God granted
to him for any length of time. In the account he gives of his first
visit to the region as its missionary--he had been twice before on
visits of inspection--he dwells upon this necessity.

'I left Peking December 14, 1885, and re-entered Peking February
16, 1886, so that my absence from here was just two months. The
part of Mongolia I went to is situated 800 li, or say 270 English
miles, north-east by east of Peking, and, at the usual rate of 90
li (or 30 miles) a day, is nine days distant. This is not the part
of Mongolia near Kalgan. Kalgan is north-north-west of Peking, five
days' journey.

[Illustration: MAP ILLUSTRATING JAMES GILMOUR'S LABOURS IN EASTERN
MONGOLIA]

'Whilst I was considering my plans a Mongol appeared in Peking who
was willing to take me to his home, and I went with him, hoping
thus to get introduced to a district of country, an introduction
being both necessary and helpful. Ta Cheng Tz[)u] is the name of
the place where, through his introduction, I was located from
December 23, 1885 to February 9, 1886. I had a room in an inn. I
spent some days at the home of my Mongol friend and made two
journeys to other places, but Ta Cheng Tz[)u] was my headquarters.
It is a small market town, with a daily fair. The surrounding
neighbourhood is peopled with Mongols and Chinese in about equal
proportions. The Mongols are mostly lords of the soil, and style
the Chinese slaves, that is in the country. The real trade of the
whole locality is in the hands of the Chinese. The Mongols all
speak Chinese, and the town resident Mongols have, many of them,
forgotten Mongolian, and laugh at themselves as not being able to
speak their own language.

'The country is like Wales in this respect, that, though Mongolian
is the native language, the coming language and the language that
is affected and sought after, is Chinese. Well-to-do Mongols have
Chinese teachers for their children, and read Chinese well. During
my stay there I sold more Chinese than Mongolian books, and talked
more Chinese than Mongolian, though my intercourse was largely with
Mongols.

'Opium is largely grown there, so is tobacco, and large quantities
of whisky are manufactured and consumed. It was partly a famine
year. At a little distance from Ta Cheng Tz[)u] the harvest had