DELIDSCHAX. 117 



prettj wooded basin, out of wliicli we climbed by a long 

 ascent, and then wound along, or rather up and down, 

 the slopes into Delidschan, a large village situated at 

 the foot of the pass into Armenia, looking up a wide 

 and somewhat bare upland valley, along which runs the 

 road to Alexandrapol. We had only travelled sixty- 

 eight versts during the day, but it was too late to cross 

 the pass. The horrible jolting of our carts had given us 

 all headaches, and made us feel generally out of sorts, and 

 we had made up our minds to give them up and take to 

 riding, which now indeed became a necessity, as the stage 

 over the mountain was impassable for carriages, owing to 

 the destruction of the old track by the works for the new 

 road. Delidschan turned out to be the destination of the 

 troops we had seen in the morning, and there was already 

 a considerable force collected in the white tents pic- 

 turesquely grouped in the valley below. The evening 

 was cold, for we were at a height of 4,230 feet, and we 

 were glad to solace ourselves after oiu* fatigues with a 

 brew of mulled wine. 



May 22nd. — Heavy rain was falling when first we looked 

 out of window, and we set about our preparations in a 

 gloomy frame of mind. Our luggage was soon packed 

 on horseback, and, mounted on animals more used to 

 draw than to carry, we formed a very queer cavalcade 

 when we started for the ascent of the pass. Paul, like 

 most of his race, was a good but rough rider, and 

 bullied his beast, until the animal plunging, and the 

 saddle turning, gave our friend a tumble and a lesson in 

 moderation which was not unneeded. The road led up a 

 lateral glen of the valley we had left, through forests 

 carpeted with cowslips, and past several villages, untidily 

 built of wood. On the bare slopes, near the top, we found 

 the soldiers at work ; they were blasting a terrace for the 



