BOOKS.

WINTER'S SIX MONTHS IN BRITISH BURMAII.*

IF " the eye can only see what it brings the power of seeing," still more true is it that a man can only observe what the charac- ter of his mind qualifies him for observing. He may have will, industry, and a certain degree of what is called talent ; but if he has not been trained to some pursuit on whose productions he can look with "learned eyes," or cultivated a general power of obser- vation, he will travel to little purpose. The novelties of nature in sea, air, and on land, will be spread before him in vain. The industry, arts, and manners of men, will pass before him unpro- fitably—to his readers at all events, and even the mere outward forms of things will either be described baldly, or attempted in the smart showman-like style of " our own reporter." British Burmah in 1857 looks an attractive subject. The country watered by the Delta of the Irrawaddy is geographically remarkable, if somewhat too hot and swampy for an agreeable place of residence. Its commercial business, its industrial pro- ducts—we do not mean as exhibited in blue-book statistics or curt compilations on natural history—and more than all, the ope- ration of our rule, and of our freedom, (at least of locomotion and industry) on the native character, are topics on which new infor- mation of a searching and trustworthy kind is desirable. Very little of such, however, is to be found in the pages of Mr. Winter. Starting in a steamer from Calcutta in April last year, he visited Rangoon, and subsequently sojourned at Maulmain, making oc- casional excursions about the country. What the objects were which induced the six months' residence of Mr. Winter in Bur- mah do not appear, but he seems to have made as much use of what he "had studied at a distance," as what he saw or might have seen in the reality. A large portion of the book is in a cer- tain sense compilation ; the matter is taken from missionary pub- lications or other writings. Except so far as the author's proceed- ings determine his arrangement, the common plan of geographical and colonial writers is followed. There are accounts of the cli- mate and of the exports. We have chapters on the mineral re- sources, flora, zoology, ornithology, fish, and reptiles of the Te- nasserim provinces, in which Mr. 'Winter chiefly sojourned. The Budhist religion a pretty well-worn subject already, and by more fully stored heads than our author's, is treated of, as well as the geography of the whole country subject to the British sway, and the mode of government we have established. Above one- fourth of the book is devoted to the first Burman war, which though a mere abridgment of well-known accounts, is not the least interesting part of the volume from its spirit-stirring events. The native court historian's version of the business is so boldly cool, that his merits were really buried in the kingdom of the golden foot. He deserved to be an Imperial historiographer in Europe.

"The account of this war recorded in the national chronicles by the court historian was as follows. In the years 1186 and 87, the Kalu-pyu, or white strangers of the west, fastened a quarrel upon the Lord of the Golden Palace. They landed at Rangoon, took that place and Prome, and were permitted to advance as far as Yondaboo ; for the King, from motives of piety and regard to life, made no effort whatever to oppose them. The strangers had spent vast sums of money in their enterprise ; and by the time they reached Yandaboo their resources were exhausted, and they were in great distress. They petitioned the King, who in his clemency and generosity sent them large sums of money to pay expenses, and ordered them out of the country.'"

The more original parts of the book chiefly relate to externals, as buildings, landscapes, processions, and the general appearance of people and things. The lateness of the information gives inte- rest to this sketch of Rangoon last year.

"The native town is of a very mean appearance, the houses being made chiefly of bamboo and the leaf of the water-palm ; but wood and tiles arc being introduced for roofing. Just previous to may visit a most destructive fire had consumed whole streets and bazaars, but they had grown up again like so many mushrooms with astonishing rapidity. A great change has taken place in Rangoon since it has come under the dominion of the British, and large sums of money, (more than eleven lakhs of rupees on the city, and above a lakh and a half en the cantonments,) have been ex- pended on its improvement. Capital roads and streets now intersect every part of the town, and mostly derive their names from their re- spective breadths. Many good and spacious'pucka/.s' houses, build- ings of brick or stone, have been erected, most of which are occu- pied by mercantile firms. Their gains are often large ; but they not unfrcquently pay as high as three per cent, a month for money accommoda- tion, so that here, and also at Maulmain (where the rates of interest are equally high) money-lending or private banking is a most profitable busi- ness, as good security can generally be obtained. An increased revenue has accompanied the presence of the Bri- tish in Pegu. Under native rule the receipts were estimated to fall short of sixteen lees of rupees. They are now above thirty lacs. But to what degree this arises from an increased field of taxation or mere tax-gathering arts, we are not informed. The most im- portant items are the land and capitation tax ; the customs " in- land " and "sea "—by which we suppose is meant import and export-duties—rank next, and Pegu is also favoured with an ex- cise ; but beyond the general sum total, the only information fur- nished is a blue-book list of items. Improvement is taking plao, at Maulmain somewhat after the Hygienic doctrinaire fashion at home, with this difference ; that in London your purse is attacked to carry out a system, in Maulmain it touches your life.

