Star.
London, England, 1808-09-05 00:00:00

VIENNA, AUGUST 20.

The Guild of Merchants in this City, since the
organization of the Militia, have from amongst
themselves formed a numerous corps of Volunteers,-
aimed, clothed, &c. at their individual expence.—
The Emperor, on being informed of the circum-
stance, wrote with his own hands a letter to the
Guild, containing the following passage :_" His
Majesty is moved, even to tears, at this fresh in%
stance of the zeal and attachment of his good citi-
zens—H2r Imperial Majesty is already occupied inl
embroidering a ribbon for the colours of this patrio•
tic corps, which shall be the first battalion of the
Militia of Lower Austria."

Much of the severity of treatment towards. the
soldier, which hitherto deterred the people from en.
tering the army, has been done away—his condition
is rendered much more happy, and the consequence
is, that in almost every regiment more volunteers
present themselves than can be accepted.
•

RUSSIAN BARB4RffIZ►S.

The following is one of the Official Reports descri-
bing the proceedings of the Russians in Finland :
1, It is already known, that Brigadier General Ber -
genstrade landed on the 25th of June last, in the vici-
nity of Wasa, vtith a division of the hrigadehe brought
with him from Wessbathorea, and attacked that part
of the Russian army which had taken post here, in
Wasa, and adjacent villages; also, that this attack
was unsuccessful, and that the enemy afterwards re-
treated from this town on the 30th of the same month;
but it interests the feelings of the humane, and in-
structs the world in general, to describe the enemy's
conduct during this Interval, in as vouch as it deter-
mines their national character ; and determines also,
with historic truth, that with barbarian slaves the
latter remains unchanged, notwithstanding the var-
nish put on by a sort ofexternal humanizing produced
by intercourse with civilized nations, while cultivation
of the moral principle is utterly neglected, and the
man remains as before, a slave, suitable to the pur-

poses of faithless despots.
." As soon as the Swedish troops were known to
approach Wasa, the Civil Governor, Emine, and the
Commandant of the town, Major General Kniper, as
well as his Deputy Major Stegeman, decamped, so
that Major General Demidoff had the command there
during the engagement ; when this was over, and
the' Swedish corps had retreated, the inhabitants, who
'had been exposed to all the horrors and mischief of
• a constant fire of musketry and cannon, which killed
and wounded many in their houses, expected some re..
"'spite ; bat almost immediately after, General Demi.
doff gave orders to plunder the town which was done
in the most cruel and diabolical manner, under his
personal direction and presence ; and that of the Ci-
vil Governor, Emine, and General Kniper, who had
returned,. when they found that their army had re-
tained possession of the place. These scenes of mur-
der, wanton cruelty, and devastation, continued until
the 30th of the same month, without the least inter- .
mission, except for a few hours, while Lieutenant
General Rajewski happened to stop in his way through
the town, who expressed• his utmost• detestation at
their conduct, and gave orders that the sacking and
plundering of the.town should cease ; but he had no
sooner left the town than these murderous proceed-
ings recommenced, and the soldiers divided them-
selves into larger and smaller bodies, and thus occu-
pied the whole town. Their usual mode of proceed-
ing was, to fire a volley of musketry through the
windows of the houses, and then to rush in, and with
the bayonet destroy whoever was to be found that had
not time, or could not hide themselves in the cellars,
under straw or rubbish in the barns, outhouses, lofts
or garrets,*and afterwards to plunder and carry away
whatever was of any value. All windows, furni-
ture, china, glassware, and every article that could
not be removed to answer any of their purposes, were
broken and utterly destroyed, and all this under the
"encouraged
and presence of the officers, who went about, and
'encouraged them, calling out dobra (bravo), raratcha
k (charming.) No distinction whatever was made as
' tp churches or a hovel, between the highest or lowest
of the people ; ladies of distinction, women and chil-
dren of all sorts, the sick and wounded, the aged and
prisoners of war, all fared alike, all were treated in
.the most inhuman, cruel, and detestable manner, and
all were plundered. The supplications, upon their
knees, with tears and entreaties, of many of the most
respectable ladies in the town, to obtain safe-guards,
was treated by that worse than wild tiger General
Demidoff, and that complete monster in human form
Governor Emine, (who were gallopping through the
streets to give vigour and activity to the havoc and
devastations earned on by the soldiers) with a broad
grin of contempt, or the most brutal conduct, and at
best with unmanly threatenings, that if they ventured to
say a word the reran should be burnt and levelled with the
earth. In order to enable the public to firm a more
just notice of what their brutality would prompt them
to do towards the middle and lower classes, it will
suffice to describe, their conduct to' some of decided
rank and consequence. At the time when they at-
tacked the mansion, inhabited by Baron Reulerholm,
President of the highest Tribunal of Appeals, a sol-
dier rushed upon the Baron with fixed bayonet, the
Baroness went doWn on her knees between the point
of the bayonet and her husband, and with • tears en-
treated, that he would spare his life ; the soldier
withdrew his murderous weapon, but Seized on the

