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ACROSS THE ARAK PLAIN AND IN ERIVAN 149
ceivably reveal relics of still earlier civilizations and of races
which were ousted by those that followed them.
At many places on the plains one sees small eminences
which involuntarily evoke thoughts of earlier habitations.
When generation after generation builds upon the same spot,
on the mins left by the people of the past, the ground gradually
rises above the level of the surrounding plain, forming a low
hill. By digging there one may find layer upon layer of
civilization, going back, perhaps, to the earliest times. In
Armenia the spade may open the way to many discoveries.
But wc must return to Erivan.
In Erivan.
In the evening wc had dinner at the " Club." This was to
all intents and purposes a large fenced-in space, with a sort of
roofed, open arcade along one side, where meals were served
at large and small tables. On the ground in front there was
a square of asphalt where a number of boys and young men
were going round and round on roller-skates. This club
restaurant was much frequented both in the evening and at
lunch-time, so it was often quite difficult to get a seat. One
saw both sexes there, though men were in a majority. They
all looked clean and well-dressed, like middle-class people
in any European factory town. Some of the ladies were more
smartly dressed, but not exaggeratedly so.
It took a long time to get served, as it always does in these
climes ; but the food was good, likewise the Armenian wine,
and then the fruit ! The apricots were just ripe, and Armenia
is the home of the apricot ; I have never seen them so large
and juicy anywhere else.
Outside the fence near which wc sat a crowd of ragged boys
stood begging. Now and then a waiter came and drove
them away ; sometimes there was a regular hunt across the
ground ; but they were soon back again, looking over the
fence with their jolly, grinning faces. They seemed to lead
a highly care-free existence, and there were no signs of hunger
about their chubbv cheeks. No sooner did one turn one’s
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