A Woman's Journey Round the World Part 45

The villa of Prince Gallizin is built entirely in the Gothic style.

The pointed windows, and two towers of which, decorated with a cross, give to it the appearance of a church, and the beholder involuntarily looks for the town to which this gorgeous building belongs.

This place lies nearly at the extremity of the fine country. From here the trees are replaced by dwarf bushes, and finally by brambles; the velvety-green turf is succeeded by stony ground, and steep rocks rise behind, at the foot of which lie a quant.i.ty of fallen fragments.

Even here very pretty seats are to be seen; but they are entirely artificial, and want the charm of nature.

After travelling about thirteen wersti, the road winds round a stony hill, and the castle of Prince Woronzoff comes in sight in its entire extent. The appearance of it is not by any means so fine as I had imagined. The castle is built entirely of stone, of the same colour as the neighbouring rocks. If a large park surrounded the castle, it would stand out more prominently, and the beauty and magnificence of its architecture would be better shown. There is, indeed, a well laid out garden, but it is yet new and not very extensive. The head gardener, Herr Kebach (a German), is a master in his art; he well knows how to manage the naked barren land, so that it will bear not only the ordinary trees, plants, and flowers, but even the choicest exotic plants.

The castle is built in the Gothic style, and is full of towers, pinnacles, and b.u.t.tresses, such as are seen in similar well preserved buildings of olden time. The princ.i.p.al front is turned towards the sea. Two lions, in Carrara marble, artistically sculptured, lie in comfortable ease at the top of the majestic flight of steps which lead from the castle far down to the sea- sh.o.r.e.

The interior arrangement of the castle reminded me of the "Arabian Nights;" every costly thing from all parts of the world, such as fine woods and choice works of art, is to be seen here in the greatest perfection and splendour. There are state apartments in Oriental, Chinese, Persian, and European styles; and, above all, a garden saloon, which is quite unique, for it not only contains the finest and rarest flowers but even the tallest trees. Palms, with their rich leafy crowns, extend to a great height, climbing plants cover the walls, and on all sides are flowers and blossoms. The most delightful odour diffused itself through the air, cus.h.i.+oned divans stood half-buried under the floating leaves; in fact, everything combined to produce the most magical impression upon the senses.

The owner of this fairy palace was unfortunately absent at a fete on a neighbouring estate. I had letters to him, and should have been glad to have made his acquaintance, as I had heard him spoken of here, both by rich and poor, as a most n.o.ble, just and generous man.

I was, indeed, persuaded to wait his return, but I could not accept this offer, as I should have had to wait eight days for the arrival of the next steamer, and my time was already very limited.

In the neighbourhood of the castle is a Tartar village, of which there are many in the Crimea. The houses are remarkable for their flat earth roofs, which are more used by the inhabitants than the interior of the huts; as the climate is mild and fine they pa.s.s the whole day at their work on the roofs, and at night sleep there. The dress of the men differs somewhat from that of the Russian peasants, the women dress in the Oriental fas.h.i.+on, and have their faces uncovered.

I never saw such admirably planted and clean vineyards as here. The grapes are very sweet, and of a good flavour; the wine light and good, and perfectly suited for making champagne, which indeed is sometimes done. I was told that more than a hundred kinds of grapes are grown in the gardens of Prince Woronzoff.

When I returned to Jalta, I was obliged to wait more than two hours, as the gentlemen with whom I was to go on board had not yet finished their carouse. At last, when they broke up, one of them, an officer of the steamer, was so much intoxicated that he could not walk. Two of his companions and the landlord dragged him to the sh.o.r.e. The jolly-boat of the steamer was indeed there, but the sailors refused to take us, as the jolly-boat was ordered for the captain. We were obliged to hire a boat, for which each had to pay twenty kopecs (8d.) The gentlemen knew that I did not speak Russian but they did not think I partially understood the language. I, however, overheard one of them say to the other "I have no change with me, let us leave the woman to pay." Upon this the other turned round to me, and said in French, "The share that you have to pay is twenty silver kopecs." These were gentlemen who made pretensions to honesty and honour.

