, 1876-03-19

tobacco to be as much pnrt OF tho natural order
| Of things aa mctler's milk Nor was THIS toe
| worst for u,aay Of them were not conteut With
| tha mild clrarette huvo described. but would
| SNAKE nothing short Of 4 blac6, rank Burlnah
| choroot strong enough 10 turn the stomach of q
Having been dulv cdified BY this spectacle, we
| nassel on into the house. and found ourselves IN
4 large room, occupying the entire ground hooI'
and with tho wllolo trout open toward the s1tes1,
whether originally 30 ; ,aa4 or nn0eTg Sa
foreground Of this room (which we had entered
| from beuul) WAS filed With lade5, sitting on
! rugs OF rich pattern aud smoking the enormous
xrcou cigarettes without monents ?htelnlss-
s;on. ~ I looked at them from behind Their
| },oails. each crowned with u knob OF rich otacK
ho;r nnf1 tlockcd with circlet OF jewels and at
tt;c,al flowers, had an irreslstihly comscal el-
| foct. though closer inspection showed great
| daal of e1peneo and considerable taste III tno
| stvEa OF tho adornments. Perhaps
| T,,r ,,osr NOTABLE ARTICLES OF PERSONAL DEC
| ohATtoN
| vera the ear-rings,-as l must call them ~
analogy with our oun, though in fact they were
~ r;n0a at all, Imagine nearly cylindrical
hotr Generally OF tho ciearest and most ex-
| on;site amber, and measuring about H inches IN
,rnrtl,, half as much in diameter, slightly con-
| yex at the ends, and pushed halfway throuen
sort OF incredbe N M ine o aoue ~ - ea,
behn,y. aud YOU will have tho best ldaa Of them
that eau give you. OF course, they Ut 10 close
" to the opening as neTer to drop out, " !eass
mt ofteuer than do the earrings OF lne laleS ~
| homn Tn very MANY cases the end OF the GYM
Io Lay ;a earnshed with magnificent designs IN
| diamonds aud ruLies. The ladies' themso!'es' ~
they sit. make pleasing impression, they are
| of FAIR coIuulexion, good form. auo, hs conPateo
with tho women Of India. have 1ooh u nsa.- eta-
| irence that is most gratifying Nheo tney
rise and walk about, one cannos ~ ~
~ remark their awkward gait and u the
unnatural ehortness OF the hgnse IN .no
| majority Of instances. They Hefo uIesoeu:
| OF course, in the Burmese costume s11!p ~ u
brigltly-strlpol silk wrapped around the limos
| hv way Of skirt, aud Jacket OF lace or muslin.
| generally all OF one color. The shape and at-
| raugement OF tho upper garment varies sfsa.5
according ~ tho wearer IS ma1taoo VI o'"'A7
wise.
TIN LADIES WEAR SANDALS
| in tho street. but in the house, unlike the grown
! men OF position, 20 barefooted. say OF posi-
ton because both here and IN India malo nati7es
| Of tho lower CLASSES eau Offer no more , oas
| raecons insult to European or native Of rama
| than to enter his house. with shoes or slippers
| OH their feet.
While I have been giving alI these details, our
host has approached beamins delight from ev-
erv corner OF his countensnco, at tho privilege
of entertainin. foreigners has conducted us TO
seats OF honor, commanding las il usual n such
caees} the worst possible view OF everything.
aud has departed to fulfill MS dunes
in other parts OF tho room. a fetnalo feiat1se
| Of the family OF uncertain age, has Set before
| liz cheroo;s green and black IS aforesaid she
| nov brings, and establishes in vacant chalr Ia
| front of u.s. silver casket, and glass dlsh.
The latter, as we readily discover, contains PICK
| led ten ginger, end onions,-ve1y pai2taoie anu
odd. TGo silver easket puzzles us' but turns
out to be- possessed Of numberlcsa openings anu
compartments, and to be applied to tue storage
Of bctel-nut and apptoprlate Trimmings. oat
Lifting lid. he tnkes out small piece OF solld
| nut. looking like cracked nutmeg, though not
as hard Another opening dlscloses plle OF
greeu leaves in shape like those OF the lilac out
larger. Carefully pluckins on the stem ana na
assures us, to immemonal custom) }.
he depoeiss the nut mathe1naticatly
| in tbs cent.e Of tie leaf; opens another COM
partment containing sort OF dampenea itn1s !;
suears small quantity Of this IN minute dauos
on various parts OF tho leaf; rolls the whole into
ball, transfers ii to mis- mouth, and institutes
vigorous chewing, follow his example. sub
icct to correction at several points, ior tahsps
700 much betel, for improper distribution OF enc
lime, or the ike. There is little Or no taste
only Il sugcestion of an aromatic flavor, hardly
strong enough to be called pleasant, anu aecia-
edly not otberwiso. I have about come to the
conc1usion thu. chewing hatel ls a very harmless
enn,oy1nent. suitable for women and children,
when to nv disgust my head begins to Whirl-
the motion grows rapidly stronger, and only
| very narrowly escape most nTkwaId sltua11on"
The s:imulant power Of the oese'' l am 1o"'' -
| about equal to that OF tobacco.
During all this time
THE PERFORMANCE
has been in progress under the tent pe1o1e tne
house. Mats had been aoread on the ground
ranged about the pole that supported the Tempo
rary roof. Next this pole were clustered CON
spicuoua group OF great jars, which at night are
| filled with eawdust and oil, by way Of lamps
outside these was left q narrow space Tor tne
actors, and then came the crowd Of spectators.
At one side, opposite tue house wnore NO .s Mete
cloth curtain banging loosely across It through
this the performers made their exits ana en-
frances and behind it they could DO seen
, reclining in the intervals OF the piece. AZ
another side was q frame formed of two upright
! bamboo poles, With third pole across the
!. tor, from which depended a row OF (appare1tly
wooden) masks, Of singular h1deousnasa- DC
hind these Sat the musicians numbering per
, | haps a dozen. the body OF the music is pro-
duced by ehrill pipes, and By curious 1nstru-
, | ueut peculiar to Burmah-a sort OF large tub,
around tho inside Of which are hung Little brass
| goDgs OF nicely graduated tone. me pofsotmeI :
! motions beats the eongs with bamboo stick
There ia another and less nslod1ous lnssTuHens
, | which aaswers very well for aecona; II 10
, built On the sa1no plan with the other, but tho
OF the shape Of oyster-kegs, which are thumped r.
with the hngors like the keys OF piano; lhe
Burmese, in fact, have an instrument with keys
OF bamboo arranged in . scale Of eight notes, to
and having otheF points Of resemblance to q
piano; proficiency in the use Of this is
required before performer is ';s;aa;t int1ustsd
. with the larger and more dlfhcult IN
etruments I have mentioned As an
accompaniment for tina voice, md a'so for use
in connection With the full orchestra, there IS
q species OF bones. - stick OF bamboo spit
half its leneth,-the loosened portions being
struck together with sharp olack.
. THE EFFECT OF THE MCsIo
in general is very pleasing. especially by com
,, narison With tho noisy pounding Of arab tom
toms. or the dreary wheeze Of the Indian jug
, glers' diaconsolate pipes. In the Barn,an music
there il always a pe1ceptible musical idea, and
!. though there is iack OF softuess and dcticany,
many Of the tunes are very agreeable to the car:
] Tho little gongs, in particular, give mellow and
graceful sound that reminded me OF O guitar,
. though OF course much louder.
The performance was for tho most paft
!. in pantomimo With occasional spoken passages
l-the latter never failing to produce
. / storm OF uproariouB laughter. Tho plot o1 The