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TRAVEL

IN

VARIOUS COUNTRIES

EUROPE ASIA AND AFRICA

E. D. CLARKE LL.D.

PART THE FIRST
RUSSIA TAHTARY AND TURKEY
FOURTH EDITION

VOLUME THE FIRST

LONDON
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DA VIES
IN THE STKAND
EY R. watts crown court temple bar.
MDCCCXVI.

ADVERTISEMENT to the
FOURTH EDITION.

Intelligence has lately reached the author
of a transaction connected with the First
Part of these Travels, which is so highly
honourable to the individual whom it concerns,
and to the Sovereign whom he represented,
that it is hoped every one, interested in
the character of the British Nation in foreign
countries, will be gratified by its insertion. It
was conveyed in a Latin letter from the Capital
of the Don Cossacks, written by Colonel Alexius
Papof, president and director of all their
scholastic institutions ; to the following purport.
Sir GoiiE OusELEY being upon his return from
Persia, where he had resided in his capacity of
British Ambassador to the Court of the Shah,
came to the Cossack Capital. Here he de
spatched a messenger to Colonel Papof, inviting

ADVERTISEMENT
that officer to his presence. Upon the Colonel's
arrival, Sir Gore Ouseley proceeded to state, that;
" as the Representative of a British Sovereign,
he conceived it to be his duty to acknowledge
the disinterested hospitality shewn by the
Colonel, and by the Cossacks in general, to those
English travellers who had visited Tcherkask;
and therefore he begged to bestow upon his
family such a mark of his gratitude as it was
then in his power to offer." Having accompanied
this declaration with a handsome present, Sir
Gore further gratified his guest, by translatuig,
from this work, all those passages which related
either to himself, or to his countrymen; until
¦ the worthy Cossack, as he is kind enough to
confess, " shed tears of delight."
In relating a circumstance of this nature, an
author n^^ay easily be credited when he pro
fesses himself not to be more indifferent to the
honour thereby conferred upon his work, than
to its general success'; but no author will

(1) Notwithstanding a ferocious attack made upon it in au Amencan
Review, it has passed through Three Editions in' that country. The
Agents for the Russian Government caused the article which appeared
in the American Review, said to be written by a Russian, to be re
printed, and inserted in one of the minor Journals of England. An
allusion

TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
be so sensibly affected by the encouragement
he receives, as one who is conscious of wit
nessing, in the favourable reception shewn to
his writings, the triumph of truth. Having
every reason to be convinced that they have
outlived the opposition made to them, in conse
quence of the description given of the Russians, he
now confesses that, when he published the First
Part of his Travels, he was not politician enough
to be aware of the clamour it was likely to
excite. In shewing that his testimonies con
cerning this people coincided with those of the
most reputable writers who had gone before
himS he thought he had fulfilled an obligation
allusion to the Foreign Editimts of this work having been introduced,
the author cannot avoid noticing a French Translation of it, published
at Paris in 1813, in three volumes octavo; because it is accompanied
by Notes, said to have been inserted under the surveillance of Buona
parte. Those Notes are evidently intended to persuade the Russian
Government of the bad policy of an alliance with Great 'Britain :
the writer, perhaps, not being aware that this alliance is not so
much a matter of choice, as oinccessity. French Notes explanatory of
the text of an English author are sometimes highly, diverting: of this
we have an instance in a Note, of the Edition now mentioned, upon
the words "purlieus of St. Giles's:" which the French translator ex
plains, by saying that they signify " Certaines terres demembrees des
forets royales, et sur tesquelles le proprikaire a droit de ckasse." Voy.
tom.l. p. 163. Note (I) du Traducteur. Paris, 1813.
(2) Even the eulogists of the Russian Government might be cited to
prove that the condition of the people does not differ from the account
given of it in this work. " The peasantry," says Mr. Eton, " look upon
the monarch as a divinity; styling him (Zemnoi Bog) God of the
Earth." {See Eton's Survey of the Turkish Empire, p. 433.) It
remained

ADVERTISEMENT TO FOURTH EDITION.
to the public. Leaving, however, this point
to be decided by his adversaries; and their
harmless opposition, to the inevitable fate of
all political struggles, fitted only to serve the
interests of party ; and, moreover, being called
upon for a Fourth Edition of the particular portion
of his work against which so much hostility was
levelled ; he has nothing more to say of it, than
that it is, at length, printed in a more commo
dious form, and with every attention to accuracy
which repeated revision has enabled him to
bestow.

remained for Mr. Tlwrnton {Present State of Turkey, vol. II. ^.99. Note.
Land. 1809) to shew what were Mr. Eton's real sentiments concerning
the Russian Government; by contrasting the observations he made
after the death of Catherine, with those which he had before published.
" Two years," observes Mr. Tfu>mton, " after writing an eulogium on
Vae Russian Government, Mr. Eton wrote his Postscript; though both
were published together. The Empress Catherine was then dead ;
and then we are told, " that it is time the voice of truth shall
be heard." — "It is only in foreign. politics," says Mr. Eton, "that she
(Catherine) appears great: as to the internal government of the
{Russian) Empire, a most scandalous negligence, and a general corrup
tion in the management of atfairs, was visible, in every department,
from Petersburg to Kamchatka."

Cambridge, Jan. 1. 1816.

ADVERTISEMENT TO
THE THIRD QUARTO EDITION OF
PART THE FIRST.

A THIRD Edition of the First Part of these
Travels, within the short space of time that
has elapsed since its original publication, may
be considered as affording a good ~ practical
answer to certain objections which have been
made against it. Whether this presumption
•be true or false, the author ventures, upon
such encouragement, to proceed with the rest
of the work according to his original plan.
In the present Edition, the text has been
revised : the account given of the state of the
society in Russia has been suffered to remain
nearly as it was printed in the former Editions,
and as it was written upon the spot.

Tbumpington, near Camdridge,
May 1, 1813.

ADVERTISEMENT TO
THE SECOND QUARTO EDITION OF
PART THE FIRST.

In the present Edition, some verbal corrections'
will be found in various passages. Some addi
tions have also been made; and it is hoped that
they will add to the general interest excited by
the work. The Notes, in certain instances, have
been augmented, and the number of Inscriptions
increased, by very valuable communications
from Charles Kelsall, Esq. of Trinity College,
Cambridge, who lately pursued a similar route
to that of the author, in the South of Russia.
Robert Corner, Esq. of Malta, has also obligingly
added to the Appendix, an important article
concerning the Internal Navigation of the Russian
Empire '.
After the fullest and most impartial conside
ration, the author is contented to rest the truth
(I) See the Appendix to this Volume.

ADVERTISEMENT
and vahdity of his remarks, concerning the
Russian character, upon the evidence afforded by
almost every enlightened Traveller who has
preceded him. In addition to their testimony,
the unpublished observations of the late Lord
Royston ' may be adduced, to shew that, sub
sequently to the author's travels, and under
happier auspices of government in Russia, the
state of society appeared to that gifted young
Nobleman, as it has been described in the follow
ing pages. Lord Royston, when writing to an

(1) The kindness of the Earl of Ilardwicke authorizes this allusion
to his Son's Letters. Lord Roysion's name carries with it a claim to
public consideration. Although the knowledge of his great acquire
ments had scarcely transpired beyond the circle of his Academical
acquaintance, his erudition was regarded, even by a PoRSoN, with
wonder. The loss sustained by his death can never be retrieved ; but
some consolation is derived from the consciousness that all the fruits of
his literary labours have not been annihilated. The sublime prophecy
of his own Cassandra, uttering "a parable of other times," will yetbfe
heard j in his native language, shewing " her dark speech," and thiis
pourtraying his melancholy end.
" Ye cliffs of Zarax, and ye waves which wash
Opheltes' crags, and melancholy shore.
Ye rocks of Trychas, Nedon's dangerous heights,
Dirphossian ridges, and Diacrian ca\es,
Ye plains where Phorcyn broods upon the deep.
And founds his floating palaces, what sobs
Of dying men shall ye not hear .' what groans
Of masts and wrecks, all crashing in the wind ?
What mighty waters, whose receding waves
Btu'sting shall rive the continents of earth.'"
Viscount Royston' s Cassandra, p. 28.

TO THE SECOND EDITION.
accomplished friend, who was snatched from
the pursuit of worldly honours by a, fate as
untimely, although not so sudden as his ownS
thus briefly, but emphatically, characterizes the
state of refinement in the two great cities of the
Russian Empire". " A journey from Petersburg
to Moscoiv is a journey from Europe to Asia.
With respect to the society of the former city,
I am almost ashamed to state my opinion, after
the stubborn fact of my having twice returned
thither, each time at the expense of a thousand
miles : but although I had not imagined it pos
sible that any place could exist niore devoid of
the means of enjoying rational conversation, I
am now, since my residence here, become of
a different opinion. Not that I have not been
excessively interested, both during this and
my former visit to Moscow. The feudal magni
ficence of the nobility, the Asiatic dress and
manners of the common people, the mixture
of nations to be seen here, the immensity,
the variety, and the singular architecture
of the city, present, altogether, a most curious
(2) Rev. G. D. Whittington, author of an " Historical Survey of
Gothic Architecture," published since his death by certain of his distin
guished friends. See the elegant tribute to his memory, in a Preface
to that work, by the Earl of Aberdeen.
(3) This Letter is dated, Moscow, April 13th, 1809.

ADVERTISEMENT
and amusing assemblage." In a former part of
the same Letter, the inattention of the superior
Clergy to the religion of the lower orders, is
forcibly illustrated. The words are as follow :
" You have probably received some account of
my journey to Archangel; of my movement
thence, in a north-easterly direction, to Mezefi ;
of the distinguished reception I received from
the Mayor of that highly-civilized' city, who
made me a speech in Russian, three-quarters of an
hour long; of my procuring, there, twelve rein
deer, and proceeding towards the Frozen Ocean,
until I found a Samoied camp in the desert,
between the rivers Mezen and Petchora ; and of
my ascertaining, that that nation, which extends
over almost all the North of Russia, remains still
in a state of Paganism; a circumstance, of which.
the Archbishop of the diocese was ignorant."
The description, given in this work, of the
•miserable condition of the Russian peasants, and
of the scarcity of provisions in the interior of
the country, has been disputed. Let us now
therefore see what Lord Royston has said upon
* this part of the subject. It is contained in a
(1) So marked in the original.

TO THE SECOND EDITION.
Letter to Mr. Whittington, from Casan, dated
May ]6th, I8O7. "I left Moscow on Tuesday
the 5th of May ; and the first town at which I
arrived was Vladimir, formerly the capital of an
independent sovereignty, and the residence of a
Grand Duke. The accommodations are such as
are alone to be met with all over Muscovy ; one
room, in which you sleep with the whole family,
in the midst of a most suffocating heat and smell;
no furniture to be found, but a bench and table ;
-and an absolute dearth of provisions."
In the Extracts, added to the Notes, from Mr.
Hebers Journal, there are' certain observations
which are said to be at variance with the remarks
in the Text ; but it is hardly necessary to add,
that they were introduced for this especial
reason. Some persons have also insinuated,
that the author has accused the Rmsians of
want of hospitality ; although the very reverse
maybe proved from his writings. In describing
the reception which he experienced at Moscow,
he lays particular stress upon the hospitality of
the inhabitants ; " although," to use his own
words in the Fourth Chapter of the present
Volume, " it was considered dangerous at that time to
have the character of hospitality towards Englishmen."

ADVERTISEMENT
He also cites a passage, in the Notes, from
a French work of celebrity, to prove, with
reference to Moscow, that Vhospitaliti des Russes
parok id dans tout son jour." Another extract
from Lord Royston s Letters will shew, that the
same characteristic of the inhabitants was ob
served by his Lordship ; although, as he expressly
declares, it did not alter his "general opinion"
of the people. It is taken from a Letter to the
Right Honourable Charles Yorke, dated Moscow,
May 5th, ] 807- " Notwithstanding all the plea
sure I promise myself from my tour, I shall be
sorry to le^ve Moscow : the hospitality of the
people is very great ; and it is unpleasant to be
always forming new and agreeable acquaintance,
with the expectation of shortly leaving them,
and the probability of never seeing them again.
On leaving Petersburg, notwithstanding my ge
neral opinion, I felt very strongly how painful
it is, to quit, for ever, a place in which we have
resided for some time; and believe it was solely
that feeling which caused me to return thither
from Moscow."
Indeed it may be urged, that even those
Authors who endeavour to present a favourable
view of the Russian people, and who strain every

TO THE SECOND EDITION.
effort to accomplish the undertaking, are con
tinually betraying the hidden reality. Their
pages, like embroidered vestments upon the
priests of Moscow, disclose, with every gust that
separates them, the rags and wretchedness they
were intended to conceal'. Nor is it only in
those periods of Russian history when hostility
threw off the veil, and enabled other nations to
observe the real disposition of the people towards
every country but their own, that their character
has been thus manifested. It is alike displayed
in peace or war ; in circumstances of seeming
civilization, or of acknowledged barbarism; in
the reign of Peter, or of Catherine ; under the
tyranny of Paul, or the mild government of
Alexander. These are facts, indeed, which a
traveller may withhold : he may say, with Fonte-
nelle, " If I had my hand full of truths, I would not
suffer one of them to escape; or, like Voltaire,
he may wait "until he has leisure to methodize

(l) You can hardly imagine any thing more showy than the appear
ance of the priests of these churches on their festival days. But if the
wind should chance to blow aside the sacred vestment, you would
probably feel a degree of disgust not easily described, at seeing shoes
and stockings, and breeches, and shirt, of the coarsest materials, gene
rally ragged, and always dirty, appearing from under robes of the most
superb and costly embroidery." Letters from Scandinavia, vol. \.p.7l.
Land. 1796.

ADVERTISEMENT
events" prior to their communication : but if he
expect credit to be given, when he tells the
theme of praise, when all that " is lovely and
of good report" claims its due regard, it is not
from such philosophy, that he can hope for its
acquirement'. At all events, the subject, as far as the author
is concerned, shall now rest. Another portion
of his Travels, describing objects of a more
pleasing nature, diverts his attention from
Scythian wilds and from all their fur-clad tribes;
from uniformity of scenery and of disposition, to
regions highly diversified, and to human-nature
under every circumstance of character; from
wide and barren plains, to varied territories
" flowing with milk and honey ; " from rivers,
and lakes, and stagnant waters, to seas traversed
by "men out of every nation under heaven;
" Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and
" the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in

(1) " Even the Author of the History of Charles XII. of Peter I.
and of the age of Louis XIV. was of opinion, that it was of greater
importance to say what is useful than what is true ; as if what was
false could ever be useful ! In a Letter to Count Schuvalof, he says.
Until I have leisure to met/iodize the terrible event of the death of the
Tsarevitch, I have begun another work.' Is this the language of a
philosophical historian}" Mem.ofthe Court of Petersburg, p. 8\.

TO THE SECOND EDITION.
** Judea^ AND IN Cappadocia, in Pontus, and
" Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt,
" AND in THE PARTS OP LyBIA, ABOUT CyRENE,
•' AND STRANGERS OP RoME, JeWS AND PROSr
*' EITTES, CrETES, AND ARABIANS."

VOL. I.

PREFACE TO
PART THE FIRST.

In- presenting the First Part of his Travels
to the Public, the author is desirous to explain
the general extent of his undertaking.
His design is, to complete, in three separate
Parts, a series of Travels, in Europe, Asia,
and Africa ; so that each portion, consisting of
one, or more, volumes, may constitute a survey
of some particular region. Thus, for example,
the Part now published, relates to Travels in
Russia, Tahtary, and Turkey; a Second Part
may include the observations collected in Greece,
Egypt, and Palestine ; and, finally, a Third
Part, those objects which were presented in
I)enmark, Norway, Sweden, Lapland, and Finland.
But, in order to accomplish so extensive an
undertaking, some indulgence is required to
the manner of its execution ; some credit for a
better disposition towards his fellow-creatures,
than the a'uthor's severe penance in Russia may
s^em to have excited. It is not so generally
hi

11

PREFACE.
known as it may be, that the passage of a small
rivulet, which separated the two countries of
Sweden and Russia, at the period of the author's
journey, and before the dismemberment of
Finland, the mere crossing of a bridge, con
ducted the traveller from all that adorns and
dignifies the human mind, to whatsoever, most
abject, has been found to degrade it. If, there
fore, the late Empress and Autocrat of all the
Russias, Catherine the Second, could find a
Volney, who would prostitute his venal pen to
varnish the deformities of her reign and of her
empire ; if Potemkin did not want an apologist,
and an advocate, even among the Writers of
this country; Great Britain will forgive the
frankness of one, among her sons, who has
ventured, although bluntly, to speak the truth.
It is a language not wholly obscured in the
more cautious descriptions of former Writers.
Tuhervile, of England ; Augustine, of Germany ;
Olearius, of Denmark; and, more recently, the
Abbi de la Chappe, of France, together with the
authors of many anonymous productions, re
present the real character of the people, in
colours, which neither the antidote of Alehsye
Musine Puchkine, the drivellings ' of Voltaire, nor

(1) See Voltaire's Correspondence with the Empress Catherinb, ia
the latter part of his life.

PREFACE.
all the hired deceptions of French philog<)phers
and savans, have been able to wipe away*.
A few words, by way of acknowledgment, to
those who have contributed to the accomplish
ment of the present undertaking, it is hoped,
will not be deemed superfluous : at the same
time, it is not necessary to repeat expressions
which occur in the following pages. With
the exception, therefore, of Lord Whitworth,
whose respectable name the author here begs
leave to introduce, no repetition will be offered.
To his kindness, while Ambassador at Petersburg,
the very existence of the First Part of thiiS
work may be ascribed ; and his character ought
to stand recorded, in having afforded, as an
English Minister, the very rare example of
liberal patronage to his travelling countrymen,
during the whole of his embassy.

(2) Omnes enim passim, cujuscunque conditionis sint, nuUo re-
spectu personarum habito, durissimi servitute premuntur. Nobiles,
^magnates, prEefecti, primoies, consiliariique universi, se chlopos, id
est, abjectissimos et vilissimos servos Magni Ducis fatentur ; et bona
sua omnia, mobilia et immobilia, quae possident, non sua, sed Prin-
cipis esse agnoscuut. Ut autem equestris ordo k Magno Duce, ita
enim plebeius ordo k Nobilibus et Magnatibus gravissim^ premitur ;
colonorum enim et oppidanorum bona, militarium hominum et Nobi-
lium praeds exposita sunt. Sex dies coloni in septimana dominis suis
laborant ; Septimus dies privatu labor! conceditur. Neque hi strenu^
laborant, nisi bene verierati." Desariptio Moscovue. h. Sal. 1600,

111

iy PREFACE.
In the course of the subsequent narrative, the
author has generally used a plural expression,
even with reference to his own personal obser
vations. This mode of writing was adopted,
not solely, with a view to divest his style of
egotism, but in allusion to his friend, the cause
and companion of his travels, John Marten
Crivvs, M. A. o( Jesus College, Cambridge; whose
unceasing ardour in prosecuting every enter
prise, added to the mildness and suavity of his
manners, endeared him to the inhabitants of every
country he visited. The constancy and firm
ness which he preserved through all the trials
and privations of a long and arduous journey
as well as the support which he rendered to
the author, in hours of painful and dangerous
sickness, demand the warmest expressions of
gratitude. The Plants collected during the route
were the result of their mutual labour ; but the
whole of the Meteorological Statement in the
Appendix\ together with the account given of
Relays and Distances % are due to his patient
observation and industry, J.
To the Rev. Reginald Heber, late Fellow of
All-Souls' College, Oxford, the author is indebted.

(0 See the Appendix to Vols. II. IV. VI. & VIII.
(2) Ibid.

PREFACE.
for the valuable Manuscript Journal which
afforded the extracts given in the Notes. In
addition to Mr. Hebers habitual accuracy, may
be mentioned the statistical information, which
stamps a peculiar value on his observations:
this has enriched the volume by communica
tions which the author himself was incompetent
to supply.
To Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq. Fellow
of the Royal, Antiquarian, and Linnsean Socie
ties, author of several Botanical writings, and,
among others, of a splendid work on the
Genus Pinus, as well as possessor of the finest
Herbarium in Europe, for his kindness in
arranging the Plants collected in the Crimea,
and in preparing a List of theirt for the
Appendix^.
If the- Vignettes prefixed to the several Chap
ters, answer the purpose for which they were
intended, by exhibiting, within a small compass.

(3) See Appendix to Vol. II. Mr. Lambert is the present possessor of
the celebrated Herbarium of Pallas, purchased by Mr. Cripps during
his residence with the Professor, and brought to England, in the
Brddhel, by the author's brother, the late Captain George Clarlte, of
the Royal Navy, A. D. 1805.

vi PREFACE.
and in the least obtrusive manner, objects re
ferred to in the text, — the merit is solely due to
her, whose name appears occasionally annexed
to those Designs, and who, from the rudest
documents, has afforded an elegant and faithful
representation of truth.
Notwithstanding the care bestowed upon the
accuracy of the text, it is highly probable that
some errors have escaped the author's notice.
Should this prove to be the case, it is hoped that
the Public will overlook defects in the style of a
mere writer of travels ; from which the more
responsible pages of an Addison, a Steele, and
a Gibbon, have not been found exempt. In the
progress of transcribing a journal written in a
foreign land, remote from scenes of literature,
more attention was often given to fidelity of
extract, than to elegance, or even purity of
composition. The unsettled state of English orthography,
as far as it affects the introduction of Russian
names, produces considerable embarrassment
to the writer who wishes to follow a fixed rule.
Upon this subject it not only happens that no
two authors agree, but that the same author is
inconsistent. Jona^ Hanway, whose writings are

PREFACE. vii
more accurate than those of any other English
traveller who has visited Russia, may be con
sidered as affording, perhaps, the best model
in this respect: but Hanway himself is not
consistent'. In the Russian alphabet there is no letter
answering to our fV; yet we write Moscoiv, and
JVoronetz. Where custom has long sanctioned
an abuse of this kind, the established mode
seems preferable to any deviation which may
wear the appearance of pedantry. The author
has, in this respect, been guided by the autho
rity and example of Gibbon; who affirms*, that
" some words, notoriously corrupt, are fixed,
and as it were naturalized, in the vulgar tongue.^
The Prophet Mohammed can no longer be strip
ped of the famous, though improper, appellation
of MahoTnet ; the well-known cities of Aleppo,
Damascus, and Caliro, would almost be lost in
the strange descriptions of Haleb, Damashk, and
Al Cahira." But, it may be fairly asked, where
is the line to be drawn ? What are the Russian

(l) The name of the same place is written Kieva in vol. I. p. 9.
Khieva in p. 15, and Khiva in a note. Nagai Tartars, in p. 8. vol.1.
are written Nagay Tartars in p. 1 1. Throughout his work, the termi
nating vowel is sometimes i, and as often ^; as, Valdai, poderosnm, and
Yakuisitf, Nasormvsky.
(9} P.S, to I^ref. ch. xxxix. Hist, of tbe Decline and Fall, &c.

VUl

PREFACE.
names, which we are to consider z.^ fixed and
naturalized in the vulgar tongue P Are we to write
Wbronetz, or VoronSje ; Wolga, or Volga; Kiow,
or Kiof; Azow, or Azoff Lord Whitworth wrote
Chioff and Asoph, although both these names
have the same original termination'. It is thg
B {VMy) redoubled in compound words, w:hich
occasions the principal difficulty, and which has
been confounded with our IV. Thus, as it is
mentioned by Starch^, from Levesque, the Russian
word VvSdenie, signifying ' introduction,' consists
of the preposition vo or v (into), and vSdenie (to
conduct). The proper initial letter in English,
therefore, for this word, would be V, whose
power it alone possesses ; and not PV, which
conveys a false idea of pronunciation. When
this compound occurs as the termination of a
word, it is best expressed by ouryV as Orbf,
for Or low; which exactly answers the mode of
pronunciation in Russia. Some writers use the
, letter doubled, as ff: the latter / is however
superfluous. The plan pursued by the author,
but to which, perhaps, he has not regularly
adhered, was to substitute a /^for the Russian

(l) Account of Russia, by Charles Lord fVhUworth. Strawberi'ff
Hill, 1768.
(2) Tableau de I'Empire de Russie, torn. I. p. I9. Sec also Histmre
ds Russie par LcvesrjUe, tom.l. p. 17, Hamb. 1800.

PREFACE. ix
VV, whenever it occurs at the beginning, or in
the middle, of a word ; and anj^ whenever it is
found as a termination.
There is yet another letter of the Russian
alphabet, which, from its frequent recurrence
as an initial, requires a perfect reconciliation to
some settled law of EngHsh orthography; viz.
the Tch£rve : this has the power of our ch, in
cheese and child, and occurs in the name of the
Cossacks of the Black Sea, Tchernomorski. With
regard to words terminating in ai and oi, as
Valdai, Paulovskoi, perhaps it would be well to
substitute ay and oy, as Valday, Paulovskoy ; or
y only, as Valdy, Paulovsky; which last offers a
close imitation of the vulgar mode of pronun
ciation in general : but the variety caused by
different dialects, in different parts of the
empire, will, after every attention is paid to a
settled rule of writing, occasion frequent per
plexity and embarrassment.
In the orthography of the names of places
immediately south of Moscow, frequent attention
was paid to the Map of Reymann, published by
Schmidt, at Berlin, in 1802. But even in that
map, the territories of the Don Cossacks, Kubaji
Tartary, and the Crimea, appear only as a
forlorn blank. Many years may expire before

PREFACE.
Russia, like Sweden, will possess a Hermelin,
to illustrate the geography of the remote pro
vinces of her empire ; especially as it is a maxim
in her policy, to maintain the ignorance which
prevails in Europe, concerning those parts of
her dominions. On this account, the indecision,
which must appear in the perusal of this volume,
to characterize the description of the country
between Biroslaf and Odessa, admits of e!xpla-
nation. The geography of all that district is
little known; the courses of the Dniester, the
Bog, and the Dnieper, as well as the latitude
and soundings of the coast near their em
bouchures, have never been adequately sur
veyed. The only tolerable charts are preserved
by the Russian Government, but sedulously
secreted from the eyes of Europe. It has
however fallen to the author's lot, to interfere,
in some degree, with this part of its political
system, by depositing within a British Admi
ralty certain documents, which were a subse
quent acquisition, made during his residence in
Odessa. These he conveyed from that country,
at the hazard of his life. They are too volu
minous for insertion in the work, but may serve
to facilitate the navigation of the Russian coasts
of the Black Sea, jf ever the welfare of Great
Britain should demand the presence of her
fleets in that part of the world. In making this

PREFACE. xi
addition to our stock of knowledge, for the use
of our navy, no ties of confidence, or of honour,
were broken with a people who have violated
every engagement with this country. Those
documents were entrusted to the author by
persons fully authorized to concede the infor
mation, and their injunctions have been sacredly
obeyed.

TABLES OF
RUSSIAN MEASURE, WEIGHT, & MONEY.

measure.
The Jrchine, or Russian Yard, equals 28 English Inches.
The Sajen, or Russian Fathom, equals 7 English Feet.
Three Versts equal 2 English Miles.
The Russian Foot is exactly that of England.
The Vershock equals 1 English Inch and %.
104 Versts - equal 1 Degree.
500 Sajens - =1 Ferst.
3 Ar chines - ^1 Sajen.
l6 Vershocks = 1 Ar chine.

weight.
The smallest -weight of Russia is the Solotnick, which equals
six grains. 3 Solotnich equal 1 Lot.
32 Lot's - = 1 Pound.
40 Pounds = 1 Poud.

TABLE OF RUSSIAN MONEY.
The first silver money of Russia -was coined at Novogorod
in 1420, in small pieces, -which were called Copeeks. The
present value of the Copeek may be estimated as equal to an
English Halfpenny. Almost all calculations of the country are
made according to the number oi Copeeks.

TABLE OF RUSSIAN MONEY,
In 1654, Roubles were introduced at Moscow in the form of
bars, with deep notches in them (roubli), which enabled the
possessor to detach as much of the bar as his payment might
require*. Hence the origin of the word iJoaWe. Almost all
the copper money of Russia is coined in Siberia, and prin
cipally at Catherineburg, near the Ural Mines. Sixteen Roubles
of pure copper weigh a Poud.
At present, the specie of the country has nearly disappeared,
and paper is its only representative. The Copeek no longef
exists as current coin.
The following sta'tement of the Names and Value of Russian
Money is chiefly extracted from Georgi.f
SILVER MONEY.
1 Rouble - , - . equals 100 Copeeks.
1 Folten, or i rouble - = 50 Do.
1 Polupolten, or i rouble = 25 Do. ,
\ Dvagriven - - - 1= 20 Do.
1 Paetalten - - - - = ]5 Do.
1 Griven ---.-= 10 Do.
1 Paetach . - . . ^ 5 Do.
COPPER MONEY.
1 Paetach ----- equals 5 Copeeks.
1 Altine - - - - = 3 Do.
I Grosh - - - - = 2 Do.
1 Copper Copeek - - = 1 Do.
This last coin represents, in front, the Figure of St. George
on horseback, piercing a dragon with his spear. " From this
spear," says Georgi J, called Copoea in Russian, the word Copeek
has been derived.

* Georgi, Descript. de St. Peters, p. 187. Edit. Franc. Peters. 1793.
f Ibid. sect. 8. chap, 3.
t Ibid. p. 191.

1 Polushka, the smallest coin of Russia = % Do.
The Polushka takes its name from a hare-skin, Ushka
(which, before the use of money, was one of the lowest articles
of exchange); Pol signifying half} snA Polushka, half a hare's

The gold coinage of Russia is scarcely ever seen. It consists
principally of ducats, the first of which were struck by Peter
THE Great, worth two roubles and twenty-five copeeks each.
When the author was in Petersburg, a coinage was going ori
at the mint, day and night, for the private use of the Emperor
Paul, of seventy-three jSowrfy of gold; the whole of which was
made into ducats. The mint was worked by steam-engines. ,

LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS AND MAPS
CONTAINED IN
VOLUME THE FIRST.

TO SEKV£ AS DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDEB.

A newly engraved Portrait of the Author , . to face the Title,
General Outline of the Author's Route . . . to face Chap. I.
Map of the Mouths of the Don . . . .  p. 339,
Map of the Situation of Tcherkask ....  p, 348.

LIST OF THE VIGNETTES
/iV VOLUME THE FIRST.
1 ..
TBE ,TIGNETT£S ARE ENGKAVED ON WOOD, BY AUSTIN.
CHAP. I.
Vo. Page
1. Profile of the Emperor Paul, from a Drawing by
E.D.Clarke  1
2. Crystallization of Water , ,  12
CHAP. II,
3. Arms of Nopogorod  H
CHAP. Ill,
4. Window of a Russian Cottage . . . . ' . . .32
5. Stockings used by Female Peasants of the Valday . ^
CHAP. IV,
6. Archbishop of Moscow at the Ceremony of the
Resurrection  58
V. Qipsies dandng the Barina  8Q
VOL, I. p

VIGNETTES TO THE FIRST VOLUME,
CHAP, V.
No. P""
8. Gate of Moscow :  86
CHAP. VL
9. Arms of the City of ikfo.f<;ow  107
CHAP. VIL
10. Plan of the City of TWoicow  1*0
11. Great Gun of Moscow  154
12. Facsimile of the Hand-writing of Peter the
Great  165
CHAP. VIIL
13. A Russian Drosky  171
CHAP. IX.
14. The Rustic Pipes of Russia  193
CHAP. X.
15. The sort of Sandal common to all the Northern
Nations  227
CHAP. XL
16. Antient Tumuli, as theyappear covering the Steppes, 260
CHAP. XII.
17. Manner in which the Author, and his Companion,
traversed the Steppes of Russia  297
18. Portrait of a Calmuck Woman  317
CHAP. XIII.
19. Double Canoe, MssAhy iSae Don Cossacks . . . S'iS
CHAP. XIV.
20. Hamaxobii of Herodotus, as seen at the present day, 395
CHAP. XV.
21. Map of the proposed Junction of the Rivers Volga
and Don  426

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONTENTS
TO PA^T THE FIMST,
VOLUME THE FIRST.

Advertisements tofhe Fourth, Third, and Second Editions.
Preface to the First Edition.
Tables of Russian Measure, Weight, and Money.
List of Embellishments, Maps, and Vignettes.
CHAP. I.
p. 1.
PETERSBURG.
Preliminary Observations — State of public affairs — Strange
conduct of the Emperor — Insolence of the police — Extraordi-
na/ry phcenomenon. CHAP. II.
p. 14.
JOURNEY FROM PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW.
Departure from Petersburg — Manner of travelling — Palace of
Tsarskoselo — Gardens — Anecdote of Billings's expedition to
the North-west Coast of America — Ledyard — Barbarous
decoration of the apartments — Arrival at Novogorod —
Cathedral — Antient Greek paintings — Manner of imitating
them in Russia — Superstitions of the Greek Church— Virgin
with three hands — Story of her origin — Russian Bogh.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONTNETS.
CHAP. III.
P. 31.
NOVOGOROD.
4ntient history of Novogorod — First churches in Russia —
Procopius — Evagrius^-Baptism of Olga; afterwards Helena
—Arms of Novogorod — Ceremony of crossing — General
picture of this route— Heights of Valday — Costume — Tumuli
— Jedrova — Domestic manners of the peasants'-^ Servile
state of the empire — Vyshney Voloshok — Torshok — Tver —
Milanese vagrants— Volga — Tumuli — Klin — Petrov.sky —
Arrival at Moscoiir— Police — Accommodations.
CHAP. IV.
P. 58.
MOSCOW.
Peculiarities of climate — Impressions made on a first arrival-
Russian hotel— Persian, Kirgissian, and Bucharian ambas
sadors — Fasts and Festivals— Ceremonies observed at Easter
•-—Palm Sunday — Holy Thursday — Magnificent ceremgny of
the Resurrection — Excesses of the populace— Presentatimi of
the Paschal eggs — Ball of the peasants— Ball of the nohles
'¦—Characteristic incident of caprice in dress.
CHAP. V.
P. 86.
MOSCOW.
Surprising talent of imitation among the Russians — Remarkable
fraud practised by a native aftist — Booksellers — State of ,
literature — Libraries of the nobles — Equipages — Costume of
the Bourgeoisie — Amusements of the people — Chapel of the
Tverschaia — Miracles wrought there — Nature of the impos
ture — Artifice of a merchant — Assassination of an archbishop
—-Motive for the worship of pictures — Resemblance between

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.
Russians and Neapolitans — Wives of the nobks — Conduct of
their husbands — Children of Orlqf — Princess Menzikof —
Retributive spirit exercised by the Emperor at the funeral of
his mother.
CHAP. VI.
P. 107.
MOSCOW.
State of exiles in Siberia — Tobolsky — Generous conduct of a
citizen — Prince turned pawnbroker — Picture-dealers — State
of medicine — Manners of the people — Opinions entertained
of the English — Relative condition of slaves and theif-lords
— Noble behaviour of Count Golovkin's peasants — Servants
of the nobility — Thejl committed by a party of the nobles —
Convent of the New Jerusalem — New prohibitions — Public
censors — Convent of the Trinity — Church of St. Basil — Ivan
Basilovich — Tubervile's Letters.
CHAP. VII.
p. 140,
MOSCOW.
Sunday market — Promenades during Easter — Kremlin — Holy
Gate — Great Bell — Great Gun — Antient palace of the Tsars
—Imperial Treasury — Manuscripts — Superb model— General
appearance of the Kremlin — First Christian church — Festival
of the Ascension. ' CHAP. VIII.
P. 171.
MOSCOW.
Order of the Maltese cross — Minerals of Count Golovkin —
Pictures — Antiquities — Shells — Gallery of Galitzin — Library
of Botterline — Botanic garden — Philosophical instruments —
Other collections — Stupendous objects of Natural History —
English horse-dealers — Public baths : their mode of use, and
national importance— Foundling Hospital.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.
-' V CHAP. IX.
P. 193.
MOSCOW,
Visit to the Archbishop of Moscow — his conversation — Convent
of NicoLL NA FERRERA-r^Fuineral of Prince Galitzin—
Stalls for fruit and food — -Sparrow Hill — Public morals —
Banquets of the nobles-r— Barba,roy,s etiquette observed at
Russian tables -^Anecdote cf tif)o English Gentlemen, —
Precautions to be used in travelling — Dealers in Virtu —
Adventurers and swindlers — Imrnense wealth of the noble^ —
Condition of (he peasants.
CHAP. X.
P. 227.
JOURNEY FROM MOSCOW TO WORONETZ.
Departure from Moscow — Celo Molody — Serpuchof— Insolence
and extortion — River Oka-^ Celo Zavody — Antient games-
Vast Oriental plain — State of travelling — Tula — its manu
factures — Imperial fabric of arms — Present state of Tula —
Economy of fuel — Iron mines — Road from Tula to Woronetz
—Dedilof— Change of climate — Boghoroditz — Celo Nikitzkoy
— Bolshoy Platy — Effremof-^Nikolaijevka — Celo Petrovskia
Palnia — Eletz—'Ezvoly^Zadonetz—Celo Chlebnoy — Bestu-
zevka — Celo Staroy Ivotinskoy — Woronetz.
CHAP. XI.
p. 260.
FROM WORONETZ, TO THE TERRITORY OF THE
DON COSSACKS.
Present state of Woronetz — Climate and productions-^-Garden
of Fetes, the Great — Inundation and product of the rivers —
Increase of buildings — Arsenal^:— Commerce, internal and
external — Wine of the Don— Change of manners, and of
features — Neglect of drowned persons — Tumuli — Malo-Rus-
sians — Plains south of Woronetz — Celo Usmany — Podulok

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.
Aloscovskoy — Mojocks, Ekortzy, and lestakovo — Locova
Sloboda — Paulovskoy — Plants — Animals — Trade — Rash con
duct of a young peasant — Kazinskoy Chutor — Nizney Momon
— Dobrinka — Metscha — Kasankaia, frst stanitza of the Don
Cossacks. CHAP. XII.
p. 297.
TERRITORY OF THE DON COSSACKS.
Appearance of the Cossacks at Kasankaia — House of the Ataman
— Ideal dangers of the Country — Voyage by water — Amuse
ments and dances of the people — Departure — Steppes — River
Lazovai — Visit to a camp of Calmucks — Of their brandy
distilled from mare's milk — Personal appearance of Calmucks
•^Arts, armour, and weapons — Recreations and condition of
life — Acenovskaia — Of the Suroke, or Bobac, of the Steppes
• — The Biroke and Suslic — Nature of villages named in
Russian maps — Stragglers from the army — Distinction
between Cossacks of the Steppes and of the Don — Kamenskaia
— 'Iron Foundries of Lugan — Etymology of the word Tanais
—Numerous camps of Calmucks — Approach to Axay.
CHAP. XIII.
p. 343.
CAPITAL OF THE DON COSSACKS.
Arrival at Axay — Public entry — Reception by the Don Cossacks
— Population of their territory — View of the Don — Cele
bration of a Court festival — Mode of fasting — Analogy
between the Don and the Nile — Natural curiosities and
antiquities — Fishes -^ Extraordinary appearance of Tcher
kask — Inhabitants and public buildings — Origin of the
•Cossacks— Causes of their increase — Emigrations—Foundation
of their capital — Circassians — Commerce of Tcherkask— ~
Polished manners of the people — Remarkable wager — Survey
of the town — Entire houses moved — Diseases of the people —
Greek impostor — Departttr-efrom Tcherkask.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONTENTS,
CHAP. XIV.
p. 394.
VOYAGE DOWN THE DON, TO A^OF AND TAGANROG.
Visit to the General-in-chief of the Cossack army — Embarkation
for the Sea of Azof— General view of the South of Russia —
De RuBRuauis — Tahtars— Armenian Colony of Nakhtshivan
— Fortress of St. Demetry Ratsof — Division of the Don-r-
Tumuli — Fortress and village of Azof — City of Tanais —
its probable situation — Condition of the garrison of Azof— ,
Opinion entertained of the Cossacks — Departure from Azof
—MjEOTis^rRemarkable phesnomenon-rArrival at Taganrog.
CHAP. XV.
p. 426.
EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC SHORES OF THE SEA OF AZOF.
Tagartrog — Commerce, external and internal — Canal of com
munication between the Caspian and Black Sea — Marriage
ceremony of the Calmucks — Consecrated ensigns of the
Calmuck law — Difference betiveen their sacred and vulgar
writings — Sarmacand — Various inhabitants of Taganrog —
Antiquities— Voyage across the Sea ofAxof—Chumburskaic^
—Margaritovskaia .
ADDITIONAL NOTES, P. 447— 450.

Appendix, No. I.
P. 451.
Letter from Count Soltijcof, Governor of Moscow, explaining
the Author's situation in Russia.
No. II.
P. 453.
Account of the internal navigation of Russia, translated from,
an Original Document afforded to the Government of that
Country by a Board appointed to survey all (he means of
communicoition hy water.

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CHAP. i.

PETERSBURG.

Preliminary Observations — State of PuLUc Affairs —
Strange Conduct of the Emperor — Insolence ef the
Police — Extraordinary Phcenomenon.

A. CURIOSITY to visit the Eastern bounda
ries of Europe is. naturally excited by the
circumstance of their situation, in a country
i-arely traversed by any literary traveller, and
little noticed either in antient or in modern
history .^ Above two thousand years ago, the
VOL. r. b

CHAP. 1.

2 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
CHAP. Tanais, watering the plains of Sarmatia, sepa-
'*— V— ^ rated the Roxolani and the Jatyges from the
Hamaxobii and the Alani. In modern geography,
the same river, altered in its appellation,
divides the tribe of the Don Cossacks from the
Tchernomorski, who^e territory extends from the
Sea of Jzof to th^ Kiiban. The Greeks, by
their commerce in the Euxine, obtained a slight
knowledge of the people who lived on the
Palus MffiOTis. The wars of Russia and
Turkey sometimes directed our attention to thia
remote country; but the knowledge of its
inhabitants, both among the Antients and
Moderns, has scarcely exceeded the names of
the tribes, and their character in war. With
their domestic habits^ the productions of the
land, the nature of its scenery, or the remains
of antiquity they possess, we are very little
acquainted. By referring to Antient History,
we find that the same want of information
prevailed formerly as at present. This may be
accounted for by the wandering disposition of
a people, seldom settled for any length of time
upon the same spot : and with regard to their
successors, since the establishment of a metro
polis in the marshes of the Don, and the
expulsion of the Kuban Tartars by the Cossacks
of the Black Sea, the country has been sub
mitted to very little examination. It was

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONSL 2
jamong these people that the political differences chap.
of England and Russia drove the Author, a '^— v— '
willing exile, from the cities of Petersburg and
Moscow, in the last year of the eighteenth
century. Necessity and inclination were
coupled together ; and he had the double satis
faction, of escaping persecution from th?
enemies of his country, and of surveying
regions which, in the warmest sallies of hope,
he had never thought it would be his destiny
to explore.
In the course of this joilrney, through exten
sive plains which have been improperly called
deserts, and among a secluded people whQ
with as little reason have been deemed savages,
he had certainly neither the luxuries and dis
sipation of polished cities, nor the opportunities
of indolence, to interrupt his attention to his
journal. If therefore it fail to interest the
public, he has no apology to offer. He presents
it in a state as similar as possible to that
wherein notes written upon the spot were
made; as containing whatsoever his feeble
abilities were qualified to procure, either for
information or amusement; and adhering, in
every representation, strictly to the truth.

b3

PETERSBURG.

After suffering a number of indig-nities, in
State of .IIP 1 •
Public common with others of our countrymen, during
pur residence in Petersburg ; about the middle
pf March, 1800, matters grew to such extre
mities, that our excellent Ambassador, Sir
Charles (now Lord) Whitivorth, found it neces
sary to advise us to go to Moscow. A passport
had been denied for his courier to proceed with
despatches to England. In answer to the
demand made by our Minister for an expla
nation, it was stated to be the Emperor s pleasure.
In consequence of which. Sir Charles inclosed
the note containing his demand, and th&
Emperor's answer, in a letter to the English
Government, which he committed to the post-
office with very great doubts of its safety.
Strange In the mcau time, every day brought with
of the it some new example of the Sovereign's absur-
mperor. ^j-^-gg ^^^ tyranny, which seemed to originate
1 in absolute insanity. The sledge of Count
I Razumovsky was, by the Emperor's order,
broken into small pieces, while he stood by
and directed the work. The horses had been
found with it in the streets, without their
driver. It happened to be of a blue colour;
and the Count's servants wore red liveries:
upon which a ukase was immediately published.

PETERSBURG. S
prohibiting, throughout the Empire op all the chap,
Russias, the use of blue colour in ornamenting '^-v— ^
sledges, and of red liveries. In consequence
of this sage decree, our Ambassador, and many
others, were compelled to alter their equipages.
One evening, being at his theatre in the
Hermitage, a French piece was performed, in
which the story of the English Powder-plot
was introduced. The Emperor was observed
to listen to it with more than usual attention ;
and as soon as it was concluded, he ordered all
the vaults beneath the palace to be searched.
Coming down the street called The Per
spective, he perceived a Nobleman who was
taking his walk, and had stopped to look at
some workmen who were planting trees by the
Monarch's order. — " What are you doing ?"
said the Emperor. " Merely seeing the men
work," replied the Nobleman. " Oh, is that
your employment ? — ^Take off his pelisse, and
give him a spade ! — ^There, now work yourself."
When enraged, he lost all command of him
self, which sometimes gave rise to very ludir
crous scenes. The courtiers knew very well
when the storm was gathering, by a trick the
Emperor had in those moments of blowing

L

{5 PETERSBURG-
CHAP, from his underrlip against the end of his short
nose. In one of his furious passions, flourishing
his cane about, he struck by accident the
branch of a large glass lustre, and broke it.
As soon as he perceived what had happened,
he attacked the lustre in gpod earnest, and did
not give up his work until it was entirely
flemolished.

in tlie rare intervals of better temper, his
good-humour was betrayed by an uncouth way
of swinging his legs and feet about in walking.
Upon those occasipns he was sure to talk with
indecency and folly.
But the instances were few in which the
gloom spread over a great metropolis, by th0
madness and malevolence of a suspicious
tyrant, was enlivened even by his ribaldry.
The accounts of the Spanish Inquisition do not
afford more painful sensations the^n were excited
in viewing the state of Russia at this timie.
Hardly a day passed without unjust punishi
ment. It seemed as if half the >Jobles in the
Empire were to be sent to Siberia. Those who
were able to leave Petersburg went to Moscow.
It was in vain they applied for permission to
leave the country: the very request might
pcur banishment to the mine^. If any family

PETERSBURG.

received visitors in an evening ; if four people chap.
were seen walking together ; if any one spoke v«t.^^^»,/
too loud, or whistled, or sang, or looked too ^f ^e^""
inquisitive, and examined any public building ^°^'=^'
with too much attention ; he was in imminent
danger. If he stood still in the streets, or fre
quented any particular walk more than another,
or walked too fast or too slow, he was liable to
be reprimanded and insulted by the police-
officers. Mungo Park could hardly have beeij
exposed to a more insulting tyranny among
the Moors in j4frica, than Englishmen experi
enced at that time in Russia, and particularly in
Petersburg. They were compelled to wear a
dress regulated by the police : and as every
officer had a different notion of the proper
mode of enforcing the regulation, they were
constantly liable to interruption in the streets
and public places, and to the most flagrant
impertinence. This dress consisted of a three-
cornered hat, or, for want of one, a round hat
pinned up with three corners ; a long queue ;
single-breasted coat and waistcoat ; and buckles,
at the knees, and in the shoes, instead of
strings. Orders were given to arrest any
person who should be found wearing panta
loons. A servant was taken out of his sledge,
and caned in the streets, for having too thick a
neckcloth ; and if it had been too thin, he

8 PETERSBURG.
would have met with a similar punishment.
After every precaution, the dress, when put on,
never satisfied the police or the Emperor : either
the hat was not straight on the head, or the
liair was too short, or the coat was not cut
.square ^ough. A Lady at Court wore her hair
rather lower in her neck than was consistent
with the ukase, and she was ordered into elose
jconfimement, to be fed on bread and water. A
gentleman's hair fell a little over his forehead>
while dancing at a ball ; upon which a .police-
jofficer 'attacked him with rudeness and with
abuse, and told him if he did not instantly cut
his hair, he would find a soldier who could
•shave his hea,d'..
When the uka^e first appea,red concerning the
form of the hat, the son of an English merchant,
, with a view to baffle the police, appeared in the
streets of Petersburg, having on his head an
Engfish hunting-cap, at sight of which the
police-officers were puzzled. " It was not a
cocked hat>" they said, " neither was it a
Tound hat." In this embarrassment, they re
ported the affair to the Emperor. An ukpse was
accordingly promulgated, and 1« veiled at the
hunting-cap; but not knowing how to describe
C-i X\) A mode in which criminals are punished in Russia,

PETERSBURG. £
the anomaly, the Emperor ordained, that '• no chap,
person should appear in public tvith the thing on his v__y««;
head worn by the merchant's son."
' An order against wearing boots with coloured
tops was most rigorously enforced. The police-
officers stopped a foreigner driving through the
streets in apair of English boots. This gentleman
expostulated with them, saying that he had no
other, and certainly would not cut off the tops
of his boots; upon which the officers, each
seizing a leg as he sat in his drosky, fell to work,
and drew off his boots, leaving him to go bare
footed home.
If Foreigners ventured to notice any of these
enormities in their letters, which were all opened
and read by the police, or expressed themselves
with energy in praise of their own country, or
used a single sentiment or expression offensive
or incomprehensible to the police-officers or
their spies, they were liable to be torn in an
instant, without any previous notice, from their
families and friends, thrown into a sledge, and
hurried to the frontier, or to Siberia. Many
persons were said to have been privately mur-5
dered, and more were banished. Never was there
a system of administration more offensive in the
eyes of God or man, A veteran officer, who

10 PETERSBURG.
CHAP, had served fifty years in the Russian army, and
v..,.^^ attained the rank of Colonel, was broken without
the smallest reason. Above an hundred officers
met with their discharge, all of whom were
ruined ; and many others were condemned to
suffer imprisonment or severer punishment.
The cause of' all this was said to be the Em
peror's ill-humour ; and when the cause of that
ill-humour became known, it appeared that his
mistress, who detested him, had solicited per
mission to marry an officer to whom she was
betrothed. To such excessive cruelty did his
rage carry him against the author of an epigram,
in which his reign had been contrasted with his
mother's, that he ordered his tongue to be cut
out; and sent him to one of those remote
islands, in the Aleoutan Tract, on the North-west
coast of America, which are inhabited by
savages'. Viewing the career of such men, who, like a
whirlwind, mark their progress through the
ages in which they live by a track of desolation.

(l) The following is the literal sense of that memorable Epigram.
It originated in the Emperor Paul's attempting to finish with hrich-
wori the beautiful Church of St.haac, which his predecessor Catherini;
had begun in marble.
" Of two reigns behold the image.-
" Whose base h marble, and summit bricM"

PETERSBURG. H
can we wonder at the stories we read of regi
cides? " There is something," says Mungo
Park, " in the frown of a tyrant, which rouses
the most inward emotions of the soul." In the
prospect of dismay, of calamity, and of sorrow,
which mankind might experience in the reign
of Paul, we began to feel a true presentiment
of his approaching death ; and do freely confess,
jnuch as we abhor the manner of it, that it was
 " a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd." 
The season began to change before we left ^xtr^di-
J'etersburg. The cold became daily less intense ; nomenon.
and the inhabitants were busied in moving from
the Neva large blocks of ice into their cellars.
A most interesting and remarkable phsenomenon
took place the day before our departure, — the
thermometer of Fahrenheit indicating only nine
degrees of temperature below the freezing
point ; and there was no wind. At this time,
snow, in the most regular and beautiful crystals,
fell gently upon our clothes, and upon the
sledge, as we were driving through the streets.
All of these crystals possessed exactly the
same figure, and the same dimensions. .Every
one of them consisted of a wheel or star, with
six equal rays, bounded by circumferences of
equal diameters ; having all the same number

12

PETERSBURG.
of rays branching from a common centre. The
size of each of those little stars was equal to
the circle presented by the section of a pea,
into two equal parts. This appearance continued;
during three hours, in which time no other
snow fell ; and, as there was sufficient leisure
to examine them with the strictest attention, we
^ade the representation given in the first figure.
B

Water, in its crystallization, seems to consist
of radii diverging from a common centre, by
observing the usual appearances on the surface
of ice ; perhaps, therefore, it may be-possihle

PETERSBURG. 13
to obtain the theory, and to ascertain the laws, chap.
from which this structure results'. Monge, 'w^^!---'
President of the National Institute of Paris,
noticed, in falling snow, stars with six equal
rays, descending, during winter, when the
atmosphere was calm. Hauy records this, in
his observations on the muriate of ammonia^.
The first drosky' had made its appearance in
the streets of Petersburg before we left it ; and
we began to entertain serious apprehensions
that the snow would fail, and our sledge-way to
Moscow be destroyed. We had often been told
of the rapidity with which the warm season
makes it appearance in this climate ; there being
(1) An equiangular and equilateral plane hexagon is divisible into
three equal and similar rhombs .- and if the engraved Figure A be
attentively observed, it will appear that each linear ray of the star is
a diagonal (See Figure B), joining the acute angles of a rhomb, whose
sides are the loei of the extreme points of the lines of ramification
from those diagonals. The bhomb may therefore be the primitive
farm of water crystallized. This seems the more manifest, because
if equal and similar rhombs be applied between all the rays of the
star A, in the spaces 1 , 3, 3, 4, 5, and 6, an equilateral and equi
angular hexagon will be the result ; as represented by the dotted line
in Figure C,
(23 " n en r&ulte des ^toiles il six rayons, lorsque le temps est
calme, et que la temperature n'est pas assez ^lev^e pour desformer les
cristaux," Hauy, Trait^ de Mm. torn. ii. p, 386,
(3) The drosh/ is a kind of bench upon four wheels, used in Russia
as our Hackney-coaches : it contains four or six persons, sitting back to
back, thus driven sideways by the coachman, who sits at the end of the
bcDch, This vehicle succeeds the sledge, after the melting of thesnow.

14 PETERSBURG.
hardly any interval of spring, but an almost
instantaneous transition from winter to summer.
The frozen provisions of the city, if not con
sumed by the appointed time, which may be
generally conjectured to a day, almost instantly
putrify when the frost disappears.

CHAP. II.

FROM PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW.
tJeparture from Petersburg — Manner of Travelling —r
Palace of Tsarskoselo — Gardens — Anecdote of Bil
lings's Expedition to the North-west Coast of America.
— Ledyard — Barbarous Decoration of the Apartments
— Arrival at Novogorod — Cathedral — Antient Greek
Paintings — Manner of imitating them in Russia — ¦
Superstitions of the Greek Church — Virgin with Three
Hands — Story of her Origin— -Russian Bogh.
We left Petersburg on the morning of the
third of April, and arrived with great expedi
tion at Tsarskoselo. Our carriage had been Departure
placed upon a traineau or sledge ; and another f™^^^^'

16 FROM PETERSBURG-
sledge, following us, conveyed the wheels. It
is proper to describe our mode of travelling,
Manner of that othcrs may derive advantage from it. If
' the journey be confined to countries only where
sledges are used, the common method adopted
by the inhabitants is always the best ; but if a
passage be desired with ease and expedition
from one climate to another, some contrivance
should secure the traveller from the rigours of
the seasons, without impeding his progress by
superfluous burthen. For this purpose, the
kind of carriage called a German bdtarde is most
convenient. A delineation of one of these is
given in the work of Reichard', who also men
tions the expense of building it in Vienna,
where those carriages are made for one-fourth
of the money required by the London coach-
makers; and they answer every purpose of
travelling, full as well as vehicles made in
England. The bdtarde is nothing more than an
English chariot with a dormeuse, advancing in
front, and made sufficiently high to furnish a
commodious seat for two persons on the out
side, upon the springs. We caused the driver
to sit upon the trunk in front ; but it would be
better to provide for him a little chair raised for
that purpose. The door of the dormeuse within
(l) Guide des Voyageurs en Europe, torn, ii. plancbc 1.

TO MOSCOW. 17
the carriage lets down upon the seat ; it contains chap.
leathern cushions, and a pillow covered with
thin leather. The carriage has, besides, an
imperial, a well, a sword-case which may be
converted into a small library, and, instead of a
window behind, a large lamp, so constructed
as to throw a strong light without dazzling the
eyes of those within. Thus provided, a person
may travel night and day, fearless of want, of
accommodation, or houses of repose. His car
riage is his home, which accompanies him
everywhere ; and if he choose to halt, or acci
dents oblige him to stop in the midst of a forest
or a desert, he may sleep, eat, drink, read, write,
or amuse himself with any portable musical in
strument, careless of the frosts of the North, or
the dews, the mosquitoes, and vermin of the
South. Over snowy regions, he places his house
upon a sledge, and, when the snow melts, upon
its wheels ; being always careful, where wheels
are used for long journeys through hot countries,
to soak them in water whenever he stops for
the night.
Setting out from Petersburg for the South of
Russia, the traveller bids adieu to all thoughts
of inns, or even houses with the common neces
saries of bread and water. He will not even
find clean straw, if he should speculate upon
VOL. I. c

18 FROM PETERSBURG
the chance of a bed. Every thing he may want
milst therefore be taken with him. A pewter
tea-pot will prove of more importance than a
chest of plate ; and more so than one of silver,
because it will not be stolen, and may be kept
equally clean and entire. To this he will add,
a kettle ; a saucepan, the top of which may be
used for a dish; tea, sugar, and a large cheese,
with several loaves of bread made into rusks,
and as much fresh bread as he thinks will keep
tiU he has a chance of procuring more. Then,
while the frost continues, he may carry frozen
food, such as game or fish, which, being cCn-
gealed, and as hard as flint, may jolt about among
his kettles in the well of the carriage without any
chance of injury. Wine may be used in a cold
country ; but never in a hot, or even in a tem
perate climate, while upon the road. In hot
countries, if a cask of good vinegar can be pro
cured, the traveller will often bless the means
by which it was obtained. When, with a
parched tongue, a dry and feverish skin, he
has to assuage his burning thirst with the bad
or good water brought to him, the addition of
a little vinegar will make the draught deUcious,
Care must be taken not to use it to excess ; for
it is sometimes so tempting a remedy against
somnolency, that it is hardly possible to resist
using the vinegar without any mixture of water.

TO MOSCOW. 19
The palace of Tsarskoselo is twenty- two versts chap,
from Petersburg, and the only object worth '^ — v— ^
1 • 1 -UT IT- Palace of
notice between that city and Novogorod. It is Xsarsko-
built of brick, plastered over. Before the edifice
is a large court, surrounded by low buildings
for the kitchens and other out-houses. The
front of the palace occupies an extent of near
eight hundred feet ; and it is entirely covered,
in a most barbarous taste, with columns, and
pilasters, and cariatides, stuck between the
windows. All of these, in the true style of
Dujtch gingerbread, are gilded. The whole of
the building is a compound of what an architect
ought to avoid, rather than to imitate. Yet so
much money has been spent upon it, and par
ticularly upon the interior, that it cannot be
passed without notice. It was built by the Em
press Elizabeth ; and was much the residence
of Catherine, in the latter part of her life, when
her favourites, no longer the objects of a licen
tious passion, were chosen more as adopted
children than as lovers.
In the gardens of this palace, persons, who Gardens,
wished to gain an audience of the Empress,
were accustomed to place themselves when she
descended for her daily walk, A complaint in
her legs caused her to introduce the very ex
pensive alteration of converting the staircase of

20

Anecdote
of Bil
lings's Ex
pedition.

TSARSKOSELO.
the Hermitage, at Petersburg, into an inclined
plane; offering a more commodious and more
easy descent. A similar alteration was intro
duced at Tsarskoselo. This conducted her from
the apartments of the palace into the garden.
It was in one of those walks, as Professor Pallas
afterwards informed me, that Commodore Billings
obtained, by a stratagem, her final order for
his expedition to the North-west coast of
America. Bezborodko, the Minister, although
he had received the Empress's order, put him
off from time to time, not choosing to advance
the money requisite for the different prepara
tions ; and Billings began to fear the plan would
never be put in execution. In the midst of
his despondency. Professor Pallas undertook to
make the matter known to the Empress, and
advised the Commodore to accompany him to
Tsarskoselo. As soon as they arrived, Pallas
conducted him to a part of the garden which
he knew the Empress would frequent at her
usual hour. Here they had not waited long,
before she made her appearance. With her usual
affability, she entered into conversation with
Professor Pallas ; and, after inquiries respecting
his health, asked the name of the young officer,
his companion. The Professor informed her;
adding, " he>is the person whom your Majesty
was pleased to appoint, in consequence of my

TSARSKOSELO. 2 1
recommendation, to the command of the ex- chap.
pedition destined for the North-west coast of ^ -/ '
America." " And what," said the Empress,
" has delayed his departure ?" " He waits, at
this moment, your Majesty's orders," replied the
Professor. At this the Empress, without any
reply, and evidently somewhat ruffled, quick
ened, her pace towards the palace. The next
morning the necessary supplies came from the
Minister, with orders that he should set out
immediately. That the expedition might have been con
fided to better hands, the public have been
since informed, by the Secretary Sauer\ This
Professor Pallas lamented to have discovered,
when it was too late. But the loss sustained
by any incapacity in the persons employed to
conduct that expedition, is not equal to that
which the public suffered by the sudden recall
of the unfortunate Ledyard: this, it is said, Ledyard.
would never have happened, but through the
jealousy of his own countrymen, whom he
chanced to encounter as he was upon the
point of quitting the Eastern continent for

(1) See Account of an Expedition to the Northern Parts of
Russia, &c. by Martin Sauer, Secretary to the Expedition. 4to.
Lond. 1802.

22 TSARSKOSELO.
CHAP, America, and who caused the information to
y. / > be sent to Petersburg which occasioned the
order for his arrest.
The gardens of Tsarskoselo are laid out in
the English taste ; and therefore the only novelty
belonging to them is their situation, so far
removed from the nation whose customs they
pretend to represent.
Barbarous The interior of the building presents a number
Decoration .
of the 01 spacious and gaudy rooms, ntted. up in a
ments,' stylc Combining a mixture of barbarism and
magnificence hardly to be credited. The walls
of one of the rooms are entirely covered with
fine pictures, by the best of the Flemish, and
by other masters. These are fitted together,
without frames, so as to cover, on each side,
the whole of the wall, without the smallest
attention to disposition or general effect. But,
to consummate the Vandalism of those who
directed the work, when they found a place
they could not conveniently fill, the pictures
were cut, in order to adapt them to the ac
cidental spaces left vacant. The soldiers of
Mummius, at the, sacking of Corinth, would
have been puzzled to contrive more ingenious
destruction of the Fine Arts. Some of Ostades
best works were among the number of those

TSARSKOSELO. 23
thus ruined. We were also assured, by au
thority we shall not venture to name, that a
profusion of pictures of the Flemish School
were then lying in a cellar of the palace. But
the most extraordinary apartment, and that
which usually attracts the notice of strangers
more than any other, is a room, about thirty
feet square, entirely covered, on all sides, from
top to bottom, with amber; a lamentable waste
of innumerable specimens of a substance which
could nowhere have been so ill employed.
The effect produces neither beauty nor mag
nificence. It would have been better expended
even in ornamenting the heads of Turkish pipes ;
a custom which consumes the greatest quantity
of this beautiful mineral. The appearance made
by it on the walls is dull and heavy. It was
a present from the King of Prussia. In an
apartment prepared for Prince Potemkin, the
floor was covered with different sorts of exotic
wood, interlaid; the expense of which amounted
to an hundred roubles for every squared archine.
A profusion of gilding appears in many of the
other rooms. The ball-room is an hundred and
forty feet long by fifty-two feet wide, and two
stories high. The walls and pilasters of another
apartment were ornamented with lapis-lazuli,
as well as the tables it contained. The Cabinet
of Mirrors is a small room lined with large

IL -V-

24 TSARSKOSELO.
chap, pier-glasses, looking upon a terrace, near which
is a covered gallery above two hundred and
sixty feet long. There are various statues
about the house and gardens, in marble and
in bronze, all without merit. The chapel is
entirely of gilded wood, and very richly or
namented, A small flower-garden leads to the bath,
which is ornamented with jasper, agates, and
statues and columns of marble. The grotto is
also similarly adorned with a number of beau*
tiful minerals, wrought as columns, busts, bas-
reliefs, vases, &c. ; among others, there is a
vase composed of the precious stones of
Siberia. From this grotto is seen a lake, on
which appears the rostral column to Orlof;
erected by the Empress in honour of the
naval victory he obtained over the Turks at
Tchesm6.
After we \&ii.Tsarskoselo, the snow diminished
very fast, and our fears of reaching Moscow
upon sledges increased'. But during the night,
and part of the morning of the 4th of April,

(l) The carriage-road from Petersburg to Moscovh, a distance of
near 500 miles, consists, ii) the summer season, of the trunks of trees
laid across. In consequence of the jolting these occasion, it is then
one of the most paiujul and tedious journeys in Europe.

NOVOGOROD. 25
it fell in such abundance, that all trace of the chap.
roads disappeared, and we lost our way once
or twice before we arrived at

NOVOGOROD,
The place was half buried in snow, but we Arrival at
managed to get to the Cathedral, curious to °^°^"
see the collection of pictures, idols of the Greek
Church, which that antient building contains ;
and which, with many others dispersed in the
cities and towns of Russia, were introduced
long before the art of painting was practised
in Italy. The knowledge of this circumstance
led us to hope that we should make some very
curious acquisitions in the country : and upon
our first arrival from the Swedish frontier, we
had given a few pounds to a Russian officer
for his God; this consisted of an oval plate
of copper, on which the figure of a warrior was
beautifully painted on a gold ground. The
warrior proved afterwards to be St. Alexander
Nevski : and as we advanced through the
country to Petersburg, there was hardly a hut,
or a post-house, that did not contain one or
more paintings upon small pannels of wood:
the figures of these were delineated, after the
manner of the earliest specimens of the art,
upon a gold ground, and sometimes protected

26 NOVOGOROD.
in front by a silver coat of mail ; leaving only
the faces and hands of the images visible.
A small attention to the history and character
of the Russians will explain the cause.
Antient When the religion of the Greek Church was
Greek °
Paintings, fij-gt introduccd into Russia, its propagators,
prohibited by the Second Commandment from
the worship of carved images, brought with
them the pictures of the Saints, of the Virgin,
and the Messiah, Very antient sanctuaries in
the Holy Land had paintings of this kind, which
the early Christians worshipped; as may be
proved by the remains of them at this time in
that country'. To protect these holy symbols
of the new faith from the rude but zealous
fingers and lips of its votaries, in a country
where the arts of multiplying them by imitation
were then unknown, they were covered by
plates of the most precious metals, which left
the features alone visible. As soon as the
Messengers of the Gospel died, they became

(1) In the first edition, it was erroneously written "_;Srs< Christians,"
The earliest notice of the use of pictures is in the Censure of
the Council of IlUlieris, three hundred years after the Christian (era.
Among the ruins of some of the most antient churches in Palestine,
the author found several curious examples of encaustic painting, of
a very early date. One of these, from Sepphoris, near Nazareth, is
now in the possession of the Principal Librarian of the University
of Cambridge.

NOVOGOROD. 27
themselves Saints, and were worshipped by chap.
their followers. The pictures they had brought < — ,—-'
were then suspended in the churches, and
regarded as the most precious relics. Many
of them, preserved now in Russia, are con
sidered as having the power of working mi
racles. It would then necessarily follow, that,
with new preachers, new pictures must be
required. The Russians, characterized at this Manner of
1 «... , . 1 • 1 imitating
day by a talent of imitation, although without them in
a spark of inventive genius, strictly observed
not only the style of the original painting, but
the manner of laying it on, and the substance
on which it was placed. Thus we find, at
the end of the eighteenth century, a Russian
peasant placing before his Bogh a picture,
purchased in the markets of Moscow and
Petersburg, exactly similar to those brought
from Greece during the tenth ; the same stiff
representation of figures which the Greeks
themselves seem to have originally copied from
works in Mosaic, the same mode of mixings
and laying on the colours on a plain , gold
surface, the same custom of painting upon
wood, and the same expensive covering of a
silver coat of mail ; when, from the multitude
and cheapness of such pictures, the precaution
at first used to preserve them is no longer
necessary. In other instances of their religion.

28 NOVOGOROD.
CHAP, the copies of sacred relics seem to be as much
',- y '•' objects of worship among the Russians as the
originals themselves. This will appear from
the description of Moscow. In the neighbourhood
of that city there is a building, erected at
prodigious expense, in imitation of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem ; having
exactly the same form, and 'containing a faithful
representation of the same absurdities.
Cathedral. The Cathedral of Novogorod, dedicated to
St. Sophia, in imitation of the name given to
the magnificent edifice erected by Justinian at
Constantinople, was built in the eleventh century.
Many of the pictures seem to have been there
from the time in which the church was finished,
and doubtless were some of them painted long
before its consecration, if they were not brought
into the country with the introduction of
Christianity. At any rate, we may consider
some of them as having originated from Greece,
whence Italy derived a knowledge of the art,
and as being anterior to its introduction in
that country. Little can be said of the merit
of any of these pictures. They are more re
markable for singularity than beauty. In the
Supersti- domc of a sort of ante-chapel, as vou enter,
tions of the . „
Greek are seeii the representations of monsters with
many heads ; and such a strange assemblage

NOVOGOROD, 29
of imaginary beings, that it might be supposed chap.
a Pagan rather than a Christian temple. The '— , — '
different representations of the Virgin, through
out Ru.ssia, will shew to what a pitch of ab
surdity superstition has been carried. Almost
all of them are to be found in the principal
churches ; and the worship of them forms a
conspicuous feature in the manners of the Rus
sians. Some of those pictures have a greater
number of votaries : but, although they be all
objects of adoration, yet they have each of them
particular places, where, as tutelary deities, they
obtain a more peculiar reverence; and some
times there are small chapels and churches
dedicated particularly to some one of these
representations: — such, for example, as The
Virgin of Vladimir ; The Virgin with the
Bleeding Cheek; and The Virgin with
Three Hands ! The authors of the Universal
History assign this last picture to the church
of the Convent of the New Jerusalem, It was
perhaps originally painted as a barbarous re
presentation, or symbol, of the Trinity ; and in
that case it more properly applies to another
convent in the neighbourhood of Moscoiv. The
following story has, however, been circulated
concerning its history.
An artist, being employed on a picture of the

30 NOVOGOROD.
CHAP, j/^irgin and Child, found, one day, that instead
'  , — ' of two hands which he had given to the Virgin,
iw"™' a third had been added during his absence
from his work. Supposing some person to
be playing a trick with him, he rubbed out
the third hand, and, having finished the picture,
carefully locked the door of his apartment.
To his great surprise, he found the next day
the extraordinary addition of a third hand in
his picture, as before. He now began to be
alarmed ; but still concluding it possible that
some person had gained access to his room,
he once more rubbed out the superfluous hand,
and not only locked the door, but also bar-
ricadoed the windows. The next day, ap
proaching his laboratory, he found the door
and windows fast, as he had left them; but,
to his utter dismay and astonishment, as he
went in, there appeared the same remarkable
alteration in his picture, the Virgin appearing
with three hands regularly disposed about the
Child. In extreme trepidation, he began to
cross himself, and proceeded once more to alter
the picture ; when the Virgin herself appeared
in person, and bade him forbear, as it was her
pleasure to be so represented.
Many of these absurd representations are
said to be the work of angels. In the Greek

NOVOGOROD. 31
Church they followed the idols of Paganism, chap.
and have continued to maintain their place. '
They are one of the first and most curious
sights which attract a traveller's notice ; for it
is not only in their churches that such paintings
are preserved; every room throughout the
empire has a picture of this nature, large or
small, called the Bogh, or God, stuck up in 3"^,',^^"
one corner ' : to this every person who enters
offers adoration, before any salutation is made
to the master or mistress of the house. The
adoration consists in a quick motion of the
right hand in crossing ; the head . bowing all
the time in a manner so rapid and ludicrous,
that it reminds one of those Chinese-Mandarin
images seen upon the chimney-pieces of old
houses, which, when set a-going, continue
nodding, for the amusement of old women and
children. In the myriads of idol paintings
dispersed throughout the empire, the subjects
represented are very various : and some of
them, owing to their singularity, merit a more
particular description, than can be afforded
without engraved representations.

(1) The picture itself is said to bear the name of Obraze ; but a9
the Obraze is considered hy every Russian as his House/told God, it
is very generally called Sogh, which is the Russian name for God.

CHAP. III.

NOVOGOROD.

Antient History of Novogorod — First Churches in Russia
— Procopius — Evagrius — Baptism of Olga, afterwards
Helena — Arms of Novogorod — Ceremony of Crossing
— General Picture of this Route — Heights of Friday
— Costume — Tumuli — Jedrova — Domestic Manners of
the Peasants — Servile State of the Empire — Vyshney
Voloshok — Torshok — Tver — Milanese Vagrants — '
Volga — Tumuli — Klin — Petrovsky — Arrival at
Moscow — Police — Accommodations.
A he melancholy ideas excited by the present
appearance of Novogorod have been felt by all
History of travcUcrs. Who has not heard the antient
Novogorod.

CHAP. IIL

Antient

NOVOGOROD. . 33
saying, which prevailed in the days of its great- chap.
ness'? Nomade Slavonians were its founders, ' , ' _¦
about the time that the Saxons, invited by Vorti- Hi'^or"y of
gem, first came into Britain. Four centuries ^°^°sotoA.
afterwards, a motley tribe, collected from the ^ j, ^^^
original inhabitants of all the watery and sandy
plains around the Finland Gulph, made it their
metropolis. Nearly a thousand years have
passed, since Ruric, the Norman, gathering
them together at the mouth of the Volchova,
laid the foundation of an empire, destined to
extend over the vast territories of all the
Russias : afterwards, ascending the river, to the
spot where its rapid current rushes from the
Ilmen to the Ladoga Lake, he fixed his residence
in Novogorod.
In the midst of those intestine divisions which a,d, 1015.
resulted from the partition of the empire at the
death of Vladimir, who divided his estates
between his twelve sons, there arose three
independent princes, and a number of petty
confederacies. The seat of government was
successively removed from Novogorod, to Suze-
dal, Vladimir, and Moscow. Novogorod adopted
a mixed government, partly monarchical, and
partly republican. In the middle of the thir-

(33 " QUIS CONTRA Deos, ET Magnam Novogordiam ?"
VOL. I. D

34 NOVOGOROD,
CHAP, teenth century, it was distinguished by the
¦ ,- ' victories of its Grand Duke, Alexander Nevsky,
A.D. 1250. ^^^^ ^^ Swedes, on the banks of the Neva ;
and, by its remote situation, escaped the ra
vages of the Tahtars in the fourteenth. In the
fifteenth, it submitted to the yoke of Ivan the
First, whose successor, Ivan the Second, in the
sixteenth, ravaged and desolated the place,
darf ying away the Palladium of the city, the
famous bell, which the inhabitants had dignified
with the appellation of Eternal. But its ruin
was hot fully accomplished until the building of
Petersburg ; when all the commerce of the Baltic
was transferred to that capital.
Bodies, miraculously preserved, or rather mum
mied, of Saints who were mortal ages ago, are
shewn in the Cathedral of St. Sophia. This edi
fice has been described as one of the most antient
First in the country. The first Russian churches were
Churches
in Russia, ccrtamly of wood ; and their date is not easily
ascerta;ined. Christianity was preached to the
inhabitants of the Don so early as the time of
Justinietn. That Emperor was zealous in build
ing churches among remote and barbarous
people. According to Procopius, he caused a
church to be erected among the" Abasgi, in
honour of the Theotocos, and constituted
priests among them. The same author also
relates, that the inhabitants of Tq,ndis earnestly

NOVOGOROD. 35
intreated him to send a bishop among them, which chap,
was accordingly done, Evagrius Scholasticus ' •
has related this circumstance, as recorded by
Procopius. But by Tanais is said to be intended
the stream which runs out of the Mceotis into
the Euxine ; that is to say, the Cimmerian Bos-
phorus, or Straits of Taman. The arrival of a
bishop so invited, and under such patronage,
might be followed by the establishment of a
church; and it is probable, from existing docu
ments, as well as the traditions of the people,
that this really happened, either on the Asiatic
or the European side of those Straits, about that
time. The jurisdiction of the province after
wards annexed to the crovpn of Russia by
Svetoslqf the First, father of Vladimir the Great,
included the Isle of Taman, and the Peninsula of
Kertchy. In those districts, therefore, we might
be allowed to place the first tabernacles of
Ohristian worship ; although, in the distant
period of their introduction, the foundation of
the Russian Empire had scarcely been laid.
It is pleasing to bring scattered portions of
history to bear upon any one point; particularly
when, by so doing, the obscurity of some of
them may be elucidated. The journey of Olga,
wife of Igor, son of Ruric, to Constantinople,
(1) Lib. iv. u. 23.
D 2

36 NOVOGOROD,
after avenging the death of her husband upon
the Volga, occurred very early in the annals of
that country. " She went," say the compilers
of the Modern Universal History', "for what
Baptism of reason wc know not, to Constantinople." Yet when
thf^d^e* it is related, that she was baptized there'' ; that,
cl*ui^™* in consequence of her example, many of her
subjects became converts to Christianity; that
the Russians, to this day, rank her among their
Saints> and annually commemorate her festival;
the cause of her journey will hardly admit of a
doubt. The result of it proves incontestabJy
the introduction of Christianity, and the esta
blishment of churches in Russia, at an earlier
period than is generally admitted; namely, the
A.D, 991. baptism of Vladimir^.
(l) Vol. XXXV. p.,183.
(2) The fimperor, John Zimisces, according to some historian!;, was
her godfather upon this occasion. It has been related, that he be
came enamoured of the Scythian Princess, and proposed marriage ;
which was refused. The old lady, notwithstanding, was at that time
in her sixty-sixth year ; for she died at the age of eighty, which hap
pened fourteen years after her baptism. Collateral annals, by dis
cordant chronology, seem to prove that the whole story, about the
Eastern Emperor's amorous propensities, is founded in error and ab
surdity. Zimisces was not crowned until Christmas-day A.D. 969-
Ten years before this period, Helena (which was the name borne by
Olga, after her baptism) had sent ambassadors to . Otho, Emperor of
the West, desiring Missionaries to instruct her people. A mission
was consequently undertaken by St. Adelbert, bishop of Magdebnrg,
into Russia, A.D. 962.
(3) Some authors place this event four years earlier. The present
chronology is that of Du Fresnoy.

in.

NOVOGOROD. 37
This subject is materially connected with chap.
the history of the Fine Arts ; for with Chris- '
tianity, the art of painting was introduced into
Russia. Some of the most chosen idols of their
churches are, those curious Grecian pictures
which the first Gospel Missionaries brought with
them from Constantinople. The inscriptions
upon them often exhibit the Greek characters
of those times; and the pictures themselves
afford interesting examples of the art, many
centuries before it became known to the more
enlightened nations of Europe, Nor was the
art of painting alone introduced with Chris
tianity into Russia. All that they knew of letters,
or of any useful and liberal art, for many cen
turies afterwards, was derived fi:om the same
source. The inhabitants of the South-Sea
Islands can hardly be more savage than were
the Russians, when the Gospel was first preached
to them. The full accomplishment of this great
event certainly did not take place till Vladijnir
became converted. It was a condition of his
marriage with the sister of the Greek Emperor ;
and it is said, that no less than twenty thou
sand of his subjects were christened on the
same day. The change effected by this mea
sure was nothing less than a complete revolu
tion in their manners and in their morals.
FTadimir led the way, by his example. The

38 NOVOGOROD.
CHAP. Pagan idols, and eight hundred concubines,
'¦I' y" ' were dismissed together ; and the twelve sons,
which his six wives had borne unto him, were
baptized: churches and monasteries brought
around them towns and villages ; and civiliza
tion seemed to dawn upon the plains and the
forests of Scythia. Indeed, a 'memorial of the
blessed effects of Christianity, among a people
who were scarce removed from the brute
creation, seems to be preserved even in the
Arms of Arms of the Government of Novogorod, the
Novogorod. . . i t i i
district where it was first established; and
the ludicrous manner in which this event is
typified, is consistent with the barbarism of the
people. Two bears, supporters, are repre
sented at an altar upon the ice, with crucifixes
crossed before the Obraze, or Bogh, on which is
placed a candelabrum with a triple lustre, as an
emblem of the Trinity \
The fortress of Novo'gorod is large, but of
wretched appearance. It was constructed after
the plan of the Kremlin at Moscoiv, towards the
end of the fifteenth century, and contains the
cathedral. Upon the bridge, leading to this
fortress from the town, is a small sanctuary,
where every peasant who passes either deposits

(0 See the Vignette to the preceding Chapter.

NOVOGOROD. 39
his candle or his penny. Before this place, chap.
which is filled with old pictures of the kind < — -v— — '
already described, and which a stranger might
really mistake for a picture-stall, devotees,
during the whole day, may be seen bowing and
crossing themselves. A Russian hardly com
mits any action without this previous ceremony.
If he be employed to drive your carriage, his
crossing occupies two minutes before he is
mounted. When he descends, the same motion
is repeated. If a church be in view, you see him
at work with his head and hand, as if seized
with .S'^ Vitus s dance. If he make any earnest
protestation, or enter a room, or go out, you
are entertained with the same manual and
capital exercise*. When beggars return thanks
for alms, the operation lasts a longer time ; and
then between the crossing, by way of interlude,
they generally make prostration, and touch
their foreheads to the earth.
The snow increased very fast in our road
from Novogorod to Tver ; but afterwards we had
(3) It was a common practice among the early Christians, towards
the end of the second century. Tertullian, who flourished A.D. 192,
thus mentions it:  "Ad omnem progressum atque promotum, ad
omnem aditum et exitum, ad vestitum, ad calceatum, ad lavacra, et
mensas, ad lumina, ad cubilia, ad sedilia, quaecunque nos conver-
satio exercet, frontem crucis signaculo terimus."
Tertullian. de Coron. Mil. cap. 8.

40 FROM PETERSBURG
scarcely sufficient for the sledges, and in some
places the earth was bare. The traveller will
be more interested in this information than
readers at home ; and he will of course compare
April 6, 7, the observation with the date of the journey ; as
the weather in Russia is not subject to those
irregular vicissitudes experienced in England.
It may generally be ascertained by the Ca?
lendar. A notion has become prevalent, that the road
from Petersburg to Moscow is a straight line
through forests; perhaps, because it was the
intention of Peter the Great to have it so made *,
The country is generally open, a wide and
fearful prospect of hopeless sterility, where the
fir and the dwarf birch, which cover even
Arctic regions, scarcely find existence. The
soil is, for the most part, sandy, and of a nature
to set agriculture at defiance. Towards the
latter part of the journey, corn-fields of conside
rable extent appeared. What the summer road
may be, we are unable to say ; but our pro-

(l) When Jonas Hanway (Travels, Vol. I. p.9S.) passed in 1743,
only one hundred miles had been completed according to the original
plan ; which was, to make a bridge of timber for the whole distance of
four hundred and eighty-seven miles. For that space of one hundred
miles, according to the calculation made by him, no less than two
millions one hundred thousand trees were required.

TO MOSCOW, 41
gress was as devious as possible. In all the chap.

IIL

province or district of Valday, the soil is hilly, ¦- -y^.
not to say mountainous ; so that what with the vMay.'^
undulations of the road itself, from the heaps
of drifted snow, and the rising and sinking of the
country, our motion resembled that of a vessel
rolling in an Atlantic calm. Our good friend
Professor Pallas experienced as rough a journey
along this route, a few years before. He men
tions the delay, and even the danger, to which
he was exposed on the Heights of Valday •. So
precisely similar were the circumstances of the
seasons, that in both cases the snow failed in the
moment of arrival in Moscow.
The female peasants of the Valday have a Costume.
costume that resembles one in Switzerland.
It consists of a shift with full sleeves, and a
short petticoat, with coloured stockings. Over
this, in winter, they wear a pelisse of lamb's
wool, as white as the snow around them, lined
with cloth, and adorned with gold buttons and
lace. The hair of unmarried women, as in most
parts of Russia, is braided, and hangs to a great
length down their backs. On their heads they
wear a handkerchief of coloured silk. When
married, the hair is trussed up ; and this consti-
(2) Travels through the Southern Provinces, &c. Vol. I. p, 4.

