212 CASUALS IN THE CAUCASUS 



nessed abreast, dragged our tarantass through the 

 streets of Tiflis ere Tiflis was yet awake. Behind 

 came Ah Ghirik in a troika, or team of three, with 

 the bulk of our luggage. His three steeds were quite 

 equal to our four, or else his yamschik knew his work 

 better, for we kept close together as we galloped 

 into the plains through the haze of gathering heat 

 which was sweeping down on the city, the hottest in 

 Russian dominions. 



Heavily-laden wagons trailed towards us, piled with 

 carpets and mysterious bales of goods. The high-sided 

 carts were most brilliantly painted in reds and greens, 

 the spokes radiated alternate tints, and the wrappings 

 shone multi-coloured. Loads of sun-kissed melons 

 glinted amber and gold. Viewed sideways the line of 

 carts looked like a procession of bright tin toys from 

 Hamley's. 



Ruskin told us that wherever men are noble they 

 love colour. " How this grace speaks in its own 

 standing." The caravan was a rainbow broken loose. 



In excellent foil were the thick-set, brown-coated 

 Tatars, with their little arsenals hanging about them, 

 and vast papaks of sheep-skin, regular extinguishers, 

 so large and broad as to create quite a little shadow 

 round the wearers. They are not the insufferable 

 head-gear one would imagine, being non-conductors 

 of the sun's rays, but the appearance of the over- 

 weighting chapeaux makes one pant sympathetically 

 for the unfortunates beneath. 



On the brown grass of the hill-side great white 

 Egyptian vultures moved sluggishly amongst a cart- 



