we came in sight of our quarters. A large fire blazed
in the principal of three huts, and by its light numerous persons were
seen around it. Landing with our baggage and equipage, we soon joined
the circle; about a dozen warriors were here assembled. They were
very civil to us, and glad to see our party. They gave us the best
place at the fire, where, spreading our plaids, we were soon occupied
with such dainties as the place or our own providence supplied. When
it came to be bed-time, the fighting part of the community
good-naturedly suffered themselves to be persuaded to go to the other
end of the room, by which means we were enabled to lie down by the
fire. There they rolled themselves up, and, in the shortest possible
time, were in a state of oblivion. I may observe that the people in
general, men or women, have seldom any beds. They lie down any where
on the floor, ensconced in a capote or cloak, removing perhaps their
opunkas, but scarcely ever any other garment. We should have been
pretty comfortable but for the minute hosts that peopled the
apartment. Late at night, too, the extreme cold compelled several
parties to seek refuge by the fire who had no right or little
thereto--as the house-cat and her two kittens; she would take no
denial, however often repelled. Whenever one awoke, there she would be
with her interesting offspring close nestled under one's chin. The
family dog, too, suffered severely from cold; he was, as often as he
entered, kicked out by his master in a way that did the heart good;
and his murmurs of complaint and resentment would last for a full ten
minutes. But the door would not fasten, and he always found his way in
again, trampling over, in his way to the fire, the recumbent forms of
the sleepers, in a manner far from conducive to good-humour. It was,
therefore, not to be wondered at that our slumbers were not prolonged
to a late hour. I set forth at break of day to find a clear-looking
place in the river: for as I was to be presented to his highness, I
could not afford to forego any advantages. The ice was on the side of
the pools; but with the aid of a small box I carried under my arm, I
soon had all the requisites of an elaborate dressing-room. Several of
the Montenegrians were also on the alert, rubbing their faces with the
muddy water on the edge of the lake; but whether to make them cleaner
or dirtier did not appear. Breakfast was soon dispatched. Already the
cannonade had commenced,