A Visit to St. Petersburg, in the Winter of 1829-30

Front matter

A VISIT TO ST. PETERSBURG 8, New Burlington Street. NEW BOOKS OF TRAVELS, JUST READY. THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY. In Two Volumes, 8vo. with Plates, NARRATIVE OF A TOUR IN THE NORTH OF EUROPE, in 1836-7. BY CHARLES WILLIAM VANE, MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY, G.C.B. G.C.H. K.B.E. Dedicated to the Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel, Bart., M. P. RUSSIA, THE CAUCASUS, GEORGIA; KOOBDISTAUN, 8,-c. In two Volumes, post 8vo. with Plates, A WINTER JOURNEY THROUGH RUSSIA, THE CAUCASIAN ALPS, AND GEORGIA, THENCE ACROSS MOUNT ZAGROS, AND BY THE PASS OF XENOPHON AND THE TEN THOUSAND GREEKS, INTO KOORDISTAUN. BY CAPTAIN ROBERT MIGNAN, OF THE BOMBAY ABUT. Author of " Travels in Chaldea," and Member ofthe Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. REV. C. B. ELLIOTT'S TRAVELS. In Two Volumes, 8vo. TRAVELS IN THE THREE GREAT EMPIRES OF AUSTRIA, RUSSIA, AND TURKEY.

PART THE FIRST. Containing a Voyage down the Danube, with Travels in Hungary, Wallachia, Moldavia, Bessarabia, Southern Russia, Crim-Tartary, and Turkey in Europe. PART THE SECOND. Containing Travels in Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor, with a Tour in the Country East of Jordan, and a Visit to the Apocalyptic Churches, and the Islands of theArchipelago. BY C. B. ELLIOTT, M.A. F.R.S. Author of " Travels in the North of Europe." SOUTH AMERICA, $c. In Two Volumes, 8vo. NARRATIVE OF A RESIDENCE IN PERU; CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THAT COUNTRY. BY DR. ARCHIBALD SMITH. THE PBESENT STATE OF PERSIA, Sse. In Two Volumes, 8vo. with Plates, and Map, a new edition, revised, with notes, &c Price 1*. Is., of A JOURNEY TO THE NORTH OF INDIA OVERLAND FROM ENGLAND. BY LIEUT. ARTHUR CONOLLY.

A VISIT TO ST. PETERSBURG, IX THE WINTER OF 1829 30. BY THOMAS RAIKES. Esq. A chiel 's amang ye takin' notes, And faith he '11 prent 'em. burns. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, tyubli&tyx tn <©rt>tnarj> to -ger J-Haj-tftD. 1838.

Preface

. The power of Russia is becoming daily an object of such importance in the world, that it is remarkable so little has been written of the system and manners of a country which differs so essentially from all the civilized states in Europe. In proportion as this power has of late in creased, it has begun to clash with the real interests of Great Britain. The following re marks on the construction of that power, and of its objects, mixed up with a view of society and manners at St. Petersburg, may therefore afford both information and amusement to the reader. The Author. August 1838. I, CONTENTS.

Letter I

Embarkation. — Miseries of a Steam-boat. — An entertaining Companion. — Napoleon and the Imperial Armies. — Stormy Passage. ...... Page 1

Letter II

Hamburgh. — The Ramparts. — Stupendous Bridge. — Cos tume of the Women. — Berlin Political feeling. — German Opera. — Royal Family. — Decay of Splendour. . 9

Letter III

Departure from Berlin. — Severity of the Weather. — The Vistula. — Disastrous Ferries. — Marienburg. — Antique Castle. — Dreaiy Road. — Konigsberg. — Curious Publication. — Napoleon and his Russian Campaign. — Memel. — Exe crable Road. — Rositten. — Perilous Situation. — Russian Frontiers. . . . . . 17

Letter IV

Polangen. — Military Inspectors. — Rigid Scrutiny. — Boor's Wedding. — Mittau. — French Innkeeper. — The Bourbons. — Riga. — Narva. — Dreary Scene. — Suburbs of Petersburg Russian Dexterity. . . . . CONTENTS.

