ABSTRACT
Near the great ports and cities of the Empire the human stream that pours along the narrow roads is of far more interest than the thatched houses and rice fields that are passed, the orchards and the little fields of grain. There are farmers coming into the city to sell the work of their hands and backs, and there are equally as many going out with their profits or carrying the gifts of the cities to their homes. There are ox carts, hand carts, 'rikisha, burdened shoulders and a few horses being led slowly along with straw canopies arched over them while their half~dressed leisurely masters walk in front, wielding a lazy fan in the blaze of the noonday sun.
