d not satisfy them, and they asked for her passport,--which,
however, she could not show them, as it was in her portmanteau.
At length they reached the post-house. Madame Pfeiffer was shown into a
room, at the door of which the Cossack stationed himself with his musket.
She was detained all night; but the next morning, having fetched her
portmanteau, they examined her passport, and were then pleased to dismiss
her--without, however, offering any apology for their shameful treatment
of her. Such are the incivilities to which travellers in the Russian
dominions are too constantly exposed. It is surprising that a powerful
government should condescend to so much petty fear and mean suspicion.
[Odessa: page127.jpg]
From Tiflis our traveller proceeded across Georgia to Redutkali; whence
she made her way to Kertsch, on the shore of the Sea of Azov; and thence
to Sebastopol, destined a few years later to become the scene of an
historic struggle. She afterwards reached Odessa, one of the great
granaries of Europe, situated at the mouth of the Dniester and the
Dnieper. From Odessa to Constantinople the distance by sea is four
hundred and twenty miles. She made but a short stay in the Turkish
capital; and then proceeded by steamer to Smyrna, passing through the
maze of the beautiful isles of Greece; and from Smyrna to Athens. Here
she trod on hallowed ground. Every temple, every ruin, recalled to her
some brave deed of old, or some illustrious name of philosopher, warrior,
statesman, poet, that the world will not willingly let die. A rush of
stirring glorious memories swept over her mind as she gazed on the lofty
summit of the Acropolis, covered with memorials of the ancient art, and
associated with the great events of Athenian history. The Parthenon, or
Temple of Pallas; the Temple of Theseus; that of Olympian Jove; the Tower
of the Winds, or so-called Lantern of Demosthenes; and the Choragic
Monument of Lysicrates,--all these she saw, and wondered at. But they
have been so frequently described, that we may pass them here with this
slight reference.
From Corinth our traveller crossed to Corfu, and from Corfu ascended the
Adriatic to Trieste. A day or two afterwards she was received by her
friends at Vienna,--having accomplished the most extraordinary journey
ever undertaken by a woman, and made the complete circuit of the world.
In the most remarkable scenes, and in the most critical positions, she
had preserve
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