Letter V

Petersburg. — Magnificent Buildings. — Inns. — Want of Accommodation. — Emperor Alexander. — His philanthropic Views. — Accession of Nicholas. — Discontent of the Army. — Severity of the Climate. — A fruitful Source of Conversa tion. — Curious aspect of the Streets. . Page 33

Letter VI

Churches in Petersburg. — Tomb of Kutusoff. — Choristers. — Splendid Tombs of the Nobility. — Paintings. — Residence of the Archimandrite. — Splendour of the Tauride Palace. — Mining College. — Academy of Arts. — General Education. — The Empress Catherine and her Court. . . 44

Letter VII

Emperor Paul. — His character and death. — Review of his policy. — Accession of Alexander and of Nicholas. — Grand duke Constantine. — Political and military power of Russia.— Her civilization. — Former despotism of her Nobles. . 57

Letter VIII

Statue of Peter the Great Anecdote of Napoleon. — In convenient embarrassment. — Post-office. — Imperial Palace. — The Hermitage, and its splendid paintings. — The Wea ther. ...... 73

Letter IX

Pouschkin, the Byron of Russia. — His writings, and death by duelling. — The Arsenal : Trophies of war. — Magnificent funeral car. — Pictures of the Imperial family. — Ice-hills. The Theatres. — Etiquette. — Equipages. — Military colo nization. — Magnificent dinner to the Emperor. — Taste for puns. . . .'-.,.-. . CONTENTS. IX

Letter X

Academy of Sciences — Burial-place of the Sovereigns. — Peter the Great, the Nobility, and Priesthood. — The City ex posed to • sudden inundation. — The Marble Palace. — Popula tion. — The Russian Navy. — Military power. — Policy of England during the war between Russia and Turkey. — Italian Theatre. ..... Page 98

Letter XI

Comparison between the Labouring Classes of England and Russia. — Parochial division of Russia. — Aristocratic Associ ations. — Rights of Citizenship. — Internal organization ofthe country. — Policy of the Emperor Nicholas. — Causes of* the impoverishment of the Nobility, and the recent change for the better in their condition. . . . . 116

Letter XII

Celebration of New-year's Day. — Number and variety of the Guests. — Causes of the issue of the late Campaign against the Turks. — Generous conduct of Count W . — Incon gruities in the domestic policy of Russia. . . 137

CHAPTER XIII.

The blessing of the Waters. — Power of the Emperor — His firmness in repressing Abuses. — Peculation at the Military Hospital. — German Alliances. — Paper Money. — Foreign Tradesmen in Petersburg. . . . 154

Letter XIV

A Russian Wedding. — Funerals. — Baptism. — Education. Ruined Fortunes. — Private habits of the Emperor. — Re serve in the character of the Russians. — Count S. Potocki. — Dulness and Gloom of St. Petersburg. — Police Spies. — In flexibility of Nicholas. — The Russian Peasant. — The Greek CONTENTS. X Church. — Convents in Russia. — Russian Vices. — The Ch Page 169 mate. • • _/.

Letter XV

The English Quay and Chapel.— The English Consul.— The English Ambassador. — Foreign Corps diplomatique. — Russian Carnival. — Masked Divertissement. — Malleability of the Russians. — Their genius for Music. — Their love of ser vitude. — Cupidity of Slave-masters. — Russian Literature. — Printing in Russia. a. • • • 181

Letter XVI

Plot against the Government — Its failure. — Firmness of Nicholas. — Arrest of Trubetzkoy. — His treachery and punishment. — The Emperor's clemency. — Fate of the prominent Conspirators. — Interview between his Majesty and Pestell. — Execution of the latter. — Madame L . — The Turkish Embassy. . . . .198

Letter XVII

Halib Pacha's audience of the Emperor. — Russian Orders. — The Carnival. — A Russian Ball. — Restraint in Society. — Prudes and Coquettes. — Social morals. — Prejudice against mourning. — Prince Yousoupoff — His appearance at a Ball given by the Due de Mortemart — His Wealth. — Anecdote. — Whist-playing Gambling anecdotes. . . 210

Letter XVIII

Russian patriotism. — Heroism of Rostopschin. — Its important effects. — Ingratitude towards him of the Emperor and the nation. — Alexander's conduct on the invasion of Napoleon. — Burning of Moscow. — Disastrous retreat of the French. Subsequent success of the Russian arms — Its effect on the policy of the nation. °r . . ™. CONTENTS. XI

Letter XIX

The Emperor Nicholas in London when a young man. — The Waltz and the Quadrille. — Personal appearance and manners of his Imperial Majesty. — The Empress. — Grand Ball at the Winter Palace. — Count Nesselrode and Capo d'lstrias — Their rise to power. — Revolution in Naples The Greek question. — Mutinous symptoms of the Guards in Petersburg. — Insurrection in Piedmont. — Policy of Austria. — Resigna tion of Capo d'lstrias. — General Bubna. — Lord K . — Anecdotes. ..... Page 239

