infinite care and
finish on her small
head, is decorated
with a spray of
t u b e r o s e s ; her
short coat of muslin
is immaculately
whi t e ; a pi nk
pawa, l i g h t as
gossamer, bl ows
a b o u t he r
shoulders ; there is
a shimmer of silk
about her knees ;
her b a r e feet ,
turned up, have the
subtle' f emi ni ne
attraction. There
is no trace in her
soft face of that
straining -after concentration
while at
prayer, which is
characteristic o f
the s t r e n u o u s
peoples. All that
she does seems to
r s“ ? " -IR™mpAlTe THB OATf f F :™E: come to her without
thought/ A
little Pagan if you: will, worshipping without any more
fUa
effort than some field-flower, when it opens to the
sky above it.
There is a party of nuns behind her, wrinkled and
small and old. They tell, their beads,.and wag their
toothless jaws, and come and go with the large red-
lacquered trays and water-bottles, which are as much a
part of them as
the begging-bowls
and palmyra fans
are of the male
fraternity.
A group of
Chinese Shans, in
s t r a n g e headdress
and long
c oa t s,. c l i n g
together here, as
do all provincials
on a v i s i t to
the capital. A
mo t h e r s i t s
n u r s i n g her
BRONZE GIANTS. FROM ARACAN
b a be ; sma l l
urchins lie about, with, no idea of worship; monks
in flowing robes pick their way through the prostrate
crowd; young fellows in silks swagger about;
stall-holders take their ease under signboards of
fantastic, design, wholly unconscious of any impropriety,
and keen spectators of the moving drama that unfolds
before them from dawn to dark. Few occupations
VOL. I. 385 C C