13 SEPTEMBER 1828, Page 11

LITERARY SPECTATOR.

DR. GRANVILLE'S work, entitled St. Petersburgh *, belongs to a genus of books of travels at the present day of rare occurrence. Modern travellers sketch external appearances of country, report anecdotes of character, and reflect upon the entertainment at hotels. Half a century ago, the book of travels described build- ings and public institutions, entered into statistical and antiquarian inquiries, and, with a view to serve as a guide to travellers, dwelt upon prices, police regulations, and the various methods of tra- velling, without indulging in either philosophical conjectures or satirical disquisitions. This is the plan of St. Petersburgh—itis a great guide-book. Its characteristic is its abundance of facts. The author is evidently an active and a methodical person : he spares no pains in making inquiries, and flinches from no labour in recording them. His note-book is always in his hand ; and,

prepared with all the contrivances for recording, methodizing, and condensing his information, it is not surprising that in four

months absence he should produce two stupendous volumes of intelligence. Dr. GRANVILLE is a tabular character, and a great lover of results. He prepares various columns, properly headed for the reception of his information, and arranges them in paral- lels for mutual illustration. He, we have no doubt, keeps. a debtor and creditor account of the facts received and disbursed, and every night posts the intellectual transactions of the day with the regularity of a merchant. These volumes are only a part of his ledger for one year. It is impossible to follow a collector of this kind without gathering instruction : we shall follow in his steps, in the hope of gathering some of the crumbs from his bountiful table.

First of all, we must recommend to the consideration of in- valids, the Doctor's praise of Dover. It is, in his opinion, the most favoured spot for the dyspeptic and other valetudinarians on the whole coast, although we look in vain for the mention of its name in Dr. HARWOOD'S book on the Curative Influence of the

Southern Coast. Dr. GRANVILLE'S testimony should have weight, when it is remembered that he does not reside in any of the Cinque ports. The transit from Dover to Calais affords an opportunity of trying a remedy for sea-sickness, which is found to answer in a remarkable manner. Forty-five drops of laudanum, administered just before embarkation, saved the Countess of Woronzow from this torturing malady, although on all pre- vious occasions she had suffered from it grievously. We conjec- ture that henceforward Dover will export to Calais an innume- rable quantity of ounces of tinctura opii. In Ostend, whither the Doctor proceeds with his party from Calais, he finds nothing dis- tinctive but the " symbols of curiosity"—the mirrors placed at the side of every window to indicate the movements of the passen- gers, without giving the inhabitants the trouble of looking out of it. The author traces this custom to the occupation of Flanders by the Spaniards, " with whom the Moorish jealousy of husbands and fathers ever travelled, which kept the fair sex not only within doors, but within window-blinds:' Unluckily for the Doctor's supposition, the mirrors are as common in Switzerland, and in parts of Germany never under Moorish sway, as in Ostend or Bruges. At Ghent we have an extremely interesting account of a central house of correction, which seems to be erected and arranged very much after the Panopticon system of BE:Nal-1Am. The Doctor, however, in the fault he finds with the regulation which submits all persons who have committed offences to soli- tary confinement and continual employment, on the ground that it is unjust to the lesser culprits, shows that he is neither a very accurate reasoner nor one much accustomed to consider questions of jurisprudence ; we take him indeed, in general, to be a better collector of facts than a logician. At Brussels, the Doctor en- counters CAPO ; and in the praise of this distinguished person he is warm and eloquent. The Count was travelling in the diligence to take possession of the government of Greece, carrying with him nearly the whole of his private fortune, as a present to the impoverished coffers of his native country. He refused all offers of better accommodation on the road ; and, as a further proof of sturdy independence, had resigned all the pensions and posts he held from foreign countries. In a route to the North by Frankfort, so hackneyed as it has been by travellers, much novelty is not to be expected. We hear of the population of the Netherlands, that it is on the increase—one person is born for every 39 ; one person dies for every 28. It is singular that a scale of the deaths varies in an inverse ratio with the thermometer ; that is, as the heat increases, and the spring and summer advance, the num- ber of deaths gradually and in the same proportion declines. At Co- logne, we may remark an example of the Doctors partial knowledge of history : he speaks of Mary de Medicis, who died at Cologne, as the " widow of Henry IV., and the mother of Louis XIII., who had been driven thither from France by the intrigues of a profligate cardinal." If he had said, that here died one of the most intriguing women that ever lived, who was driven from the country of her hus- band and son by her own ungovernable appetite for meddling, since, While she remained in it, it was impossible to govern in quiet, he would have been much nearer the truth. The Doctor knows more of chemistry, we believe, than of history ; at any rate we can detect * St. Petersburgh. A Journal of Travel.: to and from that Capital; through Flanders, the Rhenish Provinces, Prussia, Russia, Poland, Silesia, Saxony, the Federated States of Germany, and France. By A.B. Granville, M.D.; F.R.S.; F.L.S.; F.G.8 ; and M.R.A.S., &c., &c., &c., &c. 2 vols. tivo. London, 1828, Coiburn. no error in his receipt to compound eau de Cologne. The author has moreover discovered, that there are three Farina* in Cologne, whose water is in a descending ratio of goodness. The genuine Farina lives opposite the poste aux lettres : he and his confreres sell annually in Cologne 38,000 bottles of the eau. But we are wasting time at the threshold : we must pass over all the inter- mediate space—Frankfort, Dresden, Berlin, Kiinigsberg, and Riga, and enter the " city of palaces" with the author. This is in reality the subject of his book, and that in which he is most copious and well-informed, amusing and novel. His ambition indeed is, that in future his book may be taken as the Petersburgh Guide. It is certainly something to be useful, but we really think the Doctor without vanity might have pretended to higher fame. His account of this great city is extremely lively and interesting, as well as mi- nute and particular. We may quote, by way of example, his account of the carriages and coachmen of St. Petersburgh, the inhabitants of which capital are beyond doubt the most vehicular people in the world.

