rapine which were implied in the taking of Christian cities by Christian armies at that time, records his admiration for the order and restraint of the Chinese soldiery.'
After two generations of quiet in Tibet, the prowess of the Celestial soldier was again illustrated in the campaign against the Goorkhas. These fighting men, now so highly prized by the British, had come up from the Rajput country, driven by the Moslems, and had overrun the Nepal country about 1768, there subduing the native Buddhist state, composed of tribes not unlike the Tibetans, and in religion holding much in common with them. Success makes boldness. From newly conquered seats the restless warriors climbed the passes through which the jealous Himalayas permit a difficult entry to their uplifted court. From this quarter the bygone years had brought no dangers to the lama people, whose unguarded peace was now wounded by the sudden rush of furious Goorkhas, trained to war. A cry for help was sent to the " Elder Brother" ; weary days of waiting passed, filled with bloody deeds of the advancing foe. But, what with the resistance offered by men fighting for their homes,
1 In view of the contempt in which Europeans generally hold the warriors of China, their exploits in overcoming Mongol braves of the kind who marched across Europe in our early centuries, are worthy of study. It is probable that investigation would discover the recruiting grounds to be of rather limited area and of comparatively rude culture ; but the Empire has shown itself to be so fruitful in soldiery for Central Asian conquest, that, discounting as we may the military value of the swarming millions of the valleys, we must not assume that a mechanically wise China shall not be a redoubtable war power. Happily its people are lovers of peace.
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