Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/222

 people as the Chinese or Mongols who only respect force, kindness and politeness are wasted or mistaken for weakness and cowardice. On the other hand, boldness sometimes produces a magic effect, and the traveller armed with this weapon will in the end be more successful. It must be understood that I am no advocate for bullying, but what I wish to say is that when a traveller makes his way into remote parts of Asia, he must discard many of his former opinions for others more adapted to the sphere in which he finds himself.

We now took the direction of the Yellow River, and, having no guide, trusted to our enquiries to direct us. We met with great difficulties from our ignorance of the language, and from the suspicion and hostility of the inhabitants, of the Chinese in particular, who would often refuse to show us the road or purposely mislead us. We lost our way nearly every march, and sometimes went a dozen of miles or more before discovering our mistake.

Occasionally we passed through a populous Chinese settlement, where our difficulties were always aggravated. A large crowd would assemble; all the inhabitants, young and old, ran out into the streets, or climbed up on the palisades or roofs of their houses, to stare at us with unmeaning curiosity; the dogs howled in concert and snapped at poor 'Faust;' startled horses neighed, cows lowed, pigs squeaked, fowls flew hither and thither; in short, all was noise and confusion. We would generally let the caravan advance, while one of us remained behind to ask the