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GEOGUAPHICAL FEATURES, POLITICAL DIVISIONS, PRINCIPAL CITIES ANtt TOWNS, POPULATION, CLASSES, GOVERNMENT, RESOURCES, COMMERCE. ANTIQUITIES, RELIGION, PROGRESS IN EDUCATION, LITERATURE, ART. AND SCIENCE, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, HISTORIC SUMMARY. ETC., FROM THE LATEST AND THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCKS. By ROBERT SEARb njsvisnn bt Prof R S. L. LEWIS. EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS ENQRAVINQS. AND 3ilnp3 nf (£nropfnii niib 33intic ilnssln. NEW EDITION. REVISED, ENLARGED, AND BROUQilT DOWN TO 1881. NEW YORK: HURST & CO., PUULISHERS, 132 NASSAU STREET. Dk 'ZM'^ ^L. \^ci< '■:t right, 1881, by nunsT& Co ^^:;^>^>. -4^ W 'I' •Nllvi II \ >*J-^ -4m. xlik* :- -4- PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION. HE work which, in a revised and en- larged form, is Ijcrewith presented to the public, was in course of prepara- tion (to the extent, at least, of col- lecting material out of wliieh to di- gest the subject-mattei' of its pages), for a considerable period anterior to the couimencement of hostilities iu the late European war. That event, however, with the solicitude it so universally created for reliable infor- mation, as to the character, history, and resources, of the Muscovite empire, led to its first edition being put to press at a somewliat earlier day than might otherwise have been deemed advisable. Few, comparatively speaking, of tlie works descriptive of the Russian empire, heretofore published — those of recent as well as those of earlier date — have extended their range beyond St. Petersburg and Moscow, with perhnps the provinces immediately surrounding them. This is probably to be accounted for in the fact tliat those works have emanated geuerally from tourists journeying in search of health or pleasure ; and whom the annoying governmental re- strictions trammelling locomotion on Russian territory, winh the miserable travelling facilities and worse roadside accommodations everywhere prevail- ing, deterred from penetrating, to any uur.siderable extent, the vast regions lying beyond the Muscovite capitals. And the few works not comprised in this class, forming the exceptions referred to above, do ncit cover, any one of them, but a fraction of this colossal empire. Thus Finland, the Ger- man colonies, Poland, Southern Russia, the Crimea, Kaza i, the Caucasian provinces, Siberia, and other divisions of the imperial domain, have each had its historiographer, but each has generally formed the subject of a sep- arate work. Other writers still have limited their pens to sketches of the people, the government and institutions of the country. To obtain a knowl- edge, therefore, of the whole empire, called for the perusal of so many vol- CJIfci*. li i>d:o.ao PREFACE. i umcs, and some of them not easily attainable this side of the Atlantic, that Russia has been a terra incognita to a large proportion of American readers. Prompted by this deficiency in the means of acccessible information re- garding a country occupying so formidable a position upon the map of Eu- rope, and leeling assured that if he could furnish an illustrated description of every portion of the empire — of its institutions and people, its history, and, in brief, of everything requisite to a complete knowledge of " Russia and the Russians," full in details, yet carefully condensed so as to bring the whole within the covers of a single volume, and thus within the means of all classes of readers — he would essentially subserve tlio cause of poi> ular education — the Editor of this work undertook the task ; and the more completely to carry out his design, ho spared no eflbrts to obtain, both in this country and in Europe, every work that promiicd additional or more recent information, or which might serve to verify that already in hand. The result of his labors is imbodied in the following pages. Of the success which has attended them, it is perhaps more proper he should forbear to speak, but leave his readers to judge from perusal. The illustrations (many of whicli are from drawings made expressly for this volume) have been selected with regard rather to the practical purpose of rendering more clear the letter-press descriptions, than the minor one of mere pictorial embellishment. A glance at them, however, will show that the latter consideration has not been lost sight of • The reader will bear in mind that in the year 1850 the reigning cznr had the whole of the Muscovite Empire carefully aligned into political divisions, governments, or provinces. In the same year (1850) a series of carefully compiled statements were published by the Russian govern- ment. These 'tatements gave the areas of land, and the number of the population of the different sections of the provinces. It is upon these authorities that all the iigures in this woi-k are based. Between 1850 and the present year (1881) many changes have been made in the boundaries of the provinces ; but as no official changes have been cer- tified to by the Russian authorities, we have preferred to give the reliable figures of 1850. The recent groupings of provinces, even when officially named, have hardly more than a nominal existence ; while other group- ings are conventionally recognized, but have no legal status. Since 1850 Russia has gained in territory by discovery, purchase, and military occupancy, 2,332,640 square miles. In the same time the in crease in population — by births, and by the acquisition of new territories since 1850 — has been 22,241,987. But it is impossible to classify this great increase, as the Russian Government studiously avoids publishing to the world the statistics which would show how much has been gained by natural increase, and how much by the sword. 3c CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. Bcundnrios — Liililiule nnd Longitude — Siipcrticiitl Arpii — CompnraiJve Dimensions — RuMinn Ameri'Mi — Ural Moiinliiiiis — Ciiiivngian lliinge — AiH— Its Extent — Gulf of Butlinia— Gulf of Fiiilnnd — Etixine or Black Sea — Sen of Azov — Piittid Sen — Strait of Eniknleh — Cimpinn Sen — Its Posil ion, Form, nnd Extent — Its Iglands — lis Fislieries — It« Harbors — Its History — the Sen of Okhotsk — Riv- ers — the Dwinn — the Obi — the Yenisei — the Dunn — the Niemen — the Dniester — the Dnieper — the Bong — llie Dmi — Attempts to unite the Don and the Volga — the Koubnn — the Danube — Its Months — llie Volgn — Its Source and Course — Its Mouths — lis Tribu- taries — It^ Inundations — Its Commercial Importiincc — LnUes — Lake or Sen of Baikal — — Lake Lndoirn — Lake Onega — Luke Peipus — Lake Ilmen — Bielo-Ozero — Climate — Storms — the Miulji'l — the Sumjots — the Vinga — lis Terrible Devastations pagb 18 CHAPTER II. POLITICAL DIVISIONS — THE BALTIC PROVINCES. Division-Line of European nnd Asiatic Russia — Genera! Divisions — Table of Areas and Pop- ulations — Finland: Pliysical Aspect — Climate — Soil — Pi'odiiclions — Animals — Manufac- tures — Government — People — the Aland Archipelago — Chief Towns — Ali'> — Ilelsingfors Sweaborg — Tornea — Government of St. PicTEnsovRo: Physical Aspect - Climate — Pro- ductive Resources — Commerce — Kronstadt — Its Harbor nnd Fortifications ■ - .'■ sviionia : Soil — Animals — Thrilling Incident — Revel — Its Harbor — Historical Incident— Cntherinthal, built by Peter the Great — Livonia: Soil nnd Productions — Forests — Wild Animals — Hunt- ing Scenes — Rurol Industry — Russian Coins — Livonia: Population — Government — Riga — Dorpnt — Historic Incident of Schloss-Ringen — Courland : Physical Aspect — Soil and Productions — Animals — Elk-Hunting — Miltau — Libnu — Windnu — History of the Bnltio Provinces — People — the Lettos and Esthonians — the Jews — the Germans page 41 - -J CHAPTER III. GREAT RUSSIA. ARCiiANflRL: Its Extent — Physical Aspect — Climate — Resources — People — Russian Lapland — the Laplanders — Nova Zenibla — City of Archangel — History — Vologda: Soil, Cliinnt«, and Productions — City of Vologda — Olonetz: Soil — Resources — Petrozavodsk — Enrgo- pole — Novgorod: Physical Aspect — Soil and Productions — City of Novgorod — Its History — Pskov; Soil and Productions — Pskov the Capital — Torepetjs — Velikie-Lo\iki — Tver: Productions — Manufactures — Commerce — Tver, its Capital — Smolensk: Soil nnd Produc- tions — Forests — City of Smolensk — Moscow: Its Extent — Physicol Aspect — Climate — Naturol Products and Manufactures — Yaroslav: Rivers and Lakes — Climate — Resources — City of Yaroalttv — Its History — Kostroma: Soil and Climate — Products — City of Kos- 6 CONTENTS. tromn — NijnoiNovnoroil — Soil ninl PfodiiotioiKi — Mmmfnottiros — Cily of Nijuci-Xoviforoil — Fiiirs — Vf.ADiMin: Siirfnoe — Soil ii;icl I'roiliicts — City of Vlmliinir — Uiazan: Clinint* — Forest « — I'l'iiiliiots ninl Mnnufiictiin's — City of Kiiiziiii — Tambov : Ui'koiii'i'ch — ForestH — Mftniifiii'liMi"4 — City of Tiiriibov — Toi:la ; Ki'soiiri'i-s — City of Toiila — Miirkft — Miiniifiio- t.uren — IliKlory — Kai.ohoa; Cliiimte iiml I'roiliictions — Miinnfiiotiiros — l''x|)iiit» — City of Knloii^ii — Orkl: It» IliverR — Soil nntl Proiliictionn — Comiiu-rce — Town of Oivl — KornsK! ]Vos — Mice — Wolve* — Dofjn — Hiiiilni'iMIiint in$T — Binls i)f IVcy — l(>'|>lilcR — Tin' Toiul-Sliowcr — Liznnl" — Snakes — LooiikIh — Tlii'ir Ihn-nHiaiiniiit — Ili-nU i>f llnrfioii — Tim Tiiltiiiilaliik — The IIoi-k.- Stenler — Hiitlles of (lie Horses — Attiii'ks of Wolves — Tlirnnliiiin of Or.iin by Horses — Mnzt>p|m — Sheep — The Tslmbnwn — Milklni( Sheep — Henls of Cattle — The THlicreilnik -Tullow-Iloiises- Wholesnlu Slmighter- Tiiilow-Miirket paoic 208 CIIAPTEIl IX. EASTERN RUSSIA. OoTernmenti of Enstern Rnssin — Astrakiias: Pliysicnl Aspect — Soil — Productive Resonroes — Snlt- Lakes — Rivers — Climnfe — Aniinnl* — Fisheries — People — TheC«lrnuek8 — Their Ex- truonliiinry Kini;;riition in n"it-'71 — Ciiy of Astnikhnn — Its Triule mid Popiiliitioii — Sa- ratov : Prodiicl ions — Sheep — Popiilnlioii — Commerce — City of Siirntov — Other Towns — ORRNDvna: Pliysicnl Aspect — Soil — Mineral — Town of Orenhiirii? — Its MaMiifactiircs nnd Trade — Pkrm : Physieal Aspect — Climnto — Gold, Iron, nnd Sail-Mines — Trade — Inhab- itants — City of Perm — Eknterinbnrg — Trade in Precions Stones — Viatka: Physical Aspect Productive Resources — Commerce — Population — Vinlkn the Capital — Simuirsk: Climate and ProM — YHkoiiUk, tliH Cn|iitHl — lU Tniilu — InlntbitiiiiU — Clinmt« — Ukiiothk: I'liyiiciil FentiirM — I'rudiiott — Town of OklioUk — Kamthciiatka : lit Form and Pliy»i«nl Aspect — Mountain! — Cliiimto — Foreati — A){i'iuiiltiire — Wild AiiiiiinlK — Iiilialiitunt« — Amiiseinenlii — IIouMi — Dogi — Koriitk* — Tnule — lliitory — Oovoriiinunt — ALcin'iAM Ihlanm ; Diicorery — Volcnnio Fornintion — Kiirtliqiinkes — Soil — Oiiniu — Fivli — Inlinbitanta — Mniinera and Cuttomi — Kvligioii — Quverniiiunt I'aob 828 6. CHAPTER XII. MOSCOW. nii'il's-Kye View — Spnsi Vorots, or "Oiite of th« I.-' VI wi« . t-B I J v« Id lb »i.i- j%i«-iiiiiii .#i|iici-.*jc .ir.T I <|>iioa . ii. iiva. vi ^jfttw v. i>..v Ri'dt'CiiH'i'" — tlie Nii'liidaa Oitte — Anvioiit I'lilnoe of tlie CznrB — Ttfreiim — Grnnovitaya Pitlntn — CoronHtioii'llall — the Throne — the ItoUhoi DvorcU — the Mnloi Dvorvtz — Cathe- drnl of the A««uni|ititin — CalhetlrnI of the Arvlinn)(el Michael — the Falae Dmitri ^Chiiroh of the Anniincintion — the Senate, Trensnry, niid Arieiinl — Memoriali of the Enrly CtnrB — Palaccof Arms — "Monnrehnill"— Ivan Veliki — llsUelU— Cathedral of St. Basil — Chapel of the "llierian Mother of fiod" — (^oiivenla and Monasteries — Maidens' Field — Hospitals — Theatres — Gontinoi Dvor — Mnniifacliiros and Coinnierco — History. ospitals ■ .PAflt 301 CHArTER XIII. ST. PKTKRSBIIRO. Site of St. Pftercburg — Its Divisions — Ii'on Bridjjje iioross the Neva — Bird's-Eye View — Foun- dation of the City — Its Perils — Inundation of 1824 — Climate — St. Petersburg in Winter— the Russian Stove — Double Windows — the Neva in Winter — Breakini; up of the Ice^Ita Celebration — Street Population — Ncvskoi Prospect — the English Quay — the Mnjik — Sweeping the Streets, a Punishment for Drunkenness paoe 875 CHAPTER XIV. ST, PETERSBl'RO — IMPERIAL PALACES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. The Winter-Palace — It« Cunfliigration in 1837 — Its Re-Erection — Its Interior — the Hermit- age — Its Treasures — the Marble Palace — the Taurida Palace — Its Orangery — Its Oceu- panta — Hotel de I'Etat Major — the Alexandrian Column — the Old MichailofT Palace— th« Anitshkof Palace — the New Miehailoff Palace — Little Siunmer Garden — the Red Palace — the Imperial Library — Museums — Academy of Fine Arta — Educational Institutions — Government Buildings — the Exchange — the Customhouse — the Fortress, Arsenals, and Bar- racks — Historical Souvenirs — Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great — Monument to Suwar- row — Monument to Field-Marshal Romanoff page 899 CHAPTER XV. ST. PETERSBURG — CHURCHES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. Modern Church Architecture — Kazan Cathedral — Isaac Church — Church of St Peter and St. Paul — Its Spire — Thrilling Incident — Its Vault* — Tombs of the Russian Emperora — Smolnoi and Nevakoi Convents — Monastery of St. Sergiua — Preobrashensky Church — Trin- ity Church — Nicolai Church — Roman Catholic Church — Hospitals — the Foundling Hos- pital 481 CHAPTER XVI. MARKETS AND MANUFACTORIES OP ST. PETERSBURG. The Gostinoi Dvor — the Gostonoi Merchants — the Somovar — the Apraxin Rinok — Image- Sellers — Fruit-Stalls- Pastry-Stands-Tshukin Dvor — Bird-Market — Hay-Market-For- ten Meat-Market — Seimaiia Ploschnd — Indvbtrial Establishments: Tapestry, Porcelain, Card, Cotton, and Paper Manufactories — Ship-Building pacib 463 rONTENTS. ni CHAPTER XVII. TIIR OARDKNS AND VILLAS OP ST. PETFR8IIUR0. OathcrincnliiifT — Ihu Siimnier Clnnlen — Pvlcr'n Wnoilon PiilAce — liie Wife-Mnrket — Iilandi of th« Ni-vii — Kninnieiioi, or Stone IhIiukI — Ydiigin, Crosn, iiiul Apollieonriei' lilnndi — Count 8lrogon»fr« Gnnlent — Curako Si-lo : llie I'liliice — tlie Ai'fvnnI — tlie Oioumls — Pniilofaky ■ni' Anniml Fdlet nt PelvrliofT — Olil Cnitl* of Peter the Great — Marly nnil MunpluiRir — (lie Ilerniitiigo- Cottage of Cutlierino II.— Ro|)«olia — OrAnienbaiiiii rAOi 400 CHAPTER XVIII. THK IMPERIAL. UUVERNMENT. Abioliite Power of llie Sovereign — Orgnnizntion of the Ooverniiivnt by Peter the Great — t1i« Imptrinl Council — tlio HiMiiitc — tlie Holy Synod — Coiiiiiilil<>« of MiiiJRterR — Locnl Atlmln- istralion of lliu Goveriiiiienis nml Provinces — llio Jiuliciiil SyDlein — llie Police Syatem — Ita Corruption — TliievoB nml l'i<'k|iockvtB— PutiiRliinenti — tlie Roil^tlio Knout — Exile to Biberiu — Depiirture of Kxllce — the Journey — tlu-ir Niitiil>*'r ntul Comlition in Siberia — tlit Army — It* Orgnniziitlon — the Impei'liil Guiird — Oiinrd of the Interior — the Gendnrniea — tlie CoiwnokR — ConRciiption — Pay — Militiiry Colonies — Insurrection of 1881 — the Navy — U» Kxteiit — Its Kfflcivncy — It* History — Public Ucvetiue — Its Sourcei — ExpeiMliturct — Public Debt (R7 CHAPTER XIX. THR PEOPLE. The Nobility — Its DiviHion by Peter into Fourteon Classes — Titles — Powers of the Nobility— their rxluculion ami Habits — Iheir Viissals — Attciilion to Miinufiictures — the Clergy, Mer- chanlis and Bur^jhers — their Cln.»giticiition — the Three Guilds — Citizen-Burghers — Re- spectable Citizens — Suburlmn Inhabitiiiits — the F'rec IViisantry^tlie Serfs — Serf Laws — Marriages among Serfs and Free Pensonts — Hitbits of the Russian Peasantry — their Villagocv Coituiiie, Fooil, Ac. — Superstitions and Vices — the Yapor-Biilli — Public Baths. .. .paob Sll CHAPTER XX. RELIGION — THE GREEK CHURCH. Tlie Various Religions in Russia — History of the Oret-k Church — Reforms of Peter the Great — Points of Difference between the Greek and Roman Church — the Clergy — tlic White and Black Clergy — Monks — the Clergy of Other Churclics — Incomes of the Russian Clergy — Nuns — Titles — Hiibit« of the Priests — Devotion of the People to Pictures of their Saints — Tolerant Spirit of the Russian Clergy faob 033 CHAPTER XXI. FESTIVALS AND FASTS. The Easter Festival — Butter-Week — the Kiitshfli — Ice-Mountains — Admiralty Square during Easter — Equipages of the Grandees — the Wooden Theatres — the Burning Theatre — Ita Victims — F«!tes — the Great Fast — Its Monotony — Palm Sunday — Easter-Eggs — Holy Thursday — Good Friday — Enster Eve — Eoster Kisses — Recollection Monday,* Festival- Day in the Cemeteries paob 447 CHAPTER XXII. LITERATURE AND EDUCATION. Early History of Literature — Fi ret Grammar of the Language — Michael Lomonosoff — Litera- ture during the Reign of Catherine II. — CheraskofT, "the Russian Homer" — Other Poets— Progress of Russian Letters during the Present Century — Nicholas Karamzin — Poets of the Nineteenth Century — Voyages and Travels — Alexander Pvelikin — Nicholas Gogol — 10 CONTENTS. Alexnnder Bestusliev — Historicnl Romnnces — Count Sololioiipe — Femnla Writers — Tli»- toricnl Science — Stntistics — the Drnnm — Tlientrivnl Ainiisoincnls — Tlientres in St. I'eter* bnrg — tlie Iliissian Alphabet — tiie Slavonic Dinlculs — Popniiir Instruction — Eiliicationa) Statistics I'au« 667 CHAPTER XXIII. MEANS OF TRAVEL. First Rnilwny in Russia — Railroad from St. Potershnrg to Moscow — Oliphnnt's Description of a Passnge over tliis Road — Ollior Railways Projected — Roads nnd Roadside Acoonimo- dntion — SI eJge-Tra veiling — Pustliouscs — Posling — Cabinet-Couriers — Diligences — tlie Malle-Poste — Post Telega — Drosky — Ivoslit!r8 encamped on tlic Steppes. , . .PAaK241 Asti'iiklian '•i'15 CrtlmucUa 247 Asti-iikliiin from the Sen 250 Slieep from the Steppes tif llie Ciispian. . . .251 The Volga ntSimliirsk — the Jigoulee 259 (^liiiva»8es of Kiizan 262 Kiizaii Gloves anti Wooden Spoon 203 Iiiteritir of u Tiii'tnr House 26-1 Kiizflh before the Conflagration of 1842. . .26.'> 'I'liM Kremlin of Kazan - 209 Cathedral of Kikolskoi, at Kazan 271 Tartar Mosque near Kazan 279 Types of Caufiwian Kaces 280 Corgians of the Heights of Teflis 286 Tefiis, tlie Capital of Georgia 287 Ararat^ from the Plain of Krivan 291 Chnrch and Monastery of KchiiiiadzlM 295 Imerilian and Mingrelian I'rinces .299 Cirojissians 306 Circassian Females 307 Circassian Armor Manufactory 811 Caiicusians descending the Mountains. . . . 817 Map of Sitier-'i, or Asiatic Russia 321 Kirghiz Merchant in liis Tent 829 Toholsk, Capital of Western Siberia 3ol Peasant attacked by a Bear 38(5 Yakoutsk 339 Kauiti^chatdales 343 Sumnier-House in Kamtschatka 344 Map of Moscow 352 The Kiemlin, Moscow 355 Cathedral of the Assumption, Moscow. .. .360 The Monarch-Bell of Moscow 30t! Cathedral of St, Basil, Moscow 369 St. PtTKRSBURO ANn rrs Knvikon.s: — Inundation of the City in 1824 375 Cast-iron Bridge across the Neva 877 Map of the City 379 Kevskoi Prospekt 360 The Neva in Winter 388 Punishment for Drunki'iiness 396 Nevskoi Prospekt (^gerond viiw) 898 Winter Palace — the Imperial Residence. 401 Hotel de I'Etat Major 411 Old Michailoff Palace 415 St Isaac Square 422 The Bourse 423 Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great. . .427 Office, Hotel des Malic-Post es 430 The Kazan Cathedral 433 Church of St. Isaac 439 Spire of St. Peter and St. Paul 442 Monastery of St Sergius 447 Saloon, Hotel des Malle-Poates 451 The Costinoi Dvor, during Easter 463 St. PKTKRsnuRo AND ITS Envisons:— Somovar, or Russian Tea-Urn paoe 460 Cake and Tea Stall 467 Frozen Provision Market 461 Palace of CathcrinenhofT 467 Nurse .-."d Children in SummerGarden. .469 Noble's Villa on Island of Kamnienoi. . .471 Imperial Palace of Czarsko Selo 476 Imperial Fete at Peterhoflf 481 Monplaisir, Peter's Cottage at PeterhofF. .486 Battle Scene {Initial LetUr) 487 Punishment of the Knout 495 Exiles on their Way to Siberia 497 Regular Troops of Russia 602 Irregular Tioops of Russia 802 Russian Silv any degree of exactness, since only the northern declivities of the range have been visited by travellers, the southern declivities lying within the territories of the Chinese empire being inaccessible to Europeans. The most westerly portion of the system, between the river Irtish and the river Tshulyshman, the upper branch of the Obi, is properly called the Altai mountains, which name has been afterward used to indicate the whole system. This portion also bears the name of the Ore AUai, because it contains numerous veins of the precious metals. It consists of several ridges, which mostly run west-northwest and cast-southeast. These ridges advance their western extremities close to the banks of the Irtish, where they are five or six hundred feet high ; but at a distance of about fifteen miles from the river, they attain from tlirco to five thousand feet, which elevation may be considered as the mean height of the greatest part of the ranges : only where they approach the lake Tcletzkoi and the river Tshu- lyshman, they I'ise still higher, and this part of the range is always covered with snow. Between the Tshulyshman and the great lake of Baikal, the mountains appear to form two great chains, running east and west. Both chains unite at about one hundred degrees east longitude, a considerable distance west of the lake Baikal, at the sources of tlie Selenga, the most considcror ble river which empties itself into the lake. The united chain is hero called Goorbi Uhden Dzong, which name it preserves to one hundred and eight degrees east longitude, running in general east. On the cast side of the meridian of one hundred and eight degrees cast longitude, and the river Selenga, the direction of the mountain-chains composing the Altai system is changed ; they run northeast, and form a very extensive mountain region east of the lake Baikal. This region is called the Baikalian or Daurian mountains ; but the highest chain belonging to it, and lying within the Chi- nese empire, bears the name of tlie Great Khing-Khan. The most easterly portion of the Altai mountains, between one hundred and twenty-two and one hundred and forty-two degrees east longitude, lies again nearly due west and east ; but here it advances to fifty-six degrees north latitude, and is called by the Russians Yablonni Khrebet, and by the Chinese Khing- Khan Tugurik. The Aldan mountains may be considered as a continuation of this latter chain. They separate from it at the sources of the river Aldan, a tribu- tary of the Lena, enclose the valley in which it runs on either side, and continue on the east side along the shores of the sea of Okhotsk up to the bay of Pershina, the most northerly corner of that sea. From this bay one branch runs northeast, and terminates at Behring's strait, with the East cape and the cape of Tchukotshoi-Noss. Another branch turns abruptly south, and traverses the peninsula of Kamtschatka, terminating at Cape Lopatka. The highest summit of the Aldan mountains, adjacent to the il PHYSICAL OEOQRAPHT. St f road connecting Yakutsk with Okhotsk, was found by Erman to be a little more than four thousand feet above the level of the sea. But the chain traversing the peninsula of Kamtschatka contains several volcanoes, somo of which rise to a great elevation. Erman measured three of them. The highest peak of the volcano of Shivelutsk (fift^'-six degrees forty minutes north latitude) rises to nearly ten thousand six hundred feet ; the volcano of Kliutshuvek (fifty-six degrees four minutes north latitude), about fifteen thousand eight hundred feet; and that of Tolbatshinsk, a little upward of eight thousand three hundred feet above the sea. If the Aldan mountains and the range traversing Kamtschatka be considered as a continuation of the Altai chain, more than fifteen hundred miles must be added to its length. The physiognomy of the Altai mountains in their western and southern divisions is generally grand and interesting. The rivers, which are very numerous, flow rapidly with full streams ; and the various forms of the stratified and metamorphosed rocks of the limestones, porphyry, and gran- ite, with the Biclki (ichile or snowy mountains) in the distance, lewd to the scene the charm of perpetual novelty. The banks of the Katunya, in the heart of tlie mountains, present a landscape of the most impressive character ; an immense wall of rock, extending from west to east, supports fields of perpetual snow and glaciers, from the midst of which rise nu- merous rocky points, jjyramids, and truncated cones ; while in the distance are seen the two towering peaks named the Pillars of the Katunya. These peaks, which are supposed to be the highest summits of the Altai mount- ains, stand on a wide and elevated table-land, lying between the sources of the Katunya, the Bielaya (falling into the Chuya), and the Berell, which joins the Bukhtarma. Glaciers, spreading from the bases of the Bielukha, or snowy cones, su{)ply the fountains of these three rivers. The absolute height of the Pillars has been estimated, by Dr. Gebler, at eleven thousand, seven hundred and twenty-three ft^et, or, by Tchihatchcff, at twelve thou- sand, seven hundred and ninety feet. To the east of these pillars, the peaks of Chenune-ouzoune and Arhhite increase in number, and present forms still more deeply serrated. " In the course of all my long wandor- ings," observes Tchihatchcff, " I do not remember ever to have admireo a scene more grand or more magnificent." The accompanying view of these mountains (presented on the following page) is taken from the northern- summit of the plateau of Saljar, a branch of the chain of the same name. In the eastern part of the Altai, where the clay slate predominates, the aspect of the country is more monotonous ; the mountains lose all variety of form, and assume the character of long ridges. It is on these mount- ains of slaty structure that the most disagreeable characteristic of the Altai is chiefly developed, namely, the great extent of deep bog and morass, through which a horse crossing the hills must wade belly-deep even in the middle of summer, and not without the danger of breaking his legs, if he gets entangled in the boughs of the trees which lie buried beneath. 20 ILLUSTRATED DESCRlPTIOiV OF RUSSIA. Altai Rahob— Peaks or Chencni-O^zounb, Katvnta, and Amhitb, The vegetation of the Altai is varied and abundant, and often vigorous. The local flora, to which ample justice has been done by the labors of Dra Ledebour and Bunge, assumes the Asiatic character ; the European typo prevailing from tlie Ural mountains to the banks of the Irtish. The mountain-forests are composed of l)irch, alder, aspen, acacia, willow, larch, fir, and the Siberian atone-piue (^Pinus cvmbra). This last tree flourishes at an al>solute height of nearly seven thousand feet ; and at an elevation of six thousand feet, where the snow rarely disappears before the end of May, it attains a great size, often measuring fourteen feet in circumference. The highest limit of the birch is about four thousand eight Imndred feet ; the dwarf-willows, and other underwood, cease totally about one thousand feet higher. The Altai mountains, and the adjoining ranges to the eastward, are the native home of the wild shccj) ( Ovis argali), which occupies the crags and most inacces8il)le rocky heights, leaving the hillsides and elevated valleys to several kinds of deer ( Cervus elaphus, C. alces, C. pygargus, «fec.). A marmot, peculiar to these regions, abounds in the vicinity of the snow. These animals are preyed on by the glutton and the bear. The royal tiger prowls through the stejjpes on the south, and haunts particu- larly the reedy shores of Lake Balkhash ; it is not unlikely, therefore, that his predatory incursions sometimes extend into the Altai. The most distinguishing feature in the appearance of Russia is her vast forests. Schnitzler, who estimates the surface of European Russia at about four hundred millions of deciatines,* supposes that one hundred and fifty- * ,^ daciatine if equivalent to about two and seven tonilit a'.'ii**. BIX ml goverl PHYSICAL fiEO(iRAPIlY. 21 BIX millions arc occuplod by forests. Tlioy nro so very prevalent in tho governments of Novgorod and Tver, Itetwcon Petersburg and Moseow, tint it has been said a scjuirrcl might travel from the one eity to the other witht out ever touching the gi'ound. The forest of Volkonjfki, at the source of tho Volga, is the most extensive of any in Euroj)e. In tho government of Perm, on both sides of the Ural mountains, containing eighteen millions of deciatines, no fewer than seventeen millions nro covered by forests! The forests of Asiatic Russia are also of vast size. In extensive districts, however, the surface is quite free from wood. Tliis is particularly the case in the vast steppes or plains in the governments of Astrakhan and Tobolsk, which in many parts, indeed, are a mere sandy desert. Tlic northern coast of Russia is indented with immense gulfs and bays ; and its vast inland seas and lake's penetrate tho land, forming many re- markable localities ; and the straits connecting them with each other, and with tho ocean, form so many grand military defences against the approach of an enemy, and also limitations to external commerce. Tho White sea is a large gulf in the Arctic ocean, about two hundred miles in length, but varying in l)readth, the narrowest part l>eing only forty-tivc miles across. It is mostly covered witli ice during four or five months of tho year. In its nortliwestern portion it is named tl'' the largcni j'ivprs in Kurofx.^, and draiui* a surface of nine liundred and fifty thousand stiuarc niil''"^ ; iss waters aro, in consequence, only braeltislj. Its dej)!!) >n general is groat, no bottom having been found in some parts with a line of one hundred and forty faUi- oms, although, in a few i)lacc8,as the strait of f]nikaleh, it does not exceed ton, fwmty, or thirty feet; while off tlie mouth of the Dauulic the ^vatux il 't -) .8 ) gradually from the shore, that the distance from the latl- r may bo .i8c.li lined within half a mile by soundings alone. Throuftiiout the whole of the Black sea tiiere aro scarcely awy roiiks, aini almost everywhere arc excellent anchoring-places. Storms aro i-aro, and, when they du occur, arc of short duration, seldom lasting more than twelve hours without considerable abatement. During the summer, ni^rth ■winds i»revail,and south in the beginning of autumn and spring. T]h'. ibr- mer frequently detain vessels from the Mediterranean in the Dn'fbuielles and Bosphorus for weeks together. The currents of the Black H' ,i gener- ally have a tendency toward the Bosphorus or channel of Constm tinople.- There is no flow of tide in this sea, the slight difl'ercnce of elovati ii tluit occasionally occurs arising solely fnmi tlie winds and currents. Tin ^outh- ern coast of the Crimea, and the coast of Anatolia or Asia Minor, an^i Cau- casia, abound in lofty mountains, which rise up immediately from the mar- gin of tlic sea, and afford excellent landmarks. On tlie northwest and north, the coast is generally low, and on this account dangerous, as it can bo seen only from a very short distance. Harbors and bays arc numer' >iis, and many of them good ; but there are none of any great extent. Tl )S0 that penetrate deepest into the land arc the gulf of Kerkinet on the noith, between the Crimea and tlie mainland ; the gulfs of Rassein and Buiyas on the west, and those of Sinopc and Samsoon on the south. There u:o no remarkable projections or headlands, excepting those formed by the western and southern extremities of the Crimea, and Capes Indjeh and Bozdepeh in Anatolia. The Black sea communicates with the Mediterra- iican by the Bosphorus (or channel or strait of Constantinople), the sea of Marmora, and the Dardanelles. , There are few fisheries of any importance carried on in the Black sea, although it abounds with various kinds of fish, including porpoises, stur- geons, dolphins, mackerel, mullet, bream, Ac. Seals, also, are numerons. Ono of the most extensive fisheries is at the entrance of the strait of Eni- kaleh, where considt lable miind the tnule of the Danube. " So long as tho Sulineh moulh was in the possession of Turkey, cveiy vessel leaving the river was compellod to dnig a largi- rake behind her. This was sufficient to stir up the mud, which waii thus carried away by the mere force of the current. Since then, vessels have offered to continue this practice, but li'ive been positively prohibited from so doing. Indeed, it is absurd to suppose that Russia will take any steps ' -ding to increase the tni.ie of rival countries, by improving the navigation of the river on which their prosperity ilepnids, sinijily because she is bound by treaty to do si>. The conscipn-nce is, that the difTiculty of entering the Danube is far greatiT than it used formerly to be, and numbers of fiuvigu sliips are lost upon the bar every year. Out Russia is not satisfied with allowing nature to monopolize the work of destroying the Danubian trade : she hat an aitificiul barrier, which is even more ruinous to i-ommerce than that at the mouth of the nvef. The stringent quarantiiio regulations whii-h have been in:pcsed by her render it impossiblb lor the proiluce of the Tui-kish provinces to find an outlet in :his dirpclion, which is cunsequontly forced, ut a needless expense, to Vurna and ulhei ports on tho Itluck seu." — PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 88 point its current is gentle and eqrablc. A nun.ocr of steam-vesscla now ply on tlio river, between its principal towns. Before stcam-navigatir was introduced into the Danube, the boats which descended it were ver^ rarely if ever taken back, but wore broken up at the end of their voyage. The basin of the Caspian has to boast of the largest and most important of the iivers of Russia, and, in fact, of Europe, the Volga. This river was formerly considered as constituting a part of the boundary-line between Europe and Asia; but since tluj limits of these continents have been re- moved to tlie Caucasus and the Casjiian, its l)asin, with those of its tribu- taries, lie wholly a\ ithin Europe. From its source to its mouth its length is estimated at near two thousand miles, l)eing about two hundred milea longer than the Danube. The area of its l)asin has been siii)]>(jsed to include upward of six hundred and tliirty-six tliousand square miles, or consid(!ralile more than twice as much as the basin of the Danube. The Volga has its source in a small lake at the western extremity of the government of Tver, in latitude fifty-seven degrees north, and longitude thirty-two degrees east, two hundred and twenty miles south-southeast of St. Petersburg ; on the eastern declivity of the Valdai plateau, near the source of the Duna, the Dnieper, and other large rivers, at an elevation of about nine hundred feet above the level of the sea. It flows at first south- east, and afterward northeast, through the governments of Tver and Yaro- slav ; at Mologa it turns to the south-southeast, which direction it generally pursues tlirough Yaroslav, Kostroma, Nijnei-Novgorod, and Kazan, to the confluence of the Kanni, aI)out latitude iil'ty-five degrees north, and longi- tude forty-nine degrees east, 'i'lieneeforward it runs generally south-south- west through the govennneuts of Simbirsk and Saratov to Tzaritzin, where, as previously remarked, it approaches within thirty-three miles of the nmin stream of the Don.* It then turns again to the southeast through the gov- ernment of Astrakhan, and j)ours itself into the Casjiian, on its northwest side, tlirough an extensivf.; delta, l)y more than seventy nmuths (the j)rinci- pal of which are shown in the following engraving), the western and largest of these being in latitude forty-six degrees north, and longitude forty-eiglit " Tho nttcmpl* by Sflhii II. iind I'cttr ilir (irciit to iiiiilc iIk sp riven by iiicniis of a cniinl, biivo bcpn tnnilo llic niliii-cl-iniittcr nfii rmti' im ]iiij,'i' '29. ()li|i)iiint, in bis " iti:!siiiti Sboirs i>( llic Uliifk Srii," biis ibc (iplldV.iiig iimiimiUm in icliiliiui Id tin' iililily ;inil iinicliciiliiHty bow tbo roiinliy rnn irst gnliilicil wiih 'bo vvrolclii'd inini-roiul which HOW roniircts two giirli iiiipoitnnt rivrrs n» liie Volgu iiiui the Don. So fur from tbni' bring nny niilninl iinpiiiiinciit to tlio fonniilioii of n ciiniil iii-ios:) tlio {.-•tlinuis wiiii-h sopiivatrs tbcMi, it in u pcifrclly Hiniplc iniibiliilxinp, iiml tbo (litTn'rict' of lovel boinf; tdinpiinitivcly trilling. Tbc mlviin- tnpri to be f;i\ini'J by tbo complotion of siiili u woil; must be iippurtMit. A mere ghmco lit tbo limp will ahuw tbnt a cnnnl rorty niib'S lonj; iit tliin point woiilil connt'ct thu Bliu'k acii with the Btiltic anil thi" CiiBpinn, and tbiis porfoct n niost oliiboiute ByDtnii of itilniul roniniuniintioii. Niituro lm» coitiiiiily ibiiu- nil tliiit ronlil In- rxpcrlcil of lior in ibis irfpoct, iiiiil it fi'cins liiird that a govoinnicnl vbdiilcl not I'imlili' tbo inbabilaiits to uviiil ibrnisclvrs of tbo iiiilnial lulviinliiiji'.H wbiib tbeir rouiitry •o oniinciilly ponrsBcs. If wafor-iMiiliiigc oxcols land-ciiriiiigo in proportion to tbc bulk of the produco to bo roiivoyod, snioly whi-ie iron or timber form tbo artieleg of triinaport, there can be no doubt nf tile Boperior nieriln of the former, even were the iidililioniil exjienses inclined by the proi- •nt tygteiii out of tho ipiestiun, or siijiposiiig tbnt ii railway bad superseded the trani-ro^nL"' 8 ^'1 I I 84 ILLUSTRATED DESCIUPTTON OF RUSSIA. degrees cast. Throughout its long course it waters, with its tributaries, •iome of the most productive portions of European Russia, and the nsgion which was anciently the nucleus of the Russian monarchy. Tver, Yaroslav, Kostroma, Nijnci-Nov- gorod, Simbirsk, Saratov, AstrOr khan, and several other towns, are situated on the Volga ; and Kazan is on one of its tributa- ries, within a short distance of the main stream. The principal ailluen*s of tho Volga are the Tvcrtza, Mologa, Shoksna, Unja, Vetluga, and Ka- ma^ from the nortii and cast, and tlic Oka and Sura from the west and south. The Kama, wliich if by far the largest, is also the la'^t important tril)utary wiiicii it le- ccives. It rises in tho govern- ment of Viatka, and (lows with a very tort uous course, at first north easterly, but afterwarrl in general south or southwest, through tho governments of Pcnn anil Kazan, and between those •>! Viatka and Orenburg. After a course of near- ly one thousand miles, it joins tho Volga, bringing with it a volume of water nearly equal to that of the latter, its basin is supposed to com- prise about one tiiird part of tiiat of the Volga. Perm is among the towns on its banks. ' Tlie Oka rises in the government of Orel, through which, and the govern- ments of Toula, Kalouga, Moscow, Riazan, Tambov, Vladimir, and Nijnei- Novgorod, it flows in a very tortuous but mostly northeast direction, join- ing the Volga at Nijnei-Novgorod, after a course of nearly seven hundred miles. Its basin is supposed to comprise one hundred and twenty-seven thousand square miles. It has several important affluents. Though r.ipid, it is navigal)le to Orel, not far from its source. The waters of the Kama and Oka are, like those of the Volga, remarkable for their purity ; and all of them are famous for their fish. The Volga is, in fact, believed to be more prolific of fish than any other European river; and its fisheries are an abundant source of employment and of food. The fish usually taken comprise sturgeon, the rose of which furnish tho caviar, of which vast quantities are sent from Astrakhan to all parts of Russia, with salmon, F'otrrHS o? the Voloa. PHYSICAL OEOflRAPHY. »:o sterlet, tench, pike, perch, heliiga, &c. The sterlet, a small kind of stur- geon, supposed to be pcc-'.liar to the Russian and Siberian rivers, is much prized by the Russian epicures. Exclusive of caviar, the exports from Astrakhan include largo quantities of cured fish. From its abounding with islands, particularly in the lower part of its course, the breadtli of the Volga is very varial)le. At Tver, however, it is nearly six hundred feet in breadth ; at Nijnei-Novgorod, after it has received the Oka, about twelve hundred feet ; and at Astrakhan it is usu- ally one and a quarter miles across. But this is not the case during the entire year, for, on the melting of the ice and snow in S|)ring, it is subject to great risings, and inundates large tracts of the surrounding country. The rise begins in April ; its height varies greatly in difl'ercnt places, but is greatest in the middle portion of the river's course. At Tver the total rise is about twelve feet above its summer level ; at Yarosluv and Nijnei- Novgorod, eighteen or twenty ; at Kazan, twenty-five or thirty ; and at Saratov, from thirty to forty feet! But downward beyond this point, aftlor, are capturid, the skins of which are sold to the Chinese. Sturjreon, to the extent of ultont one thonsnncl poods' a year ; salmon, &c., are also taken; hut the ^'rand oliject of the fishtMy is tlie mnv/, a sort of herrinj; ( Sa/iiio nutuntualis, vcl vn^iuitoritts), taken in vast numbers (al)out on six inches in length, so very fat, that it melts l»ef(n-e the fire like butter. The latter is never taken aliv(\ liiit is ca. speak of it witli much revereiic(>, calling it tlie Iloh/ sea ( Srintore il/a/7),and the mountains about it the llohf mountains ; and are higldy displeased with any person wlio speaks of it with dirfrespcet, or calls it a liike. In Knropoan Russia, the lakes of Ladoga, Onega, Peipus, Ilmen, and Bielo-Ozero, are of the greatest extent, liake Ladoga lies between the government of St. I'etcislnirg on the south, Olonetz on the cast, and Vi- borg on the north and \\r>iii'a Iain8, Wlicic n ileal Ii-ci> la S«. Ml Tor IKCO. Thk Haltic I'n'jviNCCs :— Finlnnii 144 000.... St. I'ftsrulmrg 18.(1(10.... E-thoiiin. 7,'j:)l) l.ivonin. 17,n40. . . . Couiiaiid 10 000 ... . Total 197,170. ..1,.M9 000 . . IWI.oon .. :il7.(HK) . pno 000 ..4,-J4 1,000 Qbbat Rcssia:— Arclmngd 3.50,000 Vol. ig.lii 1 ,')(), (XH) Olnni'tz ()7,(I(K Novgorod .'tiiMVi l'«kov CI.IHV) Tver 24,1 K)0 1 Smolensk 21 OIK) 1 Moscow IL.'iOO 1 Yaro-liiv 17,000 1, Kostroinii af,400 1 Nijiiei-Novgoi oil 20, 100 1 Vliiiliinir 17,.'iO0 I Riuznii 14.000.. TRinbov 24 (KK) 1 Toiila 12,000 1 KHlougn I(),,"itiO 1 Orel, or Orlov 17,000 1 Koursk l(i,()O0 1 Voronej .10 000 1 2."iP.000 fllO.OiH) 2(!H,0(K) I.(HI(P .T"i4,0(K) .l'.H,(H)0 402.000 ,lh.¥(m(J ,07(1,000 wn-'.ooo .27I,(X)0 ,:t'i;i,(ioo ,78I>(KXI ,2,')l,500 ,02o,500 ,,"■): (.1,000 ,714.000 .(ill 1.0(H) rni.iTICAt, DIVISIONS. Aii> i> So. Ml. Por \m) .•^oi-TiiKHS U(;s«ia: — He"i.r liin 16.000 HOB.CXK) Klii:r^(jii ;«i,oO() H')!I.O()0 'J'liiiriilii :iO.I)()0 ,')H4,00() Kkiitli.riiio'lnv :1.">,(K)0 (-(iH 000 Don C iw.-Hi.k9. .III.OOO 7itl,IX)0 Total.. .170,000 :i,H.">7,000 AsTHAKiiAN Province*: — A-Inikhun 43,000 200,000 .•^iinitoi* 7:),0(K) 1 i:i.\xm Orenburg' 12C,(XK) l,'ii<7,000 Total 917,2(j0 LiTTLB Russia;— Teliernigov 53.000 . . Kharkov ai,OiK).. Poltiiva 22 000. . 22,004,000 l,4.'i!).000 I,4!I7,IHKI l,H20i/(lO Tot.il.. ...244,0(X). .4,030,000 Kazan I'rovinces:— I'eroi 127,n(X) . . . Viiilkn r>2.,'i(lO... Sirilliirsk* 24,000... •'••nzn I4.(H)0 .. Kazan 2:i,.VK) . . . ...I(r70,000 ...i.(;yf;,(K)o . ..i,:i4,'i(ioo ...1,100 oi'j ... 1 :)70()0() Total. .241,000 7,11)0,000 Kiev 20.500 l,(k»?,0()(i Total xe.SOO 6,414,000 WcsTEaN Russia : — Podolia, or Podolsk ,,000 1 ,737 ()0() Volliynia 2!) ()(H) 1 .4 T4,IK)0 ^fiii^k 37.000 l,()(i7.0(Xl Moghilev i!),:to() <1.5i)lK)0 y>'»'l'«l« lU.^M) HO-VKHI Wilna 24400 HHHOO:) Grodno i.',,ooo 92:),0()0 Bialystok 3,400 28.',0()0 HuMiAN Poland 47,(>I0 4,811.000 ToUl 807,310 18,949,000 Caucasian PaoviNcrs:— (ieor-i« Iji.OOO..., ^'Iiirvnn 9,200 Armenia 8.()()() . . . Imrrilin 4,KI0..., Mingrcliii 7,200 . . , Ciiir.a 1 ,500. . . . Ahassia 2.040 (-'ircrtssia 32,250 (.'aiieasua 40.(KI0 Dagbratan 9,300 Tout 138,920. . .100,000 . 1,")G,0(IO . Itio.WlO . 170,000 . 4311,000 fi5 0()0 . .VJ.OOO . KiO.OOO . l.'i(l.(K)0 . 190,000 .8,217000 SiRRBIA : — Toiiolsk fi94,000 9e's000 I'om.k 380.000 779,(K» ''■'"■■•'i-* 945.000 20,'>.0()0 ''"l"""»k l.')O,(H)0 507,000 ^"(•""t-k 1,4(M),(KK) Ifil.OOO Oi''"'t'l< 170,0(K) 8.000 hanitsehiixka, &.C 81,000 3000 Totiil Orand Total . 3,fc23,000 a,li;i2 000 ...... 6,01H,3(iO 65,554,000 ' Tli«M (ovrriimonM imliide in llieir ainiiunta tha >m (W,OnO *i Jj^""; |i"l'Ul«li"ii(l,lie.l«IO) of tl.j now cut 'inKriit ut SiwaZ ""■" of i>urliun» ul tliein, \iy iinperi»l iiku* uf Dnctmbnt IS, IIM THE BALTIC PROVINCES —FINLAND. 48 THE BALTIC PROVINCES. Finland, called by the inhabitants Snomenrvma, or Land of Marshes, lies between the sixtieth and seventieth degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-first and thirty-second degrees of cast longitude, forming the ex- treme northwestern portion of tlie Russian empire, including tlic province of Viborg and the Avestcrn portion of Russian Lajdand, which are politi- cally connected witli it. It has on the north the Norwegian province of Finniark ; on the east, the governments of Archangel and Olonetz ; on the south, the lalce Ladoga, the government of St. Petersburg, and the gulf of Finland ; and on the west, Sweden and the gulf of Bothnia. Its length from north to south is seven liundred and thirty miles ; its average breadth is about one liundred and eighty-five miles ; and its area one hundred and forty-four thousand square miles. Its greater portion is a table-land, reach- ing generally from four to six hundred feet above the level of the sea, and interspersed witli liills of no great elevation. In the north, however, are the Mauselka mountains, with an average height supposed to be between three and four thousand feet. Tlie coasts, parti'-ularly in the soutli, are surrounded by a vast number of roclty islands, separated from the mainland and from each other by intri- cate and narrow cliannels, rendering the shores of Finland easy of defence in case of hostile attacli by sea. But the chief natural feature of the coun- try is its myriads of lakes, wliich occuj)y a large proportion of its surface ; and some of which, as the Enare, Saima, Paiyane, and others, are of con- siderable size. Tlie greater number of these are in the soutli and east ; they have frccpiont communications with each other, and generally a])ound with islands, the natural strength of whose situation has been taken advan- tage of to cover them with batteries, some of them imi^regnable save to want or famine. There are no rivers of any importance. The climate is rigorous ; even in the south the winter lasts seven months of the year, and the summer season, which commences in June, terminates in August. Dense fogs are very frequent ; heavy rains take place in au- tumn, and in May and June the thaws nearly put a stop to all travelling. In the north the sun is absent during December and January ; but during the short summer, while that luminary is alm.ost jierpetually above the hori- zon, the heat is often very great, and near Uleaborg the grain is sowed and reafMid within six weeks ! The principal geological formations are granite, which very easily disin- tegrates, hard limestone, and slate. The soil for the most part is stony and poor ; but how barren soever, Finland is more productive than the opi)osito part of the Scandinavian peninsula ; and when it belonged to the Swedish crown, it furnished a good deal more grain than was necessary for its own consumption, and was termed the granary of Sweden. Barley and rye are the kinds of grain chiclly cultivated, and the rye of Vasa is -•fi Jamm 44 ILLUSTRATED DKSCrdPTION OF RUSSIA. celebrated for its excellence : wheat and oats are but little grown. Tlie peasants arc obliged, from the huniidity of tlio atniosijhere, to dry all tho grain in ovens, after which it will Ivcep for fifteen or eighteen years. Tulse, hops, hemp, fhix, and a little tobacco, arc raised ; and potatoes were intro- duced about tlie year 17<.i2, but they liave not yet been l)rought into gen- eral use. Only a small proportion of tlic surface is under cultnre. Tho land requires a largo quantity of manure, and that in common use is wood- ashes, procured by setting fire to the forests and underwood, alter wliich operation heavy crops arc sometimes obtained. Tho natural jioverty of the soil is such that, excepting in the southern province of Tavastehus, where it is deprived of a continual supply of artificial stimulus, the crops rapidly fall oft', and the cleared land is soon abandoned for another portion of soil, tho wood on Avhich is purjio.^ely destroyed. This plan of manuring the land, though well enough aduitted to bring the fens covered with brusii- vvood under cultivation, is highly injurious to the forests, and consciiuently to one of the chief sources of national wealth. The forests are very exten- sive, and reach as far north as latitude sixty-nine degrees. They consist principally of pine and fir ; but they contain also beecli, elm, jKiplar, oak, ash, birch, &c. Tin. jer, deals, potash, pitch, tar, and rosin, are among the most imjjor- tant products of Finland. Cherries and a|ii)les I'ipen at Vasa, and a spe- cies of crab-apple grows wild in the west; but other fruits, except a few kinds of berries, are rare. Next to agriculture, cattle-breeding and fishing are the chief occupations of the people. Pasturage is scarce and indilVer- eut, and forage rare ; but cattle, goats, and hogs, which are fed upon leaves, straw, &c., are comparatively numerous. In the north, the peasants pos- sess large herds of reindeer. Bears, wolves, elks, deer, foxes, beavers, polecats, and various kinds of game, abound in Finland. Seal and herring fisheries are established on many parts of the coast ; and the salmon and strtciuliug ( C/iipca lunrngtis) are caught in great quantities in the lakes, supjtlying the inhabitiuits with an important part of their food. Irori-niines were formerly wrought, but at present only bog-iron is procured. Lead, sulphur, arsenic, nitre, and a little copper, are met witli ; salt is very scarce, and is one of the chief articles of import. The manufactures of Finland are quite uisignificant. Except the j)rod- ucts of a few iron-forges, and glass, sailcloth, and hose factories, they aro entirely domestic. The peasant prepares i.is own tar, potash, and char- coal ; constructs his own boat-furniture and wooden utensils ; and weaves at home the coarse woollen and other fabrics he uses. lie often lives ono hundred miles from any town, and is therefore thrown for the most i)art upon his own resources and ingenuity for the supply of his wants. In some districts the inhabitants never repair to a town but to obtain salt. The exports consist of timber, butcjier's meat, butter, skins, tar, and fish, to other parts of the empire and to Sweden, Avith which countries the prin THE BALTIC PROVINCES — FINLAND. 46 . RuseiAN Ki.K AND Hears, cipal iiitoroirsc is niainfaiuod. Tlierc are a few good roads, made by the HwodcH w'.ile they were in possession of the country ; but they do not extend fur into the interior. Post-norsies are i'nrnislied, us in S\ve';len, by the adjacent farmers. In conunereial dealings, tlie Russian is tlie currency csta!)lislied by hiw ; but Swedish pauer-money is in circuhition, and is geu- crally ])referred by the j)0])nhition. Administratively, Finland is diviih'd into eight Ifviies, or governments, viz., Viborg, St. Michuel, Xyland, Tuvasteluis, Abo-Hiomel)org, Vasa, Ku- opia,and Uleuborg-kaiaini ; and the.se again are subdivided mio fog-clerier, or districts, /uvrddcs, &c. Tlie chief towns are Ileh^ingfors, the present capital ; Alio, tlie former cui)ital ; Tavustehus, Yasa, Uleaborg, and Tor- nea. A Russian military governor resides at Ilelsingfors, which is one of the great naval stations of the Baltic, and is strongly fortified. Finland has a diet, composeu of the four orders of the nobility, clergy, citizens, and ])casantry, and a code of laws and judicial system similar to that of Swe- den ; but tlie diet is rarely convoked, except to consent to the imposition of fresh taxes, a senate more recently established having replaced it in the exercise of its functions. The annual revenno derived by the crown from Finland is about one million dollars ; the whole of it is, however, expended in the country. Among their privileges is the one that none but a native Finlander can hold any office of trust in the country. Tiio regiments raised in Finland arc also not promiscuously intermixed with the general i ■ ^m 46 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. '»' forces of the Russian empire ; and their fleet, by far the best-manned por- tion of the Russian naval force, forms a distinct squadron under the Fni- nish flag. Almost all the population are Lutherans, under the bishops of Abo and Borgo ; except in the government of Viborg, where they belong to the Russian (Greek) church. Public education is very backward ; thcr is a university at Helsingfors, besides schools in all the towns, Init there is a great deficiency of country-schools. On the western coast, and in the Aland archipelago (which is included in Finland),* the inhabitants are mostly of Swedish origin, and in the south- east of Russian descent ; but the great majority of the population are Finns. The latter have, by many geographers, been identified with the Fenm of * Tlip Aliina nicliiiirliigo is ii pniup of islnnds nt the pnlrnncp of llie gulf of BiHhniH, hctwppn fifty-nine cli-grrcs fifty ininntt-s and sixty degrees tliirty-twci niimites north Intitniic, nnd niiirteen degrees ten niinntes imil twenty-one degrees seven minutes enst longitude, consisting of more limn eighty inhnliited nod npwiiid of two hundred uniuhahited Iflets nnd roeks (nhdron), oernpyinir nn Rren of ahout fiiur hinulred and seventy square riili-s, ami divided into three olilong cliwlers liy tlio •traits of Delet nnil Lnppvnsi. The Bultic hounds them to the south ; on tlie west the firails of Aliindgliaf srpriralcs them from Sweden, itt width heing ahont tweniy-fo;n- mih'f ; and on the east the stiaita of Wnltuskiftet, whieh nre seurcely two mih-s hroad where they are narnwi st, nnd iiliout fiiurleen where they are hroiulest, interpose between them nnd the FirdaMus. The castle is now used as a prison, and is garrisoned hy half a batta..^.j of infantry. The cathedral of ALo is also highly interesting — not, however, on account of its external appearance which is coarse and heavy, but for the architectural structure of its inte- rior, which is of three epochs ; but this cathedral is more particularly wor- thy of interest from its having been the cradle of Christianity in Finland : here the first episcopal chair was instituted, and for centuries the first families wore buried. The vaults of the chapels arc filled with their re- mains, and some of their monuments arc not unworthy of mention. On one of thorn is an epitaph to Caroline j^Iorsson, a girl taken from tlie ranks of the people by Eric XIV., and who, after having worn the Swedish diadem, returned to Finland and diod in obscurity, while her royal husband, as has been before stated, ended his days in a prison. In the same chapel, and at the end of it, are two stat\Jos in white marble, the size of life, kneeling on a sarcophagus, supported by columns of black marble : tliese are the wcaltliy and powerful Clas Tott, grandson of Eric XIV., and his wife. In another chapel is the monument of Stulhnndsk, one of the generals and heroes of the Thirty Years' War. The fire of 1827 completely gutted this church, and not only were tlie altar and organ destroyed, but even the bells were melted by the devouring clomont. Subscriptions have restored the cathedral ; and a ■, at'iotic Finn, a baker by trade, who had amassed about tifteen thousand do.iars in his business, and was without a near rela- tive, left that sum to i)urthaso an organ at his death. Effect was given to his wishes, and an organ of five thousand pipes, the largest in northern Russia, now raises its decorated and painted head nearly to the roof of the building. Gustavus Adolphus founded an academy hero in 1G30, which Christina his daugliter subsequently elevated into a university. Abo, like Amiens, llyswick, and Cintra, is distinguished by a treaty, being the spot on which the relations between Russia and Sweden were eettled by a peace during the last century. Here, too, Alexander and Bornadotte concluded in 1813 that treaty which arrayed Sweden against France, and placed the Swedish monarch, a Frenchman, in the anomalous position of fighting against his own countrymen. The town of Hclsingfors is, historically speaking, comparatively of mod- ern creation, having been founded by King Gustavus Vasa in the sixteenth century : its name came from a colony of the province of Helsinfflaml, in Sweden, which had been established in the neighborhood for several cen- turies. In 1639, however, the town changed its site, and the inhabitants moved their wooden houses nearer the seashore ; and on the spot where Hclsingfors now stands — war, plague, famine, and fire, ravaged it, each in its turn, and the end of a century found it with a population of only five thousand souls. At the present time it numbers sixteen thousand, exclu- sive of the garrison. ' ■ ^ >k 'i CO ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUHSIA. Tlic Rus.oinns liavo prrcafly anjrMiciitffl niid iiriprovcil FI('lsiiifrfor5 sinco it came into tiioir poHscHHioii, iimrc iiarticiilarly ,'!iiiu'o (lie year ISIU, wiicn it bijcamo tlio cajtital of Finlaiui ; tiio r.'>ion» provinces of Finland. The traveller, during hia wanderings, will hardly meet with a people so attaching, or wltii whom ho will so soon find liimself on terms of intunaey, as the Swedes and Finns. This remark perhaps re(iulres (luallfication as applied to the peasantry of the more eastern provinces, of the unmixed Finnish race, who arc rcpre- Beuted to be habitually grave and taciturn. The government of St. Petersbukg (being that In Avhlch the capital of the empire is situated) lies between the fifty-eighth and sixty-first degrees of nortli latitude, and the twcnty-eiglith and thirty-fourth degrees of east longitude ; having the gulf and government of Finland and Lake Ladoga on tho north, Olonctz on the northeast, Novgorod on the east and south* east, Pskov on the south, and Lake Pelpus and the government of Estiionia f'i f '• "' O'V ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. or Revel on the west. Its greatest length from aortheast to southwest is two hundred and sixty-five miles, and its breadth ninety miles, comprising an area of about eighteen thousand six hundred square miles. It is, for the most part, a low flat, coA'ered to a considerable extent with lakes and swamps, excepting small portions of the north and south, the former being broken by the low liills of Olonetz, and the latter partly traversed by a ramification of the Yaldai mountains. The whole of its drainage is carried into the gulf of Finland, cither directly by the Neva, Louga, and Narova, or indirectly by the Volkhov, Siasi, Pacha, Tvir, and Oiat, which have their mouths in Lake Ladoga. The climate is severe, and the soil by no means fertile ; not above one third of the surface is under cultivation, and the grain produced falls far short of the consumption. The forests are very extensive. Tlicrc arc no minerals of any consequence. Manufactures have advanced with rapid strides, particularly in the capital, and trade, both foreign and domestic, is very extensive. For administrative purposes, the government is divided into eight dis- tricts. The gTcater part of it belonged to ancient Ingria, which, during the Avar between the Swedes and Russians, in the time of Charles XII., became the principal theatre of hostilities, and in consequence suffered dreadfully. Ultimately, Peter the Great succeeded in conquering it, and it was finally secured to Russia by the peace of Nystadt. St. Petersburg, the capital (wliich is fully described on future i)ages), had, up to the breaking out of hostilities with Turkey and the western powers, the most extensive foreign trade of any city in the north of Eu- rope. This arises not so much from its great population as from its being the only great maritime inlet on the gulf of Finland, and from its vast and various communications with the interior. By means partly of canals, but principally of rivers, St. Petersburg is connected with the Caspian sea, goods being conveyed from the latter to the capital, a distance of fourteen hundred and thirty-four miles, without once landing them. The iron and furs of Siberia and the teas of China are received at St. Petersburg in the same way ; but, owing to the great distance of these countries, and the short period during which the rivers and canals are navigable, they take three years in their transit by water ! Immense quantities of the less bulky and more valuable species of goods are also brought to the city during the wiii- ter upon the ice in sledges. The j)rincipal article of export is tallow ; and next are hemp, flax, iron, co])pcr, grain (mostly wheat), timber, potashes, canvass, linseed and hempsecd, with their oils, furs hides, leather, cordage, caviare, wax, tar, uary,'th9 howling of 'ho wolves is a common nocturnal music. The following account of an Estho- nial female abandoning her children to wolves, thrillingly illustrates the danger to which the inhab- itants of that region are exposed to attacks from these ravenous beasts. It olso explains the scene given in the engraving on pngo 61: "An Esthonian woman, during the winter of 1807, undertook a journey to a' distant relation, not only without any male companion, but with tliroo children, the youngest of which was still at the breast. A light sledge, dniwn by one horse, received the little party ; the woy was narrow, but well beaten ; the snow on each side deep and impassable ; and to turn back, without danger of sticking fast, not to be thought of. " The first half of the journey was piissed without accident. The road now ran along the skirt* of a pine-furest, when the traveller nuddenly heard a suspicious noise behind her. Casting bock a look of alarm, she sow a troop of wolves trotting along the rond, tlio number of which her fears hin> dered her from estimating. To escape by flight is lirr fust thought; and witli unsparing whip she urges into a gallop the horse, which itself snufTd the danger. Soon a couple of the strongest and most hungrj' of the beauts appear ai. her side, and seem disposed to stop the way. Though their intention seems to be only to attack the horse, yet the safely cf both the mother ai..' the children depends on the preservation of the onimal. The danger raises its vnluo ; it seems entitled to claim for its preservation nn extraordinary siicrifice. As the mariner throws overboard his richest trea^ nret to appease the raging waves, so hern has necessity reached a height at which the emotions of the heart are dumb hcforo the dark commands of instinct ; the latter nione suffers the unhappy wo- man to act in this distress. She seizes her serond child, whose bodily infirmities have often made it an object of anxious care, whose cry even ofTonds not her ear, and threatens to whet the appetite of the bloodthii-sty monsters — she sei/.es it with an involuntary motion, and before the mother in conscious of what she is doing, it is ciut nut, and the last cry of the victim still sounded in her carsi when she discovered that the troop, which hnd remained some minutes behind, again closely pressed on the sledge. The anguish of her soul increases, for again the murdet-breathing forms are at her side. Pressing the infant to her heaving bosom, she casts a look on her boy, four years old, who crowds closer and closer to her knee. ' But, dear mother, 1 am good, am I not 7 You will not throw me into the snow, like the bawlert' — ' And yet I and yet !' cried the wretched womon, in the wild tumult of despair, 'thou ait good, but God is merciful! — Awny!' Tho dreadful deed wot done. To escape tho furies that raged within her, the woman exerted herself, with powerless lashi to accelerate the gallop of the exhausted hoi-se. With tho thick and gloomy forest before and be- hind her, and the nearer and nearer trampling of her ravenous pursuers, she almost sinks under her anguish; only the recollection of tho infant that she holds in her arms— only the desire to save it — ocdupies her heart, and with difficulty enables it to bear up. She did not venture to looK behind her. All nt once, two r<>ugh paws are laid on her shoulders, and iho wide-open, bloody jaws of an enormous wolf hung over her head. It is tho most ravenous beast of tho troop, which having partly missed its leap at the slitdge, is dragged olong with it, in vain seeking with its hinder legs for a resting-place, to enable it to get wholly on tho frail vehicle. The weight of the body of tho mon- c'er draws tho woman backward. Her arms rise with tho child: half torn from her, half aban- doned, it b«comcs the prey of tho ravenois bcott, which hastily car.'ies it off into the forest. Ex- iriiis, nnrl (■(iiiliriiii'i> Iht jiinini-y, i^'iinnuit wlu'tlii'i' »lie it di'livi'ii'd tVoiii lirr iiinniirs iir imf. "MiiiMlitiif lliu toji'st ^rciWA iliiiiiicr, null iin !ii.(ivi<« of llin hoimo llie kill lu'li, the thiinhpr the bain, the eldest »oii of the fiiniily, with liiu u\e in liin hiiiid, tin- wood whieli lie liad jiist eleft — 'o nssist the iinfortuiiiilp woinnn ; nnd, witli a nnxtiiie of oiiiiosity and pity, to lenrn, liy n liuiidrpd inquiries, the cirrumstiinrei of lier siiiRiilar ii])penniiiep. Hefreihed hy whiitevcr cnn bn prorurod at the monipiit, the ntninper gradiiiilly reeoveis ilip po«iTof »peeih, and ahilily (o pivp an iutclli- pihlp account of the dreiidfiil dial which she hnn iinity, conimiserulion, dismny, and ablioiTcnre, imposed alike on all the same involuntary silence. One only, unuhlo to command the ovpi-jm-.ireriiig emotions cf !iis heart, advanced before the rest — it was lliP young man with the axe; lii» cheeks wprp pplp with nffiipht — his wihlly-rollinp eyes flashed ill-omened fire. 'What!' he exclaimed; 'three children.— thine own children I — the sickly innocent — the imploring boy^the infant >; a pyninasium, episcopal seminary, and a school (prusion^ for nobles. The castle, a modi-in edifice, is appr(»priated to the provincial authorities : the municipal officers, who arc elected by the city, reside in the town-hall. The admiralty is the principal remaining public buildinjr. The suburbs, consistin|r mostly of wooden houses, cover a large extent of ground along the shore. Revel is much resorted to as a walering-pluce, and has some good warm baths, a theatre, several clubs or casinos, and three or four public liliraries, one of which, the property of the city, is said by Possart to contain ten thousand volumes. Tliis town is one of the stations for the Russian fleet, and has a harbor defended by several batteri(>s. This port, which was materially improved in 1S'20, is deeper than that of Kronstadt, though more difficult of en- trance. The roadstead, formed by some islands, is well sheltered. The long durati(»n of the frost is the principal drawliack on Revel as a naval stafion, thougli tluit is a disadvantage which it shares in common with the other Russian ports in (he Haltie. Tliough not connecffd with the interior by any navigable river, Revel has a consideral)Ie trade. Its i)rincipal exports arc grain, spirits, hemp, flax, timber, and otlu'r Haltie produce ; the imi)()rts consist of colonial produce. li(>rrings from Holland and Xiu'way, salt, cheese, wine, toliacoo, fruits, dye-stufl's, cotton yarn, stufl's, and otlier nnmufactured goods, &c. * 'lortion of the customs' revenue is enjoved bv the town. Revel was founded by the Danes in 121H, and afterward sold by them to the knights of tlie Teutonic order. In l"»t»1,it came into the poss<'ssion of the Swedes ; Itut, as before renuvkcd, in treating of the province, it waa taken from them by the Russians in 1710. Like ancient Thelu-s, Revel is enterccl by seven gates ; they arc all pic- turesque erections, decorated with various historical mementos, the arms" of tlie Danisli domination, tlie simple cross of the order on the municipal siiield t)f the city. The Sihiuicvtlvtfottc \i celebrated for a daring act of nuigistcrial justice, which tunk place iu 1 onf). At all times a petty ani- mosity had existed between the rich burghers and the lawless nobility of the ju-ovinee, wlio troul»leil the eonimeree of tlie city, and laughed at the laws of the former; iind, on one n casion, the atrocious murder of one of liis own peasants in the streets of Revel, l)y Baron Uxkidl, of Reiscnberg, so exasjierated the magistrates, tluit they menaced the murderer with the utmost severity of tiie law if ever he came within tlieir Jurisdiction. Nev-. ertlieless, and despising their threat, tlie baron, attended by a slender reti- nuc, entered the city in mere bravado ; when the magistrates, true to their word, seized liim, and after duo trial he was condennied and executed in full view of his friends, without the walls, beneath the Svhmiedepforle. Long andrsanguinary were tlie disputes which followed this act; and, as some pacification to Uxkiill's memory, the burghers walled up the gate «4 ILLUSTRATED DKSCIIIPTIO.V OF ni'SSFA. way, which was not rooponod till the begimiinj? of tin? |irt'scnt ooiifiiry. In the summer thoro is an uiiiuml fair, calI'Ml tin) Jahniiiirkt, which la held beneath the old olin-trees before the church of St. Nicholas — n most interesting scene to the stranger — and forms the; morning lounge of tho inhabitants during that season of the year. In the evening, Cutherinthal is the favorite promenade. This is an imperial limttirhfosn, or i)alace, at a little distance from the town, suiTounded with fine trees and well-kei»t grounds, or what is li 're termed "t'm siipcrhrr jxirk,'^ wiiich during six weeks of the summer months is thronged with lashionalile groups, who eat ices, drink chocolate, talk scandal, and make love, as j>eople do elsewhere. This residence, whii-li is literally a bower of verdure redeemed from a waste of sand, is tho jdeasant legacy of Peter the Oreat to the city of Revel. Being a frc(iuent visiter to Revel, it was here that he iirst erected a modest little house boneath tho rocks of the Laoksbrrg, from the win- dows of which he could overlook his infant fleet riding at anchor in tde bay, and which still exists. But a few years previtms to liis death, the present palace, within a stone's throw of his Dutch house — for all Peter the Great's own private domicils testify whence he drew his first ideas of comfort — was constructed, which he surrounded with pleasure-grounds, and presented to his consort, by the name of Calherinlhal. This gift he increased by the purchase of surrounding estates to the amount of several millions of dollars — sufiicient to have assured to the empress, in case of need, a fitting retreat from the frowns of Russian fortune. These estates have been gradually alienated and bestowed on private individuals, and Catherinthal is reduced to little more than its gardens. It has been tlio temporary sojourn of all the crowned heads of Russia in succession ; and the treaty of peace concerning Silesia (wrested from Austria by Frederick the Great soon after his accession), between the two most powerful wo- men of coeval times whom the world has ever known — Maria Theresa of Austria, and Catherine II. of Russia — was ratified hero. LivoxiA (called by the Russians Lijliandiin, and by the Germans Liv- land, or Liejland} is situated on the Baltic, having on the north the gov- ernment of Esthonia ; on the east the lake Pcipus, separating it from tho government of St. Petersburg, and the governments of Pskov and Yitepsk ; on the south the latter and Courland ; and on the west the gulf of Livonia. Its length from north to south is about one hundred and sixty miles, and its average breadth one hundred and seventeen miles. Including the island of (Esel, in the Baltic, it has an area of about seventeen thousand three hundred square miles. The coast and the greater part of the surface of this province arc flat and marshy ; but in the districts of Venden and Dorpat are some hills of con- siderable elevation ; Eierberg, one of these, being nearly eleven hundred feet in height. There are several extensive lakes : the principal, Virtserf, which is twenty-four miles in length, by from two to six in breadth, com- THE DALTIO PHOVINCES — LlVONrA. W munlcatos with tlio luko Pcipus hy the Eiiiliach. HcHidoH tlio lust named, the ehief rivers are tlie Duiia, which forma the southern boundary, the Evst, and the Holder-Aa. The soil of Livonia, though in some parts loamy, is in general sandy ; but, being al)unduntly watered, it is, by pn)por manuring, rendered very productive. Rye and barley are the ])rincipal crops, and more of both is grown than is required for home consumption. Wheat and oats are less cultivated ; bucltwheat is raised on sandy soils ; flax, hops, and pulse, aro also produced, and the potato culture is on the increase: fruits aro of very indifi'erent tjuality. In some districts, agriculture is tolerably well con- ducted. The forests aro an important source of wealth, and supply excel- lent timber. Tiiey abound also Avitli game, of which every landowner is the sole proprietor of all on his domain. In this manner, many noblemen, in addition to the bears and wolves, the latter of which are sonietin js very destructive to the cattle, may count whole herds of deer, elks, foxes, and lynxes, among their live stock. IJut as in any of the Gennan ])rovinces it is never customary for one noble to exclude another from his hu'. ting- grounds, each landholder is privileged to sport over the whole country. The rich landowners sometimes invite all their neighbors for twenty miles round to a great hunt (tlie [(reparation for which is seen in the engraving on the following page). The field is then taker> for eight successive days against tlie shy iuhal)itants of the forest, in sledges, droskies, and coaches, or on horseback, accompanied by multitudes of peasants and dogs. The meal- are taken under the shade of a lofty fir-treo, from which a lynx has just been expelled, or in the den of a bear which lias just been overcome, or in the lair of a newly-s' .' elk. SonuM iines a corps of musicians accom- panies the party, and cards and dice are sebh^ni wanting. It might bo imagined that Tacitus hail made his remarks on the ancient triiies of Germany, in these haunts of their unsophisticated descendants ; excc|)t that, instead of savages clothed in bearskins, tliese hunters are always well dressed, sometimes young and liandsome, and generally well educated and intelligent. The a.ssumiiig of the tog-a virilig was th<> great era in the lifo of a Roman youth. The fowling-piece is here an emblem of ♦'•■, ■ iine sig- nificance. Even little boys, as soon as they can stand alone, arc initiated into the merry life of the hunter, and father, son, and grandson, often hunt together. The first elk shot by a nobleman's son is talke 3 of half his lifo ; and the last bear compiered by an old man, before his death, is long thought of with mournful pride by his friends. In some noble families the passion for hunting has taken such deep root, that every member of it is a modern Nimrod ; while in others, few in numbers, a dislike to sporting is an heredi- tary characteristic. There arc many noblemen to be found who were never out of their forests and wildernesses, who in the seventy years of their existence have used up more than a hundred calfskins for hunting-boots, and who have expended more saltpetre on game than their forefathers required to conquer the country ! 60 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. PnEPABINO rOB TUB CHAIR. The rearing of live stock, though not altogether neglected, does not re- ceive adequate attention ; the breed of black cattle is, however, in the course of being improved. Horses and sheep are very inferior. The fish- eries, both on the coast and in the frosli waters, are important. Clialk, alabaster, and other calcareous materials, are aljundant. Rural industry and the distillation of si)irits arc by far the most impor- tant occupations. The manufactures of this government are, however, more extensive tlian those in its vicinity. The peasantry spin linen yarn, and weave their own cloths ; and in the towns, especially Riga, there are sugar-refineries, and tobacco, woollen-cloth, cotton, linen, glass, and other factories, which employ about four thousand hands, and produce goods to the amount of eleven or twelve millions of roubles* a year. * Till' rtymolopy of tbf wmil " rouMc" in fVi)m tlir Rinsiun wnrd ruliit, to rut, or liew off; ai in foiTTipr times silver wus cuiront only in Imrs, liuni wliicli it wng custoniiiiy for ii ilclitor to strike off with n lininmor nnil cliisol tlio nmotint wliii-h he hiul to pny. The rouble is of two kin. new paper money (liilleln de credit), of the nominal value of the ■ilvcr rouble, anf ^ood. One of the suburbs lies on the left bank of tho river, the communication with it being main- tuined by a bridge about twenty-four hundred feet in length. Among the public buildings are the cathedral, consecrated in 1211, and rebuilt in 1.547 ; the church of St. Peter, built in 1400, with a tower four hundred and forty feet in lieight, being the most elevated in tho empire, and commanding a fine view of the city and adjacent country ; the castle, the seat of the chancellery, and of the general and civil governors ; hall of the provincial states, town-house, exchange, arsenal, &c. A magnificent column, surmounted by a colossal bronze statue of Victory, was erected in 1817, by tho mercantile body, in honor of the emperor Alexander and the ?■;.!?>! H^i dopoHitrd in the rniiltn nt the fortress of St. Potersbnrs, nnd rccelvablo in payment of taxes, custntns, niii) ill fiict all debts wliutover, tlio heavy einisston oaUtul for to meet the exi);enciFS of the gnvvTiinii-iit tliii iii^ wiir-timos has caused them to fall rapidly in value, and they rvaohed as Rreat a depinciatiun as that which befell the old issue. mimm 68 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Russian army. Among the literary establishments arc a gymnasium, a lyceum, a school of navigation, and various elementary schools, a public library, an observatory, a society of Lettonian literature, «fec. In the library are contained a curious arm-chair that once belonged to Charles XII., a very old bible, some letters written by Luther to the senate of Riga, and a ball which is said to have been fired by Tetcr the Great in the siege of 1710, and lodged in the wall of the library. The esplanade and gardens, both in and near the town, are well laid out. There is a celebrated festi- val held here on St. John's day, the 24th of Juno, called " the Flower- Feast;" also one wliich bears the singular title of the '■'• Hugger Sorroiv," in commemoration of a siege in which the inliabitants suffered greatly from famine. The manufactures of Riga arc of no great importance, tliough of late tliey have materially improved. Tliose of cotton, cloth, and rugs, arc the most important. There are also various sugar-houses, tobacco-manufacto- ries, breweries, &c. Owing to her situation on a large navigable river, Riga is the entrepot of an extensive country ; and is, in respect of foreign commerce, the next town in the Russian dominions to St. Petersburg. Grain used to be the principal article of export, but it is now far sur])assed by flax and llax- secd, the exj)orts of wliich have iucroasod very rapidly. Tlio other great articles of export are hcmj) and henipHced, timber, including masts and deals, hides, tallow, coarse linen, and canvass, &c. The imports consist principally of sugar, and other colonial products, dye-stuffs, wines, cotton, cotton-stuffs and cotton-yarn, woollens, salt, hcri'ings, &c. There is a bar at the mouth of tlie river, which has usually from twelve to thirteen feet of water ; and it is custonmry for vessels drawing more than this to load and unload the whole or a part of their cargoes at I3older-Aa, a small port out- side the bar. The entrance to tlie river, at Dunamunde, is guarded by a fort, where is also the customhouse. The shi])s arriving at Riga vary from one thousand to fift.^en hundred a year. If we may depend upon tlie offi- cial accounts, the city has increased very rapidly, though it has occasion- ally suffered consideral)ly from inundations. Dorpat lies on the Embach, and on the high road between Riga and St. Petersburg, one hundred and fifty nulos northeast of the former, and ono hundred and seventy miles southeast ol llie latter city. It has over four- teen thousand inhabitants. The history of this town io a stirring and Btormy one. The Russians from the east, the Teutonic knights from tho west, the quarrels of both with the aboriginal Esthonians, and tho bloody wars between the Russians, Swedes, and Poles, more than once laid it in ashes. Its university was founded by Gustavus Adolphus in 1(382, the year of his death (wliile leading his troops at the great battle of Lutzcn, againHt the Austrians), and, after various vicissitudes, it took refuge in Sweden, to avoid the Russian army, in 1710. Professors, students, libraries, muse- ums — all departed; and returned only under tho auspices of the emperor THE BALTIC PROVINCES — LIVONIA. 69 Alexander in 1802. It now contains forty-ilve professors, and six hundred ! T more students, and has a high reputation in Russia. Among the professors at this university one name may be cited of great fame — that of Struve, whose astronomical labors have procured him a well-earned reputation throughout Europe. The observatory on the Dom- berg, from the character of the work done there, is ranked among the most celebrated institutions in this brunch of science. Here is a great refract- ing telescope, the work of Frauenhofcr, mounted in such a manner that tho iron roof, revolving round a vertical line, affords complete protection from the weather without hindering the view of any point in the heavens. This was desigi.od and constructed by Mr. Parrot, and so beautifully is it exe- cuted, tliat one hand is enough to impel and guide the machinery which moves the telescope and roof. The emperor Alexander presented the tele- scope to the University. Struve was at the head of the observatory neai* St. Petersburg, and the telescope which he dii*ected toward the heavens is on a far more gigantic scale than his old friend of Dorpat. Some of the ai)paratus wliich was used in measuring a portion of the meridian of Dor- pat is to be seen here. Tiie library has a very curious locality, being situ- ated in the ruins of the old Dom. The views hence are very fine. The broad crown of the hill, adorned by numerous avenues of trees, is called Cathedral phice : the ruins of a church, destroyed in 1775, by a fire which consumed nearly tho wliole town, explains the origin of this name. On the Douiberg are like vise the schools of anatomy and natural history, tlie museums, ttc. The philosoi»hical instruments are remarkable for their having been made for the most part by a Russian artisan of the name of SamoilolT. Of all the collections of the university, that of the botanical garden is the most comj)lote ; it contains more than eighteen thousand plants, some of which are not to be found in the other botanical gardens of Europe. Dorpat, like Revel, had once its corps of Schwarze Haevpter, or " asso- ciation of citizens for the defence of the city." It is now a mere convivial club. Among its treasures is a magnificent goblet of glass and gold, two feet high, on the side of which arc engraved a beetle, a humming-bird, and a butterfly. Whoever could only drink to the beetle, was fined two bot- tles ; whoever reached the humming-bird, only o'ne ; and he whose draught attained as deep as the butterfly, was exempt from fine. With tl)e exception of tho Dom, no vestige remains at Dorpat of the ancient Gothic nucleus of the town ; all is new. The fortifications have, as at Frankfort and Hamburgh, been converted into agreeable promenades. A granite bridge over the Embach, which is navigable up to Dorpat, adds not a little to the apjwarance of the town. Near Dorpat is the picturesiiue ruin of Schhss Riiig-en, formerly one of tho largest castles of Livonia. These ruins are a perpetual monument of tho ferocious feuds between two neighboring noblemen, tho lord cf Ringen and tho lord of Odempa. An old family quarrel between them had been i kl mma 70 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. heightened by various personal insults into the deadliest mutual hatred. Notwithstanding this, they sometimes, when their interests demanded it, visited and entertained one another with outwc id civility. One day the lord of Ringen invited the lord of Odempii to a banquet. The latter came, enjoyed the feast much, and was particularly pleased with one costly dish, which his host strongly recommended to him — so much so, that he wished to know what it was made of; but this Avas a sc^ ;ct, said the lord of Rin- gen. As the visiter was returning to Odemp.i, however, a servant was sent after him, with u message, that if he roju.'mb' i'cd wliat the Persian king Astyages, son of Cyaxares, served up to his servant Ilarpagus, he would kn w how the delicate dish wliich had pleased him so much was composed. The horror-struck liither flew home to seek his only little fon, but sought him in vain : the lord of Ringen had served up to him for dinner his own son's heart and brains ! The infuriated nobleman attacked Schloss Ringen that same night with all his men ; and, though the lord of Ringen was prepared for the attack, yet the superhuman fury of the iaiher, and the justice of his cause, over- came all opj)osition. The castle was stormed, reduced to ruins, and the hearts and brains of its defenders thrown to the dogs. The histories of these old Livonian castles are often very romantic and tragical ; and, though these bloody feuds have been modified by the spirit of the age, the animosity of ncigliboring nobles now develojjs itself in in- terminable litigation. CoURLAND (which the Slavonians call Kors, and the Germans Knrland') is bounded on the north by Livonia and the gulf of Riga, on the west by the Baltic, on the south by Wilna and a small p )rtion of Prussia, and ou the east by Vitepsk. Its greatest length from n '»thwest to southenst 'li two hundred and thirty miles ; its breadth varies i>)m one hundred and fifty miles, and diminishes from west to east, till it tci 'ninates almost in a point. It comprises an area of a))out ten thousand square miles. In the neighI)orhood of Mittau, the capital, the surfoco is diversified by bills of very moderate height — Iluneinberg and Silberberg, the highest, not exceeding five hundred feet ; but elsewhere, and particularly toward the «;()ast, it is flat, and contains extensive sandy tracts, often covered with heaths and morasses. AI)out two fifths of the whole government are occu- pied by forests, and there are no fewt;r than three hundred lakes, mostly of small extent ; but Usmeiten, the largest, has a circuit of twenty-four miles, is in many jilaces twelve fathoms deep, and abounds with fish. The principal rivers are the Aa and the Windau. Tlie latter is al. It covers a very largo space, of wliicli, however, a consitKjrabI*} jiortion is occupied by gar- dens, and is on tlso whole very ijulifiercu'.'/ i)uih ; tho houses are chiefly of wood, painted greoji or rediliaii-brown. Many uf the streets arc narrow aii'l crooked, but some are also wide, straiglit, and regular. The moat iui cresting building is the castle, the residence of the old dukes of Cour- land (who governt'd the pro^ ince after its recovery from Poland until its incov{)oiPtion with Russia in 1705). It had almost become a mere ruin, when, in 173U, .\farshai Biron, tlio favorite of the empress Anne, when ho was chosen chief of the Courland chivalry, comnjenced a palace on tho samo site, which h.' (.ouipleted after his return from exile. It stands on an island, surroundeu hy the canals of the Aa,and is built in the Vei-sailles style. A fire nearly dei^troyed it in 1788, when it was rebuilt, and bubse- quently became '.he residence of Louis XVIII. of France, when travelling under the title t)f Count do Lille. It is now inhabited by the chief officers of the city, and a portion of it is set apart for the imperial family. Among tho otlier buildings of Alittau, may bo mentioned four churches — a Greek, a Roman catholic, a Lutheran, and a reformed; three Jewish synagogues, a umseum, a library of twenty thousand volumes, an observa- tory, a gyumasium with nine professors, a hospital, an orphan and a lunatic asylum, a casino, and a theatre capable of containing three thousand spec- tators. Its manufactures, v.hich are of little moment, include linen, hosiery, soap, and leather ; and its trade is very limited. The population is about thirteen thousand. ,. Libau (Lettish, Lepeia) is situated on the Baltic, beside the lako Libau, being the most southern Russian port on that sea, and therefore possesses an importance from its becoming navigable earlier in the spring than any other. It is walled, and entered by a gate from the north. Its streets are ^ narrow, ular. 1 Roman ( lum. T water, a has, how Ooni'lanc it. Its oi\, ^ uiti Its popul VVindti the most of ii. aiat The pi l>y tribes worship ] the rest c ceaseless above all, and thren powerful of Liv(jniii aters, wlic forefather founded li wortliies <. (^Schwert Bremen ni tho foundi In the fi ily enlargt and despi.^ sion to tin the shores reported t sentation ( describing Christian They were anny with tho arms o of such foi half a cent wide throu THE BALTIC PROVINCES — GENERAL SUMMARY. 78 narrow, and mostly unpaved ; and its market-place, though large, is irreg ular. The houses arc of wood, and only one story high. It has Lutheran, Roman catholic, and Calvinistic churches, a hospital, and an orphan asy- lum. The port, tljough commodious, has only from eight to twelve feet of water, and can not, therefore, be entered by vessels of much burden. It Itas, however, a considerable trade : the greater part of the produce of Coiirland, as cattle, linseed, grain, hides, tallow, tfec, being exported from it. Its imports are chiefly colonial products, manufactured goods, wine, {»i], f uits, &c. The distance from Mittau is one hundred and five miles. Its jiopulation is about five thousand. Windau is situated at the mouth ol Ihc river of the same name, and is the most northern town in the government of Courland. It forms a sort oi'u. uiaturc copy of Libau, and its importance is mostly a i)rospective one. The provinces on the eastern coast of the Baltic were originally peopled by tribes of Wcndish origin, who held fast to tlicir heathen rites and idol- worship long after Christianity was pennancrtly established tliroughout the rest of Europe. Warlike, restless, and jdratical, they were engaged in ceaseless struggles with the Danes and other powers of the north, but, above all, with the Ilanso Towns of Oermany, crippling their commerce, and tlirentouing the very existence of the infant mercantile republic. A j)owerful fleet was speedily equipped, and a landing effected on the coast of Livonia. A species of crusade was preached against these warlike idol- aters, whose stuliborn attachment to the dark rites and ceremonies of their forefathers defied the zeal and ehxpienee of the military prelates who founded Riga and Yorkeel toward the close of the twelfth crntury. These worthies established the order of the '* Brethren of the Cross and Sword" {Schwert Bruder}, the members of which were principally natives of Bremen and Lulieck, to the former of which cities Albrccht von Apelden, the founder of the order, belonged. In the full spirit of the name they bore, these warlike adventurers speed- ily enlarged the territories of the Ilaiise Towns. Ignorant of the lunguago and despising the habits of the natives, their principal weapon of conver- sion to the true faith was that swoi-d by which they held their footing on the sI>ores of the east sea ; though on one occasion the bislioj) of Riga is reported to have edified the minds of heathen Wends by a dramatic repre- sentation of a variety of scenes from the Bible, while all writers con<',ur in describing the cruelties practised upon the unbelieving natives by these Christian warriors as of the most revolting and barbarous description. They were not long permitted to pursue their career of conquest and tyr- anny with impunity. On t!ie north, they were compelled to recoil before the arms of the Dane ; while the Russians, alarmed at the near approach of such formidable neighbors, roused the natives to avenge the wrongs of half a century of oppression : and the flame of insurrection spread far and wide throughout Livonia and Estiionia. Many Gerumus were cut off by WHHMMi 74 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. the insurgents ; but at length Bishop Bernhard, falling upon their tumultu- ous forces with his disciplined chivalry, routed the Wends and their allies, and slew them mercilessly. The Russian town of Dorpat was taken, and a German colony established there, in 1220. The capture of tlic isle of (Escl, to the rocky fastnesses of which the best and bravest of the Livo- nians had retired as a last refuge, and the voluntary conversion of the Courlanders, coni])lctcd tlie j)0\vor of tlie brotlicrhood. In 1230, Frederick II., onipcror of Germany, conferred the conquered provinces as an imperial fiof on Valquin, the grand-master of the order; and everything seemed to ])romise the rapid rise of a mighty kingdom — when a sudden attack of the Litliuanians laid low the grand-nuxster and his hopes of conquest, and nearly annihilated the entire forces of the broth- ei'hood. The scanty relics of this powerful body now called for aid on their brethren the Teutonic knights, who were anxiously seeking a fairer lield for military achievements than the East, where they were alike ha- rassed by the open violence of the niussulman,aiid the jealousy of the rival orders, the Templars and Ilos])itallors'. The i)resence of these hardy war- riors restored the Christians to tiicir former superiority in the Held ; and these new-comers soon rivalled the knights of the cross and sword in cru- elty, burning whole villages that had relapsed into idolatry, and making, in the words of one of their own bishops, " out of fnu'-ltoni men the most wretched slaves." As allies of the Toles, they built on the Vistula the fort of Nassau ; and, sallying forth thence, took by storm the holy oak of Thorn, the chief sanctuary of the Prussians, and beneath its far-spreading arms, as in a citadel, the knights defended themselves against the frantic attacks of the idolaters. A general rising of the natives, and a war of extermination, reduced tho numerous forces of the knights to a few scanty troops, and their anqjlo domains to three strongholds ; and, after various alternate defeats and victories, they were rescued from entire destruction by a crusade, under the command of the Bohemian monarch Ottokar the Great, v. ho founded the city of Konigsberg in 12G0, and gave for a time new life and vigor to the falling fortunes of the northern chivalry. Internal disscTisions, and the conse(]uent establishment of a second grand- master, who held his seat at Mergentheim, weakened the growing power of the reviving brotherhood ; and the fatal battle of Tanenlterg, in 1-1 ^'», gave a mortal blow to the importance of this " unnatural institution." But the knights still retained the whole eastern coast of the Baltic, from the Narova to the Vistula, and it was not until the end of the fifieenth century that the arms of Poland compelled them finally to relinquish their claims to the district of eastern and western Prussia. The ancient spirit of the order awoke once again in the grand-master Tlettcnberg, who routed the Russians in ir)02, and compelled the czar to agree to a truce for fifty years ; but the sti[)idated time had ^"> sooner elapsed than the Russians again invaded them : and, too feeble any longer to resii and tin Polish Poles, empire an indc and coi during or duke of the e by Russ Russian The c Mittau, "In Jn session < The astc roso in c were eas the galle gard. 1 the only tion of tl during t nobles ai Toutonit for the TIk; III and man Baltic pi that is c as diflere sian, and quite as most refi Courland ince, difl( parts; an whether Mittau. In com meuts of are very most imp Runoo, «fe( A a THE BALTIC PROVINCES — GENERAL SUMMARY. 75 to resist such powerful enemies, the knights were glad to purchase peace, and tlie undisturbed possession of the province of Courland as a fief of the Polish crown, bj' surrendering Esthonia to Sweden, and Livonia to the Poles, Avliilo the districts of Narva and Dorpat were incorportcd with the empire of Russia. Still the brotherhood existed. Without importance as an independent power, but valuable as an ally, its friendsliij) was sought and courted by the various intrigues and commotions of the Russian throne during the early part of the eighteenth century. The o' ^ce of grand-master or dulce of Courland was last held by Marshal Biron, the Frencli favorite of the empress Anne ; and, in ITDf), on the fall of Poland, and its partition by Russia, Austria, and Prussia, Courland was fully incorporated with the Russian emi)iro by Catlicrine II. The only surviving relic of the Teutonic knights, besides the palace near Mittau, is the beautiful hall of the preceptory at Marienberg, in Prussia. "In June, 1800," says Menzel, "the king of Wiirtemburg took pos- session of Mergoutlieim, the principal settlement of the Teutonic knights. The astonished inmates beheld with fury the new protestant officials, and rose in open rebellion against the j)roposed traflio with their rights. They were easily subdued and savagely punished ; for they were condemned to the galleys, and compelled to work in chains in the royal gardens at Stutt- gard. Thus ended the f. --famed order of the Teutonic knights." Almost the only mention of tiie order in the later history of Germany is the eleva- tion of the Swedish general Horn to the grand-mastership of Mergentheim, during the Thirty Years' War, in order to enable him to treat witli the nobles and cities of the empire as an equal. The ancient palace of the Toutotiic knights at Prankfort-on-the-Main is at present used as a barrack for the Austrian garriscm. The iidial)ilants of Ksthonia, Livonia, and Courland, have, in language and maimers, much in common — much that is characteristic of the German Baltic provinces of Russia ; but a more practised eye will discover much that is characteristic oidy of particular parts. The Livonian German is as diflerent from the German of Cotnland, as the Saxon is from the Prus- sian, and the Bavarian from the Austrian, and they despise one another quite as intensely. Upon the whole, the Livonian is considered as the most reiined and cultivated, the Esthonian as the best soldier, and the Courlander as possessed of most natural ability. Even within each prov- ince, differences may bo observed between the inhabitants of different parts ; and a practised eye and oar, for instance, can readily discover whether a German of Courland comes from the neighborhood of Libau or Mittau. In comparison with the Germans, Lettes, and Esthonians, the other ele- ments of the population, tlio Swedes, Poles, Jews, gipsies, and Russians, ore very insignificant. Of these, of course, the Russians are by far the most important. A few small islands, Wrangclsholm, Nargen, Worms, Runoc, Ac., are inhabited by a race of Swedish origin, who preserve much 76 ILLUSTUATED DESCRIPTION OF HUSSIA. of their original Swedish character. Tho nobility of Swedish origin have, however, become thoroughly Germanized. Tho Poles are Amnd occasionally in the towns, but they arc few and ecattercd, and arc completely lost among the r<'st of the population. The gij)8ics wander homel(\«H (hrough Esthonia, Livonia, and Courland, as through other countries, and continue their old nonnulic way of life, in spite of tho severest laws against tlioin. They are less numinous in Livonia than in Courland. They omphty themselves much in the same way as in other countries, namely, as horse-stealers, cattle-dealers, tinkers, A'C. They are in many cases still permitted to renuiin under the conunand of their own chiefs or gipsy kings, because they pay more respect to them than to any other anthorities, and because these chiefs can be made re- sponsible for the offences of their snl»Jeots. For instance, if a gipsy king is threatened with punishment for the thefts of his people, the offender ia soon discovered. \Wvl1 iwsawrwc GiFiv Woman and Cuaa The Jews are seldom to bo met with anywhere but in Courland, for in Livonia and Esthonia a Javf is actually jjrohibited from remaining more than twenty-four hours in any town or city. In Courland, however, thoy are found everywhere — in the towns, villages, and estates (edeUiufen) — where they occuijy themselves in agriculture, and in differeut mechanical arts, as lors, til hacknc} the com iiiiig aiK induce t ehattels complett More and tho sunk is 1 of Courl the most 'J'he ol race are and total title.l '• ( conujieiic ' Jaw sh.'ill troubled fact that, even deci Jews cau property ously oxji sliellerinu manner." These try, had r Russian a inent in si poor Jew, selves to i be transp( property collected, sellors or them, and wish it wa occupatioi for prose r rich prese of gratitnc by the tea endeavorc THE BALTIC PnOVIN('E8 — GENERAL SUMMARY. 7T arts, as sniitlis, carpenters, masons, er, a The pc annually stones, charge of cattle, hew mill- stones, &c. ; and in sumnu;r tlie number of . .isentees is estimated at about u third {)art of the entire po|)ulation. These circvunstances are hostile to manufacturing industry ; and, exclusive of tlie imperial cannon-foundry it Petrozavculsk, it lias only a few tanneries and iron-forges. It exports raw produce to St. Petersburg and Archangel ; from which cities grain, salt, spirits, and colonial and manufactured goods, are imported. The government of Olonetz is under the same military jurisdiction as that of Archangel, and is divided into seven districts. Education is under the sup(!rintendcnce of the university of St. Petersburg, and is very limited. There is but one printing-press in the province, and that is owned by the state. The iidud)itants are principally of the Greek church, and subordi- nate to the archl»ishop of Novgorod. Petrozavotlsk, the (japital of Olonetz, is situated on the Lossolenka, whore it falls into Lake Onega, two lnuidred miles northeast of St. Peters- burg. It is poorly built, has two wooden churches, a school and infirmary, an important cannon-foundry, a gunpowder, fulling, and several saw mills, and nuinufactories of iron and copper, ^vhieh find their market at St. Pe- tersburg. It contains about eight thousand iiiliabitants, many of whom are employed in the iron-works and imperial foundries. Kargopole, another town in this government, possesses a flourishing trade, and Olonetz is not unworthy of notice, as it was there that Peter the Great first attempted to build a ship-of-war, to be employed on the lake against the Swedes. 5 I M IS i 90 ILLUSTRATED DESCUII'TION OF fiUSSIA. Tho government of Novcjouod lies between the fifty-sovcnth and sixty- first degrees of north latitude, and the thirtieth and fortietli dcigrees of east longitude; having, on the east, the gc 'Tnment of VoU)gda; on tho Bouth, those of Yaroshiv, Tver, and Pskov ; < the west, the h»ttcr and St, Petersburg; and, on the north, the hist named and Olonctz. Its length, from nortlieast to southwest, is about four liundrod miles; its breadth va- ries from forty to one hundred and sixty miles. It contains an area of about fifty-five thousand square miles. Tho surfuoo of the country, whicii iu tho nortli is low and level, rises gradually toward tlie southwest, where tlie A'aldui plateau reaches an ele- vation of one thousand feet above the level of the sea. The gov the castle, a large fortress bristling with artillery. " pal edifice." The town, in fii "^ v./ 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRIET WEBSTER, N.Y. UStO (716) •73-4503 Cl \> I ^ 92 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. mM90/'irrt. #« MONASTBIV OF TIU ANNVMCIATION, AT NOVQOBOD suojcct to a regular line of hereditary monarchs. During the twelfth, thir- teenth, and fourteenth centuries, Novgorod formed the grand entrepot be- tween the countries-east of Poland and the Hanseatic cities ; and its wealth and power seemed so great and well established, and the city itself bo impregnable, as to give rise to the proverli- " Quia contra Deos et tunpfuim Xorogordiam f" " Wlio Clin rt'sist the Gods mid (iieiit Novgorod t" But in 1477 it was obliged to submit to Ivan III., great-duke of Russia. So great was its riches, that in 1480, Ivan, after he had conquered the re- public of Novrogod, despatched from the city to Moscow three hundred chariots laden with articles of silver and gold. In 1554, it was visited by the famous Richard Chancellor (to wliom we have referred in treating of the government of Archangel), who describes U as the "great mart town of all Moscovic, and in greatnesse beyond Moscow." But not long after, it was subjected, as already stated, to the scourge of the destroyer, and fell, never to rise again. The foundation of St. Petersburg took from it all hope of ever recovering any portion of its ancient prosperity. Pskov lies chiefly between the fifty-sixth and fifty-eighth degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-eighth and thirty-second degrees of east longitude ; having, on the north, St. Petersburg and Novgorod, of each of which governments it formerly made a part ; on the easl, Tver and Smo- lensk ; on the south, Vitepsk ;. and on the west, Livonia. lis greatest length, from northwest to southeast, is two hundred and two miles, and its greatest breadth one hundred and ten miles, comprising an area of about twenty-two thousand square miles. The surface of the country is nearly flat, with a slope to the north, th* GREAT RUSSIA — PSKOV. 98 direction taken by most of the rivers. None of these are of considerable size ; but the government is, notwithstanding, well watered. » At the north- western extremity is the lake of Pskov (twenty-seven miles long by fifteen broad), connected by a strait, three miles wide, with that of Pcipus. The whole government belongs to the basin of the Baltic, the river Duna, which drains the southeast, carrying its waters into the gulf of Riga, and the Velikaia, Chelon, and Lovat, with other small tributaries, carrying the rest of the drainage into the gulf of Finland. Toward the southeast the coun- try is traversed by the Valdai hills. Immense numbers of blocks of granite lie scattered in all directions. Marshes are numerous. The atmosphere is usually damp, though, on the whole, the climate is far from unhealthy. The soil is thin, and not very fertile ; but, owing to the fewness of the inhabitants, more grain is grown than is required for home consumption. The produce averages twenty millions of bushels a year, of which upward of five millions may be exported. It consists chiefly of rye, barley, and oats, the proportion of wheat being small. A good deal of hemp and flax is raised. The forests are cxtcnsivo, and abound with game. Cattle are not of great importance, and bees arc less reared than in most provinces. Manufactures have increased during the i)rcscnt century, but they are still of no great consequence. The leather of this government is much esteemed, but its principal wealth consists in its grain and natural produce. The government is divided into eight districts ; the chief towns are Pskov, the capital, Torepetz, and Velikie-Louki. Its population consists mainly of Russians, with sume Lithuanians and Finns. Public education is little extended, and until of late years but few printing-presses were to be found in the government. Pskov (or Pleskov'), the capital of the government just described, is sit- uated on the Velikaia, one hundred and sixty-five miles southwest of St. Petersburg. It contains about ten thousand inhabitants. The city covers a large space of ground, and is divided into three parts, the Kremlin or citadel, the Middle Town, and the Greater Town, all surrounded with an earthen mound. All the private houses, and the greater part of the public edifices, are of wood. The finest buildings are in the Kremlin. Among others are the cathedral, of very little architectural merit, but gorgeously decorated ; and the palace of the ancient princes of Pskov, now occupied by the archbishop. The number of churches amounts to thirty, but more than a third of them are in disuse. Tiie principal manufacture is Russian leather ; and there is a considerable trade in hemp, flax, tallow, hides, &c., with Narva, and other seaports, on the gulf of Finland. A great annual fair is lield here in February, at Avhich large quantities of woollen, silk, and cotton fabrics, leather books, jewellery, «fec., are sold. Pskov is the see of an archinshop ; and possesses a theological seminary, a bible-society, and a well-managed hospital. It is said to have been founded by the prin- cess Olga, toward the close of the tenth century, but is mentioned " bis- torj as early as 903. 94 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. Toi'opctz, another important town in this government, is situated on the Toropa, two hundred and forty-five miles south of St. Petersburg. Tho population is about ten thousand. It is entirely surrounded by lakes and rivulets, and communicates by the Toropa with Riga, which renders it a place of some trade. It has thirteen churches, including a catliedral, and two convents. A few of its houses are of brick or stoue, but tho major part are of wood, the streets also being paved with planks. On an island in the Toropa i^ a dilapidated fort. This town, under the name of Kri- vitch, is mentioned as early as the introduction of Christianity by Vladimir, about 990. It was the capital of a republic, which lasted through tho whole of the twelfth century, but which in the thirteenth became subject to hereditary princes. Toward the end of the fifteenth century it belonged to the Poles, but it was retaken by the Russians in 1500. Velikie-Louki, the other town previously mentioned, contains about seven thousand inhabitants, several churches, and about thirty manufacto- ries of leather, which is transported to the St. Petersburg markets, a dis- tance of three hundred miles, by water. This town was, in 1611, taken and burnt by the adherents of the pretender Dmitri. The government of Tver extends from the fifty-sixth to the fifty-ninth degree of north latitude, and from the thirty-second to tlic thirty-eighth degree of east longitude ; having Novgorod on the nortli, Yaroslav and Vladimir on the east, Moscow and Smolensk on the south, and Pskov on the west. It has an area of about twenty-four thousand square miles. The surface of this government is generally more elevated than that of other parts of Euroi»ean Russia ; and several large rivers, particularly the Volga, rise within its limits. In its weatcrn part are several lakes. The Volga has its source in the lake of Selig' And afterward traverses the government in nearly its whole length frt ost to cast. The climate is severe, and the soil is but indifferently fertile. The har- vests arc precarious, and scarcely ever produce more than sufficient for home consumption. A good 4. al of hemp and flax, with beans, «fec., are grown; but few kinds of fruit succeed. Tho forests are extensive, partic- ularly in the north, and about one million of acres of forest-land belong to the crown. Its manufactures are of little consequence, but increasing ; those of dye- ing-materials and spirituous li'piors are the principal ; and there are others of bricks, glass-ware, ropes, leather, woollen-cloths, &c. This government is, however, distinguished for its commercial activity ; and the capital of its morchanti; has been estimated at seventeen millions of roubles. The trade centres mostly in Tver, the capital, and is facilitated by tho Vish- ni-Volotchok canal, which establishes a water-communication between the Baltic and Caspian seas. Tlio district of the government traversed by this canal is inhabited by a tribe of Carelians, and in the capital is a German colony ; but the population is mostly Russian, of the Greek church. Thig GREAT RUSSIA — TVER — SHOLEKSK. 95 government. is divided into twelve districts ; the chief towns are Tver, the capital, Torjok, Rjev, and Bejetsk. Tver, the capital of this government, is situated on the Volga, which is hero crossed by a woorlcn bridge five hundred and fifty feet in length, and on the high road betW(3cn Moscow and St. Petersburg, ninety miles north- west of the former. Its population is about twenty-five thousand. In re- spect of the regularity of its streets and buildings, Tver ranks next to the two Russian capitals, but wants their bustle and animation. It is divided by the several rivers into the town proper, suburbs, and citadel. The last, surrounded by a rampart of earth, comprises the governor's residence, an imperial palace, tlie cathedral, and seminary ; and its numerous towers and cupolas give it, at a distance, an imposing appearance. The cathedral is a square edifice, with a lofty spire, surmounted by a gilt copper dome, and surrounded, lower down, by four similar domes. The seminary, founded in 1727, for the instruction of seven hundred pupils in the sciences and ancient languages, is established in a convent built in the thirteenth cen- tury. There are numerous churches, government buildings, barracks, inns, a theatre, 'i- ties and elevated river-banks. The northern part is cold, humid, and swampy. Many of the swamps are covered with wood, and some of them contain bog-iron ore. What is arable is cold, and of indifferent fertility. Occasionally there are considerable extents of healthy ground, partly cov- ered with wood. The southern part, near the Volga, has an opener and drier soil, consisting mostly of clay, loam, and sand, but still only of mod- orate fertility. The climate is severe : the winter is long, and the weather stormy ; the I' 1!1 m If 'IH :| ^^■1 V Iw 1 lii i^n 1 100 ILLUSTHATED DESCRIPTION OF HUSSIA. summer is short, and is frequently misty. The chief river is the Volga, which, shortly after entering the government in the southwest, is joined by tho Kostroma from the north ; then, after a short turn to the south* southeast, proceeds almost due east, when it receives its important tribu* tary the Unga, and soon after, by a southerly courno, quits tho government. There arc numerous lakes. Of these, tho Galitz is ten miles long by five and a half broad, and tlie Tchuchloma is above five miles in diameter. Many of the houses in this government, and indeed through all tho soulh and east of Russia, are constructed of timber, and liave very j)oculiar forms. An interesting example of such structures is shown in tho accompanying engraving. POST-HOVIB ON TUR RoOTB FBOM KoSTBOM A TO VaKOSLAV. Large quantities of hemp and flax arc raised in tliis province. These two crops form an imi)ortant element in providing employment for tlie inhabitants. Indeed, the governments of Yaroslav and Kostroma may be considered as the chief seats of nmnufacturing industry, from which eastern Europe derives its supplies. Damask and linen weaving, with the numer- ous processes connected with them, give employment to a largo population, in both the towns f nd throughout the district. Russia leather, also, both red and black (tho former of cow, the latter of horse hide), is made in large quantities, and of first-rate quality. The bog-iron raised is usually smelted by the inhabitants themselves in small furnaces, and formed into the various implements required for their own use. The forests, scattered o7cr the district, employ many hands in felling trees, cutting them for timber, firewood, or charcoal. Even the bark of the lime-tree is turned to profitable account, being largely employed in making mats, for which tho district has long been celebrated. The fishing, also, is very productive. Many of the peasants are masons, carpenters, &c., who seek for employ ment in the summer season in the contiguous governments, returning homo in the autumn. \ V. The( on the ' dred m twelve t century, part of Its situa and mili lie build of stone gymnasi tion, am Russia 1( Prussian of the m which ar XlJNKl ated in tl between : forty-firs( the govei south, Pc north to s one hund sand squi The su consists { and bein^ provinces includuig govern.it There ar( thirteen o siderably cultivatec govornme This is trict. C( products tanneries, growing, and tallov potash, m given by GREAT RUSSIA — NIJNEI-NOVGOBOD. 101 V The city of Kostroma, tlio capital of tlie above govcrnmont, is located on tlio Volga, at the confluence of tlic Ko»tronia witli tliat river, two hun- dred miles northeast of Moscow. The popuhitiou of tlio city is rising twelve thousand. It is of great antiquity, having been built in the twelfth century, and, as is usual with old Russian towns, is surrounded by a ram- part of earth, of which advantage has been taken to form a promenade. Its situation is elevated and agreeable, and, liuing the seat of both the civil and military government of the district, it contains a great number of pub- lic buildings, which, together with most of the dwellings, are constructed of stone. It has fifty churches, a monastery, an ecclesiastical college, a gymnasium, and a large stone building, or bazar, for the security, exhibi- tion, and sale of merchandise. Its nmnifactures, among which that of Russia leather has long been famous (and including also those of linen, Prussian blue, soap, and tallow, a bell-fi)undry, &c.), make Kostroma one of the most iinpurtant towns on the Volga. Several fairs are held here, which are numerously attended by the merchants and country-people. NiJNEi-NovGOROD, or Lower Novgorod (vulgarly, Nijeg-orod), is situ- ated in the central part of European Russia, on both sides ojf the Volga, between the fifty-fourth and fifty-seventh degrees of north latitude, and the forty-first and forty-seventh degrees of east longitude. On the north ia the government of Kostroma ; on the east, Kazan and Simbirsk ; on the south, Penza and Tambov; and on the west, Vladimir. Its length from north to south is one hundred and eighty-five miles, and its greatest breadth one hundred and thirty-six miles, comprising an area of about twenty thou- sand square miles. The surface of the country is flat, or gently undulating. The soil, which consists principally of sand and black friable mould, is exceedingly fertile ; and being (for Russia) well cultivated, this is one of the most productive provinces o.' the empire. Exc'u*»ive of the Volga, sevcal of its afliuents, including the Oka, Betlouga, Plana, Ac, traverse difl'ereni paits of tho gover n.iout, which is well watered, at the same time tlia* it is not marshy. There are some very large forests, those of the crown u..iounting to about thirteen or fourteen millions of acres. The produce of the grain-crops con- siderably exceeds the consumption. Hemp and flax are very extensively cultivated. Great numbers of cattle and horses arc bred, and the imperial government is taking tho most efiectual measures to improve the latter. This is a considerable manufacturing as well as a rich agricultural dis- trict. Coarse linen, canvass, and cordage, are the principal manufactured products ; there arc also some iron-works, with numerous distilleries and tanneries, soap-works, glass-works, &c. Its commerce is extensive and growing. The exports consist of grain and flour, cattle, horses, leather, and tallow ; the manufactured articles specified above, with iron, timber, potash, mats, glass, &c. In carrying on this trade, vast advantages are given by the central position of the government, and its rivers and canals. 102 ILLUSTRATED DESCHII'TION OP Ul'SSIA. Nijucl-Xuvjioroil ( A7yVi»-<>n>7, or Nijiiii), llio i'a|iitul of tin' ultovit jjov- Wi'incnt, is .situiilcil in tlio iiiifilo formed liy tlu> coulliioiico of tlio Oku with tho Vulgu. Its ^tatioiiury populiition is uImmiI forty tliousiiiul. It stuiids partly on a stt'op liill, uliout foiii- liiiiKlroil foct iii lifi<,dit, the suimuit of which is occii|)icd by tho Kri'inliii or I'itadt'l, and partly on tho K)\v {{round along the sidos of tho rivors. Tho oitadfl, fn tho raniparts of which thoro is a noltlo view of tho Vol^ia, Oka, and fuvw .1 ling counliy, contains the govonunont-ofhcos, two cuthodrals, liuilt aftor tho model of that of Moscow ; an obelisk, aovcnty-livo foot in height, erected in huuor of tho dolivorors of their country, thu patriotic citizen Minin and Prince Pojuraki ; and other public buildings. Tho upi»er part of tho town has sovoral good streets ; and being orna- mcntod by numerous churches, placed in conspicuous >ituations, has au imposing appearance. The lower town consists principally of a very long street, bordering on tho Volga. With the exception of the principal puU lic buildings (^induding tho elegant church of tho iloly Women, shown ia our engraving), and a few private houses, the rest of the city is constructed CinracH or the Holt Wombn, at NuNci-Noroonov. of wood. Among tho establishments arc three convents, a bazar, a gym- nasium, and four j)riniary schools, au ecclesiastical scnunary, and a largo military school. Tho town is ancient, having boon founded in 1222. Tho Krcndin was surrounded by strong walls anil towers in 1508. A bridge of pontoons loads across the Oka to the S|)londid new bazars erected on tho loft bank of that river for the exhibition and sale of uiei'- chandise brought to the fair. Those, which are divided into i)arallel rows, or streets, are constructed of stone, roofed with iron, having. covered gal- leries in front, supported by eight thousand iron pillars. They are built on piles, and, to guard against the danger of inundation, the ground on which they stand was raised about twenty feet. Being enclosed ou thrco GRKAT RUSSIA — NIJNKI-NOVnonon. 103 Bides l>y canals, and on tlio fourth liy u navigiiMe inlet of tlio Olxii, thcro is ovt'iy facility foi- tlic doliv(My and sliipnicnt of nn'rclinndiso. Tlio ostalv lisliMicnt is of vory fjrcat ••Ntcnt, (;oni|iiijnty-fivi' hundred IxMiths ; and is adniittrd on all hands to he at onco thn hup>st and most jM'i'fi'ct of its kind tluit is anywhcit' to Itc inrt with. Ini'luding the cliuiTh, dodiratcd to St. Macarius, the patron-saint of tiic fair, it is said to have cost in all ahout tdovon niiilions of rmilth's. Nijnci-Novptrod has various nninnfai'turcs, hut it owes its jrrout iinpor- tanct; almost entirely to its. eonnnerce. It is the j^rand entreput for tho trade of the interior of the empire, and ha.-<, in iUet, a greater eomniainl of internavigation than any other eity of tho Old W»»rld. IJesides the grain, cattle, and other products of the surrounding country, the Kama, the prin- cipal allliieiit of th(! Volga, conveys to Nijuei the salt of I'erm ; the g(dd, nilver, copper, and other metallic treasures, of the I'ral mountains; tho furs, itc, of .*^iiieria; and even (lie teas of China. The silks, shawls, and other nuM'chandise of central Asia, ami the fish, caviar, Ac, of southern Russia, come up tin? river from Aslrakhan; while the manufactured goods of England and western Kurope, the wines of France, tho cotton of tho Uidted States, and tho sugar of Hra/il, are conveyed to her from St. Pe- torslairg and Archangel, with lioth of which, as well as with Moscow, sho is conni'ctetl Ity navigalde rivers and canals. These advantages, joined to her situation in a fertile countrv in the centre of the momirehv, were so highly a|)prcciatcd ly Peter the (Jreat, that it is said he at one time in- tended to have nnvdo Nijnci the ca[(ital of his empire ; and it is, perhaps, to he regri;tted that he did not carry this project into cflect. Latterly the commercial importance of Nijnei-Xovgorod has hoen vastly increased. Prcviouslj* to 1H17, the great fair, now held hero, was held in a less convenient situation at Makarev, in the same government, lowei* down on tho Volga (^which nnist not bo confounded with Miikari(t\ in tho government of Kostroma, where fairs ire also held). Put the buildings for the accommodation of the merchants at Makarov having boon accident- ally burnt down in 1810, government took advantage of the circumstance, to remove tho fair to Nijuei. It begins on tho first of July, and contiuuos for a month or six weeks, and is well known, not only over all Russia, but over most other countries of Europe and Asia. It is carried on within tho bazars already noticed, which were constructed by government for the ac- conunodation of the traders, to whom they are let at moderate rents. Tho produce disposed of is classified as follows, viz. : first, Russian ])roduc0, raw and nmnnfactured ; second, merchandise from the rest of Europe, con- bisting principally of numufacturcd and colonial products ; and, third, prod- ucts of China, Bokhara, tho Kirghizes, and other Asiatic nations. The concourse of strangers during the fair is quite immense ; so much so, that the population is then increased, according to the lowest estimates, by from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand individuals. Here aro seen dealers from India, China, Tartary, Pokhara, Persia, Circassia, ii 104 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Armenia, and Turkey; and from Italy, Poland, Germany, France, England, and even tlie United States. Theatrical representations, shows of wild beasts, and other diversions, arc got up to entertain the multitude, but tho engrossing spirit of trade overrides all considerations of nicre amusement. Laurence Oliphant, who was j)rcsent at the fair in 1852, thus graphically describes its appearance, in his late work on Russia: — " To us, as strangers, the earnest, business-like appearance of the people was especially striking. There was evidently no time to bo lost in merry- go-rounds or penny shows. Here foi-tuiies were to be lost or won in a few short weeks. The rich merchant had brought valuable wares from distant lands at an enormous exjiense ; the poor peddler had trudged many a weary mile with his heavy pack: both had staked their all on the residts of their transactions in the allotted time, and wore in no humor to trifle with it. It had evidently never struck them that Nijnei fair was a place to which people would resort for cither pleasure or instruction, or for anything but gold ; and certainly, interesting though it was, some such motive as the last would be required to induce a second visit. " The fiiir is held on a low, sandy spot of land, formed by tho junction of the Oka and the Volga, and which is subject to constant inundation in winter. The substantial part of it, inhabited by the wealthy merchants, is arranged in twelve parallel streets, composed of neat two-storied brick houses, the lower part forming the shops and warehouses, which are pro- tected by covered verandahs. Each street terminates at one end in a pagoda, indicating the Chinese quarter" (a representation of which is given on the opposite page) ; " while at the other it is coiuiected with a square, where the governor's house and public offices arc situated. " This respectable nucleus is encompassed by a deep border of tempo- rary wooden huts, inhabited by an indescribal)le swarm of ragged Tartars, Tchouvasses. Kirghiz, and Calmucks, besides the peasantry of tho neigh- borhood, who frequent the fair with provisions, frtiit, and all sorts of farm and country produce. A long bridge of boats across the Oka connects this busy peninsula with the hill on which is situated the town of Nijnei, com- manding an extensive view of tho whole scene. Both rivers arc covered with every conceivable shape and description of boat and barge ; some from the distant Caspian, laden with raw or spun cotton, Persian shawls, Georgian carpets, and Bokharian skms, or dried fruits : these vessels, of square, unwieldy construction, are elaborately painted and ornamented, and on their decks are erected curious wooden habitations, from the peaked roofs of which flutter gaudy flags, while out of the carved windows peep eastern maidens. Others, rude and strongly built, have come down tho Kama with Siberian iron or tea ; while the more civilized appearance of a few denotes their western origin, and these have threaded their way from the shores of the Baltic, laden with the manufactured goods of Europe. On board this singular mixture of craft is found as siu^ :lar a mixture of inhabitants, wholo families coming from their distant homos to take some ■ 1. 1 ■ . GREAT RUSSIA — NIJNEl-NOVOOROD. 105 Chinisb Qoabtib or the Gbiat Faib at Nunbi-Novoobod. share in what — now that the London Exhibition exists no longer in that cajmcity — may resume its old title of 'the World's Fair.' " Our al)ode was situated in a suburb, on the opposite side of the river, so tliat it was necessary to cross tlie bridge of boats every time we wished to visit the fair ; and here the confusion was always the greatest. Wa were obliged to struggle our way, if on foot, amid sheepskins, greasy cnougl) to scent us for the rest of our lives, thereby adding to the store of (leas with which we had started from our lodging. AVomen, with waists immediately under their throats, and petticoats tucked up to their knees, tramped it gallantly through the mud, and made better progress than we could. A Cossack on horseback rode up and down the bridge for the pur- pose of keeping order amid the droskies, which, heedless of the rules of the road, dashed in every direction, ai)parently bent upon splashing those they did not run over. Drunken men continually stumbled against us ; and when at last we reached tlic slough on the opposite side, tlie confusion and huljbub were greater than ever. The mud in the shallowest parts was at least two feet in depth, and nearly everybody waded about in it with Ru&. sian leather jack-boots. Numbers of small shops surrounded the bespat- tered jiopulace, while a few miserable attempts at shows only proved how little they were appreciated. " At the corners of the streets running into this delectable hole were eta- 'tionod Cossacks, who sliowered blows upon offending Mujiks (or peasants) with their licavy-lashed whips, without regard to the nature of the oflence or the size of the victim. Turning up one of these streets, and pcnetinting farther into the fair, other scenes and pleasantcr forms meet the eye. The 106 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. SVMHABT Pl'MSHXENT OP A Ml'JIK BV A CoSSACX, AT NmNEI. gay dress of tho Georgian forms a pleasing contrast to the everlasting sheepskin ; and, as we enter the shop of the Teflis nicrcliant, beautifully- embroidered slippers, rich ta- ble-covers, and tho finest silks, are spread out temptingly be- fore us In the next shop are handsome furs and skins piled in every available corner, and the owner of the valuable collection stands at tlio door, his Jlowiiig rube and dignified dcinoanor betokening his east- ern origin. Aaron was, in fact, a Bokharian Jew, who delight- ed to show us his costly wares, even though there was no chance of our becoming purchasers ; and, finally, regaled us with almonds, split- peas, and raisins — flattered, perhaps, by tlie admiration we expressed at the belt ho wore, the buckle of which, composed of solid silver, was set with tunpioises. JJut it would be hopeless to attenij)t a descrij)tion of the costumes of the different merchants and shopkeepers, or to emuncrate the variety of articles exposed for sale. " The Bokliariaiis, IVrsians, and fJeorgians, iuhabit one quarter, which is likely to prove tlie most interesting to the .tranger; and I recognised, in the countenances of many of the representatives of these nations, a strong resemblance to some old Afl'ghan and Persian horse-dealing friends. It is a convenient arrangement, no less for the sight-seer tlian the nuMchant, that the fair is divided mU) quarters, devoted to tlie sale of different mer- chandise. Tlie Ketaiski Red, or Cliiiu'se division, is at once distiugulsh- able liy the rows of square leather boxes which contain the tea. No Chi- naman, however, showed his pigtail in the crowd, much to our disappoint- ment — the transfer being made at Kiahta, whence the tea comes overland to the Kama, down which river it is conveyed to tiio Volga. In tlie cut- lers' quarter 1 was surprised to find so great a preponderance of Hussiaa ware ; still Slieflield maintains its own, and the i)riees are nnich lower than in St. Petersl)urg : indeed, this is the case with all English or foreign goods, wliich, though sulyect to a most exorbitant duty on entering Russia, may be procured more cheaply here, on account of the comparative facility with which they can be exposed for sale. The guild dues at St. Peters- burg ar3 so high, that the merchant, after jiaying two thousand rouldes (^assig-nation) for his position in the first guild, and two or three tiiousand roubles more for his shop on tho Nevskoi Prospekt, has but little margin * left for his j)rofits. " The whole system seems most elaborately devised to destroy all entop- prise, and to depi-ess as much as possible tho spirit of trade, in a country GREAT RUSSIA — VLADIMIR. 107 wliicli naturally possesses it in but a very linutod degree ; and it must be long ore tlic rcfourcos of the coimtry can be properly developed wliilc the government seeks its own aggrandizement regardless of the prosi)erity of tlie community — since the protectit)n it affords to home manufactures, by the duty on foreign goods, is eiTectually neutralized by the exiienscs attend- ant upon the sale and manufacture of the homo jn-oducc itself. At Nijnci, however, these difficulties do not exist : the only expense is house-rent ; and t!ius it happens that foreign goods are to bo procured more cheaply here than they can be at a seai)ort seven hundred miles nearer the country ■yvhcnice they come ; and, in some instances, the manufactured articles of a Russian town some hundreds of miles distant, are to be found here exposed for sale at lower ])rieos than in the very town where tliey have been pi"o- duced — an anomaly which is (piite in accordance with the political econ- omy of the country. The palpable result of all this is, that the variety of goods l)rought to Nijnci for sale far exceeds wlmt it would be were there not so many attendant advantages to counterl)alance the expense of trans- port ; and the traveUcr has oidy to wander along the narrow, insigiiificant- looking streets of tlie fair, to find articles wliich he would be unable to obtain mi the handsomest shops of St. Petersburg and Moscow." The government of Vladimir lies between tlie fifty-fifth and fifty-seventh degrees of north latitude, and the thirty-eighth and forty-tliird degrees of oast hjiigitude, Iiaving the governments of Yaroslav and Kostroma on the nortli, Xijnei-Novgorod on the east, Moscow and Tver on the west, and Ria- zan and Tambov on the south. It comprises an area of about seventeen thousand five liundred square miles. The surface of the country is almost a level plain, watered by numerous rivers, the principal being the Oka in the southeast and the Kliasma, a trib- utary of the Oka, running tlirougli tlie centre ; botli of wliicli have, more or less, a northeasterly course. The soil is not genorally fertile, and a hirge part of the government is covered with forests, marshes, jkioIs, and heaths. Rye, barley, oats, summer and winter wheat, millet, jieas, hemp, and fiax, are grown; but the crops of grain are insufficient for the home C(3Iisumption. The gardens and orchards arc pretty numerous, and well attended to ; and Vladimir is liimoiis for its cherries and apples. A good many cucumbers and some hops are raised. Cattle-rearing is a secondary business, and is far behind. The forests arc of vast extent, those belonf- ing to the crown alone covering about one ninth jiart of the entire surfiice. Extensive and valualilo beds of iron-oro liavc lieen found in the forest of ' Jilourom ; and at Vixa, on the Oka, are soiuo of the most extensive iron- works in Russia. . The poverty of the soil, and other concurring circumstances, have turned the attention of the inhabitants toward manufactures, which appear to have succeeded better in this than in most other Russian governments. The cotton manufacture, which is by far tlic most extensive, is principally car- i H i A ': i ' '•> I A w « i n Ji 108 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. ried on at Chouia and Ivanova, where, in connection with other branches of industry, it employs about one hundred thousand work-people. Tho manufacture of woollen and linen is of less importance ; but about five or six thousand hands are employed in iron-foundries ; and about fifteen hun- dred in glass and crystal works, exclusive of those employed in the pro- duction of leather, earthenware, itc. The various products of tiic government are sent down the Kliusma and Oka, or else to Moscow, by moans of land-carriages. Graig, cotton-twist, and flax, from the neighI)oring governments of Kostroma, Yaroslav, and Nijnei-Novgorod, are the chief articles of import. Vladimir is divided into thirteen districts. The chief towns are A^'ladimir, the capital, Chouia, and Mourom. Vladiuiir, the cajjital of tho above government, is located near the Kli- asma, and on one of its small tributaries, one hundred and ten miles north- east of Moscow. Its population is supi)osed to be about ten thousand. Vladimir occupies a site rather more elevated tlian the rest of its govern- ment. It is surrounded by a ditch and earth rampart, and, like almost all the ancient towns of Russia, is divided into three portions. Its jirincipal street is long, wide, and lined with houses of wood and stone intermixed. The cross-streets are mostly mean. The principal structure is the cathe- dral of the Assumption, a square edifice, surmounted by five domes, and richly ornamented inside, though nnich loss magnificent than formerly. There are about a dozen other churches. The former palace of the arch- bishop now serves for a semiimry. The governor's house, courthouse, gym- nasim, a nunnery, &c., are brick edifices. Vladimir is not considered a wealthy town, or a principal emporium, owing partly to its distance from any large navigable river, and partly to the proximity to Moscow. Being, however, on the great road to the fairs of Nijnei-Novgorod and Irbit, and on the grand line of communication be- tween European Russia and Siberia, it often presents a busy and cheerful aspect. Some of its inhabitants are occupied in making linen-cloths and leather ; and many others in the cultivation of fruit, particularly cherries, which are grown in great quantities in the neighborhood. The era of its foundation is uncertain : some authors place it in the tenth, and others iu the twelfth century. Vladimir was, however, the capital of the grand- duchy of Russia from 1157 till 1328, when that distinction was transferred to Moscow. The government of Riazan lies between the fifty-third and fifty-sixth degrees of north latitude, and the thirty-eighth and forty-first degrees of east longitude, having the government of Vladimir on the north, Tambor on the east and souch, and Toula and Moscow on the west. It has an area of about fourteen thousand square miles. The surface of tho country is generally flat. Tho Oka, running from west to east, divides the goveruuicnt into two unequal portions of very GREAT RUSSIA — RIAZAN. 109 different aspect. The country south of tliat river is the more elevated ; the air is wholcsone, and tlie soil fertile : in the north, on the contrary, the country is generally low, marshy, and covered witli woods, or destitute of culture. More grain is grown than is required for home consumption, the average produce being between twenty-five and tliirty millions of bush- els a year. The forests, which arc very extensive, cover above a third part of the surface : those belonging to the crown comprise about four hun- dred and twenty-eight thousayd deciatines, or twelve hundred and eighty- four thousand acres. Hops, tobacco, and garden- vegetables are, in some districts, raised in large quantities. The proprietors of the pasture-lands let them to graziers belonging to the Ukraine, who bring thither large herds. The breed of liorscs is good : the imperial government has a. depot (Vetalons at 8kopin. Bees are sui)j>osed to produce about two hundred and fifty thousand roubles a year. There are a few iron-mines and stone- quarrios. The manufactures of this government have made some progi*ess. Those of glass and hardware occupy the first rank ; and there are otliers of Avool- len, cotton, and linen fabrics, cordage, ])otash, suap, part of tho south. The climate is mild and dry ; and the rich soil produces abundaut crops, at comparatively little trouble and expense. Grain is kept in caves (siVo.v) sometimes for six or ten years together, and there is always a large surplus for exportation. Apples, plums, and cherries, abound. Agricul- ture, and its usual attendant, tip: rearing of cattle, for whicli tlic pastures, which are excellent, afford ample provision, employ the greater part of tho inhabitants, and leave oidy a small surplus for other occupations. These are chieHy nianufaetiir's of army-clolhiiig, and other coarse stuffs for tho use of the peasniitiy; also leather, soap, saltpetre, spirits, eartlienware, &c. The exports are grain, cattle, leather, wax, and honey. There are in this government upward of three hundred thousand free peasants. Pub- lic instruction has made no considerable progress, there being only about one pupil to every four hundred inhabitants. Koursk, the capital of the above government. Via on the Tuskar river, near its junction with the Sem, two hundred and eighty miles south by west from Moscow. It has a population of about thirty-four thousand. It had a citadel and ramparts, but the former is In ruins, and the latter have been converted into public walks. The situation of the town is elevated ;. the houses are principally of wood, but maiij are of sljne ; the streets are t, ar- row, crooked, and ill paved. There a' ■ two '■•o:ivent8,nun;' u us churches, with a gymnasium, a normal school, u iiuspiiai, a foundling-hospital, Ac. It is a thriving, industrious town, having numerous tanneries, tile and earthenware works, wax and tallow factories, &c. It carries on an exten- sive commerce with St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa, sending to them cattle and horses, tallow, leather, wax and honey, hemp, and furs. Tho '^.., 'rons «'.atain numerous gardens and orchards. Korenrda Pousty^n, a convent in the vicinity of Koursk, is celebrated for a miraculous image of the Virgin, and for a great fair held annually on the ninth Friday after Easter, resorted to equally by merchants and pil- grims. The value of the horses, cattle, and other articles exposed to salo but ■ I GREAT RTTRSIA — VORONEJ. IIT at tlii^ fiiir has sotnctiinos utnoiintcd, iicoordiitg to tho oflftcial tccounts, to about thii'iv millions of roubles; but tliia uiuloubtudly b iprouily above the tkifevafto of tho -al«»». Tho govcMi lu'ni of VoKONW (fioriiflimcK W(>rom4z) is situated between the forty eighth and fil'iy-thini degrees of worth latitude, and tho thirty- eighth and r«rty-Hec()nd dogreos yf cast longitu h ; having, on tho north, the governn.cnts (if TiinilM»v iiiid Riaznii ; on llie east, Saratov nnd ''lo 'i^ritory of the Hon CosHucks ; on the soutli, tlie latter nnd tli<' goverunu >( Ekath- erinoslav ; and on the wont, Kharkov Romr^k, and Orel. It v >ntaiD8 «i orea of about thirty thousand square miles. Tlie surfuee of the country is undiilsnting, and tho «oil in genorat wood: tliis being, in fact, one of the most productive governiHents i i the c !>ire. Its principal rivers are tho Don, and some of its tributaries, '"lie ci. late is coniparalively mild, the rivers being covered with . for dy tw or three months of the year, and the Kovernment produciu;. most o ' -d- ucts of temperate climates. In jrood yoars a surplus is raised .1 ul) t seven and a half millions of bushels <>f grain beyond the home con ' . liesides wheat, peas, and beans, '>j)pievS, tobacco, hemp, and ^, are grown ; and, in the gardens, melons, eucambers, onions, Ac., in lar quan- tities. Watermelons, indeed, aro ciiHivated for the markets of ^ *cow and St. Petersburg, being planted in open fields covering whole a of land. In some parts of the provinci canes and reeds are used ft .uol, but in general the forests furnish a si.fficient supply 0! firewood. i»k ' arc numerous and luxuriant; pine-wo ds are few. Cattle, horses ina ehccp, are extensively bred. Honey is au important proouct. Iron, no- stone, and saltpetre, are among the minerals. Manufactures of c( se woollens and other fabrics are rapidly in rcasing, while the number ol h- tilleries has latterly decreased ; but wo nu! not awaro whether tho produc- tion of spirits undergoes any corresponding decrease. Tho exports fror, the government consist principally of com, cattle, skins, honey and wax, fruits, «fec. Tins government is divided into twrlvo di-tricts : the chief town is Voro- ncj, the capital. Except a colony of ( Jerma is near Ostrogojesk, and some gipsies, the population consists, in the south, of Cossacks and White Rus- sians ; nnd in tho north, of Great Russian.'-. Yoroncj is under the same governor-general witli Riazan, Orel, Tambov, and Saratov. The city of Voronej, the capital of the above government, is situated on the river of the same name, near its conduence with tho Don, and two hun- dred and ninety miles south-southeast of Moscow. Its population is about twenty-fivo thousand. The town stands on a steep height, and might easily be rendered a fortress of some strength, as it is not commanded by any other hill, and is partly surrounded by a marsh for several months of the ycui . It consists of three portions, the upper town, lower town, and the buburbe. It has some spacious streets, but a g^-cat many which are very til 41 118 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. mean: the suburbs are as blo'^k and gloomy as a country village. The principal street has a noble appearance, its sides being lined with massy and handsome edifices, many of them the property of the crown, as the governor's and vice-governor's liouses, the tribunals, postofficc, commissa- riat, academy, &c. The Moscow (^Mosknvkaya) street is also very fine, and in it are the archbishop's palace, with an adjoining cathedral. The shops, or bazars, are very respectable. Voronej has some twenty stone churches, two convents, an exchange (or gostimi dvar^, for the warcliousing, exhibition, and sale of merchan- dise, an episcopal seminary, schools for the children of the clergy, military, civil employes, and citizens, a hospital capable of accommodating three hundred sick persons, military orphan asylum, Ac. This is one of the most flourishing towns in the south of Russia ; and its mei'chants have long carried on a lucrative trade with the Black sea and the Crimea, and travel annually to Tobolsk to buy furs, which tliey afterward take to the great Gorman fairs. The town has also some soap, tallow, leather, and woollen-cloth factories. It is supposed to be among the oldest Russian towns, and is spoken of as existing in the twelfth century. Here Peter the Great built a palace, and established a dockyard, arsenal, Ac. ; but the latter establishments were afterward removed successively to Ustea, Tavrov, and Rostov : and nearly all traces of the palace and magazines have been obliterated by the frequent fires from which the town has since suffered. I {! very hj settler LITTLE BUSSIA — TCnKBNIGOV. 119 CHAPTER IV. LITTLE AND WESTERN BUSSIA. LITTLE RUSSIA comprises the four govcrnmcnta of Tchebnigov, Khakkov, Poltava, and Kikv. The remaining governments de- scribed in this chapter constitute Avhat is now denominated Westebn Russia ; but most of the territory covered by these provinces is that an- ciently known as Lithuania (called by the Poles, Litwa; by the Germans, Littauen, or Lithauen; and by the French, Lithuanie') . This territory, which, in the eleventh century, was tributary to Russia, threw off the yoke in the thirteenth century, and became a grand-duchy under Ringold. One of his successors, named Gedcmin, subdued part of Russia ; and another, called Jagellon, by marrying the Polish princess Hcdwig. toward the end of the fourteenth century, became king of Poland, and thus united the grand-duchy to that kingdom. The courage and military skill which the Lithuanians had gained during their wars with the Teutonic knights, they turned against their neighbors subsequently with great effect. Their ar- mies penetrated to the Dnieper, and the shores of the Black sea ; and by their union with tlie Polish crown, all the Lithuanian races were for two hundred years united under one head, constituting one of the most warlike and powerful monarchies in Europe at tliat period. On the first partiticm of Poland, in 1773, a considerable portion of Lithu- ania was a|)propriatod by Russia, and formed into the governments of Mog- bilev and Vitepsk ; the remainder, still united to the Polish monarchy, constituted six woiivods, or provinces — Wilna, Troki, Polozk or Vitcp^k, Novogrodek, Brzesc, and Minsk — the first two forming Lithuania proper, and the other four Russian Lithuania. By the subsequent partitions of Poland, in 1793 and 1795, Russia obtained as much of Lithuania as formed the governments of Wilna, Grodno, and Minsk ; while Prussia obtained a portion which is now included in the government of Gumbinnen, in the province of East Prussia. The original inhabitants of this region, including the Baltic provinces, as remarked in a previous chapter, were two tribes, Lithuanians and Lettcs, which probably migrated from the confines of India at a very early period. The difference b'^twcen tlieso two branches of the same race is evidently of very long s>dnding, and dates back perhaps to a period antecedent to their sottlomcnt in Europe. The descendants of both nations manifest but little ! 'i. If! m. 1.-.J ■iUiU.^.^Ba*^. SMT^,, 120 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. energy', strength, and resolution ; their manners and customs are similar, but they exhibit many distinctions of character. The Lottos have never shown the greatness and strength, nor shared the glory of the Litliuanians, in their palmy days. They are of a softer, gentler, and more timid nature, than the latter, and have never been able to defend themselves in war. The government of Tchernigov, or Czernigov, is situated chiefly be- tween the fiftieth and fifty-third degrees of north latitude, and the thirtieth and thirty-fifth degrees of east longitude. It is bounded on the north by the govcrninont of Smolensk ; on the northeast, by Orel ; on the cast, by Koursk ; on the south, by Poltava; on the west, by Kiev and Minsk ; and on the northwest, by Moghilcv. Its greatest length from nortlieast to southwest is two hundred and forty miles, and its greatest breadth from east to Avcst is one hundred and eighty miles, comprising an area of about twenty-three thousand square miles. The surface of the country, with the exception of a hilly district along the Dnieper, is a continuous flat, and the soil is almost unusually fertile. It is watered by numerous streams, the Dnieper flowing along at its west- ern frontier, and the Desna, with its chief affluents, passing nearly through its centre. It has also numerous lakes, though none arc of great extent. All kinds of grain grow in abundance, but the crops often sufl'er greatly from hosts of locusts. Hemp, flax, tobacco, and the opium-poppy, grow well, and the gardens, in addition to the ordinary vegetables, produce hops, melons, ^ of the Jeivs." Tiic administration of the baptismal rite to the Rus- sian people, at the period of the conversion of their renowned grand-duke, took place very near the spot on which this monument stands. Tlie second town is Kiev proper, and occupies a height toward the north, lower than that on wliich Petchersk stands, and less regularly fortified. It contains the venerable cathedral of ^t. Sophia, founded, in 1037, by the grand-duke Yaroslav-Vladimirovich, to commemorate a victory. The chief object of interest in it is a marble tomb of its founder, the only one of the kind known in Russia, and said to give a good idea of the arts tliere in the eleventh century. Most of the houses in Kiev proper belong to this cathe- dral and the convent of St. ilichacl. The site of the Old Town (as Kiev proper is called), in remote ages, was the Slavonian Pantheon. There the worshippers of Perune, Horsa, Lado, and other idolatrous deities', rendered homage to their savage gods ; and there the rough Christian Vladimir erected the church of St. Basil (still standing), on the spot long desecrated by the temple of Perune, the Russian Jupiter. The third town, called Podol, occupies the lower ground, and is inhat^ ited chiefly by the middle and lower classes. It is regularly laid out, in- tersf^rsed with trees and gardens, and presents a strong contrast to the old parts of the city, where at almost every turn the picturesque presents itself in great variety. Kiev has (in all its different quarters) some thirty churches ; its streets are generally broad, and it contains an archbishop's palace, prison, town and military hospital ; a university, founded in 1833, attended by about fifteen hundred students ; an academy, a gymnasium, and a printing-press for the Scriptures and ritual-books of the Greek church. It has some manufactories of leather and pottery, and a bell- foundry, and is celebrated for its confectionery. Its trade has become extensive, particularly since Odessa was built ; and it has a largo annual fair in January, which lasts three weeks. Kiev possesses considerable historical interest, as the spot on which ,1 >i} ,'" 126 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. Christianity was first planted among the barbarous hordes of the steppes of Russia, and as having been, for a considerable time, the recognised capital of the empire. But it subsequently underwent many vicissitudes; being sometimes subject to the Lithtianians, the Tartars, and the Poles. In 1686, however, it was finally ceded to Russia, and has ever since con- tinued in her possession. It has a population of about sixty thousand. The government of Podolia, or Podolsk, lies between the forty-seventh and ilfticth degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-eighth and thirty- first degrees of cast longitude ; and is bounded on the north by Volhynia, on the northeast by Kiev, on the east and south by Klierson, on the south- west by Bessarabia, and on the west by Austrian Galicia. Its greatest length from northwest to southeast is two hundred and fifty miles, and its greatest breadth eighty miles, comprising an area of about fifteen thousand square miles. The surface of the country, though on the whole level, is considerably diversified, being traversed from northwest to southeast by a low branch of the Carpathians, which gradually descends toward the cast, and is finally lost in a kind of steppe. None of the hills of this branch have a height exceeding five hundred feet. They form the water-shed of the govern- ment, sending its waters on the northeast side to the Boug, and on the southwest to tlie Dniester, and ultimately through both to the Black sea. There are no lakes of any consequence. The climate is temperate, bring- ing both the vine and the mulberry to maturity ; and the air is generally salubrious, though in some quarters endemical diseases occasionally prevail. The soil is very much encumbered with stones, but is, notwithstanding, of remarkable fertility, producing an amount of grain which, after satisfy- ing the home consumption, leaves about one third of the whole for export. The principal crops, after the difierent grainc, are hemp, flax, tobacco, and hops, together with beans and various fruits. The culture of the vine is on the increase, though not yet of much importance ; and orchard and gar- den husbandry is conducted in a negligent manner, notwithstanding which large quantities of fine melons, gourds, cherries, timbcr. Game is scarce, but the fisheries ars highly productive. Saltpetre, lime, and alabaster, are the principal mineral products. Taken as a whole, this province ranked as one of the most valuable of Poland, as it now does of the Russian empire. Manufactures have made but little progress ; except distilleries, there arc only a few woollen-cloth, leather, potash, and saltpetre factories. The WESTERN RUSSIA — PODOLIA. 127 trade, in addition to tho export of grain to Odessa, and cattle to Galicia and Germany, embraces a consideral''- number of small articles, and is almost entirely in the hands of the Jc Podolia is divided into twelve districts. It is one of the ten govern- ments privileged with respect to its judicial administration and the distil- lation of spirits. Education is under the superintendence of the university of Kiev, and is in a ntiscrably-ucglectod state. There is only a single printing-press. The province is under the military governor of Kiev. The inhabitants arc principally Poles, but include some Russians, and about one hundred and fifty thousand Jews. Most of the Poles and Russians belong to the Greek church. Kaminietz (Polish, Kaminiec Podohki), the capital of Podolia, is situ- ated on the Smotrycz, about twelve miles from its junction with the Dniester, two hundred and fifteen miles southeast of Kiev, and three hundred north- west of Otlcfisa, It is irregularly laid out, with narrow streets, and wooden houses. It has, however, some conspicuous edifices of stone and other solid mat(!rials ; including the cathedral, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, a Gothic building containing fifteen altars and a nave, supported by one hundred and fifty columns. Near it is a column supporting a statue of the Savior. The church of the Dominicans, originally constructed of wood, in 1300, was rebuilt in stone after the expulsion of the Turks in the eighteenth century. There are in all five Roman catholic and four Greek churches, and one Armenian church, a fine edifice, completed in 1707. Tho Roman catholics have several convents. The other chief public buildings are the government library, circle school, and new gymnasium. The pop- ulati(m is about fifteen thousand. The town was formerly walled, but its works were levelled, by order of the Russian government, in 1812, though Balbi says they have been since restored. It is, moreover, defended by a citadel and another fortress : the former, situated on a steep, isolated rock, overlooking the town, might be made impregnable, but it is commanded by some more lofty adjacent heights. Kaminietz was, however, for a lengthened period, the principal bulwark of Poland on the side of Turkey. It was founded by the sons of Olgherd, in 1331, after that prince had wrested Podolia from the Tartars. It waa soon after fortified, and in 1374 attained the rank of a city. It remained attached to Poland till its final capture by the Russians in 1793, except from 1072 to 1009, during which it was in the possession of the Turks. Anjong tiie chief towns of the province, after Kaniinietz, is Balta, situ- ated on the Kadynia, near -the southern boundary, and capital of a circle of Podolia. Before the annexation of this part of Poland to Russia, one half of tlie town belonged to tho palatinate of Brcslau, and the other to tho khan of Tartary. Some excesses committed by a party of Cossacks hero in 1767, were one of the ostensible causes of the war which broke out soon after between the Russians and the Turks, during which the towu of Balta was laid in ashes by the former. '■■' ■n 128 ILLUSTILVTED DESCRIPTION OF nUSSIA. The government of Voliiyxia, formerly belonging to Poland, lies princi- pally between tlic fiftiotli and fifty-second degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-fourth and twoiity-ninth degrees of east longitude, having on the northeast and north the governments of Orodno and Minsk ; on tho cast and southeast, Kiev; on tho south, Podolia; on the southwest, Aus- trian Poland ; and on the west, tlio palatinate of Lublin. It has an area of al)out twenty-nine thousand square miles. , The surface is in general an undulating plain ; and the hills, which arc the last ramifications of the Carpathians, though they nowhere rise to three hundred feet al)ove the level of tho sea, give an agreeable variety to tho scenery. The Boug rises in this province : the other principal rivers arc the Styr, Goryne, A'c., tributaries of tho Pripct. Along some of tliese arc extensive marshes and beds of turf ; but in general the land is very fertile, producing at an a'/erago a considerable surplus of grain above the con- sumption. A good deal of flax and hemp is also grown. Agrictilturc is, however, not more advanced than in the Lithianian provii\ces ; and tho gardens and orchards, particularly the former, are much noglected. Tho climate, though comparatively mild, is not warm enough for the vine. Tiio forests comprise ock, beech, lindens, firs, pines, Ac., and are very exten- sive, though only about two hundred square miles of forest-land belong to the crown. The pastures are excellent, and well adapted for the fattening of cattle ; a good many sheep, hogs, and poultry, are kept. Volhynia has a breed of horses smaller than the generality of those of Poland. Fishing is an occupation of some importi pfc; bog-iron, millstones, potter's clay, nitre, and flint, are among the minora' products. Tiiough agriculture is the chief occupation of the inhabitants, the manu- facturing industry of Volhynia is greater than that of most otiier parts of Western Russia. The women, almost everywhere, spin and weave differ- ent fabrics; and leather, glass, and earthenware, paper, potash, tar, chqr- coal, &c., are generally made. The principal exports are, however, grain, cattle, hides, flour, wool, wax, honey, and other rural produce. The trade is principally in the hands of the Jews, of whom there arc about forty tliou- sand in the government. The rest of the population consists of Riisniaks, with Poles in the towns, and some Great Russians, gipsies, Tartars, Mol- davians, and Germans. The inhabitants arc mostly of the Greek or united church. Volhynia is divided into twelve districts. The principal towns arc Jito- mir, the capital, Berditsehcv, .'^toro-Konstantov, O.strog, and Kremenets. Public education appears to be less backward in this than in most of tho Russian governments. Volhynia, like Podolia, is subordinate to tho mili- tary governor of Kiev, but is one of the Polish provinces which preserves, in some degree, its ancient constitution and laws. Jitomir (Polish, Zj/tomir, or Zytomierx^, the capital of the above gov- ernment, is situated on the left bank of the river Teterew, six hundred and seventy miles south-southwest from St. Petersburg. It is the sec of both V. i (^ i f r 1 W*!8TEBN RU.Sf.. I — VOLir A — MIN t U^ VoLHVNIAN Pr*i*NT (ilHL E.N'iAOFD IN Sri.NNI.va. a Greek and a Roman catholic l>ishoi) ; has manufactures of loatlicr and hats, and an active trade in linen, silk, and woollen goods, wax, honey, Hungarian wines, salt, and tallow. It al:;'o has four important annual fairs. Its population is rising thirty thousand. Berditschev (Polish, Bcrdijczt'w'), another town in the government of Volhynia, twenty-live miles south of Jitomir, is an ill-built place, but con- tains several churches, and a largo Carmelite convent, in the church of which is an image of the Virgin Mary, the object of pilgrimages. It car- ries on a considerable trade in grain, wine, cattle, honey, wax, and leather, and is celebrated for its (pKirterly fairs. At these, goods to the value of tlirce millions of dolhus are disposctl of, and much business is dimo, espe- cially with Austrian dealers. An almanac of great repute is printed hero. Its population is about twenty thousand, comprising many Jews. The government of Minsk lies between the fifty-first and fiftj'-sixth de- grees of north latitude, and the twenty-fifth and thirty-first degrees of east longitude, bounded north and northeast by the government of Vitepsk, cast by Moghilcv and Tchernigov, south by Kiev and Volhynia, and west by Grodno and Wilna. lu shape it bears a considerable resemblance to an isosceles triangle, with its vertex in the north, and its base resting on the if I; V^ I . iSW I ii !■> ,111 w •s is '■■ -'•■ tK .MIIi l. Uu.-uw.j 130 ILLUSTRATED DESCIUI'TION OP UUfWIA. souUi : its grt'ativ^t l(.'ii}ith from north to Houtli i« two luimlrod niid ninety niiloH, and its av('ra^:;o Itrcadtii one hundred tnid lift), eoniprising an area of about thirty-stjvcn thousand s(|uare miles. This government, thongli generally flat, is traversed in the north hypart of the great dorsal ridge whieii forms the water-f snuiU lakes, and numerous largo .'iwamps. TIio climate is coni^.^. tnild fry niucli iin|ir()ved I»y crossing witii tho breed of Saxony. The river.s abound witli fish, and the forests with game. lUig-iron ore occurs in extensive beds, and is worked to a very limited extent. The manufactures and trade arc almost wludly In the hands of the JcWs, and very insignificant. The former include a few coarse woollen, linen, and cotton tissues, candles, soap, glass, and leather; the latter is chiefly in timber, floated north by the Diina to the l>altic, or south by the Dnieper and its tributaries to the lilack sea. There is also a snuiU export of hemp, flax, tallow, and potash. For administrative purposes, the government is divided into twelve dis- tricts ; its chief towns are Moghilev and Mstislaw. The inhabitants are mostly Russians and Jews, with some Poles, Lithuanians, Moldavians, and AVallachs ; and their circumstances are, for the most part, far from com- fortable. Their religion is partly that of the Greek and partly of tho Roman catholic church. Moghilev, the capital of the government, is situated on the right bank of the Dnie})cr, two hundred and twelve miles west-southwest of Moscow. It consists of four quarters, two of which arc surrounded by a rampart, and form the town, properly so called ; the third, built on a height, forma '^■'iifiTmiitmiii^Tii^TMiiii ..111 ii^L'-^ 182 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. the Kremlin, or citadel ; the fourth is a suburb. Tlie town is tolerably well built, partly of stone and partly of wood, and the streets are wide and paved. Near tlie centre is a large octagonal square, surroimdcd by hand- some stone buildings ; among others, the bazar, and the palace of the Greek archbishop. The number of churches is twenty, of wliioh the Roman cath- olics have five, and the Lutherans one. The Jews, who are numerous, have two synagogues. There are also four convent.