Letter XX

Prince Metternich challenged to fight a duel by the Emperor Alexander. — Details connected with this curious circumstance. — Ceremonies at the Carnival. — Entertainment at the House of the English Embassy. — The Mazourka. — The Supper. — An intruder. — Display of beauty. — Presence of the Emperor and Empress. — Mal-a-propos selection ofa Comedy. . 257

Letter XXI

Heterogeneous mass of Legislation. — Contradictory Sta tutes. — Curious Trial. — A ramble in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg. — Humble equipage of the Emperor. — His Character. — Russian Dinners Fish abounding in the Wolga. ..... 273

Letter XXII

Murders committed with impunity. — Instance of presence of Mind A Masquerade. — Tzarskoe Zeloe. — Alexander in his Retreat. . . . . .291

Letter XXIII

The Imperial Stables Carriages for the Imperial Family. — Housings, Saddles, &c. — Hazard-table. — Another Masque rade, — Heroine of the Night. — Awe of the Emperor, — His CONTENTS. despotic power. — Exorbitant taxation of foreign manufactures. — Improbability of any attempt by Russia on our Indian Possessions. .... Page 300

Letter XXIV

Strict observance of Lent. — The Russian Carnival. — In spection of a Regiment on Parade. — Duties of a Governor in the provinces. — Municipal regulations. — Napoleon's Mame luke. — Triumphal arch. — The Field of Mars. — English politics. ...... 309

Letter XXV

Barbarous and inhospitable Custom. — Russian Climate. — Travelling on the Ice. — French table d'hote. — Espionage. — Turkish Law. — Instance of the Administration of Justice in Constantinople. . . . . .318

Letter XXVI

Arrangements for leaving St. Petersburg. — Population of that capital. — Apparent happiness of the People — Their filthy dress. — Charity of the Russians. — No instances of Suicide in Russia. — Policy of the Emperor Nicholas. — Speculations as to the suture influence of Russia. — Adieu to the City of the Czar. . . . . . .327 Genealogy of the Sovereigns. 336 ADDENDA. THE CITY OF THE CZAR.

Letter I

Embarkation. — Miseries of a Steam-boat. — An entertaining Companion. — Napoleon and the Imperial Armies Stormy Passage. On board the W. Jolliffe Steamer, 8th November 1829. My dear I would defy the wand of Harlequin to effect a greater change of scene than I have experienced in one short hour. At twelve o'clock last night I quitted a well-known resort of convivial gaiety, where all the luxuries of a London life are com bined, with an unsparing hand, to suit the tastes of the most fastidious, and at one in the morning I found myself in a dirty cabin, where the glim mer of one flickering lamp just served to render visible three or four camp-stools, a range of musty i; cradles in the wall, and half a dozen German Jews, who were to be my inevitable and inse parable companions at bed and board for six whole mortal days and nights at the least.

This disheartening scene was not improved when, in a few minutes after my arrival, the anchor was weighed, and the hammering din of a rickety steam-engine informed us that we were proceed ing down the river on our voyage. The steam-boats on this station are nearly worn out, and miserably provided with everything that could contribute to comfort : while the season has become of late so stormy in the North Sea, that this was destined to be the last voyage of the William Jolliffe for the year ;■ — no very pleasant informa tion to receive after we were finally embarked. The night was dark, and we made our way between the coasts of Kent and Essex, without being able to give one parting look to those scenes of fertility and verdure which we never could see again till we returned to the English shores.

I fell asleep on a horsehair sofa, nautically termed a bed, when Fancy drew a veil over the dirty cabin, and transported me back for a few hours to more agreeable objects in the parish of St. James's. When I went on deck this morning, we had left Margate and Reculver behind us ; the wide interminable ocean was in front, towards which we were rapidly advancing through the waves, while the bright blue sky was unobscured by a single cloud, save and except that black curling vapour which issued from the chimney of our vessel in successive volumes, marking our sooty track, and tainting the pure atmosphere behind us. With all my respect for steam, and the innumerable advantages which I believe it is doomed in time to confer on the human race, I must per sist in thinking the steam-boat a very unsightly object when compared with its more graceful rival — the ship under sail.

