318 
BY THE ISTHMUS OF PERECOP, 
chap. Russia with the remotest provinces of her vast 
vm. 
v. ’ empire. 
Nagay Another singular appearance at Perecop is 
Tahtars. ° 11 - __ . 
afforded by the concourse of Nagay Tahtars 
frequenting the market for water-melons, a 
species of fruit seen here of extraordinary 
size and perfection. These Tahtars are a very 
different people from the Tahtars of the Crimea ; 
they are distinguished by a more dimi- 
nutive form, and by the dark copper colour of 
their complexion, which is sometimes almost 
black. They bear a remarkable resemblance 
to the Laplanders, although their dress and 
manner have a more savage character. It is 
probable that the Nagay Tahtar and the 
Laplander were originally of the same family, 
difficult as it now is to deduce the circumstances 
of their origin'. The following fact may serve 
(0 The subject of their relationship might however have received 
considerable illustration, had the writings of the learned Porthan, 
Professor of History at the University of Abo in Finland, found their 
way to the rest of Europe. Excluded by his situation from all inter- 
course with more enlightened seminaries, his labours and his name 
have hardly reached the ears of any literary society ; yet should his 
lucubrations survive the present desolating scourge by which the 
Russians afflict those remote provinces of Sweden, a brighter light may 
irradiate the pages of History ; and the annals of mankind may derive 
additional records from a native of Finland, skilled in the language, 
the traditions, and the mythology of his countrymen. 
