Mr. Crawfurd, in his account of the _Embassy to Ava_, relates the following
specimen of the dignity of a Burmese minister. While sitting under an
awning on the poop of the steam vessel, a heavy squall, with rain, came
on.--"I suggested to his excellency the convenience of going below, which
he long resisted, under the apprehension of committing his dignity by
placing himself in a situation where persons might tread over his head, for
this singular antipathy is common both to the Burmese and Siamese. The
prejudice is more especially directed against the fair sex; a pretty
conclusive proof of the estimation in which they are held. His excellency
seriously demanded to know whether any woman had ever trod upon the poop;
and being assured in the negative, he consented at length to enter the
cabin."
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