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KINGDOM OF GEOEGIA
NOTES OF TRAVEL IN A LAND OF WOMEN
WINE, AND SONG
TO WHICH ARE APPENDED HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND
POLITICAL SKETCHES, SPECIMENS OF THE NATIONAL
MUSIC, AND A COMPENDIOUS BIBLIOGRAPHY
By OLIVER WARDROP

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON
liXmxttd
St. Duitstait'b House, Fetteb "Lkva, Fleet Stbbet, E.C.
1888
\AXl rights reserved"]

tBIKTIO BT OlftBIBT AMD BITIHOTOir, IiZIIITIDi
•T. JOBir'a nouM, mnxntnTtii boao.

TO

PROFESSOR JAMBS BRYOB, M.P.,
Wiitit j^oted are 29elricateli
{By permission),
WITH HEABTFELT GBATITUDE AMD FBOFOVND BESPEGT.

PEEFACE.

TiiKiiB were four of us — two Frenchmen, an
Italian, and an Englishman. We had ridden
from Damascus to Baall)ok, and had scon tho
ruins ; after dinner, we wore lying on heaps of
cushions on the floor, in a hostelry little known to
Europeans. For some minutes the bubbling of
our narghiles was the only sound that broke the
stillness of the night. Then the ex-cuirassier
spoke out in a strong voice — the voice of a man
accustomed to commaijd — " Gentlemen ! I propose
that wo solemnly pass a vote of censure on tho late
M. do Lamartine." " Bravo 1 " was our unani
mous cry ; and the vote was carried, nemine con-
tradicente. A rider was added, to the effect that
poets should be discouraged from writing books
of travel.
" Surely a strange proceeding 1 " says the

VI PEEPAOE.
reader. Let me explain. We had been shut up
in Damascus for a long time by heavy snow-storms
which blocked the roads ; the most interesting
book we had was Lamartine's " Voyage en Orient,"
and we had read the long description of Baalbek
over and over again, until we almost knew it by
heart. Need I say that the reality disappointed
us ? If we had never read Lamartine's book, we
should have been delighted with the place ; but
having read it, we wanted the poet's eyes in order
to see the temples as he saw them.
But what bas all this to do with Georgia ? Simply
this : the following pages are not written by a poet,
and, gentle sir, if you ever pass a vote of censure
on the, writer of them, it will not be for the reason
that he has painted things and places in a rose-
coloured atmosphere.
In pubHshing these notes I have had but one
object — to excite the curiosity of my fellow-
countrymen ; the means of gratifying this curio
sity are indicated in the bibhographical section.
Georgia is practically unknown to the British
publio; well-educated people know that the
country is famous for its beautiful women, but

PREFACE. vii
they are not very sure whether those charming
creatures live under Persian, Turkish, or Russian
rule, while not one person in a thousand knows
that the Georgians and Circassians are distinct
peoples. If you suggest that Transcaucasia is a good
place for a holiday, you meet with a look of blank
astonishment — it is just as if you had said the
Sooloo Islands, or Vladivostok. When you explain
that Georgia is now a part of the Russian Empire,
you hear stereotyped remarks about police and
passports. The intending visitor need have no
anxiety on this score ; even in Moscow a foreigner
is seldom or never put to any inconvenience, in
the Caucasus he almost forgets that he has such a
thing as a passport.
There is no reason why Georgia should not
become as popular a resort as 'Norway or Switzer
land. It is not so far away as people imagine —
you can go from London to Tiflis, overland, in a
week ; it is at least as beautiful as either of the
countries just named ; it has the great advantage
of being almost unknown to tourists; there is
none of the impudent extortion which ruffles our

viii PRBPACB.
tempers nearer home, and it is, after aU, a cheaper
place to travel in than Scotland. AU these cir
cumstances ought to have an influence on the
holiday-maker in search of health and recreation.
The botanist, the geologist, the archaBologist,
the philologist will all find there mines of rich
materials yet unknown to their respective sciences.
Tho mountaineer knows the country already,
through Mr. Freshfield's excellent book; the
sportsman knows it too, thanks to Mr. WoUey.
Artists will get there a new field for the brush, the
pencil, and the camera. But, after all, Georgia's
chief attraction lies in its people ; the Georgians
are not only fair to look upon, but they are essen
tially a lovable people ; it is a true proverb that
says, " The Armenian's soul is in his head, the
Georgian's in his eyes ; " to live among such gay,
open-hearted, open-handed, honest, innocent folk
is tho best cure for melancholy and misanthropy
that could well be imagined.
The language will occur to most people as a
difficulty. Either Russian or Georgian carries the
traveller from the Black Sea io the Caspian, even
Turkish is pretty well known ; in the larger towns

PREFACE. IX
one can always find hotels where French or Ger
man is understood, and where interpreters can be
hired. Those who have travelled know that a
very slight knowledge of a language is sufficient
for all practical purposes, and such a knowledge
of Georgian could be picked up in a week or so ;
Russian is more difficult, both in grammar and
pronunciation. It may be a consolation to some,
to know that a lady, Mme. Carla Serena, who
travelled alone, and spent a long time in the
wildest part of the Caucasus, could not speak a
dozen words of Russian or Georgian.
Let me clearly repeat what I said in the first
paragraphs of this preface : in the following plain,
matter-of-fact record of travel my aim has not
been to give immediate pleasure, but rather to
show how and where pleasure may be obtained.
Autumn is the best season for a visit, and spring
is the next best time.
My hearty thanks are due to Mr. W. R. Mor-
fill, for his kindness in reading through the
chapters on the history and literature of Georgia.
0. W.
Oxford, September, 1888.

NOTE.
Ik transcribing proper names I have tried to preserve the
original orthography as far as possible.
a should be pronounced as in father.

e

»

II

like a in made.

i

tt

II

as in machme.

u

»

II

as in rude.

eh

II

»

as in c/turch.

hh

II

II

like ch in Scottish and German.

8

II

II

as in sun.

t

>i

II

as in amaze.

9

II

II

as in f/un.

y

II

II

as in t/ellow.

CONTENTS.

Batum to Tiflis 
Tiflis  .
The Georgian Military Koad between Tiflis and
Vladikavkaz .....
The Kakhetian Eoad — Tiflis to Signakh
SiGNAKH 
A Trip across the Alazana
Signakh to Telav, and thence to Tiflis .
The History of Geoegla ....
The Language and Literature of Georgia

rAGZ 1

34G9
7883
100 113
136

The Political Condition of the Kingdom of Georgia 155

APPENDIX.
Bibliography  171
Statistics  197
Specimens of Georgian Vocal Music .... 201

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.

Tiflis  Frontispiece
Maps of Transcaucasian Railway and Military
Road  To face page 1
A Georgian Wrestler  „ 30
Saint Nina  i, 40
Ananur  „ 46
Dariel Fort and Ruins of Tamara's Castle . „ 62
Dariel  „ 64
Vladikavkaz  „ 66
An Arba  „ 73
A Street in Signakh  „ 80
Georgian National Costume . . . . „ 84
Tho City Wall, Telav  „ 108
Quoon Tamara  „ 114
Irakli II  „ 124
Rustavoli  „ 139
Prince Ilia Chavchavadze .... „ 150
Prince Ivan^ Machabeli .... „ 153
Bishop Gabriel of Kuta'is .... „ 154
Map of Georgia  At the end.

THANSCAIJCASIAN BAILWAy.
^ 4. y <. <» y y fjV^w.

GBEORCaAN MELECARY HDAD.

Xo faco p. 1.

THE KINGDOM OF GEOEGIA.

BATUM TO TIFLIS.
One morning in April, 1887, after a five days'
passage from Odessa, we entered the harbour at
Batum. Batum (Hotel Imperial, Hotel de France, Hotel
d'Europe) is a town of 10,000 inhabitants, mostly
Georgians; it consists of an ancient Asiatic
quarter, dirty and tumble-down looking, and a
European one only seven years old. Its situation
at the foot of the mountains is lovely beyond all
description. The place has a decidedly "Far
West" look about it, everything seems half-
finished ; the streets are broad and, with a few
exceptions, unpaved, the depth of the mud varies
from three or four inches to half a yard, heaps
of rotting filth furnish food for numerous pigs,
and in the best thoroughfares ducks find con^
venient lakes on which to disport themselves. \
I took an early opportunity of presenting my
self at the British Vice- Consulate, a small, two-
6

THE KINGDOM OP OBOBGIA.

storey cottage, the lower half of which is of
brick, the upper of corrugated iron sheets. Mr.
Demetrius E. Peacock, the only representative of
British interests in the Caucasus, is a man whose
services deserve fuller recognition. It would be
hard to find a post where more diplomatic tact is
required, yet he contrives to make himself re
spected and admired by all the many races with
which he is in daily contact. Mr. Peacock was
born in Russia, and has spent most of his life in
that empire, but he is nevertheless a thorough
Englishman. In Tiflis I heard a good story about
him. On one occasion the French Consul-General
jokingly said to him, " Why, Peacock, you are
no Englishman, you were born in Eussia." To
which our representative replied, " Our Saviour
was born in a stable, but for all that He did not
turn out a horse."
Although Batum is not very attractive as a
town, it is at any rate far preferable to Poti or
Sukhum, and it has undoubtedly a splendid future
before it. Even at the present time the exports
amount to nearly 400,000 tons, chiefly petroleum,
manganese ores, wool, cotton, maize, tobacco,
wine, fancy woods, &c. It is essentially a city
of the future ; and its inhabitants firmly believe
that it will yet be a powerful rival of Odessa in

BATUM TO TIFLIS. 3
trade, and of the Crimean coast-towns as a water
ing-place. At present we should hardly recom
mend it to invalids ; the marshes round about
are gradually being drained; but they still
produce enough malaria to make the place dan
gerous to Europeans ; the drinking-water, too, is
bad. Tho harbour is fairly well sheltered, but rather
small ; yet, to the unprofessional eye, there seems
no reason why it might not easily bo enlarged if
necessary. The entrance is protected by a forti
fication in the form of an irregular rectangle,
lying on the S.W. corner of the bay, behind the
lighthouse. The earthworks, about seventy or
eighty feet high, and lined with masonry, cover a
piece of ground apparently about 300 paces long
by 180 paces broad ; a broad-gauge railway
surrounds the fortress. When I was there the
work was being pushed forward very rapidly, and
preparations were being made to fix a heavy gun
close to the lighthouse — at that time there wero
only about a dozen guns of small cahbre in
position. In the town there is absolutely nothing to
attract the stranger's attention ; a few mosques
and churches, petroleum refineries, half a dozen
European shops, some half-finished public build-
B 2

4 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
ings, and the embryo of a publio garden on the
shore serve as an excuse for a walk ; but if the
traveller happens to hit upon a spell of wet
weather, he will soon have seen all he wants to
see of Batum, and will get out of its atmosphere
of marsh gas and petroleum as soon as possible.
The only daily train leaves at eight o'clock in
the morning ; the station, although it is a ter
minus of so much importance, is a wretched
wooden building, a striking contrast to the one
at Baku, which would not disgrace our own
metropolis. The railway skirts the sea for about
thirty miles, and on the right lies a range of hills
covered with a luxuriant growth of fine forest-
trees and thick undergrowth gay with blossoms ;
in the neighbourhood of the town there are
already many pretty villas. The rain of the
previous few weeks had made the woods wonder
fully beautiful, and the moist air was heavy with
fragrance ; I never saw such a wealth of plant
life before. At Samtredi, where the lines from
Batum and Poti meet, we leave Guri and Min-
greli behind us and enter Imereti. On the left
we now have a fine broad plain, and near us flows
the Eion, the ancient Phasis. The country is
far more thickly populated than Guri or Mingreli,
or any other part of Trans-Caucasia, but it could

BATUM TO TIFLIS. 5
easily support a much larger number if the ground
were properly worked. I was amazed when I
saw, for the first time, five pairs of oxen dragging
one wooden plough, but the sight of this became
familiar to me before I had lived long in Georgia.
At the roadside stations (I need hardly say that
our train stopped at all of them) I saw some
fine faces — one poor fellow in a ragged sheepskin
cloak quite startled me by his resemblance to
Dante Alighieri. From the station of Eion, on
the river of that name, a branch line runs north
ward to Kutais, none other than the Cyta in
Colchis whence Jason carried ofi" Medea and the
Golden Fleece.
Kutais (Hotel de France, Hotel Colchide, Hotel
d' Italic) is a beautiful town of 25,000 inhabitants,
almost all Georgians. The ruins of an old castle
on the other side of the river show where the town
stood a century ago, and from this point the best
view of Kutais is obtained. Abundance of good
building-stone, a rich soil, and plenty of trees,
render the capital of Imereti a charming sight; its
elevation of about 500 feet makes its atmosphere
cool and bracing compared with that of the coast-
towns. The traveller who wishes to become
acquainted with Georgian town-life cannot do
better than stay in Kutais a month or two.

6 THE KINGDOM OF OEOBOIA.
About five miles off is the monastery of Gelati,
built in the tenth century, and renowned as the
burial-place of the glorious Queen Tamara.
From Kutais a journey may be made to Svaneti,
the last Caucasian state conquered by Eussia,
and even now only nominally a part of the
Tsar's dominions ; Mr. Wolley's book, *' Savage
Svanetia," will give the intending visitor somo
idea of the sport that may be had in that wild
region. The road across the Caucasus from
Kutais to Vladikavkaz is much higher and wilder
than the famous Dariel road, and I much regret
that I had not time to travel by it.
Pursuing our journey from Eion to the east
ward we soon reach Kvirili, which is about to be
connected by a branch line of railway with
Chiaturi, the centre of the manganese district;
at present all the oro is carried down to the main
hne, a distance of twenty-five miles, in tho woodon
carts called arhas. Passing through glens of
wondrous beauty, adorned with picturesque ruins
of ancient strongholds, we at length arrive at the
mountain of Suram, 3027 feet above Black Sea
level, the watershed which separates the valley of
the Kura, with its hot summers and cold winters,
from the more temperate region drained by the
Rion. The railway climbs very rapidly to the

BATUM TO TIFLIS. 7
summit of the pass, but it comes down still more
rg-pidly ; there is a slope of one in twenty for a dis
tance of a thousand feet ; at the bottom is the town
of Suram with its fine old castle. We now follow
the course of the Kura all the way to Tiflis, pass
ing Mikhailovo (whence a road runs to Borzhom,
the most fashionable summer-resort in Trans-
Caucasia) and Gori, a good-sized town, near which
is tho rock city of Uphlis Tsikho. It is half past
nine at night before Mtzkhet, the ancient capital
of Georgia, is reached, and at a quarter past ten
we enter Tiflis, ten hours from Kutais, and four
teen hours from Batum. Our journey is not yet
ended, however, for it takes half an hour to drive
from the station to the fashionable quarter of the
town where the hotels are situated.

THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.

TIFLIS.
The best hotels are Kavkaz, Rossiya, London ;
all pretty good. If the traveller intends to make
a prolonged stay, he can easily find furnished
apartments and dine at a restaurant (eg. the
French Eestaurant d'Europe, opposite the Palace).
The best plan of all is to board with a Georgian
family ; but without good introductions it is some
what difficult to do this. Although beef only
costs l^d. a pound and chickens 2d. each, living
is dear in Tiflis ; the necessaries of life, except
house-rent and clothing, are cheap, and one need
not, like Alexandre Dumas, pay three roubles for
having his hair cut, but the " extras " are heavy,
and if the visitor is not disposed to spend his
roubles with a free hand and a light heart, he will
meet with a poor reception, for the Georgian hates
nothing more than meanness, a vice from which he
firmly believes Englishmen to be free.
Tiflis takes its name from the hot medicinal
springs, for which it has been famous for fourteen
centuries at least ; in Georgian it is called Tphilisi,
which philologists assert to be derived from a root
akin to or identical with the Indo-European tep ;

TIFLIS. 9
the meaning of Toeplitz and Tiflis is thus the
same. In the fifth century king Vakhtang
Gurgaslan founded Tiflis, and began to build
the Cathedral of Sion, which still stands in the
midst of the city. The castle, situated on a high,
steep rock, near the Kura, is older than the city
itself, and its construction is attributed to the
Persians. Tiflis has shared in all the triumphs
and misfortunes which have befallen Georgia, and
the history of the capital would only be a repeti
tion of the history of the nation.
The city is built on both sides of the Kura, at
an elevation of 1200 feet, between two ranges of
steep, bare hills, which rise to a height of 2500
feet, and hem it in on all sides, thus it lies at the
bottom of a deep rock basin, and this accounts
for the terrible heat which renders it such an un
pleasant dwelling-place in July and August. The
river Kura is crossed by several fine bridges, the
best of which is named after Prince Vorontsov,
who during his governorship did great things for
Trans-Caucasia, and gained for himself the lasting
gratitude of all the peoples committed to his
care. The population of 105,000 consists not
only of Georgians, but of Eussians (civil servants
and soldiers), Armenians (traders and money
lenders), Persians, Tatars, and a few Europeans,

ID THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
viz. Germans (colonists from Suabia), Frenchmen
(milliners, hotel-keepers), &c. Although the Eng
lish residents might be counted on one's fingers,
it seems a pity that her Majesty's Consulate
should have been closed in 1881 ; surely Great
Britain has in Georgia interests at least equal to
those of France, Germany, Belgium, and the other
nations which have representatives in Tiflis.
The elTect which Tiflis produces on the mind of
the stranger is perfectly unique ; its position, its
surroundings, the varied nature of its street-life,
the gaiety and simplicity of its social life, all com
bine to form a most powerful and most pleasur
able impression. If the reader will mentally
accompany me, I shall take him through some of
the more interesting quarters, and endeavour to
give him some idea of the place. First of all,
starting from the fashionable district called
Salalaki, let us climb the rocky road v/hich leads
to the ruins of the castle, whence we obtain the
finest view of the city. The best time to enjoy
the panorama is evening, and in summer no one
would ever think of making the toilsome ascent
much before sunset. From these crumbling walls
one looks over a vast expanse of house-tops and
church spires, through the midst of which winds
the muddy Kura. At our feet lies the old town.

TIFLIS, 1 1
a labyrinth of narrow, crooked streets, stretching
from the square of Erivan down to the waterside,
where stands the Cathedral of Sion. Quite near
at hand the river becomes very narrow, and
advantage of this circumstance has been taken
by building a bridge, which leads to the citadel of
Metekh (now used as a prison) and the large
Asiatic quarter called Avlabar. On this side of
the river, forming a continuation of the range of
hills on which we are standing, rises the Holy
Mount (Mtatsminda), and perched high up near
its summit is the pretty white church of St.
David, behind which rises a wall of bare, black
rock ; half-way between it and the river is the
Governor's palace, with its extensive gardens,
just at the beginning of the Golovinskii Prospekt,
a long boulevard with fine shops and public
buildings ; between the boulevard and the river
lies the Municipal Garden, named after Alex
ander I. Turning our eyes towards the other
side of the Kura, beyond Avlabar, we see, on the
hill facing St. David's, a large block of buildings
used as a military depot, arsenal, and barracks,
and still farther on, on the river bank, is a thick
green belt which we recognize as the gardens of
Mikhailovskaya Street, ending in the splendid
park called Mushtaid. Crossing the ridge, we

12 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
now turn our back on the city and descend into
the Botanical Garden, situated in a sheltered
ravine, a dehghtful place for an evening stroll ; on
the opposite side of the ravine is a Tatar village
with a lonely graveyard.
The Erivan Square is the great centre of
activity ; in its midst is the Caravanserai, a vast
rectangular building full of shops, not unlike the
Gostinoi Dvor, in Petersburg, but poorer. From
that corner of the square in which is the Hotel
du Caucase, runs Palace Street, all one side of
which is occupied by the Caravanserai of the
late Mr. Artsruni, a wealthy Armenian, and be
hind, in a fine garden, is the Georgian theatre ;
both the garden and the theatre belong to the
Land Bank of the Nobles, an institution which
deserves the attention of all who are interested in
the Iverian nation. The bank was founded in
1874 in order to aid farmers to work their lands
by advancing them money at the lowest possible
rate of interest ; all the profits are spent in the
furtherance of philanthropic schemes and in
the encouragefment of national education. It is
a significant fact that the more intelligent mem
bers of Georgian society should have chosen this
mode of activity in preference to any other, but
the reason of their choice is apparent ; from the

TIFLIS. 13
bitter experience of the last hundred years they
have learnt that although munificence is one of
the noblest of the virtues, extravagance and
ostentation are hurtful, and they have, therefore,
wisely determined to do all they can to improve
the economic condition of the country. The
public meetings of the shareholders give an
opportunity for discussion and speech-making,
and it is in this ** Gruzinskii Parlament " (as
the Eussians have nicknamed it) that Prince
Chavchavadze has gained for himself the not un
merited title of the " Georgian Gambetta." I was
an occupant of the Ladies' Gallery at one of these
assemblies, and I shall never forgot the itnprcs-
sion produced upon me by the sight of those
handsome, warlike Asians in their picturesque
garb, conducting their proceedings exactly in the
same order as British investors do every day in
the City of London. Try and imagine the heroes
of the Elizabethan Age at Cannon Street Hotel
discussing the current dividend of the S.E.E., and
you will have some idea of my feelings.
Only those who have lived the life of the people
in Trans-Caucasia know what a terrible curse the
money-lending community are. A local proverb
says, " A Greek will cheat three Jews, but an
Armenian will cheat three Greeks," and the

14 ^ THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
Georgian, straightforward, honest fellow, is but
too often cruelly swindled by the artful children
of Haik. When the fraud is very apparent the
Armenian often pays for his greed with all the
blood that can be extracted from his jugular vein.
During my stay in Tiflis, a certain wild young
prince, Avalov, had made himself popular by
slaughtering a few Armenians ; his latest exploit
made so much stir that a prosecution was talked
of ; but Avalov was no dweller in towns, he spent
his time merrily out in the greenwood, and it would
have needed a company of Kazaks to arrest him.
While the authorities were deliberating, the
prince sent a polite message to say that if they
tried to make matters unpleasant for him, he
would, with God's help, devote the remainder of
his natural life to running amuck of every
*' salted " Armenian (a reference to their habit of
salting children as soon as they are born) that
crossed his path. Another young nobleman got
three years' imprisonment for "perforating" an
insulting usurer, and the cruelty of the sentence
was much spoken of ; a lady said to me, " Just
fancy, that fine young fellow imprisoned among
common criminals for killing a rascal of an
Armenian," as who should say for killing a dog.
Let it be clearly understood that I say nothing

TIFLIS. 15
against the Armenian nation ; I have the strong
est admiration for their undoubted literary and
administrative talent, and for the energy with
which they resist all attempts to destroy their
national spirit. The Armenian not being a
money-lender or trader, is a citizen of which any
country might be proud ; but tho usurer, whether
he be Jew, Armenian, or Briton, is a most
despicable character, and, unfortunately, tho
peculiar conditions under which the Armenians
have lived for many centuries have neces
sarily made Shylocks of a large percentage of
them. Continuing our walk, we emerge from Palace
Street into the wide Golovinskii Prospekt, which
takes its name from Golovin, a former governor
of tho Caucasus. On the loft lies the palace, a
fine modern building in the European style, and
on tho right is tho Caucasian Museum, in which
tho student will find geological, zoological, ethno
graphical, entomological, botanical, archeological,
and numismatic collections of the highest interest.
On the walls of the staircase are several large
pictures, the most interesting of which are, a
portrait of Queen Tamara, copied from the paint
ing at Gelati, and " The Arrival of the Argonauts
in Colchis," the figures in which are all portraits,

l6 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich being
represented as Jason. There is also a very large
collection of photographs, comprising all that is
worth seeing in the Caucasus and in Persia. In
the same block of buildings is the PubHc Library,
in which will be found most of the literature re
lating to the country, and a fair number of books
on general subjects.
The library is at the corner of the Prospekt
and Baronovskaya Street, and turning down the
latter, the first turning on the right brings us to
the Post Office, facing which is a girls' grammar
school. The traveller who happens to pass that
way when the lessons for the day are over (and
he might do worse if he likes to see pretty young
faces), will be surprised, unless he has been in
Eussia, to see that all the children are dressed
alike, regardless of age, complexion, and taste ;
he will, be still more surprised when he hears that
if one of these uniforms is seen out after 6 p.m. ,
the fair wearer is severely punished, it being the
opinion of the Tsar's Minister of Education that
school-girls, and school-boys too, should after
that hour be at home preparing their tasks for
next day. The school accommodation is lamen
tably inadequate ; in the government of Tiflis
there are only about 280 children at school for

TIFLIS. 17
every 10,000 of the population, in the govern
ment of Kutais only 250.
Returning to Golovinskii Prospekt, we pass on
the right the Staff Headquarters of the army of
the Caucasus, the best restaurant in the city,
some good shops, and then arrive at the Alek-
sandrovskii Garden, which slopes down to the
river bank ; its shady walks are thronged every
evening when a military band performs. Near
its extreme corner, and almost on the waterside,
is the Eussian theatre ; although the house is a
small one and only used as a makeshift until tlie
new theatre is finished, it is a very pleasant place
to spend an evening; good companies from
Petersburg and Moscow play during the season,
and I saw some of the stars of the profession
there. Unfortunately, there is a preference for
translations of French and German pieces with
which the European is already familiar, but
Eussian plays are not totally ignored. I once
saw a version of " Le Monde ou Ton s'ennuie "
which was in the smallest details of gesture and
property a photographic reproduction of the
comedy as I have seen it on the classic boards of
the Theatre Franfais— but there was one startling
innovation, Bellac was described on the pro
gramme as an abbe (sic I). The great charm
0

l8 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
of the Tifliskii Theatre is, however, its open air
crush-room, a fine large garden where a band
plays between the acts, and where refreshments
may be partaken of and smoking indulged in.
The new theatre on Golovinskii Prospekt is a
handsome edifice which was still unfinished at
the time of my visit. The farther you get from
the Erivan Square the less 'aristocratic does the
Boulevard become, the only other building of
note in that part of it being the Cadets' College ;
the opening of the new theatre will, however,
make Sj great difference, and in a few years the
dirty little beershops on the left will doubtless
disappear, and Golovinskii Prospekt will be one of
the finest streets in the world. Its situation is a
splendid one, and is not unworthy of comparison
with that of Princes' Street, Edinburgh ; the Holy
Mount, rising black and steep to a considerable
height, and adorned with the pretty white church of
St. David, might not inaptly be said to be to Tiflis
what the Castle Hill is to the modern Athens.
At the end of the Boulevard is the posting-station,
whence we can return to our starting-place by
tram-car. All the main thoroughfares of the city
are now laid with tram-lines, the construction of
which is due to a Belgian company which is pay
ing very good dividends.

