at Blwt Bagdn in Howrah. 
93 
1890.] 
zeal impelled to visit that place, and it is said by his faithful Boswell, 
Gleig, that he prepared himself by a study of some of these boohs to 
give proper instructions to the first mission under Mr. Bogle, ns to how 
he should proceed, and what he should do. With an eagle’s glance he 
ascertained what wealth the bleak regions on the summits of the lofty 
Himalaya could yield, and through his missions completed his know- 
ledge of the trade and commerce, and of the most curious hierarchical 
form of government existing in the world that, with the aid of religion, 
minimises the dangers of an elective monarchy. His grand policy was 
to tap, by a really sincere and friendly method, the vast productive 
resources of that region, to link the trade of Bengal with those com- 
mercial arteries, which from Tibet as their heart, ramify down the 
Himalayan slopes, and extend to China and Scythia, and confines of 
Siberia ; and well did he, with his reputed sagacity for selection, choose 
his officers, not despising the mendicant Gosain Puran Gir to make one of 
his ambassadors. He moved stop by step, understood the difficulties of 
his friend, the Tashi Lama, inspired though the latter was with a natural 
and sincere desire to promote Tibeto-Bengal trade, in the face of Chinese 
opposition. He understood the peoplo he was dealing with, an un- 
ambitious, peace-loving, peace-seeking race, bent upon promoting com- 
mercial prosperity, and in spite of repeated attempts by interested 
monopolisers and prejudiced Chinese, embracing Europeans with open 
arms, who by their learning, sincerity and ways of dealing captivated 
their hearts. 
Great and most powerful are the ties which bind Tibet to Bengal ; 
the religious associations, the traditions and remembrance of ancient 
commercial intei’course should attract the Tibetans to our country. If 
the policy of the first administrator of India had been only continuous, 
our Government could, by this time, have enjoyed its best results. 
A sensitive peoplo like the Tibetans, where a disturbing object is 
rightly or wrongly apprehonded, shrinks from contact, as the tortoise 
draws in its limbs under a similar instinctivo fear. A statesmanship 
with tact, caution, delicacy and foresight, and guided by a knowledge 
of the political history, religion and customs of the country, cannot but 
serve to restore the old policy of the last century. Nor at times 
should native agency, about which Bogle and Hodgson say much, be 
despised. Even if sannyasi agency be sought, there would be no difficulty 
perhaps to find men who, though not equal to Puran Gir and Puran 
Puri , 1 may be their not undeserving followers. We lately saw sannyasis, 
1 Puran Puri. Turner saw him in 1783 in the streets of Calcutta riding upon a 
Tangan horso from Bhutan. He was then forty years of age. Two Gosains attended 
him and assisted him in mounting and alighting from his horse, for his hands were 
