Chao. II. Northern Coafts (^Europe. 473 
Man, to have conjugal Commerce with his Wife, three 
Days in the Week, as ^/londuy •) I'V cdncfdciy^ and I^Tiday- 
Thole who break this Law, imift bathe themfelves^ be- 
fore they enter the Church Door. No Man is admitted 
into the Church that has had two Wives ; every fuch 
Perfon mull flay in the Porch j and he who marries a 
third Time, is excommunicated. 
If a Woman is barren, a Man may do what he can 
to perfjade her to retire into a Convent willingly, and it 
the will not, he may beat her till fhe gives her Confent 
to it. It is reported that the laft Emprefs would have 
been Ihut up in a Monaftery, had the not at laft brought 
forth the C^arowitz^ or Prince Royal, who was born 
nine Years ago, on the 2d of June.^ 1661. The Em- 
prefs had feveral Daughters, but that would not have 
excufed her, unlefs llife had had a Son and Heir. When 
the Czar of Mufcovy is willing to marry, there are feve- 
ral young and beautiful Ladies prefented to him, out of 
which he generally chufes one to be his Wife. 
The laft Czar on this Occafion made Choice of a young 
Lady who w'as not at all liked by Boaris Juaiio'imtz^ 
the reigning Favourite and Minifter. This Lord would 
fain have had his Matter accept of a Wife of his chuf- 
ing, and endeavoured to fet him againft the Lady he 
had himfelf cliofen. He propofed to him the Daughter 
of Eliah Banelowitz^ a Man of obfeure Birth, who 
had got into fome Credit, by Means of a good Eftate 
left him by his Uncle, one Gramatin, Secretary ot the 
Embaffador’s Office. The young Gentlewoman’s Name 
was Mary\ ffie was not extraordinary handlome*, but 
witty and cunning, modeft and devout, at leaft in Ap- 
pearance. Boaris thought if ftie was advanced to the Em- 
peror’s Bed, by his Procurement, ffie would be govern- 
ed by him ; and his Favour with the Czar made his 
Hopes the more probable. He intended to marry the 
younger Sifter himfelf, to ftrengthen his Intereft by 
. that Alliance. The Propofal he made to the Emperor, 
was not, at firft, approved of. He v/as very much trou- 
bled at it, , but thought it would be his fafeft Way to 
diffemble his Difeontent ; and knowing the Emperor’s 
Jnclination for the young Lady he had chofen was top 
powerful for him to reftft openly, and that it might, 
perhaps, irritate him, if he difeovered his Averfion for 
the Match •, he refolved to break it off by Treachery, 
to prevent any Sufpicion of his Defigns. He bribed the 
Women that were, according to Cuftom, to prefent her 
with the Crown, and they tied the young Lady’s Hair 
fo hard, that ffie fell down into a Swoon j the Women 
gave out that ffie had the falling Sicknefs ; her Father, 
who brought her, was feized, accufed of Treafon, whipt, 
and baniffied into Siberia. 
The Gentlewoman, w‘hen ffie came to herfelf, found 
ffie was a vaft Diftance from the Throne, to which a few 
Minutes before ffie was fo near : However, ffie valued 
herfelf fo much on the Emperor’s Choice of her, that 
ffie would never afterwards marry, though feveral be- 
neficial Matches were offered her. She was not troubled 
with the falling Sicknefs any more. The Ring and a 
Pocket Handkerchief which the Czar gave her, ffie always 
kept as Tokens of her Preference in his Favour, though 
of fo ffiort Duration. When the Emperor underftood it 
was only an Accident occafioned by the tying her Hair 
tooftrait, he was very much troubled at it, and affign- 
ed her a confiderable Penfion to make amends for the 
Lofsof a Crown, and the ill Ufage her Father had buf- 
fered on her Account. Boaris prevailed with him to 
marry Danelowitz'’s Daughter, to which he was the ra- 
ther induced, becaufe he was afraid of being bewitched 
if he refufed ; and the Favourite married Anne the Cza- 
rinod^ Sifter, as he intended to do, it the Czar coniented 
to marry Mary the eldeft Sifter. 
