entered into long details respecting the ceremonies of the new year, and on the relation of the Chinese Emperor to the tributary kings.

These kings are bound to the payment of certain dues, which, under the gentle name of "offerings," are neither more nor less than imposts, which they are not at liberty to withhold. These " offerings" consist of camels, horses remarkable for their beauty, venison, deer, kids and bears, aromatic plants, pheasants, mushrooms, fish, &c. As they travel to Pekin in cold weather, these provisions are all frozen, and keep a long time even after they have reached their place of destination.

All these Tartar princes are pensioned by the Emperor; the sum they receive is trifling, but the political result is not so. These princes, in receiving this pay, consider themselves as slaves, or at least as servants, to him who pays; and that the Emperor, consequently, is entitled to their obedience,

Some of the great Mandarins have the charge of making these distributions, and the evil tongues of the empire do not fail to assert that they make it a profitable speculation at the expense of the poor Tartars.

The minister related to us for our edification, how in a certain year the tributary princes had received their pension in gilded copper instead of gold! Every one was aware of the cheat, but no one ventured to give publicity to a fraud which must have compromised some of the highest dignitaries in the empire. Besides, as they are supposed to receive the distribution from the hands of the Emperor himself, to complain would be to accuse in some sort "Old Buddha," the "Son of Heaven," of being a false coiner! The Tartar princes, therefore, received their copper ingots with the usual prostrations; and it was not till they returned to their own country that they ventured to say openly, not that they had been cheated, but that the Mandarins had

been duped by the bankers of Pekin. The Tartar minister who told us this story always gave us to understand that neither the Emperor nor the Mandarins, nor the courtiers, had any share in the trick. We took care not to disturb this touching credulity; but for our own part we had not implicit faith in the probity of the authorities of Pekin, and felt tolerably certain that the Celestial had picked the pockets of the poor Tartars. Huc.

BEARCOOTS.

THREE of these dark monarchs of the sky were seen soaring high above the crags to the south, which were too abrupt to ride over. We therefore piqueted our horses to feed, and began to ascend the mountain slope. In about an hour and a half we reached the summit, and descended into a small wooded valley, when we observed the bearcoots wheeling round towards the upper end, in which direction we hastened. Having gone at a quick walk for about three miles, we reached a rocky glen that led us into the valley of the Bean, known to be a favorite resort of the animals we were seeking. A small torrent ran foaming through its centre, and mountains ran on each side far above the snowline. In singular contrast with the rich foliage and luxuriant herbage in the valley, the lower slopes facing the south were almost destitute of verdure, while those facing the north were clothed with a dense forest. We had scarcely entered this sylvan spot when a singular spectacle was presented to our view. A large maral had been hurled down by three wolves, who had just seized him, and the ravenous brutes were tearing the noble animal to pieces while yet breathing. We instantly prepared to inflict punishment on two of the beasts, and crept quietly along under cover to get within range. We succeeded, and were levelling our

rifles, when Sergae called my attention to two large bearcoots, poising aloft and preparing for a swoop. He whispered, "Don't fire, and we shall see some grand sport."

and

Presently one of the eagles shot down like an arrow, was almost instantly followed by the other. When within about forty yards of the group, the wolves caught sight of them, and instantly stood on the defensive, showing their long yellow fangs, and uttering a savage howl. In a few seconds the first bearcoot struck his prey; one talon was fixed on his back, the other on the upper part of the neck, completely securing the head, while he tore out the wolf's liver with his beak. The other bearcoot had seized another wolf, and shortly both were as lifeless as the animal they had hunted.

The third brute snarled when his comrades set up their wailing howls, and started for the cover: he was soon within range, when a puff of white smoke rose from Sergae's rifle, and the wolf rolled over, dead. The report startled the bearcoots, but we remained concealed, and they commenced their repast on the stag. Their attack had been made with so much gallantry, that neither the old hunter nor myself could raise a rifle against them, or disturb their banquet. When satisfied, they soared up to some lofty crags, and Sergae took off the skins of the poachers, which he intended keeping as trophies bravely won by the eagles.

TRAVELLING IN THE ORTOUS.

LEAVING behind us the Yellow River and the inundated country, we entered on the Land of Grass, if that name could be given to a country so barren as that of Ortous. Whichever way you turn you find nothing but rocky ravines, hills of mud, and plains encumbered with fine moveable sand, which the wind sweeps about in all directions. The only pasturage consists in a few thorny shrubs and thin heaths of a fetid odor. Here and there you find a little thin brittle grass, which sticks so closely to the ground, that the animals cannot browse it, without scraping up the sand at the same time, and the whole was so dry, that we soon began almost to regret the marshes that had grieved us so much on the banks of the Yellow River. There was not a brook or a spring where the traveller could quench his thirst, only from time to time we met with a pool or tank filled with muddy and fetid water.

The Lamas with whom we had been acquainted in the Blue Town, had warned us of what we should have to endure in this country from scarcity of water, and by their advice we had bought two pails, which proved very serviceable. Whenever we had the good fortune to meet with ponds or wells dug by the Tartars, we filled our buckets, without minding the bad quality of the water, and always took care to use it as sparingly as possible, as if it were some rare and precious liquor. Careful as we were, however, we often had to go whole days without a drop to moisten our lips; and yet our personal privations were nothing compared with the suffering of seeing our animals almost without water, when the scanty herbage that they got was nearly calcined by nitre. They grew visibly thinner every day; the aspect of our horse became quite pitiable; he went along, dropping his head quite to the ground, and

seeming ready to faint at every step; and the camels seemed to balance themselves painfully on their long legs, while their lean humps hung down like empty bags. The flocks belonging to the Tartars of the Ortous are very different from those which browse among the fat pastures of Chakar or Gechekten. The oxen, and horses especially, look miserable, for they require fresh pastures and abundant water, though sheep and camels can feed on plants impregnated with saltpetre. The Mongols of the Ortous, themselves, also look scarcely less miserable than their cattle. They live under tents, made of rags of felt or skins, so old and dirty, that it is scarcely possible to imagine them human dwellings. Whenever we happened to encamp near any of these we were sure to have a crowd of these wretched people coming to visit us, prostrating themselves at our feet, rolling on the ground, and bestowing on us the most magnificent titles to induce us to give them alms. We were not rich, but we could do no other than share with them a little of what the goodness of Providence had bestowed on us. A little tea, a handful of oatmeal, roasted millet, or perhaps some mutton fat, was all we had to offer; wc were sorry to give so little, but we had not much to give. We missionaries are ourselves poor men, living on the alms of our brethren in Europe.

Without being acquainted with the kind of government under which the Tartars live, it is not easy to understand why, in the midst of this vast wilderness, where water and pastures may be met with in abundance, men should condemn themselves to pass their lives in so poor and wretched a country as the Ortous. But although the Tartars are perpetually moving from one place to another, they are obliged to remain within the limits of their own kingdom, and in dependence on their own master; for slavery still exists among the Mongol tribes, although in a very mild form.

Huc.