"A great number of the houses of Maulmain are now tiled; but this ipfl . provement is being effected by a somewhat arbitrary enactment, which in terdicts the use of thatch to a whole district at once, under severe penal'

• Six Months in British Burnsaa: or, India beyond the Ganges in 1857. By Christopher T. Winter. Published by Bentley. ties, which in the case of native houses, is tantamount to pulling them down, for the frail erections are not often capable of supporting a roof of either tiles or shingles ; and besides, these rim to such an exorbitant price in consequence of the extraordinary demand for them, that they are quite beyond the means of the greater number of Burmans. On returning to gaulmain towards the end of the wet season, I was astonished to find a large district of the town nearly roofless, and as the rain still came down in heavy showers the inhabitants were in a miserable plight. Some had entirely for- saken their now useless houses, and many deaths amongst the sick and aged were reported in consequence of this unusual exposure to the weather. The commissioner, Colonel Sir Archibald Bogle, now absent in Europe, was, I believe, the originator of this ingenious plan for depopulating the town." A favourite diversion of the natives is a buffalo-fight which annually takes place at Tavoy. Mr. Winter terms it " barbarous " as well as exciting. We do not think that it is so barbarous as a ball-fight, or indeed as bull-baiting and some other "sports" practised in this country within a century or so, if not within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. A description of the affair and the interest it inspires, may be taken as a fair sample of Mr. Winter's more original matter.

"For many weeks previous to the actual commencement of the sport, pre- parations are going on in which the liveliest interest is manifested by all classes of the people. In several parts of the town enormous buffaloes may be seen, destined to take a part in the approaching contest. They are owned by different districts and townships ; and each one is an object of attraction aid interest to those who have chosen it for their champion. They sit around the huge animal for hours smoking, chatting, and arguing on its capabilities and disposition. They cut for it the freshest grass, and it by a cord passed through its nose to the soft mud in which it delights to wallow, and to the cooling stream, where it may often be seen nearly im- mersed, its broad black nose only raised above the water. At last the long- looked-for day arrives. On the spot before mentioned a number of sheds made of bamboo and thatch, the floors of which are raised several feet from the ground, are erected. All these are crammed with spectators, and thou- sands more occupy the inclosed space. At length a movement in a certain direction is perceived, cymbals and drums announce the arrival of the first buffalo, which forthwith makes its appearance in great state. First of all come a crowd of nearly naked men dancing, shouting, and cutting the most grotesque antics. Next walks the buffalo under a canopy, and surrounded by

