178 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
erection, through whose walls the monsoon rains 
literally spurted, and through whose floors notes 
might be dropped to the occupants of the rooms 
below. In those days Maymyo was in its infancy, 
but under the fostering care of various Lieutenant- 
Governors it has sprung into one of the best hill- 
stations in the Empire; its polo-ground is perhaps 
unsurpassed, the golf-course is interesting, there is 
some hunting, and good roads invite pleasant excur- 
sions in many directions. There is a club, a hospital, 
and a travellers’ rest-house, and the officials and 
visitors have fine houses and gardens. But in the 
beginning it was not so, and the place was in itself 
unhealthy, while there were many other incon- 
veniences incidental to a new settlement. It will 
hardly be realized what an important part  hill- 
stations have played in the social life and morals 
of exiles in the East. By making it possible that 
white women and children should make their homes 
there, these mountain settlements have altered the 
whole tone of society, and have raised it to a level 
which the pleadings of the Government or even its 
stern, and sometimes inappropriate, edicts could not 
compel. To Sir Frederick Fryer is due the credit for 
having established Maymyo as a summer resort, as 
well as for the changes that have followed on the 
creation of not one but several mountain resorts, 
where the isolation and other drawbacks of a 
tropical summer may be obviated or ameliorated. 
After a few months spent in Maymyo we started on 
a summer trip on the Irrawadi River. The Govern- 
ment launch was a fine stern-wheeler, capable of a 
speed of about twelve miles an hour, and possessing 
