' sandals,' on their feet, and on their head the fapatuky, a small lozenge-shaped piece of leather, cloth, or silk, which lies over the fore-part of the head, and is fastened with strings under the chin; when worn by nobles, the papanaky of velvet is made very ornamental with gold and silver embroiderj'. The Imeritians are blessed as a rule with an abundance of thick bushy hair, which they consider sufficient protection against rain and the heat of the sun! Their Mussulman conquerors used to call them baskashyk, ' bare heads.' '
To account for the absence of more ample covering for the head and feet, it is recorded that when St. Andrew, preaching Christianity, was passing through the countrj' on his way to Rome, he lay himself down to rest by the road-side and slept soundly; on awaking in the morning and missing his head and feet covering, which had been stolen, the saint pronounced a terrible curse, willing that thenceforth Imeritians should never wear caps or shoes!
The seminary of St. Nina, a fine building where some seventy little maidens receive instruction, was conducted in a creditable manner, for cleanliness, order, and apparent good discipline seemed to leave little to be desired. Children of all nationalities and creeds are received, but the pupils seldom attain any degree of proficiency owing to the practice of early marriages amongst the Imeritians, Georgians, and Armenians; and although the law of Russia requires that a female shall have completed her sixteenth year before she marries, this law is honoured in the breach rather than in the observance, for marriages even at thirteen are of frequent occurrence, early physical development aiding in disregard of the law. The custom of early marriages may be traced to ' Population of Ihe govcnuncnt orKoulais, 62ci,x23 (Census 1E73).
by Google the times when the sensual rapacity of their Mahomcdan rulers placed in peril the freedom and virtue of all young females, who were frequently even sold by their inhuman relatives and guardians. Chardin relates the following occurrence in his matter-of-fact narrative: —
' The latter proportion of Georgian nobles are outwardly of the Mahomedan religion. Many have embraced that faith to the end of obtaining a place at Court or a pension from the State, others that they may have the honour of marrying their daughters to the king, or at any rate to ensure places for them in the service of ti's wives. Some of these base nobles give up the handsomest of their own daughters to the king, receiving in return a pension or an ot!ice, the Mahomedan religion being always previously embraced. A pension' varies according to the condition of the persbn, but it never exceeds 2,000 crowns (^tHj). Whilst I was at Tiflis a painful incident occurred.
'A Geoi^ian nobleman informed the King that he had a niece of extraordinary beauty, and his Majesty having commanded that she should at once be brought before him, the wicked man took it upon himself to carry the order from the King, and see it executed. He called upon his sister, who was a widow, and told her that the King of Persia desired to marry her daughter, and ^e must therefore prepare to part with her. The mother communicated to her child the contemplated outrage, which drove her to despair. It so happened, that the mother approved at that time of an existing attachment between her daughter and a young noble, and they decided on making him acquainted with the calamity which threatened them. A messenger was sent, and the noble came at midnight He found mother and child mingling their tears, and deploring their bitter fate. Throwing himself at by Google
GIRLS' SCHOOLS. 37
their feet, he assured them that for his own part there was nothing he should so much dread as her loss, that all the wrath of the Kii^ of Persia would be as nothing to such an overwhelming disaster. There was but one way, he said, of settling the matter; he advised that they should be instantly married, and on the morrow their perfidious relative would be informed that the maiden was a maid no longer. This advice was followed....
' His Majesty, who was very wroth, gave directions that the mother, the daughter, and her husband should be conducted to his presence. But they had fled, and after wanderirg hither and thither for several months, they went to Acalzike where the pasha took them under his protection.
' The fear entertained in Geoi^ia of a repetition of such cases, obliges those who have pretty daughters to marry them as soon as possible, and even during their infancy. The children of poor parents, more especially, are married at an early age, sometimes from the cradle, so that the lords to whom they are subject should not carry them off to be sold, or to be made concubines.' •