May, 1849. ARBIVAL OF MEEPO. 11 



rity to let me advance. I treated him with civility, and 

 regretted my objects being so imperative, and my orders so 

 clear, that I was obliged to proceed on the following 

 morning : on which he abruptly decamped, as I suspected, 

 in order to damage the paths and bridges. He came again 

 at daylight, and expostulated further ; but finding it of no 

 use, he volunteered to accompany me, officiously offering 

 me the choice of two roads. I asked for the coolest, 

 knowing full well that it was useless to try and out-wit 

 him in such matters. At the first stream the bridge was 

 destroyed, but seeing the planks peeping through the 

 bushes in which they had been concealed, I desired 

 the Lama to repair it, which he did without hesitation. 

 So it was at every point : the path was cumbered 

 with limbs of trees, crossing-stones were removed from 

 the streams, and all natural difficulties were increased. 

 I kept constantly telling the Lama that as he had volun- 

 teered to show me the road, I felt sure he intended 

 to remove all obstacles, and accordingly I put him to all 

 the trouble I possibly could, which he took with a very 

 indifferent grace. When I arrived at the swinging bridge 

 across the Teesta, I found that the canes were loosened, and 

 that slips of bamboo, so small as nearly to escape observation, 

 were ingeniously placed low down over the single bamboo 

 that formed the footing, intended to trip up the unwary 

 passenger, and overturn him into the river, which was deep, 

 and with a violent current. Whilst the Lama was cutting 

 these, one of my party found a charcoal writing on a tree, 

 announcing the speedy arrival from the Rajah of my old 

 guide, Meepo ; and he shortly afterwards appeared, with 

 instructions to proceed with me, though not to the Tibetan 

 frontier. The lateness of the season, the violence of the 

 rains, and the fears, on the Rajah's part, that I might 



