In regard to useful handicrafts. Even the Swedish officers employed themfelves here, partly for want of other means of fupport, in a variety of mechanical arts and trades. In their diftressful fituation, being reduced to the neceffity of applying themselves to con fider and to imitate what they had feen in Sweden and other countries, they became the teachers of the inhabitants of the country, diffeminated their knowledge among them, and instruct ed them in feveral profitable employments." Vol. ii. p. 135.

ftill greater conftraint. These severities Peter did his utmost to remove, by declaring that women ought not to be excluded from the comforts of focial intercourfe; and they testified their gratitude to him for it. He wanted to alter the Afiatic dress of the Ruffians, and to introduce that generally worn in the other parts of Europe. He there fore made it one of the rules to be ob served in the forementioned assemblies, that every one muft appear in the light modern drefs; and the female fex, who had obtained more liberty by Peter's means, carefully and with cheerfulness adhered to this rule. It was far more

&c.

"SOCIETY was a thing almoft un known to the manners then prevalent in the Ruffian nation. Peter accomplished much likewise in this respect, convinced as he was that intercourfe and fociety could not be inefficient in the cultivation of a people, but muft contribute to a greater expanfion of the faculties, to bring truths, opinions, judgments, and ideas into more rapid circulation; and that therefore a fociable people would be more fenfible than an unfociable. In order, there fore, to fet the fashion, as he knew that the example of the higher orders invites the lower ranks to imitation, fet on foot [1716] focieties under the name of affemblies, and even gave out a particular set of rules for them. They were kept three times a week in the houfes of the principal persons of qua lity in rotation. Peter and Catharine frequented them in perfon; but all formality and constraint were banifhed. All perfons of rank, noblemen, fuperior officers, refpectable merchants, hip-builders, and other people of condition, had free admiffion with their wives and children. That ladies too fhould take part in fuch companies was a thing as yet unheard of in Ruffia. Hitherto even married women, only on certain great holidays, and in company with their husbands, could venture to vifit their nearest relations. They lived retired in the back part of the house, and were very much confined. Unmarried ladies were kept in

tion in their drefs, which, however, in Peter's opinion, might much contribute to leffen the hatred entertained by his countrymen against foreigners. He commanded all his fubjects (the clergy, boors, Tartars, Kalmucks, and tribes of their clafs excepted) to shave their beards; an order, to which violent oppofition was made. For enforcing this regulation he laid a tax on long beards, and great numbers fubmitted to pay it rather than part with their beard, which was univerfally held to be an ornament to the perfon. Superftitious Ruffians even thought it an outward characteristic of the orthodox faith, (for in what trifles has not orthodoxy been made to confist?) and, if too poor, or too parfimonious, to pay the tax for retaining the beard, they religiously preferved the beard fhorn off, and had it depofited in the coffin with them on their decease, that they might prefent it to St. Nicholas, on his refufing to admit them, as beardless Chriftians, into the kingdom of heaven. Peter wanted likewife to effect an alteration in the dress of the men. Accordingly, whoever was in his fervice muft appear in clothes of a foreign cut; and under all the gates of the town, patterns of these clothes were even hung up *.

"Peter alfo refolved to give his peo ple a tafte for the drama. Before this time, at Kief and Mosco, spiritual plays were performed occafionally in the monafteries. Under his patronage a na tional theatre was formed at Mofco,

which, however, it must be owned, was bad enough. More was done in this matter by his female fucceffors. "In the times anterior to Peter it was ufual for parents to conclude marriages for their children; and the young people never faw one another till they were to be betrothed; a cuftom which was certainly attended with many inconveniences. Peter made a law, that every young couple fhould frequent one another for fix weeks at leaft previous to the betrothing.

"In order to difcredit, in the eyes of his people, the old ufages, many of which were indeed highly ridiculous, Peter had recourse to various methods. At times he appointed an entertain ment, at which every thing was to proceed on the old footing, in which his defign was to dilplay the difference between the ancient and modern manners, and to fhow the fuperiority of the latter in a way irrefiftibly ftriking. Thus, for example, he once celebrated the nuptials of one of his court-fools in a most magnificent manner; but entirely in the style of the fixteenth cen tury. The guests were obliged to appear in the drefs after the fashion of that time. No fire was lighted, though the weather was intenfely cold; because it was an old fuperftitious notion, that the kindling of a fire on the wed ding-day was unlucky. The old Ruf fians were fond of mead and brandy, but drank no wine;-this particular was therefore punctually obferved. The guests fhowed themselves highly difcontented at it. This was exactly the cuftom with our forefathers, Peter answered them fmiling; and furely old customs are preferable to 'new ones thus jeeringly giving them a good leffon. It was then ufual to keep fools for the diverfion of the court; and, indeed, till very lately the nobility always had one about the houfe: nor is the practice yet entirely left off in the country. The courtfools ufed frequently to make themfelves merry with the old fashions, customs, and manners, mimicking many of the fliff obftinate ticklers for the

antiquated ftyle; and, on their complaining to Peter of the affront, he generally anfwered them: They are fools, what can be done with them?

