its strength. The verb 'to soldier' has a double
meaning in English, and will bear translation. On distant stations
like the Amoor, the military force could be safely reduced to a small
figure in time of peace. Less play and more work would be better for
the country and the men.

As we proceeded up the river there was another change of the native
population. The tents of the Birars disappeared, and we entered the
region of the Manjours and Chinese. The captain called my attention to
the first Manjour village we passed. The dwellings were one story
high, their walls being of wood with a plastering of mud. The chimneys
were on the outside like those of the Goldees already described, and
the roofs of the houses were thatched with straw.

The Manjour villages are noticeable for the gardens in and around
them. Each house that I saw had a vegetable garden that appeared well
cultivated. In the corner of nearly every garden I observed a small
building like a sentry box. In some doubt as to its use, I asked
information of my Russian friends, and learned it was a temple where
the family idols are kept and the owners go to offer their prayers.

[Illustration: A PRIVATE TEMPLE.]

Near each village was a grove which enclosed a public temple on the
plan of a church in civilized countries. The temple was generally a
square house, built with more care and neatness than the private
dwellings. On entering, one found himself in a kind of ante-room,
separated from the main apartment by a pink curtain. This curtain has
religious inscriptions in Chinese and Manjour. In the inner apartment
there are pictures of Chinese deities, with a few hideous idols carved
in wood. A table in front of the pictures receives the offerings of
worshippers.

The Manjours appear very fond of surrounding their temples with trees,
and this is particularly noticeable on account of the scarcity of wood
in this region. Timber comes from points higher up the Amoor, where it
is cut and rafted down. Small trees and bushes are used as fuel and
always with the strictest economy. The grove around the temple is held
sacred, as among the Druids in England, and I presume a native would
suffer long from cold before cutting a consecrated tree.

Along the river near the first village several boats were moored or
drawn on the bank out of reach of the water. A few men and women stood
looking at us, and some of them shouted '_mendow_' when we were
directly opposite their po