Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/488

482 surrounded by mountains; actually the ground on which it stands is not fertile, and the surroundings consist of brown hills instead of mountains. The sides of the hills are barren, and there would hardly be a shrub or tree in the city were it not for the system of irrigation which is maintained. The prettiest part of the city is the quarter occupied by the Germans, where there are rows and groups of trees and a great many luxuriant gardens. The Germans are descended from some who came here in the last century to escape religious persecution. Though born in Tiflis and citizens of Russia, in every sense they preserve their language and customs, and do not mingle freely with their Muscovite neighbors.

"There are about one hundred and ten thousand inhabitants in Tiflis; nearly one-third are Russians, rather more than a third Armenians, twenty-three thousand Georgians, and the rest are Germans, Persians, and mixed races in general. Most of the business is in the hands of the Armenians, and many of them are wealthy; nearly all speak Russian, and mingle with the Russians more harmoniously than do any of the others. The Persians live in a quarter by themselves, and it is by no means the cleanest part of the city. The Georgians preserve their dress and language, and, though entirely peaceful, are said to maintain the same hatred to Russia as when fighting to preserve their independence.

"Many of the officials in the Caucasus are Armenians, and some of the ablest generals of the Russian army belong to the same race. Gen. Loris Melikoff is an Armenian, and so are Generals Lazareff and Tergoukasoil, as well as others of less importance. The Armenians have four newspapers at Tiflis, and four monthly reviews. There are nearly a million of these people in Russia and the Caucasus, and their treatment is in marked contrast to that of the eight hundred thousand Armenian subjects of Turkey who have been most cruelly oppressed by the Sultan and his officers.

"We had read of the beauty of the Georgians, who used to sell their daughters to be the wives of the Turks, and naturally looked around us for handsome faces. We saw them among the men as well as among the women; and we saw more handsome men than women, perhaps for the reason that men were much more numerous. The Georgians are a fine race of people, and so are all the natives of the Caucasus. The mountain air all the world over has a reputation for developing strength and intelligence among those who breathe it.

"Since the occupation of Georgia and the other parts of the Caucasus by Russia, the people are no longer sold as slaves for Turkish masters. Whatever may be the faults of the Russian rule, it is certainly far in advance of that of Turkey.