hicken that K

ngalows,-old

rd Kip

who never

led been

upon his

re and more.-

he night before) and with our bedding and hand baggage packed with ourselves into a "ticca gharry," we start

, I was filled with a mixture of elation and alarm, but when my brother-in-law (I knew not whether ser

ating in the dark at three o'clock in the morning, as it does at noonday. I was quite willing to have it postponed

shadows of the trees, and the dark waste of paddy fields stretching before and around us, faintly showing

, waiting longingly for the end of our journey, wondering what strange people inhabited this dreary tract of land

a confused medley of Burmese voices, and I sprang up to find we were surrounded b

arriage. I caught a glimpse of him surrounded by natives, fighting fiercely with his back to the

ad come round to my side of the gharry, the door was wrenched open, and a huge native flourish

d pulling it down before me received the blow in the folds; then when the knife was buried in the clothes, I crashed the re

d my defence, and from behind it endeavoured to stab at the attacking natives with the captured "dah," dodging

st my brother, when suddenly, they rushed my defence, one behind the other, pushed over my barricade wit

th a speed and energy unusual in Burmese ponies, escaped and galloped down the road, draggin

ng for life inside. I made haste to crawl under a seat, and again barricaded myself with my bedding roll, but it was qui

y. My neck was seized between two slimy brown hands, I was pulled from my hiding place, a dark evil looking face peered gloatingly into mine, and then I suppose I lost consciou

be so heroic again, or have such another

nsisted of a mere half a dozen native huts, set down by the road side, and looked a most deserted little place. While our ponies were saddled, and our b

l cans, the almost universal water pots of the Burman; the men lounging about, smoking big cheroots, and evidently lost in deep meditation; and the old women sitting in their low bamboo huts,

t. It needs more than the advent of two strangers to rouse th

em in the funniest and most dignified manner, encouraged and coached by an elder sister, aged about seven. They looked such a merry party that I quite longed to join them, for I was begin

eleven years, not in fact since I was a child, and then I invariably fell off with or without any provocation. But here was I, with twenty-six miles of rough road between me and my destination, and no way of traversing that distance save on h

plicable manner, and after three unsuccessful attempts, and much unwonted embracing of my brother, I at last s

But evidently my steed was not prepared to depart. I "clucked" and shook the reins, and j

n." It was all very well to shout in that airy fashion, I cou

d begin to mo

be done; whipping only encourages him to run faster. I tried to turn the pony round, so that if he persisted in continuing to walk backwards, we might at any rate progress in the right d

or which the Burmese are noted, watched the performance with the deepest interest and delight, while

ng to the orderly and sais, he made them seize the bridle of

we st

ginable. He preferred not to move at all, but when forced to do so, the pace was such that a snail could easily have

or in front pulling him, our efforts were of no avail. Once or twice, under great persuasion, he broke into what

y, soon ceased his efforts, and we jogged on every minute more slowly, till I fell into a sleepy trance, dreaming that I should continue thus for ever, riding slowly alon

le trees and shrubs. Immediately below us lay a deep wooded ravine, shut in by the hills, and far away behind us stretched miles and miles of paddy fields and open country shrouded in a pale blue-

ungle, inhabited only by birds and beasts; all nature seemed silent, mysterious, and void of human sympathies as in the first days of the world,

at own not man's

ot hath ne'er

the usual mat "dak" bungalow, guarded by the usual extortionate kha

Burmese chicken, an acquaintance destined to become more and more cl

lesh. He picks up a precarious living in the compounds of the houses to which he is attached, and leads a sad, anxious life, owing to the fact tha

ning. One hour he is happily fighting with his comrades over a handful of grain, within the next he has been kill

han is absolutely necessary. It is, doubtless too, the same gentle heart that induces him to single out for slaughter the most ancient of fowls, leaving the young and tender (if a Burmese chicken ev

a Burmese chicken can take upon itself. The

raisins, and dubbed "pillau"; it is covered with cayenne pepper and called a savoury. It is roasted, boiled, baked, potted, and

form it be disguised, it may be invariably recogn

and that if I really could not induce my pony to progress faster, I must mount that of the orderly, and leave the laggard to be dealt with by a male hand. I could not object; I was alone

h to the dissatisfaction of the orderly, a

progressed quite as rapidly as I wished. I began to feel an accomplished horse-woman, a

ut a break, and the pony and I did not part company

he air, with a good horse beneath you. Once I listened to such talkers with credulity, now I listen in astonishment. Our gallop was wild enough i

sitting bolt upright, but I soon gave up all ideas of putting on unnecessar

s." Whenever I bumped down, he seemed to bump up, and the result was painful; whenever I pulled the reins he merely tossed his head scornfull

es my sola topee be

great size, it was very heavy and very ugly. I fancy it was originally intended to be helmet shaped, but its maker had allowed his imagination to r

lum pudding in a very large dis

pright I had succeeded in keeping it on my head during the earlier stages of my journey, but now I had more important matters to think of than sola topees, and co

just ahead of me, absorbed no doubt in the joys of the gallop, never stayed his reckless course. I could not stop my pony, because both hands were, of course, engaged in holding on to the saddle. I lost my stirrup; it was never any good to me, but my f

d to have fallen off, but did no

d, pushed aside the topee from before my mouth, and yelled to my brother to stop.

lained to my brother what the pony had been doing, all he said was that he hoped to goodness I had not given it a sore

ng apartments, scantily furnished, and an open veranda where we dined. We dined off

ast visit there he had killed a snake in the roof, and on

one will attack without provocation; therefore, if one is attack

life I have not ascertained, but I give the information a

k (supposing king cobras inhabited that district), when they might drop down on me while I slept, or come up through the chinks a

night on the table, under my green sun-umbrella; the table was so rick

rigging up a tent with the mosquito curtain props, and a sheet. Then, secure from all dangers from

at night returned foiled to its lair, having at last

ing, as we had still twelve mile

and had put my saddle once more on my original po

dark, waving trees, and the thick green, pink, golden, and red-brown under-growth, save occasionally when the close bushes were cleared a little, and we caught tempting glimpses of shady mos

nguished as the cry of some mighty beast in pain, for the first and fundamental noise was varied by shrill screams and deep, painful groans. Was it a wounded elephant? No! surely no living elephant ever gave voice t

g day hideous; round the corner of the road appeared four hu

art were formed of solid circles of wood, not even rounded, and carefully unoiled, and from these emanated those horrible shrieks, g

of the bullock-cart driver! He knows n

am by means of his long bamboo stick, but more often he sits wrapped in a deep sleep, or meditation, trusting for guidance to the meek solemn-faced bullocks which he drives. His work is

E BULL

esentative of the great Queen should occupy anything but the very centre of the road when taking his rides abroad. Consequently whenever we met a bullock cart both cavalcades had to stop. It was a work of time to make the driver hear the orderl

, our progress was considerably delayed. I should have preferred for the sake of speed to have ridden in the

f my experiences, at half-past ten that mo

red topee "tip-tilted like the petal of a flower." I had long ceased to make any pretence at riding. I sat sideways on my saddle, as one sits in an Irish car, graspi

in the bond that I should be carried up to the door, and so no further would he go. I was too impatient to argue the matter, too weary to give an exhibition of horsemanship, so there was nothing to do but desc