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AUTHOR: 
 
 LONDONDERRY, 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
 TOUR IN THE NORTH... 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DA TE : 
 
 1838 
 
Master Negative # 
 
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 ^ 
 
 
 I 
 
 Bnidbury luid Bvaju, Priniara, Whit«friftr«. 
 
L 
 f 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF A 
 
 TOUR IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE 
 
 IN 1836—1837. 
 
 J 
 
 BY 
 
 THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 
 ??ublisf)tr in ©ttinats to ^tx iRajestg. 
 
 1838. 
 
■ffr 
 
 TO 
 
 SIR ROBERT PEEL, BART M. P. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 riUNTED IJY IBOTSOX AND PALMER, 
 SAVOY- STREET, STKAXD. 
 
 
 « 
 
 oo 
 
 Sir, 
 
 During your short administration of 1834, you were 
 so kind as to recommend me to his Majesty King- 
 William the Fourtli, to fill the high appointment of 
 Ambassador to the Court of St. Petersburgh. The 
 violence of party spirit, and (I think) an ungenerous 
 feeling towards myself, opposed the nomination. 
 Though you indignantly resisted so unusual an attack 
 on the King's prerogative, nor would permit me, after 
 a long life of public services, (frequently acknowledged 
 by parliament,) to be put aside ; yet I conceived it was 
 my duty to relieve you at once from any possible em- 
 barrassment, by tendering my resignation. I derived. 
 Sir, the following year, the highest gratification in 
 visiting, as a private individual, those foreign courts 
 and that sovereign with whom (by your favour) I was 
 to have been oflScially connected. 
 
 The extraordinary attention I received, in 1836 and 
 1837, at the hands of the Emperor of Russia, — my 
 
 b 2 
 
 113324 
 
 I > 
 
 CD 
 

 IV 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 ,, I 
 
 marked reception in Sweden by the present King, 
 with whom, in 1813 and 1814, I transacted many 
 important military and diplomatic duties, — the re- 
 newed partiality so peculiarly manifested towards me 
 by the King of Prussia, and by my old friends in his 
 brave army, — appear to me the best proof that can 
 remain on record, that your flattering nomination had 
 not been injudiciously made. 
 
 In my tour in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, 
 Russia, and Prussia, I committed such remarks to 
 paper as those countries in their present state offered 
 to my imagination. They are written without ar- 
 rangement, and merely as notes of events as they 
 happened, of sights in tlie order I saw them, and of 
 reflections which they suggested. 
 
 To commemorate your great kindness, and as a 
 proof of the value I attach to your good opinion, I 
 venture to dedicate my hastily-written volume to you. 
 Although it may add little to the ornament of a 
 library, on the shelves of which are proudly ranged 
 a thousand grateful addresses, bearing a million of 
 British signatures ; yet. Sir, as the offering of a sol- 
 dier, and (may I add) a friend, I hope it will not be 
 entirely without value in your book-case. 
 
 I remain ever 
 
 Your sincerely obliged, 
 
 VANE LONDONDERRY. 
 
 Holdemesse Houses 
 August, 1838. 
 
 \ 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Conscious of my own deficiencies as an author, I am 
 aware tliat it may be asked, Why I appear before the 
 public in that character ? 
 
 On my return from Spain at the conclusion of the 
 war, and before the publication of Colonel Napier's 
 more elaborate History of the Peninsular Campaigns, 
 it occurred to me that fresh and vivid recollections 
 of the scenes I had been engaged in might perhaps be 
 useful to my brother soldiers, and not without interest 
 to the public at large. 
 
 With these views I gave to the world my short 
 Narrative of the War in Spain. I am unaffectedly 
 sensible of the manifold imperfections of that produc- 
 tion ; yet it so happened, that even of the small share 
 of merit which it might possess, it was sought to 
 deprive me, by giving the credit of the w^ork to an 
 accomplished and justly popular writer, who, I believe, 
 
VI 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 VII 
 
 was a partaker in some of the affairs which I detailed, 
 but to whom my literary obligations extended no 
 farther than to his kindness in arranging my letters 
 into chapters, and in undertaking the revision of my 
 book while passing through the press. 
 
 I was inclined, after this attempt, to publish a nar- 
 rative of the interesting scenes to which I had been a 
 witness during the German campaigns of 1813 and 
 1814. On that occasion, (as well as on the present,) 
 warned by experience, I took good care not to have re- 
 course to any aid, although the circumstances under 
 which the materials of the second work were compiled 
 might well have justified me in seeking it. My time 
 during those campaigns was almost incessantly occu- 
 pied with the arduous and complicated duties I had 
 to perform ; my hours of leisure were few, and my 
 privations and difficulties many. Much precision of 
 style could hardly be expected from one who wrote 
 his despatch of the battle of Leipsic, having a stone 
 for his table, on the contested field, and not having 
 leisure to peruse it (when written) before it was sent 
 away. 
 
 But, notwithstanding these and many other disad- 
 vantages, so unfavourable to correctness of composi- 
 tion, my work was most kindly received ; and I be- 
 lieve, thai whatever its faults may be, the fidelity 
 
 and accuracy of its statements have never been im- 
 pugned. 
 
 Here perhaps I ought to have stopped. But I have 
 felt an irresistible impulse to endeavour, in the follow- 
 ing pages, to do justice to one of the greatest sove- 
 reigns of the age, whose true character and exalted 
 merits and qualities are not fully known in that very 
 country for which, next to his own, he feels the 
 strongest attachment and regard, 
 
 I have added to my own recollections of the Russian 
 empire translations of some very important statistical 
 documents relating to it, for which I am indebted 
 to the friendship of a most distinguished individual 
 long resident there. These are given as a Second 
 Part of the work, and the perusal of them will amply 
 recompense the reader, to whose indulgence I now 
 commit the present volumes. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I] 
 
 l*<< 
 
 Projected Tour — Landing in France — Route and Road to Ghent 
 — Vicissitudes of Life— Bonaparte's Policy — King Leopold — 
 Belgian Railways— Antwerp — Vexatious Treatment— The Hague 
 — The Prince of Orange — Diplomatic Dinner — Sir E. Disbrowe 
 — Scheveling . . . , Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Amsterdam — Streets andDrawbridges— Palace of Susdyk — Royal 
 Inhospitality — Untoward Event— Osnaburgh — Bremen — Ham- 
 burgh—Road to Kiel — Danish Steam-boat — Voyage to Copen- 
 hagen — Madame de Zayas . . . ]8 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 Copenhagen — The Streets — Bombardment of Copenhagen — Thor- 
 waldsen's Statues — Palace of Christianburg — The King's Pic- 
 tures — Audience of the King — Chateau of Rosenberg — Prison 
 of Caroline Matilda — Crossing the Sound — Entrance of the 
 Sound — Travelling in Sweden — The Roads — Fences — The 
 Swedish People — Cattle— Food — Inn at Gothenbourg . 13 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Gothenbourg — Inn at Trollhiitten — Canal to Stockholm — Falls of 
 Trollhatten — Mr. Lloyd— Marienstadt— Dreary Country— Stock- 
 holm — Public Buildings— View of Stockholm — Shops — Por- 
 phyry — Carriages and Horses— The Swedish Army . . 51 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 m 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The King of Sweden— Conversation with the King— Royal Dinners 
 — Ladies of the Court— Prince Oscar — Military Festival — 
 Prince Oscar's Sons— The King's Villa at Rosenberg — Royal 
 Dinner — Other Visits to the King — Conversation with his Ma- 
 jesty—Unexpected Occurrence — Royal Steam-yacht — Our Fel- 
 low Passengers— Departure from Sweden . . 64 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Voyage— Intricate Navigation — Cronstadt— Its Fortifications 
 — The Russian Fleet — Approach to Petersburgh . 80 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 The Russian Empire — Facility of visiting it— Search for a Resi- 
 dence — St. Petersburgh — Magnificent Public Buildings— Im- 
 provements in Petersburgh— Divisions of the City— Church of 
 St. Peter — Palace of Tauride — Public Institutions — The City 
 Revenue— Theatres and Promenades— The English Club . 88 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Russian People — Governments— Wretched Hotel— Count 
 Nesselrode— Lord Durham— Le Palais d'Hiver- Column of 
 Alexander— The Inauguration— L^Hermitage— Splendid Trea- 
 sures — Ball-Room — Saloon of the Marechals — Remarkable 
 Custom— Droschkas— The Emperor's Accident • 102 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Imperial Academy— Diplomatic Dinner— Dinner at the Am- 
 bassador's—Palace of PeterhofF— Imperial Cottage— Its Interior 
 —Visit to Czarskoeselo — Audience with the Empress— Dinner 
 with her Majesty— Mode of Serving— Imperial Ball— Unex- 
 pected Announcement— Travelling Party , 122 
 
 lln 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Empress Catherine's Baths — The Arsenal —Trophies and .Armour 
 — Imperial Dairy — Magnificent Palace — Its Interior— Recep- 
 tion Rooms — Chapel — Gateluna — Posting in Russia — Russian 
 Roads — Wagons, Inns, Villages— Government Inns — Travelling 
 Fare— Delicacies . • . .135 
 
 % 
 
 iiJ 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Moscow— Seat of Government— Internal Communication — Pecu- 
 liarity of Moscow — Imperial Residences— Political State of 
 Russia— Russian Aggrandisement — Russian Policy — Marmont's 
 Hypothesis — The Russian Army — Russia and British India — 
 The Emperor Nicholas — Absurd Calumnies — Opinions of the 
 AbbedePradt . . . . 151 
 
 t 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Arrival at Moscow— Burning of Moscow—Its Reconstruction — 
 Public Institutions — Commerce — General Tolstoy — Visit to 
 the Kremlin — The Palaces — Senate House and Arsenal — 
 Grand Entertainment — Prince Serge Galitzen— Dinners and 
 Soirees— Cathedrals and Hospitals — Establishment for young 
 Ladies — Convent of Troitza — Return from Moscow . 179 
 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Return from Moscow — Grand Review — Russian Cavalry — The 
 Emperor Nicholas — Czarskoeselo — Imperial Soiree — Etiquette 
 of Dress — Conversation with the Emperor — High Mass . 197 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I 
 
 Nl 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Emperor— Marked Compliment— Salutation and Reply — 
 Royal Dinner-— Peculiar Arrangement— Russian Climate — Go- 
 vernment Establishments -L'Etat Major — Quarter Master Ge- 
 neraFs Department— New Invention . . . 208 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Cadet Establishment— The Students— Course of Education— The 
 Dining Room— The Medical Department— Noble Cadets— Ma- 
 rine Cadets — L'Ecole de Genie— Engineers* Department- 
 Riding School— School of Artillery — Civil Engineering— The 
 Arsenals— Relics of Alexander — School of Artillery— College 
 for young Officers . , , 222 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Military Fetes— Dinner at the Winter Palace— Intercourse of 
 Officers — The Imperial Family — The Dinner — Interesting 
 Spectacle— Gracious Invitation . . .241 
 
 CHAPTER XVIJ. 
 
 Assembling at the Palace— The Imperial Cortege— Procession- 
 High Mass— Kissing Hands— Christmas Day — Russian Deco- 
 ration—The Emperor and Empress— Splendid Spectacle Higli 
 
 Mass— Mournful Ceremony— Benediction of the Colours . 250 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Singular Ceremony— The Metropolitan -The Procession— Bless- 
 ing the Waters — Dangerous Superstition — The Empress's 
 Rooms— Splendid Entertainments — The Imperial Court Pub- 
 lic Decorum— Death of Alexander — Heroism of Nicholas— His 
 Military Knowledge — His Universal Proficiency . 263 
 
 ^1 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 f ! 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Portrait of the Emperor Nicholas I. 
 Portrait of the Queen of the Belgians 
 Portrait of the Crown Princess of Sweden 
 Plan of St. Petersburch 
 Plan of Moscow 
 
 VOL n. 
 
 Portrait of Count Nesselrode 
 Portrait of the Empress of Russia 
 
 To fdcc Title, 
 
 — 8 
 
 — G9 
 -— 88 
 
 — 150 
 
 To face Title. 
 — 2 
 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OP 
 
 J 
 
 A TOUR IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE 
 
 IN 1836-7. 
 
 ! 
 
 i J 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 i« 
 
 M 
 
 Projected Tour — Landing in France — Route and Road to Ghent 
 — Vicissitudes of Life — Bonaparte's Policy — King Leopold — 
 Belgian Railways — Antwerp — Vexatious Treatment — The Hague 
 — The Prince of Orange — Diplomatic Dinner — Sir E. Disbrowe 
 — Scheveling. 
 
 A long-projected tour to the north of Europe was 
 finally determined on in the beginning of the month 
 of August, 1836. Both Conservatives and Whig 
 Radicals found tlieir attendance at the House produc- 
 tive of nothing but fatigue and dissatisfaction; the 
 former deplored an unsuccessful campaign, the latter 
 appeared convinced that, although they still kept the 
 reins, they wanted the means, both physical and 
 moral, of governing the country ; in short, all seemed 
 J thoroughly tired of their parliamentary labours. Nor 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 B 
 
 3 
 
 
 I 
 
■I * 
 
 DESIRE FOR CHANGE. 
 
 Hi 
 
 ![ 
 
 was the gay world less free from ennui ; equipage after 
 equipage had deserted the fashionable streets and 
 favourite drives, &c.; the last balls at Cremorne-lodge, 
 the Regent's-park, and Chiswick, announced that the 
 curtain had dropped over the season of 1836. Under 
 circumstances such as these it was, that the party 
 whose tour I shall now attempt to describe, anxious 
 for change of scene, and desirous of acquiring new 
 ideas, by investigating fresh and distant lands, sailed 
 for Calais on the 4th of August. 
 
 If there is a fatality in human affairs, there is also, 
 a strange and unaccountable caprice which governs 
 the actions of mankind. It might last year (1835) 
 have been the lot of some who engaged in this 
 northern tour to have visited the capital of tlie Czar, 
 surrounded with all those advantages which high 
 rank and position confer, and yet strange to say, the 
 prospect at the time offered but little temptation, and 
 the inconvenience attending it would have been im- 
 mense. A sense of duty, however, and a desire for 
 change so natural under all circumstances to ardent 
 minds, might have had their influence in closing 
 with an offer conferring such privileges. To certain 
 spirits, monotony, even in its most agreeable form, 
 that of sober, intellectual, domestic happiness, becomes 
 insipid, and the new stimulus, even though productive 
 of discomfort and anxiety, is welcomed as a friend. 
 
 The tour to the north was this year eagerly adopt- 
 ed; the advice of kind friends was immediately put 
 in requisition as to the best means, considering the 
 lateness of the season, of seeing the most in the least 
 
 LANDING IN FRANCE. 3 
 
 possible space of time. Russian princes, Swedish 
 diplomatists, and connoisseurs in travelling, were 
 severally consulted how to avoid more ^exposure to 
 the sea than was absolutely necessary, and how to 
 gratify curiosity by the sight of the greatest number 
 of " northern lions." At length it was decided that 
 the first position to be taken up should be Rotter- 
 dam, and the heavy baggage, consisting of carriages, 
 servants, camp-beds, canteens, courier, cook, &c., 
 embarked for that port on the morning of the 3rd 
 August. Some of the family proceeded also by the 
 same conveyance, while the writer and his companion, 
 both equally eschewing steam and sea-sickness, ran 
 down in a light britchka to Dover, and on the follow- 
 ing day sailing for Calais, reached Dunkirk, where 
 they slept the same evening. 
 
 So many of our countrymen have seen Calais since 
 the peace of Paris and the battle of Waterloo, that 
 it would be as absurd to give any description of 
 it, as to paint the remarkable features of Margate 
 or Brighton ; and no Englishman can land at 
 Calais, without experiencing renewed surprise at 
 the gruff tone of the French sailors, the garrulity 
 of the motley coloured fisherwomen, the insolence 
 of the police-officers and douaniers, and the obse- 
 quiousness of the commissioners who besiege you 
 with numerous packs of their recommendation-cards ; 
 added to all which, there is in every look and ges- 
 ture of the inhabitants, as well as in every form, 
 fashion, and fabric that presents itself to the eye, 
 something so indescribably different from all we see in 
 
 B 2 
 
OUR ROUTE. 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 our own country, that every one on landing in France, 
 however frequently, experiences a pleasing sensa- 
 tion, and the spirit becomes buoyant and elastic from 
 the cheering aspect of novelty that appears as it were 
 to greet his arrival. All who have travelled much on 
 the continent have, at every successive visit, been 
 struck with the fact, that the various countries of the 
 European world (except England) assimilate more or 
 less, and that she alone is morally, as well as geogra- 
 phically, isolated and unique in all the minutiae of 
 existence. 
 
 The major part of our travelling countrymen and 
 countrywomen may have felt, especially the fair sex, 
 the extreme mania which prevails on arriving in France 
 to throw aside everything English, and spend the last 
 of their notes and sovereigns in running to all the 
 Calais shops to purchase bonnets, caps, perfumery, and, 
 in short, everything French. English maids now make 
 a fine harvest, as all old things in wear are invariably 
 handed over to them by their mistresses, for the sole 
 besoin of buying the new objects that present them- 
 selves to the eye. 
 
 The direction of our route was that of Rotterdam, 
 and w^e were anxious to visit those towns which excited 
 perhaps a stronger interest when they belonged to 
 Austrian Brabant, and were the theatre of the Duke 
 of York's campaign in Flanders, than they now do 
 under their newly-created sovereign, Leopold I. 
 Ypres, Menin, Courtray — were all garrisons well 
 known to our guardsmen ; and the spot where British 
 soldiers have fought and bled must always command 
 
 ROAD TO GHENT. 
 
 i 
 
 the warm sympathy of a Britisli bosom. Of the two 
 routes that lead from Calais to Ghent, it may be as 
 well to remark, for the sake of those who travel this 
 way hereafter, that the coast line by Furnes Glustche 
 and Bruges to Ghent is not always good and passable 
 if the tide be full in ; and although, by not taking it, 
 the interesting city of Bruges is missed, yet the tra- 
 veller is compensated by a view of the fortresses above 
 mentioned, and by the superiority of the road from 
 Dunkirk to Ghent. It is, in fact, a perfect garden, a 
 beautiful chauss^e, lined with fine old lime and elm- 
 trees of immense size, the former with their pale leaves 
 in continual motion, the latter affording their effective 
 and agreeable shade : add to this the luxuriance of 
 all the crops, the admirable labours of the husband- 
 men, the perfection of the cattle, and above all, the 
 breed of horses from that most valuable of all its 
 kind, the Flanders mare* 
 
 At Dunkirk we could not be accommodated at the 
 Hotel de Flandres, which is the first inn in the place, but 
 every attention was paid us at the Hotel du Chapeau 
 Rouge. In many of the inns in Belgium, English 
 w^aiters are now regularly engaged ; the steam convey- 
 ances to all the ports from Calais, Ostend, Dunkirk, 
 Antwerp, Rotterdam, &c., and the swarms of travellers 
 that now frequent the Low Countries and make the 
 tour of the Rhine, have probably induced the hotel 
 keepers to have recourse to their services. Our inten- 
 tion was to go on the 6th to the famed city of Ghent, 
 and to reach Antwerp in the evening ; but, on our 
 arrival at the former place to dinner, we found there 
 
6 
 
 VICISSITUDES OF LIFE. 
 
 !J 
 
 M 
 
 would be a difficulty in passing the Scheldt after 
 dark ; so changing our plan, we directed our course 
 upon Brussels, submitting to the inconvenience of tra- 
 velling through the night. 
 
 I have nothing to say of the attractions of Ghent, 
 but I can say much more of Brussels, where we were 
 lodged in the Hotel Belle Vue, Place Royale, at four 
 o'clock A.M., on the 7th. It was fifteen years since 
 some of our party had seen this capital. The House of 
 Orange had, at the former period, by a wise arrange- 
 ment of the great European alliance, received a terri- 
 tory which was to be a barrier against France on 
 the one side, and against Germany on the other. A 
 line of the most prominent fortresses had been placed 
 in the best order, under the inspection of the Duke 
 of Wellington, to render this new kingdom inde- 
 pendent ; France had been made by the allies to pay 
 a great part of the sums necessary for this purpose. 
 England had just grounds to be proud of the part she 
 took in the accomplishment of these acts, — they were 
 based on treaties, the departure from which Europe 
 may long, in times to come, have cause to rue. In- 
 stead, however, of that royal palace which was built 
 by the gratitude of the country for that young 
 prince who gloriously fought and bled at the battle 
 of Waterloo, being inhabited by him, his royal and 
 imperial wife, and interesting family, it is now ex- 
 posed to the vulgar gaze and curiosity of every pass- 
 ing traveller for the payment of a few francs. And to 
 show the vicissitudes of human life, it may not be 
 amiss here to quote the remark of one of our party, 
 
 4 
 
 BONAPARTE S POLICY. 
 
 an officer of rank, who had served in all the cam- 
 paigns of the Duke of Wellington, and was at Paris 
 in 1814 and 1815. 
 
 " I was often with Leopold at Paris when he was in 
 the Russian service, and it has happened not unfre- 
 quently, that at the charming petits soupers so often 
 given after the theatre to English ladies at Tortoni's or 
 other restaurateurs, we exchanged the greatest marks 
 of personal and intimate friendship. The next time I 
 saw him was as the husband of the Princess Charlotte. 
 I now contemplate him as a king, filling the throne 
 of that prince whose promised, nay, almost affianced 
 wife, Leopold had the good fortune to withdraw: 
 and lastly, from being the man whom England most 
 looked up to when he was the husband of her future 
 queen, he has become the individual France protects, 
 because he is the husband of the daughter of Louis 
 Pliilippe." 
 
 It was always Bonaparte's policy that, on this side 
 of her frontier, France should be bounded by the ocean 
 and the Rhine. Against this inordinate ambition the 
 great alliance of Europe fought, and fought success- 
 fully. How strange does it appear, then, that Eng- 
 land, in later years, should aid in the establishment 
 of a kingdom, which can never be anything but a pro- 
 vince of France, for, in fact, Belgium is and must be 
 French. More strange is it, to those who were 
 mixed up in the transactions of 1814 and 1815, 
 that Russia, Prussia, and Austria could have given 
 their adhesion to this arrangement, more fatal to 
 European interests, because it is likely, from the 
 connexion of Leopold with the thrones of France and 
 
 V) 
 
 ! If 
 
8 
 
 KING LEOPOLD. 
 
 Mi 
 
 m^ 
 
 England, to become durable ; and yet tlie House of 
 Orange will never cease to regret, and endeavour to 
 regain, what it has lost, although the commercial 
 towns of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and others, may 
 not be so anxious as the court for a reunion with 
 Belgium. 
 
 I was desirous of knowing how this royal favourite 
 of fortune now passed his time, and I was informed 
 he hved chiefly at the palace of Lacken. He had 
 lately, however, made an excursion with the queen to 
 Paris, but staying longer than " Les braves Beiges*' 
 approved of, they wrote upon the palace doors, '' Cettc 
 Maison a LouerT He comes into Brussels every 
 morning, transacts business till two o'clock, and re- 
 turns to the country, dines, passes the evening in his 
 gardens, and after dark, either in reading or in con- 
 versing with the queen. He sees company and gives 
 large dinners twice a week, but his court is dull and 
 formal ; and, but for the English residing at Brussels, 
 the place would be melancholy. 
 
 An anecdote I heard, impresses me with the idea that 
 neither the king nor the queen of Belgium can 
 feel much at ease in their new^ possessions, or such 
 things would hardly be related. In the Prince of 
 Orange's palace, the boudoir of the princesses, and 
 his own room, were, for a long time, shown to the 
 gaping multitude just in the state they left it at the 
 revolution,— the very gloves the princess had on, the 
 pens she was writing with, and the clothes laid out 
 for the prince to change, &c. Some English tra- 
 vellers, particularly devoted to the Orange party, 
 having unwittingly exclaimed, "Good God! every 
 
 /'I 
 
 :.-:?v. 
 
 \ 
 
 %. 
 
 m 
 
 ;!' 
 
BELGIAN RAILWAYS. 
 
 9 
 
 W' 
 
 '11 
 
 tiling appears ready for the immediate return and re- 
 ception of the prince and princess," a sudden order 
 was issued for closing the apartments to all visitors. 
 
 Stately palaces, marble statues, magnificent furni- 
 ture, &c., can often be seen, but the deep interest in- 
 spired by the actual position of the abode of royalty 
 at the moment of the soulevement du peuple^ and of 
 the flight of the royal occupants, awakens reflections 
 which contrast order and power with revolution and 
 anarchy ; enjoyment and possession, with deprivations 
 and expulsions ; and when (which is rarely the case) 
 such a picture presents itself to the sympathising tra- 
 veller, it is never forgotten. 
 
 It is but justice to Prince Leopold's government to 
 remark, in tliis place, the very useful and beautiful 
 railway that is just finished between Brussels and 
 Antwerp ; it must be of advantage both in a commer- 
 cial and military point of view. The thirty English 
 miles can be travelled in an hour. The machinery 
 and arrangements seem admirable ; all being under 
 the direction of the military and police, the strictest 
 order and regularity are preserved. As Antwerp is 
 now become the strong fortress of the Belgian frontier, 
 the incalculable advantages of its rapid and constant 
 communication with the capital must be evident. 
 These railways are to be extended towards Liege and 
 the Rhine, and probably, as they are likely to answer so 
 well, they will soon be universal throughout Belgium ; 
 and I question if the execution of them, where they 
 are entirely constructed under the direction of govern- 
 ment, will not be superior to those in England, where 
 
 !1 
 
Il'l 
 
 10 
 
 ANTWERP. 
 
 m 
 
 many originate with, and are carried into effect by, 
 gambling speculators and adventurers, wliose wild 
 schemes will ultimately be productive of incalculable 
 mischief. 
 
 On our arrival at Antwerp on the 7th, the best hotel, 
 " Le Grand Laboureur," was completely occupied by 
 the multitudes tlironging from and to England by the 
 steam-packets, which at this season are never empty. 
 We were lodged in a good inn, L'Hotel St. Antoine. 
 The siege of Antwerp, with all its concomitant events, 
 has been of late so fully described, that it would be 
 presumptuous to add to the ample pages with which 
 the public has been gratified. Very great difficulty 
 was experienced in obtaining permission to visit the 
 works of the fortress. I am not desirous of dwelling 
 on the uniformly mistaken conduct of Great Britain 
 towards her old ally, nor is it necessary for any his- 
 torian, however humble, to describe the gallant and 
 glorious conduct of General Chass6e. The writer of 
 these pages prefers drawing a veil over the whole of 
 this tragical occurrence, so injurious in his opinion 
 to British fame and honour. 
 
 We were chiefly occupied during our stay in in- 
 specting Mr. Baily's magnificent shawl repository, 
 unequalled in Europe ; at which the fancy, taste, and 
 extravagance of a beautiful woman's wardrobe may 
 be indulged from one hundred guineas to one thou- 
 sand and upwards. With the exception of this re- 
 pository, and our visit to the cathedral, which boasts 
 of one of the most heavenly pictures in the world, 
 Rubens' Descent from the Cross, nothing struck me as 
 worth detailing. 
 
 m 
 
 VEXATIOUS TREATMENT. 
 
 II 
 
 I must now mention the information given us by 
 the English waiter at the hotel, who stated that it was 
 of no consequence by whom our passports out of 
 Belgium were signed, for if we had not the vise of a M. 
 Francois, the chief of police at Brussels, we should be 
 arrested. The British envoy at Leopold's court 
 (whose passport I had taken care to obtain) seemed 
 quite ignorant of the necessity of submitting his sig- 
 nature to this M. Francois, neither was Leopold's 
 minister in London (who had signed our passport) better 
 informed, nor more respectfully treated. But the ac- 
 count we accidentally received from the waiter proved 
 true, and we found we could not get out of Belgium 
 except by sending our courier back to Brussels to the 
 said M. Francois. Off he started: he arrived on a Sun- 
 day morning. M. Francois was absent on an excursion 
 of pleasure : his secretary wrote an order to the civil 
 authority at West Wezel, the village at the frontier. On 
 our arrival there, the military lieutenant in command of 
 the out-posts treated this secretary's order with the ut- 
 most contempt, and would not let us pass without M. 
 Francois' own signature and official passport. Again 
 we were thrown out by these admirably conducted ar- 
 rangements between the civil and military authorities 
 of " Les braves Beiges," and after enduring consider- 
 able insolence from this son of Mars, who would listen 
 neither to reason nor remonstrance, we were obliged 
 to send back our courier for the due authority, and to 
 remain all niglit in a wretched cabaret by the road- 
 side. Six or seven persons with their families had 
 been sent back on account of the same frivolous cere- 
 
12 
 
 THE HAGUE. 
 
 (,711 
 
 monials, introduced without due consideration, made 
 up of all sorts of confused references from civil to 
 military, and military to civil authorities, and exe- 
 cuted by new liberals in office, who, " dressed in a 
 little brief authority," conceive it trh brave to make 
 their modicum of power as inconvenient and oppres- 
 sive as possible. The same treatment did not await 
 us at the Dutch advanced posts. We had written, 
 previously to our leaving England, to the Prince of 
 Orange, and the orders for our reception and protec- 
 tion were awaiting us. West Wezel and Gros Hun- 
 dert are the two villages which mark the respective 
 line of boundary of these two newly separated king- 
 doms. Before taking leave of Prince Leopold, I must 
 express my unbounded admiration of the beautiful 
 capital of Belgium, and of her luxurious palaces, her 
 fertile plains, her impregnable fortresses. But let him 
 remember the battle of Fleurus, and let him seriously 
 reflect that the power which took possession of those 
 provinces in those days of revolution, will consider 
 them ever as virtually her own, and will seize upon 
 them whenever a fit opportunity shall present itself. 
 
 On the 7th we put up at the dirty spirit-shop or ale- 
 house of West Wezel ; miserable accommodation with 
 still more wretched fare. The 8th, Rotterdam. On 
 the 9th we arrived at the Hague. The royal family were 
 absent at Loo and Susdyk, the two country palaces of 
 the king and Prince of Orange. The prince himself 
 was stationed at Tilborg, where he commanded the 
 camp of observation. The Dutch army being still 
 on the war establishment, the long pending (juestion 
 
 THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. 
 
 13 
 
 with Belgium — '^ malgre les protocols^'' and the time 
 that had elapsed— was not as yet adjusted, and the 
 Dutch still submitted to the extraordinary taxes ne- 
 cessary for keeping their army on full pay. The 
 conduct of his Royal Highness the Prince of Orange 
 during the ten days' campaign before the siege of 
 Antwerp, had revived his popularity with his country- 
 men, (which was before much on the decline.) He was 
 now in entire command of the army, that had been in 
 the hands of his younger brother. Prince Frederick, 
 who, to do him justice, had organised it since the fatal 
 days of Brussels, and placed it in the best order. 
 This prince was now war minister, and also 
 minister of marine. Nevertheless, the king keeps a 
 strict superintendence over the minutest arrangements 
 himself, even to the moving of a regiment. This 
 newly-constituted Dutch monarchy is another of the 
 creations of the late experimental legislators of Eu- 
 rope. It is difficult to pronounce how the prosperity 
 of the country, or the duration of its institutions, will be 
 consolidated under its practical operations. I own my 
 hopes were by no means sanguine when I heard that 
 the king had first proposed to his chambers to vote 
 him a budget for ten years ; but, finding a stout resist- 
 ance, he yielded, and began to temporise for three. 
 
 This proceeding (as is always the case with truck- 
 ling) produced increased arrogance on the side of the 
 refractory spirits, and the dispute ended in tlie king 
 being obliged to content himself, in 1836, with an 
 annual budget. In tlie new framing of the constitu- 
 tion of Holland, the project of law emanates fi-om the 
 
 M 
 
 rJi t\ 
 
14 
 
 DIPLOMATIC DINNER. 
 
 W (, 
 
 crown, the chambers vote it in sections, before it goes 
 to the peers, and in fact the decision upon the act by 
 the sections is known before it is even discussed in the 
 Lower House. The working spirit in the constitution 
 is decidedly liberal, and the power of the crown is 
 diminishing yearly. 
 
 In conversing with various persons on the ill-fated Bel- 
 gian question, the general feeling seemed to be that it 
 would be wise for the King of Holland to yield now, even 
 to the injustice and power by which he was oppressed, 
 and settle all differences between Holland and Bel- 
 gium, because the course his majesty had hitherto 
 pursued was one of ceding by driblets, which equally 
 weakened his own consequence and the respect which 
 Holland ought to have commanded during the course 
 of the negociations. 
 
 Sir E. Disbrowe gave a great entertainment the 
 day after my arrival : the party consisted chiefly of his 
 colleagues of the diplomatic corps with some strangers. 
 Amongst the most prominent were the Count and 
 Countess Strogonoff*; but as these distinguished and 
 noble persons were on their way to Russia, where 
 they were afterwards met with, I will not here descant 
 upon my feelings of affectionate attachment, nor say 
 more of them in this place. Baron Mortier and his 
 wife were the next conspicuous guests; he being 
 a diplomatist of reputation, very intimate with Talley- 
 rand and the leading men at Paris. He had lately 
 arrived, and was just married to a very beautiful 
 woman, next to whom I had the good fortune to sit 
 at dinner ; and if the baron can make as good and 
 
 SIR E. DISBROWE. 
 
 15 
 
 efficient use of his pen, as his lady does of her brilliant 
 and enchanting eyes, the government of France will 
 have no lack of information during the period of his 
 appointment at the Hague. I was particularly struck 
 with this charming person's admiration of Lord 
 Byron. She conversed with me in English on all 
 his poems, but dwelt chiefly on the " Corsair" and 
 " Childe Harold ;" she spoke English admirably, and is 
 in all respects a delightful person. At these great 
 diplomatic dinners, it is singular to remark the im- 
 portance that each individual (representing even a 
 small court) attaches to what he himself says, or to 
 the facts he mentions. " I am Sir Oracle," appears 
 to be the impression of every one, and they conse- 
 quently expect all others to stand around them " au- 
 ribus erectis.^' 
 
 " Sir E. Disbrowe lived at an inn ; he had not been 
 able to procure a house. The dinner was served by 
 the head, (as he told me ;) and I must add, that for 
 thirty or forty persons I never saw a better repast. 
 
 Sir E. Disbrowe came next day, and accompanied 
 me round the Hague to view all that was remarkable 
 or interesting. I consider the King of Holland to 
 have shown an injudicious taste, in allowing the 
 country to build a miserable pavilion for him, 
 rather than restore and beautify the old Stadt- 
 holder*s Palace, which stands so peculiarly situated, 
 and seems every way so qualified for a royal re- 
 sidence ; but here again the sovereign people have 
 had sway. The old palace aflJbrds chambers for the 
 two legislative bodies, and the commons (as in Enc*-. 
 
 
16 
 
 SCHEVELING. 
 
 1^ 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 land) occupy tlie best and most commodious apart- 
 ments. Devastations occasioned by two scourges, (not 
 very unlike each other,) fire and revolution, are the 
 ostensible causes of these bad arrangements. 
 
 The Picture Gallery and Museum are described 
 in the itinerary books for travellers. In the latter 
 there are collected various models and productions 
 from the Dutch colonies, and in the former, with the 
 exception of one of the largest Paul Potters I ever 
 saw, a Murillo, and a Rubens, there is nothing that 
 appeared wonderful to my (possibly ignorant) eye. 
 It contains also a great many Dutch pictures, and 
 some indifferent modern productions. The Lust 
 Haus (called the Wood House) of the king, in the 
 park adjoining the town, is only remarkable for 
 one room which is painted allegorically, representing 
 the marriages in the family of the House of Orange. 
 
 I then drove to Scheveling, a bathing-place on the 
 coast, a few miles from the Hague, where Charles II. 
 embarked on his return to England. This town is 
 much resorted to from all parts of the world, more 
 especially from Russia. The liouses are poor and 
 incommodious ; there is a good ordinary, and a general 
 room of assembly, but the luxuries and amusements 
 of the place would form a strange contrast to Brighton. 
 It must, however, be observed, that when foreigners go 
 to a watering-place for a " Cure" as they call it, 
 they are extremely abstemious, very simple in their 
 habits, and live not only a secluded life, but one of 
 strict regime, far different from the scenes that pass, 
 and the tables that are kept, in those fashionable 
 
 I)! 
 
 SCHEVELING. 
 
 17 
 
 resorts in England. The line of coast, sand-hills, and 
 appearance of the main ocean at Scheveling very 
 much resemble the entrance of the Helder, where Sir 
 Ralph Abercromby and the Duke of York's expedi- 
 tion landed in 1799. 
 
 
 'i 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 c 
 
1 1 
 
 18 
 
 AMSTEUDAM. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 « 
 
 Amsterdam — Streets and Drawbridges— Palace of Susdyk — Royal 
 Inhospitality— Untoward Event —Osnaburgh — Bremen— Ham- 
 burgh— Road to Kiel — Danish Steam-boat — Voyage to Copen- 
 hagen — Madame de Zayas. 
 
 On the 12tli I entered Amsterdam. Forcibly as I 
 was struck with Rotterdam, I own the appearance of 
 this most curious capital of Holland amazed me as 
 much as any place I had ever witnessed. It is not 
 alone the impressions produced by the peculiar nature 
 of the country, enclosed and intersected by embank- 
 ments which, if broken through or destroyed, would 
 level everything in one chaos of deluge and ruin ; it is 
 not the dikes, canals, drawbridges, windmills, that ap- 
 pear on all sides, that awaken your attention ; but it is 
 the mass of industry, wealth, commerce — the movement 
 of the multitude in sedate and solemn step, all eagerly 
 ruminating and absorbed in the single object of secur- 
 ing profit. In no part of the world is this charac- 
 teristic of a people so determinately stamped as in 
 the city of Amsterdam. 
 
 The Amster, from which the name of the city is 
 derived, affords basins and numerous docks for all 
 
 III I ;i 
 
 n i ' ) 
 
 If I 
 
 ,^1 
 
 STREETS AND DRAWBRIDGES. 
 
 1.9 
 
 the shipping trading to the Dutch colonies, and to 
 the cities on the Rhine. A forest of ships, of all 
 sizes and dimensions, fills up the vast embouchure of 
 one of the finest of rivers. The variegated prows of 
 the Dutch vessels contrast strangely with the new 
 steam-boats arriving from all parts of Europe. The 
 extreme niceness of the streets, the painted doors, 
 windows, (and even many of the houses themselves,) 
 the trees which line the canals, all with coloured 
 palings of wood around them, and lastly, the motley 
 dresses of the inhabitants, especially of the Dutch 
 sailors clothed in scarlet jackets and blue coarse trou- 
 sers, aflford a coup (Toeil of variety entirely unique. 
 
 The morning of the 13th was occupied in driving 
 round the town, making purchases, and in visiting 
 the palace founded by Louis Bonaparte. 
 
 The building, originally a great town-hall, is trans- 
 formed into a most agreeable dwelling. One splendid 
 apartment, a hundred and twenty feet long, sixty feet 
 high, and sixty wide, lined with carved marble, is the 
 best proportioned and most liveable room imaginable. 
 The furniture is entirely modern and handsome, and 
 it would appear to be the only really royal residence 
 the King of Holland now possesses. He had been re- 
 siding three montlis in this city in the spring. 
 
 To describe one principal street of Amsterdam 
 is to describe all. The Dutch have contrived a 
 canal in the middle of each, a broad road on each 
 side of the canal, and, at intervals, drawbridges, 
 which keep up tlie communication between each side 
 of the street. Rows of trees line the canals, nor 
 
 c 2 
 
 
if ^ 
 
 f' 
 
 20 
 
 PALACE OF SUSDYK. 
 
 fl; 
 
 i 
 
 are the drawbridges any impediment to tlie vessels 
 passing up and down, as by a simple process each 
 drawbridge is raised up and again lowered. This 
 is, however, occasionally inconvenient, as it arrests 
 carriages and passengers, precedence being always 
 given to the shipping. As the large streets are 
 wide, the lateral communications are narrow, with- 
 out trees or trottoirs. In the main streets there is a 
 small but excellent stone flagging, and before all the 
 doors are green benches or seats, where the Dutch sit 
 at their ease, smoke, and enjoy themselves in the even- 
 ing, after the labours of the day. The goods in all 
 the shops appeared particularly dear, and throughout 
 Holland the charge for lodgings and eatables was 
 beyond measure exorbitant. I apprehend Rotterdam 
 and Amsterdam are two of the most unreasonable 
 cities in their charges in Europe. Indeed the Dutch 
 seem to think that you should pay them for tlie air 
 you breathe in their country, and for being on dry 
 land, which, without their dikes, would not be tlie 
 
 case. 
 
 Mr. Melville was the English consul at this place ; 
 he seemed a merchant of eminence ; his bureau ap- 
 peared like a large counting-house ; he was good 
 enough to undertake the task of embarking our heavy 
 baggage, &c., and servants, for Hamburgh. At Rot- 
 terdam I should particularise the singular attention I 
 received from Sir Alexander Ferrier, our most efficient 
 and invaluable English consul. 
 
 Having had enough of Amsterdam, we determined, 
 as our carriages were now light, and our heavy eu- 
 
 llOYAL INIIOSPITALITY. 
 
 21 
 
 cumbrance got rid of, to reach Appelthorn, an inn 
 close to the palace of Loo, where the king was I'esid- 
 iijg. The road leading to Loo passes close by Susdyk, 
 the country palace of the Prince and Princess of 
 Orange. We knew the former was in camp at Telborg, 
 but we heard that the princess, with her family, was 
 at this residence. On stopping to bait at the half-way 
 station, we asked if strangers were allowed to see the 
 gardens and house, and were informed they were, in 
 the absence of the family, and also frequently during 
 their residence, when they sent up their names. The 
 day was broiling hot, but the obstinate Dutch posti- 
 lions would not move an inch out of their road ; so, 
 while they were regaling their horses with the blackest 
 of bread, the bonpour JVichole, our party trudged back 
 to the gates of the palace, and very humbly sent up 
 our names, with a request that we might be permitted 
 to see it. The courier, who took up the message, 
 was absent full half an hour, while we were patiently 
 waiting in the dust, and scorching in the sun. This 
 proves there was a cabinet consultation on the deci- 
 sion to be taken, which turned out to be unfavourable 
 to our wishes, as we were dismissed without even a 
 civil message, further than that the chamberlain was 
 not in the way, and we could not see the mansion. 
 
 Now when the extreme civility of all England, so 
 recently paid to the Prince of Orange, is remembered, 
 this want of common courtesy in the princess may be 
 a subject of wonder. 
 
 Returning to our carriages with that feeling which 
 this species of inhospitality inspires, 1 determined to 
 
 I 
 
 i 1 
 
 I 
 
 
22 
 
 UNTOWARD EVENT. 
 
 take no further steps at the Palace of Loo, either to 
 see the king, the royal family, or their abode. 
 
 Here I take leave of the Orange family, with an ex- 
 pression of disappointment that any member of it should 
 appear indifferent to those who have always highly 
 honoured and respected them. The kind-hearted good- 
 humour of the heir-apparent compensates little for the 
 want of ordinary courtesy that seems to pervade the 
 court system. No doubt, attentions which cost some 
 trouble, and put great people out of their way, are a 
 gene and a bore, while smiles, nods, and shakings of 
 the hand are easily at command, and are to many, 
 coming from a prince, very acceptable. But those 
 who fill thrones and high situations may be assured 
 that inattention to civilities which are naturally ex- 
 pected by travellers, engenders a dissatisfaction which 
 breaks out into abuse against the persons for whom 
 the most favourable prepossessions had been previ- 
 ously entertained, and would willingly be preserved. 
 
 The 14th, at night, we entered Lingen, and here 
 the first untoward event in our journey befel us. The 
 Dutch chaussee, which had hitherto been remarkably 
 good, (the roads being narrow and paved with brick,) 
 ended, a short way from Nordorn, the post station be- 
 fore Lingen. Our chariot had three horses, and a 
 light britchka a pair. The chariot preceded, (from 
 some accidental delay,) but the britchka arrived at 
 the spot where the klaher chaussee finished, when the 
 night had set in very dark, after some tremendously 
 heavy rain. Two very bad post-horses in vain at- 
 tempted to draw up the carriage from deep sand 
 
 » 
 
 OSNABUIIGH. 
 
 23 
 
 upon some hard pavement that soon presents itself on 
 the Hanoverian side. Effort after effort was made. 
 Inside and outside passengers descended in order to 
 lighten it, and those who were equal to it put their 
 shoulders to the wheel. All exertions were fruitless. 
 The storm raged furiously, the skies glared with 
 lightning, and awful peals of thunder burst upon 
 our ears. What was to be done in this emergency ? 
 The sending back servants for horses and assistants, 
 and remaining in the midst of a desert heath for a 
 couple of hours, was a bad alternative, and yet it was 
 the only one. The courier was at length despatched 
 for more horses, and, after waiting the necessary time, 
 the aid arrived, and the britchka reached Lingen 
 at two o'clock in the morning. Harassed and worn 
 out, the party had nothing exhilarating to revive their 
 spirits when they got to the inn, than which a more 
 execrable one cannot exist, with a landlord as surly 
 and insolent as his lodging and board were detestable. 
 Bad supper and worse beds, great abuse and reviling 
 on all sides occurred, and we were delighted at get- 
 ting aw^ay early, and proceeding to Osnaburgh, which 
 we reached the next day. This is an agreeable town, 
 interesting to English travellers, as giving a title to 
 one of our royal family, and still more so from the 
 important transactions of former times which have 
 taken place there. The accommodation was very fair, 
 and the charges more reasonable than in Holland. 
 
 The postmasters in this country are very rigid in 
 forcing you to take the same number of horses to each 
 carriage as it contains persons, as prescribed by their 
 
 1 1 
 
 "] 
 
f /" 
 
 24 
 
 BUEMEN. 
 
 .'I 
 
 rules : they allow the traveller no will of his own. 
 They attached their four and three to our two car- 
 riages which had arrived, and had been carried through 
 Holland with an humble three and two, and no 
 remonstrances were of anv avail. An additional horse 
 was also tacked on to the courier which proceeded 
 to order horses ; and it may be observed, throughout 
 both these states, that couriers are sent, not as in 
 France upon ponies, nor as in Germany with an esta- 
 fette on horseback, but they are forwarded in little 
 cars or small wagons, or what are called char-a-bancs^ 
 so that, in fact, the dress boots and saddle of a courier 
 become additional heavy baggage for the vehicle he 
 is condemned to roll in. 
 
 It will be seen, by reference to the map, that the 
 road by Osnaburgh to Bremen is not so direct as from 
 Lingen to Schloppenburg and Wildeshausen, but this 
 latter is very sandy, and should be carefully avoided ; 
 and I really believe, from the pains that were taken to 
 obtain information, the line of route we adopted in 
 our tour will, in every respect, be found the most 
 judicious. 
 
 From Osnaburgh we reached Bremen to sleep, a 
 city of considerable population and trade. By the 
 late Vienna Congress it was established as a free 
 town, and it enjoys much commerce and many ad- 
 vantages. The ramparts are turned into picturesque 
 walks; the inns and caf(6s are large. Great bustle 
 and movement are apparent in all quarters, but as 
 our stay was confined to a few hours, I cannot pretend 
 to enter into any account of the place. 
 
 HAMBURGH. 
 
 25 
 
 '1 
 
 On the 17th we arrived at Hamburgh. The road 
 ft*om Bremen to this interesting city is a fine chaussee. 
 On leaving the environs of the former, the Hanove- 
 rian territory is again entered. Vain would be any 
 attempt to describe its poverty : the long, dreary, sandy 
 hillocks, the endless morasses, the impoverished farm- 
 houses, the lean, half-starved, and seemingly half- 
 begotten cattle, the ill-shapen wagon-teams, drawn by 
 worse shapen oxen, with the inexplicable noise of the 
 wheels on wooden axles. However, with all these na- 
 tural drawbacks, there is a persevering placidity and 
 honest morality of disposition about the Hanoverians 
 that render them far more agreeable than the crafty, 
 acute Dutch ; and one feels, in all intercourse with the 
 former, a degree of confidence and reliance which I 
 confess is entirely absent in dealings with the latter. 
 
 Haarburgh is separated by a branch of the Elbe 
 from the city of Hamburgh. A fine steam-boat 
 carries on all the daily communication between 
 the states of Hanover and the free city, and the pas- 
 sage is about an hour. The approach to Hamburgh 
 is grand and imposing. The town forms a species 
 of amphitheatre, and it is rendered infinitely more 
 striking by its close vicinity to Altona, a large town 
 in Holstein, belonging to the Danes; indeed there 
 seems no separation between the two cities. There 
 are five magnificent and lofty church-spires in Ham- 
 burgh, which have the most commanding appearance 
 from the sea ; viz. St. Peter's, St. Nicholas's, St. Cathe- 
 rine's, St. James's, and St. Michaers. The forest of 
 shipping that lines the quays — the enormous extent of 
 
 % 
 
 i.i 
 
 
 
26 
 
 HAMBURGH. 
 
 i^ 
 
 warehouses — the multifarious receptacles of commerce, 
 and the vast resources that are congregated in this 
 little emporium, are marvellous. The town has 
 been recently, in a great degree, rebuilt ; old houses 
 pulled down, and modern structures (upon the Paris 
 model) erected in their place. I know not if this 
 mixture of style be, at present, advantageous; it is 
 like a battalion half clothed in old uniforms, and the 
 remainder in white foraging dress ; but it proves that 
 wealth is widely diffusing itself, and that since the 
 general peace there appear to be no bounds to the 
 strides of enterprise and speculation. The trade is 
 great, the shops innumerable ; the new part of the 
 town is built round a basin of the Bremen Alstcr, 
 (the second great river that surrounds Hamburgh,) 
 and the chief promenades are called the Old and 
 New Langenfierter. The fortifications and ramparts 
 have been entirely levelled, and replaced by pro- 
 menades, whence the eye rests upon prospects at 
 once rich and extensive. In the walks, restaurateurs 
 in pavilions have established themselves. The largest 
 was till lately open to all descriptions of persons, but 
 the magnates quarrelled with the Jews, and expelled 
 them by force from the building, since which time 
 this place of rendezvous can only be entered with 
 tickets of admission. 
 
 Hamburgh is as high, or even higher, in its charges 
 for living and articles of luxury and utility, than Hol- 
 land or any other country. The reason for this cannot 
 be well ascertained. 
 
 The town is governed by a senate or town-council of 
 
 
 HAMBURGH. 
 
 27 
 
 eleven aldermen and three mayors ; these have an 
 unlimited authority in the imposition of taxes, the 
 framing of commercial laws, and the regulation of the 
 police. The city furnishes a small number of troops, 
 infantry and cavalry, as its contingent to the German 
 Confederation. The population of the town is esti- 
 mated at 240,000 inhabitants. 
 
 Mr. Canning is the British consul. The ap- 
 pointment was given to him by his great relative 
 (when secretary for foreign affairs.) In the cast 
 of his countenance he resembles him extremely. He 
 was obliging and civil. I met at this place an old 
 brother-soldier, one of my earliest and most excel- 
 lent friends, (Colonel During,) who was, as he ever 
 has been, of the greatest use to me. After long 
 service in the war in Spain, he was appointed Bri- 
 tish consul at Trieste, from whence he had retired 
 on half-pay, and is now living at Stade, respected and 
 beloved by all who know him. 
 
 Our stay at Hamburgh was prolonged three or four 
 days, to allow us repose from the fatigues of the land 
 journey. Great doubts now arose whether it would 
 be advisable to go direct in the steam-boat by Lubeck 
 to St. Petersburgh, (a voyage performed in only four 
 days and nights,) or travel through Denmark and 
 Sweden. 
 
 The horror of a long passage presented itself on 
 one side, and the inconvenience of a very bad land 
 journey on the other. At length the latter was deter- 
 mined on, with the precaution of sending the heavy 
 carriage and all the baggage by sea to Russia. 
 
 
 '\i 
 
 
 ■SI' 
 li 
 
! 
 
 I 
 m 
 
 » 
 
 28 
 
 UOAD TO KIEL. 
 
 On the 19th we left Hamburgh for Kiel to embark in 
 the steam-boat for Copenhagen. The road through 
 Holstein to Kiel is incomparably good, and the system 
 of Macadamizing in full oj)eration. The mile and 
 finger posts are regular and universal, and the post 
 seems well organised, a written certificate being de- 
 manded and given to every postilion of the manner 
 in which you have been driven, whetlier you have 
 any complaints, &c. Here again we met the red 
 coats or jackets with yellow facings of the drivers, tlie 
 national colour being scarlet, as in Hanover. All 
 who have travelled on the continent know that the 
 postilions in each state have their particular uniform, 
 witli their horns, which answer the same purpose 
 as the cracking whips of the French postilions in 
 France, viz. to annovmce arrival, or to warn other 
 travellers of their approach on the road. 
 
 A remarkably clean upper story, with a dirty lower 
 apartment and a detestable Danish dinner, ushereil 
 in our welcome to Kiel ; and it was now debated if the 
 land passage by Schleswick and the two Belts to 
 Copenhagen would not afford more comfort than the 
 long steam navigation. Acting from advice, we 
 finally decided upon embarking in the Danish steam- 
 boat (Frederick the Sixth) for Copenhagen. The 
 boat was good and commodious ; the passengers un- 
 fortunately far too numerous either for their own or 
 our comfoit. We liad one hundred and twenty Uts 
 de maitres on board. Two small after-cabins may 
 be had in this ship, (which are not bad,) but the 
 misery and disgusting appearance of the general 
 
 DANISH STEAM-BOAT. 
 
 29 
 
 cabin (or, as I should fairly denominate it, a stew- 
 liole) for ladies on the one side and gentlemen on 
 the other, no language can describe ; — and what 
 is worse than all, no place could be found on 
 board as a refuge from the smoke of cigars and 
 pipes. Dinner for all the passengers is laid pro- 
 miscuously under an awning or sail if the weather 
 be fine, and those whose olfactory nerves are too 
 delicate to bear the stinking cabin, and who seek 
 the deck for fresh air, have their nascent nausea 
 increased by witnessing the ravenous appetite witli 
 which strangers from all countries, men, women, 
 and children, devour the worst-looking fare dressed 
 with oil, onions, grease, and everything that the 
 usual appetite of an Englishman would reject. The 
 vessel is a good sea-boat, well manned, the captain an 
 able officer, and the passage is so accurately known, 
 and so well laid down between the Danish islands to 
 Copenhagen, that there is no risk in a steam-boat, and 
 little or no sea, the course being (except for about 
 thirty miles) under the shelter of islands. During the 
 whole transit we were fortunate in having a beautiful 
 still evening and night, and on the morning of the 
 20th we ran along under a brisk breeze to Zealand, 
 passing in succession various picturesque and diver- 
 sified islands, some with woods hanging down to the 
 sea, and some with high chalky cliffs, like our own 
 dear English shore. 
 
 It was impossible not to admire the scenery, while 
 different small cutters came off from the various little 
 dependencies, and either received passengers from the 
 
 i».' 
 
 Kfl 
 
 '1 
 
 A' 
 
 U 
 
 !» 
 
 ) 
 
 % 
 
I. r'- 
 
 
 
 il 
 
 \ 
 
 % 
 
 30 
 
 MADAME DE ZAYAS. 
 
 steam-boat, or brought tliem on board to proceed to 
 Copenhagen. The only passengers of note with us were 
 M. de Zayas and his wife (a sister of the present Lord 
 Ranelagh.) This gentleman had been appointed charge 
 d'affaires from the Queen of Spain's government to 
 Denmark. He was proceeding to his post, but seemed 
 entirely uncertain how long he might remain in his new 
 situation, as the accounts had just arrived of the pro- 
 claiming of the constitution of 1812 in the principal 
 Spanish provinces. M. de Zayas conversed very 
 reasonably and sensibly as to Spain ; he tacitly la- 
 mented the part England had taken, conceiving that 
 a nobler part would have been to have joined the allied 
 powers of the continent, and to have endeavoured to 
 put an end to the civil war by attempting negociations, 
 rather than engage in the desultory strife the British 
 legion was encouraging. Madame de Zayas appeared 
 an interesting person, but much harassed by the 
 state of affairs at Madrid, and still more so by the 
 seeming uncertainty of her position at her new destina- 
 tion. 
 
 COPENHAGEN. 
 
 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 'I 
 
 Copenhagen — The Streets— Bombardment of Copenhagen — Tlior- 
 waldsen's Statues— Palace of Christianburg— The King's Pic- 
 tures — Audience of the King — Chateau of Rosenberg — Prison 
 of Caroline Matilda— Crossing the Sound — Entrance of the 
 Sound — Travelling in Sweden — The Roads — Fences — The 
 Swedish People — Cattle — Food — Inn at Gothenbourgh. 
 
 On Sunday, the 20th, about 4 p.m., we approached 
 the three crown batteries that defend Copenhagen, and 
 soon afterwards landed on the quay. Crowds of idle 
 gazers awaited the debarkation of the congregated 
 crew of the steam-vessel ; the advanced guard of the 
 disembarkation was in due order (the cavalry ;) a fine 
 race-horse that had been brought from England 
 for races at Copenhagen, was the first animal on 
 shore ; the heavy baggage of our carriages and our- 
 selves brought up the rear. Our passports and letters 
 saved all examination at the custom-house ; indeed, 
 since West Wezel, we had no trouble anywhere on 
 this account. 
 
 A stand of miserable hack carriages, with squalid 
 starved horses, stood close to the landing-place ; the 
 horses of two of these were unharnessed, or rather 
 untied, and then linked again to our two carriages, and 
 
 ! 
 
 ii 
 
 \\ 
 
 V(ti 
 
 'I 
 

 \l 
 
 )] 
 
 1 
 
 I 1 
 
 \ 
 
 i\ 
 
 I 
 
 
 32 
 
 THE STREETS. 
 
 we thus proceeded to the Hotel du Nord in the new 
 mart, where our apartments had been taken. The 
 sensation I experienced in first passing through the 
 silent, unfrequented, and grass-grown streets of the 
 capital of the Danes, was anything but satisfactory. 
 It was Sunday, which may possibly account in some 
 measure for its solemn dulness. The striking want 
 of all appearance of comfort, convenience, or beauty, 
 in the style and architecture of the houses, in the 
 pavement of the streets, and in the lighting of the 
 town, cannot fail at first to make a sombre impression. 
 The principal streets are wide, and the large openings 
 spacious, but the pavement of both is of the worst 
 description. To separate the trottoir for the foot pas- 
 sengers from the streets, a sort of drain, or gutter, is 
 formed, which carries off" the water, and it is covered 
 by long and connected pieces of plank, and upon this 
 wood the pedestrians walk who wish to save the soles 
 of their feet or shoes. These paths give the appear- 
 ance of poverty to the town. The houses are of strange 
 variety, ' many of brick, others washed with lime or 
 stucco ; others, again, of stone. As to the lighting, 
 lamps are suspended, or put up at intervals (few and 
 far between.) Gas seems unknown, and generally, on 
 the first view, I should pronounce that this capital 
 was one hundred years behindhand in modern im- 
 provement. 
 
 A sejour of a few days afforded opportunity for 
 further investigation, and it must be observed, that 
 as the king is absolute and a declared enemy to in- 
 novation, it is not wonderful that the only interest- 
 
 UOMBARDMENT OF COPENHAGEN 
 
 33 
 
 ing objects are the very ancient records the capi- 
 tal contains. So singular and so wedded to liis own 
 ideas is the present sovereign, Frederick VI., that 
 he would rather retain the nominal and ephemeral 
 notion of Denmark being a naval power, and keep 
 together some half-dozen sliips of the line, which his 
 revenues do not enable him either to fit out or to man, 
 than to have his kingdom become a considerable 
 commercial power, by taking advantage of its happy 
 geographical position, and by enacting liberal provi- 
 sions for the encouragement of trade and speculation. 
 Sweden is making rapid strides before Denmark in 
 this respect. Wliether the successor of Frederick will 
 alter the course now pursued is doubtful; but, so 
 long as it is persevered in, it is clear that aggrandise- 
 ment and increasing wealth both to Sweden and to 
 Hamburgh will be the consequence, and the institu- 
 tions of Copenhagen will remain in their present an- 
 tedihivian notoriety. 
 
 It is well known that this city suffered considerably 
 when bombarded by Lord Nelson in 1802, but it was 
 much more injured by the English army under Lord 
 Cathcart in 1807. The finest churches in the best part 
 of the city were demolished. The Danes even to this 
 day bitterly complain of this attack ; and it has been 
 argued by them, that in time of peace the proceeding 
 of Great Britain was most unjustifiable. But it is to 
 be considered that the Danish fleet, which was subse- 
 quently captured by the English, was to have been 
 surrendered to France, as appeared by a secret treaty 
 to whicli England obtained access. This she made 
 
 VOL. I. ij 
 
 \ 
 
 t .' 
 
 I 
 
f 
 
 u 
 
 34 
 
 THOIIWALDSRN S STATUES. 
 
 j 
 
 known to Denmark, and, with this knowledge in her 
 possession, demanded no more than the deposit of the 
 fleet in her hands during the war, to be kept in repair 
 by her and delivered up to Denmark at the conclusion 
 of the peace ; but these conditions were refused. It 
 was then certain that the Danish fleet would imme- 
 diately have fallen into the hands of Napoleon, so that 
 the enterprise was not only wise and politic, but 
 essential to all the great interests for which tlie 
 European alliance was then contending. 
 
 In order to have the most accurate idea of the locale 
 of Copenhagen, the round tower must be ascended, 
 whence the city appears in a perfect panorama, almost 
 surrounded by tlie sea. From this point it puts one 
 in mind of Venice. In looking down upon it, the 
 most prominent feature on which you gaze is the 
 Franens Kirk, rebuilt since the bombardment. In 
 this church the sculptor Thorwaldsen (a native of 
 Denmark) has made his genius and patriotism equally 
 remarkable. He has dedicated his great talents to 
 perfect for this religious sanctuary colossal statues 
 in marble of the twelve apostles, with an impressive 
 image of our Saviour for the compartment of the 
 altar. Nothing can be more splendid in sculpture 
 than these figures. The church is simple and plain. 
 
 The palaces in the city are the next objects worthy 
 of observation. Charlottenburg, the ancient abode of 
 the sovereigns, is now occupied as a receptacle for 
 works of art ; in this building is given an annual ex- 
 hibition, after the French model, (and a wretched imi- 
 tation it is,) of the progress of modern arts in Den- 
 
 PALACE OF CHRISTIANSBURG. 
 
 35 
 
 mark. In these new-formed establishments there 
 are some works bought in Italy by the present king, 
 and some statues by Thorwaldsen that are good, but the 
 rest present a singular variety of indift'erent objects. 
 
 The Palace of Cliristiansburg, built, or rather re- 
 built lately, as the future residence of the kings of 
 Denmark, has a stupendous fa(^ade ; the greater part 
 of the edifice is of old materials; the magnificent 
 stone colonnade was originally brought from Dresden ; 
 and, taking the whole as a building without extrava- 
 gant ornament, although heavy and in many parts 
 defective, it is unquestionably an imposing erection. 
 The apartments both for the king and queen are nu- 
 merous, and so they should be, as I was informed 
 there are between three and four hundred persons 
 attached to this little court. It will indeed always 
 be found in the least states, that there exists a multi- 
 tudinous establishment of humble attendants. The 
 chapel and large ball-room are fine. The greater part 
 of the palace is lined with marble of different colours, 
 and mixed with scagliola, which is well executed in 
 Denmark. The great staircase and the large doors 
 are worked in fine mahogany. The principal suite 
 of rooms was hastily fitted up for the wedding of the 
 Princess Christiana, the apparent future queen ; but 
 the royal family have never resided in them, the ex- 
 pense of completing and furnishing being far too great 
 for the revenue. It thus happens that the king, with 
 a splendid palace, half finished, is doomed to live in 
 one of four great houses which were built by rich 
 individuals, and called now Amuliensberg. The owners 
 
 D 2 
 
 1 1 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 J 
 
 < 
 
 3G 
 
 THE KING S PICTCRKS. 
 
 of these dying, three of their houses were bought by 
 the royal family, one by the king, another by Prince 
 Christian, and the third by the princess, the daugh- 
 ter of his Majesty. 
 
 The equestrian statue of Christian V. and the great 
 theatre are tlie leading features of the new Mark or 
 Royal Square, with tlie Charlottenburg and the royal 
 barracks. A great obelisk, erected in 1793, is next 
 conspicuous ; and lastly, and more worthy of note, is 
 unquestionably the Chateau of Rosenberg, wliere all 
 tfie old relics and treasures belonging to Denmark are 
 
 deposited. 
 
 In the great palace of Christiansburg, the upper 
 story at present receives the king's collection of j)ic- 
 tures. Eighteen or twenty rooms are filled witli 
 w^orks of artists of different schools, each apartment 
 being appropriated for the school of one particular 
 master. The Dutch school largely preponderates ; 
 there are six salons devoted to it, and here are some 
 great works, and amongst them some superior Van- 
 dykes. I also ought to enumerate Poussin's picture 
 of Moses by the burning bush, two beautiful Albanos, 
 a fine Paul Potter, some Rubenses, the Judgment 
 of Solomon, and others ; but altogether it is not a fine 
 collection. The lower rooms contain the Scandinavian 
 Museum, which affords a remarkable series of relics 
 indicating the progress and use of minerals from the 
 earhest ages. The first book ever printed in Denmark 
 (in 1692) is here also exhibited. 
 
 A university and an academy for the navy are well 
 worthy of inspection. 
 
 n&^7'-_.^>is.-. 
 
 AUDIENCE OF THE KING. 
 
 37 
 
 I made the acquaintance here of Mr. Krabbe Cari- 
 sius, tlie minister foi- foreign affairs ; he succeeded my 
 friend Count Bernstorff on his death. Mr. Krabbe 
 Carisius was called to this post from being envoy to 
 the court of Sweden. He appeared full of intelligence, 
 and alive to many of the disadvantages under which 
 liis country laboured. He talked generally of the affairs 
 of Euroi)e ; and, on my asking him if Radicalism had 
 as yet made great strides among the Danes, I was 
 ratlier amused with his reply—" II y a des amateurs 
 partout." I paid my respects to the king, whom I 
 iiad not seen since 1814 (the Congress of Vienna.) 
 He was thinner ; but as his hair w as always milk- 
 white, I really saw little change. We talked over 
 many mutual acc^uaintances who had died since that 
 period; we had a chapitre on railroads, which his 
 Majesty seemed to dread, and greatly to condemn. 
 He liked all things to remain as they are, and quite 
 held tlie doctrine that " every man should do what he 
 cliose with his own." Another chapitre was on the recent 
 loss of the (pieen's father, and the great regret that her 
 Majesty could not, from her mourning, receive those 
 that accompanied me, and myself, as he could have de- 
 sired. 
 
 Sir Henry Wynne accompanied me to this au- 
 dience. This minister has resided the last ten years 
 in Denmark, He showed every possible civility to 
 our party, and gave us a large dinner at his 
 country residence. I met here M. le Baron and 
 Mde. la Baronne de Talleyrand, relations of the 
 prince. I had known them intimately in 1815, when 
 
 
 i I 
 
■' 
 
 i 
 
 38 
 
 CHATEAU OF llOSENBERG. 
 
 the baron was the prefect at Orleans ; he had been 
 afterwards named as minister in Switzerland and 
 Italy, and under all the changes in France was still 
 employed. Such lucky persons are to be found in 
 our own foreign office, as well as elsewhere. Time 
 must make great changes, and I have no doubt M. 
 le Baron, Madame, and myself, all thought equally 
 alike on this subject; however, I found their affable 
 kindness and good-humour was still in its pristine 
 vigour. Baron Langenhein, a new Swedish minister, 
 a very gentlemanlike man, was also of the party. 
 The absence of Baron Nicolai, the Russian minister, 
 and another colleague, I regretted (as he was an old 
 acquaintance.) The rest of the company was com- 
 posed of Sir Henry*s family, with the addition of Mr. 
 Fenwick, the consul. 
 
 I mentioned the Chateau of Rosenberg as contain- 
 ing a most curious collection of old relics ; in it are 
 cabinets, with all the valuable presents that ever 
 were made to the kings of Denmark ; also large 
 wardrobes, in which are placed the armour and 
 ancient swords and daggers of great warriors and 
 former monarchs. There is, besides, a numerous 
 assortment of medals, admirably arranged, commenc- 
 ing before the nativity of Christ. This castle, as well 
 as that of Fredericksbourg, to which I shall presently 
 allude, are undergoing a complete repair ; and I must 
 admit, in this respect, that the king and government 
 are entitled to credit, for, witli cramped resources, 
 they are upliolding the ancient structures, and embel- 
 lishing, as far as they can, their gloomy capital : but 
 
 PRISON OF CAROLINE MATILDA. 
 
 39 
 
 it is inconceivable to me why a country possessing 
 so many natural advantages, and formerly standing 
 so prominent in the European picture, should volun- 
 tarily abstain from making that progress which Den- 
 mark could evidently accomplish. Although the loss 
 of Norway may have been grating to her national feel- 
 ings, and the acts of Great Britain may have been 
 poignantly felt, still Denmark must remember she has 
 been compensated by other possessions ; and Christian 
 cannot forget, and must feel, that he was one of the 
 most devoted of Napoleon's submissive sovereigns. If 
 Great Britain had not acted as she did, the Danish 
 fleet, in 1807, would undoubtedly have been directed 
 by Bonaparte, at that critical period, against British 
 interests and the liberties of Europe, for which Eng- 
 land was then contending. 
 
 After staying a few days at Copenhagen, we left 
 it on the 25th for Elsinore by the passage across the 
 Sound to Helsingborg. On our road we saw the 
 castle of Fredericksbourg, remarkable for its antiquity, 
 and interesting to Englishmen as having been the 
 prison (as well as Cronenburg castle) of Caroline 
 Matilda, Queen of Denmark, and sister of George 
 III. For her irregularities she was confined by her 
 husband. Christian VII., who became afterwards 
 imbecile, and was set aside to make room for a re- 
 gency during tlie minority of the present king. The 
 queen was afterwards liberated by the interference of 
 George III., and carried to Zell, where she remained, 
 and died under the protection of her sister, the then 
 reigning Duchess of Brunswick. There are features 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
t 
 
 40 
 
 CROSSING THE SOUND. 
 
 I 
 
 in this castle of deep interest, and highly worthy of 
 the notice of travellers. Upon a similar scale to our 
 institution of tlie order of the Bath are displayed 
 the insignia, escutclieon, and paraphernalia of the 
 Danish order of the Ek'[)hant ; liere is the chapel 
 where the knights are installed — here tlie armorial bear- 
 ings of living knights arranged in due order ; again 
 below, in a vaulted room, arc those of the knights wlio 
 are no more. George IV. 's banner, &,c. was par- 
 ticularly pointed out to us : an insincere compli- 
 ment, as it appeared to me, at best, as there has 
 not been, for many years past, much sympathy be- 
 tween Great Britain and Denmark, and, imquestion- 
 ably Frederick VI. \s conduct during the revolutionary 
 war with France did not call for any complimentary 
 exchange of cliivalric honours between the two 
 crowns. In addition to the foregoing objects of 
 curiosity, there is tlie large knights' dining-room at 
 the top of the casth^ 
 
 The fretted vault of this hall in carved and painted 
 wood, is unrivalled in its way ; and I strongly recom- 
 mend lovers of architecture and antiquity to visit the 
 Chateaus of Rosenberg and Fredericksbourg ; they are 
 beyond everything the most interesting edifices in 
 Denmark. We drove by another palace, called Frie- 
 densberg, a small distance from Rosenberg; but it 
 presented nothing remarkable, and we arrived at Elsi- 
 nore in time to cross the Sound by daylight. 
 
 At this passage there are no steam-boats. Whether 
 the rivalry existing between the two countries of Den- 
 mark and Sweden, and which is not likely to diminish 
 
 ENTRANCE OF THE SOUND. 
 
 41 
 
 speedily, is the cause that the modern facility of 
 steam conveyance is not resorted to, I know not, but 
 for a lengthened period the boatmen of Denmark on 
 the one side, and of Sweden on the other, have been 
 extremely jealous of their particular privileges ; nor 
 can you go across from Denmark in a Swedish boat, 
 nor come from Sweden in a Danish one. Owing to 
 this custom, the passage is badly attended to, and dis- 
 agreeable ; altliough, from not being more than a few 
 miles across, it is never dangerous. The road to Elsi- 
 nore from Copenhagen is well kept, and, generally 
 speaking, you are well driven in Denmark. Above 
 Elsinore stands the fortress of Cronenberg, of an 
 oblong construction. It appears strong, and on a 
 commanding spot of ground. 
 
 I was disappointed with the coup (Tceil of this famed 
 passage of the Sound, which connects the great German 
 Ocean and the Cattegat with the Baltic. I expected a 
 formidable and picturesque line of coast, whereas on 
 each side the land slopes gradually to the ocean. The 
 points that form the entrance of the Sound are far from 
 prominent; aid, with the exception of the striking 
 feature of Cronenberg, and the swarms of shipping 
 that are usually at anchor off Elsinore, and give a 
 faint idea of the Baltic trade, there is nothing remark- 
 able in the view. 
 
 The mode in which the carriages of travellers are 
 embarked in these small sailing vessels, is bad and 
 awkward. A crane swings them round, and they are 
 placed in the bottom of the boats, and interfere greatly 
 in the management of the sails. Two men alone 
 
42 
 
 TRAVELLING IN SWEDEN. 
 
 navigate each, so that if the wind were very high, or 
 the passage longer, it might be dangerous. 
 
 On landing at Helsingborg, we were met by the 
 commandant of the place, who had received orders 
 from the King of Sweden to treat us with every at- 
 tention, and to respect our baggage and effects. 
 
 In addition to the government order, we had letters 
 from Count Bistrorna, the Swedish minister in Lon- 
 don, with the strongest recommendation, and gaving 
 us the best information how to proceed on a journey 
 in a country less advanced in travelling accommoda- 
 tion than any we had yet entered. The kind manner, 
 however, by which we were protected, afforded us 
 much greater facilities than the generality of travellers 
 enjoy. On landing, we were escorted to the hotel by 
 the military and civil authorities of the place. The 
 inn in this town was remarkably clean, and an ex- 
 tremely good one — the fat landlord speaking German, 
 and having an empresseinent to serve, that could not 
 be surpassed. 
 
 There are no traces of any fortified works at Hel- 
 singborg on the Swedish side of the Sound. The 
 harbour is confined, and only capable of holding small 
 craft : it put me in mind of Ramsgate harbour, but is 
 greatly inferior to it, and is built of rough material, 
 with masonry of a very inferior description. An 
 old round tower stands on an eminence above the 
 town, which has very few decent houses. Mucli lias 
 been generally stated of the extreme cheapness of 
 j)osting and travelling in Sweden ; this may be the 
 case for those established in the country, but strangers 
 
 TRAVELLING IN SWEDEN. 
 
 43 
 
 must prepare, on their arrival at any post in this 
 country, for an immediate and considerable outlay. 
 In the first place, the horses are mere ponies, but, al- 
 though looking miserable in condition and appearance, 
 they have some good points about them ; small heads, 
 but generally good carcases and action. They are 
 driven three, four, or five abreast, with the coachman 
 sitting upon some part of the carriage. In Germany 
 and in Denmark the postilion rides and drives two, 
 three, or four horses on end, (as the case may be,) but 
 there are no postilions to ride in Sweden, and you 
 must provide yourself with driving harness and coach- 
 man, (as well as horses,) and you must likewise, if 
 you have no seat to drive from on your carriage, have 
 one constructed and put on for the purpose. Then, 
 when the number of horses is settled, (about 
 which there is always a great contention and diflH- 
 culty,) you are called upon to take off all the lug- 
 gage and heavy baggage that is on your carriage, 
 and either to put it in a Swedish carriage, which you 
 must buy for the purpose, or you must take from stage 
 to stage a peasant's wagon, exclusively to carry the 
 extra luggage taken off your own carriage, which the 
 strength of the little animals is not equal to pulling 
 up the heavy pitches. 
 
 The horses, number of carriages, and baggage con- 
 veyances being thus determined, you commence a 
 bargain for coachmen to drive the whole of your 
 journey, having bought harness for each set of horses. 
 
 We sent on the cook with the canteens over night, 
 to })repare our dinner and supj)er together : the hired 
 
 \-'< 
 
44 
 
 •'! 
 
 TUAVELLING IN SWEDEN. 
 
 carriage and the peasant's wagon followed us, with 
 our beds and baggage for the night ; so that, while we 
 were at dinner, our beds were prepared. Without 
 precautions of this sort, it is impossible to stop at the 
 inns: private lodgings you can in some places pro- 
 cure ; these are generally better and quieter than the 
 hotels or post-houses. The bedsteads in all places arc 
 so narrow you can scarce turn in them, and you are 
 cased up by sides as if you lay in a box , but tlie 
 worst of all is the indifference the people seem to feel 
 with regard to vermin, for, otherwise, it would surely 
 be possible to eradicate them from the rooms and 
 beds in which they usually swarm. 
 
 It must, however, be borne in mind that there is 
 very little travelling on the roads in the interior of 
 Sweden ; passengers hardly ever sleep at the inns, as 
 the diligences go all night ; and there is a canal, with 
 steam-boats from Gothenbourg to Stockholm, which is 
 almost universally made use of by the natives. Added 
 to this, the Swedes are neither accustomed to, nor do 
 they require, the luxuries or conveniences that travel- 
 lers in general expect. The charges, however, both 
 in Sweden and Norway, are preposterous to English- 
 men ; and it is narrated that when the Duke of De- 
 vonshire was at Christiania, they brought him so large 
 a bill, that it was referred to the nuigistrate, who 
 taxing the innkeeper for his gross fraud, the man 
 quietly replied, " He had not a Duke of Devonshire 
 every day, and he must pay accordingly." You have 
 no redress against these impositions, as, in case of re- 
 sistance to their demands, they stop your hordes, and 
 
 TRAVELLING IN SWEDEN. 
 
 45 
 
 you look in vain for justice. I must here acknow- 
 ledge I was so much incensed at one post where they 
 attempted to make fraudulent demands, that, on their 
 stopping my horses, I resisted, and at last succeeded in 
 getting off without a general disturbance, which I fully 
 expected. The extra expenses alluded to in the tra- 
 velling outfit (as you can never sell your harness and 
 carriage again for anything near what they cost) 
 make the charge of posting (added to the extra horses 
 and the paying for waiting, &c., which, if you are not 
 punctual, they always demand) amount to very nearly 
 the same expense as in other parts of the European 
 continent. Then there are endless delays arising from 
 breaking ropes and splicing traces, and, above all, 
 a monstrous time is lost in harnessing, &c., at every 
 post station. The exhibition is here curious ; you see, 
 before you come to the post-house, a group of peasants, 
 from fifteen to twenty, with the required number of 
 horses, in halters, or held by their heads. The ani- 
 mals that have brought you, have the ropes turned off 
 them. The moment the beasts are loose, they trot off 
 to the yard or field, or lie down and roll on the 
 ground, thus enjoying themselves and running at large. 
 In the mean time all the assembled peasants set 
 to work to get the new team ready ; but you must 
 not suppose that your carriages are loaded when the 
 horses are ready to start; so far from it, there are 
 yet to come large sacks either of green meat or chop- 
 ped hay or straw, which are forced upon your vehicles 
 in the most inconvenient place ; these are moreover 
 obliged to carry, on some part or other, all the 
 
 1 1 
 
 I f!l 
 
 <^x. 
 
46 
 
 THE ROADS. 
 
 peasants who belong to the horses, and wlio accom- 
 pany you all the road by running at the side, clinging 
 to the springs, or being carried somehow or other, in 
 order to bring their beasts back when arrived at the 
 station. It is hardly possible to believe that a little 
 regulation would not change so extremely inconve- 
 nient a system. If each postmaster were compelled to 
 keep harness, for which an additional posting cliarge 
 might be made, and if regular coachmen were kept, 
 this wild and barbarous mode of travelling might be 
 put an end to. If the posts are long, the coachmen 
 stop half-way, and the peasants, taking off the bridles, 
 feed their horses with black bread, which is always 
 brought in the sacks. I did not observe here (as in 
 Hanover) that the women fed or cleaned the horses, 
 but I saw them at the plough, and assisting in all 
 other duties of husbandry. 
 
 The roads are excellent, and from Helsingborg to 
 Stockholm it is nearly an entire plain. Indeed, with the 
 exception of one range of hills, about three miles on the 
 road to Falkenberg, which have the appearance of a low 
 ridge of alps, I saw scarcely any rising ground, but oc- 
 casionally there are short and steep rocky pitches. The 
 average rate of driving is from six to seven English 
 miles an hour, and you may calculate on being kept at 
 least half an hour at every change of horses ; thus 
 you make twelve or fourteen Swedish miles per day. 
 This is good travelling, a Swedish mile being about 
 six English. 
 
 Before I leave the subject of Swedish roads, I must 
 observe on a badly-managed system by wliicli tlte 
 
 FENCES, 
 
 47 
 
 farmers are allowed to put gates for continuing the 
 marking the boundaries of their pastures, across the 
 public roads. Nothing can be so annoying as being 
 stopped every five minutes to have gates opened ; it is 
 true tliat there are generally some poor half-starved 
 children at each gate when the weather is dry and 
 fine, but in bad weather some one from the carriages 
 must always descend for tlie purpose. I saw few toll- 
 bars, except where there are bridges of stone or wood ; 
 the latter are most frequent, but I apprehend the hard 
 granite material of which the roads are made binds so 
 well, and the wagons and carts of the country run so 
 light with narrow wheels, that the roads require little 
 or no repair, and very trifling tolls are levied for that 
 purpose. 
 
 The most singular feature along the sides of the 
 roads, and across the face of the country, is the wooden 
 fence, or rather paling, which is made by fixing two 
 sticks perpendicularly at certain distances from each 
 other, and then laying horizontally a number of other 
 pieces of wood across these perpendiculars, and bind- 
 ing the whole together with rush and wooden bands. 
 It is difficult to conceive the durability of this manu- 
 factured hedge, but, from its being so universal, I sup- 
 pose it answers, from the abundance and cheapness of 
 wood. It adds, however, a stiffness and coldness to the 
 look of a very flat, bleak country ; and I think the intro- 
 duction of ditches and quicks would be a material im- 
 provement. Indeed every agricultural embellishment 
 is much in arrear ; the generality of the crops was poor, 
 though occasionally, near the towns, I saw some toler- 
 able grain. 
 

 48 
 
 THE SWEDISH PEOPLE. 
 
 In the villages, the houses are universally built of 
 wood ; and here again there is no inclination to ad- 
 vance, although stone and lime for substantial build- 
 ings do not seem wanting. The mansions are painted 
 different colours, but chiefly red, and the fences and 
 shutters have a variety of tints, which make the gar- 
 dens round them appear neat and gay, and they form 
 a contrast with the post-houses and places of reception, 
 which are generally bad. The use of large glass 
 windows, to which are invariably attached white fringed 
 curtains, gives an air of cleanliness outside. The 
 pavement in all the towns is execrable, and the poorer 
 class of people seem wretched ; many go barefooted. 
 J saw, near the cottages, no visible means of live- 
 lihood ; neither pig-sties, turf-stacks, nor corn or cattle: 
 every side was barren. I learnt also that the people 
 seldom indulge in meat, neither do they like potatoes, 
 but they make a sort of oatmeal cake, which they keep 
 chewing in their mouth, (like tobacco,) on which they 
 chiefly live. Distilled spirits and strong liquors are 
 very prevalent amongst the lower classes ; and I really 
 believe tliey are as badly off* in the common nourish- 
 ments of life as the peasants in the south of Ireland. 
 There is an apparent misery and dearth of population 
 through the country, and yet many parts have the 
 means of making progress, if it were not for an adhe- 
 rence to old usages and customs, which in the laws 
 and government of Sweden have been set aside, but 
 in the provinces and country old habits yet prevail. 
 The poor are not ill clothed ; the peasants bringing 
 their post-horses had generally jackets made of sheep- 
 
 CATTLE. — FOOD. 
 
 49 
 
 skins, the woolly side inwards. The men wear caps with 
 little shades ; the country girls have handkerchiefs of 
 different colours tied over the head, and equally gay- 
 coloured neckerchiefs ; and I was much struck by their 
 picturesque appearance, driving along in their little 
 carts. 
 
 Of the light wagons and carriages there is one 
 of a peculiar nature; it affords a place only for a 
 single person, in the form of a buggy ; it is placed 
 on very long springs, and must be easy and play 
 gently ; the master generally sits and drives, and a 
 palfrcnier stands close behind him. 
 
 The cattle I saw in Sweden were unusually small ; 
 the milch cows indifferent, and you rarely, if ever, 
 meet with good butter or cream, and no cheese. 
 The peculiarity of the oxen tribe is, that they have 
 nearly all white, bald faces ; the sheep are likewise 
 small, and are rarely seen but in very small flocks, 
 with a boy or two, and a shaggy dog to guard them ; 
 the herd is mixed up with goats, which are chiefly 
 black, and there are also numerous black sheep. In 
 various parts of the heath and mountain ground I 
 perceived the cultivators were adopting the plan of 
 paring and burning it, but whether with effect I could 
 not learn. It is necessary for the traveller to know 
 that he will hardly ever find meat at a post-house 
 without previous preparation ; and the meat, as com- 
 pared with English, is only half-fed and very indif- 
 ferent ; the beef is better than the mutton ; fowls badly 
 nourished, and of no flavour; geese and ducks fat and 
 plentiful ; eggs, coffee, rusks, and bread, or rolls filled 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 
 
 INN AT GOTHENBOURG. 
 
 i! 
 
 with aniseed, is the general fare at each inn. Wine is 
 everywhere imported and conveyed into the interior 
 by the easy canal carriage, and excellent champagne 
 and all sorts of Eno-lish beer were to be had : the com- 
 mon beer of the country is bad. 
 
 The journey in two days from Helsingborg to Go- 
 thenbourg is harassing. We did not arrive at Falken- 
 berg, which is about half-way, until two o'clock in 
 the morning of the 27th. The accommodation at the 
 above place was indifferent, our party being separated 
 in two houses ; the vermin in each were insufferable. 
 The females of our party did not go to bed, and we 
 arrived at Gothenbourg on the following day, mucli 
 tired and worn out. Here is a large straggling inn, 
 kept by a fat Swedish widow, with numerous women- 
 servants in tlie house, by whom you are attended. 
 The apartments are good, and, except tlie intolerable 
 smells and dirt in passing and repassing to your rooms, 
 the place is not uncomfortable. 
 
 GOTHENBOURG. 
 
 51 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Gothenbourg— Inn at Trollhatten— Canal to Stockholm— Falls of 
 Trollhatten— Mr. Lloyd— Marienstadt— Dreary Country— Stock- 
 holm— Public Buildings— View of Stockholm— Shops— Por- 
 pliyry — Carriages and Horses— The Swedish Army. 
 
 The town of Gothenbourg is small, but the streets 
 are wide, and the houses old ; the harbour and canals 
 almost encircle the city. It was nearly burnt down 
 in 1804, since which the main street has been most 
 judiciously and strongly rebuilt with brick and stone. 
 A fine row of large houses fronts the quays on each 
 side of the canal that comes from the sea. A consi- 
 derable number of vessels constantly trade here, and 
 the export of iron and deals to America and England 
 is very great. The merchants are a rich, pains-taking 
 set of people; and as a canal is now established 
 through Sweden from Gothenbourg to Stockholm, 
 I should have thought it a fine opening for the exten- 
 sion of trade ; and I was, therefore, proportionably sur- 
 prised to learn that the steam-packets which ran from 
 Harwich to this place had been discontinued last year 
 
 E 2 
 
 n 
 
IIh. 
 
 52 
 
 INN AT TROLLHATTEN. 
 
 by the parsimonj^ of both governments, it being 
 alleged that they did not pay their expenses. 
 
