| Description | Volume containing pencil sketches made by Sir Alexander Ogston during a trip to South Africa in 1894 and an account of his visit to St. Petersburg in 1898-1899.
*The first half of the volume contains a series of detailed pencil sketches covering the period April 1894-August 1895. It begins with sketches of various outings to places in the north-east of Scotland [Deeside and the Cairngorms] followed by sketches of his visit to South Africa in August/September 1894. The sketches are as follows:
Falls of [Tarf?]: 21 April 1894
Glen [Tilt?]: 21 April 1894
Window to [Thrums?]: 22 April 1894
Old Castle of Clova: 22 April [1894]
On the Grampians: 23 April 1894
Black Bridge, Glen Tilt: 10 August 1894
Wells of Dee [with figures identified as Alfred and Walter]: 11 August 1894
[Finisterre?]: 20 August 1894
Petrels [sketch of seabirds]: 21 August 1894
First view of the Canary Islands: 23 August 1894
Las Palmas, Gran Canary Island: 23 August 1894
Old Spanish Fort on coast between Las Palmas and Puerto de la [Luz?] with view of interior of Gran Canary: 23 August 1894
Hills above Puerto de la [ Luz?] on the peninsula: 23 August 1894
Flying fish off African coast: 24 August 1894
Cape de Verde from north: 26 August 1894
First glimpse of St Helena: 2 September 1894
Jamestown, St Helena: 2 September 1894
Jacob's Ladder, St Helena: 2 September 1894
Rocks on east side of St Helena: 2 September 1894
Rocks on south east side of St Helena: 2 September 1894
St Helena seen from the South side: 2 September 1894 [page torn: handle with care]
Last view of St Helena: 2 September 1894
First glimpse of South Africa/Rocks off St Helena bay: 8 September 1894
Table Mountain, distant view from the sea/Cape Town lies behind it: 8 September 1894
Karoo Desert near Matjiesfontein: 9 September 1894
Karoo Desert: 9 September 1894
Karoo - near Krom River: 10 September 1894
Sketch of Court House at Kimberley/Thompson v. Oliver: 13 September 1894
Mr Justice Solomon's Bungalow: [13?] September 1894
Paarl (Pearl) Rocks: 19 September 1894
Ant hills near Kimberley: 18 September 1894
Flying fish off Sierra Leone coast: 28 September 1894
Peak of Tenerife/snow on summit: 1 October 1894
Desertas [islands] Madeira group: 2 October 1894
Madeira/approach to Funchal: 2 October 1894
East end of Madeira: 2 October 1894
Glenmark Castle: 3 August 1895
*The second half of the volume contains an account of his visit to Russia in 1898/99. Some of the entries have lines scored through them in pencil or are marked with an asterisk.
Visit to St. Petersburg: December 1898 [an additional note reads: "Travel notes afterwards thrown into better form in "Scattered Recollections"].
26 December 1898: Charing Cross Station Waiting Room
26 December 1898: Ostend; Berlin
27 December 1898: Train to the frontier; East Prussia; [Eydku...]
28 December 1898: From [Wirballen] to St. Petersburg
29 December 1898: St. Petersburg; Imperial Academy of Medicine
30 December 1898: [Salle de la Noblesse]; British Embassy; Sir Charles and Lady Scott
31 December 1898: [Maria Theatr]e; Banquet at [Kononova] Hall, [Moika] - description of proceedings and guests, including the war minister Kuropatkin [Alexei Nikolayevich Kuropatkin, Russian Imperial Minister of War (1898–1904)].
New Years Day 1899: Visit to hospital of the St. Petersburg Medical University, detailed description of St. Petersburg.
2 January 1899: Palace Bridge; description of houses in St. Petersburg and eating habits of Russian people.
3 January 1899: Description of sledges, visit to Medical Faculty of the Russian War Department, with description of the instrument factory, the drug factory and packing factory; visit to the Imperial Academy of Medicine and the Ambulance Association of St. Petersburg.
4 January 1899: Appointment at Michaelovski [Manege?] (Riding School) for review of cadets by Tsar [Nicholas II]; includes sketch plan of school and description of ceremony and religious service and different uniforms worn; describes meeting Tsar: "His manner was absolutely natural and frank, and had no trace of haughtiness whatever in it...To me the Czar spoke of having been at Aberdeen, and Balmoral, and I told him we hoped he would come back"; records departure from St. Petersburg on board train.
5 January 1899: "The sole thing worthy of remark being that crossing the Russian frontier as we did in daylight, we could see how [often?] patrols guarded it. Every 50 or 80 yards was a squad of 6 or 8 men in great coats, continually walking along the border line night and day"; discusses candles used to light Russian "cars".
6-7 January 1899: Recounts journey home to Aberdeen.
There follows various notes evidently added after Ogston's return home from Russia including a list of names and addresses of various individuals. A note dated 25 January 1899 reads: "Lord Salisbury wrote that the Queen had approved on my accepting and wearing the Centenary Decoration of the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Medicine". He also refers to Dr. Kirikow and the Wyllie Hospital, a query regarding James Wyllie and whether he graduated from the University of Aberdeen and that he (Ogston) had been made an Honorary member of the Medicine Militare de St. Petersburg in March 1899 [See MS 3850/3/2/2 Certificate of appreciation for a speech given in 1899 in Russia]. |