TO THE CAPITAL OF THE CRIMEA. 
1G5 
Tahlar buildings bad been suffered to remain, CI ™ • 
and the public fountains were still unimpaired. ' » — ' 
The place owed all its importance to the cir- 
cumstance of its being the residence of the 
Governor -general of the Crimea, a veteran 
officer of the name of Michelson, formerly re- 
nowned for the service he rendered to Russia, 
in the defeat of the rebel Pugatchef. In other 
respects, it is one of the least eligible situ- 
ations in the Crimea. Its inhabitants are subject 
to frequent fevers during the summer, and Unwhole- 
the water is less salutary than in other parts ationot uk- 
of the Peninsula. Fruit and vegetables, which 
are common in the southern villages, can only 
be procured at Ahmelchet by purchase from 
the Tahtars. As a town, it has a mean and 
an insignificant appearance : the streets are 
narrow, unpaved, and filthy, containing only a 
few shops, which are maintained entirely by 
Greeks. The Salgir, hardly deserving the name 
of a river, flows in a valley near the town. 
The neighbourhood abounds with game ; so 
that the officers of the garrison are enabled to 
amuse themselves with almost every kind of 
European chace. They hunt the stag, the fox, 
and the hare. Hawking is also a favourite 
pastime; the Tahtars being very skilful in 
training birds for that purpose. A few days 
after we took up our residence with Professor 
m 2 
