CHAPTER VIII 



THE HEAVENS 



The remote glacier region gives us a sense of purity, 

 and gives us, too, a vision of colour in its finest 

 delicacy. But for depth, extent, and brilliancy of 

 colour we must look to sunsets — and sunsets in those 

 high desert regions where the outlook is widest and 

 the atmosphere clearest. 



In deserts everywhere marvellous sunsets may 

 be seen, for the comparative absence of moisture in 

 the atmosphere and the presence of invisible 

 particles of dust gives these sunsets an especial 

 brilliancy. In the middle of the day a desert in its 

 uniform brownness is dreary and monotonous to a 

 degree. But at dawn and sunset when the sun's 

 rays slant across the scene the desert glows with 

 colour of every shade and hue and in ever-changing 

 combination. In the Gobi Desert of Central Asia, 

 in the Egyptian Desert, in the Arabian Desert, in 

 Arizona, I have seen sunsets that thrill one with 

 delight. But nowhere have I seen more glorious 

 sunsets than in the highlands of Tibet. And what 

 makes them there so remarkable is that the plains 

 themselves are 15,000 feet above sea-level, so that 

 the atmosphere is exceptionally clear. Great dis- 

 tances are therefore combined with unusual clear- 

 ness. The country is open enough and the air clear 



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