V
to dlOpened to mVpjD?
The presence in St. Petersburg of a
mission of four high officials of Thibet,
the first representatives of that prac
tically unknown country to visit
r Europe, and the announcement that the
Dalai Llama, ruler Thibet, has been
persuaded to himself visit Russia) is
looked upon as indicating that the bar
riers which have closed the white man
out of "The Forbidden Land" will soon
be let down to civilization.
A Buria from Trans baa galla, named
Akhorambo Atchwan Dorschteff, who
has gained the favor of the Dalai
LlanuH, , ictb to Llvadla last
October ai;d rived by the Em
pemr. rs ret'irnec to Thibet and suc
ceeded la persuaJiog the Dalai Llama
to send special miasiou to St. Peters
bora; to open fvttndly relations with
this esanstry. This mission has ar
rive! ader the guidance of Dorshieff,
Jaf.has beee received by Count Lams-
t'JtX. It consists of four persons, one
r'Cl Whom is the Dalai Llama's second
nOsjrwiary. It brings an autograph let
', tar from the Regent of Thibet to the
- The Russian newspapers attach much
Importance to this Journey, and no
doubt properly. It marks another step
la the extension of Russian influence
toward the Indo-Chinese possessions of
France. The Russians regard the es
tablishment of a chain of communica
tions across the rear of the Indian Em
pire and the permanent isolation of
India, from the Tang-tse-Kiang valley
as practically assured.
The present is the first opportunity
that Russia has had to make overtures
to Thibet for, although It is a coun
try of 651,500 square miles, with a
population estimated at over 6,000,000,
it is an unknown land except to the few
Intrepid adventurers who have explored
it at great personal risk. The country
is in central Asia, bounded on the north
by the Kwenlum Mountains, on the
ONLY AUTHENTIC PICTURE OP
(From a sketch
east by China proper, on the south by
the almost impassable Himalaya
Mountains, and on the west by Kash
mir. The mountain range on the south
separates Thibet from British India,
and Eastern Turkestan separates it
from Russia. The country, which be
came subject to China early in the sev
enteenth century, contains the sources
of the Yang-tse-Kiang. the Indus, and
otner large livers, and the country is
for the most part a high tableland.
The reasons why Thibet should be
called "The Unknown Land" have been
reinforced and more vividly Impressed
upon the Western mind within the last
two years by the bloodcurdling narra
tive of torture which was brought back
to bia government by Savage Landor
in 1899. Mr. Landor's experiences also
serve to remind the world at large that,
aallke any other country, even in Asia,
at the present day, Thibet is nnder
what may be said to correspond In
sosae fashion to the Christian idea of
theocracy a government in which the
religions hierarchy also wields despotic
temporal power. Such as it is, the re
iiglon of the country is the prime mo
tive of all Its life, whether for good or
evil. "I have lounged through Asia
Minor, lived In almost every country
In Europe, ransacked India from Co
morln to the Himalayas, and become
(airly well acquainted with China,"
said a veteran Scotch traveler, "but
nowhere In the world have I seen a
people so wrapped up In what they
ososldered to be religion aa in Thibet"
This religion, with the always aeces-
Aesatlc exception of certain Mo
te the western parts. la a
ihiy Motatroos corruption of Budd
ies. But, In order to get a reasou
Cjr lively conception of the peculiar!
Cat mi the Intensity of TUbetan
Co.rfjsn, some Idea of the country
Cx3 is necessary.
dm bulk of Thibet is the Chang, or
Orrt Tibetan Ftateaa. the highest as
; r;l ta fee largest, tableland on the
f: Aa to mm. It occupies tOL the
- " J axj aorttsra and most of the
7 at tkweonatry. Aa
f t"3 CsKZz try test he ofc-
' 3 Cl Czzm t Certain
trr:?, era it tta sst
3 "
18.760 feet." Of the climate the same
explorer says: "No amount of wool
en clothes will keep out the wind on
the Chang, so skirni must be taken."
During the period already referred to
the enormous stretch of country
crossed by Captain Bower's party did
not show a single tree, and only two
species of shrubs, and these rarely ex
ceeded six Inches in height They
found a large number of flowering
plants and grasses, however, while for
variety the landscape, both on the
Chang and elsewhere, is diversified in
many places by gigantic masses of rock
and terrific precipices. This is, In
fact, what is poetically known . in
Asia as the "Roof of the World," and
at the southwest corner of it, at Gllgit,
on the borders of Kashmir, is the place
"Where Three Empires Meet." the title
of Mr. Knight's work.
