ZADELESK. 427 



the towers and groups of farmhouses which dotted the 

 slopes, were in dismal contrast to the visic>ns of beauty 

 and unclouded sky which had made the earlier hours of 

 the day so enjoyable. The path iirst mounted steeply, and 

 then wound at a level round the ravines and promontories 

 into which the hillside was worn by the action of time 

 and weather. Occasionally, we passed a patch of corn- 

 land, but the ground was generally stony and unculti- 

 vated, and there was no shelter of any kind from the fury 

 of a tremendous storm of wind and rain which attacked 

 us at this moment. 



For the last hour of our journey we were exposed to a 

 perfect waterspout; the growing darkness added to the 

 difficulty of guiding our horses against the storm, and we 

 were glad when the stone-houses of Zadelesk, which the 

 Cossack had pointed out to us, some time before, as the 

 best halting-place for the night, were safely reached. 

 The Cossack was now of the greatest use ; he took the 

 arrangement of our sleeping-quarters into his own hands, 

 and we were soon invited to remove from the comfortless 

 hovel, in which we had taken refuge, to a snug little 

 room, where mattrasses were found for us, and we passed 

 a very comfortable night. The day's ride had been long ; 

 with only short halts, we had been on the road for fully 

 eleven hours. 



August 20th. — To our surprise, after the storm of the 

 previous night, the morning was calm and clear. The 

 position of Zadelesk is very curious ; perched on a high 

 brow at least 1,000 feet above the Uruch, it is separated 

 from the villages on the opposite side, which are compa- 

 ratively close as the crow flies, by a tedious climb of 

 several hours. The trough through which the river flows 

 is too narrow to be inhabited, and the hamlets are perched, 

 like swallows' nests, halfway up the steep mountain-walls. 



