are counted to him by the guardian, to whom he then remits them again, and utters not a word until the _usual_ age of speech. When he attains the period of adultness, he takes the state of a durvish. They say that such an elect man comes into the world for the conversion of wicked men. These sectaries have temples of idols, which they call _Chetharten_,[481] and in which they perform their worship. According to their custom, when a man has two sons, he destines one of them to become a durvish; and the king himself, having two sons, makes one of them a durvish. They believe that there are two mansions; the first of this, the second of the other, world; the son who becomes a durvish takes possession of the latter, the son who associates with people of business acquires the portion of the nether world; when the body of the father and mother become weak and tottering from age, it is the worldly son who tenders them his services; but when the soul of the parents separates from the body, it devolves upon the son who is a durvish to serve them. When a great number of such young durvishes assembles, then the son of the king, or of any other chief becomes their head, and they go to _Bármîánek_, which is a magnificent temple of theirs. When they return from this pilgrimage, they become _Lámas_, that is, _Hájís_, “pilgrims.” The Lámas abstain from eating flesh and from women, and keep remote from all worldly affairs; they wear their hair entangled, and eat from the skull of a man; they carry joints of human hands filed together upon a string, instead of a rosary;[482] and instead of horns for trumpets, they keep bones of human forearms;[483] they say: “We are dead; and dead men have nothing to do with the things of the living.” “We are gone, and we took a separate corner of a sepulchre, That our bones might not be a burden to any body’s shoulder.” This class of men have not their equals in enchantments, juggling, spells, and magic. Their king, if his mother be not of royal blood, is by them called _Arghún_, and not considered their true king; whoever of this sect belongs to the worldly people, does not abstain from killing animals, eating flesh and meats forbidden by religion, and associates with every body in eating. When the author of this book conversed with a learned man of this sect by means of an interpreter, whenever a question about some subtilty occurred, the translator could not always by his interpretation satisfy him. “Without possessing the tongue, it is strange to make a friend by means of the tongue.” [480] (T)_kon_(M)_tchog_, “the chief of the rarity, the rarest being, God.”――(Dict. Tibetan and English, by Alexander Csoma de Körös, p. 66, col. 2, l. 13.) [481] [(M)_tchod_-(R)_ten_, “a chapel, a temple.”――(Dict. of Csoma de Körös.)