BOOKS.

DEMIDOFF'S SOUTHERN RUSSIA..

THESE travels through Southern Russia, the Crimea, and what are now called "the Danubian Provinces "—Wallachia and Moldavia —were performed in 1837, under the patronage of the Emperor of

Russia. The expedition was on a princelyscale ; consisting of French sevens of different kinds, accompanied by M. Raffet, an artist; the whole under the direction of M. Demidoff, a Russian subject. The prime object of inquiry seems to have been minerals ; but geology, botany, natural history, &c., were not forgotten.

This popular narrative of what was seen, done' and observed, was published in French in 1839, we believe, at Paris ; and is well known to geographers and statists. Why a translation should ap- pear at so late a period after the publication of the original work,

we do not know, unless it be to impress the world with an idea of the magnanimity and love of social progress which distinguish Russia, as well as of her enormous power. M. Demidoff and his French companions, who occasionally furnish a narrative of an in- dependent excursion, observe with quickness and describe with vivacity in the Parisian literary, manner. In all matters of science, or the external features of nature, we have no doubt their ac- counts may be relied upon. In anything which regards the Em-

peror, his family, his policy, his power' or his virtues, the opinions of M. Demidoff, who does this part of the work, must be taken as

those of a loyal subject. Unless to persons who feel a particular attraction in Southern Russia and the Crimea, the book has not much interest, from the time which has elapsed since its appearance, and such persons have probably already made themselves acquainted with its information. The notices of the Danubian Provinces that occur on the journey from Paris to Odessa have a temporary interest owing to the Rus- sian occupation. Fourteen years, indeed, may have worked some

changes in the character of the upper classes. In that time boys who were receiving the education for which we are told the pro- tecting power of Russia had permitted the opportunity, will have become men ; commerce, especially in the seven years that have elapsed since Peel's establishment of the principle of free trade, may have introduced foreign residents, and possibly done some- thing towards forming a mercantile class. The mass of the people, we may depend upon it, are the same, and the country is just as it was ; a fertile soil, or rather mould, which is well enough to travel over in very dry weather, but becomes a slough after the heavy rains that fall at all seasons of the year. M. Demidoff landed from the Danube steamer at Giourjevo, in the middle of summer, and proceeded thence to Bucharest, luckily in dry wea- ther. On leaving the capital, the party were not so -fortunate, and their adventures are thus depicted.

"Forty horses were procured for us, and placed along our route ; and the generous attention of the Prince went so far as to send estafettes, to make sure of our being properly supplied: we were accordingly carried along with extreme speed. We first of all traversed a marshy and gloomy tract ; and at twelve we forded the Yolomnitza, whose swollen waters rolled rapidly along. The relays were waiting for us in the open fields. At these isolated stations, a clay hut is the ordinary shelter of the captain of the post. Our lengthy caravan proceeded in this way rapidly over these melancholy steppes, until a succession of heavy showers inundated the whole surrounding country, and rendered our progress slower and more laborious. An escort of gendarmes, (dorobantz,) whom we encountered at one of the stations, galloped by the side of our carriages, and when the roads became bad, kept them up with their hands; showing themselves zealously attentive, whenever any difficul- ties occurred. Meanwhile, we kept advancing towards the North, and ap- proaching still nearer and nearer a fine chain of mountains, on the summits of which were accumulated heavy black vapours. More than one gang of Tsigans, overtaken by the storm, had pitched their dark tents upon the plain, and were preparing to receive the squall which was threatening to burst upon us. Beneath these smoky retreats might be seen half-clad women and girls, with one or two naked children crouching near them ; poor little de- formities, with distended bellies and emaciated limbs. The prairie soon be- .came a deep marsh : horses, escort, and carriages were wading through water ; and now and then, when a ditch presented itself, we had either to make a circuit, or leap it by dint of blows and vociferations. It was a singular sight to see these four coaches ploughing their way beneath a leaden sky, through inundated meadows, and at every unexpected hole, at every jolt against some obstacle beneath the water, threatening to roll over and remain buried in the mud. During these moments, every one was animated with fresh zeal, The attentive dorobantz lent a timely assistance to each endangered carriage ; and the postilions addressed their foaming steeds no longer with vociferations, but in the mildest language, and using words of encouragement in an al- most fraternal tone; for indeed these unfortunate animals quite exceeded their strength during this long and difficult journey. At length we reached Bouzeo, in the midst of roaring thunder and a dense torrent of rain, through which we could scarcely descry the green belfries and white walls of the vast abbey, the fitting residence of a bishop who is one of the wealthiest prelates of Wallachia. Our escort had fortunately obtained a reinforcement ; and their assistance was at once put into requisition in crossing a torrent, the bed of which was not yet quite filled up by the rain. As we approached the Bonze°, however, which flows between very steep banks, it was much feared that my carriage would be left behind: it had, in the first instance, crossed the torrent in safety, but on reaching the other side, a slippery steep pre- sented itself, which it required half an hour of struggles and vociferations, and more than twenty horses, to ascend. We had previously been shut up in a sort of ark, but afterwards made our way out by the carriage-door, on the backs of the horses, which we used as stepping-stones, to escape a fright- ful bed of mud two feet deep."

Moldavia, the adjoining province, is in a similar or worse natural condition.

"Melancholy as was the spectacle presented by the inundated plains of Wallachia, the vallies of Moldavia, bounded in the distance by rounded • Travels in Southern Russia and the Crimea, through Hungary, Wallachia, and Moldavia, during the year 1837. By M. Anatole de Demidoff, of the Imperial Aca- demy of Science and the University of St. Petersburg, 8.ic. Illustrated by Raffet. In two volumes. Published by mitehell.

hills, presented neither more level roads nor firmer ground. Hardly had we passed the frontier, than the rain redoubled in violence ; so that on arriving at the shores of the Sereth, which runs a few versta beyond lokschany, we found a torrent very difficult to cross.

