It is only within the last ten or twelve years that it has been possible to travel in carriages to Piatigorsk without extreme risk, partly on account of the hostility of the Circassians, and partly in consequence of the state of the roads. The latter have been improved, and a great number of military posts have been established on them, so that now the waters of the Caucasus are annually frequented by more than 1500 persons, who visit them from all parts of the empire for health or pleasure. Catastrophes have become more and more rare, and since that which I have mentioned no other event of the kind has occurred.
On arriving at Piatigorsk we took up our abode with the principal doctor, for whom we had letters, and who received us in the most obliging manner. Unluckily we had abominable weather during the whole time of our stay, and the mountains we had come so far to see were hidden from our eyes by an impenetrable veil of mist. We could just discern from our windows the base of the Bechtau, at a distance of but two versts. Our first visit was to the Alexandra spring, so called after the name of the empress. The waters are sulphurous, and their temperature is above 38 degrees Reaumur. The bathing establishment is on a very large scale, and contains every thing requisite for the frequenters of the waters. Other thermal springs are found on most of the heights about Piatigorsk, and the works that have been constructed to afford access to them do credit to the government. On one of the highest peaks there is an octagonal building, consisting of a cupola supported on light columns, which are surrounded at their base by an elegant balustrade. The interior, which is open to all the winds, contains an aeolian harp, the melancholy notes of which descend to the valley, mingled with all the echoes of the mountains. Doctor Conrad, our host, was the author of this pretty design. Being like most Germans passionately fond of music, he felt assured that those airy sounds, coming as it were from the sky, would have a most salutary influence on the minds of his patients. The little temple, surnamed the pavilion of AEolus, must be a favourite spot for those who are fond of reverie and lonely contemplation of the sublime scenes of nature. The view from it is of great beauty, but in order to judge of it we should have been more favoured by the weather; but the glowing description given us by our good doctor made some amends for our mischance. I must own, too, that the trouble we took in ascending was not altogether unrequited, for the vague and mysterious outlines of mountains and forests clothed in mists were not without their charms.
There are several natural and artificial grottoes in various parts of the mountain, affording cool retreats in the sultry season, and an amusing spectacle to those who sit and watch the company proceeding to and from the baths. The physiognomist may there behold the most varied types of features, from those of the Tatar prince of the Crimea to those of the fair Georgian from Tiflis. Society in Russia has one rare advantage, inasmuch as it is free from that fatiguing monotony which pursues us in almost all European countries.
The handsomest quarter of Piatigorsk is at the bottom of the valley, where there is a promenade, with fine trees and seats, flanked on either side by a line of handsome houses backed against the cliffs. The permanent population consists only of the civil servants of the government, the garrison, and a few incurable invalids. The crown buildings are numerous, including, besides the bathing establishment, a Greek church, a very large hotel for strangers, a concert hall, a charitable institution, a hospital for wounded officers from the Caucasus, barracks, &c.