TIFLIS. 19
Thursday afternoon is the best time for visiting
the Church of St. David, for a service is then
held and large numbers of women attend. Pro
ceeding from Salalaki along Laboratornaya, which
is parallel to the Boulevard and is the most select
street in Tiflis, we reach the street of the Holy
Mount (Mtatsmindskaya), a steep, roughly-paved
thoroughfare which leads up to St. David's Place,
and a winding mountain path takes us thence to
the church. St. David was a Syrian monk who
came to Georgia in the sixth century, and lived a
hermit's life among the woods which at that time
covered the hill. Tradition says that the daughter
of a wealthy man who lived near there, finding
herself in an interesting condition, thought the
best way of getting out of the difficulty would be
to accuse the saint of being the cause of this
state of affairs. The holy man, naturally, ob
jected, and having made his accuser appear in an
assembly of the people, he proved his innocence
by making the unborn child say audibly who was
its father. Whereupon, in answer to the prayers
of the saint, the child was converted into a stone,
which the damsel brought forth immediately.
This stone was made the foundation of a church.
David then asked that a spring of living water of
fructifying virtue might be made to flow ; this
0 2

20 .- THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
fountain is still visible, and its water is largely
used by married ladies ; the climb of twenty
minutes from St. David's Place is so toilsome
that even the most bitter Malthusian would hasten
to quench his thirst there ; as far as I know, it
is the only water in Tiflis fit for human con
sumption. Every pious lady who visits the
shrine carries a stone or brick up the hill with
her, and it is from these that the church was
built and is still kept in repair. There is another
interesting custom in which maidens and matrons
alike take part ; after adoring the picture of the
Virgin, the suppliant silently walks round tho
building three times, unwinding as she goes a
reel of thread, fit symbol of the boundlessness of
her love and veneration for the Immaculate
Mother of God. Then picking up one of the
pebbles with which the ground is covered, she
rubs it against the plastered wall, and with beat
ing heart waits to see if it will stick — if it does,
then her prayer has been heard, the lass will have
a sweetheart, the wife will have a son. The
church is of modern construction, but its design
differs in no respect from the ancient Byzantine
style, specimens of which may be seen all over
Georgia. The interior is like that of any other
Greek church, and on the walls there are some

TIFLIS. 21
quaint but rather crude pictures. The mass is,
of course, in Georgian, and the choral service
strikes rather strangely on Western ears, although
not wanting in melody.
Just below the church is a monument bearing
the inscription in Eussian : " Aleksandr Sergeye-
vich Griboyedov, born January 4th, 1795, killed
in Teheran, January 30th, 1829. Thy mind and
thy deeds will never die in the memory of Eussia,
but why did my love outlive thee ? " The story
of Griboyedov's life is a sad but interesting one.
By birth, education, and talents he was fitted to
become one of the most brilliant members of
Eussian society, but he was early infected with
the restless critical spirit of the century, and at
the age of seventeen he had already thought out
the plot of his great comedy Gore ot uma, which
is a bitter satire on the fashionable life of his
day. In 1812 his patriotism led him to join in
the national defence, but he never saw active
service ; like his brother officers he enlivened
the monotony of barrack life with the wildest
dissipation and folly ; for instance, we read that
he galloped up two flights of stairs and into a
ball-room, that he took advantage of his position
as organist in a Polish church, to strike up a
well-known comical tune in the midst of high

22 THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.
mass. But he soon abandoned this unsatisfactory
life,\ went to Petersburg in 1815, turned his
atten|bion to dramatic literature, and produced
some successful pieces. In 1818 we find him in
Persia as secretary to the embassy at Tavriz;
there he led a solitary life and studied the Persian
language, he read all the poetical literature of
the country, and himself wrote Persian lyrics.
In 1823 he took a year's leave of absence, and
employed much of the time in revising his great
work ; it was his aim to make his verse " as
smooth as glass," and he sometimes re-wrote a
phrase a dozen times before it pleased him.
When it was at length finished, the severe censure
prevented its representation, and it was many
years after the poet's death before the full text of
the play was heard in Eussia. After taking part
in a war against the Caucasian Mountaineers,
the Persian war gave him an opportunity of ex
hibiting a bravery bordering on recklessness, and
when Erivan had been stormed it was through
his skilful diplomacy that Eussia obtained such
favourable terms of peace, although the British
Minister aided Persia with his counsels. In 1828
he left Petersburg with the rank of ambassador
at the Persian Court. Before leaving he expressed
to his friends the most gloomy forebodings, he

TIFLIS. 23
was sure that he would not return to Eussia alive*
At Tiflis, however, he found temporary relief
from his mournful feelings in the society of Nina
Chavchavadze, daughter of Prince Alexander
Chavchavadze, the poet, a lady whom he described
as a " very Madonna of Murillo ;" ho married
her, and she went with him as far as Tavriz, he
promising to come back to her as soon as possible.
He had no sooner reached Teheran, than his
enemies at the court of the Shah began to excite
popular feeling against him, and an incident soon
occurred which gave some excuse for an attack
on the embassy. An Armenian prisoner who
had risen to the dignity of chief eunuch in the
Shah's household, and two women, an Armenian
and a German, from the harem of a powerful
personage, fled to tho Eussian ambassador and
asked him to assist them to return to Russian
territory. Griboyedov insisted that, according
to the treaty of peace, all prisoners had a right
to freedom, and he refused to give up the re
fugees. On the 30th of January, 1829, a mad,
yelling crowd of 100,000 men made an attack on
the embassy. Griboyedov, sword in hand, led
out his handful of horsemen and was immediately
killed ; only one member of the embassy escaped
death. It was Griboyedov's wish that he should

24 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
be buried in Georgia, and they chose this
romantic spot which the poet had loved so much
during his stay in Tiflis. The beautiful Nina
remained faithful to her husband's memory, and
mourned for him eight-?ind-twenty years, until
she was carried up the winding path to share his
grave. The view from the churchyard is^ a splendid
one ; the whole city, with its wonderful diversity
of form and colour, lies at your feet ; on the
right you can see far along the Kakhetian road,
and on the left the great highway to Vladikavkaz
follows the winding course of the Kura. In the
evening we often climbed to the top of a bare
crag not far from the church, carrying with us a
large earthenware flagon of wine, a roast leg of
mutton, fruit, cucumbers, and other dehcacies,
and spreading out our cloaks on the ground lay
there making merry, singing and telling tales
until long after midnight ; the lights of the town
below us seemed like a reflection of the bright
stars above us, and the music and laughter of
many a jovial group came up the hillside to mingle
with our own.
After descending the hill, we cross the Boule
vard at the publishing ofiice of KavTcaz, the
official organ, and skirting the Alexandrovskii

TIFLIS. 25
Garden, soon reach the finest bridge in the town,
Vorontsovskii Most, from which we get an in
teresting view of tho waterside part of the Asiatic
quarter ; most of the houses have balconies over
hanging ^the river, and one is involuntarily re
minded of the Tiber banks at Eome. On the
other side of the bridge, in a small square, is a
statue of Prince Vorontsov, Governor of the
Caucasus, from 1844 to 1854. During my stay
the good people of that district were astonished
one morning to see the Prince's head surmounted
by a tall, well-worn sheepskin hat, such as the
Lesghians wear ; the efl'ect was exceedingly ridi
culous, and the youthful revellers who, at con
siderable risk of breaking their necks, were the
authors of the joke, were well rewarded for their
pains by the laughter of all who passed that way,
for your Georgian is a merry fellow.
Turning to the right, we traverse Peski, a
quarter very different from Salalaki. Here we
see small open-fronted Oriental shops in which
dark Persians, ply their trades, making arms,
saddlery, jewellery, selling carpets, and doing a
hundred other things all before the eyes of men
and in the open air. There is a strange confusion
of tongues and dresses ; a smart little grammar-
school girl rubs shoulders with a veiled Mussul-

26 THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.
man woman, and occasionally you see the uniform
of a Eussian officer elbowing his way through a
crowd of Lesghians, Armenians, Georgians, Per
sians ; through the midst of all this confusion
runs the tram-car. We are not beyond all the
influences of civihzation, for, besides the tram
way, we see on a sign-board the legend " Deiches
Bir" (PDeutsches Bier), over the picture of a
flowing tankard.
We cross the narrow bridge and pay a visit to
the baths. Perhaps the reader knows something
of the so-called Turkish bath, and imagines that
the baths of Tiflis are of the same sort ? There
is certainly some similarity between the two, but
. there are profound differences ; the treatment to
which the visitor is subjected at a Turkish bath in
Constantinople is not to be compared with what
the Persian shampooer puts you through in Tiflis.
He goes through a whole course of gymnastics
with you, during which he jumps on your chest,
on the small of your back, doubles you up as if you
were a fowl ready for cooking, and, besides re
moving every particle of your epidermis, performs
sundry other experiments at which the novice
stares aghast. At the end of it all you make up
your mind that it is not so terrible as it looks, and
as you feel wonderfully refreshed you resolve to

TIFLIS. 27
return again before long. The water is of a heat
of about 100° Fahr., and is impregnated with
sulphur and other substances which give it a heal
ing virtue ; it is to these springs that Tiflis owes
its existence, and they have always been of
much importance in the daily life of the people.
Formerly it used to be the fashion for ladies
of rank to hire baths and dressing-rooms for
a whole day, spending the time in perfuming
themselves, staining their finger tips, dressing the
hair, and performing a dozen other ceremonies of
the toilette, concluding with dinner, but the
growth of European habits has rendered this
custom less common.
The Cathedral of Sion is, as we said before, as
old as the city itself, but, of course, it has suffered
considerably at the hands of destroyers and
restorers. Its style is the same as that of all the
other churches in Georgia, and it doubtless served
as a pattern for most of them. The inside has
been tastefully decorated in modern times, and
produces a pleasing effect, although it seems small
to anybody who is familiar with the cathedrals
of Europe. In front of the altar is the Cross of
St. Nina, formed of two vine branches bound
together with the saint's hair; this cross has
always been the most sacred rehc in Georgia.

28 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
There is also a modest tomb, which contains the
body of Prince Tsitsishvili, a Georgian who was
appointed Governor of the Caucasus by Alex
ander I., and who, after a glorious career, was
foully murdered outside the walls of Baku by the
treacherous khan of that city.
From the cathedral the way to the European
quarter leads through the so-called Armenian
Bazar, one of the most interesting parts of the
city. Old arms, coats of mail, helmets and
shields, such as are still used by the Khevsurs up
in the mountains, silver ornaments and many
other interesting trifles, may be purchased here,
but nothing of great value is offered for sale, and
the jewellery, with the exception of filigree work
from Akhaltsikhe (which is hard to get and very
expensive) is not very good. On the birthday of
the Tsarevich, I was walking down to the cathedral
in order to be present at High Mass, when I saw
an incident thoroughly characteristic of the arbi
trary proceedings of the Eussian police. A burly
gorodovoi, clad in white uniform and fully armed,
was forcing the Asiatic shopkeepers in the bazar
to close their premises in order to do honour
to the son of the autocrat. I remembered how
I had seen the Turkish soldiery in Jerusalem per
form a similar task a few months before, when

TIFLIS. 29
the young Prince of Naples entered the Holy
City; it is true that the Turks went a step
further than the Muscovites, for they drove the
people out into the main street, and refused to let
them go home until the evening, but the idea was
the same in both cases. The best native tailor of
Tiflis lives in this neighbourhood, and I had the
honour of having a Circassian suit made for me
by him ; it fitted like a glove. I may say that,
although a great many people in Tiflis wear
European dress, in the country it is almost
unknown. I found that for travelling there is
nothing better than the Circassian garb ; it stands
a great deal of rough usage, and always looks
respectable. Mushtaid is the finest promenade in the city.
It is situated at the west end, and is approached
by the Mikhailovskaya, a long, straight street,
with fine gardens on either side of it. Some of
the best restaurants in the city are in these vine-
shaded gardens, and one of them is devoted to
wrestling matches. It was my good fortune to
be present at a famous contest in which the
Kakhetian champion, Grdaneli, fought a certain
bold Imeretian professor of the fancy art. The
performance was highly interesting, and it was
gratifying to learn from the bills that the pro-

30 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
ceeds were to be for the benefit of a young man
who wanted to study at Petersburg, but had not
the necessary means. The inner ring was formed
of country gentlemen and officers, all sitting
cro^s-legged on the ground; behind them, tier
aboVe tier, were at least a thousand spectators,
breathless with expectation. A primitive band,
consisting of a drum and a zurna (an instrument
which sounds like the bagpipes), played a war-
hke air, to the sound of which the heroes danced
round the arena amid the frantic applause of the
crowd. Both men were fine fellows, but Grdaneli
was a very Hercules, and withal amilable-looking ;
he was the favourite, and justified his reputation
of being invincible by utterly demolishing the
Western man in a very short space of time.
Every incident of tho battle called forth from the
bystanders loud yells of praise and encourage
ment which might have boon heard miles off".
The two best clubs have summer quarters in
Mikhailovskaya Street, by the waterside — the
Kruzhok (near the Vera Bridge) and the Georgian
Club (nearer Vorontsovskii Bridge) ; both have
concert-rooms and gardens attached to them, and
the famous dance called LesginJca may be seen
there with its accompaniment of hand-clapping.
The costumes worn by both sexes are picturesque
and rich, and one meets people of all nationalities

A GEOBOIAN WBESTLEB.

FaffeSO,

TIFLIS. 31
including political exiles from Poland, Eussian
officers and officials, German professors and
representatives of many other races besides
Georgians. All arms must bo left at tho entrance.
Georgian music is very unlike our own, and at
first it strikes the European as loud, wild, dis
cordant, positively unpleasant, but when one is
accustomed to it, it is very agreeable. Before I
had heard many of tho national melodies, I was
very much astonished when an accomplished lady
told me that her reason for preferring the
Georgian Club to the Kruzhok was, that at the
former Asiatic music was performed ; but I can
now understand her liking for the music of her
country. In the Appendix I have written down a
few melodies which will not, I think, grate harshly
on English ears.
The beauty of the Georgian women has been
called in question by some travellers, but these
are nearly all men whose acquaintance with the
people has been extremely limited. The favour
ite observation of these critics is a stereotyped
phrase about "undeniably good features, but
want of animation." Surely Alexandre Dumas
the elder knew a beautiful face when he saw it ;
he says: "La Grece, c'est Galatee encore marbre ;
la Georgie, c'est Galatee devenue femme."
Mushtaid, the town garden, owes nearly all its

, 32 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
charms to nature, the walks and open spaces are
neatly kept, but nearly the whole area is a forest
in the recesses of which we may lie undisturbed
for hours, looking down on the turbid waters of
Kura and listening to the rustling of the leaves
above and around. Every evening its avenues
are crowded with carriages and horsemen ; beauti
ful faces, tasteful toilettes, gay uniforms all com
bine to form a charming picture. Fancy fairs are
occasionally held, at which the visitor may mingle
with all the social celebrities, lose his money in
raffles, buy things he doesn't want — in short
enjoy himself just as if he were at home. But I
doubt whether many frequenters of bazaars in
England have seen such an acrobatic feat as was
performed in Mushtaid last summer; an indi
vidual in tights hung himself by the neck on the
upper end of an inclined wire, stretched over the
heads of the spectators, and slid down it at light
ning speed, firing half a dozen pistol-shots as he
went. No week passes without a popular fete of
some kind, for the Georgians are as fond of gaiety
as any nation in the world.
From the above brief sketch the reader will see
that Tiflis is a city where one can live for a long
time without suffering from ennui. Although the
immediate neighbourhood looks bare and uninvit-

TIFLIS. - 33
ing, there are, within a few miles, many beautiful
spots well worth a visit. The climate has been
much abused by some writers, and it must be
admitted that during the months of July and
August the heat is very trying, but in my opinion
Tiflis is a healthy place ; since the great plague
of ninety yeai's ago it has been pretty free from
epidemics, and although fever and dysentery kill
a good many people every year, the victims are
nearly all residents of low-lying parts of the city,
where no European would live if he could help it.
During the warm weather there are often storms,
characterized by all the grandeur that might be
expected in a region of great mountains so near
the tropics ; after one of these the steep streets
become foaming torrents. The sheltered position
of the city protects it from the terrible gusts of
wind which make the plain to the eastward
almost uninhabitable, and the storms seldom
cause any more serious damage than broken win
dows and flooded houses. Hitherto all the town
water was obtained from the Kura, and delivered
to the consumer from bullock-skins, but a well
has now been dug a little below St. David's,
whence the dwellers on the right bank will get a
supply of a liquid which is not tepid, not opaque,
not evil-smelling, and not semi-solid. D

J

34 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.

THE GBOEGIAN MILITARY ROAD BE
TWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ.
The part which rivers have played in the history
of civilization is well illustrated by this road.
The Aragva, flowing southward from Gudaur,
and the Terek, running northward from it, have
formed the highway along which countless crowds
of Asiatics have penetrated into Europe. Be
tween the two streams there is a distance of some
ten miles, forming a huge but not insurmountable
barrier, the virtual removal of which did not
take place until our own times. It was General
Yermolov who, in 1824, succeeded in making the
road practicable for troops of all kinds j but from
the poet Puskhin's " Journey to Erzerum" (1829),
we learn that there was still room for improve
ment. The traveller had to go with a convoy
of 600 soldiers and a cannon, he dare not lag
behind for fear of the mountaineers, provisions
and lodgings were scarce and bad, the roads
were impassable for carriages, the rate of speed

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 35
was sometimes only ten miles a day. When we
read Pushkin's account, and the one given by
Lermontov, in " A Hero of Our Times," we can
only ask ourselves, "What was the road like
before Yermolov ? "
During the wars with Kasi- mullah and Shamil,
it became indispensable to effect great improve
ments, and, at length, about five-and-twenty
years ago, under the governorship of Prince
Bariatiiiskii, the road was finished, and is now
one of the finest in the world, besides being one
of the highest — the Simplon is only 6147 feet
above sea-level, while the Dariel road is nearly
2000 feet higher. The total distance from Tiflis
to Vladikavkaz is 126 miles, and the distance can
be done comfortably in less than twenty hours.
During the summer 1150 horses are kept in
readiness at the stations, in the winter the
number is reduced by about 300. Two stage
coaches start from each end every day, but as
they run during the night also, much of the
beauty of the scenery is lost by those who avail
themselves of this mode of conveyance ; besides,
it is difficult to get an outside seat unless you
book it a long time in advance. It is far better
to travel by tr&ila, as you are then free to stop
when you like and as long as you like, and you
D 2

36 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
get an uninterrupted view of the country through
which you pass.
About the middle of June, having previously
obtained a formidable-looking document by which
Alexander Alexandrovich, Autocrat of all the
Russias, commanded all postmasters to supply
me with horses immediately on demand, I set out
on my journey over the frosty Caucasus, accom
panied by a young Eussian friend. The troika
had been ordered for four a.m., but, of course, it
did not turn up till half -past five. For the in
formation of those who have never been in Eussia,
I may say that a troika is a team of three horses
harnessed abreast in a vehicle of unique con
struction called a teliezhka. The form of the
cart is like a longitudinal section of a beer barrel ;
it is large enough to contain an ordinary travel
ling trunk ; it is of wood, has neither sides nor
springs, and there are four wheels ; the seat is
made by slipping a piece of rope through a
couple of rings on either side, and laying your
cloak and a pillow on the rope ; the driver sits
on the front edge of the cart ; the whole affair
is invariably in the last stage of decay. The
shafts are so long that the horses cannot kick the
bottom out of the thing, and the horse in the
centre has his head swung up in a wooden frame.

MILITARY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 37
The driver is always asleep or drunk, or both,
but he never lets the reins fall, and at regular
intervals mechanically applies the whip to his
steeds ; he only wakes up when there is a shaky
bridge to cross, and, regardless of the notice
" Walking pace I ", first crosses himself and com
mends his soul to the saints, then gallops over
the creaking structure at racing speed.
As we clattered down tho stoop rocky streets
which lead to tho Boulevard, I had not much time
to look round ; all my attention was necessary to
preserve myself from falling out of the cart, the
jolting was terrible. However, by the time we
had got to the outskirts of the town the road
became much smoother ; the driver got down and
released the clappers of the bells above the
middle horse's head, and we rattled along merrily
to the tune of eight miles an hour. Just outside
the city an imposing cruciform monument marks
the spot where the late Tsar's carriage was
overturned without injuring his Majesty. Passing
the Sakartvelo Gardens, where the good people
of Tiflis often dine in vine-covered bowers by
the river-side, we cross the Vera, an impor
tant tributary of the Kura, and then enter a
broad plain which continues for many miles to
the westward.

38 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
On the other side of the Kura we see Mush
taid; a little farther on is the pretty German
colony of Alexandersdorf, with its poplar
avenues, neat houses, and modest little white
church. All the German colonies in the Caucasus
seem to be exactly alike, and they do not in any
respect differ from German villages in the father
land ; the colonists altogether ignore the people
of the country in which they have settled, and,
although they make a comfortable livelihood,
their isolated condition and the absence of all
European influence must make their lives very
narrow and joyless. Some of these colonies were
founded in order to set before the native peasantry
examples of good agriculture and farm manage
ment, but this worthy object has not been
attained, and the Teutons are looked upon with
feelings generally of indifference, sometimes of
positive ill-will. High on the hills behind the
colony stands the white monastery of St. Antony,
a favourite place for picnics. In the cliffs on the
left of our road are numerous holes, variously
conjectured to be troglodyte dwelhngs (like
those at Uphhs Tsikhe), rock tombs, places of
refuge in time of war, provision stores, &c.
Before us we see the road winding up between
the hills in a northerly direction, and after crossing

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 39
the Transcaucasian railway and then tho Kura
wo arrive at the post-house of Mtzkhet, not far
from tho village of that name.
Mtzkhet, if wo are to boliovo local traditions,
is ono of tho oldest citlos on earth, for tho story
goes that it was founded by a great-grandson of
the patriarch Noah. Be that as it may, there are
unmistakable signs that a Greek or Eoman town
existed here at a remote date, and antiquaries
generally agree in identifying Mtzkhet with the
Acrostopohs of the Eoman s, the headquarters of
Pompcy after he had defeated Mithridates and
subdued Iberia and Albania. No better spot could
have been chosen, for its position at tho junction
of the Aragva and the Kura commands the two
great roads of the country and makes it the key
of Transcaucasia. Mtzkhet, the ancient capital
of Georgia, was always a place of much import
ance in the annals of the kingdom ; now it is a
wretched village of some hundreds of inhabitants.
It was here that St. Nina began her work of con
verting the nation, and we propose to give a brief
account of the legends relating to this event.
Tradition says that at the beginning of our
era there lived in Mtzkhet a wealthy Jew named
Eleazar, who frequently made journeys to Jeru
salem on business. On the occasion of one of

40 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
these visits he became possessed of the tunic of
our Lord, which he brought home with him as
a present to his daughter. She, expecting a
valuable gift, ran out to meet him, and with an
angry expression snatched from his hands the
precious relic, of which she little knew the
worth; she fell dead on the spot, but no force
could take the garment from her hands, so it was
buried with her, and from her grave there soon
grew up a tall cedar, from the bark of which oozed
a fragrant myrrh, which healed the sick. Now
about three centuries later, that is in the third
century of our era, St. Nina was born in Cappa-
docia. When she was twelve years of age her
parents proceeded to Jerusalem, and gave them
selves up to religious work, leaving the maiden
under the care of a devout old woman, who
taught her to read the Scriptures. Nina was
very anxious to learn what had become of
Christ's tunic, and said to her teacher, " Tell
me, I pray thee, where is that earthly purple
of the Son of God now kept?" To which
the venerable matron replied that it had been
taken to a heathen land called Iveria, far away to
the northward, and that it lay buried there in the
city of Mtzkhet. One night the Blessed Virgin
appeared to the damsel in a dream, and said to

SAINT MNA,

PiRe 40.

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 41
her, " Go to the Iverian land, preach the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus, and He will reward thee. I
will be thy guard and guide," and with these
words she handed to her a cross made of vino
branches. When Nina awoke and saw in her
hands the wondrous cross she wept for joy, and
after reverently kissing the holy gift she bound
the two loose sticks together with her own long
hair. This cross has always been the palladium
of Georgia, and is still preserved in the Sion
Cathedral at Tiflis. Now it so happened that at
this time seven -and-thirty maidens, fleeing from
the persecutions of Diocletian, left Jerusalem to
spread the good tidings in Armenia ; St. Nina
went with them as far as Vashgarabada, and
then pursued her journey alone. As she was
entering the city of Mtzkhet, the king of Georgia,
Marian, with all his people, went out to a hill
in the neighbourhood to offer human sacrifices
to idols, but in answer to her prayer a mighty
storm arose and destroyed the images. She
took up her abode in a cell in the king's garden,
and soon became well-known as a healer of the
sick. At length the queen fell ill, and St. Nina,
having made her whole in the name of Jesus,
converted the Georgian court to Christianity, and
in 314 A.D. baptized all the people of the city.

42 THK KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
Over the spot in the royal garden where her cell
had been, the king built the Samtavr church,
which still exists, and lies to the left of the post-
road. It was then revealed to St. Nina that the
tunic, the object of her search, lay buried under
a cedar in the middle of the town ; the tree was
cut down and the robe was found in the hands of
the dead girl. On the spot where the cedar stood
King Marian built, in 328, the Cathedral of the
Twelve Apostles ; the cedar was replaced by a
column, and this column is said to drip myrrh
occasionally, even in these degenerate days of
ours. The sacred garment was preserved in the
cathedral until the seventeenth century, when
Shah Abbas sent it as a present to the Tsar of
Eussia, Mikhail Fedorovich. It was solemnly
deposited in the Cathedral of the Assumption at
Moscow, where I saw it last autumn.
Having evangelized Kartli, St. Nina proceeded
to Kakheti, where she met with the same success,
and died at Bodb(5, near Signakh ; her tomb is in a
monastery overlooking one of the finest landscapes
in all Kakheti.
The Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles is the
chief place of interest in Mtzkhet. The original
church was of wood, but in 378 it was replaced
by a stone edifice, which stood until the invasion

MILITARY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 43
of Tamerlane. The existing church was built in
the fifteenth century. A stone wall, with ruined
towers, encloses a rectangular piece of ground, in
which stands the cathedral, a fine building about
seventy paces long by twenty-five paces broad.
It is in the Byzantine style, and the interior is
divided into three parts by two rows of columns.
Here lie buried the last kings of Georgia and
their families, the patriarchs of the church, and
other illustrious persons.
The post-house at Mtzkhet was a pleasant sur
prise to me, but I found nearly all the stations on
this road equally comfortable ; in many of them
there are bed-rooms, a dining-room, a ladies'
room, and one can get white bread and European
food. Those who have travelled on post-roads
in Eussia will readily understand my surprise.
Leaving Mtzkhet, our road follows the Aragva
along a smooth valley between forest-clad hills ;
the scenery reminded me very much of some of
the dales of Thelemarken in Norway. The soil is
rich and well cultivated, and here, as elsewhere,
we saw a whole herd of oxen dragging one
wooden plough. This valley is one of the most
feverish places on the whole road, and the people
attribute this to a yellow weed {Oarlina arcaulis),
of which there is a great abundance ; strange to

44 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
say, other places where the plant flourishes have
the same unpleasant reputation for unhealthi-
ness, the explanation is doubtless to be found
in the fact that this weed grows best in a damp
soil. Tsilkani is the next station, but there is no
village there. While waiting for horses we saw
in the yard a camel; there are plenty of these
amiable animals in Tiflis, but I did not think they
went so far north as the Aragva.
The scenery continues to be of the same cha
racter as far as the station of DusJiet, some dis
tance from the garrison-town of that name, which
lies in rectangular regularity on the hillside, like
a relief map ; it is a place of some military im
portance on account of its position at the entrance
of the narrow part of the valley, but it is as un
interesting as any Eussian provincial town. Near
it is a lake, said to cover a Caucasian Sodom ; the
traveller looks at the lake with more attention
than he would bestow upon it if it were in
Switzerland, for lakes, like waterfalls, are very
rare in the Caucasus. Soon after leaving
Dushet we climb a rather steep hill — the wilder
part of the road is about to begin. On our left is
a huge, antique-looking edifice with towers and
battlements, which we feel sure has a romantic

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 45
history, but we are disappointed to learn that the
place is only a modern imitation. At a pretty
spot on tho river-bank near hero I met on my
return a party of about fifty prisoners on their way
to Siberia ; they were, as a rule, honest enough
looking follows, and I could not help feeling
pity for them when I remembered how many
cases I knew of in which innocent men had been
ruined in mind and body, by exile for crimes with
which they had no connection. The road crosses
a range of green hills, and passing through
scenery very like that of Kakheti, descends to the
Aragva again at Ananur, tho most picturesque
village on the whole road, although the surround
ing landscape is tame compared with that to the
northward. Ananur lies in a pretty little valley, amid well-
wooded hills. At the southern end of the village,
perched on a rising ground, is a partly ruined
wall with towers and battlements, within which
are two churches, one of them still used for divine
service, the other a mouldering heap of moss-
grown stones. The post-house is at the farther
end of the village, and while the horses are being
changed we have time to return to the ruins,
about a quarter of an hour's walk; by the road
side are several little shops in which furs of all

46 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
the wild animals of the country may be bought
for a trifle ; there is also a small barrack. We
now climb up to the citadel, and as we enter we
cannot help thinking of some of the scenes of
blood which have taken place here, even as late as
a century and a half ago, when Giorgi, the Eristav
(or headman) of Aragva, defended the castle
against the Eristav of Ksan. When the place
had been taken and all the garrison slain, Giorgi
and his family fled to the old church, thinking
that no Christian would violate the right of sanc
tuary, but the conqueror heaped up brushwood
round the building and burnt it down ; only one
of the ill-fated family escaped alive.
The door by which we are admitted lies on the
side farthest removed from the road ; it leads us
through a square tower into the citadel proper,
which occupied a piece of ground about one hun
dred paces long and forty paces broad ; formerly
it used to stretch down to the very bank of the
river, where a ruined tower may still be seen. On
entering we see immediately on the left the ruined
house of the Eristav Giorgi ; straight in front of us
is a well-preserved tower, on the left of which may
be seen the ruins of the old church, on the right
is the modern church. The old church is, of
course, quite ruined; it is only about five-and-

to03

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 47
twenty paces in length by fifteen paces broad.
There still exist fragments of painting and carving
which would doubtless prove highly interesting
to those who are acquainted with the history of
Byzantine art. The building is said to date
from the fourth century. There is also a small
underground chapel which is fairly well pro-
served. The larger church was built by the Eristav
Giorgi in 1704; it is thirty paces long by twenty
paces broad, and is an enlarged copy of the older
sanctuary ; the stono of which it is built is yel
lowish. It is a very fine specimen of Georgian
architecture. Beautifully carved in the stone, on
each side of the building, is a gigantic cross of vine
branches (the cross of St. Nina). The decorative
work is excellent throughout, both in design and
workmanship ; but the figures of animals, &c., are
very poor indeed.
Ananur is connected with the darkest page in
the mournful latter-day history of Georgia. The
Persians had taken Tiflis in 1795, and reduced it
to a smouldering heap of ruins. King Irakli, with
a few servants, had escaped almost by a miracle,
and had taken refuge in the mountain fastness of
Ananur; abandoned by his cowardly, faithless
children, betrayed by his most trusted dependents

48 THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.
and allies, sick in body and weary in mind, the old
man of seventy-seven was a sight sad enough to
make angels weep. " In the old, half ruined mon
astery of Ananur, in an ancient cell which used
to stand in the corner of the monks' orchard, one
have might seen a man dressed in a rough sheep
skin cloak, sitting with his face turned to the wall.
That man, once the thunderbolt of all Trans
caucasia, was the king of Georgia, Irakli II.
Near him stood an old Armenian servant. * Who
is that sitting in the corner ? ' asked those who
passed by. * He whom thou seest,' replied the
Armenian, with a sigh, ' was once a man of might,
and his name was honoured throughout Asia. His
people never had a better ruler. He strove for
their welfare like a father, and for forty years
kept his empire together; but old age has
weakened him, and has brought everything to ruin.
In order to prevent quarrels after his death, he
determined to divide his kingdom among his
children while he still lived, but his hopes
in them were deceived. He who was chief
eunuch of Tamas Khuli Khan when Irakli was a
leader of the Persian army, now marched against
him in his feeble old age. His own children
refused to help him and their native land, for there
were many of them, and each thought he would be

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 49
striving, not for himself, but for his brother's
good. The King of Georgia had to ask the help
of the King of Imereti, but if thou hadst been
in Tiflis thou hadst seen how shamefully the
Imeretians behaved. Irakli, with but a handful
of men, fought gallantly against a hundred thou
sand, and lost his throne only because his children
pitilessly forsook him, leaving him to be defeated
by a wretched gelding. His ancient glory is
darkened, his capital in ruins, the weal of his folk
is fled. Under yon crumbhng wall thou seest the
mighty King of Georgia hiding from the gaze of
all men, helpless and clothed in a ragged sheep
skin ! His courtiers, all those who have eaten his
bread and been pressed to his bosom, have left
him ; not one of them has followed his master,
excepting only me — a poor, despised Armenian.' "
From Ananur the road rises along the Aragva
valley, which is well cultivated, thanks to a fine
system of artificial irrigation. On our left, about
a couple of versts from the station, we see high
up on a hill the ruined castle and church of
Sheupoval, where a grandson of the Eristav
Giorgi shared the fate of the rest of his family ;
the place was burnt down with all its inhabitants.
As we pass along the road we meet several
pleasant-looking wayfarers, all armed with . long,
E

50 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
wide dagger, and many carrying in addition sword
and rifle; this highway is, however, perfectly
safe as far as brigands are concerned, the carrying
of weapons is merely a custom which means little
more than the use of a walking-stick in our country.
Several handsome Ossets, as they pass, cour
teously salute us with the phrase, "May your
path be smooth ! " a peculiarly appropriate wish
in such a region. When we go through a little
village, pretty children run out to look at us, but
they never beg, indeed I never saw or heard of a
Georgian beggar, although there is much poverty
among the people.
All along the road, wherever there is a coign
of vantage one sees it topped by the ruins of a
four-sided tapering tower, standing in the corner
of a square enclosure ; every foot of ground has
its history of bloodshed and bravery, a history
now long forgotten, save for the dim traditions
of the peasantry.
The stage between Ananur and Pasanaur (21
versts), is the longest on the whole road, and,
although it presents no engineering difficulties
such as those which were met with farther to the
northward, it is, nevertheless, a toilsome journey
for the horses, as it rises about 1300 feet. I
shall never forget the pleasant emotions I felt

