military escort

spite of the solemn and earnest character of their preparations, such as loading muskets, and searching for all possible weapons of defence, before we entered the dreadful forest-spite of all these measures of precaution, and the alarm which I detected in all countenances, I, for my part, felt not the least apprehension.

There exist certain situations apt to exalt man above all events incidental to every-day life, rendering him wholly inaccessible to all such emotions as fear. Placed in such circumstances, we acquire a marvellous degree of independence, enabling us to look with contempt and utter indifference on what may cause dismay and alarm to others; although at other times, and under different circumstances, we should alike experience some disquietude. This condition, which raises us us above the ordinary incidents of life, is our strength, our delight in misfortune, and was now my best consolation.

We traversed the Murom Forest, the great theme of so many disquieting stories, in perfect safety, without undergoing any of the dreaded adventures; and indeed, after jour

neying over such an extent of steppes, tiresome by their monotony, I might almost say that it afforded me a certain degree of pleasure. I remember I felt much relieved amid the

grandeur of the sylvan scenery; and instead of meeting fierce bands of robbers, I saw only a variety of birds, flying singly or in flocks over our heads, and woodcocks dangling like as many caps on the branches of birch trees. The flapping of their wings, while these birds were flying from tree to tree, scared at the approach of human beings, was the only sound heard in the silent solitude of the immense forest. The sight of these beautiful birds, which were very numerous, made the blood of my Lithuanian heart glow with earlier feelings and mine was the blood of the ancient huntsmen of Lithuania. I sprang up from my seat in the sledge, without knowing wherefore; while the woodcocks, with a quiet and indifferent look, gazed on us from the trees near the road, as if to mock my inability to reach them. Every time we saw such flocks of these feathered tribes, an exclamation of delight burst from me, and for the moment I forgot my situation and my sorrows.

Having traversed the Murom Forest, we approached the banks of the Wolga, and at last arrived at Nijny Novgorod, a city far famed for its fairs. As we drew nigh, the mass of buildings had the appearance of two separate towns, quite distinct from each other; the Wolga intersecting and running between them. The one division was full of activity, business, and animation; the other regularly built, neat, and cleanly, but lifeless, without bearing any marks either of antiquity, or devastation by time. Quiet, immovable, and buried beneath snow, that part of the city appeared in a somnolent torpor, as if under the power of enchantment, and in its first form of youth, freshness, and grace, waiting for ages the arrival of that deliverer whose destiny it was to disenthral it, and restore it to life and action.

I

After contemplating the silent scene for a few moments, I rubbed my eyes, and looked again, but all I saw remained an enigma. asked myself what could have happened. Had the breath of plague passed over the city with its blighting influence? Though it was apparently so fresh, and presented not a sign of decay, still all was solitary and dead !

The mystery was soon cleared up. The portion of the city where we put up, was the place where the celebrated fair is held, called Makariev Fair, after the town of Makariev, whence it had been transferred to Nijny Novgorod in 1817. It lasts five weeks; and during this season, that part of the town becomes the mart for the productions and manufactures brought from all Europe and Asia, for sale or barter. The Wolga, by which the Baltic is united with the Caspian Sea, carries to this place merchandise from the south and the west. Here, the Calmucks, Persians, and Bukharians, come with the produce of their own country; the Chinese, with their tea and silks; the Siberians, with their furs and curious collections of precious stones. These and the like articles of raw produce, and the other riches of Asia, are exchanged for the choice commodities of Europe. It cheered me to see that, by means of commerce on the very spot where I then was, and which I saw so benumbed and almost dead, intercourse was yet maintained between so many nations, differing in origin, customs, language, and religion; in the colour of their skin and in their dress; in their physiognomy and civili

zation. Divided by nearly the whole of the globe, they here meet together on friendly terms, and become acquainted with each other, and humanized.

The busy half of the city, which, at that time, was but just covered with snow, is awake and alive only for a few weeks. During this short period, however, all is activity and bustle within its precincts. Merchants from far and near congregate in the streets; hotels, houses, and huts swarm with a moving mass of strangers, and are overstocked with wares. For these few weeks of her existence, the disenchanted city lives a longer life than her sister, on the opposite shore, during the whole year.

VOL. I.

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