led together in a bundle, and a supply of argols in the corner.
We were thus placed at once on the full level of Thibetian civilization.
The closet, in which stood a large brick stove, served us for kitchen and
pantry, and there we installed Samdadchiemba, who, having resigned his
office of cameleer, now concentrated the functions of cook, steward, and
groom. Our two white steeds were accommodated in a corner of the court,
where they reposed after their laborious but glorious campaign, until an
opportunity should present itself of securing new masters; at present the
poor beasts were so thoroughly worn down, that we could not think of
offering them for sale, until they had developed some little flesh
between the bone and the skin.

As soon as we were settled in our new abode, we occupied ourselves with
inspecting the capital of Thibet, and its population. Lha-Ssa is not a
large town, its circuit being at the utmost two leagues. It is not
surrounded like the Chinese towns with ramparts; formerly, indeed, we
were told it had walls, but these were entirely destroyed in a war which
the Thibetians had to sustain against the Indians of Boutan. At present
not a trace of wall remains. Around the suburbs, however, are a great
number of gardens, the large trees in which form, for the town, a
magnificent wall of verdure. The principal streets of Lha-Ssa are broad,
well laid out, and tolerably clean, at least when it does not rain: but
the suburbs are revoltingly filthy. The houses, as we have already
stated, are in general large, lofty, and handsome; they are built some
with stone, some with brick, and some with mud, but they are all so
elaborately covered with lime-wash that you can distinguish externally no
difference in the material. In one of the suburban districts there is a
locality where the houses are built with the horns of oxen and sheep.
These singular constructions are of extreme solidity and look very well.
The horns of the oxen being smooth and white, and those of the sheep, on
the contrary, rough and black, these various materials are susceptible of
infinite combinations, and are arranged accordingly, in all sorts of
fantastic designs; the interstices are filled up with mortar. These
houses are the only buildings that are not lime-washed; the Thibetians
having taste enough to leave the materials in their natural aspect,
without seeking to improve upon their wild and fantastic beauty. It is
superfluous to ad