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

236 TIBET.1 believe, with mutual reluctance, which on his part only yielded to2 sense of duty.Early inthe morning after our arrival, intimation was brought tome, that the Regent proposed, in the course of the morning, to admitus to an audience. Several messages passed between us, before theappointed time, for the purpose of arranging every tiling completelyin due form.At length, about noon, Mr, Saunders and myself, accompaniedby Poorungheer, as interpreter, proceeded to a part of thepalace, with which, though itwas at a considerable distance from ourroo.Tis, there was a communication, without descending into the street.We were then ushered into the presence chamber, a large and loftyhall, of an oblong shape, surrounded with a colonnade, and enlightenedby an opening, over the centre. This central part of the room, containedan area, about twice as wide as the distance at which the pillarsstood from the side walls. Light, air, and the grateful warmth of thesun, were occasionally admitted into the hall, by shiftingthe skreen,or rather moveable roof, which was placed immediately over the opening.The pillars that composed the colonnade were painted with vermilion,and richly ornamented with gold, as were also the edges of thescolloped arches, and the mouldings over them ; various symbolicaldevices were also represented in the gilding above the arches. Thewalls were painted blue, skirted by two broad fillets of red, and anintermediate one of yellow.The floor was of a mottled composition,apparently of brown and white flint, intermixed with some strongcompost, which admitted a high polish.No window, or door, openedinto this hall, except that by which we entered, at one end ; at the