves only to produce abuses of a more revolting nature.
Female slaves who could not boast of this advantage
were in general sold for 300 piastres; but if they had lived
in a Frank family, and had learned to sew, wash, and wait
at table, their value was estimated in the market at Cairo
at 700 piastres.
We left Siout and reached Antæopolis, now known
under the name of Gaw-el-Kebir, on the 28th, about mid-
day.
The Portico of the Temple which is standing consists of
three rows, each of six columns; four have fallen down;
40
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
they are eight feet in diameter, and with their entablature
are 62 feet high. This ruin which, from its situation in a
thick grove of date trees, is perhaps the most picturesque
in Egypt, stands close to the banks of the Nile, whose
waters have already undermined some parts of it, and
threaten to wash the whole away. The columns, archi-
traves, and indeed every stone of the building, are covered
with hieroglyphics, which are in low relief. At the far-
thest extremity of the Temple is an immense block of
granite of a pyramidical form, 12 feet high, and 9 square
at the base, in which a niche has been cut seven feet in
height, four feet wide and three deep. These monolithic
temples, as they have been called, are supposed to have
been the chests or depositaries of the sacred birds.
From the western temple, a long quay has formerly ex-
tended, intended probably as well for the purposes of trade
as to prevent the encroachments of the Nile. At night we
arrived at Tahta, situated, like Siout, at the distance of
about two miles from the river, and the following day we
passed the mountain called Shekh Eredy, which is on the
east bank, and has received its appellation from a Maho-
medan Santon, whom the credulous Arabs believe to have
migrated after his death into the body of a large serpent,
now revered as the oracle of the place. We inquired for
the serpent; but as our arrival was unexpected, and time
had not been given for the necessary previous arrangement
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
41
of putting the animal into the oracular cave, we were
answered that he was gone abroad, and could not now be
consulted. In the exhibitions of the Psylli, as they are
called, or charmers of serpents, which we had frequently
witnessed at Cairo and other places in Egypt, the secret
seemed to be to draw the venomous teeth, and break the
backs of the animals, which still have the power of erecting
themselves at the command of the juggler.
As we continued to advance up the Nile, we frequently
landed for the purpose of purchasing provisions, or of visiting
the temples and villages on each bank of the river; and
on these occasions, the luxuriant fertility of the soil, as con-
trasted with the wretched state of poverty and misery of
the inhabitants, could not but excite melancholy reflec-
tions on the numerous evils they suffer from the arbitrary
government by which they are oppressed.
The fields, enriched by the Nile, teem with plenty; the
date trees are loaded with fruit; cattle of every kind,
poultry and milk, abound in every village; but the wretched
Arab is compelled to live on a few lentils, and a small
portion of bread and water, while he sees his fields plundered
and his cattle driven away, to gratify the insatiable wants
of a mercenary soldier, and the inordinate claims of a
rapacious governor. After having paid the various contri-
butions, and answered the numerous demands made upon
him, not a twentieth of the produce of his labour falls to his
G
42
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
own share; and without the prospect of enjoying the fruit of
his toil, the fellah, naturally indolent himself, allows his fields
to remain uncultivated, conscious that his industry would
be but an additional temptation to the extortion of tyranny.
On the 30th we arrived at Menshieh, the ancient Ptole-
maïs Hermii, of which no vestige is to be observed except
the ruins of an old quay. While at anchor here the day
after our arrival, smoking on the outside of the cabin of
our cangia, an Albanese soldier, who was passing up the
river, directed his musket towards our boat, and de-
liberately aimed at me. The ball passed close to my head,
through the hat of our dragoman, and hit the arm of my
friend Mr. Smelt. When we applied to the Cacheff for
redress for so wanton and insolent an outrage, we received
for answer, that the soldier like ourselves was a passenger,
and being on the water was not liable to his jurisdiction:
such is the justice of a Turkish commandant: though it is
but fair to acknowledge that this was the only instance
in which we did not find the firman of the Pacha of
Cairo, a sufficient protection against any ill usage.
We left Menshieh on the 2d February, with a strong
breeze from the North, and wishing to profit by this favour-
able wind, we passed Girgeh, and did not stop before we
reached Cafr Saide, supposed to be the site of Che-
nobosscion, where a quay near the river alone points out
its claim to antiquity.
!
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
43
In the course of this day, we passed Diospolis Parva, the
modern How. It was a little before our arrival at this
place, that we saw crocodiles for the first time; they were
basking on the sand banks in the river, and some of the
largest might be twenty-five feet long. I believe Girgeh
may be considered the limit below which the crocodiles do
not descend; from this place to the Cataracts we observed
them in great numbers; above Essouan, the sand banks in
the Nile are less frequent, and, consequently, fewer of these
animals were to be seen. The superstitious natives attri-
bute the circumstance of crocodiles not being observed
in the lower parts of the Nile to the influence of a talisman
fixed in the walls of the Mikkias, or Nilometer, at Cairo.
While opposite Diospolis Parva, we experienced a gale
of the Kamsin, which, though we were on the water and
consequently in a great measure protected from its violence,
was still so formidable in its effects, as to dispose us to
give full credit to the accounts of travellers, and, indeed, of
entire caravans being overtaken and buried in the sand by
this destructive wind of the Desert. The air became thick
and cloudy, as if a storm of snow or sleet were coming on,
and we felt our eyes, ears and mouths filled with the fine
particles of sand, which were raised and suspended in the
atmosphere. We suffered also in our food, for the pilau,
which formed the great article of our sustenance, was ren-
dered so gritty as to be scarcely eatable; and on opening
G 2
:.
44
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
our trunks, which had been closed and locked, we found
considerable quantities of sand deposited between the folds
of our linen.
The wind still continuing favourable, we did not stop to
see the magnificent ruins of Dendera, but proceeded to
Ghennah, to lay in a stock of provisions.-The Bey, the
son of a Mameluke, and a very young man, received us with
great hospitality, and entreated us to stay some days with
him; and when he saw we were determined to pursue our
journey, sent us a present of a sheep, sugar, coffee and
bread, for which we gave him, in return, a telescope and
some English gunpowder.
On the morning of the 6th, we passed Koptos and Kous,
Apollinopolis Parva, and the following day landed on
the plain of Thebes, on the western side of the river.
Thebes, celebrated by Homer as the city of a hundred
gates, and described by Herodotus and every succeeding
traveller, offers, in the extent of its ruins and the immensity
of its colossal fragments, so many astonishing objects, that
one is rivetted to the spot, unable to decide whither to direct
the step or fix the attention. The circumference of the
ancient city has been estimated at twenty-seven miles,
stretching itself on either bank, and resting on the sides of
the mountains which border the river. As
As you advance up
the Nile, the great Temple of Karnac is the first object that
attracts the attention on the east, and the remains of the
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
45
Temple of Luxor mark the southern extremity of the walls
of the city on the same side of the river. Opposite, on the
western bank, are the Memnonium, the two colossal sta-
tues, and the remains of Medinet Abou.
The Necropolis, or celebrated caverns, known as the
sepulchres of the ancient kings of Thebes, are excavations
in the mountains, to which the passage called Biban-el-
Moluh leads, and which are filled with sculptures and
paintings relating to religious mysteries, still in the highest
degree of preservation. The hasty sketch of the ruins of
Thebes to be found in the Travels of Denon, and the mi-
nute description of the paintings with which Mr. Hamilton's
book is enriched, may be consulted for the details of this
wonderful spot.
It has been disputed to which of the colossal figures the
name of the celebrated statue of Memnon should be affixed.
But the French writers have given that appellation to the
fragment of a statue of red granite, lying among the ruins
of the Memnonium, whose dimensions across the shoulders,
where it measures twenty-five feet, will convey some idea of
the magnitude of the building it was intended to ornament.
The last considerable town we passed on our journey up-
wards was Esnè, but wishing to profit by the North wind,
which still continued to blow in our favour, we did not
halt there, reserving for our return an examination of its re-
mains, as well as of those of the ancient towns of Eleithias,
Etfou, (Apollinopolis Magna,) and Koum Ombos..
46
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
We reached Essouan on the 11th February, having per-
formed a journey of 600 miles from Cairo. Our first object
was to visit the Shekh or Arab governor of the town, for
there was no Turkish garrison here; the last soldiers of the
Pacha we had seen being stationed at Esnè. We were some-
what surprized at this, having conceived that the frontier
town would have been a place of such importance as to
require a garrison against the attempts of the Mamelukes.
But it seemed the Pacha considered the sterility of the
desert, together with the gradually decreasing numbers of
that restless soldiery, a sufficient guarantee for the tran-
quillity of Egypt.
In our interview with the Shekh, whom we invited to
dine with us, in spite of his miserable caftan and the dis-
gusting filth of his person, we made every inquiry about
the practicability of proceeding beyond the Cataracts into
the country of the Barâbras, and the information we ob-
tained from him gave us the greatest encouragement.
The difficulties encountered by other travellers, from the
disturbed state of Nubia, no longer existed; the Mame-
lukes were at a great distance, and the Barâbras, though
they did not acknowledge any subjection to the Pacha,
were at peace with the government of Egypt. As it may
appear singular that Abyssinia and other parts of the in-
terior of Africa, apparently more inaccessible, should have
been explored, and yet the country immediately above the
Cataracts remain comparatively unknown, it may be worth
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
47
while to examine into the causes which have prevented
former travellers from penetrating into Nubia.
"At Essouan, (says Browne, in his Travels into Africa,)
I remained three days, contriving, if possible, to pursue
my route up the Nile; but a war having arisen between
the Mamelukes of Upper Egypt and the Cacheff of Ibrîm,
no one was suffered to pass from Egypt to Nubia: the ca-
ravans had all been stopped for many months, and not
even a camel could be procured. With deep regret for
the disappointment in my earnest wish of proceeding to
Abyssinia by this route, I was constrained to abandon all
hope for that season and to think of returning."-p. 142.
Mr. Hamilton relates, that on his arrival at the Cataracts
he was deterred from proceeding, by the accounts he there
received of the difficulty of the roads, and the inhospitable
disposition of the inhabitants; he was told that they had
not for a long time submitted to the Turks, and had never
acknowledged the sovereignty of the Mamelukes; neither
had they been visited by the French, and were resolutely
determined to prevent the arrival of any foreigners. He
adds, that the Cacheffs of the Berberi were formerly nomi-
nally dependent on the Porte, and remitted annually a
tribute to Cairo, but that they threw off the yoke at the
time the Beys became masters of Egypt.
Soleyman Cacheff, who died a few years ago, united the
lesser chieftains under himself; the country was quiet, and
48.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c;
Mr. Hamilton thought that a cautious traveller might them
have penetrated into Nubia; but at the time of his visit to
the Cataracts, Elfi Bey was encamped in the neighbour-
hood, and dissuaded him from going farther. Mr. Hamil-
ton justly observes, that the Beys had an interest in
increasing the difficulties of penetrating farther south than
the Cataracts, as they look to a retreat in that country as
their last resource in the event of a temporary expulsion
from Egypt.
The boundary of the French expedition in Egypt was
marked on a granite rock a little above the Cataracts; and
the obstinate resistance shewn by the inhabitants to the
entry of their troops into the isle of Philæ, and the jealous
fear of strangers exhibited on that occasion, strengthened the
idea of the difficulty of passing the Cataracts. No terms of
accommodation would be listened to; but when the natives
were no longer able to prevent the approach of the enemy,
they quitted the island in despair, and men, women and
children were seen to plunge themselves into the Nile, and
swim to the opposite shore. Mothers drowned their infants
whom they could not carry away with them, and mutilated
their daughters, to preserve them from the violation of the
conquerors.
Lorsque j'entrai (says Denon) le lendemain dans l'île,
je trouvai une petite fille de 7 à 8 ans, à laquelle une cou-
ture faite avec autant de brutalité que de cruauté avoit ôté
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
49
tous les moyens de satisfaire au plus pressant besoin, et lui
causoit des convulsions horribles: ce ne fut qu'avec une
contre opération et un bain que je sauvai la vie à cette
malheureuse petite créature qui étoit tout à fait jolie.”—
Vol. ii. p. 89.
Norden, the only European who had surmounted these
difficulties, gives the following account of the conversation
he held with the Aga of Essouan, who endeavoured, but
in vain, to dissuade him from his attempt. "You'll be
all destroyed," says he; " you are going not amongst
men, but amongst savage beasts; they would murder
a man for a parat. In what manner will they deal with
you, who carry such treasures?" But when the traveller
was determined to proceed,-" Im-Sehalla!" cried out the
Aga, as he delivered passports to the dragoman of the
party; "here, take the letters they have asked of me for the
grandees; let them go in God's name: but I am sorry that
those scoundrels should get so many fine things as you have
with you."
On the other hand, the Shekh of Essouan, with whom we
had frequent conversations on the subject, rather encou-
raged than dissuaded us from the expedition. He promised
that his son should accompany us, and engaged to procure
for us a smaller boat at Philæ, as the one we had brought
from Cairo could not, at this time of the year, pass the
Cataracts. We were probably indebted, in some measure,
H
50
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
to the cupidity of the Shekh for the eagerness with which
he promoted our voyage, as he undertook to dispose of
a quantity of salt which we brought with us from Cairo,
both as ballast to our boat, and as merchandize. The
prospect of the gain he should derive from this transaction,
induced him to hasten our departure as soon as possible.
We remained at Essouan a few days, and employed our
time in visiting the islands of Elephantina, Philæ, and the
Cataracts.
The island of Elephantina is celebrated for its beauty,
and certainly contains within itself every thing to make it
one of the most enchanting spots in the world; woods, gar-
dens, canals, mills, rivers, and rocks combine to make it
picturesque.
At the southern extremity of the island, are the remains
of Egyptian architecture, consisting of a very ancient square
temple, covered in every part with hieroglyphics well sculp-
tured and in relief, and near it stand the remains of another
edifice of nearly the same form and size, but in a state of
greater dilapidation. The ornaments of the latter building
are accompanied by the representation of the Serpent, the
emblem of wisdom and eternity, and hence it has been
supposed this may have been the temple of Cneph.--
Roman remains are to be observed in the same part of the
island, and great quantities of fragments of earthen vessels
are strewed about.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
51
We thought the inhabitants of the island of Philæ much
more savage and less civilized, than any Arabs we had yet
met with; and on our return from Nubia, had no reason to
change our opinion. Like the natives of the neighbouring
villages, they always go armed, particularly when they quit
their homes. Their weapons are chiefly a spear and a
dagger, which latter they fasten with a strap and buckle
immediately above the elbow of the left arm; and we had
frequent occasions to admire the adroitness with which they
couched and completely covered themselves with their
shields. In this position they would defy our attack, and
permitted us to throw stones or their own spears at them,
with the greatest violence.
Eight temples or sanctuaries are crowded together on the
small island of Philæ, though its dimensions do not exceed
1000 feet in length, and 400 in breadth. They do not
appear to have been built with any attention to symmetry,
are of various dimensions, and evidently constructed at
different periods. This irregularity in their position pro-
duces some of the most picturesque groups.
From the appearance and present state of these temples,
it appears clear that the system of building amongst the
ancient Egyptians, was first to construct great masses, and
afterwards to labour for ages in finishing the details of the
decoration, beginning with the sculpture of the hiero-
glyphics, and then passing to the stucco and painting. In
H 2
52
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Philæ, as at Thebes and Dendera, nothing is finished but
what is of the highest antiquity.
This island is supposed to have been the burying place
of Osiris, who was worshipped under the type of the Sacred
Hawk.
The granite quarries at the foot of the mountains to the
east still bear the marks of the chissel and the wedge; and
the unfinished obelisks, columns, and sarcophagi, which are
to be seen in great profusion, shew the unwearied labour
and mighty schemes of the ancient inhabitants.
So much has been written on the Cataracts of the Nile,
that it may almost appear superfluous to attempt any fur-
ther description, if it were not that the vague and contra-
dictory accounts of authors seem to call for some explana-
tion. Eight Cataracts have been enumerated in the course
of the Nile, from its source in the Mountains of the Moon,
to the last fall a little above Essouan, where the river is
about half a mile broad; Norden estimates the fall at only
four feet, and Pococke even so low as three feet. The
latter indeed, on his visit to the Cataracts, asks where they
are? and is surprized to find he is looking on them.
On the right bank of the river there are more obstacles
from rocky islands than on the left, on which side during
the period of the inundation, (in September, for instance,)
boats may sail up with a tolerable breeze from the N.W.,
or be hauled up by a rope without much difficulty. But
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
53
there are modern travellers who seem to have listened
rather to the stories of the ancients, than to the evidence
of their own senses: and Cicero is still quoted to prove
that the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of the Cataract
are deafened by its noise. In confirmation of the fact, it
has been lately asserted that the natives of that part are
remarkably dull of hearing.
