Travels through Russia, Siberia, Poland, Austria, Saxony, Prussia, Hanover, etc. undertaken during the years 1822, 1823, and 1824, while suffering from total blindness, and comprising an account of the author being conducted a state prisoner from the eastern parts of Siberia

Front matter

At ■v "Wag-emaai del _ _. 3 ■ > TRAVELS THROUGH RUSSIA, SIBERIA, POLAND, AUSTRIA SAXONY, PRUSSIA, HANOVER, fye. fye. UNDERTAKEN DURING THE YEARS 1822, 1823, and 1824, WHILE SUFFERING FROM TOTAL BLINDNESS, AND COMPRISING &n account OF THE AUTHOR BEING CONDUCTED A STATE PRISONER FROM THE EASTERN PARTS OF SIBERIA. BY J. HOLMAN, R.N. K.W. & F.L.S. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. " THE MAN WHO IS THE LORD OF THE LAND SPAKE ROUGHLY TO US, AND TOOK US POR SPIES OF THE COUNTRY." GENESIS, xlii. 30. THIRD EDITION. ftontJon : PUBLISHED BY SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, STATIONERS' HALL COURT, LUDGATE HILL. 1832. EJrtitratioiL TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. Sire, I beg leave humbly fajypproach your Most Gracious Majesty, to express the high sense of gratitude I entertain for the honour of being permitted to dedicate the present work to your Majesty.

I have, since my affliction, been indebted to your Majesty's benevolence for most essential benefits; and now, with that condescension which so peculiarly adorns your Majesty, you deign to gild the produce of my humble toil with your exalted patronage, and thus confer upon me a distinction most gratifying to my feelings and ambition. a DEDICATION. My powers of personal exertion have been too much curtailed, to allow me to offer your Majesty in return, more than a heart replete with loyalty and gratitude, otherwise I would be proud in devoting the remainder of my existence to prove the ardour of my zeal and attachment. With the sincerest aspirations to heaven, that your Majesty may long continue to rule over that free and enlightened nation, which, under your paternal government, has risen to a transcendant height of glory, I have the houour to subscribe myself, Your Majesty's Most dutiful, obedient, and Devoted Servant, JAMES HOLM AN.

Preface

. W ere any individual, gifted with the full and ordinary powers that it has pleased the Creator to confer upon the human race, to undertake a journey into a strange and almost unknown country, there could be no reason why he should not collect, and communicate a fund of curious and interesting particulars relative to the scene of his travel, its inhabitants, and productions ; but that one circumstanced like the Author of the present work, under a total deprivation of that most important of the senses for acquiring a knowledge of ex ternal objects — the power of vision, should, in the first place, meditate and attempt such a journey ; and, secondly, venture to obtrude its results upon the public, must be deemed VI

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. a solecism, both in the history of travel and literature. Impressed by the above considerations, the Author feels it incumbent upon him to ex plain the motives which led him to traverse, sightless, and almost alone, the dreary wilds of a barbarous country, wider in extent than Europe itself; and also to declare the chan nels and opportunities through which he has been enabled to derive that information he is now desirous to impart to the public. Deprived, by the will of the Almighty, of all intercourse with the visible world, the desire of locomotion has to him become a new sense, — a compensating principle, which, by the succession of objects it presents, serves to fill up the deficiencies of which he would otherwise be sensible, from the loss ofthe visual organ. It may not be easy to explain, with cor rectness, the nature of the sensations which are thus communicated ; that numberless and in teresting associations are called forth, may readily be conceived, and which, connecting themselves with ideas previously acquired relative to the countries, places, and objects

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. VII with which he is really, or virtually, brought into contact, give rise to operations of the mind more or less pleasurable. This, how ever, is not all : the novelties which present themselves, dependent on the habits or cus toms of the people he may meet with ; the accidents to which he becomes exposed, many of them rendered singularly peculiar by the peculiarity of his own circumstances; and the variety of general information he may be enabled to glean; to which may be added an almost romantic ardour to surmount diffi culties ; all conspire to throw an interest, some times nearly magical, over his wanderings. The above observations may constitute something like an apology for what many will regard as an absurd or affected restless ness of mind ; a feeling which he is not a little anxious to remove from the minds of his read ers, since his heart disclaims it; besides, he often experiences a material annoyance from such a feeling, having more than once been indebted to it for a mortifying opposition lo his most anxious wishes.

