were less meritorious than it is, we should still have applauded the spirit of the undertaking; but, in fact, the execution is fully equal to the purpose, and we have seldom read a more amusing narrative than this young gentleman has composed under circumstances where most men would, if they had undertaken such a journey at all, have travelled from Dan to Beersheba, and found all barren.' But nothing is barren to an inquisitive and candid traveller: he, like the studier of nature in a narrower sphere, 'Finds tongues in trees-books in the running brooks- But our readers are not to imagine that Mr. Barrow sermonises, or fatigues us with dissertations. He contents himself with relating what he sees and feels, and whatever occasions his statements may afford for moral or political considerations, he very properly leaves them-for the most part at least to his readers' own ingenuity, content on his part to supply, in a plain and unaffected narrative, practical materials for theoretical disquisition. His youth, and that modesty which ought always to accompany youth, forbid his obtruding his own opinions; and as some of his predecessors on the same ground have rather rashly done, drawing general conclusions from insulated facts, and information necessarily imperfect. He that reads Mr. Barrow will find a compagnon de voyage, and not a lecturer; a traveller who shows us what is to be seen, but does not, like poor Smollett, decide that all the women of a district are red-haired scolds, because he happened to meet with one landlady whose complexion was rather too fair, while her language was rather too coarse. From such a work, which avoids equally all flights of eloquence, all depths of disquisition, and all the papillonage of sentiment, it is obvious that extracts cannot be easily selected, so as to give any idea of its aggregate merit. But with this preparatory caution, we shall lay before our readers a few passages, as specimens of the style and spirit in which it is written. We pass over the voyage by steam to St. Petersburg-though it gives occasion for some sensible observations on the facility and certainty which that power has conferred on modern travellers—and the land journey to Moscow-which affords some curious sketches of the state of society along the road which separates, rather than unites, the two capitals-to arrive at the following description of a principal portion of Moscow :- 'Immediately without the sacred gate of the Kremlin is the "Beautiful Place," or square. Most of the buildings that enclose it are modern, and some of them recent. It contains the best shops in Moscow. An arcade extends the whole distance along one side of the the square, under which is a bazaar, consisting of one continued line of shops, or rather stalls, for they are deserving of no better name, where jewellery, books, wearing apparel, and every article that can be thought of, may be purchased just as in the Palais Royal of Paris, but in a much humbler style. We were here assailed on all sides by a crowd of long-bearded, dirty-looking persons, who pressed round us anxiously endeavouring to induce us to purchase their goods-so urgent that we found it difficult to shake them off. One has heard of bowing a person out of a room, but here the danger was to be bowed in; for in going along we were frequently either actually pushed into their shops with all possible civility, or obliged to walk into them in order to avoid coming in too close contact with their beards, of which I felt a kind of horror, for they were very much akin to a Jew's beard. But the greatest difficulty we had was to get past one of the shops in which quass was sold. At the outside of each of these gin-shops are invariably stationed two or three young men, or big boys, drest up in a pink-coloured coat which folds over the breast, and is tied in with a sash at the waist; and loose blue trowsers, which are tucked into a clumsy pair of boots. They wear their hair very long, reaching on each side more than halfway down the arm, and divided in the centre. When any one passes near one of these shops, these decoy-ducks plant themselves directly in his way, and commence a series of salutations, bowing almost to the ground-their hair falling down like a horse's tail each time, and en... tirely covering the face. The appearance and the manner of these youths were truly ludicrous.'-pp. 109, 110. From this visit to Moscow, Mr. Barrow returned to St. Petersburg, and, proceeding to Abo, crossed the Gulf of Bothnia to Stockholm, and thence returned by Copenhagen to Travemunde and Hamburgh. The ease and expedition of travelling in Finland are greater than we were prepared to expect: 'A great part of the road to Abo is kept in beautiful order; and the posting is remarkably cheap, averaging from about three halfpence to twopence a mile for each horse. Our light waggon hurried along at a great rate, sometimes with a rapidity that rendered it, as we thought, dangerous: on one occasion, in particular, we were driven by a little boy not more than eleven or twelve years old, who drove the poor horses at a full gallop for a whole stage over a road which twisted and turned among rocks in every possible direction. We had to pass several small wooden bridges, over brooks rippling down the valleys, and here our young driver appeared to take great delight in galloping at a tremendous rate down the hill and across these bridges, by which such an impetus was given to the vehicle, that we were at the top of the next on the other side in a moment. The three horses were always harnessed abreast, and the third was of of no use whatever, being merely loosely tied to the carriage by a slight rope. The driver had no control over this horse: he ran with the others as a matter of course, but would now and then take it into his head to stop short, or turn round, and bring his nose right into the carriage; there