M O S C O W. 
In the Khitaigorod is a place where the public archives 
are depofited, a ilrong brick building, containing feveral 
vaulted apartments with iron floors. Thefe archives, 
confiding of a numerous collection of ftate-papers, were 
crowded into boxes-and thrown afide like common lum¬ 
ber, until the emprefs Catharine ordered them to be re¬ 
viled and arranged. In conformity to this mandate, Mr. 
Muller difpofed them in chronological order with fuch 
perfeCt regularity, that any Angle document may be in- 
fpeCted with little trouble. They are enclofed in feparate 
cabinets with glafs doors: thofe relative to Ruffia are all 
clafled according to the feveral provinces which they con¬ 
cern; and over each cabinet is infcribed the name of the 
province to which it is appropriated. In the lame man¬ 
ner the manufcripts relative to foreign kingdoms are 
placed in feparate divifions under the refpeCiive titles of 
Poland, Sweden, England, France, Germany, &c. 
The univerfity of Mofcow, all fituated in the Khitai¬ 
gorod, was founded, at the inftance of count Shuvalof, 
by the emprefs Elizabeth, for 600 ftudents ; who are 
clothed, boarded, and inftrudted, at the expenfe of the 
crown. Beiides this inftitution, there are two gymnafia, 
or feminaries for the education of youth, endowed all'o 
by Elizabeth ; in which are taught, by twenty-three pro- 
feflors, divinity, dallies, philolophy, the Greek, Latin, 
Ruffian, German, French, Italian, and Tartar, languages; 
hiftory, geography, mathematics, architecture, fortifica¬ 
tion, artillery, algebra, drawing and painting, mufic, 
fencing, dancing, reading, and writing. 
Mofcow is the centre of the inland commerce of Rufiia, 
and particularly connects the trade between Europe and 
Siberia. The only navigation to this city is formed by 
the Molkva, which, billing into the Occa near Columna, 
communicates by means of that river with the Volga. 
But, as the Molkva is only navigable in fpring upon the 
melting of the fnows, the principal merchandife is con¬ 
veyed to and from Mofcow upon fledges in winter. The 
whole of the retail trade is carried on in the Khitaigorod ; 
where, according to a cuftom common in Ruffia, as well 
as in moll kingdoms of the eall, all the Ihops are colleCled 
together in one fpot. The place is like a kind of fair, con¬ 
fining of many rows of low brick buildings; the intervals 
between them refembling alleys. Thefe Ihops or booths 
occupy a confiderable fpace; they do not, as with us, 
make part of the houfes inhabited by the tradefmen, but 
are quite detached from their dwellings, which for the 
moll part are at fome diltance in another quarter of the 
town. The tradefman comes to his lhop in the morning, 
remains there all day, and returns home to his family in 
the afternoon. Every trade has its feparate department; 
and they who fell the fame goods have booths adjoining 
to each other. Furs and fleins form the moll confiderable 
article of commerce in Mofcow ; and the Ihops which vend 
thofe commodities occupy feveral llreets. 
Amonglt the curiofities of Mofcow, the market for the 
fale of houfes is not the leall remarkable. It is held in 
a large open fpace in one of the l'uburbs; and exhibits a 
great variety of ready-made houfes, thickly llrewed upon 
the ground. The purchafer who wants a dwelling, re¬ 
pairs to this fpot, mentions the number of rooms he re¬ 
quires, examines the different timbers, which are regu¬ 
larly numbered, and bargains for that which fuits him. 
