AN ADVENTURE IN THE LAMA CITY 135 



wheezed its way to Urga under the stimulus of two 

 bearded Russians. 



We made our camp on a beautiful bit of lawn within 

 a few hundred yards of one of the most interesting 

 of all the Urga temples. It is known to the foreigners 

 in the city as "God's Brother's House/' for it was the 

 residence of the Hutukhtu's late brother. The temple 

 presents a bewildering collection of carved gables and 

 gayly painted pavilions flaunting almost every color of 

 the rainbow. Yvette and I were consumed with curi- 

 osity to see what was contained within the high pali- 

 sades which surround the buildings. We knew it would 

 be impossible to obtain permission for her to go inside, 

 and one evening as we were walking along the walls we 

 glanced through the open gate. No one was in sight 

 and from somewhere in the far interior we heard the 

 moaning chant of many voices. Evidently the lamas 

 were at their evening prayers. 



We stepped inside the door intending only to take 

 a rapid look. The entire court was deserted, so we 

 slipped through the second gate and stood just at the 

 entrance of the main temple, the "holy of holies." In 

 the half darkness we could see the tiny points of yel- 

 low light where candles burned before the altar. On 

 either side was a double row of kneeling lamas, their 

 wailing chant broken by the clash of cymbals and the 

 boom of drums. 



Beside the temple were a hideous foreign house and 

 an enormous yurt evidently the former residences of 

 "God's Brother"; in the corners of the compound were 