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. That he should intrude upon the public the narrative of his journey and adventures, requires a farther explanation. With his great disadvantages, he has no right to pre sume that he could add much to what was previously known respecting the immense Russian Empire, or, with much authority, illustrate the manners, customs, or character of its inhabitants; the field, however, is a wide one, and one which has not frequently been trodden, so that many of its indigenous productions, both natural and moral, remain to be discovered. Whether the Author has succeeded in collecting, — to carry forward the metaphor, — any of its original plants, or of the latent seeds, or springing flowers of the recent civilization of this country, he leaves to the reader, after the perusal of his pages, to determine.

He is, however, willing to ad mit, that in sending forth his narrative, he is not a little influenced by the wish to be re garded as a member, however humble, of the literary world, in which feeling he is, to a degree, encouraged by the favourable man-

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. IX ner in which his former production was re ceived by the public. Those who may be inclined to censure his presumption in this respect, he trusts will not deny some indulgence to his peculiar situation, or refuse to admit, however much the work itself may fail in interest, that the innocent gratification he has derived from its composition is some ex cuse for the publication. Before closing his introductory remarks, the Author is particularly desirous to prevent any impression, which the public may be likely to entertain, with respect to the fidelity of his descriptions, and the opportunities which were afforded him of acquiring infor mation during his journey. A late interesting traveller, whom the Author had the pleasure of meeting at Mos cow, previous to setting out for Siberia, in commenting upon this intention of visiting that remote part of the Russian Empire,* has virtually suggested doubts as to the au- * See a Pedestrian Journey through Russia, &c. by Capt. J. D, Cochrane ; and also Appendix A. X

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. thenticity of the facts detailed in the present volumes. It is with feelings, however, of honest pride that the Author is enabled to assert, that his materials have been gleaned under the most unexceptionable circumstances, and from the purest sources. He is free to admit that he may occasionally have erred in his conceptions, so as to have been guilty of various inaccuracies : in this respect, how ever, he feels himself entitled to considerable indulgence, when the nature of his personal defects are taken into account; besides, the many obstacles which the most gifted travel ler would have to contend with in gaining information respecting a country so extensive, so varied in its climate, population, and manners, so partially civilized, and so peculiarly governed as the Russian Empire, must occasionally throw an appearance of obscurity over his relations, and sometimes might lead to decided error. Nor can the Author deny that a considerable number of his details have been derived from hearsay and the observations of others

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. XI since, deprived of the advantages of vision, he would naturally resort to its collateral sense for compensation ; and perhaps it might not be difficult to prove, that those who actually see,~must, in accomplishing a similar journey, depend mainly on oral information for their more interesting acquisitions; otherwise, in deed, it would require a large portion of man's existence to enable the traveller per sonally to witness all that he might have occasion to relate. On entering Russia, the Author's introduc tions led him immediately into the most respectably society, comprising some of the highest characters of St. Petersburg; from thence he passed forward through the country, from one individual point to another, until he reached the ultima Thule of his journey, with an uninterrupted chain of friendly intercourse with the most elevated and dignified persons of the empire, the highest officers of his im perial majesty's government not being ex cepted. During more than four months' residence at Irkoutsk he was received into

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. XII the family of his excellency the governor general of Eastern Siberia, the virtuous and patriotic Alexander Lavinski, with a confidence and kindness which rather indicated the affectionate regard of a brother, than the cold attentions that would be looked for by an unknown and accidental stranger. It was from these unexceptionable channels that his subject-matter has chiefly been derived. One painful circumstance remains to be noticed — the abrupt and hasty manner in which the Author was conducted out of Siberia, and the Russian Empire, by the particular mandate of the imperial Alexan der ; a measure for which he is totally at a loss to assign any satisfactory reason, and which prevented him from completing the more arduous and interesting part of the arrangement for travel which he had sketched out for himself.

