into the gramophone a popular Tibetan song of the
most unfortunate description.
One thing is worth recording : One morning the
Abbot paid a visit to the camp and listened to accounts
of the latest discoveries of Western science
calmly and not without interest. He himself suggested
no criticisms until he was directly asked by Captain
O’Connor some point in connection with the Tibetan
knowledge of this planet. He answered courteously,
but very decidedly, that what we English believed as to
the nature of the earth was interesting as showing the
strides which science had begun to make in distant parts ;
“ but,” he said, “ of course you are quite wrong in this
matter; the earth is shaped like a shoulder of mutton
bone, and so far from being only a small country, Tibet
occupies nearly one-half of its extent. However, do
not despair; if you will continue to read industriously
and will read better books, there is no doubt that you
will be learned in time.” In the face of this I regret
to have to record that our scientists collapsed ignomini-
ously, and no one even attempted to justify the illusions
of Europe.
Now and then the usual message was received
I Go back to Giao-gong and there we will discuss
the matter ; we will not discuss the matter while you
are at Kamba-jong.” On one occasion a small durbar
was held, though Colonel Younghusband entirely demurred
to the social position and the political importance
of the men who represented themselves as the Tibetan
delegates. He explained the whole position at full
length; he set out the reasons which had induced us to
attempt to come to an amicable arrangement with our
neighbour ; he recapitulated the events of the past few
years, reproaching the Tibetans with having broken the
treaty of 1890-3, and finally concluded by earnestly
asking that the Tibetans should co-operate with ourselves
in bringing matters to' a satisfactory conclusion.
In order that there might be no mistake his speech had
been carefully written out to be handed on to the Dalai
Lama. At the conclusion he presented the envelope to
the chief Tibetan official, who shrank from it in horror ;
he utterly refused to touch it, and he as positively
declined even to report in Lhasa the speech to which
he had just listened ; no one, in fact, would take the
responsibility of having any official intercourse with us.
This was the universal attitude of the Tibetan
representatives up to the last. The following story
is a curious illustration of it. The Tibetans once
sent in an oral protest chiefly directed against the
extended ramblings of Mr. White and others of the
Mission. They also protested against Hayden’s chipping
little pieces from the mountains; they said,
and it was difficult to refute it, that we should not
like them to come and chip pieces off the houses in
Calcutta. Nor did they approve of the heliograph, by
which they believed that we could both see through
mountains and control the rain. But the wanderings
of the members of the Mission was what they particularly
disliked. This was, perhaps, not unreasonable,
though a certain amount of reconnoitering was necessary
in order to collect firewood, and even country produce,
which the good people of the country were always eager
to sell us, provided they could appease their superiors
by the pretence'that we had compelled them to trade
with us. Colonel Younghusband, wishing in every way
in his power to accustom the Tibetans to ¿communicate