with passion, he was uttering the most horrid oaths, and threatening to strike or destroy every person near him. He refused obedience to the orders that were given to confine him to his cabin, which was under the half-deck, till menaced to be punished at the gangway. He then went in, and the door was shut upon him, but not fastened. In less than five minutes afterwards he appeared, stark naked, just under the main-chains on the gangway, having got out at the port in his cabin. He was discovered standing on the gangway, by his calling out, "make haste, messmates, bear a hand, I am going to drown myself; bear a hand, messmates, tell them I am going to drown myself." All hands thronged to that side of the ship; he looked up and said, "call my messmates, tell them I am going to drown myself, I wish well to all the Buffalo's ship's company;" and instantly plunged into the deep, before any means could be used to prevent him. The ship was going at the rate of seven knots, directly before the wind, a considerable sea was on, and night had just set in, it being between nine and ten o'clock, so that he must have been out of all reach before a boat could have been lowered. To describe the horror and dismay it occasioned throughout the ship is impossible. One moment we had all been witnesses to the dreadful state of drunkenness he was in, and had heard his blasphemous oaths, and the next, whilst they were yet quivering on his lips, we saw him rush into the presence of his Maker, "with all his imperfections on his head." It cannot be expected that the next day, the joyful anniversary of our Saviour's nativity, would pass over very chearfully, while the circumstance was still so recent; and it appeared to have had a very serious effect on the minds of his messmates, and I hope will be a warning to some of them, who were known to drink very freely. The weather at this time was cold and dreary, the atmosphere dark and cloudy, and all around was gloomy. We had nothing to chear our spirits but the consciousness that every passing moment lessened the distance between us and our native country. We had likewise an earnest desire to see land again, having lost sight of it for nearly two months; besides which, the coast we were next approaching, the southern extremity of America, had the charms of novelty, if it possessed no other, to recommend it to most of us, as very few of the passengers, and none of the women on board, had seen it. Our distance from Cape Horn being reduced to 1,057 miles, gave us hopes of seeing it at the expiration of another week, provided the winds continued favourable.

January 1st, 1801. The weather beautifully clear, inclining to calm, and as warm as a fine spring morning in April in England, which was highly acceptable to us, who had so long encountered the blustering cold weather of the Southern Pacific. We are only, by estimation, 363 miles from Diego Ramirez, an island near Cape Horn. I had not the least expectation of meeting with such fine weather in the south latitude of 56° 36'. It put us all in high spirits: a large party dined in the great cabin; we had a dance in the evening to the drum and fiddle, and, upon the whole, passed a very pleasant Newyear's day.

On

On Sunday, the 4th, a strange sail was seen in the north-west quarter, distant about seven miles. Every thing had been put in readiness for action some days before, in case of falling in with an enemy off Cape Horn, and the crew had, at the intervals of fine weather, been exercised at the great guns. The sight of this vessel appeared to give fresh life and spirits to the officers and ship's company; far different sensations did it excite in me, and my spirits were not a little raised when a thick haze came on about six o'clock, which entirely concealed her from our sight. It cleared, and the sun shone in three hours afterwards, but no vestige of the vessel appeared till between four and five in the afternoon, when the strange sail was descried as far as the eye could reach to windward, and in half an hour afterwards we thought, by the help of glasses, a schooner was in company with her. Shortly after we saw clearly that they were two large ships, under a great press of sail; upon which nothing was heard on all sides but I hope they will bear down upon us; we are ready to give them a warm reception," &c.; but the result proved that their sails were set to get clear of us; they steered a course directly contrary to our's, and before the evening set in they totally disappeared, and with them my fears. The general opinion respecting them was, that they were two outward-bound whalers.