The Chinese, that people of old Lacque and Mandarin china, who, under a very grotesque ex terior, are profound philosophers, and endowed with a very nice sense of propriety, have conceived a horror and antipathy for the steam-boat which nothing can conquer ; they pretend that it is a most indecent and disgusting invention. Without entering so far into their feelings, I think we may all allow that, if much has been gained in utility, much also has been lost in picturesque beauty and appearance. We may not be accused of overrating the one, or disparaging the b other, if we describe the sailing-ship as the symbol of poetry, and the steam-ship as the emblem of prose. The first— with its spiry masts, its outspread sails, and flags of every hue, bounding gracefully on the wave like a gigantic swan, invoking the breeze from heaven (as it were a divine inspira tion) to aid its course, while a silver foam sparkles round its taper flanks, — may represent a poem of Dante or Byron.

Then the steam-boat, heavy and massive, like an enormous log ; with its dark chimney, and its iron furnace, vomiting smoke; independent of the breeze, but mechanically pro pelled in its straightforward course ; a sure and useful conveyance, of cheap access to all, but floundering through the waters like a drowning dog ; — is it not a chapter of dull prose, from Blackstone or Adam Smith, which may impart much information, but little amusement ? Never was any prose so dull as this steam packet ; our time is passed from morning till night in conjugating the verb ennuyer. I read till my eyes ache ; but when the cold dark evening com pels me to quit the deck, and take refuge in the fœtid cabin, no words can express the nausea of my position. 9th November. We are now paddling through the deep at eight knots an hour ; " Quocunque aspicias, nihil est nisi pontus et aer ;' which is not a very cheerful prospect, when com bined with a mizzling rain and a cold easterly wind.

Sitting on deck, I was suddenly surprised by the apparition of a man who, I supposed, must have fallen from the sky, as, during the two days we have been shut up in this prison, no one had seen him. He was one of the first arrivals on board, and immediately retreated to bed, in anticipation of the sickness which he expected. That operation performed, he came out like a giant refreshed ; and proved to be a very entertaining Frenchman, full of anecdote, with whom I soon made acquaintance. It is evident that he is no friend of the Bourbons, and still clings to the recollection of his Emperor, under whom he served in many campaigns : he makes out that Charles X. is very unpopular in France, on account of his bigoted feelings ; but he could not deny that the country itself was in a state of unexampled pros perity.

The soldiers of the old army will never cease to regret a Chief who told every private in the ranks that he might find the baton de marechal dans son sac, and offered them the plunder of all Europe. My new acquaintance told me a trait of Napoleon, which he had witnessed himself, and was very characteristic of the influence which he possessed over the French soldier. On the morning of the battle of Leipzig, Napo leon advanced to harangue the whole line ; he addressed himself first, through an interpreter, to the Saxon and German auxiliaries, (who still remained with him,) in a long speech, calculated to excite their ardour and animate their courage. It had evidently no effect ; they listened without interest or attention. Nettled at his want of success, he galloped up to the French line in very ill-humour, and said in a caustic tone, " Fran^ais ! je n'ai rien a. vous dire : vous avez jure de vaincre ou de mourir ; faites votre devoir !"

And the whole air resounded with cries of Vive I'Empe reur! This story drew the Frenchman into some very unqualified abuse ofthe foreign powers, who had not only deserted Napoleon in his reverses, but had turned their arms against him and conspired his downfall. Upon which a little Prussian Jew seated near us on the capstan, took fire, and treat ed the great Emperor with very little ceremony. His family, it appeared, had been ruined by the French occupation of Berlin ; and he went so far as to call the imperial armies a set of robbers and plunderers. High words ensued, and the captain with my self had some difficulty in restoring peace on deck ; but during the rest of the voyage, when ever the Frenchman met his antagonist, he made a low bow, and affecting to address him with the usual German salutation, " Gehorsamer diener /" which means " obedient servant," he muttered with a leer, " Cochon a for — dinaire !" but so intelligibly to me, whom he had initiated into his secret, that I could not refrain from laughing.

Our voyage is nearly at an end, but not our dan ger. After a stormy passage, in which the action of the engine seemed to strain every beam of the vessel as if she was hourly going to pieces, amidst sickness and noise which precluded all chance of sleep, we are now opposite to Cuxhaven, lying at anchor between two sandbanks during a bois terous night, with the certainty, if we part from our cables, to meet with that grave which has engulphed so many vessels on this coast. I have written to our friend , who ac companied Lord — — on his mission to Peters burg, requesting he would send me a letter of introduction to one of those numerous friends who received him with so much kindness and hospitality during his stay in that capital, and of which he has related to us so many examples. As there is nothing to induce me to tarry long in Hamburg, I shall make the best of my way to Berlin as soon as my baggage is landed, and I have bought the necessary furs for my northern journey. Adieu !