was nothing to prevent his doing so whenever he pleased, and the driver was invariably obliged to dismount from his seat to replace him in his proper position. The expedition with which they change horses is surprising, fully equalling that of our mail-coaches; but we invariably experienced a sad delay in settling the pay of the different drivers, who, strange to say, were generally unwilling to be paid in silver, and near the end of the journey, positively refused to accept it, and insisted upon receiving paper-money.' -pp. 130-132. We were sorry to find the following statement under the head of Stockholm: 6 Having passed a Sunday at Stockholm, we were desirous of attending divine service, and were directed to a chapel, which we found to be a Wesleyan Methodist chapel,-the only church, as we afterwards learned, in which the English residents at Stockholm have the choice of attending service. Among the congregation we observed our ambassador and his family. The English residents, it may be presumed, are too few or too poor to support a clergyman of the Esta. blished Church.'-p. 157. Why should our minister (he has not, we believe, the rank of ambassador) be driven to the necessity of resorting for divine worship to a Methodist meeting-house? Had his Excellency no chapel? Could he not, at least, have had a chaplain? We well remember, that for many years the service of the Church of England was performed in the ambassador's house in Paris-as much, at least, might have been expected in the Protestant court of Stockholm. As to the English residents being too poor and too few to support a clergyman, that would be an additional reason for having a chaplain to the mission; but as the Wesleyans are, after all, a sort of branch of the Church, we have little doubt that where they are able to support a chapel, the legitimate members of the Church itself might, with even a very moderate share of zeal and attention, have anticipated them. The roads in Sweden are good, and, like those in Finland, are kept in the highest possible order. The expense of posting is very trifling compared with that of most countries in Europe excepting Finland, and, as we have since found Norway.'-p. 166. Our traveller left the main road, in the course of this journey, to visit the celebrated Fall of Trolhätten, which, according to his description, far surpasses any even in Switzerland for grandeur and sublimity. "It forms the only outlet of the waters of the great Wenern Lake, as the Falls of Niagara do that of the four great North American lakes, and I should suppose that, in regard to the mass of water discharged, they are inferior only to these celebrated transatlantic falls. The accompanying scenery of wood and mountain is wild and romantic, and the effect was considerably heightened on this day, by the state of the weather, which was so stormy as to amount almost to what seamen call a gale of wind; the clouds, at the same time, presenting a dark and wild aspect, gave additional effect to the foaming torrent as it rushed from rock to rock. 6 We could perceive no less than five distinct falls, across the second of which is thrown a narrow wooden bridge, leading to a small rocky island, which breaks the fall. We crossed this bridge not without some difficulty, and not without danger, owing to the slippery state it was in from the spray continually breaking over it, which it did with sufficient violence to carry a person off his legs, even had it not been slippery; this, in fact, did happen to my fellow-traveller, who was very nearly swept away by the foaming waters, his foot having slipt whilst crossing the bridge. The only mode of escaping was to watch the spray, by which it was no easy matter to avoid being caught. It is not easy to conjecture how this bridge could have been constructed across the roaring torrent which rolls with such headlong impetuosity. It is at best but an insecure structure, and seems momentarily liable to be carried away. The sides are entirely open, there being merely a hand-rail at the top, about the height of the middle of a man's body, to steady the passenger, so that the danger of being washed through was not altogether ideal, and I was by no means sorry to find myself once more safe upon terra firma.'— pp. 166-169. Our last extract from this first tour shall relate to Elsineur, a scene in which the genius of Shakspeare has interested the sensibilities of all mankind—except, as it would seem, the Danes themselves! 'We passed the night at Elsineur, at a very clean and comfortable inn, kept by an Englishman, who was civil and attentive. The Danes have an undoubted right to all that belongs to the history of Hamlet, as Saxo Grammaticus, their own historian, (if he was a Dane, which is not quite certain,) has narrated it; but the connexion of Elsineur with the name of Hamlet would probably long ago have ceased, had not our Shakspeare embellished and immortalized the story. Scarcely had we seated ourselves, when we were reminded of Prince Hamlet's Garden, which of course we visited, and regretted to find in a neglected and ruinous state. The pond, or rather that which had once been a pond, and in which they tell you the fair Ophelia-who, by the way, was no Ophelia of theirs, but the sole creation of "fancy's child," was drowned, is completely dried up, and choked with weeds. Having appropriated the garden and the pond, VOL. LI. NO. CII. 21 of no use whatever, being mere. We were sorry to find the foll Having passed a Sunday at tending divine service, and were to be a Wesleyan Methodist cha wards learned, in which the Eng choice of attending service. An our ambassador and his famil presumed, are too few or too po blished Church.'-p. 157. planting the missy stream.” coronet weeds nor willow, nor other as a garden it hardly defor the inhabitants of the is walks are well shaded with a happy mixture sand of the pleasantry |