very little known, and worth the Reader's attention; not merely because they prove that Russia now is precisely what it was when they were written, but as curious examples of early English poetry. The work in which they are contained is extremely rare, and bears an enormous price.

CHAP. VI.

In his letter to Parker, the Tartar dress and manner is thus strikingly introduced:

"Their garments be not gay, nor handsome to the eye;

A cap aloft their heads they have, that standeth very hie,
Which Colpack they do terme. They weare no ruffes at all:
The best have collers set with pearle, which they Rubasca call.
Their shirts in Russie long, they worke them downe before,
And on the sleeves with coloured silks, two inches good and more.

"The maners are so Turkic like, the men so full of guile,
The women wanton, temples stuft with idoles that defile
The seats that sacred ought to be, the customes are so quaint,
As if I would describe the whole, I feare my pen would faint.
In summe, I say, I never saw a prince that so did raigne,
Nor people so beset with Saints, yet all but vile and vaine.
Wilde Irish are as civill as the Russies in their kinde,

Hard choice which is the best of both, ech bloody, rude and blinde."

Sunday
Market.

MOSCOW.

Sunday Market-Promenades during Easter-Kremlin- - Holy Gate-Great Bell-Great Gun-Antient Palace of the Tsars - Imperial Treasury-Manuscripts - Superb Model - General Appearance of the Kremlin-First Christian Church-Festival of the Ascension.

CHAP. VII. THE market on a Sunday in Moscow is a novel and interesting spectacle. From five in the morning till eight, the Place de Gallitzin, a spacious area near the Kremlin, is filled by a concourse of peasants, and people of every description, coming to buy or sell white peacocks, fan-tailed and other curious pigeons, dogs of all sorts for the sopha or the chace, singing-birds, poultry, guns, pistols; in short, whatever chance or custom may have rendered saleable. The sellers, excepting in the market of singing-birds, which is permanent and very large, have no shops, but remain with their

wares

wares either exposed upon stalls, or hawking them about in their hands. Dogs and birds constitute the principal articles for sale. The pigeon-feeders are distinguished in the midst of the mob by long white wands, which they carry to direct the pigeons in their flight. The nobles of Moscow take great delight in these birds, and a favourite pair will sell from five to ten roubles in the market. I was astonished to see the feeders, by way of exhibiting their birds, let them fly, and recover them again at pleasure. The principal recommendation of the pigeons consists in their rising to a great height by a spiral curve, all flying one way, and following each other. When a bird is launched, if it does not preserve the line of curvature which the others take, the feeder whistles, waving his wand, and its course is immediately changed. During such exhibitions, the nobles stake their money in wagers, betting upon the height to which a pigeon will ascend, and the number of curves it will make in so doing. Among dogs for the chace, we observed a noble breed, common in Russia, with long fine hair like those of Newfoundland, but of amazing size and height, which are used in Russia to hunt wolves. German pug-dogs, so dear in London, here bear a low price. I was offered a very fine one for a sum equivalent to a shilling English. We observed also English harriers and fox-hounds:

but

the favourite kind of dog in Moscow is the English terrier, which is very rare in Russia, and sells for eighteen foubles, or more, according to the caprice of the buyer and seller. Persian cats were also offered for sale, of a bluishgrey or slate colour, and much admired. Seeing several stalls.

apparently

CHAP. VII.

CHAP. VII.

Promenades during Easter.

apparently covered with wheat, I approached to examine its quality, but was surprized to find that what had the appearance of wheat consisted of large ants' eggs, heaped for sale. Near the same stalls were tubs full of pismires, crawling among the eggs, and over the persons of those who sold them. Both the eggs and the ants are brought to Moscow as food for nightingales, which are favourite though common birds in Russian houses. They sing in every respect as beautifully in cages as in their native woods. We often heard them in the bird-shops, warbling with all the fulness and variety of tone which characterizes the nightingale in its natural state'. The price of one of them, in full song, is about fifteen roubles. The Russians, by rattling beads on their tables of tangible arithmetic, can make the birds sing at pleasure during the day; but nightingales are heard throughout the night, making the streets of the city resound the melodies of the forest.

The promenades at this season of the year are among the many sights in Moscow interesting to a stranger. The principal is on the first of May, Russian style, in a forest near the city. It affords a very interesting spectacle to strangers, because it is frequented by the bourgeoisie as well as by the nobles, and the national costume may then be observed in its greatest splendour. The procession of carriages and persons on horseback is immense. Beneath the trees, and upon the greensward, Russian peasants are seen seated in

their

(1) I have been since informed, that this method of keeping and feeding nightingales is becoming prevalent in our own country.

their gayest dresses, expressing their joy by shouting and tumultuous songs. The music of the balalaika, the shrill notes of rustic pipes, clapping of hands, and the wild dances of the gipsies, all mingle in one revelry. The wives of merchants, in droskis and on foot, display headdresses of matted pearls, and their most expensive attire. In costliness of apparel, there is no difference between a Moscow princess and the wife of a Moscow shop-keeper; except, that one copies the fashions of London and Paris, while the other preserves the habit of her ancestors. During Easter, promenades take place every evening, varying occasionally the site of cavalcade. They are made in carriages and on horseback; the number of the former being greater than any occasion assembles in other cities of Europe. The intention of such meetings is the same everywhere; to see and to be seen. Equipages continue to pass in the same constant order, forming two lines, which move parallel to each other. The spectacle sometimes beggars all description. Beautiful women, attired in costly and becoming dresses,

fill

the balconies and windows of houses between which the cavalcade proceeds to its destination. Hussars and policeofficers are stationed in different parts, to preserve order. When arrived at the place particularly set apart for the display of the procession, the stranger with amazement beholds objects which can only be matched in the most wretched purlieus of St. Giles's; miserable hovels, and wooden huts, hardly discernible amidst clouds of dust. On Friday in Easter-week, the place of promenade is better selected: it is then on a plain called La Vallée, and the sight is the

CHAP. VII.

most