We had frequently to wait ten or
twenty minutes to allow the cars loaded with wood, of which we met a
great number, to pass us, and yet this was called a post-road.
Georgia has been for fifty year under Russian dominion, and only
within a recent time have roads been commenced here and there.
Fifty years hence, they may, perhaps, be finished, or fallen again
into decay. Bridges are as scarce as roads. The rivers, such as
the Mirabka are crossed in miserable ferry boats, those which are
shallower must be forded. In time of rain, or sudden thaw in the
snow mountains, the rivers are overflowed, and travellers must then
either wait some days or risk their lives. What a tremendous
difference between the colonies of Russia and England!
Late in the evening, I arrived, wet through and covered with mud, at
the station, two wersti from Kutais. It is remarkable that the
post-houses are generally one or two wersti from the villages or
towns. A traveller, in consequence of this custom, is exposed to
the inconvenience of making a special journey if he has anything to
attend to in those places.
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