In order to understand the descriptions which are given
in ancient authors of the Cataracts, one must admit an
almost incredible change in the bed of the river, or suppose
that their accounts relate rather to the second Cataract at
Genâdil, which is said to be much more considerable than
the one at Syene. We were at the Cataracts at the time of
year when the fall is the greatest, and certainly witnessed
nothing which warrants the glowing colours in which they
have been so often described; but such is the confusion in
the different accounts, that it is more reasonable to suppose
them greatly exaggerated. Perhaps a tolerably correct idea
will be formed of the real appearance of these falls, by the
mention of the fact, that the boys of the neighbouring huts
would at any time, for the reward of a para, dive into the
most rapid cascade, when, after disappearing for a few
seconds, their heads were again seen above the water,
at the distance of forty or fifty yards below. They
were in the constant habit of diving also for the purpose
of catching fish.
54
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
At the same time it must be allowed that the view of the
barrier which nature has placed between Nubia and Egypt
is in the highest degree magnificent. Passing upwards from
Egypt, you leave the delicious gardens of the island of
Elephantina, which divides the Nile into nearly two equal
streams; and on the left, the romantic and ruined town of
Essouan strongly reminded us of the old Gothic castles
in England.
Beyond, the two chains of primitive mountains lying on
each side the Nile cross the bed of the river, and form
innumerable rocky points or islands to impede its course.
The wild disorder of the granite rocks which present
every variety of grotesque shape, the absence of all cultiva-
tion, the murmur of the water, and the savage and desolate
character of the whole scene, form a picture which exceeds
all power of description. In passing this frontier, however,
notwithstanding the facilities afforded us by the Shekh, we
were still disobeying the orders of the Pacha, who had
expressly forbidden us in his firman to proceed above the
Cataracts, which formed the natural boundary of his domi-
nion; beyond this he would not answer for our safety, and
it is probable he was secretly unwilling we should have any
communication with the Mamelukes, who had taken refuge
southward in the Desert. Thus the step we were about to
take was doubly hazardous; but the desire to examine a
country which had baffled the attempts of former travellers,
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
55
was not to be resisted. As we should go amicably, and from
the smallness of our numbers could not inspire any alarm as
to the object of our journey, we might possibly be permitted
to proceed;-at all events we were determined to make the
attempt.
The knowledge we previously had of the country called
Nubia was confined to the hasty observations of Norden,
and the reports of some of the natives who had come down
to Essouan, which are collected in the Mémoire sur la
Nubie et les Barâbras, p. 399: Description de l'Egypte,
par M. Costaz, Etat Moderne, tome i. The name of
Nubia is given generally to that portion of the Valley of
the Nile situated between Egypt and the Kingdom of
Sennår. M. Costaz, who was at Phile in the month of
September, 1799, learned the following particulars of the
inhabitants of that country.
"The Nubians are neither Arabs, Negroes, nor Egyp-
tians: they form a distinct race with a particular phy-
siognomy and colour, and speak a language peculiar to
themselves, in which they are called Barâbras. Wherever
there is any soil on the banks of the Nile, they plant
date trees, establish their wheels for irrigation, and sow a
kind of millet called dourah, and also some leguminous
plants. Their trade consists chiefly in cloth, which they
buy at Esnè, giving in exchange dry dates. The Barâ-
bras were, at that time, (1799) under the nominal dominion
56
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
of the Turks, and paid an annual tribute of dates and black
slaves, which latter they procured from the caravans of
Sennar. They are in the habit of coming down into
Egypt in search of employ, and are known at Cairo under
the name of Berberins. They are highly praised for
their honesty, in which they differ much from the Arabs
their neighbours." M. Costaz concludes his Memoir with
the following observation on the difficulty of penetrating
into their country:
"Les Barâbras sont Mahométans et paroissent très zélés
pour leur religion; malgré leur douceur, ils ont beaucoup
d'aversion pour les étrangers: c'est toujours avec peine
qu'ils les ont vus arriver dans leur pays. L'un de ceux avec
qui j'eus des rapports à Philæ me dit: Ce sont ces monu-
mens qui attirent ici les étrangers; dès que vous serez partis
nous les démolirons, afin qu'on nous laisse tranquilles chez
Cette disposition ombrageuse des Barâbras n'avoit
rien d'inquiétant pour nous, parce que nous étions protégés
par une force suffisante. Mais les voyageurs isolés, qui
seront dans le cas de visiter les monumens situés à Philæ
et au-dessus, ne pouvant pas jouir de la même sécurité,
feront bien de prendre pour leur sûreté toutes les précau-
tions possibles."
nous.
CHAPTER II.
WE bade adieu to our friend the Shekh, and left Essouan
on the 13th to go to a village opposite the Island of Philæ,
a distance of about four miles, where the small one-masted
boat we had hired was lying at anchor. As we crossed the
Desert and took leave of the Swiss servant whom we left
in charge of our baggage, to wait our return to the Cataracts,
it was impossible to avoid feeling anxious at the prospect
and probable success of the journey we were about to un-
dertake we were more than a thousand miles distant from
the port of Alexandria; our faces were still turned to the
South; and in thus disregarding the injunction of the
Pacha of Egypt, we were at the same time placing our-
selves beyond the protection of his authority. It was
uncertain what might await us in this undiscovered
country; perhaps we should be stopped in limine by the
first tribe of Nubians we should fall in with, or, being
permitted to proceed, be delivered into the hands of the
Mamelukes.
I
58
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
For the first five miles after we left Philæ, the river takes
a south by east course, and then for a mile it runs west by
south, when it again turns south. As our wish was to pro-
ceed as far up the Nile as possible, we took advantage of
every favourable breeze, and seldom stopped to visit the
ruins of the various temples we saw on the banks of the
river, intending to examine them at our leisure when we
returned.
We passed Debodé, which is situated on the western
side, about ten miles above Philæ, where are the ruins of
a small temple. The river flows in a regular, deep stream,
for the most part washing the base of the eastern and
western mountains; but here and there the inundation
having covered the rocks with soil, or having thrown up
banks of mud and sand, small spots are cultivated and
planted with date trees. We anchored for the night in the
neighbourhood of Siala, a village on the east bank, about
eighteen miles above Philæ, and situated about a mile
from the river. In the morning, the Reis or Captain of
our boat informed us we must pay a visit to Douab
Cacheff, who was encamped about a mile and a half from
the village with a considerable party, forming a sort of
advanced guard of the Nubians. The Shekh of Essouan
had given us a letter to the first tribe of Barâbras we
might meet, and we now set out to claim the protection
of the Cacheff. On our arrival, we found the men en-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
59
camped in wigwams, and the women and children sta-
tioned apart in tents; the whole body might be about
400: their horses and camels were feeding around them.
We sat an hour without the camp before the Cacheff
made his appearance, and in the mean time were sur-
rounded by many of the Nubians, who expressed great
surprize and curiosity at our appearance. From the time
we were kept in suspense and the apparent demur and de-
lay, we were much afraid we should not be allowed to pro-
ceed; but the Cacheff at length appeared, and after having
asked us many questions, such as whence we came and the
object of our voyage, he offered us coffee. As this was a
token of peace, we began by giving him the letter we
had brought from Essouan; and finding afterwards that
he was unable to read Turkish, we shewed him our Firman
written in that language, which we persuaded him con-
tained a permission from the Pacha of Egypt to penetrate
as far as we pleased into the country above the Cataracts.
Though the Nubians consider themselves independent of
the Government of Egypt, yet they were desirous of re-
maining on friendly terms with the Pacha, and his sup-
posed recommendation had, doubtless, its weight with the
Cacheff, who appeared to make no objection to our pro-
ceeding, and said he would send off an express to Dehr to
inform Hassan Cacheff of our intended visit to his capital.
He offered us milk, flour and butter, invited us to eat out
I 2
60
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
of the same bowl with him, and on taking our leave we de-
sired him to send down to our boat and we would make him
a present of coffee and tobacco: in return for which he after-
wards sent us a sheep. We retraced our steps to the river,
astonished and delighted at the friendly reception we had
met with, so different from what we had been led to expect,
and even from what we had generally experienced in Upper
Egypt. In our journey from Cairo to Essouan, wherever
we landed, which we frequently did to buy provisions, the
people of the villages ran away and drove their cattle
into the desert and the mountains beyond; in these cases
our only resource was to attempt, if possible, to lay hold
of one of the children, who generally endeavoured to hide
themselves among the sugar canes, and, if we were suc-
cessful, to give him some paras and then let him go. As
this conduct convinced the rest of the natives of our
peaceable disposition, they came afterwards and sold us
whatever we wanted. At first they asked us two or three
paras for an egg, but afterwards we generally bought six
for a para.
This dread of strangers arises from the ill-treatment and
oppression to which they are exposed from the Turks, and
the freedom from such tyrannical extortion sufficiently ex-
plains the unsuspecting and friendly manners which we
afterwards uniformly found among the Barâbras.
On our return from the interview with Douab Cacheff,
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
61
we left Siala and again set sail. The river here takes a
direction one point to the west of south. About three
miles above Siala is the village of Deghimeer, situated on
the same side. Two miles farther on, the river again turns
to the south, and three miles beyond, on the western side,
near a village called Sardab, are the remains of a temple,
and other ruins.
The mountains at Deghimeer retire from the sides of
the river, and the banks where any soil has been left are
cultivated. Four miles above Sardab is the village of El
Umbarakat, where are some ruins. The villages on each
side the river bear the same name, and the appellation
given here, as in many other places, is meant rather to
imply a district than a particular collection of houses, or
village. The country is very thinly inhabited, and the
natives live, for the most part, in caves in the mountains,
and cultivate the banks of the Nile when the inundation
has left them.
At El Umbarakat the granite mountains again approach
the river, and form a very narrow and difficult pass. The
Nile now inclines somewhat to the westward, but it soon
resumes its course to the south, and two miles higher up
is the island of Kalaptshi, on which is a picturesque ruined
village. Three miles above the island is the village of
Kalaptshi, where are some extensive ruins; and eight miles
62
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
farther we reached the village of Aboughor, where we
anchored for the night. We calculated that we were now
just under the tropic, and bathed by moonlight in the
waters of the Nile. Early in the morning, at the distance
of four miles from Aboughor, we passed the village of Don-
dour, which is situated on the east side of the river, and
opposite to which is a small Temple in considerable pre-
servation. The greater part of the inclosure is quite per-
fect, and the propylon also has been but little injured;
but the inside has never been completed. There are two
columns which formed the entrance into the Temple, and
which are ornamented with serpents. The inner Temple
or Sekos consists, as usual, of three apartments; the first
measured eighteen feet in length and twenty in breadth;
the columns are three feet in diameter, and the height to
the top of the cornice is nearly seventeen feet; the winged
globes on the architraves of the Temple and Propylon are
supported in the usual manner by two serpents. The
hieroglyphics are relieved and sculptured in a good style,
shewing the common subjects, viz. priests with jugs offer-
ing to Isis and Osiris, who is represented with the hawk's
head, and carrying a crosier in his hand. Behind the
Temple is a small grotto, which has the appearance of
being posterior in its date, and is most probably to be
attributed to the early Christians, as we found an inscrip-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
63
tion with the characters A+ amongst the fragments
which lie within and on the outside of the inclosure.*
The day was very hot, and not being able to bear the
heat of the sand to my feet, I buried the bulb of the ther-
mometer in the sand of the shore, when it rose to 125°; in
the cabin of our boat it stood at 86°, in the outer air it was
96°. We were detained in the district of Meriah, a little
higher up,
the whole of the day, and the next morning, as
the wind still continued contrary, we proceeded with the
assistance of the tow line. The inhabitants we found
most peaceably disposed: they brought us dates, milk
and whatever their scanty means enabled them to afford.
The river takes a course south-west by south for five miles,
when we passed the ruined village of Guerche, opposite
to which are the magnificent remains of Guerfeh-Hassan.
As we returned, we had an opportunity of examining these
stupendous monuments with the attention they deserved.
Five miles beyond, on the east side, is Costhambi, above
which the river's course is west. We anchored here for
the night, and the next morning the villagers brought us
a sheep, milk and yaourt. After running westward for
*In the time of Hadrian there was a Christian church at Alexandria: but
Gibbon observes, that it was not till Christianity ascended the throne that the
cities of Egypt were filled with bishops, and the deserts of Thebaïs swarmed
with hermits.
† A dish prepared from milk, not unlike curds and whey, which, from its
grateful acidity, is much in esteem with the Turks and inhabitants of the East.
64
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
six miles, the river turns south-west, and at this angle,
which is four miles above Costhambi, stand the ruins of
Dakki, on the western side: here the desert approaches
nearly close to the water's edge, and the plain is covered
with small elevations, which, at a distance, have the ap-
pearance of pyramids. The resemblance was so complete
as to bring to our recollection the opinion entertained
by some authors, that the Pyramids of Lower Egypt have
been formed by cutting small mountains into that shape.
We landed on this plain and saw several gazelles, or ante-
lopes, but they were too shy to allow us to come within
gun-shot. Opposite to Dakki is the small village of
Allaghi, and seven miles beyond, we landed on the western
side to visit a ruin, which, from the river, had the appear-
ance of a temple, but, on nearer approach, proved to be
the remains of a Christian church, probably built of the
ruins of a temple in the neighbourhood, part of the wall
of which is seen standing and covered with hieroglyphics.
It is in bad taste, many of the capitals of the columns have
never been finished, and we concluded, from their appear-
ance, that it was not the custom, at the time of the erection
of this building, to finish the capitals till after they were
placed upon the columns. From the immense quantity
of fragments of terra cotta vessels scattered about, we
were led to conjecture that this had been the site of some
very considerable town. About a hundred yards from the
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
63
ruined church is a fine pedestal, nearly fourteen feet
square, of three steps, and made of three large blocks of
red granite; near it we observed similar fragments. In
the building was an inscription, but for want of a ladder
we were unable to copy it. About a mile above is the
village of Siala Kibly, on the eastern side, where the river
runs south-west by south; the ruined town of Bardè stands
on the western side, eight miles beyond; and here the
mountains again approach the Nile, from which they had
receded since we quitted Dakki.
The temple of Sibhoi, on the western side, is distant
twelve miles from Bardè, and we landed to examine it.*
Fifty yards in front of the Propylon, which faces to the
south, are two statues about ten feet high, that seem to
have formed the ancient gateway; from this an avenue
of two rows of sphinxes, each six feet high, formerly led to
the temple. Six only now appear; the rest are buried
in the sand. On each side of the entrance into the
* The temple of Sibhoi corresponds completely with the description given by
Strabo of the general construction of these sacred edifices in Egypt.
The area, or open court, on each side of which stood a row of sphinxes, was
called the Dromos; it conducted to the Propylon.
The number of these Propyla was not limited; sometimes there were three, in
which case there was also a corresponding number of rows of sphinxes leading to
them.
After passing the last Propylon, you entered the Pronaos, and from thence
passed into the Sekos, or Sanctuary, where was generally placed the statue of
some brute animal.
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66
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Propylon stood a statue of very large dimensions, being
fourteen feet high, consisting of one block, which is not
granite but sandstone. They have fallen down ;-one ap-
pears quite perfect, but the head and shoulders are buried
in the sand: the other has been broken by its fall.
Within the Propylon, whose front is about eighty feet,
on each side the Pronaos, is an avenue of square columns,
attached to each of which are statues of priests, similar to
those at the Memnonium. These columnar figures, which
may be compared to the Caryatides used in the temples of
Greece, have been much injured, and are considerably
defaced. The entrance into the temple, and the temple
itself, are completely buried in the sand of the desert, and
it is probable that every vestige of the building will disap-
pear from the same cause ;-from what remains, however,
we may declare this to have been a celebrated sanctuary,
and well worthy the attention of the admirers of Egyptian
architecture. It is probably of an earlier date than those
in Egypt. The walls are built in a ruder style, and the
hieroglyphics, though bold, are but ill executed; the statues
and sphinxes, however, will bear a closer examination: from
the dress of the former, it is probable they are the repre-
sentations of heroes. The period of the construction of
these several edifices is a matter of pure conjecture, but it
may be observed, that the most striking difference between
the temples above and below the Cataracts, is the high state
of preservation of the stone and outward walls of the latter,
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
67
which have scarcely suffered from the ravages of time.----
From this circumstance it might at first sight be supposed,
that these remains of antiquity were posterior to the tem-
ples in Egypt, but that opinion is not warranted by any
other evidence. It would be difficult indeed, with any
reasonable allowance of difference of date, to explain the
superior preservation in which we found the temples of
Nubia, compared with those below the Cataracts, and we
must seek for the cause in the mild, unalterable climate
between the tropics. The corroding hand of time has no
effect upon them, but they are abandoned to the desert, and
many of them will in a few years entirely disappear.
