936 
THROUGH ASIA 
tayer, hti'a ” (The rice pudding is ready, sir), then spread 
a cloth on the platform at my side, and arranged the 
dishes. Pudding with onions and mutton, soup with 
vegetables and marrow, fresh bread, sour milk, tea with 
sugar and cream, eggs, cucumbers, melons, grapes, and 
apricots — why, I lived in clover, like a prince ! Chinese 
mandarins came to pay me visits. Native traders came 
bringing antiquities and articles in jade to sell. My only 
companion was Yolldash. The Mohammedans bestowed 
upon him the title of Yolldash Akhun or Mr. Travelling- 
Companion. He kept watch over my house, and by the 
wagging of his tail manifested his interest when Islam 
came with the dinner-tray. 
How I did enjoy my rest in that beautiful garden! It 
was so still, so peaceful. Not a sound of the noisy 
bazaar penetrated thither, not a whiff of the unwholesome 
atmosphere of the streets. No doubt it was the great 
contrast with the desert that made the place so delightful ; 
and I enjoyed it none the less that my letters from home 
contained nothing but good news. After dinner I strolled 
awhile about the garden, drinking in the scent of the 
ripening mulberries and peaches, of swelling roses and 
tulips, the last having a shade of green. There was also 
a roe-deer, with a blue ribbon and bells round its neck, 
which sometimes came with short nimble jumps and 
wanted to play with me. In a word, it was the most 
delightful place a man could dream about, a perfect 
paradise in fact, only — there was no Eve. 
In the stable stood my fifteen new horses. My ridincr- 
horse of the summer of 1895 was the only old one, but 
it had been left behind in Khotan when I set out for 
Lop-nor. It was now getting a good rest against the 
hard work in store for it. Liu Darin sent me an abundant 
supply of maize and green fodder. I protested that, if 
he would do so, I should be obliged to start again all the 
sooner ; but he paid no heed to my protests. On the 
contrary, he begged me to stay ; he assured me it was 
the way every true Chinaman would treat his guest. Nor 
was that all ; when I made my next start, he gave me 
