Mrs. Daw's travel diaries, 1838. Volume 2

of a German town.

16th Took a walk through part of the town looked into some of the Churches, which seemed all open - One Catholic where a Priest + a few people were engaged in Prayer; another Russian where they were reading the service with their accustomed velocity. Proceeded to a [[Jewish Inn]] where we spent the night.

17th Had again to struggle slowly through heavy sand, making only about 40 versts. - Crossed the [Nienrenc?][Nieman?] in the evening which is here a small stream, + reached a village where we spent the night.

18th Left the forest altogether , + passed through a very bare country to [[Mir]] a small town or village , of singular appearance, with two respectable churches but cheifly consisting of hovels - before entering [scratched out word] [scratched out word] it we passed the ruins of a [[Palace of Prince Radzeville]]'s. In the district we had been passing through nothing even like a gentlemen's house meets one's eye, scarcely any= thing beyond the rudest human habitations, + poor wooden Churches

not even painted. One sees little or nothing of the real natives of the country, the business of Innkeeping being universally in the hand of Jews.

In coming to [[Mir]] we had gone out of the right road, + had a good long drive across the country, before we regained the Post road in the evening - Come to a very wretched Jewish hovel at night such as one may suppose a beggars lodging house at home. As we entered one of the Jews was muttering his evening prayers, but without any interruption to his devations, he opened the door of the room into which we were to go. Where we got about as wretched a dormitory as we had yet had to submit to; but after some debate as to whether we could lie down at all, Mr D - got some hay, + I my air bed, + in spite of all untoward circumstances + my even being rather unwell, we slept pretty soundly, + found ourselves not at all the worse of our discomforts next day -

19th Being anxious to get to [[Slovenc]] at night, we took Post horses for the last part of our journey, + left our own to follow. This carried us over a very heavy stage of 28 versts of deep

sand + steep hills, which our German coachmen would have been very long of making out; as it was the horses were with difficulty urged up some of the hills, with united efforts of whip + tongue, both from their own driver + our coachman.

[[Slovenc]] is a tolerably good looking town lent as it was a dreary wet evening we hasted to take shelter in the first Inn where we could get admittance, + saw little of it.

It seems almost wholly Jewish for it being Friday evening we saw chandeleirs illuminating almost every house as we passed along, marking their Sabbath hymn. We got quarters in an Inn kept by the cleanliest + most respectable Jews we had yet seen, a very small apartment like the back parlour of a village shop, with a well sanded floor -

We had dined at a Post house kept by Jews - the women of the house was waiting on us, when we found that something Mr D - was doing dis= tressed her very much, She wished to seize his plate : which he (not being done with it,) was not willing to part with. At last we discovered that his

transgression consisted, in putting a piece of butter on his plate, which ought to have been used only for meat, which would cause the loss of the plate as it would be henceforth unclean. As far as I could learn ^ the meaning of the distinction which she + other Jews make, it is between their own things, + those which they have purchased from Christians, which would defile their vessels, + therefore are put only in those appropriated for their use.

20 Long detained by not getting back our passports, which were examined here, + having very heavy roads only made out about 37 versts reaching the small town of [Roujani?] ; on entering it passed a Church + churchyard in a state of dilapidation on the one hand, + a large mansion house in the same state as the other ; the pro= pietor was said to be now in Siberia whether this were true or not we were told that a Jew had now pur= chased the house with the purpose of turning it into a woolen [manu= factury?]. The town itself is in a ruinous state but we got tolerable quarters in a Jew's house where we arrived before their Sabbath ended on the Saturday evening -

poor dismal country the habitation of whose nobles, so few + far between are this ruined + desolate ; + those who might have been, extending their shelter + cheering care, each over their own district are absent if not exiled. But from whom did the poor [[Lithuanian peasant]] ever receive kindness care or cul= ture, one would doubt from no one.

21st Through very heavy land + Pine wood partly morass advanced 40 versts. In the evening very tempestuous, passed a house the roof of which had been blown bodily off, shortly before. Happily we did not get lodging in such a hovel as sometimes fell to our lot, where we might have spent the night under the apprehension, of the same catastrophe ; but were comfortably lodged at a Post housse kept by a good natured hospitable [[Lithuanian]].

22nd Again heavy sand, dined at [[Pranjani]] a poor small town , tho' a [[Gorod]], + here the report of the land we had yet to encounter being very formidable our coachman hired a Jew with a pair of additional