I shall quote, and have used, three modern
descriptions of Mingrelia and the adjacent countries.
1. Of the Pere Archangeli Lamberti, (Relations de Thevenot, part
i. p. 31 - 52, with a map,) who has all the knowledge and
prejudices of a missionary.
2. Of Chardia, (Voyages en Perse, tom. i. p. 54, 68 - 168.) His observations are judicious and his own adventures in the country are still
more instructive than his observations.
3. Of Peyssonel, (Observations sur les Peuples Barbares, p. 49, 50, 51, 58
62, 64, 65, 71, etc., and a more recent treatise, Sur le
Commerce de la Mer Noire, tom. ii. p. 1 - 53.) He had long
resided at Caffa, as consul of France; and his erudition is
less valuable than his experience.