got my teacher and myself into a tarantass, and went off to visit
the scenes of the former mission in Siberia. My teacher proved very
useful. He spoke Russian very well, I spoke Mongolian to him, and
thus we travelled, the doubtful wonder of all Russians, who could
not understand how a man not born a Buriat could get acquainted
with that language, and yet know no Russian. After visiting the
converts, partly for the sake of diverting the curious eyes of the
Russians from the great aim of my journey and partly in the
traveller's spirit, I turned westward and crossed the Baikal on the
ice, and remained a few days in the capital of Siberia, Irkutsk. On
returning to Kiachta I found another teacher, and went out for
another month into Mongolia and tent life. All the while that I was
in Mongolia I used to return to Kiachta once a week, usually on
Saturday, and abide in the land of habitations till Monday.

'Early in May I started for the south. I had intended to remain
over the summer in Urga, but unexpected difficulties turned up, and
led me to decide on going down to Kalgan at once. From Urga to
Kalgan (600 miles) was done on horseback, accompanied by a single
Mongol; and as we carried no luggage, we had to depend on the
hospitality of the Mongols for lodging and cooking, or, as they
call the latter, "pot and ladle."

'In this way I saw a very great deal of tent life during the twelve
or thirteen days the ride lasted. I got into Kalgan just two days
before the rainy season came on (June 15), and having, after
difficulty, secured a teacher, passed the summer in Kalgan studying
the book language and practising writing. In October I went up
again to the grassland and spent some weeks revising my knowledge
of the colloquial and observing the difference between the northern
and southern manner of speaking. I finally left Mongolia in a
furious storm on the morning of November 1, and re-entered Peking
November 9.'

Gilmour on his return was naturally an object of great interest to all
the missionary and to some of the official community. He soon settled
down to the study of Chinese, and to such mission work as he could
usefully engage in during the winter at Peking. A letter to the writer,
under date of January 21, 1872, enables us to realise somewhat the life
of this period:--