Misceli. Subj. CVIII. Fol. fi. No, 60. 



SPORTS OF THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE. 



1 he plate hereto belonging exhibits two dif- 

 ferent sorts of the most beloved divertisements 

 of the Russian jpeople, viz: 



Fig. 1. The mountains of ice, 



which are wooden scaffolds, about i$ yards 

 high (i) , one side of which has a wooden slo- 

 penefs, thai is coverM with pieces of ice, and 

 sprinkled with water, on which the lovers, 

 being always numerous, or seated on little 

 sledges, or standing on skates, with such vio- 

 lence slide down, that they continue gliding 

 on the icy way prepar'd below. Such artifi- 

 cial mountains of ice are every year in the 

 carnival's week constructed at St. Petersbourg 

 npon or near the Newa, [we view here over 

 against the Academy ot sciences (3) with an 

 other Palace (4) ] and much frequented, whe- 

 re spectators are never wanting. Here are 

 people too, who sell refreshments, as a sort 

 of mead, composed of sugar and pepper, 



which they drink with or without milk, and 

 Russian ginger- bread. 



Fig. 2. 



Russian Swings 



of two different sorts. The one (1) is like a 

 carousal or running at the ring, except, that 

 instead of being horizontal, it is perpendi- 

 cular. The lovers of the swing are seated 

 in chairs, fasten'd on an axle-tree, which 

 are driven about by means of a wheel or 

 only with the hands. The other (2) is a 

 swing for # sitting persons, that are put in 

 motion by 2 standing ones. Such swings are 

 raised in the Easterweek on publick places. 

 Those, which we here view, stand upon the 

 place before the stony theatre at St, Peters- 

 bourg, where also brandy tents (3) are pit- 

 ched, and soldiers of the police posted, to 

 prevent disorders or to appease them by me- 

 ans of the fire-engine, which here appear*. 



