“I gave you some account of the Ladies dress, they commonly wear slippers, & mind not the showing their under petticoats up to their wasts [sic] when they seat themselves in Coaches or otherwise; the house wives wear no hoops at home in an undress, & have commonly a gown on that comes not ¾ down. As the gentlemen never wear gloves, when they hand a Lady, they put their hand under the foreshirt of their coat or wastcoates, & I believe the Lady rather leans her hand on the gentlemans arm; shoes are very little worn by them.."
- Richard Pococke, Letter to his mother, Paris (October, 1733)
On The Doge of Venice:
“The Doge is like an old woman, has a camerick coif with long ends coming down like old fashioned night caps, a cassock & gown of silver, flowered with gold, an ermin mantle, the length of 3 ermins, the black tails of which hang down, his cap is in this form [sketch] the high part behind; [he’s some thing like Goody Long but a large face & plumper] fair & red, pretty old of no power, none of ‘em"
- Richard Pococke, Letter to his mother, Venice (May, 1734)
On Seasickness:
“We set out from London in the Canterbury stage coach last thursday, and arrived there very late at night, at Rochester we took into the coach two Hollanders who are going to Paris, and we go with them, yesterday we hired a coach for Dover, and today, at 12 of the clock at noon, we set sail from Dover, and arrived here eight minuits before three we had a rough, but very swift passage. I was pretty sick but the Dr. was worse."
- Jeremiah Milles, Letter to the Bishop of Waterford, Calais (September, 1733)
Volume 2 (Letters from the Continent, 1736-37)
Observations on the King of Prussia
"Whilest I was in the territories of the King of Prussia, it was unsafe for me to give your Lordship a just character of him; because, if my Letter had been intercepted, I should have suffered severely for it; for an English-man can expect no mercy from that quarter. But now, we are in the territories of the King of Poland, I may venture to give your Lordship a just idea of him, without fear or restraint.
His character is so extraordinary, that, I beleive, the historians who write his life, will be very much puzzled to draw him in his true colours, & he has such an uncommon medly of virtues & vices, that it is a great question whether they will extoll him, as a good Prince, or decry him as a bad one: for certainly his character admits of no medium. It must be owned that he hath some virtues, but at the same time he hath all their contrary vices, with many others besides. Thus, for instance, he is both coveteous, & extravagant, chaste & immodest, haughty & familiar, just & unjust, a tyrant in his country, & a good Governour of it.
With regard to his coveteousness it is so great that every body who sees it is surprized. He lives a great part of the year at Wusterhausen, a little hunting house, about twenty miles from Berlin, on purpose to save money, & the very Game he kills there is carryed to Berlin & sold. He never has above five dishes at his table, most of which are substantial ones; but his courtiers rise from table hungry, & are forced to provide themselves with a second dinner at home. He obliges the Prince Royal to stay always with his army, on purpose to save expences, & the Princess Royal is obliged to stay there likewise; because the King will not allow them two tables. He never gives or flings away any thing; so that the furniture of his chambers consists of old canes, swords, hats & perriwygs."
- Jeremiah Milles, Letter to Bishop Milles, Leipzig (November, 1736)
Observations on the Family of the Holy Roman Emperor
"Saw the Emperor come to the Jesuits Church opposite & thence go in procession on foot to a statue of the virgin in the square with the Empress, the youngest Archdutchess & the Emperors sister. They were in a sort of booth on one side lin’d with scarlet damask, kneeling at desks: whilst a service was perform’d before the statue by the Clergy, & musick from a Gallery at the front of the church with trumpet & kettle drums, lasted half an hour. The Emperors & Archdutchesses Coaches are red leather, Glass all round even behind, plain otherwise, narrow - but long in a particular shape, being all in right lines like a dye in shape [diagram], no coach box, the coachman riding on the left wheel horse, red harness laded [decorated] with brass buckles, the Emperors Coachman & postilian [postilion] only had feathers in their Caps, yellow white & black; five black Coaches follow’d, six horses only in any, with the Ladies; the Emperor & Empress in one coach the latter riding backward, 2 Archdutchesses in another; the yeomen of the Gaurds preceded two & two then the Great officers 2 & 2 before em on foot, & when they go to the Cathedral they ride, that is the great officers. The Emperor wears the above dress only when in deep mourning, of other time such a fashion’d dress as the pages with a short cloak which is generally black & adorn’d with black lace & ribbands & on state daies in Gala as they call it, tis black velvet cover’d with Gold & silver lace & colour’d ribband. The younger Archdutchess has black eyes, the Dutchess of Lorrain Grey, but neither so handsom as I thought tho very well, & [the] Dutchess is indeed a fine woman, all sharp eyes in observing strangers."
- Richard Pococke, Letter to his mother, Vienna (March, 1737)
Volume 3 (Letters from the East, 1737-41)
Rationale for his Voyage to the East
"I think I can answer in every respect my undertaking this voyage....I hope to gain such knowledge & experience as to return better qualified to do service to my fellow creatures in the station in which it has pleased God to place me. And whatever is the motive, if seeing those places which were the scenes of our Saviours Life & passion, may touch my heart with a greater sense of my duty & make greater impressions as to what he did for us; I hope this journey on that account alone, will not be thought a fruitless one." - Richard Pococke, Livorno (September, 1737)
On the Civilities shown to Pococke by the Foreign Residents at Smyrna (Izmir)
"Busied in settling my affairs. Messrs. Shaw & Burdett sup’d here & the Dr Thus I have spent a month very agreeably in Smyrna having received great civilities, not only from our own nation, but from others, particularly the Dutch & among them in a particular way the Dutch Consul the Baron de Hochipied originally a Fleming, whose Ancestor returned to Holland on account of Religion as did Mr Fremose of whom I shall mention more. The [Dutch] Consul is a Gentleman of great humanity & good nature & very curious in Antiquities which he showed me with much civility, & I was as you see often with him & entertained with much courtesy; - & he has given me letters to places I am going to. Mr Fremo is my Age, married to the [Dutch] Consuls niece, as the Consul was married to his sister, is one of the most valuable men I ever met with, & one finds united in him, the good qualities of all nations, joined with the greatest benevolence of disposition; - he has the sincerity of the English, & exceeds even the French in a desire to please, & with the utmost complaisance, without the too great ceremony of the nation. If I had been of the same nation & recommended in the most particular manner, I could not [have] received greater civilities than I met with from this Gentleman, in carrying me abroad to see every thing that was curious, in entertaining in the most civil manner, several times at his house & in giving & procuring several letters for me to the places I am going to. This Gentleman has great business, a very rich family & has Brothers settled in Holland." - Richard Pococke, Letter to his mother, Izmir (November, 1739)
On Pococke's Descent into Mount Vesuvius
"...going forty paces, [we] descended about 20 feet & going 54 paces more, descended 15 feet, & going 30 paces more, descended 6 feet ... & going 6 paces more descended 9 feet; - then going 10 paces more, descended 8 feet, & going 15 more came to the last hole, which I guessed might be about 50 feet deep; - down which nobody had been, & no one would venture to go, & I believe would be difficult without ropes. Returning the sweat fell down in great drops...."
- Richard Pococke, Letter to his mother, Naples (January, 1741)
