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Head and
Neck Pathology
THIRD EDITION
A Volume in the Series Foundations in Diagnostic Pathology
Justin A. Bishop, MD
Associate Professor and Director of Head and Neck Pathology
Department of Pathology
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
Series Editor
John R. Goldblum, MD, FCAP, FASCP, FACG
Chair, Department of Anatomic Pathology
Professor of Pathology
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio
Other books in this series
Busam: Dermatopathology, 2e
9780323261913
Hsi: Hematopathology, 3e
9780323479134
Prayson: Neuropathology, 2e
9781437709490
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the
Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical
treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In
using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of
others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
With respect to any drug or pharmaceutical products identified, readers are advised to check the
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Printed in China.
v
CONTENTS ■ F O R E W O R D vii
The study and practice of anatomic pathology are both have formal training in this area. As such, a comprehen-
exciting and somewhat overwhelming, as surgical pathol- sive reference such as this has great practical value in
ogy (and cytopathology) have become increasingly the day-to-day practice of any surgical pathologist. The
complex and sophisticated. It is simply not possible for list of contributors, as usual, includes some of the most
any individual to master all of the skills and knowledge renowned pathologists in this area, all of whom have
required to perform the daily tasks at the highest level. significant expertise as practicing pathologists, researchers,
Simply being able to make a correct diagnosis is chal- and renowned educators on this topic. Each chapter is
lenging enough, but the standard of care has far surpassed organized in an easy-to-follow manner, the writing is
merely providing an accurate diagnosis. Pathologists are concise, tables are practical, and the photomicrographs
now asked to provide huge amounts of ancillary informa- are of high quality. There are thorough discussions pertain-
tion, both diagnostic and prognostic, often on small ing to the handling of biopsy and resection specimens
amounts of tissue, a task that can be daunting even to as well as frozen sections, which can be notoriously
the most experienced surgical pathologists. challenging in this field.
Although large general surgical pathology textbooks The book is organized into 29 chapters, including
remain useful resources, by necessity they cannot possibly separate chapters that provide thorough overviews of
cover many of the aspects that diagnostic pathologists non-neoplastic, benign, and malignant neoplasms of the
need to know and include in their daily surgical pathology larynx, hypopharynx, trachea, nasal cavity, nasopharynx,
reports. As such, the concept behind Foundations in paranasal sinuses, oral cavity, oropharynx, salivary glands,
Diagnostic Pathology was born. This series is designated ear and temporal bone, gnathic bones, and neck. Similarly,
to cover the major areas of surgical pathology, and each chapters describing the non-neoplastic, benign, and
volume is focused on one major topic. The goal of every malignant neoplasms of the thyroid gland, parathyroid
book in this series is to provide the essential information gland, and paraganglia system are included.
that any pathologist, whether general or subspecialized, I am truly grateful to Dr. Thompson and Dr. Bishop
in training or in practice, would find useful in the evalu- as well as to all of the contributors who put forth tre-
ation of virtually any type of specimen encountered. mendous effort to allow this book to come to fruition.
Dr. Lester Thompson and Dr. Justin Bishop, both It is yet another outstanding edition in the Foundations
renowned and highly prolific head and neck pathologists, in Diagnostic Pathology series, and I sincerely hope you
have edited an outstanding state-of-the-art book on the enjoy this comprehensive textbook and find it useful in
essentials of head and neck pathology. In fact, this area your everyday practice of head and neck pathology.
is one of the most common topics encountered by any
surgical pathologist, but very few pathologists actually John R. Goldblum, MD
vii
CONTENTS ■ P R E FA C E vii
There is an axiom in computing called Moore’s law that It is the aim of this edition to highlight several of the
states the computing speed of processors doubles every new diagnostic entities within the anatomic confines of
2 years while the cost halves. However, if you actually the larynx, sinonasal tract, ear and temporal bone, salivary
read the fine print, it is the number of transistors in an gland, oral, oropharynx, nasopharynx, gnathic, and neck
average computer that would double every 2 years—a regions. Clearly, the unlimited nature of the internet with
corollary if you will. Thus, the average CPU in a computer countless webpages of information cannot be contained
now has 904 million transistors, which clearly contributes within a single book without requiring a forklift to move
to the overall speed, even though perhaps the “law” has it around. Thus, the reader is encouraged to use this book
slowed down. as a starting point to make a meaningful diagnosis of the
How does this apply to pathology and medicine? Well, most common and frequent diagnoses that may beset a
it seems that there is a tremendous increase in the number busy surgical pathologist in daily practice, while using the
of discoveries, new entities being carved out of old ones, references and other materials to lead to greater under-
new diagnostic tools to achieve even greater precision standing. Use the pertinent clinical, imaging, laboratory,
in diagnostic terms and clinical prognostication. Even macroscopic, microscopic, histochemical, immunohisto-
with this staggering volume of data, it must always be chemical, ultrastructural, and molecular results presented
harnessed by a mind willing to synthesize all of the data herein to reach a meaningful, useful, and actionable
points into a meaningful and actionable diagnosis that diagnosis.
a clinician and patient alike can use to treat the disease
and achieve the best outcome for the patient. Lester D.R. Thompson, MD, and Justin A. Bishop, MD
ix
CONTENTS ■ A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S vii
With the passage of time, transition and change are I dedicate my work on this book to my wonderful wife,
inevitable. As such, death seems to become more a part Ashley, and our beautiful children, Riley and Avery. I
of life than the inherent meaning that the word suggests. am very grateful for their willingness to sacrifice so much
And so it seems that many of those who influence you of our time together for this and other projects. I thank
the most reach death’s doorstep ahead of you, creating my parents, Debbie and Fred, my sister, Kristen, and my
a vacuum and space in your heart that is never refilled. brother, Martin, for their unwavering support. I am also
The guidance provided by a parent, especially in the appreciative of Dr. William Westra, my mentor at The
early years, is an example of this type of powerful Johns Hopkins Hospital who took a chance on me and
influence. taught me much of what I know. Finally, I thank Dr.
From as early as I can remember, my mother, Frances Lester Thompson for generously inviting me to co-edit
Avril Dawn Ansley Thompson (can you tell where I got the newest edition of this book. I have enjoyed working
all of my names!), provided love, support, and encourage- with him immensely and look forward to our many future
ment. She so wanted me to be happy, healthy, and wise. collaborations.
