{From an oil painting by Aivazovsky, in the possession of Du Lansdell.)
“ o f f sukum k a l i . ’*
F R OM K R A SN O V O D S K H O M E W A R D S . 5 0 5
Thus ended my journey of 12,000 miles, during
which I was absent from England 179 days, and
slept in my clothes half the nights. I was somewhat
exhausted by the desert journey, but not so
much as I have been by writing this book, which
has far exceeded the limits I anticipated. I commenced
it with the thought that, having acquired
information possessed by no other Englishman living,
it was in a measure incumbent on me to offer it to
the public. That duty I have attempted to fulfil, and
now I leave the results in higher hands. As my
going to Siberia was followed by that of other
labourers in the same field, so it has been already in
Central A s ia ; and if the publication of my books
shall, by throwing light upon little-known parts of the
world, tend in any way to their further evangelization
and conquest for Christ, I shall deem that my labour
and expenditure of time in writing are justified. I
have then only to thank the reader who has had
patience to follow me to the end, and to bid him a
kind farewell!