248 



Winter in Russia. 



Vol. VII. 



dred pounds each, — say, therefore, about 600 

 on an average ; and are a cross between the 

 Chester county and the English Hampshire! 

 breed. Need any more be said"! Indeed 

 they are real Windsor Castles ! T. R. 

 Chester county. 



Winter in Russia. 



Under the head of " Winter at St. Peters- 

 burg," we find the following in the Constilu- 

 tionel : — says the Ledger : 



"Winter is more variable at St. Peters- 

 burg than at Moscow; that is, the cold does 

 not reign there with such continued severity. 

 Thus, for instance, it is said not to be a rare 

 circumstance at Moscow, to find a fruit peel- 

 ing, or any other matter thrown by chance 

 from a window, catch on the balcony, and 

 becoming immediately frozen, remain there 

 suspended for the most of the winter. Such 

 a case could not occur at St. Petersburg, 

 where, although the thermometer often de- 

 scends to 30 degrees of Reamur below zero, 

 (35^ below zero of Fahrenheit) the neigh- 

 bourhood of the sea combats the icy winds 

 of Siberia, and unexpectedly brings on the 

 most strange changes in the temperature. 

 It has never rained in the memory of man 

 at Moscow, during the months of December 

 and January. At St. Petersburg, on the 

 contrary, rain frequently falls during these 

 two months, and at that period it has been 

 constantly the custom to replace carriages 

 by sledges. This latter kind of vehicle, 

 which no person gives up, becomes the most 

 convenient in the world, being driven in 

 the midst of snow and mud. The winter at 

 St. Petersburg, on account of these sudden 

 transitions, so unexpected and so rapid, is 

 far more formidable than at Moscow, and to 

 strangers, who have not experienced its ef- 

 fects, is particularly serious. To defend one's 

 self from the weather, the most constant and 

 minute precautions are required. 



" In October, the Russians, and all who 

 have been long in the country, assume fur 

 clothes, and keep them in continual wear 

 until the month of April, after the ice has 

 broken up on the Neva. Stoves are lit 

 everywhere, and each family lays in a stock 

 of birch wood, the blaze of which is more 

 abundant than of any other wood. There is 

 a servant especially employed to attend to 

 the stoves, and his duty is to keep up as 

 much as possible, an equal heat throughout 

 the house. The best stove-keepers, whose 

 fame procures them a high salary, are gene- 

 rally from Moscow. Twenty degrees of 

 cold, do not appear astonishing to an inha- 

 bitant of St. Petersburg, though he then 

 casts a curious look at the thermometer. 



At 23 or 24 degrees, constant rounds are 

 made during the night, to prevent the police 

 and sentinels from falling asleep on their 

 posts. Should the cold bring on drowsiness, 

 and the sufferer not be able to prevent him- 

 self from yielding to its influence, he must 

 perish, as he can only wake from his sleep 

 in the other world. At 25 degrees the thea- 

 tres are closed, and all those who are obliged 

 to go out on foot, hurry along with their ut- 

 most speed, most anxiously looking at the 

 nose of all whom they meet in the street. 

 If a sudden paleness — of which no intima- 

 tion is given by any physical feeling — should 

 appear on that part of the face, the passer 

 by, rushes forward and commences rubbing 

 the afflicted feature of the alarmed passen- 

 ger with snow, to produce animation. 



"The same thing may occur to the opera- 

 tor before the hour is over. At 30 degrees 

 of cold, the populace alone go out of doors, 

 entire families shut themselves up, and not 

 a single sledge of any appearance of fashion 

 is seen in the streets. Yet even then the mili- 

 tary reviews are not interrupted, and the 

 highest dignitaries, up to the Emperor him- 

 self, repair to them without a cloak. It must 

 be evident that, with cold of such intensity, 

 the sufferings of the poor must be dreadful. 

 Yet it may be affirmed, without exaggera- 

 tion, that the lower classes in winter, suffer 

 less in Russia than in France. There are 

 placed in the various quarters of every large 

 town in the empire, public establishments 

 heated by large stoves, where every person 

 that pleases, may take refuge. Dreadful ac- 

 cidents undoubtedly mark the arrival of the 

 severe season, but "they generally fill on the 

 servants of Russian noblemen, whose care- 

 lessness towards their servants' comfort, is 

 akin to barbarity. It must not be forgotten 

 either, that three-fourths of these accidents 

 are attributable to the abuse of spirituous 

 liquors. The passion of the people for 

 brandy, sets at defiance every warning, and 

 in winter it becomes more than usually fatal." 



The Search after Rest. 



I?Y J. CUNNINGIIAM. 



When first the Dove, afar and wide, 



Skimmed the dark waters o'er, 

 To seek, beyond the heaving tide, 



Afgreen and peaceful shore, — 



No leafy bough, nor life-like thing, 



({use 'mid the swelling main — ■ 

 The lone liird sought, with faltering wing. 



The hallowed Ark again 



And ever thus man's heart hath traced 



A lone anil weary round; 

 But never yet, 'mid earth's dark waste, 



A resting place hath found. 



The peace for which his spirit yearns 



Is ever Bought in vain, 

 'Till, like the lime, it homeward turns. 



And finds its God again. [JV. Y. E. Post 



