d make all merry as ourselv

thy, and betokened a desire for escape or concealment. On seeing me he slipped past the curtain into the room, and crouched down, as tho' endeavouring to hide himself from without. Then in the same bending attitude, he glided past the un

r, unable to comprehend his attitude;

ing me to conceal or to defend him. I had no thought of hesitation, whatever might be his crime he must not be l

four natives stood in the road; no one else was in s

," he repeated, (or somethi

lted the outer door, fastened the windows, and proceeded to put the room in a state of defence. My presence o

" I cried impatiently: "you are quite safe here; so tell

r, he waved his arms, and burst into a torrent of Burmese eloquence, in which a

in his own tongue. She came, exchanged a few hurried remarks with the fugitive, and then, to my utter astonishmen

lying from a savage foe, but the head

itude, were merely expressions of respect, it being quite contrary to th

th his body bent almost double, and who sinks on his knees on every available occasion; it gives him an air of instability. Some were so full of respect as to dismount from their po

of meditation in the midst of most important work, and will sit for hours, imm

are the results of the rapt meditations of the Burman. Never by word or deed does he betray what thoughts occupy his mind on these ever recurring occasions, but someday, who knows? he may be moved to s

overtake him at any time, absorbingly, unexpectedly, in a mann

certain surroundings, and circumstances seem more co

ad side lost in thought, while his impatient master sits raging and fuming at home, waiting in vain for an answer to his note. On such an occasion the Bur

r or more, immovable, duster in hand, gazing from the window, lost in abstraction. But this trait, I am told by Eng

is as astonishing as it is unnecessary. To see a loogalay in his ene

the afore-mentioned duster, and shaking the same menacingly in the face of every picture and ornament. Then he turns upside down the books and papers, carefully hides his mistress's work bag, and his master's favourite pipe, rearranges the furniture and the ornaments, which have come through scatheless, to suit his o

y of mourning and discomfort for the whole household. No spring cleaning carried on by the most uncomprom

le house is deluged. This accomplished, the concourse of servants commences to paddle about the house, rescuing books and cushions from the ravages of the flood, and flapping at the water with cloth and brooms. No definite scheme is adopted, but the chief idea seems to be to wet as much of the floor, walls, and furniture as possible. After this amusement

thro' the villages on their way to the pagodas; cart after cart drawn by gaily decorated bullocks and filled with

not so evidently full of meaning and solemnity. Imitation boats, dragons and beasts of all sorts take part in these processions, which for grotesqueness, brilliance of colour, and originality of arrangement are equalled only in a Drury Lane pantomime or the Lord Mayor's Show. B

at table. They performed their duties with as much stateliness

galays who were in attendance, and the lord chamberlain himself could not have

heralded what was coming. The purdah would be drawn aside by an unseen hand, and the procession would march solemnly into the room, the three lo

n was again formed, and disappeared slowly behind the curtain: all this with an air of solemnity and display that would not have disgraced a royal levee. Why this ceremony was confin

and summoning Po-Sin, I informed him that his master would be at home and would want tea at three o'clock. There must have been some mistake somewhere. Possibly, I confused the word meaning "office" with the Burmese for "three o'clock." But whatever be the explanation, about a quarter of an hour later, chancing to look out of the window, I beheld a procession winding its way along the road to the Court House, and bearing with it our afternoon tea equipage disp

e midst of an important case, by the solemn entrance of the tea bearers. The servants looked depressed and disappointed. I think they h

ntense on every sporting occasion, especially in games of strength and skill. But he does n

t with outstretched arms, shouting wildly, then, as the ball nears him, and the audience hold their breath, expecting a wonderful catch or piece of fielding, he quietly steps aside, allows the ball to fly past him, and then trots gently after it, over

ick a knife into the calf of one of the most active of the players on the opposing side, who happen

e, firstly, his intense self-satisfaction and co

plainant is at once disarmed. In his own eyes the Burman can do no wrong, and if other folk do not entirely concur in this opinion, that is

moment, the duty is frequently left undone altogether. This is apt to be inconvenient to others, if the duty in question be the delivery of an important message, or the preparation of dinner. But I have sometimes w

eremony can take place, no festival be held, the building of a house cannot even

ther evil spirits, are erected outside nearly every house and village, and charm

to a most astonishing degree. After being with us about two months she suddenly announced one morning that she had fever and must go and rest. Accordingly she disappeared for several days, and when we sent to enquire after her we learnt that she had

d, and stood round me with the most shocked expressions, waving brooms and dusters, and beseeching me by all their most expressive gestures to leave the task to them. Sometimes they embarrassed me so much by all these attentions that I w

ere many in the village with whom I had a bowing acquaintance, but owing to my ignor

e village, paid us constant visits. They would bring us presents of flowers and vegetables, offer these, and then sit on the floor and

anything we thought might amuse them. But with no great success; they admired the things and then immediately returned to their former occupation of staring, until at last I thought of the piano (which at that time was still in a healthy condition), o

our visitors had discovered it, a large deputation from the village waited upon us, with a request to see the wonder. As from that time the doll frequently disappeared for a day or

nd when their first shyness had worn off, would subject ou

ck hair. The Burmese ladies are deservedly described as charming, and they understand the art of dress, and blending colours to perfection. They are reported to be very witty and amusing, as well as char

seen. He was taller than the majority of Burmans, and in the flowing white garments which he always wore, presented a splendid picture which I

ell, and quaint pictures of saints and devils. He was an enthusiastic gardener and showed us proudly over his domain, giving us much advice on the management of plants, and offering to transplant anything we

drassees, stately Parsees, solemn-faced Shans, and many other nationalities, swarm in the narrow streets and round the stalls of the bazaar. The stalls are large platforms raised about thr

order to watch the people. "Bazaar day," to the Burman is one big joke, and he enjoys it thoroughly. The girls wear their most becoming costumes, and se

picion; indeed, the mother of one little Shan laddie, whose picture I wished to take, worked herself up into such a

at vigour and confidence during my travels, not a single one of them developed. It is a singularly distressing employment to sit long hours in a stuffy dark room, deve

llect together in a heap the few small articles I desired to purchase. During this proceeding she watched my actions with astonishment and some suspicion,

BAZAAR

to understand her, I hurriedly offered her more money, but she refused it with scorn, and continued her explanations and entrea

my face; I mechanically took it and pocketed it also. At this action on my part the spectators became still

atisfaction, gathered them together with her own fair hands, and returned them, and my change, to me with many bows and smiles. I do not know to this day what was the reason of

oise from a European point of view. Yet these easily satisfied folk crowd to such entertainments (which occasionally last many days) and camp out round the temporary building in which they are performed. They see

at a fire or a drowning fatality in real life, as

olf, or falls down stairs (either of which misfortunes appear to him very droll) but o

ve a higher sense of humour than th

ngs, and makes the most of it-still, I pray that, for his sake, his keenness of appreciation