266 Mr St John on the Mongols. 



There is one point in the ancient civilisation of Mongolia, 

 which may be worth noticing. Europe, towards the close of 

 the middle ages, was filled with reports of vast cities in this 

 part of the world, among the principal of which was Kara- 

 korum. But modern geographers deny that these cities had 

 any real existence, at least, with the circumstances of gran- 

 deur which have been attributed to them. Malte Brun ob- 

 serves, that no ruins remain to attest the former splendour of 

 Karakorum ; and that " the Mongols have never been suffi- 

 ciently numerous, or sufficiently rich, to build cities worthy of 

 the name." But even in the desolate steppes of Kobi there 

 occurs the fragments of former architectural magnificence ; 

 in one place they encumber the slope of a mountain for the 

 space of two wersts. They are all of stone ; the remains of 

 temples, altars, and other buildings of colossal dimensions, pre- 

 sent themselves on every side, covered with grass and moss ; 

 in some cases the foundations only are of granite, whilst the 

 superstructure is brick. Clay, mixed with gravel, was used 

 as mortar ; the clay has now disappeared, and the gravel 

 alone remains. Some of the buildings are round, and adorned 

 with cornices ; in the temples are empty vaulted niches, 

 broken bits of a green stone strew the courts, and troughs of 

 the same material also occur. 



For a space of four wersts beyond the cluster I have de- 

 scribed, similar remains are visible, though more thinly scat- 

 tered ; and tombs, towers, and deserted walls appear on every 

 side. There cannot be a doubt that on this spot a vast popu- 

 lation once swarmed ; for in all probability the most import- 

 ant structures have alone survived, those of a humbler cha- 

 racter having been constructed of a more perishable material. 

 *' These ruins," says Timkowski, " formerly inhabited by a 

 descendant of Genghis Khan, now serve as a retreat for the 

 flocks ; the Mongols seldom visit the monuments of their for- 

 mer splendour and independence." 



I can hardly understand how, after this, M. Bory de St 

 Vincent could have asserted of the race, in which he includes 

 the Mongols, that they have never attempted to build cities, 

 *' Nulle part ils n'ont bati des villes." 



But I have not as yet alluded to all the authentic accounts 