" The Russians display great magnificence in their equipages. They have excellent horses, and the manufacture of carriages at St. Peters- burgh has been greatly improved of Into years. I know not on what data the calculation is founded, but the number of vehicles of all sorts used in the capital has been estimated at nearly 50,000.

" Persons of all ranks and stations in society keep sonic kind of car- riage, either for pleasure or business; but as it is inure common to hire the horses, few of the better sort arc to be seen about the town except on gala-days. A close carriage is more commonly the distinguishing mark of superior rank or wealth. These are drawn by four horses, the leaders being placed at such a distance from the wheelers, that in the intervening space, another horse might be harnessed. The off-leader is ridden by a boyish postilion, and the wheelers are driven by a coachman, mounted on a box or dickey, much in the manner of other Continental nations. The form and ornaments of time carriage resemble very closely some of the best Parisian carriages. Now and then one of real English manufacture makes its appearance, and shows how infinitely superior the art of coach making is in England. It is said, however, that the varnish of Russian carriages is an improvement upon that of the English ; but nei- ther their durability nor elegance of form is equal to the latter. Although they manufacture carriages in St. Petersburgh in all their parts, from the simplest screw to the finest varnish, and the coach-makers' trade is in a very flourishing condition, I have been told that almost all the springs, particularly for the lighter species of vehicles used in St. Petersburgh, are made in this country.

