328 TRAVEL, ADVEKTURE, AND SPOKT. 



guide that he was a Russian. He said he had been 

 eleven years a slave in Circassia, a hewer of wood and 

 drawer of water condemned all those long years to 

 the most servile offices, and yet he manifested no 

 desire for change. He looked at us with dull leaden 

 eyes, and what little expression his face still retained 

 was one of resigned melancholy. 



We lunched off walnuts and hard-boiled eggs, and 

 prevailed upon a pretty Circassian girl to give us a 

 light for our cigars, which she did with much grace 

 and modesty, holding just enough of the thin white 

 handkerchief over her face to satisfy her conscience, 

 and at the same time to exhibit her charms. Her 

 mother scolded her from within for such barefaced 

 behaviour, and appeared to the rescue with only one 

 eye visible. We did not regret the loss of the rest 

 of the countenance so much as the result of her in- 

 dignant reproaches to her daughter, who flung her 

 veil back over her shoulders, and throwing a glance 

 of defiance at her mother, and of farewell at us, dis- 

 appeared into the house, and we walked down the hill 

 smoking thoughtfully. 



We found the rest of the party mounting their 

 ponies to go to Ismail Bey's house, as that distin- 

 guished personage was too unwell to come to us. Our 

 way led up another valley very like the first, also 

 with a clear stream, which was continually to be 

 crossed, through green meadows, fields, and woods, 

 and past cottages. Following it for about two miles 



