The record-union., 1895-10-26
LIFE IN BURMAH.
Private Houses Built on Piles Twelve
Feet High.
A Curious People Who Are Rapidly
Adapting Themselves to Civil
liked Notions.

Moulmein south and Rangoon in the
middle. Most people don't even know
that It is supposed generally that the
chief productions of Burmah are pine
apples, ponies and pagodas-some of
the latter growing to a considerable
size; that the women walk about in
silk petticoats of a peculiar cut; that
there are white elephants wandering
about somewhere or other; that there
is an abundance of rice and of rain in
the country, and that the surplus rev.
enue is found very useful to the Gov
eminent of India. This very fairly rep
resents the average geographical, an
tiGuarian, sanitary and sociological
knowledge that the outside world has
OF Burmah, and it seems very contented
withal 1t would be as we'll to unde-
ceiVe it.
Burmah is the rising province of the
East-a trifie out of the way, perhaps,
but none the less an entity not to be
ignored. That old, old story of the
difference between RangoOn and HadeS
is worth telling again, if only for an
Illustration of the climate. "Hades and
RaEgoon are so similar that, if it were
not for the abundance of water at the
same" ST non VerO ben travatO
Rangoon is hot. When you have to
take your bed-or have it taken for
vol (fOr you never do anything for
yourself in these hot climateS)-on to
the roof and sleep there, surrounded,
of course, by mosquito curtains, the
heat in New York seems insignificant.
Taking off your clotheS-and you wear
very few of them-iS d relief; taking off
your skin would be infinitely preferable.
Your Burmese servant, if you are lucky
enough to have a Burman, is a treas
ure, but he can only bring you your
whisky and soda and tell the hoy"
outside to work the punkah little
faSter-that is, if you elect to sleep
inside the house. The houses, indeed,
are built to suit your every little fad.
Now and then you may run across a
ground floor but as rule the private
houses are built on piles from one to
twelve feet high. This is rendered nee
esSary by the rainfall, which often reg
listers 100 inches a year. This inceSSant
rain is a terrible element of destruction.
Books and clothes are rendered useless
in very short time unless they are
carefully looked after, and your photo
graphs are covered with mildew.
The first floor of your house is the
house itself. 1t comprises your draw
ing-rOOm, your dining-roOm and your
bedrooms. Your kitchen is situated
away in the compound" Ghe term used
for "garden'D and your servants sleep
well, goodness knows where they do
sleep. You make no provision for them.
AS long as they are at your beck and
| call, what matters it? Your bearer
(Anglice, valet sleeps outside your
| door on mat, and the rest of your es-
Establishment may take their rest in Je-
rusalem for what you know. They
seem, however, to be always on the spot.
You do not pay for their board. They
live on two or three rupees a month, and
apparently only eat rice, which they
throw into their mouths, eScheWing a
spoon or a fork, as if it were a part of
their religion to do so. And, truth to
tell, this religion, or rather caste" is
terrible nuisance. A mOdestly sized
household will require a dozen or more
servants. Your bearer" will attend
to your personal wants, will wait on
you at your table, and stand behind
your chair when you go out to dinner,
but he will do nothing mental The man
who grooms your pony won't bring the
grass or water to the stable, and so on
from high to low. They all seem to be
of a different caste and will only
perform those duties which their
"caSte" allows them to do. This is what
makes living so expensive. Their indi-
vidual wages are not excessive, but
taken in lump sum they mount up to
a respectable figure.
AS a rule, you rise at A. NJ, or. at
all events, you are called punctually at
that hour by your bearer" or boy"
who brings you a cup of coffee and
some hot buttered toast. This is called
"chOta hazree," or little breakfast"
You then don a negligee shirt-the
older the better-and are driven down
town to business; or, if you are so for
tUnate as not to have any cares of life
in that direction, you go for drive or
a ride on one of your Pegon ponies.
There are, it may be mentioned, very
few horses in Rangoon; most of the To-
comotion is provided by ponies from the
Shan village. At 8 o'clock or thereabout
you return home, strip yourself and in
dulge in cold bath, and then dress
properly for the day. A substantial
breakfast follows, after which you
again drive down town for the BUSH
ness of the day. You may possibly,
and probably have, luncheon, or 'tiffin, -
as it is called, at 1 o'clock, and from
that hour till o'clock you devote your
self to business. Then comes the most
enjoyable part of the day The heat
of the sun is relaxed, and you drive
home, only to take another cold bath
and dress yourself for any relaxation
that may best appeal to your mood.
AS there are two regimentS-an English
and a natiVe-Stationedin RangoOn, the
amuSementS are various. Afternoon
dances in the cool weather, which lasts
from November to the end of January,
are a distinguishing feature, and the
regimental bands play every evening
for the edification of lovers
There is, too, a gymkhana, where-al-
ways supposing you are decent mem
Der of society with a big s. you can
devote yourself to any sport you fancy,
from cricket to croquet You dine at Z
o'clock, and go to bed any time from
to IL o'clOck-the earlier, perhaps, the
better. Thus ends your day.
The social side of a life in Rangoon IS
amusing in its rightly. The etiquette
that, for instance, has to be observed
in choosing the guests for dinner
party would seem foolish to an Ameri-
can, but so strict are the laws of the
boudoir cabal that the arrangement is
a task which tries the faculties and
discernment of a hostess to ridiculous
extent. To see the mistress of the house
busying herself round a floribund din
ner table with fourteen or sixteen little
pieces of paper in one hand and an army
list and other official publications in
the other is a treat for a republican,
but so sure as the least error or devia-
ton in precedence is made, so surely
will that particular household suffer in
it's reputation. And so all the way
through. There is a want of honesty
and sincerity, as rule, in the depths of
this provincial society, and even when
those qualities are with difficulty dis
cerned, they are prostituted and made
sUbservient to a false sense of dignity
which is puerile in the extreme.
Life in the jungle is, of course, en-
| IL L l..
have to put up with three or four serv-
ants, and in some places will not have
the opportunity of seeing white face
for months. If you delight in sport