An English Girl's First Impressions of Burmah

knowledge and showed me many

and for to see,

wide."-(Rud

xcept when I am afraid; at othe

on all occasions when no real danger threatened; but for myself, I have always felt convinced that should I ever be brought face to face with real danger, I should behave with a coolness and courage calcu

ite worthy of "Sir Philip Sidney" himself, and from some commanding post of vantage in the rigging, haranguing the terrified passengers on the advisability of keeping their heads. I

wimmer in shallow water, no sooner do I find myself out of reach of dry land, than all my powers forsake me. I swim w

dren from under the hoofs of maddened horses, or with a plunge at t

ise. Once, when I wished to ingratiate myself in the eyes of the owner, I did venture to pat a horse gingerly on the n

and I was brave. When the horse, for some unaccountable reason, pricked its ears, tossed its head, and began to trot, I did not scream, I did not call for

real adventures. Picture then my delight when I received an invitation to spend the winter in Burmah. I knew where Burmah was;

perienced travellers, and started from Liverpool early in November, my mind filled wit

e ship a world of hitherto undreamt of delights. I suppose the voyage was much the same as all other voyages, but to me, naturally, it was full of enjoyments, wonders, and

been kinder to a lone, lorn female than were they. There were, of course, on board several other passengers making their first voyage, young Indian Civilians much advised and patronised by seniors of two year

hey undertook my education, and taught me many things which I did not know before, shedding

created in order to admire the Indian Civilian. Something of this sort I had already heard from my br

llect it. I have no very clear idea as to what this "Bombay Burman" may be, but suppose him to be a mem

dition of the Burmese police force, of which he was an important member, but his arguments seemed to me a trifle involved. On the whole, the other inhabitants of t

(and the noisiest!) fellows in the world. They have innumerable horse rac

nd wild elephants, of a size and ferocity which filled me with fear. But as every man on board appeared to have slain tigers and

e a wild beast, should I chance

ose; he will then stop and cry, and his victim will escape. But beware! one man was so much

y bamboos, where the beast cannot reach him. When I saw a clump of feathery bamboos I

you should poke your stick through his eye into his brain, or get on his back, out of reach of

when opportunity should arise. In the meantime I continued to enjoy my voya

ard, divided by thick white lines into twelve squares. Ten of these squares are marked with numbers, the remaining two with "Bs." The object of the player is to throw the pads on to the centre of the s

layer, and very keen to win. One morning I was practising, and playing, if possible, worse than usual, when I noticed a melancholy-looki

s Mr.

minus twenty; I did not see h

verboard, the fourth went down an air funnel, and the fifth upset an ink-stand, showering the contents ove

he novelty of every thing, all tend to shed a halo over what, to the seasoned traveller, is merely a period of utter boredom, to be dragged through with as little ennui as possible. But the ch

course lay more inland, and we saw the coast of Spain and Portugal, beautiful

ith such endless possibilities is impressive; and as we drew nearer, and gazed on that dark range of wild, bare hills, I sympathised thoroughly

ck, shaped on the northwest like a crouching lion, rising dark, cold and solitary, amid the alien lands around it. Unmoved by the raging seas beneath, it

th snow, though it was still early winter. A dreary inhospitable looking

ere and there appeared the little white towns, nestling among trees and vineyards, or perched beneath sheltering rocks, a peaceful and beautiful paradise. On the Italian coast the scenery was a complete contrast, the high, fierce hills stood up black and frowning against the cle

beautiful and snow-crowned in the centre of a tumultuous land. What scorn an

exhibition, everything was so strange and unreal. The donkeys were delightful, the Turkish traders so amusing, and shopping

from unreal. I had bought every conceivable thing that I could not possibly want, and paid

ts with a deadly hatred, and could have kissed the ship in my del

r brush caused it to retire abruptly. The last I saw of them was a pompous trader thrown overboard with all his wares, because he would not leave the ship when ordered. His co

ometime at Port Said if one waited long e

isome, but on a first voyage its shores are most interesting. On one side are several inland seas, and small collections of the most wretched and impossible looking h

detract from its impressiveness; the human eye and mind cannot grasp them. We saw several mirages and felt quite pl

hich is a camel's characteristic, speeding away at an inelegant trot, and distantly pursued by the owner and his friends; alas! we cou

ter the boat had passed, a small steam launch hove into sight, on board of which were several men, mostly Turkish officials. As they passed, the skipper of the launch shouted various questions, and we gathered that "Mademoiselle" had run away and they were

f the canal and inland seas. The tall palm trees rose darkest green against the brilliant sky, while the sand of the desert glowed golden and salmon

with but occasional glimpses of land; we had perfect weat

pale blue mist, till the world seems changed to a blue ball, and we the only living things within it; or the evening, when the western sky turned crimson and violet, and the sun, looking strangely oval, went down into the sea behind a transparent green haze, while in the east the crescent moon sailed silver in the blue-black sky; or the night, when one la

st, I believe they were intended to represent Japanese (the costumes had been bought at Port Said as such), but as they were

t, and as is the custom of fancy dress peasants all the

my head forcibly fixed at an angle such as is usually adopted by pictured good choir boys or "Souls awakening." I endured it for a short time; but then I began to get a stiff neck, and

as, after the first unfortunate attempt I did not like to complain again, the agonies

deep blue lakes; the brilliant dresses of the natives, the large flaming red and blue flowers, the wonderful green of the palms and other tropical plants, and above all, the beauty of that long line of open coast, the great breakers glitt

e, we ate prawn curry. Honestly, I must confess that never before have I tasted anything so truly horrible; but I pretended to like it i

w could he have declared that "man is vile"? The Singalese are the most beautiful people I have eve

ings. They are exactly like the spider of noted memory; they stand at the doors of their fascinating, dark, poky little shops, persuading innocent passers by to

n't know what else to call him) ran away with me, and stopping in a lonely road, began to assure me that I was a "handsome lady." I wondered what would happen next, but soon discovered that he only wanted "Backsheesh," and assuming my very ste

bed, being weary with the long day on shore; the clatter of tongues and tramp of feet on deck had cease

ces in the next cabin, then an electric bell rang

out into the "Alley Way," which speedily

fusedly out, arrayed in the first garments that came to h

ted mothers, having but a vague notion as to what was happening, supposed the boat to have bee

on the flames, or tried to organise a bucket line. Others endeavoured to tie as many life-belts as poss

erself from head to foot in blankets, having heard that these offer a good resistance to the spread of the flames. Some were too terrified to do aught but scream, but the majority

orthy of Casabianca himself, stood firmly with a finger pressed upon the button of the electric bell, determined to die rather than leave her post, while

d the cause of the uproar. When eagerly assured that the deck was on fire over our heads, that in five minutes we should all be cinders unless we instantly took to the boats, and that the whole affair was a disg

ation we were passing, and some of the sparks having blown into the porthole of the girl

in allaying all fears, and we returned to our cabins, feeling indignant and somewhat foolish, and per

and solemnly presented two sham medals to the heroines of the preceding night's adventu

and the green banks of the Irrawaddy with a rosy light. Rangoon, a vast collection of brown and white houses, mills, towers, chimneys, and cupolas, in a nest of green, showed faintly through the blue haze; and risi