232 THE RION VALLEY. 



our stay there we saw scarcely more than twenty jjeojile. 

 They were not dressed in the showy style of the Ossetes ; 

 their clothes were old and sometimes ragged, and their 

 cartridge-pouches made of horn and wood, while their belts 

 were of plain leather, and the daggers hung from them in 

 sheaths equally unornamented. The ' swell ' of the place 

 seemed to be a lad of 14, a round-faced fellow, just like an 

 English schoolboy, who wore a wonderful wideawake hat, 

 w^ith a broad brim swelling out into a circular crown, 

 divided by braid, and shaped like an orange. He took a 

 great interest in us and our doings, and ' fagged ' several 

 ' lower boys,' whom he kept in great subjection, to fetch 

 us anything he thought we should want. In return we 

 amused him by displaying our knives, field-glasses, and 

 other knick-knacks, so that I believe our visit was a great 

 source of enjopnent and enlightenment to him. To us it 

 was a great relief to get among a colony of simple peasants, 

 and to be freed from the numerous restraints of travelling 

 among the ' gentlemen ' of Ossetia. We passed a very 

 comfortable night, though my mind was a good deal dis- 

 turbed by discovering the loss of my revolver, which I now 

 remembered I had unfastened, and must have left behind, 

 near the house at the foot of the Mamisson Pass. We 

 determined that, if the weather was fine, Moore and 

 Francois should go the next day on an exploring expedi- 

 tion up to the foot of the chain, while Tucker and I (both 

 having rubbed heels) should stop at home, and see to the 

 preparation of an extraordinary banquet. 



July 7th. — The morning was not very promising, but 

 Moore and Francois set out, in the hope that the weather 

 would clear up. However, it came on to rain heavily, 

 and we stay-at-homes, rather congratulating ourselves on 

 our superior position, settled do^vn very contentedly to 

 write up letters and read Shakspeare, a Globe edition 



