is dismal region that we awaited with impatience the courier,
whom, for a second time, we had dispatched into the kingdom of Naiman.
The day fixed for his return came and passed, and several others
followed, but brought no camels, nor Lama, nor courier, which seemed to
us most astonishing of all. We became desperate; we could not longer
endure this painful and futile suspense. We devised other means of
proceeding, since those we had arranged appeared to be frustrated. The
day of our departure was fixed; it was settled, further, that one of our
Christians should convey us in his car to _Tolon-Noor_, distant from the
Contiguous Defiles about fifty leagues. At _Tolon-Noor_ we were to
dismiss our temporary conveyance, proceed alone into the desert, and thus
start on our pilgrimage as well as we could. This project absolutely
stupified our Christian friends; they could not comprehend how two
Europeans should undertake by themselves a long journey through an
unknown and inimical country: but we had reasons for abiding by our
resolution. We did not desire that any Chinese should accompany us. It
appeared to us absolutely necessary to throw aside the fetters with which
the authorities had hitherto contrived to shackle missionaries in China.
The excessive caution, or rather the imbecile pusillanimity of a Chinese
catechist, was calculated rather to impede than to facilitate our
progress in Tartary.

On the Sunday, the day preceding our arranged departure, every thing was
ready; our small trunks were packed and padlocked, and the Christians had
assembled to bid us adieu. On this very evening, to the infinite
surprise of all of us, our courier arrived. As he advanced his mournful
countenance told us before he spoke, that his intelligence was
unfavourable. "My spiritual fathers," said he, "all is lost; you have
nothing to hope; in the kingdom of Naiman there no longer exists any
camels of the Holy Church. The Lama doubtless has been killed; and I
have no doubt the devil has had a direct hand in the matter."

Doubts and fears are often harder to bear than the certainty of evil.
The intelligence thus received, though lamentable in itself, relieved us
from our perplexity as to the past, without in any way altering our plan
for the future. After having received the condolences of our Christians,
we retired to rest, convinced that this night would certainly be that
preceding our nomadic life.

The night was far advanced, w