Camden gazette. (Camden, S.C.) 1816-1818, July 18, 1816, Image 2
LITERA R Y.
From tHe American Review.
Observations oo the 1st. volume of Dr. Clarke's*
tr a^cIs in Russia, Tartary and Tut key.
: BY A RUSSIAN."*
Continued .
We will now proceed to point out some
passages in Dr. Clarke's book) in which he
truth. V-.y.
In March, 1800, TXr* Clarke arrived at
St. Petersburg!!.^. His abode in the cap
ital of Kussia must have been of short du
ration, if we measure it by the chapter which
he has appropriated to the subject. He
1: ft St. Petersburgb on the 3d of April, and
arrived' at Moscofr on the 6th of the same
month? .having consequently travelled, in
Ie*s than six days, a distance of 500 Eng
lish miles* He set out from Moscow the
30 th .dsyi alter sojourning then nmlp
eight weeks* Oa U>e 7th of June we find
him at V ofonesb-^a distance of 444*Engiish
miles (516 versts) from Moscow. Leavjjg.
i ng Voronezh the 1 - 1 h of the tame mon >Ji,
Dr. C. arrived at Isherkask, the capital of
the Don Cossacks, on the 2 1 sr.? These
two cities jjire 411 English miles (or 616
^rats) 'distant from each other. He re
mained among the Don Cossacks twelve
flay v_riz v from his entrance into their
'territory li the village of frasanskaja, to
bis arrival at fhelbrtitsi of Rostof on the
a 7th of the tame month. If we deduct
two days spent at Kasanskaja, four at
Tsherktttky Tatld three at Oxal, we find '
that this tavtml went through the whole
territory inquestion in three days ; ? a dis- \
tanee of *90 English miles. No more |
* a Mr eleven days were necessary for our ;
;peditious traveller to traverse the coun
try of the Cossacks eftheBlack Sea
(Tstiernomorskie CosattV)r aw| $Q agave its
iled from jjaganrock f
"* * ile on the t
ce^whkh |
the Asiftc
th
ex
the ?rimea-t-for he
on Jufly~S<L slid w
sail
he overran,
?hore, until he r, ? . I
he Penia^mT is #63 English
niks (544 versts), by thr route he took.
I'wo of the eleven days be s^yed at Eka
ierinoder, the capital df the- Cossacks of
. i ? . ?? - g ? ~
laca oca.
thfto Dr. CUM*
th* ltussjan domihiwW, nearly
Wit passed 4b the Crimea. He arrived
there the Uth Jul*, ?nd Wt it by the Isth-.
mus of Perekose about the 13ih October.
Two# thes* three months he lived in the
home oC Dfi f .ilfs^MHwl- of the j*w*
and %
pear that the Doctor
Jbo month* in travel!
mU
Jlhich he can
teVen
>o.mm
'? ''k ' y~ '
V as nil an
and ahotot three
various OtW placesi it will am t
over gam of 1
eleavfil to
* u"
WtatuoftM Englishman. Th
not resemble th? turnp&?.*t
land ;? -the Inns are bfl:? th<
ot the RunsMn peasant, are no
pared with cottage* of Englii
marks of the imperfections ret
an unlimked form of g^turntn
author hmd been content to not
Jtfcts of this description, wit hrt
lug the trtrnM cbsrsttcr of th
,'gsnenil opmionsRijurious U)
nation, Ma booh would h*
Cfc'rred With applause even in F
In all countries there are 0!
kfWteh wre tfc-belearAli^nfjf:!
era. But he h*s undertaken
the manners of the people, a
ciate the national character, wi
gWen himself time to Jaecomc
jMtiSSlfr:
tWes of conouct, In those wi
I accusation i* frequently repeated, we mi all
1 notice it here, tn order, as wcihmjf, to rc
Ljuteu, la the satuEaclion 4 he candid
I reader. ? When Dr, Chrkc made his ap
I pearance in Russia, officers belonging to
the staff of the aimy Were occupied in
Finland, in Poland, in the Crimea, and in
I several other portions of the empire, with
I making detailed draughts of these respec
I tive countries. The object of that under
f-takiug was, to rectify the errors in the gcti
I eral map of the empire, or rather to pre
I pare one which should be more correct.