The reason advanced, of the Emperor's anxiety for the personal safety of the Author, is evidently more specious than real, since it is contradicted by the unnecessary harsh

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. XIII treatment and strict surveillance which were extended over him during his conveyance as a state prisoner to the Austrian frontier. Had this motive really existed, it is reasonable to infer that he would have been left at St. Pe tersburg or Moscow, in the bosom of his friends, instead of being dragged out of the empire, and left on its borders, a still greater stranger than even in Siberia itself. The Author feels it due to himself to state, that he is neither conscious that he could have given private personal offence to his imperial majesty, nor have excited the suspicion or jealousy of the government, by any of his proceedings or enquiries; in short, he neither felt himself prompted by his powers or incli nation to interfere with, or animadvert upon, the government, even so far as to pass the slightest censure upon the many glaring faults which could not fail to be observable to the eye of a free-born Englishman ; and he chal lenges any individual in the empire to prove that he has, either for the gratification of his readers or his own private feelings, betrayed

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. XIV a single confidential communication which may have been imparted to him. To conclude, his chief motives, in under taking this arduous journey, have been to interest himself with human nature, and by comparing it under its different circum stances, to glean a harvest of amusement and information. " The spacious west. And all the teeming regions ofthe south, Hold not a quarry to the curious flight Of knowledge, half so tempting, or so fair, As man to man." He begs to add, that if the facts he has ac cumulated shall be deemed deserving of the perusal and attention of his countrymen, or contribute to their gratification, his object in publishing them will have been fully ac complished ; at all events, he trusts that his attempts to obtain information and amuse his readers, will prove that persons suffering under deprivation like his own are neither so helpless nor destitute of resources as the world in general are inclined to imagine ; and to

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. XV those friends, who were most anxious to dis suade him from his undertaking, he might be induced to say, " I rather would entreat thy company To see the wonders of the world abroad, Than, living dully sluggardized at home, Wear out thy youth in shapeless idleness." TRAVELS, fye. fye.

Chapter I

" Cœlum, non animum, mutant, qui trans mare currunt." Horat. The Author embarks for St. Petersburg — Motives and apology for undertaking so arduous a journey under his peculiar affliction — Detention off Gravesend — The mouth of the Thames — Sea-sickness, and mode of relieving it — Jutland — The Swedish coast — Cronberg Castle and Elsinore — Hamlet's palace — Copenhagen, Drago, Bornholm, and Gothland — A human monster — Gulf of Finland — The harbour of Cronstadt — Adventures with guard-ship — Meanness of the custom-house officers — Short stay in Cronstadt — Arrival at St. Petersburg. On the 19th of June, 1822, 1 embarked in the Saunders-Hill, schooner, commanded by Captain Courtney, then lying in the London Docks, and bound for St. Petersburg, with the ostensible motive of visiting the Russian em pire ; but the real one, should circumstances VOL. I. B THE AUTHOR'S MOTIVES, &C. prove propitious, of making a circuit of the whole world : an intention, however, which, as will be seen in the sequel, was frustrated by causes over which I had no controul.

My motives for concealing so important a part of these views, it will not be difficult to explain : they are attributable to the opposition my kind friends have always been inclined to make against what, under my peculiar deprivation, they are disposed to regard as Quixotic feelings ; a feeling on their parts which I am desirous to suppress, since, on various occasions, I have to charge it with the disappointment of my most anxious wishes. Alas ! how little are they able to appreciate my true sentiments and powers, as developing themselves in an intense desire to occupy the mind, to acquire solid information, and triumph over those difficulties which others might deem insurmountable ! That my views are not chimerical, may be inferred from the success which, as far as my innate powers are con cerned, has hitherto attended my exertions.

