TO THE FRONTIER OF CIRCASSIA. 43 
principalities. Few of the present inhabitants chap. 
of Kuban Tahtary are able to converse with any ' * 
of the Circassian tribes. Those whom we saw 
near the river spoke a dialect so harsh and 
guttural, that it was by no means pleasing to 
the ear. Pallas says it is probable that the 
Circassian bears no affinity to any other lan- 
guage; and that, according to report, their 
Princes and Usdens speak a peculiar dialect, 
unknown to the common people, and chiefly 
used in predatory excursions 5 . Their mode of 
life is that of professional robbers. It might 
have been foretold of the Circassian, as of 
Iskmael 2 3 , “ He will be a wild man; his hand 
WILL BE AGAINST EVERY MAN, AND EVERY MANS 
hand against him.’ Those who inhabit the 
passes of the mountains, and are not occupied 
in any agricultural employment, depend solely 
upon plunder for their subsistence. The petty 
princes are continually at war with each other : 
every one plunders his neighbour. The inha- 
bitants of the plains go completely armed to the 
labours of the field. The crops are also guarded 
by armed men. No Circassian poet can there- 
fore celebrate the peaceful occupation of the 
(2) Pallas's Travels through the Southern Provinces, See. vol. 1. 
p. 408. 
{3) Gen. xvi. 12. 
