morning of the 29th, fell upon the advanced-guard of the enemy at Pletschenitza, while it was preparing quarters for the Emperor

The accommodation for travellers is beyond description bad, both at Petersburgh and Moscow. In the latter, none but necessity would render them sufferable. They demand three rubles, (seven shillings English) a-day, for a single room, or kennel, in which an Englishman would not keep a cleanly dog. The dirt on the floor can only be removed by an iron hoe, or a shovel. These places, moreover, are entirely destitute of beds. They consist of bare walls, with two or three old stuffed chairs, ragged, rickety, and full of vermin. The walls themselves are still more disgusting, as the Russians load them with the most abominable of filths.

Our first visits were from two or three idle officers, lounging about as spies, who entered our apartments, examined every thing we had, and asked a number of frivolous and impertinent questions, with a view to extort money. The greatest difficulty was that of keeping them from indulging their national habit, that of stealing every thing within their reach.

We remained at Moscow till the 31st of May, and on the evening of that day reached Molodtzy, the first station. The next day, June the first, we arrived at Celo Molody. Its inhabitants were once in good circumstances, but they are now completely ruined by their present master. The tyrant has a fine house near the church, on the left hand side quitting the village. Between Molodtzy and Celo Molody, we passed through Podalsk, prettily situated between two hills, on the river Mockra. The late Empress conferred on Podalsk the name and honours of a town, but the perverse malice of the Emperor Paul, degraded it again into a village. From Celo Molody our journey was performed with great expedition, and over good roads, to Grischinka, and to Serpuchoff, which last place perfectly resembles Newmarket, in situation, appearance, and surrounding scenery. Exactly on the spot, which, with reference to the town, corresponds with the course at Newmarket, before descending into Serpuchoff, is a church-yard; here, among graves and tombs, we saw several women of the country practising a custom strictly orientalthat of visiting the sepulchres of friends long buried, bowing their heads to the ground, touching the graves with their foreheads, weeping loud, and uttering short prayers.

Serpuchoff is a handsome little town on the river Nara. It contains a citadel, inclosed by a strong rampart, and has a Weywood with his chancery. In the market we observed some shops, solely appropriated to the sale of labkas, or Russian sandals, made of birch-wood. It is not true, therefore, that every man makes his own.

At every station on the route there is an officer, called the post-master, whose duty it is to superintend the post, and to see that travellers are regularly supplied with horses. Some of these fellows, however, will not furnish horses without a bribe, even when the imperial order is produced. We were compelled to give one to the post-master at Serpuchoff, and his manner of extorting it was as villanous as the thing itself. He had recourse to a thousand shuffles, whilst one of his men hinted to us what he wanted. I could hardly believe what I heard, and should have been ashamed to offer it, if he had not afterwards told me so himself. Horses now came quick enough, and half a dozen fine speeches into the bargain.

About three quarters of a mile from this town we crossed the Oka by a ferry. This river falls into the Volga at Columna. It is a noble piece of water, almost as broad as the Thames, and well stocked with fish. We had been detained so long at Serpuchoff, that evening was coming on when we arrived upon its banks, Peasants

Napoleon. The fruits of this unexpected attack were the capture of Gen. Kaminsky, two Colonels, two Lieutenant-Colonels, two Majors,

were seated in groups around different fires, singing, and boiling their fish upon the shore. The forests, as is usual in Russia, resounded with the melody of nightingales, and the moon full and splendid, rose over the fine scene.

We arrived late the same night at Celo Zavody, and waited there till sun-rise⚫ It is a very pleasing sight to see the young villagers return in the evening from their labours. They walk with flowers in their bats, moving slowly up the village, and singing a kind of hymn. Each person, as in a duet song, bears a separate part, and the effect, from the exact observance of time and tune, is very interesting. Vegetation had been very rapid, even in the short interval of our journey from Moscow, and the peasants were already decked with the early flowers of the year. The whole territory around us, on all sides, is a flat. The great oriental plain may be said to extend from Moscow to Tobolskoy, in Siberia. Some part of the county of Cambridge presents a striking resemblance of the scenery.

There is no reason to fear any adventures at inns, in the writings of Russian travellers: except in large towns such houses are never seen, and even there they are abominable. Better accommodations are to be found in the huts of Lapland peasants, than in Russian inns. In Russian inns, the rooms consist of bare walls, filthy beyond description, destitute alike of beds and chairs. I would advise every Englishman travelling in Russia, to learn to smoke tobacco, a practice which will preserve him from dangerous infection, and overwhelm any unpleasant odours. It will, moreover, counteract certain consequences of continual travelling and want of rest; will repel vermin, and will afford comfort in long fasting, upon dusty plains, upon lakes, rivers, unwholesome marshes, and chilling dews. It also promotes the digestion of the bad food he must necessarily encounter.