On the 6th we had heavy squalls from the westward, with flying showers of hail and rain; and being within a short distance of Cape Horn, with a great sea rising and night coming on, it was judged best to bring the ship up by the wind, under close reefed topsails. On the next day it blew very fresh from the S. W., and the horizon clearing up, we saw land, supposed to be Statenland, bearing W. N. W. distant 13 leagues. Upon this the cables were bent,, and every thing got in readiness to anchor in New-year's harbour, where it was intended the ship should water, for, by the consumption during her long run, she was so high out of the water, and crank, that it was dangerous to put much sail upon her. As we drew near the land, a strong current set us off a considerable distance; it foamed like breakers, and seals were seen leaping in it in all directions. We got within four leagues of Cape San Juan, and nearly abreast of New year's harbour, but without any hopes of getting in. We persevered for twelve hours in attempting it, and then finding the ship losing ground, and every appearance of a storm coming on, she bore up, and I took (in all probability) my last look of Statenland. I cannot say any thing in favour of its appearance. Not a tree is to be seen; the land is in general very high and peaked; the tops of many of the hills, or rather mountains, were enveloped in thick dark clouds; patches of snow appeared on their steril sides, and even in the inlets, which had the advantage of streams of fresh water, no herbage was to be seen.* It will, therefore, be easily believed that we left it without regret, and

VOL. IV.

C

the

* Since I wroto the above, I have been credibly informed by a gentleman, who has been on shore at Cape San Juan, in Statenland, that impenetrable woods are to be found in several of the deep vallies, so that my supposition of there not being a tree on the island is erroneous,

the safety of the ship was insured by filling the empty casks with salt water. Our thoughts were now all turned towards the Cape of Good Hope, the distance to which promontory from hence is 3402 miles: this, however, we think nothing of, having crossed the largest ocean in the known world, and sailed 7995 miles since we left Port Jackson,

(To be continued.)

Sir,

METAPHORICAL DEATH.

To the Editor of the Athenæum.

YOUR correspondent X. Y. needed not to have taken sp much learned pains in defending the expression of Rowe and Shakespear, "She died every day she lived," since it is manifestly borrowed from that of St. Paul in the 15th chap. of 1 Corinthians, “I die daily," which we have the advantage of continually hearing in the burial service. In fact, no religious metaphor is more common than that of being dead to the world, dead to passion and affection, mortified in our appetites and passions. Mortification is even the word adopted for an important religious duty, by which a figurative death of worldly desires and emotions is temporarily induced. The figure is sometimes employed in an opposite sense, as, dead in trespasses and sins, dead to a sense of duty and religion, and the like. To this purpose I remember an instance in which it was applied by an old minister with singular metaphorical boldness. Having in his sermon been painting in strong colours the character of a female absorbed in the pleasures and vain pursuits of the world, to the neglect of every thing solid and serious, he concluded with saying, "It might be written over her door, Here lives a dead woman!"

Your's, &c.

ACCOUNT OF THE FOREIGN AND INTERNAL TRADE OF

RUSSIA.

To the Editor of the Athenæum.

Sir, I HAVE sent you for insertion in your valuable journal the following article on the foreign and internal trade of Russia. It is an interesting subject, and I have no doubt will be very acceptable to many of your readers.

W. J.

The harbours from which the principal part of the trade which Russia carries on in Europe are situated on the North Sea, the Baltic,

the

the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azof. A particular tarif, and consequently different duties, were established formerly for the harbours on each of these seas, and there was even more than one tarif for the harbours on the Baltic; but this inequality no longer exists. All the harbours of the European part of Russia have been subject, since the year 1782, to the same regulations in regard to the customs, but they do not all enjoy the same commercial privileges. The exportation of Russian productions is free to them all without limitation; but the importation of foreign goods without exception is permitted only in the harbours of St. Peterburgh, Riga, and Odessa. In all the other European harbours no articles can be imported but such as pay duty by the quantity, which, according to the tarif, is the case with those of the least importance. Maritime trade must be carried on in those ports only where there are custom-houses; and to prevent contraband trade, the same measures are adopted on the sea coast as on the land frontiers of the empire.

