family lives apart; the male with his females, young ones, and those of a year old, that have not attached themselves to any male; so that the family sometimes consists of a hundred and twenty. Those that are old, or have no mistress, live by themselves; and some lie asleep a whole month, without nourishment.

They attack all that pass by, for on seeing a man approach, some rush upon him, while others lie ready to support them. They will even bite the stones that are thrown at them, and rush with redoubled violence on him that throws them. If the hunters strike out their teeth with stones, or put out their eyes, they will not fly; and indeed they dare not attempt it, for could they save themselves from man, their own brethren would destroy them; for if any one seems to be driven back ever so little, others approach to prevent his running; and if he appears to design it, fall upon him. Sometimes they are seen fighting for a mile together, and then one may pass them without danger. If two fall upon one, others advance to support the weakest; for they will not allow of an unequal combat. While these battles last, those that are swimming in the sea, raise their heads, and look at the combatants, and at length come ashore, and increase their number. When only two of them fight, the battle frequently lasts an hour; sometimes they rest, lying by each other, then both rise at once, and renew the engage

ment.

When fighting, they hold up their heads, and turn aside to escape a blow ; for while their strength is equal, they fight only with their forepaws; but one of them no sooner becomes weak, than the other seizing him with his teeth, throws:

him on the ground, and then the lookers on come to the assistance of the vanquished. Their most bloody battles are when one endeavours to carry off the mistress or young females of another. They also quarrel when one comes too near them.

If a man endeavours to take a young one, the male attacks him, while the female endeavours to escape with it; but if she drops it out of her mouth, the male leaves his enemy, and seizing upon her with his teeth, beats her against the stones, till she lies down as if dead; but she no sooner recovers, than she is said to crawl to his feet, which she licks and washes with a copious flood of tears, while the male, stalking about, gnashes his teeth, and tosses his head with every mark of disdain and indignation. They swim exceedingly fast, and when they happen to be wounded at sea, they seize the boats of the fishermen with their teeth, and drag them along so swiftly, that they seem to fly rather than swim upon the water; by which means the boat is frequently overset, and the people drowned.

as

Here are also sea-beavers, which resemble the others only in their downy hair; they are large as the sea-cats; their head is shaped like that of a bear; and in their general form they resemble the seal; their teeth are small; their forefeet are longer than those behind; their tail is flat, short, and sharp towards the point; and their hair thick and black; but that of the old ones is grey. This animal is so peaceable, that it never makes any resistance, and always endeavours to escape by flight. It is remarkable, that the females carry those of their young that cannot swim upon their belly, holding them with their fore-feet

and swimming on their back. When pursued by the fishermen, they never quit their young till the last extremity; and should they happen to slip qut of their paws, they instantly return to take them up again; whence the fishermen endeavour to kill or secure the young, as the most effectual .method of taking their dams.

Of all the fish that are found in the seas and rivers of the Russian empire, which afford great plenty and variety, the sturgeon seems to be the most worthy our notice, on account of the vast traffic it occasions *. The sturgeon is a large sea-fish, which at its season swims up the rivers, having a sharp pointed snout, flat belly, and bluish back. They are of various sizes, sometimes fourteen or even twenty feet in length; but those of a middle size are reckoned the best. When fresh, they are delicious food; and to keep them they are salted or pickled in large, pieces, and put up in cags, from twenty-five to fifty pounds. The greatest sturgeon fishery in the world is at the mouth of the Wolga, which falls into the Caspian sea, where a multitude of hands are employed. The fish are not taken with nets, but in a kind of enclosure, formed with huge stakes, disposed in triangles, representing the letter Z several times repeated; which being open on the side towards the sea, and closed on the other, the fish, ascending in the season up the river, embarrass themselves in these narrow angular retreats, and not being able to turn back again by reason of their bulk, are easily struck, and killed with a sort of harpoon or javelin.

Sturgeons, with us, are reckoned among the number of royal fishes, as belonging to the king when left on shore, but when taken out at sea are the property of the person who takes them.

It is only the small and young sturgeons that are pickled for eating; but the great object of this fishery is the roe or spawn of the fish, a commodity as much used in Muscovy as butter in Hol land. The roes are cured by salting, and drying them in the sun or by the fire, and thus prepared it is called caviar, and is sent up the Wolga to Moscow, from whence it is distributed into all parts of the empire, where it is of great service to the people, on account of the several fasts which they observe with the utmost strictness. If good, the caviar is of a reddish brown colour, and very dry. Some persons eat it with oil and lemon, others with vinegar; sometimes it is eaten alone with bread, and sometimes only as a sauce or pickle, like anchovies.

On the coast of Kamptschatka are an inconceiv able quantity of fish, particularly a large kind of salmon, cod, skate, turbot, herrring, lampreys, and many others, which come from the sea in such numbers, that they frequently stop the course of the rivers, and cause them to overflow their banks; and when the waters retire, a surprising quantity of dead fish remain on the shore,

BUILDINGS.

IN a country so rude and unpolished as Muscovy has been till of late, we cannot expect to find many instances of noble or elegant architec ture; but there are, in this empire, some struc tures which have engaged the attention of our most intelligent travellers, and have been deservedly admired.

The cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, at Moscow, has long been appropriated to the coronation of the Russian sovereigns, and is said to be one of the most splendid churches in Muscovy. The screen is in many parts covered with plates of solid silver and gold richly wrought; the sacred utensils and sacerdotal vestments are extremely magnificent; and from the centre of the roof hangs an enormous chandelier of massy silver, weighing two thousand nine hundred and forty pounds this valuable ornament was made in England, and was presented to the cathedral by Morosof, prime minister of Alexey Michaelovitch.

Several of the paintings which adorn the interior of this church are of colossal size, and some of them were executed so early as in the latter end of the fifteenth century. Among the most famous of these pieces is a head of the blessed virgin, sup posed to have been drawn by St. Luke, and greatly celebrated, among the Russians, for its sanctity and power of working miracles. The head is encircled with a glory of precious stones, and the body is richly ornamented; but as the hands are gilded, and the face is almost black, it has a most grotesque appearance. According to the tradition of the church, this picture was brought from Greece to Kiof, when that city was the residence of the Russian sovereigns; from thence it was removed to Volodimir, and afterwards transferred to Moscow.

The cathedral church of St. Michael is built in the same style of architecture as that of the assumption, and is as richly decorated. From the time that Moscow began to be the imperial residence down to the close of the seven