" The duty on English and all foreign carriages imported is very con.. siderable ; yet the rich and the noble will prefer to pay a larger sum for a foreign carriage, rather than to have one of home manufacture, quite handsome enough, for two, three, or four thousand roubles. This, how- ever, is not so much the case now as before the late French invasion. The costume of a Russian coachman is very picturesque. It consists of a caftan or tunic of line blue, crimson, or green cloth, closely drawn over the chest, reaching only as high as the lower part of the neck, which is generally left uncovered, and either buttoned down the middle, with small round-headed gold buttons, or the two front plaits laid one over the other obliquely, clasped at the upper part with a gold clasp, and as low down as the loins, where it expands in folds, which are gathered together by a rich silk waistband, called a Kfinsioth. The tunic reaches to the middle of the leg. The sleeves arc tight, and at the wrist have a vertical row of gold buttons. Wide trousers generally of the same, or of sonic fancy colour, with boots, complete the dress. The head in summer is covered with a round hat, low in the crown, and with a wide brim, which is curled up side-ways. The upper part of the crown is very large, and the lower part surrounded by a wide band of velvet, buckled in front with a gold buckle. In winter, the head-dress is different. Instead of a hat, an expanding four-cornered turban, very high, and mostly of rich crim- son velvet, with a gold band and a rim of fur, is generally worn. of .l) complete the picture, this important personage wears a bushy beard, which he is exceedingly careful, and his hair is cut square all round level with the eyebrows. The postilion's dress is uniform with that of the coachman. This handsome livery costs about four or five times as much as an ordinary European livery, and is the only part of the native cos- tume which the great preserve among their servants; for, with regard to the footmen, their dress is much the same as that of the same class of Parisian or London domestics. Even foreign ministers at St. Petersburgh seem to prefer the national costume for their coachmen, who are of course natives of the country. I observed a few carriages driven by a coachman in an ordinary livery and cocked hat, and on the other hand some few equipages had a footman behind in the national costume. The Russian coachmen have the reputation of being excellent drivers : I can- not say whips, for they seldom use that weapon, which, instead of being held up in a menacing attitude, is suffered to hang indolently by the side of the box, suspended by a loop passed through the little finger of the right hand. Another distinction between a Russian and an English coach:nail, consists in the manner of holding the reins with both hands considerably apart, and with the palm turned upwards. The harness is as peculiar as the dress of the driver. Its various parts arc made of Darrow and flat twists of leather, fully ornamented with yellow or copper- coloured brass, or plated. The length of the traces, one would feel inclined to suppose, must give rise to great inconvenience, if not to acci- dents ; but such is not the case, owing, no doubt, to the great width of the streets. Yet I have seen them frequently entangled between the feet of the leaders, when suddenly checked by the crossing of another car- riage, or any other impediment, particularly in turning a corner. The horses, however, are accustomed to such contrelems, quickly arrange themselves de flora, under the directing voice of the coachman and pLm- tilion, and the thing proceeds excellently well. It would, indeed, puzzle a London coachman to get up to the door of one of the mansions of the great, dining a grand rout, where probably from four to six hundred car- riages and four arrive, and ninny of them remain in waiting. Yet all this is done very cleverly, and with no accidents from poles struck through the back of preceding carriages, which are protected by the intervening leaders, as well as by the regulations and presence of the police. But whether an altelqgc of four horses be inconvenient or not, few would like to drive up to the gate of a great house to a party in a carriage and pair. Very little respect is paid to such an equipage on those occasions ; and a person often prefers going with four miserable-looking jades, tackled to a handsome carriage, rather than be seen in a modest equipage drawn by a pair only, however due and showy the horses may he.

" In some of the fashionable parts of St. Petersburgh, and particularly on Sundays and gala-days, even some of the coachmen of hired carriages

are dressed in the handsome costume just described; and I have witnessed no little dandyism among them. ' " Of late years, cabriolets, and English stanhopes and tilburys, have been introduced into St. Petersburgh ; but the real national carriage for the town is the Droshky. A glance at the sketch here annexed will con- vey at once a proper idea of this curious and light vehicle, and the man- ner in which it is drawn, either by one or two horses.

" There are single and double Droshkyes : in the former, one person only rides astride, and the coachman either sits in front or on the off- side. There is, however, room enough, between, for a third person to sit sideways ; but his situation is not a very enviable one. In the double- droshky two persons sit abreast, fronting the horses. There is a circular low back attached to the carriage to support them. Although the body of the Droshky is suspended on four springs, and is placed on low wheels, the jolting is excessive, and the noise over the stones very considerable."

The preparation of a house against the winter, and the method of managing the heating of the apartments, give us a familiar view of Russian comfort.

" As many of the more serious disorders which prevail in St. Peters. burgh are the effect of severe atmospherical cold, it is important to guard the system against its influence even before the approach of winter. A Russian is so aware of the necessity of this, that he seldom waits later than the month of September before he prepares himself and his house for winter-quarters. " The precautions adopted in-doors consist in having double windows put up, an extra door at the principal entrance into the apartments, and n heating the stove or petch. " There is a little art required in putting up the double windows. In the first place, a very dry day must be selected for the purpose; and next, care is to be taken that the first window is perfectly dry in all its parts. When these precautions have been neglected, the heat of the room has converted what remained of moisture between the two windows into vapour, which dulls the glasses and penetrates through the crevices into the room. With a view to avoid as much of this effect as possible, a layer of very dry sand is placed at the bottom, between the two windows, in order to absorb every particle of moisture ; and some push their pre- cision so far as to put powdered kitchen salt over the sand to render that absorption still more certain. It becomes at the same time an hygrome- trical means of ascertaining the moist or dry state of the external atmosphere. Both windows, but in some cases only the inner one, are caulked with tow all round and down the middle, and papered over. One of the panes of glass at the lower part of both windows is framed and hinged in such a manner as to admit of its being open for the purpose of letting in external air whenever required. The extra door at the entrance of the apartment, is thickly wadded and covered all over with roilock, a species of cloth made of long hair, which, by its making the door shut very exactly, precludes the possibility of any current of air coming in that way.

