erself, married him. Her
husband's brother, however, came all the way from Lhassa after her and
claimed her as his wife, though he had already a better half and a large
family. She would not hear of leaving the husband of her choice, and
after endless scenes between them, the case was heard by the Jong Pen
of Taklakot. The Tibetan law was against her, as, according to it, she
decidedly belonged to her brother-in-law; but money is stronger than the
law in the land of the Lamas.

"For the peace of all, you can arrange things this way," was the advice
of the Jong Pen. "You can divide your property, money and goods, into
three equal parts: one to go to the Lamas, one to your husband's brother,
and one to be retained by yourself."

The woman consented; but, much to her disgust, when two parts had been
paid out and she was hoping for peace, a question was raised by the Jong
Pen as to why she should even retain one-third of the fortune if she no
longer made part of the deceased man's family? Thus orders were instantly
given that she should be deprived of everything she possessed.

However, the woman was shrewd enough to deceive the Jong Pen's officers,
for one night, having bundled up her tent and her goods and chattels, she
quietly stepped over the boundary and placed herself under British
protection.

The mode of knowing and identifying children in Tibet is peculiar. It is
not by the child's likeness to his parent, nor by other reasonable
methods, that the offspring is set down as belonging to one man more than
to another, but this is the mode adopted. Supposing that one married man
had two brothers and several children, the first child belongs to him;
the second to his first brother, and the third to his second brother,
while the fourth would be again the first man's child.

The rules of courtship are not very strict in Tibet, yet intercourse with
girls is looked upon as illegal, and in certain cases not only are the
parties, if discovered, made to suffer shame, but certain fines are
inflicted on the man, the most severe of all being that he must present
the young lady with a dress and ornaments. In the case of "gentlefolks"
the question is generally solved to the satisfaction of everybody by the
man marrying the woman, and by his gracefully presenting "veils of
friendship" to all her relations and friends, together with articles of
food; but if by mischance she should be placed in an awkward position
before the eyes o