DESCRIPTION OF THE
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MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE.
CHAP. XVIII.
Character of the Burmese.
1. The Burmese are, in general, of a moderate stature, their limbs are well proportioned, and their physiognomy open and not unpleasing. There are far fewer lame or deformed persons amongst them, than amongst us, which must be ascribed primarily to the absence of tire manner of swathing children which we praetise, but which is totally unknown to the Burmese. The infant is left to the care of nature till it arrives at the age of eleven or twelve, before which time it is not encumbered with clothes, but is left to be formed to strength and endurance by the action of the elements upon its naked body. And, in fact, by these means all their limbs become fully developed, and they acquire great strength, activity and insensibility to hardships. They are not only able to endure the greatest heat, but are just as indifferent to rain; and as in Pegu, more than in any other part of India, the rains are remarkable for their violence and frequency, continuing from the beginning of May to the end of October, their patience in this respect is often put to the test. It is by no means rare to see men, especially those who travel on the river, sleeping in the open air, while the rain is descending in torrents. The complexion of the people is an olive-brown ; but it varies in shade according to the mixture of nations and the exposure to the sun. Hence the women are generally fairer than the men, and the children springing from the marriage of a Burmese with a Siamese woman are of a lighter colour, while on the contrary, where the man is a Siamese and tire woman a Burmese, they are darker than the rest of the people.
2. From the nature of their government, which, as has been said, is above all measure despotic and tyrannical, it will easily be imagined, that the
Burmese