With each success or failure, triumph or rejection, I was
always able to count on my mother to say the right Justin A. Bishop, MD
thing—or say nothing at all, but just hold me, whether
physically or emotionally. Last year as we were chatting
about my projects, books, lectures, and work, she very
quietly said: “It’s great that you have a written legacy,
but remember to work on your spiritual, social, and
emotional legacy with the same devotion and vigor.”
Those words rang loud and clear at my 25th wedding
anniversary celebration the following weekend, a party
she would have loved to attend, but couldn’t as she had
died of complications of a ruptured thoracic aortic aneu-
rysm. Taking her final words to heart, I find myself drawn
to other pursuits, attempting to keep work in an ever
shrinking box, including the time devoted to philanthropic
endeavors with my wife, Pam, whose role in my life
continues to grow and expand with each passing year.
Although patently obvious, the responsibility for any
errors, omissions, or deviation from current orthodoxy
is mine alone!
xi
1
Non-Neoplastic Lesions of the Nasal
Cavity, Paranasal Sinuses, and
Nasopharynx
■ Austin McCuiston ■ Justin A. Bishop
matory polyps, as described later, are often seen in this allergic desensitization
■ Bacterial rhinosinusitis requires antibiotics, while viral infection is
setting.
treated supportively
By imaging, inflamed sinuses demonstrate opacification ■ Surgery is reserved for refractory, chronic disease
and mucosal thickening (Fig. 1.1A). Air-fluid levels are
classically identified in acute disease (see Fig. 1.1B).
1
2 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
A B
FIGURE 1.1
This computed tomography scan demon-
strates radiographic features of both acute
and chronic sinusitis. The left maxillary
sinus demonstrates near complete opaci-
fication (A), and air-fluid levels are noted
(arrow) in the left ethmoid sinus (B).
ized by increased neutrophils, especially when associated eosinophils, often with edema
■ Surface epithelium may demonstrate squamous metaplasia,
with a bacterial etiology. There is often a component of
inflammation, or reactive papillary hyperplasia
stromal edema, which leads to the development of inflam-
matory polyps (described in detail in the next topic). Pathologic Differential Diagnosis
The surface epithelium may also demonstrate changes, ■ Inflammatory polyps, sinonasal papilloma, adenocarcinoma
CLINICAL FEATURES
PROGNOSIS AND THERAPY
Inflammatory polyps are associated with many conditions.
Acute viral rhinosinusitis is treated symptomatically, They are most often seen in the setting of allergic rhino-
whereas bacterial disease requires antimicrobials. Chronic sinusitis but may also be seen in the setting of infections,
CHAPTER 1 Non-Neoplastic Lesions of the Nasal Cavity, Paranasal Sinuses, and Nasopharynx 3
FIGURE 1.2
Chronic sinusitis is histologically character-
ized by a submucosal infiltrate of chronic
inflammatory cells including lymphocytes,
plasma cells, and eosinophils, which tend
to predominate in allergic sinusitis.
A B
FIGURE 1.3
Some cases of chronic sinusitis can demonstrate foci of surface epithelial squamous metaplasia (A). In addition, chronic sinusitis occasionally exhibits papillary
surface epithelial hyperplasia as a reactive change. When prominent, this finding can be confused with other lesions such as respiratory epithelial adenomatoid
hyperplasia or sinonasal papilloma (B).
asthma, aspirin intolerance, cystic fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, polyps are usually seen in younger patients (teenagers and
and other conditions. Inflammatory polyps are typically young adults), usually males, and are typically unilateral.
seen in adults (except for cystic fibrosis-associated polyps),
with no sex predilection. They involve the nasal cavity
(especially the lateral wall) and maxillary and ethmoid
sinuses and are usually bilateral (Fig. 1.4A). In addition to PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
the symptoms of the underlying condition (e.g., allergies),
sinonasal inflammatory polyps may cause nasal obstruc- GROSS FINDINGS
tion and pain. A subtype of inflammatory polyp known
as antrochoanal polyp arises from the maxillary antrum Inflammatory polyps are typically translucent and
and extends through the sinus ostia into the nasal cavity, mucoid in appearance (see Fig. 1.4A). Antrochoanal
nasopharynx, or oral cavity (see Fig. 1.4B). Antrochoanal polyps tend to be elongated with a stalk and fibrotic.
4 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
A B
FIGURE 1.4
The typical clinical appearance of inflammatory polyps is that of bilateral, multiple mucoid polypoid masses with a translucent appearance involving the nasal
cavity (A). The antrochoanal polyp is a subtype of inflammatory polyp arising from the maxillary antrum and protruding into the nasal cavity via a stalk (arrow)
through the nasal choana (B). (A, Courtesy of Dr. Douglas Reh.)
submucosal edema ■ Antrochoanal polyps have a long stalk and are fibrotic
Microscopic Findings
Incidence ■ Polypoid fragments of sinonasal mucosa with abundant stromal
■ Common edema
■ Nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, often bilateral ■ Chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate with numerous eosinophils
■ Antrochoanal polyp is a subtype that arises from the maxillary ■ Epithelial basement membrane is usually hyalinized
antrum and protrudes through the sinus ostium, usually unilateral ■ Secondary changes including infarction, hemorrhage, and fibrin
A B
C D
FIGURE 1.5
A sinonasal inflammatory polyp consists of a rounded proliferation of sinonasal mucosa with submucosal inflammation and edema (A). An inflammatory polyp
often has a hyalinized subepithelial basement membrane and an infiltrate of chronic inflammatory cells, especially eosinophils (B). Inflammatory sinonasal
polyps commonly demonstrate scattered atypical stromal myofibroblasts. When prominent, a mesenchymal neoplasm is a diagnostic consideration (C). In the
angiectatic or angiomatous variant of inflammatory polyp, there is abundant fibrin deposition (which can be mistaken for amyloid) as well as recanalizing vessels
(which can be mistaken for a vascular tumor) (D).
deposition or infarction, a pattern that has been referred which recanalizing vessels are prominent, a vascular or
to as “angiomatous” or “angiectatic” (see Fig. 1.5D). lymphatic neoplasm could be considered. Recognizing the
Antrochoanal polyps have a similar appearance but context of the vessels (i.e., with organizing fibrin within
tend to be more fibrotic and less edematous (Fig. 1.6A), a sinonasal polyp) is useful in avoiding this pitfall. The
have fewer eosinophils, and lack a hyalinized basement fibrous stroma and occasional nasopharyngeal location
membrane (see Fig. 1.6B). Bizarre stromal cells are more of antrochoanal polyps are somewhat reminiscent of
common in antrochoanal polyps than in inflammatory nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. In addition, both tumors,
polyps. typically as unilateral masses, arise in younger men.
