ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



46^ 



The intrepid valor and military ta- 

 lents of Alompra, a Birman of low 

 extraction, now rescued his country- 

 men from a foreign yoke ; though 

 he aspired not to the praise of seat- 

 ing the posterity of his deceased so- 

 vereign on a throne which he might 

 bequeath to his own. In 1753 the 

 Peguvians were expelled from Ava; 

 andj in the course of a brilliant 

 reign, of seven yearsduration, Alom- 

 pra reduced the whole of the Pegu- 

 vian territory to his subjection, and 

 carried his arms to the gates of the 

 capital of Siam, when death put a 

 period to his exploits in I76O. 

 Mindaragee Prau, who now fills the 

 throne, is the son of that conqueror. 

 In 1783 he subdued the neighbour- 

 ing maritime country of Aracan, 

 and has retained the conquests of 

 his father, consisting of Pegu, and 

 the coast of Siam, as far south as the 

 port of Mergui; indisputably pre- 

 eminent among the nations inhabi- 

 ting the peninsula; possessed of a 

 territory equal in extent to the Ger- 

 man empire, blessed with a salu- 

 brious climate, and a soil capable of 

 producing almost every article of 

 luxury, convenience, and commerce, 

 that the East can supply. 



The irruption of an armed force 

 into the territories of the English 

 East- India company was for the ap- 

 prehension of persons guilty of pi- 

 ratical practices on the coasts of 

 Aracan. The offenders were deli- 

 vered up to public justice by the 

 Bengal government,after their guilt 

 was established by trial ; but the 

 previous departure of the invaders 

 was required as a preliminary. This 

 period seemed to the governor-ge- 

 neral, favourable for the establish- 

 ment of an intercourse between the 

 states, and the adjustment of com- 

 mercial arrangements; and in his 



Vol. XLII. 



comprehensive mind, we may sup- 

 pose, the in terests of science were not 

 entirely overlooked. An embassy to 

 the court of Ava was projected, and 

 major Symes was selected as the am- 

 bassador. Such of our readers as 

 accompanied us with sir George 

 Staunton to the court of the Chi- 

 nese monarch, will not be very un- 

 willing to visit the hitherto unex- 

 plored seat of the Birman empire. 

 Major Symes embarked at Cal- 

 cutta, on the twenty-first of Febru- 

 ary, 1796, on board the Sea Horse, 

 captain Thomas, accompanied by 

 Mr. Wood, assistant and secretary ; 

 Dr. Buchanan, surgeon to the mis- 

 sion ; a military guard, and suite ; 

 the whole party consisting of 70 

 persons. 



In the middle of March, the de- 

 putation reached Rangun, the prin- 

 cipal sea-port in the Birman domi- 

 nions; where, after considerable 

 delay, arising from the jealous cau- 

 tion of the municipal officers, it was 

 determined that the ambassador 

 should wait on the viceroy of the 

 province, who resides at Pegu, un- 

 til orders should arrive from the 

 capital relative to the mode of con- 

 duct to be observed towards the 

 embassy. The distance by water is 

 about ninety miles ; and the inter- 

 jacent country seemed to have been 

 nearly depopulated by the long se- 

 ries of wars which it had sustained. 

 Pegu, the ancient capital of a state 

 formerly independent, was rased to 

 the foundation when captured by 

 Alompra, who spared only the re- 

 ligious edifices. The reception 

 which the English ambassador ex- 

 perienced from the viceroy was 

 conformable to that reserved polite- 

 ness, which uniformly characterized 

 the behaviour of the Birman officers. 

 On his arrival, the conclusion of the 

 Hh 



