TESHOO LOOMBOO is, properly speaking, a large monastery, consisting of three or four hundred houses, the habitations of the gylongs or priests, besides temples, mausoleums, and the palace of the lama or sovereign pontiff of this idolatrous religion of the east. This is the seat of his authority, and the capital of all that part of Tibet immediately subject to him. The buildings are all of stone, two stories high, flat roofed. The fortress of Shiggatze Jeung stands on a prominent ridge of the rock, and commands the pass. From this point roads diverge to Bootan and Bengal, to Lahack and Cashmere; to the mines of lead, copper, cinnabar, and gold; to Nepal, to Lassa, and China. Catmandoo, the capital of Nepal, is estimated to be 400 miles distant. The plain extends fifteen miles on a direct level, and is encompassed on all sides by rocky hills. It is intersected by the river Painomchieu, which at a small distance joins the Brahmaputra. This great river flows here, in a widely extended bed, through many channels, forming a multitude of islands, and its principal channel is narrow, deep, and never fordable. The monastery of Teshoo Loomboo contains no less than 3700 priests for the performance of daily prayer in the temple, and four lamas chosen to superintend the ceremonies. Under the direction of the monastery, there is an extensive establishment for the manufacture of images, in which they excel the Chinese.