A PLEASANT REVIEW. 2G5 



as Simon, was an honest, merry rascal, and per- 

 haps in camp a harder worker than my man. 



Altogether, I agree in what Simon and 

 his confreres used to say, that Radcha men are 

 the best men in this part of the Caucasus, 

 theft is unknovv^n amongst them they say, and 

 I never heard of their being particularly ad- 

 dicted to any other vices. Certainly, as we 

 crossed out of the border-land into Svanetia 

 proper on the morrow, we felt we should be 

 lucky if we found as good and genial a 

 governor or as well-ordered a province as those 

 we left behind in Baron Geikin and Radclia. 



As soon as it was light we were all up, 

 and anxious to be off. As we had not seen a 

 villao^e since we left Gebi a fortnio-ht ag'o, and 

 Ushkul was reported to be almost (if not 

 quite) the largest village in Svanetia, we 

 hoped for great things on our arrival there. 

 Of course there had been rain in the valley 

 and more snow on the mountain in the nio^ht, 



