fetch what they have not by them. If I wanted bread, or anything
that my hosts had not got, I might seek for it myself. As I have
said before, it is only for an officer that they will make any
exertion.

I had left Tiflis about 3 in the afternoon of the 5th of September,
and reached this place in the evening of the 9th, five days to
travel 274 wersti (195 miles). I call that a respectable Russian
post!

The boat did not start for Redutkale, a distance of eighty wersti,
until the morning of the 11th. It was bad weather; and the Ribon,
otherwise a fine river, cannot be navigated during a strong wind, on
account of the projecting trunks of trees and logs. The scenery
still continued beautiful and picturesque. The stream flows between
woods, maize, and millet fields, and the view extends over hills and
mountains to the distant and gigantic Caucasus. Their singular
forms, peaks, sunken plateaus, split domes, etc. appear sometimes on
the right, sometimes on the left, in front, and behind, according to
the ever-changing windings of the river. We frequently halted and
landed, every one running to the trees. Grapes and figs were
abundant, but the former were as sour as vinegar, and the latter
hard and small. I found a single one ripe, and that I threw away
when I had tasted it. The fig-trees were of a size such as I had
never seen, either in India or Sicily. I believe the whole sap is
here converted into wood and leaves. In the same way, the great
height of the vines may be the cause of the grapes being so small
and bad. There must certainly be a great field for improved
cultivation here.

12th September. Our boat did not go far. There was a smart breeze,
and as we were already near the Black Sea, we were obliged to remain
at anchor.

13th September. The wind had dropped, and we could, without danger,
trust ourselves on the sea, upon which we had to sail for some
hours, from the principal arm of the Ribon to that on which
Redutkale was situated. There was indeed a canal leading from the
one to the other, but it can only be passed at very high water, as
it is much filled with drift sand.

In Redutkale, a speculating Cossack host also received me, who had
three little rooms for guests.

According to the Russian calendar, this was the last day of August.
On the 1st of September, the steamer was to come, and sail again
after two hours. I therefore hastened to the commandant of the town
to have my passp