in Burma. There is no Englishman who knows the
Shway Dagon better than he does, and if he took to
writing his impressions, I fear that my own vocation
would be at an end. He is the only painter who has
devoted himself to Burma, and his pictures are a
revelation and a record of its beauty.
Almost the whole of this book is newt but the
chapter on the I rrawaddy Defiles appeared first in
The Century Magazine (New York), and some account
of my cruise in the Mergui Archipelago was given by
me in The Pioneer newspaper (Allahabad). I am
obliged to their Editors for permission to republish
these articles here. To my friend Mr. Henry W. Cave,
whose books on Ceylon have long been a delight to
lovers of Eastern life and scenery, I am obliged for
the perusal of the final proof-sheets of this book, and
for many other kindnesses.
The cover design of these volumes is by Miss
Christabel Yeats, of the Herkomer School.
O’C
A u t h o r s ’ C l u b ,
WH iiEHA LL COURT, S .W .
C O N T E N T S
VOL I
BOOK I
IN T R O D U C T O R Y
CHAP. PAGE
I. THE COUNTRY . . . . . . 3
II. THE PEOPLES . . l 6
BOOK II
T H E C A P IT A L
III. ITS BEGINNINGS . . .. . . ., 55
IV. THE MODERN CITY . . . . . 69
V. THE CITY AT NIGHT . . . . . . 79
VI. THE PUZUN-DAUN-G GREER • • • • ■ 91
VII. THE SHWAY DAGÓN . . . . . - 94
BOOK III
T H E N O R T H E R N I R R A W A D D Y
VIII. THE D EF ILE S ....................................................... . 147
IX. B H A M O .............................................................................................188
X. THE ROAD TO C H I N A .............................................................. 211
x i