joined by some Russian officers who had heard of riiy
conducting the service.
Kostenko says that as a rule “ these Kuldja Catholics
are very lax as to the essentials of their religion. They
wear crosses round their necks, and read prayers in
the Latin language, and they made a request (that
is, of the Russians) that they might be permitted to
display these emblems on the outside of their dress.”
I may add, however, that a very intelligent Russian
Protestant in the region told me that among their own
people the character of the Chinese Christians stands
high, that they do not smoke opium, and that their word
can be relied on. The persistence of this handful of
Chinese in the tenets of their adopted religion, under
such unfavourable circumstances, reminded me of my
crossing the Pacific in 1879 with an American clergyman
who had laboured as a missionary among both
Chinese and Japanese, and who regarded work among
the former as decidedly the more hopeful. The
Japanese he allowed were more readily influenced,
but, like children, they sometimes drop the toy that
has quickly pleased them, whereas, though John
Chinaman takes a longer time to be convinced, he
is, when won, more easily held. I have since
heard that three Roman missionaries have arrived
in Kuldja.
After bidding the Romanists farewell the Russian
officers took us to the Buddhist pagoda. There is
only one in Kuldja, and that a poor one. On leaving
the street we passed through an antechamber into
a courtyard, where children assemble for instruction
in the tenets of Confucius, each, pupil holding a book,
and all reading together as in Mussulman schools.
Crossing the courtyard we entered the joss-house