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 51
on making the night journey from Pasanaur to
Ananur; although there was no moon, tho stars
shono Avith a brightness that is unknown in
northern latitudes, and lighted up the strange,
beautiful landscape; tho glittering snow-peaks
behind, the silvery stream at our sido, the greon
forests and tho lonoly ruins made up a picture
of surpassing loveliness and woirdness. Fort
Gudomakarsk is soon visible, and we know that
tho station is not far off. I may as well say that
almost all the so-called forts between Tiflis and
Vladikavkaz are insignificant, neglected-lookino-
places, merely small barracks; thoy formerly
served to keep tho mountaineers in order, but
now there is really very little necessity for
maintaining a garrison in them.
Pasanaur (which in old Persian means " Holy
Hill ") is situated in a very narrow part of the
valley, amid thick woods. The station is a pretty
one, and, like that at Ananur, so comfortable
that the traveller who has to spend a night there
need not be pitied. The only building of interest
in the village is a modern church in the Eussian
style of architecture, which looks as if it had been
painted with laundry blue; for ugliness it can
compare with any church in Muscovy.
To the eastward of Pasanaur live the BHievsurs,
E 2

52 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
Pshavs and Tushes, peoples probably having a
common origin, and speaking a language akin to
Georgian. Their number is variously estimated,
from twenty to thirty thousand. They live in a
very primitive way, and the Khevsurs still clothe
themselves in chain armour and helmets; this
circumstance, added to the fact that they have
long been Christians, has given rise to the suppo
sition that they are descended from a party of
Crusaders who lost their way in trying to return
to Europe overland, and settled in these valleys.
Their country is among the wildest in the whole
range, and their villages are perched high up
among the rocks, like eagles' nests. The Khev
surs live chiefly on the scanty products of agri
culture; the Pshavs and Tushes are pastoral
peoples, in winter they drive their flocks down
into Kakheti, and when the snow among the
mountains begins to melt they return to their
native valleys. All these tribes are wild and
brave to the highest degree; from the- earliest
times they have formed part of the Georgian
kingdom, and have distinguished themselves in
many a battle against the infidel. The Chris
tianity of this region is not so elaborate as that
of Eome or Byzantium, but I suppose it is quite
as reasonable as that of the Eussian muzhik or

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 53
the English farm-labourer ; they have made a
saint of Queen Tamara, and they worship tho god
of war and several other deities in addition to
tho God Christ. Irakli II. tried to reform tlieir
theology, but thoy replied, "If we, with our
present worship, arc firm in our obedience and
loyalty to the king, what moro does he ask of
us ? " There are now many Orthodox Greek
Churches in tho villages, but the people totally
ignore their existence.
After leaving Pasanaur the road bends to the
westward, leaving on the right a high table-
shaped mountain of granite which has for a long
time seemed to bar our progress ; we still keep
close to the Aragva, and the scenery becomes
bolder, and the soil more barren ; here and there
we see high up on the face of the rock a cluster
of Osset houses ; from the valley they look like
small dark holes in the cliffs. Pushkin has de
scribed them as "swallows' nests," and no
happier name could have been chosen.
The Ossets call themselves Ir or Iran, the
Tatars and Georgians call them Oss or Ossi.
According to official accounts they number over
100,000, about half of them being on each side of
the Caucasus. The majority of them profess the
Christian religion, but 16,000 are Mahometans,

54 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
and a considerable number are idolaters. Their
traditions say that they came from Asia across
the Ural, and used at one time to dwell in the
plain to the north of the Caucasus, but were
gradually driven into the mountains by stronger
peoples. In the reign of Queen Tamara most of
them embraced Christianity, and Tamara's second
husband was an Osset ; they remained tributary
to Georgia until the beginning of the present
century, and a traveller who visited Tiflis about
a hundred years ago says that Irakli's body
guard was composed of Ossets "who never
washed." The Ossets were the first Caucasian
people to settle down quietly to Eussian rule, and
thoy have never given any serious trouble, if we
except their share in the Imeretian rising of
1810. The stories about the Ossets being a
Teutonic people are as absurd as the assertion
that there are in the Crimea Northmen who speak
Dutch. They live in a wretched manner, in
houses built of loose stones, without mortar;
but their physique is good, and their faces are
handsome and engaging.
After another long climb of 1300 feet wo roach
Mtell. Iloro, indeed, we have come to tho end
of the valloy — wo arc at tho bottom of a deep
well with sides as bare and steep as walls, on the

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 55
top glitters the everlasting snow. The engineer
ing difficulties which we have hitherto encoun
tered are as nothing compared with those before
us. To our right rises a precipice over three
thousand feet high, up which the road climbs in
a series of zigzags.
Soon after leaving Mleti we saw the sun set
behind the silvery peaks to the west, and within
half an hour it was dark ; our driver was drunk
and fast asleep, and we had occasionally to seize
the reins in order to kcop tho horses from going
too near the fenceless edge of the abyss. The
distance to Gudaur is only fourteen and a half
versts, but nearly the whole ascent has to be
done at walking pace; slowly we rose up the
hillside, gazing silently now up at the glistening
chain above us, now down into the gloomy valley
behind us, where a fleecy waterfall shone in the
starlight ; we saw no wayfarers all the time, and
no sound came to break the stillness of the
summer night.
At last we reached the tableland at the top,
and were soon in the station-house of Gudaur,
almost 8000 feet above sea-level. Although there
were only patches of snow here and there on the
ground near us, the air was very cool ; only a few
days ago we had been simmering in Tiflis in a

56 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
heat of over 100° Fahr., and now we saw the
thermometer down at freezing-point. I knew
that as far as comfort went Mleti was a much
better place than Gudaur to spend the night at,
but I was eager to enjoy the delightful intoxi
cation of the mountain air as soon and as long
as possible, and I did enjoy it thoroughly.
After a very rough and hasty supper and a
short walk on the edge of the plateau, we en
tered the common room, and wrapping ourselves
up in our hurkas, sought out the softest plank on
the floor, and were soon sleeping the sleep of
innocence. Several travellers arrived during the
night, for when we rose at dawn we found the
room full. Leaving our companions to snore in
peace, we ordered the horses, and were soon on
our way to the pass.
On the grassy plain were feeding large flocks
of goats and sheep, the latter with strange, large,
fatty protuberances on either sido of tho tail.
To the right is a remarkable-looking green hill of
pyramidal shape, and beyond it an old castle
looks down from an inaccessible crag. The
scenery of the pass itself is imposing, but it is
seen to better advantage when one comes in
the opposite direction, i e. from Vladikavkaz to
Tiflis ; in that case one leaves a scene of the

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 57
wildest desolation for the luxuriant beauty of the
Aragva valley and Kartli ; on the northward
journey it is, of course, the reverse. Tho road
sinks very rapidly to a depth of almost 2000
feet ; tho long snow-sheds remind us that oven
at the present day a winter journey over tho
Cross Mountain is a serious undertaking ; traffic
is often stopped for several days at a timo by
avalanches, and in spring tho rivors sometimes
wash away tho bridges and largo pieces of the
road. At the foot of the mountain we meet tho
foaming Terek, a river almost as muddy as the
Kura, and following its course reach a vast plain,
on the east side of which stands Kobi.
Near Kohi station there are two villages ; the
larger of the two lies under the shadow of a
perpendicular rock on the one side, on the other
sido it is flanked by a rugged crag, on the top of
which may be seen the ruins of a church and a
castle. By the roadside are curious monumental
tablets, painted with hieroglyphs of various kinds,
among which the rising sun generally occupies the
chief place. All round Kobi there are numerous
medicinal springs of all kinds, and the station-
house is intended to accommodate a few patients.
There may come a day when Kobi will be as
fashionable as Kissingen, but in the meantime it

58 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
is not the sort of place that one would recommend
to an invalid.
On the score of originality nothing can be said
against the environs of Kobi; when we looked
round we could not help thinking of the phrase
"riddlings of creation," which wo have hoard
applied to the Scottish Highlands ; it does, in
deed, look as if some of the materials left over
after the creation of our earth, had been left hero
in disordered heaps, to give us some idea of chaos.
The road now follows the course of the Terek,
and the scenery is indescribably grand ; straight
before us lies snowy Kazbek in all its rugged
wildness, here and there are ruined towers, and
about the middle of the stage a turn in the road
brings us to an aul, or village, of mediaeval
appearance, by the side of which is a little copse,
a rarity in this bleak district. The basaltic rocks
present many fantastic shapes and colours to the
eye; in several places I saw what looked hke
huge bundles of rods, reminding me of tho Giant's
Causeway. Before reaching the station we were
met by children who offered for sale all sorts of
crystals, pieces of quartz and other pretty geo
logical specimens.
Kazbek station is a very comfortable inn, where
one can dine well, and is to be recommended as a

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 59
place for a prolonged stay. The mountain, gone-
rally called Kazbek, rises from the valloy in ono
almost unbroken mass, reaching a height of
10,550 foot above sca-lcvol ; tho Georgians call it
Mkhinvai'i (ice mountain), and tho Ossets, Christ's
Peak ; Kazbek is really the name of the family
who own this part of the country, and is wrongly
applied to the mountain. This peak, like Ararat,
enjoys tho reputation of being inaccessible, and
our countrymen, Freshfield, Moore, and Tucker,
who climbed to the top, without much difficulty,
in Juno, 1868, were not believed when thoy told
tho story of their ascent. On tho mountain tho
sportsman can occasionally get a shot at a tur
(aurochs. JEgoceros FaUasii) ; but if ho is unwill
ing to expose himself to the necessary danger and
fatigue, he can for a few roubles buy a pair of
horns at the station.
Those who invade the realm of the mountain
spirit should not fail to visit Devdorak glacier, the
easiest way of making the ascent ; there they will
see a place where the native hunters make sacri
fices of tur horns to propitiate tho spirit, who
might otherwise throw blocks of ice down on their
heads. There is a popular legend to the effect that on
the summit of Mkhinvari is the tent of the

6o THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
Patriarch Abraham, within which, in a cradle
held up by an unseen hand, lies the child Jesus
asleep ; outside there grows some wheat of won
derful size, beside the tree of life ; round the cradle
are heaps of treasures. Under the reign of King
Irakli IT., a priest and his son started for the
summit in order to see these wonders ; the boy re
turned alone, bearing samples of the material of
the tent, some big grains of wheat, &c., the soles
of his boots were covered with silver coins which
had stuck to them — unfortunately it was found
that the coins were quite modern !
As is well known, Mkhinvari is generally iden
tified with the story of Prometheus, although the
mountain does not correspond with the descrip
tion given by ^Eschylus. Early travellers even
went so far as to assert that they had seen the
very chains with which the hero was bound,
and there is a local legend to the effect that a giant
still lies there in fetters. When I approached
the mountain from Kobi I could not help being
reminded of Prometheus. I saw a gigantic black
space of irregular form with snow all round it ; an
imaginative mind found in this irregular tract a
considerable resemblance to the human shape.
No traveller should leave Kazbek without
making a pilgrimage to the monastery of St.

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 6i
Stephen, which stands on the top of an isolated
hill about 2000 feet above the station. At sunset
the view is wonderfully beautiful. Tradition says
that the monastery was built by three kings, but
does not give their names ; in any case the build
ing is of considerable antiquity. Service is held
in the church three times a year. Tho interior
has been spoiled by that fiend tho " restorer."
From the church you look over a wide, uninhabited
valley to tho giant mountain, and on turning
round you see the river Terek, on tho banks of
which are the station and village; on either hand
stretch dark cavernous-looking valleys. '-Beyond
the Terek is the home of the Ingushes, a people
who frequently carry off the cattle of their more
settled neighbours, and give the small garrison
of Kazbek some amusement in hunting them
down. After leaving Kazbek, we see on our right the
manor-house of the princely family from which
the place takes its name, a family which has pro
duced, and doubtless will yet produce, sons which
will be an honour to Georgia ; the house is a fine
two-storey edifice, and there is a pretty chapel
attached to it. In a few minutes we reach the
Mad E,avine, so called from a torrent of terrible
impetuosity, which has formed one of the most

62 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
serious obstacles to the construction of the road.
We now enter Dariel, the pass from which the
road takes its name, one of the grandest spots on
' earth. According to philologists, Dariel is derived from
an old Persian word meaning gate (cf . Der-bend,
Thuer, door, Slav Dver, &c.), and in fact it was
here that the ancient geographers placed the site
of the famous Caucasian Gates ; but surely there
is something to be said in favour of the local
tradition which connects tho place with Darius I.
of Persia. As for the gates, it is, of course, im
possible to say definitely whether they ever existed
or not, at all events there are several points where
it would not have been very difficult to construct
them. At the entrance of the ravine, on the left bank
of the Terek, stands a high rock, on which may
be seen the ruins of a castle, said to have been
founded in 150 b.o., but doubtless having a still
longer history. This castle is always associated
with the name of a certain wicked Queen Tamara,
a mythical creation of the popular fancy, and
Lermontov has written a very protty poom based
on the legend. It is said that this Tamara (not
to be confounded with the good Tamara), was
very beautiful, and that she used to invite all the

^^^^^^ te- H-^ — "'--U~-=-^*^- -' "' —

OABIEL rOET AND BUIN.S OF TAMAEA's CASTLE.

Page 63.

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 63
handsome young men who passed that way to
come up and live with her, promising them all
the delights that heart could wish for ; after one
night of bliss the unfortunate gentleman was
deprived of his head, and was then thrown down
into the Terek, which bore away his body. If
tho legend is not wrong in saying that the river
carried away the corpses, the frolicsome monarch
must h.ave boon comparatively constant during
the summer months, or else the pile of wantons
would soon have become large enough to frighten
all the passion out of intending visitors, for in the
month of June, Terek would not float a respect^
ably-sized cat.
By the road-side is Dariel Fort, a romantic-
looking place with old-fashioned battlemented
towers ; a few Kazaks are quartered here, and
must find the time hang very heavily on their
hands. When you reach^ this fort it looks as if
it were impossible to go beyond it, a mighty wall
stretches right across the path; but the road
follows the course of the river, indeed it is built
in the river-bed, and winds along between awful
cUffs whose summits are lost in the clouds, and
whose flanks are seldom or never touched by a ray
of sunlight. We sometimes hear of places where a
handful of men could keep back an army, this is

64 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
one of them ; a touch would send down upon the
road some of the heavy, overhanging masses of
rock, and effectually close the pass. About fifty
years ago an avalanche fell here, from the glacier
of Devdorak, and it was two years before the
rubbish was all cleared away. When the new
road is blocked by snow or carried away by floods,
the old road, high up near the snow-line, has to be
used. The scenery of this pass has been described by
Pushkin, Lermontov, and many others, but it is
one of the few places that do not disappoint the
traveller, however much he may have expected.
It must not be forgotten that the road through
this narrow gorge is the only passable one that
crosses the Caucasian range ; there are, it is true,
one or two other tracks, but they are not practi
cable for wheeled carriages.
In the most gloomy part of the defile the road
crosses by a bridge to the left bank of the Terek,
and a few versts farther on we emerge into com
paratively open ground at Lars, I had, as usual,
given mj podorozhnaia (road-pass) to a stable-boy,
with a request to get the horses ready without
delay, and was sitting drinking tea, when I was
astonished to hear behind me the long unfamiliar
tones of my native language; I was still more

OABIEI,

rage 64,

MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 65
surprised when I saw that the speaker was the
starosta, or superintendent of the station (the
Government inspector, or smat7-itel, is the real
chief). He told me that he had seen from my
pass that I was EngUsh, and had taken tho
liberty to come and have a chat with me. He
spoke English fluently, and has spent five years in
London, has travelled in the United States, and
is altogether a very pleasant fellow ; he had only
been at Lars a year and a half, and during all that
time had not seen an Englishman. We parted
very good friends, expecting to meet again when
I returned from Vladikavkaz.
The village of Lars, north of the post-house,
is inhabited, among others, by some of the
Tagaur Ossets, descended from Tagaur, an in
dividual who at a remote period was heir to
tho Armeniau throne, and fled to the mountains
for fear of his younger brothers. Their royal
descent leads them to think themselves superior
to the poor folk among whom they dwell, and they
are cordially disliked by the latter. Just outside
the village is one of the towers which are so com
mon all along the road; it doubtless yielded a hand
some revenue to its owner in the good old days
when every traveller had to pay a heavy toll for
the privilege of passing one of these fortresses.

66 THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.
We still keep close to the Terek, which comes
rushing down from Dariel with a fall of one foot
in every thirty. Pushkin, comparing the Terek
with Imatra, in Finland, unhesitatingly declares
the superiority of the former in grandeur. Of
course the surrounding scenery in the two cases
is quite different, but as far as the rivers them
selves are concerned, I must dissent from the
poet, for I know no part of the Terek worthy
of comparison with the fall of the Wuokses at
Imatra, which is the very materialization of the
idea of irresistible, pitiless power.
Although the valloy is now a little wider than
it was a few miles to the south, the scenery still
has the same grandeur and sternness until wo
pass between the rocks that come down close to
either bank of the river, and come out into the
plain iu which stands Fort Djerakhovsk, a rec
tangular edifice, about 120 feet long, which is
fully garrisoned. We are not quite clear of the
mountains, however, until we have passed Balta,
and have got within five vorsts of Vladikavkaz.
Before us stretches a smooth, green plain as far as
the eye can reach ; the contrast is most striking ;
it is as if we had been suddenly transported from
Switzerland to Holland.
Vladikavkaz, 200 versts from Tiflis, lies at the

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MILITAEY EOAD BETWEEN TIFLIS AND VLADIKAVKAZ. 67
foot of the Caucasus, at a height of 2368 feet.
The best hotel is the Pochtovaya, at the post-
station ; the Frantsiya is also good. Vladikavkaz
moans, in Eussian, " master of the Caucasus "
(cf. Vladivostok, Vladimir, &c. — root vlad is akin
to German walt-en, Gewalt) ; the Chorkcsses
(Circassians) call it Kapkai, "gate of the moun
tains." It has a population of over 30,000 souls,
chiefly Eussians, Chorkcsses, Georgians, Arme
nians, Persians, besides a strong garrison. A
fortress was built here in 1781, but the town
never became a trading centre of much import
ance until the war with Shamil ; even now one
is astonished to see how little activity there is in
a pluco through which nearly all the overland
traffic between Europe and Western Asia passes.
Several chimney stalks boar witne.ss to the
existence of industry, but tho only manufactory
of any size is a spirit distillery. The silver
work of Vladikavkaz is renowned throughout tho
whole Caucasus, and is much used for dagger
hilts and sheaths, bolts, &c.
The city is built on the banks of the Terek,
which is here crossed by several bridges; the
best quarter is on the right bank, where there
are cool, shady gardens by the waterside, and a
very respectable-looking boulevard. A few of
F 2

68 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
the streets are fairly well paved, and there are
one or two comfortable-looking houses with
pleasant grounds; but on the whole the place
is not one that anybody would care to settle
down in. Were it not for the frequency with
which one sees Asiatic costumes, and hears
Asiatic tongues, and the fact that the frosty
Caucasus may be seen, apparently perpendicular,
rising to its loftiest points, it would be easy to
imagine oneself in some provincial town not 100
versts from Moscow, instead of being 2000 versts
from it.
When you have lounged in the gardens, and on
the boulevard, visited the cathedral, which is
still in course of construction, the market, the
military school, and the old fortress, you have
obtained all the diversion that is to be had in
Vladikavkaz, unless you are fortunate enough to
find the little theatre open, and the best thing
to be done is to take the morning train to the
Mineral Waters station (186 versts in nine hours)
for the town called Five Mountains (Pyatigorsk),
about twenty versts from the railway, which for
almost a hundred years has enjoyed the reputation
of being the most fashionable inland watering-
place in the Eussian Empire.

69

THE KAKHETIAN EOAD— TIFLIS TO
SIGNAKH.
A FEW days after my return from Vladikavkaz,
I made preparations for leaving Tiflis. It was
near the end of June, and the unbearable heat
had driven away nearly all those who were free
to go ; all the highways leading out of tho city
were crowded with carts and carriages of every
description, carrying household goods and pas
sengers. My friends had contracted with some
Molokans (Eussian heretics), belonging to the
colony of Azamburi, for the removal of their
furniture to Signakh ; the carriers had promised
to come to our house at four o'clock in the
morning, but it was nine o'clock before they put
in an appearance, and then their carts were half
full of other people's goods, a direct violation of
the agreement. If any man ever needed the
patience which is proverbially ascribed to tho
patriarch Job, • it is the man who has business
dealing3 with the Muscovite muzhik. You may
assail him with all the abuse which your know-

70 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA,
ledge of his language will permit, you may strike
him, you may calmly endeavour to persuade him
with the most lucid logic — it is all to no purpose ;
taking off his cap to scratch his head, he looks
at you with an assumption of childlike simplicity,
and replies with a proverb more remarkable for
its laconism than for its applicability to the matter
under discussion. In this case we wrangled for
a long time, and then, being unwilling to risk a
stroke of apoplexy by getting into a rage, appealed
to the majesty of the law, represented by a stal
wart policeman, at whose command the carts
wero emptied forthwith, the contents being de
posited on the roadside, and our eff'ects were soon
put in their place, and the whole caravan rattled
down the hillside about two hours before noon.
An hour later a four-horse carriage with springs
arrived, and the four of us, my Georgian host, a
Eussian lady and gentleman, and myself, set out
for Kakheti.
After descending through the narrow streets
which lie between the Erivan square and the
river, we crossed the busy bridge, and mounted
the steep bank on tho other side, passing through
the liveliest part of the Persian quarter. By
the time we had got clear of the suburb called
tho Dogs' Village, with its camels and caravan-

THE KAKHETIAN EOAD — TlFLTS TO SIONAKH. 71
serais, wo had overtaken the waora'ons : ex-
changing friendly salutations with our volunteer
baggage-guard, wo were soon rolling along the
smooth, dusty road in tho direction of Orkhcvi.
On our right, down by tho side of tho Kura, lay
Naftluk, with its beautiful vineyards and orchard^,
and beyond it the road to Akstafa and Erivan ;
on the distant southern horizon were tho blue
mountains of Armenia. On our left hand rose a
range of bare-looking hills of no great height. ^
The region through which the Kakhetian road
passes is a flat, waterless, almost uninhabited
stcppo ; tho winds which sometimes sweep across
it are so violent that it is the custom to seek shelter
from them by building the houses in tho ground,
with the roof on a level with the road. Twenty
years ago the " Society for the Ee-establishment
of Orthodox Christianity in the Caucasus " ob
tained from the late Tsar a large concession of
land near Kara Yazi, and spent 370,000 roubles
on tho construction of a canal for irrigation
(Mariinskii Kanal) ; tho scheme was never com
pletely carried out, and the results obtained have
not hitherto been such as to encourage the
society, although a few Nestorians, Assyrian
Christians, have been induced to settle in this
unhealthy land. There are still unmistakable

72 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
signs of the fact that in ancient times all this
steppe was watered from the Kura by an elabo-
iMte system of irrigation, which must have made
the country very fertile ; now the whole tract is
an almost unbroken wilderness, whore the ante
lope wanders, unharmed by any hunter.
At Orkhevi there is nothing but the station-
house, and those whose only experience of posting
has been derived from the military road between
Tiflis and Vladikavkaz, are likely to bo unplea
santly surprised at the primitive appearance of
this traveller's rest. A bare, dirty room, with
two wooden benches and a table, tho walls taste
fully decorated with official notices, among which
the most prominent is one in four languages
warning farmers against the phylloxera, thereon
portrayed in all the various phases of its develop
ment. Such is my remembrance of Orkhevi. The
only refreshment obtainable is a samovar (tea-
urn) of boiling water, from which you can make
your own tea if you have the necessary ingre
dients with you. A former journey along this
road had already made mo familiar with all the
little discomforts and privations which must be
undergone by the visitor to Kakheti, so I was
not disappointed. None of the stations are any
better all the way to Signakh, and he who does

THE KAKHETIAN EOAD — TIFLIS TO SIGNAKH. 73
not bring with him his own food for the journey
is likely to have a very good appetite by the time
he reaches his destination.
The sun had now reached the meridian, and
boat down upon us with terrible force, for our
carriage was an open ono ; wo wero half-choked
with tho dust, a thick white layer of which
covered us from head to foot ; on either side lay
bare, brown fields, baked hard as stone, and
deeply fissured ; no water anywhere ; the only
thing which broke the monotony of the scene was
the occasional passage of a train of arhas, laden
with huge, bloated-looking ox-skins, full of wine.
The arha is the national vehicle of Georgia, and
is said to have been used as a chariot by tho ancient
kings ; it is constructed entirely of wood ; there is
not so much as a nail or pin of metal in it ; the
wheels are generally made of one piece of timber,
and for this reason the arha is allowed to travel
on the highways without paying the tolls which
are imposed on carts with tires ; a pair of oxen
draw the cart, and the creaking of it may be
heard afar off. Parched with thirst, and almost
stifled with dust, we were glad to reach Vazinni,
where we spread our cloaks under an oak-tree by
the side of a spring, and proceeded to make a
good lunch, after which we slept for a while.

74 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
In the afternoon we left Vaziani, and soon
passed through the prosperous German colony of
Marienfeld, with its neat, homely cottages, shaded
by fine poplar-trees. The vicinity of the river
lora makes this a very fertile spot, cool and
inviting even in the middle of summer. A little
before reaching Marienfeld we saw, on the left,
the road to Telav, and the Kakhetian hills now
seem to slope down very quickly to meet our
road, but we know that we shall have to travel
many a weary verst before we reach them. In
tho evening, at about six o'clock, we arrived at
Azamburi, a Eussian village not far from the
station of Sartachali. It had been agreed that
we should spend the night here, so we alighted
at the postoy alii dvor, or inn.
Azamburi is exactly like any other Eussian
village, a long, dirty, double row of wretched
hovels. Bach farmer has his house and build
ings arranged round a square courtyard, in the
midst of which lie carts, pigs, agricultural pro
duce, and filth of all kinds. The inhabitants are
Molokans ; some account of the religious opinions
of these people will be found in Mr. D. M. Wal
lace's Avell-known work on Eussia ; they have no
priests nor sacraments, neither smoke nor drink,
do not swear, and pay great reverence to the

THE KAKJfETIAN ROAD — TIPLIS TO SUIN'AKU. 75
Bible, a copy of which may bo seen on a shelf in
tho living-room of every house. Thoy are not at
all attractive, cither in physiognomy or conversa
tion ; their awful stupidity and ugliness are all
the more powerfully felt from the contrast which
the native population presents to them. Their
choice of a piece of ground for colonization would
be inexplicable did wo not remember their peculiar
religious convictions ; they have chosen tho very
worst place in tho whole plain ; tho only drinking
water in tho neighbourhood is very bad, so bad
that tho tea made from it is almost undrinkable,
even by people accustomed to Kura water. Quito
near the village are stinking, stagnant marshes,
which must make the place terribly unhealthy.
After dinner we went outside to smoke, for the
Molokan will not suffer the mildest cigarette in
his house, and even in the depth of winter tho
visitor who smokes must burn his weed in tho
open air. Eeturning along the road for somo
little distance, followed by a crowd of children,
who, evidently, had never before seen a lady in
European dress, wo mounted a little hill, whence
wo saw in tho distance our baggage-waggons
slowly approaching. In re-entering the village
we overtook a farmer with an English reaping-
machine; this man was less taciturn than his

76 TBE KINGDOM OF OEOBOIA.
neighbours, and of his own accord entered into
conversation with us ; he was loud in his praises
of the reaper, and said that the man who invented
a certain part of it (a patent screw, I think) ought
to be "kissed behind the ear." We tried to
interest him in a pet idea of our own, viz., that
village communities should buy machinery col
lectively, but we regret to say that we could not
make a convert of him.
It was nine o'clock before our young friend.
Prince Giorgi, arrived with the goods under his
charge; and while we were at supper much
merriment was caused by his vain endeavours to
check himself in the use of the word chort (the
devil !), a pet expression of his, but strictly for
bidden in the houses of all good Molokans. The
night being fine, although the air was cool, we
made up our minds to sleep outside rather than
risk the onslaughts of the Molokan fleas, and we
chose for our bivouac a thrashing-floor about a
hundred yards from the house ; here we lay down,
wrapped in our hurkas, and smoked and chatted
until we fell asleep. But we were not to have a
quiet night ; we were roused by the attack of some
ferocious dogs ; we beat them off several times, but
the numbers ever increased, until all the canine
population of Azamburi was howling round us.
We were on foot at three o'clock, and, waking

THE KAKHETIAN EOAD — TIFLIS TO SIGNAKH. 77
up the drivers, got the horses harnessed and
started for Kakabeti. In the early morning air
flitted beautiful birds with wings as brilliant as
those of butterflies, and butterflies as big as birds.
It was not so terribly hot as I had found it somo
weeks before, when I passed through Kakabeti in
the afternoon, but it was still close enough to
make us long for a breath of the mountain air.
This region is swampy, and the fevers make it
uninhabitable. Kakabeti offers nothing of interest. The same
wearisome plain stretches all the way to Kajereti,
near which is the hospitable abode of one of the
Andronikov family. We spent four hours there,
and did not leave the station until an hour after
noon. Passing the inviting-looking post-road to
Bakurtsikhe, on our left, we kept to the plain for
a while ; then rapidly rising to the village of
Nukriani, Signakh came into view at the top of
the hill, and the lovely woodlands at our feet
seemed all the more beautiful on accoiint of the'
bare, monotonous character of the parched plaiii
where we had spent the last two days. Descend
ing by a zigzag road, we entered the town, and,
passing along the main street, through the mar
ket-place, soon reached the very edge of the steep,
high hill which rises from the Alazana valley.

78 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.

