in the valley of the river and along the skirts of the
mountains, adding by their ethereal lightness to the
spiritual beauty of the morning. Then the sun rises,
making an arch of red-gold on the horizon, and in a
little while, wide shafts of light are abroad in the green
glades and on the barred highway. It is a beautiful
road, laid out on the swelling uplands that gradually
climb, broken by little valleys and rivers, to the
threshold, and so to the summits of the Aracan Yoma.
The outlines of
the Yoma a r e
visible from here,
of that clarity,
combined wi th
softness, that is
only attained in
a country of distant
hor i z ons ,
after days of rain.
Splendid t r e e s
and delicate grasses border the highway on either
side : the great teak with her clustering flowers ruddy
against the blue sky ; the feathery palm, the versatile
acacia.
At Nathe there is a rest-house on a hill, and a police
post with a trifling stockade round it. But the guardhouse
of solid teak is interesting. The basement is a prison
fbr malefactors on their way to be tried by a magistrate.
It is constructed on the principle of a tiger’s cage— two
compartments, only one of which is open at the same
286
time. This makes a rush impossible. The upper story
is reached by a ladder and a drawbridge. It is loop-
holed, and furnished with handcuffs and leg-irons and
rows of dahs. It is built on a knoll, half-surrounded by
a stream which is crossed by a wooden bridge. A little
way off, outside these entrenchments, is the palisade of
huts in which live the wives and children of the guard.
Across the road is their patch of Indian corn.
From here we go on over hill and dale till we come
to Kyaukgyi. Behind
me rides a
Sikh trooper.
“ The Sikh,”
h e complacently
o b s e r v e s , “ do
great work for the
Raj. They a r e
brave men, ready
to d ie ; but they
are quiet, orderly,
obedient, and quarrel with no one. The Pathan also
is a fine man, but turbulent and passionate ; reckless
in moments of anger.”
Here are the two fundamental types of men. They
have bravery in common ; in all else they differ as the
ardent Celt from the sober Teuton. Both have found
a foreign master, and here, three thousand miles away
from their native homes in the plain-lands of the Manjha,
and the highlands of Tirah, they fight side by side for
the glory of the empire, and help to keep its peace.
287
ON TH E ROAD