COXI^S TRAVELS IN RUSSIA . 6j l

yards on the level ice of the river. At the end of this courfe, is ufually a fimilar ice-hill, nearly parallel to the forrher, which begins where the other ends ; thus the diver-sion rr,ay be perpetually renewed without intermiffion. The chief difficulty confifts inpeifing the fledge in its rapid defeent down the inclined plane, for if the pilot is notheady, but totters either through inadvertence or fear, he is liable to be overturned,af d incurs no fmall rifle of breaking his bones, if not his neck. I have frequentlyflood above an hour at the bottom of thefe ice-hills, obferving the fledges follow eachc ther with inconceivable rapidity ; but never had fuflicient courage to try the expert’merit # , as one failure might have proved fatal.

Boys alfo continually arnufe themfelves in Rating down thefe hills ; they glide chieflyUpon one fcate, being better able to preferve their balance on one leg than on two.Thefe ice-hills exhibit a pleafing appearance, as well from the trees with which they areornamented, as from the moving objedhs descending without intermiffion, which Rich-ter, in his Iketch of Mofcow, not unaptly compares to a cataradt of human figures.

Another linking objedl is the market on the Neva. At the conclufion of the longfaft which doles on the :4th of December, O. S. the Ruffians lay in their provifionsfor the remainder of the winter. For this purpofe an annual market, which falls threedays, is held on the river near the fortrefs. A long ftreet, above a mile in length, waslined on each fide with an inunenfe flore of provifions, fufficient for the fupply of thecapital during three months.

Many thoufand carcafes of oxen, ffieep, hogs, pigs, together with geefe, fowls, andevery fpecies of frozen food, were expofed for fale. The larger quadrupeds weregrouped in various circles upright: their hind legs fixed in the fnow, with their headsand fore legs turned towards each other ; next to them fucceeded a regular feries ofanimals, descending gradually to the fmalleft, intermixed with poultry and game hang-ing in fefloons, and garnilhed with heaps of fiffi, butter, and eggs. I foon perceived,from the profufion of partridges, pheafants, moor-fowl, and cocks of the wood, that nolaws in this country prohibit the difpofal of game. I obferved alfo the truth of w'hathas been frequently alferted, that many of the birds, as well as feveral animals, in thefenorthern regions, become w hite in winter, many hundred black cocks being changed tothat colour ; and feme taken before they had completed their tnetamorphojis, exhibited avariegated mixture of black and white plumage.

The moll diftant quarters of the empire contributed to fupply this vaft flore of provi-fions, and the finefi veal was fent by land-carriage from Archangel , which is eight hun-dred and thirty miles from Peterfburgh ; yet every article of provifion is furprizinglycheap : beef was fold at one penny the Ruffian pound f, pork at five farthings, and

* Timid perfons, or thofe unaccustomed to this exercife, are occafionally accompanied by~ a condudlor,,who direfts the fledge. A mode well deferibed in the “ Voyage de deux Francois,” &c.

“ Le traineau conlille en une petite plane-,e plus longue que large, et peu elrvee : une feule perfonnepeut s’y ttnir, encore'n’eft elle point a Ton aife. Le condudleur du traineau ell afiis, les jambes ouvertes,entre lefquelles fe place ctlui qui veut defeendre (chaque courfe coute cinq copecks) ; Pun et l’autre ontl’attention de tenir les jambes fort elevees et le corps tres tn arriere,; ainli places, et le raineau etant par-faitement droit, on le conduit au bord de la defeeute, et on le laiffe aller: le condudleur le dirige avec lesmains qu’il tient ecartees du corps, et qui font garanties par des mitaines d’un cuir fort epais. La rapiditede la courfe ell prodigieufe, et le traineau arrive fur le terrain plat, parcourt encore uue afltz grande eten-due : dans le premier moment la refpiration ell fort ger.ee ;■ il faut avoir l’attention de ne faire aucun mouve-mient d’un c6te on d’un autre; on feroit blent.',t culbute, ce qui ell fort ordinaire, mais il arrive tres pead’accidens, par le peu de hauteur de la chute ”

Voyage de deux Franfais au Nord de 1’Europe, tom it" p. 353.

t A Ruffian pound contains fourteen ounces and a half.

5

mutton