Chapter 1
The Final Journey
In a magnificent yurt, coloured
red and gold inside, in the palace of Prince Teh Wang, Prince of the East
Sunnit, direct descendant the Genghis Khan and leader of the Free Mongols. |
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(A yurt is the same shape as an
Esquimau hut, but bigger and made of wool on wooden framework.) |
My
Dearest Everybody, |
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Sunday, July 14th, 1935 |
I
have written my Sunday letters from lots of strange places - from a rubber
plantation in Java, from the ruins of Angkor, from a horrible Chinese inn - but
this is the strangest of the lot. I am the guest of His Highness Prince
Teh Wang, the greatest man among all Mongols, whose forefather, Genghis Khan,
formed the huge Mongol Empire which reached Hungary, nearly overran Europe and
whose other forefather, Kublai Khan, Dada used to read about in school (Coleridge).
It has been the most colourful day I have ever had - a Mongol feast in
honour of the spirit of the mountain, just near, and I also had a good interview
with Prince Teh Wang, who wants to set up an independent Mongol Empire,
including the Mongols under Soviet rule in Outer Mongolia and the Mongols under
Manchukuo. The splash of colour, with bright silks and gorgeous
head-dress, the fine horses, the Mongol tents, the spirit of worship and the
wrestlers, riders, lamas and archers, has been magnificent.
Journey
into Inner Mongolia. On Thursday July 11th, I got up at 5.30 a.m.,
breakfasted and went by rickshaw from the Legation Quarter, Peking, to the
station which is very close. There, Baron von Plessen, who is the double
of Tom Ellis, was waiting for me. He had shorts and I also brought
shorts. We had a first class compartment and soon the train steamed
off. At the next station Dr Herbert Müller, a friend, entered and we
formed a trio. (Dr Müller and I are left. The Baron had to return
to Peking on Monday.) Plessen and Müller were extreme opposites.
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Gareth at the Lama service.
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