Tuesday 26 November 1839
Fine morning Fahrenheit 66 on my bedroom table at 9 3/4 and breakfast at 9 50/60 to 10 1/2 - then looking into Reiff's Russian Dictionary till 11 5/60
Out Ann and I to the boulevard and walked from 11 1/2 (she and I) 1 25/60 hour 9 or 10 half-turns, as far the great café à droite en descendant, the rest of the walk not being scraped and sanded - nice fine morning Reaumur -4 = about Fahrenheit 23
Then left our cards and inquiries chez la Comtesse Goudovich - between - gone out to make visits - then to a great Armenian shawl merchant - saw shawls, cachemire, from 1200/- to 4000/- and tomorrow might see some at 8000/- - cheaper, and better?, in London - saw a real Persian shawl-like stuff, of our Turkish douliettes are an imitation made here, at 10/- and 15/- per archine - very beautiful - repented having paid 5/50 per archine for our stuff - and thought to take out the linings for the real stuff, and line our imitations with something worse for ordinary wear - all these shawls &c. and Persian rugs, about 3 x1 English yards for 60/-, bought at the fair at Nigeney Novgorod in August - we really must try to be there at the fair - very pretty silks for dressing gowns robes de chambre, about 1/2 English yard wide or less (from Astracan) made there, at 2/50 per archine - these things we can get at
Then to the Àrmenian church - very pretty little church like the Greek churches here but no forbidden sanctum sanctorum - the priest a handsome fat large-dark-eyed man with greyish beard tho' looking certainly not more than 40 if so much - from Issy or some such name (in Armenia) not far from Arrarat - 40 families Armenian belong to this church - service once every Sunday at 11 a.m. 2 priests to do the duty - the altar gaily decked out with little silver utensils crosses &c. à la catholique Romain? in a circular recess with 2 little vestries one on each side, the doors all painted picturewise, with one large saint or apostle or something, like the sacristy doors on each side the great screen in the Greek churches - the church floor all carpeted over - everything very neat - the church painted outside - and the interior very like le vaisseau of the body of a Greek church - flight of steps up, and large court-yard - all very nice
Then drove along the Petrooska to the Porte Rouge, and there alighted for a minute or 2 to look about us - Moscow is certainly a very beautiful city I think that, without exception, it is the most picturesquely beautiful town I have ever seen - there is no drawback - no poor, dirty, ugly part - all is only more or less good - and many parts singularly beautiful - the coup d'œil is most striking - and first impressions go on improving - then passed the port de Soukhareff, and home at 3 1/4
Walked about our rooms (Ann and I) to warm our feet, 40 minutes - then till now 4 p.m. all but the 1st 1 1/2 lines of today - from 4 to near 6 writing part of letter to Mariana dinner at a little before 6 to 6 35/60 - writing till 7 - dressed
At the Orousoff's about 8 1/4 - the old Princess thought it late - she had someone with her, or was going out, and sent us in to Princess Radzivill who had her father and Miss Delamine - tea just before supper Princess Goutchakoff and her daughter countess Pouschkine
Came away after 10 - home at 10 1/2 - sat reading Kupffer's Voyage dans l'Oural - till now 11 50/60 Fahrenheit 61 in the salon at 10 1/2 p.m. Reaumur -3 = Fahrenheit 25 1/2 - fine day.
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