“In my humble opinion, Your Highness, there will be nothing to prevent the two Governments concluding such a treaty; but the moment it is made public and an attempt is made to put its stipulations into practice, one of two things will happen—either the poisoning of the Dalai Lama, or a popular uprising.”
“What makes you hold such a view?”
“Because,” replied I, “so far as I can see, the majority of the Government authorities and the people in general are opposed to such a state of things, even though a few persons may be in its favor.”
The Prime-Minister-King asked me some other questions, but these I may omit here, with the answers which I made. The point he seemed to be most anxious to know was the secret path I took in entering Tibet. For a moment I thought of satisfying his curiosity, but prudence counselled forbearance, and I kept silence; because I thought that the divulgence on my part might involve some of my erstwhile friends and acquaintances in serious trouble. Consequently I excused myself on the ground that my poor command of English was not equal to the task of narrating so complicated a tale, and that I might have an occasion, when in the Nepālese capital, of imparting the whole story to some of his Highness’s trusted officials who understood Tibetan.
The last question I was asked on the occasion was: “What has transformed Japan into so great a power as she is now?” I, of course, answered that it was the result of education and patriotism. I was then excused from the royal presence with the instruction that I should return there at two o’clock the following afternoon.
[CHAPTER XCVI.]
Second Audience.
At the appointed hour on the following day, I repaired to the Government building, and the guards refused me admittance until about five o’clock. When finally I was admitted to the royal presence, it was only to be told that his Highness was extremely busy that day, and that he would see and give me the necessary papers the following day at the Lambān preserve.
When I came back to my lodging that evening my servant expressed himself as quite sure that I was being duped and that I would never be allowed to reach Lambān on the morrow. That was bad. So I walked a distance of about two and a half miles and back, in order to see and be assured by the King’s Lord Chamberlain that I was only uselessly worrying myself.
On the 17th I hired an ekka (a single seat carriage) and with my servant drove to the foot of a mountain called Binbiti, going over a distance of about four days’ journey on foot. On the way I went to the royal preserve of Lambān, which is situated at the southern end of the Dalai Jungle. The place presented a grand sight on this occasion, for a hunt was being held in honor of the Coronation of the Emperor of India. There must have been fully five or six hundred tents pitched, covering an immense tract of land and forming an entrance to the famous Dalai Jungle. The royal tents sheltering the Kings and their multiple consorts, the Princes and Princesses, were conspicuously beautiful to look at, while the sight of those of the Ministers of State and others, variegated in colors of red, white, blue and yellow, dotting the woodland, was both grand and picturesque. There were about two thousand soldiers present, all of the Royal Bodyguard. Their uniform was after the British pattern, and they all looked men of splendid physique.