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S. I wrote to you this day fortnight through Tromporski's house, through which channel I write now.
I'm sorry to say your letter which you mention of the 16th March never came to hand.
Ladobras near Crichoff June — 1787
If the description I sent you 5 or 6 weeks ago of my Brothers
'Serpentine Barge' ,and the account of the short voyage I took with him in it
on his way to Kieff, Krumenchook and Cherson, have reached your hands,
you can not but have felt some impatience to hear further tidings of his adventure.
It is now for the first time in my power to afford you some sort
of intelligence, though very imperfect, arising through a Russian medium, &
not directly from himself. On Saturday last I received a visit from one of
my Brother's Officers who taking Norman for interpreter brought with him a letter he had received the Thursday
before from the Batallion Surgeon who accompanied my Brother. The letter was dated
from Kremenchook May 23/June 3 My brother for in the grand Barge arrived
it seems at Kremenchook the 9th day after his departure from
Monastirie where he said I embarked, consequently the 7th day from Propoisk,
where I left him. he Eighteen days, the time in which the
same voyage was performed last autumn by an ordinary experimental
barge of his construction was a time much shorter than that voyage, had
ever been performed in before. In his way to Kremenchook he passed of
course by Kieff: there he learnt that the Empress had left that place, travelling
by land, but two hours before he arrived there. Accordingly he staid
there not a moment, but embarked on for Kremenchook towards which place
was informed she had bent her course. Thither he must have arrived
a day or two before her: for she it seems did not arrive there before May 3/14. There however
he found the Prince: who had been residing there; that being the seat
of his government, during the time she spent at Kieff. Here ends all I
can tell you about dates. The Price was mightily pleased with the invention:
and as a proof of it, had declared his intention of having barges
built forthwith upon the same plan at four places, Petersburgh, Cherson,
Kremenchook, and Dubrovna, which you know is the estate he has still in
the neighbourhood of Crichoff. Between the 3d and the 9th, he embarked on
board, and fell down the river to a new town which is building about 120
versts
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Identifier: | JB/540/376/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
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