"From what has been faid, it plainly appears that Peter in many respects gave a new turn to the manner of think

2

ing and acting of the Ruffian nation I fhall only fubjoin a few obfervations. The extraordinary and indefatigable activity of this monarch: one while undertaking a fiege at a diftance from his empire, or fighting at the head of his army, then fuddenly appearing in the refidence, and frequenting the fit. tings of the fenate, or presenting himfelf in the courts of juftice, or confult ing with the clergy on ecclefiaftical reforms, or felecting ingenious perfons to fend out on travels; now under. taking a journey himself; working in foreign countries in the dockyards and workfhops; becoming an attentive fcholar in the ftudies of literary men, at Amfterdam, with the naturalift Ruyfch, or, as at Paris, vifiting an academy of fciences; then re-appearing in his empire, and there making difpo fitions for eftablishing a manufactory; in one place caufing a canal to be dug. in another ordering fhips to be built; to-day publishing an ordinance relating to proceffes in the courts, to-morrow iffuing a table of precedence; one mo ment feverely punishing a judge who had fuffered himself to be corrupted, the next rewarding another for fervices performed to the country; now holding a triumphal entry, then paffing the whole day in the museum of the works of nature and art of his own inftitution, in the contemplation of nature, and the great performances of human in duftry and contrivance :-in fhort, that in all his undertakings for the good of his country he was obliged to work and act himself, as he was in want of able perfons to whom he should need only to trace out a plan, and then could leave the execution to their care

fuch a vast activity must surely have roufed in fome degree the Ruffians, who were apt to let their faculties lie dormant, from their inaction, animate them to the employment of their abili ties, and teach them to confider induf try as a good and useful property.”➡ P. 150.

(To be continued.)

LXXXV. Ageneral Account of all the Rivers of Note in Great Britain; with their feveral Courfes, their peculiar Characters, the Countries through which they flow, and the entire Sea coast of our Ifland; con

cluding

PLATES.

rather inclined to the fouth-eaft, butbeneath Darlington it turns abruptly to the north-eaft, and falls into the fea below Stockton in Durham, which may be called its port.

Tees derives its origin, are gigantic, "The mountains, from which the and Teefdale prefents a long winding ftripe of fertility, furrounded by fome of the wildest districts in the kingdom. This extraordinary valley is more than thirty miles in length, well fprinkled with villages, with the little town of Middleton near its centre, and Barnard

of the Courfes of Rivers.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I. General Introduction. -II. Rivers of Effex,northward of the Thames.-III. The Trent and its various component Streams.-IV. Congress of the Rivers of Yorkshire, which unite with the Trent and Ancholme, to form the Humber.- -V. Rivers of Durham.--VI. Coaft of Scotland, from Berwick on Tweed to the Firth of Forth.-VII. Eaftern Coaft of Scotland, from the Firth of Tay to the extreme Point of Kinnaird, in Aberdeenshire, and to the Entrance of the Murray Firth.VIII. The Spean of Inverness-fhire. -IX. Rivers of England communicating with the western Sea.--X. Rivers of Wales beyond the Dee. XI. Milford Haven and its various Branches.--XII. The Wye and its tributary Streams-XIII. Rivers of Somersetshire, the North of Devonfhire, and Cornwall.--XIV. Rivers of Devonshire and Dorsetshire.-XV. The Coaft of Devonshire, Dorsetfire, and Hampshire---Rivers of Suffex and Kent.-XVI. The Thames and its auxiliary Streams.XVII. Ditto continued.Ditto concluded.

EXTRACTS.

-XVIII.

