ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



469 



the Birmans ; they are considered 

 as not belonging to the same scale 

 of the creation as men ; the evi- 

 dence of a woman is not consider- 

 ed as of equal weight, nor is she 

 allowed to ascend the steps of a 

 court of justice.' 



The ditFerence is indeed remark- 

 able between the nations, in their 

 treatment of the sex ; for the Bir- 

 man women are employed in the 

 most laborious offices, without any 

 idea of seclusion. The author .saw 

 a woman of rank at Rangun, wife 

 of the governor of Dalla, who su- 

 perintended the building of a ship, 

 and spent most part of her time 

 with the artificers, to keep them to 

 their duty. 



' The Birmans in some points of 

 their disposition, display the ferocity 

 of barbarians, and in others, all the 

 lium anity and tenderness of polished 

 life : they inflict the most savage 

 vengeance on their enemies ; as in- 

 vaders, desolation marks their track, 

 for they spare neither sex nor age ; 

 but at home they assume a different 

 character ; there they manifest be- 

 nevolence, by extending aid to the 

 infirm, the aged, and the sick ; 

 filial piety is inculcated as a sacred 

 precept, and its duties are religi- 

 ously observed. A common beggar 

 is no where to be seen : every in- 

 dividual is certain of receiving sus- 

 tenance, which, if he cannot pro- 

 cure by his own labour, is provided 

 for him by others.' 



The Birman month is divided 

 into four weeks of seven days each. 

 The names by which the days are 

 distinguished are in all probability 

 those of the planets, following the 

 same arrangement as prevails in 

 Europe : as we infer from observing 

 the San.scrit names of the planets. 

 Mercury, Venus, and Saturn, for 



Wednesday, friday, and Saturday. 

 The other names are either pecu- 

 liar to the Birmans, or have been 

 imperfectly caught by major Symes; 

 since the Siamese have the same 

 names for the planets, and for the 

 days of the week, with those used 

 by the Brahmans. 



'The Birmans are extremely 

 fond both of poetry and music: 

 they have epic as well as religious 

 poems of high celebrity. Some of 

 their professional musicians display 

 considerable skill and execution, 

 and the softer airs are pleasing even 

 to an ear unaccustomed to such 

 melody.' 



Major Symes informs us that the 

 Pali, the sacred language of the 

 priests of Buddha, is thought to be 

 nearly allied to the Sanscrit of the 

 Brahmans ; and that there is cer- 

 tainly much of that holy idiom en- 

 grafted on the vulgar language of 

 Ava, by the introduction of the 

 Hindu religion. The priests have 

 a character peculiar to their sacred 

 language, and another character is 

 used in writing the Birman tongue. 

 The author has exhibited a speci- 

 men of both, and has given the 

 Birman alphabet with the corre- 

 spondingcharacters in Devanagari; 

 and the sounds which they express 

 in Roman letters. Unhappily, they 

 have been transposed by some in- 

 advertence, for the two latter do 

 not always correspond ; of the first, 

 we are unqualified to judge : but 

 the vowels of both are omitted. 



The Birman empire appears to 

 include the space between the Qth 

 and 26'th degrees of north latitude, 

 and between the 92d and 107th de- 

 gree of longitude east of Green- 

 wich; about 1050 geographical 

 miles in length, and 600 in breadth. 

 It is likely that it may extend still 