The hldeousness or sublimity ac
cording to the view one takes of na
ture on the Chang, and in other parts
of Thibet, is not left to Itself. As in
the Tyrol and other Catholic countries
one sees wayside crosses and pic
turesque shrines, so in Thibet, only
far more frequent, are the huge rock
cut Images which are supposed to rep
resent the Buddha, the "chortena" or
monuments of a religious character,
and inscriptions, large and small, cut
in the rocks, of prayers and sacred
sentinels. As one tramps along a
Thibetan road, it is said, any stone
against which the weary foot stumbles
may be found on examination to bear
the Inscription. "Om mani pad mi,
Om" (O! Thou Jewel in the Lotus. O!).
a devout aspiration which, in a slight
ly altered form, will be familiar to
readers of Sir Edwin Arnold's "Light
of Asia."
Ever since the days of Marco Polo,
who entered Thibet In the fifteenth
century as the envoy of Venice, Thibet
has been famed as the nursery of East-
LHASA, "THE FORBIDDEN CITY.'
by a native artist)
era magic. Marco Polo tells in his
Dook of travels weird stories of magic
wrought before his eyes and those of
his companions at the table of a per
sonage whom he calls the Kham. It
was Marco Polo, too, who told of the
"ladder trick" and so earned for him
self the reputation of a splendid liar
(nrough twenty generations, until,
early in the nineteenth century, the
same ladder trick was performed again
and again in India and was circum
stantially recorded by Dr. Norman Mc
Leod. Psychologists of a material bent
explain many of these marvels now
adays by hypnotic suggestion, but
many Western followers of Buddhist
occultism still associate Thibet with
the great Mahatmaa. How far the
sublimely Intellectual cult of Gauta
ma's stricter followers corresponds
with the religion of the Thibetans may,
perhaps, be gathered from Mr. Knight's
account of the ceremouiea which he
was fortunate enough to witness at
Himls. One of the most striking fea
tures of the whole day's celebration
was its remarkable resemblance here
and there to the ancient ceremonial of
the Catholic Church,, a resemblance
which has led many pious persons,
since Marco Polo's first account, to
trace In these proceedings the handi
work of Satan. It is also curious to
notice the close parallelism between
this snd the extant accounts of some
of the graver "miracle plays" of me
dieval Europe.
After a long account of the prelim
inaries Mr. Knight proceeds:
"Under a canopy borne by attendants
walked a tall form In beautiful silk
robes, wearing a large mark represent
ing a benign and peaceful face. Aa he
advanced men and boys, dressed as ab
bots and acolytes of the Church of
Rome, prostrated themselves before
him, and adored him with Intoning
aid pleasing chanting. He was fol
lowed by six other marks, who were
treated with similar respect These
seven deified beings drew themselves
to Uae ' and received the
adoraUaa of several processions of
sssrtii tzures. some 'of afefcou. and
otters beast headed, or hstvlaa tt
Stoto of devils. TtewOeett
tie gay. even dar! the aham 1
at at trntttf, sortsia Yaaaaa, amOsd
aa at awfKs, f3raK o trsrsnr
tt h- a' i tn
rt Cl fc 1 72 O Ca tfX
one played some monkey trick on an
other. "Again there came a change. The
soiemn canting ceased, and then
rushed on the scene a crowd of wan
shapes, almost naked, with but a few
dark rags about thtm, as if they were
ouiteiiug wiiii coiu. They wrung their
hands despairingly and rushed about
in a confused way, as if lost starting
from each other in terror when they
met, sometimes feeling about them
with their outstretched hands like blind
men, and all the while whistling In
long drawn notes which rose and fell
like a strong wind on the hills.
The sudden onrusbing of these wildly
whistling shapes occurred at frequent
intervals during the ceremony. The
change from one phase of this curious
mummery to another was always
startling abrupt. One never knew
when some peaceful anthem and state
ly dance of holy figures would be sud
denly interrupted by the clashing dis
cord of cymbals and trumpets and the
whirling torrent of shrieking fiends.
"At one period of the ceremony a
holy man with an Archbishop's miter
on his head advanced, to the beautiful
chanting of men and boys, the basses,
trebles, and tenors taking successive
parts In solo and chorus. This
holy man blessed a goblet of water by
laying his hands on it and intoning
some prayer or charm. Then he sprink
led the water in all directions, and
the defeated demons staid their shriek
ing, dancing, and Infernal music and
gradually crept out of the arena, and
no sound was beard for a time but the
sweet singing of the holy choir."
BREAKS FORCE OF THE WAVES.
Matreuoi are Mimas' Together to Pro
tect Ocean Beaches.