The next day, June 3d, we passed through Vazany and Celo Velotia, to Tula, the capital of the government of the same name, and the Sheffield of Russia. Sometime before we reached it, it exhibited a considerable appearance. A very handsome church, with white columns, appeared above the town, which occupies an extensive vale, and is filled with spires and domes. The entrance, both on its northern and southern side, is by triumphal arches, composed of wood painted to represent marble. In former times Tula was a dangerous place to visit, as the inhabitants used to pillage travellers even in the open streets. Now it is the great emporium of hardware for the whole empire, containing a manufactory of arms, of cutlery, and of other works in polished steel. As soon as you arrive at the inn, a number of persons crowd the room, each bearing a sack filled with trinkets, knives, ink-stands, incense pots, silk reels, and cork screws. Their work is showy, but very bad, and will not bear the smallest comparison with our English wares. Indeed they stamp all their goods with the names of English towns and English artificers, imitating even the marks of the Sheffield manufacturers, and adopting all their models. They are able to fabricate every thing, but they can finish nothing. Some of the workmen had been sent to England for instruction by the late Empress, and I asked one of them why their wares were so badly finished ? He replied, they were not able to bestow the necessary time; for, as every article is the produce of the labour of a single person, the high price of the additional labour of such complete finishing would never be obtained. The late Empress bought up almost all the work which her English workmen completed, and spared no effort to encourage and reward them.

Tula, in its present condition, is not likely to prove any advantage to the empire,

24 officers of different ranks, and 217 soldiers. The advancedguard of Admiral Tchichagoff, in vigorously pursuing the enemy

because the inhabitants are unable to raise the water wanted to put the works in motion. The machinery is ill-constructed, and worse preserved. Workmen with long beards stood staring at each other, not knowing what to do, whilst their intendants and directors were either intoxicated or asleep. They pretended, however, to issue from the imperial manufactory thirteen hundred muskets a-week; but the name of musket is degraded by such things as they produce; it is wonderful any troops can use them; besides being clumsy and heavy, they miss fire five times out of six, and are liable to burst whenever they are discharged.

The streets of Tula are paved, and its shops and public places have an active and bustling air. The number of merchants, including, I suppose, shopkeepers, is estimated at 4,000; and some of them are very rich. Its commerce, independent of its hardware, consists of European merchandize, Greek wines, and various productions of Turkey. The imperial manufactory of arms employs 6,000 workmen, and the total number of inhabitants is estimated at 30,000. It stands in a smooth valley, on the borders of the river Upa. It neither wants wood for fuel, nor a sufficient quantity of water for all the necessary operations; the only wants are skill and knowledge. The generality of the houses in Tula are of wood, but there are certainly a great number of stone, and this number increases daily. We observed women employed in repairing the pavement of the streets, which are kept in good order. The dress of the young females displays their person to advantage. It is a white slip, covering the arms and body in front, and is fastened behind with tape. It is drawn close over the breast, and there held tight by a button.

We left Tula, and proceeded due south for Voronetz. After ascending the heights above Tula, we were carried into a wide and desolate plain, covered only by a thin sod, on which herds of cattle were grazing. Nothing could equal the road by which we were now passing. The whole distance from Tula to Voronetz was like a bowling green, being a firm, hard turf, exactly like that which covers the South Downs in Sussex. Over the first part of the road from Tula, were a variety of small copses, in patches, but in every other respect the plain resembled a vast ocean, one vast uniform level. A few miles from Tula, on looking back from the elevated plain above it, this town presents one of the most pleasing prospects in Russia. The town itself, with its numerous white buildings, domes, towers, and rising spires, is a fine object. Trees appear skirting the suburbs and downs, and spreading here and there in the valley, whilst cattle graze all around it. At the same time the ear is greeted by the cheerful noise of industry, from different manufactures; by the ringing of bells, the lowing of herds, and the loud chorus of the peasants, singing their national airs, and accompanying them with the wild notes of their rustic pipes. We were passed at the same time by numerous caravans from the Ukraine and the Don, and the whole together constituted a scene of life, activity, and rural joy, which appealed very forcibly to the feelings.

We passed through Dediloff, a most miserable town, twenty miles from Tula. It consists of several timber huts, coarsely thatched with straw. The walls of these cottages are formed by trunks of trees, laid horizontally upon each other, and the interstices filled with mud. It stands in a wide open district, half at the top, and half at the bottom of a hill.

The next day, June 5th, we passed through the town of Boghoroditz. On an eminence above this place, Bobrinsky, son of the late empress, by Orlof, has a magnificent seat, with an estate of the finest corn land in Russia. It covers an

to Chotinischi, took from them five cannons, one Colonel, six officers, and above 500 prisoners. Besides an inconsiderable loss of men on the side of the Russians, Major-General Grekoff was slightly wounded by a ball in the head.

The enemy, still pursued by the advanced-guard of Admiral Tchichagoff, was, on the 3d of December, overtaken at Latigal, and vigorously attacked by Major-General Count Ozouzka, when two Saxon standards were taken, and one cannon, and more than

extent of sixteen square miles, and contains, as was reported, 70,000 peasants. Nothing, indeed, for many miles on this road, is seen but corn-fields: it is the richest country in the empire. The peasants carry their surplus corn to Tula and Kalouga. This place also affords plenty of honey to those towns.

