costume; and a graceful picture it is that they compose. Look first at that youth of eighteen, who has just entered the Rangoon Government College and is proud in the blushing honors of an undergraduate of the Calcutta University. Girlish almost to effeminacy he seems, with his fair complexion and beardless Mongolian face, his long hair twisted into a top-knot and entwined with gay flowered turban of silk. A white linen jacket with tight sleeves, and fastened with buttons of red gold, sets off the slight square figure, and throws into prominence the grotesque devices of red tattooing on the neck. A flowing kilt of bright tartan silk, and sandals of crimson cloth, complete the costume of the Burmese gentleman of to-day,-a striking contrast to his co-evals and fellow-subjects of the Indian continent. Were it not for the universal badge of profuse tattooing on legs and arms and neck, many a Burmese youth might be taken by a stranger for a girl. But the complexion bronzes in manhood, when the masculine type becomes naturally more pronounced. Even here there can be no illusion, as the eye passes from the figure of the boy to the sisters and cousins by his side,-frail slips of Eastern blood such as one wonders to

see braving the burning sun and public crowd. Regular beauty has never been claimed for the Burmese girl, yet her fascinations have been found powerful enough to lead to many a romance, sometimes of tragic interest, in the history even of the Western nations with whom she has been associated. Nor will this be unintelligible even to those who have seen no more of the people than in such an assembly as that of which I speak. For a freedom and independence unknown in most East ern countries they will have been prepared in the women of Burmah, but hardly for all the signs of refinement and breeding, for the ease and grace of manner and speech, the modest self-possession, the bright intelligence, the sweet expression, the taste in dress. Even the flower-girl seated at her stall, with downcast eyes and pencilled eyebrows and flowers in the glistening hair, seems strangely refined for such a situation; but here and there among the family groups we are confronted by a type to which the meed of beauty cannot be denied, heightened as it is by every adjunct of tasteful adornment. The features may be wanting in regularity, and

there may be too much of the artificial in eyebrows and complexion, but the large eyes are dark and lustrous, their long lashes droop over fair round cheeks with the faintest flush of color; round the slender neck are strands of pearl and ruby; the heavy earrings flash with diamonds, and the simply dressed hair, drawn back from the face, is relieved by a wreath of white orchid flowers.

The whole costume, too, is in accord with the type of face and figure. In itself the Burmese figure can bear no comparison with the beautiful types of Southern and Western India, yet there is grace enough and symmetry enough in the slender figure of the Turanian girl, set off by closely clinging skirt and sleeve, by texture and color of silk and velvet, by purity of fine linen, by skilful setting of jewelry and flowers. And to the unique picture the finishing touch is given by the graceful handling of the huge scented cigarette, which seems to form an essential part of the costume.

From the foregoing rough sketch it may be gathered that there is to be found a freshness which even the Eastern traveller must go far to seek, in the scene presented, on the great festivals, by the slopes and summits of the sacred hill which overlooks the city of Rangoon. But, in addition to the yearly festivals of spring and autumn, there occurs from time to time some occasion of special and exceptional interest, as when, two years ago, the whole surface of the Shwedagone was recovered with gold leaf, at a cost of ten thousand pounds; or on such a rare occasion as that in 1871, when the great pagoda was crowned with a new htee of unprecedented magnificence, the gift of the King of Ava. witness of this extraordinary scene may be pardoned for essaying here briefly to recall some of its leading incidents.

An eye

For weeks before the date fixed for the elevation, the htee, in all its glory of plates of pure gold, with its rubies and sapphires and diamonds, its gold and silver bells of finest workmanship, was displayed to the admiring public on the river bank. The rich treasure was enclosed in a strong palisade, but its safety was guaranteed less by any watchfulness of its guards than by the popular sense of its sanctity and genuine pride in the splendor of the royal offering.

When the appointed day arrived the htee was conveyed in procession through

the town, with every accompaniment of pomp and pageant, to the summit of the pagoda hill. Here the representatives of Her Majesty, in the person of the Chief Commissioner with his staff and other officials, the Ambassadors of His Majesty of Ava, the heads of the Buddhist monastic order, venerable elders from the town of Rangoon, the leading citizens of a hundred provincial towns, and all the wealth and beauty of the province were met to join in celebrating the great event. The golden surface of the pagoda itself was shrouded for the time by a close network of bamboo scaffolding, but the multitude of representative spectators and all the pageantry of the shrine were of more than ordinary richness and importance, while the special interest of the occasion centred in the great offering of royalty, and in the difficult and even perilous work of placing the costly canopy on its lofty pedestal. Even as a work of engineering there was matter enough for wonder and admiration in the raising of this huge mass of metal to a height of more than three hundred feet, and its fixture at an elevation which renders it the centre of attraction for every thunder-cloud and whirlwind of a tropical climate. Admirable though not scientific" was the criticism passed by the English engineers on the spot. And this is how the work was done, by primitive methods and without the aid of modern arts or mechanism. From a chosen point on the extreme edge of the plateau on which the pagoda stands, huge lengths of rope cable were carried upward in a direct line, and, passing through a set of parallel pulleys fixed near the summit of the building, were thence carried downward at a corresponding angle to the opposite point at the brow of the hill; the line thus describing a gigantic triangle, with the plateau for the base, and the cables being so arranged as to form a miniature funicular railway, more perilous than those of the Rigi or of Glion, insomuch as the line passed not by the face of a mountain but through mid-air, with no support but that of its own tension. The cables were stretched taut throughout, and were constructed of sufficient strength to bear the passage of a solid-wheeled car, formed to carry the precious freight to its destination.