Recognizing the dilated, “staghorn” appearance of the
vessels is important for diagnosing angiofibroma; the
vessels of antrochoanal polyp are typically small and
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
inconspicuous. In difficult cases, immunohistochemistry
for beta-catenin and androgen receptor may be used:
The diagnosis of sinonasal inflammatory polyp is usually the stromal cells of angiofibroma are positive for both,
straightforward. When there is prominent fibrin deposi- whereas antrochoanal polyps are negative. The atypi-
tion, amyloidosis is a consideration. True amyloid is cal stromal cells of sinonasal inflammatory polyps can,
positive with Congo red showing apple-green birefrin- in some cases, be alarming and raise the possibility
gence, in contrast to fibrin. In angiomatous polyps in of a sarcoma such as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.
6 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
A B
FIGURE 1.6
Antrochoanal polyp is a variant of inflammatory polyp that typically exhibits more prominent subepithelial fibrosis at low power (A). In contrast to the usual
inflammatory polyp, antrochoanal polyps have fewer eosinophils and lack a hyalinized basement membrane (B).
of the invaginations to the surface. Finally, one must ■ Frontal and ethmoid sinuses most commonly affected
A B
FIGURE 1.7
This computed tomography scan demonstrates a sphenoid sinus mucocele, with expansion of the sinus with secretions and thinning and remodeling of the
surrounding bones (A). This T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scan shows a fluid-filled mucocele involving the brain (B).
MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS
PARANASAL SINUS MUCOCELE—PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
The microscopic features of mucoceles are typically
Gross Findings underwhelming (particularly in the setting that is suspi-
■ Abundant mucin, otherwise nonspecific cious for malignancy) and closely mimic normal sinonasal
tissue. The sinonasal tissue sometimes has an attenuated
Microscopic Findings appearance resembling a cyst lining (Fig. 1.8A and B).
■ Very nonspecific
Epithelial squamous metaplasia, fibrosis, a rim of reactive
■ Sinonasal mucosa with inflammation, sometimes attenuation,
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
PROGNOSIS AND THERAPY
GROSS FINDINGS
Abundant mucin is generally apparent grossly or Sinus mucoceles are treated by surgical excision. The
reported intraoperatively (if suction has removed all of underlying cause of the obstruction (e.g., chronic sinusitis)
the contents). should also be addressed. The prognosis is excellent.
8 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
A B
FIGURE 1.8
Histologically, paranasal sinus mucoceles have a nonspecific appearance, consisting of attenuated strips of relatively normal appearing sinonasal mucosa.
Radiographic correlation is needed to make the diagnosis of mucocele (A). In this example of an aggressive mucocele, normal-appearing sinonasal epithelium
is seen in brain tissue (B).
Definition
AFS most often affects children and young adults, with ■ A noninvasive form of fungal sinusitis resulting from an allergic
no sex predilection. Affected patients present with nasal reaction to colonizing fungal antigens
discharge along with allergic-type symptoms such as nasal
Incidence and Location
stuffiness, facial pressure, and fullness. Patients are often
■ More common in warmer climates such as southern and
observed to have firm, viscous, foul-smelling mucin within
southwestern United States
their affected sinuses. In addition, patients typically
exhibit peripheral eosinophilia and elevated serum IgE Morbidity and Mortality
levels. In severe cases, patients uncommonly may exhibit ■ Typically minimal, although rarely patients may demonstrate
facial asymmetry with bone destruction. facial asymmetry and bone destruction
PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
Clinical Features
■ Nasal discharge, allergic-type symptoms
GROSS FINDINGS ■ Elevated serum IgE levels and peripheral eosinophilia
■ Intranasal steroids
MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS ■ Some patients benefit from fungal allergic desensitization
FIGURE 1.9
The diagnostic histologic finding is allergic
mucin, which is composed of inflam-
matory cells (particularly eosinophils),
Charcot-Leyden crystals, desquamated
epithelial cells, and other debris. A
lamellated (“tigroid”) appearance is classic
for allergic mucin. Stains for fungi (in
this case, Gomori methenamine silver)
highlight fungal hyphae in a subset of
allergic fungal sinusitis cases. The hyphae
are often degenerated and distorted, as
seen here (inset).
FIGURE 1.10
Charcot-Leyden crystals are seen as long
needlelike and bipyramidal-shaped crystals
in this case of allergic fungal sinusitis.
stains
■ Fungi often scarce and have a degenerated appearance PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
Pathologic Differential Diagnosis
■ Nonspecific rhinosinusitis, sinonasal polyp, mycetoma (fungus
GROSS FINDINGS
ball), invasive fungal sinusitis (acute or chronic)
Well-circumscribed nodule of firm soft tissue, 1 to
3 cm in size, with a glistening cut surface.
A B
FIGURE 1.11
Mycetoma (fungus ball) is a form of noninvasive fungal sinusitis consisting of a matted collection of degenerating fungal hyphae growing within the sinus, with
no tissue invasion (A). In contrast, fulminant invasive fungal sinusitis is characterized by invasion of tissues with necrosis and a limited inflammatory reaction
(B).
CHAPTER 1 Non-Neoplastic Lesions of the Nasal Cavity, Paranasal Sinuses, and Nasopharynx 11
A B
FIGURE 1.12
Computed tomography scan of extranasal glial heterotopia (arrow) without a connection to the cranial cavity (A). In contrast, this encephalocele involving the
nasal cavity has a clear connection to the cranial cavity (arrow) (B).
A B
FIGURE 1.13
Nasal glial heterotopia manifests as fibrotic glial tissue in the sinonasal submucosa (A). At high power the glial tissue consists of scattered astrocytes in a pink,
fibrillary background (B). Immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein confirms the glial nature of the tissue (inset).
and mixed in 10% Glial heterotopia is treated with simple excision. The
prognosis is excellent following complete removal of the
Morbidity and Mortality
glial tissue.
