April 20, 1905J 



NA TURE 



587 



and 



foul with the accumulation of rancid butit 

 poisonous forms of putrid filth. 



Animate nature in Tibet is no better than inanimate. 

 VVe will pass bv the pigs and the dofjs, and refer 

 only to the people. It was discovered by the medical 

 staff of the mission who attended to the wounded 

 warriors of Guru that the natural complexion of the 

 Tibetan was quite fair — as fair as that of any Euro- 

 pean, in spite of the fact that no soap is ever used. 

 But to judge from the aspect of the Tibetan as he 

 (or she) appears in the ordinary unclean garb of daily 

 life, the general tint of the skin appears to be that 

 of a well baked potato picked out from amongst the 

 charred sticks of a burn-out bonfire. The children 

 are pretty and remarkably affable, and the general 

 unloveliness of their parents is due quite as much to 

 dirt as to exposure to the rigorous climate. 



The story of the advance of the mission through 



Not the least interesting chapters of Mr. Landon's 

 book are those which deal with the superficial aspects 

 of lamaism, and the relation between the Tibetan 

 hierarchy and our frontier politics. Tibet affords a 

 notable example (if one were needed) of the de- 

 grading, stifling, destroying effects of a dominant 

 priesthood on a country's developments. Between the 

 lamaism of Tibet and the pure faith of early 

 Buddhism there is indeed a great gulf fixed, and Mr. 

 Landon is well within the mark when he describes 

 modern lamaism as "sheer animistic devil worship." 

 Yet he is quite ready to recognise the power and the 

 strength which are gained bv the lofty isolation — the 

 stern aloofness of the head of the Tibetan Church ; 

 and he is probablv correct in estimating the Dalai 

 lama as being still the recognised head of the Tibetan 

 Church and State wherever he may be, at Urgn or at 

 Lhasa. Nor does he fail to reckon up the im- 



feet). Ttiis peak guards the road to Lhasa over the Karo 

 ;r between the darker hill ani the icefields of Nichi-kang-sang. 



the tangled forests and over the bleak passes of 

 Sikkim is vvell told. There is none of the reiteration 

 of the guide book or of the monotony of the intelli- 

 gence report in Mr. Landon 's tale. He takes the 

 reader with him through the narrow and slippery ways 

 of Chumbi, over the Himalayan backbone (not so for- 

 midable as the Sikkim-Chumbi passes), down the 

 gentle slope to Gyantse, with an ever-varied interest 

 gathered from what is to be seen around him as he 

 rides. Mountains and stone-strewn slopes, trees 

 (where there are any), flowers, and the small things 

 that become great in a land where vegetation barely 

 exists, all are noted in their turn, whilst we happily 

 miss the daily routine of military movement and the 

 everlasting repetition of marching experiences. Only 

 when we get to the fighting stage do we hear much 

 about the little army which formed the escort; and 

 then there is enough of incident to make a fascin- 

 ating and lasting record of really great achievement. 



NO. 185I, VOL. 71] 



pressive effect of certain ceremonials, and the really 

 awe-inspiring aspects of the temple interiors hallowed 

 by the ever-dominating figures of the great " Master." 

 Here we cannot quite follow him, for if his sketch 

 of the head of the Great " Jo " in the holy of holies at 

 Lhasa is realistic, the original can hardly be im- 

 pressive. 



It will be news to most people that our Queen 

 Victoria of blessed memory was, and is, a Tibetan 

 Incarnation, and is represented by a bloodthirsty blue 

 goddess who revels in horrors such as would astonish 

 even the gifted Kali of the Hindus. Yet she is re- 

 garded rather as a beneficent and protective goddess 

 than a malignant one. This is encouraging, for it 

 shows that something at least of the world-wide vener- 

 ation that surrounded our ever-loved Queen had 

 filtered through the almost impenetrable armour of 

 lamaistic isolation. The Tsar has only recently been 

 canonised, so to speak, on Dorjieff's recommendation. 



