4 PEKING TO LHASA
leisure, and perhaps in his mind the two were one. Perhaps attaining a goal stretching oneself out to the very utmost was the dominating idea which connected the two. For, in a sense, his journey from Peking to Lhasa was a race. Others there were who were striving for the same end. And always he had in his mind the idea of getting there first. " Englishman first " is what he telegraphed from Lhasa on his arrival.
Having then seen the Derby in 1920 he withdrew into the wilds to indulge his other passion, meaning to get back for the Derby of 1924. He returned to China to carry out his great ambition of reaching Lhasa from the east. In 1848 two daring French missionaries, Pères Huc and Gabet, had reached the Holy City of the Grand Lama from China. But since then no European had followed in their steps. Many had tried
Russians, French, English, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Americans—but none had succeeded. Pereira meant to make the attempt.
And for this enterprise he was peculiarly qualified. For his passion for travel had possessed him during all his military service in China. Missionaries travel extensively in China ; but few even of them can have travelled as much as Pereira. He had visited every Province. He had travelled over the whole of Korea and right across Manchuria, Mongolia and Chinese Turkestan. He must have travelled 50,000 miles in the Chinese Empire if he had travelled a yard. And he had travelled not only as a private individual but as an official. When Military Attaché he had made a point of going about
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