yet we think it wiser not to leave a small number of us here. That wicked Dalai Lama might return, and then— ! But we also shall return, for must we not bear the white man's burden? Must we not protect them? Remember, then, that we are now married ; has not the bond been signed ? And if there ever was a question as to the propriety of our attentions, there can be none now. Yes, we shall come again. Meanwhile they must be faithful to the marriage vow in Clause IX. ; otherwise—but how could they be so wicked?—after such a gentle wooing, after such a happy wedding!
These tender adieux having been cried out to a listening world, the high commissioner and his escort went away, bearing the marriage certificate and reaping much glory. Of course the Russian Government interposed its objection to so flagrant a breach of faith as appears from a comparison of promise at the outset with performance at the end. Even far-away Washington, long before the treaty was drafted, but when a few observers pointed the drift of things, uttered a word, merely a sort of "We view with concern," — yet of some significance. The Chinese Government up to this writing has not formally accepted the terms forced upon its local representative. Lansdowne has indicated that he would listen to Russia's proposals of modification ; the Dalai Lama is still in the offing. The Tibetan people are again wrapped in obscurity, and it remains to see whether they will be quiet under a new government ; the change involves so many complicated threads of religious and political habit that we can see little of the future.
IIIF Color HighRes
