518 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



valley, whence we had to ascend 

 to the level summit of a hill, by 

 a steep, winding, and well beaten 

 foot path, when we met with an 

 accident which not a little dis- 

 tressed us. Mr. ChlebnikofFslipped 

 his foot and fell into a hole. We 

 once heard him stop, but he again 

 rolled further down, and at length 

 we knew not what had become of 

 him. He returned no answer to 

 our questions, and we dared not 

 call loudly, as there were villages 

 within hearing of us. The night 

 was so extremely dark, that no 

 object could be recognized at the 

 distance of ten paces. We tied 

 our girdles together, and fastening 

 the one end about WassiljefF, let 

 him down into the hole into which 

 Mr. ChlebnikotF had fallen. We 

 lowered him gradually as far as 

 the length of our united sashes 

 would admit, and then drew him 

 up again. WassiljefF informed us, 

 that, notwithstanding the depth 

 to which he had descended, he 

 could not discover the extent of 

 the hole ; and that he called Mr. 

 Chlebnikoff, but received no an- 

 swer. We, therefore, resolved 

 to remain on the spot until day- 

 light, and then to lower another 

 of our party into the hole, to 

 ascertain whether Mr. Chlebnikoff 

 was yet living. 



We remained, for two hours, 

 in a state of the most painful un- 

 certainty respecting the fate of 

 our worthy companion. We at 

 length heard a rustling among the 

 grass, and, on looking round, to 

 our astonishment, beheld Mr. 

 Chlebnikoff. He had first rolled 

 down about two fathoms from 

 the surface, when S(*mething stop- 

 ped him, and he endeavoured to 

 climb up again ; he, however, 



slipped a second time, and fell 

 perpendicularly into a pit, to the 

 depth of four fathoms. F.)rtu- 

 nately, there were no stones at 

 the bottom of the pit, but he 

 was, notwithstanding, severely 

 bruised. He, at length, succeeded 

 in climbing up the side of the 

 hole, and reached the spot where 

 he surprised us by his unexpected 

 appearance. After having rested 

 for a short time, he again accom- 

 panied us on our journey, although 

 he felt severe pain in every part 

 of his body. 



Even now, I never look back 

 without horror upon the frightful 

 gulphs and huge rocks of Mats- 

 mai, and millions of money would 

 not tempt me to travel over them 

 again, even in the open day. 

 Whilst we were ascending steep 

 eminences, and beheld beneath us 

 on every side nothing but masses 

 of rock and torrents, we were 

 frequently obliged to hold by 

 small bushes, without being cer- 

 tain whether they might not be 

 too weak or decayed. Had any 

 of them given way, those who 

 were trusting to their feeble 

 support must have been preci- 

 pitated into the abyss below, and 

 dashed to pieces. A loose stone 

 projecting from a rock was fre- 

 quently our only reliance. But 

 Heaven watched over us, and 

 excepting Mr. ChlebnikofF's fall, 

 no serious accident occurred. 

 Our desperate situation made us 

 disregard every danger. We 

 climbed up the steepest rocks 

 without ever thinking on death, 

 and with as much indifference as 

 if we had been proceeding along 

 a level road. My only wish was, 

 in case an accident should occur 

 to me, that it might be a decisive 



one, 