The houfe is fometimes paid for on the fpot, and taken 
away by the purchafer ; or fometimes the vender con¬ 
trails to tranfport and ereil it upon the place where it is 
defigned to Hand. It may appear incredible to affert, that 
a dwelling may be thus bought, removed, railed, and in¬ 
habited, within the fpace of a week; but we lhall con¬ 
ceive it practicable by confidering that thefe ready-made 
houfes are in general merely collections of trunks of 
trees tenoned and mortifed at each extremity into one 
another, fo that nothing more is required than the la¬ 
bour of tranfporting and adjulling them. But this fum- 
mary mode of building is not always peculiar to the 
meaner hovels; as wooden ftruilures of very large dimen- 
59 
fions and handfome appearance are ©ccafionaliy formed 
in Ruffia with an expedition almoft inconceivable to the 
inhabitants of other countries. A remarkable inftance 
of this difpatch was difplayed the laft time the emprefs 
came to Mofcow. filer majefty propofed to refide in the 
manfion of prince Gallitzin, which was efteemed the com¬ 
pleted: edifice in the city; but, as it was not fufficiently 
fpacious for her reception, a temporary addition of wood, 
larger than the original houfe, and containing a magnifi¬ 
cent fuite of apartments, was begun and finiftied within 
the fpace of fix weeks. This meteor-like fabric was fo 
handfome and commodious, that the materials, which 
were taken down at her majefty’s departure, were to be 
re-conftru< 5 ted as a kind of imperial villa upon an emi¬ 
nence near the city. Mr. Coxe mentions an admirable 
police in this city for preventing riots, or for Hopping 
the concourle of people in cafe of fires, which are very 
frequent and violent in thofe parts, where the houfes are 
mollly of w'ood, and the llreets are laid with timber. At 
the entrance of each ftreet there is a chevaux-de-frize 
gate, one end whereof turns upon a pivot, and the other 
rolls upon a wheel; near it is a centry-box, in which a man 
is occaiionally ftationed. In times of riot or fire the centi- 
nel fhuts the gate, and all paffage is immediately flopped. 
Among the public inftitutions of Mofcow, the moll 
remarkable is the Foundling Hofpital, endowed in 1764. 
by the emprefs Catharine, and fupported by voluntary 
contributions and legacies, and other charitable gifts. In 
order to encourage donations, her majefty granted to all 
benefaftors fome valuable privileges, and a certain degree 
of rank in proportion to the extent of their liberality. 
Among the principal contributors muft be mentioned a 
private merchant named Dimidof, a perfon of great wealth, 
who expended in favour of this charity above ioo,oool. 
The hofpital, which is fituated in a very airy part of the 
town upon a gentle afeent near the river Molkva, is an 
immenfe pile of building of a quadrangular fhape; and 
calculated to receive 8,000 foundlings. The children are 
brought to the porter’s lodge, and admitted without any 
recommendation. The rooms are lofty and large; the 
dormitories, which are feparate from the work-rooms, are 
very airy, and the beds are not crowded: each found¬ 
ling, even each infant, has a feparate bed. The children 
remain two years in the nurfery, when they are admitted 
into the loweil clafs; the boys and girls continue toge¬ 
ther until they are feven years of age, at which time they 
are feparated. They all learn to read, write, and call 
accounts. The boys are taught to knit; they occafion- 
ally card hemp, flax, and wool, and work in the different 
manufadtories. The girls learn to knit, net, and all kinds 
of needle-work; they fpin and weave lace; they are em¬ 
ployed in.cookery, baking, and houfehold-work of all 
forts. At the age of fourteen the foundlings enter into 
the firft clafs ; when they have the liberty of chooling any 
particular branch of trade; and for this purpofe there are 
different fpecies of manufactures eilabliihed in the hofpi¬ 
tal, of which the principal are embroidery, lilk dockings, 
ribbands, lace, gloves, buttons, and cabinet-w'ork. A 
feparate room is appropriated to each trade. Some boys 
and girls are inftrudted in the French and German lan¬ 
guages, and a few boys in the Latin tongue; others learn 
mufic, drawing, and dancing. 
It remains to lay a few words upon the domeftic habits 
of the inhabitants of this immenfe city. 
Carriages are fo common at Mofcow, that almoft every 
perfon makes ufe of them. The equipages of the nobility 
with complete lets of fix horles, are conftantly driving 
about the llreets of Mofcow. The city is of fo large a com- 
pafs, that hackney-carriages are ftationed in the llreets for 
conveying paflengers to the different quarters. Thefe ve¬ 
hicles are without tops, have mollly four wheels, and are 
furnilhed either with a long bench, or one, two, or three, 
feparate feats, like arm-chairs, placed fideways; their 
fares are fo reafonable, that fervants occafionall-y.ufe them- 
upon errands to dillant parts of the city; the coachman 
1 generally 
