over water. It was done by some far-away artist in
civilised China. Tea is served in delicate porcelain
cups; and cigarettes, the handiwork of my host’s
Burmese wife, are produced from an inner room by the
lady herself. We sit in the lacquered chairs, ranged
stiffly against the wall
with the formality of a
French salon. Two of
the more taciturn memjl
bers of the party remain
silent, smoking
their long silver pipes ;
but my host is cheery
and sociable and quite
ready to talk. He explains
that he and his
two brothers are in
partnership, and that
the arrangement between
them is that each
shall spend three years,
after an absence of six,
In his native town of
Momein, in Southern
China. They have
h o u s e s at Momein,
Bhamo, and Rangoon.
They deal in raw
cotton and piece-goods,
and import a variety of t h e j a n i t o r
199
