CHERSON. 
337 
to Cherson, and placed beneath the dome of a 
small church belonging to the fortress, opposite » — , — 
to the altar. After the usual ceremony of inter- 
ment, the vault was covered, merely by restoring 
to their former situation the planks of wood 
belonging to the floor of the building. Many 
inhabitants of Cherson, as well as English officers 
in the Russian service, who resided in the neigh- 
bourhood, had seen the coffin : this was extremely 
ordinary, but the practice of shewing it to 
strangers prevailed for some years after Potem- 
kins decease. The Empress Catherine either 
had, or pretended to have, an intention of erecting 
a superb monument to his memory : whether 
at Cherson or elsewhere, is unknown. Her 
sudden death is believed to have prevented the 
completion of this design. The most extra- 
ordinary part of the story remains now to be 
related : the coffin itself has disappeared. 
Instead of any answer to the various inquiries 
we made concerning it, wc were cautioned to 
be silent. “ No one,” said an English Gentleman 
residing in the place, “ dares to mention the name 
of Potemkin.” At length we received intelligence 
that the Verger could satisfy our curiosity, if we 
would venture to ask him. We soon found the 
the former place, in which the attendants had placed him, that 
he might recline against its sloping side ; being taken from the 
carriage for air. 
