portable tents and pavillions are of the utmost magnificence. A screen of cloth conceals from the eyes of the curious both the exterior and interior apartments.

buffoons, playing their comic tricks on scaffolds, rope-dancers, and venders of every kind of articles, eating-booths, &c. i but what constitutes the chief delight and amusement, both of the higher and lower classes, are the mountains of ice, from the height of which are to be seen different pairs, descending rapidly on elegant sliding seats. The impulsion given by the decli

The etiquette is the same as at Thehran. Every thing, even to a person's looks, are under the strictest regularity. When the Prince shews himself in public, his son, the ministers, the courtiers, and more than two thousand pages, magnificently clothed,vity is so strong, that at the foot of this are seen standing, with their arms crossed over their breasts, placed according to their rank. Every eye is fixed upon the monarch, and a look from him is a command. If he addresses a word to any one, the person exalts his voice to answer him; in speaking, you perceive, however, only the motion of the lips; no gesture, whatever, is made use of.

The Persian monarch is extremely polite; superior to the French in that respect, and even the Chinese. It is a wellknown fact, that he made a very serious apology to General Gardanne, because it rained on the day he made his entry into Thehran.

The court fool, a personage now no longer tolerated in Europe, often gives very useful instructions, and wholesome advice, to his sovereign. Another person of importance is the story-teller. This post requires a great deal of ease in elocution, a happy memory, and a very fertile inagination. It is impossible to form an idea of the passionate foudness which the Persians have for this kind of amusement, and the perfection to which they have brought the art of relating tales, which serve them instead of dramatic pieces; the story-tellers are their actors, and the coffee-houses their theatres.-An Armenian's account of pre

sent Persia.

WEEK BEFORE LENT, IN RUSSIA.

THIS week is the Russian Carnival: every day is consecrated to pleasure; the shops are all shut, and the labourers cease from their work: while the common people appear every where in their Sunday clothes. From every quarter of the town they crowd to the public spectacles, to which the people are transported in traineaux, or on foot: the rich and great, and even the whole court, appear there themselves in splendid equipages: there are to be seen

declivity the sliding seat, and those who are seated in it, are exercised for a full quarter of an hour in an arena of ice, traced out like an amphitheatre, around which are barriers, with seats for the spectators, and five or six rows of carriages, which are moving at a foot pace, and with as much order as can be expected, as they are kept back by soldiers, both on horse and foot. The youths and maidens that assemble themselves in pairs to partake of this singular diversion, are habited in the Russian fashion, which is peculiarly rich and elegant.

During the Easter week, to Low Sunday, which is entirely consecrated to pleasure, fathers, mothers, and children, in their holiday clothes, assemble in the midst of the city, by the left side of the Neva: there may be seen scaramouches, puppetshows, shops for wearing apparel, swings, and turnabouts. The Empress and the Grand Duchesses, in splendid equipages, with the Emperor and heir apparent on horseback, are also seen there, with a numerous suite.

I have remarked, that on these days of festivity and pleasure, that every. Russian has joy and happiness diffused over his countenance; yet they gave themselves up to these amusements without any audible expression of delight, and without any of those gestures indicative of energy.

The Russian shops at St. Petersburgh form an assemblage of all that can be de sired in the article of gold and silver tissues, silks, sheeting, and cloths from every country. In works of polished steel, gold, jewellery, prints, pictures, books, china, furniture, aromatic plants, &c. &c. This building is of brick, with mastic and fretwork, which make it appear as if built of stone; and it is arched over up to the roof, which is of cloth, painted red, and var nished. Neither stove, chimney, nor fire,

TO FISH.

of any kind, is allowed. The shops are LUXURY OF THE RUSSIANS IN REGARD shut at the dusk of the evening, in order that no light may be admitted into them. Fur boots and pelisses, with large pewter vases full of boiling water, are what the merchants make use of against the rigours

of the climate.

