History

02 Nov 1815

The British diplomat William Turner noted in his journal

The British diplomat William Turner noted in his journal:

November 2. Therm. 79°. I walked down to the Marina in the morning to look after an opportunity for Rhodes. I found there was only one ship going, a Turkish one, which is now loading corn in Famagosto, whence it will not return for some days. I therefore accepted an invitation I had from M. L. P. to accompany him and his wife on an excursion to Nicosia for a few days. At half past two I set off with them, attended by two of their servants. We rode over the same road as I passed before, and at six stopped at Athiainou, where we passed the night with tolerable comfort in a cottage, to whose tenants my companions had sent notice of our coming. In the evening we went to pay a visit to a Russian female pilgrim who by chance was passing the night in the same village: of her appearance the little that was human was more masculine than feminine, particularly as to dress and voice. She spoke scarcely intelligibly in French, and could not utter three words of English, which at first she pretended to know. We made out that after having lost 300,000 roubles by the burning of Moscow, in whose neighbourhood lay her estate, she resolved on making the pilgrimage of Jerusalem which she had just completed, having stopt there ten days, and being now on her return.