ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



461 



petrifying qualiiV of the earth at this 

 place was such, that leaves of trees, 

 shaken off by the wind, were not 

 unfrequently changed into stone 

 before they could decay by time.' 

 The face of the neighbouring coun- 

 try was sterile, and the trees were 

 stunted in their growth. The pits 

 .which supply the whole empire 

 with oil are some miles inland; the 

 ground which yields it is fanned by 

 government. The pit which the 

 author inspected was thirty-seven 

 fathoms deep, but the depth of Pe- 

 troleum could not be ascertained. 



At Tirupraeu (Chinese Town,) 

 the Keenduem joins the Iravati, 

 after having divided the country of 

 Cassay from that of Ava ; it is re- 

 ported to have its source in a lake 

 three months journey to the north- 

 ward, and is navigable as far as the 

 Birman territories extend. 'As our 

 distance from Amrapura diminished, 

 towns and villages recurred at such 

 short intervals, that it was in vain 

 to inquire the name of each distinct 

 assemblage of houses ; each, how- 

 ever, had its name, and was for the 

 most part inhabited by one particu- 

 lar class of people, possessing some 

 separate trade, or following some 

 peculiar occupation.' The seat of 

 government, and with it the inha- 

 bitants of Aungwa or Ava, have 

 been removed thence to Amrapura, 

 by the caprice, superstition, or po- 

 licy of the reigning monarch. Ava 

 is totally deserted, and the walls are 

 mouldering to decay. The new ca- 

 pital is seated some miles higher up 

 the river, on the banks of a lake 

 which communicates with the Ira- 

 V'ati. On entering the lake, the 

 number of boats that were moored 

 as in a harbour, to avoid the influ- 

 ence of the sweeping flood, the sin- 

 gularity of their construction, the 



height of the waters, which threaten 

 inundation to the whole city, and 

 the amphitheatre of lofty hills that 

 nearly surrounded us, altogether 

 presented a novel scene, exceed- 

 ingly interesting to a stranger. The 

 absence of the king from his capi- 

 tal gave time to major Symes to 

 prosecute his enquiries into the 

 manners, laws, and opinions of his 

 new acquaintances, after he had 

 taken possession of the habitation 

 allotted for the embassy; which 

 was furnished in every respect con- 

 formably to the Birman notions of 

 convenience and comfort, and situ- 

 ated near a mansion occupied by 

 ambassadors from the provincial 

 government of Yunan, in China. 



The laws of the Birmans, it is 

 here said, like their religion, are 

 Hindu. This matter is involved in 

 much perplexity ; for major Symes 

 informs us, that the laws of Menu 

 furnish the basis of their national 

 jurisprudence; yet the Birmans are 

 not separated into castes, though this 

 be the fundamental principle of the 

 Indian institutions; abstract it, and 

 the whole fabric vanishes into air. 

 Again, the Birmans require celibacy 

 in the priesthood; and this unnatu- 

 ral inj unction removes their system 

 stillfarther from any similarity with 

 that of the Brahmans, with whom 

 celibacy is a crime, and want of 

 children an irreparable misfortune, 

 in both worlds. 



The tythe of all produce, and of 

 foreign goods imported, constitutes 

 the revenue of the state, and is 

 mostly levied in kind ; the salaries 

 of the officers, and allowances to the 

 royal family, are paid by assign- 

 ments of land ; and the coffers of 

 his Birman majesty are supposed to 

 be extremely well supplied. The 

 Birmans may be denominated a na- 



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