An Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet - Prajna Quest

BOOT AN. 113every quarter, have been vain;he has Liin completely concealed, untilthis his sudden appearance at the he:id of a misguided mqb."The Raja then spoke to me of some cannon in his possession, whichhe vv^anted to get mounted, and begged me to lendhim the assistanceof some person who could instruct his people in the management- ofthem ;professing a desire to employ them for tlie preservation of lassubjects. He wished to batter down the houses, in which the rabblehad lodged themselves; concluding, that when they had lost theirshelter, they would disperse to their respective homes. " They aremy deluded subjects," said he: " I would reclaim, but not destroythem."Our conversation chiefly turned upon the commotions abroad, whichthe Raja repeatedly assured me would soon be quelled.He appearedevidently discomposed, and Idetermined not to add to his distress bya long visit : so, expressing a wish to take my leave, tea was introduced,and we retired.It was hinted to us, as we were leaving the palace, that it wouldbe agreeable to the Raja, if we looked at the cannon.We found themlying upon some rising ground, pointed towards the villages. Theywere two small cast cannon, old and honeycombed ; in the calibre ofone were hollows, that would receive an egg. They were crammedwith powder and shot, almost full. I thought the greatest mischief tobe apprehended from this ordnance, was to the person who appliedthe match. As they were not mounted, we could flatter them withno very essential service Ii-om them ; but as the best advice we couldgive, we begged they would be careful how they ventured to discharge