On the 21st, the wind having been contrary for some
days, we quitted our boat and procured asses and camels
to ride to Dehr, which was about fourteen miles distant,
and where was the residence of Hassan Cacheff, who had
been represented to us as the most powerful chieftain in the
country of the Barâbras.
As it was before observed of the appellations of places
in this country, the name of Dehr is rather applicable to
a district than to any particular collection of houses or
town; and we were apprized of our approach to the resi-
dence of the Cacheff, only by a somewhat greater popula-
tion, and by observing the mud cottages more numerously
placed about the spot.
From this circumstance it is extremely difficult, if not
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JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
impracticable, to form any tolerable guess at the popula-
tion of what may be considered the capital of Nubia. We
had been told that we should arrive during the celebration
of a marriage of the Cacheff, in honour of which he was
giving a festival to the inhabitants of Dehr, and we were
rather surprized to hear our crew, who were also natives of
the country, call it (in lingua Franca) a fantasia. The re-
joicings lasted ten days. After passing many huts scattered
amongst date trees, we reached the house of the chief, dis-
tinguished only by its being built of brick, and consisting
of two stories.
Our appearance soon drew together a number of the
natives, who viewed us, the first Europeans they had yet
seen, with every mark of astonishment. Though in conse-
quence of the festival, many of them were drunk, they
offered us no incivility, but we sat down under a rude sort of
arcade made of bricks, and waited patiently till we should
be admitted to an interview with the Cacheff. In about an
hour's time, a large mess was brought us consisting of layers
of bad paste, upon which was a piece of boiled goat's flesh
swimming in hot butter. We invited the people about to
partake of it, with which they seemed much pleased, and
shewed us every mark of good will and hospitality. By
this time the news of our arrival had spread to all parts of
the town, and numbers had collected to see the strangers.
After waiting about four hours, the Cacheff came down to
us, attended by five or six of his chief officers, and a num-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
69
*
sup-
ber of negro guards to keep off the mob. He appeared to
be about twenty-five years old, six feet high, and of a hand-
some person, but evidently half drunk with araki, a spirit they
distil from dates. He began by boisterously asking us what
we wanted, and why we had come to Dehr? We replied
we were come to pay our respects to him, and to see the
remains of antiquity with which his country abounded.-
He answered there was nothing curious to see, but “I
pose you are come to visit the tombs of your ancestors?"—
We then asked his permission to go to Ibrîm, which he flatly
refused, alleging first, that there was nothing to be seen
there, and next, that he had no horses to convey us;---
in short, he appeared in no humour to gratify our wishes,
and we began even to repent of our rashness in having
placed ourselves in the power of a man whom we found
surrounded by more than 300 armed negro slaves, ready to
execute any order of capricious cruelty which he might
give in his present state of intoxication.
We afterwards learned that the 300 slaves whom we saw
at Dehr, formed only a small part of the force which obeyed
the orders of Hassan; in the whole amounting to nearly
3000, scattered about the country. The Cacheff may be
considered a great slave merchant, his troops, which are his
own property, being purchased from Dongola, Senaâr, and
other parts of Soudan.
of Soudan. They are employed in levying con-
tributions, and in guarding his harem.
70
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
We knew not what to expect from the rude reception of
the Cacheff, who had so peremptorily refused us permission
to proceed; and feeling ourselves entirely in his hands,
submitted quietly to the curiosity of those about us, who
began to examine our arms and unsheath our swords, with
which latter they seemed particularly delighted. The Ca-
cheff remained a short time longer with us, probably in
expectation of our offering him a present; in this, however,
he was disappointed, as we thought it better to defer urging
our request that evening, considering his intoxication. We
contented ourselves with demanding a lodging, which he
ordered his secretary to appoint us, and took leave, promis-
ing to see us in the morning. The secretary, who was a
Barâbra, but who spoke and wrote Arabic, conducted us
to a miserable hut built of mud, whose walls were about
twelve feet high, and without a roof, instead of which, at
each end were a few date branches forming a kind of shed;
wretched as our habitation was, it seemed, next to the house
of the Cacheff, the best in Dehr, as it consisted of two rooms,
When the secretary departed, we found an armed negro at
our door, placed either as a guard of honour, or perhaps
to prevent our escape. Left alone, we began to reflect on
the step we had taken; we knew not what to think of the
intentions of the Cacheff, whether we should be permitted
to proceed, or be detained at Dehr, exposed to the extor-
tions and ill-treatment of these barbarians.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
71
The negro slaves were all armed with spears, and shields,
made either of camel or hippopotamus skin, and they
carried daggers and swords, which latter appear (owing to
the manner in which the scabbards are made) much larger
at the point than the hilt.
The disparity of numbers was so great, that though we
were much better armed, we had but little chance of making
a stand against so many enemies. Our anxiety was at
length relieved by the arrival of our supper, which was
sent from the house of the Cacheff, and was a mess similar
to that with which we had been treated before.
As we began now to consider ourselves the guests of
Hassan, and protected by the rights of hospitality, we
arranged our comfortless habitation as well as we could,
and passed the night, hoping for the best. Early in the
morning we received a visit from the secretary, who plainly
told us that his master the Cacheff expected a present, and
hinted that one of our swords would be acceptable. We
said we intended to have offered him a watch, but that we
were unwilling to part with our arms as they were abso-
lutely necessary to our defence. He left us, observing that
we might see the Cacheff at eleven o'clock, when he would
expect us at his house. At the appointed time we waited
on the chief, and found him smoking at the end of a long
chamber. He was dressed in linen trowsers, wore a turban,
and had a bournous thrown over his shoulders: the only
72
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
mark of authority he carried about him was a rude iron
truncheon, which he held in his hand. After the first salu-
tation, we sat down, and they brought us coffee and pipes.
Through the means of our dragoman, we began to open
our business with the Cacheff, by first making him an offer
of a watch, several of which we had brought from Malta,
for the purpose of making presents. The Cacheff thanked
us for our offer; but, as we were unable to make him com-
prehend its use, declined its acceptance. The way in which
it was refused, and the great admiration of our arms the
night before, convinced us that we should obtain no faci-
lities in the prosecution of our journey, without the sacrifice
of one of our swords. I accordingly took off my own, which
was a fine Damascus blade, of about 500 piastres value,
and approaching the Cacheff, requested permission to throw
it over his shoulders. The effect of this present was instan-
taneous; he was highly pleased, and assumed the most
friendly manner. He asked me if I had left my harem at
the Cataracts? meaning, as I understood, to give me a female
slave as a present to my wife. When he was answered in
the negative, he spoke to his secretary, who retired, and
soon returned with a negro boy of about ten years old. On
his entrance, the Cacheff called the slave to him, spoke
some words, and gave him his hand to kiss. With evident
marks of agitation, the boy approached me, kissed my hand,
and put it to his forehead. The simple ceremony I had
i
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
73
witnessed was the transfer of the property of the negro to
myself.*
We seized the opportunity of the favourable disposition
of the Cacheff to repeat our request of going to Ibrîm,
which was granted without any hesitation, and an offer was
made us of horses and dromedaries or any thing else in his.
power. Our journey was fixed for the next morning, and
we passed the remainder of the day in visiting the town.
In the evening the Cacheff paid us another visit, when we
regaled him with some English brandy, and he again
amused himself with examining our arms, and seemed to
pique himself much upon possessing an English musket,
which we had observed in his house in the morning. We
shewed him our thermometers, and as it was quite impos-
sible to give him any idea of their real use, we informed
him they were intended to shew the state of our health. It
was equally difficult to explain to him the eagerness with
which we inquired after temples and ruins ; and he seemed
quite persuaded we were in search of hidden treasures. He
left us at night, promising to supply us with every thing
requisite for our journey in the morning. The prospect of
being permitted to go to Ibrîm and possibly to the second
* I learned afterwards, that he had been the favourite slave of the mother of
Hassan, and that he had been carried off from Dongola when only six years old;
he has therefore but little recollection of his native country. When I left Egypt
I brought him with me to England, and he is now living in the family of my
friend, Mr. Smelt.
L
74
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
Cataract gave us great satisfaction, and we could not but
congratulate ourselves on the friendly disposition of the
Cacheff.
The only European traveller who had succeeded in pene-
trating into Nubia had been compelled to stop at Dehr;
and the accounts he gives of the numerous vexations to
which he was exposed is extremely interesting. Norden,
on his arrival at Dehr, made every effort to proceed to the
second Cataract, but he was not able to satisfy the avarice
or overcome the jealous scruples of the chiefs, Baram and
the Schorbatchie. They amused him with various stories:
at one time, if he would wait a few days, they were about
to make war on a nation that dwelt in the neighbourhood
of the Cataracts, and he should accompany them on the
expedition, but this proposal he found to be a snare to en-
trap him in the Desert. At another time, they said the
Nile was so shallow above that he could not proceed in his
boat. It was in vain he urged the protection of the Grand
Signior. Baram replied, "I laugh at the horns of the Grand
Signior; I am here Grand Signior myself; I will teach you
how to respect me as you ought. I know already what sort
of people you are; I have consulted my cup and I have
found by it, that you are those of whom one of our people
has said, that there would come Franks in disguise, who,
by little presents and by soothing and insinuating be-
haviour, would pass every where, examine the state of the
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
75
country, go afterwards to make a report of it, and bring
at last a great number of other Franks who would conquer
the country and exterminate all; but," said he, “ I will
take care of that." The traveller made as little progress by
means of presents; and after having submitted to be strip-
ped of nearly all he had brought with him, was obliged to
give up the idea of going farther south, and thought him-
self lucky in escaping from the hands of the treacherous
and avaricious Cacheff.
We set out early in the morning in search of Ibrîm, and
when at the distance of half an hour from Dehr, the road
conducted us over the mountains, and in two hours more
we descended again into the valley of the Nile, which
course we kept as far as Ibrîm.
Near the village of Gatter is a small grotto cut out of
the rock, at the farther end of which we observed three
statues, much mutilated, and entirely defaced.
In about five hours we arrived at Ibrîm, situated on the
east side of the Nile, at the southern extremity of a ridge of
mountains, which, for nearly two miles, rise perpendicularly
from the Nile, scarcely leaving space for the road which
lies between them and the river.
The town lay on the eastern slope of the mountain, and
the citadel, which was built on the summit, must have
formerly been a strong position. Its height may be esti-
mated at about 200 feet above the river, that washes
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76
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
the foot of the rock on which it stood, and which is, at
this point, about a quarter of a mile broad. We were,
however, so far deceived by the extreme perpendicularity
of the precipice, that, standing on its edge, we were in-
duced to make several vain attempts to fling a stone
across the Nile.
The walls that inclosed the citadel and the ruins of
the house of the 'Governor are still to be traced. We
entered this fortress through a ruined gateway, and sat
down to dine on the provisions we had brought with us
from Dehr, consisting of goat's flesh, the last remains of
some biscuits from Cairo, coffee and tobacco.
Not a
vestige of life was to be seen about us; the destruction of
Ibrîm by the Mamelukes, when they passed two years ago
into Dongola, had been so complete, that no solitary native
was to be found wandering amongst its ruins; there was
not even a date tree to be observed. The walls of the
houses, which are in some places still standing, alone attest
that it has once been inhabited. The population was partly
carried off by the Mamelukes, and has partly removed to
Dehr.
While at Essouan and during our stay in Nubia, we
learned the following particulars of the mode of life and
present condition of the Mamelukes. The last stand they
made against the troops of the Pacha of Egypt was at
Ibrîm, where they were compelled to retreat into Dongola,
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
77
in which country they have established themselves, having
dethroned and driven out the independent king of that
nation.
Dongola, the capital of a large kingdom bearing the
same name, is about twelve or fourteen days journey from
the second Cataract. This tract of country is famous for
its breed of horses, one of which is valued on the spot at
eight, ten, or even twelve slaves. I heard at Cairo that
in the time of the Mamelukes, a Dongolese horse was in
such estimation as to sell for one thousand pounds sterling.
Since their expulsion, the Mamelukes are said to have laid
aside their old habits of external magnificence, to have
addicted themselves to agriculture, and to be in possession
of vast quantities of cattle. It is reported also that they
have a few large trading vessels on the Nile. We heard
that they had successfully repulsed the attacks of a tribe
of Arabs living to the west, who had frequently endeavour-
ed to surprize them. Their most formidable neighbours
are a black nation, who dwell to the east of Dongola.
The number of the old Mamelukes is not stated higher
than five hundred, but they have armed between four and
five thousand Negro slaves with
with spears and swords.
They have built a great wall round or near their city, par-
ticularly strong on the side of the Desert, for the protec-
tion of their cattle against the incursions of the Arabs;
and some of the richest among the Beys are said to have
78
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
established themselves in separate walled inclosures. In
general they are very poor, the little treasure they carried
with them from Egypt being nearly exhausted. The town
or city of Dongola, from what I could learn, is much
larger than any in Upper Egypt, is built on both sides the
Nile, and stands in a vast plain. Such was the infor-
mation we collected at Dehr and from conversation with
merchants trading to Abyssinia, whom we met during our
residence in Upper Egypt.
Osman Bey Bardissi is at the head of the Mamelukes,
and we were informed at Dehr that he had made a vow
never to shave either his head or his beard till he should re-
enter Cairo in triumph; and that, in the visits he sometimes
makes to the capital of Nubia, for the purpose of levying
contributions, his flowing hair, his long bushy beard, and
fine swarthy person have a most formidable appearance.
We remained at Ibrîm a few hours; and giving up the
idea of proceeding to the second or great Cataract, which
we were told was situated three days to the South,
finally resolved to retrace our steps. We received no en-
couragement to penetrate into a country where money be-
gan to be of little use, and provisions very scarce. At
Dehr, the natives were unwilling to take money for fowls,
eggs, &c. always asking us to give them corn in exchange;
but we had brought with us from Egypt a quantity of
flour only sufficient for our own subsistence, not enough
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
79
for the purposes of barter. The prospect of further disco-
veries was doubtful; and it was difficult to ascertain how
far we might with safety proceed without falling into the
hands of the Mamelukes.
Since my return from Egypt, I have been informed in
a letter from Colonel Missett, that our friend Shekh Ibra-
him has been able to penetrate as far as Moscho, the
place where Poncet crossed the Nile on his route to Don-
gola and Sennâr.
Captain Light, of the Artillery, whose acquaintance I
had the pleasure of making at Malta, has also since that
time visited Ibrîm; and I understand that Mr. Bankes has
succeeded in going still higher.
Ibrîm, the farthest point which we reached to the south,
was known to the ancients by the name of Premis, and dis-
tinguished by the adjunct Parva from another town of the
same name much more remote, and which is now unknown.
These borders of the Nile, says Danville, in his Geography,
were occupied by the Blemmyes, a people whose figures
must have been extraordinary, since captives brought
from that nation during the reign of the Emperor Probus,
appeared so monstrous, that antiquity, shocked with their
deformity, almost excluded them from the human species,
though they had presumed to rank themselves among the
enemies of Rome. Intra, si credere libet, vix homines
magisque semiferi; Ægipanes, et Blemmyes, et Satyri.
(Pomponius Mela, 1. i. c. 4.)
80
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Ibrîm was formerly the residence of the Cacheff and the
capital of Nubia; the country about it produced a great
quantity of dates, and it was chiefly by a small duty im-
posed upon the passage of them down to Cairo, that the
town of Essouan was supported. The Turks, at one time,
extended their dominion as far as Ibrîm; Cambyses pushed
his expedition beyond the limits of Egypt, and a position
is known by the name of Cambysis Ærarium, near the town
of Moscho. An insult offered to the Roman name on the
frontiers of Egypt, during the reign of Augustus, occasion-
ed a Roman army to pass as far as Napata, which is still
farther to the south.
We returned to Dehr the same night, and the next morn-
ing had another visit from the Cacheff; in the evening he
sent to ask us for the watch we had previously offered
him, and which he had refused. We immediately com-
plied with his request, and received in return a quantity
of dates, a sheep, and some butter. In our last interview
with him, we asked for the liberation of a fine looking boy
who was in chains; the Cacheff could not conceive what
motive could induce us to make the request, but said,
Well, since you ask it, be it so," and immediately gave
him his liberty.
When we took our departure, we told him we should
mention to other English travellers the kind manner in
which we had been treated; to which he replied, "They
would be welcome."
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
81
The only monument of antiquity at Dehr, is a temple or
grotto, excavated in the solid rock.
The area that leads to the grotto was open at the top,
and consisted of ten columns, all of which have fallen down.
