an apartment that was the very picture of desolation, and where we were sadly annoyed by vermin. It was a great relief when our servant returned from Memel with the passports, which we hailed with as much joy as a prisoner would an order to liberate him from his captivity.

CHAP. VII.

Mode of yoking horses, and of calculating distances.-Russian money.-Dress of peasantry.-Postilions.- Fine scenery.

River Windau. Dwina.- Mittau.

Palace occupied by Louis XVIII.— Departure.-Riga.- Château. - Society of Schwartzhaupter. Their collection of plate. The reunion, or parliament-house. Cathedral. Cloister. Churches. Col

lege. Military punishments. -- Police.— Singular vessels. Rare species of insect.

Wolves.

-

NOTWITHSTANDING we had a passport granted by the Russian authority at London, which had been examined and signed by the Russian consul at Memel, the police-master thought fit to furnish us with a podoroshna, permitting us to proceed to St. Petersburg, for which we paid 28 rubles, or 19s. sterling. These podoroshnas form no inconsiderable item in the " ways and means" of this country. Being now assured, in the language of the knight of the whip, that things were "all right," we left this deplorable inn, after being sadly annoyed by vermin, and surrounded with filth. We were furnished with four horses, paying for four miles and a half German 16s. 8d., and found that the operations performed upon the carriage at Memel for yoking the animals à la Russe, were far from being

MODE OF YOKING HORSES.

167

unnecessary. The horses were put abreast, but the driver declined being elevated, preferring, according to the practice of this country, to sit, not on the box, but under it, at the feet of my servant, and so very low that the horses almost prevented him from seeing the road; while the switching of their tails served as a fan to his face, which appeared not unlike that of Vulcan, being as dirty as if there was neither water nor a scrubbing brush to be found in the country. We had therefore no reason to regret that our Jehu did not form a more conspicuous part of the equipage, for his appearance was by no means calculated to flatter our vanity; so ragged and miserable in fact was his attire, that an Irish beggar would have gained nothing by exchanging suits with him.

We set off at four o'clock in the morning, and travelled along a broad tract of sand, on which were laid s tumps of trees; and passed through a wood of fir and junipers. At the entrance of it there was a timber erection, upwards of 100 feet in height, similar to the stands on a race-ground. This was for the accommodation of the douaniers, who occasionally mount it to make observations, and keep watch on those who convey contraband articles.

The distances are calculated by versts, (three quarters of an English mile,) which are marked by upright poles of coarse wood, 20 feet high,

168

ANECDOTE OF A POST-MASTER.

painted with red, black, and white stripes, with the number rudely cut on a clumsy board at the top. * We found the time occupied in driving between each, exceeded little more than seven minutes. In one spot were storks perched on large nests, on the tops of trees, where we had not before observed any of this species of the feathered race. We stopped to breakfast at a post-house, and during our repast, the postmaster, a veteran leaning on a crutch, with many years" hanging on his back," and remarkable for his polite address, informed us that he had been in the service of Frederick the Great, and spoke with enthusiasm of his military exploits. On our observing in the room a picture representing the entry of the allies into Paris, he said there had been a likeness hung up there of his renowned master, but that the French had taken it down and thrown it into the fire before his face, on which, lame as he was, he laid his crutch along some of their backs. During this speech he held up the weapon with a grin, and suiting the "action to the word," showed us the manner in which he had applied it.

We departed from this place with very small horses, similar to those in Sweden, and got into

* In Poland the mile is one-twentieth of a degree. In Arabia, it is three-fourths of an English mile. In Denmark, Sweden, and Hungary, the mile is the same as in England; and in Scotland and Ireland it is one English mile and a half.

DRESS OF PEASANTRY.

169

the great road, which led through a wood where there was a profusion of wild strawberries. Some parts were cleared, and we saw farm houses built of wood and roofed with thatch. From the singular dress of the people, it was absolutely impossible to distinguish their sex. The wood continued as far as the next station, and we passed the barrier which divides Livonia and Courland, proceeding along the bridge on floating piles, across the small river Upisod. Notwithstanding it was the month of June, the crops were only a few inches above ground. On arriving at the post-house, the person who furnished us with fresh horses, said, pointing to the imperial on our carriage, that travellers who had this accommodation and two portmanteaus, were obliged to take four horses. We took five, only four being charged for, and had no reason to complain either of the animals or their driver, shabby as he was, for we actually travelled two versts in eight minutes. The driver too played us an air on his horn. This we at first supposed was to show his musical skill, or from the hope of being rewarded; but we soon discovered that it was a signal to a cobler, who bolted forth from his stall, with an enormous bottle of spirits, and filling a tin jug to the brim, presented it to the postilion. The latter quaffed it off in a second with great avidity, smacking his lips at the delicious beverage, which acted as such a spur to him,