At many of the favorite seaside sum
mer resorts in this country the beaches
are from time to time ravaged by wild
storms, and hitherto no adequate
method of pfotectliig "them against
such onslaughts has been discovered
As a result the cottagers may awake
any morning and find that the pleasant
strand on which they strolled during
the previous evening has, during the
night, been eaten away by the hungry
waves. Now, however, an ingenious
inventor has devised a method for the
protection of such beaches, a method
which, ha is confident, will prove ef
fective. It consists of a number of
mattresses, which are formed of fibrous
material and which are held together
by means of warps and bars. The mat
tresses, thus connected, are laid on the
beach, the warps and bars being placed
in such a manner that the long, fib
rous covering is kept stiff and immov
able. As a further safeguard, however,
stronger fastenings are placed here
and there, and by means of these the
mattresses are anchored firmly to the
beach. The mattresses are arranged
lengthwise in the direction o the cur
rent, and the warps and bars are ar
ranged diagonally. The object is to
break the force of the waves and pre
vent them from wreaking their full
fury on the beach. Experiments, it is
said, prove that a protection of this
kind Is useful for such a purpose.
A Revered Ylctaaler
Few publicans take as much Interest
In the welfare of their clients as does
Mrs. Mary Lee of the Beehive, White
Waltham, near Maidenhead, England,
who Is the oldest licensed vlctualer
In Berks, and who recently celebrated
her jubilee as a dispenser of ale. As
long as her strength and eyesight per
mitted, It was her bablt every Sun
day evening to carry her ponderous
family Bible into the taproom, place
it reverently on the table, the visitors
making room for it by pushing their
beer-jugs to one side, and to read a
chapter to the assembled company,
who always uncovered while the sacred
book was in the apartment The fre
quenters of the Beehive greatly re
spected the old lady for ser efforts to
give them moral instruction, and al
though her occasional comments might
not commend themselves to the fol
low era of what is called the higher
criticism, they were homely and to the
point. Mrs. Lee also displays in the
taproom a notice Intimating that any
one using impolite language or sing
ing songs of a risky tendency, would
be promptly expelled. Altogether, the
venerable lady seems to be a model
licensed vlctualer.
Iran ftearea la PhlUaolae.
Iron, we are told, is wanted In the
Philippines for the manufacture of
tools, farming Implements, building
trimmings, weapons, and hundreds of
other articles. The wheelwrights are
looking everywhere for Iron with
which to repair and construct vehicles.
The mining engineers are paying large
sums of money for pieces of old iron
for use In the various mining enter
prises, says Caasier's Magazine. Own
ers of sugar cane crushing machinery,
proprietors of machine shona. and
shipbuilder are offering all sorts of
prices for iron, steel, and other metals.
Yet It Is almost sn Impossibility to
buy Iron In the Islands. Native ma-
chine workers produce hundreds of
different kinds of metal Imnlamants
and parts of machinery from old ve
hicle springs and wagon tires.
rata TM4 so Act,
The average yield of potatoes, la the
United States Is about 100 bushels to
the acre. Under half-way decent treat
meat this average oould easily be made
900 bushels.
Lata of asm rta tctaa tkey
pts trStof ta fEI net heat
Ct mum crrrci wlaa the roll
mnlBnVBnSBuSsnMBmni
yl 1CK WORK MltiHT (MILVK IT.
A lady was recently reading to her
young son the story of a little fellow
whose father was taken 111 and died,
after which be set himself diligently to
work to assist in supporting himself
and hli mother. When she had fin
ished the story she said:
"Now, Tommy, if pa were to dla.
wouldn't you work to keep mamma?"
"Why, no," a!d the little chap, not
relishing the idea of work. "What
for? Ain't we got a good house to live
in?"
"Oh, yes, my dear," said the mother;
"but we can't eat the house, you
know."
"Well, ain't we got plenty of things
In the pantry?" continued the young
hopeful.
"Certainly, dear." replied the moth
er; "but they would not last long and
what then?"
"Well, ma," said the young Incor
rigible, after thinking a mcment, "ain't
there enough to last till you get an
other husband?"
Ma gave it up. Answers.
A HORIZONTAL Ml AVK.
A famous orator arrived late In a
Southern city, where he wag engaged
to lecture. He needed a shave badly,
and had just time for one. Hastening
to his room in the hotel he rang for a
barber. A bright-looking boy came in
and announced that he was the bar
ber. The gentleman sit down on a
chair and told him to go ahead.
"I beg you pardon, sir, but would
you mind lying down on the couth?"
"Why?" asked the astonished lec
turer. "Well, sir, you see, I am generally
sent to shave the corpses, and I can
shave a man better When be is lying
down." New York Tribune.
A DEBTOR IN DIFKICIXTV.
Maud "When are they to be mar
ried?" Ethel "Never."
Maud "Never? And why so?"
Ethel "She will not marry him un
til he has paid his debts, and he can
not pay his debts until she marries
him." Fun.
A MATTER
Cora Do you think it's good form for a girl to wear a short bathing-suit?
Dora Depends altogether on the girl.
CORRKCT UIAGNOHItt.