*, two occlesiiistical semina- ries, a gymnasium, higli school, hospital, several poorhouses, and a prison. The staple manufacture is tobacco ; and an extensive trade is carried on with Riga, Memel, Dantzic, and Odessa, in leatlier, wax, honey, potash, oil, and grain. Moghilev, besides being the residence of the principal authorities of the government, is the licadquarters of the Russian " army of the M'est ;" and is the see of both a Greek and a Roman catholic arclibishop, tlie latter hav- ing authority over all the Ronmn catholics of Poland and Russia. Many of the Russian nobility reside here ; and a great i)art of the ground in the vicinity is occupied by gardens. Its fairs are well attended. The epoch of its foundation is unknown. After several times changing masters, it was finally annexed to Russia in 1772. It has a population of about six- teen or eighteen thousand. The government of Vitepsk ( Vitebsk, or Witepsk') lies principally be- tween the fifty-fifth and fifty-seventh degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-sixth and thirty-second degrees of east longitude ; having the gov- ernment of Pskov on the northeast, Smolensk and Moghilev on the south- east, Minsk and Courland on the southwest, and Livonia on the northwest. Its area is about sixteen thousand eight hundred sqimre miles. The surface of the country is generally level, though on the banks of the rivers there are occasionally some low hills. The rivers and small lakes are numerous : of the former, which all flow toward the Baltic, the Duna is the principal. Notwithstanding the soil is but of medium fertility, and agriculture is in a very backward state, more grain is produced than is required to supply the wants of the inhabitants. Ilemp and flax are grown on a largo scale, with peas, beans, hops, fruits, Ac, in the smaller enclo- sures. The forests are very extensive, two hundred and seventy thousand acres of forest-land belonging to the crown. The grass-lands are also ex- tensive, and a good many horses and cattle are reared, though of inferior breeds. The sheep yield only coarse wool ; and honey is also of inferior quality. The mineral products and manufactures are insignificant; the last being, with the exception of a few cloth-factories, almost wholly re- stricted to distilleries and tanneries. The trade of the government is facilitated by the Duna and the canal of Berezina : it is chiefly in the hands of the merchants of the principal towns, many of whom are Jews. This government is divided into twelve circles. The chief towns are Vitepsk, Wieliz, Dunuburg, Polotzk, and Rcjitsa. : wool attri The activ( bean met V minei of la Dr in thi of W( This gover i WESTERN RUSSIA — VITEPSK — WILNA. 188 Vitepsk, the capital of the above government, is situated on both banks of the Duna, where it receives the Vitcba, three hundred and thirty miles south by west of St. Petersburg. Its population is about eighteen thou- sand. It is irregularly built, and is surrounded by old walls : it has nu- merous Greek and some Roman catholic churches, convents, and Jewish synagogues. Though by far the greater number of its houses arc of wood, it has some dwellings of stone, a high school, a bazar, an old castle, sev- eral hospitals, &c. ; with manufactures of woollen cloths, and tanneries. The grand-duke Constantinc, uncle of the present emperor of Russia, and viceroy of Poland, died at Vitepsk on the 27th of June, 1832. The government of Wilna, or Vilna, lies principally between the fifty- fourlh and fifty-sixth degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-first and twenty-seventh degrees of east longitude, having the government of Cour- land on the nortli, that of Minsk on the east, Grodno on the south, and Poland and Prussia on the southwest. It has an area of about twenty- four thousand four hundred square miles. This province is a vast plain ; there being only, in different parts, a few sandhills, reaching sometimes to the height of two hundred feet, and abounding with fossil, shells, &c. Its principal rivers arc the Wilna, a tributary of the Niemen, and the Nienion, which forms its southwestern boundary. Lakes are numerous, piuticularly in the east and northeast. The soil is partly sandy and partly nuirshy ; but in many places it consists of a fertile alluvial depositc. The climate, though severe, is not so cold as in some of the adjacent governments : the mean temperature of the year is about forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Agriculture is almost the sole occupation of the inhabitants, and rather more grain is grown than is required for home consumption. Rye is the grain pi'inclpally cultivated. Hemp and flax are rarely grown ; and hops and pulse are raised in gardens : fruits are neglected. The forests are very extensive, a large proportion of forest-land belonging to the crown : and there is a considerable trade in deals, timber, tar, potash, and other woodland products. Lime-trees are very abundant ; and to this cause is attributed the excellence of the honey, for which this government is famous. The breeding of stock is neglected ; the horses are, however, strong and active, though of small size. Game is very plentiful : elks, wild boars, bears, wolves, &c., are numerous ; occasionally the urus, or wild bull, is met with ; and fox, martin, and squirrel skins, are articles of trade. The mineral products are unimportant. Manufactures have increased a little of late ; but they are still quite inconsiderable. Dr. Granville says of Chavli, a town of some two thousand inhabitants, in this government : " It consists of a long street of low, gable-roofed huts of wood, and presenting a general appearance of the most squalid misery. This may be considered as a fair specimen of the second-rate towns in the government of Wilna, and indeed all over Russia and Poland." Tho ■'•^t^immmt-^v^^jg,.. 5ri«tMa.,;M..uv.^ - — -tMirijMmiMiaiajL. 'JumMMtwmtnkim m 134 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. RutSTAN VlLLAOK— I'ABTT Or IlVNTMl, acconipanyinp: engraving shows one of these villages, where a party have just arrived from tije chase. The trade of this government, whicih is almost entirely in the hands of the Jews, is principally in timber and agricultural produce, sent down the Duna to Riga, or by land into Prussia. Wilna is divided into eleven dis- tricts ; the chief towns are Wilna, the cajtital,' and Kowno. It is not sub- ject to the government monopoly of ardent spirits ; and preserves several of its old forms of administration. As respects education, it is, though far behind, in advance of many of the otlier governments. Wilna, the capital of the above government, and formerly the capital of Lithuania, is situated at the confluence of the Wilenka and Wilna, ninety miles northeast of Grodno. It is surrounded by undulating hills, and en- closed by -a wall. Its streets are narrow and crooked, and its houses mostly of timber, though it has several hundred dwellings built of brick or stone. Fornierly a royal castle of the Jagellons existed here, but noth- ing is left of it except its ruins. The cathedral, founded in 1387, has some good paintings, and many chapels, one of which, appropriated to St. Casinnr, and built wholly of marble, is very handsome. The body of the saint is preserved hero in a silver coffin, made by order of Sigisrauud III., king of Poland, and weighing, it is said, three thousand pounds ! Tho church of St. John is surrounded by the buildings of the university, founded in 1578, and suppressed by tho Russian government in 1832. Here arc in all about forty churches, numerous convents, a mosque, and four synagogues, a magnificent town-hall, an arsenal, exchange, theatre, two hospitals, barracks, magazines, rly,a manorial right, eacii lord of a manor having the exclusive sale of spirits witliin iiis domain. There are breweries in Warsaw, and in some other large towDs ; and mead, and drinks made from raspberries, cherries, «tc.. principally in the southern provinces, are favorite beverages of the people. Of late years several l»eet- root sugar factories have been establi.shed. The trade of Poland is almost wholly in the hands of the Jews. The internal commerce is carried on chictly by means of fairs, at which, also, a c^Hisiderable portion of the foreign trade is conducted. During the revo- lution of 18;{1, '82, the exjxjrts decreased greatly, while the importtf were considerably augmented. Since that period, however, the Imlance has been in a great measure restored. England, Holland, and France, take oft", through Dantzic, most of the grain which P(tlaiid has to export. Ibit in years when prices are high in the former countries, and when, consequently, there is a great demand for breadstufts in Dantzic, a good deal of the sup- plies brought to that port come from Galicia. Goods arc conveyed in summer by h^ avy wagons, and in winter by sledges ; but the roads aro generally bad, and during the insurrection were much cut up. Latterly, however, the imperial government has been exerting itself for their im- provement. Steam-n: vigation is but in its infancy ; and merchandise is at present mostly forwmded down the rivers by flat-bottomed boats to the Prussian ports. But Russia seems to be endeavoring to put a stop to the intercourse between Poland and the Prussian ports on the Baltic, by con- structing a great commercial road from the southwestern angle of Poland to the Baltic ; and a railway has been projected to convey from Warsaw to the harbors of Windau and Libau, in Courland, the goods which formerly went to Tilsit or Mcmel, or by the Pregel to Konigsberg. A similar pur- 146 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. pose is served by the canal of Augustow, connecting the Narew and Vistula with the Nicincn, and which is continued to the Baltic by the Windau canal, in the government of Wilna. The canal of Augustow is ninety-six miles in length, from five to six feet in depth, and of sufficient breadth for two large boats to pass each other with ease. It has seventeen locks, and several convenient basins in different parts of its course. It was wholly completed between 1821 and 1829, and is now the means of an active traffic. Notwithstanding these measures, the Vistula must be regarded as the great natural highway of the country, and Dantzic (formerly belonging to tlic Polish monarchy) her proper sliipping port. Previously to 1881, Poland had its two legislative chambers, those of the deputies and the senate ; but after the unhappy attempt at a revolution that then broke out, Russia suppressed these chambers, and Poland is now governed nearly in the same way as the other portions of the empire. The council of administration for the kingdom consists of three directors-gen- eral (of the interior. Justice, and finance), a comptroller-general, and other persons appointed by the emperor. The reports of this council are submit- ted to the emperor by a secretary of state for Poland residing in St. Pe- tersburg. There is also in that capital a department for Polisli affairs, to whicli the government of Poland is confided. The legislative ])owcr is vested in the sovereign, and the proposed laws for this kingdom are sub- mitted for his sanction by the Russian council of state. The local admin- istration of Poland is exercised by civil governors, Avith the same powers as those established in tlic difTorent governments of Russia. The civil and commercial codes at present in force arc, for the most part, the same as in France : the criminal code is modelled on that of Prussia and Austria. Personal and religious liberty are nominally guarantied ; and those who do not interfere with politics are as secure in Poland as anywhere else. But those who wish to enjoy this security must have a care not to find any fault with any action of the government. The press is under the control of censors, who are stricter here than even in Russia. Justices of the peace decide in civil causes up to the amount of five hun- dred florins ; above which the latter come before the tribunals of original jurisdiction in the capitals of the different governments. At Warsaw, be- sides a court of appeal, there is a supreme court of cassation, and commer- cial tribunals are established in all the principal towns. Criminal causes are tried in separate tribunals, of which there arc four in the kingdom. Political offences come under the cognizance of a council of war, or a com- mission specially appointed. Until lately, upward of three fourths of the Poles belonged to the Roman catholic, or the united Greek church, the Greco-Russian communicants being but few in number. But of late the Russian government has, by every means, been endeavoring to shake the spiritual dependence on the court of Rome, not only of the Poles, but of the united Greeks throughout the empire ; and the measures in this respect appear to havo boon attended , nUSSIAN. PULAND. 147 Vfith so much success, that, previously to 1840, from three to four millions of the united Greeks, including most of those of Poland, had joined the orthodox Greek church. Until 1832, the Greco-Russians had no prelate in Poland ; but at that period an arcliimaitdrite was appointed, who resides at Warsaw. The bishop of the united Greek church resides at Helinc, in tho government of Lublin. The Roman catholics have an archbishop and eight i»ishops, nominated by the pope on the recommendation of the emperor of Russia. There arc a number of convents possessing territorial revenues ; but the sccuLm' clergy receive a regular stipend from the government, tho landed possessions formerly belonging to them being now public property. Tho parish-priests, however, receive titlies, the amount of which is some- times considerable. The Lutherans and Calvinists, amounting together to about two hundred and fifty thousand persons, are principally Germans. There are a few Mennonites and Moravians, and some Mohammedans. Previously to 1830, education in Poland was scarcely diffused at all, except among tlie nobility and upper classes residing in the towns, and the total number of persons receiving instruction at that period is said not to have exceeded sixteen thousand, or about one in two hundred and sixty of the population. After the suj)pression of the insurrection, the schools were shut for several months, and, when rc-opencd, were organized upoa tho same plan as those of Russia. Private schools are subject to the same inspection on the part of the government as public schools. The number of pupils in public and private schools amounted in 1839 to about seventy thousand, or one to every sixty-two individuals. In 1838, an order was issued by the Russian government, directing that there should be a teacher of tlie Russian language in every primary school ; and that all children attending such schools should be obliged to learn the Russian language. It was also, at the same time, ordered that no individual should be era- ployed as a tutor unless he possessed a testimonial, signed by the proper authorities, certifying his ability to give instruction in the Russian lan- guage ; and that no person unacquainted with Russian should be promoted to any civil or military employment. This regulation, as was to be ex|K'cted, gave much offence to the Poles, and was the theme of much declamation in this and otlier countries. Rus- sia, no doubt, wishes to secure her hold over Poland ; and everything that tends to Russianize the latter, and to give her people the same tastes, habits, and modes of thinking, as the Russians, must necessarily contribute to this end : and it is undoubtedly thought that, of all the means to bring about this consummation, the gradual substitution of the Russian for the Polish language will be one of the most effectual. Nevertheless, this meas- ure is one of great injustice and hardship to the conquered race ; indeed, among the numerous degradations to which foreign domination subjects tho Poles, there is none to which they appear more keenly sensible than this attempt to complete their national destruction by tho extirpation of their native tongue, which is said to bo one of tho richest -. .-..aw. -■«Wf.,-Wwf»Wu#M(,.. 148 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Slavonian dialects, and having a strong afiSnity to the Latin, the latter being much spoken by the higher classes. The Poles are the descendants of various Slavonic tribes, who, in the sixth century, having proceeded up the Dnieper, entered the basin of tlic Vistula, drove out the Finns — the original inhabitants — and made tli em- selves masters of the whole country, from the Warta eastward, and around the shores of the Baltic. They arc a remarkably fine race of people, being well formed, strong, active, ardent, and daring. In their general aj)pear- ance, they are said to resemble the western Asiatics rather than the Euro- peans, which has led some ethnographers to the belief that they are of Tartar origin. Tlni gentry arc haughty and brave, but, at the same time, frank and generous. The peasantry, however, bowed down by continual oppression, are cringing and servile ; their Avhole behavior evincing the state of abject servility from which they are now being emancipated. Tlic nobility arc very numerous in Poland, amounting at present to not less than two hundred and eighty-three thousand individuals ! According to the old laws of the rej)ublic, the nobles were terrigena;: every person who possessed a freehold estate, how small soever, or who could prove his de- scent from ancestors formerly possessed of such an estate, and who had not debased himself by engaging in any sort of manufacture or commero was a nobleman or gentleman, the terms being in Poland synonymoir. The gentry were all held to be equal to each other, the titles of ])rin». , count, e may so call it, iirst introduced in 1052, that no decision could be come to upon any matter submitted for consideration unless the diet were unanimous. Hence the singular and extraordinary privilege of the libermn veto, by which any single member of the diet was permitted to interpose his abso- ■ ate veto, and, by doing so, could nullify its whole proceodings ! And, which is even more extraordinary, this absurd privilege, which allowed the whim, cajtrice, or bad faith of an individual, to prevent the adoption of any measure, liowcvcr necessary and however generally approved, was, for a lengthened period, regarded by the Poles as the palladium of their liberties ! It is plain, from these statements, that latterly the whole powers of the state were engrossed by the nobles, or gentry, many of whom, tliough en- joying the sante political rights and franchises as the others, were misera- bly poor. In consequence, corruption, intimidation, and such like arts, had full scope in tlie Polish diets, particularly in t''ose held for the elec- tion of sovereigns ; and latterly the crown was, in fact, either sold to the higliest bidder, or the election was decided under the infiuenco of foreign force. And if, wliile tiic government was in this state of abasement, we jear in mind that the whole people, witli the exception of the nobles or gentry, were scM-fs, on wliom every indignity migiit bo practised by their masters, it will 1)0 seen that tlie subversion of such a state of things might reasonably be expected. Even before the election of John Sobieski, schemes of dismemberment had been suggested I)y tlie ncigiiboring powers ; and though the brilliancy of his reign, and other encouraging causes, prevented them from assuming any definite shape, the disorganization of the internal government, and the anarchy which prevailed at every new election, made it obvious to all but the infatuated Poles themselves, that their execution was only postponed, and would sooner or later be effected. ¥ ■j'i*'- Augii king: * The dii'ts roniistod — first, of tlic aenuto, compcied of the biahnps, palatinet, or pcrpptual gov rriiorii of proviticps, catteUans, or govornor* of towns, and the grand officcit of iho crown; nnd w-cotid, of the nu.iciot, or representatives of tlie nobles, or gentry. These bodies did not, howcvor doliberuto i<-pnrotcI)', but together; and, as will be immediately tt'en, they cnui.t comn t> no 'ito lution without being unor.in. 'ns. ^1 RUSSIAN POLAND. 168 The partition of Poland had, in fact, been proposed by the Swedes, in the reign of Casirair V. (a short while previously to the election of John Sobioski), as the only method by which the disorders that agitated the country could be put an end to, and the inconvenience thence arising to the surrounding states be obviated. But it was not till more than a cen- tury after that the first actual partition was agreed upon, in 1772, by the emperor of Austria, the empress of Russia, and the king oi Prussia, Fred- crick the Great, the latter of whom is said to have first proposed the plan of dismemberment to Maria Theresa, fearful lest Catherine II. should get the whole territory. By this partition, about a third part of the kingdom was dismeml)ercd, and added to the dominions of the partitioning powers, their respective shares being as follows : to Prussia, a little over t' en ll'.ousand ; Austria, twenty-seven thousand ; and Russia, forty-two thousand square miles. But it was not to be supposed that, having once begun to share in so ricli a spoil, these powers would rest satisfied with this acipiisition. The pretexts for further interference still continued uiidiminislied. Poland, as before, remained a prey to all sorts of disorders ; and the Russian embas- sador, r-'d not the king, was the real sovereign. In 17v the majority of the nobility and gentry then assembled in a diet, which had been made permanent, being desirous to raise their coun- try from the miserable state into which it had fallen, and stimulated by the events connected with the French Revolution, drew up the projet of a new constitution on a more liberal and broader basis, abolishing tlie liberum veto, and making the crown hereditary, on the demise of King Stanislaus Augustus, in the Saxon family. This constitution was accepted by the king ; but the great bulk of the nation did not, and could not, take any interest in the change : and ti:o government were wlioUy without the means of supporting the new order of things. Russia had little difficulty in fo- menting fresh disorders ; and the unfortunate Poles, with an imbecile .sov- ereign, without forces, and abandoned and betrayed by their pretended allies, were again compelled to submit to a fresh dismoinberment of their country. By this second partition, in 1793, Prussia obtained twenty-two thousand five hundred, and Russia ninety-six thousand live hundred square miles. Provoked by these repeated indignities, the Poles awoke from their stu- por, and, headed by the heroic Kosciusko, rose in rebellion in 1794. But it was too late ; their means were totally inadequate to the struggle in which they had engaged. After displaying prodigies of valor, Kosciusko was defeated and taken prisoner (10th of October, 1794), and Praga, the suburb of Warsaw, being taken by storm, that city forthwith surrendered ; and there being no longer any obstacle in the way, a dismemberment of the remaining territories of the republic took place in 1795, and Poland was finally obliterated from the map of Europe. Stanislaus Augustus, the last Polish king, degraded into a pensionary of the Russian court, died at 154 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. i I I m 1:1 1 !H St. Petersburg in 1798. Tlicse successive partitions had given Austria forty-five thousand square miles of Polish territory, with five niillions of inhabitants ; Prussia, fifty-seven thousand square miles, with two and a half millions of inhabitants ; nnd Russia, one hundred and eighty thousand square miles, with four millions six hundred thousand inhabitants. The powers who dismombcrod Poland had, in reality, nothing better to allege, in justification of their measures, than the robber's jtlea, that the power to commit an act makes it at once riglit and exi)cdiout! But, how objectionable soever the motives by which they were influenced, and how dangerous soever the precedent which they established, there can be no reasonable doul)t that their measures have been decidedly advantageous to the great bulk of the Polish people. The vices inherent in Polish society were such that it is idle to suppose they could have been eradicated by any remodelling of the couhiitution. There was no middle class (or none worth notice) in the country ; nothing between nobles, jealous of their rank and privileges, on the one hand, and newly-enmncipated serfs, brutalized and degraded by a long course of ojipression, on the other. To restrain the first within the limits prescribed by law, and to raise the second class, was a M-ork that cotdd only be undertakon i)y a powerful government, such as there were no means of forming out of native materials. It is to be regret- ted that Russia ol>tained the lion's share of the spoil ; but even in Russian Poland the condition of the people has i)een >"cry decidedly changed for the Ijctter, and in Austrian and Prussian Poland the improvement in their condition has lu'cn signal and extraordinary. A dawn of hope ai)pcared in 180(5, when Napoleon, during the campaign of Friedland, extended his protection over the Poles ; and shortly after, in accordance with the terms of tlie treaty of Tilsit, formed the grand-duchy of Warsaw, which, increased in ISOO by the addition of western Oalicia, which he wrestc'd from Austria, extended over an area of sixty thousand square miles, and contained three millions seven hundred and eighty thou- sand inhabitants. Ibit Napoleon, having now formed an alliance, oflFensivo and defensive, with Alexander, against England, could not carry out his original desire and intention of re-establishing the ancient kingdom of Poland. After his fall, the congress of Vienna (1815), composed mainly of the spoliators themselves, naturally enough confirmed these sjjoliations ; but by an arrangement which, in the circumstances, looks more like insult than generosity, erected the city of Krakow into an independent rej)ublic. About two thirds of the Russian share wan completely incorj>orated with the generi government, and ceased to retain any distinctive appellation ; but the remainder was erected, as before remarked, into what was called the kingdom of Poland, and received a separate constitution from the em- peror Alexander, drawn up in a more liberal spirit than might have been anticipated. It appears, however, to have been more liberally devised than faithfully executed. Unfortunately, too, the disgust occasioned by tlio brutality of the grand-duke Constantino, commande^iu-chief of tlio -I U^ RUSSIAN POLAVD. 155 Polish Exilm on thcib wat to Sibmia.* Russian forces in the kingdom, conspiring with the excitement produced l)y tlie French revolution of 1830, and the abuse of Russia in intemperate and ill-judged speeches in the house of commons and chamber of deputies, which made i'^ be believed that England and Franco were ready to assail that power, prvjoipitatcd the Poles into an insurrection. They made a gal- lant stand in defence of their liberties, but in the end every vestige of their independence was totally destroy'd. The confiscation of the property, and exile to Siberia, of the leading patriots, followed as a matter of course. The name of the kingdom remains ; but its peculiar privileges have been subverted, and it is now substantially and in fact a part of the Russian empire. The city of Krakow, the ancient capital of Poland, and which, by the congress of Vienna, in 1815, was erected into a free and independent re- public, with a territory of four hundred and sixty square miles, after main- taining a feverish existence till 1846, was seized upon by Austria, and incorporated with her kingdom of Galicla. The cathedral of Krakow, a • Tliis illustrnlion ii clmwii mnitily from the cejebrntcd pninting of tho Polish exiles, by Sir Wil- iinni Atliin, tho tcone of whirh i* thus hnppily alliiiled to by Christopher North : " They aro but one fiiniily, liut in theii .iferiiif;g they repieient those of all gent to Sil)erin, and cold und bate would be thiit heart which molted not before such a picture. Toward evening, fatigue ha« weighed them down — one and all on the rondxido ; but there is no fainting, no hystcricg. That man in Poland was a patriot — in the steppe* of Siberia he i« but n father! With humble, almost humili ated eumestnegH, he beseeches the Bashkirs to let his wife and daughter, and other children, vi himself, rest but for an hour! Tho Bashkirs are three ; -^nd he who refuses, dues so without cni> elty, but, inexorable in his ^nse of duty, points toward tue distance, a dim dreary way along th* wildMness, not unoccupied by other wretches moving toward tho mine* i" i^i: I ' V >■ 1 ;l a 156 ILLUSTRATED DBSCRIPTlON OP RUSSIA. I view of which is given at the close of this chapter, is a mngnificcnt struc- tmc, and justly celebrated fidiii its being the resting-place of the remains of the kings and many illustrious men of Poland ; among others, it con tains the tombs of Casimir the Great, of John Sobicski, and of Kosciusko and Poniatowski, '• the last of the Poles." Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is situated on the Vistula, six hundred and fifty miles southeast of St. Petersburijj. Its population, including its suburbs, in ISoO was one hundred and sixty-four thousand. The city, which, with its gardens and suburbs, covers a great extent of ground, is on the left or west bank of the river, which is Ikm-o about seven hundred feet broad, being connected with the suburb of Praga on the right, by a bridge of boats. A suspension-bridge was some years since projected instead of the latter, but the project has not hitherto been carried into effect. Warsaw, being situated partly in a plain, and partly on an ascent grad- ually rising to the river's bank, has a magnificent appearance from the St. Petersburg road. But though the contrary has been affirmed by some travellers, the impression of grandeur is not supported on entering the town. It has, indeed, nuiny fine palaces, public buildings, and noble man- Bions, and, latterly, its private houses have been improved by prohibiting the construction of new buildings of wood. But its streets, though spa- cious, arc badly paved, badly lighted, and dirty ; the greater part of the houses in the city, and still more iu the suburbs, are mean and ill-con- structed, above one-fourtli part of their number being at this moment of wood; and tiie whole town exhibits a painful contrast of wealth and pov erty, civilization and barbarism, luxury and misery. The suburbs of Praga, on the east bank of the river, once strongly fortified and extensive, is now all but deserted. Tiiere are still, however, several other suburl.'s of large extent ; and those adjacent to the city projier are included within its ram- part and ditch. The principal public building is the zamek, a huge edifice, formerly the palace of the kings of Poland, and that in which the emperor still resides when he visits Warsaw. The hall of the Polish diet, a splendid gilt ball- room, and the national archives of Poland, are in this building ; and the fine paintings of Canalctti, Bacciarelli, o minister of the interior. The palace of tlio minister of iinaiico, wiiich is quite modern, forms, witli the now exchange, a very imposing olyect at the end of the street leading to the Brcslau gate. The Maricvillo bazar is a large squarr*, the four sides of whicli consist of covered arcades, with dwellings for the merchants above, and shops for the merchandise under them ; the latter amount to about three hundred, beside several warehouses. A great number of churches arc to bo found in the city, some of which are of really colossal dimensions, as the cathedral of St. John, and tho church of the Holy Cross. In the former arc an altarpiecc of great merit by Palnm Nova, and a largo standard wrested from the Turks by Pobieski at the siege of Vienna. The Lutherans have also a magnificent church, erected at an expense of one hundred and twenty -five thousand dollars, and superior in beauty and boldness of design to all the catholic churches in the place, having a dome and tower of prodigious elevation. Which way soever a traveller turns, he can not fail to pass some one of the monuments which stand in the squares to commemorate tlie reign of a sovereign, or the achievements of a Polish warrior. Tho colossal statue of .'^igismund III., cast in bronze, gilt, and placed on a lofty pillar of niarblo of the coMiitry, produces a very good elTeet ; and the equestrian group in bronze of Poniatowski, lanted with lofty limo and chestnut-trees, arc the rendezvous of nearly the entire population of Warsaw on Sundays and otlier holydays, and are admirably calculated for horse and sledge-races, both of which take place here. In the immediate vicinity is the royal villa, formerly the country residence of Stanislaus Augustus. The palace is built in the Italian style : Bacciarclli's paintings decorate one of the principal rooms ; and it has a ball-room, ornamented with colossal statues in whiie marble; a chapel, with some curi')us works in mosaic, suppressed 8ub8e(piently to tho late ill-fated insurrection, its fine liitrury being then, also, removed to St. Petersburg. Of late years there has been a Roman catholic college at Warsaw, with twelve professors; but the adherents of the Russo-Grcek church arc rajndly increasing here, as in all other countries subject to Russia, and have now a cathedral and other churches in the city. Tho Jews, of whom there are about twenty-five thousand, have several syna- gogues ; the Armenians, too, have their places of v.orship, and the English have a chapel. Among the educational estal)lishments, arc numerous su- perior, special, and elementary schools; all of them being modelled on tho new system, and having attached to each a native Russian, as a teacher of his own language, a considerable proficiency in which is now an indispen- sable (pialification for holding any puljlic office, how trilling soever. Warsaw has, also, a deaf and dumb asylum, a musical conservatory, societies of friends of literature and natural science, a bil)le society, Ac, and some newspapers, and other periodical publications. Tln-se, however, are subjected to a rigorous censorship, and arc, consequently, worth little or nothing. Its manufactures comprise woollen and linen cloths, saddlery, leather, carriages of diflcrcnt kinds, ironmongery, paper, and tol)acco, with chemical and cotton printing-works, and numerous breweries. Warsaw is the great connucrcial entrepot for Poland ; and has two large fairs, in May and September, attended by traders from many parts of Europe and Asia, five banks, an insurance society, «frc. In comparing this city with St. Petersburg, Dr. Granville says, •' Th' ro is a notable dilTcrcnce between the general aspect of the iidiabitont? of Warsaw and those of the capital he had just left. The women here jo handsomer than the men : at St. Petersburg the impression I received /as of an opposite nature. The absence of those semi-Asiatic costumes, w' ich are so prevalent in all the streets of the Russian capital, tends, in a g eat measure, to give to the capital of Poland a more European aspect ; but there is something else that contributes to produce that cfiect. The I )lea arc uniformly merry ; they are loud chatterers, fond of amusement, ai I as partial to living in the open air, doing nothing, as the Parisian fain ints and the habitues of the Palais Royul, the Tuileries, the Boulevards, o the Luxembourg ; to which class of people I should be tempted to con )aro them in many respects. They also do business differently : their shopt and public places of amusement are more like those of any other Europear 0117 farther south ; and their mvnage appears to be much nearer to that iW» French than of the Russians." nUSSlAN POLAND — KALISCII — LUHLIN. 160 Warsaw, tlioii^li a very ancient town, was not the capital of I'dIihuI till IftOO, after the union with liitliuania ; when the Polish dietwa.i transferred to it from Krakow. Tho city was occupied by the Swedes in the middle of the seventeenth century, and surrendered, without opposition, to Charles Xll. in 1703. In 17S)i}, tho inliahitants expelled the Russian garrison ja't'vioUNly in occupation ; and the town was successfully defended against tho Prussians, in tho succeeding year, by Kosciusko. Hut the suburb of Praga, being soon after taken and sackcMl by the Russians under Suwar- row, l)y whom a largo portion of the inhabitants were put to the sword, tho city, threatened with a similar fate, submittt < the concpierors. In 1795, AVarsaw was assigned to Prussia: in 1800, J\q was made the capital of tho grand ducliy of Poland ; and in IHlo, she became tho capital of tho new kingdiin of Poland. She was the principal seat of the ill-fated insur- rection of IS:U. Kalisdi, another Polish city, capital of the palatinate of the same name, is situated on an island in the Proma, one liundred and thirtv-two miles west-s(nithwest of Warsa\. . It i. conside. I one of the fniest cities of Poland, and one of the principal places in . int of mercantile wealth and trade. It is surrounded by a wall, llanKci with towers, and entered by four gates ; and has ten churches, fhrcc convents, r. • synagogue, a Roman catholic gymnasium, with a fine I'orur ■', and extensive scientific collections; a military scliool, theatre, public garden, house of charity, and three hos- pitals. The streets are spacious, and well paved, and some of thom adorned with trees. The houses arc well laiilt. Tho most remarkable edifices are the palace of the voyvodes, in which the courts of law arc now held ; the catlu'dral of St. Joseph, the cliur'h of St. Nicholas, and that of the Lutho rans. It has linen, woollen, and leather manufactures ; and six fairs are held annually. Kalisch was founded about 055, and was long the resi- dence of the dukes of CJreat Poland. At a little distance from the city the Swedes were defeated by the Poles, in 1700 ; in 1835, a grand military review was held here, attended by the emperors of Austria and Russia, and the king of Pruasir. -n the 18th and 19th of July, 1852, a considerable [)ortion of the city v,r. burned down. The population of Kalisch is about fifteen thousand, of whom al)out one fifth are Jews. Lultlin, tlie capital of the palatinate of Lublin, is beautifully situated on a height ab(jve the left bank of the Histritza, ninety-four miles southeast of Warsi>w It consists of the town, properly divided into a high and a low town, and surrounded by walls and ditches, and of a large suburb ; but it is poorly built, most of tho houses being of wood, and the streets uneven and irregular. It is tho see of a bishop, and the seat of a superior appeal court ; it contains eighteen churches, one of which is a ca.'^odral, and at least three others arc handsome structures ; an elegant townhouse, a pal- ace, which belonged to Sobieski ; a Piarist college, a diocesan seminary, central schools, an old monastery, a military house of correction, a theatre, an orphan and several other hospitals ; possesses agricultural, scientific, '-■»«- !..!fft,V-!». '■!*»«-'i<«*i>'iy:,»J.ji»ais«-4jiMa.*v.,~t-..a^ 160 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. and musical societies ; and has manufactures of woollen and linen cloth, a trade in cloth, corn, and Hungarian wine ; and three annual fairs, one of which lasts a montli, and is numerously attended by German, Greek, Ar- menian, Russian, Turkish, and other dealers. On a steep height near tho town are the remains of an old castle, built by Casiinir tlio Great. Its population is about thirteen thousand. The palatinate lies wholly within the basin of the Vistula, which bounds it on tho west ; it is extensively covered with woods and marshes, but has several tracts of good arable and pasture land. Its only mineral is bog- iron ore. Plock, capital of the palatinate of that name, is situated on the right bank of the Vistula, sixty miles northwest of Warsaw, on a height. It is walled, divided into the old and the new town, and has no less than twenty- five squares, of which one, in the old town, is very regularly built. It has a handsome cathedral, and ten other Roman catholic churches ; a bishop's palace, in which the courts of justice hold their sittings ; two monasteries, and a convent, a synagogue, Piarist college, a gymnasium, and several ele- mentary schools ; a theatre, an orphan asylum, and poorhouse ; and a con- siderable trade, particularly in skins ; and several large fairs. Its popu- lation is six thousand. Sandomir is another Polish town of considerable importance, situated on the Vistula, fifty-six miles southwest of Lublin. It is surrounded by a wall and fosse, and is entered by six gates. It has an old castle, seated on a rocky height, a collegiate church, four monasteries with churches, a syna- gogue, and a gymnasium. It possccses considerable general trade, and has a population of about three thousand. m 7 \?-- r, I flOVTHEBN BVSAIA. — BiiMAUADU. A0» CHAPTER VI. SOUTHERN RUSSIA. THE governments which are classed under the general name of SouTil- E... Russia, arc BEasARABU, Kheuson, Ekatiierinoslav, Taurida (with the Crimea), and the Don CosflACKS ; and include that portion of the enipiro resting on the Black sea and the sea of Azov, and extending from the government of Astrakhan on the cast, to the Pruth, an important tributary of the Danube, on the west. Previous to the alteration of tho Bessarabian frontier of Russia by the treaty of 185(3, those rivers formed the entire boundary line between tho empire and tho principalities of Mol- davia and Wallachia, the occupation of which by the armed forces of Rus- sia led to the late war between that government and Turkey and tho west- ern powers of Europe. Tho territory covered by these governments con- sists principally of the steppes, an interesting feature of Russian topogra- phy, which will form the subject of a future chapter. BissARABiA, once the eastern division of Moldavia, and now tho most southwestern government of European Russia, is principally situated be- tween the forty-sixth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-seventh and thirty-first degrees of east longitude. It is bounded north and east by the Dniester and the Black sea, and south and west by Moh^i.la and the Beckowina, part of Austrian Galicia. It thus forms a strip of territory three hundred and twenty miles long, by fifty of medium breadth, and comprises an area of about sixteen thousand square miles. On ncaring tho maritime borders, tho province gradually widens, and naturally divides itself into two portions. The portion named by tho Tar- tars Budjak, is composed of a flat, reaching to the seashore, between the mouths of tho Danube and the lower course of the Dniester, and has the common aspect of tho Russian steppes, being chiefly suited to tho breeding of stock. No trees, a few shrubs only, are observed near the rivers ; tho lakes, or stagnant waters, are covered with reeds ; and in the plains be- tween the marshes, tho ox, buffalo, and bison, w^ander among pastures where tho herbage rises to tlie height of their horns. Tho horse and the sheep exist in a wild state. The northern portion presents a hilly country, beautifully undulated, covered with noblo forests, and extremely fertile. Wheat, barley, and millet, are the only species of grain thr?t aro raised, 11 -!w:>t.'.4»i*j».|i«ii(a». l'}£ ILLUSTRATED PESCBIPTION OP RUSSIA. yielding from sixty to a hundred fold. Hemp, flax, and tobacco, are also produced in considerable quantities. The climate is in general mild, salubrious, and agreeaile ; the grape, the finer kinds of fruit, and melons, growing in the open air. The chief mineral product is salt, obtained from lakes in the Budjak. SaUpetro, coal, alabaster, marble, and lime, are also found there. Akermann, Ben- der, Kichinev (the capital), Biltsy, and Choczim, are its chief towns. In the Budjak territory are met Russians, Cossacks, Germans, Jews, Bulgarians, Swiss vine-di'cssers, gipsies, together with Greek and Arme- nian traders. Tiie northern part of the provijice, again, is almost entirely inhabited by the Moldavian race, the line of their villages extending along the Dniester, to near Akermann. Bessarabia was the fairest and most productive portion of Moldavia at the beginning of the present century, and perhaps has more capabilities, natural and commercial, than any portion of the R^issian empire of the same extent. Yet, till very recent years, it lias been strangely neglected, being poorly cultivated, and in many places almost deserted. The Russian government has established, in different parts of the territory, colonies of Bulgarians, Germans, Cossacks, and even some heretofore-wandering gipsy tribes. The people of Bessarabia arc essentially agricultural ; few of them take to trades : tlie few of those that exist in the country are entirely of the domestic kind. Of what is understood by the term manufactures, there are none, with the exception of tanneries, distilleries, and tallow and soap works. A good deal of inferior wine is made. The breeding of cattle is an important occupation of the inhabitants. The Moldavian peasants are generally frank, cheerful, and hospitable ; but are said by the Russians to be indolent. Ilommaire de Hell, however, asserts tliat in the Moldavian villages the houses are usually kept in the neatest order, and generally surrounded with gardens and fruitful orchards. The education of the people is at the lowest ebb. Bessarabia once formed the eastern district of the Roman province of Dacia. After various vicissitudes consequent upon the fall of that empire, it was invaded by the Asiatic Turks, and became a portion of European Turkey. It was ceded to the Russians by the treaty of Bucharest in 1812. .' t first, the Bessarabians were allowed to retain their peculiar laws and privileges undisturbed ; but misunderstandings soon arose, and since 1829 tlie administrative institutions of tlie country have been assimilated to those of the rest of the empire. Kichinev, or Kichcnew, the capital of Bessarabia, is situated on the Biok, a tributary of the Dniester. Formerly only a small, miserable town, it is now adorned with numerous liandsome buildings, both public and pri vate. It has fourteen churches, a gymnasium, and ten other schools ; a library, and numerous manufactures of woollen cloth, &c. It has a popa lation of forty -five thousand. ir- \M \ r. i SOUTHF.nN nUSSIA — KHERSON. 163 Ismail (by the late rectification of the Bcssarabian frontier, now belong- ing to the principality of Moldavia) is situated on the left bank of the Kilia branch of the Danube, forty-three miles above the Black sea, and one hun- dred and twenty southwest of Odessa. It contains a magnificent palace, a Greek and an Armenian church, and a cloister. Its harbor is good, but its commerce is not as great as formerly ; the chief exports arc grain, hides, tallow, &c. The customhouse and quarantine are of the first class. Ow- ing to the shallowness of the water over the bar of the Kilian mouth, ves- sels bound for I^•mail generally enter the Danube by the Sulineh or middlo mouth of the rivor. Til is town was long in possession of the Turks. In 1790, a large Russian army, under Suwarrow, laid siege to it, but were repulsed by tlie garrison in eight successive assaults on the fortress. Tlie Turks shouted and jeered, but Suwarrow determined to renew the attack. Among the eccentricities of this famous general, was his habit of walking out alone in his camp long before daybreak, and saluting the first sentinel on duty whom he met with a loud crow like a cock ! On the night of tlie first of December, knowing that the Turks were keeping a religious festival, Suwarrow issued the fol- lowing laconic proclamation to his troops : " To-morrow morning I shall rise at four o'clock, wash myself, say my prayers, give one loud crow, and take Ismail r^ He kept his word: his troops rushed forward to the ninth assault; and although the Turks manfully dofoiided the walls, the Russians finally scaled them, carried the fortress by storm, and put most of the gar- rison to tlie sword. The whole town was then given up to rapine and pillage, and made a heap of ruins. From this wanton destruction it has never fully recovered, but it is improving. Its present population is about twenty-two thousand. The maritime government of Kheiuson, or Chersox, lies between the forty-sixth and forty-ninth degrees of north latitude, and the twenty-ninth and thirty-fourth degrees of east longitude ; and is bounded on the north by the governments of Poltava and Kiev, on the northwest by Podolia, on the west by Bessarabia, on the south by Taurida and the Black sea, and on the cast by Ekatherinoslav. Its greatest length from east to west is two hundred and forty miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south about one hundred and sixty miles, containing an area of thirty-six thou- sand square miles. With the exception of that part of the government which borders on Podolia, and consists of the last ramifications of the Carpathians, and a tract of hilly land on the banks of the Dnieper, the whole surface is one uninterrupted steppe, destitute of trees, but covered with long grass. .The soil consists generally of a mixture of loam and sand, not unfavorable to vegetation. The fertility increases inward from the sea, but ceases on approaching the hills. There is some good ground on both sides of the Boug, but between that river and the Dnieper, and along the shores of the I i •■■■:r- 'i.Wff^.- ♦-.'fi-uM«jWfe;\;;»iit.-. 164 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUaSIA. Black sea, a dry, barren sund prevails. In many parts the soil is strongly impregnated with saltpetre. The chief rivers of the government are, the Dnieper, which waters both its northern and its southern frontiers ; tlio Dniester, which separates it from Bessarabia; and the Boug, which trav- erses it a little to the west of its centre. It chief lakes arc the Boloin, Jaiskoie, and Sasyk. The cli' ate is diversified, and subject to great fluoiuations. In winter the river."! aro frozen for a short tinio, and in sun mcr the lieat rises to about ninety 'Jogro< 3 Falircnhcit. Even this heat is ."ten followed by cold niglits, and by i een blasts from the north, which injure vegetation. Still both the vine and the mulberry thrive. Among the hills of the north good timber grows, and is extensively used l.y the navy of the Black sea. Agriculture is in a defective state, but considerable attention is r~id to gardening, and cherries, melons, and all kinds of vegetables, are plentifully raised. Pasture being both good and extensive, the rearing of cattle may be regarded as the staple employment. The easy communication by the Black sea enables Kherson to canv on a good transit trade, particularly by its port of Odessa; but its own exports arc only wool, tobacco, tallow, butter, clieese, caviar, and cattle. Its principal towns are Kherson (the capital) and Odessa. The inhabitants are chiefly of Russian dc iccnt, including Cossacks, but the number of Germans has been estimated at twenty-iive thousand ; and there is a considerable mixture of other races, as Moldavians, Wallachians, Tartars, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, tuded, and Count Langeron, the governor, wlio had advocated this measure, dismissed. Tlie port has remained free up to the time of and since tho late war, and, through tho exertions of Count Woronzoflf, has become tho most flouiishing one in tho Black sea. His house, a princely mansion, is on the cliff at the end of the Boulevard, and, when resident here, ho is particularly attentive to foreign- ers passing through. The exchange is situated at the other extremity of the Boulevard ; the interior is handsome : balls aro held in the principal room during tho win- ter season, and are very numerously attended. The theatre is in tho large square, near the Hotel de Richelieu. Italian operas and French plays are performed here throughout tho year. There is likewise a Russian theatre, for the accommodation of the Slavonic inhabitants. The principal promenade is on the Boulevard, which on Saturday even- ings is, by a sort of comir.c\ consent, left to the Jews, who reside here in great numbers. There is in the centre of this walk a bronzo statue of tho n H O I SOUTHERN UU8SIA — KIIERSO^f. 171 I dukt: do Ilicliolleii ; ho is looking toward the soa, and facing a monster Htaii'fuao, which has been built on arches, and remhos IVom the Boulevard to tliu shore: this has cost an cnorMious sum of money, and ils strength as well as use is so [jroblematical, that an Odessa wag observed that Kichclieu " would, in all probability, bo the first person to descend it !" Tiie museum and library are in the same house with the bureau of the military governor, ■ sii|ijiort which it rt'tu-ivcs IVoiii tlio jiovcninit'iit, would soon di'diiio. Tho chief iiuisrs of this arc, tlio noijrldiorliood of IvhtMson, tlio foiiiiidiil»l(5 C()iii|»c'litio!i of ()(U'ssa, tlio want of good water, and scarcity of fiiei. Tiie ])0{adation is altout tliirty thonsand. Tho frovcrnnuMit of Talkika is situated Itetwocn tlic forty-fourth and forty-oijihlh ilejiroo8 of norljj hititndo. and the tliirty-socoiid and tliirty- Povenlh decrees of cast lonjritu'ie. It consists partly of the Crimea, or Criin Tartary,as it is souu'tiuies railed, and partly of a tract on the nionnt- uins lyinji: between liic Drucpcr, the Hlack sea. the so.-k of Azov, and tho government of Kkathcrino-hiv. Its area (ineludinj^ tho Crimea) is aliout tliirty thonsand Sijuaro miles. * The nniiniand part of the povcrnment, which, though the least interest- ing, is the most extensive;, cinisists almost entirely of vast, and in numy parts sterile plains, denominated tiie Stf ppc of the Nofi^nis,l'\om the Tartar tribes, by whicli it is jirincipally occupied. "These," says Or. Clarke, •' are a ycry diflerent people from the Tartars of the ('rimea ; they are dis- tinguished i>y a more diminutive form, and by the dark, copper color of their complexions, which is sometimes almost black. They boar a rennirk- ablc resemblance to the Laplantlers, although their dress and nninner havo a more savajre character." About twenty thousand (Jermans are colonized to tho eastward of tho river Molotchna. The peninsula of tin; CiiiMKA is one of the most interesting portions of the Russian empire ; and a sketch of it, ade(piato to its importance, could not be given here, without extending the chapter to too great a length. A description of it is therefore reserved for another chapter. The government of Ekatherinoslav, or Iekatkrinoslav, as its name is Bomctimos spelled, is situated between the forty-seventh and fiftieth degrees of north latitude, and the thirty-third and fortieth degrees of east longi- tude. It is bounded on the north by the governments of Poltava, Kharkov, and Voronej ; on the east by the Don Cossacks ; on tho south by Taurida ; and on the west by Kherson, with a separate portion in Don Cossacks, at the month of the Don. Its territory comprises an area of about thirty-fivo thousand square nules. The government is divided into two sections by the Dnieper, which in- tersects it in a semicircular course, from north to south, about three fourths lying east and one fourth west of that river. Tho eastern portion belongs to the steppe country of southern Russia, being flat, monotonous, without trees, often without water, and with a loan, saliferous soil. Tho western portion is more imdulating, and more fruitful. The Donetz forms a part of the northoaste boundary, and there are sundry smaller streams, chiefly affluents of 'lie Dnieper, and lakes and morasses arc numerous. The minerals arc granite, lime, chalk, salt, and garnets. Tho climate 80UTIIKRN RU'SIA — EKATHEIIINOSLAV — DON COSSACKS. 173 I Ifl mo(l(?nito ami hoaltliy: tlio winter is Hlutrt, mul tlin rivciH nrc not very (Irinly iVozi-n ; the Ninnnior h very warm, and often witliont rain. Wheat, spirit, luiiley, and oat^, are raii^ed in quantity Mullii'ient lor loeal eo!iMnin|>- tion ; and hemp, llax, poppies, peas, vep>lal»le.><, and IVnitM, are also culti- vated, (iiapts and muliiiTricH IVefpiently suller from IVo.st ; l>iit nielona, cherries, A-c, suecei'd well. IJut the ehief wealth of the j?overnm«'nt eon- sists in its innnmtMalde herils of horseti, oxen, sheep (nuiny of them mori- nus), goats, and .^twinc. ISees yield a lar;;«> return ; and the silk-cnltnro is earried <»u Ity the (! reeks at Marioupol, and the Armenians at Nakiehcvan. In tli(^ steppes, wolves, foxes, hares, wild-eats, bustards, pelieans, pnr- trid);es, quails, diieks, snipes, tte., are found ; and in the rivers lislj are very plentiful. Wood is wlndly wanting- in the cast, and quite insuflieient in quantity in the west ; fuel (Consequently is scarce, and the poorer elassea are fain to luirn dunjr, litter, and heather. The houses are of clay, thatched with rushes. Of manufaeturin^r industry there is little; .still some cloth, leather, can- dles, and Ijeer, are niatle, and tiilluw-snieltinjj; carried on ; and there aro over two hundred distilleries. The exports are ehielly fish, tallow, and other animal substances. The population consists principally of Kussiana and Cossacks ; hut there are several other races, anions whom may bo mentioned ten thousand (Jerman colonists. Education is in a very low condition. The government is divid»!d into seven districts. Ekathcrinoslav, the capital of this government, is located on the right bank of the Dnieper, two hundreil and fifty miles northeast ol' Odessa. The streets are long, broad, badly filled up with housei?, and very dirty. It is the seat of an archlushop, whose Jurisdiction extends over the neigh- boring governments of Taurida and Kherson ; and has three churches, a theological seminary, a gymnasium, ten public schools, government-onices, law-courts, barracks, several bazars, a public park, and botanic garden. In the vicinity is a large palace, in a ruinous condition, with extensive pleasure-grounds attached ; once the residence of Prince I'oteinkin, who liere entertained Catherine Jl. in 1784, at which date the city was founded, the empress laying the first stone, in presence of the emperor Joseph II. of Austria. It has some cloth-mannfactures, and an important annual wool-fair. In its district arc one Roman catholic and sixteen Memnonito colonies: the latter came, in the end of the last century, from the vicinity of Dantzic and Elbing, in Prussia. Its population is about twelve thou, sand. Among the other important towns may be mentioned Paulograd and Novomoskovsk. lil M The government of the Don Co.ssacks lies between the forty-seventh and fifty-second degrees of north latitude, and the thirty-seventh and forty-fifth degrees of cast longitude. It is bounded north l)y the governments of Sar- atov and Voroncj, west by Voroncj and Ekathcrinoslav, south by the sea of Azov and the Caucasus, and east by Saratov and Astrakhan. Its greatest 174 ILLUSTRATED DESCUIPTION OP RUSSIA. ! length from north to south is three hundred and thirty miles, its breadth from east to west varying from one hundred and thirty to two hundred and seventy-five miles. It comprises an area of about fifty-three thousand square miles. This government consists, for the most part, of one of those extensive flats called steppes; but there is seme hilly land, particularly toward the north, which may be regarded as forming one of the last ramifications of the Caucasian chain. The soil is in general so very sandy as to be scarcely St for cultivation. Toward the, north there is some tolerably arable land, and along the banks of the rivers even a rich alluvium is foii"'l ; but tho soutli, where not absolutely waste, affords, at the best, an inferior pasture. The whole surface belongs (o the basin of the Don, which forms a kind of semicircle around its centre, and, toward the eastern part of the govern- ment, approaches the Volga so near as to be, at one point, not more than forty miles distant from it.* The Don, besides watering the province centrally, receives several im- portant tributaries within it, and, after the confluence of the Manytch, haa a breadth of about one thousand yards. The climate is, on tlie whole, mild and agreeable ; but in winter both intense cold and violent storms occasionally prevail. The chief employment of the inhabitants is the rearing of cattle ; but, where the soil is suitable, all the ordinary cereals and legumes are culti- vated, and yield good crops. Hemp and flax arc also grown, and good wine is produced — part of it scarcely inferior to the light French wines, and part resembling IJurguiuly. From several lakes in the south large quantities of salt arc ol)tained. Fish, including sturgeon, salmon, and carp, abound, and form a princij>al article of food. The caviar of this government is in great request, and forms a considerable export. The people from whom this government derives its name are not confined to it, but form the principal part of the poi)ulation of several extensive dis- tricts in Russia, wlicre, according to the localities which they occupy, they receive different designations, and arc called Don Cossacks, Cossacks of the Black sea, Konban, Volga, Ural, Siberian Cossacks, &c. Tiie origin of the Cossacks is involved in considerable obscurity. Their very name has been the subject of keen dispute, but the prevailing belief now is that it is of Tartar derivation. In general, it may designate any light-armed trooper; but it is often used in a mere vituperative sense, and applied to any member of a vagrant horde which roams or makes incursions into a district, and lives on the plunder of its inhabitants. Though the Cossacks possess several characteristics by which they are easily distinguished, they do not appear to have sprung from one original stock. There is evidently a mixture of blood among them. They bear a • See notico of nttcmpfs to unite these rivers by means of a canal between two of their tribnia- riei, on pnge 29 ; aUo remiirks of Oliphant on the pmcticabilily nnd advantage! of directly uniting the main trunks of the rivets at this point, on page 33 : marginal notet. i . SOUTHERN RUSSIA — DON COSSACKS. 175 close resemblance to tlie Russians, but are of a more slender makn, and have features which are decidedly more handsome and expressive. They have a qi.ick, keen eye, and an ear which is ever on the alert; and are active, spirited, and br.ave. Their intellect is good, and they often exhibit a remarkaWc dc^voc of acuteness. Educavion, accordingly, has mode some progress among them ; and their old capital, Tcherkask (or Staro-Tcher- kask), contiiins a gymnasium, in which the proficiency of tlie Cossack pupils would not suflcr by comparison with that of any other town of the Russian empire. Their language is a mixture of Russian, Polish, and Turkish ; tiieir religion that of the Greek church, to which they are very strongly attached, and the superstitious practices of which they are par- ticularly careful in observing. In many of their domestic habits they con- trast favorably witli the Russians. They arc much more cleanly, and pay a greater regard to personal appearance. Like them, tliey often drink to excess, but seem more alive to the degradation wluch results from it; and, accordingly, when they do indulge in bacchanalian orgies, have generally the sense to keep them private. " Don Cossacks," remarks Oliphant, " are the most compound beings in the universe. According to Clarke, they are a mixture of Circassians, Malo- Russians, Russians, Tartars, Poles, (treoks, Turks, Calmucks, and Arme- nians I Others contend tliat they are almost of a purely Slavonic origin ; and this seems to me tlie jjrubable conjecture, as I could trace nothing whatever in tlieir physiognomy to warrant the supposition of a Mongolian descent. They are, moreover, bigoted adlicrents of the Gre«k churcli, and have been Christians from the date of tlie first records we have of their existence. lUit if ethnologists have l)oen at variance in accounting for their origin, etymologists have been no less at a loss in deciding on tho derivation of their name, and have ended by leaving it an open question whether Cossacks are so called from the rescm))lancc of tliat word to those in other languages, which signify, respectively, ' an armed man,' ' a sabre,' ' a rover,' ' a goat,' ' a promontory,' ' a coat,' ' a cassock,' and a district in Circassia." The nuxrtial tendencies of the Cossacks are very decided, and have from time immemorial formed their distinguishing feature. Tiie whole structure of society among them is military. Originally, their government formed a kind of democracy, at the head of whieli was a chief, or hctmun, of their own choice ; while, under him, was a long series of officers, with jurisdic- tions of greater or less extent, partly civil and partly military — all so arranged as to be able, on any emergency, to furnish the largest military array on the shortest notice. The democratical part of the constitution has gradually disappeared under Russian domination. The title of chief helmdn is now vested in the heir-apparent to the imperial throne, and all the subordinate hetmans and other officers are appointed by the crown. Care, however, has been taken not to interfere with any arrangements which fostered the military spirit of tho Cossacks ; and hence all the 8ul> t;l Itk! 'iu ^at%-.A^^^j:iaa&.,: n '.««*«».. ...^,, 176 ILLUSTIIATED DESCRIPftON OF RUSSIA. tjnuiam. sc. < ^ Cossacks or thi Don. m divisions cf tho popalai'.oii into polks and minor sections, with military hcadc, end cf the vilJa<^es into stanitza, still remain. Tiu'ciij.'-liout the ciapiro, wherever particular alacrity, vigilance, and ra- pidity of movcwnont, arc required, the qualities hy which the Cos^saclc is dislinpiiijiliod mail; him out lor enij)loyment. His proper sphere, undoubt- edly, is r,o act as a " light-armed trooper," and to be, as tlie celebrated Suwcrrow emphatically expressed it, " the eyo" of the army, protecting its rear in retreat, or pushing forw?.rd in advance, and making it almost impo^cibie ihv a flying enemy to escape. How admirably the Cossacks aro adapted to these purposes, was made known to all Europe during the dis- astrous retreat of the French from Moscow. The Russian government, however, has found other fields for the exer- tions of these fierce warriors. When a frontier is to bo guarded, the quali- ties required very much resemble those wliich make the Cossack so valuable to an army in the field ; and, accordingly, colonies of Cossacks have been planted on all the borders cf southern Russia, along the Kouban and the Terek, and form a most cflective barrier against sudden incursions by half- civilizx'd tribes. In the Caucasus, however, the Russians have met with a foe of a difler- ent stamp ; and, instead of having merely to ref)el sudden incursions, are obliged to fight for every iiich of ground on wliich they plant their feet. In this way tliey have been conntraincd to fix ujHti a series of strong posi- tions, on wliich tliey have constructed a kind of forts, called krepos,'s. The nature of these, the sudden attacks to which they aro exposed, and the mode of giving the alarm, so as to call in the aid of ncigliboring posts, are SOUTHERN RUaSiA — DON' COSSACKS. 177 Krkpost, or Cossack Tust, on thr Cibca^sian Fbontier. Well cxliiltited in llic accompanying irrapliic and very faitlifnl illuptration. In tliis service, Cossacks ohiclly arc employed ; and, tliouj.'!! tliat r'^iinrk- al)le quickness of ear, by which they can catch the slightest Honnf\><, at almost incredible distances, may fit tiiem \v<'ll for it, it certainly must be a service altosians it became the chief place of the Don Cossackts, and such it continued till the seat of government was removed to Novo Tclierkask. Its population is about fifteen thousand. 'J'a^anrog is a fortified seaport town situated on the north shore of the northeast ungh; of the sea of Azov, denominated the gulf of the Don, about ten miles from the mouth of that river. The foundations of Taganrog were laid by Peter th« Great, in I^>98; but it afterward fell into the pos- jjcssion of the Turks ; and it was ni)siderable importaw;*.'. It has ten churches, of which three arc built of stone ; a gynHiasi^Hi, a poor's hospital, ^^c. It was in- tended l>y its illustrious founder to r<'|^uce Azov, the ancient emporium of the Don, the poi't ce,or fiom its being the cntre- j>6< of the commerce of the vast . luntries **»vers(M!l by that great river. Tli« exports consist princij/ally of i^'aiin, j/artictilariy wheat ; iron and hard- ware from Toula; with ';or« and wooiUtn g'yids, spices, dye-stufl's, tol>a/;er Russian porta. SOUTHERN RUSSIA — DON COSSACKS. 179 m Seeing that Taganrog was built to obviate the difficulties that had to bo encountered by vessels entering the Don, through the shallowness of the Wf-ier, it might have been supposed that care would be taken to piacc it in a position in which it should 1)C, in as far as possible, free from this defect. This important consideration scorns, however, to have been in a gicat meas- ure overlooked. The gulf of the Don is seldom navigable by vessels draw- ing more than from eight lo nine feet of water ; and even these can not approacli witliiu loss than about seven hundred yards of the town. They arc principally loaded by carts, drawn each by a single horse, the expenses being very considerable. To obviate these inconveniences, it has been proposed to make Kertsch, on the western coast of the strait of Enikaleh, a depot for the produce of the sea of Azo. A new port Avas also established a few years since at (rheisk, on the eastern coast of the sea ; but its bay is rapidly filling up. Taganrog has a j)opulation of about twenty-two tln»iisand. A steamer leaves twice a mouth for Odessa, performing the voyage in ten days ! A glance at the map will show that in any other country the passage would not occupy three. Oliphant remarks that, " Notwithstanding the present increasing trade and population of Taganrog, I do not think that its pros- perity is at all of a permanent character. Tlie harbor is one of the most inconvenient in Europe, and has by degrees become so shallow, that ships are obliged to anchor at a distance of twelve or fifteen miles from the shore. There seems no doubt that it is rapidly lilling up. So recently as the year ]7iK5, Professor Pallas records tlie launch of a large frigate upon waters that lijiliters can now with difficulty navigate ! As if nature were not doing enough to ruin Taganrog as a port, almost every ship that arrives contrib- utes something to the same end. The Russian government has strictly prohibited the throwing overboard of l)allast, with which the majority of tno vessels that annually visit it are laden ; and tiic customhouse officials are enjoined to ste that this order is complied Avith, by measuring the draught of water of every ship at Kertsch, and comparing it with that which she requires upon her arrival at Taganrog. Of course, by this reg- ulation, government has only supplied a nev/ source of prol'it to the customs' officers, without in the least attaining the object desired. A bribe at Kertsch, in jiroportion to the amount of ballast to be discharged, has the instantaneous effect of lightening the ship ; so that after she has thrown overboard a cargo of stones at the entrance of the Taganrog harbor, her draught is fout'd to correspond, with singsilar exactness, to the measure- ment taken at Kertsch ; and thus th"^ expense, which would havo been incurred by landing the ballast, is reduced to the more moderate sum lo which the bribe may have amounted. The consequence of this system is, that the destruction of the harbor will proceed in exact proportion to the increase of the trade and mercantile importance of the town, until it be- comes so eminently prosperous, that no ship will be able to approach ii at ail!" ■■*«*»*f»f«Mfc'o^*^^ '^■^■"-■^■■■f^j^tofili'^ ». faJiJt "to lirwfUJC i: 180 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Jforoovcr, the new port of Berdianski threatens to prove a most for- midable rival, as it affords facilities for discharging and loading cargo un- equalled by any other harbor in the sea of Azov. It is situated at the mouth of the Berda, and ships of considerable tonnage can lie close in- shore. Marionpol, too, is a large Greek colony, and, though not pos- sessing any great advantage as a jiort, it contains an indefatigalde popula- tion. Indeed, to the mercantile skill and enterprise of the Orecks is to be attributed that increasing importance which the grain-trade of the southern provinces of Russia has recently assumed. The onii)eror Alexander, Avhoso reign will always form a memorable and brilliant era in the history of Russia, expired at Taganrog on the 19th of November, 182'), Azov is a fortified town, situated on an eminence on the left bank of one of the arms of the Don, near the noniwastern extremity of the sea of Azov. This town Avas founded at a very early period, by Carian colonists engaged ' in the trade of the Euxine ; and was called by them Tannis, from the river (Don, then Tanais), of which it was the pen. In the niiddle ages it was called Tana. It came into the possession of the Venetians after the taking of Constantinople by the Latins, ii))d was held by them till 1410, Mhen it was sacked, and its Christian inhabitants jmt to the sword, by tlie Tartars. The latter gave it the name of Azov, which it still retains. Formerly it had an extensive trade, being the emj)orium of all the vast countries trav- ersed by the Don. But owing to the gradual accumulation of sand in that channel of the river on which it is built, and the consequent difficulty of reaching it by any ])ut the smallest class of vessels, its trade has been entirely transferred to Taganrog ; its fortifications have also fallen into decay; and it now consists only of a cluster of miserable cabins, inhabited by abou*; twelve hundrod individuals. This town, with the intervening district, .'a under the neighboring government of Ekatherinoslav. COMACK OlRI. or TCHUXAtK. jj i4 80UTHEUN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. 181 CHAPTER VII. THE CRIMEA. THE peninsula of the Crimea (the Chersonesus Taurica of the ancients) lies betwoeii the fuity-fourth and forty-sixth degrees of north latitude, and the thirty-second and thirty-seventh degrees of east longitude. It is united on the north to tlie niaiidand by tlie isthnius of Perekop, five miles in width, and lias on its cast the Sirache, or Putrid sea, the sea of Azov, and the straits of Enikaleh, by whicli it is separated from the isle of Taman, being everywhere else surrounded by llie Black sea. It is esti- mated to contain about fifteen thousand S(|uare miles. Tlie Crimea is divided into two distinct parts, one lying north and the other south of the river Salghir, which Jlows from, west to east, and is the only stream of any importance in the peninsula. The former consists almost entirely of vast plains, or sleppcs, destitute of treei?, but covered with lu.\uriant pasture, except where they are iiitcvs[)crsed with heaths, salt-lakes, and marshes. The climate of this region is far from good — being cold and damp in winter, and oppressively hot and very unhealthy in summer, particularly along the Putrid sea. The aspect and climate of the other, or southern portion of the penin- sula, are entirely ditTerent. It presents a succession of lofty mountains, pictiuesijue raviue^ and the most beautiful slopes and valleys. The mount- ains, formed of strata of calcareous rocks, stretch along the southern coast from Cafl'a, on the east, to Haladava on the west. The Tchadyadap^, or Trent mountain, the highc.-t in the chain, rises to the height of more than five thousand feet above the levi'l of the sea, and several of the other sum- mits attain to a considerable elevation. Tlic climate of the valleys, and of the slopes between the mountains and the sea, is said to be the most delicious that can bo imagined ; and, besides the comnuui products, such as grain, flax, hemp, and tobacco, vines, olives, fig-trees, mull)erry-tree!j, pomegranates, oranges, &c., flourish in the greatest profusion. Professor Pallas, Dr. Clarke, and others, have given the most glowing descriptions of this interesting region. According to Clarke, "■ If there exist a terrestrial paradise, it is to be found in the district intervening between Kutchukoy and Sudak, on tlie southern coast of the Crimea. Pro- tected by encircling alps from every cold and bligliting wind, and only open to those breezes which arc wafted from the south, the inhabitants enjoy :;!/! ■.m \\ ; i ■ % m ■■■■mWBM -...i^,, ■»«ll»<,i»k,.fcta»U, ■■-«-*«|«i,, 182 ILLUSTRATED DESCnilTION OP RUSSIA. every advantage of climate and of situation. Continual streams of crystal water pour down from tlie mountains upon tlicir gardens, whtMc every spe- cies of fruit known in the rest of Europe, and many tliat are not, attain the highest perfection. Neither unwholesome exhalations, nor chilling winds, nor venomous insects, nor poisonous rej)tile8, nor hostile nciglibors, infest their blessed territory. Tiie life of its inhabitants resembles that of the golden age. Tlie soil, like a hot-bed, ra])idly jjuts forth such variety of spontaneous produce, that labor becomes merely an amusing exercise. Peace and plenty crown their board ; while the re])oso they so much ad- mire is only interru])tcd by harmless thunder reverberating on rocks above them, or by the murmur of the waves on the l>each below." But if tliis description be as faithful as it is eloquent, it will not certainly apply to any otiier portion of the Crimea, not even to the famous valley of Haider. At certain seinions of the year tlie fniest parts of the peninsula are infested with swarus of locusts, which freipiently commit the most dreadful devastation, nothing escaj)ing them, from the leaves of the forest to the herbs of the pliiin. Tarantulas, ceutij)edes, scorpions, and other venomous insects, are also met with in most ])arts ; and even to the south of the mountains the air in autunni is not everywhere salubrious, and ma- lignant fevers are not uncou>.nion. Owing to the thinness of the population, and their want of industry, the Crimea, which in antiquity was the granary of Athens, and whose natural fertility is 'nowise diminislied, does not produce a tenth part of what it might do. The steppe or northern portion is, in general, more suitable for grazing than for tillage, and is depastured by immense numbers of sheep, horses, and i)lack cattle. Some of the rich Nogai Tartars are said to havo oa many as fifty thousand sheep, and one thousand horses ; and tlio jmorer classes have one hundred of the former and ten of the latter ! Thousands of cattle often belong to a single individual: camels also are abundant. The breed of horses is improved by crossing with Arabian stock. Tho sheep are mostly of the large-taiU-d spoeios peculiar to the Kirghiz Tartars. The buflulo is domesticated, and yields a rich milk ; ahd the culture of bees is a good deal attended to. Tliough tliey liave renounced tlicir migratory habits, the Tartars, who constitute the bulk of the pojiulation, have little liking to, or skill in, husl>andry. PLxelusive of milk and other animal food, they sul)sist chiefly on millet; producing, however, in some years, as much as one million of ))ushels of wheat for exportation. The mountainous, or southern portion of the peninsula, furnishes large quantities of indifferent wine, with flax, iruits, timber, honey and wax, Ac. ; but tho cultivation of grain is so little attended to, that, even in the best years, its inhabitants have to import a large proport' m of their supjtlies. The most important and valuable product of the Crimea is the salt do- rived from the salt-lakes in the vicinity of Porekop, Caffa, Koslow, and Kertsch. It is monopolized liy the government, and yields a considerable revenue. The quantity exported from the lakes near Kertsch amounts to BOUTIIERN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. m from tliirty to thirty-fivo thousand pounds a year : the lakes of Pcrokop are even more productive. At Koslow there is only a single lake. In 1833, the dilTorent hikes of the Crimea produced the immense quantity of fifteen millions, sixty-fivo thousand jjoods (two hundred and forty-two thousand tons), of which about 'ight and a half millions of poods were sold in the course of the year. From twelve to fifteen thousand men are employed in the works ; each pood cofts to the treasury four copecks, or thereabout, the expense of production beinj? seldom greater than from six to ten coj)ecks. Government sells this salt at eighty copecks per pood, except the portion destined for the consumption of the peninsula, which only pays fifteen copecks. Salt exported is charged Avith a duty of five copecks. Exclusive of salt and grain, tlie other principal articles of export are wine, hotuiy of an excellent quali' v, wax, Morocco-leather, hides, a consid- erable (piantity of inferior wool, witli lambskins which are highly esteemed, "'. not of the Crimea only, but of the entire government of Taurida. ^.le pcjiulation consists of Tartars, Russians, Greeks, Germans, Jews, Armenians, and gipsies. The variety of different nations found in the Crimea, and the fact that each lives as in its own country, practising its peculiar customs, and preserving its religious rites, is one of the remark- able circumstances that render the peninsula so curious to a stranger. The number of Tartars has declined considerably by emigration and oth- erwise, since the occupation of tho country by the Russians ; but they still form the nucleus and principal buily of the population. They con- sist — first, of Nogai Tartars, linng in villages, who pique themselves on their pure Mongolian blood ; sec- ond, of Tartars of tlie steppe, of less pure descent; and, third, of those inhabiting the soutiiern coast, who are a mixed breed, largely alloyed with Greek and Turkish blood, and desj)i3od by the others, wi>o bestow on them the contemptuous designation of 2W, or renegade. They are all, however, attached to tho Mohammedan CniM Tabtabs. 184 ILLUSTUATED DESCRM'TION OP RUSSIA. ' faith, nud Simferopol is tlio scut of one of tiic two intijtis of '!ic Rufsian empire. Til" Tartars are divided into tlie el>us!;hinji; \» nudcrtakiMi witliout his consent. The peai^antn ploiinh his ianu, how and reap hif grain, and carry it home ; and it is sehioni tliat the proprietor takes tithe of the priest. In Slimmer, the feet and lej^s of the peasantry are hare ; Imt in winter tliey are elotlied after the Russian fasiiioii. 'I'hey are simple in their manners and dress ; and their sobriety, ehastity, cleanliness, and hospitality, ha\i' been highly eulogized, and probaldy exaggerated. They live principally on the produce of their flocks and herds; are wedded to roiuine prat-tices; and if they be not, as I'allas seems lu have supposed, decidedly averse to labor, they, at all events, arc but little disposed to be industrious. The emigration that took jdaee after the occajtatioii of the country by the Rus- sians, was owing (piite as nuieh to the eftbrts of the latter to convert the Tartans into husbandmen, as to the excesses they committed. In their diet they make great use »)f honey, anil are much addicted to smoking. Every family has two or more cojties of the Koran, which the children aro taught to read ; but, in despite of this, and of the schools estalilished in tiicir villages, they are, for the most i>art, exceedingly ignorant. The Greeks established themselves in the Crimea, and founded several colonies npon its coasts, nearly six centuries before tin- Christian era. The country fell successively into the possession of Milhridatcs, king of I'ontus, iuxn of the Romans, (Joths, iluns, o found in tlio historic summary wliich closes tho volume. ■' '!. ^ %L << « 0^\^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) fe A s^^^ 4^. < VASTArrx. the rotten batteries upon which they are placed, and which are so badly constructed that they look as if they had been done by contract. Four of the forts consist of three tiers of batteries. We were, of coui"se, unable to do more than take a very general survey of these celebrated fortifications, and therefore can not vouch for the truth of the assertion that the rooms in which the guns are worked are so narrow and ill-ventilated, that the artillerymen would be inevitably stifled in the attempt to discharge their guns and their duty. But of one fact there was no doubt : that however well fortified may bo the approaches to Sevastapol by sea, there is nothing whatever to prevent any number of troops landing a few miles to the south of the town in one of the six convenient bays with which the coasts, us far us Gape Kherson, is indented, and, marching down the main street (pro- vided they Virere strong enough to defeat any military force that might be opposed to tliem in the open field), sack the town, and bui-n the fleet. *' I was much struck with the substantial appearance of many of the pri- vate houses ; and, indeed, the main street was handsomer than any I had seen since leaving Moscow. New houses were springing up in every direc- tion, government works were still going forward vigorously, and Sevasta- pol bids fair to rank high among Russian cities. The magnificent arm of the sea upon which it is situate ia an object worthy the millions which have been lavished in rendering it a fitting receptacle for the Russian navy. '' As I stood upon the handsome stairs that lead down to the water's edge, I counted thirteen sail-of-tho-line anchored in the principal harbor. The newest of these, a noble throe-decker, was lying within pistol-shot of 19 i'^H Hi I^H ^l^^n Hh 188 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. ' 1 ^ the quay. The average breadth of this inlet is one thousand yards ; two creeks branch off from it, intersecting the town in a southerly direction, and containing steamers and smaller craft, besides a long row of Irulks which have been converted into magazines or prison-ships. Tlie hard ser- vice which has reduced so many of the handsomest ships of the Russian navy to this condition, consists in lying for eight or ten years upon tho sleeping bosom of the harbor. After the expiration of that period, their timbers, composed of fir or pine wood never properly seasoned, become perfectly rotten. This result is chiefly owing to inherent decay, and in some degree to the ravages of a worm that abounds in the muddy waters of the Tchernoi Retcka, a stream which, traversing the valley of Inkerman, falls into the upper part of the main harbor. It is said that tltis pernicious insect — which is equally destructive in salt water as in fresh — costs tho Russian government many thousands, and is one of the most serious obsta- cles to the formation of an efficient navy on tho Black sea It is maliciously said that, upon the few occasions that the Russian fleet in this sea iiave encountered a gale of wind, the greater part of the officers and men were always searsick ! It is certain that they have sometimes been unable to tell whereabout they were on their extensive cruising-ground ; and once, between Sevastapol and Odessa, it is currently and libellously reported that the admiral was so utterly at a loss, that the flag-lieutenant, observing a village on shore, proposed to land and ask the way !" Inkerman, the " Town of Caverns," lies near Sevastapol. The curiosi- ties of this locality consist in the remains whicli exist there to tell of races long since departed. Tlie precipitous cliffs, between which flow the Tcher- noi Retcka, are honeycomlKid with cells and chapels. The origin of these singular caves is uncertain ; but they are supposed to have been excavated by monks during the reigns of the Greek emperors of Constantinople in the middle or later ages. When the Arians who inhabited the Chersonesus were persecuted by the Greek church, then predominant, the members of that sect took refuge in these singular dwellings, whose lofty and inacces- sible position rendered them to a certain degree secure. The largest chapel, which presents all the characteristics of Byzantine architect;ure, is about twenty-four feet long by twelve broad. Sarcophagi, usually quite empty, have been found in many of the cells ; these latter are often con- nected with each other, and are approached by stairs cut in the living rock. Perched upon the same cliff, and of much earlier date than the caverns which undermine them, are the ruined walls of an old fort. Whether they are the remains of the Clenus of the ancients, built by Diophantes, King Mithridates'fi general, to strengthen the Heraclean wall, or of the Theodori of the Greeks, or of some Genoese stronghold, is still a very open question. There can be no doubt, however, that the seat of government of the prin- cipality of Theodori stood formerly on this spot ; but it is probable that its inhabitants were composed of Greek colonists, and not of Circassian tribeSi as some writers have supposed. SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIIfEA. 189 11. i". •I--,', 'i l! INKMMAN, THS •• TuWN OF CaVKBIM." The ^iew from the high-road to Baktchiscrai of the valley of Inkerraan, with its perforated cliffs and ruined fortress (as represented in tlie accom- panying engraving), is as remarkable as it is beautiful. A romantic old bridge in the foreground spans the sluggish stream, wliich winds amid the most luxuriant vegetation. Simferopol (or AkmctcheC), the capital of Taurida and the Crimea, lies in a central position, forty miles northwest of Scvastapol. It stands in a fine but not very healthy situation on the river Salghir, and consists of two parts : one new built by the RussiaiiS, in the European style ; the other old, and occupied by the Tartars. The streets in the former are wide and regular ; and it contains the government offices, irnd a cathedral, Baid by Dr. Lyall to be by far the handsomest ecclesiastical edifice he had eecn in Russia. The following is Oliphant's description of the modern capital of the Crimea, and its environs, as they appeared to him in 1853 : " When the Crimea was ceded to Russia in 1781, the picturesque old capital of Bak- tchiserai was considered unworthy of being the chief town of the new prov- ince, and a gay modem city was laid out upon the plains of the Salghir, dignified with an imposing ancient Greek name, and built in true Russian taste, with very broad streets, very white, tall houses, decorated with very green paint. If the population consisted entirely of Russians, the interior of the town would be as far from realizing the expectations which its out ward appearance is calculated to produce, as Kazan or Saratov ; but for- tunately for Simferopol, it was once Akmetchet (or ' The White Mosque'^^ and the inhabitants of Akmetchet still linger near the city of their ances- tors, and invest the cold monotony of the now capital with an interest of which it would be otherwise quite unworthy. ** Formerly the s^icond town in the Crimea, and the residence of tho kalga sultaHf or vico-khan, Akmetchet was a city of groat importance, 190 ILLUSTRATED DESCBIFTION OF RUSSIA. adorned with palaces, mosques, and public baths. It has now exchanged the eastern magnificence of former days for the tawdry glitter of Musco- vite barbarism. " The streets inhabited by Tartars are composed entirely of blank walls, and would therefore be the dullest places imaginable were it not for the people who traverse them. The houses are only one story high, and each is enclosed in a separate courtyard. The parchment windows which look out into it are placed so low as to be quite hidden from the street ; and so the unfortunate females have not the ordinary amusement of eastern ladies, and no black eyes glance out of latticed windows upon the passenger as ho passes beneath them. The Tartar women of Akmetchet, however, do not lose much by their seclusion. The streets have none of thfe life and bustle of a town like Cairo. The shops are few and far between, very small and poor, and kept by ugly, unveiled women. The beauties walk about cov- ered up to the eyes with the white '■ftretdje^ which reaches as low as the knee. Were it not for the bright-colored skirt which flutters beneath it, and the loose drawers that fall over tiny yellow boots, they would look precisely like animated bundles of white linen. The men occasionally wear the turban and flowing robe of the true oriental ; but their costumes, always picturesque, vary so much as to be almost indescribable. " We soon got tired of wandering through this maee of narrow lanes, always confined between high, blank walls, and changed the scene by sud- denly coming upon the fashionable promenade, where the band was playing in cool, delicious gardens, to the gay world, who delight to assemble hero and stroll upon the banks of the Salghir, away from the heat and dust of the town. The present governor, Pestel, a brother to ' Yes, it comes at last,' is, I understand, 'in high favor with the emperor. His house is a substantial, handsome-looking mansion. There are extensive barracks sit- uated a little outside the town, but the hospital alone is always in use ; the rest of the building is only occupied occasionally by troops passing to and from the Caucasus. *' ThcT are no less than two hotels in Simferopol, and in the one we were at they actually gave us a sheet each, but, of course, no means of washing ! Our windows looked out upon the principal street, and were always interesting posts of observation. Sometimes a lumbering nobl(y man's carriage, piled with luggage, and stored with provisions for a month, rattled into the town — the family being about to return to St. Petersburg for the winter, after spending the summer at their country-scat in the Crimea ; or an unpretending vehicle, exactly similar to ours, jogged quietly past, crammed with Armenian merchants, some of whose legs, protruding from between the curtains, were presumed to belong to Armenians, from the perfume of Turkish tobacco which was diffused over the street during their transit ; or a file of camel-carts, filled with straw, moved sedately along, stopping every now and then for a few moments while the drivers spoke to friends, when all the camels lay down : no amount of experience SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. m Cmrl-Cam* seemed to show them that it was hardly worth while to do this consider- ing how soon they would have to get up again, and the great exertion it involved. Accustomed only to the camels and dromedaries of still nioro eastern countries, the appearance of this Bactrian camel was quite new to me. The two humps are generally so long, that, unable to sustain them- selves, they fall over, and often hang down on each side of the animal's back. The neck and legs are covered with long, thick hair, from which the Tartar women weave cloth of a soft, woolly texture. " In strong contrast to these singular carts, pert droskies wef: continu ally dashing about. Though so small and light, all the public droskies hero have two horses, generally very good ones, while the heat of the sun has rendered it necessary that they should, for the most part, bo supplied with hoods ; so that the atrocious little vehicle of St. Pctersbul'g is con- verted at Simferopol into quite a respectable conveyance. Next door to our hotel was rather a handsome Jewish synagogue, in which school seemed perpetually going on. Simferopol contains about fourteen thou- sand inhabitants, of which comparatively a large proportion are members of this persuasion. " Fortunately the annual fair, which takes place in the first week of October, was being held during the period of our stay ; and then it is that the greatest variety' of costume, and all the characteristic features of the Crimea, are most opportunely collected for the traveller's benefit. To be properly appreciated, the fair of Nijnci-Novgorc' should be seen before that of Simferopol, which wo found infinitely more striking, perhaps be- cause wo were completely taken by surprise when, quite unaware of its existence, we chanced to enter the market-place one afternoon. It is sel- dom that two races so widely dificring in manners and customs, springing from origins so distinct, are brought into every-day contact in such a pal- pable manner as in Crim Tartary ; and this mixture is the more interesting from the improbability of its existing very long in its present unnatural condition. " An enormous square, many acres in extent, contained an indiscriminate DIMS of booths, camels, carts, droskies, oxen, and picturesque ^rouns. 192 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. Here may be seen the red-bearded Kussian mujik, in jackboots and sheep- skin, in close confabulation with a gayly-drcssed Tartar, who has just gal- lopped acrofs the steppe, and who sits his horse as if he were part and parcel of him. He wears a large, white fur-cap ; a red-striped, embroi- dered jacket, fitting clo.^e to his body, with wide, open sleeves ; while his loose, dark-blue trousers are girded with a bright-colored sasli, amid the folds of which the massive handle of his dagger apjiears ; and his slippered feet are thrust into clumsy stirrups at the ends of very long leathers. His horse is a wiry little animal, possessing an infinitely greater amount of intelligence than beauty. Farther on among the crowd, and distinguished by his green turban, floats the robe of some pious fiadjr; nor docs he seem in the least scandalized by two young ladies in a drosky, not only devoid offerecdje, but even of bonnets, and wearing only the jaunty little caps of the Parisian g-risetfe. We might very fairly suggest, however, the propri- ety of their profiting, in some degree, from the example of the muffled females over the way, who seem afraid to expose to the profane gaze of men the dyed tips of their finger-nails ! In the narrow lanes formed by carts and tents, Greeks, in a no less gay though somewhat different cos- tume from that usually worn in their own country, are haggling with Rus- sian Jews in long black beards, and long black cloaks reaching down to their ankles. It is an even bet who will have the best of such a bargain ! Savage-looking Nogai's, and Cossack soldiers, are making purchases from Armenian or German shopkeepers. There are large booths, like gipsies' huts magnified, which have no connection with the ragged representatives of that wandering race who swarm at the fair, but which contain quantities of most tempting fruit — huge piles of apricots, grapes, peaches, apples, and plums — of any of which one farthing will buy more than the purchaser can conveniently carry away with him. Besides these bootlis, there are heavy carts, with wicker-work sides, and ungreased, angular wheels, which make that incessant and discordant creaking familiar to those who have ever heard a Bengal bullock-hackery. Presiding over the whole scene, not in the least disconcerted by the uncongenial forms which surround them, are hundreds of camels, in all sorts of positions, chewing the cud with eastern philosophy, and perfectly submissive to very small, ragged Tartar boys, who seem to have entire charge of them, and who do not reach higher than their knees. Rows of shops enclosed this miscellaneous assemblage, containing saddles, knives, whips, slippers, tobacco-pouches, and Morocco-leather boots, all of Tartar manufacture, besides every de- scription of every European article. It was some satisfaction to feci, as we moved through the busy throng, in plaid shooting-coats with mother-of pearl buttons, that we too were adding another variety to the motley cos- tumes of the fair at Simferopol. " But the charm of Simferopol does not consist in the variety of races which inhabit it. Though it seems to lie in a plain, as approached from Kertsch, a great part of the town is situated upon the precipitous edge of SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. 103 the steppe, whence a magnificent view is obtained immediately below ; and at the foot of abrupt rocks, two hundred feet high, runs the tiny Salghir, dignified with the name of a river, and, if not entitled to it from its size, worthy the appellation by reason of the lovely valley which it haa formed in its northern course. Orchards and gardens, containing every sort of fruit-trees, and abounding in rows of tall poplars, line its banks, until the hills, becoming higher and more thickly wooded, form a ridge, which is connected with the Tchatir Dagli (or Tchadi/ailag'^, a noble background, and which does full justice to this lovely picture. Nor did a closer ac- quaintance with the details of this view detract from our original impres- sions on beholding it. *' We determined to take advantage of the glorious weather to make the ascent of the Tchatir Dagh (the ^Mountain of the TenV of the Tartars, Trapezxis of the Greeks, and Pafata Gora of the Russians) We reached tlic giddy edge of the limestone cliff which forms the highest peak, a few moments after sunrise, having attained an elevation of over five thou- sand feet above the sea. "We were well repaid for the fatigue of the ascent by the maghificcnt view we obtained from this point. Immediately at our feet, and so directly beneath us that a stone might be dropped perpendicu- larly upon the trees two thousand feet below, lay charmingly-diversified woods and meadows ; curling wreaths of blue smoke ascended from clumps of trees scattered over the park-like scenery, while large herds of cattle seemed from their diminutiveness to have been peppered out upon the rich pasture-laud " We soon accomplished the steep descent of the first thousand feet ; and, mounting our ponies, attempted to pick our way over the rocks, to some caves, reported to be worth seeing. Our path — or rather where our path would have been, had one existed — lay over a large extent of strati- fied limestone, of a gray color. The rugged surface, strewn with huge fragments of the stone, was frequently indented by hemispherical hollows, in which grew clumps of trees, and which, had they not occurred so fre- quently, might have been mistaken far the craters of extinct volcanoes. " Whatever may have been their origin, they were the cause of incessant annoyance to us as we wound round them — the rocks becoming so sharp and jagged, that wo were obliged to lead our horses a great part of the way. At last we descended into one, and the guides pointed to a small under a rock, into which we were expected to crawl, telling us it was the entrance to the cave of Foul Koiiba, a view of which is presented on the following page. Armed with a tallow-candle, I forthwith crept into the hole, scrambling on hands and knees amid a quantity of human skulls and bones, which rattled dismally as, one after another, we crawled among them. For twenty or thirty yards we thus proceeded, occasionally obliged to lie down perfectly flat upon the wet mud and bonos, and burrow our way along — a mode of entry which reminded me of an unpleasant experi- ence 1 OQce endured in descending into an Egyptian mummy-pit. 18 101 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTIOX OF RUSSIA. :^'^^-'^ ~ Cavb or Foul Kouba. " At last WO were enabled to stand upright and look around. A spa- cious chamber, about forty feet high, seemed supported by some huge sta- lactites. The largest of these was at least fifty feet in circumference ; and if the cave had been lighted up Avitli such torches as those used at Adels- burg, instead of with three tallow-dips, I have no doubt their varied colors would have produced a striking effect. I followed a clear stream through a small opening into what appeared another chamber, but could get no one to accompany me on an exploring expedition, as my companion felt too unwell to enter the cave at all. Montandon, however, says that Mon- sieur Oudinet, a Frenchman, penetrated half a day's journey into this cave without reaching the end. The innumerable skulls and bones lying strewn about in all directions told a melancholy history — a party of Genoese had been smoked to death here, during their wars with the Tartars in the thir- teenth century. " We were glad to get into the fresh air again, and, very hot and dirty, started for Kisil Kouba, another cave not far distant. The entrance to this was magnificent ; and, after descending gradually for about a hundred yards, the cave increased to a breadth of thirty or forty yards, while its height could not have been less than sixty feet. Her , however, the sta- lactites were comparatively poor, though occasionally well-colored. It has never been fully explored ; a stream, which wo did not reach, becoming too deep to allow of its extent being ascertained." The celebrated traveller and naturalist Pallas lived for fifteen years in (he town of Simferopol. It was his own wish to emigrate thither ; and, to enable him to gratify it, the empress Catherine II. made him a present of an estate in the best part of the Crimean peninsula. But, being cut off from the society he had enjoyed in St. Petersburg, and exposed to family annoyances, Pallas became dissatisfied with the country and with the cli- mate forop years year. Ko Panti on thi huiidi- bcnufi neighb 1827, which nunibei ages fo to six \ inereo. fiom th( product The a place of be the t( contradii as han'ni tors at S and has affected i Caffa, situated ) Crimea, buildings Greek, R modious chiefly foi a botanici neighborh it out as I and Kerts Cafl'a is Greeks fr from the V siege, and it passed i Crimea, ar the way of had a popi SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIUEA. 196 mate he had so highly pancg^'rizod. Having sold his estate, ho left Sim- feropol in diHgust in 1811, and returned, after an absence of forty-two years, to his native city Berlin, where he died in the course of the same year. * Kcvtsch, a seaport town of the Crimea, occupies the site of the ancient Pantirnpaeum, on a tongue of land forming a peninsula of the same name on the Htrait of Enikaloh, connecting the sea of Azov with the Euxine, one humlrnd and thirty miles cast-northeast of Simferopol. It is regularly and beautifully built, chiefly of stone obtained from the fine quarries of the ncighborhoud, and possesses great natural advantages for commerce. In 18*27, it was declared a free port, and an extensive lazaretto was built, at which all the vessels coming by the Black sea perform quarantine. The number of vessels which touch at it in passing out of the sea of Azov aver- ages four htmdred annually, and the number of coasting-vessels is from five to six hundred. The greater part of the inhabitants arc employed in com- merce. It exports building-stone, and large quantities of salt, obtained from the neighboring lakes ; and its herring and sturgeon fisheries are very productive. The ancient town of Panticapaeum was the residence and reputed burial- place of Mithridates, king of Pontus. A mound in the vicinity is said to be the tomb of that formidable and inveterate enemy of Rome ; but this is contradicted by the most authentic accounts, which represent Mithridates as ha\ing been buried, by order of Pompey, in the sepulchre of his ances- tors at Sinope. The modern town of Kertsch is of very recent existence, and has risen up as if by magic; and, by its increase, has prejudicially ofiected some of the other ports. Its population is about twelve thousand. Cafia, Or Fcodosia (the ancient Theodosid)^ is another seaport town, situated at the western angle of a magnificent bay in the southeast of the Crimea. It is walled and well fortified, and contains numerous public buildings, of which the most worthy of notice are the three churches — a Greek, Roman catholic, and Armenian ; two mosques, a spacious and com- modious quarantine, and a college, founded by tlie emperor Alexander, chiefly for gratuitous instruction in the modt.'a languages. There is also a botanical garden, and a museum, which is rich in the antiquities of the neighborhood. The site and excellent harbor of Caff'a would seem to mark it out as a place of great trade, but it has formidable competitors in Odessa and Kertsch, and does not seem destined to recover its lost importance. Caffa is a place of great antiquity, having been founded by a colony of Greeks from Ionia, in Asia Minor. It received its name of Theodosia from the wife of Leucon, king of the Bosphorus, who took it after a long siege, and soon made it a place of great importance. In the middle ages it passed into the hands of the Genoese, by purchase from the khans of the Crimea, and became the seat of an extensive commerce with the East, by the way of the Caspian and Astrakhan. At this time it is said to havo had a population of eighty thousand ; but, having been taken by the Turks 196 ILLUSTnATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. in 1474, its prosperity rapidly declined. Much has been done for it since it come into the possession of Russia, and it is still one of the most impor- tant towns in the Crimea, but its population probably docs not exceed eight or ten thousand. Baktchiserai (the " Seraglio of Gardens^*') is one of the most renmrka- ble towns in Europe. It is situated on the Djurouk-Su, about fifteen miles southwest of Simferopol. It is the capital in which the khans or Tartar sovereigns of the Tauridian peninsula long held sway, as dc])utlcs or tribu- taries of Turkey, before Russia established herself in the Crimea. Bak- tchiserai is a place of great interest, both historical and local. The Tartar impress is still strong upon it. It stands at the bottom of a narrow valley, hemmed in by precipitous rocks, and watered by a small rivulet, by no means of the most limpid appearance, and con.sists almost entirely of a sin- gle street, buijc along the side of this rivulet, and lined with bazars and workshops, in which the Tartar toils, in primitive simplicity, in the pro- duction of articles of the very same form and quality as furnished by his forefathers two centuries ago! The town contains several moscjues, which are usually embosomed among trees, and whose minarets rise high above the houses, and is ac'.ornod with numerous fountains. The number of houses in the town exceeds two thousand, inhabited by about ten thousand persons — the majority of Tartar blood, the rest Russians, Greeks, Arme- nians, and Jews. The Karaite Jews, a peculiar section of that people, carry on a considerable trade in common stuff-goods, mercery, and colonial produce. The main street above alluded to is nearly a mile long, and so narrow that two carts can scarcely pass. Fortunately this is a contingency which does not often arise ; and tlio busy throng that traverses it, whicli consists almost entirely of Tartars, Karaite Jews, and gipsies, is extremely incon- venienced by the appearance of a wheeled vehicle at all. In mixing with this nondescript populace, Oliphant renmrks that his attention was divided between the variety of feature and costunie which it exhibited, and the wonderful display of goods exposed for sale in the open shops. These are devoid of any front wall, and are closed at night by the wooden shutters which in the daytime form a sort of counter. Upon this the owner sits cross-legged, earnestly engaged in the manufacture of the article he sells, and only allowing himself to be distracted from his occupation by the arri- val of a customer. From the manner in which these shops are arranged, the mombera of each craft would seem to bo collected into divisions specially appropriated to them. Thus, immediately on leaving the khan, or Tartar inn, and turn- ing up the principal street toward the palace, a bazar is passed in which sheepskin-caps are fabricated. Beyond these cortie the workers in leather, encompassed by piles of saddles, richly-embroidered belts, tobacco-pouches, and absurd-looking whips, with a large, flat piece of leather at the end of the lash, and a knife concealed in the handle, like the one in the accompa- SOUTIIEnN' IIUAHIA — THK CRIMEA. 107 I'AkTA* Whip. nying engraving. Opposite mo slipper-nmkcrsi and tailors ; while the cui- lors occupy a great extent of territory, und are fumed for tho *^xcellout Tartar kuive? which they mumifucturo. •' Wc were so long moving al)oiit from ono set of those affaMo Hhopkecpers to another," says Olipluuit, *' that it was lute iti the day before I began to wonder whether wo were never coming to a food-(iuarter. Hitherto, since leaving Sevastapol, wo had feasted our eyes only, whilo our guide had subsisted entirely on pipes. Upon Ids now suggesting that wo should go to a cook-shop, wo willingly proceeded in search of one; and were attracted, by sundry whiffs redolent of mutton, to a largo corner-house, whence arose a cloud of fragrant steam. Here a numl>er of |)coplo were standing in the open street, diving into huge, project- ing caldrons of soup, whence they extracted Sfjuarc pieces of fat, which they devoured with great relish while strolling about among the crowd. Not entirely approving of this al-fresco modo of dining, and fearing tiiut we might stand a chance of being run over while discussing an interesting morsel, we were glad to discover that it was not necessary to present a ticket of admission to a liatchiserai soup- kitchen : so wo entered, and seated ourselves on a narrow bencli, behind a very filthy plank intended to serve as a festive-board. Being fully exposed to tho street, we were in a most con- venient position for tho loungers in it to satisfy their curiosity regarding us, and accordingly we were mutually edified by staring ot oii<' another. "Our attention, however, was soon diverted to the head-cook, who brought us a boiled sheep's head in one hand, while with the other he at- tempted to catch the gravy that trickled through his fingers upon a loaf of black bread. These ho set down before us on the cleanest part of tho plank wc could jiick out, and evidently considered that our every want was supplied. Wc forthwith proceeded with our penknives to discuss the sheep's head, which seemed to have been previously stripped of everything but the eyes ; and, with the addition of some Uhatibs (square pieces of fat strung upon a reed), succeeded in accomplishing a meal, which sustained us for the rest of the day : not that it would be possible to starve in Bak- tcliiserai ; the heaps of delicious fruit with which the street is lined for some hundreds of yards would always furnish an abundant, if somewhat unwholesome meal. Grapes, figs, pomegranates, peaches, nectarines, and apricots, tempt tho passenger to refresh himself at every step ; while, as if in gentle remonstrance with his imprudence, innumerable fountains of the purest water gush out of the hillside, murmuring invitations to the thirsty soul which it is difficult to resist. From one of these, which has ten spouts, the sparkling streams fall upon slabs of marble. A continual babbling goes on in every direction as the clear little rivulets seem hurrying 198 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. away from the filth of the town, determined to lose themselves as speedily OS possible in the waters of the Djurouk-Su." The far-famed palace of the khans occupies one side of a small square at the extreme end of the main street. Crossing tlie moat, a painted gate- way with projecting eaves is passed, and the singular collection of build- ings which then meets the eye on every side is no less a^^tonishing tlu\n delightful. To the right of a large grass-grown court stands the rambling, I Palace or the Khans. disjointed palace, with gaudy walls and highly-decorated trcllis-work, fes- tooned with vines, and small lattice-windows looking out upon fragrant gardens ; wliile above all is an octagonal wooden tower, with a Chinesc- iooking roof. On the left are a number of two-storied buildings, with A'erandahs supported by ornamented posts, and near them a mausoleum and mosque, with two tall minarets — the mark of royalty. A handsome fountain, shaded by willows, stands opjwsite the private entrance ; behind it the court is enclosed by the walls of an orchard, situated on a rising ground, which is intersected by terraces. Looking beyond the immediate objects, the view is no less striking. The palace seems to be in the arena of an amphitheatre, of which the flat roofs of the Tartar houses — stuck, as it were, in rows against the sides of the mountains — represent the seats.* All over these mountains caves occur • The Tartnri", unlike oilier people, genernlly prefer tlie steep siile of n liill for the »ito of thtir villiigcg, i-ullier thuii lliosii level situntioiig vulgiirly know.i n» "eligible building-lots." By excava- ting a opiice out of the hill, in proportion to the uccommodution r(M|uire(i, the architect is saved the trouble of building a back wall, while he simply fills up with mud the angles at the sides. The roof, wliirh thus, us it were, projects out of the hill, is perfectly flat, und covered with mould. It (tends beyond the front walls, and, supported by posts, forms u sort of verandah. Thus, when ihe traveller passes below one of these cottages, the roof is not visible nt all; while, if he be above them, they would have the effect of diminutive di^ying-grounds for grain or coffee, were it not for the smoke thet issues from the conical mud-chimneys. These servo not only at apcrturet for the ■moke, but also us a means of verbal communication with thd InDrior of the houiei. On a dark SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. 199 ilii Tabtab Villaob. frequently, resembling pigeon-holes. Nothing can be more unique than the aspect of the town from the courtyard of the palace, wliile gigantic rocks, of grotesque shape, are poised in mid-air, threatening destruction to all that remains of the capital of this oncc-miglity empire. Entering the principal vestibule of the palace, the celebrated " Fountain of Tears," immortalized among Russians by a poem of Alexander Pushkin, is seen. Tk:s hall opens, by means of arches, to the gardens of the serc^Uo; and, from it, dark staircases ascend and terminate in narrow passages, which again lead to spacious galleries, brilliantly decorated. Wandering through the latter, the visiter loses himself at last in a laby- rinth of small apartments, scarcely differing from one another, connected by doorways, in which swing heavy satin brocades. lie glides noiselessly through them over the soft Turkish carpets, as if treading the chamber of death. There is something appropriate in the mysterious silence which characterizes all his movements, surrounded as he is by a luxury so fresh- looking and real, that it seems as though its possessors had but just van- ished for ever from the fairy scenes they had conjured around them. Here are broad crimson divans ; richly-embroidered curtains carefully suspended over the latticed windows ; and tapestry o*" costly satin, elaborately worked, concealing the walls, or hanging quaintly from semicircular projections over the fireplaces — a flimsy splendor, which was not allowed to fade and vanish with its original possessors, but is retained in all its gaudy coloring, as if to mock the memory of those to whoso effeminate tastes it once had ministered. H'i ' nighl an equratriiin miyht conily mistake his way, and, riding ati;aiglit over one of these roiifa, make Ilia upprnrance nt the front door in a manner tuu abrupt to be altogether consistent with good breeding. The engraving which wo give on this page present* a characteristic view of one of tha numerous villages or humlet* of th« Crim Tartars. ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. i ! —sr.- Tabtab Gcide. But Muscovite sovereigns have condescended to lodge in the former aliodc of the khans ; and the guide, of course, imagines that the most in- teresting object in the palace is the bed in Avhicli tho empress Catherine II. slept. The room of Maria Potoski, however, is fraught with more romantic as- sociations. Here for ten years tha infatuated count- ess resided, hoping to effect a compromise between her conscience and her passion for the khan, by a life devoted to religious exercises, while content to reign, at the same time, supremo in the palace of the infidel. The apartments appropriated to her arc lux- uriously arranged ; and a lofty hall, with fountains plashing upon slabs of marble, bears her name. Ad- joining it is a Roman catholic chapel, which was built expressly for her use by the amorous khan. Many of the rooms are ornamented with represen- tations of birds, and beasts, and creeping things, in every variation of grotesque form ; wliile, as if to compensate for this direct violation of the Koran, fragments of that sacred record are inscribed upon the walls. One of the most singular chambers in this most singular palace is a largo glass summer-house, surrounded by a divan, and decorated in a most unorthodox manner, in wliich a fountain plays into a porpliyry basin. It opens upon a flower-garden, at the farther end of which, shaded by a magnilicent old vine, is a marble bath, prepared for t!i'o empress Catherine by tho considerate gallantry of Potemkin, and supplied by cascades from the fountain of Sclsabil. Tlie fiivorite lived enclosed among delicious gardens, in the now-deserted harem, during the residence of liis royal mistress in tho palace, from which it is approached by a succession of pavilions and verandahs. Attached to it is the octago- nal tower ; and authorities differ as to whether the khans reserved it for the use of their women or their falcons. As it is exactly like a large wooden cage, no light is thrown upon the subject from its construction. From between the bars a singular panoramic view is obtained of the town and palace. The palace first became the residence of the khans in the year 1475. "Having seen the former abof^^ of the khans," says Oliphant, "we thought we would now visit their present resting-place. So, leaving the fountains to play and babble in silent halls, and the divans to grace unten- anted rooms, and the trees to blossom and perfume the deserted gardens, wo entered the vaulted chambers in which the most illustrious khans re- pose. Here a venerable old hadje held tremulously aloft the dim, flickering light, to enable us to look over the turbaned tombstones. Passing out, wo walked through the cemetery, where vines cluster over the crumbling ruins that tell of departed greatness ; and all seemed travelling the same road which tho occupants of these sculptured sepultures have already taken." SOUTHERN HUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. 901 Mai'solbum or Tiic Khans. Tlie valley in which Baktchiserai lies almost concealed, terminates in a narrow go'rge, containing caverns occupied only by gipsies. From this gorge the way emerges upon a dark, mysterious glen, heavily wooded with oaks and beech-trees. A winding path dives into its inmost recesses, and through a nuize of tombstones, formed in the shape of sarcophagi, and cov- ered with Hebrew inscriptions. This is the "Valley of Jehoshaphat" — for centuries the cemetery of the Karaite Jews, who still love to lay their bones beside those of their ancestors ; so that the sleeping inhabitants of the valley of Jehoshaphat far outnumber the population of Karaites in any one town in the Crimea. The little path extends for nearly a mile, always surrounded by theso touching mementoes of a race who, in whatever part of the world they may be scattered, still retain the profoundest veneration for a spot hallowed by such sacred associations. The grove terminates suddenly near a frightful precipice, from the dizzy edge of which a magnificent view is obtained. A few miles distant, the conical rock of Tepekerman rises abruptly from the broken country, its beetling crags perforated with innumerable myste- rious caverns and chambers. Beyond, the Tchatir Dagh, with the elevated eea-range, of which it is part, forms the background of the rich and varied landscape. Following the line of the calcareous cliffs, a point is reached where tho prospect in the opposite direction is still more striking. To tho right, tho 11 hm '■ ni m m y ^m f f 202 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. dilapidated old fortress of Tchoufut Kale crowns the nearest height, while the monastery of Uspenskoi, built into the face of the overhanging rock, appears as if it had been excavated by the inhabitants of Stony Pctra, rather than by monks of the Greek church. Here, too, compressed within narrow limits, lies the old Tartar capital, almost hidden by the gardens which clothe the valley in a mantle of richest green. Lower down, the precipices soften into gentle slopes, and the cultivation spreads over a great extent of country, through which the Djurouk-Su meanders until it falls into the Black sea, that bounds the western horizon. When the Tartar khans deserted Tchoufut Kal6 for the lovely vale below, this singular stronghold became again exclusively the residence of the Karaite Jews, who had lived there from time immemorial, and wiio are naturally bound to it by the strongest feelings of reverence and afl'cction, since it has been alike the cradle of their sect, and the rock upon wiiich they have ever found a secure refuge in times of persecution. Singular as it may seem, perched upon this almost inaccessible cliff is the headquarters of a sect whose members are scattered over Russia, Poland, and Egypt. As the population was said to be entirely Jewish, Oliphant remarks that he expected to find Tchoufut Kale filled with picturesque groups of hand- somely-dressed men and lovely maidens ; but he passed through the arch- way, and along the streets, to which the living rock answered the purpose of pavement, and still, to his astonishment, not a soul wa? to be seen ! A few dogs flew at him, and obliged him to perambulate the rest of the town armed with stones. It seemed quite empty, for not only'were the public thoroughfares deserted, but he could get no answer at any of tlio doors at which lie knocked ; so that he was beginning to suspect that the last inhab- itant must have recently got some one to bury him in the valley of Jchosh- aphat, when a liusky voice murmured something through a crack in a shut- ter ; and presently a decrepit, stone-blind old man, who might have been the individual in question, hobbled out with a stick, and offered to conduct him to the synagogue. This edifice is a plain building, differing in no respect from an ordinary Jewish place of worship. It contains some magnificently-bound copies of the Old Testament in manuscript. The books of Moses only are |)rinted and taught in the schools. The Karaites profess to have the Old Testa- ment in its most genuine state. The derivation of their name has been ascribed to kara and i7e, words signifying, in Arabic, "black dog" — a not unlikely epithet to be applied by Mohammedans to this despised race. A more generally received and probably correct derivation, however, seems to be from the word kara^ "scripture" — because they hold simply to the letter of scripture, not ad- mitting the authority of the Talmud, or the interpretation of the rabbis. Like all Jews, they display extraordinary care in the education of their children, who are publicly instructed in the synagogues. About five thou- sand Karaites are resident in Poland, who acknowledge the old rabbi of SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. 203 JCWISH FoKTBKSt OF TcHOl'rVT KaLS. .1 % Tclioufut Kale as their spiritual chief. They are said originally to have emigrated from the Crimea. As almost all the Karaites are engaged in trade or manufacture, and as they observe the most scrupulous honesty in their dealings, it has naturally followed that they are a prosperous and thriving community ; while, as if an exception had been made in favor of this portion of that interesting people wljose unhappy destiny has been so wonderfully accomplished, prob- ably the only settlement exclusively Jewish which still exists is the fortress of Tchoufut Kale. Its population has, however, dwindled down to a very small remnant, since trade has increased, and additional facilities have been afforded for settling in more convenient positions than upon the sum- mit of one of the highest crags in the Crimea. The population of the sea- port of Eupatoria is composed mainly of Karaites, nearly two thousand of whom are now resident there — and some of these are wealthy merchants. All devout Karaites scattered throughout the Crimea, when increasing infirnJities warn them of approaching dissolution, are brought to Tchoufut Kale to die, and to have their bones repose beside those of their forefathers in the lovely vale of Jehoshaphat. There arc only two entrances to the fortress, and the massive gates are locked every night. Down a long flight of steps cut out of the living rock is a well of delicious water which supplies the inhabitants, the situation of which, at the bottom of a valley, and far below the walls, would render the impregnable position of the fort utterly valueless in time of war. At this well is usually stationed a man who fills the water-skins borne by don- keys to their master above, neither the consigner nor the consignee accom- panying these sagacious animals on the numerous trips which are, never- theless, so essential to the comfort of the inhabitants. Following the bank of the ravine, the monastery of the Uspenskoi (or the "Assumption of the Virgin Mary") is reached, where galleries are i i 204 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. suspended upon the face of a lofty precipice, beneath the stupendous rocks out of which the chambers are hewn, and out of which also arc cut the flight of steps by which they are approached. The monastery is said to have originated at the time of the persecution of the Greek church by the Mohammedans, when its members were not allowed to worship in build- ings. In some places the windows are mere holes in the face of the rock, while in others the front is composed of solid masonry. A wooden veran- dah before the church is supported over the massive bells. About twenty thousand pilgrims resort hither annually in the month of August. Altogether it is a curious place, and harmonizes well with the strange scenery in which it is situated ; so that the monks deserve some eredit for adding to the charms of a spot already possessing so many at- tractions ; and this is probably the only benefit their presence is likely to confer upon the community. Tlie ruins of the celebrated fortress of Mangmip Kale, a view of which is given in the engraving on the opposite page, crown the summit of a hill that terminates tlie vale of Balbeck, on the route from Baktchiscrai to Yalta. Tlie uncertainty which hangs over the history of these fragments of former greatness, tends to invest them with a mysterious interest jiecu- liar to themselves. They are strewn so extensively over the surface of the rock as to leave no doubt of the magnitude and importance which once distinguished the city that crowned tliis mountain-top. They bear the traces of almost every race whicli has inhabited the Crimea, are pervaded by the very essence of antiquity, and arc regarded by the Tartars with tho profoundest veneration. And they are worthy of it, for tliey are their own historians ; and an account of their former owners, and the vicissitudes these stones have undergone since they were first hewn from the solid rock, may at a future time be extracted from them by some antiquarian who has made it the study of his lifetime to worm himself into tho confidence of such impenetrable records. Meantime, authorities differ very widely upon tliis matter. The name is frequently pronounced Mangoute. The latter syllable, signifying GofhSy may perhaps lead us to suppose that it was derived from tho possessors of that principality, of which this was atone time the capital. The Goths were expelled from the lowlands by the Huns in the fourth century, and still continued to live in an independent condition, defending themselves in their fastnesses from the attacks of those barbarians who successively possessed themselves of the remainder of the Tauric peninsula. According to some authorities, Mangoup remained the capital of tho Gothic princi- pality until it was taken by the Turks in the sixteenth century ; while others suppose that, after the conquest of the Crimea by the Khazars, it became a Greek fortress, and so remained until it fell into the hands of the Genoese, at the same time with the Greek colonies on the coast. This is probably the correct view, as the greater part of the remains are Gre- cian. Professor Pallas calls Mangoup " an ancient Genoese city, which SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE CRIMEA. 206 Manoovf Kalw. appears to have been the last resort of the Ligurians after they were driven from the coast." Still tlie chapel, which is here excavated from the rock, and the imnj^es of saints, which he describes as painted on the walls, may be traces of the Christian Goths no less than of the Genoese ; but it is extremely improbable that such is the case. In 1745, Mangoup was occuj)ied by a Turkish garrison for twenty years, after which it was taken possession of by the khan of the Crimea. It had been for many years inhabited almost exclusively by Karaite Jews. These gradually dwindled away, until they totally disappeared about sixty years ago, and have left nothing behind them but the ruins of their synagogue and a large cemetery, containing tombs similar to those in the valley of Jehoshaphat. There is very little loft of the massive buildings which once adoi'ned this famous town, except the foundations. The lofty calcareous promontory upon which the fortress is perched, is about a mile long, and a quarter of a mile broad. Upon three sides it is surrounded by frightful precipices, while that by which alone it is accessible is defended by castellated towers, placed at intervals in the massive wall. At right angles with it, and inter- secting the narrow promontory, are the remains of another wall ; and the most perfect building now existing is a squai'e fori; built into it, two stories high, and pierced with loopholes for musketry. The upper, edge of the plateau is perforated by small chambers cut out of the solid rock, and ap- g IBHK** «^BBi' hB^R' aUml IbB^h* n^H^i hIH; Q^^^>i \!^Kmi l^n^Hl !s^^B^m:^ mHi ^B^KK) IS^Bt' 'i^HI H SB m Bt n^B S^KKM ■K IHHI 206 ILLUSinATED DESCRIPTION OF HUSSIA. preached by stairs from the upper surface. Many of these chambers are from fifteen to twenty feet square, and connected bj stairs ; but the work of exploring requires nerves rather stronger than people who inhabit houses instead of eagles' nests usually possess ; and the steps hewn out of the face of the giddy cliff, Oliphant thought, were more picturesque to look nt than agreeable to traverse. Who the dwellers in these singular cells can have been, it is difficult to conjecture ; but they were probably inhalv itcd before the town was built upon the rock above. If the ruins of Mangoup Kale possessed no other merit, they serve at least as an attraction to mount the cliffs upon which they are situated, and the labor of the ascent is amply repaid by the view alone. A correct idea of the configuration of this part of tlie Crimea is also obtained from the fortress of Mangoup Kale. A precipitous limestone-range extends nearly east and west, parallel to the sea-range ; and upon the edge of the stupen- dous cliffs are perched the forts of Tchoufut Kale and Mangoup Kale. The whole of the country intervening between these ranges is intersected by lovely valleys, and watered by clear mountain-streams ; their banks are highly cultivated, and frequent tufted groves betray the existence of tho villages which they conceal. This tract is inhabited solely by Tartars, who seem to cling to their highland glens with the tenacity characteristic of mountaineers. They are a hardy, hospitable race, totally difl'erent from their lowland brethren. No Tartar ever dreams of walking from one village to another; but when he wants to pay a visit to his neighbor, like a true country-gentleman ho rides over to him ; and if he has not so good a horse as the squire, he has scenery at least which the other might covet, and can beguile the way with a contemplation of its beauties, if competent so to enjoy himself. To the traveller furnished with a government order, the Tartars are bound to provide horses at any village where it may be produced. These are often poor-looking animals, but active and sure-footed, and admirably adapted for the rocky passes which they are obliged to traverse ; indeed, they do- serve great credit for the way in which they seem to cling to a mountain- side, for they are shod with a flat plate of iron, with a hole at the frog, which may be useful in stony deserts for protecting the hoof, but must cause many a slip over the smooth rock. Not content with shoeing their horses in this fashion, the Tartars treat their oxen in like manner. Their singular process of shoeing these animals is well illustrated in the engra- ving at the close of the chapter, on the following page. The animal is placed upon the broad of his back, and there secured — a man sitting upon the head. The four legs, tied together, thus point straight up in the air, and the smith hammers away at his leisure, enabled by his convenient po- sition to operate all the more skilfully. There is something excessively ludicrous in the operation ; though, to judge from the scene presented in the engraving, with tho assistant seated upon its head, in all probabilitj the poor brute finds it no laughing matter. "HTHEKN nUSBIA — THE CBIHEA. SOT " It was melancholy to think," remarks Oliphant, " that the inhabitants of these lovely valleys wore gradually disappearing under the blighting inliueiicc which Russia appears to exercise over her raoslom subjects. Of y late years the Tartars have been rapidly diminishing, and now number about a hundred thousand, or scarcely half the entire population of tho Crimea. Tlieir energy, too, seems declining with their numbers. Whole tracts of country susceptible of a high state of cultivation, and once pro- ducing abundantly, are now lying waste ; their manufactures deteriorating, tlieir territorial wealth destroyed, their noble families becoming extinct, their poor ground down by Russian tax-gatherers, and swindled out of their subsistence by dishonest sub-officials. *' Ere long tho flat-roofed cottages, now buried amid the luxuriant vege- tation of clustering fruit-trees, will crumble into dust, and with them tho last remains of that nation who once occupied an important position among European nations. Is the only Mohammedan state still existing in the West to share tho same fate o,s the kingdom of Crim Tartary ?" •HOVTWa * 1tDU«ai -;vN>-u».-ii'v -• >. 208 XLLUSTBATED DESCBIFTION OF BUBSIA. . CHAPTER VIII. THE STEPPES OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA. THE STEPPES of soutlicrn Russia (or at least portions of tliom) liavo been casually noticed, in the descriptions which have been given in the immediately preceding chapters on the governments of this divis- ion of the empire. But they form so characteristic and so interesting a feature in •) physical aspect of tlie country — as much so as the prairies of our wester states, and which, in fact, they much resemble — that we will give place to a general description of them here, even though it may involve a slight repetition of what is incidentally ])resented in other chapters. The steppes, as they are generally called, extend from the borders of Hungary to those of China. They constitute an almost uninterrupted plain, covered in spring and autunm by a luxuriant herbage ; in winter by drifting snows, heaped up in some places, and leaving the ground bare in others ; and in summer by clouds of dust so excessively fine, that even on the calmest day they hang suspended in the air, having the appearance rather of a vapor exhaled from the ground, than of earthy particles raised by the agitation of the atmos{)here. The sliglit undulations that occur assume but rarely the character of hills, but artificial hillocks or tumuli are frequently met with, the origin of which it is impossible to trace through the darkness of bygone ages. The most singular characteristic, however, of the steppe, is the absence of trees, on a soil remarkable for ita richness and the luxuriance of its herbage. For hundreds of miles, a trav- eller may proceed in a straight line without encountering even a bush, unless he happen to be acquainted with the few favored spots known to the Tartar sportsmen, to whom they answer the purpose of game-preserves. Countless herds of cattle roam over these noble pasture-grounds, on which a calf born at the foot of the Great Chinese Wall, might eat his way along, till he arrived a well-fattened ox on the banks of the Dniester, prepared to figure with advantage at the Odessa market ! The poor animals suffer much during the hot and dry summers, when every blade of grass is parched up; but the careful herdsman, who has provided himself Avith an abundant stock of hay, is able to keep his beasts alive till autumn returns to gladden them with fresh abundance. Wherever a ridge of hills occurs, of suflScient height to afford protection against the northern blasts that come sweeping in an unbroken course from SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. ^ 209 the sliorcs of the Arctic ocean, tho character of the country is cliangod. In the Crimea, fur instance, tliough tlic northern portion partakes of nil tho rude characteristics of the steppe, tho south coast, sheltered hy tho central mountains, enjoys a climato equal to that of Italy, and allows the vino and the olive to bo cultivated with as much success as in Provence. A country constituted by nature as are the Russian steppes, is evidently destined rather for a wandering and pastoral people, than for a settled and agricultural population ; for in regions where but few prominent objects occur, there is but little to attach man to any particular si)ot. The Russian government, however, has undertaken tlie task of converting the nomadic tribes into settled agriculturists, and the steppe itself into one vast grain- field. German and Bulgarian colonists have been tempted, by the offer of peculiar privileges, to establish thomsclvcs in diff"ercnt parts of the country, in the liope that their example might gradually wean the native tribes from their roving habits. Where the colonists have been located in the vicinity of large towns, the plan has been attended with partial success ; but the foreigners soon discover the capabilities of the countiy, and in proportion as their means increase, rarely fail to invest their surplus capital in tho purchase of flocks and herds, the numerical amount of which constitutes tho customary standard by which wealth is estimated throughout the steppe. Tiie rivers winch intersect tho steppes, and which in spring are swollen by the rapid thaw of the accumulated snows of winter, cut deep furrows in the surface ; and as they frequently change their courses, thoy occasionally leave dry ravines that break in some measure the uniformity of tho coun- try. Little importance would be attached, in other parts of the world, to the trilling elevations and depressions thus formed ; Imt in the stcppo, the slightest variation of surface becomes a landmark of importance, and sepa- rate denominations are given by tiio inhabitants to every peculiarity of shape which tho ground is made to assume under the action of water. Many of the rivers — indeed, all but the principal streams — arc fed only by the rain and snow, and their beds, consequently, arc dry in summer. Each of these ravines terminates in a waterfall, formed originally, no doubt, by the terrace that bounds the Black sea, and which in some jjlaces rises to the height of one hundred and eighty feet above the water level ; but in proportion as tho water wore away a channel for itself, the waterfall grad- ually receded, and, in the course of ages, made its way farther and farther into the interior of the country. The elevation of the ground being so nearly alike throughout the whole of the steppe, tho ravines formed by tho action of tho rain-water arc of nearly equal depth in every part of the country. They are seldom less than a hundred feet deep, and seldom exceed a hundred and fifty. These I'avines, or vuipolotsh, with their lateral branches on each side, as their edges are at all times exceedingly abrupt, offer to the traveller, as well as to the herdsman driving his lowing and bleating charge across tho plain, 14 210 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. an impassable barrier, to avoid wliich it is often necessary to go round for many miles. Tlio consequence is, that several roads or tracks ore alwayH sure to meet at the head of a vuipolotsh, which tlius becomes a spot of somo importance tliroughout the surrounding country. In winter, the ravine is usually filled by the drifting snow, and is tlicn extremely dangerous to any ouo not well acquainted with the country. Men and cattle are at that season often buried in the snow-drifts, and their fate is ascertained only when the melting of the snow leaves tiicir bodies exposed at the foot of the precipice. The foregoing description does not, of course, apply to the larger rivers that are supplied with water throughout the year. The banks of these are less abrupt, but their elevation, though, more gradual, is about the same, being seldom less than a hundred nor more than a hundred and fifty feet over the level of the water. Tlic beds of these largo rivers are in general remarkably broad, and arc almost always fringed with a bolt of reeds, six or eight feet high, that forms au excellent cover for every de- scription of water-fowl. While the action of the rain is exercising so powerful an influence in tho interior, the sea, as may easily be supposed, is not idle on the coast. A very remarkable cliaracteristic of tho Black sea is, that at tho mouth of every river a large lake is gradually formed by tho action of tlic sea, and some of them are unconncoted with the sea. These lakes arc known along the coast by the name of liman. These limans are suj)posed to liuvc been formed by the action of tho sea driven into the mouth of the river by tho violence of the i)revailing storms, and constantly underminiii'/ tlie terrace of tho overhanging steppe. During tranquil weather, an < ppositc action is going on. Tiie rivers are always turbid with the soil of the steppe, and their water, arrested in its course by the tidcless sea, deposites its sedi- ment in front of tlie liman, where a low strip of land is gradually formed. This natural mound, by which every lima}% is in courso of time protected against the further encroachment of the sea, is called a peressip. Where the supply of water brouglit down by a river is tolerably large, the peressip is never complete, but is bi ■cen by an aperture called a gheerl, that forms a communication between tite liman and the sea. Many limans, however, are fed by streams that bring down so feeble a volume of water, that tho mere evaporation is suflBcient to carry off the whole surplus, ynd the pereS' sip in such cases becomes perfect, forming a barrier that completely cuts off all communication between the river and the sea. Limans so circum- stanced exercise a baneful influ'>nco upon tho country, in consequence of the offensive effluvia that arise fro:n the stagnant water in summer. Occasionally in passing over thj steppe, the traveller perceives a slight depression of the surface, as if a i> i> ''t,/ giapt had ?.aid his hand upon the plain and pressed it down. In dwV rn^a. ^asine, oalled stavoks byi the natives, the rain collects, and (n;aw;L ih", soil soon absorbs the water, the place generally retains some moi^'ture long after tiie rest of the country 1^ '■'... S' SOUTH EnN RUASIA — THE STEPPES. 211 ■., s^ has been parched up l>y the riiiinmcr heats. T'l'* xtovok, it may easily ho BUpposocI, is, nt Mch a time, on ()l»joct of no 'rifling irni>^>rtaii(,'c to tlio herdw- man, and is ciuciully guarded ngainst the iniruHtf'n of stju jiov s. A belief prevails upon the steppe timt the stavoks are liolcs fornted by the ancient M'.ngolians, who dug out the earth to form 'heir tiinii.ii ''lit there is i*o gocd reapon to suppose that the depression has originated otherwi o than l>y a slight sinking of the subjacent strata. The climate of the steppes is one of extremes. In summer, the litmt is as intense as the cold is severe in winter, the waters of the Black sea exer- cising apparontb but little influence in tempering the atmosphere. Tliig is accountcti fo' '.»y (ho obrupt rise of the coast, which arrests the strata of air inii>t">Ui;itcl/ ab'i,e the surface of the water, and leaves a free course only to liiddc jK>rtion- of the air that fly at a higher level. The steppe, thcr-'l'iu'c, ha .< ually an arctic winter and a tropical summer, and enjoys, oni y (1 iring spring and autumn, short intervals of that moderate tcmpera- tui'' tvj which its gcogrujihicul position, in the temperate zone, would app»;ar to iMititle it. The core or substance of the long winter of the stepi>o is formed by tho three montlis of December, January, and February, during which all tlio energies of nature appear sunk in an unbroken sleep ; but tliough unbroken, it is by no means a (piiot sleep that Danie Nature is allowed to enjoy during tliis [icriod of the year, for the snow-storms are of frequent occurrence, and so excessively violent, that even the mo-^t seasoned veterans of the steppo stand in uwe of them. Every road or track is frecjuently altogether eflaced, the ravines are filled up, and cases even occur vhere men and cattle are suddenly caught by a drift of snow, and completely buried under its accu- mulating mass. The emperor Nicholas once, in travelling in a sledgo across the steppes, was capsized in a steep ravine, and was taken up with a broken clavicle. To the more violent of these storms no traveller attempts to expose himself; and even the government couriers are excused if, during the three days — their usual duration — they remain closely housed at tho station which they happen to have reached. The winter of the steppe, in intensity of cold, frequently surpasses tho severest seasons known on the shores of the Baltic ; and the cutting blasts from tho north, sweeping hug»^ masses of snow into tlic Black sea, often CO ' V with a thick coating of ice for many leagues from the shore. The steppe, accordingly, participates in all the severity of a Russian winter, but enjoys few of the advantages which to the northern Russian go far to redeem tho intensity of tho ct)ld. In northern Russia, and even in tho Ukraine, tho snow remains on the ground during tho greater part of tho winter, and the sledges quickly wenr the surface of tho road into a smooth mass of ice, over which tho heaviest goods may be transported with a speed and facility surpassed only by a railroad. The Russian, therefore, usually prefers the winter months, not only for travelling, but also for the convey- ance of heavy goods from ono place to another. To the denizen of tho \m 212 ILLUSTRATED DESCBIPTIOX OP RUaSIA. Wintib-Travellimq on thb STKrrss— Slbdoks. steppe this natural railroad is unknown. The storma that prevail through- out the greater part of tlie Avinter keep the snow in a constant state of agi- tation, and prevent it from " caking" on the ground. The snow, in conse- quence, never uniformly covers the stoi)pc, but seems to lie unequally scat- tered over it in dril"ts, according as the wind may have wafted it ahout. When the snow molts on the steppe, the sj)riiig may l)C said to commence. This usually takes j)lac'e in Ajiril, but May is sometimes far advanced be- fore the mass of water has had time to find its way into the rivers. During this meUing season, tlie whole surface of the steppe is converted into a sea of mud, tlirongh which neitlier man nor beast can wade without positive danger. Through every ravine rushes a torrent of the dirtiest water that can well bo imagined, and about the dwellings of men the accumulated fdth of the winter is at once exposed to view, by (he disappearance of the snowy mantle that, for a season, had chaiitably covered a multitude of sins. Thi>> operation is frequently interrupted l)y the return of frost, and the descent of fresh masses of snow — for there is no country, perhaps, where Winter makes a harder light for it, before he allows himself to be beaten out of the field. Vriien at last boisterous old Ilycms has really been forced to beat his retreat, a most delightful period of the year succeeds, and the eteppe, covered with a beautiful and luxuriant herbage, smiles like a lovely oasis between the parched desolation of the summer and the dreary M'asto of the winter. The whole earth now seems clad in the color of IIopo, while the sky assumes that of Truth ; and though it is certainly monoto nous enough to behold nothing but bliie above and green below, yet the recollection of past hardships, and the consciousness of present abundance, make the season one of rejoicing to the notivo, and even excite for a while M SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 21b the admiration of tho stranger. The latter, however, is certain, before long, to grow weary of a spring unadorned by a single flowering shrub, unvaried by n single bubbling brook. Thunder and lightning are frequent throughout May, but the thunder- storm on the steppe is, comparatively, but a poor kind of- spectacle, there being neither trees nor rocks for the lightning to show his might upon, nor mountains, by their reverberating echoes, to give increased majesty to the pealing artillery ot heaven ; but these discharges of atmospheric electricity, though they want the grandeur of the Alpine tempest, are dear to tho peo- ple of the steppe, where tlicy are always accompanied by either showers or night-dews, so that as long as it thunders there is no lack of fodder for the cattle. In June, the lightning ceases to play, and the periodical drouglit an- nounces its approach, the whole month passing frequently away \vitliout depositing a particle of moisture on the ground. The consequences of this begin to manifest themselves in July, when the heated soil cracks in every direction, opening its parclicd lips in supplication for a few drops of water that are not vouclisafcd. Ilcavy and tantalizing clouds, it is true, sweep over the steppe, but, instead of sliowering their blessings on the thirsty land, htiiry away to the Carpathian mountains or to the sea. The sun at this season rises and sets like a globe of fire, but the evaporations raised froiji the earth by tlie mid-day lieat seldom fail to give a misty appearance to the sky toward noon. Tl\e heat, meanwliile, is rendered intolerable by its duration, for anything like a cool interval never occurs, and shade is not to be thought of in a country wliere liills and trees are alike unknown. Tliis season is one of great sufl'ering to all living beings on the steppe. Every trace of vegetation is singed away, except in a few favored spots ; the surface of the ground becomes browner and browner, and at last com- pletely black. Men and cattle assume a lean and haggard look, and the wild oxen and horses, so fierce and ungovernable in May, become as tame as lambs in July, and can scarcely crawl in August. Ponds dry up, wells cease to furnish water, and tho beds of lakes are converted into sandy hollows. Water now rises in price, and becomes an article v.hich it is worth a tliief's while to steal. The few springs that continue to yield must have a guard set upon thorn night and day, or tho legitinmte owner will scarcely keep enougii (o slake liis own thirst. At this season thou- sands of cattle perish on tho steppe of thirst ; wliile, as if to mock their 8uflerings,tlie liorizon seems laden with humid clouds, and the parched soil assumes to tlie clieated eye in the distance the appearance of crystal lakes and running streams ! In nuuiy respects tlie summer on the steppe is more cruel even than in the Salmra of Africa, or in tlie Llanos of South America, for in neither of these docs the moisture so completely disappear from the soil, and in the African desert, wherever there is water, a little terrestrial paradise of date-trees and flowering shrubs is certain to bo grouped around ; but in ( ;S? 214 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. h the steppe, even the rivers flow only between grass, and reeds arc tlio only shrubs by which the banks arc fringed, while from the parched and gaping earth not even a cactus or an aloe peeps forth, into which a thirsty animal might bite to moisten its lips Avith the juice. In August, the dryness of the atmosphere reaches the extreme point ; but, before the end of the month, the night-dews set in, and thunderstorms are occasionally followed by rain. The leaden, dusty sky becomes clear and blue again, and everything reminds you that the delights of autumn are approaching. The temperature of September is mild und refreshing, and the detestable black dust of the steppe, kept down by frequent show- ers, no longer gives to every creature the complexion of a negro. A fresh, green herbage quickly covers the Avholc plain, and man and beast in a short time recover their strength and spirits. Delightful the autumn of the steppe unquestionably is, but short and fleeting are its charms, for October is already a gusty Scythian month, marked by cold rains and fogs, and usually closing amid violent storms ; and as to November, that is set down as a winter month even by the most seasoned Russian. Every plant or herb on the steppe, on which the cattle will feed, is known by the general name of trava; and every woody, wiry stem, from which they turn away, is ruthlessly classed in the condemned list of bvrian. The thistle deserves the first place among the burian of the steppe. We have but little notion in this country of the height to which tlio thistle will often grow in soutlicrn Russia, where it not unfrequently assumes the form and size of a tree, overshadowing with its branches the low-sunken dwel- lings of the troglodytes of the steppe. In places peculiarly favored by the thistle, this description of burian will sometimes grow in such abundance, as to form a little grove, in which a Cossack on his horse may comi)lotely hide himself! Another description of weed that stands in very bad odor in the steppe, has been aptly denominated wind-witch by the German colonists. This is a worthless plant that expends all its vigor in the formation of innuniera- blo threadlike fibres, that shoot out in every direction, till tlie whole forms a light globular mass. The little sap to be obtained from this i)lant is bit- terer than the bitterest wormwood, and even in the driest summer no animal will touch the wind-witch. It grows to the height of three feet, and in autumn the root decays, and the upper part of the ])lant becomes com- pletely dry. The huge shuttlecock is then torn from the ground by the first high wind that rises, and is sent dancing, rolling, and hopping over the plain, with a rapidity which tl)c best-mounted rider would vainly attempt to emulate. The Germans could not have christened tlie plant more aptly ; and, in bestowing on it the expressive name by which it is known among them, they no doubt thouglit of the national legends long associated with the far-famed, witch-haunted recesses of the Blocksberg. The wild dances with which fancy has enlivened that ill-reputed mountain are yearly imitated SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 215 by the wind-ioilches on the steppe. Sometimes they may be seen skipping along like a herd of deer or wild horses ; sometimes describing wide circles in the grass, sometimes rolling madly over one another, and sometimes rising by hundreds into the air, as though they were just starting to par- take in the diabolical festivities of the -Blocksberg itself! They adhere to each other sometimes like so many enormous burs, and it is not an uncom- mon sight to see some twelve or twenty rolled into one mass, and scouring over tlie plain like a giant in his seven-league boots. Tliousands of them arc yearly blown into the Black sea ; but with tliis salto mortale ends the vntcWs career, who loses in the water all the fantastic graces that distin- guished her while ashore. As next in importance among the burian of tlie steppe, the bitter worm- wood must not be forgotten. It grows to the height of six feet, and some- times, in a very dry summer, the cattle Avill not disdain to cat of it. All the milk and 'butter then become detestably bitter, and sometimes particles of the dry wormwood adhere to the wheat, in which case the bitter flavor of the plant is imparted to the bread. Botanists reckon about five hundred species of plants as native to the steppe, and each species usually grows in large masses. For leagues to- gether the traveller will see notliing but wormwood ; and, on leaving so bitter a specimen of vegetation, he will come to a tulip-bed, covering many thousands of acres; and, at the end of that, to an equal extent of wild mignionette, to which cultivation has not, however, imparted the delicious perfume which recommends it to the horticulturist of more civilized lands. 