Though he got feveral Advantages by this Marriage, 
he loft one that was more valuable than ail the reft, 
which was his Quiet. He was old and jealous. Elis 
Wife handfome and young. They quarrelled in a ffiort 
Timci and he caufed Mr. bFilliam Barnjley; an Englijh- 
man of JVorceJlerJhire^ to be baniffied to Siberia.^ becaufe 
he fufpeded that he was too familiar with her. Barnjley 
lived twenty Years in Exile, and afterwards was recalled 1 
^ VoL. II. Numb. ioi. 
he turned from the Proteftant' Religion tP thtRuffiani, 
married a great Fortune, and lived at Mofeow in Splen- 
dour. Eliah., the Emperor’s Father-in-law, durft not 
fay that the Emprefs was his Daughter, nor any of the 
Family, that they were related to her, even not her Un-^ 
cle, John Paolowitz Martifcha^ who was preferred to fe- 
veral Pofts, one after another. When the Czarowitz., or 
Prince Royal, is fifteen Years old, he is carried to the 
Market Place, and ffiewn on Mens Shoulders, that he 
may be known ; thereby to prevent any Impoftiire, 
there having been many Cheats impofed on the MufeO’^ 
vites for real Princes. Till he arrives at that Age no- 
body fees him, but thofe who are intrufted with his 
Education, and fome of the Chief of his Domeftics. 
Even the ordinary Sort of People, in Mufeovy^ hide 
their Children from every body, but their intimate 
Friends, and neareft Relations ^ they having a Super- 
ftition among them, that Strangers have certain Looks 
that are unlucky. Their Children are ftrong and robuft ^ 
they never fuck above a Month, or two Months at the 
moft; after which they give them a Horn, or a Sort of 
Silver Cup, made like a Horn, with a dry Dug of a 
Cow tied to the End of it, for them to fuck. 
At two Years old they make them obferveFafts, which 
are- very ftrifl. They have four general ones in a Year* 
In Lent they fail three Days in a Week; IFednefdays, 
Fridays., and Saturdays. On which Days they don’t fo 
much as eat Fiffi, living on Cabbage, Cucumbers, and 
Rye-bread. They then drink nothing but ^ajji, a Sort 
of Beverage, weaker than Small-beer. They won’t 
drink after a Man who has eat Fleffi ; and when they are 
fick, they will take noPhyfic in the Compound, of which 
there is either Cor Cervi, or Pil. Lepor ; fo fcrupulous are 
they in the Obfervation of their Fafts. 
Their ufual Penances are, to bend their Bodies crook*' 
ed to ftrike their Heads againft an Image ; fometimes 
to eat nothing but Bread, Salt, and Cucumbers, and to 
drink only fair Water. They never eat any thing 
that they call Pagano, i. e. impure ; as Horfe-fleffi, 
Hares, Rabbets, Elks, or Mares-milk, Affes-milk, Cfr. 
in which they obferve the Mofaical Law in fome Mea* 
fure. The EmperoPs Magazines being burnt lately, no 
lefs than fix thoufand Flitches of Bacon were burnt with 
them. By which we may fee there is fome Difference 
between their Religion, and that of the Tartars, who 
abhor all Manner of Swine’s Fleffi. Veal is reckoned 
impure, yet Lamb is not. Venice Treacle is alfo not allow- 
ed by them, becaufe there is Viper’s Fleffi in the Com* 
pofition of it ; nor will they eat any thing, if there is 
the leaft Muflc, Civet, or Caftor Fleffi in it ; though 
the Barbarians feed on it in the North very frequently* 
Sugar, and Sugarcandy, are Scarmunas, i. e. forbidden 
on Faft Days ; and a Knife that has cut Fleffi, muft not 
be ufed for twenty-four Hours after. 
The Regularity that the Mufeovites obferve in their 
Fafts is of great Advantage to them ; they would not, 
without it, have Meat enough to ferve their Occafions ; 
becaufe they are forced all the Winter long to ffiut up 
their Cattle in Houfes, for five or fix Months together 5 
and the Peafants, who are perfed Slaves, don’t much care 
to trouble themfelves about encreafing their Stock of 
Cattle, for fear their Lord ffiould come and take them 
away from them, which is very common for them to do. 
14. The Patriarch is Chief of all the Ecclefiaftics. 
The Perfon who executes that Office at prefent left the 
Court two or three Years ago, on fome Difguft he took 
at the Minifter s. It was faid he began to make Innova- 
tions, and that he did not love Pidures ; to which the 
Mufeovites have a great deal of Refped. The patriar- 
chal See has been ever fince vacant. But the Metropo- 
litan, or Bilhop, or rather Coadjutor, performs all the 
Duties of ' this Office, And the Czar dares not fill the 
patriarchal Chair, fo long as the abdicated Prelate lives ; 
fo highly is his Perfon reverenced in Rujfia. Of all the 
Miifcovite Ceremonies, that of Palm Sunday is the moft 
extraordinary. A hundred Men are ordered to clean the 
Streets, for the magnificent Proceflion. 
The Emperor marches afoot, richly dreffed in Cloth 
of Gold ; the Train of his Robe born up by Princes, and 
6 E all 
f 
