EARLY REMINISCENCES
Next the Shoe, or Poorbu Dewan, one of the most courtly men I have ever met, a true gentleman in mind and manners and a staunch and loyal friend. In appearance he was tall and spare, with an unusual type of face rarely met with in these hills, with its high cheek bones and rugged outline more nearly resembling that of the Red Indian. Behind a very quiet and retiring demeanour was hidden a fund of information which made him an excellent advisor. Possessed also of an unusual amount of tact and good sense, he did much, probably more than any one else, towards the welfare and advancement of the State, especially when the brothers were growing old and in failing health. He was a man looked up to and respected by all and whose advice was eagerly sought and followed. In my own case I consulted him on all sorts of questions and his opinion and advice were always to be considered and respected. In camp he was an excellent companion and many and many a pleasant hour have I spent sitting by a camp fire talking to him.
All three of these men are now dead, and the deaths of the Phodong Lama and the Shoe Dewan meant an irreparable loss to Sikhim. The younger generation, good fellows enough in their way, are of a different stamp, and there is no one to fill the places of the older men. The Phodong Lama lived to the age of sixty-eight and remained active and at work till within a comparatively short time of his death, but the Shoe Dewan was cut off at the early age of fifty-five.
Here also I first met the old Gangtak, Tassithing, and Entchi Kazis as well as many of the younger generation. Though these Kazis belonged to the leading families who had come into the country in the retinue of the Sikhim Rajas, they were, at the same time, of very little account; belonging to the old school, not caring much for anything that went on and given to getting very drunk; but notwithstanding they were good-natured and ready to do anything that was wanted of them to the best of their ability.
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