60 THE RED FOREST AND 



worth while to mention my plans, as they nearly 

 all suffered change, and it would have been better 

 for me if they all had. 



At Tainan, whilst the horses were being har- 

 nessed, I was kindly entertained by the chief of the 

 Russian Telegraph station, from whom I gained 

 a good deal of general information. I may say 

 once for all, that wherever I went I met with 

 the kindest attention from the employes of the 

 Telegraph Companies, whether Russian or Indo- 

 European, and I heartily commend to their kind- 

 ness any one who may be inclined to follow on 

 my steps. But the jingling bells, whose ceaseless 

 monotony was to be my only music through many a 

 day to come, warn me to drink up my coffee, light 

 a pipe for the journey, and be off. 



The country round Taman had improved some- 

 what since I saw it last. People used to declare 

 nothing would grow there ; but now that some 

 Greeks have settled round the town, fine onions 

 and other garden produce are daily sent in, grown 

 within a mile of the bazaar. 



Once well out on the steppe, in a flat open cart, 

 with no shelter of any kind and retreat impossible, 

 down came the pitiless rnin. No fitful April shower, 

 but a good conscientious downpour, large drops 

 and plenty of them, for the rest of the afternoon. 

 Here, then, was my first omission in fitting out for 

 an expedition. An umbrella would have looked 



