e emperor. I am by no means certain which
is the most to be wondered at, the people who placed it here, or the
monarch who permitted it.

I went only one stage today, but it was so long, that I had to
continue my journey into the evening. To go any further was not to
be thought of, as the country, not only here, but in the greater
part of this province, is so unsafe that it is impossible to travel
in the evening or night without the protection of Cossacks, for
which purpose a small company is placed at each station.

The scenery was rather agreeable; pretty hills enclosed pleasant
looking valleys, and on the tops of some mountains stood ruins of
castles and fortified places. There were times in the history of
this kingdom as well as the German when one noble made war upon the
others, and no man was safe of his life and property. The nobles
lived in fortified castles upon hills and mountains, went out mailed
and harnessed like knights, and when threatened by hostile attacks,
their subjects fled to the castles. There are still said to be
people who wear, either over or under the clothes, shirts of mail,
and helmets instead of caps. I did not, however, see anything of
the kind. The river Kurry continued to run along by our road. Not
far from the station a long handsome bridge led across, but it was
so awkwardly placed that it was necessary to go out of the way a
whole werst to reach it.

6th September. The journey became still more romantic. Bushes and
woods covered the hills and valleys, and the tall-stemmed, rich,
green Turkish corn waved in the fields. There were also numbers of
old castles and fortresses. Towards evening, after having with
great exertion travelled four stages, I reached the little town of
Gory, whose situation was exceedingly charming. Wooded mountains
surrounded it in wide circles, while nearer at hand rose pretty
groups of hills. Nearly in the centre of the mass of houses a hill
was to be seen, whose summit was crowned by a citadel. The little
town possesses some pretty churches, private houses, barracks, and a
neat hospital. Both towns and villages here lose the Oriental
character entirely.

When the atmosphere is clear the Caucasian mountains are to be seen
rising in three ranges between the Caspian and Black seas, forming
the boundary between Asia and Europe. The highest points are the
Elberus and the Kasbeck; these, according to a new geography, are of
the respective height