Though his residence at St. Petersburgh occupied little more than six weeks, and the incourse which he had with its inhabitants was necessarily limited, he appears to have made Mr. Wilson gives us a condensed history of the most of his time; directing his attention the Russian Bible Society; and he indeed to every object which presents itself to the omits no opportunity of noticing the existence eye, or interests the mind of the traveller, and and operations of similar institutions as they taking notes for a minute description of the occur, in the course of his travels. As our public buildings and public institutions, the readers may, however, be supposed to be al-external habits of society, and the more proMuseum.-VOL. XIV.

lance of the police, and his papers from being examined by its agents-some of the Count's own servants. Most persons who have been in Russia, know certainly and positively, and some of them experimentally, that a system of the most refined and thorough-paced espionage does exist at St. Petersburgh, and can vouch for the credibility of the following statements of Mr. Wilson, who is rather unceremoniously attacked by the doctor in reference to this subject.

"We hired a domestique de place at five rubles a day. These fellows being uniformly in the pay of the police, are mere spies on strangers; and I am persuaded, that the police were informed not only of every place we visited, but all the remarks we uttered; a hint that, it is trusted, will not be thrown away upon future travellers. We learned, too, that the police were daily at our hotel, making special inquiries concerning what we were about; and as I was frequently engaged in writing, this circumstance occasioned the most violent suspicions. One morning the mistress of the hotel entered my apartment in great agitation, exclaiming, 'Oh, prenez garde, prenez garde, Monsieur, je vous prie.'

On ask

minent manners and characters of individuals. | man, prevented his being under the surveil Comparing his pictare of the more obvious features of the topography, and the character of the different establishments, civil, military, and ecclesiastical, which he had an opportunity of examining, with the information we have obtained from other sources, we hesitate not to give it as our opinion, that, in regard to "things," not perhaps altogether "as they are," but as they appeared to the author, we are furnished with statements on which a considerable degree of reliance can be placed; and certainly, his book contains a fulness and variety of information relative to the wonders of the imperial city of the north, which will be sought for in vain from any other work in the English language. Whatever Dr. Granville saw with his own eyes (and most of what he describes comes under this head) may be received with the less qualification, since, as a man of the world, who, in the exercise of his profession, had visited many foreign parts, he was prepared to take very different views of things from those which are often adopted by such persons as have not previously crossed the Channel, or been at the distance of many miles from the paternal hearth. But we cannot resist the conviction, that there are other things which he did not see, or seeing, did noting for an explanation, she acquainted me with choose to communicate; and some which he evidently contemplated through the vision of others. His connexion with the Count, and the intercourse which he enjoyed with many of the nobility, his introduction at court, and the flattering reception which he met with from the most distinguished and illustrious members of the imperial family,-how great soever might have been the advantages they yielded him in certain respects, necessarily involved him in almost insuperable difficulties, in regard to his obtaining of a full-orbed view of the real state of many things in St. Petersburgh. The distinctive lineaments of the Russian character, and the effects of a certain system of education and government, to which other travellers have given a very considerable degree of prominence, are here almost entirely passed over, as what could not indeed be seen and examined in the course of a few weeks. It would, certainly, have been wise in Dr. Granville, not to advert at all to points connected with official men and official measures; as his experience must have been very circumscribed, and much that he advances on these subjects, happens to run directly counter to the experience of persons who have enjoyed more favourable opportunities of observation and research.

