We taxed the Armenian with the theft; and when I told him that it was no use denying it, for I had seen him take the money, he confessed his guilt. A short consultation between Denniston and myself was followed by the despatch of a note to Hakki Bey, the civil governor; and as a punishment for misdeeds in the past and an incentive to virtue in the future, Vachin was consigned to the Erzeroum general prison pending the pleasure of the governor. We got back the £20 from him before he went, and for three weeks we left him in a place, from which the Black Hole of Calcutta would have been a pleasant change, to meditate upon the instability of human happiness. We sent him some blankets and also food at intervals, besides going up occasionally to see how he was getting on and whether he was truly repentant. The condition of the unfortunate wretch, however, was so deplorable, and the interior of that prison, with its gangs of half-frozen, half-starved prisoners fighting fiercely among themselves for the scanty dole of raw grain and old rags that were thrown among them by the gaolers, was so distressing, that we relented, and procured a release for our thievish dragoman from Hakki Bey. On the night that he was discharged from prison he deserted to the Russians, and we never saw him again. And so farewell to Vachin. CHAPTER XIV. THE SURRENDER OF ERZEROUM. Convalescence--_Membra Disjecta_--Mortality among the Medical Staff--"En haut Mystère, en bas Misère"--Arrival of Dr. Stoker and Dr. Stiven--A Desperate Journey--In the Hands of the Russians--Free under the English Flag--I resume Duty--An Archæological Curio--Antiques for Sale--An Armistice declared--Appearance of the Russians--The Gates thrown Open--Entry of the Russian Army--Our Russian _Confrères_--The Advantage of knowing French--A Friend in need--Captain Pizareff--An Impressive Review--Under the Russian Eagles--War or Peace?--Interview with General Melikoff--An Unpleasant Type of Consul--Charming Russian Visitors--I receive a Decoration--Celebrating the Occasion--Our Russian Guests--A Series of Dinner Parties--Duties of a Cossack Escort--A Perilous Adventure--The Hero of Devoi Boyun--We leave the Consulate--Fate's Irony at the Last--Death of General Heymann. When I rose from my sick-bed I was very thin and weak; but under Denniston's care I soon picked up my strength, and at last he allowed me to go out for a walk. It was the first week in February, and the snow was beginning to melt on the low ground; although beyond the valley in which Erzeroum stood it still lay thick upon the hills, and Kopdagh in the distance rose to a crystal spear-point of dazzling whiteness outlined sharply against the sky.