" A Russian petch or stove is one of the greatest luxuries of civilized life that can be found in cold climates. It is, by far, a more rational and effectual mode of warming a house, than either the coal-grate of England, the blazineb hearth of France, or the iron-stove of Germany. It supplies the best substitute for the genial warmth of summer within doors—and affords an equal degree of heat, so universally spread in every part of the room, that when the external air has been at twenty degrees of Fahren- heit, I have gladly remained, without any other than the lightest dressing- gown, in my room, taking my station, indifferently, in any part of it, far from the stove, and frequently near a window, without any other than the most pleasing sensation of an equal warmth. This same sensation is experienced at night, the heat of the stove continuing unabated,—so much so, that there is no need of a blanket or any heavy clothing on the bed. Indeed, I found that many of the inhabitants habitually slept with a single sheet throughout the winter, the temperature of the room at night being from sixty-three to sixty-six degrees of Fahrenheit. Such an inner temperature would not be sufficient to allow of a similar prac- tice in London, where there are draughts of wind in every corner and in the vicinity of every window ; but in St. Petersburgh there are no such intruders, and the temperature above quoted is quite sufficient and comfortable. During the five weeks I resided in the apartments allotted to me in Count Woronzow's house, my indoor thermometer did not vary once, more than half a degree from sixty-four degrees, in any part of the rooms, except for the three days when the stove had not been lighted.

" A Russian petch forms a principal, and by no means an unsightly appendage to every room. When ornamented, as they are in the great houses, or erected with architectural taste, they are an important embel- lishment to a spacious apartment. If there is a suite of rooms, the stove is placed in the centre of the wall which separates two rooms ; or, where the centre is occupied by a door, between the latter and the side wall, so as to warm both rooms. In some houses the stove occupies a corner of the receiving-room farthest from the windows; and in that case, a cor- responding stove occupies the other angle. One of these has a French chimney at the lower part, in which billets and faggots are burnt, as in France. In many of the more modern houses of the rich and the nobles, the latter practice has been lately much adopted. The stoves are built of stone or brick, cased with white porcelain ; they are of considerable dimensions, and rise to the top of the room, thus presenting a very extensive radiatins.b surface. The internal structure is very simple. It consists of a fire-chamber, in which the wood is burnt. This occupies, of course, the lower part, and extends from one front of the stove to the other. It is a foot and a half wide, and two feet high, and is closed by a single iron door. A system of tubes leads from this chamber, one of which, when open, serves to carry off the smoke and soot of the burning wood, while the others receive and carry heated air all round the interior of the stove, after the combustion is completed, and the former tube closed. The air in these tubes communicates with the air in the room, by means of a small door or ventilator at the upper part of the stove.

" The management of such a stove is as simple as possible, and is con- fided to a particular servant, who is at the same time the porter of the house, and is called the dvornick. He begins his operations as early as six o'clock, and dispatches the whole business in a few minutes. If the stove be of the usual size, that is, large, and a sufficient quantity of wood is burnt in it, there is seldom occasion to light it more than once in forty-eight hours. The dvornick begins by cleaning out the fire-cham- ber; he then puts in a few small pieces of strongly resinous wood, which he lights and covers immediately with a superstructure of billets of elm wood, about fourteen in number, two feet and one-third in length, and three inches thick. These take fire immediately, and burn with great vehemence while the door of the fire-chamber is half closed, and the upper one quite shut. The whole of the wood is burnt generally in five or six minutes, when the hot cinders are raked and equally spread, in order that all the charcoal may continue to burn until it is reduced to ashes, during which part of the combustion, the lower door is still left half closed. In ten minutes more the combustion is complete; the lower door is closed entirely, and the upper one open partially or entirely, according as the room seems to require more or less warmth. I remarked on one particular occasion, in which my room had been suffered to get as low as forty-two degrees, because the stove had not been lighted for three days, that the temperature gradually rose from that to fifty-six degrees during the time that the dvornick was busy in heating the stove, and that before I had done dressing the warmth had uniformly spread all over the rooms, and the thermometer had risen to sixty-four degrees. Nor is this very delightful species of internal atmosphere pur- chased at a very expensive rate ; for the quantity of wood burnt each time that the stove is lighted, amounts, as I before observed, to no more than fourteen billets. The billet of wood measures an archine in length, or two feet and one-third English. A pile of these, seven feet in length and three-quarters of an archine deep, and containing, therefore, ninety- eight billets, which are sufficient to heat the stove for seven days, costs from seven to ten roubles, or from 5s. hid. to 8s. 4d. ; consequently, sup.. posing the stove to be heated daily, the expense for fuel would amount sometimes to a little more, sometimes to a little less, than one shilling each time, or from twelve to eighteen guineas a year."

