sale of spirits and the whole of the distillery business are as already observed, a monopoly of the crown, and farmed to the highest contractor, not only in the remote regions of Kamtschatka and Siberia, but throughout the whole Russian territory. In some provinces, these contracts are made for a term of three years only: the contractors have a comptoer in each town for the sale of the brandy, and the retailer must have his license and his brandy from the person thus appointed. The contractors are termed Farmers-General, and are under the control of the vice-governors of provinces. The system is considered a bad one, as it is the means of enriching individuals at the expense of the bulk of the people, and giving them a spurious for a genuine commodity.

This monopoly renders the situation of a vice-governor very lucrative, and in some instances yields him annually half a million of rubles, or upwards of £20,000. The money is obtained by a per centage on every vedro or anker of spirits sold in the province, and a certain sum paid by the retailers for licenses. In return for this, all the trouble he has is to visit the different distilleries and Kabaks, to ascertain if the spirits be adulterated, but having already received his bribe from the farmer-general, his inspection may naturally be considered in proportion to the extent of the fee. Next comes the farmer-general to make his inspection, then his secretary or chief agent, each receiving an emolument, and the retailer reducing the article to meet these expenses, gives ultimately to the purchaser drink of a very bad description. Milton has noticed a similar system used in his day, taverns called cuirsemay, were farmed out by the emperor, or bestowed on some duke or gentleman, as a reward for his services.

The serfs consume most of their earnings in these Kabaks, or dram shops, which are conducted by license under certain regulations, and in many parts the keepers of those houses are Jews, who know well how to manage their unfortunate customers, and often boast of the great quantity consumed weekly by these misguided creatures.

As the emoluments increase in proportion to the consumption of spirits, it manifestly becomes the interest of the governor of a province to promote that consumption, for while it increases the revenue and adds to his interest with the government, it also enriches his own coffers, hence the quantity, and not the quality, produced at the public distilleries is chiefly studied. A proof of this is what is related of General Kaptzevitch, governor of Tomsk in Siberia, who ordered the officers that had charge of distilleries, to receive a certain number of stripes, if the quantity of spirits extracted from the grain was not

more than double what had been produced under the preceding governor.*

The love for spirituous liquors is prevalent in Russia; but it is generally remarked that quarrels through intoxication are less frequent in that country than in many others, the people always preserving good humour in their jolly moments. The Russian plebeian does not sit down to enjoy his friend and his glass as is common in Great Britain and Ireland, but enters the Kabak, lays down his money, drinks off two or three glasses of vathi or agua ardiente, and retires, regardless of the quarrels or the follies of his neighbours; or, if inclined to sit over his glass, the passing events or occurrences of the day have no effect on him, as he seems the mere creature of enjoyment. The attachment to drinking has been long a charac

teristic of the people..

Barbaro, a Venetian ambassador, who visited Russia in the middle of the 15th century, particularly notices the drunkenness of the Russians, and relates that the Grand Duke, in order to check this vice, had directed that no more beer should be brewed, nor mead manufactured, nor hops used; but all was to no effect, as the passions of the people could not be restrained by any enactments of the monarch.

At the entertainments of the respectable classes in Russia, sweet vodtki is drunk, as well as wine of various descriptions. Taking a glass before dinner is a common practice, on which occasions, according to Dr. Clarke, slices of raw turnips are handed on salvers along with the brandy. Count Platoff, whose military exploits are so well known, gained the affections of the Cossack soldiery by his suavity of manners, and attention to their comforts. He knew it was the failing of his countrymen to be fond of a glass, and in private conversation with any of them, in which he made himself familiar, he would conclude with asking, "dost thou drink vodtki ?" If he received a negative, he would say it was well,-yet a little was necessary to protect against fatigue and bad weather; adding, that a small glass of something warm, and especially spirits with mustard, was the best medicine. Such is the weakness of the peasantry, that in their most serious acts, they mingle the levities of drinking. It is related of one, that during his devotions in the evening, he would occasionally suspend his orisons to take a draught of quass, and in the middle of the night he would leave his bed to repeat his libation. Even among the army, spirits are distributed on anniversaries, festivals, and times

Cochrane's Narrative, vol. i. p. 119, 189.

of public rejoicing. It was a practice of the late Emperor Alexander, to give a ruble and a glass of brandy to every private soldier. One of the young princes, who was in the habit of officiating on one of those occasions, mistook the nature of the order, and directed, five times in succession, that the glass should be repeated and another ruble given. Such was the delicate feelings of respect that the father had for the word of his son, that he permitted the men to receive it, but privately reprimanded him for his indiscretion by stripping him for a time of his military trappings and honors.

Although the manufacture of spirits throughout the whole of the Russian empire is prodigious, immense quantities are yearly imported. In 1768, the whole amount of the imports of the vine came to 697,000 rubles, and the exports from the several parts of Russia, exclusive of those in the Caspian, in 1793, were 3971 oxh, 9 ankers of corn brandy and other spirits, valued in rubles at 66,218.

