so many different countries gives them a quiet, even temperament and breadth of idea which makes them very charming company.
I engaged one of these men, a native of the Pathan state of Bajaur, to accompany me to Kashgar, by Ush Turfan, while my cart went by Maral-bashi—Rahmat-ula-Khan was his name. He was a good specimen of his class, and full of adventurous projects. His great ambition was to visit England, but as he wanted to do so by land and not by sea, which he was afraid of, he wished to know how he could work his way there ; and said he had often thought of taking over some white camels, which another merchant had told him could be obtained on the borders of the desert. On my questioning him about these camels, he said he was not sure that they were actually white, but they were of a very light colour, and quite peculiar animals, which would make a sensation in the Zoo.* He asked me, however, whether, I had any better suggestions to make as to how he could make a journey to England pay. I told him that if he would search about among the old ruined cities of this country and those buried by the sand, he might find old ornaments and books for which large sums of money would be given him in England, and before he left me I wrote for him letters to the directors of the British Museum, and of the museums at Bombay and Calcutta.
Under the guidance of this man, I left Aksu on August El I rode one pony myself, and another was ridden by the Turki servant, and a third, carrying all the baggage we took with us, was led by him. In this way we could travel fast, and make long marches. Several of the merchants from India accompanied us for the first half of the march, and provided a lunch in a garden under the shade of fruit trees. Here it was very cool and pleasant, and the merchants very cheery and companionable. The country, for several miles beyond Aksu, was
* He had seen the " Zoo" at Calcutta.
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