Frederick Poynder

“ There is no doubt, however, that the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, of Rangoon, is one of the most celebrated objects of worship, or veneration, in all the Indo-Chinese countries. It is simply one enormous mass of masonry, of the form of a conical pyramid, rimmed round, and ascending in a slightly curved line, that adds grace and lightness to the shape, to the height of 320 feet from the platform, on which its enormous base stands. It is supposed to be built, by every Buddhist, over the relics of the last Buddh, Gaudama, amongst which relics are four hairs of that sage’s head. ”

“ With the vociferations of a Burmese lady, to whose remarkable dress crinoline has not yet imparted elegance, are blended the pitiless rejoinders of her Chinese helpmate. For your Chinese is a citizen of the world, and altogether ignores the Malthusian doctrines on population. He takes up with things as he finds them, and with wives also. He sees his way far more speedily than Mr. Brisket. He comes to Rangoon, and there he settles, in the full spinster acceptation of that word, without keenly regretting the love that his Chinese wife may bear to her own country. ”

“ No doubt, as you look at the old man, there will rise up before you visions of the Delhi Palace, where once he lorded it, in a sort of way, and played his part. You see the red battlemented walls, and that vast quadrangle; that glorious Amm-i-khass, so perfect in its proportions, so faultless in its taste; those fairy-like apartments which, if their beautifully inlaid walls could speak, would have dismal tales to tell of every vice that has degraded man, and every misery that has wrung the heart of woman ”

“ Of these pine-apple plantations one may observe, just while the sun is setting, that they cover hundreds of acres in the neighbourhood of Rangoon. In May the fruit is ripe, and the finest pine-apples are sold in the market for about a halfpenny. First rate, too, they are. Not perhaps equal in flavour to a Chatsworth pine; but yet not much inferior, and their extraordinary abundance and cheapness teaches you to eschew all but the finest specimens of the fruit. A plantation once made requires scarcely the slightest attention. Often they are not even enclosed by the commonest bamboo fence. ”

“ There are some good men at Rangoon, brave and honest, and gallant and true, whose companionship is worth your having—nay, if you would have a pleasant ride, and make a day of it, there are not a few fair specimens of your country-women who can ride a half score of miles, and, thanks to the healthy climate, be in no way fatigued. ”

“ Like the native of India, the Burman, male or female, is an inveterate smoker: and cheroots are the form in which the weed is taken. A Burmese will smoke whilst he works or walks, which no native of Bengal or northern India ever dreams of doing. It does not increase the attractiveness of Burmese women, in European eyes, to see a half-consumed cheroot stuck into their ear-ornament, which is shaped something like a thimble, or a thimble with the end off, and is inserted into the lobe of the ear. ”

“ It must be a curious mélange when the box is filled—curds, spice, rice, vegetables, fruit; but the mendicants seem to thrive well on what they get, and look as though their food thoroughly agreed with them. They never vouchsafe one word of thanks when the largest dish of rice is tossed into their box. ”

“ Still, incredulous visitor, there are thousands who would, if they had but a chance; who would be delighted with the anarchy that would inevitably follow, could that old man, or one of those precious lads, again mount that Peacock throne. ”

“ Well-knit, muscular fellows are many of our Burmese subjects; but indolent in the extreme. Never to do to-day what may be done to-morrow is their maxim; and it is a maxim which rarely answers. To the European, however, they are more attractive than the races of Hindustan: far less cringing, more open and more English in their habits. ”

“ Is the honour he pays to them an act, strictly speaking, of worship, or merely the outward symbol of his gratitude that such a man ever lived on earth? Ask the Buddhist, and he will tell you that Gaudama is full of benevolence ”

“ On first reaching the platform, the setting sun will gild afresh for your special behoof the solid conical mass that towers up before you, at a considerably less cost than it could be done with earthly material. ”

“ About two miles from the Custom House wharf, in a small wooden house, under a guard of Her Majesty’s 68th Regiment, the last of the Mogul emperors is ending his weary, useless life. Look in as you pass the house. The old man is completely bed-ridden ”

“ Their heads are always bare, with the hair combed completely off the forehead to the back of the head; and all—both front and back hair—gathered into one large knot behind. The poorer classes have their feet bare whilst at work ”