72 LEBANON AND THE LEVANT. 



twice to tlie foot of Elbruz ; lie was consequently able to 

 give us niucb valuable information as to the character of 

 the country. But the most important aid we received 

 was the recommendation of a Mingrelian servant, who 

 would act as our interpreter. The need of some such 

 attendant, and the difficulty of finding one who would fall 

 in with our plans, had long been a weight on our minds. 

 The man Mr. Palgrave suggested to us was a native of 

 Sugdidi, between Kutais and Soukhoum-Kale, and had 

 been employed as cook in the consular household at 

 Trebizonde. He spoke French, Russian, Turkish, and 

 Georgian. 



I presented, at the Eussian Embassy, the letters of in- 

 troduction which had been forwarded to me from England, 

 and received from General Ignatieff much politeness. He 

 gave me letters to Count Leverschofi", the Governor of 

 Mingrelia, and to a gentleman attached to the Grand 

 Ducal court at Tiflis. We were warned that the country 

 was still in an undeveloped state, and that we should find 

 rough roads and meagre fare, but were also told that the 

 worst danger to which we should be exposed from the 

 mountaineers was having a horse stolen. 



On May 1st we parted from our friends Cross and 

 Williams, who sailed for Italy ; and on the following 

 afternoon embarked, with all our traps, on board a 

 Eussian screw-steamer, which looked very small in con- 

 trast to the large boats in which we had voyaged of late. 

 She was named the ' Gounib,' after the scene of Schamyl's 

 last resistance and capture in Daghestan. The boat was 

 built more for freight than passengers, and the accommo- 

 dation was very scanty. Tucker and I were lucky, however, 

 in getting a comfortable cabin to ourselves, owing to the 

 courtesy of a Eussian officer, who exchanged his berth 

 with one of us. The deck was littered with aU sorts of odd 