SIGNAKH.
Ouu new home turned out to be a very delightful
place, — large, lofty rooms, two balconies ; at the
back, vineyards and gardens stretching far down
the hillside. The view was more beautiful than
any I had over seen or imagined. The house was
built on tho edge of a deep, narrow ravine, the
steep Fides of which were covered with vines and
mulberry-trees all the way down to the Alazana
valloy, a smooth, fertile plain thirty miles broad.
On tho opposite sido of tho ravine, to the left,
stood a very extensive fortification with ruined
towers, a stronghold of some importance during
tho war with Shamil ; behind this could bo seen
the Armenian church and the outskirts of the
town. Straight in front lay the grand Caucasian
mountains, rising like a wall from tho plain, thoir
glittering snow-clad tops dividing tho dark forests
on their flanks from the deep blue of the summer
sky. In the midst of the plain flowed the silvery
Alazana, in its winding course dividing tho culti
vated land on this side from the virgin forest

SIGNAKH. 79
beyond. Along tho nearer edge lay scattered
hamlets with their neat little white churches ;
farther off might be seen a wood, which we always
thought of as that of the Sleeping Beauty. From
the heights of Signakh it does not look large, but
it is six miles in diameter, and the underwood is
so thick that it can only be penetrated by cutting
a path with axes; it is full of all sorts of Avild
beasts and dangerous reptiles. In the distance
on tho left may bo seen the mountains on which
Telav is situated ; to tho extreme right a few
huts on tho river bank indicate tho position of tho
Alazana bridge, and beyond this begins the long
sandy steppe which stretches in unbroken barren
ness to the Caspian.
Signakh is 100 versts to the eastward of Tiflis,
aud stands about 1000 feet above the plain of
tho Alazana. The population is over 10,000, the
majority being Armenian shop-keepers, usurers,
&c. The name signifies " city of refuge," and
the place was founded and fortified in the last
century, in order to servo as a retreat for tho
country people in times of Lcsghian raids. Tho
fortress consists of a very largo piece of ground
enclosed by high walls, with towers at regular
intervals, and the whole city used to be within
these walls. The post-road to Bakurtsikhe runs

8o THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.
through the stronghold, and about sunset all the
wealth and beauty of Signakh may be seen
promenading on the highway, for this is " the
boulevard ; " on Sunday afternoon wrestling goes
on merrily to the sound of the pipe and drum.
At present the military importance of Signakh is
almost at an end, but if Eussia should ever find
herself involved in a great war we might pro
bably hear something of the doings of the Les
ghians in that region. The garrison is very
small. The Club is the centre of all the social life of
Signakh, and on Saturday evenings there are
informal dances, to which the stranger looks
forward as a welcome break in the monotony of
provincial life. The Gostinnitsa "Nadezhda"
(Hope Inn), which we nicknamed " Grand H6tel
de KakhiJtie," is dirty and uninviting to a degree
which Europeans could hardly imagine possible ;
but it is the best hostelry in the town. The
Coiirt-house is just opposite the inn, and I
remember spending a very interesting evening
there on one occasion, watching the trial of
Georgians, Tatars, Armenians, by a Eussian
justice of the peace in a gorgeous uniform. The
cases were settled with a rapidity to which the
High Court of Chancery is a stranger.

ft

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SIGNAKH. 8 1
Altogether, Signakh is a dirty but highly pictu
resque little town ; its streets are narrow, crooked,
and ill-paved, the shops, as is usual in the East,
are small, open rooms, in which saddlers, tailors,
and smiths may be seen plying their respective
trades ; all round about the town are beautiful
hills covered with oak, walnut, and other tall
forest- trees. The only other place it reminded
me of was Amalfi, and even in this case the
resemblance was but slight.
On ono of tho neighbouring hills, at Bodb<5, is
the Monastery of St. Nina. This venerable relic
stands in ono of tho finest pieces of scenery in all
Kakheti, and is surrounded by a thick forest, which
has from the earliest times been protected from
destruction by a popular tradition, declaring that
he who breaks off a branch therein will die within
tho same year. Tho monastery was originally
built by King Mirian immediately after the death
of the apostle of Georgia, and her tomb may still
be seen iu the present church, which, according
to an inscription on one of the walls, was restored
by a certain King Giorgi, after the country had
been laid waste by Tamerlan. In the sacristy are
many old manuscripts, amongst which there are
doubtless some of great historical interest, but,
as far as I know, they have not yet been cata-
G

82 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
loguedi On the occasion of my visit to Bodb^ I
passed a wine-shop, where three or four Georgians
were making merry ; they pressed me to stay and
drink with them, but, offering them my thanks, I
begged to be excused on the ground of want of
time. On my return they came out, hat in hand,
to the middle of the road, and presented me with
a goblet, which I could not refuse to drain
without giving serious displeasure to my kind
entertainers. This httle incident is a very good
illustration of the Georgian character : when
the Georgian is merry, everybody else must share
his jollity or he is unhappy. I have seen a squire
quite unnecessarily leave a scene of revelry for a
minute or two in order to heap up food in his
horse's manger, so that the faithful beast might
share in the universal joy.

83

A TEIP ACEOSS THE ALAZANA.
BAKUETSIKHE— KARTUBAN— LAGODEK H .
By daily excursions among the sloping vine-clad
hills I soon made myself familiar with Kakheti,
the garden of Georgia ; at Kodalo I had shared
the munificent hospitality of the Andronikovs, at
Bakurtsikhe that of the Vachnadzes ; but I had
never been in the wild country beyond the
Alazana, and it was with pleasure that I accepted
tho invitation of tho Princes Vachnadzo to accoiA-
pany them on their yearly visit to their estates at
Kartuban, on the Eiver Kabalo, at the foot of the
mountains on the other side of the plain.
Accordingly, on a certain bright summer
morning our cavalcade might have been seen
winding down the steep main street of Signakh.
The first halting-place was to be Bakurtsikhe,
seventeen versts from Signakh, where we had
been invited to meet a largo company of Kakhetian
squires and ladies at dinner. Our path, for some
miles after leaving the town, lay in the dry bed
Q 2

84 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
of a torrent. The remembrance of the wild,
beautiful scenery of that narrow gorge still fills
me with delightful emotions. It was the scene
of so many pleasant rides — in the fierce heat of
the noonday sun, in the cool of evening, after
midnight on stormy nights, when we had returned
homewards drenched with rain, our path illumined
only by dazzling flashes of lightning. As we
picked our way among the stones we met many a
courteous gentleman, most of them clad in the
same Circassian garb as ourselves, but not a few,
especially the older men, iu the true national
garb — a short tunic, with long flaps of cloth
hanging from tho shoulders ; a dress said to re
semble the ancient Polish costume. Each raised
his tall papakh of Astrakhan fur, and, with
graceful bow, saluted us, after the manner of the
country, with the word Gamardjtveba, which is,
being interpreted, " I wish thee the victory," to
which we answered Gaguimardjos — " May God
grant thee the victory." These salutations are
as eloquent as a dozen volumes of history. I
never heard them without thuiking of tho sad but
glorious past of the Georgian kingdom, nobly
holding its own, unaided, and witnessing for
Christ and His Cross against all the hosts of
Islam, performing prodigies of valour that would

GliOROIAN NATIONAL COSTUME. Page 84,

A TKIP ACROSS THE ALAZANA. 85
have added to the fame of Greece or Eome. God
grant thee the victory, brave Georgia !
Emerging from the gion, wo joined tho j)Ost
road at Anaga, and our impatient horses sot off
at a gallop. On wo sped through tho Avoll-kopt
vineyards of a Eussian capitalist. Count Shorc-
motiev, who thrca,tons to ruin all tho poor squires
of tho district by selling his wines under cost
price. At a littlo village, about half-way between
Signakh and Bakurtsikhe, two of us had far out
stripped the rest, and were racing neck to neck
when my companion's horse cast a shoe; so
leaving him at a roadside smithy, I went on
alone. Tho fierce summer sun stood high in the
blue arch of heaven ; on my left wero vino-clad
crags; to the right, beyond the river, rose the
white peaks of tho mountain wall between me
and Europe. But I thought not of Europe. I for
got kindred, country, humanity — everything. My
horse aud I were one, and we were merged in that
great, living ocean of life — our mother earth.
My pulse beat in harmony with the heart of Nature
herself, keeping time with the rippling rills, the
whisper of the wandering airs to the leaves of the
trembling trees. I had entered a blissful Nirvana,
in which all consciousness of self was swallowed
up in the world's soul.

86 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
I had ridden half a mile beyond the point
whence J should have ascended by a bridle-path
to our host's house, before the cool shade of a
cliff aroused me from my state of forgetfulness.
It was on the summit of this cliff that my friends
had recently met their tenants to discuss some
little differences that had arisen between them.
Honest folk do not like law-courts — especially
Eussian law-courts — so the good Kakhetians
decided to settle their dispute in the old-fashioned,
orthodox manner. A couple of horses were killed,
and a good many men on either side were pretty
severely hacked and bruised ; but the landlords
came off victorious. They, nevertheless, agreed
to grant certain concessions to the farmers,
so all left the field of battle delighted with one
another. It is only just to say that this case was
an exceptional one. The relations between the
gentry and peasantry are excellent ; they are on
terms of such affectionate familiarity that the
latter always address their prince by his pet
name. Soon after noon we were all enjoying the hos
pitality of our friend. When I say hospitality, I
am not using the word in its conventional sense ;
a Georgian displays towards his guest such
courtesy and kindness as are unknown among

A TRIP ACEOSS THE ALAZANA. 87
European peoples. Other friends soon arrived,
and at three o'clock, the usual dinner-hour, a
score of us sat down to dine in a shady arbour on
the hillside. The dishes were purely Oriental ;
rich pilavi (rice cooked with fruits, pistachio
nuts, &c.), shishlik (a choice cut of mutton
roasted on a silver skewer over a yard long, on
which it is served up), and many another delicacy,
the thought of which makes my mouth water
even now. Tho wine deserves special mention.
Kakheti has ono of tho finest soils in tho world
for grape-growing, and any kind of wine, in
cluding fino champagne, can bo produced there.
Unfortunately, the people in general have not yet
become acquainted with the methods by which
wine has to be " manipulated " in order to make
it at once agreeable to a European palate. Some
of the best brands are not, however, open to this
objection, and are largely sold in Petersburg and
Moscow, but they are not so well known as they
deserve to bo. Merchants discourage the intro
duction of new wines, as our Australian and
South African fellow-subjects know to their cost ;
but the day will undoubtedly come when Caucasian
vintages will be known and appreciated.
The drinking habits of the Georgians are m-
teresting. A toastmaster {tolumbash) is always

88 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
chosen, and it is his duty to propose the health
of each guest in turn. To those who do not
drain their glasses before the time for the next
toast has arrived, the tolumbash cries Alaverdi !
to which the laggard replies, Yakhsheol, and
immediately finishes the draught, in order to
escape the penalty of swallowing a large hornful
of liquor at a breath. These words are of Tatar
origin, and commemorate a brave Tatar named
Alaverdi, who fell in a battle between the
Georgians and Persians. The glasses contain a
quarter of a pint, and the stranger who sits down
with a score of friends is somewhat apprehensive
as to the condition in which he will leave the
table. Luckily, the wine is nothing but pure
grape-juice, and a person with a tolerably strong
head can dispose of two or three quarts of it
without feeling much the worse. Each toast is
accompanied by the singing of a grand old song
called Mraval djamier ghmerthma inebos (May
God grant thee many years), to which the person
thus honoured must sing the reply, Madlobeli vart
(I thank you). I have transcribed the song in
the Appendix. The ladies drink water scarcely
coloured with wine.
Our dinner lasted more than two hours, and
concluded with some miscellaneous toasts, among

A TRIP ACROSS THE ALAZANA, 89
which those of England and her Queen were re
ceived with the greatest enthusiasm. Then, after
tea, the guests amused themselves with music
and dancing, and nightfall found us all, young and
old, chasing one another about on the hillside in the
games of cat-and-mouse and blindman's buff. It
was past midnight before we retired to rest;
some of us lay on the low, carpet-covered takhti,
or divans, which in Georgia replace beds, while
those who preferred it slept out on the green,
wrapped up in their cloaks.
It had been arranged that Ave should start for
the Alazana on the following morning at four
o'clock, in order to escape the terrible midday
heat of the low-lying plains by the river-side ;
but when we rose we found that a couple of the
horses had disappeared, and tbis delayed us for
two or three hours. At length Ave started, aiiyd,
waving farewells to all our good friends at
Bakurtsikhe, we proceeded down the long slope
to the plain. There were six of us, besides a
servant, and we were armed to the teeth, after
the manner of the country, with daggers, pistols,
swords, and rifles — not an unnecessary precaution,
for we saw ploughmen with a double-barrelled
gun slung over the shoulder, and sword and
dagger at the girdle, while a man stood at-the end

90 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
of the furrow ready to give the alarm. These
fertile lands are only half tilled. The wild
Lesghian marauders come down upon the
farms, and steal all that can be carried away,
and in the event of a war they would simply
burn up the whole country to the very gates of
Tiflis. It was a weary journey down to the river-bank,
and we did not reach the ferry until noon. The
ferryman lives in a hut a good way from the
river, and it was only after firing half a dozen
shots in the air that we succeeded in attracting
his attention. That half-hour of waiting among
the reeds, with the sun right overhead, was the
warmest half-hour I ever spent. At length the
ferry-boat, a long tree-trunk with the inside burnt
out of it, came across the stream, and we took
our saddles and bridles and laid them in it. The
horses had, of course, to SAvim, and it was a long
and difficult task to get them all over. Tho
current is very strong, and it was a subject for
congratulation that none of them were carried
away by it. Excepting at the ferry, the banks
are so steep that it is impossible to land. When
all had safely reached the other side we lay down
under the shade of the trees, and lunched off
cucumbers and coarse bread, washed down by the

A TEIP AOEOSS THE ALAZANA. 91
white Kakhetian wine, of which we carried a full
sheepskin. The hottest part of our day's work was over ;
instead of burnt, shadoAvless plains we should now
have the sunless forest to ride through until we
reached our halting-place for the night. But we
well know that we should not be in clover for tho
rest of the day, for we had often been told that
this wood was infested by a horse-fly of a very
malignant character, and as we rode along the
northward path we had an opportunity of making
the acquaintance of the insect in question.
Within a milo of the bank we were surrounded
by SAvarms of them, and the horses, becoming moro
and more restless, at last went perfectly mad
with pain, while the blood dripped plentifully
from their flanks. To think of holding them in
by bit and bridle was out of the question, the
only thing to be done Avas to let them gallop
ahead and to keep a sharp look-out for the many
boughs that overhung the scarcely perceptible
track. Although Georgia is not in the tropics,
this was a truly tropical forest with all its
luxuriant and beautiful vegetation ; walnut and
other fancy woods abound, but they are allowed
to fall and rot unutilized ; the undergrowth on
either hand is so thick as to be impenetrable ; on

92 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
all sides are masses of strange, bright flowers,
making the air heavy with perfume, and birds of
dazzling plumage sit chattering on every tree.
About an hour before sunset we reached the
river Kabalo, a swift, shallow mountain stream,
which we forded, and then rode up a fine glade
to the encampment of my friends' Tatar herdsmen.
About a score of families live there all tho sum
mer in large tents, Avhich are not altogether
devoid of comfort ; in the interior may be seen
carpeted divans, gold and silver ornaments are
not uncommon, and the copper household utensils
are thoroughly artistic in shape and beautifully
engraved. We dismounted at the chief man's
tent, and, lying down ou the greensward, waited
impatiently for dinner. Tho faro was abundant
and good, as was to be expected in a country so
rich in game and fish, and we slaked our thirst
with cool kumiss (fermented mare's milk). Tho
Tatars are fine, bold-looking fellows ; there is in
their faces a look of wild freedom that is
extremely attractive to one who has spent the
most of his life in cities. I believe that if I had
stayed a week or two in that camp on the Kabalo,
I should have been content to renounce civilized
life altogether. A very houri, a gazelle of the
wilderness, a sixteen-year old maiden in red tunic

A TRIP ACROSS THE ALAZANA. 93
and wide trousers, Avitli long dark hair in countless
tiny braids and pretty little white bare feet and
ankles, cast timid glances in our direction, and
lovely, languorous eyes said as plainly as pos
sible, " Fly to the desert I fly with mo " . . . and
many other things which the curious reader may
find recorded in the works of the late Mr. Thos.
Moore. At nightfall we rode aAvay, accompanied by a
few Tatars, to visit the large herds of horses and
cattle which feed near here, and then proceeded
to the little cluster of cottages where the
Georgian farm-la,bourers live, about a couple of
miles higher up tho river. Wo wero received by
the stoAvard, a Greek from Cilicia, aud after chat
ting merrily over our tea for a few hours, we
spread our hurkas on the ground and slept as
well as the clouds of fierce mosquitoes Avould
allow us to do, under the starlit sky, lulled by the
music of the stream.
About an hour before dawn the cold aroused
us all, and after a bath in the icy waters of the
Kabalo, and a hasty breakfast, Ave visited the
farm-buildings. Tobacco is the chief commodity
produced, but its cultivation is at present rather
unprofitable ; I saw three hundred bales of the
finest leaves of last year's growth lying iu the

94 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.^
store unsold ; it is quite equal to Turkish, and
can be bought at a ridiculously low price, but it
is not yet known in Europe, even in Eussia
" Batumskii tabak " has only recently been intro
duced, although it is far superior to that which is
grown on the Don. Georgian landowners cannot
afford to push the sale of their wares in Europe,
but I am sure that if English firms would send
out buyers they would not regret it, unless they
dealt with the wily Armenian middle-man instead
of the Georgian producer. The fear of the
Lesghian robber-bands prevents any great outlay
of capital in the development of such a district,
and, indeed, nobody in Georgia has much capital
to spare, so the greater part of the estate I am
speaking of, hundreds of square miles in extent,
is a pathless forest.
By eight o'clock we were in the saddle. The
path rises through thick woodlands to the summit
of a hill crossed by a narrow, rocky pass which
has an unpleasant reputation as being the haunt
of brigands ; only a few weeks before, a party of
travellers had been attacked there, two of their
number were wounded, and they were all relieved
of their purses, jewellery, and arms. We were
within half a mile of the top when we perceived a
Lesghian prowling about a little in advance of us.

A TEIP AOEOSS THE ALAZANA. 95
We halted, unslung our fire-arms and loaded,
then extending for attack, as far as the nature of
of the country would allow, we went forward at
a quick walking pace. We soon caught sight
of three more Lesghians, but this was OAridently
the whole force, for they contented themselves
with looking at us from a distance, and seeing
that tho odds wero in our favour, they galloped
away into the depths of the forest, and left us to
pursue our journey unmolested.
Climbing to the summit of the hill, we enjoyed
a splendid view of the Alazana valley from tho
opposite side to that whence we had been accus
tomed to see it ; behind us rose the white peaks of
the Caucasus, looking very near in the clear
morning air. A little Avay off the blue smoke
rising from among the trees shoAved us where our
friends, the highwaymen, were cooking their
breakfast. To the eastward, almost at the foot
of the hill, lay the Eussian military colony of
Mikhailovka, to which we descended.
Mikhailooka is fairly prosperous compared with
other Eussian colonies in Transcaucasia, but to a
European it does not seem an Arcadia ; it is one
wide, straggling street of poor, dirty-looking
farmhouses. The colonists have to struggle with
fever and ague, not to speak of Lesghians, and

96 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
altogether do not seem to enjoy their life very
much. Mikhailovka is the point at which the
military road from Signakh turns to the east
ward, and about five miles farther on arrives at
Lagodekh, the staff head-quarters of an army
corps, into which we rode about an hour before
noon. Lagodekh is a place of some size, with wide,
clean streets and large grassy squares, planted with
fine trees, the houses are neat and comfortable-
looking. Swift mountain streams run through it
and supply delicious water. The public buildings
comprise barracks, hospital, stores, a fine church
of red sandstone, a modest club-house, bazar,
&c. We made our way to the quarters of an
officer of the 39th, whose hospitality we enjoyed
until evening. In spite ofthe terrible heat, onr host
showed us everything worth seeing. The park is
the great attraction, it is beautifully kept, and
contains a fine long avenue of tall poplars ; in the
middle of it is a pavilion with the garrison ball
room, and near the entrance may be seen a small
cemetery where there is a real, old-fashioned ghost,
which, under the semblance of a white lady carry
ing a cross, affrights the local Tommy Atkins
every year in the month of June. I commend
this sprite to the attention of the Psychical Ee-

A TRIP ACROSS THE ALAZANA. 97
search Society, and I am quite willing to pro
ceed to Lagodekh and spend a month there
in investigating the matter — at the Society's
expense. The troops suffer a good deal in tho summer
months, and there are many casualties from
apoplexy, dysentery, and other complaints.
Early in the afternoon wo sat down to dinner,
and did full justice to the fare. My neighbour
on the right was the brother of a charming lady
whom I had met in Tiflis, and it so happened
that he had that very day received from her a
letter in which I was spoken of, for Englishmen
are rare birds in these lands. This gentleman
had Avandering proclivities almost as strong as
my OAvn, and ho informed me that he thought of
travelling overland by Merv to India, " Avhoro tho
English pay private soldiers as much as the
Eussians pay a captain." After dinner we all
slept for an hour, and then, the heat haA^ing
slightly diminished, we started for Mikhailov|ca.
A bear hunt was to take place on the folloV-
ing day, and we were urgently pressed to
stay and take part in it, but we had to be back
in Signakh within the next twenty-four hours,
and were therefore obliged to deny ourselves this
pleasure. H

98 TOE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
Before we were clear of Lagodekh somebody
had the unfortunate idea of starting a wild gallop,
but the spot was badly chosen, for a sudden tum
in the road brought us to a river with a wide,
stony bed. The leading horse threw his rider into
the very middle of the stream, I was deposited on
a heap of big stones on the other side ; all the
rest, warned by our mishap, escaped. It took
over an hour to catch the runaway horses, and
when we reached Mikhailovka I felt as if I had
passed through a thrashing-mill, every bone was
aching. Our camping-ground was under a large
oak-tree, behind a peasant's house, and we lay
there on the ground, a prey to the mosquitoes,
until early morning.
At half-past four we Avere in the saddle, and
after a stirrup-cup of Eussian vodka, galloped
down the smooth, Avell-kept military road towards
the Alazana, occasionally glancing back at the
beautiful hill country behind us. I felt all my
many bruises with double force after the niffht's
rest, and it was as much as I could do to keep my
seat, not to speak of emulating the exploits of my
companions, who were amusing themselves with
shots at the hares and feathered game with which
the country abounds. At length, at about eight
o'clock, we reached the Chiauri Bridge, a shaky-

A TEIP ACROSS THE ALAZANA. 99
looking wooden structure. There is a Avretched
little wine-shop, Avhere we dismounted for break
fast. A fine fish of fifteen pounds' AVciglH;, Avith
some of the coarse, indiarubber-like bread of the
country, formed the solid part of the meal; I
need not say what the liquid part of it was ; we
emptied our sheepskin and then fell back on mine
host's supplies. The river, in summer at least, is
sluggish and dirty, and has an evil smell of decay
ing vegetable matter, very suggestive of malarial
fever; if our acquaintance Avith tho Alazana had
been confined to this portion of it, we should have
boon at a loss to understand tho high praise
which has boon bestowed on it by all tho sweet
singers of Eustaveli's land.
We spent a couple of hours in rest and refresh
ment, and then started for home across the broad
plain yellow with ripe grain. Noon saw us begin
the toilsome ascent of the hills of Signakh, and
an hour later we were lying on our balcony
dreamily smoking cigarettes of Kartuban tobacco,
while we mentally retraced every step of our
delightful journey among the fair scenes which
now lay spread at our feet.

H 2

lOO

THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.

SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENCE
TO TIFLIS.
Mt stay in Kakheti was so pleasant that I found
it very hard to leave. My good friends there
insisted that I should marry a Georgian lady and
settle down as a country squire, to grow wine and
drink it among them for the remainder of my
natural life ; when I finally decided upon the day
for my departure they pressed me to stay, at
least, until the vintage-time, but I still had much
ground to go over, and I had made up my mind
to return to England before winter set in.
One morning in July I said good-bye to
Signakh, and set out in a post-cart for Telav.
As far as Bakurtsikhe the road was quite familiar
to me ; it had never seemed so beautiful as it did
Avhon I said farewell to it. Then came Kalaki,
which like Bakurtsikhe, is full of members of the
Vachnadzo family, and Gurdjani, one of the
villages belonging to the Andronikovs. The
Andronikovs are doscondod from a Byzantine

SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENOE TO TIPLIS. loi
prince who fled to Georgia during the reign of
Queen Tamara; they have always been distin
guished for bravery and munificence, the two
virtues which are most appreciated in this
country; in tho present century they have pro
duced a general worthy to rank with any who havo
over served tho Tsars. I may say, in passing,
that it is astonishing to find what a largo per
centage of the great military leaders in tho
Eussian army have been and are of Georgian
birth. Another curious circumstance is that
somo of the best families in Georgia arc of foreign
origin ; tho Bagrats, the royal family, were once
Hebrews, and claim to bo descended from David,
tho son of .Jesse ; tho Orbelianis, tho second family
in tho kingdom, came from China ; tho Andro
nikovs, as we havo just remarked, were originally
Greeks. Near Gurdjani is Akhtala, a muddy hollow in
which are slime baths, resorted to by persons suffer
ing from rheumatism, scrofula, and many other
diseases ; the baths are simply round holes full of
mud, in the middle of which an evil-smelling gas
slowly bubbles up ; the largest bath of all is
reserved for cattle. I need hardly say that all
the bathing goes on al fresco, for nobody has
thought of building a hydropathic establishment

I02 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
in this remote corner of the Caucasus. Akhtala
has, of course, its legend. It is said that a farmer
was once working in his vineyard on the Feast of
the Transfiguration, when a passer-by asked him
why he was not at church on so holy a day.
The scoffer replied that he had seen enough of
transfigurations, he and his wife had been trans
figured into old people, and their children into men
and women ; the wayfarer, who was none other
than our Lord, said, " Well, you shall see yet
another transfiguration," whereupon the ground
opened, and belched forth a liquid mass, which
swallowed up the vineyard, with the sinner and
all his household.
The road continues to run parallel to the
Alazana, and the next station is Mukuzani, seven
teen versts from Bakurtsikhe, near which is the
flourishing town of Velistsikhe. All this region
is a fertile, well-cultivated plain, and there are
many villages renowned for their wines; the
peasants of the Telav district are much wealthier
than those near Signakh. Akuri, fourteen versts
from Mukuzani, is the last station. The city of
Telav is now visible on the top of a hill straight in
front, and it has a very picturesque appearance.
About half a dozen miles beyond Akuri, in a
beautiful valley, is Tsinondal, formerly the home

SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENCE TO TIFLIS. T03
of Prince David Chavchavadze, but now the pro
perty of Alexander Alexandrovich, Autocrat of
all the Eussias, for whom a vast palace was being
built at the time of my visit. The Tsar would
be far safer here than at Gachina, for there are
no anarchists among tho Georgians, and I cannot
account for the rumour that it was proposed to
exile a largo number of tho young nobles, in order
to assure the monarch's safety during his sojourn
in the Caucasus.
Tsinondal is famous as the scene of one of the
most dramatic incidents of the war with Shamil,
viz., the capture of Princesses Chavchavadze and
Orbeliani in July, 1854. On account of rumours
of Lesghian raids the Chavchavadze family had
not left Tiflis for their estates until the month of
July. They arrived safely at Tsinondal, and Avere
soon joined by Nina Chavchavadze's sister. Prin
cess Varvara Orbeliani, whose husband had just
been killed whUe fighting against the Turks.
They were but newly settled in their summer
quarters, when Prince 'Chavchavadze received
orders to go and take the command of a fortress
somo distance from home. Before leaving, he
reassured his family by telling them that rein
forcements were about to be sent to Telav, and
that the Alazana was so high that tho enemy

I04 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
could not cross it. In a few days the prince
wrote to his wife to say that he was besieged by
a force of five or six thousand Lesghians, but had
no fear of the place being taken ; if he thought
it advisable for his family to leave Tsinondal, he
would let them know.
Meanwhile the Lesghians were nearer than
was imagined, and the flames from burning vil
lages in the neighbourhood soon warned the
family that no time was to be lost. First of all
the peasants came and begged the princess to
fly to the woods Avith them ; then the gentry of
the district offered their aid for the same purpose,
but these offers Avere declined ; her husband had
told her to stay there, and there she would stay.
At length, the advance of the enemy had proceeded
so far in the direction of Tsinondal, that the prin
cess consented to have all her plate and jcAvels
packed up one night, ready for flight on the
morrow ; but it Avas too late. Soon after dawn
the Lesghians were in the gardens of the castle.
The family doctor and a handful of servants gal
lantly held the gate for a few minutes, but they
were soon shot down, and the place Avas in the
hands of the wild men of the mountains.
The women and children sought refuge in a
garret, whence they heard the smashing of

SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENCE TO TIFLIS. 105
mirrors, pianos, and other furniture. A foAV
Lesghians soon discovered the hiding-place of the
terrified family, and each seized a woman or child
as his share of the booty. As they bore away
thoir prisoners the staircase broke under their
weight, and all fell in a confused heap on the
lower floor. Then there was a murderous fight
for the possession of the ladies ; their garments
were torn to shreds, and some of them wero
wounded. The conquerors picked up the sense
less victims from a heap of dead Lesghians, and
forced them to mount on horseback behind them.
The passage of the Alazana was accomplished
with great danger, and when they reached tho
other side the half-naked ladies wore Avet, chilled,
and miserable. Strange to tell. Princess Baratov,
a beautiful girl of eighteen, had not lost any
article of dress, and was as richly attired as if she
had been on her way to a ball. But poor Mdme.
Dran^ay, the French governess, had nothing left
but a chemise and a corset. A handful of Geor
gians attempted a rescue ; the Lesghians mistook
them for the skirmishers in advance of an army,
and fled. Princess Nina Chavchavadze had^ an
infant in her arms, and after riding for some dis
tance she was so wearied that the baby fell and
was trampled under the horses' feet. She would

io6 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
have leaped after it, but her captor held her fast,
and another man coolly cut the child's throat.
Finding the number of prisoners too large, the
Lesghians killed sixty of them on the road. All
the villages on the way were burned, and their
inhabitants butchered. Then they mounted
through a thick forest and up among the moun
tains to Pokhalski, where Shamil was staying
with an army of ten thousand men. There they
Avere joined by a new prisoner, Niko Chav
chavadze, who, with thirty Georgians, had held a
castle for three days against five hundred Les
ghians, and only surrendered Avhen he had not a
cartridge left. Shamil ordered the princess to
write to Tiflis saying that all the prisoners would
be handed over to Eussia in exchange for his son,
Djemal Eddin, and a fair ransom. In the mean
time the ladies had to make themselves veils of
muslin, and they lived iu the harem of Shamil.
They were, however, treated honourably, and
they always had the highest respect for the great
warrior and prophet.
Eight months elapsed before the negotiations
were concluded, and on the 10th of March, 1855,
the exchange took place at Kasafiurte. Djemal
Eddin, Shamil's son, had since his early youth
been held as a hostage at Petersburg. He Avas a

SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENCE TO TIFLIS. 107
most amiable man ; had .become perfectly Eussian
in his Avay of life, and spoke Eussian, French,
and German fluently ; he was colonel of a regi
ment, and aide-de-camp to the Tsar. It was with
deep regret that he left civilization to return to
the wild life of his native mountains, and in 1858
he died of a broken heart.
Mounting the sloping Tsivi hills, the road
enters Telav by the Boulevard, at one end of
Avhich is the inn ; but on my applying for lodg
ings I was told that the house was under repair,
and travellers could not be entertained. I Avas
recommended to go to " Tho Club." At tho
Club the room offered me was so dirty and cheer
less that I decided to make the post-house my
headquarters. It was only one o'clock in the
afternoon, and I determined to have an early
dinner. In a town like Telav, thought I, it will
bo possible to got something to oat. I first ad
dressed myself to the postmaster, who replied
that boiling-water was the only refreshment he
could offer me, but held out the hope that I might
get dinner in the town. I wandered up and
down the streets for an hour, hungry, thu-sty, and
hot, and then found a dirty eating-house where I
refreshed myself with vodka, eggs, wine, and
bread. It took three quarters of an hour to boil

io8 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
the eggs ! I leave the reader to imagine whether
my first impressions of Telav were favourable or
not. I returned to the station and slept.
It was beginning to get cooler before I went to
examine the objects of interest in the town.
Telav, the capital of the ancient kingdom of
Kakheti, lies in a very strong position on two
hills, about 1400 feet above the Alazana. It was
founded by King Grigal I., first king of Kakheti,
destroyed by the Persians under Shah Abbas in
the sixteenth century, and rebuilt by Irakli II.
The present population is about eight or nine
thousand. In going from the post-house to the
centre of the town I passed through a gateway
in the old wall, which used to surround the whole
city, and is of great antiquity. On the left is the
palace of Irakli II., now used as a grammar-
school for young gentlewomen, and in it may be
seen the room where the old hero died, on
January llth, 1798. There are a couplo of inte
resting old churches, containing curious pictures
and ornaments of a certain artistic value. The
main street is well paved, and has a long arcade
under which are the chief shops. Telav is much
more cheerful than Signakh, although the popu
lation is smaller, and there are comparatively few
Armenians. From a low bridge across the dry

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SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENOE TO TIFLIS. 109
bod of a torrent, one gets a splendid view over
the Alazana to the Caucasian range and tho
country of the Tushes.
When I had seen all the sights of Telav, I felt
bored to death, and was just preparing to leave
the Boulevard for a walk in the country, when a
handsome boy of fourteen, in a cadet's uniform,
ran up and welcomed mo effusively. It Avas
young Prince M  , whom I had mot in Tiflis.
He Avas soon folloAved by his father, a retired
colonel, who has done good service for tho great
white Tsar, and has been Avounded more than once.
Although I had only seen him once or twice
before, he reproached me for not coming to take
up my quarters at his house, and repeatedly
urged me to stay a few days with him. But I
had made up my mind to leave for Tiflis early on
the following morning. We took a walk in tho
park called Nadikari, given to the town by tho
Vakhvakhovs, and enjoyed enchanting vioAvs of
the Alazana dale and the mountains. Eeturning
to my friend's house, we supped, and sat over our
Avine until past midnight. When I left for the
post-house the grey-hea'ded warrior and his
pretty son embraced me and wished me every good
thing. They insisted upon sending with me a ser
vant who carried wine and bread for my journey.