42 FROM PETERSBURG
CHAP, tutes the outward mark of a virgin, or of a matron.
• Generally speaking, the traveller may pass over
a vast extent of territory without noticing any
change in the costume. How very different is
the case in Italy I where the mere passage of a
bridge in the same city, as at Naples, leads to
a different mode of dress. The male peasants of
Ru,ssia are universally habited, in winter, in a
jacket made of a sheep's hide, with the wool
inwards, and a square-crowned red cap with a
circular edge of black wool round . the rim.
These, with a long black beard, sandals made
of the bark of the birch- tree, and woollen
bandages about the legs, complete the dress.
Tumuli, Conical mounds of earth, or tumuli, occur
very frequently on this road. The most re
markable may be observed in the stage between
Yezolbisky and Valday, on both sides of the road,
but chiefly on the left; and they continue to
appear from the latter place to Jedrova. Pro
fessor Pallas has given a representation of four
of these tumuli, in a Vignette at the beginning
of the first volume of his late work'. They are
common all over the Russian Empire : and
indeed it may be asked. Where is the country,
in which such sepulchral hillocks do not appear ?
(l) Travels through the Southern Provinces, &c.

TO MOSCOW. 43
We had been pestered the whole way from chap.
Petersburg by a bell, which the driver carried, <  , — '
suspended to his belt ; but were not aware that
it passed for a mark of privilege, until we arrived
at Jedrova, Here we saw a poor fellow cudgelled
by a police-officer, because he had presumed
to carry a bell without apoderosnoy", the title to
such a distinction.
The whole journey from Petersburg to Moscoiv jedrova.
offers nothing that will strike a traveller more
than the town or village of Jedrova. It consists
of one street, as broad as Piccadilly, formed by
the gable -ends of wooden huts, whose roofs
project far over their bases ; and this street is
terminated by the church. A view of one
of these towns will afford the Reader a very
correct idea of all the rest, as there is seldom
any difference in the mode of constructing the
poorer towns of Russia. A window in such
places is a mark of distinction, and seldom
found. The houses in general have only small
holes, through which, as you drive by, you
see a head stuck, as in a pillory ".

(2) The Imperial order for horses. Those who travel with post-
horses carry a bell. It serves, as the horn in Germany, to give notice
to persons on the road to turn out of the way ; such Jiorses being in
the service of the Crown.
* (3) See the Vignette to this ^apter.

44 FROM PETERSBURG
Upon some of the women we observed such
stockings as the Tirolese wear; covering only
the lower part of the leg, about the ancle, with
a sort of cylinder formed by spiral hoops of
wool.

The forests, for the most part, consist of poor
stunted trees; and the road, in summer, is
described as the most abominable that can be
passed. It is then formed by whole trunks of
trees, laid across, parallel to each other ; which
occasion such violent jolting, as the wheels
move from one to the other, that it cannot be
borne without beds placed for the traveller to
sit or to lie upon.
Domestic \ye had a yery interesting peep into the
the Pea- manners of the peasantry. For this we were
sants. indebted to the breaking of our sledge at
Poschol. The woman of the house was prepar
ing a dinner for the members of her family, who

TO MOSCOW. 45
were gone to church. It consisted only Of a chap.
mess of pottage. Presently her husband, a
boor, came in, attended by his daughters, with
some small loaves of white bread not larger
than a pigeon's egg : these the priest had con
secrated, and they placed them with great care
before the bogh'. Then the bowing and cross
ing commenced ; and they began their dinner, all
eating out of the same bowl. Dinner ended,
they went regularly to bed, as if to pass the
night there, crossing and bowing as before.
Having slept about an hour, one of the young
women, according to a custom constantly ob
served, called her father, and presented him
with a pot of vinegar, or Quass, the Russian
beverage". The man then rose; and a complete
fit of crossing and bowing seemed to seize him,
with interludes so inexpressibly characteristic
and ludicrous, that it was very difficult to pre
serve gravity. The pauses of scratching and
grunting — the apostrophes to his wife, to him-

(1) This practice of placing an iffering of bread from the TempU
before the Household God, was an antient Heathen custom,
(2) It is made by mixing flour and water together, and leaving it
till the acetous fermentation has taken place. The flavour is like that
of vinegar and vfater. It looks turbid, and is very unpleasant to
strangers ; but, by use, we became fond of it ; and in the houses of
Nobles, where attention is paid to its brewing, this acidulous
beverage is esteemed a delicacy, especially during summer.

46 FROM PETERSBURG
chap, self, and to his God — were such as drunken
Barnaby might have expressed in Latin, but
cannot be told in English.

pi.

Servile Thc picture of Russian manners varies little
Empire. ^ with reference to the Prince or the peasant.
The first nobleman in the empire, when dis
missed by his Sovereign from attendance upon
his person, or withdrawing to his estate in con-
; sequence of dissipation and debt, betakes him
self to a mode of i life little superior to that of
brutes. You will then find him, throughout the
-day, with his neck bare, his beard lengthened,
his body wrapped in a sheep's skin, eating raw
turnips, and drinking quass; sleeping one half
of the day, and growling at his wife and family
the other. The same feelings, the same wants,
wishes, and gratifications, then characterize the
nobleman and the peasant; and the same system
of tyranny, extending from the throne down
wards, through all the bearings and ramifica
tions of society, even to the cottage of the
lowest boor, has entirely extinguished every
spark of liberality in the breasts of a people
composed entirely of slaves. They are all,
; high and low, rich and poor, alike servile to
Superiors; haughty and cruel to their depen
dants ; ignorant, superstitious, cunning, brutal,
barbarous, dirty, mean. The Emperor eanes

TO MOSCOW. 47
the first of his grandees'; princes and nobles chap.
cane their slaves ; and the slaves, their wives — » — '
and daughters. Ere the sun dawns in Russia,
flagellation begins ; and throughout its vast
empire, cudgels are going, in every department
of its population, from morning until night.
Vyshney Voloshok is a place of considerable Vyshney
importance, remarkable for the extensive canals
on which the great inland navigation of Russia
is carried on. A junction has been formed
between the Tvertza and the Msta, uniting, by
a navigable channel of at least five thousand
versts, the Caspian with the Baltic Sea'^. Per
haps there is not in the world an example of
inland navigation so extensive, obtained by
artificial means, and with so little labour; for
the Volga is navigable almost to its source; and
three versts, at the utmost, is all the distance

(1) An officer chastised by the Emperor Paul, upon the Parade at
Petersburg, retired to his apartment and shot himself. By this it
should appear, that such ignominy from the hand of an Emperor is
not common. Peter the Great, however, used to take his Boyars by
the beard : and aW Petersburg knows that Potemkin boxed the ears of
a Prince who presumed to applaud one of his jokes by clapping the
hands : " What, " said he, " miscreant ! do you take me for a stage-
player ? "
(2) See the AppenMx, for a full account of all the Internal JVavi-
g(\tion of Russia. This valuable document was communicated to the
author, since the publication of the First Edition, by Robert Comer,
Esq. a British Officer at Jffatta.

48 FROM PETERSBURG
that has been cut through, in forming the
canal. The merchandize of Astracan, and of
other parts of the South of Russia, is brought to
this place. Above four thousand vessels pas»
the canal annually. The town, or village, as it
is called, is full of buildings and shops. It is
spacious, and wears a stately thriving appear
ance; forming a striking contrast with the
miserable villages along this road.
At the different stations which occur in the
route from Petersburg to Moscow, are buildings
appropriated to the Emperor's use, when he
passes. This rarely happens above once in a
reign. As there is hardly any place of accom
modation for travellers, no harm would happen
to the buildings if they were used for this pur
pose; neither would the national character
suffer by such hospitality. Of course we allude
to changes that may take place in better times ;
for when we traversed the country, kindness to
a stranger, and especially to an Englishman,
was a crime of the first magnitude, and might
prove the cause of a journey to Siberia. It is but
justice to make this apology for the conduct of
those under the immediate eye of Government.
Torshok. From Vyshney Voloshok we coxae to Torshcfk,
seventy-one versts distant, remarkable for a

TO MOSCOW, 49
spring, superstitiously venerated, and attracting chap.
pilgrims from all parts. This town has no less v i..y-'»/
than twenty churches : some of which are built
of stone. It is in a thriving condition.
At Tver, sixty-three versts farther, there is a Tver.
decent inn, A shop is also annexed to it, as it
sometimes happens in more northern parts of
Europe, This shop is kept by Italians, natives
of the Milanese territory, a vagrant tribe, whose Milanese
industry and enterprise carry them from the Lake
of Como to the remotest regions of the earth.
They are seen in all countries ; even in Lapland,
They generally carry a large basket, covered
with an oil-skin, containing cheap coloured
prints, mirrors, thermometers, and barometers ;
being, for the most part, men of ingenuity, of
uncommon perseverance, industry, and honesty. ,
Living with the most scrupulous economy, they
collect, after many years of wandering, their
hard earnings, and with these they retum to
settle in the land of their fathers, sending out an
offspring as vagrant as themselves.
At Tver we beheld the Volga, and not without Voiga.
considerable interest; for though bound in
" thick-ribbed ice," and covered with snow, the
consciousness of its mighty waters, navigable
almost to their source, rolling through a course
VOL. I, E

50 FROM PETERSBURG
CHAP, of four thousand versts in extent, bearing wealth
<— v^^ — ' and plenty, is one of the most pleasing reflec
tions. It seemed to connect us with the Cas
pian, and the remote tribes of those nations, so
little known, who dwell upon its shores.
The situation of Tver, upon the lofty banks
of the Volga, is very grand. It has a number
of stone buildings; and its shops, as well as
churches, merit particular regard. The junction
of the Volga and the Tvertza is near the Street
of Millions. Pallas speaks of the delicious sterlet
taken from the Volga, with which travellers are
regaled in this town, at all seasons of the year.
The journey from Tver to Moscow in the
winter, with a khabitka\ is performed in fifteen
hours. The road is broad, and more straight
than in the former route from Petersburg. But
in certain seasons, such as those of melting
snow, it is almost impassable. In the secoijd
stage from Tver, between the sixth and seventh
versts from the post-house, on the left hand,
appeared an entire group of those antient
TumuU. Tumuli before mentioned. They are so perfect
(l) The A/»fflte/ia is the old Scythian waggon. In some parts of
Tahtary, the top takes off, and at night becomes a tent. Hence the
name given by the Russians to the tents of the Calmucks and NagMi-
Tahtars 1 both of which they call khabitka.

TO MOSCOW. 51
in their forms, and so remarkably situate, that chap.
they cannot escape notice. We endeavoured to v»i y. .¦'
learn of the peasants if they had any tradition
concerning them. All the information they gave
us was, that they were constructed beyond all
memory, and were believed to contain bodies of
men slain in battle. A notion less reasonable,
although common to countries widely distant
from each other, is, that such mounds are
the tombs of giants. Thus, on the Hills near
Cambridge, two are shewn as the Tombs of
Gog and Magog, whence the name given to
the eminence where they are situate. The
Tomb of Tityus, the most antient of all those
mentioned in the History of Greece, is described
by Homer'', as a mound of earth raised over the
spot on which that giant fell, warring against
the Gods.
Eighty-three versts from Tver we came to a ^in.
small settlement between two hills : this is
marked in the Russian Map as a town, and
called Klin. It hardly merits such distinction.
On the right, as we left it, appeared one of
those houses constructed for the accommodation
of the Empress Catherine, on her journey to
the Crimea.
(2) Pausanias saw it in Phocis, at the base of Parnassus, twenty
stadia from Chtpronea.
E 2

52 MOSCOW.
CHAP. The rising towers and spires of Moscow
, ^"' . greeted our eyes six versts before we reached
the city. The country around it is flat and
open ; and the town, spreading over an immense
district, equals, by its majestic appearance,- that
of Rome, when viewed at an equal distance. As
we approached the barrier of Moscow, we
Palace of bchcld, OH the left, the large palace of Petrovsky,
built of brick. It wears an appearance of great
magnificence, though the style of architecture
is cumbrous and heavy. It was erected for
the accommodation of the Russian Sovereigns,
during their visits to Moscow ; the inhabitants
of which city pretend that none of them durst
take up a lodging within its walls, being kept
much more in awe of their subjects than they
are at Petersburg. It is said the Empress
Catherine used to call Moscow her little
haughty republic'. This palace is about four
versts from the city.
Arrival at Arriving at the barrier, we were some time
Moscow. , . , . . .
detained during the examination of our pass
ports. This entrance to the city, like most of
the others, is a gate with two columns, one on

(l) " lis ne m'aiment pas beaucoup, (dit elle ;) — je ne suis poiut
^ la mode h Moscou." Zjett. et Pens, du Prince de Eigne, tome i. p. 146.

MOSCOW. 53
each side, surmounted by eagles^ On the left chap.
is the guard-house. Within this gate a number v.,,,^!,,.'
of slaves were employed, removing the mud
from the streets, which had been caused by
the melting of the snow. Peasants with their
khabitkas, in great numbers, were leaving the
town. Into these vehicles the slaves amused
themselves by heaping as much of the mud as
they could collect, unperceived by the drivers,
who sat in front. The officer appointed to
superintend their labour chanced to arrive and
detect them in their filthy work, and we hoped
he would instantly have prohibited such an
insult from being offered to the poor men. His
conduct, however, only served to afford another
trait of the national character. Instead of pre
venting any further attack upon the khabitkas,
he seemed highly entertained by the ingenuity
of the contrivance ; and, to encourage the sport,
ordered every peasant to halt, and to hold his
horse, while they filled his khabitka with the
mud and ordure of the streets ; covering with
it the provisions of the poor peasants, and
whatever else their khabitkas might contain,
with which they were going peaceably to their
wives and families. At last, to complete their
scandalous oppression, they compelled each
(2) See the Vignette to Chap. V. of this Volume.

54 MOSCOW.
CHAP, peasant, as he passed, to sit down in his
^ ^'ii_^ khabitka, and then they covered him also with
the black and stinking mud. At this unex
ampled instance of cruelty and insult, some
of the peasants, more spirited than the rest,
; ventured to murmur. Instantly, blows, with a
heavy cudgel, on the head and shouldeirs,
silenced the poor wretches' complaints. Before
this began, the two sentinels at the gate had
stopped every khabitka, as it passed, with a
very different motive. First, a loud and
menacing tone of voice seemed to indicate some
order of Government ; but it was quickly
silenced, and became a whisper, in consequence
of a small piece of money being slipped into
their hands by the peasants ; when they passesd
on without further notice. If the practice con
tinues, the post of sentinel at a Russian barrier
must be more profitable than that of a staff-
officer in the service. We were witness to
upwards of fifty extorted contributions of this
nature, in the course of half an hour, when the
, plunder ended as has been described.
A miserable whiskered figure on horseback,
intended for a dragoon, was now appointed to
conduct us to the Commandant's ; and here our
poderosnoy, together with our other passports,
underwent a second examination. The snow

MOSCOW. 55
was by this time entirely melted; and the chap.
, . , . , HL
sledge upon which our carriage moved was
dragged over the stones by six horses, with so
much difficulty, that at last the drivers gave
it up, and declared the carriage would break,
or the horses drop, if we compelled them to
advance. The dragoon said we must take
every thing, exactly as we arrived, to the
Commandant's; and proceed sitting in the
carriage. At the same time he threatened the
peasants with a flagellation; and giving one
of them a blow over his loins, bade him halt
at his peril. Another effort was of course
made, and the sledge flew to pieces. It was
highly amusing to observe the dilemma into
which thcdragoon was now thrown ; as it was not
probable either his menaces or his blows would
again put the carriage in motion. A drosky
was procured, on which we were ordered to
sit ; and thus we proceeded to the Comman
dant. From the Commandant we were next
ordered to the Intendant of the Police: and
all this did not save us from the visits and
the insolence of two or three idle officers,
lounging about as spies, who entered our apart
ments, examined every thing we had, and asked
a number of frivolous and impertinent questions,
with a view to extort money. Some of them
found their way even into our bed-rooms, when

56 MOSCOW.
we were absent, and gave our servant sufficient
employment to prevent them from indulging
a strong national tendency to pilfer ; a species
of lurceny which actually took place afterwards,
committed by persons much their superiors
in rank.
The accommodations for travellers are beyond
description bad, both in Petersburg and in Mos
cow. In the latter, nothing but necessity would
render them suffefable. Three roubles a day
are demanded for a single room, or rather a
kennel, in which an Englishman would blush
to keep his dogs. The dirt on the floor may
be removed only with an iron hoe, or a shovel.
These places are entirely destitute of beds.
They consist of bare walls, with two or three
old stuffed chairs, ragged, rickety, and full of
vermin. The walls themselves are still more
disgusting, as the Russians cover them with
the most abominable filth.
In thus giving the result of impressions made
on entering this remarkable city, we might
appeal to some of the first families in the
empire for the veracity of the statement ; but
such a test of their liberality would materially
affect their safety. We shall therefore un
reservedly proceed to relate what we have

MOSCOW. 5^
seen, in that confidence which a due regard to chap. Ill
truth will always inspire. Moscow contains much
worth notice; much that may compensate for
the fatigue and privation required in going
thither — for the filthiness of its hotels, the
profligacy of its nobles, and the villainy of
its police.

CHAP. IV.

chap. IV.
< — , —
Pecuhari-
ties of
Chmate.

MOSCOW.
Peculiarities of Climate — Impressions made on a first
Arrival — Russian Hotel — Persian, Kirgisian, and
Bucharian Ambassadors — Fasts and Festivals —
Ceremonies observed ai Easter — Pahn Sunday — Holy
Thursday — Magnificent Ceremony of the Resurrection
— Excesses of the Populace — Presentation of the
Paschal Eggs — Ball of the Peasants — Ball of the
Nohles — Characteristic Incident of Caprice in Dress.
X here is nothing more extraordinary in this
country than the transition of the seasons. The
people of Moscow have no spring: Winter

MOSCOW. 59
vanishes, and summer is ! This is not the work chap. IV.
of a week, or a day, but of one instant ; and the ^- •
manner of it exceeds belief. We came from
Petersburg to Moscoiv in sledges. The next
day, snow was gone. On the eighth of April,
at mid-day, snow beat in at our carriage win
dows. On the same day, at sun-set, arriving
in Moscow, we had difficulty in being dragged
through the mud to the Commandant's. The
next morning the streets were dry, the double
windows had been removed from the houses,
the casements thrown open, all the carriages
were upon wheels, and the balconies filled with
spectators. A few days afterwards, we expe
rienced 73° of heat, according to the scale
of Fahrenheit, when the thermometer was
placed in the shade at noon.
We arrived at the season of the year in impres-
,.,-. . . , • , • j_ J sions made
which this city is most interesting to strangers, on a lirst
Moscow is in every thing extraordinary ; as well '"^™ '
in disappointing expectation, as in surpassing it ;
in causing wonder and derision, pleasure and
regret. Let the Reader be conducted back
again to the gate by which we entered, and
thence through the streets. Numerous spires,
ghttering with gold, amidst burnished domes
and painted palaces, appear in the midst of an
open plain, for several versts before you reach

60 MOSCOW.
this gate. Having passed, you look about, and
wonder what is become of the city, or where
you are ; and are ready to ask, once more. How
far is it to Moscow P They will tell you, " This
is Moscoiv /" and you behold nothing but a wide
and scattered suburb, huts, gardens, pig-sties,
brick walls, churches, dunghills, palaces, timbef'-
yards, warehouses, and a refuse, as it were, of
materials sufficient to stock an empire with
miserable towns and miserable villages. One
might imagine all the States of Europe and
Asia had sent a building, by way of represen
tative to Moscow : and under this impression
the eye is presented with deputies from all
countries, holding congress : timber-huts from
regions beyond the Arctic ; plastered palaces
from Sweden and Denmark, not white-washed
since their arrival; painted walls from the
Tirol; mosques from Constantinople; Tahtar
temples from Bucharia; pagodas, pavilions,
and virandas, from China; cabarets from Spain;
dungeons, prisons, and public offices, from
France ; architectural ruins from Rome ; ter
races and trellisses from Naples; and ware
houses from Wapping.
Having heard accounts of its immense popu
lation, you wander through deserted streets.
Passing suddenly towards the quarter where

MOSCOW. 61
the shops are situate, you might walk upon chap.
the heads of thousands. The daily throng is v— ,— j
there so immense, that, unable to force a passage
through it, or assign any motive that might
convene such a multitude, you ask the cause,
and are told that it is always the same. Nor is
the costume less various than the aspect of
the buildings : Greeks, Turks, Tahtars, Cos
sacks, Chinese, Muscovites, English, French,
Italians, Poles, Germans, all parade in the
habits of their respective countries.
We were in a Russian inn; a complete epi- Russian
tome of the city itself. The next room to ours
was filled by an ambassador, and his suite,
from Persia. In a chamber beyond the Persians, Persian,
Kirgisian,
lodged a party ot Kirgisians; a people yet un- andBucha-
known, and any of whom might be exhibited bassadors.
in a cage, as some newly-discovered species.
They had bald heads, covered by conical em
broidered caps, and wore sheep-skins. Beyond
the Kirgisians lodged a nidus of Bucharians,
wild as the asses of Numidia. All these were
ambassadors from their different districts, ex
tremely jealous of each other, who had been to
Petersburg, to treat of commerce, peace, and
war. The doors of all our chambers opened
into one gloomy passage ; so that sometimes we
all encountered, and formed a curious masque-

62 MOSCOW.
chap, rade. The Kirgisians and Bucharians were best
at arm's length ; but the worthy old Persian,
whose name was Orazai, often exchanged visits
with us. He brought us presents, according to
the custom of his country ; and was much
pleased with an English pocket-knife we had
given him, with which he said he should shave
his head. At his devotions, he stood silent for
an hour together, on two small carpets, bare
footed, with his face towards Mecca ; holding,
as he said, intellectual converse with Mohammed.
Orazai came from Tarky, near Derbent, on the
western shore of the Caspian. He had with
him his nephew, and a Cossack interpreter from
Mount Caucasus. His beard and whiskers were
long and grey, though his eye-brows and eyes
were black. On his head he wore a large cap
of fine black wool. His dress was a jacket of
silk, over which was thrown a large loose robe
of the same materials, edged with gold. His
feet were covered with yellow Morocco
slippers, which were without soles, and fitted
like gloves. All his suite joined in prayer,
morning and evening ; but the old man conti
nued his devotions long after he had dismissed'
his attendants. Their poignards were of such
excellent steel, that our English swords weire
absolutely cut by them. Imitations of these

MOSCOW. 63
poignards are sold in Moscow, but of worse ^^ap.
materials than the swords from England. When
they sit, which they generally do during the
whole day, they have their feet bare. Orazai
was very desirous that we should visit Persia.
Taking out a reed, and holding it in his left
hand, he began to write from right to left, put
ting down our names, and noting the infor
mation we gave him of England. Afterwards
he wrote his own name, in fair Persian cha
racters, and gave it to us, as a memorial by
which to recognise us if we ever should visit
Persia. Upon the journey, they both purchased and
sold slaves. He offered an Indian negro, who
acted as his cook, for twelve hundred roubles.
An amusing embarrassment took place whenever
a little dog belonging to us found his way into
the ambassador's room. The Persians immcr-
diately drew up their feet, and hastily caught
up all their clothes, retiring as far back as
possible upon their couches. They told us,
that if a dog touch even the skirt of their
clothing, they are thereby defiled, and cannot
say their prayers without changing every thing,
and undergoing complete purification. His
slaves sometimes played the balalaika, or guitar
with two strings. The airs were very lively.

64 MOSCOW.
CHAP and not unlike our English hornpipe. The
v-M i.y-.. I ambassador's nephew obliged us by exhibiting''
a Persian dance ; which seemed to consist of
keeping the feet close together, hardly ever
lifting them from the ground, and moving
slowly, to quick measure, round the room.
They drink healths as we do; and eat with
their fingers, like the Arabs, all out of one dish,
which is generally of boiled rice. If they eat
meat, it is rarely any other than mutton, stewed
into soup. The young man drank of the Russian
beverage called hydromel, a kind of mead ; and
sometimes, but rarely, he smoked tobacco, ,
The ambassador never used a pipe; which
surprised us, as the custom is almost universal
in the East. Their kindness to their slaves was
that of parents to children : the old man ap
pearing, like another Abraham, the common
father of all his attendants. The dress of their
interpreter, a Cossack of the Volga, was very
rich. It consisted of a jacket of purple cloth
lined with silk, and a silk 'waistcoat, both with
out buttons; a rich shawl round his waist;
large trowsers of scarlet cloth ; and a magni
ficent sabre.
Ambassadors of other more Oriental hordes
drove into the court-yard of the inn, from
Petersburg. The Emperor had presented each

MOSCOW. 65
of them with a barouche. Nothing could be *^"^^'
more ludicrous than was their appearance.
Out of respect to the sovereign, they had main
tained a painful struggle to preserve a sitting
posture in the carriage, but cross-legged, like
Turks. The snow having melted, they had
been jolted in this posture over the trunks of
trees, which form a timber causeway between
Peter.sburg and Moscoiv ; so that, when taken
from their fine new carriages, they could hardly
move, and made the most pitiable grimaces
imaginable. A few days after their arrival at
Moscow, they ordered all their carriages to be
sold, for whatever sum any person would
offer. It is now time to take leave of our Ori
ental friends and fellOw-lodgers, that we may
give an account of the ceremonies of Easter.
The people of 'Moscow celebrate the Paque with
a degree of: pomp and festivity unknown to
the rest of Europe. The most splendid pa
geants of Rome do not equal the costliness
and splendour of the Russian Church. Neither
could Venice, in the midst of her Carnival, ever
rival, in debauchery and superstition, in licen
tiousness and parade, what passes during this
season in Moscow.
VOL. I. F

66 MOSCOW.
CHAP. It should first be mentioned, there are no
IV.
<_..,> — / people who observe Lent with more scrupulous

nierX" and excessive rigour than the Russians. Tra-
3^<m^' veiling the road from Petersburg to Moscow, if
at any time, in poor cottages, where the pea
sants appeared starving, we offered them a
part of our dinner,' they would shudder at the
sight of it, and cast it to the dogs ; dashing
out of their children's hands, as an abomina
tion, any food given to them ; and removing
every particle that might be left, entirely from
their sight. In drinking tea with a Cossack, he
not only refused to have milk in his cup, but
would not use a spoon that had been in the
tea offered him with milk, although wiped care
fully in a napkin, until it had passed through
scalding water. The same privation takes
place among the higher ranks ; but, in propor
tion as this rigour has been observed, so much
the more excessive is the degree of gluttony
and relaxation, when the important inteUigence
that " Christ is risen" has issued from the
mouth of the archbishop. During Easter they
run into every kind of excess, rolling about
drunk the whole week ; as if rioting, debauch
ery, extravagance, gambling, drinking, and
fornication, were as much a religious obser
vance as starving had been before ; and that the

MOSCOW. 67
same superstition which kept them fasting ^^:^^^'
during Lent, had afterwards instigated them ^- ¦¦»- '
to the most beastly excesses.
Even their religious customs are perfectly
adapted to their climate and manners. No
thing can be contrived with more ingenious
policy to suit the habits of the Russians. When
Lent fasting begins, their stock of frozen pro
visions is either exhausted, or unfit for use;
and the interval that takes place allows suffi
cient time for procuring, killing, and storing,
the fresh provisions of the Spring. The night
before the famous ceremony of the Resurrection,
all the markets and shops of Moscoiv are seen
filled with flesh, butter, eggs, poultry, pigs,
and every kind of food. The crowd of pur
chasers is immense. You hardly meet a foot-
passenger who has not his hands, nay his arms,
filled with provisions ; or a single drosky that
is not ready to break down beneath their
weight. The first ceremony which took place, pre- Paim Sim-
» . > day.
vious to all this feasting, was that of the Pdque
feuries, or Palm Sunday. On the eve of this
day the inhabitants of Moscow resort, in car
riages, on horseback, or on foot, to the Kremlin,
for the purchase of palm-branches, to place
F 2

68 MOSCOW.
before their Boghs, and to decorate the sacred
pictures in the streets, or elsewhere. It is
one of the gayest promenades of the year.
The Governor, attended by the Maitre de Police,
the Commandant, and a train of nobility, go
in procession, mounted on fine horses. The
streets are lined with spectators ; and cavalry
are stationed on each side, to preserve order.
Arriving in the Kremlin, a vast assembly, bear
ing artificial bouquets and boughs, are seen
moving here and there, forming the novel and
striking spectacle of a gay and moving forest.
The boughs- consist of a.rtificial flowers, with
fruit, , Beautiful representations of oranges and
lemons in wax are sold for a few copeefo each,
and offer a. proof of the surprising ingenuity
of this people in the arts of imitation. Upon
this occasion, every person who visits the
Kremlin, and would be thought a true Christian,
purchases one or more of the boughs called
Palm-branches ; and, , in returning, the streets
are crowded with droskies, and aU kinds of
vehicles, filled with devotees, holding in their
hands one or more j&a/m-irancAe*, .according to
the degree of their piety, or the - number of
Boghs in their houses.
The description often given of the splen^
dour of the equipages in Moscoiv but ifl agrees

MOSCOW.

69

with their appearance during Lent. A stranger, chap.
who arrives with his head full of notions of i _

Asiatic pomp and Eastern magnificence, would
be surprised to find narrow streets, execrably
paved, covered with mud or dust; wretched-
looking houses on each side ; carriages drawn,
it is true, by six horses, but such cattle ! blind,
lame, old, out of condition, of all sizes and all
colours, connected by rotten ropes and old
cords, full of knots and splices ; on the leaders,
and on the box, figures that seem to have
escaped the galleys ; behind, a lousy, ragged
lackey, or perhaps two, with countenances ex
citing more pity than derision ; and the carriage
itself like the worst of the night-coaches in
London. But this external wretchedness, _as
far as it concerns the equipages of the npbles,
admits of some explanation. The fact is,- that
a dirty tattered livery, a rotten harness, bad
horses, and a shabby vehicle, constitute one
part of the privation of the season. On Easter
Monday the most gaudy but fantastic splendour
fills every street in the city.
The second grand ceremony of this season Maunday
takes place on Thursday before Easter, at noon, ^^'^"¦'^''^y-
when the archbishop is said to wash the feet
of the Apostles. This we also witnessed, Tlie. f
jHiiests appeared in their most gorgeous, apparel.

70 MOSCOW.
CHAP, Twelve monks, designed to represent the twelve
V. .y'l , / Apostles, were placed in a semicircle before
the archbishop. The ceremony was performed
in the cathedral, which was crowded with
spectators. The archbishop, performing all
and much more than is related of our Saviour
in the thirteenth chapter of St. John, took off"
his robes, girded up his loins with a towel, and
proceeded to wash the feet of all the monks,
until he came to the representative of Peter,
who rose and stood up ; and the same inter
locution passed, between him and the archbishop,
which is recorded to have taken place between
our Saviour and the apostle.
Ceremony Thc third, aud most magnificent ceremony
sunection, of all, is Celebrated two hours after midnight,
in the morning of Easter Sunday. It is called
the Ceremony of the Resurrection, and certainly
exceeds every thing of the kind at Rome ; not
even excepting the Papal benediction, during the
holy week.
At midnight, the great bell of the cathedral
tolled. Its vibrations seemed to be the rolling
of distant thunder; and they were instantly
accompanied by the noise of all the bells in
Moscow. Every mhabitant was stirring, and
the rattling of carriages in the streets was

MOSCOW. 71
greater than at noon-day. The \vhole city was chap,
in a blaze ; lights were seen in all the windows, '¦.„„y-,^/
and innumerable torches in the streets. The
tower of the cathedral was illuminated from its
foundation to its cross. The same ceremony
takes place in all the churches ; and, what is
truly surprising, considering their number, they
are all equally crowded.
We hastened to the cathedral : it was filled
with a prodigious assembly, consisting of all
ranks of both sexes, bearing lighted wax tapers,
to be afterwards heaped as vows upon the
different shrines. The walls, the ceilings, and
every part of this building, are covered by the
pictures of Saints and Martyrs, In the mo
ment of our arrival, the doors were shut ; and
on the outside appeared Plato, the archbishop,
preceded by banners and torches, and followed
by all his train of priests, with crucifixes and
censers, who were making three times, in pro
cession, the tour of the cathedral; chaunting
with loud voices ; and glittering in sumptuous
vestments, bespangled with gold, silver, and
precious stones. The snow had not melted so
rapidly within the Kremlin as in the streets of
the city : this magnificent procession was there
fore constrained to move upon planks, over

72 MOSCOW.
CHAP, the deep mud which surrounded the cathedral
•^— V- — ' After completing the third circuit, they all
halted opposite the great doors, which were
still closed; the archbishop, with a censer,
then scattered incense against the doors, and
over the priests. Suddenly, these doors were
opened, and the effect was magnificent beyond
description. The immense throng of spec
tators within, bearing innumerable tapers,
formed two lines, through which the arch
bishop entered, advancing with his train to' a
throne near the centre. The profusion of lights
in all parts of the; cathedral, and, among others,
of the enormous chandelier in the centre, the
richness of the;dresses,'and the yastness of the
assembly; filled ,us with .astonishnrent, , Having
joined the suite of- the archbishop,-w,e accom
panied the procession, and passed' eyen to, the
throne : here ¦ the policeyofficers, ; permitted us
to stand, among the priests, near^ an embroi
dered stool of satin placed for the archbishop.
The loud chorus, which burst forth at the en
trance to the church, continued as the proces
sion moved towards the throne, and after the
archbishop had taken his sea,t ; when my atten
tion was for a moment called off, by seeing
one of the Russians earnestly crossing himself
¦v^ith his right hand, while his left was employed

MOSCOW. 73
in picking my companion's pocket of his hand- chap,
kerchief.

Soon after, . the archbishop descended, and
went all round the cathedral ; first offering in
cense to the priests, and then to the people as
he passed along. When he had returned to
his seat, the priests, two by two, performed
the same ceremony, beginning with the arch
bishop, who rose and made obeisance, with a
ligiited: taper in his hand. From the moment
the church\ doors were opened, the spectators
had continued bowing their heads and crossing
them'se'lves ; insomuch, that some of the people
seemed really exhausted, by the constant mo
tion of the head and hands.
We had now leisure to examine the dresses
and figures of the priests, which were certainly
the most striking we had ever seen. Their
long dark hair, without powder, fell down, in
ringlets, or straight and thick, far over their
rich robes and shoulders. Their dark thick
beards, also, entirely covered their breasts.
Upon the heads of the archbishop and bishops
were high caps, covered with gems, and adorned
(1; Like Potemkin, " D'une main faisant des signes aux femmes
qui. lui plaisent, et de V autre des signes de croix." Lett, et Pens, du
Prince de Ligne, tome ii. p. 6.

IV.

74 MOSCOW.
CHAP, by miniature paintings, set in jewels, of the
Crucifixion, the Virgin, and the Saints. Their
robes of various-coloured satin were of the
most costly embroidery ; and even upon these
were miniature pictures set with precious
stones '. Such, according to the consecrated
record of antient days, was the appearance of
the high-priests of old ; of Aaron and of his
sons ; holy men, standing by the tabernacle of
the congregation, in fine raiments, the work
manship of " Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son
of Hur, of the tribe of Judah." It is said there
is a convent in Moscow where women are en
tirely employed in working dresses for the
priests. After two hours had been spent in various
ceremonies, the archbishop advanced, holding
forth a cross, which all the people crowded to
embrace, squeezing each other nearly to suffo
cation. As soon, however, as their eagerness
had been somewhat satisfied, he retired to the
sacristy, under a pretence of seeking for the
body of Christ ; where putting on a plain purple
robe, he again advanced, exclaiming three times,
in a very loud voice, " Christ is risen!""
(1) See the Vignette to this Chapter.
(2) The whole of this pretended search for the body of Clirist, and
the subsequent shout of " Christos voscress .'" is a repetition of the old

MOSCOW. 75
The most remarkable part of the solemnity ^^^^^•

<».

now followed. The archbishop, descending into
the body of the church, concluded the whole
ceremony by crawling round the pavement on
his hands and knees, kissing the consecrated
pictures, whether on the pillars, the walls, the
altars, or the tombs; the priests and all the
people imitating his example. .Sepulchres were
opened, and the mummied bodies of incorrup
tible saints exhibited : all of these underwent
the same general kissing.

Thus was Easter proclaimed: and riot and Excesses of
debauchery instantly broke loose. The inn lace.
where we lodged became a Pandcemonium.
Drinking, dancing, and singing, continued
through the night and day. But, in the midst
of all these excesses, quarrels hardly ever took
place. The wild, rude riot of a Russian popu
lace is full of humanity. Few disputes are
heard ; no blows are given ; no lives endan
gered, but by drinking. No meetings take
place, of any kind, without repeating the ex
pressions of peace and joy, Christos voscress !

Heathen ceremony respecting the Finding of Osiris. Plutarch de
scribes the same sort of procession and ceremony ; adding, "Then all
that are present cry out with a loud voice, Osmis is found!" Kx) ylnna
x^ayyri ruv ^a^ovraiv, us iv^'/ifiimu roS 'Offl^iho;. Pint, de Isid. et Osir.
c.39.

76 MOSCOW.
CHAP. Christ is'Hsen I — to which the answer always is
'^ — „ — -< the same, Vo istiney voscress ! He is risen
indeed !
Eresenta- Ou Easter Monday begins the presentation of
Paschal * the Paschal eggs : lovers to their mistresses,
^**' relatives to each other, servants to their mas
ters, all bring ornamented eggs. Every offering
at this season is called a Paschal egg. The
meanest pauper in the street, presenting an
egg, and repeating the -words .Christos. voscress,
may demand a salute even of the Empress.
All business is' laid aside ; the, upper ranks. are
engaged-' in visiting, balls, dinners, suppers,
masquerades ; while.' ' boors . fill c the, : air- with
their songs, or roll intoxicated about the streets.
Servants appear in new and tawdry liveries,
and carriages in the most sumptuous deco
ration.

BaU of the
Peasants,

In the midst of this uproar we made our
selves as much like Russians as possible, and
went in caftans to one of the public balls of
the citizens, -given in our inn. It was held in
a suite of several apartments ; and a numerous
band of music, composed of violins, ' wind
instruments, and 'kettre-drums, had been pro
vided. The master of the inn had also taken
care to invite a company of gipsies, to entertain

MOSCOW. 77
the company by their dancing. A single rouble chap.
was demanded as the price of admission. All
fears of appearing like foreigners vanished
upon our entering the principal ball-room ; for
we found an assembly as various in their appear
ance as the motley members of a masquerade.
Upon some benches was squatted a groupe
of Turks, regarding the scene with their usual
gravity and indifference, unmoved by shouts
of joy or by tumultuous songs, by the noise
of the. dancing, or. by the thundering of a pair
of kettle-drums close to their ears. In another
room was a party of Bucharians, with flat noses,
high cheek-bones, and little eyes ; their heads
shaven, and having small conical embroidered
caps on the top of their bald sculls : these men
wore red morocco boots, long trowsers of blue
cloth, with a girdle and a poignard. Besides
the Bucharians, were Chinese merchants^ Cossacks,
and: even Calmucks, all of whom appeared as
spectators. In the middle of the room, the
Russian boors, and the tradesmen of the city,
were dancing with prostitutes, while their own
wives and daughters were walking about.
A party of gipsies was performing the national
dance, called, from the air by which it is
accompanied, Barina. It resembled our Eng
lish hornpipe, and was full of expressions . of
the most ferocious licentiousness. The male

78 MOSCOW.
chap, dancer expressed his savage joy in squeaks,
contortions, and sudden convulsive spasms
that seemed to agitate his whole frame ; stand
ing sometimes still, then howling, whining
tenderly, or trembling in all his limbs to the
music, which was very animating. This dance,
although extremely common in Russia, they con
fess to have derived from the gipsies ; and it may
therefore seem probable that our hornpipe was
introduced by the same people. Other gipsies
were telling fortunes, according to their uni
versal practice, or begging for presents of
oranges and ice. This extraordinary people,
found in all parts of Europe, was originally
one of the casts of India, driven out of their
own territory: they are distinguished among
Indian tribes by a name which siguifies Thieves\
They have a similar appellation among the
Finlanders. They preserve every-where the
same features, manners, and customs, and,
what is more remarkable, almost always the
same mode of dress. The extraordinary re
semblance of the female gipsies to the women
of India was remarked by our officers and men
in Egypt, when General Baird arrived with his

(0 See the Commentary of Professor Porthan, ot Jbo in Finland,
upon the Chronicle of that University, His works are not sufficiently
known. He has written the History and Origin of the Finland
Tribes ; and a very erudite Dissertation concerning the Gipsies.

MOSCOW. 79
army to join Lord Hutchinson. The seapoys ^"y^-
had many of their women with them, who were
exactly like our gipsies. In regulating their
dress, they lavish all their finery upon their
head. Their costume in Russia is very different
from that of the natives ; they wear enormous
caps, covered with ribbons, and decorated in
front with a prodigious quantity of silver coins ;
these form a matted mail- work over their fore
heads. They also wear the same coins as
necklaces, and a smaller kind as pendants to
their ears. The Russians hold them in great
contempt, never speaking of them without
abuse ; and feel themselves contaminated by
their touch, unless it be to have their fortune
told. They believe gipsies not only have the
wish, but the power, to cheat every one they
see, and therefore generally avoid them. For
merly they were more dispersed over Russia,
and paid no tribute ; but now they are collected,
and all belong to one nobleman, to whom they
pay a certain tribute, and rank among the
number of his slaves. They accompany their
dances with singing, and loud clapping of the
hands ; breaking forth, at intervals, with shrieks
and short expressive cries, adapted to the sud
den movements, gestures, and turns of the dance.
The male dancers hold in one hand a hand
kerchief, which they wave about, and manage

80

MOSCOW.

chap. IV.

with grace as well as art. The dance, like
that of the Almehs in Egypt, although full of
the grossest libidinous expression, and most
indecent posture, is in other respects graceful.
Nothing can be more so than the manner in

which they sometimes wave and extend their
arms : it resembles the attitudes of Bacchana
lians represented on Greek vases. But the
women do not often exhibit those attitudes:
they generaUy maintain a stiff upright position,
keeping their feet close, and beating a tattoo
with their high heels.

When the Rmsians dance the barina, it is
accompanied with the balalaika.. Formerly
the nobles were great admirers of that simple
and pleasing instrument; but now, imitating

MOSCOW. 81
the manners of France and England, they have cii,\p.
laid it aside. Many of them are still able to ' — r-^
use it ; but as they deem such an accomplish
ment a sort of degradation in the eyes of
foreigners, they are seldom prevailed upon to
betray their skill; like many of the Welsh
ladies, who, ¦ scarcely able to speak English,
affect ignorance of their native tongue.
Collected in other parts of rooms opened ,
for this assembly, were vocal performers, in
parties of ten.or twelve each, singing volunta
ries. They preserved the most perfect har
mony, eSch taking a separate part, although
without any seeming consciousness of the skill
thus exerted. The female dancers and assist-*
ants in this ball were many of them prostitutes;
but the wives and daughters of the peasants
and. lower tradesmen mingled with these
women, dressed out in their full national
costume, and were apparently not at all dis
pleased with such society.
The ball of the nobles admits of a very diffe- Bail of the
. ¦^. -^ Nobles,
rent description. It took place every Tuesday ;
and, it may be truly said, that Europe exhibits
nothing like it. The laws of the society exclude
every person who is by birth a plebeian', and
this exclusion has been extended to foreigners ;
VOL. r, G

82 MOSCOW.
CHAP, therefore we felt grateful in being allowed
'¦.-V--' admission. Prince Viazemskoy, who married an
English lady, kindly procured tickets for us;
notwithstanding the danger at that time of
shewing kindness and attention to Englishmen',
If his Excellency be now living, he is requested
to pardon this testimony of his generous conde
scension. The author feels sensible that a
congeniality of sentiment will render any apo
logy superfluous for the sacrifice he has else
where made in the cause of truth.
. The coup d'oeiJ, upon entering the grand
saloon, is inconceivable. The company con
sisted of near two thousand persons. The
dresses were the most sumptuous that can be
imagined ; and, what is more remarkable, they
were conceived in the purest taste, and were
in a high degree becoming. The favourite
' offliaments of the ladies,, at this time, were
cameos, which they wore upon their arms, in
girdles round their waists, or upon their
bosoms ; a mode of adorning the fair that has
since found its way to our own country, and

(1)1 wish to lay particular stress upon this circumststnce, as almost
all travellers have celebrated Russian hospitality, and particularly that
of the inhabitants of Moscow. " L'hospitalit^ des Russes," say the
Authors of the Voyage de Deux Franpaif, " parolt ici dans tout soft
jpui."

MOSCOW. 83
was originally derived from Paris; but the chap.
women of France and England may go to '¦ -y-ii..'
Moscow to see their own fashions set off to
advantage. The drapery was disposed chiefly
after the Grecian costume, and the hair worn
bound up round the head. The modes of dress
in London and Paris are generally blended
together by the ladies of Moscow, who select
from either that which may become them best ;
and, in justice to their charms, it must be
confessed no country in the world can boast of
superior beauty. When, in addition to their
personal attractions, it is considered, that the
most excessive extravagance is used to procure
whatever may contribute to their adornment^;
that a whole fortune is sometimes lavished
upon a single dress ; that they are assembled
in one of the finest rooms in the world, lighted
and decorated with matchless elegance and
splendour ; it may be supposed the effect has
never been surpassed.

In such an assembly, we had every reason Caprice in
]3r6SSi
to suppose a couple of English travellers might

fS) It is related very generally, in the higher circles of the city,
that a Princess of Moscow, who had purchased a wig to imitate the
colour of her own hair, confined her hair-dresser in a closet, fed him
always herself, and allowed him only to come out during her toilette,
in order that her false tresses might not be detected.
G 2

84 MOSCOW.
pass without notice. We had, moreover, a
particular reason for hoping this would be the
case; as, in obedience to a decree of the
Emperor Paul, we had collected our shor-t hair
into a queue, which appeared most ridiculously
curtailed, sticking out, like any thing but that
which it was intended to represent, and most
remarkably contrasted with the long tails of the
Russians. Unfortunately, the case was other
wise ; and a curiosity to see the two Englishmen
becoming general, to our great dismay we
found ourselves surrounded by a crowd of
persons, some of whom thought proper to ask,
who cut our hair f Such questions, it may be
conceived, did not add to the evening's amuse
ment ; but our astonishment was completed the
next day, in receiving the thanks and blessings
of a poor ragged barber, who had powdered us
at the inn, and whose fortune he assured us we
had made ; all the young nobles having sent for
him, to cut and dress' their hair in the same
ridiculous manner'.
Such a trifling incident would not hare been
mentioned, if it had not ultimately taken a
(1) A review of this work has appeared in America, professedly
written by a Russian: indeed, it bears strong internal evidence of
such an oHgin. Its author, speaking of this anecdote, confesses
" thttt it has all the appearance of being rigorously true." The same

MOSCOW. 85
very serious turn ; for the police-officers inter- chap.
fering, the young men, who had thus docked v,i..<-.,.i^
themselves, were apprehended in the public
walks, severely reprimanded, and compelled to
wear false hair; and we were obliged to use
the utmost circumspection, lest we should also
be apprehended, and perhaps treated with
more rigour.
The dances were called Quadrilles, Polonese,
and English. The Waltz, once their favourite,
had been prohibited. But whatever name they
gave to their dances, they were all dull, and
consisted merely in a sort of promenade. Neither
the men nor the women exhibited the slightest
degree of animation in the exercise, but seemed
to consider it as a sort of apology for not
sitting still. Every person wore a full dress ;
the men appearing either in uniform, or in
coats of very rich embroidery.

acknowledgment of his faith is made with regard to the pickpocket in
the Cathedral, stealing during his devotions : but he denies even the
possibility of another theft, mentioned in p. 92. It is for this writer
to explain why he should deny the least improbable story of the three ;
especially as there are many living witnesses of its truth. In stating
the time of our residence in Russia, with a degree of accuracy highly
characteristic of his countrymen, instead of calculating the period
from the day of our arrival, he dates it from that of our departure.'

CHAP. V.

Talent of

CHAP. V.

MOSCOW.
Surprising Talent of Imitation among the Russians-
Remarkable Fraud practised by a Native Artist-
Booksellers — State of Literature — Libraries of th
Nobles — Equipages — Costume of the Bourgeoisie-
Amusements of the People — Chapel of the Tverschaia
— Miracles wrought there — Nature of the Imposture-
Artifice of a Merchant — Assassination of an Archlislwp
— Motive for the Worship of Pictures — Resemblame
between the Russians and Neapolitans — Wives of the
Nobles — Conduct of their Husbands — Children of Orlof
' — Princess Menzicof— Retributive Spirit exercised by
the Emperor at the Funeral of his Mother.
In whatsoever country we seek for original
genius, we must go to Russia for the talent of
Imitation, imitation. This is the acme of Russian intellect;

!«.

MOSCOW. 87
the principle of all Russian attainments. The chap.
Russians have nothing of their own ; but it is
not their fault if they have not every thing that
others invent. Their surprising powers of imi
tation exceed all that has been hitherto known.
The meanest Russian slave is sometimes able
to accomplish the most intricate and the most
delicate works of mechanism; to copy, with
single hand, what has demanded the joint
labours of the best workmen in France or in
England. Although untutored, they are the
best actors in the world. A Russian gentleman,
who had never beheld an European theatre,
assisted during the representation of a play
in one of the remote eastern provinces, and his
performance was accidentally witnessed by
persons who were capable of estimating its
merit: they pronounced it to be superior to
the acting of any of our European stage-players.
In other examples of their imitative powers,
the author has witnessed something similar.
If they were instructed in the art of painting,
they would become the finest portrait painters
in the world. To the truth of this, we saw one
striking testimony: in a miniature portrait of
the Emperor, executed by a poor slave, who
had only once seen him, during the visit he
made to Moscow. For the resemblance and
the minuteness of the representation, it was

gS MOSCOW.
indeed a surprising work. The effect produced
was like that of beholding the original through
a diminishing lens. The Birmingham trinket-
manufactory, where imitations of precious
stones and of the precious metals are wrought
with so much cheapness, is surpassed in
Moscow; because the workmanship is equally
good, and the things themselves are cheaper.
But the great source of wonder is in the manner
of their execution. At Birmingham, they result
from the labour of many persons ; in Moscow,
from the hands of an individual ; yet the dif
ference between divided and undivided labour
in this branch of trade occasions none in the
price of the articles. In Moscow, imitations ol
the Maltese and Venetian gold chains were
offered for sale, capable of deceiving any person,
unless he were himself a goldsmith. This is
not the case with regard to their cutlery;
because here a multiplication of labour is more
requisite. They fail therefore in hardware;
not owing to any inability in imitating the
works they import, but because they cannot
afford to sell them for the same price. Where
a patent, as in the instance oi BramaKs locks, has
kept up the price of an article in England beyond
the level it would otherwise find, the Russians
have imitated it with the greatest perfection;
and sold the copy at a lower rate than the

MOSCOW.

89

original, although equally valuable. Thi^ ex- chap,
traordinary talent for imitation has been also <¦

manifested in the Fine Arts, A picture by Remarks.
Dietrici, in the style of Polemberg, was borrowed
by one of the Russian nobility from his friend.
The owner of the picture had impressed his
seal upon the back of it, and had inscribed it
with verses and mottoes of his own composition.
Ha"ving so many marks, he deemed his picture
safe anywhere. But a copy so perfect was
finished, both as to the painting, and to all the
circumstances of colour in the canvas, and to
the seal, and to the inscriptions, that when put
into the original frame, and returned to its
o-wner, the fraud was not discovered. This
circumstance was afterwards made known by
the confession of the artist employed ; and there
are now residing in Petersburg and Moscow
foreign artists' of the highest respectability
and talents who attest its truth. One of them,
Camporesi, assured us, that, walking in the
suburbs of Moscow, he entered a miserable hut
belonging to a cobler; where, at the farther
end of the dwelling, in a place designed to hold
pans and kettles, and to dress victuals, he
observed a ragged peasant at work. It was a

(1) Guarenghi of Petersburg, and Camporesi of Moscow, Italian
architects employed in the service of the Crown.

QO

MOSCOW.

CHAP, painter in enamel, copying very beautiful pic-

V.

' tures. The same person, he added, might
have been found the next day drunk in a cellar,
or howling beneath the cudgel of his task
master. Under the present form of government
in Russia, it is not very probable that the Fine
Arts will ever flourish. A Russian is either a
slave, or he has received his freedom. In the
former instance, he works only when instigated'
by the rod of his master, and is cudgelled as
often as his owner thinks proper. While era-
ployed in works of sculpture or painting, he
is frequently called off, to mend a chair or a
table, to drive nails into a wainscot, or to daub
the walls of the house. When evening falls,
as certainly falls a cudgel across his shoulders ;
which is not the way to educate artists. But
if he have received his freedom, the action of
the cudgel ceasing, all stimulus to labour ends:
he has then no other instigation to work, than
the desire of being able to buy brandy, and to
become intoxicated : this he does whenever he
can procure the means, and there is soon a
period put to any further exertion of his talents.
Book- The booksellers' shops in Moscow are better
seller^ ^
furnished than in Petersburg ; but they are very
rarely placed upon a ground-floor. The con
venience of walking into a shop from the street,

MOSCOW. gi
without climbing a flight of stairs, is almost chap.
peculiar to England; although there be some - /- '
exceptions, as in the Palais Royal at Paris,
and in a few houses at Vienna. The catalogue
of Russian authors in some of the shops, fills
an octavo volume of two hundred pages.
French, Italian, German, and English books,
would be as numerous here as in any other
city, were it not for the ravages of the public
censors, who prohibit the sale of books, from
their own ignorant misconception of their con
tents. Sometimes a single volume, nay a single
page, of an author, is prohibited, and the rest
of the work, thus mangled, permitted to be
sold. There is hardly a single modern work
which has not been subject to their correction.
The number of prohibited books is so great,
that the trade is ruined. Contraband publica
tions are often smuggled ; but the danger is
so imminent, that all respectable booksellers
leave the trade to persons, either more daring,
or who, from exercising other occupations, are
less liable to suspicion.
Yet there are circumstances arising from the state of
. Literature.
state of public affairs m the two cities, which
give a superiority to the booksellers of Moscow.
In and near the city reside a vast number of
the Russian nobility. A foreigner might live

92

MOSCOW.

^

chap, many years there, without ever hearing the
'_/ names of some of them; whereas at Petersburg
a few only are found, who all belong to the
Court, and are therefore all known. The
nobles of Moscow have, many of them, formerly
figured in the presence of their sovereign, and
have been ordered to reside in this city; or
they have passed their youth in foreign travel,
and have withdrawn to their seats in its,
environs. Many of them have magnificent
libraries ; and, as the amusement of collecting,
rather than the pleasure of reading books, has
been the reason of their forming those sump
tuous collections, the booksellers receive orders
to a very large amount". When a Russian
nobleman reads, which is a very rare circum
stance, it is commonly a novel; either some
licentious trash in the French language, or some
English romance translated into that language.
Of the latter, the ' Italian ' of Mrs. Radcliffe
has been better done than any other ; because,
representing customs which are not absolutely
local, it admits of easier transition into any
other European tongue. But when any attempt

(l) These orders arc sometimes given in the style related of Rimshj
Korsahif, a seijeant in the Guard,s, who succeeded Zoiitz in the
ali'cctions of Catherine -nic SrcoND. This man sent for a book.sclk'r,
and said, " Fit mc up a handsome library : little books above, and great
ones below."

MOSCOW. 93
is made to translate ' Tom Jones,' ' The Vicar chap.
of Wakefield,' or any of our inimitable original v^,*,,,!  '
pictures of English manners, the effect is ridi
culous beyond description. Squire Western
becomes a French Philosopher, and Goldsmith's
Primrose a Fleur de Lis.
Books of real literary reputation are not to Libraries of
,.,.,, » tix Nobles.
be obtained either m the shops of Petersburg or
of Moscow. Productions of other days, which
from their importance in science have become
rare, are never to be found. Costly and
frivolous volumes, sumptuously bound, and
gorgeously decorated, constitute the precious
part of a library, in Russian estimation. Gaudy
French editions, of Fontenelle, of Marmontel, of
Italian sonneteers, with English folios of but
terflies, shells, and flowers; editions by Bas-
kerville, Bensley, and Bulmer, with hot-pressed
and wire-wove paper ; in short, the toys rather
than the instruments of science, attract the
notice of all the Russian amateurs. A mag
nificent library in Russia will be found to con
tain very little of useful literature. In vain,
among their stately collections, smelling like
a tannery of the leather which bears their name,
may we seek for classic authors, historians,
lawgivers, and poets. A copy of the Encyclo-
. pcedia, indeed, placed more for ostentation than

94

MOSCOW.

for use, may perhaps, in a solitary instance or
two, greet the eye ; but this will be found to
be the only estimable work throughout their
gilded shelves'.

Equipages. After Londou and Constantinoph, Moscow is
doubtless the most remarkable city in Europe.
A stranger, passing rapidly through the streets,
might pronounce it to be dull, dirty, and unin
teresting ; while another, having resided there,
would affirm, that it had rather the character
of a great commercial and wealthy metropohs.
If the grandeur and the riches of its inhabitants
be estimated by the splendour of their equi
pages, and the number of horses attached to
each, Moscoiv would surpass all the cities of
the earth. There is hardly an individual above
the rank of a plebeian who would be seen
without four horses to his carriage : the gene
rality have six. But the manner in which this
pomp is displayed presents a perfect burlesque
upon stateliness. A couple of ragged boys are
placed as postillions, before a coachman, in
such sheep-skins as are worn by peasants in
the woods : behind the carriage are stationed

(l) The library of Count Botterline, hereafter noticed, deserved a
different character; but perhaps, before the author can make the ex
ception, the valuable Collection of this nobleman has been dispersed.

95

MOSCOW.
a groupe of lackeys, more tawdry, but not
less ludicrous, than their drivers. To give
greater effect to all this, the traces of the
harness are so long, that it requires considerable
management to preserve the horses from being
entangled, whenever they turn the corner of
a street, or when they halt. Notwithstanding
this, no stranger, however he may deride its
absurdity, will venture to visit the nobles, if
he wish for their notice, without four horses
to his chariot, a ragged coachman and postillion,
and a parade of equipage that must excite his
laughter in proportion as it insures their coun
tenance and approbation.
Wives of tradesmen, during the season Costume.
of their festivals, are seen driving about
in droskies, with riches upon their persons suf
ficient to purchase a peerage. Caps made of
matted work of pearls, with Turkish and Persian
shawls, and diamond ear-rings, are often exhi
bited; preserving, at the same time, the national
costume, however costly the apparel. This
costume is remarkably graceful when the shawl
is worn, and as much otherwise when it is not.
The shawl covers the head, and falls in, thin
folds over the shoulders, reaching almost to the
feet. The celebrated Pallas gave to us a
drawing representing the -wife of a Russian

ments,

qq Moscow.
CHAP, tradesman, with an old duenna, or nurse, who
-, /- ' is found in almost every family. It was
executed by his artist, Geisler. With that good
humour which always characterized him, finding
the women unwilling to have their figures deli
neated, he caused Mrs. Pallas to assume the
^ress of the young wife, and he put on his own
person the habit of the duenna; thus affording
a scenic representation, in which the persons
of the drama, although strongly caricatured,
are, the Professor and his Wife.
Amuse- The amusements of the people are those of
children; that is to say, of English children;
for in Paris and Naples the author has witnessed
similar amusements; grave senators and states
men being sometimes seen mounted upon
'wooden horses, round-abouts, and ups-and-doivns,
with the lower order of inhabitants. It will
be said, the English are a grave people; but
a better reason may perhaps be assigned for
the want of such infantine sports at our wakes
and fairs. Certainly there is no part of our
island where men of forty and fifty years of
age would be seen riding on a wooden horse,
or chuckling in a vaulting-chair. Three Rus
sians, at the same time, -will squeeze theinselves
into one of those chairfe, and, as they are
whirled round, scream for joy, like infants

MOSCOW. 97
tossed in the nurse's arms. Some years ago,
the present King of the Two Sicilies was accus
tomed to join his principal courtiers in a similar
amusement. In the Gate of the Resurrection, at the eastern Chapei of
. „ ... tlie Tver-
extremity ot the Tverschaia, one ot the principal schaia.
streets in Moscow, there is a small open
sanctuary, before which, at all hours of the
day, people are assembled, crossing and pro
strating themselves. We had the curiosity to
penetrate the host of devotees, and to enter
this little temple. An old man with a long
beard was there selling candles to the numerous
visitants, who, immediately after buying the
candles, placed them before a picture of the
Virgin with the Bleeding Cheek. The place was
filled with a variety of pictures of Saints and
Martyrs: but there were two of the Virgin,
larger than the rest, facing the street : one of
them is said to have been brought hither by
an angel; which causes the extraordinary devo
tion paid to this picture in particular ; although
there be many such paintings in other parts of
Moscow, having the same reputation of a mira
culous importation. The particular picture to
which reference is now made, was framed in
silver, set round with gems, .true or false, of
VOL. I. H

98 MOSCOW.
CHAP, various magnitude. It has great celebrity,
v., .y- ) from the numberless miracles it is supposed
to have wrought, in healing the sick, restoring
sight to the blind, and showering down favom's
of all kinds upon its worshippers. Now, sup
posing only four persons to present themselves
every minute before this picture, (and some
times fifty in the same instant may be observed
opposite the shrine,) no less a number than ten
thousand eight hundred and eighty persons will
be found to visit it in the short space of twelve
hours. It would be indeed a miracle, if, out
of this number, one or two did not occaisionally
experience relief, either from sickness of btfdy,
or from sorrow, or in consequence of any other
wished-for change: and, whenever this happens,
if only once in thirty days, (which would be
to reckon one only out of eighty-six thousand
four hundred persons, not counting the nightly
visitants,) the noise of it is circulated far and
wide ; the story itself exaggerated ; and the
th!rong of votaries thereby increased. Upon
such ground an ideot might raise as vast a
superstructure of ignorance and credulity as
any even Russia itself .has witnessed. The
picture of a Saint found accidentally in the
street; human bones dug up in a forest; a
dream; some casual and rude representation
of a cross; a lusus naturce (as in the colours

MOSCOW. 99
of a pied horse, or the veins in a piece of flint chap.
or marble); in short, whatsoever represents, or '¦¦ y- •'
is supposed to resemble, any thing belonging
to their prodigious catalogue of superstitious'
objects, might occasion a resort of devo
tees, give rise to a church, or to a market
place for wax-chandlers, painters, and silver
smiths, as profitable as the shrine oi Diana at
Ephesus. A circumstance so likely has frequently Artificeofa
¦' I J merchant.
happened. A merchant of Moscow, more re
nowned for speculation than for piety, caused
a coffin to be dug up, some years ago, with the
supposed body of a Saint, in the interior of the
empire, eastward of the city. The throng to
this coffin, from all parts, became immense;
the blind were, as usual, healed ; the lame left
their crutches suspended as trophies of mira
culous cures ; and, in a short time, all the other
churches were deserted, in consequence of the
reputation of the newly-discovered Saint. It
was moreover said, that his saintship was very
passionate; that he was angry at being dis
turbed; and insisted upon having a church
built over him, to ensure his future repose. A
church was therefore erected; when news of
the whole affair reaching the ears of the late
Empress Catherine, she ordered the building to
h 2

100 MOSCOW.
CHAP, jje shut. The Emperor Paul, from a determi-
'¦--. "y- -' nation to undo every thing that his mother had
done, and to do (as much as possible) that
which she would not have done, caused it to
be again opened ; although it were well known
in Russia, that the merchant, after the church
had been shut by the Empress's order, frequently
avowed, and laughed at, the fraud he had com
mitted ' . Much after the same manner, during
the plague in Moscow, about thirty years ago,
a picture was placed in one of the streets of
the city, to which the people eagerly thronged,
Upon the earliest intelligence of its arrival.
The archbishop Ambrose, finding that the danger
of spreading infection increased as the people
crowded to this picture, ordered it to be re-
Assassina- movcd, aud conccalcd in a church; but the
Arch- doors of the church were forced open by the
populace; and the venerable prelate, being
dragged from the convent of Donskoy, was in
humanly put to death. The late Empress, in
her correspondence with Voltaire, gave an ac
count of this event; recommending it to him
as a supplement to the article Fanaticism, in the
French Ericyclopcedia ^ .
(1) Paul published an ukase,in the Imperial Gazette of Pelers-
burg, upon the 17th of December 1798, canonizing the new Saint.
(2) Lettres de I'lmpdr. de Russie, &c, Lett, ^4,

bishop.

MOSCOW. 101
All that has been said or written of Roman- chap,
CathoUc bigotry affords but a feeble idea of ' — /— '
the superstition of the Greek Church, It is
certainly the greatest reproach to human reason,
the severest satire upon universal piety, that
has yet disgraced the history of mankind. The
wild, untutored savage of South America, who
prostrates himself before the Sun, and pays
his adoration to that which he believes to be
the source of life and light, exercises more
rational devotion than the Russian, who is all
day crossing himself before his Bogh, and
sticking farthing candles near a picture of
St. Alexander Nevsky. But in the adoration Motive fbr
paid by this people to their Saints and Virgins, sMp of '
we may discern strong traces of their national ^"^'"'^'^^•
character. The homage they offer to a court
parasite, or to a picture, is founded upon the
same principle ; and in all their views, political
or religious, they are actuated by similar mo-f
tives, A Deity, and a despot, by the nature of
the one, and the policy of the other, are too
far removed from their view to admit of any
immediate applications. All their petitions,
therefore, instead of being addressed at once
either to a spiritual or to a temporal throne, are
directed to the one or to the other by channels
falling more immediately under observation,
Thus we &[id favouritism to be the leading feature

102

MOSCOW.

CHAP, of the Russian government, and the adoration
of Saints the whole of their reUgion, The
Sovereign is disregarded in the obeisance offered
to his parasites; and the Creator entirely for
gotten in the idolatrous worship of his creatures.

Resem
blance be
tween the
Itussiansand iVea-
politans.

As we lived in some degree of intimacy with
many of the Russian nobility, their manners and
opinions could not escape our notice. Of all
the Europeans, they bear the greatest resem
blance to the Neapolitans, The nobles of
Naples and Palermo are exactly like those of
Moscow; and even the peasants of the two
countries have a certain degree of resemblance.
This similitude may arise from a similarity of
government, — vicious and despotic, ignorant
and superstitious. The same character prevails
in their national dances, and in their mode of
dress. The barina differs little from the taran-
tala ; and the female peasants of the Campagna
Felice dress like the women near Moscoiv, — "with
the same sort of shoes ; the same kind of head
dress; the same embroidered suits; in short,
the same load of finery. May not this be thus
explained: the costume oi Magna Gracia came
from the /Archipelago ; and the art of dress was
introduced into Russia from Constantinople. It
has been before mentioned, that, in their sports,
the Russians and the Neapolitans are alilie. In

MOSCOW. 103
the class of the nobles, the women are far supe- chap.
rior to the men; they are mild, affectionate, '-

often well-informed, beautiful, and highly ac- the^NoUes.
complished : the men are destitute of every
qualification to render them, in the eyes of
their female companions, objects of love or of
esteem. It is not therefore wonderful, that
ladies of rank in Moscoiv have the character of
not being strict in -their fidelity to their hus
bands ; especially if the profligate example so
lately offered them in their Empress Catheeine
be taken into consideration. Indeed, it is dif
ficult to conceive how the wives of the gene
rality of the nobles in Moscow can entertain any
respect for their husbands ' . Married, without
passion, by the policy and self-love of their
parents, frequently to men they never saw
until the time of wedlock ; subjected to tyrants,
who neither afford good examples to their
children, nor any source of social enjoyment
to themselves ; who are superannuated before
the age of thirty; diseased, dirty, and over-.
whelmed with debt; the women of Moscow
regard the matrimonial life as superior indeed
to that of imprisonment in a convent, but as
a state of slavery, from which they look towards
(1) " Mulierum conditio miserrima est ; neque quicquam authori-
tatis in sedibus usurpant : a maritis bene verberatae," &c. Guagniv,
Descript. Moscovus, p. 65, L.Bal. 1630.

104 MOSCOW.
CHAP, a joyful dehverance, in the death of their hus
bands. Every one acquainted with the real
history of the Empress Catherine, and with her
manner of bursting the connubial bonds, will
find in it a picture of the state of female
society throughout the empire. The wives of
the nobles, it is true, do not assassinate their
husbands; but the ties of wedlock are alto
gether disregarded. This representation, of
course, regards the general state of the commu
nity. The Reader shall not be offended, nor
the feelings of individuals wounded, by any
detail of private anecdotes for public purposes ;
neither is it necessary to relate the few ex
ceptions which may be found to the preceding
statement: whatsoever credit is given to it in
England, it will not be contradicted in Russia.
A Russian nobleman will sell any thing he
possesses, from his wife to his lap-dog ; from
the decorations of his palace, to the ornaments
of his person ; any thing to obtain money ; any
thing for the pleasure of squandering it away.
Visiting a trading mineralogist, we were sur
prised to see glass-cases filled with court-
dresses ; and still more so on being told that
these were dresses of the nobility ; sent to be
exposed for safe, as often as any of them
wanted money. Their plan is, to order goods

MOSCOW. 105
to any amount for which they can procure chap*
credit; to pay for nothing; and to sell what '¦¦ -v- >•>
they have ordered, as soon as they receive it.
We should call such conduct, in England,
swindling. In Moscow it bears another name ;
it is there called Russian magnificence.
The children of those who murdered Peter Children
the Third resided in Moscow when we were
there : one of them married the daughter of
the Governor, The Princess Menzikof, grand
daughter oi the favourite of Peter the Great,
was also there : we were often in her company;
and too much amused by her cheerful dispo
sition, to report the style of conversation she
indulges everywhere. However, that which is
a proverb in Russia may at the least bear an
allusion in England. When the late Empress
died, her son, and successor, caused the body
of his father to be taken up, and laid in state,
by the coffin of his mother, in the palace at
Petersburg. It is said there was only one per
son, an archbishop, who knew where they had
buried him ; as he was interred without mo-^
nument or inscription, in the church of the
monastery of St. Alexander Nevsky. Orlof, his-
murderer, was then at Moscow. An order from Retribu,
the Emperor brought him to Petersburg; and of the
when the bodies were removed to the church "p^"""'

106 MOSCOW.
of St. Peter and St. Paul in the citadel ' , he was
compelled to walk in the procession from the
palace to the church, following the body of the
person he had murdered so long before. It
was then the people of Petersburg beheld an
interesting scene of retribution. One of them,
who was an eye-witness, described the whole
of it to us. The bodies were drawn upon low
chariots, by horses. Immediately after the coffin
of Peter the Third, and close to it, walked,
with slow and faltering steps, his assassin,
Orlof; having his eyes fixed on the ground, his
hands folded, and his face pale as death. Next
to Orlof walked the Emperor ; certainly mani
festing, by (this sublime although mysterious
sacrifice to the manes of his father, an action
worthy of a greater character. The ceremony
ended, Orlof received an order to quit the em
pire ; and lately was travelling in the South of
Europe.
(0 The place where state-prisoners are kept.

CHAP. VI.

MOSCOW.
State of Exiles in Siberia — Tobolsky — Generous Conduct
of a Citizen — Prince turned Pawnbroker — Picture
Dealers — State of Medicine — Manners of the People —
Opinions entertained of the English — Relative Condi
tion of Slaves and their Lords — Noble Behaviour of
Count Golovkin's Peasants — Servants of the Nobility —
Theft committed by a Party of the Nobles — Convent of
theNew Jerusalem — New Prohibitions — Public Censors'
— Convent of the Trinity — Church of St. Basil —
Ivan Basilovich — Tubervile's Letters.
JLn England, we hear of persons being sent to

CHAP. VL

Siberia, as a most severe punishment ; and we state of
... , . . , Exiles in
entertain very erroneous notions concerning the Siberia.

108 MOSCOW.
CHAP, state of exiles in that country. To a. Russian
V i.y-i, ' nobleman the sentence of exile can hardly imply.
punishment. The consequence of their journey
is very often an amelioration of their under
standing and of their hearts. They have no
particular attachment to their country ; none of
that maladie du pays, which sickens the soul of
an Englishman in banishment. They are bound
by no strong ties of affection to their families ;
neither have they any friendship worth pre-
Toboi^y. serving. Tobolsky, from the number and the
rank of the exiled, is become a large and popu
lous city, full of shops, and containing theatres,
besides other places of public amusement.
Its inhabitants, above two thousand versts from
Moscow, have booksellers, masquerades, French
hotels, and French wines, with the porter and
beer of England. Those who have resided
there, either as officers on duty, as travellers,
or as exiles, give the highest accounts of its
gaiety and population. An officer of consi
derable rank in the Russian service told us, he
would rather have the half of his pay and live
at Tobolsky, than the whole of it in residence
at Petersburg. Many, who have been ordered
home, have wished and sought to return thither.
This is no subject of wonder. Tobolsky is
admirably adapted to the Russian taste. Ac
cording to Gmelin, it is a very temple of

MOSCOW. 109
Bacchus and Indolence. Provisions were so ^^^|^-
cheap when he was there, in the middle of the ^ ' -v- >
last century, that a person might maintain
himself for ten roubles a year ; not two pounds
of our money. His account of the Easter fes
tival' proves that there was not much difference
between the state of society in Tobolsky and in
Moscow at that time ; and there is much less at
present. A circumstance occurred during our abode Generous
'^ Conduct of
in Moscow, attended by a trait of so much gene- a citizen.
rosity in a Russian, that it is a duty to relate
it. On Wednesday the seventh of May, the
Sub-Governor received an order for his exile to
Siberia. No reason whatever was assigned for
the displeasure of the Emperor ; no offence was
alleged. The whole city flocked to take leave
of him, for he was much beloved : and dan
gerous as such a testimony of affection might

(0 " Les gens les plus considi^rables se rendoient visites, et se don-
soient des divertissemens. Quant au peuple, il ^toit comme fou ; ce
nYtoit jour et nuit que promenades, cris, tumultes, batteries. U
^toit difGcile d'allerdans les rues, tant ily avoit d'hommes, defemmes,
de b^tes, et de tralneaux." Voyage de Sibirie, tradnit par Keralio,
torn. I. p. 53.
On passe gaiement les f^tes de PAques a re^evoir et faire des
visites. Le peuple s'amusa a. sa maniire ; ce dont il s'occupa le
plus fut le commerce des fiUes publiques, qui ne sont pas rares 4
Tobolsk. Je n'avois vh nuUe part tant de gens sans nez que j'en, vis
ici.*' Jbid. p. 67.

110 MOSCOW.
CHAP, then prove, the inhabitants crowded to his
house, considering him as a man sacrificed to
the caprice of a tyrant. Among others, came
an humble citizen, and demanded admission.
It was granted. " You are going to leave us,"
said he, " and may not have time to settle your
affairs. Do you not want money ? I come as
your banker." " I have need of some," said
the Governor, " but it is much more than you
can furnish." " How much?" " Twenty-five
thousand roubles !" " The honest fellow with
drew ; and speedily returning with notes to the
amount of the sum specified, placed them upon
the table, carefully counting them over ; then
made his bow, and retired.

Prince
turned

An Italian architect, of the name of Camporesi,
Pawn- procured admission for us at the house of
broker. ^Prince Trubetzkoy, a dealer in minerals, pic
tures, hosiery, hats, cutlery, antiquities; in
short, all the furniture of shops and of museums.
Having squandered away his fortune, this man
gained a livelihood by selling, for himself and
for others, whatsoever came in his way. His
house, like a paAvnbroker's shop, exhibited one
general magazine, occupying several rooms. A
Prince presiding over this mart, and practising
all the artifices of the meanest tradesman, was
a spectacle perfectly novel. Any thing might

MOSCOW. 1 1 1
be bought of his Excellency, from a pair of ^^|^-
bellows to a picture by Claude Lorraine. In >  ,  '
the same room were handkerchiefs, antique
vases, stockings, artificial flowers, fans, Co
logne-water, soap, pomatum, prints, paintings,
books, guns, pistols, minerals, jewellery, har
ness, saddles, bridles, pipes, second-hand
clothes, swords, stuffed-birds, bronzes, buckles,
buttons, snuff-boxes, wigs, watches, boots and
shoes. " My house," said he, as we entered,
" and all it contains, is at your service, or any
one's else, who will buy it ! I will sell you the
house for a single rouble, provided you will pay
me also a rouble for each article of its furniture,"
While we bargained with his Excellency, Prince
L. sent a note, which he read aloud. It was to
borrow money. " Here's a man," said Prince
Trubetzkoy, " with a 'million of roubles in his
drawing-room, sends to me for forty-five, to pay
the expenses of a journey to his country seat !
You see how we go on in Russia."
The number of pictures in Moscoiv is really Rcture
^ -^ Dealers.
astonishing. There are four or five eminent
dealers, who have large collections. The
palaces of the nobles are many of them filled,
and there is not one of their owners unwilling
to sell any picture he may possess. It seems
as if all Europe had been ransacked to supply

112 MOSCOW.
such collections. At first view, a room adoriied
by them has an imposing and very splendid
appearance ; but, upon a nearer approach, the
charm vanishes : they are almost all copies, and
the major part of them were brought from
Vienna. But the Russians themselves are so
iugenious in the art of imitation, that a nobleman
of skill and judgment ' in painting has been
kno-wTi to purchase, of a dealer, copies made a
few days before by one of his own slaves, who
went from his easel to his more usual daily
occupation of blacking shoes, and afterwards
carried to the brandy-shop the wages of his
ingenuity. As the nobles have rarely any
money, at command, their traffic in the Fine
Arts, as in other things, is carried on by
exchange. This sort of barter is that in which
they take the greatest delight. They purchase
a picture for a carriage, or for an embroidered
suit of clothes, just as they pay their physician
with a snuff-box. In every pursuit the same
infantine disposition is displayed; and, like
children, they become tired of their toys almost
in the moment they have acquired them. In
their choice of pictures, they are pleased only
with gay and splendid colouring, highly finished,
in gaudy frames ; " quelque chose d'eclatant .'" to
use an expression constantly in their mouths.
The works of Van der Werf, Watteau, Jordaens,

MOSCOW. ' 113
Berchem, and Gerhard Douw, bear the highest ^ yi.^"
prices; but if productions by any of the
Bolognese masters be shewn to them, they are
rejected. Nothing of the sombre cast,- however
sublime, has any value in their estimation.
The works of the Caracci, of Domenichino, or
even of Michael Angelo, would not meet with
admirers. A beautiful head by Corregio, not
many years ago possessed by an artist in
London, in the course of those adventures to
which fine pictures are liable, fell into the hands
of a Russian priest. He kept it during a short
time, because he had been told it was a cele
brated work ; but ultimately exchanged it for
some wretched copies, with an Italian miniature-
painter. " It had too much shade," he said,
" and the lights were too pale ; it had the air
altogether of a head from the guillotine.'" The
method of paying their physiciains by trinketsi
before mentioned, might seem an inconvenience
to the faculty ; but it is not so. Dr. Rogerson
at Petersburg, as we were informed, regularly
received his snuff-box, and as regularly carried
it to a jeweller for sale. The jeweller sold it
again to the first nobleman who wanted a fee
for his physician, so that the doctor obtained
his box again ; and at last the matter became
so well understood between the jeweller and
the physician, that it was considered by both
VOL. I. I

1 14 MOSCOW.
CHAP, parties as a sort of bank-note, and no wordsr
were necessary in transacting the sale of it.

VI.

State of Having mentioned the name of this respectable
Medicine. ° ^
-physician, .it may be well to say something of
the state of medicine in the country. The
business of an accoucheur is always practised by
women. The Emperor ordered all the mid-
wives to undergo examination, before a board
of physicians, a few days before we left Peters
burg. In the regulation concerning apothecaries,
however well intended, the same -wisdom was
not shewn: it is a reproach to the country.
If a stranger arrive, in immediate want of an
emetic' or of any trifling drug, he cannot obtain
it without the written order of some physician.
If this take place in the night, he may die
before the morning ; for the physician, although
sent for, certainly would not attend. In Peters
burg, the fee of an eminent physician is twenty-
five roubles ; in Moscow, only one or two.
Persons calling themselves English physicians 3i^
found in almost every town upon the continent.
Sometimes they have served in apothecaries'
shops in London or in Edinburgh ; but generally

(l) A remedy almost infallible against those dangerous fevers which
are the consequence of passing over unwholesome marshes in hot
countries, if taken within twenty-four hours.

MOSCOW. 115
they are Scotch apothecaries, who are men of chap.
professional skill, and of acknowledged supe-  r—'
riority. In some places abroad the practitioners
are really natives of England : but when this
happens to be the case, the traveller is cau
tioned to shun them, however celebrated they
may be, as he values his existence. With few
exceptions, there are no instances of men of ability
among expatriated English physicians ; neither
would such men leave their country, to settle
among foreigners, unless compelled by circum
stances of misconduct at home. Those Eng
lishmen upon the continent who bear the name of
physicians will generally be found, upon inquiry,
to have exercised no'such profession in their own
couhtry ; but to have lived either as servants ih
the shops of apothecaries, of chemists, and of
druggists, or to have practised as veterinary
surgeons, farriers, or itinerant empirics.
The Russian nobility are passionately fond of Manners
travelling; and, under the circumstances of the People.
Emperor Paul's administration, this passion
increased with the difficulty of its gratification.
Some of them entertain extravagant notions of
the wealth and happiness of Englishmen ; and
they have good reason so to do, since every
thing they possess that is either useful or in
any degree estimable comes to them from
i3

116 Mdsdow.
England. Books, maps, prints, furniture,
clothing, hardware of all kinds, horses, carriages,
hats, leather, medicine, almost every article of
convenience, comfort, or luxury, must be de
rived from England, or it is considered as of no
value. Some of the nobles are much richer
than the richest of our English peers; and a
vast number, as may be supposed, are very
poor. To this poverty, and to those~ riches,
-are joined characteristics in which the Russian
peasant and the Russian prince are the same:
they are all equally barbarous. Visit a Rus
sian, of whatsoever rank, at his country-seat,
and you will find him lounging about, with his
collar open, uncombed, unwashed, unshaven,
half'-naked, eating raw turnips, or drinking
quass. The raw turnip is handed about in
slices, in the first houses, upon a silver salver,
with brandy, as a whet before dinner. Their
hair is universally in a state not to be described ;
and their bodies are only divested of vermin
when they frequent the bath. Upon these
occasions, their shirts and pelisses are held
over a hot stove, and the heat occasions the
vermin to fall off". It is a fact too notorious to
admit of dispute, that from the Emperor to the
(l) Suvorofusei to cleanse his shirt in this manner, during a cam
paign'; stripping before the common soldiers, at the fires kindled in
their camps.

MOSCOW. ii;^
meanest slave, throughout the vast empire of chap.
ail the Russias, including all its princes, nobles, >¦, ,y-, j
priests, and peasants, there exists not a single
individual in a thousand whose body is not thus
infested. The true manners of the people are
not seen in Petersburg, nor even in Moscow, by
entering only the houses of the nobility. Some
of this class, and generally persons to whom
letters of recommendation are obtained, have
travelled, and introduced refinements which
their friends and companions readily imitate.
But the genuine Russian rises at an early hour,
and breakfasts on a dram with black bread.
His dinner, at noon, consists of the coarsest and
most greasy food, the scorbutic effects of which
are supposed to be counteracted by pickled
cucumbers, by sour cabbage, by the juice of
his vaccinium, and by his nectar quass. Sleep,
rendering him unmindful of his abject servitude
and of his barbarous life, he particularly in-.
dulges; sleeping always after eating, and going
early to his bed. The principal articles of diet are
the same everywhere — grease and brandy. The
horrors of a Russian kitchen are inconceivable ;
and there is scarcely a bed in the whole empire
that an English traveller would venture to
approach, if he were aware of its condition.
Among the nobles, the race is not yet extinct

118 MOSCOW.
CHAP, of those servile beings who, at the pleasure of
v-M-y -.> the Tsar, were sent to be whipped like so many
dogs. The short liberty they enjoyed in the
reign of Catherine did not suffice to elevate
their minds from the depravity always incident
to a state of slavery. Under Paul, they again
experienced indignities similar to those which
had been offered to their forefathers. Potemkin,
one of the meanest and the most profligate of
men, frequently taught them to remember what
their condition was originally, by inflicting
blows upon any prince or nobleman with whom
he chanced to be offended : and the Emperor
Paul ventured to chastise the nobles who were
his -officers'. Under such government, if we
find them servile, oppressive, cowardly, and
tyrannical, it is no more than may be expected,
from their mode of education, and the disci
pline they undergo. They will naturally
crouch in the dust before an empekor, or
before one of those wretched creatures called
favourites, and will trample their inferiors be
neath their feet*.

(l) See Note 1. in p. 47.
(2) " Servituti gens nata, ad omne libertatis vestigium feroxest;
placida si prematur. Neque abnuuntjugum. Ultro fatentur Principi
se servire ; illi in suas opes, in corpora, vitamque jus esse. Sor-
didioris reverentise humilitas Turcis non est in suorum OttomanoruBi
sceptrum." BarclaH Descript. Moscovia, p. 74. L. Bat. 1630.

