No newspapers, magazines, or reviews are permitted to enter Russia by the post. They must be subscribed for at the post-office itself. All travellers, be they Russian or foreigners, have all their books taken from them on passing the frontier, even guide-books or conversationbooks, or even engravings or drawings. They are removed to the nearest censor, who returns them or not, just as suits his faney or convenience. All strangers arriving at St. Petersburg have to appear before the political police, who interrogate them as to their objects in travelling, as to whom they are acquainted with, and what letters of introduction they are bearers of. An Englishman, wearied with the questions put to him one day as to the object of his travelling, replied to General D. that his journey had no precise political object. Then why do you come here?" insisted the general. To be cured of the spleen," was the

answer.

"If our European readers," says Prince Dolgoroukow, "were to ask us what party or what opinion governs Russia in the present day, we should be much embarrassed to find a suitable reply. The actual march of events in Russia presents the spectacle of a permanent struggle, daily renewed, of the bureaucracy, supported by the camarilla and the political police, against public opinion and against the true interests of the country, represented and supported by the enlightened portion of the nobility, by all the serious and honest men in Russia, and by the Russian press, which, by its high intelligence and eminent loyalty, has found means to render the greatest services to the country during the five years that have elapsed since the termination of Nicholas's reign. This deplorable situation as we have thus signalised it, this incessant struggle, is replete with serious dangers to the future. St. Petersburg, the theatre of intrigues ever since its foundation, is now more busy than ever with such; at a moment of such solemn gravity as that opened by important reforms, urged at once by the emperor and by public opinion, personal interests, rivalries founded on self-love, and, more than all, cases of individual rapacity, come every day to obstruct and vitiate the progress of events. The Russian goverment resembles at this moment a vessel cast upon the sea, at hap-hazard, without an object; the captain is animated with the best intentions, but the pilots and officers are incurably stupid. Between them and the passengers of the ship there exists the deepest aversion-a constant struggle. The captain cannot make up his mind to supplant them by men of capacity; he prefers waiting till the officers die away and the men of capacity have grown old and no longer capable, before he entrusts to them the management of the ship; in the mean time, the vessel may go upon a rock. Such, in a few words, is the actual condition of Russia."

Elsewhere the prince, whose politics, however moderate, must be admitted with the caution essential to a person writing under the peculiar circumstances in which he is placed, says: "At this hour Russia is at the point where France was in 1785; she is moving onwards to her 1789, that date which would have been so prosperous and brilliant for France had it not been for the incurable obstinacy of a few short-sighted men! In the name of God, save us-save us from 1793!"

BURMAH.*

AT any other time than the present, a work on Burmah would be passed over with the indifference which travels in remote and littleknown regions too often meet with. Circumstances have arisen, however, to attach a very peculiar interest to the territories that extend between India and China, and which comprise the valleys of the Irawady, the May-Nam, and the May-Kiang, or of Burmah, Siam, and CochinChina, with the Malayan peninsula. "The French," Mr. Marshall remarks, "are evidently desirous of obtaining a footing in India; they have waged an unsuccessful war with Cochin-China; their emissary occupies an important position at Ava; their troops have been operating in the Chinese waters; and there is every reason to believe that they will again be found asserting the dignity of the tricolor before the walls of Pekin. It is true that their next movement must be associated with the union flag of perfide Albion, but who can foresee what complications may arise out of the ill-assorted alliance? Who can tell, that after forcing submission from the Celestials, the arms of France may not be turned against Cochin-China, as a step towards that acquisition of territory in the south of Burmah, which is evidently the object of imperial ambition ?" -an alternative which is more than probable. The East may be made to furnish its Savoy contingent as well as the West.

Previous to the year 1796, when Colonel Symes was accredited to Ava, little was known of Burmah. Trade, under certain restrictions, was opened with Rangoon, on the Irawady, but the authorities were so arrogant and exacting that it never developed itself. The people, oppressed by the same tyrannous persecutions, took refuge in Chittagong, at that time a British province. The Burmese invaded our territory, and a British force was sent to expel them. This was in 1799. Twelve years after this, in 1811, a native prince, Bur-Hing, took refuge in Chittagong, and organised there a conspiracy against the king, who was so indisposed in consequence against the British, that Captain Canning's mission failed to convince him of our non-complicity in the proceedings of the rebels. The conciliatory policy adopted by the Company's government had the usual and inevitable results of encouraging insolence of demeanour. Such a line of conduct is always looked upon by Orientals as weakness. A letter was addressed by the King of Ava to the Marquis of Hastings, demanding the cession of Chittagong, Ramor Moorshedabad, and Dacca. This failing, in 1823, the Rajah of Assam having taken refuge in our territories, the Burmese invaded the island of Shapooree, and being expelled, a remonstrance was addressed to King Tharawady (whose name, like that of the great river of Burmah, illustrates the construction of the language), and was received, as might have been anticipated, with the utmost insolence and contempt. It became absolutely necessary to put up with such conduct no longer, and war was declared in March, 1824. The British fleet, with Sir Archibald CampBy W. H. Marshall, Esq., late Editor of the Charles J. Skeet.

