upon the rails which are sometimes washed by the dense waters of the Putrid Sea.
Next day, on the 31st of August, the travellers found themselves journeying upon a road through a fertile country. The leaves of the olive-trees, blown back by the wind, seemed to be sprinkled with quicksilver; dark green cypresses, magnificent oaks and arbutus of great height were numerous. Everywhere upon the slopes were vineyards, which produce wines little inferior to some good French vintages.
Thanks to the liberality of Ahmet, no delays were met with: the horses were always at hand to be harnessed, and the postillions, frequently rewarded, were always willing to take the shortest cuts. In the evening they had passed the long straggling village of Dorte, and some leagues farther on they would reach the borders of the Putrid Sea again. At this place the curious lagoon is only separated from the Sea of Azof by a tongue of sand, the average breadth of which is about a quarter of a league. This tongue of sand is called the Arrow of Arabat, and extends from the village of that name to Ghénitché northwards, on terra firma, divided only by a cutting of three hundred feet, through which the water from the Sea of Azof enters the marsh, as already stated.
At daybreak Seigneur Kéraban and his companions were surrounded by clouds of damp vapour, thick miasmas, which gradually dispersed under the influence of the sun's rays.
The country was less wooded and more deserted here. A few dromedaries were noticed—animals of great size—and their appearance gave somewhat of an Arabic touch to the landscape. The few carriages that passed were of wood, without a particle of iron, and creaked and groaned loudly. Their appearance was primitive in the extreme; but in the villages, and in the more isolated farms, Tartar generosity and hospitality are continually the prevailing features. Any one may enter, seat himself at table, eat and drink as much as he pleases, and pay his score with a simple "Thank you."
It need scarcely be said that our travellers never abused
