RETURN TO TIFLIS. 327 



planks, through which we could by no means pass. 

 At the sides of the road, where the trottoirs had 

 been, women, with their scanty clothing tucked up 

 round their waists, were taking a mud bath and 

 walking exercise simultaneously, with this trifling 

 drawback, that, should they miss the trottoir, they 

 would probably disappear in the dark profound 

 beyond. This was, of course, an exceptionally bad 

 state of things, and we were told only happened 

 during the first day or two of the rainy season, 

 after which the streets got better, the filth accu- 

 mulated during the summer having been washed 

 away by the rains. 



Wishing the * white doves ' a merry time of it, 

 we with great difficulty got our vehicle out of the 

 road on to the steppe ; and here, though progress 

 was slow, it was at least better than it had 

 been. Two days spent in alternately being dragged 

 over morasses by our horses, and dragging them 

 and the cart out of the same, did not sweeten our 

 tempers, I presume ; and it was perhaps for this 

 that a luckless Persian suffered at Adji Kabool. 

 Here in the early morning 1 was sitting huddled 

 up in my bourka amongst my luggage in the 

 extremely narrow space allotted to one of two 

 passengers in a Russian post-cart, when a 'tchapar' 

 calmly pushed me to one side, and seated himself 

 comfortably beside me, without ceremony or apology. 

 On inquiring what lie meant, and explaining that 



