ngles.

_March 13th_.--_Tongsa_: this, although the second place in the
kingdom, is a poor wretched village, the houses, always excepting the
palace, are poorer than ordinary, abounding in rats, fleas, and other
detestable vermin. Our reception would seem to be uncordial: we are
miserably housed in the heart of the village, which is a beggarly one. On
descending the hill some people in the Pillo's house behaved very
insolently, roaring out, and making most insolent signs for me to
dismount, of which of course I took no notice: sparrow-hawk was seen at
8,000 feet. There is but little cultivation, indeed the adjoining hills
are barren in the extreme. The little cultivation there is of barley,
which is now in the ear, and decent enough; the crops being much better
than any we have yet seen, although in many fields it is difficult to see
any crop at all. The village, including the houses on the surrounding
adjoining heights does not contain thirty houses. There is one flock of
sheep, which are in good condition, some small shawl-goats, and a few
cattle, but of a lighter breed than the Mithans, from which they are very
distinct, and which we have scarcely seen since crossing Dhonglaila, the
first high ridge. There is some rice cultivation along the nullah or
torrent, on which the village is situated. Pears, peaches likewise
occur, and are now both in flower. The hills around are bare, nothing
but shrubby vegetation being visible, the tree-jungle not descending
below 7,500 feet, except on one spur to the south-west, on which it
reaches nearly to our present level.

The shrubby vegetation consists of Hamamelidae, Salix, Gaultheria
fruticosa, Rosa, Rubus, Pomacea, Elaeagnus, Berberis asiatica, among
which Artemisia major occurs on sward. Primula Stuartii, Potentilla and
P. supina, Oxalis acetoseltoides, Juncus, Bartramia, Polytrichum glaucum,
Fragaria vesca. In the fields Lamium, Crucifera, Thlaspi, Gnaphalium
aureum, Prenanthoid, Fragaria indica, Viola, Ranunculus, Oxalis
acetosella, Poa annua.

Urtica urens, and urentior occur about the houses, Cupressus pendula and
a Magnoliaceous tree, with exquisitely fragrant blossoms.

The palace is a huge, long, straggling piece of patch-work, of ordinary
construction, and less imposing than that of Byagur, which the Pillo
makes his summer residence on the Bhoomlungtung; it is however ornamented
with three gilt umbrellas. It is situated on the bank of the nullah, and
def