he no longer regarded as of value. In this resolution he persisted for three days,
and the Khan, afraid that he would perish, was compelled at last to yield. But he
extracted from him a promise that on his return to China he would visit him, and
abide with him for three years. At last, after a month’s detention, during which
the Khan and his court daily attended the lectures of the pious monk, he resumed
his journey, attended by a strong escort, and furnished with letters of
introduction to the twenty-four princes whose dominions he must cross.
His route lay through what is now called Dsungary, across the Musur-dabaghan
mountains, the northern chain of the Belur-tag, the valley of the Yaxartes,
Bactria, and Kabulistan. The pilgrim’s description of the scenes through which
he passed is interesting and vivid; he was a keen observer, and gifted with
considerable powers of expression.