■ Minimal, although can result in difficulty feeding for some infants
CLINICAL FEATURES
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
Heterotopic glial tissue can be misdiagnosed as nonspecific
fibrosis in a sinonasal polyp, a distinction that can be GROSS FINDINGS
easily addressed by immunohistochemistry for glial
markers. Another diagnostic consideration is encepha- The gross pathologic appearance varies based on the
locele. The distinction is not trivial, because an clinical disease stage. The rhinitic/exudative stage has a
encephalocele, by definition, means that there is a patent nonspecific appearance, whereas the florid/proliferative
connection with the cranial cavity, which puts the stage produces friable nasal polyps. Finally, the fibrotic/
patient at risk for meningitis. The presence of dura/ cicatrical stage is characterized by densely fibrotic
leptomeninges or well-organized glial tissue with neurons tissues.
CHAPTER 1 Non-Neoplastic Lesions of the Nasal Cavity, Paranasal Sinuses, and Nasopharynx 13
Definition
■ Infectious disease caused by Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, a
and Indonesia
Clinical Features
■ Three clinical stages: rhinitic (exudative) with abundant
inclusions composed of immunoglobulin—are frequent. neutrophils, and histiocytes in the sinonasal submucosa
■ The diagnostic finding is the “Mikulicz cell”—large histiocytes with
The diagnostic microscopic finding is the presence of clear, vacuolated cytoplasm
“Mikulicz cells”—large histiocytes with abundant, clear,
vacuolated cytoplasm (Fig. 1.15). As rhinoscleroma Ancillary Studies
progresses, lesions become increasingly fibrotic and less ■ Warthin-Starry stain highlights the rod-shaped organisms within
FIGURE 1.15
In the florid phase of rhinoscleroma, there
are numerous “Mikulicz cells”—large
histiocytes with abundant, clear, vacuolated
cytoplasm. These cells are positive for
rod-shaped bacteria on Warthin-Starry
staining (inset).
FIGURE 1.16
Rosai-Dorfman disease may affect the sino-
nasal tract and can mimic rhinoscleroma.
The diagnostic feature of Rosai-Dorfman
disease is emperipolesis—large histiocytes
with intracytoplasmic lymphocytes. These
histiocytes are positive for S100 protein
by immunohistochemistry (inset).
■ Excellent prognosis
Rhinosporidiosis microscopically appears as polypoid
fragments of edematous sinonasal mucosa with chronic
A B
FIGURE 1.17
Rhinosporidiosis is an infection that exhibits presence of numerous scattered cysts (sporangia) of variable sizes (A). Larger cysts (up to 300 µm) contain
numerous endospores (B).
16 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
Special studies are not generally needed as the cysts are PATHOLOGIC FEATURES
typically numerous and visible on routine stains, but
microorganisms can be highlighted with PAS and GMS GROSS FINDINGS
stains.
The gross appearance is often a nonspecific appearing
ulcer.
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
MICROSCOPIC FEATURES
The oncocytic type of sinonasal papilloma exhibits The histologic triad of GPA is biocollagenolytic
numerous intraepithelial microcysts that can be confused (necrobiotic) necrosis, granulomatous inflammation, and
with the cysts of rhinosporidiosis. However, in oncocytic vasculitis. “Biocollagenolytic” or “necrobiotic” necrosis
sinonasal papilloma the microcysts are confined to the refers to zones of geographic basophilic necrosis with
epithelium. The cysts of rhinosporidiosis can be confused granular, cellular debris (see Fig. 1.18B). The granulo-
with the spherules of Coccidioides immitis, but these matous inflammation of GPA is typically poorly formed,
spherules are much smaller (up to 60 µm) and accom- sometimes simply consisting of scattered giant cells (see
panied by a granulomatous inflammatory infiltrate. Fig. 1.18C). Vasculitis of small to medium-sized vessels
is the most specific finding but is often focal or absent.
Unfortunately, most patients with GPA have biopsies
that show nonspecific acute and chronic inflammation
PROGNOSIS AND THERAPY
with eosinophils and sometimes neutrophilic microab-
scesses, and multiple biopsies may be required to establish
Rhinosporidiosis is treated by complete surgical excision. a pathologic diagnosis.
Antibiotics are not effective. The prognosis is excellent,
with only occasional recurrences. The disease is not
infectious to other individuals.
ANCILLARY STUDIES
A B
C D
FIGURE 1.18
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis clinically presents as nasal erythema, crusting, ulcer, and perforation (A). Histologically a classic feature of granulomatosis with
polyangiitis is “biocollagenolytic necrosis” (or “necrobiosis”), which is basophilic necrosis with nuclear debris (B). The granulomas of granulomatosis with
polyangiitis are typically not well formed and may consist simply of giant cells (C). An elastic stain can highlight foci of vasculitis (D). (A, Courtesy of Dr. Douglas
Reh.)
FIGURE 1.19
In granulomatosis with polyangiitis, giant
cells may be present (upper left), but
well-formed granulomas are absent. Note
the vessel wall in the lower right, with
destruction by the inflammatory process in
an example of vasculitis. Inset: A c-ANCA
shows a granular cytoplasmic pattern in a
case of granulomatosis with polyangiitis.
18 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
etiology
Microscopic Findings
Incidence ■ Classic histologic triad: biocollagenolytic necrosis (necrobiosis),
■ Nasal disease results in nasal obstruction, pain, epistaxis, septal NK-/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type
ulcer, and possibly perforation and deformity
septum
■ CMH involves the paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity, or orbit
predominance
■ CMH usually affects infants with a male predominance
Clinical Features
■ REAH and SH present with unilateral nasal obstruction, bleeding,
and polyps
■ CMH presents as nasal obstruction or a mass
■ Excellent prognosis
A B
FIGURE 1.21
Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma consists of a polypoid mass with a downward growth of surface epithelium (A). The glands are ciliated, pseu-
dostratified, and often surrounded by a thick basement membrane (B).
20 HEAD AND NECK PATHOLOGY
A B
FIGURE 1.22
Seromucinous hamartoma consists of an increased number of normal-appearing seromucinous glands in the submucosa (A). Some examples of seromucinous
hamartoma have areas that closely resemble respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (left), suggesting these lesions are closely related (B).
FIGURE 1.23
Chondromesenchymal hamartoma dem-
onstrates scattered, ill-defined nodules of
variably mature cartilage in the sinonasal
submucosa.
glands can be dilated and lined by flattened, atrophic mature or immature, and the islands are typically sur-
epithelium. REAH and SH are both frequently rounded by a cellular fibrous stroma, often with atypical
accompanied by chronic inflammation with edema cells and even mitoses. Bony trabeculae, fat, or entrapped
and inflammatory polyps. In is not uncommon to see glands may also be seen.
lesions with hybrid features of both REAH and SH,
suggesting that the lesions exist at ends of a spectrum
ANCILLARY STUDIES
(see Fig. 1.22B).
