the-deeds-to-shibden

[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Thursday 13 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Thursday 11 August]

[this is the very last known journal entry Anne Lister ever made]

(Image courtesy of the West Yorkshire Archive service)

[up at] 6 1/4

[to bed at] 9 1/2

awakened last night between 1 and 2 cats at my cheese and squalling children squalling enough to distract the old gentleman himself   Ann awoke me before 6 anxious to be off – she ordered the horses – she out of sorts – terrible – did a good job so many women and people knew not whom to give to – gave nothing – the cottages so hid amid the trees and vines and 8 feet high maize hardly visible except when close upon them – off at 6 50/.. – the children especially and the men and women look pale and yellow and unhealthy in this moist hot bottom – at 7 35/.. Engour fine river nearish (left) ascend highish (left bank) above it and go upwards along its broad bouldery bedded islandy streamy course for ever thro’ lanes of alder and hazel every now and then in our eyes – bits of deep mud every now and then   at 8 1/4 at village (large) of Dvjari /Djvari/ i.e. orchards vine-covered, tees alders pyrus diospyros etc., the woods chiefly beech and next in quantity oak – at 8 20/.. close upon the Engour – then ascend again on high ground always in the village of Dvjari no houses to be seen – all hid – fine river running downwards amid lower green wooded rounded beautiful hills, and upwards amid higher such hills – beautiful valley   at 8 55/.. at the large beautiful square green of the village in the style of Zugdidi – with several picturesque goodish galleried sacles scattered around – alight at one of them (empty) at 9 to breakfast – the white krepost castle on wooded ridge of hill almost hid among the wood close over the river (left bank) – wrote so far till now 11 10/.. and Reaumur very nearly 21° – breakfast from 11 1/4 to 12 50/.. including a tolerably comfortable wash inside the sacle – 

off at 1 3/4 – at 2 50/.. out of our narrow lanes thro’ tall brackens in the bottom and I passed thro’ wood (beech and Spanish chesnut and alder and walnut) and up steepish not good ascent and then fine view over rich extensive wooded plain and the old tower of prince Āppăkīdzĭ at the village of Satchīnă close (left) – stop 5 minutes under enormous lime tree for the men to get water – off again from Satchina at 2 55/.. steepish bad descent down wood again from here – then up the hill and down and forded little stream and 2 or 3 or more cottages at 3 1/2 still the village of Satchina – and Indian corn 9 or 10 feet high – a village (Sapêlĭ) is a little district – at 3 35/.. ford good broadish stream, the Īnsēērăh – and at 3 42/.. ford the Islēēăh an equally good stream – beautiful little green comby valleys among the rounded wooded hills, and here and there houses and fields on the lower hills – at 3 47/.. ford the Islēēăh again – several more scattered cottages still the same village of Satchīnă – at 4 10/.. the village of Nărolōōgĕe (hid) at a little distance (left) – at 4 18/.. in the bottom and ford little stream and ascend again – at 4 40/.. put on mackintosh cloak rain not heavy but likely to continue – 

at 4 55/.. stop at wicker hedge against field of Indian corn said to be the village of Djkālĭ tho’ I see no house at all – the old castle of Djĕgālĭ (prince Mantchar Dadian) he lives at some other village castle deserted and empty? beautiful groups o valleys and rounded hills – Mingrelia very beautiful and fine race of men – e.g. our David and several others whom we have seen – all our 3 men have left us to seek somebody or something – Adam came back in 1/2 hour – Ann had had an egg beaten up, and I had the things off my horse and done up my mackintosh – David does not know the road – get a man to go with us to the village – he now says it is 6 (instead of 3) hours from here to [blank] and 6 days from here to Muri – terrible – an hour lost here – off to the village Djkali at 6 5/.. and arrived at 6 3/4 – 2 sacles – arrange ourselves in the Indian corn barn (a little wicker place perhaps 4 1/2 x 3 yards[)] – spread our burcas on straw and now 8 25/.. I have just [written] in it the last 19 lines – high hills north and within ridges of wooded hill rising every now and then into little wooded conical summits – the sides of the hills furrowed and little conical summits on the ridges of the sides – tea etc. now at 8 25/.. [in pencil:] 1 crooglie – lay down at 9 1/2

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Wednesday 12 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Wednesday 10 August]

[up at] 6 1/2

[to bed at] 12

fine morning Reaumur 19 1/2° now at 7 50/.. – breakfast at 8 1/4 – Ann and I out at 10 5/.. sauntered about Adam and the Cossack and one of the prince’s red (his livery red) footmen with us à la Tcherkess – the river (Tchekhouchia) 4 versts off affluent de la Djoumi which falls into the Engour 2 lieues = 8 versts off – (Dubois iii. 36) – then to the little bazaar – a widish street about 200 yards long very picturesque Ann sketched while I peeped into the shops – hunted out a plate like the one broken on Monday 1/2 abasse paid 45 paras –

wool short sherst, 5/. silver per pood

wax (vosk) 12/. ditto per ditto

cotton (boumaghi) 8/. ditto per ditto

silk (in the thread) sholko 17/. ditto per ditto

looked at a gun 4/. silver and then at some of the princes old guns – gun (rōōgĕe in Russian) the prince has one worth 1000/. silver that carries 1000 sagènes and is 3 archines long! – from the bazaar to the garden – picturesque octagon galleried round house – the princes library au premier glazed all round and his French agent, Mr. Liétard arrived about a month ago, lives for the present in the damp rez de chaussée – mentioned the queer insect that bit Ann and myself and stuck fast – it is clêtchĭ in Russian – bites sheep and hares   has shot the latter with their heads quite swollen and full of these insects – unless they fall off of themselves i.e. if one pulls them out they have their heads in the place they have bit – then saw the new church finished in 1827, but the interior has yet to be painted – good sized neat plain white washed in and out Georgian like church – a priest, and prayers every evening – the little old church in the little old barn style but good and picturesque remains close to the house the palace 300 years old said the footman – 

it was about 12 when we all went to the princess – glad to see us – very civil and kind – Ann sickish went home till dinner to lie down but returned then seeming pretty well – It was Nachitshivan the princess said yesterday was swallowed up by the earthquake and Ararat rent in two – the shock much felt at Tiflis – Dadian’s son not sure of succeeding his father as prince regnant – Madame Latchinoff noticed by Madame Golovin so the rest must notice her but no better than she should be – Tolstoy admires her – her husband beats her – glad to be rid of her – and she tells all this to all the gentlemen – Madame de Baku smokes and drinks vodki (brandy) – Golovin promises – forgets and does nothing – Mr. Rivoire the ex French consul at Tiflis in disgrace at home for being too god friends with the Russian authorities and sending not enough information home – unjust – the present consul sent out by Soult almost against the poor man’s will who had taken a year to consider of it – (baron de la Chapelle) – has no experience and no clever persons in his chancellerie at Tiflis to get political information – Rivoire clever – writes well – knows what he is about said Mr. Liétard – 

Had thought to go to Anaklia from here and then Redut Kale and Guria – Ann would like the Suanéthi tour – had our provadnik (the prince) David .  . .  .  . .  . in and princess Dadian and I with the map before settled our route to Muri and back to Redut Kale and Guria to Koutaïs – impossible to [go] thro’ Suannetti and back all the way on horseback – some danger in going now to Suchum Kale – dinner about 2 – our Koutaïs M.D. again – says Dubois’ work is severely criticized in Germany – coffee – sat a little while with the princess gave her my address aux soins de Messrs Hammersley, and my English address at Shibden and afterwards my card ‘Mrs. Lister Shibden hall’   she came come with us at 4 – were to have been off then – but the mourave had got Thamar (the dark grey baggage mare) thought she belonged to one of the peasants who all turn on to the green, and the mourave and any people authorized by the prince take what horse and whenever they please! mentioned our Lailache man – pity I had not named it to the prince – I had forgot – astonished at our having peasants (serfs) in England – the princess sat with us till off – begs us to go, and see her mother in Cachétie – the princess takes no exercise tired with walking the about 200 yards to us – 2 months gone with child – very interesting person – 

the mare was brought back – off at 5 50/.. – our [road] along the plain along little narrow lanes thro’ alder bushes for nearly 1/2 way then high brackens then wood, and lastly marshy ground and high Indian corn 3 umbrellas high = 8 feet – tried 2 or 3 places houses huts not good enough at last pulled down the poor mans wicker fence – rode thro’ his Indian corn (a path) and alighted at village of Liia on the Engour but we not near the river 10 10/.. – good sacle – 5 or 6 women – as many men slept outside and the children know not how many (6 or 8) moved to another tarti and the one next the door given to us – Ann had kept up very badly – ill or out of sorts – lay down and fell asleep immediately – took nothing – I supped on the princess’es /sic/ bread and my odorous Choni cheese and the Dadian good red wine and water and 2 salted cucumbers – very good – she had given me 6, and a large fresh cheese and 8 or 10 rolls or more and 2 bottles red wine for myself and 2 white for Ann and 6 or 8 wax candles and fresh cucumbers and apples – lay down quite dressed at 12 – very fine day – latterly a little gentle rain or dew – the dews excessive here –

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Mr. Liétard

the biting insect clêtchi or clêchi.

Liia village of

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Tuesday 11 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Tuesday 9 August]

[up at] 8 1/4

[to bed at] 12 1/2

have not had so comfortable a bed and room since Moscow – prince Dadian had sent us soap, combs and brushes dressing gown and night caps (very pretty) pomatain and eau de Cologne everything – luxurious wash and flea-hunt last night and this morning and not bit at all – ready at 9 35/.. and fine but dullish morning and Reaumur 19° and breakfast Ann had her hair done after I sat down to breakfast and then I had mine done very nicely and then finished breakfast, tea and coffee, but we only took the former – over at 11 – our boots cleaned and Ann’s habit and my pelisse brushed – I in the latter and she in black silk gown off to the princess Dadian at 11 40/.. (I had before written a little of yesterday) – very glad to see us – the prince staid till afternoon to receive us – 

luncheon avantdiner and dinner about 2 – very good – quite à la Russe – Russian cook – she looks pale and emaciated – the child ill – a German medecin in the house there 3 days from Koutaïs – prince Dadian good looking and gentlemanly and intelligent and agreeable – agreeably surprised with him – going to Tiflis on business – General Riefski who commands the expedition here to settle the differences between the prince of Abhkassie and Dadian will take the province of .  . .  .  . for the benefit of the government sans rien payer – confident of the justice of the Emperor and of Mr. Golovin – the prince alias servant who accompanied us from chez Bijan Dadian (he came to be paid this morning gave him 1/.) is to go with us everywhere – a paper made out for us, and the prince has done everything he can to facilitate our journey – 3 ladies aunt and sister of Dadian and a Russian colonel’s lady and a girl, daughter of the French employé who as well as the German M.D. dined with us – coffee immediately after dinner and we came away (at 4) to go to tea in the evening princess Dadian to send word when it was ready – Ann sketched the place I sauntered about for 10 minutes during which time the prince passed us (on horseback – his well covered with carpet on horseback and a servant or 2 with him) on his way to Tiflis – I came in to my map to plan our route, and had written a little more of yesterday when message at 7, the princess unwell and gone to bed – 

tea about 8 – the Frenchman and his daughter came about 8 1/2 and staid till 9 3/4 – he seems to be a sort of factotum of the prince – is to manage his mulberry plantations about to be made and silk worms – great capability of the country but the idleness of the people excessive – the prince has the power of life and death – will make great reforms – change the mouraves who oppress the people – they pay much to these mouraves and nothing to the Dadian – I said they ought to pay him something   he gave us this morning an agreeable white wine that could be delivered at Anaklia at 2 abasses per tunga = 5 bottles and an excellent red wine at 3 abasses per tunga – the red wine rich and good and slightly mousseux? there is at least a peculiar sort of freshness or almost briskness of flavour that is very agreeable – the princess shewed me wax candles made at home not white and not she said giving so good a light as Russian made wax lights but they always burn them in common at home – abundance of wax here – the prince speaks a few words of French – the princesses father sells his wine at 6 abasses the tunga – his place in Cackhétie – the road from Koutaïs here at to Suchum Kale made by the Russian government and is to be a chaussée said the Frenchman – he spoke this evening of the bureau (comptoir) of the greak silk society of St. Petersburg is at Nucha (nōō-kăh) go there from Cackhétie? 

