he risk of capsizing in the terribly rough roads they often have to
travel.

In the common country carts the wheels have very wide rims, across
which is fastened a single flat piece of wood instead of spokes, and
in many cases the wheels are quite solid. The body is plain, but the
yoke and yoke-pins are often carved, and the pole usually finishes in
some grotesque ornament.

When travelling the carts are covered by a hood of matting, and a
mattress inside eases the jolting by day, and serves as a bed at
night.

The pleasure gharry, however, is quite a pretty vehicle. The wheels
have a very large number of thin spokes, and the hub is always
ornamental. The sides consist of an open balustrade, and the rails
sweeping backward in a fine curve, to terminate in a piece of carving
high above the rail.

In Mandalay another pretty cart is used by the ladies when out calling
or shopping. This is a closed carriage built entirely of wood, each
panel of which is carved, and is just high enough in the roof to
permit the ladies to sit upright upon their cushions. We can see them
through the little unglazed windows, looking pretty or dignified, as
the case may be; but dignity disappears so soon as they attempt to
dismount, for this can only be done through a small door at the back,
through which the rider must crawl backwards and then drop to the
ground.

Games, as usual, figure largely in the young life of the place. A
curious kind of football called "chinlon" is very general, and the
instinct for sport comes out early in the boys, who, while flying
their kites, attempt by skilful manoeuvring to saw through each
other's lines and so prove a "conqueror." The little girls have their
amusements also, and it is pretty to see a little one being drawn
about in a diminutive go-cart, or, squatting on her haunches by the
doorstep, endeavouring to fathom the intricacies of doll-dressing.

Let us wander round the streets and see what we can find to interest
us. First it will be noticed that beside every house are two long
poles; one has a hook at its end, and the other is formed into a sort
of broad paddle. These are provided in case of fire, when with the
hook the thatch is pulled down, or the fire beaten out with the other.
Fires are constantly occurring, for though every house is supposed to
have a separate cooking shed, carelessness, or the habit of cooking
indoors, is largely responsible for them, and there is very little
hope for