Within the pronaos, or first chamber of the grotto, are two
rows of pillars, three in each, which are about four feet
square. These lead to the sekos, or inner temple, on each
side of which are two small chambers, that seem to have
been used for burying places: in one of them is a sarco-
phagus, cut out of the rock. The sekos measures fifteen
feet in length and twelve in breadth. The outer apartment
is forty-five feet square, and the height is about eighteen.
The space between the pillars, which have no capitals, is
six feet. In the portico, the hieroglyphics represent the
exploits of a hero, the wheels of chariots and the figures of
captives are plainly to be discovered: within they exhibit
offerings to Osiris, who is represented with the hawk's
head and the globe.
We left Dehr early in the morning of the 25th, and in an
hour arrived at some ruins in the Desert, on the western
side. They are called Amada, and are the remains of what
was once a fine temple, since converted into a church by
the early Christians. The hieroglyphics have been in con-
sequence covered over with stucco, but where that has
fallen off, the painted figures are to be observed in a state
of wonderful preservation. The style of the building is
M
82
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
rude, and not unlike that of the temple of Dehr, differing
only in being built of stone instead of excavated in the
rock. It is nearly buried in the sand, not more than the
height of six feet remaining visible, and it is much dis-
figured by a number of mud houses built upon and around
it, probably at the time it served as a Christian church.
On the 26th, we landed opposite to the ruins at Sibhoi;
while here, a Mameluke and several of his attendants came
down to the Nile to water their horses. Our crew instantly
hurried us on board, nor did we stop again until midnight.
The Shekh's son, who had accompanied us from Essouan,
was extremely alarmed, and instantly took off his caftan
and gay turban to escape notice, and pass, if possible, for
one of the natives. He had fought against the Mamelukes
in Upper Egypt, and was in great dread lest he should be
recognized. Our boat's crew was also under considerable
apprehension that we should be attacked and plundered,
and told us that a few Mamelukes have constantly resided
in these mountains since their expulsion from Egypt.
On the following day, as we continued our voyage down
the Nile, we perceived two Arabs mounted on camels,
who approached the eastern bank of the river, and hailed
us in Arabic.
The fear of the Mamelukes still operating upon the
minds of our crew, we rowed to the other side of the Nile,
and were again hailed in Arabic. On this occasion we
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
83
replied, and demanded what they wanted? To our great
astonishment we were answered in English, and immedi-
ately recognized the voice of our friend Shekh Ibrahim,
whom we had left at Siout, in Upper Egypt, extremely well
dressed after the Turkish fashion, and in good health and
condition. He had now all the exterior of a common Arab,
was very thin, and upon the whole his appearance was
miserable enough. He told us he had been living for many
days with the Shekhs of the villages through which he had
passed, on lentils, bread, salt, and water, and when he came
on board, could not contain his joy at the prospect of being
regaled with animal food. The day before we had bought
a lean and miserable sheep, for which the natives had de-
manded (an exorbitant price in that country) a dollar, and our
friend contributed to our repast some excellent white bread
which he had brought from Essouan. We smoked our pipes,
congratulating one another on our good fortune in having
met, and communicating our different plans and adventures.
We informed Shekh Ibrahim of the good reception we had
experienced from Hassan Cacheff, and what we had seen
at Dehr and Ibrîm. The news of the appearance of the
Mamelukes somewhat discouraged him, but it was impos-
sible in our small boat to carry his camels to the western
side of the river; besides, there were so few villages on the
left bank as to make it advisable, if possible, to continue
his journey on the eastern side. It was probable also the
M 2
S4
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Mamelukes had retired into the Desert, and we separated,
wishing him every success in his spirited expedition: cer-
tainly no one was ever better fitted for such an undertaking ;
his enterprize, his various attainments in almost every living
language, and his talent for observation, are above all
praise.*
On the 28th we arrived at Dakki. The Propylon and
Temple here are quite perfect, and the hieroglyphics are
much better preserved than any we had seen above Essouan;
they are in high relief.
The Temple consists of four apartments, two of which
seem to have been restored, or of more recent date than the
others; at their junction on the outside on the western wall
is an inscription relating to Adrian, but we could not de-
cypher it. Two columns form the entrance into the Tem-
ple, and in the last apartment where the hieroglyphics are
most beautiful, there is a pedestal of red granite.
The height of the Propylon is about fifty fect, its front
ninety feet, and its depth at the base is eighteen feet.
The space between it and the Temple is forty-eight feet,
and the Temple itself measures eighty-four feet in length,
thirty in breadth, and twenty-four in height.
There are many Greek inscriptions on the Propylon,
* It is only since my return to England that I have learnt the real name and
character of this traveller, from whose exertions the world has reason to expect
soon to receive much valuable information.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
85
which, like the two we copied, because they were the most
legible, seem only to record the devotion of those who
have visited these sacred buildings.
ATTOXXWNIOC ATTOMAWNIGY
ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΟΣ ΟΜΒΕΙΤΟΥ* ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ
ттері ЄлефҳNTINHN KXI ФІЛАС
нхөон кхи просекүннСХ.
I, Apollonius, the son of Apollonius, Commander in
Chief of the Province of Ombi, and of the district about
Elephantine and Philæ, came and worshipped.
КХХХІМХХОС ерманос сүннхөөN
EPMWNOC CYNHXEON
KAI TTРOCEKYNHCX TON AYTON EEON
етоүс ХВ «Ліс»рос флофі.
I, Callimachus, the son of Hermon, came with him and
worshipped the same god, in the thirty-second year of the
Emperor
What I can mean, it is difficult to determine-there
were very few of the Roman Emperors who lived so long as
the period mentioned in the inscription.
Guerfeh Hassan is about nine miles below Dakki, and
here we found an excavated temple that far surpasses any
thing we had witnessed above or below Essouan, and is
indeed a stupendous monument of the labour bestowed by
* 'Oμßiτns voμos, the district or province of Ombi, to which the town of Syene
Ὀμβίτης
also belonged, existed under the government of the Romans. 'Oußos, 'Exepavτívn
and Plλ, were neighbouring towns of Upper Egypt.
86
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c,
the ancients on their places of devotion. The area or outer
court (Spoμos) is formed of six columns on each side, attached
to which columns are statues of priests, rudely sculptured,
as at Sibhoi. This area is sixty-four feet in length, and
thirty-six in breadth. The width of the door into the temple
is six feet, and the passage is formed by three immense
columns on each side, to which are attached colossal statues
of priests. They stand on pedestals three feet three inches
high, and are themselves eighteen feet six inches high.
They are scarcely injured, are ornamented with girdles,
carry each a crosier in his hand, and their rich dress for-
merly covered with paint and gold, and gigantic propor-
tions, have a most imposing appearance. On entering the
first chamber of the temple we found in each of the side
walls, four niches containing each of them three figures,
which have formerly been painted, and all of them have
some reference to the attributes of Isis and Osiris; though a
little mutilated, they are, upon the whole, in good preser-
vation-the niches in which they stand are six feet six
inches square.
The first chamber is forty-six feet six inches long, thirty-
five feet three inches wide, and twenty-two feet three inches
high.
The hieroglyphics are considerably defaced.
From the second chamber, which measures thirty-four feet
six inches wide, and fifteen feet six inches long, we passed
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
87
into four smaller apartments that resemble those we had
found in the excavated temple at Dehr. At the end of the
two largest of these apartments, we observed blocks of stone
standing in recesses in the walls, which from the hollow
sound they gave on being struck, we endeavoured to raise,
but, from our inadequate means, were obliged to give up
the attempt;-they are most probably sepulchres.
The third chamber, that may properly be called the Sekos,
is eleven feet in breadth, and fifteen in length. At the far-
ther end of it stands the altar, three feet three inches high,
and three feet broad; immediately behind the altar are four
statues sitting on a kind of bench eleven feet long, which,
like the figures themselves, is cut out of the solid rock. We
asked ourselves-Whom do they represent-Isis, Osiris,
Apis, and Serapis ?-They greatly resemble one another.
We found no inscription in this temple, which is a most
astonishing monument of labour and ancient magnifi-
cence. The various apartments we had explored, together
with the statues that ornament them, are all hewn out of
the living rock.*
*The points of resemblance between the cave of Elephanta, situated in a
small island in the harbour of Bombay, and the excavated temple of Guerfeh
Hassan, are very striking.—Vide Asiatic Researches, Vol. IV." Some Account
of the Cave in the Island of Elephanta.-By J. Goldingham, Esq.”
"The cave is formed in a hill of stone; its massy roof is supported by rows of
columns regularly disposed, but of an order different from any in use with us.
Gigantic figures in relief are observed on the walls; these, as well as the columns,
are shaped in the solid rock, and by artists, it would appear, possessed of some
88
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
On the 2d March we visited the ruined temple of Ka-
laptshi. Close to the water's edge is a quay or landing
ability, unquestionably of astonishing perseverance. The wall at the upper end
of the cave is crowded with sculpture; the attention is first arrested by a grand
bust, representing a being with three heads, &c. Each side of this niche is sup-
ported by a gigantic figure leaning on a dwarf. A niche of considerable dimen-
sions, and crowded with figures, on either side the former. In the middle of the
niche on the right, stands a gigantic figure apparently female, but with one breast
only, &c.
"The most conspicuous of the group on the niche to the left, is a male, 17 feet
in height, with four arms; on the left stands a female about 15 feet high. On
each side of these groups is a small dark room, sacred in antient times perhaps to
all but the unpolluted Brâhmen.
"There are various other niches in the cave containing different figures, most
of them of gigantic proportions.
"On the left side, and half way up the cave, is an apartment about 30 feet
square, inclosing the Lingam: an entrance on the four sides, and each side of
either entrance, is supported by a figure 17 feet in height, each figure being
ornamented in a different style.
"The Grotto here described, usually called the Great Cave, is about 135
feet square."
The author concludes his description with the following observations:-
"Various have been, and are to this day, the conjectures respecting the
Elephanta cave. Those who attempt to deduce its origin from the Egyptians,
from the Jews, or from Alexander the Great, appear to me (with due deference)
to give themselves much unnecessary trouble; which I shall further endeavour to
shew as briefly as the subject will admit of; though, at the same time, it must be
observed, that resembling features are not wanting in the case of the Egyptians
and of the Jews, to lead towards such deductions; but these resemblances strike
me as tending to the elucidation of a more interesting hypothesis that the
systems of those people were copies of an original found in this part of the
world."
The opinion here alluded to, of the common origin of the Hindus, Ethio-
pians, and Egyptians, originated with the able and enlightened President of the
Asiatic Society, who expresses himself to the following effect, in his third
Anniversary Discourse.
"The remains of Architecture and Sculpture in India, which I mention here
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
89
•
place, from which an elevated stone pavement about
eighteen feet wide led to the Temple.
The front of the Propylon is a hundred and twenty
feet, its depth at the base about twenty-four, and we esti-
mated its height at fifty feet. It was joined to the Temple
by two colonnades, of which one column alone is now
standing.
There is a Portico of four beautiful columns, each with
different capitals, in front of the Temple, and the interco-
lumniations are half walled up with ornamented stones.
The Pronaos was decorated with two columns on each
side, and its dimensions are sixty-six feet in length, and
thirty-six feet in breadth.
Beyond we found three chambers of the following
dimensions-
First Chamber, thirty-six feet in length and twenty feet
in breadth.
Second Chamber, thirty feet in length and eighteen feet
in breadth.
as mere monuments of antiquity, not as specimens of ancient art, seem to prove
an early connexion between this country (India) and Africa."
When alluding to the same subject in some of the succeeding discourses, Sir
William Jones, after stating that the Greeks called all the southern nations in
the world by the common appellation, Ethiopians, thus using Ethiop and Indian
as convertible terms, observes that the Ethiops of Meroë were the same people
with the first Egyptians, and consequently, as it might easily be shewn, with the
original Hindus.
N
90
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
Third Chamber, thirty-six feet in length and eighteen
feet in breadth.
The entrance into the first is ornamented with a large
square slab, with hieroglyphics most beautifully sculptured.
We could discern the figure of Isis with Orus at her
breast, and various other representations of the Egyptian
gods. The hieroglyphics in the second and third cham-
bers have, on the contrary, been painted, and wherever the
plaster with which they had been concealed by the reli-
gious zeal of the early Christians has fallen off, they are
observed in a state of great preservation.
Many smaller apartments lead out of the three great
chambers thus described; and there are also several
situated above them.
In the interior or body of the Propylon we counted at
least twelve rooms, into which the light is admitted by
oblong niches cut in the outside wall. At the farther extre-
mity the characters K↓AMH)* were placed immediately
"It is highly probable that this word is the proper name of a man in the
enchorial character of the Rosetta Stone, or the common running hand of Egypt:
since in this character all proper names, except those of divinities, are distin-
guished by a dash at the beginning and a K at the end; and the names of females
have a bent line before the K, which is here wanting. It cannot, however, be
read in letters by means of Mr. Akerblad's alphabet, which has been supposed to
be pretty correctly applicable to the proper names of that inscription; although
it bears a very distant resemblance to characters which might be understood to
mean KING EMEPH."-Note by the Author of the Remarks on the Thebaic
MSS. to be found in the Appendix.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
91
over the representation of a head sculptured in the centre
of the end wall of the temple.
The following inscription we copied, but from its muti-
lated state, it is nearly unintelligible.
ETT Aгxew KYPIE
то проскүнных ох
ΓΑΙΟΥ ΚΛΕΙΟΥ κελερ
OCTTITTEOC XWPTHCX
OHBXICON TTTT KHO
гүрханс каЛЛІСТІ ХІ
ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΙΔΙΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ
ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΑΒΑCΚΑΤΩΝ
ΑΔΕΛΦΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ
ΑΥΤΟΥ ΠΑΝΤΩΝ
ΠΑΡΑ ΤΟ ΚΥΡΙΟ Α
ΣΟΥΝΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ
ITTTTOYXYTOY—
The Temple of Kalaptshi is in a state of so much greater
dilapidation than the other ancient buildings we examined,
that it is probable it has been ruined by some violent
means.
The quarries which furnished the stone with which the
Temple is built are close to it, and are of a very fine sand-
stone.
We left Kalaptshi, and about five o'clock the same
evening landed under the mountains of El Umbarakat.
The rock consists of red and grey granite. The whole
plain is covered with ruins consisting chiefly of inclosures
N 2
92
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
about fifty feet square, formed by walls which are built
with a slope from the angles to the middle. It is impos-
sible to conjecture for what purpose they were intended,
but we counted no less than twelve of them in the plain.
Among the fragments lying about are to be observed several
stones richly ornamented, and many with the common
representation of the Winged Globe. Besides the
Besides the square
inclosures mentioned above, are two
small Temples, one
of which is converted into a house, and is in a state of
great preservation. Within it are four beautiful columns
with rich capitals, and the other ornaments without are
well sculptured. The Temple is about eighteen feet square,
and the diameter of the columns three feet six inches.
The second Temple, which has been used as a church,
is much ruined, and two columns only are standing.
At Sardab, about fourteen miles below, we met with
another square inclosure similar to those at El Umbarakat,
but much larger. In the centre of the north wall is a gate-
way, from which, at the distance of about four hundred
yards, is an elegant small Temple of Isis. Six beautiful
columns of three feet diameter are standing.
The capitals of the two to the north are square, with
faces on each front, similar to those at Koum Ombos and
Dendera; the two next have the common capitals (the
lotus) of Egyptian temples; and the two to the south are
ornamented with vine leaves and
and grapes. There are
hieroglyphics only on one of the columns; they represent
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
93
the offering of the lotus to Isis, whose figure is well sculp-
tured :-near her are sheaves of corn.
These columns and capitals are in good taste-the Tem-
ple itself measures twenty-two feet by thirteen.
On the morning of the 4th, we went to the ruins of
Debodè, consisting of a small Temple with three gateways.
An inclosed pavement has led from the water side to
the Temple, in front of which is a portico of four
columns.
The intercolumniations are half walled up. Out of the
first and second chamber you pass into four or five smaller
ones, in the last of which are two large blocks of granite,
with niches cut into them about eighteen inches deep;
they are similar to those described by Denon at Philæ
and Gaw el Keber, supposed to be the cages of the sacred
birds, and called by him monolithic temples.
Having satisfied our curiosity in examining the remains
at Debodè, we returned to our boat, and arrived at the
island of Philæ about eleven o'clock.
It is impossible to behold the profusion of magnificent
ruins with which this island abounds, without feelings of
admiration and astonishment; but impressed as our minds
were, at this moment, with the specimens we had lately
witnessed of Ethiopian grandeur, we did not entirely sub-
scribe to the following observations of Denon.
