somewhat amused at my surprise, what all this meant, and he told me we had only been drinking with the usual forms the health of the prelate at the top of the table.

I am very glad to have had an opportunity of witnessing an entertainment of this kind, as it is not an every-day occurrence; and much of it was both new to me and strongly characteristic of Russian manners and customs. In general, however, it must be owned that a formal dinner at three o'clock, the fashionable hour at Tamboff, is not a thing to be desired. It breaks up the day, and the whole affair is generally over, and the house clear of guests, by five, just as the ice might otherwise have begun to thaw, and the society might have become a little animated. At dinner the two sexes are carefully separated, the ladies sitting on one side of the table and the gentlemen on the other, as though they were afraid of one another; in consequence of which arrangement, the conversation at table is rather apt to be dull and languid.

Sometimes the entertainer, instead of sitting down with his guests, spends most of his time during dinner in walking about from one to another, and in seeing that the servants are alert in attending to their duties. This is, however, an antiquated notion of hospitality, and the practice is obsolete in good Russian society.

It may almost seem ungrateful on my part thus to criticise the habits of a place where we have received so much hospitality, and have made so many agreeable acquaintances and friends. I wish, however, to put before your eyes a picture of Russia as it is; and we are perhaps rendered hyper-fastidious by the pleasant evenings we spend with our kind hosts at home.

My brother-in-law himself received a great part of his education in England, and on his return to Russia he entered the Semenofsky Regiment of Guards.* He retired, however, comparatively early from the service, in consequence of a severe wound which he received at the battle of Lutzen. He is now a most intelligent and active man of business, with a truly

* Among my brother-in-law's comrades and most intimate friends was General Mouravieff, who, when the garrison of Kars, after their protracted defence under the gallant General Williams, were at length forced by starvation to capitulate, showed like a true soldier that he knew how to appreciate the courage of a brave enemy in misfortune.

English sense of honour and love of integrity. His wife has visited England, and before her marriage she lived chiefly in the society of Petersburg, as one of the maids of honour of the Empress. They both speak English nearly as well as we speak it ourselves; and with their knowledge of the world, and thorough acquaintance with the peculiarities and institutions of their own country, we could not be in better hands for information or entertainment. Of their kindness and hospitality our prolonged visit is a standing proof.

Not unfrequently an agreeable neighbour or two come uninvited to dinner or to tea, and we pass our pleasantest evenings in the easy conversation of this intimate society. A few evenings ago a small party of this kind had assembled, and the subject of presentiments came under discussion. Every one had his story, drawn from his own experience or that of his friends, of a presentiment fulfilled in some unlooked-for. manner. At last my sister-in-law told us the following anecdote, many of the particulars of which had occurred within her own knowledge, while the rest are well authenticated. The story may almost rival the tale of Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, of famous memory.

She said that in former days she had been intimate at Petersburg with a lady who married a General R-.* Years passed, and the General was appointed to a command at Warsaw, their family now consisting of seven children, of whom the eldest was a beautiful girl of eighteen. After the General and his family had been for some time established at Warsaw, Madame R— wrote to my sister-in-law giving her an account of a visit which the Emperor Nicholas and the Empress had paid to the capital of Poland, adding that a remarkable tide of fortune had on this occasion flowed in upon themselves. In the space of little more than a week her husband had been appointed Aide-de-Camp General to the Emperor; she herself had received the Cockade, a decoration conferring on a lady precedence at Court; her daughter had been named maid of honour to the Empress; and her eldest son had received a

* (Note to second edition.)-This anecdote was not given in the former edition, but so many years have now passed that no pain can be caused by its publication.

commission. Madame R- concluded her letter by saying, "I assure you so much good fortune frightens me, and I cannot enjoy it from a dread that some reverse must come." For this apprehension there seemed no grounds when her letter arrived; but about six months afterwards Madame R- was sitting at home at Warsaw working, with her daughter by her side, when the latter said, "Mamma, I've such a headache that I must go and lie down." Her mother's bed-room opened, as is usual, into the sitting-room, and the girl went into it and lay down, leaving the door open. Madame R- continued working, and after a time, chancing to look up, she saw her daughter had come back and was sitting again by her. She noticed, however, that she had changed her dress, and she said, "Sophie, I thought you meant to lie down and keep your head quiet." To this remark there was no answer, and the girl seemed not to hear. She then called her sharply by name to rouse her; upon which Sophie answered out of the next room, and immediately appeared at the door. She looked towards her mother, and said, in a terrified voice, "Good Heavens ! there I am!" bursting into tears, and saying she had not long to live. The figure in the chair then vanished. Her mother did not confess that the figure had been visible to herself, but she told her daughter that she must have seen herself suddenly in the glass. However, next day poor Sophie was seized with scarlet fever, and she died in a fortnight.:

A few months after this sad event the Polish Revolution broke out, and General R—, being captured by the Poles, was imprisoned at Warsaw for three months, during which time he endured the most cruel treatment. His wife escaped with her children to Vienna, where for some time she was absolutely dependent on charity. A sister, married to a Russian Colonel of Artillery, accompanied her to Vienna, leaving of necessity her husband at his post. In an engagement with the Poles, the Colonel's men mutinied and refused to fire at a critical moment. In despair he blew his own brains out with a pistol on the spot. General R-'s health was so shattered by his sufferings and privations in prison that he did not survive his release many months. His widow has since lost another