MOSCOW. 119
They consider the English as a mercenary chap,
people ; and generally hate them, because they

fear them ; or court them, if they stand in need emertdned
of their support. One of their princes thought ^j/f.'^^"^"
proper to declare in public, at his own table,
where we had been invited to dine, and were
of course under the protection enjoined by the
laws of hospitality, that " in England there is
not an individual, patriot, or placeman, who is not
saleable to the highest bidder." He instanced
Wilkes, Gibbon, and Burke, with many others ;
adding, " English slavery is less justifiable than
Russian. One is selfishness ; the other, submission
to the laws."
It is very true, that the system of slavery in Relative
„ , ,., , ., , Condition
Russia, like many other evils, may be some- ot staves
times productive of good. If the nobleman be Lrds.
benevolent, his slaves are happy; for in that
case they are fed, clothed, and lodged. In
sickness they are carefully attended, and in
old age they have an asylum. In case of acci
dents from fire, if a whole village be burned,
the nobleman must supply '(vood to rebuild it.
But when, as it generally happens, the pro
prietor is a man without feeling or principle,
their situation is indeed wretched. In such
instances, the peasants often take the law into
their own hands, and assassinate their lords.

120 MOSCOW.
»GHAP. I fo prevent this, the latter live in cities, remote
'• '-»-",' from their own people, and altogether unmindful
of all that concerns their slaves, except the
tribute the latter are to pay. Many of the
Russian nobles dare not venture near to their
owm villages, through fear of the vengeance
they have well merited by their crimes. In
this sad survey, it is soothing to point out
I any worthy object, whereon the attention, wea
ried by a uniform view of depravity, may for
a few short moments repose. Some noble
traits have presented themselves among the
slaves.
Noble Be- The falJier of Count Golovkin was reduced to
haviour of j
Count Go-^ the necessity of selling a portion of his peasants,
Peasants, j iu consequcncc of debts contracted in the
! service of the Crown. Upon this occasion,
j deputies chosen among the slaves came to
i Moscow, beseeching an audience of their lord.
I One venerable man, the oldest of the number
, advertised for sale, begged to know why they
1 were to be so dismissed. " Because," said the
Count, " I am in want of money, and must
\ absolutely pay the debts J have contracted,"
I " How much?" exclaimed at once all the deputies,
I "About thirty thousand roubles," rejoined the
i Count, " God help us ! Do not sell us ; we -will
bring the money."

MOSCOW. 121
Peter the Third was a greater friend to the chap.
Russian nobility, during three months, than all '  , — '
the sovereigns oi Russia in the collected periods
of their power. While under the oppressive
and degrading discipline of Paul, they kneeled,
and kissed the rod. Peter liberated them from
slavery and from corporal punishment ; he per
mitted them to sell their effects, and to settle
in other countries ; to serve, if they pleased,
under other sovereigns ; — in short, he gave them
all they most desired; and they assassinated
their benefactor.
The swarm of servants in their palaces has Servants «f
. ^ the No-
been already noticed. A foreigner wonders how wiity.
this can be maintained. The fact is, if a noble
man have fifty or five hundred servants, they
do not cost him a rouble. Their clothes, their
food, every article of their subsistence, are de
rived from the poor oppressed peasants. Their
wages, if wages they can be called, rarely . ex
ceed in their value an English halfpenny a day'.
In the whole year, the total of their daily pit
tance equals about five roubles, forty-seven
copeeks and a half: this, according to the state of
exchange at the time we were there, may be
estimated at twelve shillings and ninepence.
(l) About a copeek and a half.

122 MOSCOW.
CHAP. But small as this sum is, it might have been
'¦-.' -v— ' omitted ; for it is never paid. Few among the
nobles deem it any disgrace to owe their ser
vants so trivial a debt. There is, in fact, no
degree of meanness too base for the condescen
sion of a Russian nobleman. To enumerate all
the instances of which we were eye-witnesses,
would only weary and disgust the Reader,
It will suffice that we end with one.
Remark- A hat had been stolen from our apartments,
ahle Theft, . . ^
The servants positively asserted, that some
young noblemen, who had been more lavish
of their friendship and company than we de
sired, had gained access to the chambers in
our absence, and had carried off the hat, with
some other moveables even of less value. The
fact was inconceivable, and we gave no credit
to it. A few days after, being upon an excur
sion to the Convent of the New Jerusalem, forty-
five versts north of Moscow, some noblemen,
to whom our intention was made known, during
the preceding evening, at the Sociiti de Noblesse,
overtook us on horseback. One of the party,
mounted upon an English racer, and habited
like a Newmarket jockey, rode towards the side
of our carriage ; but his horse being somewhat
unruly, he lost his seat, and a gust of wind car
ried off his cap. The author's companion imme-

MOSCOW. 123
diately descended, and ran to recover it for its ^ y|^-
owner ; but what was his astonishment, to per
ceive his own name, and the name of his hatter,
on the lining ! It was no other than the iden
tical hat which had been stolen by one of them
from our lodgings, although now metamor
phosed into a cap ; and, under its altered shape,
it might not have been recognised, but for the
accident here mentioned ',

The love of mimicry, alread^y mentioned as convent of
. . „ . , ^ , theiVetu
characteristic of the nation, has been carried Jerusalem.
to great excess in the Convent of the New Jeru
salem: this building is not only an imitation
of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem,
but it contains representations of all the relics
(1) The prohibition concerning round hatS' had rendered this kind
of cap very fashionable in Moscow. A translated extract from the
writings of one whose pages confirm every characteristic of the Rus
sians given in this work, will shew how faithful a picture the state
ment of the fact above mentioned offers of the whole nation ; and
also to what extent the vice of stealing is carried in that country.
" Next to drunkenness, the most prominent and common vice of
the Russians is theft  From the first Minister to the General-
officer, from the lackey to the soldier, all are thieves, plunderers, and
cheats  It sometimes happens, that, in apartments at Court, to
which none but persons of quality and superior officers are admitted,
your pocket-hook is carried off' as if you were in a fair. The King of
Sweden, after the battle of July, 1790, invited a party of Russian
officers, who had been made prisoners, to dine with him. One of them
stole a plate : upon which the offended king ordered them all to be
distributed among the small towns, where they never again ate off
silver." Memoirs of the Court of Petersburg. Lond. \90].p.^lO.

>4 MOSCOW.
'HAP. consecrated in that edifice. It was built exactly
— V  ' after the same model; and within it are ex
hibited. The tomb of Christ, The stone rolled from,
the sepulchre. The holes zuhere the crosses of our
Saviour and the two thieves ci-ucified with him were
placed. The prison where he tvas confined ; toge
ther with all the other absurdities fabricated
by the Empress Helena and her ignorant priests
at Jerusalem. Finding, however, some diffe
rence between the original building in the Holy
Land, and its model here, we asked the reason
of the alteration. The monks replied, " Our
building is executed with more taste, because
it is more ornamental; and there are many
good judges who prefer ours to the original .•" thus
most ignorantly implying, that the Church at
Jerusalem, so long an object of adoration, had
been so rather on account of its beauty, than
any thing contained in it. But nothing can
prove with more effect, to what an abject state
the human mind may be degraded, than that
the trumpery here, not having even the empty
title to reyerence which relics may claim,
but confessedly imitations, should receive the
veneration and the worship paid to their ori
ginals. A fat and filthy priest, pointing to some
holes in a pavement in the midst of Russia, ex
claims, " Here stood the holy cross .'" while boorish
devotees shed over the spot tears of piety, as

MOSCOW. 125
genuine as the drops that fall from the eyes of chap.
pilgrims in the tabernacles at Jerusalem. Within v.. .,-
a cell, to which they have given the name of
The prison of Jesus Christ, is a wooden figure,
so ridiculously dressed, that it is impossible
to view it without laughter. This image is as
large as life ; and it is intended to represent the
Messiah in his confinement, having a veil of
black crape cast about the head, face, and
shoulders. The ' Fir gin with Three Hands' also
makes her appearance here : and an antient
picture is exhibited, which they say came from
Jerusalem : it is exactly in the taste of those
modern paintings now manufactured in Russia
for the churches and household gods, and it
was probably one of the original models of the
art. The dome of the building may be esteemed
among the finest works of architecture in the
country. It is lighted in a very pleasing
manner. The expense of its completion has
been rated at thirty-eight thousand roubles, or
we should have supposed it to have been much
greater. In the library of the Convent there
is nothing remarkable, excepting thirty pieces of
lead, shewn as the money paid to Judas Iscariot
for betraying Christ; of course, copies of a
'similar pretended relic at Jerusalem. The
dresses of the priests, covered with jewels,
are also displayed. One mitre alone is valued

26 MOSCOW.
at twenty-four thousand roubles. Some modern
Manuscript Bibles, in the Russian language,
presented by the late Empress, are shewn,
sumjptuously bound in covers of gold, studded
with enamelled paintings ; these are set round
with the finest Siberian emeralds, and with other
precious stones.
The approach to this Convent is by a gentle
ascent, on a fine verdant plain. It is situate
in a pleasing country ; and the excursion to it
conducts a stranger through the most agreeable
of the environs of Moscow. It was once fortified :
a few pieces of artillery lay neglected near the
gate, beneath some trees. We were presented
to the Superior, the most greasy monk, without
exception, we ever beheld. He spoke to us in
Latin, and gave us the history of their great
patriarch Nicon, whose portrait we had seen in
the church, and who rose from the lowest
station to the high office he held. After his
marriage, a separation took place, out of pure
devotion, by the mutual consent of husband
and wife ; one becoming prior of a monastery,
and the other prioress of a convent.
When we returned to Moscow, we found the
inhabitants murmuring in consequence of new
prohibitions. An ukase had appeared, forbidding

MOSCOW. 12/
the importation of any kind of foreign lite- *^^^^-
rature: under this head were included maps, '  , — '
music, and whatsoever might be considered as
a vehicle of science. Some notion may be PubUo
formed of the administration of the public
censors, by a domiciliary visit the booksellers
received, during our residence in Moscoiv. The
shops Were to undergo examination for prints
or plans of Riga. Every article of their pro
perty was of course overhauled. Wherever
any thing appeared bearing the remotest refe
rence to Riga, for whatever purpose calculated,
it was instantly condemned. If the word ' Riga'
chanced to make its appearance in any book
however valuable, though but on a single page,
the leaf was torn out. In this manner they
destroyed, in one day, works of geography,
history, the arts, atlasses, dictionaries, voyages ;
ravaging, tearing, and blemishing, wheresoever
they came.
That the Russians have talents, no one will
deny ; but they dare not display them. Since
the death of Catherine, it seemed to be the
wretched policy of their Government to throw
every obstacle in the way of intellectual im
provement. Genius became a curse to its
possessor ; wit, a passport to Siberia. Apathy,
stupidity, and ignorance, were blessings ; truth

128 MOSCOW.
CHAP, and science, qualifications for the knout. The
author of ' Mon Voyage a Moscou^ even during
the reign of Catherine, had atoned for the
brilliancy of his understanding in the wilder
nesses of Tobolsky^. The number of Paul's
prohibitions became so numerous, and many of
them were so trivial, that it was necessary to
carry about manuals of obedience, and assist
the memory by pocket-catalogues of forbidden
things. Some of these prohibitions excited
more laughter than fear. Pug-dogs, ixovo. the
Emperor's resemblance to them, were pro
hibited any other name than ' Mops.' Ivory-
headed canes were on no account permitted,
being reserved solely for the use of the military.
These, and many other absurd regulations, ex
posed foreigners daily to the insolence of the
police. Mr. Cripps was actually arrested for
not wearing flaps to his waistcoat: and the
author narrowly escaped punishment, for having
strings in his shoes.
Convent of The Convcnt of the Trinity, distant forty
riniy. ^^^q^ ^^^^ Moscow, IS dccmcd particularly
worth seeing, on account of its immense riches.
( 1 ) The unfortunate Radischef. He was made a victim of the politi
cal Inquisition during the reign of Catherine. Russian merchants
have given five-and-twenty roubles to read Radischef's hook for a
single hour.

MOSCOW. 129
Rather more than two miles farther is another ^^P-
convent, less known, but more remarkable: it ^—v— ^
contains -witiiin its walls a Gothic church, erected
over a mount which is supposed to typify The
Mountain of the Ascension of Jesus Christ. At
the foot of the mount, and within it, is a small
chapel, containing figures, executed in wax, to
represent the resurrection of Lazarus. This ex
traordinary work has been planned by Plato^
archbishop of Moscow, who resides there, and
under whose inspection the whole was executed.
The place is called Bethany,
But the most remarkable edifice, as it a,ffords church of
St. Basil.
a striking monument of national manners, is the
Church of St. Basil, near the Kremlin. It is a
complete specimen of the Tahtar taste in build
ing; and was erected by Ivan Basilovich [the.
Second, in 1538. To add to the singularity of its
history, it was the workmanship of Italian archi
tects. Its numerous and heavy cupolas, sur
mounted by gilded crucifixes, exhibit a striking
contrast of colour and ornament. Pious indivi
duals bequeath legacies towards the perpetual
gilding or painting of this or that dome, according
to their various fancies ; so that it is likely to
remain a splendid piece of patch- work for many
generations. In order to account for the origin
of this builduig, and for the Tahtarian style exhi-
vol. I. K

130 MOSCOW.
bited in the architecture, we must look back to[
the period of the Russian history when it was con
structed. The stories we have hitherto received
of the monarch in whose piety or ostentation it
is said to have originated, are so contradictory,
that the subject itself merits a little investigatioQ;
The more we inquire into the real history of
Russia, and of the Russian Sovereigns, the more
we shall have reason to believe, that the country
and people have undergone little variation since
the foundation of the empire. Peter the Great
might cut off the beards of the nobles, and sub
stitute European habits for Asiatic robes; but the
inward man is still the same'. A Russian of the

: (l) They who knew Potemkin, or who will merely attend to what
is related of him in page 118, will find that a picture of the mannere
of Russian Nobles made in the seventeenth century will equally repre
sent those of their Princes in the eighteenth.
"Pendant le r^pas les rots qui leur sortent de la bouche avec
I'odeur de I'eau-de-viej de I'ail, de I'oignon, et des raves, joints auic
veijts du has ventre, dont ils ne sont point scrupuleux, exhalent une
corruption capable de faire cr^ver ceux qui sont aupres d'eux. lis ne
portent point leurs mouchoirs dans leurs ,poches, mais dans leurs
bonnets ; et comme ils ont toujours la tfite nue lorsqu'ils sont
h, table, s'ils ont besoin de se moucher, ils se servent de leurs
doights, qu'ils essuyent ensulte, et leur nez, 5i. la nappe." Voyage en
Moscovie,par /iugustin. Baron deMayerburg,Leid.\68S,p.€2.
Olearius, secretary to the ambassador from the Court oi Denmark,
gave a similar account of their nuyrals in the middle of the seventeenth
century. The following short extracts are from the best edition of
his works, translated from thc German by Wicquefort, and published
at Paw, A.D. 1666.
'. II est yray que les Moscovites ne manquent point d'esprit ; mais
iU I'-employeut 'si mal, qu'il n'y a pas une de leurs actions; qui ait

MOSCOW, 131
nineteenth century possesses all the servile pro
pensities, the barbarity of manners, the cruelty,
the hypocrisy, and the profligacy, which cha
racterized his ancestors in the ninth.
pour le hut la vertu, et la gloire, qui en est inseparable  Leur
Industrie et la subtilit(5 de leur esprit paroist principalement en leur
trafic, oil il n'y a point de finesse, ny de tromperie dont ils ne se ser
vent, pour fourber les autres, plustost que pour se defendre de I'estre."
Voyage d' Clear, torn. 1. p. 145.
" Et d'autant que la tromperie ne s'exerce point sAs faussete, sans
menteries et sans defiances, qui en sont inseparables, ils s^avent mer-
veiUeusemeut bien s'ayder de ces belles qualit^s, aussi bien que de la
calomnie." Ibid.p.liS.
" De cette facon d'agir des Moscovites, et du pen de fidelity qu'ils
ont entr'eux, fon peutjuger de ce que les Estrangers en peuvent esp^rer,
etjusqu'h quel paint Von s'y peutjier. lb n'offrent jamais leur amitii,
et n'en contractent jamais, que pour leur interest part iculier, et h desseitt
d" en profiler. La mauvaise nourriture qu'on leur d,oune en leur jeu-
nesse, en laquelle ils n'apprennent au plus qu'i lire et escrire, et
quelques petites priferes vulgaires, fait qu'ils suivent aveuglement ce
que I'on appelle aux bestes I'instinct ; de sorte que la nature estant
en elle mesme d^prav^e et corrompuS, leur vie ne pent estre qu'un
debordement et d^reglement continuel. C'est pourquoy I'on n'y voit
rien que de brutal, et des effets de leurs passions et app^tits desor-
donn^s, k qui ils laschent la bride, sans aucune retenue," Ibid.
p. 148,
" Le naturel pervers des Moscovites, et la bassesse en laquelle ils
sont nourris, joint i la servitude, pour laquelle ils semblent estre n^s,
font que I'on est central nt de les traiter en bestes, plustflst qu'Cn
personnes raisonnables. Et ils y sont si bien accoustumes, qu'il est
comme impossible de les porter au travail, si I'on n'y employe le foiiet
et le baston." Ibid. p. i55.
It is the more necessary to cite these remarks, because autliors of
celebrity, such, for example, as Puffendarf, offer very erroneous no
tions to the student in modern history. " On se troinperoit beau-
coup," says he, " si pour connoltre les Russes d'aujourd'hui, on
s'airetoit aux portraits qui ont 6t^ fails de cette nation avant le com
mencement de ce si6cle," Introd. a I'Histoire Moderne, S^cl tome It'.
p. 284, edU. Paris, 1756, ^
K 2

132 MOSCOW.
^^f^- John Basilovich the First has been considered
\ -y-~' as one of the founders of the Russian Empire;
tvan Basi- , , . . -. . , - •n i
lovich. -but his accession did not take place till the
middle of the ^teenth century. He arose, like
Buonaparte, in a period of national dismay; and
although described as a man of impetuous vices,
intrepid, artful, treacherous, having all the fero
city of a savage, he has been hailed as the
deliverer of his country, and dignified by the
appellation of ' The Great.' It is a title which an
oppressed intimidated people have frequently
bestowed upon tyrants. Until his time, how
ever, Tahtars were lords of Moscow ; the Tsars '
themselves being obliged to stand in the pre
sence of Tahtar ambassadors while the latter
sat at meat ; and to endure the most humiliat
ing ceremonies. Basilovich shook off the Tahtai:
yoke; but it was long before the Russians,
always children of imitation, ceased to mimic
a people by whom they had been conquered.
They had neither arts nor opinions of their own;
every thing in Moscow was Tahtarian; dress,
manners, buildings, equipages, in short, all,
excepting religion and language. Basilovich, at
the conquest of Casan, was solemnly crowned
with the diadem of that kingdom : this is said
to be the same now used for the coronation of
the Russian Sovereigns. In the reign of his
successor, Moscow was again taken by the

MOSCOW. 133
Tahtars, and its Tsar subjected to an ignomi
nious tribute. Twelve years afterwards, the
eldest son of that successor, John Basilovich the
Second, then an infant, but afterwards a fero
cious and implacable tyrant, came to the
throne*. It is a curious fact, that, in the very openhig
of his reign, three hundred artists, intended for
Russia, were arrested in the town of LubecL
What the great work then carrying on in Moscoio
was, is now uncertain; but it evidently proves a
disposition, on the part of the sovereign, to
superinduce the hearts of Western nations over
the long-established Oriental customs of his
( 1 ) Some writers endeavour to apologise for the conduct and cha
racter of John Basilovich the Second. The Editors of the Modem
Universal History even speak of him with eulogium, (Vol. XXXV.
p. 259.) Mr. Coxe thinks his character has been misrepresented ;
CTrav. vol. I. p. 302.) and yet allows it would be " contrary to his
torical evidence to deny many of the cruelties committed by him."
If the horrible cruelties related of this monarch by Dr. Ci-ull (see
Jcamnt of Muscovy, vol. I. p. 331, Ijond. 1698) be untrue, what willb?
said of the narrative of those persons who were eye-witnesses of many
of his enormities ? Crull says, his affected sanctity led Javius into the
mistake of calling him a good Christian. " But if any delight to reade
the terrible and bloudie acts of Ivan Basilovich, he may glut, if not
drowne himselfe in bloud, in that historic which Paul Oderborne hath
written of his life, and both there and in others take view of his other
unjust acts. I will not depose for their truth, though I cannot dis
prove it : adversaries perhaps make the worst. For myselfe, I list not
to rake sinkes against him, and would tpeake in his defence, if I found
not an universall conspiracy of all historic and reports against him."
PurclMs his Pilgrimes, lib, iv. c. 9. sect. I .

134 MOSCOW,
people,' In this reign ¦ was built the church to
which we have now alluded. The artists arrested
in, Lubeck were Germans. The architects em
ployed for the Church of St. Basil were Italians-,
probably obtained by the connexion which sub
sisted between the Tsars of Muscovy and the
Emperors oi Constantinople^ From whatever
country they came, the taste displayed in the
edifice is evidently. Tahtarian. How much the
manners of the people were so at this period,
may be shewn by reference to the curious and
interesting documents preserved in Hakluy{&
^Uection of Voyages, It was during the
bloody administration of the tyrant who then
ruled in Russia that the first ambassadors went
from England in that country. By the accounts
they sent home, it appears the situation • of
EngHshmen in Russia was precisely what we
experienced two hundred and thirty years after
wards, under the tyranny of the Emperor Paul^
the same disgusting race around them; the
same dread of being communicative in their
letters ; the same desire to quit a scene of
barbarity and profligacy. The secretary to
CO Some years afterwards, A.D. 1557, the Tiar again made an un
successful application to the Court of Vienna for artists ; stating, that
" he could easily procure them from France and Italy, but that he
gave the preference fo Germans; knowing them to be an upright^
virtuous, and honest people." See the authors cited in the Mod.
Urnv. Hist.ml.XXXV.p.2lt.

MOSCOW. las
Randolph, who wetit as ambassador from Queen chap.
Elizabeth, was a person of the name of George ^— ¦v^i-''
Tuhervile, and wrote "Certaine Letters in Verse," Lctteris.
to Dande, Spenser, and Parker, " describing the
maners of the countrey and people." He ap
pears to have been a young man of fashion at
that time. We have selected some of the most
striking passages in these Letters, for a note '.
They are very little known, and worth the
Reader's attention; not merely because they

(2) " I left my native soile, full like a retchlcsse man.
And unacquainted of the coast, among the Russes ran :
A people passing rude, to vices vile inclinde,
Folke fit to be of Bacchus train, so quaffing is their kindc.
« * «
" Such liconr as they have, and as the countrey gives.
But chiefly two, one called Kuas, whereby the Mousike lives.
Small ware and waterlike, but somewhat tart in taste.
The rest is Mead of honie made, wherewith their lips they baste.
» » *
" Their Idoles have their hearts, on God they never call,
Unlesse it be {Nichola Bough) that hangs against the wall.
The hoiise that hath no god, or painted saint, within,
Is not to be resorted to, that roofe is full of sinne." '
Hakluyi's Voyages, pp. 384. — 5.
He then proceeds to mention'the dissolute lives of the women, and
their manner of painting their cheeks : and, at the close of his Letter
to Spenser, he says,—— — 1  " The people beastly bee.
I write not all I know, I touch but here and there ;
For if I should, my penne would pinch, and eke offend I feare.
* » »
" Tliey say thc lion's paw gives judgement oif the beast :
And so you may deerae of the great, by reading of the least."
.Uid. p. 387, In

156 MOSCOW.
chap, prove that Russia, when they were written,
appeared as it does at this day, but also as
curious examples of early English poetry. The
work in which they are contained is extremely
rare, and bears an enormous price. Indeed
we are authorised in maintaining, that any
inquiry into the history of the people (whether
directed to writers who describe the brightest

In his Letter to Parker, the Tahtar dress and manner are thus strik
ingly introduced :
" Their garments be not gay, nor handsome to the eye ;
A cap aloft their heads they have, that standeth very hie.
Which Colpack they do terme. They weare no ruffes at all :
The best have collers set with pearle, which they Rubasca call.
Their shirts in Russie long, they worke them downe before.
And un the sleeves with coloured silks, two inches good and more,
• * •
" These are the Rus^s robes. The richest use to ride
From place to place, his servant run'nes, and foUowes by his side.
The Cassacke beares his felt, to force away the raine :
Their bridles are not very brave, their saddles are but plaine,
• * •
" For when the Russie is pursued by cruel foe,
He rides away, and suddenly betakes him to his boe.
And bends me but about in saddle as be sits.
And therewithall amids his race his foUowing foe he hits.
Their bowes are very short, like Turlde bowes outright.
Of sinowes made with birchen barke, in cunning maner dight,
* • •
, " The maners are so Turhie like, the men so fuU of guile,
The women wanton, temples stuft with idoles that defile
The seats that sacred ought to be, the customes are so qudnt.
As if I would describe the whole, I feare my pen would faint.
In summe, I say, I never saw a prince that so did raigne,
Nor people so beset with Saints, yet 411 but vile and vaine,
Wilde Irish are as civill as the Russies in their kinde,
Hard choice which is tbe best Of both, ech bloody, rude, and blinde."
Ibid. pp. 387—389

MOSCOW. 137
or the most gloomy annals of Russia) will prove ^^f^-
the state of society in the country to exist now
as it always has been. The leading testimony
(even of authors decidedly partial) is by no
means favourable to the character of its inhabi
tants. So long ago as the middle of the last
century, when the Baron de Manstein wrote his
Memoirs^ concerning the interesting sera that
elapsed between the beginning of the reign of
Peter the Second-, and the marriage of the late
Empress Catherine with the husband whose
murder Voltaire found it impossible to methodize'^,
the insecurity of property, the total want of
public faith, the ignorance and the rudeness of
the people, were notorious \ De Manstein stu
diously avoided all opprobrious reflections ; attri
buting the depreciating accounts, usually given
of the natives, to the little information strangers,
unacquainted with the language, can procure*.
ft will therefore be curious to adduce the evi
dence, which may nevertheless be derived from,
his work, to vahdate the description we have

(l) Memoirs of Russia by the Baron de Manstein, a German, who
served in the Russian army. He afterwards became a general-officer
in the Pi-ussian service. These Memoirs contain a history of Russia
from the year 1727 to the year 1744.
(2) See the Advertisement prefixed to this volume,
(a) " They were perfectly ignorant of all the rules of good breeding,
even ofthx laws of nations, and of those prerogatives of foreign ministers
Which are established in the other Courts of Europe." Supplement to
the Memoirs, ^c. p. 416, Secmd^EdU. Lond. 1773.
(4) Ibid.

138 ..MOSCOW.
pHAP, given of tlOie' Russians; especially after the high
\.. .-y— ..^ character given of the former by David Plume',
It was during the reign of the Empress Anne,
that Valinsky, a minister of the Crown, together
with his adherents, fell victims to the displeasure
of one of her favourites. After relating their
undeserved fate, and the confiscation of their
property, De Manstein observes*: " All the
estates of these unfortunate persons were given
to others, who did not possess them long. In this
manner," says he, " it is, that in Russia, not only
money, but even lands, houses, and moveables,
circulate quicker than in any other country in
Europe. I have seen lands change masters at
least thrice in the space of two years." The same
author, describing their barbarous finery- and
want of cleanliness half a century ago, actually
delineated a portraiture of the nobles as they
appear at the present day'. "The richest coat
would be sometimes worn together with the
vilest uncombed wig ; or you might see a beau
tiful piece of stuff spoiled by some botcher of a
tailor ; or, if there were nothing amiss in the
dress, the equipage would be deficient. A man
richly dressed would come to Court in a mise
rable coach, drawn by the wretchedest hacks."
(I) Hume vouches for his having been an eye-witness to most of
the incidents he has relented, and speaks of the author's candour, goo.d
.sense, and impartiality.— See 4dvertisement to the Memc^rs figned
"David Hume."
(2) Memoirs of Russia, p. 256. 3) Ibid. p. 247. ,¦

MOSCOW. 139
The same want of taste reigned in the furniture *^^,^/*'
and appearance of their houses. On one side ' — * —
you might see gold and silver in heaps ; on the
other, " a shocking dirtiness." And then he adds \
" It was enough for a dealer in the commodities
of luxury and fashion to remain two or three
years at Petersburg, to gain a competency for
the rest of, his life; even though he should have
begun the world there with goods upon credit."
Instances of this kind, during the period of our
residence in Russia, might be cited, as having
happened both in Petersburg and in Moscow.
(4) Memoirs of Russia, p. 248.

Market,

PUN 0/ MOSCOW; itemn; lie Silualioii of tU KREMLIN, iiiiil lie Conrie r/ lie J!i«m Moicii,
Niglina, and Yotafla.

CHAP. VII.
MOSCOW.
Sunday Market — Promenades during Easter — Kremlin-
Holy Gate — Great Bell-~Great Gun — Antient Palace
of the Tsars — Imperial Treasury — Manuscripts — Superb
Model — General appearance of the Kremlin — First
Christian Church — Festival of the Ascension,
CHAP, rp
VIL J. HE market on a Sunday in Moscow is a novel
Sunday aud entertaining spectacle. From five in the
morning till eight, the Place de Galitzin, a spa
cious area near the Kremlin, is filled with a
concourse of peasants, and people of every
description, coming to buy, or to sell, white pea
cocks, fan-tailed and other curious pigeons, dogs

MOSCOW. 141
of all sorts for the sofa or the chace, singing- ^^j|^-
birds, poultry, guns, pistols, in short, whatso
ever chance or custom may have rendered
saleable. The seUers, excepting in the market
of singing-birds, which is permanent and very
large, have no shops; they remain with their
wares exposed upon stalls, or they are seen
hawking them about in their hands. Dogs and
birds are the principal articles for sale. The
pigeon-feeders are distinguished in the midst of
the mob by long white wands, used for the
purpose of directing the pigeons in their flight.
The nobles of Moscow take great delight in
pigeons : a favourite pair -will sell from five to
ten roubles in the market. We were surprised
to see the feeders, by way of exhibiting their
birds, let them fly, and then recover them again at
pleasure. The principal recommendation of these
birds consists in their rising to a great height ih
the air, by a spiral curve, all flying one way, and
following each other. When a pigeon has been
launched, if it do not continue in the same line df
curvature which the others observe, the feeder
whistles, waving at the same time his wand,
and then its course is immediately changed.
During these exhibitions, the nobles stake their
money in wagers, betting upon the height to
which the birds will ascend, and the number
of curves they will make in so domg. Among

142 MOSCOW.
^y^^' the dogs for hunting, we obser*ved a noble race,
'>-"v-—' which is common in Russia, with long fine hair,
like the Newfoundland breed, but of amazing
size and height; this kind of dog is used in
Russia to pursue the wolves. German pug-dogs,
highly appreciated in London, here bear a low
¦price: we were offered a very fine one for a
sum equivalent to an English shilling. We
observed also English harriers and fox-hounds:
but the breed most valued in Moscow is the
Enghsh terrier; this is rare in Russia, and a dog
of this kind will sell at so high a price as eighteen
roubles, or even higher, according to the caprice
of the buyer and seller. Persian cats were
offered for sale, of a bluish-grey or slate colour,
and much admired. Seeing several stalls
apparently covered with wheat, we approached
to examine its quality, and were amused in
finding that what had the appearance of wheat
consisted of large ants' eggs, heaped for sale.
Near the same stalls were tubs full of pismires,
creeping among the eggs, and upon the clothes
of those who sold them. Both the eggs and the
ants are brought to Moscow as food for nightin
gales, the favourite, although common, singing
birds in Russian houses ; their notes being in
every respect as wild and pleasing, when con
fined in cages, as in their native woods. We
often heard them in the bird-shops, warbling

MOSCOW. \4-X
with all the fulness and variety of tone which *^^j|''-
distinguishes the nightingale in its natural state'. ^— v — '
The price of a nightingale, in full song, is about
fifteen roubles. The Russians, by rattling beads
on one of their tables oi tangible arithmetic^, can
make these birds sing at pleasure during the
day: but nightingales are heard throughout the
night, making the streets of the city resound the
melodies of the forest.
The promenades at this season of the year Prome-
^ . . nades dur-
are among the many sights in Moscow -which are ing Easter.
interesting to a stranger. The principal pro
menade is on the first of May {Russian style),
in a forest near the city. It affords a very
curious spectacle, because it is frequented by the
bourgeoisie as well as by the nobles, and the
national costume may then be observed in its
greatest splendour. The procession of car
riages and persons on horseback is immense.
Beneath the trees, and upon the greensward,
Russian peasants are seen seated in their gayest
dresses, expressing their joy by shouting and by
tumultuous songs. The music of the balalaika.

(0 I have been since informed, that this method of keeping and
feeding nightingales is becoming, prevalent in our own country.
(3) This kind of Omnting-Table, universally used . in Russia, and
which appears in the paintings of the Chinese, is the Abacus of the
Antients.  ' ¦

MOSCOW.
the shrill notes of rustic pipes, the clapping of
hands, and the wild dances of the gipsies, all
mingle in one revelry. The wives of merchants,
in droskies, and on foot, display head-dresses of
matted pearls, and other most expensive attire.
In costliness of apparel, there is no difference
between a Moscow princess and the wife of a
Moscow shopkeeper; except that the first
copies the fashions of London and Paris, while
the other preserves the habit of her ancestors.
During Easter, promenades take place every
evening, varying occasionally in the site of
cavalcade. They are made in carriages and on
horseback; the number of the former being
greater than any public festival assembles in
other cities in Europe. The intention of such
meeting is of course the same everywhere; to
' see and to be seen. Equipages continue to
pass in a constant order, forming two lines,
which move parallel to each other. Beautifiil
women, attired in expensive but becoming
dresses, fill the balconies and windows of the
houses between which all this pageantry moves
towards its destination.. Hussars and police-
ofiicers are meanwhile stationed in different
parts, to preserve order. When arrived at the
place particularly set apart for the display of
the procession, the stranger with amazement
beholds some objects which are singularly

MOSCOW. 145
contrasted with the splendour of the cavalcade; chap.
and among these, miserable hovels, and wooden '  1 — '
huts, hardly discernible amidst clouds of dust.
On Friday in the Easter- week, the place of
promenade is better selected: it is then on a
plam called La Vall6e, and the sight is the most
surprising that can be conceived. Long before
reaching this plain, the throng of carriages is
so great, that it can scarcely move'. At last
the great scene opens, aiid the view which
breaks all at once upon the spectator is indeed
striking. A procession, as far as the eye can
reach^ is seen passing and repassing a spacious
and beautiful lawn, terminated by the spires of
a convent. Not less than two thousand car
riages, generally with six horses to each, but

{0 It may be well to iijsert here an extract from Mr. Heber's
Journal, concerning the population of this remarkable city ; as that
gentleman has made very parlicular inquiry upon the subject, and his
zealous attention to accuracy appears in every statement.
" The circuit of Moscow we have heard variously stated ; it may,
perhaps, be about thirty-six versts (twenty-six miles), but this includes
many void spaces. The population is, as usual, exaggerated. It is
decidedly greater than that of Petersburg i we should think three or
four times as much, judging from the concourse in the streets. The
extent, in comparison with that of Petersburg, is nearly, as may be
seen by the Plan, twelve to one; and yet, from the master of the
police, of all men the most likely to know, the population was esti
mated at only 250,000 fixed inhabitants. The servants and numerous
retainers of the nobles may be perhaps estimated at nearly 30,000,
which are only here in winter." Heber's MS. Journal.
VOL, I, L

146 MOSCOW.
CHAP, never less thaii four, are present upoii this
occasion. So much for the general effect. The
appearance, in detail, of the equipages, lackeys,
and drivers, beggars all description. The pos
tillions are generally old men of a woful aspect,
dressed in liveries of worsted lace, and wearing
cocked hats : these wretched bipeds hold their
whip and reins as if they had never before been
so employed". The harness, consisting of ropes
and cords, frequently ragged, and always dirty,
is very unlike the white traces used in Polarid,.
which have a pleasing, if not a magnificent ap
pearance. The carriages themselves, almost
as filthy as the night-coaches of London, are
ill-built, old-fashioned, heavy, and ugly. It is
only the amazing number of equipages that
affords any ideas of wealth or grandeur.
Examined separately, every thing is little and
mean. The procession extends upon the plain
as far as the convent before mentioned ; aild then
it returns back, observing the order in which it
advanced. In the line between the carriages, a
space is reserved for the cavaliers, who make
their appearance upon the most beautiful En
glish and Turkish horses, riding, as they all
maintain, d rAnglois., but without the smallest
resemblance to the manner of Englishmen.
Their horses are taught the manege, and con-

MOSCOW. 147
tmue to pace and champ the bit, without ad- ^^^^j^-
vancing a step; occasionally plunging, like those
exhibited in ampitheatres ; while their riders,
in laced coats and ruffles, with cocked hats,
and saddles sumptuously embroidered, imagine
they display surprising feats of horsemanship.
Several families preserve the old Russian cos
tume, in their servants' habits; others clothe
their attendants like the running footmen in
Italy; so that the variety formed by such a
tnotley appearance is very amusing.
The numberless bells of Moscow continue to
ring during the whole of the Easter week, tink
ling and tolling, without any kind of harmony
or order. The large bell near the cathedral is
only used upon important occasions: when it
sounds, a deep and hollow murmur vibrates all
over Moscow, like the fullest and lowest tones of
a vast organ, or the rolling of distant thunder.
This bell is suspended in a tower called The
Belfry of St. Ivan, beneath others, which, al
though of less size, are also enormous. It is
forty feet nine inches in circumference ; sixteen
inches and a half thick ; and it weighs more than
fifty^seven tons'.

(l) 3551 Russian pouds. Voyage de Deux Franfais, tome III,
p. 293.
L 2

148 MOSCOW.
^y^j^- The Kremlin is, above all other places, most
' — , — ' worthy a traveller's notice. It was our evening
vralk, whenever we could escape from the
engagements of society. The view of the city
from this place surpasses every other, both in sin
gularity and splendour ; especially from St. Ivan's
Tower. It is surrounded on all sides by walls,
towers, and a rampart, and is filled with domes
and steeples. Its appearance differs in every
point of view, on account of the strange irre
gularity in the edifices it contains. Entering this
fortress by an archM portal, painted red, which
Holy Gate, is Called the Holy Gate, persons of every descrip
tion are compelled to walk bare-headed, near a
hundred paces. This gate is on the south side,
facing the quarter of the shops. The approach
to it is by a bridge, across the fosse that sur
rounds the walls. It is a vaulte^d Propylteum;
and over the entrance there is a picture ', before
which a lamp is seen continually burning. Sen
tinels are here placed, as at all the entrances to
the Kremlin, No person ventures to pass this

(l) " You enter the Holy Gate by a long narrow bridge over the
fosse. On the left hand is a noble view down to the river. The whole
coup d!oeil much resembled Seringapatam, as represented in Kerr
Porter's Panorama. In passing under the Holy Gate, all hats are
taken off, in reverence for a saint suspended over it, who delivered the
citadel, as tradition affirms, by striking a sudden panic into an army
of Poles, which had possession of the town, and had almost succeeded
iuforcin^ this gate of thfe Kremlin." Heber's MS. Journal.

MOSCOW. 149
gate without taking off his hat*. The author chap.
wished to see if this absurd rule was rigorously '  . — '
enforced, and, feigning ignorance, entered be
neath the arch with his hat on. A sentinel
challenged him ; but, without taking any notice
of the sentinel, he walked forward. Next, a
bare-headed peasant met him, and, seeing his
head covered, summoned the sentinels and peo
ple with very loud expressions of anger ; who,
seizing him by the arms, very soon taught him
in what manner to pass the Holy Gate for the
future. The Great Bell of Moscow, known to be the Great udi.
largest ever found, is in a deep pit in the midst
of the Kremlin, The history of its fall is a fable ;
and as writers have been induced to copy each
other, the story continues to be propagated.
The fact is, the bell remains in the place where
it was originaUy cast. It never was suspended ;
the Russians might as well attempt to suspend
a first-rate line-of-battle ship, with all her guns

(2) In this description of the Kremlin (the antient residence of the
TsAKS of Russia J, with its Holy Gate, the classical reader will recognise the
old Grecian custom of the Acropolis, answering to the ^ufio, TitXavihuv
of Sophocles (Electra, v. 10.) ; and the Obraze, or Image, placed over the
Entrance, before which a Russian crosses himself, will remind him of the
homage rendered by Orestes to the tutelary Gods of Mycen.*, stationed over
the conseci'ated Propyla^a j oo'ct^t^ vf^ofroXa. vaioufftt raSu Ibid. i;. 1391.

150 MOSCOW.
CHAP, and stores. A fire took place in the Kremlin;
V. .y. ,/ and the flames catching the building erected
over the pit where the bell yet remained, it
became hot ; when some water, thrown to extin
guish the fire, fell upon the heated metal, and
caused the fracture that has taken place in the
lower part of it. The bell reaches from the
bottom of the pit to the roof. The entrance to
the place where it lies, is by a trap door, placed
even with the surface of the earth ; and beneath
the entrance are ladders. We found the steps
of the ladders very dangerous ; some being
wanted, and others broken. In consequence of
this the author encountered a very severe fall
down the whole extent of the first flight ; and
narrowly escaped losing his life, in not frac
turing his scull upon the bell. After this acci
dent, a sentinel was stationed at the trap-door, to
prevent people from becoming victims to their
curiosity. The same person, it is true, might
have been as well employed in mending the
ladders, as in waiting all day to say that they
were broken. The bell is truly a mountain of
metal. It is said to contain a very large pro
portion of gold and silver. While it was in
fusion, the nobles and the people cast in, as
votive offerings, their plate and their money.
We endeavoured, in vain, to assay a small part :
but the natives regarded it with superstitious

MOSCOW. 161
veneration, and they would not allow even a chap.
, . vii.
grain to be filed off. At the same time, it may
be observed, that the compound has a white
shining appearance, unlike bell-metal in gene
ral ; and perhaps its silvery aspect strength
ened, if not caused, the conjecture respecting
the nature and value of its chemical consti
tuents. On festival days, the peasants visit this bell
as they would resort to a sanctuary; consider
ing it as an act of devotion; crossing themselves
all the way as they descend and ascend the
steps. We found the bottom of the pit covered
with water, mud, and large pieces of timber;
which, added to the darkness of the place,
render it always unpleasant and unwholesome,
independently of the danger arising from the
rotten ladders leading to the bottom. We went,
however, frequently thither, in order to ascertain
the dimensions of the bell with exactness. To
our surprise, during one of those visits, half a
dozen Russian officers, whom we found in the
pit, agreed to assist us in making the admeasure
ment. It so nearly agreed with the account
pubhshed by Jonas Hanway, that the difference
is not worth notice. This is somewhat remark
able, considering the difficulty of exactly mea
suring what is partly buried in the earth, and

152 MOSCOW.
CHAP, the circumference of which is not entire. No
VIL one has yet ascertained the circumference of the
base ; this would afford still greater dimensions
than those we obtained ; but it is entirely buried.
About ten persons were present when we mea
sured the part exposed to observation. We
applied a strong cord, close to the metal, as
nearly as possible round the lower part where
it touches the ground ; taking care, at the same
time, not to stretch the cord. Froin the piece
of the bell broken off, it was ascertained that
we had thus measured within two feet of the lip,
or lower extremity. The circumference thus
obtained equalled sixty-seven feet and four
inches ; allowing a diameter of twenty-two feet,
five inches, and one third of an inch. We then
took the perpendicular height from the top;
and found it to correspond exactly with the
statement made by Hanway ; namely, twenty-
one feet, four inches and a half. In the stoutest
part, that in which it should have received the
blow of the hammer, its thickness equalled
twenty-three inches. We were able to ascer
tain this, by placing our hands, .under water,
where the fracture took place: this is above
seven feet high from the lip of the bell. The
weight of this enormous mass of metal has
been computed to be 443,772 lbs. ; which, if
valued at three shillings a pound, amounts to

MOSCOW. 153
.^.66,565, 16*. lying unemployed, and of no use ^hap.
to any one', ' — / — >
The Great Gun , also among the wonders of ^"^^^ ^""•
the Kremlin, we measured with less facility ;
being always interrupted by the sentinels, one
of whom pointed his bayonet at us,, and threat
ened to stab us if we persisted in our intention :
yet, by walking its length, we found it to be
about eighteen feet and a half; and its diameter
may be guessed, because it will admit a man of
middle stature sitting upright within its mouth.
Its lip, moreover, is ten inches thick. This gun
is kept merely for ostentation, and is never

(1) The Great Bell of Moscow has long been a theme of
wonder, and it is mentioned by almost every traveller. The sub
ject is of no importance ; but it may be well to add, that the accounts
given of it do not apply to tbe same thing. Olearius describes that
which he saw in 1636. It is the same mentioned in p. 147 of this
Volume, founded by Boris Gudenof. (See Clear, tom.l. p. 107.)
Augustine, ambassador from Germany in 166 1, describes that which
here engaged our attention. Jonas Hanway, and those who succeeded
him, bear reference to the same. It was founded, according to .Augustine,
in 1653, during the reign of Alexis. (See Voyage de Moscou, p. Wj.)
The Russians and people of Moscow maintain that it was cast during
the reign of their Empress Anne, probably from the female
figure represented ; which may have been intended for the Virgin.
Augustine's account of the weight, and his measurement of the bell, are
too near the truth to suppose any other was described by him. They
employed, says he, in casting it, a weight of metal equal to 440,000ft*.
He moreover states its thickness equal to two feet, which is within an
inch of what has been here said. He also proves that it is larger than
the famous bell of Erf<^d, and even than that ot Pekin.

154

MOSCOW.
used '. Notwithstanding the neglect it has expe
rienced, it remains in good order, without having
sustained any damage. It was cast in 1694.

Hard by, are placed some artillery of less caliber,
but of very extraordinary length ^
There was nothing at this time prohibited
under more severe penalty than the making of
any drawing or sketch within the Kremlin.
Owing to this circumstance, we are prevented
(1) According to the Voyage de Deux Franfais, torn. II. p. 296.-its
weight is ^iOO pouds; and its dimensions, sixteen French feet in length,
and four feet three inches in diameter, deducting sixteen inches for
the thickness of the piece.
(3) A curious notice of the brass cannon in the Kremlin occurs in
Eden's History of Travayles, as augmented by WUles, and printed by
Jugge, in the black letter, at London, in 1577. It is gathered out of
Paulas Joi'ius, and proves that they had the use of artillery in Moscow
so early as the reign of Basil IvatiovieJi. " Basilius dyd furthermore
iustytute a bande of hargabusiers on horsebacke, and caused many
great brasen peeces to be made oy the workemanshyp of certayne
Italians : and the same with theyr stockes and wheeles to be placed
in the Castle of Mosca." Eden's Hist. p.30i.

MOSCOW. 15,-)
giving the superb view it affords of the city.
But as the objects within its walls are always
interesting to strangers, artists of merit were not
wanting for their representation. It was how
ever with the greatest difficulty we succeeded
in obtaining a view of the interior of the fortress,
containing the antient palace of the Tsars. A Antient
° ^ Palace of
window appears in the front of this building theTsai-.s.
(which is an irregular Gothic edifice), distin
guished by two Gothic pillars. It is the same
whence Demetrius, in his attempt to escape,
during the conspiracy of Zusky, fell, and broke
his thigh, previous to his massacre. He low
ered himself to a considerable distance by a rope ;
but the height was still too great for any hope of
safety. Despair must have been great indeed,
when it induced any one to make the attempt.
That window was also the place where the
sovereigns of Russia were wont to sit, and to re
ceive petitions from their subjects. The petition
was placed upon a stone in the court below ; and
if the Tsar thought proper, he sent for it. The
Imperial treasure is now in cases around the walls
of the upper apartments of this palace : the
approach to the Treasury is by a stone staircase,
memorable for massacres committed there by
the Strelitzes, during the mutiny excited by the
sister of Peter the Great. It is not a pleasing
reflection which some writers have urged, that

156 MOSCOW.
^yff' the greatest atrocities, in times of anarchy or
' — , — ' despotism, have been perpetrated by women.
History, they affirm, has not recorded, nor has
the severe pen of Tacitus ever described, such
monsters as were Catherine de Medicis, the
bloody Mary, and the females of France during the
late Revolution. In the revolt of the Strelitzes,
the Princess Sophia has been accused of leading
them to the execution of the most shocking
enormities. Later writers have undertaken her
defence ; and, among others, Mr. Coxe has col
lected many ingenious arguments to disprove the
aspersions of Voltaire. Compelled, as we often
are, to view the characters of illustrious persons
in the representation of their adversaries, made
amidst the rancour and cabal of parties, we may
suspect the justice of a reproach thus cast upon
the female sex. The unreasonableness of the
obloquy to which the character of Richard the
Third was exposed, by writers during the reign
of Henry the Seventh, is now pretty generally
admitted : yet long-established prejudice is not
easily removed. Referring to the history of the
Crusades, we find the Saracens always branded
with the name of barbarians; although their
Christian invaders borrowed from that people the
first dawnings of civilization. A scene more
striking, as a subject for historical painting, can
hardly be conceived, than was exhibited upon

MOSCOW. 157
tliis staircase, when the venerable Patriarch, ^^^f-
bearing in one hand an obraze, or image of the '¦- -v-v ¦¦'
Virgin Mary, which was supposed to wCrk mira
cles, and leading young John Narishkin by the
other, followed by his weeping sister and the
princesses, descended, calling on the infuriate
mob to spare his life. The populace had been
two days seeking him ; and had threatened to set
the palace on fire, if he were not delivered to be
put to death. No sooner had these tigers seized
their victim, than, cutting his body in pieces,
they fixed his head, feet, and hands, on the iron
spikes of the ba^trade.
We ascended by this blood-stained passage imperial
•' r o Treasury.
to the Imperial Treasury. It contains very little
worth notice. The old General who had the
care of it was obliged-to attend in person, when
ever permission for seeing it had been obtained.
He was very ill during our visit, and, being
placed in an arm-chair in one of the apartments,
sat grumbling the whole time with pain and
impatience. The various articles have been
enumerated in the anonymous Travels of Two
Frenchmen ', who complain of being hurried, as
we were. Habits of ceremony worn by the sove-

(1) Voyage de Deux Franfais, a work of very considerable merit,
prohibited at the time we were in Russia. It has been occasionally
referred to in this Volume.

158 MOSCOW.
*^vii^' ''^^S'^^ ^^ Russia at their coronation, and other
* — y— ' costly embroidered robes, thickly studded with
gems and pearls, occupied the principal cabinets,
and appeared to constitute the chief ornaments
of the Treasury. Among a number of such
dresses was a vest, twelve yards in length, worn
by Catherine the Seconh. It was supported
by twelve chamberlains at her coronation. The
practice of exhibiting splendid attire charac
terized the Russians in times of their earliest
potentates. From the accounts afforded by the
ambassadors of our own country, so long ago as
the reign of Philip and Mary, we find it was
the custom at Moscoiv to clothe tradesmen, and
other inhabitants, elders of the city, in rich gar
ments, and to place them in the antechamber of
the sovereign on days of audience ; but when the
ceremony ended, these costly vestments were
again replaced within the Treasury. In a Letter
written by Henry Lane to Sanderson ', describing
his introduction, with Chanceller, to the Tsar's
presence, in the year 1555, this circumstance is
particularly mentioned. " They entred sundry
roomes, furnished in shew with ancient grave
personages, all in long garments of sundry co
lours ; golde, tissue, baldekin, and violet, as our
vestments and copes have bene in England,
(l) Hacklu;?!, vol. I. p. 465.

MOSCOW. 159
sutable with caps, jewels, and chaines. These
were found to be no courtiers, but ancient Mus
covites, inhabitants, and other their merchants of
credite, as the maner is, furnished thus from the
wardrobe and treasurie, waiting and wearing
this apparell for the time, and so to restore it."
Two years after. Captain Jenkinson was sent from
England to conduct the Russian ambassador to
Moscoiv. As he and his companions were pre
paring to leave that city, they received an
invitation to see the Emperor's treasury and
wardrobe. Having seen all his " goodly gownes,"'
two of which are described " as heavie as a m.an
could easily carrie, all set with pearles over and
over, and the borders garnished with saphires
and other good stones abundantly," they were
particularly enjoined to procure such, or better,
in England^, and told " that the Emperour would
gladly bestow his money upon such things."
The crowns of conquered kingdoms are ex
hibited in the Treasury. We saw those of
Casan, of Siberia, of Astracan, and of the Crimea.
The last, from its simplicity, and the circum
stances connected with its history, excited the
most interest. It was totally destitute of
ornament; affording a remarkable contrast to
the lavish store of riches seen on all the
-r-  ¦ 
(2) Hackluyt, vol. I. p. 319.

160 MOSCOW.
CHAP, objects around it, and being emblematical of the
V— ., — ' simplicity and virtue of the people from whom
it had been plundered'. Its form was very
antient, and resembled that usually given by
painters to our English Alfred. The part of
the Treasury containing the most valuable ob
jects is a chamber where the crowns of the
Russian sovereigns are deposited. It is said,
the rubies once adorning those of the Empress
Anne and of Peter the Second have been
changed, and stones of less value substituted
in their place *.
Some things were shewn to us that were
formerly considered of great value, but are
now curious only from their antiquity; such,
for instance, as a long ivory comb, with which
the Tsars combed their flowing beards. Cup
boards, below the glass-cases covering the
walls, were filled with a profusion of goblets,
vases, plates, cups of all sorts, basons, gold and
silver candlesticks, and other articles of value,
the gift of foreign princes and tributary states.
A round box of gilded silver contains, upon
a scroll, the code of laws of the several pror
(I) The writers of the Voyage de Deux Franfais mention a very
antient crown of gold, which may be that here noticed. " Une autre
couronne, d'or, plus simple que toutes les autres, qui parolt fort
ancienne, mais dont on n'a pas pu nous dice I'origine,"
(2) Voyage de Deux FrancaJS, tom. III. p. 291.

MOSCOW, IGl
vinces of the empire, collected by Alexis, father ^^i^^-
of Peter the Great, one of the best and v — ,—i /
wisest princes that ever sat upon the Russian
throne. There are also some pieces of me
chanism that would now be little esteemed
anywhere : a toilette entirely of amber : ser^
pentine vessels, supposed to possess the pro
perty of disarming poison of its deadly quality :
masquerade dresses worn by their sovereigns :
a few natural curiosities; and among these,
the horn of a Narvhal, above eight feet in
length. This kind of whale is found near the
mouths of rivers falling into the Icy Sea, or
upon the shores of lakes in the same latitude.
The horns and tusks of animals, in a fossile
state, form a considerable article of the internal
commerce of Russia. Perhaps the ivory ma
nufactured at Archangel may have been dug
up in the north of Russia. Professor Pallas
informed us, that such prodigious quantities
of elephants' teeth were discovered on an island
north of the Samoiede Land, that caravans come
annually laden with them to Petersburg. The
most remarkable circumstance is, that, instead
of being mineralized, like elephants' tusks found
in the South of Europe, they may be wrought
with all the facility of the most perfect ivory :
but this only happens when they are found in
a latitude where the soil is perpetually frozen ;
VOL. I. M

VH.
I.

162 MOSCOW,
¦ciiAV. ,^y have them been preserved, Mke fee fiahas
a;nd -Oibher atticles of food brought anniflany'it©
tbe winte*" markets oi Petersburg. Those dug
in the southern parts of Siberia are found eith^
soft and decayed, or mineralized by siHceEniiB
iafiltratiotis, and metalline compoiands. What
a source ©f wondrous reflection do these dis"
coveries open ! If frost alone have preserved
them, they were froz-aa in 1h.e moment of their
deposit ; a.ad thus it appears, that an animal
j)eculiar to the warmest regions of the eaarth
iftust, at some distant period, have been ha
bituated to a ftemperature which it could ifiot
mow endiire for an instant. In the epiistelairy
jmuitttmery bart-ered by the late Empress Ca
therine with V&haire, these animal rem-ailis
are brought forward to gratify his infidelity':
adid it is difficuk to say who appears most
aibject in the eyes of posterity; Catherine,
condescending to gratify the scepticism of a
man she in-wardly despised ; or the arch-infidel
himself, having nearly completed his eighth
ideeadeS sometimes by insinuation, and often
(l) " Mais une chose qui d^montre, je pense, que le monde est un
"peu iplus vieux que nos nourrices ne nous le disent, c^4t qu'on trouve
dans le Nord <le la Sib^rie, Stplusicurs toises sous terre, des osseinens
d'ei^plians, qui depuis fort long-temps n'habitent plus ces contrtes."
Lett, de f'ImpitHfriee h M. de yoUdire, dans les (Euvres de ViU.
lomehi\\\. p.'MX. Edit. n&S.
(2) " J'aurai Ma v^rit^ soixante et dix-sept ans, et je n'ai pas la
vigueur d'un Turc; mais je neTois pas ce qui pourrait m'emp&chEr de

VIL

MOSCOW. 163
•by direct entreaty, meanly courting an invitation chap.
to Petersbwg, which neither his drivelling gal
lantry, nor fulsome adulation could obtain,
• In a very antient part of the palace, formerly
inhabited by the Patriarchs, and adjoining, to
Iheir chapel, are kept the dresses worn by them;
these are also exhibited in glass-cases. They
requested us particularly to notice the habits of
Nicon and St. Nicholas; the tiaras sent to the Patri
archs from the Emperors of Constantinople;
the crucifixes borne in their solemn processions ;
the ptntriarchal staves, and relics. Several of
the last were inserted in cavities cut within a
wooden crucifix. Among other things adding to
its prodigious sanctity and miraculous powers,
a part of one of the bones of Mary Magdalene
was pointed out to us. The dresses were very
antient, but full as magnificent as those we had
seen at the ceremony of the Resurrection ; gold
and silver being the meanest ornaments lavished

de venir dans les beaux jours saluer l'(5toile du Nord et maudire le
croissant. Ndtre Madame Geoffrin a bien fait le voyage de Varsovie ;
pourquoi n'eotreprendrais-je pas celui de P^ersbourg au mois
d' Avril ?" Lett, de Volt, h V Imperat. Ibid. p. 49.
To which the Empress replied, that she admired his courage; but
knowing the delicate state of his health, she could not consent to ex-
psseUrn to the dangers of so long a journey. " Moreover," she added,
" it miiy happen, if things continue as they are, that theprosperity of
my. affairs may demand my presence in the smithern provinces of my
empire.'' Ibid. p. SO.
M 2

164 MOSCOW.
CHAP, upon them. Many were entirely covered with
v- ¦„>-. ¦' pearls, and otherwise adorned with emerald?,
rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and precious gems
of Siberia, In smaller cabinets we saw onyx-
st&nes wrought in cameo work, exhibiting images
oi Jesus and of the Virgin; these were not less'
than three inches and a half in length, and two
in breadth. They shewed us, moreover, vessels
of massive silver, made to contain consecrated
oil : this is sent all over Russia, from Moscow,
for the service of the Greek churches. Sixteen
of these vessels, of very considerable magnitude^'
each capable of containing from three to fouf
gallons, were presented by the Emperor Paul.
Manu- In the chapel adjoining the chambers where
scripts. ^
the treasures are kept, is a collection of Manu
scripts in Greek and Sclavonic ; also more of the
bones of Mary Magdalene. By much the greater
number of the manuscripts are in the Sclavonic
language. The priest who had the care of them
conversed with us in Latin; affirming, that
among the Sclavonic, or, as he termed them, the
Ruthenic manuscripts, there was a copy of the
works pf-j^r^?7, and one oi Livy, He was not,
however, able to find either of them, and we
imputed the whole story to his ignorance and
vanity. We afterwards conversed with Arch
bishop Plato upon the same subject; who

MOSCOW. 165
assured us nothing of any importance existed chap.
among those manuscripts. The priest translated, '^— -v—-'
or pretended to translate, some of their titles,
from the Sclavonic language, into Latin, If the
account he gave us can be relied on, the collec-
tioh contains the Travels of Pilgrims to Jerusalem
in very remote periods.
In Russian characters, illuminated, and written
upon antient vellum paper, is a folio copy of the
Gospels, most beautifully transcribed by Anne,
daughter of Michael Feodorovich. We were
also shewn, as at Petersburg, some carving in
wood by Peter the Great. This was a small
box, containing a letter, dated 1697, sent by him,
from Sardam in Holland, to the Patriarchs at Mos
cow, The priest permitted us to make 2^ facsimile
of his hand-writing : for this purpose we copied
with great care the signature to his letter. It was
simply his Christian name, and thus written;

9^

Havuig obtained the keys from the secretary's ^^^^^
office, we were admitted to see the famous *® ^^'^^
un»
Model of the Kremlin, according to the plan for
its erection under the auspices of the late Em
press. It is one of the most curious things in
Moscow, If the work had been completed, it

166 ^ MOSCOW.
^vii^' "^°^1^ have been the wonder of the world. The
architect who constructed the pian was a Rus
sian, and had studied in Paris ' . This model
cost fifty thousand roubles. The expense neces-:
sary for the accomplishment of the undertaking
(as the architect Camporesi, who made the esti^
mate, assured us) would have been fifty millions
of roubles. The calculation laid before the Em
press stated the amount only at twenty milhons.
The work was begun ; but, it is said, the falling
in of a part of the foundation determined the
Empress against its prosecution. From the
state of the roof of the building, where this
model is kept, it may be expected that every
trace of so magnificent an undertaking will soon
be annihilated. Symptoms of decay already
appear ; and the architect told us it might soon
be expected to fall. When he delivered his
report of the dangerous condition of the edifice,
the Russians shrugged their shoulders, and said,
" Fall in ! And what if it does F'
The plan was, to unite the whole Kremlin,
having a circumference of two miles, into one
magnificent palace. Its triangular form, and
the number of churches it contains, offered

(1) According to the Voy«g& de Dem Fr«n<pais, the mc^lel was eou«
structed by a German joiner cif the name of Andrew Wiitman, after a
design by the architect Bajamf, pupil 6f Vailly. See tome III. p. 297.

MOSCOW. 167
some difficulties; but the model was rendeiredi chap.
p VIL
C€«Biplete. Its fronts are ornaimenited with <- -y-. <
jfEmges of beautiful piliays, according to different
orders ef arehiteetuare. Every part of it was
finoisbed in the naost beavutiful manner, even to.
the fresco painting on the eeilingsi of the rooms,
and the colowing of the various marble c(;dunaj?ia
intended to deconate the interior. It incloses
a theatre, and magnifieent apartments. Had thie.
work been coonpleted, it would have surpassed;
the Tempi's- &f SolpW'On, the Prapylceum ofAma&is^
the Villa ^Adrian, or the Forym of Trqjan. Our
friend Camporesi spoke of it in terms of equal
praise; but at the same time coiBfessed, that
Guarenghi, his countryman, an architect weU
known far his works in Petevsimgr entertained
differeaat sentiments. Gu&rengki allowed it to. Im
grand, as it must neeessarily be, from the magni
tude of the design ; but thought it too much orna
mented, and t(j)o, hea>^y ia man,y of its parts.
The architecture exhibited in different patts 2^"^^*'
of the Kremlin, JB its palaces and churches, is ^"'^e of the
Xremlin.
uiuike any thing seen m Europe. It is difficult
to say froEQ what country it has been priacipally
derived. The architects were generally Ita
lians*; but the style is Tartarian, Indian, Chinese,
and Gothic : — here a pagoda, there an arcaae !
(2) Solarius of Milan was principally employed.

168 MOSCOW.
CHAP, in some parts richness, and even elegance : in
*— V — ' others, barbarism and decay. Taken altogether,
it is a mixed scene of magnificence and ruin :
old buildings repaired, and modem structures
not completed ; half-open vaults, and mouldering
walls, and empty caves, amidst white-washed
brick buildings, and to-wers, and churches, with
glittering, gilded, or painted domes. In the
midst of these crowded structures, some devo
tees are daily seen entering a little mean sanc
tuary, more like a stable than a church. This,
they tell you, is the first place of Christian wor-^
ship erected in Moscow. It was originally con
structed of the trunks of trees, felled upon the
spot, at the foundation of the city ; but now it
consists of brick-work which has been put to
gether in imitation of the original wooden church.
Its antiquity cannot be great. According to ac
counts published in our own country', the whole
city ' of Moscow was burned by the Tahtcirs of
the Crimea, on the 24th of May 1571 ; and the
old wooden church was probably then de
stroyed. We entered this building during the
celebration of divine service: a priest, with
true Stentorian lungs, was reading from a selec
tion of the Gospels to the people. There is
nothing within the structure worth notice.
(l) Letter of Richard Uscomhe to Henry Lane. Hakluyt, vol. I.
p. 402.

MOSCOW, 169
The view of Moscow, from a terrace in the ^^^7'
Kremlin, near the spot where the artillery is
preserved, would afford a fine subject for a
Panorama. The number of magnificent build
ings, the domes, the towers, and spires, filling
all the prospect, make it, perhaps, one of the
most extraordinary sights in Europe, All the
wretched hovels, and miserable wooden build
ings, which appear in passing through the streets,
are lost in the vast assemblage of magnificent
edifices : among these, the Foundling Hospital is
particularly conspicuous. Below the walls of
the Kremlin, the Moscva, already become a river
of importance, is seen flowing towards the
Volga. The new promenade forming on its
banks, immediately beneath the fortress, is a
superb work, and promises to rival the famous
quay at Petersburg : it is paved with large flags ;
and is continued from the Stone Bridge, to
another, which is called the Moscva Bridge ; being
fenced with a light but strong iron palisade, and
stone pillars, executed in a very good taste.
A flight of stairs leads from this walk to the
river, where the ceremony of the Benediction of
the Water takes place at an earlier season of the
year. Another flight of wooden steps leads
through the walls of the Kremlin to an area
within the fortress.

sion.

170 MOSCOW.
*^ vn^' ^^® ^^' ^scendmg by this staircase, we found
'¦— ' y '' all the churches in the Kremlin open, and a
Festival^of ,. . , , i ,
the ^scm- prodigious coucoursc x)i people assembled at
the celebration of the Great Festival of th
Ascension. It is difficult to describe the scenes
exhibited within these buildmgs during^ festi-*
vals. We were carried in by a crowd which
rushed forward like a torrent, and, being lifted
by it from the ground, beheld, as we entered, a
throng of devotees, in which there was danger ef
being pressed to death: all present were in
motion, crossing themselves ', bowing their
heads, and struggling who should first kiss the
consecrated pictures. The bodies of Saints were,
as usual, exposed ; and we were shewn, by the
attending priests, some wood of ' the true Cross.'
Women, with tears streaming from their eyes,
lifted up their infants, and taught them to
embrace the feet and hands of the images.
Observing a crowd particularly eager to kiss the
scull of an incorruptible saint, we asked a priest,
in Latin, whose body the sepulchre contained.
" Whence are you" said he, " that you know not the
Tomb of St. Demetrius f
( 1 ) The Russian's cross themselves first on the forehead, then on the
breast, then on the rigU shoulder, then on the left shoulder; thereby
completing the figure of a c7-oss. This ceremony is performed with the
thumb, thpyjrs<, and the middle finger ; the three fingers signifying the
THraty.

CHAP. VIII.

MOSCOW.

Order of the Maltese Cross— Minerals of Count Golovkin
— Pictures — Antiquities — Shells — Gallery of Galitzin
Lihrary of Botterline — Botanic Garden-^ Philosophical
Instruments — Other Collections — Stupendous objects of
Natural History — English Horse-Dealers — Public
Baths : their mode of use, and national imp(fftO,hce
— 'Foundling Hospital.
¦»5ince the Emperor Paul was made Grand
Master oi Malta, the Order of the Cross became
one o^f the most fashionable in Russia.

CHAP. VIIL

Order of

It 'was t!jeMaltCi.e Cross.

172 MOSCOW.

CHAP. VIIL

<.

not possible to mix in company, without seeing
' many persons adorned with the badge of the
knights. The price of it, when purchased' of
the Crown, was three hundred peasants. In
the changes befalling Orders, as well as Govern
ments, that which has happened to this class
of society is worthy of admiration. Formerly,
the oath taken, upon admission to the fraternity,
was a declaration of poverty, chastity, and oher
dience. What the nature of the oath now is,
we did not learn; but the opposite qualifications
in candidates for the Holy Cross were manifest. -
The extravagance of the Russian nobility has
no example. They talk of twenty and thirty
thousand roubles as other nations do of their
meanest coin ; but those sums are rarely paid
in cash: the disbursement is made in fiir-
niture, horses, carriages, watches, snuff"-boxes,
rings, and wearing-apparel.

c^unt^*°^ Visiting the mineralogical cabinet of Count
Golovkin. Golovkin with a dealer in minerals, he informed
us that the arts and sciences obtained true

(1) As we were informed. — Mr. Heber states it at twelve hundred
roubles. " At present, indeed, there is a new method of acquiring rank.
Persons who have not served either in a civil or military capacity, may,
for twelve hundred roubles, purchase a Cross of Malta ; but this is con
sidered as no very proud distinction." Heber's MS. Journal.

MOSCOW. 173
patronage only in Moscow. " In England,'' said chap.
he, " it does not answer to offer fine specimens u ~y^m,>
of Natural History for sale; we get more money,
even for the minerals of Siberia, in Moscow than
in Londcm." We found a very practical , illus
tration of his remark, in the contents of one
small drawer, which was opened for us, con
sisting only of forty-three specimens, and which
had cost the Count two thousand pounds
sterling. The substances were certainly rare,
but by no means adequate to such an enormous
price. Some of them had been purchased in
London, at the sale of Monsieur de Calonne's
Cabinet. A fine mineral, as well as a fine
picture, will often make the tour of Europe;
and may be seen in London, Paris, and Petersburg,
in the course of the same year.
Among the rarest of Count Golovkin s minerals,
were, a specimen of the black sulphuret of silver,
crystallized in cubes, for which alone he paid
fifteen hundred roubles; auriferous native silver;,
the largest specimen which perhaps exists of
the red Siberian tourmaline^; galena, almost

(2) Perhaps it is the same now exhibited in the Gardens of Natural
History at Paris. Since this was written, I have seen a specimen
much larger, in Mr. Greville's splendid Collection . It was a present
from the King of Ava to Captain Symes, and is nearly as big as a
man's head.

,174 MOSCOW.
«?AP- maileatoie, a substance described by Le Sage-;
vi  ¦^— < beautifed specimen of native gold from Peru ;
muriate of silver ; crystals of tin oxide, as big
as walnuts ; a singular crystallization of car
bonated lime, having assumed the shape of a
toeart, and therefore called heart spar ; very liarge
octahedral crystals, exhibiting the primary iovm
•of fluat of lime; the Siberian emerald, tra
versing prisms of rock crystal ; Peruvian emeraM
in its matrix ; Chrysoprase ; Pallas s native iron;
beautiful crystals of chromate and of phosphate
of lead ; native antimony ; a specimen of rock
crystal, so filled with water, that, when turned
in the hand, drops were seen moving in all
directions; — the stone called Venus' hairs, or
titanium oxide in rock crystal; — and that beau
tiful mineral the .red antimonial, or rvhy silver, in
fine distinct prisms, lying upon calcareous spar.
The Mus&nm of this nobleman contained other
objects of curiosity besides cabinets of Natured
History. It was rich in valuable picture^; m
many of the most interesting relics of anti
quity, particularly Grecian vases; and it con
tained a library of books of the highest vaJue.
Count Golovkin was one of the very few, among
the Russian connoisseurs, who really possessed
taste. There was proof of this in every selection
he made; whether of books, antiquities, pictures,

.MOSCOW. T75
minerals, or works of modern art; for whatever -^^.cH A Pt.
he had collected, was, in its kmd, weil chosen, '¦ 'v- ^
The caprice, indeed, might be lamented which
induced him to change, so frequently as he did,
what lie had once selected; instead of allowing
the a^jquisition to remain, as a monument of
his genius, for the use and instructitsn of his
posterity. Ajsi'csig the pietures, we noticed a very cele- Pictuixs.
brated work of Vmi der Werf: this had been
formierly purchased by llie author from Monsieur
de Calonne's Collection in London, for an English
nobleman. It was that highly-finished piece
¦which represents " the Daughters of Lot giving
wine to tiieir Father." OlJier travellers may
perhaps at this time find the same picture in
Madrid. That unrivalled painting of Gerhard
Douw, in which he has represented himself as
an artist drawing by candle-light, was also in
tins collection : it cost the Count two thousand
four humdred roubles. The rest were the pro
ductions of Leonardo da Vinci, Sasso Ferrato;
Lanfranc, Teniers, Vandyke, and other eminent
mastei's.

ties.

In the cubiniet of antiquities was an antient lyre Antiqm-
of bronze, complete in all its parts, and perhaps
the only one ever found. It was modelled by

176 MOSCOW.
CHAP. Camporesi, in 'vyood. A vase of lazulite was
V y "' shewn, as having been found in Herculaneum,
which is very doubtful. It is common, in col
lections of this nature, to attribute the antiqui
ties of other cities of Magna Gnecia, and even
modern alabaster vases, to Herculaneum ; al
though every thing found in the excavations
there be rigidly reserved for the Museum of his
Sicilian Majesty. Greek vases, from sepulchres
in Italy, are very often called Herculanean;
but no such works in terra-cot ta have yet
been found there. The rarest antiquities in
Count Golovkin's Collection were vessels of
antient glass, at least twelve inches in diameter.
There was one of these, standing near a window,
filled with earth, in which had been planted
a Dutch tulip ; of course, it was liable to be
broken every instant. Vases, on which . were
represented subjects illustrating the ' earliest
ages of Grecian History, were seen lying on the
floor, like the neglected toys of children. No
person had exceeded the liberality of Count
Golovkin, in making any addition to his Collec
tion; but no one became sooner wearied by pos
session. These zup.vikia, were therefore rather
objects of his caprice than of his study, and
have probably by this time found their way to
other cities of Europe. Enormous sums had
been lavished to procure the black porcelain of

MOSCOW. 177
Japan; but when we arrived, many beautiful chap.
vessels, made of this porcelain, were also filled v — y^
with earth and flowers. Several fine busts, from
the celebrated cabinet of Count Caylus, adorned
the apartments : also a marble vase which be
longed to the famous Mengs, and had been
brought from Rome to Moscow, by the Grand-
chamberlain Suvalof We do not pretend to
the smallest knowledge of conchology : it might
therefore astonish us more than others, to see a
single shell, called the Great Hammer, of no
external beauty, but shaped like the instrument
of that name, for which the late Mr. Forster of
London received of the Count one thousand
TOubles\ After a particular description of Count Golov
kin's Museum, it is unnecessary to mention those
of less note in Moscoiv. We shall therefore pass
hastily over a few of the principal Collections.
The gallery oi pictures of the Grand-chamberlain Gaiieryof
Galitzin.
Galitzin was the most extensive: the palace
itself being highly magnificent; and a set of
stately apartments, terminated by a vast gallery,
was entirely filled with paintings. In so vast
(l) " He furnishes his closet first, and fills
The crouded shelves with rarities of shells :
Adds Orient pearls, which from the eonchs he drew.
And all the sparkling stones of various hue."
Dryden.
VOL. I. N

178 MOSCOW.

CHAP.
VIII.

an assemblage, there were doubtless many in
different productions; but, among them, some
paintings of unequalled merit, and especially one
of the finest works of Sdlvator ¦ Rosa. The sub
ject represented the martyrdom of St. Sebastian;.
and it had been executed with all his sublimity
and energy. The gallery was chiefly filled with ,
pictures by the Flemish, Masters.
botterline '^^^ library, botanic garden, and museum of,
Count Botterline, ranked among the finest sights
in Europe. That nobleman had not only col
lected the rarest copies of all the Classic Authors;
but of some of them, particularly of Virgil, he
had so many editions, that they were sufficient
alone to constitute a library. His books were
not kept in one particular apartment, but they
occupied a number of different rooms. They
were all bound beneath his own roof; affording
sufficient employment for several workmen,
retained constantly in the house for this purpose-
He had almost all the Editiones Frincipes ; and
his collection of books printed during the ff teenth ^
century amounted to near six thousand volumes.
According to Orlandi\ the number of works
(ij Origine e Progressi della Stampa, da Peregiin. Anton. Orlandi.
Bononite, 1722. The author found Orlandi's hand-writing, and the
signature of his name, in a curious edition of Suetonius, iu the Mostyn
Library, North PVales. See the account of it in Pennant's History of
fVhiteford and Holywell, p. 83.

MOSCOW. 179
printed during that period amounted to one 9^f^-
thousand three hundred and three. It is there- j,, , <'
fore probable, that nearly all of them were
contained in Count Botterline's Collection. The
catalogue of this part of his library filled two
folio volumes. He procured from Paris the
celebrated work of Theodore de Bry, a collection
of voyages, with beautiful wood-cuts : and had
been at infinite pains to obtain from all countries
a complete series of Ecclesiastical annals ; these
already amounted to forty volumes in folio.
This immense library was divided into six
distinct classes. His pictures were not so
numerous ; but they were well chosen.
The botanic garden, (botany being his fa- Botanic
vourite pursuit,) contained a green-house, per- ^'"'^^"•
haps unequalled in the world. At one end of
it was a small library of botanical works :
here he had the advantage of studying with the
living specimens before him. But the most
extraordinary circumstance was, that we
found the plants of the frigid zone, and of
the warmest climates, flourishing in greater
beauty than we had seen them possess in a
state of nature. They were more perfect,
because they were preserved from all external
injury, and were at the same time healthy.
We asked him how such a variety of pjants,
n2

180 MOSCOW.
CHAP, requiring such different culture, situation, and
"• — V — ' temperature, could be thus nourished beneath
the same roof. He said that the principal
fault among gardeners consisted in their mode
of watering; that, for his part, he performed
almost all the work with his own hands;
acknowledging, that, although botanists were
much surprised by the appearance of his plants,-
he was himself indebted, for all the knowledge
he had acquired, to our countryman Miller,
whose works were always near him. In his
garden, the plants of Siberia flourished in the
open air. The Spircea crenata, and the Rosa
Austriaca, or Pcestan Rose, were in full bloom on
the twenty-fifth of May. Almost all the fruit-
trees in Moscow had perished during the former
winter. The Count smiled when we spoke of
the facility with which he might obtain the
Siberian plants. " I receive them all," said he,
" from England: nobody here will be at the
trouble to collect either seed or plants ; and I
am compelled to send to your country for things
that grow wild in my own,"
Phiioso- In addition to the extraordinary collection
stimenls. already noticed, belonging to this nobleman,
we were shewn another set df apartments filled
with all sorts oi philosophical instruments. This
collection alone appeared sufficient to have em-

MOSCOW. 181
ployed the time and fortune of a single individual. ^^V^f-
It consisted of electrical apparatus, telescopes, the '¦ . ¦¦¦»-...''
whole furniture of a chemical laboratory, models,
pieces of mechanism, the most curious and ex
pensive balances, and almost every instrument
of the useful Arts'. ,
The collection of minerals, shells, birds, ^shes. Natural
quddrupeds, and the cabinet of medals of Paul '^'"^'
Gregorovitz Demidof had been considered by
travellers more worth seeing than any other
Museum in Moscow^. We did not obtain admis
sion. His library contained five thousand
volumes, chiefly on subjects of Natural History.
The minerals of Prince Urusof and of Prince Paul
Galitzin, were of the highest beauty and Ktag-
nificence. The former of these princes gave five
thousand roubles for a single specimen. But
among aU the surprising articles in Natural His
tory that we saw in Moscow, the most worthy of
admiration were two mineralogical specimens,
the one of Malachite, and the other of Siberian
emerald, in the audience- chamber of Prince

U) " To tell their costly furniture were long ;
The summer's day would end before the song ;
To purchase but the tenth of all their store.
Would make the mighty Persian monarch poor.
Yet what I can, I will." _ Dryden.
(2) Voyage de Deux Franfais, tom. III. p. 3S7.

182 MOSCOW.

CHAP. Alexander Galitzin. These were placed alone,
\ "v- ' independent of any cabinet, upon two pedestals,
opposite to a throne, whereon the Prince and
Princess sat, on days of ceremony. His Excel
lency condescended to exhibit them to us.
They were far beyond all estimation ; because
the value of such things depends entirely upon
the power and wealth which might enable a
Prince or a Sovereign to obtain them. The
first, or the mass oi green carbonated copper, com
monly called Malachite, was not only the largest
example of that substance ever discovered, hut
it was also the most beautiful. It was found in
the Siberian mines; and in every circumstance of
form and colour, to interest a naturalist, or to
gr^ify the avarice of the lapidary, it had never
been surpassed. Its delicate surface, of the
most beautiful silky lustre, exhibited all those
mammillary nodes aild zones which denote the
stalactite origin of the mineral. Its interior, aU
though exquisitely variegated, was entire and
compact ; and, for the mere purpose of cutting
into plates, would have been inestimable in the
hands of jewellers. The weight of this enormous
mass must have been at least a ton. While 'we
remained in tjie city, a dealer offered six thousand
roubles for it ; but the prince refused to sell it.
The companion of this extraordinary product of
the mineral kingdom, of equal size, was not less

MOSCOW. 193
wonderful : it was a mass of numberless Siberian chap.
emeralds, lying in their natural repository ; this v- i-y--^
they traversed in all directions ; exhibiting the
most beautiful crystallization that can be con
ceived, and every possible diversity of size,
shape, and colour.
Prince Fiazemskoy's collection of the current
coin of the world was too remarkable to be
passed over without notice. Prince Alexander
Scherbatof had also a magnificent cabinet of
Natural History.
The number of English horse-dealers, and English
. . . Horse-
English grooms, in Moscow, was, at this time. Dealers.
very great. They were in high favour among
the nobles. The Governor of the city was con
sidered particularly skilful in choosing horses.
It was not unusual to hear the nobles repeat
the pedigree of their favourites, as if on an
English race-course : " This," said they, " was
the son oi Eclipse ; . dam by such a one; grand-
dam by another ;" and so on, through a list of
names taught by their grooms, but having no
more real reference to their cattle than to the
moon, English saddles and bridles also sold at
very advanced prices.
• Passing the public streets of the city, a

184 MOSCOW.
CHAP, number of men and women are often seen stark
naked, 'lounging about before the public baths.

«.

¦ V" -
Baths, and ta.lking together, without the smallest sense
of shame, or of the indecency of the exhibitioni
In many parts of Russia, as in Lapland, the
males and females bathe promiscuously. It is
well known that a clergyman's daughter, with
unsuspecting simplicity, did the honours of the
bath for Acerbi, at Kemi, in the north of the
Gulph of Bothnia^. As soon as the inhabitants
of these northern nations have endured the
suffocating heat of their vapour baths^ which is
so great that Englishmen would not conceive it
possible to exist an instant in such temperature,
they stand naked, covered with profuse perspi
ration, cooling themselves in the open air ; in
summer they plunge into cold water; during
'winter they roll about in snow; 'without sus
taining any injury, or ever catching cold. When
the Russians leave a bath of this kind, they
moreover drink copious draughts of mead, as
cold as it can be procured. These practices,
which would kill men of other nations, seemed
to delight them, and to add strength to their
constitutions.

(0 See Acerbi's Travels, vol. I. p. 338. Lond. 1803, where this
scene is described. The ajuthor has often heard Signor Acerbi relate
-the same circumstance, during the time they were together in Siveden.

MOSCOW. 185
Being troubled with rheumatic pain, brought ^-^{f^/
on by a sudden change of weather, (the thermo- '-¦ ¦»- ' ¦'
meter falling, in one day, from 84° of Fahr^heit,
nearly to the freezing point,) the author Vas
persuaded to try a Russian bath. Nothing can
be more filthy or more revolting than one of
these places, for they are commonly filled with
vermin. He had been recommended, however,
to use the Georgian Bath, situate in the Sloboda,
or suburbs : this being described as the best in
Moscow. It required more courage to enter this
den than many of our countrymen would exert
for a similar purpose. The building was a small
wooden hut : at one end of it there was a recess,
black £!,nd fearful as the entrance to Tartarus.
Two naked figures, with long beards, conducted
him to this spot; where pointing to a plank
covered by a single sheet, with a pillow, they
told him to deposit his clothes there, and to
repose, if he thought proper; but, upon the
sheet, a number of cockroaches and crickets had
usurped the only spot where a person might
venture to sit down. As soon as he was un
dressed, they led him, through a gloomy passage,
into a chamber called the bath ; the ceremonies
of which place will now be particularly described.
Upon the left hand were cisterns of water ;
and upon the edges pf those cisterns appeared

186 MOSCOW.
^^-viiT' ^ ^^^ °^ polished brass vessels. Towards the
right was a stove ; and, in the middle of the
room, a step to a platform elevated above the
floor. The hot vapour being collected near the
roof; the more the bather ascends, the greater
is the degree of heat to which he is exposed,
A choice of temperature is therefore offered to
him. On each side of the platform was a stove,
in shape exactly resembling the tombs in our
church-yards. The upper surface of each stove
was covered with a bed of reeds ; and Over th»
reeds was placed a sheet. The author was
¦directed to mount upon one of these stoves,
and to extend himself upon the sheet: having
done this, he found himself nearly deviated
to the roof of the bath, and the heat of the
ascending vapour threw him immediately into
a most profuse perspiration. The sensation
resembled what he had formerly experienced
in a subterraneous cavern, called the Bath of
Nero, upon the coast of £aza, nedi,r Naples. He
neglected to take a thermometer with him on
this occasion; but the ordinary temperature of
a Russian bath is well known: it varies (ac
cording to Storch') from 104° to 122° oi Fahren
heit ; and sometimes, upon the upper stages near

(l) Tableau de I'Empire de Russie, tom.l. p. 380. The degrees of
temperature are estimated hy Storch according to the scale of Reaumur.

