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111 'ill
headed stupidity of the people entrusted to his care,
he was enthusiastic in his praise of Colonel Young-
husband’s moderation in all respects, and to judge from
his words one might have thought that by our advance
a miniature millennium had been inaugurated for the
down-trodden people of Tibet. That there was some
ground for these statements is suggested by the complaint
of the Dalai Lama himself that by honest and
even excessive payment throughout our march we had
seduced the affections of his people.
There can be no doubt to our popularity with the
laity. The market outside the town, which was formed
in spite of the publicly expressed disapproval of the
Council, was from the first crowded by. hundreds
of eager sellers, and it could have been small satisfaction
to the monks looking out from the high walls of Potala
to see the densely crowded acre of chaffering pedlars and
careless or generous purchasers which daily took up a
position on some convenient dry patch just outside
the camp limits. In this market articles of food
naturally predominated ; meat and flour were supplied
from the De-bung store cellars, so that condiments arid
other luxuries formed the staple commodities. It was
an odd scene. B y eight o’clock in the morning a roaring
trade was being done in curry powder, turnips, walnuts
— they would have been dear in Piccadilly— sugar in yellow
and white balls, cigarettes— of the ubiquitous Pedro
brand— apples, small russets with a tart flavour, sealing-
wax— one of the best products of Lhasa, good transparent
brown stuff, of which I secured a! large store,
chupattis, acid green peaches, native candles— looking
like short, squat fire-works, and moulded upon a
piece of bamboo—lengths of cloth done up in soundly-
V O L . II. i 8 #