twenty miles from Hamburg. Having no time to spare, we were in motion again at five in the morning, and we reached Lubeck at ten.

This road, connecting two important cities, is probably the worst great highway in Europe. In one place we saw a waggon, and that not a very heavy one, sticking fast, in spite of the efforts of ten horses; and, as you will infer from the time we spent over thirty-five miles, we performed most of the journey at a foot's pace. From Lubeck to Traavemunde, the port of the Baltic packets, is a stage of ten or twelve miles, with a good road, the luxury of which we fully appreciated. We arrived there just in time to embark on board the Naslednik steamer, in which we sailed at three o'clock in the afternoon. We soon found that out of some twenty passengers we were the only English on board, with the exception of a king's messenger. Of the remainder, among natives of France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, and Persia, the Russians mustered in strongest force; and sailing in their society in a Russian boat on the Baltic Sea, we almost felt that we had already reached the empire of the Czar. Some of our fellow voyagers spoke English, and all spoke French. The weather was all we could wish, and the arrangements and fare on board the packet were good. The Russian ladies soon discovered that M- was by birth a countrywoman of their own, and one of them* proved to be well acquainted with her father and other members of her family.. Under these circumstances our time passed rapidly and agreeably on board the Naslednik.

We sailed, as I have said, on Saturday afternoon, and by nine o'clock on Monday night we were in the Gulf of Finland. The following morning we were off Revel, and the captain said we should be at Cronstadt before midnight. We scarcely lost sight of land during the whole of Tuesday, and both shores of the Gulf of Finland were often visible at the same time. Indeed, during the entire voyage we were seldom many hours without seeing land, and the successive islands

With this lady, Princess Ourousoff, and her son, a most agreeable and well-informed young man, who was also on board, we had the pleasure of renewing our acquaintance during our short stay in Moscow in the following March.

which marked our progress were never-failing objects of interest. The number of ships, moreover, of which we could not unfrequently count one or two and twenty at a time around us, far and near, with their white sails set, helped to break the monotony of the passage; while on one occasion we passed within five miles of a Russian squadron, consisting of ten or eleven men-of-war.

Our eyes, therefore, when we were tired of reading, were never at a loss for occupation by day; and in this latitude at midsummer one can hardly say that night comes at all.

The

sun, indeed, goes below the horizon for a couple of hours, but the sky does not lose its colouring, and the smallest print or the palest handwriting may be read with ease in the open air at midnight.

On Tuesday night the approaching termination of our voyage drove away all idea of sleep, and no one thought of going below or of undressing. Indeed, at twelve o'clock by our London time, the Naslednik dropped her anchor under the batteries of Cronstadt, and in a few minutes afterwards the firing of the morning gun from the fortress, and the hoisting of the colours on the flagstaff, reminded us of our progress to the east; it being already, by Petersburg time, two o'clock in the morning. On coming to anchor, we were immediately boarded by two or three boats full of custom-house officers and soldiers, who appeared to take possession of the ship. The passengers' luggage was brought upon deck, and ticketed with the word unexamined, a number being added to each article; and in this manner no less than three weary hours were consumed. The deck was encumbered with luggage, and at every turn one met a soldier in a dingy grey greatcoat, while the cabin was full of custom-house officers examining the passports, so that it was difficult to find a seat or a corner of a table at liberty.

At length the custom-house officers departed, and allowed us to proceed up the Gulf, towards Petersburg, under the care of the soldiers, who were left on board. Our delays were, however, not yet over, for in crossing the bar of the Neva our boat ran aground, though she only drew about seven feet of water, and this accident detained us three hours. At last,

