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Macay Tartar travelling with his Khibitka, or Tent, upon Wheels, shewing that the Hamaxobi of Herodotus crist at this dy

CHAP. XIV.

CHAP. XIV.

Visit to the General in chief of the

Cossack Army.

VOYAGE DOWN THE DON, TO AZOF AND TAGANROCK.

Visit to the General in chief of the Cossack Army-Em-
barkation for the Sea of Azof-General View of the South
of Russia-DE RUBRUQUIS-Tartars-Armenian Colony of
Nakhtshivan-Fortress of St. Demetri Rastof-Division of the
Don-Tumuli-Fortress and Village of Azof-City of Tanaïs
-its probable Situation-Condition of the Garrison of Azof-
Opinion entertained of the Cossacks-Departure from Azof-
MEOTIS-Remarkable Phænomenon-Arrival at Taganrock.

THE morning after our return to Oxai, we received a

message from General Vassili Petrovich Orlof, Commander in
chief of the Cossack army, stating, that he expected us to dine
with him at his country-seat upon the Don. We set out, ac-
companied by our friend Colonel Papof, and a Greek officer in

the

the Cossack service, whose name was Mamonof. The
General had sent his carriage, with six fine Cossack horses,
and several Cossacks mounted with lances, to escort us. We
passed along the steppes, and occasionally through vine-
yards, planted with cucumbers, cabbages, Indian wheat,
apple, pear, peach, and plum trees, and melons, for about
ten miles, till we arrived at his house, which stood upon
the European side of the river, opposite the town of Tscher-
chaskoy, and distant from it about five miles.
Here we
found elegant and accomplished women assembled round
a piano-forte; and afterwards sat down to as magnificent
a dinner as any English gentleman might afford; the whole
of which was served upon plate. The company con-
sisted of about twenty persons. The General presented
us with mead thirty years old, which tasted like fine
Madeira. He wished very much for English beer, having
often drank it in Poland. A number of very expensive
wines were brought round, many of them foreign; but the
best wine of the Don seemed superior to any of them. As
we sat banquetting in this sumptuous manner, I called to
mind the erroneous notions we had once entertained of the
inhabitants of this country, and which the Russians still
continue to propagate concerning the Cossack territory.
Perhaps few in England, casting their eyes upon a map of
this remote corner of Europe, have pictured in their imagi-
nation a wealthy and polished people, enjoying not only
the refinements, but even the luxuries of the most civilized
nations. The conversation had that enlightened and agree-
able cast which characterizes well-educated military men.

Some

CHAP. XIV.

CHAP. XIV. Some peculiarities, Some peculiarities, which distinguished the manners of our ancestors, and are still retained in the ceremonial feasts of antient corporate bodies, might be observed. The practice of drinking toasts, and rising to pledge the security of the cupbearer, was a remarkable instance. Another Another very antient custom, still more prevalent, is that of bowing and congratulating any one who happens to sneeze. The Cossacks of the Don always did this. When we took leave of the General, he said, if we preferred returning by water, for the sake of variety, we might use his barge, which was prepared, and waiting to convey us. Being conducted to it, we found it manned by ten rowers, and decorated in a most costly manner. It was covered with fine scarlet cloth; and Persian carpets were spread beneath a canopy of silk. The current being in our favour, we embarked, and were speedily re-conducted to our quarters in Oxai.

Embarkation for the Sea of Azof.

The next morning we took our leave of the Don Cossacks, and, having placed our carriage on board a barge, sailed delightfully down the river (often looking back at the fine view of the town of Oxai and Tscherchaskoy) to Nakhtshivan, an Armenian colony established about twenty years before our arrival, and which had attained a very flourishing state, even in that short period'. Its inhabitants were derived from

(1)“ A verst (by land) from the fort of Rostof, is a large Armenian town, called Nakitchivan, after the antient town of that name. We spent the evening in looking over it. They affirmed that it contains 1500 families. It has four churches, and two very large bazars, which are very much crowded, and have great appearance of industry. We had a letter to one of the principal inhabitants, who had the rank of Colonel, and whose son was one of Mr. Andre's pupils (of Rostof), and our interpreter.

