ry remote period. Besides the Mithridates, there is
no hill or mountain to be seen.

Kertsch lies partly on the spot where Pantikapaum formerly stood.
It is now included in the government of Tauria; it is fortified, has
a safe harbour, and rather considerable commerce. The population
amounts to 12,000. The town contains many fine houses, which are
chiefly of modern date; the streets are broad, and furnished with
raised pavements for foot passengers. There is much gaiety in the
two squares on Sundays and festivals. A market of every possible
thing, but especially provisions, is held there. The extraordinary
vulgarity and rudeness of the common people struck me greatly; on
all sides I heard only abuse, shouting, and cursing. To my
astonishment I saw dromedaries yoked to many loaded carts.

The Mithridates is 500 feet high, and beautiful flights of stone
steps and winding paths lead up its sides, forming the only walks of
the towns' people. This hill must formerly have been used by the
ancients as a burial-place, for everywhere, if the earth is only
scraped away, small narrow sarcophagi, consisting of four stone
slabs, are found. The view from the top is extensive, but tame; on
three sides a treeless steppe, whose monotony is broken only by
innumerable tumuli; and on the fourth side, the sea. The sight of
that is everywhere fine, and here the more so, as one sea joins
another, namely, the Black Sea and the Sea of Asoph.

There was a tolerable number of ships in the roads, but very far
short of four or six hundred, as the statements in the newspapers
gave out, and as I had hoped to see.

On my return, I visited the Museum, which consists of a single
apartment. It contains a few curiosities from the tumuli, but
everything handsome and costly that was found was taken to the
Museum at St. Petersburgh. The remains of sculptures, bas-reliefs,
sarcophagi, and epitaphs are very much decayed. What remains of the
statues indicates a high state of art. The most important thing in
the Museum is a sarcophagus of white marble, which, although much
dilapidated, is still very beautiful. The exterior is full with
fine reliefs, especially on one side, where a figure, in the form of
an angel, is represented holding two garlands of fruit together over
its head. On the lid of the sarcophagus are two figures in a
reclining posture. The heads are wanting; but all the other parts,
the bodies, their position, and the draping