178 
TALYS. 
boundary of mountains. They are connected with the range of 
Alleguz ; and stretched away, in noble forms, to the end of the 
boldly undulating line, where we find that towering fountain of 
many floods. 
Our road continued south-east, over trackless snows, through 
narrow glens, and occasionally over low hills, without a tree or 
shrub. Having travelled in this way for fifteen wersts, we ar¬ 
rived at the vicinity of another ancient city called Talys, and as 
totally deserted of all appearance of inhabitants as we had found 
its former capital. I did not go out of the road to view it par¬ 
ticularly ; but from the distance we were at, I could distinguish 
too very large churches, the remains of houses, and other build¬ 
ings, and a great extent of walls. At the same time, I first 
beheld the double head of Ararat. From the elevation of the 
spot where I stood, and the numerous mountains, though inferior 
to it, which obstructed my view, its appearance did not strike 
me in the way I had expected. But the true effect, like that on 
my perfect sight of the Caucasus, after a similar disappointment, 
was only postponed. 
Proceeding south-east for nearly forty wersts, at the extre¬ 
mity of a very long valley, we arrived at the ruins of a caravan¬ 
sary, where we halted an hour to rest our horses. At this place, 
a pleasant change presented itself, both in the face of nature 
and the state of the atmosphere. The universality of the snow 
had been gradually disappearing during our last day’s journey ; 
and the unincumbered heights began to shoot out a little grass. 
Here the opening of the valley shewed still less of white, and 
more of green ; and the air, though cold, had something of a 
spring-like elasticity; a no unnecessary cordial to the traveller 
who reaches this point, from the cheerless tract we had just 
