Language, .-treeyfbóraffus flabelllformis,) affording a fibrous fubftance, which feems
. indcftrucliblc by -vermin.15 The printed- and formal letters.are called
rthe lichen; while thofeof bufmefs ahdL correfpondence are ftyled iimin.
.Prom Mr. Turner’s account it would feem that- the writing runs from
-the left to the right, as in the languages of Europe.
• The gy longs,, or monks, pafs through a regular education ; and it is
to'be fuppoled fometimes teach children mót deftiiïed to religious con-
«fiiibïnent.
’Cities-and - Of the cities and towns of Tibet little is'known. The capital is"
Jiowfls.- -XaiPa ; and federal other names in the fouthern part aflame the character
of towns in the maps, though probably mere villages. Taffifudon,
•vfnr inftance, only confifts of fcattered groups of hovels. There being
• little commerce, there is no middle clafs of people, but the tranfition is
Tap id from the miferable hut to the ftone. palacé or mónaftéry.
j atp- Lafla, the capilal of Tibet, is fttuated in a f^acious plain, béiflg a fmall
city, but the houfes are of ftone, and are fpacious and loftyw The noted
löóufttain of Putala, on which Hands the palace-of the Lama, is about
feven tniléa to the eaft of the city.’ As La
tongue, this name may imply the hill óf Póuta br-Boodh.. To the
north ofLaffa appears another vaft range óf moóötaittSj coveted with
fiiow, which are clearly feen from Kambala, a very high mountain on
tlie north of the lake of landró or Palti. Laflh'is %he provh|dë of
P u , and almoft in the centre of Tibet-.'-
;Edifices. Among thé; edifices the monafteries may be firft'mentioned. Mr.
Turner deferibes that of Tefhoö Loomboo, as containing three or four
hundred houfes, inhabited by monks, befides temples, maufoleüms, and
Pie pilace of the foyereign pontiff. The buildings are all of ffobe, none
lefs than two ftories in height, with flat roofs, and parapets compofed of
heath and brulhwood, probably to emit the melting fnow. The centre
window projects beyond the wall, and forms a balcony. Some of the
palaces and fortreffes are defer ibed and delineated by Mr. Turner; and
the architecture Teems refpe£table. Bridges occur of various fantaftic
forms ; fometimes confifting of chains, drawn from precipice to precl-
‘ J Turner, 323. 16 Rennell, 306. 11 Bernoulli, iii. 227.
pice;
.pTy*j eR Q^hearh^bVe'iEntf being fixed, in^jthei;£borc, ^ i le the Edifices.
other |iepeflivelydncrpa|M^& pr^e^irfnt Ml tfie yipperdioff timbers fup-
~j^rfe!a~ ' fediort Johan
M S f e ' .the, .tocfvr refembl^ thdfe^||f
HV^prlandj, and' ai^^mulaSdangetbus Aftfe/
w!- The.cfhef manpftblmcslqf Tibet feem to be dhiiM's^and* fpniei^qpP Mamife«?-
im t h s ; but ffierey’s a' gperal want||||ndh|try; and the| fi^^nder- ture8*/;t
■ moft hairia^be>!‘goatSj from,\yl|icli ]ha’^l4$p
pent1 ‘t d T b e \ p r i | K j p | M ^ R ort^,are jjfc^iha,, $ffifij$ng of ,
duft,’diamonds,'pcans! ^ral ‘ fwliicli^ts jpcntidued hg Marccf - ,
*»as£ commodity of "the _ C^tlitr),k j 1|rnl^lkim^fM mju'ik, add y|gff|n f
^'luy,'of“ fli^GKmbfeJ irppbrt^'^jmaimnat^tl^Tl'9 -^ig^»
in ^return' 1 fiWerjmfcW^
T h r o u S ^ ^ jmjef tirade with J|edga] y ^ ^ |^ 1 /
duff,~^hcal', and m^Ik^ Thfejetmng "broad
rJdsl,rJfa^lnrJs,’ p^ieirolaxif la z u l i® j | t ,^ ^ g | l l l | W i th ^ ’^ ’id ^ s
the's.' E,’tb,e^is. nr> |h |^h |
•rather be' regarded jis internal! ^ . ■» w i s * * .
*’ *T,he t r a d e - ‘Andudctfat
th^-f irrifon town of rM
Shenfi, where~tea .isgreedily bought^ byx
^mint in'Tibet, laTfuch an inllitutrori Vis^mevented!jby .religious preju-
dices bpt the l^afe f|lvcrSfNma!l|Turrfnt
‘ T ’h ^ T lim a tP ^f^nofan'may be-faldlto Je llmTlfatev^ ljn^compared Cfitah^v
witfi?toafofTilS Ptopef ; •'
former country, i In the' temperaturl^^-TO^feaioii^m Tibet a remarkable
uniformity prevails, as well as in tbeir periodical duration
and return. The fame divifion of them tales place here. , as in the more
fouthern region of Bengal. The fpring is marked, from March to
May, by a variable atmofphere'; heat, thunder florins, and ocdaffonally
with refrelhing Ihowers. Frorwjune to September i| the" feafon of hu-
jnidityVw|ien heavy; and continued fains fill tfiejiv^toTheir brun,
,a ii. 37. Whence was. this coral ? I t was ufed as money. Can it have been from the large
1 fakes s i I * ' » .... '§ $ S
; VOL. II. WHm$ ' W : f j g