MY SECOND MISSION TO BHUTAN
shingle roofs, and surmounted by small coloured prayer-flags. Inside, the walls were covered with thin white cloth, with a frieze of draped coloured silk. The windows were like small port-holes, of course without glass, but with a shutter to pull across at night. They had no furniture, but the mess-house, which was a big room about twenty feet square, had an excellent table in the centre, and ten wooden arm-chairs which would have done credit to any carpenter and were wonderful productions when you remember that these people have no saws, no planes, no nails, and only the roughest of tools. The walls of the mess-house were covered with wonderful pictures in colour, and a large red and yellow curtain to let down at night. The table also had a white cloth, which was carefully gummed or pasted on. Outside the houses were painted white, and a few steps led to the doors. There were also mat huts for the servants, and an excellent kitchen. The enclosure was quite a hundred yards square, surrounded by a fence, and with branches of pine-trees planted every few yards, while the stables were some little distance off; so we could hardly have been more comfortable.
The next day we spent in settling down and preparing for the ceremony on the following day. I took Hyslop with me and made an inspection of the hall in the Jong where the ceremony was to be held. It was very suitable, as it was a large room on the ground floor, with a gallery running all round, and capable of holding many hundreds of spectators, and by removing part of the roof they could let in both light and air. At the main entrance to the Jong quite a little bazaar was in progress, cloth-merchants selling Bhutanese cloths and cheap down-country cottons and sweetmeats, and pan-sellers doing a roaring trade, as the Bhutanese are always chewing pan.
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