MOSCOW, 187

VIIL
1^

the roof, it is twenty degrees above fever heat', ^^^j^'
Thus situate, a man began to rub his skin with
a woollen cloth, until the exterior surface of it
peeled off. As soon as he had finished this
operation with the woollen cloth, he was desired
to descend; and then several vessels of warm
water were poured upon his head, whence it fell
all over his body. He was next placed upon
the floor, and the assistant washed his hair,
scratching his head in all parts. Afterwards,
he again made him ascend the stove; where
once more being stretched at length, a copious
lather of soap was prepared, and his body was
again rubbed : after this he was made to descend
a second time, and was again soused with
vessels of water. He was then desired to ex
tend himself on the stove for the third time, and
informed that the greatest degree of heat would
now be given. To prepare for this, they cau
tioned him to lie with his face do-wnwards, and
not to raise his head. Birch boughs were now
brought, with their leaves on, and dipped in
soap and hot water : with these they began to
scrub him afresh : at the same time, some hot
water being cast upon red-hot cannon-balls and
upon the principal stove, .such a vapour passed
all over him, that it came like a stream of fire.
' (3) Equal to 133° of FoftrcraAcJi,

188 MOSCOW.
^AP, If he ventured to raise his head but for an
v_ ..y, ..* instant, and draw in his breath, it seemed like
inhaling flames. It was impossible to endure
this for any length of time ; therefore finding
himself unable to cry out, he forced his way
do'wn from the stove, and was conducted to the
lower part of the room : here being seated upon
the floor, and the doors being opened, he soon
recovered sufficiently to walk out of the bath.
National Eminent physicians have endeavoured to dra'W
Importance
of PubUc the attention of the English Government to the
importance oi public baths, and of countenancing
their use by every aid of example and of encou
ragement. While we wonderat their prevalence
among all the Eastern and Northern nations, may
we not lament that they are so little known in our
own country ? We might, perhaps, find reason
to allow, that erysipelas, surfeit, rheumatism,
colds, and many other evils, especially cutaneous
and nervous disorders, would be alleviated, if
not prevented, by a proper attention to bathing.
The inhabitants of countries where the bath is
constantly used, have recourse to it, in the full
confidence of being able to remove such com
plaints ; and they are rarely disappointed. In
England, baths are considered only as articles of
luxury; yet throughout the vast empire of
Russia, through all Finland, Lapland, Sweden,

MOSCOW. 189
and Norway, there is no cottage so poor, no hut c^ap.
so destitute, but it possesses its vapour bath ; '- -»- ¦'
whither all the family resort every Saturday at the
least, and every day in case of sickness. Lady
Mary Wortley Montague, in despite of all the
prejudices then prevalent in England against
inoculation, introduced this blessing from
Turkey, And if some other patriotic individual,
of equal influence, would endeavour to estabhsh
throughout Great Britain the use of tvarm and
vapour baths, the inconveniences of our climate
might be done away. Perhaps, at a future pe
riod, donations for public baths may becortie as
frequent as the voluntary subscriptions whereby
hospitals are maintained ; and a grateful people
may commemorate the service they have ren^
dered to society by annual contributions for their
support. But when we recollect that the illus'-
trious Bacon in vain lamented the disuse of baths
among Europeans, we have little reason to indulge
the expectation. At the same time, an addi
tional testimony to their salutary Effects, in
affording longevity and vigorous health to a
people otherwise liable to mortal diseases from
their rigorous climate and jmwholesome diet,
may conduce towards their introduction. Among
the Antients, baths were public edifices, under the
immediate inspection of the Government : they
were considered as institutions founded ui abso-

190, MOSCOW.
CHAP, lute necessity, and unavoidably due to decency,
V — , — ~) and to cleanliness, Rome, under her Emperors,
numbered nearly a thousand such buildings; and
these, besides their utility, were regarded as
master-pieces of architectural skill and of sump
tuous decoration. In Russia, they ha-ve only
vapour baths ; and these are, for the most part,
in wretched wooden hpvels. If wood be de
ficient, they are formed of mud, or scooped in the
banksi of rivers and lakes : but in the palaces of
the nobles, however they may vary in the
splendour of their materials, the plan of their
construction is always the same.
This universal custom of the bath may be
mentioned as an example of the resemblance be
tween the Muscovites and more Oriental people :
but there are many other ; such, for instance, as
the ceremony of howling and tearing the hair at,
the death of relatives; the practice among the
nobles of employing slaves to rub the soles of their
feet, in order to induce sleep ; and the custom
of maintaining buffoons, whose occupation it is
to relate strange and extravagant tales for a
similar purpose.
Foundling ^g g, conclusiou to this chapter, a few words
may be added concerning the state of the Found
ling Hospital ; as the Institution of that ng-me in

MOSCOW. 191
Petersburg excites the interest and attention of ™ui.'
all foreigners ; although it be but a branch of the
more magnificent establishment of the same
nature in the east angle of the Khitay Gorod at
Moscow, Both the one and the other have been
sufficiently described by preceding authors'.
Of the latter, it will therefore only be necessary
to add, that, in the space of twenty years, prior to
the year 1 786, it had received no less than thirty-
seven thousand six hundred and seven infants.
Of this number, one thousand and twenty had
left the asylum ; and there remained six thou
sand and eighty at that time^ In 1792, the
number of children in the house amounted to two
thousand ; and about three thousand belonging

(1) Since the foundation of these two establishments, similar insti
tutions have taken place iu other towns of Russia; such as Tula,
Kaluga, Jaroslaf, Casan, &c.
(2) Storch' s Tableau de Russie, tom. i. p. 321. Upon the great mor
tality which this statement allows, the author makes the following
judicious remarks ; " Si cette note, adoptee d'aprSs un dcrivain tr6s-
v^ridique sur d'autres points, est exacte, la perte que cet toblissement
a essuy^e par la mortality des eufans, est sans doute trfis-consid^rable :
mais elle le parojtrait beaucoup moins, si I'on examinait le nombre de
ceux qui sont morts au moment d'y fitre rccus, aussi bien que de ceuic
qui y ont port6 le germe de leur destruction. Pour determiner I'^tat
exact de la mortality de cette maison, il faudrait savoir le nombre
d'enfans parfaitement sains qui y sont entres ; car ceux que I'on porte
i I'hdpital, aussit6t ?pr6s qu'ils ont iti baptises, ne peuvent 6tre regard^s
que comme des victimes d^you^es k la mort : il y aurait done la plus
grande injustice k attribuer leur perte k un ^tablissement rempli
d'humanit^, quienrichitannuellement I'ftat d'un nombre toujours plus-
considerable de citoyens sains, actifs, et industrieux."

192 ' MOSCOW.
*^vnf ' *° ^^^ establishment were at nurse in the coun
try. Every peasant entrusted with the care of
an infant had a monthly allowance of a rouble w.^
a half. Every month, such of the children as
have been vaccinated are sent into the country,
where they remain until the age of five years.
Before the introduction of vaccination, the mor
tality was much greater among them than it
is at present, although they were inoculated for
the small-pox'.

(1) Heber's MS. Journal.

CHAP. IX.

MOSCOW.
Visit to the Archbishop of Moscow — his Conversation —
Convent of Nicoll na Perrera — Funeral of Prince
Galitzin — Stalls for Fruit and Food — Sparrotv Hill —
Pullic Morals — Banquets of the Nohles — Barbarous
Etiquette observed at Russian TaLles — Anecdote of two
English Gentlemen — Precautions to le used in travel
ling — Dealers in Virtu — Adventurers and Swindlers —
Immense Wealth of the Nobles — Condition of the
Peasants,

A

cuKious contrast to the splendour in which chap.

IX.

we had hitherto beheld Plato, archbishop of
Moscow, was offered, during a visit we made to J).^hWsho*
him at the Convent of Nicoll na Perrera, a semi- °^ Moscow.
VOL. I. O

194 MOSCOW.
CHAP, nary for young priests near the city. We had
V ¦¦¦»¦ ¦-' long wished for an opportunity of conversing
with this remarkable man. He was preceptor
to the Emperor Paul ; and is known to . the
world by his correspondence -wath Monsieur
moTna"^ JDwieTw. Upon our arrival at the convent, we
Perrera, wcrc told hc was thcu Walking in a small gar
den, the care of which constituted his principal
pleasure; and the employment characterized
the simplicity and the innocence of his life. As
we entered the garden, we found him seated
upon a turf bank, beneath the windows of the
refectory, attended by a bishop, an old man his
vicar, the abb^ of the monastery, and some
other of the monks. We could scarcely believe
our eyes, when they told us it was Plato : for
although we had often seen him in his archiepis-
copal vestments, his rural dress had. made such
an alteration, that we did not~ know him. He
was habited in a striped silk bed-gown, with a
night-cap upon his head like the silk nets com
monly -worn by Italian postillions ; having also
a pair of woollen stockings upon his legs, the
feet of which were of coarse linen, fastened on
vTi^ twine in a most uncouth manner. He was
without shoes, but a pair of yellow slippers lay
at some distance. By his side, upon the bank,
was placed his broad-brimmed straw hat, offering
a correct model of the Athenian pileus, and such

MOSCOW. 195
as the Patriarchs of the Greek Church have chap.
always worn: the shepherdesses of the Alps
now wear the same kind of hat. In the hat-band
he had placed a bunch of withered flowers. His
white beard, added to the mildness of his ani
mated countenance, gave to his fe-atures a most
pleasing expression. He desired to know who
we were; and being answered. Englishmen;
" What !" said he, " all Englishmen P I wonder
what your countrymen can find sufficiently
interesthig in Russia, to bring you so far from
home ; and in sux:h times as these P" But having
made this observation in the French language,
he looked cautiously around him, and began to
ask the monks, severally, whether they under
stood French, Finding them perfectly ignorant
of that language, he bade us to sit by him;
while, the rest forming a circle near him, he
entertained us with a conversation, in which
there was enough of science, of wit, and of free
dom, to astonish any traveller, in such a country,
and at such a period. Memory has scarcely
retained even that part of it which concerned
the manners of his countrymen.
"Well," said he, "you thought me perhaps a
curiosity; and you find me as naturally disposed
for observation as you could wish", (pointing to
his woollen stockings and his strange dress),
o 2

196 MOSCOW.
CHAP, « an old man bending with years and infirmi
ties," We replied, that, on the night of the
Ceremony of the Resurrection, we had the honour
to see him in his greatest splendour, in the cathe
dral of the Kremlin, " And what did you thmk
of that ceremony?" said he. We. answered,
that " we considered it as one of the most
solemn we had ever witnessed ; not excepting
even thai of the Benediction at Rome ;" " — and
interesting ?" added the archbishop. We assured
him that we considered it as highly inter
esting: at this he burst into a fit of laughter,
holding his sides, and saying, " We had lost a
night's rest to attend the ceremony of a religion
we did not profess, and called it interesting''
We accompanied him round his gardenj
admiring the beauty of the situation, and the
serenity of the climate. " But do you," said
he, " prefer our climate to your's r" We told
him, that we had found the Russian climate
severe, but the cold weather in winter not
attended with so much humidity as in England;
that the atmosphere was clear and dry—
" O yes," said he, " very dry indeed! and it has,
in consequence, dried up all our fruit-trees."
Afterwards, he inquired whither we were
going : and being told to Kuban Tartary and to

MOSCOW. 197
Constantinople, — " God preserve you!" he ex
claimed, " what a journey ! But nothing is
difficult to Englishmen; tl^ey traverse all the
regions of the earth. My brother," continued
he, " was a traveller, and educated in your
country, at Oxford; but I have never been any
where, except at Petersburg and Moscow, I should
have been delighted in travelling, if I had en
joyed the opportunity ; for books of Travels are
my favourite reading. / have lately read," and
the significant smile by which the words were
accompanied could not be misunderstood', "the
Voyage of Lord Macartney," — He laughed, how
ever, at the result of his brother's education.
" The English," said he, " taught him to de
claim, in their way: he used to preach his
fine flourishing sermons to us Russians; very
fine sermons! but they were all translated
from the English,^ Some of your divines write
beautifully, but with inconceivable freedom. It
was once discussed in an English sermon.
Whether a people had power to dethrone their
King-" " Your Eminence may say more," said
one of our party; " we had once a prelate,
who, preaching before his Sovereign, felt himself
(1) The Russians exulted very much in the failure of Lord Macart-
tiey's embassy to China ; and I believe it is now generally known, that
our want of success was owing to the prompt manoeuvres of the Court
of Petersburg, with regard to that country.

198 MOSCOW.

CHAP, at liberty to discuss his conduct to his face."
'y- —' " I wish," said he, "ive had such a fellow herel"^—
but, aware of the interpretation which might
be put upon his words, and perhaps not daring
to end with them, he added, after a pause, "we
would send him, to enjoy the full liberty of preach
ing in the fiee air oi Siberia," He was much
amused by a reply he had once received from
an English clergyman, of the factory at Peters
burg, whom he had asked if it was his intention
ever to marry. " If I be fortunate enough to
become a bishop," said the clergyman, " I shall
marry some rich citizen's daughter, and live
at my ease'."
He complained much cf Dutens, for having
published his correspondence, without his per
mission; saying, he had therein endeavoured to
prove that the Pope was Antichrist; of which he
was fully convinced : but that he much feared
the resentment of the Court of Rome, We told
him, we thought his fears might now subside,
as that Court was no longer formidable to any
one. " Oh," said he, " you do not know its
intrigTies and artifices : its character resembles
that of the antient Romans; patient in conceal
ing malice ; prompt to execute it, when oppor-
 ^.  -., —  .  .,  ,-  r
(1) The Priests in the Qreek Church are allowed to marry ; but not
the Bishops.

MOSCOW. 199
tunity offers; and always obtaining its point in ^^^j^^-
the end," He then spoke of Voltaire, and of his
correspondence with the late Empress Cathe
rine, " There was nothing," said he, " of which
she was so vain, as of that correspondence,
I never saw her so gay, and^n such high spirits,
as when she had to tell me of having received a
letter from Voltaire,"
He conducted us to the apartments of the
antient Patriarch, who founded the convent and
who built the church ; these he had endeavoured
to preserve in tiieir pristine state. They con
sisted of several small vaulted Gothic chambers;
now containing the library. We took this oppor
tunity to ask, if any translation of the Classics
existed in the Sclavonic language, among the
manuscripts dispersed in different libraries of
the Russian monasteries. He answered us in
the negative, and said they had nothing worth
notice until the time of the Patriarch Nicon^.
As he was well versed in the Sclavonic, we ques
tioned him concerning its relationship to the
Russian. He assured us the two languages
were almost the same; that the difference was
Only a distinction of dialect; and that neither of
(2) The Patriarch Nicon, so illustrious in the Russian History, was
born of obscure parents in 1613, and died in 1681. See Levesque Hut.
de Russie, tome IV. p. 69- 81. Hamb. Sf Brunswick, 1800.

200 MOSCOW.
CHAP, them bore the slightest resemblance to the lan-
V V i' guage of Finland.
In this convent, one hundred and fifty students
are instructed in the Greek and Latin languages,
and in rhetoric. After a certain time, they are
sent to complete their education in other semi
naries at Moscow. The church is lofty and
, spacious : the table for the Sacrament, as in all
other Russian and Greek churches, is kept in
the Sanctuary, behind the altar, where women
are not permitted to enter. The archbishop,
who had visited our English church at Petersburg,
observed that our table was uncovered, except
when the Sacrament was administered ; a degree
of economy which he said he was unable to
explain consistently with the piety and the
liberality of the English nation. What would
have been his sentiments, if he had beheld the
condition of the Communion tables in some of our
country churches! In Russia, the altar is always
covered with the richest cloth, and generally
with embroidered velvet.
Funeral of Ou the tweuty-cighth of May, we again saw
Gaiiizin. Plato in great pomp, at the burial of Prince
Galitzin, in Moscow. This ceremony was per
formed in a small church near the Mareschul
Bridge. The body was laid in a superb crimson

MOSCOW. 201
coffin, richly embossed with silver, and placed chap.
beneath the dome of the church. Upon a throne, v ..i.^,-!- '
raised at the head of the coffin, stood the arch
bishop, who read the service. On each side were
ranged the inferior clergy, clothed, as usual, in the
most costly robes, bearing in their hands wax ta
pers, and burning incense. This ceremony began
at ten in the morning. Having obtained admission
to the church, we placed ourselves among the
spectators, immediately behind his Eminence.
The chaunting had a solemn and sublime effect :
it seemed as if choristers were placed in the
upper part of the dome; and this perhaps was
really the case. The words uttered were only
a constant repetition of " Lord have mercy upon
us!" or, in Russian', " Ghospodi pomilui .'" When
the archbishop turned to give his benediction to
all the people, he observed us, and added, in
Latin, " Paxvobiscum!" to the astonishment of
the Russians ; who, not comprehending the new
words introduced into the service, muttered
(I) These Russian words are written, in books of good authority,
" Ghospodi pomilui .'" See Lord PVliitworth's Account of Russia, p.43.
Also Univers. Hist. ooZ. XXXV. p. 134. But they seem generally pro
nounced Rosepodi pomila ! The supplication itself was originally de
rived from the Heathen ritual, and, like other parts of our Liturgy,
retains a proof of indulgence granted to the prejudices of the Fathers;
some of whom were attached to the forms used in the Pagan Mys
teries. Thus Hae, Priest before prayer said Eo;i;a/«so'fe, "Let us pray!"
And the Kuj<s Usxmi', " Lord have mercy upon us!" was a part of
the Pagan Litany. See Arrian. Epict. I. ii. c, 7.

202 MOSCOW.

IX

CHAP, among themselves. Incense was then offered
to the pictures and to the people: and, this cere
mony ended, the archbishop read aloud a decla
ration, purporting that the deceased had died in
the true faith; that he had repented of his errors,
and that his sins were absolved. Then turning
to us, as the paper was placed in the coffin, he
said again in Latin, " This is what all you ,
foreigners call the Passport; and you relate, in
your books of Travels, that we believe no soul
can go to heaven without it. Now I wish you
to understand what it really is ; and to explain to
your countrymen, upon my authority, that it is
nothing more than a declaration or certificate
concerning the death of the deceased." Then
laughing, he added, " I suppose you commit all
this to paper: and some future day, perhaps, I
shall see an engraving of this ceremony, with
an old archbishop gi"ving a dead man his pass
port to St. Peter'."

( 1 ) There is a passage in Mr. Heber's Journal very characteristic of
this extraordinary man. Mr. Heber, with his friend Mr. Thornton,
paid to him a visit in the Convent of Befania; and, in his description
of the monastery, I find the following account of the Archbishop.
The space beneath the rocks is occupied by a small chapel, fur
nished with a stove for winter devotion ; and on the right-hand is a
little narrow cell, containing two coffins ; one of which is empty, and
destined for the present archbishop; the other contains the bones of
the Founder of the Monastery, who is regarded as a Saint. The oak
coffin was almost bit to pieces by different persons afflicted with the
tooth-

MOSCOW. 203
The lid of the coffin being now removed, the chap. IX,
body of the Prince was exposed to view; and
all the relatives, the servants, the slaves, and
the other attendants, began the ululation, accord
ing to the custom of the country. Each person,
walking round the corpse, made prostration
before it, and kissed the lips of the deceased.
The venerable figure of an old slave presented
a most affecting spectacle. He threw himself
flat upon the pavement, with a desperate degree
tooth-ache; for which a rnb on this hoard is a specific. Plato laughed
as he told us this ; but said, " As they do it de bon cieur, / would not
undeceive them." This prelate has been long very famous in Russia,
as a man of ability. His piety has been questioned; but from his
conversation we drew a very favourable idea of him. Some of his ex
pressions would have rather surprised a very strict religionist ; but thc
frankness and openness of his manners, and the liberality of his sen
timents, pleased us highly. His frankness on subjects of politics was
remarkable. The Clergy throughout Russia are, I believe, inimical to
their Government; they are more connected with the peasants than
most other classes of men, and are strongly interested in their suffer
ings and oppressions ; to many of which they themselves are likewise
exposed. They marry very much among the daughters and sisters of
their own order, and form almost a Cast. I think Buonaparte rather
popular among them. Plato seemed to contemplate his success
as an inevitable, and not very alarming prospect. He refused to draw
up a Form of Prayer for the success of the Russian arms. " If," said
he, " they be really penitfnt and contrite, let them shut up their places
if public amusement for a -month, and I will then eelebritte pubOc
prayers.'' His expressions of dislike to the nobles and wealthy classes
were strong and singular; as also the manner in which he described
thc power of an Emperor of Russia, the dangers which surround him,
and the improbability of any rapid improvement. " It would be much
better," said he, " had we a Constitution like that of England." V^t I
suspect he does not wish particularly well to us, in our war with
France." Heber's MS. Journal.

204 MOSCOW.
CHAP, of violence, and, being quite stunned by the
V ,,^1^ blow, remauied a few seconds insensible : after
wards, his loud lamentations were heard; and
we saw him tearing off and scattering his white
hairs. He had, according to the custom in
Russia, received his liberty upon the death of
the Prince; but choosing rather to consign him
self for the remainder of his days to a convent,
he retired for ever from the world, saying,
" Since his dear old master was dead, there was
ho one living who cared for him."
A plate was handed about, containing boiled
rice and raisins; a ceremony we are unable to
explain. The face of the deceased was then
covered with linen, and the archbishop poured
consecrated oil, and threw a white powder,
probably lime, several times upon it, pronounc
ing some words in the Russian language; these
he afterwards repeated aloud in Latin: "Dust
thou art; and unto dust thou art returned!" The
lid of the coffin was then replaced; and, after a
requiem, " sweet as from blest voices," a pro
cession began from the church to a convent in
the vicinity of the city, where the body was to
be interred. There was nothing solemn in this
part of the ceremony. It began by the slaves
of the deceased on foot, all of whom were in
mourning. After the slaves, followed the priests.

MOSCOW. 205
bearing tapers; then was borne the body, on a ^^^^'
common drosky, the whip of the driver being ^¦-'»- ^
bound with crape; afterwards proceeded a line
of carriages, of the miserable order before de
scribed. But, instead of the slow movement
usually characteristic of funeral processions, the
priests and the people ran as fast as they could,
and the body was jolted along in a very indeco
rous manner. Far behind the last rumbling
vehicle were seen persons, running, quite out of
breath, and unable to keep up with their compa
nions ',

(1) To this account of a Russian Funeral, it may be proper to add a
description of a Russian Christening, as it was communicated to the
author by a gentleman long resident in Moscow. The ceremony of
Baptism is as follows : — As soon as a child is bom, or a few days after
wards (unless it be too weak), the child is carried to church by the
godfathers and godmothers ; where, being met at the door by the
Priest, he signs the child with the sign of the cross in the forehead,
and gives it the benediction, saying, " The Lord preserve thy going
out, and thy coming in !" They then walk up together to the font,
round the edge of which the priest fastens four lighted wax candles,
delivered to him by the sponsors, whom he incenses, and consecrates
the water by dipping the cross into it with a great deal of ceremony :
then begins a procession round the font, being followed by the sponsors
with wax candles in their hands : thus they go about the font three
times. The procession being over, the sponsors give the name of the
chUd to the priest, in writing: the priest puts the name upon an image,
which he holds upon the child's breast, and asks, " Whether the child
believe in God the Father, Sm,, and Holy Ghost?" The sponsors having
answered yes, three times, they all turn their backs to the font, as a
sign of their aversion to the three next questions to be asked by the
priest, viz, " Whether the child renounce the Devil ? Whether he re-
nounce his angels f Whether he renounce his works.' The sponsors answer.

Food.

206 MOSCOW.
CHAP. The stalls of fruit and food in the streets of
IJv.
'- -v- •' Moscow prove, perhaps, beneficial to the health
Fruit and of the pcoplc; espccially to the children, who
are ill-fed at home. At these places, for a few
copeeks, which they contrive to collect, they get
answer, " / renounce," distinctly, to each question, and spit three
times upon the ground, in token of malediction. (See Part II. Sect. III.
ch. vii. p. 295. Note 1. of these Travels, for further observations upon
this antient Eastern mode of cursing.) Then they turn their faces to
the font again: and being asked by the priest, " Whether they pro
mise to bring up the child in the true Greek Religion," the exorcism
begins : the priest puts his hand upon the child, and blows three
times, saying these words, " Get out of the child, thou unclean spirit,
and make way for the Holy Ghost:" he then cuts off a lock of thc
child's hair, wraps it up in apiece of wax, and throws it into the font;
after which the child is stripped quite naked, and the priest takes it
in his arms and plunges it into the water three times, pronouncing the
words of the Sacrament, " / baptize thee in the name of the Father, and
if the Son, and of the Holy Gluost."
Immediately after the immersion, he signs it with the sign of the
cross, (using for that purpose an oil consecrated by a Bishop,) upon the
forehead, upon the breast, upon the shoBlders, upon the palms of the
hands, and upon the back. This is another sacrament, and it is called
the Baptismal Unction : by virtue of this, it is supposed the child re
ceives the Holy Ghost. The priest having then put a grain of salt in
its mouth, puts a clean shirt upon it, and says, " Thou art as clean and
as clear from original sin as thy shirt." He then hangs about its neck
a little cross, ot gold, silver, or lead, which is strictly preserved by the
Russians, who deny Christian burial to such as have not one of thest
crosses about them when they die. Those who are sponsors for the
child are looked upon as so nearly related, that they are not permit
ted to intermarry. In cases of necessity, the midwife, or any other
person except the parents, may administer baptism. Baptism is es
teemed the most essential point of religion, for they hold the doctrine
of original sin ; and persons, who have been notorious reprobates, are
re-admitted as members of the Church, by repeating their baptism.
There being no Confirmation in this Church', baptism, and baptismal
unction (above mentioned), are administered at the same time.

MOSCOW. 207
a wholesome dinner. I saw them served at the chap.
stalls with plates of boiled rice, over which was ' ¦ '¦»- -'
poured a little honey; and for each of these they
paid about a penny English. In the spring,
apples are exposed for sale (which the Russians
have a remarkable method of preserving through
the winter, though we could not gain informa
tion how this was done), baked pears, salad,
salted cucumbers (which are antiscorbutic, and
esteemed delicious by persons of every rank),
wild berries, boiled rice, quass, honey, and
mead. As almost every eatable receives a
formal benediction from the priest, before it is
considered fit for use, no Russian will touch any
article of food until that ceremony has taken
place, A particular church, near the Mareschul
Bridge, is set apart for the benediction of apples;
and this ceremony does not take place until the
first apple drops from the tree, which is brought
in great form to the priest, A Mohammedan would
sooner eat pork, than a Russian would eat uncon-
secrated fruit.
Having observed a very rare Siberian plant,
the " purple-flowered Henbane " {Hyoscyamus
Physaldides), growing wild in the garden of our
friend and banker, Mr, Doughty, we thought the
season sufficiently advanced to go, on the twenty-
ninth of May, upon a botanical excursion to

208 MOSCOW.
Sparrotv Hill, an eminence near the city, much
celebrated for the view it affords of Moscow and
HUi™^ its environs. The sight is not so pleasing as
the scene beheld from the Kremlin; it is too
much of a bird's-eye prospect; and, although
it comprehend the whole extent of the city,
with the rivers, and all its vast suburbs, the
magnificence of the edifices is lost in the dis
tance to which they appear removed. Upon
this hill one of the former Sovereigns began to
build a palace: the foundations of this, with
vaults and cellars of brick-work, are now in
ruins. From the eminence we perceived the
land round Moscoio to be low and swampy,
abounding with pools of stagnant water, and of
course unhealthy. The climate is also danger
ous, from sudden transitions. The rapidity of
, vegetation was here very striking. The English
" Pilewort," or Ranunculus ficaria, was already
losing its blossom. Many other later flowers,
by their forward state, gave us notice that it
was time to bid adieu to cities and the
" busy haunts of men," if we wished to behold
Nature in more southern latitildes, before she
became divested of her smiling countenance.
The manner in which the Russian peasants
clothe their legs and feet, throughout the whole
empire, seems, fi:omits simplicity and the mate-

MOSCOW. 209

IX.

rials used, to denote a very antient custom. It chap.
prevails, also, all over Lapland, and the northern
territories of Sweden and of Norway, The shoes
are made of the matted bark of trees ; the legs
being covered by bandages of woollen cloth,
bound with thongs of the same materials as the
sandals. These thongs, passing through the
loose texture of the sandal, and afterwards en
twined about the leg, keep the whole apparatus
together.

¦^o^

We have already mentioned the filthy esta- PubUc
blishment called an Inn, and dignified by the
title of L'Hdtel de Constantinople, where we re
sided'. The master of it had not less than five
hundred persons, as servants, and in other ca
pacities, employed to assist him. In this list
were included a number of hired prostitutes,
constantly kept, in open stews belonging to the
house, for the use of the numerous guests by
whom it was inhabited.
A swarm of slaves, attendants, hirelings, and Banquets
11 • 1111 of the No-
dependent sycophants, is remarkably charac- Wes,
teristic of the great houses in Moscow, The
nobles consider the honour of their families as
being so materially implicated in maintaining a
(I) During the reign of the Emperor Paul, this was the only inn
to which foreigners were allowed to resort.
VOL, I. P

,210 MOSCOW.
CHAP, numerous table, that should any one of the sa-
« — r—' tellites usually surrounding them forsake his
post at dinner, to swell the train of any other
person, the offence- is rarely forgiven ; they will
afterwards persecute the deserter, by every
means of revenge within their power. We met
with persons who wCTe victims of their own
affability, in having accepted invitations which
decoyed thein from^ the banquets of their lord;
Similar motives have given rise to the prodigious
hospitality described by travellers. Before the
reign of Paul, a stranger was no sooner arrived
in Moscow, than the most earnest solicitations
were made for his regular attendance at the
table of this or. that nobleman. If his visits
were indiscriminate, jealousy and quarrels were
the inevitable consequence. During the reign
of Paul, Englishmen were guests likely to in
volve the host in difficulty and danger; but,;
notwithstanding the risk incurred, it is but jus
tice to acknowledge, that the nobles felt them
selves highly gratified by the presence of a
stranger ; and, having requested his attendance,
they would close their gates upon his equipage,
lest it should be discerned by the officers of the
police. ''¦- i
The curious spectacle exhibited at their din
ners has not a parallel in the rest of Europe.

MOSCOW. 211
The dishes and the wines correspond in grada- ^[^^•
tion with the rank and condition of the guests. " — . — '
 BirliEirous
Those who sit near the master of the house are Etiquette
suffered to have no connection with the fare or "^'^^{In ^
the tenants at the lower end of the table. In '^'^^"'^
barbarous times we had something of the same
nature in England ; and perhaps the custom is
not even now quite extinct in Wales, or in English
farm-houses, where all the farriily, from the master
to the lowest menial, sit down together. The
choicest viands at a Russian table , are carefully
placed at the upper end, and are handed to those
guests stationed near the owner of the mansion,
accordmg to the order in which they sit ; after
wards, if any thing remain, it is taken gradually
to the rest. Thus a degree in precedency makes
all the difference between something and nothing
to eat ; for persons at the bottom of the table
are often compelled to rest satisfied with an
empty dish. It is the same with regard to the
wines : the best are placed near the top of the
table; but, in proportion as the guests are
removed from the post of honour, the wine
becomes of a worse quality, until at last it dege-
neraties into simple quass. Few things can offer
more repugnance to the feelings oi an Englishman,
than the example of a wealthy glutton boasting
of the choice wines he has set before a foreigner
merely out of ostentation, while a number
p 1

212 MOSCOW.
*^HAP. (jf brave officers and dependents are sitting
by him, to whom he is unable to offer a single
glass. We sometimes essayed a violation of
this barbarous custom, by taking the bottles
placed before us, and filling the glasses of those
below; but the offer was generally refused,
through fear of giving offence by acceptance i
and it was a mode of conduct which we found
could not be tolerated, even by the most liberal
host. Two tureens of soup usually make their
appearance, as we often see them in England;
but if a stranger should a^k for that which is at
the bottom of the table, the master of the house
regards him -wdth dismay ; the rest all gaze at
him with wonder ; and when he tastes what he
has obtained, he finds it to be a mess of dirty
and abominable broth, stationed for persons who
never venture to ask for soup from the upper
end of the table. The number of attendants in
waiting is prodigious. In the house of the
young Count Orlof were not less than five hun
dred servants; many being sumptuously clothed,
and many others in rags. It was no unusual
sight to observe behind a chair a fellow in
plumes and gold lace, like a Neapolitan running-
footman, and another by his side looking lilce a
beggar from the streets.
A droll accident: befel two English gentlemen

MOSCOW. 213
of considerable property, who were travelling ^^^^'
for amusement in the South of Russia. They "
"^ . . ¦' Anecdote
were at Nicholaef; and being invited by the of two
Chief Admiral to dinner, they were placed, as men,
usual, at the head of the table; where they
were addressed b^ the well-known title of
Milords Anglois. Tired of this ill-placed distkic-
tion, they assured the Admiral that they were
not Lords. " Allow me then to ask," said their
host, " what is the rank which you possess P" The
lowest Russian admitted to an Admiral's table
has a certain degree of rank ; all who are in the
service of the Crown being considered as noble
by their profession : and, as there is no middle
class of society in the country, but every mem
ber of it is either a Nobleman or a Slave, there
is no such distinction as that of an independent
Gentleman, neither is the term understood, un
less there be some specific title annexed to it
The Englishmen, however, replied, that they had
no other rank than that of English Gentlemen.
" But your titlesP You must have some title!"' " No,
(said they) we have no title, but that of English
Gentlemen." A general silence, and many saga
cious looks, followed this last declaration. On
the following day they presented themselves
again at the hour of dinner, and were taking
their station as before. To their surprise, they
found that each person present, one after the

214 MOSCOW.
*^Lx^' ^ther, placed himself above them. Onewas'^a
^— V — ' General ; another a Lieutenant ; a third an Ensjg-n;
a fourth a Police-officer; a fifth an Army Surgeon;
a sixth a Secretary ; and so on. All this was very
well; they consoled themselves with the pro
spect of a snug party at the bottom of the table,
where they would be the farther removed from
ceremony: but, lo! when the dishes came r^und,
a first was empty ; a second contained the Sauce
without the meat; a third, the rejected offals of
the whole company; and at length they were
compelled to make a scanty meal, upon the slice
of black bread before them, and a little dirty
broth from the humble tureen, behind whose
compassionate veil they were happy to hide
their confusion; at the same time being more
amused than mortified, at an adventure into
which they now saw they had brought them
selves by their unassuming frankness. Had
either of them ^aid, as was really the case, that
they were in the service of his Britannic Majesty's
Militia, or Members of the Associated Volunteers
of London, they would never have encountered
so unfavourable a reception.
. But more serious difficulties frequently follow
a want of attentiori to these prejudices, in visit-
t^bruslT ^^S *^® interior of Russia. When a poderosnoy,
in Travel- qt ordcr for post-horfecs, is made out, it will
hng. ^

MOSCOW. 215
often be recommended to foreigners, and parti- ^fx ^'
cularly to Englishmen, to annex i some title to ' — i  '
the simple statement of their names. Without
this, they may be considered, during their jour
ney, as mere slaves, and will be hable to frequent
insult, delay, and imposition. The precaution
is of such importance, that experienced travellers
have introduced the most ludicrous distinctions
upon these occasions; and have represented
themselves as Barons, Brigadiers, Inspectors, and
Professors; in short, as any thing which may
enable them to pass as freedmen. For example :
"Monsieur le Capitaine a; B.C. avec le Directeur
D, E, p, et le President G, h, i, et leurs domestiques
K. L. M." So necessary is a due regard to these
rparticulars, that an officer of very high rank in
the service assured us, previous to our leaving
'Moscow, that we should find ourselves frequently
embarrassed in our route, because we would not
abandon the pride of calling ourselves Com-
.m,oners of England; and we had reason to
.-regret the neglect with which we treated his
.advice, during the whole of our subsequent
.travels in the country.

It is at their dinners that strangers have an dcul
opportunity of learning what becomes of the
immense wealth of the Russian nobility. He

ers m

216 MOSCOW,
CHAP, .^iii gee^it lavished among foreigners in their
service, upon their tables and equipages, their
dresses, toys, trinkets, jewels, watches, snuff
boxes, balls, masquerades, private theatres,
dancers, singers, trading antiquaries, and tra
velling picture-dealers. This last office is fre
quently filled by hair-dressers and Italian lackeys.
There is np place in the world where adventurers
reap such harvests as in Moscow. Friseurs from
Italy or Germany, having bought up any rubbish
they are able to procure, get some friend to
give them a letter and a name, with which they
arrive in the city. The news is soon buzzed
abroad; the new comer sought for ; and he must
be indeed a fool if he do not make his journey
answer. We saw a man of this description, a
barber of Vienna, as a picture-dealer in Moscow,
caressed by the nobles, and invited to all their
tables, until his stock of pictures was gone, and
then he was no more noticed. He complained
with bitterness to us of the dishonourable chi
canery of the nobility. Some of them had given
him Pinchbeck instead of gold watches and miuff-
boxes, and paste instead of diamond rings, in
exchange for his pictures. In fact, they had
mutually cheated each other ; the pictures being
of less value than the worst commodities given
for them. Of the two parties, however, the seller

MOSCOW. 217
and the buyers, the barber had ultimately the
losing part of the business. Flushed by his
newly-acquired wealth, he set up for an amateur
himself; bought minerals, and gave dinners;
and ended by returning to Vienna without a sous
in his pocket, to revive his old trade of frizzing
and shaving.
Moscoiv is, of all places in Europe, the most a^^^°- ,
i ^ turers and
advantageous rendezvous of adventurers and Swindlers
swindlers ; consequently, many are found there.
The credulity, the extravagance, and the igno
rance of the Russian nobles, offer a tempting
harvest to such men. The notorious Semple rose
to great celebrity in Russia; sometimes in
fluencing, if not altogether governing, Potemkin.
He introduced an uniform for the hussars, which
is still worn ; and made alterations, truly judi
cious, in their military discipline.
The wealth of the nobles is really enormous. J^T,"'",
•^ Wealth of
We have not in England individuals possess- thejvbWa.
ing equal property, whatsoever may be their
rank or situation. Some of the Russian nobles
have seventy and even an hundred thousand
peasants ; their fortunes being estimated by the
number of their peasants, as Our IVest-India mer
chants reckon their income by the number of Condition,
their hogsheads. These peasants pay them. Feasants,

218 MOSCOW.

CHAP, upon the average, ten roubles annually, in specie '.
If "the peasant have been required by his lord

IX.

(l) Mr. Heber's Journal contains so much interesting information
concerning the state of the Peasants in Russia, that a copious extract
will here be subjoined. While it accompanies the Author's Text, it may
make atonement, by greater accuracy and more favourable statement,
for any error in his representation, whethel" statistical or moral. He
is hound, consistently with the promise he made, in the beginning of
this Work, to give his Narrative as nearly as possible in the state in
which it was written upon the spot.
" We observed a striking difference between t\icpeasants of the Crmm
and those of individuals. The former are almost all in comparatively
easy circumstances. Their Abrock, or rent, is fixed at five roubles a
year, all charges included ; and as they are sure that it will never be
raised, they are more industrious. The peasants belonging to the
nobles have their abrock regulated by their means of getting money ;
at an average, throughout the empire, of eight or ten roubles. It then
becomes not a rent for land, hut a downright tax on their industry.
Each male peasant is obliged, by law, to labour three days in each
iveek for his proprietor. This law takes effect on his arriving at the
age of fifteen. If the proprietor chooses to employ him the other
days, he may; as, for example, in a manufactory; but he then finds
him in food and clothing> Mutual advantage, however, generally re
laxes tliis law ; and, excepting such as are selected for domestic ser
vants, or, as above, are employed in manufactories, the slave pays a
certain abrock, or rent, to be allowed to work all the week on his
own account. The master is bound to.furnish him with a house aud
a certain portion of land. The allotment of land is generally settled
by the Starosta (EMer of the village) and a meeting of the peasants
themselves,' In the same manner, when a master wantsian increiise of
rent, he sends to the Starasta, who convenes the peasants; and by this
assembly it is decided what proportion' each individual must pay. If
a slave exercise any trade which brings him in more money than agri
cultural labour, he pays a higher abrock. If by journeys to Petersburg^
or other cities, he can still earn more, his master permits his absence,
but his abrock is raised : the smallest earnings are subject to his; op
pression. The peasants employed as drivers, at the post-houses, pay
fip abrock out of the drink-money they receive, for being permitted to
drive;

MOSCOW. 219
to give him three days of labour during each '^"j^.^"
week, the annual tax is said to be proportionally *— v — '

drive ; as, otherwise, the master might employ them in other less pro
fitable labour, on his own account. The aged and infirm are provided
with food, and raiment, and lodging, at their owner's expense. Such
as prefer casual charity to the miserable pittance they receive from
their master, are frequently furnished with passports, and allowed to
seek their fortune ; but they somSimes pay an abrock even for this
permission to beg. The number of beggars in Petersburg is very small ;
as when one is found, he is immediately sent back to his owner. In
Moscow, aud other towns, they are numerous; though I think-less so
than in Landon. They beg with great modesty, in a low and humble
tone of voice, frequently crossing themselves, and are much less cla
morous and importunate than a London beggar.
" The master has the power of correcting his slaves, by blows or
confinement ; but if he be guilty of any great cruelty, he is amenable
to the laws ; which are, we are told, executed in this point with im
partiality. In one of the towers of Khitaigorod, at Moscow, there was
a' Countess Sote'*o/ confined for many years with a most unrelenting
severity, which she merited, for cruelty to her slaves. Instances of
barbarity are, however, by no means rare. At Kostroma, the sisterof
tfr. KolcJtelof, the governor, gave me an instance of a nobleman who
had NAUED (if I understood her right) His servant to a cross. The
master was sent to a monastery, and the business hushed. up. Domes
tic servants, and those employed in manufactories, as they are more
exposed to cruelty, so they sometimes revenge themselves in a terrible
manner. The brother of a lady of our acquaintance, who had a great
distillery, disappeared suddenly, and was pretty easily guessed to have
been thrown into a boiling copper by his slaves. We heard another
instance, though not from equally good authority, of a lady, now in
Moscow, who had been poisoned three several times by her servants.
" No slave can quit his village, or his master's family, without a
passport. Any person arriving in a town or village, must produce'his
to the Stprosta; and no one can harbour a stranger without one. .If
a person be found dead without a passport, his body is sent to the hos
pital for dissection ; of which we saw an instance. The punishment
of living runaways, is imprisonment, and hard labour in the Govern
ment works ; and a master may send to the public workhouse any
peasant

220 MOSCOW.
CHAP, diminished. But, in despite of all the pretended

IX.

' regulations made in favour of the peasant, the

peasant be chooses. The prisons oi Moscow and Kostroma were chiefly
filled with such runaway slaves, who were, for the most part, in irons.
On the frontier, they often escape ; but in the interior it is alrtiost
impossible: yet, during the summer, desertions are very common;
and they sometimes lurk about for many months, living miserably in
the woods. This particularly happens when there is a new levy of
Soldiers. The soldiers are levied, one from every certain number ot
peasants, at the same time all over the empire. But if a man be dis
pleased with his slave, he may Send him for a soldier at any time he
pleases, and take a receipt from Government ; so that he send an«
man less the next levy. He also selects the recruits he sends to Go'
vernment ; with this restriction, that they are young men, free from
disease, have sound teeth, and are five feet two inches high.
" The Starosta, oi whom mention has been so frequently made, is
an officer resembling the antient bailiff ol an English village. He is
chosen, we are told, (at least generally,) hy the peasants ; sometimes
annually, and sometimes for life. He is answerable for the abrooks ta
the lord; decides small disputes among the peasants: gives billets fo*
quarters to soldiers, or to Government officers, on a journey, &c.
Sometimes the proprietor claims the right of appointing the Stareatd.
" A slave can on no pretence be sold out of Russia, nor iu Russia,
to any but a person born noble, or, if not noble, having the rank of
Lieutenant- Colonel. This rank is not confined to tbe military ; it may
be obtained by them in civil Situations. (PeoiessOT Pallas had the rank
of Brigadier.) This law is, however, eluded : as roturiers (plebeians)
frequently purchase slaves for hire, by making use of the name of
some privileged person ; and all nobles have the privilege of letting out
their slaves.
" Such is the political situation of the peasant. With regard to bis
Comforts, or means of supporting existence, I do not think they are
deficient. Their houses are in tolerable repair, moderately roomy, and
well adapted to the habits of the people. They have the air of being
sufficiently fed, and their clothing is warm and substantial. Fuel,
food, and the materials for building, are very cheap ; but clothing Is
dear. In summer they generally wear Nantkin caftans, one of which
costs thirteen roubles. Their labkas (linden-bark sandals) cost nothing,
1 except

MOSCOW. 221
tax he is called upon to pay, or the labour he
is compelled to bestow, depends only on the
caprice or the wants of his tyrant. Labour is

except in great towns. They wear a blue Nantkin shirt, trimmed with
red, which costs two or three roubles; linen drawers; and linen or
hempen rags wrapped round their feet and legs, over which the richer
sort draw their boots. The sheep-skin schaub costs eight roubles, but it
lasts a long time ; as does a lamb-skin cap, which costs three roubles.
The common red cap costs about the same. For a common cloth caf
tan, such as the peasants sometimes wear, we were asked thirtj' roubles.
To clothe a Russian peasant or a soldier is, I apprehend, three times as
chargeable as in England. Their clothing, however, is strong, and,
being made loose and wide, lasts longer. It is rare to see a Russian
quite in rags. With regard to the idleness of the lower classes here,
of which we had heard great complaints, it appears, that, where they
have an interest in exertion, they by no means want industry, and have
just the same wish for luxuries as other people. Great proprietors,
who never raise their abrocks, such as Count Sfteremetof, have very rich
and prosperous peasants. The difference we noticed between peasant*
belonging to the C^own and those of the nobility has been already men
tioned. The Crown peasants, indeed, it is reasonable to suppose, are
more happy ; living at their ease, paying a moderate quit-rent, and
choosing their own Starosta. They are, however, more exposed to vexa
tion and oppression from the petty officers of the Crown.
This account of the condition of thepeasants in Ricssia is an ahr^ge
of the different statements we procured in Moscow, and chiefly from
Prince Theodore Nikolaiovitz Galitzin. The levies for the army are con
sidered by thepeasants as times of great terror. Baron Bode told me,
they generally keep the levy as secret as possible, till they have fixed
ou and secured a proper number of men. They are generally chained
till they are sworn in : the fore part of the head is then shaved, and
they are thus easily distinguished from other peasants. After this,
desertion is very rare, and very difficult. The distress of one of their
popular Dramas, which we saw acted at Yareslof, in the private theatre
of the Governor Prince Galitzin, consisted in a young man being pressed
for a soldier. In the short reign of Peter II. who, it is well known,
transferred the seat of Government again to Moscow, no man was
pressed for a soldier ; the army was recruited by volunteers ; and slaves
were permitted to enter." Heber's MS. Journal.

IX.

222 MOSCOW.
CHAP, not exacted from males only : women, aiid child-
TV *>
ren from the age of ten years and upwards,
are obliged to perform their equal share. Tithes
are, moreover, demanded of whatever may remain
in their hands ; of linen,, poultry, eggs, butter,
pigs, sheep, lambs, and every product of the
land, or of domestic manual labour. Should a
peasant, by any misfortune, be deprived of the
tribute expected by his lord, he must beg, bor
row, or steal, to make up the deficiency. Some
of the nobles choose to converse with foreigners
upon the condition of their slaves; and, when
tills is the case, not the smallest reliance can
be placed upon the statement they may make.
The observations of one of their Princes, at his
own table, concerning the superiority of Russian
to English liberty, will be found in a former
Chapter. The same person deemed it to, be
decorous, upon another occasion, and before an
immense assembly, to contrast the situation pf
English peasants with what he termed the hap
piness of the Russian slaves, *' There is," said
he, addressing himself to us with an air of
triumph, " more of the reality of slavery in
England than in Russia," When we requested his
Excellency to explain what he implied by the
" reality of slavery," he expatiated upon the
miseries of press-gangs;' and pictured the flou
rishing condition of his own peasants, whom he

MOSCOW, 223
described as having relief in sickness, refuge in chap.
calamity, and in their "old age a comfortable
asylum. We asked the Prince, if there existed
one, amongst -the happiest of his slaves, who
would not rejoice to exchange his Russian liberty
for what he was pleased to term English slavery.
_! — ^We had seen the peasants of this very man,
according to his own pathetic discourse, " in
sickness, in calamity, and in old age ;" and it
was well known ^ to every person present, that,
their " relief and refuge" was m death, and
their " asylum" the grave.
Another nobleman assured us, that the greatest
punishment he inflicted upon his slaves (for he
professed to have banished all coi'poreal chas
tisement) was to give them their liberty, and
then turn ; them from his door. Upon further
inquiry, we discovered that his slaves fled from
their fetters, even if there were a certainty of
death before their eyes, rather than remain
beneath his tyranny. Great indeed must be
the degree of oppression which a Russian will
not ..endure, who from his cradle crouches to his
oppressor, and has been accustomed to receive
the rod without daring to murmur. Other
nations speak of Russian indolence ; -^ which is
remarkable, as no people are naturally more
lively, or more disposed to employment. We

2^4 MOSCOW.
CHAP, may perhaps assign a cause for their inactivity,
V , — ,— .^ in necessity. Can there exist any inducement
to labour, when it is certain that a ruthless
tyrant will deprive industry of its hard earn
ings ? The only property a Russian nobleman
allows his peasant to possess, is the food he
cannot or will not eat himself; the bark of
trees', chaff, and other refuse; quass, water,
and fish oil. If the slave have sufficient inge
nuity to gain money without his knowledge, it
becomes a dangerous possession; and, when
once discovered, it falls instantly into the hands
of his lord.
A peasant in the village of Celo Molody, near
Moscow, who had been fortunate enough to
scrape together a little wealth, wished to marry
his daughter to a tradesman of the city, and
offered fifteen thousand roubles for her freedom
— a most unusual price, and a much greater
sum than persons of his class, situate as he
was, will be generally found to possess ^ The

(l) " A few thousands of their fellows eat wheaten bread, because
thirty millions of slaves browse on herbs and gnaw birch bark, on which
they feed, like the beavers, who surpass them in understanding."
Secret Mem. of Court of Petersburg, p. 268.
(2) This anecdote of a peasant's wealth, and the example mentioned
in p. 109, seem to prove an incorrectness in the description given of
the hardships sustained by the lower order of people in Russia; unless the

MOSCOW. 225

tyrant took the ransom ; and then told the fa
ther, that both the girl and the money belbnged
to him, and therefore she must still continue
among the number of his slaves. What a pic
ture do these facts afford of the state of Russia !
It is thus that we behold the subjects of a vast
empire stripped of all they possess, and exist
ing in the most abject servitude; victims of
tyranny, and of wickedness ; exposed to a more
unprincipled dominion, and to severer priva
tions, than the most wretched vassals of any
other system of despotism upon earth.
Traversing the provinces south of Moscow,
the land is as the garden of Eden ; a fine soil,
covered with com, and apparently smiling in
plenty : but enter into the cottage of the poor
labourer, who is surrounded by all these riches,
and you find him dying of hunger, or pining

the Reader be further informed, that the term Peasant, as applied to
the population of Russia, does not necess;irily imply that part of it who
are pool-. A peasant may he very rich. He may be found in the fflicr-
cise of a lucrative trade, or ei\gaged, as a merchant, in commerce ;
yet, as he belongs to the class oi slaves, both his viealth and his person
belong to some particular lord. Sometimes the lords content themselves
in receiving a moiety of the earnings obtained by their staves ; but very
frequently they seize all within their power, and hence arises the
necessity a rich peasant feels of concealing what he may possess. It is
the agricultural peasant who sustains constant privation, in the midst
of apparent wealth.
VOL. I, a

CHAP, IX.

226 MOSCOW.
from bad food, and in want of the common
necessaries of life. Extensive pastures, covered
with cattle, afford no milk to him. In autumn,
the harvest yields no bread for his children.
A selfish and misdoing lord claims all the pro
duce. At the end of summer, every road in
the southern provinces is filled with caravans,
bearing corn and all sorts of provisions, every
produce of labour and of the land, to supply
the nobles of Moscow and Petersburg with the
means of wealth, and the markets of those two
capitals, which, like whirlpools, swallow all that
approaches their vortex, with never-ending
voracity '.

(l) "A few cities enjoy the pleasures of life, and exhibit palaces,
because whole provinces lie desolate, or contain only wretched hovels,
in which you would expect to find hears, rather than men." Secret
Mem. of the Court ^Petersburg, p. 268.

CHAP. X,

FROM MOSCOW TO WORONETZ.
Departure from Moscow— ^ Celo Molody — Serpuchof —
Insolence and Extortion — River Oka — Celo Zavody —
Antient Games — Fast Oriental Plain — State of Tra
velling — Tzila — its Manufactures — Imperial Fabric of
Arms — Present State of Tula — Economy of Fuel —
Iron Mines — Road from Tula to Wbronetz — Dedilof —
Change of Climate — Boghoroditz — Celo Nikitzkoy —
Bolshoy Platy — Effremof — Nikolaijevka — ^Celo Pe
trovskia Palnia — Eletz — Ezvoly — Zadunetz — Celo
Chlebnoy — Bestuzevka — Celo Staroy Ivotinskoy —
Wbronetz.
At is now necessary to take leave of Moscow,
where we passed some pleasant hours, and
many others of painful anxiety, exposed to
insult, and to oppression, from the creatures,
a 2

CHAP. X,

228 FROM MOSCOW
CHAP, spies, and agents, of the contemptible tyrant
V,-,,— v who was then upon the Russian throne. Our
situation", and that of every Englishman in the
empire, was not better than the condition of
prisoners on their parole. We had been al
lowed to move about, it is true, but always
under. the vigilant eye of a troublesome and
capricious police. We were detained a long
time, before we could learn when we might go,
or by what route we should be allowed to
pass. An escape by the Livonian frontier was
Depaiture Utterly impracticable. At last, without any
cw" "*' passport for leaving the country, but encou
raged by the advice and exertions of our
excellent and friendly ambassador, who secretly
conveyed to us letters from the Governor of
Petersburg to the Governor of Moscoiv, and to
General Michelson,' Commander-in-chief in the
Crimea, we determined to set out for that Pen
insula, by a circuitous route, through the country
.of the Don Cossacks; and, if possible, to visit
the more distant regions of Kuban Tartary and
of Circassia. Having, by means of these letters,
procured the long-wished-for poderosnoy, and
placed our carriage again upon its wheels, we
left the city on the evening of the thirty-first of
May, visiting our banker at his country-seat
near Moscow, and proceeding that night only
twenty-seven versts, to a place called Molodtzy,

TO WORONETZ. 229
the first station. The next day, June the first, ^^^'
we arrived at Celo Molody, Its inhabitants had
been once in good circumstances, but since
completely ruined by their lord. The tyrant
has a fine house, near the church, which is upon
the left hand in quittmg the village. He is the
miscreant, before mentioned, who refused to a
poor- girl her liberty, after accepting the price
of her ransom, when she wished to marry in
Moscow, Between Molodtzy and Celo Molody
we passed through Pocfo/*^, pleasingly situate,
between two hills, upon the river Mockra,
The late Empress conferred upon this place the
name and distinction of a town ; but Paul (in
his determination to do every thing that she
would not have done, and to undo all that she
did) made it again a village.
From Celo Molody our journey was performed
with very great expedition, and over good roads,
to Grischinka, and to Serpuchof: this last place
resembles Newmarket, in situation, appearance,
and surrounding scenery: and that nothing
might be wanting to awaken the recollection of
our beloved country, the " Mouse-ear Scorpion
Grass" {Myosotis Scorpioides), with other British
herbs, appeared among the plants then in flower.
Exactly in the spot which, with reference to the
town, corresponds with that of the Race Course

230 FROM MOSCOW
CHAP, at Newmarket, before descending into Serpuchof,
' — r-mj there is a church-yard : here, among the graves
and tombs, we saw several of the women of the
country practising a custom which is purely
Oriental; namely, that of visiting the sepulchres
of friends long buried, bowing their heads to the
gipund, touching the graves with their foreheads,
weeping aloud, and uttering short prayers. In
this road the dress of the peasants changes
more frequently than in other parts oi Russia;
and it is remarkable, that, although the habits
of the women be so various in the different pro
vinces, those of the men are the same through
out the empire.
Serpuchof. Serpuchofis a handsome little tbwn, upoii the
river Nara. It contains a citadel, inclosed by a
strong rampart ; and has a Weyiuode, with his
Chancery. In the market we observed some
shops solely appropriated to the sale of labkas,
or Russian sandals: these were before descrioed,
as constructed of birch or linden-bark'. Some
(l) See p, 209. According to Mr. Heber, the Linden, or Lime-tree,
affords the bark used for these sandals. " This practice Of making
Sjioes of linden-bark is very destructive to the trees, as a man will wear
put twenty or thirty pairs of sandals in a year. The IAr)ie-tree, of
which these shoes are made, is a very valuable plant, owing to the
construction of mats from its bark, which form a very considerable
article of exportation. It is scarce in the western provinces; Ijut in
the eastern very plentiful; and it flourishes as high as Archangel."
Heber's MS. Journal.

TO WORONETZ. 231
authors have asserted that each peasant made chap.
his O'WTi. Formerly this might have been the v.. -y -<
case ; and perhaps in the interior it is so now.
Such shops, however, prove that the rudest and
the most antient kind of sandal in the world,
which is common to man in a state of nature,
and roaming his primeval forests, is even now
an article of commerce*.
At every station upon the route there is an insolence
officer, who is called Potchetilione, to superintend tion.
the post, and to see that travellers are regularly
supplied with horses. Some of these men,
however, will not furnish horses without a bribe,
even when the Imperial order has been produced.
We experienced some delay at Serpuchof, from
a person of this description. Our order directed,
that if horses were not found at the post-house,
the officer on duty should procure others from
the peasants. Being told there were no horses,
the author went into the office, to enforce this
order. As he entered, the Potchetilione com
manded him to take off his hat: and having
asked for what reason he was to remain bare
headed in that place; "What, are you blind,"
exclaimed the superintendant, m a tone of great
insolence, " that you do not see the Emperor's
i.i) See the Pignette to this Chapter.

232 CHAP. X.

FROM MOSCOW
portrait' upon the wall? It is a face to make
Englishmen tremble." The author endeavoured
to answer him in his own way, saying, " The
Emperor, truly! If he knew how shamefully
you have slandered his countenance by that vile
representation, your head would come off sooner
than my hat." Finding his gasconade had not
succeeded, he caused it to be intimated, that he
wanted a rouble. We could hardly credit what
we heard; and should have been ashamed to
offer it, if he had not afterwards told us so
himself. Horses now came quick enough, and
half-a-dozen fine speeches intp the bargain,

River W(fl. About a verst from this town we crossed the
Oka, by a ferry. This river falls into the Volga
at Kolomna, It is a noble piece of water, ahnost
as broad as the Thames, . and well stocked with
fish. We had been detained so long at Serpuchof,
that evening was coming on when we arrived
upon its banks. Peasants were seated in groupes
around different fires, singing, and boiling their
fish upon the shore. Innumerable frogs, whose
croaking may be heard to a great distance
(l) Copies of the Emperor's Portrait, for which see the Vignette to
.the First Chapter, were sent, by order of PAUt, to all public offices of
his empire. Some of those pictures were executed in a most wretched
manner. All persons, however, were ordered to stand bareheaded
before them, as if in the despot's presence. The peasants fell pros
trate, and offered their adoration, as before their BOGH.

TO WORONETZ. 233

during the night, overpowering the melody of
nightingales in Russia as well as in Denmark,
joined the loud chorus; while the moon, full
and splendid, rose over this fine scene.
Upon the south side of the river stood a small
wooden hut : at this our driver desired to stop
for a little quass. Having acquired a relish for
this Scythian beverage, we followed him into
the hut; but were astonished to find, instead
of qums, five or six hogsheads full of brandy ;
and this they were retailing and drawing off, as
our tapsters draw beer. We could not learn
where they found customers for so great a con
sumption, but supposed they might be derived
from the traffic upon the river : yet they assured
us that such brandy-huts were found in every
village, and that all of them were equally well
stocked.

CHAP, x.

Celo Za
vody.

We arrived late the same night at Celo Zavody,
and waited there until sun-rise. In all the
villages and towns, from Moscow to JVoronetz,
as in other parts of Russia, axe seen boys, girls,
and sometimes even old men, • playing with the
small joint-bones of a sheep. This game is ^"^ient
called dibbs by our English peasants. It is of
very remote antiquity ; and it may be observed
beautifully represented upon the Grecian terra-

234 FROM MOSCOW
CHAP, eotta vases; particularly upon a fine one be-

¦V— -/ longing to the Collection of the late Sir William
Hamilton, where a female figure appears most
gracefully delineated, kneeling upon one knee,
with her right arm extended, the palm down-
¦vvards, and such small bones ranged along the
back of her hand and arm. She seems in the act
of throwing them up, in order to catch them. In
this manner the Russians play the game. But
they have another method, corresponding with
our game oi marbles, and which probably afforded
the origin both of marbles and of nine-pins: it
consists in placing several larger bones, in aj
row, upon the ground ; a contest ensuing, who
shall beat them all down with another bone
from a given distance, in the smallest number
of throws.
It is a pleasing sight to see the young vil
lagers return in the evening from their labour.
They move slowly up the village, with flowers
in their hats, singing a kind of hymn. In these
carols, each person bears a separate part ; and
by the exactness of the Russians in observing
tiine and tune, the effect is very fine. Vege
tation had been rapid, in the short interval of
pur journey from Moscow ; but in the garlands
pf the peasants, and among the plants found
near the road, we observed only the earliest

TO WORONETZ. 235
flowers, and there were none worthy of a par- chap.
ticular notice. The whole territory, whether '^ ->,- -i
to the south of Moscow, or in any other direc
tion, is flat. The great Oriental plain extends ^"^'S".'
" ' ental Plain,
from that city even to Tobolsky in Siberia, and
throughout all the southern provinces; appearing
generally destitute of wood, and being always
without inclosures,
In a narrative of travels through Russia, there state of
is no reason to fear any account of adventures
at inns. Except in large to-wns, such houses
are never seen ; and even there they are abo
minable. Better accommodation may be had
in the farm-houses of Lapland peasants, than in
Russian inns. In the latter, the rooms consist
of bare walls, filthy beyond description, desti
tute of any article of furniture. Sometimes
these houses are kept by foreigners ^~ and, in
this case, the evil is not mended; because,
although a little old furniture be then intro-r
duced, it is always dirty, and affords a recep
tacle for every kind of vermin. A person who
wishes to traverse Russia, must consider it as
Antient Scythia ; being provided with every thing
he may require. If he can endure fatigue, with
littie sleep, and live constantly covered with
dust, exposed to a scorching sun ; or to severe
frostj with a couch pf snow to lie upon, beneatl^

236 TULA.
CHAP, the canopy of heaven; he may travel in a
' I -y- > khabitka, which is the best of all means of con
veyance. If not, he must, according to the
method recommended in the First Chapter, have
a dormeuse in his carriage, which should be made
low, and with very wide axle-trees. In this
manner his journey will not be quite so expe
ditious, as in a fighter machine; but he will
always be able to proceed at the rate of a hun
dred versts in a day. If he can smoke tobacco,
the fumes of it, used moderately, may preserve
him from dangerous infection; repel vermin; and,
by their narcotic power, acting as a stimulant,
may promote the digestion of bad food. This
practice also, during long fasting, upon chilling
lakes and marshes, and amidst unwholesome air,
has been found both solacing and salutary.
Tula. The ucxt day, June the third, we passed
through Vaszany and Celo Volotia, to Tula,
capital of the government of the same name,,
and the Sheffield of Russia, Near the town we
found the Lathrcea squamaria, a plant which the
peasants boil in milk, as a remedy for disordered
bowels, and a disease called sickness of heart ;
but the specimens were difficult to preserve,
owing to their succulent nature.
For some time before we reached Tula, it

TULA. 237
exhibited a considerable appearance. A very chap.
handsome church, with white columns, appeared '  r*-'
above the town, which occupies an extensive
vale, and is filled with spires and domes. The
entrance, both on its northern and southern
side, is through triumphal arches, made of
wood, painted to imitate marble. In former
times, Tii/a was a dangerous place to visit ; the
inhabitants frequently pillaging travellers in the
public streets. Now, it is the great mart of ^^^fj*^"
hardware for the whole empire; containing a ^«'''-
manufactory of arms, all sorts of cutlery, and
other works in polished steel. As soon as you
arrive at the inn, a number of persons crowd
the room, each bearing a sack filled with trin
kets, knives, inkstands, incense-pots, silk-reels,
scissars, and corkscrews. Their work is showy,
but very bad, and will not bear the smallest
comparison with our English wares : it is a
sufficient proof of the superiority ' of English
workmanship, that they stamp all their goods
with the names of English towns and English
artificers, imitating even the marks of the
Sheffield manufacturers, and adopting all their
models. The wares hawked about are made
during holidays and hours of leisure ; these the
workmen are permitted to sell to strangers, as
their own perquisites. They are able to fabri
cate any thing, but they finish nothing. Some

238 TULA.
chap, of the workmen were purposely sent to England
V- -»-¦¦' by the late Empress, who neglected no measure
conducive to the improvement of the manu
factory. We asked those who had worked in
our country, why their wares were so badly
finished. They replied, they could finish them
better, but were not able to bestow the neces
sary time ; for as every article is the produce of
the labour of a single person, the high price
such additional labour must require would never
be obtained. The best work we saw was in a
manufactory of barometers, thermometers, and
jjjathejnatical instruments; but here the artificer
was a German, who had been instructed under
English masters in Petersburg, The late Empress
bought up almost all the work which her English
workmen completed. To encourage them, she
* Ordered spectacles by the gross, and afterwards
distributed them in presents. In her palaces,
thermometers were placed in every window:
and, as they were perpetually broken by the
servants, her workmen, in providing a fresh
supply, had sufficient demands to keep them
constantly at work.
Imperial ^ letter to onc of the principal persons in the
Arms. Imperial manufactory enabled us to see the whole
of it. They exhibited to us a splendid collection
of guns, swords, pistols, &c. designed as

TULA. 239
presents from the inhabitants of Tula to each chap.
member of the Royal family, upon Paul's ac
cession to the throne. These offerings were,
however, refused by the Emperor, upon some
pretext of dissatisfaction experienced by him
from the people of the place. The true cause,
however, was known to be his steady determi
nation of oppressing and insulting every indi
vidual, or class of individuals, patronized by
his mother. Whatsoever might cast odium
upon her memory ; whatsoever might sully the
lustre of her fame ; by interrupting the progress
of her plans for public improvement; by dis
missing her statesmen and her officers; by
poisoning the sources whence she dispensed
happiness amongst her people ; by overthrowiiig
her establishments ; by blighting the tender but
thriving shoots of science and of the arts, which
she had planted; by converting good to evil, and
joy to grief; was the hourly occupation of her
unnatural son. In the few years of his frantic
tyranny (for every one saw, that of his govern
ment there would be a speedy termination) he
proved a greater scourge to Russia than can be
counterbalanced by another long and glorious
career, Uke that of Catherine, distinguished by
wisdom and power and conquest and beneficence ' .
(1) Such was, at least, the character of her public administration.
Her private vices were those of the people over whom she reigned. The

240 TULA.
CHAP. Already every trace of her brilliant reign had
disappeared. The Russians, on the acces
sion of Paul, fell back into the barbarism
which characterized the empire before the age
of their First Peter. The polished nations of
Europe will be surprised to learn, that immortal
as the name of Catherine appears in their
annals, it was almost forgotten in Russia within
four years after her death : it remained among
the number of privations enjoined by the- long
list of public proscriptions, and was heard only
in the howling of the wind that drifted the
snows of Siberia, At the same time, her
favourites were' displaced; her ministers re
jected ; her officers dismissed ; her monuments
overthrown: even the verst-posts, which bore
some marks of her taste, were demolished ;
and near to their ruins stood a series of wooden
Harlequinades, chequered to suit the foolish
fancy of the Imperial ideot upon the throne.

The Reader will find them strikingly pourtrayed in the " Secret
Memoirs of the Court of Petersburg," a work attributed to the
Count De Segur. 'Vet, who shall relate the butcheries of the Orlofs,
the Passicks, and Baratinskies, of Russia ? All that Shakspeare has
fabled of the cruelties of Richard the Third seem to have been
realized under the reign of Catherine ; whether with or without her
connivance, has not been ascertained. The "quick conveyance" of
her husband, of the Holstein Guards, of Prince Ivan, might be the
work of her' favourites; but can we believe that Alexius Orlof was
alone implicated in the fate of the innocent daughter of the Empress
Elizabeth ? ,

TULA. 241
Tula, in its present condition, is not likely to chap.
prove of any advantage to the empire ; laecause >- -v,-,^
the inhabitants are unable to raise a sufficient state of
quantity of water for the works. The machinery "^*" ,
is ill-constructed, and it is worse preserved.
Every thing seemed to be out of order. Work
men, with long beards, stood staring at each
other, not knowing what to do; while their
intendants and directors were either intoxicated
or asleep. Notwithstanding all this, they boasted
of being able to send out of the manufactory,
in the common course of business, without any
particular order from Government, thirteen
hundred muskets in a week. But then the name
musket is almost all that connects the sham
appearance with the real weapon. It is won
derful how any troops can use them: besides
being clumsy and heavy, they miss fire five
times out of six, and are also liable to burst
whenever they are discharged.
The streets of Tula are paved: its shops and
public places cause an appearance of activity
and of industry, in despite of the neglect shewn
to the public works. The number of merchants,
including shopkeepers, is estimated at four
thousand :, and of this number some are very rich.
Its commerce, independently of the hardware
manufactory, consists in European merchandize,
VOL. I. R

242 TULA.
CHAP, in Greek wines, and in other productions
V i-»— ;¦' of Turkey, The Imperial manufactory of arms
einployed six thousand workmen; and the num
ber of inhabitants was stated at thirty thousand.
The town stands in a pleasing valley, on the
borders of the river Upa. There are few woods
in the neighbourhood, yet they prodiice suffi
cient fuel for the consumption of the place.
^uaJ TWs ni^y be attributed to the very great epo-
npmy introduced by the use of stoves; for the
heating of which, a few billets, kindled early
ip the mornipg, suffice; an equal warmth being
afterwards diffused, during the whole of the day
and following night. If they be properly con
structed, thpre is no piethod of heating apart
ments attended "vyith sp little expense and so
many conveniences. In England, stoves are
generally made of cast iron ; these are not merely
unwholesome, biit, in small rooms, they are
very dangerous. Why the Russian and Suxdisk
stoves have not become common in our country,
where every article of fuel is so amazingly
expensive, may be explained by those who
prefer more costly, and perhaps more cheerfiil,
hearths. The generality of houses in Tuki are
of wood; but the number of dwellings buiHi
with stone is considerable, and it increases
daily. Many new buildings afforded proof of
an increasing population. We observed women.

TULA. 243
employed in repairing the pavement of the chap.
streets, which is kept in good order. The dress v- -y- -/
of the young females displays their persons to
advantage. A white shift covers the arms and
body in front, and is fastened behind with tape.
It is dra-wn tight over the breast, and there
held by a small button-
The iron mines in the neighbourhood of this ironMines.
place are very considerable: they occupy an
extent of more than ten miles, in a country
somewhat hiUy, covered by thick woods. The
whole of the soil around them is impregnated
with iron, but the richest ore is found towards
the west. It lies scarcely concealed by a
superincumbent surface, not more than fourteen
inches thick, consisting of sand mixed with
mould, and sometimes of sand alone. From
these mines the celebrated forges of Demidof,
distant thirty-eight miles from Tula, derive
their ore.
As soon as we left Tula, we quitted the main Rokd from
road from Moscow to Cher son, and turned off due wonnetz.
south, towards Woronetz. After ascending the
heights above Tula, we were carried into a wide
and desolate plain, covered only by a thin sod,
on which herds of cattle were grazing. This
deviation was not made, on our part, without
R 2

X.

244 TULA.
CHAP, apprehension. We had reason to fear that
known roads might not suit a carriage ill-con
structed for an adventurous journey ; being lofty,
with narrow axle-trees, and more calculated for
cities than deserts. To our great satisfaction,
however, and for the comfort and assurance of
other travellers who may choose to follow our
route, the whole distance to Woronetz may be
passed over like a bowling-green, and the
lightest vehicle would be exposed to no hazard of
injury. This vast plain afforded us the finest road
in the world, not excepting even those oi Sweden,
being all the way a firm hard turf, exactly re-
sembhng that which covers the South Downs in
Sussex, and with the additional advantage of
being for the most part level, extending like an
ocean, in which the eye discerns no object to
interrupt the uniformity of the viewj Over the
first part of the journey from Tula^ small copses,
in patches, might be distinguished ; and in these
we noticed some dwarf oaks, the first seen since
we entered Russia from the Swedish frontier;
excepting a single tree in a garden at Moscow,
shewn there as a rare plant, and cut into a
barbarous form, like the yew-trees in old-
fashioned English shrubberies '. Among those

(1) The practice of cutting evergreens so as to resemble the shape
of animals is as old as the time of the Younger Pliny, and probably much

TULA, 245
copses we found the Potentilla Anserina, which chap.
we had also seen at Tula ; the Asperula odorala ;
and a species of Geum that appeared new to us.
The view of Tula from the elevated plain
above it, over which the road passes towards
Wbronetz, is very fine. There is not a more
pleasing prospect in Russia. The town itself, with
its numerous white buildings, domes, towers, and
rising spires, is a noble object. Trees appeared
skirting the suburban downs, and spreading
here and there into the valley, while cattle were
grazing in the surrounding pastures. At the
same time, our ears were greeted with the cheer
ful sounds of industry issuing from different
manufectures ; with the ringing of bells ; the
lowing of the herds ; and a loud chorus of pea
sants, singing their national airs, who accompanied
their voices, either with the clapping of hands,
or with the wild notes of rustic pipes, constructed
of the same materials as the sandals on their feet^
Numerous caravans were moreover passing from
the Ukraine and from the Don; and the whole of
this lively scene exhibited so striking a contrast
to what we had long been accustomed to witness

much older. In one of his Letters to Jpollinaris (lib. 5. ep. 6.) he
mentions such ornaments of his Villa in Tuscany.
(2) See liie Vignette to Chapter IX.

246 FROM TULA
CHAP, in the, frigid regions of the North, that ¦we seemed
'— V — ' suddenly transported to a different zone.
Dedilof. The rapture, however, was not of long duration.
It is impossible to imagine a place more mise
rable than the town or village of Dedilof, the
first place of relay, distant only twenty ' miles
from Tula. It consisted of several timber huts,
coarsely thatched with straw. The interstices
of the trunks of trees, which, lying horizontally,
formed the walls of the huts, were filled ¦writh
mud. Dedilof stands in a wide and open district;
one half of it being upon the top, and the other
half near the bottom, of a hill, At first sight, it
appears like a number of dunghills, or heaps
of straw; and it is only by a very near approach
that the traveller can be convinced of it . being
the residence of human beings; much less that
it should figure in the Russian maps as a town.
It is from seeing such places that we may con
ceive what sort of cities and towns afford the
jiames which we find in the Russian Atlas, so
profusely scattered over the eastern provinces
of the empire". The wretched state of Dedilof

(l) Thirty versts.
(2) " Several of these towns arc even nothing more than so many
slakes driven into the ground, containing their name, and delineating
their iile ; y et they figure in the map as if they were the capitals of so
many provinces," Secret Mem. of tlie Court of Petersburg, p. 83.

TO WORONETZ. 247
must, perhaps, be attributed to causes which
may desolate the fairest cities of the world. It
has experienced calamities, both of fire and
water; and has been so often reduced to ashes,
that its inhabitants dread even the sight of a
tobacco-pipe. Seeing the author kindling his
pipe, the Starosta of the place came to him, to
request that he would not use it, especially in
the open air, as a casual spark might again in
volve the inhabitants in flames. Near to the
upper part of the village is an immense pool
filled with water, which was formerly land,
and covered ¦with houses. Suddenly, subterra*
neous waters, penetrating the soil, rendered it
so loose, that the ground, -with all the houses,
in one night gave way, and the place was trans
formed into a small lake. As the whole district
is swampy, rendering the soil naturally loose
and spungy, and water is found immediately
below the surface, there is reason to apprehend,
sooner or later, that all the land about it will
experience the same alteration. This is rendered
the more probable by an event which occurred
a few years ago. At a small distance from this
pool, or lake, is another, caused by a similar
catastrophe. The inhabitants of Dedilof are pea
sants, living in the greatest peverty: their sole
occupation is tillage.

248 FROM TULA
CHAP. X. ' We were now traversing the southern latitude
^JJ^^^Trf of our beloved country, and in a direct line
Climate, towards the south. As we drew nigh to Woronetz,
we observed many of our English indigenous
plants; the large iAz5i/e, the kilk-weed, dandelion,
^ white clover, viood-strawberry , plantain, and the
\dock-weedy Sudden and loud thunder-storms,
w'ithhail and rain, majestic rolling clouds, pass
ing gusts of wind, and transitory sun-beams,
reminded us of an English spring. Such acci
dental resemblances are by no means, however,
the necessary accompaniments of a similarity in
latitude. Naples and Constantinople are nearly
on the same parallel of latitude; but the climate
-of the latter is by many degrees the colder of the
two. The mild aspect of the Plain of Woronetz
may be attributed to the want of forests ; the
removal of which, in all countries, raises the
temperature of the climate. A well-known
passage in Horace describes the mountain
SoRACTE as being white with deep snow'; but
the climate of Italy is now so altered, that such
a sight is perhaps never observed.
Boghoro- rpj^g j^gjj.^ jjg^y^ j^^ the fifth, we passed through

(l) " Vides, ut alta stet nive candidum
, SoRACTE."  Horal. LAb. I. Ode 9. v. I.

TO WORONETZ. 249
the town oi Boghoroditz, On an eminence above chap. At
this place, Bobrinsky, son of the late Empress, by v.i.-y-.-''
Orbf, has a magnificent seat, with an estate of
the finest com land in Russia, covering an extent
of sixteen square miles, and containing, as it is
reported, seventy thousand peasants. Here,
over an extensive tract of land, nothing is seen
but corn. It is the richest country in the em
pire. The roads are so excellent, that the
waggons of the peasants, although laden with
stones, pass and repass upon wooden wheels
without any iron tires.
It is uncertain when the little town of Bogho
roditz was built. The inhabitants began to hold
their archives under the Tsar Feodor Alexo- a.d. is84,
viTz, The shopkeepers, the Streltzi, and the
Puschari, with about one hundred invalid sol
diers, have composed, since that time, its inha
bitants. The culture of the land is their sole
resource, and the fertility of the soil has rendered
it remarkably productive. It is said, that the
peasants here have even a small 'superfluity of
the produce for sale, which they carry to Kaluga
and to Tula. This place also affords plenty of
honey to those towns.
From Boghoroditz we crossed boundless plains, Ceio n;.
without a single inclosuEe, until we came to ' ° '

250 FROM TULA
CHAP. Celo Nikitskoy. The country around this place
s  ^1— ' has, of late years, been much cultivated. For
merly it resembled the rest of those deserts
which the Russians call steppes, so frequent south
of Woronetz. The soil here, notwithstanding its
recent desolate condition, consisted of nearly
two feet of good black vegetable earth, lying
upon marl. The plants we observed in flower
on this day {JunefiftH) are all known in England;
the Birds-foot Trefoil, the Purple Mountain Milk
Vetch, the Germander, the Globe Flower, and the
Wood Anemone. Nikitskoy was once in a low
and swampy spot, and exceedingly unwhole
some; but the inhabitants moved their village
to the more elevated situation it now holds;
and being too lazy to use the materials of the
houses they had abandoned for their new settie-
ment, it was deemed expedient to set them on
fire. The flames, communicating to the peat>
whereof there is abundance near the place,
continued burning for six months with great
vehemence, in despite of all the efforts made to
extinguish them. The inhabitants now sufiFer
greatly, owing to a scarcity of fuel; yet they
make no endeavour to collect the peat, and to
dry it for their hearths. We saw here a curious
funeral ceremony. The lid of the coffin, formed
of one entire piece of wood scooped like a canoe,
was not put on till the deceased was laid in his

TO WORONETZ. 25 1
grave. They buried him in all his wearing ch^p.
apparel; even with the labkas on his feet (which '¦¦' »-¦ '
were before described). Mead was carried to
the grave, to be drunk there, in a bowl with a
number of small wax bougies stuck around the
rim. The women kept up a kind of musical
ululation; howling their loud lamentations in
strains truly dolorous'. The rest of the atten
dants, instead of joining in the dirge, or in the
other ceremonial rites, were occupied in crossing
themselves, and in prostrations towards the east,
bowing their heads until they touched with their
foreheads the other graves near to the place
of interment. The lid of the coffin was borne
first, covered with linen cloth; after this fol
lowed the lower part, containing the body; so
that it seemed as if two coffins were carried to
one grave.
We journeyed hence to Bolshoy Platy. Soon Bolshoy
after passing this last village, we observed,
towards our left, the novel and pleasing appear
ance of a fine wood: here we found that beauti
ful plant the ConvaUaria multiflora in full bloom,
near six feet in height, and flourishing luxuri
antly. Afterwards we came to Effremof; written Effremof:

(l) Homer's account of the dirges sung by women at the funeral of
Hector proves the antiquity of this custom. ,

252 FROM TULA

V,

CHAP, improperly leremow, in the Berlin edition of the
¦' -'v- ¦¦¦' great Map of Russia. It is a small insignificant
town, upon a high hill ; at the foot of which
flows a river falling into the Don, written Metscha,
and Mecza, but pronounced Mecha ; or Miha, to
mark the aspirate more strongly. In a country
so uniform as that we were now traversing, much
interesting information cannot be expected.
The nature of the soil, its produce, the manners
and the dresses of the people, afford but few
remarks, and these are unimportant. Sterne
has humorously observed, that nothing puts a
writer of Travels to so much difficulty as the
sending him over an extensive plain. To
journey many leagues and say nothing-, might
seem hke inattention; but tow^rite observations
of no moment, is less pardonable than any
omission.

Nicolai-
Jevka,

We came to a place which it would be difficult
to express by any_ rule of orthography that
might convey an idea of the Russian mode of
pronunciation'. Afterwards, leaving the govern
ment of Tula, we entered that of Orlof, as we
were informed ; but in the Berlin Map it is laid

(1) It may be written Nieolaijewka : then, if the ij be pronounced as
our y, and the w as an /, it becomes Nicolayefka, and this is perhaps
near the mark.