* Four Years in Burmah. Rangoon Chronicle. Two Vols.

bell as commander of the forces, entered the Irawady on the 10th of May, and soon afterwards our flag was flying over the maritime capital of Burmah. Negrais, Arracan, Martaban, and other important places, successively succumbed, and the first war terminated with the cession of the Tenasserim and Arracan provinces, and liberty to trade on the Irawady, but, as usual, under absurd and impracticable conditions. There is no protectionist like your dunder-headed Oriental. Amherst was selected as the British port, but it was afterwards changed to Maulmain, higher up the river, and which has since risen into an important commercial mart, the trade of which is rapidly increasing. The Burmese were not yet, however, brought to a sense of responsibility. They vented their insolence and extortion on all British traders that came into their clutches, whipping some, putting others in the stocks, and otherwise maltreating them. The unfortunate merchants and ship-masters protested to the Indian government against such outrages, and a squadron was sent to bring the Burmese once more to reason. An account of this second Burmese war has been given by Lieutenant Laurie, of the Madras Artillery. On this occasion, Martaban and Bassein were added to our conquests, and the steamers proceeded far up the Irawady, reducing the fortified cities of Pegu and Prome, whilst a land force advanced from the north by the Aeng pass, cutting off all communication with Ava. Thus was the important province of Pegu added to our colonial possessions.

Mr. Marshall, the author of the work now before us, arrived in Burmah in 1854, seven months after peace had been proclaimed. The country was in anything but a settled condition; conspiracies were almost every day discovered, dacoities and murders committed, and rebellions organised. But still there were prospects of improvement and of hope for the future, at least for that kind of hope which the enterprising Anglo-Saxon appears always to indulge in, however fatal the climate, or however insolent and bloodthirsty the people may be. Maulmain itself, with pestilence in its suburbs, and assassination stalking abroad in its streets, was a perfect paradise to look at. "Any verbal description," says Mr. Marshall, "of the varied and beautiful scenery by which it is surrounded, would be altogether inadequate to convey any just conception of, perhaps, one of the most splendid panoramas in the world. A range of wooded hills forms one of the eastern boundaries of the town, and a long chain of mountains extends away in the interior to the southward, as far as the eye can reach. The summits of the hills which overlook the town and suburbs are crowned with Buddhist pagodas, and from the site of either of these a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and the charming varieties of hill and dale, river, field, and forest, which it presents, is opened out to the delighted gaze of the beholder."

The interior of the town is not, however, remarkable for its architectural beauties. The main street runs parallel with the river bank, and is about three miles in length. Most of the houses are of wood, irregularly built, the lower apartments being shops or warehouses. The barracks stand on a hill-side, and close by is the wooden church of St. Matthias. There are also arsenal, commissariat, hospital, magazine, gaol, and offices. The private residences of the gentry are beautifully

situated in their own grounds. The population is estimated at 24,000, of whom 2000 convicts, 400 Europeans, and 3000 Eurasians. The rest are Burmese, Taliens, Chinese, Shans, Karens, or Burmese mountaineers, Armenians, Jews, Malays, and natives of Hindostan. Some Europeans are married to Burmese women, and some, who are not married, have Burmese ladies at the head of their respective households. Burmese women possess sense and action; they are mistresses in their own homes, and do all the work. They even sometimes trade on their own account. The men are a fine stalwart race, not over-industrious, but delighting, unlike the Indians, in exercising their physical capabilities. They are also gay and careless. The missionaries-more especially the American-toil among them with some effect; but although not pious, the Burmese are not easily converted. A Burman will not work in any menial capacity for a European. There is nothing servile in him, as is too much the case with the Indians.

