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CHAP. XXVI.
siderable in the whole extent of the German andHungarian dominions of the house of Austria ,though much of what is so used may not be ofdomestic fabrication. The countries adjoining toAustria, Poland and Turkey, are, in general, toopoor to indulge much in such expensive luxuriesas gold and silver; and though in Warsaw,Cracow , and most cities of Turkey, there arejewellers, silversmiths, and watchmakers, theirtrade is greater in sale of the goods from theGerman fairs, than from similar articles of theirown fabrication. In the Russian empire, thoughthe nobility are disposed to any expenditure whichmay tend to show and magnificence, yet theybear but a small proportion to the whole popu-lation, and many of their estates are encumberedwith debts and settlements to an extent which hascompelled them to practise unwilling parsimony;and the few who are enabled to indulge inluxuries are more disposed to expend their moneyon foreign than on domestic plate and jewellery.The chief consumption of the precious metals inthe Russian Empire is in the ecclesiastical de-corations of their churches, in the sacred utensilsdedicated to their church service, but especiallyon the dresses of the clergy, which are profuselyornamented with gold.
In the Prussian dominions generally, and thesame observations will apply to the greater part ofthe north of Germany , the nobility for the most