Burmese Sketches - Khamkoo

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BURMESE SKETCHEB.
MAUNG PO : A PRODUCT OF WESTERN
CIVILIZATION (1886).
(A FRAG!V!ENT.)
CHAPTER I.—EARLY YEARS.
In the district of P — there is a small town on the left bank
of the river Irrawadd3\ A fine) pretty place is that town ; and
cool, sequestered, and quiet, it lies ensconced between two
low ranges of hills overgrown with gardens of custard-apples,
guavas, jack, mangoes, papayas, etc. It is a beautiful spot
well deserving the sobriquet of the '' Arcadia " of the district.
In this town Maung Po was born. His father was a wealthy
trader -in fact, the Rothschild of the place. He was a prac-
tical ^A;-priest, who knew well how to apply his learning to the
intricacies of daily life. He had two sons and three daughters,
and our hero was the youngest. Youngest sons are somehow
always loved more than any other children, and Maung Po, in
accordance with this natural law, became the pet of the family.
He grew up strong and healthy in that happy homestead of
his, and when he was about six years old, he was sent to an
English school at the headquarters of the district. In thus
sending him to the English school, Maung Po's father, U Kyi,
tried, in Burman-like fashion, to adapt himself to the circumstances
around him. He knew that, under British rule, a good
knowledge of English was a good passport to any situation in
Government service. Many and many a hard struggle had
he met with in trying to attain his present position. He was
an Upper Burman, who had come dow^n from Shwebo, the
birth-place of Alaungpaya. Shwebo and places round about
it are somewhat sterile j vegetation is stinted, and the people
have to subsist on maize and peas principally. This tract of
land, because of its sterility, and its having strong, hardy,
thrifty, and canny dwellers, may really be called the Scotland
of Burma. Well, U Kyi came from there. He was a swarthy,
tall, and muscular Burman. He was a priest, at first, as I
have already stated. When his parents died, he cast off his
yellow garb, and was thrown upon the world single-handed
and alone. He came to Lower Burma to turn his hand to
something useful. He turned a w^aterman and reaper in
succession.
It was in his case, the old story of * he married his master's
daughter/ Having inherited some property on his wife's side.