f his master, drew
his sabre, fell upon the Guison-Tamba, and laid him dead on the steps of
his throne. This terrible event roused the whole Lamasery, and
indignation quickly communicated itself to all the Lamas of the Blue
Town.

They ran to arms in every quarter, and the life of the Emperor, who had
but a small retinue, was exposed to the greatest danger. In order to
calm the irritation of the Lamas, he publicly reproached the Kian-Kan
with his violence. "If the Guison-Tamba," answered the Kian-Kan, "was
not a living Buddha, why did he not rise in the presence of the master of
the universe? If he was a living Buddha, how was it he did not know I
was going to kill him?" Meanwhile the danger to the life of the Emperor
became every moment more imminent; he had no other means of escape than
that of taking off his imperial robes, and attiring himself in the dress
of a private soldier. Under favour of this disguise, and the general
confusion, he was enabled to rejoin his army, which was near at hand.
The greater part of the men who had accompanied the Emperor into the Blue
Town were massacred, and among the rest, the murderer of the
Guison-Tamba.

The Mongols sought to profit by this movement. Shortly afterwards it was
announced that the Guison-Tamba had re-appeared, and that he had
transmigrated to the country of the Khalkhas, who had taken him under
their protection, and had sworn to avenge his murder. The Lamas of the
Great Kouren set actively to the work of organization. They stripped off
their red and yellow robes, clothed themselves in black, in memory of the
disastrous event of the Blue Town, and allowed the hair and beard to
grow, in sign of grief. Everything seemed to presage a grand rising of
the Tartar tribes. The great energy and rare diplomatic talents of the
Emperor Khang-Hi alone sufficed to arrest its progress. He immediately
opened negotiations with the Tale-Lama, Sovereign of Thibet, who was
induced to use all his influence with the Lamas for the re-establishment
of order, whilst Khang-Hi was intimidating the Khalkha kings by means of
his troops. Gradually peace was restored; the Lamas resumed their red
and yellow robes; but, as a memorial of their coalition in favour of the
Guison-Tamba, they retained a narrow border of black on the collar of
their robes. Khalkha Lamas alone bear this badge of distinction.

Ever since that period, a Hobilgan has taken the place in the Blue Town
of the Gui