 Mr. Harrison, the English vice-consul, waited upon 
 us, and afforded us every assistance. No letters from 
 England, nor news of any kind, were now received at 
 Gothenbourg but by Hamburgh ; and this great incon- 
 venience is submitted to for the paltry annual saving 
 of £4000 between the two governments, when one 
 should suppose it would be worth thrice that sum to 
 keep up a constant and continual intercourse between 
 the nearest points in the two countries. There are from 
 Helsingborg two lines of road which travellers can take 
 to Stockholm ; one to the south by Lindkoping, Nor- 
 koping, and Nykoping, and the other more north- 
 wardly by Gothenbourg and the Falls of Trollhatten. 
 The former has the advantage of being a day's jour- 
 ney shorter. The latter affords the opportunity of 
 seeing Gothenbourg and the celebrated sluices and 
 watercourses of Trollhatten. We were tempted by 
 the description we had received of the wonders of the 
 north road to take that way, and proceeded on the 
 28th to Trollh'atten, where there is a IsiTge junketting 
 inn ; it being a place of resort for parties visiting the 
 waterfalls, and the large steam saw-mills established 
 here by a Mr. Dixon, an English merchant. 
 
 The house is kept very clean up stairs ; but being 
 built of wood, and the weather stormy, we found it 
 cold, and were delighted with large fires in the 
 middle of August. The lower part, however, swarmed 
 with all sorts of people ; the kitchen, being close to 
 the bottom of the staircase, presented a scene of un- 
 
 CANAL TO STOCKHOLM. 
 
 53 
 
 equalled slovenliness. Though we reposed a day here, 
 we found it difficult for our own cook to get us any- 
 thing really good for dinner. This surprised us the 
 more, as we heard the waters abounded in salmon and 
 trout, and the country with les coqs de bruyeres and 
 game of all sorts, except partridges, whicli are rare 
 in Sweden, and none so early in this jDjart of tlie 
 country. In lieu thereof there are numbers in autumn 
 of a bird called Jellinotte, which is remarkably good 
 and delicate, but in general there were bad supplies of 
 them this year. 
 
 I liave mentioned the large engine-establishment of 
 Mr. Dixon, which is within a stone's throw of the inn. 
 The powerful machinery was brought into operation 
 here about ten years since. This gentleman took a 
 lease of the premises from the Swedish Canal Com- 
 pany, and, having erected these saw-mills, purchased 
 large lots of timber in the country, which are brought 
 down on rafts, and floated through the canals or over 
 the lakes, or carried by small craft, and, when sawed, 
 are further shipped and sent to Gothenbourg, where 
 they are embarked for England. There seems a great 
 trade in these deals, and I have no doubt Mr. Dixou 
 has realised (as he deserves) a considerable fortune. 
 The canal to Stockholm is a splendid national work. 
 It is formed and carried on by a company, and the 
 shares are at present paying twelve per cent. There 
 are other canals in Sweden, but none equal to this 
 magnificent undertaking. For a considerable way 
 near its source it is cut through solid rocks, — a 
 striking monument of the perseverance and ingenuity 
 
 l\ 
 
htj- 
 
 54 
 
 FALLS OF TROLLHATTEN. 
 
 of the Swedish people. Besides the canal, the great 
 sluices (that are established for the ingress and 
 egress of vessels, and their passing each other to and 
 fro when laden) claim particular attention ; they are 
 of gigantic construction. There is also now esta- 
 blished, by means of the company, a steam-boat con- 
 veyance twice a week to Stockholm, by which you 
 can travel in five days from Trollhatten with great 
 convenience and comfort, stopping every night. As, 
 however, these boats do not carry large carriages, I 
 gave up all idea of making this experiment. 
 
 I am now to describe the waterfalls. I had heard 
 that they surpass those of the Rhine, and even equal 
 those of Niagara. Not having yet visited America, 
 though I may do so one of these days, (if fate j)ermit,) 
 I can say nothing of the latter comparison ; but having 
 seen the falls of the Rhine, I can confidently deny that 
 those of Trollhatten can at all compare with them in 
 height, body, or expanse of water, or surrounding pic- 
 turesque embellishments ; nay, for my own part, I 
 really do not think these Swedish falls surpass those 
 of the Clyde. Great pains seem to be taken by the 
 government to form walks of easy access, and to beau- 
 tify the environs. Prince Oscar and his family had 
 been residing at this place last year ; the king had also 
 been here to patronise it ; and on the face of a large 
 rock you see hewn out the names of Carl Jean Oscar 
 and all the family ; but there is not sufficient pic- 
 turesque scenery, nor are there bathing or mineral wa- 
 ters to induce travellers to make it a place for long 
 rebideuce. They reported at the inn that there was 
 
 MR. LLOYD. MARIENSTADT. 
 
 55 
 
 good salmon-fishing, and that young English noblemen 
 have visited it for that purpose ; and there is an anec- 
 dote of a Mr. Lloyd, a Welsh gentleman, who has 
 hired or bought a property in the neighbourhood, and 
 who devotes himself exclusively to the field-sports of 
 Sweden, especially to hunting and killing bears and 
 stags. In following the former he is particularly 
 adroit ; but he lives, for this object, nearly the life of a 
 mountaineer, and I was sorry to learn his ardour had 
 been lately somewhat cooled by his shooting a peasant 
 instead of Bruin, which must have been most distress- 
 ing, if the statement be true. This gentleman has pub- 
 lished an amusing work on the field-sports of Sweden 
 and Norway, and is considered quite a character in 
 the country. 
 
 The inn, lately built, is in the best position for 
 viewing the cataracts of the place. The road was 
 formerly on the northern side. The canal is about 
 forty feet wide, and above fifty deep — the cataracts 
 broad, and full of foam ; but they do not tumble from 
 any height so as to excite astonishment. There are 
 three principal places to view them from. The broad- 
 est fall is that which is nearest the inn. 
 
 Having explored all worth notice, we renewed 
 our journey on the 30th to Marienstadt, a distance 
 of twelve or thirteen Swedish miles. We passed 
 the fine river of the Gorta, and drove a considerable 
 way by the lake Wener, one of the largest in Sweden. 
 I can say little of the inn at Marienstadt, but 
 it was not so bad as that at Falkenberg. We 
 were first informed that Embechen was the place 
 
56 
 
 DIIEAUY COUNTRY. 
 
 STOCKHOLM 
 
 57 
 
 i) 
 
 ;li 
 
 to pass the night ; but, wisliing to reach the town 
 of Orebro on the following day, we made an effort to 
 get to Marienstadt, where we were not repaid by any 
 comfort. On the 31st we slept at Orebro, near which 
 place is the seat of the Baron Rehausen, so long- 
 minister in England. There are a large castle and jail 
 in the town, but the post-house, close to the church- 
 yard, is extremely disagreeable. Our lodgings like- 
 wise were divided (as at Falkenberg) into two depart- 
 ments. We suffered all possible annoyance and incon- 
 venience. 
 
 The country through which we travelled the last 
 few days had the same flatness, the same wretched 
 appearance, unvaried by the sight of man or beast. 
 Occasionally large forests of pine diversify the uninte- 
 resting extent of plains and lakes, and rocks intervene 
 in the dreary monotony of the wooden fences which I 
 have before described. In one word, it is hardly 
 possible, in any country which I have yet seen, to 
 travel so great a distance without coming to some 
 habitable spot ; and the barrenness of this part of 
 Sweden is certainly, I should think, unequalled in the 
 rest of Europe. 
 
 On the 1st of September we halted for the night at 
 Emkoping, where the accommodation is by no means 
 better than that of other stages on the road ; and on 
 the 2nd we entered Stockholm. I must now say, for 
 the credit of the coachman whom we hired at Hel- 
 singborg, that we had not a single accident, and, with 
 the exception of one delay, 1 believe there never was a 
 journey performed more liappily. The delay I allude 
 
 to, was at one of those very steep and rugged ascents 
 which I have before mentioned. Our little Lilliputian 
 horses gibbed with our large carriage ; our servants for- 
 tunately leaped from behind, and, with much presence 
 of mind, put stones under the wheels, and thereby 
 saved the carriage from inevitable destruction : we 
 were then obliged to unrope the horses from the lead- 
 ing carriage, and pull up our large machine, turning 
 all the party out upon the rocks until this point was 
 accomplished. These are the dcsagremens that make 
 travelling abroad at night with ladies always at- 
 tended by annoyance, and, unless necessity compels 
 it, it should never be attempted. The worst cabaret or 
 the most uninviting gite is better to put up with, 
 (having beds and canteens with you,) than to risk all 
 possible dangers in the dark in unfrequented and 
 thinly-peopled regions. Besides, after all, there is 
 not much gained ; because, slow as the operation of 
 changing and collecting horses in the daytime is, it 
 is doubly tedious at night. I would also give another 
 caution necessary on a journey in Sweden, namely, 
 not to hire or load any peasant's waggon, which is 
 to be changed at each station by awkward English 
 servants aided by the peasants. I experienced much 
 inconvenience and difficulty from this bad manage- 
 ment. It is far preferable to buy your own wagon. 
 
 I shall now detail briefly my own impressions of 
 Stockholm. The approach to the town is in no 
 degree striking ; by this northern route you arrive 
 by a succession of gardens, with high palings, on 
 the road-side; there is no apparent movement or 
 
:'j 
 
 58 
 
 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 bustle indicative of a capital. Wooden houses pre- 
 vail alternately with brick, and you enter the city 
 by a common sort of gate, where a guard of the 
 grenadiers of the Swedish guards is placed; you 
 then drive down a long-continued street called La 
 Rue de la Reine, which I heard afterwards was tlie 
 principal thoroughfare of the town, and at the end 
 of it you arrive at the Hotel du Nord — the best, in- 
 deed I may say the only, hotel garni wliere an 
 English family can be well accommodated ; and 
 had the best apartments been occupied, we should 
 have been very badly lodged. A more striking 
 instance cannot surely be given of tlie extreme po- 
 verty of a great city, of the little resort of strangers, 
 and of the unfrequent visits of travellers of distinc- 
 tion. Mr. Bloomfield, our charge d'affaires, had 
 engaged our rooms, and attended to us during the 
 whole of our stay with the utmost kindness and 
 friendship. 
 
 Iq diverging from the Rue de la Reine, you come 
 immediately on the great square of Stockholm. The 
 royal palace, a magnificent structure, stands opposite. 
 Le Pont du Nord is here thrown over the river, which 
 spreads itself into several branches, on the banks of 
 which the town is built. On the right of this square 
 is another palace, formerly the Princess Sophia's ; but, 
 since her death and the banishment of the Vasa 
 dynasty, it has lapsed to the present king. On the 
 left side of the square is the splendid Salle d'Opera, 
 where Gustavus III. was assassinated ; and in the centre 
 a fine bronze statue of Gustavus Vasa has been erected. 
 
 VIEW OF STOCKHOLM. 
 
 59 
 
 Although these edifices are all of brick and stucco, 
 except a stupendous architectural double staircase 
 that leads up to the palace, it is impossible not to 
 be struck with admiration at this grand view of a 
 city different almost from any other. In my 
 mind it bears much resemblance to the situation of 
 Lisbon, with its various hills, its white mansions, 
 rocks, and radiant waters. It appears in many 
 places to have fine houses, and yet, if you stretch 
 into the suburbs, you have islands surrounded by 
 branches of bold running, or calm and still stream- 
 lets ; you have drawbridges and bridges of boats 
 over all these ; then gay wooden buildings, ragged 
 crags, picturesque lime-trees and sycamores, bending 
 their branches to the waters. If you turn your eyes 
 on one side, you imagine yourself in the midst of 
 most romantic scenery ; and if on the other, you are 
 astonished by stately spires and massive porticoes of 
 temples and churches. The most striking effect 
 in Stockholm is produced by a visit to the Mussel 
 Berg on the high promontory above the town, where 
 the telegrapli is erected : from it you look down upon 
 a rich and diversified panorama ; for the poverty of 
 the building materials being no longer visible, the 
 town appears as a mass of stone mansions towering 
 upon diflferent hillocks, one above another, surrounded 
 by rivers, out of which islands, covered with the finest 
 trees, rise in rival beauty. On the side of the park, 
 where the king has created a seclusion for himself in a 
 villa which really is a little paradise, you see docks or 
 coverings, painted in coloured woods, for the gun- 
 
I' I/' 
 
 1 
 
 -I 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 [l! 
 
 60 
 
 VIEW OF STOCKHOLM. 
 
 boats, which are innumerable in the Swedish service. 
 Capacious and very fine barracks for the horse and 
 foot guards, in a line with this range of docks, next 
 strike your attention ; and then various bridges over 
 the many branches of the subsidiary rivulets, inter- 
 sected by fragments of huge stone, covered with 
 every species of shrub and plant tliat belong to the 
 country. Finally, the eye rests upon the expansive 
 quays, custom-house, and forests of shipping of every 
 country, which range just below the royal palace; 
 and the colossal equestrian statue of Gustavus Vasa, 
 in majestic height, towers above all with picturesque 
 effect, and seems to look down with a commanding 
 expression, as much as to announce, " All that is be- 
 low, and round, and near, is mine." This is but a 
 feeble description of what really fascinates the be- 
 holder, as the spot affords at once an ocular decep- 
 tion which produces a truly enchanting spectacle. 
 
 The next object in the city is the fine square or 
 promenade of Nordemnalin, where there is a statue 
 in bronze of Gustavus Adolphus on a granite pe- 
 destal flanked by four rampant lions ; a little be- 
 yond it formerly stood the great church of Ritter- 
 holm, in which were collected all the tombs of the 
 kings of Sweden, and the trophies of their wars. 
 This fine building, having been struck by lightning, 
 was lately destroyed by fire, and all the banners and 
 trophies are now in a very confused and mutilated 
 state. The churches of St. Nicholas and St. Clair are 
 grand and handsome ; the former has a good collec- 
 tion of pictures. There are various public establish- 
 
 li 
 
 SHOPS. PORPHYRY. 
 
 61 
 
 ments, for orphans, for lying-in women, and for the 
 widows of citizens ; also academies of science, sculp- 
 ture, and painting, together with the arsenal and 
 naval establishments, all of which tire well worthy of 
 inspection. 
 
 There is an extremely poor display in the shops 
 in Stockholm ; the only ones of any importance 
 appear in La Rue de la Reine: everything in the 
 shape of " les modes" may be obtained as well at a 
 provincial town in England. One establishment, how- 
 ever, of the unique fabric of porphyry merits particular 
 notice. The direction of this work (like the Pietra 
 Dura in Tuscany) is entirely under the direction of the 
 government. The stone is of singular beauty, nearly 
 of all colours, and takes the highest possible polish, 
 but it is so hard that it requires great labour and 
 time to work it, and the smallest articles are in 
 consequence excessively expensive. The large vases, 
 jardinieres, or urns that are made, are of high value. 
 They keep nothing of any consequence at the maga- 
 zine : every article must be bespoken, and there are 
 prices fixed by the government according to the 
 square inch worked, so that no traffic can be made ; 
 indeed, the whole estabhshment is in the hands of 
 the king. This porphyry is peculiar to Sweden, and 
 it is more rare and durable, and more difficult to be 
 got, than any other kind of stone or granite in the 
 north. 
 
 The badness and poverty of the shops may ac- 
 count for the little inclination there seems to be on 
 the part of the inhabitants to walk abroad in the 
 streets ; unless, indeed, you would find a reason in 
 
62 
 
 CARRIAGES AND HORSES. 
 
 11 
 
 the vilest pavement, which appears here tlie less 
 excusable, as there are good materials, and an im- 
 provement in this respect wants only some additional 
 expense and a good system of management. I fear, 
 however, the former is inconvenient, as the finances 
 are not flourishing, and the people are impoverished ; 
 and as to the latter, the Swedes, like the Danes, are yet 
 too much wedded to old plans and customs ; although, 
 to do them justice, they are evidently making great and 
 rapid progress in science and in modern arts. The light- 
 ing of the city is far better than at Copenhagen. Car- 
 riages of all sorts are to be seen, and nearly every one 
 drives about. Omnibuses are likewise established, and 
 the court, the nobles, and the corps diplomatique pride 
 themselves on their equipages, which are respectable. 
 The royal stables, close to the palace, are much upon the 
 same scale as those of Denmark — viz. sets of cream- 
 colours, of greys, of bays, browns, and blacks, with lum- 
 bering, heavy, gilt-gingerbread royal carriages. Some 
 of the small horses at Stockholm are nevertheless of 
 quick action, go high, and are very nice ; but, excepting 
 the royal stud, the generality are of a very diminutive 
 
 SWEDISH ARMY, 
 
 63 
 
 race. 
 
 The civil and military administration of this lately 
 united kingdom of Sweden and Norway is embar- 
 rassed with incongruities and difficulties of various 
 descriptions, and it will be a lapse of years before the 
 government can be conducted and consolidated in 
 harmony and cordiality. 
 
 For example, the constitution of Sweden prescribes 
 its fundamental laws to be enacted by the five estates, 
 of which the king, clergy, and nobles, are three, the 
 
 burghers and peasants being the other two ; a majority 
 is generally at the command of the sovereign. This 
 is not so in Norway, and the late refractory spirit of 
 the Storthing, in resisting the will of the monarch 
 and refusing the budget, together with their accusing 
 one of the principal ministers, and demanding his 
 dismissal, (which minister had virtually acted under 
 royal authority,) leads to a surmise that some organic 
 changes may be attempted sooner or later by King 
 Charles in the Norway Act of Union. 
 
 It seems impossible that affairs can go on long as 
 they are, unless the king has firmness to resist and 
 overcome the democracy of his Norwegian subjects. 
 His Majesty has had the greatest merit in organising 
 his army. I saw it inefficient, though patient and 
 enduring, in 1813. I inspected, in 1836, various 
 regiments in detail, and could form a tolerably accu- 
 rate opinion of the whole ; they are admirably clothed 
 and accoutred, have a martial, soldier-like air, and ap- 
 pear clean and orderly. When, in addition, I was told 
 that this country, on an emergency, could collect one 
 hundred thousand men in a short space of time, with 
 proportionate artillery and cavalry, I could not help 
 being amazed at the improvement that had been ac- 
 complished in twenty years. It is difficult to conceive 
 where revenue could be found in so poor a realm to 
 e(juip and organise such a force ; and although I got 
 no precise information as to the finances of the country, 
 I cannot imagine, from all I witnessed, from what 
 sources they can flow, or how they can in any reason- 
 able time be flourishing. 
 
^\1 
 
 t 
 
 y 
 
 04 
 
 THE KING OF SWEDENT. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The King of Sweden — Conversation with the King — Royal Dinners 
 — Ladies of the Court— Prince Oscar — Military Festival — 
 Prince Oscar's Sons — The King's Villa at Rosenberg — Royal 
 Dinner — Other Visits to the King — Conversation with his Ma- 
 jesty—Unexpected Occurrence — Royal Steam-yacht — Our Fel- 
 low Passengers— Departure from Sweden. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to give any biographical 
 sketch of the extraordinary individual who now 
 governs this country, as few are ignorant of the career 
 of Bernadotte. In 1813 I saw him at Damewitz and 
 at Leipsic. It was my fortune to be peculiarly con- 
 nected with him in various duties I had to discharge, 
 both of a military and diplomatic character. I was 
 always impressed with his singular talent and ability ; 
 and when one contemplates him as the only individual 
 who has established, amidst the storms of revolution, 
 his dynasty upon the ancient throne of Sweden and 
 Norway, it is impossible not to render him that 
 homage which his transcendent genius demands. 
 
 I was not prepared (from circumstances to which 
 it is unnecessary to advert) to receive that singularly 
 kind accueily and that royal and affectionate favour, 
 
 I 
 
 THE KING OF SWEDEN. 
 
 05 
 
 which his Majesty, after a lapse of twenty-three years, 
 was pleased, on my visiting his kingdom, to bestow 
 on me and mine ; and we all know when a monarch 
 gives the tone, how cordially all the court and sub- 
 jects follow its impulse. Charles-Jean was fifty 
 years of age in 1813; I found him, therefore, with 
 twenty-three years added to his wonderful life, and in 
 appearance little changed ; the same vigour of mind, 
 and apparently of body, the same elasticity of intellect ; 
 and if his singularly coal-black hair had in this lapse 
 of years received a tinge of a lighter hue, and if it 
 had not its former glossiness, there appeared the same 
 quantity ; and the frame of the soldier, the warrior, 
 and the man, was in no degree altered or shrunk, nor 
 its force (to appearance) diminished. 
 
 One singular feature in the King of Sweden has 
 always made a great impression on my mind. In 
 conversing with him, he has the art, as a painter of the 
 first order, of bringing into operation every colour 
 that can embellish the subject of which he treats. He 
 forms, as it were, the tableau of his discourse ; " il pose 
 les principes ;" and when his groundwork is sufii- 
 ciently laboured to rivet the attention of the eager 
 listener, he beautifies his allusions, and attracts you 
 by his epigrammatic sentences, while he alludes to 
 history, both ancient and modern, and you are enrap- 
 tured with the brilliancy and playfulness of his con- 
 versation. It has been my lot to communicate person- 
 ally and confidentially with many of the first characters 
 of the age, and I know no individual (not even except- 
 ing Prince Metternich) who more entirely interests, and 
 
 VOL. I. p 
 
 I 
 
BBB9Mi^^*fl«P^ 
 
 mm 
 
 GG 
 
 CONVERSATION WITH THE KING. 
 
 IIOYAL DINNERS. 
 
 G7 
 
 completely gains possession of your faculties, than the 
 King of Sweden, when he chooses to converse with 
 you with that freedom and ease which he can em- 
 ploy. 
 
 I enjoyed several long conversations with him on 
 nearly every public and political subject during my 
 stay at Stockholm, on which it would be unnecessary 
 and injudicious to dilate. The general purport of his ob- 
 servations was favourable to England. Some little un- 
 easiness perhaps towards Russia had lately been created, 
 on account of her having pressed vigorously the com- 
 pletion of the fortifications on the island of Aland, 
 and of her preparing a large dock-yard for the whole 
 of her fleet ; at which station an immense armament 
 might at any time be collected within forty-eight 
 hours' sail of Stockholm. In alluding to this point, I 
 asked the King why he did not, in like manner, in- 
 crease the batteries and fortifications on the islands 
 and channel up to his own capital ; he replied, he fully 
 intended to do so, and to render it impregnable in the 
 course of time, and when the means were provided by 
 the country for so important an object. 
 
 Desirous of knowing if the King persevered in tlic 
 same custom as formerly — when I was obliged from 
 my duties to visit his Majesty at all hours — of 
 sitting up very late and getting up at one or two 
 in the day, and, while dressing, dictating his letters 
 and business, — I heard that in this respect his habits 
 had undergone no change, and that he was known 
 in winter to be six or seven months without going 
 out of his room ; and yet, if occasion required it, 
 
 he could at once change his way of life without 
 the least inconvenience, and be all night on horse- 
 back, not feeling the worse for it. He was on the 
 kindest terms with the queen, who, although doat- 
 ingly attached to Paris and France, reconciles her- 
 self to her great and important duties. She seems 
 the most amiable person imaginable. We had several 
 dinners with her Majesty, during our short stay, 
 both at the palace in town, and at Rosenberg in the 
 park. The state dinners and company usually consist 
 of the court, the high officers of state, the ministers, and 
 the minister of the corps diplomatique to whose 
 country the distinguished strangers belong who may 
 be invited. About forty or fifty persons are commonly 
 the number invited. The dinner is served a la Russe, 
 but the mixture of French and Swedish cookery is 
 not the most perfect ; the king, to be patriotic, will 
 only employ the latter — the queen has her cuisine 
 apart. At the dinners of great ceremony all is united ; 
 and it is rather singular to hear, that so contracted is 
 the circle of society at Stockholm, that the King's 
 gardens and two parks are let. When there is 
 a large party at court, the best of every article, fruits, 
 game, &c., is sought for in the open market for the 
 occasion, and families in the town find diflficulty in 
 being supplied on those days. 
 
 Of the officers and ministers most in the confidence 
 of his Majesty, M. le Chevaher de Brae and le Baron 
 de Shulzenheim (in the absence of Baron Wettentedt, 
 the prime minister) stand pre-eminently conspicuous. It 
 would be impossible for me here not to add my humble 
 
 F 2 
 
6S 
 
 LADIES OF THE COUUT. 
 
 tribute of admiration to the exalted reputation M. de 
 Wettentedt has obtained, not only in his own country 
 with his sovereign, but over all Europe. I deeply 
 regretted his absence in England, where he had gone 
 for advice for a dangerous malady. The universal 
 feeling in favour of this most talented and able mi- 
 nister leads to the impression that when Sweden loses 
 him, she " ne'er will see his like again." Since writ- 
 ing tlie above, he has been, alas ! called from hence. 
 
 Of the ladies of the court I can write but little. 
 Our visit to Stockholm took place unfortunately at 
 a time of year when families were in the country. 
 The dames d'honneur were all extremely amiable ; one 
 of the most fascinating persons of the court, Madame 
 
 J 1, daughter of Count Wettentedt, whom I very 
 
 much wished to see, was at the country-seat of her 
 father. I had great reason to be pleased with the 
 corps diplomatique. The French minister, M. de 
 Moraay, so well known and considered so amiable in 
 England, the Austrian, Mr. Edward Woyna, the 
 American, Mr. Hughes, all gave us handsome dinners. 
 I must especially particularise M. de Mornay for the 
 extreme refinement of his table. We dined often 
 with him. We had no ladies at his parties ; but 
 at Count Woyna's we had a very agreeable person, 
 
 the wife of Count C L m, a minister high in 
 
 the favour of Charles XIV. He was employed at the 
 congress of Vienna, and has a high reputation for 
 talent. Count Woyna's house was fitted up in the 
 extreme of good taste. With Mr. Hughes's hospitality 
 and dinner I was peculiarly flattered, not having 
 

 PRINCE OSCAIl. 
 
 60 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 .M (()) ;^' m IP if]f ir it^ m 
 
 known him before ; he was much noticed by the late 
 Mr. Canning, and would probably have risen to high 
 diplomatic station, had his friends in America been 
 in favour with the president, as diplomatic appoint- 
 ments are dealt out by the will of the minister in 
 America, as in England. Mr. Hughes showed me 
 some autograph letters of the late Mr. Canning, 
 which fully convinced me of the regard and estimation 
 in which he was held by that statesman. 
 
 Besides our dinners with the court and corps diplo- 
 matique, we had a delightful party at Prince Oscar's 
 at Drottenheim. He has a beautiful palace a few 
 miles from Stockholm, which the King allows him to 
 occupy, his Majesty not liking it so well as his other 
 residences ; and he lives here with the princess and his 
 delightful family. She is a daughter of the celebrated 
 Eugene Beauhamois, and wonderfully like him ; her 
 manners are very engaging. We had about sixty 
 of Prince Oscar's court and family at dinner ; and as 
 the windows of the palace open on the lake, on which 
 there is a constant passage of steam-boats to and from 
 Stockholm, the disembarkation of the crowds who 
 come to walk in the public gardens, and the arrival 
 and departure of the boats, with their different 
 streamers, all firing royal salutes as they arrive and 
 depart, made the scene indescribably animating. 
 
 Prince Oscar has the command of the Swedish 
 navy as well as a division of the guards, and is gene- 
 rally charged with the military drill of the army, for 
 which purpose a battalion of instruction is constantly 
 stationed at Drottenheim under his peculiar direc- 
 
 i.ondi ■ 
 
i«p-«a 
 
 70 
 
 MILITARY FESTIVAL. 
 
 tion. The battalion is composed of the most intelli- 
 gent non-commissioned officers of all the regiments of 
 the army ; these are changed as they are perfected 
 and able to return to their corps, and capable of giv- 
 ing full instruction to them in their relative situations. 
 The selection of the soldiers is made by the officers 
 commanding regiments, who are ordered to send men 
 who can read and write, and who are intelligent, in 
 preference to those who are handsome, tall, or well 
 formed. Prince Oscar regularly superintends the les- 
 sons of this battalion, and he bestows a really parental 
 anxiety on their progress, while he consults their amuse- 
 ments together with their studies. He occasionally 
 gives them balls, and he invited me, after dinner, to 
 attend one of these festivals. 
 
 I was not a little curious to witness the scene, and we 
 proceeded to a large temple or room, where nearly three 
 hundred soldiers were assembled in their foraging dress. 
 At first they were formed in line, in two ranks, and 
 the prince went along their front and rear, conversing 
 with sundry of the men with the greatest familiarity, 
 as if he knew everything relating to them ; the men 
 had a soldier-like appearance, were well set up, and 
 their countenances bespoke intelligence and happiness. 
 On returning to the head of the spacious apartment, 
 at a sudden word of command the soldiers all sepa- 
 rated, and in a few minutes, from the crowd that sur- 
 rounded the outside of the building ; the greater part 
 returned, having selected village maids, and a regular 
 scampering waltz and dance began. Unquestionably 
 the idea occurred to me that they must mana'uvre 
 
 PRINCE OSCAR S SONS. 
 
 71 
 
 mucli better than they danced, or that they were bad 
 proficients ; but at any rate the hilarity and novelty of 
 the scene were amusing ; the more so as, from a sudden 
 
 * 
 
 word of the prince, the men formed instantly in line 
 again, leaving their deserted and disconsolate partners 
 to hurry off to rejoin their friends and their parents 
 as well as they could. 
 
 In all this exhibition you could trace the natural 
 French " maniire de faire et agir,'' which is so pe- 
 culiar, and which nature has so strongly marked on 
 Prince Oscar, that, with all his Swedish desire to 
 become Scandinavian, he never really can drain off* 
 that pure French blood that flows in his veins. I 
 could not help remarking to the prince, how much 
 I was astonished that he could charge himself with 
 duties which I considered so incompatible as the 
 command of the navy, and also be responsible for a 
 situation in the army. The prince with modesty 
 replied, " It was necessary to have his name at the 
 head of the navy, but that the army was his real pas- 
 sion ; the King, however, commanded that in person, 
 and he was glad to be of any service his Majesty 
 thought him capable of performing." 
 
 Mothing could be more devoted to his sovereign and 
 to the nation than his royal highness appeared to be. 
 He presented me to his sons, three beautiful boys, 
 who are brought up entirely as Swedes; these are 
 tlirown as much in the way of the people as possible, 
 and I heard universally that the dynasty of the family 
 was as firmly established, and the children considered 
 as thoroughly belonging to the soil, as if they had 
 
k^ 
 
 72 
 
 THE KING S VILLA AT UOSENIJERG. 
 
 boasted of as regular a descent as the Capets them- 
 selves. 
 
 The prince and princess, after dinner, showed us 
 the interior of the palace, which is more remark- 
 able for its picturesque position on the side of a lake, 
 and for a large wooden bridge which communicates 
 with it, than for any of its interior decorations, or 
 for elegance in furniture. The gardens, which are spa- 
 cious, are a great public resort for the inhabitants of 
 Stockholm, who fill the steam-boats and take their 
 recreation at Drottenheim almost every day. 
 
 Another interesting dinner amongst the many given to 
 us by the King, I must specify ; it was at his villa in his 
 park at Rosenberg, which he has fitted up very much 
 as an Englisli country-house, with parterre and gar- 
 dens : everything in the interior is of Swedish manu- 
 facture, even the silks on the wall, which are rich and 
 handsome ; the fabrication of them possibly cost his 
 Majesty twice as much as if they had been bought 
 at Lyons ; however, the encouragement to the artisan 
 and manufacturer is worthy the liberality of the mo- 
 narch. The woodwork forming the cabinet part of 
 the furniture is chiefly of beech, and is beautiful ; the 
 porphyry vases (especially one of an immense size 
 before the windows in the garden) deserve to be spe- 
 cially noted. The rooms were small, but well ar- 
 ranged ; in them were tables of porphyry in mosaic 
 patterns, in as perfect workmanship as can be seen. 
 His Majesty takes a peculiar pleasure in pointing- 
 out everything Swedish. 
 
 I must here mention, that in the most gallant and 
 
 ROYAL DINNER. 
 
 73 
 
 affectionate manner the Kingtegged Lady L.'s accept- 
 ance of his porphyry jardiniere that stood in the middle 
 of his drawing-room, and it was impossible not to be 
 won by the extreme condescension and kindness that 
 was shown. We dined in a narrow gallery, and 
 the company consisted of about sixty or eighty per- 
 sons. I sat, as usual, next to the Queen, whose 
 conversation is always lively and affable : but the 
 place is a little nervous, for the dinner is served a 
 la Busse, and the large dishes are always handed 
 round for each guest to help himself. It being 
 etiquette that nothing can be offered between her 
 Majesty and her next neighbour, it happens that a 
 great fish or an immense piece of beef (with all its 
 garniture) is presented over your right shoulder, and 
 you have either to run the risk, by helping yourself 
 with your left* hand, of throwing it over the table or 
 over her Majesty, or to do what is not a little annoy- 
 ing with a good appetite, send the dish away. 
 
 This day, however, I was lucky in being reduced 
 to neither alternative, as the countess Fouchet sat 
 next to me on the other side, and literally took care 
 of me as she would have done of a child. This 
 Swedish lady (a widow) had just married one of the 
 Due d'Otranto's sons, who, with his brother, after Na- 
 poleon's fall, entered into the Swedish service. Mar- 
 shal Ney's boys, who came to Stockholm at the same 
 period, had returned to France, and are now in Louis 
 Philippe's army. The eldest married the heiress 
 Mademoiselle la Fitte, whose father some time after- 
 wards became bankrupt. A fine trait of this young 
 
74 
 
 OTHER VISITS TO THE KING, 
 
 CONVERSATION WITH HIS MAJESTY. 
 
 75 
 
 man deserves to be recorded. M. la Fitte, at the 
 time of marriage, bad all tbe writings prepared to 
 settle on young Ney one of tbe most magnificent estates 
 he possessed ; the bridegroom elect, in tbe ardour of bis 
 passion, and never dreaming of the uncertain position 
 of almost all who engage in large speculations and ex- 
 tended banking or mercantile pursuits, destroyed tbe 
 documents, expressing indignation that be could be 
 suspected of attachment to tbe young lady from in- 
 terested motives. When the failure of tbe house at 
 Paris took place, tbe above estate, which would have 
 been safe had it been possessed by young Ney, was 
 one of tbe first objects seized by tbe creditors. 
 
 After dinner, at the villa, the King paraded us 
 through all tbe upper rooms, in which he bad collect- 
 ed various objets of vertu. He showed me a statue 
 of Charles XII. of Sweden, and I could not lielp ob- 
 serving that tlie pendant for it would be Charles XIV. 
 Going accidentally tbe following morning to a fa- 
 mous Swedish sculptor, I found the King was actually 
 sitting for tbe very purpose. Our last royal dinner 
 was at tbe palace, tbe day before we sailed for Peters- 
 burgh, and I cannot help recording tbe extreme kind- 
 ness of his Majesty, who insisted on our company at 
 tbe palace every day we were not engaged elsewhere. 
 
 At tbe last repast we were shown tbe interior of 
 the Queen's apartments and tbe statue gallery, which 
 was lighted up purposely for us to inspect a splen- 
 did vase of green jasper, which had just arrived 
 from Russia, as a present to Cliarles Jean from the 
 Emperor Nicholas. It was placed at the end of tbe 
 
 «t 
 
 
 
 gallery, and was indeed a rare specimen both of 
 nature and of art. In tbe gallery itself there are but 
 few remarkable objects, except two or three statues by 
 Canova, (La Danseuse and others,) and a fine one of 
 Paris by a celebrated Swedish sculptor. Tbe collec- 
 tion, however, is in its infancy, and, as is tbe case 
 with all bis institutions, tbe King is using every eflfort 
 to improve it. 
 
 This evening I had two hours' very interesting con- 
 versation with bis Majesty; be dwelt much on the 
 transactions leading to bis having been selected for 
 the throne of Sweden. He laid great stress upon par- 
 ticular conversations be bad in Paris in 1815 with 
 the late Marquis of Londonderry. I replied, that 
 although employed at that epoch, I was not aware of 
 all the confidential business transacted. I added, that 
 I hoped his Majesty's power in Norway was now 
 entirely consolidated. Tbe King dwelt long on the 
 policy of England supporting liis present power, and 
 increasing, by every opportunity, tbe strength of bis 
 kingdom. I urged his Majesty much on tbe expediency 
 of allowing Prince Oscar to visit England, to get ac- 
 quainted with our leading characters, and to establish 
 a personal interest, which would not fail of being 
 useful to him hereafter. The King promised he 
 should do so, accompanied by bis eldest son. 
 
 Various other interesting topics were broached, but 
 in delicacy and justice I cannot record them ; and when 
 I finally took leave of this extraordinary monarch, he 
 embraced me as if I bad been bis kindest, or, as what 
 I really am become, one of his most sincere and cordial 
 friends. 
 
76 
 
 UNEXPKCTKO OCCURKENCE. 
 
 I must now turn to a moment of regret, as the pe- 
 riod approached for our departure from the place 
 where we had experienced so mucli pleasure and 
 attention. 
 
 On our first arrival at Stockholm, we were much 
 perplexed as to the future progress of our journey to St. 
 Petersburg!!. We had been strongly advised ori- 
 ginally to go from Lubeck to St. Petersburo:h, as I 
 have before stated, thus avoiding all the harassing 
 land journey through Denmark and Sweden, and the 
 still worse travelling through Finland. I resisted this 
 opinion, and certainly was largely recompensed. But 
 I was not the less sensibly alive to the inconveniences 
 of any steam-boat, and more so of a very inferior 
 vessel, the only one that is now established between 
 Stockholm and Abo. 
 
 It was, however, our good fortune to be relieved 
 from further difficulties, in the most agreeable man- 
 ner, by an occurrence as unlooked for as opportune. 
 
 The Count Potocki was recently nominated Russian 
 envoy at the court of Stockholm, and he arrived in the 
 Emperor's beautiful steam-yacht, the Isora, some days 
 preceding our intended departure. His excellency 
 heard of our destination, and knowing the Emperor of 
 Russia's kind disposition towards us, he immediately 
 placed this splendid conveyance at our disposal, 
 stating that he would take all the responsibility on 
 himself, being persuaded that the Emperor would wish 
 him to act as his own inclinations prompted. Count 
 Potocki, having been the Emperor Alexander's aide- 
 de-camp, was an old friend of mine in 1814, and he 
 
 ROYAL STEAM-YACHT. 
 
 77 
 
 renewed this intimacy with such fresh proofs of regard, 
 that I owe him a great debt of gratitude. 
 
 Here we were, then, put into possession at once of 
 what might be termed a floating palace. We imme- 
 diately proceeded on board with the count to inspect 
 ft. It was fitted up with silk, the finest mahogany 
 and satin woods, and had been prepared for the Em- 
 press. There is no luxury connected, however, with 
 the misery of being on board a ship, that this steam- 
 boat does not possess. 
 
 Count Potocki only added one condition to my ac- 
 ceptance of this accommodation, and that was to me 
 a most agreeable one, viz., that I should consider my- 
 self as entire director of the vessel, as long as I remained 
 on board, and that I should have the officers at my 
 table. I had reason afterwards to be delighted with 
 this arrangement, as I never met with ten more gen- 
 tlemenlike men, some of whom spoke English. The 
 captain was not in this number, but he was so intelli- 
 gent, and so kind, that we imbibed a real interest for 
 him, and so high-minded that no consideration would 
 induce him to accept the least Souvenir of our obliga- 
 tions. He made us understand that he was largely 
 and liberally remunerated by the Emperor, and it was 
 strictly prohibited to receive presents. 
 
 On board the Isora, besides the immediate officers, 
 was a Mr. Smith, director-general of the steam-boats 
 at Petersburgh, an Englishman : able in his profession, 
 he has nearly adopted Russia as his country, induced 
 by the confidence placed in him by the Emperor. 
 There was also a Mr. Balir, a clever Swedish em- 
 
') 
 
 H 
 
 78 
 
 OUR FELLOW PASSENGERS. 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM SWEDEN. 
 
 79 
 
 ploye going on government business to Petersburgh, 
 and the physician of a Russian vessel which had just 
 made a voyage round the world ; and on accomplisli- 
 ing the undertaking and arriving at Stockholm, this 
 ship was looked upon with great interest. 
 
 We derived much advantage from the society of the 
 above individuals, but, beyond all, I should particularise 
 the Russian General Suchteln, who was returning 
 home. This officer is the son of the distinguished 
 General Suchteln, for so long a period ambassador 
 from Russia to Charles Jean. From the high favour 
 in which the father was held, the best criterion of his 
 merits may be drawn : his recent death had called the 
 young general to Stockholm to settle his affairs. The 
 ambassador had a most \aluable library, which was 
 purchased by the Emperor, and was embarked on 
 board of the Isora for St. Petersburgli. General Such- 
 teln, who was our fellow voyager, had been much 
 employed in the Turkish campaign ; he was a delight- 
 ful person, well informed upon every subject, of the 
 greatest use to us while on board, and afterwards on 
 our arrival, where an intimacy was fortunately estab- 
 lished between us. 
 
 On the morning of the 14th, we sailed from Stock- 
 holm : we were attended at an early hour, eight 
 o'clock, on board the steamer by Count Potocki, who, 
 introducing me to all the officers, installed me, 
 as it were, into the command of the ship. In 
 order also to evince greater respect and considera- 
 tion for us, the Austrian, American, and French 
 ministers were all present on the occasion of our de- 
 
 parture. The British charge d'affaires, Mr. Bloom- 
 field, carried us to the quay in his carriage, our own 
 being aboard. The place of embarkation .was crowded 
 with gazers: the Imperial flag was hoisted at the 
 main and stern, and the vessel got under weigli 
 under the salutes of tlie batteries. A few days of very 
 unfavourable weather occurred before we bade adieu 
 to Sweden. We dreaded a continuation of the 
 storms and east winds, but fortunately it veered to 
 the south-west, and we were favoured during our 
 wliole voyage with the most heavenly weather imagi- 
 nable. 
 
 I have already attempted to describe Stockholm, 
 but as it faded from our sight, the rapid succession 
 of picturesque islands, the roar of the gun which an- 
 nounced the pilot aboard, the succession of ships 
 sailing up for the port, the numerous fishing-boats, 
 all united to make us remain on the deck of our 
 superb vessel, which glided through the waters with- 
 out the least apparent motion, until it was nearly 
 dark. Dinner in the chief cabin was then served, the 
 ladies occupying the state apartments. 
 
 \, 
 
80 
 
 THE VOYAGE. 
 
 INTraCATE NAVIGATION. 
 
 81 
 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Tlie Voyage— Intricate Navigation— Cronstadt— Its Fortifications 
 — The Russian Fleet — Approach to Petersburgh. 
 
 In making this voyage to Petersburgh, it is almost 
 possible to coast the whole way between the Swedish 
 and Russian islands that intervene, without plunging 
 into the main ocean ; and by skirting the Gulf of 
 Bothnia, keeping near Aland, and sailing close in- 
 shore in the Gulf of Finland, you may accomplish 
 the passage almost without losing sight of land. 
 This arrangement was so agreeable, and the captain 
 of the Isora was so desirous of doing what we wished, 
 that he determined to anchor every night amongst 
 the islands, and give us a sailing trip of as much 
 enjoyment as possible ; and thus, in every respect, it 
 turned out. So still were the waters, so lovely the 
 weather, that we sat on deck the greater part of the 
 day, and read, or wrote, or worked, to occupy the 
 time, as if we had been residing in a palace on 
 shore. 
 
 : 
 
 I 
 
 By the 14th we had run to the branch of the main 
 ocean, and anchored at sunset. On the 25th we made 
 the offing of Aland, having passed the Gulf of Both- 
 nia. On the 16th we ran on all night up to the Gulf 
 of Finland, where there is no intricate navigation, and 
 where pilots become unnecessary ; and we landed on 
 the granite quays of the Neva on the 17th, in the 
 morning. 
 
 During the first two days I think we had to make 
 use of no less than thirty different pilots, each direct- 
 ing the course of the vessel for not more than thirty 
 miles. Why there should not be regular pilots at 
 Stockholm for navigating vessels to the main ocean, 
 instead of subjecting vessels to the inconvenience of a 
 change at each island, (like a relay of post-horses,) I 
 cannot understand. The intricacy of the navigation 
 IS, no doubt, extreme ; and if proper measures were 
 
 taken, and the advantages of nature seconded by art, 
 
 if judicious batteries and fortifications were construct- 
 ed, it would be hardly possible for any hostile fleet to 
 reach Stockholm unless aided by troops in very con- 
 siderable numbers on the land side, and thus Sweden, 
 without any great outlay, might render herself secure 
 from any naval armament collected at Aland. 
 
 The last day's sail was attended with a little change 
 in our recreations. The captain and officers allowed 
 the Russian sailors to sing and dance for our amuse- 
 ment after sunset. The inharmonious sounds and 
 curious antics of these northern mariners are, for the 
 first time, strange to behold ; but you soon get used to 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 I > 
 
1 I 
 
 82 
 
 CRONSTADT. 
 
 tliem, so that the former become not disagreeable, 
 thoug-h the latter can never be attractive. 
 
 When the entertainment was over, the captain 
 thought he heard signals of a ship in distress ; I say 
 thought or fancied, as I am not sure he did not make 
 this little feint to display the beauty of his night sig- 
 nals, blue and red lights, rockets, &c. In short, after 
 an hour's exhibition, having had a delightful display 
 of fire- works, we had no responding signal from any 
 quarter. 
 
 Our eagerness to behold Cronstadt made us come 
 on deck very early on the 16th. The day was heavenly, 
 and we approached the singular fortress, which rises 
 like a mass of colossal strength out of the waters (nearly 
 unperceived) until you are close under its innume- 
 rable batteries, upon the extremity of the Island of 
 Rotline. This fortress of Cronstadt was first established 
 by Peter the Great. It stands nearly on an entire 
 bank of sand, forming an irregular triangle ; it is de- 
 fended from the sea by countless batteries, and from the 
 side of the island by a canal, which forms the base of 
 the triangle. There are on it about ten thousand 
 houses, stone and brick, and several churches. The go- 
 vernment has many establishments within the town. 
 One large edifice is fitted up for the pilots who navi- 
 gate the Baltic. Another handsome palace is occu- 
 pied by Prince Menchicoff, who commands the navy, 
 at the top of which building is a telegraph, that com- 
 municates direct with the Emperor at Peterhoff and 
 Petersburgh. There are between thirty and forty 
 thousand inhabitants in the place, English settlers. 
 
 ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 
 
 83 
 
 The fortress advances far into the sea. The mili- 
 tary and naval port can hold forty vessels of the first 
 class. The middle port, or basin, contains not only 
 vessels of war, but also merchantmen. It is as large 
 as the other ; and the third port can receive at least 
 a thousand ships of inferior tonnage ; three hundred 
 pieces of cannon are mounted on the outward port. 
 It is remarkable that, during the whole winter, Cron- 
 stadt is always frozen up, the traffic on the bay to 
 St. Petersburgh being on the ice. Armies have 
 marched (and even been bivouacked during their 
 progress) from the city to the fortress. The bay is 
 frozen over in general at the end of November, and 
 no vessel is afterwards free or can get away before 
 April in the following year. 
 
 The Imperial fleet, which had been exercising under 
 the Emperor's orders in the Gulf and in the Baltic, 
 had recently returned into port. The ships had gone 
 into dock, and were laid up in ordinary for the win- 
 ter. Not having landed at the fortress, my descrip- 
 tion wants details, and must be imperfect. The island 
 appears, from the sea, a mass of bastions, curtains, 
 and outworks, all of solid granite. On everj- side are 
 embrasures ; and not only do the batteries appear to 
 embrace in their range a complete cross-fire, but they 
 likewise seem so constructed as to bring a concentred 
 fire on the deepest channel. The large flanking 
 battery of the Grand Duke Constantine on one side, 
 and the new works now establishing, which were pro- 
 jected by the Emperor Alexander, on the other, give 
 an impression that Russia has determined that this 
 
 g2 
 
 1 ^^ 
 
 >i 
 
N 
 
 84 
 
 THE RUSSIAN FLEET. 
 
 point should, as far as possible, be invulnerable. The 
 men-of-war were ranged, without top-masts, in their 
 several basins. In the outer port, described above, 
 I was told there were thirty sail of the line, three- 
 deckers, and fifty-six armed vessels of all descriptions. 
 This fleet had been at sea, and it must be allowed it 
 was a very formidable armament in time of peace. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas had imbibed a great passion 
 for maritime power and strength, and had plunged 
 very deeply into every measure, plan, and considera- 
 tion for increasing his navy. 
 
 The comprehensive mind of his brother Alexander 
 had been mainly occupied with military considera- 
 tions in the arduous era of difficulties and warfare in 
 which he lived, when he so magnanimously headed 
 and mainly contributed to that great European alliance 
 which overthrew the power of Napoleon. Twenty 
 years' peace had enabled the Emperor Nicholas to 
 turn all due energies to his navy, and a powerful effect 
 has been produced in the maritime efficiency of this 
 great empire. 
 
 I am not qualified to pronounce an opinion on the 
 state of the ships, the warlike stores, nor accurately 
 to state the real strength of Cronstadt : all that I can 
 add is, that it appeared to me, en passant, impreg- 
 nable. 
 
 An interesting work of some twenty or thirty pages 
 on this subject fell into my hands, written by H. W. 
 Craufurd, commander in the royal navy. He seems 
 to have had, in this year, great opportunities of form- 
 ing a correct opinion of the Russian ffeet, and of the 
 
 THE RUSSIAN FLEKT. 
 
 85 
 
 fortifications at Cronstadt ; and I strongly recommend 
 my readers to refer to his short pamphlet. 
 
 The remarkable part of this publication is the un- 
 doubted authority, from the Emperor Nicholas's own 
 lips, that he makes no secret as to the existing state 
 of his navy, and that he courts publicity ; this 1 can 
 also attest from his Imperial Majesty's sentiments con- 
 veyed to myself. 
 
 Captain Craufurd then adds a characteristic testi- 
 mony of the Emperor of Russia, in which I most cor- 
 dially join. He writes, " I owe much to the Em- 
 peror Nicholas for his gracious reception of me, and 
 his desire (sometimes even personally) to give me in- 
 formation connected with the fleet ; and I must say 
 that he was better informed as to everything (no 
 matter how minute) relating to it than other person 
 with whom I conversed upon the subject. He is a 
 man of great talent^ of immense activity, and of en- 
 larged and highly liberal views as regards the welfare 
 and gradual advancement in the scale of civilisation 
 of the middle and lower classes of his own subjects." 
 
 Captain Craufurd then states the fleet at Cronstadt. 
 
 3 Three deckers 
 6 Two deckers 
 
 18 . 
 
 17 . 
 
 110 guns 
 74 — 
 
 74 — 
 44 — 
 
 No doubt a most formidable fleet. And what, then, 
 does Captain Craufurd in conclusion declare ? " My 
 remarks have not been directed against Russia, or her 
 fleet, in which I was received with kindness and hos- 
 pitality, but against my own country, to reproach her 
 
I 
 
 tf 
 
 I 
 
 1 4 
 
 86 
 
 APPROACH TO ST. PETERSBURGH. 
 
 for the injurious economy, the parsimony, which has 
 led to the present reduced state of her navy, and to 
 induce her, by drawing her attention to the superior 
 and increasing force of another power, to alter her 
 system before it is too late." 
 
 But to return. We were boarded off the fortress of 
 Cronstadt by the governor's barge, the commander of 
 which, hearing who was on board, of which he had 
 received a previous notice, did not delay us a mo- 
 ment; and although we feared being stopped at 
 Cronstadt, from the Isora drawing more water than 
 the state of the tide then furnished on the bar of 
 sand that crosses the channel, the same good luck 
 that attended us during our voyage did not desert 
 us at its close ; we cleared the bar by an inch or two 
 by a dexterous manoeuvre of the captain, who brought 
 all the men aft, and thus enabled the prow of the 
 vessel to clear the impediment. Had we been stopped, 
 we should have been under the necessity of embark- 
 ing in another hired small steamer, and, with the in- 
 convenience of shifting carriages and baggage, we 
 should probably not have arrived that day at St. 
 Petersburgh. 
 
 After passing Cronstadt, the objects prominent on 
 the coast are Oranienbaum, a palace of the Grand 
 Duke Michael's, and the magnificent fumade, gardens, 
 and grounds of Peterhof, which gorgeous mansion of 
 Peter the Great rises proudly to view. 
 
 But the sailing up the branch of the Neva, whicli 
 now opens upon St. Petersburgh, is not generally 
 striking. The city seems below you ; the flat sur- 
 
 APPROACH TO ST. PETERSBURGH. 
 
 87 
 
 rounding low marshy ground produces a cold ap- 
 pearance. You behold, it is true, the lofty gilded 
 spire of the Admiralty, the varied colours of innu- 
 merable domes and large white fronts of rows of 
 fine- built houses, but there is a nakedness in the 
 aspect which first proclaims the capital of the north. 
 The vessel bent its way through crowds of steam-boats 
 and craft of all kinds. The banks of the river are 
 covered with wooden magazines and depots for all the 
 merchandise brought to this great emporium ; in ad- 
 dition, you pass along all the great store-houses of the 
 government, the docks covered in for building ships 
 of the largest class and dimensions during winter ; 
 besides, the endless manufactories and the establish- 
 ments of the great national institutions all attract 
 your eye ; but, notwithstanding all this display of 
 enterprise, wealth, and commerce, there is an inde- 
 scribable vacuum, and something wanting to make the 
 picture complete. 
 
 The Isora arrived high up the Neva, and anchored 
 alongside the English quay. 
 
 \ 
 
 ti. 
 
^ 
 
 88 
 
 THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Russian Empire — Facility of visiting it — Search for a Resi- 
 dence — St. Petersburgh — Magnificent Public Buildings— Im- 
 provements in Petersburgh— Divisions of the City — Church of 
 St. Peter — Palace of Tauride — Public Institutions — The City 
 Revenue — Theatres and Promenades — The English Club. 
 
 To give the reader any faithful or adequate de- 
 scription of St. Petersburgh and the Russian empire 
 is a task of real difficulty. Much has been written 
 on the subject, and various authors have offered to the 
 public histories of the early days of Russia, as also of 
 her modern and actual position ; but, notwithstanding 
 all that has been published, I conceive the English 
 nation to be greatly ignorant of this mighty power. 
 It is believed by the mass of my countrymen that 
 civilisation is still much behindhand in the northern 
 clime — that manners and habits are assimilated more 
 to Oriental barbarism than to the refinement of mo- 
 dern Europe. In these notions they are entirely in 
 error ; and I will venture to assert that there exists 
 as much natural and artificial refinement in Russia 
 as in any other country in the world. 
 
 Upon sentiments or opinions, however, with regard 
 
 lpjiW«M«>wii!iiU' f 
 
 FACILITY OF VISITING IT. 
 
 89 
 
 to this nation, there is now no need of disputation. 
 Every one can in six days, since the discovery of the 
 power of steam, transport himself into this singularly 
 gifted country, and can judge for Himself. The 
 traveller that has so often trodden the beaten track 
 of trips to the Rhine, Switzerland, the Tyrol, and the 
 more sunny paths to France, the Alps, Rome, and 
 Naples, can now bend his steps with more rapid 
 course and equal convenience to St. Petersburgh, 
 Moscow, and the interior of Russia. I feel satisfied 
 that he will be amply repaid for his labour. A few 
 years must demonstrate incontrovertibly what the 
 resources and actual position of this empire are ; any 
 attempt therefore to compress a real picture of them 
 in the few pages that are about to occupy me, 
 would be as vain as unsatisfactory. Besides, I have 
 neither the research nor the knowledge necessary for 
 such a purpose ; neither have I sufficient time 
 at my command, and I am too sensible of the 
 insufficiency of my powers, to grapple with so pro- 
 foundly vast a subject. What I now write, there- 
 fore, must be understood as simply the passing 
 observations of a traveller during a few months' 
 residence in Russia. 
 
 It will undoubtedly affi)rd me satisfaction hereafter 
 to look back to memoranda of a period in which I 
 derived more pleasure, was more deeply interested, 
 and more honourably and magnificently treated, not 
 only by the highest personage of the Russian empire, 
 but by every individual with whom I came in contact 
 
 r 
 
 iM 
 
1 I 
 
 90 
 
 SEARCH FOR A RESIDENCE. 
 
 during my abode in it, than I had ever been in any 
 other place or period of my life. 
 
 The matchless granite quays of the Neva produce 
 the strongest effect upon the beholder. I looked for 
 houses, palaces, and public buildings of the same 
 magnificent material, but in this respect there was a 
 falling off. On inquiry, I found that the public 
 buildings were of brick covered with stucco, and that 
 they were washed with lime yearly, and often 
 monthly. This was a change in what my imagina- 
 tion had painted of the edifices of this capital. But 
 more on this point hereafter. I had written to St. 
 Petersburgh for a house or lodgings, • but arrived in 
 the Isora before my letter. The post from Sweden to 
 Russia is carried by the way of Abo, through the 
 islands and overland, in peasants' carts : the journey 
 is very long and tedious, but it has its advantages in 
 winter. However, there is no doubt, from the mul- 
 tiplication of steam -boats, and the great advance 
 these nations are making, that their communications 
 will be more and more improved. I landed from our 
 Imperial steamer immediately on her mooring, and, 
 accompanied by General Suchteln and Mr. Balir, my 
 Swedish friend, sallied forth in search of quarters. 
 
 It is difiicult to believe that this immense town has 
 bad accommodation for families or travellers in the 
 Hotels Garnis. It probably arises from so few 
 persons coming for a short time to Petersburgh. 
 Nothing can be on a more uncomfortable footing than 
 the inns, which are dirty, and without decent or tolera- 
 
 ST. PETERSBURGH. 
 
 91 
 
 able beds or bedding. To add to this annoyance, the 
 Russian cookery is beyond all others the least invit- 
 ing. I searched in vain, and examined lodgings and 
 hotels. Five hours fled without my being able to find 
 a tolerable residence : at last I was obliged to put up 
 with four or five very indifferent rooms at the Hotel 
 de Londres, vis-a-vis L^Amiraute. 
 
 The impression I momentarily received on landing 
 at the English quay certainly damped my antici- 
 pated admiration ; but I must confess that when I 
 proceeded along it into the great square, where the 
 famous equestrian statue of Peter the Great, on a 
 rock of granite, meets the eye, I was overpowered 
 with amazement. The immense scale upon which 
 the foundation of all the public institutions has 
 been conceived, and the incredible powers that 
 have been brought to bear to work out the concep- 
 tion, cannot fail to inspire the mind with astonish- 
 ment at the genius of the projectors, and with 
 surpassing wonder at the almost superhuman power 
 that is carrying out and perfecting the designs which 
 this vast city is destined to embrace. 
 
 St. Petersburgh is yet in its cradle. When it is 
 remembered that since the time when Peter the Great, 
 with energetic decision, first determined to raise this 
 capital amidst the swampy marshes of the Neva, not a 
 century and a half have passed away ; and when we now 
 contemplate it as one of the most colossal in idea, one 
 of the most magnificent in effect, and one of the most 
 populous cities in the world, the mind is lost in as- 
 tonisliment at all that has been accomplished. 
 
 ' 
 
 
92 
 
 MAGNIFICENT PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 From the great square above alluded to, where the 
 simple but emphatic motto on the statue I have de- 
 scribed, erected by the Empress Catherine, is written, 
 " From Catherine II. to Peter I.," you immediately 
 enter the area of the Admiralty. The dimensions of 
 this building I had not time to take ; in itself it appears 
 a town. On its extreme north flank it is bounded by 
 the Hermitage and the Palais d'Hiver, the splendid 
 abodes of the Imperial family. In the centre of a 
 semicircle opposite to these gorgeous edifices, the 
 newly-erected column in honour of the Emperor Alex- 
 ander is placed ; on the other flank of the Admiralty 
 the Emperor Nicholas is now building a gigantic 
 church, which is denominated the Isaac's Church, 
 and intended to surpass in grandeur St. Peter's at 
 Rome. The columns of this stupendous cathedral are 
 to be fifty-eight feet long, and of single blocks of solid 
 granite. There are also to be forty-eight staircases 
 of the same polished material. 
 
 The first coup dCoeil of the capital of the Czars em- 
 braces the two enormous areas above described, the quays 
 of the Neva, the sumptuous palaces of the Imperial 
 House, the unique and beautifully executed trophies 
 to the memory of Peter and Alexander, the church 
 of Cazan, and, finally, the great and principal street 
 of the city called the Newski Perspectif, which runs 
 four miles from about the centre of the Admiralty 
 building through the heart of the city. Next appears 
 the garrison church with its golden spire, which is 
 equally conspicuous and dazzling with that of the 
 Admiralty. 
 
 MAGNIFICENT PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 93 
 
 The gate of Riga, surmounted by the figure of 
 Victory, forms one of the most striking entrances to 
 the city. I should observe that the great square of 
 the palace unites the new council house with the 
 manege of the chevalier garde. All the public 
 buildings are three stories high, and the War Oflice 
 has five hundred windows in its front. It is formed 
 in a semicircular line, and comprises all the topogra- 
 phical departments and the ordnance. Adjoining 
 to it are the offices of finance and for foreign 
 affairs. 
 
 In the Newski Perspectif there are churches de- 
 voted to all the religions in the empire— an empire 
 with between sixty and seventy millions of people, 
 with nineteen different languages, and nearly as many 
 sects. 
 
 Another remarkable place is the Gastinoidivor, 
 called the Exchange. Here all the Jews are collected, 
 and you bargain for all merchandise, as you are 
 generally asked double what will ultimately be taken. 
 The buildings that struck me most were the New 
 Exchange, the Custom-house, the Academy of 
 Science, the establishments for the marines and 
 cadets, and many splendid palaces of the noblesse. 
 
 The Gastinoidivor, or Grand Russian Bazaar, is 
 twelve hundred feet long, facing the Perspectif ; it 
 has four sides, the shortest three hundred and fifty 
 feet. It has two stories with arcades, and was es- 
 tablished by a Russian company, to whom it belongs. 
 There is a continued range of shops along the sides. 
 None but Russian merchants are permitted here, and 
 
 11 
 
 i 
 
 it' 
 
 ■ij 
 
94. 
 
 IMPROVEMENTS IN PETERSBURGH. 
 
 the variety and multitude of goods in wholesale and 
 retail are astonishing. The whole building is brick, 
 but painted to resemble stone, and the ceilings are 
 vaulted, coloured red, and varnished. No stoves nor 
 chimneys are allowed within it. The only light 
 permitted is a small lamp before each image of the 
 Virgin. The merchants have their houses and their 
 kitchens separate from this establishment. All is shut 
 up at dark. The cold in this place is guarded against 
 by large cloaks, bonnets, boots and shoes of fur, 
 and tins of hot water in the shops. Altogether it is 
 a most singular establishment. 
 
 The greatest monuments of the reign of Alexander 
 at Petersburgh are the church of Notre Dame de 
 Kasan, at the end of the Newski Perspectif. This 
 is built after St. Peter's at Rome. 
 
 It was in 1804 that the city, by the exertions of 
 this Emperor, established a strict police : the 
 streets were arranged in a more regular and judicious 
 plan, and fine trottoirs perfected. At the same time 
 the Champ de Mars was embellished by a beautiful 
 bronze statue of Suwarrow, representing that warrior 
 on foot, armed as a Roman, holding his sword in one 
 hand and shield in the other, with which he covers 
 the crowns of Naples and Sardinia. The MichaelofF 
 palace was also built in that year for the Grand Duke 
 Michael. The establishment of the etat major geni- 
 ral, and all the departments of the ministry united, 
 are equally owing to this monarch. 
 
 The communication between the two great divisions 
 of St. Petersburgh is kept up in summer by three 
 
 DIVISIONS OF THE CITY. 
 
 95 
 
 bridges of boats of considerable length, called the 
 Bridge of Vapili ArtrofF, the Bridge of Petrofski, and 
 Bridge of the Josskreunsk. There are twelve great 
 divisions of the city, nine on the left bank and three 
 on the right. It is the easiest town in the world to 
 find your way in as a stranger. The gilded spire of 
 the Admiralty terminates the perspective of nearly 
 all the wide streets radiating to that common centre. 
 
 The other splendid buildings I have to enume- 
 rate, consist of the New Theatre, the Hotel de 
 Ville, the American and Catholic Church, the Bank, the 
 Palace of Malta, the Church of St. Wlademir. Next, 
 numerous Hospitals ; the Palais of Tauride and Con- 
 vent of Smolna, the Academies of Arts and Sciences, 
 the Public Library of the Academy, in which are sixty 
 thousand volumes; the Cabinet of Medals, amounting 
 to twelve or fourteen thousand in gold and silver, the 
 twelve Colleges of the Empire, with their archives, &c. 
 Then the public edifices for the government institu- 
 tions ; and about a mile from the city is the Convent of 
 Smolensko, most deserving of notice. Here are reli- 
 gious monuments, the inspection of which would occupy 
 almost a man's life ; but the most curious and best de- 
 serving of attention are placed in the church of St. Peter 
 and St. Paul, which was founded by Peter the Great. 
 The body of this church (within the great fortress of 
 St. Petersburgh) is of brick with stone pillars. I saw 
 the sarcophagus of Peter the Great and Catherine I., 
 inscribed with the dates 1725 and 1727 ; the Empress 
 Anne, 1756; Elizabeth and Catherine, 1780. In 
 short, every cofiin of every sovereign (except that 
 
 
 li 
 
 ■\ 
 
96 
 
 CHURCH OF ST. PETER. 
 
 of Peter II., who died at Moscow,) is to be seen, with 
 the date of the decease, within tliis sacred pile. The 
 interior of the church is decorated with trophies taken 
 from the Turks, Persians, Poles, and French ; and tlie 
 keys of Warsaw have been also lately placed here, and 
 exhibited as objects of curiosity and interest. I must 
 not forget to mention that near this fortress is still to be 
 seen the humble cottage of Peter the Great, in which 
 so much Russian pride and interest is vested. It is a 
 small wooden house with three chambers ; around it 
 are piles of mortars, balls, and shells, arranged in py- 
 ramidical heaps. 
 
 The convent of St. Alexander Newski merits a more 
 minute description than I can give it, botli because of 
 tlie beautiful representation of the archangels Michael 
 and Raphael which it contains, and for a painting, by 
 Raphael Mengs, of the Annunciation. There is also 
 exhibited a massive silver pyramidal monument, which 
 is said to weigh 3,250 pounds. In the interior of this 
 sacred edifice, most of the great men and generals of 
 Russia are interred. It is a sort of Westminster 
 Abbey, in which, amongst others, I saw the name of 
 Roumansoff, Souwarroff, Miloradovitch. 
 
 The marble palace, an edifice also well worthy of 
 inspection, has not been occupied since the death of the 
 Grand Duke Constantine, to whom it belonged. It 
 is destined for the Emperor's second son. In its 
 library, I understand, there were thirty thousand 
 volumes, chiefly on military subjects. 
 
 The palace of Tauride, built by Catherine II. in 
 1783, is veiy remarkable. It was given by her to 
 
 PALACE OF TAURTDE. 
 
 97 
 
 Prince Potemkin. It is of one story, surmounted by 
 an immense circular dome. It lias two pavilions, but 
 the centre is occupied by a room, the most magnificent 
 and beautiful that exists, in the form of a cross. The 
 cupola to this enormous saloon is supported by nume- 
 rous pillars of two feet and a half in diameter. When 
 fetes are given here by the Imperial family, they are 
 in a style of fairy encliantment. 
 
 The number of houses in Petersburgh is estimated 
 at about nine tliousand, of which four thousand only 
 are of stone or brick. The suburbs of the city are in 
 wood, mostly painted and of different colours, which 
 look wretched in snow, but cold and gay in summer. 
 
 The hospitals and military and naval surgical aca- 
 demies are on a most extensive scale ; nor can any in- 
 stitutions be better directed, or more carefully attended 
 to. They are under tlie direction of a most able and 
 excellent man, late physician to the Emperor Alex- 
 ander, a Scotchman by birth, Dr. Sir A. Wylie. He 
 entered eaily into the service of Russia, and by his 
 own talents and assiduity not only marked himself 
 out for universal approbation, but was placed in the 
 family of the late Emperor, and was with him at the 
 time of his death. I visited the hospitals with this 
 kind and valued friend, who, when I was wounded in 
 the thigh by a shell at the battle of Culm, showed me 
 a care and attention which I can never forget. I un- 
 derstand he has written some very valuable and in- 
 teresting details of the last moments of the Emperor 
 Alexander, which will be deeply interesting if they 
 are ever given to the public. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 II 
 
 JN 
 
 I ; 
 
98 
 
 PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 The hospital of Vyboiirg, which I saw in all its de- 
 tails, contains three thousand patients ; many of the 
 others are on the same extensive scale. These sur- 
 gical academies are devoted to the instruction of 
 young men for the medical profession. There were 
 four hundred students in that which I visited. 
 
 The Imperial University of St. Petersburgh is not 
 in so high a state of perfection as that of Moscow, 
 having been more recently established. It numbers, 
 however, about one thousand instructors, and eight or 
 nine thousand students. 
 
 The establishment of Les Jeunes Demoiselles de 
 Smolna, and that of the Order of St. Catherine, are 
 upon the same system and plan as those at Moscow. Un- 
 doubtedly the Demoiselles de TOrdre deSt. Catherine, 
 from the intimate surveillance of the Empress herself, 
 stands pre-eminently the most distinguished. I heard 
 at this seminary, that, since its commencement, one 
 thousand five hundred young persons had been per- 
 fected in every branch of education, four hundred 
 gratis, six hundred paid for by their relations, and 
 five hundred at the expense of different members of 
 the Imperial family. 
 
 I am aware there are many other public institutions 
 which I ought to particularise, but they did not come 
 under my immediate notice: the Establisliment for 
 the Deaf and Dumb, the College for Commercial Navi- 
 gation and Agriculture, with the Science of Hus- 
 bandry, are upon equally eligible plans; also the 
 Foundling Hospital. There is also a manufactory of 
 playing-cards, which (strange to say) gives employ- 
 
L / Tits Adwvirnlfv 
 <?. The l¥i%TZi:y falaure 
 •? The Brrrnvtoj^e 
 i^Tkfnh'c pf ihe Bamtiiouiie 
 
 7 7Tu Cantf cU tMars 
 
 8 The FavMsTc jBaj^acki 
 S.The Genet-oU L'lal Major 
 
 /C. jliexanderi Ca^wmtv . 
 // ra.th^^i-a 7 cf i'^" Isa,ou . 
 J2. McTut-wirnl of Feter ike Oyeal 
 JS 7 he SbvM* Hrwse 
 ]!L/4 /7te t 'a/k^drcU cfi wr Leufy of A 
 iS Ih^, 0}cind Thea/ire 
 /f 7'ke Seff3ttrHj S.^ JmhcUbf . 
 
 /9.Coitiiclic Church 
 Z(J. Th^ JVewMtkhcaicf FaZace 
 2l.Thi- /JJd A\ d' 
 
 i^2The ^lyrvmer Occrdeiu 
 ^l Thr Aifi^ichkcf Fadcuf 
 U The Tkealr*. . 
 
 as on 
 
 ^MCki/rck r/th^ /'rrl^c'.i.'n i! /w hr^cn 
 ¥ IS. TnuntfhaiJrth 
 
 /?f Cajthartrunhof 
 'U.ZS.JrsfHAljfliu F.f^^c/'Stnt'nn/^fC'vuii.rds. 
 
 29. Churrh of Fia^ittuY 
 VU.J^ IJu ArseMbl 
 
 ilThf Foiauiery 
 
 3P ThtCaUhenru Insti^uiMK 
 
 3i . Hcs/jifal for llu ^fk Foei • 
 SVHJ^TTtf Toburtda Ta/o/x . 
 
 S-JThe Smoltut umyjif 
 
 3v Bccrra^'k-T ot the Chi^eiier Cnuxris 
 ^ilLooA^re ofS^Jlex/junder 36i$ki 
 
 39 7*ne Exxh4jafuic 
 
 i/D T/u OvLstoni JlnuH . 
 
 i^l JIta: Jcadeiny cf-^n^rufs 
 
 if2Tkf Corps vfLatid CijoUU 
 
 j^i Thf Kni-nuwitji of Ohelisk 
 
 U^The .ic-ad<.»ty o/ Hu Fir^ ArU 
 
 ii.The CfTps of .Mantle foudelt 
 
 ^,' T}ie Corrif rf ^^bn^fs 
 
 SI 0Tke i"** Ccr^s ci /.and C<td,aiei 
 
 iS, The, Bcl*ivuaZ OardcKs . 
 ■ ^4^. The tMecUco Chunvi-ciicalArademT 
 •^.The Chicrch cf Samfon 
 
 ^/ jOtx^co/fs LuAea ^ //" J ^Mcwbnj Lsute, Lrrupl^n. 
 
v^ 
 
 THE CTTY REVENUE. 
 
 99 
 
 ment to three or four hundred workmen, who make 
 from one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty 
 thousand dozens of packs of cards annually. 
 
 It may be observed here, that in 1816 the follow- 
 ing was reported to me as the general averages of 
 cattle and carriage in St. Petersburgh : five thousand 
 oxen, thirty thousand horses, five thousand carriages, 
 four thousand caleches, seven thousand five hundred 
 droschki, twelve thousand traineaux, and ten thousand 
 small charrettes. 
 
 The receipts of the police office amount to one mil- 
 lion five hundred thousand rubles, and the expenses to 
 one million four hundred thousand rubles. The city 
 revenue is derived from the payment of customary 
 duties, taxes on houses, ships, eau-de-vie, beer, &c. 
 The expenses of the city are the police barracks, pri- 
 sons, bridges, canals, trottoirs, and lighting, and re- 
 pairing public buildings. 
 
 The islands on the right bank of the Neva are most 
 interesting and worthy of description, but the season of 
 the year prevented my visiting them. 
 
 They are Kammergi, Ortroff*, Krestofski, lelighme, 
 and Catherineoff; which last is on the south bank. 
 Many other places in the neighbourhood should be 
 seen and described. The theatres are numerous and 
 splendid. In the theatre of L'Hermitage the Em- 
 press has occasionally theatrical representations by 
 amateur artistes of Petersburgh. The great Russian 
 theatre, where there are nightly representations, con- 
 tains three thousand persons. Its interior is heavy, 
 exhibiting a facade with eight very large columns of 
 
 H 2 
 
 i\ 
 
100 
 
 JIILATIIICS AND PHOMKNAUKS. 
 
 THE ENGLISH CLUB. 
 
 101 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 U 
 
 the Ionic order. The theatre Alexander is in the Newski 
 Perspectif ; that of Michael is near the palace, and, 
 with its French company of actors, is by far tlie best 
 attended. The Jardin d'Ete is the principal prome- 
 nade in the city. It has a magnificent iron railing 
 around it, which was put up by Catlierine II. This is 
 supported by granite columns, with fine sculptured 
 urns on their summit. . The Boulevards of tlie Admi- 
 ralty, and the Newski Perspectif, and above all the 
 English quay, are fashionable lounges. The only two 
 clubs I heard of were the English club in the Moska, 
 and a club of citizens near the Hotel Labanof Tlie 
 former deserves some description. It is composed of 
 three or four hundred members, originally established 
 by the English members of the Russian Company. It 
 was first opened in 1770, but, from the falling oft* of the 
 British residents at St. Petersburgh, by degrees Rus- 
 sian gentlemen, citizens, and officers were introduced, 
 and there are now more of the latter than the former. 
 It is amusing to dine with this society, and to observe, 
 after dinner, each nation resorting to its peculiar 
 habits. The Russians, who invariably rise when eating 
 is finished, leave the dining-room, proceed to billiards, 
 cards, chess, reading the newspapers, and tlieir cigars. 
 The English call for their wine and punch, give toasts 
 and make speeches, pretty much as at any public 
 dinner in England. There is a very gentleman-like 
 set of British residents now at St. Petersburgh, and I 
 passed a most agreeable and interesting day at this 
 club. They have all the Russian and some German 
 and French journals ; but the entrance of newspapers 
 
 into Russia is under strict surveillance ; and although 
 the noblesse, merchants, and persons of wealth and 
 rank know what is going forward in the rest of 
 the world, and receive most of the publications after 
 going through the censors' hands, the generality of 
 the inhabitants and citizens are greatly ignorant of 
 passing events beyond those in their own capital. I 
 did not attend the Bourgeois Club, and can give no 
 account of it. 
 
lO'i 
 
 THE UUSSIAN PEOPLE. 
 
 II 
 
 I! 
 
 .iii 
 
 I i 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Russian People — Governments — Wretched Hotel— Count 
 Nesselrode— Lord Durham— Le Palais d'Hiver— Column of 
 Alexander — The Inauguration — L*Hermitage — Splendid Trea- 
 sures — Bali-Room — Saloon of the Marechals — Remarkable 
 Custom— Droshkas — The Emperor's Accident. 
 
 Having thus given a slight and desultory sketch of 
 the capital, it may be as well to add a few words on 
 the nation itself. The men are in general tall and 
 robust, the women shorter in proportion. It is rare 
 to see a thin person, and you hardly meet with defor- 
 mity. The Russian countenances are not handsome, but 
 they have a steady, quiet, enduring look and manner. 
 Generally they have small eyes and short noses, and 
 the greater part light hair. The rigour of the climate, 
 I should think, lessens their perception of taste and 
 smell, and the great plains of snow evidently affect their 
 sight. Their hearing, on the other hand, is remark- 
 ably quick, and they have great strength of limb, with 
 hardy constitutions, capable of enduring great priva- 
 tion. Their diet is simple, and their general beverage 
 krass^ but their passion is eau-de-vie ; the consequence 
 is general inebriety, when they are not at work or on 
 duty. The dress of the men is of sheep-skins, inside 
 
 '■'N 
 
 ^tm 
 
 THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE. 
 
 103 
 
 and out, made loose and tied round the middle by a 
 long sash. They universally wear boots, or shoes 
 covered with fur-skins.^ When their spirits are excited, 
 they are excessively jovial, remarkably intelligent, 
 deeply alive to their own interest, scrupulously reli- 
 gious and attentive to the smallest ceremony of their 
 church, although I did not perceive they had any 
 great respect for their clergy.^ They unquestionably 
 possess the art of imitation, and improving on any 
 given ideas or plans, more than any other people ; but 
 their manufacture does not appear to be as solid and 
 as good as that of other countries, especially Eng- 
 land. Their efforts are concentrated in making the 
 articles for sale look elegant and pleasing ; but in 
 solidity, use, or durability they are sadly deficient. I 
 should say that this observation applies nearly to all 
 articles of luxury made in Russia. 
 
 Russia is at present composed of (I believe) more 
 than forty- eight governments, independent of Lithu- 
 ania and Poland. All these are ruled over by a mili- 
 tary civil governor, and each of them may almost be 
 termed a separate province. The court of these go- 
 vernors, their palaces, their receptions, their officers of 
 the household and state, the troops under their com- 
 mand, are all precisely on the footing of little inde- 
 pendent sovereignties. The most confidential and 
 experienced officers and generals of the army are ap- 
 pointed by the Emperor to these very desirable situa- 
 tions, and every chief so placed has a peculiar field for 
 distinction and introduction to the sovereign's obser- 
 vation and favour. 
 
 / 
 
 ) 
 
• m ' ■ ■ 
 
 I * 
 
 mmtmmtrmmm' 
 
 104 
 
 GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 WRETCHED HOTEL. 
 
 105 
 
 ! : 
 
 III 
 
 The Russian empire is divided into what are called 
 Grand Divisions. Great Russia comprises the most 
 modern part ; another division is denominated White 
 and Black Russia, and a third called Little or Red 
 Russia. 
 
 The six most important governments, belonging 
 formerly to what was the principality of Moscow, are 
 the government of Iver, Novogorod, Nignii, Faroslavi, 
 Vlademir, and Kalonga. The government of St. 
 Petersburgh is also of the same independent descrip- 
 tion. It is unnecessary to recapitulate the names of 
 all the others, as it is not my intention to attempt 
 detailed information respecting them. 
 
 The natural and innate capacity of the people is 
 very great. As a specimen of this daring activity, 
 you may see artificers and common workmen stucco- 
 ing or whitening their houses in buckets from the 
 roofs, and some sit across a plank suspended by ropes, 
 changing their position on it with wonderful agility, 
 their axes and tools in their girdles, nor do they ever 
 seem at a loss for any dexterous effort. 
 
 Extraordinary superstition seems to reign amongst 
 them, and I think this pervades the higher classes as 
 well as the lower. They are fond of gipsies, and 
 of having their fortunes told, and have great faith 
 in omens. A salt-cellar overturned, or thirteen at 
 table, create an inconceivable sensation in the high 
 classes ; and every sort of delusion of necromancy 
 is produced amongst the lower orders. The hospi- 
 tality of the country is remarkable, as also the uni- 
 versal cliarity and readiness to relieve the |)oor which 
 
 prevails. This is a singular contrast to their seeming 
 cupidity ; but it is not more remarkable than the 
 violence of their temperament, when contrasted with 
 the great charm and politeness of their manners. 
 
 We still lodged in the uncomfortable apartments we 
 had been at first obliged to take. The noise of this 
 wretched hotel, in addition to its dirt and other in- 
 conveniences, is indescribable. The passengers of 
 coaches, and the frequenters of clubs which were 
 held on the second floor, kept up an incessant noise 
 during the night, added to the rumbling of innume- 
 rable droshkas flying to and fro on the pav6 of the Ad- 
 miralty square, with the constant ringing of bells, and 
 the crowing of cocks in the yard. Such was the com- 
 bination against the nerves of a delicate and sensitive 
 woman, who needed repose after a harassing journey 
 and a long sea passage ; it was sufficient to render 
 her first debut in St. Petersburgh anything but agree- 
 able. 
 
 Our ambassador was not resident in Petersburgh on 
 our arrival, having taken a house lent to him (as I un- 
 derstood) by the Emperor, near the Imperial residence 
 of Peterhof, and close upon the Gulf of Finland, where 
 he had passed the summer. This country-house is 
 about twenty-four wersts, or three-fourths of an Eng- 
 lish mile, from the city. He liad, very considerately, 
 directed that one of his attaches, Mr. M'Ginnis, and 
 Mr. Millbank, secretary of embassy, who lived in 
 lodgings at tlie English quay, should be informed of 
 our arrival. These gentlemen kindly assisted me in 
 my endeavours to look for (juarters, and on the follow- 
 
t ii 
 
 it 
 
 
 106 
 
 
 COUNT NESSELRODE. 
 
 ing day his excellency waited upon me at our hotel, 
 and offered every kindness and attention. I had 
 already sent notes to my former friends, Count Nessel- 
 rode and Prince Lieven, apprising them of my land- 
 ing, and Count Nesselrode immediately used every 
 endeavour to make us comfortable, and to facilitate our 
 wishes. Count Nesselrode fixed Thursday, September 
 22nd, to give us a grand dinner, to meet the corps di- 
 plomatique, at his country-house in an island on the 
 right bank of the Neva. During the summer months 
 the Russian noblesse go to their beautiful villas, either 
 on the side of Peterhof or in the islands, and they 
 seldom return to town for the winter season till No- 
 vember; all the fashionable world, therefore, were 
 now absent, and all receptions were in the country. 
 
 The weather at this period was mild and agreeable, 
 and on the 19th, in company with Lord Durham, I 
 visited the Imperial ministers. We passed over the 
 ponderous wooden bridge of tlie Neva, which gave 
 me a fine view of the gorgeous palace of the Grand 
 Duke Michael, the Champ de Mars, the Corps des 
 Mines, and various other buildings. 
 
 The minister for foreign affairs was not within, and 
 our promenade was one chiefly of form. Lord Dur- 
 ham conversed with frankness upon his own position 
 in the country, and congratulated himself on having 
 kept our cabinet in strict amity with the Emperor, of 
 whose high honour, integrity, ability, and straightfor- 
 ward conduct, he did not entertain a doubt. 
 
 Lord Durham then alluded to the great advantage 
 he had derived from his voyage to the Dardanelles and 
 
 LORD DURHAM. 
 
 107 
 
 Constantinople, and to the experience and knowledge 
 he had gained from many channels of information 
 during that period. In regard to the finances of 
 Russia, the state of the army, and every branch of the 
 civil administration, he had also obtained access to in- 
 formation superior, he believed, to any that had been 
 gained before. 
 
 His lordship's policy with our government (as to 
 Russia) seemed to me to be to establish trust and confi- 
 dence in our cabinet, and to discourage suspicion and 
 doubt. The Emperor's character inspired an unbounded 
 reliance on all he said. Combining the sentiments and 
 opinions I now heard with what afterwards came to 
 my knowledge, I am inclined to think there was 
 much reason and justice in all the ambassador said. 
 There was of course a great deal more stated and com- 
 municated, but I feel in no degree justified in re- 
 porting private conversations and anecdotes, although 
 the general complexion of the sentiments of a high 
 British functionary may be fairly brought forward as 
 interesting and historical. 
 
 In the interval to the 22nd, I attempted to begin 
 our examination of the lions of this vast city. In 
 order that we should inspect everything with the 
 greatest convenience and accommodation, Count Nessel- 
 rode had placed at our disposition M. de Michaelofl', 
 of the bureau des affaires etranghres. He had given 
 him instructions to repair to our hotel every morn- 
 ing at eleven o'clock, and to make a plan of opera- 
 tions for the day. Furnished as M. de MichaelofT 
 was with the foreign secretary's orders to every 
 
 
 
V 
 
 ^ ■ ■> W 
 
 r 
 
 108 
 
 LE PALAIS D HIVEIl. 
 
 COLUMN OF ALEXANDER. 
 
 109 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 
 establishment, we had opportunities of seeing and 
 examining everything with the greatest facility and 
 accuracy. Our first visit was to L'Hermitage and 
 Le Palais d'Hiver. Count Brunow, also employed 
 in the Russian diplomacy, and one of the most dis- 
 tinguished and confidential friends of Count Nessel- 
 rode, met us at the palace. This edifice, comprising 
 two separate most capacious palaces, stands proudly 
 and prominently on the granite quay on the left 
 bank of the Neva. The view from the principal 
 apartments looks out upon this noble and expansive 
 river, bounded by countless buildings, gilt spires, 
 domes, and churches of every description, while the 
 back of the edifice commands a beautiful panorama 
 of the Neva, covered with shipping, and its sur- 
 rounding objects. The first of these edifices faces a 
 crescent of buildings with colonnades and pilasters, 
 which comprise all the main public offices of the 
 government. In the centre rises, as before stated, 
 the column of Alexander. 
 
 The following detail of the ceremony of placing 
 this matchless monument having been handed to me 
 by a gentleman* who was an eye-witness of the 
 scene on the spot, I consider too interesting not to 
 insert it here. 
 
 Thursday, the 30th of August, 1834, was a day 
 made memorable in Russia by the consecration of the 
 Alexandrine Column in the Isaac Place at St. Pe- 
 tersburgh. It was erected by the Emperor Nicholas 
 in honour of those glorious battles fought in the 
 
 * J. IJardwick, esq. 
 
 years 1813 and 1814, and dedicated to the memory 
 of his brother and predecessor, Alexander I. In 
 elevation this column surpasses all others; its shaft is a 
 single block of polished red granite, eighty-four feet 
 in height, the lower diameter of which is twelve 
 feet, the upper nine feet. This gigantic mass of stone 
 was, in July 1832, brought from the quarries of 
 Finland, and raised with infinite skill on its base by 
 the companions in arms of Alexander. The pedes- 
 tal, in height thirty feet, is also of granite, adorned 
 with allegorical bassi relievi in gilt bronze, bearing 
 on the side towards the Winter Palace this inscrip- 
 tion— " To Alexander I.— Grateful Russia." On the 
 summit is the figure of an angel fifteen feet high, 
 holding in its left hand the cross, its right pointing 
 to heaven.* A few days previously to the ceremony 
 of its inauguration, the weather had changed : in the 
 place of extreme heat and a cloudless sky, the wind 
 blew cold and threatened rain; the night before 
 there was a most terrific thunder-storm ; the rain fell 
 in torrents, and for some hours the atmosphere blazed 
 with incessant flashes of fire. Happily the morning 
 broke serene and fresh : a few soldiers occupied the 
 ground in the great square. At an early hour every 
 house-top was covered and every window filled with 
 anxious spectators. Above the principal doorway 
 of the Winter Palace a magnificent covered balcony 
 in the shape of a tent had been erected for the ac- 
 commodation of the court, with a double flight of steps 
 
 * The capital and plinth for the statue are twelve feet, making 
 the whole height one hundred and forty-one feet. 
 
 i \i 
 
N 
 
 i 
 
 
 ? 
 
