In the streets I rarely ever saw a Russian above the lowest degree walking; the very taylor bestrides his droshka to take measure of his customer, and even many of the officers ride to the parade; this may arise from the great extent of the city, and the distance which one place is from another. If a gentleman is seen on foot he is immediately considered to be an Englishman, who wishes to examine the city; protected by this consideration, and this alone, he is regarded with tokens of courtesy, should a Russian nobleman of his acquaintance gallop by in his chariot and four.

In the grand perspective, is the church of the Mother of God, of Kazan, which, although an inferior building, is, in religious estimation, the most considerable of the Greek churches, on account of its containing the figure of the Virgin. Upon all public occasions, the Emperor and court assist, with great splendor, in the celebration of divine worship here. Behind it was a vast pile of scaffolding, raised for the purpose of erecting a magnificent metropolitan church, in the room of the one which I have just named. This place of worship, when completed, will surpass in size and splendor every other building in the residence; and, if I may judge from the model, will be little inferior in magnitude and grandeur to our Saint Paul's. The Emperor has allotted an enormous sum for its completion: all the holy utensils are to be set with the richest diamonds: even' the screen is to be studded with precious stones. The scaffolding of this colossal temple is stupendous, and most ingeniously designed and executed, and would alone be sufficient to prove the genius and indefa-' tigable labour of the Russians. Most of the masons and bricklayers who were engaged in raising the New Kazan, as well as those who are to be seen embel-' lishing the city, in other parts, are boors from the provinces. The axe constitutes the carpenter's box of tools with that he performs all his work. No one

can observe with what admirable judgment, perspicuity, and precision these untutored rustics work, and what graceful objects rise from their uncouth hands, without doing them the justice to say, that they are not to be surpassed by the most refined people in imitation and ingenuity.

An

Strolling nearly to the end of the perspective, I found myself in the market-place, and saw lying near the great market, scales, the apparatus to which de linquents are fastened, when they receive the punishment of the knout, that terrible scourge which Peter the Great and the Empress Elizabeth were perpetually raising over the heads of their subjects, but which the mercy of the present Emperor never, except for crimes of the deepest dye, permits to be exercised with fatal violence. The last man who perished by it, broke into the cottage of a family consisting of five persons, in a dark night, and butchered every one of them with a pole-axe. act of such wanton barbarity, and so alien to the character of the Russian, did not fail to excite the highest sensations of horror. After a fair trial, the murderer was twice knouted; and, upon receiving his last punishment, was, in the language, of the Russian executioner, "finished," by receiving several strokes of the thong dexterously applied to the loins, which were thus cut open: the miserable wretch was then raised, and the ligaments which united the nostrils were terribly lacerated by pincers; but this latter part of his punishment, as I was informed by a gentleman who was present, created no additional pangs to the sufferer, for the last stroke of the scourge fell upon a breathless body. When a criminal is going to receive the knout, he has a right, if he chooses, to stop at a certain kabac, and drink an allowance of liquor at the expense of government.

The present Empress Dowager, though past the meridian of beauty, exhibits very powerful traces of her having been one of nature's favourites. Her com

plexion is very fine, her face full, her eyes of hazel colour, sweet and expressive; her person somewhat corpulent, but very majestic. Her manners are in a peculiar degree, soft, benign, and captivating. She devotes herself to the education of the younger branches of her august family, to the superintendance and encouragement of benevolent institutions, and to a very tasteful cultivation of the arts. One of her pursuits is somewhat singular; she is an excellent medalist. I have seen some of her works in this elegant branch of art, as well as some of her chasing in gold, which do her great honour, Her needle-work is also very beautiful, and must be admired even by those who have beheld the exquisite performances of a Linwood.

