prince chultun beyli and i were ready to leave the narabanchi kure.
while the hutuktu was holding service for the sait in the temple ofblessing, i wandered around through the narrow alleyways betweenthe walls of the houses of the various grades of lama gelongs,getuls, chaidje and rabdjampa; of schools where the learned doctorsof theology or maramba taught together with the doctors of medicineor ta lama; of the residences for students called bandi; of stores,archives and libraries. when i returned to the yurta of thehutuktu, he was inside. he presented me with a large hatyk andproposed a walk around the monastery. his face wore a preoccupiedexpression from which i gathered that he had something he wished todiscuss with me. as we went out of the yurta, the liberatedpresident of the russian chamber of commerce and a russian officerjoined us. the hutuktu led us to a small building just back of abright yellow stone wall.
"in that building once stopped the dalai lama and bogdo khan and wealways paint the buildings yellow where these holy persons havelived. enter!"the interior of the building was arranged with splendor. on theground floor was the dining-room, furnished with richly carved,heavy blackwood chinese tables and cabinets filled with porcelainsand bronze. above were two rooms, the first a bed-room hung withheavy yellow silk curtains; a large chinese lantern richly set withcolored stones hung by a thin bronze chain from the carved woodenceiling beam. here stood a large square bed covered with silkenpillows, mattresses and blankets. the frame work of the bed wasalso of the chinese blackwood and carried, especially on the poststhat held the roof-like canopy, finely executed carvings with thechief motive the conventional dragon devouring the sun. by theside stood a chest of drawers completely covered with carvingssetting forth religious pictures. four comfortable easy chairscompleted the furniture, save for the low oriental throne whichstood on a dais at the end of the room.
"do you see this throne?" said the hutuktu to me. "one night inwinter several horsemen rode into the monastery and demanded thatall the gelongs and getuls with the hutuktu and kanpo at their headshould congregate in this room. then one of the strangers mountedthe throne, where he took off his bashlyk or cap-like headcovering. all of the lamas fell to their knees as they recognizedthe man who had been long ago described in the sacred bulls ofdalai lama, tashi lama and bogdo khan. he was the man to whom thewhole world belongs and who has penetrated into all the mysteriesof nature. he pronounced a short tibetan prayer, blessed all hishearers and afterwards made predictions for the coming halfcentury. this was thirty years ago and in the interim all hisprophecies are being fulfilled. during his prayers before thatsmall shrine in the next room this door opened of its own accord,the candles and lights before the altar lighted themselves and thesacred braziers without coals gave forth great streams of incensethat filled the room. and then, without warning, the king of theworld and his companions disappeared from among us. behind himremained no trace save the folds in the silken throne coveringswhich smoothed themselves out and left the throne as though no onehad sat upon it."the hutuktu entered the shrine, kneeled down, covering his eyeswith his hands, and began to pray. i looked at the calm,indifferent face of the golden buddha, over which the flickeringlamps threw changing shadows, and then turned my eyes to the sideof the throne. it was wonderful and difficult to believe but ireally saw there the strong, muscular figure of a man with aswarthy face of stern and fixed expression about the mouth andjaws, thrown into high relief by the brightness of the eyes.
through his transparent body draped in white raiment i saw thetibetan inscriptions on the back of the throne. i closed my eyesand opened them again. no one was there but the silk thronecovering seemed to be moving.
"nervousness," i thought. "abnormal and over-emphasizedimpressionability growing out of the unusual surroundings andstrains."the hutuktu turned to me and said: "give me your hatyk. i havethe feeling that you are troubled about those whom you love, and iwant to pray for them. and you must pray also, importune god anddirect the sight of your soul to the king of the world who was hereand sanctified this place."the hutuktu placed the hatyk on the shoulder of the buddha and,prostrating himself on the carpet before the altar, whispered thewords of prayer. then he raised his head and beckoned me to himwith a slight movement of his hand.
"look at the dark space behind the statue of buddha and he willshow your beloved to you."readily obeying his deep-voiced command, i began to look into thedark niche behind the figure of the buddha. soon out of thedarkness began to appear streams of smoke or transparent threads.
they floated in the air, becoming more and more dense andincreasing in number, until gradually they formed the bodies ofseveral persons and the outlines of various objects. i saw a roomthat was strange to me with my family there, surrounded by somewhom i knew and others whom i did not. i recognized even the dressmy wife wore. every line of her dear face was clearly visible.
gradually the vision became too dark, dissipated itself into thestreams of smoke and transparent threads and disappeared. behindthe golden buddha was nothing but the darkness. the hutuktu arose,took my hatyk from the shoulder of the buddha and handed it to mewith these words:
"fortune is always with you and with your family. god's goodnesswill not forsake you."we left the building of this unknown king of the world, where hehad prayed for all mankind and had predicted the fate of peoplesand states. i was greatly astonished to find that my companionshad also seen my vision and to hear them describe to me in minutedetail the appearance and the clothes of the persons whom i hadseen in the dark niche behind the head of buddha.** in order that i might have the evidence of others on thisextraordinarily impressive vision, i asked them to make protocolsor affidavits concerning what they saw. this they did and i nowhave these statements in my possession.
the mongol officer also told me that chultun beyli had the daybefore asked the hutuktu to reveal to him his fate in thisimportant juncture of his life and in this crisis of his countrybut the hutuktu only waved his hand in an expression of fear andrefused. when i asked the hutuktu for the reason of his refusal,suggesting to him that it might calm and help chultun beyli as thevision of my beloved had strengthened me, the hutuktu knitted hisbrow and answered:
"no! the vision would not please the prince. his fate is black.
yesterday i thrice sought his fortune on the burned shoulder bladesand with the entrails of sheep and each time came to the same direresult, the same dire result! . . ."he did not really finish speaking but covered his face with hishands in fear. he was convinced that the lot of chultun beyli wasblack as the night.
in an hour we were behind the low hills that hid the narabanchikure from our sight.
