CHI-SHI AND HIS MASTER 131 



no effect. It was heard on the other side of the 

 valley some days hiter, but never seen. 



We lodged in the house of one Chi-shi. He was 

 a keen hunter, a little thin wiry man with a pleasant 

 face. He seemed chronically cheerful, despite a 

 wife who appraised herself considerably above her 

 real value, and boxed his ears when he smoked 

 opium. Her husband had been induced to pay 

 300 taels for her, and of her morals the less said 

 the better^ — 



" For the wildest dreams of Kew are the facts of 

 Khatmandu, 

 And the crimes of Clapham chaste in Martaban,"" 



or, one might add, in Archuen. A most masterful 

 lady, she ruled Chi-shi with a rod of iron. We 

 had to warn her not to invade the sanctity of our 

 chamber at certain hours, otherwise she and the 

 rest of the village, in particular the juvenile popu- 

 lation, crowded to what they considered a show 

 organised by a beneficent Providence for their 

 especial benefit, in and out of season. The 

 Thibetan houses are far cleaner and more tidily 

 kept than those of the Chinese. We occupied the 

 large family room which they all contain, and were 

 really very well off. A long wooden box-like 

 structure extends for about two-thirds the length 

 of the room, holding two or three big copper vats 

 in which all the cooking is done. Many of these 

 coppers are very fine, ornamented with designs of 

 fish, formal rosettes, and other decorations. They 

 are made by the natives. There are usually one 

 or two dressers, the wealth of the family being 



