( si ) 



favour of the workmanship, my description must he limited. No 

 doubt, during my stay there, in December and January, I saw 

 things under the most unfavourable circumstances, for Mr. Cooper 

 had made no attempt to study comfort during his short stay, and 

 this large rambhng, imfurnished building, presented the most dismal, 

 melancholy appearance possible to conceive ; I was not in the least 

 surprised to hear my host complain of depression of spirits, as he 

 sat of an early morning in an easy chair, muffled up in a large fur- 

 skin in an atmosphere of dense fog, that had penetrated the build- 

 ing through the open space between the walls and roof. The liver, 

 as a matter of course, was accused of bad behaviour ; in fact, of 

 sulking at the isolated life it had to lead ; but I should have traced 

 the origin of his malady to another cause, and I am certain, had I 

 remained in Bhamo another month under similar conditions, I 

 should have been equally as bad. The only improvement Mr. 

 Cooper seemed interested in, was the construction of a front en- 

 trance to the house, being under the impression that the more 

 wealthy and important people of the place shunned the Residency, 

 having to enter the building from beneath, — a practice Burmans 

 in position have a strong aversion to. I am here reminded of an 

 amusing anecdote corroborant of this peculiar antipathy, in which, 

 during the earlier part of our conquest, it was found necessary to 

 haul a Burman of position through the window of a high official, 

 on whom he had occasion to call, but objected to enter from 

 beneath the building ! This prejudice, I am told, becomes stronger 

 when the inhabitants are not confined to the male sex. The enclo- 

 sure to the Residency is a bamboo mat fence, and at the front en- 

 trance there is a guard of twelve sepoys and a havildar, more for 

 show, I presume, than protection. 



154. It was fortunate both Mr. Cooper and myself were fond of 

 Excursions with Mr. Cooper, and out-door pursuits, so that the absence 

 account of the sights. of comfort at home little mattered. An 



hour or so after breakfast I always started on my rambles, and seldom 

 returned before 6 p. m. Mr. Cooper could not always accompany me 

 in the early part of the day, for he had his office work to attend to ; 

 but we generally managed to have our evening shooting together. 

 Sport is not plentiful in the immediate neighbourhood of Bhamo, 

 for the painted partridge, jungle fowl, and pheasants are too ex- 

 tensively snared, and deer and hog so hunted and worried with dogs 

 throughout the year, that but few are met with on this side of the 

 river ; still we seldom returned without something for the pot, which 

 the absence of animal food necessitated our shooting for, quite as 

 much as the mere love of sport. For deer shooting we generally had 



11 



