[23] All the Burmese royal residencies were and are still covered with
gilding. Shwey or gold, is also a Burmese term for royalty.

The illuminations, like the reedy music, went out slowly, and the brass
band had its turn and pom-pomed away finely, as the Prince and Princess
stood a little, on a knoll under the Club trees, in a glow of hundreds
of lamps. Their coming down the winding path from the knoll was
picturesque. I've a thumb-nail jotting of it, our people's faces on
either side were so enthusiastic, and the Prince looked so pleased and
the Princess looked so handsome and queenly, and the cheering--each man
seemed to think depended on himself alone. It was really very pretty,
the ladies' dresses, and uniforms and many black coats and the lamps on
the trees made a gay piece of colour. We do shine on occasions, we
people of the Occident, but the Burmese shine all the time.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17th.--Now we are moving on, up the river, by the Irrawaddy Flotilla Co.
paddle boat, instead of going to Mandalay by train and down by boat as
is more customary, this for the reason that all the comfortable bogie
carriages are away north with the Prince's following, and night in an
old carriage is not to our tastes.

We go south down this Rangoon River a little way, then about sixty miles
from the sea, cut across the Delta west by the Bassein Creek, and get
into the navigable Irrawaddy, spending a night on the way tied up in the
creek at a place where, I am told, we will probably be attacked by a
very powerful tribe of mosquitoes, then next day higher up we will,
according to Messrs Cook, see mountains again!

[Illustration: Sunset on the Irrawaddy]

CHAPTER XXVI

17th January.--On the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company's S.S. "Java"--after
our British India S.S. experience it is delightful, the quiet utterly
soothing. It is hot it is true--hot as in the hot weather they say, but
the air is clean on the river.

We are now on the Bassein Creek, twenty-five miles long, going across
the Delta west from Rangoon River to the Irrawaddy to steam up it for
five days, tying up at night. It is better even than we were told!

This steamer is long, low, and wide decked, with a nice saloon forward
on the upper deck, eight cosy cabins on either side, and a promenade in
front of them, on the fo'csle head as it were. Aft, divided from us by
the pantry and a wire partition, there