ends within its surface the whole doctrine of
Buddha. It is not a Mongol painting; it came from Thibet, and was
executed by a saint of the _Eternal Sanctuary_."

The artists here are, in general, more successful in the landscapes than
in the epic subjects. Flowers, birds, trees, mythological animals, are
represented with great truth and with infinitely pleasing effect. The
colouring is wonderfully full of life and freshness. It is only a pity
that the painters of these landscapes have so very indifferent a notion
as to perspective and chiaro-oscuro.

The Lamas are far better sculptors than painters, and they are
accordingly very lavish of carvings in their Buddhist temples.
Everywhere in and about these edifices you see works of this class of
art, in quantity bespeaking the fecundity of the artist's chisel, but of
a quality which says little for his taste. First, outside the temples
are an infinite number of tigers, lions, and elephants crouching upon
blocks of granite; then the stone balustrades of the steps leading to the
great gates are covered with fantastic sculptures representing birds,
reptiles, and beasts, of all kinds, real and imaginary. Inside, the
walls are decorated with relievos in wood or stone, executed with great
spirit and truth.

Though the Mongol Lamaseries cannot be compared, in point either of
extent or wealth, with those of Thibet, there are some of them which are
highly celebrated and greatly venerated among the adorers of Buddha.

The most famous of all is that of the Great Kouren (enclosure), in the
country of the Khalkhas. As we had an opportunity of visiting this
edifice in one of our journeys into Northern Tartary, we will here give
some details respecting it. It stands on the bank of the river Toula, at
the entrance to an immense forest, which extends thence northwards, six
or seven days' journey to the confines of Russia, and eastward, nearly
five hundred miles to the land of the Solons, in Mantchouria. On your
way to the Great Kouren, over the desert of Gobi, you have to traverse,
for a whole month, an ocean of sand, the mournful monotony of which is
not relieved by a single stream or a single shrub; but on reaching the
Kougour mountains, the western boundary of the states of the
Guison-Tamba, or King-Lama, the scene changes to picturesque and fertile
valleys, and verdant pasture-hills, crowned with forests that seem as old
as the world itself. Through the largest valley flow