 110 
 
 THE INAUGURATION. 
 
 leading down from it into the Place. Here were 
 assembled the magnates of the empire, and many of 
 the most distinguished men in Europe, who had been 
 specially invited to assist at this glorious ceremony. 
 His Majesty the King of Prussia excused himself in 
 the following expressive letter, addressed to the 
 emperor, dated Toplitz, July 20, 1834. 
 
 " Monsieur mon Frhre et beau Fils,— Vous dire com- 
 bien je m'interesse a Tinauguration d'un monument 
 qui dira aux siecles la grandeur des efforts faits pour 
 renverser un despotisme insupportable, et le genie du 
 souverain qui, par une immense impulsion, assura 
 a les efforts la plus glorieuse victoire, c'est vous 
 exprimer combien je regrette que des circonstances 
 insurmontables m'empechent de r^pondre a votre 
 invitation, en me rendant a St. Petersbourg. Mais je 
 serai a la verite a cette auguste cer^monie de toute 
 ma pensee ; et pour me consoler de mon absence, je 
 vous demande la permission de r^aliser un projet cher 
 a mon coeur, et dont Tidee m'a ete suggeree par votre 
 Majeste Imperiale. Elle-meme, qui a bien vouler 
 exprimer un semblable voeu, Tannee demiere, a mon 
 fils le Prince Albert. Souffrez done, sire, que je 
 vous annonce pour cette journee solennelle Tarrivee 
 d'un detachement de mon garde, et du regiment de votre 
 majeste, compose de dix-sept officiers et trente-huit 
 soldats choisis parmi les militaires qui ont fait les 
 memorables campagnes, et que je mets sous la con- 
 duite de mon fils le Prince Guillaume. Ce detache- 
 ment y representera mon armee entiere, fiere encore 
 
 VI 
 
 THE INAUGURATION. 
 
 Ill 
 
 des souvenirs d'une epoque memorable de sa fraternite 
 avec les braves soldats Russes, des suffrages enfin de 
 celui qui leur fraya le chemin de la victoire, et qui si 
 souvent les confondit avec ses propres guerriers. 
 Daignez, sire, leur accorder vos bonnes graces. Comp- 
 tant sur votre agrement, je ferai partir ce detachement 
 sans attendre votre reponse. Veuillez agreer Tassu- 
 rance de mon attachement inalterable, et de la haute 
 consideration avec laquelle je suis, 
 
 " Sire, 
 " De votre Majeste Imperiale 
 " Le bien devoue beau-pere, 
 '' Frederick Guillaume." 
 
 As the clock struck ten, three signal-guns were 
 fired ; at the same moment the quick short tramp of 
 soldiers was heard ; and in an instant from every inlet 
 into the Great Square poured horse and foot, their 
 bands playing, their colours flying, and in less than 
 twenty minutes one hundred thousand men, the flower 
 and choice of the Russian army, took up their posi- 
 tion ! Here troops of Cossacks were moving on their 
 small spare horses— in another quarter mounted Cir- 
 cassians in chain armour, with their bows and arrows. 
 At the end of the place, near the Isaac Church, were 
 posted twenty thousand cavalry, whose steel helmets 
 and polished cuirasses flashed back in dazzling splen- 
 dour the sun-rays that glanced upon them. Two 
 hundred and forty-eight pieces of artillery, pontoons, 
 &c., lined the Admiralty quay. The ships of war 
 and other vessels lying in the Neva were gaily 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ ii 
 
 i 
 
 tff 
 
 
 
 A i' 
 
 
 1 -1 
 
 H 
 
 \ 
 
V, 
 
 ~*^*^,/ 
 
 WMfiU 
 
 112 
 
 THE INAUGURATION. 
 
 dressed in all their colours. The Emperor com- 
 manded in person ; he rode along tlie ranks, ac- 
 companied by the Cesarovitch Grand Duke and 
 heir apparent, the Grand Duke Michael, Prince 
 William of Prussia, and followed by a numerous and 
 brilliant kat major. His Majesty was at every in- 
 stant saluted by the liveliest acclamations. 
 
 At twelve o'clock the Empress and their children, 
 attended by the ladies of the court, appeared upon the 
 balcony ; she was preceded I)y the archbishop of St. 
 Petersburgh, assisted by the higli clergy bearing tlie 
 cross, the sacred images and embroidered banners of 
 the Greek Church. On a command given by the Em- 
 peror, the troops grounded arms, and made ready for 
 prayers ; then burst forth the voices of the choir from 
 the balcony, chanting, in the sweetest and most 
 thrilling strains, the Te Dpauu, on which the whole 
 army uncovered and knelt, as did the Emperor apart 
 and in the front of them. As soon as the last long; 
 note of this beautiful descant had died away, on a 
 signal given by the Emperor, the crimson hangings 
 that had to this moment concealed the pedestal of 
 the column and its rich hassi relievi fell, and tliis 
 magnificent monument stood revealed in all its 
 glory. At the Emperor's sole word of command the 
 whole army presented arms ; then were heard the 
 shouts of the troops and of the surrounding multitude 
 — the roaring of the cannon — the clang of the trum- 
 pets — while at intervals, when there was a pausing 
 of these clamorous instruments, the sweet silvery 
 streaming notes of the choir rose upon the air. 
 
 THE INAUGURATION. 
 
 113 
 
 I' 
 
 Prayers having been said for the Russian army, the 
 procession began to descend the steps of the balcony 
 leading to the square. First walked the heads of the 
 Greek Church in their rich habiliments ; then the 
 Empress, full of grace and dignity, wearing a diamond 
 on her forehead glittering like a star, followed by the 
 ladies of the court in the Russian costume, the 
 members of the council, the nobles, field-marshals, 
 the corps diplomatique, generals, and other distin- 
 guished personages. Just as the procession ap- 
 proached the column, the sky, which for a short time 
 before had been overcast, cleared, and the sun burst 
 forth, lighting up with its rays the column and the 
 whole line of this splendid pageant. 
 
 When the archbishop had blessed the column, the 
 procession returned to the palace. The Emperor, sur- 
 rounded by his staflf, took up a position near the mo- 
 nument. The whole army then, with the greatest pre- 
 cision, filed off in close columns of regiments before 
 him. His Majesty himself, having placed the first sen- 
 tinel from the Grenadiers du Palais'^ on guard at the 
 column, (and who has since been regularly relieved by 
 one of that body,) ascended the steps of the balcony, 
 and as he met the Empress, who had advanced to con- 
 gratulate him, he impressed an affectionate kiss upon 
 her forehead, exclaiming, " Ma chere, c'est la plus 
 belle journee de ma vie." 
 
 In reference to this magnificent trophy, I cannot 
 
 * This is the finest body of men in Europe ; it is composed of 
 a hundred picked veterans, none of whom have served less than 
 five-and-twenty years. 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
 iV 
 
114 
 
 L HERMITAGE. 
 
 but remark here that, for its site, it is not nearly stu- 
 pendous enough, or rather that the great space en- 
 closed both in this and St. Peter's area gives the appear- 
 ance of littleness to the two grand monuments. The 
 crowd who traverse the squares look more like pigmies 
 than mortals, and the due effect of the ornamented 
 obelisk, surmounted by a figure of our Saviour with 
 the cross, as w^ell as that of the statue of Peter the 
 Great, and the beautiful symmetrical horse, are lost 
 in the immensity of space that surrounds them. 
 This shows how very essential it is to consult the 
 position and space around any great monument or 
 trophy. In the Place de Vendome at Paris, and in 
 Waterloo Place, the columns look more imposing 
 than this infinitely finer work at St. Petersburgh. 
 What greatly detracts from the matchless perfection 
 of the Imperial city, and which is applicable to all the 
 palaces we visited this day, is, that there is an ill- 
 assorted mixture of the finest granite and marble 
 with Fcagliola and imitation stone-work ; but for 
 this, the visitor would think these edifices perfect. 
 
 I cannot describe the endless apartments of L'Her- 
 mitage, nor the splendid paintings of masters of 
 various schools, the appropriation of a room to each 
 of whom may give some idea of the scale of the 
 arrangement of the pictures. A great collection was 
 made from Sir Robert Walpole's and Lord Orford's 
 sales, and also from Hope, the banker, of Amsterdam, 
 and from Malmaison. There are eight famous pic- 
 tures, said to be of Leonardo da Vinci, and five of 
 Raphael. There are Michael Angelos, Andrea del 
 
 L 
 
 SPLENDID TREASURES. 
 
 115 
 
 •■ i 
 
 Sartos, Caraccis, Carravagios, Titians, Correggios, in 
 numbers ; but I confess I did not see in the collection 
 many very extraordinary efforts of these celebrated 
 artists. I believe, however, that, except in Spain, it is 
 the largest collection of the Italian school. The gal- 
 lery is also very rich in pictures of the Flemish school, 
 Rubens, Sneyders, Teniers, and Vandyke ; and there 
 are also splendid groups of sculpture. Canova shines 
 pre-eminently amidst the works of other modern Ita- 
 lian artists. In addition to the paintings and sculp- 
 ture are cabinets containing presents, jewels, the 
 ingots and valuable treasures of every description 
 which have been collected during the reigns of the 
 czars of Russia. The splendour of these objects is 
 really inconceivable. Until I visited Russia and its 
 treasures, I knew not what was grandeur ; I had no 
 conception of such valuable display. Let those who 
 desire to understand it, proceed to these palaces, and 
 to the Kremlin, &c., at Moscow. 
 
 AfTfcer having paraded through the rooms containing 
 the presents, &c., we were conducted into various sa- 
 loons, in which vases of jasper, tables of malachite, 
 candelabras of ormolu, cabinets of mosaic, pietro duro, 
 and porphyry, were so interspersed that they appeared 
 almost to glut the beautiful parquets on which they 
 were parcelled out. 
 
 From the suite of apartments for reception, we enter- 
 ed those devoted to the crown jewels, &c. These are 
 shown only by particular permission. Under a glass 
 case in the middle of a costly cabinet, which contains 
 flat tables covered with glasses, and doors to open, 
 
 I 2 
 
 
 /. 
 
asBa 
 
 s8£ 
 
 116 
 
 BALL-ROOM. 
 
 stands the Imperial diadem, in which is contained one 
 of the largest diamonds in the universe. The crown 
 itself is nearly composed of pearls ; and the rubies, 
 emeralds, and sapphires, which cover the regah'a and 
 sceptre, are only surpassed in number, though not 
 in brilliancy, by tliose which occupy the glass cases 
 ranged round the room. I should mention also that 
 one large cabinet is completely filled with rich and 
 curious snuff-boxes, collected chiefly by the Empress 
 Catherine; they are of every shape and form. 
 
 The unrivalled ball-room next claimed our atten- 
 tion — the largest perhaps in the world. The dimen- 
 sions of the roams are annexed. 
 
 Grand Salle de Marble - 
 
 Salle Blanche - - - - 
 
 Salle St. George - - - 
 Salle des Marechaux 
 
 English Feet. 
 Length. Breadth. 
 
 196 
 133 
 133 
 112 
 
 Palace d'l liver. 
 
 In the Palais de Tauride the dimensions are : 
 
 Grand Salle 
 Jardin d'Hiver 
 
 238 
 175 
 
 98 
 168 
 
 I 
 
 Palais Tauride. 
 
 In the Palais de Czarskozelo : 
 
 Salle du Grand Palais - - 161 
 Salle du Petit Palais - - - 147 
 
 56 
 49 
 
 ] 
 
 Czarskozelo. 
 
 I have added to the ball-room and dimensions of 
 the Winter Palace the size of the other apartments of 
 the most conspicuous Imperial residences, to show 
 the great scale upon which the whole are constructed. 
 
 . 
 
 SALOON OF THE MARECHALS. 
 
 117 
 
 At the fete of the new year, or on any extraordinary 
 occasions, when the palaces are thrown open, twenty 
 thousand persons may assemble in the Salle de Bal 
 above described. It is lined with columns of scag- 
 liola, and has a gallery around it. 
 
 After viewing this spacious apartment, we proceeded 
 to the private rooms of the reigning Empress ; these 
 are sumptuously fitted up in crimson and gold ; the 
 doors are entirely gilt, which I never witnessed before. 
 White marble tables and malachite, alternately with 
 ormolu mountings, and an enormous vase of mala- 
 chite in the centre, are the main decorations of this 
 Imperial boudoir. I should observe there is one 
 singularly resplendent feature here, and indeed in 
 all the great hotels of the Russian noblesse — the 
 windows are a single sheet of glass; there is no 
 separation or square, so that the exterior prospect is 
 open to you without dissection, and this affords a 
 cheerful brightness of unusual enjoyment. The num- 
 ber of domestics in charge, and the attendants that 
 occupy the winter palaces, at all times exceed five 
 hundred, and these are more than doubled when 
 the Emperor is resident. The most remarkable sa- 
 loon is that of the Marechals. In it are full-length 
 portraits of Potemkin, Suwarrow, Kutusow, Barclay 
 de Tolly, Diebitsch, and Paskewitch. In an adjoin- 
 ing room are portraits of all the generals of the Rus- 
 sian army. The Emperor Alexander's picture, on 
 horseback, is at the head of the room, and the King 
 of Prussia's at the bottom ; the Duke of Wellington's 
 and Prince Schwarzenburg's on each side. This me^ 
 
 U 
 
Mfaitfil 
 
 i 
 
 118 
 
 REMARKABLE CUSTOM. 
 
 !' m I 
 
 f 
 
 mento of the glorious campaigns of 1813 and 1814 
 was imagined by the Emperor Alexander, and he en- 
 gaged an English artist (Mr. Dawe) to establish him- 
 self in Russia to complete this undertaking. This 
 able and pains-taking artist died before he accomplish- 
 ed his task ; his labours were incessant, as he worked 
 generally eighteen hours out of the twenty-four. He 
 made a good speculation by his engagement, receiv- 
 ing one thousand rubles for each head, of wliich he 
 finished a large number. At his decease, I heard he 
 left all his fortune to the Lancasterian schools in 
 England. 
 
 After we had regarded the countenances of most of 
 these Russian commanders, we visited in succession 
 the rooms of the late Empress Mere, which had been 
 newly fitted up, before her death in the Palais d'Hiver, 
 by the Emperor Alexander. It is not possible to be- 
 hold apartments more luxurious, or in more perfect 
 taste ; they are, however, untenanted. One of the 
 customs in Russia (which must, in private families, if 
 adhered to, be attended with considerable inconveni- 
 ence) is to leave the rooms of a deceased person to 
 whom you are attached, with all the articles which 
 they contain at the moment of their death, precisely 
 in the state in which they are left by the person so 
 dying. This has been carried into effect in a parti- 
 cular manner as regards the Emperor Alexander ; and 
 the most trifling minutiae in each room that he last 
 inhabited, before the fatal fever on the shores of the 
 sea of Azof carried him oft', have been preserved in 
 the state in which they were when he died. 
 
 DllOSHKAS. 
 
 119 
 
 T 
 
 I was much struck with the form, &c., of the car- 
 riages and means of conveyance in this great metro- 
 polis, so different in all respects from those of our 
 own country. 
 
 A remarkable fact, that the stranger must bear 
 in mind, is, that the whole commerce of this vast king- 
 dom, in its interior, is carried on by small, ricketty, 
 uncouth-looking peasants' wagons, with little horses, 
 (either one or two,) whose wretched appearance, al- 
 though mixed with Arabian and Tartar blood, inspires 
 a doubt how they can get on, or in any way travel 
 with their burthen ; but the strength of this peculiar 
 breed is not more remarkable than the strength of 
 the little charrettes, and the inconceivable quantity of 
 merchandise and goods of every kind that are laden 
 upon them, as well as the dexterous manner in which 
 the loads and packages are placed. All the public 
 marts and places of resort swarm with collected masses, 
 in lines or columns, of these vehicles. 
 
 Leave Petersburgh at what hour you will, or what 
 side you may, these charrettes swarm about you, and 
 are an intolerable nuisance to all the better sort of 
 carriages or vehicles. But with few canals, no rail- 
 roads, or passable tracts, Russia, in no part of her 
 vast regions, could exist twenty-four hours without 
 this apparently slender but actively powerful instru- 
 ment of her interior carrying trade. Next in variety 
 in the moving massofwheel conveyances is the droshka, 
 with its little low benches on springs, in the form of a 
 tortoise, having one horse driven by a coachman, with 
 a beard as long as the horse's tail, who sits on the 
 
 i 
 
 \} 
 
^ 
 
 ■api 
 
 ^""^m 
 
 H 
 
 ;') 
 
 120 
 
 DllOSHKAS. 
 
 same seat with the passenger. These little machines 
 fly about in all directions with the most extraordinary 
 velocity. The Russian coachmen are a peculiar race ; 
 they wear small round hats, their hair cut short, long 
 beards, bare necks, and generally blue coats and pet- 
 ticoats, with a girdle round their waists. The droshka 
 should only carry one person in addition to the cha- 
 rioteer, but it generally contains two and sometimes 
 three, and the gentleman then is obliged to ride 
 astride, with the lady before him, which has not a 
 very decent appearance as far as regards the female 
 in the same conveyance. " Mais on saccoutume a 
 tout.^' 
 
 After the droshka come the various descriptions of 
 carriages which are driven with four or even six 
 horses abreast ; these, with the beautiful little Tartar 
 animals that you frequently see harnessed to the better 
 description of carriages, (tossing their rat-like heads 
 in the air, with their wide Arab nostrils,) form an 
 object of admiration. 
 
 Lastly come the stately trains of the noblesse ; these 
 have always four horses, the leaders being harnessed 
 with very long traces, and a boy (a fac-simile in mi- 
 niature of the coachman on the box) riding the right 
 hand leader. 
 
 No person of any distinction goes out in Peters- 
 burgh without this attelage. The distances being so 
 very great in the town, four horses are really neces- 
 sary to carry you along, and they are driven rapidly 
 and with dexterity. 
 
 I should now relate that, on our arrival in Russia, 
 
 ' \ 
 
 THE EMPEROR S ACCIDENT. 
 
 121 
 
 we heard that the Emperor had been thrown out of 
 his carriage, and had broken his collar-bone, while 
 visiting the interior of his dominions, and that this 
 accident would alter his plan of staying any time 
 at Moscow, and induce him, in all probability, to 
 return as soon as his physician would allow him to 
 move to St. Petersburgh. 
 
 Although by this circumstance we were prevented 
 seeing the Emperor in the midst of his Russian sub- 
 jects at Moscow, which is said to be peculiarly de- 
 monstrative of the affection in which he is held by his 
 people, still we were determined, if possible, to pro- 
 ceed to that capital, as, in fact, it is there that Russia 
 is to be seen in her true form and character. 
 
 
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 ^^SAS" 
 
 122 
 
 THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY. 
 
 l!: : i 
 
 ^ 
 
 > r 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Imperial Academy — Diplomatic Dinner — Dinner at the Am- 
 bassador's — Palace of PeterhofF — Imperial Cottage — Its Interior 
 — Visit to Czarskoeselo — Audience with the Empress — Dinner 
 with her Majesty — Mode of Serving — Imperial Ball — Unex- 
 pected Announcement — Travelling Party. 
 
 Having visited tlie palaces, we went next to the Im- 
 perial Academy, which may be assimilated to our 
 Royal Academy, except that it is entirely under the 
 direction of the government. We saw a large collec- 
 tion of modern portraits by various Russian artists. 
 Some valuable curiosities from Egypt and Hercula- 
 neum ornament the entrance. A splendid and im- 
 mense hall in the centre forms a species of arsenal, 
 with standards and military emblems, armour, and 
 knights cap-a-pie upon stuffed horses, which are cer- 
 tainly a good imitation, but give rather a paltry 
 appearance. One wing of the building is devoted 
 to pictures, the other is the school of architecture, 
 painting, and mathematics. Numerous students are 
 here instructed, under every possible advantage, at 
 the expense of the government. It seems, indeed, a 
 nursery for talent, and is admirably conducted in all 
 
 DIPLOMATIC DINNER. 
 
 123 
 
 
 f 
 
 its branches. Casts from Italy of all the fine statues 
 and models, and copies of everything most precious in 
 the arts, are open for the advancement of the scholars. 
 Unable as I feel, on a cursory inspection, to give the 
 details of this vast establishment, it is enough to say 
 that it must inspire everybody with interest, and is a 
 convincing proof of the pains and labour which the 
 Russian government is taking to further the progress 
 of the arts and sciences. 
 
 Count Nesselrode had invited us this day to dinner 
 at his country-house in the Islands, on the right bank 
 of the Neva. We went at five. The villa is beautifully 
 situated, and in the height of summer must be en- 
 chanting. We had the whole of the corps diploma- 
 tique at Petersburgh to meet us, (except the French 
 Ambassador, M. de Baranthe,) General Fiquelmont, 
 the Austrian, Mr. Lieberman, the Prussian, the 
 Swedish, Danish, and the Bavarian. Besides these, 
 there were several of the general officers whom I had 
 known on service in 1813 and 1814; Czernicheff, 
 who is now minister of war, Troubitskoi, and some 
 others. The only lady besides the Countess Nessel- 
 rode was a sister of the Prince Razumoufski of Vienna, 
 (whom we have since unhappily lost,) than whom 
 there never existed a more amiable, excellent, or uni- 
 versally popular man. The dinner was of the greatest 
 rMierche, for which Count Nesselrode is proverbially 
 renowned. The wines, including Prince Metternich's 
 far-famed Johannisberg, were, beyond measure, exqui- 
 site. No repast could be better served, or more agree- 
 able ; and the extreme urbanity of the distinguished 
 
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 UW^^ -»-:j- . 
 
 124 
 
 DINNER AT THE AMBASSADOR S. 
 
 PALACE OF PETERHOFF. 
 
 125 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 A 
 
 host, together with all the information and talent he 
 possesses, added to the lively and admirable esprit of 
 the countess, rendered their receptions (which I after- 
 wards repeatedly enjoyed) among the most agree- 
 able in Russian society. 
 
 The following day we had engaged ourselves to 
 an early dinner with our ambassador, to see his 
 chateau in the country, and to visit Peterhoff, the 
 magnificent palace of Peter the Great, together with 
 the new establishments of the Emperor Alexander, 
 and those which the present monarch had created in 
 that quarter. On our arrival at the ambassador's 
 villa, after a drive of twenty-four wersts, we found, to 
 our disappointment, that he had received an order to 
 dine with the Grand Duchess Helene^ who had a 
 palace adjoining. She is the wife of the Grand Duke 
 Michael, and daughter of Prince Paul of Wurtem- 
 burg. 
 
 We were therefore left to the care of the gentlemen 
 of the embassy, among whom was Mr. Kinnaird, who 
 did the honours ; Mr. Ponsonby, (Lord Duncannon's 
 son,) who recently had sustained tlie most afflicting 
 loss of his charming young wife, daughter of the am- 
 bassador, and Dr. Dorand, physician to the family. 
 He informed me that he was writing a History of 
 Russia, from which, I have no doubt, we shall have 
 ample details, as the doctor appeared a man of infor- 
 mation, and, as I had reason to appreciate afterwards, 
 was a very able member of his profession. 
 
 The ambassador had left us his carriage and horses 
 to drive to Peterhoff; 1 had, liowever, fortunately fur- 
 
 nished myself with Count Nesselrode's letters and 
 directions, or we should have been put to inconve- 
 nience. 
 
 The palace of Peterhoff* is a fine edifice : its peculiar 
 charm and characteristic are its gardens, waterfalls, 
 jets d'eau, and countless marble statues, sea gods, 
 dolphins, and urchins on the terraces overhanging 
 the parapets. There are broad walks round the 
 building down to the border of the Gulf of Finland, 
 which flows up to the bottom of the gardens. Each 
 successive monarch has added to the embellishments. 
 The building is sixty feet above the sea. Tlie prin- 
 cipal front is inland, and it is an enormous mansion, 
 with five or six large projecting angles. There are 
 two wings of one story high, which join pavilions 
 crowned with golden domes. It resembles more the 
 buildings I aft erwards saw at Moscow, than any other 
 edifice at St. Petersburg^. In front of the palace is 
 an extensive terrace, with two of the largest cas- 
 cades I ever saw falling into a marble basin, where 
 Neptune and all the sea gods are grouped. Sculp- 
 ture, architecture, painting, and gilding, have all been 
 put in abundant requisition to make the edifice the 
 most striking in the country. I was told that in 
 summer, when all the artificial water-works are play- 
 ing, they are far superior to those of Versailles. See- 
 ing them as I did in a bad season of the year, it is 
 impossible to pass a just opinion. Some remarkable 
 cedar-trees surround the palace ; and the gardens are 
 laid out in long avenues, in the old French style. 
 
 There is nothing very remarkable in the suite of 
 
 
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 7 
 
 ■*••••■«■ 
 
 •«■••■•«•*-- 
 
 i 
 
 126 
 
 IMPERIAL COTTAGE. 
 
 : 
 
 \\> 
 
 II!' 
 
 / 
 
 apartments. One room is filled with portraits by a 
 Dutch artist, and in a large hall is a picture of Peter 
 the Great in a rowboat in a storm, alluding to an 
 escape he had in the Gulf of Finland. From the great 
 palace you are led to a small cottage that was occu- 
 pied by this great monarch in his latter days. The 
 simplicity in which he always lived is here observable ; 
 his bed and mattress, and even his nightcap and slip- 
 pers, are preserved and shown. It would seem that 
 he passed his days in the humblest outward appear- 
 ance, while his thoughts expanded to the sublimest 
 objects. 
 
 In endeavouring to make our way to the more 
 modem improvements of the Emperor Nicholas, the 
 ignorance of our drivers carried us into a labyrinth of 
 extensive wild planting that surrounds the new cot- 
 tage residence of Peterhoff. It was now that the 
 letter I had brought from Count Nesselrode to the 
 governor of the chateau proved our welcome aid ; 
 for when we were entirely lost, not knowing which 
 way to turn, we descried, at a great distance, a 
 little carriage coming ventre a ierre towards us. When 
 it reached us, we found the governor himself lament- 
 ing the great circuit we had made, assuring us he 
 had been in every direction to find us, protesting 
 against the stupid ignorance of our postilions, and un- 
 dertaking to conduct us immediately by the shortest 
 way to the Emperor's cottage. In about half an hour 
 we arrived at a most perfect little terrestrial paradise, 
 situated on the Gulf of Finland, just opposite Cron- 
 stadt. It embraces in one coup d'cerl all the interest- 
 
 ITS INTERIOR. 
 
 127 
 
 ing points of that formidable place, with the Russian 
 ships at anchor, and the men-of-war in the basins. 
 
 The Emperor Nicholas's object in its construction 
 was merely to make it sufiicient to hold the members 
 of his own family and servants. His children's rooms, 
 and those of the governesses and preceptors, are 
 arranged in the neatest order, combining every Eng- 
 lish comfort with furniture of beautiful wood from 
 every quarter of the globe. The Empress's bedroom, 
 boudoir, and toilette, are, in taste and simplicity, far 
 surpassing what I can describe. But the most en- 
 chanting room of all is the saloon, where a large bow 
 window of a single pane, ornamented on the top and 
 round the sides with coloured glass, opens on a full 
 view of Cronstadt and the Gulf. Various mirrors 
 round the room reflect the interesting panorama, 
 which this fine window admits into the apartment ; and, 
 without being able exactly to describe in what it con- 
 sists, there is an air of enchantment in every feature 
 of this abode, whether as regards its luxury, its 
 refinement, or its comforts. The garden around it is 
 laid out as an English pleasure-ground, and at a 
 small distance, on a little rise, is a telegraph and 
 flag-staff*, whence the Emperor communicates his 
 orders to Cronstadt, and is apprised of everything 
 that passes at St. Petersburgh. 
 
 It might interest many readers to have a more mi- 
 nute description of the boudoir, the chambre a coucher, 
 toilette, the cabinet du travail, &c., &c., of the Em- 
 peror and Empress ; but after all they live pretty much 
 as others of high rank, and if they are remarkable for 
 
 •> \ 
 
 \ 
 
128 
 
 VISIT TO CZAIISKOESELO. 
 
 anything peculiar, it is for the regularity of tlieir 
 habits. Theirs is a household of most domestic and 
 affectionate intercourse. Their children are lovely, 
 and their attendants devotedly attached to them. 
 
 Our inspection of this residence occupied us so long, 
 that we had barely time to drive back for the dinner 
 that Pas prepared at the ambassador's, and to re- 
 turn late at night to St. Petersburgh. I omitted 
 to mention that during the week Count Nesselrode 
 had called, and informed us that the Empress in- 
 tended to invite us to a reception at the country re- 
 sidence of Czarskoeselo, and that it would probably 
 take place on the Sunday following. He advised us, 
 as it was on our road to Moscow, to arrange so 
 that we should make our visit to her Imperial Majesty 
 our first day's journey ; at the same time the Count, 
 in the most obliging manner, offered us one of tlie 
 Emperor's field jagers to accompany us, and arrange 
 our post-horses and journey to Moscow. The advice 
 was willingly embraced ; and having received her 
 Imperial Majesty's invitation agreeably to the intima- 
 tion given, we started in two carriages on Sunday, 
 the 25th of October, for Czarskoeselo and Moscow, 
 two maids and two servants preceding our chariot 
 with our camp-beds, &c. &c. Our cook and field 
 jager had already gone before to make preparations. 
 These three vehicles formed our line of march. 
 Lord and Lady Durham, and other distinguished 
 guests, were invited also to Czarskoeselo. Our 
 apartments were in the Great Palace, built by the 
 Empress Catherine, and much embellished and beau- 
 tified by the Emperor Alexander. 
 
 ^ 
 
 / 
 
 AUDIENCE WITH THE EIVIPRESS. 
 
 129 
 
 The present Emperor and Empress reside at a small 
 palace, adjoining that which Nicliolas occupied while 
 Grand Duke, but which was originally built by the 
 Empress Catherine for the Emperor Alexander at the 
 time of his marriage. 
 
 At five o'clock in the evening of our arrival, car- 
 riages were sent for us, to proceed to our presentation 
 to the Empress, and to dinner. We found a large 
 circle present in a very spacious room of three 
 compartments, separated by columns. In the centre 
 division were laid the tables for dinner ; in the end 
 compartment the company were assembled. The 
 Nesselrodes had preceded us, and many of our St. 
 Petersburgh acquaintance were already arrived. It 
 was uncertain in what manner the Empress would 
 receive us, whether we were to be presented by our 
 own ambassador, or by the high officers and dames 
 dhonneur of the court. At length we found that 
 the Empress had commanded her Grand Maitre, 
 Prince Volkouski, and Madame Nesselrode, wife of 
 the minister for foreign affairs, to introduce us, and we 
 were honoured with a private audience of her Im- 
 perial Majesty. She entered the apartment into 
 which we were introduced with the Grand Duke 
 Heritier, Cesarowitch. She came immediately up 
 to me, and in the most gracious manner accosted 
 me as an old acquaintance, remembering me (she was 
 pleased to say) perfectly in 1813 in Silesia. The in- 
 describable majesty of deportment and fascinating 
 grace that mark this illustrious personage are very 
 peculiar. Celebrated as are all the females connected 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 'ill 
 
\ 
 
 I . 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 130 
 
 DINNER WITH HER MAJESTY. 
 
 MODE OF SERVING. 
 
 131 
 
 with the lamented and beautiful Queen of Prussia, 
 there is none of them more bewitching in manners 
 tlian the Empress of Russia; nor is there existing, 
 according to all reports, so excellent and perfect a 
 being. After a kind and gracious conversation 
 with me, she turned to my companions, and, while 
 talking to them, the Cesarowitch approached me. He is 
 eighteen, remarkably tall and handsome, has a benign 
 countenance and a princely air, and is undoubtedly one 
 of the handsomest young men that can be seen. The 
 Princess Olga, the younger of two sisters, was in the 
 back ground ; she appeared about fourteen or fifteen, 
 fair and delicate, but tall, with very brilliant and 
 large sparkling eyes. 
 
 Her elder sister, we understood afterwards, was ill 
 and not able to appear, but, at a subsequent period, 
 I often saw her ; and although, perhaps, she is not 
 at first so striking as the Grand Duchess Olga, she 
 has an extraordinary resemblance to the Emperor, 
 and her countenance has all that ingenuousness and 
 intelligence which characterise her Imperial father. 
 She is (I believe) two years older than her sister. 
 After half an hour's conversation, the Empress pro- 
 ceeded to the general reception-room, and making her 
 tournee, &c., to the ladies, the ministers, the gentlemen, 
 the officers, &c., that were assembled, she went into the 
 dinner-room, the ladies following her successively ac- 
 cording to their rank, and then the gentlemen. I was 
 directed to sit on the left of the grand chamberlain, op- 
 posite the Empress, the American ambassador sitting on 
 his right. The Empress sat next her son and her 
 
 daughter, the other ladies rangingin a line on each side. 
 The dinner was served d la Husse, each plate handed 
 round, the dessert and decorations filling up the centre 
 of the tables. This mode of managing the dinner is 
 now very generally introduced throughout the Euro- 
 pean continent, England alone preserving the custom 
 of placing the dishes upon the table, and having them 
 carved by the master and mistress or their immediate 
 intimates. 
 
 In Russia, however, I observed generally that— 
 whereas a great dinner in other places, either abroad 
 or at home, consists of eighteen or twenty-four different 
 entries ^nd entremets in each course-the greatest din- 
 ners in St. Petersburgh have only six or eight entries, 
 the same being so multiplied that the dinner goes 
 on rapidly, and is universally well served. Eveiy 
 luxury and production of the world can be procured 
 m this capital, and nothing can exceed the splendour 
 comforts, and good taste of the court and the aristo- 
 cracy. I must observe, however, in fairness, when 
 speaking of the table, that vegetables and fruits alone 
 are an exception ; these are very inferior to those 
 grown in France and England, and the meat in 
 winter goes through certain processes, when in a 
 frozen state, (before it is cooked,) that make it more 
 tasteless than in England. Beef in general is good 
 but I never ate good mutton in Russia, except at 
 Count Nesselrode's table, and then it was produced 
 as a species of feast. 
 
 At the conclusion of the repast we returned to the 
 end division of the apartment I have described, 
 
 K 2 
 
MM 
 
 T 
 
 13-2 
 
 IMPERIAL HAr.L 
 
 UNEXPECTED ANNOUNCEMENT. 
 
 1 83 
 
 f il 
 
 !«i 
 
 while a numerous band of servants swept away tlie 
 dinner-tables and cleared the middle space. In about 
 an hour we were dismissed, after the Empress had 
 gone round the circle saying something kind and 
 agreeable to every one, and we were then informed 
 that we should be expected to return at eight o'clock 
 for a ball, the ladies in an entire new dress. In- 
 deed the essential business of la toilette seemed to be at 
 its meridian. The Empress sets an example by bestow- 
 ing every possible pains on her appearance, which, 
 aided by her matchless jewels, and the precious ap- 
 pendages of the crown, displayed on so fine a person, 
 makes her shine forth as a perfect paragon. 
 
 On returning for the ball, we found the Emperor's 
 younger children, the two Grand Dukes Michael and 
 Nicholas, with their governesses and preceptors, assem- 
 bled in the outer room, where a large montagne Russc 
 had been erected for their amusement, in using which 
 they often got the Emperor and ladies of the court 
 to join. The two boys are fair, but strong and 
 healthy. They were dressed en Cossaque, spoke Eng- 
 lish, and had a Scotch lady in charge of them, who 
 was very conversable and agreeable. She had been 
 nineteen years in the Imperial family, and gave me 
 the most interesting account of the perfection of its 
 interior, and of the qualities of the Emperor as a 
 father, husband, and master, which could only be 
 surpassed by those of the Empress as a mother and a 
 wife. Having noticed and communicated with all the 
 nursery department, we went to the ball-room, and 
 shortly afterwards the Empress appeared. She led off 
 
 X 
 
 the dance with her son, and it was kept up with spirit 
 till twelve, her Majesty really dancing as if she were 
 fifteen, and looking much more like the sister than 
 the mother of the Cesarowitch. It is useless to 
 enumerate all the company that graced this splendid 
 ball. The elite of Petersburg!! arc well known. All 
 were present. General Benkendortf was the only 
 aide-de-camp general of the Emperor that was absent 
 with his Imperial Majesty, so that all the most distin- 
 guished general oflftcers were in the room. General 
 Czernichefi; minister of war. General Menzikoff, minis- 
 ter of marine. Princes Troubetskoi, Chichcriiii, Narich- 
 ken, Volkouski, Apraxin, &c. &c., were amongst the 
 most distinguished ; while the beauties were Madame 
 Krudener, Pashkoff, Poushkin, Natalie, Strogonoff, 
 Worouzow, Dashkoff, &c., and various others whom 
 I may possibly hereafter more particularly point out. 
 
 At supper I was ordered to sit by the Empress ; at 
 the other side was our ambassador ; and I must say 
 her Majesty was so kind and agreeable, that it was 
 difficult to discover to which of her neighbours she 
 was most condescending. 
 
 During the dance, and just before supper, a courier 
 was announced as having arrived from the Emperor. 
 The whole family, as if electrified, quitted the room. 
 It was said that his Majesty often came quite un- 
 expectedly, and when such an announcement was 
 made, it was followed often by the Emperor walking 
 into the room alone. On this occasion, however, 
 it was not expected, as it was well known his suffer- 
 ings from his fall liad been very severe. But such is 
 
 t 
 
tatt^-- 
 
 ^mmmmm0^' 
 
 I 
 
 134 
 
 TRAVELLING PARTY. 
 
 Nicholas — so rapid sometimes in his decisions, so 
 prompt in their execution. The idolatry in which 
 he is held by his family is remarkable — an irresistible 
 proof of the inherent goodness of his nature. 
 
 Towards one o'clock p.m., the Empress retiring, we 
 were conveyed back in the court carriages to our 
 apartments. On the following morning we had 
 arranged with the Prince Dolgorouki to inspect the 
 palace, the gardens, the farm, &c., of Czarskoeselo, 
 previously to our setting out on our expedition to 
 Moscow ; but we were anxious to get to the first 
 station in the evening, viz. to Pomeraini, where we 
 had settled to sleep. At eleven a.m. on the 2nd 
 October, Prince Dolgorouki had the carriages ready 
 for us. We all set out in a char-a-banc double. In 
 addition to the ambassador and ambassadress, and 
 Prince Dolgorouki, Prince Troubetskoi, an officer of 
 the chevalier garde, the ambassador's family, and 
 the Countesse Sophie Modena, dame d'honneur of 
 the Empress, of singularly good humour, playful 
 talent, and amiability, formed the party. The morn- 
 ing was bleak and cold, but all determined to be very 
 agreeable. 
 
 » 
 
 t 
 
 EMI'IIESS CATHERINE S BATHS. 
 
 135 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Empress Catherine's Baths — The Arsenal —Trophies and Armour 
 — Imperial Dairy — Magnificent Palace — Its Interior— Recep- 
 tion Rooms — Chapel — Gateluna — Posting in Russia — Russian 
 Roads — Wagons, Inns, Villages —Government Inns — Travelling 
 Fare —Delicacies. 
 
 Our first drive was to the magnificent stone gate and 
 archway which the Emperor Alexander, shortly 
 before his death, had caused to be erected to the 
 memory of the brave men who had served with him 
 in the campaigns of 1813, 1814, and 1815. Thegate 
 is of black marble, the architecture very simple, the 
 motto even more so. In large gold letters may 
 be read, " A mes Braves Compagnons d'Armes." 
 The next objects are the baths of the late Empress 
 Catherine, and it is related that she used to retire 
 from the palace to this her favourite retreat. The 
 building is little worthy of note, and the rooms small 
 and low, but the extraordinary sight here is the im- 
 mense jasper block in which the bath is formed. 
 This is the most gigantic specimen of the kind in the 
 world. 
 
 Our next visit was to the arsenal : this is rather 
 
 i 
 
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 A 
 
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 i\ 
 
. I 
 
 / 
 
 If 
 
 136 
 
 THE ARSENAL. 
 
 a curious and an unusual edifice for the middle of a 
 pleasure ground ; the Emperor Alexander commenced 
 it, but it has been greatly added to by Nicholas. It 
 is in the shape of a turret four stories high, with 
 as many rooms on each floor. The first floor con- 
 tains an apartment for the Empress, a bedroom, a 
 saloon, a salle-a-manger^ and servants' waiting-room. 
 These are furnished with painted glass, old black ebony 
 chairs, and other furniture of rare description, with 
 pictures of sea engagements between the Swedes and 
 the Russians, and battle-pieces. The ornamental de- 
 corations of these rooms are reliques of every kind, 
 agate cups, filagree ornaments, &c. ; and there are also 
 casts, taken immediately after death, of Peter the 
 Great, Catherine II., and Charles XII. of Sweden, 
 which are disposed in the room whicli contains 
 them. Winding up a narrow stone staircase, you 
 enter a circular room, where four knights armed 
 cap-a-pie are mounted on stuffed horses, the tails, 
 skins, &c., of these animals being natural, and the 
 eyes well and ingeniously imitated. Around the 
 walls are suspended the standards, ancient armour, 
 and trophies taken in the different Turkish wars of 
 successive reigns. All the warlike insignia captured 
 in the campaign against Napoleon are concentrated 
 in a division of this apartment, and are placed under 
 the Emperor Alexander's sword and uniform ; and 
 while on the one side you see the keys of Paris hanging 
 under the commanding ensigns of Russia, you observe, 
 on the other, similar pendants of the keys of Adria- 
 nople, enriched by being contained in a gorgeous glass 
 
 TROPHIES AND ARMOUR. 
 
 137 
 
 case : you then contemplate in the inner apartment a 
 diamond sword, and housings complete, of immense 
 value, presented at the late peace of Adrianople, by 
 Sultan Mahmoud to the Emperor ; and around this 
 apartment are also innumerable sabres, swords, pistols, 
 and guns of every description, relative to every one 
 of which there is a some tradition or anecdote. At 
 the top of this armed hall hang the banners of the 
 Knights of St. George, the first military order of Russia, 
 and on appropriate tablets are the names of all the 
 members belonging to it. This military temple, which 
 is more properly the character of the building, is made 
 to assume a very rich appearance by a quantity 
 of beautifully painted glass. On leaving the arsenal, 
 you are invited to write your name in a book kept 
 for the purpose of recording the visitors who have 
 frequented it. 
 
 A very fine gothic temple was the next sight, on 
 the lofty summit of which is placed the marble figure 
 of Jesus Christ, by the sculptor Thorwaldsen. It is 
 inferior, in my opinion, to his works at Copenhagen, 
 and the expression given by the artist to his represen- 
 tation of our Saviour is extremely undignified and 
 uninviting. The position of the statue, however, has 
 its admirers. 
 
 Descending from this high tower, we drove to La 
 Ferme Anglaise. Here the Emperor Alexander, after 
 his last visit to England, established, on the plan of 
 Mr. Coke of Norfolk, or the Duke of Bedford, a com- 
 plete English farm-house, stead, and all its appur- 
 tenances. lli> Majesty likewise broughl over an 
 
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 i 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 IMPERIAL DAIRY. 
 
 English farmer and his wife, and settled the latter 
 as a dairy-maid. A cottage, in the English style, 
 forms one side, and a dairy the other, of the build- 
 ing. In this little retreat the Emperor Alexander 
 was fond of spending his leisure time. A small 
 parlour hung with views of interesting spots, and 
 portraits of the Empress and friends, are the simple 
 decorations. The dairy behind, like those in Eng- 
 land, is fitted up with white delf, tin cans, &c. 
 We had excellent cheese, cream, and butter pre- 
 sented to us by the dairy-maid, and then went to 
 see the cowhouse and yard. A building, with double 
 stalling on each side for cattle, and a broad floor- 
 walk in the middle, forms one-of the largest recepta- 
 cles for cows I ever saw. Nothing can be more 
 beautifully kept, as to cleanliness and order. Amongst 
 the cattle were cows of all our English breeds. 
 There were also bulls of the Holderness, Hereford, 
 short-horn, Devon, and Ayrshire race; in short, 
 though the building was different from others of the 
 kind, one might feel oneself transported to a dairy 
 farm in England, in the midst of the Emperor's 
 gardens in Russia. 
 
 Adjoining the farm is an establishment which does 
 honour to the feelings of humanity— a large range of 
 stables and yards containing the old worn-out favourite 
 chargers and horses of the Emperors Alexander and 
 Nicholas, who are destined, after their long services, to 
 be petted and fed with care and tenderness for the 
 rest of their lives. There is also an establishment of 
 lamas, which have been brought from America, 
 
 \ 
 
 MAGNIFICENT PALACE. 
 
 139 
 
 and are allowed to increase and multiply exceed- 
 ingly. 
 
 During the whole of this expedition and the exa- 
 mination of these objects, we were highly delighted 
 with the society of Prince Dolgorouki and the Countess 
 Sophie. On our return to the palace, we inspected the 
 facade of the edifice ; its front is three hundred feet in 
 length, with two wings, forming three sides of a square ; 
 opposite, in a semicircular form, are ranges of second- 
 ary lodgings for attendants, of one story, round the 
 great circumference which encloses the area of the 
 palace, in the centre of which are columns and mas- 
 sive gates. A road runs in front, which communi- 
 cates with the large gardens and pleasure-grounds 
 that surround both the palaces. The low buildings I 
 have described are surmounted with a succession of 
 green copper cupolas, giving a great brilliancy to their 
 aspect. In the front of the palace these ornaments 
 had formerly been gilt, and, from the great extent of 
 the facade and the large dimensions of all the deco- 
 rations, the blaze of such a golden superficies must 
 have been very splendid and conspicuous. I suppose 
 the Imperial treasury did not find it convenient to 
 continue this expense, for the parts formerly gilded are 
 now painted a dingy orange, which must greatly 
 detract from their former beauty. The right side, as 
 the palace fronts you, is disposed for the private apart- 
 ments and residence of the Imperial family. In the 
 left are the state-rooms, and those dedicated to 
 reception. In the centre is the staircase, which is 
 small and not imposing, nor by any means correspon- 
 
 l 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ 
 
 
140 
 
 ITS INTERIOR. 
 
 : 
 
 } 
 
 \ 
 
 dent with the other part of the magnificent suite, and 
 the many gorgeous appendages of this enclianting 
 palace. 
 
 The apartments that are appropriated to tlie Impe- 
 rial family are furnished and fitted up in a sump- 
 tuous manner; they sliow you the Emperor Alex- 
 ander's just as he left them. And here I cannot resist 
 again calling attention to the singular and respectful 
 superstition which prevails in Russia towards those 
 who are departed. In this palace the Emperor Alex- 
 ander's boots, handkerchief, pencils, penknife, scis- 
 sors, wax, pens, &c., and even fragments of the 
 biscuit he was eating, all remain on the table pre- 
 cisely as they were at the moment of his dej)arture. 
 A singular circumstance may be recorded, as to his 
 little peculiarities of character. In each room he in- 
 liabitcd, he caused to be placed a tray containing all 
 sorts of writing materials ; and the regularity and 
 order of this arrangement are curious, as well as his 
 extreme precision in trifles. 
 
 From the suite of rooms of the Emperor Alexander 
 we proceeded through that of the Empress Mother, 
 which is very splendid, and then through that of the 
 Empress Catherine, which have not been occujued 
 since her death. These are beyond everything rich ; 
 the parquets inlaid with mother-of-pearl and lapis 
 lazuli, the verd antique columns and architraves of 
 the doors and windows, can scarcely be done justice 
 to by description. One remarkable room, worked in 
 amber, forms a combination of the richest furnishini' 
 that ingenuity can devise. 
 
 V' ' 
 
 1 
 
 RECEPTION ROOM— CHAPEL. 
 
 141 
 
 The public reception salons are vast and imperial. 
 I was much struck with the unique effect produced, at 
 each end of the great chamber of audience, by a set 
 of old Chinese vases, piled one above another in a 
 sort of pyramid. We next entered the orangery, 
 adjoining which are various summer rooms, temples, 
 &c., which have been added by the present Emperor. 
 Here, while we were examining the busts and statues, 
 the Empress rode by with her daughters, in English 
 Paget-blue riding-habits, attended by a dame d'hon- 
 neur, and some of the Emperor's aides-de-camp gene- 
 raux. All these ladies seemed to be well set on horse- 
 back, and good riders. We returned through the 
 family chapel of the palace to our own lodging-rooms. 
 This chapel, fitted up for the private devotion of the 
 Imperial family, is a mass of gold ornament and 
 decoration. The choristers occasionally sing in pub 
 lie, and so extraordinary are their voices, and so 
 perfect their science, that it is related of Catalani 
 that she exclaimed on hearing them, " My song- 
 is of this world, but their chant is of realms 
 above." 
 
 The Prince Dolgorouki had ordered an early dinner 
 for us, previously to our going on to Pomeraine. 
 The ambassador's family returned to Peterhoff*, but 
 we sat down, and, after making an incomparable 
 repast, took leave of our friends in the palace, 
 having been visited by Prince Volkouski and others ; 
 and, getting into our carriage, commenced our route 
 to Moscow. 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
I 
 
 ! ( 
 
 
 142 
 
 GATELUNA. 
 
 POSTING IN RUSSIA. 
 
 143 
 
 Before leaving Czarskoeselo, I should in some 
 degree describe the town and environs, which were 
 raised as if by magic at the wish of the Emperor. 
 It has not yet above ten thousand inhabitants. It 
 has colleges and public buildings; a magnificent 
 road leads to the capital, with marble pyramids to 
 mark the distances in wersts. It is lighted by nearly 
 three thousand lanterns. 
 
 Another palace of the Imperial family is at Gate- 
 luna, about fifty wersts from Petersburgh. It was 
 the favourite residence of Paul I. In this town there 
 is a fine manufacture of china, and hospitals on a 
 large scale; also a magnificent chaussee between 
 the palaces. Gateluna is more elegant, but not so 
 sumptuous as the other, which is laid out more in 
 the English garden style. There are elevated ter- 
 races, lakes, and islands, pheasantries and bosquets, 
 of all sizes and dimensions. There is also a granite 
 obelisk of more than one hundred feet high, with 
 various other striking objects. 
 
 It was not without some fears that I decided, 
 thus late in the season, to take a journey of 
 nearly five hundred English miles, and to return 
 in sufficient time to meet the Emperor and the 
 court when they came to Petersburgh for the winter 
 season; but yet so many had assured me that 
 Russia was only to be seen in Moscow— that it 
 was the only spot where the union between Europe 
 and Asia could be contemplated — that it was in 
 vain to form any opinion of this empire without 
 
 examining Moscow, — that I determined, whatever 
 might be the inconvenience, not to omit the sole 
 opportunity I might have in my life of visiting 
 this extraordinary city. 
 
 The stations of our journey, as well as the payment 
 of our horses and postilions, were, as I said before, 
 arranged by the feld jager given us by Count 
 Nesselrode. We had no trouble whatever. We 
 travelled with six horses to our chariot, four to a 
 britchka, and two to the caleche of the cook and 
 courier. In Russia the horses are collected by the 
 viaitre des posies. This service, done entirely under 
 the government, is far better performed than in 
 Sweden. The peasants bring their Jiorses with har- 
 ness, the coachmen always drive, and must have a 
 seat on some part of the carriage, although it seems 
 wholly indifferent to them where. Their management 
 of the horses and reins is peculiar, for after they have 
 bound together in all sorts of knots these little lean 
 Tartar horses, or rather rats, they tie all the cords, where 
 the various ends of the ropes (by which they drive) meet, 
 round their bodies, and mounting rapidly any part of 
 the vehicle where they can stick on, they move off*, 
 uttering the wildest cries, which are subsequently 
 modulated into the strangest whistles; and one or 
 other of these agreeable noises is kept up during the 
 whole of the station. The pace is generally a hand 
 gallop wherever the road is good ; but of course, when 
 the little beasts are tired and jaded, and the weather 
 is bad, the pace is more moderate. Posting is ex- 
 tremely cheap in Russia. The horses are always 
 
."^N 
 
 W*^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 k 
 
 144 
 
 RUSSIAN UOADS. 
 
 driven abreast. There are no ostlers or extra cliarges. 
 The driver's drink-money should be left to the feld 
 jager or courier, though you may, if you please, en- 
 courage the driver occasionally to go faster by show- 
 ing him a piece of money in your fingers, which has 
 a great effect. By a government order previously 
 sent, our horses were always ready, and there was 
 no delay. 
 
 The chaussee now completed between Peters- 
 burgh and Moscow is, without exception, the most 
 magnificent public work imaginable. It runs nearly 
 quite level for five hundred English miles, double 
 the width of the Great North Road, and is macadam- 
 ised and kept along the whole line in as perfect a 
 state as the road from London to Bath. The bridges 
 are made in an expensive manner, as well as the 
 stone-work and iron railings, which are well finished 
 and highly wrought. The posts and rails which 
 are fixed at the sides of nearly the whole route, 
 instead of being, as in England, slender and in- 
 significant, are large, round, and massive, and 
 the railings thick. Three or four posts are con- 
 nected together ; then, at intervals, there is a single 
 post, allowing a way for cattle or passengers to come 
 from the sides into the road. The enclosures around 
 the trees, which in various places are planted on 
 each side, are solid and large, painted green ; and 
 the whole of these expensive additions appear to be 
 kept in the highest state of order and repair. At 
 every thirty wersts on the road are a surveyor's house 
 and government establishment. This consists of a 
 
 
 
 WAGONS, TNNS, VILLAGF.S. 
 
 145 
 
 nice mansion, with garden, offices, and neat enclosures 
 on each side ; and the residence, together with a 
 salary, is given by the government to this officer. 
 The number of men employed in working on the 
 road exceeds all belief, which can alone account for 
 the order in which it is kept. The materials for 
 repairing it, granite and gravel, appear good. 
 The whole country through which it runs is one 
 vast plain, so that there is little expense of level- 
 ling or cutting through hills ; but I should appre- 
 hend that the low marshy ground, which seems 
 frequent, must have required skilful surveys and 
 engineering of an expensive nature. The trafllc 
 on the line by the Russian wagons, which I have 
 already described, is prodigious. The traveller in his 
 caliche is frequently stopped for a considerable period 
 by the string of these innumerable carriages ; they 
 often cover the face of the country for many English 
 miles. 
 
 In addition to the surveyors' houses are pub- 
 lic inns, which the Emperor has caused to be built, 
 generally at every thirty or forty wersts, as post- 
 houses or stations. These inns are handsomely 
 painted, and furnished with mirrors, silk sofas and 
 chairs, polished mahogany arinoires, and everything 
 costly and handsome, excepting beds, which are not 
 to be found anywhere. Russian villages are usually 
 built of wood, and if you picture to yourself a number of 
 decayed English farm-houses or barns, placed with their 
 gablfe ends to the road, and then ranged in a line, with 
 a wooden porch or entrance to each, you have ex- 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
 \ 
 
 < 
 
 ♦ , 
 
 r 
 
 1 1 
 
 I ' 
 
146 
 
 GOVERNMENT INNS. 
 
 i 
 
 actly the appearance of the greater part of the Russian 
 villages. Imagine next, amidst these dilapidated 
 wooden hovels, a very large square white or yellow 
 washed brick building, regularly built, enclosed with 
 a wall, stabling and offices behind ; this is the inn 
 or posting-house described. Then comes a stupen- 
 dous church, with a large turret, and blue or green 
 painted cupola, or white or yellow, as the station- 
 house. This is the description of a Russian post or 
 station, and the two great objects, the church and inn, 
 seem to rise out of the mass of discomfort which sur- 
 rounds them. 
 
 The interior of all these government post-houses is 
 formed with a staircase in the centre, a suite of rooms, 
 gallery, and lobby on each side, alike spacious and airy, 
 and the floors always nice, as is everything around 
 them. Servants and the middle and lower class of 
 people never think of having beds in the inns ; they 
 lie down in their clothes, either on chairs, benches, or 
 hard mattresses, and you never find the convenience 
 of a bed anywhere. There are other circumstances 
 equally inconvenient to an English traveller, and 
 more disagreeable ; but in the new government esta- 
 blishments these deficiencies will be from time to time 
 ameliorated and supplied, and constant travelling on 
 these new lines of road will no doubt tend, in a very 
 short time, to make everything comfortable. 
 
 I observed that the inns were generally kept by a 
 German and his wife, the former being the landlord and 
 postmaster, if acquainted with the Russian language : 
 and I had afterwards occasion to remark, that, throusrh- 
 
 ASYLUMS FOR CHILDREN. 
 
 147 
 
 < J 
 
 i 
 
 V 
 
 ( 
 
 { 
 
 out the new institutions and establishments in Russia, 
 the greater part of the directors and instructors were 
 from Germany. This shows the wisdom of the founders ; 
 for, not having persons in Russia to fill such situa- 
 tions, they judiciously resort to foreigners, making it 
 well worth their while to lay the foundation, and in a 
 few years these persons instruct natives to fill their 
 places. 
 
 A lottery has just taken place at St. Petersburgh, 
 of which the product, 30,000 roubles, are employed in 
 forming places of refuge, where poor children from 
 three to seven years old will be received. They here 
 receive religious instruction, and are taught to read, 
 to write, and to work. The prizes were composed 
 of the works of the first ladies in Petersburgh, and 
 of beautiful articles in gold, porcelain, &c. The Em- 
 press had given an embroidered arm-chair, worked 
 by herself, which has been gained by an officer of 
 the police. Five thousand roubles have been offered 
 to him for it, but he will not part with it. Two of 
 these asylums are already open ; the one at the De- 
 midoff hospital, under the patronage of the Countess 
 Julia Strogonoff; of the other, which is at the Wasilie 
 Ostroff; the patroness is Mademoiselle Hander, daugh- 
 ter of Baron Stigliz ; the third will be inaugurated 
 hereafter; it was founded by the tobacco-merchant, 
 Soukoff*; the lady-patroness is Madame Smirnoff, for- 
 merly Roseti. This last asylum is near the Palankine 
 bridge. In February last the distribution of the prizes 
 took place at the Institution of St. Catherine, in the 
 presence of the Emperor, the hereditary Prince, and 
 
 L 2 
 
 
148 
 
 CONFLAGRATION. 
 
 of the three Imperial Princesses, the Empress herself 
 fixing the numbers. Two young ladies, Krukofixy, 
 were deemed worthy of prizes by their good conduct, 
 and their success in their studies, but, being day- 
 scholars, they had no right to this honourable distinc- 
 tion ; and the Empress, to compensate them, took off 
 two magnificent bracelets which she wore, and fastened 
 them on the arms of the young ladies. It is by acts 
 such as these that she endears herself to the nation. 
 
 I liave heard with the deepest sorrow and regret of 
 the melancholy and unfortunate calamity that took 
 place since I began to write these Memoirs, namely, 
 the burning to the ground of the most magnificent edi- 
 fice of a sovereig-n in the world. But the fire of the 
 Winter Palace has been only another opportunity of 
 making known the beautiful character of the Emperor. 
 Being at the play when the event was made known to 
 him, he went out without showing the least anxiety 
 or alarm, having given orders that the Empress should 
 be informed of it on her leaving the theatre. He then 
 went to the Princess Alexandrina and the three young 
 Princes, whom he caused to be taken to the Palace 
 Amichkoff. He remained during the whole of the 
 night, encouraging and directing the soldiers and the 
 workmen occupied in carrying from the castle the 
 things of value. Perfect order reigned among this 
 innumerable multitude ; there were no cries, no con- 
 fusion,— all was done with the most perfect calm. 
 The Emperor himself repaired to the most dangerous 
 places, entreating that the life of the workmen might 
 not be exposed in attempting to save any precious 
 
 CONDUCT OF THE EMPEROR. 
 
 149 
 
 reliques or objects ; and, having arrived in a large 
 room, in which the soldiers were endeavouring to re- 
 move a beautiful and enormous glass, he first called 
 out to them to abandon it, because the ceiling was 
 already on fire, and as his voice could not be heard, 
 he threw his opera-glass against it, broke it to atoms, 
 and thus gave his zealous servants to understand that 
 his intention was to save them from the danger which 
 threatened them, and that he wished them not to con- 
 sider the loss or value of what could not be preserved 
 without risk of human life. 
 
 The enthusiasm which the conduct of the Emperor 
 produced was such, that the day after the fire, I have 
 learnt that a great number of persons begged as a favour 
 that they might be allowed to contribute to the rebuild- 
 ing of the palace, with their own private fortunes. One 
 person offered two millions of roubles. The Emperor 
 magnanimously refused ; but, touched with the devotion 
 of his faithful subjects, he showed his gratitude by an 
 edict which he issued. The hereditary Grand Duke, 
 on the day after the fire, gave five hundred roubles to 
 a detachment of soldiers of the regiment of grenadiers, 
 and affectionately embraced the officers who were at 
 their head, who had worked with the soldiers with 
 admirable zeal and skill. The Emperor gave many 
 rewards and pensions for good conduct during the 
 disastrous affair. 
 
 I have not remarked in any way on the living or 
 eatables you meet with going through this vast, ex- 
 tensive country, because, ti'avelling as we did with our 
 cook and canteens, and sending him forward to forage 
 
 t>^ 
 
150 
 
 PROVISIONS ON THC ROAD. 
 
 around the towns as he went along, and in the liotels 
 on his arrival, we had always excellent, clean, and 
 comfortable repasts, and carried with us our own 
 wine. From the specimen, however, that I saw of 
 Russian cookery, the little attention to cleanliness, and 
 the homely meals to which the general class of people 
 are habituated, I should apprehend that strangers 
 from southern climes would be badly off, unless they 
 adopted due precautions. I must also admit and 
 lament that the interior and domestic apartments in 
 most houses in Russia swarm with fleas and vermin, 
 and it is extraordinary that so little attention is paid 
 to the extirpation of these annoying inconveniences. 
 As to provisions on the road, chickens and game are 
 abundant ; the latter, however, being confined chiefly 
 to gelinottes. This is all that you are sure of, as meat 
 must be sent for, not being usually on the landlord's 
 bill of fare. Flour is very white, and bread is 
 generally good ; but butter, milk, and cream are in- 
 different. In short, Russia is, undoubtedly, not as 
 yet a country which offers delicacies of the table, ex- 
 cept (as stated before) in the capital, where money can 
 procure everything. 
 
I. KREMLISr. 
 
 ct STMickeaZ 
 
 4. ^? Spied 
 
 S JnfenaZ 
 
 H.KrrAI r.OKnil chineskborough. 
 
 1. CoJJfMJlralfffS' Basil 
 8. &ran/i SqruMare wUh Moywanents cTMmru;yi 
 i^Th/arski .and Zohtcm -F'Uire 
 
 /Q Jiya di-oh^9 
 
 // Church o/'lheMi^ T^^iv of.^asttK 
 
 /2 Ciucrch otSaZf^aZioK 
 
 inj31STRICT called TVERSKO^. 
 /3. Gra;^ rhea/:re 
 /^ TeUr's S^ricccre 
 
 je.Kctose cf £xchtJi»iae 
 /7. AUtcoLrulev Oa^d^n 
 
 IV.DISTBICT called MAS ryriTZKOr. 
 
 /S. Medico Cktnw^ical'Jccuiem/ 
 
 /Q.H'stO/fice 
 
 Zo. SreUnsk Mtma^ierv 
 
 Zj. Jmf€:ma^ Chuj^Jv 
 
 V.DIsrRICr called PLATNTTZKOY 
 VHDISTRICT called V^AHKEMANKA 
 
 TTUDrSTRCT called PRETCHESTEJSKA 
 Tm.DISrRICTcaHedARBATE 
 
 IX^DISTRJCT called SRETENKA 
 
 X. DISTRICT called YAHOOZA, 
 
 Zl. ITte Jdad GaOe 
 
 28 Fakrorka BouryeuJcs 
 
 Xr.DTSTRICT called BASMAN. 
 XH.BISTRICT called RAGOJEKA 
 
 2».jHdrcmi^f ^-tnvvigTtt 
 
 SC. Ckurtik ofc^Mcurdat the. CcnAs$or. 
 
 XniDISTRICT called TAGANKA 
 
 i'/JCroa^^j -Bocmccbf 
 
 34. Smvofvaf QmygyU . 
 XIV. DLSTRICT called SERPOOKOFSKOY. 
 
 dd ITie Oalci^n ffbspiicd. 
 
 .}& C(mye}tl O'the VirpK ff/tJMPm. 
 
 XV.DISTRICrcallcd KHAMOWIEl 
 X\l. DIS TRI CTcalled NOVINSKOY 
 
 xvn.DiSTRicrcaned tresnia. 
 
 XlTin.DLSTRIC'l' caUedSOOSHCHOFSKOy 
 
 m © S G © 'ff 
 
 0} 
 
 Spiurrvnr MU 
 
 XIX. DISTRICT caRed MFSHCHANSKOY 
 
 Hf. ArUUery Jifc'ricskops 
 iS. f^pa^lci Haurraclu 
 
 /^. SovokhajreT Ttwer 
 
 XK.IJISTKICT rolled PAKROFKA 
 
 4^. Imparud Palace of hU^oMtk 
 
 JQO. DISTRICT called LEFORTOFSKOY. 
 Grtufid MZiZsofy lfo,jfii(d 
 CaZkenne If arracks 
 JZ. Slaiode htwenal Fodojce 
 jj. G-ard/sK of mt It^eriod faZcice 
 Ji. Corps of Cobd^iis icdtftkburv litpcls 
 
 H 
 
 A J^iccJtes ZUho^^ 7f, S^Mivizu Zone , le/VijL/n^. 
 
MOSCOW. 
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Moscow— Seat of Government — Internal Communication — Pecu- 
 liarity of Moscow — Imperial Residences — Political State of 
 Russia — Russian Aggrandisement — Russian Policy — Marmont's 
 H3'potliesis — The Russian Army — Russia and British India — 
 The Emperor Nicholas — Absurd Calumnies — Opinions of the 
 Abbe du Pradt. 
 
 f 
 
 I AM now about to enter upon an interesting part of 
 this Memoir, in the description of Moscow, and the 
 impression that it produced upon my mind. 
 
 Having seen many capitals of Europe, — Paris, Ber- 
 lin, Madrid, Lisbon, Bruxelles, Vienna, Prague, Lon- 
 don, Dublin, Edinburgh, &c., &c., — I confess the coup 
 d'ceil of Moscow far surpassed them all. 
 
 This city is the original and national capital of the 
 Russian empire. Petersburgh is an artificial creation 
 by Peter the Great, of not more than one hundred and 
 forty years* existence, and cannot be put in competi- 
 tion, as to interest, with that spot where Europe and 
 Asia, as it were, meet, and where the material riches 
 and power of the Czar's dominions have been ever 
 supposed to centralise. When you contemplate Mos- 
 cow at this moment as a city reduced to ashes in 1812 
 by the French armies, and that in the short space of 
 
 ^/i 
 
 \\ 
 
152 
 
 MOSCOW. 
 
 twenty-four years this wonderful capital has redoubled 
 its splendour, beauty, and extent, it is difficult to ima- 
 gine how means can have been brought together to 
 accomplish such a resurrection, as it has none of the 
 available resources of navigable rivers, canals, quarries, 
 or forests, at hand to assist in such a work. You 
 arrive at Moscow by traversing barren and deserted 
 plains; how great, therefore, must have been the 
 toil, labour, expense, and power, that, under all these 
 difficulties of position, have placed in more than its 
 pristine brilliancy one of the first and most extraor- 
 dinary places in the world. It may be asked, in what 
 is the appearance of this city so extraordinary ? My 
 answer must be, — its countless towers, its embattled 
 turrets, its variegated cupolas, its blue domes, its 
 gilded spires, and lastly, and prominently, the unri- 
 valled Kremlin towering above all, with its singular 
 garden around the base. When one arrives at the 
 summit of this palace of the Czars, and surveys, as in 
 one great panorama, the whole city, and the entire 
 country around and beneath, the effect is quite inde- 
 scribable. The first thought that occurs is, how is it 
 possible that, with such a capital in existence, the resi- 
 dence of the monarch should have been transplanted 
 to Petersburgh ? On this subject, among the Rus- 
 sians, there are various opinions. The generality 
 of those with whom I conversed in Moscow, were 
 naturally disposed to argue the impolicy of ever 
 having transplanted the seat of empire to Petersburgh. 
 They alleged that Peter the Great, in forming basins, 
 building docks, and establishing manufactories upon 
 
 SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 153 
 
 the marshy lands round the mouth of the Neva, only 
 intended it as a depot in the north for his commerce, 
 to be (as it were) a sort of Liverpool to Moscow. They 
 maintained, also, that it is impossible in future ages, 
 from the extended possessions of Russia in Asia, that 
 the capital should not revert again to Moscow. They 
 argue its central position, its more wholesome climate, 
 its proved untenability by a foreign enemy, whereas 
 Petersburgh is not only more dangerously situated in 
 this respect from its maritime position, but is also 
 subject to the greatest inconvenience and damage from 
 frequent inundations of the Neva, to which the town is 
 so much exposed. All these circumstances, in tlie 
 opinion of the residents of Moscow, make it, in their 
 view, probable that the seat of government will return 
 thither. On the other hand, the settlers and proprie- 
 tors of Petersburgh treat such a notion as perfectly 
 absurd. The commerce of Russia would never have 
 been established as the great northern focus of 
 riches, had not Peter the Great founded the capital 
 on the Neva — a design which has been so w^isely and 
 so happily followed up by Catherine, Alexander, and 
 Nicholas. 
 
 There is much to be said on both sides of the ques- 
 tion. The salubrity of the two positions can bear no 
 comparison ; indeed, so hostile are the banks of the 
 Neva to vegetation, that trees blown down discover 
 by their roots that they have thriven only so long as 
 the fibres remained in the artificial surface in which 
 they were planted, but, perforating that soil, they ar- 
 rive at a marshy, cold stratum, which affords no nou- 
 
154 
 
 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION. 
 
 rishment, and is clearly prejudicial to their growth. 
 It is also decidedly uncongenial to the health of those 
 who, from early infancy, are not habituated to the 
 climate. 
 
 The Russians are, no doubt, a most hardy race, 
 but certainly not long-lived. Few people are seen, 
 of either sex, much beyond sixty ; they are subject 
 (at advanced age especially) to dropsical complaints. 
 This fatal disease may be attributed in some de- 
 gree to the immoderate use of strong liquor in the 
 lower classes. 
 
 The very extensive acquisitions of Russia, in Turkey, 
 Persia, and on the other side of the Caucasus, tend to 
 stretch her dominions more to the East, and the cen- 
 tralisation of her commerce would undoubtedly be of 
 infinite advantage. Should the experiment of rail- 
 ways succeed in this country, and the deep snow of 
 long winters allow of this rapid mode of traffic, there 
 is no reason why a railway might not be made from 
 Petersburgh to Moscow ; and in such case, by getting 
 rid of the innumerable train of carriages that swarm 
 along the line, and reducing the carrying trade to a 
 far cheaper tariff, it is difficult to pronounce on what 
 changes may grow out of such an altered state of in- 
 ternal communication. 
 
 The country immediately round Moscow is more 
 picturesque than any part of the six hundred and 
 ninety-eight wersts through which you travel before 
 you arrive there from St. Petersburgh. The river 
 Moskwa winds round various hills covered with 
 wood, traverses the city, and receives the auxiliary 
 
 PECULIARITY OF MOSCOW. 
 
 155 
 
 streams of the Toauza and Negliuna. The city is 
 built on very unequal ground, which gives a peculiar 
 beauty, from the different views it presents. Its 
 atmosphere is always clear, and the streets, palaces, 
 gardens, and courts, peculiarly clean, gay, and enli- 
 vening. With the exception of Constantinople, it 
 stands on more ground than any other capital in exist- 
 ence. Of its foundation and origin Russian history 
 gives many details, into which it is not my intention 
 to enter otherwise than slightly. Ivan was the first 
 sovereign who surrounded Moscow with a wall : this 
 was of oak. He also built the Kremlin, and founded 
 the great church of the Archangel Michael. In 1336 
 Moscow was nearly destroyed by the plague, which 
 was succeeded by an immense conflagration, and the 
 city has gone through more revolutions and changes 
 since its foundation than perhaps any other of note. 
 Its aspect gives ocular proof of Its many metamor- 
 phoses, and is certainly curious. The buildings be- 
 long to no kind of regular architecture, and the pe- 
 culiarity of their construction is nowhere else to be 
 met with. 
 
 Moscow is partly fortified by a high wall and ditch 
 round the Kremlin, which is furnished with a 
 commanding artillery, and has always a very 
 large garrison. The wall may be a mile and a 
 half of the space round the Kremlin, and is orna- 
 mented and strengthened with numerous towers. 
 The most splendid and gorgeous of these is the tow^er 
 of Ivan Veliki. The rich gilding of the cupola, and 
 the cross at its summit, wliich appears of solid gold, 
 
156 
 
 IMPERIAL RESIDENCES. 
 
 is distinguished from the wliole country around, and 
 its dazzling lustre, in the beams of the sun, produces 
 a singular effect. The cathedrals of the Archangel 
 Michael and the Assumption, the palaces of the 
 Emperor, that of the Patriarch, and the Convent of 
 Miracles, are the edifices that strike you at first as 
 the most remarkable. 
 
 The gates into the town are numerous ; the prin- 
 cipal one is that of St. Sauveur. Moscow is further 
 embellished with a university and colleges, a cele- 
 brated foundling hospital, and many other magnifi- 
 cent establishments, whicli I shall hereafter attempt 
 to describe. 
 
 The Imperial residences are, as at St. Petersburgh, 
 numerous ; and, in addition to the Kremlin, comi)rise 
 other beautiful palaces. At Petersburgh, as I have 
 already stated, there is really no end to them ; Le 
 Palais d'Hivei-, rHermitage, la Palais Anishkoft; the 
 Marble Palace, &c. I doubt the expediency of 
 any government keeping up, in so many different 
 places, such a plurality of Imperial residences. The 
 expense must be great, without the comparative 
 enjoyment ; but every Emperor seems to prefer his 
 own creation, rather than the taste and fancies of 
 his predecessors. It is not, however, merely ques- 
 tions of a change in Imperial residences that now 
 agitate and engross Russian theorists ; there is much 
 difference of opinion amongst them as to the advan- 
 tage of greater aggrandisement, or the policy of 
 rendering formidable, by wise and salutary interior 
 regulations, the immense territories that are aU 
 
 POLITICAL STATE OF RUSSIA. 
 
 157 
 
 ready incorporated under the dominion of the 
 Czar. 
 
 It may not be superfluous to consider very shortly 
 the general political situation of Russia, more espe- 
 cially as two able and clever pamphlets have just 
 made their appearance in England, which, no doubt, 
 have been much read ; and as these publications em- 
 brace opinions on the same questions wide as the 
 poles asunder, I tliink it not presumptuous, in some 
 degree, to differ from both, and to consider the writers 
 as having taken exaggerated views of a very extensive 
 question. 
 
 The author of the " Manchester Manufacturer'' 
 would lead his readers to imagine, in the outset, that 
 he was entirely impartial in his sentiments and opinions, 
 and was not biassed by any friendship of Russia ; where- 
 as I consider it hardly possible for any one to read his 
 pages without regarding him as a most decided par- 
 tisan of the northern empire and its interests. I admit 
 the existence of great ingenuity and talent, and some 
 force of reasoning, in many of the points that are brought 
 forward ; but when the author tells you that Constanti- 
 nople would not add to the power or resources of Russia ; 
 when he supposes that in an age like this the nations 
 of the world could live in harmony together, plying the 
 industrious loom, and having no emulation beyond the 
 possession of the cheapest commodities in the commer- 
 cial markets of the world ; and when he finally enters 
 into a special pleading with high authorities, such as 
 the famous Vienna writer, Genz, and others, and argues 
 
158 
 
 RUSSIAN AGGRANDISEMENT. 
 
 RUSSIAN POLICY. 
 
 159 
 
 ■) 
 
 SO strangely on the balance of power, I do confess it 
 lessens my opinion of the judgment and wisdom of 
 the writer of this treatise. 
 
 It is not necessary to be a logician to define what 
 is meant by the balance of power, applied, as that 
 expression has been, to the great nations of the world ; 
 and I presume there is no statesman who would admit 
 that he does not comprehend its meaning. 
 
 The second pamphlet I now allude to, is " Russia 
 and her Acquisitions in 1836." The author here dis- 
 plays a gigantic map, and marks, accurately enough, 
 the encroachments of the Czars, by conquests, treaties, 
 or treachery, since the time of Peter the Great, and 
 founds upon this exhibited surface of continued 
 ambition, the certain argument that the same course 
 must still be pursued, in defiance of any changes 
 that time and experience may produce in the 
 sentiments of the Russians, or of the guarantee 
 afforded by the personal character for wisdom and 
 prudence of the existing sovereign. I disagree as 
 much in the inference drawn by this latter writer, 
 as I do in the theories of the former. The very cir- 
 cumstance of the great accessions of territory produces, 
 at present, an undigested interior, composed of very 
 diflicult materials to organise in unity of action. To 
 make this mass more unmanageable by unnecessary 
 increase, while its component parts create, even now, 
 disquietude, and demand all the energies of the go- 
 vernment, is not the part of a great and wise sove- 
 reign ; and it is but fair and just, on passing a positive 
 
 opinion as to what the measures of Russia will be, to 
 examine the recent acts of the chief whom Providence 
 has placed at the head of this colossal empire. 
 
 It would be bold to predict what the position of 
 Russia may be some hundred years hence. Un- 
 doubtedly the rapid progress she has made in civi- 
 lisation and improvement since the war with France, 
 and since her legions were transported from the banks 
 of the Volga, the Don, and the Vistula, to those of 
 the Seine, surpasses belief. Since 1815, she has 
 advanced in these respects at least a century. The 
 practical observation which her masses of men made 
 on the cultivated states and territories through which 
 they passed ; the taste which was thus imbibed for 
 southern luxuries ; the indefatigable exertions and 
 efforts of the Emperor Alexander to obtain every pos- 
 sible advantage for his rising empire,-all conspired, 
 with the great genius, industry, and talent of the 
 people, to improve Russia in a singular degree. 
 The golden opportunity of the long peace since 1815 
 has not been thrown away in the hands of Alexander 
 and Nicholas. Indeed, it is wonderful to witness how 
 greatly the latter has availed himself of all the foun- 
 dations prepared by the former ; and I feel assured 
 that those who descant largely in the British parlia- 
 ment, on the situation of Russia, would do well to 
 examine the country in the details, before they ven- 
 ture on statements which their ocular observations 
 would disprove. Russia, in my opinion, is directing 
 her mighty means to bring to perfection all parts 
 of that empire which acknowledge her sway, before 
 
If' 
 
 \S 
 
 160 
 
 RUSSIAN POLICY. 
 
 MARMONT S HYPOTIIKSIS. 
 
 161 
 
 M 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 she attempts to grapple with more extent of domi- 
 nion. Whether she can manage and govern well 
 what she possesses, is a primary question ; to seize 
 upon more before tliis is ascertained would greatly 
 endanger what exists. 
 
 As a mere opinion, I should assert that Russia will 
 have no objects of aggrandisement for the next fifty 
 years that would not be hostile to the feelings 
 and opinions of the Emperor, unwise in the esti- 
 mation of the nobles, and prejudicial to the nation 
 itself. 
 
 While the writer of " Russia in 1836 " was talkino- 
 of new kingdoms and of the seizure of places, the Em- 
 peror Nicholas was voluntarily restoring to the Sultan 
 Silistria, one of the keys of Turkey. No greater proof 
 can surely be adduced, that the object of Russia is not 
 the conquest of Turkey, nor the march to Constanti- 
 nople. The Emperor full well knows, that to subdue 
 the religious prejudices of such a nation as that of 
 Turkey, and to run the risk of a war with the powers of 
 Europe in the effort, is what he is incapable of attempt- 
 ing without absolute necessity. Even at Adrianople, 
 as in other places equally distant from their resources, 
 and where they could not be provided beforehand, the 
 Russian masses were broken down by disease, misery, 
 and want ; and the longer their line is extended, the 
 easier prey does it become to predatory warfare in a 
 hostile country. In addition, can it be supposed that 
 the nobles of St. Petersburgh or Moscow would like 
 to see their penates transferred to the shores of the 
 Bosphorus, and would an Emperor of Russia abandon 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 his Petersburgh and live in a Turkish capital ? There 
 is a very great disinclination amongst all the Russians I 
 have conversed with, to the conquest of other domi- 
 nions, and many are found who consider that civilisa- 
 tion is advancing too rapidly for the real happiness 
 and prosperity of the nation. 
 
 In giving these sentiments, I know I differ from 
 much higher authorities ; amongst the rest Marshal 
 Marmont, who in his tour in Hungary, Transylvania, 
 Southern Russia, Turkey, &c., has broadly laid it 
 down, not only that the Russians with the greatest 
 ease can take possession of Constantinople, but he also 
 offers to prove, that the occupation once effected, the 
 most intimate alliance of France, England, and Aus- 
 tria, could not force the Russians to evacuate it. The 
 Marshal then enters upon the long military hypothesis 
 on which his reasoning is based. Far be it from me to 
 follow this, probably, well-digested professional trea- 
 tise ; but my simple question is, how is Russia now, 
 or at any future time within the next century, to sup- 
 ply the means and the sinews of war for such an 
 undertaking ? What would be easy and light to the 
 financial means of such a triple alliance against her, 
 would be impracticable for Russia alone ; and both 
 the nation and its chief, I believe, are fully aware of this 
 impossibility. The Marshal, however, sums up his 
 reasoning by two considerations, which he admits have 
 their value against the opinions he delivers. First, he 
 says, that all the advantages he points out in favour of 
 the Russians belong to the first occupant; that is to 
 say, if our combined fleet passed the Dardanelles and 
 
 M 
 
 /i 
 
 \ I ^ 
 
162 
 
 THE RUSSIAN ARMY. 
 
 THE RUSSIAN ARMY. 
 
 163 
 
 arrived first at Constantinople, and if with nn army 
 we could then occupy Adrianople with a fortified 
 camp, the Russians would have immense difficulties 
 to overcome. The probability is, however, we should 
 pass the Dardanelles before any fleet of Russia could 
 be in force there ; and, without any debarkation of 
 land troops for a fortified camp at Adrianople, I think 
 the Russians would hardly take possession of Con- 
 stantinople in presence of the combined fleets of 
 France and England. 
 
 Secondly, the Marshal considers that Prussia wouhl 
 probably be inclined to adopt the Russian side of tlie 
 question; but if she did not, he conceives this might 
 make a great difference in the forces Prussia miglit 
 bring into the field; and the manner she might aid 
 the military operations. 
 
 For both these reasons, I am of opinion that 
 the deductions the Marshal has made are adverse 
 to the interests and powers of a resisting triple 
 alliance. 
 
 I know not positively if the account given by Mar- 
 shal Marmont of the Russian army be correct. It is 
 very difficult to get at exact information, as upon this 
 head the greatest secrecy prevails. But Marmont 
 states the force as follows ; the impetial guard are six 
 divisions, three of infantry and three of cavalry, 
 making sixteen battalions in all; four regiments of 
 horse artillery, and twelve of foot artillery. The gre- 
 nadier corps has three divisions of infantry, made up 
 of twelve regiments, and a division of light cavalry 
 made up of four regiments; also two batteries of 
 
 liorse artillery, and fifteen of foot. The regiments of 
 guards consist of three battalions of infantry and seven 
 squadrons of cavalry. The six corps of the line are 
 composed, each, of a division of light cavalry, (made 
 up of four regiments,) three divisions of infantry, 
 each of four regiments ; in all twelve regiments, be- 
 sides two battalions of foot and two of horse artillery. 
 The total six corps of the line are seventy-two regi- 
 ments of infantry and twenty-four of cavalry, twelve 
 batteries of horse and ninety of foot artillery. 
 
 The corps of cavalry reserve has two divisions, each 
 four regiments, making a total of twenty-four regi- 
 ments and twelve batteries of artillery. The reserve 
 of the line are three divisions, composed of twenty- 
 four battalions. There is, in addition, the corps of 
 the Caucasus, Siberia, and Finland, the troops of the 
 interior, fifty battalions of horse militia, and one 
 hundred and forty-six regiments of Cossacks. This 
 formidable and immense army is sufficient, without 
 going into further details. 
 
 Treating, therefore, as I do, the ideas of further 
 conquests at present, and the notion of a march to 
 Constantinople by Russia, as perfectly chimerical, I 
 am disposed to argue, a fortiori^ that any designs 
 upon our Indian possessions are a mere dream ; at the 
 same time I admit the good policy of Great Britain in 
 cementing in every possible manner friendships and 
 alliances with Turkey and Persia. Both must be 
 either entirely subdued or under the dictation of 
 Russia, before the safety of India could be endangered. 
 Is this a result likely to occur within the range of time 
 
 m2 
 
164 
 
 RUSSIA AND BRITISH INDIA. 
 
 in whicli the calculation of future events is reasonably 
 possible ? 
 
 So entirely absurd is the idea of Russia threatening 
 our Indian possessions, that even Mr. Attwood, in a late 
 speech in Parliament, says, " That he was one of those 
 who considered that British India, with a population of 
 twenty-seven thousand Europeans and one hundred 
 million of natives, was in a better situation to threaten 
 St. Petersburgh, than St. Petersburgh was to threaten 
 Calcutta." He adds, however, that Russia could do 
 much, by having Turkey and Persia added to her 
 own dominions ; but, with great respect to Mr. Att- 
 wood, this accomplishment seems to me quite as 
 difficult and impossible as the other. Much is 
 argued by the writer of " Russia in 1836," of the 
 treachery by which Russia extends her protection to 
 other nations, and then takes advantage of the situa- 
 tion and the weakness of such states to establish per- 
 manently her own dominion. The kingdoms of Persia 
 and Turkey, however, are not to be seized by trea- 
 cherous coups de main ; and I doubt not whether the 
 authors of the pamphlets to which I have referred, had 
 they visited and spent some time in Russia, would not 
 have divested their minds of much of the exaaffera- 
 tion they have put fortli. 
 
 In connexion with the revenues and finance of 
 Russia, much might be added to prove how very 
 unlikely the present Emperor is to embark in new 
 and expensive wars ; but I will not here enter into 
 matters which require greater developement and 
 knowledge than I have power to embrace in these pages. 
 
 THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. 
 
 165 
 
 Lastly, the ))ersonal character of the monarch should 
 be in a irrcat decree considered. In drawino- inferences 
 of the probable conduct of this nation, nothing can 
 be so unjust as the idea, prevalent in England, of the 
 Emperor Nicholas's tyranny, cruelty, and ambition. 
 So far is he the reverse of these characteristics, that I do 
 not believe there exists a monarch more adored by his 
 subjects ; and having mixed as a stranger with all 
 classes in Russia, I think I can form as good an 
 opinion on this subject as most of my countrymen. 
 The Emperor, with justice, in his high position, pu- 
 nishes delinquencies in all ranks alike ; his system 
 may require a rigid obedience and submission, but, 
 instead of acts of tyranny or injustice, I have heard of 
 notliing but his clemency and generosity. 
 
 I find my personal sentiments of the qualities of the 
 Emperor of Russia, as well as many of my opinions, 
 corroborated by a work that has fallen into my 
 hands by a Prussian counsellor of legation, in his 
 account of St. Petersburgh in 1833 and 1834, and 
 ably translated by Mr. J. D . The adver- 
 tisement of this work states as follows: — ^'The per- 
 sonal notices of the Emperor Nicholas and his family 
 are extremely interesting, and well calculated to en- 
 gross attention ; the more so, as they are exposed 
 to prejudices common throughout Western Europe. 
 We have no wish to enter upon internal discussion, 
 but it is gratifying to know, from such an authentic 
 source, that the Russian autocrat is as distinguished 
 for those domestic and social virtues which present a 
 pleasing contrast to the description hitherto circulated 
 
 n 
 
166 
 
 THE CHOLERA AT ST. PETEllSBURGH. 
 
 in connexion with the policy of his cabinet." The 
 religious impressions of the Emperor are strongly 
 dwelt on by this author ; and he states his conduct, 
 during the prevalence of the cholera, to have been 
 most heroical, evincing an entire contempt of every 
 danger, though he visited all parts of the capital the 
 most affected. His constant abandonment of his per- 
 son to popular assemblage, (especially at the great 
 fetes of Peterhoff, the Palais d'Hiver,) shows the 
 confidence he has in his subjects, and his inditfereyce 
 to personal risk or danger. 
 
