I



most part the railway keeps to the right-hand side of the
river, and the fine old military macadamized road to the '
left: cloud-topped mountains tower above both. Villages '
perched upon precipices, or down on the river bant, are i

latantly passed ; the military road is enlivened by groups
of horsemen in the warlike Mingrelian costume ; now and
a^ajn a caravan of camels is seen, and at every strategical |
bend are the ruins of some old fort or castle, the stones ;
of which, if they could speak, would tell many a story
i, war, and chivalry. For magnificent and roman-
tic scenery, this part of the journey will compare with the i
Shine from Cobleutz to Cologne j in my opinion, it beata )
it. The presence of handsome armed horBemon, like the ,
knights of old, imparts to the journey up the E.ion t
interest which is altogether lacking in the case of the

As the train approaches the Suram the inclines become
Tery steep. The topmost station is Poni. 3,200 feet abova
the level of the sea. In climbing up this point and de-
scending from it, the gradients for more than eight milea
are one foot in 22i. During the four hours' journey from.
Quirill, on the Rion side, to Michaelova on that of the
Kura, the train rises a height of 2,000 feet." Three
engines, one a 60-ton Pairlie, are employed to haul the i
train up to the top of the pass and ease it down the other I
aide. The operation is naturally alow, but the magnifi-
cence of the scenery repays the traveller for the delay.
