il liSTRODUCTiO]*. 



the ear, like distant music. The traveller's path often leads 

 up the middle of one of these streams, and every turn, like a 

 turn in the kaleidescope, reveals something new and pleasing 

 to the eye. Here, a daisy-like flower nods over the margin, as 

 if to look at her modest face in the reflecting waters ; there, 

 the lotus-leafed wild arum stands knee deep in water, shaking 

 around with the motion of the stream, the dew drops on its 

 peltate bosom, like drops of glittering quicksilver. Here, the 

 bare fantastic rocts of a willow, sprinkled with its woolly cap- 

 sules, come down to the water's edge, or it may be an eugenia 

 tree, with its fragrant white corymbs, or a water dillenia, with 

 its brick-red scaly trunk, and green, apple-like fruit, occupies 

 its place ; there, the long drooping red tassels of the barring- 

 tonia hang far over the bank, dropping its blossoms on the 

 water, food for numerous members of the Carp family congre- 

 gated below. On the islets are seen a dwarf species of wild 

 fig, and the bare rocks on which vegetation has not yet squat- 

 ted are often the watch-tower of the king-fisher, with her wings 

 of blue, and breast of red. Now we come on a little patch of 

 impenetrable reeds, a Mississippian cane brake in miniature ; 

 and anon the pink corymbs of a shrubby species of Ixora looks 

 down upon us from a steep bank. In place of the reed, we 

 have sometimes a thicket of the curious half-anthered Phryni- 

 um, and instead of the Ixora, we have often large clusters of a 

 fragrant clerodendron, of which our forests produce three or 

 four different species. Often the waters breathe the odor of 

 the lily from the water Crinums that float their large blossoms 

 on the surface, while on the margin, the glowing red flowers 

 of the amonum peep up from the base of their green stems ; 

 or a creeping species of acacia entwines its globular scentless 

 flowers with the fragrant one sided spikes of the Hopea, high 

 in the lofty tree tops. Here an ebony tree droops beneath 

 the weight of its persimmon-like fruit, and there a gamboge 

 tree lifts its graceful head, with its delicate little mangosteens 

 in miniature ; or the large creeping oleastor swings from the 

 forest tree to which it clings its rich bunches of sour scarlet 

 plums. 



Some pages in our natural scenery are quite unique. Take 

 one for illustration, that is constantly open before the face of 

 Maulmain. 



