THE TEEEK VaLLEY. 185 



our two subsequent visits, a week and two months later, it is 

 fair to suppose that the complaint is chronic. The scenery 

 of the vallej of the Ter^^jt is entirely different from that on 

 the south side of the/pass: treeless valleys, bold rocks, slopes 



forbidd ing st'-^3epiiess (even to eyes accustomed to those 

 of the Alps), and stone-built villages scarcely distinguish- 

 able from -flie neighbouring crags, but for the one or two 

 towers Q)f defence which rise above the clustering hovels, 

 are t^^e main features of the sixteen versts' drive from 

 -'^o''x)i to Kazbek. A bold pinnacle of rock on our right 

 i-eminded me of a Tyrolese dolomite, while the trough-like 

 character of the valley, and the stern barrenness of the 

 scenery, carried Moore's thoughts back to Dauphine. 



We passed, halfway, a hamlet bearing the familiar 

 name of Sion, behind which a few trees had been planted, 

 the only ones in the vicinity. Clouds as yet prevented 

 our catching any glimpse of the snows of Kazbek, but did 

 not hide the lower mountains. The village is in a fine 

 position, backed on the east by very steep grass and rock- 

 slojDes, the supports of a massive rock-peak of at least 

 12,000 feet in height. Soon after our arrival, the clouds, 

 which up to this time had filled the glen opening opposite 

 the posthouse, rolled away, and revealed at its head Mount 

 Kazbek, a magnificent mass of rock and ,snow, towering 

 thousands of feet above all the neighbouring summits. 

 The form of the mountain-top is that of a steep-sided 

 dome ; the uppermost crags, which break through the ice, 

 are of a horseshoe form, and are curiously prominent in 

 all views of the mountain from the east, and even from 

 Vladikafkaz. We were glad to find the posthouse in the 

 charge of a civil couple, a man and his wife, the latter of 

 whom spoke a little German. The charges were high, 

 but we had no other ground of complaint, and enjoyed 

 during our stay plentiful food, fail- wine (selected from the 



