COSSACKS OF THE BLACK SEA. 17 
and traveller, afterwards informed me, that he chap. 
considered Mount Chat in Caucasus to be higher 1 
than Mont Blanc : it is visible at the immense 
distance of two hundred miles. The snowy 
summits of the Alps are often seen for a day’s 
journey before reaching them, glittering above 
the line of clouds collected near their bases; 
especially by a traveller who approaches the 
Tirol from the plains of Suahia, where they seem 
to rise up all at once, like a wall. To us, indeed, 
who had travelled so long in the dreary flats of 
Russia, the Caucasian mountains were a new and 
a very pleasing sight. Our eyes had been 
wearied with the monophany of perpetual plains: 
and even the serene skies, to which we had been 
accustomed, were gladly exchanged for the 
refreshing winds of the hills, the frequent 
showers, and the rolling clouds, which cha- 
racterize mountain scenery. Trees also began 
to appear; the banks of the Kuhan being covered 
with woods. The oak, so long a stranger, reared 
once more his venerable head ; and the willow, 
and the bramble, and wild raspberries, and 
blooming shrubs, and thick underwood, covered 
the ground, affording retreat to abundance of 
wild-boars and deer. The last are often taken 
young, and kept as domestic animals in the 
cottages of the country. 