"En revenant, je fus de nouveau frappé de la somptuosité
94
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
des édifices de Philée: je suis persuadé que c'est pour pro-
duire cet effet que les Egyptiens avoient porté à leur fron-
tière cette splendeur de monumens. Philée étoit l'entrepôt
d'un commerce d'échange de l'Ethiopie et de l'Egypte, et
voulant donner aux Ethiopiens une grande idée de leurs
moyens, et de leur magnificence, les Egyptiens avoient
élevé nombre de somptueux édifices jusqu'aux confins de
leur empire, à leur frontière naturelle, qui étoit Syène et
les Cataractes."-Vol. ii. p. 85. 8vo.
The excavated temple of Guerfeh Hassan, and the ruins
of Dakki and Kalaptshi, appeared to us to rival some of
the finest specimens of Egyptian architecture.
The same character of massive solidity is common to
both, but, upon the whole, the stones which formed the
walls of the Nubian temples did not appear to be so well
wrought, or so nicely joined together, as they are in those
we had seen in Egypt. On the other hand, the style of
execution in some of the hieroglyphics and other orna-
ments, indicates a degree of perfection in the arts which
renders it difficult to discover their comparative antiquity.
The character of Egyptian architecture and sculpture is
solidity; hence their figures of men have the legs united, or,
if separated as in the Colossus of Memnon, they are at-
tached behind to the block. The Sphinx and other ani-
mals are always represented squatting down, and are, in
consequence of that position, much more solid. It has been
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &¿.
95
asserted that painting was not held in any very high estima-
tion among the Egyptians, because it was not conceived to
be durable, but this opinion would seem incorrect.
On our return to Essouan, we had the pleasure of again
eating excellent white bread, which our fare during the
last days of our journey down the Nile rendered doubly
luxurious. When we left Dehr, the Cacheff had made us
a present of some dates and a goat, the latter of which we
sent back to him requesting he would exchange it for a
sheep. As he had shewn no delicacy in demanding the
watch, which he at first refused, we did not scruple to take
this liberty with the chief, and our request was immedi-
ately complied with. We subsisted two days on this food,
but as our voyage down the Nile was longer than we had
calculated, our stock was at length reduced to the remains
of the flour which we had originally carried up with us from
Essouan. The Greek who acted as our cook had no other
opportunity for the exercise of his skill, than in treating us.
one day with a boiled and another with a fried dish. With
the water of the Nile he made the flour into a paste, which
he either boiled, or baked by exposing it on an earthen slab
to the heat of the sun.
During our absence, a serious fray had taken place be
tween the inhabitants of two villages in the neighbourhood
of the Cataracts, in consequence of a dispute about the
navigation of the river. My Swiss servant, Lavanchy, who
96
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
had remained behind and who witnessed the affair, gave us
the following account of it:-It appeared, that the inhabi-
tants of a village to the south of Philæ disputed the free pas-
sage of the Nile with the people living below, who were under
the jurisdiction of the Governor of Essouan. In consequence,
the two villages armed themselves, and five hundred com-
batants, dressed in white drawers and blue turbans, and
provided with spears, daggers, and English muskets, (ob-
tained probably at the time of the unfortunate affair at
Rosetta,) met to decide the contest. They fought for se-
veral hours, and the women took a most active part in the
affray, standing near their husbands and encouraging them
by their cries and gestures. Nearly thirty were wounded
and several were killed. The battle continued from eight
in the morning till about two p. m. when the Skekh of Es-
souan arrived on horseback with his attendants, and held
a sort of council, at which the difference was adjusted and
the combatants returned to their homes.
During the whole of this interesting journey, we had
found the natives universally civil, conducting us to the re-
mains of antiquity without the least suspicion, and sup-
plying us with whatever their scanty means would afford.
It is true they viewed us with curiosity, and seemed asto-
nished at our venturing among them; and at Kalaptshi
they asked our guide, "How dare these people come here?
Do they not know that we have five hundred muskets in
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
97
our village, and that Douab Cacheff has not the courage
to come and levy contributions?" To this our guide re-
plied, "We know nothing about that; but as we do no
harm, so we expect to receive none." With this answer
they expressed themselves satisfied, and offered us all the
assistance in their power.
On another occasion, while visiting the ruins of Dakki,
one of our party having preceded the rest, had shot a
pigeon which flew out of the building, and roused some of
the natives who were sleeping amongst the ruins of the
temple. Discharging the other barrel of his gun immedi-
ately after, with the same success, the Barâbras approached
him with curiosity and amazement, unable to conceive
how two shots could have been fired, and the gun not re-
loaded. It was no difficult matter to convince them that
it possessed magical powers in the hands of the Frank, and,
after a careful examination, they returned it with every
mark of respect and admiration.
Instead of shewing any appearance of fear themselves,
or any intention of taking advantage of the solitary situa-
tion of the stranger, they offered to share with him their
repast, consisting of lentils and sour milk, and readily
undertook to fetch him water from the river.
With respect to the persons of the Barabras, the features
of the men are lively, their skin is sleek and fine, and their
teeth are beautifully white. Their colour, though dark, is
98
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
full of life and blood. They are remarkably thin, which
is perhaps to be attributed to their scanty means of sub-
sistance and the heat of their climate.
In general they seem healthy, are quick in comprehen-
sion, and are greedily fond of money. The hair of the
men is sometimes frizzed at the sides and stiffened with
grease, so as perfectly to resemble the extraordinary pro-
jection on the head of the sphinx. As to the women, they
are in general very ugly, and never have the appearance of
youth, but seem to pass immediately from childhood into a
state of decrepitude. The children go quite naked, the boys
wearing round their waists a small cord only, and the girls
a sort of fringe, made of thin strips of leather, which is
matted together with grease; it is called rahût in the lan-
guage
of the country, and is very similar in appearance to
the ornament hanging in front of the bridle, or before the
breast, of an English charger.*
The men and women, in general, wear the same kind of
dress as their Egyptian neighbours, with the exception of
the turban, which is seldom to be seen amongst the Ba-
râbras.
* There are several fragments of Egyptian female statues in the British Mu-
seum, in which the thighs of the figures are striated in a manner that may not
unaptly be compared to the appearance of the rahât as it hangs from the waist
of a Nubian girl. If such an opinion be not thought too fanciful, this may be
considered another instance, to be added to the peculiar method of wearing the
hair, frizzed, and projecting at the sides, which tends to prove the uniformity of
the customs practised by the ancient and modern inhabitants of these countries.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
99
Such are the observations we had made during our
short residence among this singular people; and we had
every reason, in our interview with the Shekh of Essouan,
to thank him for the encouragement and assistance he had
afforded us in undertaking our journey into Nubia.
1
Q 2
CHAPTER III.
Colour of the ancient Egyptians.-Voyage down the Nile.-Koum Ombos.—
Shower of rain. Mummy Pits at Thebes.-Siout-intelligence of the
Plague-reach Manfalout.-Adventure at Amabdi.-Residence at Miniet.
-Ophthalmia.-Bedouin Arabs.-Arrival at Cairo.-Turkish Quarantine-
tedious confinement at Rosetta-ravages of the Plague.-Arrival at Alex-
andria-embark for England.
=
CHAPTER III.
ESSOUAN was formerly supported by a small duty upon
dates passing from Ibrîm to Cairo, a commerce that has
now entirely ceased, though it has still the advantage of
the annual arrival of a caravan from Sennâr, and is the re-
sort of the Arabs of the eastern desert, who come here to
supply themselves with articles of European and Turkish
manufacture.
There has been considerable dispute about the colour of
the ancient Egyptians, some authors asserting that they
were Negroes, while others maintain that the present Copts
are their descendants, and attempt to prove their supposi-
tion by the appearance of mummies, which exhibit com-
plexions of a dusky brown, dark hair and eyes, lips occa-
sionally thick, but the nose frequently aquiline. The
opinion that the former inhabitants of the country were
Negroes is founded chiefly on the expressions used by
Herodotus, who calls them μελαγχροες καὶ ελοτριχες, (dark
coloured and woolly haired,) and on the character of the
104
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
head of the Sphinx, which has the Negro features, and
may be justly supposed to offer a correct representation of
the countenance of the ancient Egyptians. On the other
hand, with respect to the present Copts, it cannot be
denied, that the dark hue of their hair and eyes, the former
of which is frequently not more curled than is occasionally
seen amongst Europeans, their dusky brown complexions
and aquiline noses, all correspond pretty exactly with the
paintings to be found in the tombs of Thebes. It is remark-
able, however, that the inhabitants of the island of Ele-
phantine are nearly black, whereas the Barâbras, who live
so much farther to the south, are considerably fairer in
their complexions. But notwithstanding their colour, the
females of Elephantine are conspicuous for their elegant
shapes, and are, upon the whole, the finest women we
saw in Upper Egypt.
The appearance of blacks at Elephantine is certainly
curious, and, perhaps, to be explained by the removal of a
tribe of Negroes from the west, and the settlement of a
colony in this neighbourhood.
In the reign of Diocletian, the Nobata were persuaded
to remove from their ancient habitations in the deserts of
Libya, and an extensive but unprofitable territory above
Syene and the Cataracts of the Nile was resigned to them,
on condition that they should ever respect and guard the
frontier of the empire. "This treaty," says Gibbon, "long
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
105
subsisted; and till the establishment of Christianity intro-
duced stricter notions of religious worship, it was annually
ratified by a solemn sacrifice in the isle of Elephantine,
in which the Romans as well as the barbarians adored the
same visible or invisible powers of the universe.”—Vol. ii.
p. 136.
May it be conjectured that the present inhabitants of
Elephantine are the descendants of these Nobate who
removed from Libya? The western countries of Africa are
peopled with Negroes, whereas Egypt, situated to the
east, is inhabited by comparatively white people.
On the 6th March we left Essouan, the most delightful
spot in Upper Egypt, and which has the singular advan-
tage of never being visited by the plague, a privilege for
which it is indebted to the mildness of its temperature and
the prevalence of strong northerly winds; though the inha-
bitants superstitiously ascribe it to the benign influence of
a Skekh buried in the neighbouring mountains.
On our voyage down the Nile, we visited the temples
of Upper Egypt that we had not had an opportunity of
examining during our journey upwards, and which are so
minutely described by Denon and other writers on the
subject.
At Koum Ombos we looked in vain for the inscription
mentioned by Mr. Hamilton on the cornice of one of the
temples, from which he infers, that some of the temples
P
106
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
in Egypt are not of so high a date as is generally given to
them, but rather to be attributed to the Ptolemies. We
searched for more than an hour with his book in our
hands.
With respect to the opinion deduced from the inscrip-
tion, it is perhaps more probable that the Ptolemies had re-
paired many of the temples than that any of them owed
their construction to those princes.
After passing Hajar-Silsili and Edfou, we were agree-
ably surprized at Elethyia by the fall of a heavy shower
of rain, a phenomenon of very uncommon occurrence in
Upper Egypt, and to which we had now been strangers
for many months. The thermometer in our cabin had
stood the day before at 95°, but the rain that fell in the
night reduced it on the following morning to 60°.
We continued our voyage, and having stopped to see
the temples at Esnè (Latopolis) and Hermontis, landed for
the second time amidst the wonderful monuments of
Thebes. From the Memnonium, we crossed the mountains
to visit Biban-el-Moluk, or the Gates of the Kings. These
extraordinary excavations consist of several chambers, the
walls of which are painted, and the colours of the figures
still remain as vivid as at the period of their first execution.
Most of the passages that have been opened, penetrate
far into the mountain, and generally contain a granite
sarcophagus, but there are many which still remain un-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c
107
touched, and as the specimens of papyri, that have
hitherto been procured, come from this spot, it is not
improbable that the discovery of many objects of consider-
able importance would be the result of further excavation.
From the Gates of the Kings we returned by the valley,
through which the road formerly led from Thebes to the
tombs, and where still stands the Temple of Karnac.
The whole of this mountain has been excavated; at each
step an opening presents itself; and there is every appear-
ance that here has been the general cemetery of Thebes.
Many of these caverns are now converted into habitations
by the present cultivators of the plain, from whence they
have been driven by the encroachments of the Nile, whose
waters during the inundation (in consequence of there
being no canals to carry them off) cover the whole of the
flat country around.
Our curiosity induced us, during our stay here, to de-
scend into one of the mummy pits that abound in this
neighbourhood, but it would be difficult to convey an
adequate idea of the disgusting scene of horror we had to
encounter. The entrance was through a very narrow hole,
nearly filled up with rubbish, by which we made our way
into a small room about fifteen feet long and six wide:
beyond we reached a chamber somewhat larger, and con-
taining two rows of columns. The walls were covered with
paintings, and at the farther end stood two full length
P 2
108
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
statues, male and female, dressed in very gay apparel, and
having on the one side the figures of two boys, and on the
other those of two girls.
The whole of this chamber was strewed with pieces of
cloth, legs, arms, and heads of mummies, left in this
condition by the Arabs who visit these places for the pur-
pose of rifling the bodies and carrying off the bituminous
substances with which they have been embalmed. From
the chamber above described, two passages lead into the
interior and lower part of the mountain, and we penetrated
about the distance of a hundred yards into that which
appeared the longest. Slipping and crawling amongst the
various fragments of these mutilated bodies, we were only
able to save ourselves from falling by catching hold of the
leg, arm, or skull of a mummy, some of which were lying
on the ground, but many still standing in the niches where
they had been originally placed.
Here we
We arrived at Siout on the 20th March.
received the unwelcome intelligence that the plague,
which continued without abatement in Asia Minor, had
made its appearance in Alexandria and along the sea
coast. This was a death blow to all our plans, as it pre-
vented our passing through Syria* to Constantinople, or
of embarking at Alexandria for Malta.
* This had been our original plan, and our friend Shekh Ibrahim had furnished
us with an Itinerary in that country, which, as it contains some valuable hints to.
future travellers, will be found in the Appendix.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
109
As it was almost impossible to get any precise informa-
tion of the state of the plague from the reports of the
Arabs, who, besides being predestinarians, are not very
celebrated for their veracity, we dispatched a courier to
Cairo to get intelligence from our friends there, and re-
solved to wait his return in Upper Egypt, appointing him
to meet us at Miniet.
The
Before our arrival at the latter place we halted at Man-
falout, to examine some mummy pits, of which we had
heard an extraordinary account from a Greek we had met
at Thebes. He informed us he had been sent by Suliman the
Cacheff of Manfalout with a detachment of Arnout soldiers,
against the inhabitants of the village of Amabdi.
Arabs of this village, which is situated on the east bank
of the Nile, at the distance of about two leagues from the
river, on the edge of the Desert, are employed chiefly in
the breeding of horses, and are notorious for their preda-
tory disposition. On the approach of the soldiers of the
Cacheff, the greater part of the inhabitants of Amabdi
fled into the Desert; some few, however, were observed to
disappear under ground, and conceal themselves in a pit,
distant about an hour from the village. Demetrius, the
Greek emissary of Suliman, with a part of the Arnout de-
tachment, pursued them, and descended the pit in which
they had taken refuge. At the bottom they observed frag-
ments of the mummies of crocodiles, scattered about, but
110
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
the fugitives were no where to be seen. From what he
observed, there was no doubt the pit communicated with
lateral galleries of unknown extent, where were probably
deposited the crocodile mummies, the fragments of which
the Greek had seen at the mouth of the excavation.
The soldiers of the Cacheff returned without venturing to
explore further the hiding-place of the Arab fugitives; but
the story of Demetrius raised in us a curiosity to prose-
cute his discovery, and ascertain its extent and accuracy.
The pits we had examined at Thebes were full of human
mummies, but in no place had we yet seen any marks of
those of crocodiles.* With this intention we continued our
voyage down the Nile and halted at Manfalout situated
on the left bank of the river, for the purpose of making pre-
parations for a journey to Amabdi. Our party con-
sisted of my friend Mr. Smelt and an American of the
name of Barthow, who had traded many years in the Red
* Herodotus relates that the Egyptians, particularly those who dwelt in the
neighbourhood of Thebes and the Lake Moeris, held these animals in great
veneration; that they fed them with the flesh of victims, adorning their bodies
while living with various fanciful ornaments, and when they were dead, embalm-
ing and depositing them in sacred chests.
