has for so long been a great trade
centre that the easy-going Burman is rather overshadowed; but as it is
typical of many foreign places where our fathers or brothers are
occupied, and where some of my readers may presently have to go, I
thought it would be interesting to give you this glimpse of European
life in India, and in the next chapter I will tell you something about
the Burmans themselves.

CHAPTER III

THE PEOPLE

Have you ever thought how the character of the various races of the
world is more or less determined by the nature of the country of their
origin? Rugged mountains and a hard climate produce people of a
similar severity of type, and, on the other hand, one naturally looks
for poetry and music in a people so pleasantly and romantically
situated as are the Italians. In the same way the Burmese are pretty
much what their country has made them. The land is so very fertile
that almost anything will grow there, and Nature provides food for the
people with the least possible effort on their own part. The climate
is also damp, warm, and enervating, so that one would not expect to
find among its inhabitants much energy or decision of character. Their
beautiful religion also makes them kind and gentle, and their
isolation, which, as I have pointed out, separates them from the
neighbouring countries, has left them almost entirely undisturbed by
the activities of the greater world. In fact, on account of their
easy-going and contented nature, the Burmese are often called the
"Irish of the East," and I am afraid it must be said that the men are
rather lazy, and, like their prototypes in some parts of Ireland,
leave most of the work to the women.

As a rule, the Burmese women are industrious and clever at business,
most of which is conducted by them, while the men are more fond of
sport of all kinds than employment. All, however, are gentle in
character, light-hearted, and merry, and like to repeat in their
clothing the beautiful tints of their forest flowers and
gaily-coloured birds and butterflies.

It is not surprising, therefore, that among the alien races so busily
engaged in the trade of Rangoon the Burmans should be overshadowed and
rather lost to sight; and though in Rangoon itself there are many
streets occupied entirely by them, it is in the quieter surroundings
of the suburbs that the Burman appears to advantage.

Many little Burmese villages surround Rangoon, where, half buried in
the