BLACK SEA COAST. 83 



The days of preparation passed in Ekaterinodar 

 had in them nothing worth recording ; 1 gave up 

 my portmanteau finally and for ever as too large 

 to travel through the mountains on horseback, and 

 bought myself instead some Tscherkess saddle-bags, 

 in which I stowed three flannel shirts and a few 

 other things. My gun, too, I was obliged to leave 

 behind, and thus on the morning of our departure 

 my entire kit had been reduced to a rifle and small 

 saddle-bags, half full of cartridges and <nmnin t 



O ' O O O 



implements. We were to have one other travelling 

 companion, an excessively corpulent cavalry officer ; 

 and if I had little luggage, this worthy made 

 amends for my deficiencies. Pillows innumerable, 

 bags and food enough to last through a campaign, 

 while, as to bottles, I really began to think he 

 must be starting as a peddling wine or vodka 

 merchant. All this, as well as our three selves, 

 had to be piled on one fourgon, or four-wheeled 

 open cart, and when all the luggage had been 

 stacked on it, and our hapless selves perched on 

 top, we presented a picture of about as unlikely a 

 group to travel far without falling out by the way 

 as could be readily imagined. The old Cossack 

 got wedged between two of the largest packages, 

 and was thus pretty safe, but the ' plunger ' and 

 myself, sitting each on some shifting packages of 

 loaves, sardine-tins, or what not, had an exceed- 

 ingly merry time of it. Briskly our horses trotted 



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