that centre of life in every Eastern town. Outside,,
under the green boughs of the gold mohur and the
padouk, there is a colony of large yellow umbrellas fixed
in the soil, under which there sit the fruit and vegetable
dealers, driving a brisk trade.
They love, these delightful souls, to sit out here in
the fresh morning, and willingly take their chance of sun
“ p e i N g a w ” s a i l i n g , u p s t r e a m
and rain. Laughter and joy are in the air, cheeriness
is writ on the faces of the passers-by, there is colour
in every detail. The scene is interesting by the hour.
How different to its Indian fellow of the same name,
in the happy laughter-loving note that brightens its life !
The great iron building which spreads its wings
above the al fresco shops is more favoured by the
•dealers in silks and shawls, in Birmingham trinkets, and
th e embroidered
t r a p p i n g s o f
horses. For an
i ron building in
the British style,
it is not wholly
bad; two quadrangles
lie open to
the sky, and they
are full of shrubs
and grasses ;• and,
under the iron, the
long aisles of stalls
are tenanted by
the. prettiest girls
of Prome. They
come here in the
early mornings one
by one, and open
their stalls, shaking
their silks to the
light, till the whole
r i ch interior i s
filled wi th the
shimmer o f th e
beautiful f a b r i c ;
with the glint of
pink and g r e en
pawas, of gorgeous
gaungbaungs, o f