8u3imu.Tbavk|,lin(« on the STKrrM — a Tabantas8E. For days together the tarantasse will then roll past tlie same description of coarse grass, ungainly to look ujion, but on whicli the sheep thrive admi- rably, and which is said to give to Tartar mutton a delicious flavor that the travelled epicure vainly looks for in Mie gorgeous restaurants of Paris, or in that joint-stock association of comfort and luxury, a London or New York club. A siugular ])honomenon of the steppe manifests itself when man invades it with his plough. The disturbed soil immediately shoots forth every i 216 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. variety of burian, against wliich the fanner must oxert unceasing vigilance, or else farewell to the hope of a productive harvest. If the same land is afterward left fallow, the burian takes possession of the field, and riots for a few j'cars in undisturbed luxuriance. A struggle then goes on for some years longer between the weeds and the grass ; but the latter, strange to say, in almost every instance, triumi)hs in the cud, and a beautiful pasture- ground succeeds, which goes on improving from year to year, till it attains its higlicst degree of perfection. A reaction then ensues: a species of coarse grass, known by botanists under the name of stipa pinnata, ttykes possession of the ground, which it covers with its hard and woody stems, till the farmer, taking advantage of the tirst dry weather in spring, clears away the whole plantation by setting fire to it. The burning of the steppe is the only kind of manuring to which it is ever subjected, and is generally executed in spring, in order that a fresh crop of grass may immediately rise, like a young plicenix, frpm the ashes. Tiiis department of Tartar husbandry is usually managed with much cau- tion, and the conflagration rarely extends beyond the limits intended to be assigned to it; but sometimes a fire rises by accident, or in consequence of a malicious act of incendiarism, and then the conflagration rages far and wide, sweeping along for hundreds of leagues, destroying cattle and grain- fields, and consuming not only single houses, but whole villages in its way. These fires are particularly dangerous in summer, owing to the inflam- mable condition, at that season, of almost every description of herbage. The flaming torrent advances with irresistible force, towering up among the lofty thistles, or advancing with a stealthy, snakclike stop through the parclied grass. Not even the wind can always arrest its destructive course, for a fire of this kind will go streaming in the very teeth of the wind, now slowly and the rapidly, according to the nature of the fuel that supplies its forces. At \es the invader finds himself compressed between ravines, and appears to have spent his strength ; but a few burning particles blown across by a gust of wind enable him to make good his position on new ground, and he loses no time in availing himself of the opportunity. A well-beaten road, a ravine, or a piece of sunk ground in which some rem- nant of moisture has kept the grass green, arc the points of which advan- tage must be taken if the enemy's advance is to bo stopped. At such places, accordingly, the sheplierds and herdsmen post themselves : trenches arc hastily dug, the flying particles are carefully extinguished as they fall, and sometimes the attempt to stop the course of such a conflagration is attended with success. Often, however, the attempt fails ; and the despair- ing husbandmen see one wheatfield after another in a blaze, their dwellings reduced to ashes, and the afi"righted cattle scouring away over the plain before tlie advancing volumes of smoke ! The course of one of these steppe-fires is often most capricious. It will leave a tract of country uninjured, and travel for eight or ten days into the interior, and the farmer whose land has been loft untouched will begin •im SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 217 tu flatter himself with the belief that his grain and his cattle are safe , but all at once the foe returns with renewed vigor, and the scattered farm- houses, with the ricks of hay and grain grouped in disorder around, full a prey to the remorseless destroyer. The farmer, however, is not without his consolation on these occasions. The ashes of the herbage form an excellent manure for the ground, and the next crops invariably repay him a portion of his loss. Indeed, so beneficial is the cfl'ect, that many of the large proprietors subject tlieir land regularly every four or five years to the process of burning ; but the operation is then performed with much caution, wide trenches being first vlug around the space within which it is intended that the fire should remain confined. To the same process likewise are subjected the forests of reeds by Avhich all the rivers of the steppe are fringed ; but this is deemed so dangerous, tliat the law imposes banishment to Siberia as the jjcnalty of the offence. Nevertheless, there are few places where the reed?? are not regularly burnt away each returning spring — at which season, during the night, the Dnieper and Dniester appear to be converted into rivers of lire. There are two motives for setting fire to the reeds, and these motives are power- ful enough to completely neutralize the dread of Siberia : in the first place, the reeds serve as a cover to multitudes of wolves, which, when driven by fire either into the water or into tlie open plain, are easily destroyed by their remorseless enemies the shepherds and herdsmen. The second mo- tive is, the ho[M3 of obtaining a better supply of young reeds by destroying the old ones. The reeds, it must be borne in mind, are of great value in tlie steppe, where, in the absence of timber and stones, they form the chief material for building. The animal is not more varied than the vegetable kingdom ; and both, to the naturalist, seem poor, though to the less scientific observer the steppe appears to be teeming with life. Uniformity, in fact, is more or less the distinguishing characteristic of the country, and the same want of va. iety that marks its outward features prevails throughout every class of its ani- imate and innaimato productions ; but though few the species, the masses in which each presents itself are surprising. Eagles, vultures, hawks, and other birds, that are elsewhere rarely seen except singly, make their appearance on the steppe in large flights. The reed-grounds fairly teem with ducks, geese, and pelicans ; the grass is alive with swarms of little earth-hares ; larks, pigeons, thrushes, rooks, and plovers, are met with everywhere ; and even butterflies, and other insects, appear in formidable masses. Among the latter, the locust (of which we shall have more to say by-and-by) plays a very important part. Few of these animals can be said to be peculiar to the steppe ; but, though found in other lands, they are not found there under similar circumstances, and the peculiar character of the country exorcises a powerful influence in modifying the habits and instinct of animals. .?; • l... ,s^. u.i . * The traveller has no sooner crossed the Dnieper, at Kremcntchoug, in I MM III: 'i 218 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. the government of Poltava, than he sees a little animal gliding about every- where through the grass, and even along the high-road. This little animal is called by the Russians, sooslik; by the German colonists, earth-hare; and, by the scientific, Cylillus vulgaris. It is a graceful little creature, and quite peculiar to the steppe, never found in woody regions, and rarely even in the vicinity of a bush. It is particularly fond of the bulbous plants that abound in the steppe, and multiplies astonishingly. In manner and appearance it is something between a marmot and a squirrel, smaller than the former, and differing from the latter in tlie color of tlie fur and the shortness of its tail. The soosliks burrow under the ground, and hoard up a stock of food for tlie winter. Their holes have always two entrances, and it is easy to drive them from their cover by pouring water in at one end, for to water they have so great an avei'sion, that they are always observed to decrease in numbers in wet seasons, and multiply astonishingly in dry ones. The lively and frolicsome character of the sooslik is a con- stant source of amusement to a stranger. Tlic little creatures are seen in every direction ; sometimes gamboling together in tlie grass, at others sit- ting timidly at the doors of their houses, to watch the approach of an enemy. If a man or other strange oliject draws near, they rise upon their hind legs, like miniature kangaroos, and stretcli their little heads up so high, that one niiglit almost fancy they had the power of drawing them- selves out like a telescope. Their little furs are used by the women as edgings for their dresses, and entire cloaks and dressing-gowns are often made of them. Of all the quadrupeds of the steppe, the sooslik is by far the most abundant ; it affords the cliief article of food to the wild dogs, and is a constant object of chase to wolves, foxes, eagles, hawks, and other animals of prey. The next in importance among the quadrupeds of the steppe is the mouse, which frequents the granaries in immense numbers ; so much so, that the farmers will sometimes set fire to a whole rick of grain, (re the mere purpose of destroying the mice. Tlie wolf of the stepj)e is a smaller animal than the forest-wolf, and dis- tinguishes himself from the wolves of other countries by liis subterranean propensities. Natural caverns become elsewhere the refuge of the wolf, but on the steppe he burrows like a rabbit, and it is there by no means an uncommon thing to find a nest of young wolves several fathoms deep in the ground. In the neighborhood of Odessa, and the other large towns, these four-footed sheep-stealers are but seldom met with ; but in no part of the world do they abound more than in the woodland districts by which the steppe is skirted, and from these haunts they sally forth in countless num- bers, to prowl around the flocks and herds of the open country. Every farmhouse in the steppe is surrounded by fences twelve or fourteen feet high to protect them against the inroads of the wolves, yet these banditti of the plain are incessant in their attacks, and cases are by no means un- common of their carrying off even infants from the cradle. SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 219 The dogs of tlio steppe are the most vulgar and ■worthless of all the curs in the world. They are long-haired, long-legged, long-headed, and long- tailed, and have evidently more wolfish than doggish blood in tlieir veins, Their prevailing color is a dirty grayish-brown, and, though little cared for by the southern Russian, their number is incredible, and fully equal to what it can bo in any part of the Ottoman empire. Yet the southei'n Rus- sian never tolerates a dog in his house, nor ever admits him to that famil- iarity which the race enjoys with us, and to which the cat and the cock are constantly courted by the tenants of the steppe. Still, whether as a protection against tlie wolf, or whether in consequence of that carelessness which allows the breed to multiply unchecked, every habitation on the steppe is sure to bo surrounded by a herd of dogs, that receive neither food nor caresses from the hands of their owners, but must cater for them- selves as well as they can. In spring, the season of abundance, when all the cattle and horses of the steppe run wild, the dog likewise wanders forth from the habitation of his master, and the puppies born at that period of the year are not a bit tamer than the wolves themselves, until the samjots of winter drive them back to the farmyards and villages. In summer, the dogs hunt the mice, rats, and soosliks, suck the eggs of birds, and learn even to catch a bird upon the wing, if it venture too near the ground ; but in winter they are certain to congregate about the towns and villages, where swarms of shy, hungry, unowned dogs, are seen lurking about in search of any kind of garbage that may be thrown away. Dozens of them may often then be seen gathered about the body of a dead animal, and gnawing away eagerly at its frozen sinews. In the country, the dogs are a subject of complaint with every one, and with none more than with those who devote some care to the cultivation of their gardens. Tlic'dog of the steppe is passionately fond of fruit, and will not only devour the grapes in the vineyards, but will even climb into the trees in search of pears and plums ! The better the dog is fed, the more eager ho will be after fruit, which is supposed to cool his blood, after too free an indulgence in animal food. Like the wolves, the dogs of the steppe burrow in the ground, where they dig roomy habitations, with narrow doors and spacious apartments, in which they find shelter against the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The half-savage state in which the dogs live, leads them often to pair with the Avolves, and a kind of cross-breed ensues. These mongrels are usefLl in hunting wolves, whom they attack with greater animosity than any other dogs will do ; and, when old, they are usually destroyed, their skins being nearly of the same value as those of genuine wolves. Among birds, none abounds more on the steppe than the bustard, or drukhva, as the Russians call it, which may be seen grazing in every direc- tion. It migrates from northern Russia on the approach of winter ; but near Odessa, and about the mouths of the Dniester and Dnieper, it gener- ally remains all the year round. Bustards are usually scon in parties of I ?: Pi 9 J, I i 1 1 1 1 I < 1 1 220 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION' OP RUSSIA. BiBD-Btmrma on trk BrirrBi. from twelve to twenty, but their gregarious habits increase in proportion as the winter advances, when from eighty to a hundred will often be found togetlier. This, however, arises not so nmch from the sociable projieusi- ties of the bird, as from the more limited extent of pasture to which it is then obliged to confine itself. If, terrified by the approach of a real or supposed enemy, one of these large flocks rises, the birds do not remain together, but fly away in difl'erent directions to tlieir several nests. In June or July, they nmy be observed feeding with their young, and on those occasions the male bird is usually seen anxiously watching over the secu- rity of his mate and little ones, whom he never fails to apprize of any dan- ger that may seem to be drawing near. His vigilance is so great, that it is extremely difficult to get a shot at them. The Ruesians maintain that the bustard knows exactly how far a gun will carry, and never gives tho alarm a moment sooner or later than is really necessary I Nevertheless, tho Cossacks, who are the chief sportsnicn on the steppe, contrive to out- match the bustard in cunning. Sometimes they creep like snakes through the long grass, and come unobserved upon their prey ; sometimes they lure the male birds by means of a little instrument made out of tho windpipe of an ox, on which the treacherous hunter contrives to imitate with astonish- ing accuracy the cry of the female. The most remarkable kind of bustard- hunting, however, takes place in winter. The birds at that season creep under tho thistles and other high weeds in search of some shelter against the severity of the cold, ^v'^hile in this position, if a hoar frost comes on, their wings become so incrusted with ice, that they lose the power of flying, SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 221 and thoy then fall an easy prey to foxes, wolves, and, rbovo all, to man. The Cossacks, on horseback, run them down with ease, and kill them with the blow of a whip. If the hunter has chosen his time well, and is nimble in the chase, he may expect good sport. Indeed, there are men among the peasantry of the steppe who have become comparatively rich by a few successful bustard-hunts. One man, it is said, killed a hundred and fifty bustards in one morning with his whip, and sold them at Odessa for four hundred and fiftv roubles. In the north, ten or fifteen roubles are often given for one of these birds. Eagles, vultures, and other birds of prey, are sufficiently abundant, and have probably always been so ; but of lute years, since a portion of tho steppe has been brought under the plough, a number of granivorous bird? have made their ajipearance that were formerly altogether unknown there, and others that were formerly rare have multiplied in a striking manner Of singing-birds, the lark is the only one known on the steppe ; but iu tli* gardens about Odessa, the nightingale is occasionally heard. Of reptiles there is no lack ; frogs, toails, and snakes, abounding in every part of the country, notwithstanding the drynes.s of the soil. Toads, par- ticularly, display their ugly forms in every direction ; and after a shower of rain they sometimes show themselves in such numbers, that it is dithcult to walk a dozen paces without becoming the involuntary instrument of de- struction to several of them. Sometimes a remarkable phenomenon occurs in the summer months, known as the toad-shower. In June or July, and sometimes even in August, after a short but heavy shower of rain, the ground is suddenly covered with myriads of small toads, and no one can say whence they come, or whither, after a little while, they go. Of the numbers of these toads, strange stories are told. Millions and millions are seen covering the ground, like an army of locusts. It is quite disgust- ing to walk among them, for in stopping on the ground a man may crush forty or fifty of them at once. Ti»e wheels of a cart would be saturated Avith the juices of the dead toads, and incrustod with their loathsome bodies ! In size they are stated to be all extremely diminutive, about as large as the young toads that appear early in the sju'ing, but much more lively and active. Immediately after the shower, they are seen in the greatest num- bers ; but they soon disappear, and on the following day not a trace is to bo found of them, nor is it observed that, after one of these showers, the number of toads by which the rivers and ponds are peopled is ever mate- rially increased. Lizards are also numerous, and sometimes not less than eighteen inches long. A Cossack looks upon them with great dread ; but a Cossack stands iu awe of every animal formed diflcrently from his horse, his ox, or his dog. Of all reptiles, however, the snake is the most abundant, though much less so in those parts of the country tliat arc most thickly settled, particu- larly in those where the German colonists have been located, for the southern Russian is generally too much afraid of a snake to kill it, even I ! I I* H: \k i I IN. I:', i id it It :lf -I 222 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. though it take up its abode under the same roof with him. " Let a snake alone," says tlic Russian, '* and he will let you alone ; but if you kill it, its Vholc race will persecute you !" They believe in the existence of some- thing of a corporation spirit among the snakes, and maintain that the relatives of a dead snake will never rest till they have avenged his death. The snake, they believe, is in the habit of dispensing poetical justice tow- ard murderers in general, but more particularly toward those worst of murderers, the killers of snakes ! Tlie largest snake of the steppe is the Coluber trabalis, which, according to some, has been seen of the length of eighteen feet, but instances of nine or ten feet long are of frequent occurrence. Legends are not wanting among the Cossacks of gignntlc serpents that, at no very remote period,, infested the reed-grounds of the Dniester, whence they sallied forth to kill men and oxen, and now and then to amuse themselves by running down a rider and his steed, no horse being fleet enough to effect its escape, if one of these ogre snakes had once fairly started in chase of it ; b'jt these fabu- lous embellishments were hardly wanting, the plain truth being often for- midable enough. The colonists of two adjoining villnges noticed for sev- eral weeks that large tracks were continually made through their grain- fields, as though a sack of flour had been dragged througli them. They were at a loss to think who the trespasser could be, till one day a young foal was found half killed in the field, and from the appearance of the wounds it was immediately suspected that a large snake must be prowling about the villages. A few days afterward these suspicious were confirmed by the arrival of four or five carts that came galloping into the village. It was hard to say whether the drivers or the horses were most frightened. They had been camping out during the whole night on the steppe, r.s is commonly done l)y agricultural laborers, the great distance of the grain- fields from the farmer's house making it often impossible for his men to return home every day ; indeed, during the busy season, they often remain on the steppe from Monday morning till Saturday night, and spend only the Sunday at home. They gave so formidable an account of the huge snake by which they and their horses had been scared, that the schuhe (the first magistrate of the village) thought it his duty to order a levy en masse, and invited the neighboring colonists to join in the snake-hunt. About a hundred young men were got together, who sallied forth, armed with guns and clubs, and spent the whole day in beating every corner where the insidious game was likely to lie concealed. They found nothing, however, and were quizzed and laughed at on their return. But the schuhe kept his party on the alert, and the next day the snake was again seen by some shepherds, who had fled with their flocks in dismay, but not before the huge reptile had killed one of their horses before their faces. The schulze and his posse comitatus took the field again, and this time they succeeded in getting sight of the enemy. Several shots were fired. The snake was wounded, and immediately took to Qight, leaving a track of SOUTHERK RUSSIA— THE STEPPES. 223 blood to mark its course, which was pursued for some time till lost in the recd-grounds of the Dniester, where the creature probably died, for it was never lieard of afterward. The length of the animal was estimated to bo at least twenty feet. In the vicinity of the German colonics, few snakes arc now seen ; but in the more remote parts of the steppe there are still districts in which they abound to sucli a degree, that no herdsman will venture to drive his cattle there. Tiie snake, however, is an enemy of little moment when compared to a small insect that visits the steppe from time to time, and often marks its presence by the most fearful devastation. This insect is the locust. It is sometimes not heard of for several years in succession, and tlicn again it shows itself, more or less, every season for four or five years together. "NVlien tiic German colonists first came into the country, about forty years ago, the locusts had not been heard of for many years. There were two species of them known to exist, but they lived like other insects, multiplied with moderation, and were never spoken of as objects of dread. About 1820 it was first observed that tlie locusts had become decidedly more nu- merous. In 1824 and 1825 they began to be troublesome ; but in 1828 and 1820 they came in sucli enormous clouds, that they obscured the sun, destroyed the harvests, and in many places left not a trace of vegetation be- hind them ! The poor colonists were in despair, and many of them thouglit the day of judgment must be at hand. They apj)lied for advice as to what they ought to do, but tiieir Russian and Tartar neighbors could suggest nothing, the oldest among them having no recollection of such scenes of devastation, though they remembered to liave heard of similar calamities as iiaving occurred in the days of their fathers. Under these circum- stances, the Germans set their wits to work, and devised a system of oper- ation, by means of which many a field was rescued from the devouring swarms. The colonists established for themselves a kind of locust-police. Who- ever first sees a swarm approaching is bound to raise an immediate alarm, and give the earliest possible information to the schuize, wlio immediately orders out the whole village, and every man, woman, and child, comes forth, armed with bells, tin-kettles, guns, pistols, drums, whips, and what- ever other noisy instruments they can lay tlieir hands on. A frightful din is then raised, which often has the efl"ect of scaring away the swarm, and inducing it to favor some quieter neighborhood with its presence. If the locusts have an aversion to noise, they are still greater enemies to smoking, against which King James I. of England himself did not enter- tain a more pious horror. The colonists, accordingly, on the first' appear- ance of a fresh swarm, get together as much straw, vine-branches, and dry dung, as they can, and with these, fires are lighted about the fields ond grounds which it is thought most desirable to protect. This expedient, however, is often a complete failure; for when one of these countless l m I •m i fh :n n .11 224 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. swarms has dropped upon the ground, and proceeds grazing along in the direction of the tire, tlic mere weight of tho gcjieral mass forces the fore- most rniily the njjpearanco of a swarm of locusts on a fine day, is quite as great as that which would be caused by a succession of black, rniny clouds. In calm weather a cloud of locusts will fly about fourteen miles in eight hours. The ground honored by the visit of owe of these swarms always assumes the appearance of a field of l)attlo. In their eagerness to feed, they often bite each other ; and, when falling down, many break their wings, and aro unable to rise again with the rest of the swarm. It is difficult to cstiraato the numbers of one of these winged armies. The people of the country maintain that, when a large cloud of locusts falls, it will cover a piece of ground nearly three miles long and one broad, and in many places the creatures will lie three and four deep, and scarcely an inch will remain BsaaMM SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 220 uncovered ! If there happen to be a tree near the place, it will seem ready to break under the sudden load. Now, allowing for each insect a surface of two inches by one, and making no account of the patches where they lie three or four deep, it would follow that a small swarm, covering only one square mile, must consist of not much less than two thousand millions of locusts ! And every one of them, as the Russians say, has the bite of a horse, the greediness of a wolf, and a power and rapidity of digestion un- equalled by any other animal on the face of the globe ! Though there are some descriptions of food for wliich the locust shows a partiality, the creature is seldom difficult in its choice, but eats up every green plant that comes in its way. The leaves and young branches vanish from tlie trees in a trice ; a rich meadow is presently converted into a tract of black earth ; the bank of a river is stripped with magical rapidity of its reedy fringe ; and not a particle of stubble is left to mark the place where the green grain was waving but an hour before ! The sound of the little animal's bito as it grazes, Joined to the rustling of its wings, whicli it always keeps in motion while feeding, may l)e distiuotly heard at a considorr'>lc distance : to any one near the spot, the nuise is (piite as great as that matlo by a large fiock of sheep eagerly cropping the grass. If the grain is quite ripe, the locust can do it little harm ; but whatever is still greon is certain to be I'.evoured. Sometimes a farmer, on seeing the enemy's approach, will try to save a Hold of nearly ripe grain by cutting it down and carrying the sheaves home inunediately, but the attempt rarely succeeds, for the inva- ding host advances its line of march, undismayed by the mowers, and will cat away tlie lilades faster than the scythe can cut them. Tiiore are few tilings locusts are fonder of than Indian corn, and it is said to l)e a curious sight to behold a field of it vanishing before their ravenous teeth. The maize grows to a great height on the steppe, and makes a very imposing appearance as it approaches maturity. A small number of locusts, however, are able, in a few seconds, to perforate the plant like a honey- comb, and in a few minutes not a trace of it is left. Each plant is quickly covered with insects, while others are industriously working away at tho root. Blade falls rapidly oa blade, and at each fall a little swarm rises, to settle (piickly down again with renewed voracity. If tlic corn was ucarly ripe, the fanner has, perhaps, the consolation of seeing a yellow stublile-lield remaining, to tantalize him with the recollection of the hoped- for abundance. In the costly gardens of the Odessa merchants, the locust is particularly destructive. It does not touch the melons, cucumbers, nor the growing fruit on the trees, but it ruthlessly devours the leaves and the stalks, leav- ing the fruit scattered on the ground, to wither with the bodies of the slain destroyers. The leaves, tendrils, and young branches of a vine, will be completely eaten away, but the grapes will be found scattered like so many berries below. Every tree in tho garden, meanwhile, is bending under tho unwelcome load ; whilo the crackling of the branches, the tearing of tho m 230 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. bark, and the rustling of the wings, raise a din quite as loud as that of a carpenter's workshop, in which a score or two of men are sawing, boring, and planing ; and when at length the swarm takes its departure, it leaves behind it a scene of such perfect desolation as no other animal in the world can equal. Even the dung, of which it leaves an enormous quantity behind, is injurious to the soil on which it falls ; and, for a long time after a field has been visited by a swarm of locusts, the cattle manifest the greatest aversion to the place. i "Here we are in the land of the tshabaums,''^* is a common expression with Russian travellers on entering the steppe, where the first objects that usually present themselves to the stranger are some of the numerous flocks of sheep belonging to tlje wealthy nobles of Russia, some of whom count their woolly treasures by hundreds of thousands ! To tlieir owners, these flocks possess an interest beyond any that the steppe can oflcr ; but, to a stranger, the wild and exciting life of the tahuntshiks is certain to present more attraction. We arc accustomed to speak of the loild horses of the steppe, but the expression must be received with some allowance ; for, in the proper sense of the word, wild horses have long ceased to inhabit any part of the steppe subject to Russia, nor have we any authentic record of the time when this noble animal ranged free and uncontrolled over the plains bordering on the Euxine. At present, every taboon, or herd, has its owner, to whom the tabuntshik has to account for every steed that is lost or stoien ; and it is not till v^^e reacb. the heart of Tartary, or the wastes tha , stretch along the sea of Aral, that we meet, for the first time, the horse really in a state of nature. Altl.ough, in a statistical point of view, the sheep constitutes a more important part of the pastoral population of the steppe — ten flocks of sheep, at least, occurring for one herd of oxen or ho"ses — yet we shall venture, in our remarks on the nomadic life of this part of the empire, to assign the prominent place to the taboons, or breeding-studs, which serve to mount nearly the whole of tlie imperial cavalry, and frou) v.-liich, in a moment of emergency, the government might deilvc, for the ed it to their interest to devote their chief attention to the breeding o*" sheep, cattle, and horses. Even at a very remote period it appears to have l)een the custom of the lords of the steppe to follow a similar course of practice. The horses, more light of foot than cither sheep or oxen, may be easily made to range over a larger • Tthahfitm \* tlip ioiitli Rimninn wciid fm- ii ulieplierJ. TabufUthik \» the ntuno piven to ihn •nnn churf^fil with tha cnro of a herd of hui'tc*. ■ SOUTHERN RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. 281 expanse of ground, and thus obtain support from land too poor to afford pasturage to any other description of cattle. A small number of horses, placed under the care of a herdsman, are sent into the steppe, as the nucleus of a taboon. The foals arc kept, and the herd is allowed to go on increasing until the number of horses is thought to be about as large as the estate can conveniently maintain. It is a very rare thing, however, for a taboon to contain more than a thousand horses ; but there are landowners in the steppe who are supposed to possess eight or ten such taboons in different parts of the country. It is only when the taboon is said to be full, that the owner begins to derive a revenue from it, partly by using the young horses on the estate itself, and partly by selling them at the fairs, or to the travelling horse-dealers in the employ of the government contractors. The tabvntshik, to whose care the taboon is intrusted, must be a man of indefatigable activity, and of an iron constitution, proof alike against the severest cold and the most burning heat, and capable of living in a con- stant exposure to every kind of weather, without the shelter even of a bush. When on duty, he scarcely ever quits the back of his steed. He eats there, and even sleeps tlicrc ; but he must beware of sleeping at tlie hours when other men sleep, for, while grazing at night, the horses arc most apt to wander away from the luMd : and at no time is it more necessary for him to be on his guard against wolves, and against those adventurous dealers in horse-flesh who usually contrive that the money which they receive at a fair shall consist exclusively of profit (a characteristic specimen of which gentry, wlio are mostly gipsies, may bo seen in the engraving overleaf). During a snowstorm, the poor tabuntshik must not think of turning his back to the ^cmpest ; this his horses are but too apt to do, and it is his business to see that they do not take fright, and run scouring before the wind. The dress of a tabuntshik is chiefly composed of leather, fastened together by a leathern girdle, to which the whole veterinary apparatus, and a variety of little fanciful ornaments, are usually appended. His head is protected by a high, cylindrical Tartar cap, of black lambskin, and over the whole he throws his sreeta, a large, brown, woollen cloak, with a hood to cover his head. This hood, in fine weather, hangs behind, and often serves its master at once for pocket and larder. The tabuntshik has a variety of other trappings, of which he never divests himself. Among these, his harabnik holds not the least important place. This is a whip, with a short, thick stem, but with a thong often fifteen or eighteen feet in length. It is to him a sceptre fliat rarely quits his hand, and without which it would be difficult for him to retain his riotous sub- jects in anything like proper order. Next comes his sling, which he uses like the South American lasso, and with which he rarely misses the neck of the horse whose course he is desirous of arresting. The wolf-club is another indispensable part of his equipment. This club, which generally hangs at the saddle, ready for immediate use, is throe or four feet long, u %i ILLUSTKATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. ??'■ 1. 1 jt •'i ! with a thick iron knob at the end. The tabtintshiks acquire such astonish- ing dexterity in the use of this formidable weapon, that, at full gallop, they will hurl it at a wolf, and rarely fail to strike the iron end into the prowl- ing bandit's head. The club skilfully wielded carries almost as certain death with it as the rifle of an American backwoodsinar . A cask of water must also accompany the labvntshik on every ride, for he can never know whether he may not be for days without coming to a well. A bag of bread and a bottle of brandy are likewise his constant companions, besides a mul- titude of other little conveniences and necessaries, whicli are fa^<^ened either to himself or his horse. Thus accoutred, tlic tiibnntshik sallies forth on a mission that keeps his dexterity and his powers of endurance in constant exercise. His thousand untamed steeds have to be kept in order with no otlicr weapon than his harabnik, and this, as may easily be supposed, is no easy task. Tlie hardships to Avhich they are constantly exposed, and the high wages which they consequently receive, make the tabuntshiks the wildest " dare- devils" that can be imagined ; so much so, that it is considered a settled point tliat a man who has had the care of horses for two or three years is unfit for any quiet or settled kind of life. No one, of course, that can gain a tolerable liveliliood in any other way, will embrace a calling that subjects him to so severe a life ; and the consequence is, that it is generally from among the scamps of a village that recruits are raised for this service. They arc seldom witliout money, and, when they do visit the brandy-shop, they arc not deterred from abandoning themselves to a carouse by the finan- cial considerations likely to restrain most men in tlie same rank of life. They ought, it is true, never to quit the taboon for a moment ; but they will often spend whole niglits in the little brandy-houses of the steppe, drinking and gambling, and drowning in their fiery potations all recollec- tions of tlie last day's endurance. \Vhen their senses return with the re- turning day, tliey gallop after their herds, and display no little ingenuity in repairing the mischief that may have accrued from the carelessness of the preceding night. The tabuntshik lives in constant dread of the horse-stealcr, and yet there is hardly a labvntshik on the steppe that will not steal a horse if the occa- sion present itself. The traveller who has left his horses to graze during the niglit, or the villager who has allowed his cattle to wander away from his house, does well to ascertain that there be no taboon in the vicinity, or in the morning he will look for tiiem in vain. The tabuntshik, mean- while, takes care to rid himself, as soon as possible, of his stolen goods, by exchanging them away to the first brother-herdsman that he meets, who again barters them away to another : so that in a few days a horse tb-i was stolen on the banks of the Dnieper, passes from hand to hand till it reach the Boug or the Danube ; and the rightful owner may still be inqui< ring after a steed, which has already quitted the empire of the czar, to enter the service of a moslcm, or to figure in the stud of a Hungarian magnate * 80CTHERK RUSSIA — THE STEPPES. II ■ejBW-R08CRTS.il Miir.i'p|m witli lii» wife, orilcml liim to be tied nnked upon a wild liorsp, nnd commiltpd to liis futp. Tlio nnimnl bud boon lired in the Ukritino, nn j dirci'ti-d bis courto tbitiiiT, wboru D(uno poor poasiinti found Inm bnlf ilcnd, nnd took cure >f liim. Vlifir wurlikc, roving llfo •uilfd bis cli!4|io!iition ; bo miulo biinsclf ronspiruous nnd bolovo \ by bis ib-xtority, bodily strongtii, nnd couiurp ; bis knowledge nnd sngiicity proc-urcd him the po»t of scrretMry und ailjiitnnt to the betmin Sninoilowitx ; nnd, in 1GS7, be was cipeted in hit pinre. Ho gniiipd the confideDro of Peter thu Greiit, who loniled him with honors, nnd ho wnt finully mnde prince of the Ukrnino. But (hough ii princp, he wai still u vnssnl, nnd his restleit •pirit nmdc him renolve to throw off the yoke of subordiiiiition. He joined with Charles XII., who hnd just given n king to Poland, nnd nimod, by liig nssistnnre, to throw olf all n1leginnei> to Russia. For a long time the intri^'ueg of Mnieppn ngniiist Peter were disbelieved by the latter; but nt length he openly joined the Swedish monarch, who, by his lulvice, fou.i^ht the tUlul battle of PoltUVO. He lliun sought rufugo ut Bender, in Turkey, whelu hu died, in 1709. ' fin- ' ';'[; I. i :1^ m it '^f '« 2ns ILLUSTRATKD DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. p;ini(ivfly distant. TIio sfoppo yioldrt ^'rain, indeed, in nhimdnnco, when (idtivivtod ; hut the dilTioulty of tn»n.>e workmen. !•- summer the whole establishment is untenanted, save by dogs and birds of prey, who hover about all the year round, being attracted by tlie nauseous smell of the place ; for during autumn the soil becomes so saturated with blood, that the smell continues for the rest of the year, despite the samjots of winter andthe northwest Ptorms of the spring. To get the o.xeu into the saJgan, neither force nor blows would always suffice, but there are attached to every place of the kind a number of tame oxen, who are taught to entice their bellowing brethren to their fate. These traitors arc brought out and mingled with the herd : they afterward lead the doomed and despairing multitude to the scene of slaughter ; and when once the victims have entered the courtyard, the gate closes upon them, and they never come out again except as beef, tallow, and leather. About one hundred oxen are driven into the yard at a time, and of these twenty or thirty go into the slaughterhouse, in which six or eight butchers are kept briskly at work, who are spoken of as liorrid-looking ruffians in sheepskin jackets, leaflu-rn breeches, and high boots, unsmearcd by aught save the gore in whic': < v * instantly wade. The villanous stench and the awful spectacle in the i::. •! ;erhou.se are said to exceed any tliat the mind of man can imagine. The business is usually carried on in the wet season, so that the whole salgan is soon converted into a swamp of blood and mud ! As great expedition is required, the business of the slaughterhouse is per- formed hurriedly, and the poor animals arc subjected to much unnecessary sun'oring. It would require more hands and more time tlian can be afford- ed in a salgan^ to put an ox to deatli in the artist-like manner customary .xniong our butchers. In the salgan the beasts arc left loose : the big-booted iiiiirdcrers enter the place with tlieir heavy axes, and, striking each animal u tremendous blow on the back, break its spine, and so bring it to the •;ar(h. Then snorting and bellowing tlie poor victims lie upon the ground, twenty or thirty of them at a time, helpless and unresisting, and a consid- erable time elapses before the whole of them can be put out of their pain. The ox has but little fat upon his loins and back ; and, therefore, after the wkin has been drawn off, three or four poods of meat are cut off, to be offered afterward for sale in the bazar. None but the poor, however, buy it; for the blow on the spine always has the effect of injuring the meat. The remainder of the carcass is then cut up, and everything east into the boiler, with the exception of the intestines, which are given to the swine, of whom there are always a large number at every salgan, wallowing in the miry gore, and undergoing the process of being fattened up for the mark< it. At every salgan there are usually from four to six boilers, evch largo enough to contain the meat of ten or fifteen oxen. The fat collects at the top, and is skimmed off with large ladles ; and, before it has quite cooled. w^ ^^ J: I i <1' 244 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTTON OP RUSSIA. Ul' it is poured into the casks in which it is aftcnvai'l shipped. This first fat is the best, and is quite white ; the second has a yellowish tinge. If a suf- ficient number of casks is not at hand, the hides arc sewn tjgethor, and the tallow poured into them, till they again assume a form somctliing like that of the living animal ! Of these tallow-stufied oxen a large number are usu- ally seen standing about the safgans. Anotlier harvest of fat is obtained by afterward subjecting the mash o*" bones and meat to huge presses ; but this after-tallow is of a very inferior '^ality, and is rarely exported. It is Used for greasing wheels, and where or a coarse kind of grease is re(]uired. The tallow is always in demand, and such is the eagerness to obtuin it, that not only is a part of the price often paid beforehand, while the oxen are still grazing on the st(.ppe, but the wealthy merchants of Odessa and their clerks arc constantly parading their gay hal)iliments among the filthy abominations of the salgan, and crying out "incessantly "or tallow, tallow, and more tallow ! The casliicr, meanwhile, is busy in the countinghouse. Tlie steward of the estate comes in to receive the rent of the land on which the herd has fattened during the season ; the workmen come in for their wages ; cattle-dealers conio in to cr ntract for so many hundred oxen ; while some niercliant standing by is ready, in his eagerness for the greasy t; :as- ure, to pay in advance for the tallow that has yet to be grown under the hides of those oxen ; a colonist comes in to bargain for the fattening up of some two liundrcd hogs, which he afterward receives back walking masses of hog's-lard, too yellow and coarse, however, for the market, till the grunt- ers have l)oen a little refined by sundry feeds of grain ; Greeks from Con- stantinople come, as tlioy did in the days when Olbia flourished ; a wealthy nobleman perhajjs is anxious to rent the whole salgun for a few weeks, hav- ing some thousands of oxen ready for the k'^ttlo, but no establishment of his own to l)o:l them into fat and silver roubles ; a swineherd comes in to buy sundry wagon-loads of the pressed meat wherewith to treat his interesting charges on the stejipe ; soa])-boilers are there to bargain for the fat, turncr8 to buy the horns, and taniicrs to carry away the hides ; the Turkish cap- tains come eagerly to obtain the tallow in its greatest purity at the fountain- head, for tallow is too much esteemed liy the gourmands of Constantinople to be idly wasted in eiilightoiiing tlieir darkness: in short, however busily Death may be at work, there is, meanwhile, no want of cither life or bustle in the snlgan. Nor is it men alone that are eagerly running to and fro. Hie shaggy, long-haired dogs of the stepi)e arrive in swarms to l)atten on the refuse, or to lap tlie thickening gore in the loathsome well into which it has been drained. Kven more numerous are the wliito sea-gulls, who, under their dovelike plumage, hide the hearts of vultures. They become so tame and bold in the sa///c«, that they walk fearlessly among the workmen, and will scarcely rise f' om their meal when driven with a ?tick. Such is the hideous scene presf.nted by one of these dens of murder, where, in addi- tion to its other accouipaniments, the air is heavy with myriads of insects, that seem to have bcjn bred by the soil, soaked as it is with blood ! EASTERN RUSSIA — ASTRAKHAN. 24& CHAPTER IX. EASTERN RUSSIA. HE governinonts wo have for con- venience grouped in this chapter, under the general designation of City or astrakhjin. Eastkijn Ri'ssiA, arc thosc Cover- ing principally the territory of the ancient Tartar kingdoms of Astrakhan and Kazan. They arc gent .-ally known, and are classed in the table on page 42, under those more distinctive names. Hy a ukase of December 18, IBrjO, a new government was formed in Eastern Russia on the left bank of the Volga, and named Samara, consisting of three districts of the govern- ment of Orenburg, two districts of Saratov, and the districts of Samara and Stavropol in Simbirsk. As we have not the means of giving its bound- aries, or of ascertaining thei)''oportions of its area and population contril>- uted by each of the above governments, its lines are of course not marked on the .nap, and its description is included in that of those governments. The government of Astrakhan lies on the nortliwest coast of the Cas- pian sea, between the forty-fourth and fiftieth degrees of north latitude and the forty-third and fifty-first degrees of east longitude, having the Malaia Ouzen for its northeastern and the Manytch for its soutliwestern boundary. It is divided into two nearly equal parts by the Volgn, which traverses it from northwest to southeast. Its coastline, inuuding minute sinuosities, is about five hundred and twenty miles in length, and is crowded through- ! I ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. out its whole extent with small islands, rocks, and shifting sandbanks. The entire length of the province is three hundred and seventy miles, and its greatest breadth two hundred and fifty miles, containing an area of about forty-three thousand square miles. This government consists almost wholly of two vast steppes or plains, separated from each other by the Volga, the greater portions of which are an arid, sterile desert — forming, in fact, a portion of the stepper described in the last chapter. The -largest tracts of this description are the deserts of Naryn and Sedok : the former, in a ' h occur hills of moving sand, is situated on the northeast side of tlie go ; the other on the southwest. The wliole of Astrakhan was at one pi^iiod submerged by the Caspian, as is evident from tlie saline nature of tiie soil, and the shells it contains ; and as botli are upward of eighty feet below the level of the sea of Azov, should any convulsion of nature cause a depression of the intervening land, Astrakhan would again be overwhelmed by the ocean ! The soil consists generally jf mud, salt, and sand, intermixed, and in some parts of extensive salt marshes, rendering it almost wholly one wide and sterile waste, destitute of wood ; the few trees it lias to boast of being met with on the banks of its rivers onl". liiese are oaks, poplars, birches, and some mulberry-trees, the latter of which are found in greatest numbers along the Aktuba. Notwithstanding the general sterility of the country, a few fertile tracts are met with on the skirts and delta of the Volga, in- cluding some excellent pastures. Here grain is grown, but not in sufficient quantity to maintain the population, with some fruits, herbs, vines, tobacco, and cotton. Salt lakes and ponds are numerous throughout tlie province ; the largest of the former, Baskutchatsk, is situated to the cast of the Volga, and is about twelve miles in length and five in breadth. Wlien evaj)orated in summer, these lakes and jiools leave thick crusts of culinary, and, in some cases, Epsom salt. In this district, low hills of gypsum and rock-salt also occur ; the former vary in size and elevation, the highest rising about sixty feet above the level of the steppe : they are mostly of semicircular form, and many of them arc crater-shaped at the top. The salt-liills rise to about the same height, and contain gem-salt, above which is sandstone, and over that the conmion yellow sand of the steppe. The salt is colorless, firm, and contains clear and perfectly transparent cubes. The principal rivers of Astrakhan are th Volga (a description of whicli, with a map of its several mouths, is given on a previous page), the Aktuba, which runs parallel to it at the di^itance of two or three miles, and the Sarpa. The Kou** ., which once formed a part of the southern boundary of the province, and represented on the maps as falling into the Caspian, -> 'cs not now reach that sea, being absorbed by the sands some sixty miles inland. The climate is extremely hot in summer, and equally cold in win- ter ; and is unhealthy to all but natives, from the quantity of salino par- ticles with which the atmosphere is impregnated. EASTERN RUSSIA — ASTRAKHAN. 247 Pasturage and fishing constitute the chief occupation of the inhabitants : the former of the rural and nomadic tribes ; the latter of the population on the coast and banks of the Volga. The live stock consists principally of sliecp of the Calinuck or broad-tailed breed. Cattle and goats are also reared, the latter chiefly for their skins, from which Morocco leather is made. The breeding of horses likewise obtains some attention, but they are diminutive and ill-conditioned. Some of the nomadic tribes have also largo herds of Bactrian camels. The fisheries of the Volga are of great value, no stream in the world being more abundantly stocked with fish, particularly between the city of Astrakhan and the Caspian, a distance of about twenty-five or thirty miles. On this ground, an immense number of vessels and boats, and many thou- sand persons, are employed in spring, autumn, and winter, in taking fish, cliiclly sturgeon, from the rocs and bladders of which large quantities of isinglass and caviar arc manufactured. Tl»e population of Astrakhan is composed of a gi'cat variety of races, including liusf'ans, Cossacks, Tartars, Cahnucks, Armenians, Persians, Hindu J, &c. The most numerous are the Calmucks, who occupy largo tracts of country to the east of the Volga, Of all the inhabitants of the Russian empire, tlie Calmucks are the most distinguished by peculi- arity of features and manners. They are, in general, raw-boned and stout. Their faces are so flat, that the skull of a Calinuck may l)e easily known from otiiers. They have thick lips, a small nose, and a short chin, with a complexion of a sallow brown. Their clothing is oriental, and their heads are almost exactly like those of the Ciiinese. iSome of tlie women wear a large golden ring in tlieir nostrils. Their principal food consists of animals, tame and wild , and even their chiefs will feed upon cattle that have died of distemper or age, though the flesh may be putrid : so that in every horde the flesh-niarkct has the appearance of a lay-stall of carrion ! They oat likewise the roots and plants of their deserts. They eat freely, but can abstain from food for a long time. Both sexes smoke continually. During the summer they remain in the northern and in the winter in the Boutheru deserts. They sleep upon felt, or carpeting, and cover themselves with the same. Tlie Calmucks are a branch of the Mogul or Mongol nation, which origi- nally inhabited the country to the north of China. In the latter part of Uio seventeenth century, the Torgot and Derbet divisions of this ti'ibe '•!?!] Calmucks. Jiifi 248 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. descended to the banks of the Volga, extending their wanderings over tho country of the Don Cossacks to the shores of the sea of Azov. About this time Ayiika Khan ruled over the whole nation. Shortly after his death, and while weakened by internal dissensions, the Cahnucks fell an easy |»rcy to the designs of the Russian govcnunent, and remained subject to the imperial sceptre, until, in the winter of 1770-'71, offended by the dc- ppotic measures of the empress Catherine II., half a million of tlic tribe wandered rather farflier than usual, and ended by pitching their tents in the dominions of " his celestial majesty" the emperor of China — a warning to despotic governments not to trouble their nomadic subjecis with tho arrangements of the " home department." It was, indeed, as remarkable an emigration as the revenge that j)ronipted it was signal ; and Ave arc irresistil>ly reminded by it of the only parallel instance whicli history records, of those wanderings in tho desert of Sinai, undertaken under somewhat similar circumstances ; and if tlie sojourning in the wilderness was of nnich longer duration in tho one case, the dL^tanco travelled in the other Avas immeasurably greater. Unfortunately, a largo portion of the Calmucks were left behind, having been prevented by an unusually late winter from crossing the A^olga. Tliose who reached China, after a journey of eight montlis, were most cordially welcomed by the em- peror, who allotted for their occupation the lly country in the province of Soongaria, and granted them many privileges, in consideration of their voluntary submission to his rule. To judge from the condition of the Calnnicks who remained behind, their l)rethren in China probably made an exchange for the belter ; and doubt- less those who were left suffered for the indejjcndent conduct of this por- tion of the triljo. They are in a great nieasui-e confined to the province of Astrakhan, and those who are immediately subject to the crown pay a tax amounting to sevent3'-five rouljles a family. There is a committee for the administration of Calniuck affairs at Astrakhan, the president and some of the members of which are Russians. Besides tliose who are under the dominion of the ?rown, there are sev- eral divisions of the tribe, each governed by separate princes. One of tho most celebrated of these has built a palace on the banks of tho Volga, not far from Astrakhan.. This appears to be the nearest approach to a settled habitation that any of these restless beings have attained to ; and so great is their dread of a more composed life and industrious habits, that, when they are angry witli a person, they wish "" ho may live in one place, and work like a Russian I" Their principal animal food is horseflesh, together with koumiss, or churned mare's milk, from which a kind of S|)irit is dis- tilled. Camels arc the indispensable attendants of their wanderings. They pay the greatest respect and veneration to their llamas, or priests, who, like their Russian neighbors, take every advantage of the supposed character for sanctity with which they arc invested, to impose upon a bar- barous and superstitious poopic; uud there ai'o now engrafted on their EASTERN RUSSIA — ASTRAKHAN 249 original Buddhistic faith a number of mystic rites and ceremonies, which arc by no means orthodox additions. Their priestliood is in a measure subordinate to tlic Grand Llama of Thibet. The Calmucks and NogaVs arc the only nomado tribes which inliabit the country to the west of the Volga. They share, to some extent, the steppes to the eastward of that river with the Kirgliiz, who profess Moliammedan- ism, and, though a smaller tribe, occupy the territory allotted to them upon more independent conditions than do the Calmucks. The city of Astrakhan, the capital of the government of that namo, is situated on an elevated island in the Volga, about thirty miles from its embouchure in the Caspian sea. It is irregularly built, having crooked streets, which are mostly unpavcd and dirty, being covered with mud in winter and with sand in sunniier. Some of the houses are of brick or sandstone, but by far the greater number are of wood. There arc in all about one hundred and fifty streets, fifty stjuarcs or public areas, eight market-places, eleven wooden and nine earthen bridges. In the upper i)art of the town stands the catlicdrul, from the towers of which, says Dr. Gajliel, "a fine view of the city is obtained, with its l)road streets and canals bordered by trees, the haven covered with ships, and of the broad, majestic Volga, with its beautiful green islands." The cathe- dral is in the form of a parallelogram, with four snmll gilt and painted cupolas on the roof, and a large one in the centre for the admission of liglit. Its walls inside are hung with coarsely-painted pictures, set in costly frames, mostly of silver filagraue-work. There arc, besides, some thirty stone and three wooden churches, and fifteen mosques ; many of the former are richly ornamented and gaudily furnished. The other public buildings of note are the archiepiscopal palace, the government-oflRces, and the three factory-halls for the Russian, xVsiatic, and Hindu dealers, or merchants. An interesting architectural antiquity is a small disused Moresco church, in the fort of Peter the Great, said to have been built by order of Ivan IV. Astrakhan is the seat of a Greek and Armenian eparchy, and also of Greek and Armenian archbishoprics. It contains a high court of civil and criuuiial jurisdiction; likewise a CJreek theological seminary, a botanic garden, a gymnasium, and upward of twenty superior and ordinary schools, with about one thousand scholars of all ranks. The manufactures are in- considerable, not giving employment to more than two or three hundred woik-peoplo ; they comprise silks, cottons, woollens, shagreen-skins, Mo- rocco-leather, and soap. The fisheries form the staple trade of the city, immense quantities of fish, caviar, and isinglass, being exported to foreign countries. In the fishing-seasons, from twenty to thirty thousand persons connected with the fisheries resort to the city. The haven of Astrakhan is now so sanded up as to leave only about six feet depth, of water ; so that large vessels have to land their cargoes on an island nearer the Caspian. A few steam tug-boats are employed in taking vessels up and down the river. In 18-A6, three iron steamers were started, 250 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. fift HI]! AnTRAIUlikN r»nit Ylll SlA. to ply between Astrakhan and the other ports of the Caspian. Previous t3 that period, there was but one steamer on the Volga, and it was of only forty-horse power. Fresh water being soarco in the city, some attempts w jre lately made to obtain an increased supply l»y means of Artesian wells, but none was found ai a depth of four hundroil foot. From some of the borings, however, there issued streams of carbon ic liydrogen gas, which readily l)urnt with a clear flame. TIic jmpulation, as in the case of the province generally, consists of various races ; but most of the trade of the place is in liie hands of the Tartars and Armenians, the latter of whom are also the chief cultivators of the land in the vicinity. The city was once fortified in the oriental manner; and many vestiges of Tartar residence are met with in the neigh- borhood, including numerous graves, the stones of which have been taken by the inhabitants to form ovens. Several of the old embattled towers, and portions of dilapidated walls, still remain. In summer, when the ther- mometer seldom fiills below ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, the air is filled with gnats and other small insects, which are a source of much annoyance. The resident population of Astrakhan is about fifty thousand. Saratov is an extensive government lying between the forty-eighth and fifty-third degrees of north latitude, and the forty-second and fifty-tirst de- grees of east longitude ; having the governments of Penza and Simbirsk on the north, that of Orenburg on the east, of Astrakhan on the south and southeast, and Tambov, Voronej, and the country of the Don Cossacks, on tlie west. Its length and greatest breadth arc about throe hundred and EASTEnW RUSSIA — SARATOV. 251 fifty milos each, and it comprises an area of about sevonty-throo thousand Hqiiare iniloH. Tlio V()l<;a intcrHccts this province from north to south, dividing it into two portions of nearly equal size, but differing considerably in general character. Tiio eastern division is a Avide steppe, destitute of wood, and cov- ered in many parts with salt-lakes, from one of which about two hundred thousand tons of salt are said to be annually obtained. The western divis- ion is in part hilly, and, though stony toward tlio south, has some tolerably fertile tracts in tiio north, where agriculture is the chief occupation of tho inhabitants. Rye, wheat, oats, millet, and peas, arc raised, and in ordi- nary years the |)roducc, after supplying the demand for home consumption, loaves a consideralde quantity for exportation. Potatoes, Jlax, and hemp, are also produced ; and tho cultivation of tobacco, hops, and wood, has been introduced by Gcrnntn and other colonists. The climate, in somo situations, is siifRcieutly mild for tho culture of the melon, graj)e, and mul- iierry. The principal forest-trees are oaks, poplars, Siberian acacias, and firs. Tiie woods are mostly in tho northwest, and those belonging to tho crown are estinuitod at about eighteen hundred square miles ; but tho sup- ply of timber is not adequate to the home demand. The rearing of live stock is conducted on a large scale in Saratov; and the more wealthy proprietors are endeavoring to improve ihe breed of shee}> l>y the introduction of merino flocks. In addition to tho common breeds, Olipiiant mentions having seen, near tho city of Volsk,in this prov- ince, '* an iminense herd of sheep, which seemed, from their conformation in cer- tain (juarters, to have been created ex- )>rcssly for the purpose of being melted into tallow, as their wool — of a very in- ferior description — was of little value. What added to tiie grotescpieness of their appearance, was their perfect in- nocence of anything like tails ! Nature seemed to have compromised this ab- sence with a fieeey ' bustle,' which sat upon them in the most ridiculous and undignified manner. However, to these bustles does Volsk owe its pros- perity : largo herds of sheep, graced In this peculiarity, being driven up annually from the steppes of the Caspian to the towns on the Volga. The consignee of the flock wo were then contemjdating was said to bo tho rich- est merchant on the river — the countless millions of roubles which ho was reputed to jmssess throwing Rothschild far into the shade !" The roaring of boos and of silkworms is on the increase in this govern- ment. Tho fisheries in the Volga furnish large supplies of fish, especially sturgeon, for both homo consumption and exportation. Next to salt, mill- stones and a little iron arc tho chief mineral products. SHKitr raoM thi Stiipis or tiii CuriAif. H < -i ii>i 252 ILLUSTRATED DICSCRII'TION OF nUSSIA. i I '( ■ 1 The population of Saratov is very mixed, irieluding Tartars niul Kirghiz, and on 'the Volga arc numerous colonics, foundtnl principally l>y Ocrman and other innnigrnnts from western Kurope — originally attracted thither by grants of land and privileges conferred l»y the empress Catherine II., in 1703. The colonists are free, and in most respects sultjeet only to their own jurisdiction. They conduct the most important manufactures of the government, which consist of linen, cotton, and woollen fahrics, hosiery, iron-ware, leather, and earthenware. There are numerous Hour-mills and distilleries. This government is favoralily situated for commereo : it communicates, by the Volga, with Nijnei-Ncvgorod and the Caspian sea; and, l»y the Medvayditsa and Don, with the sea of Azov. The Tartars liave a largo trade in sheepskins, and the Calmucks in horses of a very licet though weak breed. About live thousand ni'-rchants, trading in grain, salt, lisli, caviar, cattle, tallow, tobacco, and fruits, had a ft;w years since an aggregate cap- ital of about twelve millions of roubles. The imperial governmcMit derives a greater revenue from this province, in j)rc»portion to its j)opulalion, than from any otiier in the empire. It is divided into ten districts. Tlie pop- ulation arc mostly of the CJreifk, protestant, and Mohanunedan religions. Education, except in the schools of tiic colonists, and of the capital town, is at a very low ebb. A recent traveller states that drind\enness is very common among all ranks of the inhaliitanis, and tiiat the lower classes in the towns on the Volga arc more generally degraded and immoral than the people of any other (puirter of the globe which he has visited. Siiratov, the capital of this govenunent, and called iiy the Hiissians the " Queen of the Volga," is situated on tlie right baidc of that river, thrco hundred and thirty-five miles south-southeast of N'ijnei-Novgorod, and three hundred and sixty north-northwest of Astrakhan. The population (inclu- ding military), according to the oflieial accounts, exceeds forty thousand. It consists of an uj)per and lower town ; but, though founded so lato as 16t3o, it is neither regularly laid out nor well built. It has sonjc good and even handsome stone residences ; but most of its houses are of wood, and it has frequently been in great part destroyed by fire. There are about a dozen Greco-Russian churches, some convents, a protestant and a Roman catholic church, a mosque, and a fi^ostinoi dvor, or bazar, a large stone building for the warehousing, exhibition, and sale of merchandise. Since 1833, a new and handsome archbishop's palace has been constructed ; and there are several hospitals, a gymnasium, and an ecclesiastical seminary, established in 1828, and having about live hundred students. The inhal)- itants manufacture cotton fabrics, cotton and silk stockings, clocks and watches, leather, wax-candles, tallow, vinegar, beer, &c. Owing to its intermediate situation between Astrakhan on one hand, and Moscow and Nijnei-Novgorod on others, Saratov has an extensive trade, its exports being principally grain, salt fish, hides, cattle, and native man- ufactui'cd goods ; and its imports, tea, coffee, sugar, iron, glass and earth- EASTEHN RUSSIA — OUKN'MUIUJ. 258 oiiwarc, woollen, silk, nnJ cotton HtullH, peltry, Ac. It has tlirco Inrj^o niiniial fairs. Tito otiicr important towns of the province are Tznritzin, Volsk, Ale.xandrov, Kuniycliin, I'etrov.Mk, Atkarsk, &.c. Tilt) goveriiinent of Ouknhdiuj lies mostly in Europe, but partly in A.«ia. It is situated cliielly between the forty-seventh and fifty-seventh decrees of nortli latitude, and the forty-eighth and sixtieth dogreea of cast longitude. It is bounded on the north by the government of Perm ; on the northwest by Viatka ; on the west by Kazan, Simliirsk, and Saratov ; on the south- Wi'Mt by Astrakhan ; on tin; south by the Caspian sea; on the southeast and east by the steppes (if the Kirghiz; and on tlie northeast by Tol>ol»k. It8 irreatest Icnj^th from norliiwfst to southeast is eight hundreil miles, and its breadth al)out four himdred and fifty, containing an area of about one hun- dred and twenty-eight thousand stpiare miles. The surface of this province is greatly diversified, consisting partly o' lofty mountain-ranges, partly of elevated plateaux or tal»le-lands, and partly of low and marshy plains. The principal mountain-chain is that of the Ural, which, entering the government in the north, traverses it in a south- ern l)ut somewhat circuitous direction, and divides it into two uiuMpial por- tions. The eastern portion, by far the smaller of the two, belongs wholly to the l)asin of the Arctic ocean, its principal rivers are the Tol)ol, Alniga, Oufa, and Mijas. It contains numerous lakes — all, however, of small dimonsiona; and is extensively occupied by swamps and morasses. The western pr, Sakmara, llek, A'c. A considerably part of the government is densely wooded, but a still larger part is occupied l)y immenst! steppes, on which trees are rare ; and natural pastures arc roamed over by vast herds of cattle and sheep. The best agricultural districts are on the northwest, where the surface is com- |)osed of hill and valley ; and the soil consists generally of a black, fertile loam, capalile of raising all kinds of grain, and actually raising it in such abundance, notwithstamling the very imperfect culture it receives, <';:if. x consideral)le export into the neighboring governments takes jdacc. The minerals are extremely valuable, and furnish a large source of rev- enue to the state. They include the precious metals, particul rly gold, which abounds along the chain of the Urals ; and in tin; plaihs on either side of it, but especially on the east, copper, iron, and salt. The working of these, and the different operations connected with them, employ a great number of hands ; but manufactures, properly so calle'4 ^'3 f » - 254 ILLUSTRATED DESCMPTION OP RUSSIA. «r The principal articles arc grain, horses, cattle, sheep, hides, furs, honey, wax, metals, salt, tallow, and fish. Orenburg, the principal town of this government, is situated on a slope above the right bank of the Ural. It is fortified, and has spacious and regular though miserably-paved streets. The houses, though only a few are of stone, and the far greater number are of wood, are of a lively, pleas- ing appearance. It has a protcstant, a Roman catholic, and eight Greelj churchorj, ^U built of stone ; two mosques, governor's house, and public offices ; an exchange, a merchant-house, and a customhouse ; a Bashkir can- avansary, a handsome building, witli two turrets, wiiere the business con- nected with the Bashkirs is managed, but no trade is carried on ; an agri- cultural scliool, and the district and military schools, &c. The manufactures of Orenburg consist chiefly of woollen cloth (part of it army-clotliing), leather, and soap; and there are very extensive establish- ments for smelting tallow. The trade with the Kirghiz, and other inhab- itants of the interior, is very extensive. It is not, however, carried on within the town, but about two miles from it, to the east of the left bank of the Ural, where tiie caravans from Bokhara and Khiva stop ; and a car- avansary, usually called the tauschhof {exchange court), or menovbi-dvor, has been erected, the whole being protected by a camp of Cossacks. In the vicinity of the tauschhof are the immense smelting-houses referred to above, in which, in the course of a summer, the tallow of more than fifty thousand sheep is melted down. The population of Orenburg is about fourteen thousand. ij Pkrm (with the governments yet to be described in this chapter, com- prising the Kazan province s) lies between the fifty-sixlh and sixty-second degrees of north latitude, and the fifty-third and sixty-third degrees of cast longitude ; and is bowndcd on the northwest and north by Vologda and Toliolsk, on tho east by Tobolsk, on the south by Orenburg, and on the west by Viatka. Its greatest length from northwest to southeast is five hundred and wenty miles, and its breadth about four hundred, con- taining un area of o'le hundred and twenty-seven thousand square miles. This government, being traversed from north to south by the Ural chain, is divided into two unequal portions, a western and an eastern — the for- mer, of course, in Europe, and the latter in Asia. The Asiatic portion, tho lesser of the two, belongs to the basin of the Arctic ocean, which receives its waters through tributaries of the Obi. Of these, the most important are the Sosna, Lobva, Tura, Xeiva, Irbit, Pishma, and Iset. In the south it contains several lakes, of wliich the largest is tho Majan. The European portion belongs to the basin of the Caspian, with the ex- ception of a small portion in the northwest, drained by the Petchora, and of course belonging, like the eastern portion, to tho basin of the Arctic ocean. By far tho most important river in tho European portion is the Kama, which, entering tho govcniraent on the northwest, proceeds through EASTERN RUSSIA — PERM. 256 it in a very circuitous direction, receiving numerous tributaries on cither bank : of these, the largest are the Vishera, Kosa, Kosva, Obva, and Tcliy- sovaia, with its affluent the Silva. From the principal Ural chain, the surface descends in a succession of parallel terraces. On the loftiest summits snow and ice continue for nine months in the year, and hence the climate, naturally rigorous, from its high latitude and inland position, lias its rigor greatly increased. Beyond the sixtieth degree, regular culture becomes impossible, and the far greater part of the surface is occupied with forests and marshes. Extensive for- ests also stretch far into the south, and the soil being generally not very fertile, large tracts remain uncleared. Tl\e gyvcnimcnt is rich in minerals, and possesses extensive auriferous tracts, on wliich vast numbers of the inhabitants are employed in collecting gold, and there are also apparently inexhaustible beds of both iron and salt. The immense qAiantities of fuel required in order to work these ex- tensively and to advantage, give a great adventitious value to the timber of tlie forest, mid make the surface covered by it of far greater value than it could be in any other form. Game, both large r..id small, is common in the forests, and many of the inhabitants gain a livelihood by hunting ; fish, including both sturgeon and salmon, abound in the rivers. With the exception of several branches of industry immediately connected with tlie mines, there are few manufactures. Tiie chief are soap, leather, tallow-candles, potash, and glass. The trade derives great facilities from the Kama and other navigable streams, and has acquired some importance. The jiriMcipal articles are metals, marble, wood, salt, fur, tallow, and tar. Nearly thrif fourths of the inhabitants are Russians, and belong to the Cireek church ; the rest consist of Tartars, Tcheremisses, Bashkirs, &c. ; and though many of them have nominally embraced Christianity, not a few are Mohammedans, and among others diflerent forms of paganism arc said to prevail. The governments of Perm ami Kazan are under one military governor. Some exertions have been made to extend education, but the number of scholars to the population is only one in near'y three hundred. For administrative purposes, Perm is divided into trt'clve circles. The city of Perm, and the capital of this government, is situated on the right Itank of the Kama, below the confluence of the Tchysovaia,nine hundred and fifty miles east by south of St. Petersburg. It is built with consider- able regularity, in straight and sj)acious streets, and is the seat of an arch- bishopric. It has two churches ; several other public edifices, surmounted by spires ; a gynuiasium, theological seminary, a civil and a military hos- pital ; extensive copper and iron smelting and refining works, which give employment to the greater part of the population ; and a considerable trade with the inland districts. The inhabitants number about ten thousand. Ekaterinburg, lekaterinenburg, or Yekaterinburg- (Catherine's borough), capital of the Ural mining district, is situated on the Asiatic slope of the Ural mountains, in the government of Perm, and one hundred and seventy III :;f ii 2o6 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. miles southeast of its capital city, on both banks of the Iceth or Iset, at an elevation of nearly nine hundred feet above the sea level. The general external appearance of Ekaterinburg very much resembles that of one of the manufacturing towns of Europe. The streets are long and straight, but unpavcd, liaving, however, planks or logs laid on each side for foot- passengers. The principal street runs parallol with the river, and is inter- sected by numerous smaller streets, leading directly to the bank of the Iset. A number of the houses are of wood, but there are also a great many of stone, built in a handsome and substantial style, and possessing as much internal comfort as exterior elegance. On the southeast bank of the river the buildings arc spread over an extensive plain, which is connected with the city by a handsome bridge ; these buildings include the government magazines, mills, factories, etc., and enclose an extensive square or mar- ket-i)laoe. The principal part of the town, however, is on the ojjposite side. Here the streets are spacious and elegant, and the stone edifices, the habitations of mercliants and mine-proprietors, exceedingly handsome. In this quar- ter there are a public granary, a public sale-room, a convent, and several churches. The cutting, polishing, and engraving of precious stones, forms a princi- pal branch of industry in Ekaterinburg, and the art is here brought to the greatest perfection. Men, women, and children, are met with at every stej), offering bargains of these tempting valuables, consisting chiefly of topazes, amethysts, crystals, jasper, &c. "The greatest neatness," says Mr. Erinan, " is observable in the dwellings of tliose who work in these gems, who, even when in possession of considerable wealth, retain their native siinj)licity of dress and manners." The in-door dress of the women is the ancient sarafan, and a covering for the head, called a kako.shnik, having a i)road, staring border, and sometimes covered with jewels. This head-dress is worn by married women alone; long, plaited tresses forming tiie distinction of the unmarried, who do not cover the head. The young men deliglit in flowing locks. Ekaterinburg was founded by Peter the Great, in 1723, and named in honor of his empress, Catherine I. It is regularly iortified, and, being sit- uated on the great road leading from Perm to Tobolsk, is regarded as the key of Siljcria. Parties of exiles fre'ounding nobility. The new government of Samara, as before remarked, has been formed out of tliree districts of the government of Orenburg, two districts of Sara- atov, and of the districts of Samara and Stavropol in Simbirsk. It com- prises an area of nearly forty thousand square miles, and its population may be estimated at about one million, six hundred thousand, Tlie capital of tlie government is the city of Samara, situated at the con- fluence of the Samara with the Volga, five hundred and fifty miles east- southeast of Moscow. It contains two wooden and three stone churches ; has manufactures of leather and soap ; and carries on an extensive trade. The town is built on a sloping bank, is growing with great rapidity, and already r mbers a population of fifteen or twenty thousand. It is said to be the busiest port on the Volga. Backed by an immense grain-growing country, it supplies a great part of fae interior of Russia with wheat. No less than nine millions of poods are shipped here annually, and carried down either to Astrakhan, and so across the Caspian, or, on the backs of -m m 260 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA, camels, from Orenburg to the adjacent countries ; or cunvoycd by water to St. Petersburg. Much of the sudden growth and prosperity of the city is doubtless owing to the introduction of ; team-navigation on tlie Volga. At the great annual fair held here, the numerous races assembled at it are suid to be even more diversified than at Nijnei-Novgorod. Situated only about two hundred and fifty miles fr >i!i the Asiatic frontier, a largo trade is carried on with the inhabitants of those distauS steppes, who flock hither in great numbers, the representatives of each triVo wearing a difl'er- ent costume. The rapid increase of the popul ition of this town is but in accordance with the prospering condition of the new go^ eminent f wl'Icli it forms the capital. There is not a more highly-favored region tlir.ugh- out the whole Russian empire than Samara; and those iuhul.itants i)i "ho neighboring districts, wii), belonging to the crown, iiavo Iv'.u allowi.nl to migrate to this land of plc;ity, have done so to such an extent, that ilic population has doubled it-elf within the last fowyenvs. Whcic tlie Yolj^.i, more capricious Hum ;isual, n aches tlie nio?t ca,'teily point of its Avholo course, the city of Sanuiru has sprung :i;.. ; ;ind, fornung a sort of port lor the town of Orenburg, which is situatet! y>n the Tortar fr-mtior, it helps to connect the distant regions !)eyond with the Cis-Yolgan countries, and ti,i!s, as it were, completes the last link of V- ropeaji civilization in this direction. ¥ is} The .government of Penza lies principally between the fifty-third and Ifty-fifd) degiv-.-is of nortli latitude, and the forty-second and forty-seventh degrees of east longitude ; liavini , the government of Nijnci-Novgorod on the north, Tambo. on the west, Saratov on the south, and Simbirsk on the east. Its greatest length from east to west is one hundred and seventy miles, and its greatcc^^t In'cadth one hundred and forty-five, comprising an area of about fourteen li Musand square miles. As a whole, tliis provinti; is an extensive flat, somewhat monotonous, but occasionally intersected by small hills, which in tlic southwest form the water-shed between the basins of the Volga and the Don. To the latter basin only a very small portion of the government, drained by the Khoper and its tributary the Vorona, belongs ; the affluents of tho Volga are the Soura, Insara Isa, Moksha, Vad, and Vicha. The climate is mild and salubrious, though the winter cold is occasionally severe. The soil is fertile, and well adapted for raising all kinds of grain and roots. Hemp and flax are extensively cultivated, and tobacco and hops occasionally grown. The principal fruits are apples, pears, and cherries. Tlie forests are extensive, and consist chiefly of beech, oak, birch, and alder. Considerable attention is paid to the rearing of cattle, particularly horses, of which several good breeding-studs are kept. The rearing of bees is so general as to form one of the most important branches of rural economy. All kinds of game abound, but fish aro very scarce. The prin- cipal mineral is iron, of which valuable mines are worked in the vicinity iL EASTERN RUSSIA — PENZA— KAZAN. 261 of Troitsk. Millstones arc also quarried extensively. Tlie manufactures are chiefly confined to the cottages of the peasantry, where great quanti- ties of flax and wool are spun, and coarse stuffs woven ; but there are sev- eral blast-furnaces and other iron-works, soap-works, glass-works, sugar refineries, tanneries, and, above all, distilleries, which arc both numeroui and on a large scale. The chief exports arc grain, flour, brandy, leather K'ap, ^vax, honey, potash, wool, and timber. Education, nominally unde tlio su!K"i!Mtendence of the university of Kazan, is miserably neglected and tli<' V .'*' printing-press in the government belongs to the crown. i'cii;';.. iio capital of this government, is situated on a height near th junction of the Penza and Soura, two hundred and ten miles south-south- east of Nijnoi-Novgorod. It is meanly built of wood, with the exception of the cathedral, which is of stone. Besides the cathedral, there are eleven pari* u-c!ii) ches. The principal manufactures are leather and soap, and in thc-o a considerable trade is carried on. Penza is the residence of the :ov(;fi!or ; the see of a bishop conjoined with Saratov ; and possesses sev- eral courts of justice, a theological seminary, and a gymnasium. The pop- ulation is about twelve thousand. The government of Kazan coniifriscs that portion of the territory of the former kingdom which lies between the fifty-fourtli and fifty-seventh degrees of north latitude, and tl»c forty-sixth and fifty-second degrees of east lon- gitude ; and is boundiid on tlic north by the government of Viatka, cast by Orenburg, soulli liy Simbirsk, and west by Nijnci-Novgorod. Its average length is two hundred and fifteen miles, and its lireadth one hundred and twenty-five, containing an area of about twenty-three thousand five hun- dred s(juare miles. On entering the government from the west, the ground descends at first gradually, but afterward more rapidly, almost to the level of the Volga, and spreads into a plain clothed with the richest green, intersecting an ele- vated plateau on the right bank of the Volga, and terminating three or four miles toward the east in a range of hills. From this point, the ground on the left bank of the Volga rises rapidly, and strikingly contrasts with the low plains on the opposite side. The summit of this table-land is cov- ered with well-grown oaks, which form the commencement of an exten- sive forest. Many of the hills consist of a brilliant-white, slaty limestone, the sti'ata of wliich have a considerable dip, and arc occasionally pierced by natural j)assages, one of which, about two hundred and thirty feet in length, terminates in an alabaster cavern sixty feet wide. Though the surface is thus occasionally diversified by hills, and a low branch of the Ural mountains comes in upon the southeast, the general appearance is that of an extensive plain, watered by large navigable rivers. The Volga, proceeding from the west, winds along in t tortuous course for nearly a hundred and fifty miles ; the Kama, from the cast, after flow- ing nearly one hundred miles, joins the Volga, whoso united streams, occu- t >^ 262 ILLUSTBATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. pying a channel nearly eight hundred yards wide, proceed south. In ad- dition to these, are numerous smaller tributaries and lakes, which, though individually not of large extent, are scattered throughout the district. The climate, on the whole, is mild. TIio winter is keen, but not protracted. Both spring and summer are usually serene, and in autumn all the vegeta- ble productions of the same latitude como freely to perfection. Among others, apples, pears, cherries, plums, and apricots, abound. Agriculture is extensively carried on, but not in a very perfect manner. In some parts, however, the Tartars seem to be careful husbandmen, and are particularly attentive to the harvesting of their grain. Hemp is grown to a great extent, and of excellent quality ; and the oil obtained from its seeds, and from a kind of pistachio-nut whicli abounds, forms an important article of commerce. Flax, in both quantity and quality, is deficient. The inhabitants generally seem fond of horticulture. Almost every cot- tage has its garden, and patches of tobacco are oflon seen, particularly in the neighborhood of the Tartars, who raise it for tlieir own use. The rear- ing of cattle forms a profitable employment in the meadows and pastures of the rich flats which border the numeious streams. There, also, much attention is paid to the dairy ; the cows yielding a rich milk, of which large quantities of butter and cheese are made. The Russians form .learly a half of tlie whole population. Tlic greater part of the remainder are Tartars, Cliercmisses, and Chuvasses. The Chereniisses, who are most numerous in the western part of the province, are much smaller and weaker than the Russian peasantry, and are charac- terized by a peculiar shyness of both look and demeanor. Their dress, which is tlie same for both sexes, consists of white linen trousers, and an upper garment of the same material, fastened round the loins with a girdle, and generally embroidered in various colors on the breast and shoulders. Strips of cloth, which they wind round the log, from the foot to the knee, are always black. Both men and women allow their long, black hair to hang about them in the wildest disorder. The dress of the Chuvasf-cs very much resembles tliat of the Chere- mi.ssics, the cliief differci:co being in tlio females, who wear a plate of copper hanging from the girdle behind, and strung with all kinds of metallic ornaments, which keep tinkling as they walk ; while from their necks are suspended large sil- ver breastplates, about eight inch- es long and six broad, formed of coins. The men wear high black hats, tapering to the middle, but wide at the top and bottom, like an hour-glass. The above ongrutlng «f«fMrJL it. Chvvassbs or Kazan. EASTERN RUSSIA — KAZAN. 268 represents some of these eingular people bearing fuel at a wood-statiou on the Volga. The Chuvasses are remarkable for timidity. This quality, which the first accounts of them mention as their most strilting feature, heems still, notwithstanding their long intercourse with Russia, to continue unimpaired. They, as well as the Cheromisses, Votiaks, and other tribes, arc supposed to have sprung from a combination of the Finnish and Mon- golian races, but they far mo'v nearly resemble the latter. In the ncighborliood of the city of Kazan the Tartars predominate, and are easily distinguished from the Russians by the dark color >)!' their lean, muscular, and, ns it were, angular visage ; by the close-fitting cap on their closely-shaved skull ; and a certain smartness of gait and demeanor. They have made considerable progress in civilization, and often contrast favora- bly with tiie Russian peasantry. The inhabitants of the government, generally, are active and industrious. Besides agriculture and wood-cutting, fishing in the numerous lakes and rivers of tl»e district \f a profitable occu- pation, and employs a great number of hands. Tiie province, moreover, posses- ses numerous manufactures, the inhabit- ants excelling in leather-embroidery, and has an extensive trade, both internal and external, which tlie large navit ible rivers greatly facilitate. Indeed, boat and barge building, fin* the traflSc of tlie A'^olga, is not an unimportant branch of trade. The city of Kazan, tlie ancient capital of the Tartar khans, and, next to St. Pe- tersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, and perhaps Odessa, the most important city in the empire, is situated between the left bank of the Kasanka (about four miles above where it empties into the Volga) and its tributary the Bulak, occupying a tongue of land which gradually rises like an island to a considerable height above low plains subject to inundation. It is four hundred and sixty miles east of Moscow. Kazan covers a space nearly six miles in circuit, and consists, like most other Russian cities, of three parts — the Kremlin, or fortress, on a con- siderable eminence ; the town, {)ioperly so called ; and the slobodes, or suburbs, inhabited principally by the Tartar population. The town is well built, and has broad and spacious squares and market-places ; but in the suburbs the houses are principally of wood, and the streets, not being paved, are consequently in spring and autumn so wet and muddy as to be almost impassable to pedestrians. The greater part of the Tartar houses are built of wood, two stories high. Some, however, are of brick. The lower story of each serves for a barn, storehouse, &c., or is let for hire ; the upper floor is inhabited by the owner. There is neither porch nor portico in front, the entrance to LCATIIM UloVII and WoODKI^SroON i:! 1 fe H ILLUSTUATKD DESCUII'TION OP IIUSSIA. |l ' t ;•! Intrriob or A Taktar llotaK. tlio |»rcmi.-!os bciiijj; tliroii^Ii a jrate, Icadiii}; into jrardons with which each hou.so iw .surmiiiult'd. Tlio aliitvc cniiraviii^; shows the interior of one of the Tartar houses of the meaner class. On the It'll hand is constructed the p(t(/i, or fuTplaee, wliieii serves for wanning the room, and for culi- nary pui'poses. The Tartars of Kazan are in general well fornietl .ind handsome; their eyes are blaelc or gray : they iiave a keen, piercl.ig look, a rather length- eneu 'orni of face, a long noso, li[»s somewhat thicker than those of Euro- peans, a Ijlaek l)eard, carefully trimmed, nud the hair entirely shaven from the head, which is covered with a smuil cap, calleil a Uhi trika ; their ears arc large, and standing out from the heat! ; they have a hmg neck, very wide shoulders, and a broad chest — such is the description Dr. Fouk.s gives of their form and piiysiognomy. They are, moreoviir, tall and erect, and their gait is niunly and imposing. The doctor remarks that whenever ho entered a Tartar mos(pic he was always struck with the line and noble featuroa of their elders, and he asserts his belief that the ancient Italian artists might have chosen from among this race most admirable subjecla for their sacred pictures. He is n(jt so favorable, however, in his descrip- tion of the Tartar women. He does not consider them good-looking; but then he had an ojiportunity of seeing only the wives and daughters of the poorer classes. In general, the Tartar women are uiiddle-»ized, and rather stout; like the men, they stand erect, but walk badly and awkwardly, a circumstance principally owing to the heavy dress they wear. They sooa grow old — so much so, that a woman of twenty-seveu has the look of one of forty: this is owing to the custom they have of painting their faces. Their complexion is rather yellow, and their faces are often cov.M-ed with pimjtles and a rash, which proceeds partly from the habit of constantly lying on feather-beds, and partly from their heavy and over-warm clothing The same authority, in a few words, thus describes the character of this race: " They are proud, ambitious, hospitable, fond of money, cleanly, tol- erably civilized (taking all things into consideration)) intelligent in com- '/" ■ y\v EASTERN RUSSIA — KAZAN. 267 rj("rRO, inclined to boasting, fiioiidly to each other, aobor in every way, and very induytrioiis." Wliat is piirtlculiuiy striiung is tlio tonacity witli wliich the Turtiirs here, as elsewhere throughout the empire, have retained their national eharaclcristics, customs, and manners, although nearly three con turios Imve elapsi'd since this race was subdued l)y the Russians. The dress of the Tartars of Kazan of the better class is so different from that of every other nation, that it deserves a description. They wear a shirt {koulmiufk) made of calico, sometimes white, sometimes red ; their drawcM-s {schtunn) are worn very wide, and are made likewise of calico, or occasionally of silk ; their stockings, called i/aiik, ar ; of cotton or linen. A species of leather stockings, generally of Morocco-loaOier, called itchiffi, red or yellow, are worn over the stockings, or sometimes are substituted for them. Their slippers, called kuhvt, arc made of black or green leather. Over the shirt they wear two garments, somewhat in tlie shape of a Euro- j)ean frock-coat without a collar : the under one, having no sleeves, is made of silk; the upper, with sleeves likewise of silk, is called knsaki. Ovei these they wear a long, wide robe, generally of blue cloth, called tchekmen^ which is attached to the body by a scarf (^poda). In a pocket of this gar- ment they keep their pocket-handkerchief, called tchaoulok. Their heads, which are shaven to the skin, are covered with a species of skullcap, called tnkia: this is covered, when they go out, with a hat {hourick) made of velvet or cloth, and ornamented with fur : the rich Tartars use for this purpose beaver-skins of great value. The Tartars get their heads shaved every fortnight, and trim their beards once a week ; onco a week they go to the bath. A very singular predilection exists among the lower classes — that of finding pleasure in being bled. This luxury they enjoy at least once a year ; the spring is generally chosen for tlie enjoyment. A barber of Kazan (for it is the barbers who bleed then;, as they did formerly in England and other parts of Europe) assured Turnerelli that he had let blood for upward of five hundred Tartars in ono day, each of whom had paid him from fifty copecks to a rouble for the op- cration. lie hud in this manner earned upward of ono hundred dollars for blood-letting alone ! This was indeed profiting by the bloodshed of his fellow-creatures. The costume of the Tartar women of the higher classes is very rich and elegant. They wear a species of robe of rich thick silk or satin, the sleeves being very largo and long, sometimes oven falling as low as the grounc'J the uj)per j)art of these robes is onibroidored in front with gold. Over this they wear a kind of capote, very wide, and generally made of gold brocade or sonje similar stuff gorgeously embroidered. They wear on their head a silk cup bordered with fur, which hangs down on ono side and ends in a point having a golden tassel attached to it ; this cap is also sometimes adorned with precious stones, and ancient 2;oW and silver coins. Their hair falls behind in long tresses, the ends of which are tied up with bows of ribands. Sometimos these trosscs are covered with long bands, to which 208 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. u ■5; ■■f are attacliod various coins and ornaments. The Tartar women wear, more- over, a i)rofiision of pearls, necklaces, gold and silver bracelets, finger- rings, car-rings, chains, &c. The dress of one lady of rank, including her jewelry, sometimes costs not less than two thousand dollars ! Tlic Tartar women, as in all Moliannnedan countries, are kept secluded in the houses and harems of their laisbnnds and parents. Tliey arc allowed to remove their thick veils in tlioir bedrooms alone: not tiieir husbands' lirothers, nor even their own uncles and cousins, are permitted to behold their features. They perform no labor of any sort, the concerns of the household being confided to old women and male attendants ; the younger females having nothing to do but to dress, cat, tlrink, sleep, and jdease their husbands. They marry very early, sometimes in tlieir twelfth year I \. rich Tartar woman has hardly left her bed, when she begins her daily task of painting her face red and white ; then she clothes herself in her gaudy vestments of gold and silver texture, and puts on her various orna- ments ; and then throws herself on the soft Turkish sofa, on which she lies almost buried. The soriiovar (tea-urn) is then brought her. She makes the tea herself, and drinks cup after cup oT it until the perspiration flows down her ftice, washing away at the same time all the paint with which she had adorned her face : this necessarily requires two more hours at the toilet, when she is ready for her breakfast, which consists of a variety of greasy dishes. This over, she again throws herself on the sofa, and re- mains there, half-sleeping, half-waking, till a female friend |irol»al»ly drops in to see her, upon which the somorar again makes its appearance, and our fair Tartar drinks again rs much tea as she did in the morning — to say the leas' not less than seven or eight cups. The harmony of her face is again destroyed l>y the copious flow of perspiration that ensues, and she is forced to paint her face afresh, in order to appear at dinner in all her charms in the presence of her husband. After dinner, tea is once more presented : indeed, this beverage seems indispensable to the Tartars ; they affirm that it is absolutely necessary to Av'mk it, in order to facilitate diges- tion after their meals, and Dr. Fouks states that they eat three times as nuicli as the Russians. Having partaken a third time of tea to her heart's content, our Tartar lady then enjoys a naj). On awaking, she sometimes takes it into her head to go and j)ay a visit to some female friend : for this purpose she changes the dress she wore in the morning for a still more expensive one; she then gets into a square, pristm-like, two-horse carriage, and arrives at the house of her tjcquaintance, where, completely buried ia the thick veils which cover her head and face, she makes her way to tho apartment of her friends, scarcely daring to show the point of her nose as eh'! p.isses along. The Tartar women of the riclier class do not even enjoy the privilege of breathing the fr sh air. They dare not go into their small gardens without covering themselves from head to foot, lest they should meet one of their male relations living in the same house! They hardly dare to look from their windows into tho street, Icet they should be seen EASTEim RUSSIA — KAZAN. 269 l)y some passer-by. Such is the life of the higher class of Tartar women. Monotonous and tedious as it is, tliey do not, however, complain, nor even find it painful : on tlie contrary, tliey look upon the mode of living among European women as sinful in the extreme ; they believe that a European female will never go to heaven, and give thanks to God that he created them Mohammedans ! •»ft^..-,iiilS!,Sfi— «* TiiK Kbemlin or Kazan. The citadel or krcmlin of Kazan j)resents a very picturesque appearance. It is still surr()un(l(Ml l)y a sioue-wall of groat heigiit, which was built by the Tartars, and is liankcd by fourloon tDwers. •Tliore were also, at the period of the Tartar dominion, twelve dill'orcnt entrances; tho; i's purpose. Besides the diiferent branches of natural science, the studv of er stern languages is carried on at the very source ; M-hile that of na'ional history is encouraged, not only by the pecu- liar character of the library, but also by a ramarkably rich collection of Russian and Tartar cou^s. In addition to the usual branches of manufacture, Kazan has some which are peculiar to itself. One is the preparation and staining of Russia-leather, a business in which the Tartars are particularly expert ; and another, the making of a particular kind uf sonp, called vwcfo, which, cut into small pieces, and packed in boxes, is sent over all Russia. The town is well situated for a transit trade, carrying the manufactures of P^urope north and cast into Asia, and bartering them for the peculiar. productions of thoso regions. In this way, particularly by the trade in iurs and tea, many of its merchants are said to have uccunuilated great wealtli. Kazan annually undergoes an extraordinary change, al)out the last of April, owing to the inundation of the Volga, wliic'', swollen by the vast quantity of melted snow pouring into its channel, overflows its banks, dia- charging its waters in every direction over the level plains in its vicinity. The inundation in the noighboriiood of the city often covers a spare of from twenty to thirty miles. Although travellers sufler no small dcgrc« of inconvenience from this flood, tlve inhabitants of the banks of the Volga derive from it coiisiderable advantages : U> Kazan it U^ri)niej' a rich sourco of prosperity, from .lie facility it aRbrds of transporting the di Impfmufi and mag-nificen4. It» numerous clnirches, with their gilded dono s and P/ty l)elfrie« ; the Tartar mosques with their minarets, surrounded by glitt. 'King crescents : in fine, it thousand singular structures, of every form and color, seem to '.x; grow- ing out of tlie iiii!nense mIicH of water whieh»lies .arounH tl^m. About tli« end of May the inundation, which lasts for nearly a month, begins to stib!»ide. Thf waters are not long in disappearing. The oa'.ii they covered l)ecomes niudurn- iug sun sotMi restores it uj its former state. The grn,iW springa up in the EASTERN RUSSIA — KAZAN. plains, which for a short time look fresh and green ; but this verdure lasts only as long as the earth Temains damp from the eifects of the inundation, and in a few days these plains become arid and parched, as is their wont. The town itself — which, in consequence of the thuwing of the snow and the unfirm nature of the soil, becomes a perfect bog, in which the horses plunge to their very haunclies — now experiences a change still more in- supportable. The mud, dried up by the heat of *,he sun, is succeeded by dense clouds of dust, wliich sweep through the streets of the town, depri- ving the unfortunate pedestrian of t'le means of breathing, and rendei'ing his clothes as white and powdered as those of a miller. Then, to avoid being suffocated by the heat anc^ dust, the greatest part of the inhabitants make a precipitate retreat from the town — the landholders to their estates, and the lack-landers to those of tlieir friends wliose hospitality affoi'ds them a refuge from the sensible calamity of a sojourn in town during thio unpro- pitious and unhealthy pcriol. The first foundation of the city of Kazan took place about the year 1265 Tradition gives the following angular account of its origin and of its name : Baton, or Bati/i (the name is written in both ways by learned orientalists), a celebrated khan of the Colden Horde, about tlie middle of the thirteenth century, was in the habit of frequenting this valley, to enjoy liis favorite amusement of hunting wild beasts, with which, according to the statement of certain historians, this country was at that time tcrril)ly infested, and also with serpents of enormous size. It was on the banks of the river called at the present day the Kazanka, and on the spot where the kremlin of Kazan now stands, that the repast of the sovereign and his companions was prepared in a large caldron, according to the custom of tlie nomadic tribes. On one occasion, however, one of the attendants charged with this culinary office, while occupied in filling the caldron with water, let fall tho precious utensil, which was not long in sinking to the bottom of the river. The good khan Batou and his hungry comrades were deeply clmgrined, when, in consequence of the utter solitude of tlie spot, which precluded all possibility of replacing the lost utensil, thej found themselves reduced to the disagreeable necessity of going without a dinner on that ill-omened day. The impression created by that involuntary fast on the minds of these hungry disciples of Ni^nrod was so powerful, that thenceforward the riv(M% which had been the cause of this painful privation, received from them the soubriquet of " Kazan," or the " River of the Caldron." Some time after, the idea having occurred to Batou of founding a city on the hmk» of th&t stream, he conferred tho name of tho river on the town. With fftgaf-* to the word Kazanka, which designates at tho present day tlie Hvor thai iows at the foot of tlie kremlin, it is evident that its termi- Mtk« 8jrM«l>!c, ka, is a corruption of the original name, which the Rus- lAins ad^>tcd to tho character of their language, subsequent to their con- quest of the country. Kazan soon became a rich and flourishing town. About a hundred and Ill' ■It M •IN 274 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. iif forty years after its foandation, it was besieged, for the first time, by Ymy Drnitricvitch, brother to the grand-duke of Moscow. The town, after a protracted and desperate defence, fell into the hands of tlic invader, who quitted not the spot till he had razed every structure it contained to tho earth. Its inhabitants were cruelly massacred. Kazan remained during forty succeeding years a wilderness. The second founder of Kazan was the unfortunate Oulou Makhmet, khan of the Golden Horde, who had been driven from his dominions by the Ycdiguai Saltaiia, a Tartar prince of Yaick. Makhmet, who had. accord- ing to the annalists, eig'hty-three sons, and almost as many wives, after wandering from desert to desert with his family and followers, finally set- tled on a spot not far from the ruins of the desolated town of Kazan. He did not, however, remain there long, but removed to a place about forty miles distant, where 1.:; i'uaiidcd the present city. This event marks the period of its second foundation, which took place in the year 1445. Kazan remained in l!io hands of the Tartars till about 14(35, when it again foil into ihc poteossion of the Russians, Ivan III. succeeding in its reduction after I severe campaigns. But the Tartars were unsubdued, and in 1552 a( \ took up arms against the Russians. They were once more reduced by Ivav. i Terrible, who attacked Kazan at the head of a numerous army. Fn' six weeks they made a vigorous resistance ; but tho city was ultimately taken, scarcely any of its valiant defenders surviving the event. By this capture of Kazan the Russian dominion was perma- nently established over the territory of the lower Volga. When Baton, the original founder of Kazan, bestowed on this town tho ominous title of the " Totvn of the Cufdron,^'' ho seemed as it were to have devoted it to tlic devouring element, which so often since that period has reduced it to ashes. Probably tlie history of no town ever aflbrded a suc- cession of such teri'ible conllagrations as that of Kazan. During the Tartar dominion we learn from its annals that it was several times devastated by lire — partly arising from accident, partly from the fury of enemies who besieged it. Hubsequent to its falling under the Russian sway, at nino distant periods the flames have ravaged this unfortunate town. These fires, which seemed to increase in their fiiry and the extent of their rav- ages at every fresh occurrence, form nine remarkable and fearful epochs in the history of Kazan. The first, which occurred in the year 1595, consumed the greater part of the town, and all the most remarkable buildings in the kromlin. The second lire, 1672, broke out in that part of Kazan near the kremlin. All tli> cliiirches it contained fell a prey to the flames; and four colossal bells, which were sent from Moscow by Vassili-Ivanovitch, and which were Buspended in the belfry belonging to the cathedral, were totally melted down by the violence of the conflagration. The third, 1094, ravaged nearly a mile in circumfercnco of the town. The fi;ostinui duor, with its numerous shops and magazines, six monasterioa, EASTEHN RUSSIA — KAZAN. m several cliurches and streets, and the suburbs known by the names of the Zasecpkin, Krasnaya, and Feodoroffskaya, were reduced to ruins. The fourth, 1742, broke out in the middle of the night, burnt a very considerable portion of the town, consumed some twenty churches and as many monasteries, and once more ravaged the gostirwi (Ivor and the streets in its vicinity. The lifth, which occurred only seven years after, began in the Tartar town, which it reduced to ashes. Three palaces — those of the governor, the commandant, and the archbishop — twenty-throe churches, six monas- teries, all the bridges on the canal called Boulac, the chancery of the gov- ernor with its archives and papers, the arsenal with its contents, several streets and pari.shes, and a great number of men, cattle, and barks, fell a sacrifice to this conllagration. The details of tlic sixth, 1757, arc but little knowTi ; but history informs us that it was as destructive and as terrible as any that liad preceded it. The seventh, the work of the rebel Pougatcheff, who wherever he passed brought with liim ruin and desolation, occurred in the year 1774. At that period the whole of th(} town, with the exception of the kremlin and the Tartar suburl)s, wore reduced to ashes ! Two thousand and ninety-one houses, seveuty-four government-l)iiildings, the gustimid (Ivor, with seven hundred and seventy-seven magazines or warehouses, and thirty churches, became a prey to the flames. Tlic eighth fire took jjlaee in the year 1815, on the 15th of^eptcmber, and is still fresh in the memory of many of the inhabitants of Kazan. It is said by cye-wituesses that in less than twelve hours the whole of the town, with its suburbs and villages, presented little ehso save a mass of burning embers ! Several woods and forests «..n the outskirts of the town likewise took fire. Tiie eo!'!higration spread for miles around, dostroyii:g every oi)ject that it encountered. In a word, on that awful occasion, eleven hun- dred and seventy-nine private hou^Jos, eight hundred and ten govdnment- buildings,one liuiidred and sixty-six t^treets, several ehurclies, monasteries, mauiifactories, and nuigazines, were reduced to ashes ! Wliat was uiuch to l)e regretted likewise was the destruction of the ar- chives of the town, with many valualilc manuscripts relating to its iiistory. As long as tliere remained aiiytliing to consume, the fire lasted ; and when, for want of fuel, it became extinguished, Kazan presented a scone of inex- pre.si:>iblo desolation. Such were the eight terrible conflagrations whifh, in less than the space of tliree iumdred years, ravaged Kazan : but tliis devoted town was yet destined to cxiterience a new one, probably more violent and more terrible than any that had preceded it. We refer to tliat series of conflagrations which ravaged so large a portion of the city during the monfl.s of August and September, 1842. The first fire commenced during the night of the 2Gtl\ of August, and in a short time destroyed a whole street of houses and stores, a college, and many fine houses. On the 3d of September the fire Wi r i I ; ■ ■.t< r li I ' ■I- I J! I I 276 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OF RUSSIA. showed itself in another part of the city. But those were nothing move than precursors of the terrible conflagration of tlic 5th of September. A mure tempestuous morning than that on wliich tliis terrible conflagra- tion took place was never known in Kaaan — a town whose hurricanes form one of the prominent features in its historical records. The wind raged with an incredible violence. Several preceding months of dry and scorching weather had gathered in the streets a deep layer of dust and sand ; this, raised aloft by the fury of the whirlwind, so darkened the air, that at the distance of two or three yards nothing could be distinguished. The fire broke out in the street called Prolomnaya, at a hotel, known by the name of the " Hotel of Odessa," an elegant and costly structure, newly built ; and, driven over the city by the liigh winds with unparalleled ra- pidity, consumed in the !3pace of twelve hours thirteen hundred houses, nine churches, one convent, warehouses where largo quantities of merchan- dise were placed on deposito, a great number of stores, and some institu- tions of learning. The university was in imminent peril, but was saved with the loss of the wooden circular moveable tower of tlie observatory. The burning brands, carried by the wind to the other side of tit e Kazonka, communicating the flames to tlie heaps of hay, and thence to the neigh- oring villa -jes, they were rapidly reduced to ashos.* On tlie morning of the 6lh of September, one half of the city, recently 80 beautiful, presented nothing but a heap of smoking ruins. Tlie fire had hitherto sparcd»that quarter of Kazan inhabited exclusively by the Tartars, ai^d known by the name of the Tartar town, or suburbs ; but the followers of Mohammed were not destined to l)e long exempt from the calamity which had befallen their Christian co-inlialyitants. While the latter were mourn- fully contemplating tlie ruins of their houses and their homes, a terrible fire suddenly broke out in the above-mentioned quarter. It was about ten o'clock in the morning. Fortunately for the Tartars, the hurricane which had raged on the preceding day no longer existed, otherwise the whole of the Tartar town would inevitably have fallen a prey to the flames. As it was, the fire caused a fearful ravage : several streets were burnt, and some hours elapsed before the conflagration could be efieetually extinguished. The close of that day brought little or no alleviation to the sufferings of • The Amprican minigfi'r at tli<> court of St, Petersburg, Colonel Todd, win at Kii7.un on the day of this dianatroun fire. He liad nnived then-, with twi> travelling-compiinions, on the pn-vimu niglii. nnd had taken up hii quarter* in a hotel in the I'roliimnaya. Tliere llie (lami'f liad snrpriiiiMl him, Mid he had remnvrd to an apartment in tlic " House of the No)>ility," Driven ihence shortly ■fter by the projfre*-' "f 'be ronfliii^ration, he stiiight a refuge in a tbinl hotel on 'be Boulac, The flame* were not kint: >n reurbing bini in his new pbice of ri'digf, and, fiw the fourth time on that eventl'ul day, he removed with bis suite to a distant inn on the suburbs. The •aniii fiite foMowod him there ' At last, weiuy of flying from one abode to another, he resolved to return to Moscow. He accordingly ordered his tiiivelling-rairtngo to bo harnessed, and set out from Kazan, to which cuiiosilv bad carrie-siu being, as we have before had several occasions to remark, as recent a.-; ? ;i53 : — " Situated on a gentle eminence, in the midst of an extensiA'e plain, its inai". >'■ red roofs rising one above another to the walls of the kremlin, which ci'owns the hills to the extreme left, tall spires and domes appearing in every direction, and betokening the magnitude of the city while adding to its beauty, Kazan presented a more imposing aspect than any town 1 had seen in Russia, and seemed to vio with Moscow as to exhibiting in the most favorable manner the characteristic buildings of the eouMJi-y. Twi- light was just failing us as we entered the broad, deserted streets, and reached the principal hotel, where wo secured rooms, and then sallied forth to see a.; much as we could by lamplight At an early hour on the following morning we were up at daybreak, and on our way to tho kremlin by four o'clock. We passed a number of houses which had been recently burnt down ; indeed, the town seemed to have suffered from fire in all directions. The Kazansky, or main street, traverses the entire ridge of the hill ; and, from the corners of the various intersecting streets, good views are obtained over the town upon each side. Following along it, past handsome, well-built mansions, and through the colonnade of a large bazar, EASTEIIN RUSSIA — KAZAN. 279 or •roslinui dvor^ wo roaclicd tlio krciiilin, and, from tho terrace in Iront of tho goveti.jr'a house, revelled in a most glorious prospect. Stretching away to the north, the oyc ranged over a vast expanse of country, thinly dotted '.vith villages and church-spires; while our position coninian»I d a panoramic viow of the town, which in no way belied my impressions of tlio previous evening. To the south, tho Volga, with its steep banks, boinided the prospect, while the Tartar villages in tho foreground, with their singu- larly-built mosijues, seemcf! to iunte a visit. Ono of the latter was a curiously-fasliioned little euifico (as may be seen in the engraving given below), in its construction totally unlike any other building I ever saw. The elTect of the scene was completed by tho sun most op])ortunely vising, as it were, out of tho steppe, tipping spire and dome, until w '^Ivos felt its genial infhunco. " Kazan has advantages which few other inland towns p. capital of an ancient kingdi in, it is not tho mere creation of g , kept alive, as it wore, by law, and tenanted by compulsion: it icsid upon foundations long since laid, and owes its present prosperity to its position on the great highway from Sil)cria to Moscow aud Nijnei-Novgorod. It tlius becomes an emporium for tho productions of that distant part of the empire which par?s through it. It boasts, moreover, manufactures peculiar to itself. Tho inhabitants arc well known to excel in leather-embroidery: for workmanship of this sort Kazan is celebrated al' over eastern Europe." TaBTAB ticvqUI NIAB Kaiah r 'ysa Jl IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // (./ ^^ ,ye 4k. /. % -*- ,.V^^. <- ii 282 ILLUaTHATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. from the south, which joins it not far above its mouth, where its course deflects southward. The climate of Georgia, of course, varies greatly, according to elevation. Tt is, however, generally licalthy and temperate, being much Avarmer than that of Circassia, or the other countries on the northern slope of the Cau* casus. Tlie winter, which commences in December, usually ends with January. The temperature at Tcflis, during that season, is said not to descend lower than about forty degrees Fahrenheit; and in the summer the air is excessively sultry, the average temperature at the end of July, in one year being, at three o'clock in the afternoon, seventy-nine degrees, and at ten o'clock in the evening, seventy-four degrees Fahr. Tlie soil is very fertile ; and agriculture and the rearing of cattle are the chief employments of the inhabitants. Wheat, rice, barley, oats, Indian corn, millet, the Holctis sorffhum and H. bicofor, lentils, madder, hemp, and flax, are the most generally cultivated articles ; cotton is found in a Avild state, and is also cultivated. Georgia is noted for the excellence of its melons and pomegranates ; and mai\y other kinds of fine fruit grow spontaneously. Vineyards are very widely diffused, and the production of wine is one of the principal sources of employment. It is strong and full-bodied, with more bouquet than Port or Madeira ; but from having generally little care bestowed on its manu- facture, it keeps badly ; and casks and bottles being for the most part un- known, it is kept in buffalo-skins, smeared with naphtha, which not only gives it a disagreeable state, but disposes it to acidity. But notwithstand' ing these drawbacks, and its extensive consumption in the Country, consid- erable quantities are exported. Mr. Wilbraham says that " the Georgians have the reputation of being the greatest drinkers in the world : the daily allowance, without which the laborer will not work, is f 'Ottlcs ; and the higher classes generally exceed this quantity ; on gra jcasions the consumption is incredible." According to Smith and Dwijht, " the ordi- nary ration of the inhabitants of Tcflis, from the mechanic to the prince, ia said to be a tonk, measuring between five an(i 3ix Imttles of Bordeaux ! The best wine costs about four cents the bottle, while the common is less than a cent." The multiplied oppressions to which the inhabitants have been long sub- jected, and the fertility of the soil, have gone far to extinguish all Indus try. The peasant thinks only of growing grain enough for the support of himself and family, and a small surplus to exchange at the nearest town for other articles of prime necessity. The plough in use is so heavy as to require six or eight buffaloes for its draught, and often double the number are used ; the harrow is nothing more than a felled tree ; and a great quan- tity of the produce is wasted owing to the grain being trodden out by buf- faloes. Domestic animals of all kinds are reared. The horses and homed cattle equal the best European breeds in size and beauty ; and the long-tailed THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES— GEORGIA. 288 siiccp afford excellent wool. Game, including the stag, antelope, wild- boar, hares, wild-goats, pheasant, partridge, (fee, is very abundant ; bears, foxes, badgers, jackals, lynxes, and it is said leopards, are common. The forests consist of oak, beech, elm, ash, lindon, hornbeam, chestnut, walnut, and many other trees common in Europe ; but they are of little or no use. The mineral products of the country, thougli nearly unexplored, are be- lieved to be various: iron is plentiful oi; the flank of the Caucasus, and coal, na])htha, «fec., are met with. The houses of the peasantry, even in the most civilized parts, are noth- ing more than slight Avooden frames, with w.alls made of bundles of osiers covered over with a mixture of clay and cowdung, and a roof of rush. A room thirty feet long and twenty broad, where the light comes in at the door ; a floor upon which they dry madder and cotton ; a little hole in the middle of the apartment, where the fire is placed, above wliich is a copper caldron attached to a chain, and enveloped with a thick smoke, which escapes by either the ceiling or the door, is a picture of the interior of these dwellings. In the houses even of the nobility, the walls are some times built only of trunks of trees cemented witli mortar, and the furniture consists of a very few articles. The roads, except that across the Caucasus to Tellis, which has been improved by the Russians, are in a wretched state. The vehicles in use are of the rudest kind, and all commodities, except straw or timber, are transported upon horses, mules, asses, or camels. The inhabitants never riiJe except on horseback. Coarse woollen, cotton, and silk fabrics, leather, shagreen, and a few ther articles, are manufactured. The arms made at Teflis have some reputation ; but most of the other goods arc very inferior, and only enter into home consumption. Georgia, as before intimated, composes one of the Trans-Caucasian prov- inces of Russia. Their government is wholly military : and how little soever it may square with our notions of what a government should be, it is not ill fitted for the circumstances of the country; and there can not be a question that its establishment has been most advantageous to the great majority of the population. The Georgian ladies have usually oval faces, fair complexions, and black hair, and have long enjoyed the highest reputation for beauty in the East ; the men are also well formed and handsome. This superiority in the phys- ical form of the Georgians and other contiguous Caucasian tribes, and the low state of civilization that has always prevailed among them, explains the apparently unaccountable fact that these countries have been, from the remotest antiquity down to our times, the seat of an extensive slave-trade. Latterly, the harems of the rich mussulmans of Turkey, Persia, «fec., have been wholly or principally supplied by female slaves brought from Georgia, Circassia, and the adjoining provinces ; and they also furnished male slavea to supply the Mameluke corps of Egypt and various other military bodies with recruits. ...;..: • i ., , • .i- t ,•!; ■ 284 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. In modem times the Georgians have been divided, with the exception of a few free commoners, into the two great classes of the nobles and their vassals or slaves. Previously to the Russian conquest, fho latter were th.- absolute property of their lords, who, besides employing them in all man* ner of manual and laborious occupations, derived a considerable part of their revenue from the sale of their sons and daughters ! Indeed, tho daughters of the rtbbles not unfrcqucntly shared the same fate, being sacri- ficed to the necessities or ambition of their unnatural parents ! The Russians have put an end to this traffic ; and they have also deprived the nobles of tho power capitally to punish their vassals, and set limits to their demands upon them for labor and other services. There can not therefore be, and there is not, a doubt with any individual acquainted with the circumstances, tliat the Russian conquest has been of signal advantage to tlic bulk of the Georgian people. It is probably true, however, that tho Russians are quite as much disliked by the nobles of Georgia as by thoso of Circassia ; and those travellers who live with them, and credit their stories, will be amply supplied with tales of Russian barbarity and atrocity. With a settled state of affairs, Teflis, the capital, might again become, as in the days of the emperor Justinian, a thoroughfare for the overland commerce between Asia and Europe. Tiic Georgians belong to the Greek church, and, since becoming subject to Russia, have been subordinate in ecclesiastical matters to a Russian archbishop at Tefiis, who has three suf- fragans south of the Caucasus. The clergy are generally very ignorant. A high-school in the capital has been recently erected into a gymnasium ; and in addition to it, there are a few small schools, in which, however, very little is taught. No serf is, or at least used to be, instructed in read- ing, but all the nobility are more or less educated : the females of this class teach each other, and are commonly better informed than the males. Tho Georgian language is peculiar, differing widely from the languages spoken by the surrounding nations. Georgia was annexed to tho Roman empire by Pompcy the Great, anno 65 B. C. During the sixth and seventh centuries it was long a theatre of contest between the eastern empire of Constantinople and the Persians. In tne eighth century, a prince of the Jewish family of the Bagratidos es- tablished the last Georgian monarchy, which continued in his line down to the commencement of the present century. The last prince, George XI., before his death in 1799, placed Georgia under the protection of Russia (though up to that time it had been regarded as nominally a dependency of the Persian monarchy) ; and, in 1802, it was incorporated with the Rus- sian empire. In the Crimean war (1854) between Buesia and Turkey, the frontiers of Georgl.; and Armenia were early the theatre of important military operations, »ind the Russians falling back, Georgia was declared independent. THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES — GEORGIA. 285 Tt'flls, or Tiflis, the capital of Georgia and of the other Trans-Caucasian provinces, is situated near the centre of the country, on the right bank of the Kour, three Imndred miles east by north of Trcbizond, in Turkey, in a contracted valley formed by irregular mountains, parallel with the stream on the side of the city, and hills coming down in a point quite to the wa- ter's edge on the other. A circular fort covers this point, and, together with a small suburb, is united to the city by a bridge of a single wooden arch, thrown over the river ; while the ruined walls of an old citadel crown the top, and extend down the side of a part of the opposite mountain. The old and native part of the city is built upon the truly oriental plan of irregular narrow lanes, and still more irregular and diminutive houses, thrown together in all the endless combinations of accident. Here and there European taste, aided by Russian power, has worked out a passable road for carriages, or built a decent house, overlooking and putting to shame all its mud-wallcd and dirty neighbors. A line of bazars, too, ex- tending along the river, and branching out into several streets, together with much bustle and business, display some neatness and taste, and is connected with two or three tolerable caravanseries. Several old and substantial churches, displaying their belfries and cupolas in different parts, complete the prominent features of this part of the city. In the northern or Russian quarter, officers, palaces, government-offices, and private houses, lining broad streets and open squares, have a decidedly European aspect, and exhibit in their pillared fronts something of that taste for ?howy architecture which the edifices of their capital have taught the Russians to admire. Teflis has the appearance of an excessively busy and populous place. Its streets present not only a crowded, but, unlike many oriental cities, a lively scene. Every person seems hurried by business. Nor is the variety of costumes, representing different nations and tongues, the least noticea- ble feature of the scene. The Armenian cathedral is a large and somewhat striking edifice. There are likewise two mosques ; and, among the other places of worship, is a German protestant chapel. The city has also a French and a German hotel ; they are represented, however, as being, in most respects, the re- verse of what they should be. House-rent is high, but otherwise living ia not expensive. Teflis has many remarkable sulphureous hot springs, their temperature varying from one hundred to one hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit ; and to these, it is supposed by some, the city owes its name. Over some of these the Russian government has erected the crown-baths, a plain edifice, but which, by being kept in good order, differs widely from all the other bathing-establishments in the city, and realizes a handsome i"Ovenuo. Teflis is very favorably situated for trade, and its commerce is pretty extensive, having greatly increased during the period of Russian occupo* tion. Almost all the trade is, however, in the hands of the Armenians. i 1 w ■■ jii '■ w' T.; ! ; li ' ■ 1 iffi' 286 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. RcoKGiANt or THE IIiiaiiTS or TarLit. In 1830, scarcely half a dozen mercantile houses existed belonging to any other foreigners, and only one European consul (a Frenchman) resided here. In the same year, the Russians founded a school at Tcflis, which has since, as already remarked, boon erected into a gymnasium ; and there are some other schools. Toflis, as well as Geor- gia in general, has for a long while been celebrated for the beauty of its wo- men ; and, according to the missionaries, Dwight and Smith, " this has not been overrated, for we have nev- er seen a city so largo a proportion of whoso fe- males were beauM'*!?! in form, features, or complex- ion, us Tedis." Tcflis docs not boast a very high antiquity. It is said to have been built in 469 by Vachtang, the founder of a dynasty which ruled from the Euxinc to the Caspian. It was taken by the Tartars under Zinghis Khan, in the thirteenth century ; subdued by the Turks in 1576 ; sacked by Aga Mohammed Khan, shah of Persia, in 1795 ; and finally fell into the pos- session of the Russians, with Georgia, in 1802. It suficrcd greatly from the ravages of the cholera in 1830. It is the residence of tlie governor- general of Caucasus, and of a Georgian and Armenian archbishop. There are four newspapers published here in the Russian, Georgian, Persian, and Armenian languages, respectively. Its present population may bo i-eck- oned at from thirty-five to forty thousand, the great majority of whom are Armenians, with some mussulman families. Among the other chief towns are Elizabetpol, or Ganjah, ninety miles southeast of Tcflis ; Signak, fifty-six miles east by south ; and Akhaltsike, a hundred and ten miles west, once the capital of a Turkish pachalic, and having forty thousand inhabitants, but now only thirteen thousand, chiefly Turkish Armenians : it has some fine churches and ruins. Warzich, in the volcanic region of the Trapovanie and the Kour, formerly the favorite resi- dence of the Armenian queen Thamar, is an extraordinary spot. It is a complete city, hewn out of volcanic stone, and contains three large churches, entirely cut out of the rock, subterraneous passages, innumerable chambers, finely sculptured, and the queen's summer and winter palaces. The whole country around is covered with lava and volcanic products of various kinds. .a > o •4 ■' If THE CAUCASIAN PnOViyCES — SHIRVAN. 289 Tlio provlnco of Shirvan lies on tho south of the Caucaang, principally between the fortieth and forty-second degrees of north latitude, and tho forty-seventh and fiftieth degrees of east longitude ; having tho Ciippian on the cast, Daghestan on the nortli, Georgia on tho west, and tho river Kour on tho south, wliich divides it from Talysch, formerly a portion of tlio Per- sian territory of Ghilan. It comprises about nine thousand squaro miles. Sliirvan (^Shinoan, or Gtiirvari) was formerly a province of Persia. Its climate and natural productions are much tho same as those of Georgia. It consists chiefly of a well-watered plain, which produces cotton, rice, wines, and fruits of various kinds ; but along the shore of tho Caspian there is a flat tract almost a desert. Tho inhabitants of this province are chiefly Mohammedan Persians. Baku, or Badku, tho capital of Shirvan, is situated on the southern shore of the peninsula or capo of Abchoran on the western coast of the Caspian sea, of wliich it is one of the most frequented ports. Tlio walls of the town were formerly washed by the Caspian, but they are at present about five yards distant from it : the sea, however, has gained upon tho land in other places, the ruins of ancient buildings being found at the depth of nearly twenty feet. It stands on a declivity, the summit of which is crowned by tho palace of the fonner khans and Persian kings ; is dorouded by a double wall and deep ditch, constructed in tho time of Peter the Great, and has two strong forts, under whose protection vessels can anchor in from four to six fatlioms water, within eighty yards of tho shore, iii a spa- cious road, sheltered from all quarters. The town is ill built, with crooked and narrow streets. Tho houses aro small, with flat roofs coated with naphtha. The Virgin's Towtn* is tho most striking object in the place. There are, however, several spacious mosques, public squares, marts, and caravansaries ; a Greek and an Arme- nian church, and some Tartar schools. The chief exjiorts of Baku and its neighborhood are naphtha, salt, and saffron ; in return for which it receives, principally from Persia, raw silk and cotton, rich carpets and sliawls, rice, &c. ; and from Europe all kinds of ironware and cutlery, cotton, linen, and woollen manufactured goods — thus becoming an entrepot through which an important trade is carried On between the East and the West. The adjacent island of Salian luis impor- tant fisheries. Baku has a population of about six thousand. The jurisdiction of Baku extends over thirty-two villages, with nineteen thousand inhabitants, of whom one thousand are Turkomans. The khan- ate of Baku was formerly attached to Persia, but wrested from it by the Russians, under Peter the Great, about 1723. It was restored in 1735, but retaken in 1801 by the Russians, to whom it now belongs. The peninsula of Abchoran, or Apsheron, is rocky and barren, destitute of trees, and the water, obtained only from wells, is very brackish. It is ill many respects a most singular region, and is particularly famous for its naphtha-springs. The quantity of naphtha procured in tho plain to tho 19 !! M ff 200 ILLUSTRATKO DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. ioutlicast of tho city of Baku is enormous. It is of two kinds, black and white, and its principal sources arc about six miles from Baku. Tho black oil shines with a rcddisli tint in the rays of tho sun, and is used for burning and for coatinpj roofs. The supply seems inexhaustible, some of tho wells yielding fifteen hundred or two thousand pounds a day, and on beinpf emp- tied immediately fill up again ; tho entire annual yield is upward of four thousand tons ! Near these springs is tho Artech-gah, or '• Field of Fire" nearly naif a square mile in extent. A stream of white oil hero gushes from tho foot of a hill ; it readily ignites and burns on tho surface of tho water: and in calm weather people amuse themselves with pouring it into tho sea, whore they set fire to it, and it floats away, giving the voters the appearance of a sea of fire. The poor people obtain a cheap light and fire for cooking by driving a clay pipe or reed into the ground, and burning tho gas which rises through it. Tho Persian ghebers or fire-worshippers likewise send tho gas in bottles to their friends at a distance. Tho " Field of Fire" is in constant motion, and emits a flame without heat. Occasionally tho whole region seems to be in flames ; and it appears as if tho fire rolled down thi mountain-sides in largo masses, with incredible velocity, presenting on a winter's night a scene of wonderful sublimity. In ancient times the burn- ing field was one of tho most celebrated ateshj/ahs or shrines of graco among the ghebers or parsees of Persia, and frequented l)y thousands of pilgrims. They have still several temples here, and many of them spend their days in worship and in penitential exercises so severe as often to cost them their lives. Tho peninsula is likewise celebrated for numerous volcanoes, which discharge immense quantities of mud. Russian Armenia comprises that portion of the former kingdom of that name which lies soutli of Georgia and north of the Arras and Mount Ara- rat, being two liundred miles in length and about one hundred and thirty in breadth. It formerly constituted the Persian province of Erivan, by which name it is now sometimes known. It contains about eight thousand square miles. The country consists of a mass of mountains, crowding on each other and filling up the whole space with volcanic amphitheatres. One of the largest of these amphitheatres is occupied by tho great fresh-water lake of Oukcha (blue lake), called also SiW»,.tho surface of which is five thou- sand three hundred feet above the level of tho sea. In the northwestern portion of the lake is an island called Sivan, with a monastery, twelve hundred yards from the shore. The lake is said to be unfathomable, and has the dark-blue appearance of deep water. A branch of the river Zen- gue, which passes the town of Erivan, carries the surplus waters of the lake to the Arras. The whole country in the neighborhood is volcanic. The soil of the valley of tho Arras is extremely fertile, and the mountains are covered with pasture. Directly south of Erivan a small portion of the THE CAUCAHIA.V PR0V1NCR8 — ARMRNIA. 291 Russian territory oxtoridH to the southwcstward of the Arras, and in tho southwest corner of thin portion stantla tlio famous mountain Macis (%rt- dag^h^^ or Ararat, a view of which is herewith given. Abaiat. raoM tiii rtAiN nr Khivan It consists of two mountains — the (ircat Ararat, on tho northwest; and tlio Less Ararat, on tho southeast: their summits, in a direct lino, being about seven miles apart, and tiieir bases inscnsilti)- blending into each other by the interposition of a wide, level, upland valley. The summit of tho Great Ararat is seventeen thousand three hundred and twenty-three feet above the sea-level, and fourteen thousand Miree hundred and twenty feet above the plain of tho Arras. The northeastern r^lope of the mountain is about fourteen miles in length, and the southwestern about twenty miles. On the former, visible even from Erivan, thirty-two miles disl.iut, is adecp, gloomy, crater-like chasm. Tlie mountain is covered with perpetual snow and ice, for about three miles from its summit downward, in an oblique direction. On the entire northern half, from about fourteen thousand foot above the sea-lcvel, it shoots up in one rigid crest to its summit, and then stretches downward on its southern side to a level not quite so low, forming what is called the " Silver Crest of Ararat." Little Ararat rises thirteen thousand and ninety-three feet above the sea-level, and ten thousand one hundred and forty feet above tho plain of the Arras ; and is free from snow in September and October. Its declivities are greater and steeper than those of the Great Ararat ; and its almost conical form is marked with sev- eral delicate furrows, that radiate downward from its summit. The top of the Great Ararat was first reached, October 9, 1829, by Pro- fessor Parrot, who reports it to be a " gently-vaulted, nearly-cruciform sur- face, of about two hundred paces in circuit, which at the margin sloped off precipitously on every side, but particularly toward tho southeast and north- east. Formed of eternal ice, without rock or stone to interrupt its conti- 292 ILLUSTRATED DESCHIPTION OP HUSSIA. nuity, it was the austere silvery head of Old Ararat." Toward the cast, this summit is connected, by means of a flattish depression, with a lower Bummit, distant four hundred yards, and in like manner covered with ioe. After remaining on the summit three quarters of an hour, determining the height, and making various observations. Parrot descended to the monas- tery of St. James ; the third day J..'ter, he left it. The observations of Parrot have been in every respect confirmed by another Russian tra.cllcr, named Abich, who reached the summit of the Great Ararat without difli- culty, July 29, 1845. He, with six others, remained an hour on the top, witliout experiencing any inconvenience from cold, so much felt by Parrot and Iiis companions. All travellers attest the volcanic nature of the Ararat mountains, as cvi- d^.nced by the .-^tones found on all their slopes, undoubtedly the products of a crater. They are composed chiefly of trachytic |)orpliyry, and on tlicm pumice and various descriptiou<5 of lava have been met with. Reinogga avers that he saw the CJreat Ararat send forth smoke and flame for three days in 1785 ; but this is believed to be one of the many romances which that traveller has related. No such occurrence was remembered, in 1843, by individuals resident on the mountain at the period indicated, and no eruption is found recorded in the clironiclcs of tlie monastery of Echmiad- zin, though they extend back over a period of eight hundred years. All doubt as to the volcanic nature of the two Ararats was put an end to on July 2, 1840, when an eruption took place from the head of the great chasm, which destroyed the monastery and chapel of St. James, the village of Arguri, and their inmates. Dr. Wagner, an enterprising Oernian trav- eller and naturalist, who visited the spot in 1843, gives in substance the following account of that event, as related by .*^ahatel Chotscliaieflf, brother to Stephen Aga, village elder of Arguri, honoral)ly mentioned l)yboth Par- rot and Dubois, and confirmed by other two eye-witnesses: — " On July 2, 1840, half an hour before sunset, the atmosphere clear, the inhabitants of Armenia were frightened by a thundering noise, that rolled loudest and most fearfully in the vicinity of the Great Ararat. During an undulating motion of the earth, lasting about two seconds, whicli rolled from the mountain east and southeast, and wrought great destruction in the districts of Sharur and Nakhichevan, a rent was formed in the end of the great chasm, about three miles above Arguri, out of which rose gas and vapor, hurling with immense force stones and earth over the slope of the mountain down into the plain. The vapor rose very quickly higher than the sunmiit of Ararat, and seems to have been wholly of aqueous com- position ; for in the same night a heavy rain fell in the vicinity of the mount- ain — an unusual occurrence in this country during summer. The vapor at first was of various colors, in which blue and red prevailed. Whotlicr flames burst forth could not bo ascertained ; but the pillars of vapor or emokc had a rod tint, which, had the eruption taken place during the night, might possibly have exhibited llamc. Tho blue and red tint of the vapor THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES — ARMENIA. 298 soon became dark black, and immediately the air was filled with a very disagreeable smell of sulphur. While the mountain continued to heavo, and the earth to shake, witii the unremitting thunder, along with the sub- terranean cracking and growling, miglit bo heard the whiz, as of bombs, caused by tlio force with whicli stones and largo masses of rock, upward of fifty tons' weight, were hurled through the air ! Likewise, the dash of the stones as tiiey met in the air in their (light, could be distinguished from the tliinidcring noise iijsuing from the interior of the mountain. Where these large stones I'ell, there in general they lay ; for, in consequence of the gentle declinatlun of the ground at the foot of the mountain, to roll far was iinpossil)le. Tlio eruption continued a full hour. When the vapor had cleared away, and the shower of stones and mud had ceased, the rich vil- lage of Arguri, and the monastery and eluipol of St. James, were not to be seen: all, along witii iheir inmates, were buried under the mass of stones and mud that had been ejected. The earthquake, which accompanied the eruption, destroyed six thousand houses in the neighboring districts of Nakhichevan, Sliarur, and Ardubad. Four days after a second catastrophe occurred, which spread still farther the work of destruction at the foot of tlie mountain. After the rent in the chasm, wlience issued the vapor and stones, had closed, there renuiincd in the same place a deep basin filled with water by the melting of the snow, by the rain, and by a streandet from above, so as to form a small lake. The mass of stone and clay, which formed a dam, and surrounded the lake like the edge of a crater, was burst by the weight of water, and poured down the declivity of the mountain with irresistible force a stream of thick mud, which spread into the plain, and partly stopped up the bed and altered tlio course of the small river Karasu. A part of the gardens of Arguri that had escaped the eruption, were destroyed by this stream of nnid, which carried trees, rocks, and the bodies of the inhabitants of tiio village, down into the plain, and to the bed of the Karasu. This stream of mud was three times repeated, and was accompanied by subterranean noises." That Noah's ark icsled on the top of Mount Ararat is not to be credited. The difliculty of the descent, and the low temperature of the atmosphere, which must have killed many of the animals, alike preclude the supposi- tion ; and, moreover, the Scriptures do not say it rested on the top, but merely " on the mountains of Ararat." If this be the mountain there re- ferred to — which is somewhat doubtful, seeing that the olive does not grow near it — the ark must have rested on one of its lower slopes. Nakhiche van, cigiity miles oast of Erivan, claims the honor of being the oldest city of the world; and tradition affirms that Noah fixed his residence here after descending from Ararat. The name Ararat is said to hi derived from Arai, a king who lived 1750 years B. 0. lie fell in battle, in an Armenian plain, which was henco called "ilrai-ilro/" — the fall of Aral. Before him reigned Amassis, tho sixth from Japhct, who called tho country Amasia; honco tho name Massis^ 294 ILLUSmATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. or 3Iacis, by which alone Armenians in the present day know the mount- ain. By the Turks and Persians it is called Agri-dag-h. The third sylla- ble, doffh, means mountain; but philologists are not agreed on the signifi- cation of Ag-ri. Owing to the great elevation of the c'j'mtry, the climate in most parts is rather severe ; but though the winters last long, the summer heats are suf- ficient to bring all the fruits of the earth to perfection. Although severe, the climate is, however, considered healthy. The soil of Armenia is reckoned, on the whole, productive, though in many places it would be quite barren were it not foi the great care taken to irrigate it ; to such an extent, indeed, is the system of irrigation carried on, that in summer many considerable streams arc wholly absorbed for this purpose. Wiieat, barley, tobacco, hemp, grapes, and cotton, are raised ; and, in some of the valleys, apricots, peaches, mulberries, and walnuts, arc grown. From the nature of the country, the rearing of stock is carried on to a greater extent than agriculture. The horses are spirited, fleet, and fiery. Pines, birches, poplars, and beeches flourish, but there are no thick forests except in the northern parts of the country. The flora is not so varied as might be expected in mch an Alpine region ; in several respects it resembles the vegetation of the Alps of Tyrol and Switzerland. The inhabitants are chiefly of the genuine Armenian stock ; but besides them, in consequence of the repeated subjugation of the country, various other races nave obtained a footing. Of these the principal are tlj-^ Tutko- mans, who still maintain their nomadic habits, and from whom t' 3 country has received the name of Turkomania. Of the Armenians, but about one half are in Armenia. The remainder, like the Jews, are scattered over various countries ; and, l)eing strongly addicted to commerce, play an im- portant part as merchants. They are found all over western Asia; about two hundred thousand are in Constantinople and its vicinity ; numbers are in various parts of the Russia empire, Hungary, and Italy ; some in Africa and America; and a large number in India, chiefly in the great marts of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. Everywhere they are engaged in banking and trading. In pliysical structure, they belong to the Caucasian race, and, in general, are well made. Their eyes and hair are black, their look lively, noses aquiline, and their complexion somewhat swarthy. The women are remarkable for the delicacy and regularity of their features. Like the Jews, whom in many respects they resemble, their ruling passion appears to bo an inordinate love of gain, but they arc generally esteemed honest. Their mental capacity is good, and those who are educated are distin- guished by superior cultivation and refined manners ; but the mass of the people inhabiting their native country, in consequeaco of centuries of neg- lect, arc grossly ignorant and superstitious. The Armenians embraced Cliristianity in the fourth century ; and, in A. D. 536, separated from the Greek church, being dissatisfied with tho decisions of tho council of Chalccdon. In doctrine, they hold that there THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES — ARMENIA. 295 13 only one nats in Christ, and that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone, i hey have seven saf^raments, but, in the mode of using them, differ in several respects from the Roman catholics. They adore saints and images, but do not believe in purgatory. Their hierarchy differs little from that of the Greeks. The catholicus, patriarch, or head of the cliurch, has his seat at Echmiadzin, a monastery near Erivan. A minority of the Armenians, chiefly those residing in European countries, acknowl- edge the i)ope, and conform, in doctrine and church-government, to the Roman catholic church. They are called United Armenians. u i^i'irwHiji 6 1 Patbiarciial Chvich and MoNASTSiv or Echmiadzin. »?-.^'iv. ^T^ The monastery of Echmiadzin, the seat of the catholicvs, or head of the Armenian church, lies in the valley of the Arras, thirteen miles east of Eri- van, near the villnge of Vagarhabad, which is also frequently though im- properly called Echmiadzin. The monastery is surrounded by a wall thirty feet high, entered by four gates, and flanked by towers, which, as well aa the walls, are built of brick, excepting the base, and furnished with loop- holes, giving to the whole structure the appearance of a large quadrangular fortress. The mojmstery was founded in A. D. 524 ; but the church it contains dates from the time of St. Gregory " the Enlightcncr," who intro- duced Christianity into Armenia, though various additions have been made to it in later times. The monks have here a printing-press and a seminary ; but little good is to bo expected from their labors, as they arc unlearned, ignorant, and superstitious. The Armenian language belongs to the most distant offshoots of the Indo-Germanic root ; but still, in its form and structure, has much that it is peculiar, and to the ear it is harsh and dissonant. The old Armenian language, also called Haican, which is that of literature, may now be con- sidered a dead language. In the new Armenian language, which is divided into four dialects not differing greatly from each other, there are many Turkish words, and the construction of sentences is regulated by the rules of Turkish syntax. With the exception of some songs collected by Arch- bishop Mosea Choroncnsis, no specimens of the earlier Armenian literature t }XA 296 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. have been preserved. After the introduction of Christianity, a grc.it ta-sto for the Greek hvngii.igc and literature arose, and a number of works in Greek and Pyri.'vc were translated into Armenian. Before A. D. 40G, the Armenians had no alph.ibct of tlicir own, but used indilfcrcntly Greek, Syriac, or Persian characters. In that year, however, Mcsrop Masdoty invented the ITaican alph.abct, consisting of tliirty-cight letters (thirty con- sonants and eight vowels), called, from its inventor, 3Ii'sropian, and which still continues to be employed along with the modern alphabet. Armenian literature flourished from the fourth to the fourteenth century. Of this period, many writers have obtained a name chiefly as historians and chroniclers. Their works, which might throw considerable light on the history of the East during the middle ages, have hitherto been little con suited. Armenian literature began to siidi in the fourteenth century, and since that ])eriod scarcely any original work of importance has appeared ; but, in all their wanderings, the Armenians have preserved a taste for native literature, and have set up printing-presses wherever they have .set- tled : so (hat we find Armenian works printed in Amsterdam, Venice, Leghorn, Lcmberg, Moscow, Astrakhan, Constantinople, Smyrna, Echmi- adzin, Ispahan, Madras, Calcutta, Batavia, bts of f heir prince, and the vassals those of their vsdcn ; and in each case tlio inferior must make pood all losses sustained iiy his superior, whether from rol»bcry or accident: by which arranjicment it is evident tliat all losses or expenses are defrayed, ultinmtely, by the vassal. The head of the princely house is the leader in war ; and his iisdcn are bound to attend him with all thei'' retainers, or as many as may be required. There is no ))eople, not even the Aralts, among whom pride of birth is carried to a greater lieight than among the Circassians, especially those of Kabaidah. In this district, if an vsdan were to marry or seduce a prin- cess, he would forfeit his life without mercy; and tiie same result wonbl attend the attempt of a bv^valia or vassal to ally himself to a nol)lo house. An Abassian prince is, in tliis respect, considered equal only to a Circas- sian KSildn, and can obtain a Circassian wife only from that class. Tho rigorous eiiforcement of this custom has preserved tho dilTerent ranks very distinct, though Pallas has oltserved, even in tho Kaltardahs, some traces which indicate a descent from Tartar mothers. It must be observed, how- ever, that there does not appear to l)c any lostriction upon a man's taking a wife or a concubine from an inferior cla^s; and tho issue of sucli connec- tions take rank from the fatlier, l)ut arc not accounted equal to the de- scendants of a j)urc stock from both parents. Thus, there are princes of tho first, second, and third class, «tc., according to the greater or less degree of inferior blood which they inherit from their maternal ancestors. Tliis state of society, closely reseml)ling the feudal institutions of the flotliic ages, jeoms to imply the division of tho Circassians into two distinct peo- ple, a c 1. qucring and a conquered race ; but when or how the present relations were established, is involved in impenetrable oltseurily. The whole of the Circassian and Abchnsian tribes live in si, u!l vilLi^rca scattered liere and there, without theslighi^ t approach toany'hlut; i' bling a city or walled town ; indeed, the prince or nolde has n. i" x.iqi.vi-- able aversion to any castle or place of artificial strength, which he regards as pnly btted it restrain his state of wild freedom. lie lives, tlierefore, in the centre of iii;' village, which usually consists of forty or fifty houses, or rather lints, forin d of plaited o;;iors, plastered within and witliout, covered with straw or g;r,s •, and -i- langcd in a circle, within the area of which tho cattle arc secured Ui ngiit. TIicso jnimitivc dwellings, which strongly rescmlde, in h/\u\ rnv. appearance, tho humbler residences in Arabian towns, have, ho /ever, the peculiar recommendation of being unoxccption* TnK CAUCASIAN PROVlNCra — CTRCAR8IA. 805 ably cloan, which is also tlu; c.Mf. with the pcrpons, drcfls, and cookory, of the iiimaton. From lli • slmdcr imtnro of tho huildings, thoy arc ovidontly not forinod for lonp: otidtirivn >% and a Clrc(»*Hiftu village is, in fact, l»y uo DicaiiH a fixture. The ni^cumulftti(»i '>f dirt iu tlioir noipliliorhood , tJui iiytnt- curity of tlic position, lu, ! fioqucnlly oven fli*^ onpricc of the inhri''itant», cause tlicm to 1)0 from timo to (iino abandoned. Ort such occasio ■« the dwellings are destroyed, tho house liold utensils packed up, and tho whole colony migrate in search of a new abode. While stationary, however, there is much comfort in a Circnssiau's hovel, for f'loso wli" (;an dispense M ith superfluities; but, as maybe supposed, their d()mesti( urrani;emcnts 8 re of tho most simple kind. Tno usual occupations of tho higher classes are the vttasc and war, on wliieh expeditions, or those of a predatory kind, they dcfiart with no other provi.>htcst fear of suflering from want, since every man who posse.'^ses and can uso a riflo is hurc of finding provision on every hedge. In these cxf'oditicMis tho Cir- cassians carry with them tent-covers of felt, but chiefly fi>r the purpose of protecting themselves from sudden storms, as, in fine we: ,licr, tho hardy mountaineer throws himself on the ground, and sleeps with mo o;,hcr cover- ing than the heavens. While in his hut, the Circassian, of whatever rank, ivS his own carpenter, weaver, carver, and shepherd. It do(>> not appear, however, that the higher classes often take part in agricnlti ;il pursuits, not so much because it is considered derogatory, as from tlia; species of indolence ((piito consistent witli great occasional exertion) whcii recoils from regular and continuous lal)or. The occupations of the women consist in spinning and ncodlewo-Tv. They make the clothes of their household, down to the very shoes, and ilso sad- dle-cushions, housings, and horse-trappings, and sheaths for the warriors' swords and poniards. They frecpiently excel in embroidery, ai' skilful dairy-women, and sometimes oven noblewomen may be seen takiii_ a part in field-labor. As in other half-l)arbarous societies, the greater poiMon of labor falls upon tho females ; but their condition is far superior in ' 'ircas- «jia to what it is in most other eastern countries. As Mohanunedanism is little more than a profession among these p-^ople, their hal)it^, with the cxceptiim of .some formal ol)servancea with regard to food, have undergone but little change by its introduction. Tho soxea mix freely together while unmarried, and, undor the restriction of caste, love-matches arc prol)al)ly as numerous hero as in other parts of the world. The husband has, however, to purchase his bride of her father ; and nei- ther husband n<>r wife, from the moment of their union, is permitted to appear iu tlie pi osence of the parents for a year, or until the birth of the first child. It is a still more remarkable custom, that tho hui5band must never lie seen in company with his wife ; and though the latter is permitted io receive without restraint tho visits of strD:igers, yet the former is never present on such occasions, and the matrimonial correspondence is always 20 306 ILLUSTRATED DESCIHPTION OP nUSSIA. carried on by stealth, and in the utmost secrecy. The greatest insult that can be olTered to a prince or usdan, is to inquire after the health of his wife or family ! TIio son of a prince is committed, at the age of three days, to the care of an usdan, by whom he is brought up, and never again seen by his fatluM* till he is n^.arried : the son of an usdan remains in the paternal houscliold till he is three or four years old, when he, in like man- ner, is consigned to the care of a stranger ! The foster-father stands in every respect in the place of the natural parent. lie receives no payment for iiis trouble, but claims all the duty and service of his ward. The cr.use of this very reinarkalile custom is said to be the wish to prevent the effect of iiidulgence consequent on a liomc education, in enervating the character ; but tlK)ii.i:li it destroys the usual affection subsisting between father and son, it establishes another not ' jss strong between the guardian and his ward, which is usually as intense as any exhibited in the social connections of other countries. Tile daughters are brought up at home, and at the ago of ten or twelve years have their waists enclosed by tight-fitting stays, or a broad band of uatanned leather, xrhick is never rcmoeed nor loosened till they arc mar- ried. On the wedding night the husband cuts this boddicc open with his dagger, an operation which is frequently attended with danger. As a fiiio waist is considorod the great beauty of a Circassian, men are also subjected to a very heavy compression on that part, but nothing to that which the fcujales endure. The girdle remains on the latter for a period varying from two to six years (a girl i^.~Vw/,x-/'-i unmarried at seventeen rarely finds a husband), during which time the victim is growing; — and, in addition to this, they are (still further to " improve" the form) so sparingly fed, that the young unmarried females have often a look of ill health. The finest-looking women aro the young wives. The Circassians have long been proverbial for their beau- ty of form and figure, especially the women ; and, though they have in this respect been eon- founded with the Georgians, yet all the accotnits of the modern and the most accurate travellers ci»cAMi4». concur in descriliing them as an extremely handsome people — tall, finely-formed, slender in the loins, small iu the hand and foot, elegantly-featured, with keen, lively eyes, frcbh com* rUE CAUCASIAN PQOVIKCES — CIBCASSIA. !K- '--^^V::;- C'lllCASSIAN FBMALIt*. plcxions, and remarkably intelligent countenances. Their bearing is manly and dignified ; but they liavc a kind of lofty gait, which perhaps indicates, and may, at all events, be easily mistaken for, haughtiness. Tlie dress of the men consists of shirt, tunic, and cloak, much resembling those of tho Calinucks, but formed of better materials, and in general richer. Tho female costume is not very diflcrcnt except in being longer. The men crop the hair, leaving only a single lock hanging from the crown ; they wear thick mustaches ; and the warriors and learned classes (priests and physi- cians) suffer the whole beard to grow. Tho women's heads liave luxuri- riaiit tresses, but both sexes eradicate every appearance of hair on all other parts of their bodies, by means of a caustic ointment of unslaked lime and orpimcut. The princes and usdcn rarely go out unarmed ; and in his coat- of-raail, helmet, musket, pistols, bow, quiver, and shield, tho Circassian chief forms a most imposing and picturesque oliject. In this dress they pay their visits of state, and in this also they rido out on their warlike or predatory expeditions. , Tho Circassian, liko tho Arab, is a strange mixture of ferocity and hos- I'H 303 ILLUSTRATRD DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. I< i m pitality, Tho unfortunate traveller who approaches his country without securing the protection of sonic chief, is seized as a slave by the first native who meets him ; but, on the other hand, should this protection be extended, the whole power of the host, or konak, as ho is called, is sti-ained to pro- cure, not only the safety, but the accommodation of the guest. The form of granting protection is remarkable. The wife of the konak gives the stranger her breast to suck, after which ceremony ho is regarded as hor son, and the whole tribe as his adopted bretliren. Robbery and i)liinder are considered honorable occupations : but the charge of thieving i.s ac- counted an insult, Itecaiiso it imjilios detection! The custom of blood- revenge, called thlil-uasa, is vMy .«inii!ar to that of Arabia: in cases of murder, the friends of the murdered arc allowed to take the life of tho homicide, or that of any of his relatives within the fourth degree. Tlio ransom by fine is, according to the Prussian traveller Pallas, never taken ; but Spencer (a British traveller), on the contrary, affirms that it is almost always jireferrcd. The exclusive nature of Circassian marriages has been already noticed. It is, liowevcr, as little inconsistent, that while a Circassian prince would unhesitatingly slaugliter an vsthin of his own tribe, or an Abchasian, who should ])resunie to wed his daugliter, he jviH as unhesitaliiifffi/ sell her to Turk, Persian, Turkoman, Nogai Tartar, or Calnnick ! Sj)encer, who pro- fesses to admire every institution of these ])eople, has ingejiiously discov- ered tlmt this practice has temlod to rrjinc and civilize tlie inhabitants of the Caucasus! lie admits, indeed, that it has occasioned wars and feuds innumerable among tlie petty tribes, from the rai)acity with which they have overrini eacli otlicr's territory in search of l>eauty for the foreign mar- ket. The greater ])()ition of the females thus sold have, however, always been from among the Trans-Caucasian people — the Imeritians, Georgians, Mingrelians, and Al)assians — the Circassian slave-trade having been chiefly connned to tlie male sex, from which they supplied the Mameluke and other ^lavc-troojjs of Egypt and Turkey. The laws of Circiissia rest only on long-establislied custom. They are administered in a council of elders, but not always liy the reigning prince, if any other of his rank possess the requisite qualities in a higher degree. The council consists not of princes and ustlni only, I)ut also of the wealthier and more aged vassals, who. in the judgment-seat, are regarded as on an (^qualify witli the higher classes. The laws tliemselves arc based upon tho ;>i-inciple of retaliation, and the business of "tho court" seems to consist of little else than the assessment of damages. Uobbery of a prince is pun- is!!ed l>y tho restitution of nine times the property stolen ; of an usdun, by simple restitution, and a fine of thirty oxen. Tiie prince or tisdan can scarcely commit a robl)cry on a vassal, since his abstract right to all the prop.'rty of the latter is tacitly acknowledged ; and the punishment of rob- bery by one vassal of anotlver, appears to vary with tho circumstances of the case. Fine, as among the Arabs, scorns almost tho universal punish* % I THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES — CIRCASSIA. 809 mcnt, except in cases of murder and adultery ; in both of which cases the punishnicnt is left in the hands of the injured party. The offending wife lias her head shaved, her ears slit, tlie sleeves of her garment cut off, and in this trim is returned, on horseback, to her father ; who, if he can not soil, generally kills her. Tiic paramour is certain of death, being a marked man by all the husband's tribe. l\»lygamy is allowed, but very rarely practised. The Circassians are very attentive to their breeds of horses, and have distinct marks to show the noble races from wliich they have descended. The stamping a false mark upon a fiUy is a forgery for which nothing but life can atone ! Learning is a complete blank. The Circassians have not even an alpha- bet, and consequently neither book nor manuscript in their own language. The few who read, and they arc very few, use tlie Tartar or Arabic tongues, l)oth of vhich, the former especially, are very generally understood. Ev- ery tribe would .seem to speak a modified language, since, within a narrow space, not less than seventy-two dialects, or patois, have been enumerated ; and one particular spot, wliere this variety is more remarkably exhibited, lias been sunianicd, by Abulfeda, an oriental writer, Jubel-el-Alason (" the Mount of Tongues"). Tiiese dialects totally differ from any other lan- guage at present known : their iironunciatiou consists of strange, uncouth, deep, guttural sounds, whicli European letters can hardly express, and European organs vainly attempt to articulate; and, what is singular (con- sidering the absence of written characters), and adds to the perplexity of tlie philologist, there is a secret dialect, apparently an old bf.rbarous gibbcr- isli, peculiar to tlio princes and usden, and used by them chieily on their predatory excursions. The religion of tlie Circassians exhibits a strange jumble of Christianity, Mohaminedanism, and paganism. Tlie first, unfortunately, has scarcely a nominal existence, and is chiefly discernible in a superstitions reverence paid to the cross, figures of which, in stone, are set up in many localities, which in consequence often become famous trysting-places, and at which some kind of worship is paid. The paganism appears in the homage which is rendered, principally by the vulgar, to two spirits, a good and a bad — Merein, a benevolent deity, and Tschih!', the spirit of thunder. Mohara- medanism, as before remarked, is the nominal faith, and exists in a more definite form. In some districts, considerable influence is possessed by its tnolla/is or priests, who latterly, in addition to their proper duties, act as teachers, and keep a few schools, in which — as there is no printed vernac- ular — Turkish, Tartar, Arabic, and occasionally a little Persian, are taught. The true Circassian education is that which the youths receive who are trained to war from their earliest years, and never cease from it till they are able to take the field. Arts, manufactures, and commerce, are at the lowest ebb among the Cir- cassians. The doctors are simply conjurers or sali^ts, who profess to cure diseases by charms and the roughest applications of actual cautery. Their ■;fi IB T ' (I 810 ILLUSTRATKD DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. success may bo surmised from the fact that, notwithstanding the length and inveteracy of the war with the Russians, very low instances of maimed Circassian warriors are to be met with : to be wounded among tltcso peo- ple is generally to die. Of artificers and slcillod mechanics, there are only cutlers, armorers, and goldsmiths ; wlio, liowcver, exhibit great ingenuity in the construction and decoration of the warriors' arms. A view of the interior of one of their armor-manufactories is given on the opposite page. Tlio art of preparing gunpowder has been known for ages in the Caucasus, and the abundance of saltpetre renders the inhabitants independent of otlicr countries for this important clement of warfare ; their mode of manufacture is, however, very primitive. It has been already stated that tho women arc the great manufacturers of clotlies, Avhieli may be said to be tlio only manufacture which these people possess. They formerly traded with Per- sia and Turkey for tlieir chain and other armor, and with Tartar tribes northward for salt ; the equivalents on their part being their children and cattle. The Russians have annihilated both trades ; and this is said to be one great cause of the liatred entertained against them by the Circassians. The Circassians having no annals, and very few traditions, tlicir early history is almost a blank. Much ingenuity and labor have been employed in endeavoring to trace their origin through the afliuities of language. Tho success as yet has been very partial ; but there can bo no doubt that they came from the East. Authors ditfcr, however, as to tho nation or tribe from which they have descended : some maintain that they were originally Medes ; while others affirm that they arc a branch of tho Arabians, whom they greatly resemble in their laws and customs : indeed, the Kabardahs claim this descent, and there is a common tradition among the Circassians that the whole people are descendants from Ishmacl. They may be divided into two great classes: the Circassians proper, or Tchcrktssians ; and tho Tschetschenzes, who inhabit Lcsghia, or western Daghestan. They take the common name of Adighc or Adeches, a name denoting a mountain-ravine on the sea. But the word Tcherkessia is Tartar, and literally means cut the road; that is, highwayman or robber, one who makes communication unsafe. It also boars this signification : tcherk, to cut off, and ke«, the head. The general name given to these ])cople in tho Caucasus is Kasack, whence some have inferred that they are of the same rac; with tho Cos- sacks of tho Don and the Volga, which is doubtless an error, for tho word Cossack has a general and not a national signification, and means a man who leads a wandering and martial life. From these regions Greece received her first inhabitants, and in return appears to have sent back colonists, who settled on tlio Circassian coast, and ultimately fell under the Roman domination. In more modern times, between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, they became subject to tho kingdom of Georgia, whose queen, Tamar, is said to have spread a knowl- edge of Christianity among them. In 1424, they throw off tho Georgian yoke, asserted their independence, and not only maintained it, but oxtondod ARMOR MANXTFACTORT IN ORCASSIA. h * ^1 U if iki I I THE CAUCASIAN PROVINCES — CAUCASUS. 