For the motive power by which the car should receive its impetus, it was fitly arranged that this should be furnished by

the combined physical strength of the crowd. The ends of the ropes forming the aerial railway were extended along the ground and carried round the whole circuit of the plateau, passing through the hands of the multitude of spectators; so that in the great work men, women, and even children, without number or distinction, could bear an active share.

The ease with which the arrangement was carried out, the orderly and reverent behavior of the crowd, and the complete success of the simple mechanical device were worthy of the admiration they excited. At the given signal the crowd was put in motion leading the great rope round the border of the plateau, and in response to the impetus thus given on one side, and communicated through the pulleys on the summit, the huge car bearing the first and heaviest section of the htee was seen slowly to leave the earth, and ascending the giddy line, to mount through the air to the summit. The enthusiasm of the people burst forth in a deep murmur of applause; and the climax of excitement was reached when it was perceived that four Burmese youths of exceptional courage and devotion had taken up a position one at each corner of the car itself, and not only accompanied the htee on its aerial journey, but were seen fearlessly dancing in Burmese fashion as they ascended through the air. The whole spectacle was one which none of the beholders are ever likely to forget; and one can imagine the life-long impression which must have been made on the rising generation of Buddhists, of whom so many were not only spectators of the scene but had an actual hand in so striking a ceremony.

A special importance has been given to the occasion by the subsequent history of the country, for it was the last great offering which will ever be dedicated to the famous shrine by a king of the ancient line. By the final dethronement of the royal house of Alompra a new direction has been given to the natural loyalty of the Burmese people; and as no shame need attach to the incorporation of the country with the greatest of eastern empires, so assuredly the future prospects of the nation are a thousand fold the brighter for the almost bloodless revolution by which Burmah has passed under the shadow of a sovereignty which represents the van of human freedom. Under the new

power religious liberty will forever be assured the fullest protection, and until Buddhism gives place to a still purer faith, her high places,-among which the Shwed. agone pagoda must always stand in the foremost rank both for sanctity and magnificence, will retain their ancient fame;

and around these there will gather undisturbed, as from time immemorial, all those venerable associations which unite the races of the Indo-Chinese peninsula in the bond of a common religion.--Macmillan's Magazine.

As French has, from some not very obvious reason, except that our lively neighbors generally take the lead in all the fashions, usurped the first place in the vernacular of the table, something more effectual than the private order said to have been recently issued to the German Emperor's establishment to substitute German for French will be needed to work a revolution in this respect in Prussia, while the rest of Europe will certainly follow its timehonored customs. In spite of the prestige of French, English is not so poor that it would be difficult to draw up a decent bill of fare in it-more pretentious than the "Sausage and Mashed" temptingly blazoned in the windows of humble refreshinent-rooms. Having regard, however, to the extraordinary blunders sometimes perpetrated in the futile attempt to describe a good English dish in bad French, it would be more prudent were those who use the latter to take some pains to guard against errors. "Menus made Easy" is one of the best books of the kind, and, in the modest preface, the author explains that she aims at assisting ladies in the delicate task of naming the dinner for the day. If "Menus made Easy" does nothing besides helping the comparatively small number of ladies who want to describe the day's dinner in correct French, its usefulness would be confined within narrow limits; but it has a far wider field, and it could not be read without much useful information being obtained. In summer, when thousands of our countrymen make their way to Paris, this book would be of immense service, and would save many of them serious trouble in selecting their dinners. A good story is told of an English tourist, who, accompanied by two ladies, visited a Pari sian restaurant. He volunteered to choose the dishes. Taking the menu from the

waiter, he held it long enough to convey the impression that he was a profound linguist and had read the contents through; then, to strengthen the deception, he pointed, with the air of one who had made up his mind, to two items far down the list, and, to begin with, ordered the "garsong" to supply the party with them. His chagrin and the merry glances of his friends may be imagined when the waiter, with imperturbable gravity, placed on the table three finger-bowls filled with rosewater and a wine-glass containing toothpicks !

The following was a receipt to make turnip-bread, much used in Essex toward the end of the fifteenth century: "Take peeled turnips, boil them till they are soft in water; then strongly press out the juice, and mix them, being beaten very fine and small, with their weight in wheatmeal; add salt, as inuch as is sufficient, dissolved in warm water; knead it up as other dough or paste, and bake it.

He

This may be compared with the bread, little more luxurious and digestible, used by the young German Emperor. He is said to be fond of constant variety, even in such trifling matters as bread. takes, at breakfast, a small white loaf, called " salt-bun," the top of which is powdered over with salt-it costs one penny; this done, he has a half penny bun, known as Lucca-eye"; for sandwiches he has still another kind, made of the finest Vienna flour, and baked till the outside, afterward cut off, is perfectly black

this also costs a penny. At dinner, with soup, "brothsticks" are served; they are made after an Italian recipe, the secret of the court bakers-they come to a halfpenny each.

While treating of low prices, the reader will be interested to see the menu and cost