and their leather bottles, and they and the Cossacks dined. A piece of broiled mutton having been secured from last night's feast, on this I made my repast.

While the men were taking their meal, I walked along about half a mile. The whole horizon was swept with my glass, but neither man, animal, nor bird could be seen. One of the Kirghis galloped up to me, bringing my horse, and urged me to be gone. Having resumed my saddle, we rode on for several hours, but there was no change of scene. One spot was so like another that we seemed to make no progress; and though we had gone over a considerable distance, nothing could be observed to indicate that we were drawing near a grassy region. No landmark was visible, no rock protruded through the sterile soil; neither thorny shrub nor flowering plant appeared to indicate the approach to a habitable region. All round was "kizil-koom "

sand).

(red

What a solemn stillness reigns on these vast arid plains, deserted alike by man, beast, and bird! Men speak of the solitude of dense forests: I have ridden through their dark shades for days together; but there was the sighing of the breeze, the rustling of the leaves, the creaking of the branches; sometimes the crash of one of these giants of the forest, which in falling woke up many an echo, causing the wild animals to growl, and the frightened birds to utter shrieks of alarm. This was not solitude; the leaves and trees found tongues, and sent forth voices; but on these dreary deserts no sound was heard to break the death-like silence which hangs perpetually over the blighted region.

us.

Fourteen hours had passed, and still a desert was before

The sun was just sinking below the horizon. The Kirghis assured me that two hours more would take us to the pastures and to water; but they doubted our finding an aoul in the dark. Our horses began to feel the distance we had travelled, and now we changed them every hour. We still kept on at a good speed; and though two more

hours had elapsed, there were no signs of herbage. It had become quite dark, and the stars were shining brilliantly in the deep blue vault. My guides altered their course, going more to the south. On enquiring why they made this change, one of them pointed to a star, intimating that by that they must direct their course.

We travelled onward, sometimes glancing at the planets, and then anxiously scanning the gloom around, in the hope of discerning the fire of some dwelling that would furnish food and water for our animals. Having ridden on in this manner for many miles, one of the men stopped suddenly, sprang from his horse, and discovered that we had reached vegetation. The horses became more lively, and increased their speed, by which the Kirghis knew that water was not far off. In less than half an hour they plunged with us into a stream, and eagerly began to quench their terrible thirst, after their long and toilsome journey.

While they were drinking, several of the men alighted, and with their hands examined the ground to trace the footprints of animals, but this proved fruitless. It was then decided that two parties of three men each should follow the stream upwards and downwards, and examine the banks. They had proceeded but a few hundred yards when those to the east called loudly to us to follow; fortunately, they had found a well-trodden track. By feeling the footprints the men knew that horses and cattle had recently passed. After fording the stream we rode on, in the hope of finding the huts; and when we had gone about a couple of miles we were suddenly brought to a stand by what appeared to be the distant barking of a dog. We stood still, but the sound was not repeated. We proceeded onward, listening with intense anxiety for a repetition, and having gone a few hundred yards, distinctly heard several dogs raise a chorus of canine alarm to us most welcome music. As we advanced the barking became furious. We could also hear the clattering of hoofs, made apparently by the guards riding

at full speed over the turf to call out the tribe. Presently there was a great commotion; men were shouting to each other, while others galloped from the aoul to support the sentinels. We stood still, and two of our Kirghis advanced slowly, calling out that we were friends, and not robbers. They rode up to the watchmen, who, when satisfied, came and conducted us to their chief. With him we found an armed assemblage ready for the fray; women and children were huddled together, and all looked anxious, if not apprehensive. In a few minutes I was seated, taking my customary refreshment in the chief's huts. On looking at my watch, I found we had been riding eighteen hours. Atkinson.

A TRIBUTARY KING.

TOWARDS noon we perceived before us a multitude of people defiling through a narrow gorge formed by two steep mountains. A long train of camels laden with baggage followed, escorted by a crowd of richly-dressed horsemen. We slackened our march to examine the caravan more nearly. Four cavaliers, forming a sort of advanced guard to the main body, galloped towards us. They were Mandarins ; the blue globe surmounting their cap of ceremony was the sign of their dignity.

"Reverend Lamas, peace be with you," said they; "to what land are your steps directed?"

"We are from the heavens of the West, and we go towards the West. And you, Mongolian brothers, where are you going in such great numbers, and in such magnificent equipage?"

"We are from the kingdom of Alechan; our king is travelling to Pekin, to prostrate himself at the feet of the Son of Heaven."

The horsemen rose a little in their saddles to salute us, and then resumed their position at the head of the

caravan.

After the advanced guard came a palanquin, carried by two magnificent mules, harnessed one before and the other behind, between gilded shafts. The palanquin was square, ornamented with silken fringes, and the top and the four sides painted in figures of dragons, birds, and bouquets of flowers. The Tartar monarch was seated cross-legged; he looked about fifty years of age, and his physiognomy was extremely good.

As we passed, we cried out, "King of Alechan, may peace and happiness attend thy steps!"

"Men of prayers," he replied, "rest in peace!" and accompanied his words by a gesture full of amenity. An old Lama, with a long white beard, and mounted on a magnificent camel, led the first mule of the caravan. The grand marches of the Tartars are generally under the guidance of the oldest Lama in the country, as these people are persuaded that they have nothing to fear on the road so long as they have at their head a representative of the divinity, or rather the divinity himself incarnate in the person

of a Grand Lama.

Immediately after the king's equipage came a white camel of extraordinary size and beauty, led by a young Tartar on foot. This camel was not loaded, but from the tips of his ears and his two humps fluttered pieces of yellow taffety. This magnificent animal was, no doubt, destined for a present to the Emperor. The rest of the troop was composed of the numerous camels who carried the baggage -the tents, chests, pots, and the thousand and one utensils necessary to be carried on a journey in a country where there are no inns on the road.

The caravan had passed some time when we came to a well, and decided, in consequence, on pitching our tent. Whilst we were making our tea, three Tartars, one of

whom was decorated with the red ball, and the other two with the blue, alighted at the door, and asked how long it was since the carriage of the King of Alechan had passed. We informed them that we had passed it some hours before, and that it would probably reach the Hundred Wells before nightfall.

“In that case,” was the reply, “we shall stop here; that will be better than running the risk of falling down some precipice in reaching the Hundred Wells at night. We can easily overtake the caravan to-morrow morning."

Hereupon the Tartars promptly unsaddled their horses, and sent them to seek their fortune in the desert; and then, without ceremony, came and sat down by our fire. These personages were Taitsis, or nobles of Alechan. The one wearing the red ball was the king's minister, and the evening before they had stopped to visit one of their friends, a prince of the Ortous, and had been left behind by the rest of the caravan.

The minister seemed a man of a frank disposition and penetrating judgment; to the Mongol good-nature he joined lively and elegant manners, acquired, no doubt, in his frequent journeys to Pekin.

He put many questions to us relative to the country the Tartars call the "Western Heaven." It is needless to say that their geographical knowledge is not very extensive; the West, with them, simply means Thibet, and some surrounding countries of which they have heard from the Lamas who have made the pilgrimage to Lha-Ssa. They firmly believe that there is nothing beyond Thibet. "The world ends there," say they; "beyond there is nothing but a shoreless sea." In our turn we asked them many questions respecting the journeys of the Tartar sovereigns to Pekin.

"We go," said they, to attend our king; it is only kings who have the happiness of prostrating themselves before the Old Buddha" (the Emperor). They afterwards