I This map or atlas, composed of more
than one i hundred sheets, was published
I at Si. Petersburg in 1805, at' the expense
I of goverosiient, and is for sale on very
I moderate terms at the defiot imfieriaLdi*
I arrtes. We wiK not take upon ua to com*
I pare it with that e| Sweden by Mr. Her
inellin, but we can assui#our readers,tbat
I it completely destroys Dr. Clarke's atser
1 tiun^ieapcuiug'the want of greogtaphical
I charts. In the one to which we allude,
I the learned gentleman will not find the
4 -sounding* of the coasts of the Crimea laid
1 down ; but he will meet with topographic
I cal details of >th#*parts of the Russian
I monarck^-^hich have hitherto been least
I observed, sufficient to satisfy cVery man
who travels for the purpose of acquiring a
I knowledge of the country* and not like
I the doctor at Achtiar, to search for the
I vuliyable points of the empire. ? -
The empress Catherine II. is often^jub
I jected to the censure of Dr. QUfrke.
I * There is nothing," says he, u
I Wi ia:e Catherine employed so much artT
I fice, as in keeping secret the history of her <
I own people, and the *ret?hed state of.
I her empite."' That ~tMs~empress received
I with complacency, the flatter y of the 1
I philosophers of her tijne, (many of whom
I enjoyed pensions from her boiuityAis an
I undoubted truth ;^-but it Is absurdAjtup
I pose, that she entertained serioiflK the
I inv^ ntion of concealing from the rest of
I thrwortd, the true state of the interior of;
Russia. Without breaking off* ail com-"
I munication with other Countries, and erect*!
I ing on her frnntijp a wall ttkrtfaatof CiA-f
I na>4^ w^o^pH^ment of such a purpose
I wofejp have been impossible.? It is more-*
over contradicted, by the constant effort*
emlww, to alhirc imor
her dominiona. Sb* toofcjnto b??r aervtcc
engineer* from Holland, for y*e purpose of
improving the tnUrnaT
JBy the labours
course* 6f ** navigab
the empire were accui
nuumnaw individual* b
tiadHPfho have at
^ Rua4*? ?nU
nation of ftua-;
KTfK
ine to the Bri
severe* To us it Appears iLai Husalac^iL
nui but place her ii\ the rank of her most*
distinguished monarch*, as- well as of ihe
roost able sovereigns that ever reigned over
any country. ; \
Dr. Clarke i in his short residence at St.
Petersburg, gathers no information, which
might not be picked *ip at the corner of
' every street in that capital. Without de
nying the existence of some of the abuses
if hiLh lus utemium lu his first ehlpicr, md
without undertakiuy to justify them, we
will content ourselvfca rgnth noticing some
errors, which appelate ua \p be&jr the
stamp of misrepresentation. He. *tkc?
great pains to inspire ^ belief, tUVTh is
countrymen are peculiarly "exposed to the
vcxations which he describes, and abtm^
'which he is so querulous. ? This assertion
is incorrect.? The regulations of the po
lice relative to diess, were extended to all
the inhabitants, without a single exception ;
^ neither Is it tru>, that the KnglUh sulfei^d
every where the same- severe tieatment.
Dr. t lark*, himseflf and fcis companion
will more than once, furnish proof of the
contrary. ' V
With regard to the punishment which he
states to havfc been inflicted on the author
4flP*the epigram, mentioned in page 5,:
(cutting out hi a tongue J , we will .imply]
observe, that for more }han a century, there
. has not been one solili^ instanced such
an execution. Moreover, having ourselves^
resided in bu Petersburg during the whole
of the l'kte Emperor's reign, we assert?
without fear of contradiction, that, to this!
a <? * ^ ?? k
Petersburg, Dr. Clarke has had time to
discover that onjeaving the atpital, a trav- J
eller " bids adieu to all thoughts of Tnn% or
even houses, with the common necessaries
of bread and w*ter." The road between
this last city and Mq^cow, is constantly
oovcrrd with travelled and wagoncm. ?
