Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-08-26
THREE QUEENS.


Tradition tails OF A certain Young
EnRlish officer in India who, having
beer fortunate enough TO meet with a
number OF the most noted Hindu Princes
in the course OF his travels, published
An account OF his earliest interview OF
this kind under the title OF my First
Rajah." This being favorably received
by the public, he followed II up with
"My Second Rajsh," my Third
Rsish." and 20 on through the list of sll
the Rajahs, Naharalahs, and Nawabs
whom he had ever met in bis
life We might easily do the same
OF present, for what with the Mahara-
jah OF Vizianagrain, the Limban
Queen OF Burmah and% her two sisters.
Arab Pasha, of Cairo, and his colleague.
Fehmi, Ito say nothing OF Fehmis
pretty isuohters,) our present voyage
has certainly introduced rs to a good
number of historical celebrities, though
not quite in such overlooking measure
rs the actor Talma, who was invited TO
Warsaw by Napoleon id 1912 ito play
before a pit fnll OF kings" Our brief
visit to Fehmi Pasha and his family at
Colombo has been fully described IN my
last letter, and l now propose to tell
how a fortunate chance presented us
during our stay ut Rangoon to the last
representatives OF the fallen royalty oil
Burmah.o
"You must really 60 and see the three
Queens when you get back to Rangoon,
said Mr.. w, chief commissioner OF the
Mandalay district, (who was one OF our
fellow passengers in our voyage up the
Jrrayaddv to the Burmese capital as
we paced the upper deck IN the cool OF
the evening, watching the palms and
pspodas along either bank melt away
behind us. "They're the incest old Ia
dies that you can imagine. and always
very glad 70 see visitors, for they have
rather q dull life OF it where they are
now"
"Do they always live in Rangoon 4"
asked I. ayes, in house on the out
skirts OF the town given them by the
Government, with pension OF so much
4 month TO keep it up. The eldest-she
whom they call the Limban Queen-wss
the principal wife Of Theebaws prede-
cessor, Mindohn Min. and the other two
are her younger sisters used to know
them ali three very well when | lived In
Rangoon. and if you just mention my
name to them I'm sure they'll make you
welcome.
"But how are we to manage about
talking TO them? l suppose they don't
know any language but their own, and
lust at present I'm afraid our stock OF
Burmese does not go much beyond Own
towba (more butter, and Methimbau
bimaleh?' where's the steamer ="
"Why, you're quite advanced, laughed
the commissioner. "When first started
10 talk what / thought to BE Bur
mese my entire stock in trade con-
sisted of 'Mayelah, which, as l dare
say you know, is their way OF saying
"How ore your However. you'll want
IN Interpreter to go along with you, for,
as you say, the Queens know no Ian
guage but their own, and very awk-
ward language it is for n foreigner.
There are several words of perfectly OPP
posite meanings which have almost ex-
actly the same sound, and when you
want to tell Burmese lady that you're
delighted to see her you may very likely
saw something which means that she's
confounded fool.
Like fellow / knew in Russia, "
said /, "who was hunting for lock-
smith to do something for him, and in-
stead of asking for 'mekhanik, as he
had been told to do, walked boldly into
a shop and said to the man / say, are
you q moshennik ?"' pickpocket ?')
"well, Ill tell you what I'd better do, !"
resumed the commissioner. "lll Just
give you letter to a chum OF mine in
RanGoon, who is acting as private secre-
tary to the Governor just now. Hell be
very happy to put the thing through for
you, | know, and Ill ask him to find a
good interpreter to go along with you,
and then you won't have any trouble ct
all. "
The letter was written at once, and on
our return to bangoon we lost no time
III forwarding it TO the secretary, from
whom we speedily received very polite
reply to the effect that he had made ar
rangements for our reception by the
three royal ladies between Sand 9o'clock
on the following morning, and
that at 8 precisely his own Interpreter
would call at our hotel to con-
duct us TO their presence. Principally
at the appointed hour carriage drove
ND to the door, from which issued a
meek, sad eyed, scrupulously polite
young Chineman, who greeted us with q
melancholy smile-very much as II he
had been sent TO prepare us for instant
death-and announced that the three
Queens were expecting our visit and that
whenever We were ready to start he was
quite at our service.
OF we went accordingly, almost as
closely packed as John Gilpin's family in
their famous jsunt to Edmonton. The
ordinary "gharri" (hack carriage) Of
Raugoon exactly realizes the London
Alderman's definition OF fat goose as
"a little too much for one and not half
enough for two" Hence it is easy to
imagine the result when three people
and one Of them q lady-were crsmmed
simultaneously into one OF these magni-
fieo rat-traps. The English sailors vivid
account OF his position in the hold OF q
SLAYER, with some fellows toe in my
ear and mine in somebody else's eye, J"
was hardly an overdrawn picture
of our sardine fashion of stowage, and
the poor Chinaman almost ilattened
himself in his efforts to keep out of our
way. Moreover, matters were addition
ally complicated by my having the ill
luck to wear aspith "sun-hat," seeming
IL modelled after st. Paul's Cathedral,
its size being 50 enormous that whenever
] wished to make remark which |
wanted anybody to hear | was forced to
take off the hat altogether, otherwise
my voice would have been utterly lost
beneath It's mighty dome. When we
get TO tho Queens house." mnttered /,
aher Majesty must either come out and
talk TO MS in the carriage or else her at
tendants will have to extract us with a
corkscrew."
Little by little the closely-ranked
houses Of the town melted away behind
us, and were succeeded by trim gardens
and strawberries which, despite the dust
that lay thick upon every leaf and shoot,
made goodly show in the morning sum