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

222 TIBET.gradually dissolve and incorporate, forming the loose mass into a compacthillock. This always attracts the same respect, and passengerscontinue to add to the heap, long after all traces of the body are lost,and its existence forgotten. Thus also the piety of theTibetians, offersa similar rite,to the bodies of those whom chance may have led to thespot, where the fragment lay at the instant of its fall,'though the fataleffects of itmay not have been certainly known.While labouring through this heap of fragments, the traveller issuddenly surprised by a most gigantic figure of thechief idol in theirtemples, Mahamoonie, carved upon an immense stone in relief, andimaged in the usual attitude, sitting cross-legged. I cannot praise thesculptor for his execution; yet ugly and mishapcn as the thing iswhich he has produced, something at least must be said in praise ofhis laborious and persevering industry.Proceeding onwards, we passed a pretty cluster of small houses,situated on a high bank on the other side of the river, which ran belowit. A little farther on, we crossed a very rude bridge, composed oflarge flat stones as a platform, laid upon pieces of workmanship equallyrude, which rattled when trod upon, so that the passenger could nothelp thinking them extremely insecure.Our quarters were next at Shoohoo, famous for exhibiting a fewwillow trees, in the midst of which our tents were pitched ;and herewe were happy to alight, after a toilsome stage of upwards of twentysixmiles.We advanced early in the morning of Friday, the 19th of September,at first along the same sort of narrow valley through whiich our