thus designated by lot is immediately proclaimed
Tale-Lama. He is then conducted, in great pomp, to the street of the
City of Spirits, every one devoutly prostrating himself on his passage,
and is placed in his sanctuary.

The two Chaberons in swaddling clothes, who have contested for the place
of Tale-Lama, are carried back by their nurses to their respective
families; but to compensate them for not having succeeded, government
makes them a present of 500 ounces of silver.

The Tale-Lama is venerated by the Thibetians and the Mongols like a
divinity. The influence he exercises over the Buddhist population is
truly astonishing; but still it is going too far to say that his
excrements are respectfully collected, and made into amulets which
devotees enclose in pouches and carry round their necks. It is equally
untrue that the Tale-Lama has his arms and head encircled with serpents,
in order to strike the imagination of his worshippers. These assertions,
which we read in some geographies, are entirely without foundation.
During our stay at Lha-Ssa, we asked a good many questions on this point,
and every one laughed in our faces. Unless it could be made out that,
from the Regent to our argol merchant, all conspired to hide the truth
from us, it must be admitted that the narratives, which have given
circulation to such fables, were written with but very little caution.

It was not possible for us to get a sight of the Tale-Lama; not that
there is any great difficulty made in admitting the curious, or devotees,
to see him, but we were prevented by a rather singular circumstance. The
Regent had promised to take us to the Buddha-La, and we were upon the
point of fulfilling this notable visit, when all of a sudden an alarm was
started that we should give the Tale-Lama the small-pox. This malady
had, in fact, just manifested itself at Lha-Ssa, and the people declared,
that it had been brought from Peking, by the great caravan which arrived
a few days before. As we had formed part of that caravan, we were asked
whether it would not be better to postpone our visit, in order that we
might not expose the Tale-Lama to the risk of catching the disease. The
proposition was too reasonable to admit of our making any objection.

The fear which the Thibetians have of the small-pox is something
inconceivable. They never mention its name even, without a sort of
stupor, as though they were speaking of the greatest scourge that cou