In another part of the same book (Euterpe), after having given a description of
the interior of the Labyrinth, which had been built near the Lake Moeris, and
the city of Crocodilopolis, and praising the magnificence of the apartments into
which he was admitted, the historian observes that they did not permit him to
visit the subterranean chambers, because they were strictly guarded and kept, as
the places of interment of the sacred Crocodiles, and the sepulchres of the Kings
under whose care the edifice had been constructed.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
111
Sea, spoke Arabic extremely well, and whom we had en-
gaged as a dragoman at Cairo, when we first began our
travels in Upper Egypt. We took with us, besides, an
Abyssinian merchant, of the name of Fadlallah, and three
of our boat's crew who were Barâbras, whom we had
brought with us from the Cataracts. Having provided our-
selves with asses and torches, we crossed the ferry of Man-
falout, at five on the morning of the 30th March. We
wandered about till nine o'clock in search of the village of
Amabdi, near which we at length found four Arabs
employed in cutting wood. They appeared at first unwil-
ling to give us any information about the object of our
search, and we observed them consulting together, and
overheard them muttering something about danger, and
thought we heard the expression, "If one must die,-all
must die." This excited our suspicions, but did not deter
us from proceeding, as we relied on our number and
strength to resist any act of treachery.
We were bent on going, and the Arabs at last undertook
to be our guides for a reward of twenty-five piastres. After
an hour's march in the desert, we arrived at the spot, which
we found to be a pit or circular hole of ten feet in diameter,
and about eighteen feet deep. We descended without diffi-
culty, and the Arabs began to strip, and proposed to us to do
the same: we partly followed their example, but kept on our
trowsers and shirts. I had by me a brace of pocket pistols,
-
112
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
which I concealed in my trowsers, to be prepared against
any treacherous attempt of our guides. It was now de-
cided that three of the four Arabs should
us,
while
The
go with
the other remained on the outside of the cavern.
Abyssinian merchant declined going any farther. The
sailors remained also on the outside to take care of our
clothes. We formed therefore a party of six; each was to
be preceded by a guide-our torches were lighted--one
of the Arabs led the way,-and I followed him.
We crept for seven or eight yards through an opening at
the bottom of the pit, which was partly choked up with the
drifted sand of the desert, and found ourselves in a large
chamber about fifteen feet high.
This was probably the place into which the Greek, De-
metrius, had penetrated, and here we observed what he had
described, the fragments of the mummies of crocodiles.
We saw also great numbers of bats flying about, and hang-
ing from the roof of the chamber. Whilst holding up my
torch to examine the vault, I accidentally scorched one of
them. I mention this trivial circumstance, because after-
wards it gave occasion to a most ridiculous, though to us
very important discussion. So far the story of the Greek
was true, and it remained only to explore the galleries
<where the Arabs had formerly taken refuge, and where,
without doubt, were deposited the mummies we were
searching for. We had all of us torches, and our guides
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
113
insisted upon our placing ourselves in such a way, that an
Arab was before each of us. Though there appeared some-
thing mysterious in this order of march, we did not dispute
with them, but proceeded. We now entered a low gallery,
in which we continued for more than an hour, stooping or
creeping as was necessary, and following its windings, till
at last it opened into a large chamber, which, after some
time, we recognized as the one we had first entered, and
from which we had set out. Our conductors, however, denied
that it was the same, but on our persisting in the assertion,
agreed at last that it was, and confessed they had missed
their way the first time, but if we would make another
attempt they would undertake to conduct us to the mum-
mies. Our curiosity was still unsatisfied; we had been
wandering for more than an hour in low subterranean pas-
sages, and felt considerably fatigued by the irksomeness
of the posture in which we had been obliged to move, and
the heat of our torches in those narrow and low galleries.
But the Arab sspoke so confidently of succeeding in this
second trial, that we were induced once more to attend
them. We found the opening of the chamber which we
now approached guarded by a trench of unknown depth,
and wide enough to require a good leap. The first Arab
jumped the ditch, and we all followed him. The passage we
entered was extremely small, and so low in some places as
to oblige us to crawl flat on the ground, and almost always
K
114
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
on our hands and knees. The intricacies of its windings re-
sembled a labyrinth, and it terminated at length in a cham-
ber much smaller than that which we had left, but, like
it, containing nothing to satisfy our curiosity. Our search
hitherto had been fruitless, but the mummies might not be
far distant, another effort, and we might still be successful.
The Arab whom I followed, and who led the way, now
entered another gallery, and we all continued to move in
the same manner as before, each preceded by a guide.
We had not gone far before the heat became excessive;
for my own part I found my breathing extremely difficult,
my head began to ache most violently, and I had a most
distressing sensation of fulness about the heart.
We felt we had gone too far, and yet were almost de-
prived of the power of returning. At this moment the
torch of the first Arab went out: I was close to him, and
saw him fall on his side; he uttered a groan-his legs were
strongly convulsed, and I heard a rattling noise in his
throat-he was dead. The Arab behind me, seeing the
torch of his companion extinguished, and conceiving he
had stumbled, past me, advanced to his assistance, and
stooped. I observed him appear faint, totter, and fall in
a moment-he also was dead. The third Arab came for-
ward, and made an effort to approach the bodies, but
stopped short. We looked at each other in silent horror.
The danger increased every instant; our torches burnt
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
115
faintly; our breathing became more difficult; our knees
tottered under us, and we felt our strength nearly gone.
There was no time to be lost-the American, Barthow,
cried to us to "take courage," and we began to move back
as fast as we could. We heard the remaining Arab shout-
ing after us, calling us Caffres, imploring our assistance,
and upbraiding us with deserting him. But we were
obliged to leave him to his fate, expecting every moment
to share it with him. The windings of the passages through
which we had come increased the difficulty of our escape;
we might take a wrong turn, and never reach the great cham-
ber we had first entered. Even supposing we took the
shortest road, it was but too probable our strength would
fail us before we arrived. We had each of us separately
and unknown to one another observed attentively the
different shapes of the stones which projected into the
galleries we had passed, so that each had an imperfect
clue to the labyrinth we had now to retrace. We com-
pared notes, and only on one occasion had a dispute, the
American differing from my friend and myself; in this
dilemma we were determined by the majority, and fortu-
nately were right. Exhausted with fatigue and terror,
we reached the edge of the deep trench which remained
to be crossed before we got into the great chamber. Mus-
tering all my strength, I leaped, and was followed by the
American. Smelt stood on the brink, ready to drop with
Q 2
116
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
fatigue. He called to us "for God's sake to help him over
the fosse, or at least to stop, if only for five minutes, to
allow him time to recover his strength." It was impossi-
sible to stay was death, and we could not resist the desire
to push on and reach the open air. We encouraged him
to summon all his force, and he cleared the trench. When
we reached the open air it was one o'clock, and the heat
in the sun about 160°. Our sailors, who were waiting for
us, had luckily a bardak* full of water, which they sprinkled
upon us, but though a little refreshed, it was not possible
to climb the sides of the pit; they unfolded their turbans,
and slinging them round our bodies, drew us to the top.
Our appearance alone without our guides naturally
astonished the Arab who had remained at the entrance of
the cavern; and he anxiously inquired for his hahabebas,
or friends. To have confessed they were dead would have
excited suspicion, he would have supposed we had mur-
dered them, and have alarmed the inhabitants of
Amabdi, to pursue us and revenge the death of their
friends. We replied therefore they were coming, and were
employed in bringing out the mummies we had found,
which was the cause of their delay.
We lost no time in mounting our asses, re-crossed the
desert, and passed hastily by the village to regain the ferry
* The name of the jars, made at Kenne, of porous earth, and used to cool
water.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
117
*
of Manfalout. Our cangia was moored close to the town,
and we got on board by five o'clock. We had been
expected for some time, and as it happened to be the birth-
day of my friend Mr. Smelt, we had intended to have
regaled ourselves that day with a more sumptuous meal
than ordinary. But we had no appetite to eat, it was of
more consequence to consult what was to be done in our
present circumstances. That the Arabs of Amabdi
would pursue us to revenge the supposed murder of their
friends, there was no doubt, and as it would be next to
impossible to persuade them we had no hand in their
deaths, we all agreed our only safety was in flight. It was
resolved we should wait till midnight, and then sail down
the Nile for Miniet, the first Turkish garrisoned town we
should reach. Owing to the laziness or stupidity of our
Reis, it was however five in the morning before we weighed
anchor. This at the time gave us great uneasiness, but
was in fact a most fortunate circumstance; for, as will
appear afterwards, had we sailed earlier we should certainly
have fallen into the hands of our enemies. The wind was
contrary, blowing strongly from the north, and we had
only made two leagues by seven o'clock.
We now saw four Turks on horseback galloping towards
us, followed by two Arabs on foot, and as we made but
little way down the river, they were soon near enough to
fire a pistol and order us to bring to. We stopped our
118
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
boat, and they called to us from the shore, saying they
were sent by the Cacheff to bring us to Manfalout to an-
swer for the murder of our Arab guides. The two Arabs
on foot were violent in their threats, and continued voci-
ferating they would have blood for blood, and that they
were resolved on our deaths, though it might cost the lives
of twenty more of their countrymen. We entered into a
parley with the Turks, and demanded of them if they would
answer for our safety on our way to Manfalout, and stipu-
lated also that we should be allowed to carry with us our
arms. They promised us we should not be molested on our
road to the town, and after some demur permitted us to
take our swords, pistols, and double-barrelled guns. On
these conditions we went on shore, and walked on foot
under the escort of the Turks to Manfalout. When we arri-
ved at the house of the Cacheff, we found him smoking in
an outer court, attended by a few Arnout guards, and sur-
rounded by about forty of the inhabitants of Amabdi.
The Arabs received us with a shout of revengeful delight.
The Cacheff treated us in a stern and haughty manner,
and informed us of what we were accused by the people
about him. Through our dragoman we related our story,
and produced the firman we had received of Machmoud
Ali, Pacha of Cairo. Our passport ran in the usual form,
enjoining all the Governors of the different towns through
which we should pass to afford us every protection and as-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
119
sistance. A secretary was ordered to read the firman aloud,
which when he had done, the Cacheff reaching out his
hand took hold of it, and looking sternly at us, observed
sarcastically, "I do not see that this firman allows you
either to maltreat or kill the Arabs."
He then poured out a torrent of abuse upon us in Arabic,
to the great satisfaction of our accusers, and retired into an
inner court, leaving us, as we conceived, to their mercy.
The Arabs were most of them armed with swords and
spears, and began now to surround us with menacing ges-
tures. Shortly however we were sent for by the Turk, and
conducted by some of his soldiers into his presence.
66
The Arabs expressed great satisfaction at this, and ap-
peared to think our fate was decided. The Cacheff
received us on this occasion in a much more friendly manner
than at first, he was unobserved by the Arabs, and laid
aside the angry tone which we now perceived he had for-
merly only affected. My good friends," said he, laying
his hand on the shoulder of our dragoman, “I know I am,
by virtue of your firman, bound to protect you, and my
head must answer for your safety. I believe your story,
but I have a guard only of 50 soldiers, and the village of
Amabdi is 700 muskets strong. Should all the inhabi-
tants take a part in this affair and come over, the conse-
quence will be fatal both to you and myself; you must
make your escape secretly, and in the mean time I will
amuse and detain the Arabs."
120
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
We saw the force of this advice, thanked the Cacheff for
his friendly conduct, and lost no time in making our re-
treat through a gate at the back of his house.
When we
had quitted our boat to accompany the Turks to Manfalout,
we had given orders that it should follow us, and now found
it waiting close to the town.
We again set sail, but as the wind continued to blow
strongly from the north, with little prospect of eluding the
pursuit of our enemies.
The Nile here is about two musket shots broad, and we
were continually obliged to tack. Though we rowed with
all our might we made but little way, and had scarcely
lost sight of the town before we observed a party of horse-
men at a considerable distance in the Desert, on the right
bank of the Nile, whom we took for Bedouin Arabs.
Soon after we perceived a number of heads peeping over
the sand hillocks on the same side. We were at this mo-
ment nearly in the middle of the river, and consequently
a little without musket shot. Suddenly several Arabs
jumped up and shouted to us to come over, or they would
fire upon us.
We rowed our boat as quickly as possible to the other
bank, and consulted amongst ourselves what measures to
take. Our danger was imminent, we were surrounded on
all sides by enemies, our friend the Cacheff at Manfalout
was unable to protect us, and the distance to Miniet was
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
121
seventy miles. If the wind had been favourable, by fast sail-
ing and keeping close to the left bank of the river, we might
have escaped our pursuers; but in the present circumstan-
ces it would have been madness to continue our course.
At length it was resolved we should return to Manfalout,
again claim the assistance of the Cacheff, or endeavour to
convince the Arabs of our innocence. We quickly reached
the town, and had no sooner stepped on shore than we
were assailed by three women, and five or six children-
they were all naked and smeared with mud. We were in-
formed that they were the wives and children of the men
who had perished, and the state in which they exhibited
themselves was according to the custom of mourning
amongst them. As we were armed, we reached without
much obstruction the house of the Cacheff, whom we now
found surrounded by more than four hundred Arabs, and
amongst them the Shekh of the village of Amabdi. Making
our way through the crowd, we luckily recognized the
person of the Arab whom we had left and supposed to have
died with his companions in the cavern. His appearance
was most wretched, he was unable to stand, and was support-
ed by two of his friends. We afterwards found he had escap-
ed by the light of Mr. Smelt's torch, when he was obliged to
remain for a short time to recover his strength at the edge
of the trench. Our dragoman related our story again, and
called upon the survivor to confirm the truth of it, but in
Ꭱ
122
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
vain; on the contrary he maintained we had taken hini
and his companions by force, and compelled them to con-
duct us to the place. In this falsehood he was supported
by the Arab who had remained on the outside of the ca-
vern, and whom we now saw for the first time among the
crowd. In our defence we replied it was not possible we
could have used any means of compulsion, as we were un-
armed. This we boldly asserted, as the brace of pistols I
had with me was never produced. Besides, we recalled to
his memory that on our way thither one of the guides who
had died, had replenished our bardak with water from
a well near Amabdi.-This proved that we had gone
amicably together.
The Cacheff, who continued to treat us haughtily in
public, commanded the Arab to explain the means by
which the infidels (who he confessed were without arms)
had killed his companions. He replied, by magic, for he
had seen me burning something on our first entrance into
the great chamber. This was the bat I had accidentally
scorched. Our cause now began to wear a better com-
plexion part of the crowd, who treated the idea of magic
with contempt, believed us innocent, and the rest probably
dreaded the imaginary powers with which we had been in-
vested. Emboldened by this change of sentiment in our
favour, our dragoman assumed a lofty tone, and peremp-
torily insisted on our being sent, together with our two ac-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
123
cusers and the Shekh of Amabdi, to Siout to Ibrahim Bey,
the son of the Pacha of Cairo, and the Governor of Upper
Egypt. The reputation of this man for cruelty was so
great, that his very name excited terror in the assembly.
It was now our turn to threaten, and we talked of the
alliance of our King with the Pacha of Cairo, and the con-
sequence of ill-treating any one protected by his firman.
This had its effect, and the Cacheff having consulted for
some time with the Shekh, suggested an accommodation
by money. This proposal we at first affected to reject with
disdain, as it would in some manner be an acknowledge-
ment of our guilt, though we were secretly anxious to ter-
minate the affair at any rate. Our dragoman was sent to
negociate with the Cacheff, and it was finally agreed we
should pay twelve piastres or two Spanish dollars to each
of the women, and the same sum we offered as a present to
the Shekh of the village. All animosity seemed now to
have ceased, and we were permitted quietly to return to
our vessel, and continue our voyage.
At Miniet, we were met by our courier, with intelligence
of a sufficiently alarming nature as to the state of health in
the country through which we had to pass; though it would
be difficult to express the joy and enthusiasm we experienc-
ed at the receipt of the important tidings of which he was
also the bearer, and by which we felt ourselves once more
connected with the politics and interests of Europe.
R 2
124
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
The events of the war against the Wahabees had been
hitherto our chief subject of conversation; the inquiry of
the day was, whether the Pacha had yet taken possession
of Mecca, and the only news by which our curiosity had
been gratified, amounted to the vague reply,
"that it was
rumoured he had gained a victory." This dearth of intel-
ligence had continued so long, that when the Arab on his
return from Cairo put into our hands (together with some
private letters) several Gazettes containing the details of
the hasty retreat of Buonaparte from Moscow, and the
entire overthrow of his mighty expedition against Russia,
we experienced a delight which none but a traveller can
understand and fully appreciate.
It was after an interval of several months, during which
we had no information of the events of that most important
period, that the sudden and unexpected intelligence of the
signal change in the fortunes of the most formidable enemy
of our country reached us at a small town in the interior
of Egypt, distant more than a hundred miles from Cairo,
and where we found ourselves surrounded by people who
felt no interest whatever in the mighty reverses which con-
vulsed and changed the face of Europe.
M. Aziz, the English agent at Cairo, to whom we
were indebted for these interesting papers, informed us
that, in consequence of a number of suspicious casualties,
the Franks in that city had thought it prudent to take cer-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
125
tain precautions in their intercourse with the rest of the
inhabitants, and were daily in fear of seeing the plague
declare itself in a more formidable and decided character.
