From Tiflis to Baku, and across the Caspian to Ouzoun Ada, the western terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway.

Thence by rail to Merv and Bokhara, and from the latter city direct to India, _via_ Balkh and Cabul, Afghanistan.

A more interesting journey can scarcely be conceived, but Fate and the Russian Government decreed that it was not to be.

Not only was I forbidden to use the railway, but (notwithstanding the highest recommendation from the Russian Ambassador in London) even to set foot in Trans-Caspia.
The old adage, "delay is dangerous," is never so true as when applied to travel.

The evening of my interview with the governor, I had resolved, ere retiring to rest, to make for India _via_ Teheran.
My route beyond that city was, perforce, left to chance, and the information I hoped to gain in the Shah's capital.
Tiflis, capital of the Caucasus, is about midway between the Black and Caspian seas, and lies in a valley between two ranges of low but precipitous hills.