Where the mind is properly constituted, the diminution of one faculty naturally calls others GRAVESEND. 3 into more extensive action. In my case, the deprivation of sight has been succeeded by an increased desire for locomotion ; nor, little as the world may imagine me adapted for its indulgence, am I conscious of having ever over-rated my abilities in that particular : in short, there are few obstacles which man's perseverance may not enable him to overcome, if he will but rightly exercise those faculties with which the beneficence of his Creator has endowed him. " Call now to mind what high capacious powers Lie folded up in man ; how far beyond The praise of mortals, may the eternal growth Of nature to perfection half divine Expand the blooming soul!" Akenside. After a delay of many hours, occasioned by the captain not being on board, and other causes, our vessel dropped down to Gravesend, where, however, we did not arrive until seven o'clock on the following evening, and were then detained until late in the succeeding day.

Soon after leaving this place, the wind being adverse, at five o'clock we anchored in the Lower Hope. Here, about midnight, an acci- DETENTION OFF GRAVESEND. dent occurred, which proved the cause of a mortifying detention. A large and clumsy collier contrived to run foul of us; and this accompanied by so great a shock, as not only to induce us to think our vessel split in two, but actually to snap the cable, loosen the scroll, or figure-head, and carry away some of our rigging; we soon, however, disen gaged ourselves, and got down another anchor. As this accident was occasioned by the care lessness of the other party, who were coming up the river with a fair wind, our captain determined to compel them to compensate the damage he had received ; to effect which, and repair our injuries, we were obliged to return to Gravesend : which was the more mortifying, as the wind soon after became favourable for our progress down the river.

During the confusion which attended this accident, I was happy in being able to make myself useful by taking the helm, and com plying promptly with the captain's ' starboard' and ' port.' The best of it was, that he was ignorant of having a blind helmsman, until the fray was over, when, observing some one THE MOUTH OF THE THAMES. en chemise blanche, (for I had turned out of my birth in this state at the moment of alarm,) he at first mistook me for his wife. He was, however, so well satisfied with my nautical skill, as afterward to permit me to steer the vessel in a fresh breeze. On the 24th, having repaired damages, we once more quitted Gravesend, and, the wind being fair and the tide in our favour, we soon cleared the mouth of the river. Our rapid progress towards the ocean led me into a train of reflections ; during which the lines of Den ham, addressed to the Thames, occurred to me, and particularly the couplet in which he describes it as " Hastening to pay its tribute to the sea, Like mortal life to meet eternity."

My meditations, however, were interrupted by what had nearly proved a fatal illustration of this allegory, and of the uncertainty of human life. One of our sailors, having care lessly taken hold of a loose rope, fell overboard from the fore-yard arm ; being, however, a good swimmer, he was picked up without injury. SEA-SICKNESS AND My only companions in the cabin were the captain, his wife, and child, a little girl of about two years of age, whose fretful temper proved no slight annoyance to her parents and myself. Soon after getting out to sea, the lady began to suffer from sickness ; the child, however, continued well and trouble some during the voyage. Although I have never myself experienced the distressing sensation of sea-sickness, I have witnessed so much of its effects as to fancy that I am not incapable of suggesting a variety of means for preventing or relieving it ; these I am induced to detail, hoping they may prove useful to some suffering voyager.

As I be lieve the affection is generally accompanied by an undue biliary secretion, it appears de sirable, for some days before embarking, to put the digestive organs into the best possible state of health. With this view, the diet and other regimen should be plain and unirri tating, every thing being avoided which has a tendency to give rise to acidity on the stomach ; at the same time a gentle dose or two of calo mel may be taken, to clear out the biliary mode of Treating it. 7 passages. The best private stock of provision will comprise plain, unsweetened biscuit, the lean of ham, hung beef, and a little good brandy ; but tongues, butter, honey, and sweet meats, should be avoided. On first going on board, the individual should keep quiet, and on no account, however well he may feel, indulge himself in walking on deck, viewing the surrounding objects, or the rigging of the vessel, until he has become habituated to the motions of the latter.

