The British expedition is now almost at the gates of
Lhasa. They began crossing the Brahmaputra at a point where it is a hundred and fifty yards broad on July 25th. They might have been destroyed by a resolute enemy, for the passage occupied six days, and was so embarrassed by the want of pontoons that Major Bretherton, a most valuable officer, was swept away in a small boat and drowned. The authority of the Dalai Lama over laymen is, however, broken, the " soldiers " fly when they see the British, and there is practically no resistance. There are even rumours of risings within Lhasa itself, and the expected succours from the frontier provinces do not arrive. The Dalai Lama sends Mission after
Mission to beg that the foreigners will not enter Lhasa; but 188 Colonel Younghusband tramps on steadily, replying only that he will retire when the Treaty has been signed—in Lhasa. It is possible that the Lamas may ask British assistance to prevent anarchy in the capital, which would be a very singular, and perhaps embarrassing, complication.
