FEMALE BEAUTY. 103 



In spite of all I have heard of Caucasian 

 female beauty, this girl of twelve was the 

 only really lovely Caucasian I remember to 

 have seen, but she was as beautiful as a dream. 

 As a rule the women seemed to me plain, but 

 then the Mingrelians, whose beauty is most 

 talked of in the Caucasus, are of a thoroughly 

 Hebrew type, which I dislike ; and for the 

 others I admit to being unable to see loveli- 

 ness through an inch and a half of dirt. The 

 sight of the bridge which had to be recrossed, 

 and the memory of my Kutais experiences, 

 soon prevailed over the entreaties of my new 

 friends ; and after drinking with half a dozen 

 of the ladies, and getting rid of the unpleasant 

 taste of the rough wine with a long draught 

 of the glorious natural soda water that 

 bubbled up without price and without stint 

 not far from our feet, I made my adieux, and 

 carried off my guide with me to the other 

 side of the stream. 