CMH consists of irregular nodules of cartilage or
chondromyxoid stroma haphazardly arranged in the The role for immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of
sinonasal submucosa (Fig. 1.23). The cartilage may be sinonasal hamartomas is limited. The glands of REAH are
CHAPTER 1 Non-Neoplastic Lesions of the Nasal Cavity, Paranasal Sinuses, and Nasopharynx 21
A B
FIGURE 1.24
Low-grade nonintestinal sinonasal adenocarcinoma has fused, complex, back-to-back seromucinous glands without intervening stroma (A). In contrast, seromucinous
hamartomas have stroma between the seromucinous glands (B).
About the middle of the eighteenth century one of the kings of Ava—
Bodawpaya—presented to the Popa villagers two golden heads, intended to
represent these Nats. At that time Popa village, for some reason, was a
separate jurisdiction outside the jurisdiction of the Pagan governor. What
happened was that these heads were kept in the Royal Treasury at Pagan for
safety, and taken up to Popa every year for the festival and brought back
again. Subsequently, Popa came under the jurisdiction of the Pagan
governor. Then apparently the Pagan people began to think that these heads
really belonged to them, and they were kept in Pagan until the annexation in
1886. After this, our Government, thinking they were very valuable relics
which ought to be preserved, sent them down to the Bernard Free Library in
Rangoon, where they have been lodged ever since.
Some time ago the Popa villagers sent in a petition that they might be
allowed to have their heads back, as they wanted them for the festival.
Investigations were started and about a month before my visit Mr Cooper
had been up to Popa and there dictated a written guarantee, signed by the
principal men of the village (the Lugyis, as they are called), that they would
undertake the responsibility of looking after these heads if they were given
back to them. Then Mr Cooper came to Pagan and had a meeting of the
Pagan Lugyis, asking them to sign a written repudiation of claim, and that's
where the matter rested.
These Nats have a good many names, but their proper names are
Natindaw and Shwemetyna, and they used to live in a place up the river
called Tagaung, a thousand years ago. Natindaw, the man, was a blacksmith.
He was very strong indeed—so strong that the King of Tagaung was afraid
of him and gave orders that he should be arrested. The man (he had not
become a Nat then) was afraid and ran away, but his sister remained and the
king married her. After some time the king thought of Natindaw again and
believed that although in exile he might be doing something to stir up
rebellion. So the king offered Natindaw an appointment at the Court, and
when Natindaw came he had him seized by guards and bound to a champak
tree near the palace. Then the King had the tree set on fire, and Natindaw
proceeded to burn up. Just at that moment the queen (Natindaw's sister)
came out of the palace and saw her brother being burnt. She rushed into the
fire and tried to save him, and failing, decided to share his fate.
The king then tried to pull her out by her back hair but was too late, and
both the brother and sister were utterly consumed except their heads. That
finished them as human beings, but they became Nats and lived up another
champak tree at Tagaung, and there, because they had been so shockingly
treated, they made up for it after death. They used to pounce on everyone
who passed underneath—cattle and people. At last the king had the tree with
the brother and sister on it cut down, and it floated down the river and
eventually stranded at Pagan. Well, the King of Pagan, who was at that time
Thurligyaung, had a dream the night before that something very wonderful
would come to Pagan the next day by river. In the morning he went down to
the bank and there he found the tree with the human heads of Natindaw and
Shwemetyna sitting on it, and they told him who they were and how badly
they had been treated. The king became very frightened and said he would
build them a place to live in on Popa. So they thanked him and he built them
Natsin, a little sort of hut on Popa, and there they have lived ever since.
Every year the kings of Pagan used to go in state and offer sacrifice to
Natindaw and Shwemetyna of the flesh of white bullocks and white goats,
and the Popa Nat story is still going on because of the latest development
about the golden heads.
In the villages there is some weaving and dyeing of cloth, and quite a
large industry in the making of lacquer bowls and boxes.
It was not far to walk from the Circuit House to one of the villages,—
across the dry baked, brick-strewn earth, past great groves of cactus and
through the tall bamboo fence that surrounds the village itself. I passed a
couple of carts with primitive solid wheels, and under some trees in the
middle of the collection of thatched huts with their floors raised some feet
above the ground, a huge cauldron was sending up clouds of steam. Some
women were boiling dye for colouring cloth. This was Mukolo village. I
called at the house of U Tha Shein, one of the chief lacquer makers, and he
took me about to different huts to see the various stages of the work.
She was squatting beside the little corpse and pinching its cheeks and
moving its jaws up and down. "You have gone away to any place you like—
you have left me alone without thinking of me—I cannot feel tired of crying
for you."
And a Burman told me that the child had died of fever, and that the
father had gone to buy something for the funeral. He added, "The young
woman will never say anything—she will only weep for the children. It is
the old woman only that will say something."
CHAPTER V
MANDALAY
Christmas morning at Mandalay was bright, crisp and cold, with just that
bracing "snap" in the air that makes everyone feel glad to be in warm
clothes. On such a day the traveller feels a sense of security about the people
at home—they must be comfortable in London when it is so jolly at
Mandalay!
I have not yet had that prescription made up; to the present day I prefer
the ailment, but I asked the English-speaking Chinaman what the medicine
was like, and he told me that it was white and that I could get it at Mandalay.
When he was in South America Waterton slept with one foot out of his
hammock to see what it was like to be sucked by a vampire, but I am of
opinion there are some things in life we may safely reject on trust, declining
taste of sample.
The priests were returning to the monastery with bowls full of food from
their daily morning rounds, but there were very few people about at all, and
the place was almost given up that day to a batch of merry children, who
came gambolling round me, some of them pretending to be paralysed
beggars with quaking limbs.
It was very different at the Maha Myat Muni, the Arrakan Pagoda, which
was thronged with people like a hive of bees. This pagoda includes a vast
pile of buildings and enshrines one of the most revered images of Buddha, a
colossal brass figure seated in a shrine both gorgeous and elaborate, with
seven roofs overhead. Of shrines honoured to-day in Burmah the Arrakan
Pagoda is more frequented than any except the Shwe Dagon at Rangoon, and
is approached through a long series of colonnades gilded, frescoed, and
decorated with rich carving and mosaic work. They are lined with stalls of
metal-workers, sellers of incense, candles, violet lotus flowers, jewels,
sandalwood mementoes, and souvenirs innumerable, among which the most
fascinating to the stranger are grotesque toy figures, with fantastic movable
limbs, which would make an easy fortune at a London toy-shop, and before
long will doubtless be exported and gradually lose their exotic charm.
