` There is much wealth , as men count it , in Bhotiyal , ' the lama returned with composure . ` In my own place I have the illusion of honour . I ask for that I need . I am not concerned with the account . That is for my monastery . Ai ! The black high seats in the monastery , and novices all in order ! ' And he told stories , tracing with a finger in the dust , of the immense and sumptuous ritual of avalanche-guarded cathedrals ; of processions and devil-dances ; of the changing of monks and nuns into swine ; of holy cities fifteen thousand feet in the air ; of intrigue between monastery and monastery ; of voices among the hills , and of that mysterious mirage that dances on dry snow . He spoke even of Lhassa and of the Dalai Lama , whom he had seen and adored . Each long , perfect day rose behind Kim for a barrier to cut him off from his race and his mother-tongue . He slipped back to thinking and dreaming in the vernacular , and mechanically followed the lama 's ceremonial observances at eating , drinking , and the like . The old man 's mind turned more and more to his monastery as his eyes turned to the steadfast snows . His River troubled him nothing . Now and again , indeed , he would gaze long and long at a tuft or a twig , expecting , he said , the earth to cleave and deliver its blessing ; but he was content to be with his disciple , at ease in the temperate wind that comes down from the Doon . This was not Ceylon , nor Buddh Gaya , nor Bombay , nor some grass-tangled ruins that he seemed to have stumbled upon two years ago . He spoke of those places as a scholar removed from vanity , as a Seeker walking in humility , as an old man , wise and temperate , illumining knowledge with brilliant insight . Bit by bit , disconnectedly , each tale called up by some wayside thing , he spoke of all his wanderings up and down Hind ; till Kim , who had loved him without reason , now loved him for fifty good reasons . So they enjoyed themselves in high felicity , abstaining , as the Rule demands , from evil words , covetous desires ; not over-eating , not lying on high beds , nor wearing rich clothes . Their stomachs told them the time , and the people brought them their food , as the saying is . They were lords of the villages of Aminabad , Sahaigunge , Akrola of the Ford , and little Phulesa , where Kim gave the soulless woman a blessing .
But news travels fast in India , and too soon shuffled across the crop-land , bearing a basket of fruits with a box of Kabul grapes and gilt oranges , a white-whiskered servitor -- a lean , dry Oorya -- begging them to bring the honour of their presence to his mistress , distressed in her mind that the XXXXX had neglected her so long .
Akrola Aminabad Ford Gaya Kim Lhassa Sahaigunge lama novices twig