Ch. iii. in Russia. 309 



have been sent into the country are not brought 

 back. 



The principal mortality, of course, takes place 

 among the infants who are just received, and the 

 children which are brought up in the house ; but 

 there is a considerable mortality amongst those 

 who are returned from the country, and are in the 

 firmest stages of life. I was in some degree sur- 

 prised at hearing this, after having been particu- 

 larly struck with the extraordinary degree of neat- 

 ness, cleanliness and sweetness, which appeared 

 to prevail in every department. The house itself 

 had been a palace, and all the rooms were large, 

 airy, and even elegant. I was present while 180 

 boys were dining. They were all dressed very 

 neatly; the table-cloth was clean, and each had a 

 separate napkin to himself. The provisions ap- 

 peared to be extremely good, and there was not 

 the smallest disagreeable smell in the room. In 

 the dormitories there was a separate bed for each 

 child ; the bedsteads were of iron without tester 

 or curtains, and the coverlids and sheets particu- 

 larly clean. 



This degree of neatness, almost inconceivable 

 in a large institution, was to be attributed princi- 

 pally to the present Empress Dowager, who in- 

 terested herself in all the details of the manage- 

 ment, and, when at Petersburg, seldom passed a 

 week without inspecting them in person. The 

 mortality which takes place in spite of all these 

 attentions, is a clear proof, that the constitution in 

 early youth cannot support confinement and work 