by means of two anchors carried out a-head, we were warped once more into deep water, and soon afterwards we reached Petersburg, and came to our moorings at the English Quay about twelve o'clock. Several custom-house officers now came on board, and the passengers were allowed to step on shore on receiving their passports, which had been collected soon after we sailed from Traavemunde by the captain's bookkeeper. We were allowed to take our cloaks and great-coats on shore with us, but nothing else. Thanks to a friend to whom we had written beforehand, we found a laquais-de-place awaiting our landing, with the agreeable information that lodgings were engaged for us. It was necessary, as the first thing, to superintend the examination of our luggage by the custom-house officers, which agreeable ceremony was performed in a large room hard by, set apart for the accommodation of steamboat passengers. The examination, though strict, could hardly be called vexatious, except that a new silk gown of M-'s was very near being confiscated, all articles of dress unmade, or which have not been worn, being contraband. A little representation, however, to a superior officer who spoke French, conquered this difficulty. All our books were set aside to be examined by the censor, even a map in a case being subjected to this scrutiny. They were made up into a parcel and sealed with lead, and were then delivered to me upon my signing a paper, in which I undertook to send them to the censor. The penalty for breaking or losing the lead seal is a hundred roubles (about four guineas). I was afterwards required to sign one or two other papers, and at last I received a permit for my luggage to pass. The introduction of poisonous drugs into the country is strictly prohibited, and a small medicine chest which we had was still detained for further examination, but it was afterwards very civilly given up to me unopened. We were now conducted to our lodgings, and after our sleepless night and wearisome morning we were exceedingly glad to find ourselves by two o'clock in a place where we could sit down and rest at

our ease.

I have this morning been to write down my name at the Alien Office, the only personal trouble given to a foreigner

on his arrival by the police regulations. Our passport has been given to our landlord, whose duty it is to forward it to the proper authorities, by whom it is detained; a ticket of residence, as it is called, or a permission to remain in the country, which must be renewed on the 1st of January every year, being sent in its place. Our books have been already returned from the censor's office, with a certificate that they have been examined, and are permitted; so that all the troubles of a first arrival are over, and we may consider ourselves as fairly established in Petersburg. We do not mean, however, to remain here more than a few days, as the town is very empty, and we wish to lose as little as possible of the short Russian summer before we proceed into the interior, reserving the sights of Petersburg to be visited as we pass through on our way home.

On attending at the Alien Office I encountered some of our French and German fellow-passengers. As they one after another completed the necessary forms and signed their names, I perceived that a demand of five roubles was made from each, and therefore when my turn came I laid down five roubles, like the rest, before the clerk. Somewhat to my surprise he waved his hand, and intimated that I had nothing to pay. I looked to my attendant for an explanation, and he said, Oh, they are merchants, and you are noble." "How, noble?" was my reply. "Why," said he, "you are in the English service; you are a clergyman.”

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On quitting the custom-house, after the examination of our luggage, we noticed the first characteristic specimen we had seen of a Russian equipage, in the shape of an open carriage drawn by four horses abreast. It was proceeding slowly along, and a lady was walking on the foot-pavement by its side. Rather to my surprise, the lady accosted M— and embraced her, proving, when the unexpected salutation was explained, to be an aunt, who had very kindly driven in from her villa near Petersburg to greet us on our arrival. This agreeable little incident was no unfavourable omen of our reception by M-'s family; and it has been followed up by a similar occurrence in our walk this morning, so that I have already begun to make acquaintance with our Russian relatives.

LETTER II.

Intended mode of travelling - Russian dinner - Practice of bathing horses - Kazan church - Pavements in Petersburg - English church Difference of calendar in Russia - Comparison between London and Petersburg — Equipages — Droschkas — Summer garden — The islands The Hermitage - The Winter Palace - Military uniforms - Public buildings.

St. Petersburg, June 28th, 1837. WE are on the point of leaving Petersburg, and we only await a conveyance to take us southwards, which, strange to say, in this great capital, is at this moment difficult to meet with. The plan which we mean to pursue, and which is the most comfortable of any that could be devised for strangers, is to hire a small diligence, which will be at our disposal for the journey. It will contain four people, besides the driver and conductor, who will manage everything upon the road, we paying a fixed sum for the journey before we start. We have engaged a man and a maid, the former of whom speaks English, and both speak German and Russian more or less. Most people are now in the country, but we have dined twice with M-'s relatives since we have been here; once in town, and once at a villa in the immediate neighbourhood. The dinners were served in the style usual on the Continent; nothing but the dessert being put on the table, and the dishes being brought in and handed round successively. The chief peculiarity to be remarked here was the custom of handing round liqueurs, with cheese, caviare, &c., before we went into the dining-room. We had also some national dishes, such as mushrooms of various kinds and of all colours, which, if they are to be found, no one would venture to eat in England. The principal novelty was an iced soup called Batvinia, of which the Russians appeared very fond, and without which they declared that a dinner in hot weather could not be called complete. Like most foreigners, however, I found it exceedingly bad, and, indeed, perfectly uneatable. It is made