the princess spoke this morning of a great earthquake that had rent Mt. Ararat, and swallowed up a whole village – the shock considerably felt at Tiflis – the King of Prussia dead – all this since our leaving Tiflis – the German botanist Mr. Marr brought to us, ill in the very house (at the back) we are in – was better – would drink 2 bottles of wine therefore had a relapse – was insensible yesterday but is better today – the climate here very damp – it is the climate that disagrees so with the little 5 months old Dadian daughter, – a fine little child – advised the princess to change air – go to Laïlache – the Frenchman asked if we would not have supper quelques côtelettes – no! impossible – but asked for decanter of water and wine again as last night – very fine day, but no sun – yet hot and muggy – and while sitting in my pelisse from 4 to 7 a.m. /p.m/ in a profuse perspiration – and no not a dry thread on me – Reaumur 22 at 4 1/2° p.m. and 20° now at 11 p.m. the beautiful, rich green of the grass on the large place is very striking – the prince’s house is an old krepost house built by the great grandfather of the present Dadian fils – large and admirable within – the wooden galleries appear to have been added not perhaps many years ago – had just written so far now at 11 p.m.

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Zugdidi.

wine

Nucha, silk society

earthquake

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Monday 10 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Monday 8 August]

[up at] 6 55/..

[to bed at] 12 25/..

finish but dull morning – another peep at the old church and palace and picturesque (ruined down the circular dome over the ground floor) square (a tower?) clocher with stone stairs outside – we had latterly had all the ladies and people in our room and following us – the princess herself watched me dressing thro’ the little lattice close over where I slept – hung up my cloak against her without pretending to see her – the cat had eaten Ann’s 4 or 5 boiled eggs and part of a cheese in the night – the good old prince was up to say good bye – excellent people – their worst habit (especially of the ladies) sitting doing nothing all day – 

Off at 8 3/4 to breakfast with prince Alexander Dadian 2 hours off – gave the house steward  or maître d’hotel who had brought us everything 1/. and the man who went with us last night ./20 quite satisfied – beautiful all hereabouts – our road winds along foot of hill on which our 2 old kreposts of yesterday evening, and down along the other side to the river (Teahoorah) – at the old baths merely 1 little place 4 x 2 1/2 yards largest side where estrade (on which was the bath?) and 3 yards long other side – not high stone fronted – vaulted top – scramble down the slippery limestone rock to the river and just below under the bath building little spring of good, clean, tasteless just-warm water – the scenery steep wooded rock along the river and the wooded knolly hills and green pastures in the bottom and white house on knoll near, and prince Alexander’s sâcle and its appurtenances at a little distance beautifully picturesque – the white house what we saw from the 1st castle i.e. entrance to acropolis last night – but no view of the old castles, no glimpse of them from anywhere save one peep about 1/2 hour foots pace+ after leaving Nakolakévi – 1/4 hour at the little bath river beautiful between its high rock winding wooded banks – chiefly beech with oak and some elm – the vines hang chiefly on alder and Hōōmĕlăh trees the latter (the plaqueminier or pyrus diospyrus?) – this beautiful country does indeed grow meat and drink and clothing   Indian corn and millet, and vine and cotton – 

off from the little bath at 10 5/.. – retrace our steps some distance then turn (left) down to the river (Tēĕhōōrăh) and ford it at 10 18/.. in 3 minutes Ann riding between our prince (as Adam calls him) and Adam – broad deep stream, up to the tallest horse’s belly and rather above quite as deep as we could ford – holding up my feet I could not keep them above the water in 1 part – on getting out of the water Adams horse came against me, and broke my poor Koutaïs soup plate – a real calamity! 2 or 3 minutes from the Teahoorah ford the little Pōlshă broadish shallow clear stream – At 10 40/.. alight to breakfast chez prince Alexander Dadian – not at home – but seat ourselves in the Otach of his sâcle and breakfast very comfortably Ann on her raw eggs beaten up with wine and the cheese of last night and I on my Choni cheese and the bread of the monastery of Martvili of which Ann also nearly one roll (the little Tchooreks) – 5 hours from here to Zugdidi – asleep – (ready to be off at 12 but the servants prepared breakfast for our people and Adam begged for 1/2 till 12 1/2) – 

off at 1 25/.. – they brought me a melon – not good – but Adam came and ate it up – he now says it is 6 hours trotting to Zugdidi – he has had too much wine – annoyed at him that he could not find out the distance before – we shall hardly be able to do it – our prince left us about 2 1/2 but only says to get his burca – now at 2 55/.. meet Cossack who says we are 7 versts from the post station of Kossakoff, and from there to Zugdīdĭ it is 29 versts!!! = 36 versts now at 2 55/.. – broad sandy hilly road up and down low hills – bridge at 3 5/.. over Tōō-ĕe-răh river – wood – 3 good arches – at 3 1/4 wicker covered tarendass-like long carriage and officer and lady stopping their horses pasturing – at bottom of hill – they are from Tiflis – soon after 2 cannon from Anaklia pass us – one drawn by 4 the other by 6 oxen – and at 3 40/.. in another bottom 27 or 28 pieces of ordnance including 2 or 3 shells? (saw one) all from Anaklia which Adam now says is our post station! impossible – one can get no information here as to roads and distances – at 4 1/2 Dĭs-sĕtch-ēē-năh village consisting of one white house and 3 or 4 huts – the only village in our route today – no villages near the high roads hereabouts – generally speaking, if one wants to go to a village one must go considerably out of one’s way – just below this village wood bridge over Ōtch-hŏm-mōo-rĕe river – picturesque broadish stream – at 4 47/.. long unparapeted good wood bridge over Chopiskeli river 8 arches (4 over the water 4 over now dry small bouldery bed) each arch 6+? yards span – river now about 30 yards broad? reddish-muddyish stream – at this river they say we are 1/2 way to Zugdidi – the district here on the other side (right bank river) called Lêtêche – ascend and at 5 stop for water at little hut – near the white neat house of major Lăbādă – at the Tchaniskali, wood bridge, 2 good arches, parapet, at 5 50/.. greenish-whitish good river – and here they say we are 2 hours from Zugdidi – 

I alighted for 2 or 3 minutes (they had stopt for water) – a little spring and hut but nobody there – tore from my left thigh a little red horny tailed insect (rather like a cow-lady?) that was so fast I could hardly tear it off – and its left its sting or proboscis behind it – it seemed dead when before I tore it off – off again at 6 and in 5 minutes Tarquēēgĕ krepost on high knoll rising on wooded ridge of hill, en face, in the distance, and having a line of 3 or 4 square tower tops at this distance merely like chimney tops – but the castle very picturesque – pass one more river Gōōmĭskālĭ – not far from Zugdidi road branches (right) to Suchum Kale and left to Zugdidi – a little moonlight – stopped under great tree on the large green – the house lighted up but we, of course, are sent to the house for strangers – a very good gallery, and hall and anteroom and our room carpeted with persian carpets several men servants in waiting and 2 nice little femmes de chambre arranged our 2 comfortable sofas à merveille – pillows – couvertures – silver ewer and pitcher – chaise percée – large table – little round toilette and good glass standing on it – 2 chairs and 2 arm ditto – luxurious and 2 waxlights burning – I slept till they brough tea and excellent bread and fresh butter – we enjoyed ourselves – they then offered supper – impossible to eat more – tea over at 11 25/.. – finish but dull muggy day – Reaumur 19 1/4° at 11 3/4 p.m.

 Anne’s marginal notes:

good river – broadish and deepish – and rapid here

curious biting insect

Zugdidi.

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Sunday 9 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Sunday 7 August]

[up at] 4 3/4

[to bed at] 1 1/4

very fine morning they had brought breakfast (2 rolls and tea) at 5 – Reaumur 16 3/4 now at 5 40/.. and almost ready to be off – breakfast over at 6 1/4 – out – looked about – no sculpture north side of church – the virgin and inscription west end in point of gabel, the little caissons Dubois mentions east end round top of

little 3 sided projection of choeur, and some bits of old frieze or cornice, and ditto ditto South side near an old blocked walled up doorway – but could not find the Christ with extended hands Dubois mentions – the little old church (little distant north side great church) locked – could not see into it save thro’ the door au seconde – the little church not worth the trouble of entering – quite plain – ground floor what? litterplace? – above it the church – 

 – went to see the monk who lives in the tower – ladder stairs, 1 foot+ rise and 18 or 19 steps – litter places below and little church above him – tower 4 stories, including the sunk ground floor – vow never to come down – looked pale – as if more exercise would suit him better – staid a minute or 2 – Adam told me on getting down I ought to give him something – gave 1/. silver – had before given 2/. silver to the garçon who got us everything and 1/. silver the man who took care of the horses – the belfry tower by which we entered last night very good effect 

2 stories open arcades all 4 sides – the diminished top close – the light seen thro’ the 2 lower stories à l’Italienne, very picturesque from wherever seen – most picturesquely beautifully situated monastery surrounded by several picturesque good galleried sâcles and magnificent trees, high on conical calcareous rock overlooking the magnificent plain bounded by the Ahaltsikh and Guria and Tchernoi black mountains and watered by the rivers Rion Tskénitskali and Abacha – this is the monarch of monasteries – 

off at 7 – down the steep muddy (after the great rain) road – at 7 35/.. stopt for 13 minutes for Ann to sketch the monastery – women (ladies) had passed wading thro’ the mud in high pattens ashanda? – at 7 55/.. forded the Abacha good stream 2 feet deep some part of its depth – clean and broadish stream – Ann let her her /Anne’s repetition/ horse turn round (back) in the deep part, and the Cossack led her horse thro’ – we the rest were over in 2 minutes – Pyrus diospyrus? plaqueminier, hōō-mĕ-lăh in Georgian common about Martvili – Dubois iii. page 23 spells it Kouméra – at 9 5/.. ford the stream (not much of a stream) Tchar-tshere, and eat blackberries not so good as we have had before – at 9 25/.. (in the wood) I alight for 5 minutes and soon after find we had got wrong and turn back and wander about in the wood – horrible road – perpetual little sloughs – (deep mud) and roots at our feet and branches in our eyes – chiefly beech and hornbeam (next oak and some elm) – beautiful ride all the way from Martvili thro’ fields of Indian corn or gômi, pros in Russian, millet (panicum Italicum) or fine wood – at 11 3/4  (having had a 2nd guide for the last hour) field of the cotton plant (1st I ever saw growing) at the foot of the wooded range of hill on which the old krepost stands – 

