hich sweeps away the humanities, and leaves one to the
conflict of elemental passions.

At last a thin line of red-robed monks was seen to issue from the gate
and descend the hill, each carrying a bag of supplies. The crisis was
over, and we were spared the necessity of inflicting a cruel
punishment. I waited to see the procession, a group of sullen
ecclesiastics, who had never bowed or submitted to external influence in
their lives, carrying on their backs their unwilling contribution to the
support of the first foreign army that had ever intruded on their
seclusion. It must have been the most humiliating day in the history of
Depung.

It must be admitted that it was not a moment when the monks looked their
best. Yet I could not help comparing their appearance with that of the
simple honest-looking peasantry. Many of them looked sottish and
degraded; other faces showed cruelty and cunning; their brows were
contracted as if by perpetual scheming; some were almost simian in
appearance, and looked as if they could not harbour a thought that was
not animal or sensual. They waddled in their walk, and their right arms,
exposed from the shoulder, looked soft and flabby, as if they had never
done an honest day's work in their life.

One man had the face of an inquisitor--round, beady eyes, puffed cheeks,
and thin, tightly-shut mouth.

How they hated us! If one of us fell into their hands secretly, I have
no doubt they would rack him limb from limb, or cut him into small
pieces with a knife.

The Depung incident shows how difficult it was to make any headway with
the Tibetans without recourse to arms. We were present in the city to
insist on compliance with our demands. But an amicable settlement seemed
hopeless, and we could not stay in Lhasa indefinitely. What if these
monks were to say, 'You may stay here if you like. We will not molest
you, but we refuse to accept your terms'? We could only retire or train
our guns on the Potala. Retreat was, of course, impossible.

CHAPTER XV

THE SETTLEMENT

The political deadlock continued until within a week of the signing of
the treaty.

For a long time no responsible delegates were forthcoming. The Shapes,
who were weak men and tools of the fugitive Dalai Lama, protested that
any treaty they might make with us would result in their disgrace. If,
on the other hand, they made no treaty, and we were compelled to occupy
the Potala, or take some other step offensive to