is state that they are sold to the fishmongers.
During the long winters of the northern part of the empire, the wealthy
Chinese can always, by this means, procure fresh fish; but great care
must be taken not to make too large a provision of them to be consumed
during the time of the great frosts, for on the first thaw the fish
become putrid.

During our few days' rest, we considered the means of crossing the
Paga-Gol. A Chinese family having obtained from the King of the Ortous
the privilege of conveying travellers across, we were obliged to address
ourselves to the master of the boat. He had undertaken to conduct us to
the other side, but we had not yet agreed about the fare; he required
upwards of 1,000 sapeks. The sum appeared to us exorbitant, and we
waited.

On the third day of our halt, we perceived a fisherman coming towards our
tent, dragging himself along with great difficulty by the aid of a long
staff. His pale and extremely meagre face, showed that he was a man in
suffering. As soon as he had seated himself beside our hearth,
"Brother," said we, "it seems that your days are not happy." "Ah," said
he, "my misfortune is great, but what am I to do? I must submit to the
irrevocable laws of heaven. It is now a fortnight since, as I was going
to visit a Mongol tent, I was bitten in the leg by a mad dog; there has
been formed a wound which grows larger and mortifies day by day. They
told me that you were from the Western Heaven, and I am come to you. The
men of the Western Heaven, say the Tartar Lamas, have an unlimited power.
With a single word they are able to cure the most grievous disorders."
"They have deceived you, when they said we had such great powers;" and
hereupon we took occasion to elucidate to this man the great truths of
the faith. But he was a Chinese, and, like all his nation, but little
heedful of religious matters. Our words only glanced over his heart; his
hurt absorbed all his thoughts. We resolved to treat his case with the
Kou-Kouo, or bean of St. Ignatius. This vegetable, of a brown or ashy
colour, and of a substance which resembles horn, extremely hard, and of
intolerable bitterness, is a native of the Philippine Isles. The manner
of using the Kou-Kouo is to bruise it in cold water, to which it
communicates its bitterness. This water, taken inwardly, modifies the
heat of the blood, and extinguishes internal inflammation. It is an
excellent specific for all sorts of wounds