114 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



The cancellaria, it seemed, was the starchma's 

 office, in which he transacted all his state 

 affairs. After a considerable search, and some 

 strong; lano;uao;e from his chief, who was not 

 quite sober, the secretary managed to find the 

 official seal of the town hidden in a crevice in 

 the wall. From another crevice he produced 

 a tallow candle, a treasure not to be matched 

 this side of Oni, and then came a fierce debate 

 as to where the seal should go. When they 

 had decided that about a dozen impressions 

 should be scattered broadcast over the written 

 part of the document, they appealed to me ; 

 and though I daresay they followed out their 

 origmal plan eventually, for the time being 

 the Elder contented himself by licking paper 

 and seal, holdins; the latter in the candle- 

 flame for a time, and then making an irregular 

 black mark at the foot of the document as 

 directed by me. After this, the seal and 

 candle were returned to their old hiding 