The testimony of Dr. GRANVILLE is decidedly favourable to Petersburgh and the Russians : we almost wish his report was somewhat less laudatory—it would be more satisfactory. The reigning Emperor and his family are models of every kind of royal virtue ; the nobility are enlightened and incorruptible ; the ladies are beautiful and accomplished ; the learned men are very learned ; and indeed all but medicine and medicals is divine. We do not remember a hint of a fault, from the prince to the driver of the kibitka. Inclined as we are to believe that the forcing of civilization carried on at St. Petersburgh has been carried on with talent and decorum, still we have no doubt that this highly-coloured picture of the state of Russian society has been much influenced by the fact that Dr. GRANVILLE was well received, made much of, and good- naturedly flattered. Dr. CLARKE wrote in an ill-humour, Dr. GRANVILLE writes in a good one : so much for reports of society. The pictures of Russian life which the Doctor has drawn are cer- tainly agreeable as pictures, but, for the reasons to be inferred, we prefer him in his capacity of a reporter of facts to a painter of man- ners. His accounts of institutions are valuable ; but his facts respect- ing Russian literature, the state of medicine, and the markets, with the prices of provisions and necessaries in St. Petersburgh, strike us as being peculiarly so. Few men would have pursued their inquiries under similar circumstances with so much zeal : Dr. GRANVILLE pushed his person into every crowd, his fingers into every basket, and, as he says himself, played the Paul Pry of St. Petersburgh to the life. The market people laughed at his curiosity ; and one day, the aid-de-camp of the Emperor, struck by his eager visage, singled' him out of a crowd to ask if he had any petition to present to his master. The chapter on prices is very curious, and proves the extreme plenty and abundance of provisions of all kinds in this ca- pital. The preserving power of frost enables the purveyors to carry eatables from one side of Europe to the other in a state of perfect soundness ; and an inhabitant of Petersburg, who has an ice-house, may lay in his game, poultry, fish, and meat, at the com- mencement of winter, by the cart-load, just as we lay in coals in London. The most precious peculiarity of Petersburgh is the water of the Neva ; which Dr. GRANVILLE commends as the best, purest, most grateful, most healthy, most delightful, and really national beverage of the inhabitants of St. Petersburgh. " Oh he exclaims, " commend me to the water of that river for quench- ing thirst, pleasing the palate, and assisting digestion ! Mal- vern water must yield the palm to it ; and so, I take it, must every other water in the world. According to the best analysis made of this real nectar, (the thing I regret most at St. Petersburgh,) it would appear that in fifty pints of it, taken up in the centre of the town, only four grains of calcareous earth and five grains of vege- table extract were found to be present. 0 felices ninzium, those who can enjoy such a luxury con amore, and are two thousand miles from the Dolphin and the Chelsea water-courses!" But we can no longer dwell on these particulars ; and must close our re- marks with Dr. GRANVILLE'S report of his presentation to the Em- press Mother; which is curious as shewing the interest that personage takes in public institutions. The late and the present Czars appear to be much indebted to her both for their useful tastes and mild character.