Shrewd Doctor "I see what's the
matter. It's mental strain too much
worry."
Bank Cashier "What do you ad
vise?" "Change of scene."
"Where to?"
"Oh, almost any country where there
Is no extradition treaty."
MKKO MTICKARV MKN,
Young Autbot (engaging board)
"You have several literary men board
ing here. X believe."
Mrs. Sllmdlet "Yea, quite a number.
I like literary men."
"I am delighted to bear It"
"Yes. you see, literary men never
kick when I demand cash in advance.
They are used to it"
MAKIMU THK NKNT Of IT.
Mrs. De Fssblou "My daughter baa
fainting spells and our doctor is unable
to stop them, so I bnve come to engage
your services."
Professor Sbassal (dancing master)
"Vat you vlah off me. madam?"
Mrs. De Fashion "I thought you
might perhaps teach her to faint more
gracefully."
THK CIIIKr COST.
Asklt "And so you have given up
your summer trip to Wetspot-by-the-Sen?"
Telllt "Yes, I had to. I bad money
enough for espenses, but not enough
for tips." Baltimore American.
' OOOD Aa BBASS.
Engilsbaua "Hov you bra was bod-
Hotel Clerk "M-o. the bedsteads are
of soft wood, but you'll Ind the
C2ftas Kief aa hard."
Pictorial Putmoir
II K WAS HORRY.
Housekeeper "This is the twentieth
time today that I've had to come to the
door to tell peddlers that I did not
want anything."
Peddle!1 "Very sorry, mum!"
Housekeeper It's some comfort to
know that you are sorry, anyhow."
Peddler "Yes, mum. I'm very sor
ry you don't want anything, mum."
AT THE I t X II COINTKR.
Mrs. Stickler "I don't like black
berry pie, but I suppose I'll have to
take it"
Mrs. Schoppen "Why so, if there's
some ether kind you like better?"
Mrs. Stickier "I'm In mourning,
you know." Philadelphia Press.
SHE WAS
Lord De Broke I cannot live without you.
Miss Cutting I didn't Imagine you were so badly in debt as all that.
OF FORM.
HE OF TIE
7i
... ,M'" Wataon-What made yo so
Mlstah Joh using?
MlsUh Johnalng I couldn't find
RKAl'IIRU THK LIMIT
aud"Your flaoce tailed' on me
Isst night."
Mabel "Indeed?"
Maud-' Yes. guess what be said to
me."
Mabel "I haven't the least notion."
Maud-'-He said, ! wish that I dared
to kiss you.'"
Mabel (confidently) "But be didn't
do It"
Maud "How do you kaowf
Mabel (sweetly)--There are limits
area to heroism. "Towa and Country,
IK KIVKD HI AI'rKARAM'KS.
Old Friend (Just returned) "Your
engagement with Miss Prettie is off, I
see."
Billton "Off?" " -
Old Friend "Why. yes. She just
passed and scarcely deigned you a
look."
Billton "Oh. that's It? We are mar
ried." KO OBJECTION.
"Before I promise to be your wife
I have a terrible confession to -make,"
faltered the beautiful girl. "I I went
to the cooking school."
But the young man only smiled.
"Worry not. dearest, I am a health
advocate and eat only raw food."
WISE,
A STRICT HODKRMlgT.
"What do you think made Bbylock
refuse three thousand ducats In cash
and continue to demand his pound of
flesh?"
"I don't know," answered the man
who didn't mean to be ghastly, but
who has merely failed to acquire a
familiarity with his subject "r sup
pose the Beef Trust happened to be in
a position to quote any prices it
pleased Just at that time." Washing
ton Star.
A BROKEN F.NO.WiKMENT.
Harry "Wonder why it was that
Frank and Bertha broke off their en
gagement I understood It was all ar
ranged, even to the marriage day."
Dick "It was discovered that the
wedding ring was made by nonunion
labor, so the clergyman refused to per
form the ceremony, and no other min
ister in town dares to do It" Boston
Transcript.
A It A It K OCCI RKANCK.
First Boarder I wish the landlady
would give us notice when she Is go
ing to serve chicken.
Second Boarder Why?
First Boarder I was so surprised
when she brought that fowl In at din
ner that I. lost my appetite. Ohio
State Journal. - ' '
(MOTS.
late comla' to de Cakewalk las' night
" w
man razah.
NKAT IIOIIsr.KKRI-IMO.
Neat Housekeeper-"Have you dust
ed this parlor?"
Domestic "Yes, mum."
Neat Housekeeper-"Well, It doesn't
look so. Dust It again, and breathe
hard while you're doing It."
WHAT AILS IT.
Literary Man "poetry, my
la but a form r ni
Mend;
Ordinary Mau-'That so? Wellr-sr
-f llttlo too WagBorlaar''
if
-1 f.