29th September. Today we stopped at the strong and beautiful fortress Sewastopol. The works are partly situated at the entrance of the harbour, and partly in the harbour itself; they are executed in ma.s.sive stone, and possess a number of towers and outworks which defend the entrance to the harbour. The harbour itself is almost entirely surrounded by hills, and is one of the safest and most excellent in the world. It can hold the largest fleets, and is so deep that the most gigantic men-of-war can lie at anchor close to the quays. Sluices, docks and quays have been constructed in unlimited splendour and magnificence. The whole of the works were not quite finished, and there was an unparalleled activity apparent.

Thousands of men were busy on all sides. Among the workmen I was shown many of the captured Polish n.o.bles who had been sent here as a punishment for their attempt, in 1831, to shake of the Russian yoke.

The works of the fortress and the barracks are so large that they will hold about 30,000 men.

The town itself is modern, and stands upon a range of barren hills.

The most attractive among the buildings is the Greek church, as it stands quite alone on a hill, and is built in the style of a Grecian temple. The library is situated on the highest ground. There is also an open-columned hall near the club, with stone steps leading to the sea-sh.o.r.e, which serves as the most convenient pa.s.sage to the town for those who land here. A Gothic monument to the memory of Captain Cozar, who distinguished himself greatly at the battle of Navarino, and was killed there, does not less excite the curiosity of the traveller. Like the church, it stands alone upon a hill.

The streets here, as in all the new Russian towns, are broad and clean.

30th September. Early in the morning we reached Odessa. The town looks very well from the sea. It stands high; and consequently many of the large and truly fine buildings can be seen at one glance.

Among these are the Palace of Prince Woronzoff, the Exchange, the government offices, several large barracks, the quarantine buildings, and many fine private houses. Although the surrounding country is flat and barren, the number of gardens and avenues in the town give it a pleasant appearance. In the harbour was a perfect forest of masts. By far the greater number of s.h.i.+ps do not lie here, but in the quarantine harbour. Most of the s.h.i.+ps come from the Turkish sh.o.r.e, and are obliged to pa.s.s through a quarantine of fourteen days, whether they have illness on board or not.

Odessa, the chief town of the government of Cherson, is, from its situation on the Black Sea, and at the mouth of the Dniester and Dnieper, one of the most important places of commerce in South Russia. It contains 50,000 inhabitants, was founded in 1794, and declared a free port in 1817. A fine citadel entirely commands the harbour.

The Duke of Richelieu contributed most to the advancement of Odessa; for after having made several campaigns against his native country (France) in an emigrant corps, he went to Russia; and in 1803 was made governor-general of Cherson. He filled this post until 1814, during which time he brought the town to its present position. When he was appointed it contained scarcely 5,000 inhabitants. One of the finest streets bears the name of the duke, and several squares are also named in honour of him.

I remained only two days in Odessa. On the third I started by the steamer for Constantinople. I went through the town and suburbs in every direction. The finest part lies towards the sea, especially the boulevard, which is furnished with fine avenues of trees, and offers a delightful promenade; a life-size statue of the Duke Richelieu forms a fine ornament to it. Broad flights of stone steps lead from here down to the sea-sh.o.r.e; and in the background are rows of handsome palaces and houses. The most remarkable among them are the Government House, the Hotel St. Petersburgh, and the Palace of Prince Woronzoff, built in the Italian style, with a tasteful garden adjoining. At the opposite end of the boulevard is the Exchange, also built in the Italian style, and surrounded by a garden. Not far from this is the Academy of Arts, a rather mediocre one-story building. The Theatre, with a fine portico, promises much outside, but is nothing great within. Next to the theatre is the Palais Royal, which consists of a pretty garden, round which are ranged large handsome shops, filled with costly goods. Many articles are also hung out, but the arrangement is not near so tasteful as is the case in Vienna or Hamburgh.

Among the churches the Russian cathedral is the most striking. It has a lofty arched nave and a fine dome. The nave rests upon strong columns covered with brilliant white plaster, which looks like marble. The decorations of the churches with pictures, lamps, and l.u.s.tres, etc., is rich but not artistic. This was the first church in which I found stoves, and really it was quite necessary that these should be used, the difference of temperature between this place and Jalta was very considerable for the short distance.

