The blue book on Captain Younghusband's mission, gives among the dry official facts, quaint glimpses of the strange people of Tibet. " Captain O'Connor gives particulars (derived from native sources) of the famous Heuchung Oracle, formerly vested in the witch-woman of Gilgit. The oracle now is a man, whose hysterical utterances, when worked to a frenzy by strange ceremotties, carry great weight in the political concerns
to place any reliance in a people who are the Taam Goveramna "Tt is fmpoesble scourged by superstition and witch-craft, which lives on unchanged in Tibet, in spite of the daily nearer advance of ' Western civilisation, During the progress of the British mission to Tuna, the oracle seems to have been freely invoked, and the lamas seam likely to get a severe shock, for, after solemnly cursing us for three days, they declare the foreign forces will now melt away dispersed by the act of Providence.
Afghanistan.
From Tibet, a step in thought but not in distanoe—brings ys to Afghanistan, where the action of the Amir in collecting his clans and chieftains is looked on with some suspicion. It is thought, however, that this is a matter connected solely with the collecting of rents and revenue. Let us hope this is a true surmise, and that the wolves of Afghanistan are going to return quietly to the fastnesses of their own mountains.
"Cancer and Tea."
amusing item in connection with "cancer ''—which does not at first sight contemporary, which we give vectatim. seam a very amusing subject—appears m a
Under the' above heading the following gulmoriinary Inter appeared in the " Daily "Sir,—Can anyone deny the following facts:<(1) Canoar is very prevalent in China, (2) Tea has been consumed in China for very many years. (3) Cancer is on the increase in this country; so is tea-drinking. (4) Women are more frequently attacked by cancer than are men. (5) Women, at any rate in Great Britain, drink far more tea than men do. Is it reasonable to draw any conclusion from this?"—Gospel.
"So much was I struck with the acumen of such deductive reasoning "—(writes Tea -"Traveller)—that I was inspired to send the following answer To the Kditor of the "Daily Mail."
"Nir—In reply to "Gospel" can anyone deny the following facts:—(1) Babies are very prevalent in England. (2) Sweets have been consumed in England for very many years. (3) Babies are on the increase in this country; so is sweet-outing. (4) Women are more frequently producers of babies than amen are. (5) Women, in Great Britain at any rate, eat far more sweets than men do. Is it reasonable to draw any conclusion from this? And has it any physical bearing on the subtle connection between cancer and tea?—Bpistle.""
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.