Frenchmen coming to London without introductions,
and with no chance of getting the smallest
glimpse of society, and of their writing accounts
of England and the English, from observations
made at a foreign hotel in Leicester-square, and
a little experience of the streets. Under these
restrictions it would be impossible to give an idea
of France and the French: though life in Paris is
a far more out-of-door life than life in London.
In a place like Melbourne, the difficulty is
greater than in either London or Paris; and that
Australia has suffered considerably from the
superficial observations of the British bookmaker,
is loudly asserted by local writers.

In a place where adventurers, swindlers, and
all kinds of persons who have left their country
for their country's good, are arriving by every
ship, any person who aspires to reasonable                                             respectability must be constantly on his guard; the
consequence is that Australian society is virtually
closed against all new arrivals not bringing very
good introductions; and even when they do bring
the best introductions they are not always received
with open arms, for reasons already referred to.
The fact we believe to be that in Melbourne there
may be found as well bred and as highly cultured
persons as anywhere else in Europe; but that
these are not necessarily included among the
richest, or among those holding the highest offices
in the place. In strictly private circles,
intercourse is as refined and as well regulated as at
home; but on more or less public occasions, and
in any large assembly, the company is what masters
of the ceremonies call "mixed."

With regard to the execution of the work
which has formed the theme of this paper, we
have already expressed a favourable opinion. It
is true that much of its jocularity is so severely
local as to be lost upon us; but considering the
merit of what we can understand, we are quite
contented to take omne ignotum pro magnifico,
and to consider the rest a great deal better.

      TWO RUSSIAN VILLAGES.

I AM about to describe two Russian villages
that I know;—the Small and the Black. One
shows Russia at its best; the other shows the
ordinary state of things below the surface-polish
of the capital.

The Small village was unlike any Russian
country village I had ever seen. The
proprietor of the place, either wisely or by good
luck, had placed the whole management in the
hands of a man of the right stamp; not one of the
engineering comets who pass over the Russian
scientific horizon, dazzling the native vision with
schemes promising fabulous per-centage; not an
avaricious and tyrannical Niemitz; not a crafty
pilfering Russ; but a plain practical man, who
could understand that his own and his employer's
interests were best consulted by the material
improvement of the people under his control.
He had been reared on a small farm in
Ayrshire, and knew all the practical shifts and
expedients necessary in dealing with poor people
and poor land; he possessed that indomitable
energy and perseverance which has made many
of the once heathery hills and boggy plains of
Scotland the most fruitful farming land in
the world. Catherine, Paul, Alexander,
Nicholas, have all employed Scotchmen in their
navies, armies, and manufactories; and these men
and their descendants are to be found naturalised
and prosperous in many parts of Russia.

On the estate of the Small village, I
found a beetroot-sugar mill, a large saw mill,
corn mills, a vodki distillery, excellent stables,
cowhouses, dairy, store-rooms, conservatory,
garden, hothouses, all kept in the utmost
order. The people, who looked clean and
cheerful, had been cleared of the sheepish
sullen cringing air of serfdom, and they looked
me in the face. In addition to his farming
operations, this good manager had established a
small foundry and mechanics' shop, where both
iron and brass goods were cast and                                                         manufactured. In the mechanics' shop, I saw about
thirty men and boys busy at work, with files,
hammers, and chisels of English manufacture.
There were a blacksmith's shop with five
forges, a joiner's shop, a painter's shop, and a
large department for the making of carts,
sledges, and all kinds of wheels. It may be
worth notice, that the rims of Russian wheels
are made in one piece, and not in sections,
as in England. Birch-trees of the proper size
are cut down and trimmed to the length and
thickness required, are boiled for from four-and-
twenty to forty hours in a large caldron of water,
and are then bent, fastened, and laid up for a
year or two to season. Naves and spokes are
afterwards put in by a rude contrivance, and
the one joint is made very secure with iron
plates and bolts. A wheel made in this way,
and shod with half or three-quarter inch iron,
will last an immense time on the high road. On
the soft unmacadamised roads in the
interior, no iron is necessary. The bearings
of these wheels are so broad, that it is
almost impossible to overturn the carts and
carriages set on them. Thousands of such
wheels were made in the Small village, and sent
every year to the various markets. Besides
these, I saw ploughs, harrows, and portable
thrashing machines, in course of manufacture;
while I was looking over the estate
several persons from considerable distances
arrived with articles for repair, and orders for new
goods.

The wooden one-storied huts of the people
were clean, well built, well thatched, and had
glass windows. Separate places were
provided for cows, horses, pigs, and poultry;
adjoining each hut was a strip of land,
composing the garden and farm of its occupant; a
post with a printed board at the top, facing the
main road, set forth the name of the possessor
of each allotment. Although the snow on the
ground made it impossible to see the state of
cultivation, it was evident from the abundance
in the little barns and yards, and from the