the danger of writing so much; adding, that she was under the greatest apprehension that the officers would pay me a domiciliary visit, and seize on all my papers, as they had lately done to an English gentleman there, a short time previous. I must confess that, hearing this, I was not altogether easy, especially on recollecting the arbitrary and unjust behaviour exercised towards my two countrymen, as has been already pointed out, and was apprehensive that I might share a similar fate, be hurried out of the country,-even if not ordered to travel in the direction of Siberia. On the landlady and her husband again strongly cautioning me, I considered it to be no more than prudent to attend to the warning in time; and therefore represented the matter to our ambas sador, requesting to be informed how I should act under these circumstances. From him 1 learned that Count Nesselrode, the Russian minister, had been making inquiries relative to me; but was assured that, in consequence of his representations, I might rest perfectly easy Still, although my fears were removed, I had reason to apprehend that my steps were constantly watched, until the very moment of our departure from the capital. Such is the system of espionage kept up in this country, that if a servant be despatched with a letter, espe On the subject of espionage, our author and cially if in a hurry, it is a thousand to one but Mr. Wilson are completely at issue. Because he takes it to the governor, who opens it, sans it was well known that he visited every estab- cérémonie, looks into the contents, and thus lishment and saw a great variety of people, becomes acquainted with your private sent took notes of every thing with a view to pub-ments or affairs. The government appear to lication, scribbled, as he states, in his room daily several hours together, left his apartments open and his papers unsecured, and yet met with no vexatious interference,-he imagines, forsooth! that he was not subjected to any domiciliary visit:-as if the Russian spies would have been absolutely stupid enough to carry on their business before his eyes; or, as if his being a resident in the house of a noble

have persons scattered in all quarters, whose office it is to report whatever occurs; so that nothing, however trifling, escapes its cognizance: besides which, it is to be apprehended that these public scrutinizers do not always adhere to mere facts, but indulge in surmises prejudicial to innocent individuals; and wo be to him whom they mark out as the object of their vengeance. At the same time that such

a system destroys all private confidence, and opens a wide door to perfidy and treachery, it is really disgraceful in any government to have recourse to such low and paltry artifices, which are quite as much calculated to entrap the innocent and unwary, as to check those who are evilly disposed."-vol. i. pp. 379-381.

We hope the hint here given will not be thrown away on such as may visit the Russian dominions, and that they will not allow themselves to be put off their guard by the assurance of Dr. Granville, that "things are not always as bad as represented." The cases of the Rev. Mr. Withy and Mr. Holman, fully bear us out in our view of this matter.

"The post," says Mr. Wilson, "at Trawenbourg [Frawenbourg], where we halted to breakfast, might be called the house of a comfortable gentleman farmer; and we were waited upon by two genteel girls, the postmaster's daughters. Here we became somewhat alarmed at hearing that an Englishman had been arrested while travelling, and detained some weeks under this very roof, by the police, from whom he suffered many indignities. This gentleman, who was a clergyman of excellent character, and whom we had the pleasure of knowing personally, was returning from St. Petersburgh, where he had been spending the winter with a family of rank, and was going to Paris in company with a Frenchman, when, before he reached the frontier, he was rudely seized by a police officer, who forced him to change his route, and accompany him to Riga. In this dilemma he was obliged to abandon his companion de voyage, and was hurried, like a felon, into a cart without springs. Being greatly overcome with fatigue, he could not proceed, and was allowed to remain in this spot. Every rule of propriety or common decency was disregarded; his papers were laid hold of, and he was as rigidly examined, as if a charge of high treason had been brought against him. The officer proceeded to Riga to report what had occurred. No explanation whatever could be obtained, why a British subject, a gentleman of character, and a minister of religion, against whom not the shadow of a charge could be brought, as to any thing of a criminal nature, should be thus treated. Another instance of exceedingly tyrannical and most oppressive conduct towards a British subject travelling in Russia, is that of Mr. Holman, the well known traveller; and what rendered the outrage, in this instance, more ag gravating and unfeeling, is that he is deprived of sight, and ought, therefore, to have excited sympathy and commiseration rather than mistrust. Independently also of this severe affliction, his deportment is so mild and amiable, that there could not exist any reasonable pretence for the harshness and severity exercised towards him. Notwithstanding this, he was apprehended, like a criminal, in the eastern part of Siberia, whither he had penetrated in spite of all obstacles and infirmities, and was hurried back through Russia and Poland, under the surveillance of an officer of police, to Vienna. Even in this latter city he was not permitted to remain, so formidable did this unfortunate and helpless individual appear to the

governments of Russia and Austria."-vol. i. pp. 173-175.

