COXe's TRAVELS IX RUSSIA,

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cation, threats, and promifes-, was renewed. In this manner we continued wranglingand proceeding from village to village, which were thickly fcattered in this part of thecountry, until near midnight, when we found ourfelves at Kiifma, only Seventeen milesfrom Mofcow, and took up our lodging in a peafant’s cottage. Our Bohemian Servanthaving fortunately devoted great part of the night in rambling to different houfe-s, andadjuring the difficult negotiation for frelh horfes, we were able to depart jdmoft by day-break, and had the ftill farther Satisfaction to pais over the immenfe/pace of feven mileswithout either halt or delay ; fo that by eight in the morning we reached Bretoffhina,half-way between Mofcow. and the convent. Here we found a Ruffian ferjeant, whomPrince Volkorifki had obligingly fent forwards to procure horfes, and accompany us dur-ing the remainder of our journey ; the experience of the preceding day taught us theValue of this military attendant.

At Bretoffhina we viewed a palace built by Alexey Michaelovitch, in which he fre-quently refided : it is a long wooden building, painted yellow, only one dory in heighth,containing a fuite of fmall and low rooms. This palace (if it deferves that name) haslong been uninhabited. The Emprefs, pleafed with the beauty of the fituation, and re-fpedting the favourite refidence of Peter the Great ’s father, propofed to build a largebrick palace near the fite of the old manfion, and part of the materials were already col-lected for that purpofe. On our return to the village we ordered the horfes, and werepleafed to find our order obeyed almoft as foon as iflued : we had, indeed, a fuccefsfulagent in our friend the ferjeant; for the peafants, who were beginning to wrangle, andmake their ufual altercations, were inffantly difperfed by his cudgel, whoie eloquence wasmore perfuafive than the mod pathetic remondrances. The boors were certainly accuf-tomed to this fpecies of rhetoric; for they bore it patiently, and with perfect good hu-mour ; and, the moment they were feated on the box, began whidling and dinging theirnational fongs as ufual. We now continued our route, and arrived at the convent,though clidant from Bretoffhina twenty miles, without once flopping to change horfes.

Troitfkoi Sergief Klofter, or the monadery of the Holy Trinity , at a little didancebears the appearance of a fmall town; and, like many convents in this country, is-iurrounded with high brick walls, drengthened with battlements and towers. Theparapet is roofed with wood, and the walls and towers are provided with embrafuresfor mulkets and cannon : the whoie is furrounded by a deep ditch. This place with-dood feverai Sieges; and particularly baffled all the efforts of Ladiflaus Prince ofPoland , who attacked it at the head of a large army.

Befide the convent or habitation for the monks, the walls cnclofe an imperialpalace, and nine large churches conftructed by different l'overeigns. The convent isa range of buildings encircling a court, and far too fpacious for the prefent inhabitants:it formeriy contained three hundred monks, together with a proportionate number offtudents, and was the richefl ecclefiaftical eftablifhment in Ruffia. Their eflates, aswell as all the other church lands, being annexed to the crown, the members receivepenfions. 'With the revenues the number of monks is greatly diminifhed, and thev donot amount to one hundred. The habit is black, with a veil of the fame colour; theyeat no meat, and the difcipline ot the order is very flrict. Within the convent is afeminary for tiie education of perfons intended for the church, which contained abouttwo hundred ftudents.

The imperial palace, which was much frequented when the fovereign refided atMofcow, is fmall; one of the apartments is ornamented with representations in ftuccoof the principal actions of Peter the Great . The nine churches are fplendid, and ex-tremely rich in gold and filver ornaments, and coftly veftments. The principal church

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