Here it was very dark, in spite of the small windows, smoke-filled and Atfully lit by the Sames from a great stove set against the outer wall. On the wooden partition walls on the inner side of the room rude figures and Along the—greater were carved in the form of swastikas
Jength of the walls a continuous bench was placed, roughly upholstered, and in front of it was an equally long, narrow table, two feet high, fu which were, at intervals, depressions containing.shallow pans with charcoal fires burning'in them, These were used for keeping the tea hot, the latter being cooked at the big stove mentioned above, whilst opposite this stove was another, equally big but not in use. On the low table were also numerous pil and butter for the fortress. The and showed us to was a striking, tall some, and with long uncombed hair, dressed ina bluish-purple Tibetan cloak, high Tibetan boots and girdled by a'belt from which the inevitable knife and tinder-pouch were hang~ ing. He had immense rings on his fingers with stones of red coral and pale blue turquoise; in his ears he wore rings equally' big. In a land of polyandry he had achieved the distinction of three wives, and had less than eight sons and twelve daughters living.
We wore offered buttered tea and samba and meanwhile our interpre; ter, a Tibetan "muy simpatico," offered him a present of a clothbound missionary text, printed in Tibetan and with endless pictures, many in colour. With this he was undoubtedly delighted. I had put] my prismatic compass down on the table, and this he picked up in some curiosity; but not knowing how to open it set it down again. While this was going on, a whole crowd of shaggy haired, wild looking Tibetans was surrounding us, excitedly murmuring among themselves and apparently fascinated by our peculiar ap-
'A moment later and we were groping our way again through the smoke, past huge glimmering ladies of brass that hung in immense numbers on the wall, and so into the brilliance of the morning sunshine, the chief accompanying us to the very gate, smiling and indicating with his hand a stalwart guard of three, After two days' travel over the rolling grasslands alive with quaint, twittering marmots that sat above their burrows as the dogs chased after them, only to pop like h flash below, for all the world like a Sussex rab bit, when the enemy was almost there, we at last reached Litang.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.