20 THE LIFE OF 



firft with a flood of tears, and a complaint that I 

 was depriving her of her only companion ; and 

 then (finding me unmoved) with a torrent ot 

 abufc that would have done credit to Billings- 

 gate, concluded with faying, we might both go 

 to the d — 1. 



It is necelTary to inform my readers that, by 

 the laws of Ruffia, no perfon can travel from 

 the capital without a paffport defcribing his 

 route, which he is not at liberty to alter ; in the 

 country, travellers muft have a pafs from the 

 perfon whofe eflatc they may have been upon, 

 before they quit it, or no poft-maftcr dare lur- 

 nilli them with horfcs. On my application at 

 the poft-houfe, which was not above half a mile 

 from the Duchefs's, I was not only told that 

 they durfl not fupply me with horfes, but that they 

 had her Grace's exprefs prohibition to that ef- 

 fect. I anfwered the poft-mafter, that .1 fliould 

 remove that difficulty by taking his or her horfes 

 by force. . I inftantly removed my family to the 

 poft-houfe. I juft then recolle(5ted that I had 

 given the receipt I had obtained from Madame 

 de Porquet at Dantzic to the Duchefs, without 

 her Grace having returned me that which llie 

 required of me, when flie entrufled the money 

 to mv charge. I begun to be apprehenfive of 

 her making a bad ufe of it ; I therefore wrote 

 a note to Mr. Vvilkinfon her fteward, requeu- 

 ing: 



