9б FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. 



ing from hunger more than once, when no game was 

 obtainable and we could not pay the extortionate 

 price demanded for a sheep. On returning to Peking 

 after the first year, I could not help smiling on hear- 

 ing a member of one of the foreign embassies enquire 

 how we managed to carry about with us so large a 

 quantity of silver, gold not being current in Mongolia. 

 What would this gentleman have thought of us if he 

 had known that on starting from Peking we only 

 took 65/. in cash ? 



To add still more to our embarrassment, the 

 moneys assigned for our use were not even paid in 

 full, but were remitted to Peking in half-yearly in- 

 stalments by the War Department, and a year in 

 advance by the Geographical Society and Botanical 

 Gardens. The obliging assistance of General Vlan- 

 gali rescued us from the critical position in which we 

 should otherwise have found ourselves, and I re- 

 ceived out of the Mission fund a loan of the annual 

 amount payable to me, and, on starting for the second 

 time, even more. 



Silver rubles are exchanged at Peking at the 

 rate of two for one liang (tael) of Chinese silver 

 (55. bd.). I should also mention that, with the ex- 

 ception of the small cash, made of copper alloyed 

 with zinc, there is no coinage in China. Silver is 

 always paid and received by weight, and accord- 

 ing to assay. The unit is the liang^ (tael or ounce), 

 its tenth part is a kiang (also pronounced tsiang) ; 



' Twelve liangs average about a pound in weight. [Col. Prcje- 

 valski generally writes lan.\ 



