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saw her mourning weeds, by love's talisman changed into nuptial roses. She is now living and happy! So, dear friend, ends my dismal story. And that all dismal stories of which you and I, unluckily for ourselves, know so much, may terminate as comfortingly as the sorrows of this

- lady, is most devoutly wished by your faithful, &c. &c.

LETTER XXI.

Mosco, May, 1806.

【HAVE just returned from a delightful walk on the terrace of the Kremlin. In a former letter I spoke of the wide and magnificent prospect from the tower of the great church: this which I now enjoyed in strolling along the brow of the hill that fronts the palace, and which borders the river, commands a home view of most interesting particulars.

The granite quay stretches to a vast length at the base of the fortress: the Moskva, forested with vessels from the Volga, and other rivers of the interior: the foundling hospital, the various palaces of the nobility, as well as the gilding and many coloured domes of several hundred churches, extend themselves, till the horizon and its woods seem to unite the city with the sky. The fore-ground is formed of the religious buildings; and the ancient wall of the Kremlin, whose eastern battlements give a striking air of romantic grandeur to the whole. The large scale on which the enfans trouvées presents itself, fully conveys the nobleness of its plan, being, perhaps, the best endowed charity in Europe. A few months ago I wrote largely to you on the subject of this institution; or rather on one of its scions at St. Petersburgh, which in every respect resembles its parent tree, excepting in the solidity of its foundation,

The hospital at St. Petersburgh is almost entirely dependent on the

voluntary support of its august patroness; but this at Mosco has other sources whence it draws the wealth that maintains it. One mean, amongst many others, of filling its treasury, arises from lending money upon property, the borrower paying a certain interest, rather more than five per cent. I should suppose; as the hospital itself takes up money at that interest for the purpose of lending it again. The borrower giving security on his goods, or property of any sort, subjects himself to its seizure and sale by public auction, should he make any default in paying the interest on the appointed day. If the sum arising from the sale be less than sufficient to reimburse the hospital, the defalcation bears further interest till the debtor can pay it all off. But should the receipts be more than the debt, the overplus is given to the late owner of the goods. In the case of his absence, which often happens under these circumstances of misfortune, the hospital retains the money now as his debtor, crediting it with interest, and ready to refund, should the owner reclaim it within a certain day. If he do not, it then becomes for ever the property of the hospital. I have attended several of these auctions, and have seen pearls, diamonds, cambrics, and many other valuable articles, sold at the usual varied prices of those capricious meetings.

The hospital admitted one thousand infants last year; one fourth of which number died; a common average of its mortality, as the wretched parents seldom resign their offspring to this asylum until either sickness or want compels them.

But to return to the citadel. The walls and towers which encircle this spot, are further extended over that part of the city which is called the Tartar Town. The Emperor Paul caused many earthen works.

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palisades, bastions, and ravelins, to be thrown up in front of that district; but they are all of little consequence, and I verily believe that independent of a few pieces of ordnance of very large calibre, not a single garrison cannon is to be found in all the fortifications. Those belonging to the regiments in barracks are not considered as attached to the city.

The Kremlin has a daily guard of between five or six hundred men. I went with the Governor-general to see the parade, and found the troops to consist of a very fine body of men, recruits, but far from novices in their art. They are so well and rapidly disciplined by means of the cane, that the change from a clumsy blundering boor, to that of a neat active soldier, is generally as instantaneous as that from one of his native winters to all the beauties of spring. He is brought up from his derrevna or village, with his beard and hair in the trim of nature; clad in sheep-skins, linden shoes, and walking with all the trudging awkwardness of unrestrained habit. A very short period changes his aspect entirely. His beard is sheared off, his hair bound into a regular queue ; and by way of making it grow in a more martial form, it is shaven from the forehead over the ears and half-way from the back part of the head. A regimental great-coat is put upon his person: he is booted, and set upright on his legs, at his peril not to lose his position. Thus then is he metamorphosed, and ere long has all the air of a soldier, completely getting rid of every relic of what he once had been. The custom of shaving the head answers two purposes; to put their hair in training, and to prevent desertion, this mark making discovery so certain, that few, if any, ever dare run the risk. Their mode of drill differs little from ours, as we both copied from the same model, the Prussian discipline. They are heavier than our men in taking rapid positions; but for steadiness and mechanical movements, none can exceed them.

Some little time ago the famous Princess Dashcoff did me the honour to have a few auxiliary regiments reviewed before me; and I must acknowledge I never saw a more martial sight. Their picturesque uniforms, the dexterity of their evolutions, their war cries, and above all, the interest excited by the illustrious heroine who gave the word of command, produced sensations and thoughts truly gratifying. I found myself present with one of the most celebrated women in history, the friend of Catherine the Great! I looked on her as one who had devoted her youth, that season of pleasure, to a patriotic zeal for her country. For this, her charms were concealed under a helmet, and her beautiful bosom braced in steel; for this she encountered personal danger, obloquy, and dared every sacrifice that was in the power of a young and lovely and high-born female to make! I contemplated her now timemarked figure with admiring wonder, and received with grateful veneration the attentions with which she honoured me. These are the characters, to see whom we would travel from land to land. They are the really great, the objects truly interesting, the subjects on which my pen delights to dwell. That I have known many of them, and been esteemed by some, is a distinction so ennobling, that I defy any man of common feeling to be capable of doing an unworthy action when he finds his honour guaranteed by the respect of those "whom all men are proud

to honour!"

The situation of Mosco is well worthy of such illustrious residents. It possesses many natural beauties. On the banks of the two fine rivers which encompass its circles, there are walks to suit all tastes, whether you wish to mingle with the gay crowd, or to steal alone into the romantic recesses of the woods

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