Stores and Outfit. 



sheep, fruit, rice, and other articles which they offer, so that 

 a supply of gifts suitable for this purpose is essential. Those 

 most preferred would appear to be liqueurs and crystallised 

 fruits, especially the former, ever welcome to the Celestial. I 

 therefore provided myself with an assortment of good liqueurs, 

 together with some boxes and bottles of crystallised fruits, all 

 of which were productive of the best results. For the minor 

 officials I took some good shikar knives and one or two odds 

 and ends, though for these people hard cash is at once the best 

 and easiest way out of the difficulty. 



I had heard much as to the advisabilit}' of being equipped 

 with an ample medicine chest calculated to cure all the ills to 

 which flesh is heir, but decided to limit myself to a supply of 

 only the indispensable drugs, the use of which does not demand 

 any great display of medical skill, I being, moreover, a firm believer 

 in the old adage that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. 

 Certainly I had many opportunities afforded me of achieving 

 distinction as a medico amongst the nomad tribes of Kirghiz, 

 Kalmuk, and the primitive Mongols. As an instance, my services 

 were once requisitioned by a deputation of three nomads to cure an 

 elderly dame, who, from the graphic description they afforded me of 

 her ailments, I diagnosed to be subject to epileptic fits. One of 

 them, in his anxiety that I should fully appreciate the old lady's 

 symptoms, by way of illustration threw himself on the ground 

 and proceeded to writhe and tumble about, whilst the other two 

 attempted to foam at the mouth. In the end I told them the 

 patient should be kept as quiet as possible, and that the case was 

 not one in which my personal attendance would serve any useful 

 purpose, nor would I advise administering any of the potions 

 at my disposal. The fact is I was at a loss to know what 

 to do and was right glad when they withdrew. I shifted my 

 camp the next day, and what ultimately happened to the old 

 lady I did not hear. 



My list of medical comforts consisted only of cascara sagrada, 

 quinine, phenacetin, chlorodyne, permanganate of potash, Eno's 



5 



