"Most of the ministers do not receive any salaries, but are supported by bribes and extortions. They try all cases that are appealed to them, and take ten per cent. of the amount involved as their compensation; it often happens that they take the whole money, and the winner of the case is told that he must be satisfied with the honor of defeating his adversary. The king pays his troops and officers in goods that he buys of the merchants, and if they wish to convert them into cash, they must sell at half price, or even less. In fact, the whole government is a system of bribery and corruption, and the wonder is that it has kept up so long.
[Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE AT MANDALAY.]
"The king rarely goes out of his palace, as he is constantly fearful that some ambitious relative will endeavor to supplant him if he leaves home even for a single hour. The royal palace covers about seventy acres of ground, and is surrounded by two walls, the inner wall being thirty feet from the outer one. The palace is a gaudy sort of building, with a great deal of carved woodwork around the eaves of its many roofs and stories, and having poles for bells and flags at every corner and angle. It looks better at a little distance than when close at hand, as it is not always kept in good repair; and since the king stays inside the most of the time, he can hardly be expected to know enough about the roofs and outer walls to give the proper orders concerning them. The gates of the palace are very strong, and made of beams of teak fastened together with iron bolts. They could not offer much resistance to artillery, or even to a keg of powder exploded against them, but could hold out for some time against anything that an ordinary force of Burmese could bring forward.
"Everybody who goes to be presented to the king must carry a gift of some kind, as this is the custom of the country. I was aware of the custom, and so came provided with a handsome travelling-clock, by one of the best makers in Paris; the prime-minister looked it over carefully to see that no dangerous explosive was contained in the clock, and then said it was quite appropriate to the occasion. When the time came for the audience, the minister led the way to a stone staircase, and motioned for us to leave our shoes, which we did. Then we ascended the staircase, and were admitted to the reception-room, and shown to our places. A few paintings adorned the walls, and at one end there was a green curtain with an opening about ten feet square; through this opening we could see a stage about a yard in height, and there were steps leading from the floor of the room to the stage. At the top of these steps there was a velvet cushion, on which a handsome opera-glass was lying, and I readily guessed that this was the station of the king during the audience. The party for the audience consisted of eight or ten persons; two or three princes of the royal family were on the right, facing the cushion; then came the prime-minister, then myself, and next to me my introducer; then two missionaries and a couple of merchants, if I remember correctly. Behind us were some Burmese officials, who had been recently appointed, and had come to thank the king, and make him the customary presents in token of their recognition.