313 tlicir boundaries so far, tliot tlicy were at last brought into fierce coiidict with the Tartars, who iiltimately prevailed and made the Circassians their tributaries. They continued so till 170">, when they rose against tlieir ojjprcssors, and, by a deci.>out three thousand. Konstantinogorsk, twenty miles southwest of Cheorghievsk, is celebrated for its sulphur-baths; and at Kislavodsky there is acid-water. Karass, a neat town situated between the two last-named places, at the foot of the Beseh Dagli (five mountains, four thousand three hundred feet high), is remarkable for a colony ol' (lermans and Scotch. Mozdok is a commercial town, and one of the principal military stations on the line of the Terek. It was built in 1703, under Catherine II. Kizliar is situated on the left bank of the Terek, fifty miles above ita month. It is dull and sombre: a few of the Iiouses are of brick, but tho greater part are of wood. The situation being low, and exposed to inun- dations, is very unhealthy. The inhabitants are chieliy employed in agri- culture. Kizliar, being an entrepot for the traffic between Astrakhan and Persia, carries on a j)rosperous trade, which is wiiolly in the hands of tho Armenians. The exports are wine, brandy, oil of sesame, cotton and silk stufls. The popL-Iation, exclusive of the garrison, is about ten thousand. The triangular portion of the Caucasian country bounded by tho river Terek on the north, the Caspian on the east, the summits of the Caucasus on the southwest, and Circassia on the northwest, is generally known by the name of Daghestan, a name derived from the Tartar Tagh start, sig- nifying a mountainous country. It lies between the fortieth and forty-third degrees of aorth latitude, and the forty-sixth and forty-uiuth degrees of THE CAUCASIAN PRrVTNCEa — DAOnESTAV. m cast longitiiJc. Its greatest length is about two hundred ""Ucs, and its liroiidth forty, comprising about nine tliousand throe hundred larc miles. This is exclusive of the western portion, called Leghislan, or LesgUiay which is estimated to contain six or seven thousand square miles. Dugljcstan consists partly of plains, but, as its name implies, chiefly of mountains, offsets from the Caucasus, which separate deep valleys as they traverse the province southeast, toward the plains lying along tl»e Caspian sea. They arc chiefly of limestone. In the southern parts of tlie provinco arc numerous bituminous springs, some of which arc worked, and afford, in addition ia petroleum, an inexhaustible supply of black and white naph- tha, while others have for ages emitted a burning stream, known by tho name of Indian fire. (For a description of similar springs, see Shirvan, the adjoining Trans-Caucasian province.) Notwithstanding tho generally mountainous character of Daghestan, it comprises many valleys and level tracts of great fertility. Its climate is various : on the plains it is warm and unwholesome ; on the slopes of tho mountains it is more temperate and healthy ; but still more decidedly so on the higher elevations. Agriculture is carefully attended to, and good crops of grain are produced; also silk, cotton, madder, flax, saffron, and tobacco. Tlie vegotal)los and domestic animals are nearly the same with those of Europe. Tlie wild animals are tigers, panthers, buffaloes, and camels, the latter also l)eing domesticated. The population of the lowlands is composed of a mongrel race of Per- sian, Arabian, Syriac, Turkish, and Tartar origin, mixed with tho original Caucasians. They are of middle size, strong, and active. The mountains arc inhabited by a variety of Caucasian tribes : among tho most prominent are tlie Insgushes, tho Lesghians, the Kists, tho Kumiks, and, above all, tho T^chctschenzes. The mountaineers are generally tall and well formed. They are bravo and hospkable ; but revengeful, given to falscliood, theft, and intrigue, and noisy and boisterous in their convivialities. The people generally are careful agriculturists and industrious fishermen, taking stur- geon and turtle in such quantities as to form a considerable export trado to Persia and Russia. The religion is chiefly Mohammedan, and their lan- guage is composed of dialects of tho Tartar tongue, mixed with Armenian, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew. Tho principal towns aro Derbcnt, Tarki, Nizabad, and Kouba. Derbeut is an ancient but decayed town on tho Caspian, and formed for many centuries the key of tho Persian empire in this quarter. It is sur- rounded by strong walls, built of large stones ; and on the summit of tho hill, on the declivity of which tho city stands, there is a fort or citadel, of a triangular figure. The streets are very narrow, and tho houses mostly of one story, with a terraced roof. Largo quantities of saffron are grown in tho vicinity, and the inhabitants prepare rose-water and opium ; but the trade of tho place is small. Its population, composed chiefly of Georgians, Armenians, and Jews, is about twelve thousand. In tho neighborhood is If m ^ - 1 -^ 816 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. I a famous tomb, said to be tliat of forty Saracen heroes, wlio were killed in batJlc against the " iiifidels," wlien Dcrlieiit was taltcn by the califs. The Moiiaiiiniodati Lcsgliians still iiiukc pilgiiiiiagcs to it. Kouba, fifty miles southwest of Dcrbeiit, is a coiiMidciablo town ; and at IJcrcikloi, twenty miles northwest, resides the khan of the Kaitaks, who bears the title of ouzmci, and exercises a sort of sovoreignty over (he Aknshas and the Kubashas. Tiie Tschetschonzes and licsgliians inhaljit the northwestern portion of Daghestan, bordering on Circassia; and the latter arc said to l»c the most predatory and ferocious of all the Caucasian nations. They arc mostly Mohammedans, but a few vestiges of Christianity may be traced among them. Tliey are divided into numerous tribes, whom the nature of their country kcejis so isolated, that no such thing as a general confederacy or national union can be maintained among them. Their language has no analogy with any known tongue except that of the Samoides, of northern Siberia, to which it bears a distant resemblance: it is divided into numor- ous dialects, which have been reduced to eight classes, and the pe( pic using them comprise so nmny small states. The first of th(>se is tlie Avaf, which includes the Avars and fourteen other tribes resembling them. The Avars are believed to be the renuiins of (lie Avars, or Huns, who took ref- uge in tliis part of the Caucasus, and are prol)ably of the same primitive .stock with the Magyars of Hungary. The other chief trihes of Lesghians arc the Aknshas, the Kubashas, and the Kafii-Kiuniks. The Akushas dwell on the Koisou, and form a rejjublic, composed of about thirty villages. The Kubashas also live near the Koisou, in a large town oi the same name, and eight dependent villages. They are a peaceful tribe^ and are known throughout the East as tlie Zer-kherans, or makera of coats-of-mail : they manufacture splendid armor, and fine cloth or shawls, which they exchange for cattle and produce. The Kasi-Kumiks dwell on a branch of the same river, and are governed by a khan, whoso authority extends over a hundred villages. He resides at Chahar, and can raise six thousand men. Thoy are zealous Mohammedans, and fiercely opi)osed to the Russians. The Lesghians had long been the terror of surrounding nations ; but, in 1742, they were driven by the arms of Nadir Shah to seek protection from Russia, and swear allegiance to the czar. It was during this war, that the Bhah (having retaken the Trans-Caucasian provinces wrested from Persia by Peter the Great) attempted with forty thousand men to penetrate the defiles of the Caucasus, but was defeated at the pass of Dariel,the dangers of which passage in ancient times gave origin to the Persian proverb — " When the king is too happy, let him enter Dariel !" Daghestan is the seat of the Caucasian war waged by Shamyl and his followers, the Lesghians, the Tschetschenzes, and other tribes of the eastern section of the Caucasian range. This fierce conflict between the mountain- eers of Daghestan with the Russians began about the commencement of tlie present century, on the absorption of this territory, with Georgia, by the Russian empire. It was formerly interrupted from time to time, but has ■ TIIR CAUCASIAN mOVINCES — DAOHESTAN. 819 now rngod witliont rc!«pito for soinc twcnty-fivo years. On iho Russian Bido, Ziziiin«»ir, ii prince of f3eorji;iiin origin, was one of tiic first wlio, al»out forty yours apo, struek tlie Tschetsclicn'/.os witii awe. One of liis most ablo successors was YorniolofT, ccjually rcspoctod and dreaded I»y tlie Caucasian tribes. ll>> was recently living in Moscow, more tlian eighty years old, and in a kiml of silent disgrace witli the emperor. I'askiewitch replaced YerniololV for a few years, and in 18:52 was followed liy IJaron Rosen, to wliose administration are ascribed the disasterd sullerod by Russia from W\2 to is;ui. About tlie year 1823, a sect of religious enthusiasts sprang up aniong tho vh'nins or Moha/nmedan clergy of the Caucasus. Sheik-Mansour wns tho forcrunniT of liiis sect. Nearly thirty years after his death, Khasi-Mollah or Kliiisi-Mdhammed, standing upon the new creed, raised the standard of rcdigiotis I'anaticism for the defence of the national independence. Tho principal feature of this new theology is the lielief in a certain perfectibility of the w(irii-(»iit forms of Islamism. Khasi-Mollah claimed to l)c directly inspired and advised l>y fJod ; and the revelations thus received were com- niuniealed iiy him to his immediate companions, called nturidcs or miirshi- des, who formed a warlike priesthood, and a kind of body-guard for tho prophet. He was soon surrountled l»y numerous believers from all parts of l)aghc.«7. at the same villago of Himry, and at the age of thirty-seven became the chief of the Tschets- chenzes. In person lie is of medium size, with light hair ; his eyes, covered by long and bushy brows, are full of lire ; his beard, though white, does not give him the appearance of age. He is very al)steniious, eats little, drinks water, and sleeps but a few hours. For a long time the fastness of Akulcho was his residence, whence he darted upon the foe. " Mohammed was tho first, Shaiiiyl is the second prophet of Allah I" is the war-cry of Daghestan. In 1839, the Russian general Grabbe attacked Shamyl in his retreat of Akulcho. The fortress was dismantled by heavy artillery, but the Tschcta- chcnzcs did not suffer at all. Sheltered in vaults and crevices, they rushed out to fire their d«.adly rillcs, and then disappeared. Several assaults wore thus repulsed by them ; but finally the rocks were mined, and at tho fotu'th 320 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. assault, after horrible Woodshed, the Russians took tho fortress, on the 22d of Aupist. But Shaniyl was not to bo found among tho dead. With a few mvrides ho liad retreated to tlic caverns of tho mountain. There they constructed a kind of raft, wliieh they threw into the stream at tho foot of the rocks. They sprang on this floating conveyance, while they were firod at from botli banks of tlic river. All perished but one, who leaped into the current, reached a sure spot, and disappeared in the nu>nnt- ains. This was Shannl. After this defeat, lie visited the western tribes of the Caucasus, and preached among them the holy war against Russia, but without success. On his return he selected a new abode in the fortress of Dargo, situated in an almost imiiregnable position, ftrabbc attacked him there in 1842. When the Russian army had completely entered tho primitive forests and defiles around Dargo, it was surrounded by the war- riors of Shaniyl. and more than half of it destroyed. This was the most terrible defeat sustained by Russia during this whole i)rotracted contest. The war continued to be disastrous for the imperial trooi)S. Tho com- manders were changed again and again, and hnally Prince Woronzow waa sent there with unlimited powers. At that moment the authority of Shamyl was absolute and extensive. He ruled the Lesghiaiis (including the Avars), the Tschetschenzcs, the Kists, and the Kuniiks. Shamyl, not only a war- rior. I)ut a legislator, had established over the unruly princes of these tribes a kind of theocratic moimrchy ; he had united tribes hitherto hostile to each othiM*, organized a numerous military force, and in 184o commanded alK)ve five tliousanals on l)oth sides signalized this campaign ; but [)argo wns finally taken and destroyed in the course of the year 184"). In 184G, SluMuyl descended with nearly twenty thousand horse upon the western side of the Caucasus, invaded the lval)ardians, and, not being al)le to i)ring them to his side, pilhiged the coinitry, and returned to Daghestan without the Russians overtaking him. F^ttni that time, Woronzow gradually proceeded to enclose Shaujyl in an iron circle, and the area of his activity was narrowed more anil more. From time to time, he has been wont to rush from his retreat upon tho enemy, and to inllict on him the severest blows, but has not l)een able to carry on the war on a large scale. A visionary priest, an eulhusiastie prophet, a warrior and a legislator, for a moment it seemed his destiny to become the sovereign of the Caucasus, and to secure his country again.«t tho cncroachinents of Russia. More recently this has appeared imjiossililo, nn tion of the chain of the Ural on the western and that of the Altai on the southern frontiers, forms a vast plain, almost unbroken by any greater heiglits than a few hills and the banks of the rivers which wind across it. This plain, toward the south, has a height of about two thousand feet above the sea, b'-.t toward the north is so near its level as often to become exten- sively inundated. For convenience of description, this plain has been arranged, according to its productive powers, in four divisions — the steppe or pastoral, the agricultural, the woody, and the moorland or tundra. The steppe, occu- pyiug the moat elevated part of the plain, extends from the southern fron- tiers north to latitude fifty-five degrees ; and from the western frontiers, within these limits, cast to the banks of the Irtysch. The greater part of it consists of what is called the steppe of Ishim, and has a bare and almost sterile surface, often incrusted with salt, but also occasionally covered with a scanty vegetation, and sometimes even enlivened by tracts of green pas- ture, over which the nomadic tribes roam with their flocks and herds. The agricultural division extends north to latitude sixty degrees, though its exact limits can not be properly defined by a parallel of latitude, since 824 ILLUSTUATED DESCRIPTION OF nUSSlA. tlicy more strictly form a waving lino cncroacliing or cncroaolicd tipon liy the other divisions, according as tlie conligiiration of the snrfaco and prcp- ertics of tlic soil are favorable or Jinfavoralde to agricidlnral operation?. In many partr, whore it borders on the steppe, it has much of tlio same character, and has oidy occasional tracts which have been or can be advan- tageously brought under the plough ; and in many other parts, as the same vegetative powers which may Ite employed in growing grain naturally grow trees, pr^neval forests are often found ; but still the term (li^n'rufftinil is properly applied to it, as it is only within its limits that agrieidture is suc- ccssl'ully prosecuted on an t^xtensive scale, and occupies a consideralde proportion of the inhabitants. The divisicm thus named has an extent of about two hundred and fifty thousand square miles, and, under favoral)le circumstances, might furnish sultsistenee to a very large population ; but, as yet, it is only the more fertile alluvial tracts adjacent to the riveis tliat have been brought under anything like r»*gular culture. AVithin this divis- ion, though not jtroperly belonging to it, is the sfrp/if of Bdraha, situated lictween the Irtysch and the 01)i. Tiie southern portion greatly resembles the .steppe of Ishim, though on the whole it is not so arid, and has a more abundant vegetation. The northern jMirtidU, tliough Hat and swampy, is covered with nearly continuous forests of liirch and tir, haunted by numer- ous wild animals, including the beaver. This portion of the Haraba or Ihtnihinza steppe may therefore be con- sidered as the eomruencement of the wooded division, wliieh extends north to latitude sixty-tour degrees, and in ]>arts to sixty-six, though in the higher latitude the trees are seldom of vtM-y vigorous growth. The whole of this division is covered witli vast forests of l)irc!i and ditVerent species of fir and pine. It is not at all adapted to agriculture, but barley and rye are occasionally cidtivated. Wild animals are very numerous, and many valuable furs are obtained. The last division is that of the moorland or tumirn, ccmsisting of a low, monotonous Hat, covered with moss, and nearly destitute of trees. It ex- tends along the shores of the Arctic ocean, and has so rigorous a climate, that even in summer ice is found a ^*^\\ inches below the surface. Here the reindeer exists in vast herds, l)oth wild and d(»m"sticated ; white bears and foxes are al.-o numerous, and furnish valuable furs ; and the coasts and mouths of the rivers are frequented by immense shoahs of fish and flocks of fowl. One remarkalile feature in the western part of the tutuira is an isolated n.:'untain-mass which rises with steep sides to the north of 01)- dorsk, about latitude sixty-six degrees, and forms a kind of range divided into five summits, the loftiest of which attains the height of about five thousand feet. Siberia to the cast of longitude one hundred and five degrees, forming nearly one half of the whole territory, has a much more diversified surface than the western region ; and, owing partly to its general ruggedness and elevation, and partly to the greater severity of its climate, has much less r . SIBERIA — GENERAL FEATURES. 325 land adapted for agricultural purposes. The sea of Okhotsk has a bold and rocky shore, and tlic country behind rises with a steep ascent till a mountain-range is formed, wilii a general altitude of nearly three thousand feet above sea-level. This range, under the name of the Stanovoy mount- ains, runs nearly parallel with the coast, till it reaches the frontiers of China, where it takes the name of the Jablonnoi mountains, and proceed- ing west, continues for a long distance to form the boundary between the two empires. It then takes the name of the mountains of Daouria, and throws out numerous ramifications, which, continuing westward, throw their arms round Lake IJaikal, and cover almost all the southern part of the government of Irkoutsk. Other ramifications, proceeding northward, form the water-sheds of the numerous affluents of the right bank of the Lena. On both sides of this river the surface continues elevated, and forms a table-land, tlie interior of which is still very imperfectly known. The best portions of Ea.^tern Siberia occur in the south of the govern- ment of Irkoutsk, where, in tlie lower and more open valleys in the vicinity of Lake Baikal, cultivation has been attempted with success, and the oak and hazel, unknown in other parts of Siberia, are found growing freely. In ilmost tlie whole of the same government, where the configuration of the surface does not present invinciljle obstacles, all the grains of Europe are grown, and even the mountains and Iiills are covered during the greater part of the year with good pasture. Still (iirther north, in the government of Yakoutsk, as far as the town of the same name, grain is cultivated in patches in the upper vale of tiie Lena, though the far greater part of it is covered witli fir and pine, with so nuicli intervening space between the trees, that a good deal of herbage springs up, and helps to nout-ish the numerous herds of cattle kept by the Yakutes, and grazed chietly on an immeuse tract of low land which e.v tends from the Lena eastward to the Aldan. The northern part of Eastern Siberia consists of two distinct portions — the one extending from longitude one hundred and five degrees east to the lower valley of the Lena, and the other from that valley eastward to Beh- ring's sea. The former portion is very imperfectly known ; but, from the modes of life pursued by the Yakutes, who have taken possession of it, it is presumed that it coi.sists chiefly of pasture-ground well adapted for the rearing of cattle, or of moorland wastes, on which no other animal than the reindeer is able to subsist in numerous herds. The latter portion, as far as the Kolima, is traversed from north to south by chains of low hills, separated from each other by wide valleys or open plains, and generally overgrown with stunted larch and birch. In these valleys and plains are numerous lakes, generally well supplied with fish, and bordered by low banks, on which a rich grassy sward is often seen. Another remarkable feature in this locality is the number of albuti/, or dry lakes, consisting of a ki'id of wide basins, so far below the general level of the surface as to havtj become filled with water when the rivers overflowed their banks, and f 826 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. yet so shallow that the clefts produced l»y the wintcr-fropt form natural drains, through which the water escapes, and leaves the lakes almost dry. The alluvial bottom, owing to the richness of the soil, immediately on the arrival of summer, Jiecoines clothed with the fmest turf. "When the drain- age is less comj)lete, extensive morasses are formed, covered only with moss or stunted larches, and so destitute of jjroper pasture, that the dis- tricts in which they jirevail are ahnost uninhabited. To the east of the Kolima, brancl-.es from the Stanovoy mountains stretch northward, and form a series of ranges which freipientiy rise from two to three thousand feet. Some of these penetrate to the noithern coast, and are seen forming precipitous clifls at .'^wialoi Xoss, Cape North, and other headlands. Other ramilications from the Stitnovoy jtursue an opposite course, and traverse the rennukal)le j)eninsula of Kamtschatka ahnost centrally to its southern extremity. The races and tribes scattered over .^^iberia are so numerous, tliat little more can be done here than to give the names of the more important. At least two thirds of the ^ hole population is Russian, and consists either of voluntary immigrants, who have found it their interest to settle in the country, or of exiles and tiieir descendants. In regard to the exiles, Sibe- ria is merely a penal settlement ; and hence that portion of the population, which, as coming from Europe, ought to be the most civilized, is not likidy to be the most exemplary. In those cases where the exile lias been awarded for ]iolitical causes merely, the individuals may be more unfortunate than vicious ; but when it is the penalty of ordinary crimes, the imlividuals Ijcing convicts in the usual sense of the term, must taint society in the same way as in Van Diemen's liand and Australia. A more unsophisticated, and fai' more interesting population, is furnished by the indigenous tril)es. Beginning at the Ural niouutains, and proceed- ing eastward, we find the Samoyedes, or SamoUles, in tiie northwest. Im- mediately south of these the ().-tiaks occupy both sides of the Olii, up to the confluence of the Irtysch, the northern part of the steppe of i>araba, and the whole of tlie woody legion eastward to the banks of the Yenisei. They live Ity fishing and hunting, and, though their physical structure is by no means roitust, they display both great dextt.'rity and courage in at- tacking the larger and fiercer animals, of both the land and water. Some of them have eml)raced Oliristianity, but the great nnijority are pagans, and continue addicted to S/taiiiiniism. In the south, among the Altai moinitains, the Calmucks predominate, but have laid aside a number of the usual peculiarities of their race. They subsist chicHy on th" produce of their horses, catlh', and sheep, and culti- vate a little grain and tobacco. They liave some skill in mechanical arts, particularly in the working of iron, and manufacture their own gunjtowder. Though not iJiuUlhists, they are generally addicted toother forms of super- stition. Among tl.c eastern slcpes of the Altai are several Turkish tribes, known SIBERIA — INHABITANTS — HISTORY. 82T by the names of Bcruisscs, Bcltires, Sagai, and Katscliinzes. The last extend eastward to tbo banks of the Yenisei. The Buriats, the most nmneroiu^ of all the Siberian tribes, dwell chiefly on both sides of Lake Baikal, and eatstward as far as the Onon. They aro of Mongol origin, and arc closely allied to the natives of the northern jtov- incus of Ciiina, in both language and customs. The Tungusi ( Tunguzes, or Toongooscs) arc the most widely dispersed of all the native tribes. They arc found along the shores of the Arctic ocean, from longitude one hundred and ten to one hundred and seventy degrees cast ; along tlie banks of the Yenisei as far south as the mouth of the Ui)pcr Tongouskai ; and along the sea of Okhotsk as far as the town of that name ; and thence southwest to the frontiers of China, in Daouria, and to the north of Lake Baikal. Parts of these extensive tracts they occupy exclusively, but others they hold in common with the Yakutes and some minor tribes. They are considered the best formed of the native Siberians, are very expert horsemen, live chiefly by hunting, possess such skill in the working of iron as enables them to prepare their own firearms, and are generally addicted to Shamanism. Among their great amusements are cards and cliess. For the latter they carve chessmen very elaborately out of the mammoth's teeth. The Yiikutt's, as already mentioned, live intermingled with the Tungusi, and confine themselves almost wholly to the rearing of horses and cattle, and the j)rcparation of dairy-jjroduce from them. The herds of many of them amount to several thousand head. They have made considerable progress in civilization, ami pay some attention to the education of their chiUlren. Tiioy are of Tartar origin, and not a few of them are nominal converts to Christianity, though the nmjority still adhere to Shamanism. The Tchouktchis occupy the peninsula formed in the northeast of Sibe- ria, by the Arctic ocean on the north and tlie sea of Okhotsk on the south. They are very Jealous of their independence, and can scarcely be said to be nominally subject to Russia. Their language proves them to have a common origin with the Esquimaux. They consist of two distinct tribes, the oi'C sedentary and the other nomadic. The former, inhabiting the sea- shore, subsist by fishing, in which they show great courage and dexterity, and, tliough not much given to hunting, kill common and white bears, and jwlar ;oxc3 ; the latter live intermingled with the Koriaks, and occupy the iiiierior, where they feed large herds of reindeer, and subsist almost entirely on their produce. Sil)eria appears to have been partly conquered by Zinghis Khan and his successors, but did not become known to Europe till the year 1580, when a Cossack, called Yermak Timofeyew, who had long robbed the vessels which navigated the Volga, finding himself hotly pressed by the czar of Moscow crossed over into Asia with his accomplices. Their number suf- ficed to form a small army, and their courage soon enabled them to acquire extensive settlements. These Yermak oflered to the czar, on condition of ■i I W. • J— c ILLUSTllATED DESCUIPTION OF RUSSIA. ol'taiiiiiig i»anlon. Tho oflor was acccpteil, niul thus Russia for tlic first tinio ulitaiiK'il a footing in A>ia. The territories thuH conciuereil belonged to the Tartar i)riuee Kiit.-^lmin Khan, and ineludcd his re.sidoneo, wiiieh, •jailed liy the natives Is/ar, and by the Cossacks Sibir, has given name to the whole country. The eon(iuests of Yerniak continued eastward, and, though interrnptcd for a lime by his deatli in loH4, were gradually extended, till the whole country west of the Ol»i was snbjeeted to the czar. In lti04, the town of Tonit^k was founded, and became a centre from which new exjjeditions were fitted out and new conquests made. Private adventurers, instigated chiefly iiy the hope of plunder, proceeded in all directions to the southward, where, not without serious reverses, they succeeded in expelling tho Kir- ghiz; anil to the eastward, where they entered the basin of the Lena, sul)- dued the Yakutes, and finally, after passing the Aldan mountains, reached the sea of Okhotsk. In the neighliorliood of Lake I'aikal a formidable resistance was made by the JJuriats, but their subjugation was finally com- pleted in lt)r)8. The town of Nertcliinsk, which has since liecome so cele- brated for its mines, w as then founded, and, two years after, that of Irkoutsk. A further extension of conquests to the south brought the Rnsso-Cossack adventurers into collision with the Chinese ; and both governments taking part in tlie (inarrel, a wai, threatening the existence of one or other of the empires, became imminent. It was, however, prevented, partly by tho in- teivention of the Jesuits resident at Pekin, and a treaty in 1G8D definitively fixed the boundaries of the two empires. A second treaty, in 1727, con- firming the former, regulated the commercial intercourse, and confined it to the two localities of Kiakhta and Mai-matshin. Never has so large a territory been acquired at so little cxi>ense. Rua- sia, almost without any expenditure of her own means, and chiefiy by tho aid of a I'aw Cossack adventurers, in little more than a century more than doubled her area. Tiie greater part of it, indeed, is a frozen, inhospitable region, which must always remain comparatively worthless ; but vast tracts enjoy a climate and j)osscss a soil well adapted for agriculture, and seem destined, whenever the tribes roaming over them can bo induced to scttlo down to a sedentary life, to become the abodes of u dense population, wno, in addition to the resources of paituro and agriculture, will find almost inexhaustible wealth in mines and fisheries. Silicria is divided, as reniaiked in a previous chapter, into the two great governments of Westkrn and Eastern Sibert ». : the former comprising the provinces of TonoLSK, Tomsk, and Yeniseisk ; and the latter those of la- KOUTSK, Yakoutsk, OKHOTSK, and Kamtschatka. ToHoLSK, the westernmost government of Western Siberia, comprises a large portion of the basin of the great river OI)i, or tho country between the fiftieth and seventy-third degrees of north latitude, and the sixtieth and eightieth degrees of cast longitude : having on tho east the government ot WE8TEUN SIBERIA — TOBOLSK, 829 A KiBOHis MstcHAirr m hu Tint. Yoniscisk ; on tho south, Tomsk, and the territory of the Kirgliiz ; on tho west, tlie goveniinonts of Oienlturg, Perm, and Archangel ; and on t)io north, the sea of Kara, gulf of Obi, &c. Its area is about seven hundred thousand S((uare miles. Tile surface of this vast province includes th) four divisions into which, according to its productive powers, as described a few pages back, tho plain of Western Siberia is divided. Tiie tundra, or northern portion, is the most sterile inuiginable, consisting of all but boundless moors and morasses, interspersed here and there with some stunted shrubs, and occu- pied by only a few Ostiak tribes, who subsist chiefly by fishing, and tho cliaso of fur-beariiig animals. Sucli is the severity of the clinmte, that this portion is usually covered with ice and snow for about nine months of tho year; and, during the otlier months, ice is always found at a little distance below the surface. The agricultural portion includes extensive tracts watered by the Irtyseh, a part of the Ishim, and the Tobol. Though not generally fertile, this dis- trict comprises some very productive tracts, and it has a considerable num- ber of towns, tliough r-nv of them are of any great size. Even in this part of the government, the climate is very severe ; for, though the summer lioats bo sometimes oppressive, they are but of short duration, and tho winters aro long and excessively cold. Rye, oats, barley, and buckwheat, are the principal crops. Iron and copper are extensively raised in various parts of the Ural chain, and gold and silver aro produced both there and in the Altai. Soap and tallow works, tanneries, mat-manufactories, &c., are found in different parts : but tho commerce of the government is of more importance than its manufacturing industry. Except the clergy, and persons in tho govern- ment employment, all the inhabitants aro more or less engaged in traffic, exchanging their sablo and other furs, cattle, cassia, fresh and dried fish, ti ' 830 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. and game, wifli the Kiipsian traders for grain, flour, hardware, &c. Tho merchants of Tobolsk, Tounien, and the principal towns in the south and M'cst, send every sunnnor boats laden witli flour and other provisions, l»y ■way of the Irtyseh and Obi, to T^erczov and other small towns in tho nortii, which return with cargoes of fis^h, and witli valuable furs, pi-ocurcd from the Ostialis and other tribes. These furs arc afterward partly sent, with snap, tallow, and hides, 'o tho fair at Xijnei-Novgorod ; partly to the Kir- phiz, to 1)0 bartered for horses, eattlo, and cotton-goods obtained through Bokhara: and jiartly to Kiaklita, on the Chinese frontier, where they are exchanged for tea, silk-falu-ics, and other Chinese products. The govern- ment, in common with the rest of .'Liberia, lies under the greatest disadvan- tages with respect to wafer-conununicntion : the frozen shores of its northern coast are iMacccssil)lc for the purposes of trade ; and its rivers, although equal in magnitude to any belonging to the Asiatic continent, are covered with ice during the greater portion of the year. The most common mode of travelling, as likewise of conveying goods, throughout a great |>ortion of the government, is, as in the northern part of Europe, in sledges drawn by dogs or reindeer. Mr. Bell and Captain Cochrane agree in representing tho Tartar villages in the agricnluiral part of the government as neat, clean, and comfortable. Their white, plastered cliinmeys and ovens reminded the latter of his own country (Scotland). The houses consist in general of one or two rooms. Near the hearth, is an iron kettle, ami at one end of the aj)artment a bench covered witli ma^s or skins : on this all the family sit by day, and sleep by night. The walls are of wood and moss — a layer of moss between every two beams. A S(piare hole is cut out for a window, and, to supply tho want of glass, a piece of ice is often i)ut in ; two or three pieces will last the whole winter. They use no stoves, and have neither chairs nor stools. The furniture consists of a few earthenware utensils, and a set of tca-tablo appendages. The women never eat nor drink till the men have done, and then seldom in their presence. Owing to the thinness of the population, and the immense distances be- tween the dilTerent towns, education is very little difi'used, and l)esides tho schools in the capital, there are, perhaps, hardly a dozen in tho rest of the government. Except Tobolsk, the capital, there are no towns of note. The city of Tobolsk, the capital of Western Siberia, and of the govern- ment of its own name (and, indeed, of the whole of northern Asia), is sit- uated on the Irtysch, close to its junction with tho Tobol. The town proper is l)nilt j)rincipally on tho flat summit of a hill commanding an ex- tensive view, and is surrounded by a strong brick wall with square towers and bastions. When approached from the west it has a remarkably flno appearance, and it really co. tains some good and solid buildings — most of the goveinment-offices, and the residences of the Russian and German settlers, being within the' walls. Along the banks of the river are suburbs, enclosed by a ditch and palisade, and inhabited mostly by Tartars. The ^^mm II- •8 St 11 i WRHTKRN aFIlKniA — TOMSK. 888 BtrciMs, wliicli cross pncli other iit ri^rlit niitrlc."!, ixro pononilly pnvod with Wood. Amoiijj; ilH piililic ('(liliccs, thf iiio.st rrniiirkalilc arc, tho ciithiMlral, ill Iht! llyzaiitiiit' style of architci'tiiii', with live! nipohis, (he arclilii.shop'.s and jrovcnior's piihieeM, a iiioniiMteiy, and n hirg'' hospital. It has uhuut twenty eliiirehes, ehielly of wood, as are most of the hoUsieH. The cliiiiJite in winter is very severe, so iiiiieh so as soiiietiiiies to freezo iiieiciiry ; iiiitl, next to Vakoutsk, Toltolsk is one of the c(d(U'st ti>wiis in Silieria: l»iit the dress and houses of the inhaliitants bein^: fitted to resist its inlliieiii-e, it is not .''o disiigreenblo as niioht bo supposed, and, in other respects, it is not nil unpleasant residence. Tho rivers fnrnish an ine.x- liaustiltle supply of finli, and provisions, fur, and >rnni(< of all kinds, aro cheap and aitnndaiit ; and simps, theatres, and places of piililic aiiiiisiMncnt, arc numerous. IJeinij on tho great road from Russia to China, it is well supplied with most Karopeiui and Chinese jxoods ; and French wines, Kiiu- lisli porter, ami hooks of all kinds, are to l>c met with. I>(,i)ell says, " The society of Tobolsk may fairly staml a comparison with that of some of tho liest provincial towns in Russia." Amonir the inhal)itants aro many de- scendants of the Swedish oflicers, ."cut thither after tin* battle of Toltava, to whom Tolidlsk is mainly indeltted for its superior civilization. This city, which was foiiiuled in ]'>Xl, is the resideiKc of i\w •••ovornor- peiieial of Western Siberia. It has two ecclesia.-tical and several Lancas- trian schools, and various charitaltle institutions. No convicts or male- factors are siMit thither from Kiiropean Russia, although persons bani^^lu'd to Siiteria for political olVences are smnetimes per:iiitte(l to resiile in To- bolsk. The poiailatioii is from twenty to twenty-live thousand. Tho government of ToM'cat(Ml in suc- cession l)y each <'f them. The society of tlic upi)er class is quite Europcar in its charade »ut many persons belonging to it have the misfortune or stigma of being exiles. The inhabitants generally appear to be very com- fortable. The population is from twenty to twenty-five thousand. Kiakhta (or Kiac/i/n'), and Mai- natshin (or Maimacheri), constitute a sort of double-town (or more properly two towns, on the boundary between this government and the Chinese territory of Mongolia, one lnnidred ..iid seventy miles southeast of Irkoutsi. ; the one town, called Kiakhta, belong- ing to Russia, and the other, called Mai-nuUshin, to China). It stands on a small river of the same name, two thousand feet aI)ove the sea-level, and was founded in 1728, on the conclusion of the commercial treaty between the Russiai'..^ and the Chinese. It derives its importance from l)eing the only recognised entrepot for the trade between .'lo two countries, and pre- sents a singidar ai)pearance from the striking contrasts it exhibits. In the Russian portion of tlie town, the houses of merchants of the better class have stairs and balconies in front, occnsionallv j)aintcd and cml)ellished with architectural ornaments. Toward Mai-matshin, or the Chinese por- tion, a narrow do.)r opens in front of a long wooden luiilding, and leads into the inner (piadrangle of a Russian warehouse. On tlie opposite side, a corresj)onding door ojjens upon a wooden barricade, and this barricade is the barrier of Cliina, tlie door of which is closed at siniset, when Cl.inese and Russians must betake themselves to their respective quarters. The Russian side lias an eagle above it, with the cipher of the reigning cmix'- ror. The Chinese side, forming the entrance to ^[ai-matshin, is surniGunted with a cone or pyramid. The eflect )>roduce(l in passing it is described by Ennan as ahiiost magical. The solar lines of the Russian side arc, all at y all at a bed Ih can y, witli re the the flat- iiiscriiv There 1108 and The 8 annu- i, rhu- llen and gelatine 0. The vast govcrnnncnt or province of Yakoutsk extends from the Altai or Stanovoy mountains on the south to the Frozen ocean on the nortii, hav- ing the governments of Irkoutsk and Yeniseisk on the west, and Okhotsk and the Pacilic ocean on the east, and occupying at least tlirec fifths of Eastern Si'ocria, or one million four liundred thousand square miles. The province is watered hy the great rivers Lena, Yana, Indijirka, and Kolima, which supply vast (juantitics of fish. Iron, salt, and excellent talc, are thj chief mineral products: game, of many kinds, is abundant. Large herds (jf cattle, A'c, are reared near the town of Yakoutsk ; and, notwithstanding the severity of the winters, rye, barley, and even wheat, uro said t(» succeed well thiougliout the province, except in those parts which are so fur north as to render the summer too short to ripen grain. Vakovtik. VakoUvsk, the capital of this government, is situated on the Lena, about eleven humliotl and fifty miles northeast of Irkoutsk, and has all the char- acter of liie cold and gloomy north. It stands on a liarren flat, near the river. The; streets a''e wide, but the houses and cottages arc poor in ajn [•earance, and surrounded by tall wooden fences. Here are five churches, a convent, a stone building {gostindi (Ivor) for commercial jiurposos, and an old wooden fortress with its rained tower, built in ltJ47, by the Cossack conquerors of Siberia. The town has, however, undergone great improve- ments in the last forty years. The Yakute huts have been replaced by sulv stantial houses ; the windows of ice, or talc, have given way to glass in the better class of houses, and the more wealthy iiihabitauts begin to have higher rooms, larger windows double doors, «fcc. 'i\ \> ii~(^ r 340 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. Yakoutsk is the centre of the interior trade of Eastci-n Siberia. All the most costly furs, as well as the more common kinds, walrus-teeth, and fos- sil remains, are brought here for sale, or barter, during the ten weeks oi summer, from Anabor and Behring's straits, the coasts of the Polar sea, and oven from Okhotsk and Kamtschatka. It is not easy to iumgine the mountain-like piles of furs of all kinds seen here ; their value sometimes amounts to ncarl/ ^rec millions of roubles. Almost all the Russian set- tlers in Yakoutsk nploy their little capital in puirhnsing furs from the Yakutcs during ti. j winter, on which they realize a good profit at the timo of the fair, when they sell them to the Irkoutsk merchants. As soon as the Lena is clear of ice, the merchants liegin to arrive from Irkoutsk, bringing with them for barter, grain, meal, the jnmgcnt Circas- sian tobacco, tea, sugar, rum, CiiiiiCfie cotton and silk stufls, yarn, cloth of inferior qp lity, hardware, glass, eninsula. The climate is very severe, and much more so on the eastern than on the western coast. On the seacoast, vegetation does not begin before the end of April ; but in the vale of Kamtschatka, in good shelter, it is a month earlier. Notwithstanding the severity of the climate, forests of considera- ble extent occur, consisting of several species of birches, pines, poplars, and willows ; while there is an undergrowth of shrubs, on which numerous berries grow, among others the raspberry and currant. On many of the tutulras, or moor-levels, jtartieularly when tlic ground is dry or strong, grows a Lonicera, called by the inhabitants Jimohsl, bearing a close re- semblance to the Lonicera carulea of our gardens, with berries of a par- ticularly pleasing taste, and said to lie very nourishing. The natural pas- tures are also numerous, and their rank luxuriance sometimes so great as to make journeying across tliem almost impossiido. Agriculture is necessarily restricted to a ^^yi favored spots, as both cli- mate and anifnals fit for proper tillage are wanting. Erman, however, says that on the southern slopes, near the village of Kliutshe, are seen patches of turnips and potatoes, and also stems of hemp of the tallest growth. He adds that both summer and winter sown wheat, barley, and oats, thrive 80 well, that, were the surrounding plains carefully cultivated, they could furnish enough to supply the greater part of the inhabitants of the penin- sula with bread-grain. In the same neighborhood, also, he got richer and finer-flavored cow's-milk than ho had ever tasted. The wild animals were at one time very plentiful, but have been much fjiinned by the hunters. Among them may be mentioned reindeer, wild- sheep, bears, otters, and beavers. The skins annually obtained, consisting chiefly of those of the fox and sable, have been estimated at thirty thou- EASTERN SIBERIA — KAMTSCHATKA. 848 iand ! Wild-fowl abound. Ducks, of which at least twelve kinds are onu meruted, are seen in all quarters ; and lakes which, from being fed chiefly from hot springs, never freeze, are the winter resort of flocks of swans. The rivers and coasts teem with fish. Tn the former are several varieties of salmon, some of them peculiar to tlic peninsula ; and on the latter aro shoals of herrings and cod. Large numbers of seals are caught, and whaloa occasionally make their appcarauco. The Kaintscliatdalcs aro a i)ecnliar race, and pre- sent muny rcinnrkal)lo fea- tures. Tiioy are in general below the common height, have broad shoulders, and a large head. Tuc face, and particularly tlie nose, is long and flat, the eyes small and sunken, the lips thin, and tliey have scarce- ly any board. Their legs are short, yet they walk much, and with rapidity. Notwithstanding the rude- ness of the climate, they enjoy gwat vigor of consti- tution, and are proof against every vicissitude of the seasons, and are sub- ject to few maladies. Tlieir character is mild and hospitable, and they live tog«!ther in great harmony. Indolence may be considcrcl as their predominant vice. Their principal food is fish, which they devour with eager avidity, and without the least regard to cleanliness or delicacy. Having caught a fish, Ihey begin with tearing out the gills, which they suck with extreme grati- fication. Tiicy cut out, at the same time, some slices of the fish, which they devour raw, and mingled with the blood. The fish being then gutted, and the entrails given to the dogs, the rest is dried, and is afterward eaten, sometimes dressed, but more commonly raw. The fish, however, which is reckoned most delicious, is salmon, dressed in a peculiar manner, called tckaouitcha. As soon as it is caught, they bury it in a hole in the ground, whore it remains till it sours, or, properly speaking, becomes perfectly pu- trid. In this state, when a European can scarcely approach without being suffocated by the stench, the Kamtschatdale feeds upon it as upon the most dolicious morsel ! Their plates aro never washed, and serve indifferently the dogs and their masters ! The eggs of the wild-duck aro also collected by the natives, and, being preserved in the oil of fish, form one of their iavorite articles of food. The manners of the Kamtschatdales are lively and cheerful. Their Kamtsciutoalm. r I t I m TLl.USTRATED DRSCRIPTIOK OP HtJSSTA. Pongs ni'c full of pay iniagos ; and tlicy possess tho talent of mimicry in a romarlcjililo ilogroo. Tlicy are passionately fond of dancing, in which cx- crciiso thtv shake o(T tlioir natural indolonco. Their favorite dance con- sists in imitating the nwjtions of tho boar — its gostnros and nttitndes in pnrfiiing its prey, and in all other actions and situations. They aro also fond of singing, and have ngrpoabln voices, hnt their tunes arc very rudo. UnttirttMKitely, (liis mirtli is often jiiirchased nt the expense of decency ; and tlie rules of chastity are little regarded by cither sex. The women, at a particular season, go out to collect roots and vegetables for winter consumption ; and this is a giand holyilay with them. They have two kinds of habitations; one for winter, and the other for summer. The winter haliitations are sunk some feet under the ground ; the walls ai'o formed of trees laid over each otiuu', and plastered with clay ; tho roof is made slanting, and covered with coarse grass or rushes. Tho interior consists of two rooms, with a large lamp, fed with train-oil, and placed so as to warm both rooms, and at tin* sanu" tiiwe to answer tin; pur- poses of cookery. The.ic houses arc often large enough to contain two or three families ; and fifty persons have been km)Wn to take np their al)odo in one of them. In that case, tho dirt, stench, and the smell and Boot issu ing from the lamp, aro such as only a Kamtschatdale could endure. The snnnner-houso is of a more singular constnictiim. A numl)er of posts, f)laced at regular distances from each other, and, soiving as pillars, raise it to the lieight of ten to thirteen feet from the ground. These posts support a plat- form, made of rafters, and covered over with clay, which serves as tho floor, whenco the house ascends from live to eight feet, the roof covered with thatch or dried gi This apartment composes the whole habitation, and here all the family eat and sleep. There are several summer-houses to ono winter-house, and tho inhaliitants pass on a plank from ono to the other. The object of this singidar con.'itruction is to have a space sheltered from the sun and rain, yet open to the air, in which their fish may be hung up and dried. It is afTordcd by the rude colonnade which supports these structures, to the posts and celling of which the fish aro attached. Another striking ))Oculiarity of Kamtschatdale manners consists in the use of dogs for the purpose of laltor and draught. Great attention is paid to the rearing of the sledgc-dog, a pack of which, consisting of from si.K to twenty, every Kamtschatdale justly regards as ono of tho necessaries of SDimiB-HoCIC IN KAJTriCHAIXA. EASTERN SIBKRIA — KAMTSCirATKA 845 life. Tlicso dogs aro not remarkably largo, tlioiigU strongly built, rather long, with a high stop, and short, smooth huir, of u color varying between yellowish-fawn and jet-black : iii their general appearance they resemble the mountain or shepherd dogs of Kuropo. They arc sagacious, and seem to enter into the very feelings of their masters. In summer, when their services are nut rotpiired, they aro set loose, and left to provide for them- selves, l»y ranging over tlie country, and along the sides of lakes and riv- ers ; but, at the approach of winter, they return home in the most punctual nu\nnor. Tlioy aro haruossed two and two, in trains perhaps of forty dogs, to sledges called narlds, consisting, in tlieir must primitive form, of a box of boards al)out tiiree fc(;t along and one and a half in widlli and height, fastened to wooden runners, with wliieh they often travel, at a rapid pace, forty miles a day. Tlicy an; used in tliis manner, not oidy for travelling, but for conveying all sorts td' connnodities from place to place, one particu- larly widl trained l»i'ing placed in front as l''ader. The driver usually sits sidewiso, like a lady on horst-back, and urges the dogs by throwing at them a slick, which he afterward catches with great dexterity. Occasion- ally parties travel in company , and then, tlus eagerness and impatience of the dogs, and the rivalry of the k\ij(Kirshi/>s, or drivers, are worthy to bo compared with the exertions of the high-blooded horses at our race-courses ; nor docs tho management and driving of the dogs reciuire much less skill and attention than are needed in the latter case, to arrive at perfection, and gain the pabn of victory. Al)ont a tliird of the iiduibitants are RussoCossacks. The remainder, forming the imtive population, consists of Koriaks, or Korjaks, and Kamt- pchatdales, the latter of whom we have already described. Tho former belong to the nomadic tribes of the north, and appear to have chosen Kamt- schatka as an asylum after tiieir defeat by the Tchouktchis. The western coast, from Tigil northward, and indeed tho whole penins\da beyond lati- tude fifty-n of tlie inerjiiality and favoritism in taxation. The na- tives are permitted to ehnose tlieir own majii.st rates, in the same manner, and with the sanu> i»o\vers. as tliev have alwnvs been accustomed to. The country is diviiiod into tour o.strofrs, or districts, each of which is governed by a (oitin, or lieutenant, who is merely a peasant, like those whom he gov- erns, and has no outward mark of distinction. He has another under him, called yesaovl, who assists him in tlie exercise of his functions, and, in \m absence, acts as his deputy. Their business is to preserve peace, enforce the orders of government, and collect the tribute, in furs, for the governor of Irkoutsk, the (pumtity of which varies according to the character of the governor, and the favor whicli ]»arlieular persons happen to enjoy. For- merly it consisted of one sable from each individual, or more, if paid in an inferior sort of skin. The inhabitants, like all savage nations coming in contact with civilized, have suflered deeply from the connection. Tho introduction of ardent spirits, their avidity for which knows no bounds, has been productive of most pernicious eflccts. Tho Russian traders, who arc well aware of this weakness, sell it at an extravagant price, and inveigle them to give their most precious effects in exchange for it. The small-pox also has been introduced, and has made dreadful ravages?. The conseqiienco is, that their number, which was at first estimated at fifteen thousand, has been re- duced to one half or one third. Tho Russian and Cossack soldiers have generally adopted all the habits of the natives, disuse bread, and even sell tiie ration allowed by the government ; live dirtily on fish, uso dogs for labor and travelling, and clothe themselves in skins. There is a class of criminals, convicted of murder and other atrocious crimes, who, as a pun- ishment equal to death, are banished to this remote and inhospitable re- gion : they amount to about one thousand, and are kept under tho strict TIIK ALKUTUN ARCIIIPELAOO. 847 dent vc of f tliis their Itoen that en ro- hllTO n sell gs for ass of a pun- )lo re- strict gimnl of tin; Cossacks and Unssiaii militia. The cominandor of the troops rositlo.s at, St. IV-tcr and St. I'aiil, wliich for some years has boon the chief place. Its population, however, is oidy alioiit one thousand, while Nijnoi- Kanitschatlia, the former capital, has Rcarccly a hundred and fifty persons. TlxM'e is an occasional and varying popidatitm of merchants, hunters, and Boanien, who make a toniporary residence in Kamtsclmtka. Tiio Alei'TIan Islands (from the Russian word Aleut, "a hold rock") arc an extensive range of small islands belonging to Russia, in the Nort*" Pttcifii! ocu'an, situated hctwcon Cape Alaska, in North America, and ti.' peninsnla of Kaintsehatka, in Asiatic KuHsia; extending from longitude one hundred and sixty-three degrees west to one hundred and sixty-six degrees east, or for ahout six hundred mil(;s, and ft> ning, it may be said, a connecting chain between the Russian possessions of both hemispheres. They were fonnerly divided into three groups — the Aleutian, \ndreno- vian, and Fox islands ; i»ut are now all comprehend d unde.' the namfi Alrutidn, and are subordinate to the government of Irkoutsk. The fust known of these islands was discovered, in 1741, by Bohdni^ the oelcl)rate«l Russian navigator, whose name it l)ears,and who died thoTO ; the otiiers were •; Oomnak, Oonalashka, and Oonimack. Reyond these, to the northeast, lies the largo island of Kodiak, generally considered as belonging to the group called Schumagin'n islands, on which there is a village of about f .ir hundred inhabitants. Th* largest of the wholo chain are Beh ring's i-sland and the island of Oona- lashka. The Aleutian islands are of volcanic formation ; and, in a number of them, there arc volcanoes still in active operation. At present, there are upward of twenty-four in this state, varying from three to eight thousand feet in height. In 170(5, a volcanic island, now called Joanna Bog-oslowa, rose in the middle of the lino or chain of islands. It was first observed after a storm, at a point in the sea from which a column of smoke had been Been to rieo. Flames afterward issued from the new island, accompanied by a frightful earthquake. Eight years after its emergence, it was found, »:r 348 ILLUSTUATED DESCRrPTION OF RUSSIA. in some places, to bo so hot tliat it could not be walked upon. It is now several thousand foet high, and twenty or thirty miles in circumference, and is still increasing in size. Eartlu]uakcs,al8o,of the most tcrrilic description, are of frequent occur- rence in this rogion, agitating and altering the bed of the sea and surface of the land throughout (he whole tract. The appearance of the islands is singularly disnuil and barren : lofty walls of black lava rise jKirpendieularly from tlie sea ; and beyond, steep mountains of rock shoot up to the clouds ; while the coasts arc so encompassed vith reefs and breakers as to render navigation among tliem exceedingly dangerous. The soil is, in general, very poor ; but, in some particular spots, escu- lent vegetables thrive well ; and some of the most eastern of the islands produce pt)tatoes, and maintain considerable numbers of domestic cattle, although the latter do not generally thrive on these islands. Springs of water are iiuinorons ; and valleys clothed with a rich herbage, and capable of supporting herds of cattle throughout the year, are to be mot with in some of the islands, especially Oonalashka. JJears, wolves, beavers, er- mines, and river-otters, are plentiful; while the Fox islands, as their name implies, altonnd in foxes — black, red, gray, and brown. Tiie kinds of fish most usually caught are salmon and halibut ; the latter frequently of immense size. Seals and whales are abundant on the coasts. The inhabitants — who seem to be a mixed race between the Mongolian Tartars and the North American Indians — arc below the average stature, but stout and well proportioned. Tiiey have a round face, small eyes, a brownish complexion, a flat nose, and black hair. In the females, the com- plexion is of a lighter sliade, and the hair approaches to brown. The dress, which is common to both sexes, consists of a frock of seal-skin, fast- ened round the neck, and descending below the knees. This simple drees is often ingeniously sewed and adorned with glass-beads, white goat's hair, and snmll red feathers. In their native state, they pierced the lower lip, the nose, and the ears, to suspend in them bones or crystal rings. The women wore around the neck, sis well as the hands and feet, chaplets of variegated stones ; and more especially, when they could procure it, am- ber. Tliey also tattooed the body, adorning it with various figures ; and, when the female belonged to a family of distinction, depicting on her per- son a symbolical representation of the deeds by which they iiad acquired renown — the number of enemies slain, or beasts of prey destroyed. The most striking feature in the constitutional temper of the Aleutians is a kind of passive quiescence and patient endurance, amounting almost to insensibility. Left to themselves, they will pass whole days in alisolute idleness, scarcely opening their lips to give utterance to a single syllable, or making the least exertion to satisfy the cravings of appetite ; and, on the other hand, when placed under a master, they will toil at any task which may be appointed them, slowly, indeed, but without interruption, until it is accomplished. Instances aro even given in which they have _.„ ..i«W«-*-*5«»'; THE ALEUTIAN ARCHIPELAOO. 849 carried tins implicit obedience so far as to sacrifice their lives in endeav- oring to perform impossible tasks, whicli senseless or tyrannical masters had imposed upon them ! In tlie ordinary relations of life, the Aleutians exliil)it much that is ami- able. Parents are treated Avith great respect and deference, and children are the ol)jects of the fondest afleotion. Tlie husband is addressed by the wife as father, and he applies to her the name of mother. The whole fam- ily appear to cling to each other, and take a deep interest in whatever aftects their common honor and welfare. To this happy state of domestic life there must, however, be numerous exceptions. The existence of polyga- my, aiid the still more monstrous practice of polyandry, seem almost in- consistent with the very idea of what is iisually understood by a family. As might be anticipated, from tlie ,.. isive qualities of the Aleutians, they are not remarkable for llieir courage. Provided the destruction of *.iieir enemy can be accomplislied, it seems absolutely indilVorent to them whether it l)e by force or stratfigem. Tlic cljief employments are hunting and fish- ing, and in both tliey show great dexterity. Tliey will face tlie l)ear simply armed with a gun or a bow ; and iiave even l)een known, when these wea}>- ons have failed, to encounter and overcome him with a knife. I»ut the sea seems to be tlieir proper element. In tlie pursuit of the whnle and the seal, tliey are equally skilfid and intrepid. The boat wiiich they employ is a kind of canoe, called a bauliir, consisting of a frame of wood or bone, covered with seal-skin. It is long and narrow, in general holding only a single person, whose bust rises out of a circular hole cut in tlie skin, which stretches from gunwale to gunwale, like a deck ; and is so light, that a man can easily carry it. Fleets, consisting perhaps of one hundred of these baidars, each managed l)y double paddles about eight feet long, will ven- ture fifty or sixty miles to sea, and encounter all the ])erils of a stormy ocean, in quest of the sea-otter. While the men are thus employed, the women occupy themselves in covering canoes, and making mats, baskets, and other articles of straw, whi<'l. display much neatness and dexterity. The food in common use is of the coarsest description — whale's flesh, al- most in a jiutrid state, and fish often of similar quality. Could anything add to the disgust whicli the very idea of such a meal inspires, it would bo the filthy manner in which it is cooked ; both the place and the utensils being allowed to remain in the dirtiest state imaginable. Notwithstanding the grave and almost demure manners of the Aleutians, they are not stran- gers to amusements, and even theatrical representations. They have both songs and dances, and a kind of dramas, in which some striking incident couuected with their history is exhibited. The popularity of these is so great, as to have more than once collected crowds which caused a famine. The religion of the Aleutians was a ramification of Shamanism — a su- perstition before alluded to, prevalent in Siberia. They acknowledged a higher Deity, or Creator, but paid no worship to him, under the idea that ho had left the charge of the world to certain good and evil spirits, called i* i . : V f'. 850 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Kovgakh, and AgUkdiakh. They worshipped the elements, and the licav- enly bodies, particularly the sun and the moon, which were supposed to have great power in human affairs: the sun, when blasphemed, striking tho blasphemer blind by its rays ; the moon killing him by the stones which she throws down upon him ; and the stars compelling him to count them — a task, the performance of which cost him his reason. They had neither temples nor idols ; but near every village, on a rock, or other eminence, was a supposed holy place, which the old men alone, and the priests, or shamans, were permitted to visit. On these, with mysterious ceremonies, they deposited offerings, consisting usually of the skins of wild beasts, or the feathers of aquatic birds. Amidets, or charms, were also in general use, some of tliem being supposed to secure their fortunate possessor against all accidents, and bring him off scatheless and victorious in every combat. The most effectual of these talismans was a girdle, composed of cords or grass, with a particular arrangement of knots. In regard to the immortal- ity of the soul, and tlic origin of the human race, the views of the Aleutians must have been originally derived from a Divine source. The strongest proof of their belief of the former is derived from one of the most horrid of their practices. On the death of a chief, his slaves were sacrificed on his tomb, (hat they niiglit go and continue their services to him in (lie other world ! The general idea was, that the discml)odied spirit returned invisi- ble to its family, whom it accompanied for good or evil in all their excur- sions. It is even said (o have I>ecn invoked by them, particularly when engaging in war, to avenge some insult that had l)een offered to (lie family. The original form of government was patriarchal. Every village, which, from (he fre(|uency of intermarriage, in fact formed only one family, was governed by its toiun, or chief; and a union of villages, under some supe- rior toion, on whom valor or wisdom conferred the dignity, formed a kind of sta(e. Under the dominion of Russia, all the primitive institutions and habits of (he Aleutians have been greatly modilied, and many of them have ra,iidly dit^appeared. Unquestionaldy, the best virtues of .savage life havo thus l)een lost; and one of the first effects of civilization was the introduc- tion of its worst vices, and one of its most disgusting diseases. Rut these are partly compensated by numerous blessings. The Aleutians have already ac(iuired some skill in mechanical arts. Many of them havo learned to read, and actually peruse the Scriptures in their own tongue. Their aban- donmen* of Shamanism for the religion of the Greek church, and the deep interest which they seem to take in its ritual, is probably much less tho effect of conviction than of deference to the authority of their masters ; hut the fact that there are already four churches in tho islands, thronged by native worshippers — that the vindictive spirit which at one time prevailed, and made family feuds implacable, has in a great measure disappeared — gives reason to hope that the Aleutians, instead of being regarded as sav ages, will, at no diiitant period, be cutitlcd to claim a place among civil izcd men. j. . ,Ati»il**W*-afW«6*»*'W**'-'**' VORCOW. 361 CHAPTER XII. MOSCOW. raa lyTO city has made a more conspicuous figure in the liistory of modern [\ Europe than Moscow. It was one of the last scenes in the eventful drnina of a period fraught with occurrences of mingled wonder and terror. Lon,n tiie wonder of the world for its extent, and for the riches of its nobles, it became still more conspicuous in tiie annals of the world for the dosolalion which it suffered when at the height of its grandeur ; and no stronger instance perhaps exists of the power of human labor, or of the resources of mankind, tinin the appearance which Moscow, risen from her ashes, pres'^'its at this day. The assertion sometimes made, that no city is so irregularly built as Moscow, is in some respects true : none of the streets arc straight ; the houses, large and small, public buildings, churches, and other edifices, arc mingled confusedly together, but it gains by this the advantage of being more picturesciue. Tlie streets undulate continually, and thus offer from time to time points of view whence tiie eye is ai)le to range over the vast ocean of lioiisetops, trees, and gilded and colored domes. But the archi- tecture of Moscow, since the conflagration of 1812, is not quite so bizarre as, according to the accounts of travellers, it was before that event ; nev- ertheless it is still singular enough. In 181:5, tlie point chiefly in view was to l)uild, and build quickly, rather than to carry any certain j)lan into exe- cution ; the houses were replaced with nearly the same irregularity with respect to each other, and the streets became as crooked and tortuous as liefore. The whole gained, therefore, little in regularity from the fire, but each individual house was Iniilt in much better taste, gardens became moro freciueiit, the nmjority of roofs were made of iron, painted green, a lavish use was made of pillars, and even those who could not be profuse erected more elegant cottages. Hence Moscow has all the charms of a new city, with tlie pleasing negligence and picturesque irregularity of an old one. lu the streets, we como now to a large, magnificent palace, with all the pomp of Corinthian pillars, wrought-iron trellis-work, and imposing approaches and gateways ; and now to a simple whitewashed house, the abode of a modest citizen's family. Near them stands a small church, with green cupolas and golden stars. Then comes a row of little yellow wooden houses, that remind one of old Moscow ; and these arc succeeded by oao n 852 ILLUSTRATED DESCTCPTION OP RUSSIA. || of the new colossal erections for some public institution. Sometimes the road winds tlirough a number of little streets, and the traveller might fancy himself in a country town ; suddenly it rises, and he is in a wido " place," from which streets branch oR' to all quarters of the empire, while the eye wanders over the forest of houses of the great capital ; descending again, he comes in the middle of the town to the banks of a river planted thickly with gardens and wood'^'. MOSCOW. ^,^ I. Krf^nilin. 2 Ciiiir.'li .if Ht. Riu-il. :). Illipirrlll I'.iImi-i'. i. Military Sclioul. 5. Convent nt K wo Dfvitohi'l, *! ('iinvi'iit (if ou> I.n'iy t»l the Don. 7. C.MIvrllt (il St. II., 'Irl, 8. CuiiVeiit of ^'iln()llo■ 4koL 9. H.itj'itnl of Ht. I'm.l 10. llo>|iilRl (il .'^t (Mill. Tins. 11. liiHliiulp of Ali-x>in.l«r. 1'.'. Kuiin liiivc nliciKly lind i>cca»!iin «(>vpi-nl linioi to ninition, Imvc llirir krrml, or, n» it ig iiioif iimiiillv tfiniril, thrir krrmliii. Tliiit oC Moscow i«, by pro-Ptiiitipnco, the kri'mliii. t iloncotr; — Afoakva U ihf Uii«i^<«~- MOSCOW — THE KBEMLIN. 353 battlements of the krcnilin, and receiving tlie scanty stream of tl.e Jaousa, issues again into tlic vast plain, till it meets the Oka, which joins the Volga, the king of the nortliern rivers, at Nijnei-Novgorod. On the north of tlie Moskva, streets and houses, in regular succession, reach to the very harrier ; and though a vast proportion of ground is left unoccupied, owing to the enormous width of the streets and houluvards, the cartlien rampart may truly be said to gird in the city. But in the other quarters, and particularly to tlic south, the city can hardly l)e said to extend farther than the outward Ijoulovard. Beyond this there arc vast convents — the Devitchei, Donskoi (our Lady of the Don), and tlie Simon- ovskoi ; liuge hospitals — the Galitzin, the St. l*aul, and the Chcremctieff, the largest of all ; the race-course, and the beautiful gardens of the princess Galitzin along the banks of the Moskva; fields, and lakes, and marshes, bu', all these are within the outer enclosure of the outer wall. This will account for its seemingly scanty population (estimated from the last census) of three hundred and sixty thousand ho'iIs. The centre of this vast collection of buildings is the kremlin, which, with its l»cautiful gardens, forms nearly a triangle of somewliat more than a mile in circumference. Tl»e original founder of the city settled, witliout doubt, on the kremlin hill, which naturally remained the nucleus of the city at a later period. Adjoining tliis to the east comes the Kitai Gorod (Chinese city), which still preserves its ancient fence of towers and but- tresses. Encircling these two divisions, and itself bounded bj' the river and inner boulevard, lies the Bvloi Goroil (White city). Tlio space en- closed between tiie two circles to the north of tlie Moskva, and l)ctween the riv^r and tlie outward boulevard on tlie south, is called the Zmelnoi Gorod (Green city). Beyon t the boulevards are tlie suburbs. Previous to the conflagration of 1812, each of the four quarters was sur- rounded by a wall and bastions: l»ut all perished in that mighty blaze, except the eml)attled enclosure of the Kitai GorOd, which escaped almost unscathed ; and the pious veneration of the worshippers uf St. Nicholas soon restored the broken walls and crumbling turrets of the kremlin, " black with the miner's blast," to their present perfect state. The de- fences of the remaining districts have wisely been dispensed with, and a style somewhat resemb'ing that of its previous architecture was observed in repairing the destruction caused by the fire. But this remark does not apply to the interior of the kremlin, whe"e the arsenal and the new impe- rial palace are in modern taste, ;ind quite out of character with th ) ancient buildings within the walls. Before entering the kremlin, it is well to view it from one or two points on the outside ; and the most favorable spot for this purpose, on the south side, is the bridge of Moskva Rek(i. From the river that bathes its base, the hill of the kremiin rises, picturesquely adorned with turf and shrubs. The buildings appear set in a rich frame of water, verdani foliage, and snowy wall — the majestic column of Ivan Veliki rearing itself high above ■~»* • - I [■^ ;i^- !"l - 1 / ii. ■i ■) 'y It ao4 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. all, like the axis roiuul wliich tiic whole moves. The colors are every- where most lively — red, wliitc, green, gold, and silver. Amid the confu- sion of tlie numorour small antique edifices, the Bohhoi Dvoretz (tho large palace built by the emperor /Mcxandcr) has an imposing aspect. The churches and ;.iilaccs stand on the plateau of the krennlii! aa on u mighty sulvcr; the little red ar* gold Church of the Czars co(juett!ug near the border like some pretty littk maiden, and the paler-colored cupulas of Milchilooski and Uspcn hermit?' and lii^lo people. All these buildings stand on the summit of lb',' kremlin, like its crown — th-^'»:-clves again crowjied with a iii'ltitude (>■■' cupolas, of which every church has at least five, and one has tiixteen, glitteriirjr in gold an(i silvf?r. Tiio aitpoarauce of tho whob' is most pi -turosquc Mid iuteiostiu)!;, and it is certuiiUy one of the most striking city-views in Europe. The northern pldo of the kremlin is the least attractive: a pli'in hij^li wall with two lmUss ;-;vparntcs it, from the Krasnoi Plosciiad (tiic Red place). The most adorned \s tin* northwest side. Here, in former times, was tlie Swan-lake. 1* is now drained, and its l)ed forms the site of the Alexander garden, ■\\hich strcJchcs from the !Moskva to the giant wall of th'' krcmlii!, Wiiat the Aernpolis was to Athens, and the Capitol to iJome, the krein' lin is to Moscow. It is surrounded by a strong and lofty wall, embattled with many towers and turrets, and several gates. The most important of these is, bey ■iid (loul)t, the i^pass Vorota (the gate of the Re'locmer). It is the purUi siicra and porta Iruimphalis of Moscow. Through it entered the triumphant warriors of Vassili-Ivanovicli, after the conquest of Kazan and Astraklian, and those of Michael and Alexis, after the victories ob- tauicd in the Ukraine. Over tins gate is a picture of the Savior, under a glass, and before it hangs a large, ill-formed lamp, in a massive metal frame ; this is suspended by a heavy chain, and under it, to wind it up, stands a complicated old machine, that jarred and rattled here in the time of the czar Michael. A man, whose sole business it is to wind it up, has a table beside him with wax-tapers, wliich ho sells to be lighted before the picture. This shrine is an object of the greatest reverence with the Rus- sians, although few know what it rej)resent3, it hangs so high, and tho colors are so faded. This gate forms a passage through the tower, of about twenty paces long, and every one, be he what he may, Mohammedan, heathen, or Christian, must take off his hat, and keep it off, till he has passed through to the other side. Any one jjassing through, and forgetting to uncover, is immediately reminded of the fact, nor would it be safe to neglect the hint. This gate obtairod its sacred reputation in the course of centuries, through many re- puted miracles wrought by its means. Often, as tho people relate, the Tartars bavo been driven back from it ; miraculous clouds have veiled the defend- MOSCOW — Tin: kremlix. 355 tiled nt of It to red iizaii i ob- der a metal it up, 5 time lias e the Rus- d the long, listian, other iiatcly Is gate Iny re- [artars icfond- GlKKKAI. VtKW or TR* KlIHLtK, MnSCOW. ers of t!io kronilin, wlio Pounch, that door and window stood open to wind and tempest. The coronation-hall was restored long ago, and the emperor Nicholas also repaired the Terrma. Terema, or terem, is the name given in every Russian peasant's house to the upper part of the l)uilding, round which, sheltered by the projecting roof, a balcony runs, and where the daughters and younger chile" 'en of the house are lodged. It may easily l)e imagined that the terema jdays no in- significant part in the love-songs of the people. This part of the old palace of the czars is called pre-eminently the Terema. The building consists of four stories, of which the lowest is the largest, gradually diminishing, till the up]>er floor is so small as only to contain one room. On the space thus left by the retreat of the upper story from the eeilinj; of the under, a bal- cony is formed, with steps both within and without, ascending from one terrace to the other. On the lowest floor arc the throne and audience- chambers of the czars ; the upper one was the dwelling of the czarovnas (princesses) and the children. All these rooms have been repaired in the old Russian taste. The stoves are very peculiar in form, and all the plates of which they are composed ornamented with paintings. The walls are ornamented with decorations almost outvying the gorgeous glories of the Alhambra. They display an extraordinary confusion of foliage, vine-trel- lises, singularly-imagined flowers, woven in arabesques, and painted with MOSCOW — lUPERIAL PALACES. 85f the gnyost colors. On tlio pnintod brniuilii's arc perched birds, yellow, blue, gold, and silver ; squirrels, mice, and other small animals ; on every bough liangs a load of costly fruit, and all' sorts of knots and figures in gold arc entwined among them. Here and there arc portraits of the czars, ar- morial bearings, houses in miniature, and what not. Originals for these fancies were found in old churches, but of course the work of the modern artist is much more elegant, richer, and bettor executed. Frt)m one of the terraces of the Teremr. there is an entrance into the little church of the Redeemer, which was also plundered by the French, l)ut re-endowed most magnificently with gold and silver vessels by the em- perors AU'xaiidor and Nicholas. Tliis is ornamented with twelve gilded cupolas, the size of chimneys — the sight of which, no doubt, in the days of childhood, delighted many a czar. It was on the terrace-roof of the Terenia, whence tlicre is a splendid view of the city and its environs, that NapoK'on phicod himself on the first day of his very short stay at Moscow, to behold the beauties of his short-lived and fatal conquest. Connected also with tlic liotslioi Drorc/z is tlie singular building of quad- rangular or euliiciil foriu, tiie dranovildija Pubtln. On the second story is the coionation-liall of the czars, a h)W and vaulted ajiartment, the arches uniting in the centre, where they rest n{»on a thick, square column. The crimson-velv> ( hangings used at Nicholas's coronation still ornament the walls ; tliey arc eniltroidered in gold, with eagles bearing thunderbolts, and with tlie initials of the emperor: a golden candelabriun is worked be- tween each of these. The tlirone, niuler a velvet canopy, is opposite the entrance, and over the windows are the armorial bearings of the difierent governments of Russia. Tlie pillar in the centre is divided by circular slielves, on which the regalia are displayed on the day of the coronation. Here the emperor sits enthroned, after the ceremony in the cathedral, adorned for the first time with all the imperial insignia, and dines amid his nobles. After that royal feast the room is untrodden, save by the curi- ous stranger, until death calls the reigning czar to the sepulchre of his fathers, and the gorgeous banquet is spread anew for his successor. A long, low passage, llu; walls of which were richly painted and gilded with barliarous devices, led to the room of state of the rulers of the olden time. They knew not of seat or throne, save the deep niches cut in the painted walls ; and where, unless they far out-topped in stature the degen- erate mortals of later times, tliey must have sat with their royal legs dan- gling most uncomfortably in mid-air, as the niches arc between three and four feet from the ground. It has been remarked tliat, on the spot where the main body of the old Tartar palace stood, the emperor Alexander erected the Bolshoi Dvoretz (Great palace). It is very lofty compared with its facade, but the whole effect is good when viewed from the base upward. The interior is not striking for either its decorations or furniture ; nevertheless, the palace, though of such recent erection, is not without interest. The rooms, which ! if 858 ILLUSTRATKD DRSCUiniON OP RUSSIA. have been at various times inIiiiI)itoil by members of the imperial family, are in exactly the same state us when tlioy left tlicm ; and the servants who show tlio bnildiiij; announce the history of each room — as the throne- room of the em|M'ror Aloxiiii(lor, the lialli-room of the empress Mai'ia Feo- dorovna, tte. Almost every room is illustrated by silent memorials of those who once ocenpied the apartments. In the apartment of the emj)0- ror Alexander is a pocket-handkerchief which he left hen' Itefore ho set out for Taganrog ; there are also some instruments which indicate what his occupations were — as a rule, quadrant, Idnck-lcad pencil, India rubber, Ac. His bedroom is as simple as it can well be: a bed with a straw-mat- tress, half a dttzcn leather-covered chairs, and a small looking-glass, make up the whole furniture. The Mnloi Dmntz (Little palace"), adjoining the Grnnin'itdifa Pa/tifn, was built by the emperor Nicholas, antl nothing like magnilicence has l)e(in displayed ; on the contrary, the furniture and geiieral arrangements are, as in the private ]>alace at St. lVtersl)urg, of the simplest kind. 'I'his was the emperor's n^sidencc before his elevation to the thri>ne, and, having spent the lirst years of his married life here, he was mucii attaclmd to it. The musket of a common soldier is shown in one of the rooms, as a favor- ite piece of furniture, an.l with it Nicholas used to go through the manual exercise, while giving his little sons their i'wr-l lessons in the art of war. Some Polish eagles are to lie seen here. From the windows of this palace, the emperor, when residing at Moscow, shows himself to his admiring bul)- jects, who assemble to sec him on the parade-ground below. There are some interesting jiictiires here, by Hernardn Uelolto de Cana- Ictto, representing scenes in I'oli.-h history, (hie is particularly interest- ing and beautifidly executed, portraying very faithfidiy iIm; "Election of Stanislaus Augustus by the lUel of Warsaw, in 17j>- rescnted as crowned in the open air, on the field of V(da ; and round his throne sit tlie nobility and clergy, the former with their swords drawn. In one of the rooms is the mattress of the emperor Nicholas, on which he lay without any other bed between, and stalled so hard and light, that a shutter, in the ab.scnco of it, would not have inconvenienced his imperial majesty I The lilirary in the emperor's cabinet contains all the works that have been written concerning Moscow, in French, Russian, and German. In another of the apartments, and under a glass case, are a n\iml)er of loaves, which have been presented to the emperor on his various visits to Moscow. When the sovereign arrives, it is customary for the ffolova, or chief person, attended by some of the principal citizens, to wait on him, and present on a silver salver and a gold salt-cellar, bread and salt, re- questing him to taste the bread of Moscow. The emperor thanks him, breaks off a piece of the roll, eats it, and then invites iho ifolova to cut his bread — that is, to partake of a splendid dinner, ; epared at the palace, at which he if. presented to the empress and the dillercnt members of the imperial family. tity of The the sh gold, I Moses, coffin sand d the Cfi i:- MOSCOW — CATIIEOnAL OP THE ASSUMPTION. It is (lifliciilt to sny how inniiy clmrclios tlicro arc in Moscow, tlio several ftccoimts (liflbr so widely. Some f[)eak of (ifteeii liiiiKlroil, others five lum- drcd, :iii(i one writer plaeea thi-ir niimher under three hundred. Some inelude eliii|>e]s, j)ul»li(! and private, and tlioj^c" in eonvent.s,in the category; also the wintfcr. The priests contrived, however, to secure a pretty littlo salvage out of tho shipwreck of 1812 — among other things a Mount Sinai of pure ducat gold, a present from Prince Potcmkin. On tho summit stands a golden Moses, with a golden table of the law ; and within the mountain is a golden coffin to contain the host : it is said to weigh a hundred and twenty thou- sand ducats. A i>il)le, the gift of Natalia Narishkin, the mother of Peter the Great, is so large, and the cover so laden with gold and jewels, that it k' -1 8i;o II,Li;sTllATKD DracUMTION OP RUSK/A. ri'(|uircs two tiicn to cany it into tlio clmrcli ; il is said to weigh a i< . . livd ami twcuiy pouuJs. Tho cmorulds on vhc cover org an invh lonu,und tlia .** Catiiediia' or thi Aiiiiim.''TI(in, Mo»co%.» whole Itiiuling cost one million two hundred tiiouHand roubles, a sum for wliicli all the boolts in >I>.:^''ow miglit bo handsomely bound, >\niung the other rcnurkablo objc s in this church is the groat chcstuui- * A yiuw of the inu-ri of ttii* cathedral is gWrn on pogu 659. oil. qiiantitji turi! coi washed Two MOSCOW — IIOUSK OF THE HOLY SYNOD. 861 cd .l>« \m Tot colored wooden tlirono-scat of Vlmlimir tlio Groat, oiicloflod within a lioiiao of lirass-work, wliic^h tho UiisHiiiiiH siiy is an imitation of tlio tomb of Christ ; and also a niiracuhtus pirtiire of the Savior. Iloru too is to l>o Huon a imil, chtimod to l>o of the tnio cross, a robe of the Savh)r'«, an, and ri'l»nilt in 147-. Here are the tomlis of the patriarchs of the (ireek clinreh, one of whom, St. i'hilip, and honored by a silver monninent, dared to say to Ivan the Terrible, '* We respect yon as an iniajre of the Divinity, bat as a man yoa [tartake of the dust of tin; earth 1" The most notalde object of tho whole c, and cornelian. Hero is the royal seat of the czars, made of wood, covered with silver gilt, and shaped like a sugar- bowl, with a cover to match. Tliis church is rich in relics of all tho saints in the calendar, not a few in number ; but the most remarkable olijoct is a fresco-pain ling on tho wall, re|)rosenting an assembly of good and evil spirits, tiie latter headed by Satan himself, breathing llanio and smoke, and horned, hoofed, and tailed ! *' Tho French," says Kohl, " left a largo ham in picklo on tiio kremlin. Tho priests repeated with deep emotion tho story o*" tho French stabbing their horses in tliis c'".nrch, and people from tho provinces never hear this without shuddering, and swearing eternal hatred to that nation." In addition to tho churches and j)alaces already cnumoratod, there is in tho kromlin an immense pilo of buildings called '' tho Soiiato," within tho \i^ h itilfiilll 364 ILLUSTRATED DESCRTPTION OP RUSSIA. i^ walls of wliich arc the offices of all the various departments of the local govcriimoiit. This building forms one side of a triangle, the remaining two being comjiosed of the treasury and arsenal. In the vestibule of the treasury, or OrovjicPalfast, is a collection of busts of noble Poles, " quiet memorials of very unquiet gentlemen," mostly of the seventeenth and eigh- tecntli centuries, finely executed, and evident likenesses; and on this, the ground-floor, there is also a very curious and large collection of the state- carriages of former sovereigns. Among them is that of a Russian patri- arch, whirli has tale windows ; likewise a very small one that lielonged to Peter the Great when a child ; and a sledge fitted up like a drawing-room, in whicli the empress Elizabeth and twelve of her suite used to dine when on her journeys itetwecn the two capitals : it is not unlike tiie cal»in of a ship, with a talile in tlie centre ; the interior is well but not lu.xuriously fitted up. Some of these ancient equipages have whole fir-trees for their axles'. One of them is said to Iiave been built in England. Here also is a model of an ill-conceived and extravagant design for a palace, which Catherine II. is said to have contemplated erecting on tiio kreinlin hill. Everytiiing, with the exception of the old churches and tower, was to have lieen levelled with the ground, and this giant palace, forming a screen roinid the whoh;, was intenill-hook. Tlie standard, how- ever, possessed, in all prol)ability, a kind of sanctity, for a breacli in tho centre is carefully repaired with an iron ring, The muskets arc principally of Toula manufacture, and in a press are kepi specimens of the muskets of other nations. Close to tho tower of Ivan Veliki, and reared on a nmssive pcdostal of granite, stands the mighty bell, most justly named " the Monarch" (^Czar Kolokof), for no other in tho world may dispute its sovcrijignty. It was cast by the command of tho empress Anne, in IT^JO, and bears her figure in Mowing robes upon its surface, beneatli wliich is v deep border of (low- ers. It is said that the tower in which it originally hung was burnt in 1737, anl its fall buried the enormous ma.s,s deep in the earth, and broko a huge f/agmont from it. There it lay for many years, visited in its sub- terraneous abode l)y the enterprising traveller only, and carefully guarded by a Russian sentinel. In tho spring of 1837, exactly a century after it fell, tho emperor Nicholas caused it to bo removed, aud, rightly deeming 1 us cavern, that he becomes wnsible of its enormous l)nlk. This giant communw^a'tor cf sound has Ijo^b *on.socratcd as a chapel, and the entrance to it is 1>y an iron gate, an^i d'/wn a few Steps tliat dcsceiic^ into a cavity formed by the wall and tiie wf^avji.tion under it. The "Czar Kolokol" is kii^ily venerated, for tlM> rflligi<;«*i« (V'clinjp^ of the people were called into action when it wa* cai»t atid wery «»^ ti^ho had u fraction of thf precious metals threw into the nv-Winfr mmh t^-rao v^riv.g of cither silver or gold ; the decorative part? of it awe in hm r«l'u^•n, and six times that of the city-hall in New York. To ring it is, of course, impossible : even to toll it requires the united strength of throe men, wlu), pulling with separate ropes, swing the vast clapper round, making it strike tho boll in throe difleront places. Standing under it, and with iiis arm stretclied out above his hoad, the traveller, even if a lall man, will fail to touch the top. In the bellry above that in which this is suspended svre two other bells of far smaller but still of immense propor- tions ; and above thet^c are forty or fifty more, whicli diminish in size in eaoii tier successively. Tlie tones of these various bells arc said to be very lieautifid. A superior dexterity in easting metal;», traditionally preserved in this part of the earth from the earliest times, is proved by the bells now hang- ing in this tower, which were cast soon after tlie erection of tho church in 1000. Tlie largest, described above, is held so sacred, that it is sounded but three times a year, and then aione; the others arc rung all together, and an extrafudinary noise they must make : but this din and jumble of sounds is that which is most [)leasing t(; Russian ears I On Easter eve a death- like silence reigns in all the streets, until on a sudden, at midnight, tho tiiunders of the guns of tho kremlin, and the uproar of its bells, supported by those of two hundred and fifty other churches, arc heard. The streets and church-towers are illuminated, and a dense throng of four hundred thousand people seems inspired with but one thought and feeling: with mutual felicitations and embraces, all repeat the words " Christ is risen," and all evince joy at the glad tidings. The viev; f»"om the summit of this tower is one of the most remarkable lu Europe. Ciustcred round it are the numerous gilt domes of the churches \t »««»*» laii.uu j.A>«» ^ 868 ILI.USTOATKD DESCRIPTION OP IIUSSIA. within the krcnilin, and those of tlic ancient and peculiar building called the tower of the krcnilin ; among these arc grouped the treasury, the bisho])'s jialace, and other modern edifices, strangely out of keeping with the ea.steru architecture of the place, all of which are enclosed by the lofty embattled walls and fantastic towers of the fortress. Near tlic " Holy Gate," the green towers of which are surmounted by- golden eagles, is the cathedral of St. Basil, grotesque in form and color ; and winding under the terrace of the kremlin gardens la the Moskva, the silvery though narrow lino of which may be traced far into the country. Roui'd this brilliant centre stretches on every side the city and its suburbs, radiant in all the colors of the rainbow, which are used in the decoration of the roofs and walls of the churches and houses ; the effect of this mosaic is }ieightcned by the foliage of the trees which grow in many parts of the town as well as on the banks of the river. The Greek f,!-ade of the found- iiiig-liospital attracts attention from its extreme length and the style of its architecture, in such striking contrast with that of the town generally. Tlie old monasteries, with their bright-blue domes spangled willi golden stars, and minarets gilt or colored, particularly of the Simotov and Don- s^.rd, surrounded by groves of trees, lie scattered on the skirts of the town, licyond these are the Sparrow hUh, on which Napoleon paused ere he de- scended to take jtosscssion of the devoted city. No view of any capital in Europe can be compared with that of Moscow from this tower, except that of Constantinople from the Galata or J*eraskier's, which surpasses it in beauty, for the horizon here is one unbroken line of dreary stcpi)e, while at Stamboul tlie distance is formed by the sea of Marmora and the snowy summits of Olympus. In St. Petersburg, all is whitiwash, and stiff and stately, I»ut in her ancient rival all is picturesque ; the city sooms to work gradually upon the teelings as by a spell: her wild Tartar invaders and boyard chiels of the olden tine rise up in the imagination and jieople again in fantastic array the wide terrace of tlie old fortress ; while the deeds of the foreign invaders of our own times impart a thrilling interest to the scene — the northern limit of the long career of Napoleon's comiucsts. Descending from the tower of Ivan Veliki, the traveller may jmss by the emperor's palace to the western gate of the kremlin, which, like the other three entrances, has a lofty, tapering ur.ver of green and white, and a gilt eagle for its vane. Here a liight c steps lead into the kremlin gardens, which bound the whole western part of the fortress ; these are beautifully laid out, and on this spot fireworks arc let off on the eve of every ft.'stival. The cathedral of St. Basil, also called the church of the Protection of Mary, is situated on the Krnsnoi Ploscfi ad (R(;d place), between the walls of the kremlin and those of the Kitai G'orod (Ciiinesc city), and an euiflco more bizarre, in point of both form and color, can not well be imagined. Standing alone at the extremity of tliis Avide area, the Vassili Blagennoi Bocins erected in tiiis conspicuous situution as if to show how grotesque a ■' ' " " " wt n - MOSCOW — CATHEDRAL OP ST. BASIL. 309 Cathedbal or St. Baiil. Moicov building the ingenuity of man could devote to the service of his Makoi*. There are no less than twenty towers and domes, all ofdilTcrent sliajms and sizes, and painted in every possildc color : some are covered with a network f)f fiivcn over i\ surface of y(?llow. another dome is a i)rilldeil I Some historians afli'-m tliat it was hnilt to coin- nieniorate the capture of Kazan : others tiiat it was a whim of Ivan tlio Terrible, to try iiow many distinct chapels could be erected under one roof. Oil a gi>t>« extent of ground, in such a manner that divine service could Ite perfitnut^d in all simultaneously without any intf*rferonee one with another. It is also said that the c:car was so delijihted with the architect, an Italian, who had thus admirably gratiiied his wishes, that when the edi- fice was finislied he sent for him, pronounced a warm panegyric on hia work, and tiien had his eyes put out. in order that he might nevt>r Oi 'Id such another! — a strange caprice of cruelly, if trub — punishing the man, n')t lor failing, but succeeding, in gratifyn.j; his ciuployer. The entire structure is far f>'om forming a whole, for nu nain building is discoveralile in this architv-ctural maze; in every one of the towers or domes lurks a separate cliurch, \n e\ery excrescence a chapel ; or they may bo likiMied to chimneys expanded to temples. One tower stands forth prominently amid the confusion, yet it i.s not in the centre, for there is in fact neither centre nor side, neither beginning nor ciul : it is all here and tliere. Strictly speaking, this tower is m* towtn* at all, but a church, and the chief om; in tlic knot of churches, thnw>n «u,M-.'i S70 ILLUSTltATED DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. liollow within, liaving no division of any kind, and lessening by dcgi'ocs to the suniniit; and from its small cupola the portrait of the "protecting Mother" looks down as if from heaven. This church is placed as it were upon the neck of another, from the sides of which a number of chapels pro- ceed — Palm-Sunday chapel, the chapel of the Three Patriarchs, of Alex- ander Svirskoi, and others. Service is performed in these on one day in the year only. Tiio greater part is so filled up witli sacred utensils and objects of adoration, that there is hardly any room left for the pious who come to pray. Some of the chapels have a kind of cupola like a turban, as if they were so many Turks' heads from which Ivan had scooped the Mohammedan brains and suj)pUed their place with Christian furniture ! Souie of the stones of the cupolas are cut on the sides, others not ; some are three-sided, some four-sided ; some are ribbed, or fluted ; some of the flutes are perpendicular, and some wind in fpiral lines round the cupola. To render the kaleidoscope appearance yei laoro perfect, every rib and every side is painted of a diflerent color. Tliosc neither cut in the sides nor ribbed are scaled with little smooth, glazed, and painted bricks; and, when these scales arc closely examined, they even are seen to diff"er from one another ; some are oval, others cut like leavos. The greater part of the cupola-crowned towers have a round body, but not all ; there are six- sided and eight-sided towers. From remote times wax-taper sellers have established themselves be- tween the entrances, and there they display their gilded and many-colored waro.^. From one corner the upper churches are gained by a broad, cov- ered flight of stops, which is beset day and night by hungry beggars who look to l)e fed by the devout. Tliese steps lead to a gallery or landing- place which branches off right and left to a labyrinth of passages leading to the separate doors of the temple on the roof, so narrow and winding that it costs many a painful effort to work one's way through. In some parts they are convenient enough, and even expand into spacious terraces. Where they lead outward they arc of course covered, and their roofs are Bupj)orted by pillars of diflerent forms and sizes. Whole flocks of half- wild pigeons, that Ituild their nests here, are constantly flying in and out. Imagine, then, all these points and pinnacles surmounted by crescents, and by very profusely-carved crosses, fancifully wreathed with gilded chains; imagine, further, with how many various patterns of arabesques every wall and pass^age is painted ; how from painted flower-pots gigantic thistles, flowers, and shrubs, spring forth — vary into vine-wreaths — wind and twist further till they end in -imple lines and knots ; imagine the now Bomewhat-faded colors — red, blue, green, gold, and silver — all fresh and gaudy — and the reader may in some degree coinpr-hend how these build- ings must have delighted the eye of the barbarous Ivan ! The chapel of the " Iberian Mother of God" (called in Russian the Iver- tkcya Boshia Mater} stands at the foot of the hill by which the Krasnot Ploschad is reached, and close to the " Sunday Gate " ( Voskresserukaia MOSCOW — CHAPEl. OP THE IBEBIAN MOTHER OP OOD. 871 C3 bc- )lorcc\ cov- who iidinji- uling luling some races. )fs are half- d out. ts, and liains ; y wall \istles, d and c now ish and buUd- hc Iver- vrasnot enskaia Vorota), tho moHt frcqucntQd entrance to Moscow. Tlic Red place ia hero entered by a double archway in the barrier-wall of tho old Tartar division of the city; and between the two gateways, in a space about twenty feet wide, is the oratory in question. Georgia gave birth to the miraculouB picture of tho llicriaii Mother ; thence it passed to a monastery on Mount Athos, in Macedonia; and sotuc centuries after, her reputation for miracu- lous powers spread to Russia, when the czar Alcxis-Michaclovich, who nourished in IGoO, " invited her to Mo.scow, and tixed her abode at tho Voskresscusk gate." Tlic figure of the saint, resplendent with gold and precious stones, is placed in a kind of sanctuary, at one end of the chapel. Striking as the devotion of tlie Russian appears to lie !i* St. Petersburg and elsewhere, it is not for a moment to be compared with what one wit- nesses daily in Moscow, not only in the churches, but also before the shrines and chapels in the streets ; and no Russian leaves or arrives at Moscow, on or from a jonruey, witliout iuvokiug the Iberian Mother's blessing. Pasi wlien he pleases, the traveller will remark that this chapel is besot by worshippers : the first step is always fully occupied, while others, una- ble to reach that more favorite spot, kneel on various parts of tho pave- ment; and a greater degree of earnestness will be observed in tho devo- tions of those who pray here than in any other church of Moscow. The door.s of the chapel stand open tiie whole day, and all are admitted who are in sorrow, and hea' • luden ; and this includes here, as everywhere else, a considerable number, anf desired, carried to the houses of sicTc persons ; and a carriage with four horses is kept constantly ready, in which it is transported with pomp to the bed of the dying. The visit costs five roi* bles, and a present is usually made to the monks. 1^ i^sm ■*** 872 ILLUSTRATKD nKSrUIPTfOV Ol' aUSSIA. i The clnirchcsof Moscow, as wc liavo nlroady stntod, nrc almost connt loss. Scarcely a street cup m travel i^ed witliout a cluster of j^recii or red donic^ and minarets iiieetiiiu ; ho traveller's eye. Tlic convents nnd mon- asteries arc also numerous, and situated, some in the Interior tu<] iddfst parts of the city, others in the meadows and jjardens of the siil-urbs, their walls einl)raein(>/<', or Maidens' Field, where the emperors, on their coronation, entertain their subjects. The emperor Nich- olas here, on that 0'H:a-i;o!i, dined lifly thousand j)ersons I Among educatioiui c;;t blishments, tin- only one deserving of j)articular notice is tie univ. isity. .vhose jurisdiction is not coidined to th'j city or government of Mosc .w, but extends over the governments of Tver, Yaro- slav, Kostroma, Vladinnr, Riazan, Tambov, Orel, Toula, Kalouga, and Smolensk. It was established by the empress Elizabeth, in 17")5; it consists of four faculties, and is attended by al)ont nine hundred students. Its scientific collections are poor, compared with the I)est of those in the west of Europe, but it is tolerably rich in anatomical preparations. In connection with it is a gymnasium, a library of fifty thousand volumes, aa observatory, botanical garden, tte. Among benevolent establishments u j the Alexander hospital and St. Catherine's hospital, both situated near the northern barrier of the city, and another hospital of St. Catherine, near the northeastern corner; two military hospitals in the eastern, a widow's hospital in the western, and St. Paul's hospital and the Galitzin hospital in the southern .sections of the city. Another, the foundling-hosjntal, situated on the northern bank of the Moskva, a little to the east of the Kitai Gorod, has acquired more celebrity than all the rest ; but whether it is entitled to be ranked among benevolent establishments is questionable, as all children, up to a certain age, are received on presentation, and no questions asked. The number actually in the house, or supported in some way or other by the institution, is upward of twenty-five thousand ! ot rui is for MOSCOW — PUBLIC nUTLDINOa — COMMEnCE — niSTORY. 378 MoHcow possossoM two tlicutrcs — one, whore the porformaiiccs arc ia French; and Uio uthur, or Alexander Iheaiic, where they are in Russian. Amonj>; the olher liiiildinfi;H or places wortliy of notice arc the great riding- Hci\ool, hiiualcd to tiie west of liio lirendin, and suppo.scd to be the largest building in the world unsupported by pillar or prop of any kind ; the |)rin- cipal bazar, or f^usliiiui dvor, in the Kitai Gorod, a colossal building of tli:ee stories, where wholesale nierelnints, to the number of more than a tliou.sand, carry on their trade ; the Itiiidi, an open space in the same vicinity, occupied by narrow streets of shd^''^ ; the barracks, along the east- ern side of the iinicr boulevard; and *'■ '"e-courso, a large oval space, elongated north and south, and alnv Mio southern barrier. The number of open anil planted spaces u city is very great. Sev- eral of these, ineludiug the boulevard.- already mentioned ; and wo may now add the [uincess CaVitzin'B gardens, stretching along the right bank of the Moskva, and beautifully laid out, but now partly occupied by the empress's villa; and Mie Spiirrow hills to the southwest. Alaiiufactures of various kinds are carried on to a great extent within the eity ; but they bear only a small proportion to those which arc carried on, on its account, in the surrounding towns and villages. The principal estaiilishments are for tcxiile fabrics, chiefly woollen, cotton, and silk, in all of which much steam-power and the most inipiuved nmchinery are em- ployed ; the other principal articles are hats, hardware, leather, ehemical products, beer, and brandy. From its central position, Moscow is the great entrepot for the internal commerce of the empire. (Jreat facilities for this commerce are given by water-conununication, which extends, on one siiie, u) the Baltic ; on an- other. t 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSOO (716)873-4503 O^ '^'" 374 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. snrnamed Donskoi, became BoIe master, and died in 1389, after having done more for its prosperity than any one into whose hands it had previ- ously fallen. From this time it became the capital of Muscovy, and con- tinued to advance in prosperity, though not without repeated interruptions by fire, pestilence, famine, and war. In 1686, the town was nearly con- sumed by fire, and two thousand of the inhabitants perished in the flames ; and in 1571, the Tartars fired the suburbs, and, a furious wind driving the flames into the city, a considerable portion of it was reduced to ashes, and not less than a hundred thousand persons are said to have perished in the flames or by the less lingering death of the sword. In 1611, a great por- tion of the city was again destroyed by fire, when the Poles had taken possession of it, under the pretence of defending the inhabitants from the adherents of Andrew Nagui, a pretender to the crown. And, lastly, in 1812, the emperor Alexander, unable successfully to oppose the triumphal advance of Napoleon's grand army, and rightly foreseeing that if tlie latter should winter in Moscow, the ensuing year would see him at St. Peters- burg, resolved to sacrifice the ancient, holy, and beautiful city, and thus insure the destruction of the modern Caesar and his invincible legions. It was a dreadful alternative ; but in the stern and barbarous governor of Moscow, Count Rostopchin, the emperor found a ready and willing instru- ment to execute the terrible mandate. The city was the idol of every Russian's heart, her shrines were to him the holiest in the empire — hol- lowed by seven centuries of historical associations, it was abandoned to destruction by the bigoted and fanatical populace, who had been taught by their rulers and priests to believe that " Napoleon wished to drive the Russians from the face of the earth !" Accordingly, having cleared out the inhabitants before the entrance of the French, as soon as the latter were established within its walls the governor commanded the city-prisons to be thrown open and their miscreant inmates to fire the devoted town in all directions. The French made every endeavor to extinguish the flames, but in vain. Nearly four thousand houses built of stone, and s6ven thou- sand five hundred of wood, were destroyed in this conflagi'ation. Although, since the foundation of St. Petersburg, Moscow has ceased to be the capital of the Russian empire, it is still, from the salubrity of its olimate and its central position, a desirable place of residence. As such, it is the favorite resort of many of the nobles, who pass the winter in the greatest splendor, not l)eing overshadowed, as at St. Petersburg, by the superior display of the court. Its present population is probably about three hundred and sixty thousand. li iT. PETEhSBHRO' — ITS 8!TB. 876 I CHAPTER XIII. ST. PETERSBURG. 3uch, tho the ibout Inundation or St. PlTinsnVKa in 1834. [E eito of the modern capital ol" the Rus- sian empire is one of the most singular that has ever been voluntarily selected for the foundation of a great metropolis ; and yet, owing mainly to the genius and per- severance which have been displayed in overcoming natural disadvantages, St. Petersburg has, within a compara- tlvelj short period, acquired a magnitude and splendor which justly entitle it to rank among the first of European cities. The Neva, on approaching the termination of its course, turns first north and then west. After proceeding a short distance in tho latter direction, it divides into three main branches ; the first of which, under the name of tho Great Ncvka, proceeds northward ; tho next, or central branch, flows wcat-northwest, under the name of the LiMlo Nova; and the third, forming properly a continuation of the main stream, and tlierefore called the Great lif;J m "iff: ■ iitii 876 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. Neva, flows southwest, and encloses a largo tract or peninsula surrounded l)y water on three sides, and contiguous to the mainland only on the south. Tiie branches form a number of islands, the two largest of wl)ich, separated from the peninsula by the main stream and Great Ncvka, are the Aptekar- skoi or Apothecaries' island on the north, and the Vasiliestrov or Basilius island on the west. In the northwest, subordinate arms of the river form a number of smaller islands, of which tlio more important are the Petrof- skoi, Krestofskoi, Kammenoi, and Elaghinskoi. These islands, particu- .larly the two largest, a small portion of the right bank, and the whole of the peninsula on the left bank (forming a series of flats which, taken as a whole, liave nearly an oval shape, and are so low as to be constantly ex posed to inundation), constitute the site of St. Petersburg. The Neva, though a broad, lively, and pellucid stream, is generally shal low ; and at its mouth is encumbered by a bar with not more than nino feet water, so that the large vessels which are built at the city docks can only be transported as hulls, to be fitted out at the great naval station of Kronstodt, about sixteen miles below. Tiiough an attack of the city bj sea may be all but impossible, the approach by land presents no obstruc- tion to an invading force, except a deep ditch or canal, stretching across the southern part of the peninsula, and a citadel, situated on a low island, so near the centre of ti.e city, that its guns, so far from defending, could not be used without demolishing it. The larger and finer part of St, Petersburg being built on the peninsula, takes the name of the Bolshaia Storona^ or Great side ; all the rest to the north, on the islands and right bank, is designated the Petersburg side. The communication between the former and the latter is maintained only by one cast-iron and three boat bridges, but the deficiency is supplied b" numerous ferry-boats of uncouth shape and fantastic coloring, which . constantly plying to and fro. llic iron bridge was built as late as 1860, and is a beautiful cmbelli^li- ment to the city. It being the first permanent structure ever thrown across the Neva, deserves more than a passing mention. The builhng of it was an engineering work of great difficulty ; the unstable nature of the mud- bed of the river having thitherto been an insurmountable obstacle to the very necessary formation of a permanent communication between these two portions of the city. This was, however, effected by driving piles into the river-bed, and filling up the intei'stices with stones. Thus a solid founda- tion was obtained to support the weight of the granite piers, and to resist t'.ie pressure of the vast and rapid volume of water which, by the contrac- ti .11 of Iho river, has here a depth of thirty feet. The entire length of the bridge is about eleven hundred feet, the centre arch being one hundred and fifty-six feet span. Tlie arches at one extremity rest on a massive pier constructed at one hundred feet from the northern shore, with which it is connected by two bridges moving on pivots, to allow the craft to pass up and down the river. ► \\v .'I'll ' i .r iLi r ■ r I •« , ,■..-- ,k t \\ :-. ( f ■ \. ,1, - .* "" . r.. ^ -' 1.--* .■\ -..>:"' '. '" * ' ' i^ ' ■'-'A' « ■. \ • .,'*'{• , ^, - ' ".' ■' • % -* w ST. PETERSBURG — THE IRON BRIDGE — GENERAL ASPECT. 879 IT, FETXBSBUBOB XnUAMUn -i L Admiralty. t. ImiH'i'iul or Winter P«Iiic«. 3. Equeilrinii Stntun of Vetet OreMt 1 Cliurrli of 8t laHnc. 5. TllllrillH I'llIlK'R. 6. CatbtHlriil t'liurch of KBznn. the 7. PHlnre of the Gmnd-Doke Mi- eliwl. C Kx>-biinf;><. 9. Cnthrriiiliof Pnlnce. 10. Moiiiiittcry nf dt. AlexHnder Ner- •Itni. 11. Sniulnoi Monnitcry. 13. AIex«ndrov>lioi Plufz Pnraa 13. l'reobriij«ii»lti)i Pliitz PaiRd. 14. 8cmrnov«lir inluiliitnnt.s in them, witliout goiii}^ to piecen. Eqnipiiges were ninuuhniod in tho streets, and the horses, unable to diMon- gngc themselvoa from their harness, were miserably drowned, while their masters had sought safety in some more elevated spot. Tin; trees in the public squares were as crowded with men as they had ever before been with sparrows. Still the water itept rising, and toward evening had at- tained such a height, that it was feared tlio storm woidd tear the men-of- war from their moorings, and drive them in among tlu; houses. Tlie ca- lamity was the more destructive, as it had come so noiselessly upon tho city, tluit none had imagined tlie danger so great as it really was. Tho emperor speedily gathered a few resolute men around him, sent some of them with assistance in all directions, and with otliers got into a bark, vis- ited the spots where the snfTeriiig was most appalling, and did not hesitate to expose his life to a thousand dangers, in order to rescue all whont ho could reach, and to whom he co\dd alTurd aid. The worst efleets of tho inundation were those that were operated unseen. Many houses fell in only on the following day, when the river had already returned into its accustomed bed ; but from those that remained standing, it was long before the damp could be ex|)elled. Sickness became general, and deadly epi- demics continued to rage in some quarters for many weeks afterward. The night was terrilde. The waters had continued to rise until the evening, and should they continue to do so, there seemed to 1)0 no chance of eseajie during the piichy darkness that might be looked for. Thousands . of fiimilies, the members of which were separated, spent tho night in tor- turing anxiety. Even the most serious things have often a ludicrous side on which they may be viewed, and, along with the gloomy recollections of that calamitoua day, a variety of amusing anecdotes have also been preserved. A gardener had been busy clipping some trees, and had not noticed the rising of the .ftitcr till it was too late for him to attempt to seek refuge anywhere but on the roof of an adjoining garden-pavilion, where he was soon joined by such a host of rats and mice, that he became apprehensive of l)cing de- voured by them. Fortunately, however, a dog and a cat st)ught refuge in the same place. With these he immediately entered into an offensive and defensive alliance, and the three confederates were able to make good their position during the night. A merchant was looking out of his window on tho second floor, when there came float; ig by a fragment of a bridge, with three human bcinga clinging to it. TVey stretched out their hands to him for help. lie threw out a rope, and, with the assistance of his servant, succeeded in rescuing all throe from their perilous position. The first whom they landed was a poor Jew, who trembled like an aspen-trce ; tho second was a boarded bo- OT. PCTEIISBURO — CLIMATE. 885 Hover in tho ortliodox Ruaso-Grcck church ; the third wixs a barcheaJed Mohammedan Tartar ; and the rescuer himsolf a |)rotc8tant, who supplied his drenched and motley guests with dry clothing and a Si;j;per. Many helievo that, wluit with merchandise spoiled, houses destroyed, furniture injured, daningo to the pavement, &c., tliis inundation cost the city more than a hundred millions of roubles, and that directly and indi- rectly several thousands of the inhabitants lost their lives ^n the occnnion. In every street the highest point attained by the water is marked by a lino on the sides of tiie houses, ^lay the house-painters never ogain bo cm- ployed in so melancholy an office ! Kvery inch that they might have had to place their marks higher, would have cojit the city several millions in addition, and would have plunged at least a hundred moro families into mourning. The climate of St. Petersburg oscillates continually between two ex- tremes. In summer the heat often rises to one lunidred degrees of Fahren- heit,* and in winter the cold as often falls to forty degrees below zero. This gives to the temperature a range of one hundred and forty de- grees of Fahrenheit, which probably exceeds that of any other city in Europe. It is not merely in the course of the year, however, but in the course of the same twenty-four hours, tliat the temperature is liable to great variations. In summer, after a hot, sultry morning, a rough wind will set in toward evening, and drive the thermometer down thirty degrees immediately. In winter, also, there is often a difference of thirty or forty degrees between the temperature of the morning and that of the niglit. The winter is considered to begin in October, and end in May ; and in tiio beginning of October every man puts on his furs, which are calculated for the severest weather that can come, and these furs are not laid aside again until the winter is legitimately and confessedly at an end. The stoves, meanwhile, are always kept heated in winter, that the house may never cool. Inconsiderate foreigners attempt sometimes to follow the caprices of the climate, and often pay for their termerity with illness and death. When the mercury is at its lowest j)oint, faces arc not to be seen in the streets, for every man has drawn his furs over his head, and leaves but little of his countenance uncovered. Every one is uneasy about his noso and his ears ; and as the freezing of these desirable appendages to the hu- man face divine is not preceded by any uncomfortable sensation to warn the sufferer of his danger, he has enough to think of if he wish to keep his extremities in order. " Father, father, thy nose ! " one man will cry to another as he passes him, or will even stop and apply a handful of snow to the stranger's face, and endeavor, by briskly rubbing the nasal promi- nence, to restore the suspended circulation. These are salutations to which • ThriHighoiif tlic prcient work, F»hrenhcit'» thpimomctor must nlwayt bo unfirrstnod to bo the •tiinibinl by which the tpinpemtiim is mpntured. Eiich degree of Riautniir (zero or being at the iVocziii); point) i« i>4'|iiivQlent to two and a quarter degree* of Fahrenheit, and each degree of Cantigrnde equnl to one and four fiaht of Fahrenheit. 25 ^ iiS a 111 iili .'fi it':' "a' I Mi 886 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. people are accustomed, and as no man becomes aware of the fact when hia own nose has assumed the dangerous chalky hue, custom prescribes among all who venture into the streets a kind of mutual observance of each oth- er's noses — a custom by which many thousands of these valued organs arc yearly rescued from tlie clutches of the Russian Boreas. In this temperature, ladies venture abroad only in close vehicles, of which every aperture is closed by slips of fur. There are families who at this season will spend weeks without once tasting a mouthful of fresh air, and, at last, when the cold has reached its extreme point, none are to be seen in the streets but the poorest classes, unless it be foreigners, people in business, or officers. As to these last, the parades and mountings of guard are never interrupted by any degree of cold ; and while the frost is hard enough to cripple a stag, generals and colonels of the guard may bo seen in their glittering uniforms moving as nimbly and unconcernedly about the windy Admiralty square as though they were promenading a ballroom. Not a particle of cloak must be seen about them ; not a whisper of com- plaint must be heard. The emperor's presence forbids both, for he exposes himself unhesitatingly to wind, snow, hail, and rain, and expects from his ofiSccrs the same disregard of the inclemencies of the season. Thp Russian stove is built in a partition-wall, of either brick or stone, and therefore heats two rooms. These stoves are frequently faced with the glazed Dutch tile, wiiich increases their power as to heat, as well as improves their appearance. On one side there is an iron door, inside which is placed a large quantity of split wood ; and after this has been thoroughly burnt through, the man, whose business it is to look after all the stoves in the liouse, rakes the ashes well over to ascertain that every par- ticle of wood is literally calcined, and then shuts the yushka, a plate of iron which closes the chimney, and thereby prevents the heat of tlie embers from escaping : thus tlic mass of brickwork is kept hot for many hours. The utmost care is required to ascertain with accuracy that not the smallest piece of wood is left burning when the yushka is put on ; for, should that be the case, a poisonous gas is emitted by the wood, and fatal consequences may ensue to those who are exposed to its influence. It is by no means an uncommon circumstance to hear of people being suffocated by the fumes of their stoves. The temperature maintained by these stoves over the whole of a Russian house is remarkably constant and even — so much so, that, in spite of the great external cold, there is a perpetual summer in-doors. No additional blankets are necessary, and no shivering and shaking is to be dreaded on turning out in the morning. Almost the only wood used in St. Petersburg as fuel is that of the birch-tree. It is the cheapest to be had in the neigh- borhood, and its embers are more lasting than those of the pine or fir. The double windows, which arc universal at this season in the houses of the rich, and common in those of the poor also, contribute in a great de- gree to keep them warm. Early in th? autumn every crock and cranny is ST. PETERSBURG — WINTER — THE NEVA. 887 closed with either putty or paper, save and except a single pane in each room, constructed so as to open like a door ; tliis is called a forteshka. The interstice between the inner and outer windows is covered to the depth of a few inches with sand or salt, to imbibe the moisture. The salt is piled up in a variety of fanciful forms, and the sand is usually formed into a kind of garden decorated witli artificial flowers. These bloom and blossom through the winter in their glassy cases, and as in these arrange- ments every family displays its own little fancies and designs, it furnishes amusement, to tliose who are not above being amused by trifles, to walk the streets on a fine winter-morning, and admire the infinite variety of decorations presented by the double windows. Quite as much care is expended upon the doors as upon the windows. It is a common thing to pass, not merely two, but three doors, before you enter the warmed passage of a house ; and this is the case, not only in pri- vate houses, but also in public buildings, such as theatres, churches, &c. In the imperial palaces there are English grates, but these would bo poor substitutes indeed for the pectch (stove) in such a climate ; fitill they are very agreeable accessories to comfort. In the large riding-schools and public buildings the stoves arc of gigantic proportions, and highly orna* mentcd with trophies and warlike decorations. The heat emitted by these peetches is tremendous, and the sudden change from the intense frost with- out to the close atmosphere of a room thus incessantly heated, and never ventilated for months, must bo enough to try the hardiest frame. In the cottages the whole family sleep on or round the stove in their clothes, and without any bedding ; this is also the case with the servants in some gen- tlemen's iiouses. The poor suffer far less from cold in St. Petersburg than in cities under a milder heaven. In different parts of the town there are largo rooms, which are constantly kept warm, and to which every one has at all times free access. In front of the theatres, large fires are kept burning for the benefit of coachmen and servants ; but the furs and warm apparel in which even beggars are sure to be clad, and the air-and-water-tight construction of their houses, are the chief security of all classes against the severity of their climate. As soon as the thermometer falls some fifteen or twenty degrees below zero, the sentinels all receive fur cloaks, in which they look grotesque enough, when marching up and down in front of the palaces. With all these precautions, however, the intense cold that sometimes pre vails for weeks together converts many a specimen of living humanity into a senseless statue of ice. This is owing more to the manners of the peo- ple than to the want of suitable protection ; to drunkenness and idleness among the poor ; and to inconsiderateness among the rich. The northern winter imprisons the lovely nymph of the Neva in icy bands for five months in the year. It is seldom till after the beginning of April that the water acquires sufficient warmth to burst her prison. The moment is always anxiously expected, and no sooner have the dirty masaea \i S88 .ILLUSTRATED DE8CBIPTICN 0? BUSSIA. ,." ■ ■ .■ '.* :',-} Th« NtTA >w WiNTm. of ice advanced sufilciontl" to display as much of l!)o bright mirror of the river as may suffice to boar a boat from one sido to the other, than the glad tidings are announced to tiio inlial>itiinls liy the artillery of the for- tress. At that moment, be it day or night, the commandant of the fortress, arrayed in all tlie insignia of his rank, and accompanied by the officers of his suite, embarks in a'> elegant gondola, and repairs to the cmperor'a palace which lies immediately opposite. He fdls a large crystal goblet with the water of the Neva, and presents it to the emperor as the first and most precious tribute of returning spring. He informs his master that the force of winter has been broken, that the waters are free again, that an active navigation may now r.gain be looked for, and points to his own gon- dola, as the first swan that has swum on the river that year. Ho then presents the goblet to the emperor, who drinks it off to the health of the dear citizens of his capital. There is not probably on the face of the globe another glass of water that brings a better price, for it is customary for the emperor to fill the goldct with ducats before he returns it to the com- mandant. Such, at least, was the custom ; but the goblet was found to have a sad tendency to enlarge its dimensions, so that the emperor began to perceive that he had e.ery year a larger dose of water to drink, and a greater number of ducats to pay for it. At last he thought it high time to compromise matters with his commandant, who now receives on each occa- sion a fixed sum of two hundred ducats. Even this, it must be admitted, is a truly imperial fee for a draught of water, but the compromise is said to have effectually arrested the alarming growth of the goblet! It is generally between the 6th and the 14th of April (old style), or between the 18th and the 26th, according to the calendar in use in this country, that the Neva throws off her icy covering. The 6th is the most general day. It is usually about the middle of November, and more fre* quently or. tbe 20 th (2d of December new style) than on any other day . guai divi the era the the won iier, liis mov in 1( that ST. PETERSBURO — OUT-DOOB LIFE. 889 that tlie ice is brought to a ad-still. The departure of the ice, on the breaking up of the river ic ie spring, always forms an exciting spectacle, and crowds are sure to be attracted to the qaays by the first gun fired from the citadel. The golden gondola of the commandant is not long alone in its glory, for hundreds of boats are quickly in motion, to re-establish tlue communication between the different quarters of tlic city. All the other harbors of the Baltic are usually free from iqe before that of St. Petersburg ; and a number of vessels are almost always awaiting, in the sound, the news that the navigation of the Russian capital has been resumed. The first spring ship that arrives in the Neva is the occasion of great rejoicing, and seldom fails to bring its cargo to an excellent market. It is mostly laden with oranges, millinery, and such articles of taste and vanity as are likely to be most attractive to tlie frivolous and wealthy, who seldom fail to reward the first comer by purchasing his wares at enormous prices. The first sliip is soon followed by multitudes, and the most active life succeeds to a stillness like that of death. A stranger accustomed to the crowds and bustle of London, Paris, or New York, is struck on his arrival at St. Petersburg by the emptiness of the strccLs. lie finds vast open spaces in which at times he beholds noth- ing but a solitary drosky, that wends its way along like a boat drifting on the open sea. lie sees spacious streets bordered by rows of mute palaces with only heio and there a human figure hovering about, like a lurking freebooter an>on«i, a waste of rocks. The vastness of the plan on which the city has been laid out shows that its founders speculated on a distant fu- ture. Rapidly as the population has been increasing, it is still insufficient to fill the (ranie allotted to it, or to give to the streets that life and move- ment which we look for in the capital of a great empire. On the occasion, indeed, of great public festivals and rejoicings, and at all times in the Nevskoi Prospekt and aliout the Admiralty, the movement is very consid- erable, but this only tends to leave the throng and bustle of the other quarters of the town far below the average. The population of 8t. Potergburg is the most varied and motley that mind can imagine. To begin with the military. We have the Caucasian guards, the Tartar guards, the Finland guards, besides a fourth and fifth division of the guards for the various tribes of Cossacks. Of these nations the (lite are thus always retained as hostages in the cai)ital, and their sev- eral uniforms are alone sufficient to pi'csent an ever-changing picture to the eye of an observer. Here may be seen a Cossack trotting over one of the Ptatz Parads with his lance in rest, as though in his imagination ho wore pursuing a flying enemy. Farther on, perchance a Circassian cava- lier, in his shirt-of-mail, and harnessed from head to foot, is going through his warlike exercises. The moslem from the Taurus may be seen gravely moving through the throng ; while the well-drilled Russian soldiers defile in long columns through the streets. Of all the endless variety of uniforms that belong to the great Russian army, a few Bpccimens are always to be 'sa^^ 390 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. aeon in the capital. There are guards, and hussars, and cuirassiers, and grenadiers, and pioneers, and engineers ; liorsc-artillcry and foot-artillerj ; to say nothing of dragoons, lancers, and those military plebeians the troops of the lino. All these, in their various uniforms, marching to parade, re- turning to their barracks, mounting guard, and passing through the otiior multifarious duties of a garrison-life, are in themselves enough to give life and diversity to the streets. If, then, we turn to the more pacific part of the population, devoted to the less brilliant but certainly not less useful pursuit of commerce, we find every nation of Europe, and almost every nation of Asia, represented in the streets of St. Petersburg. Spaniards and Italians, English and French, Greeks and Scandinavians, may be seen mingling together ; nor will the silken garments of the Persian and the Bokharian be wanting to the pic- ture, nor the dangling tail of the Chinese, nor the pearly teeth of the Arabian. Tlie infima plebs bears an outside as motley as the more aristocratic por- tion of the community. The Gorman bauer (peasant) may be seen loun- ging among the noisy, bearded Russians ; the slim Polo elbows the diminu- tive' Finlander ; and Esthonians, Lettes, and Jews, are running up against each other, while the mussulman studiously avoids all contact with the Jew. Yankee sailors and dwarfish Kamtschatdales, Caucasians, Moors, and Mongolians — all sects, races, and colors, contribute to make up the populace of the Russian capital. Nowhere does the street life of St. Petersburg display itself to better effect than in the Nevskoi Prospekt. This magnificent street intersects all the rings of the city — the suburbs of the poor, the showy regions of com- merce, and the sumptuous quarters of the aristocracy. A walk along the whole length of this street is one perhaps as interesting as any that can be made in St. Petersburg. Starting from the extreme end, where a mon- astery and a cemetery remind you of death and solitude, you first arrive at little low, wooden houses, which lead you to a cattle-market, whore around the spirit-shops may be seen swarms of noisy, singing Russian peasants, presenting a picture not unlike what may daily be seen in the villages of the interior. A little farther on, the houses improve in appearance : some are even of stone, and boast of an additional floor ; the houses of public entertainment are of a better description, and shops and warehouses are seen similar to those of the small provincial towns. Next follow some markets and magazines for the sale of invalided furniture and superannu- ated apparel, which, having spent their youth in the service of the central quartei's, are consigned in old ago to the mercy of the suburbs. The houses, in the old Russian fashion, are painted yellow and red, and every man you meet displays a beard of venerable length, and a yet longer caftan (jacket or roundabout). A little farther on, and you see a few ivoshtshikit (drosky-drivers) who have strayed by chance so far from their more central haunts ; a shaven chin and a swallow-tailed coat may be seen at in ST. PETERSBUBO — nIiVSKOI PBOSPEKT. 801 tervals, and hero and there a house assumes something like an air of state- liness and splendor. On arriving at i*. bend in the street, the huge gilt spire of the Admiralty is descried at u distance, floating apparently over the intervening mist. You cross a bridge, and begin to feel that you are in a mighty city. The mansions rise to three and four stories in height, the inscriptions on the houses become larger and more numerous, carriages- and-four become more frequent, and every now and then the wavijig plume of a staff-oflScer dashes by. At length you arrive at the Fontanka canal, cross the Anitshkof bridge, and enter the aristocratic quarter of the capi- tal. From this bridge to the Admiralty is what may be called the fash- ionable part of the Prospekt ; and as you advance, the bustle and the throng become greater and greater. There are carriages-and-four at every step ; generals and princes elbowing through the crowd ; sumptuous shops, impe- rial palaces, and cathedrals and churches of all the various religions and sects of St. Petersburg. The scene in this portion of the street, at about mid-day, may challenge comparison with any street in the world, and the splendor of the spectacle is enhanced by the magnificence of the decorations. This part of the thor- oughfare, though about a mile in length, does not contain more than fifty houses, each of which, it may easily be inferred, must be of colossal mag- nitude. Most of these buildings arc the property of the several churches that border the street — the Dutch, the catholic, the Armenian, and others — that received from Peter the Great large grants of land, of little value probably when first bestowed, but from which, as they are now in the heart of the city, splendid revenues are derived. The street from the Anitshkof bridge to the Admiralty is the favorite promenade with the beau monde of St. Petersburg. The buildings are magnificent, the equipages roll noiselessly over the wooden pavement of the centre, and tlie troUoirs (foot-pavements) on each side are broad and commodious. The northern, being the sunny, is the favorite side of the Street for the promenaders, and on that side accordingly are the most mag- nificent shops. Tlic peo})le are civil, and quarrels and disputes are seldom heard. The Slavonian is by nature ductile and tractable ; and the lower classes, from their childhood, are taught to behave respectfully toward their more fortunate fellow-men. The garrison of St. Petersburg seldom amounts to less than sixty thou- sand men, and constitutes, therefore, about one eighth of the entire popu- lation. Neither officer nor private must ever appear in public otherwise than in full uniform, and this may suffice to give some idea of the prepon- derance of the military over the civil costumes seen in the streets. The wild Circassian, with his silver harness and his coat-of-mail, gayly con- verses and jests with the more polished Russian officer, while their several kinsmen are busily engaged in cutting each other's throats in the Caucasus. Even in the streets of St. Petersburg, however, it is more safe to avoid collision with these fierce and chivalric mountaineers, who are sudden in 392 ILLUSTRATED DESeRIPTION OF RUSSIA. quarrel, quick to avenge insult, wear sharp daggers, and always carry loaded firearms about their persons. It would not bo saying too much to affirm that half the inhabitants of St. Petersburg are clad in a uniform of one sort or another ; for, in addi- tion to the sixty thousand soldiers, there are civil uniforms for the public officers of every grade — for the police, for the professore of the university, and not only for the teachers, but liltcwise for the pupils, of the public schools. Nor must the private uniforms be forgotten that are worn by the numerous servants of the noble and wealthy families. Still there remain enough of plain coats to keep up the respectability of the fraternity. The whole body of merchants, the English factory, the German barons from tho Baltic provinces, Russian princes and landowners from tho interior, for- eigners, private teachers, and many others, arc well pleased to be exempt from tiio constraint of buttoits and epaulettes. Indeed, so much that is really respectable walks about in simple black and blue, that a plain coat is felt by many to bo ratiicr a desirable distinction, although the wearer is obliged on all public occasions to yield tlio pas to tho ma\iy-colored coats of the civil and military employes. Tiie seasons and the variations of tho weather bring about many and often very sudden changes in tlie street-population of St. Petersburg, where the temperature is always cai)riciou3 and unstable. In winter, every one is cased in furs; in summer, liglit robes of gauze and silk are seen Muttering in the breeze. In 'ttie morning the costumes are perlmps all light and airy, and in the evening of the same day none will ventui*c to stir abroad otherwise than in cloaks and mantles. Titc sun shines, and swarms of dandies and petites maitresses come fluttering through the fashionable thor- oughfares : it rains, and the strcctd are abandoned to the undisputed posi- session of the ^' black people." One day all snow and sledges, the next all mud and clattering wheels. , ,. , Nor is it merely the change of weather that alters the physiognomy of the streets. The various sects that make up the population of tho town give often a peculiar character to the day. On Friday, the holyday of the raoslems, the turbaned Turk, the black-bearded Persian, and the Tartar, with his shorn head, take tlieir leisure in tho streets. On Saturday, the black-silk caftans of the Jews come abroad in great numbers ; and on tho Sunday, the Christians of all denominations come forth to their pious exer- cises or their various diversions. Tho different sects of tho Christians, again, tend to vary the scene. To-day the Lutherans celebrate their yearly day of penance, and German burghers, with their wives and children, and with their neat, black, gilt-edged hymn-books under their arms, sally forth on their pilgrimage to the church ; to-morrow the catholics are summoned to some feast or other of tho immaculate Virgin, and Poles and Lithua- nians, Frenchmen, and Austrians, hurry to their stately temples. The next day arc heard the thousand bells of the Greek kobkolniks, and tho wives and daughters of the Russian merchants come humming and fluttering about ST. PBTBRSBUOO — STREET POPULATION. 893 the streets in their gaudy plumages of green, blue, yellow, and red. But the great days are the public holydays, " the emperor's days," as they are called, when all the modes and fashions current, from Paris to Pekin, are certain to be paraded to the public gaze- It has often been remarked that there are few cities where one sees so many handsome men as in St. Petersburg. This is partly owing to the prevalence of uniforms, wliich certainly set off tlie person to advantage, partly also to the fact that all the handsomest men in the provinces are constantly in demand as recruits for the various regiments of the guards. Something must also be attributed to tlie constant efforts of the Russians to give themselves the most agreeable forins. In no other town are there 60 few cripples and deformed people ; and this is not owing merely to their being less tolerated here than elsewhere, but also, it is said, to the fact that the Slavonian race is less apt than any other to produce deformed cliildren. On the other hand, at every ste}) you meet men whose exterior you can not but admire, and a moment's reflection must fill you with regret that there should be so few fair eyes to contemplate so many handsome specimens of manhood. St. Petersburg is unfortunately a city of men, the male sex being in a majority of at least a liundrcd thousand, and the women by no means equally distinguished for their cliarms. The climate seems to be unfavorable to the development of female beauty ; tlic tender plants quiciily fade in so rude an atmosphere, and as they are few in numbers, they arc all the more in demand for the ballroom and the soiree, and the more quickly used up by the friction of dissipation. "Whether this be the cause, or whether the Russian women are naturally less handsome, com- paratively, than the men, certain it is that a fresh, handsome-looking girl is but rarely to bo seen at St. Petersburg. The German ladies from the Ikltic provinces form the exception ; and it is from Finland, Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland, that the gay circles of the capital receive their chief supply of beauty. To this it may be owing that the Russians have so high an opinion of German beauty that they rarely withhold from a Nyemka (German woman) the epithet of krassivaya, or beautiful. The ladies of St. Petersburg, though in such great demand on account of their scarcity, are liable, from the same cause, to many inconveniences. For instance, it is impossible for them to walk in the streets, even in broad daylight, without a male escort. The best hour for walking on the Prospekt is fronk twelve till two, when the ladies go shopping, and the men go to look at the fair purchasers. Toward two or three o'clock, the purchases have been made, the parade is over, the merchants are leaving the exchange, the world of promenaders wend their way to the English quay, and the real promenade for the day begins, the imperial family usually mingling with the rest of the loungers. This magnificent quay, constructed, like all the quays of St. Petersburg, of huge blocks of granite, runs along the Neva from the New to the Old Admiralty, and was built during tlio I'cign of the empress Catherine II. s : , kii' i 894 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. who caused the canals and rivers of her capital, to the length of not lesR than twenty-four miles, to be enclosed in granite. Aa in all water-construe tions, the colossal part of the work is not that which meets the eye. The mighty scaflblding, on which tlic quay rests, stands deeply imbedded in the marshy soil below. Handsome steps, every licre and there, load down to the river ; and for carriages largo, broad descents have been constructed, and these in winter are usually decorated with all sorts of fanciful columns and otlicr ornaments, cut out of the ice. The houses along the English quay are deservedly called palaces. They were originally, for the most part, built by Englishmen, but are now, nearly all of them, the property of wealthy Russians. On the English quay may be seen daily the elite of the Russian empire wearing away the granite with their princely feet. The carriages usually stop al the New Admiralty, where their noble owners descend, and honor the quay by walking up and down it some two or three times. There are no shops ; and as the English quay is not a convenient thoroughfare, tho promenadors are seldom disturbed by the presence of any chance passen- gers. The emperor and the imperial family are a centre to tlio groups that come to salute them and to be saluted by them. This forms a kind of connection for the promenaders, and gives a oneness to tho assembled company. The emperor walks up and down upon an api)arent footing of equality with his subjects around him ; though these, in point of fact, stand about in the same relation to him that a child's doll docs to tho colossus of Rhodes. The Englishman buttons up his hatred of despotism in his great-coat, and scarcely condescends to touch his hat when he meets tho "giant of the North ;" while to the Russian by his side, a submissive de- meanor has by habit become a positive source of enjoyment, till he feels a real affection for those to whom the law gives the right of ordering him about ! The master of some vast estate, in the Ural mountains or on tho arid steppes, where thousands of souls must labor away for his exclusive profit, walks along the quay with as little pretension as the poor shopman, who can scarcely be said to have a property in his own soul, embodied as it is in the gay garments which he has such evident delight in displaying to an admiring world. ^ /, f ^^'i <■ ?' .;w^ ■; The Russian of tho lower orders is anything but an inviting personage, at first sight. The name by which they have been designated, in their own language, time out of mind, describes them precisely. It is tschornoi narod, " the dirty people," or, as we might more freely render it, " tho great un- washed." An individual of this class is called a mujik, which is also a general name for peasant or serf. Ho is usually of middle stature, with small, light eyes, level cheeks, and flat nose, of which the tip is turned up so arf to display tho somewhat-expanded nostril. His pride and glory is his beard, which he wears as long and shaggy as nature will allow. The back of the head is shaved closely ; and, as he wears nothing about his neck, his head stands distinctly away from his body. His ideal of the ST. PETERSBURG — THE MUJIK — DRUNKENNESS. 395 :l boauty of tlio human head, as seen ft-oni behind, seems to be to make it roaoiiible, as nearly as may bo, a turnip. He is always noisy, and never clean ; and when wrapped in hia shoc|)8kin mantle, or caftan of blue cloth reaching to his knees, might easily enough bo taken for a bandit. As he seldom thinks of changing his inner garments more than once a week, and as his outer raiment lasts half his lifetime, and is never laid aside during the night, and never washed, he constantly affords evidence of his presence anything but ■agreeable to the organs of smell. But a closer acquaintance will bring to light many traits of character which belie his rude exterior, and will show him to bp at bottom a good-natured, merry, friendly fellow. His most striking characteristic is pliability and dexteniy. If he does not possess the power of originating, ho has u wonderful faculty of copying the ideas of others, and of yielding himself up to carry out the conceptions of any one who wishes to use him for the accomplishment of his ends. There is an old German myth which says that the Teutonic race was framed, in tiic depths of time, out of the hard, unyielding granite. The original material of the Russian race must have been India rubber, so easily are they compressed into any form, and so readily do they resume their own when the pressure is removed. The raw, untrained mvjik is drafted into the army, and in a few weeks attains a precision of movement more like an automaton than a human being. Ho becomes a trader, and the Jews themselves can not match him in cunning and artifice. The mvjilc is a thoroughly good-tempered fellow. Address hira kindly, and his face unbends at once, and you will find that he takes a sincere delight in doing you a kindness. In no capital of Europe are the tempta- tions to crimes against the person so numerous as in St. Petersburg, with its broad, lonely streets, unlightcd at night, and scantily patrolled ; but in no capital arc such crimes of so rare occurrence. But the nuijik has two faults : he is a thorough rogue, and a great drunkard ! Ho will cheat and guzzle from sheer love for the practices ; and without the least apparent feeling that there is anything out of the way in so doing. But iu his cups he is the same good-natured fellow. The Irishman, or Scotchman, when drunk, is quarrelsome and pugnacious; the German or the Englishman, stupid and brutal ; the Spaniard or the Italian, revengeful and treacherous. The first stages of drunkenness in the mvjik are manifested by loquacity. The drunker he is, the more gay and genial does he grow ; till at last ho is ready to throw himself upon the neck of his worst enemy, and exchange embraces with him. When the last stage has been reached, and he starts for humo, he does not reel, but marches straight on, till some accidental obstruction trips hira up into the mire, where ho lies unnoticed and unmolested till a policeman takes charge of him. This misadventure is turned to public advantage, for by an old custom every person, male or female, of what grade soever, taken up drunk in the street by the police, is obliged the next day to sweep the streets for a certain number of hours. In early morning rambles through the city, !l 896 ILLUSlllATEO DGBCRIl'TION OF RUtWIA. PCKIIHMKNT ro* UlUKKBNNMt — BurBBrlNO THB BTaZBTS. t'l.c t:i,vcilcr ma/ vcy frequently encounter a woful group, thuc improvinj^ the ways of olhcrs, in punishment for having taken too little heed of their owt. Jcrrmann thus speaks of a party of females he saw atoning, broom in hand, for their improper nocturnal rambles : " Startling contrasts abound in St. Petersburg. One morning, before four o'clock, I was driving to tho Neva batiis, when t-uddcnly, to my astonished eyes, tho strangest scene presented itself. I beheld before me an al-fresco ball. A number of elegantly-attired ladies — some with handsome shawls, and featliers in their hats — were performing the strangest sort of dance, which they ac- companied with a sort of bowing motion, incessantly repeated. I could recognise no French or German dance in their singular evolutions. Could it be some Russian national dance, thought I. What kind of dance could it be that was thus danced in broad daylight on tho public highway, and without male dancers ? A few men were certainly there, bat^ moroly oe BT. PETEnSBUnO — NATIONAL TRAITS. 897 200 of in ac- uld uld uld xnd lool{cra-on. I toiicncd tlio arm of my ivoshlshik, called liis attention to the trroiip, and made an interrogative gesture. Tlie explanation ho gave mo was tloulttlcsfl very lucid and circumfltantial, and would have l)ccn liiglily satinfaotory, bad it only been intelligible to nio. Unable to under- Htiind a word be said, I ordercil bini, by the vigorous articulation of * Pa- chol," to drive up to the strange ball before the weary dancers could seek repose upon tlio stones at the street-corners. Drawing nearer and nearer, I yet heard no sound of music. At last we reached tho Anitshkof palace, and found ourselves close to tho scene of this untimely activity. A repul- sive and horrible sight mot my eyes. A number of young women, appa- rently still fresh and blooming, with ruddy checks — but whether of artifi- cial or natural colors their incessant, monotonous bowing movement pre- vented my distinguishing — elegantly dressed in silks, jewels, and feathers, wore sweeping tho NevsKoi Prospekt under tho superintendence of police- men. Some of them appeared overwhelmed with shame; others stared at me, at tho ivoshlshik and horse, with perfect indifference, and seemed rejoiced at our passage, which suspended for a moment their painfid and disgraceful occupation. They were a dctachmcntof nocturnal wanderers, who, when returning too tardily to their homes from pursuing their wretcliod calling, had fallen into tlie hands of the patrol, had passed tho remainder of the night in tho watch-hotise, and were now atoning, broom in hand, their untimely rambles. I hurried off to the bath, glad to escape from this degrading and deplorable spectacle." Drunkenness and night-walking, however (wc may add, en passant'), arc not tho only misdemoiinors thus punished, nor do the lower classes alono expiate their offences by "doing the state somo service" in wielding tho broom in the streets of Russian cities. Oliphant Instances the governor of Scvastapol, whose peculations in the way of bribes and other perquisites were brought to light by a sudden visit of the emperor. No dilatory trial procrastinated the day of his condemnation. The emperor had scarcely terminated his Hying visit, and tho smoke of the steamer by which he re- turned to Odessa still hung upon the horizon, when the general command- ing became tho convict sweeping. In a significant white costume, he waa prominently displayed with the rest of the gang upon the streets he had a fortnight before rolled proudly through, with all the pomp and circura- Btancc befitting his high station ! In vim) Veritas may perhaps be true of the juice of tho grape ; but it is not so of the bad brandy which is the favorite drink of the mvjik. IIo is never too drunk to be a rogue, but yet you do not look upon his I'oguery as you do upon that of any other people. He never professes to be honest, and does not see any reason why he should be so. He seems so utterly unconscious of anything reprehensible in roguery, that you unconsciously give him the benefit of his ignorance. If he victimizes you, you look upon him as upon a clever professor of legerdemain, who has cheated you in spite of your senses ; but you hardly hold him morally responsible. Upon I 14 I ' 808 ILLD8TRAT6D DESCRIPTION OF RUHBIA. tho wliolo, though you can not respect the mufik, you can hardly avoid having a sort of liking for him. Notwithstanding tho general charactcrintic of laxity of principle, in- stances are l>y no means wanting of the most scrupulouH and oven roman- tic fidelity on tho part of tho Russians of tho lower orders. It -vould bo an interesting subject of investigation how far this patent trait of national character is to be attributed to inherent constitutional defects in tho race, and how far to tho state of serfdom in which they have existed from gen- eration to generation ; but the investigation does not fall within tho scope of this volume. Our friends in the greasy sheepskins or woollen caftans have strong re- ligions tendencies, though they may smack n little too much of those of tho light-fingered Smyrniote who was detected purchasing candles to light before his patron-saint, with the first-fruits of tho purse of which ho had not ten minutes before relieved a gentleman's pocket ! In all places where men congregate there are pictures of saints before which the mitjik crosses himself on every occasion. In an inn or restaurant each visiter turns to the picture and crosses himself before he sits down to eat. If a mvjik enters your room, he crosses himself before saluting you. Every church is saluted with a sign of the cross. At frequent intervals in tho streets little shrines are found, l)eforc M'hich everybody stops and makes tho sacred sign, with bared head. The merchant in tho gostinni dvor or bazar, every now and then walks up to his bof^ or saint, and with a devout inclination proys for success in trade. Nbtiroi P.vMrBKT, St. PBraMiuM.-fSeoond View.) ■'. r iii'i' •,.,;;■ ■.■^ Uw '.if • I '- BT. PETEnaDUBO — THE WINTER PALACE. SD9 CHAPTER XIV. BT. I'ETERHnUHO — IMPERIAL PALACES, ETC. "Tk "j i.o '-v; olty can boast that it is so entirely composed of pu.acei l\ und col"ssul public edifices as St. Petersburg. In some uf tbcso M .eral thousand persons reside — six thousand, for instance, aro said to n haltit the Winter polnce during the emperor's residence in tho capital ; nnd tlio traveller, when ho looks on this gigantic pile of buil'l\ng, will in>\ fail to remenibor that it once fell a prey to the ravages of fir •, at least tlio interior of it, and in a few hours the greedy flames destn. 'd much of tlioHC treasures and works of art which had, with extraordinary zeal, been eoUoeted during tho prosperous reigns and magnificent courts of Klizabeth and Catherine II., and the less gorgeous but more clegni t ones of Alexander and Nicholas. Kohl, s|)eaking of the imujcnso extent of this palace previous to its de- struction on the 2(Hh of December, 1887, remarks that " tho suites of apartments were perfect labyrinths, and that even the chief of the imperial houscliold. will) had filled that post for twelve years, was not perfectly acquainted with all the nooks and corners of it. As in the forests of the great landholders many colonies are settled of which tho owner takes no notice, so there nestled many a one in this palace not included among tho regtdar inhabitants. For example, the watchmen on the roof, placed there for din"erent purposes — among others to keep the water in the tanks from freezing during the winter, by casting in red-hot balls — bnilt themselves huts between the chimneys, took their wives and children there, and even kept poidtry and goats, who fed on the grass of the roof! It is said that it hut onie cows were introduced, but this abuse had been corrected lieforo the palaco was l)urnt." Tho conflagration of the Winter palace originated in some defect in the flues by which it was heated ; and, though tho crown-jewels and much val- uable property were saved from the flames, still the destruction of property must have been immense, spread as it was over a surface of such enormous extent : the principal rooms* alone, nearly one hundred in number, occupied on tho first floor an area of four hundred thousand square feet. After the destruction < f the palace, it is said that Count Barincky offered the emperor a million roubles toward tho erection of the new edifice ; a small tradesman fifteen hundred ; and two days subsequent to the calamity, 1 i r! ^ 400 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. a mail with a long beard, and dressed in the cqflnn of a common mvjih met the emperor in liis drosky, and hiid at his feet bank-notes to the value of twenty-five tlionsand ronbles. It is scarcely necessary to add that the em])eror did not accept tiicsc generous offers of assistance. Tlie inundations of tlie Neva, and the destruction by fire of the Winter palace, arc two ))r(>niiiient o])ochs in the liistory of the city : and, as on every W( jrc, for d V)y a i, that luiily [ho do- archi- Incii, to largest lliiig — iiulrcd third labnoal ,'■' r, ■I I -e ,;;n' ST. PETERSBURG — THE WINTER PALACE. 403 .•,i twice as large as that of Naples ; its form is nearly a complete square, tho angles of which answer to the four cardinal points of the compass. Its, long facades are highly imposing, and form a grand continuation to those of the Admiralty beyond it. In visiting the Winter palace, accompanied by one of the imperial ser-; vants in livery, strangers have the opportunity of wandering through suites of splendid apartments, galleries, and halls, filled with marbles, malachites, precious stones, vases, and pictures ; among them many portraits of the great generals and mighty men of Russia and other countries. Also one of Potcnikin : he is represented as of colossal height and fine countenance, and as remarkable for the development of limb and muscle as for the soft expression of his blue eyes ; in fact, to judge by this portrait, one would say that he was made to command an army of Cossacks, and trouble a woman's heart. Here also are several fine Murillos, and the " Adoration of the Sheplierds," by Berg-hem, one of the finest works of that master. The empress's drawing-room is a perfect jewel of taste ; and the chapel, St. George's hall (a parallelogram of one hundred and forty feet by sixty), and numbers of gilded chambers, one more gorgeous than another, form an almost wearying succession of magnificence. The hall of St. George is the apartment on the splendor of which tho Russians most pride themselves. It is here that tho emperor gives audience in solemn state to foreign em- bassadors. Near it is the gallery of the generals, containing portraits of all the distinguislied officers who served under the Russian colors during the war of the French invasion and tho subsequent hostilities, till Napor Icon's final overthrow. The most striking' picture is a full-length of the emperor Alexander on horseback, of gigantic dimensions, and said to be the best likeness of him now in existence. At the entrance to this long gallery stand two sentinels of the Russian guard, still and motionless, looking as if they also were creations of art ; and at each end are suspend- ed French eagles, the names of the principal battles that occurred in the war being written in large gold characters on the walls. Many of these pictures must be copies, as the soldiers they represent found a warrior's death on the field of honor long before this collection was begun. Beyond this gallery is the field-marshals' saloon. Hero tlic portraits do not exceed eight or ten in number, for that rank is as rarely bestowed in Russia as it is in England. The duke of Wellington is among the disiin- guisljcd few ; and the symbol which accompanies tho full-length portrait of the hero of a hundred fights is that of imperishable strength, tho Brit- ish oak. Beyond this is the Sa//e Blanche, the most magnificent apartment in this most magnificent of palaces, and so called from its decorations being all in pure white, relieved only with gilding. The dimensions are nearly the same as those of the hall of the generals. Here the court fetes are held, which are reputed to form the most brilliant pageant of in-door palace-life to be found in Christendom. j H 404 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. The diamond-room, containing the crowns and jewels of tho imperial family, deserves notice. