character . In
1893 they ended
in a riot, which
was only quelled
after thirty persons
had b e e n
shot down, some
two hundr e d,
mostly mounted
policemen, h a d
be en wounded,
and a regiment
of English sol diers
had be en
s ummo ne d to
o v e r - a w e the
populace. Often,
as I drive down
this crowded thoroughfare,
p a s t
the archways of
th e mosque, I
am reminded of
the appearance it
presented on that
occasion, when its
steps were slippery
M O G U t ST R E E T ^ ^ b J o o d
of mullahs and muezzins and chulias, pouring out of
ragged wounds made by the sniders of the military
70
police. I am reminded of the latent forces of an ancient
hate, under the new cosmopolitan unity of Rangoon.
For Mogul Street is a living bit of India. Except
as a wayfarer, no Burman
on the left as one faces
the town, are Latter Street
and Tsikai Moung Khine
Street, with their tributaries,
in which the Chinese
community musters in
force. It is a community
of exclusive people, with
an atmosphere and an
architecture of its own ;
a community of rich mer-:
chants with broad views
and the feelings and manners
of gentlemen. Thé
Englishmen, who stand at
the top of the commercial
ladder, réadily admit that
they would rather do business
with the Chinaman
than with any other Oriental
in Rangoon. And
this is as true of the carpenter
who makes goods
o f mediæval solidity as it
is of the leading Chinamen
whose houses tower above
occupies it. Parallel to it,
9,
I»
MINARETS, IN MOGUL STR E E T