MARKETS IN MANDALAY 237 



and sociable, without caste, more straightforward, frank, and 



jovial, and showing a deal of independence both in his manner 



of speech and dealings. His attention whilst wandering about 



from stall to stall might well be drawn to the bright, amiable, 



chatty, self-possessed, vivacious manner of their women-folk, 



whose freedom of action in every respect is unparalleled 



amongst any other Oriental nation. Their graceful and 



fascinating ways grow upon us more and more the longer one 



knows them, and they, like the men, have a great eye to dress 



and adornment of person, the greater part of their clothing 



consisting of silks made for the most part in Manchester ; he 



or she is in a very poor way indeed who does not wear 



some article of silk about the person, or some such ornament 



as gold bangles, rings, necklaces, and earrings of various 



designs. They also, however, manufacture by hand-looms or 



shuttles their own silk, which is really a very strong wearable 



and good washing material. Many European ladies in Burma 



wear blouses made from really very pretty patterns and shades 



of this particularly strong and purely silk material. 



The Burmese have well been called the "Irish of the East"; 

 they are full of wit and humour, and are never at a loss for a 

 quick repartee. They are a nation of smokers ; their children 

 as soon as they can walk are provided with cheroots quite 

 an inch in thickness, and sometimes quite a foot in length. 

 Often a child at the breast will take his mother's cheroot and 

 take a puff or two. It is amusing to see little boys and girls 

 in the streets puffing away at these torches, handling them 

 with the same grace and ease as is shown by their elders. 

 The men do a good deal of trade in a small huckstering way, 

 in either stalls in the market-place, "ze," or in their own 

 houses ; the women, however, do nearly all the real hard work 

 and attend to all the wants of the household, in fact, they do 

 everything except till the ground, and are infinitely superior 

 in every way to their lords. These have, unfortunately, the 

 terrible fault of being inconceivably lazy, apathetic, unam- 

 bitious, which, coupled with their absolute indifference, conceit, 

 and independence, will eventually, more's the pity, be the means 

 of allowing themselves in the not very distant future to be 

 ousted and superseded in every department of commercial 



