India and Tibet : vol.1 / Page 399 (Color Image)

0399	India and Tibet : vol.1

CHAPTER XX
THE RETURN

LORD CROMER, when I saw him at Cairo on my way

home, made a remark which showed an unusually appre-

ciative insight into situations such as we were in at Lhasa.

He said that everyone was praising us for reaching Lhasa,

but he thought most Englishman could do that. What

he considered really praiseworthy was our getting back

again. In such situations ragged ends are often left,

resentments incurred, entanglements formed, which make

it difficult to retire with grace or even to retire at all.

We were happy in this case to be able to return to India

on better terms with the Tibetans than we had ever been

before.

On September 22 I exchanged farewell visits with the

Chinese Resident. In the reserved Chinese way he was

cordial enough, and we had always got on well together.

But he was in a very nasty position between the Tibetans

on the one hand and his own Government on the other,

and he was subsequently degraded and put into chains for

having, it was locally reported, been too favourable to us.

The Members of the Council also visited me, bringing

presents, for the third time, and assuring me of their

friendly sentiments. They begged me never again to

entertain suspicion regarding them, and to believe that

they fully intended to carry out the Treaty.

Before leaving on the following morning, the Ti Rim-

poche visited me, and presented each of us with an image of

Buddha. He had also visited General Macdonald and

given him a similar image. He was full of kindliness, and

at that moment more nearly approached Kipling's Lama in

Kim " than any other 'T'ibetan I met. We were given to

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