LETTER XVI.

St. Petersburgh, February, 1806.

AND so you wonder, my dear friend, that I have not yet taken notice of the one subject in which I have always, until this instance, shown so particular an interest. You ask me, what has become of my attachment to the army, that I have not given you any idea of the state of its establishment in Russia! It is just where it was, the firstborn passion in my breast; but, waiting for little more and more information on the subject (which nothing but the return of part of the army from the frontiers could afford me), I have outstaid your patience; and so at present must content myself with quieting your demands by sending merely my first sketch of its appearance and uniforms. Much further I cannot yet describe; for, as I said before, the late absence of the military has deprived us, not only of reviews, but of even the usual ceremony of an imperial parade.

The guards are here, with several other regiments; and from my acquaintance with them, I shall be able to send you a few observations on this department of the Russian empire.

The troops which first strike the eye of a stranger on entering St. Petersburgh, are the Cossacs; and certainly more curious objects cannot be imagined. Their persons, air, and appointments, and the animals on which they are mounted, seem so totally at variance, that you can hardly suppose a reason for so unequal a union. The men are robust and fit for service: their horses appear completely the reverse: mean in shape, and slouching in motion, every limb speaks of languor, and every moment you expect to see them drop down dead under their heavy burthen: but so false are these shows, that there is not a more hardy animal existing; it will travel incalculable journeys, and remain exposed to the heat or cold, day and night, without manifesting any sense of inconvenience.

These little rugged beasts never, like our war horses, know the luxury of a snug stable and a well littered bed, nor ever enjoy the comfort of a currycomb or whisp of straw. Their

sustenance is of the most scanty sort; but, in spite of toil and rough fare, they endure all with unabated strength; and are thus, of all animals, the best fitted for a soldier's life. Indeed, when I consider their training, and also that of the Russian soldiers in general, I cannot but prefer the simplicity of their wants to the comparatively luxurious habits of our army. A man who accustoms himself to costly fare, may not be less willing than one of poorer appetites to brave all the privations of a campaign, or the famine of a siege; but he must be less able to bear them, and so be more likely to sink in the conflict. One of the first qualifications of a soldier is that of being personally hardy: and wherever we have found the most powerful and popular generals, we see that they accustom themselves to endure every privation which could possibly affect a military life. Gustavus Vasa, and Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, are eminent instances of this; and the great Suwarroff gave not a less meritorious example to the army of Russia.

But to return to the Cossacs. Though now formed into regular regiments, they receive no other pay than the usual allowance for cavalry. The origin of this brave race, who in so many wars have been amongst the best soldiers of the empire, was a restless band of fugitives from Astrakhan, and the provinces of Polish Russia, Podolia, and Volhynia. Having left their native soil, they wandered towards the banks of the Boristhenes, where they took possession of several small islands, subsisting themselves by ravages, piracies, and plunder. From this double mode of depredation they soon became formidable to the Turks on the Black Sea. Their maritime adventures, and enterprises on land, formed them into excellent seamen as well as soldiers; and their nearest neighbours regarded them with jealousy and dread.

Stephen Batori, king of Poland, aware of their growing consequence, had the address to attach them to his interests; and, to induce them to serve in his armies, gave them lands and many privileges in the Ukraine, guaranteed to them the right of being governed by their own chief, and put them in possession of the strong fort of Tretimiroff on the Boristhenes. The succeeding princes of Poland were not so prudent as

Batori; and, attempting to entirely subjugate their hardy allies, a sharp contention arose between them; and the Cossacs, overwhelmed by the numbers and discipline of their treacherous friends, emigrated in vast numbers to a tract of country on the banks of the Don and Volga. Others went to the borders of the Caspian Sea, and seizing the town of Azoph, established themselves in great strength. But the Poles continuing to harass them, they applied to the Muscovites for succour; and since then have been most firmly attached to the nation.

They are distinguished by the names of Donski and Ukraine Cossacs; and the Tzar Peter, finding them so valuable an acquisition, allowed them, unrestricted, their usual government, which is a sort of military democracy. Their chief is called the Hetman, and is elected in a general meeting of the heads of the people, leaving the confirmation of his dignity to the sovereign of Muscovy. The office is for life. Every town has its governor, also called a Hetman, who is chosen annually, and is accountable to the grand Hetman. The Tzar awarded to the Cossacs his protection in retaining to them the enjoyment of their ancient laws and privileges, without paying any tribute to him, provided they would always hold themselves in readiness to appear in arms at their own expense, whenever he should deem it necessary to require their services. I am told that their usual power is 16,000 men, which they can bring into the field any day that is demanded of them by the

emperor.