That banishments to Siberia for causes the most trifling, are still practised, the following curious fact, on the truth of which our readers may place the fullest dependence, furnishes a striking and melancholy proof.

"To show that even a joke cannot be uttered with impunity, I will here relate, an anecdote, communicated to me on unquestionable authority. In 1823, at a meeting of the Academy of Arts, three ministers were proposed as members; on which the vice-president, a man of considerable talent, and far more of the artist than the courtier, objected to their admission, as being quite unqualified. It was urged, in reply, that they were near the person of the Emperor, and might be of use to the institution. In some desultory conversation after the meeting had broken up, the vice-president, animadverting on the ineligibility of those who had been nominated, said that the Academy might as well have elected the Emperor's coachman, as he too was near his person, and quite as much an artist as the individuals in question. This pleasantry did not fail to reach the ears of Miloradovich, and the unfortunate wit was summoned before him, and asked whether he really uttered the remark imputed to him. Disdaining to have recourse to any subterfuge, he replied that he had, but quite jocosely, and without in the least intending to reflect on those to whom it was applied. This, however, availed nothing: he was ordered to quit St. Petersburgh in four-and-twenty hours, and proceed to enjoy the cool air of Siberia, as being best adapted to persons of his lively temperament. It is suspected, however, that no notice would have been taken of what had passed had it not been for the president, who was jealous of his talents, and availed himself of this opportunity to get him expelled from the institution."-vol. ii. pp. 139, 140. (Note.)

We shall only add, that this took place in one of the last years of the reign of Alexander, and that the learned counsellor of state who was thus punished for an honest attempt to preserve the purity and dignity of the institution over which he presided, soon died of a broken heart in the land of his exile.

But we must now lay before our readers an extract or two from the work of Dr. Granville, containing a description of some of those objects respecting which he can have laboured under no mistake. The following panoramic view of the city, obtained from the elevated tower of the Admiralty, will give them some idea of the spirited manner of the work.

"A few days after our arrival, the Count requested one of his aids-de-camps, the Prince Herheoulidzeff, a Circassian nobleman, whose amiable disposition and refined manners have won him the affections of a large circle of friends, to accompany a medical friend and myself to see the interior of the Admiralty. The elevated tower of this building offers an excellent opportunity of taking a periscopic bird's eye view of the city; we at the same time ascended to the external gallery placed around the lantern, which, surmounting the dome, serves as a base to the beautiful and richly gilt spire that rises from this point,

eighty-five feet high. In this situation, we found ourselves at an elevation of one hundred and forty-five feet above the level of the Neva; and never did a more magnificent spectacle greet the eye of an inquiring traveller, than burst upon us, when we stepped out on the circular balcony. The day was one of the finest seen in this climate. An uninterrupted sunshine lighted up every part of the surrounding panorama, and there was a transparency in the atmosphere which made every object still more conspicuous.

The Byzantine bulbous cupolas distinguish those dedicated to the Greco-Russian communion from the other churches. One of the principal ornaments of this modern Palmyra are indeed its churches. Seen from an eminence, the Greek churches appear, both far and near, with an imposing aspect, alike removed from the masterpieces of Gothic architecture and the modern temples. Five domes, the central one of which is higher than the others, and of larger proportions, in many instances gilt with profusion, would remind one of the mosques of Constantinople, but that the Greek Cross towers here in proud triumph over the Ottoman Crescent. We were struck with the fine appearance of the several military barracks, and the riding-house adjoining those which belong to the several cavalry regiments of Guards stationed in the capital. The uniform beauty of these buildings, most of which have been erected by eminent architects, is very remarkable. The squares and gardens, seen to interrupt the monotony of large masses of dwellings and streets, form at the same time a