A second Russian church stands in the new bazaar; it has a large dome surrounded by four smaller ones, and has a very fine appearance from the exterior; inside it is small and plain.

The Catholic church, not yet quite finished, vies in point of architecture with the Russian cathedral.

The streets are all broad, handsome, and regular, it is almost impossible to lose your way in this town. In every street there are fine large houses, and this is the case even in the most remote parts as well.

In the interior of the town lies the so-called "crown garden," which is not, indeed, very large or handsome, but still affords some amus.e.m.e.nt, as great numbers of people a.s.semble here on Sundays, and festivals, and a very good band of music plays here in summer under a tent; in winter the performances take place in a plain room.

The botanic garden, three wersti from the town, has few exotic plants, and is much neglected. The autumn changes, which I again saw here for the first time for some years, made a truly sad impression upon me. I could almost have envied the people who live in hot climates, although the heat is very troublesome.

The German language is understood by almost all but the lowest orders in Odessa.

On leaving the Russian dominions I had as much trouble with the pa.s.sport regulations as on entering. The pa.s.sport which was obtained on entering must be changed for another for which two silver roubles are paid. Besides this, the traveller's name has to be three times printed in the newspaper, so that if he has debts, his creditors may know of his departure. With these delays it takes at least eight days, frequently, however, two or three weeks to get away; it is not, however, necessary to wait for these forms, if the traveller provides security.

The Austrian Consul, Herr Gutenthal, answered for me, and I was thus able to bid adieu to Russia on the 2nd of October. That I did this with a light heart it is not necessary for me to a.s.sure my readers.

CHAPTER XXIV. CONSTANTINOPLE AND ATHENS.

CONSTANTINOPLE--CHANGES--TWO FIRES--VOYAGE TO GREECE--QUARANTINE AT AEGINA--A DAY IN ATHENS--CALAMACHI--THE ISTHMUS--PATRAS--CORFU.

Little can be said of the pa.s.sage from Odessa to Constantinople; we continued out at sea and did not land anywhere. The distance is 420 miles. The s.h.i.+p belonged to the Russian government, it was named Odessa, was of 260 horse power, and was handsome, clean, and neat.

In order that my parting with my dear friends, the Russians, might not be too much regretted, one of them was so good at the end of the pa.s.sage as to behave in a manner that was far from polite. During the last night which was very mild and warm, I went out of the close cabin on to the deck, and placed myself not far from the compa.s.s- box, where I soon began to sleep, wrapt in my mantle. One of the sailors came, and giving me a kick with his foot, told me to leave the place. I thanked him quietly for the delicate way in which he expressed himself, and requesting him to leave me at peace, continued to sleep.

Among the pa.s.sengers were six English sailors, who had taken a new s.h.i.+p to Odessa, and were returning home. I spoke with them several times, and had soon quite won them. As they perceived that I was without any companion, they asked me if I spoke enough Turkish to be able to get what I wanted from the s.h.i.+p's people and porters. On my answering that I did, they offered to manage everything for me if I would go on sh.o.r.e with them. I willingly accepted their offer.

As we approached land a customs' officer came on board to examine our luggage. In order to avoid delay I gave him some money. When we landed I wanted to pay, but the English sailors would not allow it; they said I had paid for the customs' officer, and it was therefore their time to pay for the boat. I saw that I should only have affronted them if I had pressed them further to receive the money. They settled with the porter for me, and we parted good friends. How different was the behaviour of these English sailors from that of the three well-bred Russian gentlemen at Jalta!

The pa.s.sage into the Bosphorus, as well as the objects of interest in Constantinople, I have already described in my journey to the Holy Land. I went immediately to my good friend Mrs. Balbiani; but, to my regret, found that she was not in Constantinople; she had given up her hotel. I was recommended to the hotel "Aux Quatre Nations," kept by Madame Prust. She was a talkative French woman, who was always singing the praises of her housekeeping, servants, cookery, etc., in which, however, none of the travellers agreed with her. She charged forty piasters (8s.), and put down a good round sum in the bill for servants' fees and such like.

