English acquaintance. His fondness for sailing and managing boats,
however, was as eager here as in Holland; and these gentlemen were
almost daily with him on the Thames, sometimes in a sailing yacht, and
at others rowing in boats,--an exercise in which both the Tzar and the
Marquess are said to have excelled. The Navy Board received directions
from the Admiralty to hire two vessels, to be at the command of the
Tzar, whenever he should think proper to sail on the Thames, to improve
himself in seamanship. In addition to these, the King made him a present
of the "Royal Transport," with orders to have such alterations and
accommodations made in her, as his Tzarish Majesty might desire, and
also to change her masts, rigging, sails, &c., in any such way as he
might think proper for improving her sailing qualities. But his great
delight was to get into a small decked boat, belonging to the Dock-yard,
and taking only Menzikoff, and three or four others of his suite, to
work the vessel with them, he being the helmsman; by this practice he
said he should be able to teach them how to command ships when they
got home. Having finished their day's work, they used to resort to a
public-house in Great Tower-street, close to Tower Hill, to smoke their
pipes and drink beer and brandy. The landlord had the Tzar of Muscovy's
head painted and put up for his sign, which continued till the year
1808, when a person of the name of Waxel took a fancy to the old sign,
and offered the then occupier of the house to paint him a new one for
it. A copy was accordingly made from the original, which maintains its
station to the present day, as the sign of the "Tzar of Muscovy,"
looking like a true Tartar.

(_To be concluded in our next._)

[7] This is an oversight of the Editor, as the Tzar resided in the
last house in Buckingham-street, towards the river on the east