,
was not less frequent among them than in the Russian colonies.
I left Tiflis about 3 in the afternoon. Just outside the town
stands, by the roadside, a cross cast in metal, with the eye of
Providence upon a pedestal of polished granite, surrounded by an
iron railing. An inscription states that, on the 12th of October,
in the year 1837, his imperial majesty was upset here, but that he
had escaped without injury. "Erected by his grateful subjects."
This incident appears, therefore, to have been one of the most
remarkable in the life of this powerful ruler, as it has been
commemorated by a monument. It has, certainly, not been erected
without the approval of the emperor. I am by no means certain which
is the most to be wondered at, the people who placed it here, or the
monarch who permitted it.
I went only one stage today, but it was so long, that I had to
continue my journey into the evening. To go any further was not to
be thought of, as the country, not only here, but in the greater
part of this province, is so unsafe that it is impossible to travel
in the evening or night without the protection of Cossacks, for
which purpose a small company is placed at each station.
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