119 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
At four o'clock on the following morning I left
my wooden couch, and seated myself in the stage
coach for Tiflis. I only had two companions, an
Armenian trader of the most objectionable de
scription, and a Georgian schoolmaster on his way
to Odessa for a holiday. The latter was a very
jolly fellow, and intelligent withal. He was an
ardent champion of the doctrines of the First
Ee volution, and of the modern principle of na
tionality. He soon entered into conversation
with me. My unmistakably foreign accent im
mediately roused his curiosity, and when I told
him that I was English he steadfastly refused to
believe . me, asserting that I was a Mingrelian.
The road passes through a few villages, and then,
as it mounts by the side of the river, the houses
become scarcer. On the right are many square
holes iu the face of a steep cliff; they are said,
like those between Tiflis and Mtzkhet, to have
been used as places of refuge in time of war, and
they are approached from a monastery on the
top of the hill. On the left is the monastery of
the Mother of God, a favourite resort of the people
of Telav. The track then runs along the bottom
of the valley, on the right bank of the river
Turdo, amid rich woodland scenery.
It takes a long time to mount to the summit of
Gambori. This winding road had only recently

SIGNAKH TO TELAV, AND THENCE TO TIFLIS. in
been opened to traffic, and there is no posting
yet. The best means of conveyance is the daily
coach, and it is a sIoav and uncomfortable vehicle.
I had been advised to make a good meal at Gam
bori station, and, as the coach waits there for
half an hour, I entered the dukhan, or wine-shop,
Avith this object in view. Alas ! nothing was to
be had but vodka, tobacco, and matches I Be
yond Gambori the scenery becomes quite English-
looking for a time. There is abundance of game
of all kinds, and I saw two fine deer run across
the road behind us. Climbing to a grassy knoll,
bare of trees, we arrived at length at the Pass of
Gambori, deservedly called Cold Mountain (6044
feet above sea level, and thirty-four versts from
Telav), and, leaving Kakheti behind us, descended
into the valley of the lora and the province of
Kartli. Passing the ruined castle of Verena,
built in the fifth century by King Gurgaslan,
we enjoy an ever-changing view of indescribable
loveliness all the way to Lager.
Lager, as the name indicates, is a military post,
and is of some importance on account of its
position, about half-way bet Aveen Tiflis and Telav;
it is the summer quarters of a brigade. The
garrison was not at that time very large, but
there was some talk of increasing it ; indeed, we
met a couple of hundred men and half a dozen

112 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
guns only a few versts beyond the village. The
heat was terrible, and we could not help pitying
the poor soldiers, who were cursing and sweating
as they toiled up the mountain side. The radical
schoolmaster began to descant on the advantages
of universal disarmament, but he was interrupted
by a good little peasant woman from the Eussian
colony at Lager, who replied that it was certainly
very hard, but "if we had not a large army the
EngHsh would come and make slaves of us all."
The next station Avas Udjarma, a fortress of
great importance from the third century to the
fifteenth, but now an uninteresting place, chiefly
remarkable for the fact that the village graveyard
is on the top of a very steep, isolated hill. From
this point the road becomes dull ; it crosses a
bare, windy plain, and is as wearisome as tho
Signakh road, Avhich it moots near Vaziani. Tho
white church of St. David's was soon soon glitter
ing in tho sun ; then Orkhevi was passed, and not
long after sunset we entered Tiflis, hot, dusty,
tired, and hungry, after our journey of 70 versts.
I spent two days in Tiflis, where the heat had by
that time become stifling ; then I regretfully doffed
my Circassian garb, and again submitted to the
bondage of the stiff hnen collar. On the after
noon of the third day I was in Baku.

H3

THE HISTOEY OF GEOEGIA.
Georgian history may be said to begin with
Pharnavaz, the first king of the country, who
reigned in the third century b.o. It is to him
that the invention of tho ordinary civil alphabet
is commonly attributed. From this remote dato
down to the present timo Ave havo an almost
unbroken narrative, the trustworthiness of which
is proved by its agreement Avith the annals of
other lands. Those who are specially interested
in the early history will find in the sequel such
bibliographical references as will enable them to
satisfy their curiosity ; but the present sketch
Avill be confined to the more modem period,
beginning in the eleventh century a.d.
In 1089 David IL, of the Bagratid line, de
scended, if we are to believe tradition, from
David the Psalmist (note the harp and the sling
in the royal arms of Georgia), as well as from
Pharnavaz, came to the throne. During the
reigns of his immediate predecessors the land
had been mercilessly laid waste by the Seldjukid

114 THE KINGDOM OF GEOEGIA.
Turks J but the successes of the Crusaders, and
the temporary decline of the Mahometan power
in the East, enabled him to raise his country to a
very high position. Having boldly attacked tho
Turks, and driven them out of every part of his
dominions, he set himself to rebuild cities, for
tresses, and churches, purged the state and the
church of man3'- abuses, and liberally encouraged
education. These deeds have won for him the
name of David the Beneiver. Georgia enjoyed
prosperity for the next hundred years, and then
came the zenith of the national glory.
In 1184 Queen Tamara succeeded her father,
and reigned twenty-eight years, tho happiest and
most glorious period in the history of the country.
The queen had tho good fortune to be surrounded
by wise counsellors and brave generals, but it is
chiefly to her own virtues that her success is to be
ascribed. The military exploits in which she was
engaged spread her fame throughout the whole
of Asia. Erzerum, Dovin, Trebizond, Sinope,
Samsun, Kars, and Ani saw the triumph of
the Georgian arms, the renowned Eokn Eddin
was signally defeated, and tho Persians were
terror-stricken by her expedition to Khorassan.
Yet she did not neglect home affairs ; she was
the orphan's mother, the widow's judge. Eehgion

QUEEN TAUABA.

rage 114.

THE HISTOEV OP GEOEGIA. 115
Avas the moving force in everything that she did ;
Avhen a large booty was captured, a portion of it
was ahvays set aside for the Blessed Virgin, and
churches soon sprang up in every village. She
daily spent much time in prayer, and made gar
ments for the poor with her own fair, queenly
hands. There is a tradition to tho effect that
she every day did as much work as would pay for
her food, and although this is probably an exag
geration, it serves to show what the character of
the queen Avas.
Her literary talents were of no mean order;
when she had won a battle, she could, like
Deborah, tell forth her triumph in a sweet, glad
song to the Lord of Hosts, and one, at least, of
these psalms is still preserved ; but it is chiefly
as the inspirer and patroness of poets that she is
famous. Such fragments of her correspondence
as Ave have before us reveal the fact that she was
no mean diplomatist. Ono of them especially
breathes forth a noble spirit of fearless faith.
Eokn Eddin had raised an army of 800,000 men,
and was preparing to march against Georgia.
Before setting out he sent an ambassador to the
queen, asking her to renounce Christianity and
become his wife, and concluding the letter with
the threat that if she would not submit, he would
I 2

Ii6 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
come and make her his mistress. The ambas
sador who proposed such insolent terms would
have been killed by Tamara's courtiers if she
had not protected him. She wrote back calmly,
expressing her trust in God, and declaring her
determination to destroy Eokn Eddin and his
infidel hosts. She finishes with a truly womanly
touch : " Knowing how careless your men are, I
do not return this by your messenger, but send
one of my own servants with it."
Not contented Avith driving the Mahometans
out of her own land, she sent ambassadors to
the Christian communities in Alexandria, Libya,
Mount SLnai, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Greece, and Eu-
mania, to offer them help if they needed it; and
in order to secure orthodoxy in the theology of
her people, she commanded that a great disputa
tion should bo held between the doctors of the
Georgian and Armenian Churches.
Her private life was not free from trouble.
Three years after her accession she Avas prevailed
upou to marry a Eussian prince, Bogoliubovskoi,
Avho had been driven out of his dominions in
Muscovy. This individual conducted himself
towards his consort in a shameful manner, and,
after enduring his indignities for a long time, she
complained to the ecclesiastical authorities, who

THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA. ii7
granted her a divorce. Sho had no children by
her first husband, so tho nobles of tho kingdom
pressed her to marry again, in order that sho
might havo an heir. Her beauty and her fame
brought her suitors from tho most distant lands.
Mahometans renounced their religion for her, and
there Avere many that died for love of her. Sho
chose Prince DaA'^id Soslan, an Osset, who, by his
bravery and devotion, proved himself Avorthy to
possess such a pearl among women, and she bore
him a son, called Giorgi Lasha, in 1104, and a
daughter, Eusudan, in 1195. Bogoliubovskoi,
although ho had been treated far beyond his
deserts, twico invaded Georgia, but Avithout
success. In 1212, Avearied by her continual campaigns,
and sorroAV-stricken at the death of her husband
and her greatest general, Tamara died, and left
the throne to her son, Giorgi Lasha, at that time
eighteen years of ago. The young king was no
sooner crowned than Ganja revolted, and this
Avas soon followed by a still greater calamity,
tho invasion of Genghis Khan. Giorgi lod
90,000 troops against tho Mongols, but Avas
defeated, lu the meautimo tho Shah of Persia
had asked for the hand of tho beautiful Eusudan,
and the Shah of Shirvan made a hke demand. \

Ii8 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
Giorgi promised his sister to the latter, but he
died in 1223.
Busudan now became queen, and rejected both
suitors in favour of Mogit Eddin, Lord of Erze
rum. The Sultan of Khorassan thereupon deso
lated Georgia and took Tiflis, and the Persians
and Mongols together made terrible havoc for a
time. Eusudan at last submitted to the Mongols,
and sent her son to the great Khan as a hostage.
Georgia had now sunk very low indeed, and in
1243, on the death of Eusudan, her son, David IV.,
and her nephew, David V., divided tho kingdom
between them. Henceforth Kartli and Imereti
Avere independent.
For the next 200 years Ave read of nothing but
battles, sieges, raids, and in 1445 King A.lexander
completely destroyed tho unity of tho kingdom
by dividing it among his throe sons. Ho gave
Karth to Vakhtang, Imereti to Dimitri, Kakheti
to Giorgi. In course of time Mingreli, Guri,
Apkhazi, Svaneti, all revolted, and tho land
became the prey of Turks and Persians alter
nately, although even in its distracted condition,
its people never lost their bravery, and were
always respected by their enemies. Now and
then the Mahometans succeeded in conquering
one or other of the provinces, but it was never

THE HISTOEY OF GEORGIA. "9
long before they were driven out again, and fire
and sword carried into their own land.
Towards the end of the sixteenth century we
find the country divided between the two great
Mahometan powers, who had long made it their
battle-field. Mingreli, Guri, Saatabago, and Imereti
Avcro hold by tho Turks ; Kartli, Kakheti, Som-
khcti, and Kartuban voluntarily submitted to
Persia, and Avero, in consequence, repeatedly
devastated by tho Tatar allies of the Ottoman
Empire. In 1586 King Alexander II. of Kakheti
sent ambassadors to the Tsar Feodor Ivanovich,
asking for help, and a treaty was signed, accord
ing to which the Eussian monarch agreed to
protect Kakheti against the Turks, and to send
troops to tho Caucasus for this purpose. Shah
Abbas tho Groat made no objection to this treaty,
for ho himself Avas anxious to gain the alliance of
tho Muscovites against Turkey.
Early in tho seventeenth cpntury King Giorgi
of Kartli also sought Eussian protection, and it
is probable that Eussia and Georgia would havo
been brought into very intimate connection by
royal marriages, &c., if the death of Tsar Boris
Godunov, and that of King Giorgi, who was
poisoned by order of Shah Abbas, had not broken
off the negotiations. The Persian Shah, suspect-

I20 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
ing King Alexander of Kakheti of a treasonable
correspondence with the Turks, sent against him
his (Alexander's) own son, Konstantin, who had
been brought up at the Persian Court, and had
embraced Islam. This apostate mercilessly killed
his father and brother; but the nobles rose
against him, and almost annihilated his army,
whereupon he fled to the Lesghians, and offered
to allow tliom to plunder Tiflis for three days
if they would help him. They agreed. The
nobles were defeated, and the land was again
given up to the devastating infidels.
King Teimuraz of Kakheti, grandson of Alex
ander, in 1619, from a hiding-place in the
mountains, sent an embassy to the Tsar Mikhail
Feodorovich, beseeching him to have pity on his
Georgian fellow-Christians. The Tsar requested
Shah Abbas to cease from persecuting the Geor
gians, and his wish Avas granted in the most
friendly way possible. Not only was Teimuraz
allowed to return to Kakheti, but Kartli also
was given to him, and remained a part of his
kingdom until 1634, when it was taken from him
and given to Eostom, a Mahometan. In 1653
Eostom took Kakheti also, and Teimuraz was
obliged to seek refuge at the Court of Imereti,
whence he proceeded to Moscow to ask for help ;

THE HISTOEY OF GEORGIA. 121
but in consoquenco of tho Avar then being Avagcd
against Poland, tho Tsar could not spare any
troops. Teimuraz returned to Georgia, and Avas
taken prisoner by the Shah.
Imereti Avas at this timo governed by King
Bagrat, Avho came to tho throne at tho ago of
fifteen, his stepmother, Daredjan, being appointed
regent. Daredjan endeavoured to gain the loA'^e
of tho young king, who was already married to
her niece, and on his refusal to listen to her
incestuous proposals, sho had his eyes put out,
and married Vakhtang Dshudshuna, Avhom she
proclaimed king. Assisted by tho Pasha of
Akhaltaikho, tho loyal Imeretians replaced Bag-
rat tho Blind on tho throne, and then the eyes of
Vakhtang Avero put out, and ho and Daredjan
Avero imprisoned.
On the death of Eostom, in 1658, Vakhtang IV.,
of the Mukhran family, became King of Kartli
and Kakheti, and reigned till 1676. When he
died his son Giorgi usurped the throne of Kartli,
leaving only Kakheti to his elder brother Archil,
who journeyed to Moscow, but did not get the
desired aid from Eussia. He then returned to
the Caucasus, five times succeeded in obtaining
the crown of Imereti, and five times was deposed.
He died in Eussia in 1713.

122 \ THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
In 1703 Vakhtang V. came to the throne of
Kartli. The first seven years of his reign were
spent as a prisoner in Ispahan. In 1723 there
Avas a fresh invasion of Turks, and, thinking his
kingdom irrevocably lost, he fled to Eussia, Avhere
he died.
Shah Nadir usurped the croAvn of Persia in 1736,
and freed Kartli and Kakheti from the Turkish
yoke. A little before his accession, in 1732, Eussia
had renounced in favour of Persia all right to the
land between the Terek and the Kura. Nadir
ingratiated himself with the Georgian nobility,
and always gave them the post of honour in
tho victorious campaigns for Avhich his reign is
famous. Almost all tho great Avarriors of tho
land accompanied him on his Indian march of
conquest, and his especial favourite Avas L'alil,
tho son of Teimuraz, King of Kartli and Kakheti.
An interesting story is told concerning the young
Avarrior, in connection with this expedition. Kan
dahar having been taken in 1737, Nadir Avas
marching towards Scinde, Avhen he arrived at a
certain column bearing an inscription which fore
told death to those who went beyond it. Irakli,
at that time only nineteen years of age, solved
the difficulty by ordering the stone to be placed
on the back of an elephant, which was led before

THE HISTOEY OF GEOEGIA. 123
the army. Scinde was conquered, and Irakli Avas
richly reAvarded. The Shah endeavoured to per
suade the young prince to renounce the Christian
religion, but neither threats nor caresses pre
vailed. India having been conquered. Nadir
dismissed Irakli in 1739, and then invaded
Central Asia, taking Balkh, Bokhara, Samar
kand, Avhenco he returned to the Caucasus and
made Avar on tho Lesghians. Irakli continued to
distinguish himself by great bravery. On tho
Aragva he defeated 2000 Turks and Lesghians,
Avas the first to cross the swollen river under a
heavy musketry fire, and killed the leader of the
enemy with his own hand. For this service
Nadir bestowed upon him the kingdom of Kak
heti in 1744.
In 1747 Shah Nadir Avas assassinated, and a
period of anarchy began in Persia. AgaMahmad
Khan, tho chief eunuch, usurped the dignity of
Shah. Teimuraz and Irakli saved Erivan from the
Persians in 1748, and this city paid tribute to
Georgia until 1800, when the people, not wishing
to fall into the hands of Eussia, invited Persia to
take the place. In 1749 Irakli, with 3000 men,
signally defeated 18,000 Persians at Karaboulakh
and again saved Erivan ; then Ganja was taken,
the Lesghians were dispersed, and an alliance was

124 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
made with the Cherkesses. Teimuraz went to
Eussia in 1760; Tsaritsa Elizabeth received him
Avith great honour, and promised to send troops
to Georgia, but she died in 17G1, and Teimuraz
only survived her about a fortnight.
Irakli now succeeded to tho throne of Kartli,
and thus reunited this kingdom to Kakheti.
The Catholicos Antoni, the most learned Georgian
of his time, was recalled from exile in Eussia and
made patriarch ; he founded at Tiflis and Telav
schools Avhero the " ucav philosophy " of Bac-
meister was taught, translated many educational
Avorks into his native tongue, reformed tho Church
and encouraged literature.
A plot was formed against the king's life in
1765, under the following circumstances : Eliza
beth, Irakli's sister, had been married for three
years to a certain Giorgi, son of Dimitri Amilak-
horishvili, who, for physical reasons, had been
unable to consummate the marriage. Elizabeth
applied for and obtained a divorce. Dimitri
thought himself insulted in the person of his son,
and he and his friends began to conspire Avitli
Paata, a natural son of Vakhtang V., Avho had been
educated in Eussia and England, and had just
arrived in Georgia from the Persian court. Paata
was to kill Irakli and proclaim himself king.

IBAKLI II

Fago 124.

THE HISTOEY OF GEORGIA. 125
The conspiracy was discovered in time, and all
those who had taken part in it were punished with
death or mutilation.
Solomon, king of Imereti, had, in the meantime,
been driven from his throne by the treachery of
some of his nobles, Avho delivered Kutais,
Shorapan and other fortresses to the Turks. He
appealed to Catherine of Eussia for help. Count
Todleben arrived in the Caucasus Avith 5000 men
in 1769, and Kutais Avas taken back, and Imereti
freed from the oppression of the Turks. In the
following year a great plague devastated the
Avhole of Transcaucasia, <;000 died in Tiflis alone.
Tho Holy Spear from the Armenian Convent at
Edchmiadzin was brought out, and tho plague
ceased ; Avheroupon the Lesghians demanded that
tho precious relic should be sent to them also ; a
spear was made exactly like the holy ono, and it
produced the same beneficent effect. Todleben
was succeeded by Sukhotin, and in 1772, peace
having been restored, the Eussians returned
homoAvard. But no sooner Avere they gone than
the Turks again invaded Imereti ; King Solomon,
however, defeated them with great slaughter,
killing many with his OAvn hand.
Irakli's kingdom enjoyed comparative peace and
prosperity for a time, aud advantage was taken of

126 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
this to disband the regular army and organize a
militia, for the defence of the country against the
raids of the irrepressible Lesghians. The king and
his sons set an example to the people by subject
ing themselves to the same discipline as private
individuals, and those who did not present them
selves for service were sought out and beaten with
sticks. In 1779 tho Khan of Erivan refused to
pay tribute, and strongly fortified the city ; the
Georgians took the place and carried off several
Armenians, who Avere removed to Tiflis, Gori, and
Signakh, Avhere they now constitute the trading
and money-lending community.
In 1795 happened the terrible catastrophe
Avhich was to bring about tho ruin of Georgia — tho
destruction of Tiflis by the Shah Aga Mahmad.
The Persians marched through Armenia in great
force, and reached the banks of the Kura without
meeting with any serious opposition. Their
advanced guard was attacked by the Georgians
just outside the city, and Avas defeated on the
10th of September. Speaking of this battle, the
Shah himself said, " I never saw so valorous a
foe." On the following day the main body
arrived, and Tiflis was taken by storm. King
Irakli was so overcome with grief that he must
have fallen into the hands of the enemy had not

THK HISTOIiY OF GEORGIA. 127
a fow faithful nobles forcibly removed him from
tho captured city aud convoyed him to Mtiuleii,
on tho Aragva. Almost all tho Georgian artillery,
thirty-five guns, was taken, and the city and its
environs were burnt to the ground.
For six days the work of destruction went on ;
women and young children Avere barbarously
murdered, and the stench of rotting corpses made
the place uninhabitable. A Persian historian says,
" The brave Persian army sliOAVcd tho unbelieving
Georgians Avhat is iu store for them at the day of
judgment." All this havoc might have been pre
vented if Eussia had sent tho troops which sho
had solemnly promised by her treaties Avitli Irakli,
for the Shah had been making preparations for
the invasion four months before it took place, and
both Eussia and Georgia were Avell aware of this.
Prince Giorgi, unworthy son of such a father,
had been repeatedly ordered to bring his army to
Tiflis, but ho refused. No sooner did he hear of
the fall of the capital than he prepared to flee from
Sio-nakh, although the place was strongly fortified,
and there were many armed men there ; but the
inhabitants refused to let him go, and it was only
by bribing his guards that he succeeded in escap-
ino- to Telav. Not one of Irakli's sons served him
in the hour of his need.

23 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
Ik^tzkhet was captured and burnt, but the
famous cathedral was spared, at the entreaty of
the Khan of Nakhitshevan, who remonstrated
against the desecration of the tomb of so many
of Georgia's brave kings.
From Mtiuleti, Irakli proceeded to Ananur.
The Shah sent after him 8000 men, guided by one
ofthe king's own courtiers, but they were defeated.
Aga Mahmad then offered to give up all the pri
soners as Avell as the citadel of Tiflis if Irakli
Avould renounce his treaty with Eussia, and be
come tributary to Persia ; but Irqjcli Avould not
hear of any terms, hoAvever favourable, which
Avould force him to be false to his alliance with
Eussia, although she, on her part, had forsaken
him. He quickly assembled an army and marched
to the southward, met the Persians between
Kodjori and Krtsani and defeated them, re-taking
Tiflis on the Gth of October.
A large Eussian force now arrived and took
Derbent, Shemakha, Baku, and several other for
tresses in Daghestan, but the death of the Empress
Catherine in 1796 put an end to the campaign,
for Tsar Paul recalled all the troops from Trans
caucasia. In 1797 Aga Mahmad Khan was again
marching against Georgia, when he was fortu
nately assassinated, like his predecessor Nadir.

THE HISTOEY OF GEOEGIA. 129
Plague and famine came to slay those who had
escaped the sword of the Persians, and, worst of
all, the great IrakH died in January, 1798, at the
age of eighty, after a career almost unparalleled
in history. Frederick of Prussia might well say,
" Moi en Europe, et en Asie Tinvincible Hercule,
roi de Georgie."
Giorgi now succeeded to the throne, and entered
into negotiations with Persia, but Tsar Paul heard
of the proposed alhance and outbid the Shah. A
treaty was signed, confirming the throne to the
Bagratid dynasty for ever, and promising military
aid whenever it might be necessary. Alexander,
the king's brother, now raised a revolt, Avhich was
put down with the help ofthe Eussians ; after all
he had a grievance, for Irakli's will declared that
he was to succeed Giorgi, while the Eussians had
persuaded the king to appoint as his heir his son
David, a major-general in the Eussian army.
Alexander now appealed to Persia for aid, which
he obtained, and in a three hours' battle at
Kakabeti, on the lora, he and Omar Khan, with
an army of 12,000 men, were defeated. Giorgi
died in 1800, and Georgia was then formally
incorporated in the Eussian empire.
(jcneral Knorring, the first governor, proceeded
to the country with 10,000 men, and in the fol-
K

I30 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
lowing year, under Tsar Alexander I., the annexa
tion was confirmed. In 1803 Prince Tsitsishvili,
a Georgian, succeeded Knorring. By his advice
all the royal family were summoned to Eussia,
" in order to prevent civil dissensions," and this
removal was accompanied by a very unfortunate
incident. Queen Maria, widoAv of Giorgi, refused
to go ; General Lazarev proceeded early one morn
ing to the queen's sleeping apartments with seme
soldiers and attempted to force her to accompany
him; she killed him Avith a dagger wliich she had
concealed under her dress, and her young son and
daughter stabbed some of the soldiers. They
were, of course, overpowered and carried off; at
Dariel, in the narrowest part of the pass, a few
Tagaur Ossets made a vain attempt at a rescue.
Queen Maria was kept imprisoned in a convent at
Voronezh for seven years, and never saw her
native land again.
Tsitsishvili set himself to improve the condition
of the country as much as possible. He began
the military road over the Caucasus in 1804. He
succeeded in persuading King Solomon of Imereti
to acknowledge the Tsar as his suzerain, but
Solomon soon began to intrigue with the Turks
again. After taking Gandja by storm, and sub
duing a rising of the mountaineers under Phar-

THE HISTORY OF GEOEGIA. 131
navaz and lulon, sons of Irakli, Tsitsishvili
marched against Baku, where he was treacherously
murdered by the Khan of that city in 1806.
Count Gudovich was now appointed com
mander-in-chief, and his courtesy won for him
the friendship of the Georgian people. Kakheti
voluntarily submitted to his rule. He defeated
the Turks in several battles, but was unsuccessful
in his attack on Erivan, where he lost 2000 men.
He was then recalled and made governor-general
of Moscow. General Tormasov was the next
ruler of Georgia, and he continued the Avar
against the Turks, who wero aided by King
Solomon of Imereti. Poti was taken in 1810,
and Princess Nina of Mingreli, Avho Avas allied to
tho Eussians, herself led her troops to the
assault. Sukhum was also taken. King Solo
mon was persuaded to go to a certain village in
Kartli to sign a treaty of peace with Eussia.
The Eussians treacherously seized him by night,
and carried him off to prison in Tiflis, but he
escaped in disguise, and fled to Akhaltsikhe,
where he was received by the Turks with great
honour. He returned to Imereti, and the whole
country rose in his favour. There were revolts
in Kakheti, and even among the Ossets, but they
were soon crushed by force of numbers. Then
K 2

132 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
came a plague which carried off vast numbers of
victims in Imereti.
Tormasov was replaced by Paulucci, who, after
a few months, was, in his turn, superseded by
Etishtshef. In 1813 took place the famous
storming of Lenkoran, on the Caspian, by
General Kotliarevski, followed by the Gulistan
Treaty of Peace, which was signed on behalf of
Persia by Sir Gore Ouseley, British ambassador
at Teheran.
King Solomon died at Trebizond in 1815, and
with him ended the troublous existence of
Imereti as an independent kingdom. In about
three and a half centuries thirty kings had sat on
the Imeretian throne, twenty-two of them were
dethroned (one of them, Bagrat the Blind, eight
times), seven died a violent death, three were
blinded. Yermolov became governor-general in 1816,
and soon afterwards the Chechens and Daghes-
tanians began to give the Eussians serious
trouble. Then the clergy raised a national
movement in Imereti, in which Guri and Apkhazi
joined, and in Mingreli, hitherto faithful, the
Dadian's brother revolted. All these efforts to
shake off the Eussian yoke were, of course, fruit
less, and they ended in 1822 with the capture of

THE n [STORY OP GEORGIA. 133
Zakatali from the Lesghians. Then the Cher
kesses (Circassians) broke into rebellion, and in
1826 Persia again declared war against Eussia
and marched 60,000 men into Georgia. Aided
by the Lesghians and the Kakhetians, under
Alexander, son of Irakli, they were at first suc
cessful, but tho tide turned, and Erivan, Tavriz,
and other places saw Eussia victorious.
Paskevich succeeded Yermolov in 1827, and
the peace of Turkmenchai having been concluded
Avith Persia, Avar Avas declared against Turkey.
The Eussians took Kars, Poti, Akhalkalaki,
Akhaltsikhe, Bayazid from the Turks, and in
1829 the belhgerents signed tho treaty of
Adrianople. In 1830 Kasi-mullah began his revolt, and
brought about a general rising among the Maho
metan peoples of the Caucasus. Baron Eo.sen,
who took tho command of t;ho army in 1831, cap
tured Gimri, and Kasi-mullah Avas killed. Golo
vin (1837), Neidhart (1842), and Prince Voront
sov (1844 — 1854) enjoyed comparative peace,
and were able to turn their attention to the in
ternal condition of the country. Prince Voront
sov especially deserves credit for his honest and
painstaking efforts to ameliorate the economic
situation of Georgia, and it flatters our national

134 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
pride to remember that that statesman was
English by birth and education, if not by blood.
The pacification of Daghestan did not, as was
expected, follow the death of Kasi-mullah. A
greater prophet and warrior arose to take the
place of the vanquished hero of Gimri. Shamil,
after carrying on a guerilla warfare for about ten
years, raised the Avhole of the Eastern Caucasus
in 1843, and continued to inflict a series of crush
ing defeats on the Eussian generals who were
sent to oppose him. The declaration of war with
Turkey in 1853 raised the hopes of the Lesghians,
but the utter incapacity of the Turkish leaders
in Armenia prevented the realization of those
hopes. Everybody is familiar with the incidents
of Shamil's career down to the capture at Gunib
in 1859 ; but it seems to me that too little atten
tion has been devoted to the remarkable rehgious
system which inspired tho Murids to thoir mar
vellous deeds of valour. It is surely a noto-
worthy fact that the mysticism of the Sufis
should have been found to be compatible with a
purely militant faith like Islam.
During the last thirty years little of interest
has happened in Georgia. The appointment of
the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich to the lieu
tenancy of the Caucasus in 1862, the gradual

THE HISTOEY OF GEORGIA. 135
freeing of the serfs, the construction of railway
and telegraph lines of comraimication, tho found
ing of ono or two banks, schools, and other
establishments of public utility, are the chief
events which the annalist has to chronicle.
" Free " Svaneti Avas conquered a few years
ago, and, for tho present, Eussia's supremacy is
undisputed as far as tho frontiers of Turkey and
Persia. Even the last Avar betAveen Eussia and
Turkey was not accompanied by any visible com
motion among tho peoples of tho Caucasus.
There is as yet no history of Georgia in the
sense in Avhich we noAV understand the word.
Those works which are dignified with the name
are merely more or less trustworthy collections of
materials, which in their present form produce
only a feeling of bewilderment in the reader.
We trust that a man worthy of the task will
seriously take the annals of his nation in hand,
and present them to the world in an intelligible
form ; and we also cherish the hope that he will
not finish his task without being able to chronicle
the new birth of a strong, independent state
worthy to maintain the fame of Irakli and
Tamara.

