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

158 BOOTAN.immersed in it.Whether the Gylongs have by use surmounted thisdifficuhy, and so far blunted their sensations, as to use the bath establishedon tiie spot, without personal inconvenience, I know not ;yet itis reported, that none but good and holy men are susceptible of itsvirtues;the profane who resort hither, being incapable of enjoying itsmedicinal efficacy, or, in other words, supporting its extreme heat.The desponding invalid, therefore, is usually compelled to have recourseto those, who are in a superior degree endowed with holiness," to propitiate the genii of the well."Our road lay near the river, at the foot of the mountains, windingthrough a verdant valley of unequal width. In general, the mountainsterminated with an easy slope ;but their sides were divided intosmall beds, for the growth of corn :and they were not incumbered withtrees. The few which were upon them consisted of pine and fir,with some barberry bushes intermixed ; and every breeze of wind,diffusingthe fragrance of the jessamine, gratefully convinced us of itspresence.The palace of Punukka, in its exterior form and appearance, verymuch resembles that oI'Tassisudon, but is rather more spacious andextensive : it has, in the same manner, its citadel and gilded canopy.It issituated on the point of a peninsula, washed on both sides, immediatelybefore their junction, by the Matchieu and the Patchieu.Wecrossed the Patchieu over a covered wooden bridge, and, turning tothe right, passed through a doorway ina wall, that serves to part thecourt-yard from the Raja's garden. We proceeded on, and took upour residence in a light airy pavilion, belonging to Zcmpi, erected on