his other dwellings. The furnishing
became a matter of moment, and Mr. Lucander, who was temporarily in
the employ of the Mongolian Government, was intrusted with the task
of attending to the intimate details. The selection of a bed was
most important, for even Living Buddhas have to sleep
sometimes--they cannot always be blessing adoring subjects or playing
jokes on their ministers of state. With considerable difficulty a
foreign bed was purchased and brought across the seven hundred miles
of plains and desert to the red brick palace on the banks of the Tola
River.

Mr. Lucander superintended its installation in the Hutukhtu's
boudoir and himself turned chambermaid. As this was the first time
he had ever made a bed for a Living God, he arranged the spotless
sheets and turned down the covers with the greatest care. When all
was done to his satisfaction he reported to one of the Hutukhtu's
ministers that the bed was ready. Two lamas, high dignitaries of the
church, were the inspection committee. They agreed that it _looked_
all right, but the question was, how did it _feel_? Mr. Lucander
waxed eloquent on the "springiness" of the springs, and assured them
that no bed could be better; that this was the bed _par excellence_
of all the beds in China. The lamas held a guttural consultation and
then announced that before the bed could be accepted it must be
tested. Therefore, without more ado, each lama in his dirty boots
and gown laid his unwashed self upon the bed, and bounced up and
down. The result was satisfactory--except to Lucander and the
sheets.

Although to foreign eyes and in the cold light of modernity the
Hutukhtu and his government cut a somewhat ridiculous figure, the
reverse of the picture is the pathetic death struggle of a once
glorious race. I have said that unaccustomed luxury was responsible
for the decline of the Mongol Empire, but the ruin of the race was
due to the Lama Church. Lamaism, which was introduced from Tibet,
gained its hold not long after the time of Kublai Khan's death in
1295. Previous to this the Mongols had been religious liberals, but
eventually Lamaism was made the religion of the state. It is a
branch of the Buddhist cult, and its teachings are against war and
violent death.

By custom one or more sons of every family are dedicated to the
priesthood, and as Lamaism requires its priests to be celibate, the
birth rate is low. To-day there are only a few million Mongols in a
count