He added, it had already carried off a great part of the
population of Alexandria and Rosetta; in short, his intelli-
gence was upon the whole of so discouraging a complexion,
that we resolved to remain for some time at Miniet. In
Upper Egypt, we were induced to hope, the heat of the
approaching summer would secure us from the attacks of
the contagion.
Having come to this decision, we applied to the Gover-
nor of the town to appoint us a house for our residence,
and the one allotted us, when furnished with the baggage
from our boat, might have some pretension to be called
decent and comfortable. We dismissed our Reis and crew,
and began to consider how we should pass our time, and
by what schemes of amusement we might contrive to lessen
the dull monotony of our life. When the antiquities.
which may exist in the neighbourhood have been examined,
and any local interest ceases to amuse, nothing perhaps
can be more melancholy than the prospect of a long resi-
dence in a Turkish town; where the absolute want of
books, the frivolous conversation and excessive ignorance
of the natives, the daily smoking of tobacco and drinking
of coffee, form the chief features of the torpid and listless
existence to which a stranger is condemned.
126
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
With a view to break this tiresome uniformity, we hired
horses, and engaged an old Mameluke to teach us their
method of riding, and the use of the Djeritt; this formed
our morning's employment.
In the evening we generally went to the house of the
Governor, and at night were amused by the exhibition of
the Almès.* Occasional visits to the Turkish bath, and
some shooting expeditions in the neighbourhood of the
town, filled up the remainder of our time.
During our residence here of nearly a month, we had an
opportunity of observing the method practised by the na-
tives, when they are attacked by the ophthalmia of the
country, and which is simply as follows. When an Arab
feels the first approach of the symptoms of inflammation,
he binds a handkerchief round his eyes as tightly as pos-
*The fantastical dresses of these ministers of pleasure, whose charms are
scarcely concealed by the short gown and loose shawl which they throw over
their persons, the voluptuous and not ungraceful attitudes with which they com-
mence their dances, degenerating at last into movements not strictly decorous,
and accompanied, as they are, by the sound of the castanettes, brought to our
recollection similar exhibitions we had witnessed in Spain, in which the same
lascivious character is observable, particularly in the Bolero, and is doubtless to
be attributed to the remains of Eastern manners and temperament left by the
Moorish conquerors of that country.
The exhibitions of the Almès, in which they alternately dance, sing, and play
on the rude instruments of the country, form the chief amusement of Egypt;
and they are in great request amongst the Turks, by whom they are frequently
invited to remove the gloom of the interior of the harem, and dissipate the ennui
of a favourite mistress.
A
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
127
sible, and endeavours to exclude the light and air with
the greatest caution. At the end of three days and nights,
the bandage is removed, and frequent bathing with cold
water is afterwards employed to complete the cure.
My servant suffered considerably from an attack of the
ophthalmia, and found great relief from a small quantity
of excessively fine powdered sugar being introduced every
night between the eyelids, a practice recommended to him
by a Greek doctor, whom he had consulted at Siout.
In his case the inflammation was excessive, and he
compared the great pain he suffered to the pungent sensa-
tion occasioned by the eyes being filled with the smoke of
burning wood. As I have mentioned one of the diseases
of Egypt, I may add that the symptoms of syphilis are
in this country extremely mild, and are generally cured
by the simple use of the warm bath, and an attention to
cleanliness, which is not at other times so strictly observed
by the natives.
We lived well, and had abundance of fish, particularly
a species called in the country Bûlti, the Labrus Niloticus,
which somewhat resembles the white trout, and occasion-
ally weighs fifty pounds. The events of one day resembled
those of the preceding, and unless it was the alarm of an at-
tack made on a neighbouring village which was under the
protection of the Governor of Miniet, by a party of hostile
Bedouins, nothing occurred to enliven the tedium of our
128
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
residence. A party of horsemen, whom we met in our even-
ing's walk galloping in the most disorderly manner from the
gate of the town, soon put to flight the invaders, who
sought their safety in a speedy retreat into the Desert.
On another occasion we had an opportunity of observing
more nearly some individuals of the singular race of Be-
douin Arabs, who came on a mission to Miniet.
We were smoking one evening with the Cacheff in his
chiosk, when three Bedouin Arabs, the first we had ever
seen, entered with an air of freedom and independence that
offered a striking contrast to the servile manner of the beys
and other usual visitors of the Cacheff. In our interviews
with him, being Franks and recommended by the firman of
the Pacha, we were always invited to sit, but the Cacheff
generally required his guests to stand in his presence.
The Bedouins (who wore white turbans and the bour-
nous, were very handsome, and of fine commanding per-
sons) advanced without hesitation, and after the usual
salutation, Salem Alicum, sat down. They entered with
great warmth upon the subject of their present visit, which
was to make a formal complaint against the soldiers of the
Cacheff, who, under the pretence of levying contributions,
had carried off some of their mares. They were treated
with the greatest attention, and instant redress was pro-
mised them. We learned afterwards that they belonged to
a tribe of Bedouins who were in alliance with the Govern-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
129
ment of Egypt, and that it is the policy of the present
Pacha to endeavour to gain over as many of these wander-
ing robbers as possible, and to fix them in permanent resi-
dences. Every effort is used to induce them to change
their mode of life, and to listen to the overtures of the
Pacha, who, in the event of success, will himself become
the only licensed plunderer of the country.
While waiting at Miniet, we were astonished to find in
the person of a soldier of one of the seven Beys attached
to the Cacheff, a Scotchman who had been taken prisoner
at the battle of Rosetta. Having been about seven years
in the country, he had nearly forgotten his own language,
and seemed perfectly reconciled to his situation. He had
been circumcised, and was in every respect a complete
Mussulman. We had frequent conversations with him,
and proposed to pay his ransom and bring him with us to
England. At one time his master had agreed to give him
his liberty for 2000 piastres; but a few days previous to our
departure we were informed the Bey had married him to
one of the women belonging to his harem, and we heard
no more of him. He had never shewn much anxiety about
obtaining his liberty, and after the question had been talked
of, his master seemed jealous of his interviews with us. His
name was Donald Donald, and he was a native of Inverness.
When our patience was nearly exhausted, our second
courier returned from Cairo, where we had sent him soon
S
130
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
after our arrival at Miniet, to bring us farther particulars
of the state of the plague. He had performed the journey
on foot, a distance of about 200 miles, and thought him-
self well rewarded by a present of 20 piastres. According
to the advices he brought us, the state of Cairo continued
pretty much the same as it had been a month before, with
occasional demonstrations of the plague; but as we were
informed that the Franks had not yet been induced to shut
themselves up, we resolved to recommence our journey,
and left Miniet on the 1st of May.
To our great disappointment, however, we found, on our
arrival at Old Cairo, that the plague had declared itself in
that city; that all the Franks had shut themselves up; and
that even the Pacha had removed to Gizeh, with which
place he would allow no communication.* So strict were
his orders, that any boat attempting to pass on the western
side of the Nile, and consequently near his residence, was
fired upon.
The other side of the river was so shallow as
not to be navigable; there was therefore at this point a
complete interruption of all intercourse between the Delta
and Upper Egypt. The Pacha had also established a
quarantine of ten days at Rosetta, and as this is the first
* Gizeh, nearly opposite Old Cairo, or Misr el Attiké, was originally forti-
fied by Ismael Bey. A palace and foundry were there in the time of the Mame-
lukes—the walls of the town are of great extent, ten feet high, and three feet thick :
-the palace is in the southern quarter of Gizeh, close to the water.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
131
instance with which I am acquainted of the use of precau-
tions against the plague by a Turkish authority, it may be
considered an important step towards civilization. It was
from early habits that the Pacha had become familiar with
the customs of European policy, and his active and enter-
prizing mind adopted its improvements without any regard
to the prejudices and superstitions of his own Mahometan
faith.*
In the difficult circumstances in which we now found our-
selves from this unexpected state of things, we wrote to M.
Rosetti, the Austrian Consul at Cairo, for permission to
occupy some rooms in a house belonging to him at Boulac.
With this request he had the kindness to comply, and we
were in many other respects greatly indebted to him for
civilities which in our situation were invaluable.
We quitted our boat at Old Cairo, placed our effects on
the backs of camels, and walked on foot to Boulac, a dis-
tance of about three miles. By this means, we avoided
as much as possible all contact with the people about us, a
precaution which the sight of the numerous funerals
we met in the streets convinced us of the absolute ne-
cessity of observing. We took possession of the house
* Owing to the measures adopted by the Pacha, the plague, which shewed
itself in February at Alexandria, did not make its appearance in Cairo before the
commencement of the hot weather. So much of its violence was abated at this
period, that the greatest mortality we heard of in that city, where the population
is estimated at nearly 400,000, did not exceed fifty a day.
$ 2
132
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
of M. Rosetti, and gave ourselves up for a week to the
disheartening prospect of a protracted imprisonment. Ou
only amusement consisted in daily communications with
M. Aziz, at Cairo, from whom we at length learned, to our
great satisfaction, that our friends the English officers, whom
we had left in that city on our departure for Upper Egypt,
were still at Rosetta, with part of the horses they had pur-
chased for the use of our army in Spain.
It will be recollected that on our first landing at Alex-
andria we had accompanied these gentlemen to Cairo,
where they went to treat with the Pacha about the object
of their mission. Before their arrival a promise had been
made to the British Government of permission to purchase
an unlimited number of horses, but the French Consul
having received about that time an account of the suc-
cesses of Buonaparte in Russia, and the taking of Moscow,
had threatened the Pacha with the displeasure of his
master in case he should fulfil his engagements with the
English.
The spirited conduct of Major Vincenzo Taberna, the
Secretary of our Resident, Colonel Missett, who reproached
the Pacha with his want of good faith and wavering po-
licy, succeeded at length in procuring for the British
officers a renewal of the permission to buy at first 100,
and
afterwards 300 horses. The average price was 75 dollars,
they were certainly very fine animals, and might be esti-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
133
mated in England at 50l. a piece. About a hundred had
been carried off in the early part of the month of May,
but we found, on our arrival at Rosetta, the remainder en-
camped in a grove of date trees, feeding on barsim, a sort
of lucerne, at the rate of a piastre a day per horse.
In this situation they remained for some months, waiting
the arrival of transports to convey them to Sicily or Spain,
that were daily expected, but which, as we were told at
Malta, where we touched in the September following,
had not even then sailed for that purpose. By this un-
seasonable detention at Rosetta, and afterwards at Alex-
andria, so much was added to their original price,
that it would perhaps have been cheaper to have bought
them in England. They were however ultimately brought
off, and I have since learned, that having joined the
army at Alicant about the time of the precipitate retreat,
their throats were cut before they had been once exposed
to the enemy's fire.
The pleasure of again meeting with the society of our
countrymen was not to be resisted, and we instantly sent
off a courier to Rosetta, to request permission to join their
party, no very inconsiderable favour, considering the danger
of admitting so many suspected people into their estab-
lishment.
A favourable answer to our proposal once more induced
us to move our quarters, and again incur the danger of a
passage down the river, from the risk of the almost una-
134
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
44
voidable intercourse we must have with the crew of our
boat, whose religion taught them to despise every measure
of precaution, and who silenced all remonstrances by the
consolatory reply, "Chulo men Allah,"
“Chulo men Allah," "Every thing comes
from God."
On the second morning after our departure from Cairo,
we were welcomed by our countrymen at Rosetta with all
the friendly attention which a due regard to their own
safety would permit, and though for the first few days we
were placed in a state of probation, they allotted us apart-
ments in their own house, and we again felt ourselves
restored to the comforts of a quiet establishment.
up
For the first ten days we avoided as much as possible all
intercourse with the inhabitants of the town, but did not
confine ourselves entirely to the house, resolving to shut
ourselves when the number of deaths should amount
to twenty daily. That period soon arrived, and the
contagion continued to spread, though the rising of the
Nile, and St. John's day, about which time the symp-
toms of the plague are usually expected to abate, were fast
approaching.
As soon as we had taken our resolution, and our doors
were closed, Major Vincenzo Taberna, who had frequently
witnessed the ravages of this formidable disease, and who
was consequently quite au fuit at the necessary pre-
cautions, took upon himself the management of our
voluntary confinement.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
135
The house we occupied had double doors, and in the
space between them we placed two very large jars filled
with water, which was changed once in the 24 hours; and
having provided ourselves also with a fumigating box, to
receive all our letters, we hired an Arab for a piastre a day,
to station himself every morning under our windows,
receive our orders, and purchase our provisions.
With respect to our bread, we took the precaution of
never touching it till it was cool, as it is ascertained that in
that state it does not communicate the plague. Even
letters which have been fumigated must be allowed to cool
before they are touched.
Our meat, whether beef or fowls, the latter being pre-
viously plucked, was all thrown into the water jars, from
which, after a certain interval, it was cautiously taken out
by one of our servants, who opened the inner door for the
purpose. In this manner we lived for several weeks, wit-
nessing the most distressing sights of death and disease
under our windows, from which we had frequent oppor-
tunities of observing attacks of the plague, as it first seized
upon its unfortunate victims. As far as we could judge
from their gestures, they appeared to suffer most violent
pains in the head, and were at the same time seized with
violent retchings, and black vomiting.
We lost three of the Arabs, whom we had engaged to
act as our purveyors in the town. When the mortality was
136
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
at its height, the numbers who died daily amounted to
about eighty.
It was impossible, however, to include in our measures
of safety the few English soldiers who were employed,
together with about 50 Arabs, in looking after the horses
piqueted in the camp without the town; but the judi-
cious directions of their officers, and the ready obedience
of the men in avoiding every occasion of touching either
the native servants, several of whom died, or the horses of
which they had the immediate care, saved them from any
infection.
The exemption of the British soldiers from the attacks of
the disease is an additional instance in support of the
opinion that the plague is only to be communicated by
actual contact, for they were exposed to the same atmo-
sphere, and to the action of the same general causes, aș
the less fortunate natives who, like themselves, were em-
ployed in the care of the horses.
At one time more than 2000 of the population of Rosetta
were said to be ill of the plague, of whom the greatest
number did not confine themselves to their houses, but
were seen walking about, to the great danger of the rest of
the inhabitants. The Arabs and Turks, having no fear of the
contagion, are in consequence always ready to lend every
assistance to their sick friends, and it is perhaps partly to be
attributed to this cause that a greater number of Mahome-
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
137
tans recover than Europeans, the latter being generally
deserted by their countrymen. The fearlessness of danger
and humane attentions of the natives occasion, however, a
great spreading of the contagion, to which the custom that
prevails amongst them, for the nearest relation to wear the
clothes of the deceased, in the last duties paid to his
memory, does not a little contribute.
We heard of no remedy for the plague: when the swellings
broke, sea bathing was supposed to be very beneficial,
but after that event the patients generally recovered with-
out any remedy.
We found the opinion that the disease ceases on the 24th
June, St. John's day, prevalent among the Franks as well
as the natives of the country.
The Europeans settled at Cairo and Alexandria would
not open their houses before that time, when they began
to have cautious communication with their neighbours.
This period, however, which had been so eagerly antici-
pated, and whose approach was hailed by the lighting of
several bonfires in different parts of the town, did not on
this occasion answer the general expectation, but on the
contrary was marked by an unusual mortality, as the deaths
on that day exceeded a hundred, a number considerably
beyond the usual average.
Much beneficial effect is also attributed to the Nokta,
or rising of the Nile, which begins on the 18th June. Pre-
T
138
JOURNEY IN EGYYT, &c.
<
vious to this month the Kamsin, or Wind of the Desert,
which commences generally on Easter Monday, and con-
tinues to blow for fifty days, together with the stagnant
state of the waters of the Nile, are supposed to occasion the
unhealthiness generally observed to prevail at that season.
So confirmed is this idea that the Arabs are in the habit of
congratulating one another at the end of the Kamsin, on
having escaped its baneful effects.
The two or three months previous to the Summer sol-
stice are reputed so unhealthy, that the plague is said to
exist in Cairo always during that period, at which time
also the small-pox is very fatal.
When the natives are seized with the first symptoms of
the plague, they wrap themselves up in their cloaks, and
endeavour to promote perspiration by drinking large quan-
tities of warm water. In a short time, swellings break out
in the groin and under the arms, and if they are alive
thirty-six hours after the first seizure, they generally re-
cover. We saw a Turk at Alexandria who had suffered
several attacks of the plague, and he informed us, that as
soon as he was able to move, he crawled to the sea side, in
which he constantly bathed.
