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COXE’S’ TRAVELS IN RUSSTA, 671
yards on the level ice of the river. At’the end of this courfe, is ufually a fimilar ice-
hill, nearly parallel to the former, which begins where the other ends ; thus the diver-
fion may be perpetually renewed without intermiflion. - The chief difficulty confifts in
poifing the fledge in its rapid defcent down the inclined plane, for if the pilot is not
fteady, but totters either through inadvertence or fear, he is liable to be overturned,
and incurs no {mall rifk of breaking his bones, if not his neck. 1 have frequently
{tood above an hour at the bottom of thefe ice-hills, obferving the fledges follow each
cther with inconceivable rapidity ; but never had fufficient courage to try the experi-
ment *, as one failure might have proved fatal.
Boys alfo continually amufe themfelves in {cating down thefe hills ; they glide chiefly
upon one {cate, being better able to preferve their balance on one leg than on two.
Thefe ice-hills exhibit a pleafing appearance, as well from the trees with which they are
ornamented, as from the moving objects defcending without intermiflion, which Rich-
ter, in his {ketch of Mofcow, not unaptly compares to a cataract of human figures.
Another ftriking object is the market on the Neva. At the conclufion of the long
faft which clofes on the 24th of December, O..S. the Rufhans lay in their provifions
for the remainder of the winter. For this purpofe an annual market, which lafts three
days, is held on the river near the fortrefs. , A long ftreet, above.a mile in length, was
lined on each fide with an immenfe {tore of provifions, fuflficient for the fupply of the
capital during three months. ;
_ Many thoufand carcafes of oxen, fheep, hogs, pigs, together with geefe, fowls, and
every {pecies of frozen food, were expofed for fale. The larger quadrupeds were
grouped in various circles upright: their hind legs fixed in the fnow, with their heads
and fore legs turned towards each other; next to them fucceeded.a regular feries of
animals, deicending gradually to the {malleft, intermixed with poultry and game hang-
ing in feftoons, and garniflied with heaps of fith, butter,’ and eggs. I foon perceived,
from the profufion of partridges, pheafants, moor-fowl, and cocks of the wood, that ne
laws in this country prohibit the difpofal of game. I obferved alfo the truth of what
has been frequently aflerted, that many of the birds, as well as feveral animals, in thefe
northern regions, become white in winter, many hundred black cocks being changed toe
that <olour; and fome taken before they had completed their metamorphofis, exhibited a
variegated mixture of black and white plumage.
The moft diftant quarters of the empire contributed to fupply this vaft {tore of provi-
fions, and the fineft veal was fent by land-carriage from Archangel, which is eight hun-
dred and thirty miles from Peterfburgh ; yet every article of provifion is furprizingly
cheap: beef was fold at one penny the Ruffian pound}, pork at five farthings, and
* Timid perfons, or thofe unaccuftomed to this exercife, are occafionally accompanied by a conduétor,
who direéts the fledge. ‘ A mode well defcribed in the “* Voyage de deux Frangois,’’ &c.
“ Le traineau confilte en une petite planche plus longue que large, et peu elevéc: une feule perfonne
peut s’y tenir, encore n’eft elle point a fon aife. Le conduGteur du traineau eft affis, les jambes ouvertes,
entre lefquelles fe place celui qui veut defcendre (chaque courfe cofite cing copecks) ; lun et Vautre ont
Pattention de tenir les jambes fort elevées et le corps trés en arriére ; ainfi placés, et Je raineau étant par-
faitement droit, on le conduit au bord de la defcente, et on le laiffe aller: le condueur le dirige avec les
mains qu’il tient écartées du corps, et qui font garanties par des mitaines d’un cuir fort épais. La rapidiré
de la courfe eft prodigieufe, et le traineau arrivé fur le terrain plat, parcourt encore une affez grande éten-
due: dans le premier moment la refpiration eft fort genée; il faut avoir attention de ne faire aucun mouve=
ment d’un cété on d’un autre; on feroit bientt culbuté, ce qui ¢ft fort ordinaire, mais il arrive trés pew
d’accidens, par le peu de hauteur de la chiite.””
Voyage de deux Frangais au Nord de Europe, tom iii. p. 353,
+ A Roffian pound contains fourteen ounces anda half.
5 ; muttort
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