He should, as much as possible, divert his mind from noticing the motions of the vessel, by occupying it with some amusing or interesting subject. The first meal ought to be particularly sparing, both as to quality and quantity. If it be breakfast, let it consist of a single cup of coffee or tea, with a small quantity of sugar only, and no milk, accompanied by" a piece of biscuit or dry bread. If hunger becomes urgent be tween breakfast and dinner, relieve it with a portion of biscuit; and if thirst is trouble some, allay it with a little weak brandy and water, or a glass of soda-water. At dinner, the most proper food will be a little plain SEA SICKNESS. boiled or roasted meat, without fat or gravy, with a boiled potatoe, or bread ; such vegetables as contain much saccharine principle, and particularly greens, being abstained from; and as a beverage, weak brandy and water, or soda-water, may be taken.

If wine be desired, Madeira, or Teneriffe, is preferable to other kinds. In the evening, the tea or coffee, as in the morning, may be repeated; and when disposed to retire to rest, let care be taken to have as much free air as possible, the confined air of the vessel being one of the most powerful exciting causes of the indisposition. If, not withstanding, symptoms of sickness come on, I would recommend, on the first approach of giddiness, to assume a horizontal position on deck, if possible, for the advantage of the re freshing air, and to take occasionally, particularly after each effort of vomiting, a little soda water. By attending to the above directions, the attack may, throughout the voyage, either be prevented, or, at least, materially alle viated. For the succeeding three days our progress was favourable, but on the 29th a squall car- J UTLAND — SWEDEN — ELSINORE. ried away the fore-top gallant-mast ; we soon however got the wreck cleared, and another substituted, and in the evening of this day the coast of Jutland began to make its appearance ; on the following day we came in sight of the Swedish coast, passed the Castle of Marstrand, and in sight of the wings beacon at the entrance of Gothenberg, and by evening arrived at the entrance of the Categate.

On the 1st of July we made the Island of Zealand, and passed the Castle of Cronberg, built by Christian the Fourth, where the unfortunate Matilda, Queen of Denmark, and sister to our late king, was detained a prisoner. In the even ing we anchored in Elsinore roads. On Tues day, July 2nd, we landed at Elsinore, and breakfasted with our hospitable consul Mr. Fenwick. The wind being fair, Captain Courtney, anxious to get forward, as soon as his necessary business with the port was transacted, to enable him to pass the sound, hurried me away, so that I had no time to visit the interesting objects of the place, some of which would have afforded me considerable satisfaction, particularly the Castle of Cron- CASTLE OF CRONBERG — HAMLET'S* PALACE. 10 berg, and the palace and gardens where Hamlet's father is reported to have been murdered and buried.

This palace is said to be a large square stone building, standing on the foot of a hill, which gradually rises beyond it, and which is ascended by serpentine walks planted with trees, whose ample foliage affords an agreeable shelter from the scorching heat of the noon-tide sun, and leads to the famed spot immortalized by Shakspeare, in the following passage, as the scene of poor Ophelia's fate. " There is a willow grows ascaunt the brook, That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream ; Therewith fantastic garlands did she make Of crow-flowers, nettles, 'daisies, and long purples, That liberal shepherds give a grosser name, But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them : There on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke ; When down her weedy trophies, and herself, Fell in the weeping brook.

Her clothes spread wide ; And, mermaid-like, a while they bore her up : Which time, she chaunted snatches of old tunes ; As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indu'd Unto that element : but long it could not be, Till that her garments, heavy with their drink Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death." Hamlet. COPENHAGEN. 11 Independent of the poetical interest it ex cites, the spot itself is highly picturesque and romantic. The houses of Elsinore are generally large, lofty, and well built, and at the same time ex ceedingly neat and clean ; the streets are however narrow, ill paved, and without foot ways, while the windows of the basement story project so much into the street, that the pedes trian is in constant danger of being driven over by the carriages.

