STATE VISIT TO THE PRINCE. 253 



At the conclusion of his tale Sordji asked if I 

 did not know where Shambaling was. In that 

 country, added the lama, there is an enormous city 

 wherein lives a queen, who since the death of her 

 husband has ruled her people. I suggested Eng- 

 land. ' Well, that must be Shambaling,' exclaimed 

 the delighted Sordji, and begged me to show him 

 the country on the map. 



At last, on the eighth day of our stay at Din- 

 yuan-ing, we received an invitation from the Amban 

 to visit him. The lama Sordji first asked us, pro- 

 bably at the instigation of the prince himself, how 

 we should salute their sovereig^n — according to our 



о о 



own custom, or in the Mongolian way, i.e. by falling 

 on our knees. On being told that we should of 

 course bow in the European fashion, Sordji begged 

 us to prostrate ourselves before the Amban, or at 

 all events that our Cossack interpreter should do so; 

 but we peremptorily refused. 



The visit took place at eight in the evening, in 

 the reception chamber of the Amban. This apart- 

 ment was very nicely furnished ; it actually con- 

 tained a large European mirror, purchased at 

 Peking for 150 lans (about Zl^^- Lighted stearine 

 candles in plated candlesticks stood on the tables, 

 on which was spread an entertainment, consisting 

 of nuts, cakes, Russian sweetmeats with mottoes, 

 apples, pears, &c. 



When we entered and bowed to the prince, he 

 invited us to sit down in the places prepared for us ; 

 the Cossack stood near the door. Besides the Am- 

 ban, some rich Chinese merchant, as I afterwards 