AMONGST the nobles, and at all the best tables, we often find fish served up that has been frozen, but which has preserved its taste in all its perfection. One of the fish, that came from a great distance, was two feet long, and six inches wide: it was excellent; and this fish is often used to || make the soup that the Russians call auka. These soups are the chief luxuries of the nobility; the least expence whereof, when there are but a few guests, is from sixty to

Besides what are called Russian shops, there are also, in the most frequented quarters, several well-furnished English magazines, Dutch, Italian, and French: the different merchandizes of which are displayed with much splendour, but are more dear than those to be had in the Rus-fourscore rubles. At every grand dinner sian shops; but it is generally acknow. ledged that they are of much better quality. Journey to St. Petersburgh in 1799, just published in Paris."

an auka is served up. It is composed of the gravy drawn from different fishes, and which forms the broth.-Ibid.

HE DESERVED TO BE A FATHER.

MILFORD, whom nature, fortune, and place a father in the discharge of his most education had enriched with their choicest || sacred functions, in superintending the treasures, was the pride of his father, a morals of his son, and in making him both wealthy merchant of the city of London, a useful member of, and an ornament to who had filled the civic chair, and been society. successively knighted, and created a baronet. Sir Archibald, well aware of the advantages to be derived from a visit to foreign parts, condescended to wean himself, for a few years, of the presence of his son, in order that the youth might reap those benefits which a tour is intended, and calculated, to procure.

Unbiassed by prejudice, Sir Archibald had declined the offers of several amongst our clergymen, on account of their being so partial to the manners and customs of old England, that they could not be persuaded any thing from abroad deserving of imitation; besides, on their return, they all expected a living, such as the Baronet had not at his disposal. Many individuals were proposed, willing to undertake the charge, who had already filled similar situations; but it was discovered, upon inquiry, that their pupils had brought home, not the virtues or accomplishments which distinguish, but the vices that are attributed to those nations among whom they had

The better to accomplish this purpose, Sir Archibald fixed not, as a private tutor, on one of those bear leaders, whose only merit consists in being able to describe every curiosity which each town contains, in the same style as we may hear an account given of the contents of the divers tombs in the various chapels of Westminster Abbey, and in having a superficial || made some stay. knowledge of the language of the different countries: by no means; the worthy Ba-mation that he had to recommend a person ronet wrote to his many correspondents abroad, requesting them to look out for, however humble his circumstances, whatever might be his tenets, whether a Protestant or a Papist was immaterial, provided he was neither a zealot nor a pedant, in short, for a man duly qualified to re

At last, however, his Hamburgh correspondent sent him infor

possessed of every qualification requisite to answer the most sanguine expectation of an enlightened father.

M. De Presle, said the Hamburgher, is a gentleman forty-five years of age. Although a native of France, where he received a liberal education, he has resided

with us ever since he was twenty, having
incurred the displeasure of his family on
account of his marriage with a young coun-
trywoman of ours, because she was a Pro-
testant. Owing to Iris abilities, assiduity,
and good conduct, from the humble situa-
tion of clerk in a counting-house, his em-
ployer first took him into partnership, and
finally enabled him to commence business
on his own private account.
His con-
on-
nexions became extensive, and, for a series
of years, his speculations proved invariably
successful; till of late, repeated heavy
losses, which no human prudence could
have escaped, brought him to a state of
absolute distress, he having disposed, by
private contract, of all his landed property
and valuables to pay his debts. We all
upon 'Change, through a particular regard
for a man so universally esteemed, had
offered to subscribe towards enabling him
to resume his commercial pursuits on a
large scale, but the sudden death of his
wife and only child, a son, has thrown
such a damp on his spirits, that he feels,
he says, a total incapacity for business.
From this last circumstance, alone, I would
have thought M. De Presle a fit person
to accompany your son, as his own, who
had been brought up under his roof and
inspection, was generally proposed as a
model to the youth of our town, before he
died, at the age of twenty-one. Pursuant
to your directions I have made him the
proposal, which he seemed to assent to
with real satisfaction; only when 1 asked
him what remuneration he would demand?
"Sir," he replied, "could I duly act the
part of a parent, if I had a salary in view?
Suffer me to be allowed, for a short time,
to suppose I have a son left me."

| sation, as may well be imagined, was very interesting; neither had it lasted above two or three hours, before they had become as intimate as if they had been connected for as many years.

