indignation: "You shall hear how they obtain it; and what they do with it; and why you never see any of it. They are industrious merchants, and derive wealth by commerce: they are good husbands and fathers, providing for their families, and educating their children: and you never see all this, because, as you confess, you never visit them."

CHAP.

XIV.

from Azof.

We succeeded, with great difficulty, in ob- Departure taining leave to quit the place the following day. General Pekin lent us his assistance; and it was owing chiefly to his interest that twenty soldiers were ordered to attend by day-break, and to assist in towing the boat against the current; as it was necessary to re-ascend a part of the river, and to proceed towards the sea by one of the mouths through which the Don disembogues itself, nearer to Taganrog than that branch of it upon which Azof is situate. We took leave of our boisterous entertainers soon after midnight, most of whom were by this time more than

half seas over;" and, in order to secure our retreat, we determined to pass the night in the boat. It was still dark, and dreadfully tempestuous. A thunder-storm came on, and the wind blew with the fury of a hurricane. we passed the sentinels, to go towards the river, vivid flashes of lightning disclosed to us,

As

XIV.

CHAP. at intervals, our carriage tossed about in the boat, as if in a gale at sea. We succeeded, however, in getting on board; and presently such a deluge of rain ensued, that we were glad to seek shelter with the bobacs, whose natural somnolency was not proof against such violent concussions, and who were thrusting their noses between the blinds of the windows. We never experienced such a tempest. During all the rest of the night, the water seemed to descend as from a cataract, beating through the very roof of the carriage, and entering by every crevice. As the day dawned, the rain ceased to fall but the wind continued as before. servant arrived from the fortress, having succeeded in mustering the soldiers. We encouraged them by liberal offers; and soon afterwards we had the satisfaction to find, that, although our boat's motion was hardly progressive against the united force of wind and tide, we were actually leaving Azof.

Our

After a long and very obstinate struggle, during which our boatmen were nearly exhausted, we at last reached that branch of the river along which we were to steer with the tide towards the sea. It is called the Kalarcha. Here we rewarded and dismissed our assistants from the garrison, hoisted our canvas, and,

XIV.

falling very rapidly down the current, sailed CHAP. into the PALUS MEOTIS. The mouths of the Don are thirteen in number. In other respects, this river, by its shallows and islets, its periodical inundations, its rapidity and rolling eddies, perturbed by slime and mud, its vegetable and animal productions, bears, as was before remarked, a most striking resemblance to the Nile. The inhabitants of all this part of the Sea of Azof maintain that its waters annually diminish. A remarkable phænomenon occurs during vio- Remarklent east winds: the sea retires in so singular a manner, that the people of Taganrog are able to effect a passage upon dry land to the opposite coast, a distance of twenty versts': but when the wind changes, and this it sometimes does very suddenly, the waters return with such rapidity to their wonted bed, that many lives are lost. In this manner, also, small vessels

(1) Rather less than fourteen miles.

(2) Similar changes are effected by winds towards the northern parts of the Red Sea; and the author, being aware of this circumstance, had availed himself of the fact, in the first edition, to explain the passage of the Israelites in their escape from Egypt. The allusion excited a considerable degree of clamour: some stupid bigots maintained that the reconciliation of this event to natural causes amounted to a denial of the truth of sacred history; as if the miraculous interposition of the Almighty in behalf of his chosen people, aud in the overthrow of their pursuers were not as awfully manifested in dividing the waters," by the wind und the storm fulfilling his word," as by any other means of supernatural power. To hold an argument, however, with such bigots, would be to as little purpose as to reason with Turks in matters of religion :

66

able Pha

nomenou.

CHAP.
XIV.

are stranded'. We saw the wrecks of two, which had cast anchor in good soundings near the coast, but were unexpectedly swamped upon the sands. The east wind often sets in with great vehemence, and continues for several weeks. They have also frequent gales from the west; but very rarely a wind due north; and hardly ever an instance occurs of its blowing from the south. This last circumstance has been attributed to the mountainous ridge of Caucasus, intercepting the winds from that quarter. The sea is so shallow near Taganrog, that ships performing quarantine lie off at a distance of

religion: the Note was therefore withdrawn; although the plain text of Exodus fully states (chap. xiv. 21.) that THE LORD CAUSED THE SEA TO GO BACK BY A STRONG EAST-WIND, and made the sea dry LAND, AND THE WAters were dIVIDED: AND the childrEN OF ISRAEL WENT INTO THE MIdst of the sEA UPON THE DRY GROUND."

(1) "The merchandize brought from Voronetz comes down to Rastoff in barks which will not bear the sea, but are broken up there. Their cargoes are again embarked in lighters, which convey them to Taganrog, and to the ships in the road. As the wind changes to the east, and the water grows shallower, they get farther and farther out to sea, and are often obliged to sail without having completed their cargo. This singular kind of monsoon takes place almost every year, after Midsummer. The Governor said, it seldom failed. Storms are not uncommon; and the navigation is considered as very unsafe, by reason of the numerous shoals, and the want of shelter."

Heber's MS. Journal.

Mr. Heber's orthography, in the names of places, has been followed, whenever an extract is given from his Journal; the author not deeming it lawful to subject so accurate a writer to any rules which he may have laid down for himself, and to which, perhaps, he has not always adhered.

XIV.

fifteen versts; and vessels, drawing from eight CHAP. to ten feet of water, cannot approach nearer to the town to take in their freightage.

Taganrog.

The elevated situation on which Taganrog is Arrival at built rendered it visible to us from the moment we entered the Sea of Azof. The wind, however, began to fail; and it was night before we reached the shore. Several of the inhabitants came down upon our arrival; and being afterwards provided with a tolerable set of apartments, we resolved to remain here for a few days, that we might prepare our journey through Kuban Tahtary.

(2) Ten miles.