ran, where the train
stopped but a few minutes. Here the railway crosses the route of
Gabriel Bonvalot and Prince Henri of Orleans across Tibet in 1889-90, a
much more complete journey than ours, a circular trip from Paris to
Paris, by Berlin, Petersburg, Moscow, Nijni, Perm, Tobolsk, Omsk,
Semipalatinsk, Kouldja, Tcharkalyk, Batong, Yunnan, Hanoi, Saigon,
Singapore, Ceylon, Aden, Suez, Marseilles, the tour of Asia, and the
tour of Europe.

The train halts at Lob Nor at four o'clock and departs at six. This
lake, the banks of which were visited by General Povtzoff in 1889, when
he returned from his expedition to Tibet, is an extensive marsh with a
few sandy islands, surrounded by two or three feet of water. The
country through which the Tarim slowly flows had already been visited
by Fathers Hue and Gabet, the explorers Prjevalski and Carey up to the
Davana pass, situated a hundred and fifty kilometres to the south. But
from that pass Gabriel Bonvalot and Prince Henri of Orleans, camping
sometimes at fifteen thousand feet of altitude, had ventured across
virgin territories to the foot of the superb Himalayan chain.

Our itinerary lay eastwards toward Kara Nor, skirting the base of the
Nan Chan mountains, behind which lies the region of Tsaidam. The
railway dare not venture among the mountainous countries of the
Kou-Kou-Nor, and we were on our way to the great city of Lan Tcheou
along, the base of the hills.

Gloomy though the country might be, there was no reason for the
passengers to be so. This glorious sun, with its rays gilding the sands
of the Gobi as far as we could see, announced a perfect holiday. From
Lob Nor to Kara Nor there are three hundred and fifty kilometres to
run, and between the lakes we will resume the interrupted marriage of
Fulk Ephrinell and Horatia Bluett, if nothing occurs to again delay
their happiness.

The dining car has been again arranged for the ceremony, the witnesses
are ready to resume their parts, and the happy pair cannot well be
otherwise than of the same mind.

The Reverend Nathaniel Morse, in announcing that the marriage will take
place at nine o'clock, presents the compliments of Mr. Ephrinell and
Miss Bluett.

Major Noltitz and I, Caterna and Pan-Chao are under arms at the time
stated.

Caterna did not think it his duty to resume his costume, nor did his
wife. They were dressed merely for the grand dinner party which took
place at eight o'clock in the evening--the dinner