 On the 17th of June the cholera was making great 
 ravages at St. Petersburgh, and, as in other places, tliis 
 great city was infested by this plague. The people, 
 believing that the malady was the result of poison, 
 opposed all measures calculated to prevent or cure it. 
 The burial of those dying of the cholera, in a parti- 
 cular churchyard above all, enraged the mob. On 
 the Place de la Halle Aufoin there was a magnificent 
 hospital ; the people broke into it, committed the most 
 terrible injuries ; and seeing some dead bodies whicli 
 were going to be buried in the churchyard, they took 
 them out of the coffin, insisting that they were beino- 
 buried alive. The crowd increased, and made great 
 devastation. This last class of the people is every- 
 where the same; but that which was not so— that 
 which was sublime, great, and singular— was to see the 
 Emperor appear in the centre of the contagion, among 
 an enraged populace, in the heat of a suffocating day, 
 like a father in the midst of his rebelHous children. 
 At the sight of their sovereign, the handsomest man in 
 
 THE EMPEROR S REBUKE. 
 
 167 
 
 Europe, the people stopped ; a respectful silence suc- 
 ceeded their deafening cries ; the police officers had 
 now nothing to do ; the rebels were silent, and all 
 eyes were fixed on the majestic figure and the then 
 severe aspect of the monarch. " What are you doing, 
 impious and criminal men ?" said he, with a voice 
 like thunder ; " you dare to oppose the orders of your 
 superiors, the care of your physicians, and the pater- 
 nal solicitude of your sovereign ? Kneel, rebels, and 
 beg God's forgiveness ; make yourselves worthy of the 
 clemency with which I will act if your repentance is 
 sincere." On hearing these words, the numberless 
 multitude prostrated themselves, and nothing but sobs 
 and sighs were heard. The clergy of the adjacent 
 church, St. Sauveur, arrived, and chanted the Te 
 Deum ; and as soon as it was finished, the air re- 
 sounded with the acclamations of " Long live our 
 father, the Emperor !" The people surrounded him, 
 kissed his clothes, his horse, and escorted him to the 
 
 palace. 
 
 During the Emperor's residence at Moscow in No- 
 vember, 1837, his horses would not proceed in an ex- 
 cursion that he was making ; his Majesty descended 
 from the carriage, and walked a little way. A gene- 
 ral, who followed in a chariot, offered it to the Em- 
 peror, who, however, refused it, and took a wretched 
 hired carriage, which was so low that his feet touched 
 the ground ; the coachman would not at first put on 
 his hat, but the Emperor insisted upon it, and, driv- 
 ing to the palace, ordered two hundred roubles to be 
 paid to the hapi)y peasant. His good fortune did not 
 
168 
 
 CHOLERA AT MOSCOW. 
 
 end here ; those who had seen the Emperor speak to 
 him on the road surrounded him in the palace, and 
 made him repeat all that the monarch had said to 
 him ; the horse and carriage were bought at so high 
 a price, that the peasant and his family became 
 greatly enriched. These two anecdotes have been 
 related to us by eye-witnesses of them. 
 
 When news arrived that the cholera was at Moscow, 
 the Emperor started immediately for that city, visited 
 all the hospitals, approached the sick, encouraged 
 them, and promised them and their families assist- 
 ance and protection. It was then believed that t\w 
 cholera was spreading, but, nevertheless, the Em- 
 peror betrayed not the least fear. He made tlie 
 wisest regulations, bought all the fruit in the market, 
 and ordered it to be thrown into the river. His 
 presence and his example contributed greatly to the 
 return of tranquillity, and restored, sooner than had 
 been expected, the health of the inhabitants of the 
 city and its environs. 
 
 With these sentiments, which I am convinced 
 will be adopted by those who may visit Russia, and 
 really investigate the conduct and character of this 
 monarch, the absurdity of the calumnies which are 
 disseminated in English newspapers as to the Em- 
 peror Nicholas must be apparent. Even the Stan- 
 dard, with its deservedly high character, does not 
 scruple to insert such paragraphs as the following :— 
 " The Russian Czar has issued a ukase prohibiting the 
 use of spectacles to all persons under the age of forty 
 years. Whether this is a long-sighted or a short- 
 
 
 ABSURD CALUMNIES. 
 
 169 
 
 sighted policy, the reader must determine for himself; 
 but there can be no question as to the dignity or com- 
 prehensiveness of the views. Of the other measure we 
 cannot speak in the language of ridicule. It is said that 
 
 this , what shall we call him ? — has actually let 
 
 loose his soldiers to seize upon the peasant girls of Vol- 
 hynia to bring them to his camp. No less than six hun- 
 dred are called for in a single requisition. The poor 
 creatures have fled to the forests, and have been tracked 
 like wild beasts ; their fathers and brothers, who natu- 
 rally attempted resistance, have been put to death ; in 
 others, cruelly punished. This has occurred in the 
 nineteenth century, in civilised Europe, and under 
 what is called lawful authority ! " 
 
 " The Czar arrived at Moscow on the 8th of the 
 present month. A serious accident had like to have 
 occurred to him as he descended Mount Caucasus. 
 The axletree of tlie vehicle in which he was, broke as 
 he was crossing a bridge, and the passengers were, in 
 consequence, flung violently forward. The Emperor 
 sustained no personal injury, but his mind, which had 
 betrayed symptoms ofwildness before, is said to have felt 
 the effects of the shock. The remainder of his voyage 
 to Moscow has rarely been equalled in point of celerity. 
 He travelled one hundred and four leagues in twenty-six 
 hours. He intends to return to St. Petersburgh about 
 the middle of December." 
 
 Standardy JVovember 30th, — '' Russia hates liberty, 
 and the better regulated and the more secure the 
 liberty of any nation, the more it is hated by Russia. 
 Again, Russia hates England, not only as the fortress 
 
170 
 
 ABSUIID CALUMNIES. 
 
 '. I 
 
 m 
 
 of well-regulated liberty througliout the world, but as 
 the mistress of the seas^ and as the great, and, we 
 trust, invincible obstacle to the schemes of Oriental 
 ambition, long and unceasingly nursed by the court of 
 St. Petersburgh, But we know that our countrymen 
 look rather to the justice of a cause, than to the effect 
 of its decision upon their ow^n interests. We would 
 therefore entreat them to consider that the late Polish 
 insurrection was jiist,—wds a movement as essentially 
 conservative as our own revolution of 1688. It was an 
 assertion of rights guaranteed to the Polish nation by 
 the treaty of Vienna in 1815. Every promise made 
 by Russia to the Poles under that treaty had been left 
 unfulfilled ; every engagement entered into had been 
 violated. Nay, the constitution given by Alexander, 
 as if in mockery, was outraged in every particular. 
 The thirty-first article gave a national representation, 
 a senate, a house of Lords, indefinite in number, and 
 a representative assembly, or house of commons, of 
 one hundred and twenty-eight persons. The kingdom 
 was, by the forty-fifth article, to be separated from 
 Russia, in its administration, for ever, and the king 
 was bound to be crowned in Poland, and to take the 
 oath following:— 'I swear and promise, before God 
 and his gospel, to maintain and support the constitu- 
 tional charter with all my power.' 
 
 " Let it be remembered that Poland was not a 
 country conquered by Russia ; but if conquered at all, 
 conquered by the whole Eui'opean alliance, which 
 guaranteed its legislative and administrative indepen- 
 dence by the treaty of Vienna. Nor are we to overlook 
 
 A13SURD CALUMNIES. 
 
 171 
 
 > 
 
 the fact, that national independence and liberty were 
 not new to Poland. The kingdom presented the 
 oldest mixed monarchy in the world, if we may not 
 rather call it the oldest aristocratical commonwealth. 
 The origin of Polish liberty is lost sight of in the most 
 obscure antiquity. All we know of it is, that, in the 
 days of Roman greatness, Sarmatia was ruled by a 
 society of patriarchal chiefs, who, to the misfortune of 
 their posterity, succeeded in defying the Roman power, 
 and subsequently in repelling the feudal system. It 
 was, and continued until the last half century, an ori- 
 ental society of the oldest time, constructed from men 
 possessing European hardihood, European knowledge, 
 and the religion of Europe. 
 
 " Surrounded by governments possessing all the 
 energy of despotism, and inflamed with all the jea- 
 lousy which despots feel, this primitive and more than 
 free people could not long maintain its independence. 
 What could its equestrian diet of one thousand legis- 
 lators, subject to be paralysed at any moment of its 
 proceedings by the libcrcem veto of any single member, 
 effect against the concentrated power of Austria, Rus- 
 sia, or Prussia ? What could an elective king, the very 
 humble oflScer of his diet, do for the defence of his 
 country ? No rational man can regret the abolition of 
 the primitive constitution, if it is to be called consti- 
 tution, of Poland ; but every friend of liberty, every one 
 who values the security of individual rights and of na- 
 tional independence, must contemplate with indigna- 
 tion and resentment the insolent and tyrannical abo- 
 lition of the constitution guaranteed in 1815, and the 
 
172 
 
 ABSURD CALUJMNltS. 
 
 'i I 
 
 erasure of tlie name of Poland from the list of nations. 
 The constitution promised in 1815 could not be 
 abused, for it was never given, probably never intended 
 to be given. The Poles had not forfeited their right 
 to it by any single act of contumacy. For fifteen long 
 years they suffered the ' deferred hope that maketh the 
 heart sick,' and it was not until the accumulation of 
 individual cruelties and insults, inflicted by the savage 
 Constantine, had become perfectly intolerable, that 
 they demanded from Russia the performance of that 
 promise which Russia and all the powers of Euro])e 
 had made to the Poles at Vienna. If this was not a 
 righteous insurrection, let us no longer exult in our 
 fathers of 1688. The cruelties perpetrated by Con- 
 stantine are notorious and undisputed ; but it would 
 be to veil half their wickedness, should we conceal 
 that they were advisedly perpetrated, in order to effect 
 that very purpose which they did effect, to urge the 
 Poles to civil war, at the time when the embroiled 
 state of Europe, thrown into confusion by no small 
 degree of Russian arts, must leave the unhappy insur- 
 gents at the mercy of their tyrant. Poland, in the 
 enjoyment of that constitution which was promised, 
 would add infinitely to the wealth of Russia, would 
 raise an impassable barrier to her western frontier, 
 would bring the family of the Czar completely into 
 the European alliance as a native, not as a denizen. 
 But a constitutional government in Poland would pre- 
 sent to Russia that libertas in coiispectu, would teach 
 the native subjects of the Autocrat also to desire 
 
 ABSURD CALUMNIES. 
 
 173 
 
 liberty ; for this reason, and this reason only, has 
 Poland been sacrificed. 
 
 " We have thought it right to present this sketch 
 of the circumstances of the late revolution, in order to 
 satisfy our conservative friends that the Poles are not 
 rebels or radicals, democrats or jacobins, but men 
 struggling for their guaranteed rights, and for the 
 very name of their country, and, we may add, 
 struggling against the worst enemy that England 
 lias. 
 
 " Much has been said of the atrocity of the parti- 
 tion of Poland in 1793. We would not say one 
 word in extenuation of that abominable proceeding ; 
 but we do say that the desertion of Poland, in 1832, 
 by the parties to the Treaty of Vienna, was tenfold 
 more atrocious, and, as far as England is concerned, 
 beyond measure more disgraceful. England had 
 happily nothing to do with the partition of 1793 ; on 
 the other hand, she was fellow-sufferer with the 
 Poles ; for, after having been led into the French 
 revolution war, she found her troops deserted and 
 betrayed in the Low Countries, by her northern allies 
 rushing to the plunder of Poland. 
 
 " But can England acquit herself of all share in 
 the defection of 1832? She was bound by the 
 Treaty of Vienna; a treaty which, had it been as 
 faithfully maintained as it had been wisely con- 
 structed, would remain for ever a monument of 
 conservative wisdom. She was bound by that treaty 
 to protect the independence of Poland, and she could 
 have protected it, and at little cost. The thunders of her 
 
174 
 
 ABSURD CALUMNIES. 
 
 fleets at Cronstadt and Odessa would have answered 
 the fire of the artillery at Warsaw : while the interests 
 of Prussia and Austria, and the free spirit of the 
 smaller German states, would have been summoned 
 into activity by the first British demonstration. But 
 no, the canaille of Brussels were dearer to the rascal 
 rabble of London and to the Popish rabble of Ireland, 
 than right and justice, and the faith of treaties, and 
 the free-bom gentlemen of Poland. The year 1832 
 was a year of rabble-reign, if ever there was one in 
 this country ; and therefore Poland was sacrificed in 
 compromise for the sacrifice of the King of the 
 Netherlands; and with Poland was sacrificed the 
 independence of the Ottoman Empire, and ultimately 
 of Greece. The opportunity has been lost, but it 
 is not, we trust, irrecoverable. Heaven is just, and 
 it is accordant with our experience of the dealings 
 of Providence toward nations, to believe that from 
 Poland shall yet proceed the agent of Heaven's justice 
 upon the crimes of Russia." 
 
 To these extracts from the Standard, I observe, as 
 to the two first— they are maliciously libellous and 
 exaggerated, and I challenge proof of their authen- 
 ticity. With regard to the third mistaken resume of 
 Russian policy, I shall only say it is answered and 
 explained in three words by the very writer of the 
 article. It was truly the " canaille of Brussels, and 
 the Popish rabble of London," that induced England 
 first to break the faith of treaties, sacrifice the King 
 of the Netherlands, and depart from the solemn 
 obligations contracted at Vienna and Paris. And as 
 
 ABBE DU PRADT S OPINIONS. 
 
 175 
 
 this has been the policy of Great Britain, upon what 
 pretence can she find fault with Russia for endea- 
 vouring to secure to herself Poland as a conquered 
 nation ? Let England beware lest, by such sentiments 
 as are here inconsiderately developed, she may not 
 force Russia really to hate her, and to become the 
 intimate ally of France. 
 
 But enough of these mischievous extracts. To cor- 
 roborate more fully all I have advanced, I would refer 
 the reader to the Abbe du Pradt's last work, " Sur 
 rOrient :" it is an invaluable testament to Europe. He 
 concludes thus : " In summing up the contents of this 
 work, it appears that several positions are incontrover- 
 tibly established by the principles and facts therein ad- 
 vanced. 1st, That the East, in the point of view in 
 which it is generally considered, ceases to be a sub- 
 ject for political dispute. 2nd, That Russia does not, 
 and cannot, entertain the projects attributed to her. 
 3rd, That Turkey has not fallen into an incurable 
 and helpless decrepitude. 4th, That she has for her 
 allies and defenders the interests of the principal 
 European powers. 5th, That territorial questions 
 (those hitherto fruitful sources of war) no longer arise 
 in Europe. 6th, That the territorial proximity of 
 the great powers equally incapacitate them all from 
 advancing or retrograding — a circumstance which has 
 produced, of itself alone, independently of all pre- 
 meditation, a state of reciprocal security, from the 
 mere absence of the materials for fresh encroach- 
 ments. 7th, That Russia has not that military force 
 
 J 
 
17fi 
 
 OPINIONS OF 
 
 THE ABBE DU I'RADT. 
 
 177 
 
 
 which, for the purpose of exciting alarm and opposi- 
 tion, she has been said to possess. 
 
 " In animadverting on the increasing power of 
 Russia, and in developing the dangers with which 
 Turkey is menaced by the Czar, it should be asked 
 of Great Britain if she has not largely contributed 
 herself to strengthen the hands of the northern 
 Colossus. I own I never could contemplate without 
 regret the attack that was made on the integrity of 
 the Ottoman Empire. It was suggested by mistaken 
 sympathy for a people who were unworthy of it. 
 It was contrary to the principles on which, at Paris 
 and Vienna, the settlement of Europe was established. 
 It was a fatal cession to expediency, which will bring 
 with it its mournful consequences. England largely 
 aided in stripping Turkey of the best portion"" of 
 her empire, thereby inflicting a blow on the abi- 
 lity, energy, and power which directed the councils 
 of the divan by the superior knowledge and civilisa- 
 tion of the Greeks. But this was not all. For 
 having had the folly to separate Greece from Turkey, 
 we hand over the soi-disant independent Helenites 
 to be governed as a possession of Bavaria, and then 
 exclaim against the increasing power of Russia, 
 brought about by acts to which Great Britain has 
 mainly contributed. But let it not be supposed on 
 this account that the fate of Turkey is sealed, however 
 its destinies may be obscured ; nor is this mutilated 
 empire, as some suppose, at the mercy of its formi- 
 dable neighbour. No : there are considerations of a 
 
 higher order ; and so long as the question of the 
 balance of power in Europe is not treated as a mere 
 chimera, just so long will it be impossible for France 
 and England ever to subscribe to Russia being the 
 arbiter of Constantinople, or to wave her flag undis- 
 turbed in the Bosphorus and the Black Sea ; and let 
 the alarmists of Europe decide how Russia can 
 maintain a struggle for a possession which would 
 only augment her interior troubles and embarrass- 
 ments, against two such powers as would be opposed 
 to her, and who would be aided, beyond all question, 
 by Austria, Prussia, and the rest of the European 
 continent. 
 
 " This new condition of Europe considerably dimi- 
 nishes the necessity of diplomacy ; it relieves the 
 able professors of the art from some of the cares 
 which have hitherto occupied their minds. Alliances 
 were effec;,ed, partitions accomplished, by remote 
 combinations, and marriages considered as political 
 means ; there can now be no longer any misappre- 
 hensions upon these points. Napoleon's marriage 
 gave the coup de grace to the importance of princely 
 alliances. The lesson is from on high. How many 
 and how great were the advantages on which Napo- 
 leon calculated as the consequence of his marriage, 
 and how was he deceived ! These truths, when fully 
 understood, are well calculated to correct the false 
 views and remove the unfounded apprehensions which, 
 since the year 1830, have been propagated with such 
 malicious and mischievous pertinacity. Our only ob- 
 ject has been union with the family of the Caesars ! 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 ABBE DU PRADT S OPTNIONS. 
 
 ARRIVAL AT MOSCOW. 
 
 179 
 
 /* 
 U 
 
 
 How did this project turn out? Gustavus TV. of 
 Sweden, King William and his son, married women 
 who were all of them of illustrious and distinguished 
 family ; in what have these proud alliances benefited 
 them ? Princes placed upon the throne by revolu- 
 tions will show more tact by allying themselves with 
 the transcendent spirits of those political convulsions ; 
 in them support may be found. It ought now to be 
 a matter of entire conviction, that to inform and 
 tranquillise the public mind, and to have succeeded 
 in this our endeavour, will be the best reward of our 
 labours. We aim at nothing beyond ; the guerdon 
 most flattering for an author is not that bestowed upon 
 talent, but upon a sincere and disinterested searcli 
 after truth. To shine is but an evanescent gratifi- 
 cation ; but to be useful, to belong, at one and the 
 same time, to the old and new order of things, and 
 to reap the advantages of two opposite systems, is an 
 impossibility. Henceforth princes may marry after 
 the fashion of Ahasuerus and the ancient monarchs 
 of the East ; they may gain by it, but cannot lose : 
 their object should not be to become enrolled among 
 the chapters of Germany ; but to maintain their 
 present position is the only lasting satisfaction." 
 
 CHAPTER Xir. 
 
 Arrival at Moscow— Burning of Moscow— Its Reconstruction — 
 Public Institutions — Commerce — General Tolstoy— Visit to 
 the Kremlin — The Palaces — Senate House and Arsenal — 
 Grand Entertainment — Prince Serge Galitzen— Dinners and 
 Soirees —Cathedrals and Hospitals — Establishment for young 
 Ladies — Convent of Troitza — Return from Moscow. 
 
 My arrival at Moscow, which I must consider as 
 the great emporium of this empire, has called forth 
 the foregoing reflections. I will now return to the 
 more immediate details of this city. The ICremHn 
 is an irregular polygon, and its walls have withstood 
 the numerous sieges and attacks of the Mongols, 
 Lithuanians, and the different nations that have been 
 at war with Russia. Interesting as this old fortress 
 is in the eyes of the nation on this account, it is 
 not less so to the stranger when he treads the same 
 balcony on which Napoleon stood in 1812, and wit- 
 nessed the conflagration and destruction of the city by 
 its own inhabitants. 
 
 The reflections to which the scene gave birth when, 
 from the same spot, you now behold this vast city 
 
 N 2 
 
 1. 
 
180 
 
 BUUNING OF MOSCOW. 
 
 ITS RECONSTRUCTION. 
 
 181 
 
 (> 
 
 renovated in more than pristine splendour, must be 
 highly to the credit of the exertions, wealth, and 
 power of the natives and proprietors of this })art of 
 the country. 
 
 It may be interesting here to state that it was in 
 September, 1812, that Napoleon established his head- 
 quarters at Moscow. On the 16th the Russians set 
 fire to the city. The explosions from the tow^ers — 
 the ocean of flames that illuminated the horizon — the 
 diflerent quarters of the town all burning at once — 
 noble edifices reduced to ashes — the smoking ruins of 
 the churches — the dismal tolling of the bells, all occur- 
 ring in the severest cold of the most wintry clime, pro- 
 duced a scene unparalleled in history. It took many 
 days to consume the town. But finally there re- 
 mained so little sign of habitations, that the trace of 
 the streets themselves w^as nearly lost. Dead bodies, 
 half-burnt dead animals of all sorts, were mixed up 
 in the ruins. The loss in value was stated at two 
 hundred millions of roubles ; and fourteen thousand 
 edifices, palaces, and houses were destroyed. The 
 loss to the o;overnment was immense. The Museum 
 of Natural History, the library, and the collection of 
 antiquities of the Kremlin, became alike a prey to 
 the devouring element. The heroic and determined 
 spirit, however, of the Russian character engaged them 
 to redoubled energy in the reconstruction of this 
 ruined city, whose destruction had certainly saved the 
 country from the galling yoke of foreign oppression 
 by the determined spirit of Count Rostopchin, whose 
 
 plan and action in thus setting fire to the city was 
 fully achieved. 
 
 Moscow rose from its cinders more beautiful and 
 splendid than ever. The liberality of the sovereign 
 and the enthusiasm of the people restored this city to 
 life and vigour, as a phoenix from its ashes. 
 
 The St. Sauveur Bridge and another, form the com- 
 munication between the Kremlin and the citadel ; the 
 latter, called La Belle Place, has in itself formidable 
 works. The garden of Alexander, and the Boulevards 
 which surround the town, afford beautiful drives and 
 walks. The magnificent Bazaar of Moscow (which 
 resembles the Gastinodivor of St. Petersburgh) is 
 situated in the Place Rouge or La Belle Place. It 
 contains all the depots of merchandise, persons of all 
 nations, denominations, and tribes. The Exchange is 
 conspicuous, and connected with the Raidhi, the name 
 of the bazaar. The next two important streets are 
 St. Basbe and St. Elve ; and not far from these the 
 Grand Place of the Theatre, called Petroisskaia. The 
 representations here are often equal to those of St. 
 Petersburgh, especially in national pieces; and the 
 building is of the largest description. Not far oflfthe 
 theatre is the most extensive riding-school perhaps in 
 the world, in which a large body of cavalry may be 
 exercised. There is, besides, an extraordinary large 
 ball-room, called L'Assemblee de la Noblesse. The 
 city is divided into twenty sections. The houses in the 
 suburbs are of wood, but the fine palaces and build- 
 ings in the city, of stone. The pavement is bad, and 
 
 (■ 
 
182 
 
 1»UBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 GENERAL TOLSTOY. 
 
 183 
 
 r> 
 
 the lighting indifferent ; but twilight in this northern 
 clime is so long, that this inconvenience is not much 
 felt. 
 
 The number of public institutions is beyond belief. 
 I was informed there were upwards of one thousand 
 professors, and sixteen thousand eleves in the different 
 seminaries. There are seven cathedrals, three hun- 
 dred churches, and seven hundred chapels ; and the 
 population is about two hundred and eighty thousand. 
 The convents are twenty-one, fourteen of which are 
 for monks, and seven for nuns. There are a hundred 
 and sixty-eight large streets, six hundred and fifty- 
 four small, and fifty-four squares; nine thousand 
 shops, five hundred hotels or inns, and three hundred 
 restaurateurs ; also thirty-three public and six hun- 
 dred private baths. This may give some idea of the 
 magnitude of the place. Many beautiful chateaus 
 and palaces are in the neighbourhood, which I was 
 unable to visit. The Chateau Petrokshi, built by 
 Catherine II., the Chateau Isantsque, erected en- 
 tirely by Potemkin for the Empress, the Chateau 
 Kolomenskir Celo, the Chateau Askhangkelsk, and 
 various others, are very worthy (as I was informed) of 
 examination, possessing great riches in pictures and 
 other valuables. 
 
 Moscow is certainly a great commercial town. A 
 great proportion of the fine palaces and houses belongs 
 to merchants ; the nobles and higher classes are no 
 longer called here for state purposes as at Peters- 
 burgh, and the middle classes are established in per- 
 manent occupation, ease, and luxury. 
 
 On our arrival we found a very good apartment in 
 the hotel of Madame Howard, an Englishwoman, who 
 had been some time at Moscow as a gouvernante, 
 married a person in commerce, and finally established 
 an hotel. The rooms were large and airy ; she gave 
 us a separate kitchen for our own cook. The markets 
 at Moscow are admirably supplied ; provisions cheap 
 and good. The weather during the whole month of 
 October was delicious, and everything favoured the 
 examination and inspection of all that was interesting 
 in the place. 
 
 We had brought from St. Petersburgh letters from 
 Count Nesselrode for General Tolstoy, the acting 
 governor, during the absence, on leave, of Prince 
 Demetrius Galizen ; also for General Noboulsin, who 
 was the civil governor, and also the Directeur General 
 des Postes. The Emperor had himself, in passing- 
 through Moscow, on his return to Czarskoeselo, after 
 his accident, (on hearing of our arrival,) graciously 
 left directions that w^e should be treated with every 
 attention. The effect of this order and the letters I 
 brought were perceptible on my first visit to General 
 Tolstoy. After expressions of the most flattering kind, 
 his excellency said he regretted that his daughter-in- 
 law, Madame Apraxin, was absent in the country; 
 but he had written to her to return to town to do the 
 honours during our stay. He then sent for his 
 aide-de-camp, M. de Novozilzoff*, whom he had 
 charged with conducting us through all the establish- 
 ments and institutions of the place, according to our 
 own time and convenience. I had known General 
 
i^l 
 
 184 
 
 VISIT TO THE KREMLIN. 
 
 VISIT TO THE KREMLIN. 
 
 185 
 
 Tolstoy in 1813, when he commanded a Russian 
 corps in the north of Germany. The circumstances 
 that thus gave rise to a renewal of our acquaintance 
 were most agreeable, and I cannot sufficiently express 
 my gratitude for the kindness we received at his 
 hands. 
 
 M. de NovozilzofF's friendship and constant atten- 
 tion to us were of the utmost importance ; he was witli 
 us nearly every morning to know our wishes as to the 
 expedition of the day. Joined to an entire knowledge 
 of everything connected witli Moscow, he added an 
 amiability and intelligence that rendered him one of 
 the most agreeable and kind friends we had made in 
 Russia. 
 
 The population of Moscow amounts to little 
 short of three hundred thousand. Were the walls of 
 the Kremlin to be destroyed, the gardens of the pa- 
 laces built up, the cupolas, spires, and turrets to be 
 pulled down, this city would appear to lose that pic- 
 turesque, imposing singularity which characterises it ; 
 but it is now, without doubt, one of the most beautiful 
 towns in the world. 
 
 On the 3rd of October we made our first visit to 
 the Kremlin. Without going into the details of de- 
 scriptions often given, it is enough to say, the first 
 rooms are occupied with the jewels and treasures of 
 the crown. Here you see vases, goblets, cups, old plate 
 of all kinds in silver, gilt, vermoil, which carry the 
 imagination back to ages tliat are passed, of which 
 these are the trophies and remembrances. Next to 
 these are the crown and the robes, the old uniforms 
 
 of all the emperors that have been crowned at Moscow, 
 with the royal chairs and dais of each coronation. 
 The profusion of precious stones of all descriptions 
 that ornament these different objects is beyond belief. 
 All the crowns have particular histories belonging 
 to them, profoundly interesting to Russian patriotism, 
 but which I passed by without much notice, my atten- 
 tion having been deeply riveted and interested by the 
 insignia that belonged to the last King of Poland. 
 I confess I would rather, until the present irri- 
 table state of feelings subside between the Russians 
 and the Poles, not have seen this ostentatious display. 
 Near the thrones are ranged the globes and sceptres, 
 and then the gifts from princes and potentates to the 
 different Czars, which are carefully noted down and 
 registered. The last objects are a collection of pre- 
 cious medals, and an immense assemblage of cuirasses, 
 helmets, and armour of all sizes, nations, and descrip- 
 tions. 
 
 The magnificent portrait of the Emperor Alexander, 
 by Lawrence, is placed in this ancient palace, and 
 here (as in every public edifice) there is a whole- 
 length portrait of the present Emperor. In a merely 
 passing view of this curious and far-famed palace, it is 
 not possible to enumerate half the objects that strike 
 the eye and fix the attention ; but enough has, I think, 
 been said to excite the curiosity of all who can repair 
 to Moscow. — The palaces were next in succession to 
 be visited, — the Palace of Czars or Belvidere, the 
 Palace Imperial, and the Palace Angulen. These 
 splendid buildings adjoining each other, or in con- 
 
il 
 
 18G 
 
 THE PALACES. 
 
 SENATE HOUSE AND ARSENAL. 
 
 182 
 
 ( , 
 
 nexion with the Kremliu, have a wonderfully imposing 
 effect. 
 
 The " Palace Imperiar' is the largest of the royal 
 residences. I cannot enumerate its extensive apart- 
 ments and magnificent decorations. In this palace 
 you see the rooms that were last inhabited by Alex- 
 ander ; and they show you his iron bedstead and 
 paliasse case, which (possibly with some presentiment 
 of his fate) he would not allow to be removed with 
 him from Moscow, the last time he was there on his 
 way to the Sea of Azof, from which expedition he 
 never returned. You remark, on contemplating this 
 lowly couch, the extreme simplicity of this monarch's 
 habits. Like the Duke of Wellington, he always re- 
 posed on a small iron camp bedstead, which was put 
 up in the rooms he occupied in his various splendid 
 palaces. The guide further directs your attention to 
 the knives, scissors, pencils, wax, and even to the bits 
 of dry bread, pocket handkerchief, and gloves, all 
 arranged as Alexander himself left them, and which 
 are shown precisely in the same manner in the other 
 palaces last inhabited by him. 
 
 When the Emperor and Empress visit Moscow, tliey 
 reside in the same palace which Nicholas occupied 
 when Grand Duke. I believe this is called Le Palais 
 de Menus Plaisirs. 
 
 In addition to these residences, the Empress has a 
 most beautiful villa {a VAjigloise) just without the 
 city, bought recently of the Countess Orloft'. 
 
 The senate-house and the arsenal are the next most 
 imposing buildings— the former built in the reign of 
 
 Catherine. In front of the latter, the most striking 
 feature of interest is the arrangement of all the cannon 
 captured from the French army in the year 1812, on 
 their retreat from Moscow. The Palace of the Pa- 
 triarch is also deserving of attention, as is the Tower 
 of Trukheroff, which is of very remarkable architec- 
 ture. Within this building is the great reservoir of 
 water for the supply of Moscow. 
 
 Having finished a very long day's excursion, we 
 returned to our hotel. Here a considerable number 
 of visiting cards greeted us ; and we found that our 
 letters of introduction from Count Nesselrode, added 
 to the Emperor's desire that we should be attended 
 to, had brought all the magnates of the town to our 
 hotel. The early part of the following morning was 
 taken up mainly by the crowd of Jews, Greeks, Turks, 
 and Polish merchants, that besieged our doors, to dis- 
 play the riches of the East, in shawls, sables, furs, 
 turquoises, &c. I can fairly declare that our own 
 apartments were never free in the daytime from one 
 bargaining merchant or another during our stay ; at 
 breakfast, dinner, and coffee, &c., there was no reldcke. 
 Articles of such richness can only be met with at 
 Moscow. 
 
 While part of the day was occupied in continual 
 bargains and purchases, I must not omit to give some 
 account of the remainder — the dinner, society, and 
 the soirees. 
 
 Our first grand entertainment was from the 
 General Count Tolstoy. The governor's palace is 
 splendid, and stands in one of the finest squares, with 
 
■ f 
 
 188 
 
 rUlNCE SERGE GALITZEN. 
 
 'I 
 
 the corps de garde opposite to it. We sat down 
 about forty to dinner in a large apartment. The 
 Countess Apraxin, one of tlie most charming women 
 I met with in Russia, daughter-in-law of the Count, 
 did the honours of his house : she had lost her 
 husband by the cholera when it raged in Moscow, 
 was left a widow with three or four young cliildren, 
 and had taken the control of her father-in-law's 
 establishment. The numerous servants, the liglitiiig 
 of the rooms, and the magnificence of the reception, 
 including a dinner and excellent cuisine, with wines 
 of all descriptions, could not fail to make this enter- 
 tainment most agreeable and gratifying. 
 
 The next dinner that was prepared for us was 
 at Prince Serge Galitzen's ; he is of the same 
 family as Prince Demetrius Galitzen, the governor of 
 the town. The Galitzens are innumerable in Russia ; 
 but Prince Serge has great possessions in Moscow, 
 where he may be fairly regarded as the Duke of 
 Devonshire of that part of Russia. His palaces and 
 style of reception, both in the city and at his country 
 residence, a few wersts from Moscow, exhibit 
 princely generosity and good taste. It is un- 
 necessary for me to say more of so distinguished a 
 person, from whom I received the most marked 
 civilities and unbounded kindness, and for whom I 
 entertain real affection and respect. Prince Serge 
 Galitzen's palace contains the finest dining-rooms 
 in Moscow, or perhaps in the world : his house 
 is decorated with pictures of the best masters ; and 
 statues, malnchite, jasper, and porphyry, are in pro- 
 fusion. 
 
 \\ « 
 
 DINNERS AND SOIREES. 
 
 189 
 
 The prince has been long separated from his wife ; 
 they were never more than twenty-four hours toge- 
 ther. She was very beautiful, and she has been 
 long travelling over the world under some secret 
 impression, and has wished on this account to obtain 
 a divorce. But difficulties occurred and the mar- 
 riage was never annulled. They continue, how- 
 ever, to reside separately, he enjoying his splendid 
 possessions and revenues at Moscow, and she living 
 at a sumptuous palace at Petersburgh. 
 
 Our next feast was on the 12th October, at the 
 civil governor's. We had here a similar display of 
 splendid hospitality. I remarked a singularity at this 
 table which I understand prevails at many of the 
 houses in Moscow. The impression is so strong that 
 spilling or helping the salt at dinner will be attended 
 with misfortune, that the table, w^hen laid out, has 
 here and there little piles or made-up pyramids 
 of salt, from which all help themselves. Our 
 society at these brilliant repasts was generally 
 much the same, composed of the high civil and 
 military officers of the city, and the elite of the 
 noblesse and inhabitants, to the number of forty or 
 fifty. 
 
 In addition to the dinners which I ha\'e thus 
 hastily described, we had soirees prepared for us, 
 one of the most brilliant of which, with a luxurious 
 supper and wines, was at the Comtesse Geredenoff's. 
 The director of the public theatres, also, was in no 
 way behindliand in offering us attentions ; he placed 
 his box at our disposal : a Russian opera and ballet 
 
 ■ 
 
if 
 
 190 
 
 CATHEDRALS AND HOSPITALS. 
 
 were performed expressly for our gratification. So 
 much for our evening amusements. 
 
 I commenced a tour of the different establishments 
 on the 4th of October, with the kind attendance and 
 never-ceasing civihty of M. de Novozilzoff, and did 
 not finish these deeply interesting examinations until 
 the 15th, two days previously to our departure from 
 Moscow. 
 
 The cathedrals and churches are decidedly amongst 
 the objects well worthy of examination. The church 
 of Vassehir Blagenon is of all others the most sin- 
 gular and remarkable. I should not forget to allude 
 to the enormous bell which is close to the Kremlin 
 Cathedral, in commemoration of a horrible famine 
 in Russia in 1600. This bell was destroyed by the 
 French in 1812, but was afterwards repaired and put 
 into its tower again, from which place you can see 
 thirty-two large cathedral or church spires. 
 
 The institutions are composed of three classes : 
 those established by the government fur public in- 
 struction ; those that are formed by general and 
 individual philanthropy ; and those that are purely 
 military, and for branches of the public service. 
 Those which I inspected are the following. 
 
 1. The Foundling Hospital, which is on a much 
 greater scale than anything I ever could have ima- 
 gined; it is in perfect order and imder the most 
 judicious management. 
 
 2nd. The Establishment des Demoiselles Nobles. 
 
 3rd. The Military Hospitals. 
 
 4th. The Cholera Hospital. 
 
 1 ' 
 
 KSTAHLISHMENT FOR YOUNG LADIES. 
 
 191 
 
 5th. The Lunatic Hospital. 
 
 6th. The Corps des Cadets. 
 
 Each of these no doubt demands a particular de- 
 scription. But as for the most part they are on the 
 same plan as those at St. Petersburgh, and as I shall 
 describe the latter at length, I shall confine myself in 
 this place to an opinion, that no government in the 
 civilised world devotes more attention than that of Russia 
 to useful and beneficial establishments for the ad- 
 vancement of education, and the moral, intellectual, 
 and religious improvement of the empire. Here at 
 Moscow, as elsewhere in Russia, the most talented 
 persons from other countries have been engaged to 
 be placed at the head of the institutions. Russia 
 shows sense and dexterity in availing herself of all 
 the advantage which can be derived from the infor- 
 mation, superior knowledge, and acquirements of 
 other countries. Moscow is governed by a senate 
 and a synod, and a College des Affaires Etrangeres, 
 (all under the civil and military governor,) who 
 correspond with and receive their orders direct from 
 the departments of Petersburgh. 
 
 If I were to particularise any of the great institu- 
 tions at Moscow, which called forth my warmest 
 admiration, it would undoubtedly be the " JSta- 
 hlissement des Demoiselles Nobles.'' In contemplating 
 a seminary of six or seven hundred young women, 
 from the ages of eight or nine, to eighteen or nine- 
 teen, the daughters of nobles and the fairest flowers 
 of the empire, it is impossible not to take a peculiar 
 interest in the management that is submitted to your 
 
^ I 
 
 J 92 
 
 ESTABLISHMKNT FOR 
 
 YOUNG LADICS. 
 
 193 
 
 observation. Tlie young ladies are in classes accord- 
 ing to their ages. In the class-rooms they are 
 instructed in languages and accomplisliments. They 
 have their large saloon for recreation, dancing, and 
 exercises, a magnificent hall for their meals, and 
 an airy and capacious dormitory, their hospital ward 
 and rooms, with convalescent apartments. 
 
 In the above distribution there is much the same 
 order of arrangement preserved as in the military 
 academies, and the Corps des Cadets Institution : 
 the governesses and preceptors seem to be chosen with 
 the greatest possible care. The education is at the 
 expense of the crown, and at twenty they leave the 
 institution, being then complete in their acquirements. 
 To an observer, it is impossible to see anything work 
 better than this system appears to do. The go- 
 vernesses appear respectable and well-informed ladies, 
 and refined in their manners. The Slhcs (especially 
 the elder ones) not only displayed, on examination, 
 great knowledge, but exhibited it naturally, without 
 ostentation or affectation. Their carriage and grace 
 struck me as very distinguished. Most particular 
 attention seemed to be paid to their neatness in 
 dress. In short, were I to offer an opinion, I 
 should say, that were it not for the insurmountable 
 obstacles which the difference of religion presents to a 
 Protestant, I would infinitely prefer placing my girls 
 in the Institution des Demoiselles Nobles to edu- 
 cating them at home. But then the question arises in 
 Russia, What are the future prospects of perhaps two- 
 thirds of these young persons, w^hen sent from the 
 
 establishment? It is notorious, that the greater 
 part of them belong to poor, though well-born 
 families. They come for admission from all parts 
 to the empire, and much interest is necessary to 
 secure it, and there is great emulation and rivalry in 
 endeavouring to obtain it. They are brought up in 
 every luxury : they have every incitement and oppor- 
 tunity, till twenty years old, of cultivating their 
 talents, and of acquiring knowledge of every descrip- 
 tion. But then, turned adrift, what is to be their 
 iiite ? If they do not marry, they are thrown back 
 upon their poor parents, no longer treated as they 
 have been, and may be called upon to return to the 
 drudgery of a Russian house and Russian menage; 
 they pine after all they have left behind ; they become 
 unhappy and miserable. If, on the other hand, they 
 marry a poor soldier or a man of small means, they 
 are wholly unfit for the duties of an humble lot ; and 
 their beautiful embroidery is lost sight of in the more 
 necessary employment of making and working coarse 
 brown cloth ; their drawings are given up for keeping 
 house accounts, their music and dancing for attending 
 to the dairy and looking after the flock. 
 
 These are mournful but true reflections; and 
 my doubt is, whether the plan is not on too 
 luxurious and princely a scale. It is, however, clear 
 that these endowments furnish to the empire a perfect 
 nursery for governesses. The young ladies going 
 forth into such great families as can make them mem- 
 bers of their interior and associates of their children, 
 may feel none of the changes or deprivations to 
 
 o 
 
Ill !■ ■ 
 
 (( 
 
 194 
 
 ESTABLISHMENT FOR YOUNG LADIES. 
 
 which I have above alluded ; and, certainly, many 
 of them may, by the protection of tlie Empress and 
 the Imperial family, be placed in positions where their 
 education will have made their fortune and their hap- 
 piness. But I am apprehensive as to the fate of 
 many of these young persons, until this vast empire 
 becomes richer and more advanced. 
 
 It is not alone at Moscow that these seminaries 
 for young ladies are founded ; they exist in most of the 
 laro-e towns, and on the most extensive scale at St. 
 Petersburgh, where the present Empress pays the 
 greatest attention to them. They were originally 
 formed by the Empress Catherine. The most beauti- 
 ful part of the parade, if I may so express myself, of 
 these young demoiselles, is when six or seven hundred 
 of them collect before their different tables for dinner, 
 arranged according to their classes, and sing or chant 
 the grace, which is rather long ; their juvenile and 
 angelic voices, en masse, in perfect tune, give utter- 
 ance to sounds almost divine. It is a harmony that 
 cannot be conceived unless it has been heard. Neither 
 can anything be superior to the works of industry, 
 the drawings and embroidery, that are shown as the 
 production of the scholars, the greater part of which 
 is at the Imperial disposal ; but by great favour, oc- 
 casionally, visitors are allowed to purchase them, the 
 proceeds being applied to charitable purposes. 
 
 Although with far different sensations from those 
 with which I visited these last-named establishments 
 of grace, innocence, and beauty, I next examined 
 the incomparable system of good order that reigned 
 
 ifi 
 
 CONVENT OF TROITZA. 
 
 195 
 
 throughout the prisons of Moscow. I saw the dif- 
 ferent classes of malefactors, male and female, ar- 
 ranged upon a plan of cleanliness and discipline far 
 surpassing similar establishments in England. It is 
 true, there was no tread-mill, neither was there the 
 knout, whicli is so much and so ignorantly talked of 
 as belonging to the system of Russia ; but there was 
 solitary confinement, with deprivation of small com- 
 forts enjoyed by tlie well-behaved portion of the crimi- 
 nals ; and this, I was assured, answered every purpose 
 of order and discipline. 
 
 On the 16th of October we made an excursion from 
 Moscow to the famous convent of Troitza. This is 
 one of the oldest religious monasteries in Russia. It 
 has been a strongly fortified place, and has resisted 
 the repeated attacks that have been made upon it by 
 all the enemies and predatory tribes that have at- 
 tempted its destruction from early ages, and have 
 since become subject to Russia ; the Tartars, Mongols, 
 Circassians, &c. The situation of the monastery 
 is as picturesque and curious, as the riclics, jewels, and 
 gems, contained within its walls, are remarkable. We 
 were received in the most kind and affable manner 
 by the superior, and were conducted by him to all the 
 interesting objects of the convent. 
 
 The riches of Troitza have been accumulating for 
 ages, and it is singular that they never fell into the 
 hands of an enemy. Even Napoleon passed it by, only 
 sending out patroles in its direction from Moscow. The 
 monastery is surrounded by heights, and stands promi- 
 nently on one of the most commanding of them. It 
 
 o 2 
 
! 
 
 1 
 
 r* 
 
 ine 
 
 CONVENT OF TROITZA. 
 
 has a multitude of gilt domes, cupolas, and spires, 
 which give it, at a distance, the appearance of a mag- 
 nificent town. A very high stone wall surrounds the 
 convent, flanked with eight high towers. Without tlie 
 walls is the hotel, and the houses and shops of the 
 town. Within, the most striking objects are the ca- 
 thedral of the Trinity, the house where the treasure is 
 kept, and the palace of tlie Czars. 
 
 ! 
 
 I ill 
 
 / 
 
 RETURN FROM MOSCOW. 
 
 197 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Return from Moscow — Grand Review — Russian Cavalry — The 
 Emperor Nicholas — Czarskoeselo — Imperial Soiree — Etiquette 
 of Dress — Conversation with the Emperor— High Mass. 
 
 il 
 
 Our return from Moscow to Petersburgh, in the end 
 of October, presented nothing very remarkable. We 
 travelled back with pretty nearly the same arrange- 
 ments, halting at the same places ; and on our arrival 
 at Petersburgh we were again lodged in the Hotel 
 de Londres, opposite the Admiralty. 
 
 My first duty on my return was to pay my respects 
 to the high functionaries, the ministers, and the court. 
 We were greeted with an invitation from their Im- 
 perial Majesties to repair again to their beautiful 
 palace at Czarskoeselo, and I shall endeavour to give 
 some lengthened detail of this most interesting visit, 
 having first described a grand review to which I was 
 invited. 
 
 On the 24th of October the Emperor had graci- 
 ously proposed to me to be present at a review of the 
 cavalry of the guards. I received an invitation by letter, 
 
 
'^' law^r* 
 
 f 
 
 198 
 
 GRAND KKVIKW. 
 
 RUSSIAN CAVALRY. 
 
 19!) 
 
 I 
 
 n 
 
 #1 
 
 on the evening of the 23rd, from Benkendorff, the 
 minister of war, saying, he was commanded by his 
 Imperial Majesty to invite me to the manoeuvre ; that 
 one of his horses would be in waiting for me at the 
 Marble Palace, close to the Champ de Mars, where 
 the manoeuvre was to take place. Officers were ex- 
 pected in full dress at twelve. I repaired to the 
 palace, where I found a richly caparisoned Arabian 
 charger ready for me, and joining Generals Benken- 
 dorff and Czernicheff, we proceeded to where a very 
 large assemblage of general and staff officers were 
 waiting the Emperor's arrival. 
 
 In a few minutes his Imperial Majesty made his 
 appearance. Riding directly up to me, with the most 
 cordial shake of the hand, he added, " Mon cher, 
 je suis enchant^ de vous voir ; vous n'es pas le moindre 
 du monde chang^." He then galloped off rapidly to the 
 body of the cavalry, which were formed in two lines. 
 Arriving on the left flank, he received the salutes as he 
 passed along, greeting every regiment with tlie accus- 
 tomed cry of " How are you, my children ?" wliile 
 they reply, in deafening response, " We thank you, my 
 father." The cavalry assembled consisted of about 
 eight thousand horses. The regiments of Chevaliers 
 de la Garde, detachments of regiments formed regi- 
 mentally, assembled at Pctersburgh for instruction, 
 six troops of Light Artillery carrying flying pontoons, 
 Cossacks of the Don, and of the Guard, and Circas- 
 sian Cossacks, formed the mass that was collected. 
 The space of the Champ de Mars, large as it is, is too 
 confined to exercise, in extended niananivre, so nume- 
 
 rous a body of cavalry. The Emperor, putting himself 
 in the centre, made the two lines defile before him in 
 parade order. They next passed in columns of squa- 
 drons, in a trot, and afterwards at a gallop. A charge, 
 or swarm, of the Circassians and Cossacks followed. 
 The galloping by of each regiment in close column of 
 squadrons, and a general salute, finished the exercises; 
 when the Emperor, riding up to the assembled gene- 
 ral and staff officers, dismissed tlieni with, " Adieu, 
 Messieurs / " 
 
 I had not seen this cavalry since 1815. The men 
 were always fine, but I was not at all prepared to see 
 so great a change in the species of horse on which 
 they were mounted There must have been amazing 
 efforts in the diflerent cavalry depots of the army to 
 improve the breed so greatly. Every horse seemed to 
 show Arabian or Tartar blood ; their bone, beauty, 
 and action struck me most forcibly. The Circassian 
 and Chevalier de Garde have not the heaviness and 
 want of action that many of our life-guard horses 
 often exhibit, and I should declare, at once, that the 
 Russian cavalry of the Guard cannot be surpassed. 
 The regiments I should select as the most perfect, are 
 the Grenadiers a Cheval, and the Lancers of the 
 Guard. Another beautiful corps is the Hussars of 
 the Guard, all mounted on grey horses ; the Lan- 
 cers have chestnuts. The Hussars are commanded bv 
 the Caesarowitch, and the Chevalier Garde, being the 
 Empress's regiment ; she sometimes (although not 
 on the present occasion) marches by in uniform, 
 on horseback, at the head of the corps. The dressing 
 
 
• I ■ «• I 
 
 ( 
 
 (' 
 
 ■9 
 
 95B! 
 
 1 
 
 200 
 
 RUSSIAN CAVALRY. 
 
 of each horse, the manner in which he was bitted, the 
 hand each rider seemed to have on his animal, his seat 
 and general position, appeared to me admirable. The 
 officers, I observed with some surprise, did not appear 
 as good riders, or as well drilled, as the privates. In 
 passing by and in their wheelings, I saw no floating, 
 flying off, or confusion in the squadrons. Distances ac- 
 curately preserved, no difference of pace, no hurrying, 
 and no tailing. Having constantly exercised cavalry for 
 fifteen or twenty years of my life, I may, without pre- 
 sumption, express a decided approbation of the per- 
 fection, in all its parts, of this interesting review. The 
 Emperor is himself an excellent drill and tactician. 
 He has a decided passion for arms, and is frequently 
 exercising officer of his own troops, particularly the 
 Guards. That this inspires the officers and men with 
 emulation cannot be doubted. They are always acting 
 under the eye of the mighty sovereign, from whom 
 alone all favours and promotions emanate. There can 
 be no deception in reports of regiments ; every corps 
 stands before its great leader. It may well be ques- 
 tioned how the sovereign of such an empire can thus give 
 his time to the extreme minutiae of his military force ; 
 but that Nicholas accomplishes it, is beyond all doubt. 
 In his directions in command, he is clear, loud, and 
 distinct, the general officers of the line and com- 
 manding officers repeating the word ; but tliere was 
 no trumpet or bugle sound to denote the pace and 
 moment of moving off*, as is the practice in our Eng- 
 lish cavalry, which I think defective in the Russian 
 exercise. As the body does not get off' the ground at 
 
 
 THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. 
 
 201 
 
 once, the Emperor manceuvring stands alone, unaided 
 by chiefs of staff*, aides-de camp, or any orderly offi- 
 cers. So thoroughly does he understand what he is 
 about, you would instinctively select him at once as 
 the fittest of all to be, by due pre-eminence, at the 
 head of the force. The mounted bands of wind in- 
 struments are numerous and perfect ; the officers in 
 general well mounted. The Emperor rode a tall, 
 black, English charger, with rather a cocked tail ; but 
 as I saw him, two days after, with the infantry move- 
 ments on the same horse, I conclude he is a favourite. 
 At the conclusion of the review, his Imperial Majesty 
 rode oflf to his favourite palace, the Palais ArnishkoflP, 
 the Newski Perspective. 
 
 I do not believe that Napoleon, or any general of 
 an army, ever identified himself so much with the detail 
 and the immediate command of his forces as the Em- 
 peror Nicholas does. In making this observation, and 
 expressing my astonishment at the capacity and acti- 
 vity that could get through so much of the minutiae, to 
 General Benkendorft', the private secretary and confi- 
 dential aide-de-camp of the Emperor, (brother to 
 Madame la Princesse de Lieven,) he replied, *'I1 est 
 le nieme en tout, le professeur en tout ;" and from all 
 I have seen of the personal exertions of this monarch 
 since my arrival at St. Petersburgh, I do believe it to 
 be true. 
 
 The Emperor, on the occasion of our visit to Czars- 
 koeselo, condescended to render it as agreeable as 
 possible. It had been arranged by his Imperial Ma- 
 jesty to have us at a small party on the Saturday, and 
 
/ 
 
 i i 
 
 202 
 
 CZARSKOESELO. 
 
 IMPERIAL SOIREE. 
 
 203 
 
 ■t 
 
 $ 
 
 to give us a dinner, soiree, spectacle, and ball, on 
 Sunday, to which the ambassadors and ambassadresses 
 and many others were also invited. 
 
 We arrived in the evening about five, and were 
 shown to our apartments. As the Emperor inhabits 
 the same palace in which he lived when Grand Duke, 
 the wing of the Empress Catherine's palace, where we 
 were lodged, is destined for strangers and company, 
 who from time to time are invited to Czarskoeselo. 
 Nothing can be better arranged than this reception. 
 Your apartments, attendance, and wants are sup])licd 
 as if you were in your own country residence ; you 
 have only to ask and send for all you need. The 
 dinners and receptions at the Imperial residence are 
 announced for certain hours, and carriages of tlic 
 court attend to take you and bring you back. There 
 is only one inconvenience, which is, that there are 
 neither feather-beds, mattresses, nor sheets, for your- 
 selves or servants, (the latter are never expected to use 
 any in Russia ;) it is thus necessary to bring your 
 own, which they expect and permit to be put up 
 in the finest saloons. Another singular circumstance 
 in the palace is, that all the duties are performed by 
 men ; no such necessary attendant as a house-maid or 
 a female is to be found ; there is also a great number 
 of blacks as attendants. These are dressed in Turkish 
 costume, and many of them are Algerines. 
 
 At nine the soiree commenced. I had seen the 
 Emperor at both the manoeuvres, but our meeting 
 on horseback did not afford the opportunity for the 
 cordial reception with which I was now greeted. 
 
 When with his troops, his Imperial Majesty's attention 
 is so entirely ^^Tapped up, that he seldom articulates 
 but to order, reprimand, or approve. At the two 
 reviews I had little conversation with him, further 
 than the remarks I ventured to make upon the troops. 
 Op seeing me enter the saloon, crowded with oflScers 
 and ladies, he advanced to me with eagerness, and 
 drawing me into the outer room, he bestowed on me 
 the warmest reception, and entered into a long, 
 familiar, and interesting conversation, which of 
 course due delicacy precludes my putting to paper. 
 At the close of it the Empress came up, and inquiring 
 as to my satisfaction with all we had seen at Moscow, 
 I was obliged to go through the description, as well 
 and as shortly as I could, of what was most striking 
 there. When she had left me, and they had noticed 
 all the circle, the musicians of the chapel began the 
 concert that was intended for the evening. The Em- 
 press led Lady L to the sofa, and conversed with 
 
 her nearly all the evening. The Emperor, with two 
 of his aides-de-camp, (Generals Czernicheft' and 
 Kisseleflf,) sat down to whist. About eighty or a 
 hundred ladies, and as many officers of high rank and 
 charges de cour, formed in groups, while the young 
 children of the Emperor, with their companions, the 
 sons of those attached to the court, together with go- 
 vernesses and preceptors without end, added to the 
 crowd in the ante-room and great saloon. 
 
 This assemblage, without form or ceremony, exhi- 
 bited a happiness and cheerfulness seldom seen in the 
 
 M !1 
 
 If ' ■ 
 
 i'l 
 
""^Sf* 
 
 204 
 
 ETIQUETTE OF DRESS. 
 
 CONVERSATION WITH THE EMPEROR. 
 
 205 
 
 interior of a sovereign ; " the eternal ordering you out 
 of the way for a royal personage," the hint or fear that 
 you are turning your back on royalty, seemed here 
 banished ; and the familiarity was so kindly, yet so 
 bewitchingly established, that in half an hour I felt as 
 if I were at home. 
 
 The Empress seeing me looking at Madame Krud- 
 ner, a very distinguished, beautiful, and extraordinary 
 person, to whom her Imperial Majesty is supposed to 
 be much attached, immediately came up and said, 
 " Oh, my Lord, I must present you to my handsome 
 ladies," — and it was soon accomplished. This anec- 
 dote I merely mention as illustrative of the amiability, 
 without form, which characterises these royal parties ; 
 but it would be unpardonable and highly indecorous 
 to make these memoranda in any shape a record of 
 any private conversations, or of what passed in the con- 
 descending private intercourse with illustrious persons. 
 
 Z,es dames d'honneur of the Empress, if not all 
 handsome, are excessively prh^enante and engaging. 
 But I must record a circumstance that peculiarly 
 belongs to this court at the present day. It is, tliat 
 they make a real study of dress, so that the Empress 
 appears to know every toilette of her court ; and, not 
 content with dressing in the morning and the evening, 
 the ladies of the palace and those who visit the court 
 dress sometimes four or five times a day. The most 
 singular fancy is, that when ladies go at four to dinner 
 in their very best toilette, they are dismissed at six, 
 and come again at eight, but with a completely new 
 costume. Now, with birds of passage this is rather 
 
 inconvenient; yet the Empress, with all her great 
 qualities, has this rage ^^pour les modes,'' She has 
 made it a point of court etiquette, to the no small an- 
 noyance (I believe) of several of the old ladies and 
 mammas. 
 
 When the concert was finished, and the Emperor's 
 whist party broke up, round and oblong supper-tables 
 were brought. No table-cloths on the table, but nap- 
 kins on each plate, and everything served round. I 
 was ordered to sit by the Empress. His Imperial 
 Majesty came soon afterwards, and entered into ano- 
 ther separate and long colloquy with me, and two or 
 three common-place remarks I think I may insert. 
 Before his Imperial Majesty ceased the conversa- 
 tion, I led it to his own dominions. I asked how 
 it was possible, with all his splendid institutions and 
 the immense expense of his army, to manage his 
 financial system, and to preserve, in every part of the 
 interior, so much apparent content, without poverty or 
 mendicity. He replied, he had the good fortune to 
 possess the very best finance and war ministers, and 
 they took a great deal of trouble off his hands ; but yet 
 he tried to look to everything himself. He then 
 alluded to his having been displeased with the move- 
 ments of some of the battalions of the Guards at the 
 infantry review. I saw him indeed ride up singly to 
 these corps, and I conclude animadverted sharply and 
 seriously ; for when he returned to the assemblage of 
 general staff-ofiicers, he dismissed the strangers and 
 the regiments who had exercised well, but, retaining the 
 others, he made them perform all the manoeuvres again. 
 
-^ 
 
 20G 
 
 CONVERSATION WITH THE EMPEROR. 
 
 " As to poverty and mendicity," the Emperor continued, 
 " we have, alas ! much of the former, but my laws are 
 very severe against vagabondism. The public works 
 employ multitudes, and we ought not to liave beggary." 
 In expressing my admiration of his splendid palaces, 
 I observed, his English cottage retreat at Peterhoff, 
 for its simplicity and perfection, struck me with ex- 
 cessive delight. He replied, " Yes, it is when I get 
 there, just with my family, (for it holds no more,) that 
 I am really happy. I wish, however, the season liad 
 permitted me to show you Cronstadt." 
 
 The Emperor then said that his brother, tlie Grand 
 Duke Michael, was going to England, that he envied 
 him exceedingly the journey, and would give much 
 to see that country again. Some remark of the Em- 
 press, who sat on the other side, and the Emperor's 
 moving, concluded tlie conversation, and the Imperial 
 family shortly retired. Prince Volkouski coming to 
 inform me that his Imperial Majesty expected me at 
 la messe and the parade in the morning. 
 
 The following day was most unfavourable, the 
 ground being covered with snow. At eleven o'clock 
 we went to the Imperial chapel, a door of our apart- 
 ment opening into it. It is gorgeously painted and 
 gilded, and was lighted up for the mass, with the 
 priests in robes of green and gold, and a very nume- 
 rous choir of singers, which produced a most solemn 
 and impressive effect. 
 
 The Imperial family take their places on one side, 
 performing their devotions and continual reverences 
 and signs of the cross, wliile all the ladies of the court 
 
 II 
 
 Ml 
 
 iili: 
 
 HIGH MASS. 
 
 207 
 
 are ranged behind them, absorbed in similar de- 
 monstrations of prayer ; the first offices for the state 
 and the army are, in like manner, placed in line 
 over against them. " The pealing anthem and the 
 notes of praise" resound, while the high priest dis- 
 penses, on all sides, the frankincense from the beauti- 
 ful silver tripods which are used for this ceremony. 
 Unquestionably, nothing can be more imposing than 
 the rites of the Greek church. At the conclusion of 
 la ruesse, I was directed to attend the Emperor in his 
 own carriage, as he wished to drive me to the great 
 riding-school, where he had appointed the parade. 
 
If 
 
 'p^ssmmm 
 
 208 
 
 THE EMPEllOU. 
 
 MAUKED COMPLIMENT. 
 
 209 
 
 : 4^ 
 
 tl 
 
 < 1 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Emperor — Marked Compliment— Salutation and Reply — 
 Royal Dinner — Peculiar Arrangement— Russian Climate — Go- 
 vernment Establishments — L'Etat Major — Quarter Master Ge- 
 neraVs Department — New Invention. 
 
 I FELT, when I got into a low phaeton-droschka, with 
 a long bearded coachman and two little black horses, 
 and alone with this extraordinary monarch, who has the 
 fate of so many millions of people depending on his 
 nod, that my position was interesting and curious. I 
 examined his fine countenance with the greatest in- 
 quisitiveness. His eye, like Napoleon's or the Duke of 
 Wellington's, is the most striking feature in his coun- 
 tenance ; it is very large, expressive, and command- 
 ing ; his nose is long and Grecian ; indeed, if there be 
 a fault in the visage, it is, as a whole, rather too long ; 
 his forehead is very high, and, although not more than 
 forty, he has not much hair. He wears short musta- 
 chios, his teeth are somewhat irregular, and there is 
 not that sweet expression about his mouth which 
 greatly characterised the Emperor Alexander's smile 
 and greeting. But Nicholas speaks from his eye alone, 
 while his brother brought the auxiliary features into 
 
 action. Nicholas, in height, is six feet two or three, 
 rather slenderly made, but his carriage and demean- 
 our are so high-born and lofty, that there is no doubt, 
 if he were in the vulgar crowd of his millions of sub- 
 jects, you would point him out, from appearance, as 
 the mortal who should be placed at their head. His 
 manner is brusque at times, but of high bearing ; in 
 public and before his troops much more so than on 
 ordinary occasions and in private : I should say that 
 he had a character to assume outwardly which is not 
 inherent in his nature. There can, however, exist no 
 doubt that, both as to physical and moral endowments, 
 he is a wonderfully clever man, and worthy of the 
 high destinies which he is called on to fulfil. In our 
 way to the parade he pointed out to me the magical 
 manner in which a town, in obedience to his simple 
 wish, had been created in a year around Czarskoeselo, 
 observing it was a proof how anxious his subjects were 
 to comply with his wislies. 
 
 We arrived at the immense riding-school ; the parade 
 was formed, the guards marched off, the parole and 
 countersign were given ; and here, I understand, a very 
 marked compliment was paid rtie, by the Emperor send- 
 ing the oflScer of the day to give me the countersign. 
 This is seldom done but to princes, or occasionally to 
 fiivourite ambassadors. The Emperor then ordered 
 six orderlies from each regiment of cavalry to enter the 
 manege. With his own voice, and under his own direc- 
 tions, he made them go through all the riding-house 
 drill in the most perfect manner imaginable, asking me 
 repeatedly, " Comment fetois content^ Now, it might 
 
 i 
 
210 
 
 SALUTATION AND IIKPLY. 
 
 IIOYAL DINNER. 
 
 211 
 
 be, these were picked men, and paraded for tlie occa- 
 sion ; and I told him at once that these cavalry sol- 
 diers were, in my opinion, complete instructors and 
 riding-masters ; that the mass, even of his elite cavalry 
 of the guard, could not be drilled to the manage as 
 these men appeared to be. He replied. La plupart 
 were nearly as good ; and that they ouglit all to be 
 so, from the pains he individually bestowed on this 
 arm of the service. 
 
 On returning to the palace, amongst a variety of 
 other topics, I asked him if he deemed it judicious 
 still to continue the salutation from the chief, and the 
 reply from the troops in his army. Here it will be 
 recollected, as before stated, that whenever the Em- 
 peror meets soldiers, and more particularly when he 
 passes the line, or that bodies of troops marcli by him, 
 he always cries out, " How are you, my children T 
 to which they answer by acclamation, " We thank 
 j^ou, my father;" or when he says, " You have done 
 well, mes enfans,'' they reply, " We'll do better next 
 time, father." Now I remarked, that if there should 
 exist at any time suUenness or discontent in any corps 
 of the army, these replies gave a disagreeable oppor- 
 tunity to express such feeling without the discovery 
 of the individual uttering them, and tliat in the Eng- 
 lish and Austrian armies such exclamations from the 
 troops were absolutely forbidden. The Emperor an- 
 swered, that his army was necessarily more strictly 
 disciplined than any other in Europe — that this na- 
 tional habit was of very old origin, and in Russia 
 it would not answer to abandon it. 
 
 After a tour de promenade^ the Emperor, showing me 
 the park, and discussing various topics, drove me to my 
 apartments, saying, " Au revoir, man cher, a diner J' At 
 four the carriages paraded to carry us to dinner: a 
 most brilliant assemblage was collected of about two 
 hundred persons, the women dressed in the very extreme 
 of care and elegance, the officers of state and the mili- 
 tary in uniform, grand cordons, &c. The Grand 
 Duchess Helen, wife of the Grand Duke Michael, 
 arrived from her palace four wersts off with her suite. 
 The ceremonial part of the dinner was peculiar, from 
 the circumstance of the ladies going out of the room 
 first when it was announced, and sitting all together ; 
 the men by themselves, with the exception of the Em- 
 peror, who sat between the Empress and the French 
 ambassadress, and the Caesarowitch, who was beside 
 his mother and the Grand Duchess Helen. The 
 table was very narrow, and set out round the room ; 
 the service a la Russe ; and conversation was carried 
 on as much with your opposite as your next neigh-r 
 hour. 
 
 On rising from dinner the Imperial family retired, 
 and we were directed to return at seven o'clock. An 
 entirely new toilette was the immediate occupation 
 of the ladies. When we again came to the palace 
 we were shown into the theatre, where the company 
 of French artistes from St. Petersburgh acted two 
 pretty vaudevilles. From the theatre we returned 
 to the saloons, where the orchestra was prepared for 
 dancing. The Empress and the Caezarowitch began, 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 PECULIAR ARRANGKMENT. 
 
 and dancing went on without the least form or stiff- 
 ness till eleven, when small tables were laid for supper, 
 and after supper dancing recommenced and was kept 
 up till two in the morning. 
 
 A peculiarity in tlie arrangement of the state 
 rooms of the palace here struck me. The reception 
 room is in three partitions, but forming one spacious 
 saloon ; columns and evergreens make divisions at each 
 end. This whole space, however, is united for every re- 
 quisite purpose. You promenade through the centre, 
 where dining tables are preparing, to arrive at the end 
 division, where the Imperial family receive you. From 
 thence you return to the middle section of the apart- 
 ment, where dinner is served, and when the repast is 
 over, and 5^ou retire into the former space, a crowd of 
 servants instantly clear away the repast. After the 
 dance the centre department is again prepared for 
 the supper, and, as before, numberless tables are 
 brought in. Supper in its turn gives way for the 
 dance. Now all this noise and bustle, and pushing 
 and jostling, though it entirely banishes form, does 
 not accord with methodical English arrangement. 
 When there is such a multitude of rooms in 
 these spacious palaces, a saloon might be selected 
 and appropriated for each purpose ; it is singular to 
 witness the almost studied simplicity by which all the 
 details of an Imperial fete are carried on in one 
 large space, the Montagues Russes being erected in 
 the anteroom for the amusement of the nursery and 
 its idlers. The Empress danced the whole evening ; 
 the Emperor walked about, conversing with the 
 
 RUSSIAN CLIMATE. 
 
 213 
 
 utmost familiarity with all, and the evening con- 
 cluded with one of those Russian-German cotillons 
 that appeared to me always whirl without end. 
 
 On leaving Czarskoeselo the following morning, 
 I could pot forbear reflecting on tlie wonderful bless- 
 ings of Divine Providence on this Imperial family, on 
 which was bestowed a degree of moral perfection, 
 and physical grace and beauty, such as 1 had never 
 before contemplated. I returned to our quarters in 
 the capital, which were now changed from the Lon- 
 don Hotel to the Golowchen House. It was a small, 
 confined, and bad lodging, although recommended 
 to us by a kind friend, and much had been done to 
 make it as comfortable as possible. My family were 
 all here unfortunately attacked with fever. It is 
 difficult to describe the eflfects of the weather and 
 climate of St. Petersburgh, at this period of the year, 
 upon those who are not accustomed to them. 
 Fortified by a long residence, or by birth, on the spot, 
 the constitution may be rendered inaccessible to 
 attacks of this description ; but I feel persuaded 
 that no Englishman can go to Russia without passino- 
 through the ordeal of more or less of that sort of 
 severe illness with which my family were now visited. 
 To young persons, especially females, I believe no- 
 thing can be more trying than the tenqjerature at this 
 season. There is a dry, bleak wind, blowing from 
 the boundless plains and tracts of the interior, which 
 is met at Petersburgh by the raw, damp, breeze of 
 the Gulf of Finland, and the heavy dews of the 
 Neva; and the unhealthy ingredients of these ele- 
 
214 
 
 GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENTS. 
 
 L ETAT MAJOU. 
 
 2J5 
 
 ments, thus mixing in the wide streets of St. Peters- 
 burgh, form an atmosphere more disagreeable and 
 unbearable than can be experienced elsewhere. 
 
 But to return to my occupations. So soon as I was 
 able to sally forth, I commenced an inspection of the 
 government establishments, the most conspicuous of 
 which are as follows : 
 
 1st. L'etat major de sa Majeste Imperiale. 
 2nd. Le depot hydrographique del etat major de 
 la marine. 
 
 3rd. L'equipage d'instruction des ouvriers de la 
 marine. 
 
 4th. Le corps des cadets. 
 5th. Le corps des cadets de la marine. 
 6th. L'ecole de Tartillerie. 
 7th. L'ecole de genie. 
 
 8th. L'ecole des postes enseignes de la garde. 
 9th. L'ecole des mines. 
 10th. L'institut des ponts et chaussees. 
 1 Ith. Le cataillon des cantonistes militaires. 
 12th. La monnaie. 
 13th. L'arsenal et la fonderie. 
 14th. Le ministere de la guerre. 
 15th. L'ecole d'equitation. 
 
 The minister of war sent his aide-de-camp to me 
 with a list of the above military establishments and 
 institutions, which he was desirous I should see, and 
 pass my opinion upon, during my residence in 
 Russia. 
 
 l'kTAT major DE SA MAJESTE IMPERIALE — THE 
 ADJUTANT general's DEPARTMENT. 
 
 This is an immense semicircular building, facing 
 the Hermitage and Winter Palace, and encircling 
 111 part the pillar of the Emperor Alexander. 
 
 All the officers of the department were in attend- 
 ance ; General Schubert, acting quartermaster-general, 
 and one of the most dii^tinguished officers in the 
 army, was there to receive me. 
 
 The etat major (as at the Horse Guards) is divided 
 into two departments, those of the quartermaster-gene- 
 ral's and adjutant-general's: the business is separated 
 and arranged accordingly. 
 
 In the series of rooms through which I first passed, 
 as belonging to the adjutant-general, I saw a number 
 of young men, all soldiers or officers, or sons of 
 officers ; I should average the number at three or 
 four hundred. All these are clerks, and brought up 
 for the writing details of the department. They are 
 lodged, fed, and clothed at the public expense ; 
 their uniform is that of the general staff*. I went 
 through their dormitory, saw the preparation for 
 their dinners, and inspected their arms, clothing, and 
 accoutrements, which were all in accurate order, 
 in rooms adjoining those where they slept. 
 
 It will at once occur to military men how superior 
 an arrangement of this sort is to that of employing 
 clerks under no similar discipline. These young 
 
 
216 
 
 L ETAT MAJOR. 
 
 men are easily drilled into strict obedience to the 
 duties required of them ; all their wants are supplied, 
 their promotion depends on their merit, and 
 they are looking forward constantly for advance- 
 ment in the profession of which they know all the 
 details. Besides these evident advantages, an esta- 
 blishment thus conducted can send officers or em- 
 ployes to any divisions or parts of the army, to 
 afford to detached corps the advantage of having 
 their section of the quarter master-general or the 
 adjutant-general's department upon the precise 
 plan of that at head-quarters. This branch of 
 the etat major is entrusted with all the interior and 
 exterior discipline, the enlistments, discharges, leaves 
 of absence, the general orders, and, in short, every 
 duty of the adjutant-general in the British service, 
 on the increased scale of an army of 500,000 men, 
 as compared with one of 120,000. The young men 
 wore in general looking healthy, although their work 
 occupies them about ten hours a day, so that, includ- 
 ing their meals, they have little time for recreation. 
 1 think I passed through ten or twelve large rooms 
 containing capacious presses, lined with green silk, 
 in which the papers and documents of this immense 
 office are preserved and duly registered. In two or 
 three of the rooms I saw small printing presses, to 
 verify, by stamping dates, the orders that are pro- 
 mulgated. But the general printing establishment 
 of the entire department forms a range of apartments 
 below stairs, and is upon a very great scale. 
 
 There is no army list published in Russia ; the Em- 
 
 QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL S DEPARTMENT. 
 
 217 
 
 pcror and different general and staff officers have this 
 information, but it is not to be got at generally. 
 Only the names of colonels and field officers of the 
 corps are put down ; were those of the captains and 
 subalterns to be printed, it would be nearly the same 
 as printing in our army-list the names of the pri- 
 vates. 
 
 QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL S DEPARTMENT. 
 
 From the department of the adjutant-general. 
 General Schubert conducted me through that of the 
 quartermaster-general. The movements of troops, the 
 routes of the army, the topographical drawings, the 
 engraving, the science of taking up ground and posi- 
 tions, and finally everything relating to this branch of 
 the military service, seemed here to be carried to the 
 greatest perfection. In various rooms the young 
 officers and men, who are fed, clothed, and boarded 
 free of expense, (as in the case of the clerks of the 
 adjutant- general's office,) were engaged in military 
 drawings, and under the long tables at which 
 they were occupied were large drawers and shelves, 
 containing all sorts of maps, plans, and surveys. 
 
 Adjoining these rooms were others, having cases 
 full of mathematical and surveying instruments ; 
 and, again, next to these compartments, were 
 shops with forges and materials, out of which the 
 young men above mentioned make the instruments 
 and mechanical implements they use or can re- 
 
218 quartermaster-general's department. 
 
 m 
 
 quire. It is singular, and I believe unparalleled, 
 to see in such an establishment, not only the perfec- 
 tion with which the arrangement for military instruc- 
 tions is organised, but to travel with it from its very 
 origin, as it were, to its completion. 
 
 Not only military drawing, but mathematics, na- 
 tural philosophy, theology, electricity, astronomy, 
 and geology, are studied here. I ascended into the 
 observatory, which is at the top of the chancellerie, 
 whence I had an admirable view of St. Peters- 
 burgh. Accurate surveys and maps are now making 
 of all the provinces of Russia ; engineer officers are 
 employed in each separate district, who send their 
 surveys and drawings to head-quarters, where they 
 are all brought into one large scale. Not only 
 are the military maps of the Russian provinces 
 designed with the greatest care, but in this office 
 are also arranged, methodically and alphabeti- 
 cally, the best charts and maps of every country in 
 Europe, and, indeed, of every known tract of land in 
 the world. A certain number of staff officers have 
 been especially employed, since 1813, in bringing to- 
 gether maps of all those parts of Europe where battles 
 or memorable attacks took place during the last wars 
 with France. This work, when completed, will be 
 most interesting, as it is carried on with the greatest 
 precision. One superior advantage of the scale of 
 this establishment arises from their supplying the divi- 
 sion and general officer, immediately that he is placed 
 in a command, with military maps for his own use, of 
 the country where he is cantoned, or where he may 
 
 new invention. 
 
 219 
 
 be directed to march. In like manner, sets of instru- 
 ments and other necessary materials are furnished to 
 his staff officers. In the English service, we unfor- 
 tunately know, that it depends on the inclination of a 
 general or staff officer whether he chooses or not to 
 furnish himself with such indispensable requisites. It 
 is with reluctance that I offer this contrast to the par- 
 simony with which British staff arrangements are con- 
 ducted. 
 
 The painting and lithographic departments are 
 on a scale that deserves notice. I saw here, for 
 the first time, a new graphic invention carried into 
 effect on a sheet of tin, in lieu of drawing on 
 stone. This was invented in Prussia, and is now 
 established in all the offices in that country and in 
 Russia. It is a beautiful invention, and the execution 
 is accomplished with nearly as much rapidity as you 
 can write, so that hundreds of copies can be struck off, 
 from the most lengthy document, in a few minutes. 
 
 I am not sure whether this invention has reached 
 England ; but it appears to me, that for rapid mul- 
 tiplication, it surpasses anything that has ever yet 
 been invented. 
 
 I went afterwards into the arched cellars or 
 iron-cased rooms, where the archives of theetat major 
 for the last ten years are arranged. Beyond that 
 period, they are not kept in St. Petersburgh, but trans- 
 ported to Moscow. The papers are divided into the 
 four different quarters of each year, placed alpha- 
 betically. They are kept in cartoons of paper, 
 
 i 
 
220 
 
 ROYAL BUSTS AND POIITIIAITS. 
 
 MILITARY DRAWINGS. 
 
 221 
 
 made very hard and thick outside, all lettered and 
 numbered with exactness. The large circular 
 library or general meeting-room of the etat major 
 is adjoining. A portrait of the Emperor Nicholas 
 on horseback, as large as life, decorates this fine 
 saloon. A bust of Peter the Great on a marble 
 pedestal, being exactly the height of the monarch, 
 stands in the front of the room ; and under the bust 
 there is a glass case, in which is enclosed a red 
 velvet and gilt-covered pocket-book, containing the 
 first code militaire of the Russian army, signed by 
 Peter the Great. In every public institution or 
 establishment throughout this vast empire, there is a 
 studied effort to preserve the memory and the features 
 of their great founders, and, as it were, to have tlieiii 
 equally in the hours of business or recreation before 
 the sight. The busts, portraits, and casts of Cathe- 
 rine, Peter, and Nicholas are so numerous, that you 
 can scarcely go into a public place or oflftcial residence 
 without seeing one or all. 
 
 General Schubert, at the close of as strict an exa- 
 mination of his department in all its branches as the 
 cursory time allowed, said he was directed by the 
 minister of war to ofi'er me, in liis name, an exeni- 
 plaire of all the best engravings and maps which they 
 had completed of late in the bureau, and which his 
 excellency hoped were worthy of my acceptance. He 
 then sliowed me some fine prints of the Emperor, the 
 Caesarowitch, the most eminent generals, a very laroe 
 plan of St. Petersburgh, tlie plans of the cemetery 
 
 around, together with some other military drawings 
 which the General ordered to be carried down and 
 placed in my carriage. I offer the above as very 
 imperfect memoranda of my first visit to this establish- 
 ment. 
 
'•miiit r^ 
 
 CADET ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Cadet Establishment — The Students — Course of Education — Tlie 
 Dining Room — The Medical Department — Noble Cadets— Ma- 
 rine Cadets — UEcole de Genie — Engineers' Department — 
 Riding School— School of Artillery — Civil Engineering — The 
 Arsenals— Relics of Alexander — School of Artillery— College 
 for young Officers. 
 
 CORPS DES CADETS DE L AMIRAUTE. 
 
 The same aide-de-camp of the minister of war pro- 
 ceeded with me to the Corps des Cadets, consisting of 
 boys between the ages of eight and eighteen, the sons 
 or orphans of soldiers, or of persons of inferior class of 
 life. This establishment has its spacious apartments 
 in the Admiralty. It consists of between five and six 
 hundred Hhves, divided into four companies of one 
 hundred and twenty each, with a company called " Les 
 Jeunes." The four companies are separated again 
 into four divisions, or squads ; there are four officers 
 and a captain of the line to each company, of which 
 there is one of grenadiers and another of chasseurs. In 
 describing an inspection of this cadet establishment, 
 after the preparation made by superior direction pre- 
 
 CADET ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 223 
 
 viously to a review of the whole, I may be somewhat 
 prolix, but one detail will do for every similar institu- 
 tion in Petersburgh, Moscow, and throughout the 
 Russian empire. 
 
 An individual of rank visiting the establishment 
 is always met at the door by the commandant and all 
 its other officers. After the customary obeisances, he is 
 generally conducted, in the first instance, to the rooms 
 wliich they call les classes. The wide staircases and 
 corridors leading to them are strongly perfumed by 
 frankincense or other burning scents peculiar to Russia. 
 The boards in these passages, &c., cannot escape 
 observation ; they are so clean that dinner might be 
 served on them. Where there are no parquets, (which, 
 liowever, are very general,) the deals or oaks are 
 painted to resemble it, and being constantly washed, 
 they dry sooner than when not painted. In the 
 middle of the corridors is generally a broad bit of 
 carpet for a gangway, which is laid also through the 
 middle or sides of the room, as the passage through it 
 may be. 
 
 On entering the class-rooms, you perceive fifteen or 
 sixteen long desks and benches placed as columns of 
 companies ; and at the head of the room, in a compart- 
 ment for the instructor, the elhe is called up for ex- 
 amination, bringing in his hand a very large slate in 
 a frame. 
 
 If your visit is paid at an hour when the cadets are 
 in their classes, on entering, the boys spring up and 
 are motionless as on parade during your stay ; their 
 books, writing, drawing, slates, &c., lie before them 
 
224 
 
 THE STUDENTS. 
 
 
 just as they were employed when you entered. Every 
 Sieve is dressed in green uniform and trousers, hair 
 cut very short and round, precisely alike ; their clothes 
 fit admirably ; their demeanour is perfectly military 
 even at this early age, and in fact you see the small 
 models of battalions before you. Having examined 
 the books, or asked questions of the young lads, which 
 you are expected to do, the instructor makes an eleve 
 come from the desk, and approacliing the slate above 
 described, gives him a problem in Euclid, a sum to 
 work in arithmetic, or some other task, as an exhi- 
 bition of his studies, in the accomplishment of which 
 the spectator feels naturally interested. 
 
 In this manner you pass the classes in review, 
 and while you are going to visit their dormitory, the 
 eleves are sent generally to prepare to meet you again 
 at their dinner. The dormitories are large and long 
 apartments, having generally two lines of small iron 
 bedsteads down the sides, and a double row of beds in 
 the centre of the room placed back to back ; you are 
 enabled thus to walk along each line. Every bed has 
 a hard mattress, a coverlid, one sheet, rarely two, 
 and a hard and large pillow. These are changed 
 three times a week, as well as all the linen, and 
 great attention is paid to cleanliness. The covering of 
 the iron bedstead and the coverlid are equally renewed, 
 so that nothing can look whiter or cleaner than 
 these beds. On an oval board over each bed is painted 
 the name of the boy who occupies it ; his cap (a fo- 
 raging cap) is hung by it. Before every bed is a 
 small table de nuit, and between each is a double desk, 
 
 COURSE OF EDUCATION. 
 
 2-25 
 
 where books and such other necessaries as are actually 
 in use are kept. The exactness of these rooms can 
 only be compared to that of the strictest barrack-room 
 in England, and my opinion is, that the latter would 
 lose much by the comparison. 
 
 At the end of the rooms is a gallery or ante- 
 room, where a large brass reservoir and basin are 
 established. This is for the morning and evening 
 ablutions of the boys ; presses are placed round which 
 hold their towels, marked with numbers. For the 
 service of these elhes and rooms, there are a cer- 
 tain number of under-officers and soldiers. Next to 
 the washing rooms are the apartments in which the 
 accoutrements and arms are arranged, such as their 
 caps, belts, swords, bayonets, carbines, &c. ; and ad- 
 joining is another closet, where clean linen, shirts, 
 sheets, pillow-cases, &c., are in reserve. The place 
 for recreation is next visited ; this is very spacious, 
 and here are ladders, ropes, poles, and all the et 
 cetera for gymnastic exercises; there are likewise 
 small field-pieces to exercise the students in their 
 management ; dancing, fencing, and the broad-sword 
 exercise, are also taught, and of the former a great 
 point is made. German, French, and Russian tactics, 
 mathematics, arithmetic, algebra, and drawing, are 
 the main studies. There is no instruction in English 
 in any of the institutions, except in that of the cadets 
 de la marine. 
 
 There are of course particular studies applicable to 
 the especial nature of the institution, but I have stated 
 the general course of education in them all. 
 
 Q 
 
 •.? 
 
226 
 
 THE DINING ROOM. 
 
 Having made the foregoing inspections, you are next 
 conducted to the dining-room. Numerous tables are 
 laid out, by classes, covered with the whitest linen, and 
 bright pewter dishes and plates. On every pk te there 
 is a napkin, and in every napkin a white roll and a 
 large slice of black bread. At certain distances are 
 bottles of quash, which is the common liquor of the 
 country, of which I believe you may drink a hogshead 
 without its affecting your head, although it may 
 be otherwise prejudicial. It is manufactured from 
 corn, and looks like thick brown beer. 
 
 At the sound of a drum, the students enter in file, and 
 march in, breaking off when opposite to their several 
 tables, the Hhve de service, as he is styled, sitting at the 
 head of each table, comprising the class or peloton of 
 the class, according to the size of the table. When 
 all arrive opposite their respective places, tliey turn to- 
 wards the image that is placed at the head of the room, 
 and those who are instructed, and have musical voices, 
 sing the Non nobis, Domine ; while the others, by 
 their reverences, prostrations, and signs of the cross, 
 show they are occupied for five or six minutes in their 
 devotions before their repast. The grace being sung, at 
 a single tap of the drum the students seat themselves, 
 and the dinner proceeds. The next room, adjoining 
 the dinner saloon, is the pantry from which things 
 are served by a suflScient number of common soldiers 
 who are in attendance. You then go to the kitchen, 
 and here half a dozen Russian cooks in jackets produce 
 to you on a broad table or sideboard a specimen of 
 the broth or soup, beef, vegetables, and pudding, that 
 
 4 
 
 THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 227 
 
 is prepared for the students. You are invited to taste 
 these diflferent dishes, being assured it is the invariable 
 practice of the Emperor at his Iiuperial Majesty's 
 inspections. Your visit is then to the hospital and 
 medical department of the institution, and the dormi- 
 tory and rooms are kept precisely as the great 
 apartments, and, if possible, cleaner. High screens, 
 placed where necessary, separate patients ; and I must 
 say that every possible convenience, and even luxury, 
 that the sick can require, is afforded them. I never 
 witnessed so much attention to the comforts of the 
 sick as in this department. A pharmacy is also' 
 attached to the hospital, and a large room with surgi- 
 cal instruments. A medical officer is on duty here 
 day and night. 
 
