If it is one of the marks of a gentleman to be able in an easy and natural manner to place himself on a level with you, the Burman has this in a high degree. The native of India makes a twofold mistake here. His outlandish notions of etiquette lead him to cringe and crouch before the European, to an extent which is sometimes offensive, whilst at the same time his caste leads him in his heart of hearts to hold himself immeasurably above him. The Burman makes neither of these mistakes. With fine tact he steers a medium course, and ranges himself alongside. The first Burmese servant I had, a typical Burman, was a fine illustration of this capacity of the race to “make themselves at home” with the foreigner. He did me the honour to take a fancy to my tooth brush. I was not aware of it. He did not purloin it, he only made use of it. The way it came to light was the discovery of him one day, standing before the looking-glass, in the act of using the implement in the orthodox manner. How long the two of us had been using the tooth brush conjointly I cannot say, for I never cared to inquire. I preferred to think it was only that once! He had it to himself ever after. A story is told that aptly illustrates that buoyancy of temperament which constitutes one feature of the Burmese easy-going character. Some years ago a fire occurred in Mandalay—no uncommon thing. Amongst the bamboo houses it spread with terrible swiftness, until a large number were destroyed. Yet the very next evening they were observed to have rigged up a rude stage among the charred stumps of their house posts, and they spent the night in witnessing one of their dramatic performances, and laughing heartily as usual at the jests of the clown. Few people would have had the heart to go through with that _pwè_ under the circumstances. With a rich country, a sparse population, and a warm climate, the conditions of life are easy. The Burman has no struggle to get a living. Riches have little attraction for him. He has no desire to hoard. What he has to spare he spends, either in building a monastery, or a pagoda, or on some humbler work of merit which shall secure him an advantage in the next birth. CHAPTER XV. _A TRUE IDEAL MISSIONARY AND A FALSE MISSIONARY IDEAL._