"On quitting the presence chamber, Count Stanislaus Potocki, the Grand Master of the Ceremonies, preceded by the Fourriers de la Cour, accompanied us to the apartments of her Majesty, the Empress-mother. It had been announced to us by Mr. Disbrowe, that we should be pre- sented to both the Empresses ; but, on leaving the Emperor's apart- ments, we learned with regret that the reigning Empress had that morn- ing become indisposed. The Empress Maria Feodorovna entered her audience-chamber, accompanied by Prince, Dolgorouky, and one or two Dames d'honneur a portrait,' and in the most affable manner imagin- able, addressed first Mr. T—, and then myself, each upon our favourite topics of personal information. In her observations, acuteness of re mark, and that concise and aphoristical style of speaking which is so striking in persons who are masters of the French language, her Majesty reminded me of Madame de Stael, with whom I had been well acquainted during her lifetime, and frequently visited at Paris. She seemed, indeed, to possess all the erudition of that celebrated lady, with directing prin- ciples far different from hers, and a knowledge fully as extensive as had been noticed by Madame de Campan in the' Corntesse du Nord,' thirty- five years before. Her Majesty had been informed- that I had visited with great assiduity all the public establishments in St. Petersburgh, and particularly her own, and said she trusted that I saw reason to be satis- fied with them. She had been made acquainted With the several remarks I had made ; and, with a smile, alluded to the curiosity which, in my character of physician, I had evinced at the college of the ' Demoiselles Nobles,' to see one of their dresses, in consequence of having been struck with what I certainly considered, at the time, to be the-effect of excessive lacing, a uniformly very small waist in all the pupils, which contrasted in a striking manner with the expansion of their bust ; and which, had it been produced by busks and laces. I should certainly have taken the liberty of condemning, as highly injurious to the present and future health of the young ladies. ' Je suis Bien aise qu'on vous ait montre une des leur robes, oil vous devez avoir remarque qu'il n'y avait que des tres petites baleines—et on ne permet aucun corset dessous.' It was thus, indeed, that I found matters on inquiry ; and I could not help, on that occasion, feeling some degree of surprise at the general ap- pearance and figure of the pupils, which was what the French call svelte et bien eambree. But I had afterwards sufficient opportunities of observ- ing that such is the almost natural conformation of all the fair sex among the upper classes of society. Her Majesty, like the Emperor, alluded, but in a more particular manner, to my travail sur les Momies d'Egypte,' and even on this abstruse subject she evinced great informa- tion by her remarks on what I had publicly advanced respecting the con- formation, age, disease, and mode of preparing the mummy I had ex- amined, as well as on the inferences to be derived from those facts.

