RETURN TO KERTCH. 179 



hardly to be wondered at that there should be a 

 good deal of this kind of crime in such an uncivi- 

 lised, semi-settled district as the Caucasus, while 

 in the Crimea, which is far more civilised and 

 under the hand of the law, highway murders and 

 burglaries are not unknown even in the precincts 

 of the towns. The worst part of these highway 

 robberies on the Russian post-roads is that you 

 can never feel sure that your yemstchik is not in 

 league with the highwaymen ; in fact, I have 

 heard Russians say that that was almost invariably 

 the case. 



However, we reached our journey's end un- 

 molested ; grateful as far as I was concerned for 

 the only accident that occurred, as helping us more 

 rapidly on our way. This was merely a chase 

 given us by some infuriated moujiks, whose cart 

 we ran into and considerably damaged, when, as 

 usual in such cases, my yemstchik returned their 

 curses and sought safety in flight. Such a joltirg 

 I never had before ; but I forgave the cart even that, 

 as it got me into Ekaterinodar half an hour earlier 

 than I should have otherwise arrived. 



To give some notion of the inexpensive nature; 

 of travelling here, I may say that the sum I paid 

 the peasant for driving me the 114 versts from 

 Novorossisk was fourteen roubles, and this ;t the 

 then rate of exchange (ten roubles to the pound 

 sterling) would be I/. 8*. in English money. A. 



N 2 