Sir Archibald, by return of post, wrote to his friend to thank him: enclosed was a letter for M. De Presle, couched in the most flattering terms, with recommendations, in case he should object to a sea voyage; but that gentleman, anxious to relinquish a spot which must inevitably recall constantly to his mind the sad recollection of the dear departed objects, seized the opportunity of a vessel bound to London, where he landed safely long before he was expected. The Baronet was not more pleased than surprised, at finding him a good English scholar. Their first conver

Milford, who was from home at the time, was no sooner apprized, on his return, of M. De Presle's arrival, than he hastened to go and welcome him, and subsequently to the first usual compliments, politely offered to be his Cicerone to the many curiosities our capital abounds in; adding, "I doubt not but they will afford me greater satisfaction than I ever experienced before, if you will be kind enough, Sir, to communicate to me your private observations and comments."-" And when you have accomplished your survey of the metropolis," interrupted Sir Archibald, "1 shall make a proposal, which I hope will prove acceptable to all parties; certain I am, at least, that our friend, M. De Presle, will find its object interesting, and to you, Milford, it will be of most essential service.

"I have deemed it advisable, prior to your visiting foreign parts, that you should be made well acquainted with your own country; in consequence, I intend to join you, in an excursion over the different counties of Great Britain. The agricul tural pursuits, manufacturing towns, and sea-ports, you will find very interesting. This tour, moreover, will enable you to judge, by comparison, of the various establishments of a similar nature which you may meet with on the Continent; afford you the satisfaction, besides, of answering, pertinently, the many questions which you must expect to be asked, by those same individuals to whom your inquiries will be made; and not unfrequently, on account of the information you have acquired at home, you will be spared the necessity of appearing too inquisitive abroad. You will be taught, at the same time, the art, which, by-the-bye, is seldom sufficiently attended to, of framing an interrogatory so as to make it perfectly intelligible, and of introducing it with a preamble, which, conveying information to the hearer, binds him to be more illustrative in his reply."

When the time of their departure was arrived, the happy trio set off, in a comfortable barouche and four, with a couple of

servants, one as an outrider, the other on the dickey. It is not to be presumed that a party thus composed were liable to encounter with adventurous occurrences; we, therefore, shall suffer them to proceed on their interesting tour, and set them down again, safe and sound, in Winchester-street, whence they started.

more than a sufficiency be left at his disposal; your allowance, therefore, will be liberal, and you are to receive it monthly, in advance, so that if you should happen to abuse the trust, the privations you thus would impose upon yourself might operate more powerfully, and suggest a more profitable lesson, than admonition or reproof could convey. Remember, occasionally, that whilst you are enjoying superfluities, many are left destitute of the common necessaries of life, and that deeds of benevolence are the highest and most durable

About a fortnight after their return, Milford bade adieu to his friends, who all envied his lot, or anticipated the pleasure of meeting with him on the Continent. Sir Archibald, whose manly fortitude never forsook him, expatiated not on his bewail-gratifications which a man of fortune can ing an absence which he himself had plan- || ned for the improvement of his son, but addressed him as follows:

procure, provided his bounty be conferred with proper discernment; and I doubt not but you will find that such as is bestowed upon the industrious, never leaves room for regret. I hear our company coming, so only one word more: continue to behave as you have hitherto done, that I may live and die a happy father: God bless you."

"Although you have not seen enough of Monsieur De Presle already to know how deserving he is of your esteem, you must be sensible that he is doubly entitled to your respect and confidence, so long as he acts in the capacity of my representative. You can rely upon his being ever ready, in case We shall not follow our tourists through of an emergency, to assist you with that France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and advice, which your inexperience may reFrance again, on their way home; neither quire; I hope, however, it will never shall I attempt to introduce here a descripbe on account of an act of imprudence, || tion of those countries, which have already that you are necessitated to apply for it. been described by many an able pen.→ St. Cyr, however, I know not from what

"Your travelling expences he has taken upon himself the charge of managing.motive, has been strangely overlooked; I, Now I have long since been of opinion, therefore, hope, that a brief account of that it were advisable a youth should ac- this place will prove acceptable to our quire an early knowledge of the value of readers. money, which is not to be obtained unless

(To be concluded in our next.)

A RAFFLE FOR A WIFE.

