Riga is divided, like Vienna, into the old original inner kernel of the city, and the Vorstiidte, or suburbs, lying around it ; but in Riga, these two divisions form a more striking contrast to each other, being not merely opposed to one another in their different styles of architecture, but also in their population and constitution they are as different as two distinct towns.
The old city of Riga, with its towering houses, dark narrow streets, and two open spaces in which to take breath, and see a scrap of blue sky, is small, and measures scarcely half a verst in diameter. The narrow crooked streets and alleys are entangled in one another, like so many shafts and strata in a mine. The temperature of the town is that of a cavern, and there are parts of it which the sun has not seen for centuries. When the " Sandpforte" by the water stands open, the draught is felt in every comer of the town, and when the " Armensiinder-pforte" closes at night, the rattling is heard from one end of the city to the other. The whole appears a huge mass of rock, bored tlu'ough, with holes for houses. In this part of the town stand dwellings which have seen dozens of human generations pass away, and are now inhabited by families, whose ancestors stood by the cradle of Riga. Tliis is the root of the old city, and here dwell the old German patrician families, from which have sprung the rulers and lawgivers of the community.
Beyond a great open space, which surrounds the antique and well fortified nucleus of the town, lie the new Vorstadte, spacious, regular, aiiy, and showy. They are built quite in the Russian style, with straight streets of immense length and width, coloured M'hite or yellow, mostly wooden houses, with green or red painted roofs of iron or wood, and plenty of pillars ; altogether more pompous on the outside than comfortable within.
These Vorstadte are principally inhabited by day-labourers, carpenters, masons, &c. ; and also by rich Russian merchants, who are connected with the interior provinces, whence they receive the wares destined to be sent beyond sea by the speculating Germans, in whose hands centres nearly the whole of the foreign trade.
These Russian merchants are principally serfs, grown rich by their extraordinary industry. There is more than one millionaire among them, who entered Riga as a young man with no other capital than his bands, eyes, ears, and a good stock of natural intelligence. It is astonishing how much a clever Russian can accomplish, even under the chains of slavery. Many of them possess ample fortunes, and live like princes ; but on their door, perhaps is cngi-aved, " Paul the son of Peter, the serf of Sherenieticff," and they must liold themselves prepared, any day, to be summoned away from their elegant palaces, to toil as day-labourers on tlie estates of their lords. The rich of course make gi'eat exertions and immense sacrifices; to obtain manumission. But though we seldom hear of their lords issuing those very tyrannical commands which the law permits them, yet it is quite as mifrequent for any of these rich serfs to obtain the wished-for freedom ; for their masters make it a rule to withstand the most tempting offers. They say to their serfs : " Go where you will, and earn what you can, but remain one of my people, and send me your annual Obrok." They pride themselves on having so many rich men for serfs, and on the power, although they seldom make use of it, of appropriating to their own ends the fortunes of their serfs. Others refuse manumission on any terms, from a mere obsthiate adherence to the principle of not giving way to serfs, and from the fear of setting " a bad example."
There arc, however, of course, many ways open to a serf of putting liis property out of the reach of unreasonable extortion, and even sometunes of obtaining his freedom. Sometimes cunning is resorted to. There is a story at Riga, of a merchant, who, unable to obtain his manumission, paid another nobleman, with whom his master was accustomed to gamble, all his losses at play, till the lord lost to his opponent the estate to which the merchant w^as attached, when he received his freedom from the winner, according to a previous contract.