is at the will of the king. Nobody is born with fortune
or rank, for everything belongs to the king and, at a man's death,
all goes back to him. Thus everyone in the land has an equal
chance. In war the bravest becomes a general, in peace the
cleverest is chosen as a councillor."

Walking about, Stanley soon found that there were a great variety
of dialects talked in the streets, and that the language of the
Burmese of the coast, of the natives of Pegu and the central
province, and of those from districts bordering on the Shan states
or the frontiers of China, differed as widely as those of the most
remote parts of Great Britain did from each other. This being so,
he was convinced that there would be no difficulty, whatever, in
passing as a native, without attracting any observation or inquiry,
so far as the language went.

His features and, still more, the shape of his face might, however,
be noticed by the first comer, in the daytime. He thought, indeed,
that a little tinge of colour in the corner of the eyes, so as to
lengthen their appearance and give an oblique cast to them, would
make a difference. The general shape of the head was unalterable,
but the Burmese nose and mouth did not differ very greatly from the
European; except that the nostrils were smaller and, in shape, were
round rather than oval.

For three weeks he continued the same life, and then the Burmese
officer, with whom he had now become very friendly, said when he
entered one morning:

"You must not go out today. There is news that your people have
made two forward marches. The first was against a stockade, which
they took, and killed many of our men; the other time they marched
out four or five miles, had a fight with our troops, and again
killed many. These things have angered the king and the people. Of
course it is nothing, for our troops are only beginning to
assemble; but it is considered insolent in the extreme, and the
king's face is darkened against your countrymen. Four of the
prisoners have been taken out this morning and publicly executed
and, if the news of another defeat comes, I fear that it will be
very dangerous, even for you."

"What had I best do, my friend?"

"I would fain save you, for we have come to know each other; and I
see that there is much good in your ways, though they differ
greatly from ours. Were I to take you out, as usual, you might be
killed in the streets; were you to slip away and escape, I should
assu