NARVA:

419 All the post houses beyond Strelna are kept by Germans; for each horse we paid two copecs per verst. This part of Ingria formerly belonged to the Swedes. The female peasantry wear a flat bonnet of red silk and gold lace, large ear-rings, a vest without sleeves, and cloth round their legs: women, before their marriage, wear their hair plaited, and hanging down : the males are simply clad in sheeps' skins, with the wool inside.

I would recommend every traveller to sleep at Jarnburg, one stage before Narva. At the former, the post-master told us he had no horses; but the magic of a silver ruble discovered six, quietly eating their hay in the stable, which speedily brought us over a wooden road to Narva, at nine o'clock in the evening, to a very comfortable inn. Here the Russ character began to subside; most of the boors speak German.

In the morning we were much gratified with contemplating a town, which the romantic heroism of Charles XII. of Sweden has for ever rendered celebrated. We passed over the ground where, on the 30th November 1700, Charles routed one hundred thousand Muscovites with eight thousand Swedes. History says, that upon the first discharge of the enemy's shot, a ball slightly grazed the King's left shoulder; of this he at the time took no notice: soon after his horse was killed, and a second had his head carried away by a cannon-ball. As he

These fellows," says he,

was nimbly mounting the third, "make me exercise." His sagacity and humanity were auspicious in the disposal of his prisoners, who were five times his numbers: after they had laid down their arms, the King returned them their colours, and presented their officers with their swords, marched them across the river, and sent them home. I have heard of the humane policy of a British general, who finding, after a battle, that his prisoners greatly exceeded his own troops in numbers, and not possessing the local facilities that favoured the Swedish conqueror, to prevent any ill consequences from a situation so embarrassing, he made every prisoner swallow a copious quantity of jalap, and then ordered the waistband of his breeches to be cut: by this aperient and harmless policy, he placed four men under the irresistible controul of one.

The waterfalls are about an English mile from the town. At a distance, the trees, which hang over the valley through which the waters roll, were enveloped in mist. I should suppose these falls to be about three hundred feet wide, and their descent about seventeen. The weather at this time was delightful, resembling some of our finest days in May. In the evening we went to a play, performed by a strolling company of Germans: the hero of the piece was a young English merchant, decorated with a polar star on his left breast; and another of the dramatis persone was a drunken lady.

We left Narva at seven the next morning, and entered the province of Livonia. The roads were excellent, and the country beautiful: our horses small, plump, and strong; and above we were serenaded by larks singing in a cloudless sky. Our drivers wore hats covered with oil-skin, and woollen gloves; and the German pipe began to smoke. The little Swede excited the wonder and admiration of every Livonian boor, who had never before beheld such a vehicle. In the evening things began to assume a less pleasing aspect: as we approached the lake Piepus, the roads became very sandy, and the country dreary. At the post-house at Kleinpringern, we saw the skins of several bears hanging up to dry, and conversed with a party of hunters, who were going in pursuit of that animal, with which, as well as with wolves, the woods on each side abound. Here let me recommend every traveller to take an additional number of horses to his carriage, otherwise he will experience the inconvenience which attended us before we reached Rennapungen, the next stage. To the little Swede we put two horses, to the barouche six; all lean, miserable animals, wretchedly tackled, and in this trim we started at nine o'clock in the evening, and, axletreedeep in sand, we ploughed our way at the rate of two English miles an hour: at last our poor jaded cattle, panting and almost breathless, after several preceding pauses, made a decisive stand in the depth of a dark forest, the silence of which was only interrupted by the distant howling of bears. Our