REVEL„ JULY 28. • •
We we already in want if the most indispensible
articles, and famine is staring us iii the face—many
Of the peasants have perished 9f hunger—some are,
reduced to feed on the putrid carcases of their catty,
which die in numbers for want of provender ; and
others subsist on hay and weeds instead of bread.—
A pound of rye-flour now sells -for ten copecs ; a
pound of bad rock-salt for Ten or twelve, and scarce
to be had ; a bottle of bad wine costs two raublesi a
pound of coffee two roubles, a pound of sagarine rou-
ble, and every thing in proportion. The silver rouble
now goes for 203 copecs instead of 105 as formerly.
We have a great number of Russian troops here
encamped ; but in other respects we are quiet, and
know nothing of politics. The English, indeed, often
mak tl eir appearance, and keep our road blockaded,
but eley undertake nothing farther. '

. . . .
GOTTENZUROII, AVM*? IL 1 Baron and tore from his quit the star of the
We have various reports about the Russian fleet, ' order he wore, and then they ---, to'entpty the
out none that can be depended upon. No news to-day house ofevery thing they could lay their hands upon.
from Finlknd or Norway. 1 Their next operation was, to fire 27 musket - balls
STOCKHOLM, AUGUST 18. I through the windows of the mansion of the Lord
-Lieutenant. of the Countyi into the very room this
respectable man and his family had_ taken refuse,
AUGUsT 18.—There is a report here that Sir S
Hood has fallen in with the Russian fieet, but of this .
nothing certain is known.
, and stove in all the doors, by the but-ends of their tire
. Head-Quarters, Grabby, Aug. 14.
! arms : one soldier was 'going to dispatch the Lord
- - ,
Lieutenants Mr. Wanbe--; Knight, and his life was -
4, Ms Royal Majesty has been informed, by a report received
from Field-Marshal Count Klingspor, of the 4th instant, that the
saved only by the
but
the house was plundered. Their' interposition, and
enemy has fallen back from Alzwe and Saarljarwl to Keene and attack was then made upon the house of Mr. Krabre,
TywislylL The first brigade of his Royal Majesty's Finnish
Knight, late Lord Lieutenant, which they sacked
Army had advanced to Alawo, and the second to Kauhajocki.
Rear-Admiral Hjelrnsticrna has reported, that he has arrived with throughout, and a Russian soldier had the temerity
to advance up to this venerable old man, wilo is pa.
the flotilla of sallies ander his command, off Little Sattungarne.
ralytic, and upwards of 70 years of age, and was
His Majesty has been pleased to order by general orders of the i
quietly smoaking his pipe, in his arm-chair ; ha put.
Ist of this month, that the army Which is assembling in Oland, .
led the pipe out of his mouth, ordered it to be filled
under his command, is to bear the name of the Southern Finnish ! with fresh tobacco, and continued smocking it before
Army, and the other, commanded by Count Kfingipor, which at
i him, shewing at the same time the most disgusting and
present occupies Wass, Knopio, and the environs, that ,of the
contemptuous conduct. He afterwards took away his
Northern Finnish Army. Vice-Admiral Puke, who commands
plunder and left the house. Mr. Hoffren, a merchant.
in Carlscrona, has reported to his Majesty, that on the ed inst. was run through by three bayonets, and murdered at the
the English Vice-Admiral Sir J. Sanmarez arrived in Carlscrona, side of his wife,
to take fresh water on board. Rear-Admiral Hood was likewise was generally and his house was plundered. This
their conduct in whatever house they
expected there with three sail of the line, for the same purpose." entered, and thus were many worthy men, women, and
DALARO, AUGUST 14. children murdered in cold blood—when at last they
Notwithstanding the Russian Ukase, by which all evacuated the town, these ruffians carried with them
'ships in general were prohibited from sailing from many of its respectable inhabitants, among whom was
any Russian port for a Swedish harbour, Captain H: an old lame man. They dragged the prisoners with
Tjarts Boss arrived here this day from Riga, with a them a distance of 12 Swedish miles (72 English), to
cargo of flax and hemp. a place called Ruorfarrie, where they made all of them
i ~. YSTADT, AUGUST 10. ' run the gauntlet between two lines of. soldiers, and
A traveller of great respectability has just arrived
flogging them as they passed along, according to their
barbarous Russian custom; they then left them th2lein
of this month ; he positively asserts, a great number
their misery and pain, to shift for themselves, and get
of French troops who were ordered to march from
here from Hamburgh, which place he left on the sth
back to their plundered families and houses the best way
they could. Brigadier Bergenstrade was stripped to
thence to Spain had openly expressed great discontent, the shirt, and every thing taken from him; Lieutenant
and that he knows for certain that 2000 of them, who
Stoffstedt, of the regiment of Westbothnia, dan-
were shipped on board some vessels in the Elbe, also
gerously wounded, was stripped and thrown down
lately threw their arms overboard.
on the floor of the soldiers' guard-house, where he re.
. _

