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9
Continuation from the brown paper Sheet
at 11.
Soroka being the last Moldavian town, there consequently
end the Moldavian posts. As it was through
Poland that I was thenceforward to travel, I thought
the Polish town the best shot for enquiries concerning
the means of travelling. Not to leave my baggage
unguarded or guarded by strangers, I thought it a
point gained when I had prevailed on honest
Ludwig to engage the Moldavian postillions to
cross the river to Chekanofka. I had no sooner
crossed it, than I was stopt by a Polish Centinel
unarmed, who declared that the Colonel's orders forbad
my advancing any farther. Passports were
produced, but in vain, and all explanation refused:
I desired to be introduced to this Colonel:
this too was impracticable. In the course of the altercation,
understanding I spoke little or no German,
"what business then" says he can he have to travel? A
dispatched officially and every ,
and I soon found myself at the Colonel's quarters.
He there informed me that according to orders a quarantine as against
travellers from Moldavia was there in force: but
that as he all circumstances consider'd apprehended
no danger, he would not send me to the
quarantine house, but station me at large in produce better lodgings,
from whence if I would wait with patience, he
hoped in the course of two or three days to have
it in his power to dismiss me. The conversation
was carried on sometimes through the medium
of Ludwig, who comprehends French but
very imperfectly, sometimes immediately in Latin.
He had got the length of several sentences, and still
I heard nothing of myself, but a great deal concerning
I know not what 3d person, under the
title of Magnificus. Whatever pride your Son
might have conceived at finding himself to be
the personage dignified by so high-sounding a
title would have been much lower'd by a question
that was soon put to him, " Magnificus
since he had himself to be a Merchant was not a Drawing Master, or a Player? The
firm and possibly rather disdainful tone with
which I thought it advisable to answer these
and other such questions in the negative, operating
on him as an evidence of truth, he betook
himself to his apologies, begging I would
not take amiss what he said, observing that
questions of that nature were necessary preliminaries,
and concluding that being now perfectly
satisfied that I was, what my passport purported
me to be, and English Gentleman, he
could not think of assigning me any other quarters
than his own house. His momentary suspicions
to the contrary had been founded he
said on something that had been dropped by
my servant whom he understood to have said
that
that I was actually a Drawing Master. I have my conjectures
relative to the ground of this mistake, but
it is not worth while to state them here. He then
introduced me to his Wife, a good pretty young
woman, with whom his honey moon seemed still
to be in the full, though it had already lasted
above 6 months. His name is Dunahefski:
he acknowledged six and twenty; (very young thought
I for a Colonel, but of that hereafter) He is a subject
of the Emperor being a native of Cracow in
Austrian Poland: he had spent 10 years he said
in the service; the first 4 or 5 in the Prussia's,
the rest in that of Poland. — I have set
you down in this house: how shall I bring you
out of it. — I must pass over Madame Dunahefski's
Jew Men-mantria makers, her female visitants,
my visit with a more bouring gentleman
of the name of Callinsky, at the Greek church and my transactions
at the Custom house. One incident however
I will mention relative to my visit. One
of the sons, a young-man seemingly about one
and twenty, talking a little Latin, kept himself
near me, standing by the sofa on which I sat.
Observing him constantly in that posture, I asked
him why he did not sit? Upon which after
looking round him with marks of hesitation, he
set himself down in the place I made for him.
I soon found that in compliment to me he had
broke an etiquette. — Guess why he could not sit?
because his mother was in the room. Present
this, with the travellers best respects, to the present
Clerk of the Rules, and the future Chancellor —
who knows but it may lessen your bill from
the Upholsterer?
I had not been above 2 hours at Chekanofka
before I was by the Colonel, &
I believe truly, that received since my
arrival, the quarantine was totally taken off.
I was therefore at full liberty, but horses remained
to be procured. Upon talking with the Collector
of the Customs he had mentioned by conjecture
about 6 roubles as a likely price for 4 horses
either all the way on to Olviopol, or a part of
the way, I forget which: but his conjecture seemed
to be a random one not grounded on experience
or any specific information. Ludwig could
not meet with any one who would undertake
for the whole journey, which he was informed
was 18 (=144) miles. Several indeed were willing
to undertake for the first stage, which is
3 (=24) miles at a place called Miashoofka:
but they all concurred In demanding 1 1/2 florin
equal
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Identifier: | JB/540/242/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
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1786-01-16 |
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540 |
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242 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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