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, are ranged round tho room in small cases of such dazzling beauty, that it is almost bewildering to look at them. The crown of the emperor is adorned with a chaplet of oak-leaves made of diamonds of an extraordinary size ; and the imperial sceptre contains one with a single exception the largest in the world, being the celebrated stone purchased by Catherine II. from a Greek slave, for four hundred and fifty thousand roubles and a largo pcn- aion for life. Bruloff 's picture of the " Raising of the Serpent in tiio Wil dcrness" is to be seen here. It has great merit and some defects ; tl>o figures are for tho most part portraits of Israelites wlio inhabit tlie Ghetto at Rome, and the result therefore is really a Hebrew crowd. There is also, if not recently removed, tho Aimous Chinese cabinet of Catherine, and a small room to which Peter the Great used to retire from the turmoil of public affairs. Tliere was, in the last century, a palace called the Summer palace, on the Fontanka canal, but this was pulled down by tlie emperor Paul ; tho name therefore is now without meaning, for the castle built to replace tlio former was designated as the Michuilof Samokj or castle. There is a telegraph in the Winter palace, close to the emperor's private apartments, by means of which he can transmit his own orders to Kronstadt, Peter- hoff, &c. Adjoining the Winter palace is the He rmitaffe, which it is a well-known fact that tho great Catherine built as Frederick the Great did liis Sans- Souci at Potsdam, and the Roman emperor Numa his Grotto of Iberia. But the Hermitage is no cloistered solitude — no rocky grotto hidden amid the ^ 'ers of tho Neva's murmuring sources — but a magnificent palace, seconu only to that we have just described ; while within it is loaded \\ith precious objects of art and vcrth. The empress built this temi)le in order that she miglit retire to it in her leisure moments, there to enjoy the con- versation of the Frcucli philosophers and men of learning ; and here, after the duties of tho sovereign had been tnin. )!■ the | ill If: I I n 408 ILLUSTRATED DEPCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. of the best part of its contents to assist in adorning other roynl residences On entering tlic building the stranger finds himself in a lofty circular hall filled with statues, many of them of average merit. Beyond is a ballroom of extraordinary dimensions, being three hundred and twenty feet long by seventy feet wide, which, opening on one side to the entrance-hall, and on the other to an extensive conservatory, from which it is separated only by a row of lofty marble columns, runs the whole length of the palace. Tho columns arc encircled by rows of lights coiling round them like serpents, while tlircc enormous chandeliers, each composed of two or tliree largo rings, fitted with liglits rising one above the other, are suspended from tho ceiling. Tho very shrubs and pillars in the conservatory are transformed in like manner, and made to bear their share in the vast illumination, An idea of the imnionse proportions of this ballroom may be formed from the fact that tu'etiti/ thousand wax-lifj^hls are necessary to light it up com- i^letoly ; and that the colossal group of the Laocoon, at one end, can bo plainly seen from the other only by means of a telescope ! A profusion of statues, many of tlicm well executed, are arranged round this vast apart- ment, and a copy of the Venus de Medici and an hermaphrodite arc worthy of mention. In the summer, the orange-trees, of which there arc great numbers, arc removed from tho conservatory into the palace-gardens. Hero Potemkin gave magnificent fites to his imperial mistress ; and all that was bright, beautiful, and gay, thronged the mazy walks of the oranp^ry in the long winter nights, turning their dullness into the wild revelry of a southern carnival. It must have been like magic to have passed from the frozen and snow-covered eartli without to this magiiificcnt ballroom, illuminated with its thousands of lights, and filled with perfumes that carried the im- agination to regions where an icicle was never seen, and the nortlicrn blast never felt. At these festivals the musicians were suspended in the chan- deliers. Tlic last grand festival given in this palace was on tho occasion of the marriage of the grand-duke Michael, when the present decorations were made. The nuirble is all false, the silver is plated copper, many of the pillars and statues are of brick and j)laster, and tho pictures of equivo- cal originality ; the looking-glasses, though ten feet wide and lofty in pro- portion, are so badly made, that on examination the surface is found to bo all in waves and full of bubbles, and it is evident they belong to a very early period of the St. Petersburg manufactory. The Taurida, now a kind of Hampton court, and inhabited by a few su- perannuated ladies of the hatit-ton, is sometimes used as a place of recep- tion for the emperor's guests. Here once resided Louisa, the beautiful but unfortunate queen of Prussia, after the conquest of that country by Napo- leon in 180G ; it was also tenanted by tlic Persian prince Chozro Mirza, during his embassy, when he came to deprecate the wrath of tho mighty czar; and lastly, in 1830, by Oscar, crown prince (now king) of Sweden. The emperor Paul turned the entire palace into a barrack for his guards, ST. PETERSBUna — ETAT MAJOR — ALEXANDER COLUMN. 4on very iapo- klirza, lighty fedon. ^ards, but his son and successor Alexander restored it to^ts original purpose of a royal residence. It is still tliickly garrisoned with imperial footm*. and kept in pretty good ordor ; but it nevcrtlielcss, from the absence of furniture, looks, as before remarked, deserted and melancholy. The gar- dens are acccssil)lc to the public ; they are tastefully laid out, and, consid- ering their vicinity to so large a city, their extent is immense. A table- cover, on wliich arc some drops of wax which fell from the candles of Alexander, who frequently inhabited some apartments here, and some crayon drawings by his admirable consort Elizabeth, and other objects of the same kind, have a certain degree of interest. The IL'itel de VEtat Major, or head department of the army, immedi- ately fronting the Winter palace, is likewise one of the many striking piles of buildings in the " City of Palaces," and remarkable for its vast extent and singular architectural ornament of a chariot of Victory, drawn by eight horses, which are rearing and plunging in all directions to the no small discomfort of the plumed and mailed lady who drives the team. From the arch over which the group is placed one of the most pleasing views of the Winter palace and likewise of the adjacent buildings may be obtained. In the open space between the Etat Major and the Winter palace stands the greatest monolith of modern times, the column erected to the memory of the late emperor Alexander — a single shaft of red granite, which, ex- clusive of pedestal and capital, is upward of eighty feet in height. This beautiful monument is tlie work of Monsieur Montferrand, the arcliitect of the churcli of St. Isaac, and was erected under his superintendence. The shaft originally measured one hundred and two feet, but it was subsequently uhortencd to its present dimensions from a fear that its diameter was in- sufficient ft)r so great a length. The base and pedestal is also composed of one enormous block of the same red granite, of the height of about twenty-five feet, and nearly the same length and breadth ; the capital meas- ures sixteen feet, the statue of the angel on the summit fourteen feet, and the cross seven feet — in all about a hundred and fifty feet.* As the whole of St. Petersburg is built on a morass, it was thought ne- cessary to drive no less than six successive rows of piles, in order to sus- tain so immense a weight as this standing upon so confined a base ; the sliaft of the column alone is computed as weighing nearly four hundred tons, and the massive pedestal must materially increase the tremendous pressure. The statue was raised in its rough state, and polished after it was firmly fixed on its present elevation. On the pedestal is the following short and well-chosen inscription: "To Alexander the First. — Grateful Russia." The eye rests with pleasure on this polished monument ; and ia ■ • It is iaid that Lnuis Philippe, in the days of his greatest power ond prosperity, npplied to the cmporor Nicholas fur a similar column out of his Finland quarries. The emperor begged to be excused. " Ho would not," ho said, " Knd him a imalier one ; a similar one ho could not; and a greater one was r.ot to bo obtained." i •. ' •'■«.- I i I 410 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. auy otlier city its enormous size would make a greater impression. In St. Petersburg, liowcvor, where llio eye expands with the vast surrounding spaces, it is scon under a smaller angle of vision. The place on which it' stands is so vast in its dimensions, the houses around arc so high and mas- sive, that even this giant requires its whole hundred and fifty feet not to disappear. But when the stranger is close to it and becomes aware of its circnmferonce, while its head seems to reach the heavens, the impression is strong and overpowering. Already, however, it is said that nn abominable worm is gnawing at this beautiful monolith, and it has likewise received a very sad and ofTensivo rent from above toward the middle. It may be that the stone wa.s at first badly chosen, or that the cold of St. Petersburg will not tolerate such monuments of human art. There are those among the inhabitants who think it a patriotic duty to deny the existence of the 7ent, which has been artfully fiHed with a cement of granite fragments. But in the sunshine, when the polish of the rent shows difTerently from that of the stone — oi in the winter, when the hoar frost forms in icicles on the cold stone, but not on the warmer cement — the marring lino h but too apparent. The idea of this column is, like everything eUc in Russia, religio-politi- cal. It was erected, as before remarked, in honor of ihe emperor Alexan der, and is meant to eternalize with his memory that of the reconfirmation of the political constitution and of the security of religion. The mass of the Russian people have been taught to believe that the invasion of Napo- leon was not only an attack on the state, but also as one on their frith — (falsely taught, since Napoleon made war on the religious faith of iw peo- ple or nation). Hence the erection of the angel with the cross on the summit. This column, whose capital and ornaments on the pedestal were formed from Turkish cannon, throws into one category all the enemies of Russia, the Turks, the French, &c., and is the scaling, ratification, and immortalization of all the modern victories of the Russian eagle. The MichailofT" palace, or rather castle, stands on the site of the old Summer jialaco on the Fontanka canal, which was pidled down by the em- peror Paul, who built this of granite in its stead, and fortified it as a place of defence; and, according to Russian custom, which dedicates to protect- ing saints and angels not churches only, but fortresses, castles, and oth(>r buildings, it was dedicated to the archangel Michael. The castle has a more gloomy exterior than the other palaces of St. Petersburg, and is of an extraordinary style of architecture. It is in the form of a square, whose four facades all differ in style one from the other. The ditches, which originally surrounded it, are now partly filled up and laid out in gardens, but the principal entrance is still over some drawbridges. In the square before the chief gate stands a monument, insignificant enough as a work of art, which Paul erected to Peter the Great, with the inscription "/Vo- dijdu Pravmik" (the Grandson to tlie Grandfather). Over the principal door, whicli is overloaded with architectural ornaments, is inscribed in iVC old CIU- |)lace :l- klvr as a ^f ail Jliose Ihich lens, luarc irork ror ^ipal in I n ST. PCTKW^ni'Ilf! — THE 01,1) MICIIAILOFF PALACE. 41f v:i)l(toii lottci'H a |)UflK>A^r tVom tho Riblo iii tlio old Slnvuiiiun lunguago " Oil tliy liourto will tho bloMsiug of tho Lord rest for cvcnnoro." TluH pnlaco wus built with extraordiimry rapidity. Fivo tlioiisund mon wore employed on it daily till linislicd ; and, tho more (piickly to dry tho walls, largo iron platos woro niado hot and fastened to tlieni for a time: the result was, that soi n after tho emperor's death it was al)andoncd as quite uninhaltitablo ! 'I'lic cost of building it is said to have boon eighteen millions of roubles: had suflicient time been taken, it would not havo amounted to .six millions. Tho halls and apartments t)f the castle are largo nnd niunorous. Tho rooni in which tho emperor I'aul was strangled is Healed and walled up. The Russians generally do this with the room in which their parents dio. They have a certain dread of it, and never enter it willingly. The empe- ror Alexander never entered one of them. Nicludas, however, who feared neither the cholera in Moscow, nor revolt in St. Petersburg, nor tho dagger in Warsaw, but showed a bold coinitenancc on all occasions, viewed these rooms several times. The apartment in which his father was murdered is casdy rccognisal)le from without by tho darkened and dusty windows on tho second story. Tho apartments of the beautiful Lapuchin are directly under, on the first lloor, and are now inhabited by tho keeper of tho castlo. The stairs which led down from them are broken away. During the reign of Alexander the castlo fell so much into decay, that when Nicholas caused it to be restored it is said to havo cost sixty thou- sand rouldes merely to remove tho dirt and rubbish. The painted ceilings have considerable interest. In one is represented tho revival of tho order of Malta, and Uuthenia, a beautiful virgin, with the features of Paul, seated on a mountain. Near her rests the mighty eagle. Fame, flying from tlio Bouth in terror, announces the injustice done her in the Mediterranean, and entreats *' tho mighty eagle" to shelter her under his wing. In the distance is seen the island threatened by tho waves and the hostile fleets. In another hall all the gods of Greece are assembled, whose various physi- ognomies are those of persons of the imperial court ! The architect, whoso purso profited con'-iderably by tho building of tho castle, appears among them as a flying Mercury. When Paul, who was a ready punster, and who knew very well that all tho money lie paid was not changed into stone and wood, caused tho difl'erent faces to bo pointed out to him, ho recognised the features of the Mercury directly, and said, laughing, to his courtiers, 'M/d .' voila Varchitecte, qui vole^ The old Michailofl' palace is now tho abode of tho school of engineers. One hundred and fifty young persons hero receive their mathematical and physical education. Its gardens aro filled with blooming young cadets, who play and exercise there ; and tho former audience and banqueting rooms aro partly used as school, examination, sleeping, and eating rooms, and partly to hold collections of various objects of a very attractive kind, of tho highest interest iu engineering and fortification. It is >vonderful to I I 414 ILLUSTRATRD nnsrHIPTlON- OK RUSSIA. contcm|)liitc tlio progress which the Russians have already made in this branch of military science. Russia, with reference to its military fortifications, is divided into ten circles. To the objects which relate to the fortification of each circle, a separate hall is devoted. In large presses, in the halls, arc kept all the plans, general and special, of already-existing or projected fortresses. Each fortress has its own press for the matrrh'l, in which are specimens of the bricks, kinds of eartli,aiid the diflerent rocks which lie in the neigh- borhood, and of whieli the fortresses are, or are to be, constructed. Lastly, on large stands in the middle of the halls, are to bo seen all tlic fortified places in Russia, modelled in clay and wood, and with such exactness, that not the sliglitest elevation or sinking of the ground — not a tree or a house is forgotten. In this manner are presented, among others, tho most stri- king pictures of Kiev, Revel, and Riga. It is worthy of remark tliat among them is a complete representation of all the castles of the Dardanelles, witli their bastions and towers, and the most minute details of all tlie little creeks of this important strait and the neigliboring heiglits and rocks. By means of these models, the whole of plan of attack on the Dardanelles could be directed from St. Petersburg. The mingling of the castles of tho Dardanelles with those already garrisoned by Russian troops indicates that Russ'a covets them, and brings to mind Alexander's saying, that thoso straits, with Constantinople, formed " the key to his house." In one of the rooms is an extraordinary number of ukases and military ordinances, having reference to the erection of defences. They arc signed, and many of them corrected, by the diflerent emperors and empresses with their own hands. Catherine II., in particular, has made many corrections with a red-lead pencil ; and Nicholas always made with his own hand his amendments, alterations, annotations, and additions to his laws, decrees, and sentences. Here may be seen a hundred repetitions of those three important words, ^^ Buit po semu'^ (Be it so), which arc annexed to every ukase. Catherine's handwriting is bad, but the signature is never hurried ; on the contrary, she seems to have taken trouble in painting every one of the Russian letters. All the long letters have a little flourish under them, which are made with a trembling hand ; some are quite awry, nor are all the letters in a lino ; they are not joined, but nearly every one stands alono, and tolerably perpendicular, without How or rounding : it is like the hand- writing of an old man. Even the individual letter will sometimes be formed of unconnected strokes. The whole is plain, and without any ornamental additions. After her na'.e " Ekatcrina" stands always a large dot, as if she would say, " And therewith pwictum basta.^' The emperor Alexander wrote a fine hand. His name begins with a large, elegant A ; the other letters, though narrow, are not very plain till tho conclusion — the r is very plainly written and well formed. Under the name is a very long, complicated flourish, which looks confused at first, ied ; le of icin, call ono, land- med ental as if itii a n till sr the first, it:- s iti tol eh ja\| del CO J haJ whl Th[ lad insi (hi preJ aro[ } ST. PETERSBUBG — THE NEW MICHAJLOPP PALACE. 417 but the thread is easils' found, as it is always very regularly formed, and in the same figure. Nicholas wrote decidedly the best hand of all the Russian emperors ; it is calligraphically irreproachable, regular, intelligible, and flowing. The emperor began with an arching stroke of the pen, under which his name "iVTfo/at" stands as under a roof. The last stroke of the final i slopes under in a slender arch once or twice, is then carried upward to join the first line, and ends over the name in a thick, bold stroke made M-ith a firm hand and with the whole breadth of tlie pen. The name is thus prettily enclosed in a frame. The Anitshkof (or Annitchkqf) palace, which stands on the Great Pros- pekt, in the neighborliood of the Fontanka canal, and cToses the brilliant ranges of palaces in that street, is not unfrcquently inhabited by tlie empe- ror. According to Kohl, it was originally built by the empress Elizabeth, and bestowed on Count Rasoumofi'ski ; then twice purchased by Catherine II., and twice presented to Prince Potemkin. Another writer b-^lieves this palace to have been built by a merciiant of the name it bears, and sold by him to one of the czars. It is now the favorite residence of the imperial family, and handsomely built, but has no particular historical interest. Here also the emperor Nicholas held the greater number of his councils, received embassadors, &c. Hence the cabinet of St. Peter.sburg may be called the cabinet of Anitshkof, as that of London is called the cabinet of St. James's, Ac. There can be no doubt that the new MichailofT palace, the late residence .of the uncle of the present emperor, is the most elegant building in St. Pe- tersburg. It was built in 1820, by an Italian architect named Rossi. The interior is also decidedly the handsomest and most tasteful in decoration and furniture of all the royal residences. Its position, too, is higlily stri- king — quite as much so as that of the Winter palace. Open on all sides, it expands its wings and courtyards in a most graceful manner ; not a tower, house, or any other building, being near to disturb its outline. Behind the palace lies the "Little Summer G -rden," as it is called, whose lofty trees and groups of foliage form a pleasing contrast with its elegant architectural proportions. Before the chief front is a spacious lawn, scattered over with graceful flowers and shrubs. An iron grille, the design of which is a model of good taste, divides the inner from the outer court ; and the outbuildings, offices, and courts between them, arc in such harmony with each other and the main buildings, that it is evident the whole was one design, and that nothing has been the result of after- thought. The stables and riding-scliool are particularly worthy of attention, and the latter is deserving of especial mention. In this school fifty young men are instructed in riding and in all arts that have reference to the manege ; for this ol)ject, and for t\\Q fetes in the riding-house, at which the court is often present, a number of the finest horses are kept, and both men and horses ore 80 well cared for, that it is said to be a pleasure to walk through the 27 I \ V 418 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. \ ■".: range of elegant dormitories, sitting, school, and saddle rooms. All these apartments have double folding-doors in the centre, which stand open tho whole day. A long carpet is laid along all the floors down to the stable, and the inspector can overlook everything at a glance, and see what Iho young cadets arc doing in their apartment. Kolil alludes particularly to the ventilation, and remarks that " it is wonderful how pure tho air is kept ; it is as if the stud were perfumed with eau de Cologne as well as the cadets." Their course of preparation extends over six years, and ten leave every year and join the army as riding-masters. Quadrilles and tournaments are sometimes ])erformed by these youths and their horses in the presence of the court. These jousts sofnetimes take place in the even- ing, when the ridhig-school is splendidly illuminated and decorated for tiie occasion ; among other wonders exhibited at these fvtcs are six looking- glasses, so large that in them the youthful cavaliers can view themselves from head to foot. We must not leave entirely unnoticed a palace which 3tands on the south side of the ."^ummcr garden, and is known by the name of the Red palace — a name for which it is indebted to one of the many strange whims of tlie emperor Paul. At a court-ball, a lady made her appearance in red gloves, which so enchanted Paul, that the next day he proclaimed red his favorite color, and ordered that tho j)alace should forthwith receive that showy tint. In the same i)alace, his monogram, " P. I.," is so constantly repeated on every side ani in every corner, that an Englishman, who un- dertook (he thankless task of counting them, got as far as eight thousand, and then, through weariness, left off without having nearly completed his undertaking. Paul had many such crotchets. So fond was he of tho gaudy and the motley, that one of his ukases was to the cflect that, on one and the same day, all the gates, bridges, palaces, guardhouses, - jectcd themselves to their own laws p d ordinances, and thereby given their eul»jects a great example. The pike which Peter carried as a volun- teer in his own army, the uniforms he wore as sergeant, captain, and colo- nel, the leathern shirt he wore as a carpenter, all of which are preserved ST. P:;TEIt~iIUJR(i — THE ARSKNAL8. 4Se» )art- &c. and [tori- pinci sub- tiven jlun- [solo- Irved in the arsenal, constantly warn liis successors to follow his example. In Peter's apartment there is still kept the cabriolet lie made use of to meas- ure the roads ; the iulier of revolutions made by the wheels is shown hy the machinery contained in the bo.\ beiiind. On the lid of this bo.x is a curious old picture, representinfi; Peter's method of travelling. It is a portrait of the cabriolet itself, drawn by one horse, and driven by Peter JJehind him are newly-built houses, and gardens laid out ; before him a for- est and a wilderness, to the annihilation of which he is boldly i)roceeding: behind him the heavens are serene, before him the clouds are lieapcd up like rocks. As this picture was probably designed by Poter himself, it shows what he thought of himself. In remarkable contrast with the little modest cabriolet of the road ma- king and measuring emperor is the great triumplial ear, with its Ihigs and kettle-drums, which Peier II. drove before the band of his guard, at the time when the ladies wore hoo|)-petticoats and the gentlemen long periwigs. Paul's rocking-horse; the Ilolsiein cuirassiers of Peter HI., who were so great a cause of vexation to the native Russians ; Senka Rasin's state-chair of ebony, garnished with rude pistols instead of lace ; the uniform of Gen- eral Miloradovitch, in which the hole nuide by tiie bullet tlnit j)ierced his heart in the revolt of the 14th of Deceml)er, 1825, is yet to be seen — all furnish entployment for the imagination of the historian. In this collec*ion the accoutrements of neighboring states have not bccu neglected ; even Jiio equipments of the Jajianese and Chinese may here bo studied. The cui. -asses and coats-of-mail of the Japanese guards are made of tortoise-sliell, which cover the whole body, and are j)Ut together in small scales : the face is concealed in a black mask representing an open-mouthed dragon ! The Chinese soldier is clothed from head to foot in thickly-wad- ded cotton : if he can not move about much in battle, he must be, at all events, in some measure protected against arrows and cudgels. Grimacing masks arc also in use among them. The timid have everywhere a great wish to infuse into others, by means of disguises, that terror which they can not inspire by their own courage. The Chinese weapons appear to have the same aim : among them is a halberd, of which the edge of the axe is nearly six feet long — an instrument of murder which would require a free space of ten feet in diameter for every soldier to wield properly. It seems destined for the destruction of giants, but a Roman soldier with his short sword would have been quite safe from them. Countless as are the uniforms here collected, there is scarcely one to which the Russians have not been opposed, the Japanese not excepted — and scarcely one from which they have not wrested some trophy of victoiy. Those in the arsenals of St. Petersburg consist of splendid silver shields of Turkish leaders ; Polish, Prussian, French, and Persian flags ; and at least a thousand ells of silk in Turkish standards, besides a largo heap of crescents taken from the mosques. A cannon-foundry is annexed to the new arsenal, where a powerful steam-engine is at work. 426 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTlON OF IIUSSIA. In the Mcstorn corner of tlio Admiralty square, and near the iron bridjifo, is loi'nted the well-known oolossal equestrian wtatiio of I'eter tlic (Jreat, mentioned a few pajjcs back. Tlie Hultjoet is admiraltly treated, and tlio idea of representing the emperor riding np a roek, on both sides of which and in front steep precipices threaten deslrnetion, is as poetical a tlionght as ever scniptor entertained. It is said that Falconet, the Freneli artist who executed tliis great work, wos aided in his inspirations by a Uiissian officer, the lioldest horseman of his time, who daily rode np to the edge of a high artificial mound the wildest Araiiian of ('onnt ()rh»fl''s stud, where he suddenly halted him with his fore legs pawing the air over the abyss below. The head was modelled by Mario Callot.* The emperor's face id turned toward the Neva, his hand outstretched as if ho would grasp land and water. This attitude was ludd and to the purpose; it is therefore incoiiccivaltle why the artist did not rest contented with it, instead of adding to the idea of power and possession which his attitude gave, the sulidiiiiig a serpent which the czar fmds on the rock, and which is trodden under his horse's foot : the charm of a great work of art is sinned against by tliis destruction of unify of acti(»n and idea. The spring of the horse, the carriage of the rider, and his well-eho.sen Russian costume, are, how- ever, admirable. The air-I)orn position of the whole statue rendered it nceessai-y that unusual procautioiis should l>o taken to preserve the centre of gravity : the thickness of the bronze in front is therefore very trifling, but l)ehind it increases to several inches, and ten thousand pounds' weight of iron were cast in the hind quarters and tail of the horse — a tolerable aplomb.^ * "A viiuiip Frc'iMliwoniiin, Mti(l<'mi)i«i'llc Ciillot, u icliitivo of Falroiipt tim uriilptnr, iliiro hii colcbnitcil, wtx» iilsii III! iirti! in 8|, i'l'lrrnlxhf;. Tlin cziir miw •iirni* nf )ipi' stHtiii'lIcK, anil ilii'ir fxpi'i-8»iim of ciiniliini-il iinwir nnil ):i'iillrnriii nindi- to sliiiui; an iinpicii. biun (III liini, tliat lie |iiiiil ii viait, in sliiit inrnpiii/o, lit the hiiIhI'* iiluJid, Tliciit li« niadr ii('(|iiuiiit> OQce with Miiili'inoiHrlli! Ciillnt, nnd win rnplivated liy lior clininii. Tli(> reinurl IcndtTiii'^a (if ht'i' Muliii'c dt'cply iinpi'i'Mrd hi* ituimy nnd pamiiiiiatu iiiiil ; the dt-pth of h(>r niinil hiiriiiiinizi'd with liis ; a Imiid nf dymjialliy .'piH-dily fiicircli-d tlirni During the iniial iirdciit |H'riiid nl tlicir romanlii' love, I'rtci' gal to liir for hia luiHt. The wuinun'A tcndrr aflVrtinn ooiiiliinod wiili ili« aii. iiit's iiiHpiruliiiii to pnuluru tlie mutt prift-i-t lnut tliu world rvn saw uf our of iu f^icatrit nini, WhnI liui lii'conin of that liust iionp know ; but fuel it in that, when CathpriiiK II. rnncaMVod llm idi-ii of llio grand ripnnliian Blatue I have dogrritiod, and urnt to I'uit* for Fali'oni'l to kxitiiIo it, tlial aculptor iii'iili* liin itliidifg for tin* liiMid uftcr tlin muiiti-rji>iiMM> of hin relative, Miiile iioiaelle Ciillnt, who at that lime wag doiilitlegii dead. Coiilomporu:ie«, at \it\H, who were ni'i|iiaiiil('d with both wnrkg of art, deelaied the heail of the gtatiie to lie um unmigtnk^-eilile copy of liitit iiiiniilnlilo hunt, whogG unpamlli'led lirnuly was wonderfully wi'll reprtnluced iu FalciHiet'g t-oloiwai work. Truly, nothing was wanting tu the ni'-mury of the northern giant, but that love ihould traiigniit liig portrait to piitt.'rily ! Rug^ian uuthura repreaent tlir liaiton of the young pxar uiid the French Judy us one thnt exeicistwl nuicli influenrc on tlie fate of the country." — Jkrumann. I The Rev. Mr. Choulot, who taw this statue when at ^^t. I'eteriliurg ia 18.'i3, snys : " I thought with pride on our own MilU, who has succeeded so nohly in his equegtrian statue of Jai-kson, which is self-poised." The Hculptur here riferred to is Chirk Mill*, a native of New York, who degigiied and executed un equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson, and in which the liorso beaiing liig hero appears gnicefully lunincing, and is poised upon hia hind legg, without the slightest visible extrane- ous support. In this statue the artist has boldly and surceggfully relied on the truth of well-known mechnnicuj principles, which assured him ihut by resoning to them he might entirely digpense with «vcr}thiiig likely to interfete with the dabbing «Tect of his work. The whole it cast tirom bratl no IV llf ipH'K- iiiiiiil- iiirta iiiiizi'il llicir an- nii'ii. iili'U I, tliiit Cnllol, Itotli bliKt, Truly, oiti'iiit UH Olio llllll^lll , wliicli ill lii-rci xtruiip- ■kiiown lo with 1 brats ? I :; : AQUXSTKIAN 8TATVX OF PETIS THE GBXAT, ADMIBALTT 8QVA&E, 8T. FBTEB8BUB0. m ST. PETERSBURG — PUBLIC MONUMENTS. 429 The huge block of granite which forms the pedestal, and weighs fifteen hundred tons, was brought from Lacta, a Finnish village four miles from St. Petersburg, and may have been torn by the deluge from the Swedish mountains. It was originally forty-five feet long, thirty feet high, and twenty-five feet in width ; but the chisel was set to work, and, in cutting it, the mass broke in two pieces. These were subsequently patched togetlier, and it now looks as unnatural as the imitative rocks seen on the stage. Some work may have been necessary to obtain a footing for the horse and give an inclination to the stone. This, however, must have been done without due precaution, for one third was taken away. It is now only fourteen feet high, twenty feet broad, and thirty-five feet long; the statue is eleven feet in height, and the horse seventeen. On the two long sides are chiselled the following inscriptions in Russian and Latin: — ^^Fetrou PervomoH, Ekaterina Vtoraia.^^ — ^'' Petro Primo, Catherina Secutida. — MDCCLXXXII." A laughable circumstance connected with this statue recently occurred nt St. Petersburg. Some American sailors, who had been making rather 100 free with " the jolly god," sallied forth on a frolicksome cruise ; and one of them, not having the fear of the police before his eyes, climbed over the wire palisade surrounding the statue, and, clambering up the rock, seated himself, en croupe, behind the czar! He was specdly dismounted., and after a night's confinement was brought before the divisional ofiicer of police, when the case was summarily disposed of, and so heavy a fine inflicted that the offender naturally remonstrated. " No, no," replied the officer, " we can make no abatement : if you will ride with great people, you must pay great people's prices I" The monument to Suwarrow, Russia's most distinguished general, is on the Champ de Mars, opposite the Troitszka bridge — a most appropriate situation ; but the work itself is generally regarded by critics as unworthy of the great marshal whose deeds it is intended to commemorate. It is a bronze statue, on foot, in Roman costume, wielding a sword in the right hand, and holding a shield in the left, in defence, over the crowns of the pope, Naples, and Sardinia, which lie at his feet. This refers especially to the campaign of Italy, in 1799. Nearly equidistant from the Academy of Arts and the Corps of Cadets is a monument to Field-Marshal Romanzoff, erected to his memory for his services against the Turks, in the wars ending with the conquest of the cannnn taken by General Jnckson from his country's enemies, and donnted hy Conpross to tho " Monument Society" for the purpose. It is rust in ten pieces — the horse being in four iind the hero in six pieces — which nio so riveted nnd rolled tojjether as to present to tlie closest scrutiny the nppenrimce of being cnst entiivly in mass. The weiglit of the work is nearly fifteen tons; and from tlio top of the pedestnl to the highest point of the figure thu height is about fourteen feet, while the height of the pedestnl above tlie surrounding ground is about sixteen feet. This statue has been severely and wi- think, all things considered, unjustly criticisi^d,ns n work of art. It occu* pies the centre of a highly-embellished public square, opposite the presidential mansion at the city of Washington. I . I 430 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Crimea. The inscription on it is " Romantzowa Pobccdam^^ (To the Vic- tories of Romanzoff). This monument is composed of half a dozen different-colored stones, and is ornamented with patches of metal besides. The obelisk itself is of black granite. It stands in a socket of red marble, whose base is of another color, in addition to which there are several sti-ata of white marble ; and the whole bears on its extreme point a golden ball, with an eagle hovering over it. In vain we ask what harmonj the artist could find in all these various colors and materials. Fortunately, this artistical abortion will not last long. There are already several rents and splits in it, and so many pieces broken from all the corners, that it looks as if it had stood for cen- turies. It will soon sink under its own weight. The Egyptian sphinxes, which lie not far from this monument, before the Academy of Arts, seem to look deridingly on the unimposing obelisk. In defiance of the thousand years of warlike tumult — in defiance of the countless burning suns, of the endless series of days and nights that have passed over their heads — they look as youthful as if newly born ; their skin as smooth and polished aa when they came from the chisel. OmcB, Horn. DBS MUiLK'PotTSt, Br. PsmiivM. HT. FFibHSBUBQ — THE KAZAN CATHEDRAL Ul CHAPTER XV. 6T. PETERSBURG — CHURCHES AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. ST. PETERSBURG, as previously remarked, is a crcatiou of modern days ; and therefore, compared with Moscow, has neither so many nor such remarkable cliurches as the old capital, tliough some arc built in a plt^asing style of architecture. The modern Russian church is a mixtiue of the Grecian, Byzantine, and Tartar; the Byzantine, which was brought from Constantinople with Christianity, being the most prominent. Tiie plan of the building is a Greek cross, with four equal arms ; in the midst, a large dome, painted green or blue ; at the four ends, four narrow- poiiitod r "Via, their summits surmounted by four crosses; in front, a grand cm adorned witii many columns, and three side-entrances with- out coluii ("lie diflerence between the Greek and the Latin cross with aisles is ovident. Such is the exterior form of the greater jmrtion of the Russian rharclies, including the thirty of St. Petersburg, constituting less than a tenth of tlie number dispersed through "Moscow the Holy." Tho interiors of th<>se in the new capital are lighter, brighter, and more simple ; in the old, (hirker, more overloaded with ornament, more varied in color, and grotesque. The Metropolitan church of St. Petersburg, dedicated to "our Lady of Kazan," stands conspicuously on the right of the Ncvskoi Prospekt, about half a mibi from the Admiralty square, and retired from the street. A semicircular colonnade of Corinthian pillars, the two extremities of which project almost to the front of the houses, forms a screen to the cathedral itself, and the dome rises immediately behind the centre of the colonnade, where the oliief entrance is situated. In any other place tl\e elVect of this semicircular line of columns would be imposing; but here, where every- thing around is on so vast a scale, it looks the very reverse : the columns arc not so high as the adjoining houses, and even the dome is deficient in elevation. The'Russians wish to unite in their capital all that is grand or beautiful in tho whole civilized world, and this is intended for a copy of St. Peter's at Rome ; but the puny eftbrt is almost comic in its contrast to the mighty work of Buonarotti : the colonnade of pillars, which in Rome seemed necessary and suitable to circumstances, is nere a superfluous and incomprehensible appendage. As an exception to the ride, one transept in the Kazan cathedral is shorter than the others — not, however, as some I f I 432 ILLUSTRATED DLi^CRIPTION OP RDS8J1. have alleged, from the peculiar form of tho Greek crosiJ. but simply from the want of space on tho canal side to continue th>i building. Tlie eastern arm of the cross in all Greek churches is looked upon as the *' holy of holies," and is shut off from the rest of the edifice by a screen called the ih-onostas. Tliis is set apart for the priests. Laymen may enter, but no women ; not oven the empress cnn go into that mysJerious enclosure. Here stands a ' "one called the prestol, a kind of altar, be- neath a sumptuous canopy, requcntly adorned with precious stones. Tho throne stands on a carpet, which roaches under the closed doors of tlm screen ; and this, on solemn occasions, is spre.id out to a low square plat- form, erected immediately beneath the central dome: on this holy carpet no footstep, save that of the priest, dare press. Behind and in front of the screen the ceremonies and service are performed. The formalities aro great : robes of costly materials arc frequently clianged ; the genuflections arc numerous and very low ; incense is much used ; there is no organ or othei' instrumental music, but the chanting is peculiar and striking. Ser- mons, so much thought o*" in other countries, form but a small portion of the Russian church service : a short discourse, a few times in the year, is the only homily which a Greek priest delivers to his flock. At tho Impe- rial chapel, the Nevskoi monastery, and the Donskoi and Seminov at Mos- cow, the singing is very fine. The bass voices are superb, and a kind of chant, which they keep up in unison, while the priest is offioiating, is not easily to be compared with any other church music. It has somewhat the effect of as many douldc basses all executing tho same short arpcg-atward forms of the G'cek church seem to have taken as firm and enduring a hold of the men .Jamm^ iively an in t as a )f the men n U! ii 'iH 11 U ;ni ST. PETEIISBURO — THE KAZAN CATHF.DUAL. 43r) as of the women, all classes alike participatinjr in this stronj? fooling of external devotion. Tlie first proceeding of a Russian on entering a clinrch is to ])nrchasc a wax-candle, a plentiful supply of which is usually kept near the door, and the sale of which must constitute a very lucrative traffic. IJearing tliis in one hand, he slowly approaches the shrine of Iho Virgin, before which a silver lamp burns day and night ; at a considerable distance from it he sinks on one knee, bowing his head to the pavement, and cros- sing his breast repeatedly with the thumb and two forefingers of his right hand. Having at length reached tin shrine itself, he lights his votive candle at the holy bunp, sots it np in one of the various liolos in a largo silver plate ])rovided for the purpose, and, falling low on his bended knees, kisses the pavement before the altar. Ilis prayers arc few and short, and he retires slowly with his face to the altar, kneeling and crossing himself at intervals. The Russians have so closely adopted the practice of burning tapors, tliat there is no interment, no baptism, no betrothing, in short, no ' icred ceremony, witliout torch, lamp, or taper, to be tiiought of: fire is fv)r them the pledge of the iiresencc of tlie Holy J^pirit; and hence illuminations j)lay the most important part in the ceremonies of the Greek ciiurcli. Al- thongli the Greek faith does not permit introduction of images into iheir churches, its votaries are scarcely satisfied with mere pictures: they are frequcMtly ornamented with nmterials of dress and jewelry, and, ac- cf)r(lingly, the face of the Virgin is tlic only i)art of the painting exposed to view, while tlie dress is covered with plates of silver or gold, and the head is almost universally adorned with a crown of jewels. The jjicturea are, geiioially speaking, more heads of saints, very indificrently executed. Many of tiie jewels, however, are of great size and beauty. One of the diamonds in tlie Virgin's crown of "our Lady of Kazan" is considered second only to the famous diamond of the emperor; the water is question- able, but it is a very large stone. In tlie place before the cathedral of Kazan are two well-executed statues — one of Kutuzofl', prince of Smolensko, the other of IJarclay do Tolly — two generals who distinguished themselves in the campaign of Moscow. Tiio grand entrance-door in the centre beneath the peristyle is of bronze, divided into ton compartments, each containing a subject in bas-relief (rom the Old Testament ; the intermediate spaces are ornamented with figures of saints in high relief, and heads in circular frames. The workmanship is, however, inferior. The interior is little suited to the wants of divine service as performed in Russia ; and the altar is awkwardly placed at the side instead of oppo- site the chief entrance. In the niches along the sides of the church are colossal statues of the grand-duke Vladimir and Alexander Nevsky. St. John and St. Andrew. The general effect within is dark and confincu, and travellers have expressed a regret that the fifty-six monoliths, the mighty giants which support the little roof, are not employed in a work 486 ILLUSTRATED DF..SCUIPTION OF RUSSIA. more wortliy of llicm. Apart from these architectural discords, tlic cliurch is not wautinj; in interest. First of all, the cyo is attracted by the silver of the I'A'onosfds (tlie pictorial wall of the sanctuary). The balustrades, doors, and doorways of the i/x'oiiosfnses, are generally of wood, carved and pilded, but in tiiis cliurcli all its lioains and posts arc of massive silver! The pilhus >A' the bjilustradc round the holy j)laoe, tiie posts of the thrco doors, tlie arches twenty feet in heij;lit above the altar, and the frames of the i)ietnres, are also of fine silver. Tlie silver l)eanjs are all hij;hly j)ol- ished, and reflect witii dazzlinjr brilliancy the lijiht of the thousand tajvers that bnru before them. Many hundred wei<«ht of silver must have been melted down to furnish the materials. The ('ossaeks, laden with no incon- sideral.de booty from the eampai^nis of 1S13 and IH14 — i)lundered alilco from friends and foes in (lonnany and France — made an oflering of this mass of silver to tlic '' Holy Mother of Kazan," for tlie object to wliich it is now appropriated. Platofl", the Cossack hetman, luvvinj; also .secured some itooty in the retreat of the French from Moscow, sent it to the mctro- pnfiffin, directinj? that it should be made into statues of tlie four evanirel- ists, and adorn the church of the " Mother of f!od of Kazan." The ()os- sacks seem to have a peculiar veneration for this Madonna, who is half their countrywoman, for Vassili-lvanovich brou<;ht her from Kazan to Moscow, whence Peter the Oreat transported her to St. Petcrsbnrg. Her picture, set with pearls and precious stones, hangs in this church. It was before this picture that Kutuzofl' jirayed before he advanced to meet the French in 1!S12, for which reason she is considered to be closely connected with that canipniirn. Here, also, is the monument of that disiingiiished man. Daiiutli'ss amid a despairing nation, he nolily sustained the courage of the nionaich and the drooping valor of the Russian troops: but for liiin the sanguinary battle of the Moskva might never have been fought, and Napoleon would have marched without a blow to Moscow, and perhaps to St. Petersburg. The coup irwily on entering this hou.'.e of jirayer, is rather that of an arsenal than of a church, and this nmy be said of many other chiirtdies in this capital, for they are more or less adorned with military trophies taken from various nations of Europe and Asia. H(M-e are to be seen the ciinison flags of the Peisians, which may be easily distinguished by a silver hand, as large ..s life, fastened to the end ; also many Turkish standanls, sur- mounted by the crescent — large, nnsoiled pieces of cloth, for the most part red, and so !iew and spotless, that they might be sold again to the merchant by llie ell, and giving the impression tliat they were surrendered without any very great struggle. Not so the French colors, which hang near th..ii, a'ld which offer a strong contrast: they arc rent in jiieces, and to several of the seventeen eagles only a single fragment is attached ; these, with their ex landed wings, which had soared in triumph over nearly the whole of co'itiiieiital Euro|)0, look .strange enough in the place they now roost ill. Among these tattered banners is ono of white silk, on which tho 8T. PETERSnURO — THE ISAAC CHURCH. laiig and lesc, tho now Iho wohIh ^^ Garde Nationale tie Paris'^ arc visible. Ilcro, too, may be .seen tlio long streamers of tiie wild tribes of the Caucasus, and tlie silver eagles of Poland ; and, lastly, the marshal's baton of Davoust (duke of Ancrstad: and prince of Eckmiihl), the "Hamburg Robespierre," whose atrocities will be remembered as long as a stone of that city exists under its present name. Tliis trophy, which is kept in a glass case, was taken in the disas- trous retreat of 1812 ; it is said to have been lost in the wild confusion that evcM-ywhere prevailed, and was afterward picked uj) by some straggling Cossack. Keys of many (Jerman, Frencli, and Xethorlund towns, before whose gates a Russian trumpet has blown in triumph, also grace tlie |)illar8 of this cathedral ; among them are tliose of llanil)urg, Loipsic, Dresden, Rheims, Breda, and Utrecht — in all twenty-eight i)air. To a jirotestant, these tropliies, and tlie tawdry paintings, gilding, and jewelry, completely destroy all ideas of a devotional ciiaracler. As tlie meml)ers of tlie Greek religion pray standing, th(5 interior of their churciios is always devoid of pew, beucli, or cliair ; luit there is in every churcli a jilaco set apart for Iho emperor to stand in, which is raised above tlie lloor, and usually covered with a canopy, or small dome. An exception is, we believe, made in favor of the empress dowager, on account of ill health. The Isaac church can not fail to excite the admiration of those who ai> predate grand proportions, a simple l)ut lofty style of architecture, and iiolde porticoes. The situation also is highly suitable, for it stands in ono of the largest open squares in the capital, surrounded liy its finest build- ings and monuments, and furnishes some idea of what Russian quarries, Russian mines and workmen, and a French architect, ^lonsieur Montfer- rand, can produce. Nothing can exceed the 3iin|»!icity of the model: no ornament meets the eye ; the architect has left all to the impression to bo produced by its stujiendous proportions. The original design of the <.athc- dral at Cologne is said to be on a much smaller scale ; the transept alone is a building of great magnitude. On the spot Mliere the Isaac church stands, the Russians have been at work upon a pliui' of worship for the last century. Tlie original ono was constructed of wood, but this was subsequently destroyed, and the great CLtlierine comnienced another, which she intended to face with marble, and which, like many other of her undertakings, was never finished. Tho emperor I'aul continued the building, but in brick. This half-and-half edifice vanished, however, in its turn; and under Nicholas the present magnificent structure has been erected — such a one as will scarcely find so splendid a successor. To make a firm foundation, a whole forest of piles was sunk in the swampy soil, at a cost of a mill"- •.! of dollars! Tho present Ituilding is, as usual, in the form of a Greek cross, of four equal sides, and each of the four grand entrances is a|)proached from tho level of tlu! place by three broad flights of steps, each whole flight being com- posed of one entire j)iecc of granite, formed out of masses of rock brought from Finland. These steps lead from the four sides of tho building to tho 438 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTIOK OF RUSSIA. fcur chief entrances, cnclj of wliieli has a suporb peristyle. The pillars of Ihoso jjeiistyk's arc sixty feet high, and have a diameter of seven foot, all magnificent round and highly-polished granite monoliths, from Finland, buried for centuries in its swauips, till brought to light by the triumphant power of Uussia. They are crowned with Corinthian capitals of bronze, and support the enormous beam of a frieze formed of six fire-polished blocks. Over the poristylc-t, and at twice th.-ir hciglit, rises the chic^f and central cupola, liigher than it is wide, in the Ilyzantine proportion. It is supported also by thirty pilhus of smoothly-polished granite, which, al- though gigantic in tliemselves, look small compared to those below. The cupola is covered with copper, overlaid with gold, and glitters like the sun over a mountain. From its centre rises a small, elegant rotunda, a miniature repetition of the whole, looking like a chapel on the mountain- top. Tlie whole edifice is surrounded l»y the crowning and far-seen golden cross. Four smaller cujiolas, reseml»liiig the greater in every jiarticular, stand around, like children round a mother, and coiuplcto thu harmony visible in every i)art. Tlio walls of the church arc covered with marble, and no doubt this ca- thedral is the most remarkable one in St. IVterslmrg, and will supersede the Kazan "church of the Virgin" for great stale festivals. The embel- lisliments of the fa(;ade and windows have been intrusted to various artists. The grou|i of liguros on the pediment of (.no of the former was designed by a Frenclimaii, named Lc Maire : the subject is the Aiigel at the Tomb, with the Magdalen and other female figures on the one side, and the terri- fied soldior> in every attitude of consternation on the other; tliesc figures arc eight feet in height, and bronze gilt. The great dome is of iron, and, as well as tlie whole of the l)ronze-work, was manufactured at the cele- brated foundry of Mr. Haird, of St. Petersburg. The interior of tho church is far from being finished ; but if tho present design is carried out, it will be a mass of precious metals and stones. Tho nialachitu columns for the ikonostast, or screen, are fifty feet in height, and exceed anything that has yet l)een done in that beautiful fabric. The prestol for the inmost shrine is a small circular temple, the dome supported by eight Corinthian i)illars of malachite, about eight feet high, with gilt i)ases and capitals. Tlio exterior of the dome is covered with a profusion of gilding on a ground of malachite, and the interior is of lapis- lazuli. Tlic floor is of polished marbles of various colors, which have been found in tho Russian dominions, and the whole is raised on steps of pol- ished porphyry. There is, perhaps, too much gilding about this very beau- tiful work, but this is in accordance \\\\.\\ its position in a Greek church. It was presented to the emperor by Prince Demidoff, who procured tho malachite from his mines in Silieria, and sent ilr to Italy to bo worked ; its value is said to bo as much as a million of roubles. From the rotunda over the great dome there is a fine view of the capital when the day is bright and clear, which is generally the case in the "ummer. \t i RT. PKTERSBUlia — CHURCH OP RT. PRTKH AND RT. PAUL. 441 I Tlio cyo tlicti wanders uiiol)atnictcd over tlio wliolo extent of the imperial city. The liroiul Neva spreads its " breast of waters" in the warm 8un- eliinc for iniiny n mile, hemmed in at first l>etween those massive quays of granite which have not their ccpiul in Kurope, and reflecting on its calm surfucc storehouse and palace ; but l)cyond, no lonjier subject to man't control, its wide stream (>xpaiiding forth, flows beneath the wooded shores of IV'ti'rhoff and Oraniciiliaum, wliero the wearied eye can follow its course no longer. Next to the churches Just described, that of St. Peter nnd St. Paul, sit- uated in the fortress, is the most interesting. It was built by an Italian ureliiteet, luider Peter the (Jreat, and stands nearly in the middle of thi city, op|»osite the AVinter palace. Its pointed, slender tower, exactly ro- scmbling that of the Admiralty, rises like a mast three hundred and forty feet in height. For the last hundred and fifty feet \hc 8{)ire is so small anil thin, that it must bo ("limlied like a pine-tree. This spire, though pro[>- erly represented us fading away almost to a point in the sky, is in reality terminated by a globe of consideraltle dimensions, or which aa angel stands, supporting a large cross. Tiie following incident connected witl' this spire, as related by Leiteh Ritchie, places in a cons|ticuous point of v!o\' that spirit of absurd daring which is one of tlie peculiarities of the Rust.;au character: — " The angel which surmounts the spire, less respected by 'ho .''cather than perhaps his holy character deserved, foil into disrepair; and some suspicions were entertained that he designed revisiting, uuiuvoked, the sur- face of the earth. Th(! aflair caused some uneasiness, and the go^'crnmcnt at length becaio seriously porpl(!Xe- in the winter. The pearls, and gold-stud's, and rich shawls, were carried i \ great silver and gold dishes by magiiificently-drcssed Persians. The F'^'sian piince Khosreff Mirza drove in an imperial state-equipage with six horses ; the elephants, bearing on their liacks towers filled with Indian warriors, had leathern boots to protect them from the cold, and the cages of the tigers and lions were provided with double skins of the nortiiern polar bears. It was like a pro- cession ill the Arabian Nights. The elei)liants, however, soon died from the severity of the climate. Among the inditidual souvenirs is an episcopal staff turned by Peter tho Great, and presented by him to the first St. Petersl)urg metropolitan, and another of aml)er, from Catherine II. The lil)rary of al)out ten thousand volumes, independently of a number of very valuable manuscripts, concern- ing which many books have been written, contains many rare specimens of the antiquities of Russia. * The liolipst convonH in llie empire, the •cuts of ihe moU-opolilons, are called lavra*: the other ronvenii arc urily monattirt. ^g|> ># -isWUfl* Al»A*.»*OUWW»''**'*^*' KT. rETEKSBUUG — THE PUEODKASHENSKY CUUnCH. 447 KoNAvii*? Of St. SiiRcics, Environs or St. rcTKiistiUKa. The monastery of St. Scrguis (or ScrsricfF), a view of Avliicli Is given above, is situated on the route f;oni St. PeterHburg to Petorliofl'. This n.oua.stery is tlie most noted )>'ace of pilgrimage in the environs of the cajii- tal. It lias fou: chui'ches.a mansion for invalids, endowed by liio Zouboflf family, and a, cemetery, which couUiins the tombs of several eminent ccdesiastics and martyrs in Russian history. The Preobrashensky church belongs to one of tlie oldest rcgimoiits of guards, founded Ity Peter the Great, the "tenth legion" of the Russian Caesars. This church (the Spass-Preobraslicns/coi-Sub(yr') is one of the most considerable of the city, and, more than any other, adorned both without and within with trojihics from conquered nations. Tlie railing that surrounds the churchyard is formed of Turkish and French cannon. Every three of those three hundred cannon, one large and two smaller, mounted on a granite pedestal, with their mouths pointed downward, form a column. Around the cannon, chains of different thickness, gracefully twined, are hung like garlands between the columns ; on the summit of each is enthroned a Russian double eagle of iron, Avith expanded wings. Within, the church is adorned with flags and halberds. The pillars look like palm-trees, of svhich every leaf is a lanco ! Here also travellers are ehown a production of Russian inventive talent, the work of a common peasant. It is a largo, splendid piece of clockwork, made by him \;\ his H/ -JIB ILLUSTUAli EKSCRIP'riON OK RUSSIA. native village, bought for twenty thousand rrublcs by his lord, and pro scntcU to tlic church. The woiks arc said to l>o so good as to have stood in no need of repair during the eight or ten years the clock has been in the cliurch. Trinity church is also a moder.i erection, liU" the Sniolnoi convent, and very similar to it. The exterior oflbrs an exiiiMplc of the fantastic manner in wliich the Russians often decorate their churches. Under the cornice of the dark-blue, star-bcs)iangcd cupo' •, an niabcsquc of vine-lcavi-s and llowcTs runs all round. The garlands are held up by an;.rels, and lii-twcen every pair of them a crown of thorns is introduced as a c( 'tre. iJo? for this martyr-token of Christianity, it would seem the gay tvniple of souio Grecian god. One half, and t-crtainly the more important half, of the chnrohcr-' of St. retersl)urg, arc t!;o < rections of the present century. The Nit i!!;i c'uiri'!i, the church of the iu.uirrcetion. and sunio others of the time of Calheiino II., aro not Avortiiy of nienti*!;' in an architoctura! ))oint of view, in ilio church of the Re.-iirrectioii aro conic very .singwhir oilerings to the saints; among others a patchwork (]uilt, juobaMy ih-' 'jliVring of some devout bf^;;- gar, and containing the best of !i. i : ig-^. U was made out of a vast num- ber of pieces great an<1 siuidl, wcoli.n, lim .1, and silk, worked with gold t^ircad, perhaps taken iVoiu tli'> cast-off epaulettes of some officer of tin* guards, and in the middle a golden cross was sewed on. Ih tlie Nicolai cluiirh, which \> built in two stories, one for divine ser- vice daring winter, untl the other in summer, the four small cupolas are tenantc ,' iiy a ntnnl)er of pigeons, who niake their nests there, and arc fed by the atUJidants with the lice wliich the pious place there lor the dead. Among th" ehurclies of other confessions than the Greek, that l)uilt i)y the emperor 1 .id, mIicu ho assumed the protectorate of the Maltese order, is at least interesting. It is quite in the style of the old churches of the knights of .St. John, and still contains the chair on which the emperor sat as grand-master of the order. Tlic larg.^st Roman catholic church is on the Nvvskoi ProspektfOpynmUi the Kazan cnthcdral. The priests are Germans, and the service half Ger- man, half Latin. It is attended by the Poles and Lithuanians, to whom the chanting, by the congregation, of the " immaculate Virgin," " the Queen of Ileaven," " the Tower of God," " the Fortress of Zion," &c., in itself sufficiently unintelligilde, must be necessarily still more so hero. Tlio Russians rarely attend the Roman catholic service ; if they go to any for- eign church, it is generally to tiie protestant. The catholics, Greeks, and Armenians (the latter of whom have also a very pretty church on the Nev- skui Prospekt) hold to the doctrine of the Trinity ; but tho Dutch, it would appear, to a Duality — for on their church stands tho singular inscription, *'^ Deo et salvatori sacrum." This church, with its very rich dotation, dates from Peter the Great, when the Dutch wcro tho most considci'able merchants, and were endowed by tho liberal czar with so much land within ST. PETERSBUBG — HOSPITALS. 449 the city, tliut many a Dutch cathedral may envy the church o.*" this little northern colony. The largest civil hospital in St. Petersburg is that of Oboukoff, situated on the FontairKa canal, and near the Semenovskoi parade-ground. AH persons are received here. Those who are able contribute a small monthly sum toward its support. Twelve medical men are attached to this liospi- tal. An iron plate, witli the name of the patient, the nature of the disease, the time of entering, and tlie course of treatment, is affixed above each bed. The bedsteads are of iron, and the linen remarkably clean. There is a school, belonging to this hospital, where youths are educated for hos- pital-attendants. They are taugiit to read and write, instructed in Latin, and in a smattering of medicine and anatomy, and at a certain age distrib- uted among the various hospitals of the city as subordinate officers. The military hospital contains about two thousand patients. Tlie City hosjjital and the Imperial hospital, for sick poor, are both on a largo scale. There is also an institution for deaf and dumb persons, a blind-asylum, &c. The richest and most considerable of the public institutions of St. Pe- tersburg is, however, the foundling-hospital. Well endowed from its very first estaltlishment, it owes its colossal wealth to the bounty and particular care of the late empress Maria. Among other favors accorded to the hos- pital, she gave it the monopoly of i)laying-cards. The duty on these is very high, amounting to fifty silver copecks (about forty cents) a pack. In all the other countries of Europe put together there is pr()bal)ly not so great a consumption of cards as in Russia. Not only the long winter even- ings — that is to say, the long evenings of nine months out of the twelve — and tiio Russians' innate love for })lay, make the sale of cards something almost incrodilile, but luxury and waste further stimulate the demand. In the higl'cr circles, a pack of cards serves but for one game of ombre, whist, &c. ; and even in the better sort of clul)S, new cards are taken after every third game! It gives but a faint idea of the luxury prevailing in Russia, although tliis is but a pale shadow of that which formerly reigned.* The enormous capital belonging to the St. Petersburg foundling-hospital affords it abundant means to maintain itself on a level in every respect with * "A fi'W ycinit ngo llie cl'iirniing rmintO!>8 Wiironzow Dnsilikuw giive a griiiul JiU in llio old Frt'iirh iilylo. Fur lliat rvciiiii;; tin- wlitilt- Ijdii.ic iiiiil its iipiiurtriinMi'rs wcro tniimrninifd, by tlio miigic of licr cninmiiiiil, into n iiiniiiinn of the tiiiio of Loiiin XIV. Ciiiriiliii'i>, stiiircnsi's, nnjodnii, liuudoirff, nil wore tlin rliiii'iictcr of tliiit pcriiiil ; walls iiiiil ci>iliiig8, flours unci windows, tlii> fiirni- ttire, till- •iM'vi(!('ii, I'ViMi tlu< livnivg of tlie liiced footiiien, witli llieir long, powdi'ivd pt'inUcs — nil wua i'oL-o<'ci. Tlie entcitiiinnient lusted four lioiiis, rust niaiiy Immlrcil tliotisiind roul)les, niid enily tho next moniitig everything wiis dentroyed iind torn down, in order to restore the hoiiise 119 i|iiickly us ponsil'le to its fornter oondition. — The houses of nil persons stiniilly inviting the stranger to walk in, hut Poizes liiin l>y tho arm or ooat-tnils without ceremony, and, unless Ik; innkc's some show of resistance, the chances are that he will ho transferred, w)/t'«i( fo,V«.iizar, where all the more important articles of connnerce are collected for sale. It is generally a large l»uild- ing, consisting of a ground-floor and an upper floor. Tli(> upper floor is commonly reserved for whoh'Siilo dealings ; the ground-lloor consists of a multilmle of booths or shops in wliicli the various »K>seriptions of merchan- dise are sold by retail. The dwellings of tho merchants are away from these markets ; and, when the businos.«<-hours arc at an end, each trades- man locks up his own stall, and tho wlude building is committed for tho night to the guardianship of tho watchmen and their dogs. The (loslimd Dror of St. IVlersl)urg is a cidossal building, one side being in the Nvi'skoi Prosprkt , mn\ another in the liohhnia S.snttova n, ov Great flarden street, through which, and some of tho adjoining streets, extend from it a numlter of shops and booths, giving to tliat ]»art of the town, throughout the year, the api)eaiiincc of a perjietual lair. The better description of Russian goods are always found in the Gostiiini Dror; those of an inferior kind in the adjoining markets, the Aprn.rin Rinnk and the Ts/iiikin Dro/-, which lie a little farther on in the Bohhom Ssnftovaia. Following the last-named street, which is bord red throughout its whole length l)y shojis and booths, the stranger will arrive at an open place, the Sennnia P/osrhad, or hay-market, which may be considered tho principal provision-market of St. Petersburg. All the lanes and alleys that intersect the Gostindi Dvor ar thronged throughout the day by a stream of sledges and droskies, in which the cooks, the stewards, and other servants of the great houses, como to make their 1 . . ST. I'KTKUSUUriO— 'HE UOSTINOI DVOR. 453 \' TlIK QolTINOI DVOS, AT ftf. Pbtkbsicm, ooiino Eaitsb. daily purchaser. In a city contaiiiiii;; half a million of inliabitant)^, thoro must at all times lie a groat and urgLMit dtMiiaml for an Immense variety of artieles; Imt there are many reasons why this should l»e more the case in St. IV'tersliurg than in any otlier capital. In the first place, there is no other Kurupcan capital when? the inhaliitants are content to make use of goods of sucli inferior quality, or wliere, conseiiuently, tliey have such fre- quent occasion to Imy now articles, or to have the old ones repaired. Then there i.s no other capital where the people arc so capricious and so fond of change. The wcallliy Russians are lirre one day, and gone the ne.xt ; now travelling for tiu; henelit of tlieir iiealili, now repairing to the country to re-estaljlish their fniances I»y a temporary retirement, and then reapjiearing on the hanks of the Neva, to put their hundreds of tliousand-j into circula- tion. Tiiis constant fluctuation leads daily to the dissohitie.'! 'ud to the tormation of a number of estalilisliments, and makes it iiccossvv that there should he at all times a greater stock of everything reciuiiiio i'or the outfit of a family than would he rcijuired in u town of equal extent, but whoso population is more settled. A Ilu.s.sian seldom buys anything till just when ho wants to use it, and, as he can not then wait, he must have it ready to his hand. Boots, sad- dlery, wearing-apparel, confectionary, and other articles, which in other countries are generally ordered beforehand from a tradesman, are here bought ready for immediate use. Each article has its separate row of shops, and the muUitudo of these shops is almost inuumer If tlio throng of buyers is calculated to amuse a able, anger, ho will be 1 u- i; 454 ILLUSTHATED DKSCRII'TION OF niTSSIA. likely to fiiul still moro diversion, as ho lounges along tlio conidorn, in observing the chumctcriHtic niannorH of the dealers. Those Costinni-Dvor Jnerehants are almost invariulily flaxen-haired, lirown-bearded, shrewd fel- lows, in blue caftans^ and Idiie-eloth caj»H, the eoslunie uniformly worn by mcrehants throughout Rusi'ia. They are constantly extolling their wares ill the most exaggerated terms to tliose who are pat^jning by. Cap in hand, they arc always ready to open their doors to every paHser-l>y, and are in- cessant in the exercise of their eloquence, whatever may be the rank, sta- tion, or age, of those they address. They will not hesitate to offer a bear- akin mantle to a little fellow scarcely strong enough to carry it, reconunend their coarsely-fashioned boots to a j»assing dandy, invite an old man to purchase a child's toy, or solicit a young girl to carr\ away a sword or a fowling-pieco. Where the merchant does not act as his own crier, hi> usually has somebody to oHiciate in his place, and it may easily be imagined what life and animation these constant cries and solicitations give to tho market. Preachers and actors have generally a tone peeidiar to their sev- eral classes ; and even so has the Gostiniji-Dror merchant, whose voieo may l>e known afar off, but who immediately alters that tone when a fish shows a disposition to fasten on the bait, for then commences a more seri- ous discussion of the merits and quality of his merchaiidisc. No liglit or lire is allowed in the building, unless it be the saerod lamps that are kept burning before the j)ictures of the saints, and which are sup- posed to be too holy to occasion any danger. The merchants are, in con- sequence, often exposed to intense cold, but this they endure with adinira- bUv fortitude and cheerfulness. Over their caftans, it is true, they jiut on a close fur-coat of white wolf-skin, a piece of apparel worn by every Gos- tituii-Door merchant, of the same cut and material. Even without including the peasants who offer provisions for sale, thoro are probably not much less than ten thousand merchants and dealers of dilTerent degrees assembled in the Gostiiioi Dvor of St. Petersburg and its dependent buildings. Of these peojile, few have their household eslal>- lishments in the vicinity of the market, yet all have the wants of hunger to satisfy in the course of the day, and it may therefore readily be conceived that a host of small traders have attached themselves to tho ostaldishment for the mere convenience of the merchants. Among the streets and lanes of the bazar there arc constantly circulating retailers of tea, with their large, steaming iowoi'ars;* quass-sellers, together with dealers in bread, sausages, cheese, &c. ; and all these people receive constant encourage- ment from the hungry mercliants. Careworn looks are as little seen in this market as grumbling tones are heard ; for a Russian seldom gives • Tim $omotar, u view of wliicli i« jjiv.'ii on tlio uppositi- png<>, ilriivca it« nnmo from two Rus- sian w<>rJ», »igni(yiiig "boil itai'if." It '\i n liirgi- bniss or loppcr urn, in the miildlo of wliich ia n cylinder rmitaining ii qimntity of live rhnrcoiil. Tlio toj) liki> a fiinnol, and opon. Tlii« is tlie place for tlie teiipot, tlie fire at tlio liottom keeping ilin len io« and boiling the wnter nt lli« inme time. A tlico of lemun i* used us a subktituto fui i Ik; and Olipkaiit remarks tliut he ihuuglit it a very agreeable addition. " % ST. PETEllSnURO — THR APRAXIX niNOK. 455 SoMOVAIt. house-room to caro or inoliuiclioly, nml yot more rnn-ly gives uttorniico to a complaint. \or, indeed, lins lie occa.sioii ; for, in this rising country, " Sfttiui lio^uV^ ((lod lit! flumUcd I) l»e the merclnm- di.^o ever so liiid, trade goes on nevertheless. In otiicr countries, a nierehant relies upon tin; goodness of his merchandise for custom ; the Uiissian speculator be- lieves that, the worse his wares, the sooner will liia customers want to renew tlieir stuck. The Apntxin Rinuk and Tshitkin Drnr, two nmr- keta before referred to, occupy a piece of gntund about fd'leen hundred feet Hijuarc — containing, therefore, a surface of rather more than two millions of sijuare feet. The whole i.i .so closely Citvered with stalls and booths, that nothing but narrow lanes are left between ; and supposing each booth, including the portion of lane in front of it, to occupy five hundred sipiare feet, which is certainly making a very liberal allowance, it W(juld follow that there must be within the two bazars nearly five thousand booths, tents, and stalls. Thest> forn\ a city of themselves. The tops of the booths fn (piently jiroject and meet those that are opposite to them, nmking the little lanes between as dark as the alleys of the Jews' (piarters in some of the old (lorman ttiwns, or like tho streets of nniny an oiiental city at the present day. Thrtnigh narrow gotes the traveller will pass from the busy Garden street into this market-place, where a well-dressed human being will be looked for in vain — where all are " black people," bearded, and furred, and thoroughly »ui-Kuro|ieau. With the exception of furs, many of which are of excellent (pudity, there are in the (iostinoi Dror, properly so called, but the iron and wax .shops where the articles are thoroughly Russian. Most of the merchandise con- sists of bad imitations of foreign falirics. As the goods, so the customers. Both are Europeanized, for there is little in the Frenchified soiihrrttcs, tho lackeys in livery, the employis in uniform, and the foreign teachers, to rc- •mind one of Russian nationality : but a little farther on, when you enter tho gates of the Apntxin Rinuk and the Tshukin Drur, you come to a market where sellers, buyers, and wares, are all etiually and entirely Rus- sian ; and here, in the very centre of the palaces and plate-glass of St. Petersburg, in this capital of princes and magnates, there is to be seen a motley, dirty populace, precisely similar to what may be supposed to have thronged the fairs at Novgorod in the middle ages, or may still be seen iu tho bazars of any of the provincial towns of Russia. Here, also, in the true Russian spirit, like has paired with like. In one corner, for instance, all the dealers iu sacred images have congregated. The Russians, who believe themselves abandoned by God and all good angels as soon as they are without his visible and tangible presence — or, rather, who think every place the devil's own ground until the priest has driveu him out of it, aud who therefore decorate their bodies, their rooms, r 456 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. tlieir doors, nnd tlioir gates, as well as their cliiirchcs, witli sacred images — require, of course, a very large and constant supply of tlioso articles, of wliicli, in fact, the consumption is enormous. Tlie little brass crosses, and the Virgins, the St. Johns, the St. Georges, and other amulets, may bo seen piled up in boxes like ginger-cakes at a fair. On the walls of tho booths are hung up jiicturos of all sorts and sizes, radiant with mock gold and silver. Some are only a few inches in length and breadth. Of these a nobleman's footman will buy a few score at a time, as necessary to tlie fitting up of a new house ; for in every room a few of these holy little arti- cles 'must i»e nailed u[) against the wall. For village-churches^ for j)rivato chaj)els, and for devout merdiants of tlie old faith, there are [tictures of several ells square, before Avhich a whole household may prostrate them- selves at their case. Some arc neatly set in mahogany frames of njodern fashion : others are still adorned in tlie good old style, with pillars, doors, and temples, of silver wire : son)e are new, and from the pencils of tho students of the newly-eslabli.>;hed St. Petersliurg Aciulemy of Arts, Imt the greater part are old, and present figures often nearly obliterated l>y tho dust and smoke of centuries. To these it is (particularly when they cau be warranted to have once adorned tho wall of a church) that the lower orders in Russia attach the greatest value, just as tho Oerman peasant j»rcfers an old, dirty, well-thumbed hymn-book, to one just fresh from tho binder's. In another part of the market will be found a whole q.inrter of fruit- shops, in which an incredible quantity of dried fruit is ofVered for sale. Each of these shops is as oddly decorated as its fellows. In the centre, on an elevated pedestal, there staads generally a rich l)attery of Itottle.s nnd boxes of conserves, mostly manufactured at Kiev. Uoiuid the walls, in small boxes, tho currants, raisins, almonds, figs, and oranges, ure ar- ranged, while huge sacks and chests of ])rune8, nuts, and junipcM-lterries, retire more ni(»destly into corners; and large tuns full of ^'■/mAv/, a small red beriy of which the Kussians are passionately fond, stand sentinels at the door. These are mostly sold in winter, when they are generally frozen to the consistency of Hint-stones, and are measured out with wooden .sho\ els to amateurs. Inside and outside, these shops are decorated with largo festoons of mushrooms, at all times a favorite dish with the common people in Russia. It is surprising that no good artist should ever have chosen one of these picturesque Russian fruit-shops for the subject of his pencil. Such a l)ooth, with its bearded dealers and its no less bearded customers, would make an admiralile tableau de ^enre. A Utile farther, and the stranger will come to whole rows of shops full of pretty bridal o iiaments ; gay metal wedding-crowns, such as it is cus- tomary during tin; ceremony to place upon the liea^'*'' ST. PETEa<5i;.ureG — the apraxix rixok. 457 ti-o, tlt'8 \\U, ar- i(>f, liUl s ut )7.en o\el3 argo ojtlo lioscn ncil. ners, full cus- •ri de- ll all asto- a bride can hero be handsomely decorated from head to foot for one or two dollars ; and, as among the hiniiblcr classes of St. Potershnr^ some thirty weddings are daily solemnized, witlioiit speaking of other festive celoltrations, it may be imagined what i)iles of ornaments of varions kinds are constantly kept on hand to supply the wants of brides and bridemaids, birthday-guests, and the like. Whole groups of shops arc fdled with perfumes, incense, and various articles for fumigation ; others with honey from Kazan and Toula, neatly laid out in wooden vessels — some as clean as tlie milk-pans in the caves of Homer's Cyclops, wliile others, of a less attractive look, remind one rather of Lindturg cheese in an advanced stage of decay. Here also mo,y l)e seen the beer and cake and tea stalls, at which the peasants never fad to expend a portion of their gains. Cakb and Tka Stall. The pastry-cooks have likewise their quarter in this market, where they vend tlie oily lish piroi^tis, of which the Ivarded Russians are so passion- ately fond. Here little benches are ranged around the table on which are placed the dainty delicacies, covered witli oilv pieces of canvass (for the piroga, to be properly enjoyed, must be eaten warm). A largo pot of ' \ ' ! 458 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. prccn oil on a salt-stand of no ordinary size are the indispensable qecom- paniinonts to tlic feast. Pass one of these shops, and tlirow an accidental glance at his wares, and the merchant will be sure to anticipate your de- sires: quickly he will plmifre his templing cake into the oil-pot, scatter a pinch of salt upon the dripping mass, and present it to you with the air of a prince I The shoopskinnod, bearded Muscovite will rarely 1)0 able to re- sist tlic temptation : he will scat himself on one of tlit; bonclies, and one rich, savory piw^n after the other will wend its way down his throat, till his loiiii' and wcll-aiiointod ])eard becomes as bright and glossy as a piece of higlily-polisliod Iiorsoliair ! Some travdhM's may turn with disgust from the picture here ])resented to thorn : but otliers will be too miicli amused by the wit and pofitcsse of the oil-lickers to expend much indignation on the venders of these pirnsr-ns. Even tlie coarsest and dirtiest article of merchandise will lie })roseiited with a courtly and insinuating demeanor by these rough-looking, bearded fellows ; even a greasy pirog-a, dripj)ing with green oil, will bo aceouipauioil l)y a neatly-turned couipliment or a lively jest, and the few copecks paid for it are sure to be received with exprea- eions of the warmest thankfulnoss. Almost every article may, however. I)e described as cheap and shaltby ; and yet what vistas of still worse and worse wares unfold themselves as the traveller wanders on to the outskirts of the market, where disitanded apparel and invalided furniture are exposed tor sale ! Things nmy bo seen there of which it is difiicult to imagine that they can still retain a money value — such as rags, liits of riliand, fragments of paj)er, and broken glass ; clothes that the poorest iros/its/iik has dismissed from his service, and pet- ticoats that the humblest housemaid has thought herself bound to lay aside. Yet all these things, and others, which a Cioslimi-Dvor merchant would scarcely use excej)t to warm his stove, are not arranged witiiout some show of taste ami elegance, nor are they ofii red without a multitude of civil speeches and lofty j)ariegyr!cs to the barefooted beggar, to the gipsy and the Jewess, who timidly hover around the poverty-stricken repositories, and cast many a longing glance at the various things with which they might cover their nakedness or decorate their huts, but the isossession of which they are unable to purchase with the copper coin within their grasp. The cruml>s swept from the tables of the rich are here gathered together ; and fliough the joint stock of many of these shops bo not worth the silver rouble staked at a card-table in the saloon of a noble, yet e.ich article has its estimated value, below which it will not be j)arted with — no, not for one quarter of a copeck ! Ibit perhaps the most interesting of this world of markets is that of tho Ts/mkin Duor, where the various species of tho feathercl tril>o are sold. Here may Ite seen two rows of booths full of pigeons, fowls, geese, ducks, swans, larks, buKinches, siskins, and hiuidreds of other singing-birds, form- ing the mo.«t picturesque and variegated menagerie that can be imagined. Each booth is of wood, and open in the front, so that the whole of its toa- f? ., H^-r^i**«fcii-w-i^--« v W ST. PETEnSBUnO — THE TSHUKIN DVOR. 469 tents iii;iy lio soon at onco by the passino' stranger, wlio is saluted with such a c )iii'iii of cackling, crowing, chattering, cooing, ])i|)ing, and warbling, as would sulTice to Au-nish the requisite supply of idyllic melodies for a hundred villages. Between the opposite booths are usually bridges, from which tlie pictures of saints arc susi)ended, for tlie edification of the devout. On tliese bridges, and on the roofs of the booths, whole swarms of pigeons are constantly fluttering about, the peaceful Russian being a great lover of this gentle bird. Each swarm knows its own roof, and the birds allow themselves to be caught without much dilTiculty, when a bargain is to be conoluded. The pigeon is never eaten l)y a Russian, who would hold it a sin to harm an animal in whoso form the Holy Ghost is said to liavc mani- fested itself. Pigeons are l)onght, therefore, only as i)ets, to be fed and sch(joled l)y their masters. Tlio manner in which a Ru.ssian merchant directs the flight of his docile scholars is curious. With a little flag fiist- ened to a long staff he conveys his signals to them — makes them at his will rise liighcr in the air, fly to the right or left, or drop to the ground as if struck by a l)ulK't from a rifle ! The i)Oor little singing-birds (the larks, niglitingales, linnets, bulfmches, «fec.) must be of a hardier race than in more southern lands ; for, in spite of tlie bitter frost, they cliirrup away merrily, and salute with their songs every .straggling ray of sunshine that finds its way into their gloomy abodes. Tlic little creatures receive during the whole long winter not one drop of water, for it would be useless to ofler them what a moment afterward would be converted into a petiifiod mass. Their little troughs are accordingly filled only with snow, which they must liquefy in their own beaks when tJiey wi.s]i to assuage tlieir thirst. Moscow is famed for its cocks, and here the Moscow cock may be seen prou:'ty stalking about, in cages and out of thou. The best jdgeons are said to come from Novgorod, and Finland furni.iies tlio chief supply of 8inging-l»irds. Geese are brought even finm the confines of Cliina, to be Sold as rarities in tlie Tshukin l>vor, after a journey of more than four tl. usaiul miles. Gray squirrels may be peon rolling about in their cages liiio incarnate quicksilver; while rabl)its and Guinea-pigs without number gamliol their time away in their little wooden hutches. Within the booth, a living centre of all tliis living merchandi>e, behold the nierchaiit. cljsely ensconced in his wolfskin, and ready to dispose of his little feathered serfs at any acceptable price. At the back of the booth, be sure there hangs a saintly picture of some sort, its little lamp shedding a cheerful light, to guard the featherc ' tribe against the evil influence of intruding demons I Uut there are evil spirits that the good saint v^an not banish. Man i.> there, to hold in chains or to sentence to death, according as it may suit his calculations of profit, or the caprices of his palaie. On shelves around are ranged the tro{'hies of his murder- ous tribe r and the northe'ii swans, the hoathcoeks (^reptthiki), and the Buow-white partridges (^kuf(ijnUki)y'di'O piled up under the very cages from Mm ; ' mm (V /-J. (V f'» «■■ ,^/"..: !>■ ...y \\ I 400 ILLUSTRATED r)R«;CRTmON OF RUaSIA. which tlic captive larks warblo their liquid notes. It is astoni.xhinn; what a quantity of those liiids are yearly consumed at the luxurious tal.les of St. Petersburji'. In winter the cold lieeps the meat fresh, and at the same time facilitates its convoyiince to nuuket. Tiie partridges come mostly from Saratov, tlie swans fiom Finland ; Livonia and Ksthonia must siipjily heathcocks and grouse, anil the wide steppes must furnish tlie Itnstards which Ihitter over their endless plains, where the Cossack hu.its lliem on horseback, and kills them witli his foi'miilabh* whip. All tlies,' Itirds, as soon as the life-lilood lias liown, are converted into stone by the frost, and, pocked up ii> iiuge chests, are sent for sale to the capital. Whole sledge-loads of snow-white hares lind tiieir way to the market. Tiie littli> i»' inials are usually frozen in a running positi')n, willi ihi'ir cars l)ointed, and tneir legs stretihed out before and l)eliind, and, wlien placed on the groiiii ', look, at tlie first glance, as if they were in tlie act of esca- |)iiig from i!i< Iwaiter. JJcar's flesh also is offered for sale in tiiis market, and here ;u I there a frozen reindeer may lie seen lying in tiic snow liy the side of a lionlh. its hairy snout stretch<>d forth u|)on the ground, its knees doubled up under its body, and its antlers rising majestically info the air. It looks as if, on our approacliing it, it would ■spring up, and dash away once more in search of its native forests. Tlie miglity elk, likewise, is no lare gU'.'si mi tiiis market, wliere it patiently presents its antlers as a perch for the pig(,'ons tliat are fluttering about, iinti! little liy little, the axe and the saw have left no fiaguKiit of the stat''ly animal, but every part of it has goiio its way into the kitchens of the wealthy. Similar markets for Ijirds and game will be found in almost every large Russian city. Indeed, the lialiits and fasliions of tlie Russian markets are completely national. Tliosc of Moscow vary Init little from tlmse of To- bolsk ; and Irkoutsk, Odessa, and Archangel, have showu tliemselves equally servile in their imitation of the metropolitan l)azars. IJeyond the Apraxin Riiiok is the Srn/iata J^/uscha//, or hay-marJcet ; and here, agi-':, the manners of tiie lower oid<'rs may Ix^ conveiiie(,fl/ studied. Tlie open space is frcfjufntly so crowded with them, tliat ilm police novo some trouble to keep a jxdssage clear in the centre for tite equipages which are constantly coming and g<>wif tti>* passage stand tliC sellers of hay. wood, and, in spring, of plaiits and shru*/j?. On the other side are the j>oa!^ants with tlieir stores <./ meat, fish, butter^ and vegetables. Between these two rows are the sledges and eqHipi.gea wlione owucra come to muke their dii'4y purchases, and depart laden w'm^ herl'S and vegetaliles, the bleeding necks (A the poultry (/fUm pres<>iitittK a singular contra.-t to the sj)lendid carriage-- fiv>m whose wiiidarket, serv* Iheif owners as stalls »«(! comiters. The matting titrowu aside allows the poultry and meat to be strranged in a pictun-sque manner to caicli the eye of the passing stranger. The geese are cut up. and iIk; heads, necks, legs, •»*"•*"->. s the charm, the quantities of sheep's eyes, fish-tails, cralv shells, go.ti's hairs, fragments of meat, pools of blood, not to speak of hay, dung, and other matters, are perfectly frightful. The Zinnaia Phschad, near the winter-provision market, about a quar- ter of a mile from the NcvskoL Prospckt, is worthy of mention. Here tho living cattle arc disposed of ; also sledges and country-wagons. Thousands of specimens of the Russian tciegu may liere be examined at leisure. w St. Petersburg and its neighborhood contain some splendid industrial establishments, particularly of the description which produces tho nioro rare and costly articles required by that .-lass to whom lu.\uries are indis- peusalde. Among these may be enumerated that of the Gol»clin tapestry, tlie porcelain glass, the playing-card, and one for cutting and polishing precious stones ; also the cotton-factory at Alexandrosky, the ])aper-manu- factory, and the cannon-foundries. All these arc cither tho property of foreigners or of tho crown, or are under the manrgcment of foreigners, and serve as models to the whole entire. They are r«.ddily shown to strangers. It is characteristic of" Russia that it had i ivcrsitics before schools, and tapestry-manufactories before it had learned to spin cotton. The Spalernoi manufactory is the oldest in St. Petersburg, as the academy built by Peter tho Great is tho oldest school. In that czar's reign, tho workmen in the ta])estry-maiiufactory were, one and all, French and Ital- ians ; now they are, with the exception of tho director, a designer, all Russians: the establishment is recruited from the great foundling-hospital. Ordinary carpets are made here for sale, but the real Gobelin tapestry is destined for the court alone. The numerous palaces, and the expensive Al ■ k RT, PETEKSBURO — MANUFACTORIES. 468 J I i| .^ ^^1- manner in •\vliicli tlioy arc ftjrnishcd, create a constant dcniand for these productions, which are also frequently required as presents to Asiatic and European potentates. The little boys, vho come here as apprentices, first Avork at leaves and flowersat one color ; then they advance to the shaded and varied leaves with several colors ; then to stars, arabesques, &c. The drawings arc placed directly behind perpendicular threads, and, while the outline of the picture is traced with a black coal, it is transferred to the thread, and the limits to the different tints arc marked out. Every three or four weeks papers arc fastened over the web, and, as it is finished, this is rolled up, so that it may not be injured during the tedious process of manufacture. Not only silk, l)ut flax and wool are employed in this work : the brightness of the silk, the neutral effects of the (lax, and the force of the wool, each render their several services. This woven painting, if not so enduring, is much richer than mosaic, which it more nearly resembles than it does anything else. The gobelin-tapestry manufactory of St. Pe- tersburg is perhaps one of the largest existing establishments of this branch of industry in Europe. Tlic porcelain-manufactory, at which the fine vases presented by the em- peror to foreign {)rinces are made, is on the road to Alexandrosky. An annual exliil)ition takes place here in the autumn, when many oltjects of great value and beauty are exposed for sale. The plate-glass manufactory is situated in the neighljorhood of the Alexander Nevskoi convent. The wealthy retersl)urgiaiis carry the use of plate and looking glass to a high pitch of luxury : tlioir windows are colossal ; in garden-pavilions a wliole wall is soniclinies covered with looking-glass, and this is the case in pri- vate houses, wh"rc it is used to supply the place of pictures, and present at every turn tlie picture most admired of all — that of self. Some of these mirrors are eight feet wide, fifteen feet long, and an inch and a half thick. Articles of Icsj; value are also made at this n an u factory ; among them arc curiou.-cap3 which would 8T, PETERSnURG — MANUFACTORIES, ETC. 4G.!> have been rnnged down the tabic had these Iicon Englisli charity-girls. A wooden screen, about six feet high, ran down the middle of the hall, to separate the two sexes." Dinner over, a bell is rung, when the whole body, young men, boys, and girls, stand up and sing a hymn. The singing in the Russian churclies is at all times imposing ; but to hear a hymn sung to a Russian sacred melody by at least a thousand voices has in it some- thing so irresistildy touching, that nothing remains for the stranger but to yield to the impulse of feeling and join in this act of i)rai8e. At the con- clusion of this hymn, the bell gives the signal of departure, and the two ecxes move out of the hall at different ends in the most orderly manner. Tliis, like other public establishments in Russia, is a perfect model of cleanliness — a fact the more strilting, as the virtue is not geri'M-ally prac- tised in private life, even among the upper classes. The niat;hinery is for the most part under the direction of English workmen, about seventy of whom were employed previous to the war of 1854, and divine service was performed here every Sunday evening by the British chaplain. On the road to Peterhoff is the imperial paper-manufactory, and under the same roof is an cstal>lishnient for cutting and polishing stones. In no court in ti»e world are such quantities of jewels employed as in the Rus- sian. The emperor and empress never travel without taking with them a large jewel-casket, in order that they may leave behind theni some mark of their favor. The most peculiar and beautiful objects to be seen hero are the large malaciiite vases, tl .naterial of which is brought from Sibe- ria. Some of these are valued at a hundred thousand roubles, and formed one of the chief attractions at the London exhibition in 1851. Some of the private manufactories of St. Petersburg are likewise on an imperial scale. Among them are the foundries and refinery of Mr. Baird, and the cotton-spinning establishment of Baron Stiglitz. The principal manufactures of the Russian capital, in addition to thoso already mentioned, are woollen, silk, and linen tissues ; carriages, leather, and articles in leather ; mathematical and musical instruments ; wax and sail-clotli, cordage, soap, tobacco, cabinet-work, jewelry, watches, and va- rious articles in gold, silver, mi.xed metals, and bronze. Ship-building, also, is carried on to a great extent, for the navy, in the public dockyards ; and for commercial purposes at several private yards. The shallowness of the river, and the bar at its mouth, not admitting the passage of vessels which draw more than nine feet water, might seem at first sight to oppose an insurmountable obstacle to the building of ships-of-the-line ; b»jt the ad- vantages of being able to carry on the more important parts of naval archi- tecture within tlie capital, under the immediate eye of the government, are so great, that large sacrifices are made for the purpose, and the hulls when finished are floated down by means of camels and other ingenious and labo- rious contrivances, and the other equipments transmitted by lighters to Kronstadt, where the ships are finally fitted out for sea. 30 •tec ILLUSTRATF.D DrsClUrTTON OP nUSSU. t I II CHAPTER XVII. THE OARDEXS AXD VILLAS OP ST. PETEUSnURO. PKTER 'J HE (JREAT, Avlioso immc is associated with every twit? and luaiii'li of Russian pulilio or social lite, did wliat no rult-r over did lu'lore — Iio Imilt his capital on hostiUi ground. Often, while the building of the city was going on, he had to exchange the chisel and nuillet for the sword, and ilrive hack the ciieiny from the very gates of his infant capital. On one of these suburban liattle-lields, ho erected, in the year 1711, without the city and close to the sea, the castle and garden of Cathc- rincnholV, as a memorial of a victory ol»tained over the .Swedes. At lirst it was only the summer residence of his consort Catherine, and of tho grand-din'hesses Anne and Elizabeth. Tlieir wooden palace stands yet, a vii'w of which is given on the oj)posite page, but the gardens arc greatly extended, and arc full of bowling-greens and restaurants. For a long time these and the "Summer gft.'dou" were the o?dy pleasure-resorts of the kind for ihe cid'ens; au*.! sf'Il, prol)ably from haliit, these gardens aro visited on the (iist oi M.ty. (in that day all .^^t. Petersliurg is in motion: the poor on foot, the yoiing exquisites on horseback, the ladies in their carriages — all (!ock to Catliorinenhofl", to hail the coming of the line sea- son, even though it be held expedient, as it generally is, to go well wrapprd up in bearskins. Here may be seen half the magnilicoes of the empire moving slowly past in their carriages-and-four ; the senators, the star-cov- ered generals, the reverend bishops and metropolitans, the bearded mer- chants, and the "foreign guests" — a sp(.'ctacle of which, often as it is repeated, a St. Petersbnrger is never weary. The carriages nujve after a certain prescribed plan the whole day long, rkc horses in a mill. It is no less singular than true, that all the gay world throughout Russia aro mo- ving about their many thousand towns, at the same pace, on the same day. The emperor, whose presence crowns the festival, is generally on horse- back, with the princes and a l)rilliant >-tafr. II is arrival is looked for a3 if he were the representative of the sj)ring ; and when he has passed by, the throng drop off one after the other, and go home again, as if the sun himself had disappeared. The far-famed Summer garden of St. Peteisburg is situated on the Neva, close to the Troitzka bridge, and bounds the eastern end of the Champ de Mars. It is half a mile in length and a fourth in breadth, and is the oldest u»ttatti't.dmti**M'.^* rtli**!^ il* > ST. rKTiatSUUlKi — THIC SUMMKIt (lAUIiKN'. 4C( r.>L.\rK ciK ('ATlirBINKNHOFr, St. PRTEBKBl'lir.. Ill tilt' city. It coiitiiiii? a nmiilior of fiiio did trors, and is tlioroforo of iiicali'iiliililc Viiliic ill the ('('iitrr of the .>iii('\vliat ill tlio aiicitMit slyUi of ;j.iirdoniiiir, with an nlmndaiioo of niarlile statues of '' Spriiijis" and " SiMiimers,"' "Floras" and •■Fauns," and oilier diviiiiti(,'S lielonuiiiir to tlio same ro/cr/V. On tlu^ iioi'llieni side is tlio eelehratod iron railing' wlocli it is said an Kiiiilisliinan onee travelled all tlie way from Tiondon to sec and make a sketeli of, anil then returned, satislii'd with his journey, not (l»'iniiiii«>- to cast an eye on any of the other marvels of the northern I'ify I 'I'his railiiira!id and massive; it extends nearly a quarter of a mile, and the gilded spikes give it a very elegant ell'ect. The garden is attended to as earefully almost as those of Czar.sko Selo, where a polieeman is said to run after every leaf that falls, that it may instantly he remjvcd out of sight! In autumn all the statues are cased in wooden boxes, to protect them against the rain and snow of winter, and all the tender trees and shrulis are at the same time packed up in straw and matting, in which they remain till the return of spring, when statues, trees, and men, lay their winter garments aside neaily at one and the same time. The gra.s-!-plot.s are regularly watered in summer, and the path.s are iis • i ■■ 11- . : ^ ' 1 Hi IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I •^ Ui 12.2 1.25 1 ,.4 III ,6 M 6" ► -% 0% ^' > '> ■) Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STHIT WUSTH.N.y. UStO (716)a72-4J03 ■^ c, ^ Z U I 468 ILLUSTRATED DESCMPTION OP HUSSIA. ll carefully cleaned and trimmed. And the garden gratefully repays tho pains expended on it, for throughout the fine season it forms a delightful retreat; and its turf and its trees in spring are green and smiling, before any of the other gardens have been able to divest themselves of the chill- hardened grain into which their features have been stiffened during a six- months' winter. In one corner of the Summer garden stands the palace in which dwelt Peter the Great. It is a little, low, white house, with a few tasteless bas- reliefs, painted yellow. On the roof, between the chimneys, St. George, mounted on a tin horse, is in the act of piercing the dragon. In the inte- rior, a few articles of furniture, formerly used by Peter, are still preserved. The house seems to have grown ashamed of its littleness, for it hides itself completely among the tall linden-trees of the garden, as though fearful of intruding into the company of the stately palaces that have grown up around. How different it must have looked when it was yet sole lord of the wilderness — when it stood alone amid a mob of fishermen's huts ! This garden is the great lounge of the population of St. Petersburg ; it is the afternoon resort of crowds of the most charming children, who repair thither, escorted by their mothers and nurses, to people the solitary walks, and make the shrubberies resound with their innocent mirth. Fifteen or sixteen years later, these children reappear upon tlie same scene, but this time with less artless intentions, and to play a more perilous game. On On Whit-Monday, in former times, a strange spectacle was to bo seen here, for on that day the celebrated festival of the wife-market took place. Here, according to the ancient custom, the sons and daughters of tho tradesmen assembled in all their finery, to pick and choose a j)artncr for life, or, at any rate, to lay tho foundation of a future marriage ; and though this class still muster in great force on Whit-Monday, this practice is not carried out as it used to be. Then, the girls on this momentous occasion were dressed froni head to foot in all their best apparel, and decorated with every ornament they could borrow from their family. It is even said that " a Russian mamma once contrived to make a necklace of six dozen gilt teaspoons for her daughter, a girdle of an equal number of tablespoons, and then fastened a couple of punch-ladles behind, in the form of across — Greek, of course." The islands of tho Neva have been before alluded to. There are in all more than forty of them, great and small, some of which, although all bo- long to the precincts of the city, are still completely deserted, inundated by the sea and the Neva, and visited only by seals, or by wolves who come over the ice during the winter, or by fishermen in a less incL mcnt season of tho year. Many of these swampy and birch-covered islets — such, for instance, as tho Volny and Truktanoff islands — are scarcely known to many of the inhabitants of St. Petersburg ; and it is a remarkable proof of the wildness and uncultivated region which surrounds the capital, at east on one side, that a man may, if he feel so disposed, kill either a bear RT. PETERSBURG — THE ISLANDS OF THE NEVA. 469 i-. Nunai WITH Children, in tub Summeb Gabdkn, St. Pbtersburo. or a wolf between breakfast and dinner. In very severe winters, hungry wolves iiavc not only approached the suburbs in search of food, but even the imperial palace ! Kohl tells us of a lady who scared one of these ani- mals away with her parasol ; and of another who, being surprised by a bear wiiilc reading in her villa in the environs of St. Petersburg, repulsed his advances by throwing her book, a novel of George Sand's, at his head. Five, however, of the islands of the delta, though originally yielding nothing but shrubs and a few old oaks, birches, and firs, were invaded by the gardener toward the close of the last century, and are now laid out in the most tasteful manner. Imperial palaces arose, too, under the creative hand of Catherine II., who made grants of laud, and even whole islands, to her favorites, that they might build and lay out villas and houses there ; hence, perhaps, the name datscha (gift) for villa, with which the Kain- menoi, or Stone island, is nearly covered. These buildings are in every variety of style, Gothic, Chinese, &c., and specimens are to be found of all ages and nations in gardening and villa-building ; but, though costly and luxurious, they are destitute of the comfort of an English or American country-house. One charm, however, they have, and for this they are in- debted, singular enough, to the severity of the climate : the hothouses are as numerous as the villas, and in the warm weather the balconies, doe^o, ; is 470 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. and windows of the datsches are adonicd with multitudes of exotic plants. These villas are gouorally inhabited by the wealthier classes. Tiiere is, too, on this island a summer theatre, in which Fieneh plays arc performed; an imperial villa, and the ]ios()ital for the disabled. Tiie lUitsches of the nul>ility are all of wood, the cm|)eror'8 alone being of stone, and tortured into every incongruous form that bad taste can de- vise ; the whole touched up and jticked out with painted cornices and pilas- ters, in red and yellow ochre, and, once done, left to the mercy of the seasons. Eacl> has just enough ground around to give the idea of an Eng- lish tea-garden, witli every appurtenance of painted wooden arch, temple, and seat, to confirm it. In this neighborhood is also a Russian village, wooden cottages with deep roofs, and galleries running roinid like the Swiss, ornamented with most delicately-carved wood. Of course, here is also jdenty of red, blue, and yellow, for it woidd seem that without these primary colors nothing can l)e done. The love of red, especially, is so inherent a taste in Russia, tliat "red" and " boautil'ul" are, in a popular sense, expressed by the same word. But this is evidently the show-village of the capital, and almost entirely let to families for the sunnner. Joined to tlie Kammcnoi, on the west, by a bridge, is another garden- island, called the Yelu^inskoi, or Yelagin island, after the name of a fam- ily who once possessed it. It is now exclusively occupied by the imperial chateau and gardens. The court frequently reside hero in the spring, the most brilliant season for the islands, but there is no amusement for tho public beyond that of stndling almut on foot and lionizin}^ the emperor's datscha. This has the ajipearance of an English or American country- residence, with the gravel-walks and flower-bt>'i^ in admirable order. Tho rooms are l)y no means large, but yet very . irranged for living in qui- etly and coujfortably. Tiie emperor's own ^^^/...iment is a perfect "snug- gery" in its way. Tiiis island is said to be a favorite resort of the empress. The view from the chateau is deliglitfnl : first tho gardens of the villa, then the broad sheet of the Ne\!i with its verdant banks, and, lastly, the lofty spires of the capital are seen rising in the distance. A promenade, similar to that at Catherinenhoff, takes place later in the year on the Yela- gin island, at which the imperial family are present. This fete is more attractive, for the weather is more settled, and the scenery is much finer. To the south of the islands of Yelagin and Kammenoi is tho Krestovski/^ or Cross island, which lies before the courtly Yelagin and Kammenoi Os- troflF, toward the sea, and is larger than tho two former put together. Nu- merous avenues have been opened through the thick, primeval birch and pine wood of this island, at»d afford agreeable views of tho gulf of Finland. This island is ))eculiarly the resort of tlie lower classes ot St. Petersburg : hither (lock the mvjik and the kvpez in gay gondolas, to enjoy in tho woods their national amusements of swings and Russian mountains ; and here on holydays smokes on the grass under every pine-group the favoi'itc somovaTf ST. PETERSBUnO — THE ISLANDS OF THE NEVA. 473. Noble's Villa on the Island of Kammenoi. rouiul wliicli may be seen eucainped a party of long-beards, gossiping, sing- ing, and clamoring. Tlio German part of the population have appropriated to themselves an- other island, that of Pefrofskni. The arrangements are on a smaller scale, and here only are to be found milk and cake gardens, coffeehouses and taverns. It must not be understood, however, that there is anything ex- clusive, for dalschas, chatcaus, and Russians, mingle here as elsewhere. Tlie fil'th garden-island is that of the Aptekarskoi, or Apothecaries' island, and here is the botanical garden, one of the most interesting sights of the capital. This is open to the puljlic on Sundays and holydays. The sci- ence of hothouse gardening is here brought to the utmost perfection, and one of the finest assortments of tropical plants in existence has been col- lected amid the snows of the north. The establishment is under the direc- tion of a Scotch gardener, who has been eminently successful in propaga- ting and preserving the most delicate plants. The collection of orchi- daceous plants is one of the l)est in Europe, and agents are employed in many different parts of the world in sending home plants worthy of these immense conservatories. K'thl states how the islands should bo visited. "Call," ho observes, " upon a friend, if you have one in any of these elegant swamp-villas, and enjoy the tea or evening collation upon his luxurious divans. Tiien, tow- ard sunset, have a gondola, manned by half-a-dozen sturdy fellows, and row down the arm of the Neva to tlie gulf of Finland. Watch there the jrlol>o of the northern-summer sun sink into the lap of Thetis, and hurry nd row round some of the islands. through lagic July nigh 472 ILLUSTRATED DESCUIPTION OP RUSSIA. i & taking a wide sweep, for tijcrc is plenty of room here on tlw water also, punching and driving your gondoliers, meanwliile, to make thcin go the faster. Listen then from tito water to the sounds from the thick forest, gaze on the ligljts from the fishing-villages, the late illumination of the hrilliant datschas, and hearken to the nightly doings on the islands, where all is as loud by niglit as it was by day ; and, at last, return home like a night-wandering ghost, when, toward one o'clock, the cold dew announces the return of the sun." The gardens in Count StrogonofT's domain, where there is a fine park, are open to the public. Here is to be seen an antique sarcophagus and marble, vidgarly called the tomb of Homer, which was brought from the island of los, in the Grecian archipelago, at the end of the last century. It is ornamented with bas-reliefs representing scenes in the life of Achilles. There is a little book written thereon, by Heyne, the celebrated archaeolo- gist and professor at Gottingen, which has been reproduced by M. Murall. These gardens, and those of Count Nesselrode, the chancellor of the em- pire, are open to the public daily. The villages of St. Petersburg, often spoken of by travellers, are the Great and Little Oklita, the Great and Little Derevnia, and the Tshomaya Retska. The houses in these villages are constructed of logs of fir-trees strongly put togctiier ; and are planted like soldiers, in one long, straight line. From the houses, hardly one of which possesses a tree, long cabbage and cucumber plantations stretch into the country on the land-side, while the road on the banks of the river is filled on holydays wilh carriage? driving up and down as they do in the avenues of the " Garden-islands." Tliose persons whose revenues are too moderate for a Gothic or a Chinese datschn, engage a summer residence in some of these cheap houses, and enjoy there as much happiness as a somovar, a pack of cards, and a dusty, galloping drive, can aflbrd them. A moving crowd is, however, always an animated sight, and in tiie private gardens at Okhta a German band plays. The gardens at Sergola are also open to the public. The Czarsko Selo, a royal residence, and favorite resort of the imperial family, is distant about fifteen miles from St. Petersburg. The road to it was made by the empress Catherine IL, at a cost of a million of roubles. Soon after passing the Moscow barrier, two huge figures of bulls are seen in front of a building on the right of the road. This is the great cattle- market ; and farther on is a triumphal arch, similar to that erected at the Riga gate. There is nothing to attract attention on this road, or anything to indicate timt the traveller is in the vicinity of a large capital, unless it be the imperial milestones, which are of colossal dimensions; the main and two side roads are, it is true, of great width, but the open, uncultivated plain on either hand is swampy and flat. The road for the first five miles to Czarsko Selo is that to Moscow, and at tins point the former turns oflF to the right. Near here is the I'oyal chateau of Tchesme, built by the em- press Catherine to commemorate the victory obtained by Orloff over the ST. PETERSBURG — PALACE OF CZARSKO SELO. 478 Turks on the coast of Anatolia. TIio tdifico is in the form of a Turkish pavilion, with a central rotunda containing the full-length portraits of sov- ereigns contemporary with Catiierino. Since her death, this palace lias been deserted. In 1825, Alexander and his consort passed it on their way to the south of Russia ; and, about eight months after, their mortal remains found shelter in it for a night on their way to the imperial sepul- chre. There is no other object of interest on this road. Wo have descrii)ed the carriage-road ; but the best and most rapid mode of proceeding to Czarcko is by the railroad, the first laid down in Russia, and whicii is more particularly noticed in another chapter. At the stations, droskiesjor, in winter, sledges, are in readiness to carry the passengers on. For upward of a mile, before reaching Czarsko, the road is bounded on cither side by a village which seems intenninal)lo — one long, monotonous row of wooden huts, with nothing to enliven tlicm but a few boarded vivjiks and ugly women. At the entrance to the grounds of the i)alace are two snmll towers carved with Egyptian figures and hieroglyphics, «tc. ; a bar- rier is here thrown across the road, at wliich a guard is stationed : the entrance, when completed, will be covered with iron bas-reliefs from Egyp- tian scenes, taken from the classical work of Denon on that country. Opposite the gate called the Caprice is a cluster of white houses, in two rows of different sizes, diminishing as they recede from tlie road, and con- verging at the farthest extremity — altogether a bizarre arrangement, and showing the magnificence of Russian gallantry. The empress Catherine II., at the theatre one night, happened to express her pleasure on seeing the perspective view of a small town ; and the next time she visited Czar- sko Selo slie saw the scene realized in a town erected by Count Orloff, at an immense expense, l)efore the gate of the palace! The fayade of the palace is twelve hui»dred feet feet in length. Origi- nally every statue, pedestal, and capital of the numerous columns, the vases, carvings, and other ornaments in front, were covered witli gold-leaf, and the gold used for that purpose amounted to more than a nullion of ducats. In a few years the gilding wore off, and the contractors engaged in repairing it offered tlio empress nearly half a million of silver roubles for the fragments of gold-leaf; but Catherine refused, saying, "/e ne suis pas dans Vusa^e dc vcndre mes vieiUes hardes" The only gilding which now remains is on the dome and cupolas of the church, which are, as usual in Russia, surmounted by the cross and cres- cent. Tiie front of the palace, toward the gardens, is tawdry, and glaring in green, white, and yellow, which at first sight appear to have been smeared on the walls in large patches and stripes, and have a most un- pleasant effect. The first portion of the building generally shown is tho chapel, a spacious room, fitted up entirely with dark-colored wood, most lavishly gilded, even the ceiling being one bright sheet of gold. On the walls are some curious old paintings, particularly one of a man with a solid wooden beam projecting from his eye, nearly as largo and quite as long as m !r i 474 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. his whole body ; while the mote in his ncijyhhor's eye is certainly most visible, as it is half as hij^ as his hcail ! A key of the city of Adrianoplo haiijrs beside the altar ; but there is no other cniblcnj of war's havoc and dostruction witliin this temple of the Most High. The imperial family have ony inlaid with large flowers of motlier-of- )»earl, forming one of llie most splemlid contrasts possilde. The room i(self is not very large, but tlie eflect is beautiful. Catherine II. has been frequently accused of vandalism in having tlie pictures in this room cut so as to fit the walls. A late traveller, however, after examining them most narrowly, declares tiiat this sin can not l)e laid at her d'>«^r. " The wall," he observes, " is certainly covered with [lictures without frames, forming a complete lining, and a most comical group they make — Tcniers' Itoors, with a beautiful Canaletti of tlie royal Polish Zamck, most lovingly fast- ened together, i)ut their fair proportions have not l)een curtailed. Hero is also a celebrated statue of the Savi(>r by Danneker." But the wonder of tills palace is the famous amber-room, the walls of which arc literally panelled with this material in various architectural de- signs ; the arms of Frederick the (Jreat,i»y whom the aml)er was presented to Catherine II., Iieing moulded in ditlerent compartments with the iin|)e- rial cii)her, the Russian E. for Ekaterina. Accustomed to see only small pieces of this beautiful sui)stance, one can hardly believe that the large, rough fragments projecting from the walls are really amlxsr. These aro colored a pale yellow, and in several places groups of figures are formed with fragments of this precious substance ingeniously put together, while the frames arc composed of larger portions. The cftect [>rodncod by this species of decoration is, however, too fade and waxy to bo pleasing. The bedchaml>er of Catherine is adorned with walls of |)<)rcelain and pillars of purple glass, and tho bedclothes aro those under which she slept the last time she was at the palace. In the banqucting-room tho entire walls to the height of about nine feet arc covered with gold, which is also laid on most lavishly on tho ceilings in almost all the state-apartments. The Chinese room is remarkable for the taste with which everything is ar- ranged after the fantastic manner which is supposed to be that of tho celes- tial empire. Two grand ballrooms are also conspicuous, tho upper end of each being occupied by a collection of the most splendid China vases placed 8T. PETEUSBUnO — PALACE OP CZARSKO SELO. 476 IMFBBIAI. PikUkCI OF CXABSKO SELO. on circular tiers up to the ceiling, and marked with the imperial E. Tin whole palace, in fact, breathes of recollections of the great Catherine ; and here arc to be seen private rooms with a door communicating witii the adjoining apartments, and the gentle descent leading into the garden by which she was wheeled up and down when infirmity had deprived her of the nso of her liml)s. '' Hut the sentiment of the edifice," observes a recent traveller, "dwelt in the simple rooms of the Emperor Al* : '!der,whom all remember with affection, and spouk of with melancholy enthusiasm. His apartments have been kept exactly as lie left them when he departed for Taganrog. His writing-cabinet — a small, light room, with scagHola walls — seemed as if the imperial inmate had just turned his back. There was his writing- table in confusion, his well-blotted case, the pens black with ink. Through this was his 8imj)le bedroom, where in an alco\''e, on a slight cami)-bedstead with linen coverlet, lay the tine j)erson and troubled heart of poor Alcxair der ! On one side was the small table with the little green-morocco look- ing-glass, his simple English shaving-apparatus, his brushes, combs, and a pocket-handkerchief marked ' Z. 23.' On a chair lay a worn military sur tout, beneath were his manly boots. There was something very painful in these relics. If preserved by fraternal affection, it seems strange that the same feeling shoidd not shield them from strangers' eyes and touch. " The palace of the emperor Nicholas, originally built, upon the marriago of hor grarsdaon Alexander, by the empress Catherine H., excited very li I r 1. 1 ■ J i (■ ., 1 I , 476 ILLUSTRATED DESCBIPTION OF RU88IA. different feelings. It was shnpler in decoration than many a noble's at St. Petersburg, clean as |)0SHil»le,and liglit with the rays of the bright win- ter's sun. Tiie only obji'cts on the plain walls of the great drawing-room were a small print of Admiral Sir Kdward Codrington, and tlio busts of the seven imperial ciiildrcn in infantine beauty. Tlie emperor's own room, in point of heavy writing-tables and bureaux, was that of a man of business, but his military tastes peeped through all. Around on the walls were arranged gloss cases c«)ntaining models of the difl'erent cavalry regiujents, executed, nmn and horse, willi the greatest l)eauty, 'and right,' as a mili- tary attendant assured us, ' to a button ;' and this, it seems, is the one thing needful. Paintings of military manoeuvres and stiff squares of soldiers were also dispersed through his apartments. " Leaving this, we proceeded to the arsenal, a recent red-brick erection in English Gothic, in the form of many an old English gatehouse, and a picturesque olyect in the most picturesque part of these noble gardens. Here a few weather-beaten veterans reside, who, jiceping at our |)arty through the latticed windows, opened the arched doors ; and, once within, to an antiqimrian eye, all was enchantment. For several successions tho Russian sovereigns have amassed a coUectitm of armor and curious antique instruments. These have been increased in the reign of his present majesty, who erected this building purposely for their reception, and intrusted their clussiKcation and arrangement to an Englisliman : and tridy that gentleman has done credit to the known antiquarian tastes of his own land." It would be impossible to enumerate the objects here preserved, consist- ing chiefly of ancient armor, weapons, and accoutrements, of every descrip- tion, for man and horse, from every warlike nation, both Christian and idolater. Figures in armor guard the entrance and lead tho eye alojig tho winding staircase, whence you enter a lofty, circular, vaulted hall, with oak flooring, and walls hung round with carbines, lances, &c., in fanciful devices, and where, placed on high pedestals in a circle round the room, are eight equestrian figures in full accoutrements and as largo as life, like those of the English kings in the Tower of London. Between these you pass on to various little alcoves or oratories with groined ceiling and stained window, whose light falls on tiie gorgeously-wrought silver cross or precious missal of somr early pope, or on tlio diamoud-and-pearl-wovea trappings of present Turkish luxury ; or on the hunting-horn, with ivory handle of exquisitely-carved figures, of some doughty German markgraf of the olden time, or on the jousting-instrumcnts aud other playthings of the amazons of Catherine II. 's court. v In a glass case in the arsenal are preserved the small silver drum and trumpet giAon by Catherine to the emperor Paul in his childhood ; and beside them is tho autograph letter of Bessi^res to Marshal Davoust, as governor of Moscow in 1812, ordering him to evacuate tho city. In a recess arc placed two sets of horse-trappings presented by tho sul- tan to the emperor — the first on concluding the peace of Adrianople, when t ST. PETERSBURO — THE ARSENAL AT CZAR8K0 BELO. 477 the "ycUow-liaircd Oinonrs" passed victoriously tlio mountain-barrier of the Halkaii, and wcro well iiigli at tlio gates of his capital. This saddle is siipeil), witli its trappings of purple velvet studded with diamonds, and its stiniipH of gold ; but the otiior makes its glories dim tlie instant one beholds them together. This was given when the Porte sued as a suppli- ant to Russia for an auxiliary force to defend a tottering throne against a rel)eHiouH vassal (Mehcmet Ali, viceroy of Egypt), after the fatal field of Konieh had witnessed the overthrow of the only army the sultan possessed. The diamonds on the pistol-holsters of this saddle are of unusual size, and their Itrightiiess jjcrfoctly dazzling, while every part of the saddle and bridle is actually covered with brilliants. Several swords, studded with dianu)nds, are also preserved here — for the most part presents from vari- ous sovereigns to the emperor Nicholas. But this pleasant arsenal, the only memento pertaining to this capital of modern objects and ephemeral fashions which recalls the past, would re- quire a volume to itself, and oflcrs inexlmustildo interest to the artist in mind, and a very treasury of i)catitiful subjects to the artist in profession By command of the emperor Nicholas, a most careful and elaborate delin cation of its contents, by the best artists of the day, and under the direc- tion of M. A^'elton of St. Petersburg, is going forward, to appear in num- bers, of which at present only a few have been completed. These are the most exquisite specimens of drawing and emblazonry, and offer an interest second only t<» that of the arsenal ; l)ut the price is high, being five hundred roubles a number ! The grounds around the palace of Czarsko Selo arc liglitecn miles in eircumfereuce, and contain jdcnty of larch, oak, and elm, wliich flourish well. The gardens are said to be the most carefully kept in the world, the trees and flowers l»eing watched and inspected with the most anxioua minuteness. An old invalid soldier commands his five or six hundred men as gardeners and overseers. As before remarked, after every falling leaf ruflu a veteran to pick it up ; and after a violent north wind they have enough to do, as may be well imagined. Every tiny leaf that falls in pond or canal is errefully fished out ; they dust, and trim, and polish the trees and paths in the gardens, as they do the looking-glasses and furniture of the saloons ; every stone that is kicked aside is laid straight again, and every blade of grass kept in a proper position. An inquiry Avas once insti- tuted here about a broken flower, and carried on with as much solemnity as if it had been a capital offence. All the gardeners were called together, the inspector held the flower in his hand, and every possible question was put, as to whoso division, and out of what bed, the flower might have been taken ; whether plucked by a child, or broken by a dog : and this investi- gation proceeded with the most profound seriousness, and the closest con- templation of the corpus delicti — threats were lavished, rewards for the discovery of the offender were promised, &c. ; but with what success, never transpired. The cost of all this polishing and furbishing alone is above 478 iLLUsTnATKD nr^sruimoK of ritssia. I a liiindiod (Iionsnnd ronhlos yearly, but then the sncriflcc keepH the gardcnr in the onhn- (»r a l)alln)oin. The odd enprici'H exhiliitcd in the dooonition of the m'oiindH arc really oxfraonliimry, and so nmncM'ou.H. that it would l»o dillicidt to dcscriltc them all. In one corner in the tower of Prince (now emperor) Alfxander, nn ornate structure in several stories, where the young prince resided with his tut<)r: in another are tlie lialiy-hoiises of the y 'unjr jiraiHl-duch- esses, where (hey earrieil on a niiniie iiimtt^v. In I'ntnt oi Ciiinese (owi'r is a liiuli pt»le, ri^>red like the nuist of a I'ligiite, where the youii^; grnnd- duke ('onstanline (now iiohlin^ a lii^h niiik in \.\w navy) formerly prac- tised hi8 " hand over hand" upon. On one of llic ponda '\« a fleet of pigmy 'cssels, intended to umnse the yonlhful ndniinil in his professional studieH. In adilition to nil these sliange olijects lire ii theatre, a Chinese \illiige, ]>ii(ch and Swiss eowliouse, a Turkish AvVmA*, a siunnier-house in the form of an lonie colonnade supp(trling an aerial ganlen, plantiul with (lowers, a Gothic Iniilding called the Admiralty, a niarlde jiridge with Corinthian etdnmns of polished nnul'le ; also rostral pillai's and lironze statues whii'h ('ittluM'ine 11. erected to her faviM'ites — anionir these is a column to OiloflT. There are likewise some coinnu'morative nn)nnments raised l>y Alexander to his ''companions in arms,*' intermingled with fields of roses, hermitagcB, nrtilicial ruins, Uoman tomlis, grottoes, and waterfalls. Since tlu' death of Alexander, the palace has been untenanted except by servants. The imperial family, when they come here, inhabit a largo luiilding in llie park. liike abnost all other royal ixiildings in Russia, Czarsko owes its origin to I'eter tlie (Jreat. He erected the first honao here, and planted, to his eternal praise, the avennes of plane-trees with his own haml ; init it was the empress Kli/.alteth who Imilt the castle, which was further embellished by Catherine II., and after the great lire it wap restored liy Alexander. The two imperial residences of I'aidofsky and CJatchina, the favorite abode of (he late cmpress-uiother. Imt now seldom, if ever, visited Ity any mendier of the imperial family, are situated beyond Czarsko ("'elo ; the one at the distance of about eight, the other al»out twenty-five miles. The irnrdens of I'aulofsky are less nmgnilicent but more attractive than those of Czarsko Selo. According to Swinin. the walks in these gardens amount to more than one hundred miles in length ; and there is so nuudi variety in the disposition of them, and in the shrubs and grouping of the trees, that Russian literature mny boast of several books written on this subject alone ! Paulofsky nmy also be reached by the railway. There are many villas there, and a band i)lays in the gardens during the summer months. These gardens, and the palace, are the property of the grand-duke Michael. The road to Czarsko Selo excepted, the coast-road to PeterhofT is es- teemed the most lively and best inhabited of any in the environs of the capital ; the road, too, is broad, finely paved, with excellent bridges and handsome granite milestones. It is a proof, however, of the general mo- plaii nish the Hen shor garc iiT. pETRnsmTnn — hthklw and peteiiiiofp. 47V notony of UiinMian rondxido Hccnory, tlint the vcrstHtonos nro nlinost, tlio only, ut aiiy,riitt! tlio iiioMt ntrikiii^ ItiiidiniukH, iiiul in t\m hciisu iu'u ronlly Miry iiMcriil. For instaiico, ii St. I'ftci.Hlimyiaii, wi.Mliiiifj; lo ex|iliiiii to u friend wlicn; liis villii is silinitc'd, will fay, " Wo nrn iivinj; tliis year on till* IVtorliofT road, at tins fcvt-ntli vorst ;" or, "Tlio Orlofl' ilafsr/id Htaiids at tho olcvonth v('r«t" — " Wo will tako our dinnor at tlio tniklir's {rrntim- rnffiir) at tlie fonrlocntli vorst" — an if tlioso niilontonoM wt'io |»yniinids. IJiit HO it if — tlicrt' arc iicillicr vallcy-t, Itrooks, nor finiliii^ villajics. ^rnarl»!d oaks or ^iant elms, ulierelty to distiiigiiisli iilaees, and iieoplc ean find tlioir way only liy cfnisideriiifr tlio position of tlic milestonos. Pcterliofl" is ilistaiit from St. IVlershnri; aliont ei^rlitecn miles ; tlio road to it is liy tlio Hijra nato, pussinj^ under tlio trinniplial arch eieeled l»y tho inlialiitants to etdeltrato the return of the Russian army from Paris in 1814. This striictnro is cnnihrons in the oxtromc, covered with sheets of copper, Hiipportiii^r a Inazen triumphal car drawn hy six horses alnvast, in which is a fijriire of Victory. Shortly aftt-r passiiij^ tho \Ufxn jrnto, on tho rijrht is seen the old palace of ('atherineiihotV, already nientionod as tho rendezvous of tho Itiissians on May-day. Tho castlo is now deserted as an imperial residoneo, aiul is fast siiikinjr into tho Imsom of tho ninrnss on which it was hiiilt ; its decay was greatly acceleratee fountain of Samson (so called from a colossal bronze figure tearing open the jaws of a lion whence rushes the water) arc other jets (Veau which throw water vertically and horizontally ; these basins arc at the foot of tlie elevation on which the palace stands. In the centre is a broad flight 'of steps leading to the castle, and on each side a continuous range of marble slabs to the top of tiio hill over which the water pours down, the slabs being placed higli and far apart, so as to allow lamps to be arranged behind the water. This is done at the Peterhoflf /c/m referred to above. These i-enowncd fites take place on the first of July (old style, which still prevails in Russia), when amends are made to this charming summer abode for the neglect to which it is doomed during the rest of the year. On that day (July 13 of our style), the people of St. Petersburg throng in vast and motley multitudes to the famous Peterhofi" festival. It is difficult to give an idea of tlie immense concourse that flows thither. From the earliest hour of the morning, the Neva is covered with steamboats, skifis, and gondolas, and the roads with vehicles of every kind, full of eager holy- day-makcrs, fearless of the dust so long as they i-each the scene of enjoy- ment. There the accommodations prepared for them can not possibly suffice. Enormous tents are pitched, to afford rest and refreshment to the weary wayfarers ; but so extraordinary is the throng, that it is scarcely possible to keep a place even if obtained : or else the heat drives one from under cover, to mingle and bo carried along with the dense stream that fills every avenue. Hurrying from room to room, and from one garden into another, the morning passes away, and at noon the empress appears on the balcony of the palace, and a military parade ensues. After the troops have defiled before her, the orderlies of the various corps march by, among which the Circassians are remarkable for their personal appearance, costume, and skill in military exercises. After tiio parade, which has been preceded by divine service, a court drawing-room is usually held ; then comes a drive through the park, and % H ^ i i! I ':/■■'■ \- "^ M v. :-'«'-ji-:t v^J > .K •» .; s' It ' :; 'iil? v-f-„/-:i?-!',;w^Vs tionJ like] and alr< opinl cotnf sidej the and I the who! and niosl the are uud^ the endJ pak ST. PETERSBUnO — FESTIVAL AT PETERHOPP. 488 ♦' dinner, succeeded, toward eight in the evening, by a ball in the pal- ; .. To this ball, every one, without exception, i8 welcome. The country- people, in their ordinary garb, mingle with the wearers of elegant dresses and brilliant uniforms ; a mixture which, however, in no way diminishes the universal enjoyment. Suddenly the musicians strike up ; through the folding-doors, thrown wide open, twc chamberlains enter, and courteously entreat the assemblage to make room for their majesties, who are near at hand. Every one draws back, as much as the throng and pressure permit, and the Polonaise is danced, with the emperor at its head, through all the extensive suite of apartments. The entrance of the imperial couple is the moment chosen by the artist to illustrate the fete, as seen in the foregoing engraving. The stately form of the emperor, with the empress on his right, will be readily recognised in the picture. All present have an op- portunity of seeing their sovereigns, and all greet them joyfully as they pass, until the royal dancers, retracing their steps, conclude the dance in the same hall wherein they commenced it. At a signal from the empress, the whole of the va^ garden is now sud- denly illuminated. This takes place as by enchantment. With lightning speed the countless flames ascend from the lowest branches to the very topmost sprigs of the trees. In less than a quarter of an hour, park and garden appear in a blaze. The waters of the fountains plash and ripple over stops which seem to burn. Lamps, ingeniously sheltered from extinc- tion, gleam through the falling water, whose every drop glitters, diamond- like, with all the tints of the prism. Eye can not behold a more striking and beautiful scene. The finest sight of all is the " Golden Staircase," already described, next to the "Samson" — fountains with which, in the opinion of some, even the Cfrandes Eaux at Versailles can scarcely be compared. And now imagine the monster illumination, reflected on all bides in the colossal cascades and water-works, and in the adjacent arm of the sea ; imagine the melodious murmur of music issuing from the palace, and mingled with the whizzing of rockets, with the booming of cannon from the vessels at Kronstadt, and with the joyous songs of countless groups, who, having selected spots for their bivouac^ lie around the fires in various and picturesque attire. AH these things combine to render this one of the most beautiful festivals that can be imagined. , At ten o'clock the ball ends ; after which the court usually take a little drive on a sort of long droskios (jaunting-cars). On their return in-doors, the lights in the palace are suddenly extinguished. Gradually the walks are deserted by tlie promenaders, who establish themselves for the night under tents or beneath wagons, or round great watchfires — departing with the first dawn, by land and by water, to their respective homes. Thus ends the great holyday at Peterhoff, unquestionably one of the grandest and most agreeable of popular festivals. The emperor Nicholas, when at Peterhoff, did not occupy the imperial palace, but a wooden pavilion, in which he resided when grand-duke. 484 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. The suite of apartments in which the emperor Alexander lived when last at Peterlioff have never since been inhabited ; and everything remains as he left it. .: r i . The principal attraction at Pctcrhoff is the old castle built by Peter the Great ; and, although every emperor and empress has made alterations and additions, the character of the whole is the same as that of all the palaces built by that czar; even the yellow color, which was its original hue, is always renewed, and like them its arcliitecture is very insignificant in character, and deserves as little to be mentioned with Versailles or the other French chateaux, which may have served as models, as the Kazan church deserves to be compared with St. Peter's at Rome. The interior presents in many instances the same curious mixture of simplicity and taw- drinessas the old Michailoff palace and theTaurida in St. Petersburg, which have been described at length in a previous chapter. Here, however, are to be seen some beautiful tapestries, countless arti- cles of bijouterie, tazzas of porcelain, malachite, and marble, and a number of pictures chiefly reyresenting the naval victories of Orlofi" and other Rus- sian commanders of Cutlierine II. In the castle is also one higlily-inter- esting apartment, containing a collection of three hundred and sixty-eight female portraits executed by a certain Count Rotali for that empress during a Journey which he made through the different governments of the empire. '*Thcy are all beautiful young girls, whom tlie count lias painted in pictu- resque attitudes, and in their national costume, the inventive genius of the artist giving a different position and expression to every face. One pretty girl is knitting diligently, another embroidering ; one peeps archly from behind a curtain, anotlier gazes cxpectingly from a window ; another leans over a chair, as if listening to her lover ; a sixth, reclining on cushions, seems lost in thougiit. One slumbers so softly and so sweetly, that a man must be a Laplander in apathy not to wish for a kiss ; this stands before a glass, comliing her beautiful hair; that has buried herself up to the ears in fur, leaving visible only a pair of tender, rosy lips, and soft blue eyes gleaming from under the wild bear's skin." There are also some excellent portraits of old people — two in particu- lar — an old man with a staff, and an old woman by the fire. This collec- tion is unique in its kind, and would be invaluable for a ])hysiognomist, if he could be certain that these portraits were as exact and faithful as they are pleasing and tasteful. But this must be considered doubtful, for they all bear, undeniably, rather the stamp of the French school than of tho Russian, Tartar, Finnish, or any other nationality, ^yithin the Muscovite empire. It is also accounted a suspicious circumstance that the portraits Were painted by a gentleman for a lady ; and probably behind every grace- . ful attitude some flattering homage to the empress lies concealed. The other apartments do not contain anything very remarkable. In one are the little table and benches with which the emperors Alexanaor and Nicholas played as children ; in another, some carving and turner's ST. PKTEKSBUBO — M0NPLAI8IR, AT PETEBHOFP. 485 work of Peter the Qreat. In one room are shown the blots of ink, made by this emperor ov tliat, while engaged in his boyish studies ; and in an- other is seen on the ceiling an extraordinary picture, representing a whole corps of angels playing from notes ! every one with his music lying on a cloud by way of desk ! — while a fifth room contains all the gods of Greece, also reclining on clouds. ,, . >■ ', ■ , > Descending from the palace to the seashore, the garden is laid out in terraces, and adorned with fountains and waterfalls. The basins, the Nep- tunes, storks, swans, and nymphs, the tritons, dolphins, painted rocks, and grottoes, are copied from the engravings in Hushfield's " Art of Garden- ing." These are commonplace enough : not so the oaks and lime-trees, planted by Peter himself, which one can not pass without notice. The smaller buildings of "Marly" and " Monplaisir," which lie under these trees as wings to the larger edifice, remind the spectator, as the small house in the Summer garden has done, of the modest domestic arrange- ments of the carpenter of Sardaam, Holland — the great reformer of east- ern Europe. It was from these humble retreats that Peter the Great loved to contem- plate his growing power over the Swedes on the Baltic. In Monplaisir, a low, Dutch-built summer-house, the empress Elizabeth used to amuse her royal leisure by cooking her own dinner. In tliis lowly abode the great Peter breathed liis last, and his bed is still preserved untouched since liis death, and now fast crumbling to decay. The last act of his life, the attempt to succor a stranded vessel, was well worthy to close the busy career of such a being as Peter. A view of this favorite residence of the great monarch is given on the following page. The Rev. John 0. Choules, in his visit to the Baltic in 1853, thus speaks of it: — " Our first sight was the residence of Peter the Great ; it is not far re- moved from the old palace. It is beautifully surrounded by trees, and the house is quite small, and not very unlike a Dutcii farmhouse. Its interior is quite like some old houses that I remember on the Hudson river. In this snuggery Peter died. We saw the bed on which he breathed liis last ; the bedclothes are all preserved as when he occupied the chamber. On the pillow arc his caps and nightcluthcs, and his robe-de-chambre lying on the coverlet of the bed. Nothing can be more simple than all the furni- ture. Tiie rooms are small, and you can fancy that the old people who live in the cottage have just stepped out. In the room adjoining the small chamber are his slippers, boots, and sedan-chair, and other articles of per- sonal dress. In a small corner-cupboard is his cam{>-equipage, as plain aa tin, iron, and brass can be. The walls of the kitchen are covered with blue Dutch tiles. Nothing indicates that royalty ever resided here, but some good Flemish pictures and a few elegant Japanese cabinets and beau- tiful stands. His escritoire remains as he last used it. A long, narrow saloon, which is really a covered gallery, has many portraits ; and here the emperor used to walk and receive his visiters. The dining-room was i !:| (■III r. " I- u. . i 4it6 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. HoNPLAini, AT PiTaanorr, a small apartment, with a circular oak tabic, and the panels of fine Japan ese work ; the lower wainscoting of old black oak. Ffom a noble terrace, paved witii marl)le, Peter could gnzc upon his infant navy, lying oflF at Kronstadt. The rocks of the seashore come quite up to the balustrades of the terrace, and greatly add to the scenery." The " Hermitage" at Peterhoff is chiefly remarkable for the contrivance by which the dishes and plates descend from the table through grooves cut in the door, and are replaced by others without any servant being seen. Tiie famous "Cottage" of Catherine II. is, without, all plain, even to poverty ; within, all glorious and radiant with gold, and mirrors reflecting each ol)ject, giving the tiny dwelling an appearance of size and magnifi- cence quite astonishing. The present empress has a small palace in the park of Peterhoff, called Sniamniski/. There is likewise a low, thatched building, called the " Straw palace." In a piece of water in the gardens are a great many tamo carp, which, says an English traveller, " are regu- larly fed, and come to the visiters as readily as the swans in James's park, London, or a parish-clerk for his Christmas-box." A few miles hence is the country-seat of Ropscha, at which Peter III, met his death by assassination. Beyond Peterhoff, in a situation, if possi- ble, more beautiful and commanding, stands Oranienbaum, now the prop- erty of the grand-duke Michael. It was originally bestowed upon Prince Menchikoff by Peter the Great, but reverted to the crown, on the disgrace and banishment of that proud courtier. ^^ THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT. 487 Ji :<:% 7 ' .( CHAPTER XVIII. THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT. IHE emperor of Russia assumes the title of samoderjetz, or autocrat, and all power centres in and emanates from him. The act of election of 1618, which conferred the crown on the house of Romanoff, recognises the absolute power of the sovereign. His will is unlimited, and his authority uncontrolled, except in the respect he may voluntarily yield to established customs, to tlie privi- leges of certain classes, and to the prejudices of the people. A rever- tnce for the emperor, amounting almost to idolatrous •worship, is instilled into the Russians from their ear- liest childhood. Next to the name of God, the name of the emperor always occurs in the religious vocabu- lary of the people, in whose eyes the two names are next thing to synonymous. In every individual reign, however, the personal character of tlie sovereign must, in a great measure, determine that of the administration. Hence, under such a monarch as Paul I., the most extravagant decrees, the dictates of a mind bordering on insanity, had all the force of law, and exposed every subject, who ventured to disregard them, to tlic ))enaltie3 of rebellion ; while, on the contrary, under tlic late Alexander, the whole administration assumed almost a con- stitutional form, and the emperor himself publicly disclaimed despotism, by declaring that he was bound to rule according to law, and that, in tho even*; of liis issuing any decree not in accordance with it, the senate was entitled to remonstrate. •—.-,.'. To Peter the Great is due the credit of the formation of the government ; though, subsequently to him, some changes and modifications iiave been introduced. Previously to the time of the reforms of Peter, the govern- mental machinery was not so complicated. In introducing the changes, Peter, in some instances, maintained, however, the old institutions, giving them a new (mostly Germanic) name The emperor is the central point 4* i II 1 488 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. of administration : everything einanntcs from him in the first instance, and everything? is referred to him in the last, and his decisions aro law. The public business is trnnsnotcd under the emperor by different boards, councils, or colleges, which have each separate but sometimes not easily- distinguished functions. The principal body is the imperial council, for the most part presided over by the emperor in person, or a delegate of his sole appointment. It has no limit as to its numbers, but is divided into four departments — legislative, military, civil and ecclesiastical, and finan- cial. All matters coming under deliberation are decided by a majority of votes, either by the departments separately, or by the whole acting as ono body. To each department a secretary of state is attached. The impe- rial council was e8tal)lished on its present footing in 1810, and was proba- bly modelled by Alexander after that of Napoleon. The body next in importance to the council is the Semite, which is also presided over by the emperor in person. It is the supreme judicial tribu- nal, and issues decrees which have the force of low, unless the emperor interpose to prevent their execution. It is divided into eight departments, each of which is an appeal-court of last resort for certain provinces and governments. Tiie decision of each department must be 8U|)portcd by a majority of two thirds of the members present; and, when this majority can not bo obtained, a general meeting of all the departments is called to decide. The procedure is not public, and the whole pleadings are in wri- ting, each case being decided on a statement drawn up by the secretary, and certified by tho party as correct. In a few cases, however, parties dissatisfied with its decisions may petition the emperor. The sonatora are mostly persons of high rank, or who fill high stations ; but a lawyer of emi- nence presides over each department, who represents the emperor, and without whose signature its decisions would have no force. In the plenum, or general meeting of the sections, the minister of justice takes the choir, as higli procurator for his majesty. Besides its superintendence over the court of law, the senate examines into the state of the public revenue and expenditure, and has power to inquire into public abuses, to appoint to a great variety of offices, and to make remonstrances to the emperor. Monthly reports of its proceedings are publislied in the gazette. The third college consists of the holy synod, composed of the principal dignitaries of the church, and to it is committed the superintendence of the religious affairs of the empire. The fourth college consists of the committee of ministers, of whom ther»j are eleven, viz., the ministers of the imperial household, of war, finance, justice, interior, public instruction, imperial domains, postoffice, roads an:! public buildings, and the vice-chancellor and comptroller-general. The ministers frequently have colleagues, who supply their place when they ar^; cither sick or absent. They communicate directly with the emperor, or mt\ his chancellerie particuliere, in whose hands a)! the executive authority It centred. THE niPERIAL GOVERNMENT — TIIK JUDICIARy. 48d The local udiniiiistratlon diflFors in different provinces ; the imperial gov- ernment having always allowed conquered or annexed coirtitries to pro- servo their own laws and institutions, except in so far as they were hofKie to the general constitution of the empire. Finland, for example, I, as a special form of government; and the provinces wrested from Sweden hy Peter the Great, together with Courland, and those formerly belonging to Poland, have peculiar institutions and privileges, which, however, havo latterly been miich modified. But, despite these exceptions, the form of the provincial government is, notwitlistanding, sufficiently uniform. The empire is divided into general governments, or vice-royalties, gov- ernments, and districts. There are also, as already stated, extensive ter- ritories, which, from the thinness of their population, or otherwige, are not organized into regular governments, that are called obfasts, or provinces. The viceroys, or general-governors, are the representatives of the emperor; and, as such, command the forces, and have the supreme control and direc tion of all affairs, whether civil or military. All the functionaries withiu their jurisdiction are suborditiate to, and make their reports to them. They sanction or suspend the judgments of the courts, <&c. A civil gov- ernor, representing the general-governor, assisted by a council or regency, to which all measures must be submitted, is established in each government or province. In case of dissent, the opinion of the governor is provision- ally adopted till the pleasure of the emperor with respect to the matter be ascertained. A vice-governor is np|iointed to fill the place of the civil gov- ernor when the latter is absent or ill. There arc also, in every govern- ment, a council of finance under the presidency of the vice-governor, who manage the crown estates, and superintend the collection of the revenue ; a college of general provision, which has the direction and inspection of all charitable foundations, prisons, workhouses, schools for the instruction of the poor, &c. ; and a college of medicine, which attends to all matters connected with the public health, appoints district physicians, inspects pharmacopeias, &c. The districts have each their local functionaries. The towns have a municipal body, elected once everj' three years by the different classes into which the population is divided ; and each town has, also, according to its importance, a commandant or bailiff, appointed by the crown, who has charge of the police, of the public buildings and maga- zines, and who executes sentences, pursues criminals, &c. The Russian judicial system is complicated, and not easily understood, except by natives. There are civil and criminal courts in every circle ; and a supreme court of justice, divided into civil and criminal sections, is established in every government. Cases decided in the inferior courts may be appealed to it. Its sentence is final in all criminal cases, and in all civil matters relating to sums under five hundred roubles. Those involving proparty to a greater amount may be carried before the senate. It is a curious fact that, notwithstanding the despotical nature of the govcrnmjut, all the provincial tribunals consist partly of elective function- I fc i K V 490 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. aries. Thus, the superior court for a circle consists of a judjro and secre- tary, and of two aascHsors chosen annually by the nol)le8, and two by the pnisants; and tho superior court of justice for u government, which is divided into a civil and criminal chamber, consists of a president, secretary, and four assessors for each chamber, two of the assessors being chosen by the nobility, and two by tho burghers. It is, in fact, a principle in Russia that a portion of tlie judges in every court should belong to tho same class ad the party whoso interests are under discussion, and be elected for that purpose by his compeers. In the case of the nobles and burghers, this is a most valuable privilege ; but in the case of tho peasantry, who stand most in need of protection, this jirivilcge is quite illusory — their serfdom and ignorance making them utterly incapable of profiting by it. Previously to the reign of the empress Catherine II., the judges, particu- larly in the inferior courts, were wretchedly paid. That princess increased their salaries ; but tliey arc still far too low. And seeing that tho judges are rcmovcable at pleasure, and owe their situation to favor rather than to nurit, we need not wonder that tho greatest abuses continue to exist in the administration of justice. Tho proceedings are dilatory in the extreme. The prohibition against taking fees from suitors is. rarely complied with; and in most tribunals it is aflirmcd that, if justice can not bo altogether defeated, it may at least be indefinitely postponed, by dint of money. These abuses have, however, been in part, at least, obviated by the pub- lication, l)etwccn 182G and 1883, by tho legislative commission, of an ex- tensive dilic opinion, and of a comparatively free press, nei- ther of which has at present any existence in Russia, be brought to bear on the administration of justice, and of public affairs generally. The lat- ter, in fact, is the only security against abuse on which any reliance can safely bo placed. Wherever judges are exempted from the control of pu1)lic opinion, and the animadversion of the press, they are most com- moidy the obsequious instruments of government, and seldom scruple to commit injustice when they believe it will be acceptable to their superiors. The system of police in Russia is efficient, and yet in many respects comparatively worthless from tho lack of honesty in its members. They arc quick in discovering thefts, in ferreting out the offenders, and prompt in the application of punishment ; but so great is their faculty of retention, that a person who has been robbed never considers his chance of rocovor- ing his property so small as when the police have detected the thief ! From THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT — THE POLICE. 491 the thief's hands lie deems it possible he may get back his own, but from the clutches of the authorities — never. So strong and universal is this feeling, that robberies would seldom be reported, did not the laws, in the interest of public security, render such report compulsory. Many instances nre given by travellers in illustration of this feature in the operation of the Russian police system, one or two of which we will narrate : — A Courland nobleman, Mr. Von H , lost some silver spoons, knives ond forks, stolen out of his plate-ehest. Some weeks afterward one of his servants came rejoicing to him : he had found the stolen goods ; they were openly exposed for sale in n silversmith's 8ho|>-window. Mr. H went to the window, recognised his property, took a police-officer with him, and made the silversmith show them the plate. His arms and initials were upon it ; the dealer admitted he had bought it of a stranger, and oflered to restore it to its rightful owner. Mr. H would have taken away his property, but the lieutenant of police forbade that, drew up a formal state- ment of the affair, and requested Mr. IT , as a proof that the plate was his, to send to the police some other article out of tlic chest to wliicli ho affirmed it to belong. Mr. 11 sent the whole case, with its contents, to tlie policc-burcan. He never saw either of them again ! Mr. Von H mentioned tlie circumstance to a physician, a friend of his, whom he thought very mucli to aHtoni(it all was in vain. At last hope was abandoned, and the authoriti s rthi." )d their vigilance. One day, however, a policeman went to KuKUHchkir.'b wife, and took her tiio joyful intelligence that the thief was discovered, the vase already at the police-office, and that her husl)and had sent liim for the pedestal, in order to identify tlio stolen object. Madame Kukusch- kin was overjoyed : und wiien her husband came home to dinner, she ran to meet him, in high glee. ♦' Well," she cried, " and the vase ?" — " What vuse?" — "The stolen vase, which has been found: the vase whoso pedes- tal you sent for ?" — " Whose pedestal I sent for ! Whom did 1 send Y" — " A policeman." — " Say, rattier, a policeman^ uniform. I sent no poli(r«v man, nor have I heard aught of the vase, or of its pedestal." The following instance of tho dexterity of a St. Peterslmrg piclcpoi kot is related by Kolil : "The French endmsssador was one day vnunting ilio dexterity of the Parisian thieves to one of tlie grand-dukos, and related many anecdotes of their address. The grand-duke was of opinion that tho St. Petersburg thieves wore quite their equals ; and offered to lay a woger that, if tho embassador would dine with him the next day, ho would ciuMe his excellency's watch, signet-ring, or any other articles of his dress which he tliought most secure, to be stolen from him before the dessert wa.-* over. The embassador accepted the vager, and tho grand-duke sent immediately to the chief of the police, <]'' uing him to send the adroitest thief he might happen to have in custody at Hie time. The man was dressed in livery, instructed what to do, and promised a pardon if ho accomplished his task well. Tlie embassador had named his watch as tho particular object of attention, both for himself and the thief; and when he had got the watch, the supposed servant was to give the grand-duke a sign. " The dinner )>egan : the preliminary whet, the soups and the ro/t, came and disappeared in tiieir turns ; tito red, white, Greek, Spanish, and French wines, sparkled successively in the glasses of tlie guests. Tho embassador kept close guard on his watch, and the grand-duko, observing his earnest anxiety, smiled with good-humored archness. Th<: p>-oto^ded lackey was busily assisting in the removal of the dishes, tVo dinr -v v-as near' 'iv, and the prince awaited with impatience the • ;' .^d . ignal. Suddenly his countenance brightened : he turned to the embassador, who was in deep V onversation with his neighbor, and asked him what was the hour. His v'xcelhncy triumpliantly put his hand to his pocket — he had had it on his va "'i a few moments before — and to the amusement of all, but particu- Ivly 'if 'j 7 gran'' Juke, drew out a very neatly-cut turnip! A general magh followed. The embassador, somewhat embarrassed, would take a pinch cf snuff, and felt in all his pockets for his gold snuff-box — it was ^one ! The laughter became louder : the embassador in his embarrassmebt THE IMPERIAL GOVERNUEMT — PUNIHHMENTH. 4M and VQxation U.nl recourse to liis soal-riti^, to turn it as ho wor ncoi — it was gone! in short, lio i'uuud that lio had liecn ruguhiily ph of every thi 11 jj( hut what hii'l '"•^^u lusttMicd on liiin by tho tiiiior md tho shoemaker — of rm^, wutch, nnuitf-lHtx, hundk(fri:hicf, toothpiuic, omA gloves. The adroit mjruo was hi- ,^ht Insforo him, and commaiidtni by the grand duke to give hmk (lie stolen propi'ify ; when, tu the great i!m»i>ri8o of the prince, tiio pickpocket took out tivo waUh'JH, and prese 'ted one <<> the embassador, and tlio other to iiiH inipciiiil liighnoss ; (wo rings*, one for the embassador, and tho otiior for the grwnd-duke : two wuifl'-boxcH, &a. In nHtonisliment, his highness now felt in iti^ pockets us tho embassador had done, and found that he too had i)eon strippov. of his moveables a like nuinner. The grand-duke solemnly ussukhI the embassador tlwu lo had been quite unconscious of tho theft, and wits disposed at tii» to b« angry with tho too-dexterous artist. However, upon second thouylits, the fellow, who had enabled him to win his wager t^o triumphantly, v dis- missed with a present, and a warning to employ his talents in fiu iic to more useful purposes." Property generally, however, thi-oughout the ••mpire-is as well protected fts it is in any other country. The houses beiii commonly built of wood, fires in great towns are often very destructive, nnd Oie most cfTectual pre- cautions. are taken to prevent their occurrence. Ml strangers arriving in Russia must produce their passports at the polii ■-office, and notify their arrival in tho public papers. The officers of polici are empowered to dis- charge various functions besides those which come more peculiarly within their province, such as tho decision of differences Itctwoen masters and servants, &c. Capital punishments are rare in Russia, high-treason iieing the only crime visited with death. In its place are tho rod and the i- >iout. Sentences to punishment by the former often condemn to such a vu-it number of blows, that the hide of an elephant could scarcely withstand them : human nature must sink and exf)ire under them. What man can endure four thousand blows of a stick ? They would inevitably kill him. whii h is no part of the condemnation ; and, as a proof that this is not de.