TEAYELS IN CIRCASSIA. 317 



of-war steamers to a little village upon the coast, not 

 far from the dismantled Eussian fortress of Bambor. 

 The arrival and disembarkation of so formidable a 

 party at this remote harbour caused no small sensa- 

 tion. A Turkish flag, of minute dimensions, was 

 hoisted upon the steep bank which overhung the 

 water, and the houses were soon emptied of their 

 inmates, collecting in wondering groups on the beach. 

 The singular attire and handsome figures of Caucasian 

 mountaineers render such assemblages doubly inter- 

 esting ; and whether in Circassia, Abkhasia, or Min- 

 grelia, I always thought that their picturesque in- 

 habitants formed their most characteristic feature. 

 The scenery is indeed probably unequalled in the 

 world ; but if those rocky gorges and smiling lovely 

 valleys were not inhabited by such a peasantry, they 

 would lose their highest charm. 



There was a steep little street, composed of wooden 

 houses, leading up to the top of the rugged and 

 precipitous bank, where a winter torrent had rendered 

 the ascent easier ; and there were quaint old houses 

 perched upon the edge of the cliff, with deep veran- 

 dahs, where the old men of the village sit and smoke 

 their pipes, and no doubt discuss Abkhasian politics. 

 Dogs and children were playing together upon the 

 short green grass in front of one of these as we 

 approached, and broke off the game abruptly to bark 

 and cry at the strangers. An old patriarch, whose 

 more elaborate costume betokened a man in authority, 



