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little thought of profiting of his civilities, but being at Pultava I determined
to return by his part of Poland to Petersbourg. I passed by Keoff
a City remarkable for its religious antiquities. It is indeed also the oldest
city in Russia. There are a hundred or two Saints lying on their backs
with their Coffin doors open ready to jump up at their call. The bodies are
said to be entire but they are completely covered except the heads which
their holinesses permit the eager multitude of pilgrims to kiss, not however
without paying their Copek beforehand. The Subsuranious
passages in which
they lie, and which were dug as it is pretended by their own holy hands, are cried upon as very
wonderfull. Had they however been dug by other hands and for other purposes
there would have been no wonder at all in the case. The superstitious stories
told by the priests and the credulity of the people astonishes even those
who are accustomed to the Priestcraft of the Papist Church.
Something like a Journal of my expedition to the black sea you
shall have as soon as I can prevail on myself to set down to write
it or rather to keep my mind attention so long to that purpose as will
be necessary. I hope this will be soon, but I have so much to think
of of more immediate consequence that it may not be just yet. I have
however notes of all. The commerce of the black sea so little attended
to by the Russia court in proportion to its advantageousness, has made
my fingers itch even more than that of Courland. The Count at whose
house I am now makes exports from his different estates production
to the amount of perhaps 14 or 15,000 Pounds, which he now must
send to Kroninsberg or Dantsic great part of the way by land and
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Identifier: | JB/539/064/002"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539. |
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1780-07-23 |
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539 |
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064 |
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002 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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