-iired, tho sentenco con- cludes by ordaining that, after tho criminal has receiveu his punishment, he shall bo sent for life to Siberia. The officer in command of the troops ordered for tho execution of the sentoncc is responsible for its being literally and completely carried out. This responsibility he lays, in his turn, ujwn tho shoulders of the regimental surgeon. The delinquent — civilian or soldier, it matters not which — marches down the fatal street of men, with a soldier in front and in rear, whos««» levelled bayonets prevent his hanging back or unduly hurrying on. Upon his loft walks tho surgeon, holding tho unhappy wretch's hand in his, and anxiously watching the state of tho pulse. When its diminished boat gives token of danger, the putiishment, on a signal from tho medical man, is immediately susftendod, the exhausted sufferer is placed on a cart, and I JFr^.h, 494 ILLUSTBATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. taken to the hospital. The horrible but yet humaner practice of the An <- trians — to inflict the entire number of blows prescribed by the sentence, even though the latter portion of them full upon a corpse — is in Russia strictly prohibited. The patient is taken care of in the hospital until re- covery, and then again beaten. If this process bo often repeated, he usu- ally dies in consequence of his wounds ; but in that case, "justice" has not actually killed him ! Should he ultimately recover, he is sent to Siberia. It seems incredible, but is nevertheless true, that many criminals have thus taken, by instalments, four or five thousand blows, and lived to drag out many years of melancholy existence in Siberian deserts. The .'second and still severer punishment is that of the knout ; but before this punishment can be inflicted, it must be proved that such a crime has been committed as would entail, in every civilized country, the penalty of deatli. For the knout is the substitute for capital punishment. It can not be inflicted without the emj)eror'3 own signature. As for the rest, thougli the sentence proceeds from the judge, its effect depends entirely upon the executioner who wields the knout. The criminal, surrounded by a guard of Cossacks, is conducted, half naked, to the place chosen for this kind of execution ; all that he has on is simply a pair of linen drawers round his extremities ; his hands are bound togetlier by cords, with the palms laid flat against one another. He is stretched prostrate upon his belly, on a frame inclined diagonally, and at the extremities of wliich are fixed iron rings ; his hands are fastened to one end of the frame, and his feet to the otlier ; he is then extended in such a manner that he can not make a single movement. At a distance of five-and-twenty paces stands another man : it is the public executioner. IJe is dressed in black-velvet trousers, stufled into his boots, and a colored cotton shirt, buttoning at the side. His sleeves are tucked up, so that notliing may thwart or embarrass him in his move- ments. With both hands he grasps the instrument of punishment — the terrible knout ! This knout consists of a thong of thick leather, cut in a triangular form, from four to five yards long, and an inch wide, tapering off at one end, and broad at the other : the small end is fastened to a little wooden handle, about two feet long. The signal is given : no one ever takes the trouble to road the sentence. The executioner advances a few steps, with his body bent, holding the knout in both hands, while the long thong drags along the ground between his legs. On coming to about three or four paces from ti»e prisoner, ho raises, by a vigorous movement, the knout toward the top of his head, and then instantly diaws it down toward his knees. The thong flies wliistling through the air, and, descending on the body of the victim, twines round it like a hoop of iron. In spite of his state of tension, the poor wretch bounds as if he were submitted to the powerful shock of galvanism. The executioner retraces his steps, and repeats the same operation as many times as there arc blows to be inflicted. When the thong envelops the THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT — THE KNOUT. 49i> tcnce, Russia it'll ro- • 10 usu- lias not jiberia. vo thus rag out t before iiue 'las naUy of It can the rest, cntivcly !tcd, half has on is ivc bound V. lie is ly, aiul at istenetl to tended iu it is the tuffed into is sleeves his move- neiit — the r, cut in a c, tapering 1 to a little sentence, lolding the nd between oner, he Is head, and j9 whistling fines round Ipoor wretch linism. The ion as many Uvelops the body with its edges, the flesh and muscles are literally cut into stripes as if with a razor; but when it falls flat, then the bones crack : the flesh, in that case, is not cut, but crushed and ground, and the blood spurts out in all directions! Tlic suflbrer becomes green and blue, like a body in a Kate of decomposition. PvNnmRMT or tim Knovt. T.io knout is fatal, if the judgment of the emperor, or the executioner, wills it ♦.o be so. Docs the latter mean to l)e humane to his victim ? — he kills him with tlie first lash ; for so great is the instrument's weight, that it enables liim to lu-euk tlie spine at a single blow ! This is not, however, usually done, and the unfortunate culprit receives the whole number pro- 4 496 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. scribed, which rarely exceeds half a dozen. Here no surgeon attends, as on occasions of running the gauntlet, to regulate the punishment. If tho criminal dies under the knout, no one is answerable — the motive for such exemption from responsibility doubtless being that the \cvy first bloio mav i>e fatal. If he survives, he is sent to the hospital, and, when cured, to ►Siberia, wliere he disappears for ever in the bowels of tho earth. When a Russian subject is condemned to Siberia, his beard is shaved off, and his hair is cut short in the shape of a brush, like that of the sol- diers, and quite close behind. He is dressed in a pair of linen trousers, a great-coo.t of very coarse cloth, a round cap, and enormous leather boots. In company with other exiles, he is then despatched, under an escort, to his destination beyond the Urals. Before starting, the convicts arc in- spected by a surgeon, aiid those who are unable to walk arc placed in car- riages ; of the others, every two men carry a chain of about five pounds' weiglit, attached to the leg. They walk but fifteen miles a day ; but they have to pursue their journey in all weathers, no matter how inclement, or how intense tho cold may be. While en route, they generally expcricnco much kindness from the Russian peasantry, who send them presents of their best food at every resting-place; and in large towns the excess of such coiitril)ution3 over wliat they consume is so great, that it is sold to buy them additional clothing. Wives are allowed, or rather cx|)cctcd, to accompany tlieir husbands ; but where any decline going, the nnirriage is dissolved — a consequence, no doubt, calling for serious deliberation. Leitcli Ritchie, wlio witnessed the departure from Moscow of a party of exili's destined for Siberia, describes the scene as follows: — " The departure of the exiles for Siberia is a scene which should not bo missed by the traveller: but, in order to let him enjoy it at his ease, ono tiling is necessary to be understood. Tiie mere fact of transportation is not looked upon as a severe punishment ; for the great body of tho crimi- nals consists of persons wlio have been accustomed all their lives to a com- pulsory servitude as severe as that which awaits them beyond tho Ural mountains. Condemnation to tlie mines in Siberia is what they dread — and with great justice; for this is a substitution for capital punishment, and answers the same purpose, only extending tho time occupied by the act of dying from a few minutes to a few years. " In a temporary depot, erected on the summit of the Sparrow hills, 1 found tho destined wretches about to commence their march. A long chain secured both legs at the ankles, and, to prevent.it from incommoding them in walking, was fastened to their belt, or sash. . A great many were Jews, most of them mi/jiks ; and all, with the exception of one man, were free from those physiognomical murks of atrocity wiiich are commonly supposed to distinguish the guilty. Some carts were near, filled with their wives and children, and son»o of their male relations stood beside them unman- acled, who had likewise petitioned to be permitted to share their oxilo. In the middle stood a man who had a good deal of tho air of an English 5na IMFSRiAL GOVERNIIENT — SIBERiAKI EXILES. 407 E.Yit,«i ON THBu Wat to Sibibu. il-al difisenting clergyman ; but the shape of his clothes and hat, and the large Imckles in iiis nhocs, seemed to belong to the fashion of an earlier day. His appearance inspired me witli instinctive respect, and his face seemed jibsolutely to beam with tiie purest and noblest philanthropy. Ho was occupied in distributing moral and religious books to such of the prisoners as could read, and in hearing patiently, and often redressing instantly, their complaints. The exiles, on their part, seemed to look upon him as a friend — a father ; but their aflection was njingled with the deepest respect. Many prostrated themselves at his feet, as before a holy image, and touched the ground witii their forehead. On taking leave, he embraced and kissed them all, one by one ; and the rattle of their chains, as they began the march, was mingled with sobs and blessings Dr. Haas, for this was the philanthropist's name, was in a kind of official situation, acting as the eecretary of a charital)le body ; and he passed his life among the sick and the captives, in the double capacity of physician to the soul and body." The journey lasts seven months. In the Asiatic portion of it, the com- fort of the exiles is far less cared for ; while, wearied out with their pro- tracted ti'avel, their powers of endurance arc proportionately lessened, and there is often great mortality : between 18"23 and 1832 it amounted to about one fifth, and the average number of exiles was ten thousand a year. \ ii i)^ 408 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Oil their arrival, the worst subjects are sent to the mines ; and, in former times, they hardly ever again saw daylight, but by the regulations of tho emperor Nicholas they are not kept underground more than eight hours a ihiy, and on Sunday all Ijave undisturbed freedom. Others of this class ore confined to northeastern Siberia, the climate of which is especially sovcre. Those of a less heinouo stamp are employed on public works for some time, and then aUewed to become culonisls. The least serious ofl'end- ei's arc at once settled as colonists in southern Siberia, and thenceforth may be considered as quite free, except that they can not quit their loca- tion. In such a soil and climate, it is asserted by Haxthauscn that, with industry, they may within two or three years find themselves established in good iiuuscs of their own, amid fields supplying every want of a i-ising fiimily. It is also affirmed that the young people reared in these abodes turn out, on the whole, of most respectable character, and are associated with accordingly on tho kindest ternjs by neighbors of other classes — especially by the peasants of native Siberian race, who, by-the-way, are all entirely free, and many of them very rich. As above remarked, with tho exception of what tho nature of their crimes may impose, no restraint is laid upon their freedom, or precautions taken to prevent their leaving. They possess no passports, and it is ex- tremely difficult to travel twelve hours anywhere in the Russian dominions wi'thout them. But in spite of the lack of the necessary papers, many cxik'S, after a longer or shorter stay in Siberia, manage to slip away to more congenial climes. Tlie whole number of exiles in Siberia amount to about one liundred tliousaiid, of whom about one fourth are females ; most of the latter are, however, as already shown, voluntary exiles, who have accompanied their husbands or otlier near relatives thither. Tlie military power of the Russian empire rests on an organized army and navy.* The first regularly-organized corps of infantry in tho Russian service was the Strelitzes, who seem to have had their origin about the middle of tlie sixteenth century ; and continued, till their suppression by Peter the Great, to constitute the principal strength of the army. They enjoyed various privileges ; were always abort the person of the emperor; and by their licentiousness and insubordination, as well as bravery, bore a close resemblance to the preetorian bands of ancient Rome, and the Jani- zaries of the Ottoman Porte. The abolition of this formidable corps, and the reconstruction of the army on a plan similar to that followed in th<) more civilized countries of Europe, was undoubtedly one of the greatest * For nmny intLTviting details in this skctrh of the militnry arm of Rnssia credit is dne io Count A. l)e GiirowiJki, a sonrco to which this volume U also indebted for facts which have en- riched one or two other cliaptcrs. He jrives tho most intcllifjible, and, after a close comparison witii otlicrx, we iirc satisfied, the most reliable account, of this branch of the Russian service. This sketch, it is also proper to add, has reference to tho condition of tho Russian army just pre- rions to the commencement of the late war, a period the more tuitabie for taking c view of it. u it was then in its highest state of efficiency. THE IMPERIAL GOVEBNMEKT — THE ABMT. 499 services rendered by Peter the Great. At his death, in 1725, the regular ariny amounted to about one hundred and ten thousand, exclusive of the imperial guard ; and the success which attended his prolonged contest with the Swedes showed that this army became in time a match for the best troops that could then be opposed to it. Under Catherine II., the army was greatly augmented and improved. This able and ambitious princess increased the pay of the troops and offi- cers, and gave them a new, more commodious, and elegant uniform, than that formerly in use. She formed the Cossacks into a light cavalry, which, after being successfully opposed to the Spahis of the Turks, has since dis- tinguished itself in the great contests of more recent times. During the latter part of the reign of Catherine, the regular army amounted to about two hundred and fifty thousand men ; and little was wanting to place it on a level with that of the surrounding powers, save the better organiza- tion of the commissariat department, and the choice of better-educated and more skilful native officers. It is, however, to Alexander and Nicholas that the Russian army is in- debted for the more efficient organization, discipline, and power, by which it is now distinguished. The momentous struggles in which the former was engaged called forth all the military resources of the empire ; many abuses were rectified, and improvements introduced ; and the armies of Alexander were at length enabled to contend successfully with those of the greatest captain of the age. Under the emperor Nicholas, the discipline and or- ganization of the army have been still further improved ; and it is, at pres- ent, in a comparatively high state of efficiency. The Russian army was newly organized, by an imperial ukase of the 9th of August, 1835, Down to that period, two large armie? were maintained ; but those were then consolidated, and the staff of one of them reduced. The army is now divided into corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, battal- ions, and companies ; the cavalry into squadrons, &c. A corps on full active footing is composed of three divisions of infantry and one of cavalry, with sometimes a division of reserve ; the artillery of a corps consists of from one hundred and ten to one hundred and fifteen guns. A division is composed of two brigades, and a brigade of two regiments. A regiment in full oug-ht to have four battalions, a battalion four companies, and a com- pany should have between one hundred and seventy and two hundred men. All these numbers are seldom complete, except in the imperial guard and a few of the other corps. According to the official reports for 1852, the armed force was in the following state : The corps of imperial guards, commanded by the grand- duke (now the emperor, Alexander II.), is established in St. Petersburg, and for a. distance of one hundred miles around that city. It consists of three divisions of infantry and one of reserve, of four divisions of cavalry, a large force of artillery, with from one hundred and twenty to one hun- dred and forty cannon, and a special body of field-engineers, sappers, and I I I- bOO ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. a pontoon corps. Next comes the corps of the grenadiers. Its headquar- ters are in the ancient city of Novgorod. Its regiments are established principally in the military colonics. This corps has three divisions in full of infantry, and one of cavalry ; the park of artillery amounts to between one hundred and fifteen and one hundred and twenty pieces. After these two separate corps come what is called tlie active army. It is composed of six corps (or nearly twenty divisions) of infantry, six divis- ions of regular cavalry, with an irregular one of Cossacks, &c., adjoined in time of war, and at least seven hundred pieces of artillery. This army was before the war, commanded by Prince ruskiewitch, the governor- general of Poland, and commander-in-chief of the Russian forces employed in Asia in 1828-'9. Its headquarters are at Warsaw. It faces the west- ern frontier of Europe exclusively. It is quartered from the Baltic, through Lithuania and Poland, to the Danube, the Black sea, and the frontiers of the military cavalry colonies in southern Russia. A sci)arate corps occu- pies the city of Moscow and several surrounding governments. The army of the Caucasus is composed of four divisions of infantry, one of regular cavalry, numerous irregular Cossacks of various denomina- tions, and a body of mussulmans and militia (chiefly Circassians and Tar- tars) from among the natives. A large proportion of the regular troops forming this corps are said to be Poles, the policy of the government l)cing to withdraw them from their own country. A division of infantry occupies Finland, and another is scattered through Siberia. This active army is backed by a reserve, composed of twenty-five brigades of infantry and two hundred and seventy squadrons of cavalry. The military colonies for the infantry are formed principally in the gov- ernment of Novgorod, and jjartly in those of Pskov and Vitcpsk. They are divided into twenty-four brigades. The colonies for cavalry are in southern Russia, in the governments of Poltava, Ekatherinoslav, Kherson, in the Ukraine, &c. Tiiey amount to seventy-five squadrons. To these are to bo added the sappers and artillery reserve, with fifty-four parks of heavy calibre destined for the siege of fortresses, the military engineers, and military workmen, with a numerous train. Finally, there is the guard of the interior, formed of armed veterans, quartered in all the districts of Russia, and performing in the cities and boroughs the internal service. It amounts to fifty battalions, which, how- ever, are not full. In addition, there is a corps of gendarmes, containing eight brigades, horse and foot, and spread over the whole empire. It is commanded by Count Orloff, whose iunction answers to that of chief of the secret police. The g-endarmes fulfil the duties of the police of the army during war, and of a political police through the country at all times. The officers of this corps form in all circles and districts the knots of that vast net of espionage extended over Russia and the entire European continent, as well as throughout a great portion of Asia. Tboy are in clo^o connec- tion with all the agents of tlie secret police. THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT — THE ARMY. 60i The irregular cavalry consists principally of Cossacks. There are sev- eral denominations of them (as we have already mentioned, in the chapter on " Southern Russia"), derived mainly from the regions or the banks of the rivers along which they are settled. Their general and commander, or grand lietman, was Alexander, the late grand-duke, but now wearing the imperial crown, but each tribe may liave its own principal and subordinate chiefs. They are divided as follows: 1. The Cossacks of the Don or Tanais, who are the most numerous. 2. Those on the shores of the Black sea, called Tuchernomortsy. 3. Those of the line of the Caucasus, mainly on the banks of the Kouban. 4. Tliose of the government of Astrakhan. 5. Those of the government of Orenburg and the neighboring districts, commonly called tlic Cossacks of the Volga. 6. Those of the river Ural (ancient Jdick). 7. Those of Siberia. 8. The Mesteheracks, who are a mixed race of Tartars. 9. The Cossacks of the sea of Azov. 10. Those of the Danube. The Cossacks muster in all seven hundred and sixty-five squadrons, each containing a few more than one hundred men, of whicli more than a third can be concentrated. In time of war they are supported by detachments of Bashkirs, Calmucks, Buriats and Tungusi from Siberia, mussulmans from the Trans-Caucasian provinces, Lcsghians, &c. These Asiatic irregu- lars, as previously shown, form generally a kind of military posts or chain uniting the advancing army with the mother-country. Such was the case, for example, in 1813-'14, when they were extended from Siberia across the whole of Europe ! We may thus sum up the whole bulk of the armed land-forces of the empire as consisting of seventeen corps, with four thousand nine hundred companies of infiintry, fourteen hundred n-.d sixty-nine squadrons of cav- alry, and three liundrcd and thirty batteries of heavy or light artillery — which, if full, would form an aggregate of over a million of men. More than a third of this number, however, must be deducted as not capable of being moved toward the extreme frontiers of the empire, as well as for incomplete numbers in the various battalions, companies, and squadrons. The remaindc" makes up the Russian warAirii.g army, which can be moved and directed by the order of a single man according to his sovereign will and jdeasure. But natural impossibilities oppose and impede the concen- tration in one spot, and even in one region, of such enormous masses of men and animals. In the struggle with Napoleon, Alexander was unable to oppose more than two hundred thousand troops, and a still less number for the invasion of France in 1814 ; while in the Turkish war of 1828-'30 the Russian forces amounted to but one hundred and sixty thousand ; but such numbers were required to fortify the principal points on the line of passage, that only twenty-one thousand were spared to cross the Balkan, and of these but fifteen thousand actually reached Adrianople. In the late struggle, however, the imperial troops operating on the entire southern frontier greatly exceed any previous numbers. .002 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. H^^J Rioui.A> Tmodps or nvmiA. Some idea of tlio appearance of the finest regiments of (ho t-o^^iilai ttoops niiiy b*^ drawn fvcn tlio accompanying engraving, in wliich figure 1 ropro- scntH a grenadier of the impe- rial guard ; 2, a clmssenr of tlio guard ; 3, ^ fifer of tlic guanl ; 4, a grenadier of the liorse- guard ; 5, a cuirasjiier ; and 0, t hussar. In the more select regiments, the men and horse.* are classified in the most minute manner as to rescmhlancc. In one cavalry rogimoiit the horses are all l)lack, in another they are all bay, A-c. The men are arranged according to the color of their hair or heard, or of tlieir eyes, and also the general shape of their features : so that in one regiment all have aqui- line nosoH, and lilack eyes and beards ; and in another all have pug-noses, blue eyes, and red oeards — which latter class, by-the-way, descril)es the physiognomy and complexion of tlio genuine Muscovite. Tlie general appearance of the irregular troops of the empire is shown in the accompanying gnxip, in which figure 1 represents a ' ^ * • * * Losghian from western Dag- hestan ; 2, a Don Cossack ; 3, a Circassian, in full dress; 4, a " Tartar-Cossack " of the Crimea ; o, a Cossack of the line of the Caucasus ; and G, a Cossack of the I'ral. The reader will bear in mind that the Circassians emjdoyed in the R'lssian service l)elong to tlie subdued triljes at the foot of the Caucasian mountains, a large portion of tlie mount- ain warriors being still hostile to the imperial rule. Tiic foregoing gives a general idea of the Russian armed force. " It is undoubtedly strong for the defensive," says Count Gurowski, " but it is utterly impossible to throw these masses on Europe. Without mentioning lMKat7LAB TlOOPS OP ROSSIA. THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT — THE ARMY. 503 the penury of tlio tretstiry — as on a war-footing tlio pay is nearly quad- rupled — to gather them together at any poir*^ "vitliin the frontier, would have the same eflcct as destruction by locusu .or many hundred miles. The same result would take place if, in case of a war between Frnnco ar.d Russia, the army of the czar should enter Germany, even as a friendly country. All would bo destruction and desolation with friend as well ns with foe. Tlie region thus traversed would be reminded,not of Napoleon, but of the swarms of Attila — more disciplined, it is true, but, for the sake of existence and self-preservation, obliged to destroy and swallow all the resources within their reach. For such an impossil)le invasion of western Europe, the Russian masses might be divided into two parts, one entering Prussia and the other Austria. But such invnsions in the present state of the world arc impossibilities. .Masses will be raised against masses, the invaded country stripped in advance of all resources to nourish the enemy, and, whatever may be the inborn gallantry of the Russian soldier — Napo- leon himself admired it — no army in the world can be for ever invincible." The drill of these forces is perhaps the best existing in Europe. But possilily they are overdiilled. Those acquainted with the mysteries of the military profession, afVirm that in tlie firing of the Russian infantry as well as of the artillery, the principal ol>joct is a quick discharge — so quick, that neither the soldiers-of-thc-line nor the artillerymen are able to take good aim ; and thus, in a Imttle, out of the immense number of shots, com- paratively few are destructive. The army is formed Ity means of conscription, out of the taxed classes of the poi)ulatioii, such as merchants, citizen-burghers, artisans, workmen, free-peasants, and serfs — every individual belonging to them being liable to compidsory service, ])rovided he be of the proper age and stature. The levies arc ordinarily in the proportion of one or two to every five luindred males; but during war the proportion is at least as two or throe to every five hundred, and sometimes as much as four, and even five, to five hun- dred. This last j)roportion, however, may be taken as the mnximiim levy, and is rarely exceeded. The number of recruits to be furnished by the empire in general, and by each district in particular, is nxed according to the results of the preceding census. The nobles nominate sucli of their serfs as they please to complete their quotas, the only conditions being tliat they should have a good constitution, and 1)0 of the requisite size, and not less than eighteen nor more than thirty-five years of age ; and, as i(U(>. ill- disposed individuals are sure to. be nominated in preference for recruits, those who arc averse to the service endeavor to distinguish themselves by industry and good conduct. The recruits are first sent to the recruiting-establishments, and thence forwarded to the corps to which they are assigned. Nobles, magistrates, clergymen, and students, are exempted from the service. Merchants and traders enrolled in the diflcrcnt gtdhls arc also exempted. The levies furnished by the Cossacks arc regulated by particular treaties ; and many r<\\ 504 ILLUSTRATKD DnsCIUI'TION OP nUSSlA. Imlf-savngo tribes arc excused, partly on account of their diminntlvo size, ond partly because of their great aversion to a military life. Generally, it is found tliat u levy of two on every live hundred males produces a sup- ply of about ninety or a hundred thousand men. Substitutes are allowed, and may be ellected by mutual consent, provided the noble do not oppose it. The period of service is twenty years in the imperial guard, and twenty- two in the other corps. Every individual, with his family, if he have one, Itccomcs free the moment he is enrolled in the army. In case of desertion, he is again enslaved ; but desertion is exceedingly rare in Russia. Tho iin|)erial guard is recruited from the grenadiers ; tho latter from the in- fantry of the line and the light chaiseurs. A connnoner can rise only to the grade of sergeant. A very extraordi- nary distinction in time of war may push him over tho barrier, and make him an olliccr, with a possibility of further preferment. In time of peace, twelve years of service, copibined with some natural capacity, can raise tlie son of a l)urgher to tho grade of an officer. The grades of lieutenants and captains confer pcvsonal noltility, and with that of n.ujor it becomes hereditary. From the nobility exclusively are derived tho body of officers in the army, while tliis class alone have access to the civil service. Tho choice Ijotween the two is frco for any nobleman, but the military service has the precedency. A nobleman never Ijcgins his career as a common soldier. Numerous and various military establishments for every kind of military education, to which the nobles are .ilmost exclusively admitted, prepare the youth from childhood practically as well as theoretically. Tho cducaiion consists of all the sciences conne id with the military art, and with its highest branches, including the French language, Russian litera- ture, history, national and universal, geography, &c. A cadet, having gone through all the classes, enters the army with tiio grade of second lieutenant. Those who have been educated in civil establishments, gym- nasia and universities, entering as volunteers, are admitted as ensigns and cadets. Tliey wear tlie uniform of tlie common soldiers, but witli laco; are exempted, as all noldes are, from corporeal punishment ; and, as soon as they master the rudiments of the service, become' officers. For the children of soldiers, and, above all, for tiieir orphans, establish- ments are provided where they arc received from their earliest childhood, and trained for the military service. There they arc taught to read and write tlie vernacular language, with Russian history, the general outlines of geography, and also arithmetic and drawing. Then they enter the ser- vice for life, or nearly so. They are placed in the topographical and engi- neer's corps, and at the tclegrapiiic stations, whicli, in Russia, are exclu- sively for military use, and under the innnediutc direction of the emperor. The Russian army is supported at very little expense in time of peace. Exclusive of their pay, the higher class of officers receive considerable allowances, as mess-money, &c. ; and they generally contrive to eke out their emoluments in various indirect ways. The pay of the subalterns is TIIK IMPERIAL OOVERNMENT THE ARMY 505 tlio most iiindoqmitc ; nnd it is lianlly possible for any oiu; to ^ as a subaltern in tlio cavalry, especially in tlio cavalry of the inipirii auanl, nnlcsM lie have private resonrces. Officers are allowed, acconliii ■ ■'. tlieir rank, one or more servants (dnilsrhisk), maintained by fjoverntiKMi( 'tut equipped at llie pxf»ense of their masters. They aro taken from among the recruits, the least suitable for active service. The pay of a common Russian soldier does not exceed five dollars a year I — and various deductions are made oven from this miserable pit- tance, lie receives a new uniform each year ; and is allowed, in addition, three barrels of (lour, twenty-four pounds of salt, and a certain quantity of rye, barley, or oatmeal. On fete-days the soldiers of the guard receive a certain allowance of butchers' meat, but this is very rarely tasted by their fellows of the line. At home, the soldier is paid in paper; l»ut when ho crosses the frontier, he is paid in silver roubles: and as one of the latter is equivalent to four of the former, hi& pay when abroad is, of course, aug- mented in the same proportion. This may, perhaps, have been partly intended as a stimulus to the soldier to undertake oflensivc operations; but, besides having diis ofiect, it was absolutely necessary, to enable him to sul>sist among foreigners without robbing. The cavalry-horses arc very good ; and, fodder being very cheap, they are well kept. Soldiers leaving the army on the expiration of their compulsory service, ore entitled to a small pension; and those who have been maimed or wounded are received and supported in some of the hospitals estal)lishcd with tluit view in dilVorent |)arts of the country. Soldiers who continue in the army after their term of compulsory service has exjdred, acquire sev- eral iulvantages. Tliey receive, exclusive of the retiring ])ension to which they are entitled, double pay ; and after five years voluntary service, they are entitled to a retiring pension eipKil to tiiree times their original full pay. Tlie inadecpiate pay of the ofliccrs and men is the grand evil in relation to the Russian army. It compels all classes to resort to underhand meth- ods of nuiking money; and hence the jol)bing and corru|ttion of the first, and the thieving habits of the latter. Government is plundered in every possilde way ; and while the army loses in strength and elliciency, it may be (pu'stioned whether it would not be more advantageous, even in a pecu- niary point of view, for government to increase the pay of tlic officers and troops, so as to raise them above the necessity of indulging in practices injurious to the service, of the existence of which it is well aware, but at which, as matters now stand, it is obliged to wink. Capital punishments are at all times rare in the Russian army, and are never inliicted except during war. In time of peace, culprits are uniformly condenmed to transportation to Siberia, and to forced labor in the mines. Corporeal punishments may be ordered by the commanding officers of regi- ments. Soldiers who continue in tho army after their full period of com- pulsory service is expired, can not be corporeally punished except by tho command of a council of war. If! l! l! H .'V i ■'i ij m 606 ILLUSTRATED DESPRIPTIOX OP RUSSIA. Generally, the RiiSHinn Holdiora nro, in respect of bodily vijror, inferior perlmps to those of Enfrlnnd. Tlioy have little eiithnsinsni ; ard, in respect of activity and intellijrence, are very far Itelow those of Kiijfhmd, Franco, and Prussia. On the other hand, however, thoy possess, in the greatest perfection, the two first qualities of a soldier — the most unllinchinp eour- npe, and the most implicit ol)edienco. Subjected from birth to a master whose will is their law, tlie habit of prompt and implicit obedience l)ecomes, as it were, a part of themselves. Rejjardless of dangers or difTicuUies, they will attempt whatever they are ordered ; a' '' will aeconiplisli all that tlie most undaunted resolution and perseverance can ell'ect. Tliey also endure, without a murmur, the greatest hardships and privations, and sup- port themselves in situations wliere others would starve. The military colonies of Russia arc a sort of agricidtural soldiers estab- lished Ity a ulnt or engiiged in duty, to assist the colonist in the labors of his fariii. The colo- nists, as w(dl as the soldiery, are deprived of their beards, and wear uni- form, everything in the colony being subjected to military regulation. There is no restraint on the marriage of the soldiers; and their male chil- dren, and those of the colonists, are all bred up to be soldiers. The girls are educated in separate schools ; and, though there be no regulation to that elletit, are generally married to the young men belonging to the colo nies. Exclusive of the principal soldiers already alluded to, there is in every cottage a substitute or supplementary soldier, generally a son of the colonist, who is bound to take the place of the prineiftal soldier in the event of his death or sickness, so that the regiments distributed among the colonics can never want their full complement of men. The insurrection of 1831, among the colonists of Novgorod and Pskov, together with the causes which led to it, is thus related by the count do TIIK IMPERIAL OOVEnNMKIfr — THE NAVY. 507 Hnrowjy an order IVoni the n)ilitary commandant. Thus, an order issued from tho heaihinarters of a district, would appoint for the whole colony — for exam- ple, n day for plonp:hin^, another for sowing, another for harvest, and all ajrriiMdtnral labor was similarly arranged. Tho whole rural population was l)ouhd inider jiennlties to move on tho same day — nay, at the same hour. A peasant coidd not go to nmrket nor sell an egg without a permis- f,ion from the olTicers. At the same time, neither his wife nor his daughter was safe from their lust. Assassination and punishments for it happened very often, Iiut the systiMu took root. However, 'luring the Polish cam- paign, in the spring of 18i51, when the colonies became liberated from the pi'cssure of the greimdiers cpiartercd among them, a tcrrilde insurrection broke out. The greater part of the ofiic(!rs were killed. In several cases they were sunk in the earth to the waist, and then mowed with the scythe! Despair and vengeance aninmted the wronged, the oppfes.yod. These co- lonial and other insurrections give a foretaste of the character of a future vengeful uprising of the Russian serfs and peasants. " Finally, the rel»ellion was quenched in l)lood by Count Orloff, Numbers were decimated on the spot, and hundreds of families transported to .Libe- ria. Less cruel discipline, however, was thenceforth introduced, and it would seem that tlie next generation had become accustomed to the heavy yoke. Tilings now appear to go on there rather smoothly ; but the curse of the peasants is poured out with every lireath. Tho tradition of better linies of old, and of ancient lilterty, glimmers still at the domestic hearth. The time will probaldy come, and is perhaps not far distant, when these colonies, organized to shelter and enforce despotism, will become a deadly weapon in the hand of the aveng<'r." Previously to the war from wliicli Uii>j-ia has lint lately emerged, she had a very considerable naval force, comprising aliout fifty ships-of-tlie-line, twenty-liv(; frigates, ten steamships, and al)out six hundred smaller vessels and gunlioats. This numlier, by the casualties of the war, has been very materially reduced. For though the I5altic squadrons remained intact within the strong defences of Kronstadt and Sweaborg, at Sevastapol, not a vessel of the large licet stationed there now remains al)ove the waters upon which it so recently rode in seeming security. Russia never has been, however, nor is it, for several reasons, probable that she ever will bo, a great naval power. While all her vessels are well manned, tho quality of the men does not correspond with their numbers. Having only a very slender commercial marine, she has no great number of sailors or of mas- ters and mates. The latter are nearly all foreigners on the small number of Russian commercial vessels, notwithstanding the existence of a law * ! ^<. 608 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. according to wliicli the master of a Russian vessel ought to bo a native Russian. But this law is evaded, as there is no possibility whatever of finding such men. The sailors for the navy are selected principally from among the people living along the shores of the Baltic, the Euxine, and the sea of Azov, and from among the boatmen on the Don and the Volga. Greeks and Armenians may be found among the number. All tliese put together do not furnish, however, a third part of the required number, and the remainder of the crews is composed of men who, previous to enlisting, had never been on water, except perhaps in a ferry-boat. A great many Jewish conscripts are thus employed. The mass of the crews are in a season transformed into sailors by mere drill and force of discipline. The greater number can not even swim. Tiie vessels of the fleets in the Baltic can scarcely be kept four montlis on the sea, nor could those in the Euxine but four or six weeks longer. This is consequently the whole time which can be devoted to practising naval exercises and manoeuvres. The remain- der of the year, the crews are garrisoned in harbors, and trained in the military land-exercise. Thus, the greater part of the crews arc not only neither real nor skilful sailors or gunners, but form scarcely second-rate infantry. The officers are educated from childhood in special nautical establish- ments, and most of them, at least theoretically, are as capal)le and as well informed in all the specialities of the duty as those of any other service whatever. Russia is indebted for her naval power, as she is for her ascendency by land, her civilization, and, indeed, everything else, to the creative genius of Peter the Great. Previously to his accession, Russia had no seaport, other than Archangel, and did not possess a single gunboat. As soon, however, as Peter had acquired a A)oting on the Baltic, he set about crea- ting a navy ; and, the better to qmilify himself for the task of its construc- tion, he visited Holland, where he not only made himself acquainted with the principles of naval architecture, but with the practical business of a ship's carpenter, by working himself at this employment! The monarchs since Peter, and especially Catherine II. and the emperor Nicholas, have all exerted themselves to increase and improve the fleet; and it is now, perhaps, in as high a state of efiiciency as it is likely to attain, under the disadvantages of which we have already spoken. The vessels, however, have little uniformity in their construction, some being as heavy as old Dutch galliots, while others are modelled on Eng- lish and American patterns. The material for the hulls, which is mostly oak, is inferior ; not that there is a scarcity of ship-timber in Russia, but that the navy-yards and arsenals arc under the same system of venality and peculation which pervades all other branches of the administration. Thus the vessels last only from ten to iiftcen 5'ear8. In geneial, the Russian navy is to be regarded as a defensive wooden wall, which can never bo transformed into a formidable weapon of offence against Europe, or be THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT — THE FINANCES. 50« made to act single-lianded against any of the murithno powers, with the exception of Sweden, Turkey, and the like smaller ones. An old proverbial distril>ution of capacities res[)ecting the officers among the various grades of the service in Russia, assigns " the dandy to the cav- alry, tlio learned man to the artillery, the drunkard to the navy, and the stupid to the infantry." So it was once, but so it is no longer, at least with respect to the infantry and navy. The infantry-officers, though they do not belong to the higher aristocratic class, arc for the greater part well educated and tolerably well bred. The brother of the new emperor, the grand-duke Constantino, is the grand-admiral and now the minister or sec- retary of the navy. From childiiood he has been thoroughly educated for this purpose. This has given a stimulus to the service. Educated and well-bred youths, of higher family connections, enter it continually, and thus its ancient disreputable character is almost wholly changed. Owing to the low state of civilization in most parts of the Russian em- pire, and the want of manufactures and large towns, the public revenue is by no means so great as miglit be supposed from the vast extent of the empire, and the magnitude of the population. In consequence, however, of the cheapness of most of the necessary articles in Russia, and the small rates of pay of the soldiers and other public functionaries, her limited rev- enue goes a great way, and she is able to meet outgoings that elsewhere could not be met with less tiian twice or three times the sum. In the reign of Alexis-Michailovich, father of I oter the Great, the annual revenue of tl»e government was but five millions of silver roubles, notwith- standing which his court was one of the most magnificent in Europe. Ho maintained a numerous army, and left, at his death, considerable sums of money. At tlie close of the reign of Peter the Great, the revenues had doubled, being over ten millions of roubles. The poll-tax ))roduced four millions three hundred thousand roubles ; the customs, one million two hundred tiiousand ; the tax on brandy, one million ; and the salt-tax, seven hundred thousand. In 1770, under Catherine II., the revenue was over one hundred millions, and at a later period of her reign it reached ono hundred and seventy millions. In 1804, the revenue approached ono hun- dred and nine millions. At ti»o present time it is not under five hundred millions of roubles annually. The most important article of the revenue is the farming out of the man- ufacture of brandy, which produces ono hundred and thirty millions of roul)les. The customs occupy tho next rank, and exceed one hundred millions of roubles ; tho poll-tax is about eighty millions ; the obrak, or land-tax, produces from thirty to forty millions ; the tax on guildsy or on the capital of merchants, from twenty to twenty-five millions ; tho postoffico about fifteen millions ; patents, three or four millions ; stamps, three or four millions ; mines, twenty millions. To this must bo added tho appa- nages, the reiits of tho farms, tho monopoly of tobacco, the duty on cards, tho imposts on salt, and tho crown manufactories, making in tho aggregate m II V i| i 'k i ■it I 91 610 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. /' the annual amount of five hundred millions of roubles previously men- tioned. The taxes, it will bo seen, are partly farmed, and partly collected by government-officers. There is, as already stated, in every government, a council charged with the administration of everything pertaining to the finances. Our information with respect to the expenditures of the Russian empire is less accurate than that relating t") its income, most topics connected therewith being involved in a mystery whicli it is not always possible to penetrate. It is likewise evident, from the very nature of the government, that the official reports, especially in time of war, are not to be relied upon in the same degree as those emanating from the financial department of our own country or that of England. In time of peace, however, tlie in- come and expenditures of Russia are understood to be nearly equal ; but during war, or on extraordinary occasions, involving an increase of expen- diture, the ordinary revenue is quite insufficient to meet the outgoings, and it is usual both to increase the rate of taxation and to resort to loans. The expense of the army and navy (the latter being about one fifth or one sixth part of the former) amounts to more than half the revenue. The next great items are the interest and sinking-fund on account of the public debt ; the civil list, internal administration, public works, &c. ; the diplo- matic service, and various other items. According to the report of the minister of finance, the public debt of Russia amounted, in 1853, to upward of three hundred millions of dollars, which tlie expenses of the recent war must greatly iucreaso. Bcwttii 8ILVKB Rowaui. THE PEOPLE — THE NOBILITY. 611 CHAPTER XIX. THE PEOPLE. POLITICALLY considered, tlie people of Russia are divided into four general classes — the nobility, the clergy, the merchants and bur- ghers, and the peasants and serfs. Previously to the reign of Peter the Great, the Russian nobility consisted principally of the descendants of the ancient petty princes of the country, or of lords possessed of vast es- tates. They were in the exclusive possession of all situations of trust and emolument, to which they succeeded according to their rank. Peter, who early saw the disadvantage of this state of tilings, and the necessity of undermining the inlluencc of the nobles, most of whom were violently op- posed to his projects for the regeneration of the country, had recourse, in furtherance of his plans, to the scheme of creating a new order of nobility. With this view, he divided all the civil and military functionaries in the service of the state into fourteen classes : enacting, at the same time, that the six highest classes should confer on the individuals in them the distinc- tion of hereditary nobility ; that some of the oilier classes should confer the distinction of personal nobility, or of nobility for life ; and that those enrolled in the others should be deemed gentlemen, or bicn lues. Some modifications were made in this arrangement by the empress Catherine II.; but it is still maintained nearly as it was contrived by Peter the Great. The creation of a new nobility founded on merit, or on services rendered to the state, was, no doul)t, a material improvement at the time. By illus- trating many new famil'"s, it has served to lessen the inlluence of tlie old nobility, and to lil)eralize the order, at the same time that it has opened a prospect to all enterprising individuals of rising to the highest dignities. Oil the whole, liowever, it would seem that tiie system, having served its purpose, might now be advantageously abandoned. In Russia, properly so called, the nobles are not numerous ; but they abound in Potlolia, Volhynia, and other provinces acquired from Poland, and especially in Poland itself, which has about three hundred thousand nobles ! Few, however, of the latter possess estates, and many of them are in a very destitute condition. lu the Polish provinces, and in Cour- land, Livonia, and Esthonia, none but nobles can inherit landed property ; but this is not the case in Russia proper, though, with the exception of the crown-estates, they are, in fact, almost the sole proprietors. 512 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. The titles of prince, count, and baron, have superseded those formerly in use. In the government of Toula, there are said to be mo)"e than ono hundred families having the dignity of prince ! All the members of noble families are noble, and have the same title as the head of the family. On the death of a noble person, his estate is divided, according to a fixed scale, among liis children of both sexes. Nobles are exempted from all personal charges, and from the obligation to serve in the army, but they are obliged to furnish recruits according to the number of tlieir vassals. Nobles arc also exempted from corporeal punishment ; have leave to distil all the spirits required for the consumption of their establishments ; may engage in niaiiiifactures or trade ; have a right to all the minerals on their estates, &c. Precedence is determined, in Russia, by military rank ; and an ensign would take the pas of a nobleman not enrolled in the army, or occupying some situation giving military rank. The property of a noble wlio has been condemned is not confiscated by the state, but goes to his family. The nobles likewise elect various local magistrates, assessors, &c., and delii)emte at their meetings on different matters connected with the local administration. There is also in every government a committee of nobles to watch over tlie interests of the body, and to take care of the establishments that l)elong to it; and every circle has a eonnnittee of nobles who manage the estates and affairs of nobles who are under age. These privileges, which are obviously of considcral)lo importance, were embodied and set forth in a ukase by Catherine II., in 176^ ; and another ukase of tlie emperor Alexander prohibits all govern- ment functionaries from interfering with the election of the assessors and other functionaries cliosen by the nobles. It is not easy to form a fair estimate of the character of the Russian nobles. Generally speaking, their education is more superficial than solid ; but many are, nevertheless highly accomplished. They are all well ac- quainted with French, and numbers with the English and German Ian guages ; those Mho have travelled being distinguislied by the superior polish and elegance of their manners. Tiiey are universally hospitable ; and most of them affect, and many relish, the society of literary men and artists. Tliat they are more sensual, more given to ostentatious display, and loss distinguished by a gentlemanly bearing toward their inferiors, than the higher classes in England and France, is no doubt true. But it is affirmed that the representations of Clarke, Lyall, and other travellers, of their caste, are, notwithstanding, mere vulgcr caricatures, which, though they may perhaps apply to a few individuals, are generally quite as wide of the truth as M. Fillet's accounts of the women of England, or those of Captain Basil Hall and Madame Trollope with respect to the American!; Considering, indeed, that tho Russian nobility have no exciting political occupation, that in most parts of the empire there is no middle class, and that the occupiers of their estates are not freemen but serfs, tho wonder is, not that their tastes and habits should bo in some respects barbarous, but «.-»»,«..»"*»>•*•«•»»*■ ■ It f H 'I 4 ._BW«*W'«'-t- ;^i**-.*.^»*" THE PEOPLE — THE NOBILITY. 515 that tlicy sliould have made so great an advance as they have done since the reign of Peter the (jveat, and that they should be so intelligent and reliiiod as they are found to be. The Russian nobles, like those of England and other countries in feudal times, are in the habit of keeping great numbers of va 616 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. and abundance. It is usual to take a " wlict" before dinner; but tlio sto- ries engrafted on this practice, of tlie prevalence of inebriety among the higher classes, are pronounced to be wholly without foundation. In this respect their habits have undergone a total change since the days of Peter the Great, and they are now reniarkal)lc for sobriety. The peasantry, however, often indulge to excess in their jtotations. Tiie lengthened stay of the Russian arniies in tlie western and more civ- ilized European states, after tlie defeat of Napoleon's invasion, made a large number of the nobles, and of the more intelligent classes (which in Russia consist of the military ofticers), familiarly acquainted witii a inoro advanced state of society, and a hotter form of civil polity, Tliis circum- stance, also, gave an increased stimulus to the desire for travelling that previously prevailed among the nobility, many of whom withdrew to Franco, England, and Italy. It is not to be denied that the infiuenco of these con- curring civciimstances has since, on various occasions, made itself sensibly felt in Russia; and that the government has sometimes had reason to be- lieve that a considerable portion of the nobility, and even some of the most distinguished regiments of the army, would not be displeased to sec somo limit set to tlie powers of the czar. Next »«-'»«*l»»*»«lW»*->»' THE PEOPLE — MERCHANTS AND BUROHEUS. 51^ RvsKiAif Mghciunx Tho three guilds into which the merchant class is divided arc formed according to the amount of capital employed ar.d declared by those wishing to got an inscription, on which an interest about six per cent, is to bo paid yearly into the treasury. TIsc sum neces- sary for an inscription into tho lirst guild is about twenty thou- sand dollars ; for tlie third, or lowest, about six tliousand. Aside from this order of merchants, all other burghers form a general body, whatever their trade or occupations. A corporation of liandicraftsmcn is foi mod of masters, foreman, and a[)prentices. The mem- bers of sueli a corporation aro cither for life, or temporaty. To tlie iirst belong tiioso born as citizen-lun-ghers; to the sec- ond foreigii artisans, free peas- ants, as well as serfs who have learned tho special handicraft, or arc received among tho masters in the corporation, being thus inscribed for a certain time, witliout, however, be- longing to the general class of citizen-burghers. The body of workmen is composed of all registered in tlie records of the town, and not belonging to any of the above-mentioned clasfcs ; of men unfit for tho military ser- vice, or those having furnished it; of foreign immigrants, artisans, or ai> prentices ; but excluding those of bad cliaractcr, and all those expelled for bad behavior, or fo"' tho non-payment of communal taxes, or the evading to fulfil personal duties. Any one enjoying the right to make a selection of a corporation, trade, or occupation for life, can enter tho class of citizen-burghers, abandoning thus his inferior position, and passing over to this superior one. For this ho must be legally and officially accepted by the community which ho wishos to join. Exceptions exist for some artisans where the legal assent of tho conununity to the act of admission is" not necessary. Thus, for example, cloth-weavers, dyers and dressers, and machinists, can join a general city corporation or community, without obtaining the form, uiy of its consent. Free or crown peasants can join the corporation of burghers indi.idually or with their families, and so can rural communes, if they are traders, me- ohauics, artisans, or manufacturers, but not as agriculturists. Individu- als passing thus from one stato to another, must obtain the assent of the !-■ 518 ILLUSTRATED nESCIlIPTION OP nUSSIA. commune wliich tlicy abandon, as well as tlio acceptance of tliat wliicli thoy enter. Wlicn this is to bo done by a whole rural community, tlie permis- sion of the government is necessary. Widows and daughters of free peas- ants can, under certain conditions, become incorporated among citizen- burghers. Independent agriculturists (a'kind of free yeomen), as well as emancipated serfs, cun join a city corporation with its assent. Jews, ah well as secedcrs from the national or orthodox Greco-Russian church, can only join corporations in Trans-Caucasian cities. Asiatic no- mades, of all races and kinds, Kirghiz, «fec., can, at tlielr choice, enter any city corporation whatever, and no objection can be raised to this by the commune. The communUy of any city can erect a communal bank accord- ing to the prescriptions of special laws. No citizen-burgher can be de- prived of his standing or special privileges otherwise than by the verdict of a criminal tribunal. In all civil as well as criminal matters, if both the parties are of the same class, the case comes first before the board of magistrates. Merchants of the first guild, or their children, wlien the parents have belonged for twenty-five years uninterruptedly to the guild, have the right to enter the civil or military service under the same conditions as the chil- dren of personal nobles. Merchants of the second guild, or tlicir children, can not enter the civil service at all, and the military only as volunteers, tlmt is, with the right to leave it again at any time. All other merchants, citizen-burghers, or their children, arc not admitted into the civil service 0.1 any condition wlmtcver ; and when they enter tlic military, do not enjoy any kind of privilege, but are treated like all the common recruits. A citizcn-linrglier regi.^tercd in one of the three guilds is free from the gen- eral recruiting to which all other burghers are subject. He also does not pay the state the capitation-tax, called podiisc/inoe ("from the soul"), as he already pays an interest on the capital for which he is inscribed in the guild. All ()ther commercial taxes are paid by the burghers in common with the rest of the iidmbitants. Any citizen-burgher can own houses or other real estate situated in cities or villages, or lots of naked land — tiiat is, land without serfs. Citizen-burghers not inscribed in any guild, but owning houses in cities valued above five thousand dollars, arc ol)liged to register their names at least in the third guild, and pay the interest on their capital. Such houses can be owned by widows or unmarried daugh- ters of the class of merchants, but on condition of registration in a tnild. Merchants can belong to and be registered in rural communitie& according to certain prescriptions of the law. If a merchant, or in general any citizcn-bnrghcr, inherits any landed estates with crfs on them, the serfs are to be sold immediately to the crown-domains at the average price of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars for each individual — the right of owning serfs being reserved exclusively to the nobility. The citizen-burghers can be deprived of their property only by the judgment of a civil tribunal. THE PEOPLE — "RESPECTABLE CITIZENS." C19 The novaoKoiAiE — a Ri'ssian I'ic-nic* No citizcn-lxirglicr registered in the general, or in any of the special corponitioiis, can stop ont of it, and al)andon the city where he is incorpo- rated, by settling in another, without the assent of the coniniunity or the permission of the governnient. Any citizen-burgher can pass into the close corporation of the merchants, on declaring the amount of capital required to be inscribed in one of tiie three guilds, and paying into the treasury tho interest thereon. Each community can exclude any mcnil)er under criminal condemnation, or of notoriously bad cliaracter. The city of Moscow has alone the privi- lege of giving up such individuals to the government, either as recruits to be recltoncd as furnished in any future levy, or for the colonization of Siberia. Ciiildren of sucli convicts, above fourteen years of age, have the option either to follow the father or to remain in tho community. Minors, not having a mother, never follow the parent when sent to Liberia. Above all the subdivisions of tho bourgeoisie, and thus above the close corporation of tho merchants — even those of the first guild — rises tho legal privilege of the respectable citizen (^postchotnoi g-razdanin). This is a privilege either hereditary or enjoyed for life. Children of personal nobles become hereditary respectable citizens. * The scene illiiilrati-d liy this engrnving i:) itiridrntnlly mentioned nenr the close of pngp 470. It leprosents n parly of liiirg'"''''i who, wilh tlifir fiimilics, nre enjoying a " Russian pie-nic," on • holyduy, on one of the isliinils of tlio Novo. Tlie " fiivniile somovnr," it will be »et!n, characteh** tically ocrupiei a prumiiiuiit place in this picture of Russian iociui festivity. II ^ 520 ILLUStRATFD DESCRTPTION OP RUSSIA One who, in virtue of the social position of his fatlicr aa a merchant of the fiift giiihl,or as a savant, a pliysician, itc, has acquired the riglit to complete a course of studies in one of the iniivoisities of the empire, can petition the government to lie included in the class of respcctalile citizens, on producing testimonials of having fuiished the higher studies, and of • good conduct during his stay at the iniiversity. The same is conceded to artists when they produce testimonials from the mitional academies of art ; to children of merchants of the first and second guilds, wlio have passed witii special distinction through the stutlies of the universities, to pupils of special commercial schools, to artists wlio are foreigners by birth, «fec. At first sight it would seem laudable that laborious and well-accom- plislu'd studies, as well as artistieal distinction, should oj)en the door to a higher grade in tlie social scale. IJut, on more close consideration, this ajiparent lilterality loses greatly in its cluvracter. It is deprived of the lofty spirit (tf universality whicli alone nuikes such distinction praisewor- thy ; it has the narrowness inherent in exceptions and su|)crpositi()ns ; it is a privilege t<|^ic(Hle code of laws { Sirod ZakonoJ/"} calls the peasnntry rural inhabit- ants, and divides them as follows: 1. Those inhaliiting or settled on lands beU)nging to the treasury, or knzna (a word of Tartar origin). 2. Tliose on special erown-donniins. ;l. Those on lands fornung the personal prop- erty of the emperor. 4. Those settled on lands belonging to tho imperial habiiiitiitii- or palaces, (lirorfsoii'i/ic (from ilimrcts, a judace). o. Those settled on private lands — that is, on lands Itelonging to the nobility — or tho class of serfs. Finally, a small numl)er of freednien, or freeholders, Ifcuving lands of their own. With tiie cxeeptiiui of the serfs, all the others have certain special per- sonal rights, as well a-i special (hitics or services to perform — owing dues, n>ost of them; however, rather communal than personal. Among these comnnnial services, the principal arc those pertaining to military colonies, already spoken of in the chapter immediately preceding ; others, such as are attached to tho inifierial i ' governmental studs ; others, to the mines ol Sil)eria ; others, again, win keep posthorscs for public and governmental use. Villages of the latter tenure are called iania, and tho peasants, iamsc/itschik.* There are several others of a similar kind. To the class of free peasants belong likewise foreign (mostly German) agricultural coloiusts — a kind of yeomen called adnodioortsy, from nobles having forfeited tlieir privilege — and free agriculturists, all of whom pos- sess the soil as personal property. • " Fi)ri>i{riipr»," aiiys Oiiiowgki, " imiy l)o struck nt thi' oft.'ii-iopontod occurrenco of so many consonnnts, iis in the uoiii iamtchtichik ; liut in Ruktiati, the sound composed out of tehlteh ia (;lven by a singio »ign, or letter." W' Ih : 522 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. These last two, adnodwortsy and free agriculturists, live scattered in single habitations and on farms ; all tlie other peasantry form rural com munos, and enjoy tlie communal franchise. Thus the commune is the cra- dle of the social organism. The basis of the commune is the land on wliich the population is settled, and thus is incorporated with it. Every peasant not a serf must belong to such a commune, whicli may be large or small according to the quantity of land owned and the density of popula- tion. There are communes amounting to nearly twenty thousand souls. Such a commune is called icolost; it is composed of deretvnin, or liamlets, and selo, or villages : just as an American township may einbracc several villages. Several such communes form a rural district or canton. A vil- lage generally counts between si.\ and eiglit hundred families. The internal police, the correction of small oflcnces by short imprison- ment, or by no more than fifteen blows ; tlic settling of contests among the members ; the superintendence of a ])rimary school, whose maintenance is ol)ligatory ; the administration of the recontly-foundcd communal rural banks ; the equal distriljution of the military recruits from among families ; in one word, everything concerning the internal administration and work- ing of the commune, is done by the commune itself. The commune is responsil)lo to the treasury for the rent levied from each family having a separate communal household ; this rent, called obro/c, gcni-rally, tiiroiigh the whole of Russia, even on the estates of serfs, amounts to ten roiil)les. The commune also maintains the highways and roads on its own territory. The crown or free peasants, whatever may be the nature of their tenure, iiave no other special master than the sovereign or the government, and never can have another. Once the czars granted to individuals vast ter- ritories of lands, with crown peasants or serfs on them. This is the origin of many great fortunes in Russia, consisting in large estates, and hundreds of thousands of souls, as that of ScheremetelT, Naryschkin, the Orlofls, and the Branickis, the last of which rose out of the ruins of ancient Poland. Peter the Great rewarded real services, as in the case of SchereniclelV; Catherine II. was very lavish to her favorites of every kind, and she thus laid the foundations of numerous large fortunes still existing in Russia ; and Paul was most indiscriminate in bestowing his favors. For the glory of Alexander it must be recorded that in his youth, when under tlie influence of a generous and humane inspiration, he published a ukase by which it was hencefortii and for ever prohibited to any sovereign to make donations of crown-peasants to any private individual whatever, c to sell them, or render them liable to any statute for husbandry servi- tude. The emperor Nicholas to his death religiously maintained this ukase. Even in Poland, since the revolution of 1831, the emperor, in dividing the numerous estates of the crown, called slarostwa, among tho Russian generals and others of his servants, by a special clause in every grant directed that tho statute labor existing until that time should ulti- mately become extinguished, and tho peasant oa such lands bocomo the „*». -iJt *->«=*■«'»»■■»'»•■ THE PEOPLE — FREE PEASANTS. 52;: Rl'SaiAN I'EASANT AND Ilia Familt, free and independent owner of a snitalile lionicstead. It must be men. tioiied here that, in the actual kingdom of Poland, ^lavoiy was !ilv>li.«liod by the late king of Prussia in the year 1800, when this part of Poland formed one of the Prussian provinces. Tliis was confinuod by the code of Napoleon, introduced after the treaty of Tilsit in 1807, and is sliP. maintained. Hut neitlier of these governments secured for the peasantry any homestead on crown or private lands. The free peasantry in Russia enjoy some rights and privileges, render- ing their position by far more supportalde than that of the private serfs. It has been already .shown that a free peasant can freely engage in any mercantile, manufacturing, mechanical, or other industrial pursuit, and establish his domicil in any city of the empire, if he possesses a permission of his commune, which permission can no wise be refused as long as 4ho individual pays the obrok and the taxes in the commune to which he be- longs, and fulfils through any hand all other communal duties. Provided with such a permission or certificate, the movements and actions ot a peas- ant arc perfectly free. lie can make |>roposals for all kinds of public jobs contracted with, tlio government. In euch cases, other contractors arc n I \ ■w 524 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. obliged to give securities ; but a crown-peasant presents only the authori- zation of his commune. He can enter into the class of burghers by aban- doning Ills commune with its consent, passing thus into what is considered a higher social corporation. The chains of serfdom do not hang on l;im ; but if he has no special mas- ter, he, like the burgher, has still to deal with rapacious officials. What is true of the one is still and even more largely to be applied to the other. Entering the superior corporation, the peasant can meliorate his position ; but this melioration is very limited. All openings for education are abso- lutely shut before liim ; all that he can learn is to read and write wretch- edly. If there are exceptions, they are very rare, and, so to speak, rather the work of a miracle. Free agriculturists (loolnye chlehopaschtsy) are principally manumitted serfs, with soil or without ; and, in tliis last case, they can buy land from anybody. The manumissions with soil must bo made by the owner during his lifetime, and not by will. If they are numerous enough, they form rural communes on the general principle ; if not, they are incorporated in the existent ones. They can sell and buy lands, and divide them among their children, but in lots not under sixteen acres. They can contract for public jobs (^podriad^, enter guilds, erect manufactories, carry on trade, and enjoy all the privileges of free peasantry. There are still some few other kinds of privileged peasantry, but tlieir number is small and wholly insignilicunt. As previously remarked, about one half gf the Russian peasantry are serfs or Itoiidsnien, attached to the soil (g-leb(c adscripti), rather than to tlie person of the nobleman, and thus they are at least not chattels. The power of the master is not wholly arbitrary and uidimited ; but the servi- tude is reduced to a certain method, regulated as follows by the civil law : By usage, the serfs are of two kinds — agriculturists and house-serfs — but the lato docs not recognise these distinctions. A ukase, published by Catherine II. in 1781, prohibited, for tlie future, the enslaving of the peas- antry. The ownership of a serf or serfs is proved by the census. The first census was made by Peter the Great in 1714 ; the next in 1744. In the present century the census is made every ten years. In the government of Bessarabia, neither Russian nor Moldavian nobility can own serfs from among the Russian peasantry, and other races can not be enslaved. This law was published to prevent the introduction of serfdom in a newly con- quered and annexed territory. It is a kind of " Wilmot proviso." The children of a male serf remain in the condition of the father, even if the mother belongs to a l)etter ciass. If any nobleman sends, for punishment, his serf to Siberia, and the serf receives there lands from the crown as a colonist, his children, the males under seven years of age and the girls under ten, follow tlio father to tho now condition. Colonized exiles in Siberia form successively communitios of free peasantry. *' - THE PEOPLE — THE SERPg 1 525 ! A woman from a free class, marryinfj a serf. becomes free again 1 as a widow ; a woman from bondage, marrying a free peasant. becomes like- wise free. When the 1 iisband becomes free h^' * law, or ]jy manumission, or by contract, his wife shares his freedom ipso facto, hut not the children ; they must be emancipated by a special act. If a master demands from his serfs anything contrary to law, as revolt, murder, or st(!aling, and tiicy accomplisli it, they are ])unished as his ac- complices. The serfs pay tlio expenses of the administration in each dis- trict. This is the only direct tax levied on the property of tlie nobility. In criminal matters, the serfs are juclged by common criminal tribunals, before whom they likewise can aitpear in the character of accusers and witnesses. The law makes it obligatory on the serf to resist any attack made on the jn'opcrty of the master, as well as upon the honor of his wife and daughter. The owner can not force his serfs to marry against their will, or point out whom they shall marry; this provision of the law is very generally evaded. If a serf makes an unjust complaint against his master, or if he dares to jjrescnt such a petition to the emperor, the peti- tioner and the writer of the petition are both most severely p'l.ished. In case of insubordination, disobedience to the master or i overseer, the serfs are punished by a military commission, and pay th xpenses thereof. All civil or police and military functionaries are pru >itcd to receive any denunciation made by the serf against his master, with the exception of a conspiracy against the person of the sovereign ; or when the master tries to make a misstatement as to the census ; or when, if a Roman catholic, he tries to convert his orthodox serfs. A serf can not change his master, leave him, or enter any corporation. For all these the consent of the owner is necessary. Without such a con- sent, serfs can not be received as volunteers into the army. Runaway serfs are returned to the owners at the cost of those who had kept or se- creted them. After ten years, a master forfeits the right to claim a run- away. Such claims, supported by proofs, must be nuido during the first yeni after the escape, if the master is in Russia, and in the course of two years if the master is abroad. If a servant is killed by accident, his owner receives from the culprit the sum of three hundred and thirty dollars ; but if it \» a murder, then the murderer suffers the same •■ • if the crime was committed on any one else. In such a case, the owner of the murdered man does not receive any compensation. A serf, M'ho is not a house-servant, must work for his master three days a week. He can not be forced to do any work on Sundays or any other church and parish holydays, or on the day of the patron-saints of the reign- ing sovereigns. The master can, at his pleasure, transform the house-serf (jlworowoi) into a soil-tiller, and vice, versa. He can hire his serfs to mechanics, manufacturers, and to any other labor whatever. He is the supreme judge in all civil contests between his serfs. He can punish them corporeally, but not cripple them, or put life in jeopardy. He can require 526 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. tl»e assistance of the government for the coercion of liis serfs. In case 0/ a criminal offence, the master must abstain from any punishment, but de- liver the offender to the law. He can send serfs to Siberia or to any other penitentiary establishment. No serf can live in any city, or serve any person whatever, withont the consent of the master, and the authorities are to sec tliat this provision be n( '.ransgressed — and aro severely responsible. The master gives to the stif a passport, and, furnished with this, he can inove freely in the whole empire. The master has the po\» cr to transfer the serfa individually or by whole communities from one village, district, or circle, irto another. Any nobleman owning serfs of any kind must have for every one at least tw'enty acres of land. Only a nobleman can receive n po./er of attorney for tljc buying or seU'.ig of serfs. The master can not hire his serfs to individuals whom the law prohibits to own serfs, nor let them learn any profession anywhere else than from masters inscribed in a guild. Serfs, either servants or agriculturisfs, held by those who li.tve no right to own them, iMjcomc free ; that is, they become incorporated into the f"oe crown- pcusantry, and the unlawful owners pay a fine into the treasury. Families can not be separated by sale. The family consists of the pa- rents and the unmarried children, even if of age. The children form a family after tlie death of the parents. Serfs can not be brought to market, but are to be sold only together wiih the estate. If sold separately, tho crown takes them as its peasants, and the transgressors of the law are lined. Serfs acquiring their liberty in such a way can make the choice of a mode of life, and of a corporation into vhich they will become inscribed. In ca«cs of scarcity or famine, the owner can not sen'.' away his serfs, but is obliged to take care of them. Ho is likewise obliged to take care of the aged and the invalids. If tliere be any ubusie of power by the master, any cruelty or rape, the law takes from the owner the administration of the estate, and puts it in the hands of guardians, or of a board selected for this purpose in each dis- trict from among the nobility. Such masters can not acquire new estates by purchase, and in aggravated cases can be given up to the criminal courts. For this the special decision of the sovereign is required. Like- wise the owners can not live on tho estates whose administration is thus taken out of their hands. The villages or estates are responsible for gov- ernmental taxes. If a serf has a lawsuit, his master must prosecute it: and the master is answerable for the results whenever tho serf has had his permission to enter into a civil liability. In criminal matters concerning a serf, tlie interference (f tho master is optional. Serfs can not be sold separate from the soil, or at any public auction in execution of the del>ts of the master. If one or more serfs sue, on legal grounds, their master for emancipation, having been brought into serfdom contrary to tlie provisions 01 the law — while tho legal proceedings are pending, the master can not inflict on them any corporeal punishment under .sl.*ltii«l«.*<«"^ '«».». .»/^,.««uurj»«!««l-«i^'-.' THE PEOPLE — THE SERFS. 627 the penalty of a criminal prosecution ; nor can he mortgage or let them out by lease ; and if the first court docide in their favor, and the affair goes to the court of appeal, the master can not give them to the military service pending the final decision. Serfs carrying on a legal trade, with the consent of the master, can not be given ur by him as recruits, or for the colonization of Siberia. Serfs can not own immoveable property ; all houses and lands possessed by them are the property of the master. Should a serf inherit such property, it mu^t bo sold, and the money handed over to him. Serfs erectino: f^/hons and manufactories, must have a special permission of the master. Hkuvase for entering the guild of artisans, and for selling the produce of ineir in- dustry in cities and markets. For taking public jobs (^podriad), or keeping post-liorses on public roads, they must have the consent and the guaranty of the master. The serf can lend out money on legal terms, but not take mortgages on land in villages or estates. Only witli the consent of the master can they buy on credit goods for traffic — otherwise they can not be prosecuted, and any bargain or stipulation is void by itself. The master has the right to manumit his serfs individually, or by whole hamlets and villages, with or without giving them lands. A permission given by tiic master to his serf to marry a girl who is a pupil and educated in a public establishment for. the children of burghers, is equivalent to manumission. A manumitted serf can not be broug.,„ again into serfdom. A serf can obtain his liberty by a legal juridical decision : 1. If he proves an antecedent right to liberty. 2. If his master does not belong to aiiy Christian confession. 3. If the master has made a forcible attack on the virtue of his wife or daughter, or committed any other impropriety. 4. If the serf was made a prisoner by the enemy and carried beyond the fron- tiers of the empire — on returning, he does not return into serfdom. 5. If by t!ie master he is given up to tiie disposition of the government. The serf obtains his liberty if he proves against his master the crime of treason, or a conspiracy against the life of the sovereign. A serf condemned legally to exile to Siberia . ases to be owned by the ma«»ter ; his wife, following him into exile, becomes free. A serf also becomes free if sold without lands, or if the buyer does not possess the quantity of land required by law, or if his family is separated from him by sale. These are the principal features of the legal organization of serfdom. As before remarked, part of the serfs are agriculturists, called pachatndia duscha; the others house-serfs, or divorotvaia. The agricultural serfs are settled in hamlets and villages, till their own soil and that of the manor- farm, fullilling there all the labors of husbandry. In more populous vil- lages, and above all in large estates, they are organized in communts on nearly tl»e same principles as are the free peasants. But such an organi- Zbtion depends absolutely upon the will of the owner. It is mostly the oase, where the arable laud is not extensive enough, or for some other 528 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. reason is wholly abandoned to the peasants, and they pay for its use to the landlord a redevance or obrok, and in such case they are called obrotschnye duschy (renting souls) ; or the master receives from his farm-lands a cer- tain quantity of the produce of the soil : but all such arrangements depend absolutely upon the master. The house-serfs live on the manor and its immediate dependencies : they arc ^<'»en very numerous, and thus a heavy burden to the owner, sometinioa e>o s ruin. They generally refuse to be settled as agriculturists, look- ing ,jor. it as altogether below their condition. They constitute the male and female servants of the household, stewards, private overseers, house- hold artisans, mechanics, and workmen — sometimes even personal attor- neys when by choice or whim the master has given to such one a suitable education. Generally the master takes care to make the males learn some handicraft; and when they are able to earn their living, ho gives them a permission or passport, and tiicy go over the country in search of suitable employment. They, as well as all other serfs who are furnished with such a passp. t, can be called home by the master at any time. These \. ander- ing serfs are obliged to report to him their whereabouts ; and they jiay him a rent proportioned to their earnings, or the cost of their education. Otliers establish themselves as tradesmen, le would infallibly have ejected mo speedily. Under this disguise I pursued my observations unmolested, tho bath being by no means my object." Tliero are three platforms, one above another, in these baths, and in tho form of an amphitheatre, similar to those in tho concamerata siulatio of tho Roman baths, as shown in the paintings found in the baths of Titus. Thcso steps are of diflerent degrees of heat, and on them the bathers lie gener- ally on their backs or stomachs, wliilo the attendants aro employed in scourging tliem witli birchen rods steeped in cold water; and here and there may be seen a papa holding his little l)oy between his knees, dili- gently occupied in improving the circulation of his rear ; others stand near the glowing stoves, as if to increase the perspiration, which already runs at every pore ; and others, again, descending from the upper platforms, have iced water poured over tliom by pailfnls. In the provinces, tlie baths are very indiflcrently, not to say badly con- ducted : there is no hot linen, and the temperature of them is very irregu- larly kept up by throwing cold water on largo stones heated in an oven. At St. Petersburg they make use of cannon-sliot. Excessive use of tho bath injures the complexions of the Russian women ; and it is said some ladies become so habituated to tho leafy branches of the birch, that, by way of exciting a skin thickened by years of flagellation, they make their attendants flog them with bunches of nettles ! BELIGION — TUE GREEK CHURCH. 68t CHAPTER XX. RELIGION — THE GREEK CHURCH. ^DST religions to bo found in the ancient continent liavo their adherents in Russia. A considerable portion of the less civilized tribes continue, more or less, addicted to their hea- then superstitions ; the Jews in all parts of the country, except the centre, from which they are spe- cially excluded, have their syna- gogues, and freely perforin their religious rites ; Luthcranism is pro- fessed by the great body of Ger- mans and Swedes ; and the Roman catholics form a large majority of the people of Poland. These, how- ever, are only important deductions to be made from the almost univer- sal ascendency of the Byzantine or Greek Chukch, which possesses numerous important privileges as the religion of the state, and is strong in tlie afTcctions of the great l)ody of the people, who give a very imjilicit if not enlightened assent to all its dogmas, and not only willingly perform, but appear to take wonderful delight in performing, its various minute and too often superstitious and even ridiculous ceremonies. In its general toleration of all other sects, it contrasts favorably with the western or Roman catholic church ; though it lays itself open to the charge of in- tolerance toward its own members, by refusing to allow them, under any circumstances, to quit its communion: and when a marriage takes place between one of its members and a person belonging to another church, tlie children must all be educated according to the tenets of the established or national faith. The Greek church strongly resembles the Roman or Western catholic church in doctrine, but difl'crs essentially from it in government and disci- ' /Kiaei'rtsc Monk ok the nvKKK Chubcii. 1' A S n- !' 534 ILLUSTUATED DESCIUPTION OK RCriaiA. plino. In tlio early a^cs of Christianity tlicy formed but a single cliiiroh , but a scluHm arose between tlie ptitriareh of Constiiiitino|ilo anil the i)i^hop or pope of Rome, a Hehi.sm whieli had its ostensible origin in a few words' ditfcrence of creed ; l>nt it really arose from nothing but the ambition for Buprcmaey of tlie two eatholic prelates. The Roman bishop wished to keep the clergy unmarried, and j)roclaimcd, in his confession of faith, the credo that the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy S|»irit from the Father and the Son, and is equal with them. The Oreelvs of tlx; Fast maintained, on tlie contrary, that tlie Holy Scriptures do not forI)id priests to marry ; that eomn)union sliould be in two kinds, and tliut the Holy Ghost does not proceed from the Son, but the Father only, and is ctpial to them. This was the comnioncement of the religio\is (juarrel which l)r()iight about tlie separation and division of the Christian church. It was the policy of tiie monarchs to l)ring about a reconciliation, if |)n\cticablo, and councils were called in which the rival pretensions of the two bisiiops were warndy and earnestly debated ; the diflercnce, instead of being healed, be- came envenomed, and the church was separaled into two denominations, the Kastern or Greek, and the Wc-^tern or Latin church, each claiming to be the orthodox and catholic (rhurch. The Slavons embraced the Cliristian religion of the Greek rite, and tho bishoj)S of Constantinople accorded them permission to say ni;iss in tho Slavonic language; but the Roman bishops interfered, and, by tho ascen- dency of tlie Henedictines, imposed the Latin rite and coiiiniunion. Angry dissensions and bloody persecutions arose from these events ; but we will pass them over, and turn to the annals of the centuries imnitjdiatcly following. The pope of Rome, seeing several Slavic trilics thus with- drawing themselves from under his authority — among them the Armenians and others — tempered and modiiicd his anathemas, and allowed the (ireeks of Poland to make the double communion. Moreover, ho dropped tho catholic forntula of the credo, permitted them to say mass in their native tongue, and finally conceded to all their prii^sts, excepting the bishops, tho right of getting married. The Armenians likewise obtained these advan- tages ; and the concessions thus granted form another and striking instance of a schism approved of, or at least countenanced, by the ])ope. The church of Constantinople laid the foundations of the Russian church, principally by the action of the Ryzantino emperors and their daughters, who, by marrying the savage Ros (as the Russians were called by the Byzantine historians), tried to soften their dangerous neighbors. Gene- rally, it was through the women that Christianity Avas introduced, and spread among the northern races. Being a daughter of Byzantium, tho Russian church very naturally held under tho patriarch of Constantinople, and was at that early period wholly independent of any action or inter- ference of the civil power of Russia or of the power of the Grand Dukes. After the fall of Constantinople into Turkish hands, one of tlie patriarchs fled to Moscow, in tho sixteenth century, and thus a patriarchate was — -. J 1ELI0I0N — THE OREEK CHCIICH. rj35 l>Htt*ll«TIt, METlOroLITAN or St r«T«»SBl)«01l. c.tn..lishcd there. From U.i.s epoch, the Russian cl.urehsncUeroa by the national indepc.ulcncc, has looked on herself as hein,^ at the ho d ot the a torn reli.ious fan.ily. The patriarchs of Moscow ^ong con Unued to preserve the independence of the church from the oncronclunent^ of he cviT power, not, however, without serious collisions w.th son.e of the dais, and especially with Ivan the Terrible (Grocm), -ho even im- t)ri80i\ed and nearly put to death a patriarch. , ,• u j ,i,„ l^rthc death o a patriarch, Peter the Great entirely abolished the .btlo Lstitutu, allowing no new election to bo made ; and thus assumed i'i?l I I' mm I j»> l;l m ■ ; ! r i 1 V>1' 1 536 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. a part of tlie power for himself and liis successors. He instituted a board, under the name of the sacred or holy synod, formed of metropolitans, arch- bishops, bisliops, and some lower members of the hierarchy, and appointed this synod to attend to ecclesiastical affairs of every kind. The decisions of this body, in spiritual matters, are understood to be wholly independent of the influence of the emperor. As to the admini.stration, the power of tlie sovereign is supreme. In the synod, it is represented by the procurer, or imperial attorney, directing the deliberations and the administrative labors of the synod. The emperor nominates the hicrarcl)y, and the synod )X,'wGS them consecration. Peter the Great, and fnially Catherine II., took away from the clergy and the monasteries all their properly, which was very large. Tlie whole hierarchy is now supported by the government. The religious spirit of the Greek, church is perliaps more formal and less devout than tliat of sincere and believing Romanism or protestantism, and that philanthropic piety which is illustrated by the Sisters of Charity, for example, has no counterpart among the Oriental cathulicj". On the other hand, as during the primitive ages, the chureii developed itself princi|)ally tiirough the Greek mind, and on the I)a.sis of the Greek philosophy there prevails in it a tendency to subtile speculation and investigation. In the bosom of Greek Catholicism the so-culled heresies of early times, such as Pelagianism and Ariani.^m, had their origin. The sect of Iconoclasts existed in Constantinople until the fall of the By/anlinian empire, and still has followers in Greece and Russia. Under the Turkish dominion tho spirit of sectarian disunion has been checked in the Kast. In Ru.ssiu vari- ous sects have sprung up, mainly since the fourteenth century. As tho free reading of the Bil)le l)y the laity forms one of the fundun)ental usages of the Ea;ni<'iiil iiilii'D, tliut of llie ullici- rluis i» tiilii-n IVnni tlicii- niuiiuitii; in- urii, llii'ir vi'stmciiU, in Imtli fiiiiii iiiiil ciilur, iiro i'c{l;iiIciIcrvirp in wlii)!li tlioy nrt> fiigii^oil. Tlie niatiimci of nt'venii til' tint (lif^iiitiiiics of the CJrci-k rlinirli (including tliiit of a Itiiliiip, win) miiat l>i> one of tlir nioiiiutic urdrr) in tlicir ofKciul rlmi'iirtoi niiiy be tpfn in tlio pngriiviiigi |;ivi>n iiliuvc, and wliicli, wo niny a* well My h«r<', en pamaut, uiu tVoni dcaigiiii tiikcn tViirn lifo by I'uul Duriind, Mnd i)iii« tliiif toiv bu rrlicd on U correct That u( the niutiujiulitan uf 8t. IV-tcrsburg, on |)iigo 5.35, vvuc iiNu drawn frum lifn, -•"' ' -' • • uaeatniidk^aafctf la: 1 j> <' KELKilON — THE GREEK CHURCH. 539 Deacon Costi'mes ov the Gbeek Chuhch Sub-Dkacon. mcnic churcli. From among the white clergy, who mui-t bo married, the curates are taken, as are the other ranks of the hierarchy below the rank of bishop. All bishops must be unmarried, and monks. The members of the white clergy must l»e nmrried,or at least engaged, ijcfore receiving the final consecration ; but they can not marry twice, and on becoming widow- ers they generally enter a monastery. Tims a priest takes most devoted care of his wife to the utmost of his means and power. It is therefore pro- verbial ann)ng the people, to be as happy as a po/nulia, or the wife of a pope, which is the title of a |)riost, end is derived from the word papa. The white or married clergy form, in reality, a distinct caste ; the male children following, generally, the condition of the fatlier. This is, ho"iV ever, the result of usage rather than of law. Nay, they even intermarry by fiiiiniil. Tlic wliile rlrrpy, nlio, tlii)u<;h offirintinj; in wliilo, gonpi-nlly wriii' brown or somo darker coliir 118 their iiriliiiiiry biibit. Kiibl iviniiikg timt muiiy n* lire the rimilzi (wurdrohcg) of tlie Rut> ■inn cbiMi'lirs ibat biivo bron st-rn by triivt'llcrs, to wboni, inoirovor, tbo pojica bnvo often been gnodnntinril fiiruigh lo «prvi' n* rbitbrt-horsos, it woiibl yrt bo difficnit by iiiiy cxponditiirc of worJi to givi? «'vcn a fcpbU- pirtiiiv of ii pricat in |)niitificalib,g. Siii-li ibiii^s must be \ei\ to the puinler. It it rnougli to tny tbiit ibo i-normoui niiiis of gold ai.il gilk atnff!t of vitrious kiridf which the Ru»> •ian clerfiy, like the ciitliulic, biive, in the course of ceiiturioa, hiid their hunda un, it tuch, that the teilot of the vaint-it worldling it moderute and r.odest in cumpuiiaon. i^ If, 5^0 ILLUSTRATED DESCUIPTION OP IIUSSIA. ii among tliemaclvca. Tlius the clergy form a class somewlicro between tl>o nobility, the bourgeoisie, and the people — less than the first, and superior to the two others. As a class, the clergy can not enter the .lobility on an equal footing ; and that very few marriages between them take place is, perhaps, principally on account of the poverty of the priests. For the children of the clergy to enter the body and share the occupations of the burghers woiP 1 be looked on as a loss of caste. Few, tuerelbre, of this class enter the public service, civil or milita'-y ; ani on the other liand, no nobleman ever tikes "orders," with exception f now and then an old military vetfran retiring to monastic life. The code of law, the Su'od Zakonoff, gives the following definitions of the position of the clergy : The nio-asterics and convents are divided into three classes, and the dignity and precedency of their respective abb is and abbesses accords with this arrangement. The higher clerical hierar- chy, formed from the monks, consists of the metropolitan, the archbishop, the bishop, the igunien or abbe, etc. The titles of the white hierarchy are : protopresbyter, superdeans, deans, pro.>apt from military service. A priest can aljandon his vocation and return to worldly life by tiie per- mission of the synod. (A Roman catholic priest never can.) Such a one returns to the social class to whicli he previously belonged, but ho can not enter the j)ublic service until ten years after his renunciation. In all religious and disciplinary affairs the clergy a'-o subject to and judged by tiieir own hierarciiy. In civil matters the case comes before the civil court, assisted by a deputy clergyman. Deacons and commo. priests are not liable to corporeal punishment. Clergymen can not own estates or serfs except when they are born nobles, or are decorated with a distinc- tion bestowing nobility. They can own houses in cities, and farms in villages, but they can not carry on trade. If the children of clergymen *7-; RELIGION — PROTESTANT CHURCHES. 641 enter the military or civil service, they enjoy the privileges conferred on the children of personal nobles. Tlie Roman catholic and the Greco-Armenian clergy enjoy the same legal privileges as the orthodox. Each possesses its own special hierar- chy, wiiose decisions must be confirmed t)y the sovereign. Tlie protestant clergy, which consists, principally, of Lutherans and Calvinists, have a hierarcliy according to their own special organization. Those wishing to bo ordained are obliged to go through a whole course of protestan> theo- logical studies, in one of the Russian universities, and then to pass an examination before their own superiors. No one can be a preacher under twenty-five years of age. Exceptions are allowed by the special permis- sion of the minister of the interior. It is under the control of this admin- istrative department that all the denominations, not orthodox or Greco- Russian, are placed. Individuals subject to the ctpitati'" tax must be furnished with an exemption from it before their ordinaMon. Foreigners must have the permission of the ministry to preach, or to be settled over parishes. The affairs of the Lutheran church are administered by consistories, all of whose members take the oath of fidelity to the sovereign. Tliough a protestant clergyman be not noble born, yet, as long as he remains in this vocation, he enjoys the rights of personal nobility, and thus is exempted from the capitation tax. Ho\ises in cities, owned and inhabited by them, are free from military quartering and from taxes. The protestant clergy have tiie right to organize a fund for .' '.'ir widows and orphans, with the permission of the respective consistorios and of the minister. They can not carry on trade, or be artisans or mechanics. They can not be attor- neys in lawsuits not their own, or those of their wives or children ; neither ran they be guardians of orphans witliout a spcciol permission of the con- sistory. In nmtters concerning their clerical condition, they are subject to the discipline of the hierarchy ; in all others they are imdcr the action of the general laws. When, in a criminal aflair, an arrest of a clergyman is to be made, tlie consistory is to Ijc instantly made acquainted with it. They can not be subjected to corporeal punishment. Tlie widows and children of the protestant clergy enjoy all the privileges of j)ersonal nobles, with the exception of those born after the father has renounced the order. Widows and diildren enjoy for one year the income of the departed clergy- man. One abandoning the order, and not being either a hereditary or personal noble, is obliged to select a new mode of life, and become in Bcribed in a corporation according tf> his choice. A clergyman can bo dismissed and degraded by a criminal verdict, as well as for the transgres- sion of his duties, by the judgment of his special hierarchy. A clergyman, condemned to death, or to an infamous punishment — as for example to the p/etnia (a kind of whip which now generally replaces the knout), or to the mines, or to be branded — even if afterward ho should be pardoned, can not recover his clerical standing, or the privileges connected with it. M^ t^-m^Mii 542 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. Tlic clorfry of tho Greek or Russian church are educated in ecclesiasti- cal schools, k"pt by monks, and in monasteries, to which schools children of all other classes have likewise access. The regular theological instruc- tion is f;ivcn there in separate classes. Diil^lrcn of priests can frequent other public schools — the pymnasia and ni.ivcrsilles, asid generally, next to the clast' of the nobles, they have thi^ easi itt acco'^s to Uio means of instruction and education. The number oi' dio« ■jl'OS of the ovili liiox church amouMs to nearly seventy, f.nd tl .it is aU a))onf. \'\e r' nibiu- vi archbish- op?, bisliops, jtnd suffra^'aus, The income^ of the Russian clerfr; are ex." cdingly small ; the convents, with few exceptions, are y\yy poor ^i.;co Peter and Catherine II. de- prived them (if ihcir land.s uiid their serfs, and reduced all monks and nuns to small pensions of the statf. A metropolitan receives, a;, such, four thousand paper roaWies (al)out oipUt Iiundrc'l dollars); an archbishop has throe thousand, and a bisiiop soiii'Hhi i^r iess. In i/i proportion the in- comes decrease, till in the lowest ranks, their iM;'omes often do not exceed the wages of a maidservant with us. Tiic poor nuns, when they oflcr their little M'tu'ks lu tiavcllers, often complaiii of their poverty with melancholy fa ^;i ; tiny receive only twenty-five roubles yearly (about five dollars), tshci what iisore they want they must work for or beg. It is not to be supposed that cither vjxn or metropolitan could exist on 6uch incomes as these. All must, therc.orc, be in the receipt of some extra revenue. The three metropolitans have each one of the greater lavraa, or monasteries of the first rank. These cuitvents serve them as residences, and the incomes annexed in lieu of benefices. When the metropolitans officiate at funerals, baiitisms, &c., among the nobility, very considerablo presents arc made thenj, amounting often to five hundred or a thousand roubles. Taken at the utmost, however, (he income of a metropolitan never can amount to more than thirty or thirty-five thousand roubles a year. The bishops, all additional sources of revenue included, have seldom more than twelve thousand roubles a year. Each bishop has a monastir (convent of the second class), wiiose income belongs to him, and it must also be observed tliat all the superior clergy have residences found them, in their convents or within the city, and are maintained and furnished with everything necessary, from servants and horses, down to dogs, cats, spoons, and plates, at the cost of the crown. The greater number are also provided with a country residence, with arable land, domestic animals, and furniture. The lower classes of priests have, it is true, none of these things ; but neither do they starve. Every Russian, even the most miserly, seems to take a pleasure in filling them with good things. Kohl mentions a very rich, but very avaricious nobleman, who begrudged himself everything, but who, when a priest came to dine with him, produced all his best wines ; a pope rarely came quite sober out of his house, and the holy man's car- riago would be packed with all sorts of dainties in addition. RELIGION — THE CLERGY. 548 RvaaiAK Nin». The poor nuns seem to be in the worst condition, because they come 80 little in contact with the world, which might else bestow somewhat more on them. Tiicy must literally live by the labor of their hands ; they may sometimes even be seen sowing and difr<>;iMg in the few poor fields which a convent here and there pos- S'-'sscs, They sometimes repair their own walls, aud ilierc is a church in Nijnei-Novgorod, said to have been built by the hands of nuns, probably under the direction of an architect, from the ground to the summit of tiic tower. They usually i. hieromonach Cchief monk^. X REUOION — THE CLERGY. 545 archimandrite (abbot), and so on. A ntm is callcMl mnnnkliinn, an abbesa t^j/wcna, denominations all taken from tlic fJroek. The liiglicr clorgy also take masters' and doctors' degrees at the academies. Tlio ninks of tlie clergy arc recruited partly from tliemaclves, partly from ,tlie lower classes of the people. The nuinl)er of pupils ol)taincd in tlieir own families is not iiieonsiderable, for in Russia, also, the marriages of priests arc usually very fruitful. The journal of the ministry for the interior gives on !>' average live children for every priest's marriage ; this is for St. I'ctersliurg. In tlio interior of the cm])iro the average may be higher. The sons of priests generally follow the |)rofession of their father ; they are called popuvic/ii. 'i'he extra demand is supplied i)y the free peasants and the l)urgliers. Tlie children of the nobles seldom or never enter the church as in catholic countries. " During an abode of several years in Russia," says Kohl, " 1 lieard of but one cmplof/k who entered a convent in corisciiuencc of ilomostic 'nisfortime ; and of two officers who took the same step, froui what motives I know not. 1 once found a Ger- nmn protestant in a Russian convent, whose talents and education had at his outset in life promised him a very advantageous career." So njuch for the outward condition and position of the Russian clergy. For the inward it must be owned, wlien we consider the whole system and its fruits during the course of centuries, and when we compare their deeds with those of the priesthood in other countries, they are a very insignificant body. They have done nothing super-excellent for the arts or for science, nor produced men ulio in any respect have done humanity great service. They lived, eat, drank, married, christened, buried, absolved, and died; and on the whole tiiey have not done much else. There are, it is true, notabilities among the Russian clergy, but they are such oidy in Russia. Some things, however, are to be said in praise of the Russian priesthood. They are not less than other Russians distinguished for their toleration in matters of religion. It is true the nuitter does not lie very near their hearts ; becaAise tiiey have few thoughts or ideas connected with it, which have become firm vonvictious, and are maintained as such ; they are, there- fore, peaceful, not so much out of dislike to quarrelling as from a want of zeal and energy. It is a merit in them, nevertheless. Nowhere does this tolerant spirit appear in a more favorable light than on the frontiers of the Russian and Polish provinces. Here there are in many places only rjieek and Roman catholic priests, and no protestant pastor. Should it ha|)pen that a foreign protestant is in want of spiritual assistance in sick- ness, or should the body of a protestant require burial, it is almost inva- riably the catholic who, in an inhunmn and unchristian manner, refuses his spiritual aid, while the Russian gives his without hesitation. In such cases foreigners always apply to the Russian rather than to the catholic priests. Seldom is an unkind word heard from Russian priests when speaking of a j)erson of a different faith ; and those who understand German, will oven go frequently to the Lutheran churches to hear the preachers. In the 85 ^Ail: m 646 ILLUHTBATKD DKSCBriTlON OF KUSSU. J'altic provinces, wlicn the niililary, who Impiicn to l)o Htalioncd there, havo iKt Hiis.siiiii chinvh within hmcIi, tlie RnHHitin priests mner hesitate to per- forni divine service in a protestnnt church, ami in the interior it hits ha|>- peiied that tiiey have lent their own cliiirciies to protoHtants. In Austria, protcstant cinurhes arc only caUed prayer-lionses. In Russia the |>riesta treat them as on nn e(]ual Tooting with Iheir own. Neiilier «h> they hesi- tate to lairy tlieir dead in the same ehureliyards with the protestants, 'I'he eidtivated part of tlie prieslhooti are much more intdined to the prot- cstant than to tiie eath(dic party; more to rationalism .than mysticism. Tiieir liliraries prove it. Nienieyor's works, his bihie, the Sftinden der Aitditilit, Sehleieiinacher's writiii):s, and Nennder's Church History, are l're(iu(>iitly met witii. The works of the other party are, on the contrary, very rare. When some recent occurrences in the IJaltic provinces and in i'oh\nd are called to mind, it may Ih> ihoii^hi that the Russian priesthood nre somewhat less tolerant now than I'ormerly ; and, in fact, it is only natural that, with tht! proud exaltation of |iolitical pow(>r, the ch\irch should also l)ey a kind of epiloj;ue ; and these holydays, taken all to- getlier, strelt'li over no inconsiderable portion of the year — -over two months. If we reflect that a Russian spends a sixth part of his life in keeping Master, and (liat ail tlie joys, sorrows, privations, business, work, and pliiy,of the whole Russian people, durinj; so considerable a portion of time, are deternnned by the festive occasion, i( nnist be worthwhile to take a iieartir view of a festival of so important a character, and so wide an inlliience ; and in doing so the range of our lorgnette will be confined mostly to St. IVtersburg. The Easter festival itself begins in the middle of the night of tl»e Satur- day in I'assioii-week, and its joys are loud and incessant tlirough the eight following days. This centre of festivity is preceded by a seven weeks' fast as a preparation for (he feast, and bijfore the seven weeks' fast comes an eight days" feast as a preparation for the fast. All these spring merry- makings may be thus divided into three consecutive celebrations. Firstly, eight days drinking and carousing, called by tlie Russians itfnss- luuHza (l)utter-week). Secondiv, seven weeks' fast, called, to distinguish it from the other fasts, Vtlikoi y,vW (',')o great fast). And, thirdly, Easter itself, and its attendant train. In tiie great world of St. IVuuHburg, the approach of the great fast is announced l»y the balls and other carnival revels coming fast and furious, even as early as the beginning of February. For the mass of the people, the sports and pastimes with which they take leave of roast meat and other pleasures are all pressed into one week — the " butter-week," as it is called — which falls generally in the middle, or toward the end of February. The butter-week contains the quintessence of all Russian festivity, and, except the Easter-week, there is no week in the whole year which oflFers to a St. Petcrsburger such an abundance of earthly enjoyments as this. w ■4 m Iff II M8 ILLUSTRATED DKSCniPTION OP T'^WA. Firstly, as Us namo implies, tlio week is ono of luittor ; butter is oixton instead of oil, which must he Hiibstitiiteil diiiii)^ the faslduv.s. The Mass- Uinitza may bo litornlly Haid to bo redolent of butter. The favorite dish of this season is con)|)OHed of blinni — a kind of pancake baked in butter — served up with a sauce of melted butt(!r, and eaten with caviare. Tho blinni belong |)cculiarly to tho butter-we»>k, and arc baked at no «)ther time of tho year ; but at this season they are served up punctually at every breakfast. After a l>utler-week breakfast of hfinni, nothing is more ngreeablo than a walk to the ^^ kals/nH" or swings, the usual anui.iement enjoyed between breakfast and dinner liiiriir' the buttcM'-week. It is the only ono in which all classes of society partake in common, from the head of all, the enthroned Bummit of their Babylonian tower, duwn to the lowest and dirtiest of its base. The Russians delight as much in all motion where the limbs are at rest, and tho body ehanges |)laee by means of a nmchine, as they eschew all corporeal exercise, which keeps the muscles in play. Hence their ))leasuro in the Russian mountains, as they are called ; in swings, sledge-driving, sec-sawing on elastic planks, whirling through tho air on roundalmuts, Ac. Those are amusements in which a Russian's delight is part of his very nature, and they are enjoyed alike by prince and peasant. The fil)res of the muscular .system of the Russian are sluggish and unelastic ; gymnastic exercises aro nowhere moro neglected. Their blood is voluptuous, their nervous system excitable ; hence this swinging and gliding, this flying and floating without any eflbrt on their own part, is peculiarly to their tustc. Their inventions of this kind are innumerable; but the chief and crown of all Russian jdeasures for tho people is that expressed by tho favorite word katsheli (swing), which includes all similar pastimes. For tho erection of the katsheli of the butter-we(;k they choose a largo and particularly long piece of ground, which is never wanting in the ex- tensive Russian towns. In St. Petersburg, tho icy floor of the Neva was formerly in use ; but since the accident of some years ago, when tho ice gave way under tho pressure and swallowed up a multitude of the swing- ers, tho Admiral ty-sqimro has been the chosen spot. Long trains of sledges, laden with beams and planks, aro scon moving for days before in that direction, and soon, under the strokes of tho ready Russian hatchet, theatres and other wooden buildings, which recall tho palaces of St. Petersburg a hundred and forty years ago, are reared amid the splendid edifices of the Admiralty, the war-office, the senate and synod houses, &c. These booths are erected in long rows : among them aro theatres capable of holding some thousands ; and these ephemeral build- ings, aping the i ignificence of stone buildings, are decorated with galle- ries, pillars balconies, &c. At these theatres may be seen hundreds busily at work, and swarming like so many ants, with their hammers, saws, and FESTIVALS AND FASTS — ICE-MOUNTAINS. 649 hatchets — afTitrdiiiK no iiiiliitcrostiiig spectacle in tlicmsclvcs, oven l)oforo the stage has been prcpiirecl for the show. The most striking of these preparations are tlio ice-mountains, wliich form the suhjcct of the frontispiece to tiiis volume, and the method of their construction. A narrow scaffold is raised to the heiglit of tliirty or more feet, on the top of wliicii is a gallery, ascended on one side by wooden steps ; on the other is the great descent, very steep at first, and gradually declining till it becomes level with the ground. It is formed of hngo scpmre blocks of ice laid upon planks. Under a few strokes of the hatchet the boautifid crystal masses assume a regular form, and over the whole water is thrown, from time to time, wliich cements, or rather ices the blocks together. Where it is level with the ground, dams of snow are formt-'d on eitlier side, and the gulley between fdled wifli water, wliich, freezing smooth as glass, lengthens the slide. Two such ice-mountains stand always opposite one another, so that their paths, only separated by the snow-dams, run parallel to each other. The invention of these ice-mountains has boon credited to the Kiiglish. They may have improved the mechanical part, but tlte amusement itself is an ancient and a national one, and is practised all over Russia. In the courtyards of most of the great houses in St. Tetersburg there are such ice-mountains erected for the amusement of the children ; and even in the halls of some of the weallliier Russians, elegant " nifscfibrrf^s'' are to be found, witii this diflerence, that the slide is made, not of ic«, but of polished mahogany, or of some other smooth wood, down which the little sledges glide with great rapidity. These are peculiarly adapted to summer use when ice-iiills can not be formed. There is a mahogany rutschberfi; even iu the imperial palace. In every town and village these slipjiery declivities arc crowded with youths and maidens rushing down with the swiftness of arrows. Tlie sledges are sometimes made of ice, shaped into ships. In the hollow they lay straw to sit upon, and in front a hole is bored for a rope. In the climate of Russia these sledges arc lasting enough. Kohl remarks : " 1 saw one morning, in St. Petersburg, a striking instance of how much these ice-mountains form a national amusement. I was by chance very early in a distant quarter of the city, and observed, mounted on the roof of a snmll building, a number of people, servants, women, and children, whose slippers and iloating hair betrayed that they had not long left their beds. They seemed busy about something, and I concluded there must be a chinniey on fire, or something of that kind. No such thing ; they had formed a snow-mountain from the roof to the ground, and in a few minutes down went the whole company, shouting for joy, on a straw mat, which did duty pro tempore for a sledge." When all the booths, mountains, and swings, in the Admiralty-square are firmly fixed (that is, for the temperature of St. Petersburg, the greater part of the pillars having no other foundation than a hole in the earth filled with snow and water, which holds them as firm as a rock, unless the St. 550 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RCaSIA. '1! Petersburg February belies its nature), the fun begins on the first Sunday of the butter-week, and then the gliding and sliding, swinging and singing, whirling and twirling, tea-drinking and nut-cracking, tliat make up the Massldnitza go merrily on for the eight stated days. In a few days the snowy floor of the Admiralty-square is regularly paved witli nut-shells, and looks as if a whole army of nut-crackers had encamped there. Nut'^, sweetmeats, and honey-cakes, are the only eatables to bo had. Eating- houses, wine and brandy-shops, are not allowed on the elegant square of tlio AdmLvalty, as they might give rise to indecorous scenes. V honey cake may be eaten with grace, and so may a bonbon presented by a lover to his mistress: even a nut may be tolerated if nibbled at squirrel-fasliion, and not demolislied by an uncivil crash and a grnnaoe. Cakes and tea may be nipped and sipped in public, but hunger and thirst let every animal satisfy in his own lair. The Russian street-mercl.ants offer everything to everybody. Either rery elegant pebple must buy very inelegant wares, or tlie sellers must be BO persuaded of their excellence, or so bewitched by the vision of a few possililo copecks, tliat they do not ])erceive how little chance they have of finding customers in sucli a cla;ut that thousands, by mere accident, in the midst of sports, in the most thoughtless reveliy, shoidd bid adieu to this fair world, to all their ))lans anle when the fallen beams were re- moved, disclosing the heaps of charred and stifled bodies, which were dragged out with hooks, like loaves out of an oven. Some were burnt to a cinder, others only roasted ; of many the hair of their heads was only singed, while on others it was burnt off"; their eyes were destroyed, their faces black and calcined, yet some still were decked with the gayly-cidored handkerchiefs and holyday-dothes, which the thickness of the pressure had saved from injury! These were far more terril)le to look on than those entirely l)urnt. In one part of the building that remained standing, a crowd of dead wore discovered in an erect posture, like an army of shad- ows from the lower world. One woman was found with her head leaning over the front of the gallery, her face hidden in Ikm- handkerchief. The uutubcr of those who perished was oflTicially announced ut three lU _«..i»i»i.»- ■<« .»»r«.»«««aito -< -' FESTIVALS AND PASTS — BALLS AND FETES. 553 hundred, but that is probably far below the mark. " I was told by one person," says Kohl, " that he liimsclf had counted fifty wapjons, each laden with ten or fifteen corpses ; and others, who had every means of obtaining correct information, made an ejantime, tlie diunkenness of the evening c(/f»<;lud<:s the into.xieation (A tUe worning; the public, wherever it if to 1k« seen, seems in the l)ost possible unm^tr. .»nd aj.plauds everything and everybody. 'I'lie t!m|><-ior and all liis crx'rt finvc alioiit in their brilliant i'A\\i'\yH'^o.» ; down rush the shidg^v from tlw; ic«?-i»*ount»ris till the ice glows again j *ke swings are at fidl Wight ; tin' ij*')!*" t/f tlve wooden hous-s in the roundal)outs tingle without ceasing : fV; h' IxA-CMisf^pet'/K. rhr.l he may despatch one set wf custonj<;rs to got as many m*>rp. an pr>j««ibk. All tho pulses of life l»eat jyrestissimo ; all seem aaf^r Vt drain the lant drop in tho cup of joy, until the hour of midnight strike- and proclaims the beginning of the Just. Every diuiciiig coujde is \)\im^\* ti- a siidoen halt, aiid every h FESTIVALS ANr» FASTS — THE GREAT FAST. 555 o^'. departs homeward to SAvectcn tlic tcdioiisiit'ss of Uie fast with the I'f^mcinbrancc of the enchanting joys of tlic last days of the carnival. iMie biitter-wcck, as before remarked, is fuUowed l)y tlie great fast, tl'O severity of whicli banishes not only llesh and fowl, but milk, c a qtiiintity of loosii diiunond« nnd peiiild, to bo anuiigiMl nrroiding to fiinry at diH'crcnt times nnd plncpn, l)ut rvon tlie little gi.la linvc tln^ir cnskcts, contninirig dozpns of rings, rnr-riiigs, bruct>)ft4, &c., with wliirli tlicv arc consliintly di-comti'd. How nccesaiiry tlioy csterni tdem miiy L>p IcnrncJ from thi" fact lliat ii nt'wiy-marrifd co'iple, whoso wliolo rnpital was »ix thousand roubles, expended clircc tliousunil for jowels and ornnmonts, and the other three for beds, tables, and other furniture lEBZEaiSSSSUrBBi FESTIVAL!? AND PASTS — PALM SATURDAY. 657 '(liiiiiry wliip. To those natural foundations nro appended tlio palms wliicli tut lias constructed to aid tlie poverty of a nortlicrn April. The bare twijj: is furnished willi an al)undancu of loaves and llowci's, some copied from niitiire, and some the production of a lively fancy. Some are made like the lu-aiiches of fruit-trees, and lunifj with all the fruits of the cast imitated in wax, with waxen birds and waxen angels fastened to the boughs with sky-blue ribands. A great number of natural flowers arc also brought from tlic numerous hot-houses of St. Petersburg : ccntifolia, moss-roses, violets, hyacinths, and orange-flowers, for the elder sisters, who are not content to leave the fair with none but artificial flowers. As flowers alone would not be accoptai)le to children, sweetmeats and playthings are also to be iiad in abundance. Tlic Russians have a peculiar talent for making figures and toys out of tiie most worthless materials in the world ; straw, shavings, ice, dongh, they turn all to account. The stalls for tlio sale, or ratlier the exchange, of saints' pictures, im- ages, etc. (for the Russian must not sell the picture of a saint, though ho may exchange it, which he does sometimes for money), are also provided with a nudtitudc of amulets, crosses, &c., of all possible sizes, forms, and materials ; and if a person is not inclined to load himself with a heavier cross, lie at least takes one of gingerbread, which he has the advantage of being able to cat when he is tired of carrying it. The dealers in i)laster- of-Puris figures throng here in greater numbers thau in their Italian father- land. As this is a regular naiionul festival, the emperor holds it his duty to honor it with his j)resence, and brings all his sons and daughters with him. Ou a brigiit dear c'.ay, such as even a St. Petersburg April sometimes aflbrds. Kohl remarks that a walk here among all these significant and insignificant people affords one of the most amusing spectacles of the season ; it is, as it were, the morn of the night of the great fast. On Verhnoi Siibbola (I'alm J^aturday) a great proc(!ssion takes place, in imitation of Clirist's entry into .Jerusalem, and all stream into the churches, carrying lu'anches, and singing. The priests sprinkle branch and branch- bearers with holy water, and uild a blessing into the bargain ; the greater number then carry away their palms. Whole groups are to bo met with carrying them about till late in the evening — father, mother, and children, with the Borvants walking behind them ; even the infant in the nurse's arms has a j)alm-twig, sprinkled and blessed, thrust into its tiny fist. As for the l)oys, the best use they can make of their twigs is to flog each other with them, which they do hantisomely. Some of the more pious leave their branches till Sunday in the church, and many suspiMid them over their beds, ascribing all sorts of healing influences to the leafless twigs. The children also cherish theirs carefully, but for another purpose. It is the custom throughout Russia to ptmish those who sleep too late on Palm Sunday to attend early maj»«, by flogging them with the palm-branchos. Girls and boys are oil so eager to administer this discipline, that they lie awake m m Jiliiiri li}^'' m 1:1 ,^ m '! i 558 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. li' ;i ■I iJ 'I. : half the iii^lit thinking of it ; and as soon as the day breaks, they arc run- ning about ill liaiids in scarcli of and punishinj; tlic sleepers. This custom prevails tiirouphout Russia, and tlic imperial children exercise the privilege ns eagerly as tliose of lower rank. The Easter-eggs {day a very important part at this time of the year. St. I\'tci>burg, lying in a plain little peopled either by man or barn-door fowLs, must procure iier eggs from a great distance. Moscow in particular supplies large quantities. On a very moderate calculation, there can not be less than ten millions used at Easter in tliis capital ; for, as it is always ciistoiiiary at Easter, on greeting aa acquaintance, to i)res3 an egg into his hand, many an individual may consume his hundreds. Notliing is said to be more amusing than to visit the markets and stalls where tlie painted eggs are sold. Some are painted in a variety of pat- terns ; some have verses i.isc.ibed on them ; but the more usual inscri[>tioii is tiie general Easter-greeting, '■'■ Chrisfohs vosskress^^ (Christ is risen), or " Eat and tliink of me," ttc. The wealthier do not, of course, content theiiiselves with veritalile eggs, dyed with lirazil-wood, but profit by the custom, to show their taste and gallantry. Scarcely any material ia to be named tliat is not made into Kaster-eggs. " At the imperial glass-cutting manufactory," says Koiil, " we saw two halls filled witii workmen employed on nothing else but in cutting flowers and figures on eggs of crystal. Part of them were for the emperor and empress to give away as presents to the courtiers." As the latter receive many of these things, they, of course, give them away auuiu to their friends and favorites, who, tlie next Easter, bestow them lii their turn elsewhere ; so that these eggs often travel to amazing distances. It is said that one, which cuiiie from the imperial pal- ace, passed through numberless hands of high and low, till its last posses- sor, having let it fall on a stone, pitched the fragments into the Black sea. The wax-fruit makers and confectioners produce some pretty pieces of workmanship, in elegant boxes filled with eggs of all sizes in regular order, from the mighty ostrich-egg down to the nightingale's, and all in wax and sugar. Some are bonbunniires, and very costly presents are also oflcred ill egg-shells ; sniuo are transparent, and in jdace of the yolk, contain little faiiy bouquets, and some have a magnityiiig-glass neatly fitted in, and dis play houses and trees fbrni'd in wax, pictures of saints, and tiny angels couched on roses. A considerable trade is carried on in such commodities at Easter from St. Petersburg, which returns in imitative sugar the raw produce of the hen- uuse received from the provinces. On Holy Thursday the occurrences of the day are read out of the four Evangelists after mass. The prie.»t stands in the middle of the church at a desk, on which burn three candle- The churches are in general thronged, and as every member of the congregation holds a taper in the hand, they make an uncommonly cheerful appearance. The poor take a pride in hav- ing these tapers as thick as they can get them, and may often be seen with bf^autifully-gilded tapers which have cost them a couple of roubles each. .«v,.««^»i**»'*«»'" -''■' FESTIVALS AND FARTS — KASTKR-EVE. •''0 They aro burnt lliroiigliout tlio Tlmrsday evening, CAtingnisIiecl on (lood Friday, and kindled again at midnight on Easter-eve. Tlie streets of tlie towns and villages that are in general unlighted, are then gay with wan- dering illuminations as the taper-bearers go from one church to another; In?ibio> at .. R-issiiL^ Chuich— Thk Assumption at Moscow. and that the tapers may not be extinj^uished, which is looked upon as an ill omen, they are carried in paper lanterns. On Good Friday there is no further ceremonial than the erection of a kind of tabernacle in the churches* iii general, a mere box laid upon tres- ( - '\ ii.j • i 1 6G0 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUaSIA. I : sols nnd covered with a cloth ; on tho uppor side of the cloth, the body of the P "deenicr is represented in painting, emhroidory, oi mlf-iolicf. Thin taberiiiu'lc stands there till Easter-evo, V'tii only so many li^^hts as are necessary to show tho oltjects. Tiie dooM < ; I'lo churches stand constantly open, and the people >;o in nnd ont to ki^s the simulated wounds. In the last days of tho fast expectation is strained to the highest pitch. On the Saturday before Eastor-(hvy tlie thermometer of religious inspiration falls below zero. Tho lights, llie singing, the bells, all tho pomp t)f divine service is consigned to repose. Tlic dtn-out are thoroughly exhausted will' abundant kneeling and listening to the long readings. Many have had nothing whatever to eat for the last three days, nnd are really hull-starved. The churches arc as dark as the grave; no priest shows himself on tho Saturday evening till midnight. It is customary for one of tho congrega- tion to take on himself the office of reading from tho gospel. A desk, on which lies an open bible, is placed in tho middle of the church ; one of tho lower classes, who can just spell out Slavonian, will advance, light his taper, and read till some one else advances to release him. Except tho beautiful church-singing, no custom of the Russian church seems so really touching and edifying as this public reading. Toward midnight tho tlirong increases. In St. Peters!)urg tho court appears in the imperial chapel in fidl dress; and in the provinces the gcv- ernor, with all his adjutants and officers in their splendid uniforms, attend the r-athedral. The priests begin a mass, which is but languidly performed <:v ]■ ^tened to, till all at once, at the hour of midnight, the whole scene ':li!i ,ges. The golden door of the " lA'wwjs/r/.v/ " flies open, and the song bursts forth, ^'■Christohs vo.sshress ! C/iristo/is vosskress ihs mortvui!" {_'■ Christ is risen, Christ is risen from 4hc dead !") At tho same moment the illumination of the church is completed, not only tho lamps and grcot chandelier, but tho countless tapers in the hands of tho congregation, which have been held hitherto unlighted. While the chief body of the priests, still singing "C/im7<;//.t voss/cress,''' remove tho pall with tho corse, two others, in their richest dress, pass through tho church willi censers in their hands, repeating the joyful words, and stopping before the shrine of every saint to swing the -jcnser and make thoir genuflections, and before every group of devotees to bestow their blessing. The congregation shako hands, and kiss all with whom they have tho most di.^tant acquaintance. The singing of tho priests meanwhile continues. They also ombraco each other; the bishop, metropolitan, or whatever priest of the highest rank may be present, now places himself before the ikanostast, and bestows on every nion)l)er of the congregation who approaches him his blessing and a kiss, with the words " Christohs vosskressV The churches are illuminated without us well as within, and all tho bells in tho city ring out at once. In St. Petersburg, many of the streets and public buildings are illuminated ; rocket after rocket rushes along the sky, and tho cannon boom at intervals, amid all the countless bells and voices echoing each other from all sidoa. FESTIVALS AND PASTS — EaSTER. m EaSTKR-KI89RII. Amid all this tumult, a prn<>cssion, headed hy tlio priests, all bearing (apers iiiid torciicj*, passes i mud the church; aud tlien the last ceremony, tho blossiiifi; of the food, takes place about three o'clock in the morning. The ricii, who have the means of consecratiou at iiaud, do not iind it neces- sary to carry I'leir food to church, and moreover, they are sometimes (piito content with tli species of consecration a fj,(iod cook bestows; but tho poor can not enjoy their Easter-breakfast till it has been blessed by tho priest; — pi-ihaps they have a foreboding how ill it is likely to sit upon the stomacii weakened by long fasting. The spectacle in tho churcii is most extraordinary. They range all tho dishes iu long rows through the whole church, leaving space enough be- tween the rows for the priests to pass, till tho increasing numbers compel them to form (ho lines without the church, and even a good way round. The huge, oddly-shaped loaves, called kulilshe, the towers of white cheese, into which colored leaves of spico arc interwoven — the former decorated with (lowers, the latter bearing a burning wax-taper on its summit — tho heaps of red-colored eggs, lumps of sugar, pots of honey, plates of ])ro served fruit — all these painted, illuminated, many-colored, strange-looking eatables, and collected in such quantities, must have a very singtdar etlect. Aa tho priest advances, sprinkling to the right and left, and pronounuim: 3u \n\ !i; t^^ ' iti' H IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // (/ '^/ y^:^ •^\%' ii^ K ^ i^ % /. u.. fA 1.0 t^^ =7= ii£ m 12.2 1-25 1 1.4 ill 1.6 ^5 1111= llll^ Lll ► ^ — V ^'♦V^ '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation ^■^^ 23 WEST MAIN STRHT WEtSTER, NY. l4SaO (716) •73-4503 '^ "1 9 \ 6^ iiv f 562 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. tlio blessing, while iiis attendant keeps up a constant chant, the pcoptu press closci- and closer, crossing themselves, and keeping a sharp watch tl»at their flowers and Ibod get their due share of the purifying waters. The Russian Easter banquets must certainly bo the most peculiar things of the kind that can bo seen, both from the time at which they arc taken (the sun often rising on the dessert), and from the appearance and demeanor of the guests. Whole colleges and corporations come in gala-dresses to pay their court, Tlius the professors of a university pay their respects to tho curator, the judges, secretaries, and other officers of the law-courts, to their president, ieco of good-fortune ; but the lioldcrs of the hist Avord, ^^mortvui" (death), on the other liand, arc much grieved, and esteem it a very bad omen. With this ceremony, as before said, the Easter-liolydaya, properly speaking, end. Everything, however, has a conclusion, tlien an ord, and then a real and complete ccrfsation. So there comes hailing be- hind the Russian Easter yet another holyday, which may be said finally to close the doors of these festivals. It is the Monday after Easter, called by the Russians '•^ Pominatelnui ponyede.lnik" ("Recollection jMonday"). This Monday is, no doubt, brought in connection with Easter, partly be- cause it follows so immediately, and partly because the resurrection of Ciirist has a natural connection with the hoped-for resurrection of thoso dear to us. To say the truth, Recollection Monday is a kind of monster of a holyday, for in the manner of its celebration religious gravity is so much revolted, and yet the feeling and fancy flattered by so much that is kindly, that wo know not well whether wo should condemn it for its inde- corum, or cherish it for its child-like simplicity. In the morning the people flock to tho cemeteries, and after attending service in the chapels belonging to them, in memory of and honor to their dei)arted friends, take a meal over their graves ! At a very early hour the never-wearied holyday-folks may be seen setting forth, with bag and baggage, on foot and in vehicles. The food is carried in the first place into the chapels, and laid upon the table in the middle. There is generally a largo round loaf in the midst of a dish ; and round about it the red-painted Easter-eggs, salt, gingerbread, oranges, and lemons. In tho midst of the loaf a lighted taper is always stuck, without which a Russian, no more than a Gheber, can observe a religious solemnity, tho clear flickering flame being to him always a symbol of the spiritual. Every one has his loaf of a diflbrcnt form from the rest; one has added a dish of rice and plums, anotlier a pot of honey, and a third some other dish, ac- cording to his means. On every loaf a little book is laid, called " books of remembrance," in which the names of the departed are usually inscribed. After the usual mass, the priests approach the strangely-loaded tables and sing prayers for the dead, swinging the censers all the while. They turn over tho leaves of the before-mentioned books, and introduce tho names there found in tho prayer. When this general prayer and conse- cration is over, tho people disperse about the churchyard ; each party seek tho graves of their friends, pai ticularly of those lately lost, and weep over them. The greater number mourn in silence ; but some, whose sorrow is yet now, cast themselves in despair upon the earth, and give it vent aloud. " On one occasion," says Kohl, " I noticed particularly one old woman, whose voice of lamentation resounded over the whole burying-ground. I went up to her and asked for whom she mourned. She raised herself and answered for a yopng married daughter. Then she threw herself down again with her face to tho grass, and cried into the grave as if her child 500 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. could hear : * All, my dearest daughter, why hast thou forsaken mo ? Ah, thou loveliest ! thou young one ! why hast thou left thy old mother with her seventy years? Couldst thou not wait till she had gone before theo? Ah, my daughter, is it not against nature that the child should leave her mother un'tended ? And thy little son, thy Fedor, he too is left. Alas! alas ! my daughter, son and mother are left alone !' Thus she mourned till the priests came to her grave. I can not express how deeply tlie lamen- tation of this poor old woman affected me, as she chanted her sorrow in a kind of church-melody; now and then ceasing entirely, and burying her gray careworn head in the grass." The priests in tlie meantime parade tlie churchyard with burning tapers and crucifi.\cs, and perform u sjiecial service over every grave where it is desired, the "books of remembrance" being handed to them for the pur- pose. The priests are generally followed by troops of unfortunate persons, cripples and beggars, wIjo expect to receive part of the food in alms. Some of the mourners give the whole of what they bring, and make thus a worthy offering, ^o the departed. Tlic majority, however, spread their napkins over the graves, arrange their food upon them, not forgetting the wine and brandy-bottles, and set to work with as good an appetite as if the day had been preceded by seven years' of Egyptian famine instead of a Russian Easter. The priests, of course, come in for a share, and taste something at every grave. Koiil remarks that he approached one com- pany, consisting of some official persons, among whom there was one dec- orated with a couple of orders. These people liad covered a lotig grave with a large tablecloth, and had loaded it abundantly from a store in their carriage, which was drawn up close by, and out of which they were con- tinually fetching fresli supplies ! Two priests were among the revellers in this group, and were challenged more frequently than any others of the party. Not before night are the dead left in peace in their last resting- place, and many, unfortunately very many, leave in a condition which may be said to have turned the day of remembrance into one of complete for- getfulness. The great excesses committed at this season are particularly misplaced, when the digestive system has been so much lowered in tone, and cause much sickness among the lower class of Russians ; so that, for many, their holydays are attended by very evil consequences. The hospitals are never so ftdl as after Easter; and, according to the statement recently made to a traveller by a Russian physician, statistical writers, in giving the bills of mortality for the several months, might safely quote the Easter holydays a.s in some measure accounting for the great number of deaths in the month of April. LITERATOBE AND EDUCATION. m CHAPTER XXII. LITERATURE AND EDUCATION. 'ITII tlic exception of tlio writings of the monks, we liavo no trace of LiT- ERATURK of any kind du- ring tiie darker period of Russian liistory. Nestor, Ba- sil, and Sylvester — all priests — wrote the annals of their times ; Kyril, too, and many other holy men excelled in theological disquisitions, some of wiiich are still extant; but almost every record of that early period was destroyed by the Mongol-Tartars of the Middle-Horde, who, for up- ward of two hundred years, kept the Muscovite princes in a state of subjection. It was not till the middle of the fifteenth century that Russia was once more free ; out her people had been too long restrained from any attempt at enlight- enment, by their savage oppressors, to be able to compete with tlioir more western rivals in the race for improvement: those fatal years IuhI given them too long a start, and the Muscovites abandoned the idea of emulating tliis onward progress in despair. It was not until the accession of Peter the Great to the throne tliat any positive ciiangc took jilace ; and during this period the more educated Russians were influenced by the Polish and (JerMian literature and languages, which may be accounted for by the fact, that Ivan the Terrible, when engaged in the siege of Kazan against the Tartars, obtained the assistance of certain military engineers from Ger- many, and who in many instances remained in the Muscovite service. The influence wiiich those foreigners exercised was soon after visible through- out all grades of Russian society ; and from that time the moral action of the example of western Europe upon the vast territories of the czars has been over increasing and progressive. Htacintu BrrciiocBiN, Omiktal Linguist, i I I 5G8 ILLUSTOATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. It was in the reign of Ivan, too, tliat tlio first prlntinjr-onico was estab- lished at Moscow ; and in 15G5 lie founded a school of theolojry. The Machiavclllc czar, Uoris OodunofT, though his reign was short, also inter- ested himsolf in the education of the youug Muscovite nobility of liis time. Tlie czar Micliacl, the first of the present house of Romanoff, and Alexis and Feodor III., the father and brother of Peter the Great, prepared the way ably for the rapid and gigantic strides of that niaster-miud among reformers. Peter the Great was essentially practical and a utilitarian. To teach his people tlie habit of looking for information into books, he caused a number of the best works to bo at onco translated into Russ, from the dif- ferent languages of Europe. He was vigorously assisted in liis laudable endeavors by Tlieophan Prokovitch, the Archiepiscon (archbislio|)) of Nov- gorod, who from his virtues and talents was called the Muscovite Chrysos- tom, and who alone wrote no loss than sixty works. In 1724 Peter founded the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. His views were furthered by many gifted and excellent men ; and last, but not least, by Gluck, the Livonian clergyman, who had been made a prisoner during the war of Peter witli Cln\rlos XII. of Sweden, and who had brought up that interesting and humble girl in his modest household, who was afterward destined to beconyj tiie empress Catherine I. of all the Russias. During this period of Russian history and the reign of Peter I., from 1682-1725, Prince Kantomir was perhaps the most brilliant literary light that Russia possessed : he was a great classic and linguist ; he wrote upon very many subjects, and his satires arc still greatly admired ; he died in 1745. As lyric poets, two Cossacks particularly distinguished themselves, Kirscha Daniloff and Klcmovki : the national songs of the former writer, about tlie licroic Vladimir and his gallant Boyards, arc still admired and prized in Russia. About 1724, a Russian and a poet turned his attention to the nature of his native language, and its adaptability for poetry, and he strenuously suggested the adoi)tion of classical metre, founded upon measure and quantity ; but his efforts and almost his works were soon lost sight of, not- withstanding the warm co-operation of the empress Catherine, who even went so far as to impose as a punishment for any little fault of etiquette among her courtiers, that they should learn by heart a certain number of the verses of her protege — their quantity, of course, being commensurato with the little offence committed. The empress Catherine I., Anna, and Elizabeth, were certainly munifi- cent patronesses of the belles lettres. It was in the year 1756, and during the reign of Elizabeth, that the university of Moscow was founded, among many other educational institutions, subject, of course, to a governmental censorship. The free erection of printing-presses all over the country was granted by a ukase in the year 1783, during the reign of Catherine II. Tlic bulk of the people, had, of course, liut little improved by these efforts LlTEnATUBE AND EDUCATION. 569 tt mental progress ; and yet it was in the fiimily of a luimblo fishorman iu the north of the cn»j)irc, from tlic ncigliborliood of Arclmnp;cl, that Michael Lonionosoft' was born, about the year 1711 or 1712. Notwithstanding every diHicnlty, lie made himself a linguist, a scientific authority, and a pliilosopl'.er ; ho for some time pursued his learned labors and researches at Freiburg, in Germany. Beside being the author of the Russian Cram- mar, he was the first to draw a distinct line of demarcation between tho ancient Slavonic and the modern Russ — at least, as spolten in his day. Ho wrote a history of his country, and a long and sustained national epic poem, entitled the "Petroidc," which, as may be conceived, was a lofty panegyric upon tho talents and virtues of his imperial master. lie wrote principally upon mineralogy and chemistry ; he was also tlie author of sev- eral respectable tragedies, and of many miscellaneous works. Lomonosoff, perhaps, can not so much bo designated a great and original genius, as a man of tlie most enlightened capacity, and energetic talent. lie is, how- over, undoubtedly the father of Russian Letters — and was the first " litte- rateur*' of European celebrity tliat tho country liad produced. After having been emploj'cd l)y the government with distinction for the greater portion of his life, he died in 17G5, universally regretted throughout the empire. The reign of Catherine II., from 17G2-179G, is one of the most brilliant epochs of Russian history ; and tho period between tho deatli of Lomono- soff and the close of the century in which he lived, was particularly marked by the ninnber of gifted and eminent men, whose unceasing energies tended to strengtlien and nourisli the tottering childhood of Muscovite literature as it tlien stood. The "Iliad" and "uEneid" were ably translated by Kostroff and Petroff; an excellent version of Popo and Locke was pre- sented to liis countrymen by Popovski ; and Ariosto and some portions of the " Inferno" of Dante were submitted to tho empress by BulgakoiT. A contempon. :y with Lomonosoff ^.as Clieraskoff, who has been called the Russian Iloniti Sumarokoff for a considerable time was Iiis rival in public opinion. Both these poets were remarkable for their extreme fer- tility ; and the number of tragedies, comedies, poems, and odes, wliicli they produced so rapidly was the theme of never-ending astonishment and spec- ulation. But Gabriel Derjalivin, who was born about the year 1743, was incontcstably the greatest Russian poet of tlie period. His ode to God has not only been translated into most European languages, but even into the Japanese, according to the Russian traveller Golownin, who saw it hanging in a place of honor in the temple of Jeddo ; and it is a known fact that it is versified in the language of the Celestial Empire, wliere it is hung up in the palace of tlic emperor, printed on white satin and in letters of gold. Hippolyt Bogdanovich, a charming writer upon light and general subjects, and Chemnitzer, the fabulist, also flourished at this period. At the same era several eminent Russians occupied themselves with the for- mation of the national theatre, fol* which it was discovered that the Mus- 670 ILLUSTRATED DESCIirPTIOX OP RUSSIA. I I covito gonius possessed a strong nnd decided natural aptitude. KniuNlinin, Ma.koft', Nilon tho first occasion of their representation. Tho first Russian theatre was opened in Yaroshiv in 174G, and tho nucleus of a national stage was founded at Mos« tow in 17o9 ; and in St. Petersburg tho arlistes wore permitted to estab- lish themselves by letters patent as early as 1754. It will be observed that from tlio very earliest period tho Russians havo )ver sought to annalizo their national history with an undoviating devotion ; and this can only be attributed to the feeling of patriotism that is, and has aver been, so widely diflfuscd throughout tho empire. Hence, from tho most remote times, wlien the little learning that had found its dul>ious way lo the hyperborean wilds of Russia was celled and isolated in tho cunvcnts of tho ])riesthood, as early even as the beginning of tho twelfth century, the work had begun with tho local histories of Nestor, which were con- tinned after his death by tho priests : even during those fearful two cen- turies and a half when the Russians were writhing under the horrors of Tartar dominion. Unhappily these relics of the past arc but of slight value out of Russia, and of little interest even to a Russian, as they treat only of the difl'crent phases of violence and anarchy, caused by tho continual wars peculiar to all pcofile in those dark times, and to the international feuds of tho turbu- lent and powerful Boyards, which so particularly convulsed Russia, till tho advent of the terrible Ivan Vassiliovich to tho throne of tho czars. But tho period of which wo are writing — the close of the foregoing century — was rich, too, in the appearance of historians of diflerent do scriptions. Among tho ranks of her men of letters, Golikoif, Rietchkoff, and Jemin, gave to tho world several volumes, the contents of which wcro dedicated to particular portions and phases of the history of tho country. Tcshulkoff wrote upon tho rise and progress of commerce in his native land ; while Boltin, himself an historian of considerable merit, had tho honor of reviewing the fifteen volumes of Russian histoi'y written by tho accomplished Prince Tchetcherbatoff. Nor must MuUer be forgotten : though his name be German, he himself was a Russian, and the whole of his existence had been dedicated to the furtherance and development of that Russian literature, of which ho had himself, as it were witnessed tho very birth. Ho published the first Russian periodical in 1755, the columns of which were principally occupied by historical subjects of interest to the Russias. The year 1724 witnessed the foundation of the Imperial Academy of Sciences ; and in 1783 that of the Imperial Russian Academy ; and in less than five years afterward, the last-named institution published tho first (true) standard grammar of the language, together with un etymological LITERATURE AND EDUCATION. m dictionary of congidci-ahlo pretension, and upon on arrangement of a novel nature. These iniportnnt Htcps in pliilulogical advancement were particu larly induced by the munificent patronage and general encouragement afforded them by the empress Catherine II. There was also a host of bibli- cal ond theological writers at the close of the last century; and it wero noedlesH to name thcui all, except to state that Konnisk, an archiepiscon of Western Rus.'^ia, and Plnton Lcov8hin,the metropolitan of Moscow, were the most eminent of all these aiilliors in dogmatic and speculative religion. Of the latter distinguished theologian, it may be as well to mention, that one of his most important works, entitled " Tlie Summary of Christian Divinity," lias been translated by Doctor Tiakerton, in his "Present State of the Greek Cliurch in Russia." From tlio connncncemcnt of tlic present century, and during the reign of tlie emperors Alexander and Nicliolas I. — from 1801 to tlie present moment — the progress of Russian letters Ims been accelerated with a ra|)idity and success that are really marvellous. In the year 1820 alone, nearly three tiiousand live liundrcd works were produced, about a thousand of wliich had lioen translated from tlie French, English, and German tongues. Tills fecundity in literary productions may, in a great measure, bo attributed to the liberal encouragement of the emperors, and the thorough reformation which they had set on foot in all the scientific insti- tutions of the country. The various existing academies were reorganized and extended, while four new universities were added to the empire. In 1823, a college was founded in the new capital, for the study and culture of the oriental languages ; and a few years later Odessa boasted of a simi- lar school. The most marked success has attended them all, which was, no doubt, the result of the interest which the government experienced in the object sought to be attained — not the least salient proof of which was the exjiress clause in the treaty of peace, which was entered into during the reign of Alexander, with Persia, in 1813, at Gulistan, wherein he stip- ulated expressly for the delivery to the Russian plenipotentiaries of five hundred of the most valuable manuscripts, the names of which had been drawn up by those distinguished authorities on Orientalism, Senkovski and his colleagues, and which were known to bo in the possession of the Per- sians. They wero afterward dejiosited in the Imperial library at St. Petersburg, for the use of the students of the oriental schools, which were no doubt originally founded for the training of diplomatic agents among those people, but which have, nevertheless, been of the greatest utility to the study of the philology of the East, not only for the Russians themselves, but for all Europe. Among these invaluable relics of past ages, are the Geograi)hy of Ptolemy, and some translations in the Arabic of several im- portant Greek and Latin works, of which the originals are no longer extant. Nicholas Karamzin is, however, the next literary luminary of whom wo have to treat. He died in 1826. His principal work is his " Istoria Ros- siskago Gosudarstva," or " History of the Russian Empire," but which M ' 672 ILLUSTnATKI) DFSCniPTION OF HUSSIA. 1 only extends to tlio nccoa?ion of the present dynasty — the illnstrioiis Itonso of Miulmol IlonianofT, in tlio year 1018. It conniHts of ulovcn volumes. And this most im|)oi'tnnt production Ims l)con tt-nnslatod into tlio inoi'O prominent Innj^imgos of Europe. Its second edition was ))nlili.sliod in 181 H. Ifis other volnminons labors have been collected nnd condensed into nine largo volumes, which wc ogain given to the public in 1820, in the form of a third edition. His cu lCt of literary distinction wns commenced by a periodical work which ho pnblished niidor the title of the " Moscow Jonr- nal." The second periodical which he owned nnd edited was the " Euro- pean Messenger." Kornmzin is essentially a Russian writer, ond no Muscovite over under- stood the jdiancies and delicacies of his longiiogo so well ; but tlio charm of his writings is so purely one of idiom, so entirely national, that it is next to impossible for a foreigner to appreciate him according to his merits. In his lyrical poems, and indeed throughout his entire works, there exist a warm i>atriotism, a national vrrve, a grace ond nn indescribable tender- ness, that must always endear them to his conntrymon ; while the learning and indofutigablo research displayed in his superb " History of the Russian Empire" will ever constitute it the standard work upon this subject in the repertory of Slavonic literature: and it is, perhaps, from the period of his indnenco that the rene>\'ed energy to bo remarked in literary tasto in Rus- sia may bo deduced. Ivan Deinitriev, it is considered, cxeiriscd as much influence upon Rus- sian poesy as Karainzin had efl'ectiMl upon the prose of his language. Ho was as remarkable for the correctness of his stylo as for tho richness and versatility of his imagination. Prince Viazcinski, Rilejofl" (who was executed for his share in tho un- happy conspiracy of 1825). Vostokoff, tho Slavonic ])hilologist, KhvostofT Batjushkoff, Glinka, and Raroii Delwig, whoso works were reviewed in tho French and English periodicals, arc all esteemed as lyrical poets of nioro or less importance. Baron Rosen was also a very successful translator of Lord Byron, whose works were enthusiastically admired and imitated by Kosloff, who, notwithstanding blindness, lameness, ond continued ill-health, dedicated his life to the literature of his country, in which ho was emi- nently successful. Nareshnoi must not bo forgotten in this rapid synopsis of tho literati who distinguished themselves at that particular period. Ho is tho author of " Bursack," a Malo-Russian talo. This work is a kind of Russian " Gil Bias." - Tho first expedition of the Russians round tho world was undertaken in tho year 1803 ; and tho travels of Admirals Krusenstern, Wrangel, Laza- reff, and Captain Golownin, say much for tho enterprise and honor of Rus- sia and her sons. Tho voyages into China of Tiraovsky are already knowa and valued out of Russia, by means of translations. Bronovski and Muro- vicff fully explored tho Caucasus and Taurida — the result of which i? several volumes, replete with the most valuable information ; while Bit* LITERATURE AND EDUCATION. 678 olioiirin Ims given ono of tlio best uccuuiits cxtiuit of Tliibct and the conntrj of Iho Mongols unU Turtui-s. Murtinufl' cxcelloci in IiIh tranHlution of tlie cla88ic«<; and tliC* Jorusulcm" ot'Tusso, tlio "yEnoid,"and "Iliad" wcro BucccsBively and HUcccsHfully rondurod into Russian l»y Vojckofl", Giicditch, and Mcrtzjukoff. It was tlion, too, tluit Ivan KrilotV became so deservedly pojiidai' as a fabulist. Tlicru is an air of nature, a sweetness about his workn, tluit is not often found clHowiiero. lie was also acknowledged to have been llic best speaker of his time of the Russian language, and has even been styled the Russian " La Fontaine." lie has also been translated into (lernuin, French, and Italian. We now come to tlie time when Alexander Pushkin, the brightest genius of Russian poetical literature, had arrived at the zenilli of his reputation, and stood, as he has since done, unrivalled and alone. He was Ijorn in 1709, and he died violently in tlie (lower of his days, at the early ago of thirty-seven, the vielini of domestic unhappiness and of a terrible duel. Pushkin uccpiired his education at one of the imperial institutes. At tho very outset of liia career, a proiluction which he thought proper to bring before the public, and wl.ioli was conceived with too nnich latitude of sen- timent, procured his removal from St. Petersburg. lie was, however, employed by the government oflicially, in the southern provinces of tho empire, to which he was banished ; and there can be no doubt that hia genius became tinctured, and probably more developed, by the wild scenery und poetical iniluencc of the semi-civilized region in ^vhicll he sojourned. In tho meanwliilo the succeeding emperor of the liussias had placed the diodom of tho czars upon his brow, and tho imprudent poet was recalled. |5ut liie advent of the emperor to the throne had taken place amid an ttrnuHl insurrection, and his nn\jesty felt that to bulwark the Russias from foreign revolutionary example, the most legitimate and politic steps would be to bring her biiek to the full appreciation of her own old Muscovite nationality. The elevated and the educated classes who had so long been accustomed to look to France, England, and Germany, for their senti- ments, opinions, manners, and even for their language, had almost forgotten that they were Russians, in Russia. Between those higher phases of society and the masses an impassable gulf then existed : a more insurmountable oufi, indeed, than ever had been before or since, for its peculiarly antago- nistic form was the utter absence of the remotest sympathy between tho classes : the higher ones appearing, in fact, as if they were mere " sojourn- ers in the land" of the Muscovite " people." Pushkin had ever been remarkable for the nationality of his cflFusiona, though he had also evinced in them a spirit of restlessness, and a yearn- ing after a vague independence, which seems to have even actuated him personally in the earlier and more stormy period of his brilliant career. The literary efforts born of this influence possessed a double character, for they were at tho same time national and individual, and reflected tho ten- dencies of Russian genius, and the individuality of Pushkin, and tiio poets ' « 674 ILLUSTRATED DESCHIPTION OP nUSSIA. who followed so enthusiastically in his steps ; the effervescence of wild and uncontrolled passion, the pursuit of an impossible ideal, the worship of an indefinite and unknown liberalism, by turns opposed or gained the ascend- ency over the calm, measured, and hitherto acknowledged tone of Russian literary feeling. Tiie fiery genius of Lermontoff was the first that identi- fied in his own writings this dangerous tendency of the school of Pushkin, which found its last rcproscntativo in the literary efforts of a young con- temporary poet, Maikoff. Toward the latter end of his life, and even at the period of his reappearance in the literary circles of the metropolis, Pushkin, whoso taste had been refined by study and experience, would fain have led back the national taste lie had misled, to the more sober and classic path from which he had originally lured it with the perilous glitter of his own surpassing talent; but it was too late: the fascination of his style had taken too deep a root in the hearts of the young writers of tho day, who would soon have transformed wliat had been the sell-possessed and sober Russian muse into a wild and licentious Baceliante. Tho em- peror, fearful of her doing herself and others, perlmps, an injury, confined her as closely to her home as was possiltlo — the Russian heart — lier proper dwelling-place, to tlio revival of tlie old Russian nationality. The most rigorous measures were adopted, oven to the restriction of tlie absence of the wanderer from liis Russian fatherland, to five years at the furthest, tho institution of a severe censorship, and tho interruption of tho study of philosophy throughout the empire ; thougli when safe iVom foreign j)ropa- gandism, and within the cordon sanilaire of tlie protected interior, the grand work of general national progress contl'iued with unabated vigor. Of the exalted opinions of tlicse enthusiasts the only one tolerated by tho government was the idea of Panslavism — that is, tho incorporation into one vast whole of all the races of Slavonic origin. Alexander Pushkin was by this time highly j)atronized by his imperial Majesty, Nicholas I., and had been promoted to tlie hoiioral)le position of imperial historiographer for his laudable endeavors to repress the evil he had BO powerfully, and perhaps unwittingly, induced ; for his devotion to tlio cause of nationality, at that time so particularly encouraged by the govern- ment; and for his unequalled genius. But tho chastened style of Pushkin wanted in power and originality what it gained in purity and legitimacy. Ho had harnessed his Pegasus to the car of expediency, and it had lost tho use of its wings, if not the freedom of its action. It will only be necessary here to say that some of his works exist in manuscript, and are, for polit- ical reasons, preserved in the imperial cabinet. Tho last work of Alex- ander Pushkin was tho " Istoria Bunta," or the history of tho " Insurrection of Pougatcheff." The death of Pushkin was caused by a duel at St. Petoru- burg, soon after his marriage, in 1835, when he fell a victim to jealousy and the machinations of others. Nicholas Gogol now appeared in the literary firmament, with tho power and the intention to direct tho genius of his country toward tho new goal LITERATURE AND EDUCATION. 675 — nationality — and to this end lio strove to awalccn afresh the interest tlmt tlic Russians liad been taught to feci in their own character as a peo- ple. Gogol made it his study to examine and analyze Russian life in all its phases; and it was not long ere, by his instrumentality, a succession of romances and comedies, based upon the actual state of society, took precedence of the many works that would have perpetuated tlic fieiy and dangerous inspirations of Piisldtin, and of his school. Tliis influence waa 80 powerful, and its cfl'ects so successful, tliat when the revolution took place in 1848, there was but one tendency throughout the entire field of Muscovite literature — namely, nationality. Nieliolas Gogol is distinguislicd from the other authors of his nation by a faculty of analysis and a creative power, rarely found united in the samo individual. Uo is equally at iiome when i)ainting outward and visible objects, with a graphic verve and sliarpncss of outline that is positively lifelike and startling; or when he a|iplios liis extraordinary talent to the innermost and secret plienomona of tlie human heart. His style is origi- nal and delightful ; his passages of the most biting satire are followed by sudden bursts of tenderness, with an impulsiveness and nature altogether peculiar to tlie Slavonic genius. lie died in 1852. The melancholy fate of Alexander Bestushev should at least entitle him to a notice in this list of distinguished men of letters. He was a subaltern ofiicer in the guard, and, like his friend and fellow-poet Rileycz, was fatally committed in the conspiracy of 1825. He was tried, found guilty, and sent to Siberia, having, of course, been previously deprived of liis nobility. Afterward, however, and througli the interest of the Miloradovich family, his sentence was commuted to service as a connnon soldier, in that jmrtion of tlio Russian army then actively employed in the Caucasus. In this dis- advantageous position, by dint of slieer merit and gallantry, he again won his epaulets, and soon after died bravely by tlie bullets of the Caucasian mountaineers. He was the author of a liighly-talented synopsis of Russian literature, and the editor of a very popular periodical, " Severnaja Swesda," the " Polar Star." He afterward wrote under the name of Marlinski ; and his Cossack tales, and sketches of Siberia and the Caucasus, as well as his novels, are written with a freshness and spirit lliat arc charuiing. His style has been likened to that of Spindler, the German novelist, and his contemporary. Historical romance is a very favorite study among the Russian literati. Among the workers in this field of Russian literature may be mentioned Galitsch, Laschetnikoft', Skobelev, DegourofI', Prince Odojevski Veltman, Dahl, who gives his works to the public under the pseudonym of Cossack Lugunski ; Grebcnka, celebrated for his humorous sketches of Malo-Rus- 8ia ; GantcharoiT, formidable for the keenness of his satire ; Grigorovich, tlio novelist of the fields and the peasantry ; and Boutkoff, the lifelike de- lineator of the social slate and habits of the lower classes of his country- uien. By the Ibrce of talent and perseverance, Boulkofi^ raised himself 676 ILLUSTRATED DPSCniPTION OP RUSSIA. from Uic very class wliicli lio paints so ably, and to tbc amcliorntir.