At one o'clock in the afternoon we again got under weigh; attwo,pastTycho Brach's Island, the wind being light and variable ; and at half after ten in the evening anchored off the Crown Battery at Copenhagen. I anxiously wished for an adverse wind to prevent our sailing, so as to allow me time to visit the city of Copenhagen ; but after a stormy and rainy morning, the weather became so fair about noon, that we left our anchorage and proceeded on the voyage. After coasting all day along the Islands of Zealand and Drago, in the evening we entered the Baltic Sea, steering straight for the Island of Born- BORNHOLM DAGHO. holm, which we made early the next day, and from whence we were visited by a boat laden with poultry, eggs, and milk. On the following morning we saw the Island of Gothland, where General Norby retired with the Danish fleet from Calmar, on receiving accounts of a general insurrection in Denmark ; the consequence of which movement was the siege and capture of that city by Gustavus Vasa.

During the two next days we had boisterous weather and rough seas, but on the following day, July 7th, the weather proved very fine, and at ten in the morning we found ourselves off the Light-house on the Island of Dagho, which lies at the entrance of the Gulf of Riga. There is a passage on each side for shipping, but the western one is the deepest and largest. Some years back the proprietor of this island, Baron , built a house on an elevated situation, crowning it with an octagonal tower, in which large mir rors of plate glass were disposed to reflect the light so as to resemble the light-house ; this room he occasionally caused to be illuminated, while the proper light-house was kept in A HUMAN MONSTER. 13 darkness ; deluded by the artifice, many ves sels were wrecked on the coast, with the loss of numbers of their crews ; the cargoes were then seized by this monster, and appropriated to the gratification of his infamous cupidity.

At length the captain ofa vessel, who had been a sufferer in consequence, ventured to wait upon the baron, intending to upbraid him with his treachery : it happened that a person who had officiated in the family as a tutor, had experi enced a fit, and was supposed to have died, so that his corpse had been laid out in one ofthe apartments of the castle. Into this room, the baron conducted his victim, and there dread ing a disclosure of his villanies, murdered him with an axe. At this juncture the supposed corpse recovered its sensibility, and witnessed the cruel scene, but had the prudence to con tinue motionless until the inhuman monster had left the apartment, when he availed him self of the opportunity to escape to Riga, and gave that information which terminated in the wretch's perpetual banishment amid the sa vage wilds of Siberia ; there a prey to conscience and remorse, he dragged out the misera- GULF OF FINLAND — CRONSTADT. ble remnant of an existence, already too near its close to allow time to expiate a life of such dreadful depravity.

We now entered the Gulf of Finland, and commenced an intricate and dangerous navigation, which, however, is facilitated by different coloured flags placed on the various shoals, and a number of light-houses, for which the Russian government do not exact any dues. Towards midnight we had much thunder and lightning, followed by a heavy squall of rain. At three in the afternoon of the 10th of July, we approached the guard-ship off the harbour of Cronstadt, who fired a shot to compel us to come to an anchor in these roads, which, as it was a strong gale, the captain would gladly have avoided, for he even apprehended this measure would have occasioned the loss of his vessel, and was desirous to run straight into harbour ; he was obliged however to attempt a compliance, and the consequence was, that his cable broke and parted from the first an chor, while the vessel drifted so far with the second anchor, as to have been very nearly on shore ; this result, however, would have been ADVENTURES WITH GUARD-SHIP. 15 a matter of perfect indifference to the com manding officer of the guard-ship ; at length the weather became more moderate, and en abled us to lie secure.

Early on the following morning, the guard boat visited us, with her crew in a state of evident intoxication, in consequence of their previous visits to other vessels, from each of which they invariably expect to be treated with liquors ; a point of discipline widely different from what is observed in the British service. Our captain was unwilling to increase their exhilaration ; but as soon as the officers descended into the cabin, they desired their crew might be furnished with brandy. The captain was then given to understand that he must pay for the shot that had been fired over him: this is said to be a perquisite of the captain of the guard-ship. I am, however, much mistaken, judging from the sound, if there was any shot really fired over us; be this as it may, it appears hard enough to be obliged to pay for the instrument of one's own punishment, like a boy at school, who is charged for the birch that tickles him.