and every Room its Guardian Picture in a Corner the Ruffian Place of Honour, to which Strangers pay their Reverence coming in, before they begin their Business, or take any Notice of the Company: These Representations are all called by the general Name of BoG, or God. The reft of their Worship is, in obferving the Fafts, which

Churches

are four in the Year, befides Wednesdays and Faftis “ Fridays, and very fevere; in frequenting the Church, if nigh at hand, once a Day, in lighting up Wax Candles to their Saints, and often repeating the GOSPODI POHMELI, or Lord 'have Mercy upon mè, without any farther Attention: Since the War, and frequent Voyages of their young Gentry, they be gin to be less ftrict in their Fafts; the Czar himself eats Flefh on all of them in private Houses, but refrains from giving any Scandal in Publick. Their Churches are very numerous, fome of Stone, the reft of Wood, all built in the Form of a Cross, with five little Cupolas; every Nobleman's Seat has one; to build a Church being thought a meritorious Act, and laying a fort of Obligation on Heaven, though they are left at Liberty to frequent them. Their Parish Priests and Chaplains, are of the meaneft People, Hufbands of one Clergy. Wife in a literal Explication of the Scripture; and when she died, the Priest was formerly excluded from the Service, and obliged to turn Monk, or take up fome forry Trade for a Livelihood; but this Czar allows them to continue in the under Offices of the Church; from this Parentage and Condition, it is no wonder they are very igno

Secular

rant

Their regular and dignified

Clergy

rant, their utmoft Education being to repeat the Service with a musical Accent, and to read a Chapter in the Bible, which being in the Sclavonian Language, is understood by very few of them; they never read the Old Teftament in the Church, and much lefs allow it to be placed on the Altar. Their Monks and dignified Clergy though almoft equally ignorant, except fome few educated at Chioff, are in much greater Efteem, their Habits, Fafts, (for they never eat any Flesh,) Gravity, and continual Devotion, draw to them the Eyes and Veneration of the People, and their large Poffeffions formerly strength. ened their temporal Interefts fo far, that the Patriarch Nichon durft struggle with the Czar's Father for Independency, and was not kept under without great Disturbance. This Power has been fo dangerous, that the prefent Czar, on the Death of the late Patriarch, fequeftered the Office, committing the fpiritual Administration to the Archbishop of Rezan, and the Management of the temporal Affairs to a Lay-commiffion, who have likewife the Disposal of the Abbey Lands and Revenues, which he took away some Years ago on a pleasant Pretence; for the Abbots on his Enquiry, affecting to appear very poor, alledging, that they were fcarce able to maintain their Monks though they confined themfelves to the poor Pittance of fifteen Rubles a Year per Head; the Czar in a feeming Compaffion told them, he would take Care of their Revenues, and double that Allowance; as he has done in Effect, which, befides the Annual Advantage of one hundred

and

and fifty thousand Pounds Sterling to his Treasury, has quite broke their Intereft in the Country, where they have no more Freehold left, and their Peafants or Subjects, now immediately depend upon the Czar's Officers.

Government

Laws.

The Government is Abfolute in the laft Degree, not bound up by any Law or Cuftom, but depending on the Breath of the Prince, by which the Lives and Fortunes of all the Subjects are decided; the common Compliment of the greatest Nobility being, I AM THY SLAVE, TAKE MY HEAD: However, fuch as are employed in the State have their Share of arbitrary Power, their Proceedings being without Appeal, all in the Czar's Name, which they often abuse to fatisfy their Avarice, Revenge, or other guilty Paffions. For Right between private Men, they have written Lawsom and Precedents which they generally follow, though without any Obligation, and their Methods are eafy and fhort enough, could their Juftice be Proof against the Temptation of a Bribe, which is feldom found in this Nation. The Czars used formerly to keep up the Vedete neration of their Subjects, by appearing very rarely, except in public Acts of Ceremony and Devotion, and then with a Solemnity fuitable to the Occafion; while the Bojars, or privy Counsellors difpofed of the Empire at their pleafure: But his prefent Majefty has broke through this formal Servitude, and omits not Occafion of expofing them and their Customs to the common People; to weaken antient Families farther,

n

Adminiftration

he

he often obliges their Children to the meaneft Service, as being common Soldiers in his Foot-guards, and raises Perfons of no Extraction to the great Employments. The Bojars, or privy Counsellors, had

and Diacks.

formerly the chief Direction of all the The Bojars. Pricaffes, or Offices: The Ocolnitzen were their Affiftants, being a lower Sort of privy Counsellors, only admitted on extraordinary Occafions. The Dumnoy are the Judges of The Dumnoy, all the Proceffes, and the Diacks, the Secretaries: Every Pricaffe was com pofed of thofe Officers, and had a sovereign Jurifdiction of Life and Death, independant one of another, which often caused no fmall Confufion; they were above thirty in Number, for the feveral Branches or Provinces of the Empire, and though they are ftill kept up, yet the head Officers, as Bojars and Ocolnitzen, have been dropt by Degrees, and moft of them left to the Diack, or Secretary. In 1710, the Czar fell upon a new Scheme, which in Time may caufe great Alterations; he has divided the Empire into eight Governments.

New Scheme.

Mosco, with all its Dependencies, is given to Mr. Strefnoff, the Prefident at War.

ARCHANGEL, to Prince Galliczyn, formerly Envoy at Vienna.

ASOPH and the DoN, to Count Apraxin, HighAdmiral.

CASAN

CASAN and ASTRACAN, to Lieutenant General Apraxin, his Brother

CHIOFF and the UKRAINE, to Lieutenant-Ge neral Galliczyn, who was Commiffary of War with the Muscovite Troops in Saxony.

SIBERIA, to Prince Gagarin.

LIVONIA, INGRIA, PLESCOW and NOVOGROD, to Prince Menzicoff the Favorite.

SMOLENSKO, to Monfieur Soltikoff.

VERONITZ and the Ship-Yards, are to be a fmall Government apart, which the Czar referves in petto.

These Governors have the Difpofal of all Employments Civil and Military, receive the Revenues, and defray all the Expences in their feveral Provinces, and send a certain Sum Yearly into the great Treafury, clear of all Charges; they have absolute Power, except in relation to the regular Toops, who are never to be under their Direction, nor paid by them, though quartered in their Jurifdiction, but are to receive their Orders immediately from the Czar and his Generals.

The present Czar is in his thirty-eighth Year, a handsome Prince, of a ftrong Constitution, but of late much broke by irregular Living, and other. Fatigues: He was very subject to Convul

The Czar

fions,