Passing through this Vanity Fair I at last reached the shrine, and in the
dim interior light I climbed up behind the great figure and followed the
custom of native pilgrims in seeking to "gain merit" by placing a gold-leaf
upon it with my own fingers. At all hours of every day human thumbs and
fingers are pressing gold-leaf upon that figure of Gautama. Outside in the
sunlight white egrets strutted about the grounds, and close by was a tank
where sacred turtles wallowed under a thick green scum. A swarm of rice-
sellers besought me to buy food for the turtles, and their uncomfortable
persistence was, of course, not lessened by patronage. The overfed animals
declined to show their heads, leaving the kites and crows to batten on the
tiny balls of cooked rice.
Now close to this turtle-tank and still within the precincts of the temple
was a large structure, evidently very much older than the rest of the
buildings—a vast cubical mass of red brick with an inner passage, square in
plan, round a central core of apparently solid masonry. Against one side of
this inner mountain of brick-work was the lower half of a colossal figure,
also in red brick, and cut off at the same level as the general mass of the
building. Whether the whole had ever been completed or whether at some
time the upper half had been removed, I could not tell. It was as if the
absence of head and shoulders cast a spell of death, which surrounded it with
a silence no voice ventured to dissipate, and with the noise and hubbub
outside nothing could have more strikingly contrasted than the impressive
quiet of this deserted sanctuary.
Far away, beyond Fort Dufferin on the other side of the city, rises
Mandalay Hill which I climbed several times for the sake of the wonderful
view. In the bright dazzle of a sunlight that made all things pale and
fairylike, I passed along wide roads ending in tender peeps of pale amethyst
mountains. I crossed the wide moat of Fort Dufferin, with its double border
of lotus, by one of the five wooden bridges and, traversing the enclosure,
came out again through the red-brick crenelated walls by a wide gateway,
and re-crossed the moat to climb the steep path by huge smooth boulders in
the afternoon heat. It was as if they had saved up all the warmth of noon to
give it out again with radiating force. At first the way lies between low
rough walls, on which at short intervals charred and blackened posts stand
whispering, "We know what it is to be burned"—"We know what it is to be
burned." They were fired at the same time as the temple at the top of the hill
over twenty years ago; but the great standing wooden figure of Buddha, then
knocked down, has been set up again, though still mutilated, for the huge
hand that formerly pointed down to the city lies among bricks and rubble.
The Queen's Golden Monastery and the Arrakan Pagoda were hidden
somewhere far away among the trees to the south of the city. Below, I could
see the square enclosure of Fort Dufferin, with its mile-long sides, in which
stands King Thebaw's palace and gardens, temples and pavilions, and I could
see the parallel lines of the city roadways. Mandalay is laid out on the
American plan, with wide, tree-shaded roads at right angles to each other.
Nearer to the hill and somewhat to the left lay the celebrated Kuthodaw or
four hundred and fifty pagodas, whereunder are housed Buddhist scriptures
engraved upon four hundred slabs of stone. The white plaster takes at sunset
a rosy hue, and in the distance the little plot resembles some trim flower-bed
where the blossoms have gone to sleep.
BURMESE MOTHER AND CHILD.
One of the loveliest things about Mandalay is the moat of Fort Dufferin.
In the evening afterglow I stopped at the south-west corner, where a boy was
throwing stones at a grey snake, and watched the silhouette of walls and
watch-towers against a vivid sky of red and amber and the reflections in the
water among the lotus leaves. Each side of the Fort is a straight mile long,
and the moat, which is a hundred yards across, has a wide space all along the
middle of the waterway quite clear of lotus. But moat and walls are both
most beautiful of all at sunrise. The red bricks then glow softly with warm
colour, and against their reflection the flat lotus leaves appear as pale hyaline
dashes.
Within, upon the level greensward, you may find to-day a wooden horse
—not such a large one as Minerva helped the Greeks to build before the
walls of Troy, nor yet that more realistic modern one I have seen in the great
hall, the old "Salone" of Verona—but a horse for gymnastic exercises of
Indian native regiments of Sikhs and Punjabis. Strange barracks those
soldiers have, for they sleep in what were formerly monasteries with halls of
carved and painted pillars.
I was asking the whereabouts of the only Burmese native regiment and
found it just outside Fort Dufferin, in "lines" specially built. It is a regiment
of sappers and miners. On New Year's Day Captain Forster, their
commanding officer, put a company of these Burmans through their paces
for me. In appearance they are not unlike Gourkhas, sturdy and about the
same height, and like the Gourkha they carry a knife of special shape, a
square-ended weapon good for jungle work.
King Thebaw's palace stands, of course, within the "Fort," which was
built to protect it. It is neither very old nor very interesting, and the most
impressive part is the large audience hall. The columns towards the entrance
are gilded, but on each side the two nearest the throne are, like the walls,
blood-red in colour, and the daylight filtering through casts blue gleams
upon them. It was not here, however, that the king was taken prisoner, but in
a garden pavilion a little distance from it with a veranda, and according to a
brass plate let into the wall below:—
I had never quite understood the annexation and that officer explained it
as follows:—"We knew the French were intriguing—that Monsieur Hass, the
French Ambassador at Rangoon, was working at the Court—and we got at
his papers and found he was just about to conclude a treaty with Thebaw.
The chance we seized was this—a difference between Thebaw and the
Bombay Burmah Trading Company. For their rights in forest-land in Upper
Burmah they paid a royalty on every log floated down. Now other people
were also floating logs down, and Thebaw claimed several lakhs of rupees
from the Bombay Burmah Company for royalties not paid. The Company
contended they had paid all royalties on their own logs, and that the unpaid
monies were due on other people's timber, and we seized the excuse and
took Mandalay in the nick of time, defeating the French plans."
