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From Rangoon I trained to Mandalay, on the Irawadi River, not a large town, but rich in historical associations, and famous for its Buddhist pagodas, such as The Incomparable and the Arakan; also the Queen's Golden Monastery. King Theebaw's palace remains much as it was, and well worth examination.
''Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green, An' er name was Supi-yaw-lat, jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen. Is it possible to say anything prettier for yellow than that? My Dear Sir, I agree with every word you say. You have my entire sympathy. The world is indeed hard, hard to the sad particularly hard to the unsuccessful. A sure five hundred a year covers a multitude of sorrows.
They are planted in rows and are all exactly alike and not very large. They are glittering white, and each one has a slate slab inside. The Kutho-daw was built by Theebaw's uncle, who acquired much merit thereby, and he deserved it, for there are no less than seven hundred and twenty-nine pagodas. On the slate inside each is inscribed some part of the Buddhist Scriptures.
The reception-hall at the foot of the throne is now the English chapel; the reading-room with its gilded daïs where the Queen sat on her throne, with its lofty roof, its pillars of teak, and walls all ablaze with gilding, was the throne-room of Theebaw's chief Queen.
"'Er petticoat was yaller, an' 'er little cap was green. An' 'er name was Supi-yaw-lat jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen, An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot. An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on a 'eathen idol's foot." They are all there in Rangoon yet the gorgeous coloring of the lady's raiment, her cheroots, and the heathen idols "Bloomin' idol made o' mud.
But one need not go far to find the Burmese girl Kipling has immortalized: "'Er petticoat was yaller and 'er little cap was green, An er name was Supi-yaw-lat jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot. An' a wastin' Christian kisses on a 'eathen idol's foot'" But let us get back to Benares and its pilgrims.
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