THE STARS 115 



mean for us a passage from light to darkness, and 

 from life to death. 



But in the deserts we have no such feeling, As 

 day imperceptibly fades away it is not black dark- 

 ness that succeeds, but a light that enables us to see 

 farther, a mellower light that enables us to see 

 the Universe at large. From this earthly life we 

 are transported to a higher, intenser, ampler life 

 among the stars. 



And it is in the desert that we best live among 

 the stars. In Europe we look up into the sky 

 between trees and houses ; and among the clouds 

 and through a murky atmosphere we see a few stars. 

 Even when we have a clear sky we seldom get a 

 chance of seeing the whole expanse of the heavens 

 all the way round. And even if we get this rare 

 chance of a clear sky and a vdde horizon we do not 

 live with the stars in the open the night through and 

 night after night. 



In the Gobi Desert I had this precious oppor- 

 tunity. And I had it when my whole being was 

 tuned up to highest pitch. I was not in the liinp 

 state of one who steps out into his garden and looks 

 up casually to the stars. I was tense with high 

 enterprise. I was passing through unknown coun- 

 try on a journey across the Chinese Empire from 

 Peking to India. I was keen and alive in every 

 faculty, in a state of high exhilaration, and both 

 observant and receptive. It was a rare chance, and 

 much I wish now I had made, more of it. 



My party in crossing the Gobi Desert consisted 

 only of a Chinese guide, a Chinese servant, and a 

 Mongol camel-man. As I had no European com- 



