632 JVbtes upon a Tour in the SiJckini Himalayah Mountains. [No. 7. 



to where we stood, incense was burning in a silver dish, a hand- 

 some silver flagon containing water also stood close to us, the flagon 

 was of Chinese manufacture highly chased and ornamented, with two 

 hideous Chinese dragons as its handles. 



Service being over, we walked round the temple conversing with 

 the Lamas through interpreters, our conversation lasted two hours, 

 during which we were made to drink a quantity of chee and tea, a 

 side of beef was also presented to us, accompanied by plantains, rice 

 and vegetables. 



The conversation was principally concerning the Rajah of Sikkim ; 

 and of his crippled condition since the British Government had 

 deprived him of his land in the plains, the only land that yielded 

 him any revenue ; they deplored the outrage that had been commit- 

 ted upon Doctors Campbell and Hooker at the Cholah pass, and 

 said that it was all the Dewan' s doing, but that as the Dewan was 

 intimately connected with the Rajah by marriage, the Rajah could 

 not deliver him up to the British Government, when he was request- 

 ed to do so. They gave me to understand that the Dewan was now 

 a beggar, that having ruined his master, he was suffering for it. The 

 allowance of 2,000 rupees and various presents that were annually 

 given by the Durbar to the Pemionchi Goompa had been stopped, 

 consequently they would all be obliged to go over the snows into 

 Tibet, or starve. They certainly were very far from the starving 

 point when I saw them, for a more jovial, fat, good-natured set of 

 mortals could not be seen; they were the very pictures of jolly 

 friars. 



I particularly asked them if they had any objection to English 

 gentlemen visiting their country and Goompas, their reply was, "None 

 whatever : whoever will honour us with a visit, we will receive them 

 with pleasure, give them food and a house to live in," and begged of 

 us to pay them another visit. They said we were strange people and 

 pointing to our legs that were bleeding from fifty leech-wounds, 

 asked us, why we underwent such trouble, labour and misery when 

 we might sit at home and be comfortable. " Yes" one fine intelli- 

 gent Lama said, sighing : " we were all happy and at peace amongst 

 ourselves before any English gentleman had penetrated our hills, 

 but since then, all has gone wrong ; but strange to say from no fault 

 of yours, but of our own." 



