considered to have failed in his devotion, and loses all the fruit he
would otherwise have derived from his previous toil. Where the Lamasery
is of any extent, the devotees have hard work to get through the ceremony
in the course of a long day; so that the pilgrims, who have undertaken
this exercise, and have started early in the morning, think themselves
lucky if they can complete the operation by nightfall. For the
pilgrimage must be performed without intermission, so strictly, that the
pilgrims are not allowed to stop for a moment even to take a little
nourishment. If, after commencing the rite you do not complete it
offhand, it does not count; you have acquired no merit, and you are not
to expect any spiritual profit.

Each prostration must be perfect, so that the body shall be stretched
flat along the ground, and the forehead touch the earth, the arms being
spread out before you, and the hands joined, as if in prayer. Before
rising, the pilgrim describes each time a semi-circle on the ground by
means of a goat's horn, which he holds in either hand, the line being
completed by drawing the arm down to the side. You cannot but feel
infinite compassion when you look upon these wretched creatures, their
face and clothes all covered with dust or mud. The most inclement
weather will not check their intrepid devotion; they continue their
prostrations amid snow and rain and the most piercing cold.

There are various modes of performing the pilgrimage round a Lamasery.
Some pilgrims do not prostrate themselves at all, but carry, instead, a
load of prayer-books, the exact weight of which is prescribed them by the
Great Lama, and the burden of which is so oppressive at times that you
see old men, women, and children absolutely staggering under it. When,
however, they have successfully completed the circuit, they are deemed to
have recited all the prayers contained in the books they have carried.
Others content themselves with simply walking the circuit, telling the
beads of their long chaplets, or constantly turning a sort of wheel,
placed in the right hand, and which whirls about with inconceivable
rapidity. This instrument is called Tchu-Kor, (turning prayer.) You see
in every brook a number of these Tchu-Kor, which are turned by the
current, and in their movement are reputed to be praying, night and day,
for the benefit of those who erect them. The Tartars suspend them over
the fire-place, and these in their mov