CHARACTERS. 



7^9 



S'plendid saloon, tliey sleep pro- 

 foundly, till awakened by the com- 

 mand of their lord to amuse the 

 company. Shaking their enormous 

 bulk, they rise from their trance ; 

 and, supporting their unwieldy 

 trunks against the wail, drawl out 

 their heavy nonsense, with as much 

 grace as the motions of a sloth in 

 the hands of a reptile fancier. 

 One glance was sufficient for me of 

 these imbruted creatures; and, with 

 something like pleasure, I turned 

 from them to the less humiliating 

 view of human nature in the 

 dwarfl 



The race of these unfortunates 

 is very diminutive in Russia, and 

 very numerous. They are gene- 

 rally well-shaped, and their hands 

 and feet particularly graceful. In- 

 deed, in the proportion of their fi- 

 gures, we should no where disco- 

 ver them to be flaws in the econo- 

 my of nature, were it not for a pe- 

 culiarity of feature, and the size of 

 the head, which is commonly ex- 

 ceedingly enlarged. Take them 

 on the whole, they are such com- 

 pact, and even pretty little beings, 

 that no idea can be formed of them 

 from the clumsy deformed dwarfs 

 which are exhibited at our fairs in 

 England. I cannot say that we 

 need envy Russia this part of her 

 offspring. It is very curious to 

 observe how nearly they resemble 

 each other : their features are all 

 so alike, that you might easily ima- 

 gine that one pair had spread their 

 progeny over the whole country. 



Description of the King (Gustavus 

 J V.J and Queen of Sweden. 

 [^From the satne.'] 



As soon as the king vvas seated, 



a piece of music with, I suppose, 

 appropriate words (for it vvas in 

 Swedish), burst from the orches- 

 tra. His majesty seemed very at- 

 tentive to what was sung; while 

 the queen, with a less impressed 

 countenance, sometimes listened, 

 and at others looked round on the 

 assembly with a dcliglitful compla- 

 cency. I confess that my obser- 

 vation was most particularly di- 

 rected to Gustavus. He bears a 

 striking resemblance to the best 

 portraits of Charles the twelfth, 

 and seems not to neglect the addi- 

 tion of similar habiliments ; for 

 really, at the first glance, you 

 might almost imagine the picture 

 of his renowned ancestor had walk- 

 ed from its canvas. He is thin, 

 though well made ; about the mid- 

 dle stature, pale, and with eyes 

 whose eagle beams strike with the 

 force of lightning; look at them, 

 and while he is in thought they ap- 

 pear remarkably calm and sweet : 

 but when he looks at you, and 

 speaks, the vivacity of his manner, 

 and the brilliancy of his counte- 

 nance, are beyond description. 

 His mouth is well shaped, with 

 small mustachios on his upper lip; 

 and his hair, which is cropped, and 

 without powder, is combed up from 

 his forehead. 



Her majesty is most interestingly 

 beautiful ; very much resembling 

 her sister, the empress of Russia. 

 She is fair, with expressive blue 

 eyes. Her features are fine ; but 

 the affability of her countenance, 

 her smile, and engaging air, inde- 

 pendently of other charms, would 

 be sufficient to fascinate every 

 heart, almost to forget she vvas a 

 queen, in her loveliness as a wo- 

 man. She was drest with exqui- 

 site taste. Her hair, in light but 

 , luxuriant 



