164 CURIOSITIES OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 



Constantine Boliouchkof, celebrated for his Elegy on Tasso; and 

 Alexander Voieikof, the translator of " Les Jardins de Dellile," and of 

 the Georgics, into hexameter verse. 



In epic poetry, Russia possesses, at this very moment, three writers 

 worthy of fixing the public attention. Nicolas Gneditch, by his trans- 

 lation of the Iliad in hexameter verse, has thrown into the shade that of 

 Kostrof. He has also attempted, with equal success, other styles of 

 composition. His Idyll of the Fisherman, is particularly deserving of 

 praise, as well as his translations of Shakspeare's King Lear, and of 

 Voltaire's Tancred. 



Ivan Koslof, the Byron of Russia his style is marked by the most 

 impassioned tenderness. His Monk displays extraordinary talent ; 

 which was followed by a beautiful translation of the Bride of Abydos, 

 that preserves all the spirit and beauty of the original. 



Alexander Pouchkine, the present favourite of the Russian public 

 this writer would rank still higher, if his brilliant imagination was 

 ripened by reflection and study. To his epic poems he owes his greatest 

 success. His first production was Rousslan and Loudemilla, a comic 

 heroic poem, the subject of which is taken from the old fabulous tra- 

 ditions of the Court of Vladimir the Great. This poet is scarcely thirty 

 years of age, and his independence of character is equal to his genius. 



The Russians possess an extraordinary talent for a species of compo- 

 sition, in which Russian poetry possesses treasures more varied than that 

 of any other nation. In Khemnister, Dimitrieif, and especially Krylof, 

 even the delightful La Fontaine, did he live, might own rivals worthy 

 of his emulation. But among all the writers of the present age, the 

 palm must be adjudged to Karamzine, the second father of the Russian 

 language. His Letters of a Russian Traveller have exercised a powerful 

 influence on the studies of his fellow countrymen. His articles in the 

 Mercury and other journals, have contributed to form their taste and 

 direct their meditations. His History of the Russian Empire, which 

 death prevented him finishing, is an immortal monument, in which the 

 language appears to be brought to its highest pitch of perfection. 



The merit of Alexander Chichkof (1750), President of the Russian 

 Academy, and Minister of Public Instruction, may be less splendid, 

 but it is not less real. His treatise upon the ancient and modern style, 

 has wonderfully contributed to purify the taste and perfect the language, 

 to the etymology of which he consecrated a valuable portion of his life. 

 By his side we may place Thaddeus Boulgarin, the Walter Scott of 

 the north. He was first known by some articles which he published in 

 a journal conjointly with Gretch, a distinguished writer. An elaborate 

 critique of the works of this author has appeared in the Foreign Quar- 

 terly ; and we believe a translation of his novels has been made into 

 English. 



The clergy, who were formerly in the exclusive possession of the 

 patrimony of letters, play at the present moment but a secondary part 

 in Russia. There are, however, many men of this order who have 

 highly distinguished themselves, and whose talents have increased the 

 literary glory of their country. 



Before closing this article, we shall devote a few words to the Russian 

 language. It belongs to the great family of the Sclavonian tongues, 

 which are spoken from the Adriatic Sea to the coasts of North America. 

 Its origin is lost in the night of ages, but its qualities are varied and 



