England; and a _Sphynx_ (like _S. Euphorbiae_) was devouring the
euphorbias; the English _Cynthia Cardui_ (painted-lady butterfly) was
common, as were "sulphurs," "marbles," _Pontia_ (whites), "blues,"
and _Thecla,_ of British aspect but foreign species. Amongst these,
tropical forms were rare, except one fine black swallow-tail.
Of moths, _Noctuae_ and _Geometrae_ abounded, with many flies and
_Tipulae. Hymenoptera_ were scarce, except a yellow _Ophion,_ which
lays its eggs in the caterpillars above-mentioned. Beetles were most
rare, and (what is remarkable) the wood-borers (_longicorns_ and
_Curculio_) particularly so. A large _Telephora_ was very common, and
had the usual propensity of its congeners for blood; _lamellicorns_
were also abundant.

On the 11th of July five coolies arrived with rice: they had been
twenty days on the road, and had been obliged to make great detours,
the valley being in many places impassable. They brought me a parcel
of English letters; and I started up the Lachen on the following day,
with renewed spirits and high hopes. The road first crossed the Zemu
and the spur beyond, and then ascended the west bank of the Lachen, a
furious torrent for five or six miles, during which it descends 1000
feet, in a chasm from which rise lofty black pine-clad crags, topped
by snowy mountains, 14,000 to 16,000 feet high. One remarkable mass
of rock, on the east bank, is called "Sakya-zong" (or the abode of
Sakya, often pronounced Thakya, one of the Boodhist Trinity); at its
base a fine cascade falls into the river.

Above 11,000 feet the valley expands remarkably, the mountains
recede, become less wooded, and more grassy, while the stream is
suddenly less rapid, meandering in a broader bed, and bordered by
marshes, covered with _Carex, Blysmus,_ dwarf Tamarisk, and many