Letter II

Hamburgh. — The Ramparts. — Stupendous Bridge. — Costume of the Women. — Berlin. — Political feeling. — German Opera. — Royal family. — Decay of Splendour. Berlin, 18th November 1829. My dear , I know not how to describe the progress of our steam-boat to Hamburgh : I cannot say, as for merly, we sailed up the Elbe, or we rowed up the Elbe ; the only appropriate term I can find is, we paddled up the Elbe at a boiling rate, though a severe frost had set in, and the banks were covered with snow. I found a good inn, (the Hotel de Russie), on the Jungfernstieg, with a tolerable dinner, in which the sauer kraut, and the stewed prunes, were, as usual, not omitted. The town of Hamburgh is much altered since my last visit ; and the rage for building has been as prevalent there as in Paris or London, without entailing the same ruinous consequences on the speculators.

There are mansions which have cost from £20,000 to £30,000 ; and a plot of ground, not more than three acres, near the Jungfernstieg, sold lately for £14,000. The ramparts which formerly protected this nest of commerce, and rendered it such a formidable fortress in the time of Napoleon, are now razed to the ground ; and the space is laid out in public walks and plantations, which are a great ornament to the city. The French have left their traces, both good and bad, as usual : their severity and extortions under Bourrienne are still remembered with a shudder, and many a senator recollects the period when his head was security for the payment of the contributions. The wonderful wooden bridge which they built from Hamburgh over the Elbe to Harburg, in the Hanoverian territory, extended for a space of ten English miles, and was a master-piece of labour and inge nuity.

The materials were supplied by a forcible appeal to all the timber-merchants there and in the neighbouring towns, most of whom were ruined by this arbitrary act. When once accomplished, this stupendous work became a real benefit to the country, and ought to have been kept up ; but though the Hamburghers offered to contribute half the expense, they found no corresponding disposition in the Hanoverian government to assist the common object, and fifteen years of neglect have almost destroyed every vestige of this gigantic undertaking. There is still a great air of opu lence in the city ; the trade of Hamburg, though not so extensive as during the late war, has flou rished on the spoils of British commerce ; the harbour is full of ships, and the warehouses teem with goods, which supply the constant demand of the German consumer.

Immense fortunes have been accumulated, and have survived the pres sure of French exactions. Mr. M. J. Jenisch died a year ago, leaving three children, to each of whom he bequeathed a fortune of £400,000 ster ling. The dress of the women has been much im proved by their French invaders, whose rearguard, wherever they settle, is quickly followed by a host of milliners and hairdressers, who finally make a more lasting impression on the natives than their military companions. Every other trace of their occupation has vanished ; the great bridge is de stroyed, the senate has resumed its lost dignity, and the burgher guard struts again with an air of importance : but the ladies retain their French hats, their French robes, and await with anxiety the latest fashions from Paris ; while the Hamburg grisette, who was formerly proud of her stuff pet ticoat and her gold-laced head-attire, now trips about the streets with a pretty bonnet en tulle, a black silk apron, and a well-made shoe, like her prototype in the Rue Vivienne.

That moral in fluence over the civilized world, of which the French boast with so much pretension, " hath this extent, no more;" their mantua-makers and milliners are their only law-givers to Europe, but these it must be allowed are supreme : " Elles se font introduire " Ou le plus fier tyran ne peut avoir d' empire.' I pursued my journey from thence to Berlin with as much speed as thirty-seven German miles of the most execrable roads would permit, and arrived here on Sunday morning. The inns are bad, but the town itself is wonderfully improved of late years in appearance : some magnificent public buildings have been erected ; and, in walk ing up the Linden, the stranger's eye is attracted by two fine statues which a grateful country has dedicated to the memory of her brave defenders, Blucher and Bulow Dennewitz.

Formerly the bias of political feeling in Prussia was alternately French or English, but now the compass at Berlin points solely to the North ; everything here is Rus sian, — family alliances, diplomatic connexions, and, more perhaps than all, a community of past sufferings, avenged at last by one common triumph, have so completely united the interests of these two powers, that, if a war should occur in Europe, they must be inseparable. An army of 240,000 of the best disciplined troops in the world, with the reserve of the Landwehr, and a well-regulated system of finances, must rank Prussia amongst the first-rate European powers, and render her a for midable ally in the scale of Russia. There still remains a decided feeling of hatred to Austria, which time will never remove ; as to England, they seem to consider us here as a mere nullity.

