EUSSIA. 



807 



29. Traveling. All the obstructions to traveling, that exist, separately in other conn 



tries, seem to be concentrated in Russia 

 The police, the extortion of postmasters^ 

 the inns, and the roads, are all at variance 

 with a traveler's comfort. The inns have, in 

 general, no better accommodations than the 

 hut of a Laplander, and the Laplander is 

 a far more civil and friendly host than the 

 Russian. The traveler must not only carry 

 his bed, but his food and cooking utensils ; 

 and, with all his resistance, he will be obliged 

 at every post to pay more than the postmas 

 ter is entitled to ; as this functionary general 

 ly adapts his charges to the impatience ol 

 travelers to proceed. The roads are exceed 

 ingly rough, except in winter, when all Rus- 

 sia seems to be traveling to and from the cap- 

 ital in sledges. The post-horses are harnessed to clumsy carriages, in the shape of landaus, five 

 or six abreast, with a single horse for a leader, and sometimes another in the shafts. The 

 sledges are of various forms and qualities. Many are gaudily ornamented. The Kibitki is a 

 rude carriage, without springs excejit to the seats, and in these the courtiers generally ride. It 

 is shaped like a boat. The Droski is a carriage represented in the preceding cut, and the 

 passenger is scarcely l,wo feet from the ground. Li some of these carriages, he sits astride as 

 on a saddle, and the motion is so great in going rapidly, that a novice holds by the sash of the 

 coachman, who sits before. Sledge races are common in the cities, and the general pace at 

 which the sledges move is very swift. They are driven nearly at full speed, while the passen- 

 gers sit or recline, wrapped completely in furs. Li severe winters, many travelers perish in 

 the roads. Li 1789, 14,000 were frozen on the road from St. Petersburg to IMoscow, and it 

 is common to see people who have lost an ear or a limb, by exposure to cold. 



30. Character^ Manners^ and Customs. The character of a people reflects the nature of 

 the government, for man is the creature of circumstances. Li Russia, property, liberty, and 

 life, are held at the will of the autocrat, and the nobles have nearly the same delegated power 

 over their serfs. This state of government has an unfavorable influence on the character of the 

 monarch, the noble, and the peasant, though the latter it the most degrades. The monarchs of 

 Russia have almost always been cruel and sanguinary, the nobles sensual, capricious, and indolent, 

 and the peasants degraded and brutal. It must be admitted, however, that the advance towards 

 a better state of society has, of late years, been rapid, and the change has been nowhere so 

 apparent as in the nobility. It must doubtless be communicated also to the peasantry. If the 

 state of morals at St. Petersburg be not unexceptionable, that of decorum and refinement may 

 compare with the majority of European societies. Intemperance, which used to be character- 

 istic of a Russian nobleman, is now the vice only of his slaves. But the Russian empire is 

 too unwieldy to receive the same advancement in knowledge and refinement with smaller states. 

 In describing the Russians we must describe the two great classes, the nobility and the peas- 

 ants, though many traits of character run through all. All are cheerful, social, and luxurious, 

 fond of novelty, and quick in apprehension. 



The moral aspect of the higher classes has been much changed for the better, but it must be 

 many years before the Russians can acquire the moral elevation, that distinguishes Germany 

 and England. The higher classes are animated and fond of amusement, but in a great degree 

 inaccessible to the high motives of principle or honor. They stand on the brink of barbarism, 

 and have quitted the virtues of that state loo lately to have acquired those of refinement. 

 Their life is one of pomp and show, rather than one devoted to knowledge and the gentle emo- 

 tions, which make the charm of a refined state of society. They retain vast households of do- 

 mestic serfs ; 500 of these are often the attendants on one palace, in the capacity of servants, 

 cooks, butchers, tailors, shoemakers, artists, comedians, &c. They may be seen, when not 

 employed, sleeping like the domestic animals in the ante-rooms, or on stair-cases, and general- 

 ly they have no other bed. At Moscow the nobles often retain dwarfs, who are splendidly 

 dressed, to stand behind their master's chair at feasts ; a remnant or rather an evidence of the 

 barbarity of past ages. Giants are in equal demand, but they are less numerous than tlic 

 dwarfs. 



Traveling in Russia. 