Neither iron nor wood convey the infection, though
money is supposed to do so, a circumstance perhaps to be
attributed to the custom that prevails amongst the natives
of carrying it in a small bag worn close to the skin. In this
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
139
situation it is certainly more likely to imbibe the matter of
contagion secreted on the surface of the body; but what-
ever may be the cause, we always took the precaution to
allow our money to remain in the water at least half an
hour before we touched it.
Such was the plan of life we adopted; and the success
of our measures of precaution abundantly proves the utility
and sufficiency of the usual quarantine regulations estab-
lished in the countries of the Mediterranean, which are
frequently visited by the calamities of the plague. But on
our return to England, it was impossible not to smile at
the insufficiency, not to say absurdity, of the system
adopted in this country. As we passed up the Channel,
we were visited by the officers of the Board of Health,
and one of them coming alongside our vessel, presented
the captain with a Bible, requesting him to swear to the
truth of the answers he should make to his several ques-
tions. It was in vain we represented to him, that his
taking the book again from our hands would be the surest
means of communicating to him whatever infection we
might ourselves be labouring under; he persisted in de-
manding our compliance with a form which could not be
dispensed with, and added, with an air of triumph, that
in the discharge of his duty, he had himself been on board
several plague ships, with impunity. On the same occa-
T 2
140
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &C.
sion, another officer produced a number of queries, to
which the captain of our vessel was required to give written
answers, and when told nothing was so infectious as paper,
he contented himself with replying, that the orders of the
Privy Council were peremptory, and must be obeyed.
Our imprisonment at Rosetta had now continued six
weeks, when to our great satisfaction we heard of the arri-
val of a convoy from Malta at Alexandria. We instantly
wrote to our friend Colonel Missett, who in his reply
advised us to come over to Alexandria, and endeavour to
procure a passage on board one of the vessels.
We did not venture to go by land, the inhabitants of the
village of Etko, through which we must have passed,
having been nearly all carried off by the plague; but we
hired a boat, and resolved to cross the Boghaze, or bar of
the Nile.
The boats employed in the trade between Alexandria
and Rosetta are built extremely strong, in order to be
enabled to encounter the tremendous surf through which
they have to pass at the mouth of the river. So formidable
indeed is this bar, that an English man of war's boat would
never live in the sea which constantly breaks over it; but
in one of the country boats we felt a degree of confidence
which, strengthened by the eager desire to escape from
this infected country, made us think lightly of the danger
of the passage.
+
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
141
We embarked at Rosetta in the evening, and early the
next morning, having engaged the pilot who is constantly
employed in observing the shifting of the sand banks at the
mouth of the Nile, we rushed into the most tremendous
surf we had ever witnessed. There was little or no wind,
and the sea was perfectly calm, but the enormous waves
which broke over the bar with the most rapid succession,
at one moment elevating us to an amazing height, to be
instantly precipitated by a fall nearly perpendicular into
the abyss below, and the constant danger of striking the
bottom, an accident which is always followed by the
swamping of the boat and the almost certain loss of every
soul on board, rendered our situation for a quarter of an
hour (during which we were struggling over the Boghaze)
as alarming and perilous as the imagination can well
conceive.
In the winter months, many boats are wrecked and
many lives lost in the passage of this formidable bar, and
it is said that the embouchure at Damietta is equally
dangerous.
When we reached the open sea, we found ourselves in
still water, and in about three hours, moving along the coast
under easy sail, arrived at Alexandria.
Instead of the bustle of a sea-port, and the crowded
streets through which we had to make our way on our first
landing here, the desolation that was now observable in
142
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
every part of the town bespoke the havock committed by
the plague during our absence. It was true, the dead
bodies, which had been lying a few weeks before in heaps
of thirty or forty together, were in a great measure re-
moved from the streets, but the air of melancholy gran-
deur that always characterizes the remains of an ancient
city was now greatly heightened by the striking appear-
ance of its recent depopulation.
After a little negociation, as to the propriety of admitting
us on board, we were kindly received by the captain of
the brig of war, which had convoyed the transports from
Malta, and our only remaining difficulty was to contrive
the means of bringing off the Nubian slave who had been
presented to me by Hassan Cacheff, at Dehr.
As the exportation of negroes from Egypt is strictly for-
bidden, it required some caution to elude the jealous vigi-
lance of the Turkish government; but we were at length
enabled to succeed, by watching the opportunity when the
Mahometans, after the performance of their mid-day de-
votions, are in the habit of taking their siesta. At this
hour, when the soldiers and officers of the custom-house
were asleep, my servant walked with the boy into the de-
sert to the west of the town, and a boat from our ship
conveyed them on board, without the least suspicion or
interruption.
JOURNEY IN EGYPT, &c.
143
The convoy was employed a fortnight in shipping part
of the corn that had been purchased from the Pacha, at
the expiration of which time the north-westerly winds
set in, and we had a long passage of a month to Malta.
An English packet landed us in England in November,
1813.
APPENDIX.
ΕΤ
ITINERARY THROUGH SYRIA,
BY
SHEKH IBRAHIM.
This journey we were prevented from undertaking by the plague, which con-
tinued to exercise its ravages in Syria with unabated fury, on our return from
Upper Egypt.
VOYAGE
OYAGE from Damietta to Jaffa, where an English agent
resides.
From hence two days' journey to Jerusalem. The pos-
sibility of visiting the Dead Sea depends upon the good un-
derstanding existing between the Bedouin tribe of Mesayd
and the Governor of Jerusalem. The priests of Terra Santa,
in whose convent travellers usually take up their lodgings,
expect for their trouble and hospitality a present in money.
The dragomen of the convent are as much as possible to
be kept at a distance.
The mountainous country about El Khalyl (Hebron), at
the distance of eight hours from Jerusalem, is very little
known to European travellers.
U 2
148
APPENDIX.
From Jerusalem there are four long days' journey to
Acre.
I should advise you to go by Nabloos (Sichem) and
Nazareth, a route which will make it five days' journey.
The mountains of Nabloos, inhabited by a bold and inde-
pendent race of Arabs, are little frequented by travellers,
but the road is safe, except in the immediate neighbour-
hood of Jerusalem.
M. Pasqual Malegamba is the English agent at Acre.
The Ex-Spanish Consul, M. Catafago, is a man of some
influence, well versed in all the politics of the country,
and very civil to English travellers. It will be necessary
to obtain a passport from the Pacha, in order to travel
with comfort and security through his territory.
From Acre by Tyre and Seyda to Beyroot is a journey
of three days.
Letters of introduction to the principal persons in these
towns may easily be procured at Acre.
From Beyroot up the southern ridge of Mount
Libanus to Deyr el Kamar, distant eight hours, where is
the residence of the Emeer Besheer, the prince of the
Druzes, who receives English travellers well, and generally
assigns them apartments in his own palace. His servants,
however, expect to receive liberal presents.
From Deyr el Kamar across the mountain to Zable,
from ten to twelve hours' journey; and from thence in six
APPENDIX.
149
hours, by the road which lies along the valley of El
Bekaa, or Colesyria, you arrive at Baalbek.
It will be advisable to be accompanied on your way
from Deyr el Kamar as far as Damascus, by a horseman
of the Prince Besheer, in which case it will not be neces-
sary to make any present to the Governor of Baalbek, who
otherwise will expect a telescope or something of the sort,
to gratify his avarice and keep him in good humour.
With respect to making presents to Turkish Governors,
I should advise you, as a general rule, to give them only
when they are asked for, and to resist as much as possible
all such demands, which after all are looked upon rather
as tribute than as tokens of friendship; and the compliance
of a traveller is always used as a precedent to extort the
same present from those who may come after him.
From Baalbek to Damascus the distance is two days'
journey, or about sixty miles. Travelling across the
Antilibanus is perfectly safe; and beyond the village of
Zebdany, where the caravans always stop, in the valley
which is watered by the river Barrada, are several ancient
sepulchral caves, which it would be curious to examine.
Damascus.-You will take up your lodgings in the
convent of Terra Santa. An old and very respectable
French physician, Dr. Chabaçeau, is the only Frank es-
tablished at Damascus, and you will experience great
civility from the Greek Patriarch. The two brothers
150
APPENDIX.
Seyda, rich Greek merchants, are also very polite and
serviceable people. In
In your walks about the town, it will
be prudent to be accompanied by a guide from the
seraglio, as the populace at Damascus is less civilized and
more disposed to insult Europeans than in any other city
in the East.
The usual caravan road from Damascus to Aleppo by
Nebk, Hassia, Homs, and Hamah, traverses a barren
country devoid of almost every object of curiosity; I
should therefore advise you to take a more western route
by Sidnaya, where is a fine Greek convent, and by the
villages of Maloula and Tekla and the lake El Baheyra,
in the course of which journey, particularly near the latter
place, some remains of Grecian antiquity and some inscrip-
tions are to be found.
This route would make it a journey of six days from
Damascus to Homs.-Letters of recommendation from the
Greek Patriarch, and a guard of two armed peasants from
Maloula to Homs, ensure the traveller's comfort and
safety.
At Homs, the public secretary, Skander, is looked upon
as a friend of English travellers. It will be necessary to
have a general passport from the Pacha of Damascus to
serve in case of need, in the towns between that city and
Aleppo; and a particular recommendation to the Shekh of
APPENDIX.
151
Tedmor and the Mutsellim of Homs will facilitate your
journey through the Desert to Palmyra.
If the Desert is in a state of peace, a Bedouin guide of
the tribe of Mehana Ibu Fadhel may easily be found to
conduct you to Tedmor; but I should advise you to leave
every thing of value at Homs, previous to your setting out.
A small present to the Shekh of Tedmor, in whose house
travellers generally alight, can scarcely be dispensed with.
The source called Ay Abounel Fares, where the aque-
duct begins, about three hours distant from the ruins of
Palmyra, has not been visited by Wood and Dawkins.
The journey from Homs to Tedmor will occupy you
three days.
From Homs twelve hours to Hamah. You will lodge
at the house of Selym Ibu Keblan, one of the public
secretaries, a very amiable man, and who is well known
to all English travellers.
From Hamah the great road leads by Marra to Aleppo,
four days distant: but a less frequented and much more
interesting route is by Kalat Sadjar, and from thence along
the beautiful valley of the Orontes, to Djesser Shogher,
passing by Kalat el Medyk, which is probably Apamea.
In the valley of the Orontes are the remains of a Roman
causeway.
From Hamah to Djesser Shogher three days. From
thence to Edlip one day, and from Edlip to Aleppo a day
152
APPENDIX.
and a half. A letter of recommendation for the rebel
Governor of Djesser, who is master of the valley of the
Orontes, must be procured. Mr. Barker, of Aleppo, is
upon good terms with him.
Travellers in Syria are seldom exposed to sleep out in
the open air, unless they choose it themselves, as public
Câns are frequently met with, and in want of them, it is
always easy to hire for the night some private rooms in the
house of a peasant.
ACCOUNT
OF SOME
FRAGMENTS OF THEBAIC MANUSCRIPTS
ON LEATHER,
PURCHASED BY THE AUTHOR AT THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTINE.*
THESE manuscripts consist entirely of legal instruments, deeds,
and conveyances of different kinds of property: they are written
on brown leather, apparently sheep skins and calf skins, dressed in
the same manner as that which is used for binding books. The ink
is chalybeate, and has corroded the substance of the leather, so that
where the letters are tolerably entire, a copy of them may in general
be obtained by rubbing a nutmeg over a piece of paper laid on
them; but the camera lucida affords a more convenient mode of
making a fac simile, and the instrument seems sometimes even to
assist in enabling the eye to connect the imperfect traces of the
letters, the nature of the light in which it is employed being favour-
able for the purpose. In other cases moistening, or rather wetting
the leather with rectified spirits, renders some characters legible
which are invisible while they remain dry, especially such as are
written on the outside of the skin: thus, the fragment marked P is
quite black throughout the surface, but by means of this applica-
tion it exhibits some letters very distinctly. The prussiate of
potass generally darkens the remaining traces of the letters, but
* These observations are from the able pen of a friend, who has deeply studied the
various branches of the antiquities of Egypt.
X
154
APPENDIX.
without making them more distinct; and it does not render them
visible where they could not be perceived without it. The exact
date of these deeds cannot be very easily assigned, nor can we
readily determine who was the " King John" mentioned in several
of them; it may, however, be conjectured that some of the Chris-
tians of Egypt acknowledged among themselves the authority of
the Eastern emperors, and that the date may be referred to the 14th
or 15th century at the latest: nor is it impossible that the " Phi-
lochr. King John" may have been the Emperor John Zimisces, who
is recorded to have introduced the image of Christ on his coins ;
but it must be confessed that this circumstance affords but a very
slight argument for considering the manuscripts as belonging to
the 10th century.
The language is the Thebaic dialect of the Egyptian, which was
used by the inhabitants of Upper Egypt: it differs from the Coptic
somewhat more than any two dialects of Greek differ from each
other, or as much as the Italian and Spanish, or the Dutch and
German. This dialect is remarkable for the frequent occurrence of
Greek words, and in some of these deeds the introductory phrases
appear
to be Greek. The district of CYRSHE is mentioned under
the denomination TOSH, the Coptic THOSH, which was more
anciently applied to the provinces or nomes, and this name might
be added to those which are found in Mr. Champollion's work;
but we are scarcely authorised to conclude from these deeds that it
was of
very high antiquity. The sense of those parts of the frag-
ments, which remain most legible, is nearly as follows: but a per-
son much accustomed to the study of Thebaic manuscripts would
probably be able to discover the true reading of many other pas-
sages; and even, without this advantage, something more might
APPENDIX.
155
certainly be deciphered, if the importance of the subject were such
as to justify the degree of labour that would be required for the
investigation.
A
..
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost.. on the 27th of Choeak [December]; I The . . . of . . . .
of the late Constant . . . of the late Sesina . . . Joseph
Joseph . . Joseph
Pneif the son of the late Stephanis, the daughter of the late Amana.
Since I do not wish for myself and .
and the nineteen . . .
by measure.. I have given thee these things to the fourteen.
as a property to descend to thy sons and daughters. . . to the son
of thy daughter, I have given it fully, that thou mayst take it into
thy hands without reserve, thou art the lord and master of the pro-
perty God the Almighty and our Protector . . .
shall pre-
serve it to thee with his mighty power. . .
daughters or . . . and the Holy Ghost . . . all Christians
the sons of thy sons . I recognise.
whether sons or
. to
Presbyter . . I ..
I . . . . + I ...
B
In the name of the Kingdom. In the first year of our most
Christian King the religious John,
Governor. Abbot Metania
George.. Lieutenant
honourable Marcus . . of
Cyrshe. In the spirit of God all powerful . . . I Menanta the
daughter of Mary of Cyrshe. . . subscribe and agree
son and Menanta his wife . . . five datefields [or palm fields]
the datefield of the
wife, as a pledge.
our
are given to Menanta his
our sons
our datefield . .
our sons . . the neigh-
x 2
156
APPENDIX.
bouring datefield of the honourable .
give. . . all. . . . Holy...
Endorsement.
.
wife Menanta . . .
I
Witness ... Kingdom . . . I . . . Witness.
C
In the name of the Kingdom of our most Christian King the
religious John,
George Lieutenant Governor
Abbot Metania . . . Governor . . . of the country.
water .
..
•
. all.
Hexarch
. . I Cala
.
of the district Cyrshe.. the spirit of God all just .
the daughter. of Cyrshe. . . and Menanta his wife . I
sell.. datefield . . administration . . the datefield of Mena our
measure and all that belongs to it. . in full
property to her . . . all the high . . all remote . according to
every agreement between them. . . which arose from the nego-
ciation respecting the datefield which is alienated. . The Father
and the Son and the Holy Ghost . . .
Endorsement.
And gave the price a thousand and . . .
In order to bear witness. . Mary. . + I Cyshk the
+ I Joachim the son I John give . . . I
gol..
daughter.
Chalch.
Simio Witness.
I Macari... Witness. I Seisimmi . . . Witness.
Joanno Aria
D. Endorsement.
The Will [AIA@HKH] of Eudoxia . . . and Mary and Atha-
nasia.
E
In the name of . . . King.. Lieutenant Governor.
Endorsement. In the name of God . . . I John . . .
.
APPENDIX.
157
F
Witness
. Witness.
In the name of . . . F.,
Endorsement. I . . a man of .
G. Endorsement.
. I Severus..
H, I. Endorsement.
I Isou the son of Jacob Witness.
K
+ In... The Holy Ghost . . .
. I Mary.
L
And the late Aeof.
M
The son and the H.
1
Though Choeak is most naturally translated December, it must
be remembered that the Egyptian months must have gone through
every season of the year in about fifteen centuries, and of course
that none of them could answer uniformly to any months of calen-
dars that were differently regulated.
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