20th August.  We encamped in the neighbourhood of the village Gadis.  Many commentators of the Scriptures place the garden of Eden in the Armenian province of Ararat.  In any case, Armenia has been the scene of most important events.  Nowhere have so many bloody battles taken place as in this country, as all the great conquerors of Asia have brought Armenia under their control.

21st August.  We still continued near Ararat; meanwhile we passed by Russian and German colonies, the houses in the latter had exactly the appearance of those in German mountain villages.  The road was, throughout, very uneven and stony, and I cannot imagine how the post can travel upon it.

Today I met with another very unpleasant adventure.  My caravan encamped in the neighbourhood of the station Sidin, about fifty paces from the side of the post-road.  Towards 8 in the evening I walked out as far as the road, and as I was about to return I heard the sound of post-horses coming; I remained in the road to see the travellers, and noticed a Russian, seated in an open car, and by his side a Cossack, with a musket.  When the vehicle had passed, I turned quietly round; but, to my astonishment, heard it stop, and felt myself, almost at the same moment, seized forcibly by the arms.  It was the Cossack who held me, and endeavoured to drag me to the car.  I tried to release myself, pointed to the caravan, and said that I belonged to it.  The fellow immediately stopped my mouth with his hand, and threw me into the car, where I was tightly held by the other man.  The Cossack immediately jumped up, and the driver urged his horses on as quickly as they could go.  The whole was done so quickly that I scarcely knew what had happened to me.  The men held me tightly by the arms, and my mouth was kept covered up until we were so far from the caravan that the people belonging to it could no longer have heard my cries.

Fortunately I was not frightened; I thought at once that these two amiable Russians might, in their zeal, have taken me for a very dangerous person, and have supposed they had made a very important capture.  When they uncovered my mouth, they commenced questioning me as to my native country, name, etc.  I understood enough Russian to give them this information, but they were not satisfied with that, and required to see my passport; I told them that they must send for my portmanteau, and then I would show them that I had permission to travel.

We came, at last, to the post-house, where I was taken into a room; the Cossack placed himself with his musket under the open door, so as to keep his eye continually on me; and the other man, who, from his dark-green velvet facings, I supposed to be one of the Emperor’s officers, remained some time in the room.  At the end of half an hour, the post-master, or whoever he was, came to examine me, and to hear an account of the achievements of my captors, who hastened, with laughing countenances, to give a complete statement of what had happened.