 This is a general outline of the corps des cadets in- 
 stitution, and allowing for such difference of instruc- 
 tion as the several services may require, I believe it 
 will be found nearly applicable to all on the same 
 plan; nor can there be much diflference, when dis- 
 cipline, order, and cleanliness, form the basis of all. 
 Let it also be remembered that education is thus given 
 at the expense of the government to the children of 
 the nobility, the army, and navy, and to those of the 
 common artisan alike; and when one considers the 
 scale upon which these foundations are formed, the 
 numerous able oflicers and highly instructed men 
 they must turn out every year for the military, 
 naval, and civil establishments, it is impossible 
 not to admire the greatness of mind that has con- 
 ceived such magnificent organisation, and the vigour 
 
 q2 
 
 i 
 
il 
 
 228 
 
 NOBLE CADETS. 
 
 and perseverance that have brought tliem into sucli 
 a high state of perfection. These seminaries of free 
 education exist not only in Petersburgh, but also in 
 every important city of this great empire. 
 
 CORPS DES CADETS DES NOBLES. 
 
 The Corps des Cadets last described consists of the 
 orphans or sons of soldiers. The next I visited was 
 composed of the sons of the nobility. I did not dis- 
 cover any greater luxury of arrangement or living, 
 but it seemed that science and instruction were carried 
 to a greater extent in this college. In addition to 
 going through the classes and the different arrange- 
 ments as before related, I was conducted to adjoining 
 buildings, where I beheld smiths' forges, carpenters' 
 shops, cabinet-makers' establishments, carvers' and 
 gilders' tables, braziers' and ironmongers' tools. In 
 all of these, certain sections of the students were work- 
 ing and learning the different trades; and I was 
 informed, that these workmen were relieved by other 
 ^Ih^es every two or three weeks, so that the whole are 
 trained to the same sort of apprenticeship. In the 
 workshops every article is made that is used in the 
 establishments. I remarked to my conductor, that I 
 doubted if much valuable time were not lost in learn- 
 ing trades, because these young nobles could, in after 
 life, always procure or buy mechanical instruments 
 and conveniences. The answer was, " True ; but these 
 institutions are supposed to adapt themselves to a 
 
 WOBLE CADETS. 
 
 229 
 
 rising, and not a parent, state. We wish to suppose 
 ourselves uncivilised, and, as it were, in a desert, 
 where, with human beings and faculties to profit by 
 models, books, and instructors, we want to make each 
 as perfect in science or knowledge as his neighbour ; 
 and hence our system is laid down as you see." 
 
 I had a great deal of conversation upon this and 
 other subjects with General Nockdeans, who is the 
 commander and director of the cadets nobles, and 1 
 found him a remarkably intelligent and clever man. 
 I think tliere were about six hundred and twenty sons 
 of noblemen in this college, all educated gratis, a little 
 taschen geld, or pocket-money, being all that the rela- 
 tions supply. From the age of eight to eighteen the 
 youths are kept in the seminary, and then placed in 
 the infantry or cavalry, as they please, or as may best 
 suit them. I observed a judicious plan in the rooms 
 of recreation. One of them is hung round with short 
 detailed accounts of all the famous battles and sieges 
 of the country in its different wars. Another has, in 
 Hke manner, the names of all the most distinguished 
 Russian generals, with their services, so that the 
 scholars at their play-hours find here ample topics for 
 conversation and curiosity, and become thus ac- 
 quainted, even at their very games, with much of the 
 history of their country. 
 
 CORPS DES CADETS DE LA MARINE. 
 
 My next visit was, on the 16th of November, to the 
 
 !' 
 
230 
 
 MARINE CADETS. 
 
 \\ 
 
 Corps des Cadets de la Marine, under the direction 
 and command of General Kingenstein. This officer is 
 distinguished for having travelled in every part of the 
 globe, and is in high estimation with the Emperor. 
 The institution is peculiarly favoured by Nicholas, 
 who, having devoted his mind and attention very 
 zealously to the Russian navy, has taken even its in- 
 fant offspring under his fostering care. 
 
 The general management of the health, discipline, 
 food, and hours, varies little from that of the Corps 
 des Cadets des Nobles. Nevertheless, it certainly 
 struck me that all the minutiae were upon a more 
 luxurious plan than at the other places. Here is a 
 very large museum for every kind of model or mode 
 of construction for vessels, with everything belonging 
 thereto, and an extensive library for nautical science. 
 In one spacious room there is a complete small frigate 
 which has been constructed by the el(ives. In this 
 the younger class are exercised in all the different 
 working of the sails, rigging, &c., as if they were on 
 board a vessel of war at sea. The building: where the 
 marine corps are lodged is close to the quay, on 
 the right bank of the Neva. There are three large 
 frigates stationed here, on board of which the whole 
 of the cadets repair in the summer months, and pro- 
 ceed to the Gulf of Finland with experienced officers 
 and a certain number of able seamen. By this 
 plan they have, at tlie earliest age, every possible 
 instruction in the management of ships. The elhe 
 is required to know systematically and scientifically 
 every bolt, spar, or plank in tlie frame of a ship of 
 
 L ECOLE DE GENIE 
 
 231 
 
 war. For this purpose the young corps of future sea- 
 men are now themselves building a very large ship, 
 which is to be completed in the present year. When 
 I inquired if it were necessary for each to be a good 
 shipwright, the answer was, that Captain Symonds 
 was a good shipwright, and so ought to be every 
 Russian sailor. 
 
 The English language is taught here, it being sup- 
 posed necessary to the marine service. It was rather 
 curious that, in all the corridors and passages, instead 
 of the usual smell of incense, there were barrels and 
 small reservoirs of tar, to accustom the boys (I pre- 
 sume) to its delightful fragrance. The various designs 
 and nautical drawings, &c., exhibited as done by the 
 Slhes, impressed me (ignorant as I am on this subject) 
 with a great idea of the perfection which is established ; 
 and I should not think it inferior to any other insti- 
 tution of naval instruction in Europe. 
 
 M 
 
 L ECOLE DE GENIE. 
 
 Next came L'Ecole de Genie. This occupies the large 
 palace that was built by the Emperor Paul. Its gigan- 
 tic proportions, its enormous flight of steps, its grand 
 staircase, the architraves and casing of the doors, and 
 the spacious dimensions of the rooms, denote what gor- 
 geous magnificence must have been displayed formerly 
 within this edifice. I have remarked two singular cir- 
 cumstances with respect to the locale of these great 
 government endowments — either that they are almost 
 
 / 
 
232 
 
 ENGINEERS DEPARTMENT. 
 
 ,|i| 
 
 universally placed in the old palaces of former mo- 
 narchs, or that mansions of any important but decayed 
 nobles are bought by the crown, and appropriated for 
 these purposes. The palace of Paul certainly makes 
 a splendid college for the engineers' department. The 
 young el^ves have every possible advantage of tuition 
 and instruction. The dormitories, the classes, the 
 dinner, the recreation rooms, the gymnastics, are all 
 fixed after the manner of the other colleges ; there are, 
 in addition, rooms, allotted for plans and models of 
 field-works and fortified places, in the details of which 
 the scholars are instructed. I saw some beautifully 
 executed models of Riga, Aland, the Bosphorus, and 
 other interesting places ; and Russia is possibly as well 
 acquainted with the localities of all the places in the 
 four quarters of the globe, that may be interesting to 
 her empire, as any of the authorities of those places 
 themselves. 
 
 Having inspected the models, the department 
 of drawing, lithography, and engraving was next 
 exhibited ; and I can conceive nothing more admir- 
 able. The chief engraver employed is very able. 
 The finished designs are exhibited in one of the 
 rooms. Some are occasionally taken by the Emperor 
 or others of the Imperial family ; but as they increase 
 rapidly they are sent into the provinces, and sold for 
 the benefit of the establishment. The ilhes are taught 
 here also to make everything they require ; and there 
 is a separate department for the manufacture of each 
 article. 
 
 RIDING SCHOOL. 
 
 233 
 
 l'ecole d'equitation. 
 
 The inspection that followed was that of the school 
 which instructs and forms riding masters for the cavalry. 
 This is under the care of a general ofllcer and a colonel. 
 
 Young men are very eager to enter this college. 
 They have everything found them ; and, provided they 
 are competent, in six years they are sent to take 
 charge of the riding departments in regiments. The 
 candidates are, generally, sons of rich persons of the 
 better class, and not sons of actual soldiers. If they 
 behave ill, they are immediately turned away ; and 
 the whole is so liberally conducted, that there is never 
 any deficiency of candidates for admission. 
 
 You are shown the same sort of dormitories as in 
 the other establishments; and you then traverse a 
 succession of very handsome stables, each holding 
 about twenty or twenty-four horses. 
 
 These stables are kept in excellent order ; the 
 management of them is like that of English livery 
 stables. The horses of various breeds and descriptions 
 belonging to the crown were all in the best condition. 
 I understand their daily ration of forage to be much 
 the same as that of the British cavalry— ten pounds 
 of oats, twelve pounds of hay, and eight pounds of 
 straw. The stables are rather low, and a large, round, 
 brass ball is at the head of every stall-post ; this gives 
 Ji peculiarly bright and clean look to the stable. 
 The curry-comb, brush, and nose- bag, are hung to 
 
 
 i 
 
 V\ 
 
234 
 
 SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY. 
 
 M 
 
 h 
 
 each post ; and it looks much like an English cavalry 
 stable, from which these points of order may have been 
 adopted. There are soldiers in charge of the horses, 
 so that the students have nothing to do with the care 
 of them. Passing through the stables, you enter a 
 large manage ; here the instruction goes on daily. A 
 suite of apartments comes next, where there are ske- 
 letons of horses for the study of the anatomy of the 
 animal, the feet of horses, and all descriptions of shoes 
 and matters connected with farriery ; so that it is 
 intended that all who have been brought up here, 
 should be equally proficient in the veterinary art as 
 in the knowledge of the management of a hoi*se. 
 
 l'ecole de l'artillerie. 
 
 f 
 
 In like manner with L'Ecole de Genie, this foun- 
 dation receives all the young officers destined for the 
 artillery service. Here are ranged in large halls 
 every description of gun used in Europe, showing the 
 difference in the formation, use, and practice of each. 
 It is impossible that practical men should not derive 
 advantage from this mass of information, espe- 
 cially as clever and able officers direct all the 
 exercises. It is evident that, with eight or ten 
 hours a day of hard study, the lads must be ac- 
 complished and expert. In asking as to the esti- 
 mation in which the Austrian artillery was held in 
 this institution, in comparison with their own, the 
 chief officer stated, that in knowledge of the guns. 
 
 CIVIL ENGINEERING. 
 
 235 
 
 the working of them, the materials of which all their 
 field-pieces were composed, their harness, bridles, bits, 
 and everything in iron or brass work, their horses, 
 attelage, and all belonging thereto, they felt they were 
 superior, not only to the Austrians, but they conceived 
 to any artillery in Europe ; still they admitted that in 
 precision of firing and judging of distances the Aus- 
 trians surpassed them. 
 
 All the departments of designing, drawing, surveying, 
 and gunnery, are here established in regular succession, 
 together with the teaching, and the modelling and 
 making every article (except the guns themselves, 
 which are cast at the arsenal and foundry) belonging 
 to this branch of the service. 
 
 LINSTITUT DES FONTS ET DES CHAUSSEES. 
 
 This may be compared to our civil engineer depart- 
 ment; the students are practically taught the con- 
 struction of bridges, roads, and what relates to civil 
 engineering. Here again the Russians have selected 
 Germans or other foreigners for the head of the 
 direction. Nothing can show more foresight or good 
 sense than this plan, by which all the good is ab- 
 stracted from other nations by liberal salaries and 
 advantageous situations ; and when they have drawn 
 out of them all the benefit they can, and when the 
 scholars become as learned as the teachers, which, from 
 the diligence and assiduity of the former, is rapidly 
 the case, the instructors can be dismissed at pleasure. 
 
 i 
 
 
 4 
 
'I 
 
 
 236 
 
 THE ARSENALS. 
 
 L ARSENAL ET LA FONDERIE. 
 
 The arsenal is situated in the middle of Peters- 
 burgh, on the left bank of the Neva, on a prolonga- 
 tion of the English quay. It is surrounded by a great 
 display of mounted guns, mortars, and large piles of 
 balls, and makes an imposing and formidable appear- 
 ance. It is in two divisions, viz. the old arsenal and the 
 new. In the former are placed old trophies, standards, 
 arms, taken from the European and Asiatic powers, 
 with whom Russia has been at war, from time imme- 
 morial. In the latter is arranged a depot of artillery 
 of all descriptions, arms, swords, pistols, &c., where- 
 with to supply a large body of troops on any sudden 
 emergency. 
 
 On inspecting the new arsenal, I first ascended a 
 double staircase of considerable height, and a long 
 gallery presented itself, extending on each side ; 
 there are two tiers or stories belonging to it, and 
 in each are ranged in line depot guns and stores ; 
 they are on their carriages, ready for instant use, 
 and are in high order. Having examined both 
 sides, above and below, (arriving at the former tier 
 by an easy ascent at each end,) I descended the great 
 staircase, and was conducted into the lower regions, 
 which are devoted to the borifig of cannon and to the 
 manufacture of fire-arms. Here from seven to eight 
 hundred men are continually at work for eight hours 
 a day. The machinery is worked by steam; the 
 
 «• i^**"-!* II 
 
 RELICS OF ALEXANDER. 
 
 237 
 
 workmen, dressed alike in clean white flannel jackets 
 and trousers, appear neat and well trained ; these men 
 are paid daily for their labour, g^nd are not put 
 into messes, or lodged in dormitories or barracks, as in 
 the cadets' establishments. We went to the top of the 
 building, where the arms of the army are collected in 
 depot. These are cleaned and kept in order by a 
 fatigue party, daily furnished by the garrison ; and it 
 is impossible to have stands of arms in better condi- 
 tion. A large supply of sabres and swords for the 
 cavalry are also in depot. 
 
 From the new we proceeded to the old arsenal, where, 
 as I have before stated, are exhibited ancient trophies, 
 arms, and standards, captured in the victorious wars of 
 Russia. These memorials of her conquests are ranged 
 in different cabinets, designated as the Cabinet de 
 France, de la Prusse, Cabinet de TAutriche, de la Po- 
 logne, de la Turquie, and so on ; there is naturally a 
 considerable number of curious specimens of old warlike 
 instruments, spears, shields, battle-axes, &c. The 
 regularity with which everything is placed de- 
 mands the utmost admiration. The last cabinet on 
 the range is that of the Emperor Alexander ; and be- 
 yond it, in a room hung with black cloth and ap- 
 propriate escutcheons, is the funeral car on which 
 this great sovereign was carried to his last home. 
 In this cabinet one armoire contains all his uni- 
 forms, boots, and hats; another holds the deco- 
 rations and orders which he had received from the 
 different sovereigns of Europe, amongst which the 
 Garter occupies the first place ; and in a third are laid 
 
238 
 
 SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY. 
 
 I|i 
 
 out the sword-belts and sashes that were ever worn 
 by this monarch. This display inspires a kind of 
 reverential interest, pleasing, no doubt, to the gene- 
 rality of beholders, but awakening many painful recol- 
 lections in the bosoms of those who lived in the inti- 
 mate society of Alexander, and who tenderly loved 
 that departed sovereign. 
 
 Having inspected the two arsenals, I next visited 
 another corps des cadets attached to the gunnery, 
 which is founded exactly upon the same system and 
 principles as those I have already described. It is 
 composed of about five hundred eleves pour Tartillerie. 
 This is called L'Ecole d'Artillerie. 
 
 At the great foundry I then saw cast, with the 
 utmost science and ability, seven large brass thirty-six 
 pounders for the use of the navy. The perfection of 
 the moulds into which the hot metal ran, the dexterity 
 of the workmen, and the proficiency of all engaged 
 in the operation, demanded my unbounded praise; 
 and I did not fail to express it to General Eiler, com- 
 manding the artillery, (who was so obliging as to 
 show me this exhibition,) in a manner that its merits 
 called for. 
 
 L ECOLE DES PORTES ENSEIGNES DE LA GARDE. 
 
 \4 
 
 The Emperor Alexander was of opinion, that be- 
 tween the period of the young men leaving the corps 
 des cadets and getting appointed to regiments, they 
 often lost their time, and forgot much of their instruc- 
 
 COLLEGE FOR YOUNG OFFICERS, 
 
 239 
 
 tion; and therefore conceived it wise to form this 
 college, which receives all the recruits destined to 
 become officers in the cavalry or . infantry of the 
 guards. It has been founded about twelve years, and 
 is composed of about three hundred young men, who 
 are educated exclusively for the Chevalier Guard, the 
 lancers, and hussars of the guard, &c. 
 
 These young officers pay six hundred and fifty 
 roubles each yearly, as some acknowledgment, but 
 the great expense falls on the government. They have 
 a more luxurious mess, and their linen and beds are 
 better tlian in the other schools ; there is also attached 
 a riding school and stables, with about one hundred 
 horses for the instruction and use of the oflficers ; and 
 it is intended that the young ofliicers shall here make 
 their final preparations for joining their regiments. 
 
 From the stature and good looks of the young men, 
 I thouglit there was some favouritism as to the 
 selection for admission ; and as I left the place, I 
 observed groups of candidates who had just arrived, 
 and were waiting to pass the inspection of the 
 general. The edifice is not so large as many of 
 the others. It was bought by Alexander from one of 
 the nobles, for the purpose for which it is esta- 
 blished. 
 
 LES BATAILLONS DES CANTONISTES MILITAIRES. 
 
 In all the great towns of Russia these battalions 
 cantonistes militaire are established. They are formed 
 
 ,1' 
 
 J J. 
 
 i 
 
 -4 
 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
240 
 
 COLLEGE FOR YOUNG OFFICERS. 
 
 of the sons of soldiers belonging to the regimeflts of the 
 province. In the battalion which I inspected, there 
 were upwards of eight hundred boys. They are 
 clothed, fed, taught in classes, and kept until they 
 can enter the service, upon the principle already 
 described of the other colleges. With regard to their 
 subsistence, they are fed as the common soldier for 
 ten copecks a day. The boys looked cheerful, 
 healthy, and excessively clean, and were all in the 
 strictest order ; above eight hundred marched into the 
 great hall before me to dinner. Their Non Nobis, or 
 grace, made a glorious impression ; the chapel is 
 on one side of the hall, and during mass the batta- 
 lion joins in the hymns. One general has tlie 
 superintendence and inspection of all the cantonistes 
 battalions of Russia, being under the immediate com- 
 mand of a separate colonel. 
 
 I will here close my account of my military inspec- 
 tions of St. Petersburgh, entertaining a confident 
 hope, that as I have given, as well as I am able, a 
 general outline of these valuable establishments, the 
 curiosity of all my military readers will be sufficiently 
 excited to form their own judgment of them by a per- 
 sonal visit to Russia. 
 
 MILITARY FETES. 
 
 241 
 
 ;l 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 // 
 
 Military F6tes— Dinner at the Winter Palace— Intercourse of 
 Officers — The Imperial Family— The Dinner — Interesting 
 Spectacle — Gracious Invitation. 
 
 The Emperor invited me again this day to be pre- 
 sent at another fete of the most elite regiments of 
 the guard. I had already attended the fetes of two 
 regiments, and it may not be uninteresting to record 
 the origin of these festivals. The Empress Catherine 
 having then but six regiments of guards, ordained 
 that the anniversary of the formation of each reoi- 
 ment should be kept as a holiday, that the regiment 
 should parade before her, and that her Imperial 
 Majesty should give the officers of the corps a mihtary 
 dinner at the Winter Palace. 
 
 This custom has been kept up by her successors ; 
 instead, however, of having only six regiments to 
 entertain, the Emperor Nicholas has now twenty- 
 four; and consequently the fetes and dinners come 
 very often round. It is usual for the Emperor to 
 
 H 
 
 / 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 MILITARY FETES. 
 
 ask foreign officers of distinction to witness these 
 celebrations, but the corps diplomatique never attend. 
 The invitation to me was contained in the accom- 
 panying letter from General Beckendorf. 
 
 " L'aide-de-camp General Comte Beckendorf a 
 rhonneur de faire savoir a monsieur le Marquis dc 
 Londonderry, que sa Majeste I'Empereur engage son 
 excellence a assister demain, le 21 Novembre — 3 De- 
 cembre, a la parade du regiment de Simonossky, qui 
 aura lieu a I'occasion de la fete de ce regiment, a uue 
 heure apres midi, au manege des ingenieurs. On 
 sera en grande tenue." 
 
 The order of the day was in the following terms. 
 
 ' •. I 
 
 ! i 
 
 *' ORDRE DV JOUR. 
 
 " Demain, Samedi, a une heure precise, commencera 
 la fete du regiment Simonossky, par une messe 
 d'eglise, au manege du corps d'ingenieurs ; ensuite 
 le regiment passera en parade devant sa Majeste 
 TEmpereur." 
 
 The invitation to other reviews was as follows. 
 
 " L'aide-de-camp General Comte Beckendorf a 
 rhonneur de faire savoir au Marquis de London- 
 derry, que sa Majeste TEmpereur engage son excel- 
 lence a assister demain, le 17-29 Octobre, a la 
 revue de Tinfanterie des gardes, qui commencera a 
 midi, sur le champ dit Izartzincloug. On sera en 
 grande tenue : s'il pleut, la parade sera contremandee.'" 
 
 MILITARY FETES. 
 
 243 
 
 I liad already seen the fetes of the regiments of 
 Moscow and Lithuania; the arrangements on the 
 present occasion w^re on the same, scale and plan. 
 The regiment of Simonossky is of peculiar interest ; 
 it was Catherine's regiment, it was also Alexander's ; 
 and I should say it was, beyond all comparison, the 
 finest, the best sized, and most elegant corps in the 
 Russian service. 
 
 In summer the fetes of the regiments of guards 
 may be conducted out of doors, and upon a more 
 extended scale. In bad weather the foUowino- is the 
 order of the arrangement. The manege of the 
 engineers, which is the largest in St. Petersburgh, is 
 the place where the regiment assembles, and is 
 drawn up in one or two lines. The general officers of 
 the staff, and all officers on leave and sojourning at 
 St. Petersburgh, are ordered to be present. These, 
 with the foreign officers in varied splendid uniforms, 
 wait the hour of one o'clock, when his Imperial Majesty 
 and the Grand Duke Heritier arrive. The reo-iments 
 salute, the Emperor touches his hat to the assemblage 
 of officers, and proceeds into the centre of the ridino^ 
 school. Here the priests, clothed in green and gold, 
 with tapers and all the paraphernalia for high mass, and 
 the Emperor's choristers, have been previously sta- 
 tioned. The regiment or regiments now stand at ease, 
 and the mass is performed. On its conclusion, and 
 the anthem having been sung in the finest manner by 
 the court singers, the priests and their assistants 
 leave the manege, and the Emperor and Grand Duke 
 walk down the line, front and rear, and then place 
 
 R 2 
 
 UK 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 ■ I 
 
244 
 
 DINNER AT THE WINTER PALACE. 
 
 themselves, with all the staff above described, in 
 front of the regiment. The Emperor on these occa- 
 sions, and indeed on all others when I have seen him 
 with troops, never converses with or acknowledges 
 particularly any officers or persons of distinction 
 around him ; his mind and attention seem so 
 wholly absorbed in examining tlie soldiers, that he 
 is lost to everything else. The regiment then 
 marches by without arms, except the guard for 
 the day. They do not salute, but as every divi- 
 sion passes, the Emperor hails them with the 
 accustomed cheer of " How are you, my children ?" 
 to which they respond in enthusiastic roar, " We 
 thank you, our father." The corps having defiled, 
 the Emperor again touches his liat to all the officers, 
 saying, " Adieu, messieurs ;" and then walking from 
 the regiment, he exclaims, " I am satisfied with your 
 zeal and conduct, my children." " We'll do better 
 next time," is then the cry from the battalions. 
 Under this shout his Imperial Majesty, accompanied 
 by the Caesarowitch, mounts into his little open phae- 
 ton, and drives off under the sole guidance of his 
 favoured coachman, with his long black beard and liis 
 beautiful Tartar horses. 
 
 Four o'clock was the hour I was invited to dine at 
 the Winter Palace ; tlie officers began to assemble at 
 three. On arriving at the entree door, as there are 
 two entrances, (as at St. James's,) I was conducted by 
 a feld jager de la cour, who w^as in attendance, 
 through many large halls and saloons, where all the 
 invited officers of the army were assembled, until we 
 
 iu) 
 
 W 
 
 INTERCOURSE OF OFFICERS. 
 
 245 
 
 reached the Empress's cabinet, in which apartment 
 the Imperial family were first to appear. There can 
 be nothing more military or imposing than this 
 assembly of officers. It must have great effect on 
 the minds and conduct of the army, and particu- 
 larly of the guards. By this engaging hospi- 
 tah'ty, wliich is enhanced by the presence of the 
 Emperor's own family, and by the frequent inter- 
 course of the staff with the regimental officers of 
 every regiment of guards, (which these fetes allow 
 of,) the great nucleus of the army becomes as one 
 family ; each member is known to the other, not 
 alone by name, but they are acquainted with everything 
 relating to each other. The real merit of every officer 
 is prominent under the very eye of the Emperor, 
 who knows, speaks to, and addresses each by name. 
 If you compare this with the very limited reciprocal 
 knowledge that our regimental officers have of their 
 general and staff officers, or even of their monarch, 
 I am afraid we should not have much to boast of. 
 There is another advantage in these assemblies, how- 
 ever costly and expensive they may be to the 
 government. They inspire an air, manner, style of 
 dress and conduct, from the force of example thus 
 exhibited before the collected mass of officers, that 
 is very apparent. Awkwardness, carelessness, and 
 want of uniformitj^ in dress, or in the mode of putting 
 on appointments, is seldom to be observed amongst 
 Russian officers; and I cannot but attribute to this 
 frequent habit of exhibition before their sovereign 
 the remarkable fact, that every officer in the guards 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 k 
 
 
f 
 
 I" 
 
 lli 
 
 246 
 
 THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. 
 
 of the Russian army is so thoroughly a gentleman 
 in demeanour, carriage, and appearance. The ex- 
 treme civility of the officers is another circum- 
 stance that a stranger cannot fail to observe. At 
 the court of St. James's who makes way for another ? 
 But at St. Petersburgh there is an obliging empresse- 
 ment to give way and be accommodating to foreigners, 
 that is very agreeable ; and if it be the province of soi- 
 disant barbarism to show a proper respect for one's 
 superiors, and to pay them due deference, I confess, 
 in my mind, it is preferable to the rudeness of civili- 
 sation. It will be admitted by every one who sees the 
 Russian army, that the officers are the best and most 
 uniformly dressed of any in Europe, and equally so 
 on service ; and however distinguished were the 
 bravery and good conduct of our valiant army in the 
 Peninsula, I always lamented their inattention to 
 this necessary point. 
 
 Having threaded my way through the deep lines 
 and columns of officers, most of whom were deco- 
 rated with crosses and ribbons, I reached the Em- 
 press's cabinet. Here a large blaze of light, reflected 
 from Malachite tripods, jasper columns, and gilded 
 doors, gave the impression that you had arrived in 
 some temple of the sun ; but before I could examine 
 the locale, the Imperial family made their appearance 
 from an adjoining room. The Empress, dressed in light 
 blue velvet covered with pearls, made her obeisance to 
 the circle, and said something obliging to the most pro- 
 minent individuals. The Emperor followed in like 
 manner, wearing the uniform of the regiment, then 
 
 I 
 
 THE DINNER. 
 
 247 
 
 the Heritier, the Grand Duchess Olga, and Marie ; 
 last, and not least remarkable, in the train, were the 
 little Grand Dukes, of five and ^ix years old, in 
 Cossack attire. 
 
 The circle having been gone round, we pro- 
 ceeded to la salle blanche, where the banquet was 
 served. I have seen many Imperial and Royal 
 dinners and fetes of sovereigns in Europe, at Vienna, 
 Paris, and London ; but this entertainment surpassed 
 them all. We sat down above four hundred. The 
 salle was lighted by four thousand bougies ; the dinner 
 was served certainly a la Russe, but was hot and ex- 
 cellent. The wines were of every description ; the 
 or-molu ornaments and confectionery which decorated 
 the table, were not only splendidly handsome, but the 
 latter in great perfection, and the dessert was laid out 
 on a Russian porcelain service, on which were painted 
 the devices and uniforms of every regiment in the 
 Russian army. The Empress sat in the middle of the 
 centre table, having the Heritier on her right, the 
 Prince of Oldenburgh on her left, and the other 
 branches of the Imperial family next her. The Em- 
 peror, as is usual on these occasions, was opposite to 
 her Imperial Majesty, with the two oldest officers of 
 the regiment on his right and left. At a particular 
 moment of the repast, the Emperor rose and said, 
 " Je porte a la santedes officiers du regiment." Every 
 body stands ; they then reseat themselves in silence, 
 and there are no further speeches or demonstrations of 
 any kind. 
 
 After coffee is handed round, the Imperial circle 
 
 ,< I 
 
 / 
 
 
248 
 
 INTERESTING SPECTACLE. 
 
 rise and proceed to the rooms of the Empress. On 
 this occasion there was a peculiarly interesting spec- 
 tacle. As the regiment was one in which the Imperial 
 family had all served, and as the young Grand Dukes 
 will be first placed in it, the Emperor, to show his re- 
 spect and attachment to this corps, had arranged the 
 following exhibition. 
 
 In the interior of the salle blanche^ on each side of 
 the door, were placed two of the finest grenadiers of 
 the regiment, measuring at least six feet two or three 
 inches. When we had passed these in the outer hall, 
 to our amazement we belield the two little Grand 
 Dukes standing as sentinels, and dressed with minute 
 exactness as privates of the regiment, with their knap- 
 sacks, great coats, haversacks, all in marching order. 
 To the inexpressible amusement of every body, the Em- 
 peror himself then put the little princes through the 
 manual and platoon exercise, which they both did 
 incomparably. The universal delight, from the oldest 
 general to the lowest subaltern of the guards, was some- 
 thing I cannot describe. It may be said that this is 
 theatrical, but I reply that it is not in human nature to 
 believe that such meetings, and such perfect harmony 
 and general good-will towards all, should not cement 
 feelings of loyalty and devotion far more than in those 
 services where neither sovereign, nor generals, nor 
 superior staff officers, ever mix with the regimental 
 officers or other subaltern officers of the army. 
 
 The 6tl| of December, old style, is one of the great 
 fetes of ttie empire. On this day they keep the 
 Emperor's birth-day, and it is generally observed 
 
 '■J 
 
 y 
 
 X 
 
 GRACIOUS INVITATION. 
 
 249 
 
 ( 
 
 by a great morning ceremony, and a ball in the 
 salle blanche of the Palais d'Hiver, of twelve or 
 fifteen hundred people. On this ?inniversary, how- 
 ever, in consequence of the announcement of the 
 death at Berlin of the Princess Louise Radzivil of 
 Prussia, the ball was postponed to the following week. 
 The court reception corresponds to the Queen's birth- 
 day in England ; that is to say, all the noblesse of 
 Russia, and the society received at court, are expected, 
 as a duty, to attend at the baiseinains, which, how- 
 ever, is performed in a very different manner from 
 that of St. James's. 
 
 Previously to this great presentation, a grand mass 
 is performed in the Greek chapel within the palace. 
 The corps diplomatique are received in a room espe- 
 cially allotted for that purpose, where they pay their 
 compliments to the Empress and Emperor. They 
 are not present at the mass, nor any other part of the 
 ceremony. The Emperor had heard that Lady Lon- 
 donderry and myself were very desirous of being ad- 
 mitted to see the whole of this extraordinary and 
 splendid exhibition, and at one of the private balls of 
 the Anishkoff* Palace his Imperial Majesty said to me, 
 " If you desire to see our great ceremony, although no 
 strangers are ever admitted to it, I will make an 
 exception for you. But you must come amongst the 
 crowd ; you know I cannot say this to madame voire 
 epouse, but you understand me, and will attend, wear- 
 ing our Russian Order of St. George, with my aides- 
 de-camp generaux." I bowed, and assured his Imperial 
 Majesty of the great gratification his condescension 
 gave me. 
 
 i 
 
 I' 
 
 I 
 
V 
 
 II « 
 
 \ 
 
 
 250 
 
 ASSEMBLING AT THE PALACE. 
 
 ASSEMBLING AT THE PALACE. 
 
 251 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Assembling at the Palace — The Imperial Cortege — Procession — 
 High Mass— Kissing Hands — Christmas Day— Russian Deco- 
 ration — The Emperor and Empress — Splendid Spectacle — High 
 Mass — Mournful Ceremony— Benediction of the Colours. 
 
 We were ordered to assemble at eleven o'clock in the 
 morning at the Palais d'Hiver. In the immense area 
 before the palace all the equipages of Petersbuigh of 
 any note were drawn up, each with their accustomed 
 attelage of four horses, together with a crowd of 
 sledges, on which the military officers arrived. There 
 were no brilliant or fine carriages and horses as in 
 London, nor were the servants clothed better than at 
 the ordinary assemblies or dinners. The weather 
 was very cold, with much snow on the ground, and all 
 the attendants were wrapped in furs and skins. The 
 entrance into the palace is by two or three different 
 great staircases, so that there is no inconvenient crowd, 
 and all have their doors of entry. The moment you 
 come in, the climate, by means of the quantity of hot- 
 air stoves, is perfect. You are then led by the couriers 
 of the court and running footmen through the immense 
 mass of reception-rooms which are prepared to hold 
 
 the company. It is quite in vain to attempt a recapi- 
 tulation of them. 
 
 The ladies were stopped, after having traversed half 
 a dozen rooms filled with the palace servants in 
 sumptuous liveries, in the first great saloon, where 
 ladies exclusively assemble ; the richness of their Rus- 
 sian costume, their long pendent veils, their broad- 
 fronted caps covered with jewels as numerous as 
 resplendent, and of as many precious stones as the 
 variety of the tints of the caps themselves, presented a 
 matchless coup d'ceil. 
 
 Long should I have remained transfixed in gazing 
 at this perfection of nature and art so curiously com- 
 bined, if I had not been pressed on by my conductor, 
 w^ho assured me I ought to hasten to the apartment 
 where the aides-de-camp gen^raux were assembled. 
 I proceeded and saw in succession " the Conseil Priv6 
 de TEmpereur," composed of about forty or fifty of 
 the first men of the empire, who were placed in a 
 great hall by themselves. Next, in another saloon, 
 were the senate, two or three hundred, all in scar- 
 let, with the richest gold embroidery ; then the 
 civilians and diplomatists, with light-blue dress coats 
 equally costly ; after these came the other civil 
 branches of the state ; and, finally, in the last magni- 
 ficent apartment, all the marine, artillery, and military 
 officers were assembled in groups formed by their 
 respective branches of the service, and the aides-de- 
 camp g^neraux and superior officers were placed at 
 the head of the room. 
 
 It is in vain to attemi)t giving any idea of the uni- 
 
 \) \ 
 
 J! 
 
 / 
 
 I' 
 
 \ 
 
 
'II 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
 252 
 
 THE IMPERIAL CORTEGE. 
 
 forms of the cuirassiers, liuzzars, dragoons, and infantry 
 of every denomination, Cossacks, Circassians, Geor- 
 gians ; neither can any one conceive the number of 
 stars, ribbons, decorations in diamonds, and orders of 
 all nations, tliat appeared on the breasts of these mar- 
 tial heroes. The admirable arrangement and order 
 that reigned, gave each his proper place, and without 
 the least semblance of confusion. All appeared h'ke 
 clock-work, and I was never before so struck with the 
 magical effect of order. 
 
 In a few minutes afterwards I was next to General 
 Czemicheff, the minister of war, and at the head of 
 the aides-de-camp generaux. A movement in the 
 adjoining anteroom announced the approach of the 
 Imperial cortege. At least one hundred gentil- 
 hornmes de la cour, clothed in dark green and gold 
 embroidery, far surpassing that on the full dress of 
 our cabinet ministers, filed off two and two before 
 me. After these in succession came, accordinir to 
 their rank, the great chargts de cour, and then tlie 
 Emperor, with the Empress on his riglit. His Im- 
 perial Majesty wore the uniform of the Hetman of the 
 Cossacks, and the Empress, being one blaze of jewels, 
 had her crown surmounted with rows of pearls in- 
 numerable, some of which were nearly as large as 
 pigeons' eggs. These jewels of the crown are beyond 
 everything costly and unique. The Empress's train 
 was of deep crimson velvet. The Heritier, wlio 
 was next in procession, was in a Russian general's 
 uniform, to which rank he had been that day pro- 
 moted. Then came the two beautiful Princesses 
 
 PROCESSION. — HIGH MASS. 
 
 253 
 
 Olga and Marie, in light blue velvet trains and 
 dresses covered with pearls; their fascination, their 
 simplicity, their perfection in grac.e, tournure, and 
 every feminine attribute, no writer can adequately 
 describe. The Grand Duchess Helen followed, and 
 then about seventy or eighty of les demoiselles de la 
 chamhre, or les demoiselles d 'honneur of the Empress ; 
 they being, however, preceded by the stately and 
 somewhat more antiquated dames d 'honneur. Some 
 latitude in dress is allowed to the latter, but les demoi- 
 selles must all appear in robes and trains of scarlet, 
 and no other ladies are allowed to assume any of the 
 three colours of crimson, light blue, or scarlet, these 
 being exclusively confined to the court. 
 
 This grand procession now moved on to the gor- 
 geous Greek chapel, the assembled multitude in the 
 different apartments falling in successively and follow^- 
 ing in column. Arrived at the sanctuary, high mass 
 was performed in the most imposing manner; the 
 high priests and clergy belonging to the court oflici- 
 ating in their resplendent robes, and the choristers of 
 the Imperial chapels, with the best from all the cathe- 
 drals and cliurches in Petersburgh, being present to 
 enhance the grandeur of the ceremony— the surround- 
 ing court making their reverences and prostrations 
 lower and more reverential, probably, than ordinary, 
 from their being in the presence of their sovereign. 
 Having written an account of the mass at Czarskoeselo, 
 the further details of this ceremony (although far sur- 
 passing that in splendour) was in the same character, 
 and need not be repeated. At its conclusion the me- 
 
 
254 
 
 KISSING HANDS. 
 
 tropolitans and all the dignitaries of the church, higli 
 and low, advanced from the sanctuary to make their 
 felicitations to the Imperial pair. The aged ecclesi- 
 astics, with their long beards and sumptuous robes, 
 the flowing hair and the bald heads, claimed alike, in 
 this group, their different portions of attention. When 
 all had paid their duties, the corihge retrograded in tlie 
 same order, the Empress being led, on her retuiii 
 from tlie salle blanche, into her own private apartments 
 and boudoir. The doors of the former were shut for 
 half an hour, when the company grouped themselves 
 in circles, and general conversation and intercourse 
 took place, which was impossible until this period of 
 the ceremony. In half an hour, when the Empress 
 had sufficiently reposed, the doors of the private 
 apartment were unclosed, and the baiseniains took 
 place. The Emperor during tliis part of the cere- 
 mony retired to his own room, and was not seen 
 after the church service. The mode of going through 
 the kissing of her Imperial Majesty's hand is far dif- 
 ferent from that in England. Instead of hurrying as 
 if to escape being squeezed to deatli, old men, young 
 women, dowagers, admirals, generals, dandies with 
 swords between their legs and uniforms catching in 
 ladies' lace ; — instead of a scene of this sort, in which 
 the motley crowd appear to be pressing up and run- 
 ning as if they were starting for a plate, — this Imperial 
 proceeding is performed, like clock-work, with the 
 utmost precision and regularity, and there was no dif- 
 ficulty whatever in marshalling and arranging all 
 according to rank and sex. On the great doors being 
 
 ^n 
 
 CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 255 
 
 opened, tlie Grand Marshal and the Master of the 
 Ceremonies place themselves on each side, and the 
 ladies present are summoned according to their rank, 
 and pass singly in succession into the Empress's apart- 
 ment. Her Imperial Majesty leaned on a railing of 
 brass, having ^jardinihre in the centre, and those who 
 had kissed her hand passed one by one round this 
 centre jardiniere, and went out through a door at the 
 farther end of the boudoir, which again led to the 
 rooms in which the court first assembled. 
 
 Zes dames d'honneur of the Empress, and next the 
 wives of the ministers, approached her Imperial Ma- 
 jesty in the first instance. After les dames d'honneur 
 came the whole of the female nobility, according to 
 their rank ; and then the wives and daughters of the 
 civil and military functionaries. 
 
 The whole of the ladies having gone through the 
 ceremony, the turn of the gentlemen begins, which is 
 conducted in similar order, and when finished all pro- 
 ceed to their carriages as soon as they can get away. 
 And thus ended one of the grandest and sublimest 
 spectacles I ever beheld. 
 
 The ceremony of Christmas day is celebrated in St. 
 Petersburgh with a mixed religious and military so- 
 lemnity that deserves particular notice. It is the day 
 on which it has been decreed to mark throughout 
 the empire, by a solemn Te Deum, the deliverance of 
 Russia from the invasion of the French in 1812, and 
 likewise the entry of the allies into Paris in 1814. 
 Combining these two extraordinary and eventful 
 crises, the sovereigns of Russia have resorted to every 
 
 ' 'I 
 
•256 
 
 RUSSIAN DECORATION. 
 
 I 
 
 .1 
 
 expedient of pomp and display to preserve the remem- 
 brance of these epochs fresh in the recollection of the 
 nation. But, in addition to the glorious and joyous 
 occurrences which are commemorated, they mingle 
 their lamentations for the Emperor Alexander's un- 
 timely death, which happened many years after. 
 Ebullitions of joy and sorrow in the same hour detract 
 from the hilarity of the one, and the sadness of 
 the other ; but I shall describe the scenes of the day, 
 as far as I remember them. I believe I am the only 
 foreign officer that has ever been permitted to witness 
 the whole of this imposing ceremony. It is a strict 
 rule, that every person present shall be decorated 
 either with the medal for the deliverance of Moscow, 
 or the capture of Paris. It was, therefore, with no 
 small satisfaction that I received, by order of the Em- 
 peror, from Prince Volkonski, in the following flatter- 
 ing letter, a few days preceding the ceremony, the 
 Russian medal for the Prise de Paris, Having served 
 at the battles of Leipsic and of Paris, and having 
 marched in at the surrender of Paris close to the Em- 
 peror Alexander and King of Prussia, the Emperor 
 Nicholas under the regulations presented me with this 
 decoration. 
 
 :] 
 
 « St. Petersbourg, 5 Janvier, 1837. 
 
 " Monsieur le Marquis, 
 
 " Sa Majeste TEmpereur a voulu profiter du sejour 
 
 de votre Seigneurie a St. Petersbourg, a I'epoque oii 
 
 Peglise celebre la delivrance de la Russie de Tinva- 
 
 sion de Tennemi en 1812, pour vous offrir la medaille 
 
 
 SPLENDID SPECTACLE. 
 
 257 
 
 instituee en commemoration de la prise de Paris en 
 1814. Sa Majeste Imperiale m'a en consequence 
 charge de vous faire parvenir cette .medaille, en vous 
 priant de vous en decorer pour la ceremonie du 25 de 
 ce mois, et de continuer a la porter en souvenir de la 
 campagne glorieuse qu'elle rappelle, et a laquelle votre 
 Seigneurie a pris une part si active et si noble. En 
 m'acquittant de cet ordre de sa Majeste, mon auguste 
 souverain, j'ai Thonneur d'offi-ir a votre Seigneurie les 
 assurances de ma tres haute consideration. 
 
 (Sign6) " Le Prince Volkonski. 
 
 *' A Monsieur 
 " Le Marquis de Londonderry'' 
 
 The officers and troops of the regiments in garrison at 
 St. Petersburgh assembled at half past ten within the 
 apartments of the Palais d'Hiver. They were drawn up 
 in the different rooms in columns, or in divisions, or in 
 line, according to the size and construction of them. 
 The remnant of the grenadiers of 1814, amounting to 
 about three hundred, who had been at the capture of 
 Paris, were exclusively ranged on each side of the mili- 
 tary portrait gallery, in which place the most solemn part 
 of the mournful ceremony was afterwards performed. 
 
 The different corps were formed regimentally, with 
 their colours, music, drums, and officers in front. 
 The chevalier gardes, gardes a cheval, hussars, and 
 artillery, were in the outer rooms. The three re- 
 giments of guards mainly occupied la salle blanche 
 and the great supper-room ; the general officers, staff, 
 aides-de-camp generaux, and other military officers at 
 
 VOL I. s 
 
 
258 
 
 SPLENDID SPECTACLE. 
 
 S ^ 
 
 St. Petersburgh unattached, were assembled in the 
 outer corridor to the salle blanche, I was directed to be 
 at the palace by eleven, but was a few moments after 
 the time. The Emperor had arrived and asked for 
 me ; I was hurried through the crowd of officers to la 
 salle blanche^ where I found his Imperial Majesty, with 
 all his cortege and suite, commanding the troops in 
 person. His salutation was short — " Mon cher, je vous 
 fais mes felicitations ;" and he passed on. The regi- 
 ment of Moscow and the first regiment occupied 
 the room. When the Emperor had inspected the 
 troops, he returned to the Empress's apartments, to 
 lead her and the Imperial family to the ceremony. 
 She came forth from her boudoir, covered with jewels, 
 surrounded by the Grand Duchess, the dames and de- 
 moiselles d'honneur. The largest brilliants deco- 
 rated her head ; her robe was of light-blue velvet, 
 trimmed with costly ermine. It was scarcely pos- 
 sible for the eye to rest on anything but diamonds 
 and pearls in this dress of matchless splendour, so well 
 suited to the grace and dignity of deportment of this 
 noble woman, whose matchless person, added to the 
 action of her arms, and the display of her beautiful 
 hands, render her an object the contemplation of 
 which one could hardly leave. Her two lovely daugh- 
 ters followed her like two attendant angels ; they were 
 clothed in the palest pink velvet, trimmed, as was the 
 robe of the Empress, with ermine ; on their heads they 
 wore caps, with long veils. They equalled, but never 
 can surpass, their mother in feminine attraction. The 
 Empress was conducted by Prince Charles of Prussia, 
 
 V 
 
 HIGH MASS. 
 
 259 
 
 who had arrived at Petersburgh on a visit, and was 
 followed by the Heritier and great officers of state. 
 The Emperor proceeded and received them at the 
 head of the guards in la salle blanche. 
 
 The general salute was electrifying. Such indescrib- 
 able sounds of warlike instruments are, perhaps, 
 rarely or never heard in so comparatively confined a 
 space ; but the sense of hearing was lost in that of sight. 
 The grandeur and appearance of the troops, who 
 looked superb in this Imperial residence of the Czars ; 
 the stars and decorations; the splendid uniforms of 
 the military and staflT officers and civil charges de 
 cour ; the unrivalled beauty of the Empress and her 
 daughters ; the variegated colours of the Russian caps 
 and trains of the dames and demoiselles d'honneur ; 
 the costly and rich ornaments of the rooms, where 
 loads of gilt plate were displayed to prepare for the 
 supper of the evening, and which was already in its 
 place ;— these united objects dazzled and bewildered 
 the thoughts, and I feel quite persuaded there is no 
 court in the world that can exhibit such a mass of 
 treasures. 
 
 When the Emperor's reception of her Imperial Ma- 
 jesty at the head of the troops was finished, the proces- 
 sion moved on to the great chapel for the ceremony of 
 high mass and the Te Deum, which was to be per- 
 formed by the MetropoUtan of Moscow and the synod. 
 It was a solemn thanksgiving for the salvation of Rus- 
 sia, and during the prayers the guns on all the ram- 
 parts of the castle of St. Petersburgh were firing 
 salutes. At the altar, in advance of the whole, stood 
 
 s 2 
 
 ■; 
 
 I 
 
H 
 
 260 
 
 MOURNFUL CEREMONY. 
 
 BENEDICTION OF THE COLOURS. 
 
 261 
 
 W 
 
 4 
 
 'i'f 
 
 ^ 
 
 the Emperor, Empress, and Prince Charles of Prussia ; 
 the Heritier and two sisters behind. At the close of 
 the mass, those present fell on their knees during tlie 
 Te Deum, in which, as it appeared to me, all the 
 high priests of Russia took part; they were clothed in 
 new and glittering robes of scarlet and gold embroi- 
 dery, and issued out of the sacristy, bearing emblems 
 of the host, the blessed bread, the salt, and all tlie 
 elements of their religion. At the close of one 
 of the most touching anthems I ever heard chanted, 
 the Emperor disappeared, again to place himself at 
 the head of the troops, and the Imperial family and 
 court proceeded to the gallery of military portraits, 
 where the church service to the memory of the Em- 
 peror Alexander was to be performed, and sacred mu- 
 sic was plaintively bewailing the loss of the brave 
 men who had fallen during the campaigns of 1812, 
 1813, and 1814. 
 
 When the head of the procession reached the gallery, 
 having passed through all the apartments, (where 
 select detachments of non-commissioned officers and 
 soldiers, decorated with the medals, were drawn up,) 
 a guard of inspection was posted at the gallery en- 
 trance ; and the civilians, and military, and ladies went 
 to the right and left through other adjoining apart- 
 ments, leaving the centre door of the gallery to be 
 entered alone by officers wearing the medal for the 
 campaigns, the guards being charged to let no man 
 pass without this decoration. Passing through the 
 door with Count Orloff and General Benkendorff, I 
 perceived the old grenadiers of 1813 and 1814, with 
 
 arms reversed in gloomy sadness, drawn up on each 
 side of the long gallery under the portraits of their de- 
 parted chief, and of those generals whom Providence 
 had still spared. These fine soldiers contemplated the 
 passing files of all their distinguished commanders 
 present who had received their orders of merit. The 
 description of a ceremony so solemn, so imposing, and 
 so affecting, surpasses my powers ; and it is impos- 
 sible that such exhibitions should not produce the 
 spirit of emulation, and a lasting impression on the 
 great military nation that has established the annual 
 observance of them. We marched to the top of the 
 gallery as above described, and there the high priests 
 were assembled before the portrait of Alexander. 
 The Empress and her ladies, the Grand Duchesses, 
 the Heritier, and Prince of Prussia, stood close to the 
 Metropolitan ; the general officers were arranged 
 according to rank. Prayers were then solemnly 
 offered up by more than one hundred priests for the 
 Imperial family, and for the continual success of 
 the Russian arms. Then came mournful sounds of 
 lamentation for the dead ; the deep-toned sacred 
 melody of the choristers followed, and the mixture of 
 agonising moans and plaintive notes vibrated to the 
 heart ; the sacred habits of the priests, the tapers, 
 the incense, all added to the impression of this service 
 for the dead. The benedictions of the colours fol- 
 lowed ; and then the Emperor, placing himself with 
 his drawn sword on the riglit of the Metropolitan, 
 proceeded witli him (the advanced guard being formed 
 by all the priesthood) along the front, and between 
 
I!i> 
 
 <ii|i 
 
 ill 
 
 m 
 
 262 
 
 BENEDICTION OF THE COLOURS. 
 
 the ranks of the soldiers, — this greatest dignitary of 
 the Greek Church giving to them all his benediction 
 as he passed. The Empress and the cortege followed ; 
 the troops receiving the whole with presented arms 
 on the return to the gallery of portraits, and within 
 the place marked off for the altar. The body of the 
 priesthood, being saluted by the Imperial family and 
 circle, disappeared. They then proceeded to the 
 Marble Hall, where all officers wearing the medal 
 were received and paid their court. The assembled 
 troops then presented arms again, and the old grena- 
 diers of 1813 and 1814, from the military gallery^ 
 filed off singly, and were complimented by their 
 brethren in arms. 
 
 After the veteran grenadiers, the other corps 
 marched on in succession. The Imperial family 
 retired to their apartments, and this great ceremony 
 ended. 
 
 SINGULAR CEREMONY. 
 
 263 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Singular Ceremony— The Metropolitan— The Procession— Bless- 
 ing the Waters — Dangerous Superstition —The Empress's 
 Rooms— Splendid Entertainments — The Imperial Court Pub- 
 lic Decorum— Deat.. • lexander— Heroism of Nicholas— His 
 Military Knowledtje— His Universal Proficiency. 
 
 I WAS invited shortly after to another singular and 
 extraordinary ceremony, which is one of the supersti- 
 tious rites of the Greek religion. The Gth of January, 
 old style, is the day set apart throughout the empire 
 for blessing the waters. In every city and place 
 in Russia, this solemn religious ceremony takes place 
 on this day. I repaired by invitation to the palace 
 at eleven, and was placed, as before, among the aides- 
 de-camp generaux of the Emperor. Lady London- 
 derry had received a special letter of request from 
 Prince Volkonski to attend at the Empress's apart- 
 ments to see the procession, and afterwards to inspect 
 her Imperial Majesty's jewels. The troops of the 
 regiments of the guards in garrison at St. Petersburgh 
 were formed pretty much in the same manner as 
 tliey were on New Year's day. They lined the 
 saloons of the Palais dTIiver, and the officers assem- 
 
264 
 
 THE METROPOLITAN. 
 
 w 
 
 *!' 
 
 mi 
 
 
 bled, as before, in la salle blanche. At eleven the 
 Emperor, accompanied by Prince Charles of Prussia 
 and the Heritier, arrived, and the column of proces- 
 sion was formed to the palace chapel, where higli 
 mass was performed. On this occasion (the only one 
 in the year) the Archbishop or Metropolitan performs 
 the service himself, and it is done with all due 
 pomp and solemnity. The high priests and clergy 
 assisting were clothed in more costly robes than on 
 any former occasion. The Metropolitan, who is a 
 man of small stature, seemed buried under the weight 
 of his garments of gold, and of his cap, in which 
 every jewel of the East seemed to be concentred. 
 The Emperor and Prince Charles stood together near 
 the altar, the Grand Duke behind them ; and all 
 others present formed a circle around them. No 
 ladies were present. The mass being ended, and the 
 Te Dewn chanted, the great banners of the chapel 
 were taken up by the attending clergy, to be borne 
 out upon the waters, together with the sacred cups, 
 books, and the symbol of the host, which were lifted 
 up and carried by the priests. The young boys of the 
 corps of choristers next struck up a hymn of praise, 
 and formed three abreast, followed by the gentlemen 
 singers in like order. They marched through tlie 
 whole of the rooms of the palace to the great stair- 
 case leading to the Neva. After the above, appeared 
 all the sacred emblems borne by the priests, two and 
 two, of whom more than three hundred filed oft', 
 carrying these offerings and rich religious relics^ 
 Their rear was closed by the Metropolitan himself, 
 
 % 
 
 % 
 
 THE PROCESSION. 
 
 265 
 
 witli train-bearers, &c. After the head dignitary of 
 the church, the Emperor came in Cossack dress, with 
 his head bare; behind him folio wed. his aides-de-camp 
 generaux, and all the civil and military officers of the 
 empire in the capital. On coming to the grand 
 door of the palace, the cold was near twenty-eiglit 
 degrees, and the snow was falling in thick masses ; the 
 atmosphere was dense and foggy, and yet, notwith- 
 standing all this inclemency of weather, countless 
 multitudes appeared on the quay, on the banks, and 
 on the waters of the Neva. The Emperor stopped 
 on the staircase, and ordered Prince Charles of 
 Prussia and the Grand Duke not to go out of doors 
 and expose themselves to the tremendous weather 
 that was raging. They obeyed his Imperial Majesty's 
 orders. He was kind enough to address me in a 
 similar strain. I replied that his Imperial Majesty 
 had been so obliging as to place me among his 
 aides-de-camp generaux, and I trusted he would allow 
 me to attend his person as they did. 
 
 We left the palace, and walked in solemn proces- 
 sion, amongst the mass of the inhabitants of St. 
 Petersburgh, without cloaks, and bareheaded, in splen- 
 did uniforms and diamond decorations, in cordons 
 of all colours, and in uniforms of all classes and 
 descriptions, in one of the most pitiless snow-storms 
 that ever descended from the heavens, along the 
 terrace and quays of the Neva, for a considerable 
 distance, until we were opposite the windows of the 
 Empress, where her Imperial Majesty and her ladies 
 were assembled. We then turned to the Neva, and 
 
li 
 
 266 
 
 BLESSING THE WATERS. 
 
 f 
 
 1 1 
 
 -5 
 
 II 
 
 and proceeded on the ice to a temple which was erected 
 on the river. The clergy and the head of the 
 corthge assembled around and within it. A loud 
 mass was then sung ; at its conclusion the Metropo- 
 litan, taking off his upper garments and seizing a 
 large basin and tankard, descended a staircase leading 
 from the inside of the temple to the water, a large 
 hole having been made in the ice under the temple. 
 His eminence shortly appeared from below, having 
 blessed the waters ; and bearing them in the jug 
 and salver, he proceeded to the Emperor, who 
 plunged his face and hands into the vessel ; then 
 the grand priest, dipping a brush into the water, 
 sprinkled his Imperial Majesty all over, invoking 
 at the same time the blessing of Heaven on Russia 
 and its monarch. The Metropolitan next proceeded 
 to sprinkle and give his benediction to all the standards 
 and colours which had been collected round the tem- 
 ple, and afterwards to the officers, civil and military, 
 who were besprinkled in a similar manner. During 
 this period salutes of artillery from tlie fortress con- 
 tinued to be discliarged, but the multitude remained 
 in breathless awe and silence. One of the officiating 
 clergy had been despatched, so soon as the Metro- 
 politan had blessed the waters of the Neva, to the 
 Empress within the palace, bearing vessels and goblets 
 for her Imperial Majesty and the ladies, filled with 
 the holy water ; and when the procession resumed its 
 way back to the palace, the whole populace rushed 
 to the temple to drink or to touch the waters. 
 
 It is difficult to account for the extreme superstition 
 
 A^. 
 
 <v 
 
 DANGEROUS SUPERSTITION. 
 
 267 
 
 which pei-vades the lower class of Russians, even to 
 this day, in regard to this ceremony. Children that 
 are born on the night preceding this. consecration, are 
 sent with their nurses and plunged into this hole under 
 the ice, and it is believed, if they endure it, (which 
 many do not,) that they will be free from every danger 
 through life. The little ones occasionally perish 
 from the effiscts of this experiment, and in some 
 instances the frozen hands of those who plunge them 
 under the waters are not able to hold them, when 
 slipping from their grasp they perish, and are imme- 
 diately considered as angels on high. How long 
 this will last amongst a people whose nobles and 
 higher classes are every day rejecting the obsolete 
 and barbarous notions of early times, it is impossible 
 to pronounce. Nothing, however, can excite more 
 astonishment and wonder in the mind of a Protestant 
 Christian than the scenes I have above described. 
 
 In this ceremony of blessing the waters at the 
 pavilion on the Neva, the children carry thick birch 
 brushes and bundles of clean linen, and the eflfect of 
 seeing them all flocking and running to the ceremony, 
 urged on by superstition such as this, is very remark- 
 able. 
 
 The Emperor, cold and wet to the skin, with all 
 the corthge covered with snow, and entirely drenched, 
 in all their splendid ribbons, stars, &c., now returned 
 to the palace, the troops and procession falling in as at 
 first, the standards and colours being carried back to the 
 centre of their corps. After a general salute, the 
 clergy, priests, and choristers disappeared with their 
 
268 
 
 THE EMPKESS'S KOOMS. 
 
 Sl'LENDID ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 269 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 II 
 
 symbols and emblems into the sacristy behind the 
 altar ; the troops of the guards filed off before the Em- 
 peror and Prince Charles. His Imperial Majesty 
 next went to the apartments of the Empress, where a 
 dejeuner a lafourchette was provided ; and her Impe- 
 rial Majesty and the Grand Duchesses, with the 
 greatest kindness and amiability, displayed all their 
 jewels, and whatever was costly and precious within 
 their apartments, to their visiters. Nothing can sur- 
 pass the exquisite beauty, comfort, luxury, and riches 
 of the Empress's rooms. You see in all her arrange- 
 ments not only la grande dame^ la belle gracieuse^ la 
 mere tendre, but a moral and religious characteristic 
 is observable in all that surrounds her. She seems 
 to be more innately good than any person I ever 
 contemplated. In an outlet from these delicious 
 rooms is a small cabinet entirely dedicated to her 
 Majesty's private devotions. In this a cast, after 
 death, of her beautiful mother, the late Queen of 
 Prussia, is placed, with crucifixes and sacred por- 
 traits : the simplicity of the retreat is a striking con- 
 trast to the fairy abode adjoining it. 
 
 We were summoned from a close inspection of trea- 
 sures which it would be impossible for me adequately 
 to point out, to attend the Emperor again, who was pre- 
 paring to inspect the corps des cadets nobles, who were 
 assembled, after the departure of the garrison, in la 
 salle blanche for this purpose. They had dined in 
 the palace, and were now formed in columns and 
 divisions for review. The Prince of Oldenburg was 
 at their head. The Emperor in person took the com- 
 
 mand of these young men ; and it was with consider- 
 able surprise I saw him not only manoeuvre them in 
 column and in line, but actually put them through 
 the manual and platoon exercises as perfectly as the 
 major or adjutant of any battalion in his service. 
 Having kept them at drill about half an hour, his 
 Imperial Majesty ordered them to be marched off. 
 It was singular and interesting, as regarded the Em- 
 peror in this spectacle, to observe his second son, the 
 young Grand Duke Constantine, fall in, dressed as a 
 cadet, and exercised as any other of the regiment, and 
 the little Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas acting as 
 pivot sergeants during the movements. The Emperor 
 now gave us a conge with the greatest affability. 
 
 It may not now be wholly uninteresting to give a 
 sliglit sketch of the society and manners of the court 
 and capital. Brilliant as all the Imperial receptions 
 are, refulgent in costliness and luxuries, planned with 
 the greatest order and etiquette, I must also affirm 
 tliat the entertainments given by the nobles, the high 
 court officers, and the ambassadors of foreign courts 
 in the capital, are no less astonishing for their ex- 
 pense and splendour, and very far exceed those of 
 any other capital in Europe. I think it is not diffi- 
 cult to account for this. The sovereign gives the abso- 
 lute tone and style to everything connected with the 
 empire ; how impressive, then, must be his example on 
 those who are daily and hourly under his personal 
 notice and observation! Nicholas, though most tern- 
 perate and moderate in his own tastes and habits, 
 has been thoroughly initiated into all the pomp 
 
m 
 
 270 
 
 THE IMPERIAL COURT. 
 
 PUBLIC DECORUM. 
 
 271 
 
 IM 
 
 I 
 
 li 
 
 and grandeur of the countries of Southern Europe. 
 With an ardent desire to establish rapid civilisation, 
 and with the powers of a large private treasury, he has 
 judged it right (and with sound judgment) to frame 
 the model of his Imperial court, and all its attendant 
 paraphernalia, on the most magnificent scale, to 
 strike with respect and admiration those who come to 
 examine Russia under the delusive notion of its being- 
 behindhand in modern refinements, or in the strictest 
 decorum of morals and manners, or in any way defi- 
 cient in those usages du monde which are observed and 
 honoured in the polished circles of Paris or London. 
 In like manner I should say that the Empress, born 
 with every feminine grace, has established a system of 
 fashion, appearance, and dress in the circles of the 
 court, which, spreading from the centre of attraction 
 throughout the empire, is wisely calculated to form 
 and foster the elegance and the progress of improve- 
 ment in the provinces and distant districts of Russia. 
 There is a third point of far more importance, 
 which, from the example set by the present august 
 family, has spread its influence far and wide, and is 
 of incalculable moral advantage to every part of it 
 — I mean the example afforded by the Imperial family 
 of moral, conjugal, and domestic affection and happi- 
 ness. 
 
 To act in pursuance of these high duties is now be- 
 come the fashion, and is the indispensable requisite and 
 passport to that sort of kindness and favourable recep- 
 tion which every one strives to receive at the hands 
 of his sovereign. In this wonderful country so 
 
 complete is this system, that what are denominated 
 apparent liaisons, which go beyond common atten- 
 tion and friendsliips, are hardly known in society, and 
 are treated, when they exist occasionally, with so 
 much coldness in tlie highest quarter, that they are 
 soon abandoned. There is no doubt that this example 
 of conjugal bliss lias diffused itself with the liappiest 
 effect throughout Iiis Imperial Majesty's dominions. 
 
 I could not lielp expressing one day to a Russian 
 nobleman my astonishment at the moral order that 
 reigned, not only in the saloons, but in the theatres, 
 public places, and streets of St. Petersburgh, wherJ 
 no light conduct ever meets the eye, and where you 
 can take your wife and daugliters to all places of pub- 
 lie entertainment, as free from the possibility of their 
 witnessing improper gestures or behaviour, as if you 
 were taking them in England to places of worship. 
 
 The count said to me, - We owe all our present 
 order, morality, and religion to him who guides this 
 colossal country. But such is the nature of Russia 
 and her people, that if we were to see an Empress 
 Catherine again upon the throne, and that she was, 
 as formerly, to have the same description of court, and 
 of similarly relaxed morality, Russia would directly 
 imitate, once more, the fatal example that would thus 
 be oflTered to her observation. In fact, the Russians 
 look on their Emperor as God's vicegerent on earth. 
 So long as Nicholas is popular, his power is un- 
 equalled and uncontrolled, and the connexion of re- 
 ligion with the source from which all worldly honours 
 and greatness, rewards and punishments, flow, renders 
 
272 
 
 DEATH OK ALEXANDEU. 
 
 HEROISM OF NICHOLAS. 
 
 273 
 
 i! 
 
 him the all-in-all of that vast region, which lie de- 
 votedly loves, and which is deeply sensible that it has 
 never been so great or prosperous as under his able, 
 just, and benignant sway." 
 
 Much may be attributed to the personal bearing and 
 popularity of Nicholas, who is placed by Providence 
 in the government of this vast empire, and who is gra- 
 cious, benevolent, distinguished, and beloved, as Alex- 
 ander was. There is an indescribable control and 
 fascination in his every act, gesture, and command, 
 that appears to have been granted for the achievement 
 of great ends and for particular purposes. Even those 
 who were most attached to the former Emperor 
 admit that his qualities did not comprehend that per- 
 fection in the art of ruling which seems to be inhe- 
 rent and especially bestowed on the Emperor Nicholas. 
 It is credibly reported that one of the chief causes of 
 Alexander's untimely illness and subsequent death, 
 when he went to the Sea of Azof, arose from his deej) 
 moral affliction at discovering that the conspiracy 
 among a large number of the officers of his army had 
 arrived at a height so unexpected and mortifying ; and 
 so perfect was the benevolence of his heart and disposi- 
 tion, that though in possession of positive evidence of 
 the treason, and of a certified list of the traitors, he felt 
 such attachment to many of them, that he could 
 not believe in their perfidy, although it was sub- 
 stantiated by undeniable proofs in tiie hands of the 
 most confidential officers near his own person. Dr. 
 Wylie, a Scotchman, and a most able and experienced 
 physician, had always been the principal medical 
 
 attendant upon Alexander, and enjoyed his entire 
 confidence during all his military campaigns • and it 
 is owing to the exertions of this eminent professional 
 man, that the army hospitals tliroughout the Russian 
 empire have arrived at their present peculiar perfec- 
 tion. This gentleman, who attended Alexander in 
 Ins last moments, has written full and ample details 
 of the main causes of his Imperial master's illness and 
 unexpected death; hitherto they have been kept 
 secret from the world. But if a time shall ever arrive 
 when these details may be unfolded, they will por- 
 tray I doubt not, the benign generosity and goodness 
 of Alexander's heart in an extraordinary manner 
 Not less rare are the qualities of his successor, though 
 of a diflTerent stamp and mould. But what rooted 
 Nicholas in the affections of his people, was the heroic 
 courage and ability he displayed in seizing possession of 
 the sceptre and the empire, at a moment when perfidy 
 confusion, and a band of traitors, placed the Imperial 
 diadem in jeopardy. It is not necessary -here to go 
 into these events, which, from their recent occur- 
 rence, are known to all : suffice it to say, that the 
 glory which covered Nicholas at that memorable epoch 
 has established him for ever in the hearts of his peo- 
 ple. It would be doing him injustice to ima- 
 gine that he was himself satisfied with these early 
 exhibitions of firmness and magnanimity. His per- 
 severing labours in every department of the state 
 are remarkable and worthy of record. To speak of what 
 immediately came under my own observation may be 
 interesting from its correctness-to state afterwards 
 
 VOL I. 
 
 iill 
 
274 
 
 HIS MILITARY KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 I'll 
 III 
 
 what I have been told by others, may possibly be in- 
 terpreted as exaggeration. But first, as to my own 
 remarks. Having been thirty-five years a soldier, I 
 ought in some degree to be enabled to form a judg- 
 ment of commanders in the field. I saw the Emperor 
 Nicholas, as I have stated in the early part of this Me- 
 moir, manceuvre twelve thousand cavalry ; he was 
 unassisted by any staff* officer or aide-de-camp ; he 
 directed the general officers of brigade, colonels of 
 corps, nay, the adjutants, pivots, and markers, precisely 
 as the most accurate and experienced practical drill 
 officer could do ; he corrected all mistakes, and dis- 
 covered and lectured publicly on the error. It may, 
 however, be said, that his Imperial Majesty has 
 always devoted himself to cavalry tactics — be it so. 
 I next saw him manoeuvre thirty thousand infantry. 
 He called the generals to the front, gave them verbally 
 the disposition he had conceived, and then formed the 
 attacking and defending corps. He took the whole 
 general direction of every change of position and ope- 
 ration ; and, finally, because some partial movement 
 failed, he called his generals and officers together, and 
 read them an instruction of nearly an hour long, on the 
 duties and science of tactics. This is not all. Every 
 general officer, more or less, may be enabled to move 
 and drill great bodies of troops ; but I witnessed in 
 Nicholas another singular trait. On one of the mili- 
 tary fete days, his Imperial Majesty gave a dinner in 
 the hall of the Palais d'Hiver to the corps des cadets 
 nobles. After the repast, the corps des cadets, a 
 battalion of eight hundred to one thousand strong. 
 
 HIS UNIVERSAL PROFICIENCY. 275 
 
 fell in, in this immense saloon. The Emperor pro- 
 ceeded to their front, and, to my astonishment, ma- 
 noeuvred the simple battalion. The firings, the com- 
 mon drill, and the duties even of a sergeant-major, 
 seemed perfectly familiar to them. The recollec- 
 tion of these minutiae of instruction, and having them 
 so entirely at command, are surely very remark- 
 able ; and, upon my commenting with wonder on all 
 this precision, I was informed by several of his officers 
 that m all the departments of the state, whether of 
 justice, interior or foreign affairs, finances, law, artil- 
 lery or marine services, the Emperor exhibited equal 
 proficiency. Now when this declaration was made by 
 one and all who surrounded him, and when one con- 
 siders generally that ministers and officers are too 
 apt to raise themselves into importance by taking 
 credit for doing a great deal, one cannot but believe 
 that the justice they all render to the Emperor 
 Nicholas is his due, and that he may be fairly pro- 
 nounced one of the most wonderfully gifted men of the 
 age. 
 
 END OF VOL. 1. 
 
 LONDON ; 
 
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 LIBRARY 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF A 
 
 TOUR IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE. 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF A 
 
 TOUR IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE 
 
 IN 1836—1837. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. IL 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 
 ^vWihtx in ®rti{nars to in iMaftstg- 
 
 1838. 
 
 ' 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Empress — Splendour of Dresses — Masked Ball — Grand 
 Dinners — Objectionable Custom — The Theatres — Ice Moun- 
 tains—The Grand Duchess Helen— Audience of the Emperor 
 — Conversation with him — His Majesty's Opinions — Departure 
 from Petersburgh — Count Zubouf . . Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 IBOTSON AND FALMER, PRINTEH8. 
 SAVOY STREET, STRAND. 
 
 Severity of the Weather — Distinguished Attentions — Partition of 
 Poland — The Polish Nation — Reception at Warsaw — Mussul- 
 men Regiments — Picturesque Bivouac — Poland and Russia — 
 Departure from Warsaw — Kulisch — Breslau — Reception in 
 
 Prussia 
 
 16 
 
 jL X o t3 ^ O 
 
 i 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 An Historical and Statistical Sketch of the City of Petersburgh 
 
 since its Foundation . • • • . 
 
 An Historical Sketch of Odessa, its Trade, &c. 
 Russian Colonies in America ... 
 
 Cultivation of the Vine, the Mulberry Tree, and the Sugar 
 
 Cane, in the Southern Provinces - - - 
 
 Sketch of the Labours of the St. Petersburgh Academy of 
 
 Sciences, during the years 1835 and 1836 
 Technological Schools established in the Altai Manufactories 
 
 36 
 56 
 66 
 
 71 
 
 80 
 86 
 90 
 96 
 
 Some Account of Russian Wools - - - - 
 
 Trade and Commerce of Siberia - - - - 
 
 Description of the Fair of Nijny-Novgorod, on the 15th 
 August, 1836 - - - - - -103 
 
 Herring Fishery in the Black Sea - - - 114 
 
 Expedition for Metallurgical Researches in the Oural Moun- 
 tains - - - - - - -115 
 
 Precious Stones found in the Oural Mountains - •120 
 
 The Chase in the Russo North -American Colonies - 123 
 
 Teachers* Institution at St. Petersburgh - - - 129 
 
 Increase of the Population in Russia - - - 132 
 
 State and Progress of the Trade and Internal Commerce 
 of Russia in 1835 ----- 139 
 
 Russian Imports and Exports in 1836 - • - 145 
 
 A Concise Account of the System, Progress, and Present State 
 
 of Public Instruction in Russia • • . 147 
 
 An Historical Sketch of the City of Riga, its Trade, &c. 177 
 
 The Mines in Finland - • • . - 183 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Vll 
 
 Some Account of the Province of Tobolsk - - 186 
 
 Colonies of the Government of SaratofF - - - 193 
 Recent Voyages and Discoveries of Russian Navigators in 
 
 Nova-Zembla (Novaia-Zemlia) - ^ . 199 
 
 Some Account of the Trade of Kiakhta - - . 207 
 
 Permanent Magnetical Observations in Russia - - 216 
 
 Blagodate Iron Mines ----- 222 
 
 Fisheries in the River Oural . - . . 225 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OP 
 
 A TOUR IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE 
 
 IN 1836-7. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Empress — Splendour of Dresses— Masked Ball— Grand 
 Dinners - Objectionable Custom — The Theatres— Ice Moun- 
 tains—The Grand Duchess Helen— Audience of the Emperor 
 — Conversation with him— His Majesty's Opinions — Departure 
 from Petersburgh— Count Zubouf. 
 
 In relation to the society and manners of the beau 
 monde, the Empress must be supposed to bear the 
 most distinguished part. The amiability of her acceuil 
 is not more peculiar than her grace and fascination, 
 and she introduces a degree of humour and pleasantry 
 in conversation, which, emanating from royalty, (gene- 
 rally supposed to be wrapped up in formality and 
 stiffness,) does not fail to captivate the stranger that 
 approaches her, while she is truly adored by those 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 B 
 
 I' 
 
SPLENDOUR OF DRESSES. 
 
 / 
 
 who share in her daily avocations, and are greeted 
 by her benevolent smile. 
 
 At Court, dress and the toilette, as already ob- 
 served, are devotedly cultivated both from taste 
 and policy. Of the innumerable balls that are 
 given during the season at St. Petersburgh, the most 
 select are the private balls of the Empress at the 
 Palais AnishkofF. To none of these are the diplo- 
 matic corps invited — a prohibition which they regret 
 exceedingly. There are from eighteen to twenty of 
 these delightful reunions in the season. At these 
 fetes no lady, much less an elegante, is ever seen twice 
 in the same dress ; and so entirely without crease or 
 crumple do their exquisite toilets appear, that, to 
 speak metaphorically, the ladies really seem all to be 
 just turned out of a bandbox. Having been present 
 at several of the balls, I can from my own know- 
 ledge declare that I saw always new dresses on every 
 fresh occasion. I had the curiosity to ask a mother 
 how she managed with two and sometimes three 
 daughters who were occasionally invited, and if the 
 expense was not very great during the season. She 
 told me, rather seriously, that each gown cost two 
 hundred roubles, that was six hundred for her daugh- 
 ters every night, and two hundred and fifty for her 
 own, and multiplying that by twenty would show 
 the cost. These sums were for her own and the 
 
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 H 
 
 '4 
 
 t^ 
 
 ,0«mii 
 
 A'^v <i>£ 
 
 aldisbed "W Richard Keiitiej^.iaSd. 
 
MASKED BALL. 3 
 
 young ladies' dresses only. I wished further to know 
 if many princes and nobles did not think it inconve- 
 nient, but never could get an admission or a com- 
 plaint in Russia that anything was Extravagant, or 
 that there was want or distress in the higher circle, 
 although I have reason to believe, that mortgages are 
 not unfrequent on the estates of the higher orders, in 
 that as in other countries. What is rather singular, 
 these estates are managed by an intendant, to whom is. 
 delegated absolute and complete direction, and neither 
 wife, son, relation, nor connexion ever influenced a 
 Russian nobleman against the absolute control of his 
 intendant. 
 
 In addition to the Empress's private balls, she 
 has an inventive genius for every gaiety and 
 diversion. There are continual petits spectacles at 
 court. These are performed by the actresses of the 
 theatres, but got up in a splendid manner. Here again 
 the taste for dress predominates, and the actresses are 
 often presented with new dresses from the Imperial 
 purse, every night of their performance. Bals costumes 
 and charades, tableaux, and masques successively 
 occupy the attention of the Imperial court in their 
 hours of recreation ; and during this year a most 
 costly and splendid bal masque^ in imitation of 
 a Chinese court, was got up by the Empress. It 
 far surpassed anything of the kind that had been 
 
 B 2 
 
' If 
 
 4 GRAND BALLS. 
 
 before attempted. The great officers of state, the 
 princes, nobles, the most beautiful and distinguished 
 women, are all put in reqviisition, through an intima- 
 tion of the Grand Chamberlain, and instead of re- 
 luctance, there is an eagerness to be selected, and a 
 chagrin if overlooked, that is quite remarkable : all vie 
 with each other in expensive dresses, jewels, and de- 
 corations. The Russians have a wonderful art and 
 taste in making the most of everything they possess ; 
 they improve so largely on original ideas, (suggested 
 from Paris and elsewhere,) that each improvement 
 appears originality ; and I give the palm to Petersburgh 
 for carrying the luxuries of fasliion and magnifi- 
 cence to a higher pitch than any capital I have ever 
 visited. 
 
 At the Palais Anishkoff" balls the Emperor some- 
 times dances or rather walks a cotillon, but generally 
 promenades all night, conversing in the most affable 
 manner with his subjects. The Imperial family occa- 
 sionally frequent the balls of the foreign ambassadors, 
 and of the most distinguished of their own nobility. 
 This benevolent familiarity gives great and constant 
 iclat to the court. The large dinners of the corps diplo- 
 matique and of the nobles far surpass those at which 
 I have been present in any other court. The convert 
 is seldom for less than fifty or sixty persons. The 
 palaces in size and decoration are universally sump 
 
 GRAND DINNERS. 5 
 
 tuous. The attendance of servants is peculiar, two 
 for each guest being the rule, (in livery,) besides the 
 pages and other servants; for the above number of 
 guests, therefore, there are at least one hundred ser- 
 vants. At these great dinners from eight hundred to 
 one thousand lights are but a small illumination. I 
 should be afraid to say how many I have counted at 
 some of the dinners. The dinner is always served 
 round. Wines of all sorts are circulated in the same 
 manner : but on the dessert the greatest expense and 
 attention are bestowed. Petersburgh can produce 
 from its hot-houses and artificial means, even during 
 winter, the finest fruit imaginable. The flowers I con- 
 sider to be inferior to ours. Before the dinner, there 
 is universally a sort of luncheon in an anteroom 
 for the gentlemen, by way of giving a craving to 
 the stomach and sharpening the appetite. At this 
 no ladies appear. It consists generally of caviar, (so 
 renowned in this country for its perfection,) anchovies, 
 dried salt salmon, cheese, and articles of similar de- 
 scription, with liqueurs, cognac, eau de vie, &c. This 
 custom would be more honoured in the breach than 
 in the observance, as the gentlemen return to the 
 room where the ladies are assembled, eating these 
 unsavoury morsels, and talking to the fair sex, as if 
 wholly unconscious of the disagreeable odour that 
 arises from them. I condemn the practice, decidedly. 
 
OBJECTIONABLE CUSTOM. 
 
 « 
 
 I 
 
 It affords no society, it cannot be wholesome; the 
 exciting food could be served round (if desired) 
 when all are at table ; but this ambulant eating with 
 greasy fingers, and then parading with unwashed 
 mouths amongst the fair sex, do not correspond with 
 the general gallantry of the Russians. 
 
 The process before dinner, to which I have al- 
 luded, is called the Schalchen. The hours of meals 
 at Petersburgh are much earlier than in London, 
 but I am not sure that the arrangements are 
 better ; a quarter to four or five is the usual dinner 
 time, from which you are always liberated before 
 eight. No assembly or ball begins before twelve, so 
 that you return home from dinner totally at a loss for 
 occupation until the four hours have elapsed which 
 shall readmit you into society. It is true that the thea- 
 tres may occupy the intervening time. But as there is 
 no great variety in the representations, you cannot 
 amuse yourself very often with this spectacle. Tlie 
 balls are without number during the season, but there 
 is seldom more than one splendid one every night, 
 which embraces the whole of the best society. All can 
 see and be seen together — an immense advantage over 
 our hot and crowded squeezes in London, on the same 
 night, where half the time is lost in running from one 
 house to the other, to say nothing of your being some- 
 times half the night in the street. 
 
 THE THEATRES. 
 
 Amongst the most singularly sumptuous balls I 
 witnessed, I should enumerate those at Baron Fiquel- 
 monets, M. de Baranthe, the Woronzoff", Dashkoff, 
 the Sousakonnet, the Bierolowski, Bielozeski, the 
 Razumowski, and various others. The finest din- 
 ners were at Count Nesselrode's, Prince Butera's, 
 Lavall's, Wolkonski, &c., and all the ambassadors. 
 I have mentioned the theatres ; these are all under 
 the immediate charge of the court. They are placed 
 upon a footing of the greatest decorum and propriety. 
 Ladies and gentlemen always go dressed, and all 
 oflScers in full uniform. In Russia no military man 
 ever wears coloured clothes. A young friend of mine 
 asking a Russian oflficer if he always wore his 
 uniform, his answer was, " I was born and shall die 
 in it." The great advantage of this exactitude of 
 appearance in the theatre is, that the assemblage 
 has an air of grandeur, display, and order. The 
 French theatre, called Le Theatre Michel, is the 
 most fashionable. The boxes are let for the season, as 
 at the Italian Opera in London. The Alexander 
 theatre is chiefly for Russian representation and 
 ballets. This is of large dimensions ; but a new 
 theatre, opened in 1836, under the immediate direc- 
 tion of the Emperor Nicholas, far surpasses the 
 theatre Alexander in extent and magnificence. I was 
 present at its opening ; and the scene I witnessed 
 
 1 I 
 
I 
 
 8 
 
 ICE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 was remarkable. It was lighted with thousands of 
 candles. The whole of the court, (en grande tenue,) 
 the assemblage of everything brilliant at the Russian 
 capital, the corps diplomatique, with all their decora- 
 tions and stars, and the superior officers of the 
 army and guard, with their varied brilliant uni- 
 forms, (the spectacle being itself complimentary to the 
 Emperor, who was present,) resembled a scene of 
 enchantment. 
 
 The corps de ballet is particularly attended to, and 
 even here nothing escapes Nicholas's attention. In 
 *'The Revolt of the Seraglio," a celebrated ballet, where 
 a number of females are drilled and manoeuvred on 
 the stage, so anxious was the Emperor that this 
 should be done in the greatest perfection, that his 
 Imperial Majesty and the Grand Duke Michael con- 
 descended to attend the rehearsals, and to give 
 instructions on the subject. This anecdote will show 
 that the most trivial matters connected with public 
 exhibitions do not escape the Imperial attention. 
 
 The amusements in winter are going en traineau^ 
 and making parties to the Montagnes des Glaces, Of 
 this singular exhibition it may be well to give a short 
 description. The ladies and gentlemen proceed in 
 sledges, or carriages on sledges, to the gardens or 
 places of rendezvous where these montagnes are 
 prepared. The beaux are habited and dressed as 
 
 ICE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 9 
 
 Laplanders, and they are furnished with a very small 
 wooden saddle or seat, barely big enough to squat 
 themselves upon, which they do without ceremony, 
 raising up their knees; they then invite the ladies 
 to turn their backs and place themselves, with their 
 petticoats drawn close around them, between the 
 legs of the gentlemen, sitting just before him on the 
 above-described seat or saddle ; the arrangement for 
 the excursion is then complete. The wooden seat 
 with its occupiers is now pulled to the top of a 
 frightful precipice of ice, formed on almost a perpen- 
 dicular descent of forty or fifty feet. The gentlemen 
 and ladies, all arranged as described, are next preci- 
 pitated down this frightful abyss, and the velocity with 
 which tliey are hurled down gives a continued impetus 
 on a narrow road of ice below, to carry the daring 
 adventurers in a rapid course for a very considerable 
 distance. 
 
 The chevalier, in these cases, with his hands covered 
 with leather gloves, regulates and steers the seat on 
 which he is seated with his beautiful burthen. On 
 the least change of direction or sudden movement, the 
 lady has no resource but to throw herself back into 
 the arms of her conductor ; and while delicacy is 
 certainly shocked by the situation of the parties in this 
 anmsement, there is neither grace, beauty, nor any 
 feminine quality exhibited by those who lend them- 
 
 / 
 
10 
 
 THE GRAND DUCHESS HELEN. 
 
 h* 
 
 [■\' 
 
 selves to the performance, and they run serious risk of 
 broken bones, disfigured faces, or other injury for life, 
 in a display of recklessness of fear and danger unsuited 
 to the delicacy of the female sex. 
 
 Another great winter diversion is skating. In tliis 
 the Russians greatly excel, and a large square railed 
 in on the Neva, in the centre of the English quay, is 
 kept constantly swept from snow and preserved in high 
 order for this object. The ice mountains nevertheless 
 carry all before them, as the ladies universally throng 
 to them. Amongst the most constant visiters was 
 the Grand Duchess Helen, wife of the Grand Duke 
 Michael, and daughter of Prince Paul of Wurtem- 
 burg. This princess, to whom I have before alluded, 
 is no doubt endowed with great beauty and extra- 
 ordinary esprit. It is said that she is the best 
 instructed princess in Europe ; she is charming in 
 conversation, of steady conservative principles, and 
 really appears to know more of English politics than 
 those who are deeply plunged in its intricacies. 
 She often amusingly ridiculed the bitterness that 
 existed between Liberals and Conservatives, and won- 
 dered how they should nevertheless appear as good 
 private friends. The Russians carry feelings of dif- 
 ference on political points so far, that they are all 
 astonishment to see those of different parties, when 
 they meet in their capital, in amicable intercourse. A 
 
 AUDIENCE OF THE EMPEROR. 
 
 11 
 
 curious anecdote occurred on this subject. The British 
 ambassador was walking one day arm-in-arm with an 
 individual notoriously opposed to him in political 
 opinions. The first person they met was the Emperor, 
 who conversed with both, but looked amazed ; shortly 
 after came the Empress and Grand Duchesses,— they 
 appeared equally much surprised ; lastly came the 
 Grand Duke Heritier, who equally stared. At the 
 Imperial dinner the same day the subject was the great 
 topic of conversation. Prince Lieven was asked what 
 he thought the two individuals could be discussing. 
 The prince, having been so long in England, and 
 knowing the habits there, said at once, " Oh, they 
 were conversing on their mutual county interest," as 
 was actually the case. " Oh," but they said, " they 
 were arm-in-arm," and this mode of promenading is 
 never adopted by men in Russia, unless they are very 
 intimate, which may possibly arise from nearly every- 
 body being dressed in uniform, and the sword on the 
 left side being an impediment to such a mode of 
 walking. 
 
 On the 8th of February I had an audience of 
 the Emperor Nicholas, pour prendre conge. He re- 
 ceived me in his magnificent suite of apartments at 
 the top of the Palais d'Hiver. You wind round a 
 circular staircase from the grand reception-rooms to 
 arrive at the immediate suite of the Emperor. The 
 
12 
 
 CONVERSATION WITH HIM. 
 