We

From Boghoroditz we crossed boundless plains, without a single inclosure, until we came to Celo Nikitzoy, seated in a fertile, and very cultivated country. The town is like all the secondary towns in Russia, a collection of wooden huts. journeyed hence to Bolskoy Platy, a small village; soon after passing which we saw the rare spectacle of a beautiful wood. We afterwards came to Estremof, a small insignificant town on a high hill, at the foot of which flows the river Mecza, which runs into the Don. From thence we proceed to Celo Pulnia, and thence to Eletz. Eletz is a large paved town of considerable extent, situated on the rivers Eletz and Sossna. It stands on a lofty steep hill, and maintains a considerable commerce in cattle and corn. Agriculture here is in a very flourishing state, and the environs abound with wood. Its inhabitants consist of merchants, artizans, and soldiers. Its merchandise is derived from Moscow and the Ukraine, and it carries on a great internal trade in the sale of honey and leather. Eletz is renowned for the celebrity of its forges; the number of smiths, and other artificers in iron, amounted to two hundred.

From Eletz we continued our journey to Zadonetz. In all this route we were aontinually met by caravans from the Don, the Crimea, and other parts of the south of Russia. These caravans formed a line of waggons, thirty or forty in number, laden with brandy, corn, wool, &c. Sometimes they consisted of cattle only, cows, horses, sheep, and hogs, all moving in the same promiscuous herd, accompanied by Russians, Cossacks, &c. &c. At a short distance from Zadonetz we crossed the Don by a ferry. The river exhibited a broad, clear, and rapid current. The town stands upon a hill above it, and once formed one of a line of forts from this place to Zaritzin, to prevent the incursions of the Tartars and Cossacks. It appears, like all the towns in this road, to be in a thriving state.

Prom Zadonetz our journey conducted us through the sweetest country imaginable, covered with woods full of flowers, fruit trees, and a number of plants; plainly indicating an approach to warmer climates. Apple and other fruit trees spring wildly among young oaks, and vegetables are here in great variety and plenty.

As we advanced through Celo Chlebnoy, we beheld, at a distance upon our right hand, the Don, rolling in very majestic and devious course, whilst the full moon cast her light upon its waters. We halted for the night at a place called Bestuzevka, almost a solitary hut, in the midst of wide plains. The next morning, June 7th, we resumed our journey, and very expeditiously reached the town of Voronetz, a very considerable place, upon a river of the same name, and near the spot where it falls into the Don.-Vide Dr. Clarke's Travels.

1500 prisoners, among whom were several officers, and one General. The troops of General Count Platow took a very active part in this affair. The advanced-guard of Admiral Tchichagoff having approached Molodetschino on the 4th of December, found the bridge destroyed by the enemy; who, having quitted this place about midnight, continued his march to Smorgoni. Major-General Count Ozouzka continued his pursuit, took 500 prisoners, and six cannon; besides which, two cannon were found found at Molodetschno. Lieutenant-General Sachen engaged the corps of General Regnier, forming the rear-guard of Prince Schwartzenberg, and obliged the Austrian troops which were advancing to Slonim, to return to Isabeline, in order to reinforce General Regnier. This movement induced Lieutenant-General Sacken to retire upon Scheremoff, in order to be always in the rear of the enemy, in case this last should attempt to march towards Wilna.

On the 5th of December Buonaparte had reached Oschmiani, with nine battalions of infantry and about 1000 horse. Here, whilst the French were preparing quarters for the night, the Russians fell upon them sword in hand, and cut many of them to pieces.--The enemy again pursued their disastrous retreat, and on the evening of the 9th reached Wilna.

Buonaparte, notwithstanding the numerous advantages* which he has at all times commanded, was now placed in an extreme perilous situation, more so than any which we have hitherto contem

Buonaparte has great advantages over his cotemporaries. He was brought up in the world, and in active life. Beginning his career as a subaltern, his profession obliged him to think; and the habit of thinking no doubt taught him to calculate. The Revolution enabled him to see men of all descriptions exposed without disguise; and now Emperor, he easily sees through the masks of those who have the vanity or folly to attempt to deceive him. This adventurer is in possession of absolute power, has the means to make that power irresistible, and has experience at an early period of life. He is the patron and protector of all sorts of principles, professions, and prejudices; and is himself bound by none." The Military Organization of France also gives him great advantages." By the conscription-laws, every male is liable to serve in the lowest military capacity; there is neither legal exemption, nor privileged preferment; and consequently there is no subject for jealousy in the army, nor for discontent in the community. In France upwards of six millions of men are able to carry arms; of these, two millions and a half are between 18 and 23. Any number of these young men may be armed and put in motion by a parole d'ordre; for both the legislation and sovereignty of France are in the staff of the army: the military is the only road to consideration and power; and such is now the reputation of that profession, that, to avoid the contempt of the public, it is necessary either to serve or have served. These are advantages which no other government possesses." WINDHAM.