( 56 ) 



that if the opium-smokers could not be limited to space, they might 

 be so as to time, and thereby allow Mr. Graham and myself a little 

 time to breathe fresh air. My appeal, however, proved of no avail : 

 the Chinamen had taken first-class deck passages, and could not be 

 interfered with ; in other words, these were the paying people, and 

 it would not have been to the interest of the Company to have put 

 their pipes out. Fortunately, habit soon becomes a second nature, 

 and in a couple of days I should not have known, but that I was 

 inhaling the purest of oxygen ; in fact, before reaching Bhamo I 

 was induced to try a whiff or so of the poisonous drug, by an old 

 Chinaman who had ingratiated himself into my good books by his 

 charmingly interesting accounts of the jade* trade, and his intended 

 route to Western China via Momein; but I vowed never again to 

 try the experiment, for the next morning I awoke with a head no 

 amount of " doctors" or " pick-me-ups" could cure, the only remedy, 

 my old friend suggested, was to repeat the dose of the previous 

 night, but that I declined. 



104. I shall not stop here to relate all Iheard of the jade trade, 



or route to Western China, for it would 



Burmese game of chess described. ^ be & repet i t i on f w h a t i s coming 



presently. The country between Man- 

 dalay and the third defile, not being sufficiently interesting to engage 

 the whole of my attention, I alternately took notes, and watched two 

 Burmans playing chess. Each player seemed perfectly wrapped up in 

 his own line of tactics, and lost to all that was going on around him. 

 Each move was only made after the most deliberate thought ; nor 

 was a word exchanged between the players beyond proclaiming 

 check. The game lasted two hours and ten minutes, when the com- 

 bat was brought to a close in a " drawn" game. The players could 

 now no longer maintain their silence, but joined the spectators 

 in their merry gabble and peals of laughter. Being interested in 

 chess, I made my interpreter teach me the names of the Burmese 

 pieces and their moves; and, before we reached Bhamo, I was 

 sufficiently acquainted with the game to often defeat my Burmese 

 opponents. They seemed, at the start off, amused at my line of 

 tactics, but ultimately acknowledged some of my." mates" capital. 

 Many is the horn at night that I have watched two and three 

 of these Burman enthusiasts, trying to solve some of the pro- 

 blems I had given them. A brief sketch of the game, which differs 

 but little from our own, will doubtless prove interesting. As with 

 us, so apparently with the Burmans, chess is a game more in favour 



*Also called serpentine and ophite. They are all hydrous silicates of magnesia with iron 

 manganese or chrome, and sometimes alumina. Jade corresponds nearly to verd antique, 

 which is a precious serpentine, or beautiful and valuable marble mixed with hme-stone. 