His

from the Crimea. They had about four hundred shops, which were all placed in one great covered building, after the manner of those in Moscow. The towns near the

mouths

CHAP. XIV.

Armenian
Colony of
Nakhtshivan.

His name was Abraamof. I found that Armenians usually expressed their names in this manner, from the Christian names of their parents, yet with the termination in of, which is a mark of gentility. This man had two sons in the Russian navy; and possessed the reputation of great wealth. He knew Lazarof, who sold Orlof the great diamond; and described in strong terms the misery and anxiety the Armenian had felt while it remained in his possession. His house was well furnished, and had a billiardtable, and many other European luxuries: all however sat cross-legged, except the master, whose dress also was something after the European mode. He had several curious sabres and poignards richly ornamented, which he exhibited with much pride. He said himself and the greater part of his fellow townsmen had emigrated from the Crimea during the disturbances there; that they had this situation given them, and a charter, by which they had the same privileges as their countrymen at Astrachan. The principal trade of the town is in leather. The women are almost all veiled, but those we caught a glimpse of were very beautiful. Their veils were very carelessly disposed, and they betrayed no timidity. The men are also handsome; but they have a Jewish expression in their countenance. The Russians declare they have all a natural unpleasant odour, like that we attribute to the Jews. They dislike them greatly; and have a proverb, Two Jews equal one Armenian; two Armenians one Greek; two Greeks one Devil.' The Armenians, it is well known, are a very favoured sect by the Russian Government; and many of the noblest families have a mixture of their blood. Of these are Dolgorucky and Bagrathion. Joan the First gave the title of Knas to great numbers of Armenians, and permitted to all a free trade and settlement, with full liberty of worship, and even of making their processions openly. They have a magnificent church in Petersburg, and many in Astrachan and Casan. Their enterprize and activity are well known. Mr. Anderson of Petersburg

told me he knew one who had been twice to Bassora, and once to Sarmacand and Tibet. I asked Abraamof if such journeys were common; and if they could take an European with them as their servant, or in any other disguise. He answered both these questions in the affirmative. He himself had been in Georgia, and many parts of Turkey, but never further. We observed several Mahometans, at least persons in green turbans, which no Armenian would wear." Heber's MS. Journal.

As the green turban is a mark of high distinction in Turkey, and the Armenians of Nakhtshivan are under no fear of offending Mahometans, I suspect (for I noticed the same costume in the place) that they are worn merely on account of the freedom they enjoy.

E. D. C.

Ꭱ Ꭱ

CHAP. XIV.

General View of the South of Russia.

mouths of the Don present the traveller with a most novel
and interesting picture of society.
picture of society. He encounters half a
dozen different nations and languages in the same number
of minutes; and each nation in its peculiar dress. As we
walked up to the Armenian settlement, we beheld Tartars,
Turks, Greeks, Cossacks, Russians, Italians, Calmucks, and
Armenians, which, together with our English party, formed a
representation of the costume of nine different nations within
the compass of a quarter of an English mile. The Tartars were
fishing in the river, or driving cattle towards the town; the
Turks were smoking in their coffee-houses; the Greeks, a
bustling race, were walking about, telling lies, and bartering
merchandize; the Cossacks were scampering in all directions
on horseback; the Russians, as police officers, were scratching
their heads; the Italians were Venetian and Neapolitan
sailors; the Calmucks jabbering with each other; the Ar-
menians, both men and women, airing in droskis; and the
English staring at them all. As the traveller approaches the
Don, especially towards its embouchure, Tartars make their
appearance in great numbers; and that race of men are seen
from thence, westward, the whole way to the Dnieper, in all
the towns by the Sea of Azof, in the Crimea, and throughout
the dreary plains which lie to the north of the Peninsula.

All the South of Russia, from the Dnieper to the Volga, and even to the territories of the Kirgissian and Thibet Tartars, with all the North of the Crimea, is one flat uncultivated desolate waste, forming, as it were, a series of those deserts which go by the name of Steppes. The very earliest adventurers from the civilized parts of Europe

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