THE foreman of a wealthy woollendraper, in a certain town of Germany, hed long been in love with a young person, who received his addresses with the greatest indifference; neither was she more partial to two of his rivals, who, like the former, were desirous of obtaining her hand.

The father of the young girl wished that she would accept of either of those three suitors, and accordingly said to her one day, "As I am very willing to abide by your own choice, tell me candidly to which of your three lovers you have given the preference ?"

"To neither," replied she; "I feel the same regard for each of them: but as love is still a stranger to my heart, I leave it entirely to your better judgment, to decide which of them is to be my husband.”

The father, delighted with so uncommon an act of resignation, determined to wait until the assiduous attention of one of the

three should meet its due reward; but in vain did they attempt to gain the affections of the fair one-their efforts proved equally abortive. They respectively would apply to the father, in hopes of obtaining, from parental authority, a wife, whom the power of love could not subdue.

The father, tired with this state of uncertainty, formed a sudden resolution. He invited the three candidates to come and sup with him one day, who felt equal surprise and apprehensions at so meeting together, as their host had separately informed each of them that the marriage of his daughter should be settled that evening. After they had been eating heartily, whilst the bottle was going round, the father addressed his guests in the following words :

winner, and jumped for joy, whilst the other two, with woeful countenance, left him master of the field of action. Nay, his intended bride then candidly confessed, that chance had decided in conformity to her wishes.

So great and unexpected happiness Williams hastened to go and impart to his employer, who himself was a single man. To him he recounted every particular of the extraordinary circumstance; neither did he conceal that the two thousand ducIats which he had deposited, and was going to replace, had been taken out of the chest that was left to his charge.

The master congratulated his cashier on his good fortune, adding, that, upon such an occasion, he would feel happy to entertain the happy couple without any further delay, "So that if you will let the

is agreeable to the invitation, I shall ex-
pect you at dinner-time.”
The young
maiden readily accepted of the proposal,
and made her appearance at the appointed
hour in her best array, which gave addi-
tional lustre to her natural graces; so much
so, that the woollen-draper fell in love
with her at first sight.

"Gentlemen, I am well acquainted with your intentions, which I approve of. would wish to make you all three happy, but that is not in my power. I have only one daughter, and she can have but one husband: she esteems every one of you to such a degree, that she is at a loss to make a choice, although I have repeatedly pressed her so to do. She having trusted to my impartial prudence, and I being apprehen-young lady know," said he, "and that she sive of acting with greater injustice, am determined to leave it to chance alone to decide which of you is to carry the prize. That is the only method I can think of to have nothing to reproach myself with, and to extricate myself from my present dilemma. Now listen to my plan: my daughter will be rich when I am dead, but so long as I live I never will part with a single guelder. You are all in good circumstances—you all three feel an equal love for her, therefore it rests with your rivalry to portion her. You can, without any inconvenience to yourselves, by subscribing a similar sum, make a little fortune for your beloved; and if your affection be sincere, you will submit to the law which I am going to dictate. Let each of you deliver into my hands two thousand ducats, to constitute the marriage portion of my girl, and become the property of the husband which Dame Fortune will allot ber."

The proposed terms were agreed upon. He who had refused, would have evinced no great affection, and, in consequence, been excluded from the treaty. The next day the money was brought to the father, who presented to the three rivals a couple of dice from his backgammon-board, declaring, that he who threw the highest point, would be his daughter's husband. Williams (the woollen-draper's assistant) having thrown sixes, was declared the No. 119. Vol. XIX.

On the day following, after weighing maturely the circumstances to which his dependant was indebted for having obtained the possession of his mistress, he determined to take her for himself. Williams being summoned in his presence, he addressed him thus:

"To chance alone you are to ascribe the happiness of marrying the girl I saw yesterday; your partiality to her, therefore, cannot be so strong but you can easily give her up. If my friendship to you be deserving of some return, you must renounce your pretensions in my favour. I love the young woman to distraction.However, I do not wish your condescension should cost you your fortune. I shall make you a present of the money deposited as her wedding portion; and far from claiming that part of it which belongs to me, I will double it. See, consider duly, and decide at once; for I am resolved to go this very minute and speak to the girl's father."

The chance husband, whose heart had been beforehand with the oracle of fate,

C