TO WORONETZ. 253
down as the government of Orel. The female chap,
costume here is very singular. The caps of the ' — , — '
women are triangular, having the vertex of the
triangle in front; so that the base extends
beliind, like two horns, which gives them a droll
appearance : they wear also a frock which
barely reaches to their knees. In their ears
they have large hoop rings, not unlike those
lately worn by ladies in London and Paris.
They had also pendants of pieces of metal at
tached to a handkerchief or cap, which covered
the back part of their head.
Proceeding towards Celo Petrovskia Palnia, we Ceio Pe-
^ ^ truvski^
were much surprised by a spectacle similar to Painia,
one that£rttce witnessed in ^//rzca. We observed,
at a considerable distance, vertical columns
of sand, reaching, as it appeared, from the earth
to the clouds, and moving with amazing rapidity
along the horizon. Our servant, a Greek, and
a native of Constantinople, related an instance of
a child in the Ukraine, who was taken up by
one of su,ch tornadoes, and, after being whirled
by it, had every limb broken in its fall. He
affirmed that he was an eye-witness of this extra
ordinary accident. Passing this village,, we
afterwards arrived at Eletz, or leletz, a large Ektz.
paved to'wn of considerable extent, situate be
tween the river whence its name has been

254 FROM TULA

CHAP, derived, and the Sossna. This place was en-
* — r-~J tirely destroyed by fire in 1745, and since
rebuilt. It stands upon a lofty and steep hill,
and maintains a considerable commerce in
cattle and in corn. Agriculture here is in a very
flourishing stat ¦, and the envirPns abound
with wopd. The inhabitants consist of mer
chants, artisans, Puschari and Streltzi, Its
merchandize is derived from Moscow and from
the Ukraine ; and it carries on a great internal
trade, in the sale of honey and leather to the
people of the town and neighbourhood. The
number of persons belonging to the Crown, pay
ing tribute, amounts to two thousand three
hundred and twenty-three. We observed seve
ral /org-es at work; and found that the number
of smiths, and other artificers in iron alone,
equalled two hundred. Eletz is renowned for
the celebrity of its forges. Part of the iron is
derived from a mine near the village of Flsnist-
denez; the whole district around which place,
for several versts in extent, exhibits a ferruginous
soil. Peasants raise the surface with spades,'
until they reach the ore; but as the superficies
forming the roof of the mine consiscs of clay and
sand, the sides of the apertures they make are
very liable to fall: therefore they form the
opening so narrow, that the work is carried Pn
with difficulty ; the operation being entirely i»

TO WORONETZ, 255
shafts, without any level, or even inclined plane, c hap.
There are also in the vicinity of Udgino, upon > -y— i ¦¦
the eastern banks of the Don, mines of iron which
are now worked; but as they have hitherto
neglected the analysis of their ores, and, instead
of making any selection, mix the whole together
¦\vithout the smallest attention to quality, the
metal turns out to be brittle, defective, and
altogether bad. In the forges oi Tula, where
more caution is used in this respect, the iron is
of a very superior nature.
In the streets of Eletz we observed large
heaps of stone, for the purpose of building,
whereof the substance was porous, and per
forated in all directions by a deposit of marine
animals. It resembled the kind of limestone
found on the banks of the Moscva, but was more
marked by impressions of organized bodies.
Visiting the high banks of the river near the
town, we found large masses of a similar deposit,
lying in regular strata'. Hereafter we shall
take occasion to shew, that such appearances
may be observed in all the great Oriental Plain,
inclined from the Aral, the Caspian, and the Sea

(l) We found here the Veronica Serpyllifolia, a Cineraria, which we
believed to be the Sibitica; and a new species of Gypsophila, grow
ing with Geum Rivale and Ranunculus^ Auricomus.

256 FROM TULA
CHAP, of Azof towards the Black Sea ; authentic monu-
' — -v— ' ments of a vast ocean, once covering the whole
of Tahtary, whose diminished waters are still
effecting a further retreat, by the channels of
Constantinople and the Dardanelles.
A musical instrument, more common among
antient than modern nations, amused us in the
streets of Eletz : it consisted of two reeds, put
together into the mouth. The performer was a
blacksmith's boy, who played several tunes,
' The reeds were each about six inches in length,
and not thicker than a quill. Such were the tibics
used in processions, as represented upon antient
bas-relifs, in the fresco paintings of Herculaneum
and Pompeii, and upon terra-cotta vases found
in Grecian tombs.
From Eletz we continued our journey, through
iadonetz. the village of Ezvoly, to Zadonetz. In all this
route we were continually met by caravans from
the Don, the Crimea, and other parts of the
South of Russia. These caravans formed a train
of waggons, thirty or forty in number, laden with
dfiedfish, brandy, wool, corn, &c. Sometimes they
consistfed of cattle only; cows of an ash colour,
horses, goats, sheep, and hogs, all moving in the
same promiscuous herd, accompanied by Malo-
Russians, Cossacks, and by other inhabitants of

TO WORONETZ. 257
Malo-Russia and the Ukraine. At a short chap.
distance from Zadonetz, we crossed the Don by
a ferry. This river exhibited a broad, clear,
and rapid current. The town stands upon a hill
above it, and originally formed one of a line of
forts, erected from this place to Zaritzin, to pre
vent the incursions of the Tahtars and Cossacks.
It has now a superintendant, or Gorodniich; and
appears, like the other towns through which we
passed, to be in a thriving condition. In all of
them new houses were building, and the appear
ance of activity promised improvement.
From Zadonetz, our journey conducted us
through the sweetest country imaginable, co
vered with woods full of flowers, fruit-trees,
and a number of plants, plainly indicating an
approach to warmer climates. Apple and other
fruit trees sprouted wild, among young oaks, and
other vegetable productions not found nearer
to the North Pole. The modern name of the
Tanais will perhaps not meet the Reader's atten
tion so readily, in the compound word Zadonetz,
as if written Zadonsk ; in which manner it appears
in the best maps. We have imitated the mode
of pronunciation as nearly as possible, Donetz
and Donsk are both names of the Don. Farther
to the south, and nearer to the mouths of the
river, an appellation given to a tributary stream
VOL, I. s

258 FROM TULA
CHAP, is sometimes Danaetz or Danaets, and Tdanaets;
'  ^ — ' hence the transition to Tanais is not very equi
vocal; nor can much doubt be entertained
concerning the origin of the appellation bestowed
by the Antients upon the river. In what a
variety of languages has this word Don, with
its roots and ramifications, been used to signify
a river, a lake, or cities near the mouths of
rivers ! Don, Donets, Dun, Den, Dan, Danau, Tan,
Tane, Ain, An, En, &c. &c. Thus we have
Jordan; Tanis, a name of SaTs,. on the Nile;
Tan y bivlch, in Wales; Danube; Thames;
Ain, aiid Coleram, in the north of Ireland;
Ecfew, in the same country; Tyne ; and many
others.
Celo As we advanced through Celo Chlebnoy, we
'°°'' beheld, at a distance upon our right hand, the
Don, rolling in a very majestic and devious
course, while the full moon cast her light upon
its waters. We halted for the night at a place
Bestuzevka. Called Bcstuzevka, almost a solitary hut in the
midst of wide plains ; and we were somewhat
struck by the singular manner in which a pea
sant cautioned lis not to sleep there, but by all
means to proceed another stage. Trifling
circumstances of this kind often excite the
suspicious fear of travellers ; and in this lonely
situation we were puzzled by conjectures,

TO WORONETZ. 259
whether an attempt were made to lead us into, . chap. .A..
or out of, a snare : it ended, however, like many >---v~.-.'
such adventures, in nothing.
The next morning, Jwne the seventh, we travelled
very expeditiously through Celo Staroy Ivotinskoy,
to the town of Woronetz, situate upon a rivfer Woronetz.
of the same name, near to the spot where it falls
into the Don.

s 2

CHAP. XI.

cnvPi XL

FROM WORONETZ, TO THE TERRITORY OF THE
DON COSSACKS.
Present state of Woronetz — Climate and productions-
Garden of Peter the Great — Inundation and Pro
duct of the Riiers — Increase of Buildings — Arsenal'^
Commerce, inter-nal and external — tVine of the Don-
Change of Manners, and of Features — Neglect of
Droiuned Persons — TumuU — Malo-Russians — Plains
South of Woronetz — Celo Usmany — Podulok Moscov-
skoy — Mojocks, Ekortzy, and lestakovo — Locova Slo
boda— Paulovskoy — Plants — Animals — Trade — Rash
conduct of a young Peasant — Kazinskoy Chutm- — Niz
ney Momon — Dobrinka — Metscha — Kasankaia, frst
Stanitza of the Don Cossacks.
In the reign of Peter the Great, when that
monarch came to Woronetz to build his first

WORONETZ. 201
ship of war, there were scarcely an hundred '-^l^^'-
wooden huts in the place. It is now a very * — ^ — -^
handsome town; and its commerce entitles it staieof
to considerable distinction. By means of the
Don, it possesses an easy intercourse with the
Black Sea. Every year, vessels go laden to
Tcherchask with corn ; accomplishing their voy
age in about two months. In winter they re
ceive merchandize, by sledges, from the Crimea
and from Turkey. Its merchants travel into
Siberia for furs, and then carry them even to
the fairs of Francfort. The Russian Isvostchick
is seen at a German fair, and the same person
may be found in the remotest parts of Siberia.
Sometimes they pursue their course to the coasts
opposite to England, and buy English hardware,
cottons, Japan ware, &c. with which they travel
to all parts of Russia.
Woronetz, from its remarkable situation, is ciimate
and PrOr
particularly qualified to become a great capital, ductions.
It is placed so as to enjoy the advantages both
of warm and of cold climates, and it holds an
intercourse with all parts of the empire. Nature
is so bountiful here in the summer, that plants
found in very southern latitudes grow almost
spontaneously. The Water-Melon, rarely in per-
-fection anywhere, is as common at Woronetz
as the cuqumber in England, and it flourishes in
the open air, with spicy and aromatic herbs.

262 WORONETZ.
Yet the inhabitants experience very great ex
tremes of temperature ; having sometimes, aic-
cording to the .thermometer of Riaumur, thirty
degrees of cold in the winter, and twenty-eight
degrees of heat ' in the summer. They use the
precaution of double casements to their win
dows, as at Moscow and Petersburg, and have
very large stoves in all their apartments. In
the " Journal des Savans Voyageurs," pubhshed
at Berne in 1702, a commentator attempts to
explain the cause of the extraordinary difference
observed in the productions of the climate and
soil of Woronetz, when compared with those of
other countries in the same latitude ; by saying
that the nature of the soil necessarily supplies
that which the climate would not otherwise af
ford^. The eartii is strongly impregnated with
nitrat of potass in all the environs of Woronetz ;
and it is to the presence of this mineral that the
extraordinary fertility of the Ukraine has been
attributed. The whole country south of Tula
abounds with it; insomuch that it sometimes
effloresces on the soil ; and several fabrics for ex
tracting it have been established. The immediate
soil below the town of Woronetz is sand ; upon

(l) Equal to ninety-five of Fahrenheit.
(2) See Note to p. 116. Voyages ckez les Peuples Kalmouhi ct hs
Tartares.

WORONETZ. 203
a steep .mound or bank of which it has been chap.
built. It lies in the fifty-fourth degree of north
ern latitude. The vineyards of Europe termi
nate many degrees nearer to the equator, and
yet the wild vine flourishes at Woronetz. The
inhabitants neglect its cultivation; importing
their wine, at a great expense, from the country
of the Don Cossacks, from Greece, and from the
Crimea. It frequentiy happens in the province
of Champagne, in France, that the grapes do not
attain their maturity; sugar is then used as a
substitute in the preparation of the Champagne
wine\ At Woronetz, where every facility for

(3) The Champagne winehas been imitated in England, with success,
by using gooseberries before they ripen, and by supplying the want of
the saccharine acid with loaf-sugar. If the process he properly at
tended to, there is very little difference. Both are artificial compounds.
The common Champagne wine drunk in this country is made with green
grapes aud sugar. The imitation of it, with green gooseberries and
sugar, is full as salutary, and frequently as palatable. (Note to the
Ftrsl Edition.) Since this Note appeared, a French translation of these
Travels has been published at Paris, with Additional Notes "par le
Traducteur." Alluding to these observations respecting the Cham
pagne wine, he says, " C'est sans doute par un sentiment de pat'riot-
israe, et pour d^goAter ses compatriotes du vin de Champagne, que
Ic Docteur Clarke se permet de hasarder de pareilles assertions. Croit-
il que le vin de Champagne se fasse avec du Sucre et des raisins vei-ts ou
des groseilles, ct qu'un semblable miSlange puisse passer, mfime en
Angleterre, pour uu analogue des vins d'A'i et d'Eperhai ?"
It so happens, that the author's information respecting the Cham
pagne wine does not at all depend upon any conjectures he may have
formed : it is the result of inquiries which he made upon the spot, and
of positive communication, (relative to the chemical constituents " des

264 WORONETZ.
CHAP, establishing extensive vineyards h'a,s'been offered
<¦ 1—^--./ by Nature, the cultivation of the vine has been
entirely neglected, Gmelin endeavoured to
make the inhabitants sensible of the importance
and advantage the town might derive from the

vins ffAl et d'Epernai,") from Messrs. Moctt and Company, the princi
pal persons concerned in their fabrication. It was in the town of
Epernai, whither the author repaired for information upon this sub
ject, that, in answer to some written questions proposed to Mons. Moetl,
the following statement was given by that gentleman touching the ad
mission of sugar into the composition of their wine :
" Reponse Jl la 3°" question : " sur les Corps Strangers, tels que le
Sucre que peuvent entrer dans la fabrication du vin ? —
Peut-6tre regarderoit-on en Champagne comme une indiscretion,
la reponse k cette question, puisque la r^v^lation de ce qu'on appelle
LE SECRET DU PRorRiETAiRE pourroit nuire k la reputation des vins de
Cliampagne ; mais les hommes instruits et ^clairds doivent connoltre
les faits et les causes, parcequ'ils savent apprecier et en tira les justes
consequences. " II est tr6s vrai que dans les anuses froides ou pluvieuses le raisin
n'ayant pas acquis assez de maturity, ou ayant (A& priv^ de la ehaleur
du soleil, les vins n'ont plus cette liqueur douce et aimable qui les
characterise : dans ce cas quelques propri^taires y ont suppl^e par
I'introduction dans leur vins d'une liqueur trfis eclaire dontlabase
EST NECESSAIREMENT Du SUCRE; Sa fabrication est un secret: cette
liqueur mesl^e eh tr6s petits quantite aux vins verts, corrige le vice de
VanrUe et leur donue absolument la mfime douceur que celle que pro
cure le soleil dans les annees chaudes. II s'est eieve en Champagne memo
des frequentes querelles entre des connoisseurs qui pretendoient pouvoir
distinguer au goiit, la liqueur artificielle de celle qui est naturelle, mais ,
c'est une chimere. Le sucre produit dans le raisin, comme dans toute ,
esp6ce de fruit par le travail de la nature, est toujours du Sucre, comine
celyi que I'art pourroit y introduire, lorsque I'intemperance des saisons
les en a prive. Nous, nous sommes pMs tris souvent <i mettre en difaut
I'expirience de ces pritendus connoisseurs, et il est si rare de les voir
rencontrer juste, que I'on peut croire que c'est le hazard plusque leur ,
gpCit qui les a guide."

WORONETZ, 265
growth of vines ; but hitherto no attention has
been paid to his advice. The delicious wine of
the territory of the Don Cossacks is sold here,
but at very high prices. They serve it with a
plate of ice, a piece of which is put into each
glass when the wine is drunk. It is light and
pleasant, effervescing like the wine of Cham
pagne, but having more the flavour of Burgundy.
Peter the Great endeavoured to establish p"^.""/,"^
a Botanic Garden in the neighbourhood of Woro- ^"'"¦
netz, upon a very grand scale. This we visited;
and found a complete wilderness of oaks and
other forest-trees, the underwood growing so
thick under the larger trees as to render a
passage through it impracticable. This garden
was expressly formed for the growth of use
ful plants, fruit-trees, vegetables, and what
soever else might be found likely to answer
the purposes of culture in such a climate :
but after all the pains bestowed upon its insti
tution, it fell into neglect ; like many other de
signs calculated by that wise monarch for the
benefit of his people, when his power ceased of
enforcing the care of them, Gmelin relates ',-
that, in his time, the Governor of Woronetz
exerted all possible means to restore this garden

(l) Journal des Savans Voyageurs, p. 114.

266 WORONETZ,
:ha XI,

CHAP. ^Q i^g original order ; and the consequence was.

1^

— ' that a variety of fruit-trees, particularly the
vine, the chesnut, and the filbert, produced abun
dant crops. Saffron flourished in great plenty,
and many other plants peculiar to warmer cli
mates. The cherry, the apple, and the pear tree,
grew wild in the forests around the town ; but
their better cultivation, as at present, was en
tirely neglected by the people. We found two
plants, very rare in England, thriving among
the weeds of the place ; the " Spreading Bell-
flower" {Campanula patuld), which grows in South
Wales,and near Marlborough ; and also the "Moun
tain Bugle" (Ajuga pyramidalis). The other
plants which we collected in the neighbourhood
and"ft''°" ^^ Woronetz are given in a Note'. Stagnant
duct of the waters, left by the annual inundation of the river.
Rivers. ''
render the place very unwholesome during cer
tain seasons of the year. The inhabitants, both
in spring and autumn, are subject to tertian aad
quartan fevers : these become epidemic, and at
tack hundreds at the same time. The want of
proper remedies for such disorders, and the con
stant use of salted provisions, frequently cause
the ague to degenerate into a continual fever, a

(l) Polygonum Fagopyrum — Adonis aestivalis — Cucubalus Behen —
A new species of Euphorbia — Salvia nutans — Verbascum Phoenicium
— Chelidonium minus — Ranunculus Illyricus — Viola tricolor.

WORONETZ. 267
dropsy, or a consumption. Both the Woronetz
and the Don supply the inhabitants of all this
country with an astonishing quantity of fishes ;
carp being the most abundant : but they have
also tench, sterlet, bream, bleak, trout, lamprey,
perch, and pike. The last absolutely swarm in
their rivers, and grow to a prodigious size ; but
it is only the poorer class of people who use it
for food. When Nature is profuse in her offer
ings, the love of novelty induces us to contemn,
and even to reject, her bounty.
The change of season, as at Moscow, does not
take place at Woronetz with that uncertainty
which characterizes our climate. Winter regu
larly begins in December, and ends in the middle
of March, According to Gmelin., the autumn
resembles a moderate summer. Vegetation is
so rapid during spring, that upon the ninth of
June we saw a pear-tree which had put forth a
strong scion above a yard in length. We found
the climate so different from that to which we had
been lately accustomed, that we were compelled
to alter our clothing altogether ^ The beams of
the sun were to us intolerable ; and a south-east

(2) It is not necessary to mention the precise height of the mercury
in the thermometer, because the Reader will find it stated in the Appen
dix, according to the most accurate daily observation throughout the
journey.

268 WORONETZ,

CHAP. XI.

wind, like a Sirocco, blew frequently and even
^« — ,  ' tempestuously ; causing insufferable heat, dur
ing the time we remained. The only method
we had of cooHng our apartments was, by shut
ting the windows, and drawing curtains over
them. Perhaps the sudden transition we had
made from colder countries might have rendered
us more peculiarly sensible of the oppressive
heat of the atmosphere.
BuTidirigs'!^ New buildings were rising in all parts of Wo-.
ronetz ; and the suburbs appeared so extensive,
that it was very difficult to form any correct
idea of the probable future extent of the place.
It was evident that a junction would soon take
place between the town and its suburbs ; and
we were informed that a village or two would
also be included. It stands upon the very lofty,
steep, and sloping bank before mentioned, hav
ing the appearance of a rampart ; so that, when
viewed from the river below, this bank looks
like a prodigious artificial fortification. Doubt-
' less it might be rendered a place of very great
strength, as there are no eminences that could
command the works on its weakest side. Small
lanterns, dispersed about upon posts, serve to"
light the town. The streets are very wide,
Arsenal, without being paved. The arsenal erected by
Peter the Great still remains, although in a

WORONETZ. 269
ruinous, condition. We visited the little sandy
island below the town whereon he built his first
ship of war, when he projected the conquest of
the Black Sea. It is now covered with store
houses, caldrons, and tubs, for the preparation
of tallow : this is a great article of trade here :
it is seat to England, and to America, in vast
quantities. The principal merchant, happening
to be upon the spot, asked us, to what use the
English could possibly appropriate all the gred.%e
he sent to their country. The stench from the
bones and horns of animals, slaughtered for the
pvirpose of preparing the tallow, made this
place exceedingly offensive. It formerly exhi
bited a more pleasing spectacle, when Peter,
acting in the double capacity qf a king and a
carpenter, superintended his works upon this
island. He built a small wooden hut, and a
church, opposite to the arsenal, on the side of
the river, immediately below the town ; and the
.greatest monarch in the world, surrounded by
a few hovels, in a land of savage people ac
customed only to their rafts and c^-noes, was
daily seen m the. midst of his workmen, upon
a little mound of sand, building his first ship
of war.

Iron is one of the, principal articles of trade Commerce
' . internal &
m the town, and occupies the chief commerce external.

270 WORONETZ.
CHAP, of the shops. They also manufacture cloth for
the army ; and have a building for the prepara
tion of vitriol. Large balls of whiting are piled
up before their doors, as in Moscow, Tula, and
other places. The cloth factory was established
by Peter the Great, and is the most consi
derable in Russia. Peter resided here in the
year 1705 ; and at the same time was also
engaged in building Petersburg. In the pre
paration of tallow, they consume the cattle of
the country, and, boiling them down, make two
sorts. The frst sort is exported to England;
the second used m Russia, in making soap. Ten
pouds of the best quality sells sometimes in
Petersburg as high as sixty-three roubles. The
carriage from Woronetz to Petersburg costs about
eighty copeeks per poud. Ii the merchants con-
ti;act with English dealers in Petersburg to the
amount of one hundred thousand roubles, they
receive from them fifty thousand in advance, to
enable them to buy cattle. This practice of
purchasing cattle to boil into tallow has, of late
years, enormously advanced the price of meat.
Fourteen years ago, a poud of beef sold in
Woronetz for twenty-six copeeks ; a poud oi mutton
for thirty : now the poud of beef costs two roubles,
and the poud oi mutton sixty copeeks. In return
for the corn carried annually to Tcherkask and
to Azof, they bring back raisins, figs, Greek wines.

WORONETZ. 271
and the wine of the Don Cossacks, The salt chap.
consumed in Woronetz is supplied from a re- v— v — '
markable salt lake in the neighbourhood of

'¦a^

Saratof, so impregnated with the muriate of soda,
that fine crystals of it form upon any substance
placed in the water. Sugar is very dear ; it is
brought only from Petersburg, The necessaries
of life, however, are, generally speaking, cheap.
The carriers of Woronetz go every three years
to Tobolsky in Siberia, where there is a rendez
vous for all caravans bound to Kiatka, on the
frontier of China, From Tobolsky they form one
immense caravan to Kiatka, Afterwards, return
ing to Tobolsky, they disperse, according to their
several routes. From Siberia they bring furs ;
from Kiatka, Chinese merchandize of all sorts,
tea, raw and manufactured silk, porcelain, and
precious stones. The Chinese, upon their arrival
at Kiatka, also furnish them with the produc
tions of Kamchatka, brought from St, Peter and
St. Paul, Thus laden, many of the caravans set
out for Francfort, and return with muslin, cambric,
silks, the porcelain of Saxony, and other goods
from the manufactures of England, ,
Four men, with their captain, offered to take
us by water to Tcherchask for two hundred and
fifty roubles, including the necessary purchase of
boats, anchors, sails, oars, &c. But the river

272 WORONETZ.
chap, is so shallow during summer, that we should
'  ,  ' have been two months in getting thither; the
distance, being fifteen hundred versts. The best
Wine of wine of the Don is made upon the river, about
the Don. '¦
three hundred versts before arriving at Tcherchask
from Woronetz. Fourteen bottles seU there for
one rouble and fifty copeeks. They are apt to
make it before the grape ripens ; and perhaps
this may be the case with all wine exhibiting
effervescence'. Their white wine proves better
than the red, when the fruit is suffered to ripen 5
but this very rarely happens.
Change of Approachiug the Southern piart of the empire,
Manners. ' ...
the strong characteristics of the Russian people
are less frequently observed. Happily for the
traveller, in proportion as his distance is in
creased from that which has been erroneously
considered the civilized part of the country, he
has less to complain of theft, of fraud, and of
: dissimulation -. In the more Northern provinces,
he is cautioned to beware of the inhabitants of

(1) See the Note upon Cliampagne wine in a former page of this
Chapter. (2) " The Russian peasant, without property, without religion^ with
out morals, without honour, is hospitable, humane, obliging, gay,
faithful, and brave : the farther you penetrate into the country remote
from cities, the better you find him ; the most savage is always the
best." Secret Mem. of the Court of Petersb. p. '266.

WORONETZ. 273
the Ukraine, and the Cossacks, by an unprincipled ^"i.^*
race of men, with whom the Cossack and '-"y- -'
the Tahtar are degraded in comparison. The
chambers of our inn were immediately over the
town jail ; and it is quite unnecessary to add of
what nation its tenants were composed. The
Russian finds it dangerous to travel in the Ukraine,
and along the Don, because he is conscious the
inhabitants of these countries know too well
with whom they have to deal. The Cossack,
when engaged in war, and remote from his
native land, is a robber, because plunder is a
part of the military discipline in which he has
been educated ; but when a stranger enters the
district where he resides with his family and
connections, and confides property to his care,
the inhabitant of no country is found either
more hospitable, or more honourable. Concern
ing the inhabitants of the country called Malo-
Russia, a French gentleman, who had long resided
among them, assured us he used neither locks
to his doors nor to his coffers ; and among the
Cossacks, as in Sweden, a trunk may be sent un
locked, for a distance equal to five hundred
miles, without risking the loss of any part of
its contents, Mr. Rowan, banker of Moscow, was
compelled, by the breaking of his carriage, to
abandon it in the midst of the territory of the
Don Cossacks; and it was afterwards brought
VOL. I. T

274 FROM WORONETZ
CHAP, safe to him at Taganrog, with all its appurte-
^ / ' nances, by the unsolicited and disinterested
labour of that people'. Who would venture to
leave a carriage, or even a trunk, although en
cased, doubly locked, and duly directed, among
the Russians ?
Change of From the time we left Tula, a remarkable
Features. . ., , .
change was visible in the features of the people:
this we were unable to explain. The peasants
had frequently the straight yellow hair of the
inhabitants of Finland, and the same light com
plexion ; neither resembling Russians, Poles, nor
Cossacks. At Woronetz the Gipsey tribe was
very prevalent; and a mixed race, resulting
from their intermarriage with Russians.
Neglect of The horrid practice of burying persons alive
Persons, somctimcs takcs place in Russia, from the igno
rance of the inhabitants. Instances of suspended
animation, occasioned by the vapour of their
stoves, or by accidents in water, are always
considered lost cases ; and the unhappy sufferer
is immediately committed to the grave, without
any attempt towards recovery. They send

(l) Of this fact we were assured by Mr. Rowan himself, to whom
we were indebted for many instances of politeness and attention during
the time we resided in Moscoiv.

TO PAULOVSKOY. 275
only for a police-officer, to note down the cir
cumstances of the disaster ; and, without the
smallest effort towards restoring respiration,
proceed in the ceremony of uiterment, A poor
woman in bathing, during our stay at Woro
netz, fell beyond her depth. She struggled
some time with the stream, and, bfeing carried
by it about three hundred yards, was taljLen out
by some peasants before she had either sunk or
lost her power of motion. When laid on the
earth, she groaned and moved ; but the water
which had been swallowed rendered her face
black, and she became apparently lifeless. She
was therefore immediately pronounced to be
really dead. No endeavour on our part, ac
companied by persuasion and by offers of
money, could induce the spectators either to
touch the body, or to suffer any remedy to be
attempted towards her recovery. They seemed
afraid to approach what they considered as a
corpse. In vain we explained to them the
process by which persons, so circumstanced,
are restored to life in England. They stood at
a distance, crossing themselves, and shaking
their heads ; and in this manner the poor wo
man was left upon the shore, until it would
have been too late to have made use of any
means for her recovery. If she were not after
wards buried alive, her death was certainly
T 2

276 FROM WORONETZ
CHAP, owing to a shameful and an obstinate neglect
'>¦ -v- -' of remedies, which, inr her case, promised every
success. The ^police-officer gave in his me
morial, and her body was committed to the
grave. We left Woronetz, June 12th; crossing the
river at the bottom of the town, and entering
plains as before. The swamps below Woronetz
at once explain the cause of the annual fevers
to which its inhabitants are liable : they exhale,
during warm seasons, vapours as unwhole
some as those which arise from the fens of
Italy. There are few finer prospects than that of
Woronetz, viewed a few versts from the town,
on the road to Paulovskoy. Throughout the
whole of this country are seen, dispersed over
immense plains, mounds of earth covered with
a fine turf; the sepulchres of the antient world,
common to almost every habitable country. If
there exist any thing of former times, which
may afford monuments of primeval manners*
it is this mode of burial. They seem to mark
the progress of mankind in the first ages after
the dispersion; rising wherever the posterity
of Noah came. Whethef under the form of a
Mound in Scandinavia, in Russia, or in North

TO PAULOVSKOY. 277
America^; a Barrow in England; a Cairn in
Wales, in Scotland, or in Ireland ; or of those
heaps which the modern Greeks and Twr^s call
T^/)e; or, lastly, in the more artificial shape of
a Pyramid ui Egypt; they had universally the
same origin. They present the simplest and
subhmest monument that any generation of
men could raise over the bodies of their fore
fathers; being calculated for almost endless
duration, and speaking a language more im
pressive than the most studied epitaph upon
Parian marble. When beheld in a distant
evening horizon, skirted by the rays of the set
ting sun, and, as it were, touching the clouds
wliich hover over them, imagination represents
the spirits of departed heroes as descending to
irradiate a warrior's grave". Som6 of those
mounds appeared with forms so simple, and yet
so artificial, in a plain otherwise level, that no
doubt whatsoever could be entertained con
cerning their origin. Others, more antient,
have at last sunk into the earth, and left a
hoUov/ place, encircled by a kind of fosse, which

(0 See the Journal of a Tour into the Territory North-wtst of the
Alleghany Mountains, by Thaddeus Mason Harris) Boston, 1805; for
a very curious account of the Sepulchral Mounds in America ; the
history of which is lost, as the author expresseth it, " in the oblivion, of
ages." (2) See the Vignette to this Chapter,

278 FROM WORONETZ
CHAP, stjjl marks their situation. Again, others, by
v—y- „; the passage of the plough annually upon their
surface, have been considerably diminished.
These Tumuli are the Sepulchres referred to
by Herodotus, in the earliest accounts which
history has recorded of this mode of burial'.
The tombs of the Scythian kings are said, by
him, to exist in the remotest parts of Scythia,
where the Borysthenes is first known to be navi
gable; and they are further described as being
constructed precisely according to the appear
ance they now exhibit.
Mai». We frequently met with caravans of the
Malo-Russians, who differ altogether from the
inhabitants of the rest of Russia. Their fea
tures are those of the Polonese, or Cossacks.
They are a more noble race; stouter and
better looking than the Russians, and superior
to them in every thing that can exalt one class
of men above another. They are cleaner, more
industrious, more honest, more generous, more
polite, more courageous, more hospitable, more
truly pious, and, of course, less superstitious.
Their language only differs from the Russian,
as the dialect of the southern provinces of France
does from the dialect spoken near Paris. They
,(1) Herodot. Melpom. «:, 71,

TO PAULOVSKOY. 279
have in many instances converted the desolate chap.
steppe^ into fields of corn. Their caravans are v.-/-../
drawn by oxen, which proceed about thirty
versts in a day. Towards evening, they halt in
the middle of a plain, near some pool of water;
when their little waggons are all drawn up into
a circle, and their cattle are suffered to graze
around them; while the drivers, stretched out
upon the smooth turf, take their repose, or
enjoy their pipes, after the toil and heat of the
day. If they meet a carriage, they all take off
their caps and bow. The meanest Russians
bow to each other, but never to a stranger*
South of Woronetz we found the country Plains
perfectly level, and the roads (if a fine turf woronetx,
lavsm may be so denominated) the finest, at
this season, perhaps in the whole world. The
turf upon which we travelled was smooth and
firm, without a stone or a pebble, or even the
mark of wheels, and we experienced little or no
dust. Nothing could be more delightful than
this part of our journey. The whole of these

(2) Steppe is the name given, in the Somth of Russia, to those plains,
which, though capable of cultivation, have never been tilled. They
are covered with wild plants ; and sometimes, perhaps improperly,
called deserts. In America, similar plains are called Prairies.

280 FROM WORONETZ
CHAP, immense plains were "enamelled with the
V I -»-.-> greatest variety of flowers imaginable. The
list of plants we collected is much too
numerous for the text'. The earth seemed
covered with the richest and most beautiful
blossoms, fragrant, aromatic, and, in many
instances, entirely new to the eye of a British
traveller. Even during the heat of the day,
refreshing breezes wafted a thousand odours,
and all the air was perfumed. The skylark
was in full song; various insects, with painted
wings, either filled the air, or were seen
couched within the blossoms. Advancing near
to the Don, turtle-doves, as tame as domestic
pigeons, flew around our carriage. The pools
were filled with wild-fowl; dogs, like those of
the Abruzzo Mountains, guarded the numerous
herds and flocks passing or grazing. Melons
of different sorts flourished in the cultivated

(l) Androsace SeptentrionaUs — Centauria myriocephala — Stipa pen-
nata — Cerastium — lAthrum Virgatum^—Asclcpias Vineetoxicum^r-^^^^-
spur, Delphinium Ajacis — Vicia Pannoniea. Also the following, well
known in England: Meadow Clary, Salvia pratensis — Gnaphalium
dioicum — Wood Crane's-bill, Geranium sytvaticum — Geum Urbanum —
Mouse-ear Scorpion Grass, Myosotis Scorpioides — Cucubalus Otites
(grows on Newmarket Heath) — Sisymbrium amphibium (along the
banks of the Cam)— Yellow Rocket, Bitter Winter Grass, Erysimum
harbaria.

TO PAULOVSKOY. 281
although uninclosed grounds near the villages, chap.
covering several acres of land. '¦-,i-v~»./
At Celo Usmany we were employed in col- cdo us-
w<tny*
lecting plants. The Echium rubrum, falsely
called Italicum by Gmelin, we first noticed
about this place, and it was afterwards very
common. It grows chiefly among corn. The
women of the Don use it in painting their
cheeks ; the root, when fresh, yielding a beau
tiful vermilion tint. The peasants also extract
from it a gum. It is engraven in the " Journal
des Savans Voyageurs." Gmelin recommended
its transplantation, and the application of its
colouring properties to objects of more im
portance. We observed also the Spirtea flipen-
dula, which is found upon the Hills near
Cambridge, and some varieties of the Centaur ea;
also the Onosma echidides, Veronica Austriaca,
Pedicularis tuberosa, and Salvia pratensis. It is
from the root of the Onosma that the Tahtar
women obtain .their rouge,
Usmany is entirely inhabited by Russians:
and whenever this is the case, towards the
south of the empire, a village resembles no
thing more than a number of stacks of straw
or of dried weeds. The female peasants were
seated upon the turf, before their huts, spinning.

XI.

282 FROM WORONETZ
chap. Their machines are not quite so simple as those
used in many parts of Italy. They consisted
of wooden combs, placed upon a stick driven
into the ground, to contain the flax, and not
rising higher than the knee: while the right
hand is employed in spinning, the left manages
the spindle. This manner of living affords a
striking contrast to the Government that op
presses them ; for we observed an air of liberty
in these wild and wide plains, ill suited to the
reflections we had before made on the general
condition of the peasants. The severity of the
winter here is hardly reconcileable with the
appearance of a country abounding in plants
which are found in warm climates : yet the
snow annually affords a sledge-road, the whole
way from the Gulph of Finland to the Sea of
Azof
Podulok From Celo Usmany we travelled, over similar,
$koy°^' plains, to Podulok Moscovskoy, where we passed
the night in a wretched village, the miserable
inhabitants of which were not even able to light
a candle. Nothing could be more revolting
than the sight of their hovels, open to all the
inclemencies of the weather, and destitute
of every comfort or common convenience
of life. They were said to be settlers from
Tver.

TO PAULOySKOY. • 283
The next morning, (June 13th), we passed the ^\^^'
village of Mojocks, and came to Ekortzy .• here '.' -v— -^
we halted to take some refreshment under a Ekoruy,
pent-house, upon a khabitka; the heat of the kovo,"^^'
sun being' almost insupportable. The people
were kind ; and a coarse meal became, on that
account, agreeable. We perceived, as it has
been before remarked, that the farther we ad
vanced from the ordinary hordes of the Russians,
the more politeness and hospitality we experi
enced; this being, however, exactly the reverse
of the information given to us by the inhabitants
of Moscow. The deserts, as they were described,
instead of proving a bare and sandy waste,
presented verdant lawns, covered with herbage,
though sometimes dry, and scorched by the
rays of a very powerful sun.
Near to Ekortzy we added the Verbascum
Phoenicium to our herbary : and between Ekortzy
and lestakovo, upon a high, bleak, chalky soil,
we found the rarest plants which occurred
during our whole route; Draba Alpina, and
Poly gala Sibirica. Professor Pallas could hardly
credit the evidence of his senses, when he after
wards saw them among our collection in the
Crimea. Near the same spot we also observed
that beautiful plant, the Clematis integrifolia,
exhibiting colours of blue and gold; with

284

FROM WORONETZ

CHAP, others, which, being less remarkable, are given
"¦-¦ „¦ . ¦' in the subjoined Note".

Xocora Stuboda.

The first regular establishment of Malo-
Hussians occurred after leaving lestakovo. It
was called Locova Sloboda. The houses were
all white-washed, like many of the cottages in
Wales: this operation is performed annually,
with great care. Such distinguished cleanliness
appeared within the dwellings, that a traveller
might fancy himself transported, in the course
of a few miles, from Russia to Holland, Their
apartments, even the ceilings and the beams in
tile roof, are regularly washed. Their tables
and benches shine with washing and rubbing,
and reminded us pf the interior of cottages in
Norway, Their court-yard, stables, and out
houses, with every thing belonging to them,
exhibited neatness, and proofs of industry. In
the furniture of their little kitchens, instead of the
darkness and smoky hue of the Russian houses,
we observed everywhere brightness and clean
liness. Their utensils and domestic vessels
were all scoured and well polished. They had
poultry, and plenty of cattle ; and their gardens
were filled with fruit-trees.

(1) Other varieties oi Verbascum. — Alyssum incamtm, and montanum.
-Sideritis montana. Varieties of Genista, and Vicia QassuUca,

TO PAULOVSKOY. 285
The inhabitants, in their features, resemble chap.
.Alt

Cossacks; and both these people bear a similitude
to the Poles ; being, doubtless, all derived from
one common stock. The dress of unmarried
women is much the same among the Malo-
Russians and the Don Cossacks, They both wear
a kelt, or petticoat, of one piece of cloth fastened
round the waist. Sometimes, particularly among
more aged females, this petticoat consists of two
pieces, like two aprons ; the one fastened in front,
and the other behind. The necks of the girls
are laden with large red beads, falling in several
rows over the breast. The fingers, both of men
and women, are set off with rings, containing
glass gems. A simple bandeau, or gilded cap, is
sometimes seen on female heads ; and from be
hind hang rows of antique coins, or false pieces
sold to them for that purpose, imitating the
antient coin of their own and of other countries.
The hair of unmarried women is suffered to fail
in a long braid down the back, terminated by a
ribbon with a knot. Their language is pleasing,
and full of diminutives. But the resemblance
of this people, in certain circumstances of dress
and manners, to the Scotch Highlanders, is very
remarkable. The cloth petticoat, before men
tioned, is chequered like the Scotch plaid, and
answers to the kelt which is still worn in Scotland.
They have also, among their musical hastru-

(«.

286 PAULOVSKOY.
CHAP, ments, the bag-pipe, and the Jew's-harp: the
V— ^  ' former, like that used in North Britain and in
Finland, is common to the Cossacks as well as
to the Malo-Russians. Another point of resem
blance may be found in the love of spirituous
liquors. The Mhlo-Russians are truly a merry
race, and much given to drinking : but this habit
prevails among all barbarous nations,
¦^^f"^' From hence we proceeded to Paulovskoy,
situate upon a high sandy bank, on the eastern
side of the Don. It is a small town, and at a
distance makes a pleasing appearance; but
consists of little more than a church and a few
scattered wooden houses. The river, broad
and rapid, here makes » a noble appearance :
barges, laden with corn, were moving with its
current towards the Sea of Azof, Close to its
tnants, banks we found a variety of beautiful plants.
The Stipa pennata, celebrated in Russian songs,
waved its feathery locks, as in almost all
the steppes. In the branches of the Artemisia
campestris, insects had caused excrescences,
which are used by Tahtar nations in kindling
their tobacco-pipes. The Climbing Birthwort
{Aristolochia Clematitis), a rare British plant,
although found at Whittlesford in Cambridge
shire and at Stanton in Suffolk, appeared among
Southernwood, Woody Nightshade, Water Crow-

PAULOVSKOY. 287
foot, and Flea-bane, The rest were all chap.
strangers'. — On the eastern banks are exten- v,.-,- /
sive low woods, hardly rising above the head :
these are so filled with nightingales, that
their songs are heard, even in the town,
during the whole night. There is, moreover,
a kind of toad, or frog, which the Empress
Elizabeth transported to the marshes near
Moscow, Its croaking is loud and deep-
toned, and may be also termed musical ; filling
the air with full hollow sounds, very like the
cry of the old Enghsh harrier. This kind of
reptile is not known in the north of Europe.
The noise it makes is in general loud enough to
be heard for miles, joining with, and sometimes
overpowering, the sweeter melody of nightin
gales. This circumstance gives quite a new
character to the evening and to the night.
Poets in Russia cannot describe silence and
solemnity as characteristics of the midnight
hour; but rather a loud and busy clamour,
totally inconsistent with the opening of Grafs
Elegy, and the Night Thoughts of Young.
Peter the First founded Paulovskoy, and
named it in honour of St. Paul. It was designed

(1) Campanula Sibirica — Dracocephalum Ruyschiana — Onosma
simplicissima — Anthemis tinctoria.

V

288 PAULOVSKOY.
CHAP, as a frontier town against the Tahtars and Turks.
— -V— 1-^ The territory of the former then extended to
Bachmut, on the southern side of the Donetz ;
and that of the Turks, to the place where now
stands the fortress of Dimitri, upon the Don.
There was here a Botanic garden, as at Woronetz;
but of this not a trace now remains. The
underwood about the place was, in Gmeliris,
time, a forest: it is daily diminishing, but it
Animals, contaius many animals common in the sur
rounding steppes; as bears, wolves, foxes, martens,
hares, weasels, ermines^ and squirrels. Among the
birds, not frequent elsewhere, may be mentioned
the pelican : vast flights arrive annually from the
Black Sea and the Sea of Azof, accompanied by
swans, cranes, storks, and geese. They alight at
the mouths of the Don, and proceed up the
river : in autumn they return by the same
route. Pelicans construct their nests of rushes,
lining the interior with moss, or any soft herb.
Such nests are found only upon the small islets
of the river, and in places where moss may be
procured. They lay two white eggs, about th^
size of those of the swan, and employ the same
time in hatching. If disturbed while sitting,
they hide their eggs in the water ; taking them
out afterwards with their bill, when they believe
the danger removed. They live altogether upon
fish, and consume a prodigious quantity. The

PAULOVSKOY. 289

CHAP. XI.

Russian naturalists give a curious account of this
bird's mode of fishing, assisted by the cormorant.
The pelican extends its wings, and troubles the
water; while the cormorant, diving to the bottom,
drives the fish to the surface. Then the pelican,
continuing the motion of its wings, advances
towards the shore, where the fish are taken
among the shallows. Afterwards, the cormorant,
without further ceremony, helps himself out of
the pelican's beak'.
The principal trade carried on here is in Trade.
tallow and fruit : the latter article, particularly
the Water-Melon, is carried to Moscow and to
Petersburg. They plant it ux the open fields,
where it covers whole acres of land. In the
steppes near the town, we observed about thirty
women hoeing a piece of uninclosed ground, for
the culture of this dehcious vegetable. That a
plant, rarely in perfection anywhere, should
thrive upon the rivers in this part of Russia, and
in such a latitude, is very remarkable. Perhaps
its flavour does not depend upon latitude. At
Naples, although so highly esteemed, the Water-
Melon seldom ripens. In Egypt it is even
worse. Indeed, the only place where we
have seen the Water-Melon attain its full

(l) Journal des Savans Voyageurs, p, 144,
VOL, I, U

290 PAULOVSKOY.
CHAP, colour, size, and maturity, is at Jaffa, upon
v_— J — ' the coast of Syria.

Rash Con. ' y^Q fouud oursclvcs among Russians at Paulov
duct of a '-'
young Pea- skoy, and uarrowly escaped with our fives.
The author, being asleep within the carriage,
was awakened by some person gently opening
the door; and could discern, although in the
iiight, a man extending his arm in a menacing
manner. Making a sudden effort to seize him
by the hair, the fellow eluded the attem|)t, and
escaped : an alarm was immediately given, but
he could not then be discovered. Soon after
this, the author, putting his head out of the
carriage window, to call the servan-t, ' a large
stone, thrown with great violence, struck the
frame of it close to his head ; sounding so hke
the report of a pistol, that at first he believed a
pistol had been discharged close to him. Upon
this a second search was made, and a man in
consequence detected, pretending to sleep in
one of the khabitkas, in the court-yard of the
inn. This fellow, whether guilty or not, we
compelled to mount the barouche-box, and to
sit theire as sentinel. ' Soon afterwards, all of
,the party who were in the house came running
into the yard, saying that the front' of the inn
was bcB^et by some persons from without, who
had hurled stones through the windows, and

PAULOVSKOY. 291
broken every pane of glass. Determined to chap.
sell our lives as dearly as possible, we drew ¦,, ^. *
our sabres, and proceeded in a body towards
the residence of the Governor, a very worthy
man, who instantly rose from his bed, and set
on foot an inquiry after the offenders, which
continued the whole of the night. At the same
time, soldiers were stationed with the carriage,
and the patrole of the town was doubled.
Towards morning, they brought in a young man,
whom they stated to have detected in the act
of making his escape from the out-houses of our
inn. During his examination, the cause of all
this disorder was made known. He proved to
be a lover of one of the girls of the house ; and as
she had refused to come out to him when he had
sent for her, his jealousy convinced him that he
was slighted upon our account. In a fit of
desperate fury, he had therefore resolved to
wreak his vengeance upon some of the party,
if not upon all : and in this undertaking he had
been aided by certain of his comrades. The
poor fellow was more an object of pity than
resentment, and we interceded for his pardon ;
but the Governor insisted upon making an ex
ample of him. The police-officers led him
away, sulky, and, as it seemed, nothing loth,
to be flogged. As he went, he still vowed
revenge; declaring, that he was not alone in
V 2

292 FROM PAULOVSKOY, TO THE
CHAP, the business ; for that fifteen of his confede-
^- V- -' rates had made an oath, to be revenged, not
only upon the girl, but upon all her family, for
her inconstancy to hhn.
The Governor provided us with a powerful
escort ; and early in the morning we continued
our journey. The roads have been all changed,
since Gmelin, and other travellers, visited this
part of Russia. We proceeded from Paulovskoy
S^r'*"^ to Kazinskoy Chutor, a village inhabited by
Malo- Rmsians and Russians mingled together.
The distinction between the two people might
be made without the smallest inquiry, from the
strikmg contrast they exhibited of filth and
cleanliness. In the stable of the post-house we
found about twenty horses, kept with a degree
of order dnd neatness which would have done
credit to any nobleman's stud in Britain. The
house of the poor superintendant villager was
equally admirable : every thing appeared clean
and decent : there was no litter; nor was any
thing out of its place. It was quite a new
thing to us, to hesitate whether we should
clean our boots before walking into an apart
ment, on the floor of which we would rather
have placed our dinner than upon the table of
any Russian prince.

COUNTRY OF THE DON COSSACKS. 293
This village is situate in the most wild and *^'^i^'
open steppes. Amongst the short herbage we ' — , — '
noticed the land-tortoise. Its flesh is esteemed
a great dehcacy; as it is in the Archipelago,
and in aU Turkish cities. Boat-loads of them
are carried from the Greek Isles to the markets
of Constantinople, After leaving Kazinskoy, we
passed through several very large villages,
scattered over valleys, each of which appeared
to consist rather of several hamlets than of one,
and arrived at Nizneii Momon, Nothing occurred ^f^'^^'J
J " Momon,
worth observation, except the plants we col
lected'. The heat was intense. The country
similar to that before described. We found
our vinegar a pleasing and salutary ingredient
in bad water, and a most delicious solace, when
exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, with
parched lips, and mouths full of dust. It was
impossible to resist the temptation of drinking
it without water ; and to the practice of doing
so may be attributed, perhaps, the weak state
of health into which the author afterwards fell.
We considered it, at this time, the most valu
able part of our baggage; and afterwards, in

(l) Of these, some are known in our country ; viz, Goat's-beard,
Tragopogon pratense, and Potentilla argentea. Others, more rare,'are,
the Gladiolus imbricatus, not found even in our botanic gardens ;
Astragalus Onobrychis, Hesperis matronalis, and Campanula Sibirica,
We observed also a new species of Lyehnii,

294 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, Kuban Tahtary, derived from it the only means
\m ».i i< of sustaining the fatigue and languor caused by
the heat of the climate and by bad air.
Dobrinka, The ucxt placc we came to was Dobrinka :
and here, for the first time, we found an
establishment of Cossacks; although but few
appeared, and even these were mixed with
Malo-Russians, The church was new ; a large
and handsome white building, erected by the
Emperor Paul. Others of the same nature
appeared in most of the neighbouring villages.
That of Dobrinka makes a conspicuous appear
ance, several miles before the traveller reaches
it. If happiness could be found under the
Russian Government, it might be said to have
its residence in Dobrinka; a peaceable and
pleasant spot, full of neat littie white cottages,
tenanted by a healthy, and apparently con
tented, society, whose members live in the
greatest tranquillity, removed from all the spies,
tax-gatherers, police-officers, and other petty
despots of the country. We were received
into one of their court-yards, with a hearty
welcome and smihng countenances, very dif
ferent from the lowering brows, and contracted
suspicious eyes, to which we had been so often
accustomed. At sun-set, all the cows belonging
to the inhabitants came, in one large troop,

DON COSSACKS. 296
loMvmg, into the village. No driver was neces- chap.
sary ; for, as the herd entered, they separated ^.i. ¦»¦ •>
into parties, and retired of their own accord to
their respective owners, in order to be milked.
The Malo-Russians, with their numerous families,
were seated upon the ground, in circles before
their neat little habitations, eating their supper ;
and, being all merry together, offered a picture
of contentment and of peace not often found
within Russian territories'.
About four in the afternoon of the next day, Metscha.
having been detained for want of horses at
Metscha, we arrived at Kasankaia, one of the Kasankaia,
largest stanitzas oi the Don Cossacks, and the mtzaotthe
first within their territory. As we are now sails. "*"
entering upon the description of a very interest
ing part of our journey, we shall be particularly
careful to note every observation that may
occur, relating to a country rarely visited, and,
upon that account, very little known; where
every thing is interesting, because every thing
presents what travellers from other countries
have not seen before. The independent mode
of life of the people ; their indolence at home ;
their activity in war; their remote situation

(l) We observed here a plant which grows on the Hills near
Cambridge, the Hedysarum Onobrychis.

DON COSSACKS.

with regard to the rest of Europe; the rank they
hold in the great scale of society; the history of
their origin ; their domestic manners, and cha
racter ; all these require consideration.

,,»' i^-*^

•*«£'-

^

„ «

Mode of Travelling across the Territory of the Don Cossacfcs,

CHAP. XII.

TERRITORY OF THE DON COSSACKS.
Appearance of the Cossacks at Kasankaia— House of the
Ataman— 'Ideal Dangers of the Country — Voyage by
Water — Amusements and Dances of the People — Depar
ture — Steppes — River Lazovai — Visit to a Camp of
Calmucks — -Of their Brandy distilled from Mare's Milk
— Personal Appearance of Calmucks — Arts, Armour,
and Weapons'— Recreations and Condition of Life —
Acenovskaia — Of the Suroke, or Bolac, of the Steppes —
The Biroke aiid Suslic — Nature of Villages named in
Russian Maps — Stragglers from the Army — Distinction
between Cossacks of the Steppes and of the Don—
Kamenskaia — Iron Foundries of Lugan — Etymology of
the word Tanais — Numerous Camps of Calmucks —
Approach to Axay.
J. here is something extremely martial, and chap.
even intimidating, in the first appearance of a

XIL

298 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP. Cossack. His dignified and majestic look ; his
< — , — ' elevated brows, and dark mustachoes ; his tall
ance^ the hcImct of black wool, terminated by a crimson
^amnkqll. sack, with its plume, laced festoon, and white
cockade; his upright posture; the ease and
elegance of his gait ; give him aw a.ir qf great
importance. We found Cossacks in considerable
number at Kasankaia, lounging before their
houses, and conversing in such large parties, that
it seemed as if "vy^e were entering their capital.
Their dresses were much richer than any thing
we had observed in Russia, although all were
uniform. Each person's habit consisted of a
blue jacket, edged with gold and lined with silk,
fastened by hooks across the chest. Beneath
the jacket appeared a silk waistcoat, the lower
part of which was concealed by the sash. Large
and long trowsers, either of the same material
as the jacket, or of white dimity, kept remark
ably clean, were fastened high above the waist,
and covered their boots. The sabre is not worn,
except on horseback, upon a journey, or in
war. In its stead is substituted a switch, or
cane, with an ivory head : this every Cossack
bears in his hand, as an appendage of his dress;
being at all times prepared to mount his horse
at a moment's notice. Their cap or helmet is
the most beautiful part of the costume ; because
it is becoming to every set of features. It adds

DON COSSACKS. 299
considerably to the height, and gives, with chap.
the addition of whiskers, a military air to the v— ..y j
most insignificant figure. They wear their hair
short round the head, but not thin upon the
crown : it is generally dark, thick, and quite
straight. The cap is covered by a very soft and
shining black wool. Some of them have civil
and military distinctions of habit ; wearing in
time of peace, instead of the jacket, a long frock
without buttons. The sash is sometimes yellow,
green, or red, although generally black ; and
they wear large military gloves. There is no
nation in the world more neat with regard to
dress ; and, whether young or old, it appears to
become them all, A quiet life seems quite un-
suited to their disposition : they loiter about,
having then no employment to interest them;
and being devoted to war, seem distressed by
the indolence of peace.
The Ataman, or Chief of the stanitza, approached House of
us with very great respect and complaisance, mln. ""
as soon as we arrived. Notice at the same time
was given to all the inhabitants, not to quit the
town without his knowledge, until every thing
the travellers might require should be ascer
tained and provided. He begged to conduct us
to " quarters" as he expressed it ; and brought
us> for thatpurpose> to his own house, which he

300 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, gave up entirely to our use. It was pleasantly
^¦"-v- '' situate, above the Don, witfi an open covered
arcade, or wooden gallery : in this gallery we
breakfasted and dined, while we remained. His
cave of provisions was in the court-yard ; and
he made his wife and daughters open it for our
use. We had the curiosity to descend into this
place. It was floored with ice ; upon which we
saw sterlet from the Don, game, and other
luxuries. The house was perfectly clean and
comfortable; so much so, that we could not
resist the pressing invitation made to us of
staying a short time, to study the manners of
the Cossacks, in a town nearly as large as their
capital. It was amusing to observe the temporary re
spect they paid to the Ataman. If he convened any
of the inhabitants on business, however trivial,
they made their obeisance before him, standing
bareheaded, as in the presence of a Sovereign :
but the moment the assembly was dissolved, he
passed unheeded among them, receiving no
greater mark of respect than any of the other
Cossacks. It is an office to which the election is
annual; but ii an Ataman be particularly popular,
he may retain his station, by re-election, durmg
many years. This however does not often
happen. Our host was in his^rst year, and his

DON COSSACKS. 301
predecessors had generally changed when the ^^j^'
time arrived. We soon perceived that the " — , — '
Cossacks are characterized by great liveliness and
animation; that they are little disposed to a
sedentary life, but fond of amusement, and
violent when their passions are roused. In
their dances, drinking-songs, and discussions,
they betray great vehemence. They have
abundance of excellent food, and as much brandy
as they may think proper to drink. It is there
fore surprising that order is so well maintained
in their stanitzas.
However indisposed a traveller may be to ideal Dan-
listen to those false alarms which the inhabitants country.
of every country raise in the minds of strangers
who wish to explore any remote part of their
territory, it is not possible at all times to disre
gard such relations, especially when they come
from persons of the highest authority, and who
pretend to accurate knowledge of the facts they
attempt to substantiate. In Russia, there was
not an individual, of any respectability, with
whom we conversed upon the subject of our
journey, who did not endeavour to dissuade us
from the danger of traversing what was termed
" the deserts of the Don Cossacks." The event,
however, served to convince us of the misrepre
sentation, and absurdity of such statements.

302 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, Among the Russians, indeed, we were constantly
' r-f ' exposed to danger ; either from imposition that.
it was hazardous to detect, or from insult that it
was fearful to resent; and in both cases the
consequences affected our security. In the
first view of the Cossacks, we beheld a brave,
generous, and hospitable people. If we ques
tioned them concerning the dangers of the
country, we were referred to districts tenanted
by wandering Calmucks; yet we afterwards
found no cause of reasonable" alarm, even in the
very camps of that singular race of men. At
Paulovskoy, they told us that the Emperor's
courier had been stopped with the mail. We
doubted the fact in the first instance ; but
concluded, that if the mail had been reaUy
stolen, the theft was committed by the Russians,
who raised the clamour, and not by the Cossacks,
to whom the I'obbery had been imputed. In
times of hostility the Russians found in the
Cossacks a desperate and dangerous enemy;
and many a bitter remembrance of chastisement
and defeat induces them to vilify a people
whom they fear. The Cossacks are therefore
justified in acting towards them as they have
uniformly done ; that is to say, in withdrawing
as much as possible from all communion with
men whose association might corrupt, but
could never promote, the welfare of their

DON COSSACKS. 303
society. After these remarks, it must neverthe- chap. XII.
less be confessed, that we were compelled to v., >^^*
take an escort with us throughout the Cossack
territory, and to place a guard over our car
riage at night; precautions, doubtless, often
calculated to excite the ridicule of the people
among whom we travelled ; yet even the Cossacks
themselves sometimes urged the necessity of so
doing, — "on account," thej said, "of the Calmucks"
One evil consequence arising from attention
paid to tales of danger, is the habit it occasions
of putting a false construction upon the most
harmless and most trivial incidents. The first
night of our residence among the Cossacks we
were full of idle fancies. The Ataman was
intoxicated, and set off, accompanied by his
wife, into the country ; leaving us in possession
of his house. As we had heard a violent
altercation without doors, and saw our host,
in a corner of the court, frequently whispering
to other Cossacks, and pointing to our carriage,
tbe effect of the silly stories we had heard began
to operate, and we imagined some prepar-ation
was making to rob us; for which purpose it
was necessary to get rid of the Ataman and his
vrife, as they might otherwise be made respon
sible for our safety. The apprehension of our
servants did not diminish the suspicion thus

304 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, excited; and we considered the plot as the
'¦' -y— ¦'' more probable, because we knew that they had
never before seen an equipage , so attended.
Since this happened, we had every reason to
believe that the good old Ataman was only
giving directions for our advantage, and, hke
all intoxicated persons, was making an import
ant concern of the most trifling business, such
as the cording and repairing our wheels, and
a few other commissions which we wished to
have executed. Travellers, so circumstanced,
often raise an alarm about nothing ; make a
great stir to defend themselves against ideal
danger; offend those who intended ho injury;
and finish, by congratulating themselves upon
an escape, where there was no ground even for
apprehension.
Voyageby -y^^ reccivcd a visit, on the evening of our
arrival, from the. Ataman of one of the neigh
bouring stanitzas, who chanced to be in the
place. He represented the voyage down the
Don to Tcherkask as a pleasant, but a tedious
undertaking; saying, that.it would require
at least a month for its performance. The
mosquitoes also are very troublesome upon
the water; and the passage is liable to im
pediments, from the frequent shallows of the
river.

DON COSSACKS. 305
Below the town, which stands upon the ™^^'
western bank of the Don, we beheld this, river,
augmented to a most magnificent piece of water.
Tolling in a full and copious tide, and marking
its progress, through a country otherwise sterile,
by clumps of trees and flowers, and by an
abundant vegetation near to its sloping sides :
biit all beyond is bare and desolate. We bathed
frequently, and found the current very rapid.
The fine sterlets caught here were often brought
to regale us during our stay. We preserved
one of them tolerably well ; but they have been
often engraved; and, were this not the case,
a young sturgeon will give a very good repre
sentation of their appearance. Another sort of
fish, of large size, is also taken in this river;
it is like the bream in shape, but quite equal to
the sterlet in flavour. We had one served
at our table, weighing half a poud (eighteen
pounds). The women of this place are very beautiful.
The shops are supplied with several articles of
luxury, such as loaf-sugar, ribbands, costly silks,
and other wares of large towns. Among the
more numerous articles offered for sale were
sabres. The Cossacks call this weapon Sabla ;
the Poles and Malo-Russians, Sabel. We ob
served the bag-pipe frequently in use. A kind
vol. I. X

306 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, of puppets, common in Calabria, which are carried
* — ^— ' by the inhabitants of that part of Italy over all
Amuse- _ , . ...
ments and Europe, werc much m vogue here, consisting of
the People, two Small figurcs suspended by a string : this
the piper fastens to his knee, or to one of his
fingers ; while the other end is held by a gimlet
screwed into a table or floor; and, by the
motion of the knee, the figures are made to
dance to the tune. The Calabrians manage them
with great dexterity, and often collect a crowd
in the streets of London and Paris. We saw
also the Cossack dance, which much resembles
the dance of the Gipsies in Russia, and our English
hornpipe. Like every other national dance, it
is licentious. As the female recedes or ap
proaches, the male dancer expresses his desire
or his disappointment; yet so adapted is the
figure of this dance to the small rooms of their
houses, that the performers hardly move from
one spot. The expression is conveyed by
movements of the body, especially of the arms
and' head, accompanied by short and sudden
shrieks, and by whistling. The method they
exhibited of moving the head from one
shoulder to the other, while the hands are
held up near the ears, is common to the
dances of all the Tahtars, Chinese, and even to
the inhabitants of the islands in the Pacific
Ocean.

DON COSSACKS. 307
In the evening of June i6th, we left this hospi- chap.
¦ __ All*
table stanitza, crossing the Don upon a raft. The <-

people of the house, where we had been so *p''^"'*"
comfortably lodged, positively refused to accept
of any payment for the trouble we had given
them. " Cossacks," said they, " do not sell their
hospitality^." The view of Kasankaia, from the southern
side of the river, is very fine. Its large church,
with numerous domes, stands in the center:
to the right and left are numerous and neat
wooden houses. The Don flows below, ex
hibiting, in front, the busy raft, which is con
stantly employed conveying caravans across
the ferry. In all parts of the river above
Kasankaia, it seems to flow over a bed of
chalk; and its banks, gentiy swelHng upwards
from the water, rise like the South Downs of
Sussex, often disclosing the chalk whereof they
consist. Farther down, and near to the water's
edge, low copses of wood almost always ac
company its course ; but these diminish as it
draws nearer to Tcherkask, the inhabitants of

(1) " L'hospitalit^ est en usage par toute la Petite Bussie ; et un
stranger qui y voyage n'a jamais besoin de faire de la d^pense pour
son logement et sa nourriture," Scherer Annates de la Petite Russie,
tome I. p. 103. Paris, 1788.
X 2

308 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, which town derive all their - wood from the
XII.
''-. V- .,¦' Volga.

As soon as we had left Kasankaia, we entered
Steppes, the steppes in good earnest, with a view to
traverse them, in their whole exteflt, to Tcher
kask. They are not cultivated ; but, bleak
and desolate as their appearance during wmter
may be, they have during summer the aspect
of a wild continued meadow. The herbage,
rising as high as the knee, is full of flowers,
and exhibits a very interesting collection of
plants. No one collects or cuts this herbage;
The soil, although neglected, is very fine. We
passed some oaks, in the first part of our journey,
with the largest leaves we had ever seen. The
Cossacks composing our escort galloped before
us, bearing their long lances; and were of great
use in clearing the road of caravans, and in
tracing the best track where a carriage might
expeditiously pass. We were pleased, in sur
veying our little armed band, going at full
speed ; but thought it would avail us little,
if the stories we had heard of banditti in the
steppes were really true. For ourselves, we
were destitute of any defensive weapons, ex
cepting our sabres ; and these were under lock
and key, in the sword-case. We relied there
fore solely on the Cossacks, who seemed quite

DON COSSACKS. 309
dehghted even with the thought of a skirmish: chap.
proud of their employment, they scoured the ' — r— '
plains, armed with pistols, sabres, and lances
twelve feet in length.
Thus escorted and accoutred', we proceeded
to the distance of thirty versts before the evening ;
and passed the night in a spot full of swamps,
stinking fens, and muddy pools. Near to these
stagnant waters, a number of caravans had
also halted. Mosquitoes Avere here in great
number, and very troublesome. Our Cossacks
passed the whole night upon the damp ground,
and in the open air, almost naked, around our
carriage. The atmosphere of such a country
must in summer be pestilential. It resembled
the Pontine Marshes in Italy; being full of
reeds, bulrushes, and tall flags, in which was
heard the constant clamour of frogs and toads,
whose croaking overpowered every other sound
during the night. But in the morning, the
chorus of a great variety of birds, with the
humming of innumerable insects, and the pleasing
appearance of a flowery wilderness, gave a
liveliness to the flat and wide prospect. The
name of this place was Tichciia; and hereabouts
the river Lazovay has its source. We followed River
La«ovay.
(l) See the Vignette to this Chapter,

310 CALMUCKS.
its tardy and almost stagnant waters through
the steppes, to a pl^ce named fi:bm it, Verchnia
Lazovaia, On its banks we observed the Sinapis
nigra and Convolvulus arvensis, plants common
in England.
Viatto We afterwards saw a camp of Calmucks,
caiMucks. in the plain towards the right of our route.
As we much vdshed to visit this people, it
was thought prudent to send a part of our
Cossack escort before, in order to apprize them
of our inclination, ftnd to ask their permission.
The sight of our carriage, and of the party
approaching with it, seemed to throw them
into great confiisioii. We observed them run
ning backwards and forwards from one tent
to another, and Inoving several of their goods.
As we drew near, on foot, about half-a-dozen
gigantic figures came towards us, stark naked,
excepting a cloth bound about the waist, with
greasy, shining, and almost black skins, and
black hair braided into a long queue behind.
They began talking very fast, in so loud a tone,
and in so uncouth a language, that we were
a little intimidated. We «hook hands however
with the foremost, which seemed to pacify
them, and we were invited into a large tent.
Near to its entrance hung a quantity of horse
flesh, with the limbs of dogs, cats, marmots.

CALMUCKS. 311
rats, &c. drying in the sun, and quite black, chap.
Within the tent we found some women, although
it were difficult to distinguish the sexes, so
horrid and inhuman was their appearance. Two
of them, covered with grease, were lousing
each other ; and it surprised us, that they did
not discontinue their work, nor even look up
as we entered. Through a grated lattice, in
the side of the tent, we saw some youngei?
women peeping, of more handsome features^
but truly Calmuck, with long black hair, hanging
in thick braids on each side of the face, and
fastened at the end with bits of lead or tin.
In their ears they wore shells, and large pearls
of a very irregular shape, or some substaijce
much resembling pearl. The old women were
eating raw horse-flesh, tearing it off from large
bones which they held in their hands. Others,
squatted on the ground within their tents, were
smoking tobacco, with pipes not two inches in
length, much after the manner of Laplanders.
In other respects, the two people, although
both of Eastern origin, and both nomade tribes,
bear little resemblance. The manner of living
among the Calmucks is much superior to that
of the Laplanders. The tents of the former are
better constructed, stronger, more spacious,
and contain many of the luxuries of life ; such
as very warm and good beds, handsome carpets

XII.

ai2 CALMUCKS.
CHAP, and mats, domestic utensils, and many instru
ments of art and science, painting and writing '.
The Calmuck is a giant, the Laplander a dwarf:
both are filthy in their persons ; but the Calmuck
more so, perhaps, than the inhabitant of any
other nation.- We are not otherwise authorized
in comparing together tribes so remote from
all connection with each other, than by asserting,
from our own observation, that both are Ori
ental, and that both are characterized by some
habits and appearances in common; deferring,
at the same time, all further illustration of the
subject until a more appropriate opportunity.
We shall have occasion to speak at large of the
Laplanders, in another part of our Travels*.

Of Brandy Evcry ouc has heard of the koumiss, and
from the thc brandy, which the Calmucks are said to
Motc^ distil from the milk of mares. The manner
of preparing these liquors has been differently
rela:ted, and perhaps is not always the same.

(l) Those tents are of a circular form, with a hole at the top j they
are constructed of canes, and covered with a thick felt made of
camel's hair. In the Calmuck language . they are called KhaUtkat
and being placed u))on waggons during their migrations, have given
their name to the summer vehicles of Russia.
(2) The Esquimaux Indians of America, the Greenlanders, and the
Laplanders, speak the same language, and have the same swarthy
complexion. When the Moravians effected their settlement in La
brador, the Greenland language was used, by their interpreter, with
the natives.

CALMUCKS. 313
They assured us that the brandy was merely ^^fJ'-
distilled from butter-milk. The milk which
they collect overnight is churned in the
morning into butter; and the butter-milk is
distilled over a fire made with the dung of their
cattle, particularly of the dromedary, which
makes a steady and clear fire, like peat. But
other accounts have been given, both of the
koumiss and of the brandy. It has been usual
to confound them, and to consider the koumiss
as their appellation for the brandy so obtained.
By every information we could obtain, not only
here, but in many other camps^ which we after
wards visited, they are different modifications
of the same thing, although different liquors;
the koumiss being a kind of sour milk, like the
Yowri of the Turks, and the beverage so much
used by the Laplanders, called Pima ; and the
brandy, an ardent spirit obtained from koumiss
by distillation. In making the. koumiss, they
sometimes employ the milk of cows ; but never,
if mare's milk can be had ; as the koumiss froin
the latter yields three times as much brandy as
that made from cow's milk. The manner of
preparing the koumiss is, by combining one-
sixth part of warm water with any given quan
tity of warm mare's, milk. To this they further
add, as a leaven, a little old. koumiss, and agitate
the mass till fermentation ensues. To produce

314 CALMUCKS.
CHAP, the vinous fermentation, artificial heat and more
XII, agitation is sometimes necessary. This affords
what is called koumiss. A subsequent process
of distillation afterwards obtains an ardent spirit
from the koumiss. They gave us this last be
verage in a wooden bowl, calling it vina. In
their own language it bears the very remarkable
appellation of rack, and racky, doubtless nearly
allied to the names of our East-India spirit,
rack, and arrack. We brought away a quart
bottle of it, and considered it as very weak bad
brandy, not unlike the common spirit distilled
by the Swedes and other Northern nations. Some
of their women were busied making it in an
adjoining tent. The simplicity of the operation,
and of their machinery, was very characteristic
of the antiquity of this chemical-process. Their
still was constructed of mud, or of very coarse
clay ; and for the neck of the retort they em
ployed a cane. The receiver of the still was
entirely covered by a coating of wet clay. The
brandy had already passed over. The woman
who had the management of the distillery,
wishing to give us a taste of the spirit, thrust a
stick, with a small tuft of camel's hair at its
extremity, through the external covering of
clay; and thus collecting a small quantity of
the brandy, she drew out the stick, dropped a
portion upon the retort, and, waving the instru-

CALMUCKS. 315
ment above her head, scattered the remaining chap.
liquor in the air. We asked the meaning ofv— ,— -<
this ceremony, and were answered, that it is a
rehgious custom, to give always the first drop
of the brandy from the receiver to their God.
The stick was tiien plunged into the receiver a
second time; when more brandy adhering to
the camel's hair, she squeezed it into the palm
of her dirty and greasy hand, and, having tasted
the hquor, presented it to our lips.
The covering of their tents consists of neat
and well-made mats, such as we see brought
from India ; and also of felt, or coarse woollen
cloths. Whenever a Calmuck marries, he must
buUd one of these tents, and one also for every
child he has by that marriage. If a husband
die, his widow becomes the property of his
brother, provided the latter choose to accept of
her. A distinction between married and unmar
ried women is exhibited in the manner of dressing
thejr hair. A married woman wears her hair
braided, falling over her shoulders, and on each
side of her face ; but a virgin has only a single
braid hanging down the middle of her back.
Their tents were all of a circular form. Near to
these we observed a party of their children,
from the age of five to fourteen, playing at the
antient Grecian game (before mentioned as

xir

316 CALMUCKS.
CHAP, common in Russia) with knucklcrbones'. We
dehghted them by making a scramble with a few
copeeks. They were quite naked, and perfectly
black. Farther off, a herd of their dromedaries
were grazing.
Personal Of all the inhabitants of the Russian empire,
Appear- ^
auce of the Calmucks are the most distinguished by pe
culiarity of feature and manners. In personal
appearance, they are athletic and revolting.
Their hair is coarse and black ; their language
harsh and guttural. They inhabit Thibet, Bu
charia, and the countries lying to the north of
Persia, India, and China; but, from their vagrant
habits, they may be found in all the southern
parts of Russia, even to the banks of the Dnieper.
The Cossacks alone esteem them, and intermairry
with them'. This union sometimes produces

(1) The Astragalismus ; in which game we find the origin of dice,
chess, nine-pins, &c.
(2) In opposition to this remark, it is stated in Mr. Heber's Journal,
that " Calmuck servants are greatly esteemed all over Russia, for
their intelligence and fidelity ;" and we recollect seeing some of them
in that capacity among English families in Petersburg, The most
remarkable instance ever known of an expatriated Calmuck, was that
bf an artist employed by the Earl of Elgin, whom we saw (a second'-
^nacharsis, from the plains of Scythia) executing most beautiful de
signs among the Ruins of Athens. Some Russian family had pre
viously sent him to finish his studies in Rome, where he acquired
the highest perfection in design. He had the peculiar features, and
many of the manners, of the nomade Calmucks.

CALMUCKS. 317
women of very great beauty ; although nothing ^ xtt'
is more hideous than a Calmuck. High, promi- ''-' '^"' ^
nent, and broad cheek-bones ; very little eyes,
widely separated from each other; a flat and
broad nose; coarse, greasy, jet black hair;
scarcely any eye-brows ; and enormous promi
nent ears; compose no very inviting counte-
jiance : however, we may strive to do it justice.

Their women are uncommonly hardy ; and dn
horseback outstrip their male companions in the
race. The stories related of their placing pieces
of horse-flesh under the saddle, in order to
prepare them for food, are true. They ac
knowledged that this practice was comftion
among them during a journey, and that a stake
so dressed became tender and palatable. In
their large camps, they have cutlers, and other Arts.

318 CALMUCKS.
CHAP, artificers in copper, brass, and iron ; sometimes
\^.mym«m,j goldsmltfis, who makc trinkets for their women,
idols of gold and silver, and vessels for their
altars; also persons expert at inlaid work,
enamelling, and many arts vainly believed pe
culiar to nations in a state of refinement* One
very remarkable fact, confirming the observa
tions of other travellers', may bear repetition ;
namely, that, from time immemorial, the more
Oriental tribes of Calmucks have possessed the
art of making gunpowder. They boil the efflores
cence of nitrate of potass in a strong lye of poplar
and birch ashes, and leave it to crystallize;
after this they pound the crystals with two
parts df sulphur, and as much charcoal ; then,
wetting the mixture, they place it in a caldron
over a charcoal fire, until the powder begins to
Armour, & granulatc. The generality of Calmucks, when
capons, gq^jppg^ £qj. ^g^j.^ protcct the head by a helmet
of steel with a gilded crest : to this is fixed a
net-work of iron rings, falling over the neck
and shoulders, and hanging as low as the eye
brows in front. They wear upon their body,
after the Eastern manner, a tissue of siigilar
work, formed of iron or steel rings matted
together: this adapts itself to the shape, and
yields readily to all positions of the body ; and
(0 Journal des Savans Voyageurs, p, 434,

CALMUCKS. 319
ought therefore rather to be called a shirt, than chap.
.. XII.
a coat, of mail. The most beautiful of these are , ' '
manufactured in Persia, and valued at the price
of fifty horses. The cheaper sort are made of
scales of tin, and sell only for six or eight
horses each; but -these are more common
among the Chinese, and in the Mogul territory.
Their other arms are lances, bows and arrows,
poignards, and sabres. Only the richer Calmucks
carry fire-arms : these are therefore always
regarded as marks of distinction, and kept,
with the utmost care, in cases made of badgers'
skins. Their most valuable bows are constructed
of the wild-goat's horn, or of whalebone; the
ordinary sort, of maple, or thin slips of elm or
fir, fastened together, and bound with a covering
of linden or birch bark.
Their amusements are, hunting, wrestling, Recrca-
' tions and
archery, and horse-racing. They are not Condition
addicted to drunkenness, although they hold "
drinking parties, continuing for half-a-day at a
time, without interruption. Upon such oc
casions, every one brings his share of brandy
and koumiss; and the whole stock is placed upon
the ground, in the open air ; the guests forming
a circle, seated around it. One of them,
squatted by the vessels containi»g the Uquor,
perforins the office of cup-bearer. The young

320 CALMUCKS.
CHAP, women place themselves by the men, and begin
songs of love or war, of fabulous adventure, or
heroic achievement. Thus the fkte is kept up ;
the guests passing the cup round, and singing
the whole time, until the stock of liquor is
expended. During all this ceremony, no one is.
seen to rise from the party; nor does any one
interrupt the harmony of the assembly, by riot
or intoxication. In the long nights of winter,
the young people of both sexes amuse them
selves with music, dancing, and singing. Their
most common musical instrument is the bala-
Jaika, or two-stringed lyre; often represented
in their paintings. These paintings preserve
very curious memorials of the antient supersti'
tion of Eastern nations ; exhibiting objects of
Pagan worship which were common to the
earliest mythology of Egypt and of Greece, The
arts of Painting and Music may be supposed
to have continued little liable to alteratioi^
among the Calmucks, from the remotest periods
of their history. As for their dances, these
consist more in movements of the hands and
arms, than of the feet. In winter they play at
cards, draughts, backgammon, and chess. Their
love of gambling is so great, that they wiU
spend entire nights at play; and lose in a single
sitting the whole of what they possess, even to
the clothes upon their body. In short, it may

CALMUCKS. 321
be said of the Calmucks, that the greatest part ^^n^'
of their life is spent in amusement- Wretched
and revolting as they seem, they would be
indeed miserable, if compelled to change their
mode of living for that of a more civilized
people. Both Gmelin and Pallas relate, that
they deem' a residence in houses so insupport
able, that to be shut up in the confined air of
a close apartment, even for a ^hort time, when
under the necessity of going into towns, and
making visits of embassy or commerce, is
considered by them with a degree of horror.
Among the diseases caused by their diet
and want of cleanliness, may be mentioned
the itch : to this they are very subject. Ma
lignant fevers are often fatal to them during the
heat of summer. The venereal disease causes
great ravages: it is said to prevail chiefly
in those camps where their princes reside,
and not to be often found among the lower
orders. They give to this disorder a name
very expressive of the estimation in which they
hold their mode of life, by calling it " 27ie house
diseased" Having occasion hereafter to notice
this people, we shall only how add the obser
vations of one of the celebrated travellers before
mentioned ; who, after considering the privations
(l) Or, rather, " derived from those who Jive in houses."
VOL. I. Y

322 CALMUCKS.
CHAP, to which they are exposed, places their situ
ation in a point of view more favourable, per
haps, than we have done. " For the rest," says
he, " to whatsoever degree of wretchedness
the poorest of the Calmucks may be reduced,
it is very rare to behold them dejected by
sorrow, and they are never subdued by
despair. The generality, notwithstanding a
mode of life apparently so adverse to- health,
attain to a robust and very old age. Their
disorders are neither very frequent, nor very
dangerous. Few become grey-headed at forty
or fifty. Persons from eighty to a hundred
years of age are by no means uncommon among
them ; and at that advanced period of life they
still sustain with great ease the fatigue of horse
manship. A simple and uniform diet ' ; the free air
they uninterruptedly respire ; inured, vigorous,
and healthy bodies ; continual exercise, without
care, without laborious employment ; such are
the natural causes of these felicitous effects."
Leaving this encampment, we continued to
traverse the steppes in a south-westerly direction.

(1) It is diflicult to reconcile this statement with the real diet of the
Calmucks. Can that properly be deemed simple, which consists of
the grossest animal food of all kinds, without admixture^ of vegetable
diet, without bread, or any of the fruits of the earth ?

CHAP. XII.

DON COSSACKS, 323
and passed a very neat village belonging to a
wealthy Greek, who, to our great surprise, had
estabhshed a residence in the midst of these
desolate plains. As we advanced, we per
ceived that wheresoever rivers intersect the
steppes, there are villages, and a numerous
population, A manuscript map of Tcherkask
confirmed the truth of this observation. No
maps have been hitherto published in Europe
giving an accurate notion of the country, ,A
stranger crossing the Cossack territory might
suppose himself to be in a desert, although
surrounded by villages. From the road, it is
true, he will not often see these settlements ;
but frequently, when we were crossing a river,
after believing ourselves to be in the midst of
an uninhabited country, we beheld villages to
the right and left of us, that had been con
cealed by the banks of the river ; not a single
house nor church of which would have been
otherwise discerned^. We were approaching,
in an oblique direction, the Lazovai, now aug-
(Z) " Erected, or rather concealed," says Gibbon, accurately de
scribing the dwellings of their forefathers, " in the depth of forests, on
the banks ot rivers, or the edge of morasses, we may not perhaps,
without flattery, compare them to the architecture of the beaver ;
which they resembled in a double issue, to the land and water, for the
escape of the savage inhabitant, an animal less cleanly, less diligent,
and less social, than that marvellous quadruped." History of the
Roman Empire, chap. xlii.
Y 2

324 DON COSSACKS.

CHAP, men ted to a considerable river. As we drew
-v-"-' ' near, its opposite banks rose considerably higher
than the ordinary appearance of the country
with fine clusters of trees. Before we arrived
at Acenovskaia, the country was even moun
tainous. On its western side we beheld a neat
village, called Jernvchaia, pleasingly situate
beneath the hills, with a new and handsome
church. Indeed, the churches are everywhere
good, and much superior to what we find in our
country villages in England, both as to archi
tecture and interior decoration. At the top of
the mountainous elevation on the western side
of the river, stood one of the largest of those
tumuli which abound over all this country.
They become more numerous, and appear of
greater magnitude, nearer to the Don and to the
Sea of Azof. Finding the water clear, and the
current rapid, we had the opportunity of bathing;
and recommend the practice to all travellers,
as essential to the preservation of health'.

Apenov- From Acenovskaia, we continued our route
skaia. over steppes apparently destitute of any habi
tation. Dromedaries were feeding, the sole

(1) Acerbi informed us, that by constant bathing he escaped the
fever to which travellers are liable from the bad air and heat of
Lapland during summer.

DON COSSACKS, 326
;hap XII.

tenants of these wide pastures. Mr. Cripps got '^xnf'
upon the back of one of them, as the animal '- "v '
was kneeling: it rose immediately, and, with
a very majestic pace, bore him towards the
carriage. Our horses were so terrified at the
sight, that they broke the ropes, and we had
great difficulty in tranquillizing them, ^ .The
dromedary, having passed, made off into the
plain, with his head erect, prepared, no doubt,
to undertake an expedition to very distant
regions; when, having satisfied his curiosity,
Mr, Cripps descended from his" lofty back, as
from the roof of a house, and fell with some
violence upon the ground; leaving the drome
dary to prosecute his voluntary journey, which
he continued as far as our eyes could fol
low him.
Innumerable inhabitants, of a smaller race, ofthe
people these immense plains. Among the ^Xt!'o'f
number of them, is an animal which the natives ^"^^^^'pp^'-
call Suroke; the Arctomys Bobac of zoologists*.
It grows here to the size of a large badger ;

(2) See Shaw's Zoology, vol. III. p. J 20. PI. 144. — In the first
edition vve had described this animal as the Alpine Marmot, with
which naturalists have sometimes confounded it. — The holes, or recep
tacles, of the Bobac are lined with the finest hay ; and it is said that
the quantity found in one nest is sufficient for a night's provender for
a horse. — The Bobac is the Mas Arctomys oi Pallas.