THE TEES AND THE WEARE. "THE Tees rifes in those vast moors which feparate Yorkshire from Durham, Cumberland, Weftmoreland, and Northumberland. Its courfe is at first Voz, V.-No. LI.

river itself aflimilates throughout with its external attendants, of rocks, moors, and mountains, being broad, shallow, and rapid, frequently ravaging the valley with its inundations, and precipicroiled by an extraordinary foot bridge tating itself in vaft cataracts. It is here fufpended by iron chains, after which, buried within deep rocks, and fteep wooded banks, it almost encircles the ancient town of Barnard Castle, dashing through its long bridge beneath the walls of its caftle; afterwards it enters a deep dell beneath the Abbey of Egglestone, tearing its way with raRokeby, below which it receives the pidity through the rich domain of Greta from Yorkshire, and another fmall ftream from the moors of Durham, forming a fine feature in the highly ornamented territory which furrounds the majeftic walls and towers of Raby Caftle, and the elegantly-dif pofed grounds of Mr. Wane at Sellaby.. The Tees ftill preferves its character, as it divides Durham from Yorkshire

for a great diftance, prefenting a striking and romantic object, from whichtown of Darlington, with its high ever fide it is viewed. The flourishing fpire, lies a few miles above its northern bank in Durham; and Stockton, in the fame county, exhibits a street, with a large market-houfe in its centre, which for width and regularity is furpafled by no country town in England. The Tees is here croffed by a magnificent ftone bridge, and being now affected by the tide, admits fhips of confiderable burden.

"The Weare finds its fource in the fame wild range of moors which produce the Tees, but confiderably to the north of that river; its courfe is almof parallel with it, bearing at firft to the south-eaft, and at Bishops Auckland 3 R

turning

turning to the north-eaft; after nearly furrounding the city of Durham, it flows northward to Chester le Street, and then inclines a little towards the eaft, to reach its port of Sunderland.

"The Weare may be called a miniature of the Tees, much refembling that river in character, though greatly its inferior in width and rapidity. Weare-dale is (like Tees-dale) a very wild and romantic diftrict, yet pleafantly interfperfed with villages, headed by the market town of Wolfingham. Emerging from thefe receffes, the Weare flows boldly beneath the town of Bishops Auckland, and below the park of that princely territory, which many fucceffive bishops of Durham have contributed to embellish as the principal refidence of that rich and powerful fee. The prefent bishop, enabled by a fortune fuperior to moft of his predeceffors, has mad onfiderable improvements and additions, with taste and liberality; which appear to great advantage, in defcending from the lodges opening from the Durham road, where the venerable pile of the Gothic chapel exalts itself above the numerous more modern buildings, fronted by an extenfive portico in an appropriate tafte. The Weare buries its winding courfe in deep dales, till it is arrested by the high circular hill which is crowned by the majestic cathedral and ftately caftle of Durham, from whence the city defcends in steep winding ftreets to its three bridges, which terminate in long fuburbs. A more fingular pofition, for the capital of a county can hardly be imagined, and the effect of thefe vaft objects, from their elevated fituation, is wonderfully ftriking; but the streets are moftly narrow, fteep, and inconvenient. Almoft the whole fummit is covered by the cathedral and its two closes, one of which contains the fuperb refidences of the dean and chapter, the other being appropriated to the bishop. The county hall is within his great precincts, and the majestic towers of his almoft regal caffle, overhang the Weare proudly from the fummit of a perpendicular rock. It contains many noble apartinents, and would make a diftinguished figure, were the fame tafte and fpirit which has adorned Bishops Auckland fo fuccefsfully, extended to this majestic pile; but of late (though kept in fufficient repair) it has been

THE TAY

rms a

"IS one of the moft confiderable and beautiful rivers in our island, traverfing the whole great county of Perth, amidst the richeft diftricts of the middle range of Scotland, and forming itself the principal ornament to fome of the moft romantic tracts in nature. Its fource is in one of the higheft and wildeft eminences in the western High lands, from whence it rushes with a fingularly characteristic rapiditv. through the gloomy hollow of Glena art, or the Vale of Affliction, where fmall lake, with a bare ifland and a caftle, which might ferve for the abode of melancholy. The pleafant little town of Killin is delightfully fituated, fome miles lower, on a neck of land between the two points, where the placid Lochy and the rapid Tay, ftrongly contrafting each other in character, form the great expanse of water called Loch Tay. Lofty mountains furround this charming lake, encircling a wooded, populous, and well-culti vated diftrict; two good roads pervade the whole, on eminences overhanging each fide of the water, and command every fpecies of the fublime and beau tiful in landscape. These scenes are varied happily by the three great turns of Loch Tay, the laft of which difclofes all the ornamented territory of Taymouth, whofe groves fweep the whole horizon, ftretching across the plain at the bottom of the lake from the heads of two oppofite mountains, and interfperfed with many confpicuous buildings. The Tay makes its exit from the lake through the handsome ftone bridge of Kenmore, the church of which vil lage ftands finely exalted on an eminence looking directly down Loch Tay.