and soon after Tēăhōōrăh (Tékhouri, Dubois iii. 64)  river a little distant in the bottom (left) and old krepost i.e. old line of wall, and pass under picturesque ivy-covered archway, and (right) by old ruin of monastery said Adam – no! Dubois’s palace of Aetes, and cottage i.e. sacle or 2, and at 11 53/.. having waited a few minutes alight the wicker gate so narrow and enter picturesque green magnificent line shaded green court of prince Bijan Dadian aetatis 86 colonel in the Russian service – asleep – received by his wife and steward the latter barefooted – 3 or 4 sacles – very picturesque – a bench and carpet thrown over it brought for us under a great lime tree and the princess and her 5 or 6 ladies or people brought their carpet and squatted near us – Ann sleepy – pillow brought and reared foot of the great lime and she soon snorted – after a few minutes of nodding civilities, I took up Dubois iii. 51 et sequentes and about 12 1/2 (leaving the Cossack to watch Ann’s slumbers) took [Adam] and 2 or 3 or 4 of the people and went to the krepost on the wooded rock just above us – the steep little narrow road 1/2 made up with tangle and bush-wood – impossible to see beyond it – once within the old castle, one charming view down upon the sacles and court of our prince and the winding Teahoorah, and the old church almost hid among the trees – the old ruined palace near to it quite hid – this one view excepted nothing to be seen within the old castle walls or without – all thick wood – the river deep and close beneath us (to the east) quite hid – in returning saw the little interesting old church (vide Dubois) and back (very hot and heated) at 1 3/4 – 

dinner served immediately – Ann still asleep and I had nearly done before she awoke and came to our table – long and low – each of us a plat of veal in soup, and chicken in ditto and roast chicken and cheese and melon and pears and good bread cut in little slices, and very fair wine – a servant brought a ewer (large copper) and poured water over our hands before and after dinner and another waved a branch to keep wasps and flies off all dinner time – over at 2 3/4 – I then took Ann’s place and slept till 3 1/2 – then sat a little with the princess – and then came the old prince – kissed my hand – very civil – got on tolerably understanding at most about 1/2 Adam says – the princess went with us to the subterranean fine vaulted passage from the castle (from near here) down to the river Teeahoorah – very steep descent and I had help to get (to walk) down – good tolerably clean water – river beautifully encaissé in high wooded rock – 1/2 ran up the vault back again and tired the poor princess terribly – these Georgian Mingrelian ladies sit (squat) all day on their carpets doing nothing, and are queer dowdy looking figures – crimson or white chemises under their long trailing gowns, the breasts wabbling about like a couple of bladders – 

took our 2 men and 2 guides went with us – and off to the site of the old bazaar as we supposed at 5 25/.. – the site of the old bazaar near here – in the plain – we walked and walked up the wood to the top of the hill (Ann tired to death) and at 6 reached the old ruined square tower? and outer wall, and entrance to the old acropolis – fine peep of reach of the Teahoorah river deep below – but it is tantalization – one can see nothing for the wood – tho’ in coming up fine views now and then towards the top over the rich plain of Cholchis – the Rion close under the opposite hills of Guria and 12 hours from here – say 5 x 12 = 60 versts = 40 miles wide plain – one even carpet of wood – one could not imagine the great width of the valley but that the mountains are almost hid in the mist of distance – Rich magnificent plain! – from the entrance of this acropolis to the little old church about the middle of it took us perhaps a couple of minutes – about 150 yards to the church and about 250 yards from the church to the tower and house (building) joined up to it at the other end the acropolis – the old church about 6 x 5 1/2 yards? and the apse (choeur) 3 yards? longest part – narrow stone estrade each side church and each side of west end entrance door – a little vaulted porch built up against the church is almost all tumbled down – church about 6 yards high up to the turn of the arch of the vaulted roof – gable-roofed outside – vault of inside roof about 2 yards from spring to crown of arch –

5 1/2 yards

– at the old square tower beyond the church at 6 20/.. Ann sketched the interior – the building joined up against the tower (into which door (only entrance) from the upper story of the house) about about /Anne’s repetition/ 13 to 14 yards long by 8 yards+? wide – 2 arches support broad estrade on each side the low room – remains of a division wall across the middle as if dividing the cellar part in 2 – (two treasuries?) – seem to have been 2 stories above the arches – 4 little window-holes upper story loop /look/ upon the river – and 3 little wind holes in the west gable end (the gable end not joined up to the front square tower) – could not see the 4 large windows mentioned by Dubois – but were those holes (2 tiers of them about 3+ feet one above the other) to pass beams thro’ to support a wooden gallery without? – returned to the other end of acropolis and back and home by shorter steeper road at 7 3/4 – late enough – tantalization at the acropolis – could see nothing for the wood – oh! that some friendly ax would thin it judiciously! – 

shewn to our sacle – Ann within, I sat 10 minutes with the ladies without – then about (after) 8 supper came – each of us a plat of veal in soup and chicken in ditto, and cold roast chicken and cold roast veal or lamb, and 2 plates of bread as at dinner and a slice of lemon each as at dinner and 3 pears each (instead of 10 each at dinner) and a plate of white fresh walnuts mixed with a little wine and salt (good) and 2 1/2 of the little white cheeses – Ann ate nearly one whole one and I the 1/2 – we had hot water and made our own tea just before supper and I drunk my 4 glasses of tea and then 3 of wine and water – supper over wrote note (vide the other end) to princess Dadian, and gave it in charge to a prince going to Zugdidi tomorrow I having nor seal nor wax he lent me both – a brass seal with lion (rough) and Georgian inscription I made a good impression – I seem to recollect having inadvertently written prie instead of prient in the note, and perhaps in my hurry made another little mistake or 2? – then wrote the whole of today till now 12 – to be off before breakfast at 8 a.m. tomorrow to breakfast chez prince Alexander Dadian 2 hours from here – David Dadian the regnant aetatis 30 – his father Levan 56 – very fine day and evening but a shower I think I heard it between 10 and 11 – Reaumur 17° at one tonight –  and a little thunder and much lightning from about 11 p.m.

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Nakolakevi.

subterranean passage 80 to 100 yards long?

N [note]

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Saturday 8 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Saturday 6 August]

[up at] 9 1/4

[to bed at] 12 25/..

slept very well but rather cold in the night – should have gone to bed better clothed or with more thrown over me – but my mackintosh was hung up to dry – deluge of rain last night, and this morning about 8 and again between 9 and 10 did large job in my little soup plate and emptied it into the necessary and then washed in it and afterwards my breakfast (cheese etc.) in it!!! our 2 soup plates bought at Koutaïs on Wednesday – breakfast at 10 50/.. on tea and cheese and bread  Ann milk and eggs  but they afterwards brought decanter of wine and ditto of water and warm bread (4 little tchooreks) and 2 plats of chicken and soup, and 1 of roast ditto and a waiter (papier mâché or tin or iron painted) of fruit plums, peas, and 3 slices of large long excellent melon of which last I ate all, and one plum, tolerable and one pear and put all the rest in my bag 8 or 10, – so that looking at map and breakfast not over till 12 1/2 – then taking (rubbing) dirt off mackintosh, washing up my own things and siding (making all ready for off) till 1 1/4 – then at accounts and wrote the last 21 lines of yesterday and so far of today till now 2 40/.. p.m. – 3 hours from here to Gordi and 3 hours from there to the monastery of Sumatchaki – no! 4 hours to monastery and 3 hours from there to Gordi

Reaumur 17 1/2° at noon and now 2 40/.. on my writing table for with breakfast they brought us the table and 2 chairs! what luxury – a school here, too – at every monastery the scholars were singing out their lessons before I was up – then looking at large map and reading Dubois iii. and making inquiries (Adam and several of the people at the window) till about 5 1/4 or after – then out Ann and I looked about – magnificent situation – then saw the church -plan inside same as monastery de Sion valley d’Ateni near Gori except that that /Anne’s repetition/ the 4 large niches around the 16 windows (including the walled up light-spaces) dome arc not left clear the whole length but made up at the top about 1/4 of the whole height which stunts (écrase) the niche and has not a good effect – the fresco paintings much effaced – 

west

the transepts seemed about 6 yards wide and the nave about the same and the whole length of nave including behind the iconastase about 6 + 6 + 6 yards = 18 yards – the dome not écrasé as at Sion – the 2 outside niches east end small and merely reminiscences of the thing – exterior rather irregular (an outside arcade or recess north and south side) but not so irregular as at Sion – very little sculpture one of the monks pointed out a female figure (a virgin?) just below the gabel point of cornice west end surrounded by a writing not in Georgian nor in any language that he knew anything about (Cufic? Arabic? I should suppose it Arabic – not Turk?) north side near, just on the great platform or walled up base (top of rock) on which the church and its appurtenances stands is a very old looking little church – in 3 retiring stories – did not ask to go in – in a hurry to pay our visit to the bishop waiting to receive us – ushered in at 5 3/4 and staid 3/4 hour – tall thin agreeable looking man – good wood galleried round sacle – not large but comfortable room – he and Ann and I sat on the tarti (divan) all the rest but one monk the archdeacon (who sat on a chair near) stood – Adam  interpreter! – Astonishing how well we got on – the bishop soon at his ease and tried in vain to make me pronounce the Georgian word Tseni (loshad, horse) – too difficult – impossible to write it – from Muri must return here to go to Zugdidi – no! I said we could go by the mountains and Souanéthi – yes! but 1 day of snow, and very difficult – Dadian père at Zugdidi – should have an order for guides etc. – but go from here to Nakolakévi 5 hours and from there to Zugdidi 6 hours, and then get all necessary orders for guides etc. etc. good – will do so – a prince at Nakolakévi – can sleep very well – ordered to be off if fine at 5 1/2 a.m. tomorrow   Nakolakévi signifies ancient city – Kālăkĭ gorod na is mesto dê buil gorod – 

had taken our leave in about 10 minutes or 1/4 hour, but were called back to tea – 2 cups and 2 glasses Ann and I had the 2 latter, twice each – thin slices of lemon brought with the tea – very good, and the lemon always a great improvement – there must have been 10 or 12 people in the room besides ourselves – after leaving the bishop sauntered about – magnificent view South large, rich, valley-plain – Choni must be full in view in clear water – north fine amphiteatre, opening east in dark gorge of the Tskhénitskali and west (of north) gorge of the Abāshă – between these the little river Inch-rēē-ăh – the Rion parted from theTskhenitskali by a range of hill on the East and the Teăh-hōō-răh river parted from the Abāsha river by a range of hill to the west of it runs near Nakolakêvi – 2 magnificent lime trees not far from the bishop’s house and the trees near west end of church, our house near east end of ditto – prayers soon after we left the bishop – I went into church at prayers for 5 or 10 minutes – Ann was sketching – the tower gateway we entered by a 3 story high open on all sides bell-tower – the monk hermit still lives at the top of the other and older tower – had not time to go and see him – heavy rain at 7 20/.. sent us – sat down to my journal till 8 25/.. 2 plates of veal? soup and a roast chicken, and 1/2 a (goat’s milk?) cheese thin and foliaceous – and a little roll (Tchoorek) and a plat of pickled sturgeon, and 10 pears and 3 slices as in the morning of large long excellent melon – capital supper – we both enjoyed it till 9 40/.. then had Adam about the horses etc. and then wrote down there till now 10 40/.. at which hour Reaumur 16 1/4°   Rainy day with gleams – the heavy shower at 7 20/.. over in about 1/2 hour –

Anne’s marginal notes:

Martvili.

+ [reading]

E [explanation/etymology]

10 monks here – and 3 women with their husbands – all the country immediately around belongs to the monastery –

Stood reading till 11 55/..