The trade between Russia and the other states of Europe is almost entirely a passive trade, and therefore carried on by commission. The merchants in Petersburgh and Archangel, through whose hands it passes, are for the most part foreigners, and in the harbours of the Baltic they are chiefly Germans. In the year 1790, among the foreign houses at St. Petersburgh which did not belong to the guilds, there were twenty-eight English, seven German, two Swiss, four Danish, several Prussian, six Dutch, four French, two Portuguese, one Spamish, and one Italian. According to a later regulation, all merchants in Russia, the English alone excepted, in consequence of their commercial treaty, are obliged to belong to one of the guilds, and, in return, they enjoy the privileges of the guild, in proportion to the tax which they pay for their capital.

The number of the Russians engaged in foreign commerce in these places is comparatively small; but there are some Russian houses at Moskva, St. Petersburgh, and Archangel, who have a very extensive correspondence, and who carry on a direct trade with foreign countries. Several of these houses, by the regularity and order with which they conduct business, have obtained general confidence; but this, upon the whole, is rare, and the want of credit seems to be the principal obstacle which has prevented the Russians from carrying on trade through a direct correspondence with other nations.

The manner in which the export trade is carried on at St. Petersburgh, and which may serve to give an idea of this branch in general, is as follows: The Russian merchants from the interior parts of the empire repair to the capital at a fixed period, and enter into contracts with the foreign merchants for the sale of certain specified articles. These bargains are generally made in November and December, and on condition of being paid the whole price beforehand, or a part down and the rest on the delivery of the merchandise, which takes place in Between these two kinds of conthe following spring or summer. tract there is commonly a difference of from eight to ten per cent. In all contracts formerly the money for the most part was paid in ad

vance,

vance, because the Russian merchants were not able, without this assistance, to purchase the articles from the peasants at the fairs, and to deliver them in the summer; but since the Russian dealers have become more opulent, contracts of this kind are uncommon. At present the Russians purchase the goods with their own money and at their own risque; but they sell only one half of them at St. Petersburgh in winter, as they reserve the other half till the next summer, at which time the market price is generally higher. It, however, sometimes happens, in consequence of political events and other unforeseen circumstances, that the prices of some articles are lower in summer than in winter. The goods are conveyed to Petersburgh chiefly by water, for which purpose several merchants unite and freight a large bark, and the quality of them is examined on their delivery by a sworn broker.

In regard to the import trade, foreign articles are either ordered by the Russian merchants through the medium of the foreigners resident in St. Petersburgh, or they are offered for sale by the latter in the different sea-ports. In both of these cases the Russian merchants received them formerly on condition of paying the price by instalments, at six, twelve, or more months; but as the situation of the Russian merchants has of late been much improved, payments at so long periods have become uncommon.

The most important of all the Russian articles of exportation is hemp, the best of which comes from the Ukraine, White Russia, and the districts formerly belonging to Poland. That of the Ukraine, from Sherodub and Karatshef is, however, the longest and the strongest. As soon as it arrives at the different staples it is conveyed to public warehouses, and after being completely cleaned and dressed, is made up into bundles of about four schiff pund each. The bands are always of the same kind of hemp, and the different sorts, of which there are three, are distinguished by their number. The value of the hemp exported in 1793-1795, taking one year with another, amounted to 847,000 rubles, the duty on which was 422,000 rubles.

The next article is flax, the best of which is obtained from Novgorod and Pskove, White Russia, Dnica, and the environs of Marienburg, in Livonia. The greater part of this flax goes to England and Scotland; large quantities also are sent to Portugal and Italy. The value of that imported in 1793-1795, taking one year with another, amounted to 5,270,000 rubles; the duty on which was 327,000. More than one-half of the flax exported from Russia is shipped at Riga; the greater part of the rest goes from St. Petersburgh, and small quantities from Narva, Pernau, and other places.

Iron forms also a considerable article of exportation from this country. The Russian iron, according to its quality, is divided into three principal kinds. 1st. Iron from bog ore, which, on account of its being easily fused, forms excellent cast articles; but bar iron made from it is too brittle. This kind is seldom exported. 2d. Iron from argillaceous and other kinds of iron-stone, which differs in its mixture and quality, and consequently varies in its price, but in general it is