Their riches consist in cattle and horses. Their habitations are clean, and their diet chiefly fish, flesh, and fruits, cooked in the plainest way. The men are very tall, well proportioned, and greatly differ in the character of their heads from those of their neighbours. They are hardy, brave, active, and lively; but, like most uncultivated nations, few of them have any idea of the refinements of honour. Their dialect is a mixture of Polish and Russ. When they first accepted the protection of Poland they were pagans; but they now profess the christian religion as it is established in Russia.

Their dress is military and useful; consisting of a close dark

blue jacket, and very large full trowsers, under which they wear drawers and boots. Their head is covered with a high black cap of sheepskin: a red bag hangs from its top ornamented with a chain of white worsted lace and tassals: a red stripe, rather broad, runs along the outside of the trowsers, as well as a cord of the same colour round the cape and sleeves. A single row of buttons closes the jacket at the breast. A broad leather belt, containing cartridges, and to which is sus pended a light sabre, confines their waists. Their principal weapons are a piķe about eight feet long, and a pair of pistols. A black belt crosses their left shoulder, to which is attached a sort of tin cartouch box, holding ammunition, and surmounted with a ramrod. An uncouth saddle is bound on the horse, somewhat like a doubled pillow, under which is a square piece of oil cloth painted in various colours. The horses are so small that they are mere ponies: their tales and manes are long, ragged, and in many cases clotted with dirt. Some of the men wear mustachios, and some dispense with that fierce appendage. Such is the dress of one order of the Cossacs. I saw another regiment, clothed in red, of much the same fashion, only their caps run up to a greater height, and are of red velvet. Besides the usual arms, they have the additional one of a musket. A sort of shirt, reaching to their knees, is the only material difference in their habit from that of the blue Cossacs.

There is another nation, called Bashkeers, in the Russian service. They are the remains of the old Tschalmates, a people who dwelt anciently on the Kama, and united themselves with the Tartarian hordes. The Tartars, indeed, call them Baschkort (hence Bashkeer), that is Wolf, from their dexterity in plundering. I send you drawings of these people. Their countenances are exceedingly picturesque, being of a strong character, burnt with the sun, and wearing long beards in all the rudeness of uncultivated nature.

This order of soldiery, in which there is a great variety, is generally used in the Russian army in foraging parties, pursuits, patroles, videttes, or scouts; its discipline not being organized on the regular cavalry system.

The Russian army, taken in general, was under no improved

military establishment until the reign of Peter the Great, although some particular regiments, in the time of Michael Romanoff, were disciplined according to the German manner. For the better teaching of his own, he had also several thousand soldiers from the banks of the Rhine, both infantry and cavalry. His native troops were exercised and commanded by French, German, and Scotch officers; and thus he made foreign nations teach his the art of war. The Tzar Michaelovitz, the father of Peter the Great, pursued the same plan; but while he invited experienced soldiers from every country, he strictly forbad the adoption of their manners with their tactics, for fear that by such a change the established faith might be shaken. The completion of the organized state of the Russian military system was left, like almost every great achievement of the empire, to the divine genius of Peter. You are too well acquainted with his life to require me to say more on the subject; but certainly his mind was the sun from which alone has irradiated every science that now blesses this country.

He disciplined the whole of the army in the German style, officering it with foreign officers of noted experience and renown. His friend and preceptor Le Fort, showed him what would be his future greatness by fulfilling such a design; and awakening the generous enthusiasm of his nature, every suggestion that promised the future welfare of the country was adopted with promptitude and zeal. By his advice the emperor formed the young nobility of Mosco into two regiments in order to teach them the exercise which he afterwards extended throughout his whole army. These were the foundation of the guards, now known by the name of Preobrajenski and Simenouski, and who took the place of the ancient Tzarish guards; a body of men resembling in power the Janissaries of Turkey; and that they did not exercise it with less wantonness, the bloody acts on record too horribly proclaim. It was in the year 1690 that this new military system, now so gigantic, received its birth. Before a few years had elapsed, this great monarch had regularly clothed, disciplined, and appointed pay for a vast army. In 1711, it consisted of fifty-one regiments of infantry; thirty-nine of cavalry, and grenadiers and bombar