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Friday 7 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Friday 5 August]

[up at] 6 1/2

[to bed at] 12 35/..

comfortably asleep – Ann awoke me before 6 and not pleased because it was unnecessary to get up so soon and I should have been glad to have another hour undisturbed – cleaned as well as I could (rubbed) pelisse and boots – Reaumur 17 1/2° at 7 40/.. breakfast over in 35 minutes at 8 20/.. out in the market at 8 1/2 – or rather 1st saw Cossack horse (large chesnut) at the door – 40/. almost bade 35/. but too heavy for Ann (she tried it) and said I would consider about it – not a horse in the market worth looking – only one white tolerable botcha aetatis 6 price 50/. – not good enough for Ann – the botcha Madame Boujouroff spoke of, sold – It seems as if no horses to be had here – said I would go to the villages – came in at 9 1/2 and at 10 25/.. had just written the last 16 lines of yesterday and so far of today – Choni large smooth squary green bordered with baza[a]r and scattered houses one side and white picturesque good station opposite and fine trees and little church and scattered houses the other 2 sides – one of the most picturesque little places I ever saw – out again at 10 35/.. – alone – Adam and the Cossack not in the way – sauntered about – looked at the shops – stopt a priest on his mule price 100/. silver – not a large mule – inquired for botchas – bought 2 cheeses 20 paras and 6 good pears 2 paras – a white botcha came to be looked just as Adam and the Cossack came up with the bay botcha the Boujouroffs mentioned at 50/. silver – stood long at 45/. at last got horse and saddle, new and good, (cost 16/.! the man prince said) for 51/. silver – and bought the other (large 6 years old white botcha – no mouth but strong) for 30/. silver – called this white one Vaghtang – had the people here and all this done and paid at 12 – then out again and Ann sketched the place – sauntered about the bazaar – Adam got another white 6 years old botcha to look at – doubted between this and tall good 40/. black 5 years old botcha to be seen at Martvili – at last bought the white one saddle and all for 26/. silver then paid Adam for sundries and till now 3 35/.. wrote the last 8 1/2 lines and wrote and copied (vide other end) note to Madame Boujouroff and to Mr. Besoc – thanks to the former and send back her horse by the Cossack they send here every week to make markets and ask Mr. Besoc to remit 2000/. assignats to the commandant at Koutaïs – 

siding and doing up took near an hour not time to get anything to eat – and when all ready saw our guide mounted on part of our baggage – no! had all this put on the dark grey mare (Thamar) and the guide not choosing to walk off without him – broad good high road (Russian) to Zugdidi, and the turn off to the monastery of Martvili equally good – cannot miss it – need not ford the river – deep up to the horses’ bellies – a bridge by making a detour – in all 20 versts 12 to the bridge 8 forwards – beautiful, rich, wooded low hill valley – soon within hearing of the Tsenitskali and at it in about an hour? and along it upwards to the good new looking wood bridge in 2 5/.. hour at 6 35/.. – river muddyish (not white) deep? and rapid – from 12 to 15 yards broad? valley near here upwards and at the bridge calcareous thinnish stratum rock – hills beautifully wooded – very beautiful and up and down view from the bridge – steep ascent immediately high above and along the river – parkish wood but chiefly pollard alongside us (2 or 3 cottages in the bottom just below the bridge in rich green thalweg, of right bank river) – soon on high ground and kept along – at 7 1/2 begin to get duskish – at 8 inquired and 1/2 hour from monastery – it was now too dusk or dark for view – on and on – no monastery – Adam turned right at the bark of dogs – called and hallooed 1/4 hour? till he was hoarse – a mujik came – Put us in the right way (winding round by the fields backwards) but dark and we should never have gone right – at last for an abasse in hand he consented to go with us to the monastery and at 10 35/.. (4 hours instead of 2 they said it was from the bridge) we arrived were admitted – fair for the last hour or 2 – rain from about 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 but not to wet us much – we must have waited 10 minutes or more (seemed an age) before we were admitted – began to rain again soon after – too late for anything but one little roll and a pitcher of wine and ditto of water and the bread and cheese we had with us – a sacle of one good large boarded room for ourselves and a less and mud floored for the Cossack and Adam – excellent tarti and they brought carpets for us – very civil – supper over (I had eaten 4 pears and drunk water the last hour of our way) and all had left us (1/2 dozen men at least) a minute or 2 before 12 – we both undressed and I put on drawers (kept socks and stocking legs on as usual) and lay down (a large white calico-covered tidy pillow too) lay down at 12 35/.. throwing only my light black cloak over me – the rain fell in torrents – Last night rainy but very fine morning and day till about 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 p.m. afterwards damp but fair –

 Anne’s marginal note:

off at 4 1/2 from Choni

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Thursday 6 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Thursday 4 August]

[up at] 6 10/..

[to bed at] 11 40/..

up for about near 1/2 hour to speak to Adam etc. then lay down till 8 1/2 – breakfast at 8 3/4 and rainy morning from 8 a.m. Reaumur 18 1/2 at 8 1/2 a.m. Shāppă, a man from Oni, brought dark grey 6 years old mare to sell price 30/. – not wishing to buy a mare, but the 2 horses to be hired for today so bad, bought the mare for 24/. silver – I to shoe her – he brought another horse to sell but complaint (not catching) in its throat – would not think of it – another man brought another horse to sell – no! go to Choni – breakfast over at 10 – rainy again now at 10 20/.. – nearly fair from about 9 to 10 – calculated last night that leaving Moscow 4 February and Domna being married say a fortnight before the 9 months 9 x 28 days = 252 days will expire 30 September – and she is so large time to think what to do with her – send her and George with her to Odessa from Redut Kalé? packing! at accounts and 1 thing or other till now 1 5/.. and now almost fair – after very rainy morning for the last 3 hours – looking at the map – if we buy horses and all goes well told George we should not return tomorrow – should go to Zugdidi and be away a few days – if not should be back tomorrow not later than 10 p.m. – but all quite uncertain – looking at the map packing it in the saddle bags (I one side Ann the other) and put these in our large woollen bags – take the 2 dictionaries and 2 grammars and volumes Dubois and etat major map – tea – and off at 5 20/.. – sent compliments and message by the Cossack who brought the horse – no time to call on Madame Boujouroff – if not back tomorrow will send the horse – good broad sand-road – we had gone 5 versts at 6 13/.. and 3 versts more in 24 minutes but Adam’s horse with him and saddle bags and burcas could not keep up at this – our trotting ceased – we had to aller au pas the rest of the way (fine evening and night) and arrived at 10 at the natchalnik’s door – he sent us over the green to the Cossack post station and here we had 2 little rooms 1 for ourselves and 1 for our 2 people and undressed and went to bed (our burcas over the bois de lit) and were glad to be so well off – between the 5th and 8th verst we had passed some branch-shelters like that going to the source of the Rion near Carraoule – called Balagans – at 6 versts from Choni forded (not deep but broadish) the .  . .  .  . in entering passed some beautiful large roundheaded (said Adam) walnut trees – very picturesque village as seen in the dusk, darksome dusk, but as if a little glimmer of almost moonlight – no supper – undressed then put on drawers and black petticoat – Rainy day till about 3 p.m. or earlier afterwards fair, and fine as we rode along – cool and pleasant – the last 3/4 hour put on my burca 1st time felt my arms cold – cast my woollen (merinos) sleeves some days ago –

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Wednesday 5 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Wednesday 3 August]

[up at] 7 1/2

[to bed at] 12 1/2

1 1/2 hour till 9 1/2 at which hour Reaumur 18 3/4° mending my stockings – breakfast at 10 50/.. and had the commandant a few minutes – very civil – Adam had brought an uneatable cheese and 2 indifferent tchureks instead of 2 good crooglees (crōōglĕes) – breakfast over at 11 40/.. – went to pay our visit to Madame la commandante about 12 – not at home but sat a few minutes with the commandant himself – offered his droschky to take us chez Madame Boujouroff this evening – Madame returned and came and sat with us till after 1 – then Ann and I and the Cossack and Adam went to the bazaar bought wax candles (fours) at 4 abasses per pound and loaf sugar (good) at ./30 silver per pound – Russian common soap (good) ./15 silver per pound – did not buy it – then bought a pair of Moscow gentlemen’s boots same as at Tiflis, and 2 little soup-plates and paper and Ann bought several things – and I 15 pears for 5 paras and a melon for ./15 copper – home about 3 1/4 – no horses to be bought – settle to go to a village 8 versts from here tomorrow morning early to see for horses – At 4 40/.. Ann and the Cossack off in the Droschky and I rode Merab to Madame Boujouroff – pleased to see us – tea – the Cossack officer’s wife there we met before and her husband and another Cossack officer came to tea – Colonel Boujouroff very civil – she had mentioned a botcha that was here at 50/. silver – inquired about it – gone back to Choni – fix to go there early tomorrow – Colonel Boujouroff has bought a botcha at 50/. for his wife to ride – but it stumbles – will change it – told her to wait our final return – she should have the best of our horses without being ruined – (think to give it her) – the colonel said we should find nothing very agreeable at Mr. Marr’s – very bad house built in a hole between 2 hills and mal sain – rained (thunder shower) while at the Boujouroffs’, and a little just before we set off – home at 8 20/.. – then sat 3/4 hour chez le commandant till 9 5/.. – Adam had brought us 3 crōōglĕes made by his wife – good – dawdled over 1 thing or other – and had written all but the 1st 4 lines of yesterday and so far of today now at 11 p.m. at which hour Reaumur 18 1/2° after the heavy rain and thunder and lightning at 10 p.m. and the rain hardly over now – fine but dull day, rain-threatening –

 Anne’s marginal notes:

V [visit]

V [visit]

V [visit]

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Tuesday 4 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Tuesday 3 August]

[up at] 7 1/2

[to bed at] 10 3/4

slept well but hot in the night – comfortable wash – took off drawers and waist and caught 22 fleas – rain soon after we arrived last night and rainy night and rainy morning till after 9 then gleams and 2 or 3 short light showers till noon – breakfast over at 9 50/.. – Ann sketched Adam etc. – I till now 12 50/.. wrote from line 17 of last page to here – and wrote out the accounts – paid for the hay of last night and this morning 4 abasses and for the 1 batman more Indian corn ./25 silver – and off from Odjola at 1 25/.. – picturesque scattered village – the houses (little farmsteads) nearish together but irregularly placed, and so hid among the trees, scarcely seen at a little distance – this a good village – 25 mosâcles i.e. inhabited houses (in Russ Dīmoff) a stable cowhouse storehouse any building is a sâcle – but mosâcle is a house inhabited by human beings – sometimes one mosâcle inhabited by 3 brothers and their families – I think one may average each house at 2 families of 2 children each therefore each house 8 souls and 25 x 8 = 200 souls at Odjōlă – the kelossan here a civil good man – the road from here to Koutaïs, a Russian road – good – Drov (Russian) fire wood, and 1 cube sagène = 15 arbaghs (or little cart-loads) and 1/2 arbagh will feed one fire (not a stove) 24 hours therefore 1 sagène of wood = 1 fire (24 hours a day) for 30 days – wood from 3/. to 4/. silver per sagène at Koutaïs – the gallery or balcony where we slept last night not an Ōtach, not good enough for that, – but a bĕ’rē^lĭ – the road good to Odjōlă because mnogo Rabosha (roots turnips, carrots, and parsnips) here that the people sell – and sell wine, too – our road thro’ wood (but completely pruned out of one’s eyes) almost all the way – at 4 23/.. peep down on la belle Rioni and la belle Colchide – at 4 1/2 fine view of the monastery of Ghelati – at 4 38/.. distinguish the narrow Tskaltsitéli (red water tsiltéli red in Georgian) winding at the foot of the wooded hill of Ghelathi, and distinguish the little white monastery of Modzamêta just peeping up above the trees – the wood of the wooded knoll on jet of rock on which it stands – at 4 3/4 fine view over la Colchide (rich, beautiful, fine valley) and of reach of the Rioni, but the high mountains of Akhaltiskh hid in mist – dont see far enough to see Koutaïs – at 4 55/.. see Koutaïs thro’ a break in the hills, and beautiful descent upon the river and soon down at it (at about 5 1/2) still in its own narrowish wooded rich lovely valley (at 2 1/2 versts from Koutaïs) which does not open into la Colchide till it reaches the castle (or cathedral) hill which in fact forms one buttress of the valley at its termination – at 6 10/.. near Koutaïs – left Ann and the rest, and took Adam and rode on before to the bazaar to buy fodder for Merab – bought bundle of grass for 16 paras – home at 6 1/2 or after and find all the party arrived – Domna living in the house but not at home – had to wait a few minutes to get in – the commandant and his wife out – their man swept our rooms – got 1 chair and another with a board over it, and a bench for a table at the joiner’s, and soon made ourselves comfortable   tea about 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 – Rainy morning (vide) fine afternoon and evening – merely a few drops of rain about 2 p.m. but at 9 50/.. Reaumur 19 3/4° and thunder and lightning and heavy rain –