Pour moi,' said her Majesty, je trouve dans ce sujet quelque chose de touchant, par la consideration du quel on se croit, pour ainsi dire, transports a l'epoque de ce peuple singulier et celebre, de maniere, non seulement a pouvoir consulter les grands monumens qui ont transmis jusqu'a nous leur gloire et leur connoissances; mais h etudier et toucher avec reverence les mains mimes qui les ont eriges! She then with- drew with the usual marks of courtesy, which were acknowledged on our part by a profound bow when we quitted the room. In a few mi- nutes after, however, the Prince Dolgorouky having signified to the Grand Master of the Ceremonies that it was her Majesty's pleasure to confer with me in private, I followed her physician, Dr. Ruhl, into her boudoir, where she was standing by a table, on which lay a book and the implements for embroidery. Her Majesty having apologized for detain- ing me, as she was pleased to observe, and for requesting to see me in her own apartments, proceeded to ask more particularly what impression I had received on visiting her establishments—what was my opinion of their respective utility—and if I thought that any thing more could be devised for the relief of suffering humanity. This address was delivered in that tone of kindness and affability which, while it gives encourage- ment, tends also to excite increased respect for the exalted personage who can use such condescending language. I need not repeat to my readers what I stated on the subject of her Majesty's numerous charitable and other institutions. My sentiments on that point have been suffi- ciently expressed in many of the preceding chapters. I observed to her Majesty, among other things, that I thought an hospital for the specific treatment and alleviation of the diseases of children, was a monument well worthy of the consideration of a princess, who had almost exhausted every other channel of philanthropy in favour of the capital and the nation. Such an establishment appeared as necessary in St. Petersburgh as it was found to be in Paris, Vienna, and London ; since there existed no provision, or very scanty if any, for that important object in St. Petershurgh, except in behalf of the foundlings. Her Majesty seemed struck with the truth of the observation, and immediately adopting the idea, turned to her physician, and said, faut faire cela,' and begged me to develope a little further the idea, with the details and prospective benefit of which her Majesty appeared highly delighted. She requested that, on my return to London, I would send her a plan for such an insti- tution ; and that whenever any new discovery in favour of humanity, or important fact bearing on the several objects of her attention, came to light in England, I would not fail to acquaint her with it. ' Car,' added she, nitre sejour sur le'terre est si court qu'on doit regrettei- le terns perdu sans faire du bien.' Her Majesty next discoursed on the system of female education pursued at the two colleges of St. Catherine and the Demoiselles Nobles. It was impossible, without being guilty of injustice, not to admit that the system, as one of public education, was one of which the most polished nation might well be proud ; but having, throughout my professional career, had in view the importance of physical as well as moral education, I ventured to remark, that a constant residence of nine years, without a total change of air and scene, or in the relations of life and mode of living, were it only for once during that period ; or without passing a certain time at home in the bosom of his families, was calculated to weaken the constitution of the pupils, impede the full developement of their persons, and not improve their general appearance. Her Majesty was pleased to admit, in answer, that the observation was both natural. and plausible ; but that experience had taught them differently, since it was but seldom that any of the inconveniences I had enumerated, had been observed in either of those institutions. The pupils were allowed a great deal of exercise in the large gardens of the establishment, as well as within doors, and were sent out to the country in carriages, once or twice during the summer months. On the other hand, it would be next to im- p3ssible in Russia to follow the plan of sending the young ladies to their homes at stated periods of the year, considering the immense distances which many of them would have to travel in so vast an empire, and the means of conveyance in the most distant governments as vet so imperfect. Besides, the very limited education of some of the parents, and the diffi- culty of keeping an eye over the moral conduct of many of the pupils, while spending their holidays at the distance of two and three thousand versts, presented insurmountable obstacles to the plan of vacations fol- lowed in great seminaries. How could we answer for the character of a young lady, observed the Empress, placed beyond our notice for a month or six weeks in every year, even though she were living with relations during that time 1—relations probably either too indulgent or indifferent, and among whom our pupil might come in contact with strangers, boorish servants, or inconsiderate female acquaintance, and bring back notions which might contaminate the whole flock, or which might give rise to unpleasant observations. Non, Monsieur de Docteur, nos jeunes de- moiselles doivent etre comme le femme de Cesar. On ne doit ni les soupeonner—ni parler d'elles' This apt classical allusion showed the sources of reading of her Majesty. The next topic was the Enfans Trouves, and the merit of that system. Her Majesty agreed that it was, at most, a system of questionable utility, that it failed to produce many of the moral results expected from it, and that it was probably an encourage-

ment to vice. Mais,' added she, ' c'est un etablissement que m'a legue feu mon marl (visibly affected) ; it l'a commis it mes soins, et je me charge de faire scrupuleusernent le plus de hien possible pour ces malheu- reux qui sont deja asses miserables de n'appartenir 3 aucune caste dans la society.' She hoped, however, that whatever degrees of vice it might have encouraged, it would be. found fully compensated by the number of lives which the system was calculated to save and protect. In reply I ad- mitted that if any consideration was calculated to serve as a defence to a system which moral writers concurred in regarding as pernicious, it was doubtless in the manner in which that system was made to work under her Majesty's directions ; and in making this reply, I spoke the genuine sentiments of my conviction on that subject. The Empress asked whether the Foundling; in London was like the 'Pilaus TrouvW at §t• Petersburgh; and upon my replying in the negative, she expressed a wish to know if no endeavours had ever been made to introduce the continental system of foundling hospitals into England. ' An attempt,' I answered, was indeed made in 1757, to obtain a grant of 40,0001. towards establish- ing and supporting a foundling hospital, on the plan of that adopted in several parts of the Continent, and also in the capital of Ireland, by in- troducing a bill to that effect into Parliament, of which bill the celebrated Mr. Wilkes was the reporter. But, independently of the glaring deformity of a system which professed to take care of the fruits of illicit passion, no matter how numerous the mode in which the framers of that bill pro- posed to support such an establishment was too unjust, and appeared too much in the shape of an encouragement to vice, not to be instantly re- jected. The provisions of the bill were such, that not only the whole na- tion was to have been taxed for the support of one particular foundling hospital in London, but also every married man was to contribute to- wards defraying the expenses of maintaining illegitimate and deserted children, by a tax to be paid first on his marriage, next on the birth. of every child, and lastly at the death of each of his children ; thus affording a double excuse for vice, namely, the conviction that its illicit fruits would be taken care of by the nation, and the equal certainty that in fol- lowing the legitimate career of matrimony they would have to pay to the state onerous taxes. By the establishment, and, I understand, most admirable management of a separate capital, now amounting to seven millions of roubles, your Majesty has obviated many of the fatal objections

