KASHMIR TO CHINA 213 



and a parasol. These two accessories are as distinc- 

 tive of the Burman as is the tortoise-shell comb of 

 the Cingalee. The "whackin* white cheroot" as a 

 matter of fact does not in any way resemble a civ- 

 ilized cigar ; it is approximately a foot long and an 

 inch in diameter, and is cylindrical in shape, like a 

 cigarette, being filled with a marvellous assortment 

 of ingredients, sugar-cane, sandal-wood, incense- 

 bearing spices a little of everything, in fact, with 

 tobacco distinctly in the minority, and all con- 

 fined in a wrapper formed from the teak leaf or the 

 inner bark of the betel tree, more usually brown 

 than white. Indeed from its size one is tempted to 

 inquire what that cigar is doing with the little girl, 

 instead of vice versa. 



While mentioning the gaiety of the native life, I 

 might incidentally remark that the Burman passes 

 to the next world in a no less cheerful manner than 

 he proceeds through this. One has only to see a 

 Burmese funeral to accept the truth of my asser- 

 tion. The procession is preceded by some fifty boys, 

 laughing and shouting ; then comes the coffin, draped 

 in bright yellow silk and covered with flags of all 

 colors, and followed by the mourners, men, women, 

 and children, all in bright yellow, green, and pink, 

 all singing and laughing, and all smoking their be- 

 loved cigars. It is to be presumed that the lady or 



