dusty benches, mere planks six inches above the ground, on which the lamas sit to read the holy books. In general there was an appearance of dust and untidiness. Some of the lamas seemed to be men of ability, and all were friendly, but the majority appeared coarse, lazy, avaricious, and sensual. In spite of previous reading as to the resemblance between Buddhism and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity as it is seen in the less enlightened countries of Europe, I was surprised at the closeness of that resemblance. It appeared not only in the monastic system, well known to be almost identical, but in the form of worship, the lights, the images and pictures, the intricate ritual, the absolute dependence of the people upon the priests, the reliance of the latter upon spectacular effects, and the faith of all in charms and set forms of prayers.
It is difficult to say whether the Ladakhi is superstitious because of his religion, or whether his religion is superstitious because of something in his environment. Certain it is that few people are more superstitious, or make their superstition more evident in their religion. In addition to the frequent lamaseries, we found in almost every village scores of " chortans," pagoda-shaped structures of mud and stones, erected partly as receptacles for the ashes of the dead, and partly as works of religious merit. The approaches to villages were marked by " manis," which the Buddhist religiously passes on the left, so that his right hand may always be toward them. They were long heaps of rubble, shaped like sheds, with a width of twenty feet, a height of five or six, and a length of from fifty to a thousand. Each " mani " was covered with hundreds of flat
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