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and amusing assemblage." In a former part of the same Letter, the inattention of the superior Clergy to the religion of the lower orders, is forcibly illustrated. The words are as follow: "You have probably received some account of my journey to Archangel; of my movement thence, in a north-easterly direction, to Mezen; of the distinguished reception I received from the Mayor of that highly-civilized' city, who made me a speech in Russian, three-quarters of an hour long; of my procuring, there, twelve reindeer, and proceeding towards the Frozen Ocean, until I found a Samoied camp in the desert, between the rivers Mezen and Petchora; and of my ascertaining, that that nation, which extends over almost all the North of Russia, remains still in a state of Paganism; a circumstance, of which the Archbishop of the diocese was ignorant."

The description, given in this work, of the miserable condition of the Russian peasants, and of the scarcity of provisions in the interior of the country, has been disputed. Let us now therefore see what Lord Royston has said upon this part of the subject. It is contained in a

(1) So marked in the original.

Letter to Mr. Whittington, from Casan, dated May 16th, 1807. "I left Moscow on Tuesday the 5th of May; and the first town at which I arrived was Vladimir, formerly the capital of an independent sovereignty, and the residence of a Grand Duke. The accommodations are such as are alone to be met with all over Muscovy; one room, in which you sleep with the whole family, in the midst of a most suffocating heat and smell; no furniture to be found, but a bench and table; and an absolute dearth of provisions."

In the Extracts, added to the Notes, from Mr. Heler's Journal, there are certain observations which are said to be at variance with the remarks in the Text; but it is hardly necessary to add, that they were introduced for this especial reason. Some persons have also insinuated, that the author has accused the Russians of want of hospitality; although the very reverse may be proved from his writings. In describing the reception which he experienced at Moscow, he lays particular stress upon the hospitality of the inhabitants; although," to use his own words in the Fourth Chapter of the present Volume, "it was considered dangerous at that time to have the character of hospitality towards Englishmen."

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He also cites a passage, in the Notes, from a French work of celebrity, to prove, with reference to Moscow, that l'hospitalité des Russes paroit ici dans tout son jour." Another extract from Lord Royston's Letters will shew, that the same characteristic of the inhabitants was observed by his Lordship; although, as he expressly declares, it did not alter his "general opinion" of the people. It is taken from a Letter to the Right Honourable Charles Yorke, dated Moscow, May 5th, 1807. "Notwithstanding all the pleasure I promise myself from my tour, I shall be sorry to leave Moscow: the hospitality of the people is very great; and it is unpleasant to be always forming new and agreeable acquaintance, with the expectation of shortly leaving them, and the probability of never seeing them again. On leaving Petersburg, notwithstanding my general opinion, I felt very strongly how painful it is, to quit, for ever, a place in which we have resided for some time; and believe it was solely that feeling which caused me to return thither from Moscow."

Indeed it may be urged, that even those Authors who endeavour to present a favourable view of the Russian people, and who strain every

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

(1) You can hardly imagine any thing more showy than the appearance of the priests of these churches on their festival days. But if the wind should chance to blow aside the sacred vestment, you would probably feel a degree of disgust not easily described, at seeing shoes and stockings, and breeches, and shirt, of the coarsest materials, generally ragged, and always dirty, appearing from under robes of the most superb and costly embroidery." Letters from Scandinavia, vol. I. p.71. Lond. 1796.

events," prior to their communication: but if he expect credit to be given, when he tells the theme of praise, when all that "is lovely and of good report" claims its due regard, it is not from such philosophy, that he can hope for its acquirement'.

At all events, the subject, as far as the author is concerned, shall now rest. Another portion of his Travels, describing objects of a more pleasing nature, diverts his attention from Scythian wilds and from all their fur-clad tribes; from uniformity of scenery and of disposition, to regions highly diversified, and to human-nature under every circumstance of character; from wide and barren plains, to varied territories flowing with milk and honey;" from rivers, and lakes, and stagnant waters, to seas traversed by "men out of every nation under heaven; PARTHIANS, AND MEDES, AND ELAMITES, AND DWELLERS IN MESOPOTAMIA, AND IN

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(1) "Even the Author of the History of CHARLES XII. of PETER I. and of the age of Louis XIV. was of opinion, that it was of greater importance to say what is useful than what is true; as if what was false could ever be useful! In a Letter to Count Schuvalof, he says,

Until I have leisure to methodize the terrible event of the death of the Tsarevitch, I have begun another work. Is this the language of a philosophical historian?" Mem. of the Court of Petersburg, p. 81.

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