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their wives somewhat better than the common people do theirs. On the death of the wife the pope must become a monk, and it is from the monks that the bishops are elected.

The ceremonial of the Russian baptism differs from that of the Romish only in this, that they plunge the person all over in the water. Dur ing the exorcism, whenever the term devil occurs, all the congregation spit repeatedly, in testimony of abhor

rence.

The custom which they had for merly of buying foreign children that they might make them embrace their religion, is no longer in practice. Whenever any foreigner renounces his profession, whether protestant or catholic, he must renounce also his former baptism; he must curse his father and mother, and spit three times over his shoulder.

The generality of Russian marriages are negotiated and brought about by third persons, and are celebrated without any great solemnity. Commonly five or six of the female friends of him that wants to be married, see the girl he intends to take quite naked before he promises, and if she has any bodily defect, she takes care to conceal it as much as possible. But, for his part, he seldom sees her till he be alone with her in the chamber where the marriage is to be consummated.

The nuptial ceremonies are not great. A small number of people attend the bride till three o'clock in the afternoon. As they come out of church,the Panama, or sexton, throws hops upon her, wishing her to have children in as great a number as there be hops fallen: while another man, having on a sheep-skin shube, or pelice, with the wool turned outwards, accompanies her with wishes that she may have as many children as there be hairs on his shube.

Young people conduct the bridegroom to his house, and old women the bride, who is closely covered all over, so that no part of her person is to be seen. The pope at the same

time carries the cross before her.

The new-married couple seat themselves at table, and stay there some time. They have bread and salt before them, but they eat nothing. Meanwhile a sort of choir of boys and girls sing nuptial songs so lasci

vious and obscene, that no language can make them more so.

At getting up from table an old woman and a pope conduct the newmarried people into their chamber, where the old woman exhorts the bride to be gentle and obedient to her husband, and the man to love his wife as he ought to do.

In one of his boots the bridegroom has a whip, and in the other some trifling trinket. He orders the bride to pull off his boots; and, if it happen that she pull off that first which has the trinket, he gives it her, and it is considered as an omen of good fortune to her: but it is reckoned unfortunate if she take off that first which contains the whip. In that case the husband gives her a stroke with it, as an earnest of what she is to expect in future. This ceremony

being over, they are shut up in their room for two hours: the old woman waiting the while for the marks of the virginity of the bride; which, as soon as she has received, she braids the bride's hair which had till now been disheveled over her shoulders, and goes to demand the Albricias, or dower, of the parents.

To keep the rooms warm in Russia, it is customary here to make a bank of earth round them to the height of about two or three feet; but it is religiously observed not to let any of this earth remain at the head of the new-married pair; because the idea of mortality ought not then to be the object of their thoughts.

Children, of whichever sex, do not dare to refuse the husband or wife their father points out to them, nor slaves such as their proprietor directs. Barice Ivanovitch Morosof, the second person in the empire, having resolved to marry one of his friends to a rich widow of Dutch extraction, who had embraced the Russian religion, she went and threw herself at the feet of the wife of Barice, who is sister to the empress: she intreated her to dissuade her husband from his design of forcing her to break the resolution she had made of never marrying again. All her prayers and intreaties were in vain. Would you dishonour my husband, said the wife of Barice, so much as to refuse a husband from his hand, and make him forfeit the word he has given?

The manner in which the Russians

treat

treat their wives is still very severe and inhuman, although much less so than formerly. It is only three or four years ago, that a merchant, after having beat his wife in a most cruel manner, made her dip her shift all over in brandy, to which, as soon as she had put it on, he set fire, and the woman perished miserably in the flames. This murder was not examined into, because there is no law against putting their wives to death under pretence of correction. They sometimes hang a poor creature up by the hair of her head, strip her quite naked, and whip her in a horrible manner. It is true, they do not have recourse to these punishments except in cases of drunkenness or adultery. They are even rarely practised at all at present; and I have observed of late years that fathers take precautions to prevent ill usage to their daughters; and that they insert these articles in their marriage-contracts: That the husband shall maintain his wife in a manner suitable to his condition: That he shall treat her with tenderness: That he shall give her good victuals and wholesome drink: That he shall not scourge her: That he shall neither kick her, nor give her fisticuffs, &c. &c. A woman that kills her husband is buried alive up to her neck, in which situation she remains till she be dead.

Persons of quality are rarely married without first consulting some fortune-teller, who are for the most part nuns. I have seen a young man run out of his wife's chamber, tearing his hair, and crying as he ran that he was bewitched and ruined. The remedy is to apply to a white magician (as they are called) to untie the knot some black inchanter has tied. This was the case with the young man whom I saw in the above situa. tion.

By the ecclesiastical law all married folks are forbidden to have commerce together three days every week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Such as transgress this law must bathe before they can enter a church. Entrance is forbidden to a man that takes a second wife; who can only go to the porch and whoever marries a third time is excommunicated.

If a man imagine his wife to be barren, he is to do his utmost to persuade her to retire into a convent;

and if she will not consent, he has the liberty of bringing her to reason by the blows of a cudgel.

It is said that even the Empress would have taken the veil, had she not been delivered of the Tzarovitch, or prince, who was born, the 2d of June 1661, after having had four daughters without a son.

