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

BOOTAN. 175In the course of the morning of Tuesday, the 9th of September, ourbaggage by degrees dropped in.We had time to complete our breakfast,and see it dispatclied before us; the omission of which, had occasionedus so much inconvenience on the preceding day.We had to ascend, from the hollow in which Paimaitong lay, up theridge of a very lofty mountain, and at length, by many zigzag traverses,arrived at a little level ground, about halfway up. A fence of youngtrees surrounding this space, which was paved with flatstones, formeda kind of alcove. We found it a very convenient place to halt at ; andwhile our horses were suffered to recover the tone of their relaxedmuscles, our Tibet friends regaled themselves with a pipe of tobacco.This station was called Paibesa ;and hence the view of the mountainsaround us. was extremely picturesque. They appeared as iffashioned into hanging gardens :their sides were shelved into narrowbeds, giving growth to different kinds of grain, in various stages ofvegetation ; hermitages, villas, and villages, were distributed up anddown ; tiieir summits were crowned with pines, and their divisionsgave passage to the waters of many springs, which, meeting at theirbases, rolled in rapid torrents.Having remounted our horses, they scrambled with usover a firmclayey road, tolerably straight but steep, of a great width, and borderedon both sides with handsome firs. The mountain was covered all theway, with the most perfect verdure.Four hours were employed inreaching its summit, upon the very highest point ofwhich stood a building,square on one side, but semicircular on the other.They called it acastle, and it is known by the name of Dalai-jeung. We were received