The late events in the East are trumpeted forth by the advocates of Russian influence as a fresh proof of her stupendous power. Why, then, did Diebitsh stop at Adrianople ? Constantinople, that darling object of Russian ambition since the time of Catherine, must have been within his grasp. Perhaps, when I get to the fountain-head, I may learn something more of that mysterious affair. It would not surprise me much if that power, which is here called a nullity, , had interposed, and arrested the march of the conquerors. There is a fine German Opera at Berlin ; and a representation of Goethe's Faust was given last night on a very magnificent scale : it is far more impressive in the original language than in any translation; and the mystic scenes, in which it abounds, are well adapted to suit the legendary taste of the Germans.

The royal family live in great privacy ; the king is growing old, and seems only to wish that a life which has been chequered by so many vicissitudes, may be closed in peace abroad, and tranquillity at home. There is little society or amusement to attract a stranger ; the quiet streets, the scanty equipages, and the little move ment which is seen, except here and there amongst the military, give to Berlin rather the air of a great provincial town with a numerous garrison, than the animated aspect of a great and busy capital. I have found an old friend in our English minister, Sir B — T — , who has not only given me a most kind and hospitable reception, but also a passport as courier, which will be of great use in procuring post-horses through the Russian dominions. Many years have now elapsed since I was last at Berlin : I was then a young man of twenty, sent (as it was called in those days) on my travels ; and, God knows, they were then very limited, as France and Italy were hermetically sealed up to every Englishman.

We could go to Dresden, Vienna, and to the North Pole, if we pleased ; but the grand tour, which formerly gave the finishing touch to an English education, was no longer practicable. At that period Berlin was a very pleasant and hospitable residence : the court gave frequent receptions ; the hotels of Princess Henry, the old Prince Ferdinand, and Prince Radzivil, were open every evening with cards and supper, where the best society was constantly assembled ; independent of which there were numerous dinners and balls constantly given by the ministers and principal nobility, who were unremitting in their attentions to foreigners. The memory of Frede rick the Great was then fresh in every one's recollection, — he was styled the captain of the age ; another has since arisen, who not only eclipsed his fame, but nearly destroyed his monarchy.

I can see no traces of this former splendour in the dull capital which is now before my eyes; everything bears the stamp of a government chastened and sobered by adversity, which hardly dares to trust the duration of its returning prosperity. Nations, in fact, are only en gros what indi viduals are en detail. I have seen many a man born to affluence, and overtaken by calamities, who, when Fortune afterwards restored her fa vours, received them with caution and distrust. A monarch, who has once seen a foreign invader dictate arbitrary terms of humiliation to him in his own palace, may well be convinced of the fallacy and uncertainty of all human grandeur. Such is Berlin at the present moment ; but as we have lived to see the reign of anarchy, and then the thirst for unlimited conquest, successively ex tinguished in Europe, we may hope that peace and tranquillity are likely to be long preserved. I shall write you again when I am farther advanced on my journey. Your's ever.

Letter III

Departure from Berlin. — Severity of the Weather. — The Vistula. — Disastrous Femes. — Marienburg. — Antique Castle. — Dreary Road. — Konigsberg. — Curious Publication. — Napoleon and his Russian Campaign Memel. — Execrable Road. — Rositten. — Perilous Situation. — Russian Frontiers. Konigsberg, 23rd November 1829. My dear I left Berlin, the day after I wrote to you, for Konigsberg, and was agreeably surprised at finding a smooth macadamized road, with a row of poplars planted on each side, to mark the proper track when the ground is covered with snow. The Northern bias of this government is visible in the pains and expense which have been la vished in thus facilitating the communication with Russia. While the other roads leading from this capital are left to their fate, these eighty German miles, more than equal to four hundred English, <• are as level and as well kept up as the road to Newmarket.

This work of modern civilization forms a striking contrast with the desolate and thinly inhabited tract of country through which it winds. The weather was bitterly cold, the snow fell abundantly, and we soon had a flat white sur face before us of great extent, on which the postilions could never have discerned the road for five minutes together, without the aid of these landmarks. As it was, we moved on rapidly night and day, always finding some tolerable re freshments at the post-houses ; but meeting no travellers, except a waggon full of German Jews returning from the Francfort fair, till we arrived at Dreschau, on the banks of the Vistula, late on Friday evening. Here then we were to pass that river which sealed the downfall of Napoleon, and here was the commencement of my difficulties.