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Jan:y 21st 1780.
Some time ago (says the Duke) the laws of Russia
were such that if a wife murdered her husband
a she was put into a phole in the ground
in an erect posture buried up to the arm pits, in this situation she was left to remain till she
killed either by the vermin which came about her
or some such effect as uncertain with respect to
time. Victuals she was provided with to prevent
her from starving. Sometimes a woman has been
known to live in this state for 8 or 10 days.
With respect to husbands who had murdered their
wifes, they were sent to do pennance viz. to
pay certain fines to the priests put on a different
dress and say a certain number of prayers.
has himself known a man mix in
society without any sense of shame after having
killed 3 wives one after the other through
jealousy and expiated his each crime by such pennance.
At present now capital punishments
except in cases of treason are entirely abolished
Murders are more frequent in Russia than
ever. This by the bye I must have some
other evidence of than his Highness's word. I will
not fail to enquire about the proportion.
The day before yesterday I went by invitation to another
of the Duke's country houses. He went there himself
the evening before. Some other company was invited
but as they did not come till the afternoon and
I got there by 1/2 after 10 in the morning we had a long tete-a-tete
together. He shewed me a letter or two
which he had received about his private affairs.
He reminded me of the confidence he put in
me notwithstanding our short acquaintance, among
other things he told me the rent produce of 2 of the farms estates
which I had seen now been at. The fellow is really
very rich notwithstanding his monstrous expences, &
the 3 wives he has to keep &c. It is thought he has nearly a million of dollars a year cash 4.6 He understands oeconomy
very well, but as I think I understand it tollerably well
too, and his disposition in all respects that as far as I have
yet here been able to judge pleases me so much that
I hope one to form some kind of connection with
him before I return to England. I don't know
whether I told you in my last if not I now do tell
you that it is absolutely necessary I should visit
Russia first. He gave me as {un petit souvenir
de l'estime} (as he called it) a gold medal
which had been struck at the institution of the
Academy here. His head on one side and the
Academy on the other. People tell me it is worth
30 ducats that is about 14£ but I don't think
it would weigh 7 or 8 guineas.
You must remember to send a copy of Punishments
and Code as soon as they are published in German.
I am in hopes they may come in my parcel to Petersburg
but you shall have further direction about it.
The D intended to stay 6 or 8 days at this country house
and I should have staid
3 or 4 at least with him, had
it not been absolutely necessary that I should return
to Mittau the next morning (yesterday). And what could
be this important business you will say? which should
m oblige me to decline an opportunity of the D's company
at a time when he was free from the forms of his Court.
Why, if you must know it was no other that that of being
received into the Society of Free Masons. I am now
then one of the brotherhood. This is a circumstance
which will be very usefull to me in Russia.
also for the apparent reason of my having staid here so long.
Baron Midam and some others here gave themselves a great
deal of trouble to bring it about: and there would have
been still greater difficulties as to my being received had
it not been for Poushkin who when he passed
through here, said a great deal in my favour.
The Duke is not a Free Mason though I understand he
wishes it. He expressed his wish some time ago but for
some reason they would not accept him, now
however I understand their objections to him are vanished,
and he has only to ask it. I should like very well
that you should be one of us also, but not that you
should be received in London for several reasons, if you
ever have occasion to come to this part of the world let
it be in Petersburg.
I think now of setting off in a few days for Petersburgh
as I tell everybody but really for Moscow. I have staid
long enough here or rather have been fortunate enough
by one or two connections I have made to inform myself
of the character, disposition & views of the principal
people hereabouts, at least sufficiently for my purpose, I
have formed attachment to the Duke, I have seen enough to
know that it is in my power to forward his interests
and my own at the same time to a great degree; but
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Identifier: | JB/539/008/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
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1780-01-29 |
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539 |
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008 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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