- ■!(! udvaiiccmciit of whose moral position, to his lienor be it said, ho iin; -di- catcd his genius. Tourgcnieff also should be mentioned, as having stepped down from the elegiac mood to go with the current of the common ten- dency in frtvor of romance literature. The scenes of his crcations aro almost all laid in the country and the provinces ; and his best work in that i^enre, "The Recollections of a Sportsman," will be found in every Russian library. In 1841 the Count Sololioupe entered the arena of letters; but the greater part of the historietlcs wiittcn by him, and published under tho name of "Xason Griadutchi" ("The Narcotic" — or, more literally, "To Cause Sleep") had already been enthusiastically received in private; and they were equally aj)plaudcd, when given to the world, by the public al large. Ills next important works are the " Turantasse," " Ytchera i Seg- donia," or, "Yesterday and To-day," and tho "Sotrudniki" ("Confede- rates"), which we believe to be tho latest of his works, ])ublishcd as late as 1861. We can not here enter into a review of the works of this author, but we will merely add, that alike in the "Tarantassc," which is full of deep and niaidy thought u})on the mighty resouro and destinies of his country, and in the "Narcotic," which is the liglitesi of his productions — indeed throughout everything he has written — there is a viehiH^e of keen observation, solid depth, and serious patriotism, of aristocratic Jinessey humor, irony, and acute sensibility. Tlie ladies, on the otVor hund, have shown by their efforts their willing- ness and power to fur licr the cause of Russian bellvs-leUirs. The names of Me.sdames Paulofl', Pauaiefl", Teplef, Buuin, the Princess Yolhonski, and Heleiie ilahn, who has been compared, and not without reason, to Mudamo Dudevant (George Sand), are all celebrated ; nor must the Countess Ros- topchiu be forgotten, who has at once cultivated the bright tields of poetry and romance. The works of this lady are distinguished by tho elevation of sentiment that |)ervades theni, by the easy and artistic stylo with which they arc sustained throughout, and by tho lino and delicate womanly feel- ing that gives them their principal charm. Tho eminent success of this gifted lady is clearly accounted for, however, when wo recollect that she is the autiioress of a most elegant little poem, tho subject of which is " How a Woman should Write." If we turn to the consideration of historical science in Russia, wo find that the archaeological commission was opened in 1834, and tho libraries of France, England, Gernmny, Sweden, Denmark, and other countries, were visited at the imperial expense, and ransacked for data and informa- tion ; and tlie lirst live volumes of Russian annals passed through tho press in 1844. This institution, in conjimction with tiie liistorical and geograph- ical societies of Moscow and St. Petersburg, met witli such success in these researches, as threw considerable light upon many portions of Russian his- iory, and added a fresh impetus to tho pons of the scientific and imaginu- LITERATURE A^l) EDUCATIO!?. Bit •di- tivo writers of the day. Professor Ustraloff published m 1839 liis" His- tory of Russia," in which the theory of Panshivisin was developed in a novel and masterly manner. Its leading ol)ject is to represent tlic Russian empire as the natural and central head of all the races of Slavonic origin. This is a work of considerable importance, and was translated into German in 1840, one year only after its publication. Nadeshkin, too, wrote a book of decided interest to the Russian public, entitled, " Treatise on the Geograpliy of the Old Russian World," in which it was sought to trace the seats of the ancient Slavonic nations, and with very much the same tendency as tlie work of Ustraloff. Professor Kupffer, of the Imperial xVcademy of Sciences, made a voyage through the Ural, and jml)lished the results of his observations in 1833. SchurovHky visited the same regions, and wrote an historical and statisti- cal work in the year 1840. Hyacinth Bitchourin, the priest, whose por- trait is given at tiie head of this chapter, and others, still continue their useful researches among the wild Mongols and Tiiibetians. The govern- ment has lately caused to be written, the " History of the Commerce with Persia and Turkey," by tiic councillor-of-state, Von Hagemeister, the same who paid a scientific visit to the great London exhibition of 1851. And Chaudoir, encouraged by tlio same patronage, wrote his celebrated " Nu- misnmtics of China, Corea, and Japan." Both these works are published at the same time in the Rustiian and French languages. In statistics, Constantino Arsenieff stands pre-eminent; his last work was publislied in 1848. But the works of Pallas, printed as early as 1771, of Krasheninnikoff, Lepechin, Richk^ff, Tihihatcheff, and others, are still considered the standard autlioritics. Among the most approved historical novelists may be mentioned Bul- garin, Puschkareff, Swinin, Massolski, Zagoskin, and many more. It need hanlly lie oltserved that the history of their own country was the never- failing source from which lliey drew their inspiration and their subjects. Jcvjeni Grebcnka, and Kvitka, have written humo'-ous romances in the Malo-Russian dialect, with a view to its cultivation ; and the intention is most praiseworthy, if only for the wealth of Slavonic popular poetry, which is scattered over the Ukraine and Malo-Russia in general ; indeed, wher- ever the Ruthenian tribes have wandered for a time, or settled definitely. Tiic Russian drama has made rapid progress since the beginning of this century. The works of Shakspere and Schiller have of course served as models, and their masterpieces have long since been successfully translated and peri'ormed in Russian. The stage also now begins to assume a more decided and national character, and of late years many pieces and operas, of which the subject and music are essentially Russian, have been brought out. In comedy, Russia is very fertile ; and atnong the latest productions ore several which depict Russian society to the life. But it must be ad- mitted that the empire has not yet produced a great tragic author ; and though her store of theatrical compositions is very ample, yet it is not so 37 578 ILLUSTItATKD DKSCniPTION Or RUSSIA. ii select as those slic possesses in history, poetry, and romance. The greats est possible facilities, however, have ever been and are still aflforded to the development of drnnmtic talent in every form. During the reign of his iate majesty, Alexander, and also since under Nicholas I., the theatres and the artistes of St. Petersburg and Moscow have been encouraged by the immediate imperial patronage, and lil)orally salaried from the privy purse. All dramatic artists who leave Russia after a stay of ten years, have a pension of four hundred dollars each, also out of the emperor's privy purse. From the enjoyment wliich the Russians of all classes take in every species of scenic diversion, the theatre is particularly a popular annisemcnt. During the season at St. Petersburg, which continues (save in Lent) all win- ter, residents may choose between the Italian, German, and Russian operas, the Russian and Frencli plays, or the ballet, for there are always three or four foreign dranmtic corps in that city at this time, and the performances take place every evening at each of the impei'ial theatres in rotation. There are, independent of the one near the Hermitage, three large theatres in the imperial capital: the Rolslioi, or (jireat Theatre (a view of which is given on the opposite page), on the square of that name between the Moika and Catiierina canals ; the Alexander Theatre, in the Nevskoi Prospekt ; and the Frencii, in the square near the palace of the grand-dnkc Michael. Tlie performances at the two former are devoted to Russian and Germai: plays, and operas, the latter to French and German dramas. The houses are spacious, very nearly semicircular in sliape, and handsomely decorated; and a magnilicent box for the imperial family occupies the centre of the first two tiers. .Tlie arrangements for the accommodation of the public is exceedingly good, every seat being numbered in such a manner as entirely to prevent confusion. The state box, however, is seldom u.sed, the impe- I'ial family generally occupying one next to the stage, contiguous to that of the grand-duke Micimel ; opposite is one similarly decorated for the ministre de la cour. The entire pit is fitted with arm-chairs {kraslyd)^ numbered on the back, the numbers commencing from the orchestra ; and on ol)taining a ticket at the hassa, on which the number of the seat is like- wise specified, an usher in the imperial livery at once conducts the visiter to his appointed place, and, in case it is already occupied, ejects the intru- der in the most summary manner. The ordinary price for these seats is one silver rouble, but in the two rows nearest to the stage they are two silver roubles. On extraordinary occasions, however, the public are put under extra contribution ; and sometimes prices have been raised _/?t'e/b/(/, an armchair in the pit being six silver roubles, or somewhat more than four dollars ; the other prices are raised in proportion, and even at these ex- orbitant rates, every seat is engaged for five or six evenings in advance. Excepting the Chinese, there is, perhaps, no language in the world so fraught with difficulties as the Russian. In the first place, the alphabet possesses nine more letters than the Roman or our own, and is made up of Greek, Roman, and Slavonic characters. In 1699, the first Russian 'J I lri,.,i i|!';li , ' '■ ir '•< ■!'' '1^11 'I'll! Iili^'r ''■ »!ll«*™llll«llliilli \: u. ■ ' fii'l LITEBATUnPi AND EDUCATION. ^81 :l-^r'i book was printed at Amsterdam, and it was abont the 3'car 1704 or 1705 that Peter the Great himself made many alterations in the old Slavonic letters, for the purpose of assimilating them more nearly to the Latin ones ; and the first Russian journal was printed with this type at St. Petersburg in 1705 — four years after the foundation of that city — from a font which had been cast for him by artists brouglit from Holland. In the old Slavo- nic alphabet there are forty-six letters ; but the modern Russian language comprises only thirty-five. In all matters, however, of a theological na- ture, the antique form is even now retained, and this constitutes the difler- oncc between the ^^ Czerkovnoi" and '■'■ Grashdanskoi,'^ or the civil and church alpliabet. This, in a great measure, must explain the diflacultiea which a foreigner would have to contend with, in attempting to render himself master of the Russian language ; but if it were possible for him to do so perfectly, he would discover an extraordinary copiousness, a deli- cacy, and beauty of expression, that would indeed surprise him. The Russians, having been in the earlier and darker portions of tlieir national history suiyected to Scandinavian, Mongolian, Tartar, and Polish influence, have preserved many of the words and idioms of the several dialects. Another remarkable feature in the Russian language is the extraordinary facility of construction it admits of, and rarely with danger of becoming obi?cure or unintelligible : in this it much resembles Greek and Latin ; but its leading peculiarity, and perhaps defect, is a paucity of conjunctions. And yet, on tiie othor hand, this may account for the Russian language being so singularly coMprehensive and distinct, since it can merely allow of coniparaiively short sentences; notwithstanding which, its adaptability for tlie purjioses of pootry are incontestable ; but whether it is really capa- ble of entirely following and imitating the classic metres, is still a vexata quecstio among Slavonic philologists. In common with all dialects of Slavonic origin, the Russian is also re- markable for its euphony and versatility ; and it also embraces not only the sounds of every known language, but every guttural lisp and slur of which the human voice is capable. The language is also divided into three leading dialects. The first is the " Russian proper," or the language spoken in the two capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and throughout the northern and central portions of the empire; it is the literary language of all the Russias. Secondly, in the southern and southeastern provinces the ilJa/o-Russian is spoken — which dialect is supposed to approach nearer to the "old Slavonic" than any of the others : the idiom of Red Russia, in the northern and eastern districts of Hungary, and to the eastward of Galicia, inhabited by the Russniacks, is almost identical with the Malo-Russian. Thirdly, in Li- thuania and Volhynia, and other portions of Western Russia, the people Bpeak the White-Russian dialect. The geographical position of those districts should fully account for the Polish words and idioms which are here to be found. This, the youngest of the Russian dialects — although it \\\ >'. i: 682 ILLUSTRATED DESCHIPTION OP RUSSIA. the first translation of the Holy Scriptures wns made in it — ia also the furthest removed of the tlircc from the old Slavonic. Tlic pursuit of literature, in Russia, as a profession, and as the solo object of life, is considered as something utterly inadmissible. All men, whether belonging to the fourteen classes of nobility or not, must follow a profession, or devote their time to the service of the emi)ire, by attaching themselves to the army, the diplomatists, or tlio governmental offices. No amount of personal wealth or talent can absolve the individual from this moral duty to society and to the state. Pcier the Great, indeed, enacted a most positive law to that efffct, and thouirh the edict may have fallen by the lapse of time into disuetude in its iudicial capacity, its spirit still exists in full force. The "rfo/ce far nientc''^ existence of utter idleness and ca- price, peculiar to the wealthy and the ^^ men of pleasure'''' of Western Europe, is utterly unknown in Russia ; and the man who, in full possession of his health, strength, and faculties, would attempt to brave public opinion on this point, would soon find himself treated by society, in return, with the slightest possible consideration ; and it is only during tlic hours snatched from the study or practice of a profession that the pen, in a literary sense, can be employed. Notwithstanding, however, the disadvantages under which literature in Russia labors, it is acquiring an importance which nothing now, it is be- lieved, can repress. Tills may bo believed when it is stated that from 1833 to 1843 (a period of nearly ten years), according to the official re- turns of the minister of '•'■ Narodnago Prosvestchenija" (public instruction), no less than seven millions of volumes of Russian books were printed, and nearly five millions of foreign works were imported. In one ])articular year of that period, in 1839, eight hundred and eighty different works were printed and pnblislied within the Russian dominions ; and an average of only seventy of this nuniljcr were translated from foreign languages. Though Russia still ranks among the more imperfectly educated coun- tries of Europe, the government has long taken a lead in the cause of popular education, and promulgated a complete national system, which, though not yet carried into full effect, has made, and continues to make, effectual progress. The basis of this system was laid by Peter the Great, and promoted by Catherine II., but is indebted for its fuller developments to Alexander and Nicholas. It divides the whole country into university districts, in each of which a university fully equipped either has been, or is intended to be erected. Each district extends over several governments, all the public schools in which, consisting of a regular gradation of gym- nasia, district and parish schools, are under the superintendence of the university. Other important schools, not subject to the same superintend- once, are classed under the heads of military, ecclesiastical, and special. To give unity and vigor to the whole system, a special ministry of public instruction (incidentally alluded to above) is appointed, which forms one of the great departments of the state. LTTKnATUBE AND EDUCATION. hW Tlioro ai'o now (to briefly sum up tlio results of tliia national system) upward of two hundred and fifty tliousand young persons in Russia receiv- ing instruction of some kind from fifteen tl-oiisand teaclicrs, an avcrngc of one teacher to about seventeen ])upils, a very favorable ])roj)ortion to the students. Taking the entire population of Russia at sixty-five millions, one individual in two hundred and sixty receives the benefits of instruction. This is a small proportion compared with the United States, where, accord- ing to tlic last census report, four millions of youth, at the rate of one in every five free persons, arc receiving instruction from one hundred and fifteen thousand teachers, in nearly one hundred thousand schools and col- leges. Nevertheless, two hundred and fifty thousand well-educated young persons, dispersed each year in the dificrcnt quarters of that huge empire, can not fail to leave their mark upon the national character. Wc know more about the quantity than the quality of these schools, as Russian publicists have seldom anything to say on the subject ; but it is generally admitted that the military institutions are of the highest order. The agricultural school of the imperial domain is said to be admirably managed, and is under the immediate supervision of Alexander. Two hun- dred and fifty peasants arc thoroughly instructed in theoretical and prac- tical cultivation, and are then sent to model-farms in various parts of the country, to set a reforming example to the neighborhood. The tuition lasts four years, arid is divided into three periods. In the first year, the boys are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and surveying. In the sec- ond, grannnar, mathenmtics, and the elements of agriculture ; and during the third and fourth, agriculture, practically as well as theoretically, and mechanics. Beside these branches, they are instructed in trades which may be useful to the farmer, such as tailoring, shoemaking, cabinet-making, cooperage, blacksmith's and carpenter's work, and in the construction of agricultural machines. A foundry, a brickyard, a pottery, a tanyard, a candlc-and-soap factory, and a windmill, are attached to the school. It is not required that each ? tudent shall pursue all these branches. The teach- ers are to judge of the aptitude of each pupil, and to direct him accord- ingly ; but every one, upon leaving the establishment, is expected to possess a thorough acquaintance with the general principles and practice ,of agriculture, and a competent knowledge of the collateral branches. \ At the last exposition of the agricultural products of Russia, at St. Petersburg, the various objects sent in by this school excited great atten- don. The leathers, in particular, were of so fine a quality tliat they were telected for exhibition in the World's Fair of London, in 1851. ! ] ij;.. K Wi 0\ 'f mi 584 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF BU88IA, CHAPTER XXIII. MEANS OF TRAVEL. THE roaila of Russia, witli the exception of a few principal lines, are universally represented by travellers as being the most execrable in Europe. Tlic inconvenifiicc and evils resulting from this fact, how- ever, arc much lessened during a portion of the year, by the frost render- ing the worat roads fit for sledge-travelling, and during the warm season by the number of navigable i-ivers, and the extension that has been efl'ected by the construction of numerous canals, giving a continuous inivigation from the Arctic ocean to the Black sea, and from the Baltic to the Caspian, with an intersection of branch caiuils, by which all the great towns of the interior have ready access to their outports and to each other. The valu- able communications thus provided are about to receive a vast accession from the railway system, for which the configuration of thf country affords unwonted facilities. The period is probalily not far distant when the Rus- sian territory will be traversed with a network of iron, conne<'ting all its important points both in the interior and on the seaboard, aflbrding facili- ties, at all seasons, for the prompt transport of goods and merchandise, and to the man of business or the tourist an agreeable and rapid transit across the length and breadth of this mammoth empire. Tlie first railway that was constructed in Russia was that leading from St. Petersbui'g to Czarsko 8elo, a distance of seventeen miles. This road was opened in 1837. At the beginning, it was rather regarded with preju- dice by the mass ; but as it was undertaken with the consent and counte- nance of the emperor, no one dared to raise objection. By the time it went into active operation, and the imperial family had passed and repassed several times in safety, it began to be looked upon with more favor, and it became quite fashionable to ride down to Czarsko Selo or to Paulofsky, the Vauxhall of Russia. Maxwell relates the following characteristic in cident, connected with the early travel on this road : — " On one occasion, the confidence of the Russian public was interrupted by a serious accident. The cars took fire, and several people who coull not or would not break open the doors of the carriage in which they wert riding, were burned to death. There is nothing that so shocks a Russiai community as accidents attended with loss of life. When Carter the lion« tamer went to St. Petersburg, he was permitted to exhibit his animals, but MRANS OF TIIAVEL — RAILWAYS. 686 WiNTU TCAVKLLINO — SLBIMIBS. not to enter the cages, lest he wouUl be devoured in the presence of the people. In consequence of this accident upon tlio railroad, no one would run tlie risk of travelling l»y steam to Czarslto ; and tlic emperor, in a paroxysm of rage, ordered tlie president of the com|»any to appear before iiim. This happened to l>e no loss a person tluui a descendant of the great Catherine, a left-handed cousin of liis niajosty, and by universal report one of ids most intelligent and faitlifid subjects. He was fortunately absent ou a visit to his estates, in the sontli of Russia. Couriers were instantly de- fipatchcd, with orders to the count to repair immediately to St. Petersburg, and report himself to his liege lord and master. He rode night and day, and reached the city in the eveiung. Tlie autocrat was at the theatre. Thither went the coinit, and in the lobl»y adjoining the imperial i)ox he received the indignant rel)uke of his angry sovereign. Fortunately ihe tempest was |tartially allayed l)efore his arrival ; the count, moreovei, was a favorite, and well knew the man he had to deal with. He received the imperial threats with due subnussion, and was dismissed with orders to be at the railway station at an early hour the next morinng. He was there at the appointed time, ana so was Nicholas. An engine was ordered to * fire up,' a car was attached thereto, and away went the master and the subject for Czarsko Selo. No accident occurred. His majesty was gra- cious, the count was most agreeable. They returned in safety ; and when they left the car, the emperor embraced the noble president of the railroad company avec effusion de. crvvr. Public confidence was restored, stock went up, and travel was immediately renewed." ' This road was followed by the great enterprise undertaken by the empe- ror, in which he took a deep interest, of a first-class railway from St. Pe- tersburg to Moscow, four hundred miles in length. In the prosecution of this work, the late Major Whistler, who was one of the efficient engineers of the western railroad in Massachusetts, was invited thither through the r^'4 686 ILLUSTHATnU DKMCIUPTION OP RUSSIA. ■ agency of Mr. nodlsco, tin; Russian mini.Htor, nnd wns omployod in a very rtv>*|)onHibh' Hituiition in tlio coniliict of tlio work, ill liis fleiitli, wliich took place a short time boforo it was finished. Under the njrcncy of Major Wiiistlor, a lariic number of \morican niedianics were invited to Russia, and en»|)loyed in the const: ction of locomotives and macliinery. This work was constructed under the directi«)n of the minister of puidic works, Count Klein-Michel, aided by Major Wliistler, and was opened on the 1st of Novenil>er, ISol. It is found to l>o of immense benefit to the ooininerco of the country, and the business upon it is daily increasinp. The jtassatcc is nuKle from one capital to the other in twenty-tw<> hom-s, which previously occupied four days, in diligent travelling day t • a;) ' Oliphant, who passed over this road in 1^.')8, iliuii j: nphically describes the journey, and also alludes to some of the anncivancaa incident to travel- ling in Ru.Si:iia even l»y railway : — "We proceeded, bag antl buggi. c. (^ the station of the Moscow rail- way. Only one train starts d;iily ; ami the hour at which this most import- ant event takes jdace is, or ought to be. eleven, A, M. Truvollers aro connnanded by the goven iiiont lo bo at the station at ten precisely; and even then they are lial»le to i)e t(dd that the train is full — a'^ it is quite an unheard-of thing to put on an extra carriage for any number of passengers. Having arrived, therefore, at ten minutes before ten, to be quite sure of being in time, our luggage was seized by a soldier, polieenum, or railway porter (for they all wear somewhat the same uniform), and carried in one direction, while we rushed in another to show our passport for Moscow, to procure which wo had Iteen to thrive difl'erent ofliees the day before. Hero the descriptions of our persons and our reasons for travelling, which it contained, being copied at full length, we were hurried to another counter, where wo got it stamped ; whence, catching sight of our baggage en pas- sant, we sped on to the ticket-oflice, and then, returning to our portmau- tcauXjWC went through a few formalities, which ended in receiving a ticket to add to the numl)cr of those with wliich our pockets were now pretty well filled. The arxiety of mind whieli such a variety of documents causes ia not to be wondered at, when the consequences which the loss of any of thcra would entail aro considered. Ladies in Russia do not think of try- ing to carry theii ticki^ts in their gloves. Wo uuw betook ourselves to tho waiting-room, wl-ifh .v> . ''. ' Id have liiought handsome had wo not boon detained in it so ' ' ig that we got tired of admiring it. For an hour did tho destined occupants of tho train sit patiently on tho benches, every man with head uncovered ; for even a skull cap is an abomiimtion to a Russian under a roof. Every man in military garb seemed to have the ejU>'f to tho platform, while the doora were rigorously shut against us unhappy civilians. At a quarter before eleven, however, they aro opi ned, a general rush follows, and we are hurried through a barrier, the doors of which close behind us. Soon the whole barrier becomes thronged with people waving their adieus as ardently as if wo were booked for Australia. A bell, a MKANS OP TRAVKl, — R.VTI.WaYS. o87 whistlo, mid n sort of dull iitt<>in|>t nt » hcih'siiii, nro, ns in ir.oro civili/cd parts of tlio world, the Hijriials lor atai'ti»*m ; wo leavo tlio wct'pinj^ cyos niid WtmJMjjf pockot-liaiidkorcliicrs liidiind m*. uid, in tht* course of ti'u iniiiutcs, find, to om* flatistiiction, Hiat \vm Haw incroasod our speed to liftfcii miles an JKHir. Vta lm\i< liardly (li>Me ■<>o cro we nrrivo nt a station. Kveryhody rushes cHit a»d lights a cigu'vtte. Wo aro to stop here ton niiuuten, ami tho people duriiii! Ilidt time ualk np and down tin; fdiitform, and smoke, then we huddle into our old plaees, and lla^ * iii(> to look altout ns. Tlio Cftrria^es ar-' larj^e. NiflMwiy seoms (o irn in rirst-elass. A seeond-class ciirriajro aceominijdjt es alioiit fifty penle. 1 'lev are Huilt u> in Austria and America, wifli a passaj^o in the contro, poraftitnilnted \yy a man in uni- form, who oo('a>, >iial!y asks people for fh.ir tick s. ||.; sccins to mako intpiiry tho first tinie to satisfy himself thai v-m u we got one, and after- ward mortdy as an uniuscment, wliicli he ap rcntl* '•njoys the moro if ho fancies yon are Roing to sleep. The < > n are -ardeo and dirty, and rolato Btories in a loud tone of voic»% for tli' lienefit 4 eh* 'lole company, most of whom have exidenllv never been in a i.iijwair I 'foi " At every stai >n tlu! same scene ensiu's. ' nioked ends of tho last station's cigars having lieeii carefully preser -*1, are lighted afresh, and vehemently sint»kf 1 on the platform durirsu: live ten n inntes, as tho caso maybe. The stai >iis are all very spacious, at* 'uiirMrndy constructed, with an immense d. lued building for engines atr there is only one passongor-train daily, there are t ' well loaded with iidind produce, tallow, fur, tea. St. Pcterslnirg to the interior. I shoi Id hardly sibly pay; but as it i^ a government loncern no ascertaining this fact. Whether it pays or not, t Russia soon discovers liat the requirements of trade- by goverlnnent as his own personal convenience; for of the empire must e\ r lUMitralize, in a great me; d to each. Though goods-trains, always with cotton from i. the line could pos- V has any liieans of railway traveller in (* as little regarded ' ' restrictive policy I , the be!icfic!al effects of rapid interim i communication, while the ditliculties which have always been placed in tlo way of free mercantile intercourse exist in full force, though tho physied obstacles by which it has hitherto been encom- passed arc ovorcoiiii?, li. fact, though the public can not but be benefited by the formation of railniids through a country, it is hardly for the public benefit that railroads are constrnctod hero. Ruf^sian railroads seem to bo meant for Russian soldiers ; and it is the facility thus atVordcd of moving large bodies of men, that invests this mode of (Mnnmnnication in Russia with an importance whivh does not attach to it in (treat I?ritain,or perhaps any other country in Europe, to an equal extent. When St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, and Warsaw, become connected, Russia assumes an en- tirely new position with regard to the rest of Kurope. A few days, instead of nmny months, will then suffice to concentrate the armies of the north and south upon tho Austrian or Prussian frontiers. Through this same quarter of the world, many hundred years ago, poured those barbaric i • I 688 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. hordes which overran civilized Europe ; it would, indeed, be a singular testimony to the spirit of the age, if the next invaders made their descent by means of railroads." The road from St. Petersburg to Moscow was hardly finished when the emperor ordered tlio construction of another gigantic road, between St. Petersburg and Warsaw. This road will be six hundred and seventy miles long. It will pass by the cities of Louga, Pskov, Dunaburg, Wilna, Orodno, Viloka, Viala, Nicmen, and Narev. A company has also been Ibrmed at Riga for iHiilding a branch to this road, which is to unite that seaport with the city of Duuaburg, and thus connect Riga with the two capitals of Russia and Poland. This branch, the track of which was laid out by the engineer Gouzeul)ack, will be one hundred and forty miles in length. It will keep along the right bank of the Duna, and will jiass near the cities of Jacobstadt and Frcidrichstadt. Tiic capital is fixed at nine millions roul)lcs. Another line is projected to unite Dunaburg, by Smo- lensk, with Moscow, and estal)lish a direct communication between this ancient Russian capital and Warsaw by the route which was pursued by the advance and retreat of the French army in 1812. In the south of the empire, a company is about to undertake the construction of a railroad between Kharkov and Odessa. This road will cross the Dnieper, at Krementchoug, above the rapids which obstruct the navigation of the river. This road will benefit the commerce in grain in the same manner as tlie line from Dunaburg to Riga is destined to help forward that of linen and timber. Finally, in the kingdom of Poland, wlicrc for some years the line from Warsaw to Myslovitz (in Prussian Silesia) has i»oen in full ac- tivity, two other lines arc thought of: one from Warsaw to Bromberg, the other from the same capital to Posen ; but the arrangements necessary to be made with the Prussian government for this purpose have not reached a satisfactory conclusion. Tiie line from Warsaw to Myslovitz, a little more than two hundred miles in length, puts tlie capital of Poland in com- munication by railway witii Vienna and Berlin, and consequently with Paris. When the line which is to join Warsaw to St. Petersburg, is completed and opened for travel, the immense distance which separates France and Rus- sia may be trav(^lled over in four or five days. These lines were all pro- jected before the late war, during which they were generally suspended Since its termination, in pursuance of Alexander's design of promoting the prosperity of Russia by the development of her internal resources, a sys- tem of railways, connecting the remote extremities of the empire, has been submitted to him, which will probably modify to some extent these lines. Until superseded, however, by a general railway system, its wretched roads, a few details of which will presently bo given, must be a serious drawback to locomotion upon Russian territory. The entire distance from Odessa to Moscow is a mere track, marked by verst-posts, about ten feet high, and by them the traveller is guided across the open steppe ; but those posts do not determine the width of the track ; each carriage picks its own a singular their descent SfEANS OP TRAVEL — ROADS. 689 way, citlier a hundred yards or half a mile to the right or left, as th o horses or driver may think fit. This track can not be called a road, ii' the same sense that it would be in this country ; it is merely traced over the natural soil, and there is not a shovelful of material laid down, nor is there any fencing or draining. In the winter, the verst-posts are the compass of the steppe, and without them it would be impossible to travel after heavy falls of snow ; late in the season the track is so uneven that persons arc often thrown witli violence oiit of tlieir sledges.* In wet weather it is almost impassable, and, after the thaw has set in, quite so, for a few weeks. Traffic is then almost suspended, and the transport of the mails becomes at this period a service of some danger, as tlie wooden bridges wliich have been taken up during the winter are not replaced till the weather is settled, and the Yoi^rrs are sonietimes oltliged to pass tiie rivers on rafts. In the latter part of tlie spring the ground is su' 690 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. The poslhouses in most parts of the empire arc mere huts, commonly constructed of mud or pine logs ; in the latter case they swarm witli cock- roaclies ; there is no accommodation beyond a table, cluvirs, and a rough cane-bottomed or wooden sofa, and the traveller has no riglit to expect more than vo walk into the room next to that in which the padaroshnai are entered, throw himself upon it in his cloak, and there take 1ms rest, "■ if rest it be which thus convulses slumber," for uj)on it he is not likely to sleep alone. The fair pilgrim on the shores of the Baltic describes these post-stations on the Riga road as " line buildings outwardly, but otherwise whitened sepulchres." This charge will not hold good against those in the steppe, for there is no whitewash, and, therefore, no deception ; thoy arc wliat thoy appear to be, mud or wooden structures of the humblest kind. The following extract from the same autlior gives one a vciy cheerless idea of what may be expected even on tlie more freiiueuted and macadamized road to the above-mentioned city: "At about three o'clock I alighted at a statiou-liousc of no very promising exterior. Anton (the servant) peeped into a room on tlie riglit and shook his liead, into one on the left a»id re- j)eated the gesture ; each was Idled with smoke from a party of noisy ca~ rousers. The host coming forward, I asked (for here German was a pass- port) for an ' ordcntlkhvs zinituer,^ a decent room, in which 1 could dine. Wlien looking round at his lilthy floors, rickety chairs and smoking guests, he answered, with a shrug, ' Was /idnitcu sie mchr vcrlttng-enr (' What cau you wish for more ?') i very nearly laughed in his face." On tl»e cross- roads, and in the steppe, eggs and milk are generally to be obtained, but no butter, nor anything else l)ut tlie black rye-bread ; the latter very good fare for a Russian or a i^jjartan, but if the traveller is neither the one nor the other, he fmds his gastronomic tastes severely tried. Russian families almost invarial)ly sleep in tlieir travelling-carriages, which arc very pon- derous and roomy vehicles. Those who can afl'ord it are accomi)aHied by a kibilka, or tr/cf^a, in which is placed their Ixxlding and other comforts. Posting is deemed at jjresent the preferable mode of travelling in Rus- sia, it being the most rapid, independent, and, all things considered, the most economical. To travel post, it is necessary to 1)0 provided with a padaroshna, or order iV)r horses, in which is inserted the name of tlio place which is the destined termination of the journey, tlie distance in versts, and the number of horses wanted. This is required to be shown at each post- station, as an authority to the postmasters to furnish fresh horses, and if mislaid or lost the unfortunate owner will be obliged to continue his jour- ney with peasant's horses, sulijeet to all his caprices as to charge, hour of starting, and di.xtance of each day's journey. The horses tiuee, and sometimes four in number, are always driven abreast. Tha i/ainslchUt' or postboy, instead of riding, drives from the box or tlio foot-l)o:ird ; his beard and liabiliments are not the most cleanly, and his love for vodka and gossip is intense. lie knows only two paces, .i walk and a gallop, and his course across the steppe is sti'aight over every MEANS OF TRAVEL — POSTING. 591 huts, commonly arm witli cock- is, and u rough riglit to expect ic padaroshnas c take liis rest, is not likely to (lescril/os these , but otherwise ust those ill the )tio» ; thoy arc hunible!*t kind. i clicerless idea lI macadamized ;k I alighted at lervaut) peeped the lel't and re- ty of uoi-sy ca- YM\ wa» a |)as8- » 1 could dine, naokiiig guests, i/' ('Whatcau On ti»e crofis- >c obtained, but atter very good her tlie one nor tusi^ian IVimilics 1 are very pon- iccompanied by thor comforts, ivelling in Ru9- con side red, tho )rovided with a mc of the place in vcrsts, and n at each post- horsos, and if Uinue his jour- ihargo, hour of always driven s from tl»o box •st cleanly, and y two paces, a ght over every hillock, and into every hole that lies in hia way ; the whip, a short but heavy punishcr, and an inexhaustible supply of oaths, are not unfrequcntly in request. The more humane have recoui'sc to kind words, and address their horses in endearing terms, which are sometimes given in rhyme. A mare the boy calls " siidaruiua,^' or good woman ; a tired horse he ad- dresses as " starite" or old fellow. Collectively, they are called '■'■ ^olub- ki" or little doves. In the winter, a bell is attached to the pole of the carriage, to give notice of its approach, for the sledge glides noiselessly over the snow. A table showing the distance from one post-station to another, is hung up in every [)ost-house, also the charge for each horse is stated ; a book is also kept in wluch travellers may enter their complaints ; should any difficulties arise, a request to see this book may have some ef- fect upon the dilatory and extortiouate postmaster. The official is bound to furnish at least the number of horses ordered in the padarosh'na ; but he may oblige the traveller to take more if the roads require it, and this he docs sometimes to the extent of making him journey with six, and in very bad roads, nine liorses ; he may also, and often does, on the cross-roads, tell you there are no horses left l)ut those which he is bound to keep for tlic mail or a court-courier ; a douceur, however, properly administered to him or the yamslchik^ will have a wonderful effect in producing the requi- site number of qiuulrupeds: the latter is occasionally the proprietor of the horses he drives. Tiiese bearded Jehus generally receive from thirty-five to fifty copper kopeks for the stage, according to its length. This varies greatly, viz., from twelve to twenty-eight versts. Russians gi/e less, and when tnivelliiig ou the public service seldom give tniything. Many of the postmasters in the soutli of Russia are Polish Jews, and, though not more rapacious (lian tlieir Ciiristian brethren of the same trade, are quite as bad. In addition to these worthies, there is at each posthouse a government officer, called an ispravnik, who is supposed to be a check on the post- nuvster ; he is, however, generally his bosom-friend, but the palm of his hand is seldom shut. Souietiines the traveller by post cliances to meet with a cabinet-courier, or with an officer travelling on service, to whose horses some accident has happened, and who forthwith, and without the slightest ceremony, stops the luckless stranger, takes the horses from his carriage, harnesses them U) his own, and gaUoped oil', perfectly indifl'erent as to the fate of the man wlioni lie thus leaves houseless and hel|tless upon the emperor's highway. The cabinet-couriers incidentally mentioned above are worthy of a pas- sing notice. They are coiilideiitial persons, two or more of whom are con- Btantly in attendance in a chamber of the imperial palace, to be despatched as occasion may require. They have their orders direct from the emperor, and at any hour of day or night, they are ready to receive instructions for departure, or for delivery of their despatches. The Russian couriers are perhaps the most enduring and hardworking class of men to be found in Kuropc. IScated on a board covered with a thick leathern cushion, in a 'J -\ ' if I-;' 592 ILLUSTEAlLi) DESCRIPTION OP UUSSlA. ■ i licrABTl'IlB oy TIIK MaLLB-PuST (OA MaU. DiLlaKNCE) raoK sir rETKRSBUR'<. Avooden vehicle, without spriiifrs or back to loan against, and on a level with the traces, the courier travels at full gallop over the most wretched roads, without rest or repose, to Odessa, to Chiva, or even to Port St. Peter and St. Paul, twelve thousand eight hundred vcrsts from St. Peters- burg. Add to this, tliat the courier, so long as he is on Russian ground, is forl)idden, under pain of dismissal, to close an eye in sleep. On such tremendous journeys as the last referred to, nature becomes at last too powerful for du'y to resist her call, and the harassed courier allows him- self brief repose. But it has often occurred that when the despatches reached their place of destination, that the bearer was unable to deliver them, he lying a corpse in the carriage. Another popular mode of travelling on the i)rincipal I'outos in Russia is by diligences. Of these there are several kinds : Tlie government or malle-poste, the public diligence, and the private or family di*igcnce. The malle-poste, which accommodates four inside and three outside passengers, is the fastest and most comfortable. It is very capacious, and in winter warmly fitted up with a huge wolfskin wrapper for the feet and legs. The public diligences are slower, and carry passengers at a less rate of faro. The family-diligence is fitted up to accommodate parties of from eight to deliver HEAXS OP TRAVEL — VEHICLES. bd;\ twelve inside passengers. For family parties this mode of travelling has its advantages, and is a more independent mode of journeying than by the private diligence. Some of the Russian diligences are equal in style and comfort to any other European public highway conveyance. The conduc- tor's scat is in front ; he is screened by a hood and apron from the pelting storm, and beside him, totally unprotected except by his sheepskin schooba, sits the yamstchik, ^vith his low-crowned hat and broad band adorned with many buckles, and his thick yellow hair, cut, like that of all the lower or- ders, in a line from ear to car. The number of horses is generally four, harnessed abreast ; but to these two leaders are frequently added, and on the off leader is perched an urchin, the very facsimile in miniature of the bearded driver, who sits with imperturbable gravity on the box. The ac- couat given of the diligences of the " second Otablissement," by a traveller who recently visited Russia, is not so encouraging. He describes the vehicle as having imaginary springs, stony cushions, green baize lining, and inhab- ited by a thriving colony of bugs, and himself as having arrived at Novgorod with his teeth loose, and his limbs half dislocated. Some diligences are conducted by private proprietors, totally unconnected with the government. Another commodious and comfortable country travelling-carriage, much used iu the interior of Russia, is the tarantasse, an engraving of which, crossing the steppes, is given on page 215. Tlie name of this carriage is used as the title of a work from the pen of Count Solohoupe, alluded to in the chapter on literature and education. Another form of Rus- sian travelling-carriage is the post-leleg'a, whicli is a ^ small open wagon witliout _^^: springs, but strongly con- structed, so as to with- stand the roads and no roads of the country. To " - Journey in this vehicle, one must be a native, for the jolting is auniiiilating, and to prove what the concussions must be, the Russit^.n officers put straw at the bottom of it, and not unfrcqucntly a bod upon that ; in tlic^o ma- chines they get over thp ground at an amazing puce. Gathering up liif! six or ciglit reins, for there are two to cacli horse, and grcsping iiis slioit severe whip, the yamslvhik leaves the posthouse at a furious gnllop, and keeping the liorses at this pace nearly the whole stage, not uiifrequcntly returns to his station with one less than he set out with. When the empe- ror's carriage breaks down, which is not an unusual occurrence in his rapid journeys, ho is sometimes obliged to proceed in one of these rude convey- ances. TIjc kibitka is an improvement on the tele'^-a, having a hood and apron, so that there is more protection from the weather. 88 The Post-Teleoa. m ■, ■■m ii 694 ILLUSTRATED DESCKIPTION OF RU&SIA. The Dborkt. Tho back-carriage or cab of St. Petersburg, and other large cities in Russia, is tho drosky: but it is a most comfortless conveyance, consisting merely of a bench upon four wheels, on which the fare sits astride, as on a velocipede, and immediately be- hind the driver, who is not an agreeable person to be in very close contact with ; at any rate, to those who arc not fond of the odors of garlic, their favorite seasoning. Moreover, tho wood- en pavement is at the best indif- ferent, and when out of repair, which is frequently the case, most abominable, and even worse than the stone pavement. Droskies for hire stand in tho most principal streets. There is no fixed price whatever, as to distance or time ; a most extraordinary thing in a country where tho police schmu to busy themselves about every- thing. To do the iooshlshiks or drivers justice, they do not impose very exorbitantly, seldom asking more than twice as much as they will willingly take if a bargain is made before starting; and never attempting to demand more wlieii tho ride is fmislicd than they liave previously agreed for. Tho usual fare in St. Petersburg from one quarter to anotlier is aljout twenty cents. As the distances are groat, the most inveterate pedestrian will soon find these heardod Jehus, tho ivoshtshiks, his best friends, and lie will sel- dom have occasion to sing out '■'■ davaV ("here") a second time ; indeed, he need scarcely look at them ; and if he only pause for a moment, seeming to muse upon the expediency of hiring one, half a dozen will instantly dart to the spot where iie stands and offer their services. In Southern Russia tlie droski/ lias a l)ack and the driver sits on a seat in front, at a more agreeable distance from his fare. On a good road, and with three horses attached to it, which arc always placed abreast, the pace is grand and the motion very easy; the wheels are small, and the body, which is hung on C-springs, is very low. This vehicle is driven with one, two, or three horses ; in either case one is in the shafts, to which a light piece of wood is attached, ibrming an arch over his head ; the traces draw from the nave of the wheel ; the bridle and other parts of the harness ure ornamented with small ))its of brass or silver. If two horses are driven, the second is always placed on tiie :iear side, his head drawn a little down ar.-' outward l)y a rein attached to it for tlie purpose ; he is trained to canter and show himself off, while the otlier does nearly all the work at a rapid trot. When there arc three horses, the one on the off-side is also harnessed with his head downward, and capers in the same way. A droski/ ?rell turned out in this manner, is by far the prettiest equipage of tho three, will instantly dan MEANS OF TUAVEL — IV0SHTSHIK8. [iOo and when going at speed, which is the usual pace, the horses have the effect of those in an ancient car. Droskies ply in all the large towns. In winter the ivos/itshik uses the favorite national vehicle of a sledge, with which he continues to grind the pavement as long as the least trace of snow is to be felt under the spring mud. A covered carriage he never uses. The cloaks and furs of his passengers must do the service that the roof of the coach does with us ; and when well wrapped up in a scries of protecting folds, the warm nucleus of life that occupies the centre, patiently suffers the pelting of snow, rain, and mud, till the end of his journey, where the dirty rind is peeled off, and the said kernel steps forth clean and un- spotted from his muddy covering. Tlio irosldshiks of St. Petersburg appear to be a race of Hamaxobites (dwellers in wagons), leading a sort of nomadic life among the palaces of the caj)ital. They encamp by day in the streets, and so do many of them during the night, their sledge serving them at once as house and bed. Like the Bedouin Arabs, thoy carry the oat-bag constantly with them, and fasten it, during their interval of leisure, to the noses of their steeds. In many streets arrangements have been made for tiie convenience of the ivus/dshiks. Every here and there mangers are erected for their use; to water their horses, there are in all i)arts of the town convenient descents to the canals or to tlie river ; and hay is sold at a number of shops in small bundles, just sufficient for one or two horses. To still the thirst and hun- ger of the charioteers themselves, there are peripatetic dealers in quass, tea, and bread, who arc constantly wandering about the streets for the charitable purpose of feeding the Imngry. The animals are as hardy as their inastei's. Neither care for cold or rain ; both eat as opportunity serves, and arc content to take their sleep when it comes. Yet they are always cliei^rful, the horses ever ready to start off at a smart trot, the dri- vers at all times disposed for a song, a joke, or a gossip. When they are neither eating, nor engaged in any other serious occupation, they lounge about tiieir sledges, singing some simple melody that they have probably brought with tlumi from their native forests. When several of tliem hap- pen to be together at the corner of a street, they are sure to be engaged in some game or other, pelting with snowballs, wrestling, or bantering each other, till the ^'•Davai ivoshtshik I'' of some chance passenger makes them all grasp their whips in a moment, and converts them into eager competi- tors for the expected gain. These men are, for the most part, Russians from all the different govern- ments of the empire ; but among them there are also Finlanders, Esthoni- ans, Lcttcs, Poles, and Germans. They arrive at St. Petersburg generally as little boys of ten or twelve years old, hire themselves as drivers to some owner of hackney-carriages, whom they continue to serve till they have saved enough to buy a horse and vehicle, when they set up in business on their own account. Their trade, as are all trades in Rus;=ia, is uncontrolled by corporation laws ; and should fodder grow dear, or business slack, the V 1 1 m,' •■■ mm i Vv. 596 ILLUSTIIATED DESCniPTION OP nUSSIA. ivoshtshik packs up the fcwM'orldly poods lie possesses, drives awnyto tho south, and reappears in tho streets of Novgorod or Moscow ; tluis, in \)\\r- suit of fortune, they emerge now in one town and now in anotlier, till enabled somewhere to form a profitable and permanent establishment. The constant jjlaguc of the ivoshtshik is tho pedestrian, who in Russia is invested with immense privileges. In other countries a man thinks him- self bound to take care that he is not run over : but in Russia, he mIio walks afoot trouldes himself but little al)out tho matter, and thinks the coachman alone is bound to be careful. ]f the horse or carriage merely touch a foot-passenger, without even tlirowing him down, tho driver is liable to be Hogged and fined ; should the pedestrian l)c tlirown down, a flogging, Siberia, and the confiscation of the whole equipage, are tho nrld penalties imposed l>y tho law. " Have a care," cries the ivoshtshik. " Have a care thyself, and remember Sil»eria," is tho prol)ably reply of tho leisurely wayfarer. The moment the cry is raised that a man has been run over, a brace of bvtshniks rush out from their watchboxes, and the carriage, whoever it may belong to, is carried away as a police j)rize. The poor coachman is immediately bound, and the llattering prospect of an emigra- tion to Siberia is immediately hold forth to him, whether tho accident havo arisen from his own fault or not. Cases of great severity sometimes oc- cur : but it is dinicult to point out any other way of checking tho wild way of driving in which the nobles frcqrcntly indulge. ' Ivusumnn, UISTORIC 8UUHABY — THE SLAVONIANS. 697 CHAPTER XXIV. HISTORIC SUMMARY — EARLY ANNALS. THE earliest annals of Russia only furnish occasional glimpses of nu- inei'ous barbarous hordes roaming over its surface. These nomadic tribes, classed under the common appellation of Sarmatians and Scythians, at a very early j)criod began to menace the Roman frontiers, and even before tlie time of Cyrus the Great of Persia liad invaded what was then called the civilized world, particularly southern Asia. They inhabited tlie countries described by Herodotus between the Don and the Dnieper; and Strabo and Tacitus mention the Roxolani, afterward called Ros, as highly distinguished among the Sarmatian tribes dwelling in that district. The Greeks early established colonics here; and in the second century the Goths came from the IJaltie, and, locating in the neighborhood of tlie Don, extended tlicmselvcs to the Danube. In the (iflli century, the country in the neighborhood of these rivers was overrun by numerous migratory hordes of Alans, Huns, Avarians, and Bui- . garians, who were followed by the Slavi, or Slavonians, a Sarmatian peo- [tlc, who took a more northerly direction tlian their predecessors had done. In the next century, tlie Khozari, pressed upon by the Avarians, entered the country between the Volga and the Don, conquered the Crimea, and thus placed themselves in connection with the Byzantine emiiire. These and numerous other tribes directed the course of their migrations toward the west, fttrced the Huns into Pannonia, and occupied the country be- tween the Don and the Alaiita ; while the Tehoudes, or Ishudi, a tribe of tlie Finnic race, inhabited the northern parts of Russia. All these tribes maintained themselves by pasture and the chase, and exhibited the usual barbarism of wandering nomades. The Slavonians, coming from the northern Danube, and spreading them- selves along the Dnieper, in the fifth and sixth centuries, early acquired, from a commerce with tiieir southern neighbors, habits of civilized life, and embraced the Christian religion. They founded in the country afterward called Russia the two cities of Novgorod and Kiev, which early attained a commercial importance. Their wealth, however, soon excited the avid- ity of the Khozari, with whom they were compelled to maintain a perpetual struggle. But Novgorod found another and more formidable enemy in the Varagians, a race of bold pirates who infested the coasts of the Baltic, f: i hxM M i ( it\ ili ,l'i*l JnH Mil m 508 ILLUSTHATED DESCRIPTION OP RU38TA. and who had previously subdued the Conrlanders. Livonians, and Estlio- nians. It is not improbable that these Varaginiis formed a part of those Scandiivaviau nations, who, under the name of Danes and Saxons, succes- sively made tliomsolvcs masters of England. To these bold invaders tho name of Russi, Riisses, or Rvssians, is tliought by the most eminent authors to owe its origin. I3e that, however, as it may, it appears certain that in those dark ages the country was divided among a great number of petty princes, who made war upon each other with groat ferocity and cruelty, so that the pcoj)lo were reduced to tho utmost misery ; and the Slavonians, seeing that the warlike rovers threatened their rising state with devasta- tion, were prompted by the necessity of self-preservation to ofl'cr the gov- ernment of their country to them. In consequence of this, a celebrated Varagian chief, named Rurik, arrived, in 8G2, with a body of his country- men, in the neighborhood of tho lake Ladoga, and laid the foundation of the present empire of Rusi>;,, by uniting his people with those who already occupied the soil. Rurik has tho credit of being zealous for the strict administration of justice, and enforcing its exercise on all the boyars or nobles who pos- sessed territories under him. He died in 879, leaving an only son, Igor, who, being a minor, Oleg, a kinsman of the deceased monarch, took on himself the administration of aflairs. Tho new monarch appears very early to have projected the extension of his territories, by annexing to them the set'l'^ment which the Slavi had formed about Kiev, against which he soon undertook a formidable expedition. Ho collected a numerous army, and, taking with him the young prince Igor, opened tlio campaign with the capture of Lubitch, and of Smolensk, the capital of the Krivit- sches. Having reduced several other towns, he advanced toward the rival city of Kiev, the possession of which formed the chief object of his ambi- tion. As he did not think it advisable to hazard an open attack, he had recourse to artifice ; and, leaving behind him the greater part of his troops, ho concealed the remainder in the barks that had brought them down tho Dnieper from Smolensk. Olcg himself, disguising his name and quality, passed for a merchant sent by the regent and his ward Igor on busi;>es3 of importance to Constantinople ; and he despatched officers to Oskhold and Dir, the two chieftains of the Kievians, requesting permission to pass through their territory into Greece, and inviting them to visit him as friends and fellow-citizens, pretending that indisposition prevented him from paying his respects to them in person. Tho princes, relying on these appearances of friendship, accepted Oleg's invitation ; but when they ar- rived at tho regent's encampment, they were surrounded by tho Varagian soldiers, who sprang from their place of concealment. Oleg, taking Igor in his arms, and casting on the sovereigns of Kiev a fierce and threatening look, exclaimed : " You are neither princes, nor of tho raco of princes ; behold tho son of Rurik !" These words, which formed the signal that had been agreed on between Oleg and his soldiers, were no sooner uttered. ns, and Estlio- V part of thoso MlXOnS, 8U0CC8- d invaduis tlio mincnt uuthora certain timt in mbcr of petty mid cruelty, so ic Slavonians, with dovasta- ofl'cr tlic pov- a, a celebrated }f Iiis country- foundation of who already ninistration of )l)les who po3- >nly son, Igor, larch, took on appears very Y annexing to , against which d a numerous 1 the campaign of the Krivit- ward the rival 3t of his ambi- attack, ho had t of his troops, hem down tho B and quality, »r on busiiicss rs to Oskhold iiission to pass ' visit him as )revented him lying on these when they ar- tho Varagian f, taking Igor id threatening !0 of princes ; )c signal that oonor uttered. FISTOKIC SUMMA1Y- -^— HI 690 VjkBAOtANa. — CuSTVMES or Till! TlMi: or RVBIK. tliitn the latter rushed on tho two princes, and laid them prostrate at tho feet of their master. Tlie inhabitants of Kiev, tiirown into consternation by tliis bold and treaclioruus act, made no resistance, but opened tliO gates of their city to tho invader. By this means, the two Slavonian states were united uiider one head. Having ihus made himself master of the key to the eastern empire, Oleg prepared to carry into cIToct his ambitions designs against Constantinople. Leaving Igo'* at Kiev, he embarked on the Dnieper with ciglity thousand warriprs, in two thousand vessels. The inhabitants of the imperial city had drawn a massy chain across the harbor, hoping to prevent their land ing. But the invaders drew ashore their barks, fitted wheels to their flat bottoms, and converted tliem into carriages, which, by the help of sails, they forced along tho roads that led to the city, and thus arrived under the walls of Constantinople. The emperor Leo, instead of making a manly resistance, is said to have attempted carrying off his enemies by poison ; but, this liot succeeding, ho was obliged to purchase from the conqueror i ; (is ' 1'. ■;Mi). m 11: noo ILLUSTHATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. nil ifrnomiiiioiis poaco. OIoji^ v.Mniiicd tlio completion of his wishes, l>y itw rich booty wlii(!li lio carried oft"; mid hia people, (hizzled wilh iiirt brilliuiit HUCCCSN, tliotijrilt liiin endowed witli siipernatiiml powers. Olofj maintained tlic sovereign power for tliirty-lliree years; nor does it appear lliat Ijror had any share in the government till llio doatli of his gimrdiaii hsft him in full possession of the throne, A. I). Slli, at whu;h tinio ho had reached his fortieth year. He soon (liscoV(M-ed marks of the same warlike spirit w' ' ;h had actuated his predecessor. Anumg the nations that had been snojugatod by Oleg, several, on the accession of a new sov- ereign, attempted to regain their independence; bnl they were i]uelleute. In this unjust attack, he was at lirst successful, and returned loaded wilh the contribu- tions wliicli he had levied from tiiat |»eople ; Imt having dismissed n great part of his lr- itants of tlie Drevlian towns, she caused them to l)c treacherously assassin- ated. This was l)ut the first step to the dreadfid vengeance which she had. resolved to inflict on this unhaj)py people. She laid waste the whole coun- try, particularly near the town of Korosten, where Igor had lost his life For a long time she could not master the place, as the inhabitants, dread- HISTORIC KUMMAIIY — OLOA — SVIATOSLAFF. 001 lug tlio lioi'i'ililc fato tliiit uwiiUod tlicin from tlio rovciigcfiil P|»irit of Olga, doluiiilod tliciiii'clvcs willi valor iukI tiaM foldiei's, pliintod round the tosvn for that piiiposc, by whom tlicy wore put to the sword. Though not uncommon in the annals of a barl):n'ous people, this transaction is suilicient to hand down the niimu of Olga with detestation to posterity. This princess was, however, tho first of the barbarians who professed to eml)rac() (Christianity. She failed in persuading her sou to follow her example, but induced :■ ^'".w of her sub- jects to do so. It is probable that Olga retired from the admia ' ifairs soon after her profession of Christianity ; for we find S\iai<.. i . ..i iull posses- sion of the government in 1>.")7, long before his mother's death. This piince has been considered one of the Russian heroes ; and if a thirst for blood, a contempt of danger, and disregard of the luxuries and conveni- ences of life, be admitted as the characteristics of a hero, he deserves the appellation. lie took up his habitation in a camp, where his accommoda tious were of the coarsest kind ; and when he had, by this mode of life, iugraliated himseU' with his troops, he prepared to employ them in those amliitioiis pri»jects which he luul long lieen forming. llis lirst expedition was against the Khozari, a people already men- tioned, from the sliores of the Caspian, and the Caucasian mountains, who had established themselves along tho eastern shores of the JJlack sea. These people had rendered tributary both the Kievians and tho Viatoches, a Slavonian nation that dwelt on the i)ank.s of the Oka and tho Volga. SviatoslalT, desirous of transferring to himself the tribute which the Kho- zari derived I'roni the latter potiple, marched against them, and appears to have succeeded in his design. He defeated them in a battle, and took their capital city Sarkel, or Befi^orod. It is said by some historians that ho annihilated the nation ; and it is certain that, from that time, no men- tion is made of the Khozari. Tho nuirtial fame of SviatoslalT had extended to Constantinople ; and the emperor Nieephorns Pliocas, who was then harassed by tho llimga- rians, assisted by his treacherous allies the Bulgarians, apidiod for succors to the Russian chieftain. A subsidiary treaty was entered into bot\>een them, and Sviatoslall" hastened with a numerous army to the assistance of his new allies. He quickly made himself master of most of tho Bulgarian towns along the Danube ; but, receiving intelligence that the Pctchcnegans had assembled in great numbers, ravaged the Kievian territory, and laid siege to the capital, within the walls of which were shut up his mother and his sons, he liastcncd to the relief of his family. r ' iM -IF •■•"I ■■■' ill" 1 602 ILLUSTHATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Having defeated tho besiegers, and obliged tliem to sue for peace, ho resolved to establish himself on tiio banks of the Danube, and divided his hereditary dominions among liis children. He gave Kiev to Yaropolk ; the Drcvlian territory to Oleg; and on Vladimir, a natural son, he be- stowed the government of Novgorod. On his return to Bulgaria, however, he found that his affairs had assumed a very different aspect. The Bulga- rians, taking advantage of his absence with his troops, had recovered most of their towns, and seemed well |)repared to resist the encroachments of a foreign i)ower. They fell on Sviatoslaff, as he approached tho walls of Pcreiaslavat", and began tlio attack with so mucli fury, that at first tho Russians were defeated with great slaughter. Tliey, however, soon ral- lied, and, taking courage fiom despair, renewed the battle with so much eagerness, that they in turn became masters of the field. Sviatoslaff took possession of the town, and soon recovered all that he had lost. During these transactions, the Greek emperor Nicephorns had been assassinated, and John Zeniisccs, his murderer, had succeeded to the impe- rial diadem. The new emiteror sent emliassadors to the Russian monarch, requiring him to comply with the stipulations of his treaty with Niceplio- rus, and evacuate Bulgaria, which he had agreed to oecui>y as an ally, but not as a niastn'. Sviatoshiff refused to give up iiis newly-acquired posses- sions, and prepared to decide tlie contest by force of arms. He did not live to reach the capital ; for having, contrary to the advice of his most experienced ollicers, attempted to return to Kiev up the dangerous navi- gation of the Dnieper, he was intercepted by the I'etchenegans near tho rocks tliat form the cataracts of that river. After remaining on tlic defen- sive during the winter, exposed to all the horrors of famine and disease, on the return of spring, in 972, attempted to force his way through tho ranks of the enemy ; but his troops were defeated, and himself killed in the l)attlc. Yaropolk, the sovereign of Kiev, may bo considered as the successor of his father on the Russian throne ; but his reign was short and turbulent. A war broke out between him and his brotiier Oleg, in which the latter was defeated and slain. Vladimir, the third brotiier, dreading the in- creased power and ambitious disposition of Yaropolk, soon after almn- doned his dominions, which were seized on by the Klevlan prince. Vladi- mir had retired among the Varagians, from whom he soon procured such succors as enabled him to make effectual head against the usurper. Ho advanced toward Kiev before Yaropolk was prepared to oppose him. Tho Klevlan prince had, indeed, been lulled into security by tiie treachcroua reports of one of his voyvodes, who was in the interest of Vladimir, and who found means to induce him to abandon his capital, on pretence that the inhabitants were disaffected toward him. The Kievians, left without a leader, opened their gates to Vladimir; and Yaropolk, still misled by the treachery of his adviser, determined to throw himself on tho mercy of bis brother ; but before he could effect this purpose, ho waa assassinated niSTOUIC SUMMAllY — VLADTMIH THE CRKAT — YAROSLAV I. 603 peace, ho lividcd liis Yuropolk ; ion, lie be- I, liowevcr, riic Biilga- rorcd most 1)101) ts of a walls of it lii-st the , soo)) ral- 1 8() l))Ucll D.slafl' took l)ad been ) the ni)pe- 1 DioDarch, I Niccpho- i» ally, but I'od posses- Ifo did Dot f i)ia most oi'oiis navi- la noai' tho the dofen- ))d disease, i)'oii«^h tho f killed in jcccssor of turbulent, the latter iii<^ the ia- iil'ter aljan- :e. Vladi- cured such ii'per. Ho him. Tho I'oaeherous dimir, and [itence that eft without misled by mercy of jsassinated by soi))o of his Va)"agia)i foUowei-a. By this mu)'dcr, which had probably bcei) plai)))od l>y Vladii))ir, the conquei-or, in 980, acquired the undivided possession of all his father's territories. The commencement of Vladimir's reign formed but a continuation of tho enormities which had conducted hi)n to the throne. He began with remov- ing lUude, tho treacherous voi/oode, by whom his brother had been be- trayed into his power, and to whom he had promised the highest honors and dignities. The Varagia)is, who had assisted in reinstating him on the tl))'one of his ancestoi'S, requested permission to go and seek their for- tune in Gi-eece. He gi'anted M)eir reqtiest, but privately advertised the empoi'or of their approach, and caused them to be arrested and secured. Vladii))ir engaged in numerous wars, and subjected scvei-al of the neigh- bori)ig states to his doi))i)iion. He seized on i)art of the Polish territory ; and co)))pelled the Bulgarians, who dwelt i)i that Avhich now forms tho government of Kazan, to do l)i)n homage. He subdued the Petchcncgans and Khazares, in the immediate neig!)borhood of the Kieviau state ; ho reduced to his authority Halitsch (or Kalisch) and Vladimir, countries which are now known as Galieia and Lul)0)niria; he conquci-ed Lithuania as far as Meinel, and took possession of a gi'eat part of niodo-n Livonia. This niona)'cl), having s(!ttlod the aflaii-s of his empii-e, demanded in mar- riage the princess Aniir, .-^istor to the Greek emperor ]}asilius Porphyro- genitiis. His suit was gi'ai)ted,on condition that he should cinl)racc Chris- tianity. With this the Russian mo)iarcl) com|)lied ; a))d that vast onpiro was thenceforward consido-ed as belonging to the patriai-chate of Constan- J,inople. Vladi)nir leceived the name of Basilius on the day he was baj>- tized ; and, according to the Russian annals, twenty thousand of his sub- jects were baptized on the same day. The idols of paganism were now thrown down, churches and monasteries were erected, towns built, and tho arts began to flourish. The Slavonian letters were also at this period first introduced into Russia ; a))d Vladimir sent missionaries to convert tho Bulgarians, but without much success. We are told that Vladiuiir called the arts fi-oin Greece, cultivated them in the peaceable periods of his reign, and generously rewarded their professors. His )nerits, indeed, appear to have been veiy considerable. Ho has been extolled by the monks as tho wisest as well as tho most i-eligious of kings ; his zealous exertions in pi"o- moting the profession of Cliristianity throughout his dominions acquired for him the title of saint ; and succeeding historians, comparing the virtues of his character with the age in which he lived, have united in conferring upon hi)n tho appellation of '' Vladimir the Great." His son Yai-oslav, who reigned thirty-five years, and died in 1054, at the age of seventy-seven, was a prince of considerable attainments, and a great pation of the arts. The church of St. Sophia, at Novgorod, was by his order decorated with pictures and mosaics, portions of which are said to remain to tho present time. His expedition against Constantino XL, who then hold tho sccptro of tho eastern or Greek ompiro (though unsuc- /'f^l m. m '^f \ I 60-i TI.I.tlSTnATKD DKSCniPTION OP HUSSIA. Pi: i< l!i ccssfiil), as well as his acquirements, and tlic splendor in which ho lived, made his name known and respected throughout Europe. Three of his dau<>liters wore married to the kings of France, Norway, and Hungary; and Ills oldest son, Vladimir, who died before him, had for wife a daughter of the iMifortimate Harold, the last of the Saxou kings of England. Yaroslav, at his death, divided his empire, as was usually the case, among liis sons. Vladimir jMoiiomaehiis, his grandson, who died in the early part of the next century, did the same ; and as the Russian monarehs were blessed, generally speaking, with a numerous oflspring (the last- mentioned sovereign had eight children), the country was continually a prey to internal dissensions and strife: and these faniily feuds were not settled until an a|)peal had been made to the sword, which, being conge nial to the disposition of the people and the temper of the times, was fre- quently prolonged for years. In the year preceding the dcatli of Monoma- chiis, Kiev was nearly destroyed by (ire; and, from the great nnml)er of churclic's and houses tliat fell a prey to the flames, that city must then have been of great extent and opulence. Tiiis calamity was followed in the gucceeding reign by a still greater one, when the sister-capital, Novgorod, was desolated by a famine so awful, tliat the survivors were not sufliciently numerous to bury llic dead, and the streets were blocked up by the putrid corpses of the inliabitauts ! Tiie reigns which followed this period of Russian history arc distiu- giiished by lidle else than continual wars with (lie Poles, Lithuanians, Polovelzes, and Tehoudes, witli tliis exception, that the town of A'ladimir, built by Yiny I., in lloT, became in lluit year the capital instead of Kiev. But a more formidable enemy than the inhal)itants of the countries and tribes already mentioned drew near the Muscovite territory, in the person of Tuschki, the son of Zinghis Klian, who, emigrating with his Tartars westward, led them, about the year 1223, from the shores of the sea of Aral and the Caspian to those of the Dnieper. Tlio Circassians and Polo- vctzes, having endeavored in vain to arrest the progress of the horde, were at length constrained to apply to their hitherto inveterate foes for assist- ance ; and, the cause being now equally dear to all parties, the Russians made an intrepid stand on the banks of the Kalka. The impetuous attack, however, of the invaders was not to be withstood, and, the j)rince of Kiev treacherously abstaining from taking part in the battle, the Russians were completely routed, and scarcely a tenth part of an army composed of one hundred thousand men escaped. The enemy then pursued his way unmo- lested to the capital, which he took, and put fifty thousand of thu inhabit- ants of the principality of Kiev to the sword! The further progress of the Tartars northward was marked by fire and sword ; but, having reached Novgorod-Sevcrski, they faced about and retreated to the camp of Zinghis Khan, who was at this time in Bokhara. Thirteen years after, Ratou Khan, kinsman of Zinghis, desolated Rus- sia afresh, comiuitting every species of cruelty, aud aggravated breaches HISTOPIC SUMMARY — YAUOSLAV II. — ALKXANDEU I. 605 of faltli with tlic towns wlio submitted to Ills arms. In tliis manner, tlio old provinces of Riazan, I'eriaslavl, Rostov, and several others, foil into liis hands ; for, with incredible apathy, and contrary to their usually war- like inclinations, the Russian princes neglected to raise any troops to dis- pute their progress ; and Yury 11., i)rince of Vladimir, was at tliis critical juncture occupied in celebrating the nuirriage of one of his boyars. At length, suddenly roused to a sense of his desperate position, he jdaced himself at the head of some troops hastily called together, and left his family under the protection of one of his nobles, trusting that his capital would be able to sustain a long siege. He was mistaken : the Tartars soon made themselves masters of Vladimir, and the grand ])rincesses, as well as other persons of distinction, were burnt alive in the church in which they had taken shelter. On hearing of this tragical event, Yury marched with his adherents to meet tlie foe. The contest was sanguinary and short ; but, after performing prodigies of valor, the Russians wero borne down by overpowering numbers, and their prince was left among the slain. There was now nothing to dispute the march of the ruthless Tartars, and they pushed forward to within sixty miles of Novgorod, when they again turned round without any ostensible motive, and evacuated the Russian territory. The wretched condition into which the southern and central parts of the empire were thrown by these invasions, aflbrded a most advantageous opportunity for other enemies to attack it; and, accordingly, in 1242, and during tlie reign of Yaroslav 11., tlie Swedes, Danes, and Livoiiians, sent a numerous and well-disciplined army to demand tlie submission of Novgo- rod. This Alexander, tiie son of the reigning sovereign, refused; and, leaving his capital, he advanced, unaided by any allies, to mec' his oppo- nents, and fought the celebrated battle of the Neva, which gained him tho surname of Ncvski, and a place in tlie Russian calendar. The personal courage of Alexander in this liattle was of the highest order, and mainly contributed to secure tiie victory. His memory is still cherislied by the Russians, and the order instituted in honor of him is much valued. A cruel and constanllj-lluctimting war with the Tartar? — various incur- sions by the Livonians, Lithuanians, Swedes, and Polos — and llic most frightful civil discord among the several almost regal provinces of Russia — consumed fourteen successive reigns, between Yury ll., who died in 1238, and Ivan I., who succeeded his father in the principality of Vladimir in 1328.* At times, during this period, the Tartars, adding insriU to • Tho rcifrn* iliiiinit llii.t pi-iinci wen- tlindc of Yiirnsliiv 11.. 12;)8-'I7 ; Svi;itiisl;itl' II., 12-l7-'48; Mi.-lmi'l 11., 1248-'49; Andivw II., 12l!)-'r)2; Alrxuncln- I. (N.'vski), 12.')2-'(;3; Vinualiiv III., l2G3-'72; Viissili I., 1272-7(i ; Diniiii 1., 127fi-'!)|; Aiidrevv 111., li!)» ' 130-1 ; Michiirl 111., I304-'1D; Yniy III., 131!)-'22; Dmiiii II., 1322-'2.); Airxim.l.M- II., 132.-.-'28. Tlio lust liiilf r.piitiii-y of tliirt «'iioi-li Kiininisiii ppciikd of lis llie iiicist (lisi\9lio\i» iirnnd ol' Riissiiin lii. f ipiin r:itr in liin him 1> I ins til liiiiU iijiiin t:i:r nr Isiir 113 the nmro pirvMlriit iind nirn'ct fcnin. Hi" iniiki's llii' t'nlliiwln^ o! siMviitiiiiis nil till' iiillio^iii])liy anil di'iivilniii o (' tlic wnril: Til: icn- IM It iliRci'enci' nl iipniKiii w lilb .1 111 ihi' iiitlin^iiipliy nl'lliis word. Forinprly it wim iihvuyit wiillcn 'cznr,' lint Kiiicr llir nii'iicrnn'ii t of lliis iiiiliii-y till' nisliini iidoptcd liy Lo Cliic of wiilinp it ' Iziii' ni ' Uni ' li:i!< iiisnii- cilily Ihtii csliilili.-ilicd. The liittrr foiiii i.-t ihi; only oniMvliirli cxiii'lly cniTcBpiind.s with tlir llii!>Kiiiii proniiiii'iiilion. We liiivr boiiowi'd tin- fnim 'iziii' from llii" I'lilrn; tlir (iriiiinna iilmi liiivn lU"- livi'd it fioni llii'iii, iilttiiiii{;li in tlicir liiii;;niign tlii> word bIioiiIiI In- wiittcn ' /.nr,' llicir ; Ining 11 Inirsl ' fi'.iii 1 iirlK'iihition I'litnpniicd of (III! Iwu rongoiiiints I nnd $, But instrinl nf pi'iiiininii'ifi<; lliis word till' Fri'iicli do, tin- I'oli'S siiid ' tcliiir.' Tliry now write ' ci iiis, for tlirir c ciirrcnpniiiU to ta, nnd is nrvor pninoiincrd lis k. It lin.iiin8 derived it? Tie following is wliiit Knriimsin, tlie most r«> leinied of Kiissiuii liistoriniis, liiys on tliis subject : ' Tliis word is not nil ubbreviulion uf tlie L.itii Cu'siir, us iiiiiny liuve eiToiieously supposed, but 1111 uncient term of the eastern iiingmiges Knovu Illy for tliia ion tlint ho cssfiil. ml received iiul Poland, I Prince of -lie arms of tor liis mni'- inoplc. In Inssian cni- nt l)oing a II liarslmcss of his rea- hc was cx- l)ctitioncrs the boi/nrs )t helio his lid give the or of a son }asc !" Ho ! Novgorod- he doatli of I elapsed m fur a tiino ' * married ciwi'Vrr, ni Ilia ttr ill liH wiirli, llii' riillowin^ t' ii|ii wiib • inn' till* cnin- III ' liiiii inacii- tli tlic ItiifiKiiin ;il»i> liiivc ilo- tlirir c lirill^ u ini; this niiiJ imiimicr ' tsni", I1114 liccii tnid >y iililiii'Nintion I, iiiiini'l)-, tlial vi'ii ijiilir till) •iiiis. ('Isyiie — LiiUo ii. 1 I iii'f Cu'sai''*. lillf nf 'l«HV iiig til)' Sliivn- IICI3 comos it t I, tlin most r^ of llio L.iti.'i ugl'l^ Know 11 HISTCaiC SUMMARY — IVAK IV. THE TERRIBLE. 009 Ivan IV. tub Teiridle. Anastasiii, tho daughter of Roman Yuryvich, who in the early part of his reign had the happiest ascendency over a character naturally violent and cruel. Ivan was at this period aftablc and condescending, accessible to both rich and poor, and his mental powers under her guidance were em- ployed in advancing the interests and happiness of his subjects. Ivan soon perceived that, to preserve his power, he must annihilate the Tartar do- minion. To this he felt that his uniiistructed army was unequal : ho there- fore established, in 154r>, the militia of the Sfrefitzes, and armed tliein with muskets instead of bows, hitherto their arms, as their name imports, from strefai, " an arrow." lie then laid siege to and cajitured Kazan, taking the khan prisoner. lie likewise defeated Gustavus Vasa, king of Sweden, in a pitched battle near Viborg ; ravaged Livonia, taking Dorpat, Narva, and thirty fortified towns ; and made war on the king of Poland because he had refused him his daughter in marriage. An unsuccessful campaign against this potentate, attributed by the boijars to the unskilful arrangements of the foreign generals, as well as the death of his wife Anas- tasia, whoso controlling influence was no longer felt, led to the unlimited umung us l>y iIip Slnvoiiic triinslalion iif tlic> Bil)lo, it liiis Iicrii riiiplnyrd to dosignatt' tlic I'rupprina of Byr.unliutn, nnil moi-p rrreiitly lli<> Moiik") kliiiiis. In iln- I'cisinn Inngiingo it implies tin- iili'U of B tlu'onc, or of the guprc-nii- power. It niiiy lie irrnpiiHi'il in the finni syllnblcs of ilip imnj'-i of llie kings of Assyria nnti Biihyloii — I'liiiliis-snr, Niilmiiiis-sai-, &,('.' In n iiiilp tin- scrnpiiliiiis liisto- riati ndils: 'In our priiili'd iriinsliition of tlio Holy Sc-iipnucs, \vi> nlwiiys finil it Kiss, Kcssiir, in pliico of Ciesiir. "Tmir" is fjuite another woril.' An it it haliitniilly nseil with respei-t to tho kings of Knziin, Astrnkimn, niid Sibcnn, and as Ivan IV. (V'nssilievieh) seem^ to Imvo mlopled it, more pnrti'*._!drly after the co'iquest of these two iieighhoring kingdoms, Utippel lliiiiks that it rumv thence, and that the Russian nutocratf<, after having gained this considerable cxtcniion tn Uieir temtory, assumed the title of the vanquished sovereigns." 39 rili' It ; i;-'A ' • 11 rtto ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. liidiil<^oncc of liis naturally forocioiis disposition ; and tlio remaining acts of his life gained for him, in the history of his country, the aurnamo of " The Terrilde." Independently of the many and dreadful acts of barbar- ity of which he was guilty, he killed his own son in a paroxysm of rage, but died a prey to the grief and remorse which this fearful crime occa- sioned him, after having endeavored to atono for it by giving largo sums of money to different monasteries. He received the tonsure in his last moments. As a legislator, Ivan IV. was superior to his predecessors, having, with the assistance of his nobles, com|>iled a code of laws called " Somlehnik.^^ In his reign an Knglish ship, commanded by Richard Chancellor, on a voyage of discovery, before alluded to, in the Arctic sea, anchored in the moutli of the Dwina ; and, when the information of this circumstance was forwarded to Ivan, he invited Chancellor to Moscow, where, on his arrival, he was received with mariced attention, and presented with a letter to carry Itack to his sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, expressing a desire to enter into commercial relations with England, and to have English artificers and workmen sent to him. It is curious that even at this early period the fair whicii he established at Narva was so glutted with English, Dutch, and French goods, that some of them were sold for less than the prime cost in their respective countries. Ivan controlled his religious prejudices, and tolerated the Lutheran churches of the German merchants at Moscow ; but he never shook hands with a foreign embassador without washing his own immediately after his visiter had taken his leave ! With a ciiaracter so strongly marked by cruelty, superstition, and caprice, it is remarkable to find, not only that he was enterprising and intelligent, but that he should ever have entertained the idea of placing the Scriptures in the hands of his subjects in the mother-tongue : he did, however, order a translation to bo made of the Acts and Epistles, and had it disseminated over his domin- ions. " In the memory of the people," observes Karamsin, " the brilliant renown of Ivan survived the recollection of his bad qualities. The groans had ceased, the victims were reduced to dust ; new events caused ancient traditions to be forgotten ; and the memory of this prince reminded people only of the conquest of three Mongol kingdoms. The proofs of his atro- cious actions were buried in the public archives ; while Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, remained in tlie eyes of the nation ns imperishable monuments of his glory. The Russians, who saw in him the illustrious author of their power and civilization, rejected or forgot the surname of tyrant given him by his contemporaries. Under the inlluence of some confused recollections of his cruelty, they still call him Ivan ' The Terrible,' without distinguish- ing him from his grandfather Ivan III., to whom Russia had given the same epithet rather in praise than in reproach. History does not pardon wicked princes so easily as do people." Ivan IV. died in 1584, having governed the Russian nation for a longer period than any other sovereign nanaely, fifty-one years. lining acts urnamo of of barbar- n of rage, rime occa- largo suina a his lapt •ving, with mdebnik.''^ cllor, on a )re(l in tho i8. His successor was Bo- ris Godunofl", tho brother of Anastasia, the czar Ivan's first wife, who, like tho English Richard, compassed the death of his nephew Dmitri, Fcodor's younger brother, during tliat czar's lifetime ; and therefore in Feodor ended the dynasty of Rurik, which during eight centuries had wielded the Rus- sian sceptre. Consequent upon this deed came all kindy of civil calami- ties, and in 1004 there arvjse a pretender to the throne in the person of a Russian monk. This man assumed the character of the murdered Dmitri, and, having drawn to iiis standard the Poles and the Cossacks of the Don, met IJoris in the field, remained master of it, and in the space of one year seated himself on the tlirone. Nor was tliis civil war the oidy calamity which bcfoU the Russians during the reign of Doris. Moscow was, in 1600, decimated by the most appal- ling famine that ever deva.«tatcd the eaj)ital of a country. It is related that, driven by the pangs of hunger, instances occurred of mothers having first slain and then eaten their own children ; and it io recorded tliat a woman, in her extremity, seized with her teeth the flesh of iicr son whom she carried in her arms. Others confessed that they had entrapped into their divellings, and subsequently killed and eaten, three men successively. One hundred and twenty-seven thousand corpses remained for some days in the streets unburied, and were afterward interred in the fields, exclu- sive of those which had been previously buried in the four hundred churches of the city! An eye-witness relates that this awful visitation carried off five hundred thousand persons from this densely-peopled capi- tal, the population of which was, at the time, augmented by the inlliix of strangers. During this dreadful calamity, Boris, with justifiable violence, broke open the granaries which avarice had closed, and had the grain sold at half its value. Interminable and inexplicable troubles, a second false Dmitri, and other impostors, led to the occupation of Moscow by the Poles in 1010, who entered tho city with Vladislaus,8on of Sigismund, king of Poland, elected to the throne by the bui/ars, on condition that ho should embrace the Greek I'oligion. This gave great ofl'ence to the national feeling ; and Jlinim, a citizen of Nijnei-Novgorod, called his countrymen to arms, and entreated the general Pojarski to take the command. This lie did without reluc- tance, and his army was quickly increased by tlie arrival of troojis and money from various towns, and by tho Cossacks and Strelitzes who flocked to hits banner. Thus reinforced, they marcl d to Yaroslav, and afterward to Moscow, to which they laid siege, carr' ihc Kitai Gorod by assault, and made u fearful slaughter of the Poles ; when the inhabitants, driven to tho last extremity by fixminc, surrendered, and Yladislaus abandoned the country. A fine monument, previously referred to, was erected in the open space, under the kremlin-walls, in 1818, to the memory of Minim and Pojarski. It represents tho high-spirited citizen of Xijnei calling on his T A i ' r r 1 • I ■ '::/V( \ fl .:..; Mill '■ I G12 ILLUSTUATRD DKSCIMI'TION OP RUSSIA. countrymen to rid Rus.sia of the foreign enemy, while Pojnr? listens nttoutively to tlio stirriiijj; cxliortntion. "With a vacant throne, and unonibarrasscd by republican fcclinps, the boi/ars, after the fiij^ht of Vladislaus, proceeded to elect as their czar Michael RomauolT, :uo son of the metropolitan of Rostof, who was, at the time, only sixteen years of age ; and from him is descended the prcwent inij)erial family. The usual routine of civil strife and foreign wars contin- ued after the accession of RonianoiT ; and that in whicii the czar was in- volved with Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, was terminated, not much to the advantage of Russia, through the mediation of England, France, and Holland. A treaty was signed by the belligerent parties on the 26tli of January, 1G16, which gave tc Sweden Ingria, Carelia, Livonia, and Es- thonia, the Russians retaining Novgorod ; and these terms seem to have been dictated by the czar's love of peace. The Poles were, at this time, masters of Smolensk, and ravaged the country up to the walls of Moscow, against which tliey made a night attack, but were repulsed ; they remained, however, in possession of Smolensk, after sustaining a siege of two years. Dragoons are mentioned, for the first time in this reign, as forming part of a Russian army, and the czar was assisted in his wars by both German and French troops : these regiments served him as models for the organi- zation of the Russian army, which was further improved by the discipline introduced by the foreign officers in Romanoff's pay. listens linj;s, the heir czar as, at tlio r \ c prcHCiit irs contin- ar was in- not much auoc, and le 26tli of and Es- m to have this time, ' Moscow, remained, ,wo years, ming part h German 10 organi- discipline HISTORIC tiUMMARY — fiOMANOFP — ALEXIS — »^E0D0R III. OLU After a reign distinguished by an cnliplitened policy and virtuous habits, the czar died in July, 104;"), at the age of only forty-nine years. His son Alexis, who was a prince of a mild and Itenevolont disposition, succeeded him. Tlio chief events of his reign were, the marauding expeditions of tho Cossacks of the Don, led by Rizan ; a rebellion in the city of Astra- khan ; and tho appearance of another false Dmitri, who was brought cap- tive to Moscow, and put to a violent and cruel death. In this reign ship- wrights came over from Holland and England, and a Dutchman named Eutlcr built a vessel called tiic Eagle, at Didiloff, the first ship that tho Russians had seen built on scientific principles. Alexis died in 1076, and was succeeded by his son Foodor III., who Jied young, in 1082. During tho short period allotted him for the exer- cise of power, he evinced every disposition to carry out his fatlier's i)lan8. lie directed his attention to tlie improvement of the laws, and rendered justice accessible to all, and, in tho words of a Russian liistorian, "lived tho joy and deligiit of his people, and died amid their sighs and tears. On the day of his death, Moscow waS in the same distress that Rome was on the deatli of Titus." Tlie sovereignty of the Cossacks was secured to Russia in this reign. Feodor left no children, and was succeeded by his half-brother Peter, whom, some accounts say, was named by him as hia successor. RuiDKNCS or Petib tub Qbkat m HOLUMB. 1 «!v ■ I. I*:*: ** i > ■, r i 'i '•- i,| t ':A 614 ILLUSTllATKH DKSCIMiniuN oi' UU>W1A. CHAPTER XXV. HISTORIC SUMMARY — PETER THE OREAT TO NICHOLAS. THE ."iieccs>rother), he insisted that this prince should jsharo with him the imperial dignity. This was at length agreed to; and on the 0th of May, ltJ82, Ivan and Peter were solemnly crowned joint-emperors of all the Rus>ias, while tho princess Sophia was noniinated their copartner iu the government. From tho imbecility of Ivan, and tho youth of Peter (now only ton ycftjs of age), tho whole power of the government in fact rested on Sophia and her minister Galitzin, though until the year 1087 the names of Ivan and Peter oidy were annexed to tho imperial decrees. Sophia had scarcely established her authority, when she was threatened with deposition, from an alarming insurrection of tho Strelitzes. This was excited by their com- mander. Prince Kovanskol, who, demanding of Sophia that she would marry one of her sisters to his son, met with a refusal. In consequence of this insurrection, which threw the whole city of Moscow into terror and con- sternation, Sophia and the two young czars took refuge in a monastery, about twelve leagues from tho capital ; uud, before tho Strelitzes could tCHOLAS. H liy no moans it was iiarticu- 1" (lio lute czar, stor of Foodor ' ciiiiiKMit altili- r assort iufi' tlio itioii and woak 1 really forinocl that viow, liad CL's of (Jalit/iii, J turbulent and placing on tlic ition. During Moscow, COlll- il of the cliii f dcsij^ns of Sc- at ; for. u^ tti(! already seen, uld shun' with uid oil the *)th ni|>erors of all r coitartner iu only ten years on Sophia and }S of Ivan and , had scarcely )osition, from 1 by thoir coni- c would marry :iuonco of this jrror and con- i a monastery, trolitzes could HISTOIIIC SUMMARY — IVAN V., PETEn I,, aND SOPHIA. 615 ■ I. Till «>EAT. follow ihem thither, u considerable l)ody of soldiers, principally foreigners, was ass( inl)led in their defence. Kovanskoi was taken prisoner, and in- stantly lulicaded ; and, tliouj^h his followers at tirst threatened dreadful vou^'eancu on his executioners, they soon found themselves obliged to sub- mit, when die most guilty among the ringleaders sufl'ered death. The ((uolling of these disturbances gave opportunity to the friends of Peter to puisuo the plans which they had formed for subverting the au- tiiority of Soplda ; and their designs were favored by a rupture with Tur- key. The Ottoman I'orte was now engaged with Poland and the German empire, and botli the latter powers had solicited the assistance of Russia against the common enemy. Sophia and her party were averse to the alli- ance ; but as the secret friends of Peter had sulKcicnt intluence to persuade the majority that a Turkish war would be of advantage to the state, they oven prevailed on Galitzin to put himself at the head of the army, and thus removed their principal opponent. Assembling an army of nearly three hundred thousand men, he advanced to the confines of Turkey, and liere consumed two campaigns in marches and countermarches, and lost nearly forty thousand men, partly in unsuccessful skirmishes with the enemy, but chielly from disease. While Gulitzin was thus trilling away his time in the south, Peter, who li I I « ' > fi tflG ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OP BU8SL\. n.' already began to gire proofs of those great talents wliieli afterward ena- bled liim to act so conspicuous a part in tijo theatre of the north, was strcngtiiening his party among tlie Russian nobles. His ordinary resi- dence was at a village not far from Moscow, and licrc he had assembli.'d round him a consideral)lo number of young men of rank and influence, whom he called his playmates. Under the appearance of a military game, Peter was secretly establishing himself in tlie aflcctions of his young com- panions ; and he contrived effectually to lull the suspicions of Sophia, till it was too late for her to oppose his machinations. In the year 1689, Peter, who had now attained his seventeenth year, determined to make an effort to deprive Sophia of all share in the govern- mei»t, and thus secure to himself the undivided sovereignty. An open ruj>- ture soon took place, and Sophia, finding that she could not openly oppose the party of the czar, attempted to procure his asii^assination ; but her de- sign was discovered, and an accomn)odation was agreed to, on condition that she would give up all claim to the regency and retire to a nunnery. She was consequently incarcci-ated in a monastery for the rest of hev life. This princess was, considering the times in which she lived, a woman of extraordinary taste and literary acquirements. A tragedy, written by her when she was involved in state intrigues, and apparently absorbed in politi- cal turmoil, is still preserved. The commander of the Strelitzes, who was to have Iteen i»er agent in the assassiuation of Peter, was beheaded, and the minister Galitzin sent into banishuient to Archangel, Peter had now obtained the wishcd-for possession of the imperial throne; for though Ivau was still nominally czar, he had voluntarily resigned all participation in the administration of afl'airs, and retired to a life of obscurity. He sur- vived until 1606. The ruling passion of Peter the Great was a desire to extend his empire and consolidate his power ; and accordingly his first act was to make war on the Turks, an underUikiug which was at the outset impi-udently con- ducted, and consequently uusuccessful. He lost thirty thousand men bo- fore Azov, and did not obtain permanent possession of the town until the year 1G'JV>, and then by an f^rmistice. In the followin»jj year he was de- feated in his intrenched camp at Narva, containing eighty thousand men, by eight tliousand Swedes under Charles XII., then only a boy of seven- teen ; and on many other occasions the Russians suffered severe checks and reverses. But at length the indoujitablo i)erseverance of Peter pre- vailed. In ITOo, ho carried Narva, the scene of his former defeat, by assault ; and four years after, by the crowning victory of Poltava, where he showed the qualities of an aide general, he sealed the fate of his gallant and eccentric adversary and the nation over which he ruled. In 1711, Peter once more took the field against the Turks; but his troops were l)adly provisioned, and, having led them into a very disadvan- tageous position, where they were surrounded by the grand vizier's army, he was only enabled, by a present of his consort's jewels to the Turkish HISTORIC SUMMARY — PETER THE GREAT. 617 coinmaudeij to negotiate a humiliating peace, one of the conditions of which was thai the king of Sweden, then a fugitive in Turkey, should bo permitted to return to liis own country. From tliis i)eriod to 1718, Peter was constantly occupied in pursuing with vigor the plans which he had originated for extending the frontiers of his kingdom toward the west. In the latter year he drove the Swedes out of Finland, made several descents upon the coast near Stockholm, de- stroyed whole towns, oliligcd her navy to fly, and finally, in 1721, by the peace of Nystadt, retained Estlionia, Livonia, Ingria, a |)art of Carelia and Finland, as well as the islands of Dago, Moen, CEsel, «fcc. Having now no enemy on the side of the Baltic, I'cter turned his arms eastward, and took Derltond, on tiie Caspian, from the shah of Persia, in 1724 — an inglorious conquest, for only six thousand Persians were oj)- posed to his veteran army of eleven thousand, besides Kalmucks and Cos- sacks. This was his last military achievement, for lie died in 1725 (of a cold contrncted in attcnipting to rescue some shipwieeked sailors near Kronstadt), in the fifty-third year of his age. His latter years were clouded l>y domestic infelicity : his second wife, Catherine, was more than suspected of being unfaithful to him ; and his sou Alexis was disobedient. Tlie former he spared ; tlie latter he brouglit to trial, and is l)elieved to have put to death in prison — some accounts aflirm, with his own hand ! We have said that tlie czar's ruling passion was to extend his empire and consolidate his power, but he likewise possessed in an eminent degree the national characteristics — a persevo.ing mind and a resolute will, which bid defiance to all dillicultii'S. By the assistance of his foreign officers, lie succeeded in forming and bringing into a high state of discipline a large army ; he found Russia without a iishing-smack, and bequeathed to her a uavy to which that of Sweden, long established and highly efficient, low- ered her flag; lie built St. Petersburg, wiiich maybe said to float upon the waters of the Neva ; he caused canals and other jiublic works of utility to be constructed in various parts of his empire ; endowed colleges and uni- versities, and established commercial relations with Cliina and almost every other nation on the gloiio. The czar likewise possessed the capability of enduring privation and ixidily fatigue to an almost incredible extent, and seemed to act upon the idea that, by his own personal exertions and the versatility of his genius, he could accomplish for Russia (hat whicli it hud taken centuries to eflect in other countries, and fancied that he could infuse into her citizens an immediate appreciation of the mechanical and polite arts, as well as a taste for those things which are seen only in an advanced stage of civilization. Peter devoted his whole attention and energies to this theory ; and, though ho could not compass impossibilities, ho was enaliled, by the uncontrolled exercise of the imperial will and in- exhaustible resources, to effect a most extraordinary and rapid change in tli6 political and physical condition of his country. His manual dexterity uiid mechanical knowledge were great. Against 618 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. V-U the expressed wish of his hoyars and the clergy, who thought it an irreli- gious act, he left Russia to make himself acquainted with the arts and inventions of other European nations, and worked with an adze in the principal dockyards of Holland ; he not only built, but sailed his own boat, which, as remarked in a previous chapter, is still to be seen in St. Peters- burg, as are specimens of his engraving, turning, and carpenter's work. Ho rose at four o'clock in summer ; at six he was either in the senate or the admiralty : and his subjects must have believed that he had tlie gift of ubiquity, so many and so various were his occupations. He had also the virtue of economy, a quality rarely seen in a sovereign. He even found time to dabble in literature, and translated several works into Russian : among these was the "Architecture" of Le Clcrc, and the "Art of Con- structing Pams and Mills" by Sturm ; these manuscripts are preserved. During the czar's visit to London, he was much gazed at by the popu- lace, and on one occasion was upset by a porter who pushed against him with Ills load ; when Lord Carmarthen, fearing there would be a pugilis- tic encounter, turned angrily to the man, and said, "Don't you know that this is the czar?" — " Czar I" replied the sturdy porter, with his tongue in his check, "we are all czars here!" Sauntering one C. • ^vfo Westmin- ster hall with the same nobleman, when it was, as usual - with wigs and gowns, Peter asked who these people might be; an , ., .^^-n informed that they were lawyers, nothing coidd exceed his astonishment. "Law- yers !" ho said, " why I have but two in all my dominions, and I believe I shall hang one of them the moment I get home !" The vices of Peter were such as to have been expected in a man of his violent temperament, des[)otic in a barbarous country, and who in early life had been surrounded by flatterers and dissolute associates. But it would be foreign to the purpose of this work to enter into a discussion of this nature. The Russians date their civilization from his reign ; but a slight glance at the history of some of the early czars will show that, in many of tlie points on which the greatness of his reputation rests, he was anticipated by his predecessors. Dark and savage as the early history of the country is, an attempt at public education had been made, religious toleration and an anxiety to promote commerce existed, and the institution of a code of laws had already occuj)icd their attention. The untimely deaths of some of these princes deprived Russia of monarchs far more be- nevolent than Peter — men of finer and more generous minds, and, though not so ambitious, quite as anxious for her welfare. Under their sway no such rush at improvement would have been made ; no such influx of for- eigners would have taken place ; but, if not so rapidly, at least as surely, these sovereigns would have effected quite as much real good. Peter left no code of laws established on the broad principles of justice ; lie travelled in England and Holland, but thought only of their navies, and wholly over- looked tlie great principles of their governments, by which ho might have ameliorated the condition of his own. Trial by jury never appears to have ; an irreli- I arts and Izc in the own boat, 3t. Peters- er's work. ! senate or the gift of id also the 3ven found ) Russian : ,rt of Con- cservcd. r the i)opu- igainst him 5 a pugilis- kiiow that s tongue in i AVcstmin- with wigs ■n informed it. •' Law- I believe I man of his ho in early cs. But it seussion of Mgn ; but a low that, in !sta, ho was I liiHtory of e, religious 3 institution 10 untimely ar more bo- inil, though )ir sway no illux of for- t as surely, Peter left JO travelled ivholly over- might have 3ars to have HISTORIC SUMMARY — CATHERINE T. (519 attracted his attention. The czar, it is true, reigned over a nation of serfrf — so did Alfred the Great of England, and in the ninth instead of the eighteenth century. Peter was succeeded by his consort Catherine, in whose favor he had, some years before his death, altered the order of succession. She was the illegitimate daughter of a Livonian peasant. After some years spent in the service of a clergyman, she married a Swedish dragoon, Avho shortly afterward went on an expedition, and never returned. Siie then resided, it is doubtful whether as servant or pa'-amour, with the Russian general Bauer, when Prince Menchikoff became enamored of her charms, and made her his mistress. Peter the Great now distinguished her by his notice, and she became at first his aiieiress and afterward his empress. Catherine i. conducted herself with great gentleness and prudence m the administration of the government. She reduced the annual capitation tax ; recalled the greater part of those whom Peter had exiled to Siberia ; caused every gallows to bo taken down and all instruments of torture de- stroyed ; paid the troops their arrears ; and restored to the Cossacks their privileges and imnmnities of which they had been deprived during the late reign. She concluded a treaty of alliance with the German emperor, by whi",h it was stipulated that, in case of attack from an enemy, either party should assist the other with a force of thirty thousand men, and should oaoh guaranty tlio possessions of the other. In her brief reign the boundar 4 4 k-' ^* IM, imm ■:..M ■*'' 620 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. rics of the empire were extended in the Trans-Caucasus. Cathoriue also founded the Academy of Sciences. Her indulgence in the use of intoxi- cating liquors produced a disease of which she died on the 17th of May, 1727. at the ago of forty-one, liaving reigned only about two years. Catherine settled the crown on Peter, the son of Alexis, and grandson of Peter the Great, by his first wife*, Eudoxia, and who succeeded by the title of Peter II. Tl'.is prince was only twelve years of age wlien he suc- ceeded to the iniponal throne, and his reign was short and uninteresting. He was influenced chiefly by Prince Menchikoff, 'vliose daughter Catherine had decreed hitn to marry. This ambitious man, who, from a very mean condition, had risen to the first offices of the state under Peter the Great, and had, under Catherine, conducted the adminisi ration of the government, was now, however, drawing toward the end of hi'i career. The number of his enemies had greatly increased, and their machinations succeeded so well, that Mcncliikofl" and his whole family were banished to Siberia. The artful counsellors of the youi g monarch, instead of cultivating his naturall} good abilities, encouraged him to waste his time and exhaust his strength in hunting and other athletic exercises ; and it is supposed that the debility consequent on such fatigue increased the danger of the sinall- pox, with which he was attacked in January, 1730, and of which he died, at the age of only fifteen years. Notwithstanding the absolute power with which Peter the Great and Catherine I. had settled by will the succession to the throne, the Russian senate and nobility, upon the death of Peter II., ventured to set aside the order of succession which those sovereigns had established. The male issue of Petei was extinct ; and the duke ol Holstein (of Denmark), son to Peter's eldest daughter, was, by the destination of the late empress, entitled to tlie crown ; but the Russians, for political reasons, chose Anne, duchess of Courland, second daughter to Ivan, Peter's half-brother ; thus excluding her eldest sister, who was still living, because, as duchess of Mecklenburg, she was allied to one of the royal houses of Germany. In 1735, a rujjture took place between Russia and Turkey, occasioned partly by the mutual jealousies that luid subsisted between those powers ever since the treaty on the Pruth, and partly by the depredations of the Tartars of the Crimea, then under the dominion of the Porte. A Russian army entered the Crimea, ravaged part of the country, and killed a consid- eraljle number of Tartars ; but having ventured too far, without a sufficient supply of provisions, was obliged to retreat, after sustaining a loss of nearly ten thousand men. This misfortune did not discourago the court of St. Petersburg ; and, in the following year, another armament was sent into the Ukraine, under the command of Marshal Munich, while a second army, under Lascy, proceeded against Azov. Both these generals mot with considerable success: the Tartars were defeated, -and the fortress of Azov once more submitted to the Russian arms. A third campaign took place in 1737, when tho Russians were assisted by a body of Austiian HISTOllIO SUMMARY — ANNE — IVAN VI. — ELIZABETH. 621 Catlieriuo also use of intoxi- 10 17tli of May, vo years. i, and grandson ucceeded by the ge when he suc- d uninteresting, ighter Catherine om a very mean Peter the Great, the govcriuncnt, The number of us succeeded so to Siberia, if cultivating his and exhaust his is supposed that Tcr of the sniall- f which he died, r the Great and one, the Russian to set aside tlio lied. The male Denmark), son le late empress, ons, chose Anne, f-brother; thus 3, as duchess of Germany, ■kev, occasioned en those powers )rcdations of tho irte. A Russian killed a consid- thout a sufficient aining a loss of ourago the court uament was sent while a second so generals met d tho fortress of d campaign took )ody of Austrian troops. Munich luid siege to Otchakov, which surrendered, Avhile Lascy desolated the Crimea. No material advantages were, however, gained on cither side, and disputes arose between the Austrian and Russian generals. At length, in 1739, Marslial Munich, having crossed the Jioug at the head of a considerable army, defeated the 'J'urks in a pitched buttle near Stav, t- sham, made himself master of Jassy, the capital of Moldavia, and, before the end of the campaign, reduced the whole of that province to subjection. These successes of tho Russian arms induced .u t P^^rto to propose terms of accommodation ; but when, in the latter ei.' jf 1739, a treaty was con- cluded, Russia (probably through the influence of Austrian intrigue) again relinquished Azov and Moldavia, and only gained permission to build a fortress on the Don. The empress An'>e rendered herself memorable by the decisive turn she gave to the contests which arose in central Europe. She assisted the em- peror Charles VI. of Germany ; frustrated the schemes of tliC French min- istry for placing Stanislaus on the throne of Poland, and actually procured the crown for his competitor Augustus, the elector of Saxony. Her chief merit, however, was in advancing the commerce of the country, and estab- lishing silk and woollen manufactures — her chief folly, the l)iiilding a palace of ice, to which she scut a prince Galitzin, one of her buffoons, and liis wife, to pass the night of tl 'r wedding-day; tho nuptial couch was also constructed of this cold material, as well as all tho furniture, and four cannons which fired several rounds ! Anne died in 1740, after a reign of ten years, and was succeeded by her great-'.'cphew, Ivan VI., when only two years of ago. ITc was the son of the princess Anne of Mecklenburg, the daughter of her eldest sister, who had maivied Prince Anthony Ulrio of Brunswick-Boveren. The ad- ministration of the princess Anne and her husband, in the name of their son, tho infant czar, was upon many accounts unpopular, not only among the Russians, but with other powers of Europe ; and, notwithstanding a successful war which they carried on with the Swedes, the princess Eliza- beih Petrowna, daughter to Peter the Great by tho empress Catherine, and born in 1709, formed a respectable party in her favor, by whom she was raised to the imperial dignity in December, 1741. Tho princess of Mecklenl)urg, her husband, and son, were made prison- ers, and the two former sent into banishment, to an island at the mouth of the Dwina, in the White sea, where the princess Anno died in child-bed in 1747. Ivan was for some time shut up in a monastery at Oranienburg; and, on attempting to escape, he was removed to tlie castle of Schlussel- burg, whore he was afterward cruelly put to deatl: Tho war which had commenced between Russia and Sweden during tho short regency of Anno of Mecklenburg, was now carried on with vigor and success by Elizabeth. The Russian forces took possession of Abo, and made themselves masters of the greater part of Finland. At length, 'n con- sequence of the negotiations Ihat wore carrying on relative t.- the &ucces- 'M !l ^r'y; 622 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. Tm Empmss Elrabitr, Bion of the Swedish crown, a peace was concluded between the two powers, in 1743, on condition tliat Elizabctli should restore the conquered part of Fvnknd, On the eastern frontier of the empire, however, the Russian arms were less successful, several of tlie provinces wrested from Persia by Peter the Great having been reconquered by Nadir Kouli Khan. Soon after her accession, Elizabeth determined to nominate her succes- sor to the imperial throne, and had fixed on Charles Peter Ulric, son of llie duke of Holstein-Gottorp, by Anne, daugliter of Peter the Great. This prince was accordingly invited into Russia, persuaded to become a mem- ber of the Greek church, and proclaimed grand-duke of Russia, and heir of tl>e empire. EUizabetli now began to take an active part in tlio politics of Europe. The death of Charles VI., emperor of Germany, had left his daughter Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary, at the mercy of the enterprising king of Prussia, Frederic II. (commonly called the Great, and sometimes errone- ously styled Frederic III/) until a formidable confederation, more in fact from a jealousy of that monarch's military fame, than from any special regard for the interests of an injured princess, was formed in her behalf. Tilt Prussian king, whose sarcastic wit spared no one, having satirized in some verses Madame de Pompadour, the powerful and vindictive mistress of Louis XV., the French monarch at once espoused the cause of Austria ; and it is remarkable that, from a like trivial eauso, the Prussian monarch » powers, i part of Russian 'ersia by r succes- c, son of It. This 3 a mem- and heir ■ Europe, daughter g king of s errone- in fact Y special r behalf, tirized in mistress Austria ; monarch HISTORIC SUMMARY — ELIZABETH — PETER III. 623 brought upon liimself the vengeance of Elizabeth. Detesting Frederick for some coarse but truthful remark levelled at her mother, sIk; made war on Prussia, which was conducted with great ferocity. Such was the mutual hatred excited by t^iis contest, tliat after a battle the wounded soldiers of tlie two nations were seen tearing each other's flesh with tlieir liands and teeth, even in the agonies of death. The Russian marshal declared, in trans- mitting to tlie empress an account of a victory wliich he gained, but with tlio loss of half his army — " If I gain another such victory, I shall be com- pelled to go myself, on foot and alone, to St. Petersburg, to inform your majesty of the result!" Elizabeth persisted, however, in prosecuting the war ; and was on the point of crushing the Prussian monarch, and posses- sing herself of his most valuable territories, when deatl Idenly closed her career, on the 6th of January, 1762, at the age of hny-thrce, and in tlie twenty-first year of her reign. Tlie taste of this empress for architecture greatly contrbuted to cmlcl- lisli St. Petersburg, and the Academy of Painting and Sculpture in that capital was instituted by her. She was, however, a model of dissimulation and hypocrisy ; and, wiiile from feelings of pretended humanity she abol- ished capital punishments (making a vow at her accession that none should *ake place during her reign), and deplored the miseries her troops suEFered in the war with Prussia, she established a kind of star-chamber, in which justice and mercy were unknown. That her humanity was equivocal, is instanced in tl. j shocking punishment which she inflicted upon tlie countess Bestuchcfl' and Lapookin, who were publicly knouted, and had their tongues cut out, for betraying some secrets relating to the amours of tlic empress. On the demise of Elizabeth, her nephew, the grand-duke Charles Peter Ulric, ascended the throne, by the name of Peter III. This prince entered on the government possessed of an entliusiastic admiration of tlie virtues of the king of Prussia, with whom ho immediately made peace (thus saving tiiat hero from his impending fame), and whose principles and i)ractico he seems to have adopted as patterns for his imitation. Several wise decrees vero passed by him: he suppressed the secret council ef>tablislicd for the examination of political ofl'enders, softened the rigor of military discipline, permitted his nobles to travel, lowered the duties in the Livonian ports, reduced the price of salt, abated the pressure of usury l)y the estal)lishment of a loan-bank, and instituted otiier salutary measures. He might have surmounted the eflects even of those peculiarities which were unpopular in Russia ; but it is said that he aimed at reformations in his dominions which even Peter the Great durst not carry through — among which was his at- tempt at cutting off the venerable beards of his clergy, and his abolition of some established and favorite military fashions. He was, however, so weak and vacillating in his disposition, that he had no opinions of his own, Out childishly adopted the sentiments of any person who took the trouble to teach him. His tastes were, moreover, entirely German, which amounted to a crime in the eyes of the nobility. His chief amusement was buffoon ''.'.1 624 ILLUSTUATKD DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA . li!! ery ; and, ns lie Avns a coni|mrativc stranger to the conntry, its inhabitants, and tlicir manners, lie is said to have suffered liiinself to be persuaded, by those about him, that tlic Russians were fools and beasts, unworthy of his attention, except to make tlicni, by means of the Prussian discipline, good fighting-machines ! These sentiments regulated his whole conduct, and prepared the way for the revolution which afterward dethroned him. Peter was married, in 1745, to tho German princess Catherine, i)orn in 1729, and daughter to the prince of Anhalt-Zerl)st. In addition to hia other great Avults, Peter was addicted to low society and to the most scan- dalous excesses; and Catherine, oven in her youth, was by no means ro- niarkaldo for chastity. With the inconsistency usually to be ol>served in such cases, each i)arty reproached tho other: Catherine, stung by her hus- band's brutality, l»ccamc still more openly indecorous in her conduct, and Peicr indulged in low wassail to such an extent, that he must have been deranged. Tiie empress, who was as talented as she was ambitious, took every means in her power to secure the good will of her Russian subjects. She engaged in her party many of tho principal families, and what Peter lost in popularity was gained by tho emissaries of Catherine. While tho latter, in spito of her intrigues, was thus high in tho public esteem and affection, Peter became so infatuated by his disgust for Catherine and his son, and his passion for one of his mistresses, the countess Woronzow, that ho determined to divorce and imprison the former, and make the latter his empress. Catherine saw her danger, and instantly formed her resolution, foreseeing that she nuist either sul)mit to perpetual imprisonment, and j)er- liaps a cruel and ignominious death, or contrive to hurl her husband from the throne. The proper steps to carry out her design were immediately taken ; folly and iml)ecillty fell before abilities and address ; and, in tlirec days, the revolution was accomplished. Peter was seized and sent as a prisoner to the small palace of Ropseha, about twenty miles from St. Pe- tersburg ; but, as there were many who were diss.ttisfied with tlie new order of things, it was soon found that there was little chance of tianqnil- lity while he lived. His death was therefore determined on ; and, at tho connivance if not at the positive command of the empress, the unlbrtunate monarch was assassinated by the hand of her chief favorite, Count Alexis Orloff, in the thirty-fourth year of his age, after having enjoyed the impe- rial dignity only six months. This tragic event occurred in July, 17(12, and in tiie next month the czarina was solemnly crowned empress of all tho Russias, nnder the name of Catherine II. The reign of this extraordinary woman is one of tho most remarkable in Russian history. In the early part of it she interfered in the afl'airs of Poland, which produced a civil war, and terminated c 'entually in the par- tition and conquest of that unfortunate country. In 1769, the Turks de- clared war against Russia, which was at first favorable to their arms ; but they were afterward defeated with, great slaughter on tho Dniester, and compelled to abandon Choczim. At this period was fought tho celebrated SISrOBIC SUUUARY — CATilERiKE II. 626 I i Tm Ehpibsi Catiieeinc IL action before Tclicsme, in which the Turkish fleet was completely destroyed — an aciuevcment that was mainly owing to the gallant conduct of Admi- rals Elphinstonc and Grcig, and Lieutenant Dugdale, Englishmen in the Russian service. In a succeeding campaign, the Russians carried the lines of Perecop, in the Crimea, defended by nearly sixty thousand Turks and Tartars, and thus wrested that important and fertile peninsula from the Porte, while RomanzofT gained several victories in tlie Danubian provinces. These conquests were, however, dearly purchased. The plague passed from the Turkish into the Russian armies, and the frightful malady was carried by the troops into the very heart of the country : eight hundred persons died daily at Moscow, and the disease subsided only with the severit ' of the ensuing winter. It was at this period that the Calmuck Tartars (as alluded to in a pre- vious chapter), who had been for upward of half a century se'tled near the steppes f the Volga, north of Astrakhan, suddenly, and to tl e number of half a million of soulrf, left the Russian territory for their old haunts on the Chinese borders — an affront offered to them by the empress having been said to be the cause of this extraordinary flight. Every attempt at negotiation Im' *ui'hiio(l nf Smnlonak, of ii poor llioiigli luilili* fiimily, niiil wiia iMtPtidi-d for tlit- rliiiirli, but (ilitiiiiipil a oonirtry in tho lioriip-jfimnls. Over llm I'mpn-ss, nflor llip driilh of lii-r )iu9l>iiiiil, lie acquiri'il uii iinl>i>iin(l infliiciiirp, nnd iip rotnincil it till ncnr tlii> end of hi« lire. Hi< di.itiiifi^niRliiMl himself ngninst tlie Turk«, piirtictilarly in tlie wiir of 1788, when lie rnmmnnded in cliiif. Ho died in 1791. t Piiiice Ar.KXANDKR SuWARHOW (or SuvAiiOFr), n relelinited RiiHiinn ficlcl-miii»liiil, wIiobo portrait i» prciPiiled on ilie opposite pnge, win liorn in 1730, lit Simkoi, in the L'kriiine — ii» «iinie accoiintK iiiy, of Poliuli pnrentiige — nnd •.viis ediiriiled nt tlie rndet-srliuol nf St. I'eiei»lpiirp. He diiiliiiKiiished liim«elf ngiiiiiKt llie Pruosiana dining tlie Seven Yeiirs' Wiir, in wliicli lie iiiiniiied the I'Miik of colonel ; in Pulnnd, in 1768, iigiiiiist tlio runfedeiiites ; in 1773, ngniimt tlie Tnik^i; nnd in 1780, ngninst the Nogoi Tiirtiir». For tlieiie servirea he wna rewiiidi-d with the niiik of geiieriil-iii. chief, the govnnnient of the Ciimen, the portiiiii of the eTiipre»» set in diiiniomlt, nnd aevenil Rih- aian orderit. In the wnr ngniiiat the Tiirka, from 1787 to I7flO, he g:iiiiod the hallle of Rymnik, took Ismail hy storm (ii5 iilliided to nhove), pulling twenty thoiisiiml men to the sword, nnd gained other inipinlant ndvii-itngea. In 17!)4, he defeated the Pole* who were atniggliiig for freedom, rava;;cd the environa •« uaaault. For this anngniimry conqueat the empivaa created him fleld-marahiil. After the death of Cntlierine, Suwnrrow fell into diagraee at eoiirt, for venturing to condemn the lovo of innovation digpliiycd hy her aucccaaor; but at length tlie capricione Paul reinatatod him in lii.4 favor, and in 1799 the commund uf the Auatro-Ruasiun army wai confided to the hero of lamuil. While fighting l)ti\iiit'd tlio I Kiiikiiloli, . ^0 the town • conquests, oubles tow- aciulcnco of s of Russia, Caucasus. Miction with a cotnl»int\- ngular inci- 8 going on, ) liivd drawn Froncli gov- vllowiiig tho margin, ro- ance, laid it ) liavc been jnniark, and an iniincnso llowiiig year avus III. of sian tcrr'kto- was settled inoplo trciM- ■iumil under December. Id horn in 1736, lor tlif rliiiirli, I' hiisl>iiii>1, lit< illjitingninlicil clii'f. Ho (lied -minsli:'', wlioBo riiiipi' — lis "oniB 'ctcidliiirp. He 111- nllninoH tlio Tiiil<«; nnd in ik of g('Mt'rnl-in» ml iicvcnil RiiK- nil' of Rymnilf, oril, nnd giiinod MR for freedom, jiil)iiili of Pinpi AftiT tlie dpcith i-p i)f innovation lis fnvor, and in While fighting HISTORIC SUMMABY — CATUERINE II. 627 Fixld-Maiiihal Suwaibow, In this extremity, the western powers of Europe combined to save tho Porto from destruction ; and in 1791. Russia was forced to relinquish all the territory she hairo into separate departments, facilitated the despatch of business, and rendered the administration in each moro efficient. She founded schools and towns, encouraged foreign artisans and workmen of all kinds to settle in her dominions, and projected and com- pleted public works of equal magnificence and utility. With a view to check corruption, she raiscil the salaries of the government officers, abol- ished many monopolies of tlie crown, and issued a ukase which prevented any proprietor from sending his serfs to the mines, or to any distant part of the empire, except for agricultural purposes. But her amours in tho meantime injured her as a woman, and her tyrannous conduct toward Poland is a foul blot upon her escutcheon as a sovereign. Amlntion, how- over, and lack of female virtue, did not wholly degrade her, for, as already shown, her internal policy was as much directed to tho useful as to tho grand ; and, amid all the distraction of business and voluptuous dissipation, she found time to encourage literature. Indeed, she was herself tho author of instructions for a code of laws, which she translated into German ; and she wrote several dramatic pieces, and some moral tales for the use of children ! Possessed of great beauty in her youth, Catherine preserved the traces of it to the end of her life. She purchased the praises of the IIISTORIC 8UHHARY — PAUL I. 1329 Diiipiitcd timt ai>H, two liiin- iis!\iul Tiirk'^, iissiii, for tho I yours, wcro !*t, KoscinsUo ty his fiiMiiiis, oinl)or, 17l>4, llio third piir- r toward tlio f njr^niiidi/tv t short l»y h(?r \r of hor age, id well. Tho illy adinitt(Ml ; rying out hor interior ccon- loro enlarged children were invited Pal- bc their ehar- icaiion of her cliued. Tiio itioM, and, by ts, facilitated in each more arti.sans and ted and com- ith a view to officers, abol- ich prevented y distant part niours in tho duct toward mbitlon,how- ur, as already eful as to tho IS dissipation, df tho author crman ; and )r the uso of no preserved )raises of the French [jhilosojjherH, corresponded with Voltuiro and D'Alcmbcrt, and conipliniented CharloH James Fox, tho great English orator, by asking him for his bust, which hIio placed between those of Deniosthenes and Cicero. Homo letters written liy Frederick the Groat to Peter III., found after his decease, which strongly roconiniended to liiiu a change of conduct, and particularly pleaded in behalf of his repudiated consort, fi.\ed Catherine ihrougiiout her reigu in tho friendship and policy of the I'russian monarch. In matters of religion she was t"'erant from political motives, extravagant in an extraordinary degree, anr ith a wonum's liberality, paid well those who served her ; and, though there are many acts in her reign which can not be defended, she did more for tho civilization of Russia than any of her prodoccBors. Paul L Catherine II. was succeeded by her sou, the grand-duke Paul, by Peter III , who ascended the throne under the title of Paul I. This prince had aHained his forty-second year before tho death of his mother placed him on the imperial throne. For uuiny years he had lived in a state of retire- ment, and had apparently been considered by the empress as incapable of taking any active part in the administration of affairs. It is well known that Catherine never admitted him to any participation of power, and even kept him in complete ignorance of the affairs of the empire. On the day following the death of his mother, however, Paul made his public entry into St. Petersburg, amid the acclamations of all ranks of the people. At his coronation, Paul decreed a law of hereditary succession to the crown in tho nmlo lino, and afterward in the female, instead of leaving it to tho caprice of tho reigning sovereign. One of the first measures of the » k m 630 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. II', new emperor was that of ordering tho remains of liia father, Peter III., to be removed from the sepulchre in which they had been deposited in the church of St. Alexander Ncvski ; which, after having laid in state for three weeks, were interred in the sepulchre of Catherine II., in the cathe- dral of St. Peter and St. Paul. He also, with strong marks of admiration and friendship, liberated Kosciusko from the prison wherein he had lan- guished in St. Petersburg since his defeat and capture in 1794. Few political events of any importance marked tho reign of Paul previ- ous to the year 1798, when, in consequence of a treaty between Russia and the emperor of Germany, who were subsidized by England, an army of about fifty thousand men, under Field-Marshal Suwarrow, joined the impe- rialists in Austrian Italy, as already detailed. In 1799, the emperor Paul entered into a treaty of oflensivo and defensive alliance with Great Britain. This treaty was signed at St. Petersburg on the 22d of June ; in conse- quence of wliich, a Russian fleet joined that of Britain in Yarmouth roads, and took part in the unfortunate expedition to the coast of Holland under- taken in the summer of that year. Soon after tliis period the Russian emperor began to show marks of mental derangement. His favors and liis displeasures were alternately experienced by some of his mo«* distinguished courtiers and adlierents. Stanislaus, tho deposed king of Poland, partook by turns of his beneficence and his severity ; while to tlie memory of Suwarrow, who is said to have fallen a broken-hearted victim to the detraction of his imperial master, ho raised a colossal statue of bronze ; and on the days when he reviewed his troops in the square v.here the statue had been erected, he used to com- mand them to march by in open order, and face the statue. The ill success of the Russian arms against the French, augmented by the bad understanding which subsisted between his generals and those of Austria, appeared also to have an extraordinary effect upon the mind of Paul. Meanwhile, Napoleon had returned from Egyi)t, and was chosen first consul of France. He immediately liberated ton tliousand Russian prisoners-of-war, and, presenting them with now uniforms and everything necessary for their long journey, despatched them to their own country, together with a friendly epistle to their sovereign. Paul was not yet so "insane" but that he could appreciate this truly magnanimous act as it deserved ; and, from having been the uncompromising opponent of Napo- leon, he now entered into amicable correspondence with him, and became one of his most ardent admirers. He laid an embargo on all the English vessels in his ports, and induced Sweden. Denmark, and Prussia, to join him in the northern armed confederacy to resist the encroachments of the British government. This gave great offence to tho mercantile classes, who preferred the English to tho French alliance. Tho growing eccentricities of Paul exhibited themselves in tho most fan- tastic manner. Among his ukases was one against the use of shoestrings and round hats ; and in the number of queer whims which infected his HISTOniO SUMMARY — PAUL I. — ALEXANDER I. 681 iter III., to sited in the n state for I the cathe- ad miration le had Ian- Paul previ- Russia and n army of i the iinpe- peror Paul )at Britain. ; in conse- )uth roads, and under- T marks of alternately adherents, bencficenco did to have master, ho viewed his ed to com- mented by id those of le mind of vas chosen id Russian everything n country, not yet so IS act as it t of Napo- nd became he English iia, to join 9nts of the lie classes, 3 most fan- jhoestrings ifected his brain was a rage for painting with the most glaring colors the watch-boxes, gates, and bridges, throughout the empire ! This continued course of folly and caprice disgusted many of the nobles, who at length entered into a confederacy to prevent the ruin of tlieir country, by removing the empe- ror. For this purpose they employed Plato Zuboff, the last of Catherine's favorites, who had been banished from the court in disgrace. In order to avenge this affront, Zuboff formed the design of murdering the emperor. He contrived, by his intrigues, to insinuate himself into the favor of Paul, and associated with the noblemen, in order the more securely to effect his purpose. Having taken their measures, the assassins proceeded to the imperial palace on the evening of March 22, 1801. Tiie emperor, who usually slept on a sofa, in an apartment next to that of the empress, con- trary to his custom, kissed the members of his family very affectionately, visited the sentinels at their jiosts. and then retired to rest. Tlie guard being changed by officers who were in the conspiracy, the murderers pene- trated with case to the door of the emperor's apartment, where a hussar, whom it had been found impossible to remove, presented his musket. Zuboff cut him down witli his sabre. Tiic murder of his faillifiil servant roused the unfortunate monarch, who, springing from iiis sofa when the conspirators entered tlie room, at first endeavored to sliclter himself behind chairs and tables ; then, assuming an air of authority, commanded them to surrender as his prisoners. As they fiercely advanced toward liim, he implored them to spare his life, offering to accept of any terms which they might propose. Finding supplication vain, he made a violent effort to reach the window, in wiiich he cut his hand ; and, being drawn back, he knocked down one of tlie assailants with a chair. The empress, awakened by the noise and turmoil, would have called for assistance, if a voice had not whispered to her to remain silent on pain of instant death. While the emperor made a desperate resistance, one of the conspirators brought him to the floor with a blow on the temples ; when, recovering a little, he again supplicated for life. Another, taking off his sash, threw it twice round the neck of the defenceless czar ; and one end being held by himself, while the otlier was given to Zuboff, they strangled their sovereign. Having accomplished the horrid deed, the assassins retired without molestation to their respective homes. Early the next morning the intelligence of the death of Paul (as having been produced by apoplexy !), and the accession of tlie grand-duke Alex- ander, were announced to the capital. The principal nobility and the great officers of state being assembled, Alexander was solemnly proclaimed emperor of all the Russias. As in the case of the murder of Peter III., none of the assassins of Paul were punished, but rewards were heaped ipon them. How far his sons were cognizant of what was going on, it is : impossible to tell ; but it was generally believed that they were in the secret, and connived at it from a conviction that their father intended to immure them in a fortress. It is also a h: i ' i^ Ki| Ml * ::':X' significant fact that, on tlie night 1^/:1J 632 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. of file murder, the English fleet under NelHon was sailing into the Baltic for the attack on Copenhagen. The new emperor, on the day of his accession, presented himself at tho parade on horseback, and was hailed by the troops witli loud and cordial acclamations. In the following September his coronation at Moscow took place amid great splendor. Alexander was in his twenty-fourth year when he ascended the throne ; and, from his amiable disposition, had ac- quired the love and respect of all his subjects. Tl)e first measure which he adopted, his opening proclamation, and his earMcst imperial orders, all tended to encourage and confirm the hopes with which the Russian pcoj)lo belield him mount the throne of his forefathers. In the same year he re- called the Siberian exiles, suppressed tl>e secret state inquisition which had been re-established by Paul, and remodelled the senate. He likewise founded (in 1804) the university of KharkofiF, and emancipated the Jews. Alexander appeared desirous to cultivate tho friendship of the neiglibor- ing states, and especially that of Great Britain. His Aithcr, among other projects, had procured himself to be elected grand-master of the knights of Malta, and had laid claim to the sovereignty of that island. This claim, which had nearly produced a rupture between tho courts of London and St. Petei'sburg, Alexander consented to abandon, though he expressed a wish to bo elected grand-master of the order by the free suffrages of tho kinghts of St. John. la the inoantinic, a confederacy liad l)cen formed among the northern powers of Europe, as before intimated, with a view to oppose the British claim to the sovereignty of tl>e seas ; but by the wanton bombardment of Copenhagen, and the spirited interference of the Britislj court, especially with the cal)iiiet of St. Petersburg, the good understanding between Great Britain and the noithern states was re-established, and the embargo which had been laid on British vessels in the Russian ports was taken off. A treaty of amity, connnerce, and navigation, between Russia and Sweden, was also agreed upon, to continue for twelve years. The most remarkable part of this treaty was the recognition by the court of St. Petersburg of the northern confederacy, which the amicable adjustment with Britain ap- peared to have done away. On the 25th of ^arch, 1802, was signed at Amiens the definitive treaty of peace between the belligerent powers of Europe, by one material article of which the islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino, in tho Mediterranean, were to be restored to the knights of St. John of Jerusalenft, under the joint protection and guaranty of France. Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia. Some time after the conclusion of this treaty, dis- putes arose among the contracting powers relative to the sovereignty of Malta ; and the emperor of Russia (who now for the first time appeared personally among the potentates of Europe, and in June had an interview with the king of Prussia at Memel) insisted that it should bo yielded to Naples, othei wise he would not undertake to guaranty the order of the : treaty article anean, the Spain, y, dis- nty of )earcd srview lod to )f the HISTORIC SUMMARY — ALEXANDKR I, 383 knights, and would separate from it the priories of Russia. The retention of tiiis island by the British forces, in direet violation of the treaty above referred to, was one of tiie cliief causes of the renewal of tlie bloody con- test between England and her allies and Napoleon which so long desolated the face of Europe. Alexander watched with a jealous eye the violence exercised by France among the German states, and the oncroaclunents which she appeared de- sirous of making on tlie free navigation of the Baltic. He had, in 1803, offered his mediation between Great Britain and France, but without etfect, and both these parties strove to bring over the Russian emperor to their alliance. The court of London finally prevailed ; and on the 11th of April, 1805, a treaty of concert was concluded between Great Britain and Rus- sia, to which Austria also became a party, in which the three governments agreed to adopt the most efficacious means for forming a general league of the crowned heads of Europe to bo directed against the powers of the French empire. The ostensible objects of this league were tlie evacua- tion of the country of Hanover (then belonging to the crown of England) and the north of Germany ; the independence of the republics of Holland and Switzerland ; the re-establishment of the king of Sardinia in Piedmont (who had first attacked France) ; the security of the kingdom of Naples : and the complete evacuation of Italy, the island of Elba included, by the French forces : but the principal motive, and underlying all others, was the desire for overthrowing Napoleon, the elective emperor, and reinsta ting the Bourbons, to rcigu by '< divine right," and thus presenting a solia 'I: f m It 111 m j; 684 ILLUSTRATED DESCHIPTION OP RUSSIA. barrier ngaiost the future spread of free principles. For the prosecution of the great objects of this treaty, it was proposed that an army of four hundred tliousand men should bo levied. It was stipulated that these troops should be provided by the powei\^ of ilie continent who should be- come parties to the league, and tb'^t si bsidies should be granted by Great Britain in the proportion of over six millions of dollars for every hundred thousand men, bosid' i a c Misiderable additional sum for the necessary ex- pense occasioned in brin{>.ng them into the field. About this time, the occupation of Genoa by the French, in order to pre servo it from an attack by the English fleet, was communicated to the dif feront sovereigns of Europe, among whom it exeited tiie highest indigna tiorj. The emperor Alexander, incensed at this new act of Napoleon, immediately recalled liis envoy ; and this appeared to be the signal for hostilities on the part of Russia and Austria against France. Napoleon, .well knowing the Britisli government and aristocracy to be the main pro- jectors of all tlie coalitions against him, had collected an immense arma- ment at Boulogne for the invasion of England ; l)ut learning that Alexan- der, at the licad of fifty thousand men, was rapidly marching to join the Austrians under the empisror I rancis, for the purpose of secretly attacking France, he resolved to meet them on their own ground. With surprising celerity he traversed France and Germany, and, encountering the superior forces of the allies on the plain of Austerlitz, December 2, 1805, he utterly overthrew them. In their retreat across a lake, a largo body of Russians were drowned by the breaking of the ice from the artillery-shots of the Frencli. The emperors Francis and Alexander, from an eminence, beheld with anguish flie complete discomfiture of tlieir splendid army, and the latter soon after returned to St. Petersl)urg. When the news of tins deci- eive battle reached England, the prime-minister Pitt remarkeu, " We may low close the map of Europe for years." His death, soon after, was hast- ened by chagrin. Tiie consequence of these disastrous events to the allies was, first, a ces- sation of hostiHties, and finally a treaty of alliance between Russia and France in 1806. Alexander, however, was determined to make one more effort to gain better terms from Napoleon. The Russian envoy at Paris, D'Oubril, had hastily concluded a preliminary treaty of peace between Russia and France. The terms of this convention, when laid before the privy council by Alexander, appeared so derogatory to the interests of Russia, that the emperor refused tiiem his sanction ; but at the same time signified liis willingness to renew the negotiations for peace on such terms as were consistent with the dignity of his crown and the interests of his empire. Tlie machinations of tiie British government, however, broke off the negotiations, and both parties again prepared for war. In tlie meantime, the king of Prussia, urged on by the English and Aus- trian cabinets, prepared to oppose his efforts to the growing power of France. He collected an army of two hundred thousand men near Woimar HISTORIC SUMMARY — ALEXANPER T. 635 secution of four at these lould be- !y Great hundred isary cx- r to pro ) the dif iiidigna lapolcon, I i glial for fapoleon, uain pro- ise arma- t Alexan- ( join the attacking lurprising 5 supeiior he utterly Russians ts of the !e, beheld and the tins deci- ' We may was hast* rst, a ces- issia and one more at Paris, between )eforo the e rests of ame time jch terms ts of his bi'oke off and AuB- power of Weimar nnd Jt-na, while the French forces assembled in Franconia and on the frunlicr.s of Saxony. Tlie same extraordinary sneccss, however, was still to attend the arms of France. Tlie Prussians were totally defeated by Napoleon at Jena ; and on tlic same day was fouglit the decisive battle of Anerstadt, in which Marshal Davoust, with an irferior French force, com- pletely routed the enemy, who, besides numerous infantry and artillery, had forty tliousand splendid cavalry, commanded by the prince of Prussia. In these two actions the loss of the Prussians amounted to about twenty thousand in killed and wounded, and above thirty thousand prisoners. The lines of fugitives, converging from the fields of Jena and Anerstadt, fled tumultuously toward Berlin, which capital Napoleon entered on the 27th of October. While the French were thus successful over the Prussians, the troops of Alexander entered Prussian Poland, and General Benninpsen took up his residence at Warsaw, whicli, however, he was soon compelled to evac- uate by tiie French under Murat, who entered the city on the 28th of No- vember. After several skirmislies, in which the Russians were defeated, a dreadful engagement took place between them and the French at Ostra- lonka, about sixty miles from Warsaw. The fighting continiicd for three days, and the loss was immense on both sides, tliough the advantage ap- pears to have been on the side of the French. On the 26th of Decern ^er the latter were beatei> by the Russians at Pultusk, which terminated the campaign of 1800. On the .7th and 8th of February, 1807, the severely-contested battle of Eylau was fouglit, in which Napoleon commanded in person at the head of tiie imperial guards. Each side three times lost and won, the deciding move being made liy Benningsen, who took Ko:iiiigsberg by assault. At one time while Napoleon was reconnoitring the field of action from a church, a detachment of Cossacks dashed up the streets of the town, and would have captured him but for a timely charge of French dragoons. On the night of tlie 8tli, Benningsen was reinforced by fifteen thousand Prussians, who wished to renew the battle on the third day, but at a coun cil of war the Russian commander deemed it prudent to retreat, though greatly superior in force to the French. Several actions succeeded, at Spanden, at Lamitten, at Guttodadt, and at Heilsberg, in all of which the French had the advantage. On the 28th of May, 1807, they took Dantzic ; and on the 14th of June the Russians appeared in considerable force on the bridge of Friedland, whither the French army under Napoleon was advancing. Here, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of the Russians, they were totally defeated by the French, who carried all before them. In consequence of this victory, the latter became masters of all the country round Koningsberg, and Marshal Soult entered that city m triumph. Thus concluded the campaign in Germany, in which the Russians sustained a loss of at least thirty thousand of their choicest troops. ■ i ' 'i, r- * ilil 636 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. The defeats which the allied armies had suffered in Prussia and Poland rendered peace, on almost any tenure, a desirable object ; and Alexander found himself constraimd to ine^t, at 'cast with the appearance of friend- ship, the conqueror of Im fi\ ■oicis. l-ropo^itlons for an armistice had been made by the Prussian giMiciul lo the grai. I-'.', ke of Berg near Tilsit ; and, after tlie battle of FricUUiud, U.e H..:jsiaiv j .ince Labanoff had a confer- ence, for t'lo samij purposi.-,witli the prince uC Neufchatcl, soon after which an anuisliflo was uoncludv-J between the French and Russians. On the 25th of June, an amicable meeting took place between the emperors of France and Russia, in a hanusome pavilion c cctcd on a raft for the occa- sion, which was liioorcil in the middle oi the river Niemen. Tiie result of tliis interview wns tlio faniun?! Lrc;!^y of TiL^it, concluded between the em- peror of the Frcjich on the (*:io pa •',, and tiie emperor of Russia and the king of Prussia on tlio other, on the 7th and 12tli of July, 1807. Alexander, by this compact, became the ally of France, and acknowl- edged the brotliers ol Napoleon as kings respectively of Naples, Holland, and Westphalia; hi' formally recognised also tlie confederation of the Rhine, and promised to acknowledge all the sovereigns who might hereaf- ter become members of that confederation. He engaged tiiat hostilities, on the part of Russia, should immediately cease with the Ottoman Porte. He undertook also to mediate for a peace betweiMi England and France. This medicAion was declined on tlic part of the Rritisli government, until it should be made acquainted with the stipulations of the treaty of Tilsit, and should find them not conflicting \\ith its own claims to the free navi- gation of the Baltic and tiie introduction of British goods to the continent. The grounds of this declination served as a reason for binding more closely the alliance between Russia and France, by breaking off the connection of the former with Great Britain. Accordingly, Lord Gower, who had succeeded the marquis of Douglas as envoy, received a note from the Rus- sian government, intimating that, as a British embassador, he could be no longer received at the court of St. Petersburg, which he therefore soon after quitted. An embargo was now laid on all British vessels in the ports of Russia; and it was peremptorily required by Napoleon and Alexander that Sweden should abandon her alliance with Great Britain. An additional cause for the Russian declaration of war against the latter power was furnislied by the second bombardment of Copenhagen and the seizure of the Danish fleet in the harbor by a British squadron ; and, although Lord Gower liad at- tempted to justify these measures, on the plea of anticipating the French in the same transaction, the emperor of Russia expressed in the warmest terms his indignation at this unjust and outrageous attack on a neutral power. A considerable Russian fleet joined the French, but the combined squadrons were compelled to seek for shelter in the Tagus, where they remained blocked up by a superior British armament ; and another Russo- French fleet of fifteen sail-of-the-line that proceeded up the Mediterranean, HISTORIC SUMMARY — ALEXANDER I. 637 Poland xauder fricud- id been b ; and, confci'- r which On the 3ror3 of lie occa- esult of the cni- and the icknowl- [loUand, 1 of the it hereaf- astilities, in Porte. . France, cnt, until )f Tilsit, roe n avi- on tincnt. •e closely mnection who had the Rus- ild bo no 'ore soon Russia ; , Sweden Cause for jished by liish fleet had at- Fronch I warmest neutral lombincd lero they \y Russo- Irrancan, nnd advanced as far as Trieste, met with a similar fate. In fact, liostill- ties between Russia and England resulted chiefly in a cessation of trade. Tlie demand of concnrrcncc in the views of France and Russia made on Sweden, was formally repeated in a declaration of the emperor Alexander, publislicd at St. Petersl»iirg- on the 10th of Fel)ruary, 1808. In this decla- ration, his imperial majesty intimated to the king of Sweden that he was making pre})arations to invade his territories ; but that he was ready to change tiic measures he was about to take, to measures of precaution only, if Sweden would, without delay, join Russia and Denmark in shutting the Baltic against Great Britain until the conclusion of a maritime peace. He professed tliat nothing could be more painful to him than to see a rupture take place between Sweden and Russia ; but that his Swedisli majesty had it still in his power to avoid this event, by resolving, witliout delay, to adopt that course which could alone preserve strict union between the two states. Tlie king of Sweden, however, determined to abide by the meas- ures which he had for some time pursued, and to accede to tlie terms of the convention which had just been concluded between him and the king of Great Britain. In consequence of this determination, a Russian army, under the com- mand of General Buxhowden, entered Finland in the beginning of March, 1808, and advanced against Helsingfors, which was occupied by a single battalion of a Swcdi»ii regiment. This small force retired into the fortress of Sweaborg, where they maintained themselves with great bravery till tlio 17th of April, when tliey were obliged to capitulate. Tlie loss of this for- tress, tliough inconsiderable in itself, so highly enraged the king of Swe- den, that he dismissed the naval and military commanders wlio had been concerned in the capitulation. On the 27th of April, a trifling advantage was gained over the Russians near Rivolax, by the Swedisli army, under General Count Klinspor ; but this was only a transient gleam of success. The Russians soon overran nearly all Finland, took possession of Yasa, old and new Carleby, and reduced under subjection the whole province of which Vasa is the capital. The army of Klinspor, which originally con- sisted of sixteen thousand regulars, besides boors, was, by the end of the campaign, reduced to little more than nine thousand men. The king of Sweden, however, continued to send reinforcements to his armies in Fin- land ; but no advantages of any importance were obtained, and the Rus- sions remained in possession of a great part of that province until it was permanently ceded to Russia by the treaty of Fredericliausen in 1809. A second meeting between the emperors of France and Russia took place at Erfurth, in Saxony, on the 27th of September, 1808 ; Napoleon being anxious to secure the friendship of Alexander previous to his medi- tated subjugation of Spain. The English cabinet had now succeeded in forming another coalition against France, hostilities being commenced by her old ally, Austria, subsidized as usual by British gold, while Sir John Moore was despatched with a strong force to Spain. i! I ■• ii m: 638 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. As previously remarked, by the treaty of Tilsit, Alexander liecamc the ally of France, and took part, as such, in the war now opened by Austria (1809) ; but liis want of zeal in the cause was too evident to escape the penetration of the French emperor, and a growing coldness between the imperial allies began to appear, partly in consequence, it is said, of the remonstrance of Napoleon against the annexation of Finland. Austria, completely humbled by the defeat of Wagrara, was compelled to form an alliance with Napoleon. Great injury had, however, been done to Russian commerce, and heavy complaints made by merchants, in consequence of their ports having been shut against tiie English : they were therefore again opened to them, pro- vided they hoisted American colors, while French goods were very strictly prohibited. This induced Napoleon, in retaliation, to make himself mas- ter of the principal northern ports of Germany, and to incorporate fho possessions of the duke of Oldenburg, a near relation of Alexander, with France. Against tiiis proceeding Russia made a very energetic protest; and, in the year 1811, live divisions of the Russian army assumed a posi- tion opposite Warsaw. On the other hand, Napoleon caused the fortresses on the Vistula and Oder to be declared in a state of siege, sent iliither large masses of troops, and occupied Swedish Pomerania, because Cliarles XIII. of Sweden adhered to his alliance with England. The contest in Spain, where Wellington was operating with a powerful British auxiliary force, was at this time daily growing more obstinate, and the large amount of men and money it consumed might well have appeared to Napoleon a sufficient obstacle to a struggle with Russia ; but he calcu- lated that his entire armies, amounting to nearly a million of effective men, would be sufficient for the conflict in both quarters : and he also relied upon a great mass of auxiliary forces, cliiolly promised by the confedera- tion of the Rhine ; besides his alliance with Prussia and Austria, which covered him on both flanks, and secured his retreat. He, however, made peacoable offers, through the count de Narbonne, his embassador at St. Petersburg : but the object of his mission being unattained, about half a million of soldic'', consisting of French, Germans, Italians, Poles, Swiss, Spaniards, and I'ortuguese, with more than twelve hundred cannon, were put in motion, about the end of July, 1812, to attack the Russians on the other side of the Niemen and the Vistula. To meet this invasion, Alexander, having re-established his alliance with Great Britain, made peace with the sidtan, and withdrew his troops from the Turkish frontier. He also issued a ukase, on the 23d of March, order- ing a levy of two men out of every five hundred throughout the empire. The Russians, in three divisions, occupied a line including Kiev and Smo- lensk to iviga. The first western army, of one hundred and twenty-seven thousand men, in Lithuania and Courland, was commanded by Barclay de Tolly, who had till then been minister of war. The other western army, of forty-eight thousand men, was commanded by Prince Bagration. A HISTORIC SUMMARY — ALEXANDER I. 639 tliir'l body of forces, led by General DoctorofF, served to keep up tlio com- munication between the other two. All the disposable property and records had long before been generally conveyed into the interior. The first western Russian army in Poland was stn'oned along the Niemen as far as Grodno, and conijinrtcd six corps of iiUantry and two of cavalry. Tlie second western army was in tlie vicinity of Honim, consisting of four battalions of infantry and one of cavalry. The communication was kept up between them by the hetnu'in Platoff, with ten thousand Cossacks, at Bialystok. The army of Volhyniii, under Tor- niasofT, at Lutzk, was composed of two divisions of infantry and one of cavalry, containing together about twenty thousand men ; and there were additional cvM-ps stationed at other points on the western frontier, amount- ing to about forty thousand men more. The Russian plan of the campaign was, by retreating, to avoid a deci- sive battle, until tlic enemy should bo remote from all his resources, and weakened by marclies through a desolate region, and the Russian army sliould bo so considerably strengthened by the accession of all the forces that might be, meanwhile, raised, as to have a decided superiority. Na- poleon's scheme, on the contrary, was, to use every effort to compel the Russians to battle, to destroy them after the defeat, and, pressing forward with haste to the capital, to proffer peace. But he not only entirely mis- took the character of his enemy, but lie overlooked the important Avct that, lliough the Russians might retreat, they would still be in possession of their resources. On tlie 6th of June, 1812, Napoleon crossed the Vistula, and on the 23d the Niemen, and pushed on to Wilna, the Russians carefully retreating, and leaving tlie French to pass that river on the 28th, and enter the town unopposed. Hero the French emperor remained eighteen days, establish- ing magazines of arms and provisions, and then, after considerable manoeu- vring, marched on Vitepsk, where he hoped to bring the Russians, under Rarcl!>7 do Tolly, to a general action. The Russian general, liowever, declined, and retired to Smolensk. Fatigue, and want of all kinds, had meanwhile operated so detrimentally on tlie French army, that it was obliged to iialt for ten days, during whicli the two Russian armies finally formed a junction under the walls of Smolensk. Napoleon, instead of fol- lowing the advice of his marshals, and wintering on the Duna, crossed the Dnieper and marclied in pursuit of the enemy. The Russians now began to act on the offensive. With twelve thousand cavalry they attacked Gen- eral Sebastiani, and drove him back with considerable loss. On the 17th of August the main body put itself in motion to encounter the French army, which had advanced, in order, if possible, to compel a general battle. When Napoleon saw his attempts to surround the right wing of the Rus- sians defeated, he ordered his own right wing, under Poniatowski, to hasten, by way of Ortza, by rapid marches, to cut off the Russians from Moscow. On the other hand, Bagration hastened to defend this road, and Barclay i i ■ill ,v » f->: fit' I ■III-: Pi-g; 640 ItLUSTRATrn PESCRIPnON OP nussiA. do Tolly sought to rotard tlio Frcncli as much as possible. Smolensk, an old place, strongly fortified, and the wliolo position on the Dnieper, greatly favored his plan ; and not till midnight of the 17th, after a loss of ninny thousands, did the French succeed in taking this bulwark, reduced, for the most part, to a ruin, its magazines Imving been removed or destroyed, and the houses set on fire by the departing inliivbitants. The Russian army retired in haste, laying waste the country, and burn- ing all the towns tlirough which it passed, while Napoh'on followed, liia troops sulTering more and more from want and the climate. Up to this time, Barclay de Tolly, the Russian commander-in-chief, had been able to adhere to his plan of drawing the French into the country without risking a general engagement until a favorable opportunity sliould oc:nr — tactics which were not liked by his army; and Alexander, yielding to the clamor of the nation, appointed KutusofT to the chief conmiand, wlio had reaped new laurels in the Turkish war just ended. Tlic battle of IJorodino, sometimes called that of Moscow, fought on the borders of tiie government of that name, on the 1st of Scptonil)er, was the result of tliis change of lenders. Reinforced l)y militia and reserves, Ku- tusofT resolved to await the enemy at the point above mentioned (about seventy miles from the city of Moscow), in a strongly-entrenched position. The French came up, and a terrible battle ensued. Tiie combatants on either side amounted to al)out one hundred and twenty thousand men, and the killed and wounded in both to about eighty thousand, of whom the Russians lost upward of fifty thousand. Tlic victory of the Frencii would have been still more decisive, but for the refusal of Napoleon to allow the imperial guard to engage in the battle. The Russians continued slowly and sullenly to retreat toward Moscow, establishing their batteries wher- ever they could make a stand, even for a few hours. They drove l)efore thcin the wretclied serfs, blew up the bridges l)ehind them, burned the towns as they passed along, and carried awny or destroyed all the provis- ions and forage. For seven days, the Frencli, emaciate and desponding, with tottering steps pursued their foes over the dreary jilains. Tiiey were everywhere victorious, and yet they obtained no results from their victo- ries. Count Rostopchin, the governor, was making eflcctual preparations for the conflagration of the capital, and was urging, by every means in his power, the evacuation of the city by the inhabitants. About noon of the 14th of September, Napoleon, cautiously advancing through a country of excessive monotony and gloom, from the summit of the Sparrow hills descried in the distance the glittering domes and mina- rets of Moscow. Ho reined in his horse, and exclaimed, " Behold ! yon- der is the celebrated city of the czars !" After gazing upon it, tlirongh his telescope, for a few moments in silence, he remarked, " It was full time !" The soldiers, thinking that their suflFerings were now at an end, and antici- pating good quarters and abundant supplies, gave way to transports of exultation. Shouts of " Moscow ! Moscow !" spread from rank to rank, lIISTOmr SUMMAflY — ALEXANDDK I. ♦jU nu(l nil (luk'koiicd (licir ptico to pain n view of tlio ohjoot of llioir wi.slics. Tlicy apiiroaohcd tlic city ; l)iit, to their nnmztimcnt, llicy iu(!t l»iit silonco and solitude. Tlio astomidinjr iiitclli>rencc was broii^lit to Napoleon tlmt tlie city was deserted. A lew of the niiscral>lo creatures, who had l>ccn ro- cnsed from the pri-ions to lire the city ns soon as the Frentth slioidd liavo taken possession, were found in the streets. They were generally into.xi- cated, and presented a squalid and hideous spcetaclo. Napolo(»n wna amazed at the entire abandonment of the city. Rumors of the intended conflagration reached his ears. Such nn awful saeriliee he had not sM\y {)OKed it possililo for any people to make. None but a semi-l)ari»arian na- tion, under the inlluence of an utter despotistn, could Ite driven to such an act. More than a hundred thousand of the wretched inhal)itants, paront.s and children — driven by the Russian sobliery from the city — perished of cold and starvation in the woods I Other comitlcss thousands, who had attached themselves to the army of Kutusolf, priished from latii;ue and o.