THROUGH ASIA 
246 
which reigned over the company was so hilarious, and 
we transgressed so wantonly against the strict rules of 
Chinese etiquette, that the Dao Tai and his compatriots 
must surely have blushed for us a score of times, had 
not their skins been from infancy as yellow as sun-dried 
haddocks. 
We were entertained all through the dinner by the 
melodies of a Sart orchestra, consisting of drums, flutes, 
and singers ; whilst the monotonous music was occasionally 
enlivened by a couple of dancing boys, as though we were 
not dizzy enough without their gyrations. 
As soon as the last of the six-and-forty courses had 
disappeared, the guests, following the rigorous law of 
custom, instantly rose to take their leave. That moment 
was one which I had long been anxiously waiting for , 
for 1 was dying for a cigar, and a glass of sherry with 
iced water, to banish the recollection of one of the most 
extraordinary banquets it has ever been my lot to be 
present at. 
As we drove home, the streets, the market, the bazaars 
were silent and empty. The only persons we saw were a 
few solitary wanderers — a dervish or a leprous beggar. 
The sun set behind the airy contours of the Terek-davan 
pass. The twilight lasted only just long enough to make 
the bare announcement that a new night was approaching. 
Then the Orient lay down and dreamed again on its own 
grave. 
I shall not easily forget the many happy hours I spent 
in Consul Petrovsky’s society. It is always a pleasure to 
me to go over them again in my thoughts. For, as I 
have already said, he was really an extraordinary man, 
both in the matter of experience and general culture. 
I owe him a very deep debt of gratitude, not only for 
his unstinted hospitality, but also for the extremely 
valuable advice he gave me, drawn from the store-house 
of his wide experience. He has lived twelve years in 
Kashgar, and no man possesses a more intimate know- 
ledge of that region than he does. To many it may seem 
like transportation for a well-educated man to have to 
