RUSSIA IN EUROPE. 119 



the reign of Charles II, was twelve miles in compass, and the' num- 

 ber of houses was computed at 40,000. According to Voltaire, when 

 he wrote, it was twenty miles in circumference, and its inhabitants 

 amounted to 500,000. Mr. Coxe confirms the account of the cir- 

 cumference of this city, but thinks the estimate of its population much 

 exaggerated : according to an account which was given to him by an 

 English gentleman, which he received from a lieutenant of the police, 

 and which he says may be relied on, Moscow contains within the. 

 ramparts 250,000 souls, and in the adjacent villages 50,000. Two 

 French travellers, who were there in 1792, say its population consists 

 of from 300,000 to 328,000 souls, in summer ; but in winter is in- 

 creased to nearly 400,000. 



In 1812 this great city was almost totally destroyed by fire, lighted 

 by its own inhabitants, to prevent its becoming a shelter to their in- 

 vaders. The third day after the entrance of the French troops, a 

 violent wind arose, and the conflagration became general. In less 

 than an hour, the whole extent of the capital for miles seemed a 

 sheet of flame. All the immense tract of land above the river, which 

 used to be covered with houses, was one sea of fire ; and the sky was 

 hidden by the tremendous volumes of smoke which rolled over the 

 city. After the flames were extinguished, Moscow was no longer to 

 be recognised. Nothing remained of this once magnificent city, but 

 a vast plain covered with ruins and smoking ashes 1 Every where 

 the dilapidated streets were choked up with human bodies, and the 

 carcases of dead horses. Many of the streets have since been rebuilt 

 upon the modern European plan, but the'gaudy magnificence of Mos- 

 cow is gone forever. 



Archangel, situate at the mouth of the river Dwina, on the White 

 Sea, was, before the time or Peter the Great, the only port by which 

 Russia communicated with the rest of Europe. It is about three 

 English miles in length, and one in breadth, built all of wood, ex- 

 cepting the exchange, which is of stone. Notwithstanding the de- 

 crease of the trade of Archangel since the building of Petersburg, it 

 still exports a considerable quantity of merchandise. 



Riga, a strong town, formerly the capital of Livonia, is, next to 

 Petersburg, the most commercial place in the Russian empire. It 

 contains about 30,000 inhabitants. There is a floating wooden bridge 

 over the Dvina 2600 feet long, and 40 broad, which, in winter, when 

 the ice sets in, is removed, and in summer replaced. 



Manufactures, commerce. ...Great quantities of salt are manu- 

 factured in Russia, from mines, lakes and springs. The salt mines 

 in the vicinity of the Tlek in the district of Ufa produces 8,140,000 

 pound* annually. There are also large salt mines on the Vilni, in 

 Irkutsk. The salt lakes are the Elton in Saratof, yielding annually 

 5,700,000 pound ; those near Astracan ; those in Kolhyran ; the Fau- 

 ridan ; the Caucasian, , and the Irkutskian. The richest salt springs 

 are those of Solikamsk on the Kama, yielding annually 5,680,000 

 pound ; and those of Starraya-Rura, on the Lovat. 



The manufactures of isinglass, oil, and soap, are conducted in 

 Russia with considerable activity and success. There are also ma- 

 nufactures of linen, silk, paper, and tobacco. Coarse cloths, carpets, 

 and hats, are likewise made in Russia; and the leather which takes 

 i*s name from the country is a kind of staple commodity. 



* A pound is equal to 35 3-4 American pounds, 



