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350 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
seat beside the fire, Shagdur committed vandalism with the
scissors upon my hair. Then, after my head was well
lathered with soap, Ordek came forward with the razor,
and in the course of a few minutes my head was as bare
and as bright as a billiard ball. Finally, I laid hand myself
upon my moustaches, and, sacrilege though it was, cut them
off root and branch. My brothers, the Mongol and the
Buriat, who were both beardless, now began to think
that I looked like the real thing, though I confess I myself
thought it sinful to destroy such a handsome ornament.
Luckily I was not required to pull out my eye-brows and
eye-lashes, and yet what did it matter how I looked ?
There was not a soul to see me.
I had, however, one consolation in that I bore a
certain resemblance to Ca?sar’s bust ; and yet that
satisfaction was not long vouchsafed to me. The Lama,
like an old and practised quacksalver, began, with an
expert’s mien, to rummage amongst his medicaments,
and then, having with a light touch well greased my face
with mutton fat, he rubbed it over with some sort of
brown stuff, and finally, stepping back a few paces, scrutin-
ised me with the air of a connoisseur, and said " Ikeh san
baneh " (That’s fine!) But when I looked at myself in the
polished inside of my watch-case, I confess I was quite
unable to agree with him. Was that greasy, shiny, copper-
brown, clean-shaven Mongol scare-crow really and truly
identical with my own self ? Gradually the grease dried,
and under the influence of wind and dust turned a greyish
colour. Every time I laughed, or had occasion to use
the muscles of my face, the skin pulled terribly ; but very
soon laughter became a rare guest in our little caravan.
The camp lay, as I have said, on the tongue of land
between two lakes, but was otherwise quite open on every
side except towards the south-west, where there were some
low hills. We saw no signs of human beings ; the dogs
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