occupied. Three, four, or five of such screws are used, according to the size of the sliip, and the skill of the stauer is shown, in rightly placing these screws, which are supported by the beams of the ship, and which, when turned by from twelve to twenty men, often strain the vessel very much. The stauer must be able to judge exactly how much strain each part of the ship will bear. These stauer all begin screwing together, and in doing so raise a song in chorus, whose tune gives due emphasis to their screwing, and which lasts till the bales are sufficiently squeezed together. Sometimes a whole line of contiguous hemp-ships begin screwing at once, in the harbour, and it is curious and interesting then to climb from one deck to another, and listen to the often truly beautiful strains of Russian, Lettish, and Pohsh song, that rise in chorus from the dark holds of the sliips.
The strusen of Riga, with their combustible cargoes of hemp and flax, have often been very dangerous to the town, on account of the carelessness of the Russians, with respect to fire. Boats, laden with hemp, have often floated down the river in full blaze, and have excited no little dismay in the harbour. The following anecdote was related to me by a friend at Riga.
One evening the alarm of fire arose in the town and harbom'. Four burning strusen came floating down the river, straight towards the wooden bridges, where lay from 400 to 500 ships. All was in alarm. The bridges were torn up to let at least some of tlie ships escape, the sailors attempted to draw up the anchors, but the burning strusen were fast approaching, and the greatest loss seemed unavoidable, when, all at once, the four vessels slackened their pace, then stood still, and at length, as if drawn by an unseen hand, floated slowly back up the river, till they stuck on a sandbank, where they quietly burnt away, without doing the least damage to the rest of the shipping. The people shouted " a miracle !" and some persisted that they had seen angels descend from Heaven, and draw the ships back.
The fact, however, was, that the burning vessels on their way had warmed the air behind them, which produced a stream of cold air towards them, from all sides. Behind them the cold and warm air gradually mingled, but before them the greatest degrees of heat and cold met suddenly. At the time when the fire was strongest, therefore, the wind in front blew most strongly, and drove back the dreaded strusen.
SOCIETY AND POPULAR FESTIVITIES.
The whole social life of the Baltic provinces, both of the citizens in the towns and the nobility, in tlie country has, as I have said, a peculiar and agreeable character of its own. All are sociable, polite, obliging, and hospitable, and are decidedly prepossessed in favour of strangers. Many will declare that this no longer applies to Riga, yet I think it still does in a great measure, although the good old German city is undoubtedly undergoing a rapid Russification ; but a cohesive, old, Gothic capital like Riga, does not change so very soon, and plenty of its old praiseworthy features remain. In Riga the rich live and let live, and enjoy their wealth, without at all despising the poverty of others. That eartlily treasure has not fallen to a man's lot, is in Riga no hinderance to his entrance into the best society, provided he be an enjoying and enjoyable being. Difl"erent ranks and classes are not so sharply divided as with us, and no one asks after the rank, origin, or birth of a stranger. The man himself is alone looked to, and if he is endurable he will be endured.
Among the national festivals, in which all classes of society at Riga take part, the most celebrated are "the Flower Feast," and the Feast of " Hunger Sorrow."