At Mandalay there is the same popular delight in doll drama, and one
evening I watched a mimic "pwe" for an hour. The story was another version
of that which I had already seen acted by living people. The showman had
set up his staging in a suitable position, with a wide and sloping open space
before it, and there was the same great gathering of young and old in the
open air, lying on low four-post bedsteads or squatting on mats, while
outside the limits of the audience stalls drove a thriving trade in cheroots and
edible dainties. How the people laughed and cackled with delight at the
antics of the dolls! These were manipulated with a marvellous dexterity, and
seemed none the less real because the showman's hands were often visible as
he jerked the strings. I walked up to the stage and stood at one end of it to
get the most grotesque view of the scene. A long, low partition screen ran
along the middle of the platform. Behind this, limp figures were hanging
ready for the "cues," and the big fat Burmese showman walked sideways up
and down, leaning over as he worked the dancing figures upon the stage.
The movements were a comic exaggeration of the formal and jerky actions
of the dance, but the clever manipulation of a prancing steed, a horse of
mettle with four most practical flamboyant legs, was even more amusing.
CHAPTER VI
Presently the ground changed to red earth and tillage. Then we passed
more aloes and bare sand and a few cotton-fields. A thin stream meandered
along the middle of a wide sandy bed, and a line of distant mountains, seen
faintly through the shimmery haze of heat, seemed all the while to grow
more lovely. Taking more colour as the day advanced they stretched along
the horizon like the flat drop-scene of a theatre, abruptly separate from the
plain. After passing several lakes like blue eyes in the desert some red
sloping hills appeared to make a link in the perspective, and I reached my
first stopping-place, the famous Madura.
First I drove to that part of the great temple dedicated to Minachi, Siva's
wife, and then to the Sundareswara Temple dedicated to Siva himself under
that name.
The typical Dravidian temple, the Southern form of the Hindoo style of
architecture, consists of a pyramidal building on a square base divided
externally into stories, and containing image, relic or emblem in a central
shrine. This Vimana is surrounded at some distance by a wall with great
entrance gateways or Gopuras, similar in general design to the central
building but rectangular instead of square in plan, and often larger and more
richly decorated outside than the Vimana itself. Then there is also the porch
of the temple or Mantapam, the tank or Tappakulam, the Choultry or hall of
pillars and independent columns or Stambhams, bearing lamps or images.
The Sacred Tank and the Rock, Trichinopoly.
It was a vast double door some distance in front of me, beyond a series
of wide passages and courts, a colossal door larger than those two of wood
and iron at the entrance to the Vatican, where the Swiss guards stand in their
yellow-slashed uniforms with the halberds of earlier days, doors with no
carving save that of worms and weather, but, like the one before me, more
impressive by tremendous size and appearance of strength than the bronze
gates of Ghiberti. It was a portal for gods over whose unseen toes I, a
pygmy, might crane my neck. The vast perspective in front, the sense of
possible inclusion of unknown marvels commensurate with such an
entrance, a mystery of shadow towards the mighty roof,—all made me stand
and wonder, admiring and amazed. Porch succeeded porch, with statues of
the gods, sometimes black with the oil of countless libations, sometimes
bright and staring with fresh paint. Dirt mingled with magnificence and
modern mechanical invention with the beauty of ancient art. Live men
moved everywhere among the old, old gods.
Neither Darius nor Alexander, had they been able to march so far, could
have seen Madura, for, after all, these temples are not yet so very old, but
Buonaparte— Ah! he of all men should have seen it! I think of him on his
white horse, gazing with saturnine inscrutability at the cold waves of carved
theogonies surging, tier on tier, up the vast pyramids of the immense
gopuras, till the golden roofs of inner gleaming shrines drew him beyond.
I dressed by lamplight and was on the road just at dawn, driving through
the poorer quarter of the town. By a white gateway of Moorish design,
erected on the occasion of the last royal visit, and still bearing the legend
—"Glorious welcome to our future Emperor"—I entered the wide street of
the main bazaar at the far end of which the "rock" appeared.
The great bare mass which rises out of the plain to a height of 273 feet
above the level of the streets below, was first properly fortified in the
sixteenth century, under the great Nayakka dynasty of Madura, by which it
was received from the King of Tanjore in exchange for a place called
Vallam; and after being the centre of much fighting between native powers
and French and English, it passed quietly into the hands of the latter by
treaty in 1801.
From the roadway at the foot a series of stone stairways leads to the
upper street, which encircles the rock and contains a hall from which other
stairways lead up to a landing with a hundred-pillared porch on each side of
it. In one of these lay in a corner with their legs in air a number of bamboo
horses, life-size dummies, covered with coloured cloths and papers for use in
the processions. On a still higher landing I reached the great temple (whither
the image of Siva was removed from its former place in a rock-temple at the
base of the precipice), which Europeans are forbidden to enter.
THE MAIN BAZAAR, TRICHINOPOLY.
Among the smaller shrines in the streets the one which seemed to me the
most curious—was that of the "Black God, Karapanasami," a wooden club
or baluster similar in design to those carved in the hands of stone watchmen
at temple gates. Wreathed with flower garlands it leaned against the wall on
a stone plinth and was dripping with libation oil. I was told that
Karapanasami may be present in anything—a brick, or a bit of stone, or any
shapeless piece of wood.
Among the native people, quite apart from the would-be guides who
haunt the temples, those who speak a little English seem proud to display
their knowledge and ready to volunteer information. Before a statue of Kali
in a wayside shrine a boy ventured to say he hoped I would not irritate the
goddess, adding, "This god becomes quickly peevish; it is necessary to give
her sheep to quiet her."
The next morning I dressed by lamplight, and it was not yet dawn when
Tambusami put up the heavy bars across back and front doorways of my
room at the dak bungalow for the safety of our belongings during a day's
absence. Old Ratamullah, the very large fat "butler," watched us from his
own house a little further back in the enclosure, as in the grey light we
started to drive to Srirangam, and before the least ray of colour caught even
the top of the Rock we saw a group of women in purple and red robes
getting water at a fountain. The large, narrow-necked brass jars gleamed like
pale flames, the colour of the words John Milton that shine from the west
side of Bow Church in Cheapside.
Outside the houses of prosperous Hindoos I noticed, down upon the red
earth, patterns and designs that recalled the "doorstep art" practised by the
peasants in many parts of Scotland. The dust of the day's traffic soon
obscures the patterns, but at that early hour they had not yet been trodden
upon. Brass lamps glimmered in the poorer huts, but we were soon away
from Trichinopoly and crossing the long stone bridge over the Cauvery. The
river was very wide but by no means full, and scattered with large spaces of
bare sand. Over the water little mists like the pale ghosts of a crowd of white
snakes curled and twisted in a strange slow dance.
