reasure! You Tartars, you, indeed, know well what conscience is.
Ah! I know the Tartars well! excellent people, right-hearted souls! We
Chinese are altogether different--rascals, rogues. Not one Chinaman in
ten thousand heeds conscience. Here, in this Blue City, everybody, with
the merest exceptions, makes it his business to cheat the worthy Tartars,
and rob them of their goods. Oh! it's shameful!"

And the excellent creature threw up his eyes as he denounced the knavery
of his townsmen. We saw very clearly, however, that the direction taken
by the eyes thus thrown up was the camel's back, whereon were two large
cases, which our disinterested adviser no doubt took to contain precious
merchandise. However, we let him lead us on and chatter as he pleased.
When we had been wandering about under his escort for a full hour, and
yet had reached no inn, we said to him: "We cannot think of troubling you
further, since you yourself seem not to know where we may find that which
we need." "Be perfectly easy, my lords," replied he; "I am guiding you
to an excellent, a superexcellent hotel. Don't mention a word as to
troubling me; you pain me by the idea. What! are we not all brothers?
Away with the distinction between Tartar and Chinese! True, the language
is not the same, nor the dress; but men have but one heart, one
conscience, one invariable rule of justice. Just wait one moment for me,
my lords; I will be with you again before you can look round," and so
saying he dived into a shop on the left. He was soon back with us,
making a thousand apologies for having detained us. "You must be very
tired, my lords; one cannot be otherwise when one is travelling. 'Tis
quite different from being with one's own family." As he spoke, we were
accosted by another Chinese, a ludicrous contrast with our first friend,
whose round shining smiling face was perfectly intense in its aspect of
benevolence. The other fellow was meagre and lanky, with thin, pinched
lips and little black eyes, half buried in the head, that gave to the
whole physiognomy a character of the most thorough knavery. "My Lords
Lamas," said he, "I see you have just arrived! Excellent! And you have
journeyed safely. Well, well! Your camels are magnificent; 'tis no
wonder you travel fast and securely upon such animals. Well, you have
arrived: that's a great happiness. Se-Eul," he continued, addressing the
Chinese who had first got hold of us, "you are guiding