 I 
 
 <?- 
 
 large single glass windows give a commanding view 
 over the Neva, and the great squares of the capital ; 
 and nothing is wanting to add to the luxury and 
 comfort of these apartments. The Emperor was 
 dressed in his military greatcoat, and advanced to 
 me with the utmost condescension and kindness ; 
 I thanked his Imperial Majesty for the immeasu- 
 rable favours I had received ; I entered fully into 
 expressions of gratitude, because I really felt more 
 than I could express, and I dwelt much at length on 
 the perfection of all the Russian institutions I had 
 visited, — on the apparent wisdom and good regulation 
 that pervaded every part of their government, — on the 
 wonderfully rapid march of the empire towards civi- 
 lisation, — and on my belief that in no otlier country 
 in existence did the sovereign reign more completely 
 in the hearts and afiections of his people. 
 
 " Oui, c'est un bon pays ; il faut me rendre cette 
 justice," was his Imperial Majesty's short reply. 
 
 The Emperor then entered confidentially into his 
 own opinions of England — of her government and her 
 relative position with Russia — which, however, it can- 
 not be expected of me to detail. His Imperial Ma- 
 jesty then spoke generally of foreign affairs, and, 
 turning to his table, pointed out a written docu- 
 ment of many sheets of paper, saying, " You see there 
 the last sacred opinions and instructions of my beloved 
 
 HIS MAJESTY S OPINIONS. 
 
 13 
 
 brother Alexander, founded on the transactions of 1814 
 and 1815. They are always before my eyes; to them 
 I religiously adhere, aided, as I hope I am, by the 
 Supreme Disposer of all things ; and* nothing shall 
 make me depart from them." The Emperor stated this 
 in a manner that carried with it a deep conviction 
 of the sincerity with which he spoke ; and then breaking 
 off again, he said, " Mais, parlous de votre pays, et de 
 vous-meme." His Imperial Majesty then expressed 
 himself in the most attached manner towards England, 
 and said, " that she and Russia were so placed geogra- 
 phically by Providence, that they ought always to un- 
 derstand each other, and be friends ; and I have ever 
 endeavoured to do all in my power to accomplish it. And 
 really," added the Emperor, " I have so much love for 
 England, that when the journals and the radicals were 
 abusing me so outrageously, I had the greatest possi- 
 ble desire to put myself in a steam-boat and proceed 
 direct to London, (apprising, of course, the King of 
 my intended arrival,) to present myself amongst rea- 
 sonable and fair-judging Englishmen, to converse with 
 them, and to show them how unjustly I was aspersed. 
 It is my ardent wish to cultivate peaceable relations 
 of amity with all powers. I want interior tranquillity, 
 and time to occupy myself with the important ar- 
 rangements . necessary to consolidate the component 
 parts which form this great empire. But have you 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 IB 
 
 ) !l 
 
14 
 
 HIS MAJESTY S OPINIONS. 
 
 i 
 
 If 
 
 seen," he added, " the Abbe de Pradt's book on the 
 Russian, Eastern, and Polish question ? You will 
 see developed in that work ideas and sentiments, 
 as if I had written them myself, and you are quite at 
 liberty to tell all my English friends that you heard 
 from my own mouth that such were my own decided 
 opinions." I consider myself justified from these ex- 
 pressions in giving the Emperor's own words on this 
 part of our conversation, and there was a degree of 
 candour in his bearing that could not be mistaken. 
 
 The Emperor then took leave of me, after a long 
 and deeply-interesting conversation ; and I must own 
 that this farewell scene, considering all the circum- 
 stances attending it, and, above all, the monarch who 
 impressed it on my mind, occasioned me emotions of 
 which the remembrance will last for ever. 
 
 We left Petersburgh on Thursday the 9th of Fe- 
 bruary, and arrived on Monday the 13th at Riga. The 
 road was an entire sheet of frozen snow, and our three 
 carriages were on sledges. The frost being very severe, 
 we proceeded with great velocity, but the pitching and 
 tossing over the rough parts of the road partook of the 
 motion of a ship at sea. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 14th, we remained at Riga to re- 
 cruit from our great fatigue, and to place our carriages 
 again on wheels, as the frost and snow had disap- 
 peared, which occasioned a sudden and immense dif- 
 
 COUNT ZUBOUFF. 
 
 15 
 
 ference in the climate. Our sledges at Petersburgh 
 cost five hundred roubles, and sold at Riga for eighty- 
 five, which may be a hint to future travellers. 
 
 General Count Pahlen, the governor of Riga, 
 waited on me and paid us every marked respect. The 
 town is chiefly commercial, and exports much hemp, 
 com, and timber; the houses are bad and old, and 
 exhibit no striking or remarkable feature. 
 
 On Wednesday, the 15th, we were quartered on the 
 road from Riga to Warsaw at Count Zubouff^'s, where 
 we saw the first specimen of a Russian country esta- 
 blishment, than which nothing could be more hospitable 
 and agreeable. The Countess was a charming person , 
 a sister of Countess Sophie Modena. She did the 
 honours with captivating grace, and everything was 
 in a style of great comfort. On the tables in the 
 drawing-rooms were English novels, pamphlets, and 
 reviews, and I was surprised by accidentally taking 
 up an excellent engraving of one of my own seats 
 in England. The Count is a farmer, and superintends 
 his estate himself. He is a person of great consequence, 
 and much looked up to by the neighbouring Polish 
 nobles. But the part he has always acted has been most 
 honourable to his sworn allegiance to the Emperor. 
 
 On Thursday, the 16th, we left Count Zubouff*, and 
 on Friday the 17th were lodged for the night at Ma- 
 nenssal. 
 
 I 
 
16 
 
 SEVERITY OF THE WEATHER. 
 
 i't 
 
 .1 
 
 U 
 
 I 
 
 \- 
 
 r . 
 
 4 1 
 
 I 
 
 .\ 
 
 I 
 
 ft' 
 
 ill' ' 
 
 ill 
 
 ^ 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Severity of the Weather— Distinguished Attentions — Partition of 
 Poland — The Polish Nation— Reception at Warsaw — Mussul- 
 men Regiments — Picturesque Bivouac — Poland and Russia — 
 Departure from Warsaw — Kulisch — Breslau — Reception in 
 Prussia. 
 
 The route to Warsaw is good even at present, but 
 when the chaussee in progress is completed, it will 
 be equal to the Moscow line. The post-horses to Riga 
 were excellent ; on coming into Poland, however, 
 they are much worse. The country is wretchedly 
 poor and flat. We encountered very great difiiculties 
 and hardships from the severity of the weather, after 
 we resumed the wheels of our English carriages at Riga. 
 More violent storms of snow, and more intense frost, 
 than I could ever have imagined, assailed us ; the snow 
 drifted, and soon became fourteen or sixteen feet deep ; 
 we were blocked up, and our feld-j'ager was obliged to 
 proceed to tlie neighbouring villages on the route, and 
 procure peasants to dig the carriages out, and finally 
 
 9 1 , 
 
 DISTINGUISHED ATTENTIONS. 
 
 17 
 
 to hire the little charrettes upon sledges from the ham- 
 lets around, on which alone it was possible to proceed 
 on our journey. Imagine straw laid on these vehicles, 
 and then our baggage ; on the top of this were placed 
 our furs, and on them we took our seats, with no other 
 defence, to travel in twenty- seven or twenty-eight 
 degrees of frost, with keen winds and snow beating 
 on us, for at least two hundred and fifty miles of our 
 journey. The servants and others with us suffered 
 much more, not being so well provided for. I believe 
 no females ever went through more severe fatigue and 
 endurance than those of my family. I could only 
 compare the weather to that of Sir John Moore's re- 
 treat from Corunna, and it was in fact much more 
 severe. I should record that, on arrival at every fixed 
 station, I found that the Emperor had graciously sent 
 orders for all the authorities civil and military to re- 
 ceive us with the utmost distinction ; and quarters were 
 provided for us everywhere, either at public offices or 
 private houses. To my great distress, arriving often at a 
 station at four or five in the morning in the bleakest 
 weather, I was forced to witness, on turning out of my 
 wagon, ofl[icers en grande temte, civilians in silk stock- 
 ings, and troops presenting arms. And what made it 
 more embarrassing, I never was permitted to defray any 
 of the expenses of these receptions, nor was I (like an 
 ambassador) in a situation to make presents of diamond 
 
 VOL. II. c 
 
 \n J 
 
 I' 
 
 r 
 
18 
 
 PARTITION OF POLAND. 
 
 li 
 
 boxes or rings : I believe no one not clothed with an 
 official station, and not a crowned head, ever experi- 
 enced so honourable and so distinguished a reception. 
 
 It is not necessary that I should enter into the his- 
 tory of Poland. Everybody is aware that, under a 
 succession of bad interior governments and disastrous 
 wars, the courts of St. Petersburgh, Vienna, and 
 Berlin, concerted and carried into effect a treaty 
 of partition in 1772, by which a portion of inhabi- 
 tants were left to the Diet, which was forced to 
 acquiesce in the decree. Another and still further 
 partition, between Prussia and Russia, took place in 
 1793, and the Diet was obliged to submit, which re- 
 duced this kingdom to about three or four millions of 
 souls ; but a third and last partition took place in 1795 
 between Russia, Austria, and Prussia ; and after the 
 peace of Tilsit in 1807, further cessions were made to 
 Russia, but Poland was established under the King of 
 Saxony as an independent sovereignty, with her own 
 constitution, and, by different exchanges and settle- 
 ments, was consolidated into a monarchy of four millions 
 of subjects. This arrangement lasted till 1815, and at 
 the treaty of Vienna the Emperor Alexander took the 
 title of King of Poland, and united it to the Russian 
 empire ; but it was provided that Poland should have 
 its constitution, and should be governed by its own 
 laws. It is not my intention to enter into the causes 
 
 THE POLISH NATION. 
 
 19 
 
 or history of the insurrection of 1831, which entirely 
 changed the political destinies of a country, the first 
 partition of which rendered it more or less an object of 
 great political interest during the successive tempests 
 and revolutions which led to its annihilation. Placed 
 geographically in a position in Europe to give conti- 
 nual umbrage to her powerful neighbours, Poland has 
 fallen undoubtedly a prey to might, and not to right ; 
 and though all must deplore her fate as a great nation, 
 the question of the present happiness of the people, as 
 to submitting to inevitable Russian dominion, or at- 
 tempting further useless insurrection, does not admit, 
 in my mind, of any doubt. 
 
 The Polish nation generally are more advanced in 
 the civilisation and manners of the rest of Europe than 
 the Russians ; their proximity to southern nations, and 
 their long connexion with France, have given them 
 French usages, and they are more animated and en- 
 gaging than their northern neighbours. The women 
 are proverbially handsome, though of late, I am of 
 opinion, they have somewhat degenerated ; their viva- 
 city is bewitching ; and, under all the revolutions of 
 unhappy Poland, I formed an opinion, after my resi- 
 dence in Warsaw, that it may yet be one of the most 
 agreeable cities in the world. The men are eminently 
 brave and insensible to danger: they have not the 
 placidity nor solidity of the Russians ; but the Po- 
 
 c 2 
 
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 Nil 
 
 ,••1 
 
 ill 
 
 II 
 
 \ 
 
 20 
 
 RECEPTION AT WARSAW. 
 
 lisli nation appears to me to be a compound of tlie 
 volatile, eager Frenchman, and the cold, steady 
 Russian, partaking of the attributes of each : they 
 excel, as well as the Russians, in an extraordinary 
 facility in learning languages. 
 
 With these general ideas of Poland, I will now pro- 
 ceed to give an account of our arrival at Warsaw. 
 
 On approaching Warsaw, we were met by orderly 
 officers and a squadron of hussars, who were sent by 
 the governor marshal. Prince Paskewitch, to escort us 
 to the Palais Bruhl, which the Emperor had ordered 
 to be prepared for our reception. We found ready a 
 complete establishment of servants, a large saloon 
 brilliantly illuminated, a great dinner prepared, al- 
 though we arrived at four in the morning, and various 
 officers on service awaiting our approach. Tired and 
 exhausted as we were after eighteen hours in our car- 
 riages, to meet all this honour and attention as it 
 should have been responded to was difficult and ha- 
 rassing ; however, during the whole time we remained 
 at Warsaw, we were treated with the same ceremony 
 and respect. We lived entirely at the Emperor's ex- 
 pense, both as to a sumptuous table and as to equipages 
 and servants ; and no consideration would induce the 
 attendants to take the smallest remuneration for all 
 that we had received at their hands. 
 
 Amongst various old friends, I had the satisfaction 
 
 MUSSULMEN REGIMENTS. 
 
 21 
 
 of meeting here again M. de Kosciolofski, well known 
 in England, and by every one who has had the hap- 
 piness of his acquaintance, for his singular esprit, 
 acute understanding, and general information. With 
 Alexander he was not in favour ; Nicholas has restored 
 him to the public service, and he is now placed in a 
 most honourable situation at Warsaw, as confidential 
 secretary to the Prince Feld Marechal. I also re- 
 newed an old friendship with General Augerofski, 
 late aide-de-camp general of the Emperor Alexander, 
 to whose memory he was so deeply attached, that he 
 has retired in a great measure from St. Petersburg!! 
 and the court to reside at Warsaw. 
 
 We had, during our sejour, a succession of balls, 
 grand dinners, concerts, and theatrical representations ; 
 and such was the amiability of the Polish ladies, that 
 they sheltered their consciences under the wing of 
 the new archbishop, and actually danced during Lent. 
 In addition to Prince Paskewitch, the minister of 
 finance and the civil governor gave us splendid fetes. 
 I must, however, particularly describe two, given 
 by the marechal, which surpassed in interest and 
 beauty everything that can be imagined. One may 
 be designated ''la fete de la cour,'" the other *' la 
 fHe an hivouaer 
 
 To begin with the latter. The prince assembled in 
 the morning in the environs of Warsaw about twelve 
 
 H 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 Pi 
 
 22 
 
 MUSSULMEN REGIMENTS. 
 
 thousand men. The day was most propitious. A part 
 of this force was the chasseurs of Odessa, some squadrons 
 of gens-d'armes, Cossacks, and two squadrons of the 
 Mussulmen regiment. This corps was organised and 
 entirely formed by the Prince Paskewitch himself in 
 the late war with the Turks. The Russian general-in- 
 chief having made himself most popular among many 
 of the Eastern tribes, several of their chiefs ranged 
 themselves under his banner. This brought over 
 many of their soldiers and followers ; and finally a 
 regiment was formed as a sort of body-guard from 
 these recruits, called " Les gardes de Paskewitch^ 
 They were then found so intelligent and useful, that 
 their establishments were increased, and Mussulmen 
 regiments were created, chiefs of that religion heading 
 their own people. They are mounted on their own 
 horses, armed with spears, javelins, rifles, and sabres. 
 They are as adroit standing on their saddles as in 
 their seats ; their expertness as marksmen is very won- 
 derful, and the mixture of Turkish costume with Rus- 
 sian, and a modern discipline, makes them a most 
 curious and interesting force. There is no doubt they 
 would be very formidable in surrounding in a swarm 
 the flanks and rear of regular cavalry. The Prince 
 Marechal divided the troops into an attacking and de- 
 fending corps, and placed under the orders of General 
 Nejolow eight battalions of the regiments Netherinbourg 
 
 MUSSULMEN REGIMENTS. 
 
 23 
 
 and Jahouts, and the chasseurs and a battery of light 
 artillery, to occupy the road towards Laski, in advance 
 of the town, and to observe a very strong force sup- 
 posed to be marching on Warsaw. The second corps, 
 under General Ischerewine, with a battalion of the 
 chasseurs of Odessa, and all the rest of the cavalry, 
 light artillery, and particularly the Mussulmen, hav- 
 ing arrived, as was supposed, near Laski, advanced 
 from the Moscow road in the plain, drew on the 
 former body cautiously, and then attacked it with 
 superior cavalry. It was positively war itself, so ad- 
 mirable were all the dispositions, the judicious occu- 
 pation of the ground, the attacks of the cavalry 
 against the solid squares of the infantry, the fierce 
 onset and howling cries of the Mussulmen, and, 
 finally, the steady order of the retreat of the columns 
 of infantry. And here I must express my wonder at 
 the perfection of this Mussulmen regiment. Their 
 admirable dexterity in horsemanship, with the sword 
 and in firing, their picturesque and formidable ap- 
 pearance, combining all the colours of the rainbow in 
 their Eastern costume, with their beautiful horses, 
 covered with rich housings and trappings, will make 
 them of incalculable service to the Russians in future 
 wars ; and the precision with which they will be enabled 
 to take off* general and staff officers on reconnoissances, 
 
 I .i 
 
24 
 
 PICTURESQUE BIVOUAC. 
 
 h ' 
 
 ii 
 
 
 appears to render it advisable for the Emperor to 
 increase this force, as far as he may be able. 
 
 The battle being finished, at sunset we proceeded 
 to an adjoining wood, in the centre of which stands 
 a convent with an open emplacement. Around this 
 space bivouac fires lighted up the atmosphere. A 
 tremendous snow-storm at the end of the day only 
 served to render the scene more thoroughly campaign- 
 ing. The troops had their brandy and bread served 
 out. Then began the music, and Mussulmen and 
 Cossacks came into the open ground, formed in dances, 
 and joined in a chorus of strange and singular har- 
 mony around the blazing piles of wood. The mix- 
 ture of the regular troops with the Asiatics, the mazes 
 of the grotesque dance, the wildness of the voices, 
 the spirited Barb and Tartar horses, neighing at their 
 piquets, all in front and surrounding a large guin- 
 guette, fitted up and illuminated for the dinner of 
 the oflScers and company, exhibited a picture quite 
 unparalleled. Three or four hundred sat down to a 
 sumptuous hot repast. I need not say that in our liba- 
 tions the Emperor and magnificent army of Russia were 
 not forgotten. On horseback nearly the whole of the 
 day, and wet to the skin from the snow, les militaires 
 were but dirty companions for the beauties of Warsaw, 
 who had come dressed according to the Empress's code 
 
 POLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 25 
 
 de toilette ; however, they were all very amiable. La 
 Princesse Paskewitch, a most amiable person, was 
 exceedingly agreeable ; and there never was a happier 
 nor a more enjoyable evening. 
 
 Next for our fete ci la cour at Lajinska. We as- 
 sembled, at half past three, two hundred persons, and 
 dined in the most princely style ; the ladies vied with 
 each other in richness of dress, jewels, and toumure. 
 I could not have conceived it possible that this city, 
 considering its revolutions, should appear so finished 
 a metropolis. The alleys were illuminated ; the reflec- 
 tion of hundreds of lamps in the water gave a fairy 
 enchantment to the coup d'oeil which the palace exhi- 
 bited, and the fine proportions and ornamental decora- 
 tions of the ball-room added greatly to the brilliancy 
 of the spectacle. We have read of such scenes in the 
 Arabian Nights, but on this spot alone have I wit- 
 nessed the reality. We separated at midnight. 
 
 With regard to the country, its politics, inhabitants, 
 and present state, I shall only say a few words. The 
 appearance of the lower class, the cottages, and the 
 great poverty, reminded me a little of Ireland. The 
 number of Jews creates an unfavourable impression. 
 The immense plains are uninteresting, but the land 
 has great resources ; time and conciliation will bring 
 about the amalgamation with Russiti, which is surely 
 now so ardently to be desired. The consecration of 
 
 \)\ 
 
 
 /i 
 
i 
 
 26 
 
 POLAND AND RUSSIA. 
 
 .1 •. , 
 
 \< ii 
 
 i! { 
 
 Catholic bishops, and the arrangements which secure 
 the preservation of the Polish language, which the 
 Emperor has recently perfected, are wise and just pro- 
 visions. I stated to all the Poles with whom I con- 
 versed, that their soi-disant friends at Paris, and les 
 liberaux in England, are the worst enemies they have, 
 as their acts keep Russia on the qui vive^ and pre- 
 vent the enlargement of the Emperor's gracious inten- 
 tions and benevolent wishes. I met several enlightened 
 men who agreed with me, but there are others who 
 are not to be convinced ; I cannot therefore say that 
 any cordial feeling with Russia is yet established^ al- 
 though it is undoubtedly making progress. 
 
 The Marshal Prince Paskewitch appears to me as 
 able in the art of civil administration as in that of war : 
 his task is an arduous one. I know no subject in 
 Europe that stands in a more difficult and responsible 
 position. But he is a great man, and I have much 
 faith in his success. The new buildings and new 
 town are fine ; the shops and commerce flourish- 
 ing ; the prisons, manufactories, &c., all of which I 
 visited, well regulated. The citadel, lately made by 
 the Emperor Nicholas, bears witness to the colossal 
 energy of the power which has erected this stupen- 
 dous work in two years. Upon the whole, I am 
 persuaded, that by firmness, conciliation, and by just 
 and temperate measures, this country will become 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM WARSAW. 
 
 27 
 
 as flourishing and happy as it was before the re- 
 volutions, and free from all the jealousies and in- 
 trigues of bad national administration. I was beyond 
 measure gratified at seeing Poland, of which we really 
 speak so ignorantly in England. My eyes were fully 
 opened, and I hope, in time, others will see also with 
 unprejudiced vision. Many may regret (amongst 
 which number I confess I have always been one) that 
 the conditions of the treaty of Vienna as to Po- 
 land were not carried into effect by Russia. But when 
 that power saw other nations departing from the prin- 
 ciples then established — when rebellion and treason 
 were abroad, and undermining the Imperial sway — 
 would any sovereign be unmindful of the opportunity 
 of seizing those means, within reach, of consolidating 
 his dominions and securing his own empire for ever ? 
 It cannot be denied that Russia conquered Poland by 
 force of arms. It is equally certain that France, with 
 all her mighty military means under Napoleon, could 
 not conquer Russia. It is morally impossible that 
 Poland can ever again be severed from Russia, and 
 established as an independent kingdom, unless with 
 the previous subjugation of Russia. What power, after 
 the signal failure of France, can accomplish this, so 
 long at least as Prussia and Austria support the pre- 
 sent order of things ? 
 
 Let the politicians of Europe weigh well these few 
 
 i-i 
 
'I 
 
 28 
 
 KALISCH. 
 
 I' 
 
 s 
 
 II 
 
 i U 
 
 ill 
 
 observations, and ask themselves if promoting sedition, 
 discontent, and democracy in Poland, can by any pro- 
 bability tend to the happiness and welfare of that 
 nation. 
 
 Our agreeable sejour at Warsaw drew now to a 
 close, and the prospect of an early meeting of Parlia- 
 ment being before me, we thought it expedient to 
 bend our course homewards. 
 
 Having taken an affectionate leave of the Marshal 
 Prince Paskewitch and his amiable wife, who, so 
 flattering were their attentions, came to see us into 
 our carriages, and having said farewell to all our 
 kind friends at Warsaw, amongst whom I must spe- 
 cially designate Prince Augerowski and Prince Kos- 
 ciolowski, we departed on the 26th of April on oui- 
 route to Berlin. 
 
 We halted the first night at Kudno, at the commis- 
 sariat house of the district. Everything had been put 
 in requisition for our reception. The same etiquette 
 in respect of the officers receiving us in uniform— the 
 same ceremony of guards of honour and orderlies, 
 and the same desire to place everything before us cost 
 free, by the supreme direction of the Emperor, were 
 here manifested as on former occasions. 
 
 We reached Kalisch on the 28th of April, during 
 intense cold, and under a heavy fall of snow. This 
 place is well known to the military and diplomatic 
 
 
 BERLIN. — ROYAL HOSPITALITY. 
 
 29 
 
 world. It is the frontier town between the kingdom 
 of Poland and the Prussian States, and is surrounded 
 by vast and seemingly interminable plains. From a 
 mere village, the Emperor has lately erected it into a 
 considerable town. Large palaces have been built 
 with unaccountable rapidity, to afford quarters to the 
 great princes of Europe, who have assembled there, at 
 the Emperor's invitation, to review large bodies of 
 troops. It appears, indeed, as if his Imperial Majesty 
 contemplated this place as one well adapted for the 
 assemblage, whenever such may seem expedient, of 
 an immense force, either for effect, demonstration, or 
 exercise. 
 
 The Imperial quarters were large and commodious. 
 An excellent supper was prepared for us with the 
 usual attendance and hospitality. 
 
 On the 2nd of March we entered the Prussian 
 States. There is no ckaussSe on this side till you 
 arrive at Breslau, and the road was abominable at 
 this season, with four or five feet of snow. Breslau 
 is a considerable old fortress. The town is composed 
 of narrow streets and high buildings, surmounted by 
 curious turrets. A fine bronze statue has lately been 
 erected here to the hero Blucher by the brave Sile- 
 sian army. The commerce of the town is very great ; 
 the garrison is formidable, and the fortifications are 
 in excellent order. 
 
 t 
 
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 rl 
 
li 
 
 ;ii 
 
 30 
 
 ROYAL HOSPITALITY. 
 
 Not having much leisure to delay at Breslau, we 
 pushed on to Frankfort on the Oder, an excellent and 
 agreeable town, with a fine cathedral, in which is a 
 beautifully painted glass window, well worthy the in- 
 spection of travellers. We arrived finally at Berlin 
 on the night of the 5th of March. 
 
 It would take up more time than I can at present 
 spare, were I to enter now into any account of my 
 delightful sejour of nearly a month at Berlin. I shall 
 reserve this for some future publication ; for it would 
 be impossible to comprise, within a few pages at the 
 end of this Memoir, a description of all the interesting 
 and magnificent objects I witnessed, and of the digni- 
 fied hospitality of the king and his accomplished and 
 fascinating family. It must at present suflSce to say, 
 that the Duke of Cumberland had ordered excellent 
 apartments for us at the Hotel de Russie on the Lin- 
 den. We were indeed almost domiciliated with his 
 Royal Highness and the Duchess during our stay in 
 the Prussian capital : their kindness was deeply ap- 
 preciated, and can never be forgotten by us. 
 
 We had constant dinners, receptions, and fetes at 
 court. The King was unceasing in his kindness to 
 me ; and all the royal family, following his Majesty's 
 example, treated us with the like favour and conde- 
 scension. We were honoured, moreover, by special 
 grand entertainments made for us by the Russian, 
 
 MAGNIFICENT PRESENTS. 
 
 31 
 
 French, and English ministers. Lord William Russell 
 indeed, who, in spite of our political opinions being 
 wide as the poles asunder, and notwithstanding those 
 instances of Lord John Russell's conduct towards me, 
 which no time can efface or circumstances remove 
 from my memory, studiously went out of his way to 
 be attentive to us. 
 
 To crown all, on leaving Berlin, the King sent Lady 
 Londonderry and me very magnificent presents in fine 
 vases and china from the splendid Berlin manufac- 
 tory ; and I now hold these, together with the other 
 matchless presents which I have received from the 
 sovereigns of Europe, as proud and flattering testimo- 
 nials that, far more by the acts of another than by my 
 own humble efforts, the name I bear will be remem- 
 bered on the scene of Europe. 
 
 V 
 
 f 
 
SECOND PART. 
 
 <;,L 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
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I 
 
 AN HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CITY OF ST. PETERSBURGH, 
 
 SINCE ITS FOUNDATION. 
 
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 ':i} 
 
 
 Peter the Great, desirous of transporting the seat of 
 his empire to the borders of the sea, and of approxi- 
 mating his capital to the western part of Europe, 
 whence he might draw the elements of civilisation 
 so indispensable for the improvement of his subjects, 
 chose for that purpose the banks of the Neva, a 
 territory conquered by him from the Swedes. 
 
 The local difficulties would have deterred any other 
 but this monarch from such a purpose. As the whole 
 of the ground had been, like that of the Delta in 
 ^Syptj formed by the slow but continual depositions 
 of a river, the soil was consequently so humid and 
 light, before the waters had been well drained off by 
 
 D 2 
 
 . 
 
 I 
 
 ill 
 
 ! 
 
 ) i 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
^ji 
 
 III 
 
 II > 
 
 3() 
 
 SITE OF ST. PETERSBURGH. 
 
 canals, that the labour must have been immense. These 
 islets were also frequently subjected to inundations, 
 caused chiefly by the west winds, which blowing 
 violently, not only obstructed the waters of the Neva 
 in their downward course, but oftentimes forced the 
 waves of the sea to flow up with those of the river 
 itself. Nor was the climate such as was likely to 
 attract inhabitants, owing to the severity of its tem- 
 perature, the dampness of its soil, and the great 
 atmospherical changes consequent upon its vicinity 
 to the sea. 
 
 But Peter the Great had seen in Holland flourish- 
 ing towns, which had sprung up upon ground pre- 
 viously drained by canals ; towns, in many instances 
 built even below the level of the sea, but protected 
 from its inroads by powerful dikes. As to the 
 unfavourable climate, he anticipated, and with justice, 
 that the clearing and draining of the ground would 
 materially improve it : it may also be naturally 
 enough conjectured, that the pleasure he felt in 
 imitating a country in which he had during his 
 youth acquired so much practical knowledge, acted 
 as no slight stimulus for the completion of his 
 plans. 
 
 It was on the 16th of May, 1703, that the Czar 
 commenced the construction of a fortress at the 
 mouth of the Neva, on an island then known by the 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE CITY. 
 
 37 
 
 name of Yeni Saar, or Hare Island. Another 
 establishment, consisting at the time of only a few 
 wooden huts, was simultaneously formed in the adja- 
 cent island of Kowe Saar, or Birch-tree Island, Such 
 is the humble origin of St. Petersburgh, which now 
 reckons half a million of inhabitants. 
 
 The most ancient part, although now no more 
 than a suburb, was Kowe Saar, at present called the 
 Quarter of St. Petersburgh. Shortly after this, ano- 
 ther colony established itself on the left bank of the 
 Neva. It was not, however, until after the victory 
 of Pultowa, which, in the words of Peter the Great, 
 " firmly laid the foundation-stone of St. Peters- 
 burgh," that he caused works worthy of himself to 
 be commenced. Assembling a vast number of work- 
 men, he erected his citadel in the short space of four 
 months. A great mortality was a necessary conse- 
 quence of the deficiency of supplies, and the severity 
 of the climate, all which casualties were repaired by 
 fresh levies. Stone fortifications replaced mud ram- 
 parts. Streets at right angles were laid out in the 
 Kowe Saar, the Admiralty, the Dock -yard, a small 
 Summer Palace with its extensive gardens, the 
 Winter Palace, now the barracks of the Preobiajensky 
 Guards, were all built upon the left bank of the 
 Neva, and prove that this isle, formed by the Moika 
 and the Fontanka, were exclusively confined to 
 
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 m 
 
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 1^ 
 
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 F 
 
 •411. 
 
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38 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE CITY. 
 
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 r : 
 
 government buildings. A foundry constructed on 
 the other side of the Fantanka, together with the huts 
 of the workmen, originated the beautiful quarter 
 now called Liteinaia, Here were also lodged the 
 different regiments of guards. 
 
 But it was upon the island called by the Czar 
 Vassili Ostroff, situated on the right of the Grand 
 Neva, a little below the citadel, that he intended to 
 lavish his greatest embellishments. His design was 
 to make it a new Amsterdam, defended from all 
 hostile attacks by impregnable bastions and redoubts. 
 The plans he projected for the accomplishment of 
 this were immense ; not less than 259 wersts of canals 
 were to be dug, and an enclosure of 17 wersts in cir- 
 cumference to be fortified. 
 
 It was here that the clergy, nobility, and merchants 
 were to reside, the mechanics and lower classes 
 having their abode assigned them either in the St. 
 Petersburgh or the Wibourg quarter, which portion 
 of the city was already in progress of formation on the 
 northern bank of the river. 
 
 In 1710, the public functionaries and nobles belong- 
 ing to ' the court, and the ministers of the supreme 
 courts of justice, were ordered to take up their 
 residence at St. Petersburgh, whither also the Czar 
 had invited many artists and mechanics, foreigners as 
 well as natives. 
 
 ITS IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 39 
 
 In 1717 the number of houses in Vassili Ostroff 
 was about 500 ; in the other quarters, St. Petersburgh 
 being tlie principal, 1,679 ; in that of Moscow, on the 
 left bank of the Neva, 529; in Wibourg-, 345. Total, 
 2,553. The majority of these were, however, mise- 
 rable little wooden buildings. 
 
 Twenty-three years after the foundation of St. 
 Petersburgh, Peter the Great died; and, with the 
 exception of the church erected over his tomb, there 
 now remain scarcely any of the buildings raised 
 during his lifetime, but such as have undergone 
 alteration. After the monarch's death, although St. 
 Petersburgh still continued to be the seat of govern- 
 ment, Moscow was considered the metropolis; so 
 much so, that, in the reign of the Empress Anne, 
 many persons who had established themselves in the 
 new capital abandoned it for the interior of the 
 country. 
 
 St. Petersburgh made great advances under the 
 Empress Elizabeth. This princess, who was fond of 
 pomp and magnificence, invited to her court the ablest 
 foreign artists, and commenced embellishing the city 
 with edifices of vast extent and extraordinary beauty. 
 The great Winter Palace, considered in the present 
 day a chef-d'oeuvre, was built under the direction of 
 the celebrated Rastrelli, as were also the Palaces of 
 AnitchkoflP, Strogonoff, Woronzoff, and several others. 
 
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40 
 
 ITS PROGRESS IN THE 
 
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 ■} 
 
 With Rastrelli also originated the plan of the Monas- 
 tery of Smolino, together with its vast church, begun 
 in 1736, and completed one hundred years afterwards, 
 in the reign of his present Majesty the Emperor Ni- 
 cholas I. Much native talent now appeared : amongst 
 other artists, BaschmakofF was particularly distin- 
 guished. 
 
 But notwithstanding all the efforts of government, 
 St. Petersburgh was still far inferior to Moscow ; 
 whilst the ancient residence of the Czars reckoned 
 above 300,000 inhabitants, the population of the new 
 capital upon the banks of the Neva only amounted, in 
 the year 1750, to 80,000 souls, and at the accession of 
 Catherine II. this number had only increased 30,000. 
 
 It was reserved for this last princess to have the 
 glory of furthering the magnificent plans of Peter the 
 Great, by giving a new stimulus to Russia, and by in- 
 fusing fresh activity in her subjects for completing the 
 embellishments of her rising capital. From the com- 
 mencement of her reign, she abandoned all direct 
 methods formerly adopted, to oblige the inhabitants of 
 the provinces to establish themselves at St. Peters- 
 burgh, being well assured that the attractions of an 
 elegant and polite court,— the resources which would 
 soon be offered of rich collections of the productions of 
 nature and of art, — superb galleries of pictures and 
 statuary, — magnificent spectacles, — and, above all, the 
 
 REIGN OF CATHERINE. 41 
 
 wise and enlightened protection which she granted to 
 commerce and to every branch of trade, — would suffice 
 to draw to the capital a numerous population. The 
 event soon justified her anticipations, and from that 
 time an astonishing progress was made without any 
 interruption. 
 
 At the period of her mounting the throne, St. Pe- 
 tersburgh, already rich in vast churches and superb 
 edifices, was still far removed from that uniform and 
 regular beauty now so much admired in it. Vassili 
 Ostroff, and the quarters situated beyond the Fontanka, 
 were henceforth to form the city, properly so called ; 
 those which extended along the left bank of the Fon- 
 tanka were divided into three suburbs — those of Livo- 
 nia, Moscow, and Alexander Newsky. Commissioners 
 also were empowered to compel proprietors to build 
 their houses of several stories high, for the better con- 
 centration of the inhabitants ; their attention was also 
 particularly directed to the embellishment of the banks 
 of the Neva. 
 
 Several circumstances now concurred in favouring 
 the views of the commissioners : the nobles flocked in 
 great numbers to St Petersburgh, which became more 
 and more improved and embellished in proportion as 
 its increasing commerce rendered it more opulent, 
 while the population multiplied exceedingly. This 
 city, which, towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth, 
 
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 ^: 
 
 S i 
 
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 42 
 
 ITS PROGRESS IN THE 
 
 could only reckon 110,000 inhabitants, had, in 1765, 
 150,335. In 1770, the numbers were 158,782; in 
 1775, after the disasters caused by the inundation of 
 1773,158,365; in 1780, 174,778 ; in 1784, 192,446; 
 in 1789, 217,948. Often, in the course of a single 
 summer, whole streets of small wooden tenements dis- 
 appeared to make room for vast stone edifices, which 
 found occupiers the moment they were finished. New 
 palaces and new churches were erected in every part 
 of the city, amongst the most prominent of which may 
 be reckoned the church of the Monastery of St. Alex- 
 ander Newsky, — the Palace of the Taurida, with its 
 beautiful gardens, — the vast edifice of the Academy of 
 Fine Arts, — that of the Academy of the Sciences, — the 
 Bank, — and the Hospital of Aboukhoff*. 
 
 Travellers by whom this city was at that time 
 visited, assure us that vast and gloomy woods, loaded 
 with vapour and humidity, adjoined the most elegant 
 and populous quarters ; little wooden huts stood beside 
 magnificent palaces ; while a great extent of ground, 
 covered with ashes and ruins, presented the traces of a 
 great conflagration which had broken out on the 26th 
 of March, 1764. 
 
 The ofiicial reports of the year 1778 prove that this 
 picture is not exaggerated. By these we also learn, 
 that even sixteen years after Catherine's accession, 
 only one quarter of the city could be considered as 
 
 REIGN OF CATHERINE. 
 
 43 
 
 completed — that of the Admiralty, in which were to be 
 reckoned two hundred and sixteen large and handsome 
 stone buildings, and not one of wood. The total num- 
 ber of stone houses in the city did not, however, ex- 
 ceed six hundred and thirty-three, the remainder, 
 3,800, mentioned in the reports, were all of wood : the 
 number of the inhabitants was at this period 165,000. 
 It being the wish of the Empress, from the com- 
 mencement of her reign, to remedy the want of regu- 
 larity wliich gave her capital the character of a yet 
 unformed city, she appointed a commission, having for 
 
 their president General Tchernischefi*, whose chief 
 duties were to draw up a plan by which a greater 
 regularity in the formation of the streets, edifices, &c., 
 might be insured, and to restrict the further increase 
 of the city, which was already disproportionately great 
 for the number of its inhabitants. It w ould have been 
 easy, owing to the level nature of the ground and 
 the materials of the old buildings, to introduce the 
 boldest changes ; but the vast expense which would 
 necessarily be incurred, proved an insurmountable 
 obstacle. The great object was, therefore, to preserve, 
 as much as possible, the former arrangement of the 
 streets, squares, &c., imparting to them as much re- 
 gularity as circumstances would permit. 
 
 A fire having, in 1786, destroyed a great portion of 
 the Gostinoi Door, which was constructed of wood, it 
 
 i 
 
u 
 
 INCREASE OF POPULATION. 
 
 !l 
 
 was replaced by magnificent stone arcades ; and the 
 Empress erected the famous statue of her illustrious 
 predecessor, which is the admiration of every be- 
 holder. 
 
 The great increase of population soon rendered ne- 
 cessary a new division of the city into nine quarters, 
 the numbers being, at the close of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, not less than 220,208 souls. 
 
 The increase of St. Petersburg!! was not very ap- 
 parent under the reign of the Emperor Paul I. It 
 was, however, in his time that the central part of the 
 city, between the Grand Neva and the Fontanka, 
 which had hitherto formed only three quarters, was 
 divided into four, designated by the names of the first, 
 second, third, and fourth quarters of the Admiralty. 
 
 Upon the accession of his son, Alexander I., the 
 utmost exertions were made for the improvement and 
 embellishment of the capital of the empire. The Em- 
 peror's attention was more particularly directed to the 
 effectual draining of the ground. Numerous canals 
 had been dug for the purpose by his predecessors, such 
 as the one which forms a communication between the 
 Moika and the Grand Neva, and those of Krukoff and 
 Ligova. Under the Empress Anne more especially, 
 great exertions had been made to drain off a morass 
 which covered a vast quantity of ground now occupied 
 by the Liteinaia, the Karetnaia, and the Moscow 
 
 ISLETS OF THE NEVA. 
 
 45 
 
 quarters; and under the reign of Catherine IL 
 similar efforts powerfully contributed to change the 
 general aspect of the city. At this period were 
 constructed, on the left bank of the river, those mag- 
 nificent quays, which, begun in 1764, required the 
 uninterrupted labours of thirteen years to complete. 
 The construction of the Canal of Catherine, and of the 
 two grand roads leading from the capital to Czars- 
 koeselo and to Peterhoff, is also to be attributed to 
 that illustrious woman. 
 
 Much, however, remained to be done at the com- 
 mencement of the nineteenth century. With the ex- 
 ception of Vassili Ostroff, the quarter of St. Peters- 
 burgh, and a part of the Island of Apothecaries, all 
 the islets situated on the left of the Neva were still 
 in their original state, covered with damp thick fogs, 
 which afterwards spread over the city itself. By the 
 order of Alexander, these islands were transformed into 
 delicious gardens ; an artificial elevation was also 
 given to the islands of Kammenoi, Ostroff, and Yola- 
 quire ; numerous canals were excavated, and every 
 means adopted that could produce a beneficial change 
 in the atmosphere and climate. Various magnificent 
 buildings, too numerous to mention here, now sprang 
 up, as if by enchantment, in different quarters of the 
 city. Trottoirs added not only to its embellishment, 
 but also to its comfort ; and in 1810 a new quarter, 
 
 6 
 

 ^ 
 
 I! 
 
 I! 
 
 46 
 
 POPULATION AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 that of Narva, was added, which now increased the 
 number to twelve, reckoning that of St. Petersburgh, 
 hitherto considered as a suburb. The following state- 
 ment will show the amazing progress made in a few years 
 in the population and buildings. The number of in- 
 habitants, which at the close of the preceding century 
 amounted to 220,208, increased in 1805 to 271,137; 
 in 1812, to 308,474; in 1814, to 335,743; in 1817, 
 344,619 ; in 1819, to 363,938 ; in 1825, to 424,741. 
 In 1778 the city did not contain 4,000 houses, of 
 which 600 only were of stone. In 1814 the first 
 quarter of the Admiralty contained 282 stone houses, 
 and 29,800 inhabitants. In the three other quarters 
 of the Admiralty were 783 stone and 344 wood 
 houses. The total of houses in the capital was 7,123, 
 of which 2,181 were of stone. 
 
 In 1833 the extent of ground occupied by St. 
 Petersburgh was 81 wersts 35,147 square sage- 
 nas, Russian measure, equal nearly to 21,905 Eng- 
 lish acres. The number of houses in 1833 in the 
 
 First quarter of the Admiralty - 
 Second - - - - - 
 Third - - - - - 
 Fourth ---•.- 
 In the Liteina'ia quarter 
 
 Moscow ... 
 
 Stone. 
 265 
 
 245 
 
 313 
 
 243 
 
 - 398 
 
 - 339 
 
 Wood. 
 
 26 
 25 
 
 238 
 464 
 607 
 
 h 
 
 
 MORTALITY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Stone. 
 
 Wood. 
 
 Narva 
 
 «» B 
 
 - 
 
 114 - 
 
 - 360 
 
 Rojentskvenskaia 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 109 - 
 
 - 506 
 
 Karetnaia 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 243 - 
 
 - 289 
 
 Vassili Ostroff 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 297 - 
 
 . 682 
 
 St. Petersburgh 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 85 - 
 
 - 1154 
 
 Wibourg 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 55 - 
 
 - 309 
 
 Okhta - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 24 - 
 
 - 686 
 
 Total of stone 
 
 - 
 
 2,730 
 
 
 
 ■ wood 
 
 •• 
 
 5,246 
 
 
 Grand total - 
 
 - 
 
 7,976 
 
 
 47 
 
 The population amounted, in 1833, to 442,896 inha- 
 bitants, of whom 301,870 were males, and IA\,0'26 
 were females. In 1822, the property in houses was 
 estimated to exceed the sum of 13,885,899 roubles. 
 
 Owing to the great exertions made by government 
 for improving the atmosphere and climate, the morta- 
 lity has sensibly diminished in the capital. From 
 official reports it appears, that sixty years ago, the 
 proportion of deaths was one in thirty-five ; it is now 
 one to forty-two, and the average duration of life, 
 which in 1781-1790 was 32i^ years, is now 44^5 
 years. 
 
 This report for the year 1835 embraces, as might 
 be expected, a great variety of topics ; the following 
 is a short precis of the most interesting. 
 
 In an extensive and fertile country like that of 
 
 I 
 
 ( 
 
48 
 
 SUPPLY OF CORN. 
 
 i|t 
 
 Russia, which produces grain sufficient, not only for 
 home consumption, but for exportation, the various 
 branches of husbandry connected with agriculture 
 naturally require no small degree of attention on the 
 part of government. The short crops of the pre- 
 ceding years had imposed upon the home department 
 the duty of assisting those provinces which had suf- 
 fered in consequence, and of providing every part 
 of the empire with corn, chiefly imported from 
 abroad. 
 
 The government was relieved from this care in 
 1835 by a harvest, which, although not the most 
 plentiful, sufficed, at least, for the wants of the con- 
 sumers. Five provinces only — those of Witebsk, Livo- 
 nia, Olouets, Pokoff, and Esthonia, — claimed that 
 assistance, which was immediately afforded. Measures 
 have now been taken to provide against the ill conse- 
 quences of any future scarcity by the establishment of 
 reserve magazines, and by the creation of a fund to 
 be applied to the purchase of foreign corn ; in addi- 
 tion to which, government has authorised the intro- 
 duction of rural banks (similar to those in opera- 
 tion in the island of Ozel) into the three Baltic pro- 
 vinces 
 
 The wool trade is now cultivated in Siberia, the re- 
 motest part of the empire, a wool company having 
 
 INTERNAL COMMERCE. 
 
 49 
 
 been established there in 1832. The efforts of this as- 
 sociation have been very successful. Means have also 
 been adopted for encouraging horticulture, for which 
 purpose model-gardens have been formed in the govern- 
 ments of Poltava, Penza, Catherinosloff*, Kherson, and 
 the Taurida. Her Majesty the Empress has also 
 been graciously pleased to patronise an association 
 formed at Moscow for the same objects, and to pre- 
 sent the society with a portion of her Stoudenetz 
 estate. 
 
 Internal commerce is also in the best state. The 
 exchange of agricultural produce, as well as of 
 manufactures at different fairs, has very much in- 
 creased. The proceeds from goods sold exceed the 
 sum-total of the sales of the preceding year. At 
 Nijny-Novgorod, the difference in favour of 1835 has 
 been 9,272,345 roubles ; at Kharskoff* 9,225,320 rou- 
 bles; at Koursk 1,811,923 roubles; at Taganrog 
 323,345 roubles ; at Tamboff* 92,970 roubles ; and at 
 Irbit 1,137,127 roubles. 
 
 Nineteen fairs have been established for the benefit 
 of trade, in- several principal towns of the empire, and 
 thirteen in lesser ones ; seven new bazaars have also 
 been built in the former, and six in the latter. 
 
 The home department has also been seriously en- 
 gaged in the organisation and internal administration 
 of towns ; and the government being particularly 
 
 VOL. II. V 
 
 » 
 
ll 
 
 50 
 
 FREE PASTURE LANDS. 
 
 H 
 
 h 
 
 I'i'ii' 
 
 i< 
 
 Iff 
 
 Pii 
 
 m 
 
 anxious that the balance-sheet of receipts and ex- 
 penditure should annually be forwarded by the large 
 towns, not less than twenty-six have forwarded their 
 budgets during the present year : and it is satisfactory 
 to remark, that the disbursements have never exceeded 
 what was absolutely necessary. 
 
 The hopes indulged as to the new regulations upon 
 free pasture lands belonging to towns have been fully 
 justified by the results. The local authorities now 
 appear completely awake to the advantages accruing 
 from the working of them. Indeed, independently of 
 the townsmen themselves, numerous applications have 
 been made by nobles and foreign merchants for grants 
 of land, with the view of establishing farms or manu- 
 factures, subject, of course, to the annual rent fixed by 
 law. A portion of these lands has also been granted 
 to such detachments of the army as are stationary, — 
 kitchen gardens, of eight dessetines in extent, being 
 assigned to all the garrison battalions, two to each 
 company of invalids, and one to each commissariat 
 
 detachment. 
 
 A great increase is observable in the population of 
 the steppes, which are annexed to the government of 
 Saratoff, on the other side of the Volga. These 
 steppes, which, when the seventh census was taken, 
 had a population of 88,650 men, (the women not 
 being taken into account,) have now become so popu- 
 
 COLONIES. — VACCINATION. 
 
 51 
 
 loiis, that the number of males is almost three- 
 fold. 
 
 In Bessarabia two districts have been formed. A 
 new German colony is established in this province, 
 and the population has increased tenfold since the last 
 census. 
 
 His Majesty the Emperor having granted a free 
 pardon, and permission to return, to all Russian sub- 
 jects who liad emigrated into Turkey at any former 
 period, 1,722 individuals have availed themselves of 
 this act of grace, the greater part of whom have settled 
 near Toutclikoff. For the further encouragement of 
 tliese colonies, they have been exempted from some of 
 the taxes for the space of five years. 
 
 Vaccination has made the most satisfactory pro- 
 gress in the provinces. According to the reports 
 of local authorities, 495,371 children have been 
 vaccinated in the interval between the last six months 
 of 1834 and the first six of 1835. The propor- 
 tion between those who have been cured is one to 
 twelve. The improvements made every year In the 
 public establishments near the different mineral 
 springs in the interior of the country attract consider- 
 able numbers. 
 
 A medico-electric establishment has been formed at 
 St. Petersburgh, and another of artificial mineral 
 waters has been opened at Wilna. The various me- 
 
 e2 
 
 »! 
 
 ki 
 
 
o2 
 
 HOSPITALS. 
 
 » 
 
 l^i 
 
 dical institutions are most flourisliing. Not less tlian 
 2,178 students have attended the courses of lectures of 
 the Medico-Chirurgical Academy of St. Petersburgh, 
 and the subsidiary Academies of Moscow and Wilna. 
 Out of this number 1,247 have entered at their own 
 expense, the rest at that of the government or of pri- 
 vate foundations. 
 
 Amongst other most useful establishments connected 
 with this department, is the manufactory of surgical 
 instruments at St. Petersburgh, which in 1835 fur- 
 nished the army and the other branches of the 
 public service with instruments, the cost of which 
 amounted to 184,000 roubles. The value of them 
 finished off in the course of the present year is 99,000 
 roubles. 
 
 The organisation of the hospitals throughout the 
 empire, upon a plan approved of by his Majesty, at 
 present engages the attention of the home department. 
 Amongst other provisions it is proposed to form, in 
 each government, large establishments under the 
 name of District Hospitals, intended for the reception 
 of persons suffering under such chronic disorders as 
 require a careful and prolonged treatment. Hospitals 
 upon a smaller scale have also been opened in six 
 different provincial towns. A lazaretto has been built 
 at Nijny Novgorod, exclusively appropriated to the 
 boatmen frequenting the fair held at that town. 
 
 CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 53 
 
 Orders have likewise been given to distribute medi- 
 cines gratis to such of the sick poor as cannot be 
 received into these establishments. 
 
 Another improvement is the formation of schools 
 for the superintendents of hospitals: these will, in 
 time, furnish persons every way fitted for undertaking 
 the direction of civil hospitals. Two of these schools 
 are in activity at St. Petersburgh and Moscow ; a 
 third will soon be opened at Casan, and a fourth at 
 Wilna. At Moscow a lunatic asylum has been esta- 
 blished, into which patients are admitted and receive 
 medical treatment previously to their being sent to 
 the hospital. A separate building has also been con- 
 structed for convalescents of this class. The organi- 
 sation of the Orphan and Foundling Hospitals at 
 Kalonga has been completed upon the plan of that of 
 St. Petersburgh, opened in 1831. 
 
 Private benevolence has considerably enriched the 
 charitable institutions both of St. Petersburgh and 
 Moscow ; not less than 330,000 roubles having been 
 dedicated to this praiseworthy object, besides other 
 grants of lands, houses, &c. The general state of 
 the finances of the board for charitable institutions, 
 is most satisfactory. Notwithstanding that 2,566,605 
 roubles have been set apart to defray the ex- 
 penses of buildings intended to be erected within 
 
 - I! 
 
 -. 
 
 f. 
 

 54 
 
 PUBLIC WORKS. 
 
 the next five years, the account of the fund was as 
 follows : — 
 
 State of the Finances of these Establishments on the 
 
 \st of January y 1836. 
 
 Capital 
 
 Deposits 
 
 Total 
 
 Being an excess over the pre- 
 ceding year of 
 
 ! 
 
 Roubles. 
 42,456,437 
 
 80,395,950 
 
 Copecs. 
 15 
 
 H 
 
 122,854,387 
 - 10,528,984 - 
 
 20| 
 951 
 
 The maintaining and perfecting the means of 
 communication througliout the empire is one of 
 the most important duties attached to the home 
 department. The works of this description have 
 everywhere been vigorously prosecuted. The new 
 high road between Dunabourg and Kowno has just 
 been completed, and several others have been already 
 commenced. 
 
 Many important public works have been under- 
 taken in many of the towns. Of this number is the 
 construction of quays along the Oka, and from the 
 .Volga to Nijny Novgorod. At Moscow preparations 
 are making for building the church of the Saviour. 
 Eighteen other towns have obtained permission to exe- 
 cute works, the plans of which have received the ap- 
 
 PUBLIC WORKS. 
 
 55 
 
 probation of government, and to employ upon the said 
 works 442,437 roubles raised upon the municipal 
 funds : 30,829 roubles have also been appropriated to 
 the establishment of a regular steam-bbat communi- 
 cation between the ports of the Black Sea and those of 
 the Sea of Azof. 
 
 ^i 
 
, 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 iii 
 
 i 
 
 56 
 
 AN 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 ODESSA, ITS TRADE, &c. 
 
 When, in 1774, Russia had acquired, by the treaty of 
 Kainardgi, the right of navigating the Black Sea, the 
 government lost no time in forming several maritime 
 establishments upon its shores, the chief of which was 
 Kherson, or Cherson. This town is interesting to an 
 Englishman, from its being the burial-place of the 
 benevolent Howard. His grave is at a short distance 
 from Cherson, on the road to Nicholaietf, and is con- 
 spicuous by a small brick pyramid, which was placed 
 over his remains instead of a sun-dial which he 
 had requested, built at the mouth of tlie Dnieper. 
 But the advantages promised by its site were, for the 
 most part, never obtained, not only in consequence 
 of its port being shallow and blocked up by the ice 
 five months out of the twelve, but also because the 
 
 ORIGIN OF ODESSA. 
 
 57 
 
 entrance into the Bosphorus was still closed against 
 the Russian flag. 
 
 In 1792, the Empress Catherine II., having re- 
 united to her empire some territories of which Poland 
 had in ancient times dispossessed it, directed her at- 
 tention towards founding upon the shores of the Black 
 Sea a port which might serve as a convenient entre- 
 pot for these newly-recovered provinces. Her choice 
 of a site fell upon the banks of a small creek near the 
 Tartar village of Hadgi Bay ; and it is there that the 
 gay and opulent city of Odessa now presents itself to 
 the admiring traveller. That the selection was a fe- 
 licitous one, was proved by the returns of even the few 
 first years. In 1795 the total value of exports and im- 
 ports did not exceed 68,000 roubles ; but in the same 
 proportion as the commercial importance of Cherson, 
 Nicholaieff, and Otchakoff*, sensibly declined, that of 
 Odessa increased — its exports amounting in 1796 to 
 172,000 roubles, and the next year to 208,000 roubles. 
 Nor was it long before this city attracted to itself the 
 whole of the foreign trade. Taganrog, which is situ- 
 ated upon the Sea of Azof, was the only town unin- 
 jured by this superiority — its trade being dependent 
 upon other sources. Situated upon the confines of 
 Europe and Asia, and comparatively near the centre 
 of the empire, Odessa so well understood how to take 
 advantage of its commanding position, that the activity 
 
58 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 11 
 
 { 
 
 of its commerce daily increased. Almost the only 
 commercial relations of the ports of the Crimea, espe- 
 cially Theodosia, were, on the contrary, confined to 
 Turkey, which exchanged the produce of the penin- 
 sula for articles suited to the wants of its Mahometan 
 population. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander, upon his accession to the 
 throne, immediately reduced the duties imposed upon 
 all vessels entering the ports of the Black Sea twenty- 
 five per cent. ; granting, moreover, to Odessa all the 
 rights of an entrepot, which privileges it continued to 
 enjoy until it obtained those of a free port. Many 
 circumstances concurred at this time in giving a sud- 
 den impulse to the trade and navigation of a sea 
 which but a short time since was almost unknown. 
 The Sublime Porte had just granted the right of pas- 
 sage through the Bosphorus to the Englisli, French, 
 Dutch, and Prussian vessels ; and the peace of Amiens 
 promised Europe, then almost exhausted with a pro- 
 tracted war, an interval of repose. In 1803 five hun- 
 dred and thirty vessels entered the harbour of Odessa, 
 which city could not then boast of more than 8,000 
 inhabitants ; and in the course of the same year not 
 less than 60,000 tclietverts of corn quitted its port, 
 which sold at the rate of five silver roubles per tehet- 
 vert. 
 
 Even the war which soon broke out again between 
 
 fi 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 59 
 
 France and England exercised, at first, no other than 
 a beneficial influence upon these distant shores. The 
 maritime commerce of France and Spain being anni- 
 hilated, Trieste engrossed to itself that of the Levant. 
 Wars upon wars deprived every branch of industry, 
 commerce, and even agriculture, of the necessary hands. 
 Many countries, wholly unable to produce corn and 
 other grain suflScient for home consumption, found 
 themselves compelled to obtain it from abroad. In 
 no part of the world was this kind of produce cheaper 
 than in the ports of the Black Sea ; the natural con- 
 sequence was, that in a short time large capitals which, 
 on account of the calamities of war, could not be safely 
 employed elsewhere, found their way to Odessa. 
 
 This great activity, however, to which the south of 
 Russia is indebted for the beginning of its fortune, was 
 soon interrupted by a war between Russia and the 
 Porte. 
 
 Some years afterwards, the general peace, conquered 
 at Leipzic and Waterloo, happily restored tranquillity 
 to entire Europe ; and upon this, the trade of Odessa 
 immediately revived with fresh vigour. France, which, 
 since the commencement of the century, had made im- 
 mense progress in all the productive branches of com- 
 merce, particularly required from the countries capable 
 of providing her with them, tlie elements of her 
 manufactures. From that time her commercial 
 
 J I 
 
 
 i\ 
 
60 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 i'l 
 
 \i 
 
 V: 
 
 / : 
 
 relations with Russia experienced a considerable in- 
 crease. On the other hand, the unemployed capitals 
 which had been accumulating for several years at 
 Leghorn and Genoa, at length returned into circula- 
 tion. The ports of the Levant were the points of at- 
 traction, and the Genoese especially came to purchase 
 at Odessa goods of which they afterwards resold a part 
 to France and Spain. A rivalship manifested itself on 
 the part of the merchants of Leghorn and Trieste, but 
 the latter were indisputably inferior in the magnitude 
 of their speculations. Although, generally speaking, 
 the commercial intercourse of the Mediterranean ports 
 was almost exclusively confined to those of Southern 
 Russia, yet numbers of English visited the shores of 
 the Black Sea chiefly as agents of Italian or French 
 merchants, while the Turkish flag, hoisted on Greek 
 vessels, frequently appeared in the roadstead of Odessa. 
 Even the calamities which aflSicted Europe in 1816 
 and 1817 contributed to infuse fresh energy into the 
 commerce of these shores. The crops having almost 
 generally failed, orders for the purchase of grain of 
 every description became so numerous and so con- 
 siderable, that Russia, notwithstanding its fertility, 
 could scarcely execute them. The activity which then 
 prevailed in the port of Odessa, the quantity of specie 
 which flowed in from all parts, the prices obtained for 
 produce, and the increased value of labour in the 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 61 
 
 neighbouring countries, were circumstances which 
 might well induce an error touching the real and per- 
 manent importance of this traflic. A false estimate 
 was indeed formed of it, and this niistake had the 
 most disastrous consequences. The harvest of 1818 
 had already relieved Europe from the fears of a dearth, 
 wliilst the warehouses of Odessa were still filled with 
 grain bought at very high prices. The merchants 
 continued for some time exporting upon their own 
 account, but such speculations were of course unsuc- 
 cessful, and the trade of Odessa experienced consider- 
 able losses. The tchetvert of wheat, which but lately 
 was worth forty-five roubles, was soon reduced to 
 twenty, and the following year oflfered for thirteen. 
 From that time the only corn exported was for the 
 account of the Genoese and the Greeks, who were 
 satisfied with a moderate profit, considering themselves 
 fortunate in having an opportunity of employing their 
 vessels, wliich would otherwise have remained idle in 
 their ports, so much had tlieir numbers increased dur- 
 ing those years in which fortuitous events had pro- 
 duced an unexampled activity. 
 
 But if these seasons of successful speculation were 
 as transient as they were brilliant, the losses conse- 
 quent upon them were soon repaired, and the trade of 
 Southern Russia still progressed with rapid strides. A 
 new market was there opened to the trade of Western 
 
 
 t 
 
 11 
 
 '% 
 
'& 
 
 
 \ ) 
 
 ( 
 
 
 I 
 
 ii 
 
 62 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 Europe, and the importance of this mart became 
 greater as the population of these favoured regions 
 increased, and in proportion to the influence of those 
 new foci of civilisation, the maritime towns. The value 
 of the exports was even surpassed by that of the im- 
 ports, a difference constantly on the increase. After 
 a lapse of twenty years, the value of the goods im- 
 ported in the course of one year exceeded by six times 
 the total amount furnished by the custom-house books 
 at the commencement of that period ; as to the exports, 
 their excess was not more than fourfold. Whilst, in 
 consequence of the increase in the population, the im- 
 portation trade had uniformly been greater, that of 
 exportation necessarily underwent many fluctuations. 
 The reason is evident : — Southern Russia purchases 
 articles of which she stands in actual need, and which 
 she cannot produce ; whilst, in her turn, she can duly 
 ofler the foreigner goods in which Western Europe 
 herself abounds, and for which she never applies, ex- 
 cept when the failure of her own harvests compels her. 
 If the quantity of grain exported has varied consider- 
 ably from one year to another, still greater fluctua- 
 tions have taken place in the price of this commodity : 
 the tchetvert of wheat, which at one time sold for 
 forty-five roubles, has frequently been bought for 
 seven. 
 
 This great depreciation of this species of produce 
 
 
 t 
 
 il 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 63 
 
 has, however, had a beneficial effect, by compelling tlie 
 population to redouble their efforts in order to create 
 new sources of wealth. In fact, the iron and copper 
 transported upon the Don to Taganrog have often 
 found there an advantageous sale. At this time, even 
 the furs of Siberia have obtained good prices at 
 Odessa : the quantities of wool, wax, cordage, hemp, 
 flax, and grain, requisite for the manufacture of oil, 
 sent by Southern Russia, becoming more considerable 
 every year, the nature of this city's commercial rela- 
 tions with abroad has already partly ceased to be what 
 it was ; and perhaps the time is not far distant when 
 the exportation of grain will no longer be considered 
 as the staple of its commerce. 
 
 The transit law promulgated in 1818, and the 
 opening of the free port of Odessa, were productive of 
 such happy results, that during the years 1820 and 
 1821 the trade of that city was more prosperous than 
 ever. Subsequently, the different wars of which the 
 south of Europe was the theatre, crippled it to so great 
 a degree, that the commercial losses of Odessa were 
 very serious. Thus the various capitals employed in 
 the trade of this town, which in 1821 amounted to 
 10,760,000 roubles, did not the following year exceed 
 7,190,000 roubles; in 1823, 5,804,000 roubles ; and 
 in 1824, the total was not above 5,668,000 roubles, 
 
 )' ; 
 
 m 
 
 1 1 
 I. 
 
64 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 ( 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 a sum wliich must naturally be expected to diminish 
 still further in succeeding years. 
 
 To compensate, however, for this, the treaty of 
 Adrianople, by which the navigation of the Black 
 Sea was declared for ever free, and the passage of the 
 Bosphorus opened to all flags without exception, 
 introduced a new era of prosperity for the ports of 
 Southern Russia. 
 
 Notwithstanding deficient crops, which for some 
 time deprived these countries of their natural re- 
 sources, their commercial activity has redoubled. 
 The yearly balance of trade has constantly been in 
 favour of Russia, and particularly so at Odessa : indeed, 
 a mere cursory glance at the actual trade of this 
 city will suffice to prove that the impulse it has 
 received will be permanent. In 1835 the value of 
 the foreign imports amounted to 17,539,197 roubles, 
 a sum exceeding by 2,550,068 roubles the balance 
 of the [preceding year ; on the other hand, Russian 
 produce was exported to the amount of 23,981,234 
 roubles, that is, 4,707,800 roubles more than in 
 1834, although the corn trade was insignificant when 
 compared with that of former years, 378,100 tchet- 
 verts only having been sold for 6,673,091 roubles, 
 whilst in one of the preceding years Odessa had 
 exported more than one million and a half of 
 tchetverts. 
 
 I 
 
 TRADE OF ODESSA. 
 
 65 
 
 An account published on the 30th June, (12th July,) 
 of the commerce of this city during the first five months 
 of 1836, allows us to anticipate still more prosperous 
 results for the present year ; the more so, as the very 
 evident increase in the exports exhibited by that account 
 is owing much more to the new branches of agricultural 
 industry than to the corn trade. Western Europe is 
 fully aware of the advantages offered it by this market, 
 which is daily increasing in importance ; the beneficial 
 influence exercised by the growing prosperity of the 
 commerce of the Black Sea upon the interior of 
 Russia is incalculable, and if we have already been 
 justified in congratulating ourselves upon these re- 
 sults, what brilliant hopes may we not reasonably 
 indulge for the future ! 
 
 if 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 P 
 
66 
 
 RUSSIAN COLONIES IN AMERICA. 
 
 » 
 
 • 
 
 [ 
 
 In directing our attention towards those European 
 colonies which are established beyond sea, we can 
 frequently congratulate ourselves upon the happy 
 influence they have exercised over nations as wild 
 and uncultivated as the regions they inhabit. But 
 the details of their history prove to us that there, 
 where the beauty of the climate and the richness of 
 the soil appear to hold out peculiar advantages, the 
 colonists have not known how to turn them to 
 account ; whilst in other parts the new settlers have 
 had to contend against obstacles made, as it were, 
 for the express purpose of discouraging them. The 
 Russian colonies, especially in North America, bear 
 scarcely any resemblance to the other European 
 establishments which occupy the greater portion of 
 that vast continent. 
 
 Thick fogs continually brood over these shores ; 
 
 RUSSIAN COLONIES. 
 
 67 
 
 some parts of tlie country, bristling with mountains 
 of difficult access, present at every step impenetrable 
 forests and extensive morasses ; others, wholly without 
 vegetation, offer to the eye nothing but sterile rocks. 
 In short, the nature of the climate, and that of the 
 soil itself, equally oppose prodigious obstacles to 
 agriculture. The Russians have, therefore, been 
 obliged to imitate the aborigines in renouncing all 
 attempts to form permanent establishments in the 
 interior, and in fixing their abode upon the borders 
 of the sea ; it being there only that the chase, fishing, 
 and trade, could furnish them with the means of 
 subsistence. 
 
 The Russians also who inhabit this remote part of 
 the empire do not repair thither as to a settled home, 
 diflfering in this from the practice of every other 
 colony. They consist either of officers in the Imperial 
 navy and civil employes, who again quit these shores 
 after a service of five years, or else of mechanics and 
 workmen sent by the American Company. These 
 latter, whose engagement is for seven years, also 
 return home upon that term having expired ; and, 
 even during the time of their sojourn in the colonies, 
 their names still remain upon the registers of their 
 district, and the class to which they originally 
 belonged : exempted only from the conscription, they 
 still continue to pay taxes; in short, the place of 
 
 F 2 
 
 1*4. 
 
 '■Kl 
 
 I < 
 
68 
 
 INDIAN TRIBES. 
 
 their birth still continues to be regarded as their legal 
 
 abode. 
 
 Whilst the European population is thus from time 
 to time renewed, it has been observed with regret 
 that here, as upon the eastern coast of the new con- 
 tinent, the character and habits of the aborigines 
 oppose great difficulties to every attempt made for 
 the purpose of enabling them to participate in the 
 benefits of civilisation. Indeed, the history of the 
 English colonists might induce the belief that the 
 tribes wandering through the vast forests of America, 
 and Hving upon the produce of the chase, are not 
 susceptible of so great a blessing. In vain have the 
 colonists brought them its germ, by introducing laws 
 for the protection of labour, property, agriculture, and 
 the first rudiments of commerce ; these people prefer 
 withdrawing themselves by flying into the depths of 
 their woods, or if some few do remain, they quickly 
 pine away and perish like some wild plant trans- 
 ferred from its natural bed into the green-house. 
 In the Russian estabUshments, likewise, many attempts 
 of this description have proved abortive. Although 
 the company have cultivated at Hadiak, and in the 
 islands of Ounalachka and Askha, (spots where the 
 nature of the soil allowed them some hopes of success,) 
 fields which at least produced the potato, and although 
 they have also reared cattle there, nothing could 
 induce the natives to follow this example. 
 
 INDIAN TIIIBES. 
 
 69 
 
 The musket is undoubtedly a very useful gift 
 for nations who live by hunting, but this weapon has 
 only rendered the chase more easy, without in the 
 least degree producing any amelioration of the savage 
 habits of the American. In short, although a nume- 
 rous population has not disappeared, as upon the banks 
 of the Hudson and the Delaware, villages formerly 
 inhabited are now wholly deserted. But the Ame- 
 rican Company liave not been discouraged. Since its 
 first establishment, and more especially since its 
 reorganisation in 1821, it has never relaxed its 
 generous efibrts for putting an end to evils apparently 
 inevitable. The inhabitants of Kadiak and of the 
 Aleontic Isles, treated like all the other nations sub- 
 ject to the Russian sceptre, pay neither taxes nor 
 tribute; the sole obligation imposed upon them is 
 that of remaining three years in the service of 
 the company, which has the right of employing 
 them during that time in hunting, fishing, or in 
 agricuUure, paying them for their labour the price 
 fixed by a tariflT. The inhabitants of the American 
 continent, three tribes only excepted, and those of 
 the Kouryles, are exempted even from this duty. 
 Hospitals and schools are established at Novo Ark- 
 hangelsk at the company's expense, which also takes 
 upon itself the maintenance of the orphans and chil- 
 dren of those among tlie tribes whose family is 
 
 \ i 
 
 f 
 
 f 
 
 liii 
 
I't 
 
 ! f 
 
 W 
 
 70 
 
 CREOLES. 
 
 numerous. In these schools the children are taught 
 reading, writing, arithmetic, and the precepts of 
 religion. The priests attached to the churches of 
 these colonies occasionally traverse the remotest 
 regions, and, thanks to their zeal, the inhabitants who 
 become really converted to the christian religion are 
 now sensible of its vast benefits. 
 
 The condition of the Creoles, born of Russian 
 fathers and native mothers, has been equally the 
 object of a benevolent solicitude. The people thus 
 born enjoy all the privileges granted in Russia to the 
 class of tradesmen, besides which they are free from 
 all taxes. If, however, they have been brought up 
 at the company's expense, the latter may retain them 
 in its service for the term of ten years. Many of 
 them have been educated in the schools at St. Peters- 
 burgh ; others have obtained employment in the 
 colonies ; others again exercise trade there, and some 
 command vessels belonging to the company. 
 
 But the company's task is not yet ended ; greater 
 improvements are still necessary: their generous 
 efforts have not, however, proved fruitless ; already 
 for several years the number of the population has 
 remained stationary, mortality has diminished, and 
 emigration ceased,— all of which circumstances are 
 highly important. 
 
 71 
 
 CULTIVATION OF 
 
 THE VINE, THE MULBERRY TREE, AND 
 
 THE SUGAR CANE, 
 
 IN THE SOUTHERN rROVINCES. 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 i 
 
 Owing to the vast extent of her empire, and the great 
 range of her temperature, Russia is enabled to cul- 
 tivate successfully the productions of every clime. 
 How striking is the difference between those provinces 
 whose only dependence is upon the sale of their 
 furs, and those where the vine grows in wild luxuri- 
 ance along the margin of their native streams ! It 
 may not only justly be said that one half of the 
 empire serves as colonies to the other, but that 
 the kind of cultivation of which these different 
 countries are susceptible may be varied to infi- 
 nity. Throughout the empire, associations, encou- 
 raged and protected by the government, are actively 
 engaged in developing that kind of labour best 
 
72 
 
 CULTUUE OF THE VINE AND 
 
 i« 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 adapted for each locality, and in discovering new 
 sources of national opulence. Each province pos- 
 sesses means of wealth peculiar to itself; some owe 
 their prosperity to the free trade, others are indebted 
 for it to their labour in the mines ; corn and cattle 
 constitute the riches of the central districts, while the 
 southern ones abound in productions still more pre- 
 cious. 
 
 Favoured, however, as these countries are with 
 abundant harvests, the produce of a genial climate 
 and a rich soil, their rural occupations should not be 
 confined to the growth of grain alone ; indeed, nature 
 herself appears to have suggested the kind of hus- 
 bandry best fitted for these regions, by adorning the 
 banks of the Don witli festoons of the vine, the 
 spontaneous production of the soil. The government, 
 far from confining itself to the encouragement of mere 
 private speculation, has taken a most lively interest 
 in these labours, not only by originating them, but 
 by making itself responsible for the first attempts. 
 
 Schools for the vine-dressers have been establislied 
 in several provinces, and gardens of suflftcient extent 
 for making their experiments upon a proportionate 
 scale allotted them. 
 
 Simultaneously with these, another mode of pro- 
 duction, equally valuable and well adapted to these 
 climates, has been the object of the government's con- 
 
 OF THE MULBERRY. 
 
 73 
 
 I 
 
 stant attention, proofs of which may be seen in the 
 vast plantations of mulberry trees, which have been 
 formed near all the principal towns of the southern 
 districts. 
 
 Every requisite facility, every privilege calculated 
 to insure success in the production of silk, is, more- 
 over, afforded to all who may be disposed to embark 
 their property in undertakings of this description, be 
 they individuals or companies. Not long since, a few 
 capitalists, who purposed growing the mulberry tree 
 in the provinces on the other side of Mount Caucasus, 
 obtained, by way of encouragement, the following 
 valuable indulgences. A government grant made 
 over to them, for the period of thirty years, all the 
 plantations belonging to the crown in the province of 
 Chelkinsk; they were exempted from rent for five 
 years, at the expiration of which time it is to com- 
 mence at the rate of twenty per cent., over and above 
 the annual revenue which these forests brought into 
 the public treasury from the year 1830 to 1836. The 
 peasants who, living upon these domains, have hitherto 
 worked in the plantations, are required to render the 
 same services to the company, receiving as wages one 
 half of the cocoons. In addition to this, the govern- 
 ment has presented to the company five thousand 
 dessetines * of waste land, to be assigned to them, in 
 
 * The dessctine is a Russian superficial measure containing 
 
 i!i 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 
 :! 1 
 
74 
 
 GOVERNMENT INDULGENCES. 
 
 I 
 
 ! ' 
 
 lots of about five hundred dessetines, in the several 
 trans-Caucasian provinces. Upon condition of form- 
 ing new plantations there, the company will enjoy the 
 grant for thirty years, during which period it will not 
 only be exempt from all public taxes, but will also 
 participate in the privileges and immunities granted 
 to merchants who are members of the first geld. 
 
 In conferring these and similar indulgences, the 
 sole object of the government has been that of 
 encouragement, without any wish to dictate the course 
 to be pursued by the speculators ; as a proof of which, 
 it is expressly stated in the ukase authorising the 
 company, that the said company shall possess no mo- 
 nopoly or exclusive privilege whatsoever, and that 
 nothing thereby granted shall prevent or hinder any 
 other company, formed on a smaller scale, from esta- 
 blishing itself in these provinces. 
 
 Such are the means employed for imparting greater 
 activity and giving a fuller developement to this de- 
 scription of enterprise, and success has partially rea- 
 lised the hopes conceived ; but, at the same time, 
 it cannot be denied that the results obtained in 
 seven or eight different provinces are not equally 
 
 2,400 Russian square fathoms, equal to ]3,066| English square 
 yards, or 2 acres 2 roods 32 perches ; hence ten dessetines 
 equal 27 English acres nearly, and 5,000 dessetines equal 13,500 
 acres nearly. 
 
 
 PllODUCTION OF SILK. 
 
 75 
 
 satisfactory. In the government of Kharkoff* the cul- 
 tivation of the mulberry tree makes scarcely any pro- 
 gress, although not less than fifteen thousand trees 
 have annually been planted there at the expense of the 
 crown : in that of Catherinosloff' the growth of them is 
 almost exclusively in the hands of the German colo- 
 nists. To compensate, however, for this, fresh efforts 
 have been made in the central provinces of the mo- 
 narchy, as far even as the governments of Minsk, 
 Poltava, and Mohiloff", where several proprieters have 
 within the last year, endeavoured to naturalise the 
 plant ; in other parts of the empire the progress has 
 been rapid. 
 
 The government of Kherson or Cherson, for in- 
 stance, which, in 1829, could only furnish three poods 
 ten pounds of silk, produced last year not less than 
 forty poods, the greater portion of which was pur- 
 chased by the manufactory of Kichenoff* at the rate of 
 ten to twelve roubles per pood ; nor, thanks to the 
 activity diffused through the province by the con- 
 tinually increasing commerce of the maritime towns, 
 is the condition of the vineyards less prosperous. The 
 amount of the harvests is every year further aug- 
 mented by the produce of lands recently cleared by 
 the German and Bulgarian colonies, especially in the 
 vicinity of that young but promising town of Odessa, 
 which has become the focus of so many and such 
 
 i: t 
 
76 
 
 ! 
 
 li 
 
 I 
 
 !■ 
 
 THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES. 
 
 various interests; and although the quantity of grapes 
 sold was very considerable in 1835, not less than 
 212,000 vedros of wine have since been made, being* 
 twice as much as in the preceding year. 
 
 Great, however, as is this increase, it is clear that 
 even this province cannot long compete with two 
 others, destined, according to all appearance, to be- 
 come the centre of these two branches of Russian 
 industry, — we mean the Crimea and the countries 
 situated at the base of Mount Caucasus. 
 
 But even among these provinces, embellished as 
 they have been by nature, and peculiarly adapted for 
 the cultivation of the vine and the mulberry tree, a 
 difference exists; for although the climate is alike 
 genial in each, and the soil of the one not inferior to 
 that of the other, man's activity has not been equally 
 exerted in both. 
 
 In the Caucasian provinces, where cultivation is vet 
 in its infancy, the inhabitants know not how to turn 
 to account the riches which nature has poured forth 
 so plentifully before them. The towns also are few, 
 the communication between them difficult, and 
 the price of necessaries of every kind too low to 
 encourage trade ; the consequence of which is, that 
 the new plantations of mulberry trees, formed by go- 
 vernment every year, are frequently neglected ; and 
 whilst the wines produced from the gardens of the 
 
 ACTIVITY IN THE CRIMEA. 
 
 77 
 
 vine-dressers' school are sold at twelve roubles a vedro, 
 the price of those sold by the proprietors never exceeds 
 one rouble sixty copecks. Moreover, the year 1835 
 proved a very disastrous one ; the severe frosts in the 
 spring, so prejudicial to vegetation in general, de- 
 stroyed immense numbers of silk- worms, so that these 
 provinces have produced only about nine hundred 
 thousand vedros of wine, eighty thousand of brandy, 
 and one hundred and eighty poods of silk, quantities 
 considerably less than those of preceding years. 
 
 In the Crimea, on the contrary, where Russian pro- 
 prietors have endeavoured to employ their capital to 
 advantage by clearing the waste lands, such activity 
 has been manifested, that the improvement exceeds 
 hopes at one time deemed extravagant. The govern- 
 ment had granted land upon the condition, now every- 
 where fulfilled, that the vine should be cultivated. 
 In the north-west coast of the Peninsula, 835,000 feet 
 of ground have been planted with the vine during the 
 course of last year ; yet however great this number 
 may be, it is nearly 100,000 short of those planted in 
 1831 in this part of the Taurida. Not less activity 
 is apparent in the other districts of this province, and 
 the sum-total of vines planted this year amounts to 
 1 ,454,000 feet, the annual produce of w^hich will be, 
 in five or six years, at least 75,000 vedros. Although 
 the harvest of 1835 was a third less than that of 
 
 I 
 
 i" 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 

 I 
 
 - 
 
 78 
 
 ACTIVITY IN THE CRIMEA. 
 
 1831, the quantity of wine produced amounts, notwitli- 
 standing, to 356,000 vedros, the superior qualities of 
 which are worth as much as twelve roubles per vedro. 
 To such a degree have experiments been carried by 
 bringing offsets, sometimes from the borders of the 
 Rhine, and at others from France and the islands, 
 that in the gardens belonging to government not less 
 than six hundred varieties of the vine are now culti- 
 vated. 
 
 The production of silk is less flourishing in the 
 Crimea. In 1835 the whole province furnished only 
 seven and a half poods. This quantity is, however, 
 double that of the former year, and everything pro- 
 mises further improvement. But although accident 
 may sometimes retard the progress of cultivation, and 
 a less abundant harvest may occasionally ill requite 
 the labourer's toil, these sources of wealth are not the 
 less secured to Russia ; and the amount of their pro- 
 duce sufiiciently attests the importance of them : 
 90,050 feet have been planted with the mulberry tree 
 in the southern countries during 1835, and 13,302^ 
 dessetines with the vine, the produce from which has 
 been 62,369 poods of grapes, 1,1 1 1,209 vedros of wine, 
 and 82,600 of brandy. 
 
 Amongst several agricultural experiments lately 
 made in the Caucasian provinces, two appear parti- 
 cularly interesting. 
 
 INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 79 
 
 In some parts of Leukoron, on the borders of the 
 Caspian Sea, the sugar-cane has been for a consider- 
 able time in cultivation, constant care being taken to 
 remove the roots from the earth on the approach of 
 winter, to be replanted in the ensuing spring. Last 
 year Yegor Mamveloff, living at Kislar, sent for some 
 of these plants, for the purpose of introducing the cul- 
 tivation of them into the neighbourhood of his native 
 town ; these, after being planted, have completely suc- 
 ceeded, notwithstanding the severe colds to which they 
 were exposed in the spring. The cultivation of the 
 beet-root would, it is generally supposed, be more ad- 
 vantageous, but of this experience will soon convince 
 us ; at all events, it would be exceedingly gratifying to 
 ascertain whether or not the sugar-cane can flourish in 
 so high a latitude. Another experiment, made in the 
 course of the same year, is of still greater importance 
 and more certain utility, — that of the cultivation of 
 indigo {polygonum tinctorium,) an account of which 
 will be found in the St. Petersburgh Journal of the 
 23rd of May last, No. 62. 
 
 m 
 
80 
 
 i' 
 
 SKETCH OF THE LABOURS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ST. PETERSBURGH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 
 
 DURING THE YEARS 1835 AND 183G. 
 
 Unremittingly engaged in enterprises as vast as 
 important, the St. Petersburgh Academy of Sciences 
 has frequently despatched various scientific expedi- 
 tions, sometimes towards the remotest parts of Europe, 
 or the wild mountains and desert plains of Central 
 Asia, and at others to the shores of the Caspian Sea, 
 or the banks of the Frozen Ocean. Thus, in the year 
 1835, one of its members, M. Sjogren, traversed the 
 valleys of the Caucasus, studying the manners and 
 language of their inhabitants in general, but more 
 particularly those of the Ossetes, a race in which 
 Klaproth thought he could recognise the Ases and 
 the Alans of the time of the lower empire. 
 
 About the same period, M. Parrot visited the Lake 
 
 y 
 
 ST. PETERSBURGH ACADEMY. 
 
 81 
 
 of Bourtrick, in Livonia ; and being provided with all 
 the necessary implements, succeeded in obtaining 
 from its bottom a large quantity of fossil bones, espe- 
 cially the teeth of an unknown animal of the Taurian 
 tribe. 
 
 During the year 1835 the Academy published two 
 new volumes of its memoirs, together with sixty essays, 
 or treatises, which had been presented to it. Of this 
 number twenty-four are upon the subjects of mathe- 
 matics and natural philosophy, twenty-six upon na- 
 tural history, and ten upon general history, philology, 
 and political economy. Of these papers fifty-two are 
 the productions of academicians, while the remaining 
 eight have been contributed by learned foreigners. 
 
 The superb collections of the Academy were greatly 
 increased in 1835. The library especially was en- 
 riched by a splendid donation of the Emperor, con- 
 sisting of a considerable number of literary works 
 written in the principal languages of Central Asia. 
 This collection is composed, first, of a selection of Chi- 
 nese and Mandjour books, maps, and plans, as well 
 as several productions of the Japanese, Thibetian, 
 Mongul, and Indian literature ; second, of seventy- 
 three manuscripts in the Sanscrit language, formerly 
 the property of Colonel Stuart ; and third, of forty- 
 three works in the Mongul and Thibetian language, 
 collected at Pekin by the archimandrite Peter. 
 
 VOL. II. G 
 
 ! til 
 

 82 
 
 FUNDS OF THE ACADEMY. 
 
 Such were the various labours of this Academy within 
 the short space of a single year. Those which en- 
 gaged its attention in 1836 were, perhaps, still more 
 interesting. New regulations have been introduced 
 at the desire of the Emperor, who was anxious to im- 
 part to it a greater efficiency and energy. In confor- 
 mity with these, the number of the academicians in the 
 three classes will be twenty-one, with ten assistants ; 
 the number of academicians extraordinary, and of 
 honorary and corresponding members, is unlimited. 
 The sums allotted for the expenses of the establishment 
 are, by the new arrangement, raised from 206,100 rou- 
 bles to 241,800 roubles. The endowments of the dif- 
 ferent collections belonging to the academy have expe- 
 rienced a still greater augmentation, since, according 
 to the old regulations, they did not exceed 14,000 roubles 
 per annum, and now 62,000 roubles, including 36,700 
 roubles, may be yearly laid out for such pur- 
 chases as the Academy may judge fit. In addition to 
 these sums, the Academy has also at its disposal the 
 profits arising from the almanacs and journals under 
 its immediate direction. These amount annually to 
 150,000 roubles. 
 
 His Majesty the Emperor has also more than once 
 been pleased to assist this institution with pecuniary 
 advances, in order to facilitate the execution of some 
 important enterprise : 50,000 roubles were, with this 
 
 ,! 
 
 SCIENTIFIC JOURNEYS. 
 
 83 
 
 view, placed at the disposal of the Academy during 
 the course of the present year, in order to meet the 
 expenses of a most interesting expedition undertaken 
 to determine by trigonometrical admeasurement the 
 difference of level between the Black and Caspian 
 Seas. The results are not yet obtained ; but from the 
 exactness with which the experimental level taken 
 in the neighbourhood of Dorpat has been made, there 
 is every reason to hope they will add equal honour to 
 the Academy and its learned members. 
 
 Several other scientific journeys have been under- 
 taken simultaneously by different members of the 
 Academy, among which we may mention that of M. 
 Trinuis, whose object is to visit the rich botanical 
 collections of Europe ; that of M. Brandt, whose inten- 
 tion is to be present at the grand meeting of German 
 physicians and naturalists at Jena ; and, lastly, that 
 of M. Nordman, who purposes making researches in 
 natural history in Ahkhasia, Gouriel, Mongrelia, 
 and Imeritia. 
 
 The activity of the Academy in the various branches 
 of science and literature has not been less remarkable. 
 As proofs, we may adduce the interesting and learned 
 papers of MM. Weinmann, Schmidt, Baer, Trinuis, 
 Brandt, and Kupffer. Several other literary works, 
 of equal if not superior interest, are on the point of 
 appearing, particularly the micrometrical admeasure- 
 
 G 2 
 
 f 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 li 
 
 J 
 
 i 
 
 ^'1 
 
 (J 
 
 84 
 
 LABOURS OF THE ACADEMY. 
 
 ment of compound stars, by the celebrated astronomer 
 M. Shuive, the first volume of M. Bouniakovsky^s 
 dictionary of the mathematical sciences, and M. 
 Schmidt's researches upon the language of Thibet, 
 to be followed by a grammar and dictionary of that 
 
 tongue. 
 