 Anne’s marginal notes:

mosâcles

Odjōlă

Bĕ’rē^lĭ

Koutaïs

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Monday 3 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Monday 2 August]

[up at] 4 1/2

[to bed at] 10 1/4

had slept well – very rainy morning – took off pelisse and with a wet towel (with water out of my wicker covered bottle) made face and neck and arms comfortable – fed my horse with bread he would not eat yesterday and sat watching him and the weather (the rain) – fresh round cake gūālĕe (in Russian crōōglĕe) and plenty of milk for us both and breakfast over at 6 3/4 – kelossan ne chorosho – would not give the servants anything – one abasse = ./20 silver quite enough said Adam for the hay last night and this morning for the 9 horses; and 2 abasses quite enough (ōtchen davolna) for all the bread milk and eggs and a little wine (gave the remainder this morning to the servants) we had had of the kazāina (woman of the house – kelossan’s wife) – gave her ./50 silver for which she kissed my hand bowed low and seemed very thankful – the lower the bow, the greater the respect and in this case satisfaction – the rain was much abated – almost abated but put on Ann her burca 1st time and I my mackintosh over my other (light black shalloon of tammy) cloak as usual – and off from Drŏnōrĭsă at 8 1/4 – quite fair in about 1/2 hour or less and threw off my mackintosh – apparently 1 20/.. hour before we get back into the direct road to Koutaïs – all the way thro’ thick young wood, and bad steep ascent till after 10 and the steep bad narrow track till at 11 5/.. wood unparapetted narrow bridge over Lekhidārĭ little thick red rapid enough stream – very hot and humid – gave up raining about 8 3/4 – Sun and hot now at 11 10/.. standing on the little narrow wood bridge – very steep narrow lane winding and bad ascent up immediately from the bridge thro’ wood up on to the little plateau or assisse or terrace of hill above – about 1/2 way up the white baggage horse tumbles down and from 11 25/.. to 12 getting her up etc. divided the baggage – left the horse and the Jew with her, and went up 1/2 hour farther to opener part and larger plateau of the hill side and there halted at 12 1/2 to give the horses time to pasture (Adam said there was neither hay nor barley at the next village Ojōla) and in fact to rest poor Adam tired and en nage and to give the jew time to get up to us which he he /Anne’s repetition/ did and brought the horse – afterwards obliged to leave it by the way and agreed with a peasant to take it to Koutaïs for 4 abasses – no joke being without him for Adam has no sinecure of it when all to drive – 

I ate ripe good blackberries – centaury scattered on the hill – the little low pretty pink flower just like the herb for drying for antiscorbutic tea for Marian I remember  to have gathered aetatis 12 on the wolds above Market Weighton – while I gathered blackberries my horse lay down rather spoilt the top of my wicker covered Swiss guide’s bottle and lost the Baku Shekmareff cork – sought it in vain – lay down on my burca etc. on the grass under the tree (oak?) and slept instead of writing till now 2 10/.. – our route this morning and all around a labyrinth of thickly wooded comby valleys   off again at 2 40/.. – crossed the Lekhĭdārĭ again at 3 50/.. – about 5 both our baggage horses dead tired left George to take care of the baggage with Jew and guide, and Ann and I and the Cossack rode forwards to the village, and Adam came with us on foot – has walked all the way today – the Cossack rides the little chestnut botcha horse – lucky the village (Ojōla) not far – arrived at 5 25/.. – very picturesque very scattered – hardly visible even at a little distance – the houses (farmsteads) hid in trees – rode up to the picturesque place of the kelossan – good people – Ann and I settled at once in the Ōtăch (gallery) of a little store house or what? our otach about 12 x 8 feet – and we were very comfortable – luckily the baggage horses arrived just as we were sending off Ann’s horse and the Cossack’s to meet them – no horses here – all soon arranged – and I bought 2 nice chickens etc. of the kelossan, and ordered bread and milk and eggs and the chickens to be done à la Georgienne with kindzi –

                                                                       silver

2 chickens and about 1 gill new milk             0.15

1 batman cucurus (no barley here)                0.25

bread eggs wine etc. gave additional      .      0.10

1 pōōree such as we had at Abana worth says Adam (Tchōōrĕk in Russian) 4 or 5 grosh – 8 or 10 paras and 5 paras = ./4 copper kopecks   eggs are 2 grosh a piece at Koutaïs –

supper over about 9 1/2 2 great portions of gômi gave one to Adam kept one for my horse (after tasting my gômi) – the chickens served in a sort of broth very salt but fragrant of kindzi (Coriander) and good   the 3 round cakes gŭālĕe (in Russian crōōglĕe) excellent – a jug of light red agreeable wine of which Ann drank 3 or 4 of her little glasses 2/3 full, and we then filled a quart wine bottle – gave Adam 2 of Ann’s little glasses full and there was still to spare – Ann had her about gill+ of milk – excellent supper – gave the rest of the chickens to the servants – excellent supper – took off pelisse and lay down in my chelat at 10 1/4 – very fine day but rain about 6 and rainy evening –

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Sunday 2 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Sunday 1 August]

[up at] 3 55/..

[to bed at] 12

did not sleep well – hot – got up about 1 in the morning and opened the South door – Ann up, not yet in bed – she called me – in 1/2 hour at 4 25/.. gave out all my baggage and finished dressing in Ann’s room and at 4 3/4 fine morning Reaumur 19 3/4 and went out – Adam not come – met him, went to the Armenian’s and staid there to see cheese made while Adam went to buy (to give the price asked 30/. silver) for the white botcha – saw the little cow milked – about 5 pints – set on to the little stick fire (slowish) in iron pan – when lukewarm the rennet put in – it looked like sour whey – inquire into this another time –

Georgian –      Quali       .       cheese

                       Chadjo     .       curd

                       Chadjo Malinka, whey

                       Samquêlo the Rennet or whey gone sour?

– the 5 pints made a large sized Caucasian cheese – about 6 inches diameter and 1 1/2 inches thick in the middle at 1st – I bought it – worth 20 copper kopecks gave ./10 silver to the mistress and had given ./50 before for the milk and ./5 silver to the maid servant who made it – squeezed it between my hands and got all the whey out I could – then the mistress giving me some curd (excellent) and a cake, split the latter and put the cheese in it – tasted the whey drinkable – which the servant set on the fire to boil immediately – perhaps for her own and the other servants breakfast – could not make out – the mistress had also given about 1/4 a cheese 4 days old – Ann likes the quite fresh – I not less than 4 days old to 2 or 3 weeks when in our keeping they are nearly hard as stones but very good – the cheese I got worth 10 groschen = ./20 copper + 2 groschen = 5 paras – the long wicker cylindric cage 3 to 4? feet diameter and about 10 yards? long is for peripiolka when young – en route from our house to the Armenian not far from the great lime tree 8 yards 2 feet in girth missing all the settings on of the great root and 3 feet from the ground – 

home again about 6 1/4 – the botcha grey horse just come aetatis 6 – wanted to have saddle and bridle – no! offered 1/. silver – no! but would keep the [bad?] old bridle and gave 1 abasse for the feutre – my own feutre spoilt by the gore of the wounded back of the poor little chesnut – the Jew left the horses the other night with their saddles – not the little chesnut for my saddle my own and always brought in to me – he is not fit to have charge of horses – neither feeds nor looks after them in any way – we could not get on with such unfed worn out horses and such a man – cannot stir on a Friday his Sabbath or his fellow jews would take his beard from him – have nothing more to do with jews – the young man’s name who sold the horse Merab therefore so called the horse on the spot – all this settled at 6 1/2 left Ann to get off with the rest as soon as she could and I took Adam and we went to the bazaar to get the Merab shod – the shoes were ready made of Sédissi iron, and well put on (6 nails with high nearly 1/2 inch long projecting heads in each shoe) in 20 minutes at 7 1/4 – the shoes mere plates and at least eased by lifting up inside and hammering down close outside near the heel – the nails came out as high as the insensible hoop would admin – paid 3 abasses = ./60 silver (in moderately good road these shoes will last 5 weeks) and the man good humouredly asked us to have something to drink – Adam accepted (he had taken 4 fine cucumbers 1 for Ann I took 1 and 2 for himself) and the blacksmith’s wife and pretty daughter gave a little bread and a little cold cooked trout and went to the koupchine sunk close to the house end in a sort of open court or garden – a round stone over the top sunk 5 or 6 inches below level of ground – dipped in a glass decanter containing about 1 1/2 pint which Adam drank off at one draught! we then set off after Ann passed the little new looking stone church with board overhanging roof – steep descent and overtook her in about 1/2 hour just before fording

Georgian Nâlee horse shoe and in Russian patkof

              Nălbā^dĕ blacksmith  ________ Kăn-nă-vāl

              Djāng-ghĕe iron           _______  Rōōdĕe

 the river (broad shallow clear Ladsanouri) – Merab frames very well – had not gone far before a knaz prince on a good bay little horse would sell it for 50/. offered 30/. then 35/. he would take no less than 45/. – a good horse – 1/2 sorry did not buy him, but Adam sure of doing better at Kutaïs or Choni 23 versts from Koutaïs where Mr. Marr said there were plenty of horses – will go there if not immediately suited at Koutaïs – good people at Laïlache – will not sell – but will give – but milk wine cheese everything dearer there than at Koutaïs where a cheese /10 copper and good wine 1 abasse per tunga and here 1 abasse per m [blank] or 1/2 tunga – plenty of everything at Koutaïs – a large gorod and cheaper and better living – George ne charasho, etc. etc. poor Adam cannot endure, and says nobody can – 

Instead of going north past Orbéli to Mouri, come Southwards leaving our road from Saïermi (left) ascend steepish hill, and along narrow precipice road along its brink at 8 55/.. at village of Ŏusākhĕ’lŏ very picturesque scattered on the hill with its little church among trees and old castle whitewashed square tower and a lesser ditto and down deep below us in the beautiful viny Indian corny bottom – very picturesque village – the vines here chiefly (as at Lailache and Orbéli I think) on pollard ash trees – winding up and down hill road – a series or group of very beautiful rocky, rich, wooded, viny corny valleys or combes – then at 10 thro’ clouds and a thick wood (no pine anywhere to be seen hereabouts or about Orbéli) high along mountain side, the valley below full of cloud and invisible – at 10 1/4 after steep descent (all had dismounted) beautiful look down upon the fine valley de Rioni, the river after shewing 5 beautiful winding reaches escaping in a narrow line along deep narrow dark gorge (écluse) towards Koutaïs – milky always but more tranquil here – How everywhere fine this magnificent valley of the Rion! At 10 40/.. about 1/2 way down the hill a little bare plateau under great oak and 2 or 3 minutes peep at the tops of our Saïermi needles – the village of Saïermi – the wall of rock hides confluence of Ladsanouri and Rion – our road of Thursday and the village of Dsogichi and the white castle village of Allăpānnăh to which we must wind down to get into our road to the bridge over the Rion – Ann tired – told Adam we would breakfast at Allapannah (aliàs Albana of Dubois) about 1/2 way from Ousakelo to Zŏghĭchĭ where we had fixed to breakfast and give the horses corn

hours

1    Lailache to Ousākhĕ’lŏ from 7 1/4 to 8 55/..

4    Ousākhĕ’lŏ to Zōghĭshĕe

5    Zōghĭshĕe to Dronōrĕesă

7    Dronōrĕesă to Odjōlă

4    Odjōlă to Soormōnĕe

2    Soormōnĕe to Koutaïs

23

– from 8 55/.. to 11 1/4 Ousakhelo to Albana – the Kelossan not at home had to wait for barley – but spied a little got the woman to draw all she could get about a pint for Ann and gave ./10 silver for which thankful – I calculate the milk is worth about ./2 silver per pint – breakfast over at 12 35/.. and Ann slept till 2 then ordered the horses – had their corn to eat – bought 1 choda of barley at 4 abasses of the khelossan – had just written so far at 2 –

