Portia’s travels in swedPn.

557

Sweabourg. This fortrefs is compofed of feven fmall illands or rather rocks, threeof which are joined to each other by bridges. It requires half an hour to pals fromHelfingfors over to the principal illand (Guftafholm), on which the governor’s houl'eis fituated. No communication between the fortrefs and the town is practicable duringthe prevalence of a ftrong fouth-weft wind. The conftruclion of this place was begunin 1748, and although it be not yet complete, it is in a perfectly defenfible condition,but would for that purpofe require a garrifon of fix thoufand men. The garrifon inJuly 1791, confifted of three battalions of infantry (levies), and two of marines, makingtogether two thoufand men. There was befides a company of artillery, but that wasin another illand, where alfo is the arfenal, and magazine for the land forces only. Oncoming from Helfingfors, you leave this illand on the left. Independent of the garri-fon, there are other inhabitants, which, with the wives and children of the foldiers, maymake the whole population amount to four thoufand. It has neither fpring nor well,but an immenfe refervoir for preserving rain water. The buildings are extenfive andwell finilhed; cafemates are falhioned for five or fix thoufand men, with feveral powdermagazines, three of which alone are built of brick. (The powder colls His Majelly10 rix-dollars the quintal.) There is a complete Half here, and all defcriptioris ofworkmen requifite to a colony. There are befides common prifons in the citadel. Theharbour is excellent, being capable of containing fixty fail of the line: large velfels can-not enter but by an extremely narrow channel, commanded by the guns of the fortrefs ;we faw, exclufive of mortars, one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, which point uponthis palfage, and nearly a thoufand pieces altogether, including the land batteries in thedifferent forts. Many of the works are cut out of the rock. A very handfome dockis now making, which when finilhed, will be able to hold fifteen velfels under cover,twelve of which for the fake of prefervation, and three at the extremity of the dock forrepairs, between two lluices. This dock is three hundred and feventy-two Swedilh feetin length, by one hundred and fifty in breadth. Another new one is conftruCt-ing, which will foon be finilhed, and be capable of containing the largeft Ihips of theline. ■

This is the firlt llation of the flotilla. Here are xebecs, frigates, praams, floatingbatteries, gun boats and yawls in dry dock under cover, but no galleys. The numberof thefe velfels is very confiderable, many of them frigates of thirty-fix guns, and fnipscalled Tsurma, which carry twenty-four thirty-fix pounders, and are the more tremen-dous, from their ports being no more than four feet from the water. Thefe contri-buted greatly towards the victory obtained at Svenkfund. We faw fome velfels, whichlooked like xebecs, carrying ten guns placed in the middle, and which can be turnedin any direction. On board the galleys the fupply is one hundred broadfides, the famefor the yawls and gun boats; thefe latter carry from fixty to fixty-four men, in whichcafe fifty foldiers, eight failors, and fix gunners. The complement of the yawls iseighteen men, commanded by a petty officer; they carry one gun of from eighteen totwenty-four pounds, fixed in fuch a manner, that the boat recoils upon its being firedand not the piece itfelf; in front is a fort of projection, with a platform, from which thegun is loaded, after which the man re-enters the boat. A divifion is generally com-pofed of ten gun boats and fix yawls, fometimes more. Colonel Kiercher, commandantat Sweabourg, (of whofe civilities we cannot fpeak too highly,) has contrived a kind ofbomb ketch, which has not yet been put in fervice. It cohfifts of a very-large velfel,the malt of which is made to lower at pleafure ; the mortar is llationed near the main-mail, in the middle of the velfel; it is couched on a frame of ftrong planks, underwhich is a heap of birch bark of great depth, for the purpofe of diminilhing, by theelafticity of the bark, the violence of the recoil. The mortar is calculated to throw a

bomb