 The Academy has also undertaken the publi- 
 cation of four Memoirs upon the north-west coast of 
 North America and its inhabitants, as well as of Dr. 
 Fritzches' work upon the pollen of vegetables, and Dr. 
 Gebler's essay upon the Katoune mountains. 
 
 In addition to the labours we have just enumerated, 
 the Academy has also published eleven new editions 
 of its Memoirs, besides a new journal under the title 
 of Bulletin Scientifique, several numbers of which 
 have already appeared. The journal contains extracts 
 from memoirs read at the Academy, interesting por- 
 tions of its correspondence, and general information 
 upon subjects connected with science and literature. 
 
 In the sittings of 1836, eighty-six different memoirs 
 were read, of which thirty-five were physico-mathe- 
 matical, thirty-eight upon natural philosophy, and 
 fourteen upon history, philology, and political eco- 
 nomy. Of the eighty-six, sixty-two were contributed 
 by academicians, five by employes of the Academy 
 who are not members of it, fifteen by correspondents, 
 and five by literati not included in either of the above 
 classes. 
 
 MAGNIFICENT OBSERVATORY. 
 
 85 
 
 The collections of the Academy receive continual 
 acquisitions from abroad, as well as from the dif- 
 ferent governors of provinces, even the most distant 
 ones. 
 
 We must not omit to mention the magnificent 
 observatory now in progress under the direction of a 
 commission, having for its president Admiral Greig. 
 Tliis grand work, erected upon the mountain of Pul- 
 towa, sixteen wersts from St. Petersburgh, is not less 
 remarkable for its vast and beautiful proportions than 
 for the superb collection of instruments, which have 
 cost no less a sum than 231,281 roubles. The total 
 expense of this building will amount to more than 
 1,000,0000 roubles, and the Emperor has assigned 
 it an annual sum of 17,200 roubles. It is expected 
 that at the close of 1838 the Russian astronomers will 
 commence their learned labours in the most vast, most 
 beautiful, and most complete observatory in Europe. 
 
Il 
 
 K i 
 
 • .1 
 
 l< 
 
 86 
 
 TECHNOLOGICAL SCHOOLS 
 
 ESTABLISHED IN THE ALTAI MANUFACTORIES. 
 
 The progress of public instruction in Russia becomes 
 every day more rapid ; every year new schools are 
 opened for the rising generation, but the distinguish- 
 ing characteristic of the era is the organisation 
 of a great number of technological schools, the 
 object of which is to fit the pupils for a particular 
 calling. Not only do the establishments of this de- 
 scription, which are dependent upon the minister for 
 public instruction, increase ; but also others, especially 
 destined to prepare young people for some branch or 
 other of the administration, are formed under the 
 direction of the minister of war, of finance, or of the 
 interior. 
 
 A number of new schools have been organised upon 
 this principle, during the present autumn, in one of 
 
 TECHNOLOGICAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 87 
 
 the most remote parts of the empire, near the manu- 
 factories established at the foot of the Altai. Placed 
 under the direction of the mining commission, which 
 is also under the control of the minister of finance, 
 their object is threefold; first, the elementary in- 
 struction of the children of the miners and workmen ; 
 secondly, it is proposed to give to such of the children 
 as shall show most aptitude, an education which shall 
 enable them to fill subaltern situations in govern- 
 ment offices ; and thirdly, to impart to the children 
 of persons employed in the department of mines and 
 manufactures, such information as will enable them 
 to enter the higher schools which are open to 
 
 them. 
 
 For this purpose elementary schools, to the number 
 of fourteen, have been organised near the foundries 
 and manufactories, as well as a departmental school 
 at Barnaoul. Two subsidiary sections are formed 
 for teaching such technological knowledge as would 
 enable the pupils to fill situations in forges, manu- 
 factories, and foundries, as well as in mines. The 
 number of pupils is provisionally fixed at 1,275 ; it is, 
 however, susceptible of increase. 
 
 The elementary schools are open equally to the 
 children of employes and to those of workmen; 
 children may enter at eight years of age, but must 
 not remain beyond that of thirteen. Whilst they remain 
 
 
88 
 
 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 
 
 at school, they are maintained at the expense of 
 government, which also gives them every month a 
 trifle in money. 
 
 Each school is divided into two classes, and the 
 method adopted is that of mutual instruction. The 
 pupils are instructed in reading and writing ; they 
 are also taught to distinguish the diffierent kinds of 
 minerals, the most elementary parts of arithmetic, 
 and perspective drawing, with the principles of reli- 
 gion. 
 
 The elementary schools are also allowed to give 
 instruction to other children than those of eniployh 
 and miners ; but the government does not undertake 
 to give them their food, and their parents are required 
 to pay ten roubles every six months, for which sum 
 the school provides the necessary books of instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 After an examination which takes place at the 
 close of the course, one pupil out of a hundred of the 
 second class is selected for advancement to the depart- 
 mental school. 
 
 Should there not be vacancies sufiicient for those 
 chosen, such as cannot be immediately admitted 
 remain provisionally at the elementary school, to 
 assist the instructors in the discharge of their duties. 
 
 In the departmental school at Barnaoul, eighty 
 pupils are educated at the government expense. The 
 
 DEPARTMENTAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 89 
 
 \ 
 
 instruction given in the three classes of the establish- 
 ment embraces the principles of religion, the Russian 
 grammar, arithmetic, geometry, algebra as far as 
 quadratic equations, drawings, and caligraphy. 
 
 An examination of the establishment of public 
 instruction in the department takes place at the end 
 of the year, in presence of the inspector. The suc- 
 cessful pupils are passed, as soon as a vacancy occurs, 
 to one of the practical sections above mentioned. The 
 number of youths who may be placed in each is at 
 present limited to ten. There are two classes. In the 
 first are taught the elements of mineralogy and metal- 
 lurgical chemistry, the use of the blow-pipe, the art of 
 analysing and proving minerals. In the second, the 
 studies include the elements of mineralogy, mechanics 
 as connected with mining operations, subterraneous 
 geometry, geodosy, geognosy, and the practical w^ork- 
 ing of mines. 
 
 The instructors for the practical sections are chosen, 
 in preference, from among the officers of the mining- 
 corps, and an annual sum of 30,710 roubles has been 
 appropriated for the maintenance of these different 
 schools. 
 
I ; 
 
 90 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF RUSSIAN WOOLS. 
 
 The present state of the growth of wools in Europe is 
 a striking proof that perseverance and activity can 
 often vanquish even those obstacles which nature her- 
 self appears to have opposed to the progress of industry. 
 In former times the Merino flocks of Spain (her beau- 
 tiful climate and mountain-pastures being deemed indis- 
 pensable for the perfection of the breed) were objects of 
 envy, nor was the hope of competing with her ever 
 entertained. In the present day, Germany alone pro- 
 duces as much wool of the first quality as all the rest 
 of Europe together. Having succeeded in establishing 
 her superiority over Spain, she supplies the manufac- 
 tories of England with the produce of the fleece, with 
 which also countries in still higher latitudes, as Sweden 
 and Scotland, begin to enrich themselves. 
 
 Russia, emulous of her neighbours, was not slow in 
 endeavouring to improve her resources by applying 
 
 THE WOOL TRADE. 
 
 91 
 
 herself to this important branch of commerce. It is 
 chiefly in three parts of this vast empire that a suc- 
 cessful attempt has been made to naturalise the Merino 
 sheep, viz. in Lesser Russia, in thie governments com- 
 prised under the name of New Russia, and in the 
 provinces on the shores of the Baltic. These different 
 regions, so remote one from the other, are too dissi- 
 milar to enjoy precisely the same advantages. Whilst, 
 in the south, a temperate climate and excellent pas- 
 ture land insured the speculator who introduced this 
 branch of commerce an almost certain prospect of 
 success, the dryness of the soil and the severity of a 
 long winter appeared in Esthonia and Livonia almost 
 insuperable obstacles to the successful result of such 
 undertakings. But here, as elsewhere, proof has been 
 given of the justice of the remark, that man's perse- 
 verance becomes more energetic in proportion to the 
 difficulties which oppose his will, and the depreciation 
 of grain having compelled the landed proprietors of 
 the Baltic provinces to create fresh resources, the most 
 rapid improvement in this trade has actually been 
 found to have been made in those governments the 
 least favoured by nature. 
 
 It must not be inferred from what has been said 
 above, that the results in the southern provinces have 
 not proved satisfactory : the number of flocks has been 
 constantly increasing, and a very sensible improve- 
 
I 
 
 90 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF RUSSIAN WOOLS. 
 
 The present state of the growtli of wools in Europe is 
 a striking proof that perseverance and activity can 
 often vanquish even those obstacles which nature her- 
 self appears to have opposed to the progress of industry. 
 In former times the Merino flocks of Spain (her beau- 
 tiful climate and mountain-pastures being deemed indis- 
 pensable for the perfection of the breed) were objects of 
 envy, nor was the hope of competing with her ever 
 entertained. In the present day, Germany alone pro- 
 duces as much wool of the first quality as all the rest 
 of Europe together. Having succeeded in establishing 
 her superiority over Spain, she supplies the manufac- 
 tories of England with the produce of the fleece, with 
 which also countries in still higher latitudes, as Sweden 
 and Scotland, begin to enrich themselves. 
 
 Russia, emulous of her neighbours, was not slow in 
 endeavouring to improve her resources by applying 
 
 
 THE WOOL TRADE. 
 
 91 
 
 herself to this important branch of commerce. It is 
 chiefly in three parts of this vast empire that a suc- 
 cessful attempt has been made to naturalise the Merino 
 sheep, viz. in Lesser Russia, in the governments com- 
 prised under the name of New Russia, and in the 
 provinces on the shores of the Baltic. These different 
 regions, so remote one from the other, are too dissi- 
 milar to enjoy precisely the same advantages. Whilst, 
 in the south, a temperate climate and excellent pas- 
 ture land insured the speculator who introduced this 
 branch of commerce an almost certain prospect of 
 success, the dryness of the soil and the severity of a 
 long winter appeared in Esthonia and Livonia almost 
 insuperable obstacles to the successful result of such 
 undertakings. But here, as elsewhere, proof has been 
 given of the justice of the remark, that man's perse- 
 verance becomes more energetic in proportion to the 
 difficulties which oppose his will, and the depreciation 
 of grain having compelled the landed proprietors of 
 the Baltic provinces to create fresh resources, the most 
 rapid improvement in this trade has actually been 
 found to have been made in those governments the 
 least favoured by nature. 
 
 It must not be inferred from what has been said 
 above, that the results in the southern provinces have 
 not proved satisfactory : the number of flocks has been 
 constantly increasing, and a very sensible improve- 
 
 i 
 
^ 
 
 92 
 
 THE WOOL TRADE. 
 
 I 
 
 ment has taken place in the quality of the wool. 
 Scarcely thirty years have elapsed since the first sheep 
 were introduced from the electorate of Saxony, and at 
 the present time there are not less than 250,000 in the 
 sheep-folds of the government of Cherson alone ; as 
 many in the Crimea ; while in the government of Ca- 
 therinoslaff, where the produce of wool is considered 
 by the agriculturists as their chief source of wealth, 
 the number of Merinos already amounts to 750,000. 
 Thus the exportation of wool via Odessa increases 
 daily : in 182G it was only 18,000 poods, sold at the 
 rate of ten roubles per pood. Nine years later, in 
 1835, 116,000 poods were exported, the price being 
 advanced to thirty roubles per pood. The English 
 especially, who in 1832 had purchased only 1,400 
 poods, quickly perceived the advantages offered to 
 them by this new market, and in consequence the 
 next year their vessels loaded in the port of Odessa 
 37,668 poods of wool, and, in 1833, not less than 
 70,336. 
 
 At Taganrog the exports have increased in nearly 
 the same proportion ; and in Little Russia, which ex- 
 ports overland a part of its wools, namely vui Radzi- 
 wiloft' and Brodi, this commerce is acquiring fresh 
 activity. 
 
 To sum up, Russia, lately so \)oot in this species 
 of produce that even in 1824 her exports of it did not 
 
 1^ 
 
 MANUFACTURE OF CLOTH. 
 
 93 
 
 exceed annually 35,000 poods-worth, scarcely 600,000 
 roubles, sold in 1834 more than eight times as 
 much — that is, 281,450 poods, the value of whicli 
 amounted to 1,557,066 roubles. 
 
 The demands of the cloth manufactories in the in- 
 terior have, at the same time, become more consider- 
 able, — a circumstance which has greatly contributed to 
 enhance the price of the raw material. These manu- 
 factories, which have not been in existence above 
 twenty years, already produced, in 1822, about six 
 millions and a half arsheens, of which quantity two 
 thirds were destined for the use of the army. In 1830 
 more than eight millions of arsheens were manufac- 
 tured, and of this quantity two fifths were of a coarse 
 quality, such as is required for the troops ; two other 
 fifths of middling, and the remainder of a fine quality. 
 Already the consumption of Russian cloths is no longer 
 confined to the interior of the empire. China and Cen- 
 tral Asia purchase them at Kiakhta and Orenbourg ; 
 and this trade, insignificant at its commencement, is 
 now become of considerable importance : the value of 
 cloth sold to the Asiatic neighbours of Russia amounted 
 at first, in 1824, to 274,287 roubles only ; in 1833, it 
 reached the sum of 1,618,983 roubles. 
 
 But however brilliant such results may appear, 
 those obtained by the governments situated upon the 
 shores of the Baltic are comparatively more so. These 
 
 I 
 
 !■ i 
 
 I I 
 
94 
 
 WOOL TRADE IN 
 
 ,*; 
 
 provinces are less extensive and rich than those of tlie 
 south, the means at the disposal of industry less 
 abundant ; nor have they been more than fifteen years 
 engaged in the production of wool. Notwithstanding 
 this, however, 67 sheep-folds in Esthonia could last 
 year produce 53,244 head of Merinos ; in Livonia the 
 sheep-folds were 57 in number, and the Merinos 
 34,205. Although a bad hay harvest has compelled 
 several proprietors to reduce their flocks considerably, 
 this unfavourable circumstance has not deterred other 
 landholders from forming new establishments of this 
 description, so that in the month of January of 
 the present year Esthonia contained 100 sheep-folds 
 and 44,765 Merino, and Livonia 69 folds and 40,104 
 Merinos. 
 
 The last year, three cloth manufactories established 
 at Riga, at Zuitenhoff*, and Playden, bought up for 
 themselves all the wool of these two provinces, so that 
 no exports could be made, and the proprietors have 
 reason to be satisfied with the prices they obtained. 
 In general, the wool of these countries is worth from 
 90 to 100 roubles per pood ; that of the seignorial 
 estate of Trikaten has even been sold at the price of 1 18 
 roubles. Amongst many other circumstances worthy 
 of remark, as proving the beauty of the Esthonian 
 flocks, we will quote the results of two public sales 
 which took place in the course of the month of May 
 
 THE BALTIC PROVINCES. 
 
 95 
 
 last. At the seignorial estate of OrrenholF, ten rams 
 were sold at from 100 to 200 roubles per head; 150 
 ewes, from 20 to 30 roubles each. At Trikaten, the 
 sheep of which are still more esteemed, 31 rams, 181 
 ewes, and 128 sheep, were bought at the high price of 
 3,361 silver roubles, — one ram fetched 121 silver rou- 
 bles, and another even 131. 
 
 These amounts afford sufficient proof of the perfec- 
 tion to which this branch of the national industry has 
 been carried in the Baltic provinces. 
 
 
9(5 
 
 COMMERCE WITH ASIA. 
 
 97 
 
 ^> 
 
 I 
 
 ill! 
 
 fl 
 
 TRADE AND COMMERCE OF SIBERIA. 
 
 The active and profitable commerce of the Russian 
 empire with Asia is, perhaps, less important on account 
 of its extent, than from the beneficial influence it 
 exercises over a vast portion of the globe. This trade, 
 by placing the nations of Central Asia in contact with 
 civilisation, becomes a great instrument for improving 
 those wandering tribes, whose habits and characters 
 have undergone so little change during a long series 
 of ages, that at a very recent date their condition was 
 precisely such as it is described to have been in the 
 time of the last crusade by Marco Polo and Rubriguis. 
 This happy influence extends itself even to distant 
 countries not upon the immediate borders of Russia. 
 The most remote parts of Boukharia, the Khanat of 
 Khiva, Taschkent, and Kokant, transmit us their pro- 
 
 ^' 1 
 
 duce, while our frontiers are visited by their merchants. 
 Thibet itself begins to participate, at least indirectly, 
 in these commercial relations. 
 
 The trade of Russia with so many different nations 
 is necessarily divided into a great number of branches, 
 and is carried on through various routes. The Trans- 
 caucasian provinces on one side trade with Erzeroum, 
 the commercial entrepot of Asia Minor, and on the 
 other with Persia. The provinces of this latter em- 
 pire, which are situated upon the shores of the Cas- 
 pian Sea, are visited by vessels arriving from Astrakan 
 and Bakou. Numerous caravans bring from the inte- 
 rior of Boukharia and Khiva the produce of that 
 country, to the markets of Orenburgh and Nijny- 
 Novgorod, while in one of the most remote parts of 
 Russia, at Kiakhta, situated at the foot of the Altai 
 mountains, the exchange of the American and Sibe- 
 rian furs for Chinese produce is highly profitable to 
 our merchants. 
 
 This part of the Russian frontier, known by the 
 name of " The Line of the Cossacks of Siberia,'^ 
 traverses the extensive plains which separate Oural 
 from Altai. The direction of this line from the re- 
 doubts of Siberia to the village of Finalka, situated 
 at the foot of the Altai, is in length 1,707 wersts, and 
 is marked by four towns, eleven fortresses, fifteen 
 fortified advanced posts, and eighty-four redoubts. 
 
 H 
 
 li' 
 
i>ll 
 
 
 98 
 
 TRADE OF THE COSSACKS. 
 
 This vast space is chiefly inhabited by Cossacks, 
 colonised warriors, divided into several regiments; 
 and although other colonists, as peasants, shopkeepers, 
 fee, have established themselves there, the population 
 does not, at present, exceed 45,000. The Cossacks 
 are privileged to trade with the Kirghises without 
 paying the taxes of either of the three gilds ; in their 
 military capacity, they mount guard in turn at the 
 difierent posts; their leisure time is employed in 
 the rearing of cattle, gardening, hunting, and fish- 
 ing. The territory they occupy is for the most 
 part very fertile, especially between the forty-ninth 
 and fifty-first degrees of latitude, where the soil 
 spontaneously produces fruit trees, melons, tobacco, 
 &c. ; while, in the most eastern part, the solitary 
 but picturesque and fruitful valleys of Altai, rich in 
 every description of odoriferous flowers and aromatic 
 herbs, enable the inhabitants to rear innumerable 
 swarms of bees, and to furnish the greatest part of 
 Siberian honey. 
 
 Several maufactories, especially that of leather, have 
 been established in the towns ; but trade is yet in its 
 infancy, and scarcely developed. Its progress and im- 
 provement will doubtless hereafter enhance the value 
 of the natural productions of these regions, among 
 which must be reckoned the lakes of salt water so 
 numerous in the Steppes. 
 
 CRYSTAL FIELDS. 
 
 99 
 
 Important as they are, in relation to trade and 
 commerce, these lakes likewise present a series of in- 
 teresting phenomena to the naturalist. Their waters 
 hold so great a quantity of salt in solution, that the 
 action of the summer heat is of itself sufiicient to con- 
 vert it into crystals, which, carried towards the banks 
 by the action of the waves, form there shoals of salt 
 of an immense extent. Magazines have been formed 
 upon the borders of Lake Koriak, the only one 
 situated on the right bank of the Irtisch, and the salt 
 therein preserved generally amounts to several mil- 
 lions of poods. Large quantities of this article are 
 annually carried across the Irtisch to Tobolsk. 
 
 But however rich this lake may be, it is less so 
 than three others, — the Karasback, the Kalkaman, and 
 the Dj^mantons, situated in the Steppes on the right 
 bank of Irtisch. Each of these basins is from twenty 
 to twenty-five wersts in circumference, and the action 
 of the solar rays produces in them during the summer 
 season crystals of salt so numerous, that by mutual 
 contact they at length form thick and solid arches, 
 which, like winter ice, cover the surface of the lakes. 
 These masses are frequently nine inches thick ; the 
 action of the air whitens the upper layers, the lower 
 ones preserve a bluish tint, which in some places 
 assumes a beautiful violet hue, and the solidity of 
 these crystal fields is such, that horses, chariots, and 
 
 H 2 
 
 1 
 
 
I 
 
 '! 
 
 I 
 
 I ! 
 
 ^li' 
 
 I 
 
 tu 
 
 100 
 
 THE STEPPES. 
 
 even camels, pass over them with the greatest safety. 
 Ten other salt lakes are also found between the Irtisch 
 and Redoubt of Siberia. 
 
 Such is the aspect of the country along the frontiers 
 of the Russian empire : and beyond these limits ex- 
 tend those immense Steppes, the original country of so 
 many nations which have, from time to time, spread 
 themselves over Europe and Southern Asia. 
 
 These vast plains resemble, in more than one respect, 
 the Russian territory adjoining them ; but the climate 
 is subject to still greater variations. In summer, the 
 thermometer frequently rises to 34*^ of Reaumur in the 
 shade : vegetation then becomes parched, and although 
 the nights are always cool, the heat becomes so much 
 the more insupportable during the day, owing to 
 the country being almost denuded of trees. In 
 winter the cold is excessive ; violent hurricanes often 
 overthrow the ill-built dwellings of the natives, 
 sw^eeping away cattle, especially the sheep, to an 
 incredible distance. The soil of a great portion of 
 these Steppes is composed of clay; in others are 
 found immense tracks of moving sands and salt- 
 water lakes. Upon the banks of the rivers, which, 
 unfortunately, are not numerous, the earth is fertile 
 and fit for agricultural purposes, but the inhabitants 
 have not yet learnt how to turn these advantao-es to 
 account. 
 
 TRIBE OF KIUGHISES. 
 
 101 
 
 The inhabitants, who may amount in number to 
 3,000,000, are of the Mogul origin ; known by the 
 name of Kirghises Kaiassacks, and divided into three 
 different hordes, they may be considered as leading a 
 nomadic life. Their habitation consists of an almost 
 circular tent, the light timber-work of which is covered 
 with a thick felt : amongst the wealthy, the interior 
 is- ornamented with silk drapery, and with arms of 
 rich and elaborate workmanship. 
 
 Their flocks are immense ; the wealthiest among the 
 Kirghises possessing 10,000 horses, more than 20,000 
 sheep, and a considerable number of goats and camels. 
 These flocks they follow on horseback from pasturage 
 to pasturage. They are as yet unacquainted with the 
 use of bread and of money ; sheep may be said to be 
 their circulating medium— at least it is by the number 
 of the latter that these people express the value of 
 objects. The sheep are of a peculiar breed, distin- 
 guished by a fleshy tail, weighing twenty and even 
 thirty pounds : their wool, of a reddish hue, being too 
 coarse for spinning, is only used in manufacturing felt 
 coverlets : to compensate, however, for this loss of wool, 
 a single sheep sometimes furnishes five poods of fat. 
 
 For some time past the Kirghises have shown 
 indications of commencing agriculture, especially the 
 poorer classes, who cultivate, upon the borders of the 
 lakes and rivers, fields of corn, rye, barley, and espe- 
 
102 
 
 TRADE OF THE KIRGHISES. 
 
 103 
 
 I 1! 
 
 I( 
 
 |l ! 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 cially millet. But these rude essays have not had 
 the effect of inducing them to remain stationary, as 
 they geuerally abandon, after the harvest, the fields 
 they had sown in the spring. 
 
 But however backward these people appear, their 
 trade with China and Russia is already considerable. 
 From the former they purchase tea, and from the 
 latter European produce. 
 
 The following will show the importance of its com- 
 mercial relations with the Russian empire during the 
 year 1835. 
 
 Exportation of Russia. 
 
 Corn to the amount of - - - 
 
 Leather ----.. 
 Iron and copper - - - . 
 
 Metal manufactures - - - . 
 Cotton ditto - - - - . 
 Silk and linen ditto - . . . 
 
 Cloths 
 
 Tobacco, glass, drugs, horses, furs, &c. 
 
 Total 
 
 Roubles. 
 431,537 
 
 6 1 6,523 
 
 29,315 
 
 150,806 
 
 1,797,647 
 
 90,078 
 
 192,462 
 
 843,280 
 
 4,164,648 
 
 Importation from the Steppe. 
 
 Cattle to the value of - - . 3,078 483 
 
 Raw hides, skins, silk, stuffs, wool and » 
 
 cotton from Boukharia - - ( ^'^-^'"^ 
 
 ,258 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 
 FAIR OF NIJNY-NOVGOROD, 
 
 ON THE 15th August, 1836. 
 
 Total 
 
 4,905,731 
 
 Of all the large markets which may be considered as 
 forminff the chief centres of that commercial move- 
 ment that connects together the different nations of the 
 globe, none perhaps is more important, none presents 
 a picture more interesting, rich, and varied, than 
 that of Nijny Novgorod at the time of its fair. It is 
 there that the colonies beyond sea annually exchange 
 their produce with Central Asia. Long caravans of 
 camels, laden with the commodities of the Tartar 
 Steppes, arrive from the foot of the Oural Mountains, 
 and from Mount Taurus: the produce of China is 
 transported thither by the way of Kiakhta: vessels 
 sailing up the Volga and the Oka come freighted with 
 merchandise of Persia, and the harvests of the shores 
 
 1 
 
 li 
 
104 
 
 TRADE OF NIJNY NOVGOllOO. 
 
 TRADE OF NIJNY NOVGOROD, 
 
 105 
 
 .1 
 
 1 \ 
 
 I' 
 
 . 
 
 of the Caspian Sea. On the other hand, the Russian 
 manufactories send immense quantities of stuffs of all 
 kinds, and vast warehouses are filled with sugars and 
 coffees, which are brought by the way of Petersburgh 
 and Moscow from the Trans-Oceanic Isles. The no- 
 bility of the neighbouring provinces, a great number 
 of the inhabitants of Moscow, and many foreigners, 
 visit Nijny Novgorod at this season, attracted by 
 curiosity, to view a scene which, for the activity, 
 novelty, variety, and singularity it exhibits, is, perhaps, 
 unequalled. The Kirghises, and several other nomadic 
 tribes subject to Russia, likewise bring their flocks 
 and pitcli their tents near this town, which aflTords, 
 during the continuance of the fair, all the conveni- 
 ences and luxuries of an European capital. 
 
 The trade of Nijny Novgorod consists principally of 
 three branches ; that of Asiatic goods, that of Russian 
 manufactures, and that of merchandise imported from 
 the West of Europe, and the European American 
 Colonies. 
 
 The principal goods there sold by Asia to Europe 
 are such as are furnished by the Chinese trade— espe- 
 cially tea, which Russian merchants procure at 
 Kiakhta, by bartering for it furs and cloths, and 
 afterwards transport to Nijny Novgorod. Of this 
 article 31,000 chests were brought there this year, 
 and sold in a very short time at piices varying from' 
 
 \ 
 
 forty-four to six hundred and fifty roubles the chest. 
 In addition to which, Kiakhta had also sent about 
 12,000 packages of tea, pressed into the form of 
 cakes, for the use of the Kirghises and the nomadic 
 Tartars inhabiting the Steppes. This article had 
 always been regarded by the Kiakhta merchants as 
 the most profitable object of barter offered them by 
 China. Thus the quantity brought by them this year 
 is double that sold in 1835. Up to the 15th August 
 the quantity sold amounted in value to about 
 16,000,000 of roubles. 
 
 The Boukharians, and the Khiva merchants coming- 
 in long caravans from Orenbourg, Petro, Pavlovsk, 
 and Troitsk, have brought 32,000 poods of raw cotton, 
 of which one third was immediately sold. The increas- 
 ing activity of this commerce deserves attention, as a 
 proof of the progress of various branches of Russian in- 
 dustry. The demands of the cotton-spinning establish- 
 ments in Russia become daily more considerable : the 
 large manufactories of this description, provided with 
 machinery made in England, obtain the raw material 
 from America, and the importation of this article has, 
 within these few years, doubled in our Baltic ports ; 
 the manufactories upon a smaller scale, and the ma- 
 chinery of which is Russian, exert a similar influence 
 upon our commerce with Central Asia, whence they 
 furnish themselves with cotton. 
 
 u 
 
fl 
 
 ! 
 
 U 
 
 : 'I 
 
 - i ■ 
 
 II 
 
 ■' 
 
 .' I 
 
 'I 
 
 > 
 
 106 
 
 TRADE OF NIJNY NOVGOROD. 
 
 The Boukharians have also brought some manu- 
 factures of their own, viz. 10,000 poods of spun 
 cotton, and 110,000 pieces of a coarse species of cotton 
 cloth called bakhta. They have also offered for sale 
 oriental stuffs for robes de chambres, to the amount of 
 50,000 roubles : but the most valuable articles belong- 
 ing to them are 200 Cachemere shawls, of which they 
 had, up to the 15th of August, sold as many as 
 amounted to 200,000 roubles in value. 
 
 Various descriptions of skins also form part of their 
 goods, such as those of the rein-deer, fox, gray or 
 black lambs. Some inhabitants of Taschkent have 
 also offered for sale turquoises to the value of 120,000 
 roubles. The total amount of the goods brought to 
 this market from Central Asia may be estimated at 
 3,400,000 roubles annually. 
 
 Some of the produce of these countries has reached 
 Nijny Novgorod by an indirect route, that of Astra- 
 khan ; the vessels coming from that city being freighted, 
 amongst other articles, with fox-skins to the value of 
 350,000 roubles, and 8,000 poods of red cotton thread 
 from Boukharia. Astrakhan has also sent to Nijny 
 Novgorod 6,000 poods of rice, together with the pro- 
 duce of its fisheries, 380,000 poods of dried fish, and 
 12,000 poods of caviar. 
 
 Kisliar, and the provinces situated at the foot of 
 Mount Caucasus, also forward their goods by the 
 
 RUSSIAN MANUFACTURES. 
 
 107 
 
 Volga to Nijny Novgorod. This year they furnished 
 12,000 poods of rice, inferior to that of Astrakhan, 
 140,0000 ankers of brandy, and 120,000 vedros of 
 
 wme. 
 
 The Armenians and Persians, inhabiting the most 
 remote provinces of the empire, Tefflis, and the fertile 
 plains on the other side of Mount Caucasus, have 
 likewise brought to this emporium goods amounting 
 in value to 1,500,000 roubles. They consist of skins, 
 musk, and gall-nuts. 
 
 The most important trade of Nijny Novgorod is 
 the sale of Russian manufactures, more especially 
 those of cotton, silk, and wool, furnished chiefly by 
 the central provinces of the empire. Although the 
 manufactories have, this year, been more active than 
 ever, yet the demand for their productions has been 
 less at Nijny Novgorod than in the preceding year. 
 The reason is, that the retail dealers in the capitals 
 and in the provincial towns, and even the hawkers who 
 traverse the country, have already laid in their stock 
 at the different fairs of the interior. 
 
 To compensate for this, the goods which have been 
 sent to Nijny Novgorod for exportation, have been 
 very advantageously disposed of. The traders of 
 Kiakhta require large quantities of cotton and skins : 
 the Boukharians and the Khiva merchants purchase 
 nankeens, calicoes, cambrics, cloth, and sugar : the 
 
 I 
 
 ■■ I 
 
 y 
 
108 
 
 !||:i' 
 
 iiili: 
 
 
 ill 
 
 ; 
 
 \U 
 
 RUSSIAN MANUFACTURES. 
 
 Armenians of Tefflis, and the Persians, cotton and 
 woollen stuffs. Although less considerable than the 
 former year, the value of cotton stuffs manufactured 
 in Russia, and sold at Nijny Novgorod, amounts to 
 20,000,000 roubles. The silk manufacturers have less 
 reason to be satisfied with the state of things. Their 
 goods, which amounted in value to 10,000,000 roubles, 
 have experienced a hea\7 sale. This, however, must 
 have been anticipated, owing to the high prices 
 asked, in consequence of the conflagration at New 
 York, and the failure of the harvest in the south of 
 Italy. 
 
 Very considerable quantities of Russian and Polish 
 cloths have been sent to Nijny Novgorod from 
 Kiakhta, the greatest part of which was sold on the 
 15th of August. The total value of cloths sold, 
 amounted to about 2,000,000 of roubles. 
 
 As to the flax manufactures, which have been sold 
 to the amount of 5,000,000 roubles, they are generally 
 in great request. Amongst other articles, there have 
 been sold for the Transcaucasian provinces 7,000,000 
 archines of cloth of middling quality, 2,000,000 
 archines of coarse cloth, 150,000 archines of tche- 
 chouika, a description of cloth calculated for the 
 Chinese market. 
 
 The produce of the Russian mines and foundries 
 forms also a most interesting object of the trade of 
 
 \ 
 
 COUNTRY PRODUCE. 
 
 109 
 
 Nijny Novgorod: 1,694,514 poods of iron, worth 
 8,500,000 roubles, were sold last year, and bought 
 for the use of the inhabitants of the interior ; as well 
 as 30,000 poods of copper : 25,000 poods of steel, 
 and a considerable quantity of articles manufactured 
 from these metals. The total value of the above 
 articles amounts to 12,000,000 roubles. 
 
 The sugar-bakers of St. Petersburgh and Archangel 
 have sent to the fair 75,000 poods of sugar, four 
 fifths of which were immediately sold at prices 
 varying from 46 to 53 roubles the pood, — giving an 
 average value of 3,500,000 roubles. 
 
 The potassium, about 104,302 poods, was almost 
 wholly bought up for St. Petersburgh, at the rate of 
 9 to 10 roubles the pood. 
 
 Much country produce has been sold with good 
 profit for the purpose of exportation, as wax 3,600 
 poods ; 3,000 poods of ordinary wool, fetching from 
 17 to 22 roubles; 2,500 poods of fine cotton, the 
 price of which was as high as from 50 to 80 roubles 
 a pood; 3,000 poods of camel hair, at 11 to 12 
 roubles the pood ; 12,000 poods of hemp, bought at 5J 
 to 7 roubles ; tow, horses' tails, feathers (2,000 
 poods,) hogs' bristles, &c., making together in value 
 1,200,000 roubles ; to which must be added 69,050 
 bottles, and 142,020 half bottles of Don wine, which 
 
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 no 
 
 TRADE IN FURS. 
 
 IMPORTS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 I If! 
 
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 were sold at the opening of the fair, and fetched 
 252,408 roubles. 
 
 The tan-yards have furnished 11,000 poods of 
 Russian leather, valued at 32 to 43 roubles the pood, 
 and other qualities of the same article in such a large 
 quantity, that the total value of the manufacture ex- 
 ceeds 1,200,000 roubles. 
 
 Articles still more precious, considered for ages 
 as the richest produce of northern countries, and as 
 one of the most important objects of commerce, 
 have found their way to the fair of Nijny Novgorod, 
 and have almost all been sold ; these are the superb 
 furs of Siberia, and of the coast of the White Sea. 
 The skins of the sable bear, foxes of different colours, 
 beavers, martens, &c., coming from the tan-pits of 
 Moscow, realised a sum of about 3,000,000 roubles : 
 in addition to which, Casan has furnished foxes' and 
 wolves' skins ; the tan-pits of Kalouga foxes' skins ; 
 those of Yaroslaff hares' skins; those of Mouraschkin 
 lambs' skins; Kargapol, squirrels' skins ; Astrakhan, 
 foxes' skins ; and Kasmioff, sheep-skin pelisses. The 
 total value of these furs, &c., amounts to 4,900,000 
 roubles, besides the undressed ones at present 
 warehoused, the value of which is about 3,550,000 
 roubles. 
 
 Russia has also manufactured china and earthen- 
 ware to the amount of 350,000 roubles ; mirrors and 
 
 glass of all descriptions to 800,000 roubles, and soap 
 to 750,000 roubles. 
 
 The third branch of the commerce of Nijny Nov- 
 gorod — that of the produce of Western Europe and its 
 colonies — is deserving of notice, although the total 
 value of the goods imported from these countries 
 scarcely equals one tenth part of that of all the mer- 
 chandise sold at the fair. 
 
 Amongst the articles furnished from abroad, 
 those comprised under the general name of drugs 
 claim the first place; the value of these imported 
 this year is 4,900,000 roubles, and those required by 
 our manufactories for the dying of stuffs are most 
 in request ; 7,500 poods of indigo, for instance, value 
 2,305,000 roubles, have been sold in a short time at 
 340, 320, and 360 roubles a pood, according to the 
 quality ; the same has been the case with 1 ,800 poods 
 cochineal, which fetched 375 roubles per pood ; 8,000 
 poods of madder, &c. 
 
 Foreign wines, the total value of which is 2,000,000 
 roubles, are likewise an important article. The West 
 Indies have sent to the Russian markets 400 casks of 
 coffee, value 500,000 roubles, and 500 hogsheads of 
 rum, value 200,000 roubles. Coral to the amount of 
 600,000 roubles has been bought by the Kiakhta 
 merchants for the Chinese market. 
 
 The sale even of foreign manufactures has also been 
 
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 112 
 
 FOREIGN MANUFACTURES. 
 
 considerable. The Kiakhta merchants have laid out 
 no less a sum than 1,500,000 roubles in the pur- 
 chase of woollen stuffs for the Chinese market ; the 
 value of cottons, silks, &c., imported from abroad, 
 and housed in the magazine, amounts to 2,900,000 
 roubles. 
 
 The following table shows the goods put up for 
 sale during seven successive years, that is, from 1829 
 to 1825 inclusive, together with the goods actually 
 sold. 
 
 113 
 
 
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 114 
 
 HERRING FISHERY IN THE BLACK SEA. 
 
 115 
 
 EXPEDITION FOR 
 
 METALLURGICAL RESEARCHES 
 
 IN THE OURAL MOUNTAINS. 
 
 in 
 
 The herring fisliery in the Black Sea, which is most 
 active in the neighbourhood of Kertch, began last year 
 towards the close of the month of November, and 
 promised to be very abundant. Many of the in- 
 habitants of Kertch, knowing by experience the 
 advantage of the Dutch method of salting, united 
 in order to make an attempt at their common 
 expense. The direction of this undertaking was con- 
 fided to M. Pomerantzoff. Unfortunately the frosts 
 set in soon after, and put a premature stop to the 
 fishing; the experiment has not been so important 
 as was requisite. As an attempt, however, it has 
 completely succeeded : 5,000 herrings have been salted 
 and sold by the company ; they were found to be far 
 superior to all that had been salted previously, and 
 were sold at the rate of 100 roubles a thousand. 
 
 The Oural and Altai mines, so rich in the precious 
 metals, possess also a great interest for science. The 
 geologist observes, at every step he takes, new combi- 
 nations in the primitive rocks, as well as in those of 
 secondary formation : he there sees many phenomena 
 of which the European mountains present no example, 
 and which often discover some law of nature hitherto 
 unknown. The rocks are the more deserving of the 
 attention of the man of science and the miner, inas- 
 much as they cover an immense tract of country; 
 America herself scarcely offering to the researches of 
 the naturalist chains of mountains upon so vast a scale, 
 containing so much of the precious metals. In fact, the 
 Oural and the Altai are but two different branches 
 of one and the same chain, which, often taking other 
 names and directions, separates Siberia both from 
 
 I 2 
 
 1 
 
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 I II il t 
 
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 11(5 
 
 THE OIJUAL AND 
 
 V 
 
 Wl' i 
 
 ! il! s 
 
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 Europe and Central Asia. The Oural, whose most 
 remote branches towards the north are waslied by the 
 waves of the Icy Sea, forms a natural barrier between 
 Asia and Europe, from those high latitudes as far as 
 the steppes inhabited by the nomadic tribes of inde- 
 pendent Tartars. After having traversed from north 
 to south the governments of Persia and Orenbourg, 
 and overpassed the frontiers of Russia, this chain 
 forms an angle, taking in the Tartar steppes a direc- 
 tion from west to east ; further on, it again turns back 
 towards the Russian territory : it there appears under 
 the name of Altai, its direction being from south-west 
 to north-east, and extending across the districts of 
 Kolyvan, Nerlchuisk, &c., as far as the borders of the 
 sea which separates Asia from America. 
 
 It is in that part of these mountains which faces 
 Siberia, in the eastern slope of the Oural and the 
 northern one of Altai, witli its secondary branches, 
 that are found the veins of precious metal. It is there 
 that, in tlie schistous mountains, heaped upon the 
 primitive rocks, are discovered those layers, more or 
 less extensive, of gold or platina ore, so celebrated for 
 their great value. Every year immense treasures are 
 procured from them ; and yet it is probable that all 
 the riches of these mountains are as yet unknown. 
 The field opened for these researches is so vast, that 
 years of methodical and persevering examination have 
 
 ALTAI MOUNTAINS. 
 
 117 
 
 not yet been sufficient to explore all the valleys and 
 summits, a vast extent not having yet been visited by 
 the officers of the Mining Board. 
 
 The examination of these parts, as yet almost un- 
 known, is pursued with the greatest regularity. The 
 two chains, the Oural and the Altai, are divided into 
 several mining districts : in each of them the officers, 
 to whom is confided the direction of the works, 
 send out, every summer, detachments of discovery, 
 whose duty it is to examine, in detail, the mountains 
 assigned to them, — the point at which the expedition 
 stopped the preceding year being generally that of 
 departure for the new one. In the course of the last 
 vear two new detachments have been sent off', one of 
 wliich was ordered to traverse the space between the 
 Aspia and Lopsinia rivers, upon the eastern slope of 
 the Oural, wliilst the other was to complete the in- 
 vestigation of the territory included between the lodel 
 and Lozva, situated upon the same side of the summit. 
 The first of these expeditions remarked, in the 
 course of its investigations, several phenomena highly 
 important in a theoretical point of view ; new combi- 
 nations of porphyry, or rather species of rock belong- 
 ing to this primitive formation — such as the diorytics, 
 the spillite, and the trap. In other respects it has not 
 been fortunate in its researches. After boring upon 
 the banks of eleven small rivulets, which descend from 
 
 ^sl. 
 
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 118 
 
 BANKS OF GOLD SAND. 
 
 this part of the Oural towards the plain, gold was 
 found in the sand of five of them, but in so small a 
 proportion that the working would not be attended 
 with any profit. A mine of native copper, discovered 
 in 1832 upon the left bank of the little river Mania, 
 was also considered as too inconsiderable to be 
 worked. 
 
 The second expedition has had better success. 
 Having commenced its operations upon the banks of 
 the rivulet Ouspensk, their efforts, after several dis- 
 appointments, were at length rewarded by the dis- 
 covery of two tolerably rich layers of gold sand. 
 
 The one is upon the Ouspensk, two archines from 
 the surface of the soil; it extends about 100 sagenes, 
 its breadth being 8 sagenes, and thickness Ij archine. 
 The sands are not equally rich throughout the whole 
 extent. Some have been found containing only ^ 
 zolotnik of metal for every 100 poods, whilst others 
 contain 8^ zolotniks. The average is about 3^ zolot- 
 niks of gold for every 100 poods. The cubic sagene 
 of sand weighs about 1,200 poods, and the layer being 
 about 466 sagenes 18 archines (cubic measure), its 
 produce of gold would be probably 3 poods 14 livres 
 86 zolotniks. 
 
 The other bank of gold sand, found at between three 
 and four versts from the first, upon the Kamenka, 
 is only 4 sagenes in width, and 200 in length, and its 
 
 BANKS OF GOLD SAND. 
 
 119 
 
 thickness is 1^ archine. The gold it contains varies 
 from ^ of zolotnik to 815 zolotniks for 100 poods of 
 sand, the average being 3|i zolotniks. The layer 
 being 490 cubic sagenes, it may be expected to yield 
 4 poods 12 livres 18 zolotniks. 
 
 K 
 
iw ^ ^ — .. -i>^-> -irf-^i^i^imi 
 
 i ^ 
 
 ;?■ 1 
 
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 ; 
 
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 120 
 
 PRECIOUS STONES FOUND IN THE OURAL 
 
 MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Since the discovery of rich mines of the precious 
 metals in the Oural mountains, the government has 
 adopted every means in its power to facilitate the 
 working of them, to regulate the works proposed to 
 be executed, and to acquire a more extensive and 
 accurate knowledge of the treasures they contain. 
 Learned and scientific individuals have been employed 
 in these researches, and the results, important as they 
 are for trade, have not proved less so for science. 
 
 It is thus that the precious stones hidden in the 
 cavities of the rocks in the vicinity of Mourzenka, 
 have become the object of scientific examination, after 
 originating a new branch of industry. 
 
 The town of Mourzenka is situated in the depart- 
 ment of Catherinebourg, at the foot of the Oural. 
 Tlie rocks of the environs are composed of the same 
 granite which, upon the declivity opposite the Oural 
 on the eastern side, contains mines of gold and platina, 
 
 PRECIOUS STONES. 
 
 121 
 
 SO important on account of their rich produce. The 
 thickness of this mass of primitive rock is from 10 to 20 
 versts : its direction is north and south, and precious 
 stones are there found scattered over a space of about 
 100 square versts, watered by three rivers, the Newa, 
 the Alabaschka, and the Ambarka. In that variety 
 of granite known to geologists by the name of Peg- 
 matite, are here found the topaz, shorl, aqua marina, 
 rock crystal, and amethyst. 
 
 Another circumstance equally worthy of remark is, 
 that the fields in the environs of Mourzenka are co- 
 vered with large blocks of granite, which a violent 
 convulsion of some unknown period has torn away 
 from the summit of the mountains and hurled into the 
 plain below : these fragments likewise contain precious 
 stones. Sometimes, also, on the borders of the rivulets 
 have been found topazes and amethysts, scarcely con- 
 cealed by the mud and clay of their banks. 
 
 It was at the commencement of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury that the government, in the hope of finding 
 marble and jasper for the embellishment of the new 
 capital of the empire, ordered the Oural to be exa- 
 mined by competent persons. These agents found, 
 in the vicinity of Mourzenka, a few crystals and 
 transparent stones : this discovery did not excite all 
 the interest which it merited. At length, in 1765, 
 the Empress Catherine despatched some Italian lapi- 
 
122 
 
 SUPERB CRYSTAL. 
 
 123 
 
 daries, whom she had engaged in her service, to 
 Catherineboiirg and Mourzenka ; and from that time 
 stones of great value have constantly been found 
 there. 
 
 In 1828 was found, near Mourzenka, in the mine 
 called Aarjeosk, a superb crystal, weighing 6 pounds 
 1 1 zolotniks, being about 5| verschoks, or 8 J English 
 inches in length, and 6^ or 10 English inches in 
 circumference. This beautiful specimen is preserved 
 in the mineralogical collection of the Board of Mines. 
 
 THE CHASE IN THE RUSSO NORTH- 
 AMERICAN COLONIES. 
 
 Remote and hazardous expeditions always possess a 
 character of adventure and romance, which strikes tlie 
 imagination while it interests the feelings. The 
 privations to which those intrepid navigators expose 
 themselves, who, in order to widen the domain of 
 science, endeavour to discover a passage through the 
 ice of the Polar Seas, and the dangers by which we 
 see them continually beset, powerfully command our 
 sympathy. Nor can we view with indifference either 
 those hardy whalers who annually revisit the stormy 
 seas in which they have so often braved the severities 
 of a rigorous climate and the perils of a difficult 
 navigation, or the courageous perseverance of those 
 mariners who seek, in remote and almost unknown 
 shores, new markets for the produce of their country. 
 If such enterprises, even when isolated, command 
 the attention we bestow on them, how much more is our 
 interest excited by an association formed for the purpose 
 
 ';i 
 
124 
 
 RUSSIAN AMERICA. 
 
 TRADE WITH THE HUNTERS. 
 
 125 
 
 of pursuing, systematically and upon a vaster scale, all 
 these various branches of activity. Such is the Ame- 
 rican Company, which was at first established with the 
 view of extending the beaver hunt in the Russian colo- 
 nies, and of enlarging the fur trade, so important in the 
 relations of Russia with China. Since the origin of this 
 company, we have seen its agents living upon the 
 shores of Russian America, amidst all the privations 
 imposed upon them by the nature of the country, 
 occupied with useful enterprises, scientific researches, 
 and with the care of making, as far as possible, the 
 aborigines of these sterile regions participate in the 
 benefits of civilisation. 
 
 The otter chase still constitutes their chief occupa- 
 tion. In former times the inhabitants of the Aleontian 
 Isles paid a tribute of furs, but since the establishment 
 of the company they have been exonerated from this, 
 personal service being substituted instead of it : every 
 native of these isles, or of that of Kodiak, is obliged to 
 place himself for three years at the disposition of the 
 company, which may employ him, as it pleases, either 
 in hunting, fishing, or agriculture. 
 
 In the month of December every year, the company 
 announces the number of men and small boats it will 
 require for beaver hunting. The hunters are then 
 chosen, the preference being given to families having 
 the greatest number of sous ; these the company fur- 
 
 nishes with arms, powder, lead, dried fish, tobacco, 
 and the utensils necessary for repairing the boats. Im- 
 mediately upon the breaking up of the ice, the bdidaies 
 (small vessels) quit the creeks in which they had been 
 laid up during the winter, and repair to the place of 
 rendezvous; the diflferent expeditions afterwards set 
 off* for the points assigned them, each under the direc- 
 tion of an ancient, chosen by his companions. Kodiak 
 generally furnishes one hundred and fifty boats, Ouna- 
 lachka one hundred, Atkha fifty, the other islands a 
 less number. 
 
 Upon their return, in the month of August or Sep- 
 tember, these different detachments deposit the produce 
 of their chase in the stores of the company, which 
 pays them according to a stipulated tariff", giving at 
 the rate of thirty roubles for a beaver skin of the first 
 quality, deducting, however, from this price the value 
 of the ammunition and provisions previously furnished 
 
 to the hunter. 
 
 The otter is not the only game hunted during the 
 summer ; other vessels are employed in pursuing the 
 aquatic birds, which alight in such numerous flocks 
 on the coasts of the peninsula of Alackha. Their skins 
 are bought by the company ; their flesh, being dried, 
 serves as food for the inhabitants of the country. The 
 pursuit of the sea-calves is more dangerous. The 
 Aleontians engaged in this diflScult chase endeavour. 
 
126 
 
 WHALERS. 
 
 at first, to cut off tlie retreat of these formidable ani- 
 mals, which lie basking themselves in the sun upon 
 the sea-shore ; they then attack and kill them with 
 their hunting spears. The teeth are the only valu- 
 able part of the animal, and in successful seasons the 
 chase is so productive as to furnish as many as five 
 thousand. 
 
 Several whalers fitted out at the company's expense 
 likewise cruise annually in these seas. The Aleon- 
 tians strike the whale with harpoons, the barb of which 
 is of jasper : each individual engraves upon the stone 
 of his harpoon some private mark by which he may 
 recognise it, so that it is always easy to ascertain the 
 party who has dealt the mortal blow to the animal. 
 One half of the whale belongs to the successful har- 
 pooner, the other one is the property of the company, 
 subject to their paying to the rest of the crew from 
 twenty to forty roubles. Further facility has lately 
 been given to this trade, by furnishing the whalers 
 with superior implements. Vessels constructed upon 
 the model of those of the English will render the fishery 
 less dangerous, and the company has recently engaged 
 in its service several experienced harpooners. The 
 number of whales killed annually varies from thirty to 
 fifty ; but, owing to the above intended improvements, 
 it will doubtless become still more considerable. 
 
 During the winter the colonists are engaged in 
 
 HUNTING PAIITTES. 
 
 127 
 
 other labours. Snares are laid for the white foxes, and 
 dogs regularly trained to track the zizel (iiius cytellus) 
 in its subterranean abodes. 
 
 The company^s vessels then trainsport all the furs so 
 collected during the year to Okhotsh, whence they are 
 sent overland to Kiakhta, a town situated upon the 
 confines of the Mongol Steppes, and remarkable for its 
 immense commerce with China. 
 
 Immediately after the establishment of the Russians 
 upon the western coast of North America, the chase 
 proved equally easy and abundant ; the consequence 
 is, that it was prosecuted to sucli a degree, that the 
 beaver and the fox have now become rare. The 
 Imnting parties are at present obliged to proceed to 
 more distant points. 
 
 The country, however, is so vast, the coast of such 
 great extent, and the islands so numerous, that no 
 apprehensions need be entertained as to the produc- 
 tiveness of the chase. Oftentimes islands, for a long 
 time concealed by the constant fogs of these climates, 
 are discovered by chance, and open a new field to the 
 activity of the company's agents. 
 
 Thus the marines who first landed on the Preby- 
 loff* Isles, (St. George and St. Paul,) to the north of 
 Ounalackha, were astonished at the number of otters 
 and sea-calves of different species which they disco- 
 
128 
 
 ISLA^^D ESTABLISHMENTS. 
 
 vered there. The company having formed some per- 
 manent estaWishments in these isles, for so long a time 
 uninhabited, " have cultivated the potato and the 
 turnip. 
 
 121) 
 
 TEACHERS' INSTITUTION AT ST. 
 PETERSBURGH. 
 
 The principal object of this establishment is the rear- 
 ing of teachers for the different gymnasia and lyceums 
 throughout the empire, and the studies of the pupils 
 have consequently been directed with this view. 
 
 Ninety-six young persons, duly qualified according 
 to the regulations of the institution, were first selected 
 from the public schools for entering therein, and five 
 ordinary, three extraordinary professors, and five 
 assistants, commenced their labours with a preparatory 
 course. In this class of the Institution, which is not 
 divided into different faculties, the studies embrace 
 logic, metaphysics, mathematics, mythology, the Latin, 
 Greek, German, and French languages, together with 
 rhetoric and Russian literature ; architecture and 
 drawing are likewise taught, to which have recently 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 TEACHERS INSTITUTION. 
 
 been added dancing and fencing. Every pupil par- 
 ticipates in all the lessons, and this preparatory course 
 is terminated in two years. 
 
 The first examination, in which the pupils were to 
 exhibit the progress they had made, began on the 15th 
 September, 1831, continued till the 12th November, 
 and publicly terminated, in the presence of a numerous 
 audience, on the 11th December. The results of this 
 examination were as satisfactory as could be desired ; 
 seventy-eight of these young persons were considered 
 worthy of entering as students the upper class of the 
 institution, which was then formed and divided into 
 three faculties. Under the superintendence of twelve 
 ordinary and five extraordinary professors, assisted by 
 masters in drawing, fencing, and other arts, the students 
 are at liberty to enter any one of the three faculties, and 
 to devote themselves to the study either of philosophy 
 and jurisprudence, the exact sciences, or lastly of phi- 
 lology and history. This course lasts three years, 
 after which time they must exercise themselves in the 
 practice of instruction. 
 
 The collections belonging to the institution, which 
 are every day receiving fresh additions, are already 
 considerable ; the library at present consists of 
 7,000 volumes ; the philosophical apparatus are 
 sixty-eight in number, the mineralogical cabinet rec- 
 kons 4,233 objects ; their plants amount to 9,399, not 
 
 EXAMINATION OF STUDENTS. 
 
 131 
 
 including those indigenous to St. Petersburgh. A 
 zoological collection is also in progress. 
 
 The first examination of the students of the upper 
 class, which took place in the month of December, 
 1835, has proved how successful have been the labours 
 of the institution, — thus aflTording a reasonable hope 
 that its activity will be incalculably useful for the 
 public instruction. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 INCREASE OF THE POPULATION IN 
 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 It has been remarked that a population equally un- 
 acquainted with every branch of national industry and 
 commerce, and whose means of existence are conse- 
 quently limited, not only increases slowly, but often- 
 times remains stationary. If at a later period this 
 ignorance be replaced by knowledge and a spirit of 
 enterprise, the onward march of the community, as to 
 numbers, is rapid, and evident to observation. Such 
 has been precisely the case with Russia. 
 
 From the time of Peter the Great, and more espe- 
 cially under the reign of Catherine II., up to the close 
 of the last century, when the institutions founded by 
 the creative hand of that monarch began to put forth 
 their fruit, the progress exceeded every hope. Since 
 the commencement of the nineteenth century, the 
 population of those professing the Greek religion, 
 
 INCREASE OF POPULATION. 
 
 133 
 
 during a period of thirty years— that is, from 1804 to 
 1834— it would appear that, due allowances being made 
 for the adventitious influence of war, bad harvests, &c., 
 this increase continues to become a little less rapid. 
 
 At least we learn from these tables, that during the 
 first ten years of this period, from 1804 to 1814, the 
 number of children born in Russia amounted to 
 13,148,000, that of persons deceased to 9,064,400; 
 during the ten succeeding years, from 1814 to 1824, 
 the number of births was 14,798,000, deaths 8,994,000 ; 
 and lastly, during the ten years elapsed from that 
 time to 1834, 17,848,000 were born, and 12,501,000 
 died. 
 
 During the first of these decennial periods, therefore, 
 the population increased 4,086,000 souls ; during the 
 second, 5,804,000; and during the last, 5,347,000. 
 It will also be seen that the number of births, although 
 it has become greater per se towards the end of the 
 period so indicated, is.^ however, less considerable when 
 compared with the population already existing, and 
 with the number of deaths. 
 
 Whilst, in any given year of the last century, the 
 number of births surpassed that of deaths in the pro- 
 portion of 183 to 100, — the proportion during the first 
 of the three decennial periods above has been 147 to 
 100; during the second, under the happy influence of 
 profound peace, 164 to 100 ; and during the third, of 
 
' 
 
 I 
 
 134 
 
 INCREASE OF POPULATION. 
 
 146 to 100 only. The second decennary, therefore, 
 has been more favourable to population than the last ; 
 and we may conclude that the first would have pre- 
 sented results still more satisfactory, but for the sacri- 
 fices imposed upon Russia by continual and sanguinary 
 wars. 
 
 Another curious fact also merits attention, which is, 
 that the number of children born during these thirty 
 years is nearly equal to that of all the existing popu- 
 lation according to the last census. 
 
 It would, on many accounts, be extremely interest- 
 ing to compare the results given by these inquiries, 
 made in Russia, with those obtained in other countries; 
 the more so, as the theories of learned political econo- 
 mists, relatively to the general laws of the increase of 
 population, are based upon observations made exclu- 
 sively in countries which form the centre of Europe ; 
 but the real value of these hypotheses cannot be 
 duly ascertained, until an examination be made as to 
 the degree of confirmation or refutation they receive 
 from the results of investigations made in other 
 regions. 
 
 All who have written upon this subject have 
 proved by extensive tables, that the number of male 
 children which have come into the world exceeds that 
 of girls. Another assertion of these authors is, that 
 a greater mortality among boys under fourteen years 
 
 INCREASE OF POPULATION. 
 
 135 
 
 of age re-establishes a certain equality between the 
 two sexes, which appears to continue till the age of 
 maturity, but that more women than men arrive at an 
 advanced age, and that, in conseiquence of this compa- 
 ratively greater longevity in females, the total number 
 of women exceeds that of the men. 
 
 It appears, however, that the facts collected in 
 Russia confirm only one part of this theory, so uni- 
 versally adopted. It is true that, in this eastern part 
 of Europe, the number of male children is also greater 
 than that of females. The difference is even here 
 more considerable than in any other country. The 
 official lists prove, that among children born, there are 
 one hundred and nine boys to one hundred girls, 
 whilst, in the rest of Europe, the number of the first 
 exceeds that of the second in the proportion of one 
 hundred and six to one hundred. We are not able 
 to ascertain if a greater mortality prevails among male 
 children under fourteen years of age, the individuals 
 being classed, in the Russian lists, according to age ; 
 however, it is still true that, in general, the number 
 of men who die annually, regularly exceeds that of 
 women, although not in a proportion to counter- 
 balance the difference existing between the number of 
 children of either sex, the comparative mortality being 
 in the proportion of one hundred and five to one hun- 
 dred women only. 
 
 I 
 
136 
 
 POPULATION TABLE. 
 
 POPULATION TABLE. 
 
 137 
 
 J'' 
 
 From the above data, it must be concluded, that 
 Russia forms an exception to the general rule, and 
 that in this country (Russia) men form the greater 
 proportion of the population. We cannot, however, 
 decide with certainty if this be so or not, it not having 
 yet been possible to take the census of the female 
 population in the southern provinces with all the 
 accuracy desirable. 
 
 We think we cannot better complete the above 
 general view we have given of the population of 
 Russia, than by adding the following table of each 
 government, with the proportion existing between the 
 extent of the soil and the population. 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 
 Inhabitants. 
 
 Sq. Miles. 
 
 Inhabitants 
 for each 
 sq. mile. 
 
 1 Arcbange 
 
 I 
 
 240,896 
 
 - 15,212 
 
 15 
 
 2 Astrakan 
 
 - 
 
 103,280 
 
 - 4,072 
 
 25 
 
 3 Vilna 
 
 - 
 
 - 1,315,781 
 
 - 1,162 
 
 - 1,132 
 
 4 Vibetsk 
 
 - 
 
 702,266 
 
 778 
 
 . 825 
 
 6 Vladinir 
 
 - 
 
 - 1,127,471 
 
 831 
 
 - 1,356 
 
 6 Vologda 
 
 - 
 
 732,228 
 
 - 6,880 
 
 - 106 
 
 7 Volhynia 
 
 * (■ 
 
 - 1,314,117 
 
 - 1,073 
 
 - 1,224 
 
 8 Voroneje 
 
 - 
 
 - 1,492,223 
 
 - 1,354 
 
 . 1,102 
 
 9 Viatka 
 
 - 
 
 - 1,504,097 
 
 - 2,497 
 
 - 626 
 
 10 Grodno 
 
 - 
 
 - 761,880 
 
 570 
 
 - 1,336 
 
 1 1 Catbeiinoslaff - 
 
 774,768 
 
 - 1,186 
 
 - 653 
 
 12 Casan 
 
 - 
 
 . - 1 .309,432 
 
 - 1,104 
 
 - 1,186 
 
 13 Kaloiigu 
 
 - 
 
 9 1 7,537 
 
 541 
 
 - 1,691 
 
 14 Kieir 
 
 • 
 
 . 1,459,782 
 
 798 
 
 - 1,829 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 15 Kostroma 
 
 16 Courland 
 
 17 Koursk 
 
 18 Livonia 
 
 19 Muisk 
 
 20 Mohileff - 
 
 21 Moscow - 
 
 22 Nijny-Novgorod 
 
 23 Novgorod 
 
 24 Olonetz - 
 
 25 Orenbourg 
 
 26 Orel 
 
 27 Penza 
 
 28 Perm 
 
 29 Podolia - 
 
 30 Poltava - 
 
 31 Pskoff 
 
 32 Riazan 
 
 33 St. Petersburg]! 
 
 34 Saratoff - 
 
 35 Simbersk - 
 
 36 Smolensk - 
 
 37 Taurida - 
 
 38 Tambroflf 
 
 39 Iver 
 
 40 Toula 
 
 41 KharkofT - 
 
 42 Kherson - 
 
 43 TchernigofT 
 
 44 Ebtbonia 
 
 Inhabitants. 
 972,102 
 
 Sq. iviiles. 
 
 - 1,438 
 
 Inhabitants 
 for each 
 sq. mile. 
 
 - 670 
 
 503,010 
 
 475 
 
 - 1,058 
 
 1,303,022 
 
 794 
 
 2,892 
 
 740,089 
 
 8:^6 
 
 - 895 
 
 955,714 
 
 1,983 
 
 481 
 
 802,108 
 
 824 
 
 973 
 
 1,240,2S3 
 
 550 
 
 - 2,255 
 
 1,076,363 
 
 878 
 
 - 1,225 
 
 735,170 
 
 - 2,070 
 
 355 
 
 236,670 
 
 - 2,354 
 
 104 
 
 1,595,843 
 
 - 6,535 
 
 244 
 
 1,342,912 
 
 755 
 
 - 1,778 
 
 988,179 
 
 674 
 
 - 1,466 
 
 1 ,488,800 
 
 - 2,720 
 
 547 
 
 1,548,155 
 
 576 
 
 - 2,687 
 
 1,621,583 
 
 - 1,062 
 
 - 1,526 
 
 693,727 
 
 - 1,045 
 
 663 
 
 1,211,223 
 
 707 
 
 . 1,713 
 
 509,004 
 
 710 
 
 716 
 
 1 ,543,477 
 
 - 3,473 
 
 444 
 
 1,198,576 
 
 - 1,141 
 
 - 1,050 
 
 1,031,466 
 
 954 
 
 - 1,077 
 
 543,020 
 
 - 2,040 
 
 266 
 
 1,580,259 
 
 - 1,152 
 
 . 1,371 
 
 1,297,942 
 
 - 1,122 
 
 - 1,156 
 
 1,074,687 
 
 529 
 
 - 2,031 
 
 1,171,456 
 
 845 
 
 . 1,386 
 
 607,949 
 
 - 1,099 
 
 . 553 
 
 1,312,592 
 
 898 
 
 - 1,460 
 
 280,612 
 
 315 
 
 890 
 
138 
 
 POPULATION TABLE. 
 
 139 
 
 Numbers. 
 45 Yaroslaff 
 
 Inhabitants. 
 930,180 
 
 Sq. Miles. 
 897 
 
 Inhabitants 
 for each 
 sq. mile. 
 
 - 1,152 
 
 46 Province of Belotosk - 
 
 261,014 
 
 162 
 
 - 1,610 
 
 47 Province of Caucasus ^ 
 
 
 
 
 111,538 - / 
 
 Province of Black Sea /' 
 
 208,944 
 
 - 1,803? 
 
 . 132 
 - 101 
 
 97,406 - J 
 
 
 
 
 48 Country of the Cos- ^ 
 sacks of the Don ^ 
 
 527,472 
 
 - 5,088 
 
 - 103 
 
 49 Bessarabia - . - 
 
 503,666 
 
 794 
 
 - 634 
 
 Total for Russia in Europe - 
 
 47,592,427 
 
 - 87.257 
 
 
 50 Jenessei - - . 
 
 193,486 
 
 - 58,371 
 
 3 
 
 51 Irkoutsh 
 
 505,118 
 
 - 20,121 
 
 25 
 
 52 Tobolsk . - - 
 
 662,650 
 
 - 18,307 
 
 36 
 
 53 Tomsk 
 
 394,136 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 54 Province of Onisk 
 
 72,545 
 
 802 
 
 90 
 
 Total for the Asiatic Pro- ^ 
 vinces - - J 
 
 1,827,935 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 To the above must be added Georgia, respecting 
 whose population we are yet without authentic infor- 
 mation,— and the Grand Duchy of Finland, which is 
 not included in this census. 
 
 STATE AND PROGRESS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TRADE AND INTERNAL COMMERCE 
 
 OF RUSSIA IN 1835. 
 
 The deficient harvests of preceding years could not 
 but have a prejudicial effect upon commerce in 
 general. The reaction, however, was but temporary, 
 not even preventing Russian capitalists from enlarging 
 their still existing commercial establishments, or from 
 forming new ones. As a proof, the number of manu- 
 facturing concerns at present in activity throughout 
 the empire is 6,045, 381 of which are new ones. The 
 number of workmen is 279,673, being an increase of 
 5,704, without reckoning those employed in mines, 
 furnaces, forges, &c. 
 
 Thirty-five applications for patents for new inven- 
 tions connected with manufactures have been made, 
 arid of these eleven have been granted. 
 
tl 
 
 140 
 
 RUSSIAN MANUFACTURES. 
 
 ti 
 
 The greatest encouragement has been held out to 
 persons engaging in new commercial enterprises. By 
 an ukase dated 1827, such parties are relieved from 
 certain taxes imposed upon them as members of one 
 of the three city guilds, and in 1835 the land-tax and 
 municipal imposts were also remitted in their favour. 
 
 The schools intended for the instruction of opera- 
 tives promise the happiest results. That which is 
 called the Technological School, having for its object 
 the forming a body of instructors, reckons two hundred 
 and twenty-six pupils. 
 
 The financial agents of Russia residing at Paris, 
 Vienna, and Berlin, as well as the consuls at the chief 
 commercial towns of Europe, have, on their part, greatly 
 contributed to the progress and improvement of the 
 national industry, by communicating to Russian manu- 
 facturers every information respecting new inventions 
 made in foreign countries, forwarding to them patterns 
 of new manufactures, models of machines, Sec, and by 
 engaging for them such workmen as they may be in 
 need of. 
 
 The reports of M. Meyendorff, and of another gen- 
 tleman commissioned with him to investigate the 
 condition, progress, and future prospects of trade and 
 manufactures throughout the empire, have been highly 
 satisfactory. 
 
 The punctuality with which, in 1835, the manufac- 
 
 COMMERCIAL COMPANIES. 
 
 141 
 
 turers executed their contracts for supplying cloth for 
 the army and navy, and the facility with which similar 
 engagements have been entered into for the year 
 1836, is another proof of the prosperous state of Rus- 
 sian manufactures. Exports of the same article, to the 
 amount of 3,181,663 roubles, have been made to 
 Poland. 
 
 Fresh evidences of the great improvement in the 
 internal trade are furnished by the fact, that the 
 number of persons engaged in commercial affairs is 
 rapidly increasing, and that every year many acquire 
 the means of passing from the inferior to the upper 
 guilds. The following table will make this clear. 
 
 In 1835 the merchants of the first guild were 695 
 
 second 
 third 
 Peasants having permission to trade 
 Clerks 
 
 1,547 
 
 30,099 
 
 4,992 
 
 7976 
 
 More tban 
 in 1834. 
 
 50 
 56 
 
 1,147 
 
 388 
 831 
 
 The state of the different commercial and trading 
 companies is equally gratifying, and, in every part of 
 this vast empire, capitalists are employing their re- 
 sources in new and useful enterprises. The American 
 Company, the oldest and most important of all, con- 
 tinues its land and sea expeditions with great success, 
 while its communications with the tribes inhabiting 
 
142 
 
 COMMERCIAL COMPANIES. 
 
 INTEUNAL COMMUNICATION. 
 
 143 
 
 if 
 
 I 
 
 the interior of North America are daily becoming 
 more frequent. The Russian colonies established upon 
 these uncultivated shores have been regularly sup- 
 plied with provisions and other articles they stood in 
 need of, and the chase has been so successful in the 
 course of the year, that furs to the amount of 2,150,000 
 roubles have been exported, partly to Europe, and partly 
 to Kiahkta, there to be bartered for Chinese produce. 
 The stock of the company is now double its original 
 value, — a convincing proof of the present profitable 
 state of its trade, and of its flattering prospects for 
 the future. 
 
 The Company of Artificial Mineral Waters at Mos- 
 cow has been so prosperous, that the dividend for 
 1835 has been 200 roubles on each share. A similar 
 company formed at St. Petersburgh having been less 
 successful, his Majesty the Emperor has been pleased 
 to afford it pecuniary assistance, in order that so use- 
 ful an establishment might be preserved. 
 
 In consequence of the Steam Boat Company be- 
 tween Lubeck and St. Petersburgli having launched 
 a third vessel, its privilege has been prolonged for 
 four years. Another association, formed in 1835, 
 has established a rapid communication between the 
 different Russian ports of the Baltic. Two new 
 Marine Insurance Companies have been formed at 
 Odessa. 
 
 Seven other companies have been established in the 
 course of the year ; three for the spinning of cotton, 
 at St. Petersburgh, Moscow, and Kalonga; another 
 for the manufacture of plated goods ; two for the im- 
 provement of sheep-folds in the southern provinces, 
 and the seventh for the manufacture of calico at 
 Tsareosk. 
 
 Unremitting have been the labours to complete in 
 all its parts the system of internal communication. 
 The works upon the river Seyn will be completed in 
 the course of a few years ; and this river, which is now 
 navigable for an extent of two hundred wersts, will 
 then become so from its very source. Steam-boats 
 have been established upon the Dnieper and the 
 Berezina, for the towing of laden barges, and for the 
 convenience of passengers and goods. 
 
 In consequence of the increased importance of the 
 Black Sea, the government has taken every means to 
 encourage all undertakings connected with its trade. 
 Money has been advanced from time to time, upon 
 due securities, to such as applied for it. To the town 
 of Ismail, in particular, 15,000 roubles have been lent 
 for ten years without interest, — a favour which will 
 enable the extensive dockyards for the merchant 
 vessels, there in progress, to be quickly finished. 
 
 Passing from commercial establishments to those 
 instituted for the instruction of youths destined to the 
 
144 
 
 COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION. 
 
 145 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 service of the public, we have great pleasure in an- 
 nouncing that the pupils of the School of Commer- 
 cial Navigation at St. Petersburgh made, in the 
 course of 1831, as well as in preceding years, an expe- 
 rimental voyage. After the examination in the 
 month of May, nine pupils, six of whom were educated 
 at the expense of the government, were appointed as 
 pilots or pilots' mates, and are now employed in that 
 capacity in the Baltic, the Black and the Caspian 
 Seas. 
 
 RUSSIAN IMPORTS AND EXPORTS IN 
 
 1836. 
 
 The total value of imported goods is 180,913,929 
 roubles 87 copecks. The principal articles so ex- 
 ported were spun cottons, to the amount of 48,418,476 
 roubles 55 copecks ; raw cottons, 5,262,880 roubles ; 
 sugar, unrefined, 37,343,543 roubles 53 copecks ; 
 coffee, 4,316,995 roubles; silks, 5,420,632 roubles 
 40 copecks; woollen goods, 6,174,867 roubles 75 
 copecks ; cotton stuffs, 3,344,433 roubles 75 copecks ; 
 hempen stuffs, 520,083 roubles; wines, 8,879,765 
 roubles 46 copecks ; gold and silver, 2,948,450 roubles 
 46 copecks, &c. 
 
 The total value of exported goods is 129,601,862 
 roubles 88 copecks. The principal articles were 
 tallows to the amount of 40,732,358 roubles 87 
 copecks; hemp, 19,221,328 roubles 90 copecks; flax, 
 6,291,808 roubles 30 copecks; copper, 9,364,065 
 
 VOL. IT. 
 
146 
 
 IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 
 
 147 
 
 roubles 30 copecks; iron, 6,869,329 roubles 39 
 copecks; cloths, 7,521,786 roubles; bristles, 5,316,052 
 roubles 75 copecks; raw hides, 2,618,099 roubles 50 
 copecks; potassium, 2,134,660 roubles 20 copecks. 
 
 In 1835 the importations amounted to 165,686,702 
 roubles 96copecks; ^nAXh^texportations to 107,033,563 
 roubles 77 copecks. Compared with this year, there 
 was consequently in 1836 an increase of 15,227,226 
 roubles 91 copecks in the value of the former, and of 
 22,568,299 roubles 11 copecks in that of the latter. 
 
 Whilst the navigation was open, there arrived 1,105 
 vessels, gauging altogether 108,613|^ casks ; and there 
 departed 1,182, gauging 116,327^ casks. Of the 
 former vessels, 823 were with cargoes, of which 123 
 were of coal : two vessels remained to winter at St. 
 Petersburgh. 
 
 The receipts of the Custom-house were, in 1836, 
 48,968,790 roubles 74 copecks; 1835, 46,763,444 
 roubles 34 copecks ;— increase in 1836, 2,205,346 
 roubles 40 copecks. 
 
 A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF THE SYSTEM, PROGRESS, AND 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF 
 
 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN RUSSIA. 
 
 (^Extracted from the official documents compiled by M, A KruseH' 
 stern^ Chamberlain of his Majesty the Emperor. 1 Vol, %vo, 
 tVarsaw, 1837.) 
 
 1(1 
 
 The majority of foreign authors who in modern 
 times have written upon the civilisation of Russia, and 
 more particularly upon the actual state of public 
 instruction in this empire, have necessarily, from the 
 total absence of all precise data upon these subjects, 
 fallen into grave and serious errors. 
 
 These desiderata are, however, now for the first 
 time supplied by the work of M. Krusenstern, which 
 contains, 1st, An account of the advance and progress 
 of public instruction in Russia, from the time of Peter 
 the Great to the present day. 2nd, A full descrip- 
 tion of the establishments of education now existing, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 ANCIENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 as well those which are under the superintendence 
 of the minister of public instruction, as the military 
 institutions, ecclesiastical schools, and those semina- 
 ries in which particular branches of education are 
 exclusively taught. 3rd, A general view of private 
 instruction. 
 
 So early as the eleventh century, public schools 
 were founded at Novgorod, Kieff, and Smolensko,by 
 an enlightened monarch, the Grand Duke Yaroslaff, 
 the legislator of his people, the embellisher of his 
 capital, and, like the Englisli Alfred, the translator 
 of the Holy Scriptures into his vernacular tongue. 
 
 The invasion of the Tartars and various civil wars 
 rendered the first essay abortive ; the schools were 
 abandoned, and for several ages the monasteries 
 alone aftbrded the Russian youth a few scanty means 
 of instruction. At a later period the Grand Dukes 
 of Moscow, having by their authority put a stop to 
 internal discord, the government again endeavoured 
 to introduce the elements of civilisation, and the first 
 printing establishment was opened at Moscow in 
 1563. Many learned foreigners were invited to the 
 court, and the Tsar Boris Godounoflf was only pre- 
 vented from founding a university and a certain 
 number of public schools by the troubles caused by 
 the appearance of the impostor Demetrius. It is, 
 however, to the princes of the illustrious house of 
 
 I 
 
 ADVANCE OF CIVILISATION. 
 
 149 
 
 Romanoff that Russia is chiefly indebted for the 
 benefits of civilisation ; the Tsar Theodore Alexievitch 
 more particularly distinguished himself in diffusing 
 knowledge throughout his dominions, and it is to 
 him that Russia owes the most ancient of her learned 
 institutions, the Ecclesiastical Academy of Moscow, 
 founded in 1769. 
 
 At length Peter the Great appeared. This monarch, 
 convinced that public instruction was the most efli- 
 cient instrument for working out the regeneration 
 of his country, founded numerous scientific establish- 
 ments, and his successors, following the route he 
 traced out for them, have seen their efforts crowned 
 with success. We shall distinguish three separate 
 epochs in this advance of civilisation, each one being 
 remarkable for its own peculiar character. 
 
 During the first epocha, which ^ comprehends the 
 time from tlie accession of Peter I. to that of Cathe- 
 rine II., the efforts of government were restricted to 
 organising, in the capital and provinces, new schools 
 ill proportion as they became wanted, without, how- 
 ever, adopting any general plan, or even submitting 
 the direction of so many establishments to the super- 
 intendence of any central authority. Latin and 
 Greek schools were founded, in the year 1700, in 
 different towns of the empire ; shortly afterwards a 
 naval school, and one of engineering, were founded 
 
 i 
 
 » 
 
150 
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 FOUNDATION OF UNIVERSITIES. 
 
 151 
 
 1 
 
 1^! 
 
 m 
 
 pi 
 
 at St. Petersburgh; mathematical and navigation 
 schools at Moscow, and in several chief towns of 
 provinces ; ecclesiastical schools in the bishoprics ; and 
 lastly, elementary schools throughout the country. 
 The good effects of these establishments soon began 
 to appear,— the opening of the St. Petersburgh 
 Academy of Sciences taking place immediately after 
 the decease of Peter the Great. In 1731 the Empress 
 Anne established the first corps of cadets at St. 
 Petersburgh, and the Empress Elizabeth founded 
 the University of Moscow, the Academy of the Fine 
 Arts, and a great number of schools. 
 
 The second epocha commences with the accession 
 of Catherine II., and ends with that of the Emperor 
 Alexander. The coercive measures necessary during 
 the first epocha were now useless,— so much so, that 
 at the commencement of Catherine's reign a private 
 individual set the patriotic example of contributing 
 largely to the support of a public school. Under the 
 fostering care of the Empress Catherine, public in- 
 struction received still greater developement ; and as 
 all preceding efforts had been limited to the impart- 
 ing a greater or less degree of learning and knowledge, 
 the Empress judged it necessary to form establish- 
 ments in which the morals of the rising generation 
 might at the same time be attended to. With this view, 
 she ordered boarding-schools for both sexes to be 
 
 established in all the different governments in the 
 empire. A still more important measure, and one 
 which greatly contributed to impart to this second 
 epocha its peculiar feature, was the organisation of 
 a central authority, entrusted with the care of dis- 
 seminating education throughout the empire, and of 
 giving to so many different establishments one 
 uniform tendency to a common end. A special 
 commission having been appointed for this purpose, 
 all the schools, excepting only the University of 
 Moscow and the ecclesiastical seminaries, were placed 
 under its direction; divided into upper and lower 
 schools, they were reorganised upon one general 
 plan, and subjected to uniform regulations. The 
 Emperor Alexander having, upon ascending the 
 throne, declared it to be his conviction that pub- 
 lic instruction w^as the first element of the pros- 
 perity of states, substituted for the special commission 
 the minister of public instruction, the powers of 
 which functionary were much more extensive. In- 
 creased activity now animated every branch of this 
 important department, and the most brilliant results 
 rewarded their labours. The foundation of the 
 universities of Dorpat, Casan, Kharkoff, and of the 
 Teachers' Institution at St. Petersburgh, (which latter 
 has since been converted into a university,) took 
 place during the years 1802—1804; that of Vilna 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 [liii 
 
152 
 
 SPECIAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 153 
 
 I'l. 
 
 P 
 
 received at tlie same time a new organisation ; and 
 these universities, entrusted with the care of superin- 
 tending all the establishments of instruction in the 
 districts of which they were the centre, formed, as it 
 were, so many nuclei of knowledge and learning. 
 The government also took upon itself the formation 
 of gymnasia and district and parochial schools, being 
 seconded by the generosity of individuals who vied 
 with each other in forwarding the beneficent views of 
 their august sovereign. 
 
 The third epocha commences with the accession of 
 the reigning monarch. His Majesty's first care was 
 the reorganisation of the system of public instruction, 
 with the view of rendering it purely national. The 
 peculiar characteristic of this epocha is the establish- 
 ment of a great number of special schools, destined 
 to bring up the pupils for some distinct pursuit or 
 profession, by giving them an education less general, 
 but more solid. The number of schools newly orga- 
 nised from the year 1826 to 1836, amounts to 691. 
 
 I. — MINISTRY OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 
 
 As at present organised, this department compre- 
 hends the following branches : 
 
 1. Education in the public schools. 2. Education 
 in private institutions. 3. Domestic education. 4. 
 Establishments destined for forming professors and 
 
 masters. 5. The Academy of Science, the Russian 
 Academy, the other learned societies, the censorship, 
 public libraries, museums, and collections of every 
 description. 
 
 A special commission — having for its president the 
 minister of public instruction, and entrusted with the 
 task of examining the rules and course of studies 
 adopted in all the schools throughout the empire, 
 and of drawing up new statutes applicable to all the 
 regulations proposed in the report which the said 
 board submitted for his Majesty's approval — com- 
 menced its duties in the year 1828 throughout the 
 whole empire, excepting only the departments of 
 Dorpat and Vilna, which are subjected to special 
 regulations. 
 
 The former division of schools into parochial 
 schools, district schools, and gymnasia, has been 
 preserved. The special object of the parochial schools 
 is to difiuse elementary knowledge among all the 
 lower classes of the population, whilst the district 
 schools are principally intended to afford the children 
 of mechanics and tradesmen the means of acquiring 
 an education fitted to their wants and their condition 
 in society, and that the pupils of the gymnasia may 
 receive a learned education calculated to qualify them 
 for continuing their studies at the universities. The 
 following is a list of the schools, and of their compara- 
 tive state at different periods. 
 
154 
 
 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 Commencing with the universities, we find that there 
 were at the University of — 
 
 
 1808, 
 
 1824. 
 
 1835. 
 
 
 Professors 
 
 and 
 
 Masters. 
 
 Pupils. 
 
 Professors 
 
 and 
 Masters. 
 
 Pupils. 
 
 Professors 
 
 and 
 Masters. 
 
 Pupils. 
 
 St. Peters burgh 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 38 
 
 51 
 
 64 
 
 285 
 
 Moscow 
 
 - 49 
 
 135 
 
 59 
 
 820 
 
 120 
 
 419 
 
 Kbarkoff - . 
 
 27 
 
 82 
 
 43 
 
 337 
 
 56 
 
 342 
 
 Casan - 
 
 - 15 
 
 40 
 
 34 
 
 lis 
 
 89 
 
 252 
 
 Dorpat - 
 
 - 37 
 
 193 
 
 39 
 
 365 
 
 68 
 
 567 
 
 Kieff - - 
 
 - 
 
 450 
 
 213 
 
 m 
 
 1,691 
 
 61 
 
 120 
 
 Total 
 
 126 
 
 458 
 
 1,985 
 
 The Upper Teachers' Institution at St. Petersburgh 
 is an establishment which was founded in 1829 ; its 
 object is the preparation of tutors for the gymnasia 
 and lyceums of the empire ; it is next after the uni- 
 versities. The number of pupils there at present 
 is 146. 
 
 In the total, the number of schools dependent upon 
 the minister of public instruction, as also that of the 
 students, has increased in the following proportion : 
 There were in 
 
 
 Schools. 
 
 Students. 
 
 1804 ■ 
 
 499 - 
 
 - 33,481 
 
 1824 ■ 
 
 • - 1,411 - 
 
 - 69,629 
 
 1835 - 
 
 - 1,681 - 
 
 - 85,707 
 
 The importance of such an increase need only to be 
 observed to be appreciated. 
 
 MILITARY SCHOOLS. 
 
 155 
 
 It is, moreover, the duty of the minister of public 
 instruction to overlook education in private and 
 boarding schools, as well as domestic education, no 
 person being allowed to follow the profession of a 
 tutor without at least having undergone an examina- 
 tion at one of the universities. 
 
 The annual budget of the ministry amounted to 
 7,450,000 roubles. 
 
 II. — MILITARY SCHOOLS. 
 
 The numerous establishments of this class may be 
 arranged under three heads, viz. 1. Schools placed 
 under the direction of his Imperial Highness the 
 Grand Duke Michael. 2. Schools under the direc- 
 tion of the Navy Board. 3. Military schools espe- 
 cially reserved for soldiers' children, and wliich are 
 under the control of the minister of war. 
 
 A. — Military schools under the direction of his Impe- 
 rial Highness the Grand Duke Michael, 
 
 It was at the recommendation of the celebrated 
 Count Munnich that the Empress Anne decreed, in 
 1731, the establishment of a military school for 200 
 cadets of noble family. This institution, the first of 
 its kind in Russia, and which still exists under the 
 name of First Corps of Cadets, afterwards received 
 that of the Academy of Chevaliers : the sums an- 
 
 3 I 
 
I 
 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 1 V 1 
 
 V' 
 
 I'i 
 
 1; I 
 
 I: \ 
 
 156 
 
 MILITARY SCHOOLS. 
 
 nually allowed for its maintenance amounted to 
 34,000 roubles. The Empress Catherine increased 
 the number of pupils to 8,000, having moreover 
 founded, in 1763, a second corps of cadets for 132 
 pupils, destined to serve in the artillery and engineer 
 departments. Since 1816 the number of pupils has 
 increased to 3,515, and the results, since the above 
 date, under the reign of his Majesty the Emperor 
 Nicholas, have been still more satisfactory. Until his 
 Majesty's accession, there were scarcely any military 
 schools, except in the two capitals ; subsequently to 
 that event several have been organised in the pro- 
 vinces, and all these establishments, subjected to uni- 
 form regulations, are henceforth arranged under three 
 heads. The schools which may be called preparatory, 
 such as the sections for children from seven to ten 
 years of age, form the first ; the corps of pages, the 
 different corps of cadets in the two capitals, &c., 
 belong to the second ; the third is composed of 
 special schools, that is, of the Engineers' School, the 
 Artillery School, and the Military Academy. In 1836 
 the number of pupils in the establishment under the 
 two first heads amounted to 5,675, and their annual 
 budget to 3,755,001 roubles: 680 pupils more con- 
 tinued their studies in the schools under the third 
 head, and the expense of their maintenance, &c., 
 amounted annually to about 500,000 roubles. By 
 
 MARINE CADET CORPS. 
 