mained several hours, butwas at last put on a mi;erable
pallet-bed, placed in the Hall of Justice; here a Ru -.-
sian Officer of rank paid him a visit, and put a pistol to
his br. ast, threatening instantaneous death if he did
not truly answer the questions he put to himrespecting
the strength and position of the Swedish army :
another of the officers spit in his face. When Mr.
Wanbcrg, the Lord Lieutenant, ventured his hfe in
order to pay this wounded officer a visit, and the latter
entreated to have a drink of water, and the Lord
Lieutenant supplicated for leave to'send him a bottle,
they took this respectable man by the shoulders and
turned him out of doors. This exhibits only a part
of their horrible conduct—such are Russian enemies.
44 As a barefaced excuse for these cruelties, and for
this irreverence towards the Swedish nation, the Rus-
sian Commander alleged that some of the inhabitants
of the town had fired from their houses on the Rus-
sian troops—an accusation equally false and ungroun-
ded as the report circulated by some evil-miuded per-
sons that the inhabitants of the town had bred from
' the windows on the Swedish troops. All feapons is •
the town and belonging to private personi were long
before taken from the inhabitants, so tat none of
them had a single fire-arm left.
44 In the country about the town the conduct d
the enemy was no less cruel and barbarous—plug: .•
dered and burnt villages, destroyed fields and mean.
doors—insulted the unhappy inhabitants—inconso,
lable widows and mourning children—fathers, sons,
brothers, and friends carried away and punished in
the most abominable manner—grief, lamentation,
misery, and despair, and the town itself, formerly SO
flourishing, now plundered, are the first objects that
present themselves to the traveller, and inform him
of a hat sort of enemy these places have been visited.
44 When I shall have received further authentic infests,
mation, a more circumstantial account shall be given
of the above occurrences, of the loss and damage sus-
tained, and of the personal conduct of the Russians.
In the mean time I shall rriention, that in the parish
of Nerpis, where Major-General Orloff Der.esoff was
Commander-in-Chief, he caused thret of the peasants
to be led together, and this being done, the Russians
in a manner so particularly belonging to them, and
in order to prolong the pain and agony of the poor
sufferers, pierced their thighs, arms, belly, and othe'f
parts, with bayonets, before they killed them. A
Magistrate, art Alderman of Christenstaa, merely
because they suspected him of an intention to inform
the Swedish Commander of the strength of the ene-
my, received for three successive days 100 padogga
each day.
44 These acts of cruelty, though unfortunately but
too true, could hardly be credited, if the perpetrators
of them were other than Russiaes4 but trolls these
hordes of barbarians and savages every humanity
that can be named or even thought of, may be expec.
ted, the more so as their very Generals and Officers
not only permitted, ordered, and encouraged these
acts, but also did not think themselves degraded, by
personally assisting therein, and afterwards by pub-
licly dividing the spoil with the common soldiers.
" It gives, however, satisfaction to the philanthro-
pist, while he contemplates the depravity to which
human nature can be degraded by the mos: despica-
ble nations, by the very Russians, to find that there
are every where at least some traces of benevolence
and tenderness to be met with, During the above.
mentioned scenes, in which an Emine, a Demidoff,
and others their equals in sentiments, took the most
hellish delight • there were some few of the soldiers,
yea, even of the officers, who, with tears in their eyes,
and without regard of the dangers they were exposed
to from the unlimited vengeance of their superiors,
did all in their power to protect the unhappy inhabi-
tants, to prevent the robberies, to spare and console
the sufferers. We would willingly publish their names,
!but this very mode of expressing our acknowledge-
ment would be a crime, •a cruel ingratitude, when we
know by experience, that every great virtue, every
:noble act of humanity, if not ordered for the mere
! sake of policy, is by far more dangerous to a Russ,
than the most hideous and detestable crimes are to
subjects of every noble astd civilized nation. Their
names are, however, known amongst us, and if ever
any of them should be made prisoners by the Suedes,
they will experience the difference between Swedish
and Russian gratitude. N. F. VON SCHOULTZ.
Deputy Lord lieutenant of the Comity of Wasa.
Wan, July 14, 1808.
• Paiingg (blow or strips% a corporal punishment among tb.
Russians.