136 THE KINGDOM OF GEOEGIA.

\
THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATUEB OF
GEOEGIA.
The origin of the Kartlian or Kartvelian language
is still involved in some doubt, but the general
opinion of philologists seems to be that it does not
belong to the Indo-European family, although it
has been powerfully influenced by Zend, Sanskrit,
Persian, and Armenian. The ancient speech of
the country is preserved to us in the ecclesiasti
cal rituals and books of devotion, which are
written in characters differing very considerably
from the civil alphabet, the " war hand," the in
vention of the latter being ascribed to King
Pharnavaz I., a contemporary of Alexander the
Great. The Khutsuri, or ecclesiastical character,
bears a striking resemblance to Armenian ; an
excellent specimen of it may be seen in the
British Museum Library, in the famous Moscow
Bible of 1743, recently purchased. The number
of letters is the same in both alphabets, viz.
thirty-eight, and the modern alphabet is as
follows : —

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 137

6

a

L

s

S

b

0

t

8

g

'a

U (oo)

^

d

?
vi (veo)
0
e
s
T)h (P followed by sound
^ ofh)
3
v
c
C
k
%
z
s?
gh (guttural)
0
& (short)
^
(somethins; like a
guttural k)
CO
th (not English <A but t
foUowed by sound
ofh)
3p 1
bL
o
i (English ee)
ch
3
9
0
Cf
tz
1
m
dz
6
n
s
dch
.a.
i (short)
b
kh
CIV
0
s
khh
i
P
X
i
¦{0
zh r
1 a:
h
ho
The orthography is purely phonetic. There is
very little difference between the language of the
138 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
sacred books and that of to-day, not nearly so
much as between Anglo-Saxon and English ; but
many foreign words have been introduced in
modem times.
The earliest specimens of Georgian literature
which have come down to us are translations of
the Scriptures, and theological works written
under the influence of the Greek clergy, who,
until the eleventh century, occupied almost all
the high ecclesiastical offices in the land.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries of our
era the relations between Georgia and Greece
were of the most intimate character. The young
nobles of the court of King David the Eenewer
and his immediate successors frequented the
schools of Athens, and brought back with them
Platonic and Aristotelian teachings which exerted
a very powerful influence on the intellectual and
social life of that period, and prepared the way
for the golden age of Georgian literature, which
dawned on the accession of Queen Tamara.
Sulkhan Orbeliani, in the preface to his dic
tionary, compiled early in the eighteenth century,
says that he consulted translations of Proklus,
Platonicus, Nemesis, Aristotle, Damascenus,
Plato, Porphyry, and many other Greek writers.
If these MSS. were still extant, they might prove
valuable to classical scholars.

BUSTAVELI.

Page 138.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 139
During the stormy times that soon followed,
tho countless lyrical pieces which were produced
were nearly all lost, but the epic Avhich is now
looked upon as the greatest masterpiece in the
language has escaped with but a fow mutilations.
This is "Tho Man in tho Panther's Skin"
(Vepkhvis Tkaosani) by Shota Bustavdi.
History tells us very little about Shota Eusta-
veli. We only know that he was born in the
village of Eustavi, near Akhaltsikhe, that he re
ceived his education in Athens, returned to his
native land, where he wrote his great work, was
secretary to Queen Tamara, then became a monk,
and died in the monastery of the Holy Cross,
near Jerusalem, whore his portrait may still bo
seen. Tradition says that tho poet was pas
sionately enamoured of his royal mistress, and
this assertion seems to be borne out by many
passages in the poem.
During nearly seven centuries of ceaseless
struggles for freedom, the Georgians have kept
this great Avork fresh in their minds. It has
inspired them with hope and courage in the
darkest hours, and at the present day it is as
great a favourite as it ever was. Not only are
many of its verses household words in cottage
and hall, but there are not a few Georgians, es
pecially among the women, who know every

I40 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
word of it by heart ; indeed, there was a time
when no woman was allowed to marry unless
she could repeat the whole poem. The reason
for this extraordinary popularity is to be found
in the fact that the poem is a thoroughly national
one in its smallest details. Although the heroes
and heroines are described as Arabians, Indians,
Chinese, they are all Georgians to the very finger
tips. The plot is of the simplest description possible.
Eostevan, a patriarchal Eastern king, who has
renounced the throne of Arabia in favour of his
daughter Tinatina, is out hunting one day with
Avtandil, one of his generals, when he sees a
weeping youth of wondrous beauty, dressed in a
panther's skin. The king orders his guards to
seize the stranger, but the latter kills several of
them and mysteriously escapes, whereupon the
old king falls into a fit of sadness so deep that
Tinatina at length promises her hand to the
knight who will satisfy her father's curiosity.
Avtandil sets out to seek the man in the pan
ther's skin, wanders about for three years,
meeting with wondrous adventures, before he
finds the object of his search, who turns out
to be Tariel, a young knight enamoured of
Nestan Daredjan, daughter of the king of

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 141
India, and then returns to claim the hand of his
queen. In Avtandil we have a Christian chevalier of
the East who is worthy of comparison with our
Eolands and Eed Cross Knights, while Tariel is
a wild Mussulman, Avhose passion drives him to
excesses worthy of Amadis of Gaul.
The interest is powerfully sustained all through
tho poom, and its dramatic unity is never lost
sight of; yet, however interesting the narrative
may bo, it is chiefly as a picture of life in Georgia
in the days of Tamara that " The Man in the
Panther's Skin " is valuable.
Tinatina, who is none other than Tamara
herself, is described as follows : —
" One daughter only had the aged king,
And she was fair as is the Eastern sun.
Ho upon whom her gaze but once did rest
Was ravish'd of his heart and soul and thought."
Tinatina is a beautiful type of womanhood,
such as we might expect to find in the literature
of Western Europe, but hardly in a little coun
try standing alone amid the wild hordes of
Asia. Her wisdom, her strength of character,
the purity and loyalty of her love, have made her
the model of many a generation of Eustaveli's

142 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
countrywomen, who have ever behaved nobly
alike in joy and sorrow.
Avtandil is thus portrayed : —
"A prince's son was Avtandil, the very first
'Mong all the bravest warriors of tho aged king.
His form was slender as the cypress-tree,
And clear and beauteous was his piercing glance.
Tliough young, his soul was true and strong
As adamant is hard.
The fire from Tinatina's eyes had long
Set his young heart aflame with strong desire,
And stricken him Avith wounds that never heal'd.
Many a day he hid his burning love.
And sunder'd from bis mistress, all the red
Fled from his roselike, tender cheeks ;
But soon as fate did bring him near to her again.
The wildly beating heart crimson'd his face,
Aud all his aching wounds did gape afresh.
Thus hidden love doth torture youthful breasts."
From " The Man in the Panther's Skin " we
learn that the ideal hero of Eustaveli's times was
distinguished for bravery, truthfulness, loyalty
to promises, self-sacrifice, munificence, and
burning love.
" Falsehood's the root of all the thousand ills
That curse our race. Lying and faithlessness twin sisters
are.
Why should I try to cheat my fellow-man 1
Is this the use to which my learning should be put ?
Ah, no t far other aims our hearts inspire,
We learn, that we may near the angelic choir."

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEOEGIA. I43
The most famous line in the whole poem is,
perhaps, the one which says : —
" A glorious death is better than a life of shame."
And many a warrior has sought death, in the
hour of defeat, with these words on his lips.
Another verse which has become proverbial
is : —
" That which thou dost on other's wants bestow, is thine,
While that thou hoardest is all lost to thee."
The ideas of love expressed by Eustaveli are
partly of the 0 vidian type, without any of the
indelicacy of the Latin poet. But he had not
studied Plato for nought, and we see in his work
traces of those metaphysical theories which S.
Bonaventura, Dante, and many of their contem
poraries and successors found in Christianity.
In the last strophe we have a prophecy, con
scious or unconscious, of the evil days that were
about to dawn.
" Their deeds are ended, like a dream at night.
With them their golden age has ended too.
Far other days have dawn'd.
Such is that old deceiver Time ; he makes
That which at first did everlasting seem
As short as is the twinkling of an eye."
As far as style is concerned, we find that Eus-

144 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
taveli strikingly resembles the European writers
of his own time, to wit the troubadours, and we
can easily imagine that his career was not unlike
that of some of those sweet singers who enjoyed
the favour of the noble ladies of France and
Italy. Among the great poets of Europe,
Ariosto and Tasso are, perhaps, the ones who
are most akin to Eustaveli. The Platonism of
the latter furnishes another ground of resem
blance, in addition to the similarity of theme.
The poem in its present form consists of about
1600 quatrains. There are sixteen syllables in
each line, and the four lines end with the same
rhyme. The rhythm is due to the accents, as in
English verse, and may be called hexametric, i.e.
there are in each line six feet, divided into two
sets of three by means of the caesura ; the fourth
line invariably begins with the particle *, which
does not count as a syllable.
As far as I know, the poem has not been
translated into any European language ; although
fragments and abstracts of it have been pub
lished in Eussian and Polish magazines, and I
have seen the name of " Eostawelo " quoted in
one of Gioberti's works. By the publication of
a carefully collated text, about a year ago,
Georgian critics have prepared the way for

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 145
those who may wish to make tho national epic
known to European readers.
Among the contemporaries of Eustaveli may
be mentioned the following : —
Chakhrukhadze, the author of the " Tamariani,"
a long poem in honour of Queen Tamara ; it is
composed entirely of epithets, thus : —
" Tamartsknari, shcsatsknari, khmanarnari, pirmtsinari,
Mse mtsinari, sachinari, takalimknari, momdinari,"
i.e. " Tamara, tho mild, tho pleasing, tlio sweetly speaking, tho
kindly smiling,
Tlie sunlike shining one, the majestic, the gently moving,
like a full river."
Shavteli was even more highly prized than
Eustaveli, but his greatest Avork is lost. Khoneli
and TmokveJl, the former in " Darodjaniani," the
latter in " Visramiani " and " Dilariani," have
left us romances of chivalry and adventure which
aro still much admired, and are Avell worthy of
comparison Avith the best European literature of
tho same class. About the same time the na
tional chronicle, called "Kartlis tzkhovreba," i.e.
Georgia's Life, was written.
This period of literary activity was brought to
an abrupt close by the terrible invasion of
Genghis Khan, and for about four centuries the

146 THE KINGDOM OP GEOEGIA.
incessant wars in which the country was engaged.
gave plenty of opportunity for acting romances,
but little time for writing them.
Towards the end of the seventeenth century
Prince Sulkhan Orbeliani described his ** Journey
through Europe," and wrote a collection of
fables and folk-tales, lately published in Eus
sian. Orbeliani had lived at the court of Louis
XIV., and was very friendly with La Fontaine,
who is indebted to the Georgian prince for some
of his fables. His greatest service-to his country
was, however, the compilation of a dictionary,
containing 25,000 words, which has formed tho
basis for all later lexicographical works.
In 1712 King Vakhtang VI. opened a printing
office in Tiflis, and issued the chief poems and
romances of the Tamarian period at such a price
as to make them attainable by all his subjects.
IrakH IL, of glorious memory, continued to act as
the Augustus of Georgian literature, and in the
Catholicos Antoni it found a Maecenas or Pollio.
The chief writers of the eighteenth century Avere
Prince Vakhusht, son of Vakhtang VI., who com
piled a " History of Georgia " and a " Geography
of Georgia," and tho Catholicos Antoni, Avho pub
hshed many educational and religious AVOrks.
Guramoshvili and Savatnava sang the triumphs of

TIIE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 147-
Irakli in poAverful lyrics which are still familiar to
every peasant.
Tho folloAving serenade belongs to this period ; it
was copied doAvn by Pushkin in 1829, and he says
of it, " There is in it a certain Oriental inconse
quence which is not altogether devoid of poetical
worth." •• Soul newly born in Paradiso !
Soul made for my doliglit !
From Ihoo, thou dcatlilcss ono,
I wait for life.
From thcc, thou ilowcry springtide, moon biit two
weeks old,
From thee, my guardian angol,
I wait for life.
With joyous smiles tliy face doth shino.
I would not change tliy glance against tho throne of
all tho world. From tlico I wait for life.
Rose of tho mountain, wet with tho dew of dawn 1
Nature's chief favourite I Hidden treasure house I
From thee I wait for life."
It was not, however, until the present century
Avas well begun, that Georgian poetry abandoned
the " Oriental inconsequence " to which I have
just referred ; the literary awakening Avhich began
about sixty or seventy years ago was largely due
to the. work of Western poets, such as Byron,
with whom the Georgians became familiar chiefly
L 2

148 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
through Pushkin and Lermontov. Prince Alex-
ander Chavchavadze (1786 — 1846), a general in the
Eussian service, was the founder of the modern
school ; his song is all of love and wine. The
influence of Western romanticism is still more
clearly visible in the earlier productions of Bara-
tashvlli (1816 — 1846), but he succeeded in throw
ing off the gloomy misanthropy of his youth, and
had the courage to acknowledge that ho had been
deluded by that " evil spirit " of Byronism.
To Prince Giorgi Eristavi fell the task of
familiarizing his countrymen with the poetical
hterature of Europe. He was exiled to Poland
for his share in a plot against the Eussian govern
ment, and spent his leisure in studying Mickiewicz,
Schiller, Petrarch, and Pushkin, selections from
Avhose Avorks ho published in his native tongue.
On his return to Tiflis he founded a National
Theatre, for which he himself Avrote many
comedies. With Eristavi sentimentahsm died,
and the poets Avho succeeded him sought inspira
tion in patriotic ideals.
Prince Grigor Or&eZ/a;ii (1801—1883), sang the
past splendour of his fatherland, and bewailed
the low estate to which it had fallen. In his
"Ode to Tamara's portrait" he beseeches the
great queen to look down with pity on Georgia,

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 149
and bless her sons with strength and wisdom ; he
despairingly asks : —
" Shall that which once was withcr'd, ne'er again
Enjoy tlio fragrance of its former bloom t
Sliull tliat wliich full, for ever fallen remain,
O'orwliclni'd in an unclianging, cruel doom 1 "
His linos on tho death of Irakli II. breathe the
same spirit: —
" All ! full of splendour were the fatuful days
That saw the qucncliing of thy quickening liglit,
Thou sun of Georgia, yet thy dazzling rays
Still lighten up the darkness of our night.
"Thine all-o'crpowcring sword, whose mighty blows
Scatter'd like cliafF the bravest of the brave,
Shall never more affright thy country's foes —
Georgia's fame lies buried in thy grave."
Orbeliani had a warm heart for the poor and
suffering, and his " Lopiana the Fisherman" and
" Bokuladzo tho Musha " (a musha is a carrier of
heavy burdens) arc masterpieces in their way.
While Orbeliani's eyes are ever turned regret
fully to the past, Akaki Tsereteli (born 1840) looks
hopefully forward to the future : —
" Ah no ! our love is not yet dead.
It only sleeps awhile  "
In elegant yet forcible lyrics he invites his coun
trymen to manfully follow the path of progress.
Tsereteli has written a great historical poem

I50 THE KINGDOM OP GEOXGIA.
called " Torniki," and is, besides, an orator and
publicist of the first rank.
Of the same school is Prince Ilia Chavchavadze
(born 1837), who is in many respects the most
remarkable man that Georgia possesses. All
his poems, and indeed all his work, whether as
a. poet, a novelist, a journalist, an orator, or a
financier, breathe a spirit of the loftiest patriotism.
The retjirn of spring and the awakening of bird
and flower to fuller life are to him a reminder of
the long-delayed awakening of his beloved land ;
his elegies on tho Kura, the Aragva, the Alazana
are all full of the same feeling. It is, however,
in " Lines to the Georgian mother " that he most
clearly expresses his ideas ; after reminding the
matrons of Georgia how they have served their
country in times past, cheerfully sending their
sons forth to the fight and sustaining their courage
in the hour of misfortune, he says ; —
"... But Avhy should we shed idle tears
For glory that will ne'er return ?
The ever-flowing stream of years
Leaves us no time to idly mourn.
" 'Tis ours to tread an untried path,
'Tis ours the future to prepare.
If forward thou dost urge thy sons,
Then ansAvor'd is my earnest prayer.

TUE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. 151
" This is the task that waits for thee,
Thou virtuous motlier of our land,
Strengthen tliy sons, that they may bo
Thoir country's stay witli heart and hand.
" Inspire them with fraternal love.
Freedom, equality and right.
Teach them to struggle 'gainst all ill,
And give them courage for the fight."
Chavchavadze's tales and poems have done moro
than anything else to awaken the Georgian people
to a sense of the duties they have to perform in
the altered conditions under which they now
live. His poem, " Memoirs of a Eobber," which
portrayed the lazy country squires who lived on
the toil of their serfs, made a powerful impression
on tho class it was meant for ; and the tale, " Is
that a man ? " which describes the life of a young
noble who spends his whole time in eating,
drinking, sleeping and folly, brought a blush to
the faces of hundreds of his countrymen, and
prompted them to seek a worthier mode of exis
tence. At first, the more conservative part of
the nobility were bitterly opposed to the radical
ideas of Chavchavadze, but he has now succeeded
in bringing round the majority of them to his Avay
of thinking. He is editor of a daily paper,
Iveria, which is read by all classes of society,
and most of his time is spent between his jour-

152 THE KINGDOM OF GEOEGIA.
nalistic duties and the management of tho nobles'
Land Bank, an institution founded for the rehef
of the farmers.
Besides those I have mentioned, Chavchavadze
has written many other works ; with the follow
ing extract from " The Phantom " I conclude
this brief notice of him : —
" 0 Georgia, thou pearl and ornament of tho
world. What sorrow and misfortune hast thou
not undergone for the Christian faith I Tell me,
what other land has had sD thorny a path to
tread ? Where is the land that has maintained
such a fight tAventy centuries long without dis
appearing from the earth ? Thou alone, Georgia,
couldst do it. No other people can compare with
thee for endurance. Hoav often have thy sons
freely shed their blood for thee ! Every foot of
thy soil is made fruitful by it. And even when
they bowed under oppression they always bravely
rose again. Faith and freedom were their
ideals." The novel of social Hfe is represented by
Prince Kazbek, a young and energetic writer,
many of whose productions have appeared as
serials in the newspapers. The best writer of
historical novels is Btsheuli ; his " Queen Tamara "
is a great favourite with the people.
The National Theatre is kept well supplied with

PRINCE ILTA CHAVCHAVADZE.

PRINCB IVA.Nri MACHAUKLI. Page !5!.

THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF GEORGIA. .153
ncAV and original comedies by TsagarcU--a]id
others, and Prince Ivane Machaheli, Avho, as far
as I knoAV, is tho only Georgian Avho can read
English literature in tho original, has translated
somo of Shakspoaro's plays ; these ahvays draAV a
full house, and aro thoroughly appreciated.
Leaving out of the question " King Lear," which
has a special interest for tho people, on account
of its reminding them of Irakli II. , this hearty
admiration for Shakspeare is somoAvhat remark
able ; iu my opinion it is to be explained by tho
fact that tho Georgian people aro in almost tho
same stato of intellectual and social development
as AVcro our forefathers in tho days of Queen
Elizabeth, and they can, therefore, tho moro fully
enter into our great poet's way of thinking.
Besides tho essential part of his AVork, tho effect
of Avhich on the minds of men will always be tho
same, there is an accessory part, a tone, an atmo
sphere, which more particularly belongs to the
early part of a period of transition from feudalism
to freedom, from faith to rationalism, from the
activity of war to tho activity of peace ; ten or a
dozen generations havo lived in England since this
stage in our history was reached ; in Georgia there
still hve men who were born in the age of
chivalry and adventure.
Prince Machabeli, in spite of the fact that he

154 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
is only about thirty years of age, is, perhaps,
after Prince Ilia Chavchavadze, the man who
enjoys the greatest influence among his fellow-
countrymen. His studies at the University of
Paris, and his intimate acquaintance with the
intellectual and social life of Europe, have enabled
him to bring the younger generation at least to a
fuller appreciation of the superiority of the West
over the East ; everything which savours of Asia
is now rigidly proscribed or ridiculed, and Eomano-
Germanic ideals prevail. As the editor of
Droeba (Time), a capital daily paper, Macha
beli had an opportunity of spreading his opinions
throughout the country, but an imprudent article
brought about the suppression of the journal by
the Censure.
This notice Avould be incomplete without a brief
reference to the venerable Bishop Gabriel of
Kutais, whose homihes are at once elegant in style
and simple in doctrine; they have had a very
powerful influence on the Georgian people, and
their author is sincerely loved by all his country
men. An Enghsh translation of his earlier ser
mons has been pubhshed by the Eev. S. C. Malan.
The popular literature of Georgia is rich in
folk-tales, fables, ballads, riddles, &c., and would
Avell repay an attentive study (v. Bibliography).

BISHOP GABBIEL OF KUTAIS.

Page 131.

THE POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE
KINGDOM OF GEOEGIA.
It is well known that there are within the
Eussian frontiers peoples not inferior in historical
importance or intellectual development to the
regnant race, and we might reasonably suppose
that Eussophobes would give us some informa
tion about those nations which would probably
bo their allies iu the struggle which they profess
to consider inevitable. Yet the course of action
likely to be adopted by Poland, Finland, or
Georgia, in case of an Anglo-Eussian war, is
hardly ever discussed, and when a passing refer
ence is made to the matter, the most erroneous
ideas are expressed.
As far as I know, the only living English
statesman who knows anything at all about the
condition of the Caucasus, is Professor James
Bryce, who, in a work published in 1877, records
the impressions received during a short visit
made in the previous year. His remarks are

IS6 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
interesting in the highest degree, and exhibit a
rare keenness of insight ; yet that part of them
which refers more particularly to Georgia is open
to three very serious objections.
1. The shortness of the author's stay forced
him to come to conclusions which a longer
experience Avould havo modified very considerably.
He himself frankly acknoAvledged this in many
places. 2. Mr. Bryce did not come into contact with
any prominent Georgians ; he was, therefore, ob
liged to depend upon foreigners for information
about tho political condition of the country and
the aspirations of the native population. This i^
why he said so little about Georgia in the last
chapter of his book. In that chapter the place
of honour is reserved for the Armenians, Avhose
recognized champion our illustrious fellow-coun
tryman has noAv become.
3. There has, of late, been a great change in
the country. The Georgia of to-day is not the
Georgia of 1876. Certain causes, which Avill be
touched upon in the present article, have, in tho
meantime, brought about an awakening as sudden
as it is complete.
There is one Enghshman who could accurately
describe the political condition of Transcaucasia,

POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA. 157
and it is a subject for congratulation that he
is Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at Batum. When
the British Government wakes up to a recognition
of the fact that we have interests to protect in
the region between the Black Sea and tho
Caspian, tho consulate in Tiflis (abolished in
1881, " because the objects for which it was
founded were not accomplished ") may, perhaps,
be re-established, and in that case no more able
and sympathetic consul could be chosen than Mr.
D. E. Peacock, Avho for so many years has up
held tho honour of our flag in tho fever-stricken
SAvamps of Poti and Batum.
Tho writer of the present article is well aware
of his unfitness for the task he has set himself,
yet he feels sure that the result of his unpre
judiced observation cannot fail to be interesting ;
if ho only succeeds in provoking adverse criticism
he Avill be satisfied, for thereby attention will be
drawn to a question the discussion of which must
lead to a far better understanding of many points
of vital importance.
At tho very outset it is necessary to remove
from the mind of the reader an opinion which is
almost universally held in Europe, and which is,
perhaps, the chief cause of that apathy with
which politicians look upon the Caucasus. It is

158 THE KINGDOM OP OBORGIV.
generally believed, even by some of those who
have been iu the country, that Transcaucasia is
inhabited by a vast number of tribes, more or less
wild, having nothing in common but the doubtful
benefits of Eussian rule. Nothing could be more
misleading. Students of ethnography may amuse
themselves by making elaborate investigations
into the origin and characteristics of the Khevsur,
the Svan, the Pshav, the Osset, it is sufficient for
us to know that all these peoples are, politically
at least, Georgians, and have fought under the
Kartvelian kings since the days of William the
Conqueror. Between the Caucasus, tho Black
Sea, the Caspian, and tho frontiers of Turkey and
Persia, there are only three native peoples Avho
deserve our consideration, viz. : —
Tlio various Lesghian tribes in tho E., numbering
about  1,500,000
The Armenians, in the S., numbering about ... 740,000
The Georgians, in the "W., „ over ... 1,000,000
The latter total is made up as follows : —
(a) Kartlians, Kakhetians, and Ingiloitsi 310,000
(b) Highlanders, i.o. Khevsurs, Pshavs,
Tushes  20,000
(c) Imeretians and Gurians  380,000
(</) Adjart.si, Kobuletsi (in valleys near
¦A-rtvin)  ... 40,000
(e) Mingrelians  200,000

POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA. I59
(/) Lazes (near Batum). Tho majority
aro still in Turkey  2,00,0
(si) Svans  12,000 -
To these may be added : —
The Apkhazi (near Sukhum)  32,000
andTlio 0.sset3 (south of tho Caucasus) ... 53,000 '
Thoro aro also many Georgians in Turkey, and a
foAV in Persia. The numerous local appellations
given abovo moan no moro than Yorkshireman,
Cornishman, or Abcrdonian do to us. If I suc
ceed in impressing upon my readers tho fact that
there is a p)olitically homogeneous region stretching
from the steppe of Baku to the Black Sea, my
labour will not have been fruitless.
It is a significant fact that tho pure Georgian
language is noAV far more generally spoken than
it has been for many centuries, and that tho
dialects aro rapidly disappearing. This is duo in a
great measure to tho groAvth of a taste for litera
ture, Avhich ia fostered by tho newspapers and
other periodical publications. There are, besides,
many schools where the language is taught, for
the Georgians have hitherto escaped the fate of
the Armenians, whoso schools were closed after
the recent . insurrection, and a society exists in
Tiflis for the dissemination of the national litera-

i6o THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
ture among the peasants. All this has helped to
produce a national feeling, stronger than any
that has existed since the fatal partition of the
kingdom in the fifteenth century. The petty
jealousies betweeu Kartlian, Kakhetian and
. Imeretian have been forgiven and forgotten, and
when Georgia's voice is again heard in Asia she
will speak with that authority Avhich belongs only
to a united, patriotic people.
In order to understand the state of political
feeling in Georgia during the present century, it
is necessary to remember what her previous
history has been. During a long period, stretch
ing back to ages of which we have only frag
mentary records, the country had ever been at
war; often conquered, still more often conquer
ing, never crushed, this brave little state main
tained its existence for a thousand years, alone
in the very midst of those fierce fanatics whose
fame made all allied Europe quake. At length,
rent by civil war and ravaged by the infidel, it
wisely resolved to throAV itself into the hands of a
Christian power able and willing to protect and
avenge. After avaihng themselves of Eussia's
help, it was but natural that the Georgians
should seek the repose of which they were
so much in need; and, though they were ever

POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA. i6i
ready to fight against the common foe, yet, Avith
a fcAv praiseworthy exceptions, they busied them-
solvos littlo Avith the internal administration of
thoir land. Indeed, there was no call for such
intcrforonco as long as thoy wore under tho mild
and benolicont rule of that ideal Tsar, Alex
ander I., roprosontod by such worthy lieutenants
as Tsitsishvili and Yermolov. Thoy continued to
live thus contentedly and, it must be confessed,
lazily for about two generations ; only ten years
ago it used to bo said in Tiflis, " If you see a
shopkeeper asleep, he is sure to be a Georgian."
This sleepiness is now at an end. Opinions may
differ as to the cause of tho awakening ; harsh
measures on the part of Eussia, Avhose policy iu
Transcaucasia has been becoming moro and moro
irritating over since the removal of Prince
Vorontsov, in 1854, and culminating last year in
the enforcement of military service, have un
doubtedly had some effect of this kind, but unless
there had been a simultaneous progress in the
intellectual aud social development of the nation,
this overbearing legislation might have been
sullenly submitted to without complaint.
There can be little doubt of the fact that the
excessive precautions taken by the police, with a
view to put down political agitation of any kind,
M

l62 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
have produced the very thing they are intended
to prevent. A country squire in talking to me,
one dayv about a little market-town near his
home, said, "They have posted a gendarme
there. Until he came nobody ever bothered
about politics. Now there is nothing else talked
of." Some time ago the young Georgian nobles
Avhb wore serving in the Eussian army became
infected with the doctrines of revolutionary
socialism, and not a few suffered for their impru
dence (e.g. the famous Tsitsianov, in 1877) ; at
thd, present time the national feeling has become
so $trong as to leave no room for these ideas.
Nevertheless, during my stay in Tiflis, last
summer, a rumour Avas rife to the effect that a
large number (a hundred or two) of young noble
men Avcre about to bo exiled, in view of the visit
of the Tsar, who was expected to arrive at his
new palace at Tsinondal, near Telav, in the
autumn. The fact that this report was believed
by the parties interested, is a powerful testimony
to the arbitrary character of the proceedings of
the Eussian police.
In the rural districts the people only know
Eussia as a foreign power that sends them tax-
collectors, justices of the peace, and other civil
servants, who perform obnoxious functions in a

POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA. 163
manner not calculated to conciliate the ratepayers.
It is notorious that the chinovnik has an unplea
sant reputation, even among his fclloAV -country
men, and those who consent to a temporary exile
in Transcaucasia are not precisely the flower of
the profession, although their behaviour to
Europeans leaves little to be desired. The
justices of the peace, as in Poland, are directly
appointed by the Minister of Justice at Peters
burg ; all the evidence has to be translated into
the official language, and this accentuates the
natural feeling of the litigants that they are being
tried by foreign laws arbitrarily imposed from with
out. The personal character of the judges is, in
many cases, not such as to inspire respect for the
law ; the arrogant, bullying tone of these person
ages is intolerable at any time, but especially
when aggravated by alcoholism. I shall never
forget one scene in particular at which I was
present ; a fine, tall mountaineer came humbly to
present a petition to a puny, besotted judge, Avho
was a guest at the house where I was staying ;
the representative of law and order was drunk,
hopelessly drunk, and treated the suppliant in
such a manner that I blushed to be in his com
pany; I feared that the petitioner would take
summary revenge for the insult, but he restrained
M 2

i64 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
his wrath ; as he turned away there was on his
face a look of hellish hatred, and I do not think
that he Avill trouble the court again as long as
ho has a sharp kinjal of his own wherewith to
settle disputes.
Whatever may be the cause of the awakening,
there cannot be any doubt of its reality. Never
theless, it is hard to give any definite descrip
tion of the channels into which the national
activity is finding its Avay. In any case it may
be safely said that the Georgian people are not
likely to imitate the imprudent conduct of their
neighbours the Armenians, who have, moro than
once, unseasonably provoked popular movements
Avhich they had not the power to bring to a
happy issue. Tho character of tho Georgians is
too frank and open for the hatching of plots;
however strong their feelings may be, they know
how to wait until an opportunity arrives for
the satisfaction of those feelings ; the perfect
unanimity in the aims of the people renders an
elaborate organization unnecessary.
It is interesting to notice that the political
ideals of the country are borrowed from Western
Europe. Excepting in Japan, perhaps, there is
no such instance of a people passing directly from
feudalism to liberahsm. The grandsons of abso-

POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE KINGIJOM OF GEORGIA. 165
lute monarchs, tho men who littlo moro than a
quarter of a century ago were large slaveholders,
aro now ardent champions of the democratic idea,
and loudly proclaim the freedom, tho equality,
the brotherhood, of prince and peasant, master
and man. This is not tho only case in which
Georgia has turned her back on Asia and opened
her arms to Europe — Parisian fashions, German
rationalism, English sport and other products of
our civilization aro beginning to have an influence ;
however, it is a consolation to remember that the
women, in every country the more Conservative
and, at the same time, moro patriotic half of the
community, may be counted upon to restrain their
husbands and sons from a too hasty advance in
the slippery paths of modern progress.
It must not bo supposed that tho Georgian
people are forgetful of what Eussia has done for
them in protecting them against Persia and
Turkey ; they have no hatred for their Slav fellow-
subjects, indeed, it is hard to imagine how any one
could dislike such an amiable individual as the
average Eussian, not being an official ; but on the
other hand, it must be remembered that this
mihtary aid is the only benefit Georgia has ever
received. It is true that roads have been made,
but their construction was only undertaken in

l66 THE KINGDOM OP GEORGIA.
order to facilitate tho movement of troops, and
they are practically worthless for the purposes of
trade. The industrial and commercial develop
ment of the country has been wholly neglected ;
and, at the instigation of the late editor of the
MoHco'iv Neivs, the transit of foreign merchandise
was prohibited. At the present time a few
Eussian capitalists are endeavouring to get a
footing beyond the Caucasus, but thoy experience
somo difficulty in doing so, for tho Georgians pre
fer to avail themselves ofthe services of European
investors ; among others, tho Eothschilds havo not
been slow to see that Transcaucasian wines, ores
and oils are worth attention.
Should Eussia ever become involved in a great
war, Georgia would undoubtedly declare her inde
pendence, and endeavour to seize the Dariel Eoad ;
the Armenians and Lesghians Avould also revolt,
each in thoir own way. It is idle to speculate as
to tho result of such a movemont, but it may
interest tho reader to know that it took an army
of more than a quarter of a million men to
conquer the Lesghians alone, in the time of Shamil.
The Eussians put so little confidence in the loyalty
of their Caucasian army, that they took care to
send a large part of it to Poland in January last,
when there seemed to be a prospect of war with

POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA. 167
Austria. This was a prudent measure ; but, after
all, it does not matter so very much Avhether
Georgian soldiers mutiny in Georgia or Poland,
Poles in Poland or Georgia, tho essential point at
which diplomats hostile to Eussia would aim is,
of course, to bring about perfectly simultaneous
action on the part of all the enemies of that power,
both at home and abroad. It is superfluous to
add that the Georgian troops arc the floAver of the
Eussian army ; every schoolboy can ride and shoot
like a trained man ; their officers aro especially
good, and there aro at present many generals who
are Avorthy successors of Andronikov, Bagration
and Lor is Melikov.
Tho sympathy with which the Armenian
national movement has been regarded in Western
Europe encourages tho Georgians to hope that a
like fooling Avill bo manifested toAvards them when
the time is ripe for action. It is especially upon
England that their hopes are fixed, for they are
well aware of tho fact that the existence of a
strong, independent state between the Black Sea
and the Caspian would be an enormous advantage
to our country. The possibility of Armenians,
Georgians and Lesghians consenting to combine
into one homogeneous state is not to be thought
of ; but there is no reason why the descendants

1 68 THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA.
of the three sons of Targamos, great-great-grand
son of Noah, should not, if they were free, form
a defensive alliance for the protection of common
interests ; the Lesghians have, in past times, done
good service against both Persians and Turks. In
any case, Georgia has a frontier which she is quite
able to defend, and she could always count upon
the assistance of the mountaineers on the northern
side of the Caucasus. The Cherkesses (Circas
sians), whose hatred of Eussia is well known,
have almost all migrated to Asia Minor.
It is sincerely to be hoped that the present
good feeling betAveen the Georgian and Eussian
peoples may continue. If they v<rere kindly
treated, and trusted Avith some measure of local
government, I am sure that tho Christian peoples
of the Caucasus would never cause the Tsar's
ministers any trouble ; but if an attempt be made
to crush the national spirit, the descendants of
the men who fought under Irakli will, at least,
show despots how men can die.

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APPENDIX.

BIBLIOGBAPHY.

Thk standard work on Transcaucasian 1)ibliograpliy i»' Mian-
sarov (M.), Bibliographia Caucasioa et Transcaucasica. S. Pbg.,
1871 — 7G, Svo, 804 p[)., 4840 rufs. It is rather suarco, as tho
edition was limited to GOO copies. Only one volumn has been
publislioil, although a second was promised. Most of tho works
mentioned are in Kussian or Armenian, and as far as European
publications are concerned, Mian.'iarov is very incomplete. In
the following pages I have referred to comparatively few Russian
books. After Miansarov, the following, among many others, may
with advantage be consulted : —
Catalogue de la Section des Eussica, published by Bibl. imp.
publ. de St. Pbg., 1873. 2 vols. Svo.
Semenov (P.), Geografichsko-statistichskii slovar Rosiiskoi Im
perii. Pbg., 1863— 1S85. 5 vols. 4to.
StucJccnherff (J. Cli.), Vorsuch cinos Quellon-Anzeigors . . .
fuor das Studium der Goograjiliio ... dos Russischon
Reichs. Pbg., 1849—1852. 2 vols. Svo.
I am fully conscious of tho shortcoming."? of this essay, and
shall bo glad to find it extended and corrected by later writers,
to Avhom it may servo as a groundwork.
Works of special interest are marked *.
GEOGRAPHY, TRAVELS, AND MISCELLANEOUS
LITERATURE.
•Brosset (M. F.), Description g^ographiquo de la Gdorgie par

172 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
le Tear^vitch Wakhoucht. Texte g^orgien .suivi d'une tra
duction franfaise. Avec 6 cartes lith. S. Pbg. Acad.
Scient., 1842. 4to.
Wakhoucht wrote to the local authorities all over the country,
asking each for information about his own district j the present
standard work was the result of his inquiries.
Ancient Geographt.
Cf. Apollonius Rhodius, Strabo, Plinius, Arrianus, Ptolemceus,
C. Rommel's Caucasiarum Regionum et gentium straboniana
descriptio. Lipsite, 1804. Svo.
Lwewe?«aMW (G. H.), Descriptio Caucasi. Lipsiss, 1803. 4to.
Carli (Job. Rinaldi), De expeditione Argonautorum in Col-
chidem. Venet., 1745. 2 vols. 4to.
Vivien de St. A'Tartin (Louis), Memoire historique sur la geo
graphie ancienne du Caucase. Paris, 1848.
 , Etude geographique surle Caucase de Strabon. In
Etudes de Geogr. Anc. Paris, 1852.
Preller (E,), Bedeutung des schwarzen Meeres fuer die Handel
und Verkehr der alten Welt. Dorpat, 1842. Svo.
MEDia;vAL Geoghaphy.
Stephanus Byzantinns, Massudi, Abulfeda,
Defrmnery, Fragments de gfograplies et d'historiens arabes et
porsans incdits, relatifs aux anciens pouples du Caucase. In
Nouv. Journ. Asiat., 1849—1851. Paris.
Ruhruquis (1253) in Navigantium atque itinerantium biblio-
theca, by John Harris, D.D., continued by J. Campbell.
2 vols, in foi. London, 1764. In this collection will be
found other records of travel in Georgia.
Barbara (Josafat), Viaggio alia Tana e nella Persia (1436).
In Eamusio's Raccolta di Viaggi. Venetia, 1583.
Contarini (Ambroise), Voyage de Perse (1473). In Bergeron's
Collection de Voyages. Paris, 1735.

BIBLIOGRAniY. 17
SiXTEKNTII AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES.
Hakluj/t (Richd.), Tho Principall Navigations, Voiagcs, and
Discoveries of the English Nation in . . . the Empire of
Russia, tlio Caspian Soa, Georgia . . . London, 1589. Eol.
Also 1600. 3 vols. Foi. New etlition, London, 1809—
1812. 4to.
Jenkinson (Anthony), Early Voyages and Travels to Russia and
Persia, by A. J. and other Englishmen (in reign of Queen
Elizabeth). Ilakluyt Soc. London, 1886. 2 vols. Svo.
Zampi (Giuseppe Maria), Relatione della Cholchida. 1 620.
Lamberti (Arcangelo), Relatione della Cholchida, hoggi* detta
Mengrellia, nella quale si tratta dell' origine, costumi e
cose naturali di quel paesi. 2nd edition. Napoli, 1654.
4to.
Oharius (Adam), The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors
sont by Freilorick, Duke of IIoLstein, to tho Groat Duke of
Muscovy and the King of Persia .... in 1633 — 1639.
Translated irom the Dutch by J. Davies. London, 1662.
2 vols. Foi.
Dapper (Olfert), Asia .... benelTens en volkome Bes-
chryving van geheel Persie, Georgie, Mongrelie en andere
Gebuur-gewesten. Amsterdam, 1672. Foi.
¦¦ German edition. Nuernberg. Translated by Boom.
2 vols. Foi. 1681.
iVowiVtO?;, Drevnaya rossiiskaya biblioteka. S. Pbg., 1788. Svo.
For Travels of Russian Ambassadors to Georgia in Seventeenth
Century.
Moreri (Ludvig), Relations nouvelles du Leviant, ou Traits de
la religion, du gouvernomont et des coutumes des Perses,
des Armcniens et des Gauros. Lyon, 1671. 12mo.
Bruin (C. de) (Dutch painter) Voyages au Levant. Delft,
1700. Foi.
 ., Voyages dans la Moscovie et la Perse. Amsterdam,
1718. 2 vols. Foi. And Paris, 1725. 6 vols. 4to.

174 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Strugs (Jean), Voyages en Muscovie, en Tatarie, en Perse, etc.
Amsterdam, 1720. 3 vols. 12mo.
Tavemier, Six voyages .... en Perse (1663—69). Rouen,
1724. .
Chardin (Sir John),--The Travels of Sir John Chardin into
Persia. London, 1680. Foi. 2 vols.
Tournefort (Pitton de), Rtilation d'un Voyage du Levant,
contenant I'histoire ancienne et moderne do . . . . I'Armt^nie,
de la Georgie . . . Paris and Lyon, 1717. 2 vols. 4to.
Amsterdam, 1718. English edition, London, 1718. Dutch
edition, Amsterdam, 1737.
Evliya (Effendi), Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa in the
Seventeenth Century. Translated from the Turkish by
J. von Hammer. London, 1840.
\
Eighteenth Century.
Lerch (Job. Jacob), Zweite Reise nach Persien. In Buesching's
Magazin. 1776.
Reineijgs (Jacoh), Beschreibung des Kaukasus. Gotha, 1796 —
97. Svo. And some other works. Sketches in Pallas's
Nordische Beitraege, etc. A General, Historical, and Topo
graphical Description of Mount Caucasus. Translated by
Ch. Wilkinson. London, 1807. (Reineggs was a diplo
matic agent of the Russian Court, and induced the Ossets to
submit, besides preparing the way for the annexation of
Georgia.)
Gueldenstaedt (Job. Ant.), Geografichskoie i statistichskoie
opisanie Gruzii (Geographical and Statistical Description of
Georgia). S. Pbg., 1809. Svo.
  , Reison nach Georgien und Imerethi, ausg. von
. J. von Klaproth. Berlin, 1815. Svo.
 , Beschreibung der Kaukasisehen Laender, ausg.
vou J. von Klaproth. Berlin. 1834. Svo.

BIBLIOGBAPHY. 175
Peyssonnel (French Consul in Smyrna), Traite sur le Commerce
dc la Mer Noire. Paris, 1787. 2 vols. Svo.
Memoir of a Map of the Countries comprehended between the
Black Sea and the Caspian ; with an account of tho Cau
casian nations, and vocabularies of their languages. London,
1788. 4to.
Howell, Journal of the Passage from India through Armenia,
&c.
Wilford (Francis), On Mount Caucasus. In Asiatic Researches.
London, 1799.
Potocki (Jean), Voyage dans les steps d'Astrakhan et du
Caucase (in 1797) public par Klaproth. Paris, 1829. Svo.
Voyages historiques et g^ographiques dans les pays situcs entre
la Mer Noire et la Mer Caspienne. Paris, 1798.
Biherstein (Marechal do), Tableau des provinces situees sur la
Cote occidentale de la Mer Caspienne, entre les fleuves Terek
et Kour. S. Pbg., 1798. 4to.
Mcmoires historiques et gcographiques sur les pays situes entre
la Mer Noire et la Mer Caspienne. Paris, 1797. 4to.
Natolien, Georgien ... .in historischer, geographischer ....
politischer Hinsicht. Berlin and Leipzig, 1799. Svo.
Nineteenth Century.
Zass (de), Description du Caucase, avec le precis historique
et statistique de la Georgie. S. Pbg., 1804. Svo.
Langen (.Jacob), Opisanie Kavkaza s kratkim istorichskim i
statistichskim opisaniem Gruzii (Description of the Caucasus,
with a sliort historical and statistical description of Georgia).
Translated from the French of J. L. S. Pbg., 1805,
Rommel (V. C), Die Voelker des Kaukasus. Weimar, 1808.
Lagorio, Extrait du Journal d'un voyage en Mingrelie. In
Annales des Voyages, Paris, 1809.
 , Bemerkungen ueber Mingrelien. In Minerva. 1811.
Clarke (E. D.), Voyages en Russie etc., trad, de I'anglais.

176 niBLTOGRAPHY.
Paris, 1812. 2 vols. Svo. I have not seen the English
original.
Morier (John), Journey through Persia. London, 1812. 4to.
.— — —— , Second Joumey through Persia .... with an
account of the embassy of Sir Gore Ouseley. London, 1818.
4to.
Kinncir, Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire, inter
spersed with an account of manners and customs. London,
1813. 4to.
 , Journey through Asia Minor, Armenia, &c. London,
1818. Svo.
Colchis odor Mingrelien. In Hormayr's Arcliiv. 1813.
DroiHiillo, Voyage on PorHo. S, Pl)g., 18'J0. 2 vols. Svo.
With atliiH.
Freijganij (Wilhelm aud Frederica), Lottres sur lo Caucaso et la
flcorgio. irambotirg, 1810. Svo.
Eiiijdhardl (Morltz von) and Parrot (Friodr.), Reiso in dio
Krymm und den Kaukasus. Berlin, 1816. Parrot also
wrote Reise nach Ararat. Berlin, 1830. Translated by
W. D. Cooley, London, n.d. Svo. '
Kottebue (Moritz von), Reise nach Porsien im Jahro 1817.
Johnson (John), A Journey from India to England through
Persia, Georgia .... London, 1818. 4to.
Ker-Porler (Sir Robt.), Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia,
Ancient Bid)ylonia,&c.,during tlio years 181 7 — 1820. London,
1821. 2vo1h. 4to.
Lnmsden (Thos,), A Journey from Merut in India to London,
througli Arabia, Persia, Armenia, Georgia .... London,
1822, Svo.
Oamba (Jacques Francois), Voyage dans la Russio mdridionalo,
ot particuliferemont dans los provinces situiSoa au-doli du
Caucase, fait depuis 1820jusqu'en 1824. With an atlas.
2 tom, Paris, 1826. Svo,

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 177
Lyall (Robt.), Travels in Ru.ssia, tlie Crimea, and Georgia.
London, 1825. 2 vols. Svo.
Asiatic Journal. London. Former and Present Stato of the
Road over Mount Caucasus, 1825; Visit to the Caucasian
W.ill, 1833; The Caucasian Nations, 1837; and other
articles.
Brouicvskii, Puteshcstvic na Kavkazic (Journey in the Cau
casus). Moskva, 1825. 2 vols. Svo.
Henderson, Biblical Researches and Travels in Russia, including
.... the Pa.sKago of the Caucasus. London, 1820. Svo.
HalnH (D. Juan van), Dos anos on Rasia. Valencia, 1849.
Svo. Also Mcmoires. Paris and Bruxelles, 1827. 2 vols.
Svo.
 , Narrative of D. Juan van Halen's Imprisonment ....
his Campaign with tho Army of tho Caucasus. Translated
from the Spanish. London, 1827. 2 vols. Svo. Another
edition in 1830.
Klaproth (Julius von), Voy.ago au Mont Caucase. Paris, 1827.
Svo.
 , Extraits d'une topographic de la Georgie. Paris, n. d.
Svo, And several other works,
Seristori (Comte), Notes sur les provinces russes au-delil du
Caucase. Odessa, 1829.
Vetter (J. 0. W.), Meine Reise nach Grusien. Leipzig, 1829.
Rottiers, Itineraire de Tiflis h Constantinople. Bruxelles,
1829.
Jaeger (B.), Reiso von St. Petersburg in die Krim und die
Laender des Kaukasus. Leipzig, 1S30. Svo.
Pushkin (A. S.), Puteshestvie v Erzerum (Journey to Erze
rum). 1829.
Lermontov (M. Y.), Geroi nashevo vremeni (A Hero of our
Times). 1839—40. N

178 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Kupfer, Voyage dans les environs du Mont Elbrous. S. Pbg.
Acad. Scient., 1830.
Jaeger (B.), Versuch einer Darstellung des natuorlichen Reich-
thums .... der russischon Laonder jenseit des Kaukasus.
Leipzig, 1830. Svo.
Marigny (E. T. de), Portulan do la Mer Noire. Odessa, 1830.
Guihal (Paul), Industrie et cconomie des Abazos in Courrier de
la Nouvolle Russio. 25 Dec, 1831. Odessa.
Armstrong (T. B.), Travels in Russia and Turkey ....
Itinerary through .... Georgia. London, 1831. Svo.
Bndherg (Leonh., Freiherr von), Galerie der neuesten Reisen
von Russen durch Russland. S. Pbg., 1832.
L. S. (Cte.) (? Seristori), Notes statistiques sur le littoral de la
Mer Noire. Vienne, 1832. Svo. 22 pp.
Nquv. Annales des Voyages. Paris. Many articles.
Nouo. Journal Asiatique. Paris. Desciiption gfographique
du Ghouria. 1832. And many other articles.
Annahn der Erdkunde. Blick auf Georgien. 1832. Georgien
und seine Uiiigebung. 1843. And other articles.
Eichwald (Carl Eduard von), Reise auf dem Caspischen Meere
und in den Caucasus. Stuttgard, 1834—38. 2 Bde. Svo.
A scientific work.
Mignan, Journal of a Tour through Georgia .... Asiatic
Society. Bombay, 1834.
Smith (Eli) and Dmght (H.), Missionary Researches in
Armenia, including a journey .... into Georgia. London
1834. Svo.
Conolly (Arthur), Journey to the North of India overland.
London, 1834. 2 vols. Svo.
Famin (CtJsar), Region caucasienne iu Univers pittoresque.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 179
8vo. Caucasion in Woltgomaeldegallerio.
Stuttgard, 1835. Svo.
Uammnr (.losoph von), Schwarzes Moor. Wien, 1835,
Enc.tskii (Orest), Statistichskoe opisanie Kavkaza (Statistical
Description of tho Caucasus). S. Pbg., 1835.
Obozronio russkikh vladenii za Kavkazom (Descriiition of
the Russian Possessions beyond tho Caucasus). S. Pbg., .
1836. 4 vols. Svo. An official publication.
Zubov, Kartina kavkazskavo kraya (Picture of the Caucasian
Land). S. Pbg., 1834—35. 4 vols. Svo.
 , Shest pisem 0 Gruzii i Kavkazic (Six Letters about
Georgia and the Caucasus). Moskva, 1S34. Svo.
Bf'sse, Voyage en Crimee, au Caucase, etc. Paris, 1838. Svo.
Belangcr (Ch.), Voyage aux Indes par .... la Gforgie.
Paris, 1838. Svo. With atlas.
Spencer (VAm.), Travels in tho Western Caucasus. London,
1838. 2 vols. Svo.
Fragniensde lettros ecrites de Tiflis en Georgie. In Bibl. uiiiv.
de Geneve, 1838.
Wilbraham (Capt. Richard), Travels in the Tran.scaucasian
Provinces. London, 1839. Svo.
*Dubois de Montpereux (FrMeric), Voyage autour du Caucase.
Paris, 1839—1843. 6 tom. Svo. A well-written work.
I am indebted to Dubois for many bibliographical notes.
The same author published an Atlas in five parts in folio,
Neuchatel, 1843, to illustrate his book (part 1, Ancient
Geography ; part 2, Pictures(]uo views ; jiart 3, Archi
tecture J part 4, Archeology ; part 5, Geology),
Jliimilton (Walter), Researches in Asia Minor, Armenia, Ac.
London, 1840. 2 vols. Svo.
Southgate, Horatio. Narrative of a Tour through Armenia.
New York, 1840. 12mo.
Samuel (J.), The Remnant found, or the Place of Israel's
N 2

i8o BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Hiding discovered .... the Result of Personal Investi
gation during a Missionary Tour in Georgia. London, 1841.
Svo.
Teule (Jul. C), Pensces .... extraites du journal des mes
voyages dans .... les provinces russes, georgiennes et
tartares du Caucase .... Paris, 1842. 2 vols. Svo.
Hommaire de Hell, Voyage a la Mer Caspienne. Paris, 1845.
3 vols.
Cameron (Geo. Poulett), Personal Adventures and Excursions
in Georgia. London, 1845. 2 vols. Svo. Cf. United
Service Journal. London, 1S40 — 44.
Hagcmeister, Zakavkazskie ocherki (Transcaucasian sketches).
S. Pbg., 1845. Svo. Novie (Now) do. do. S. Pbg.,
1848.
Joaeliau (Plato), Opisanie Shiomgvimskoi pustini v Gruzii
(Description of the Desert of Shiomgvim in Georgia).
Tiflis, 1845. 12mo.
 , Puteviya zapiski po Kakhetii (Travel Notes from
Kakheti). Tiflis, 1846. 12mo.
Suzaimet (Cte. de), Souvenirs de voyage. Les provinces du
Caucase. Pari.<«, 1846. Svo.
Danilevskii (N.), Kavkaz i evo gorskie zhiteli (The Caucasus and
its Mountaineers). Moskva, 1846. Svo.
 . Ler Kaukasus. Physisch-geographisch, statistisch,
ethnographisch und strategisch. Leipzig, 1847. Svo.
Kolenati, Die Ersteigung des Kasbek. In Russ. Archiv
S. Pbg., 1848.
Wagner (Moiitz), Reise nach Kolchis und nach den deutschen
Kolonien jenseits des Kaukasus. Leipzig, 1850. Svo.
And Der Kaukasus und das Land der Kosaken. 2te. Ausg.
Leipzig, 1850. 2 Bde. 8vo. Translated into English a^
Travels in Persia, Georgia, and Koordistan. London, 1856.
3 vols. Svo.

BIBLIOOUAPHV. i8i
*Stackelberg (Count Ernst von), Le Caucase pittoresque, dessine
d'apres nature par le Prince G. Gagarine ; avec une intro
duction et un texte explicatif par le Comte E. S. Paris,
1847—59. Foi.
*  , Scenes, paysages, moeurs et costumes du Caucase,
dessines d'apres nature par le Prince G. Gagarine, et accom-
pagncs d'un texte par lo Comte E. S. Paris, 1850, etc.
Foi.
Bodem/edt{FT,), Tausend und ein Tag im Orient. .Berlin, 1850.
2 vols. Svo.
M'irinier (X.), Du Danulie au Caucaso. Paris, 1854. Svo.
Ha-rlhausen (August, Baron v.), Tmnscaucasia. Translated
into English by J. E. Taylor. Loudon, 1854. Svo.
Golovine (Ivan), The Caucasus. London, 1854. Svo.
(Spence7'(Edm.), Turkey, Russia, the Black Sea. London, 1854.
Svo.
Thuemmel (A. R.), Bunte Bilder aus dem Kaukasus. Nuern
berg, 1854—55. 2 vols. 8vo.
Borozdin (K. A.), Zakavkazskiya vosponiinaniya. Mingrelia i
Svanetia s 1854 do 1861 g. S. Pbg.
* Dumas (Alexandre), Le Caucase. Paris, 1859. 4to. A
charming book.
Qille (F.), Lottres sur le Caucaso .... Paris, 1859. Svo.
Cf.—
Bocage (V. A. B. du). Rapport fait a la Societe do Gcograiihie.
Paris, 1860. Svo.
Chodzko (General), Die neuesten Hoehenmessungen im Kaukasus.
In Petermaim's Mittheilungen. Gotha, 1859.
 , Die russischon Aufnahmen im Kaukasus. Ibid.,
1862.
Moynet, Voyage a la Mer Caspienne et a la Mer Noire. In
Chaiton's "Tour du Monde," 1860. ler. sem. Paris.

l82 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Blanehurd, Voyage do Tiflis i Stavropol. In Charton's " Tour
du Monde," 1861. 2er. s^m. Paris.
Lnpinskii (T.), Die Bergvoelker des Kaukasus. Hamburg,
1863. 2 vols. Svo.
Bianehi (A. de), Viaggi in Armenia . . . . e Lazistan.
Milano, 1863. -^vo.
Ruepprecht, Barometrische Hoehenbestimmungen im Caucasus,
1860—61. Ih M^m. de I'Acad. de Sc. S. Pbg,, 1864.
Bergi (Adolphe), Voyage en Mingrelie. Paris, 1864. Svo.
Jlssher (John), A Journey from London to Persepolis; in
cluding Wanderings in .... Georgia. London, 1865.
Svo.
Stebnitzkij, Uebersicht der Kaukasisehen Statthalterschaft. In
Petermann's Mittheil. Gotha, 1865.
Petzholdt, Der Kaukasus. Leipzig, 1866. 2 vols. Svo.
*Rodde (Dr. Gustav, Curator of Caucasian Museum, and corre
sponding .member of R.G.S., London), Bericht ueber die
biologisch-gcographischon Untorsuchungen in den Kaukasus-
Lacndern. Tiflis, 1866. 4to.
 , Reisen und Forschungen im Kaukasus im 1865.
Tu Petermann's Mittheil. Gotha, 1867. 4to,
 , Vier Vortraego ueber dem Kaukasus. Ibid.,
1874.
 f Dio drei Langonhochtliuok'r ImeritieiiH. Tiflis.
 , Das kaukasische Museum in Tiflis. In Jahres-
bericht des Veroins fuer Erdkunde. Dresden, 1878.
—  , Die Chows'uren und ilir Land. Castel, 1878.
Svo.
Ahifh (Hermann), Geologische Boobachtungen auf Reisen in
den Gebirgslaendcrn zwischen Kur und Araxes. Tiflis,
1867. 4to. And other geological works.
Becker (A.), Reise nach dem Kaukasus. Moskau, 1868. Svo.
Schlotheim, Vier Monate in Grusien. Hermansburg, 1869.
Svo.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 183
Favre, Notes sur quelques glaciers de la chatne du Caucase.
In Bibl. universelle de Geneve, 15 Janv., 1869.
Vereschaguine (Basile), Voyage dans les Provinces du Caucase.
In Charton's " Tour du Monde." Paris, 1869. 4to.
¦ * Freshfield (Douglas W.), Travels in the Central Caucasus and
Bashan, London, 1869. Svo. Contains an account of the
famous ascent of Mkhinvari (Mt. Kazbek). Cf. Mr. Fresh
field's Lecture before the Royal Geographical Society, Lon
don, March 12, 1888.
Cunynghame (A.), Travels in the Eastern Caucasus. London,
1872. 8vo.
Mounsey (Aug. H.), A Journey through the Caucasus. Lou
don, 1872. Svo.
Lyons (F. A.), Adventures in Lazistan. In Bates's Illustrated
Travels. London, 1872.
Dilke (Ashtoii), An Article on Transcaucasia in the Fortnightly
Review. London, 1874.
Grove (F. C), The Frosty Caucasus. London, 1876. Svo.
(Account of ascent of Elbruz in 1874.)
Bunbiiry (E. H.), Art. Caucasus in Encyc. Brit. Vol. v.
1876.
Thielmann (Baron Max von), Journey in the Caucasus. Trans
lated by Dr. C. Hemeage. London, 1875. 2 vols, iu I.
Svo.
Emouf, Le Caucase, le Perse et la Turquie d'Asie. D'apres la
relation do M. le Baron de Thielmann. Paris, 1876. Svo.
Schneider, Vorlaeufigor Bericht ueber im Laufo des Sommers
1876 in Transkaukasien ausgefuehrte Reisen. In "Isis."
1876.
Fuchs (P.), Ethnologischo Beschreibung der Osseten. In
"Ausland." 1876.
Bemori'Ke (Raphael), La Souau^tie libre. Illustr. Paris, 1875.

