WITH THE MOUNTAINEERS. 
483 
Gourd, in precision and taste, might have honoured the best 
professor in Europe. I listened to him with delight and astonish¬ 
ment. And the rudest mountaineer present, listened to him 
too, with an expression of deep interest relaxing his hard and 
harsh features into something like that sympathy with certain 
pathetic sounds, which we are apt to assign to only the graces 
of the heart. Thus we beguiled the night, until day dawned, 
when every soul was a-stir for departure. 
December 17th. — Again we made an essay on the villagers, 
to buy forage for our mules and horses ; but the merciless 
wretches refused us at any price. We had already taken 
leave of our dispersing friends of the cavern ; and, with no 
traveller’s blessing bequeathed to the churls of Yeltomar, set 
forth soon after day-light, under the most pitiless weather that 
ever blew. A sharp wet sleet was falling, accompanied by a 
terrible north-east wind. Our road lay for about two miles 
along the inhospitable valley, and then ascended some steep 
hills; after surmounting which, a no easy task in the unre¬ 
freshed condition of our cattle, they dragged on for an hour and 
a half along their summits, in a direction N. 30° E.; when, 
almost stiff from the freezing wet and cold, we gladly descended 
into a narrow and sheltering valley, to the village of Tokta, where 
I proposed halting, to obtain, if possible, some nourishment for 
ourselves and animals. We arrived ; deeming it fortunate that 
our mehmandar being acquainted with the moollah of the place, 
would ensure a civil reception at least; but the good Mussul¬ 
man was also a good man, and with real humanity hastened, 
not only to lodge the Frangy and his people, but to put our 
horses and mules under comfortable cover, with plenty of pro¬ 
visions before them. For ourselves, we had his mesched for 
3 q 2 