His

When the Emperor had determined to marry, it happened that among many young and handsome ladies that were presented to him according to custom, one of them appeared so much to his mind, that it was feared by some who had other schemes in view, that he intended to place the crown upon her head. Barice Ivanovitch, one of the most powerful people of the court, and who wanted to chuse a wife for the emperor himself, undertook to turn aside this design, which he considered as unfavourable to his interests. He took upon him to propose the daughter of Elia Danielovitch, a man of obscure birth, but who had been somewhat raised by the death of his uncle Grammatin, chancellor of the office of ambassadors. The lady's name was Maria, tolerably handsome, wise, modest, and devout; but what was of more importance to Barice, she had a sister whom he himself intended to espouse. proposition was not immediately acceded to, which chagrined him considerably; he thought it best however to dissemble; and knowing that the inclination of the Emperor was too much fixed to be openly counteracted, and that he should irritate him thereby, he resolved to break the marriage by a more secret stratagem, and which might give the least suspicion of his intentions. He won over the women whose business it was to fix the crown upon the head of her whom the Tzar had chosen. These women tied the lady's hair so tight as to make her faint away: upon which they immediately gave out that she had an epileptic fit. Her father, upon this, was accused of treason in presenting her to the Emperor, and exiled into Siberia after having been knouted. Since which time she has several times refused to marry, has never had a fit of epilepsy, and has always preserved with the greatest care the ring aud the handkerchief which the Emperor gave her, as a testimony of his preference to her over all the others.

TL

This coming to the knowledge of the Tzar, he was much afflicted at it, and assigned her a considerable pension to comfort her for the loss she had sustained, and the bad treatment her father had undergone.

In the mean time he married the daughter of Danielovitch privately, that no spell might be put upon his marriage; and Barice was joined to Anne the sister of the Tzarina, who was very readily given him.

This marriage proved advantageous to his fortune, but otherwise to his tranquillity. He was old and very jealous. His wife was young and very handsome. A misunderstanding sprung up between them; the consequence of which was, that he punished her, and sent William Barnsley, an Englishman, (of the county of Worcester) into Siberia, on suspicion of his having had too much familiarity with her. Barnsley remained 20 years in this exile, and afterwards married a lady of great fortune, on his embracing the Russian religion.

Eliah, the father-in-law of the Emperor, dare not say that the Empress is bis daughter, nor inform any of the family that she is their relation, not even her uncle Ivan Pavlovitch Martischa.

When the Tzarovitch has attained the age of 15 years, he is taken to the market-place, where he is shewn in publick, carried on men's shoulders, that he may be known of a sufficient number of people, so as to prevent any imposition that might be attempted to his prejudice, as there have been several imperial impostors in Russia. Till he arrives at this age he is only seen of the person that has the care of his education, and some of the principal domestics. The Russians in general suffer only their nearest relations and most intimate friends

to see their children; and hide them from strangers with great care, fearing lest they should cast an evil upon them.

eye

The Russian children are generally strong and robust: their mothers suckle them only one month, or two at the farthest; after which a horn filled with cow's milk is suspended over their mouths with a teat of a cow fastened to the end of it, which is presented to them when clamorous. No sooner are they two years old than they are obliged to keep the fasts,

In

which are extremely rigorous. There are four of these in the year. Lent they fast three times a week, viz. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. On those days the Russians do not eat even fish: they support themselves solely on cabbages, cucumbers, and coarse rye-bread, drinking only Quas, a sort of sour small beer. They will not even drink after a man that has eaten meat; and if any one be sick, he will not take a medicine in the prescription of which should be these words: Cor. Cervi Al, or Pil. Lepor. so scrupulous are they in the observance of their fasts.

Their ordinary penances are to prostrate themselves, to beat their head before a picture: and sometimes to eat nothing but bread, salt, and cucumbers, and to drink only water.

Mr. URBAN,

THANK

Oct. 4.

I D. A. X. for complying with my request, by pointing out some of the

your Correspondent

cases where he conceives the breadth

of the Manors in Domesday Book to exceed their length. I must, however, differ from him in opinion, until he can make it clearly appear that five quarentence are more than one leuga. Kelham, in his Domesday 1llustrated, renders quarentena a furlong containing 40 perches or poles, the perch being 20 feet. Though eight furlongs now make one mile, yet I think the miles were much longer in Edward the Confessor's time, and at the time of taking the Survey. The computed mile of the North of England, which is never less than a statute mile and a half, and sometimes two miles, and often more, may probably come nearer to the Leuga of Domesday.

out by D. A. Y. does the breadth exIn only one of the cases pointed ceed the length, even supposing eight quarentenæ to be one leuga.

I find in Domesday Book:

Vol. I. p. 314. b. 1. Mennistrop dim lev' lg & 11. q'rent' lat.

In this case 1111 quarentens appear to be less than half a leuga.

P. 319. b. 2. In Chibereworde Silua past' XIII q'rent' lg & 1 leu' lat. Here 12 quarentens seem to be one leuga.

P. 160. b. 2. In Hantone Silua dim.

leu' lg & xvi q' lat.

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