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

ments rising in its honor. trumpets ana
cannon proclaiming lie approach, nell
melted gueris prancing roand IT. childish
ceremonisls, and idiotlc .res'ricuons
fencing il of from its fcllow-men, may
excite anger or ridicule but royalty, do
throned and forsaken. must needs be re-
earded with pity and reverence 10y every
man who carries human heart in his
breast Many sturdy Englishman
who had cursed Napoleon as an incarnate
demon while he was barring out British
commerce from every port OF Europe
and threatening 10 invade England itself
| had word OF surly compassion for the
throneless exile who was eating out ms
heart upon the barren rocks OF ST. He
lena. Schamyl Beg in the days OF his
glory. with fifty thousand Crcsssian
| warriors at bis back, snd the whole
Caucasus from Daghestsn to Auatolia
trembling at the very sound OF biz name,
was never 80 truly great rs the white
haired prisoner, with features grand and
commanding even in extreme age, whom
| saw in St Petersburg years ago stand
ing amid group OF Russian officers on
the wedding-day Of the present Gar.
Tho quiet. melancholy, gray-hesded man
in deep black, whom l used to meet walk
| ing slowly along the main street OF Tihis,
seemed to me far more Just an object OF
reverence in tho downfall that he bore
so bravely than when he wore the
crown OF Prince David the Restorer, and
sat upon the throne OF Georgia. So 1t
wss, too, with these dethroned Queens
OF the tyrsnt Of Burmah. AS the pup
pet ROYALTIES of O petty and barbarous
State. they were more likely to call forth
the mockery than the respect OF any civ
ilized man. As women fallen from
high TO low estate, and bearing the
blows OF fortune with that quiet, I'M
complaining courage in which women
are more than O match for the bravest
of men, they presented a spectacle at
which no true man could dare to laugh.
At the top OF the steep wooden stair
! leading UP to the veranda we were met
by gorgeously.attired native servant,
who greeted Us with low salaam. and,
taking our visiting cards. disappeared
with them through curtained doorway.
! A moment later he came out again, and,
making another deep bow, invited us to
follow him into the room. We did so and
found ourselves in thoroughly Oriental
interior which might have served as a
study for Vereshtchagin himself with
the addition OF two or three mangled
ccrpses and q few pools of blood upon
the floor as a concession to the butcherly
taste of that great artistic Nero.
The room into which we had been
ushered was large, high, well-aired
chamber, though its furniture and deco
rations were certainly of very primitive
school indeed. The walls were bare OF
all ornament save few Burmese fans
and fy-switches, together with one or
two crude native pictures suggestive
of Punch's "Youn8 Masters" Be
side the open windows at the
far end of the room two Bur
mese women-evidently personal at
tendants of the Queen herself-were
crouching upon the bare floor on their
hands and knees, in the fashion with
which we had already become familiar at
the Court of Siam, while, as If to keep
them in countenance, the gorgeous
lackey who had ushered us into the room
was already squatted in the same watch
dog posture on the threshold of the door,
and in the corner to our right three
richly dressed men were grouped IN an
attitude which was kind of compromise
between sitting and crouching.
But all these minor details we're taken
in later on, and by slow degrees; for at
our first entrance our whole attention
was naturally directed to the central
figure of this strange picture. Midway
between the door and the corner occu.
pied by the three men the otherwise bare
floor was diversified by little islet of
gay carpeting, upon which half a dozen
light drawing-room chairs of European
pattern stood ranged in o circle. Five
of these were still unoccupied, but the
sixth WAS filled by what at first sight
appeared to our amazed eyes to be
the upper half of native lady who
had been cnt in two. Feet or hmbs-so
! far at least as we could see-she had none
whatever and what there was OF her
ended off abruptly upon the seat OF the
chair, beyond which she did not project
one hairs breadth. Not till we had time
to exchange greetings with the Queen
(for this foreshortened fragment was no.
thing less than her Burmese Majesty in
person) did suddenly call to mind that
It is the worst possible breach OF Bur
mese court etiquette to betray the fact OF
your possessing any feet at all, and that
hence all Burmans, whether men or wo-
men, have gradually developed power
of folding up their lower limbs into no.
thing which even camel might envy.
The Queens toilet was not very elabo-
rate, consisting merely of loose white
jacket, light pink scarf, and a skirt
striped with alternate bands OF scarlet,
yellow, and green, which gave her the
look of very badly-painted wasp.
Having bestowed friendly shake upon
the thin, brown hand which she held ont
to greet us, we seated ourselves in the
two chairs Immediately opposite her
OVID, and while our Chinese interpreter
translated into flowing Burmese the
compliments wherewith we had charged
him, we proceeded to make closer in
spection of our royal hostess, who
pulled her cigar with perfect composure
4 WQilt llbbtuluB W tuO hOfiu Siccdhs Va
our chaperon.
The Limban Queen was said to have
been something of belle in her youth,
according to Burmese ideas of beauty ;
and even now, although she was evident
" advanced in years, and her face had
that sunken look which always occompa-
MES the loss Of the teeth, the outline OF
her features was decidedly good, and the
brightness of her small black eyes showed
that she had not wholly lost the vi
vacity Of former days. But our eyes
were suddenly diverted from her
face to small golden vase at her
feet half filed with native cigars of a
size worthy OF Goliath himself. The
very smallest OF them were fully eight
inches long, the largest foot at the
least Just at that moment her Majesty's
cigar came to an end, whereupon she
made sign to one of the three crouch
ing men in the corner, (who, as l now
learned to my no small surprise, were
her own nephews,) and he at once crawl