Page:Notes upon Russia (volume 2, 1851).djvu/32

other cities of the north, which we easily perceived in our journey thither; for when we left Vienna, we proceeded direct to Cracow, and thence travelled nearly a hundred German miles northward; at length the road turning eastward, we reached Moscow, situated, if not in Asia, at any rate on the very extreme confines of Europe, where it joins Asia, of which circumstance I shall say more hereafter in my description of the Don.

The city itself is built of wood, and tolerably large, and at a distance appears larger than it really is, for the gardens and spacious court-yards in every house make a great addition to the size of the city, which is again greatly increased by the houses of smiths and other artificers who employ fires. These houses extend in a long row at the end of the city, interspersed with fields and meadows. Moreover, not far from the city, are some small houses, and the other side of the river some villas, where, a few years ago, the Prince Vasiley built a new city for his courtiers, called Nali (which in their language means "pour in"), because other Russians were forbidden to drink mead and beer, except on a few days in the year, and the privilege of drinking was granted by the prince to these alone; and for this reason they separated themselves from intercourse with the rest of the inhabitants to prevent their being corrupted by their mode of living. Not far from the city are some monasteries, which alone appear like a great city to persons looking from a distance. Moreover, in consequence of the great extent of the city, it is confined by no settled boundary, nor has it any useful defences in the shape of walls, fosses, or ramparts. The streets are, however, blocked up in some places by beams thrown across them, and are guarded by watchmen placed there at early nightfall, so that no one is allowed access by that way after a stated hour; and any who are taken after that by the watchmen are either beaten, stripped, or thrown into prison, unless they happen to be persons of distinction or respecta-