The bazaar seems, from the description of it, to be like most Oriental bazaars. The dealers in groceries and dry goods are either Madrasees or Telingese. The beef-butchers are invariably Muhammadans, as in India. Sheep are imported from Madras and Bengal, but do not thrive; goat flesh is therefore used instead. Pork is vended solely by Chinese; pigs thrive wonderfully. The presiding deities over the fish-market are, however, Burmese women. These women are cleanly, well-behaved, cheerful, and, were it not for the abominable ear-appendages, in many cases captivating. The fish-market is, indeed, the most attractive part of the bazaar, notwithstanding that it is at times unsavoury. The greatest Burmese delicacy is ngapee-putrid shrimps, salted, beaten, and dried. No meal that a Burman makes would be complete without this ingredient. Large quantities are sent up the rivers, and the King of Ava admits it as a delicacy within the gilded portals of his palace. It is curious that the Burmese, being believers in transmigration, will not kill animals, but they will greedily partake of them-even of dogswhen they die. The vegetable market is also presided over by Burmese women. Fruits and vegetables abound, and there is an invariable supply of the much-coveted palm-leaf and betel. The supply of ducks and fowls is also plentiful. The shopkeepers are mainly Jews. The bakers are all Chinese, and the merchants-when not Europeans-Mussulmans. There are also courts of law, too often presided over by an ensign of some twenty-five years of age; docks and ship-building yards-the most prosperous institutions of the place; and a district, called Nyabusthee, devoted to ladies of a particular caste.

On the river between Maulmain and Rangoon, we are told, sea and river craft of various descriptions, from majestic European merchant vessels, unsightly "country wallahs" (as the native Indian vessels are called), Burmese katoos, Malay prahus, and Chinese junks, besides smaller river trading-boats, abound. This, at all events, is satisfactory. What an opening must so magnificent a river, in such a climate, and in a well-populated country, present? And yet, how neglected have the Irawady, the May-Nam, and the May-Kiang been, even in times of river steam-navigation.

Between Maulmain and Amherst and Rangoon there is nothing but river communication. The only land communication as yet is a sort of

foot pathway, or jungle track. There are many pretty marine residences at Amherst, which is looked upon as a kind of sanitarium, where refreshing sea-breezes may be enjoyed. "As a river," Mr. Marshall says of the Irawady, "it is universally allowed to be majestic, superb, and those who are competent to give an opinion respecting its various characteristics, state that for many miles up in the interior it is navigable for ships of heavy burden; that the passage upwards is singularly free from impediments usually incidental to river navigation; and that during the rainy season large vessels can safely sail up to the very gates of Ava." Mr. Marshall describes himself as having seen in this fine tropical river an alligator which he deemed could not have been less than five-andforty feet long, and which was swimming against the tide at the rate of at least thirty miles an hour. Allowing for a little exaggeration, it must have been just such a monster reptile as one would expect to meet with in such waters. In such a damp, hot climate, wild beasts and reptiles innumerable infest alike the forests, jungles, plains, and waters, and poisonous insects swarm everywhere. Mosquitoes are of an alarming size as well as numbers. During the war, some of the men were driven raving mad by these winged demons, and one, in despair, jumped overboard and was drowned.

The view of the town of Rangoon from the river is described as anything but imposing. It consisted of a number of miserable huts, erected indiscriminately about the place, without any attempt at order or arrangement. Every vestige of the old city, with the exception of a few pagodas, shrines, and monasteries, had also been utterly destroyed. The great Rangoon pagoda is, however, considered the largest, the most important, and the most magnificent in Burmah, and also one of the oldest. Besides this, there were no buildings of any pretensions. So soon as the government survey should be completed, and the plans for the new city determined on, architects, and masons, and bricklayers were to be set to work. In the mean time, all was huts and hovels, ruts and mire, or dust, alternately. The Burmese themselves are perhaps studied to best advantage in the law and police-courts, where our author, having practised, had some experience. The description of the gamblinghouses, of boat-races, and wrestling-matches, of the ceremonies relating to religious worship, and of the gaol and its melancholy interior, are also replete with local and characteristic information. But the most amusing pages by far are those devoted to a matter which can only be considered as incidental to Burmah, and that is, the history of the French adventurer Girodon, or Orgoni, who organised the Burmese in their hostilities against us, and is now the accredited representative of a "friendly power" at the court of Ava. Much, indeed, is anticipated from the influence of this friendly emissary with the King of Burmah, and the Moniteur, presuming upon grandiose results, has already announced that "l'Inde elle-même touche à l'heure d'une transformation, et la Cochin-Chine voit luire nos baïonnettes. Autour d'Orgoni, autour de ce hardi compagnon, L'HUMANITÉ VA FAIRE UN GRAND PAS !"