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Cri. VIII]   THE CHRONICLES OF LADAKH : TRANSLATION   125

AH the servants in his presence were upstarts, and with them only he took counsel. In the country many fields and houses became ruined (` went wrong '). No oath was ever observed. In judgment also he regarded the riches of men. (C MS.) Until an oath was sworn, the king himself would not allow [the culprit] to go anywhere ; he was sealed up and put aside. (B MS.) The private servants in the palace were not allowed to sleep or lie down at night, as in the daytime they had to sign a written contract [that they would not sleep ?]. The king also did not sleep the whole night. He rose when the sun grew hot. In the morning, when washing his hands, he required twelve buckets (C MS. : 12 or 13) full of cold and hot water mixed to wash his hands. A regulation [of the water-buckets] was established, lasting from the first till the twelfth supply of water : in this way he washed his hands. When he travelled about in the provinces, he went only at night with lamps and torches held aloft. With the officials of the old régime he could not agree. This king took the privy seal from the Prime Minister [to the palace], and himself consulted with the headmen of villages, lords, etc., all men of a new type. The noble families he did not attend to. The king of Zans-dkar, the minister of Bu-rig, and others were kept in La-dvags imprisoned. The new men that stood before him were made governors of the palace, and everywhere the old good customs were destroyed. At

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that time, having passed through Niue-ti (Kula) and Dkar-zva (Lahul), the Bada-Sahib (Moorcroft) and the Chota Sahib (Trebeck) came with great wealth to Sle (Leh). They gave all sorts of rich presents to the noblemen of La-dvags and others. ` We must see the king ! ' they declared. It was said, ` What evil may come from men (India ?), one cannot know !' ; and, all having consulted, an audience was for several months refused. At last they saw the king. They presented a variety of things, chief among which were a penknife, scissors, and a gun. They said, ` We have come to see the way in which you yourself, your ministers, workers, and servants manage things, and your own wisdom ; and, as there is some danger of this country being conquered by others, we might build a tower (fort) here, which in the end might prove useful to the king.' The king and ministers, considering the case, said, ` If they build a fort, no one knows what harm may come !', and did not allow them to build. Then they gave him (the king) a letter in a box and said, ` May the king himself accept this ; it may cure the king's mind ! ' After

staying through both summer and winter, they departed. These were the first European ti

Sahibs who came. Next the army of Nun-ti (Kula) invaded Spyi-ti, and, after having destroyed the villages and carried away all the property, returned home. They petitioned

[the king] that he should wage a war of retaliation, but he said, ` You yourselves are of ti

no use,' and punished them. Later on, Nun-ti (Kula) and Khu-nu (Kunawar) of Dkarzva conspired against Zans-dkar, and laid waste [Dpal-hdum-mkhar] and the central districts. The symbols of Body, Word, and Spirit were destroyed. They robbed ponies and yaks and whatever there was of property, and again returned home. Later on Ratan-Ser-Khan of Pa-dar brought an army, and destroyed every village from 'A-tin to Dpal-hdum. Throughout Dkar-iva and the central districts, on both sides of the river. they fought ; and, although afterwards peace was concluded and they went back, yet the king said, ` You yourselves are of no use,' and punished them. One year later a Mande