ed my interpreter not to lose a single word of what the lama told me.

"Where can those writings be found, and who compiled them?" I asked the
monk.

"The principal scrolls--which were written in India and Nepaul, at
different epochs, as the events happened--are in Lhassa; several
thousands in number. In some great convents are to be found copies,
which the lamas, during their sojourn in Lhassa, have made, at various
times, and have then given to their cloisters as souvenirs of the period
they spent with the Dalai-Lama."

"But you, yourselves; do you not possess copies of the scrolls bearing
upon the prophet Issa?"

"We have not. Our convent is insignificant, and since its foundation our
successive lamas have had only a few hundred manuscripts in their
library. The great cloisters have several thousands of them; but they
are sacred things which will not, anywhere, be shown to you."

We spoke together a few minutes longer, after which I went home, all the
while thinking of the lama's statements. Issa, a prophet of the
Buddhists! But, how could this be? Of Jewish origin, he lived in
Palestine and in Egypt; and the Gospels do not contain one word, not
even the least allusion, to the part which Buddhism should have played
in the education of Jesus.

I made up my mind to visit all the convents of Thibet, in the hope of
gathering fuller information upon the prophet Issa, and perhaps copies
of the chronicles bearing upon this subject.

* * * * *

We traversed the Namykala Pass, at 30,000 feet of altitude, whence we
descended into the valley of the River Salinoumah. Turning southward, we
gained Karbou, leaving behind us, on the opposite bank, numerous
villages, among other, Chagdoom, which is at the top of a rock, an
extremely imposing sight. Its houses are white and have a sort of
festive look, with their two and three stories. This, by the way, is a
common peculiarity of all the villages of Ladak. The eye of the
European, travelling in Kachmyr, would soon lose sight of all
architecture to which he had been accustomed. In Ladak, on the contrary,
he would be agreeably surprised at seeing the little two and three-story
houses, reminders to him of those in European provinces. Near the city
of Karbou, upon two perpendicular rocks, one sees the ruins of a little
town or village. A tempest and an earthquake are said to have shaken
down its walls, the solidity of which seems to have been except