amba, mixed coarsely together with the finger. The
richest people observe the same diet; it is quite pitiable to see them
swallowing such miserable provender out of cups, some of which have cost
40 pounds. Meat, when eaten at all, is not eaten with the ordinary
repasts, but apart, as a luxurious specialty, in the same way that
elsewhere people eat costly fruit, or extra fine pastry, on these
occasions. There are usually served up two plates, one with boiled meat,
the other with raw meat, which the Thibetians devour with equal appetite,
unassisted by any seasoning whatever. They have, however, wit enough not
to eat without drinking. From time to time they fill their dear wooden
cups with a sort of acid liquor, made of fermented barley, not at all
disagreeable to the palate.

Thibet, so poor in agricultural and manufacturing products, is rich,
beyond all imagination, in metals. Gold and silver are collected there
so readily, that the common shepherds have become acquainted with the art
of purifying these precious metals. You often see them, in the ravines,
or in the hollows of the mountains, seated round a fire of argols,
amusing themselves with purifying in a rude crucible the gold-dust they
have found while tending their herds. The result of this abundance of
the precious metals is, that specie is of low value, and that,
consequently, goods always maintain a very high price. The monetary
system of the Thibetians consists entirely of silver coins, which are
somewhat larger, but not so thick as our francs. On one side they bear
inscriptions in Thibetian, Parsee, or Indian characters; on the other, a
crown composed of eight small, round flowers. To facilitate commerce,
these coins are cut into pieces, the number of flowers remaining on each
piece determining its value. The entire coin is called Tchan-Ka. A
Tche-Ptche is one-half of the Tchan-Ka; or, in other words, is a piece of
four flowers only. The Cho-Kan has five flowers, the Ka-Gan three. In
the larger commercial operations, they employ silver ingots, which are
weighed in a Roman balance, upon the decimal system. Generally speaking,
the Thibetians reckon up accounts upon their beads; some people, however,
and especially the merchants, use the Chinese Souan-pan, while the
learned employ the numerals which the Europeans call Arabic, and which
appear to have been of very ancient date in Thibet. We have seen several
Lamanesque manuscripts, illustrated wit