sensibly afflicted; 
TOL 
were those who played with him! for 
he ie a band he seized, lust his hand, 
and hie whose head he smote, lost his 
head ! : z 
The inhabitants of Novogorod soon be 
came weary of the sports of the young 
prince; andthe Posaduiks, or municipal 
Ynagistrates, assembled! at the Town- 
House, to deliberate concerning him. 
After the consultation was over, they re-- 
paired to Basil’s mother, and addressed 
heras follows: ; 
“« Thou art a good lady, Amelpha Ti- 
mophéiewna; watch therefore nore strict- 
dy over the conduct of thy dear child, the 
boy Basil,son of Boguslas; and take care 
in particular, that he no longer spend. ~ 
whole days in the street, amusing himself 
in the rough manner he hath been aceus- 
tomed to do; for our great city already 
hegins to be depopulated by his divers 
sions.” 
At this discourse, the good lady was 
Posadnicksto regulate her son better, and 
then making a low curtesey, dismissed 
them with her usual politeness. After 
‘this, calling Basil, she spoke to him as 
follows: 
“ In the name of God, my dear child, 
do not go any more into the street to di- 
vert yourself with grown men, and the 
young,lads of Novogorod. You possess 
the strength of a warrior, but you have 
not discretion enough to use it with pro- 
priety; for he whose hand you seize, loses" 
his hand, and he whose head you but 
strike, loses his head. The people al- 
ready murmur and the Posadniks have 
come to me to complain. Were they to 
revolt, what could we do against them ? 
You have no longer a father; and as for 
me, I am but a poor widow; and what- 
ever your strength may be, is it possible 
that you yourself, could resist against 
thousands of enemies? Are not the in- 
habitants of Novogorod innumerable! 
Listen to my counsel therefore, and 
obey thy mother !” 
Basil, son of Boguslas, listened most 
respectfully to the remonstrance: of his 
mother, and when she had concluded 
her discourse, he inclined his head to the 
ground, and spoke as follows: 
_ «& My guod mother, I care not for the 
Posadniks, or the men of Novogerod, 
but I pay a high respect to thy mater- 
nal remonstrances and good advice! I 
promise therefore, that I shall never again. 
divert myself in the streets; but how 
am I to be amused? How am I to 
prove the strength ef my arm? You have. 
she promised the~ 
Retrospect of French Literature.—Miscellanies. 
not brought me into the world that I 
might shiver all day long over a stove; 
and it is not for nothing that I have re- 
ceived the vigour of a warrior. O! when 
the proper time arrives, I will know how 
to humble the Posadniks; and when 
- 
that periods comes, all the country of the. . 
Russians shall bend before me! But as ~ 
at present, I am under your guardian- 
ship, I hope you will permit me to se- 
lect a few companions, with whom I can 
divert myself without auger, hy shewing 
the strength of my arm. Give me hy- 
- poeras and beer, therefore, that [ may 
invite the brave and courageous, and 
thus find guests worthy of me !” 
This request was immediately granted. 
Amelpha Timopheiewna ordered whole 
hoghsheads of hypoeras and beer to be 
placed before the gates of the palace, 
to which were suspended rich cups of 
massive gold. Heralds at the same time, . 
walked along the streets of Novogord, 
proclaiming as follows : 
“«« If any one wishes to live in pleasure 
and abundance, and if any one desires 
to wear fine clothes, let him present him- 
self at the castle of Basil, son of Boguslas, 
But let him first consult his strength, and- 
try the solidity of his bones; for Basil, 
the sou of Boguslas, loves only those 
who are at once strong and courage-. 
eus.” 4° 7) | 
It was thus that the heralds cried aloud 
from morning till night; but yet no one 
presented himself. .Meanwhile, Basil, 
son of Boguslas, was stationed at a wine © 
dow in lis apartments, guarded with 
massive iron bars, to see if any compa= 
nions should arrive; but the casks still 
remained full, for no one dared to touch. 
them; not.a single guest presented. him= 
self! At length, as it began to get dark, 
Formuschka the Big appeared at the gate. 
He approached the hogsheads, which 
were made of oak, and seizing a large 
gold cup filled it with hypoeras, and 
swallowed the whole at a single draught. 
When Basil beheld this, he immediately 
descended from his chamber in great 
haste into a large court, where Formusihka 
the Big was standing, and struck a severe 
blow with his heavy mace, behind his. 
right ear. Formaschka never once stag= 
gered, and the short black curls of his _ 
chair scarcely seemed to be in the least 
affected! On this the heart of the young 
prince leaped with joy; and taking the 
bold Formuschka by the hand, he made 
him ascend the stair-case and enter his 
gilded chamber. He then embraced him, | 
and both of tirem swore on the honour 
> 