In 1794, the entries at the port of Petersburgh were for wine, to the value of 734,000 rubles, and for brandy 7,000 rubles.

In 1796, the imports at the same port were

Of ale and porter, 7033 casks, amounting in rubles to 469,217 Brandy, arrack, rum, and shrub, 112 hhds.

...

32,605

Liquors, 21 hhds.

...

Wines of all kinds, 19,427 hhds.....

7,902 1,568,367

The imports in 1797, were

Of beer and porter, 4,500 casks, valued at rubles

327,350

Arrack, rum, and brandy, 3544 ankers

90,237

Strong liquors, 3180 bottles

8,680

Wines of all kinds in hogsheads, 11,294,

985,411

In 1802, the value of the imports were 96,056 rubles.

In 1803, there were 6507 ankers of arrack, brandy, and rum, imported into Petersburgh. These imports have greatly increased since the establishment of peace among the several powers of Europe, notwithstanding the high duties imposed by the tarifs of the court, which tend to discourage an intercourse with foreign nations in the purchase of articles that may be produced at home, even in an inferior degree. Man, it is well known, is, in all regions, partial to that which best pleases his palate, and hence in those parts of the empire where the brandies and wines of France, the gin of Holland, or the rum of the West Indies, have made their way, a preference is given ; since they are accounted vastly superior to any beverage manufactured within the boundaries of the Russian territories.

The imports of liquors into Petersburgh, in the course of four suc

The imports of wine into the principal ports of Russia, during the

Do. Champagne in bottles.... 337489 365019 371627 503191 472365 Do. with Liqueurs in casks........

52,094

Besides the above, the produce of the vintage in seven governments of this Empire, amounted in 1834, to 27,824 hogsheads of wine which are consumed within the Empire.

The prices, when Tooke compiled his work, stood as follows:A hogshead of beer, when purchased from a Russian brewer, costs 8 rubles; from an English brewer, 20 rubles; brandy was 65 rubles the anker; port wine from 350 to 250 rubles the pipe; French, from 250 to 150 rubles the hogshead; Madeira, 300 rubles the hogshead; champagne, per case of fifty bottles, 200 rubles; Rhine wine from one ruble, fifty kopeeks, to three rubles, fifty kopeeks per bottle; Hungary wine from two rubles, fifty kopeeks, to six rubles the bottle.

Wine, spirits, and other kinds of drink, are offered for sale in great abundance at the public fairs throughout the different parts of the empire, and London porter is to be had in almost every village; thus is a facility given to the general use of these beverages. An idea of the extent to which this species of trade is conducted, may be formed from knowing that at a fair in Nizni Novgorod, there were for sale of wine and brandy alone, a quantity worth 6,580,000 rubles, while in the wooden bazaars exclusively, were sold to the amount of 4,380,000 rubles, a ruble being ten-pence of our money. The revenue on spirits at Kazan is said to amount to 4,000,000 rubles,

the consumption of which in that city, on a feast day, is estimated at 5,000 rubles, and on ordinary days at about 1,500 rubles. In Moscow, there are about 500 inns and taverns, 200 restaurateurs, 150 kabaks or gin shops, 80 beer houses, and 180 wine vaults.

In Petersburgh, at the corner of every street is an open kabak for the sale of spirituous liquors, not unlike the old gin shops of London. The better classes consume prodigious quantities of champagne, as well as other descriptions of wines. At dinners of respectability, rich fish soups are introduced, composed of champagne and other expensive wines, some of which have been known to cost 3,000 rubles, which at 10d. per ruble amounts to £120. No water is used in these expensive soups, and the effect on the company is frequently apparent. Both at Petersburgh and Moscow, the nobility and gentry entertain in a very sumptuous manner, and their services of plate on such occasions are costly and superb. Chancellor tells us that when he visited this empire, even so far back as the sixteenth century, the Duke of Moscovy had two cups of gold set with pearls and precious stones on a table in the middle of the dining chamber, out of which he usually drank. These cups were placed in the centre of a large table around which was a great variety of other gold cups for the nobles; among these stood four crudurces, or pots of gold and silver for holding the drink, and each fully a yard and half in height. At one entertainment given by the Duke, there were 200 persons all served with drink in golden goblets, and so numerous were the vessels of gold, that there was not room on the tables to contain them.† Though the Russians still entertain expensively, the respectable portion of the community are temperate, which forms one of the best and most striking features of their character. The young nobles and officers of the army are particularly fond of French wines, of which Champagne is the greatest favourite. It may be generally observed that the people of this empire are like their fellow men in other countries, prone to various vices and possessing many virtues.

In the British Empire, the distillation of spirits has been long an object of attention, both to the government and the people; but the period at which this important branch of trade originated in these kingdoms seems now not certainly known. It is indeed probable, that before the introduction of agriculture, mead or honey diluted with water, was the only strong liquor known to the inhabitants of

† Chancellor's Voyage to the Northern Parts of Russia. Pinkerton's Voyages vol. i.