" The Sereth rises in the mountains which bound Moldavia on the West, and descends to mingle its waters with those of the Barlat, which, in its turn, falls into the Danube, between Brahiloff and Galatz. At the same spot, the great branches of the German stream the mouths of the Pruth, the lakes of Kagoul and of Yalpoutch, convert tlie whole country as far as the Black Sea into one immense marsh, intersected by a hundred rivers. These parallel streams invariably run from the North, and are finally lost in that labyrinth of waters, prairies, and sands, which make the navigation of the lower Danube, from Galatz to the sea, so difficult. " But to return to the Sereth. Its shores were inundated to such an ex- tent that the approach to the bridge of boats was flooded to a great height, while the waters still continued rising rapidly. A train of about a hundred cars, heavily laden, and drawn by oxen, had already renounced the passage; and we had to make short work of it. During the crossing, which took us some time, on so narrow and unsteady a bridge, a number ot half-naked men pressed on either side of our vehicles, acting as a support to them. Having at length reached terra firma, we were greeted by a detachment of Moldavian gendarmerie, armed with lances, and headed by an officer: this little troop divided for the purpose of escorting us, and at each relay we found a fresh detachment. We owed this considerate attention to the recommendation which the estafettes of the Hospodar of Wallachia had, with great expedi- tion,conveyed to the capital of Moldavia. "The day dragged on slowly, nothing happening to enliven its gloomy monotony, and the carriages moving with little speed. Our guides, in order to avoid the beaten roads, whose slippery surface would have proved an in- surmountable obstacle, led us across the plains, where we could only make our way by trampling down the beautiful wild plants, whose sterna, thick and tufted, grew to the height of a man. When the first excitement is over, nothing is more disheartening than a journey of this sort, in such unfavour- able weather. The rain, like a thick cloud, prevented our enjoying any view of the country ; our entire horizon being limited to about fifty steps round us. Unutterable dreariness. Nothing to divert the sight, but an eternal strip of green, intersected by ruts, to which the rain gave the ap- pearance of miniature canals; and nothing to charm the ear, weary of si- lence, but the perpetual splashing of the horses' feet in the liquid mud.

"The chief obstacle to the agricultural progress of this country will be found, most decidedly, in the wretched condition of the roads, and in the difficulty of remedying this evil. Considering that leagues are travelled over without a sign of the smallest pebble, the construction of roads, solid and firm in all seasons, is no easy matter. So long as dry weather continues, nothing checks the communications, which are as rapid as they are active. The plain is wide, and open for all to choose a pathway. The caroussi, car- ried away by the swiftness of their horses, cross it in a direct line, whilst the heavy waggons with their oxen file off in long trains upon a more secure and already beaten road : let but a few showers, however, fall upon it, the boggy earth, so deep and rich, becomes suddenly liquefied, and the greatest lightness and celerity are necessary, to get over the surface. No equipage of a moderate weight can have a chance of moving but at an extremely slow pace."

It is obvious what advantages such a country as this offers to an active irregular army, opposed to a force encumbered with the enormous machinery of modern war. Even unopposed, the occu- pation of such territories in wet weather, or any weather, must be troublesome ; but with an active foe, it could only have been ac- complished after many struggles, much loss, and considerable time. This advantage an over anxious diplomacy has thrown away ; and as the state of the Danubian Provinces could have been no secret to any of the parties, the timidity which the permission to occupy implied probably encouraged the occupation. It is possible that the same aversion to commit itself to a serious enter- prise will be satisfied with a paper stipulation to withdraw, and then wink at the possession ; so that Russia, without any other cost than the payment for supplies, (if they be really paid for,) will extend her frontier to the Danube, and have reached another and a very important stage in her progress to Constanti- nople.

It is possible that Russia may have been induced to take her present course by the alleged reports of the pacific disposition of England, and of the assurance that England and France would not unite for any common purpose. It is quite as likely that the real motive was of a more home kind. Barbarous as the semi-Turkish provinces, Servia, Wallachia, and Moldavia, have been for ages, the germ of a rough kind of freedom has existed amongst them. In Servia actually, and in Wallachia and Moldavia, (according to M. Demidoff under the fostering care of Russia,) governments with some resemblance to a constitution are established. There are elective assemblies, education, books, journals, and a partial free- dom of the press. These may be of a very coarse and backward kind ; private morals may be low, public spirit corrupt, opinion even among such classes as can form an opinion narrow and wrong. It may be a question, however, whether the Boyards are so very much lower than our Squire Westerns or the Irish squireens of the last century. It seems difficult to ima- gine a legislature more corrupt than that of Great Britain, when Fox, first Lord Holland, opened an office to buy single votes to confirm Bute's peace, or of Ireland when Castlereagh earned the Union. It is possible that these Danubian constitutional privileges might not have proceeded to a full growth, surrounded as these provinces are by despotic states ever anxious to crush freedom. On the other hand, it is possible that they might have advanced sufficiently far to enable the people to form a part of that new state, whether Federative or Imperial, which Mr. Bayle St. John and many others are speculating about. At all events, it is very natural that Russia should fear their freedom, semi-barba- rous as it may be, and be anxious to strangle it at once. Consti- tutional Hungary has fallen ; and though little the danger that Western Europe might suppose to lurk in the freedom of Walla- chia and Moldavia, Russia might estimate the danger differently; or if she did not fear, she might hate.