ars; and, indeed, as you do not believe in their
influence, it is wrong in me to speak to you of them. I ought merely to
have told you that the toad of Wa-Ho was deified, because he had always
lived in solitude, on a wild mountain, inaccessible to the foot of man.
Is it not the passions of men that pervert all the beings of the
creation, and prevent them from attaining perfection? Would not animals
in the course of time become spirits if they did not breathe an air
poisoned by the presence of man?" This argument seeming to us somewhat
more philosophical than the first, we vouchsafed the honour of a serious
answer. Ly-Kouo-Ngan, who possessed a fair judgment, when he was not
confused with this Great Bear, doubted at length the power of the deified
toad, and the protection of Kiang-Kian Mao-Ling. Just as we were going
to repeat our evening prayer, Ly-Kouo-Ngan said to us: "Whatever may be
the actual case with the toad and Kiang-Kian, this is certain, that our
journey to-morrow will be fatiguing and perilous; since you are Lamas of
the Lord of Heaven, pray to him to protect the caravan." "That is what
we do every day," answered we; "but on account of to-morrow's journey, we
shall do so in an especial manner this evening." We had scarcely slept
two hours when one of the soldiers noisily entered our room, hung on a
peg in the wall a large red lantern, and announced that the cock had
already crowed once. We had, therefore, to rise, and make, with
expedition, the preparations for departure, for we had 150 lis to march
before we reached the next stage. The sky was studded with stars, but
the snow had fallen the evening before in such abundance, that it had
added to former layers another of a foot thick. This was precisely what
we wanted, by way of carpet, to facilitate the passage of Wa-Ho, a
mountain perpetually covered with frozen snow, almost as slippery as a
glacier.

The caravan set out long before daybreak; it advanced slowly and silently
along the tortuous paths of the mountain, sufficiently lighted up by the
whiteness of the snow and the lustre of the stars. The sun was beginning
to tinge the horizon with red when we reached the plateau. The fear of
the Great Toad having dissipated with the night, every one now broke the
silence to which he had been condemned. First the guides commenced
vituperating the long haired oxen that were wandering beyond the beaten
path. By-and-by the travellers themselves hazarded