\|)osure. Napoleon, as if to avoid the sijrht of the desolate streets, did not at first enter Moscow. He stopped at a house in the sul)url)s, and appointed Marshal Morfier jrovornor of the capital. " Permit," said ho, ** no pillage. Defiuid the place alike against friends and foes." The sol- diers dispersed through the city in search of provisions and quarters. Many of the inhabitai»ts had left in such haste, that the rich ornaments of the ladies were found on their toilets, and the letters and gold of men of business on their desks. On the morning of the Ifjth, Napoleon removed his headquarters to the krcmlin. lie immediately wrote to Alexander, proposing terms of peace, adding, " Whatever may bo the vicissitudes of war, nothing can diminish the esteem felt by me for my friend of Tilsit and Erfurth." The day was passed in establishing tl\e army in their new quarters. Pome twenty tliou- sand men and women of tlie lowest class, fierce and revolting in aspect, gradually stole from their hiding-places and mingled with the French troops. Ten thousand prisf ;.erp, whom Rostopchin had liberated, were stealthily preparing to convert tU ■ magnificent metropolis into a vast "infernal ma- chine" for the dc-tr'^'Jion of the French army. Immense magazines of powder were place! beneath the kremlin ai\d other structures which would be filled with soldiers ; shells and other destructive engines of war were secreted, in vast quantities, in chambers and cellars ; the fountains had also been destroyed, the water-pipes cut, and the fire-engines carried off. About midnight of the IGth, the cry of " Fire !" was suddenly heard in the streets. Far off in the east of the kremlin, immense volumes of smoke and flame were rolling up into the stormy sky. Loud explosions of burst- tug shells and upheaNing mines scattered death and dismay around. The flames spread in all directions. Mines wore sprung, shells burst, cannons discharged, wagons of powder and magazines blew up, and in a few hours of indescribable confusion and terror, the whole vast city was wrai)ped in an ocean of flame. The French soldiers shot the incendiaries, bayoneted i. il; fc; w ■ M t lit 11 'In' M MS ILLUSTIU ll;i> DKSCUII'TIOM OF RUSSIA. ' '"•'WWi Napolkon at th* Kkkulin. thcin, tossed tlioin into tlio fire ; but still, like demons, tlioy plied tlioir work. Napoleon uwoke early in the inoi-ning, and, lookinfjj out upon the (lames wliicli wore now sweopinji; through all parts of the city, cxcliiimed : •' What a frijihtfi"! spectacle! such a number of palaces! — the people are genuine .Scytliians." During the whole of the 17th and the ensuing night the fire continued to rage, and at last reached tlio kreinlin, forcing Napo- leon to retire to the castle of Petrowski, about three miles distant ; but the flames abating on the 19th, ho returned and occupied that portion of the kremlin which yet remained uninjui'ed. " The churches," says Labaume, " though covered with iron and lead, were destroyed, and with them those graceful steeples which we had seen the night before res|)lendent in the setting sun. The hospitals, too, which contained more than twenty thousand wounded, soon began to burn — a harrowing and dreadful spectacle — and almost all these poor wretches perished ! A few who still survived were seen crawling, half-burnt, among the smoking ruins, while others were groaning under heaps of dead bodies, endeavoring in vain to extricate themselves. The confusion and tumult which ensued when the work of pillage commenced can not be conceived. Soldiers, sutlers, galley-slaves, and prostitutes, were seen running through the streets, penetrating into the deserted palaces, and carrying away every- thing that could gratify their avarice. Some clothed themselves with rich stuffs, silks, and costly furs ; others dressed themselves in women's pelisses ; HISTURIC SUMMAIIY — ALEXANDER I. 043 and oven tlio galloy-fjlavcH concoalcd tlicir rags imdor the most splendid court-drcHscfl : tliu rest crowded to tliu ccllurH, mid, fiU'ciiif? open tlio doors, drank the wine nud carried off an imnicnHo Itooty. This horrible pillago was not coiifmod to the dcHorted hounes alono, liiit extended to the few which were iiihaWitcd, and soon the cagernesH and wantonncHs of the plun- derers caused deva.stationH which almost equalled those occasioned hy tho conllagration." — " I'aluces and teniples," writes* Karamzin, " monumenta of art and miracles of Inxnry, the renuiins of past ages and those whicli had been the creation of yesterday ; the tomlis of ancestors and tho nursery- cradles (tf tli(! present generation, were indiscriminately destroyed : noth- ing was left of Moscow save the remembramu; of its foruier grandeur." — " Not even tho fictions of the burning of Troy," said Napoleon in after- years, " though heighteiictl by all the powers of poetry, could have eciuallcd the realitii's of tho destruction of Moscow. . . . Oh, it was the most grand, the most sulilimo, the most terrilic sight the world ever beheld!" At length, on tho morning of the ll'th of October, after a stay of thirty- four days, Napoleon (piitted Moscow and retreated toward Kalonga. His army num!)ered about a hundred thousand men, with five hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, and som { 911 >■'' Jl !!il. Nu F| 644 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RU&SIA. And now the picture of the advance to Moscow was to be rcA'crscd. Hordes of Cossacks hung upon the rear of the retreating army, cutting off the stragglers, and committing every atrocity. Murat was defeated at Malo-Yaroslavitz on the 24th of October, and an unsuccessful stand wa3 made at Viasma on the 3d of November. On tlic 6t!'., a winter peculiarly early and severe, even for Russia, set in — the thermometer sank cighteon degrees — the wind blew furiously over the desert country — and the sol- diers, vainly struggling with the eddying sn w, which drove against them with the violence of a whirlwind, could no longer distinguish the rocd, and, falling into the ditches by the side, were quickly covered with the wintry mantle, and there found a grave. Others Ciawlcd on, badly clothed, with nothing to eat or drink, frost-bitten, and groaning with pain. What scenes did not the retreat then present! — disci|)line was gone — \inder such horrible sufferings even these tried and veteran soldiers could no longer obey their officers. Tims disorganized, they spread thci /..-"ilves right and left in search of food, and, as the horses fell, seized upoa their man- gled carcasses, and devoured them raw like dogs! Many remained by the dying embers of the bivouac-fire, and, as tl;ose expired, pn insensibility crept over them which soon became tiie sleep of death — thus thousands perished. On the 9th of November, Napoleon reached Smolensk, and remained till the 15th, collecting his scattered forces, now reduced to forty tliousand effective men, when he set out for Krasnoi. Meantime, Kutusoff, with a hundred thousand Russians, advanced by a parallel road, and stationed himself across Napoleon's route; while the French rear-guard, under Ney, exposed to constant and harassing attacks from Platoff's Cossacks, was nearly destroyed. Tlie emperor, however, pressing forward, succeeded in cutting his way through the dense masses cf the Russians though with the loss of more than half his imperial and young guards, which had been con- solidated. But from this time to the 2Gth and 27t!i, when the French crossed the Beresina, all was utter apd hopeless confusion ; and in the passage of that river, in the midst of a furious attack from the Russians, one of the frail bridges broke beneath the weight of artillery, baggage, and troops, with wliich it was burdened. A vast and frenzied crowd, strug- gling at the heads of the bridges, trampled upon each other, while jannon- balls ploughed tlirough the living, tortured mass. Multitudes were forced into the stream, and with shrieks, whicli pierced through the thunders of the battle, sank beneath tiie floating ice. The exact extent of the French loss Avas never known ; but a Russian accoimt states that thirty-six thou- sand bodies were found in the river alone, and burnt after the thaw ! The genius of Napoleon was never more conspicuous than on this occasion. It is the testimony alike of friend and foe that no other man could have ac- complished what he did in the awful passage of the Beresina. On the 29th, the emperor resumed his march, and was met by a convoy of provis- ions from Wilna. to bo rcA'crscd. rmy, cutting off fas defeated at ssfiil stand was ■inter pecnllaily ;i- sank eigliteeii y — and tlic sol- vo against them gui.sli tlio vocd, ^vorcd with the n, badly clothed, th pain. "NVhat LS gone — nnder ddiers could no thci -?'dves right upon their man- remained by the an insensibility -thus thousands md remained till ) forty thousand Kutusoft", with a d, and stationed uird, under Ney, 3 Cossacks, Avas d, succeeded in though with the h had boon con- rhcn the French ion ; and in the )m the Russians, ry, bnggage,and od crowd, sirug- 3r, while jannon- iidfs were forced the thunders of nt of the French t thirty-six thou- tlic thaw ! The lis occasion. It 11 could have ac- iresina. On the lonvoy of provis- HISTORIC SUMMARY — ALEXANDER I. 645 The French were now upon the borders of Poland, and received sym- pathy and aid from the people. Napoleon, having brought the remnant of his army to this point, yielded to the advice of his counsellors, and on the Stiiof December, in company with Caulaincourt and Loljau,and attend- ed by a small Polish escort, he set out in a sledge for Paris, leaving Murat to command in his stead. On the 10th he reached Warsaw, and, making a short stay, proceeded to Dresden, where he arrived on the 14th, and had an interview witii tlie king of Saxony. At midnight, on the 18th, he en- tered his capital and the palace of the Tuilerics. Tlie Russians, meauwliile, under Wittgenstein, pressed hard upon the retreating French, until they reached the Nicmen, the ancient boundary of the emi»ire. At Kowuo, Marshal Ney, with a handful of men, held the enemy at liay for four days ; and seizing a musket, fought like a common soldier, until tlie last man had retired across the bridge : then deliberately walking backward, he fired the last bullet at the advancing Russians, and threw his gun into the stream. lie was the last of the "Grand Army" tliat k'ft tlic Russian territory. The losses of NapokHui in tiiis terrible campaign amounted to about four hundred and iil'ty thousand men, of whom one hundred and twenty-five tliousaud were slain in fight ; one hundred and thirty-two thousand died from fatigue, hunger, and the severity of the climate ; and one hundred and ninety-three thousand wore made prisoners. Thus ended the greatest military catastrophe that ever befell an army in eitiier ancient or modern times, atid wliicii, though on a sumller scale, was realized to the Anglo- Indian army, while retreating througii the gorges and ravines of tlie Khoord Cabiil, in 1842. Enormous as was this loss, however, that of the Russians, including women and children, is affirmed to have been far greater! The emperor Alexander, who had hitherto only fought on the defensive, now resolved in his turn to become the aggressor; and, joining his army in Poland, published in February, 1813, the- celebrated manifesto which served as a l)asis for the coalition of the other powers of Europe to destroy Napoleon and overturn the French empire. T!ie king of Prussia at the same time summoned all capal»le of bearing arms to battle for their coun- try ; and, though he did not then designate his object, his people, who for five years had been humbled and degraded, understood him, and, with un- paralleled enthusiasm, thousands poured forth to their places of rendez- vous from every section of the country. In vain had the French, with the aid of their last reserves and of troops drawn together in haste, made efforts to remain on the Pregel, on tho Vistula, and on the Oder. The Russians advanced everywhere with superior numbers, and the French were obliged to retire behind the Elbe. Prussia now declared war against France, and concluded an alliance with Russia ; the confederation of the Rhino was dissolved ; and, although Austria yet remained neutral, the in- surrection was general in northern Germany. Meantime, however, much time was lost in negotiations with the king of Saxony ; and Kutusoff died 646 ILLUSTnATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. i, 'u of fever at Buntzlaw, upon which Alexander appointed Wittgenstein to the cliief command. Tliese circumstances were promptly taken advantage of by Napoleon ; but, tliough tliis prolonged the contest, it proved but of little avail in the sequel. In August, the Austriaus joined the allies ; but the latter were defeated by Napoleon at the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen, and also on the 27th at Dresden (where, during a reconnaissance. General Moreau, the French traitor, was mortally wounded by the side of Alexan- der). On the 18th of October occurred the terrible battle of Leipsic, in which the French were overwhelmed by greatly superior numbers. The allies now rapidly advanced to the Rhine ; and though Napoleon, with the broken fragments of his armies, continued the struggle through the winter, and gained victory after victory, his adversaries gradually environed him with half a million of men, and Alexander entered Paris on tlie 31st of March. 1814. In the subsequent negotiations which took place rehitive to the affairs of France, he exerted himself against the dethronement of Na- poleon, for whom he still retained the warmest personal friendship ; this failing, he advocated a regency in favor of the emperor's son, the young king of Rome. But he was overborne by the English and Prussian com- missioners ; and it was only by assuming the most energetic attitude, that he succeeded in procuring the sovereignty of Elba for the fallen monarch. During his stay in France he visited the ex-empress Josephine at Malmai- son, toward whom he exhibited the tenderest regard and sympathy. After the conclusion of peace, Alexander, in company with the king of Prussia and Marshal Blucher, visited England, ^vhere he was received with great distinction. It Avas on this occasion that B:ucher (whose claims to civilization nay be inferred from his habitual brutality aiv' drunkenness, and his wish to blow up the monument to Napoleon in the Place Yendome) received the honorary degree of doctor of laws fi'om Oxford university! The " Holy Alliance" at Vienna, in 181o, having settled the affairs of Europe to their satisfaction, tlie emperor Alexander devoted himself to the advancement of his own dominions. Tlie most o|)p(>site traits are found combined in the character of this sovereign : he was at once seen encour- aging bible-societios and the education of his people, yet interfering with the spread of political knowhd/*' and of lil)erty in distant states. Jle was at times firm even to stubbornnc/^x, at others vacillating: his character baffles all who endeavor to describe him as he actually was. Ifis di.'- sition, however, was kind and generous, his manners mild and amial)le, and his moderation generatiy prevented him from aliasing his iiidiujji>i' erysipelas, J , 1825, when ^ empire ; and h. HISTOHIC SUMMARY — NICHOL.VS I. »:47 CHAPTER XXVT. HISTOHIC SUMMARY — THE UEir^" F NTCHOLAS I. NICFIOLAH PAULOVICn, who succjo.ied Alexander, in wielding the imperial sceptre of Russia, was horn at St. Pttcrshn^T on the 7th of July (^.lunc 25, old style), 170G. He was the tlii ' son of the emperor Paul I., and seemed to have no prospect of mounting the throne. His education was conducted by his mother, Mary Feodorona, an intelli- gent and devoted woiuiiii, who exerted a great influoiice on all the mem- bers of the imperial family. General de Fiambsdorf, the ^'ountoss de Lieven, the learned Adelinig, iind others, were charged with the education of the young jtririce. They initiated him into the knowledge of modern litera- ture, political economy, the military art, and es|)ecial!y thiit of fortifica- tions. Nicholas (lid not hii-k a certain iiptitude for study. His masters, however, conceived no very high idea of his capacity. He was taciturn, melancholy, and occupied with trifles. His most decided taste was for music: lit! even couipoffd some military airs which are not without merit. At the tiMic of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Nicholas was too young to take ai jtive pait in that gi<>antic struggle. After the restoration of peace, he visited the principal battle-fields where the Russians had figured, and subsequently travelled in the various countries of Efope. In 1816, he made iiis appciivance at the court of England, and received a very cor- dii!i ■ clcome from the British aristocracy. On his return to Russia, Nicliolas hastened to acquaint himself with the condition of tho empire, visiting wiost of the provinces, and residing for a considerable time in th.eir chief cities. On the 1st of July, 1817, he esp iiised the princess ("Jliarlotte, eldest daughter of Freilerick William HI. of Prussia: being therefore, the brother-in law of the present king of that country, '"his lady (born July IS. 17*.t8) embraced at once the religion of the Grci^ic church, a.id assumed the name of Alexandra Feodorona. Of this marriage were born seven children, four sons and three daughters. Tin' sons are — Alexander Cajsarovich (heir to the throne, and now wear- ing tho imperial crown), who was born in 1818, and married in 1889 to Maria Alexandrovna. princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, by whom lie hm sev- eral children ; Conslantine, grand-admiral of the Russian navy, who was born in 1827; Nicholas, born in 1831; and Michael, born in 1832. It will be observed Uiat tho sons of Nicholas have received the same names 'tl / c>48 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. i J ' "5 W^/. mm ^^^mm^ NlCI!OLA9 I. • ' the sons of Paul, and in the same order. The eldest daughter of Nidi- 'ias is Marie Nicolaawiia, wlio was born in 1810, and married in 18B9 to Maximilian Beauhariiois, duke de Lewtclitenhnrg, and grandson of the em- press Jusepliinc of France. The emperor, it is said, designed for this daughter a union wliieh he deemed more in consonance with her own emi- nent position ; hut yielded liis own wishes to liers, when he discovered her unalterab'i' attachment to young Beauharnois, who was at the time a colo- nel in the Bavarian service. He died November 5, 1852. The second daughter is Olga, wIk> was born in 1822, and was married in 1846 to Cliarles, prince-royal (/f Wiirtemburg. Alexandra, the youngest daughter in the imperial family, was born in 1825, was married in 1844, and died in August of the siww; /far. It was her fatal illness which shortened the emperor's visit to Efi/hi<)>> in that year, as mentioned in a previous chap- ter. The chamber in (}y j/i.lace at Czarsko Solo in which she sank to rest renvains precisely as it was a^ fijatlast .»«'longed to her. In a secluded por- lion of the i>ark, the <-/iaw of whj<«^;h is presented on the oppo- site page, hfi9 l)eon er«e|cd »f * ti-vbutt Ut her nneniory. In a niche stands her statue in tnur\A*;. tlve size of life, bearinj; isi it* arms her infant, which perislicd almost as HfK>n as ^y^tvn. The p''rf< .-;tal of the statue is covered w»th appropriate passages of ''erii/twre. In a little summer-house near by hangs a portrait of the lamcn't*';^! princess, and Ixjneath it is inscribed a ■ontence which was often uji>on her I'.ps: " I well know, dear father, that you have no greater ploasur* thai, to rondar my mother happy." atiffhtcr of Nicli- rried in 1839 to iuL>lc in Asia, and the central ])oint of Turkish Ar- menia, with all its arms and ammunition, and seven thousand prisoners. After this, several other fortresses fell into tlic hands of (ho Russians; so that, besides obtaining possession of Mingrelia and Imeritia, the wliole pdchalic of Bajazid, as far as tho l)anks of the Euphrates, was conquered. Tho entire loss of tho Russians in this campaign, by disease as well as the Bword, wa^ about three thousand. The winter of 1828-'2i) was actively employed by b')th the Russians and the Turks in preparing for the opening of the next campaign. We have before remarked that the one hundred and sixty thousand Russians who had crossed the Danube during the preceding campaign had melted away before its close to half that numl)er by fatigue, sickness, and the sword. These were reinforced by seventy thousand fresh troo])S, including twenty thousand hardy Cossacks ; so that the Russians commenced the campaign in Europe, in the beginning of 1820, with at least one hundred and fifty thousand effective men, in Bulgaria and on the line of tho Danul)c. Some minor operations were undertaken during the winter l)y tho Rus- sian generals, to which they were tempted by tho growing superiority of their forces. The Turkish entrenched posts at Kale and Turnoid, on tho loft bank of tho Danube, were attacked and taken — the first on January 24, and the latter February 11. This success led to the capture of a flo- tilla of thirty gun-boats on tho Danube, near Nicopolis, a few days after, which gave them the entire command of that portion of the river. A still more important acquisition was the castle of Sizepolis, a stronghold situ- ated on a rock projecting into tho Black sea, a little to the south of the bay of Bocergas, at the eastern end of the Balkan. It yielded in a few hours to the cannonade of some Russian vessels-of-war, the garrison, con- sisting of one thousand Albanians, having evacuated the place. Tho cap- ture of this little Gibraltar secured to tho Russians a position on the sea- fv ■* . « -1 ^M lii: ^ % 664 ILLUSTUATED DnSGMPTt ;»l OF nUSSIA. coast, within tlic lino of the Balkan, ..ncl a moans (if communication between tlie invading army on ^itid and thuir Hoot on the Black sea. The docided siipriir-'iy of tho RiiHsians at sea, in l)otli the Mediterra- nean and the Kiixino, gave them a very great advantiij/e, whicli threatened to starve Constantinople itself into an early Hubmission, and deprived tho Turks of all possibility of transporting liieir troops or magazines by water. Admiral (iroig, with nine suil-of-the-lino, five frigates, and twenty-eight coivottes, carrying fifteen hinidred and fifty guns, liijckadcd the Bospho- riis ; wliilo Aibniral Ilanudin (the present coninu\nder of the Frcncii divis- ion of the allied licet in the Euxino, now acting (/^'•«('«a/ Russia), with eight 8ail-of-thc-line, seven frigates, and seventeen corvettes, shut in the Darda- nelles. The Turks and Kgyptians, wiiosc marine had b( ii totally ruined by the battle of Xavurino, Inid no force capable of meeting tiiesc lleets. Thus the entire eonimund of tlie sea, with all its inestimable consequences, fell to the Russians during tlie retnainder of the war. Tho success of Wilfgenstein, in the preceding campaign against tho Turks in Kuropo, had not been such as to justily his being retained in tho command, and he was accordingly allowed to retire — a step deemed proper also from his age and iiilirinities. He was succeeded by Count Diebiteh, the chief of his staff, whose abilities and success in the succeeding cam- paign fully justified the emperor's choice; f(n-, although tho Turkish army was greatly reinforced, and under tho command of ofliccrs of higli renown and unquestionalile bravery, both the Russian generals, Diebiteh and Pas- kicwitch, proved too much for them. Paskiewitch, who conducted the campaign in Asia, with a force which never could muster twenty thousand eoinbatants in the field, achieved ox traordinarj' successes. In the sjtacc of four months, from Juno to October, to briefly sum them up, he marched two hundred and fifty miles through hostile countries ; beat and dispersed three Turkish armies, each double tho strength of his own ; carried by storm several entrenched camps and four strong fortresses ; conquered Erzcroum, the capital of Asia Minor, and two entire pachalics ; took two hundred and sixty pieces of cannon and sixty- five standards, and made prisoners the Turkish general-in-chief and three thousand soldiers. The sharpest contest of the Asiatic campaign was oc- casioned by the pacha of Van's attempt to retake the fortress of Bajazid. The attack was made with seven thousand infantry and five thousand cav- alry, aided by the fire from a battery on a range of rocks, which swept tho Russian troops on the flank and rear, and the fire of musketry from the Tartar quarter of the place. After thirty-two hours of incessant fighting, the Turks retreated. The brilliant successes of Paskiewitch were achieved with tho loss of only four thousand men in killed, wounded, prisoners, and by sickness — a number singularly small, when it is considered that, during the whole course of tho campaign, the plague raged in several of the towns wliich were taken. The campaign in the European provinces was quite as successful to the HISTORIC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. 6*)5 jcossful to the RussiiiM arms. Tlio invading nniiy under Dioliitoli cros.-^od tlio Daimho frori the Htli to tho lOtli of May, in two coUiinns, at lliichova and Kala- vatsli, imniodiatcly below Silistria. The laltoi- pUicc was at once invested l>y thirty-live thousand Russians, with ei<>hty-cight [)iocoH of cannon, while a covering or reserve army, of upward of forty tliouhiand, was stationed n liftle in advance toward Schnnda. Silistria has ae(inircd an a'^ditional interest from tlie inelVectnal attempt of the Russiae • to capture it, at an imnionse sacrifice of life, in IH'A. It is situated la iiie i'<>:ht hank of tho fJ.. 'c, near the commencement of its delta, an ' .< !*^'2;' 'ontained thirty ' inlial>itants,six tliousand of whom wei aiu-in;/ ?■ e armed (h^fcncl- .i lace. It was at that time imperfectly foriified ; and such had ipinene.«s of tho Turlcs during tlic winter, that no attempts had li ii iiiinie to injure or demolisli tho approaches made hy th(! Russians during tlie campaign of tlie preceding year : so tliat, wlien they returned on tliis occasion, tliey marched into tho old works and trcnclies, as if they only had evacuated them tlie jjrcceding day ! The garrison, exclusive of the armed inlmhitants, was nearly ten thousand, commanded l»y Achnict Paclia, a man of determined resolution and tried al)i!ity. Diel>iteli prosecuted tlie siege of this fortress witli the utmost vigor, wliile •\ po\v»?rl"ul liotilla, issuing from tho upper part of the river, cut tho liesiegi'd oil from all communication l»y water on the west. But tlie Turks made a vigorous resistance, and recourse was of necessity had to the tedi- ous processes of sap and mine. During the progres,- of the investment of Pilistria, a battle was fought, oa the llili tif June, at Kulewtscha, about midway l>etwcen .^ilistria and Sehumla. ctween tho Russian reserve under Dieltitch (who had left tho pioseeii;i(iii oi' the siege meanwhile to General Krasowsky) and forty thou- sand Turks under Rescind Pacha, the commander-in-chief of the Ottoman forces. Tills engagement continued for eight hours, and finally resulted in the discomliture of the Turks, who retreated in Confusion, and by a cir- cuitous route succeeded in re-entering Sehumla. Tlie expedition, which resulted in this battle, retarded but did not sus- pend the siego of Silistria. On the return of Diebitch, active operations were resumed. The garrison, however, continued to hold out till the night of the 30lli of June, when a great mine under the rampart having been exploded, made a yawning breach in it, which, by the concentric fire of the Russian artillery, was soon rendered practicable for storming. Seeing further resistance hopeless, Aclimet Pacha, whose ammunition was now almost expended, agreed to surrender. The troops, to the number of eight thousand, laid down their arms, and were made prisoners-of-war. The armed inhabitants were allowed to retire without their arms, but none of them availed themselves of the permission. General Diebitch now determined on tho daring step of passing the Balkan, in preference to tho alternative of undertaking another siege to secure more effectually his line of communication. His plan being formed ^ ii^.- I'. \i li Hill i '• IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) V ^4 J 1.0 I.I 1.25 Li^ |2.5 Hi Ki 12.2 E Hi ■■■ 1.4 II 1.6 ^ V Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WEBSTII.N.Y. l4StO (716) •73-4S03 .:«? 656 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. accordingly, he invested Schumla witli ten tliousand men under Krasow- sky. Rescind Paclia, the grand vizier, in expectation of an immediate as- sault, recalled a portion of his troops from the moimtain-passes, to aid in the defence of a position on whicli, in his opinion, everything depended. The defenders of the Balitan being thus seriously diminished, the Russian forces, to the nuinhcr of twenty-one thousand, were enabled to force their passage across the mountains. The figurative comparison of the number of Diebitch's army to the leaves of the forest, which liad been spread by the reports of the Bnlgarians, acted like magic. Tlie Turkish army, twenty thousand strong, deceived by these exaggerated accomits, retired to the ridge of low hills, twenty-tivc miles in front of Constantinople, which had so often in ancient times served as a barrier against the northern barba- rians. Tiie Russian general, thus having an unobstructed route, resolved on pushing on to Adrianople. Leaving a force at diflcrent points to se- cure his line of communications, ho advanced by forced marches, and encamped before that ancient city on the 19th of August. No preparations for the defence of Adrianople had been made, and a hasty capitulation enabled the Russians to enter the town on the following morning. Tiie better to subsist, and also to augment the report of tlie magnitude and invincibility of his forces, the Russian general, like Napoleon after the battle of Jena, and with similar success, spread them out from the centre at Adrianople, like a fan, in every direction. While the advanced guards were pushed on the high-road to within eighty miles of Constantinople, the left wing, under Rudiger, advanced and took Midiah, within sixty-five miles of tlie Bosphorus, where it entered into communication with Admiral Greig's squadron ; and the right, under General Sicorro, moved forward by Trajanopolis on Enos, in the Mediterranean, and met the fleet of Admi- ral Hoiden, which was at anchor, expecting tliem, in the bay. At the same tinie, Krasowsky, l>y repeated attacks, so imposed upon the garrison of Sehunda, that, so far frpin thinking of disquieting these movements, they deemed themselves fortunate to be able to ])reserve their own redoubts! Thus the Russian army extended from the ICuxine to the Mediterranean, across the entire breadth of Turkey, a distance of one hundred and forty miles, and was supported liy a powerful fleet at the extremity of either flank ; while at the same time its reserve blockaded eighteen thousand men in Schumla, and its advanced guard menaced Constantinople. But the strength of their army was not equal to so great an expansion of its force, and was in reality on the verge of a most terrible catastrophe. In the middle of September, the force under Diebitch at Adrianople did not ex- ceed fifteen Ihovsand men ! , An extraordinary impression was produced by these decisive events, both at Constantinople and over Europe. The terror in the Turkish capi- tal was extreme ; for the Christians apprehended an immediate massacre from the infuriated mussulmans, and the latter were not leas apprehensive of extermination from the avenging swords of the victorious Muscovites. HISTORIC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. 657 events, \»\\ capi- ]assacrc [hensivo Icovites. Tho sultan (Mahmoud IV.) was besieged at one time by the violent Otto- mans, urging tho arming of all the followers of " the prophet," and the most severe measures against the Christians ; at another, with tlie most urgent entreaties from the latter, supported by tho earnest representations of the western embassadors, to yield to necessity, and avert the threatening dan- gei-s by an immediate concession of the demands of Russia. Their efforts, joined to the exaggerated reports of Dicbitch's force, wlio was repre- sented as being it the gates of the capital at the head of sixty tliousand men, at length overcame the firmness of the grand seignior, and, with tears in his eyes, ho agreed to the treaty of Adrianoplo — one of tho most re- nowned in the Russian, as it was one of the most disastrous in the Turk- ish annals. By this celebrated treaty the emperor of Russia restored to the Sublime Porte the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, and all tlie con- quered places in Bulgaria and Roumelia, with the exception of the islands at tlie mouth of the Danube, which were reserved to Russia. All conquests in Asia Minor were in like manner restored to Turkey, excepting the for- tresses of ^napa, Poli, Akhalzikh, Abzkow, and Akhalkalaki, which, with a considerable territory round them, were ceded to Russia, and, in a mili- tary point of view, constituted most important acquisitions. All the privi- leges and immunities secured by former treaties were ratified iu their fullest extent by articles five and six. An entire and unqualified amnesty was provided for all political offenders in every part of the Turkish dominions. The passage of tlie Dardanelles was declared open to all Russian merchant- vessels, as well as those of all nations at peace with the Sublime Porte, with all guaranties requisite to secure to Russia the undisturbed navigation of the Black sea. The indemnity to be awarded to Russian subjects complaining of arbi- trary acts of the Turkish government was one and a half millions of Dutch ducats, or nearly four millions of dollars, payable in eighteen months ; and that to the Russian government, for the ex[)enses of the war, was ten mil- lions of ducats, or about twenty-five millions of dollars. The evacuation of tho Turkish tcriitories was to take place progressively as the indemnity was discharged, and not to be completed till it was entirely paid up. Another convention, signed the same day, of still greater eventual im- portance, determined the respective rights of the parties to Wallachia and Moldavia. It provided that the hospodars of these provinces should be elected for life, and not, as heretofore, for seven years ; that the pachas and officers of the Porte in the adjoining provinces were not to be at lib- erty to intermingle in any respect in their concerns ; that the middle of the Danube was to bo the boundary between them to the junction of that river with the Pruth ; and, " the lietter to secure the future inviolability of Moldavia and Wallachia, the Sublime Porto eugaged no. , maintain any foitified post or any raussulman establishment on the no:«i; of the Oauubo : that the towns eituatcd on the left bank, including Giurgova, 12 m- Iv' I 658 ILLUSTRATED DESCHIPTION OF RUSSIA. should be restored to Wallaclua, and their fortifications never repaired ; and all inussulmans holding possessions on the loft bank were to be bound to sell them to the natives in the space of eighteen months. The govern- ment of the hospodars was to be entirely independent of Turkey ; and they were to be liberated from the quota of provisions they had hitherto been bound to furnish to Constantinople and the fortresses on the Danube. They were to be occupied by the Russian troops till the indemnity was fully paid up, for wliich ten years were allowed ; and to bo relieved of all tribute to the Porte during their occupation, and for two years after it had ceased." Though the campaigns of 1828-'29 terminated to the disadvantage of Turkey, thoy are yet eminently calculated to modify the ideas generally entertained as to the great power of Russia in aggressive warfare, as well as to evince the means of defence, in a military point of view, which the Ottoman dominions possess. Tlie Turks began the war under the greatest possible disadvantages. Their land forces had been exhausted by seven bloody campaigns with the Greeks ; their marine ruined in the battle of Navarino ; their enemies had the command of the Euxino and the .^gean ; the interior lines of communication in their empire were cut off; the Jani- zaries, the military strength of the state, had been in part destroyed, in part alienated ; and only twenty thousand of the regular troops, intended to replace them, were as yet clustered round tlie standards of the prophet. On the other hand, the Russians had been making their preparations for six years ; they had enjoyed fourteen years of European peace ; and a hun- dred and twenty thousand armed men awaited on the Pruth the signal to march to Constantinople. Yet, w^ith all these disadvantages, the scales hung all but even between t'^ contending parties. Varna was only taken in the first campaign in co- ence of the Russians having the command of the sea ; the Balkan pass^u in the second, from the grand vizier having been out-generaled by the superior skill of Diebitch. Even as it was, it was owing to treachery and disaffection that the daring march to Adrian- ople did not terininate in a disaster second only to the Moscow retreat. The Polish revolution is the next important event in the history of Rus- sia. Although tlie immediate cause of this revolution was severe punish- ment inflicted on pupils of the military academy at Warsaw, there is no doubt that the Poles were encouraged to make the attempt by the success that attended the Parisians in July, 1830, to secure to themselves a con- stitutional government. Accordingly, on the 19th of November following, the military cadets and students of Warsaw, joined by the Polish troops, seized the arsenal, with forty thousand stand of arras, and the insurrection became general. On the next morning, forty thousand troops and citizens were in arms, and the Russians were expelled from the capital. January 24, 1831, the Polish diet, which had been opened on the 18th of December, declared the absolute independence of Poland, and the termination of the Russian dominion ; and, on the 25th, that the Polish throne was vacant. The object of the l^olish revolutionists, however, was not to withdraw them- HISTORIC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. Ud9 paired ; > bound govern- ,nd they to been They illy paid •ibuto to leased." itago of cnerally , as well hich the greatest by seven battle of ^gean ; the Jani- i,in part ended to prophet, itions for id a hun- signal to je scales y taken oinmniid r having t was, it Adrian- treat. jr of Rus- punish- jre is no e success es a con- ollowing, h troops, urrcction 1 citizens January ecernber, on of the ^ vacant, aw them- selves entirely from the authority of the Russian emperor, but only to main- tain the privileges that were guarantied to them at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and ;o get rid of the tyrannous viceroyship of the grand-duke Con- stantine.* Nevertheless, they had now drawn the sword ; and, although two commissioners were sent to St. Petersburg, to endeavor to effect an arrangement, the emperor refused to listen to them, and denounced the revolted Poles as traitors to whom no lenity would be shown. Marshal Diebitch, who had so successfully conducted the war with the Turks, entered Poland at the head of a large army. He advanced as far as Warsaw, and was victorious over tiie Poles near the walls of their capi- tal, February 25, 1831 (the loss of the Poles is stated to have been five thousand five hundred, and tliat of their enemies fuur thousand five hun- dred) ; but when Prince Radzivil resigned the command on the 28th, and Skrzynccki, then only a colonel, was appointed in his place, the Polish cause gained strength. This brave officer, though finally unsuccessful, like the heroic Kosciusko, proved that he deserved a better fate. On the 31st of March he was victorious over the Russians in a night attack. He ad- vanced cautiously, and, favored by the darkness of the night, reached their cantonments without being perceived. The advanced guard of General Geisniar, consisting of eight or ten thousand men, was first attacked, and almost wiiolly destroyed : the Poles took four thousand prisoners and six- teen pieces of cannon. Immediately afterward he attacked General Rosen, who was posted with twenty thousand men at Dembe Wielski, and obliged him to retreat, with the loss of two thousand prisoners and nine pieces of cannon. Another important victory was afterward gained near Zclechow, when twelve thousand Russians were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, with twelve pieces of cannon. During this action, the Lithuanians and Volhyn- ians, who served in the Russian army, turned tlicir arms against the Rus- sians, and materially contributed to tlie success of the Poles. The peasants in various quarters of Poland now took an active part in the war, and hastened, with whatever weapons they could obtain, to the army. Insurrections broke out in Lithuania, Volliynia, Kowno, Wilna, in the Ukraine, and even in ancient Poland, as far as Smolensk. On the other hand. General Dwcrnicki, who had been sent to make a demonstra- tion in the rear of the Russians, and who had been victorious over thera, was at last compelled to pass into the Austrian dominions, where he sur- rendered to the authorities of that country, April 27, witli five thousand Poles. The ardor of the people, however, still continued, and hopes were • Thp folNiwing nnocdoto in well siiiteiJ to give nii Moa of tlio genllenett of Constiuujne'g chnrnc- . ter. During a gniml review, In- wislicil to givo h foioigiipr of ilistiiiclion u romnrkiiblo proof of the respncl in whirli iliscipline wos helil by tho solilirni. Willi this view, he npproached one of the goneruli of the »ervicp, and, without a word of roprimand or iidvico, pierced his right foot with his Dword. The unforiuniite ninn did not move: it wiis only wlirn tho grnnd-duke had withdrawn hit weapon, the blood flowing uliunduntly, lliiit he ullowod hinisi-lf to full down! Facts of thit kind, in a iiiflicieni number, amply attest tho ferocity of the viceroy of Poland. i: 1 1;; i^: ■j-i > n i 11 m '"'' ,|l 660 ILLUSTRATED DKSCBIPTION OF RUSSIA. entertained in every country that the manly resistance of tlio Poles would induce other governments to interfere ; but, unfortunately, Prussia and Austria, being themselves in possession of a part of the spoils of Poland, did all in their power to prevent interference, for fear of popular risings in Posen and Galicia; while France was too timid and cautious under Louis Philippe, and Great Britain was too much absorbed with domestic politics and tiie spirit of trade, to render essential aid. The military oper- ations on tlje part of the Russians were now prosecuted with new vigor ; and the emperor, who, in a manifesto addressed to the Russians, had called them the legitimate masters of the Polos, was ready to make every sacrifice to regain the Polish throne. The fate of the revolutionists was soon afterward decided. After two days' lighting, Warsaw was taken by the Russians (September 7, 1831) : the confiscation of their pro])erty and e.xile to Siberia followed as noted on a previous page. Though many found an asylum in France, England, and other countries, tliey were mostly in extreme poverty, and were dependent on the benevolence of those who pitied their hard fate while they admired their patriotism. An imperial ukase, issued March 17, 1832, abolished the kingdom of Poland and its constitution, and incorporated it with Rus- sia as a province. The university of Warsaw was also suppressed, as a punishment for the part taken l>y the students in the insurrection. When Poland had succumbed, another formidal)le adversary confronted the Muscovite autocrat. Wo allude to the cholera, wliich made every- where liorriljle ravages. At St. Petersburg, a belief prevailed anjong the ignorant populace that the epiden)ic was generated by poison thrown into the wells by Poles. The rumor attained wide credence, and the peasants, to the number of some eighty thousand, rose, and, wild with rage, paraded the streets, assassinating every foreigner they met. They assembled at longth in the Place Siennaia, and, with frightful cries of fury and drunk- enness, menaced the capital with rebellion. This was so much the more to be dreaded, as at the moment there were no troops at hand. While the riot was at its higliest pitch, aiul the excitement most dangerous, the em- peror was seen approaching, accompanied by a single aide-de-camp, and followed by hardly a hundred Cossacks. lie moved on slowly and steadily through the incensed mob, to the very centre of the insurrection, and there looking sieadfastly around, witli undaunted gaze, ho cried, in tones of thunder : " Down upon your knees ! Upon your knees ask pardon from your God — you must expect none from me I" The immense prestige which surrounded Nicholas at that time, com- bined with sucli an exhibition of daring and courage, together with the effect of the herculean stature, the imposing mien, and the mighty and sonorous voice, struck the insurgents with such awe, that* they with one accord knelt down, and oflcred no resistance, while a few of the Cossacks seized and bound many of their number. The rest dispersed in terror, and the rebellion was quelled as if by enchantment. and HISTORIC 8UMMAUY — NICHOLAS I. (m In 1833, tho sultan Malnnoud asked the as8i8tanco and protection of Russia against the pacha of Egypt, Mcliemet Ali, who had I'isen in arms against him, liad defeated the Tuikisli forces in several successive battlei", had taken possession of Syria, and even threatened Constantinople. The emperor Nicliolas readily responded to the call, and an army of five thou- sand Russians encamped upon the Asiatic coast of the Bosphorus, wliile a Russian fleet appeared upon its waters. As the price of the assistance and protection thus rciidcred, and before the return of the Muscovite foi'ces to their own country, Russia exacted from Turkey the offensive and defen- sive alliance of Unkiar Skelessi, by which both powers were reciprocally bound to furnish succor iu case either were attacked ; while, by a secret article appended thereto, the Sublime Porte was bound to close tho Dar- danelles against any power with whom Russia niiglit be at war. One aim attributed to fhe Russian enipcror, in his connection with Otto- man affairs, was, to produce a rupUirc between France and England. If so, he was, in a measure, gratified in 1840 ; as the French government ad- vanced claims in regard to Egypt wliich displeased the London cabinet. Russia, Austria, Prussia, aiul Great Britain, were then allied together iu favor of the sultan against the pacha Mehcmet Ali, aiid France found her- self isolated. This was an anomalous and dangerous position. The sym- pathies of England and France, their commercial relations, and their ad- vanced civilization, required tlie union of the former with France rather than with Russia. The conlition was broken in 1841, and a general treaty of peace signed on the 13tli of July by all the leading European powers, which re-established the inviolability of the Dardanelles, and thus abro- gated the offensive features of the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi. From tliat period till 1848, no important act marked the influence of Russia in the world's affairs. At tlie news of the revolution at Paris, in February of that year, the feelings of the emperor Nicholas were of a mixed cliaracter. On tlie one hand, he rejoiced at Louis Philippe's fall, for whom he always professed little esteem, and whose government had, sympathized with the exiled Poles ; and, on the other, he feared the conta- gio;: of revolutionary opinions introduced into Poland. His apprehensions increased when he learned that Prussia and Austria shared in the vast democratic movement — that Berlin had risen, and that the imperial family with the obnoxious minister Metternich had been compelled to flee- from Vienna. The Muscovite czar held himself in a waiting posture. He rec- ognised the republican government established in France, and continued to keep up friendly relations with the German powers ; but at the same time he organized formidable armies on his southern and western frontiers, prepared every means of attack, and stood ready, arms in hand, to enter the field in support of the " divine right of kings," and against all revo- lutionary movements. An occasion soon presented itself in which he was called upon to employ a portion of his troops in the cause of monarchy. On the appeal of the J ill 662 ILLUSTRATED DESCniPTION OP RUSSIA. young emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, for aid against the armies of Kossuth, Nicholas sent his Cossacks into Hungary, under the command of Field-Marshal Paskiewitch, who, with overwhelming numbers, fmally van- quislied the valiant Magyars, because, like the Poles in 1831, the Hungo- rians quarrelled among themselves in presence of the enemy, and of which the Russian commanders were not slow to take advantage. The ukase in which the czar ai^nounced that ho should intervene for tho assistance of Austria in this contest, was dated April 2G, 1849. The chief reason given for so doing was tho danger to which the Russian dominions must thcm- Belves be exposed from tho triumph of the Magyars, witli the large number of Polish refugees said to be engaged in their forces; another motive was, however, also assigned, namely, the mission of Russia to restore religious and political orthodoxy to the bewildered and disorganized nations of Eu- rope. The Russian forces were put in motion simultaneously with this ukase. In all, some two hundred thousand men were employed for tho purpose. One corps of from forty to fifty thousand, under General Paniu- tin, passed tiirough Moravia l>y the northern railway, and entered Hungary northwest of Presburg ; two other corps of some twenty tiiousand nicn each, under General Grabbe and Gencvo! Sass, entered the country through the northwestern defiles of the Carpathians ; the main body, under Prince Paskiewitch, a hundred thousand strong, came through the central pass of the same range, and marched down on tho main road toward Pesth. Gen- oral Liiders, again, invaded Transylvania on tiio southeast, at tho head of twenty thousand men, accompanied by the rcnmants of the Austrian army of Puchner, under Clam-Gallas, a new leader ; and at the same time, another smaller Russian corps, under General Grotcnhelm, came into that province on the northeast. The Austrian armies were also recruited, and again put in motion — in the west under Marshal Haynau, a general whoso blood- thirsty ferocity in Italy had already assured him an immortality of infamy ; in the southwest under General Nugent ; and in the south under Jcllachich, the notorious Ban of Croatia. The entire force thus marshalled against this heroic nation scarcely fell short of three hundred thousand men ! Against them was tho army of Gorgcy, in and about the fortress of Comorn, on tho Danube, between Pesth and Presburg, in all reckoned at ninety thousand ; that of Aulich, about Lake Balaton, twenty thousand ; that of Dembinski, in tha north, forty thousand ; that of Yettcr, in tho central region on the Danube, forty thousand ; the corps under Perczel, Kiss, and Guyon, in tho south and southeast, forty thousand ; and that of Bern, in Transylvania, forty thousand. These numbers are to be taken as merely approximative : in the nature of tho case the Hungarian armies contained a largo proportion of irregular volunteers, who camo and went according to circumstances. With such means the nation awaited the decisive shock, appealing to God and humanity to attest the justice of their cause. The popular enthusiasm was roused to an extraordinary extent by the crisis ; Governor Kossuth and his friends traversed every part of the country as apostles of the crusade HISTORIC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. 668 nnco for liberty, and tlio clcrpy of all denominations vied willi each otlicr in zeal against the invaders. Tlio contest, however, was prolonged for some throe months only after the entry of the Russians, and was virtually ended on the IJUh of August, at Villagos, by tlic treacherous surrender of Gorgoy, witli his entire army, to Puskiowitch. Tliis was followed by tlio surrender of all the strongholds in the hands of the Hungarians. Kossuth, Guyon (sincocommnndor-in-chief of the Turkish army in Asia), Bem, Dembinski, Perczel, and other eminent officers, with some five thousand troops, found an asylum in Turkey. There can be but little doubt that the Russian emperor's gold played a prominent part in the closing scenes of the ill-liited Hungarian revolution. Nicholas, so far as is known, asked no compensation from the Austrian emperor for this great service ; he seemed to have lent his soldiers and his money with perfect disinterestedness. It was, however, a great stroke of policy. Russia's |)rep(>nderiince over Germany was essentially promoted by this intervention. It is also worthy of remark that, during the Hunga- rian campaign, the officers and even the common soldiers of the Russian army treated the Austrians as inferiors and menials, showing them far less respect than they did tlie Magyars. These events bring tlic history of Russia down to the period immcdiateljf preceding the recently-terminated war with Turkey, France, and England. The relations between Russia and the Ottoman Porto began to assume a threatening aspect some time before the iinnl outbreak in 1853. The peo- ple of the Danubian principalities were not free from the revolutionary contagion of 1848, and a movement in that direction commenced in Mol- davia, whence it extended to Wallachia. It was finally suppressed, and an amnesty proclaimed l>y tlie youthful sultan, Abdul-Medjid. It furnished a pretext, however, for tlie Russian emperor, in 1849, to send a division of his army across the Prutli .nid occupy the principalities. He assumed the right under a construction hf the treaty of Balta Liman, of April of that year. This treaty, however, provided for joint occupation, expressly stipulating that both powers should enter the principalities togetlier, and this under peculiar circumstances, with an equal force. Russia, tlierofore, had no right whatever to enter them alone. It was only after lengthened negotiations with Great Britain, and the advance of a large Turkish force, that the Russian troops were withdrawn in 1850. Misunderstandings also arose between the two governments at the end of the Hungarian war, in 1849, principally on account of certain Polos, who, after having fought in the ranks of the Hungarians, were among those that sought refuge in Turkey, and were protected by the sultan. His re- fusal either to expel or deliver them up gave great offence to the czar, as also to the emperor of Austria in the case of the Hungarian refugees. Next came the question of the "holy places" in Jerusalem, where, by the influenceof France, certain privileges had been granted by the Turkish government to lloman catholics, at the cost, as the court of St. Petersburg '■I % 0U4 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. believed, of tlio eastern or the orthodox Greek cltiirch. llnis the northern cabinet, which for years had been ncciiHtonicd to have its will obeyed at CoiKstuntinoplc, saw twice in rapid succession another influence prevail there. A conflict between the Montenegrins and the Turks, in the liegiti* iiing of ISti'A, increased the difliuulty, as the hardy mountaineers of Mon- tenegro had for some time enjoyed the s[>ecial protection of Russia ; and, at liie instigation of the latter, Austria now interfered to prevent tiieir complete chastisenjent at the hands of Onnir Pacha. .Several other events of inferior importance thickened the cloud; and finally it was decided l>y Nicholas to make an imposing detnonstration at Constantinople, without, however — as it was announced ofBciully to other cabinets — any ulterior idea of war or conquest. In the first days of February, 1853, Prince Menchikoff, the cnijxjror'a minister of marine — one of the most eminent men at the court and in tlio councils of Russia, as well as a fervent follower of the Greek church and an enemy of the niosleins — left St. Petersburg on a mission to Stamlxiul. After having reviewed the Russian fleets ut .**evasta|K)l und Odessa, tlie prince reached his destination on the 28th of February, and on the 2d of March connnimicated to the Porte his credentials. The first act of diplo- matic hostility liegan witli the refusal by the prince to call on Fund KfTcndi, the Turkish minister of foreign afl'airs, and the most decided adversary of Russia in the councils of the sultan. Tlic Porte, however, yielded this point of eticjuctte, and the minister resigned liis office. The other courts of Kurope, and especially France, became nncasy at these Russian demonstrations, and a French fleet appeared at about the end of the month in tlie waters of Greece. England showed herself Icsa sensitive at this jwriod, and refused to move her naval forces in the Med- iterranean, keeping tliem anchored at Malta. Tlie fust point debated l»etWeen the Russian embassador and the Porto was tliat of the hidy places in Palestine. After .some manoeuvring on the part of the prince, who originally wished to discuss the matter exclusively with tlie Porte, the FrencI) minister came in and shared in the dclibera- tioi.s. The whole seemed to take a satisfactory turn. The Porte issued a new finnan, conceding what MenchikofT desired, and putting Russia on the same Pjoting as before the recent grant to Franco. But Russia was not satisfied. After many circumlocutions, Prince Mcn- chikofi', in a note sent to the divan on the 5th of May, laid down his ulti- matum. Tiiis contained sundry claims never before preferred bj Russia, as that tlie Porte should bind itself for the future never to lessen or en- croach upon any immunities enjoyed ab anliquo by the Greek church in Turkey, nor ever to allow any other Christian creed to predominate over it. A convention to this efiect would have been un acknowledgment by the Porte of a religious protectorate to be exercised by the czar over its own subjects. Menchikofi' demanded an answer to these propositions in ' • 1 course of five days. The Porte, in a friendly but firm tone, refused to HISTOniC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. Cu5 miiko such a troRty, as destroying tlio piiltairs rijilits of Povoroignty. To tliis Mcncliikoff iiiado an answer, and thus nonotiatioiis liuciuno piotractod tc tlio 14tli of May. In this crisis, Rescind l'ii(;lia,one of ilio most cnlijrlit- enod statesmen of Turkey, was recalled to the divan. IJut this change did not prove propitious to the interests of Russia ; and, on the 18th of May, the Russian envoy broke off all further conununicalions with the Porte, and retired to a steamer waiting for him in the harlior. Thenco he cxt-hangcd several notes with Rescind Pacha, but, as they could not come to any un- derstanding, Mcncliikoff left Constantinople on the lilst of M;iy. Russia, at the same time that she sent her envoy, began to gather l)odic8 of tro<»p8 about Odessa and in Bessarabia. After the departure of Men- chikoff from Constantinople, Turkey also liogan to arm. Count Xessel- rode, the czar's minister of foreign affairs, sent a courier to Constantinople with a letter to the grand vizier, announcing tliat the c/iir fully approved the proceedings of his envoy; and that if the Porte sliould still refuse to subscribe to the treaty he had proposed, Russian troops would receive or- ders to enter the Turkish principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia — not with the object of making war against the sidtan, but to olitaiu nuiterial guaranties until moral ones should bo conceded to Russia liy the Porte. To this the grand vizier answered with calmness and dignity, maintaining the grounds of the first refusal. The cabinets of Paris and London, seeing the gravity of the cose, de- cided to send forward their fleets as a demonstration of their friendly feel- ings toward Turkey ; and the united naval forces anchored, in the first part of June, in Besika bay, at the entrance of the Dardanelles. On the lltli of the same month, the cabinet of St. Petersburg published a circular ad- dressed to its diplomatic agents abroad, explanatory of the views of Rus- sia, and of the measures already taken to carry them out. On the 25th of June, the emperor of Russia issued a manifesto to his people, announcing his purpose to sustain the religious rights of the eastern church, which he said were endangered in Turkey. The Russian troops, accordingly, crossed the Pruth, and entered the Danubian principalities. France and England seemed more united at this juncture, and a certain irritation prevailed in the notes now exchanged between Paris and St. Pe- tersburg. Austria and Prussia remained neutral, and the first offered her friendly mediation. Conferences were opened at Constantinople and at Vienna between the ministers of the four courts, and on' the 1st of August a note was sent from Vienna to St. Petersburg and Constantinople offering terms of pacification. The czar accepted them, but the sultan introduced some changes and modifications, which were disapproved at St. Petersburg, and destroyed the first conciliatory attentpts at diplomacy. New drafts, notes, and suggestions, were exchanged, but all of them without result. Russia having taken possession of Jassy and Bucharest, the capitals of the principalities, Prince Gorchakoff, the Russian commander-in-chief, suspended all legal relations between the two vassals of the Porte and their sovereign. 666 TLLUBTnATED DESCRIFTIOK OF BUBSIA. Turk(!y, in tho meantime, concentrated lier army along the Danube ia Kurupc, and on tho frontiers of Georgia in Asia. All cflbrts of diplomacy proved unflucccssful ; and finally, in the beginning of October, tho Bultau issued a declaration of war agoiuHt the autocrat. Oiner Pucha (a Croatian by birth, ond a renegade from the Austrian service), the comnmndor-in- chiof of the Turkisli forces in Europe, "-Idressed a letter to Prince Gorcho- koflf, requiring him t«> ovticutite the priii i>(\litie8 within two weeks ; other- M'iso ho would proceed to execute the orders of his sovereign, and attack tho RuBsian army. Gorchukofl* replied that ho was under tho imperial commands to maintain his position. Omcr kept his word. In the latter part of October he crossed tlio Danube at several points. Tho Olt(mmns seixed tho island of Kuluvatsh, expelling tho Russians from it, us well as tho strong point of Oltenit/u on the left side of tho river, where they repulsed with great loss several attacks of tlie enemy. At Guirgovo, o point on the Danube between Kuluvatsh and Oltenitza, tho Turks wore less fortunate. Rut not so in Asia, where tliey seized Nikolaicv and several other fortified places ; and fou;:ht a luUtle nt Batrum, against Prince Barutinski, in which both parlies claimed tlie victory. On the water, the Ottoman cause suflered a great disaster. On the 80tb of November, a Turkish lloet, consisting of seven frigates, three corvettes, and two steomers, conveying warlike stores to tho Asiatic coast, entered the harlH»r of Sinope, where they were attacked by a Russian squadron of six line-of-battle-ships, two frigates, and four steam-frigates, under Admiral Nuchimofl'. After a gallant contest of aliout three hours, the Turkish ves- sels were destroyed, with the cxeeption of one, supposed to have escaped. About three thousand of tho nuuines were killed, and an immense amount of property was destroyed. One of the frigates, that of the commander, Osnian Pacha, was captured l)y the Russians, but sank at sea as they were towing her on the way to the harbor of Sevastapol. After tho destruction of the Turkisli lleet, the guns of tho Russian squadron were turned upon tho town of Sinope, tho principal portion of which they reduced to ashes. The Turks in this unequal confiict fought with almost unheard-of bravery, not a single vessel having struck its tlag during the whole engugenient. The intelligence of this affair created great excitement, not only at Con- stantinople, but in Paris and London. The allied fleets — consisting uf fourteen English, twelve French, and five Turkish vessels-of-war — were immediately ordered to enter tho Black sea, for tho purpose of aflbrding protection to the Porto. The admirals were instructed to protect all Turk- ish vessels of convoy, which were to keep along the Ottoman coast. The British ficet in the Euxine is under the command of Admiral Dundos, and the French under Admiral Hamelin. Omcr Pacha continued to occupy Oltenitza, notwithstanding tho increased Russian force in his front, until the continual rains so flooded tho country as to oblige him to quit the low tract occupied by his troops. He there- fore rocrossed the Danube, without any kind of molostation, leaving about HISTORIC SUMMAHY — NICHOLAS I. OCT firtooii tlioiisiind men in tlio trle-de-pont of Knlavntxli, to which stronfi^ en« trcnchniont.s lind l»eon rociMitly utidcd, ixrini'd with gmiH of heavy culibre, for the more uiluctnal })iotoctioii of t\m |»a».sa^n into Lower Wallnuliia. The four powcrn, Enjjlaiid, Kraiico, Austria, and Prussia, continued ac- tively cnjriijjed in no}<;otiatin)i: for peace. A new di|)lonmtic note was agreed upon and forwarded to Constantinoph), proposing that the Hultan should Bend a plenipotentiary to some neutral point, to confer with a Russian em- bassador — the integrity of the Ottoman empire to l)e guarantied, and other points in dispute to bo adjusted, in conformity with previous arrangements. Tlio Turkish divan, on the 18th of December, consented to open negotia- tions, but reiterated its former declarations that the evacuation of the principalities should bo a conditi(m precedent to any discussion of the terms of peace. The sultan also claimed that, by the war, all proviously- oxisting treaties had been abrogated. The emperor of Russia perempto- rily rejected the note of the four powers. The Russian ministers left Paris and London, and all negotiations wcro broken oil', without any hope of roncwnl. On the Danube, meantime, fresh engagements took place, which resulted favorably for the Turks. On the Gth of January, 1854, they attacked the advanced guard of the Russian army near Citato, and followed up the ad- vantage there gained for three days in succcsf^ion, fmally routing their adversaries entirely, and driving them back upon Krajova, with a loss of jcveral thousand men. The Turks then retired to Kalavatsh. Several severe skirmishes subsequently took place, in which the mussulmans wore victorious. On the 20th of January, the cmjwror of France addressed an autograph letter to the czar, stating that the dilTerences l)etwecn Russia and Turkey had reached such a point of gravity, that he thought it his duty to explain the part France had taken on th.it question, and to suggest the course by which ho thought the peace of Europe could still be preserved. It was not, as he averred, the action of tlio inaritimo powers, but the occupation of the principalities, which had taken the subject from the field of discus- sion into that of fact. Still, even that event was not regarded as a cause of war ; but a note was prepared by tho four jmwers, destined to give com- mon satisfaction. That note was accepted by Russia, but commentaries were immediately added which destroyed all its conciliatory effect, and prevented its acceptance by tho Porto. The sultan, in turn, proposed modi- fications, to which the four powers accodcd, but which the czar rejected. Then the Porte Mounded in its dignity and threatened in its independence, declared war, pk! claimed the support of her allies. The English and French squadrons were ordered to tlio Bosphorus. not to make war, but to protect Turkey. Efforts for peace wore still continued : other propositions were submitted ; and Russia declared her intention to remain on tho defen- sive. Up to that time, Franco and England had been merely spectators — when the affair of Sinope occurred, and forced them to take a more defined 1 1 I i 668 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. position. It was no longer their policy that was cheeked ; their military honor was wounded. Hence the order was given to their squadrons to enter the Black sea, and to prevent by force, if necessary, the recurrence (if such an event. Arrived at this point, it was clear that there must be either a definite understanding or a decided rupture. If the czar desired a pacific solution, it was suggested that an armistice should be signed, that diplomatic negotiations should be resumed, and that uU the belligerent forces should retire from the places where the motives of war had called them : tlic Russian troops would abandon the principalities, and the allied squadron liie Black sea ; and the emperor of Russia would name a plenipo- tentiary to negotiate a treaty with the sultan, to be submitted to the four powers. If a plan should be adopted on which France and England should agree, peace would be restored, and the world satisfied. If the czar should refuse tliis proposition, t-liey must leave to the fate of arms and the hazards of war tliat wiiich might be decided by reason and justice. — This letter wus regarded ratlier as a manifest to the French nation than an aj)peal to the czar. It was extensively placarded, and issued in immense numbers in extra editions of the government journal, the Paris " Moniteur." A reply to tliis autograph letter of Louis Napoleon was received, in the latter part of March, from tlie emperor of Russia. lie reliearsed tiio grounds of difference, clainung that his policy had been marked by the utmost forbearance and the most snieere desire for ilie preservation of peace. His occupation of the principalities, he says, was preceded and in a great measure caused by the lioetile appearance of the combined fleets in the neigliborhood of the Dardanelles: and the affair of Sinope was the consequence of tlie impunity with which tlie Turks were allowed to convey their troops, arms, and ammunition, to the Russian coast, for the prosecu- tion of hostilities. He liad learned from the French emperor's letter, for the first time, that the Russian fleet was to be no longer allowed in the Black sea — that he was thus to be prevented from provisioning iiis own coasts. After such an announcement, lie could not be expected to discuss even for a moment the proposition of an armistice, of the evacuation of the principalities, and of the opening of negotiations with the Porte. Threats would not move him. His confidence was in God, and his right; and Russia, he would guaranty, would show herself in 1854 what she was in 1812. An imperial manifesto was issued to the people of Russia, announcing that France and Great Britain had sided with Turkey, and that tlio empe- ror had in consequence broken off all intercourse with those powers. Thus, it added, England and France have sided with the enemies of Christianity against Russia combating for the orthodox faith. On the receipt of this manifesto, M. Drouyn d'Lhuys, the French minis- tor of foreign aflairs, issued a circular to the French diplomatic agents, throwing the responsibility of results upon the Russian government, which had closed the door to the last hope of peace, and rebuking the emperor's HISTOmC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. 669 attempt to enlist religious fanaticism on his belmlf. France and England, he asserts, do not support Islamism against the orthodox Greek faith: they go to protect tlic integrity of the Ottoman empire against the ambi- tious covetousness of Russia. The withdrawal of the Russian embassadors from London and Paris has been already noted. That event was followed by a formal declaration of war. On February 27, the earl of Clarendon despatched a messenger to St. Petersburg with a letter declaring that, if the Russian government did not immediately announce its intention of ordering its troops to recross the Pruth, so that the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia should be com- pletely evacuated by the 30th of April, her refusal or silence would be considered equivalent to a declaration of war, and the Britisli government would take its measures accordingly. The messenger was directed to wait but six days for a reply. Tiie note was presented to Count Nossolrode on the 17th of March ; and the answer returned was, that " ll port from the insurgents, who, after a spirited struggle, finally succumbed to the Turks, though outbreaks continued for a while to occur in some of the provinces. The Turkish government declared that all Greek Chris- tians should be banished from the country. The French mihister, Bara- guay d'llilliers, demanded that an exception should be made in favor of catholics, who, he alleged, were under the protection of the French gov- ernment. The demand was resisted as unreasonable, and the diflerence became so decided that General d'Hilliers was recalled, and another em- bassador sent out by France in his stead. On the Black sea, the first hostile movement of the allied fleets after the declaration of war, was the bombardment of Odessa. On the 9th of April, the English steamer Furious was sent to that port to bring away the Brit- ish consul. Regardless of tli' (lag of truce, under which she approached, she was lired upon from the shore. On the 17th, both fleets sailed for Odessa, and denmnded explanations from the military governor. These proving unsatisfactory, a bombardment was commenced, on the 2'2d, l»y five English and three French steamers, and was continued -for several hours, the fire being warndy returned by the Russiuii batteries. The Rus- sian vessels in port were burnt or sunk, a land battery and the establish- ment of the admiralty destroyed, and a [towder magazine blown up. This, we should add, is the Anglo-French version of the afl"air. The Russians, however, charged the allies with falseliood in their siatemcnt of the inci dents which led to the attack, and, in their report, represented the result «s substantially a Russian victory. The emperor issued a proclamation lo this ellect at St. Petersburg, and conferred the order of St. Andrew upon 48 m 674 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. General Osten-Sacken, the commander of the Russian forces stationed at Odessa, for his brilliant and successful defence of the city. Siiortly after this affair at Odessa, the loss of the English frigato Tiger occurred. While in chase of two small Russian vessels, near that port, she ran aground, and in this defenceless condition, was captured by the Russians, and her crew of two liundrcd men, taken as prisoners into Odessa. A division of the allied fleets was ordered to the Caucasian coast, wiiere they succeeded in driving the Muscovite forces from the only port they had continued to occupy since the general abandonment some months previous, while anotiior division was stationed to watch the harbor of Se- vastopol. All the niout) s of the Danube were also strictly blockaded in order to cut off supplies from the Russian forces in the Dobrudschka. The fortilications erected by Nicholas, opposite the principal mouth of the Danube, were also bombarded and taken by the allied steamers. In April, Prince Paskiewitch assumed command of the Russian forces on the Danube. At this time tiiey numbered nearly a hundred and eiglity tliousand men. The wiiolo Turkish force amounted to about a hundred and thirty thousand. Of the foreign troops, about tliirty-six tliousand were stationed at Gallipoli, ton thousand Englisii troops were quartered at Scu- tari, and largo forces were concentrating at Varna. Tlio l)rave and successful defence of Silistria by the Turks, during a pro- longed siege and a series of desperate assaults by the Russian fon.'os under Paskiewitch, forms a most brilliant page in the history of hostilities on the Danube. But before proceeding to the details of this the closing event of the campaign on Turkish soil, wo will briefly turn to mention (for our limits will admit us but to mention) some reverses which the Russians met witli at other points on the Danube, while the siege of Silistria was j)ro- gressing. On liie 28th of April, Sali Pacha had a battle with the Russians at Nicopolis, in wiiich tlie latter were defeated and two thousand of their number killed. Suleiman Boy also, on the same day, attacked the Rus- sians with nearly as groat a slaughter at Radowan. In May, a division of Onier Pacha's force met and severely defeated the Russians at Turna, at Senuiitra, at Giurgevo, at Karakal, and at Slatina. The Russian losses in these reverses amounted to many thousands, and in their dispiriting effect undoubtedly contributed to the overwhelming defeat which the Muscovite forces met with at Silistria, to a brief detail of which we will now return. Silistria was rendered memorable in 182U, when it was fiimlly captured. after a nine months' siege, by the Russians under Diebitch, as is detailed on a previous page. At that period there was a height which commanded the town, and which rendered its capture by the Russians less diflicult. The Turks have since taken the precaution to protect this height by construct- ing upon it strong fortifications. The ultimate fall of Silistria, however, in its present investment, seemed to be assumed as a certain event, the only questions being as to the time that must elapse and the sacrifice of lift) that must ensue in its reduction. HISTORIC SUMMAIIY — NICHOLAS I. 676 As early as the 14Xh of April, groat batteries had been erected by the Russians on the north bank of the Danube, opposite Silistria, and tlio town was thence bombarded from morning till night ; by means of some islands which they held, they also succeeded in establishing a bridge across the river, by which they were enabled to throw fifty-three thousand men on to the south bank, and completely invest the town. The force which the gar- rison mustered was but eight thousand men. The siege was directed by Prince Paskiewitch in person. On the 28th of April, the Russians at- tempted to capture the fortifications before mentioned as being erected on the height commanding the town ; but they were repulsed with heavy losses. On the 11th of May, an assault was made upon the immediate defences of the town, when tlie assailants were beaten off with a loss of two thousand men. On the 21st, another general assault was repelled witli great loss. On the 20th, a furious attack was made by about thirty tliousand Russians. After a sanguinary conflict, they were repulsed witli a loss of five thousand. On the oth of June, the garrison was reinforced, a considerable liody of Turks succeeding in breaking tlirough the Russian lines and entering the fortress. On the 8th of June, a sortie was made by the beleaguered troops with telling effect upon the liesiegers, another reinforcement at the same time entering tiic garrison over a thousand Russian corpses. On the 13th, a still more tremendous sortie was effected. Three Russian mines were sprung during the conflict, wiiieh were more disastrous to the assailing for- ces tiian the Turks, ft)r wiiile the walls of Silistria were comparatively un- harmed, their own works were destroyed, and the carnage was enormous. A final and most desperate assault was made on the 20th of June, when a fearful slaughter took place ; and the Russians, beaten at all points, fled across the Danube, followed by the Turks, who took possession of the works from which Silistria had been bomlmrded. General SchiUlers and Count Orloft', son of tiie adjutant-general of the emperor, were killed ; Gen- eral Liiders had his jaw shot away ; and General Gortehakoff and Prince Paskiewitch were severely wounded. The loss of the Russians, from first to last, under or near the walls of Silistria, was about thirty thousand men. Mussa Pacha, the gallant commander of the fortress, was unfortunately killed by the fragment of a shell, almost the last fired against the town. This disastrous result of their operations against Silistria, coupled with the fact that the Austrians were mustering in large numbers along the confines of Transylvania, threatening an immediate occupation of the prin- cipalities, and thus cutting ofl" the army of the czar from its communications with Russia, led to the complete evacuation of Turkish territory '.y the Muscovite forces, who retired behind the Pruth, and the country forming the bono of contention was immediately occupied by Austrian and Turkish troops. And thus terminated active hostilities in tlie principalities of the Danube. The theatre of war was thence transferred to Muscovite soil, and Russia, instead of being the aggressor, was thereafter actively em- ployed in defending her own territories. '• 676 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. Tlio sailing of tlio English and French fleets for the Baltic has been al- luded to a few pages back. The French division under Admiral Duchesne passed througli tlio cimnnel April 23d, to join tlic Englisli fleet under Sir Charles Napier, which had sailed from Spitliead as early as the 11th uf March. Ti»o navigation of the northern waters of tlio Baltic, however, was not practicable till about the middle of May. And even then, when no icy barrier limited tlio range and operations of the allied fleets, com- paratively little could be oObcted, for the Russian ships-of-war, outnum- bered by those of England and France, declining every ofl'cr of battle, re- mained shut up behind tlie stone walls of tlie two principal military har- bors of Russia in tlie Baltic, Kronstadt and iSweaborg. RoconnoissuTiccs, made by Sir Charles Napier and tlie French commander, convinced them, however their reports may have lallen short of satisfying their respective governments, that these maritime strongholds were far too substantial to admit of a successful assault from the seaward, oven with the powerful fleets under their command. Consequently, deeming it utterly useless to direct tiieir Are against those musses of granite, and willi the Russian vcs- aels-of-war placed beyond reaeii of attack, the operations of the allied fleets were generally limited to maintaining a blockade of the principal harbors, attacking and destroying some fortified places along the Finnish shore of the Bothnian gulf, and the capture of such Russian vessels as fell within the range of tlieir cruisers. Sueli aciiievenients, however, were of comparatively small account for so powerful an armament, and of still less practical value. Indeed, so much liud been confldently expected from the prompt and vigorous measures of Sir Charles Napier, when lie sailed for the Baltic — a veteran, whose very name was looked upon as a prognostic of victory — that iiis seeming inactivity, and especially iiis not making an attempt to capture Kronstadt, notwithstanding his reasons for his pruden- tial course, was tiie occasion of much popular dissatisfaction at home. The assault on and capture of Bomarsund wilii the Aland islands, of which it is the principal fortress, by tlie allied forces in the Baltic, and without which their expedition would have been as barren of any brilliant as it measurably was of any practical results, took place in the month of August, and was tlie closing act of their operations in those waters during 18o4. A large body of French troops, as was incidentally mentioned on a pre- vious page, had been despatched in English vessels, under General Bara- guay d'llilliers, for operations in the Baltic, where they arrived just in time to assist in the reduction of Bomarsund. They were landed on the island of Aland,* August 8, and operations were immediately commenced. The assault was made by both land and sea, and vigorously prosecuted for several days. The fortress was carried on the IGth, and the garrison of two thousand men surrendered as prisoners-of-war. The land forces of the * Alaiul, it miiBt be borne in iiiind, Ihoiigli the general name hj whioli these islands are known, is alto tlio specific name uf liio principal one of the group, and that on which the for- tifications of BuiuucsunJ Were erected. HISTORIC 8UMMAUY — NICHOLAS I. 677 allies numbered cloven thousand men. Tlio loss of life on cither side was comparatively small. Tiic fortifieatioiis were blown up, o;, the Ist of Sep- tember, and the islands abandoned by the allies. Strong efforts had been made by (he allied powers to induce Sweden to join tliciu, and to declare war against Russia, in which case they would probably have retained possession of these islands ; but their efforts in this direction proved unsuccessful. Soon after the destruction of lioniarsund the Ealtic fleets were ordered home by tlicir respective governments. The non-success of the expedition of 1804 failed, however, to impress the r^nglish and French governments with a l)clief in the impregnability of Kronstadt and Sweuborg, and the English division of another powerful feet sailed from Spithead, April 4, lfs,)0, under tlie command of lluar- Admiral Richard Saunders Dundas, comprising filly .^hips of twenty-two hundred guns, and which was subsciiuently joined by the French contingent «)!' equal magnitude. Roth divisions carried witli them floating batteries, iiioi tar-vessels, shell and powder nmgazines, and a full supply of gunboats. No attempt, however, was made by tiiis (leet upon Kronstadt. As was the. case the previous season, reconnoissanees nuido upon this fortress only serv(Ml to convince the English and French connnanders that oven with all tliL'ir additional facilities for boin'mrJuunt, any attempt upon it would prove an utter failure. Sweuborg, however, was bombarded by the mortars and gunboats of tlif nllied squadron for three days (from the 9th to the 11th ol August). The dockyards and arsenal buildings were destroyed, but the fortifications themselves were not seriously injured. This attack upon Sweaborg, with the destruction of some small harbors and the capture of su«;h Russian vessels as ventureil within their reach, constituted the sum- total of the operations of the allied Raltic licet of IHo;"). An attack (resulting, however, in a failure) was made on the 1st of Sofh tembcr, 1854, by the allied squadron in the ratiilic, comprising six vessels and two huudiod guns, upon I'etropaul (fski (St. Peter and St. Paul), the capital and principal port of Kamtsclia'ka. The port being an important one, the emperor Nicholas, apprehending an assault from the Anglo-French fleet in the Pacific, had, unknown to the latter, increased the forces in gai- rison, and otherwise strengtheneil the fortitiealions of the place. The at- tacking forces, therefore, instead of meeting, as they had expected, a place with a weak garrison and poorly defended, found themselves before a for- midable citadel, with several separate forts, bristling with over a hundred and twenty cannon, a garrison of twelve hundred men, and two Russian vcssels-of-war lying in the harbor. The bombardment was first directed against the mostly advanced forts, which guarded the narrow and dangerous inlet leading to the town. After a lively and protracted cannonade, which was vigorously returned, the three batteries were silenced ami apparently abandoned, and the allied vessels advanced toward tlie town. Tlie next day, tlio attack was renewed upon the fortifications more immediately defending the town, and also upon 1' r r 1 t I 1 ( 1 { \ t ■ u i 11 678 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. iho two sliips-of-war in the liarbor. From both quarters, liowover, the hro woa returned with tolling effect on the allies' veasela. Six hundred njen were also debarked for the purpose of a land attack ; but they wero no sooner upon shore, than a fire was connnenced upun them by the IluHsiana, . who wero concealed in the brushwood, and kept up with such deadly oflect, that the assailants wero compelled to retreat in great confusion to their boats, with a loss of nearly one hundred. After four days' boml)ardmont, the allies abandoned the attack, and left the Kamts^chntkan peninsula, with iheir vessels materially damnged.nnd a serious list of killcil and wounded. In the sjiriiijr of IH;';'), nnotlier and more powerfid fleet was despatched to Pctropaulofski. to again nttem|)t its reduction. The Russians, however, forewarned of its coming, this time did not defend the place, but, destroy- ing the fortifications and burning the town, quietly withdrew, leaving noth- ing but solitary ruins to greet the a|)proaehing assailants. The campaign in the Crimea, whore, uptm a limited spnco of but a few miles in extent, were so long concentrated all the feelings implicated in the recent great struggle for sHpremacy of empire against empires, is the next important movement which the course of our narrative calls upon us to record. It has been heretofore stated that the allies were concentra- ting largo bodies of troops at Varna and the neighboring cainp.s, prepara- tory to a grand attack upon the Russians. On the evacuation of the Da- Dubian principalities by the latter and the immediate reoccupation of them by the army of Austria, the latter thus putting iLself between the allied forces and the retreating enemy, it Ijccame necessary to select sonio other quarter through which to strike an effectivo blow at their powerful antag- onist. After several councils of war, the invasion of the Crimea, and, by a comljiued assault on land and sea, the reduction of Sevastapol, the great naval station of Russia on the Rlaek sea, was determined on. Sevastaix)l, which has been already fully described in the earlier por- tion of this volume, has been looked upon as one of the strongest maritime positions in the world. Oliphant, however, as the reader will recollect, in the quotation from his interesting work which wo have attached to that description, whilo conceding its apparent impregnability to attack from seaward, expresses the belief timt the place could easily be taken by an adequate force on land. It was under a similar impression that arrange- ments for the premeditated attack wero made. Siege trains wero ordered from England and France, transports were prepared, and everything pro- vided, that would help to insure success to the expedition. But imfortu- nately the cholera attacked both the armies and the fleet. The disease was especially fatal, and the losses in the French regiments wero fright- fully severe. For several weeks tho expedition was retarded by the rava- ges of this fearful scourge. Nicholas, meanwhile, forewarned of the threatened attack, was preparing, by constructing itew det'ences, particu- larly on tho land side, and repairing and strengthening those already ex- isting, to bo ablo successfully to defend the town. The prolonged siego IIISTOniC SUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. 679 andbo.nbarJinjatsit sustained uncnpturcd, is an evidenco liow tlioroughly his prcparatiuiis wcro inadu, and how much at fanlc were the impressions, 80 ^;onui-ully ciihii'taitiud, as to its vulneniltility to a htiid attack. The ever-menioiuhle Crimean exj)editioM linally set sail from Varna on the 4th of SejitiMnbcr. In numbers and extent prohahly no naval array over before equalled it. In the bay of Baltjil^, where it first rendezvoused, the sea, for eight miles, was literally covered witli shipping. On tlic 14th and the three following days of Septeml)cr, nearly sixty tliousand men wcro landed from this colossal fleet, witliout opposition, at a place called Staroo or Old Fort, about thirty miles northwest of Sevastapol, and fifteen south- cast of Koslow, or Kiipatoria, a town of abuut four thousand inhabitants, with a small garrison, which liad surrendered to the allies on the 18th, and was immediately occupied l)y Turkish troops. Marshal St. Arimud, commander of the French forces, issued a general order, congratulating his troops upon their arrival in the Crimea, and exhorted tliein to contend with their English allies for superiority in eniciency and good conduct. Lord Raglan, the English eommander-in-chief, in an order of the day, ex- horted the troops under his command to protect the inliabitants of the country in their persons and their property. On the llUh of September, the allies broke up their oncamianeiit, and conimeucod their march toward Sevastapul. Tiiat night they l)ivouacked on the left bank of the liulgavac, a small stream not far from the Alma. Next morning (the 20th) both armies moved toward the last-named river,* where, strongly entrenched liehind its steep and rugged itaiiks, was a Rus- sian army of thirty-Hvc thousand men under Prince Menchikofl", their front extending over two miles, with their artillery planted upon the sharpest heights, and the slopes of the hills covered with dense masses of infantry. A trench had been dug between liic strongest point and the river, and every i! * As tliifl pni'tiviiliir lociilily i» not iiotict'd in tlio skclcli of the Crimen to wliich n eliiipter is Mpproiiriiitfil in lliu enrlicr pivrt oC tlii:* volnnio, tiie following e\|>lHiiiition niny bo ik-einoil neces- •iiry to at'connt for tlie oinission. WIumi lliiit clm|)ter was pre|mreil, llie battle of llie Ainm Imd not liceii fon);lit; nnd, ninid tlio ninny t'tiarniini; tipots for which this ronianlio peninsula litis n worhl-wide oelvbrity, tlio pic'liiremjne bniikg of tlie AInin, nnd wen tlie river iti^elf, appear to liave lieeii pasved over liy trnvellei-s ns well as geograpliers, as not of sufficient iniporlanee to cull for any diKtiiictive iioliue in their letter-press descriptions, or for de8ii;nntioii upon iheir maps. Ami liiit for the sanguinary conflict upon its l)aiikf>, the Alcnn niis^ht have remained "unknown to fame" for nil time to come. Tlic notoriety which that bloody event Ims ijiven it is thus inci- dentally but very pertinently spoken of by n late writer: "One striking way in which war oper- ates Oh literature is, lliat it sends out the popular ihoiijjht in new and unexplored geo{;raphicnl directions; consecrates names nnd spots never heard of before; nuikes new (ground rich with preat actji nnd associations. A week or two ai;o, and there was ii stream in the Crimea flowing on, night and day, quiet nnd niirennrdcd; nnd at one place, where n road crossed this stream, liigh steeps rose nlMive it, over which day nnd night jiassed too, disturbing nothing save, may- hap, n- loose stone, that would roll oown into the gulleys: nnd now that spot belongs to the imagination of mankind for evermore, and n perpetual iilbision in literature will be minle to the battle of the Alma. Does it not seem as if the place nnd name had been alike predestined f Who would not wish to see n photograph of those Crimean steeps, that have wailed six thou- •and years, und, at lust, are famous (" I G80 ILLUSTRATKD DRSCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. proparution mnJo for nil olvstinato Jofonco. Tho battle wns commcncod uboiit Imlf-past twulvo o'clock, by tho Proiich, sovorul tluxisiuul.M whom, iiiulei- OouDnil Bosquot, witli tlio Ttii'kitili bnttaliou.s, ci-o».sml tliu Aliim, climbed till) liciglita, and, in the laoo of a hcnv Hro. ostublisliod thoinsolvos on tlio left flunk of tlio RiissiauH.* Tlicy v -o followed liy tlio brigades under Ooncral Canrobert and Prince Napoleon. Covered by tln'ir artillery, wliieli had been brought to l)car, they rushed inipctuouHly forward, hood driving the RusHian.s from their )M>sition on tho left, and then uontitiiied their attack toward tho contro. Tho British divisions, nieantiino, wero awaiting the inoinont for an elTectivo movement against the Tlnssini n-ht, but rc|ilying with their artillery to the incoasant fire kept up 1 ' • 'at •»•. Ijord Raglan at length gave tho signal to advance, and t'^: ligln-di.i. m)u under Sir Cfoorgo Brown led tho way, immediately followed '-y fbioo other divinioiis, across tho river, tho tro(>ps clinil>ing over tref^s which had beca felled to t)p|>o3e tlieir progress, and siibjocteil to a wi ii • Dg fire from tho Russians. Rusliing up the hill they were met i>y torn >|e volloys of grape, canister, and musketry. At ono point, as tho shattered lines of tho Eng- lish were temporarily drawn back to forn. anew, the Muscovite infantry, mistaking the object of the movement, leajwd over tho bujustworks and began to charge down hill. Tlie assailed at once tuniiul u|>on their ftx's, and drove them up the ascent at the |K)int of the bayonet ; followed up tho charge with a storm of bullets, and sent the Russians Hying over the hill beyond. For five hours the contest was tlnis fiercely kept up, wlien tho Russians, overpowered by the »u|>orior numbers of their assailants, finding; their positioi; no longer tenable, abandoned their enti-enchments, and lied in a .southi'.istern direction, leaving four thousand killed and wounded, and seven huudred prisoners, l)ehind them. With tiicir cavalry to cover their retreat., however, they succeeiled in carrying ofl" all but three of their guns. The loss of tho allies was about three thousand four hundred, killed, wounded, and missing. On the night after tho battle tho allied army bivouacked on the heights, the French marshal pitching his tent on tho very spot occupied by that of Prince McnchikoQ' the morning bcforo. Marshal St. Ariiaud, whose health had been very feeble for several weeks, kept his horse for twelve hours on tho day of battle, all the while under the most acute pain, and ha: .; i*jring n. i intensely, he still attended to his official duties; bi' ■<.< '110 20111,110 could hold out no longer, and issuing a general order, announcing his serious illness, ho resigned his command into the hands of General Canrobert. He embarked, on the 29th, for France, l>nt expired at sea a few hours after leaving port. His rcmains wc'c intui'iitu() in (Jcn-Tal IJ.isqUerB l1ivi^io^, were nn im- piirlnm it<:;l.iir« in lliig nioveincnt, nsluriisiiin;^ llif Kiiriinns by tli<> iiieoncuiTHbie fHcilitj with wliivii liiiy made llieir wuy up heiglils which the lalttriiad deeiued impaHnUv even f«>r goahk HISTORIC RUMMARY — NICHOLAS I. Gbi tii)diii)» niui lied ed, uiid V tlit'ir titoir undi'od, d army on tho ng the wonfidod and burying t\w doad, till tlio 23d, \vln>ii '.licv iivr<' ngain in motion. Oil the t^vciiiiitr "f the •J4tli, tlioy oncaiiipcd on the Ihaiiks of tho IJallicu pIvui, wifliiu loiiv mill's uf ScvuMtapol. On tho Si>th, tho Kiigli.sli seized and ()t'cu|ii' ) Baludava, whoso deep and laiul-lcxC'Vcd hurltor aflbrded a se- cure Hhelter (or (lu'ir ship,-, while itn pr(/xiin,ity to Scvustapol, being but eight mill's distant, and the I'wui to which i ^y ubo neciijed, rendered it a ciMivenieiii landing-place for Iheii stoi'OH find gniiH, the vessels "u which thoy were shipped being direett^d thitJKM-. This hiirbor, however, '>wng only of snfticiiMit capacity to admit Mie Ibitish V(-,tsi'ls, the Froin-li scU> 'od as iHkhp baso of operations the tiiieo d ays lying between '"'ape (J mtmo^^csu* ami tho roadstead of Sevastapol. i u r army taking up its pusition 'oxt t'l^? Bca, and tho English divisions iuluiid. next tho Clieinuyu nr F?l«cf river, which empties into the roadstead. Tho front of tlif lusiegi for^^ -= thu8 extended in a continuous line from the nn)iilh of the Cjiernii i to th. sea at Strelitska bay (one of the tlin^e ;iliove referred i » as be. i 'f'< 'iod by tho French), forming nearly i semieirclo around Seva.stapi»«, t a 'ins- tance of aliout two miles from lli- Riissiian works. On tho iJHth of September the il embarkation of th(> allies' siei commenced. Hut so much lime w is cr-nsumed in landing and i> their stores and guns that opportiujity was given to the Russian still stronger tho defences of the ciry. Largo bands of men and >■- men were kept at work, in relays, I tli night and day, in throwi: vast exterior lino of oartiieu redoubt- and outrenclimen:.s, and in c tho front of their stoneworks with car h. At the commencement of tho siege Sovastapol contii nod a garr thirty-four thousand men under the com land of General N'oeiiimoff, wU. do- clared ho would defend the place to the ast nnm and the last bullet, i'ho army under Menchikofl', of about thirty ; lousand men, was at Ijaktchiserai, whore they retreated after tho battle of tlic Alnm, and where their numboi ' were rapidly increasing Ity reinforcomcni - from tho principalities and tho interior. Tho force of tho allies, on sea md shore, was nearly a hundred thousand, and their siege artillery ct nipri-d four hundred field and siego guns, nearly a million of shot and shells, ami an immense quantity of gabinos, fascines, and other materials for fortilicaiion. The Russians had eight hundred guns in their dilVerent forts, and a lunnlrcd field-pieces with Meu- chikoff'sarmy. Toefl'ectmdly shutout tho allied (loots from tho harbor, they had sunk eight largo \essols at tho entrance of the roadstead, leaving open a small j)assago, wide enough to admit but a single vessel, in immediate proximity to tho guns of Fort Constantino. By the ir)th of October, tho siego batteries of tho allies wore completed, their trenches opened, and their guns and munitions in position. And on the morning of the 17th, tho first bond)ardmont of Sevastopol commenced. At a preconcerted signal the wh(do allied batteries simultaneously opened their (iro; tho thunders of which were immediately echoed back iu au equally deafening roar from the Russian lines. While tho cannonade thus 'I iltery ill- ip iiiako 1 wo- up a rii'- ' of I 1 il ■l . i\ "'■ i //^ 682 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. warmly commenced, and which was kept up on both sides, with occasional intermissions, till dark, was progressing, the allied fleets moved up and commenced an attack upon the sea-batteries upon the nortli and south of the entrance to tlie roadstead or outer harbor. Tlie fire from tlio vessels, however, did comparatively little or no injury to those massive ibrtilications, while the guns of the latter, cliarged with red-hot shot, rockets, shells, and bar-shot, did such serious damage to them, cutting their masts, spars, and rigging, to pieces, and setting several of them on fire, that after a short contest tliey drew out to sea, amid tlio cliccrs and redoubled shots of tlie Russians, nor did they again renew tlic attack. On land, however, the bombardment was recommenced on tlie following day, and kept up, more or loss constantly, from day to day, till the 5th of Novemlier, when, witli- out having inllicted any pormaiieiit injury upon the Russian fortifications or the city, it ceased altogetlior. Tlio damage sustained by the former during the day would be repaired in the night; and the houses of Sevastapol, being mostly constructed of solid IVocpitone, were not easily set on lire. A hos{iital in the city, however, lilled with fiick and wounded, was accidentally fired and destroyed. One Ru.-ssian and tliree Fieneh powder-magazines were also struck by hot shot and blown up. Tlio allies' loss during the bombardment was about twelve luindred ; that of the Russians, not known. As only a jKUt of Sevastapol was invested, it being, from the nature of its position, necessarily left open on the north, the Muscovite troops outside of the forts were in constant coinmunicalioii with the town, and reinfoice- ments and supplies were continually thrown in. Menchilvoff's army, also, considerably increased in numbers, as bofore stated, l»y additions of fresh troops, soon became able to take the oflensive against the besiegers. They first attacked them in the Hank at Ralaclava, on the 2")tli of October, while the bombardment of Seva.stapt)l was in progress. After six hours* lighting, the Russians were repulsed, but with heavy losses on both sides. A thril- ling incident of this battle was the fatal cavalry charge, in which, miscon- struing an order from the coinmander-in-cliief, Lords Lucan and Cardigan led tlie light-horse brigade, numbering six hundred of the flower of the British army, over a plain a mile and a half in length, exposed the whole distance to a cross-iiro of cannon and musketry, full at a Russian battery of thirty guns. The attempt was madness and its inevitaltle result destruc- tion. In fifteen minutes, the mangled remains of four hundred of their number, with the carcasses of as many horses, strewed the j)lain. Lords Lucan and Cardigan, iuiminently exposed as they were in leading the onset, both escaped with slight wounds, though the latter was almost unhorsed by a thirty-two pounder exploding within a foot of his charger. The battle of Likerman, which forms one of the bloodiest pages of the Crimean drama, occurred on the 5tli of November. About five o'clock in tho morning of that day, in the midst of a dense fog, from twt;iity to thirty thousand of the Muscovite forces under MenchikoiV made an attack oa the right flank of tho English, which rested ou the valley of lukcrman, A. jides, with occasional fleets moved up and e north and south of firo from the vessels, massive fortilications, t, rockets, shells, and leir masts, spars, and ire, that after a short edoubled shots of the In land, however, the ,y, and kept up, more oveml)er, when, with- jssian fortifications or 1 by the former during liouscs of Sevastapol, easily set on fire. A ided, was accidentally ich powdcr-inajiazinos allies' loss during the Russians, not known, ig, from the nature of iscuvite troops outside e town, and rcinforcc- nchikotY's army, also, by additions of fresh the besiegers. They )11j of October, while Ler .«ix hours' lighting, both sides. A thril- ge, in which, miscon- Lucan and Cardigan of the flower of the 1, exi)oscd the whole at a Russian battery vital)le result dostrwc- our hundred of their od tlie plain. Lords e in loading the onset, was almost unhorsed is charger. loodiest pages of the About five o'clock in fog, from twenty to likofY made an attack e valley of Inkcrman, HISTORIC SU-MMAUY — NICHOLAS I. 6S3 and which was entirely unprotected by entrenchments or fortifications of any kind. The entire Biitisli force engaged was but iibout eight thousand, the remainder of their available troops being in the trenches to defend their batteries, which were threatened with an attack. For five hours they fought desperately to maintain their position, being several times forced back by the superior numbers of their assailants, when General Bosquet's division of French infantry and Zouaves coining to tlieir support, the Rus- sians were at length repul,, A rniii-ond was afterward couBlrucled by the Brilisli governiueiit between those plaoca 1 ) IIM If 084 ILLUSTUATED DESCRIPTION OP IIUSSIA. But for the assistance they received from the French, the English army at this time in the Crimea would have been utterly exterminated by the accumulation of misfortunes to which they were subjected ; for the former, througli their admirable management, before alluded to, not only kept them- selves intact, but were enabled to furnish " aid and comfort" to their British allies. Thoy provided them*vvith apparel, provisions, and mules ; and at length, when their strength, in spite of every effort, had become so reduced as to render it indispensable, thoy assumed the English positions, in addi- tion to their own, along the right attack upon tlie beleaguered city. The following data will furnish some idea of the heart-rending sufferings of the British, and the Turkish forces also, at this time before Sevastapol. The number of the British forces on landing in the Crimea amounted to twenty- six thousand men. By the end of December tiiis number was reduced to eight thousand, and a few weeks later to five thousand effective men, in spite of tlie reinforcements arriving from time to time to fill up the wide gaps made in their ranks, l)y want, disease, neglect, and war. Their loss in horses amounted to al)out ninety-eight per cent. Of twelve thousand Turks attached to the besieging forces, more than seven thousand were swept away. Such were the harrowing tales which reached England of tl»e sick and wounded perishing from want of j)roper care and necessary comforts, that Floukn'CE Nkjhtingale,* one of tlie most devoted of her sex, and the bravest and tcnderest of human souls, with a band of English sis- * As pre-eminently tho heroine of the war, this udniiralilc woman deserve* more tlian a passinj; noiiee. Still vounj.', very little more than thirty, her earlier years had hecn passed amid all tho luxuries and relinements of opulence. Her family was wenllhy, and her paternal home was a nohle mansion anion;; the hills of Derbyshire. As tlie youii^ Florence ga'w to womanhood, she became dee|)ly impressed with the importance of the subject of hospital-management, and took advantaj^e jf a continental tour to inspect and become familiarly acquainted with the principal establishments for the care of the sick tiirougliout Kurope. On her return she projected an insti- tution for the support of a^ed and intirin governesses, who could no longer, from failure of bodily health or advance of years, maintain themselves. She succeeded in establishing the institution, and entirely devoted herself to its management. Henceforward, her mission was decided ; ond, renouncing all the attractions and personal advantages otVered by her social position, this elegant and accomplished young woman devoted herself to the work of assuaging the misfortunes of her less happy sisters. From this duty — always repugnant from its very nature, often unthankful — «hc was only called by the still stronger claim of her perishing countrymen in the Fast. With characteristic promptitude, she soon formed u body of nurses — some, like herself, ladies who emulated her own example — some paid and practised hospital-attendants; but all of them pos- sessing real knowledge of their duties, and of prove i\ AlEXANDEB II. his brother, and believing that something more than soldiers was neccssa'*y to the state, appeared as often as otherwise out of uniform. The emperor Nicholas was not tlie last to perceive the opposite directions to which tho currents of thought and feeling of the crown-prince and the grand duke Constantine tended. Foreseeing that this might produce, sooner or later, intestine and fatal conflicts, he had, as early as 1843, on the l)irth of Alex- ander's first child, required Constant ine to take an oath of fidelity to tho heir of tlie throne. At the time of the emperor's fatal illness Alexander was the only son present in St. Peterslmrgh, but the grand duke Constan- tino was summoned by telegraph and by courier, and had the good fortrne to arrive in time to see his father alive. In the presence of both, the em- peror made over to his eldest son the imjjerial throne, and obtained from both of them a solemn jn'omise to remain for ever closely united, in order to save the country. The grand duke Constantino, upon that occasion, religiously pledged himself to be the future emperor's first sul>ject. In 1840, he having just completed his twenty-second year, Alexander was sent by his father on a tour through Europe in search of a wife. He visited several German courts, where the brilliancy of tlie ])rize exposed him to all the seductions and temi)tations which usually assail a man who is known to have come on such a mission. In vain was he introduced to the princesses of the reigning houses. He jiassed from all unscathed till he reached Ilesse-Darmstadt ; but there his late was sealed. In the young and beautiful princess Maria — then about sixteen years of age* — the heir • She WHS horn on the 8th of August, 1824, and was the daughter of Louis II., the latu ijrand duke of UciiM 44 I f I'' i ^90 lU.USTICATKD DICSCUIPTION OF RVOSJA, Kiel'"''- Maria Alexandkovna, ICMraKts of Ki<9"IA, to tlic Russian tlirono saw the ideal of a wife, and ho became enamored of licr ut once. "NVithiii a year (on the t4th of April, 1841) they wcro married, fhc priueos cliaujiiiig her oriiriiial iiaiiir, MaxiuiiliiMuie Wilhchni- na Augusta Sopliia ^luria into the Maria Alexandnn-na, by which she is known to the I?us;,'ian peojile. From her earliest years the yo!m<^ empr(^ss of "Russia has Ix-en noted for hor extraordinary lM>auty, f(»r tlie frank simjdieity of her eharaeter, and the ])leasure she ever tt)ok in cseapiiiy treaty or any other means." Upon tins dnnouncemenl the congress was dissolved, leaving appariMitly no pi'ospect of a termination of the sanguinary contest save iu tlie ullinmte exliaustioa of the belligerents upon one side or the other. It has been stated on a previous pige that tho setting in of winter had caused a partial cessation of aeti\i! iiDsliiities in tlio Crimea, the besiegers acting merely upon the defensive against tlie sorties which were assiduously kept up l»y the beleaguered forces. These sorties, wliicli were almost always executed in the night-time, were often ri'peateil for lialf-aHlozen nights in succession, in various and uncertain (piarters, on a scale sonu'tinies of in- credilile magnitude, and with astonishing desperation. From the middle to the end of March, tln!sc nocturnal sallies wen; nearly incessant. On tho night of tho 2'2d of that mouth, lifteen thousand Russians sallied from the Mamelon works and attacked, at dilVerent points, the Froneh and En- glish with the bayonet; and such was the obstinate fury of the terrible combat which followed that it contiiiiLHl unabated for twenty-four hours. The Russians were linally driven back with a loss of twelve hundred men. The loss of the allies was about nine hundred, including several distiu- guislied officers. The next day an armistice, for the purpose of burying the dead, was ronuested by the Russian commander. This was granted, and for two hours, on the lJ4th, the guns ceased firing, and the officers and men of the opposed*armios oujoyod a brief respite from their deadly coU' 002 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. test. Burial parties were formed, and the dead and wounded borne away by their comrades. Jleanwhiio, the officers and privates cjf either ai-my mingled freely, the former chatting and exchanging cigars, and tlie men passing equivocal compliments — such as their very limited acipiaintanco with '!ach other's language would permit. At length the armistice ex- l)ired, the white flags disappeared from the paraj)et of the Mamehm, the stragglers hastily ran to the protection of their works, and in an instant the boom of hostile cannon again thumiered on the ear, and clouds of white smoke obscured the scene of the brief truce. lly the Iteginning of April, th(> besiegers' works were so far advanced, that a second bombardment was resolved upon. It now wanted but a few days of six menths since the previous bomlianbneiit, and the besiegers had used the inte:val in the accimiMlation of lar;_'er means than before. They had now more guns and of larger calilire, and a much greater amount of nnnnuni'ion. Nor had the Russians !)een idle. They had also, as men- tioned o'l a previous ]>age, availed thomsolvch of the interval to strengthen and increa>c their fortifications and means oi deftMice,* and to add to the number and efliciency of tlieir guns and munitions of war. Prince ^liehael Gorchakofl" (l)rother to the Russian envoy at Vienna) had, in March, as- sumed coinnuuid of the Muscovite forces in defence of Sevastapol. Soon after daylireak, on the !issfS as they are technii .illy termed. A nuantity of explosives were enclosed in a f:lol»c of tin, and this was nttnchcd to a tin-tulio. Tiie (jlohc was hurled some feet helow the surface ; the tiihe was allowed to cmerpo, hat so hent us to lie on the ^'round, concealeil from view. Inside the tnhe, near the top, was a L'lass vial contninin}; an acid. The pressure of a man's foot would hreak the vial and dis- en!.'a;:e the acid, which, rnnnintr down, would encounter a few drops of a chemieal, which it would itrnite: the explosive materials would immediately blow into the air the earth around them and whatever was above. The loiin^ torees diseliar^<;d iibout six thousaixl tons of shot, and l)urnt al)Out sixteen hundred tons of powder, durinj^ the nineteen days it continiuHl. Neither were the Hussiaii fortilieations, as already stated, materially damajred from this terrildc attMcIc — this /fit ert, assi]U'nin<; his " sliatterecl health" ns his reas(»n for the aet, resigned the Freiuli eonmiund in the Crimea, and General I'elissier, who had ae(iuired a somewhat unenviable notoriety for remorseless energy in the Algerinc eampaign, was appointed to tuke his plaee. General Canrobert, a brave soldier in the Held, was besides, highly crtieient as a seeond in command. Hut invested with the responsibility of the supreme part, he was a.s .slow and scrupulous in givinp nt'ssiA. niorinn Tlosplionis wns swcftf of all its nicicliiiiil-vrs-si'ls. nltoiit lliicc Imn- er fn-m lativ:ue, privation, and disease. (hi the 'Jiid of May, a severe luittle was t'oiight Itelween the French and Itussiaiis. The latter had formed lietween the central Itastion and the Kea, u larjre ///r/rr JV/zv/zr, where they designed to a-senil)le larire liodics of troo|)s for sorties upon the Krench trenches. Ahout nine o'clock in the evening of that day. altout four thousantl French and Zouaves attacked the works ('nelosini? and proteetinjf this area ; hut they met with a lud rece|)- tion, for the works were defended hy nearly the entire jrurrison. The con- test was a most saajruinary oni<, and lasted nearly all niirht, the Ficncli heini; linally ohli^^ed to aliandon the attack, ami retire, hearinjr ofl' their dead and wounded. The next nijiht, (Jeneral I'elissier himself directed a renewed attack with nine thousand men. After a short hut fierce stnijrfilo both of the sidewoi'ks were caiiied, and the assault was made upon the centre ime. Here the contest was intensely tierce, the Russians ln)ldiiitT their ^rouml with extraordinary tenacity. Mut they finally yielded to the impetuous energy of the French — lieinjj: also exposed to a raking fire from tlie sidmvoiks, now turiieil against them — ami tied h\ tin; utmost confu- sion, their ahandttned woiks heing iimneiliately destroyed 'ty the captors. The Russian loss in the two engagements was over three thousand, and that of tlie French was about eighteen humlred. June was marked hy several incidents deserving mention. Karly in the month, the Russians evacuated Anapa, on the Ciicassian coast, which was at once occmpied hy the allies, and in hrief destrov<'d all their forts on the east(M'n shores of the IJIack sea, withdrawing their garrisons to reinforce the C()r])s in campaign. On tlie Ttli, at Sevastapol. after twenty-four hours of renewed homhardinent, a eoinliined assault was made hy tht> Knglish upon tlie (piarries, and hy the French upon tin; Mamelon redouht. The former. a« the name implies, W(;re pits from which stone had formcM-ly been excavated for buildings in the town, and which were now occupied and fortified by the Russians, to protect the Great Redan, itself a most formidable work of Muscovite defence, in front (»f which they lay. After a desperate and sanguinary contest, the assailants being two or three times repulsed, the quarries and Mamelon were both taken, and a line of defences connected with the latter, known as the White Works, leading to and protecting Ca« msTtlRlC RCMMAUY— ALKX.VNDKll IT. 09.". s. .'ilidiif tlii'cc Iiiin- U^', \>lKTt' Alt'Xllll' Kciv wiiH poiK'tnitod lis W(MV (i»;slniyr(|, littt'il ti) tlic thiiiK'H tlioiihaini iiicn I'oiii' •ii(»us Itlow l(» iho ■riiiit'ii Wiis lit tlio its mill |)i'()vi>ii)ti>i '!«»|), !)ii(l over ili(» it lost lu'iirly niio ISC. •11 the FrciH'li and istinii mill tln' sea, Ic \i\vfi^\ liddics ot' iiio o'clock in till! saves attacked tlm : with a Iwtt rccc|>- airisoii. The coii- liirht, the French , lu'aiin^ ofl' llii'ir liinself directed a lilt tierce stni^'ljhj is made upon the Russians holding; lly yielded to the I rakiiijr Hie from th(' utmost oonT'i- '•y the captors. CO thousand, and )n. Karly in tho coast, which was their forts on tho is to reinfoiTO tho ity-f(»ur hours of le English upon The former, as v lieen excavateil and fortified by iiiiay, wore also captiin.'d. This important success was ncliieved at a cost to lilt.' victiM's of tvvciity-live hiindnMl mcii and niiiiiy valiiiililo olli- cors. The Uussiiui loss, however, was much greater. The allies were, by tho possossioit of these outworks, lattlc (»f Waterloo) was tlio day OH wiiich a j^raiid coial>iiied assault was made upon llicso stroiinliolds. Tho French attacked the MalakoiV with twenty-live thousand men, in three Columns ; and the Kii;:lish made an attack iiiion iIkj HcMlau, at nearly tho same time, with a laiire force, also divided into (liree colimiiis. The Rus- sians, however, well uwans of these intended attacks, wi.-re prepared for them, and as tho attacking leritcs approached, a jiurfoct luirricai '" shut, and shell poured forth from every cmlirasuie. The en'ect v . he advancinn' columns were checked in their progress, and linall c with dreadful slaujihlcr. One ccduiun of llie Kreiich, however, ciun^ licur redeeming the fortunes of the day at the Malakoll". An ailvanced battal- ion, following the ci"est (d' a ravine to the left, succeeded in entering this grt^it loit. .^^calinu' lailders were iiiiiiiedialely pitiiited a)j-aiiist it, and tho i-eiiiaiitiler of the division rushed forward to tlit-ir support, and for a brief space tlie tri-0(dor waved aloft, eneouraginji' tlio repulsed troops of tho otlu^r divisions to renewed exertions. iJut it was ini|iossil)le for a siiifrlo division, exposed to an appalling think fire, and an immensely superior force in front, to long sustain such an iiiuvpial C(tntest. They were obliged to retreat, hiaving tin; .Mulakolf still in the hands of its successful defend- ers. Tlnj loss of the allies in killed and wounded, in these attacks was over five thousand ; that of the Russians aliout three thousand. Lord Raglan, who hail been for some time sulVeriiig from disease, could not surmouiil the moral elVect produced on his mind and spirits by tliis re- pulse. From this period he sank fast, aud on tho ilSth of June, breathed his last. Funeral honors were paid to his remains, which were placed on board ship to be conveyed to Kngland. (uiiieral Simpson, an experienced soldier, and a veteran of Waterloo, succeeded him in the chief command. During tho months of July and August the allies were assiduously em- ployed in preparing for another Ijombardment on a scale thitherto unjiara- lelled in tht; annals of warfare. Mortars of an enormous size wore brought up to the fnmt, and stores of ammunition i)repareil of the most colossal character. Nor were tho Ivussians idle. A luidge of rafts was thrown across the harbor near Fort Paul, to facilitate communication between tho town and the forts on the north side, and immense convoys of provisions, nvunitions, and men, were brought in. 'J'hcy also occupied tho Mackenzie heights, beyond the Chernaya.and. the country toward Baiilar,in great force. On the loth of August, tho Russians made a final attempt to break the power which they felt was fast closing around their forts. To the number of over fifty thousand men, with a hundred and sixty pieces of artillery, and six thousand cavalry, they came down from the heights, led on by ! I, r;i 6% ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. GorcliiikolT in person, and attacked the French and Sardinians, numbering about thirty thousand, posted on the Chornaya near Traktir bridge. The battle wliich tbUowcd was a most sauj^uinary one, and lasted several hours, the Russians lighting with desperation. They were finally rei)ulsed, how- ever, anil retreated, leaving tliree thousand dead upon the field and five thousand wounded. Tlie allies' loss was about two thousand. After this battle at Traktir bridge, the besiegei"s' operations continued "with increased diligence, and witiiout other interruption than an occasional sortie by the Russians, till the oth of Sejjtember, when, all preliminary arrangements being completed, the third boiubardment of Sevastapol com- menced. The French had sap))ed up to the very foot of the Malakofl*, so that the guards in their trenches could, without leaving them, |)laco a hand upon the incline of the tremendous tower the strength of which they were so soon once more to try. On the morning of the day just men- tioned, the fire from their batteries was opened, the Russians, though taken somewhat by sur[)rise, soon returning volley for volley in quick response. With occasional intermissions tiie cannonading was kept up till the 8th, at noon of which day a combined assault was made, l)y the English upon the Great Redan, and by the French upon the MulakolV and the Little Redan of Careening bay. The assaulting columns of the French, at the signal, left the trenches, aiid j)roceeded against the MalakoiT with the greatest impetuosity ; and in spite of a iunivy fire in front and a flanking lire from the Little Redan, the ditch was passed, and after a sanguinary struggle of aji hour, the Russians were driven out, and the French flag planted on the tower. iJatteries.were immediately placed in position, which poured down on the Russian fleet a perfect storm of shells, setting lire to and destroy- ing several of the ships. The Little Redan was also taken and occupied by the French, but they were driven (»ut by the severe fire to which they were exposed. The English troojw also left the trenches at the preeon- ccrted signal, to attack the Great Redan. They rushed over the open intervening space under a murderous fire of shot and shell, a«d on reach- ing the crest of the ditch, ladders wci-o placed, and the men immediately stormed the parai)et of the Redan, and jxinetrated into the salient angle. A most determined and bloody conibat was here maintained for nearly an hour, and although the greatest bravery was displayed, they could not hold tho position, and were forced to retire, the Russians charging them with the bayonet, till tho ditch was filled with the bodies of English soldiers. It was the intention of General Simpson to renew tho assault on tho Great Redan the next morning. Rut during tho night Prince GorchakofT exploded tho mines under most of tho fortifications remaining iu his hands on tho south side of tho harbor, sot tho town on fire, and, covered by a con- flagration which clTectually prevented pursuit, withdrew his whole army to the north side, destroying tho bridge upon which they crossed. All tho ships in the harbor shared a similar fate, having boon burnt, or were scut- tled and sunk slowly below tho waters of this onco crowded inlet of tho sea HISTORIC i?UMMARY— ALEXANDER II. 697 The loss of the allies in this final ussanlt was risinji; ten thoiisaiitl, throo fourths of whieh was bonio by the Freneli ; tliat of the Kussiaiis was be- tween eleven and twelve tliousand. An inmuMise (Hiantily of military Btores, including cannon, balls, grapeshot, powder, and other munitions of war, fell into the hands of the allies. For sonic time after (lie reduction of Southern 8evastoi)ol the belligerent armies disjdayed but little inclination to resume active hostilities. Clor- chakoif was Itusy intrenching himself in the northern forts, and the allies were occupied in clearing away the " blood-stained ruins,"* in order to open an attack upon their enemy in his new position. A sullen fire was kept up from the Nicholas and Quarantine forts, wliicli the Ru!i;siaus had left in- tact in their retreat, but no great damage was done. An increased activity, combined with the movements and counter-move- ments of largo bodies of men, at length gave uiimistakeabl(< signs of a renewal of hostilities. On the 2'.Uh of .September, a sjiirited cavalry engagement oecurnnl at Kiiougill, fifteen miles northeast of Eupatoria, between the Cossacks under (Jeneral KorlV and the French under fJeneral d'Alloiiville, in which the Ibrmer were defeated with a hiss of lifty men. The French had six killed and t>v(«iity-scven wounded. An allied expedi- tion, comprising fifteen thousand French and four thousand IJritish troops, set sail from Halaclava on the (ith of October, and after making a demon- stration before Ode; ITtli, surrendered as jirisoners-of-war, and the neighboring fortress of Otchakov point was destroyed by the Rus- sians to prevent its sharing a similar fate. \iy their position at Kinburn, the allies placed in close blockade the naval arsenal and port of Nikolaiev, the towns of Kherson and HerisloiV, and in brief the whole region watered by the Dnieper and the Hong. On the loth of October, I'rincc CorchakolT — Alexander having left it to his discretion to evacuate the Crimea or remain there as lie thought most judicious — proclaimed in an order of the day his resolution to hold his ground at all hazards through the winter. About the same time ho was reinforced with twenty-two thousand sujierior troops, who reached him by tho way of l*erekop, with conunissariat supplies for eight months. In the early part of November, General Simpson was recalled, and Gen- eral Codrington was appointed to su|)cr.sode him in tho British command. While the events wiiid. have just been detailed were transpiring in tho Crimea, others of perhaps etjual interest were occurring on tho frontiers of Asia, in the Caucasus. Some four months previous to the date to which * Tlic Russiiiti emperor, in an order of tho dny, on tlio o<'cnsion of the full of Sontlicm 8eva»> tapol, rommendini^ in tlio wannest terms tlio eourii(;e nnd eon»tnn('y with which the defence Imd been conduptcd, stnted thnt ttio eonnnander-iii ehief, after the allies hud ohtniiied possession of the MuliikofT tower, desirous of sparing tho hlood of his troops, who, under tho eiroumstaneos would only have shed it uselessly, decided U|K)n piusing over to tlH) nortlMirn forts, " Icuving out} blood-stained ruina to the besieging oueiny." B' I 698 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. our narrative is now brought, a Afuscovitc force of forty thousand, unclcf MouravielV, had invaded Turlcish Armenia, and hxid siege to tlie city of Kars, which was among the Russian conquests in the invasion of 1829, The present siege was kept up uninterruptedly, till the 20th of Soptcnibor, when !^[ouravielf determined to assault the citadel which protected the town. At the iirst onset, so licrce and sudden was it, tlie Russians suc- ceeded in capturing two batteries, but before they had time to turn round the guns, tlio Turks cluirged them with such impetuosity that the batteries were retaken. The Russians fell back in disorder, and the Turks, rushing en masse from the fortress at the moment, turned thi; fortunes of the day in tlioir favor. A most sanguinary struggle ensued, liowever, which lasted several hours, tlie Turks lighting at great numerical odds. The Russians linally retreated, leaving four thousand of their numbers dead under tho Walls of Ivars. The Turkish loss was snndl. Tho Russian commander, undismayed by this bloody repulse, re-established the siege, which was con- tinued till the 28th of November, when General Williams, the commander of the fortress, rode out with a Hag of truce, and told Prince Mouravieff timt Kars would surrender if the honors of war were conceded to the gar- rison. T'", Russian chief replied with visilde emotion, as he looked at tho emaciated hero, that all was granted, and that he was proud to testify that General Williams* and those under him had immortalized themselves. The heroic garrison, had long been macerated i»y tho failure ol rations and disease. Their nmmunition was expended, and they were completely past the j)o\vcr of physical resistance as a body, being unable to wield their weapons, and hardly able to stand eroct. They were a corps of spectres, with scarcely the strength to speak. All anunid was death and despair, when they finally yielded to necessity and surrendered. At the date of tho ca[)itulation of Kars, Omer Pacha, with a Turkish force of twenty thousand, was hastening to liis relief. On the (>th of No- vember, he had ibrced the passage of the Ingour, in tho face of twelve thousand Russians strongly entrtinched on the opposite bank and command- ing the passage by l)attcries. Tlie engagement lasted live hours, when tho Russians deserted their batteries and retreated upon Kutais, Omer Pacha following ujion their track. Rut tiie season of floods had come; the Pha- sis had assumed the dimensions of a torrent. He found the roads impas- sable to artillery, and almost so to infantry. The whole country was transforined into an alternation of morass and lagoon, and an ordinaiy * Gt-ncnil Williuin I'Vnwick Williams was horn in Aiinapoli!*, Nova Scotia, in ISOO, and cn- tt'i-fd till' loyal anilloiy in isa5. Situe 1840, he has hvm t'ni|iUnr(l in various (li|>l(>n\aiii' iliitics in the Kast. In Aujriist, 18S4, lie was appointft! Ki);:ii>h Pomniissioncr with tho Turkish iirmy, ond JR'ld coniinaiid of the frnrrison of Kars, durlii!! its iiivestinont l>v the Russians, as aliovc narra- ted, Sinee his return to Kn;;hnid iu' has taken oeeasion to speak in tlio warniost terms of tho kiudness and courtesy with wliicii lie and his fellow-dcfuiider.s of Kars were treated liy I'rinea MouruvieH'and the IJussian army at and suhsequoiit to tho capitulation. As a reward for hi.s heroic and determined defence of Kars, Queen Victoria conferred on him a barom^tcy, and tho (i:ovomor8hip of Woolwich. HISTORIC SUMJIAUY — ALEXAXDm IT. G99 day's march was the work of a wcok. The troojis, broken uj) and ishiiided, as it wore, into helploHs detachments, wore siilleriiiji' iueredilde liardshijw and i)rivati(ms. While still ju'ei^siiig on, luidcir all these drawbaeks, the HOWS rcaehcd him that Kars had surrendered, and he at once conimoneed a retrograde movement. His troops retired munolestcd, and gradually struggled back to Redoubt Kaleli, on the Abassiau coast, which he had made the basis of his operations, and where he soon succeeded in restoring their tone and refreshing their exhausted energies. Hero nuiy be said to have ended this gigantic struggle; for these were its closing incidents of active warfare. During the lull which winter now imposed upon hostilities, Austria ascertained from the allies the lowest condi- tions they would accept from Russia as the j)riee of peace. Austria sent the propositions to rt. Petersburgh on the first .if the new-year, giving Russia fouiteen days to accejjt or reject, but not to modii'y them. January ] *)th, Alexander telograpnod Prince (jorchakoff that they were accepted without reserve. An armistice was piochumed till the 81st of March. The congress, comprising the representatives of Russia, Franco, England, •Sardinia, Turkey, and Ansti-ia, assembled at Paris, and held its first ses- sion Fel)ruary 2.Jth. Prussia was afterward admitted by courtesy to ratify, but not to deliberate on, the essential preliminaries. All the labors of the congress were performed in less than a score of meetings ; and at two o'clock, on the iJUth of March, 185G — the anniversary of the day on which Paris capitulated to the allies in 1814, and just two years and two days from the date of the declaration of war by the western powers — this great settlement of Euro])o and Asia was proclaimed. The instrument which liad ligured most lai-gely in the prosecution of hostilities was that Avhich now heralded their terndnation. Almost simultaneously with the signing of the treaty, in the principal capitals of Europe — -such are the spaee-and- timo-aimihilating powers of the nuignetic telegrajih — salvos of artillery announced the joyous tidings to the popular car. The treaty contains thirty-four articles, of which the following is a sum- mary, divested of the verbiage with which the document is oncuml)ered in its oilicial form : 1. Perpetual friendship is restored between Great Rritain, Sardinia, Turkey, France, and Russia. 2. All territories conquered o'- oc- cupied during the war shall be reciprocally evacuated as soon as possible. 8. Russia restores to Turkey Kars and other parts of tlie Ottoman territory. 4. The allies restore to Russia SevastajK)!, Balaklava, Kamicsch, Eupatoria, nud Kertseh. 5. Full and entire amnesty is granted lo all who nn y have been compromised by favoring the cause of the enemy. G. Prisoncrs-ol- war arc to be immediately given up. 7. Turkey is formally admitted to participate in the advantages of the public law and system of Europe, and the independence and territorial integrity of the Ottonmn empire are guar- antied. 8. In case of misunderstanding between Turkey and any of the contracting powers, the mediation of the other powers is to bo invited bo- fore rosoiting to hostilities. 9. The Turkish emperor promises to establish 700 TLLUSTHATED DESCKIPTION OF nU3STA. perfect equality between his Christian and IMohaniincdan subjects ; but the otlior powers divest tlieiuselves of all right to interfere in the internal aflairs of liis dominions, or in the relations between him and his subjects. 10. The convention of July 1^5, 1841, closing the Dardanelles and Bosphorus is re- nflirmed, with sonic slight modifications provided for in one of the annexed Conventions. 11. The iJlack sea is neutralized. Open to the niercantilo marine of all nations, its waters and ports are for ever forbidden to all vSJiips-of-war of every power, with the exceptions specified in articles 14 and 19. 12. Trade sluiU bo free in the waters and ports of the Black sea, su'ijoct only to rcj^nlations of health, customs, and police, Russia and Tur- key adnutting consuls to all ])orts on its shores. 13. Russia and Turkey eufrage neither to construct nor preserve any military-maritime arsenals on the coasts of the Black sea. 14. The convention regulating the force of ships for coast service in the Black sea, is concluded between Russia and Turkey, but is appended to this treaty, and can not be annulled or modified wit]u>ut general consent, lo. The act of the congress of Vienna relative to river navigation is apj)lied to the Danube and its mouths, ami its fno- dom becomes a part of the pid)lic law of Europe. 1(5. The contracting pow- ers shall appoint each a delegate, to form a general commission, to put the Danuljc from Isatcha dowu'vard, with its mouths, and the neighboring parts of the sea, in a navigable state, a small duty to be levied on vessels, to cover the expenses incurred in rendering and keeping the river navigable. 17. Austria, Bavaria, Turkey, and Wurtcmbnrg, sluill add each a delegate to the commission of the |)rinci])alities, to form a i»erinanent commission to keep the Danube navigable and superintend its police. 18. The general cot'uuission slu^U be dissolved in two years and the j)erinanent conunission take its place. li>. Each of the contracting powers may station two light vessels at the mouths of the Danube. 20. The l)etter to assure the liberty of the Danube, Russia consents to the rectification of her Bessaral)inn frontier. The new froniier starts from the Black sea, one kilometre east of Lake Bouna Sola, to the Akerman road, along which it extends to the val- ley of Trajan, passing to the south of Belgrade, and rcascending the river Yalpuck to Saratsika, and terminates at Katamori on the Pruth. Thenco the old frontier remains unchanged.* 21. The ceded territory is annexed to Moldavia. 22. Moldavia and Wallachia contimie under the sovereignty of Turkey, with the guaranty of all the contracting powers that no power shall claim the private right of interference. 23. The emperor of Turkey guaranties to the said principalities the continuance of the freedom of reli- gion and commerce. The contracting powers will appoint a commissi(m to meet immediately at Bucharest to report on the present condition and wants of the principalities, and to propose the bases of their future organi- Eation. 24. The sultan will immediately convoke a divan in each princi- pality to learn the wishes of the people as to their definite organization. 25. Ministers thereof shall bo sent to Paris, where the constitution shall bo • The old and new frontier lines cau both bo seen by reftrence to the accompanying nrnp jccts ; but the internal afl'airs !cts. 10. The osplionis is rc- )f the annexed he nicrcantilo bidden to all in articles 14 the Black sea, issia and Tur- a and Turkey ne arsenals on i: the force of n Russia and id or modified icnna relative :, and its IVce- itractinp pow- on, to put the hboring parts on vessels, to .•or navigalde. eh a delegate ximinission to The general it commission ion two light re the liberty ' Bessaral)ian metre east of ds to the vai- ling the river ith. Thence py is annexed c sovereignty hat no power or of Turkey ;edom of reli- i commission ondition and uture organi- cach princi- organization. ition shall bo il^ panj'ing n^np 702 ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. framed, Avliicli the sultan shall proimilgate. 26. The principalitios shall miiiiitain a militia, and may c(Histriu't works of dofenco api)r()Vt'd by the sultan. 27. If t\w intornal tranquillity of the i)riiu!ipalities be disturbed, the sultan must cons\dt tlie contractiu}; powers, and can not employ armed intervontion without their consent. 28. Scrvia continues a dependency of Turkey, iMuler the guaranty of the contractin ter. Incidental allusion was also made in the same chapter to the system of railways with which — as one of the means to the internal imi)rovement of his empire — Alexander II. designs to connect the interior of Russia with her remote extrenutios. When it is considered that the proportion of the expenses of the lato war boiue by Russia alone is more than the cost of building and equipping all the railroads in the United States, extending over twenty-three thousand miles — a greater length, ia fact, than all the fOA ILLUSTRATED DE8CEIPTION OP BUSSIA. In the early siiinmer of 1857, the young ompevor conchuled a treaty of comnu'ivo with France, which was chiefly notahlo as evincing a dispo- eition to heiil the wounds of war. In the autunni, the Emperor Napoleon and Alexander II. had a ver\' friendly meeting at Stutgard; and soon after the Russian C/.ar met the Emperor of Austria at Weimar. All this looked fav()ral)le for a permanent peacre. The Czar, before the year had run out, alxilished the svsteui of militarv colonization, which had here- tofore been a marked custom of Russian policy. There had been for years considerable mutual exasperation between Russia and China on the subject of frontiers; and in May, 1858, a treaty Wiis signed which appeared likely to sati^fy both nations. In the ensuing June a treaty of connnerce was coiurluded between Russia and Rtlgium. All this went to prove that the young monarch's intentions were eminently peacef\d. AVhile Alexander was thus busy in forming alliances through- out the M'orld, he was not unmindful of home matters, lie caused ar- rangements to be made by which all peasants on the royal domains were fully admitted to all the rights of freemen. As if to tighten the bonds of friendship between his recent antagonist, Great Rritain, and his own country, a treaty of amity and commerce was concluded between the two countries. The various tribes of mountaineers usually classed as Circassians liavo ever proved thorns in the side of the Muscovite monarchs, whose great aim it has always been to attach them to the crown as feudatories or mil- itary vassals, after the style of the Cossacks of the Don. But while there are many points of sin)ilarity between them, there are also points of di- vergence; and beatings and bribes appeared to be equally inefficacious to win them over to the Russian side. Consequently, in a war with Turkey, they were a cause of real weakness to the powerful but unwieldy empire. Such bein^' the state of affairs it is reasonable to suppose that Alexander II. would take advantage of the peace existing with the great powers to put forth, if need be, the whole strength of the empire to con- quer his turbident and fearless neighbors. Accordingly, ftrong armies were sent into the Caucasian mountains, and, after many very hard-fought engagements, the Circassians were driven from one strong position to another, until, by the autumn of 1859, the Russian commander announced the submissson of all the tribes, and the capture of the indomitable Schmayl, their great leader. Tiie Russian Government, in the spring of 1800, flatly rejected the doctrine of the sovrelgnty of the people, and indicated that all reforms must flow as gifts from the Czar. In the summer of this year the Cir- cassians were again in revolt, and fresh ai'mies had to be sent against them. ' HISTORIC SUMMARY. — ALEXANDER U. T05 f At this time a commercial treaty was concluded with Austria. Some dissutit;faction was felt at the way affairs were conducted at Turin, the new capital of Iti»ly, and the ambassador was recalled. An interview toolv place at Warsaw between the Czar, tlio Emperor of Au^'rla, and the Prince Regent of Prussia. If the ol»jo<^t was to ameliorate I he con- dition of the Poles, no practical result came of it, and Russia gained a? foothold on the shore of the river Amur, by a now treaty with Cliina. Tlie year 1861 will ever be marked by a white htono ,in the calendar of the Muscovites, for it was in the March of this year that Alexander II., by an imperial proclamatio'i, antiounced tlio death of serfdom, and the emancipation of men of every degree tln-oughout the vast empire. If the result has not been all that phihmthropists desired and hoped for, it has been in a great measin-e owing to the immense scale on which mil- lions of men were suddenly enfranchised without any prior preparation or education. [ Prince Gortschakoff, a trusted officer of Nicliolas, died in 1801.' "'''^'' The Finns, 'vho compose the most active and intelligent portion of the Russian people, were instructed to send commissioners to meet at Ilel- singfors, in 18t)2. \', "":' i.^V''* '^ ^'*.»«i« . Constantinople and St. Petersburg were put into telegraphic communi- cation in 1862. In the following yeai* Prussia entered into a mutual arrangement with Russia to aid in suppressing Polish insurrections. Austria, France, and Great Britain, separately, but strongly, remonstrated about the cruelties exercised against the Poles, in putting down the insurrections. Mucih of the cruelty was ascribed to Constantino, the eldest brother of Alexander II. ' 'J^^ • -^ General Ileyman defeated jdl the Circassians that had hitherto Vafflcd the might of tlie empire, and in 1564: Circassi.i was absorbed. The Circassians who could effect their escape passed into Turkey. The Czarowitz Nicholas died at Nice, in 1865, and his funeral ob- sequies were performed with great pomp at the Cathedral of St, Peters- burg. An unsuccessful attempt was made to assassinate Alexander II., by one Kara Kasow, on the 16th of April, 1866. In August, the Circas- sians were again in arms. Important railroads wer^ ni operation. The Czarowitz was united to the Princess Dagraar of S len. All the Rus- sian possessions in America wore sold to the United States. The Czar visited Paris, and while there an unsuccessful attempt was made to assas- sinate hira. 1868 saw the beginning of hostilities between Russia and the Emir of Bokhara. On the 6th of June all political prisoners were amnestied; the railroad between Moscow and Kursk was opened; the treaty between Russia and the United States was ratified. 706 ILLnSTRATKD r)K8(TRIPTI()N OF E088IA. '' Miiny ('f the stiulcnts broke out in nil insurrection at St. Petersburg. It wns qut'Ucd with little bloodslied. In June, 1870, the Czar Jiiul the King of Prussiiv met at Ems. What political meaning it had was never known. On the IStli of ]Novenil)er of this year, the Czar took the deeisive btep of declaring that he no lojiger considered himself as hound hy tlie treaty of Paris, signed in Paris, March 30, 185(!. This wiped out all that was effected hy the powers, at Seliastopol. In 1872, a very grand eelel)ration made gorgeous the streets of St. Petersl)urg, it being the 200th aimiversary t»f the birth of its founder, Peter tin; (Jreat. In 1872, nnich alarm was felt in eonse(iuence of the severe sickness of the Czarowitz. An expedition was fitted out, which resulted in the right bank of the rivi'r Ainou Daria, in Khiva, being annexed to Russia. The Shah of Persia made quitb n h)ng visit to the Czar, which attracted considerable attention in Paris and London, where the politicians attached some mysterious meaning to it, A decree was issued in 1874, which rendeued the whole male popu- lation liable to military service. The iirst general enrollment and calling into service imder this law took place on the iirst of r)('cember. In May, the Czar visited Germany and England. On his return it was ordered that primary schools should be estal)lished in all parts of his realm. This probaltly resulted from his observations in the two countries that he had just visited. liussia greatly extended her empire in the year 1873. A large island was acquired from Japan by treaty; and after some severe lighting, aiul suppressing many subsequent insurret'tions, the whole Khanate of Kho- kand was incorporated in the empire. The separate geiu'ral government of tiie Paltic, or marithne provinces, was ended by a decree in 187<). General Skobeleff fought and defeated the Klmra-Kirghiz tril)es. In the Bunuuer a large Russian tleet paid a friendly visit to the Mediterranean. The Russian General Ignatieff returned as ambassador to Constan- tinople, and advised the Turkish government j arrange its quarrel with Servia. The Czar, in the course of a speech at Moscow, declared that unless tlie Turks submitted to the terms proposed by the European powers lie would declare war independent!}'. Soon after his uncle, the '^-rand Duke Michael, took command of the Southern army. In 1877, it became evident that a great war was approaching, as in March large armies were formed and made ready for campaigning. The ( )ttoman government was again urged to improve the administration of government in its provinces. In April Russia declared war against Turkey, and immediately crossed the Pruth. Then ensued a number of I tattles, in which the Russians were generally victorious. Every fight was, however, stubbornly contested. At Plevna it was exceedingly mSTORIO SUMMARY. — ALEXANDEU 11. 707 douUtfiil for some (hiys as to which sido would win; uUimjitfly the Turkisli goiicnil wiis hadly wouiuU'd, mid his force cupituliitcd. Tiiey lijul disphiyed j;;rc!it valor and rcsohition. Tlie I'alitans, afti'r fri<,ditful losses, were fiuecossfuUy passed l>y the liussiaiis, Altli()iii,di tlie Russians were the more numerous, and had heen reinforced hy the lionmanians, it was often exceeilinj^ly doui>tful which country had fhe hest of the ilii^htin^. The Turkisli <^enerals, as u i^cMieral thing, displayed unex- pected skill: their courage was never doubted. , It is '.^uite possilile that, had not the governments of the other leading powers of Eurojm hrought their united pressure to bear upon the Turk- ish rulers, Constantinople \vt)ul(l have been taken by Russiii's victorioua legions. As it was, a truce ensued, followed by a Conference at Berlin. The result of this meeting inured more to the advantage of Austria than to that of any of the nations who had interested themselves in the affair. Russia gained some material advantages, mainly by crippling Turkish power, and l>v rearing one or two kiiigiioms between her and the !Mussul- mnus. But it is j)robable that the vast debt incurred, the enormous waste and destruction of human life, agricultural products, and maiiu- facturing estaldishments, at the very period in which nearly all the rest of the world was advancing in peaceful i»rosperity, have not made her seeming advantages real advantages. Trade, which might have been enormously developed throughout the eollossal empire, would have en- riched the iner(!enary, and given employment to the gifted and skillful, — while even the nobles might have used their great wealth in erecting manufnetories, improving roads, excavating canals, and constructing railroads, bridges, and the many modern appliances called for by in- tlustry and commerce. The result of the war was to heighten the arro- gance of an already haughty aristocracy, to enridi an enomnous number of fraudulent contractors, to put science, art, and literature in the back- ground, and to lessen the business of legitimate industry and honest traders. But be the causes what they may, certain it is that one of the finest and broadest empires of the globe appears to the outside world to be divided into conclaves of conspirators, plotting in secrecy, and trem- bling cabals of royal and aristocratic families, certain of nothing but uncertainty. Such was the turbulent, chaotic state, in which Peace found the land of Peter and Catherine. The time and attention that should be given by the Emperor to the consideration of law, justice, and even mercy, has been largely employed in trying to preserve his own life and that of his family from the dynamite explosions of the new school of royal regulators. So far, in results, the new school has been no improvement upon the old one — of open revolts and daring revolutions. 708 ILLU8TKATKD DKStrilllTIO.V <»F UrSSIA.. Some Bli^clit !ulvtuit!ii?(f» liiive hocn {^iiiiicd over tho fiorco wild trn)Ofl iiili.iltitiiig tho (M)iitiiu's of IVrsiii, Itiit liiinlly (Miuiif;li to repay tlic jjjrcat outlay ill men mid money; particidurly m in every hattlo tho defeated Beem to learn some of the tactics of the coti(|iicrorH. In 1880 8o much dissatisfaction ]>revailed anionj; the rejinlar troops tliat a rule was observed tliat no rcLriinent should he allowed to \w located in tiie district from which it had heen reernited. Duririj,' this rtiutcr tho C-^ariua remained at Cannes, France, on aeconnt of her failinij health. Early in this year tho Court of St. Petershuri; was catechised hy l)oth Austria and Germany, after its intermeddling^ in Servian matters. Satis- factory explanations were j;;iven. Toward the end of January, 18S0, the (V.arina — between whom and the C/.ar a coldness had existed for some time — agreed, at the rccpiest of their oldest son, to visit St. Petersburg, to bo present at the cele- Itration of tho twenty-tifth anniversary of the Czar's accossion to tho im- perial throne. At the end of January, 1880, a great rol»bery was effected at Odessa. 1,500,000 roubles were stolen from the General Receiver's olfice. Tho j)erpetrators were variously senteiKH'd to from three j'earsto life impriscm- ment. Tho criminals were said to bo Mihilists; but no proof of the fact was offered. Kumors of a design to re-erect Poland aa a separate kingdom were rife. Put unhappily they were but rumors. TheEiiglih Blue Pook, for 1880, contained letters that appeared to prove that the Uussians wero actively hitriguing in the affairs of Afghan- i.itan. The Tnreomans were liadly heaten by the Pussiana in tho early part of February. Tlie Mus..()vite army sustained but slight loss, but inflicted lua«-y loss upon their opponents. The poliee regulations ])ecame Bo minute and vexations in St. Peters- burg that much discontent was exhibited by the inhabitants. The Russian Government asked the French Repul)lie that Ilartman, the Nihilist, a(!cused of assassination, should bo given up to them. This was refused, but Ilartman was ordered out of France. In tho sj)ring of 1880, a powerfid Russian naval fleet appeared in Chinese waters, with the intent, as was surmised, of influencing Chinese j)ublic opinion. Twenty thousand exiles were sent to Siberia this spring. For over one month the whole Province of ()ren]»urg had been block- aded by a terrible snowstorm, which extended into adjacent districts. Three students, ccmvicted of complicity in treasimablc practices, wero pardoned. In April, poison wua discovered iu a dish at the Czar's table. III8TOUIO BUMMAUY. — AI.KXAXDKU II. 709 iiildom were n St, VvtVTA- Soon nftor tho vrturn of tlio Emprt'fl«, sho UuhI of u disonso wliich hiul loii;; prosfnitcd lu'i". She cxijircd siirroiiiwlcd l»y licr fimiily. Tlic fiiiicnd of the Eiripn-ss wiis (•.cU'liratcd Ity all tho {^raiid imposing rites of tlio (trcck Cliiircii, ^'uiiutous priiicoH from foreign nations, and different purt* of tho cinpiro, wei-o pn-scnt, imd tho whole urniy was jjut in mourn- inj? for h\\ niontlis. There hiid been ii reconciliation between tho Em- press and the Lmix'ror, on hi-r deathbed. An American Qnaker, a bunker, named Bunker, was engaged In organ- izing H syndicate, for tho purpose of furnislang capital and organizing Bomo great railroad projects. Nihilism constantly made its presence felt by i,-sning newspapers, ox- posing all the defects of the Russian system of government, and appeal- ing to tho people to overthrow the ruling pcjwers. In many parts of Russia tho Jews havo been persecuted with a fero- ciousness recalling the dai'k days of the middle ages. The government appears anxious to protect the Hebrews; but tho local authorities and tho urmy give but a feeble assistance in preserving order. Quito a formidable society was discovered and broken up at Kieff. Its intent was tu overset the government. Some members were con- demned to death, — some to long imprisonment. Alexander II., however, greatly lightened tho sentences. During August and Septend)er there wore many attempts to kill tho Emperor, in difTercnt parts of the route tu Livadia. Dymunite, packed in cases, was found near many of the railroad trucks. In October, 1880, many of the persons accujsed of complicity in these plots, were put on trial ; ono of them was a man who was said to havo given 170,000 roubles to assist tho cause of Nihilism. In the latter part of December there was a students' riot in Moscow. Tho riot was with much difficulty put down, and the prisoners were sent to differ lit ])laccs nf detention. The Nihili.-^t ^^.>r Ilussian Socialist Revolutionary Party, as they style themselves) ha\ e very extensive ramifications throughout tho Muscovite territory. A <'. vision occurred in their ranks. One portion decided to persist in a moral, literary propaganda, of their advanced opinions of liberty; tho other section deternuning to use terrorism — including assassination — as the only method of warfare likely to prove effective. Tho attack of Vera Sassulitch on tho Chief of Police of St. Peters- burg, and tho assassination of several high officiiala of the crown, seemed to meet with the approval of many people, and tho "fighting" section of the Nihilists determined to adopt the sanguinary method of procedure. An accredited exponent of the Nihilistic creed and manners of pro- -'m 710 ILLUS1RATED DESCRIPTION OP RUSSIA. X cednre, says the "real and most detestable foes of moderYi Russia are at present neither the hourgcois, nor the nobles, nor the priests, none of whom have any political power, bnt the government ; that no improve- ment in public life is possible as k)ng as the bane of Czardom lies heavily on the political, moral, and cconoiuical life of our people." Acting strictly up to their avowed convictions, a most determined attempt was made by Sophie Petrovsky, and some male companions, to blow up a part of the Moscow railroad while the Czar, Alexander II., was passing over it, on December first, 1879. The mine was duly exploded, and at the same moment a deafening report was heard. A column of earth rose over the bed of the jailroad, two cars were lifted into the air, and thrown with terrible violence into the fields below. In a moment all was confusion. People ran out of the liouses, shouts of terror, hysteric sobbing of the women filled tlie streets, policemen were speeding from all sides to the spot. The whole district seemed to be in a craze of friglit. In the mean time Sophie Petrovsky and her accomplices crossed the yard to its furthest end, passed through an opening in tlie railing, whicJi had been prepared befcn-eliand, into tlic neighboring yard, then through the doorway into a street situated on the side of the liouses opposite to the railroad, and sanutert^ off quietly into the city, whero they entered a safe phice of concealment. While detailing some of the acts of tiie Kibilists, it is proper that the following estiuuite of its constituents sliould likewise appear. Tliis is furnished bv one of the loadei's, who lias access to the imiermost rulinir circle. "Many of them are intelligent, well educated people, all former pupils of some university or technical high school. Kone of thorn is older than thirty nor younger than twenty-one. Among us there was the daughter of a Minister of State and Senator, belonging to the Iul best and most refiued circles of the St. Petersburg aristocracy, — this was Mile. Petrovsky. There are sons of landed proprietors, of merchants, distinguished chemists and electricians whose names have become cele- brated hi science. There arc government employees, who, while osten- sibly serving the Czar are secretly working at Ids destruction." But there is a reverti© side^ every medal. In corftradiction to many of the stories so freely circulated as to the barbarous mcthotls of the Russian Government, it will be only fair to say that a well-informed person, who is above any suspicion of complicity with tyranny in any shape, says that he has recently vir^ited the great ])rison of St. Petersburg, where persons accused of political crimes are incarcerated. He says: "I deem it unnecessary to contradict all the ridiculous stories wliich \ J HISTORIC SUMMARY. — AT.BXANDER II. • X ussia are at ts, none of ID improve- lies heavily !." Acting ittompt was blow np a vas passing (led, and at 111 of earth the air, and moment all ror, hysteric ing from all :e of fright. crossed the iiling, mIucJi len through opposite to hey entered per that the ar. This is ■most ruling .', all former of them is s there was the hij.,hest , — this was merchants, )ecome cele- \\liile osten- ion to many hods of the ell-informed umy in any Petersl)\n"g, He says: iories wluch 711 ■l have been published in sensational French and German papers with regard to the discipline to which the prisoners are subjected. I did not come across any chamber of torture. The only prisoners who were doing anything hard in the way of work were thieves and murderers; and there were working, on their own account, in the common workshop. The political prisoners awaiting their trial were most of them lounging on their beds reading and smoking. The only difference to be observed on the political side is in the fact that the superintendents themselves are watched and followed wherever they may go by a policeman ; and this occurs every time they visit the prisoners or that they take the prisoners before the magistrate, or answer the bell by which the offender can summon his keeper. There is also a policeman in the woman's quarter. He is the only man allowed in this last department, where all the super- hitendents are females. As for the prisoners, with the exception of one who looks about forty years of age, they are all young people. The women are young, and, genei-ally speaking, very ugly. I did not see more than one exception to this rule. Among the women there is one poor ■wretch who has neither home nor friends; and who has been allowed, on that account, to have her child by her side, — a fine-looking little lad between five and six years of age. A special room has been set apart for the mother and child ; and this unfortunate youngster has notliing better to amuse himself witli than to climb up between the thick bars behind which he is condenuied to live, through his mother's miscon- duct. Tliis poor, crazy wretch, had foi'gotten she had a child when she was plotting against the Czar.'' Having anticipated the regular course of time, to intcqiolate the opinions of the Nihilists, we return to some of their deeds, A very elaborate attempt had been made to destroy Alexander II. in his palace at St. Petersburg. Had the explosion occurred at the moment designed, not only the Emperor but many meml)ers of his family would have been destroyed. As it turned out, although none of the Imperial family circle were killed, several attendants and others were "sent to their last ac- count," to expiate offenses of which they, at least, were innocent. But the fatal 13th of March proved that death was only delayed — not baffled — in the case of the Emperor of all the Russias. On that day, while returning from a grand review of his troops, the carriage in which he was riding was torn to pieces by the explosion of an infernal machine. The Emperor, however, was uninjured. Almost before a l)reath could be drawn a second bomb was dashed down beside him. He was fright- fully mutilated, and expii-ed soon after, unable to utter any intelligible 712 ILmSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA. words between the time of the explosion and the moment of his death. No impoi'tant results followed. No attempt was made to revolutionize the government. A feeling of horror appeared to pervade the earth. There was not even a king the less; for immediately after the Czar's death his son at once ascended the tlu'one of Peter the Great, and assumed the title of Alexander III. The new Emperor, although taking reasonable precautions against threatened dangers, appears to be a man of nerve. He has put a stop to a vast number of iinancial and other fraudulent practices, and has shown an intention of calling together informally a council drawn from different classes, from which the peasants are, very wisely, not excluded. This council is to give the opinion of its members upon the nature of prevalent" abuses and the kind of reforms likely to prove promotive of the general welfare of the people. liis death, olutionize he earth, he Czar's I assumed s against , a stop to las shown 1 different ed. This prevalent" le general