Of thesfc the first have not always, like the
Doctor, comfortable travelling carriage*,
and the latter, proceeding uniformly withr
the same horses, must necessarily stop
somewhere at night, and refresh their cat*
Ue? Their wagons are loaded with mer
chandise, which they have engaged to
transport from distant {Races, and the^ i
cannot consequent ly have' room for many
provisions. How, then do they escape be*
ing starved Some idea may be formed
of the piodigious number of these unhap
py wagoners by what is said, page 475 ~
Nothing can be more striking than the
spectacle afforded by those immense Cfjgp
?tas? slowly advancing each in oi*f "
llne^ by hundreds at a time, and pr
ing a picture of the tntemai'coraroerce
? ried on *by Russia throughout all parts
I the empire." We think therefore
I Dr. Clarke would have spoken mor<
rty, hid ha Vaidihat good urns
,c high roads of Rus.i.
have been too touch in tt.?
, oC discontented traveller
He chose to say more-^teke
fiskof the picture-mongers, v
wilt determined w ??vc,
is
aboiii
*VS*$0&
wBSk&M
. and ka* noi^PH
,'Vk 'f j^t
K ( n *'
&MM
( no* in *MW - A
Sir? An extract ha* appeared in your \
per, from rf Volume whfch I published
years ago,* entitled ?
?p?
? publish!
further na,
m m ?w ? ~w * ? 1
pectin ? dlitnbankm
sippi. I have seen in
have heard in convetsau*
able itfcagge rat ions*Wh
tailed by that city, fl 4
advantaj? | ?
be
p*
en
n%
Xonsi<
to tl
The beautlfUl
Bayou St* John, wiH bffee
nnd hundreds />f poor in
. > who raise vegetables for
Hwftl be ruined. , llula mis
ji* however, the dty of New-Or
might m a few years repair, but she
cannot so easily change the character which
?he *U1 acquire abroad, of beta* unavoid
ably subject to the recurrence of so dread
ful a calamity. It ia thia which wiU en
danger her prosperity, much more than the
foods of the river ?? end it Is with a view
of encountering the public opinion, on this
subject, that I take the ttberty of coming
for ,/ard to suggest a few ideas, the result j
of my observations while i* that country.
I uriti premise, iiowevrr, that wUh rcsp tct
td any unusual siikusss bcin^ caused by
mucirto appr?heodt~the*ickty season d oe*
not comments- MiBsissippL- Ji*a
retirwl within its bank*, ami long fceiorc
this lime, the water which fqund its way
through the crevasse. will 6infc, evapocate,
or flow to ttie swamps j a few il^ys are suf
ficient. principal
jbuisianu, is the
eifflime telron flip, banks of tho.
river* the stagnant water between the .
double levees, and the miasma cf the
I swamp ; therefore, to^asign suth import- ,
I ant effects to so ^ighti cause, as thai of*
I a few hundred acres of )M beinfc cover*
most appear absurd, v 1 do not' pretend
that there "
care must
| to subside, ..^^ug
before ii can Magnate, \im animat
and vegeiuble exuviae, left around the city,
be destroyed before the action ofxJLhe sun
can render it putrid. All thiaiaof so lit
tle consequence, compared to the perma
nent causes of disease in Louisiana, that I
do qot apprehend from it any thing extra
ordinary. There il also a favorable clr- !
cum stance, which witt tend to tasseit thi
danger; It is observed, as one of aho*^
I _ r... miinviHVIR
iftf? banks, freshen the air,- and preserve
?P waters left by the river in' s state of
purity, until the greater part is evaporated
or drained I and, aa l have already ob
served, the city and, its environs wHl be en*
tirely dry, before th#existcnce of that stat*
of thejumotpbere* injwhich there is a |S
eral prevalence of fevers* Thus much, as
to the extent of the present ahd probable
suffering to which Tht city of ^ New -Or
leans has been unhappily1 exposed. As to
anf^petmanef*1? L '
ksijf into thJpm|np|..
the i^ftificial banks of t)p?
be to secured as to prevent Ji Ut pji?w qi
the calamity m future? Of this I never
had the lea?t doubt. It haa only been a
matter of antonishment to VMtal *
pfl^ghould * ? | - - mh
' jeot so important i I couHi
fop it from that total want o
which it obierrtd in all coi
Jaot until afar we had gaioec
^ticnce, that wo bethought
'building noble bridge* of
turnpike roada, of digging
letting other Mitoari verij
ia not likely *** *uch a$
pftpitin, wnwlrl rnciiurage ?nhl
I polonies la (ho volume, wl
ed, it ?m my endeavor to ,<
sssssuaB
?J??3S