[written on] Monday 2 /actually 3/ August watching the horses eat their corn – Reaumur 21 1/4° now at 2 50/.. p.m. and Ann making bag to put our remaining 1/2 choda of barley in   Off from Albana at 3 5/.. – down at the bridge over the Rion at 3 25/.. – no parapet – narrow crazy – the 3 supporting beams not of one length, but about 3/4 the length rests on the end of the other 1/4 – looks frightful – the vibration of the bridge and the medium rapidity of river made one almost giddyish – steep ascent and at top at 4 5/.. and (left) midway the distance (from us to the horizon) see the tops of the needles of the monastery of Saïermi – fine beautiful view up the combe of the village of Saïermi and of the contrefort (line of wooded corny at bottom hill) that parts the abyss of the monastery (and its needles at the foot of which the Rion winds round but not seen from here to do so – not seen at all –) from the combe of Saierme – at 4 25/.. at the near end of village of Zoghichi (Zōgĭt-tshĕe) – Pravadnik (guide) to change – we had got a little way into wrong road – returned – stopt chez le khelossan, at the other end the village, and made him set off with us, but a young man soon took his place – off from Zoghichi at 4 40/.. – the village in several little picturesque scattered groups of 3 or 4 cottages on little farmsteads – the village looks inconsiderable – expected a longer and better – we did well to breakfast at Albana – perpetual ascent from Zoghichi – steep and bad thro’ one continued wood till now 5 40/.. and still ascent – occasional peeps of the fine high limestone mountains like high walls along the top – Jew left behind 1/2 hour ago (about 5 10/..) in the wood, with the Cossack’s dead-tired horse – Adam drives most picturesquely and laboriously – next in picturesqueness to the wild shouting of the prince de Tumen’s Calmucks – we could not do without him – he has stopt a large hole in his black worsted stocking by pulling a bit of his dark blue calico trowsers thro’ it – and the queer noise I could not make out was from a poulet peeping out from under his bags that he had given /25 copper for –

[written on] Tuesday 3 /actually 4/ August descent now at 5 50/.. and at 6 halfway – bits of ascent afterwards – at 6 35/.. 1st water since Zōghĭtshĭ – still in the wood and for the last hour so thick, no peep out of it – fine beeches – common laurel underwood – Shumach common at Lailache, and tall pretty mallows – at 7 20/.. one of the baggage horses knocks up – divide the baggage between George’s and the Cossack’s horses, and I take Ann’s burca-bundle and she my little cloak portmanteau – and leave the horse tied to a tree in the wood – bad road because not in the direct road – why? left the right road says George to change the guide at the last village – tired of this wood (some oak chiefly beech) – one can see nothing – and it is enveloped in cloud – the effect of the cloud (mist) among the trees curious – delayed 10 minutes about the baggage which had fallen quite off one horse – then detained again by it – close wood perpetual fear of putting one’s eyes out and steep down hill bad road in the dark – crossed 3 or 4 little waters – arrived at a gate in the village at 9 – a little bridge over deep dirty drain with little water just within the gate – our stupid guide led the horse so near the edge (no parapet) the main baggage horse fell in – luckily not hurt – but baggage wet and dirtied – 

on riding up to the sacle, no possibility of staying there – full of people ill in the fièvre chaude the 2 or 3 that came to the door pale as ghosts – returned by brand-light and a little wax candle end Ann had luckily given George this morning – rode farther into the village – about 9 3/4 before we got to our quarters, a good sâcle, with 6 women and 3 men (3 of the women wives of the 3 brothers and the other 3 grown up daughters) and 3 or 4 children boys and girls – the children were roused to give us their corner – and there we spread our feutres and burcas and made ourselves comfortable all our baggage close around us – fire in the middle boiled our kettle and eggs and baked our 

pōō-rĕes (pōūrĭs)    no! the pōōrĕe cakes at Albana    round cakes in the ashes – the rain pelted hard and thunder rolled and lightning flashed and we were satisfied to be so well housed – we had got a little wet and our cloaks hung on the rails suspended from the roof around the fire – I tea and cheese and bread and Ann eggs till 11 50/.. – our horses close around the door – our people in the porch shed (ōtăch) of a near building – rainy night – fine day till rain from about 9 or soon after – lay down as I was at 12 – to be off at 4 in the morning – took off only neck handkerchief and casquette and put on Sarepta night cap, and loosened strings of drawers –

 Anne’s marginal notes:

cheese.

Groschen

Peripiolka cage

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Saturday 1 August 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Saturday 31 July]

[up at] 7 1/2

[to bed at] 10 55/..

capital – not called to see the cheese making – Ann thought my sleep would do me more good – Ann washed out several small things for herself and 2 waists and flannel waistcoat and pair woollen and muslin handkerchief for me and I mended 2 pair socks and washed 1 pair etc. etc. till breakfast at 10 – the mourave sent us more nuts – 1 cucumber 1 slice of melon? or gourd? and a head of Indian [corn] which his man (serf) afterwards got roasted for us, and got our kettle boiled and was so attentive and handy thought he might be a good servant in England – the mourave and his friend (as written by Ann – Michael Lorque Manidza, and prince David Lorquanza each captain in the Dadian-Russian service) came about 10 1/2 and staid in and out till between 12 and 1 – ate nuts – looked at our things and I at their pistol swords and kindjal – the latter 1/ silver at Koutaïs – the prince had the kindjal and natty little grease about 1 3/4 inches square and 1/2 inches deep opening at the edge, and leather bottom opposite opening part – said the mourave’s man was chorosho (pronounced charasho) -  aetatis 16 – price 100/ silver would be (on asking him) to go with us to England – no sister no father – but a mother and brothers – said princess David Dadian could speak French and I would speak to her about him – called David Rē^văsitch Yāg-gŏr – wanted something washing – David took them and a bit of soap and brought back things wet and the remainder of the soap in about an hour! – then came a grey cropped aetatis 6 botcha (ambler) horse for me to look at about 14 hands – tried it – very well but shies – not good eyes – the man would not take less than 30/. silver – offered 20/. silver – could not bargain –

then rid of our company Ann and I wrung out and spread to dry our linen (3 shifts 1 pair drawers and 1 towel) to dry in the sun – Ann sitting in the north gallery to watch it – for somebody stole of her waists while drying before breakfast – at my journal at 2 and now at 3 35/.. had written the above of today and the last 15 lines of yesterday – It was settled when the mourave was here not to leave 1/2 our baggage here but to take it forwards to Zugdidi 3 days from here and 2 from Koutaïs – and then and better settled to trust it to the jew to take back to Koutaïs 1 1/2 day from here Reaumur 24 1/2 and Fahrenheit 87° at my elbow in our cool room with pleasant air coming in at the north door now at 4 20/.. p.m. no tidings of the 6 horses – shall not be off today – then reading Dubois end of volume 2 and volume 3 Satchikéri etc. till now 7 3/4 dinner to 8 50/.. the mourave’s man (not David to whom I gave 1 abasse on going away to his village this evening) brought 1 levache and a bit of cheese all which I ate and on this and hasty pudding and a very little rice (to smooth the jar for carrying away for breakfast tomorrow) and tea made a very good dinner – did not like the milk this evening and Ann had it – about 3 pints? – very fine day – Reaumur 21°+ and Fahrenheit 79 1/2° now at 9 p.m. got all ready for tomorrow – horses ordered for 3 a.m.

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Laïlache.

David Rêvasitch Yāggŏr.

Distances

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Friday 31 July 1840

[Anne misdated this entry as Friday 30 July]

[up at] 3 25/..

[to bed at] 10 55/..

Ann awoke me out of a sound sleep – have not slept more comfortably for long – fine morning Reaumur 17 1/2 at 4 40/.. a.m. and I quite ready to be off at 4 1/2 – but George not ready – Ann said the things waited for him 1/2 hour – what an idle fellow he always is! Off at 5 25/.. to the picturesque old castle to breakfast – crossed the river not deep – 2 nice broadish streams clear as crystal – very steep ascent tho’ winding round rather zigzag quite at the back of the castle – very beautiful views along the fine corny valley – the cornfields dotted over (shaded – protected from scorching) by pollard ashtrees – singular effect – pretty enough – At the castle (could not enter and breakfast within as we had expected) under the shade of the most enormous lime tree I ever saw, at 6 1/4 – omitted measuring it – sure it would girth 10 yards 2 feet from the ground – Dadian never sleeps there but when he does, sleeps in a small wood house close to the thrashing floor, and now full of bearded wheat in progress of thrashing – 6 or 7 pair of oxen dragging as many heavy stone-studded-bottom heavy thrashing sledges over it soon after we arrived – at the moment they were watering the floor out of a great outre – breakfast over (I had cold boiled rice and cheese and Ann eggs and milk and bread) at 7 1/4 – she and I and the Cossack (left George with the baggage) off to the castle – Ann sketched the interior – 2 square towers the entrance door in the upper one, and the curtain between built up against inside with a 2 story above ground building about 9 1/2 x 7 yards inside the upper of these 2 rooms has a fire place in the middle – must have been the kitchen – outside the curtain is about 3 yards covered gallery communicating with the 2 towers and with a wooden overhanging necessary the one below the entrance door 6 stories high – the entrance door tower not be seen – full of the Dadians things clothes! etc. etc. the tower next below entrance door tower communicates inside by a wooden gallery (over stone building) with another square tower at the lowest angle of the castle and on the side opposite the entrance door tower is another little square tower 3 x 2 yards apparently communicating by a little door dehors – here did job big and little while A- [Ann] sketched outside 

the well (from where she took her sketch) not far from the little square tower 3 stories above ground floor – about the centre of the rocky court there is the least church I ever saw – about 3 1/2 yards x 2 yards including about 1/2 (not quite?) the length behind the iconostase – a little perfectly plain rough vaulted building  very interesting  old place – inhabited by a few peasants – the galleries in very bad repair, and the whole concern ill kept up and untidy but not dismantled – all – all the towers covered with a wooden chamber over them