a white cord held out by some of its supporters. A man leads it by a cord passed through its nose, and it is thus paraded round the ground. In a little while another movement is visible, and the excitement becomes more intense. Another buffalo is seen in the distance slowly wending its way to the scene of conflict. He soon arrives on the field, and is led towards his antagonist. The flags which have been held before the eyes of either ani- mal are now removed, and each is mounted by a Burman, who retains his seat on the animal's back as long as possible, at the imminent risk of being precipitated on the horns, or trampled under the feet, of the contending and enraged buffaloes. No sooner do the animals catch sight of each other than they rush furiously to the combat, and the clash of their massive foreheads may be heard at some distance. And now the excitement of the people is at its height ; the mass of human beings sways to and fro and closes around the buffaloes. Peons with long bamboos beat back the crowd. Men interested in the vic- tory of their champion buffalo urge him on in every possible manner. The fray seldom lasts longer than a few minutes, when one of the animals sud- denly comes to the conclusion that discretion is the better part of valour, and remembering, no doubt, the maxim of Hudibras, rushes from the field through the midst of the spectators, whilst its antagonist follows at its heels. On they go amid the shouts and laughter of the people, who generally bring them to a stand at a greater or less distance from the original scene of con- flict, when a more furious and lasting fight often ensues in which the tables are sometimes turned, the fugitive becoming in its turn the con- queror. Various bets are made on the issue of the contest, and as soon as it 1/3 decided the victorious party reappear on the ground, yelling, shouting,

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dancing, making the most frantic gestures, rolling n the mud, their dishevelled hair all the while streaming in the wind. Men, boys, and women join in a wild dance ; and, lastly, the victorious buffalo is paraded around the ,ground by his partisans. He is decked out with flowers, ca- ressed, and in one instance I observed a man kiss the huge brute on his forehead several times with great gusto. After a short interval, another pair of buffaloes arrive on the field, when a similar scene takes place. In some cases, one of the animals, being imbued, it would appear, with 'peace- at-any-price' principles, altogether refuses the combat, and bolts from the ground, to the great disgust of its friends and patrons."

The priests or bonzes of Budhism, are, as we all know, a species of monks vowed to poverty and chastity, and so closely resembling in many particulars the friars of Romanism, that if it were not es- tablished that the Budhist monasticism existed anterior to Christ, it would seem to have been borrowed from Popery. Such a num- ber of able bodied men abstracteil from the pursuits of industry Cannot be favourable to production' but Mr. Winter bears further testimony to their well-known zeal in education. The majority of the Burmese can read ; and here is a sample of the popular literature from a collection of tales.

"'The Rich Man's Daughter and her Three Lovers. (Story 15.) "'During the era of Cmunagongt there lived in Kambautsa four rich men, between whom existed a warm friendship. Three of them had each one son, whilst the fourth had an only daughter, of perfect beauty, and to her each of the three young men sent a messenger. The first promised that if the died before she was fifteen be would perform her funeral rites with every care. To this her parents replied, "It is well." The second sent to say that in the above case he would collect her ashes." To this also her parents signified their assent. The third sent to say that he would watch her tomb; to which her parents returned the same answer as before.

"'The damsel did die before she had attained her fifteenth year, and her parents desired the young men to bury her as they had promised; where- upon the first performed the rites of cremation, the second collected and re- moved her ashes, and the third kept watch over them in the cemetery, ac-

.din. to their respective promises. A jagee, who had come from the Runallya forests, happening to pass that way at the time, saw the young man keeping watch, and inquired the reason of his doing so ; to which he replied, he was watching over the bones of the dead. "Would you wish the dead to be restored to life ?" asked the jagee. "I would," replied the Youth. Upon this the jagee restored the damsel to life in all her pristine Deauty of form and feature. " ' The first rich man's son said, (when he saw her,) "I bore her corpse to the funeral pile and burnt it, therefore ought she not to be mine ?" The

The twenty-lifth Boodh, who lived SONO years, and was thirty cubits in sta- ture.

b tarry herhones." It is the custom at Burmese funerals after Literally, the corpse, to collect the remains and bury them. second, "I collected her bones, ought she not to be mine ? " The third, "Whilst I was watching in the cemetery she returned to life ; ought she not to be mine ?" "But what is the use of disputing with each other ? Let us submit to the decision of Princess Thoo-dhamina Isari." So they all three iepaired to her presence, and related to her the affair. When she had heard them, she thus gave judgment. "I understand this matter. One of you burnt the corpse of the damsel, and went his way ; the second collected her ashes, and did likewise ; but the third kept watch over her remains, although the family of a watcher in a cemetery is degraded to the seventh generatiou. During his watching also the damsel returned to life ; there- fore, as he deserted her not in death, let him be her partner in life.'"