176 HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY. 



not belong to a numerous tribe, he has been compelled to fight against 

 forces vastly superior in numbers, and has accordingly accustomed himself 

 more to a partisan warfare than to regular battles." The Georgians are 

 excellent horsemen and very brave ; they are upright and trustworthy, but 

 at times somewhat rude ; hospitable indeed, but not very friendly and polite ; 

 ingenious and quick of apprehension, but ignorant in the highest degree. 

 The people of the country, though they do not display the pride that charac- 

 terizes the men of rank, yet by their tone and entire manner betray their 

 martial character, as in general the Georgians have acquired the virtues as 

 well as the vices of soldiers. Georgians practise farming, and cultivate the 

 vine to a large extent, as a great deal of wine is consumed by them. 

 Silkworms are reared, and cattle, principally sheep, raised. They have 

 not, as yet, entered upon the practice of the industrial arts to any extent. 

 Their domestic life is very plain. The carpets upon which the Georgians 

 sit with their legs turned under them, according to the oriental fashion, 

 constitute almost their only furniture. Rich and poor live in the same 

 manner, with the exception of a few people of Tiflis, Avho endeavor 

 to imitate the Russians. Their dress is very comfortable and good, and 

 consists mostly of woollen material. The women wear trowsers, are 

 initiated also in all the arts of the toilette, and even take pride in rouging 

 very handsomely. Their dress is modest, and shows to advantage the 

 beautiful slender figure, the regularity of the features of the face, the 

 fairness of the complexion, and the inexpressible mildness in the glance of 

 the eye. The reader will best learn the dress from the representations given 

 by pi. 10, Jig. 25, a Mingrelian girl ; fig. 26, and pi 15, Jig. 15, an Imeritian 

 prince (overcoat orange, under garment and breeches green, boots yellow, no 

 stockings, the legs naked to the knee, hat yellow) ; pi. 10, Jig. 27, Georgian 

 prince ; pi. 15, Jig. 16, a Georgian female of the higher ranks. Gown scarlet, 

 head-dress and veil white, sash yellow, ornaments on the head-dress and 

 gown golden ; Jig. 17, a Mingrelian of the lowest ranks carrying the produce 

 of his rich vineyard to market. Overcoat green, under dress and breeches 

 scarlet, straw hat yellow, sash striped yellow^ and red, shoes black, worn over 

 short yellow boots. 



The Calmucks, {pi. 12, Jig. 10), who call themselves " Derben-Oret," that 

 is to say, the four united nations, are an offshoot of the Mongols, and form 

 four hordes : the Choshoutes, the Soongores, the Derbets, and the Torgots. 

 They live on the Lower Volga and in Central Asia. They formerly 

 professed the religion of the Shamians, but afterwards embraced the 

 doctrine of Fo : nevertheless their chief-priests (" lamas") are independent 

 of the highest priest (" dalai lama"), having broken off all intercourse 

 with his residence. The " gelungi" (priests) are subordinate to the chief- 

 priests, the " gezuli" are subordinate to the gelungi, and the " mandshikami" 

 to the gezuli. 



"When the camp is broken up, the kihitkas (houses), in which the temples 



of the idols are kept, are likewise removed from one place to another. 



The priests form the tenth part of the entire nation, and as they neither 



pay taxes nor perform any duty necessary to the commonwealth, they 



34-8 