326 DON COSSACKS.
*3ai^' ^^^ ^'^ much resembles the bear in its manner
and appearance, that, until we became ac
quainted with its real history, we considered
it as a non- descript animal, and called it Ursa
minima subterranea. Such mistakes are not
uncommon in zoology. Naturalists frequently
add to the nomenclature of animals by super
fluous appellations . A beautiful little quadrur
ped, called Jerboa in Egypt, has been described
in other countries as a distinct animal, under
, the various names of Mus jaculus. Subterraneous
Hare, Vaulting Rat, Leaper, &c. &c. but it is
the same creature everywhere, and bears to the
kangaroo the same degree of relationship that
a lizard has to the crocodile. We shall describe
it more minutely hereafter. Our present
business is with the Suroke ; this is seen in all
parts of the steppes; sitting erect, near to its
burrow, whistling very loud upon the slightest
alarm, and observing all around. It makes
such extensive subterraneous chambers, that
the ground is perforated in all directions, and
the land is destroyed wheresoever this animal
is found. Its colour is a greyish brown : it has
five fingers upon each of its paws; these very
niuch resemble human hands, and are used
after the same manner. The mouth, teeth, and
head, are like those of the squirrel; but the ears
are shorter. Its fine eyes are round, full, dark,

'' DON COSSACKS. 327
and bright: the tail is short; the belly generally ^^^j^-
protuberant, and very large. It devours almost
every thing it finds, with the greatest voracity;
and remains in a state of torpor half the time of
its existence. Many of the peasants keep
surokes tame in their houses. We purchased
no less than four: they lived and travelled
with us in our carriage, thereby enabling
us to study their habits. They were always
playing, or sleeping, beneath our feet, to the
great annoyance of our little pug-dog'. The

(1) Having mentioned this little animal, it may be well to say
something of the importance of its presence with us, for the advantage
of other travellers. The precaution was first recommended to us by a
Polish traveller in Denmark. Any small dog (the more diminutive
the better, because the more portable, and generaUy the more petu-
^ lant) will jirove a valuable guardian, in countries where the traveller
is liable to attacks from midnight robbers, and especially from pirates
by water, as in the Archipelago, They generally sleep during the day,
and sound their shrill alarum upon the most distant approach of
danger, during the night. The author remembers an instance of one
that enabled a party of mariners to steer clear of some shallows, by
barking at a buoy, which, in the darkness of the night, they had not
perceived. The instances in which our little dog was useful, it is
needless to relate. But it may gratify curiosity to be informed, that,
being naturally afraid of water, and always averse from entering it, he
crossed all the rivers and lakes of Lapland, Sweden, and Norway, after
his masters ; accompanied them, during three years, in different
climates, although detesting bodily exercise ; and ultimately performed
a journey on foot, keeping up with horses, from Athens, thrbugh all
Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace: making the tour of the Archipelago,
to Constantinople; and thence, in the same manner, through Bulgaria,
and PVallachia, to Bllclwrest.

328 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, peasants universally give them the name of
Wasky, They told us, that in the month of
September their tame surokes retire to some
hiding-place, and do not make their appearance
again before the beginning of April, They
either descend into some burrow, or conceal
themselves where they may remain the least
liable to observation, and sleep during the
whole winter. To awaken them, during the
season of their somnolency, materially injures
their health, and sometimes kills them. They
are most destructive animals; for they will gnaw
every thing they find in their way; shoes,
books, wooden planks, and all kinds of roots,
fruit, or vegetables. They made havoc with the
lining of our carriage; which was of morocco
leather. As soon as they have done eating,
they become so drowsy, that they even fall
asleep in your hands, in any posture or situation,
or under' any circumstances of jolting noise or
motion. When awake, they are very active;
and they surpass every other animal in the
rapidity with which they burrow in the earth.
They resemble guinea-pigs in making a grunting
noise; and when surprised, or much pleased,
or in any degree frightened, they utter loud
and short squeaks, resembUng the sound of a
person whistling.

DON COSSACKS. 329
Other animals common in the steppes are ^^n^'"
wolves and bears; also a quadruped called '^ v '
Biroke, of a grey colour, something like a wolf, ThejiVote.
very ferocious, imd daring enough to attack
men. The Cossack peasants, armed with their
lances, sally forth, on horseback, in pursuit of
this animal. It has a long full tail, reaching to
the ground. From the accounts given of it by
the peasants, we suspected it to be the same
animal described by Professor Pallas, as found
in the environs of Astraehan, under the appel
lation Chakal, and said to be between a wolf
and a dog; but whether it be the same kind
of Jackal which is found in Syria and in
Egypt, or not, we did not learn.
The most numerous of all the quadrupeds of The susUc.
the steppes, the whole way from Woronetz to
Tcherkask, are the Suslics: by this name they
are called throughout tiie country. Near tbe
course of the Don, they absolutely swarm, and
may be taken in any number. This interesting
little animal is supposed to be the Mus Citillus
of Buffon; and a description of it will now
prove whether this be really the case or not.
It makes a whistling noise, like the suroke; but
it is much smaller, not being larger than a
small weazel. It constructs its habitation under

330 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, ground with incredible quickness; excavating,
first of all, a small cylindrical hole or well,
perpendicularly, to the depth of three feet;
thence, like a correct miner, it shoots out a
level, although rather in an ascending direction,
to prevent being incommoded by water. At
the extremity of this little gallery it forms a
very spacious chamber; and to this, as to a
granary, it brings, every morning and evening,
all it can collect of favourite herbage, of corn
(if it can be found), of roots, and of other food.
Nothing is more amusing than to observe its
habits. If any one approach, it is seen sitting,
at the entrance of its little dwelling, erect, upon
its hinder feet, like the suroke, carefully noticing
whatsoever is going on around it. In the be
ginning of winter, previously to retiring for the
season, it carefully closes with sand the entrance
to its subterraneous abode, to keep out the snow;
as nothing annoys it more than water, which
is all the Calmucks and Cossacks use in taking
them ; for the instant water is poured into their
burrows, they run out, and are easily caught,
The Calmucks are very fond of them as an
article of food; but they are rarely eaten by
the Cossacks, Their greatest enemy is the
falcon: this bird makes a constant breakfast
and supper of suslics. They have from two to

DON COSSACKS. 331
ten young ones at a time ; and it is supposed,
from the hoard prepared, that the suslic does
not sleep, like the suroke, during winter. All
the upper part of its body is of a deep yellow,
spotted with white. Its neck is beautifully
white, the breast yellowish, and the belly a
mixed colour of yellow and grey: it has,
moreover, a black forehead, reddish white
temples, and a white chin. The rest of its
head is of an ash-coloured yellow; and the ears
are remarkably small. Among the feathered
race in the steppes, we particularly noticed,
during this part of our journey, certain birds
called Staritchi, or Elders, which appear in
flocks: they are held by the people in super
stitious veneration. One of these birds is about
the size of a snipe: its colour is brown; but
the breast is white; and its shape is very
elegant. Such are the , observations which we made
during the second day of our journey across
the steppes. We halted at a place called Nature of
Suchovskaia, and proceeded afterwards to Rosso- named in
chinskaia, a single hut in the middle of the Maps,
waste. Yet such are often the villages, not to
say towns and cities, which figure in the
Russian maps. This place consisted of a single

332 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, dwelling, built of a few pieces of wood, and
thatched by weeds and sedge, carelessly
heaped. The surrounding hovels are out
houses for the post-horses. During summer,
its Cossack inhabitants sleep upon the roof>
among the thatch.
As it grew dark, a tremendous thunder-storm
came on, and a very interesting spectacle was
disclosed by the vivid flashes of lightning. The
Cossack guard, as well as the people of the
place, had collected themselves upon different
parts of the thatched covering of the hut and
adjoining hovels, to pass the night. Every
flash of lightning served to exhibit their martial
figures, standing upright, in groupes, upon the
roof of the buildings, bowing their heads, and
crossing themselves, beneath the awful canopy
the sky then presented. All around was de
solate and silent. Perhaps no association could
serve to render a scene of devotion more
striking. It is customary among the Cossacks,
before they consign themselves to sleep, to
make the sign of the cross, facing respectively
the four quarters of the globe, A similar
superstition, respecting four cardinal points of
worship, exists among ignorant people, even
in our own country. The author, when a child,

DON COSSACKS, 333
was taught by an old woman to offer the fol
lowing singular prayer :
" Four corners to my bed.
Four angels over head : • .,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless thc bed that I lie on."

A party of Cossacks arrived as pilgrims, stragglers
returning homeward irom the war in Italy, Army,
We afterwards met numbers, who had tra
versed on foot the whole of the immense terri
tory from the Alps to the Don, and who arrived
with scarcely a rag to their backs. They were
loud in complaints against their unprincipled
commanders. Some of them had learned a
little of the Italian language ; and made use of
it in telling us that the Russian officers, having
first stripped them of every thing they had,
turned them adrift upon the frontier of Italy,
to find their way home on foot. One of them
assured us, that he had begged during the
whole journey; and that before he left the
Russian army, they had taken away his watch,
and even his clothes. We gave them a little
brandy ; and the poor people of the hut brought
them some broth, made with fish and wild
herbs. They sat around it in a circle, eating
all out of one bowl; and having ended their

334 DON COSSACKS, I
CHAP, supper, began to sing. — So relative is hurnan
happiness !

Distinction Wc left RossocMnskaia on the eighteenth of
Cossacks of June, All the Cossack inhabitants ofthe steppes, <
and oUhe from Kasankaia to Tcherkask, have light brown
¦°''"" hair, and are a different race from the genuine
Cossacks of the capital, and those dwelling in
stanitzas along the Don, Lieutenant-Colonel
Papof, a Cossack officer of the highest merit
and talent, of whom we shall hereafter speak,
told us that the people of the steppes were
emigrants, of recent date, from Poland,
It would be tedious tp notice, upon evejy
occasion, the extraordinary number of iu7nuli,
seen during the whole route ; but the Reader
is requested to bear in mind the curious fact
of their being everywhere in view. Close to
the post-house at Pichovskaia, the first place
where we halted this day, there were two
mounds of a very remarkable size ; one on each
side of the road. The horses here were without
shoes, and the road was as excellent as it is
possible to imagine. The whole country re
sembled one vast verdant lawn. Stories of
danger were renewed : the lances of our Cossack
escort were twelve feet in length; and an

DON COSSACKS. 335
unusual degree of cfiution prevailed among chap.
them, as to their means of defence. They ¦ -^-i, '
provided themselves with fire-arms : these they
said were now necessary; and a very sharp
look-out was made, the Calmucks increasing
in number as we advanced more into the
interior. We arrived at Kamenskaia, a stanitza upon Kamen-
, . skaia.
the Danaetz, generally written Donetz : we
crossed this river by means of a floating bridge,
as the post-house was upon the opposite side.
The town made a great figure, as we descended
towards the valley wherein it was situate ;
owing to its fine church, and its numerous
gardens : the river itself, also, exhibiting a
broad stream winding among the trees, had a
noble appearance. We observed in the streets
a kind of gingerbread for sale, which is common
in our English fairs, and it is made into the
same form. The Ataman was at his country-
seat ; and we were told, that all the principal
Cossacks had their houses for summer residence
in the country. Just before entering the town,
a young Calmuck woman met us, sitting astride
upon a horse laden with raw horse-flesh, which
hung like carrion before her on either side.
She was grinning for joy at the treasure she

336 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, had obtained : this we afterwards found to be
>¦ -»—-¦' really carrion. A dead horse, lying in the
ditch surrounding the town on the land side,
had attracted about thirteen dogs, which we
found greedily devouring' what remained; the
Calmuck having contested the prize with them
a few minutes before, and helped herself to as
much of the mangled carcase as she could
carry away. The post-master kept a tame
suroke, as large as a common terrier, perfectly
domesticated. This animal, he told us, only
remained with him one half of the year ; that
it constantly retired, for the other six months,
to a hole in the ground, near the house, and
there buried itself. Upon the approach of
spring, it regularly returned to its patron;
resuming its former habits, sitting upright, and
begging for bread and herbs as before. It
would always come to him, during the summer,
when called by the name of Wasky; but all
the bawling he could use, at the mouth of its
burrow, never drew it forth in the winter
season.
ironP.un- Higher up the Danaetz, near the spot where
Lugan. it receives the Lugan, are the Lugan iron-works
and cannon-foundry, belonging to the Crown:
these, at the time we travelled in the Cossack

DON COSSACKS. 337
territory, were under the direction of Sir Charles *^xn^'
Gascoigne'. From thence the Emperor's artil- < — r—>
lery passes by water to the Black Sea, Sir
Charles found very excellent coal at Lugan:
in consequence of this discovery, and the con
venience of situation for water-carriage, the
foundry was there established.
The remarkable appellation of the river at
Kamenskaia has perhaps already excited philo
logical notice. In our maps it is written Donnez ;
and in those of Germany, Donetz, We paid the
greatest attention to the pronunciation of the
natives; particularly of those Cossack officers
who, by their education, were capable of de
termining the mode of orthography best suited
to the manner in which the word is spoken;
and always found it to be Danaetz, although fre- ^*^°^°f5
quently pronounced, as if a T was before the D, TanaVs.
Tdanaetz, or Tanaets, But this is the name,
or nearly so, that was given by the Antient

(1) The author is desirous to correct here an error of the former
edition. There was nothing in the manner of Sir Charles Gascmgne's
leaving his country, to warrant the notion entertained by some persons
in Russia of his being exempted from the benefit of the British laws.
He was formerly Director of the Carron PVorks in Scotland; and was
solicited by the late Empress Catherine, through the medium of
Admiral Creig, her First Lord of the Admiralty, to enter into her
service: to this he agreed, and left Great Britain for Russia in
1786, VOL. I. Z

3S8 DON COSSACKS. -
CHAP. Greeks to the Don, Tanais, The reason of this
may now be explained. When the word Tanais
was introduced into their language, it had re
ference to another river, and not to the Don,
The subject is curious ; but it requires a better
knowledge of the geography of the country,
and better documents concerning the course of
the rivers, than any map yet published can
afford. We shall therefore accompany our own
observations by an outline, faithfully copied
from the latest surveys deposited in the Chan
cery at Tcherkask. Had it not been for the
jealousy of the Russian police, we might have
published another more extensive view of the
whole territory of the Don Cossacks ; calculated
to manifest the prevailing ignorance concerning
,the courses of the rivers, and the general
geography of all the country bordering the Sea
of Azof It was prepared for us, in conse
quence of an order from the Governor ofthe
district, by a party of officers belonging to the
Cossack army: but some agents of the pohce,
apprized of the circumstance, endeavoured to
excite a suspicion that we were spies, and we
were not permitted to profit by their intended
liberality. In the first place, the Reader is requested,
before he examines this Map, to suppose him-

.Da

Whteh. Toner

Gi£rij(i IsU.M.

jj^ TortreCs of Aaof
Xl^tAainits/Qead

Portreffl of ,
Kastof -3

¦iz, before,it otters ttwDon, is caUed/
ky.orUorthemDanaet* Whert'Vtis
'ertlwDorvaffain/Mbeimr tharuunfof
nb o?- Dead Danaetz.

Versts.

^

ts. (It J Ver^ta to theJnch, or oC^ ^.

DON COSSACKS. 339
self entering the mouth of the Don, and pro- ^^^J'
ceeding up the river, to the distance of about
ninety-nine miles ' from its. embouchure, and
rather more than forty-six' above the town of
Tcherkask. Here he would find the Danaetz,
falling into the Don by two mouths separated
from each other by a distance of ten or
twelve miles, But the people have, for time
immemorial, entertained a notion, that, before^
the Danaetz reaches the sea, it leaves the Don
again, and, taking a north-westerly direction,
falls into the Palus Mieotis, to the north of all
the other mouths of the Don. This northern
most mouth of the Don (represented in the
annexed Map'), owing to the river whose waters
its channel is supposed pecviliarly to contain, is
called Danaetz, and, to express either its sluggish
current or its lapse into the sea. Dead Danaetz,
The Greeks, steering from the Crimea towards
the mouths of the Don, and, as their custom
was, keeping close to the shore*, entered first
this northernmost mouth of the river. It bore
then, as it does now, the name of Danaetz,
Tdanaetz, or Tanaets; it matters not which of

(l) One hundred and forty versts.
(2) Seventy vents.
(3) See Fig. S,3. in the Map of the Mouths ofthe Dot,
(4) It is still a mode of navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea
ef Azof. Z 1

340 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, these ; for it will readily be admitted,^ that from
v.,.,-,— ,./ any one of these appellations the word Tandis
would be derived'* Even in the present day,,
the analogy between the words is so striking,
that, in hearing Tahtars and Cossacks name
this branch of the Don^ particularly if uttered
with quickness and volubility, it seemed as fre
quently pronounced Tandis as Tanaetz. To
distinguish this branch of the Dcm from the
Danaetz, properly so called, they add to each an
epithet; the latter being called the Northern;
and the former the Dead Danaetz.
Camps of We traversed continued steppes, from Kamen
skaia, Camps of Calmucks were oiten stationed
near the road. We visited several; but obtained
little inforniation worth adding to the descriptioa
before given of this people. In one of those
camps, containing not more than four tents, we
found women only, busied in the distillation of
brandy from 'milk. The men were afl absent ',
perhaps upon some predatory j^xcursion. The
women confirmed what we had heard before,
concerning the materials used for distillation ;
having made butter, they said, they were di-:
stilHng the butter-milk for brandy. We coul^*

(l) The change from D into T, and vice versd, is one of the most
common modifications to which language is exposed.

DON COSSACKS. 341
hardly conceive that brandy might be so ob- chap.
tained ; but to prove it, they tapped the still, ¦ , - ¦•
as upon a former occasion, presenting a tuft of
camel's hair soaked in brandy, that we might
taste, and be convinced. During the latter
part of this day's journey, we observed many
dromedaries, grazing. We halted for horses at
Dubovskaia, Immense caravans were passing
towards the Ukraine, The very sight of their
burden is sufficient to prove the importance of
cultivating the steppes, where Nature only re
quires sohcitation, in order to pour forth her
choicest treasures. We noticed trams of from
sixty to a hundred waggons, laden entirely with
dried fish, to feed the inhabitants of the South of
Russia, who might be supplied with better food
from their own land than from all the rivers of
the Cossacks,
We proceeded to Grivinskaia, and here passed
the night; having travelled sixty-eight miles ^ this
day, notwithstanding the delays curiosity hSji
occasioned. In the morning of June l Qth, we
came to Tchestibaloshnia, meeting fi*equent par^
ties of Calmucks; and through Tushvskaia, to
the town oi Axay, upon the Don, a settlement

(2) Onc hundred and two versts.

342 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, belonging to the Cossacks of Tcherkask. As we
V— > — ' drew nearer the river, the steppes were entirely
alive with swarms of the beautiful little qua
druped before described under the name of
Suslic: some of these were white. Approaching
Axay, numerous camps of Calmucks appeared in
every direction, over all the country around the
town. Some of their tents were pitched close
to the place. Others, more distant, covered
the lofty eminences above the Don,

CHAP. XIII.

CAPITAL OF THE DON COSSACKS.

Arrival at Axay — Pullic Entry — Reception ly the Don
Cossacks — Population of their Territory — View of the
Don — Celebration of a Court Festival — Mode of Fasting
'•' — Analogy between the Don and the Nile — Natural
Curiosities and Antiquities — Fishes — Extraordinary
Appearance of Tcherkask — Inhabitants and Public Build
ings — Origin of the Cossacks — Causes of their Increase
— Emigrations — Foundation of their Capital — Circas
sians — Commerce of Tcherkask — Polished Manners of
the People — Remarkable Wager — Survey of the Town
— Entire Houses moved — Diseases of the People — Greek
Impostor — Departure from Tcherkask.
The Postmaster of Tuslovskaia met us, as
we drew near to Ixay. He had, without our

344 DON COSSACKS.
<^^P- knowledge, passed us upon the road, and given
very absurd notice to the inhabitants, that a

Arrival at ,
Ixay. great General from England waS upon the road
Public to the town. A party of Cossack cavalry, armed
with very long lances, came out to meet us,
and, joining our escort, took their station in, the
van. The Postmaster, with his drawn sabre,
rode bare-headed by the carriage-side; -rand
in this conspicuous manner we made our
entry. As the annual inundation of the Don
had laid the streets of Tcherkask under water,
its Chancery had been removed to this place,
and almost all the principal families were in
Axay. We found the inhabitants waiting our
arrival, and the Cossack officers drawn out to
witness it. The Ataman of Axay came to us im
mediately ; and we took care to undeceive him
with regard to our supposed generalship. It
il,ecei)ti6tt seemed to make no alteration, either in the
by the JOon
Cossacks, respect paid to us, or the welcome they were
disposed to give. Every possible attention and
pohteness were manifested. We expressed an
inclination to proceed as far as Tcherkask the
same evening. The Ataman observed, that the
day was far advanced ; that the current of the
Don, swoln by the inundation, was extremely
rapid and turbtdent; and that he could not
undertake to be responsible for our safety, if
we persisted in our determination. He had

DON COSSACKS. 345
already provided excellent quarters, in a spacious ^j^j^"
and clean apartment, with numerous windows, *^ — v— '
a balcony commanding a view of the Don, and
every protection that an host of saints, virgins,
and bishops, whose pictures covered the walls,
could afford. Their General was at his country-
seat, ten miles from the town' : an express
was therefore sent to him, for his instructions
concerning our future reception. In the mean
time, sentinels were stationed at our carriage ;
and an officer, with Cossack soldiers, paraded
constantly before our door. During the whole
time we remained in their country, the same
honours were paid to us ; and although we
frequently remonstrated against the confinement
thus occasioned to the young officers, we never
went out without finding the sentinels in waiting,
and the officer at his post. The Ataman came
frequently to offer his services ; and the constant
endeavour of the people seemed to be, whoi
'  -—  .  T-^«*|rt_.
(1) " Most of the richer Cossacks have houses in Tcherkask, which
they make their metropolis ; but pass the greater part of their time in
their farms, on the northern bank of the river. Ptatof, the Ataman,
said he kept there two hundred brood mares. He had, however, no
land in tillage, though he possessed a. vineyard a little to the east
otAxu. Of the wine produced from these vineyardsi, they vaunted
greatly. The best always struck me as mixed with Greek wjne, or
raisins. The ordinary wines are very poor, and tasteless. Spirits arc
very cheap, and much drunk. Platof himsejf took a glassxrf JS^andy,
with a spoonful of salt in it; as if brandy was hardly strong^cnough."
Heler's MS^ JoUrital.

346 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, should shew us the greatest degree of kindness.
•jL. 1.1.1,
V. iii-v--' Hearing us complain of the inaccuracy of the
Russian maps, they brought from their Chancery
(without any of those degrading suspicions which
had so often insulted us) their own accurate
surveys of the country, and allowed us fi-ee
access, at all times, to their most authentic do
cuments. The secretaries of the Chancery were
ultimately ordered by their General to copy for
us a survey of the whole territory of the Don
Cossacks. That we were instigated to accept
of the offer by any other motive than a desire
of adding to the public stock of geographical
knowledge, may perhaps require no proof. The
Procurator' employed by the Russian Govern
ment, however, thought otherwise; it being a
maxim in the policy of that country, that " to
enlighten, is to betray." This liberal intention of
the hospitable Cossacks was therefore thwarted ;
although no menace of the Russian police can
now prevent an acknowledgment, which would
equally have been made if we had been enabled
to communicate more interesting and valuable

(I) " The Procureur (Procurator) is a kind of comptroller, or
visitor ; appointed to watch over the execution of the laws ; to examine
the decision of courts of justice ; to visit the prisons ; attend the exe
cutions, &c. He is generally a native of a different province from that
wherein he is stationed. At Tcherkask, he is always a Rvssiam, at
least not a Cossack." Heber's Journal.

DON COSSACKS. 347
information to the geographers of Europe. It ^^j^^'
is some consolation that we were allowed to '¦— y—-'
delineate the different channels of the Don,
towards its embouchure: this will be found a
faithful representation. For the rest, it may be
said, the course of the Don itself is not accu
rately given in our best maps ; and of the other
rivers falling into it, not even the names are
noticed. Those steppes which are described as
being so desolate, and which appear like a vast
geographical blank in every atlas, are filled with
inhabitants, Stanitzas are stationed along the
numerous rivers traversing them ; although the
common route, by not following the course of
any of those rivers, afford no knowledge of the
number of the people. Thev contain one hun- Population
dred stanitzas, or settlements, and two hundred Territory.
thousand Cossack inhabitants ^ Of this number,
thirty-five thousand are in arms. There are
also, in the territory of the Don Cossacks, thirty
thousand Calmucks : five thousand bearing arms,
as persons who are ready at all times for actual
service. The last are not permitted to leave
the country, although it be extraordinary how
persons of their vagrant inclination and habits

(2) For a further account of their population, see the Note, extracted
from Mr. Heber's MS. Journal, iri a subsequent page, containing much
valuable information.

348 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, can be restrained. It was before said of the
V I.-,- < Cossacks, that they are attached to the Calmucksi

and even intermarry with them ; but a Calmuck
can never be taught to endure a domestic life.
If compelled to live within walls, he would die
ofthe spleen; and always exhibits uneasiness if
there be any disposition towards confining him
in a house.
View of w^e had never beheld an acre of Asiatic terri-
the Von.
tory ; therefore the land upon the south side of
the Don, although it consisted of flat and dreary
marshes, afforded to us an interesting prospect.
From our balcony we had a commanding view
of the river : it appeared broad and rapid, ex
tending towards those marshes. At a distance*
eastward, we beheld Tcherkask, with its nu-.
merous spires, rising, as it were, put of the
water. Upon the European side we observed
a neighbouring stanitza of considerable magni'
tude, stationed, like Axay, upon a lofty eminence
above the water. The name Axay is a Tahtar
word, signifying white water. The Don, in this
part of its course, exhibits two colours. Near
to Axay it appears white, because it is here
shallow. A similar appearance may be observed
from the Castle of Coblentz in Germany, where
the Moselle falls into the Rhine : for some
distance after the junction, the two rivers appear

DON COSSACKS. 349
flowing parallel to each other; exhibiting a chap.
distinct and different colour which is peculiar to t . .^..\.
the respective water of each current. In the
shallows of the Don, the Typha palustris flou
rishes luxuriantly. We found the inhabitants
of Axay, and afterwards those of Tcherkask,
devouring this plant raw, with as much avidity
as if this article of diet had been connected
with some religious observance. The stalks
appeared in all the streets, and in every house,
bound into little fascines about three feet in
length, as our gardeners bind asparagus : these
bundles were hawked about, or sold in the
shops. The season for eating this vegetable
had just commenced. The Cossacks, peeling off
the outer cuticle, select near the root of the
plant a tender white part of the stem ; which,
ibv about the length of eighteen inches, affords
a crisp, cooling, and very pleasant article of
food. We ate of it heartily, and became as fond
of it as were the Cossacks ; with whom, young
or old, rich or poor, it is a most favourite
repast. The taste is somewhat insipid ; but in
hot climates, this cool and pleasant vegetable
would be highly esteemed. The Cossack officers,
however, who had been in other countries, said
that it is only fit for food when it grows in the
marshes of the Don,

350 DON COSSACI^S.
CHAP. The morning after our arrival, the General,
who was Commander-in-chief over all the
district, including the town of Tcherkask, as the
metropolis, came to Axay, The day was to be
celebrated as a festival, in honour ofthe recovery
of one of the Empei'or's children from the small
pox inoculation. He invited us to dinner ; and
in the forenoon we accompanied him, with all
the staff-officers, to a public ceremony in the
church. Entering this building, we were much
surprised by its internal magnificence. The
screen of the altar was painted of a green colour,
and adorned with gold : before it was suspended
a very large chandelier, filled with tapers of green
wax. This screen, and all the interior of the
church, were covered with pictures; some of
them being tolerably well executed, and all of
them curious, owing to their singularity, and
to the extraordinary figures they served to
represent. Here were no seats, as in other
Russian churches. The General placed himself
against a wall on the right hand facing the
sacristy, standing upon a step covered with a
carpet, which was raised about four inches
from the level of the floor. We were directed
to place ourselves by his right hand. The other
Cossacks, whether in military or civil dresses,
stood promiscuously in the body of the church.

DON COSSACKS. 351
The priest, in very rich robes, with his back xif/''
towards the people, was elevated upon a kind
of throne, placed beneath 4he chandelier, and
raised three steps from the platform, facing the
great doors of the sacristy, which were shut.
Over these doors there was a picture of the
Virgin; and before it, suspended by a string,
were two wooden angels, joined back to back,
like the figures of Janus, bearing candles in
their hands. Whenever the doors of the
sacristy were thrown open, the wooden angels
were lowered before the centre of the entrance :
here they were whirled about in a most
ludicrous manner.
As soon as the ceremony commenced, the
priest, standing upon the throne, loosened a
girdle, bound across his breast and shoulders,
whereon was an embroidered representation of
the cross. This he held between his fore
finger and thumb, repeating the service aloud,
and touching his forehead with it; while the
people chaunted responses, and were -busied
itf crossing themselves. The vocal part of the
ceremony was very solemn. The clear shrill
voices of children placed among the choristers,
reaching to the dome of the church, and seeming
to die away in the air, had a most pleasing
effect. It is the same in all the Russian churches ;

352 DON COSSACKS.
'^AP. and perhaps there is nothing with which it
w- ^, — ' may be more aptly compared than the sounds
produced by an TEolian harp. The words they
use are Russian; and these are everywhere the
same, " Lord have mercy upon us/"^ We did
not find them altered even among the Cossacks ;
it was still " Ghospodi pomilui!" but trifled
" in notes with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out."
At last there was an interval of silence : after
this, other voices, chaunting solemn airs, werd
heard within the sacristy. The doors were then
thrown open ; and a priest, bearing upon his
head a silver chahce, containing the conse
crated bread, covered with a white napkin,
made his appearance. He was preceded by
others, who advanced with censers, dispersing
incense over the doors of the sacristy, the
pictures, the priests, the General, the officers,
and the people. After some other ceremonies,
bread was distributed among the congrega
tion : then those who came out of the sacristy
having* retired, its doors were again closed,
and prayers were read for all the Royal family ;

(I) It is an antient Heathen prayer, f^ossius says that Ki/f« 'ik'mm
was a usual form of prayer among the Gentiles as well as the Jews,
So Arrian, To>. ©so» l«««/.ai/^sni;, iiiftsea airiS, Ki/j/s sXsjjffov- " Calling
upon God, we pray. Lord Iiave mercy upon us.'" Arrian. Epict.
Iil>.ii. c. 7-

DON COSSACKS. 353
their names being enumerated ui a tone of ^^nf"
voice and manner resembling that of a corporal '  ^— '
or a Serjeant at a roll-call. Passages were also
read from the Psalms; but the method of
reading, in Russian churches, cannot easily be
described. The young priests who officiate,
pride themselves upon mouthing it over with
all possible expedition, so as to be unintelli
gible, even to the Russians; striving to give to
a whole lesson the appearance of a single word
of numberless syllables. Some notion may be
formed of this bruiting, by hearing the crier in
one of our courts of justice, when he administers »
the oath to a jury.
The _ dinner given by the General, after this Mode of
ceremony, served to prove, that among Cossacks,
as elsewhere, religious abstinence by no means
implies privation as to eating and drinking. We
were taught to expect a meagre diet ; but we
found the table covered with all sorts of fish,
with tureens of sterlet soup, with the rich wines
of the Don, and with copious goblets of deli
cious hydromel or mead, flavoured by juices of
different fruits. We took this opportunity to
request the General's permission to open one
of the tumuli in the neighbourhood. It was
granted, and an order was given for thirty of
the Cossack soldiers to assist us in the under-
VOL. I. 2 a

354 , DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, taking: but afterwards, when we had assembled
our workmen, an alarm was spread, and
speedily increased, by the observations of an
ignorant physician, that the plague might be
thus communicated to the people : in conse
quence of which we were forced to abandon
the design. Several of the Cossacks, never
theless, assured us that they had formerly
opened several mounds; and affirmed that they
had found in them bones of men and of horses.
Sometimes, they said, (and this, if true, would
be indeed remarkable,) that gun-barrels were
discovered in these tombs, exhibiting very
antient workmanship. A Cossack officer shewed
to us a very extraordinary weapon of this
nature, which he declared had been discovered
in one of the mounds in the steppes, . But, not
withstanding all that may be urged concerning
any knowledge which the Chinese and Oriental
hordes are supposed to have possessed of gun
powder before its use in Europe, it must appear
evident that such weapons were derived from
the inhabitants of Poland, who employed them
with matchlocks ; yet the officer alluded to had
no motive for deviating from truth. Other
things, (such as vessels<of terra-cotta, and instru
ments of war, common to antient nations,) said
to have been found in these heaps, are more
consistent with probability.

DON COSSACKS.

353

In the evening of this day we embarked ™ff'
upon the Don for Tcherkask, accompanied by
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexi Gregorivitch Papof
To this officer we were indebted for instances
of hospitality and polite attention, such as
strangers might vainly expect in more enlight
ened cities of Europe. His education had been
liberal, although received in the marshes of the
Don; and his accomplishments might have
graced the most refined society, although ac
quired among the natives oiTcherkask\

In almost all its characteristics, the Don Analogy
between
bears resemblance to the Nile, It has the same the Bon
regular annual inundation, which covets a jsnie.

(l) Colonel Papof has since published an account of the Don
Cossacks, in a work which was printed at Charkof in 1814. Mr. Heber,
in his observations on Axay, has offered a genuine tribute to the
enlightened minds of the Cossacks of the Don. " There is here a very
decent Kabak, with a billiard-table, and a room adorned with many
German engravings ; and one English print, that of The Death of
Chevalier Bayard. The Cossacks, having never heard of the Chevalier
sans reproche, called it The Death of Darius. On my asking if Bourbon
was Alexandra Macedonsky, they answered, to my surprise, that he ,
was not present at the death of Darius, and shewed themselves
well skilled in his history, which one would hardly expect." Heber'r
MS. Journal.
" Education among the Cossacks is not so low as is generally
thought, and it improves daily. All the children of officers are sent
to the academy of Tcherkask, and learn French, German, &c. It was
holiday-time when we were there; but their progress was well spoken
of." md.

2 A2

356 DON COSSACKS.
^xnf ' S^^^^ extent of territory. Over this we now
^ — V-— ' passed by water to Tcherkask, The water
retires in the month of July or August, The
same aquatic plants are found in both rivers ;
tall flags, reeds, and bulrushes, sometimes rising
to the height of twenty feet. The manner of
their entrance into the sea, by several mouths,
is also the same ; forming small islands, as in
the Delta, with fens and morasses. Both one
and the other serve as boundaries to two prin
cipal quarters of the globe. When the waters
retire, the astonishing variety of insects might
induce a zealous entomologist to visit the Dbni
if it were only on their account. During the
inundation, when the waters were at the
highest, we observed above thirty different
kinds of flies, at the same instant, upon the
tables of our apartment. Many of these we
collected, but they were too much injured in
the' subsequent journey to be delineated. The
whole course of the Don is about six hundred
' and sixty-six miles'. It rises near Tula, in a
lake called Ivan Ozero, or St, John's Sea, Below
Woronetz, it is from three hundred to six hun
dred fathoms broad ; and of sufficient depth for
ships of burthen, from the middle of April to

(I) One thousand versts.

DON COSSACKS. 357
the end of June : during the rest of the year, ^^^^^^j''-
the water is so low, that upon several of the ^. .,- '
shallows it is not above eighteen inches deep".
In the Spring floods it rises from sixteen to
eighteen feet, and the current is very rapid.
The principal rivers falling into it are, the
Danaetz, the Woronetz, the Choper, the Med-
viditz, and the Ilavla'; but there are others,
unnoticed hitherto by geographers, not perhaps
of equal importance, although entitled to a
place in maps of the country, owing to the
number of inhabitants found upon their shores.
About twenty miles below Woronetz, close to Natural
the river, near a town called Kastinskoy, Gmelin anTAntT
observed one of those deposits of fossil '^'^^^'
elephants' bones, of which there exist such
wonderful remains in Siberia, at the mouths
of rivers falling into the Icy Sea. These bones
are described as lying in the greatest disorder ;
teeth, jaw-bones, ribs, vertebrae, not mineralized,
but in their natural state, having only sustained
a partial decomposition*. The antiquities of the

(2) Lord Whitioorth's Account of Russia, p. 1 20. Strawberry Hill,
edit. 1788.
(3) Tableau abr^g^ de I'Empire de la Russie, par Pleschtjeitf, p. 23,
Moscou, 1796,
(4) Journal des Savans Voyageurs, p. 84.

XIIL

358 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP. jQon are also worthy of a more particular de
scription than can now be afforded. A tradition
exists in the country, that Alexander the Great
passed the Don, and built a city, or a citadel,
upon the river, at a place called Zimlanskaia,
two hundred miles above the town of Tcherkask,
where the best Don wine is now made. Some
insignificant traces of such a work are still said
to be visible. At General Orlof s house were
two Stelis of marble, actually brought from
thence. The Cossacks are too little interested
in such matters to invent tales of this kind;
and they would do so the less where no
inquiry was made to instigate them. The infor
mation, such as it is, was given spontaneously ;
and, indeed, the circumstances of their tradi
tion are somewhat corroborated by reference
to antient history. The 2THAAI or Pillars' of
Alexander were, according to Ptolemy, in Asiatic
Sarmatia, and in the vicinity of the Tanais".
The Altars or BUMOI of Alexander were on the

(l) The Reader will pardon the author's reference to his account of
the Cambridge Marbles, for a more particular description of the Monu
mental Pillar called StSle; for this word having been almost always
improperly translated, has given rise to much error in our notions of
antient history,
(2) 'E<r£;j;oi/n il xxi m fth 'AXi^iiiii^iia STHAAI, Ptolomeei Geogr, W,T.
f,364. Edit, Pan 1546,

DON COSSACKS. 359
European side of the river': of these we shall ^^jf
have occasion to speak hereafter. We heard, ' — /— '
moreover, of coins oi Alexander; but none were
to be seen. Perhaps, among the numerous
Greeks who reside in Tcherkask, both spurious
and genuine coins of Alexander may have been
found, and thus have given foundation to the
report. Of the marble Stilce, however, the
history is unequivocal; because General Orlof
himself, who possessed them, and who issued
orders for their removal from Zimlanskaia, gave
to us the intelligence. The boats upon the
Don exhibit the most antient form of vessel
used for navigation; that of a canoe, scooped
from a single tree, consisting of one piece of
timber : in this they move about with a single
paddle. Sometimes, as in the South Seas, they
join two of those canoes by transverse planks
laid across, and so form a kind of deck, capable
of conveying considerable burthens*. The
breadth of the river at Axay, at this season of
the year, appeared to be at least half a mile.
The current is rapid, and even turbulent. The
fishes caught in it are much too numerous to be
mentioned, as perhaps there is no river in the

(3) Ptolemaei Geogp. ibid. p. 142.
(4) See the Vignette to this Chapter, from a drawing by Mr. Heber.

XIII
> — .^
Fishes

360 DON COSSACKS.
^^AP. world affording a greater variety, or in greater
perfection. Among the principal are, the beluga,
the common sturgeon, the sterlet, sudak, trout,
Prussian darp, tench, pike, perch, water-tortoises, and
crawfish of an enormous size. Some of the last,
equal in size to our lobsters, are caught in great
abundance, by sinking small cylindrical nets,
about six inches in diameter, baited with pieces
of salted fish. They sold at the rate of two
pence (English) per hundred ; and in certain
seasons of the year the same number may he
had for half that sum. The beluga is the largest
eatable fish known. In the kidneys of very
old belugas are sometimes found calculi, as large
as a man's fist. Professor Pallas gave us a
concretion of this nature, which Doctor Tennant
has since analyzed : it consists almost wholly
of phosphat of lime. The lower sort of people
keep these calculi as talismans, for the cure of
certain disordersl Strahlenberg relates, that he
saw a beluga fifty-six feet long, and near eighteen
feet thick. In the Don they seldom exceed
twelve feet in length. This fish, in its shape,
resembles the sturgeon. One ofthe oldest fisher
men upon the Don possessed a secret, enabling
him to ensnare the largest belugas; but he would
not communicate to any one his valuable dis
covery. We saw him fishing at a considerable
distance from our boat, and could distinctly

DON COSSACKS. 361
perceive that he plunged a hollow cylinder chap.
vertically into the river, causing a noise under >— .y.../
water, like the bursting of an air-bubble: this
might be heard from the shore, on either side.
The appearance of Tcherkask, viewed from Extraordi
nary Ap-
the river, affords a most novel spectacle, pearanceof
Although not so grand as Venice, yet it some
what resembles that city. The entrance to it
is by broad canals, intersecting it in all parts.
On each side, wooden houses, built on piles,
appear to float upon the water : to these the
inhabitants pass in boats, or by narrow bridges
only two planks wide, with posts and rails,
forming a causeway to every quarter of the
town. As we sailed into this city, we beheld
the younger part of its inhabitants upon the ifthabi-
house-tops, sitting upon the ridges of the
sloping roofs, while their dogs were actually
running about and barking in that extraordinary
situation. During our approach, children leaped
from the windows and doors, like so many frogs,
into the water, and in an instant were seen
swimming about our boat. Every thing seemed
to announce an amphibious race : not a square
inch of dry land could be seen : in the midst
of a very, populous metropolis, at least one half
of its citizens were in the water, and the other
half in the air. Colonel Papo/' conducted us to

362 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, the house of a General, the pruicipal officer and
>¦ ¦!,- ¦* Ataman of Tcherkask \ This person was a
merchant, and very rich. His house, like all
those we saw afterwards, was extremely neat,
afid elegantly furnished. Upon the walls of the
apartments were French and English prints:
among others, we noticed one, a very fine en
graving, taken from a picture of more than
common interest. It represented Rousseau, in
his last moments, desiring his housekeeper to
open the window, that he might once more
behold the face of Nature. The General, having
requested that we would accept of his services
while we remained in the city, appointed an
officer to attend us, to provide us with sen
tinels, and whatsoever else might be deemed
necessary. The town of Tcherkask is divided into
eleven stanitzas, and contains fifteen thousand
inhabitants. The number of houses amounts to
three thousand; allowing, upon the average,
five persons to each. This, from all we could
l^arn, is the true state of the population. Here

(1) " The internal government of Tcherkask is exercised, under the
Ataman, by a Master of Police, and a Chancery of four persons. The
Police Master, and, on some solemn occasions, the Ataman, is distin
guished by a large staff, with a silver filigree head, resembling that of
a drum-major." Heber's MS. Journal.

DON COSSACKS. 363
are seven churches; four built of stone, and ^^j^*
three of wood. One of the latter description '— y — '
is for Tahtar worship, the Tahtars having a Buildings.
stanitza in Tcherkask peculiar to their own
people. Their religion is Mahomedan; and their
church perfectly unadorned, being built with
the utmost simplicity, and "containing only a
httle recess, with a pulpit for the priest, and
a gallery for boys and young men. The elders
only enter the lower part of the building : this
is covered with carpets ; and, as in Turkey, no
one is permitted to enter wearing boots or
shoes. Nevertheless, upon this sacred floor
they transact their commerce; for we found
a Tahtar squatted, casting up his accounts,
and writing, with all his commercial papers
around him.
The first church erected in Tcherkask was
founded by Peter the Great as an inscription
placed in the wall implies ; but it has suffered
frequently from fire, as indeed have all the
other churches. It is now of stone ; and con
tains a handsome screen, painted a bright
green colour, and richly gilded, as at Ixay.
They burn, moreover, green wax candles. In
this church are kept what they call their
regalia; applying this term to republican, rather Regalia,
than to regal, ensigns of distinction. These

S64 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, were exhibited for our inspection, and consisted
chiefly of presents from different sovereigns/
standards, and embroidered flags bearing the
Imperial arms; politic donations, serving as
memorials, lest the Cossacks might forget to
what empire they belonged. Here we saw
lances, fashioned after the Asiatic manner, with
tufts of fine camel's hair hanging from the point.
Perhaps the origin of such an appendage may
be referred to those barbarous periods when
Oriental nations drank the blood of their ene
mies. An instrument of the same form has
been already described; it is used by the
Calmucks, for drinking brandy; they thrust a
small lance with a tuft of camel's hair into the
stills containing the spirit they procure from
mare's milk, and squeeze the tuft into the palm
of the hand, in order to drink what it has
thus absorbed'. With these lances were also
preserved silver-headed staves of their ^tomaw*;
illuminated and beautiful manuscripts, chiefly
certificates of the brave conduct of their people
in war, sent as testimonials by various sove
reigns whom they had served; and a map of
their territory, by the hand of the late Empress
Catherine, The standards she presented to

(1) Seep, 314 of this Volume,

DON COSSACKS. 365
them are exceedingly costly. Great part of their ^ j?'
regalia was burned in one of the terrible confla
grations to which their town has been exposed ;
and among the things then lost, were some
presents from Peter the Great, There still
remained one of his gifts, very characteristic of
that extraordinary man. Among the rich staves
of ebony, silver-headed, and magnificently
adorned, which different sovereigns have sent
to be borne by the Ataman, there appeared
one which was destitute of' any other ornament
than what Nature had bestowed. Of this they
were more proud than of all the rest. It was
like the club we see usually represented with
the Figure of Hercules ; that is to say, of plain
unadorned wood, although covered with sturdy
knots, and calculated for the hands of a giant.
In the same church was also suspended the
singular picture of " The Virgin with the Bleeding
Cheek" but with a remarkable addition to the
usual representation. Below the figure of the
Virgin, a hand appeared painted of the natural
size, as if it had been cut off and fastened to
the picture : a knife also was placed by the hand.
They related, that a priest having struck a
picture of the Virgin, wounded her in the cheek,
which ever afterwards continued to bleed; but
immediately the blow was made, the hand of

366 DON COSSACKS.

CHAP, the priest came off, and remained, with the
knife, adhering to the picture.

XIIL
V.

There is another stone church in Tcherkask,
which suffered more recently from fire. About
four years ago, the inhabitants undertook its
reparation, and erected a screen of great mag
nificence, an astonishing piece of workmanship
for this part of the world. It is built in the
Grecian taste, and consists of fourteen Corin
thian columns, covered entirely with burnished
gold. There are, besides, Corinthian pilasters;
also paintings in a more modern style, and more
pleasing than the stiff appearance usually exhi
bited by such pictures in the Russian churches.
Almost all the other public edifices in Tcher
kask are of wood. They are as follow :
r. The Chancery, where the administration
of justice, and all other public business, is car
ried on. — This building contains their papers,
records, and other documents. One room is
appropriated to their assembly for pubhc de
bates: this much resembles our House of
Commons. It contained the Emperor's portrait;
and it was more like him than any we had seen.
When a general assembly is convened, it con
sists of a President, with all the GeneralSi,

DON COSSACKS. 367
Colonels, and Staff-officers. Their Councils ^^-6,^*
relate not only to military affairs, but to all
business which concerns the public welfare.
II. Another Court of Justice, called Sclaves-
nesut, signifying " Justice by Word." — The as
semblies here answer to our quarter-sessions.
Parties who have any disagreement come with
their witnesses, and state their grievances.
Each receives a hearing, and afterwards justice
is decided.
III. The Public Academy : here their youth
receive instruction in geometry, mechanics,
physics, geography, history, arithmetic, &c. &c.
IV. The Apothecaries' Hall.
V. The Town Hall of the eleven stanitzas
into which the town is divided.
VI. Six Prisons : four of these are for males,
and two for females. — The prisoners are suffered
to go about in their chains, for the purpose of
beggmg. The Shops are very numerous; they are
kept chiefly by Greeks, and contain the produce
of Turkey; as pearls, cloth, shawls, tobacco,
fruit, &c'. There are also two Public Baths ;
and each stanitza has its respective tavern,
for liquors, brandy, wine, &c.; likewise its
trmteur, or cook's shop, for victuals. Every
Saturday evening a ceremony takes place in all

368 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, the churches, called " The benediction of bread:"
XIIL ' . -^
'—I s^-i J upon these occasions, five white loaves are
placed in the middle of each church ; symbols
of those with which Christ fed the multitude.
The people then pray, that, " as with five loaves
he fed five thousand, he would vouchsafe a
sufficiency of corn in the country for the bread
of its inhabitants, and bless it for their use."
Origin of It is Uncertain Whence a notion originated,
sacks. that the Cossacks are of Polish origin ; but, as
it has become prevalent, a seasonable oppor
tunity now offers to prove that it is founded in
error.. The Cossacks have been acknowledged,
as. a distinct people, nearly nine hundred years.
According to Constantine Porphyrogenetes, they
were called Casachs in the age of that writer.
This name is found in the appellation of a tribe
residing near Caucasus. " And beyond the Pa-
pagian country," says he', "is the country
called Casachia; but beyond the Casachs are
the summits of Caucasus." Our countryman,
Jonas Hanway, calls the Don Cossacks " a spe
cies of Tahtars ^"s Storch, who has written

(I) KaJ «.viki$iv T9)s Tla-jTstyicts ^c^Qetg Iffrlv h X^t^ ^ XtyofiUni KAXAXIA,
Kvuhv t\ rns KA2AXIAX o^n ret Ketuxaffta. ua-iy- Constantinus de Admi-
nistrand. Imper. in fin. cap. xlii. p. 133. l/ugd^ Bat, IffI 1.
(2) //awu'oy* Travels, vol. I. p. 97.

DON COSSACKS. 369
fully and learnedly on the subject, although he chap,
admits the resemblance they bear to Tahtars, in
their mode of life, constitution, and features,
insists that they are of Russian origin ^ Scherer,
who has appropriated a work entirely to the
investigation of their history, and continually
inculcates the notion of their Polish origin, .
nevertheless opens his work with an extract of
a different nature ; but it has all . the air of a
fabled It is taken from Nestor s Russian Annals,
A Russian Prince, and a Cossack Chief, at the
head of their respective armies, agree to deter
mine their differences by a wrestling-match,
which ends in the assassination of the Cossack
by the Russian. This event is followed by the
subjugation of the Cossack territory*. To have
seen the Cossacks, and to have resided among
them, is sufficient to establish a conviction that
they have nothing in common with the Russians of
the present day, except the language they use.
Let us pay some attention at least to what they
(2) Tableau Historique et Statistique de I'Empire^ de Russie, par
Storch. Edit. Franfaise, tom 1. p. 55. See particularly p. 24 of the
Notes of that volume.
(3) They are often described as a branch of the Poles, who migrated
in modern'times to the marshes ofthe Don. The observation of Scherer,
concerning their language also, strengthens the notion oi their Polish
origin ; " I,a langue des Cosaques est un dialecte de la Polonoise, comme
celle-ei Vest de I' Esclavon." Annales de la Petite Russie, par Scherer,
tom.l, p. 17. Paris, 11%%.
(4)- Scherer, Tableau de la Petite Russie, tom.l. p. 9.
• VOL, I. 2 B

270 DON COSSACKS.
^^jfF' say of themselves. The Cossacks of the Don

'- y- ' relate, that a party of their countrymen being
engaged in their usual occupation of hunting,
near the range oi Mount Caucasus, met a number
of people, with whom they were unacquainted,
going towards the East; and having inquired
who they were, the strangers answered, that,
they were emigrants from Poland, who had fled
from the oppression of their nobles, and were
proceeding to Persia, to join the troops of that
country against the Turks. The Cossacks told
them, they might spare themselves the trouble
of so long a march in order to exercise hostili
ties against the Turks ; and persuaded the Poles
ta return with them to the town of Tcherkask,
where they would find an asylum, and whence,
in concert with their own forces, they niight
attack the fortress of Azof. Assisted by these
auxiliaries, and with only four pieces of cannon,
all the artillery they possessed at that time,
they laid siege to Azof, which fell into the hands
of the allied army. From the circumstances of
this alliance, first enabhng the Cossacks to make
a figure among the nations at war with Turkey,
may have been derived the erroneous notion of
their having migrated from Poland. The Cossacks
of the Don, according to the account the best
instructed give of their own people, (and they are
much better qualified to write their own history

DON COSSACKS. 371
tiian any of the Russian Academicians,) are a mix- ^^ff'
ture of various nations, principally of Circassians, ^ — v— '
Malo-Russians, and Russians,h\xt also of Tahtars,
Poles, Greeks, Turks, Calmucks, and Armenians.
In the town of Tcherkask alone, and in the same
street, may be seen all these different people at-
the same time, each in the habit peculiar to his
own nation. A considerable proportion of the
inhabitants have ever been refugees from Turkey,
Greece, or from other countries. Concerning the
original establishment of Tcherkask, they relate,
that it was founded by refugees from Greece,
to whom the people of Azof denied admission,
and who, in consequence, proceeding farther up
the river, came to this island, where they made
a settlement ; giving to the place a name derived
from the people upon whose frontier it was
situate, and with whom they afterwards were
intermingled. The name of the town, although
pronounced Tcherkasky, is written Tcher
kask, implying " The smnll village of the
Tcherkas," pronounced generally Tcherkess, or,
as we write it, Circassians. Thus, from a small
settlement of rovers, augmented principally by
intercourse with the neighbouring Circassians,
has since accumulated, like a vast avalanche, the
immense horde of the Cossacks, Before the
middle of the tenth century, they had already
reached the frontier of Poland, and had com-
B B 2

XIIL

372 DON COSSACKS.
cj^AP. menced an intercourse with the people of that
country : this was often attended with an aug
mentation of their horde by the settlement of
Polish emigrants among them. Their first notable
armament is said to have been in the year 948 ',
when the Greek Emperor employed them as
mercenaries in his war against the Turks, From
their address in archery, tiieir neighbours had
given them the name of Choaars, and Chazars:
under this latter appellation they are frequently
mentioned by Constcmtine Porphyrogenetes, and
their country called Chazaria^. The Greek
Emperor, for the services they rendered, sent
them, with assurances of protection, and recom
mendatory letters, to the Polish Sovereign,
requesting that, in future, their appellation
might be Cossacks, and not Chozars\ As to the
origin of that name, some v/ill have it to be
derived from a Tahtar word signifying^?! armed
man*; others, from the sort of sabre they use;
others, from aword which signifies a Rover; others
again pretend, that the Poles called them Cossack
from a word in the Polish language implying
a Goat, because they formerly wore the skins
of that animaP. Scherer, objecting to this last
(I) Scherer, Tableau de la Petite Russie, tom. I. p. 67.
(2) See Const. Porphyrogenetes, cap. 10, 12, 13, 39, &e,
(3) Scherer, ibid. p. 71.
(4) Storch, Tableau de la Russie, tom. 1. p. 55.
(5) See " A Discourse of thc Original of the Cossacks," hy EJmrd
Brown, p. 1. Lond. 1673.

DON COSSACKS. 373
derivation, substitutes another still more frivo- chap.
lous, and maintains it to have been taken from
Kossa, a small promontory*. In this wild pur
suit of etymology, we might also affirm, that
Casaca, in Spanish, signifies precisely the sort
of coat they wear, answering to our English
word Cassock'', did not Peyssonnel much more
rationally, and perhaps inconte stably, explain
the origin of their appellation. " The land of
the Chazacks" says he% " formed a part of that
country now denominated Circassia, properly so
called. In this district of Chazakia, according
to my opinion, we ought to seek the origin of
the Cossacks of the present day," This obser
vation is actually confirmed by facts already
related, and by the extract from Constantine
cited in a former page : although so general
became the migrations of this people, that their
colonies now extend from the banks of the
Dnieper to the remotest confines of Siberia.
According to their different emigrations and
settlements, they are at present distinguished
by the various names of Malo-Russian Cossacks,
Don Cossacks, Cossacks of the Black Sea, oi the

(6) Scherer, Tableau de la Russie, tom. I. p. 67.
(7) See Letters concerning the Spanish Nation, by the Rev JE. Clarke
(the author's father), p. 338.
(s) Observations Hist-oriques, &c. sur les Peuples Barbares, par
Peyssonnel, p. 125. Palis, 1765.

374 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, p'olga, of Grebenskoy, of Orenburg, of the Ural
*— ^  ' Alps, and of Siberia; where they have received
yet other appellations, and reach even to the
mountains of China, and to the Eastern Ocean,
It is necessary to confine our attention to the
principal hive, whence, with little exception,
all those swarms have migrated.
Causes of Nothiug has contributed more to augment
their m- _ ° ' °
crease, tho natiou of the Don Cossacks, than the freedom
they enjoy. Surrounded by systems of slavery,
they offer the singular spectacle of an increasing
republic ; like a nucleus, putting forth its roots
and ramifications to all parts of an immense
despotic empire, which considers it a wise
policy to promote their increase, and to gua
rantee their privileges. As they detest the
Russians, a day may come, when, conscious of
their own importance, they will make their
masters more fully sensible of their power',
A sage regulation in their military constitution,
from a very early period, induced them to grant
all the privileges they enjoy to all prisoners
of war who were willing to settle among them,
(1) After slightly noticing their most important revolts under Razin
and Boulavin, towards the end of the seventeenth, and in the begin.^
ning of the eighteenth century, Storch observes, " L'histoire de ces
rebellions est assez interessante pour occuper nn de nos hisioriens Mifl-
de)-nes."—See p. 36 of the Notes to Starch's Tableau de la Russie,
tom. I.

DON COSSACKS. 375
Thus, from the success attending their incur" ^^fJ^'
sions, their numbers have rapidly increased.
In the year 1579, they made their appearance,
for the first time, in the Russian armies*. In
J734, their earliest colonies were established
upon the Volga, About the same time, another
colony marched towards the Terek, and settled
there. Towards the middle of the last century,
a detachment fixed their residence along the
banks of the Samara, the Ui, and the Ural, as
far as the Kirgisian frontier. But by much the
most powerful detachment from the original
hive is established upon the shores of the
Caspian, at the mouth of the Ural river : it left
the Don in the beginning of the fifteenth cen
tury, and has since been augmented by sub
sequent emigrations from the parent stock.
This branch of the Don Cossacks j.oined in the
rebellion under Pugatchef In order to annihi
late the memory of their revolt, the Russian
Government prudently changed their name,
(which had hitherto been, Cossacks of the Jaik,)
-together with the name of their capital, and of
the river upon which they resided'.
The most remarkable branch of the Don
Cossacks has been established in Siberia. It

(2) Storch, torn. I. p. 68.
(,3) Ibid. p. 73.

XIIL

376 , DON COSSACKS.
CH^AP. began its march towards the East in the six
teenth century. A troop of between six and
seven thousand, under the conduct of their
Ataman, Jermak, penetrated into .Permia, and
made the discovery of the country to which
we commonly apply the appellation of Siberia.
Their adventures, and those of their Chief,
might lay the foundation of a very interesting
romance ; but we may despair of seeing it con
stitute a portion of history. They had gained
the heights of the Ural Alps, when the appear
ance of vast deserts, tenanted by an unknown
and savage people, somewhat intimidated the
enterprising rovers. Jermak, full of zeal, ha
rangues his little army. They descend the
mountains ; defeat and drive before them a
host of Tahtars; pursue their conquests even
to the Tobol, the Irtysch, and the Ob ; and termi
nate their surprising march by the subjugation
of all the tribes dwelling between the Ural and
Altaic Chain, Unable, from the losses they had
sustained, and the obstacles they had yet to
surmount, to maintain possession of such exten
sive territory, they were compelled to humble
themselves before the Russians, In 1581, Jermak
made the cession of his conquests, by formal
capitulation, to the Tsar Joan, who, in consi
deration of the important services he had
rendered to the empire, not only pardoned him,

DON COSSACKS. 377
but even recompensed his extraordinary talents ^J^^J^-
and courage'. - Thus was Siberia added to the ' y '>
extensive possessions of Russia, by a Cossack of
the Don ; whose achievements were only less
ifiustrious than the boasted victories of an
Alexander, because no historian was found to
record them.
We have carried the history of the Don
Cossacks back to the period when they first
formed an establishment upon the Don. The ^ounda-
'¦ tion ot
foundation of Tcherkask, from their own ac- ti'«'^ Capi-
' tai.
count, is attributed to the settling of some
rovers, probably exiles from Greece. The shores
of the Sea of Azof, and of the Black Sea, were,
in very early ages, what America, and more
recently New Holland, has been to Great Britain.
The Greeks sent thither many of their exiles;
and the customi was continued among the Romans,
as appears by the banishment of Ovid, The
opinion, therefore, of the Cossacks, concerning
the foundation of Tcherkask, is not without
support, even in antient history. With regard
to their own origin, as a nation, there is every
reason to consider it, for the most part, Cir
cassian ; and, as such, the analogy with Poles or
Russians, instead of leading us to deduce the
(1) Storch, tom, I. p. 76.

378 DON COSSACKS.

CHAP. xiii.

origin of the Cossacks from them, should rather
guide us to the parent stock, whence the Sclavo-
nian, the Polish, the Prussian, the Muscovitish,
Bohemian, and Transylvanian people and lan
guages were severally derived. All the antient
historians and geographers confirm the truth of
its march from Media, through the Straits of
Caucasus, towards the Tandis, and round the
Euxine. Its first colonies were called Sarma-
tians : the earliest account of whom is given by
Herodotus; who places them between Caucasus
and the Tandis \ The defile of Caucasus has
been celebrated in all ages, offering the only
passage through that otherwise impenetrable
barrier. It bore the appellation of the Vylm
Sakmatic.se, from the SarmatjE, who first
passed through it: Sar being, according to
Bochart, the Eastern mark of descent ; as Sar-
MADAi, Sar-mat^e ; that is to say, ' Children
of the Medes ^' " Diodorus Siculus," observes
the revered author cited below, " who knew
(1) Herodot. lib. iv. c-. 117,
(2) SAPMATAI, 2ATP0MATAI, MAIjClTAI, were the same people. See
Bochart ; and the observations of the author's Paternal Ancestor, in
his valuable Dissertation on the " Connection of tlie Roman, Saxon,
and English Coins," p. 47. It is very grateful to make this tribute to
the acknowledged learning of an ancestor, to whose Work the Reader
is referred, not only for some of the authorities here noticed, but also
folr the most important information collected by any writer, respecting
the original inhabitants of the countries bordering on the Black Sea,
and of their intercourse with the people of Antient Greece.

DON COSSACKS. 379
nothing of the etymology, asserts the fact:
speaking of the several clans of the Scythians,
he says, that one came out of Media, settled
upon the banks of the Tandis, and were caUed
Sauromatts^." The Circassians oi the present day are a cjrcat.
horde of banditti, inhabiting the region whence
the Cossacks originally descended. Continually
repelled from their antient boundary, the Tandis
and Lake Mceotis, and ultimately driven beyond
the Kuban and the Terek, they hang, as it were,
upon the northern sides of Caucasus, or carry
on predatory incursions from the swampy plains
at its feet, above two hundred miles from
Tcherkask. These mountaineers, as well as the
Tahtars of Kuban, are ever at war with the
Cossacks. They pretended to make peace with
them at the end of the last Turkish war ; but,
whenever occasion offers, they seize the persons
of the Cossacks, or any strangers who may be
found among them, and sell them for slaves to
the Persians. Their manner of fighting, as de
scribed by the Don Cossacks, is this ; they hide
themselves in the long reeds, or grass, of
jnarshes, lying even in the water, until they
reconnoitre the strength of their adversary. If
(3) Died. Sic. lib.ii. p. 150. Ed. fTetstein.

380 DON COSSACKS.

CHAP, XIIL

~v_

five or six armed Cossacks appear, they remain
in ambush: if only two or three, they attack
these by surprise ; but even then they will run
away if the Cossacks have time to fire. If dis
covered in their concealment, and interrogated
who they are, they assume an humble aspect,
and declare themselves frieiids. Some of the
Circassians were prisoners at Axay, when we
were there. The Cossacks, and all the inhabi
tants of the Asiatic coasts of the Black Sea, call
the Circassians Tcherkess, and Tcherkessi, a fur
ther confirmation of remarks before made con
cerning the etymology of the word Tcherkask.
If it were necessary to make any addition to
what has been already written, with regard to
the relation they bear to the Cossacks and to the
other inhabitants of the Ukraine, many curious
circumstances might be alleged ; such, for ex
ample, as the mode of accounting money, which
is the same among the Malo-Russians and Cir
cassians, There are now Malo-Russians living in
the Caucasian mountains. The Circassians, more
over, left their name in the appellation of a town
built upon the Dnieper,
Commerce fhc commcrcc of the Cossacks, and other in-
of fclier-
*"«*¦ habitants of Tcherkask, is very various. The
principal articles of their exports are, Jish, iron,
caviare, and a little wme ,• although, ..generally,

DON COSSACKS. 381
they consume all their wine. This wine resembles chap.
. ™ ' . XIIL
the wines of Burgundy and Champagne, in ex
hibiting effervescence. When it has acquired
a certain age, it sells in Tcherkask at a price
equivalent to three shillings and sixpence the
bottle. The Don wine is both red and white.
If the Cossacks would allow their grapes to
ripen, and were made acquainted with the
French mode of preparing this beverage, it
would certainly surpass all the wines of the
world ; so rich and generous is the fruit affording
it'. The Cossacks seldom use tobacco, and they
live to very advanced age. The merchants, in
their turn, go to war with the rest, and have
their rank in the army". In fact, there are few

(1) " Til ^ Don wine is spmetimes very pleasant ; but it is, I suspect, a
fabrication. I tasted some that was waiTanted genuine, which I could
easily believe to be so : it was, indeed,
' As wicked dew as Sycorax could brush
With raven's feather from unwholesome fen.' "
Heber's MS. Journal.
(2) " Tlie government of the armies of the Don differs, in many
respects, from the antient Malo. Russian, and has lately suffeied repeated
encroachments. Their territory, which is almost entirely pasture land,
is divided into stanitzas, or cantons ; for many stanitzas now contain more
than a single village. To each of tliese, a certain portion of land and
fishery is allotted by Government, and an annual allowance of corn from
Voronetz, and northwards, according to the returned number of Cossacks.
Tliey are free from all taxes; even from those of salt and distilleries. The
distribution of the land to the individuals in each stanitza is settled by thc
inhabitants and their Ataman. This Ataman was chosen by the people, ai^d

382 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, generals or colonels, in the army of the Dow
Cossacks, who are not merchants. In Tcherkask

and was both civil and military commander of the place, Paul had laid
some^restrictions on this right, which I could not understand. He had
also ennobled the children of all who had the military rank of Colonel,
which was complained of, as introducing an unconstitutional aristocracy.
From these Atamans, an appeal lies to the Chancery at Tcherkask.
They used to elect their Ataman there, and to appeal to him only;
assembling occasionally, as a check on his conduct; but he is now
appointed by the Crown, and greatly diminished in power. The allot
ment of land and fishery which each Cossack possesses may he let out
by him to farm, and often is so ; and it is a frequent abuse to insert the
names of children in the return of Cossacks, to entitle them to their
seniority in becoming officers. I met with a child thus favoured. Ihis
has taken place since the Cossacks, when called out, have been formed
into regular regiments, which has depressed entirely the power of the
village Ataman, by the introduction of colonels, captains, &c. Formerly,
the Ataman himself marched at the head of his stanitza. Now he merely
sends the required contingent, which is put under officers named by the
Crown. The Cossack, in consequence of his allowance, may he called on
to serve for any term, not exceeding three years, in any part ofthe
world, mounted, armed, and clothed at his own expense, and making
good any deficiencies which may occur. Food, pay, and camp equi
page, are furnished by Government. Those who have served three
years are not liable, or at least not usually called Upon, to serve
abroad, except on particular emergencies. They serve, however, in
the cordon along the Caucasus, and in the duties of the post and jpoi
li(;e. After twenty years, they become free from all service, except
the home duties of police, and assisting in the passage of thc corn
barks over the shallows in the Don. After twenty-five years' service
they are free entirely,
' The Procurator declared the whole number of Cossacks, liable to
be called on for one or more of these services, amounted to 200,000.
He acknowledged, that as they would allow no examination into their
numbers, he spoke only from conjecture, and from the different al
lowances of corn, &c. occasionally made. The whole number of male
population he reckoned at half a million. The situation of a Cossack is

DON COSSACKS. 383
they live an amicable and pleasant life. Some- chap.
times they have public amusements, such as ^ ^ '_¦
balls, and other assemblies of the same nature.
Once they had a theatre, but it was prohibited.
In some of their apartments we observed maho
gany bookcases, with glass doors; each con
taining a small library. They are in every
respect entitled to praise for cleanliness, whether
with reference to their persons or to their
houses. There is no nation more cleanly, in its
apparel than that of the Cossacks, The dress of

is considered as comfortable ; and their obligations to service are
deemed well repaid by their privileges and their freedom. ' Free as
A Cossack' is a proverb we have often heard in Russia. The number
of Cossack guards, who are all Donsky, amounts to three regiments,
of 1000 each. The number employed in Persia and Caucasus I could
not learn. In the year 1805, a corps of seventy-two regiments, of
560 men each, marched under Platof, the Ataman of Tcherkask; but
received counter orders, as it did not arrive in time for the battle of
Austerlitz. At Austerlitz, only six hundred Cossacks were present. The
peasants near Austerlitz spoke of them as objects of considerable ap
prehension to the fj-e«cA cavalry ; particularly the cuirassiers, whose
horses were more unwieldy. These Cossacks, Platof said, had suffered
dreadfully, as they were for some time tbe only cavalry with the Rus
sian army, and, before the Emperor joined Kotuzof, bad lost almost
all their horses with fatigue. During the quarrel of Paul with Eng-
land, he assembled 45,000 Cossacks, as it was believed at Tcherkask,
lo march to India. I saw the plan was not at all unpopular with Platof
^nd his officers. Platof 's predecessor-was the last Ataman who was
in possession of all his antient privileges. He had often, by his own
authority, bound men hand and foot, and thrown them into the /)om.
l^euwas unexpectedly seized and carried off by the orders of the Em
press (CatherineJ, and succeeded, as General of the Armies of the
Don, hyMaff'ei Ivanovitch Platof, a fine civil old soldier, with the great
cordon of St, jtnne." Heber's MS. Journal.

384 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, the women is singular: it differs from all the
v,, -y— .,< costumes of Russia; and its magnificence is
displayed in the ornaments of a cap, some
what resembling the mitre of a Greek bishopi
The hair of married women is concealed under
the cap, which is covered with pearls and gold,
or it is adorned with flowers. The dress
of a Cossack girl is elegant ; a silk tunic, with
trowsers fastened by a girdle of solid silver,
yellow boots, and an Indian handkerchief worn
as a turban upon the head, A proof of Cossack
wealth was afforded in the instance of the
mistress of the house where we lodged. This
woman walked about the apartments without
shoes or stockings ; but being asked for some
needles to secure the insects we had collected,
she opened a box, wherein she shewed us pearls
valued at ten thousand roubles. Her cupboard
was, at the same time, filled with plate and
costly porcelain. The common dress of men in
Tcherkask is a blue jacket, with a waistcoat and
trowsers of white dimity ; the latter so white
and spotless; that they seem always new. The
tattered state of a traveller's wardrobe but ill
fitted us to do credit to our country in this
respect. We never saw a Cossack in a dirty
suit of clothes. -Their hands, moreover, are
always clean, their hair free from vermin, their
teeth whitCj and their skin has a healthy and

DON COSSACKS. 385
cleanly appearance. Polished in their manners, chap.
instructed in their minds, hospitable, generous, v  ,,— /
disinterested, humane and tender to the poor, M°annersof
good husbands, good fathers, good wives, good *° P«opi«-
mothers, virtuous daughters, valiant and dutiful
sons; such are the natives of Tcherkask. In
conversation, the Cossack is a gentleman ; for he
is well-informed, free from prejudice, open,
sincere, and honourable. Place him by the side
of a Russian, — what a contrast! ' Yet the author
would not be understood, in the eulogy he has
bestowed upon the one, or the censure he has
perhaps too indiscriminately lavished upon the
other, as having used observations without ex
ception on either side. The Russian v/omen are
entirely excepted ; and it is very remarkable,

(l) " The manners of the people struck us, from their superiority
to the Russians, in honesty and dignity, A Lieutenant at Petersburg,
who once begged alms from us, bowed himself to the ground, and
knocked his head on the floor. A Lieutenant here (Tcherkask),
who was imprisoned, and also begged, made the request in a manly
and dignified manner, and thanked us as if we had been his comrades.
" Both men and women are handsome, and taller than the Musco
vites. This name they hold in great contempt, as we had several op.
portunities of observing. The Procurator, the Physician, the Apo
thecary, and the Master of the Ac^einy, being distinguished by their
dress and nation from the Cossacks, seemed to have formed a coterie of
their own, and to dislike, and to be disliked by, the whole town. The
Postmaster said they were much improved since he came there ; that
then they would have pelted any stranger. We saw nothing of this
kind, except that, when we first landed, mistaking us far Russians,
some boys cried out, ' Moscoffsl^ Canaille .''-r Canaille has become a
naturalized word in Russia." Heher't MS, Journal,
VOL. I, 2 C

386 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, that little of the lamentable characteristics of
the Russian people ' can he applied to them. It
is Only in proportion as they recede from their
natural effeminacy, that any traits have appeared
to liken them to the men of their country : an
instance or two of this kind may have been
mentioned; but, speaking generally of them,
they have this only fault, if it be not rather a
misfortune, that of servility to the most abject
slaves.

(ij At the time of making this extract from my Journal, our Eng
lish papers are filled with the atrocities committed, not merely by their
common soldiers, but by their general-officers in Finland. An ac
count of them is published by the Lord-lieutenant of the county of
I^asa, to which his respectable name is affixed. Posterity may there
be informed what Russians were in the beginning of the present cen
tury, when a Major-general, Demidof, gave up the town of Fasa,
during five days, to plunder, merely because he could not retain its
possession ; and, assisted by another monster in a human form, the
Governor Emine, 'galloped through the streets, to give vigour and ac
tivity to a scene of murder, horrible cruelty, and devastation ; crying
out to his troops, Dobra .' dobral (Bravo! bravo!) as they were
bayonetting the weeping and kneeling inhabitants, mothers with their
infants, aged and venerable men, ladies of distinction, children, and
persons of whatever sex, age, or situation, " It instructs the world;
observes the Lord-lieutenant, "to describe their conduct; inasmuch
as it determines their national character ; and determines, with his
toric truth, that with barbarian slaves the character remains un
changed, notwithstanding the varnish put on by a sort of external
humanizing, produced by intercourse with civilized nations," In the
jiarish of Nerpis, Major-general Orlof Denesof caused three of the
peasants to be bound together : and this being done, to prolong the
pain and agony of the poor sufferers, the Russians pierced their
thigh,s, arms, belly, and other parts, with bayonets, before they killed
them.

DON COSSACKS. 387
Perhaps an anecdote, which may now be ^Jifj^"
related, will render the contrast between Cossacks ' — » — '
and Russians more striking. The truth of it,
owing to its notoriety, will not be disputed by
either party. When a quarrel among the Cossacks
causes them to combat each other, they fight,
as in England, with their fists, and never with
knives, daggers, or any similar weapon. This
practice is so established a characteristic of the
people, that it gave rise to a very remarkable
wager. Teplof and Gelagin, two of the late Hemark-
EmpreSs Catherine's privy-counsellors, chanced Wager.
to be in her presence, when it was told her
that a Cossack priest, then a monk in the Convent
of St, Alexander Nevsky, had been arrested for
cutting the throat of a young woman, whom he
had made pregnant, and with whom he had
quarrelled : upon this Teplof offered to wager
with Gelagin that the monk was not a Cossack.
The bet was made, and won by Teplof; the
monk proving to be a Russian. Being questioned
how he could possibly divine the probable
success of his wager ; " Because," said he, " no
Cossack would strike a woman : if he did, he
would use his cane ; not his knife,"

It was during one Sunday evening that Lieu- Survey of
tenant-colonel Papof conducted us over the
whole of Tcherkask. We walked a distance

388 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, equal to four miles without once being off a
>„¦¦,—, ^ bridge. The people were all in their best attire ;
and the sight on that account was the more
interesting. Frohi the high and narrow bridges/
single planks frequently lead off, as the only
mode of approaching the houses of the inha
bitants : these have covered galleries around
them. In those galleries, where the deal, of
which they are constructed, was as white as
water and the sun's rays could make it, sat the
old and respectable Cossacks; almost all of
whom, as we passed, pressed us to walk into
their houses and to regale ourselves. The water
flows beneath many of the buildings ; and all of
them are upon piles, in the midst of the flood'.
The prodigious quantity of timber consumed in

(l) " TVAerAosJ stands on some marshy islands in the riverif; The
houses are all raised on wooden pillars, and connected by foot bridges.
The foot-paths run like galleries before the houses. When we saw it,
every part was flooded, except the principal street, the great church,
and the market-place. The antic wooden cabins, mixed with the
domes of churches, tops of trees, and Calmuck tents, had an interest
ing effect, just rising from the water. The suddk still continued to
poison the air ; but the houses, notwithstanding the people are all
fishers, are neat. The Cossacks are much cleaner than the Russians'.
There is a spacious and antient cathedral, nearly on the same plan as
the Casan Church in Mosco. Detached from the rest ofthe building is a
large tower, which, at a distance, gives a faint recollection of St. Mary's
spire at Oxford. There are many other churches, full of very costly
ornaments. 1 never saw so many pearls at once, as on the head of a
Madonna in the cathedral. These treasures are the spoils of Turkey and
Poland." Heber's MS. Journal,

^ TCHERKASK. 38,9
the town, for houses, causeways, and bridges, chap.
is brought from the Volga, the Don being inade- ^^--v—-'
quate to such a supply. Formerly they had
walls to their watery settlement, but the inun
dations of the river have swept these entirely
away.- The principal part of the inhabitants are
exceedingly desirous to remove their Capital to
Axay ; this would increase its commerce, and
thereby add to its importance : the rest, who,
from attachment to the place of their nativity,
are still anxious to preserve the original situa
tion, propose to surround it agahi with walls,
and to form .channels, after a plan which would
make its resemblance to Venice greater than it
is at present; but the level of the water not
remaining constant, as in the Adriatic, and some
times varying full fifteen feet, prevents the
adoption of this plan. They neglect, however,
no opportunity to improve the town, forming it
as much as possible into streets when fires have
taken place and destroyed the old buildings,
and insulating the houses where they were too
closely situate. If any attempt should be
made to remove the town, little difficulty would
occur in transplanting the houses almost entire.
They are chiefly of wood, and, being placed
upon rafts, might be floated to the place of
their destination^.
(2) The capital has been since removed ; and now occupies a situa
tion upon ih&Jiuaropean. side of the Don, higher up the river.

390 DON COSSACKS.
*^^j^- They speak of moving a house in this part of
'- 'V- ¦¦' the world as a very trifling undertaking. When
Houses _ r> T>
moved en- Sir Charles Gascoigne went from Petersburg, to
preside over the foundry at Lugan, he paid a
visit to a gentleman about twenty-seven miles
distant from the establishment. Finding him
excellently lodged, in a well-furnished, hand
some, and very convenient house, " I wish,"
said he, " I could have such a building erected
for me at Lugan," His host replied, " If you
admire my house, it is at your service, exactly
as you see it ; and I engage to place it for you
at Lugan in the course of the week." A bargain
was concluded between them; the house was
moved ; and Sir Charles, who informed us of
the fact, resided in it when we were in that
country. The inhabitants of Tcherkask complain much
of want of room. Not a single house has a
court-yard ; the inhabitants are all huddled to
gether, as if they had dropped from the clouds
during a shower into the river, and only waited
the retiring of the waters to make their escape.
They are much troubled with mosquitoes, which
abound in all the neighbourhood of the Don\

(1) Edward Brown, who published, in the seventeenth century,
" A Discourse upon the Cossacks," mentions the swarms of flies and
locusts infesting their country ; which is the only faithful account of
their history contained in his work. Seep. 23. Lond. 1613.

TCHERKASK. 391
When stung by these insects, they observe great ^MjF-
caution in not scratching the wound; but are '-' <,- '
careful to bathe it, as soon as possible, with
alcohol. We found Goulard's lotion to be the best
remedy ; and, wanting that, salt mixed with an
equal portion of vinegar. There is not a single
spot in the whole town free from the annual
inundation. We found one dry place, near the
principal church; but this was traversed by
wooden causeways, proving that the usual pre
caution had been also there required, although
the spot were not actually then covered by
water. The street where most of the shops
are situate is floored with planks; and must
necessarily be very unwholesome, as all the
dirt, falling through, remains when the waters
retire. They are often troubled with fevers ; diseases of
•' the People.
although, when we inquired for a list of their
diseases, they said they seldom had any. The
greatest ravage is made by the small-pox.
Inoculation for that disorder had not yet been
introduced. The complaint they seem to dread
more than any other is called the disorder of
HAIRS. Gmelin mentions this malady*. Hair
is said to be generated in wounds of the bodies
of those whom it afflicts; We expressed our
(2) This is not the Plica Polonica, or Goschest, mentioned hy Brown
(p. 24. Lond. 1672). Gmelin says it is known in Russia and the
Ukraine, under the name folosez; and he attended a case of abscess in
Paulovsb which afforded him proof of the existence of such a disorder.
See Jtmmal des Savans Voyageurs, p. 1 46.

392 DON COSSACKS.
CHAP, incredulity to the wife of Lieutenant-oolonel
<, .,- J Papof; but she persisted in asserting that she
had taken them from her own finger, in the
presence of many witnesses. To cure this
malady, they apply the leaves of a plant some
what like plantain : this they say extracts the
hairs. We saw those leaves dried, and sus
pended, as a remedy for this complaint; but,
in their desiccated state, we could not exactly
determine what they were. Bihary obstruction
is a common disorder among the Cossacks. As
a cure for the jaundice, they drink an infusion
of ]the yellow flowers of a Gnaphalium, found
in all the steppes. Situate as they are, either
in mud yielding unwholesome exhalation, or in
water full of frogs, filth, and substances putre
fying as the flood retires, nothing could preserve
them from pestilence, were it not for their gr'eat
attention to cleanliness. The water of the Don
is unwholesonae, and it particularly disagrees
with strangers ; causing flatulency, with violent
paui of the bowels, and dysentery. Many of
the Russian rivers have the same quality ; espe
cially the Neva at Petersburg.
Greekim. ^ Greek brought to us some coins of the
postor. o
Emperor Constantine, proeured in TurRey. He
kept them, he said, for the cure of diseases of ^
all kinds ; and, in proof of their miraculous
power, swore, by all his Saints, that if any one

TCHERKASK. 393
of them were placed in a sieve, not a drop of Sj^j^f ¦
water would pass through it. As we laughed '¦-'¦-v— -^
at his folly, he was very desirous to make the
experiment; but we thought it too ridiculous
to merit so much attention. He seemed to
be the very Prince of impostors, and probably
sold his trash at high prices. He shewed to us
a piece of the true "Cross : this he said he had
brought from Jerusalem; and, having worn it
upon his breast, had thereby saved his life in
battle, as a bullet striking the pretended relic
had fallen harmless to the ground.

Having now satisfied our curiosity in the D'^p^rture

a/iask.

fiom
survey of this extraordinary place, we took Tcher-
leave of its inhabitants, and again embarked,
accompanied by the officer who had so politdy
attended us, and whose hospitality we had
often experienced, during the visit we had paid
to the Cossack capital. We left Tcherkask on
Monday the twenty-third of June, in the after-
o
noon, and sailed down the Don, to Axay. About
four miles' from Tcherkask is an island called
Nunnery Isle, or The Island of the Convent,
whence, as they relate, the Turks, in former
times, derived women for the seraglio of the
Grand Siguier. (1) Seten vasts.

CHAP. XIV.

CHAP. XIV.

VOYAGE DOWN THE DON, TO AZOF AND
TAGANROG.
Visit to the General-in-chief of the Cossack Army-'
Embarkation for the Sea of Azof — General View of
the South of Russia — De Rubruquis — Tahtars — Jr-
menian Colony of Nakhtshivan— Fortress of St, Demetry
Rastof— Division of the Don — Tumuli — Portress and
Village of Azof— City of Tanais — its probable Situa
tion — Condition qf the Garrison of Azof — Opinion
entertained of the Cossacks — Departure from A%of
— M.a:oTis — Remarkable Phcenomenon — Arrival at
Taganrog,
X HE morning after our return to Axay, we
received a message from General Vassily Petro-
vich Orlof, Commander-in-chief of the Cossack

DON COSSACKS. 395
army, stating, that he expected us to dine with chap.
him at his country-seat upon the Don, We set *-

XIV.

out, accompanied by our friend Colonel Papof General- *
and by a Greek officer in the Cossack service, ^^iecossack
whose name was Mamonof. The General had ^""^'
sent his carriage, with six fine Cossack horses,
and several Cossacks, mounted, with lances, to
escort us. We passed along the steppes; and
occasionally through vineyards, planted with
cucumbers, cabbages, Indian wheat, apple, pear,
peach, plum trees, and melons, for about ten
miles, till we arrived at his house, standing
upon the European side of the river, opposite
to the town of Tcherkask, and distant from it
about five miles. Here we found some elegant
and accomplished women amusing themselves
with a piano-forte; and afterwards we all sat
down to as magnificent a dinner as any English
gentleman could have afforded ; the whole being
served upon plate. The company consisted of
about twenty persons. The General presented
us with mead thirty years old, tasting like
Madeira wine. He wished very much for English
beer, having often drunk it in Poland, A number
of very expensive wines were brought round,
many of them foreign; but the best wine of
the Don seemed superior to any other. As we
sat banquetting in this sumptuous manner, we
called to mind the erroneous notions we had once

396 i>ON COSSACKS.
CHAP, entertained of the inhabitants of this country;
XIV. . , J '
^^ — ^^— ^ notions still propagated by the Russians con
cerning the Cossack people. Perhaps few in
England, casting their eyes upon a map of this
remote corner of Europe, have pictured in their
imagination a wealthy and enlightened society,
enjoying not only the refinements, but even the
luxuries, of the most civilized nations. Their
conversation had that polished and agreeable
cast which characterizes well-educated military
men. Some peculiarities, common to our an
cestors, and still retained in the . ceremonial
feasts of antient corporate bodies, might be
observed. Among these, the practice of drink
ing toasts, and of rising to pledge the security
of the cupbearer, may be adduced as remarkable
instances. Another very antient custom, still
more prevalent, is that of bowing to and con
gratulating any person who happens to sneeze.
The Cossacks of the Don always do this. When
we took leave of the General, he said, if we
preferred returning by water, for the sake of
variety, we might use his barge, already pre
pared, and waiting to convey us. Being con
ducted to it, we found it manned by ten rowers,
and decorated in a most costly manner. It was
covered with fine scarlet cloth; and Persian
carpets were spread beneath a canopy of silk.
The turrent being in our favour, we embarked.