to such a system.' Et que pensez-vous,' next inquired the Empress, ' de nitre systeme d'education aux deux maisons d'accouchement pour former des sages femmes qui sont tirees elles-mimes de I'Etablissement des Enfans Trouves ?" I am aware,' she added, ' that some persons have objected that the early initiation of those young females into matters of this kind, tends much to deprave their minds ; but this objection I have endeavoured to obviate, by taking care that they shall not leave the house, until by a religious and moral instruction, as well as an appropriate men- tal education and strict examinations, they are supposed to be fortified against temptation' On this subject I begged to assure her Majesty, that my experience of many years spent at the head of two lying-hi institu- tions, where from thirty to forty sage. femmes attended, led me to believe that the constant witnessing of the sufferings attendant on childbed, was sufficient to prevent any ill effects that might be apprehended from familiarizing their minds with the contemplation of such scenes.

" Her Majesty, having, learned that I proposed to visit Moscow, was so condescending as to say that she would give orders to have letters written in my behalf to Prince Gallitzine, the Governor-General, and other high characters, resident in that city, in order that I might enjoy every possi- ble facility ; and en attendant je vous conseille, Monsieur le Docteur, d'achever les visites que vous avez faites Is nos etablissemens par une course a Gatchina, ou se donne la premiere education aux enfanstrouves! To which I assented. Notre bon Ruhl viendra vous chercher dans un equipage de la cons, et comme la distance est trop grande pour retourner en ville le meme jour Plieure du diner, je donnerais les ordres necessaires pour qu'on ait soin de vous.' Her Majesty then accepted the copy of my memoirs on the Art of Embalming, which I had previously obtained per- mission to present to her, and allowed me to take my respectful leave, saying that she herself must proceed to her dinner, which she had delayed an hour and a half beyond her usual time, that having been the length of our interview."

The two volumes are adorned with no fewer than seventy plates, chiefly wood-cuts descriptive of the buildings or other remark- able sights of St. Petersburgh. They are extremely well executed, and of course give much life to the narrative. The author does not appear to be the artist, he found it more convenient to buy the works of others on the spot ; and he gives us to understand, that it is a very useless occupation of a traveller's time to sit down and sketch. We suspect the worthy Doctor to have great difficulty in duly appreciating qualifications which do not occur in the list are his own accomplishments.

In spite of the gratitude we are disposed to feel to Dr. Ga.tor VILLE for his researches, we cannot conclude our remarks upon his work without pointing out for censure the sneering and super- cilious humour in which he invariably alludes to certain subjects, in which he is evidently influenced by what is called pique. Hav- ing the welfare and interest of the people at heart, as he professes, his sneers against the Mechanics Societies of this country, because they have been protected by Mr. BROUGHAM, are indefensible. Still less justifiable are his bitter allusions to the London Univer- sity, for a chair in which the Doctor was an unsuccessful candi- date: his insinuation, that the Council were influenced in their choice by the fact of his successful rival being the medical attendant of Mrs. BROUGHAM, seems to be little short of base. He certainly tells a story of the detention and ultimate loss of his testimonials by Mr. BROUGHAM, which may no doubt prove some carelessness on the part of that gentleman—we think it also proves a desire, on the part of the Doctor, to annoy a man who had not befriended his election. There is another grave accusation against the Council of the London University, conveyed in the Doctor's report of his interview with Professor MECKEL; whose celebrated name, it is alleged, was published by the Council as an elected professor with- out Mr. MECKEL'S knowledge or consent. It is possible that the Council may have been unfortunate in the agent who communi- cated with MECKEL. The charges now publicly urged must he met. We confess we perceive all the marks of an ex parte state- ment in the Doctor's report ; and we should like to know whether MECKEL was aware that he was talking to a man who was him- self a disappointed candidate. At any rate, we may expect an answer to Dr. GRANVILLE from some of the parties concerned ; for it is not the ability and discretion of the Council which is called in question, but their integrity and impartiality.

We are requested to state, that Mr. Nicolas and such of his literary friends as contributed to the New Series of the Retrospec- tive Review, have wholly withdrawn their assistance from that work ; the editorship of the Historical and Antiquarian depart- ment having passed into other hands.