Since my last stay here a handsome new wooden bridge had been erected over the Golden Horn, and the women did not seem to be so thickly veiled as on my first visit to Constantinople. Many of them wore such delicately woven veils that their faces could almost be seen through them: others had only the forehead and chin covered, and left their eyes, nose, and cheeks exposed.

The suburb of Pera looked very desolate. There had been a number of fires, which were increased by two during my stay; they were called "small," as by the first only a hundred and thirty shops, houses, and cottages, and by the second, only thirty were burned to the ground. They are accustomed to reckon the number destroyed by thousands.

The first fire broke out in the evening as we were seated at table.

One of the guests offered to accompany me to see it, as he thought I should be interested by the sight if I had not seen such a one before. The scene of the fire was rather distant from our house, but we had scarcely gone a hundred steps when we found ourselves in a great crowd of people, who all carried paper lanterns, {330a} by which the streets were lighted. Every one was shouting and rus.h.i.+ng wildly about; the inhabitants of the houses threw open their windows and inquired of the pa.s.sers by the extent of the danger, and gazed with anxiety and trembling at the reflection of the flames in the sky. Every now and then sounded the shrill cry of "Guarda! guarda!"

(take care) of the people, who carried small fire-engines {330b} and buckets of water on their shoulders, and knocked everything over that was in their way. Mounted and foot soldiers and watchmen rushed about, and Pashas rode down with their attendants to urge the people on in extinguis.h.i.+ng the fire, and to render them a.s.sistance.

Unfortunately almost all these labours are fruitless. The fire takes such hold of the wooden buildings painted with oil colours, and spreads with such incredible rapidity that it is stopped only by open s.p.a.ces or gardens. One fire often destroys several thousand houses. The unfortunate inhabitants have scarce time to save themselves; those who live some distance off hastily pack their effects together and hold themselves prepared for flight at any moment. It may easily be supposed that thieves are not rare on such occasions, and it too often happens that the few things the poor people have saved are torn away from them in the bustle and confusion.

The second fire broke out in the following night. Every one had retired to sleep, but the fire-watch rushed through the street, knocking with his iron-mounted staff at the doors of the houses and waking the people. I sprang terrified out of bed, ran to the window, and saw in the direction of the fire a faint red light in the sky. In a few hours the noise and redness ceased. They have at last begun to build stone houses, not only in Pera but also in Constantinople.

I left Constantinople on the evening of the 7th of October, by the French steamer Scamander, one hundred and sixty-horse power.

The pa.s.sage from Constantinople to Smyrna, and through the Greek Archipelago is described in my journey to the Holy Land, and I therefore pa.s.s on at once to Greece.

I had been told, in Constantinople, that the quarantine was held in the Piraeus (six English miles from Athens), and lasted only four days, as the state of health in Turkey was perfectly satisfactory.

Instead of this, I learnt on the steamer that it was held at the island of AEgina (sixteen English miles from Piraeus), and lasted twelve days, not on account of the plague but of the cholera. For the plague it lasts twenty days.

On the 10th of October we caught sight of the Grecian mainland.

Sailing near the coast, we saw on the lofty prominence of a rock twelve large columns, the remains of the Temple of Minerva. Shortly afterwards we came near the hill on which the beautiful Acropolis stands. I gazed for a long time on all that was to be seen; the statues of the Grecian heroes, the history of the country came back to my mind; and I glowed with desire to set my foot on the land which, from my earliest childhood, had appeared to me, after Rome and Jerusalem, as the most interesting in the earth. How anxiously I sought for the new town of Athens--it stands upon the same spot as the old and famous one. Unfortunately, I did not see it, as it was hidden from us by a hill. We turned into the Piraeus, on which a new town has also been built, but only stopped to deliver up our pa.s.sports, and then sailed to AEgina.

It was already night when we arrived; a boat was quickly put out, and we were conveyed to the quay near the quarantine station.

Neither the porters nor servants of this establishment were there to help us, and we were obliged to carry our own baggage to the building, where we were shown into empty rooms. We could not even get a light. I had fortunately a wax taper with me, which I cut into several pieces and gave to my fellow-pa.s.sengers.