whole day at archery and quoits,[1] in both of which they exhibited considerable skill. The same day Ugyen started on a botanizing trip, which took him as far as Sakya.
On July 26 I returned to Dongtse, and was pleased to find that the Minister had recovered from the small-pox. I found the Tung-chen busy preparing for the ceremony of consecrating a new house of the Seng chen,[2] as the minister is called, now nearly complete, and built a little to the north of the Tsug-la khang temple. In the room given me were some five or six hundred balls of butter of about two pounds weight each, and a number of bags of tsamba and wheat flour.
I had only been here four days when I was requested by the Chyag-dso-pa of Gyantse to visit him and see if I could not do something for the complaint from which he had now been suffering for some time. The invitation was so pressing that I could not refuse; so I set out at once, and was most kindly received by him and his family. I remained here until August 13, when a letter reached me from the minister, who was still at Dongtse, asking me to rejoin him there at once. This letter of the minister, though written in Tibetan, was in the Roman character, which I had taught him to write the preceding winter.[3]
As I rode back to Dongtse I was greatly struck by the beauty of the vegetation; the little pools were frequently covered with lilies, and wild-flowers were in full bloom.
The minister asked me if I would go to Tobgyal and see the Grand Lama, who was desperately ill. He had received a letter from him asking for some consecrated pills (tsé-ril); I could take this medicine along with me, and at the same time he would inform the Panchen that I was a skilful physician and might be able to cure him.
Hearing of the desperate condition of the Grand Lama, I naturally hesitated to undertake this commission, and so asked for time for reflection. The next day, however, I told the minister that I could not venture to wait on the Grand Lama unless he expressed a wish
- ↑ This game is one of the very few national games of Tibet, but is probably of foreign origin. I have never seen it played in Northern or Eastern Tibet. In Bhutan the people appear to be specially skilful at it.—(W. R.)
- ↑ Seng chen is a Chinese title, meaning "the Monk Minister."—(W. R.)
- ↑ Huc, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 338, tells us of the pleasure the Regent of Lhasa found in learning from him the Roman alphabet. I myself have found it the one subject which never failed to interest Tibetans, lamas, and laymen.—(W. R.)
