AN IMPOSING EXPEDITION. 161 



I very soon found that Deto's only claim 

 to being a Russian scholar was the possession 

 of a ragged old Russian uniform which he 

 wore, and a lively memory of a Russian term 

 of abuse, no doubt often applied to himself. 

 These were hardly good qualifications for an 

 interpreter, but to please Simon, Frank and I 

 engaged the fellow ; and towards evening he 

 came to us with a raw-boned old mare and 

 her foal, with which for our bao-o;ao;e animals 

 we started for Lapur and Svanetia — not a 

 very imposing expedition to look at, as we 

 trudo-ed out of Gebi, the foal making occa- 

 sional attempts to bolt for some tempting 

 pasture to our right or left, attempts which 

 Deto and Simon did all they knew to frustrate, 

 while the old mare, laden with a large black 

 kettle, our saddle-bags and guns, formed the 

 centre of the main party. 



On our way out of the town we passed 

 one of the strangest scenes it has ever been 



VOL. I. M 