 157 
 
 adding the 2,400 pupils of the six corps of provincial 
 cadets, the organisation of which is not yet completed, 
 and an annual sum of 2,000,000 roubles allowed for 
 their support, it will be seen that in the establish- 
 ments under the control of his Imperial Highness the 
 Grand Duke Michael, the number of pupils amounts 
 to 8,733, and their annual budget to 6,255,000 
 roubles. 
 
 JB. Schools under the superintendence of the Navy 
 
 Board. 
 
 The Marine Cadet Corps, one of the first creations 
 of Peter the Great, is the most remarkable of the esta- 
 blishments of this description. It was first called 2'he 
 Navigation School; in 1715 it was changed into Tlie 
 Marine Academy ; in 1752 it received its present ap- 
 pellation, and in 1826 a new organisation. The num- 
 ber of cadets is fixed at 600, and an annual sum of 
 345,000 roubles was allowed for their maintenance. 
 In 1827 a new institution of a superior order was 
 combined with the Marine Cadet Corps. This body 
 was composed of 25 young ofiicers who devoted them- 
 selves for three years to the study of transcendental 
 mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, &c., and 
 who, upon quitting the establishment, obtained the 
 promotion of one grade. 
 
 The demi'bataillon of pilots atCronstadt is intended 
 
 i- 
 
 i. 
 
 ! 'f 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 k 
 
 i' 
 
 :\' 
 
 H 
 
 r r 
 
 : I 
 
 ii 
 
 I t 
 
 158 
 
 SCHOOLS FOR SOLDIERS CHILDREN. 
 
 to furnish the fleet with skilful pilots ; the number of 
 pupils is 300. Similar battalions of instruction of 
 marine mechanics have been formed at St. Peters- 
 burgh, Cronstadt, Nicolaieff*, and Sebastopol. 
 
 The establishments which we have just enumerated 
 reckon together 2,224 pupils, and their annual budget 
 amounts to 632,194 roubles. 
 
 C, Schools for the children of soldiers, under the 
 direction of the Minister of War. 
 
 The first schools of this kind were founded by the 
 Emperor Paul, and at the commencement of this cen- 
 tury the number of pupils was 16,400, and their 
 annual budget 520,076 roubles. In 1826 a new or- 
 o-anisation of this establishment took place, the pupils 
 being formed into battalions, demi -battalions, brigades, 
 and regiments. The number of pupils now amounts to 
 169,024, and the expenses of their maintenance to 
 1,800,000. 
 
 The number of pupils in all the military schools of 
 every class amounts to 179,981, 400 of whom only 
 pay a small annual sum ; all the others are educated 
 at the sole expense of the state. The annual budget 
 of these establishments forms a total of 8,687,194 rou- 
 bles. A comparison of these accounts with those of 
 the military schools in the time of the Empress Anne 
 wnll suffice to give a correct idea of the immense pro- 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 159 
 
 gress which Russia has made in the short space of one 
 century. 
 
 HI. ECCLESIASTICAL iSCHOOLS. 
 
 The numerous establishments of this nature which at 
 present exist in Russia are divided into two heads, as 
 far as regards their management. The first compre- 
 hends the schools of the Greek church, under the 
 control of the holy synod, and directed by a special 
 commission ; the second, the ecclesiastical schools be- 
 longing to other forms of worship, which schools are 
 under the superintendence of the minister of the 
 interior. 
 
 A. Ecclesiastical Schools of the Orthodox Greek 
 
 Church. 
 
 The Russian clergy, whom history represents as 
 being always in advance of the rest of the nation, has 
 rendered immense services to the country, by exercis- 
 ing at all times a salutary influence over the progress 
 of civilisation ; the monasteries havino- been for a lono- 
 period of time the only schools in the country. 
 
 Peter I. being desirous of giving more uniformity 
 and extent to the means of instruction which the 
 clergy possessed, applied one twentieth part of the 
 revenues of monasteries, and one thirtieth of those of 
 churches, to the maintenance of schools established at 
 
 'I - 
 
 ! \ 
 
!■ 
 
 1 
 
 160 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 / 
 
 . 
 
 that time in tlie houses of archbishops and bishops, as 
 well as in the principal convents. A plan of studies, 
 drawn up by the Emperor's command, has served ever 
 since as a regular canon for all these establishments. 
 In 1 764, the maintenance of the ecclesiastical schools, 
 the number of which was 28, containing 6,000 pupils, 
 was charged upon the budget of the state, and an 
 annual sum of 38,000 roubles was appropriated to 
 that object. 
 
 In the course of the first twenty years of the reign 
 of Catherine II., the number of pupils had gradually 
 increased to 12,000, and their annual budget, aug- 
 menting in proportion, amounted in 1784 to 77,000 
 roubles. Upon the accession of Alexander, these 
 establishments underwent several modifications. 
 
 By virtue of the ordinance of 1814, all these schools 
 are divided into three departments, viz. those of St. 
 Petersburgh, Moscow, and KiefF. Each district has a 
 superior school, called the Ecclesiastical Academy, and 
 having under its superintendence a certain number of 
 middle-schools or seminaries, for the most part esta- 
 blished in the chief provincial towns, and of inferior 
 schools, divided into district and parochial ones. Ex- 
 clusively reserved for the children of the clergy, these 
 establishments have the double object of preparing for 
 the ecclesiastical profession those of the pupils who 
 aspire to fulfil one day its venerable functions, and of 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 161 
 
 giving a suitable education to those among them who, 
 on the contrary, prefer the civil service, or the course 
 of university studies. The pupils pass from the paro- 
 chial schools into those of the district, and afterwards 
 into the seminaries : the course of studies in these latter 
 lasts for six years, of which two are devoted to litera- 
 ture ; two to natural philosophy, including the mathe- 
 matics ; and lastly, two to theology and church history. 
 
 The ecclesiastical academies, which at present rec- 
 kon 317 pupils, are simultaneously schools and scien- 
 tific bodies, they being intended to form young persons 
 for the superior oflfices of the church, and at the same 
 time to extend the limits of theological knowledge by 
 continued researches. 
 
 The following tables will show the comparative state 
 of these establishments at different periods. 
 
 
 In 1808. 
 
 1824. 
 
 1836. 
 
 Schools 
 
 83 
 
 344 
 
 384 
 
 Masters 
 
 - 444 
 
 1,022 
 
 — 
 
 Pupils - 
 
 30,167 
 
 45,831 
 
 58,586 
 
 The sums allowed for their support amount at pre- 
 sent to about 2,500,000 roubles. 
 
 B, Ecclesiastical Schools belonging to other kinds of 
 
 Worship, 
 
 According to the report of the minister of the inte- 
 rior, their actual state is as follows : — 
 
 VOL. II. M 
 
162 
 
 MINING SCHOOLS. 
 
 MINING SCHOOLS. 
 
 163 
 
 » 
 
 li 
 
 i! 
 
 a. Schools of the pure Greek Church, 23 with 1,274 pupils 
 
 h. Schools of the Roman Catholic Church, 273 with 7,073 pupils 
 
 c. Schools of the Catholic- Armenian Church, 5 with 137 pupils 
 
 d. Schools of the Armenian-Gregorian Church, 14 with 319 pupils 
 
 347 8,803 
 
 The ecclesiastical academy of Vilna, which reckons 
 90 pupils, is included in the item of Roman Catholic 
 schools, of all which the annual expense of maintenance 
 amounts to 500,000 roubles. 
 
 Altogether the ecclesiastical schools, as well those of 
 the orthodox Greek churcli as of others, present a total 
 of 701 establishments— 67,024 pupils, of whom 41,586 
 pay their own expenses; 10,517 receive pecuniary 
 assistance from government, while 15,408 are educated 
 wholly at the expense of the state. 
 
 IV. — SPECIAL AND OTHER SCHOOLS. 
 
 The numerous establishments comprised under these 
 denominations are classified according to the different 
 ministers who have the superintendence over them. 
 
 1 . Schools undei* the superintendence of the Minister 
 
 of Finance, 
 
 A. Mining Schools, 
 
 Peter the Great, justly appreciating the value of the 
 
 mineral riches of Siberia, had already founded a few 
 
 schools, having for their object the preparation of 
 
 young pei-sons for directing the working of the mines. 
 
 These establishments were, however, only elementary, 
 and it was not until under the reign of Catherine II., 
 in 1773, that the School of Mining, now in existence, 
 was founded at St. Petersburgh. All these establish- 
 ments are at present arranged under three heads, viz. 
 primary schools, organised in the neighbourhood of 
 mines and mining establishments, and intended for the 
 elementary instruction of the children of miners 
 and other workmen: middle schools, in which the 
 pupils of the inferior schools who have distinguished 
 themselves enter upon a course of studies calculated 
 to qualify them for secondary employments in the 
 mining boards : and lastly, the superior schools, such 
 as the Institution for Mining Engineers, the Techno- 
 logical Mining School at St. Petersburgh, the Section 
 of Medallists at the mint at St. Petersburgh, and the 
 Technological School lately formed at Barnaoul. 
 
 In the inferior schools, which are 56 in number, 
 there are 189 masters and 4,034 pupils ; the middle 
 schools of Nertchinsk and Barnaoul reckon 242 stu- 
 dents. The total number of pupils in the mining- 
 schools of every class is 4,613, and the amount an- 
 nually allowed by the government for their support is 
 647,911 roubles. 
 
 Besides the scliools founded and supported by the 
 state, several individuals, proprietors of mines, have 
 also formed similar establishments. That of the 
 
 M 2 
 
1G4 
 
 VARIOUS SCHOOLS. 
 
 Countess Strogonoff reckons already 44 teachers and 
 451 pupils, and that founded in 1806 at Nijny-Tahil 
 has 150 pupils. Calculating in round numbers the 
 pupils belonging to these special schools at 1000, the 
 total number of pupils will by this addition amount to 
 5,613. 
 
 B. Various Schools under the superintendence of the 
 
 Minister of Finance. 
 
 These are 10 in number : — the Forest Institute and 
 the Practical Technological Institute at St. Peters- 
 burffh : the two marine-merchant schools at St. 
 Petersburgh and Kherson ; the Academy of Commerce 
 at Moscow ; the Agricultural School at Gorygoretsk ; 
 the School of Land-surveyors and the School of Design 
 at Tchernigoff ; and the two schools for Forest Sciences 
 at Metau and Lissinsk near Tsarkoeselo, the former 
 established in 1834 and the latter in 1835: 608 pupils 
 attend these schools, the expenses for maintaining 
 which amount to 384,280 roubles. The total number 
 of schools placed under the direction of this minister 
 amounts to 72, having 6,221 pupils, the annual 
 budget of which is 1,032,191 roubles. 
 
 2. — Schools under the superintendence of the Minister 
 
 of the Interior. 
 
 These schools may be divided into such as are 
 
 
 i'l 
 
 MEDICAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 165 
 
 placed under the immediate direction of the minister, 
 and such as are regulated by tlie Boards of Public 
 Charitable Institutions. 
 
 Amongst the first class, those of medicine are the 
 most important. Towards the close of the eighteenth 
 century, the schools of assistant surgeons, founded by 
 Peter the Great, at the military hospitals of the two 
 capitals and at Cronstadt, were the only establish- 
 ments of the kind in Russia. In 1799, the Emperor 
 Paul abolished these schools, replacing them by the 
 two Academies of Medicine at St. Petersburgh and 
 Moscow. These were united in 1808, and formed into 
 one institution, named the Medico- Chirurgical Aca- 
 demy, A new school of the same description was 
 founded in 1832 at Vilna. The number of pupils in 
 all these establishments had increased from the end of 
 the year 1835 to 2,148, the expenses amounting annu- 
 ally to 875,442 roubles. The other schools placed 
 under the direction of this minister are that of phar- 
 macy at St. Petersburgh, the subsidiary surgical 
 schools, and five others connected with agricultural 
 and horticultural pursuits. 
 
 The Boards of Public Charitable Institutions origi- 
 nated in 1775. Each of these boards was endowed, 
 at its creation, with 15,000 roubles, forming a total of 
 675,000. In 1808 this capital had increased to the 
 sum of 8,878,000 roubles; in 1820, to 36,416,200 
 
 
■ } 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 
 II 
 
 166 
 
 CHAKITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 roubles; in 1830, to 89,938,950 roubles; and in 
 1836, to 122,851,387 roubles. 
 
 The schools superintended and maintained at the 
 expense of these boards are those for the sons of inferior 
 clerks in public offices, orphan hospitals, and schools for 
 poor children. These are sixteen in number, with 
 1,612 pupils; annual expenses, 105,415 roubles. 
 Under the direction of the same board, are also 
 twenty-four houses of education, with about 4,300 
 pupils; besides which, a sum of about 129,000 roubles 
 is annually expended for the education of 4,124 poor 
 children, who are boarded in the houses of private 
 individuals, or in the villages. 
 
 The total number of hospitals and schools under 
 these boards is about sixty ; more than 10,540 orphans 
 or poor children are brought up in them, the expenses 
 being about 600,000 roubles. 
 
 The total number of schools placed under the con- 
 trol of the Minister of the Interior is 107 ; the number 
 of pupils is 13,340, and their annual budget amounts 
 to 1,962,714 roubles. 
 
 3. — Schools wider the superintendence of the Minister 
 
 of the Ewperors Household. 
 
 Academy of the Fine Arts. — This establishment, 
 founded in 1748, under the reign of Elizabeth, re- 
 ceived at first 30 pupils: in 1764 it was placed upon 
 
 ACADEMIES OF THE FINE ARTS. 
 
 167 
 
 a larger scale, 60,000 roubles being then annually 
 assigned for its support. In 1802, the number of 
 pupils was increased to 300, with an annual budget of 
 146,000 roubles. In 1830, the number of pupils sup- 
 ported at the government's expense was fixed at 50 ; 
 100 paid for their education, and from 150 to 200 
 were out-door scholars, with permission to attend the 
 classes. The annual budget of the establishment has 
 been increased to 221,825 roubles. 
 
 The School of Architecture at Moscow, the Thea- 
 trical School at St. Petersburgh, and the School of the 
 Court ChoristerSy are also placed under the directions 
 of this minister. 
 
 The four establishments together reckon 345 pupils, 
 with an annual budget of 391,825 roubles. 
 
 4. — Schools under the supenntendence of the Minister 
 
 of Appanages. 
 
 The numerous schools lately organised in the ap- 
 panage lands are a new proof of the unremitting care 
 of the government to propagate useful knowledge 
 throughout the agricultural classes. In 1832 an 
 agricultural school was founded for 250 pupils, in ad- 
 dition to which there have been established, since 1828, 
 sixty-five elementary village schools and two normal 
 ones, — not less than 1,070 pupils being thus lodged, 
 
168 
 
 SCHOOLS OF Civil, ENGINEERS. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 ■ 
 
 clothed, and fed at the expense of this department of 
 the state. 
 
 5. — Schools under the superintendence of the Coin- 
 
 mission of Public Roads. 
 
 These are three in number. — The Institution of 
 Engineers of Public Roads, tlie School of Civil En- 
 gineers, School of the Managers of Public Roads, 
 The first of these was founded in 1810, and, after 
 being modified in 1824, was remodelled in 183 1 . The 
 number of pupils is 265, of whom 160 are educated 
 at the charge of government, and 105 at their own. 
 The annual expense of this establishment is 192,000 
 roubles. The second was founded in 1832, and the total 
 number of pupils is 100. The third was established 
 in 1826 ; the number of pupils is 300, the annual 
 expense being about 189,545 roubles. 
 
 Total of the three schools, 665 pupils ; expenses 
 381,545 roubles annually. 
 
 6. — Schools under the superintendence of the Minister 
 
 of the Interior. 
 
 a. School of Jurisprude?ice at St. Petersburgh. — 
 This institution was founded in 1835 by the en- 
 lightened patriotism of his Highness Prince Peter of 
 Oldenburgh, and has for its express object the educa- 
 tion of those sons of the nobility who are intended for 
 
 ROYAL INSTITUTES. 
 
 169 
 
 filling judicial oflices. The number of pupils is fixed 
 at 150, and a sum of 156,654 roubles is annually 
 allowed for the support of the establishment. 
 
 b. Constantine's Land Surveying Institute at Moscow. 
 — The annual expense of this establishment, which was 
 reorganised in 1836, is 117,000 roubles; the number 
 of pupils is 200, fifty of whom pay their own expenses. 
 
 7. — School under the superintendence of the Minister 
 
 for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 The Oriental Institute of the Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs. —This establishment receives six pupils, whom 
 it qualifies, by the study of the Oriental languages, for 
 acting as diplomatic interpreters. 
 
 8. — Institutes of the Empress Maria, placed under the 
 protection of her Majesty, the reigning Empress. 
 
 In this number are comprised the two Foundling 
 Hospitals; that of Moscow, founded in 1763, and 
 that of St. Petersburgh, founded in 1770. Not- 
 withstanding the large sums appropriated to them, 
 they were by no means in a flourishing condition 
 imtil the Empress Maria took them under her special 
 protection. The hospital at St. Petersburgh is divided 
 into two sections, one for girls, which is situated in the 
 city itself, the other for boys, at Gatchina ; the number 
 of pupils is 19,093 ; that at Moscow reckons 30,811 ; 
 
 !1 
 
 1 ■ 
 

 • I 
 
 J 
 
 « 
 
 i'l 
 
 f 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 \4 
 
 170 
 
 ROYAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the two together, 49,904, who are either at the hos- 
 pitals themselves, apprenticed out to differeut trades, 
 or, lastly, at the universities and superior schools, 
 where they continue their studies at the expense of 
 the establishment which fostered their infancy. The 
 government annually assists these institutions with 
 about 3,000,000 roubles. 
 
 Several other establishments of education are partly 
 maintained at the expense of the above institutions. 
 These are the Schools of Commerce at St. Petersburgh, 
 the School of Commerce at Moscow, Alexanders 
 Orphan Institution at Moscow, the Deaf and Dumb 
 Institution at St. Petersburgh, and the Hospital for 
 the Blind at Gatchina — establishments whose inmates 
 amount to 775, and which are annually assisted by 
 government with 525,296 roubles. 
 
 To the above institutions must be added eleven other 
 establishments for the education of young ladies, the 
 number of pupils being 2,264, with an annual allow- 
 ance of 1,220,192 roubles for tlieir maintenance. 
 
 9. — Institutions placed under the immediate super- 
 intendence of her Majesty the reigning Empress. 
 
 The Patriotic Institution. — On the 1st of January, 
 1836, the number of pupils was 245, and the balance 
 in hand 644,211 roubles. 
 
 House of Industry. — On the 1st of January, 1836, 
 
 1 
 
 BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 171 
 
 the number of pupils was 72, and of those who paid 
 their own expenses 128. During the course of the 
 year there had been 26 ill, but only one death. The 
 balance in hand was 638,848 roubles. 
 
 Poltowa Institution for Noble Young Ladies. — Her 
 Majesty condescended to visit this institution in 1835, 
 and to honour it with her approbation. On the 1st 
 of January, 1836, the estabhshment reckoned on 110 
 pupils, and 55 who paid their own expenses. The re- 
 sources of the institution have been increased by a 
 decree of the Emperor, who has also presented it 
 with 200 iron beds. On the 1st of January, the 
 capital in hand was 280,560 roubles. 
 
 Moscow House of Industry. — On the 1st of January, 
 1836, the number of pupils was 50 ; of those who pay 
 their own expenses, 51 ; and 9 who only pay half — 
 total 1 10. The balance in hand for 1836 was 443,805 
 roubles. 
 
 Christian Charity Society and House of Industry at 
 TimbirsL — On the 1st of January, 1836, the balance 
 in hand of this society was 10,166 roubles. In the 
 course of the year assistance has been afforded to fifty 
 famihes, eight of whom enjoy pecuniary assistance 
 to a stated amount. By order of her Majesty, the 
 capital of this society has been united to that of the 
 House of Industry ; making together, on the 1st of 
 
i!^:^ i 
 
 i' 
 
 . h 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 A 
 
 I ■ 
 
 172 
 
 BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 January, 1836, 84,422 roubles 21 copecks. The 
 number of pupils 20. 
 
 The Cronstadt Orphan Hospital, — On the 1st of 
 January, 1836, the number of pupils was 30, and of 
 those paying their own expenses 3 ; the balance in 
 hand 28,647 roubles. 
 
 Kieff Benevolent Society and Countess Levaschoff'^s 
 School, — This society has 114 effective and 43 hono- 
 rary members. Pecuniary assistance to a stated 
 amount has been again granted to eight families, while 
 from twenty-one others, such assistance has, for vari- 
 ous reasons, been withdrawn. The number of families 
 receiving pecuniary aid from the society is 186. The 
 society has found employ for 69 otlier families ; 14 
 poor girls have been educated at its expense ; 10 
 female orphans have been placed in an institution 
 organised for that purpose, and four boys have been ap- 
 prenticed to different trades. The number of families 
 assisted in one way or another is 297. The balance 
 in hand on the 1st of January, 1836, was 16,562 
 roubles 30 copecks. 
 
 Alexandrina Institute for Noble Young Ladies, 
 founded at Tamhoff, — The committee entrusted with 
 the organisation of this new institution are at present 
 engaged in drawing up the regulations, which will be 
 submitted to her Majesty. At a general meeting on 
 the 15th of December, 1835, tlie nobility of the 
 
 HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. 
 
 173 
 
 government of Tamboff voted a fresh sum of 113,000 
 roubles for the construction of the necessary buildings; 
 which sum, added to the former votes, makes a total 
 of 339,000 roubles. 
 
 Demidoff House of Industry, — The sphere of ac- 
 tivity of this establishment is daily enlarging. The 
 number of persons received in it has increased from 17 
 to 52 ; in addition to which, from 16 to 75 persons, 
 chiefly females, have daily applied for work. Total 
 number of rations of food distributed, 22,649; money, 
 2,370 roubles 75 copecks. 
 
 In consequence of donations from individuals, 
 amounting to 85,000 roubles, the establishment is 
 enabled to found a school for poor children, at which 
 also other pupils will be admitted upon payment of 
 150 roubles yearly. Balance in hand on the 1st of 
 January, 1836, (exclusively of 25,092 roubles coming 
 from the promised donations,) 313,888 roubles 50 
 copecks. The buildings belonging to the establish- 
 ment may be valued at 240,000 roubles, and its tools, 
 &c., at 40,000 roubles more. 
 
 Horticultural Amateur Society at Moscow, — The 
 labours of this society, formed in 1835, and consisting 
 of 70 members, are under the management of a coun- 
 cil composed of twelve persons. A portion of the 
 land has been placed at its disposition, besides 
 550 plants from the botanical garden. Her Majesty 
 
 y 
 
 
V, « 
 
 •ji 
 
 174 
 
 BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 has, moreover, promised it an annual aid of 1,000 
 roubles. Its operations are to commence in the spring 
 of the year 1836, and it is intended to form a school 
 of gardeners. Balance in hand on the 1st of January, 
 1836, 18,225 roubles 97 copecks. 
 
 X. — VARIOUS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 a. Two establishments placed under the protection 
 of her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Helen. 
 Number of pupils 165. 
 
 b. Nine institutions for the education of young 
 ladies, with 237 pupils, and an annual budget of 
 91,340 roubles, established in the different provincial 
 towns, and managed by the local authorities. 
 
 U<^\ 
 
 XI. SCHOOLS WHICH ARE SUPPORTED WITHOUT 
 
 ANY ASSISTANCE FROM GOVERNMENT. 
 
 a. Four German schools at St. Petersburgh, — num- 
 ber of pupils, 1,160 ; and 750 schools existing in the 
 German colonies, established in the southern provinces 
 of the empire, — number of pupils, 35,746. 
 
 b. Tartar schools in the same provinces 561 in 
 number, with 14,000 pupils. 
 
 c. Two Jews' schools, with 500 pupils, maintained 
 at an expense of 20,500 roubles. 
 
 The number of schools maintained at the charge of 
 
 
 COSSACK SCHOOL. 
 
 175 
 
 the government is 2,841 ; and the amount of the sums 
 allowed for their support is 28,734,141 roubles. 
 
 In order to form a correct idea of the state of in- 
 struction in Russia, we must ascertain the number of 
 children who receive their education under the pa- 
 ternal roof. 
 
 It is evident that such a calculation can only be 
 approximate; but, according to the best data, the 
 number enjoying that benefit is 1,058,000. 
 
 XII. — COSSACK AND ASIATIC SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED 
 
 AT ORUSK. 
 
 The Cossack school was founded in this town in 
 1813 by Lieutenant-General Glasenap, with the object 
 of forming good officers and ouriadniks for the ten 
 regiments of Cossacks and the brigade of horse artil- 
 lery, as also efficient clerks for the Cossack chancery. 
 The branches taught are writing, arithmetic, the Rus- 
 sian, Sclavonic, French, and German languages, his- 
 tory sacred and profane, algebra, geometry, artillery, 
 fortification, drawing of plans military and architec- 
 tural, as well as the sketching of military positions 
 with the pen, Russian literature, and geography. The 
 school has now been placed under the superintendence 
 of the chief military commandant of Siberia, and that 
 of a director chosen from the army. The number of 
 pupils is 300 ; the annual allowance is 50,000 roubles, 
 
 t i 
 
 
 '-; \ 
 
176 
 
 ASIATIC SCHOOL. 
 
 ■■■ 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 besides 10,296 roubles for books, maps, and other 
 objects necessary for instruction. 
 
 The Asiatic school was founded at Orusk in 1789, 
 for the purpose of supplying interpreters to all the 
 frontier line of Siberia. It was at first composed of 
 20 pupils for the Tartar language, five for the Mand- 
 jora and Mogul, with two masters. A sum of 531 
 roubles 35 copecks was assigned for its support. None 
 were admissible but the children of Cossacks upon the 
 Siberian line. At a later period the children of Maho- 
 metan employes, attached to the frontier service, were 
 eligible. Since 1821 the government has increased 
 the Annual allowance, with an additional sum of 5,000 
 roubles, and has ordered that 6 of the 25 pupils should 
 be sent to the Casan gymnasium, to perfect them- 
 selves in the Oriental languages : these pupils have 
 each 600 roubles annually paid for them while at 
 Casan, until qualified to enter the university. 
 
 * 1 
 
 ';!! 
 
 177 
 
 AN 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 THE CITY OF RIGA, ITS TRADE, &c. 
 
 Towards the middle of the eleventh century some 
 Bremen traders, on their way to Wisby, in the Isle 
 of Gothland, which was then the centre of the Baltic 
 trade, were driven by contrary winds upon a coast 
 unknown to them. It was that of Livonia, then 
 inhabited by tribes of Finlanders ; many of these 
 were tributaries of the Grand Dukes of Russia, whilst 
 others, especially the inhabitants of the Isles of Oesel, 
 subject only to native chiefs, had made themselves 
 formidable as pirates. 
 
 No sooner was this discovery known in Germany, 
 than a missionary, one father Meinhard, was de- 
 spatched thither with the title of Bishop of Livonia ; 
 and the Pope having declared that the merit of a 
 crusade upon these shores would equal one in Pales- 
 tine, crowds of German knights hastened to defend 
 
 N 
 
 !'! 
 
 7 
 
if 
 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
 W: 
 
 If: 7 
 
 I! 
 
 M 
 
 •M 
 
 (f 
 
 I I 
 
 178 
 
 FOUNDATIX)N OF RIGA. 
 
 the establishments of the missionaries, and to reduce 
 to submission the pagan inhabitants. Albert, the 
 third Livonian bishop, finding that, without trade and 
 commerce, the conquests of the Germans in these 
 regions would not only be valueless, but even inse- 
 cure, and being consequently desirous of attracting a 
 commercial population to the country, founded, about 
 the year 1200, the city of Riga, upon the right bank 
 of the Duna, which river would form its port. 
 
 In order to insure the prosperity of this new town, 
 and to draw colonists thither, its founder granted it 
 many privileges, amongst which were the right of 
 choosing its own magistrates, and of coining money ; 
 a considerable extent of territory was given it in 
 perpetuity, with a promise of part of such conquests 
 as should be made in the country. These advantages 
 had so good an effect, that, in the thirteenth century, 
 Riga entered the league of the Hanseatic towns ; and 
 in the sixteenth, commerce had been productive of 
 so much w^ealth, that the power and riches of its in- 
 habitants became proverbial. 
 
 About this period some missionaries from the Ger- 
 man universities having preached there the doctrine 
 of Luther, the Reformation was eagerly embraced, 
 and the magistrates and citizens entirely shook off the 
 archi episcopal authority. In 1561 Riga became a 
 free imperial town; and twenty years later, in 1581, 
 
 TRADE OF RIGA. 
 
 179 
 
 It finally acknowledged the supremacy of the kings of 
 Poland,— not, however, without having its privileges 
 guaranteed to it. 
 
 Since this time its fortunes have been various ; and 
 in 1621 the hero of the north, Gustavus Adolphus, 
 besieged Riga in person. After a vigorous defence it 
 surrendered upon terms, and the Polish standard was 
 surmounted by that of Sweden. 
 
 From information which we possess respecting the 
 trade of Riga at this opocha, it appears to have fallen 
 off considerably from its ancient importance. We 
 know, for instance, that the number of ships which 
 entered its port did not exceed, in 1621, 16 1, of which 
 64 belonged to the city; in 1623, 108, of which 56 
 belonged to the city; in 1624, 152, of which 43 be- 
 longed to the city ; and as at this time vessels were 
 of a very moderate tonnage, these numbers give no 
 very great idea of its commerce. 
 
 After having suffered two dreadful conflagrations 
 in 1667 and 1677, and been twice besieged in 1700 
 and 1709, it at length yielded to the Russian arms in 
 1710. 
 
 It is only since this time that Riga has really en- 
 joyed all the advantages of its position,— it is only 
 since then that it has become what it ought to be, the 
 principal outlet for a great part of Russia and Li- 
 thuania. At the time of the accession of Catherine II., 
 
 N 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 ^H 
 
 I 
 
; 
 
 180 
 
 TRADE OF RIGA. 
 
 Riga already reckoned more than 20,000 souls ; and 
 the following details will serve to give an idea of the 
 flourishing state of its commerce at this period. 
 
 The number of ships entered, amounted, in 1766, to 
 612; in 1768, to 541 ; in 1770, to 609; in 1771, to 
 752 ; in 1772, to 1019 ; in 1774 to 779 ; in 1775, to 
 
 849. 
 
 The value of imports and exports was 
 
 Imports. Exports. 
 
 In 1766 1,211,914 silver roubles 2,266,193 silver roubles 
 1771 1,179,274 .... 2,911,060 — 
 
 The annual proceeds of the custom house duties 
 varied between 520,000 and 560,000 silver roubles. 
 
 The following table exhibits the comparative in- 
 crease and decrease of its commerce. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Ships 
 entered. 
 
 With 
 cargo. 
 
 In 
 ballast 
 
 Ships 
 Tonnage. ' left. 
 
 With 
 cargo. 
 
 In 
 ballast. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Value of 
 Iniport.s. 
 
 Value of 
 Exports. 
 
 1825 
 
 1,002 
 
 385 
 
 617 
 
 142,928 997 
 
 985 
 
 12 
 
 141,781 
 
 Koables. 
 
 18,827,620 
 
 Koublex. 
 
 45,150,657 
 
 1830 
 
 1,241 
 
 411 
 
 830 
 
 172,000 1,246 
 
 1,232 
 
 14 
 
 172,796 
 
 13,747,489 
 
 41,126,200 
 
 1835 
 
 914 
 
 361 
 
 553 
 
 127,796 
 
 890 
 
 879 
 
 11 
 
 124,460 
 
 18,2^^5,961 
 
 38,204.991 
 
 1836 
 
 1,102 
 
 
 
 
 1,127 
 
 
 
 
 15,093,675 
 
 47,725,684 
 
 The amount of custom-house duties has varied 
 during this period between 8,000,000 and 8,500,000 
 roubles. 
 
 A comparison of the official documents of different 
 periods will also show that the great increase of trade 
 
 TRADE OF RIGA. 
 
 181 
 
 since the reign of Catherine 11. has not been made in 
 the same proportion upon all articles. The trade in 
 grain, for instance, has even lost some of its former 
 importance; for, in 1774, the total of corn exported 
 was 189,000 tchetverts; in 1825 it was only 57,003 ; 
 and even in 1830, a year remarkable for commercial ac- 
 tivity, it did not exceed 167,923 tchetverts. The hemp 
 trade has maintained itself in nearly an equal state ; 
 the quantities exported being, in 1774, 666, 440 poods ; 
 in 1825, 680,222 poods; and in 1830, 660,704 poods. 
 The increase has principally been upon three articles, 
 viz. flax, linseed, and wood. In 1774, one of the 
 most remarkable years for the flourishing state of 
 commerce, Riga exported only 406,570 poods of flax ; 
 in 1825, 1,421,490, the value of which may be es- 
 timated at 21,322,350 roubles ; and in 1836, to the 
 amount of 23,829,920 roubles. With respect to the 
 linseed trade, the annual exportation rose, from the 
 year 1760 to 1780, to about 35,000 tchetverts; in 
 1825, 187,232 tchetverts were exported, valued at 
 3,950,595 roubles; in 1830, 259,989 tchetverts, value 
 6,499,725 roubles; and in 1836, to the amount of 
 8,731,763 roubles. The wood trade has also expe- 
 rienced a similar increase. In 1830, the exports 
 amounted in value to 2,103,503 roubles; in 1835, to 
 2,893,921 roubles ; and in 1836, to 3,583,763 roubles. 
 Riga, which at a time not very remote could not 
 
 J 
 

 'I! 
 
 < 
 
 
 ir 
 
 I* 
 
 \i I 
 
 ,' 
 
 ' I 
 
 
 182 
 
 PROSPERITY OF RIGA. 
 
 boast of one manufactory, unless a few tan-pits be con- 
 sidered as such, now reckons 25, employing 1,397 
 workmen. Under the Empress Catherine its popu- 
 lation scarcely reached 20,000 souls; in 1824 it was 
 31,908; in 1830, 49,321; and in 1835, 67,338, in- 
 cluding a garrison of 10,000 men. 
 
 The increase of the city has kept pace with that of 
 its population. In 1835 there were 842 houses, en- 
 tirely built of stone ; in the suburbs the number of 
 wooden houses, which in 1824 was 2,655, amounted, 
 in 1835, to 3,081. The number of churches in the 
 city and its suburbs is 18, exclusive of five chapels. 
 The formerly barren shores of the river are now em- 
 bellished with gardens, of which there are not fewer 
 than 2,044 ; while neat and even elegant country 
 houses impart to the whole scene a character of in- 
 creasing prosperity. 
 
 183 
 
 THE MINES IN FINLAND. 
 
 The mineral riches found in the Oural and Altai 
 mountains are not confined exclusively to those parts 
 of the empire. Amongst several others, the mines of 
 the Grand Duchy of Finland promise to be of great 
 importance. 
 
 This vast country, situated under a rigorous climate, 
 thinly inhabited and little cultivated, bristling with 
 rocks, and intersected in every direction by lakes 
 surrounded with forests of fir, abounds in mines of 
 iron of two distinct kinds. The hills, of a compara- 
 tively recent formation, which rest upon the primitive 
 rock, contain veins of an ore fit for the manufacture 
 of wrought iron, while layers of a fusible ore are 
 found buried at a small depth in marshes and along 
 the borders of the lakes. 
 
 For a long time the mines of the first description 
 were neglected. Forges and furnaces, it is true, were 
 
184 
 
 MINES IN FINLAND. 
 
 known in Finland at a very remote period, but the 
 cast iron necessary for the fabrication of wrought iron 
 was procured from Sweden, — it never having occurred 
 to any one to take advantage of the mines which 
 chance had discovered. Subsequently, however, owing 
 to the exertions of the Board of Mines, the working of 
 them has commenced, and better directed efforts have 
 led to new discoveries. 
 
 The number of mines now in work is 13. The 
 richest ore, produced from the mines of the Gamn- 
 holm and Oiama, contains from 53 to 54 per cent, 
 of metal ; whilst the poorest, that of the Youssaro mine, 
 yields thirty per cent, of cast iron. 
 
 The smelting of these ores is performed in eight 
 different furnaces, which consume more ore even than 
 Finland can at present furnish ; the deficit is supplied 
 by Sweden, Almost the whole of the cast iron pro- 
 duced by them is distributed amongst the forges esta- 
 blished in different parts of the country, to be by them 
 converted into wrought iron. These forges, in num- 
 ber 16, manufacture annually about 13,193 schippund, 
 or 121,350 poods of wrought iron. 
 
 The habit of giving a preference to foreign produce, 
 the want of capital, and the uncertainty of success, are 
 the causes which appear to have hitherto retarded the 
 advance of this branch of the national industry ; but 
 there is every reason to hope that experience, and, 
 
 COPPER MINE. 
 
 185 
 
 above all, the recent discovery of very rich mines, will 
 contribute to develope it to its fullest extent. 
 
 As to those immense beds of iron ore which extend 
 throughout the country, along the shores of lakes and 
 at the bottom of marshes, the working of them is so 
 easy as to have been practised almost from time im- 
 memorial. 
 
 The number of forges and smelting-houses in the 
 interior of Finland is considerable, but they are gene- 
 rally small, the largest not producing more than 200 
 schippund of iron. The government does all in its 
 power to encourage this description of industry, by 
 granting exemptions from taxes, and offering pre- 
 miums. 
 
 Seven new forging establishments have lately been 
 erected ; and experience has proved that the marsh 
 ore is preferable to any other, the wrought iron pro- 
 duced from it being tougher, and less ductile. 
 
 Next to iron, copper is the most important mineral 
 of Finland. Up to the present time only one copper 
 mine, that of Ovi-yervi, discovered in 1758, has been 
 worked. M. Omelianoff has, however, lately obtained 
 a patent for the working of copper and tin mines 
 found near Nitkaranda. Success appears certain, and 
 it is hoped that the mines of Finland will henceforth 
 receive all the attention their importance demands. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ji 
 
 tl 
 
186 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE PROVINCE OF 
 
 TOBOLSK. 
 
 Considerable difference, both in soil and climate, 
 must necessarily be found in the various parts of a 
 province which, like that of Tobolsk, comprehends an 
 extent of 18,307 geographical square miles, and lies 
 between the 55° and 74° of latitude. 
 
 Whilst, towards the north, the plains extending from 
 the river Ob as far as the Icy Sea form but one vast 
 morass, which is covered with moss, and contains a 
 prodigious quantity of fossil remains, the land in the 
 southern districts is remarkable for its vegetation, 
 being equally adapted for tillage or pasture ; the 
 forests abound with game ; navigable rivers, well 
 stocked with fish, intersect the country ; and the 
 towns, although as yet few in number, and separated 
 from each other by wild and uncultivated deserts, 
 have, notwithstanding, attained a much greater dc- 
 
 WAR WITH THE TARTAKS. 
 
 187 
 
 gree of importance and prosperity than is generally 
 imagined. 
 
 As to their history, almost all of them have arisen 
 upon the ruins of some Tartar city, respecting the 
 origin of which tradition has not been silent. It was 
 probably towards the close of the fifteenth century 
 that the Tartars, having founded an empire upon the 
 banks of the Tobol and the Irtysch, by the subjuga- 
 tion of the Finns, the Ostiaks, and the Voo-ouls inha- 
 biting them, and at a later period by the conquest 
 of the numerous hordes under the sway of the Khan 
 of Siberia, often devastated the provinces adjoining 
 Russia, at the foot of the Oural mountains. At leno-th, 
 in 1584, Yermak, an intrepid Cossack, whose name 
 is illustrious in Russian annals, was the first who 
 dared, with a handful of men, to cross the Oural 
 mountains, and to penetrate into those vast and un- 
 explored forests which served as liaunts for the ene- 
 mies of his country. After a few battles he succeeded 
 in making himself master of the city of Sibere, the 
 centre and capital of the Tartar empire. This expe- 
 dition, projected by and undertaken at the sole expense 
 of the Stroyonoffs, (noblemen who might be called the 
 wardens of the frontiers,) was no sooner crowned with 
 success, than the Czar, Ivan Vassilevitch, despatched 
 reinforcements to the adventurous chieftain. Succeed- 
 
 \\ 
 
188 
 
 TOBOLSK FOUNDED. 
 
 ing monarchs maintained, in like manner, the war 
 against the Tartars, who, finding themselves every- 
 where defeated, abandoned all hope of re-establishing 
 the Khanate of Siberia. 
 
 The Czar, Boris GoudounofF, contributed most effi- 
 caciously to complete the conquest by the colonisation 
 of the newly-subjected country ; and the origin of the 
 greater number of Russian towns in this part of Si- 
 beria may be traced to his reign. 
 
 This number is, at present, nine, of which the most 
 important, Tobolsk, was founded in 1587 by 500 Cos- 
 sacks, upon the right bank of the Irtysch, exactly 
 opposite where the Tobol forms a confluence with it, 
 and about sixteen versts from the ancient Sibere, which 
 was gradually abandoned for the new town. Tobolsk, 
 which at its commencement consisted only of a wooden 
 fort, a church, and a few huts, is now the metropolis 
 of a government, the residence of the governor-ge- 
 neral of Western Siberia, and an archbishop's see. It 
 contains 18 churches, 1,762 houses, 25 of which are 
 built with stone, and 15,379 inhabitants. The right 
 bank of the Irtysch being much higher than the op- 
 posite one, the summit affords a most magnificent 
 prospect of the vast plains watered by the Tobol ; and 
 the position of the town itself, partly built upon the 
 top and partly at the foot of the rugged ascent, is 
 
 TUMENE AND BEREZOFF. 
 
 189 
 
 extremely picturesque. The streets, which are mostly 
 paved with wood, intersect each other at right angles ; 
 and several remarkable and elegant edifices embellish 
 the upper town. Chinese silks and Boukharian stuffs 
 of the richest qualities are displayed in the bazaars, 
 in quantities far exceeding those of European manu- 
 facture. The markets are abundantly stocked with 
 provisions, especially game and fish ; and the 500 fruit 
 and kitchen gardens in the immediate vicinity of the 
 town produce a greater variety of fruits and vegetables 
 than might be expected to be found under so severe 
 a climate. 
 
 Of the other towns, all of which, excepting one, are 
 built to the south of Tobolsk, Tumene is the most 
 considerable. It is situated on the fertile banks of 
 the Taura, and reckons 11 churches, 1,833 houses, 
 two of which only are built of stone, and 9,213 in- 
 habitants : the produce of its tanneries amounts an- 
 nually to more than a miUion of roubles. BerezoflP, 
 the only town founded by the Prussians to the north 
 of Tobolsk, is situated upon the banks of the Ob : the 
 severity of the climate and the nature of the soil for- 
 bidding all attempts at agriculture, the chase and 
 fishing constitute the sole resources of the inhabitants. 
 This colony, founded in 1595, has derived some impor- 
 tance from its fur trade. 
 
 h 
 
 < 
 
190 
 
 MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 
 
 The following table may give some idea of the 
 actual state of those different towns : 
 
 In 1835. 
 
 Houses of Stone. Houses of Wood. 
 
 Tobolsk contained 
 
 25 
 
 1,737 
 
 Tuuiene 
 
 2 
 
 1,831 
 
 Tour in sk 
 
 8 
 
 699 
 
 Kourgane 
 
 3 
 
 428 
 
 Yaloutorovsk 
 
 3 
 
 435 
 
 Tara - . . 
 
 1 
 
 787 
 
 Ischime 
 
 
 
 363 
 
 Toukalinsk 
 
 
 
 243 
 
 BerezofF 
 
 
 42 
 
 166 
 
 Total 
 
 6,689 
 
 Inhabitants. 
 15,379 
 
 9,243 
 
 2,685 
 1,912 
 2,009 
 4,263 
 1,180 
 1,380 
 61J 
 
 39.631 
 
 The churches were 49 in number, of which 47 
 were built with stone; the monasteries were three, 
 situated at Tobolsk, Tumene, and Tourinsk. 
 
 As to manufactures, these towns are confined to 
 soap-boiling, the melting of tallow, and the making of 
 leather, the tanneries being 114 in number, and em- 
 ploying 390 workmen. Trade is the principal occu- 
 pation of the inhabitants, even of those who are not 
 actually dealers, properly so called : with the exception 
 of the clergy and persons employed in the service of 
 government, all are engaged in it, exchanging the 
 
 EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. 
 
 191 
 
 produce of European Russia, — corn, meal, and iron, 
 tools and utensils, — for the skins, cattle, caviar, fish 
 salted and fresh, and game, brought to them from the 
 interior by the Ostiaks or Tartars. 
 
 The large rivers, navigable in summer and covered 
 with ice in tlie winter, facilitate the communication 
 in both seasons : the sledges used by the inhabitants 
 are in the south drawn by horses, and in the north by 
 dogs and rein-deer. 
 
 Every year the merchants of Tobolsk, Tumene, and 
 the other towns, send boats laden with flour up the 
 Irtysch and the Ob to Berezoff* and the other small 
 towns situated farther to the north ; these boats return 
 freighted with fish. The clerks and agents belonging 
 to these merchants, and who are established in the 
 small towns upon the banks of the Ob, purchase of 
 the Ostiaks valuable furs, which, together with soap, 
 tallow, and leather, they afterwards export, partly to 
 ihe fair of Nijny-Novgorod, and partly to the Kir- 
 ghises of the Steppes, who pay them in horses, cattle, 
 and cotton stuffs, purchased by themselves of the 
 Boukharians : the remaining produce of the govern- 
 ment of Tobolsk is exported by the way of Kiakhta 
 into China, whence are brought in exchange silks 
 and tea. 
 
 Public instruction, notwithstanding the many ob- 
 vious difl&culties opposing it, makes considerable pro- 
 
 I 
 
 
192 
 
 PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 
 
 gress in this portion of the Russian empire. Tobolsk 
 has two ecclesiastical schools, with 13 masters and 
 436 pupils : the number of establishments of this kind 
 throughout the government is 11, with 34 masters and 
 686 pupils 
 
 193 
 
 COLONIES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF 
 
 SARATOFF. 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 ! 3 
 
 II 
 
 The southern provinces of the Russian empire, which 
 are now so rapidly increasing both in importance and 
 wealth, were almost wholly uncultivated at the com- 
 mencement of the eighteenth century. Peter the Great, 
 who appears to have foreseen the future destiny of 
 Russia, and to have traced in his mind the path she 
 was to pursue, purposed turning immediately to 
 account the natural riches of those vast countries. It 
 was his intention to introduce agriculture there, to 
 form permanent estabHshments, and to prepare new 
 channels for commerce, by uniting the Don with the 
 Volga by means of a canal. But not having been 
 able to keep the port of Azof, by which those pro- 
 vinces could export their commodities, he died be- 
 fore it was possible for him to realise his brilliant 
 conceptions, 
 vor,. II. 
 
 tl 
 
 . r. 
 
194 
 
 FOUNDATION OF SARATOFF. 
 
 The glory of commencing their execution was 
 reserved for the Empress Catherine II., who, from the 
 moment of her accession, was occupied with the care 
 of attracting and establishing in those vast solitudes 
 an agricultural and industrious population. The 
 labours undertaken for that object, and persevered in 
 for many years, were at length crowned with success. 
 Whilst, on the one hand, numerous villages and new 
 towns were built and founded in the Steppes situated 
 between the Dnieper and the Don, cultivation, on the 
 other, made an equally rapid progress in those im- 
 mense plains wliich are traversed by the Volga, and 
 which separate the government of Astrakhan from the 
 central provinces of the empire. 
 
 Before even agi'iculture was introduced into the 
 territory which now forms the government of Sa- 
 ratoff, and which is 3,473 square geographical 
 miles in extent, the commercial relations of the cen- 
 tral provinces with Astrakhan and the Caspian Sea 
 had caused the foundation of Saratoff, and of several 
 other towns, situated upon the shores of the Volga 
 in the midst of the deserts. Along the northern 
 borders also was seen a thinly-scattered Russian 
 population ; some Finnish tribes lived upon the banks 
 of the rivers, or in the vicinity of the woods, making 
 agriculture and fishing their chief occupation, while 
 Tartar hordes wandered through the Steppes. 
 
 FOREIGN COLONISTS. 
 
 195 
 
 Such was the aspect of the country to which 
 Catherine II. was desirous of imparting culture and 
 civilisation. Several considerations induced her to 
 attract thither foreign colonists. In the first place, 
 not any of the Russian provinces was as yet so over- 
 stocked with inhabitants as to be in a condition to 
 spare any of them ; besides which, the Empress judged 
 it expedient to establish there a population which, 
 coming from European countries where agriculture 
 was most advanced, might serve for an example and 
 a model. The Empress attached so much import- 
 ance to these plans, that she lost not a moment in 
 carrying them into execution. On the 22nd of July, 
 1763, being scarcely a year after her coming to the 
 throne, she promulgated a decree, by which foreign 
 colonists were invited to come and take possession 
 of the lands destined for them on the shores of the 
 Volga. 
 
 Great numbers of Germans and Swiss shortly 
 arrived at Saratoff, where they were joined by some 
 French and Swedish families : the total number soon 
 reaching ten thousand. They were at first received 
 in large barracks near the town. Habitations were 
 afterwards built for them upon the ground which 
 had been assigned them ; and in addition to the free 
 gift from the generous sovereign, of implements, tools, 
 flocks, milch cows, and seeds, besides provisions suf- 
 
 o 2 
 
 .( 
 
 'ml 
 
196 
 
 FOllEIGN COLONISTS. 
 
 ficient to last them for a considerable space of time, 
 they were freed from all taxes for the period of ten 
 years. With such assistance the colonists soon found 
 in their country ease and happiness; and gradually 
 extending themselves, founded as many as 104 vil- 
 lao-es, of which two were subsequently abandoned. 
 Some of these establishments are upon the left bank 
 of the Volga, near the river, in places most favourable 
 for ag:riculture. 
 
 The greater number, however, are situated upon 
 the right bank, between the Volgsk and Kakmys- 
 chine, and upon the borders of the Medvedista, and 
 the Ilavlia, small rivers falling into the Don. The 
 names of these villages, Soleure, SchafFhouse, Zurich, 
 Glaris, Lucerne, Unterwalden, &c., recal to mind 
 the ancient country of their inhabitants : other colo- 
 nists endeavour to express their gratitude by giving 
 to their little town the name of Catherinestadt. 
 Sixty-three of these colonies have protestant or 
 reformed churches ; in the majority of the others the 
 Roman Catholic religion is professed; one alone 
 has been founded by the Moravian brethren, who 
 still exclusively inhabit it; this is the small town 
 of Sarepta, so beautiful and flourishing, notwithstand- 
 ing the aridity of the steppe surrounding it, and the 
 losses it has experienced by frequent conflagrations. 
 The Moravian brethren, who had chosen this site, 
 
 SAREPTA. 
 
 197 
 
 not expecting to obtain the means of subsistence from 
 the cultivation of the land, endeavoured to make up 
 for it by the establishment of several small manufac- 
 tories of stuffs, tobacco, liquors, &c. ; and it is solely 
 to this active industry that they are indebted for the 
 welfare they now enjoy. 
 
 In 1824 the town contained fifty-seven houses built 
 of stone, one hundred and eighty-five of wood, 
 twenty-five hangars, and two windmills, thirty water- 
 works for supplying irrigating canals from the river 
 Sarpa, and three large aqueducts, which supply the 
 town with abundance of excellent water. All the 
 streets, planted with poplar, terminate at the market- 
 place, which is ornamented with a fountain. Among 
 the public buildings, three are remarkable for their 
 object ; the Asylum of Sisters, which is inhabited 
 by all the unmarried women of the colony ; that of 
 Brothers, in which live all the bachelors ; and the 
 third is an asylum for widows. The two first 
 contain schools for the education of the children. 
 The gardens surrounding the town are cultivated 
 with the greatest care, and everything presents a 
 smiling picture of prosperity and contentment. 
 
 In the year 1811 the population of these colonies 
 had increased to 55,000 souls; in 1816 the number 
 reached 61,000; at the commencement of 1835 it 
 was 105,574 ; and at the beginning of the following 
 
 h 
 
 ti 
 
198 
 
 COLONIAL PROSPERITY. 
 
 199 
 
 year 109,796, viz. 56,104 men, and 53,692 women. 
 In 1835 the number of births was 6,330, whilst that 
 of deaths did not exceed 2,108. In 1834 the fields 
 sown with 150,017 tchetverts of grain, &c. (includ- 
 ing potatoes,) produced a harvest of 1,158,259 tchet- 
 verts; in 1835 the quantity sown was 173,358 
 tchetverts, but the harvest proved less abundant. 
 Notwithstanding this, the colonists were enabled to 
 sell 120,773 tchetverts of corn for the sum of 
 836,000 roubles, and 136,843 poods of tobacco, which 
 produced 310,981 roubles. In the plantations of 
 mulberry trees, which had somewhat suffered from 
 the severity of the winter, there were, however, not 
 less than 16,241 feet of trees, and the silk-worm 
 nurseries have yielded 10 poods 24 lbs. of silk. 
 Lastly, the cattle have increased with the improve- 
 ment of agriculture. In 1834 the total number of 
 heads of cattle of every description in the villages 
 w as 235,493 ; the following year their number in- 
 creased to 264,788 ; and out of 87,532 sheep, included 
 in it, 1,220 were of the Spanish breed. 
 
 Such results are a gratifying reward to government 
 for its paternal care, and for the sacrifices it hesitated 
 not to make, in order to secure the w^elfare and pros- 
 perity of these colonies. 
 
 KECENT VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES 
 
 OF RUSSIAN NAVIGATORS IN 
 
 NOVA-ZEMBLA (NOVAIA-ZEMLIA.) 
 
 At a time when, under the direction of the minister 
 of marine and of the St. Petersburgh academy of 
 Sciences, a new expedition is about to visit the 
 inhospitable shores of Novaia-Zemlia, it may not 
 prove uninteresting to give some account of voyages 
 recently performed in those parts by Russian sub- 
 jects. 
 
 Novaia-Zemlia was certainly discovered, at a very 
 remote period, by the Russian inhabitants of the 
 shores of the White Sea. Not only is its name a proof 
 of this, but it even appears that the Dutch navigators, 
 Heemskerk and Barenz, who in 1596 endeavoured 
 to discover a passage to the Indies through these 
 seas, had, previously to their departure, a vague 
 
 ii 
 
200 
 
 NOVA-ZEMBLA. 
 
 notion of the existence of these islands. It is well 
 known that these courageous mariners, in spite of the 
 obstacles which threatened at every moment to arrest 
 their progress, coasted the whole of the western shores 
 of Novaia-Zemlia, and reached its most northern 
 point ; but that having arrived on its eastern sides, 
 their ships were blocked up by the ice, and themselves 
 compelled to winter there ; after this, their only alter- 
 native was to return, braving in their frail barks all 
 the perils of the icy sea. The charts, however, which 
 have been constructed upon their authority, are any- 
 thing but correct — a circumstance not to be wondered 
 at, if it be considered that not only their mathematical 
 instruments were very imperfect, but that they them- 
 selves were wholly ignorant of the effect of refraction, 
 always much greater in these high latitudes than in 
 places nearer the equator : the longitudes and even 
 latitudes, determined by these navigators are, conse- 
 quently, extremely erroneous. 
 
 The Russians in the neighbourhood of Archangel, 
 who were engaged in the walrus trade, still continued 
 to visit the shores of Novaia-Zemlia ; but these frequent 
 voyages were unproductive of any scientific results: 
 the northern point which Heemskerk had doubled, 
 was not reached by them, and the eastern coast ap- 
 peared quite inaccessible. A very small part only of 
 the coast was explored in the 18th century by Rosmys- 
 
 NOVA-ZEMBLA. 
 
 201 
 
 loff, who also examined Matotchkine-Schar, or the 
 canal which separates the two islands that form Novaia- 
 Zemlia. 
 
 At length, during the years 1819-24, five separate 
 expeditions were despatched by the Russian admiralty 
 to these frozen regions. The first was commanded by 
 Captain (now Vice- Admiral) LazarefF, the four others 
 by Captain (now Rear- Admiral) Leitke. Repeated but 
 unsuccessful attempts were made to penetrate into the 
 Karskoe Sea, through the strait which separates the 
 island of Waigatch from the southern extremity of 
 Novaia-Zemlia. The whole passage was constantly 
 blocked up by an impenetrable barrier of ice, so 
 that Captain Leitke was obliged to confine himself 
 to the examination of the western coast of Novaia- 
 Zemlia, as far as the 11 "" of latitude, at which point 
 his progress was again stopped by the same formi- 
 dable obstacle. Thanks, however, to his exertions, we 
 now possess an accurate idea of the configuration of 
 this coast, and have ascertained that the two islands 
 comprised under the name of Novaia-Zemlia extend 
 in a slight curve from south-west to north-east from 
 the 7P of north latitude to a little beyond 76\ 
 Although Captain Leitke considered the furthest point 
 reached by him as the Cap Nassau of the Dutch, 
 it is possible that it was Cap Desire of Heemskerk, 
 which is to this day tlie northern extremity of Novaia- 
 Zemlia. 
 
 
202 
 
 MARINE EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 In 1832, some private individuals equipped, at 
 their own expense, an expedition, combining both 
 commercial and scientific objects. Three vessels 
 having, by permission of the Minister of Marine, been 
 manned and officered from the fleet, proceeded, accord- 
 ing to their instructions, in different directions. The 
 first returned in the autumn, with a rich cargo of 
 walrus teeth and blubber. 
 
 The destination of the second vessel, commanded by 
 Lieutenant Krotoff*, was the south-western coast of 
 Novaia-Zemlia ; thence it was to proceed through the 
 Matotchkine-Schar, in order to reach, if possible, the 
 mouths of the Ob or of the Yenissei, by crossing the 
 Karskoe Sea. This vessel sailed, accordingly, from 
 Archangel on the 1st of August, 1832, and on the 
 7th arrived in sight of Cape Kanine-Noss, after 
 which no further intelligence was received of her, 
 until, in 1834, Pakhloussoff" discovered her wreck in 
 the bay of Serebrianoi : all the crew appear to have 
 perished. 
 
 The instructions of Pakhloussoff*, who commanded 
 the third of these vessels, were, that he should enter the 
 Karskoe Sea, coast the eastern shores of Novaia-Zemlia, 
 and construct a chart of them. Having sailed from 
 Archangel on the 1st of August, he found himself, so 
 early even as at the end of the month, stopped at the 
 entrance of Port Kara by an insurmountable barrier 
 
 MARINE EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 203 
 
 of ice. He immediately determined to winter in 
 Kamenha bay. A hut which he built upon the shore, 
 twelve feet long, ten wide, and seven high, was the 
 winter abode of his crew, who had very often to defend 
 themselves against the attacks of bears, besides endur- 
 ing all the privations and overcoming all the difficul- 
 ties so powerfully described by Heemskerk and Bareuz. 
 At length, on the 24th of June, 1833, the ice was 
 sufficiently open to allow Pakhloussoff* to pass the 
 strait in a boat, for the purpose of examining a part, 
 at least, of this formidable eastern shore, and at the 
 mouth of a small river, about one hundred versts from 
 the southern point, he perceived a cross which was 
 thrown down : the inscription it bore was completely 
 illegible, excepting the date of 7250, (from the crea- 
 tion of the world,) and the words Sava Tofanoff. As 
 Loschkines' baptismal name was known to have been 
 the rather uncommon one of Sava^ it cannot be 
 doubted that this cross had been erected by him ; the 
 certainty of his voyage and the time when it was per- 
 formed, (the year 1742 of our era,) are therefore 
 clearly ascertained. Returning to Kamenka Bay on 
 the 7th of July, Pakhloussoff* succeeded in disengag- 
 ing his vessel from the blockading ice ; and his crew 
 having, on the 11th of July, quitted the hut which 
 had sheltered them for two hundred and ninety-seven 
 days, passed Port Kara, and again sailing up the 
 
 I 
 
 
204 
 
 MARINE EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 eastern coast, reached the entrance of Matotchkine 
 Schar on the 18th of August ; this canal was tra- 
 versed in two days, and by returning westward, 
 Pakhloussoff was the first to accomplish the naviga- 
 tion of the southern part of Novaia Zemlia. 
 
 The following year Pakhloussoff was again sent 
 with two vessels to Novaia Zemlia, and quitted Ark- 
 hangel on the 24th July, 1834. His instructions 
 were to complete the laying down of the eastern coast 
 to the north of Matotchkine Schar. Not to run use- 
 less risks, the expedition proceeded to the entrance of 
 the canal, on the western side of the island, and an 
 attempt was made to pass through it. Having arrived 
 on the 14th of September, through floating ice whicli 
 was with difliculty kept clear of the vessel, at the 
 opposite extremity of the canal, the Karsko Sea pre- 
 sented itself to them, covered with one uniform sheet 
 of ice; advance was therefore impossible, and even in 
 their retreat they were compelled to cut their way 
 with the hatchet, the hitherto floating ice being now 
 converted into fixed masses. A hut of considerable 
 dimensions, constructed upon the southern bank of 
 Matotchkine Schar, afforded them shelter during: the 
 winter. Hence Pakhloussoff* proceeded on foot, in the 
 month of April, to construct an accurate chart of this 
 canal. A second expedition, under tlie orders of 
 Ziwolka, his fellow navigator, was ordered to explore 
 
 MARINE EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 205 
 
 the eastern coast to the north of Matotchkine Schar. 
 This officer penetrated as far as one hundred and fifty 
 versts northward, and would have proceeded still 
 further in that direction, had not the fear of their pro- 
 visions failing them compelled the party to return to 
 their winter abode, after an absence of thirty-four days. 
 About two months afterwards, Pakhloussoff* and 
 Ziwolka both embarked on board the latter's vessel, 
 the Kosakoff*, with a view of following Leitke's track 
 to the west of Novaia-Zemlia, of doubling, if possible, 
 the northern point, and of returning by the opposite 
 shore. But having, on the 9th of July, rashly ad- 
 ventured between two floating mountains of ice, their 
 vessel v\^as crushed to pieces so suddenly, as scarcely 
 to allow the crew to reach, in safety, the shore of a 
 neighbouring isle, with their boats, a few fire-arms, 
 and a very small quantity of provisions. After 
 remaining on this desolate spot for thirteen days, they 
 were released from the horrors of impending death by 
 a walrus vessel, which brought them back again to Ma- 
 totchkine Schar. After another expedition made to 
 the eastern coast, Pakhloussoff" died at Arkhangel. 
 His companion Ziwolka has constructed a chart or 
 map of Novaia Zemlia, much more complete than any 
 hitherto published ; having, in addition to his own and 
 his friend's observations, acquired other accurate infor- 
 mation from various sources. 
 
206 
 
 MARINE EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 Another expedition is about to sail, wliose object is 
 more particularly the making of collections of the 
 natural history of Novaia-Zemlia. M. Ziwolka will 
 have the command of the Krotoff, and will be accom- 
 panied by several Russian naturalists. The examina- 
 tion of the coasts of the Gulf of Bothnia, the level of 
 the Black and Caspian Seas, the geographical re- 
 searches in the Oural mountains, and the trigonome- 
 trical admeasurements upon the western limits of the 
 empire, are all simultaneous labours at present in 
 execution, replete with interest worthy the great 
 monarch who has ordered them to be undertaken. 
 
 207 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE TRADE OF 
 
 KIAKHTA. 
 
 In the seventeenth century Russia became the imme- 
 diate neighbour of China by the conquest of Siberia ; 
 and as the tribute paid by the Tartars and other tribes 
 inhabiting it consisted wholly of furs, the quantity of 
 them accumulated in the Moscow warehouses far 
 exceeded the demand both for home consumption and 
 for the exportation trade to Turkey and Persia. Under 
 these circumstances, the idea naturally suggested itself 
 of forming commercial relations with China; and the 
 estimation in which furs were held by the inhabit- 
 ants of the Celestial Empire, as well as the now more 
 general use of tea in Russia, rendered success more 
 probable. 
 
 In 1689, Peter the Great concluded a treaty of 
 peace with the reigning Emperor of China. The 
 
208 
 
 TRADE WITH CHINA. 
 
 limits of both empires were laid down as well as the 
 imperfect knowledge of the country would permit, 
 and the subjects of both the contracting powers 
 were permitted to pass freely from either territory to 
 that of the other, in prosecution of their commercial 
 affairs. 
 
 From that time caravans regularly set off at stated 
 periods from Moscow for Pekin, and, in exchange for 
 the rich furs sent thither by the Russian government, 
 brought back from China, silks, nankeens of different 
 colours, rhubarb, musk, porcelain, precious stones, 
 gold dust, silver in bars, and especially teas in large 
 quantities. Different circumstances, but chiefly the 
 mistrust, so great an ingredient in the Chinese cha- 
 racter, caused various interruptions to this inter- 
 course, till at length, in 1722, the communication 
 between the two empires was completely broken off. 
 Five years afterwards, however, Bagounisky, ambas- 
 sador of Peter the Great at Pekin, succeeded in 
 arranging a new treaty of commerce, which was sub- 
 sequently ratified by Peter II. Several parts of the 
 frontier limits, before vaguely traced, were now accu- 
 rately determined ; the Russian preserved the right of 
 sending, once every three years, a caravan direct to 
 Pekin, and of having in that capital a factory and 
 a church. To facilitate the objects of the treaty, it was 
 agreed that a plain situated upon the frontier, near the 
 
 TRADE WITH CHINA. 
 
 209 
 
 little river Kiakhta, should serve as an entrepot and 
 place of barter. Similar entrepots were also to be 
 formed upon the banks of the Selenga and at Nert- 
 chinsk. 
 
 In a very short time the trade carried on at the 
 frontiers by private individuals became far more pro- 
 fitable than that of the caravans sent to Pekin by the 
 Russian government. The jealousy and mistrust of 
 the Mandarins rendered the communication with the 
 inhabitants of the interior extremely diflicult; nor 
 could the Pekin merchants themselves obtain permis- 
 sion to visit the Russian factory, without bribing the 
 numerous persons in office ; the consequence of all 
 which was, that the Russian furs were sold at a loss, 
 while the Chinese produce and manufactures were 
 purchased at a much higher rate than was paid for 
 them on the frontiers. Convinced by experience of 
 the impossibility of finding any remedy for these evils, 
 the Russian government discontinued, in 1755, the 
 sending caravans to Pekin ; the fur trade on govern- 
 ment account was entirely given up, and every efl^brt 
 was now directed to the encouragement of the private 
 trade. 
 
 The frontier trade now rapidly increased, and the 
 necessity which persons engaged in it found them- 
 selves under of being upon the spot, soon caused the 
 temporary habitations, such as tents and huts, to be 
 
 VOL. II. p 
 
 J^— ■"- 
 
210 
 
 TllADi: WITH CHINA. 
 
 converted into regular dwellings, and two towns 
 quickly arose upon the site appointed by the treaty as 
 an entrepot and place of barter. The one, Russian, 
 was called Kiakhta, from the name of the little river 
 which bathed its walls ; the other, Chinese, was known 
 by the appellation of Maimatchine, which signifies the 
 town of sales and purchases. These two towns were 
 separated only by an esplanade of small extent ; on one 
 side, to the north, appeared a gate of European archi- 
 tecture, a Russian guard and sentinels ; on the other 
 was seen one of those fantastical edifices which the 
 Chinese erect at the entrance of their towns, having 
 its walls covered with grotesque sculptures, inscriptions, 
 and paintings in gaudy colours. At Kiakhta regular 
 streets are formed of those neat houses which compose 
 the provincial towns in European Russia, and near 
 the vast storehouses belonging to the American com- 
 pany, or the shops established by the rich merchants 
 of Moscow, Vologda, and Koursk, rise the cupolas 
 and bells of several churches. At Maimatchine, on 
 the contrary, the streets, gloomy and narrow, are 
 formed by walls with no windows in them. The 
 court-yards enclosed by these walls have round them 
 small dwelling-houses, warehouses, and shops, in which 
 is seen all the rich produce of China. 
 
 The intercourse between these two towns, so near to 
 and yet so different from each other, becomes daily 
 
 TEA CAKES. 
 
 211 
 
 greater in proportion as the Russian trade, which is 
 carried on, almost exclusively, by a few commercial 
 houses of Moscow, Volgada, and Koursk, increases. 
 An immense quantity of tea is annually imported into 
 Russia by this way. The superior qualities are more 
 appreciated and in greater demand there than at 
 Canton itself, while a commodity, as yet hardly known 
 in Europe, viz. tea in cakes, forms one of the most 
 important articles of the Kiakhta trade. These cakes 
 are composed of a mixture of tea and of the leaves of 
 a plant of the saxifraga genus, found in the southern 
 part of the Mongol Steppes, and which is first steeped 
 in lambs' blood. After being well kneaded and 
 pressed in cakes, the mass is dried in an oven. The 
 manner of its use is equally singular: these cakes are 
 dissolved in boiling water mixed with meal, fat, and 
 salt. This tea is in great request throughout all the 
 nomadic tribes of Central Asia, and the Russian mer- 
 chants buy at Kiakhta considerable quantities of it, 
 to be again sold at the fair of Nijny-Novgorod, to 
 the wandering Tartars or Moguls subject to Russia. 
 
 Next to tea, Chinese cottons were the most remark- 
 able article imported— especially nankeens which 
 
 were sold in packets containing ten pieces each ; these 
 packets, which were called tonnes, might be said to 
 represent the numerary notation, or rather the circu- 
 lating medium, the value of goods being generally 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 
 
 CHINESE DECEPTION. 
 
 213 
 
 expressed in numbers of tonnes^ or tens of tounes. 
 Within these few years, however, great changes have 
 taken place ; for the Chinese merchants now buy of 
 Russian traders cotton, stuff's, and even nankeens, 
 perfected in the Russian manufactories. 
 
 From China are also received silks, especially flow- 
 ered damasks, crapes, cotton, raw silk, rhubarb, cam- 
 phor, musk, China ink, and a quantity of other drugs ; 
 and lastly porcelain, and that beautiful lacker-work, 
 the secret of which seems exclusively their own. 
 
 In exchange, the Russian merchants supply them with 
 furs ; and this branch of trade, at all times important, has 
 become still more so since the American Company has 
 forwarded to Kiakhta, by way of Okhotsk, the annual 
 produce of the chase, regularly followed under the 
 direction of their agents in the Russian American colo- 
 nies. The beautiful beaver-skins they send are even 
 preferred by the Chinese to every other fur. Amongst 
 the other articles of export, the most important are, 
 leather, glass, steel, and within these few years Rus- 
 sian manufactures, the demand for whicli is always 
 increasing, as proved by the following table of exports 
 in three different periods. 
 
 1825. 1830. 1835. 
 
 Linen to the amount of 70,119 rbls. 139,231 rbls. 203,1 15 rbls. 
 Cotton stuffs - - 1,248 — 84,523 — 933,876 — 
 Cloths - - . 268,421 — 1,434,550 — 2,206,641 — 
 
 Upon tlie arrival of tlie first caravans, which takes 
 place at different times between the end of the month 
 of December and the coinmencem.ent of February, the 
 greatest activity prevails at Kiakhta and Maimatchine. 
 The Chinese merchants then repair to Kiakhta, pro- 
 ceed to the warehouses, examine the goods exposed for 
 sale, agree upon the price, and, after having affixed 
 their seal to the bales they have chosen, invite the 
 Russian merchants to accompany them to Maimatchine. 
 There, in the bazaars of the Chinese town, the Rus- 
 sians, rendered circumspect by experience, place the 
 goods they select in exchange under the care of a 
 sentinel, who is not to lose sight of them until the 
 exchange be actually effected ; but, in spite of all their 
 precautions, they are often cheated. The Chinese, far 
 from imagining that good faith and honesty are the 
 natural bases of commerce, endeavour to gain an ad- 
 vantage by every means which cunning can devise. 
 Sometimes they endeavour to sell their neighbours old 
 tasteless tea, by concealing it under a layer of fresh : 
 as to the silks and cottons, they sell them in packets ; 
 they are made up of pieces differing in quality and 
 colour, and as the sellers never permit any choice or 
 selection, a too confiding purchaser is frequently 
 astonished at finding in the middle of the packet he 
 has just bought, boards whose edges are cut and 
 
t. 
 
 214 TRADE OF KIAKHTA. 
 
 painted with much art, in order to imitate the pieces 
 of stuff. 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that the roguery 
 of a few individuals has been able to operate unfavour- 
 ably to the progressive increase of the trade of Kiakhta. 
 The following table will show its great improvement 
 and activity of late years. 
 
 1825. 
 
 Roubles. 
 Russian merchandise exported, amounting to 4,162,437 
 
 Transit - - - - - - 1,339,378 
 
 Total exports 5,501,815 
 1830. 
 
 Russian merchandise exported, amounting to 4,415,024 
 Transit 1,983,573 
 
 Total exports 6,398,597 
 
 The trade of Kiakhta being that of barter, the im- 
 ports necessarily balance the exports. In the transit 
 merchandises Polish manufactures are included. 
 
 1835. 
 EXPORTATION. — Russian merchandise. 
 
 Roubles. 
 Skins, to the amount of - - . - 2,229,377 
 
 Leather 742,481 
 
 Linen 203,115 
 
 Cottons 933,876 
 
 Cloths, 718,221 archines - - . . 1,799,691 
 
 Corn, iron, steel, copper, glass, and other articles, 1,446,148 
 
 Total 6,4 J 4,688 
 
 i' 
 
 TRANSPORT OF GOODS. 215 
 
 Polish cloths, 206,301 archines - - - 466,950 
 
 Transit merchandises 545,731 
 
 Grand total 7,427,369 
 
 ■ 
 
 IMPORTATION. 
 
 Roubles. 
 Tea, 199,233 poods, to the amount of - - 6,909,149 
 
 Silks 208,599 
 
 Cottons 122,726 
 
 Drugs, &c. 186,895 
 
 Total 7,427,369 
 
 The Chinese mostly use camels for the conveyance 
 of goods, traversing the Steppes in long caravans. 
 The Russians chiefly transport by water the mer- 
 chandise which they send in summer, or oftener in 
 spring, from Kiakhta to Europe. After descending the 
 Salenga and crossing the Backal lake, they arrive at 
 Jenisseck by following the course of the Angara. 
 From Jenisseck the goods are sent overland to the 
 banks of the Ket, and from thence they reach Tobolsk, 
 the central entrepot of Siberia. From Tobolsk they 
 are sent in sledges, either to the fair of Irbit, which 
 begins on the 5th February, or, being embarked in 
 vessels, arrive the following summer at Nijny Nov- 
 gorod. 
 
216 
 
 PERMANENT MAGNETICAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 IN RUSSIA. 
 
 Great as has been the general improvement of the 
 Russian empire, the attention of the government to the 
 promotion of science has been no less. A convincino- 
 proof of this is observable in the measures it has lately 
 adopted for carrying into effect the views of Messrs. 
 Alexandre de Humboldt, Arago, and Kupffer, mem- 
 bers of the St. Petersburgh Academy, respecting mag- 
 netical observations. Even previously to the cele- 
 brated letter of the former of those gentlemen, 
 addressed to his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, 
 in which, among other valuable suggestions, he insists 
 upon the necessity of multiplying observations, and 
 of continuing tliem through successive years in one 
 uniform method, and in permanent observatories, es- 
 tablished in different latitudes, and at various distances 
 from the magnetical equator; the immense advantages 
 
 MAGNETICAL OBSERVATOUIES. 
 
 217 
 
 resulting from similar labours had been discussed at 
 the sittings of a committee of the Imperial Academy 
 of St. Petersburgh, having for its chairman the Baron 
 de Humboldt, who was at that time travelling in 
 Russia. From that moment the Academy took an 
 active part in these interesting researches. A magne- 
 tical observatory was immediately organised, under its 
 direction, at St. Petersburgh, another at Casan, under 
 that of the rector of the university of that city ; a 
 third was soon in activity in Moscow ; and Ad- 
 miral Greig established a fourth at Nicolaieff, 
 upon the borders of the Black Sea. The Academy of 
 Sciences did even more ; they despatched a distin- 
 guished astronomer, M. George Fuss, to Pekin, where, 
 in the garden of the convent belonging to the monks 
 of the Greek church, he commenced a series of mag- 
 netical observations, which have been since continued 
 by M. Kowanko. 
 
 The government, upon its part, powerfully contri- 
 buted to the progress of these labours by placing 
 at the disposition of scientific men the means of 
 multiplying their experiments. Thus, at the recom- 
 mendation of his minister of finance, his Majesty the 
 Emperor was pleased to order, in 1834, the organisa- 
 tion of seven new permanent observatories, placed 
 under tlie direction of the corps of mining engineers, 
 and divided into three different classes ; one model 
 
218 
 
 MODEL OBSERVATORY. 
 
 f''\ 
 
 observatory at St. Petersburgh ; three others, furnished 
 with the necessary apparatus and instruments for 
 magnetical and meteorological observations, at Cathe- 
 riuebourg in the Oural, Barnaoul at the foot of the 
 Altai, and at Nertchinsk, near the confines of the 
 Mogul Steppes ; and lastly, tliree destined exclusively 
 for meteorological observations, at Bogosloosk, in the 
 northern part of the Oural mountains, at Catherine- 
 bourg in the southern part of this chain, and at 
 Lougane in the government of Catherinosloff, not far 
 from the shores of the Sea of Azof. 
 
 The model observatory, established at the Institute 
 of the Mining Corps, and the three establishments of 
 the second class, have already commenced their la- 
 bours, and the tnree others will shortly do the same. 
 
 At each of the stations above mentioned a small 
 building has been erected, in the construction of which 
 the greatest care has been taken not to admit the least 
 particle of iron. The magnetic needle is therein com- 
 pletely isolated, and removed from all accidental in- 
 fluence. Each observatory is furnished with a theo- 
 dolite, having the additional apparatus invented by 
 M. Gauss, for observing the absolute declension and its 
 fluctuations; a Gambey compass, an instrument pre- 
 ferred by all European astronomers, for taking the 
 horary observations of the diurnal motion of the 
 needle; an inclinatory by the same maker, astrouo- 
 
 MINOR OBSERVATORIES. 
 
 219 
 
 mical watches, and a complete meteorological appa- 
 ratus. Before being forwarded to the places of their 
 destination, all these instruments are tested in the 
 model observatory, and carefully compared with those 
 used in that central establishment, which is placed 
 under the immediate superintendence of the academi- 
 cian Kupffer, the head director of all these establish- 
 ments. 
 
 It is intended to test, in this manner, all the appa- 
 ratus and instruments destined for the secondary esta- 
 blishments, and also by a regular course and series of 
 observation, to endeavour to form a certain number of 
 pupils, to whom may hereafter be confided the direc- 
 tion of the minor observatories. In order that the 
 labours of all these establishments mav be conducted 
 
 4/ 
 
 with a uniform regularity, M. Kupffer has, moreover, 
 drawn up detailed instructions for the magnetical and 
 meteorological observations. The engineers of the 
 mining corps, who superintend the secondary observa- 
 tories, are required to conform to these instructions, 
 and to forward every month to the central board a 
 report upon the results of their operations : these re- 
 sults will, from time to time, be published in the 
 Journal of the ^Mining Corps. 
 
 Besides the horary observations, simultaneous ones 
 are made six times a year in all these establishments. 
 For this purpose, the last Saturday of every month 
 
 i 
 
220 
 
 VARIATIONS OF THE 
 
 which has an unequal number of days has been 
 chosen. At these periods, observations, renewed every 
 five minutes, commence at twelve o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and continue till the next day at the same hour, 
 {mean time of Gottengen.) In like manner observa- 
 tions are repeated every three minutes in succession, 
 on the Tuesday and Wednesday following, from eight 
 till ten at night, {mean time of Gottengen,) All these 
 observations must therefore be perfectly isochronical 
 with those made in the principal magnetical observa- 
 tories of Western Europe. 
 
 The results to science from labours such as these 
 will necessarily be incalculable, and they have already 
 begun to afford most interesting comparisons. By 
 the report of observations made during a period of 
 four years at Nertchinsk, it appears, for instance, 
 that at that place the inclination of the magnetic 
 needle increases, whilst in Europe it diminishes ; on 
 the 5th of August, 1832, the inclination observed 
 was 66" 33' 4", increasing afterwards pretty gra- 
 dually; on the 25th of March, 1836, it was 67" 8' 3". 
 As to the absolute declension, it diminishes at Nert- 
 chinsk as at St. Petersburgh. According to obser- 
 vations made in the former of these towns, it was, on 
 the 5th August, 1832, 4" 4' 3" 0; on the 25th March, 
 1836, it had diminished to 3" 25' 7" 0. 
 The diurnal motion of the needle at Nertchinsk 
 
 MAGNETIC NEEDLE. 
 
 221 
 
 coincides exactly with that observed at St. Peters- 
 burgh; that is, the declension increases there from 
 eight o'clock in the morning until two o'clock in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 The perturbations have been tolerably frequent at 
 Nertchinsk. It has been remarked that there, as else- 
 where, they preceded and accompanied the aurora 
 borealis; but they are not isochronical with those 
 remarked at St. Petersburgh, whilst the latter per- 
 fectly coincide with the perturbations observed at 
 Casan and Barnaoul. 
 
 ii 
 
222 
 
 ULAGODATE MINES. 
 
 223 
 
 11 I 
 
 n 
 
 BLAGODATE IRON MINES. 
 
 A SECONDARY branch of the canal, at present known 
 under the name of the Blagodate mountain, forms one 
 of the most remarkable parts of that cliain of rocks, 
 richer in interesting phenomena than any others to 
 be found in Europe. Situated in the department of 
 Verkhouteric, about two hundred and ten wersts from 
 Catherinebourg, the only appearance which Blagodate 
 presents to the eye of the traveller is an enormous 
 mass of rock. 
 
 The numerical riches contained in these hills, at 
 that time covered with almost impenetrable forests, 
 were still unknown at the commencement of the eigh- 
 teenth century. Their woody summits were only 
 occasionally visited by a tribe of Vogouls, a people 
 of Finnish origin, inhabiting the neighbourhood, and 
 who had chosen the most elevated peak of Blagodate 
 whereon to celebrate the religious rites of their wor- 
 ship. 
 
 It was in 1730 that an individual of that nation, 
 named Tchoumpine, informed the Catherinebourg 
 Board of Mines of the existence of the valuable iron 
 mine which is now in process of working. Having 
 forwarded specimens of the mineral, he was liberally 
 rewarded ; but his countrymen, indignant at the pro- 
 fanation of the sanctuary, inflicted upon him a dread- 
 ful punishment : having seized him during the night, 
 the wretched Tchoumpine was burnt alive upon the 
 top of Blagodate. 
 
 The engineers who were despatched to the spot 
 were equally astonished at the importance of the dis- 
 covery which they owed to the unfortunate Tchoum- 
 pine, and at tlie singular appearance of the hill itself, 
 to which they gave, in honour of the Empress Anne, 
 the name of Blagodate, the Russian equivalent for the 
 Greek word awa. The height, whose summit is 
 raised seventy sagenas above the level of the reservoir 
 of the Kouchva mining establishment, is composed of 
 sienitic porphyry ; a layer of loadstone, forty sagenas 
 in thickness, covers the eastern side of it for an extent 
 of two wersts, and appears to descend, to what depth 
 is unknown, below the level of the surrounding plain ; 
 there is also a layer of sienitic eurytum, which com- 
 mences at the foot of the mountain, and reaches to 
 about the half of its height, from which point to the 
 summit the iron ore is uncovered. The workino- of 
 
224 
 
 BLAGODATE MINES. 
 
 this mine is extremely easy. The ore found at the 
 surface may be obtained with the simplest implements ; 
 and even at a considerable depth, where the ore is 
 more compact, it can be extracted with comparatively 
 little difficulty. 
 
 In consequence of this facility, no less than 1,500,000 
 poods of ore, yielding about 57 per cent, iron, are 
 annually obtained. The smelting is performed in five 
 different establishments in the neighbourhood. 
 
 In 1826 the government caused a monument to be 
 erected to the memory of the unfortunate Tchoumpine 
 upon the summit of the Blagodate, beside a small 
 chapel, and on the 6th of August every year the work- 
 men of the Kouchva mine repair thither in procession, 
 to offer up their prayers to heaven for the repose of 
 his soul. 
 
 225 
 
 FISHERIES IN THE RIVER OURAL. 
 
 In some of the southern provinces of the Russian em- 
 pire, especially in those which are watered by the 
 tributaries of the Caspian Sea, fishing has always been 
 one of the most important branches of the national 
 industry. The dry and barren character of the Steppes 
 which form the government of Astrakhan and a part 
 of that of Orenburg, being wholly opposed to agricul- 
 ture, the people inhabiting those regions have found 
 some compensation in the resources offered them by 
 the well-stocked rivers which traverse those plains. 
 These rivers, the Volga and Oural especially, are so 
 abundant in fish, that even after the lapse of centuries 
 the fishery has not become less productive, and every 
 year immense quantities of dried and salted fish, of 
 caviar, isinglass, &c., are exported from these shores, 
 
 VOL. II, Q 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
226 
 
 THE OURAL FISHERIES. 
 
 either into the interior of the empire, or the countries 
 of Central Asia. The fishery has consequently been a 
 primary object of attention with the local authorities ; 
 tlie prosecution of it is subjected to regulations which 
 are strictly observed, while the commencement and 
 the close of it, being considered as the most important 
 events of the year, are announced with due solemnity. 
 The mode of fishing varies according to the season. 
 Upon the banks of the Oural the winter fishery is the 
 most interesting. Preparations are made for it in the 
 month of June by closing, near the town of Ouralk, 
 the passage to the swarms of sturgeons which ascend 
 the river, in order to hibernate near the head of it. 
 A kind of barrier, formed with palisades and nets to 
 fill up the interstices, is fixed for this purpose in the 
 bed of the river ; all fishing, and even navigation, are 
 then forbidden for an extent of two hundred wersts 
 down the river, all which space becomes gradually 
 filled with an almost incredible number offish. After 
 a trial has been made in the first week of the month of 
 December, the grand fisheries commence a few days 
 before Christmas ; all the Cossacks colonised upon the 
 banks of the river, excepting such as are doing duty 
 at the advanced posts of the frontiers, may take part 
 in them. The reserved space of two hundred wersts is 
 then divided into several sections, and the fishery at 
 
 ( 
 
 THE OURAL FISHERIES. 
 
 227 
 
 each must be terminated in one day, and in presence 
 of the local authorities. As may be imagined, it is 
 quite a festival for the Cossacks, who assemble in 
 crowds at the rendezvous, armed with shovels, hooks, 
 bars, and other implements. At length the ataman, 
 placed upon the ice in the middle of the river, gives 
 the signal so impatiently awaited for ; the firing of 
 cannon transmits it to a distance, and immediately 
 from seven to ten thousand men rush upon the surface 
 of the river, make openings in the ice, plunge in their 
 weapons, which they handle with wonderful dexterity, 
 and announce their success with loud cries of joy and 
 delight. An immense number of sturgeons being 
 thus taken in a single day, they proceed immediately 
 to prepare the caviar, which the Cossack merchants 
 hasten to send with the utmost expedition to the two 
 capitals of the empire. 
 
 The annual proceeds of the Oural fisheries amount 
 to 3,000,000 roubles : although very important, they 
 are not now, as formerly, the only resource of the 
 Cossacks inhabiting the borders of this river; the 
 breeding of cattle, with which they have for some time 
 occupied themselves, is very productive. In that part 
 of their territory also which is situated above Ouralsk, 
 where the land, less impregnated with salt, is more 
 fertile, some commencements in agriculture have 
 
.. 1/ 
 
 228 
 
 THE OURAL FISHERIES. 
 
 lately been remarked, — a change the more valuable, 
 as the increase of the population is there extremely 
 rapid. 
 
 THE END 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PKIXTED BY IBOTSON AND PALMKR, SAVOY STHEKT. 
 
j COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY UBBAB ES 
 
 1010678840 
 
 This book is due two weeks from the last date stamped 
 below, and if not returned at or before that time a fine of 
 five cents a day will be incurred. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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