The present Emperor Alexander is about twentynine years of age, his face is full, very fair, and his complexion pale; his eyes blue, and expressive of that beneficent mildness which is one of the promi nent features of his character. His person is tall, lusty, and well-proportioned; but, being a little deaf, to facilitate his hearing, he stoops: his deportment is condescending yet dignified. In the discharge of his august duties he displays great activity and acuteness, but without shew and bustle: the leading features of his mind are sound discretion and humanity, qualities which cannot fail to render an empire flourishing, and a people happy! He is so much an enemy to parade, that he is frequently seen wrapped up in his regimental cloak, riding about the capital alone, upon a little common droshka: in this manner he has been known to administer to the wants of the poor. It is his wish, if he should be recognized in this state of privacy, that no one will take off their hats; but the graciousness of his desire only puts the heart in the hand as it uncovers the head. I have many times seen him in a chariot, perfectly plain, of a dark olive, drawn by four horses, driven by a bearded coachman, a common little postillion, and attended by a single

footman. Soldiers are always upon the look-out for him, to give timely notice to the guard of his approach; without this precaution it would be impossible, amidst the crowd of carriages which is to be seen in the residence, to pay him the honours due to his rank. The Emperor is very much attached to the English, numbers of whom have settled in the empire, and have formed under the auspices of the government, a sort of colony. The Emperor has often been heard to say that "The man within whose reach heaven has placed the greatest materials for making life happy, was, in his opinion, an English country gentleman."

Although the Emperor has never visited England, he is perfectly acquainted with its character and manners, as he is with its language.

The Russians, who have had so many foreign princes to govern them, behold with enthusiastic fondness an Emperor born in Russia. The face of the reigning Empress is very sweet and expressive; her person is slight, but very elegant, and of the usual height of her sex; she is remarkably amiable, and diffident even to shyness. Her mind is highly cultivated, and her manners soft, gracious, and fascinating. Her sister, the Queen of Sweden, if there be any fidelity in the chisel of Sergell, must be a model of female beauty. The Emperor and Empress have no family. They were united at an extraordinary early age, from a wish of Catherine to contemplate as many of her posterity, who were destined to succeed to the throne, as she could before she died. two Grand Duchesses, who are grown up, do honour to the care of her imperial mother, and excite the attachment and admiration of all who approach them. The youngest of the two was married to the prince of Saxe Weimar, during my stay in Petersburgh.

The

From the place of execution, in the market-place, I made my way to the monastery of St. Alexander Nevsky, at the very extremity of the eastern part of the city. In the street were several carts standing,

Alled with peas in pod, with their roots just as when they were pulled up from the garden, and with their stalks, which the poor people bought, sometimes for themselves, and sometimes for their horses; to both, the vegetable, which was eaten shell and stalk together, appeared a dainty. The monastery occupies a vast space of ground, is moated round, and contains a magnificent church, surmounted by a vast copper dome, a chapel, the cells, refectories, and dormitories for sixty monks, a seminary, and the residence of the metropolitan archbishop. The front of the basement of the buildings, which are all connected together, is painted of a deep crimson colour, and from the immense quantity and size of the windows, resembles a collection of colossal hot-houses.

4

In the church, which is very elegant, I saw the shrine of St. Alexander Nevsky, the tutelar saint of Russia, formerly one of its sovereigns, who was raised to that distinguished honour, in consequence of his having most gallantly repulsed the Swedes, or Finns, some centuries since, on the banks of the Neva. The monument and military trophies which adorn it, as well as the pillars and canopy under which it stands, are of wrought massy silver, made from the first ore of that metal ever discovered in Russia. One of the columns, which forms the back of the space allotted for the imperial family, is a whole length portrait of the late Empress, well executed. The altar, screen, and decorations, are very superb. There are cloisters found the whole of the buildings, formed almost entirely of double windows, by which, in winter, every house in Russia, of the least respectability, is protected against the terrible severity of the cold; the joists, and all other avenues of air, being either covered with pasted paper or felt. Every part of the monastery appeared to be very neat and clean, and the mansion of the archbishop handsome. The chanting of some fine deep-toned voices attracted me to the chapel, where the monks, assisted by the priest, were