"E.Voiskunsky, I.Lukodyanov. The Crew Of The Mekong (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

made out of nut-gall nowadays. From the way the letters are shaped they must
have been written with a goose quill. And it's in Russian, although in the
old-time spelling." "An old manuscript!" Yura exclaimed delightedly. "Boris,
we must get Val to read it for us. She's a philologist and her field is Old
Russian."
"Could it be a last will and testament, I wonder?" Privalov said
thoughtfully. He began to read, but it was slow work because of the
unfamiliar spelling. The manuscript began as follows:
"I commence this epistle on the second day of January in the year of
Our Lord 1762, desirous of passing on my thoughts and ideas to my beloved
eldest son, Alexander.
"My youth was spent in trials and tribulations and wanderings, similar
unto those of Homer's Ulysses. Upon attaining manhood I was often called
away from home by duty, so that I seldom saw you, Alexander. After you
entered the service I retired. Now I spend my days at home, and I see less
of you than ever.
"As I await my last hour I have chosen this time to set down an account
of matters to which I have given much thought, and I place my hopes in you,
for you are strong in the sciences.
"I shall put down my story point by point, from the beginning, lest I
should omit something. First, during the reign of our great ruler, Peter the
Great, son of Alexis, eternally blessed be his memory, I was despatched on a
long journey...."



2


NAVAL LIEUTENANT FEDOR MATVEYEV


Many the men whose towns he saw
whose ways he proved',
And many a pang he bore in his own
breast at sea,
While struggling for his life and
his men's safe return.
Homer -THE ODYSSEY





CHAPTER ONE


WHICH TELLS OF THE CAMPAIGN OF PRINCE BEKOVICH-CHERKASSKY