VOYAGE DOWN THE DON. 397
and were speedily reconducted to our quarters chap.
in Axay. ' — , — -*
The next morning we bade farewell to the Embarka
tion for thi!
Don Cossacks; and, having placed our carriage seaofAzof.
on board a barge, sailed delightfully down the
river (often looking back at the fine view of the
o
town oiAxay and Tcherkask), to Nakhtshivan, an
Armenian colony, established about twenty years .^rmenian
before our arrival : this had attained a very flou- N-akhtsiu-
rishing state, even m that short period'. Its

(l) "A verst (by land) from the fort of Rostof, is a large Armenian
town, called Nakitchivan, after the antient town of that name. We
spent thc evening in looking over it. They affirmed that it contains
1500 families. It has four churches, and two very large bazhrs, which
are very much crowded, and have great appearance of industry. We
had a letter to one of the principal inhabitants, who had the rank of
Colonel, and whose son was one of Mr. Andre's pupils (of Rostof),
and our interpreter. His name was Abraamof. I found that Armenians
usually expressed their names in this manner, from the Christian names
of their parents, yet with the termination in qf, which is a mark of
gentility. This inan had two sons in the Russian navy ; and possessed
the reputation of great wealth. He knew Lazarof, who sold Orlof
the great diamond ; and described in strong terms the misery and
anxiety the Armenian had felt while it remained in his possession.
His house was well furnished, and had a billiard-table, and many other
European luxuries ; all however sat cross-legged, except the master,
whose dress also was something after the European mode. He had
several curious sabres and poignards richly ornamented, which he exhi
bited with much pride. He said, himself and the greater part of his
fellow townsmen had emigrated from the Crimea during the distur
bances there ; that they had this situation given them, and a charter,
by which they had the same privileges as their countrymen at Astraehan,
The principal trade of the town is in leather. The women are almost all

398 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, inhabitants were derived from the Crimea. Thev
XIV. •'
v„, »y— n./ had about four hundred shops : these were all
placed in one great covered building, after the
manner observed in Moscow. The towns near
the mouths of the Don present the traveller
with a novel and varied picture of society. He
encounters half-a-dozen different nations and
languages in the same number of minutes ; and
each nation in its peculiar dress. As we ap
proached the Armenian settlement, we beheld
all veiled, but those we caught a glimpse of were extremely beautiful.
Their veils were very carelessly disposed, and they betrayed no timidity.
The men are also handsome ; but they have a Jewish expression in
their coutenauce. The Russians declare they have all a natural un
pleasant odour, like that we attribute to the Jews. They dislike them
greatly ; and have a proverb, ' Two Jews equal one Armenian ; two
Armenians one Greek ; two Greeks, one Devil.' Tbe Armenians, it is
well known, are a very favoured sect by the Russian Government ; and
many of the noblest families have a mixture of their blood. Of these
are Dolgorucky and Bagration. Joan the First gave the title of Kn(es
to great numbers of Armenians, and permitted to all a free trade and
settlement, with full liberty of worship, and even of making their
processions openly. They have a magnificent church in Petersburg,
and many in Astraehan and Casan. Their enterprize and activity are
well known. Mr. Anderson of Petersburg told me he knew one who
had been twice to Bassora, and once to Sarmacand and Tibet. I asked
Abraamof if such journeys were common ; and if they could take an
European with them, as their servant, or in any other disguise. He
answered both these questions in the affirmative. He himself had
been in Georgia, and many parts of Turkey, but never farther. We
observed several Mahometans, at least persons in green turbans, which
no Armenian would wear." Heber's MS. Journal.
As the green turban is a mark of high distinction in Turkey, and the
Armenians of Nakhtshivan are under no fear of oflendmgMohammedans,
perhaps. they are worn merely iu consequence of . the freedom they
here enjoy.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 399
Tahtars, Turks, Greeks, Cossacks, Russians, Italians, chap.
Calmucks, and Armenians ; these, together with v , -y- >

our English party, formed a representation of
the costume of nine different nations within the
compass of a quarter of an English mile. The
Tahtars were fishing in the river, or driving
cattle towards the town; the Turks were smoking
in their coffee-houses; the Greeks, a bustling
race, were walking about, telling lies, and barter
ing merchandize ; the Cossacks were scampering
in all directions on horseback ; the Russians, as
police-officers, were scratching their heads ; the
Italians appeared as Venetian and Neapolitan
sailors ; the Calmucks jabbering with each other;
the Armenians, both men and women, airing in
droskies; and the English staring at them all.
Towards the Don, and especially towards its
embouchure, Tahtars are found in great num
bers; and this race of men appears in journeying
hence, westward, the whole way towards the
Dnieper, in all the towns by the Sea qf Azof,
and in the Crimea, and throughout the dreary
plains lying to the north of that Peninsula.
All the South of Russia, from the Dnieper to General
the Volga, and even to the territories of the soutfi°of ^
Kirgissian and Thibet Tahtars, with all the North ^"'"'"¦
of the Crimea, is one flat uncultivated desolate
waste, forming, as it were, a series of those

400 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, deserts bearing the name of Steppes. The
'¦¦ i-v- ~> very earliest adventurers from the civilized
parts of Europe to these remote and barbarous
regions, found the country exactly as it now
appears. A faithful description of its features
occurs in the narrative of W. de Rubruquis, who
was employed as a missionary about the middle
of the thirteenth century', " We journeyed,"
says he, " towards the East, with no other
objects in view than earth and sky, and occa
sionally the sea upon our right (which is called
the Sea. of Tanais), and moreover the sepulchres
of the Comani ; these seemed about two leagues
dfstant, constructed according to the mode of
burial which characterized their ancestors."
What the land of the Comani was, is clearly
ascertained by the Voyage of the Ambassador
from Pope Innocent the Fourth to Tahtary, in the
year 1246, as taken out of the thirty-second
book of the Speculum Historiale of Vincentius
Beluacensis^. " We journeyed through the
(1) " Ibamus ergo versus orientem, nihil videntes nisi coelum ct
terram, ct aliquando mare ad dextram, quod dicitur Mare Tanais, et
etiam sepulturas Comanorum, quE apparebant nobis a duabus leucis,
secundum quod solebant parentelae eorum sepeliri simul." Itinera-
rium IV. de Rubruquis, anno 1253. See Hakluyt, vo\. I. p. 80.
(2) " Ibamus autem per terram Comanorum, qiias tota est plana,
et flun'na quatuor habet magna. Primum appellatur Neper (Borys
thenes) ; secundum af^ellalur Don (Tanais) ; tertium dicitur Volga
(Rha) ; quartum nominatur Jaec (Rbymnus)." lb. p. 47.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 401
country of the Comani : this is all flat, and has ^j?™
four great rivers. The first is called Neper "¦ y -'
(Borysthenes) ; the second is called Don (Tanais) ;
the third is named Volga (Rha); the fourth is
denominated Jaec (Rbymnus)." Thus it appears
that the Comani, the ancestors of the Cossacks,
had established themselves as far to the west
ward as the Dnieper, before the middle of the
thirteenth century; and considerable light is
thrown upon a very obscure part of antient geo-
sTaphy by the documents thus afforded. W. de oeRuh-u-
<^ 1. .1 .1 ^ (juts.
Rubruquis himself, in another passage of his
Itinerary, extends their limits as far westward as
the Danube ; and says, that the whole country,
from this river to the Tanais, was inhabited by
them. The western part was called Casaria,
the country of the Cazars, Cassars, or Cossacks,
as they are now called. Nothing can be more
faithful than the account he has left of these vast
solitudes, where there is neither wood, nor
mountain, nor stone ^,

(2) " Tendebamus rect6 in orientem ex quo exivimus prsdictam
provinciam Casarite, habentes mare ad meridiem, et vastam solitudi-
nem ad aquilonem : qu£e durat per viginti dietas alicubi in latitudine :
in qua nulla est sylva, nullus mons, nullum lapis. Herba est optima.
In hac solebant pascere Comani, qui dicuntur Oapchat. A Teutonicis
verb dicuntur Valani, et provincia Valania. Ab Isidore vero dicitur a
flumine Tanai usque ad paludes Meotidis et Danuhium Alania. £t
durat ista terra in longitudine a Dauubio usque Tanaim - - - quie tota
inhabitabatur a Comanis." Hakluyt, vol. I. p. 80.
VOL, I. 2d

XIV
¦
Tahtars.

402 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
^^^^- The Tahtars near to the Sea of Azof are a small
race of men, but not so ugly as to answer to the
descriptions given of them. They disfigure them
selves very much by pressing their ears forward
with the lower rim of their caps, from their
tenderest infancy : in consequence of this prac
tice, their ears protrude from the sides of their
heads, and front the spectator. Some of those
who passed us at Nakhtshivan looked fearfully
wild, appearing in the rude and perhaps primeval
dress of the first shepherds of the earth.
Their bodies were almost naked: over their
shoulders were loosely suspended the undressed
fleeces of their sheep, fastened with a single loop
in front. Upon their heads, and about their loins,
they had a covering of the same nature; and
upon their feet they wore those sandals of linden-
bark of which a representation has been given
as a Vignette to the Tenth Chapter of this
Volume, A similar costume is sometimes repre
sented upon the Grecian terra-cottas, and it is
also exhibited by the sculpture of Antient
Greece \

Armenian NakhtsUvan offcrs au example of that enter-
ot^Nakhi- prising commercial spirit which is characteristic
shivun.  (1) Among the earthen vases described and published at Naples,
there is a costume of this kind, upon a male figure, who is delineated
checking two furious horses.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG, 403
oi Armenian merchants. They are not naturally chap,
a lively race of men. The Armenians are almost
as grave as the Turks, and they have aU the
boorishness of Dutchmen ; insomuch, that this is
a common saying with European merchants in
Constantinople; "A sportive .^^r7ttenza?? is as awk
ward as a dancing bear," Yet, instigated by
commercial speculations, these men traverse all
countries, and overcome surprising obstacles ;
frequently making journeys to India, and to the
most distant regions of the earth. Their com
modities and their manufactures, as far as we
were enabled to judge of them, appeared to be
Turkish, and of a nature to find a ready sale in
Axay and in Tcherkask. They supply all the
fairs of the neighbouring provinces ; and these
fairs afford the most extraordinary sights in
Europe, because they are attended by persons
from almost every nation. There is scarcely a
nation, civilized or barbarous, which has not its
representative at the fairs which are held along
the Sea of Azof , and upon the Don; but parti
cularly at the great fair of Nakhtshivan. The
Hamaxobii of Herodotus then make their appear
ance, as in the days of the historian ; travelling
in vehicles, the coverings of which are their tents
by night, and tilts for their cars by day^ Such
(2) See the Vignette to this Chapter.
2 D 2

404 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAT, moveable dwellings may be noticed in all the
V— , — ' territories of the Tahtars,

We entered the quarter where the shops are
stationed. It is a very lofty covered street, or
cloister, surrounding a square, after the manner
of the Palais Royal at Paris, Every trade, has
its peculiar station assigned, as in the bazars of
Constantinople; and, according to the rule ob
served in Oriental bazars, the floor of each shop
is made level with the counter ; the dealers
sitting at their work, as in Turkey, with their
legs crossed beneath their bodies. The shops
were all well stored, and a rapid sale was going
on. Their owners, in many instances, were really
Mohammedans, who manufactured slippers, san
dals, and boots, in coloured leather. Among other
tradesmen, we observed tobacconists, pipe-
makers, clothiers, linen-drapers, grocers, butch
ers, bakters, blacksmiths, silk-mercers, dealers
in Indian shawls, &c. Their bakers make bread
of a very superior quality. According to a salu
tary ^ira^ic custom, it is publickly made, and
publickly baked ; so that the whole process of
preparing the most important article of food
is open to the inspection of every one.
The crowd passing before their shops re
sembled a masquerade, where the costly
embroidered vestments of rich Armenian mer-

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 40,5
chants' were contrasted with the coarse chap. XIV,
hides covering wild Tahtars, the long furred
pelisses of the Turks, the military, but simple,
garb of the Cossacks, the uncouth uniform of
the Russian police, and the greasy trappings
of the Calmucks.

We visited a Turkish coffee-house, the most
favourite rendezvous of the inhabitants. On
the Tight hand as we entered, and upon a raised
floor like the counters used by English tai
lors, were squatted a number of merchants,
reclining upon cushions, with long pipes in
their hands, smoking, and drinking coffee. As
we joined the party, we were presented, ac
cording to the usual custom, with kindled pipes
(having tubes made of the wood of the cherry-
tree, tipped with amber), a small cup of coffee,
and a bit of wood of aloes ; this, being put
into the bowl of each pipe, exhaled a refreshing
and pleasing fragrance. In a corner of the

(l) The costume of the Armenian women ot Astraehan is the richest
in Russia. It is surprising that they sustain the weight of their dress.
The first, or inner robe, is of silk and gold ; the second, of black
velvet, heavily laden with gold and pearls. The third, or outer vest,
is almost of massive gold, in ponderous embroidery, with large gold
knobs, gold buttons, gold tassels, gold fringe, &c. &c. The turban
is white, hangs over the left shoulder, and conceals the face, except
the nose and eyes. The only hair disclosed is often false ; two thick
locks, one on each side, being brought in front before the ears.

406 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, apartment stood a vase, containing blossoms of
the large Iris, called, in England, Flower de luce.
It served as a kind of sign to the box whereon
it was placed, in the lid of which was a small
hole to receive the contributions of those who
had received refreshments in the house. Some
Turks, who were present, seemed really to be
breathing fumes of tobacco. They inhaled
lurge quantities of smoke upon their lungs,
and, after retaining it there until their features
became distended with suppressed respiration,
yielded back curling volumes, as from a chim
ney, through their nostrils, their mouth, and
their ears'.
According to Pallas'^, the origin of the Arme
nian establishment at Nakhtshivan was the emi
gration of the inhabitants of the Crimea, when
Suvorof withdrew with the Russian troops, and
peace was concluded with the Tahtars. At
that time the most opulent Armenian mechanics
and merchants, together with the major part of
the Christian inhabitants, upon whom the whole
of the productive industry and commerce of
the Peninsula depended, left the Crimea late in
(1) The Chinese, and other Oriental nations, perforate the drum ot
their cars for this purpose. It is not however common for Tto'fo to
undergo that operation.
(2) Travels through the Southern Provinces, &c. Vol. 1. p. 476.

Ta AZOF AND TAGANROG. 407
the autumnal season. The Empress ordered ^^xivT'
proper buildings and accommodations to be
prepared for their reception upon the Don ; but
the Russian commissaries took especial care to
convey into their own pockets the money
allowed to complete the work according to the
intentions of their sovereign. When the Arme
nian colony arrived, they found a parcel of
miserable huts, constructed in the most expe
ditious and most wretched manner. These
have since been converted into neat and
comfortable dwellings : many of them are of
limestone, and they are covered with tiles : in
the manufacture of these tiles, as well as of
earthenware in general, the inhabitants are very
skilful. Other Armenian settlements, belong
ing to the same district of Rastof, are in the
neighbourhood, and all of them in a flourishing
state. The Armenians are much respected in
the country ; their industry, their sobriety,
and their general moral conduct, render them a
most important acquisition to the Russian em
pire. Their whole population, however, in
cluding persons of both sexes, and all the
Armenian settlements in the district, does not
amount to eight thousand'.
(3) Pallas estimates it at 7000, Ibid, p. 480,

408 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
cH^. Again embarking upon the Don, we pro
ceeded from Nakhtshivan to the fortress of St.

st. Deme- Demetry Rastof, about a mile lower down the
try Rastof. j.jygj.i_ j^ ,^^3,8 a placc of grcat importance
when the Turkish frontier was nearer. The
Don is here much broader and deeper : in con
sequence of this, the vessels from Woronetz,
unfit to encounter the sea, are broken up, and
their cargoes, the product of Russia, shipped
on board lighters and small vessels, and sent
to Taganrog, to load the vessels lying in the
(!) Mr. Heber performed a journey from Taganrog to Rastof hy
land. His observations concerning the latter place are therefore pe
culiarly appropriate, and serve to supply the deficiency of our own.
" Here it is that the barks from Voronetz are broken up, and the
goods embarked from Taganrog. We saw about sixty lighters lying
in the river, many large enough to perform the voyage to Arabat.
Some of these, which we pointed out, they told us bad made voyages
all the way to Caffa. There is a large brewery, producing very detest
able beer and porter. The distilleries are numerous, and, if we un
derstood right, pay no duties, unless sent inland. The banks of the
Don are covered above by vineyards, and below by stinking Sudak, a
large white fish, drying in the sun. Fish are caught in great abun
dance and variety. The principal kinds are. Beluga, Sturgeon, Ster
let, and Sudak. There are also myriads of Prussian Carp, which, with
all the refuse fish, are heaped up in great dunghills among the black
circular tents of the Calmucks. The Cossacks pay no duty on salt,
' if it be for their own consumption. The fortress is just above the
town ; it is extensive, but ill situated. In it is a small garrison, and
a school kept by an old Frenchman of the name of Andr^. He had
about twenty pupils, who were taught French, German, writing, and
geography. They were all very little boys. We had a letter to the
Master,' aud found an old man in a sheep-skin, which would have
turned the stomach of a Mushick, sitting down to dinner with his
flock." Heber's MS. Journal.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 409
roads, off that place. The Governor, both of chap.
' '^ XIV.
Azof and of Taganrog, resides at Rastof; al
though those places have each their superior
resident officer, who is called Commandant.
Rastof is garrisoned by Russian troops. We
found it in a deplorable state of neglect. The
Cossacks of the Don claim the territory upon
which the fort is built, as well as of the land
where the Armenian settlements in its vicinity
are .founded. We could learn no other reason
for this, than that these Cossacks have the care
of conducting the mail. Indeed, the generality
of them seemed to consider their land as limited
by a boundary between Axay and Nakhtshivan.
In an empire, so little settled as that of
Russia, whose southern frontier is continually
advancing, by encroachments daily made upon
the territories of other nations, the limits of
any particular province are not likely to con
tinue long the same. Other travellers may pos
sibly arrive, and find the whole race of Don
Cossacks moved, and planted upon the sides of
Caucasus : and those of the Black Sea, the
Tchernomorski, so lately carried from the Dnieper
to the banks of the Kuban, may then be found
repelling the incursions of the Persians and
the Afghans, upon the southern shores of the
Caspian,

410 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP. Pursuing our delightful voyage with very
favourable weather, we advanced towards Azof;
and as we continued sailing, with Europe on
our right hand, and Asia on our left', reflections
were excited which contrasted the refinement,
the science, the commerce, the power, and the
influence of the one, with the sloth, the super
stition, the effeminacy, the barbarism, and the
ignorance of the other. One fact, at least,
may be derived from a general survey of Eu
rope ; namely, that there exists in no part of it
a savage people, as fixed inhabitants. Every
part of Europe is civilized. If the Nagay Tahtar,
the wandering Calmuck, or the nomade Lap
lander, be considered as belonging to a savage
race, which is nevertheless humane, it should
be observed, that these tribes are pecuhar to
no particular territory, but that they lead, like
the more ferocious gipsy, a vagrant life. It is
common to hear nations, which are situate
remote from our observation, branded with an
imputation of barbarism : yet it ought to be
confessed, that the peasant oi Ireland,the smuggler
of England, or the poissarde oi France, is alto
gether as unenlightened, more inhuman, and
possesses more of savage ferocity, than either
(1) " Quique duas terras Asiam Cadmique sororem
Separat, et cursus inter utramque facit."

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. . 411
the Laplander, the Tahtar, or the Calmuck, As *^^^-
for the agricultural Laplander, the mountaineer '  , 
of Norway, and the inhabitants of the north of
Sweden, there does not exist a better disposed,
or a more benevolent people.
Several villages are scattered along the banks
of this river; but they consist chiefly of
wretched hovels, constructed of reeds and
flags growing in the shallows of the Don :
having these objects only in view, the traveller
is presented with scenery which answers to the
description given of the wigwams and the
waters oi America, Soon after we had passed the
fortress of Rastof, we saw, as we looked back
towards the East, the whole of the settlements
upon the northepi side of the river, including
those of Rastof, of Nakhtshivan, and of Axay,
Here the Don is divided by the channel bearing Division of
the name of The Dead Danaetz; and the high * ^¦°''""
lands, upon which those towns are stationed,
continue to form the northern bank of that
branch of the river. We sailed along- the main
current, which flows, after this separation,
through a very flat and marshy country. The Tumuii,
only objects interrupting the uniformity of the
landscape are those antient sepulchres alluded
to in the passage cited from Rubruquis^, We
— . _ _„^ . . ^
(2) See p. 400,

412 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
chap, endeavoured to delineate a remarkable groupe
of them, consisting of five tombs, much larger
than any of the others near the river ; these
have always borne the appellation of The Five
Brothers. They are upon the European side.
If Ptolemy s position of the flexion of the Tandis
can be Reconciled with the site of that remark
able deviation of the river which is called the
" Dead Danaetz," these tombs might be con
sidered as the actual monuments alluded to by
him', under the name of the Altars of Alex
ander. The (3oofi,o), or Altars of the Greeks,
were called Altaria by the Romans, ab altitudine,
from their being raised high above the grounds
In low flat countries, where there were nei
ther mountains nor hills, they raised artificial
ascents for their altars. But sacrifices were
offered upon the sepulchres of the dead, as upon
altars; and, consistently with this practice,
Alexander paid his vows, and performed rites,
upon the tombs oi Achilles and of Ajax^, when
he invaded Asia, and landed upon the Plain of
Troy; anointing with perfumes the 2r^Xa<
placed upon them, according to the custom of
the age. The same geographer places the
(1) 'Tiro Se rm 'EIHSTPOOHN to? Tm£i%s «erafMil ^(uma il ft 'A>.i|«»-
Sfou BUMOI. Ptolem. Geogr. lib. iii. v. 5.
(2) " Altaria ab altitudine dicta sunt, qubd Antiqni diis superls in
eedificiis ^ terr4 exaltatis sacra faciebant." Sext. Pomp. Fest. de
Verb, significatione.
(3) Dlodor. Sie. lib. xvii. See also Chandler's Ilium, p. 70.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 413
Altars of Cjesar yet nearer to the position of chap.
these tombs. To one or other of them they will '
probably hereafter be referred. In the mean
time, until we have better knowledge of the
country, and of its antiquities, we must leave
their real history undecided.
Among the various tribes dwelling near the
mouths of the Don and in the neighbourhood
of Rastof, the Tahtars are the most numerous.
Many absurd reports were in circulation concern
ing the danger of venturing among them. At
Rastof, in particular, we heard some fearful- tales
of robbers, and of the banditti of the steppes; but
had every reason to believe that all such stories
were without foundation.
The long-expected view of Azof at last pre- Fortress
-, . r 1 • • andVillage
sented itself before our eyes, making a conspi- of ^so/.
cuous and considerable appearance, and some
what corresponding with the false ideas we had
entertained of its importance. Its imaginary
consequence, however, as a fortress, vanished
the moment we arrived; for nothing can be
more wretched or insignificant. The figure it
has made in the wars between Russia and
Turkey has given it a place in our maps and
gazetteers ; although the meanest hamlet of
Kamchatka might dispute with it a title to

XIV,

414 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, notice. A handful of troops, aided only by their
bayonets, might take possession of it at any
time. The garrison consists bf a few worn-out
Russian invalids. The works, if such they may
be called, are abandoned to decay, and they
are situate below the village; so that, in the
event of an attack, there are several heights
which would command them. The village itself
stands upon a high ridge, and upon its lower
extremity is situate the fortress. From the
heights we had a view of the entrance of the
Don into the Sea of Azof, and plainly discerned
the town of Taganrog, across the water. The
mines of the fortress have been described as
very extensive, and considerable excavations
might be observed under the whole of the ram
parts ; but no use is now made of them, and
indeed the officers of the garrison were ignorant
for what purpose many of them were originally
designed. All that remains of the Turkish for
tification is a part of a wall, now a mere ruin.
The inhabitants shewed to us an old rampart
raised by Peter the Great, upon the opposite
side of the river, as it was used by him when
he besieged the place.
City of It has been generally supposed that the
Tanais. a' • r-
antient city of Tanais existed either upon the site
of Azof, or in its immediate vicinity : we were

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 415
particular in our inquiries concerning the site of 9^^^^.
it, both among the officers of the garrison and < — , — '
the other inhabitants. We also made such
research as the time allowed us would permit;
but not a trace of any former city could be dis
covered, neither had there ever been observed,
as a vestige, any of those remains which infal
libly indicate the cities of the Greeks. Of these,
broken pottery, as the most usual, owing to its
incorruptible nature, almost always serves to
point out the locality of Grecian cities, even
when medals and other marks of their topogra
phy have not been found. It is natural to con
clude, that if the Greeks ever built a city upon
this branch of the Don, it must have stood near
to its banks, and not at any distance from the
water. But the site of Azof is the only spot
near the river where it has been possible to
build. The rest is all a swamp, even the reeds
of which are annually inundated. To the east,
the south, and the south-east, the interior ofthe
country exhibits a parched and barren desert :
the rest is all one vast morass, consisting of
deep fens and water. If, then, upon the more
elevated soil, which affords a foundation to the
fortress and to the present village of Azof,
such a city as Tanais once stood, the immense
excavations carried on by the moderns, from
time to time, in the formation, and the reparation;

416 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, and the destruction of the citadel, must have
XIV.
\. ,- ^ brought to light some relic of antiquity;
either medals, or weapons, or vases, or sepul
chres : yet, in no instance, has there ever been
observed a single vestige or remnant of any
former settlement, except the citadel originally
founded by the Turks. Some of the senior offi
cers, who were well informed concerning every
thing that had happened here since the time of
Peter the Great, and among others the Com
mandant, declared that nothing had ever been
found of this description ; and maintamed, that
in all the countrj'^ about the place there was no
mark of the existence of any former city.
About fifteen years ago, some coins were dis
covered upon the shore of the Sea of Azof, fur
ther westward ; but the characters upon these
corns were described to us as Indian, or Chinese:
probably they were Tahtarian, or Turkish. If
proiiai,!e thcTe evcT did exist such a city as Tanats, we
of the City might expect to find, the traces of it at the
of AXAis. extremity of that northern embouchure of the
Don which was before mentioned, as bearing
the very name the Greeks gave to the city, in
the appellation Tdanaets, Danaetz. This channel
we had no opportunity of exploruig. Perhaps
some future traveller will meet vdth more
success ui the inquiry; and to further it, we
have afforded him a clue, in our Map of the

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG, 417
Mouths of the River. The place to which we chap.
'^ XIV.
would particularly direct his attention is now ...¦
called Sinovka; but he will in vain look for
Sinovha, or even for this branch of the river,
in any of the maps which were before pub
lished. The inhabitants of Azof amount to a small condition
number, including the garrison. There are not rison^of*"^"
more than fifty houses in the whole settlement, ¦^*^'
The officers quartered there complained, and
with reason, of their solitary and secluded
state of fife. Exiled from all intercourse with
the rest of mankind, because avoided even by
the tribes around them, and without a single
comfort to render human existence support
able, the joy our arrival diffused may be easily
imagined, " Englishmen" said the old Com
mandant, as he approached the shore, to wel
come our arrival, " are the only travellers who
would come to Azof if it could be avoided,"
Nothuig could be more insupportable, however,
than the maimer of their hospitality. No other
amusement was devised, but that of drinking,
shouting, and dancing. Some symptoms, at the
same time, of using compulsory measures to
prevent our departure, were manifested. Half
a century might pass, during all which period
VOL, I, 2 E

418 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, the inhabitants of Azof would see no faces
'-I V- I'' except those of their own garrison ; conse
quently, the most trivial novelties were regarded
with transport, and the coming of strangers
was considered as an event of more than usual
importance. We found them lost in indolence
and wretchedness, badly supplied with provi
sions, and destitute even of wholesome water.
The suspicious inquiries, and the insidious arti
fices, commonly practised by Russians in their
reception of foreigners, were for once laid
aside : but in their place were substituted bois
terous greetings, and the most troublesome
importunities. Our appearance at this time
was certainly rather calculated to excite cu
riosity. We had not less than four large bobact
living constantly in the carriage, whose ravages
were visibly displayed in all parts of its lining;
for there is hardly any thing these animals
will not endeavour to devour. Our interpre
ter, a Greek, the sallowest of his race, wore
a strange dress, in which the various habits of
Russians, of Cossacks, of Tahtars, and of the
people of his own country, were singularly
blended. Our wardrobe, scarcely less remark
able, betrayed evident marks of the casualties

(1) See pp, 325—328,

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 419
and the disasters incident to a long journey.
We had, besides, several large books filled with
plants for our herbary, some minerals, a few
stuffed birds and quadrupeds, boxes of insects,
thermometers, pots, kettles, half a cheese, and
a vinegar cask. The soldiers of the garrison
seemed to be more astonished and amused by
the appearance of the bobacs than by any thing
else ; and the bobacs, participating equal sur
prise upon seeing them, sounded their loud and
shrill whistle whenever they approached, A
concert and supper were prepared for us in the
evening; and a veteran officer, General Pekin,
seventy-three years of age, was brought in a
chair to see the two Englishmen, He had been
celebrated both in the Prussian and the Russian
service, and now lived upon a pension at Azof
This venerable soldier expressed himself so
much rejoiced at seeing us, that, in spite of his
years and infirmities, making one of the officers
stand up with him, he insisted upon exhibiting
the Russian national dance.
The contrast, before made*, between a Cossack
and a Russian appeared very striking in this
voyage down the river from Axay to Azof, }n

(2) See"p. 3B5.
2 E 2

420 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
"^-.^P- the course of a smgle day, we had break-
aX V«
^ -y -' fasted with one people, and were compelled to
sup with another ; — compelled, because the con
sequences of refusing such mvitations are very
serious in this country, especially if these in
vitations are made by petty officers of the
Russian army; who have always the power,
and generally had the inclination, when we
visited Russia, to embarrass and impede an
English traveller; The distance between the
two places does not exceed forty-five versts.
We had left the Cossacks with sorrow, and full
of gratitude for the politeness and the liberal
hospitality we had experienced : the very sight
of a Russian, under such impressions, it may
be conceived, was doubly revolting to us. Let
Opinion the Reader then imagine what our feelings were,
entertained ° °
ofthe Cos- when, as we landed at Azof, an impertinent
young Russian officer, belonging to the garrison,
demanded the motive which could have induced
us to venture among a people so ferocious as
the Cossacks. Instead of gratifying his curiosity,
we ventured to question him; and asked him,
whether he had ever visited them. " Never !"
said he : " we consider them as so many wild
beasts. It is true, they are rich; but God
alone knows what they do with their money, or
how they obtain it : we never see any of it."
We could only refrain from replying with some

sacks.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 421
indignation : " You shall hear how they obtain ™^^-
it ; and what they do with it ; and why you '- -y.-. >
never see any of it. They are industrious mer
chants, and derive wealth by commerce : they
are good husbands and fathers, providing for
their families, and educating their children:
and you never see all this, because, as you con
fess, you never visit them."
We succeeded, with great difficulty, in ob- Departure
iroraAmf,
tainmg leave to quit the place the following day.
General Pekin lent us his assistance ; and it was
owing chiefly to his interest that twenty soldiers
were ordered to attend by day-break, and to ,
assist in towing the boat against the current ;
as it was necessary to re-ascend a part of the
river, and to proceed towards the sea by one of
the mouths through which the Don disembogues
itself, nearer to Taganrog than that branch of it
upon which Azof is situate. We took leave of
our boisterous entertainers soon after midnight,
most of whom were by this time more than
" half seas over ;" and, in order to secure our
retreat, we determined to pass the night in the
boat. It was still dark, and dreadfully tem
pestuous. A thunder-storm came on, and the
wind blew with the fury of a hurricane. As
we passed the sentinels, to go towards the
river, vivid flashes of lightning disclosed to us,

422 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
CHAP, at intervals, our carriage tossed about in the
Si I,,-..' boat, as if in a gale at sea. We succeeded,
however, in getting on board; and presently
such a deluge of rain ensued, that we were glad
to seek shelter with the bobacs, whose natural
somnolency was not proof against such violent
concussions, and who were thrusting their noses
between the blinds of the windows. We never
experienced such a tempest. During aU the
rest of the night, the- water seemed to descend
as from a cataract, beating through the very
roof of the carriage, and entering by every
crevice. As the day dawned, the rain ceased
to fall : but the wind continued as before. Our
servant arrived from the fortress, having suc
ceeded in mustering the soldiers. We encou
raged them by liberal offers; and soon after
wards we had the satisfaction to find, that,
although our boat's motion was hardly progres
sive against the united force of wind and tide,
we were actually leaving Azof
After a long and very obstinate struggle,
during which our boatmen were nearly ex
hausted, we at last reached that branch of the
river along which we were to steer with the
tide towards the sea. It is called the Kalancha.
Here we rewarded and dismissed our assistants
from the garrison, hoisted our canvas, and,

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 423
falling very rapidly down the current, sailed chap.
into the Palus M^otis. The mouths of the ._ ^ ' ^
Don are thirteen in number. In other respects,
this river, by its shallows and islets, its perio
dical inundations, its rapidity and rolling eddies,
perturbed by slime and mud, its vegetable and
animal productions, bears, as was before re
marked, a most striking resemblance to the
Nile, The inhabitants of all this part ofthe Sea of
.^zo/" maintain that its waters annually diminish.
A remarkable phsenomenon occurs during vio- Remark-
lent east winds : the sea retires in so singular a nomenon."
manner, that the people of Taganrog are able to
effect a passage upon dry land to the opposite
coast, a distance of twenty versts^ \ but when
the wind changes, and this it sometimes does
very suddenly, the waters return with such
rapidity to their wonted bed, that many lives
are lost'. In this manner, also, small vessels

(l) Rather less than fourteen miles.
(2) Similar changes are effected by winds towards the northern parts
of the Red Sea : and the author, being aware of this circumstance, had
availed himself of the fact, in thc first edition, to explain the passage
of the Israelites in their escape from Egypt. The allusion excited a
considerable degree of clamour ; some stupid bigots maintained that
the reconciliation of this event to natural causes amounted to a denial
of the truth of sacred history ; as if the miraculous interposition of the
Almighty in behalf of his chosen people, and in the overthrow of their
pursuers, were not as awfully manifested in " dividing the waters," hy
'' the wind and the storm fulfilling his word," as by any other means of
supernatural power. To hold an argument, however, with such bigots,
would be to as little purpose as to reason with Turks m matters of
religion ;

424 VOYAGE DOWN THE DON,
XIV.' are stranded'. We saw the wrecks of two,
' which had cast anchor in good soundings near
the coast, but were unexpectedly swamped
upon the sands. The east wind often sets in
with great vehemence, and continues for several
weeks. They have also frequent gales from the
west ; but very rarely a wind due north ; and
hardly ever an instance occurs of its blowing
from the south. This last circumstance has
been attributed to the mountainous ridge of Cau
casus, intercepting the winds from that quarter.
The sea is so shallow near Taganrog, that ships
performing quarantine lie off at a distance of

religion : the Note was therefore withdrawn ; although the plain text
of Exodus fully states {chap. xiv. 21.) that " the Lord caused the
SEA TO GO BACK BY A STRONG EAST-WIND, AND MADE THE SEA DRY LAND,
AND THE WATERS WERE DIVIDED; AND THE CHILDREN OP IsRAEL WENT
INTO THE MIDST OF tHE SEA UPON THE DRY GROUND."
(l) " The merchandize brought from Voronetz comes down to
Rastoif in barks which will not bear the sea, but are broken up there:
Their cargoes are again embarked in lighters, which convey them to
Taganrog, and to the ships in the road. As the wind changes to the
east, and the water grows shallower, they get farther and farther out
to sea, and are often obliged to sail without having completed their
cargo. This singular kind of monsoon takes place almost evSry year,
after Midsummer. The Governor said, it seldom failed. Storms are
not uncommon ; and the navigation is considered as very unsafe, by
reason of the numerous shoals, and the want of shelter."
Heber's MS. Journal.
Mr. Heber's orthography, in the names of places, has been followed,
whenever an extract is given from bis Journal ; the author not deeming
it lawful to subject so accurate a writer to any rules which he may
have laid down for himself, and to which, perhaps, he has not always
adhered.

TO AZOF AND TAGANROG. 425
fifteen versts^ ; and vessels, drawing frorn eight chap.
to ten feet of water, cannot approach nearer to v, -y,,^/
the town to take in their freightage.
The elevated situation on which Taganrog is Arrival at
built rendered it visible to us from the moment ''^°"'"°^'
we entered the Sea of Azof. The wind, how
ever, began to fail ; and it was night before we
reached the shore. Several of the inhabitants
came down upon our arrival ; and being after
wards provided with a tolerable set of apart
ments, we resolved to remain here for a few
days, that we might prepare our journey through
Kuban Tahtary,
(2) Ten miles.

A DRAUGHT of tlie Intended Com-
mutiication to be made betwefn the
EUXINIi and the CASPIAN SEAS.

S 10
iiiiqlcsh JMiles.

Lajla R.

Pasture Groimd

CHAP. XV.

EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC SHORES OF THE SEA
OF AZOF.
Taganrog — Commerce, external and internal — Canal of
Communication between the Caspian and Black Sea —
Marriage Ceremony of the Calmucks — Consecrated
Ensigns of the Calmuck Law — Difference between
their Sacred and Vulgar Writings — Sarmacand — Va
rious Inhabitants of Taganrog — Antiquities — Voyage
across the Sea of Azof — Chumhurskaia— Margari
tovskaia,
^xv^ Taganrog is situate upon the cliff of a very
lofty promontory, commandmg an extensive

TAGANROG. 427
prospect of the Sea of Azof, and all the Euro- *^!j[y^-
pean coast, to the mouths of the Don, Azof ^
itself is visible, in fair weather, from the heights
of the citadel. At present, the number of in
habitants does not exceed five thousand. The
water, as in the Don, is very unwholesome
when the winds carry off the salt water ; but
when a current sets in from the sea, it is more
salutary. The foundation of a town, intended
for the metropohs of the empire, in a place liable
to insuperable disadvantages, was not one of the
wisest plans of Peter the Great. The water
here is so shallow, that no haven could possi
bly have been constructed, unless by forming
canals at' an expense beyond all calculation.
The ships now performing quarantine lie off at
the distance of ten miles ; and all vessels,
drawing from eight to ten feet water, cannot
approach nearer to the town than fifteen versts.
Tagarirog. formerly contained seventy thousand
inhabitants ; but, in consequence of a capitula
tion made with the Turks, the original city was
entirely rased. Its revival may be referred to
the establishment of the Armenian colony at
Nakhtshivan. At present, all the best houses are
in its suburbs. The citadel contains a misera
ble village, full of ruins ; exhibiting, at the same
time, traces of considerable works, now aban
doned. The inhabitants entertain hopes that

428 TAGANROG.
CHAP, the Emperor will visit and inspect the place,
¦ . , " - and that it will then become a town of the first
importance in the empire. There is not any
situation in the South of Russia more favourable
for commerce, were it not for the want of
Commerce -yy^ater. Ships from the Black Sea &nd here, in
external '¦
and inter- readiucss for embarkation, all the produce of
Siberia, with the caviare, and other commodities
of Astraehan; whereas at Cherson and Odessa
they have to wait for lading after their arrival.
But it is only during three months in the year
that commerce can be carried on at Taganrog.
In Winter, the sea is fi-ozen, so that the sledges
pass upon the ice to Azof, During the short
season of their commerce, the rent of a single
warehouse upon the shore is estimated at four
hundred roubles. As soon as the first ships
make their appearance from the Black Sea, the
waggons from the interior begin to arrive'. The

(0 " From November to March the seals frozen, and navigation
seldom safe earlier than April. As soon as the ice is supposed to have
passed, a small vessel is sent from Taganrog to Kertch (in the Cri
mea), and vice versd. After this signal, the navigation commences.
From April to Midsummer a south-west wind prevails very steadily,
which greatly increases the depth of water, and favours the arrival of
vessels. About Midsummer the water is generally deepest, and the
sea crowded with small vessels. The harbour admits but few. Vessels
may then lie tolerably near the shore ; at other times, ships of two
hundred tons are compelled to lie in the open sea, fifteen versts (ten
miles) from the shore. In autumn, the Sea of Azof is often no more
than fourteen feet at its greatest depth. From Taganrog to Azof is a
shoal,

TAGANROG. 42&
vessels undergo a quarantine : during all which chap.
time the caravans continue to increase ; and ¦.-, -y- .>
before the end of the quarantine, not less than
six thousand waggons occupy all the plains
below the town. Of this number, three thousand
arrive annually from the Ukraine.
Taganrog has three fairs in the year: the
first upon the first of May ; the second, and the
principal fair, upon the tenth of August; and
the third upon the eighteenth of November,
The quantity of fishes taken in the Sea of Azof
is truly astonishing ; they are sent, in a dried

shoal, or continuation of shoals, with hardly seven feet water, and in
some places only five. The number of vessels is generally from six to
seven hundred. Of these, about one hundred and fifty, or two hun
dred, are small craft, from Trebizond and Sinope, which bring nardek,
a marmalade of grapes, and beckmiss, a sirup made from various
fruits by boiling them with honey. Raisins of the sun are also brought
in great quantities. All these are used in the distilleries. Since the
destruction of the vineyards, by the late hard winters, the beckmiss
has become more necessary. The spirit thus produced is sold all over
the empire as French brandy. The Greeks of the Archipelago bring
chiefly wine of a very poor sort, which is also used in the distilleries.
Of these Greeks, about one third carry the Russian flag ; but, as our
friend D  said, (a merchant who resided here,) ' Mauvais Russe,
Mauvais Pavillen.' They are of very bad character, and very poor.
Any Greek who would purchase a house and land, became at once a
Russian subject, and enjoyed their protection. The real Russian
traders are very few. The European traders were, Italian, Ragusan.
Austrian, and Dalmatian J and in 1805, a few French, but under English
colours, and with Maltese crews. These bring French wines, and
German and English cloth. They carry back fish and iron."
. Heber's MS. Journal.

430 TAGANROG.
chap, state, over all the South of Russia', Fruit is
^--v— ' brought from Turkey ; such as figs, raisins, and
oranges : also Greek wine from the Archipelago,
with incense, coffee, silk, shawls, tobacco, and
precious stones. Copper comes to them from
Trebisond, but of a very inferior quality : it is
all sent to Moscow, Among the principal ex
ports, are, caviare, butter, leather, tallow, corn,
fur, canvas, rigging, linen, wool, hemp, and
iron : of this last article above a million pouds^
were exported during the year of our visit to
the place. Their canvas is very bad. The
copper of Siberia is not brought to Taganrog,
as Moscow receives the whole produce of the
Siberian mines. Yet the greatest advantage the
town enjoys, is, in being the depository of
Siberian productions. From Orenburg they re
ceive tallow, fur, and iron : these, with the
caviare of Astraehan, have only the short pas
sage by land intervening between Zaritzin on the
Volga, and the Don ; a distance of forty Enghsh

(l) " In winter the greatest fishery is carried on. Holes are made
in the ice, at small distances ; and the net passed under from each ot
these to the next in succession, by means of a pole, until a large tract
is inclosed. Christmas is consequently as busy a time as Midsummer,
and a mild winter is ruinous." Heber's MS. Journal.
(2) A poud equals thirty-six pounds of English weight ; but some
writers, among others the translator of Pallas's Travels through the
South of Russia, &c. state it as equal to forty.

TAGANROG. 431
miles', where Peter the Great projected the ^^v^'
canal which it was Paul's intention to have com- ' — , — '
pleted. A draught of the intended communi- canai of
cation between the Euxine and the Caspian Sea, catio^br.'"
by means of this canal, was first published by '^^^n*"
Peny the English engineer, who was employed ^"^' -^''"^^
by Peter for the undertaking'. A part of Perry's
Narrative, concerning the conduct of the Russian
Government towards himself, is very interest
ing, because it betrays the false glare around
the greatest sovereign that Russia ever knew.
Peter the Great shuffling with his engineer, to
evade the payment of a few roubles, is a faith
ful archetype of all the Tsars, Tsarinas, Princes,
and Nobles oi the empire ; many of whom would
not scruple to defraud their own valet de
chambre ; having the meanness of their heroine
Dashhof, who, after losing thirty roubles to Segur
at cards, sent him thirty ofthe Royal Academy's

(3) The canal of communication between the Volga and tbe Don,
according to Perry, (p. 3.) would have been 140 versts, because it would
have followed the course of two other small rivers ; the Lavla, which
falls into the Don,&n<\the Camishinka,yiViQh falls into the Volga;
but the section for the canal would not much exceed two miles.
" Upon these small rivers," says Perry, " sluices were to be placed', to
make them navigable s and a canal of near four Russian miles (equal to
2|^ miles English) to be cut through tlic dry land, where the said rivers
come nearest together." A work like this would hot long be in agita
tion in England.
(4) See the Vignette to this Chapter; sXso Perry's State of Russia,
Lond. 1716.

432 TAGAI^ROG.
CHAI-. ahnanacs, hy way of payment'., The J^^^za?,
people cannot' be duly appreciated, exoegjpig
by those who have not only actually regidj^
among them,. but. who have seen them whe«
they are removed from intercourse withi,ciyi-
lized nations, and when they appear divested
of that external varnish which is so forciWy
alluded to by the Lord-lieutenant of the county
of Vasa, in the Extract annexed to a former
page of this volume''. Perry hardly expectej^
to meet with credit, when he gave his humbk^
representation of the hardship he sustained,,,
inasmuch as it affected the integrity of so lofty.
an individual; but further acquaintance W.jt|i;
the country has long reconciled his simple nar;
rative to all our notions of the people ^ ^
JEnglishman will probably pause before he coiki^
tracts for employment with any future Po|;entait^i;^

(1) See Memoirs ofthe Court of Petersburg, hy Segur,'vo]. II. jJ. \30'.
Jt was 5eg-Mr himself to whom this happened. - .*
(2) Page 386.
(3) " In thc mean timej his lordship {Apraxin, the Lord-CliaUer^'
lain^ upon h^s return to Moscow, informed me that he had.ordpr^
from the Czar to pay me my arrears, and he gave directions to his^^
deputy to bring in the account of what was due to me ; so that /
thought myseytiiop sure of my money : but the next time I waited upon
bis lordship, in discourse he told me, that his Majesty was so taken.up ,
witff the affairs of the army in Poland, that it would perfiaps he a long
tin^ before he would come again to Moscow, and have leisure to g*'
and view the place, and to give his orders, &c. &nd/pleasantly ashed «i?e>; '
whiil would do with myself in the mean time." Perry's State of
Ruisia,,p. 19. Lond.n\S. >.->,.}•

CALMUCKS. 433
of ifetSiifl. The canal has never been accom- ^^y^'
plished, neither is it likely to be so, without '- -i— '
the aid of foreign engineers; and these the
Russian Government may find difficulty in pro
curing. The Calmucks form large settlements in the
neighbourhood ef Taganrog. Their camps were
numerous at the time of our visit : both Calmuck
men and women were seen galloping their
horses through the streets of the town,
or lounging in the public places. Calmuck
women ride better than the men. A male
Calmuck on horseback looks as if he was intoxi
cated, and likely to fall off every instant,
although he never loses his seat : but the women
sit with more ease, and ride with extraordinary
skill. The ceremony of iiiiarriage among the Marriage
Calmucks is performed on horseback. A girl is oit^'cli-
first mounted, who rides off in full speed. Her """"**'
lover pursues : if he overtake her, she becomes
his wife, and the marriage is consummated
upon the spot : after this she returns with him
to his tent. But it sometimes happens that the
woman does not wish to marry the person by
whom she is pursued : in this case she will not
suffer him to overtake her. We were assured
that no instance occurs of a Calmuck girl being
thus caught, unless she have a partiality for her
vox. I. 2 p

434 OALMUCP.^
CHAP, pursuer. If ; she dj«lik(ps him, . she f id6Sjf,to uae
S«-v«s^ the, language of En^iah. sporitsm^n, '^'mtA.or,
nothing," until she has completely efiected her
escape, or until the; pursuer's horse becomes
exhausted, leavuig her at liberty to retiur», and
to be afterwards chased by some more-favouced
admirer. i.
We. visited one of their largest campSj;ii|8ar
the town. The earth all around their tents was
covered with the mutilated carcases of dse^
rats, cats, dogs, suslics, and bobacs : thetonh^of
Worses were placed upon upright, stakes, dry^l
in the sun. Their dogs are fierce an^inuB^er
rous. A dreadful storm had happen^cj; diuwg
the preceding night: we fqund the C^lfny^h
iu; considerable distresSi owing to the havoc the
tempest had made among their tents: some* of
these it had unroofed, and overthrow^,,fitbe);^.
Their High Priest, in a yellow dirty robe„ was
walking about to maintain order. To each teBt
conse- ^^^ affixed a small flag-staff, with an ensign f^
sPnt^ifthe scarlet linen, containing, in sacred charaqt^l^
Calmuck the written law of the Calmucks. By mea^s pf
Law. *'
an interpreter, who accompanied us upoi»4!uf
occasion, we were told that such bannerftjwepe
always erected in times of general calai»ity>, as
preventions of theft, and of intrusion uponseacb
other's property, Many of the bajcmers wbidi

CALMUCKS. 435
¦we' examined "were torn; and others were ^0 ^^v.^'
much effaced by use, that we could only discern '-"v"^
soflie of the written characters; yet all of them
were sufficiently entire to convince us that
tiifey were manuscripts, beautifully written Upon
6#Mired linen. It was therefore highly desir
able to procure one of these interesting docu
ments ; and we ultimately succeeded : but the
acquisition was inade with considerable diffi-
cuttjff. At first they would not suffer us even
to- touch them: being told, however, that we
wefe strangers in the land, that we came from
very distiant western countries, and that we
W'erfenot subjects of Russia, they entered into
dfttSttltation with each other : the result of this
^as" to assurance on their part, tha;t if we would
"pif the Priest iot the trouble of transcribing;
a fac-simile^of onfe of the banners then tised in
#1^ Camp should be brought to our lodgings in
Taganrog, This mtouscript, fairly \^ritten upon
scariet linen, wa's accordingly broHght, in a
Very solemn embassy, and veith-^ many curious
forms of presentation, by a party of the elder
Calniucks, headed by their Priest, the whole
^rty being in their best dresses. We had been
absent ; tod; upon our return, we found these
strtoge-looking people sitting upon^ the bare
earth, in the court-yard of the house Whete 'vfe
!^t6dgedv As we drew near, the Priest, in a kind
2 P 2

436 CALMUCKS.
of ^e/Zozi; frock, made a long speech. The sub-^
ttoce of this was to inform us, that their law,
esteemed sacred, had never been before^ suf
fered to pass from their hands; but as they
had been assured that we were great princes,
who travelled to see the world, and gather
instruction for our own people, they had ven
tured to consign the consecrated code to- our
use. They moreover desired us to observe,
that the character, in which it was written, was
als6 sacred : on this account they had' alsoi
brought a specimen of the vulgar character^ in
Diffirence dajlv usc amonff them. Their sacred characters,
between ¦' °
their vui- like those of Europeans, read from left to
gar aud Sa- • ¦ li
cred Wri- right, and are of the highest antiquity : these
are used in all writings concerning the Cctlmuck
law. The vulgar characters, such as they use
in their correspondence and in the ordinary
concerns of life, are read from the topito the
botjtom,- and they are placed in columns. We
have used every endeavour, but in vain, since
our return to England, to get this curibus
manuscript translated : neither has it been yet
satisfactorily decided in what language it is
vvritteH'. A gentleman of Taganrog, Mrl Kova-
lensky, irom whom we experienced map v' other
/ (l) The Author has been informed, since the poblicatign of thjs first
Edition, that it is Sancrit. The original is now deposited in th^
Bodleian Library at O^iford,

CALMUCKS. 437
acts of kindness, was our interpreter upon this
occasion. He spoke the Calmuck language with
great fluency, and said it was by no means diffi
cult to acquire. It is frequently used in Astra
ehan, and throughout all the tevxitoxxy oi Bochdrd,
whose inhabitants are principally Calmucks, We
had an opportunity of seeing some who had
traversed those remote and almost impene
trable regions. When we questioned them with
regard to Sarmacand, its once celebrated sarma
cand.
eapital,? they described it as possessing the
remains of former magnificence. Perhaps it also
contains many curious manuscripts; as the
Oalmucks are so well versed in the art of writing,
and hold certain of their manuscripts even
in religious veneration. Like all other Oriental
nations, they preserve many traditions re
specting Alexander, These remarks, in addition
to former observations, contain all the informa
tion we are able to afford concerning this re
markable people, the Hippophagi of Pliny, and
of the more antient historians. Their number
in the Russian empire has diminished since _the
establishment of provincial governments + and
;. the division of lands, owing to their being m^re
confined to fimited situations'. Frequentj. at
tempts have been made, and are -daily .making,
to iiiduce them to form a regular settlement ;
'-   '¦' .—.... ¦ , . ;  — — 1^ ¦ ., ¦, I ^
(3) See Pallas's Travels in Russia^ vol. I. pi-M5'. ¦

438 EUROPEAN AND ASIAtid SHORES
cHA,p. but, like all wandermg tribes, particulariy icft-
Itinders and Gipsies, they arfe so much accusfqmed
to- an uncontrolled and vagrant life, that ffb-
thing but extreme indigence can compel tli'em
to cultivate land, and to resi4e in any fixel^
hM)itation. ''
The country near Taganrog is a contiriua1;ibh
of those steppes which hate been so often (de
scribed, and which afford pasture to several
thousand cattle. It abounds with swarms of
the little quadrupeds before mentioned/ uhdei'
the name of suslic. Near to the town are small
plantations of trees, and particukrly some fine
oaks : these the late Commandant planted, and
they "flourish with other large trees near t|e
shore; We also observed crab-trees, arid' the
plant from which the Spanish Liquorice' is
obtained, in full bloom : the root of this was full
of juice, and had a very high flavour. The
inhabitants of Taganrog avoid planting trees'
close to their dwellings, on account pf the
swarms of mosquitoes which would thereby
be harboured.
The diversity of nations observable in, tT^e
various inhabitants of Taganrog is altogether
without example. Every street resembles a
(l) Glycyrrhiza glabra.

OF THE SEA OF AZOF, 4^0
raasquefade. We counted, at one time, t\\p in- chap.
diVicfuals of fifteen different countries assembled v»__,,--^
together ; and they were not more jremarkable J^^^^
ig the exhibition of their various costume, thaii y"*^°^^g.
for the harmony and friendship which prevailed
among them. No one seemed to regard the
either as a stranger. In their assboiations and
intermarriages, each individual preserves • his
mode of dress, tod exercises his rule of worship,
Tflfithout making the sniallest sacrifice to eti-
q;aette (by any alteration in his national habits),
pr^giving the slightest offence to the parties with
whom he is connected. Even the common dis
putes and petty quarrels, which are so frequent
in the markets of large commercial towns, ap
peared to be unknown among the motley tribes
which peopled this place ; yet Babel itself could
hardly have witnessed a greater variety of lan
guages. The fifteen nations, whose representor
tives we observed simulttoeously assembled,
may be thus enumerated :
1. Russians, 9. Frenph,
2. Greeks, 10. English,
3j Armenians, 11. Turks,
4. Nagay Tahtars" (Hamaxobii), 12. Italians, '
5. Calmucks {Hippophagi), 13, Malo-Russians, .
6. Cossacks^ 14. Prussians, , j ¦
7. Germans, 15i Hungarians.
8. Poles,
.¦;. ^_r . '  ¦  :  '  ^  *-^  .'i '•¦y./"':%^' jUOil'':
(i):" The Nagay Tartars begin to the west of Marinopol': they
cultivate a'good deal of corn, yet tbey'dislike biread as ah' article of
/ food.

i^j9 EUROJ!!!^ AND aSIAHIC 'SHORES
CHAP. ,I|.tl^e,<»mrnerce oi Taganrog should expejijtfciiBfe
^Eky-jcensiderable increase, we may reaiefaiapy

ties.

ig^nelude, ,from the present view of its inhabi-
(llg^, that.alrnost every nation upon eartib, wfil
,Jj||v^^jj^,tjSs.^gent,itfeerft.: nv.'i^. p'ndoih'i'^f' bsiiusv
31 bsristufnq bm imi .:-?-f',diW''-/i'i- tost -jioiJon
,, Tfie shores ofthe Sea of Azof, from the coirp-
rnerce carried On by the Antient Greeks in te
Euxine and in the Palus Mceotis, bring the itiai-
Andqui- vellex SO near to what may be deemed cks^
land, that an inquiry after antiquities Pughtiwt
to be neglected. We did not hear, however,
of any thing worthy of notice. . Tumuli aboknd
in all the i^ej&j&e* ,• and in working the cliffs foi'
the establishment of a magazine or store-house,
where one of those tumuli had been raised, in a
loose sandy soil, they had found an arched
yault, shaped like an oven, constructed of very
^arge square bricks, and paved, in a style of
mqst exquisite w^orkmanship, with the same
materials. If any thing were discovered by the
v^rprkmen who made this excavation, it was
concealed ; for, they pretended that its contents
wpre unobserved or disregarded. In allproba-
fopd. They extend from Marinopol to Perecop, along the coast of t)if
Sea of Zabasche. Their tents' differ from those of the Calmucks, as,
bjejijg! Ripre clumsy ahd never taken to pieces, they are carried'abBiit
onpirs. This usage they seem to have borrowed from the primitive
Scythian population. The Nagay tribes train their camels to the
yc(H)E!,Joriii(hich>they are ill-qualified, and whieh practice is dnKiiown
among all the Mogul tribes in Asia." Heber's MS. Journal.

OF THE SEA OP AZOF. 441
biUty, something of value was removed frorii the ^B^^-
sepulchre; as will appear by the description «- "v-«>"'
hereafter given of a similar tomb, opened upbn
the Asiatic side of the Cimmerian Bospotus. Such
vaulted sepulchres seem to render trivial ' the
notions recently entertained and published re
specting the antiquity of arches. The tumuli in
which such appearances have been discovered
cannot be considered as of later date than the
age of Alexander ; and perhaps they are much
more antient.
News arrived before we left Taganrog, that
the Cossacks of the Black Sea, or, as they are
called, Tchernomorski, inhabiting Kuban Tah
tary, had crossed the river Kuban with a consi
derable reinforcement under General Draskovitz,
9. Selavonian officer in the Russian service, and
had made war upon the Circassians, in order to
be revetiged for the injuries they had sustained
in consequence of the continual incursions of
that people in their territory. We had long
been desirous to traverse the Deserts of. the
Kuban, with a view to reach the districts at the
foot of Caucasus, and, if possible, to gratify
our curiosity by a sight of the Circassians in
their own. country. A favourable opportunity
seemed now to present itself; but even the
Dm Cossacks l^ad cautioned us against their

442 EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC SHORES
CHAP, brethren of the Kuban, whom they desbribed*as
XV.
^¦1 ,. -' ' a: lawless set of banditti; and our friendSiin

Taganrog considered the undertaking to be
hazardous in the extreme. Yet the experienee
which: had so often taught us that rumoured
' perils vanish when they are approached, and,
above all, the desire of explqring an unfcnoifni.
tract of land, encouraged us to make the un-
^roM die deftaking. In the evening of the third of July',
seaofAxqf. haviug placcd our carriage on board a wretched
flat-bottomed vessel, more shaped like a saucer
than a boat, we ventured among the waves and
the shallows of the Sea of Azof . The first part
of our voyage was as pleasant and as tranquil
as we could wish it to be; but having sailed
thrtjugh all the Turkish fleet of merchant' ships
in quarantine, as night came on, a gale com
menced with considerable violence. ¦ Our little
boat, heavily laden, with an enormous sail
which was very ill managed, seemed to be a'H
at once at the mercy of the sea. The direction
given to us had been, to steer south-eaist by
east. The only person on board with the
lightest knowledge of navigation, was a Frencfe
refugee at the helm, who pretended that he had
been a sailor: this man held the guidance. of
our vessel. By mere accident we notiCf d the;
Polar Star; and its bearing proved that weweffe
out of'Gur courses- ' IJpon this bur hetosiriati

OF THE SEA OF AZOF. 443
was asked, if he had not a compass. " Oh yes, chap.
a very good one," he replied: but, instead of '^-v--'
usingi-it, he had kept it safe locked in the chest
upon which he sat. The compass being pro
duced, it appeared that we were going due
south; and to prove the ignorance of mariners
ins these waters, who are all of them coasters,
it: may, only be mentioned, that our pilot, '
alarmed by his mistake, continued to turn the
box., containing the eompass, in the hope of
making the needle correspond with his wishes^ri
Finding that all was wrong, an instantaneous
and -fearful confusion ensued; We let go the
mainsail, and made an endeavour to lower it ;
but the rigging became hampered, and the gale,
fast increasing, bore the gunnel down; at the
same time, the carriage rolUng nearly over the
lee side, we shipped as much water as we could
barely sustain without sinking. Our first efforts
were to secure the carriage from another roll.
With all our force exerted, we held the wheelsy
while our terrified boatmen, half out of their
senses, were running over and against each
other. Veteran officers in the British navy have
often declared, that they encounter more real
dagger in what is called boating, than in doublJE^
the Cape of Good Hope during the "heavies t5
gE^s of wind : perhaps not one of them in such
a situation would have deemed it possible to

4M EUROPEAN ANO ASIATIC SHORES
chap, -save bur lives. We at last, however, suceeedM
-.\,,...v- •' in getting out a couple of anchors ; and having

lowered and lashed the carriage, so as to secure
it from any violent motion, passed the night in
aistate of extreme anxiety and terror. As the
morning broke, we discerned the Asiatic coast
towards the south; but the gale continuing, ;\«e
could not raise our anchors before noon ; when,
again getting under weigh, we sailed with more
moderate weather to the promontory of Chum-
bur&kaia, in Asia, where we landed our carriage.
einmbur- Thc village of Chumburskaia consists of a ieyf
skaia. miserable sheds, whose tenants were busied
hauling their nets, when we arrived. So prodi
gious was the draught of fishes made at eveiy
haiil, that the waggons stationed with oxen; to
darry off the produce of the fishery were inade
quate to its removal. A single haul was some
times sufficient to fill two or three of those wag
gons. The fishes thus taken were conveyed,to
a place for preparing them, belonj;ing to the
owners of the land : here, being first salji^,
they were exppsed for drying hi the sun. ^he
.variety caught was very great. We saw t^gp
idr,aw, out Prussian carp, pike, sturgeop, ^t^-
)|fift<.va sort of large bream, fish , resf iji^jftg
perchy but of very considerable size, and.thase
iriimehfee eJrawfish before mentioned. The shore

OF THE SEA OF AZOF. 445
at this place was covered with fine gravel, com- chap.
posed of shells and sand. Swarms of toads j-- '
and small serpents were crawling) or running
towards the sea ; the water, although unwhole
some, being so little impregnated with salt,
that these animals live in it, and the inhabitants
use it for drinking as well as for culinary pur
poses. . hlfio,v
Offi RTlf!
- Proceeding towards the interior, the view m
bounded by steppes, as upon the European side,
covered with tall luxuriant plants. " No lan-
gtiage," says Humbolt', " can express the emo
tion Avhich a naturalist feels, when he touches
for the first time a land that is not European.
yThe attention is fixed on so great a number of
objects, that he can scarcely define the impres
sion he receives. At every step he thinks
he discovers some new production ; and in
this tuihultuous state of mind he does not
recollect those which are most common in our
collections of Natural History." These ; re
marks are so strictly applicable to biir first feel
ings and observations upon landing in A^,
*^that we cannot avoid this insertion. A variety
bf new objects seemed immediately to piiMifefet
^themselves to our notice ; beetles of a g^gatelc
"'4,4.  :  . — -1-:-  :  . ¦> .li'-'taq
¦> >0 (0 "MUmboU's Personal Narrative," Vol. I, ji. «8, . , JifJ^r. WH-

446 SHORES OF THE SEA OF AZOF.
size, locusts, various-coloured insects, and
large green hzards, some of which were twelve
inches in lengtiiV Having brought a letter to a
Greek gentleman, whose commercial specula
tions, particularly in the fishery, had induced
him to fix his residence hi this country, we
Margari- fouud him at Margaritovskaia, another ^ihall
tovskdia. .^^Ug^gg^ £Q^f miles from Chumlmr skaia; and
caused our carriage to be conveyed to his
house. He was settled in a small colony of hid
own countrymen, the neatness" of whose cot
tages plainly distinguished them from all the
other inhabitants of the country. " I, .have
retired to this place," said he, " to be somewjteti
removed from the; shore ; as the natives along
the coast are not to be trusted." He gave tis
a supper of rice, milk, and pancakes, according
to the custom of his nation; and we should
have felt comfortable in his little dwelling,nhad
it not been for the revolting appearance of toads
crawling upon the floor. Reptiles, vermin, bad
air, bad water, and bad people, are among the
plagUes of Oriental territories; but. the small
district, we traversed in thispart of Asia, fEea®
the Moutlis of the Don to those of the-'KliMm
may vie in natural horrors with' any other' ^
have since seen. The roads at this season of
the year (July) were however excellent, aiid,
the post was very weU supplied. jatrooae

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

,-i J: AGE 11, line 16. "A most interesting and remar liable
fitenomenon,"'} — The same appearance has been SinCe ob
served near Camlridge, as numerous witnesses can testify,
and precisely under similar meteorological circumstances.
The stars were, if possible, even more perfect in their forms
than at Petersliwrg. This happened Jan, 16, at half-past ten
A.M. during the year of the publication of this Volume^ An
accoimt of it appeared in the Camlridge Chronicle,
P. 26, I. 8, 9. " Brought with them the pictures of the
Seiints."'2 — Broniovius, in his account of the city of Cher-
sonesus, has afforded historical evidence of the fact. "'Ex
ma monasterio duas portas eeris Corinthii, . , . , et Imagines
insigniores  Kioviam deportavisse," Martini Broniovii
Tar tar ia. L. Bat. 1630. The words Imagines insigniores can
oiidy apply to pic||ures : the Greek Church admitted idols of
no other form.
P. 153. Note (1.) '' It was founded, according fo Augustine,
in 1653, during the reign q/" Alexis."]] — The discordmit ac
counts which have been published of the age of this bell are
.¦owing to a circumstance I neglected' to notice : it has been
more than onCe founded. The first cast was made in ihe
r^gn of Boris Gudenof, and injured by a fire. The Empress
•Ajine, in 1737, caused it to be re-founded, with considOTable
augmentation of metal, when it was again damaged by J(ii;e,
Tfcis explains the cause of the different statements made,
¦ -, . ' - ¦',>.,¦ .-.i , ,- ~ '
concerning its weight and age, by different aumbi-l-; arid
accounts for the figure of the Empress Anne IvanovNa upSii
its exterior surface.

448 additional notes.
P. 199, last line of text : " A distinction of dialect,"'^—-
According to the classification ofthe Sclaves by ScAZossser, pre
served in theNotes to Storch' sTableau de laRussie, tom.I.p.lS,
that people admit of a seven-fold division ; they were either
Russians, Poles, Bohemians, Vendians, Illyrians, Hungarians,
or Turks, Perhaps I may some day be permitted to discuss
the interesting subject of the origin of these and other nations,
where its introduction will be less extraneous. The three great
progenitors, the Tahtar, the Arab, and the Goth\ have trani-
mitted to their progeny the clearest and most decisive marki
of the sources whence they were derived.. It is singular, that,
from their opposite and devious track, the descendants of
those families have all found their way to Europe. The Getcei,
established by right of long possession, were found concen
tered as a nucleus, when the Sclavi and the Moors, by the
most remote and unconnected operations, possessed themselves
of the borders.'
P. 339, 1. 22. " It bore then, as it does now, the name of
Danaetz."]] — Observations of a similar nature may have been
suggested to the compilers of the account of Muscovy,
published in Holland, at the Elzevir Press, in 1630; as ap
pears by the following passage : " Est et alter Tanais Minor,
qui in Siberiensi Ducatu oriens {unde Dunecz Severski vocatifr)
supra Azoph in Tanaim Magnum descendit." Descript. Mus
covite, p. 8. L.Bat. exOS,El»ev. 1630. -
P. 348, 1. 21. " The name Axay is a Tahtar word:''}-'The
initial of this word is properly a dipftthong, common in Swedert,
(1) By Goths, I would not be understood to mean ili6 Barbarians
who invaded the Roman Empire fi-om the East ; but the more antient
descendants of the GettB, wh'o, crossing the Dardanelles, peopled Thrace,
and were the origin, not only of the Teutonic tribes, but of the Greeks;
" Jn paucis remanent Graite vestigia lingua :
Hjcc (luoqucjam Getico barbara facta sono."
Ovi^..Trist. librV. Elf^.Vll,

ADDITIONAL NOTES. 449
¦consisting of A, with O placed above it. Mr. Heler therefore
writes it with the A simply. (See iVb<e to p. 34iS.) Its etymo
logy may be found in the Exopolis, or Axopelis, of Ptolemy.

p. 386, Note (1). "At the time of making this extract,"
'&c.^— In the Morning Post of the 6th of March 1810, the
following ejctract was given of a private letter from Abo, the
capital of Finland, respecting the atrocities committed there
by the Russians ,- bearing date Feb, 6th, of the same year.
Extract of a Private Letter from Abo, the Capital of Finland,
6th ultimo.
" It is with the deepest regret that I communicate to you
an account of the perpetration of atrocities, scarcely exceeded
by the memorable massacre on 5^ Bartholomew's day at Paris,
by the Russian troops, on tlie inliabitants of this ill-fated
country. In violation of an express stipulation in the treaty
for the transfer of Finland to Russia, a certain proportion of
the inhabitants were ordered to be drafted, or rather impressed,
into the Emperor's service. The despotic mandate was in
general obeyed ; and considerable levies were procured, before
their destination was known to be the shores of the Euxine,
to fight against the Turks. In the province of Savolax the
alarm became general j and the people, conceiving that they
were exempt from service for a limited time, ventured to
remonstrate agaiiRst what they considered as an infraction of
the treaty. Count Tolesky, the Governor of Finland, to
whom the appeal was made in the most respectful and sub
missive terms, invited the inhabitants, by proclamation, to
repair on Sunday last to their respective churches, in order to
obtain a redress of grievances. This artifice had the desired
effect. The inhabitants, who are widely scattered, and difficult
to be got at in detail, were collected in a focus ; and while in
vol.. Ii 2 G

450 ADDITIONAL NOTES.
anxious expectation for the proffered act of grace, anduncon"'
•scious ofthe impending danger, they werei suddenly surrounded
by bands of soldiers, who, regardless of the sanctity of the
place, and deaf to the voice of humanity, dragged the flower
of the young men from the altars of their God, from the
bosoms of their parents, and the enjoyment of all thaKiwas
most dear to them in life ; and moreover butchered, without
any distinction of age, sex, or condition, those that attempted,
by intercession or force, to soften the hearts or avert die
deadly weapons of their remorseless assassins. In the parishes
where those atrocities were perpetrated, no less than 700
unoffending and defenceless individuals have fallen victinS to
the relentless fury of monsters in a human form."

460*
ADDITIONAL NOTE
TO P. 61.

** Ktr'gissiAnS '; a people yet unknown."'^ — The ittthot
lias 'mentioned the cifcuinstaince of his having resided beneath
%e'Saifie ifeof with a party ot Kirgissians, in an irih at Moscow;
Sftd he hais also Stated, that very little is known of this
|ie6]f>5'6. 'Thfey call themselves " Sara Kazsaki," or " Cossacks
^ih'e Desert," Their aiitietit history is so obscure, that even
?lifelr naftie, tod the existence of their race, were unheard iii
*Eiirdp'e bfefd're the cession of iSiieria to the Russians by JerWak
(or, as it is pronounced, Yermak), the Co«crcA hero, in 1581*.
The Kirgissiahs fell under the Russian yoke in 1606, and from
that period they have rendered themselves conspicuous by
their frequdnt revolts f. In 1643, they were vanquished bjr
the Calmucks. From immemorial time, they have been divided
itftothree separate hordes, or Clans; and these leading branches
khmit also of subdivisions. Their Chiefs, or Nobles, are
'distinguished into three classes; bearing the several titles oi
Ghodscha, Bii, and Saltan, The first consists of families
renowned for their antiquity only; the second, of those families
which; as princes, have had Saltans, or famOus warriors, for
their ancestors. For the rest, their history, owing to the mili
tary spirit of the people, and to that contempt of labour which

:',- See Chap. XIII. p. 376, of tliis volume. Also Starch's Tableau de la
Russie, tom. I. p. 76. JBasle, 1800. See also Miillcr's Description de
toutes les Nations, ^c. Petersburg, 1776. p.,1.38.
¦f.MUllm; p. 139.

ADDITIONAL NOTE.
characterizes even the lowest of their commoners, much
resembles the history of the Scottish Highlanders, The
Kirgissians may be considered as Highlanders on horseback.
Nearly the same threefold cQvision into orders distinguished
the Highland Clans; and the same remarkable superstitions
BtUl exist among these ¦widely-separated nations. The
author saw a Kirgissian, in Moscow, when about to
depart into his own country, busied in divination, by
examining the marks upon the blade-bone of a sheep, which
had been blackened iri the fire: and he remembered, at
the time, that such a mode of divination existed in i some
country that he had visited ; but not recollecting where he
had observed it, he omitted to mention the fact; deeming it
to be too trivial a circumstance to be noticed of itself. Having
however recently read an account of this mode of divination
as practised in the Highlands qf Scotland* (where he now
remembers having seen it), amd also in the country of the
Afghauns, he has thought it right to introduce this Additional
Note,

* See the interesting Article on the " Culleden Papers," as inserted in
No. XXVIIi; ofthe Quarterly Review, published in May 1SI6. "The
Afghaun's mo^t ordinary mode of divination," observes the writer of that
article, " is by examining the marks in the blade-bone of a sheep, held up
to the light ; and even so the Rev, Mr. Robert Kirk assures us, that in liis
time, the end of the sixteenth century, the Seers prognosticate many fulHfe
events (only, for a month's space) from the shoulderrbone of a sheep, on
which a knife never came."

APPENDIX.

No. L
J. HE following document is inserted to prove
the remarkable fact, that during a period when
England was not at war with Russia, two English
Gentlemen, accredited by their Government,
and bearing 'W^ith them recommendatory letters
from the English Secretary of State, were
detained prisoners in that country, contraryto
the laws observed between civilized nations.
It is an answer, from the Governor of Moscow,
to their petition for a passport to return to
England; aitet every application to the Emperor,
by means of their Minister at Petersburg, had
failed of effect; given verbally and literally.
" Le Conite Soltijcof est mortifi^ qui'l ne' peut
-pas contenter Messieurs Cripps et Clarke, en
leurs proeurant la permission de sortir hors des
fronti^res, par la raison que 9a ne depend que
de Sa Majeste L'Empereur m&me. Ce qui con-
cerne I'envoi de la lettre au Ministre d' Angleterre
2g2

452, appendix, n° i.
k Petersbourg, ces Messieurs la peuvent faire
remettre par la poste, et elle sera rendue en
toute surety." TtlAS-SLATlON. "
" Count Soltijcof is concerned that he cannot
gratify Messrs. Cripps and Clarke in obtaining
permission for them to pass the frontiers, since
that depends solely o.i^ hi^ Majesty the Emperor.
As to the conveyance of the letter addressed to
the English Minister at Peierslsurg, those Gen
tlemen may send it by the post, and it will he
delivered in perfect safety."
As a comment upon this curious communica
tion, it may be necessary to add, concerning the
pretended security of letters entrusted to llie
post in Bxissia, that few of them ever reached
tbeir destination: they were alt opened lad
read by the poUce; and often destroyed, or sent
J>ack to their autiiors. We had, at that tiin«,
jao other means of intercourse with our Minister,
than by sending a messenger the whole way
from Moscow to Petersburg; a distance ne£\rly
equal to five hundred miles ; and it was in this
Planner we ebtained his instructiops for attempt
ing an escape it^ the southiM"!! frontier.

API-ENPIX, N° II. 453

No. II.

I, ,,,

\ .' . I m — III n t »! Jill

TRANSLATIQJN
OP THE
REPORT made iy a BOARD 0/ RUSSIAN ENGINEERS,
ON THE STATE 9# TaX
^\ INTERNAL NAVIGATION OF RUSSIA.

The present water communication between the TheCanais
Fblga and the Baltic, having the Canals of voioshok.
Vyshney Voloshok for its point of separation and
reservoir, dates its origin from the year 1711.
One part of the reservoirs, sluices, &c. at this
place, serves to improve the navigation of the
Tueret; and the other, to render the passage of
the craft, over the Borovitsky Falls (in the Msta),
less dangerous. This part of Inland Navigation
is broiight to all the state of perfection it is
capable of; except finishing the Gut from Viliev-
sky, for an extraordinary supply of water, in viUevaiy
time of drought, out of the Lake Velia. This ^^'"
Canal was begun in 1779, but soon abandosaedr
In'^^~i7g7, the work was again resumedi^Ji In
1 798, an extraordinary drought prevailedj and ex
hausted the reservoirs of Vyshney Voloshok to that
degree, that the vessels bound to St. Petersburg

454 APPENDIX, N°'n.''
were in' danger of being" totally stopped';'
which circumstance was a convincing proof of
the absolute necessity to complete this Cut
from the Lake Velia". But,, as the sole object
of this undertaking was the mere supply of
water to VysKney Poloshok, after leaving of which
the barks were exposed to new danger, in pasir,
ing the Cataracts oi Borovitsky, and in navigating
the Lake Ilmen (which not only subjects them to
loss of time in watching for favourable weather,
but to imminent risk of the total loss of capital,
and many lives, from the natural turbulency of
tbis water), the merchants frequenting this track
voluntarily proposed paying a toll of ten roubles
ioY each vessel, to make a passage practicable
round the /toera leading from the Msta direct to
the 'Volchof. The plan -v^as adopted, on examir
nation, in 1775; but tlje work not begun till
Nomgo- 1797, under the denomination of the Novoso-
rodsky ¦ " , ,
Canal. rodsky CanaP. In 1800, the spring caravan,
taking advantage of the high water, usually
prevalent at that season, effected a passage
through this canal with ease, though' not yet,

(l) To extricate the caravans, cost 'iO,000 roubles.
(2) For this purpose,' 1 8,000 roubles vrere appropriated.
(3) 250,000 roubles were assigned for thiswprk. Tbe toll colleetfd,
produced 50,000 roubles; and the whole sum of 3pO,_000 rovhles i;
{ilrifady eSpended, ^. i ,; ' '

APPENBIX, N° II. 455
perfectly finished. Its completion was to be' in
1802.' ^
Tl^e Canals ' of Vyshney Voloshok (forming, as
before mentioned j the chief point of separation,
on which depends the whole cominunication)
being the mere work of art, are liable to acci
dent, from many natural causes. The destruction
of a dam, sluice, or other work of like conse-
queniie, notw:ithstanding all huirian foresight or
precaution, may put an entire stop, at least for
a time, both to the conveyance of the necessaries
of life and articles of trade to the capital. Inde
pendent of this circumstance, this track of
navigation requires annually an unmeasurable
quantity of wood, for the construction of vessels,
which can never return home for future use (the
borovitsky Cataracts rendering it an absolute
impossibility); consequently the forests will be
exhausted, and, in a certain space of time, this
communication will decline of itself, and,, finally,
be totally abandoned, for want of building mate- ¦
rials. These inconveniences were observed by
Peter the Great : tat- the very beginning, he took
measures to find other means of communication;
and, after a survey, had resolved on the junction
of the Rivers Kofgia and Vetegra. His demise
put a stop to the execution of : this project at
that time: it was however resumed in 1785,
.?Lnd, on a further survey, adopted on, tlje s^me

456 AFPENBIX, N' II.
priadiplea. Thi0 excessive drotlght iat 17,99
convinced Count Sivers, then chief of.viiajis
departinent, of the utility bfi this work, the
reservoirs of Vyshney Voloshok h&ing t&isM^
drained: he procured aa order £eom. the Sove-
reigfii for the purpbse; and the eanal, now
wariensky Called the Mariemky, was befim to be. dug
^" betweeii the £ofgia and Vit^fi- The firitj
fexcepting a few places which require beitig
cleared a little, is at all seasons pretty navigable,
and a canal of about six versts is to unite it with
the Vitegra. This canal is to be supplied with
water from the Mako Lake (Malc(isero% throtigfi
which it takes its eourse; and the reservoir is
to have an additional supply by a Cut from the
great Kqf^ia Lake. This canal is to be fur
nished with twelve sluices, seven of which are
to serve for th& eonvoy of vessels frdm the
¦Kolgia^ np t<i the poifit bf separation in the Makb
Lake : the Other five, to conduct them douMto thfe
Vitegra. This river ifequires infinitely m6fe
labour than the K&fgid, to be made navigable;
considerable falls require niaetefeit sluifees, to
mke a safe passage practicable; and in some
places, the digging of Gifctutous passages^ to
shun the Falls, is absolutely necessaty; extend
ing^ in all to about eight hundred fathoms (of
seven feet English). The whole space requiring
l^ms, the canal indti4ed, comprehends seven-

.^PPINDIX, N° II.
teen versts. Hitherto it has been successfully
carried on: the canal is finished; ten vetsis on
the Vitegra cleared, and thirteen sluices com
pleted. In 1801, the canal was supplied with ease,
and the greatest part of the communicatioti
rendered navigable. The entire completion
of the whole, including the time necessary
iff£ clearing the cataracts in the Vitegra, and
improving the Kofgia, it is computed, will be
in 1805'.
Independent of the benefits expected from
this canal, in avoiding the inconveniences of
that of Vyshney. Voloshok, it is expected to open
another track, and procure a new, and not a
very circuitous passage, to the vessels going
from the Sheksna to the Volga. The caravan
from the Lower Volga will also be freed from
detention in waiting for high water at Vyshney
Vslodiak and in the Msta River, by which the
passage through the former will be rendered
easier, and trade have a greater scope for
exertion and increase; as Vyshney Voloshok^; in
its most perfect state, cannot admit a passet^fe
for niore than 4000 barks annually, and thereby

(l) 2,000,000 rouilet were assigned for this work;' and ih ITS.O
and 1800, 500,000 roubles were expended. 40Q,000 were aomliutcd
^lecessai-y for 1 801.

45/

458 APPENDIX, N° II.
impedes commerce. Still greater be^^ts
would accrue from the Mariensky Canal, if the
favourite plan of Peter the First were put into
execution ; viz. that of establishing a commu
nication by water between the ports of uSt,
Project for Petersburg and Archangel, or the .Bd/^ic' and the
Sga'com- White Seas. In 1 800, by order of the Emperor,
""water"'' ^^^ practicability was examined into> and found
between 5*. feasible, by means of the River Sheksna, and
Petersburg •' '
and^TO/i- UneXskie Kubenskoy. The proper arrangementis
were made, and the Department of.Wate,^
Communication has it in view to put it intp
execution in due time. Giving this advantage
to these I two principal ports of the Empire
would be of the greatest utility, not only with
regard to trade, but the easy means of supplying
the Admiralty oi St. Pe<eriZ>«irg- with tim,ber.fpr
the navy, from the abundant forests of,,^he
North of Russia. There are other inconvenj-
em;es attending the navigation through J^i/tnej;
TiieCata- Voloshok; viz. the Ccitaracts of the Volchof, and
racts of the i /->. i /. i ¦ v.
River To/, the Outlct from th.e liadoga Canal into the
terming- Neva, where vessels are at times detained for
a fortnight by contrary winds '. Measm^
were taken to lessen the danger of the Falls ;
and proper roads or tracks for towing vessels

Cl) For clearing the cataracts, 118)000 roubles were allowed j and
for the towing road, 60,000 roubles; ninety versts «( which are done.

appendix, N" II.