"The first impression received on looking around, when hundreds of fine palaces, colonnades, statues, and towering spires, with not a few specimens of the pure Grecian style of building, attract the attention, would lead one to imagine oneself suddenly transported to a newly erected city of Greece, in the time of Pericles. But when we connected those different objects with the long, straight, and wide streets, flanked with houses of various but generally handsome designs-when we marked the bustle of the multitude-the great and motley variety of costumes, most of them pic-number of important openings in the great map turesque-the bizarrerie of the different vehioles that glided before us, some training silently along the handsome area that lay immediately below us, intersecting each other in a thousand directions; others rapidly coursing on low wheels with horses that are taught antics and gambols in their course-and now and then a stately carriage drawn by four horses, guided by a long bearded coachman, whose waist is compressed by a silken sash, with a square cap of crimson velvet placed diagonally on his head, and who was heard urging the distant leaders under the control of a little urchin ; we were recalled in our imagination to present times and to reality, and we surveyed with admiration this youngest of the European capitals, and the capital of the largest empire in Europe.

"The prevalence of the light and soft tints with which most of the public buildings are painted, give to the city a gay and refreshing aspect. Immediately in front of us three noble streets, diverging like rays from a centre, penetrate into the heart of the city, and open to the view the façades of churches and palaces without number, and present lines of dwellinghouses of the first magnitude. These are mostly built of stone, or are of brick stuccoed over. Timber houses are only perceived in a few of the distant suburbs of the Litteinof, and Narfskol districts, or in the more remote parts of the Vassiliefskor and Peterbourskor Islands. Although higher than the houses in London, those of St. Petersburgh have seldom more than two stories, the elevation of each of which is consequently considerable. These are frequently ornamented with handsome balconies, and light balustrades surround the flat roofs, which are generally covered with sheet iron, painted green or red. Columns are profusely introduced; but their application is mostly confined to the principal story, being seldom employed for the construction of porticoes before the principal entrance.

"The number of spires, domes, and towers, with which the general map of the city is interspersed, give to the whole a pleasing variety.

of the city, on which the eye dwells with pleasure. We particularly noticed, on the eastern side of our station, and on the bank of the Moika, the Imperial Mews, with the church belonging to it, one of the most superb specimens of architecture existing in St. Petersburgh: its running portico, of the order of Pestum, is unequalled in beauty. The summer-gardens, and the Castle of St. Michael near them, the pleasure-grounds belonging to the recently finished and magnificent palace of the Grand Duke Michael, are likewise seen grouped on this spot. The wide Fontanka, with its many granite bridges, marks the boundary of this district, beyond which the view stretches to the old and new Arsenal, to the Taurida palace and its park, and farther still to the splendid convent of Smolno. Turning gently round over the neighbouring scenery, the elevated church of St. Alexander Nevosky with its monastery, cemetery, and cloister, caught our attention; while in the intermediate ground we observed the long line of shops of the Gostinoïdwor, the tower of the Town-hall, the private palace of Anitchkoff, belonging to the Emperor, the se micircular front of the Cathedral of our Lady of Casan, the Bank of Assignats, the handsome building of the Poor's Hospital, and that of the Institute of St. Catharine. Directing our attention to the south-western part of the city, new wonders offered themselves to our view. The colossal pile of marble forming part of the intended new church of St. Isaac, the Palladian structure of the Post-office, the barracks and riding-house of the Gardes à cheval, the great and handsome-portico of the Opera, with the picturesque church of St. Nicholas not far distant from it, successively presented themselves as objects for our admiration. The scene, too, in this direction, is pleasingly varied by the many intersecting canals which meet to mingle their waters with those of the gulf placed at the extreme point of our picture, and forming its distant horizon.

"We left with regret our elevated station, where pleasure and surprise had riveted us for nearly an hour to the contemplation of a living