STEANGE SURROUNDINGS. 9 



recently brought his young wife ; but it was 

 so small that I should think it would only 

 hold one at a time. On its head a cockerel 

 was sitting, while his family pecked about the 

 floor and quarrelled with two half- starved curs 

 for the crumbs. The Svans (indeed, Cau- 

 casians generally, I think) are no dog-lovers ; 

 all the poor brutes we saw of the canine race 

 being timid as jackals, and as ravenous. 



From under our feet every now and then 

 came strange sounds, which we found to pro- 

 ceed from a cow-shed, in which the cattle and 

 the old man lived. 



Close against the front door was the tower 

 of defence, an extremely solid building of 

 large rough stones, with tin\^ slits in it at 

 every story, built not for light, but for loop- 

 holes, through which the defenders could fire 

 upon their foes. A little rickety ladder hung 

 against its wall, by which to ascend to the 

 only means of entrance into the tower ; and 



