and satisfy himself that the smell of powder did not agree with his constitution; so, after a solemn consultation with his second in command, Colonel Haleem Bey, as great a poltroon as himself, both parties decamped one fine morning, without beat of drum, and found their way to Stamboul; for which act the Seraskier Riza Pacha brought them up before the Mejlis (Council of War) on a charge of having cowardly abandoned their post in the field before the enemy;' and in the presence of all the troops they were degraded from their respective ranks, and are now vegetating in prison.

"This finale was however against my interests, as one evening before the Pacha left the Crimea, when we were talking about the chances of an engagement at an early period, he said, 'You are an Englishman and like fighting, and cannot be afraid of a woman; so what do you say to taking my eighty thousand piasters' worth off my hands? She is as good as when I bought her, and I will give you a house and garden with her, and adopt you as a son.' Of course I closed with his offer at once, but our little arrangement was put an end to by his sentence; so you see, my friends, that the old adage is true which says, 'Wherever there is misfortune, a woman is sure to be at the bottom of it.''

CHAPTER XXII.

Circassian scenery.—A false alarm.-The Bey's Konak.-Rifles and revolvers.-Circassian cuisine.-A goose cooked à la Mrs. Harris.-Uninvited company.-News of a bear.-A night prowler.-A Huntsman's toilet.-The route through the ravines. The lair.-The Bey's dogs give tongue. An enormous bear wounded.-A man mauled.-The Bruin bites the dust. The bivouac.-Horses stolen.-Mussulman apathy.The pursuit. The trail. The plunderers surprised and taken. -Their punishment.

THE

HE next morning we all set out with the Illory Chieftain, and, after a four hours' ride through a densely-wooded country, arrived at the gorge of a romantically picturesque valley, which appeared to wind its way for several miles between two lofty mountain ridges, forming a part of the chain of the Caucasus; a tortuous path, so narrow that we were obliged to ride in single file, and keep a sharp lookout that we did not come in contact with overhanging rocks or branches of trees, wound along the edge of a chasm, in which a foaming mountain-torrent dashed impetuously; and, at times, we passed along the

brinks of precipices which made the head giddy to look over. Here and there gigantic forest-trees stood out in bold relief, and towering crags of castelated form rose in every direction, whilst patches of gorgeous flowers of various colours were seen among the luxuriant herbage, adding their rich tints, as if to harmonise with the exquisite beauty of the surrounding scenery.

As we were picking our way over the strong bed of a mountain-stream which had cleft a wide opening through the forest, I was rather startled by hearing the sharp crack of a rifle, and the "ping" of a bullet high over our heads, which, from the streak of smoke, evidently came from a high rocky crag commanding the ford on the opposite bank; and, instinctively, both myself and followers, apprehensive of treachery, unslung our rifles, and prepared for action by springing from our saddles and taking advantage of the cover of huge boulders of rock that were scattered about in every direction. But the Illori Bey, who was much amused by our proceedings, informed us that we were approaching his "konak," and that the shot we heard was merely a signal from one of the outlying scouts of his tribe, who, being at feud with their neighbours, were obliged to keep a strict watch on the defile leading to their hamlet. One of his followers answered the signal by discharging his pistol, and in a few moments a number of young men came galloping up on rough nountain-ponies, who gave us a cordial welcome, and

saluted us by touching our feet with the tips of their fingers, and then raising them to their foreheads.

On the slope of a hill, surrounded by a small patch of Indian corn, stood the hamlet, which consisted of about half-a-dozen log-huts, each containing a single apartment; and one of the largest, by the orders of the Bey, was cleared out of its occupants, consisting of an indiscriminate medley of men, women, children, ponies, sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, geese, fowls, &c., and given up for the accomodation of my people and horses, being sufficiently roomy to contain all comfortably.

I was conducted to the "dewan-khana," or guesthouse, and introduced to the elders of the tribe as the "Ingleese Bey," where, after pipes and sherbet had been handed round by boys, I had to undergo a long series of cross-questioning as to the recent events of the war.

At last my revolvers, which I always wore loaded in my belt, in case of accident, attracted their atten tion, and they all jumped up thunderstruck when I explained their action; but I was not believed until I had exhibited their powers by lodging ten bullets in a small circle of a walnut-tree about twenty paces distant from the door of the hut. In order more strongly to impress upon their minds the nature of our armament so as to guard against any attempt at treachery, I directed one of the boys to hang a dry

gourd, which served as a water-vessel, on a stalk of Indian corn about a hundred yards distant, and sent a couple of bullet shots through it with my double rifle; and, whilst they were examining the weapon, I slipped the extra loaded chambers in my revolvers and again fired them off, much to their consternation and wonder: indeed, they looked upon me as very closely allied to "the nameless one," for I heard them congratulating themselves in an undertone that none of their enemies had demon-inspired pistols that were of fatal aim and never required loading.

When we again adjourned to the hut I found that breakfast had been served, consisting of several dishes, but I was most woefully disappointed in the cookery, which was wretched in the extreme, I may say execrable; for, although hungry, I could hardly manage to swallow half-a-dozen mouthfuls: the bill of fare consisting of rank goat's-flesh boiled up with millet-seed, black broth, sundry preparations of sour milk, smoked kouskous, and pillaf made of rancid butter, roasted Indian corn, and black-looking maize cakes. At last the repast was over, and, making some excuse about looking after the horses, I bolted to my people, whom I found comfortably established and supplied with all they required.

One of them had managed to get hold of a goose, and, as I felt nearly ravenous, I devoted him to "sudden death," converted him into a savoury mess