459

against the stream, for the return of them, were
ordered to be made in 1799. To facilitate the :
passage out of the Ladoga Canal into the' JVewa, .
against wind and weather, a new outlet was
begun to' be made, at Schlusselburg, the same
year'. In 1798, - a new passage was also^
efiected at Ladoga. In general, the Canal of :
Ladoga, through length of time', requires an- :
nual and important repairs. This canal is now ¦ The Sushoy
continued from the VolcKof to the Sasy River, • .
and thence called the Sdskoy. This work was
entered upon in 1769, and three versts thereof'
finished ; and then abandoned ; and again re
sumed in 1799*. ¦ Great as the importance of'
the Ladoga -Gandl to the- export trade of St.
Petersburg, that of the Sdskoy is no less so, in
consideration of the facility of conveying the
foreign goods imported at St. Petersburg, and
distributing them in the interior of the country.'
The chief object of these canals is, to avoid the
Lake of Ladoga, From the . River Sasy, mer
chandize is conveyed, through the River
Tifenka, to the city of the same name ; a land-
carriage of ninety versts brings it to the wharf

' 1 ."•'^¦'
(2) Thenew Outlets out of the Canal oi'Ladogd are, one at Schtus-
leZfttrt-g-, and'anbther at the town of ia&^a, '
(3) The Outlet at Schlusselburg was estimated to cost 117x000
roubles;.tha.t ui Ladoga, 7^,000 roubles.
(4) 340,000 aaw<ife» are assigaaed for this canal, ij - •

460 APPENDIX, N' II,
-; of Sominka; and from thence* by, the^, rivers
Tzagodotchia and Mologa, it is conveyed to .^liQ
Volga, which supplies all the adjacent countf^.
From the wharf of Somimkay, about 2,000<pQQ
roubles in value, of foreign goods, is aqnually
carried into the interior. The deepening, ^
some of the rivers belonging to this inlapd
navigation has increased this braacb of tjcs^^ ;
but the considerable land-carriage between the
Spmina and Tifin greatly impede its f^rtj^'
progress. The junction, of these two last
wharfs, by water, engaged the attention of
Peter the First ; and proper measures for tjie
discovery of the most eligible means were taken
by. Generals Dedenef, Resanof, and others, ia
1765. In 1800, the examination was resumed,
and the junction ©f the two wharfs 'found prac-
ticable, by a canal on the English plan, adapted
to the navigation of such vessels as are now in
use on the rivers T^ethktt,.Sasy, aiid Smina, Tlj^e
sluices to be constructed on this, canal are tp
have no more thaii te4 and twelve feet <tf
breadth, when opened, Jf th^ plan of those pf
Vyshney Voloskoh were to he followed, , ftey
being thirty-two feet wide, a sufficiency of
water could never be collected; nor doe^.^be
situation of the , place admit_ of this mode^ of
construction. By an Imperial ukfise, theiw6rk
was to begin in 1802, and conclude in 1804-^^

APPENDIX, N° ir. 461
When the 'Mariensky CaAal Was begfim, in project &r
1 799, the practicability of a circuitous inland cST "*
navigation, round the Onega and Ladoga Lakes, L^ke^.^!
was also examined into, to avoid |:(assitig any ''J^g^^
pait of them: the first by means of the rivers
Svir and Vkegra, the latter through the Sasy to
tiie Svir, This last was ordered to be carried
into execution in 1502, and its ehief object is
to facilitate the return of barks homeward.
The canal from the Sasy to the Svir was or
dered in 1802^ '-
To make a communication by water, between TheNorth-
•' ern Kathe-
the Cmpian and White Seas, or' the Volga and nnsioy
. TVT , X. • .... Canal.
the iS otthern Dvina rivers, was m agitation m
the reigii of Peter the Great; but the 'first
survey was only made in 1785; ahd, as hardly
ally flatural obstacle was found to oppose the
execution of the plan, it was adopted, arid a
Canal' begun to be dug, named the Northern
Katherinskoy, which was to unite two small
Tivulets, iiaA^ing a morass of- an immense ex
tent for their common source, situate oil the
ftiontier of Permid and Onstnhk; '"^One of these
'rivtilets has a communication, bymeafis'tof
the Kama, with the Volga;"' weed &e dt^ier
iirith the iNbrtherh Dvina^ "^ through the ^ftVelr
^3-2^2  - ¦ ,.- I-  ' ' ,-  ^_...  i;. ;  ij//^- .
(!J Itis^howeve*^nothegun.!' J.'.j.'y^Uli&ad'J
{2)-60iO,000 roaftfa was assigned, and 100,000 espei^dcd.; -but the
war put a stop to the work.

462 » ^appendix, N"' II.
Pltekdgda. "But the canal remains unfinished;
and the only advantage that resulted from the
attempt was, the opening of a new. track, or
roa.d, by land, through a country, then totally
• waste and uninhabited. This canal could have
•supplied Archangel, at a trifling experise," with
merchandize, not only from the province' of
Viatka, but through the river Belaya, itom the
Government of Oufimsk and f Tznsiovctyd ivdm
that of Permia, in the course of one summer.
The importance of this canal is enhanced, by
the facility it affords of conveying timber for
ship-building to Archangel, frOm the inimerifeb
forests in its vicinity, abounding, particularly,
in the Listvinitzna wood, at Tchardina. '^^"^
The June- - Thc ' iunctiou of the Volea and the Don'w^s
tion of the •' °
Volga with 'ever an object in view with Peter the First;
the Don,by
means of aud hc himsclf discovered two practical tracks;
one from the Lower Volga,- by the union of the
rivulet ¦ Xamw.^m^a with that called Hqfla, by
a canal of four versts: the other was by
uniting ' the source of - the Don, twenty-five
versts from the town GAep wan, with the ri
vulet Shata, which falls into the Owj&a, 'one of
the chief branches of the Oj^a, which empties
itself into the Volga. ' Of the latter, 'a consi
derable part was carried into executioit;
twenty-four sluices of limestone were 'built;
and the canal dug the extent of the Vale of

•APPENDIX,- N° II.
Bobriky\ answerable to the depth of the bed
of the Don: Why a work-thus far advanced
was, abandoned, is not known ; some supposed
it was for want of water; but the situation
of the Vale of Bobriky confutes this statement,
as being capable of becoming an immense
receptacle of water, and quite sufficient for
this navigation. The hydrography . of this
place will, however, not admit the navigation
of vessels of greater length than ninety feet,
fourteen feet of breadth, and drawing three
feet . of water, with a full lading. The other
plan proposed, of joining the Don and the
Volga by means of the Kamishinka and the
Hctfla, proved abortive : though actually begun,
an insufficiency of water was apparent. The
reservoir was intended to be placed at the
sources of the Kamishinka ; but they were
found hardly sufficient to supply the common
stream of the river. The Hqfla being fifty feet
higher than the level ofthe Volga, could furnish
a reservoir of water (point of separation in the
original): yet, even . with this advantage, the
navigation must be carried On in caravans,
or in large collective bodies of barks ; other
wise the passage will not be effected, for want
of vjpater. (1) Better expressed by the name of the Hollows oi Bobriky.

463

464 APPENDIX, N" II.
? I* i . I - ,
Division ofthe Black Sea, Mand Mavigatkm
The Dnieper^ is most certaialy^ the ehief
river of all the provinces adjacent, to 1^
Euxine. This river is the younger siM^r.ef
Volg9; and has its. source near the same pla^ee
with the above, and the South£;rn DviM- „ ft
may be called navigable fro^i Smpienski if oot
from Dorogobush. Two very great r obs^^^d^
render the navigation of this river incoi^ve^fi^
First, flats, or rather moving sands, a cir-
cwmstance common also to the rivers pf the
North of Russia: from above Kiof dpwa to
KremmtcMk, they greatly incpmpao4Q;, the
navigation, during the iniddie of the suinme^'.
Near thg shpre, pn both side?, are passages
or <^apneis, of considerable depth; b^t ^y
are uncertain, as they frequently shift dtJffPlg
the high waters. It is confessed, that there
„ 9Xe no other meaiis whatever to remedy this
iissonvenieiice, .(the considerable quantity o|
moving ^wd .goBtained by tt^ Pmeper being
tafce^L ioto eoosideration,) unles3 a, body of
pifots be e^abiished, divided into districts,
to soiiad, and put beacons or directions i#
the proper channels, for vessels to_ g<? by,y
a£ter the high water subsides; as is jdoBfeJft
die NcBFth, particukydy on the Svir; and wliich

appendix, n" n. 465
regulation has not, as yet, taken place on the
Dnieper. The Second fatal? obstacle to the
safe navigation of this river ii^ the Cataracts,
which limit the passage " to the time of high
water during the spring; and even then at"
tended with some difficulty, and only of a
fortnight or three weeks' duration. Nothing
but the enaction of a code of commercial laws
can' ever render the Black Sea useful to the
empire. Since Russia has acquired the domi
nion thereof, the inconvenience and obstacles
which trade has suffered are manifest, and
severely felt. During Prince Potemkins go
vernment of these provinces, a vain attempt
was made to clear the Cataracts : the war in
1787 put a stop to the work. The Bokrd
of Inland Water Communication have begun
the following works: First, The deepening a
passage between the Cataracts, by means of
temporary dikes, through which vessels may
pass in the very middle of summer, both iip
and down the river. Secondly, The great
Nendsitez Cataract, having baffled all attempts
made to render a safe passage practicable,
particularly for vessels going up the river, it
was resolved to dig a circuitous canal round.,
it, Jjrovided with sluices, through a rocky
shore; which is now in hand. Three other
voj:,. I. 2 h

466 appendix, n° ii.
cataracts ' are perfectly cleared ; about; eight
remain to be worked oh ; and it is expected,
that, from the year 1805, the river will be
navigable; which will confer inestimable
advantages on the country, particularly; in
furnishing the interior of Russia with salt,
which will render the importation of. it by
the Baltic unnecessary, and save great sums
of money to the Russia -Polish provinces,
which they pay, in coin, for this commodity
in foreign dominions. Below the Cataracts,
the Dnieper has a resemblance to the Volgd;
though it is intersected by many islands and
flats, which, however, do not much impede
the navigation. The current in general there
is not strong ; and admits, not only of the
use of oars for vessels going up, but of sails
with very little wind. Its morassy shores,
in some districts, preventing the use 'of the
towing-line, it is necessary to establish paths
for this purpose; as most certainly it will
accelerate the return of barks with salt> silk,
cotton, and other products of the Levant,
' I ' . . , ?.t . -
¦ ; , '¦;¦ K^lv
it) " The work goes on slowly, and was not' half finished at the
end of the summer of 1805. A float Or transport of tiihher, Muttidi
arrived while I was at Odessa, had been two years jn coiiii!)S,d9,iyJ»>
from the impediments of the cataract and above descent." ^
Note'^Mr, R.Ofngir'-

appendix, N» II.
without which the fabrics and manufactories
in the interior cannot exist. All these im
provements, or rathier new regulations, are
carrying into execution very slowly. To the
foreign,' or export trade of this river, most
certainly the Leman, or its estuary, opposes
great difficulties. Its influx into the Euxine
being through several branches, and its cur
rent extremely slow, it is natural that sand
banks should be formed. In summer it has
hardly six feet water, and merchant vessels
are obliged to load beyond its mouth (thirty-
five versts), at the Gubokaya pristan, or deep
wharf; which, notwithstanding its denomination,
is very unfit for the purpose ; the road being
at times unnavigable from November to May:
and when the dock-yard was at Cherson, the
men-of-war were obliged to be transported,
on camels, over the sand flats, with whicli
the Leman abounds. These two inconveniences
forced Government to look for a more eligible
situation ; and Nicholaef, by its favourable situation
on the Bog and the Ingul, was chosen for the
sfeat of the Admiralty, and the yard for building
men-of-war; which place, however, is not
Convenient for trade, as having too distant a
communication with the Dnieper. Trading-
Vessels lost so much time in going up the Bog,
even with a favourable wind, that more time

46r

468 app:endix, n" ii.
was often spent in eflfecting a passage to
Nicholaef, than was necessary to make a voyage
from the leman of the Dnieper to Constantinople.
Not having attained the desired point at this
place, it was resolved to find a port for mer
chant vessels at another, tiat offered less
difficulties in the establishment; and also to
which the carriage of merchandize could be
more easily effected by transports. The Bay
of Hadgiby was pitched upon as fit for con
structing the Port of Odessa ; whose vicinity
to Poland, Podolia, and Volhynia, made the
choice more eligible and favourable, not only
to trade, but also answermg some naval pur*
poses. The navigation is uninterrupted the
whole year (not irue) at this place. Magazifies
and stOEe-houses vare erecting for the goods
brought from the Dnieper by water, not only
here, but along the Dniester, for the products
of Galicia and Podolia.
Not above 300 vessels and boats go do\m
the'Dniepej- to Nicholaef and Cherson; but vast
floats of timber descend for the Admiralty..
This however is comparatively little, to what
this commerce will amount to, when the Ca
taracts are cleared'. From KrementcMhr about
'" ¦ I '  r— — — — — — — ' '"
(I) " It will be observed, that the Cataracts ,of the Dnieper, and
Shoals in the Dniester, are the great obstacles to the interior com-
muaicatien from the Black Sea: it is therefei;e inost astonishing, that
a natiou>

APPENDIX, N° II. 469
sixty barks, with salt, go already up the river,
to Smolensk, as well as up some of the branches
ofthe Dnieper; viz. the Pripit, Desna, Beresang,
to the wharfs of Novogorod, Sever skoy,. Pinsk,
and Borovitz, The salt is conveyed above
700 versts by land, to KrementckAk, from the
Crimed, by a great number of oxen. When
the Cataracts are cleared, the land-carriage
will be -tedueed to 120 versts, from the Criniea
to the -Bereslasskcy Wharf on the Dnieper; and
the salt may be conveyed straight by water
from the Salines of Kinburn.
t I n 'i;
Branches of, or Rivers falling into, the Dnieper.
i A river of the Dnieper's magnitude has na
turally many smaller streams falling into it;
which are the more worthy of attention^ as
their banks and circumjacent country abound
with vast forests of oak, &c. out of which
hardly any timber has yet been drawn. Most
of these rivers, particularly those falling into
the Upper Dnieper, are already navigable* or
capable of being made so, unless in such
seasons of great drought when even the Dniepiq'
itefclf is hardly passable. , ,-f.}
^"' : ,- .  __,_  _:it
a nation, with the.command of men that Russia has, does not surmount
the difficulty. .Greater exertions have been made by Companies of
individuals in jEng^fenrf." Nate "by Mr. R, Corner.

470 APPENDIX, N° II,
The Druza, small and not navigable, joins the
Dnieper at Rogatchef
Beresina, pretty considerable. 700 versts
along this river, masts are carried down to
the town of Borisof, and even to the wharf
of Pedoserskoy. In this passage, a land-
carriage of thirty versts was unavoidable,
from the wharf to the town of Kransnic
Luki; whence they were floated down by
EssOf to th6 Oulla, at Lepela, Measures
were, in consequence, taken to effect a
junction between the Beresen and the Essa,
In 1801, the work was already done, except
some sluices, and other improvements ne
cessary to be made. The Beresen was to
be joined to the Rivulet Sergutz, and the
Lake Plavio, and Beresta; and thence, with
the Skogy and Menezso, with the Essia and
Oulla, This will be ,of immense advantagie
to the trade of the Dnieper with the ports
on the Baltic, ' On the Beresen three wharfs
are already established; at Bobrusha, Borisof,
and Pedoser : the last is only for timber.
To the two first, about twenty barks are
annually towed up, with salt, for the pro
vince of Minsk, Among the great number
of rivulets falling into the Beresen, the most
considerable is the Svirtotz, which is navi
gable as far as Minsk, from tbe Spring

appendix, n° ir. 471
to July. It is particularly convenient for
floating down of timber; which may be
procured, in any quantity, from the immense
forests that are in its course, and which
hitherto have remained untouched.
The SosHA is considerable; and only few
improvements are necessary to enable ves
sels to ascend to the town of Mstistof: it
has its course near Smolensk. It is now
navigable, until the month of July, the
extent of 4 to 500 versts. Kiof is supplied
with timber by this river.
The Pripit is the. principal branch of the
Dnieper: it takes its course from west to
east, and separates Lithuania from Volhynia.
Almost all the timber to Cherson goes from
this river. Barks, carrying each from 8 to
10,000 pouds oi salt, are easily towed up,
above 500 versts, to Pinsk.
The following Rivers fall into the Pripit :
The Pin A, became partly navigable through the
King's Canal; but sluices are necessary to be
1 built, for vessels to frequent it durmg summer.
The Strumen, or the Suchona, must be cleared
of some stones, and then vessels may go as
far as Kovel.
Yatzolda is the estuary of the Oginsky
Canal, and only wants clearing of weeds, kc

472 append ixj ^is" , 11,
It. has a very weak current, jwhich runs, in
general, through marshy ground.
G^.aoNA and Slutza could be made, navigable
for the extent pf 4 or 500 versts ; ajid-thiNitigh
these a communication with all Volhynia might
be opened, by means of sluices in their upper
parts, to, be built at the dams of the mwiy
mills there existing. . r . r. rr
SxiRA could easily be made navigable to Lu-
tenza, and even as far as Dubno, if twelve
sluices were built.
Zna and Lan. During high water, some timber
is brought down these rivers ixovn.Lithmma.
Oudobre, a small river from Volhynia: this
might be improved for seme hundred versts.
Ptisha, a pretty considerable river from Li-
thua,nia: on this a great quantity of timber
is floated down.
Ous HA w^nts improvement, to be made naV\-
gable to Qbronsk.
Conti'^uation ofthe Riversfalling into the Dnieper,
The Tetereva, now of little use, but capable of
being made navigable, even to Qrtpmis. -
Desna, equally with the Pripit, is ofthe highest
consequence to the trade of the country in
general ; and even of more, in some respects,
than the latter, as it takes its whole course
through the most fruitful provinces aud well-

APPENDIX, N* II, 473
wooded districts. It is navigable the extent
of 800 versls past Tchermgof, Novogorod, and
Sever skoy, to Bransk, Provisions, timber,
and other goods, are carried by it from
wBransk to Cherson, and even sometimes ' to
Sv^lensk, by means of the Dnieper. From
one to three hundred barks depart out of it
annually ; and more than this number return
to it from Krementchuk with salt. It was
proposed to join the Desna with the Oka, by
means of the Volva and the Zishdra ; a pro
ject of the highest importance to the inland
communication of Russia. By this junction,
- the conveyance of home-products from the
Ukraine, Little Russia, &c. and of those of the
Levant, through the Black Sea, would be
greatly facilitated. No doubt the Board
will, in due time, take these advantages into
consideration.
1^0 ssA, though small, is yet abundant in water
during spring.
TJie SouLA might become of great importance,
being navigable from Luben, were the Cata
racts of the Dnieper cleared, and opportunity
given for exporting the products of the coun
try it waters.
PicoL. This river, flowing through a steppe,
is hardly worth improving; it is navigable
only during the spring, and is dry in summer.

474 appendix, n° II.
Krilopka, an inconsiderable river of Q|he
steppe or desert* It was once intended; to
join the springs of this stream with the Ingul,
which falls into the Bog. The junction of
the rivers of the steppe will ever be a most
difficult task; as they are, properly speaking,
only torrents, and mostly dry in summer.
To effect the object in view, it was found
necessary to dig lOo feet in depth, which was
impracticable; but could the project be exe
cuted, the passage over the Cataracts of the
Dnieper yvovld have been avoided, and the Port
of Nicholaef^ gained inestimable advantages.
VoRSK LA, considerable, but possesses traffic:
passing near Putiava, it could be made
navigable to the town Aktiar of the Ukraine, '¦¦
Orel, only a torrent.
SamAra could be improved, and no doubt will
be considered in future : it is considerable;
and though a stream of the desert, its water
never fails. Until this time it has never been
frequented ; but the discovery of some coal
mines, in the neighbourhood of Paflograd, will
inevitably render the navigation of this river
of the greatest consequence for the conveyance
of coals to the Dnieper; particularly so, as
the country is bare of wood for fuel.
I \ (1) See Mr. Cortier's Note in p. 468. I

appendix, n" ii.
Laura, Tamalkalka, Basavlouk, Kon-
SKAYA. — Merely torrents of the steppe, and
hardly capable of being improved.
Inguletz, a considerable river of the steppe :
it has not been frequented hitherto, for want
of hands, the country being uninhabited. In
process of time, it may serve for the convey
ance of stone, and even coal, in proportion as
the population increases. Grazing sheep
and oxen near it, for which it is particularly
adapted, will open a new trade, in wool,
skins, cheese, tallow, salt beef, &c.
BuGG, or Bog, the Hypanis of Strabo, falls into
the leman of the Dnieper, not far from the
mouths of this river, thirty versts above
Oczakof It is one of the principal rivers
of the country, and vessels of war may go
up 150 versts: beyond this, it becomes a tor
rent for 3 or 400 versts, full of cataracts, and
can only be made navigable at an expense
and labour that would never produce equi
valent advantages. Were there any practi
cable or reasonable means of improving this
river, Nicholaef would be greatly benefited
by the conveyance of naval stores from
Podolia and Volhynia.
Rivers falling into the Bog.
The Ingul, an extensive river. A junction

475

476 . APPENDIX, N° II.
f^ith the Dnieper was thought of, but found
totally impracticable, froia the height of , its
«hore, as well as its shaUows. At Elizabeth,
it has a sufficiency of water ; and by the means
of twenty sluices, ^on the English -plmi might
be made navigable as far as A^'cAo/o^, where
t the docks, magazines. Sec. for the navy, are
i, situate; which port would be of the greatest
importance, could a proper communication
4, with the interior, by water, be estabhshfii;
but the difficulties, both on the .Bog ^and
^j Ingul, put an absolute bar to the project,
^and the Dnieper i^ its, -only resource. T^e
ipassage from this river, through the Leman
j to the Bog, is extremely dangerous for vessels
ofthe construction in use on the Dnieper^ ^nd
perfectly impracticable for , floats of timbe,r.
Another , I great inconvenience attends tbis
portji its distance from the entrance of tlje
Bog, an hundred versts, where almost, levery
wind of the compass is necessary, and the
least gale exposes the ships to great detejfi-
tion. The river being extremely, broad, apd
the channel, or chief passage, nearly in the
middle, with little water on either shpfie,
towing becomes impossible for vessels di:aw-
^^ng more than two feet and .a. half water.
.^hips are towed up by boats, with such at
waste of tipjej that two voyages naay.be

APPENDIX, N° II. 477
sometiiAes' made to Donstf^, during the
period employed in going up the Lower
Bog to Nicholaef.
TeDorovskaya, TlTAKLI, Merlvayavoda,
the two Tartaly, Korabeln ay a— insigni
ficant streams of the steppe. ^
The SiNUCH A, a small marshy, stagnated rivulet.
It was thought practicable here, by means of
a Canal of five or six versts, to unite the
Dniester with the Bog, between the Kodima
and the Yaourlina. But a hill, and the
necessity of a great number of sluices on the
Yaourlina, which, notwithstanding, abounds
in water, made the enterprise very difficult.
Were the country more peopled, and afforded
more products, this plan might have beien
executed: at present it is impossible. The
Upper Bog has many other branches, which
have more water, in general, than the streams
of the steppe; their sources being in the hills
of Podolia and Volhynia, which form a part of
the chain of the mountsuns of Karahat. Till
fte Bog be made navigable, it is needless to
think of improving these rivers, although
they water the most fruitful provinces of
the whole empire. '
From the Dnieper to the Dniester, the bcjun-
dary of the empire on that side, are many rivets,
or rather lemans and bays, which join the Euxine,

478 appendix, n" II.
and go up the country a considerable way ; but,
in general, their estuaries are nearly choked with
sand; this, in a manner, separates some entirely
from the sea ; and those that have visible commu
nication, possess, for some versts, not above two
or three feet of water at their mouths. The
moving sands prevent improvement, or any
attempt to effect a practicable passage' into
those bays, which, but for that circumstance,
would become safe and convenient ports ¦ or
havens . In some of them salt may be procured .
Among the rivulets, bays, or lemans, on die
coast of the Black Sea, is the Gulph or Leman
of Beresanskoy, with the rivulet of the desert of
the same name. This stream is of no other use
but to water cattle, and requires more than
human art to be made navigable. The leman
extends itself about forty versts into the country:
it is of considerable depth, and about two versts
broad near OczoA^o/": it might have supplied this
place with a port, were not its entrance choked,
for a considerable space, with quicksand. It
produces fish, and also salt.
Yatchikrak the Little, a torrent falling into
the Beresan, *¦
Telegul, equal to the Lake or Leman Bermm
in extent, is divided, in general, from the feea
by a sand-bank of three or four versls, ex
cepting only one stream of communication,

appendix, n° II. 479
three or four feet deep : this however changes
its course three or four times a year, during
stormy weather. This leman is not so deep
as the Beresan, not having above twenty feet
water in the middle. Its shore is marshy, and
hardly passable, which, it is supposed, infects
, the air of the neighbourhood. It is very
rich in fish. Many small streams fall into it,
but it is dry in summer. The sdurce of
this lake, or river, Telegul, has a very long
course, beginning at Kodima, near the Bog ;
firom this it is only separated by a hill. Though
it is a stream of the steppe, it has a constant
current, being seldom dry in all parts ; this, it
is supposed, tends to the salubrity ofthe air.
The Bays of Adgibey are smaller than that of
Te/eg-w/, though very like in all other respects:
three small rivulets fall into them, of the same
name ; but these are dry in summer.
The Bays Konyatnitzkie, or rather Lakes, fifty
or sixty ver^ij in extent, having no commu
nication whatever with the sea, are about five
Or six feet higher. They are of considerable
depth; but the shore being partly marshy,
the air around them is unhealthy. The river
of this name is much of the same length as
the Telegul, but becomes dry in summer.
The Rivulets Dalnih and Paraboy are common
torrents,^ perfectly dry in;summer: they fall

480 appendix, n° ii.
into lakes separated from the sea by quick
sands.
The Dniester divides the Russian and Ottoman
dominions. It is of considerable magnitude,
and navigable for vessels of a middling size.
Without much expense or trouble, it could be
made navigable in a course of above 1 500
versts. A trade might be carried thereon,
from the foot of the Krapatian chain of hills,
through all Galicia, Bukavina, Podolia, Southern
Moldavia, and Bessarabia, to the Black Sea.
But certain circumstances, however, have
always opposed and rendered abortive all
mercantile speculations or attempts to profit
by the course of this river, not only made by
the Poles, but even the Genoese, who were in
possession of this country, and had founded
Aherman and Khotim as principal staple towns ;
because its estuary was in possession of the
TahtarSf and the upper part was under the
dominion of the Turks; people Uttle fitted to
inspire confidence in traders. The peace of
1791 did away all difficulties, and this river
consequently became an object of attention to
Government. Ingeneral, it isdeep; vessels,
even in seasons of draught, not drawing above
two feet water, may navigate it. Its upper
part, however, has many shallows ; these in
summer have not above two feet and a half

APPENDIX, N° II.
water. But as the trade is carried on in
spring, during the high water, this inconve
nience is not so much felt ; and the like in
autumn, when thebarks return with cargoes of
less weight, assisted- by the rains then pre
vailing. At Yampole, on the upper part of
the Dniester f is, as formerly, a kind of cataract,
over a granite ridge; this is now cleared,
and the passage made free for navigation up
aud down the river. The chief obstacle to
trade on this river was the want of towing-
paths, the establishment whereof is now under
r^nsideration;
The Dniester, like the Dnieper, forms, at its
estuary, a leman or gulph, three versts in
length, and from four to six broad, which
joins the sea by two different branches or
outlets. This gulph is shallow, and will not
admit of vessels drawing more than five feet
yi^ater. However, some go hence to the
primea. and Constantinople. Last war, the
Russian flotilla went through it, to the Very
qiyalls oi. Bender., Some brigantines were built
here by order of Prince Potemkin, which went
to Cherson. and Nicholaef.^ The shallowness
of the leman-, however, does not hinder ' a
considerable trade, being carried on to Aker-
man, from Ovidiopole; ¦. situate thirty-eight
vevsts ixora. Odessa; which,, properly con-
VOL. I. 2 I

481

482 APPENDIX, N" II.
sidered, is the only port of these parts.
Goods are sometimes carried irom the Dniester
to Odessa by land, sometimes by water. On
the upper part of the Dniester are four
principal wharfs or staples ; viz. in the Austrian
dominions. Stria and Saleiici in. Podolia,
Svanetz and Doubozar, through which is the
great road from Russia to Moldavia and Con
stantinople, and where quarantine is also per
formed. The leman of the Dniester abounds
in fish, particularly in sterlet and sturgeon.
Riversfalling into the Dniester.
The Knzurgan, a torrent, dry in summer, falls
' into a fresh- water lake of the same name, and
joining the Dniester.
BoTNA has its source in Bessarabia, smail dnd
marshy, and can only be of use when culti
vation is more practised in its vicinity.
Kom6r6fkA, a torrent ofthe steppe.
Bi-uka and Refla, from Moldavia, of no use
whateter, but moistening the country in their
course.
Yashj-ic, Chemaya, Jlnd Tasiashik, torrents
dry in summer.
Yarlica, has plenty of water, flows quick over
a stony bottom, and approaches so near the
JBog (Kodima), that it was once intended to
unite the last with the Dniester; hat a hill, ex
tending two versts, rendered the plan abortive.

APPENDIX, N» II. 483
At the Upper Dniester are many small rivulets,
or torrents, the Roshkova, Roukova, Svantzika,
Sprutza, Sec. all having their springs in Podolia,
but of no use for navigation. The Dniester
divides into two branches: one retains the
original name, the other takes that oi Strie'^
and at last falls into the Black Sea, The first
branch is navigable as far as the town of
Sambor, and the other to Strie, At Sambor,
the Pelofka, a small stream, falls into the
Dniester, by means whereof the Austrians
intend to join this river with the Vistula.
No other river of consequence is to be found
on the northern coast of the Black Sea, parti
cularly in the Crimea, where no one stream
can connect it with the interior of Russia.
The only great tracts of water communication
are the Dnieper and the Don: the first has
Odessa, the last Taganrog, for its principal
port. The establishment of trade in the ports
of the Crimea will therefore prove a mere
chimera; as all goods must be carried thither
at vast expense, through waterless steppes.
Streams in the Crimea.
The Katzanka, Babshanka, Kashtza Alma
Belbeka, Inkermena; mere torrents from
the mountains.
(l) a few words are wanted here in the ori^inaU
2 12

484 APPENDIX, N" II.
The Sea oi Azof extends from the Crimea to the
town of Azof, and jouis the Euxine at the
Strait antiently called Bosporus.
Riversfalling into the Sea qf Azof.
The Don has its source from the Ivanofskoy Lake,
not far from Tula; it waters a considerable
extent of country, and divides into three
branches at the town of Tcherkask. At its
mouth, at Azof, it is so very shallow, that
only flat-bottomed Vessels can pass into the
sea. Two attempts were made to join this river
with the Volga : First, by means of the River
Shata; and Secondly, that oi Ilqfia: but both
miscarried, as before mentioned.
Thefollowing Rivers fall into the Don.
The DANAETz'has its source a little above the
town of Belogorod, and is generally navigable,
particularly in spring. On this river are
some iron-manufactories and coal-pits. The
Eyedor, Korea, and Orkole, small and little-
frequented rivers, fall into it.
Voronege, only navigable in spring, when pro
visions and other goods are conveyed to
Tcherkask,
BoLUTZAR, insignificant.
Derkul, only remarkable for three annual fairs
at the town of this name.

APPENDIX, N° II. 485
Kalitva has some little traffic.
SosNA, generally navigable: into it falls the
Ostrogosha, which, though small, is frequented
in spring.
Choper has its source out of a morass in the
province of Penza, a little beyond the northern
frontier of Saratof; has a course of 36o versts;
and waters a most fruitful country, abound
ing in corn, pasturage, and wood. This river,
during its course through the district of
Choperskoy, is navigable, especially in spring,
when joined by the Vorona. Higher up,
shallows, and trunks of trees, put a stop to
the traffic. Into the CnovER fall
The VoRONA, Kolitley, Gamala, Milkarey,
Arkadak, Karay, and Serdoba; all water
ing a considerable extent of fruitful country,
particularly the Serdoba, for a space of eighty
versts.
Ilafla, mention of which was made before.
Medvitza, originating from some insignificant
springs in Saratof, and takes its course, 283
versts, through a steppe. Its banks are
tolerably inhabited ; and in spring navigable,
particularly after being joined by the Yettary.
Some small vessels were built upon this river
for the port of Taganrog; these were carried
thither during the prevalence of the high

486

APPENDIX, N° II.

water. Into the Medvitza fall the Yeskara,
Kolishley, Karamish, Balanda, Tersa, and
Burluck, having a course from thirty to a
hundred versts; and might be useftd, but for
the indolence of the inhabitants.

Communication by Water between the Baltic and
the Euxine Seas.
At the conquest of Poland, a plan was dis
covered, m the Archives, by a Pohsh engineer,
for joining the Dnieper ^ith the Southern Dvina,
by means of the rivers Oulla and Beresen. On
verifying the project, it was found the most
ehgible of any yet proposed, and accordingly
s^Lf '" ordered to be begun, under the name of the Bere-
Canal. se7iskoy Caual', in 1799; and is to be finished in
1805. By this new communication, the com
merce, not only of the White and Liule Russia,
but that of some other Southern Provinces,
would be facilitated and encouraged. Sixteen
years ago, it was in agitation to jom the Dnieper
and Dvina, by a canal between the city of Oritra
and Babinovichy, and this was found practicable ;
but the expense would be much too great, and
the advantages resulting therefrom not equal to
those of the foregoing plan.

(l) The Polish estimate amounted to 329,387 roubles,hut was found
deficient. 300,000 were added to the sum ; whereof, in 1801, 386,232
roubles were expended.

APPENDIX, N" II. 487
The commerce of the fruitful provinces of The ogm-
¦^ sky Canal.
Lithuania, Podolia, Minsk, &c. even in the time
of the republic, engaged the attention of the
Polish Government. The Hetman Oginsky began
a canal, by which, and the rivers Shara and
Ghatzolda, a communication can be opened
between the Dnieper and the river Niemen, con
sequently between the Baltic and the Euxine
Seas; but the work was abandoned. Count
Sievers proposed a continuation ; this was re
sumed in 1798, and it is supposed it will be
finished in 1 803 *. By means of this eanal, the
commerce of these provinces will be greatly
facilitated, as also the transporting of warlike
stores less difficult from the interior of Russia,
fbr the use of Government. This communication
would produce still greater advantages, were
the Niemen and the Dvina joined: a plan and
estimate are already made by General De Witt,
and the junction is to be effected by means of Project for
1 • TT 7 IT * uniting the
the rivers Nevesha and Lavenna, A cursory memen
« ., .,, . with the
view of the map will soon convince every one jj^ina.
of the benefits that would accrue there from, not
only to the adjacent country, but to Livonia and
Lithuania; as also Courland, and even the country
beyond the Oginsky Canal. The products pf
these rich provii^ces would be then naturally
(3) The estimate arooonts to 350,000 r««6fe».

488 APPENDIX, N° II.
carried to Riga, Kofna, Sec. instead of Prussia,
whose ports of Konigsberg, Memel, Pilan, Sec.
are enriched by this trade. The native merchant
would then profit by the advantage which
naturally proceeds from a direct, sale of his
goods in the ports of his own country, instead
of having recourse to the agency of the subjects
of a foreign power.
TheCata- In ordcT to improvc the Southern Inland
racts of the ivt ¦ i- .1 i . /. , ^
Dnieper. Navigation, the clearing of the Cataracts of
the Dnieper is sedulously continued with suc
cess. In places of insurmountable difficulty,
such as the Fall called Nenasetez, recourse will
be had to a circuitous passage, through canals
with sluices, locks, &c. ; and there are well-
founded expectations, that, in the course of a
few years, navigating vessels up the river, or
against the stream, will be practicable '. The
event is the more devoutly to be wished for, as
the Russian Polish provinces suffer greatly from
the scarcity of salt, for which an exorbitant
price is exacted. When the navigation up the
river is rendered practicable, these countries
will be cbmmodiously supplied from the salt
lakes of Kinburn and of the Crimea^., It is
(1) 200,000 roubles are appropriated for this work.
(2) The salt lakes of the Crimea were farmed by Paul the First,
ia one Peretz, a Jew, for less than 300,000 roMito. The contract is
now ended, and Government have kept the salines in their own
direction. The mode adopted will, it is firmly expected, produce two

APPENDIX, N» II. 489
much to be wished, that the mode of construct
ing vessels now in use on the Dnieper were to
be changed, and a better adopted; as the
'Dnieper ' baidac are as weak and incommodious
as the barks of Vyshney Voloshok.
On the Dniester, the only difficult passage is Dniester.
the Fall of Yampolsk, which is dangerous, eVen
at high and middle water: proper measures
are adopted to clear away the stones; and a
track, or towing path, is making for the returning
barks. The nobility have made, this summer,
an attempt to tow up vessels, which will be
productive of vast advantages, not only bringing
down the products of Podolia to the ports of the
Biack Sea, but affording an easy conveyance of
Crimean salt by the returning vessels. The
inhabitants of this province suffer greatly for
want of this necessary article, which they
.chiefly procure from Moldavia and Galicia^, at an
•extravagant price ; and, what is more grievous,
they cannot purchase it but for silver roubles,
ofthe old coinage', no other being current.

two millions annually ; and 17,000,000 inhahitants (besides the mili
tary and civil establishment, the families of the clergy and merchants)
be supplied at low price. Jews have retailed salt in Podolia, &c. at
more than a rouble a poud, or 36 lbs. English.
(3) Moldavia and Galicia have only rock-salt; when brought to
Odessa, it sells for 60 copeeks the poud.
(4) From the reign of Peter the First, to the Prussian war, undpr
' Elizabeth.

490

APPENpiX, N° II.

Division the First.

Rivers flowing from, or falling into, the Volga,
on the track to St. Petersburg.  The
Vyshney Voloshok Division of Water Cqm-
municatioTi.
The Volga is the principal of the whole navir
gation of this division.
Vazuza, navigated by 120 to 150 barks.
GzAT, furnishes also, annually, 6oo barks.
Tvertza is the principal track to Vyshney
Voloshok, conveying annually about 6000
barks and vessels of different sorts.
Medinka, a small branch, on which a number
of barks are built for sale at Ribna.
Mo LOG A, a collateral track of inland navigation,
from the Volga to St, Petersburg, by means of
the rivers Tzagodocha, Goruna, and Somina,
with a land-carriage of ninety versts to Tifin:
from 200 to 260 vessels frequent it. This
year a canal will be begun, to join the wharfs
of Tj/?w and Somina; in consequence of which,
trade is expected to increase.
The Sheksna affords another collateral br;Einch
-of, inland navigation, from the 'Volga to St,
Petersburg, by means of Belo Osero, or the
fVhite Lake; and the River Kofgia, to the
wharf of Badoshha; from thence, by land, ^o

APPENDIX, N" II.
the River Vitegra, the Lake of Onega, the
River Svir, the Lake of Ladoga, into the
Neva. This track will become the chief
means of supply to St, Petersburg, on the
completion of the Mariensky Canal.
Small Streams appertaining to this part of the
Volga, are
The Sestra, Sosha, Katorosla, Kostroma,
OuNSHA, and Velluga. These are of small
importance to trade, except on account of
building vessels, of which from 2, to 3000
are constructed annually on their banks,
The following Rivers take their course into the
Lower Volga.
The Oka. It conveys to Nishney Noyogorod,
or to Novogorod the Less (or Lower), 2000
loaded vessels of different kinds, from six
teen to twenty-seven fathoms in length;
three, four, and six fathoms in breadth;
carrying each from 25 to 45,000 pouds of
goo^s; and fit for service from four to eight
years. It is supposed a junction ofthe
^r superior Oka with the Desna, falling into the
''Dnieper, is practicable. This circumstance
is the more to be wished for, as a great
quantity of meal, &c. could be furnished

491

492 APPENDIX, N" II.
thereby, from the fruitful province of Little
Russia, for Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Riversfalling into the Oka.
OuPA and Shata, in the government of Tver.
In the time of Peter the First, it was
proposed to join the Shata with the Don, in
order to open a communication between the
Seas oi Azof and the Euocvne, and some ofthe
streams belonging to the division of the Volga.
Moskva, in the Moscow government.
Mocsha, in the Pezna government, through
the Tzna\ in the provuice of Tambof,
From the city of Morshansk, 500,000 cools,
or ichetverts, oi grain, and many other pro
ducts of consequence, as tallow, &c. are
annually sent. In consequence of an Im
perial order, canals were begun, to pass
round some dangerous place in the river
last mentioned, the Tzna.
Klasma, in the Vladimir Government.
The following Rivers belong to the same Division,
but are of less importance than the foregoing.
The Nara, Protva, Osetre, Prona, Ougba,
VOSA, GiSHDRA, NUGRA, SoUSHA, RoMA-
NOVKA, and Tish.
(I) The Tina falls into the Mocslta,

appendix, N" II. ^^^

Navigable Rivers falling into the Lower
Volga.
SouRA. A great quantity of the products of
the provinces of Penza, Saratof, and Simbirsk,
is conveyed through this river to Nishney
Novogorod (or Lower Novogorod).
Kama. The products of the governments of
Viatka and Permia axe transported by this
river, and almost all those of Siberia by its
branches, viz. Tzusova, Ousa, Belaia, and
Viatka. In the year 1786, it was proposed to join
the Northern Dvina with the Volga, by
means of the Kama, and a Canal, which
was accordingly begun, but not continued.
Samara, is navigated by vessels, mostly with
salt, from Orenburg to Nishney Novogorod.
Kamishinka, a small stream, which became
noted only as it engaged the attention of
Peter the Great, as supposed capable, of
furnishing the means to unite the Lower
Volga with the Don. A Cut was begun
between this stream and the Hqfla, which
falls into the Don, but not finished. '
The chief navigation, from the Volga to St.
Petersburg, as before observed, is by means
of the Tveret, leading to the point of sepa
ration at Vyshney Voloskok; through which

494 appendix, n- ii. ,
the vessels pass into the Msta, shoot the
Borovitzky Cataracts, and so enter the Lake
Ilmen.
Msta. The cataracts in this river, known by
the name of Borovitzky, not only impede the
regular ' course of this trade, but occasion
great loss of property, and will ever be an
insurmountable bar to the return of vessels
homeward, or to the wharfs they belong to.
Riversfalling into the Msta.
Valdaica and Cholova are only navigable
in spring, and even then very little.
OuvER. On this river are the principal reser
voirs of water for supplying the Msta.
Beresaika and Kemka have sluices, or dams,
for the same purpose.
Velia, Soroda, Leda, Koloda. Some wood
is floated down these rivers, during the spring,
at the highest water.
The Lake Ilmen. Besides the Msta, the
following Rivers fall into it.
Lovat and Tola ; and the Yavan falling into
the latter river. Through these rivers 300
barks pass annually, which must cross the
lake to get into the Volchof Uixer.
A project has been long in agitation, to
unite the River Pola with the lake Seligher,

APPENDIX, N» II. 495
and thereby effect a safe passage from the
Volga to St. Petersburg, by avoiding the Boro
vitzky Falls. The report of Captain Perry,
who examined the situation in 17 11, was
unfavourable with regard to the execution.
General Villebois asserted having discovered
a proper track; but, on investigation, the
Senate rejected his plan, and adopted another
of General Dedenef s, by which the track of
Vyshney Voloshok was avoided. The intended
new passage was to be through the rivers Kolpa
and Sheksna, which are to be united by a canal of
seventy-six versts, provided with thirteen sluices.
To avoid the dangers attending the passage
through the Lake Ilmen to the River Volchof,
a canal, called the Novogorodsky, was dug;
through which vessels now pass, direct from
the Msta to the Volchof,
The River Volchof presents also some diffi
culties, having considerable cataracts: to do
away the dangers of these, a passage was
begun to be dug in the very bed of the river,
in a direct line ; and of such depth, that vessels
may pass with ease at the lowest water. The
work was entered upon in 1798.
Rivers falling into the Volchof.
The Volchovetz, Shoba, Choresta, Pisob-
sha, and Tigoda. Some half ^barks come

496 appendix, n° ii.
from these rivers ; and also some wood, for
fuel, is floated from the Volchof, The vessels
enter the Canal of Ladoga.
The Canal of Ladoga. This well-known"
canal was begun in 17 18, finished in 1732,
and is 104 versts in extent. If any thing"
could be proposed for its improvement, it
were only to make its bed five or six feet
lower than the surface of the water in the
Lake of Ladoga.
The many reservoirs now inevitably neces
sary to supply it with water, would, in that
case, be useless; and the great annual
expense absolutely required for the conser
vation of the dams built across the rivulets
falling into it (which originally cost much),
for the same purpose of collecting water,
would then be saved. The canal in general;
through length of time, requires considerable
sums annually, for- necessary repairs : these
sums were diverted to other purposes during
the reign of the Empress Catherine,
and the canal nearly filled up. Paul
caused it to be cleared, and it is now in
good order.
The least wind from the Lake of Ladoga
formerly hindered vessels leaving the canal
from entering the Neva. In 1800, therefore>
a new outlet was begun at Schlusselburg ; and

APPENDIX, N° II.
Vessels Under the cover of the island h&ve &
convenient egress, with every wind.
The River Neva. — Along the banks of
this river, a towing-path, up the stream, is
established The Cataracts at Pella were
cleared in 1798'.
N.B. The navigation of the Lake Ladoga
is extremely dangerous ; and impracticable for
any vessels but what are fitted for sea.
The following Rivers fall into the Lake of
Ladoga:
The Volchof, as before mentioned.
Sash is the means of communication between
the Volga and St. Petersburg, by the help of
the rivers Mologa, Somina, and Tifinka.
This river has some Falls, on which work
i^ now carried on. From the Sdsh, vessels
are obliged to naVigate the Lake of Ladoga,
to make the estuary of the Volchof, and
sometimes the Neva. When the canal
between the Sdsh and the Volchof is finished
(the Sdshkoy), which is a prolongation of the
great Ladoga Canal, the dangers of the lake
will be avoided; and, consequently, this
inland navigation will increase.

(1) S8,894 rouA/« expended thereon,
VOL. I. 2 K

497

498 APPENDIX, N» II.
The Pasha and Oyait. Through these rivers,
some timber is brought down; and on their
banks a great number of vessels are built;
particularly those for the transporting of
goods from St. Petersburg to Cronstadi, and
even sometimes to Reval In the course of
1802, the digging of a circuitous canal about
the Ladoga Lake was to begin between the
rivers Sdsh and the Svir. On the completion
of this work, the quantity, now commonly
conveyed by the present track,, of timber,
wood for fuel, charcoal, &c. will be trebled,
from the above rivers and the adjacent coun
try, in not being exposed to the dangers of
the lake.
The Svir, a navigable river, by which many
valuable goods are brought from the enviroiis
of the Lake of Onega, whence it derives its
source. Also by this river merchandize is
transported from the Volga, through the
Sheksna, to Vitegra. It will form the chief
branch of the new projected water commu
nication, between the rivers Kofgia and
Vitegra, by means of the Mariensky Canal.
The cataracts in it, though not of conse
quence, still render the return of barks
difficult; they are now clearing with success;
but, at all events, the making a towing-path
will be necessary. Till now, these vessels

APPENDIX, N- II. 499
were woAed up, at great expense, by human
labour. The return of a simple galliot, from
the Ladoga to the Onega Lake, costs two
hundred roubles. On this river are some
private dock-yards, for building ships, some
of which have even reached the Indies,
A considerable number of ships sail through
the Lake of Ladoga, to St, Petersburg, from the.
towns of Olonetz, Serdopol, and Kexholm,
Bedsides the above-mentioned rivers, the
following take their course to the Ladoga
Lake.
The Ianesh, a small stream,
RuscoLA, and Voxsa, larger than the Ianesh,
but are equally incompetent to give room
for the extension of inland navigation. The
extreme rapidity of their currents in general,
and particularly a cataract called the Imatra,
in the Voxsa, one of the most terrible known,
render navigation totally impracticable.
Inland Navigation from the Volga, by means of
the Rivers Mologa, Tighvinka, and Sash.
The Rivers forming this Division of Inland
Navigation, are.
The Mologa, which becomes navigable at the
^ estuary of the Tzagodotza, which falls into it.
" Tzagodotza ; the upper part called Lida.
2k2

SpS>. APPENDIX, N" II»
It is navigable for vessels not drawing more
than two feet water, when fully laden: into
^^ it falls the Somina, which is even shallow at
J the wharf of the same name: at its upper
. part 200 boats are built, called tifenky,
some of which serve as transports in tljis
' navigation; others are sent for sale to the
r. Volga.
The GouiN has some cataractsy but vessels go
5. Tap and down this river.
^ighvinka, from the town of Tighvin, to where
it joins the Sdsh : it is sufficiently deep for
the kind of vessels employed ; but from the
town, to its source out of the Lake Oserskoef
it has either stony or gravelly bottom, and is
more like a torrent than a river.
Sash. During a whole century, a track was
sought for, to unite the wharfs of Tigh'uin
and Smninsk. Peter the First proposed
doing it, by joining the upper part of the
Tighvinka, through some lakes, with the
\r, Somina: no other proofs remain of any
attempt to carry this plan into execution,
but what are gathered from tradition, and
the ruin of a house iiuilt by his order on the
spot intended for the reservoir. Another
' plan, proposed by General Resanof, fixed the
/ point of separation at the little Lake Krupino,
. ,the upper part of the Tighvinka, ^evnng^ as a

APPENDIX, N* IT.
canal, by building thereon seventeen sluices.
It was proved, on examination, that the
reservoir could not furnish a sufficiency of
water for the canal intended to serve instead of
that oi Vyshney Voloshok; and, consequently,
the chief view to avoid the Borovitzky Falls
was frustrated. But, on transferring the
point of separation to the little River Volt-
shan, it was found practicable to establish
there a sufficient reservoir, not for barks,
but only for such kind of vessels as are
employed on the Tighvinka and Somina,
because the Gorum and Somina are too defi
cient in water to admit vessels of the size
of the barks. This circumstance prompted
General Dedenef to propose the junction of
the Tighvinka with the Lida, which was to
form the point of separation by a canal qf
seventy-six versts, furnished with thirteen
sluices, with iron chains, and of four or five
gates, with a fall of water of no less than eight
feet. From the Lida, another canal of seven
versts was to unite the whole with the Kolpa,
which falls into the Sheksna. But, on due
investigation, it proved that the indicated
places would furnish still less water than
those pointed out by General Resanof.
Besides, the line of direction proposed by
General Dedenef led, in some places, thrbtigh

•501

^02

APPENDIX, N° II.
eminences that required digging eight fathoms
(fifty-six feet) in depth; in others, through
low grounds. Where dykes and dams were
to be erected, and eVen stone aqueducts
built, to convey the water of the canal over
rivulets which crossed its course. Half a
century would hardly have sufficed for the
execution of such a stupendous enterprise.
This work, had it even been executed, would
not have answered, for want of water ; as the
Lida, the proposed point of separation, has
hardly a sufficiency to supply its eight
sluices. The difficulties attending the plans
of Generals Dedenef and Resanof being
evident, a new track was sought for, and
discovered in 1800 — 1801; and, in 1802,
another canal was begun.
Inland Navigation from the Volga, by means of
the Rivers Sheksna and Vitegra.
The Rivers belonging to this Division are.
The Sheksna, the largest of those falling
into the Volga. Vessels go from Ribinska
lo Belosersk ; from thence, by the Beloe Lake,
or Beloozero, to the River Kofgia, and by it
as far as the wharf of Badoshka. The trade
of Kargopole is carried to the Sheksna, through
the Lake Voge, whence the goods are trans
ported by land, forty versts, to the River

APPENDIX, N" II. 503
Proma, which falls into the Sheksna. The
vessels from the Volga to the wharf of
Badoshka are there unloaded, and their
cargoes carried fifty-five versts, by land, to
the city of Vitegra, then reloaded into
galliots, and by the River Svir conveyed to
St. Petersburg,
The rivers Kofgia and Vitegra are to be
joined by a canal of five versts and a half,
having thirteen stone sluices, with a descent,
or fall, of six or seven feet. The plan requires
only to be executed, to make this navigation
completely safe. Peter the First had it
already in view, but his demise put a stop to
the work. The public-spirited representations
(or rather patronage) of the present Empress
Dowager, Maria Pedorovna, to the Emperor
Paul, procured an order, in 1799, for a canal
to be dug, and thence called the Mariensky, as
a monument of her patriotism.
Thefollowing Rivers fall into the Sheksna :
The LouDA. The lower part is pretty navigable ;
and a number of barks are constructed on it.
Ouloma and Slavenka furnish also conveni
ences for building of barks. The respective
heads of these rivers approximate the Lake
Koubetjskoi, out of which issues one of the
principal scources of the Northern Dvina,

504 APPENDIX, N° in
SoocH^oNA, perfectly navigable ; and a number
of vessels go from- Vologda to ArchangeL <
It was supposed that it was possible to
, effect a junction between the Ouloma and the
, Slavenkci; and, in consequence of a survey in
1800, some tracks were found that promised
success. The object of this plan was, first,
to open a water communication between
St. Petersjburg and the city of Vologda; and,
secondly, to establish a like communication
between Archangel and St. Petersburg. One of
these tracks led through a canal of five versts.
(to be made), with a fall (or descent of water
of twenty-five in that space) through the Lake
Blagovefzenskoye (out of which issues the
River Parosovitza, and falls into the Lake-
Koubenskoe), Kemsi, Vaserinskoe, Oulamofskoe,.
and Severskoe, and thence to the River /S/awnAa.
The other track was nearly through the same
lakes, but turned to the River Ouloma, which
river must be first made navigable.
The Yagretza; not navigable, and simply a
small rivulet. Somie barks are built on it.
PioMA. This river formerly formed a part of
the navigation from Novogorod to Archangel.
From the River Sheksna, the vessels were
towed up the Pibma, twenty versts; thenee
the goods were carried by land, forty-five
yevsts, to the Lake Voge; there re-loaded

Appendix, n» ii. 505
into other vessels, which went through the
little River Lourda, as far as the Lake LatzS,
out of which issues the River Onega, on which
the navigation continued to the village Mar-
kdmonsa, where the great Cataracts begin:
the goods were then again unshipped, and
carried by land nine or ten versts, to the httle
River Yamsscha, through which, and the
Scheleksa, entered then the Dvina.
The Lake Beloozero is not deep or dan
gerous ; the vessels employed on it (belo%erkf),
are much better constructed than those that
frequent the track of Vyshney Voloshok, and last
from eight to ten years.
Rivers falling into the Lake Beloozero, or White
Lake.
The Ouchtoma, not navigable; having its source
in the neighbourhood of the Lake Voge, from
which it is divided by mountains.
Kema. No vessels frequent it; but timber is
floated down.
The Kofgia. By this river, vessels went only
as far as the wharf of Badoshka. When the
Mariensky Canal is finished, they will be able
to proceed to its head, that is, fifteen versts
further than Badoshk.
(I) A species of small craft thus called.

506 APPENDIX, N° 11.
When the plan bf making the Marimky
Canal was adopted, it was resolved to make the
River Vitegra more navigable, by digging canals
round the dangerous place, and erecting nine
teen sluices; which work is already in hand.
The river is navigable from the head of the
canal to the Lake of Onega, a space of fifty-five
versts, and into which it empties itself. Only
about the extent of fifteen versts is necessary to
be worked on now.
Thefollowing Streams fall into the River Vitegra.
The Kall, Talitza, Yand, Bol, Tighisma.
These inconsiderable streams are of no other
use but to form an extraordinary reservoir of
water for supplying the Mariensky Canal, in
case of need.
From the River Vitegra the vessels enter
the Orae^a, which they ttavigate sixty versts, to
the source of the Svir, Although the navigation
of the Lake of Onega is not so dangerous as that
of the Ladoga, the passage of barks or floats of
timber is not practicable. In consequence of a
proper survey, a track was discovered, which
admitted of a canal being diig through or across
the rivulets Jkfe^ra and Oshta, from the estuary
of the Vitegra to the source of the Svin by
which the navigation of the Onega will be
avoided, and the return of barks faciUtated to

Appendix, n" ii. 507
their respective wharfs. The canal is to be dug
seven feet lower than the level of the Water in
the lake, which makes all sluices, &c. un
necessary. Rivers falling into the Lake Onega.
The Oshta, Metra, inconsiderable rivulets,
and not navigated, but some galliots are built
on them.
Vitegra, described before. At present, this
river is navigated only by 130 to ]6o Vessels.
The Mariensky Canal, when finished, will
open a passage to many thousands.
Andoma, not navigated, but galliots built on it.
VoDLA, the most considerable of all the rivers
falling into the Lake Onega : it may be called
the source of the Svir and Neva. It had an
immense quantity of water, but its dreadful
cataracts render navigation absolutely im
possible : unless just at its estuary, it is rather
a mighty torrent than a river.
These difficulties did not however dis
courage Peter the First, who was sensible of
the vast advantages that would accrue to the
empire from a water communication between
St. Petersburg and Archangel, The survey being ¦
made, it appeared that the easiest track was
through the very Vodla,< supposing that, by
proper works, Sec. a passage could be effected

508 appendix, n" ii.
over the Cataracts; from this river the vessels
were to go up the rivulet Scherevia, by help of
sluices, to the village Voloka, whence a canal of
five versts was to be made to the Lake Voloshkoe,
which was to form the point of separation.
From this lake issues the River Voloshka,
emptying itself into the Keni Lake, which gives
birth to a considerable river of the same name,
falling into the Onega River, down which the
navigation was to proceed, to the antient wharf
of the Novogorodians, at the village Markomousa;
thence, by a canal of five or six versts, to the
River Yamtsa, through which, by the help of
sluices, to pass into the Northern Dvina. On a
new survey, in 1 800, it appeared that not only
enormous sums were requisite to make the
Cataracts of the Vodla passable, but doubts
were entertained, whether the proposed point
of separation, at the Lake Voloshkoe, could
furnish the necessary water: but the chief
obstacle ;was found to be from the respective si-
ttiatiohs of the rivers Yamtsa and Onega, the latter
having an elevation above the former, of 1 1 7 in
the extent of 100 fathoms (700 feet Eng.), where
it is impossible to dig, of make use of a canal
by any known means. The Yamtsa could never
furnish a sufficiency of water, even were a canal
dug, bf three or four versts long, and thirty
feet deep, at a great expense, through some

APPENDIX; N*II, 509 »
emihenoes, which of themselves produce no
springs. The project was therefore laid by, as
impracticable. The Talabitza, Philipi, and Sisla; insigni
ficant rivulets, and of no use whatever.
The Poventza, with an immense body of water,
is a continued cataract, from its source, at
the Lake Volga, to its estuary, at that of
Onega. In Peter the First's reign, a junction of
the Lake Onega with the White Sea Was pro
jected, by means of the river (the Poventza),
conjointly with either the Vigh or the Soumma.
At the persuasion of some merchants, a survey
was actually made in 1800. It appeared
that there was a possibility of conducting the
water of the Lake Vodla, whence issues the
Poventza, tp the Lake Mateo, or to the River
Telekina, whose source it forms, by means of
a morass, at the foot of the mountain Ma-
celga; and from thence by a circuitous canal
of seven versts, to be dug round the Falls^of
the Poventza and the Vigh, to jpin the River
Onega with the above-mentioned Macelga
, mountain. The Vodla Lake, being twenty-
nine feet higher than that of ikfa/co, forms a
most copious reservoir of water, (being the
highest receptacle pf this element jaelonging
to the Division of . the White-S'^aNayigation).

510 APPENPIX, N°II.
But the line of direction of this canal being
through a stony ground, though covered by a
morassy surface; 15,000 cubic fathoms in
extent in all its parts. With seventy sluices ;
the question is, whether the supposed advan
tages accruing from this project would ever
repay the enormous expense attending its
execution ?
The Moumbascha and Koum approximate the
Lake Vigh, so near, that a junction was at
tempted; but high mountains made it imprac
ticable.
The Tzobina, and Limsha; insignificant rivulets
of water.
Rivers falling into, or flowing towards, the
White Sea,
The Kema, full of cataracts and torrents, unfit
for navigation, but admitting different branches
of industry. ^
Vigh, issues from a small lake, situate notfar
from that of Vodla : from beginning to end, it
is a torrent : it takes its course through a lake
of the same name, and empties itself into the
White Sea, by a multiplicity of dreadful cata^
racts, at the wharf of Snoka. Between the
Falls, the river is very deep, and sometimes,
for some versts, it does not appear to have
any current: froni these seeming pools issue
the most tremendous shpots of Water. The

appendix, N"II, 511
estuary is insufficiently deep to admit ships
drawing ten feet at the lowest ebb. One
branch thereof forms a pretty safe harbour,
for at least a hundred vessels, of that de
scription. It is to be observed, that the Lake
Vigh, through which this river takes its course,
is the great receptacle of water in these parts,
from different rivers, issuing from small lakes
in its neighbourhood, and is interspersed with
a number of islands. The principal river
falling into the Vigh, is,
The Sighisha, issuing from the Lake Sigh,
considerable of itself, and less intersected by
cataracts than any in its vicinity.
The Souma, very inconsiderable, full, of falls,
and not navigable : at its estuary is the wharf
oi Soumsk, which frequently serves as a depot
for the tools and other necessaries for the
Admiralty of Archangel, brought thither from
St. Petersburg during the summer, by the
Lake of Onega, as far as Poventza, and thenee
by the winter road to Soumsk, to be shipped ,
the next summer for Archangel: so that no
less than two years are spent in this con
veyance. This place does not deserve the
name of a port, as, at low water, vessels of
the smallest burden are obliged to he in an
open road, four versts off, which extent is
. perfectly dry at low water.

^12 APPENIJiX, N*lli
Twelve versts from the estuary of the Stmtia
are the Salines of Yalovitzky: near these is a
small, but a safe cove. The Admiralty caused
a quay to be constructed ; where vessels may
ride in thirteen feet water, at the lowest ebb.
This spot is more ehgible than the Souma, for a
depot of stores for Archangel.
; The tides on the coast of the White Sea are
from five to seven feet.
Smalt Rivers falling into the White Sea.
The KaleshInka, Koughta, Ouneshma,
SosNOFKA, Shounka, and the Nimenka,
are not navigated; their estuaries have con
siderable fisheries, serving as marine stations
for the port; the adjacent country being
impassable, in summer, for a considerable
distance from the coast, morasses and rocky
precipices intersecting it in every direction.
The River Onega forms a separate division o
inland navigation: its source is from the Lake
Vdd. In the great map of Russia this lake is
called the Vol, and in its course to the Lake
Latzi it is called Sved, and on crossing this
lake receives the appellation of Onega. It is
navigable to a small place, twenty versts below
Kargopol; \yhen, at this spot, torrents and
cataracts, near Marcomousa, can only be passed
in spring, during the high water then prevailing.

APPlENDIX, N-II. 513
During that season, some floats of timber,
and a number of vessels, called karbasy, with
about twenty or thirty barks; pass on to the
town of Onega, This navigation is decreasing
from year to year, and is, for the greatest
part, on account of Government.
In the River O^^ga fall thefollowing Springs.
The Voloks A (the Upper). A great quantity of
timber could be floated down this river; and
even during the high water in spring, vessels
could pass, though it is full of rapids and
stones : notwithstanding, thirty or forty vessels
pass it, of 300 to 400 pouds burden, with
dried fish. These vessels come from different
lakes, and go down by the Upper Vodla to
the Rivulet Tzerevia, up which they proceed
to the landing-place, from whence the vessels
and cargoes are carried by land five versts to
the Voloshkoe. Lake ; through which they pro
ceed to the Lake Ken, and by the river of the
same name to the Onega.
Mosha, the principal river of those falling into
the Onega: it is capable of being navigated,
did the climate permit the country to be cul
tivated, or furnish the inhabitants with the
means of subsistence by any branch pf in-
- dustry. Down this river a vast quantity of
Listvenishno timber is floated, the adjacent
VOL. I. 2l

514 APPENDIX, N" llv
country abounding with this wood: it is
conveyed by water to Markamousa, and fi-om
thence carried, by land, to the Sheleksa,. by
which it goes down the Dvina to Archangel.
The Iksa, Sintuga, Kosha, Mituga, and
KoDENA, are small rivulets, full of rapids
and stones.

Division of Inland Communication belonging ta
the Northern Dvina.
The Dvina, one of the largest rivers in Europe,
with its different branches, is deserving of
particular attention. It is navigable, and a
great traffic is carried thereon, and the
streams that fall into it, to Archangel, the
only port in possession of Russia till the
eighteenth century. It empties itself into
the White Sea, by five different channels:
two of these only are navigable^
Rivers falling into the Dvina^
The PiNEGA t timber is floated down this river.
Vitzegda: into this river falls the Northern
Keltma, which it was intended to unite with
a southern river of the same name, that joins
the Kama. {Vide " The Section concerning
the navigation of the Fb/^io.") A Canal,,

APPENDIX, N° II.
proposed by General Souchtelen, was begun;
but the war put a stop to the work. At a
small expense, a new branch of navigation
would have been opened between the pro
vinces of Permia, Viatka, Sec, and Archangel;
not only for the purposes of trade, but the
conveyance of timber for the Admiralty.
Vaga. Its source being from a morass, is
consequently little fit for navigation, but
some timber is floated on this river.
Uga, and Lower Souchona, two of the principal
branches of the Dvina : the latter is deserving
of principal consideration, as great quantities
of grain and other merchandize are trans
ported by it to Archangel, from Vologda and
its neighbourhood. Its source is from the
Lake Koubenska, by means of which it is
intended to open a communication between
the Souchona and River Seleksa,

515

Division the Second.
Finland Waters,
The Neva. The advantages of this river have
already been described, as it opens a com
munication between the Volga and the port
of St, Petersburg and Cronstadt.

516 APPENDIX, N° II.
Between St. Petersburg and Schlusselburg,
the following Streams fall into the Neva.
The losNA. and IshOr: though inconsiderable,
small barks firequent them; also timber, juid
wood for fuel, floated-
OcHTA^ not navigable.
MoiKA, and Iontalka, are canals dug through
the city of St. Petersburg, for the reception of
some barks from Vyshney Voloshok.
Rivers on the Coast of Finland.
The Kumen is the outlet of the water from
numberless lakes in Finland; it is not navi
gable but at its estuary, where is now tlie
station of the ga;!:ley fleet, or port of Rotsenr
zalme. At the building of different fortifications on
the frontier, it was tiipught necessary to
make a communication by water between
the respective fortresses, to avoid passing the
line of demarcation by land, which they were
formerly obliged to do : for this purpose canals
were dug; through these, and some lakes,
a passage by water may be effected, round
the Swedish frontier, even as far as Nenscklot.
The KoUTVALENTAISKOr, Koutvelentripol-
SKOY, Kafkinskoy, KouKOTAiBOLSKoy, and
Teletaipolskoy, flow in various directions,

appendix, N° II.
and through different places, from Wilmdn-
strand to Nenscklot.
Rivers on the Coast (jTIngermanland.
The Lug A ; small, but in spring, during the high
water, vessels and floats of wood pass, from
the neighbourhood of the town of Luga, to
Narva.
Narova, is only navigable frOm the town of
Narva to its falhug into the Gulph of Finland^
In the course of this river, from its source
?,t the extensive Lake of Peypus, to the town
of Narva, are such cataracts (one of which
is fourteen feet perpendicular) as will ever
render the navigation of this river absoliitely
impracticable. From the Plusa, barks and
timber are conveyed to the Narova, for the
port of Narva, This river is remarkable for
its great annual inundations in spring. The
Lake Pskof, which is only a continuation of
the Lake Peypus, Tzudskoe, being one body
of water, is more remarkable for its fisheries
than the navigation carried thereon: some
barks, however, pass through it, from the
Cataracts of the Narova and the Embach, to
Ps^tif Several rivers fall into it: the Velikaia
is the chiefi as some barks pass through it
from the neighbourhood of Opotska, during'
its high water in sj)ring. Its bdtiom is full

517

518 Appendix, n" ii.
of stones, and has many rapids and whirl
pools.
The Vo flows from the Lake Vagoula near Verro,
and falls into the Peypus, or Pskof Lake. It
is projected to unite the Lake Vagoula with
the Schwartzbach, by a branch of the River
Aa (Gavia), falling into the Baltic near Riga,
which would be of considerable advantage to
the trade of that port.
The Embach falls also into Peypus, Many
vessels pass through it, from the vicinity of
the city of Dornat to Pernan: this river
joins the Lake Urief Means are sought to
unite this river, by a canal, with Navat, a
principal branch of the Phinert, towards
Pernan,
Rivers on tke Coast o/" Estonia and Livonia.
From the mouth of the Narova, to the port of
Pernan, only small rivulets are to be found,
full of water-falls. The Brikitma, near Reval,
Yasovala, Fena, Vigkterbach, Sec, are the prin
cipal, but only serve as watering-places for
the fleet, in time of war.
It was supposed practicable, in 1793, to join
the Finnere with the Emback by means of a
canal, and thereby open a eommunication
between the Lakes Plrtz and the River

51 Q
APPENDIX, N" II. "^^^
Navast; and, consequently, with the Lake
Peypus, and the adjacent country, to Dorpat,
During the high water in spring, a considerable
number of vessels pass the Finnere, to the last-
mentioned port.
Were the projected plan of General De Witt
put into execution, to enable vessels to pass by
the Aa (Gavia), which empties itself into the
Baltic, not far from the estuary of the Southern
Dvina or Cluna, an uninterrupted communication
between Riga and the Peypus would be esta
blished. The canal necessary to be dug, is to
be of small extent, but the river itself requires
much labour to be made perfectly navigable.
The Rivulet Schwartzbach, having a firm bottom,
may be converted into a canal, with only one
sluice to join the Lake Vagoula : the River Vo,
necessary for this communication, requires
also to be cleared, and three or four sluices
built. This plan was proposed for execution
at private expense, but has not commenced.
Nor is it of immediate consequence, as already
great traffic may be carried on from the Peypus,
by the government oi Pskof, through the Narova,
The advantage of a passage through the Schwartz-
back would be great indeed, were it to lead to
an inland water communication between the
ports of St, Petersburg and Riga, to avoid going
by sea, particularly in time of war.

520 APPENDIX, N* II.
The Southern Dvina, or Duna, being the chief
outlet into the Baltic, after the Nsva, from all
the interior provinces as far south as Kiof, for
the exportation -of their products, forms a sepa
rate division of inland navigation. This river is
navigable to the town of Sourask, About one
thousand barks, with goods, frequent it annually,
besides a great number of rafts for timber and
mast wood, This traffic is likely to continue,
notwithstanding the great difficulty and ex
penses attending the navigation of the river,
which, from the "very town of Drisno, is filled
"with stones, some under water, some projecting
above it. All possible means were adopted to
deepen and widen the channel, which, at the
estuary, is also subject to be choked up, by
jnoving bodies of sand. It was supposed, that
by increasing the natural current or stream of
the river (or increasing the rapidity), by nar
rowing it with dykes or dams, these bars to
navigation would have been removed; but the
execution of this plan proved not. only abortive,
but very pernicious, as it caused an inundation
which threatened with destruction the Jow
country about Riga: this was only saved by
the undermining or washing away ofthe dykes,
and the stream making itself a new chsumel, or
outlet, at a hollow road called the Duna-ravin,
After the stream had taken this new course, it

APPENDIX, N" II. 521
was supposed, that, as only one sand-bank,
of 150 feet in extent, with seven feet water,
remained, and obstructed the passage of ships
drawing six feet, it might be deepened, par
ticularly during the winter, by working on the
iCe with certain machines in use at Plymouth
(dr agues). This work could not, at any rate,
be executed in less than ten years ; and from
the constant accumulation of sand, must ever
be continued, as at the River Charante in France.
There is a road for ships, five versts from the
estuary of the Dvina, at Dunamund, with four
teen feet water, and fit for ships drawing thirteen
feet; but its situation will not admit of any
amelioration, whatever safe artificial haven or
port might be constructed on the left shore,
both for men-of-war and merchant ships; but
an enterprise so stupendous has hardly ever
been attempted ; and it would require such
immense sums, that the Board has resolved
not to enter upon it, nor attempt deepening
the passage at the Damba.
The following Rivers fall into the Southern Dvina
or Duna.
The BuLDERA, which joins it at the fortress
of Dunamund. Vessels navigate this river,
passing Milan as far as Bansk, near which it
divides itself into two branches; the one

522 APPENDIX, N„ II.
called Monsha, the other Lavenna. Both
branches have falls and rapids, but are
capable of improvement, particularly the
Lavenna, and might be easily made navi
gable: the last is to be joined with the River
Niemen, by means of a canal of ten versts,
and the River Nevegia, By this new water
•conveyance, articles of trade, and necessaries
of life, may be directly carried to Riga from
the fruitful provinces of Poland, instead of
being, as now is the case, transported to
Memel and K'onigsburg, and there sold at low
prices: of which more hereafter, when the
River Nieihen is treated of. The navigation
of the Bludera deserves even now some at
tention, in consideration of the timber floated
down to Riga for exportation.
The Yavghel, two branches of the same name,
unite with the lake so called, which empties
itself, by a large natural canal, {Stin-sea, or
lake), near the estuary ofthe Dvina, Another
small river joins the Stin-sea with the Verga-
sea, which could be united with the River Act
by a canal of some few versts : by this a new
water conveyance would be opened with the
Lake Peypus, and the government of Pskof,
Some articles, such as provisions, charcoal,
wood for fuel, &c. are carried to Riga, by
this river.

APPENDIX, N» II.
The Oghera, full of stones, is not capable of
any improvement.
The Perza, equally stony with the foregoing, and
not to be made navigable without great expense.
Yefcet is a considerable river, and might be
navigated during high and middle water,
were some stones removed, and cataracts
improved : this plan is now in contemplation.
Driza. During high water, in spring, some
wood, for fuel, is floated down this river.
Drizna has its source in some morasses in
Livonia, is full of stones, and of no use
whatsoever.
Polatska is totally unnavigable ; and, even if
improved at great expense, could never
benefit trade.
Oulla has for a long time been frequented ;
thirty large barks go down from the town of
Leppelaz; timber and mast- wood is floated
down, which were towed up the River
Beresen (belonging to the Dnieper Division)
as far as the Lake Peto, from whence they
were transported by land to the Yessa: this
falls into the Lake Belo, below the Leppel,
whence the Oulla has its source. Upon exa
mination, after taking possession of Lithuania,
near the spot where the land-carriage was
made, it appeared practicable to effect a
communication by water between the Lake

523

^24 aSppendix, n° ii.
Plavio, the source of the Rivulet Cergontza.
which falls into the Beresen, and the Lake
Bereshta, the source of another rivulet of the
same name, which falls into the River Yessa,
ten versts above Leppel. For this purpose it
was necessary to dig a canal of eight versts,
with four sluices, and to make circuitous
cuts in some parts of the Rivers Cerguza and
BeresktS, die first of seven versts, and three
sluices ; and on the BeresktS, two versts, and
two sluices, On th6 Oulla itself it is neces
sary to build four sluices, and clean the bed
of the river: all this is begun; and in 1805,
it is supposed, it will be completed. By this
track, a water communication Will be bpehed
between the Black Sea and the Baltic; and
the conveyance of the products, hot only of
the province of Minsk, but of Wkite and Little
Russia, and the Polish Ukraine, to Riga, will
be facilitated. Another plan was proposed,
to Unite the above-mentioned seas, by means
ofthe Upper Dvina (Duha), in the neighbour^
hood of the toWn Babinovitzey, with the Upper
Dnitper; but, independent bf the extraor
dinary labour, it appeared that there Was
an insufficiency of water.
The Obole.: Some wood and provisions are
conveyed down this river in spring, during
high water.

APPENDIX, N" II.
The OusHSTKA. This stream was, by a former
plan, intended to form the means of commu
nication between the Dvina and the Lovatd,
faUing into the Lake Ilmen, as a new track
by water from Wkite Russia, On the execu
tion of the plan projected to unite the Dnieper
and the Southern Dvina about Babinovitzey,
the conveyance by water may be extended
even to St. Petersburg, itom. Little Russia, Sec.%
and the same track may open a water com
munication between the last-mentioned city
and Riga : for this purpose it was intended
to dig a canal along the Oushstka (which is too
shallow), from its source at the Lake Oushstka ;
this was to serve as the principal point
of separation, or common reservoir to the
River Pola, at the village Vlashova, and
thence to Veliky Lughy ; but it is not decided
whether the above lake is sufficiently stored
with water for so extensive a communication :
at alb events, the advantages that are to be
expected from this project are such as deserve
the greatest attention and examination, as to
the practicability of execution, at any expense
whatsoever. Rivers in Courland.
Most rivers in this province are insignificant ;

525

526 APPENDIX, N° II.
hardly navigable ; full of Falls ; and at times
quite dry.
The Irba, quite useless, has its source firom a
considerable lake, called Lestmesha.
The ViNDA, more considerable, has its source
in Lithuania, but is only navigable to the
town oi Goldingen, where great waterfalls bar
all passage. During the reign of the native
Dukes, a junction of this river with the
Niemen was meditated, but these cataracts
were found to be insuperable obstacles.
The port of Vindaf is at its estuary; the
trade there is considerable, and has much
increased since the entrance thereof has been
made more convenient.
Lib A, an insignificant rivulet, falls into the
Bobchoe Lake, adjoining the Baltic, on which
is situate the port of Liban, of considerable
trade.
Herlighen, Aa; unnoticed, and serves only
as the boundary between Russia and Prussia,

Division of Communication by tke Niemen.
The Niemen (the Memel oi the Germans), one
of the most uiteresting rivers of European
Russia. By means of this river the most
lucrative trade is carried on, in the products

appendix, N» II.
of all Litkuania, and part of Volkynia : • on
finishing the Oginsky Canal, it will become
the chief track of conveyance for those of
the Ukraine, and all the other provinces near
the Euxine, to the Baltic, Unfortunately, the
trade thereon takes its course to foreign
ports, greatly to the disadvantage of the
native merchants. To Memel, situate at its
estuary, a quantity of timber, mostly for
ship -building, to the amount of some millions,
is annually floated down; as well as some
hundreds of barks, with grain, hemp, flax,
wax, potash, &c. A trade of equal amount
is carried on with Konigsburg, by the way of
Fredericsgraben. By opening water commu
nication, by means of a canal, between the
River Nevegia, falling into the Nietnen, and
the Lavenna, which flows into the Dvina,
this lucrative commerce would revert to
Riga, and the traders be exonerated from
the impositions they suffer from dealing with
foreign merchants, who fix the prices at their
sole will and pleasure; and, consequently,
advantages might accrue even from dealing
with the same foreign commissioners, in a
port belonging to their own country. Besides
the timber floated down the Niemen, from
five to six hundred large barks frequent it
annually, most of which return home with

527

528 APPENDIX, N° II.
foreign merchandize. This river will admit
ofthe navigation oi gttlliots, and other masted
vessels, to the Falls of Kofno.
¦ Although the Niemen has been frequented
for some centuries, it does not appear that
any effectual measures were ever taken to
improve its navigation. At' the upper part it
has sandy shallows ; in the middle are Falls.
In the reign of the last King of Poland, the
cataracts were attempted to be cleared; but
the work was carried on so unscientifically, as
to produce no effect. In general, the Niemen
is capable of improvement, at a small expense.
The establishing of towing-paths is now the
chief object for the return of vessels, inde
pendent of Kofno. There are three other
gi^eat wharfs on this river, viz. Grodno, Mbsty,
and Stolbtzy.
Rivers belonging to tke Niemen Division of
Inland Navigation.
The Nova. Only a little wood is floated down
this river.
Dubitza. Some barks frequent it, though it
is not much larger than the Nova. It was
intended to join it with Vtndcf; but cataracts
at Goldingen, and other obstacles in digging
the canal, frustrated the project.

APPENDIX, N° II.
Nevegia, As before mentioned, this river is
to be the new track, or the means of joining
the Niemm and the port of Riga, Its lower
part-,is ali?^|dy so navigable as to admit of
ships and gaMiots frequenting the sea, but
only asfar^as ¦i(^e town of Koydany : from
this plac^ it beooines so rapid, that sluices
must be had recourse to, if the projected
junction of the Dvina and Niemen is to take
place. Of this new track, mention was already
made, under the article of the river Buldera.
The ViLiA, another great branch jpf the Niemen:
about a hundred barks frequent it annually,
principally with provisions. The rivulets
Svitonsha- and Simiana fall into it; through
these, in spring, some vessels and floats of
timber are conveyed.
Meretzink A, the Lebedink a, and Beresink a,
totally unfit for navigation; and even if ren
dered in some 'degree so, would never repay
the expense.
Sharra is, of all the branches of the Niemen,
the most favourable for extending the navi
gation. By means of the Oginsky Canal, a
communication will be opened through it,
with the rivers Yatzold, Pripit, and the Dnieper;
and, consequently, a new track of water
.communication estabhshed with the Baltic,
from the Ukraine, Little Russia, Volhynia, and
VOL. I. 2 M

529

530 appendix, ^° 11.
Podolia,. This Work iB of the highest import
ance in its consequences, as it will enable the
inhabitants of these fruitful provinces to dis-
jJose of their products, which till now they
have not had the means to do; and which
circumfetance has plungfed i them, into that
iiiertness of character, Ii* which they 'are
h remarkable. The junction of these riVfers
will gteatly facilitate tiie supply necessary
for I3fe Gbvei'n'ment depots Of Warlike ^Wces
on the friatiti^i from the Baltic to the Very
'• Dniester, The Skarra is alr'eady, in somte
places, tolerably navigable ; to wit, from the
town oiStmiimtt, to its estuairy ift the Nimen.
¥rdit)..StQnima upward, to the Canal oiOgiiisky,
*¦'- iniiprovement is necessary : above the canal,
the river is absorbed in the vast morasses
of that country.
To the Division ctf the Baltic Mand Navi
gation belongs the Western Bugg, or Bog, as
the chief branch of the Upper Vistula, Middle-
sized barks, conducted by Podolians,'knd by the
irihabitants of the Southern 'Galidh, go through
the Bog to the Vistula, and thence tp Ddntzic,
Where they sell their merchandize at a Ifttle
'profit, and provide themselves with foreign
necessaries, viz, salt, some oil, sugar, &c. for
their return hdme. Inconvenient and circuitous
as 'this track is, the amount df the trade.is no

APPENDIX, N° II.
less than four millions annually ; l;his is carried
on from the wharfs situate in Russia ; viz.
Ustilook, KritnitZ, Kladnef, Bengugh, Litho, Brest,
and Opalin. The customs are collected at Brest.
Without doubt this traffic may be improved;
but the question is. Whether it is advantageous
to the Russian Crown and to it§ subjects ? It is
difficult to prove that it is, as all the profits
remain with the Elbing and Dantzic merchants.
The only advantage accruing to the native seller
is, that he has the opportunity of procuring
foreign returns in kind, for his own products;
but he never goes back with money. The mer
chandize thus procured, he cannot otherwise
dispose of at home, but by -barter for domestic
products, with which he is again forced to go to
Dantzic, to be disposed of there in the same
manner as before.
Riveis falling into the Bugg or ^OG, from tke
Russian side.
The Muchavitza falls into the Bog at LitMn
Brest, and is the only one worth notice, inas
much as this river serves for a part of the
canal proposed tp be dug by the late King
Stanislaus Augustus, to join the Pina, one of
the chief branches of the Pripit (belonging
to the Dnieper division), with the Bog;
Whereby a new track of water commu-

531

632

APPENDIX, N° II.
nication would be opened between the
Dnieper, or the Black Sea, and the Baltic,
If the Oginsky Canal opened a communi
cation, by the Niemen, to Konigsburg and
Memel, so the Muchavitzkoy, or the Kings
Canal, would have been of infinite more
advantage to the then existing Republic;
as the same convenient mode of conveyance
would have been extended through the
Vistula to Warsaw, and from thence to Elbing
and Dantzic. This canal was already finished,
and the upper parts of the Pina and
Muchavitza rendered navigable; but it then
appeared that the whole was effected upon
wrong principles; first, sluices were thought
necessary; and, secondly, no proper exami
nation or levelling had been made of the
country, in the line of direction of the pas
sage, which was principally through low
and marshy giround, wherein it was supposed
the water would accumulate, to the proper
height; but it was found, that the water
from these morasses, the sources of the
Muckavitza, (or rather a branch thereof,
Mockalovla,) has a descent, or fall, of thirty-
seven feet to the Pina, It was evident,
therefore, that, without the help of sluices,
this canal would rather be the means of
drying or draining the morasses, than of any

APPENDIX, N° II. 533
other use, as it contains water only in the
spring ; therefore the barks that profited by
this season, to go up the Pripit, could never
return the same track: in July the canal is
perfectly dry. To make this canal of use,
the erection of nine or ten sluices is abso
lutely necessary: particularly to answer
certain military frontier purposes.

END of the first VOLUME.

Printed by R. Watts,
Crown. Court, Temple Bar,

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 02971 6769

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