full title of “ Builder of a Monastery.” The good lady
is more than willing, for the glory of her husband is
reflected upon herself, and it is with her willing consent
that the distribution of his wealth proceeds. He
also, in calling to her in the presence of strangers,
wi 11 b e pa r t i cul a r
to address her as Ky-
aung-Taga-mah, or “ O
Wife of the Builder of
a Monastery.” Religious
duties at this season
of his life greatly occupy
his attention. A rosary
is constantly in his hand,
and upon his lips there
move all the day long,
when he is alone, the
phrases of his faith. He
is much at the pagoda,
to which he climbs, in
spite of his failing powers,
a t t h e l o o m each day with an offering
of f l owe r s ; and h i s
constant haunt is the local monastery, his own if he
be a Kyaung-Taga, where, he sits reverently- at
the feet of the abbot, listening to pious homilies, and
in moments of weakness retailing the day’s news. I
know of no country in the world in which old age
comes so serenely upon its men as Burma, no country
in which the movement towards better things at this
season is so universal ;
and it has long been a
pleasure to me to see
these old men going
to and fro upon the
closing business of their
lives, to come upon
them at. the_ monasteries,
and to talk with
them. For the' manners
of even the humblest of
them are grave and fine.
At the other end of
A SON OF TH E JUNQLE
life to the old men are
the small children. In them the liveliness and happiness
of the race are crossed by no flaw. The sheer joy of
life abides in them, and they seem to live perpetually
at play ; in the village street, where they play a game
of ninepins with the great Seeds of a jungle creeper ;
in the monastery, where they lie upon the floor and
scream out their lessons with lusty delight ; in the
river, in which they splash and plunge before they
can walk; at the play, where they crawl about amongst
the feet of the prima donna and the posing kings.;
and at the pagoda, where they hold flowers before
them with faces screwed up to .gravity, with laughter
pent up behind it. And if there be any dispute about
the good looks of their elders, there can be none as
to the prettiness of Burmese children. A little Burmese
girl or boy is the most doll-like creature in the world