When we had crossed the thirty-two arches of this bridge we were upon
the island of Srirangam, on which there is that vast and, it is said, wealthy
temple to Vishnu, about which one is always told that its design ought to
have been turned inside out, as it becomes less imposing the farther one
penetrates within. To me it was one long succession of delights and wonders,
and in the freshness of the early morning I found an enjoyment in the crude
designs of gods and heroes, freshly painted in strong outline of burnt sienna
colour on whitewashed walls, as well as in the older elaborate and
sometimes beautiful carvings of pillar and panel, niche and architrave.
All that it was possible for me to do in this part of Southern India was to
visit a few of the most important temples, and as they are well known and oft
described I will not devote much space to them here.
The chief in the Dravidian style after Madura and Trichinopoly is, of
course, Tanjore—much earlier in date, being of the fourteenth century, if not
much earlier still,—with a pyramidal sikra of thirteen storeys high (it is
surmounted by a spiked ornament, which gives its name to the construction),
and a stone Mantapam covering the famous Nandi, the colossal stone bull of
Siva, which is over 12 feet high and blackened with centuries of oil
anointings.
The temple is partly surrounded by the great walls and bastions of the
old fort of Tanjore and a wide moat, over which a bridge leads to the
gateway. All along the west and north sides of the great open space within
the walls runs a colonnade in which are placed, as in a long series of side-
chapels, 108 lingams. The walls of these cloister-like recesses are covered
with pictures of gods and miracles in sienna red, and on another side of the
enclosure is the superbly graceful later shrine, called Subramanya, to the
warrior son of Siva. The whole temple is attached to Tanjore Palace and
under the control of the Senior Ranee, Her Highness Matosree Jijayeeamba
Boyee Sahib.
About the middle of the great front is Fort St George, with its three and
four-storeyed barracks and officers' bungalows. It is of no strategic
importance, but there are very rightly stringent regulations against sketching
within its precincts. Thanks to the courtesy of the officers in charge I
obtained permission with regard to St Mary's Church where Clive was
married, and which claims to be not only the oldest English church in India,
but the oldest English building in India of any kind, dating from 25th March
1678, when the first sod was turned for its erection.
I had received a verbal permission from the commanding officer, but had
no sooner taken up my position than I was stopped by a sergeant. He insisted
on the need for a written permit. Now this involved a second walk of some
distance to the commanding officer's house, but I was sufficiently far from
any feeling of annoyance to smile at that sergeant, saying I would comply
with pleasure, and complimenting him on his zeal. His severe rejoinder was
a delicious contrast to the fluent suavity of Eastern politeness. Looking at me
sternly with flashing eyes, my compatriot exclaimed:—"Now look 'ere, don't
you give me none of your sarcasm neither!"
Most of the public buildings in Madras, such as the Railway Station, the
Government Offices and the Law Courts, are of red brick, and their
architecture an ingenious mixture of East and West.
I wanted, before leaving the South, to see the Nilgiris, and with this end
took train inland to Mettapalaiyam, where I changed on to the narrow gauge
railway which climbs one in twelve, a central rack-rail making such an angle
possible. As the engine was at the lower end I was able to sit on the extreme
front of the train and watch the scenery to advantage. A look-out man by my
side stopped the train in one deep cutting as we caught sight of a piece of
rock which had fallen from above and lay across the metals in front of us.
There were some coolies near at hand, and the obstacle was quickly
removed, but it dramatically suggested one of the dangers of mountain
railways.
The vegetation was very like that on the journey to Newara Eliya in
Ceylon; bamboos, areca-nut palms, plantains and the same little orange-
flowered shrub everywhere. Here and there the red earth showed but only
rarely for where there were no trees the ground was generally bare grey rock.
Hanging in gum trees or eucalyptus I noticed many paper nests of wasps. At
Runnymede Station, 4500 feet above sea-level, we were turned into a siding
for a down-coming train to pass. This was full of children shouting and
cheering loudly, coming away for Christmas holidays from the Lawrence
Asylum School at Ootacamund.
As we crossed small bridges over clefts and gorges I could see torrents
under my feet between the sleepers; and then, rugged and precipitous, the
hillside dropped below on one side and reared up on the other far above our
heads, as we crept along some narrow ledge.
At Coonoor, which was, at the time of my visit, still the end of the
railway, I shared a two-horse "tonga" with an engineer. He had been for
many years making railways in Assam, had been down with dysentery and
about to go home on leave when he was asked at Calcutta to get the "Ooty"
railway finished, and change of air and a "soft" job had decided him to take
the work.
I do not think there was one thing this engineer said, except the last,
about which I had not heard the direct opposite from other Englishmen; but
he spoke from his own experience as they did, and the various views must be
weighed against each other.
"Ooty" is 2000 feet higher than Coonoor, but the finest mountain views
are from the latter neighbourhood. I drove back by night and all along the
road bullock-carts, with lanterns swinging underneath them, were slowly
plodding down with loads of coffee and tea. On the rack-railway there is
only passenger traffic, so they have to go all the way to Mettapalaiyam. The
drivers were all sound asleep and my "sayce" was on the road pretty often,
turning the cattle aside to let us pass. On one side the rocks rose
precipitously, and on the other stretched out a vast panorama of hills, clothed
in a dress more mystic than white samite, the soft pale clarity of moon-lit
mountain air.
It was very late when I reached the railway station, and finding all locked
up I slept on the pavement rolled in rug and ulster.
When I awoke at sunrise the Eastern sky was all rose and amber, and in
the sharp crisp morning air the bells of the horses jingled gaily as I drove up
through the woods above Coonoor, past snug villas now nearly all "to let"
for the season does not begin till February. A zigzag road it was, with roses
and wild heliotrope along its stone-built sides. The eucalyptus were 50 feet
high, rhododendrons with profusion of crimson blossoms grew to large trees,
and the graceful star-topped tree-ferns were very tall.
CHAPTER VII
CALCUTTA
The few passengers on the Bengala were all eager to see "James and
Mary"; and beyond another village on a spit of sand with a crowd of small
fishing-boats at anchor, we passed the now celebrated spot where a couple of
masts still protruded above the water. All hands had been called to be ready
before we reached this fatal place, but no siren voices sounded from the
tragic sands.
At Budge Bridge, about 14 miles from Calcutta, where there are large oil
storage tanks, we began to pass jute-mills on the opposite bank and many
brick-making places. At Garden Reach we dropped the pilot and picked up
the Harbour Master just as a Natal coolie emigrant ship, the Umfuli, passed
us on her way out.