the door shews too high and the tower too short –

the roof hipped and overhanging and carried up to a point �� very picturesque – and one chamber in each wood part – left the castle at 8 3/4 – no windows in the towers merely a few light holes – Ann sketched the exterior while I ordered horses for ourselves Cossack and new guide to go back to Lailache, not saying what for – the new guide asks /50 silver a day unmounted – said I would give it for today and let him know what I should do – had talked to Ann of seeing if Adam was gone, and if not getting him back again – en route, bethought me to set our guide to inquire if a horse could be hired for 10/. silver per month remembering that our Jew pays 5/. for a fortnight for the horse he hired at Oni – yes! but must go to the bazaar (at Lailache) – off at 9 30/.. – very hot tho’ latterly a fine air – passed thro’ the little bazaar – all shut – not near so good as at Oni – not near so good even as at Satchekhéri – merely a few little straggling shut up wood shops – back at our station of yesterday (Dadian’s place) at 11 1/2 – 1/2 asleep all the way – slept here an hour on arriving – on inquiries made about horses, find there are [none] to be hired – but 2 came to be looked at for sale aetatis 5 = 30/. 14 hands? and aetatis 4 (less by 1/2 hand) 25/. – too dear – the Cossack agreed that 15/. for the latter were enough – but called in the Cossack explained that we be off at 4 a.m. tomorrow for Koutaïs (1 1/2 day off – 5 villages en route – Adam was off at 8 this morning) – better buy horses there – yes! It appears that Adam’s leaving us was George’s doing as I suspected – asked if with 1/2 the baggage and only the Cossack and Adam we could get on? yes! said I would have the matter explained – George to go home with the baggage, and the Cossack to seek Adam and all go to Madame Boujouroff – not to say a word about all this – poor fellow! he seems very well satisfied at this decision – I had quite reconciled Ann to it – 3 of our 7 horses knocked up – our Jew cannot stir the whole of every Friday and talked of selling the horses and leaving us at the months end – and with George how could we get on? what an ill twined stupid idle fellow! nothing goes right with us thro’ him? – I hope we shall be able to try to do without him – 

had just written so far now at 4 55/.. p.m. very hot – and Reaumur 26 1/2° and Fahrenheit very near 92° on my table at my elbow – on inquiring price of the horses this afternoon find there is no barley (Etchmen) here but Kukuruza Indian corn at 1 1/2 abasses per choda = 3 batmans = (1 pood said Adam the other day) and 1 choda enough to feed 5 horses twice – asleep till 6 1/2 – then out sauntering about till 8 – peeped into sheds and cottages – one old woman let me sit down by her fire and gômi pan a few minutes then turned me out and shut her door – I was now in the bazaar and a knot of men were assembled among them Adam – who came up to me – said I thought he had been gone – no! not till Sunday – said I was come to buy horses – wanted 6 – kakarousa 4 abasses per choda would feed 10 horses twice – and hay for them 1 abasse – would Adam calculate the cost of 6 horses per day fed twice a day on corn and hay – he said 1/ silver per day – would he engage to do it for that – yes! all thus agreed and arranged in the mean time the Cossack had come to us, and George and the baggage had arrived at quarters – then took Adam and went chez un Armenien (who cannot speak Armenian – only speaks Georgian) and got a good quart of milk near 5 pints fresh from the cow and Ann had already had some sent to her before – to go at 5 a.m. to see cheese made – all agreeable – Adam to buy 6 horses averaging 15/. silver each – all to be ready to be off at 4 p.m. tomorrow to sleep at Mouri 3 hours off – home at 8 – Ann pleased as I at the new arrangement – Ann made tea but I could not take any – had 1/2 glasses of milk and my cold boiled rice (a little) and a little bread then the mourave’s young man brought 21 little pears and some hazle /hazel/ nuts and he and another higher rank man seeing me crack one with my teeth cracked for me with their teeth as much as I could possibly eat and went away at nine – very fine day – Reaumur 22 1/2 and Fahrenheit 83° at 10 p.m. – Long flea-catching – and 3 or 4 lice but A- [Ann] catches several so I am sati[s]fied – paid off our new guide that had been 10 years in Russia – Zugdīdĭ 3 days from here 2 from Koutaïs.

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Castle of Orbéli

least church I ever saw –

Laïlache

price of Indian corn

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Thursday 30 July 1840

[up at] 3 50/..

[to bed at] 11 3/4

very fine morning – put on my fur cloak and boots and ran into the little church (prayers) for 10 minutes – perfectly plain but neat little church inside and out – quite ready at 5 20/.. – no horses – ordered for 4 – but George said the Jew had told him they would not be here at 4 – waited impatiently till 6 1/2 and then said little but lay my little switch stick once or twice over the Jews shoulders and set the Cossack to give him a good beating which he did, (did not hurt him) with his little switch stick till the man roared out, and then left him to put the baggage on and be more punctual (or give some reason for delay) another time – George seemed anxious for me to give something – he never gives anything? the monk George said was the head, came to me for something – gave him 3/. (4 coming out of my purse) he seemed going to take them all – but appeared satisfied with what he got – it was enough for our 2 boiled poulets and bread and 10 or 11 eggs and 1/2 little pears and one little bottle of wine – but no knowing what the servants had – however tho’ the monk said they were not rich, they are very well off – there are several little corn and pasture fields north side of pyramid in the bottom and some nice bits of Indian corn and garden ground on the top – saw 3 of their cows in coming away down the zigzag descent – 

off at 7 5/.. at 7 3/4 from high ground above the monastery 1st sight of the Rion again (since leaving it at Pichari on Tuesday) far and deep below us – at 8 5/.. stop on the hill for George and Adam and wait 50 minutes – Ann asleep on the ground – I reading – thought them lost in the wood – no! they had gone almost to the village of Saïermi as agreed last night and we had taken another road – why? always difficult to get things explained – it seemed this road was a great round about but better road – made the guide (from the monastery) turn back, and go the picturesque if occasionally rocky and steep and bad road by Saïermi – and en route again at 9 3/.. – beautiful view of valleys or combe upon combe from the high ground where waited for George and Adam – but our nearer and worse road infinitely superior to the other in the picturesque – at 10 50/.. stop in the good, but scattered and very picturesque village of Saïermi for water at the one of the cottages or farmhouses because a nice court fenced off and entered by large folding doors (head-covered as usual) – gave 3 paras to be given for the water as Ann and I filled all our bottles – throw away the monastery rain-water – 

at 10 25/.. on the hill wooded mountainside just over (high above) the confluence of the thread-like Ladsanouri having just before escaped from its écluse (deep narrow gorge) and see on right bank of Rion 5 versts (says Dubois) ii. 439 below the 1 large and 1 little white square towers of the krepost (old castle) of Āl-lă-pān-năh as pronounced by our guide Albana of Dubois, ii. 439 – the large village of Dsogichi /Zogishi/ scattered on hill side left bank of Rion – magnificent view of high wooded limestone mountains all round accidentées dans toutes les manières – snow-streaked and patched and cupped mountains close the head of the fine valley of the Ladsanouri on our right and we turn right and wind up high hill mountain side – what a magnificent view – Rion winding tranquilly its yellow-milky waters diminished by irrigation or something since Oni – apparently not much or deep water – but too far off or too high above the river to judge – a singular wall of rock facing towards us and bearing on its back a rich corny slope down to the Rion forms an angle between the Rion and Ladsanouri after the confluence of the 2 rivers – very singular – but everything is singular here and magnificently fine – 

at 11 50/.. come down upon good picturesque village of Sourmouchi /Surmushi/ from which the guide said we were distant one hour when we turned back at 9 3/.. – the people cutting (sickling) the corn here bearded wheat – in large fields along the hill side sheltered by pollard trees at regular distances (chiefly ash) – good plan – otherwise the corn would be burnt up – vine entwined hedges and trees all along – and trēēmĕlēē which I pulled and rubbed in my hand for the smell – very agreeable – only discovered this and the aromatic nature of the inner bark in riding along on Tuesday – at 12 5/.. stop a moment (scattered village of Sourmouchi) under high vine-covered alders to inquire about natchalnik and breakfast – for man and horse – steep ascent up white limestone hill to Lailache /Lailashi/, 1000 feet above level of Ladsanouri says Dubois – probably enough – hot sun – at 1 20/.. stop at wood house of Dadian’s at Laïlache under an enormous lime tree – shew our paper – shewn immediately to a nice comfortable roomy convenient wood house near – very neat plafond to our large room divans and 2 tables – one tolerably European and the other tho’ long and bench-like, high enough to write at in comfort – breakfast – but George had left behind our bread and capital large linen cloth it was wrapt in! I said I had given it him – he denied this – I too quickly said je le jure (meaning I could swear it) he still repeated vous vous trompez – annoyed at the stupid fellow for ever – sat down to eggs and cheese and I had bread enough for myself in my bag – I had picked 5 bunches of green sour grapes in coming along – pressed out the juice with my drinking tumbler glass on my trencher and made 3 glasses of verjuice and water almost as refreshing as lemonade (1st time of trying this) – breakfast over at 3 5/.. then slept 1/2 hour then till now 4 50/.. wrote the last 9 lines of yesterday and so far of today – 

soon after arriving here (at 1 1/4) Reaumur 28° – and now (4 50/..) lying on the table by me with a nice cool air blowing over it Reaumur 26° and Fahrenheit 90 1/2 – but I get rather more accustomed to the heat – ate one cucumber just at the last before arriving – 1 at breakfast and 2 cold hardboiled eggs and a little bread and much of the hard white cheese I bought at Oni – salt and savoury and good – Ann had 2 eggs beaten up with wine and about a pound of Tiflis sultana raisins – just tasted my cucumber in coming – she bears the heat with much less thirst and much better than I – but I am improving – left off my woollen sleeves this morning because found a louse  in them last night   and have found dit[t]o two or three times in my flannel waistcoat – Adam and the Jew had been loitering in the Room while I write the last few lines – then came George to say that Adam said his month was up, and I would not give him money to buy another horse he would leave us – leave us, said I, c’est à rire – that cannot be – as for giving him money to buy a horse – no! another horse is my affair not his   tell him he must go with us – George persisted that he would not – said his friends were here – he had been drinking – he came himself – of course I understood merely a few words of what he said and merely answered pashō, pashō, meaning we are ready – be quick and be off with us – I saw he took it differently? by his manner of Otchen blagadarioo – I had told George that if he did leave us, I would pay him nothing more till Koutaïs and then what the commandant ordered – I once thought of keeping his horse – then immediately gave that up – that would do no good – 

Off in all my astonishment at 6 25/.. for after this nobody seemed ready to pack – we could not get off – it seemed we were too late for Mouri – could not get farther that /than/ the castle of Orbeli 2 hours or more from here – mused as we rode along – wished I had staid all night in our comfortable room at Laïlache – the business about Adam might have been differently settled – quite persuaded it is George’s doing – beautiful ride along the hills sides – fine views down into fine valley of the Ladsanouri – broad shallow clear stream – the white washed 3 towered castle very picturesque high-seated on fine projecting mass of rock – our guide said we could not go up to it on horseback! how get the baggage up? determined to sleep in the picturesque little village of . .  .  .  . prettily scattered on the left bank the Ladsanouri – no appearance of many places to sleep at, till espied a good looking place at the far end of village – passed our guide and baggage, and rode up to the gate and up to the door – not the property of the Dadians but a prince .  . .  .  . not allowed to stay there – parley – George said he would fouetter les gens, and get us entrance – true enough he did threaten and bully till we were allowed to settle ourselves for the night very comfortably – large good wood house one large room opening into wicker cabinet d’air and into a good room, but smelling as if lately used as a stable, at the side – broad good gallery ŏtāch front and along our side where our people were very comfortable – we had divans and a table and benches and all in Mingrelian luxury – a good kitchen house for strangers stable etc. etc. at a little distance and the court shaded by immense walnut trees – we had arrived at 7 50/.. and Ann had boiled my rice and we had a very comfortable meal from 9 5/.. to 10 1/2 – George found a man for us – sold by his master to a Russian – 10 years in Russia – his Russian master killed or died in 1812 during the French invasion and the man returned to his old master here – very fine day – Reaumur 20 3/4° at 10 1/2 p.m. and Reaumur 23° in our room on arriving – or at 8 p.m. we found the room very hot –

 Anne’s marginal notes:

village of Saïermi

Laïlache

Adam leaves us at Laïlache

village below Orbèli Ach-hālt-sāhă-răh where we slept.