i84 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
4to. Also Notes d'un voyage au Caucase. In Revue
catholiquo de Bordeaux, Oct. 1883.
Telfer (J. B., Commander R.N.), The Crimea and Transcau
casia. London, 1876. 2 vols. Svo.
*Bryce (Prof. James), Transcaucasia and Ararat. London,
1877. Svo.
Bakradsu (D.), Das tuerkiseho Grusien. aus d. Russischen
uebors. v. N. v. Seidlitz. In Russ. Revue. 1877.
Call (G. v.), Eisenbahnen im Kaukasus. In Oesterr. Monats-
Hclirift fuor d. Orient. VVieii, 1877.
Kohn (A.), Kaukasien und seine Bewohner. In "Grenz-
boten." 1877.
Reisen im Kaukasus Gebiet. In " Ausland." 1877.
Travels in the Caucasus. In Edinburgh Review. January,
1877.
Cole (G. K. F.), Tratiscaucasia. In Eraser's Magazine.
December, 1877.
Schweizer-Lerchmfdd (A. v.), Lazistan und die Lazen. In
Moiiatssehrift fuer d. Orient. Wien, 1878.
Knrslcu (K.), Natiir- und Kulturbild'or aus Traiiskniikaflion.
In " AiiH alien Welttlioilen." 1878.
Smirnow (M.), Apervu sur rethnograpliio du Caucaso. In
Revue d'Aiithropologie. Paris, 1878.
Kaukasische Skizzen. In Russ. Revue. S. Pbg., 1879.
Art. Georgia in Encyc. Brit. Vol. x. 1879, Only remarkable
for its typographical errors,
Vivien de Saint- Martin (Louis), Nouveau dictionnaire de Geo
graphic universelle. Paris, 1879. 4to. Art. Caucase and
Georgie. Also his Nouv. Annales des Voyages.
Serena (Mmo. Carla), Articles in Charton's "Tour du Mondo."
Paris. 4to. Jnii^rcHlii, 1880. Mingnqio, 1881. Kak-
lictio, 18K2. Saniourzakun, Abkasie, 1882.
Seidlitz (N. v.). Die Voelker des Kaukasus. Li Russischo

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 185
Revue. 1881. Vide also Petermann's Mittheilungen and
Russ. Revue passim.
Eeclus (Blisee), Nouvelle Geographie Universelle. Paris,
T. vi., 1881. 4to.
Morrison (M. A.), Caucasian Nationalities. In Journal of
Royal Asiatic Society. London, 1881.
Wolley (Clivo Phillips, formerly British Vice-Consul at Kertcli).
Sport in the Crimea and Caucasus. London, 1881. 8vo.
 , Savage Svanfitia. 2 vols. London, 1883. Svo.
Koch (C), Wanderungen im Oriente. Weimar, 1846 — 47.
3 vols. Svo.
—  , Die Kaukasische Militaorstrasse. Leipzig, 1851.
Svo.
 , Nachklaengo orientalischer Wanderungen. Erfurt,
1881. Svo.
Koechlin-Schtcartz (A.), Un touriste au Caucase. Paris, 1881.
12mo.
Bayern (Fr.), Contribution a I'archeologie du Caucase. Lyon,
1883.
Wanderer {a.\\ English officer). Notes on the Caucasus, London,
1883. Svo.
Sohohky (W.), Simrcn primitiver Familieiiordnungen bei don
Kaukasisehen Borgvoelkern. In Russ. Revuo, 1883.
Vladikin, Putevoditel po Kavkazu (Guido to tho Caucasus).
Moskva, 1885, 2 vols, Svo.
Chantre (Ernest), Recherches anthropologiques dans le Cau
caso. Paris and Lyon, 1886. 2 vols. 4to.
Urckert (R. von), Der Kaukasus und seine Voelker. Leipzig,
1887. Svo. Ethnography.
Kovalevskii, Customs of the.Ossetes. In Journ. R. Asiat. Soc,
July, 1888. Translated by E. Delmar Morgan, M.R.A.S.
Kavkaz, Spravochnaya kniga. Tiflis, 1888. 12mo.
Weidenhaum (B.), Putevoditel po Kavkazu (Guide to the Cau-

1 86 BIBTJOGRAPHY.
casus). Tiflis, 1888. An official publication. A good
guide on the principle of those of Murray is much wanted,
but Murray's Guide to Russia, 4th edition, 1888, gives very
little information about the Caucasus.
*Sbornik Svdenii o Kavkazie, Tiflis, 9 vols., 4to, beginning
1871, contains a mass of interesting and useful information.
Vol. I. 1871. Monograph on the Ossets, by Pfaff, Col
lection of Georgian, Armenian, and Tatar proverbs, &c. —
Vol. II. 1872. Statistical and economic condition of the
Ossets, by Pfaff. Serfdom in Georgia at the beginning of
the present century by Kalantarov, Railway routes to India.
— Vol. III. 1874. Exhaustive Treatise on Viniculture in
the Caucasus. — ^Vol. IV. and V. 1878 — 79. Statistics.
— ^VoL VI. 1880. Tiflis according to the census of March
25, 1876. Also contains a brief historical account of the
,;ity._Vol. VII. 1880. And Vols. VIIL and IX. 1885.
Statistics.
*Sbornik materialov dlya opisaniya myestnostei i piemen
Kavkaza, The sixth volume was published in Tiflis thia
year.
For Archeology vide —
Aktl of the Kavkazskaya Arkheografichskaya Kommissiya of
Tiflis, from 1866. In foi. Also the Zapiski and Izvestiya
of the Obshchestvo Lyubitelei Kavkazskoi Arkheologii of
Tiflis. Former, from 1875, in foi. ; latter,.from 1877, in Svo.
The Best Map is that of the General Staff. Five vorsts to
the inch. HISTORY.
General.*Brosset (M. F.), Histoiro de la Georgie (two volumes of
Georgian text, and six volumes of French translation and
notes). S. Pbg. (Acad. Scient.), 1849 — 58. 4to. M.
Brosset has written a great many books and articles on
Georgian history, published by tho Imperial Academy of
Sciences in S. Pbg. ; some of them may still bo purchased.

BTBLTOGBAPHY. 187
Cf. Bibliographic analytique des ouvrages do M. ]Mai'i('-Fi;licit6
Brosset .... par M. Laurent Brosset. S. Pbg., 1887.
Joselian (Plato), Istoriya gruzinskoi tsorkvi. S. Pbg., 1843.
Transliited into liiiglish under the titlo of "A Short History
of the Georgian Church," trauHliited from the Russiau by
the Rev. S. C. Malan. London, 18CG. Svo.
 , Razlichniya naimeiiovaniyaGruzin (On the various
Appellations of tho Georgians). Tiflis, 1840, 12mo.
 , Istoridiskii vzglad na sostoyanie drovhej.;. Gruzii
(Historical glance at tho condition of ancient Georgia).' In
Zliurnal Ministerstva narodn, Prosv. S. Pbg., 1843. Cf.
also his periodical Zakavkazskii Vestnik from 1845.
Tiflis.
Baratov (Prince Sulkhan), Istoriya Gruzii. S. Pbg,, 1865, Ac.
Svo. ¦
David (Tsarevich of Georgia), Kratkaya istoriya o Gruzii,
S. Pbg., 1805. 12mo,
Barataiev, Numizinatichskio fakti Gruzinskavo tsarstva (Geor
gian numismatics). S. Pbg., 1844. Svo.
Villeneuve (de). La Gijorgie. Paris, 1870. Svo.
Breite7ihauch (Georg Aug. von), Geschiehte der Staatcn vou
Georgien. Memmingen, 1788. Thin Svo.
Reineggs (Jacob), Kurzer Auszug der Geschiehte von Georgien.
Published in P. S. Pallas's Neue Nordische Beitraege, III.
Bd., S. Pbg., 1781. Svo.
*Evgeny (Bolkovitinov, Metropolitan of Kiev), Georgien, oder
historisches Gemaelde von Grusien, aus dem Russischen
uebers. von F, Schmidt. Riga, 1804. Svo. A capital
little book.
Jlfa/coZm (Sir John), History of Persia. 2nd edition. London,
1829. Svo.
Eraser, An Historical and Descriptive Account of Persia.
Edinburgh, 1834. 12mo.

l88 BIBLIOGBAPHY.
Kazem-Beg, Derbend N&meh, or the History of Derbend.
Translated from the Turkish (into English). S. Pbg., 1851.
4to.
Early History.
Ditmar (T. J.), Von den kaukasisehen Voelkem der mythi-
schen Zeit. Berlin, 1789. Svo.
Ritter (Carl), Die Vorhalle Europaeischer Voelkergeschichten
vor Herodotus, um den Kaukasus und an den Gestaden des
Pontus, eine Abhandlung zur Alterthumskunde. Berlin,
1820. Svo. The copy in the British Museum is lettered
"Ritter's Wahnsinn," and we must own that we think the
book more interesting than instructive.
Neumann (Carl), Die Hellenen im Skythenlande. Berlin,
1855. Svo.
Shea (D.), Mir Khwand. History of the Early Kings of
Persia from Kaiomars to ... . Alexander the Great. Lon
don. Oriental Translation Fund. 1832. Svo.
Procopius, De bello persico .... De bello gothico. Con
tinued down to 560 a.d. by Agathias,
Constantinus Porphyrius (X. cent, a.d.), De administrando
imperio.
Boyer, De muro caucasico. In vol. i. of Comment, de I'Acad.
do Sciences. S. Pbg.
Polybius, De bello persico. Lib. i., cap. xii. et passim.
Ruffmus, Historia ecclnsiastica. Lib. i., cap. x. Conversion of
Georgia.
Saint-Martin (Jean Antoine), Memoiros historiques et gco
graphiques sur I'Armenie. 2 tom. Paris, 1818 and 1819.
Svo.
Ashik (Anton), Bosforskoye Tsarstvo s yevo paleografichskimi i
nadgrobnimi pamyatnikami, raspisnimi vasami, planami,
kartami i vidami (The Kingdom of the Bosphorus, with its
palcographie and monumoutal remains, inscribed vases.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 189
plans, maps, and views). Odessa, 1S4S — 49. Three parts.
4to.
Neumann (C. F.), Eli.sha Vartabed. The Hi.story of Vartan,
and of tho battles of tho Armenians. 1830. Svo. And
Vahram's Chronicle of tho Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia.
1831. Svo. Published by Oriental Translation Fund. London.
D'Ohssnn (Che v.), Des pouplos du Caucaso au Xo. siecle. Paris,
1828.
Leheau (Charles), Histoire du Bas Empire. Corrigeo et augiu.
par M. dc Saint-Martin et continuee par M. Brosset jeune.
20 tom. Pari.s, 1824—30. Svo.
Vivien de Saint-Martin (Lom!>), Recherches sur les populations
primitives ct les plus anciennes traditions du Caucaso. Paris,
1847. Svo.
Stritfer (J. G.), Memorite populorum olim ad Danubium,
Pontum Euxinum, Paludem Mteotidem, Caucasum, Mare
Ca.spium, et inde magis ad Septentriones, incolcntium, 0
scriptoribus Historiaj Byzantinse erutaj et dige.stte. Petro-
poli, 1771 — 79. 4 vols. 4to. (Vol. iv. refers to Georgian
History.)
Modern History.
Klaproth (J. von), Aper9U des entreprises des Mongols en
Georgie .... dans le XIIL siecle. Paris, 1833. Svo.
Comte L. S. (? Seristori), Memoria sulle colonic del Mar Nero
nei secoli di mezzo. 26 pp. Svo. (n. d.) An account of
the Genoese trading colonies.
Dorn (B.), Beitraege zur Geschiehte der Kaukasisehen Laender
uud Voelker, aus moigenlaendischen Quellen. Esp. III.
Bd. (Geschiehte der Georgier), which contains a work by a
Mahometan writer named Iskender Munshi, and a History of
the Szafid Dynasty; it deals with the period 1540 — 1663.
Acad. Scient. S. Pbg., 1844. 4to.
•Perepiska na inostrannikh yazikakh gruzinskikh tsarei s
rosiiskimi gosudaryami ot 1639 g. do 1770 g. (Correspondence

I90 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
in foreign languages between the Kings of Georgia and the
Sovereigns of Russia from 1639 to 1770.) Acad. Scient.
S. Pbg., 1861. 4to.
Hanway (Jonas), The Revolutions of Persia during the present
century (being tho second volume of the Historical Account
of the British trade over tho Caspian). 2nd edition.
London, 1754. 4to.
Der allemeueste Staat von Casan .... Georgien und vieler
andern dem Czaren, Sultan und Schach .... unterthanen
Tartarn Landschaften .... Nuernberg, 1724. Svo.
Van der Quelle (Philander — pseudonym), Leben und Thaten des
persischen Monarehen Schach Nadyr. Leipzig, 1738. Svo.
Peyssonnel (French Consul in Smyrna), Histoire des Troubles
dans la Georgie. (? Paris, 1754.) Svo. Translated into
German, also into English as a continuation of Hanway's
History. London, 1756. 4to.
Ouosk' Ilerdjan (Jean), Memoire pour servir h I'histoire des
Cvenemens qui ont ou lieu en Armenie et en Gforgie a la
fin (lu XVIHe. siecle et au commencement du XlXe. Trud.
de I'armenien par J. Klaproth. Paris, 1818. Svo.
Cirbied (J.), Histoire armcnienne ; details sur les changements
politiques en Georgie et en Arm<;nie dans les premieres
anndes du XIXo. siecle. (? Paris, 1818.) Svo.
Rottiers (Col.), Notice biographique sur Mario, derniere reine
de G(5orgie. Journal Asiatique. Tom. 10. Paris, 1827.
*Zubov, Podvigi russkikh voisk v stranakh kavkazbkikb v
1810-34 (The Exploits of the Russian Army in the Cau-
casian Countries from 1810 to 1834). S. Pbg., 1835—36.
Ten vols. Svo. With portraits and plans.
 , Kartina voini s Persieiu (A Picture of the War with
Persia). S. Pbg., 1834. Svo.
Fonton (Felix de). La Russie dans I'Asie Mineure. Histoire de
la campagne du Mar&hal Paskewitch. Paris, 1831. Svo.
With atlas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 191
Urquhart (David), Progress and Present Position of Russia in
the East. London, 1836. Svo. And second edition " con
tinued to the present time." London, 1854. Svo.
Hommaire de Hell, Situation des Russes dans le Caucaso.
Paris, 1844. Svo.
Holland (Thomas Erskine), Lecture on the Treaty Relations
of Eussia and Turkey from 1774 — 1853. London and
Oxford, 1877. Svo.
Haxthausen (August, Baron von). The Tribes of the Caucasus,
with an account of Shamyl. Translated by J. E.Taylor.
London, 1855. 12mo.
Moser (L.), Der Kaukasus, seine Voelkerschaftcn ....
nebst einer Charakteristik Schamils. Wien, 1854. Svo.
Our Dangerous Neighbour over the Way, and Two Questions
upon the Caucasus. London, 1854. Svo.
*Bodenstedt (Friedrich Martin), Die Voelker des Kaukasus und
ihre Freiheitskaempfe gegen die Russen. 2 Bde. 2te.
Ausg. Berlin, 1855. Svo.
Wagner (Dr. Friedr.), Schamyl als Feldherr, Sultan und
Prophet. Leipzig, 1854. Svo. English translation by L.
Wraxall. London, 1856. Svo.
Douhaire (P.), Les Russes au Caucase. Prise de Schamyl.
Paris, 1859. Svo.
*Dubrovin, Istoriya voini i vladichestva russkikh na Kavkazie
(History of the War and Supremacy of the Russians in the
Caucasus). 3 vols. S. Pbg., 1871. The first volume is
introductory, and contains an excellent ethnographical
account of the country.
Baumgarten (G.), Sechzig Jahre des kaukasisehen Krieges.
Nach russischen Originalen .... Leipzig, 1861. Svo.
Dulaurier, La Russie dans le Caucase. In Revue des Deux
Mondes. Paris, 1865 — 66.
Boys (A. du), Le Caucase depuis Shamyl. In Le Contem-
porain. Paris, 25 Aoftt, 1876.

192 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Tho following Periodical Publications should also be
consulted : —
The official newspaper Kavkaz, 1844 — 88. Tiflis.
Kavkazskii Sbornik. 1876—86. 10 vols. Svo. Tiflis. A
series of articles chiefly referring to Russian military exploits
in the Caucasus during the present century.
For Georgian Jurisprudence, cf. —
Sbornik zakonov gruzinskavo tsarya Vakhtanga VI. (Collection
of tho laws of the Georgian King Vakhtanga VI.), izd.
A. S. Frenkelga, pod redak. D. Z. Bakradze. Tiflis, 1887.
Bagaturov (S. J.), Liehniya i pozemelniya prava v drevnei
Gruzii (Personal and Agrarian Laws in Ancient Georgia).
Tiflis, 1880. Dareste, An Art. in Journ. des Savants.
Paris, 1887. Kovalevskii, Arts, in Vestnik Yevropi.
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
Georgian Grammars and Dictionaries — Comparative
Philology.
Alphabetum Iberieum sive Georgianum. Romae, 1629. Svo.
Paolini (Stefano), Dittionario Giorgiano e Italiano, composto da
S. P. con I'aiuto del M. E. P. D. Niceforo Irbachi Gior
giano. Roma (Propag.), 1629. 4to,
Maggi (Francesco Maria), Syntagmatwn linguarum Orientalium
qu£8 in Georgiae regionibus audiuntur. Romae, 1643. Foi.
And 1670. Foi.
Hyde (Thomas, D.D.), Historia roligionis veterum Persarum
.... Oxonii, 1700. 4to. And 1760. 4to. Contains Geor
gian alphabet.
Tlukaanti (David), Dottrina Cristiana per uso delle missioni
della Giorgia, tradotta dalla lingua italiana in lingua civile
giorgiana. Roma, 1741. Svo. And 1800. Svo.
Vocabularium Catherinse. Nos. 108, 109, 110, &c. S. Pbg.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 193
Varl((amov, Kratkaya gruzinskaya grammatika. S. Pbg.,
1802.
Hervas, Vocabolario poliglota, p. 164, &c. Madrid.
Witsen, Nord en Cost Tartarye IL, 500, 526.
Firalov, Samouchitcl, soderzhashchii v scbe Grammatiku,
Razgovori, Nravouclieniya i Lexikon, na Rossiiskom i Gru-
zinskom yazikakh (Grammar, Dialogues, Moral Preceptsi,
and Dictionary in Russian and Georgian). S. Pbg., 1820.
Svo.
Vater (J. S.), Vergleichungstafcln der Europaeischen Stamm-
Sprachen .... Grusinische Grammatik, nach Maggio,
Ghai und Firalow .... Halle, 1822. Svo.
Klaproth (H. J. v.), Kaukasische Sprachen. Halle and Berlin,
1814. Svo.
 , Vocabulaire ct grammairo de la langue georgiennc.
Paris (Soc. Asiat.), 1827. Svo.
Sur la langue Gdorgienno. In Journal Asiat. Paris, 1827.
DroMct (M, F.), L'Avt liberal ou grammairo georgiennc. Paris,
18;i0. Bvo.
 , I^lcmeiits de la langue georgieniio. Pans, 1837.
Svo.
Soxdkhanqf (A.), Vocabulaire methodique georgien-fran9ais-
russe. *S, Pbg., 1839. Svo.
*Chuhinov (David), Gruzinsko-russo-frantsuzkii slovar. Dic
tionnaire georgien-fran9ais-russe avec un abrcgc de la gram
mairo gdorgienne par M. Brosset. S. Pbg., 1840. 4to.
 , Kratkaya gruzinskaya grammatika. S. Pbg., 1855.
Svo.
 , Russko-gruzinskii slovar. Vnov sostavlcnii po
noveishim russkim slovaryam. S. Pbg., 1886. Svo.
Bojjp, Kaukasische Glieder des Indo- Europaeischen Sprach-
stamnis. Beriin, 1847. 0

194 ¦ BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Mueller (F. C. J.), Zur Conjugation des georgischens Verbums.
Wien, 1S69. 8vo.
Schiefner (Prof.), Report on the languages of the Caucasus.
In Transactions of Philological Society. London, 1877.
Gatteynas (3. A.), Etudes linguistiquos sur les langues do la
famille georgiennc. In Revue de linguistique. Paris,
Juillet, 1881. .
Tsagareli (Prof.), Georgische Inschrift aus Jerusalem. In
Zeitschrift des Palestina-Vereins. 1881.
#  , Examen de la littcrature relative ^ la grammairo
g&rgienne. S. Pbg., 1873.
Peacock (D. R.), Original Vocabularies of Five West Caucasian
Languages (Georgian, Mingrelian, Lazian, Svanetian, and
Apkhazian). Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1877, pp.
145—156.
O&MET, Mingrelian, Abkhazian, Svanetian, and Lazian
Languages.
Sjogren (A. J.), Ossetische Sprachlehre (also published in
Russian). S. Pbg. (Acad. Scient.), 1844. 4to.
 , Ossetische Studien. S. Pbg. (Acad. Scient.), 1848.
4to.
Schiefner (A.), Ossetinskie texti (Osset texts). S. Pbg. (Acad.
Scient.), 1868. Svo.
 , Versuch ueber die Thusch-Sprache. S. Pbg.
(Acad. Scient.), 1856. 4to. And other works.
Mueller (F. C. J.), Ueber die Stellung des Ossetischen. Wien,
1861. Svo.
 , Beitraege zur Lautlehre des Ossetischen. Wien,
1863. Svo.
Miller (Vsyevolod, Professor at Moscow), Ossetinskie etyudi.
Bartolomaei (laeut.-Gen.), Lushnu Anban. Svanetskaya
Azbuka (Svanetian Primer with Georgian and Russian

BIBLIOORAPHY. \ 195
translation. Includes a largo vocabulary, Lord's Prayer,
colhxpiial phrases, &c.). Tillis, 1804. 4to. 147 pp.
Klaproth (J. do). Details sur lo dialecto georgien usite on
Mingrelie. In Journ. Asiat. Paris, 1829.
Rosen, Sprache der Lazen. Berlin, 1840.
 , Abhandlungen ueber das Mingrelische. Berlin, 1840.
 , Ueber das Suanischo und Abchasisclie. Berlin, 1845.
Georgian Literature. — Translations and criticism.s.
*Brosset, Articles, Lectures, &c , published by Ajjad. Scient. ¦
S, Pbg. in their periodical and other publications.
*Leint (Arthur), Georgiseho Dichtor. Leipzig, 1887. 12ino,
A collection of modern lyrics translated into German
verso,
 , Georgien, Natur, Sitten u. Bewohner. Leipzig,
1885. (Last chapter contains a short history of Georgian
literature, which I freely used in writing the present work.)
*Evgcny (Bolkovitinov), Georgien, oder historisches Gemaeldo
von Grusien, aus dem Russischen uebers. von F. Schmidt.
Riga, 1804. Svo.
Alter (Franz C), Ueber georgianische Litteratur. Wien, 1798.
Svo.
*Gulak (N. I.), 0 bar.=ovoi kozhc Rustaveli. (Two lectures in
Russian on Rustavcli's " Man in the Panther's Skin.") Tiflis,
1884. Svo.
Etat actuel do la litteraturo Gcorgienne. In Nouv, Journ.
Asiat. Vol, L, p, 434.
Gabriel (Bishop of Imoreti), Sermons, &c. Translated from
tho Georgian by S. C. Malan, Vicar of Broadwiudsor.
London, 1867. Svo.
d-beliani (Prince Sulkhan), Kniga mudrosti i Izhi. (A Russian
translation of a collection of Georgian fables and folk tales
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.) Perovod i
0 2

196 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
obyasneniya A. Tsagareli. S. Pbg. (Acad. Scient.), 1878.
Svo.
Behur B , , . Gruzinskiya narodniya skazki. S. Pbg.,
1884. 8vo. (A collection of folk tales, &c., chiefly from
Guri.)
Mueller (W.), Prometheische Sagen im Kaukasus. In Russischo
Revue. 1883.
Blefki (R. v.). Das Schloss der Tamara. Eine kaukasische
Sage. S. Pbg., 1852. Svo.
Tsagareli (Prof.), Svedeniya o pamyatnikakh gruzinskoi pis-
mennosti (Information concerning the monuments of Geor
gian literature). S. Pbg., 1887. Svo.
MorfiJl (W. R.), An Article on Georgian Literature in " The
Academy," July 21, 1888.
Mr. Morfill has catalogued the Georgian Library presented
to the Indian Institute at Oxford by tho Rev. S. C. Malan,
with whom he shares the honour of being the only Gt'orgian
scholar in England, and he will shortly publish a History of
Russia, a chapter of which will bo devoted to Georgia,

STATISTICS.

All the following figures are from official papers, and
they refer to tho year 1886, They must not be too
implicitly believed : —

A, Statistics op Population.

Government of Tiflis
,, Kutais

Area in pq. km.
40,473 35,000

Tot.ll po) uI.itioD.
735,000814,000

Population of the chief towns in Georgia : —

Government of Tiflis.

Akhaltzikho Akhalkalaki
Gori Dushet Signakh
Telav .
Tiflis .

18,265 4,303 5,3862,041
10,069 8,014
104,024

Government of Kutnis.
Batum . . 11,878
Kutais . . 20,227
Poti . . . 4,785
Sukhum . . 1,279

It will be seen that the urban population is very small.
B. Trade and Agriculture (1886).
Total trade of Transcaucasia (value in roubles at, say
22d. per rouble) : —
Exports. Imports.
27,812,402 11,452,145

Total.
39,264,547 Rbl.

198

STATISTICS.

Trade of the interior of Russia and Transcaucasia with
Persia : —

Exports.
6,128,933

Imports.
10,256,056

Total.
16,384,989 Rbl.

Transit trade through Transcaucasia : —
Prom Asia to Europe. From Europe to Asia. Total.
1,017,607 95,614 1,113,221
Traffic returns of Transcaucasian Railway.
Total weight of goods carried, 58,000,000 puds (Ton =
62 puds).
To Batum and Poti, for export, 32,000,000 puds.
viz. 15,000,000 pd. petroleum and its products.
9,000,000 pd. grain.
8,000,000 pd. miscellaneous goods.
Goods imported from abroad and despatched from
Batum and Poti by railway, 5,000,000 pd.
Bread stuffs produced in Transcaucasia : —

Wheat .

. 50,000,000 puds.

Barley

. 30,000,000 „

Maize

. 20,000,000 „

Millet .

. 9,000,000 „

Rice

. 6,000,000 „

Oat3

350,000 „

Potatoes .

. 4,000,000 „

Total

. 118,350,000 puds.

Wine, — The total annual production of wine In Trans
caucasia was about 25,000,000 gallons, of which about
15,000,000 gallons in the government of Kutais.
The Transcaucasian Rwy. carried a weight of 247,000

STATISTICS.

199

puds from stations in the government of Kutais ; 173,000
puds from stations iu the government of Tiflis.
(As there is no railway to Kakheti, the wine from that
district comes to the capital by road, in carts.)
Two hundred thousand puds were sent to Batum,
presumably for export (chiefly to France, where it is
" manipulated " and sold as Burgundy).
Sundry goods despatched by Transcaucasian Railway,
From stations in the From stations in
govt, of Kutais. the govt, of Tiflis.
Puds. Puds.

Manganese ore .

3,800,000 ""^'^^ y° y^"^^^ . —
(. Britain

Timber

536,000

817,000

Dried raisins

—

116,003

Palm wood

23,000

Walnut wood

20,000

12,030

Walnuts

6,000

36,030

Tobacco

64,000

31,000

Silk and cocoons .

—

1,500

Wool .

—

195,000

Fruits .

70,000

110,000

Raw hides .

8,000

36,000

Manufactured hidos

21,000

45,000

C. Education (1886).
No. of Schools,

Higher
gymnasia, &o.

Government of Tiflis
Kutais

17 5

Lower
manicipal.

16 9

Private
schools.

35 7

Elementary achools.

339
459

Total No.
of BChooU.

407
480

200

STATISTICS.

No, of Pupils.

Government of Tiflis .
„ Kutais .

Boys,

10,282
19,231

OlrlB.

6,727
1,0G2

Total.

I For every 10,000 in
habitants there ore—
L Schools. Pupils,

23,009
20,896

6'03
C-90

284
257

201

SPECIMENS OF GEORGIAN VOCAL MUSIO.

1. — The River Aragva,

Modcralo,
u I \ I

::^^

-W  0  p!
y r I

 o-

WS

j_-ri:

v^i

Efei^^

.IJ^J.

1  I

:^=Er

1 — I — r

=^^^s=

-r^^'-t— r

2. — The Singer.

Moderato.

_IS_iS_NL_JS _\- >-

N

N I
-J^-.U
s^
:fcE
^
£i:
w
202

GEORGIAN VOOAL MUSIO.

3.— Avtandil's Song.

AndatUe.

In \ N \ a

^^,^-^^sr=f^=^hHl-^

^=

y~?~V~7'

=P^

,I[>_U_',«rv_i^-Ll^:

^r:^r^-^_^_^.

r*^:^^^

-m—r-» — *—
:S ^ J

^^^- -^^-J-

?S^S^

^ ^-!L^

-^—4—*

# — • — •— 1
,-^  V.  K,  1

3CZKI

^y y"V~V

..^>^..^J•..^...*J^. ^*.j:>. si
:..i23
m
zmzzxi
t? — b-*— ? — t^-H' — ?->  ^-^ — ^
4. — Drinking Song (p. 88).
Maestoso.
^Tv
k^-p^'Iv^
KCtfer^ :raipr-i^-r-h — ^ — i r hi(-^*i— ^^ — ' ¦ J 11
Loirouir :
rKIHTKD BY ntLBIBT AND KIVHTOTOir, UUITBD,
ST. jonir's KOVSI, olibsinwxll boau.

3 9002 00859