On that day ceremonial visits were paid to Colonel
Younghusband, both by the Ta Lama and by the
Tongsa Penlop,* who had now joined us with a large
retinue from Bhutan.
The-Tongsa Penlop is the actual ruler of his country,
and is a man of considerable capacity. At the present
moment the position of Deb Raja or King of Bhutan
remains unfilled. It would be the easiest thing in the
world for the Tongsa Penlop to have himself elected to
the vacant post, but he is of that masterful race of men
which prefers to have the power rather than seem to
have it. He sees no particular advantage in being
nominal as well as actual sovereign of his country,
especially as there is a certain penalty of exclusion
imposed upon the position of Deb Raja. He is obliged
to live the life of a recluse, he is separated from his
wife and family, and he rarely has the chance of seeing
either them or any other of his acquaintances. The
Tongsa Penlop is distinctly of a jovial type, and demurs
fo these penalties, though at the same time he is not
entirely willing to sanction the election of any other
Bhutanese chief to the kingship. He is a small man
with a powerful but plebeian cast of countenance, and
his habit of perpetually wearing a gray uncloven Hom-
burg hat pressed down ah round his head to his eyebrows,
instead of his official crown, does not increase
his dignity. That crown is a very handsome ornament.
It is composed of a circle of gold, bearing in four places
the representation of a skull, and, Cleopatra-wise, it is
arched over the top by a peacock’s head in gold and
enamel. In theory, he came to act as mediator between
ourselves and the Tibetans, but his unblushing and
* The “ p ” is barely sounded in this name.
openly-admitted preference for the English was not
entirely satisfactory even to us. It suggested a biassed
mind that was likely to interfere with the discharge of
his delicate and impartial duties, and it almost became
too much when we found that his men, with his full
sanction, took advantage of the presence of our troops
The Tongsa Penlop.
to harry the land far and wide, and do what looting they
could on their own account. On the whole, he was a
cheerful, but not a particularly dignified adjunct to the
Mission.*
Looting by his attendants in the Nagartse district caused such widespread distress
that the inhabitants came in to us for food. We had been careful to leave enough food
m the houses to supply their needs through the winter, and to pay for all we took. The.
Bhutanese came after and deprived the wretched peasants of grain and money alike.