Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/150

128 made their appearance at Chobsen, with the object of taking and destroying- the temple. Its defenders, numbering 1,000 men, Chinese, Mongols, and Tangutans, retreated within the principal enclosure, leaving the enemy to take possession of the outer houses, which of course they had no difficulty in doing, but the main wall was strong enough to resist all their efforts, and the first assault was unsuccessful. The hour of taking tea now drew near, and as the observance of this custom is not neglected even during actual warfare, the besiegers withdrew to their camp, about two-thirds of a mile from the temple. Taking advantage of such a favourable opportunity, the besieged sallied out of their fortress in full view of the enemy, proceeded to the stream to obtain a supply of water, and in their turn set to work tea-drinking. The next day beheld a repetition of the same process; the Dungans invested till mid-day, when they retired to drink tea; in this way the siege lasted six days, at the expiration of which, finding they could not take the place, the Dungans returned to their homes.

This anecdote would have been almost incredible, had we not convinced ourselves of the rotten state of China and her tributaries. They are all alike, and nothing but ignorance on the part of Europeans could invest them with any of the attributes of power or majesty.

Notwithstanding the rancorous hatred between Mussulmans and Chinese, they are not unwilling to have commercial transactions with опe another. In