. All the Russias: travels and studies in contemporary European Russia, Finland, Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. the flock-donkey or the shepherdshorse. How innocent and frank and pretty are the puppy-faces;how charmingly they extricate first one and then another soft,supple paw, and hang it out till the shepherd sees them and hur-riedly crams it in again and binds the edges of the pocket tighterround the puppy neck. I was so enchanted by these creatures,even by the open enmity of their large savage parents, that Ipriced a ravishingly beautiful puppoose (that would be a niceword) and
. All the Russias: travels and studies in contemporary European Russia, Finland, Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. the flock-donkey or the shepherdshorse. How innocent and frank and pretty are the puppy-faces;how charmingly they extricate first one and then another soft,supple paw, and hang it out till the shepherd sees them and hur-riedly crams it in again and binds the edges of the pocket tighterround the puppy neck. I was so enchanted by these creatures,even by the open enmity of their large savage parents, that Ipriced a ravishingly beautiful puppoose (that would be a niceword) and learned that its price was above roubles, and not evenfor five would its master part with it. Perhaps had I shown him i86 ALL THE RUSSIAS a gold-piece of five I should at this moment be cluttered, as theYorkshire people say, with a cream-coloured Caucasian puppyof Circassian beauty and a latent savagery to terrify a wholeEnglish county. I dwell overlong upon these by-sights of the road, but in-deed most of our first day went in passing that sea of sheepand goats, and the dogs and the humble flock-donkey, bridleless. The Georgian Road—a Woolly Wave. and bitless and burdened with all the huge hairy felt mantles ofthe shepherds, pattering meekly among the crowd, were alwayswith us. After a spell of a dozen versts or so, we drew up at apost-station. These, like the excellent military road, are main-tained by the Government, and entertainment can be had atthem of a modest character. In the barrack-like building, verygrey and cold, we passed instinctively toward a door on which THE GEORGIAN ROAD 187 was the word Buffet, written phonetically in Russian lettersto rhyme with muffet. A little bar, with * snacks of sausage,herring, and Caucasian cheese in front, and bottles of vodka atthe back, rewarded us. The shadow of the mountains fell upon this posting-house,and in the sharp cold a camel and a scatter of bristly pigs madean odd group. Soon our fresh horses were harnessed, and thist
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjecttolstoy, bookyear1902