WYAS pages:  SH:7/ML/E/24/0167       SH:7/ML/E/24/0168

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Wednesday 29 July 1840

[up at] 3 1/2

[no time of going to bed]

Ann roused me to open the door – she could not get out to go to church (matins) – struck a light – locked in – dawdled in dressing – and slumbered again for 1/2 hour – not ready till 5 1/4 – Reaumur 18 1/2° and Fahrenheit 3 1/2 at 6 a.m. – the Cossack came to say something about the horses – he called George to explain – George would not come and therefore put his baggage on his horse in vain – Adam’s mistake – lucky for Ann took her horse and rode to make her sketch of the needles from the bottom – Ann back in a couple of hours at 7 1/2 – breakfast at 7 3/4 in 1/2 hour tea and she 4 hard-boiled eggs (boiled b[y] the people here) and I rice cooked last night – Ann went out again at 9 to sketch and returned at 1 1/2 – I now at 2 1/4 have just written up thus far Monday and yesterday – have been at it and reading Dubois from 5 to 7 3/4 and from 8 1/2 to now 2 1/4 – now at 3 55/.. have just written out the last 32 lines (page 322) and finished Friday last – dinner soon after 4 to 5 40/.. had the cold boiled hen they brought us last night – well flavoured but toughish and this and hard cheese and hard bread took long time to eat – 1 hard boiled egg and 2 cucumbers and tea besides – Ann had one egg beaten up with wine and cold fowl and 1 1/2 cucumber – Ann went out – I had the monks till 6 50/.. for information – One of them asked for a penknife – sorry I had given the only one to prince Yuri Eristaf of Baragone – out at 7 1/4 – took George and Adam and down at the bottom of deep around our natural pyramid – went (scrambling) some distance beyond the horse-road among the rocks thickly wooded all the way – should have made my way all round but the light was waning too fast – magnificent mass of rock about 300+ by 150 to 200 yards? and from 200 to 300 feet perpendicular height the plateau or ground at top and the rock perpendicular or nearly so on all sides – the wall often as it were in little 1/2 round towers or huge striations and as if turreted – very fine and picturesque – the smaller mass at the end of our pyramid-mass looks like a huge contrefort with 3 or [4] tall needle-like masses rising up 1 from each corner – returned at 7 50/.. and back en nage at 8 25/.. – quite dusk almost dark – had water and wine and water glass after glass – very fine day – Reaumur 23 1/2° when I set out at 7 1/4 – very hot in the thick wood in the bottom –

 Anne’s marginal note:

Monastery of Saïermi

WYAS page:  SH:7/ML/E/24/0167

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[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Tuesday 28 July 1840

[up at] 6 35/..

[to bed at] 10 25/..

washed and ready at 7 25/.. – had slept well, ditto ditto Ann – horses ordered to be here at 7 a.m. luckily not à l’heure – breakfast over and ready to be off at 9 – they brought 4 more cucumbers and a pint+ of milk (hardly enough for Ann) and more bread – went to see the garden – cucumbers and kidney beans as usual, and dĭnĭ (deenee) melons the fruit only just set and cherry and fig, apple and pear trees – the cherry tree trunks a russet-brown – because cast their outer rind every year like the birch – nothing like this in England – little bits sometimes peel off and one sees little patches of russet brown beneath but no regular skin-casting as here – the house (hall) and bit of village just here in a beautifully wooded large circular recess in the hoary white high calcareous mountain with a little cleft like sillonne in the middle of back of recess, on each of 3 points of high inaccessible rock on the sides of this cleft, one on South side, 2 on north side, an old castle now all quite ruined and the road to them grown over or destroyed and at foot of lowest castle (north side) a little church – very picturesque – not time to attempt the difficult task of climbing into these castles destroyed by the Russian general (prince?) Gortchakoff in the time of prince Léon Pépiani’s father Yuri who lived in the lowest castle – the whole of the valley here as far as one can see, and after leaving district of Sardmêli last night belongs to the Pépianis, and is called Pĕ’pĭānŏff – prince Gregoire’s brother, David Tsirételli, archimandrite of monastery of Djirootchy is still métropolitain of Mingrelia and much beloved – there is a Pépiani at St. Petersburg with the Circassian and Georgian corps there but he never writes to his family here – cousin to our young men – sons of the older brother Ottea Pépiani aetatis 55 the one who entertained us his brother Lévani (Léon) aetatis 45 – 

went from the garden to Ottea’s (Otho?) house to see the ladies who had invited us in last night – mother and her sister – aunt a widow (father’s sister?) and pretty young sister of the young man, a cousin german and 2 other ladies Pépiani wives of Léon and the other brother of the old set = 7   the wives of the 3 brothers all living in the same house – all well-enough dressed à la Georgienne and evidently much pleased at our visit – the wife of Ottea not the handsomest, but the most talkative and intelligent – all wore the white thing that when pulled up covers the mouth but all came to us with uncovered mouths except one of the 2 last named ladies and she uncovered at my request and they all laughed – the young man with us all the while and his 2 older brothers at the end of the gallery and went with us to Léon’s nice not nicer than the other house – wood – not quite finished – 2 large rooms galleried all round as usual – here we had the 2 old and 3 young brothers – inquired ages – thanks for their hospitality etc. and shook hands on coming away as we had done with the ladies – these 2 good wood houses and the strangers’ house (our sâcle) and kitchen and servants houses and barn, and stabling etc. and hen house like a little square log-hut necessary (but no such luxury to be found here) surround the court at greater or less distance – very picturesque – when they want milk or anything they sent to the peasants (mujiks) – make the milk into cheese immediately before the cows are turned out again – may see it made at any of the villages – 

off at 10 – Adam quite blithe and alert – the wine excellent he said and George said he (Adam) had drunk all night – would not think of his horse – Adam grinned and told me afterwards, (pleased that I only laughed and joked about his wine bibbing, and George perhaps surprised) that George had drunk pretty fairly, but the Cossack neat, not at all – (i.e. not more than necessary?) – our prince gave us a good guide to go all the way to the monastery of Saïermi /Sairme/ where she shall sleep Dubois ii. 431.

                                                                       versts

Kouantchegkara to Aski (river)          .           4

Aski to Pichari (village)                      .           6

Pichari to Saïermi (monastery)           .          12?

the Aski parts the Ratcha from the Letchkoum belonging to the Dadian ii. 429. Village of Pichari faces the gorge where the Chauri lost near Nikortsminda reappears under the name of the Charaula (Dubois ii. 429) Shăh-răh-ōō-lĕe as pronounced by our guide – Pass below Tola with old ruined square tower at 11 25/.. – very hot but nice air, en face – at 11 35/.. ride thro’ the little clear and here 3-little-stream-Aski and fill our bottles with good water and enter Letchkoum, and near (right) little wine shop, and Adam [gave] me a stalk (well headed) of peas little short pods with about 2 peas each – not (he said) the Persian pea – he had before given 2 specimens 1 of millet? 1 of gômi

at 12 3/4 at Pichari little village with little ruined square tower – stop a moment at cottage (farm house) court doors (double doors with covered 

head over them) – and get water – everybody drinks water today – the village of Tchekoïchi /Chvishi/ (Dubois ii. 430) highish above us (right) what are the 2 cones (on one line of jet) on the higher of which stands the picturesque white washed square tower, the higher calcaire crayeux, the lower (at some hundreds paces distance) porphyrique? castle says Dubois 1/2 dismantled – full of koupchines of Dadian’s tribute wine – (vin de sa recette) – Dubois makes no remark on the fine combe 

headed at EEE by high bold hoary calcaire fissured wood-sprinkled, very strikingly fine – the diagram is merely an approximation from memory

a Pichari

b Tchekoïchi castle the village below towards a.

c where the man pointed to the gorge and cavern and Sharaoola.

dd course of Rion dotted line our track.

gg

gg two lines of jet or ridge that divide the combe into 4 little valleys with each its picturesque green head under the high white limestone head of combe at EEE.

h fine view.

i sort of white chalky scar below village a which is a little above the cavern left bank Rion thro’ which the Sharaoola escapes and runs a very little distance before falling into the Rion

[written on] Wednesday morning 29 July 1840   at 1 5/.. we we /Anne’s repetition/ winding up and away distant and above Tchekoïchi at 1 50/.. at h, (near top of thill) stop to make inquiries of our guide about the Sharaoola – he pointed to the picturesque high white sort of scar i. and said the cavern from which the river escaped and ran a little distance, was about c. but between George and Adam anything like information is always difficult and generally impossible to be got at – Surely, we shall never have a stupider than George! – off from point h. at 2 – at 3 Ann and I had eaten each a cucumber (she 1 all but bits of ends) and on the top of high plateau   turned down to see in the distance (for we had now wound round in sight of the Rion again) the cavern and fall of the Sharaooli into the Rion about 1 verst from the village Ocăr-dēē-ăh, 3 or 4 versts from Pichari? – not a bit of it – returned – it seemed our poor guide did not know the road thro’ the thick young wood that surrounded the bit of open ground we stood – tried several little lanes the monastery in sight but its wondrous depths unseen – itself seeming as if almost on a level or below us – till got right at last, and at 3 3/4 began the steep descent into the bottom   3 or 4 men perched on point of monastery rock – picturesquely tremendous to see them stand watching us – steep zigzag ascent up the side of the singular mass 

of high monastery crowned rock – an ancient temple here? arrived at 4 10/.. – very fine – an old crater? 2 high jets of calcaire the monastery, on the higher  the good monks received us without looking at our papier ouvert – a good wood house to ourselves with gallery for the servants – a little cabinet for Ann’s bedroom, and private gallery to private place – excellent – most comfortable – in our grand salon – good broad long divan for me and a long good steady table under the one little (4 about 1 foot x 7 inches lights) window but room lighted by opening the doors onto our 2 galleries – very comfortable – gave our guide ./50 silver well satisfied – siding – to stay till 4 p.m. tomorrow – our own good tea at 5 10/.. – nothing but rain water here drawn up from deep reservoir with long pole and bucket but clear, and made good tea – the tea our good prince Ottea Pépiani gave us this morning for me (Ann had her milk) I could not drink – offered it to George who declined on my saying and he agreeing that it was not tea and I threw it quietly down in a corner on our mud floor – making my bed comfortably and siding (dawdling over 1 thing of tidiness or another) till went out at 7 5/.. Ann had been out sauntering about for 1/2 hour before- looked about the little island-summit – the little garden – new church and our court end of the monastery – little old church and other part of our little village – the archimandrite who had piloted Ann about did the same good office for me – very civil – took me with pride to East end of the little plateau – (its length is from East to West) to look down upon the 2 singular tall small masses of limestone in the style of the Isle of Wight needles – very fine and picturesque – out till very dusk at 8 – quite dark at 9 – or before fine starlight night at 10 – Reaumur 21 3/4 and Fahrenheit 81 1/2° in our comfortable room at 9 p.m. very fine day – they brought us a fine boiled fowl and more bread and offered more wine about 8 1/2 catching fleas (brought with me) till 10 1/4

 Anne’s marginal notes:

Kouantchegkara.

Cossack does not drink

Reappearance of river lost at Nikorstminda.

Letchekoum.

Pichari and Tchekoïchi villages.

WYAS page:  SH:7/ML/E/24/0166

#anne lister #ann walker #anne lister code breaker #gentleman jack #diary1840unannotated #russianempire1840 #georgia1840