The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-06

general very jolly, kind hearted and appar-
emily well satisfied with their lot. The
women are generally petite, tail one be-
ing a rarity, and are seldom more than 4
feet or inches i'll height. While young
their limbs are perfectly modelled and
rounded and with their large, lquid-brown
eyes, coral lips, and long, luxuriant, blue
black treSses, worn in various attractive
fashions, their picturesque costume and
glittering gold ornaments, their kindly
smile, and coquettish WAYS, there are more
unpleasant objects TO look at than a Bur
mese young girl. They are as graceful as
fawns, and their walk is sort of undulat-
ing motion, much superior to the ordinary
| Oriental crawl, and may be compared to
swimming on land With all their freedom
of intercourse with the opposite sex they are
| truly modest. 1t is a case of hands OFF.
| As soon as | became sufficiently acquainted
with the language to speak a few sentences
| | used to visit at the Burmese houses TO try
and become proficient by conversation with
the inmates. | thus advanced my knowl-
edge and passed many pleasant hour en-
| joying Irritation with these interesting
little women. They all powder their ia es
in the evening when dressed for society.
| This powder is composed of sandal and 9TH
er fragrant woods ground down to tine
| dust. This compound, moistened with rose
water, is literally plastered over face, neck
and arms, and although considered an in
dispensable toilet operation to be performed
| daily, it does not add to their personal at
| Effectiveness. Their actual nut-brown tint
is by far the more pleasing and appropriate.
The perfumes most in use are the sandal
wood already mentioned, the patchoul bean,
which is sparingly used, and rose water,
which the women use profusely.
However engaging and attractive they
may be while young, they lose all their
beauty and become the reverse of inviting
as they advance in years. They age sooner
than Americans do. AT so the Burmese
woman Is old in appearance, and her season
of belledom ceases. As the women live to
great age, octogenarians being common,
but a small portion of their lives is devoted
to pleasure. The latter part of their existence
is taken up fully with household duties aud
work of various kinds, also with the DUTY
of bringing up their families to live good
| lives. They never, however aged, lose
their bonhomie and kind, pleasant manner.
The dress of the Burmese lady is simple
and elegant. They wear the silk poongyee,
| as the men do, over their lower limbs, and
and which is simply tucked in at the waist.
They wear finer and thicker silk than the
men of a smaller check pattern.
| A sleeveless in ee, a jacket, close fitting
and worn high at the neck, serves to cover
| the upper portion of the person. This in
| iee is generally made of fine cloth or velvet,
and is ornamented with gold buttons and
| lace as the taste of the wearer dictates.
With young women of position it is indis-
pensable that the bosom be completely COW
cred. Their beautiful long hair is cOmbed
back off their foreheads, which are broad
and low, bangs not being in fashion there
| and deity twisted in a coil at the back of
their shapely little heads, then fastened in
its place with deliberately carved high tor
toise-shell combs, aided by pins of the same
material or of gold.
They wear golden nadaing, necklet of
beautiful workmanship, around their necks
hanging down in two or three rows. Golden
padOung, bracelets, of massive silver, and
exqusitely chased with figures of beasts,
| birds, reptiles, etc, real and NEUROLOGICAL,
adorn their arms and wrists. Anklets OF
| gold and silver are sometimes but not uni
versally worn. Their most curious orna-
| ments are, however, their ear Jewels. They
are made of massive gold, and consist of
two pieces of tubular shape, fitting closely
| one into the other, the outer ends being
closed with q sort of cap carved in various
| patterns. The girls ears have long Sits cut
! in toe lobes when the children are about 4
years of age. The men also have their
ears cut in this fashion when of an earlier
| age Dainty slippers of soft leather, with
pointed toes and down at heel, d" cover their
small, bare feet. They are innocent of
| stockings, and their feet are as carefully at
| tended to as are their hands, the nails of
both being carefully pared and trimmed
! This completes the description of their dress
attire.
The ladies receive in an apartment COW
| evered with fine grass mating, but devoid
of what we term furniture. They seat
themselves, lower limbs crossed, as is the
custom, on pile of these mats thrown care
| lessly on the floor. By their sides are the
invariable round bamboo boxes, lacquered,
having several trays fitting inside and a
cover to slide over the top like cap. These
boxes are of different sizes, and contain the
various requisites to the happiness of a Bur
mese woman, be she old or young--trink-
cts, mirror, their toilet powder, forming
the contents of large-sized one Another,
| of less size, will hold the prepared leaves
| and perfumed compound for making their
cheroot-shaped cigarettes. These cigarettes
are of large size, being some three times as
big as those smoked in America, the end to
| be inserted in the mouth being smaller than
the end that is lighted.
Fragrant tobacco, chopped fine, is mixed
with small pieces of scented wood, or rather
a species of fungus that grows on certain
| trees, carefully dried. A portion of this
| compound is placed in the prepared leaf of
a tree cut to size, then deftly rolled up and
| tied near the end that is placed in the mouth
with a thin but strong thread. This species
of cigarette issmoked by both men, women,
| boys and girls Of all classes. The smoke is
elected indifferently from mouth or nOstril;
perhaps in the case of Womankind more
often from the latter 1t looks rather conf
cal to a stranger, at first, to see these little
women putting away, occasionally removing
their cigarette to knock off the ashes, chat
ting and laughing the while. These women
are are full of animation and vivacity, and
set about their business, or anything they
may have TO perform, with energy.