riTERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 17B 



any education pretends to a skill in cheiromancy, 

 or the foretelling of a person's fortune by looking 

 at the palms of his hands. Prophecies and dreams 

 are also in great credit among the Bunnas, as among 

 all rude and io-norant nations. We were informed 

 that a prophecy having lately been current, fore- 

 telling that Pegu would again be the seat of go- 

 vernment, the king was thrown into considerable 

 anxiety, and thinking to elude the prophecy, had 

 sent orders to the Ilyooivim (or governor of the 

 province) of Haynthawade, to remove the seat of 

 his e-overnment from llan^foun to Fei^u then in 

 ruins. The late Myoowun was so attached to Ran- 

 goun, that he always found some excuse for delay- 

 ing the execution of the order : but while we were 

 in the Burma empire, his successor was busily em- 

 ployed in rebuilding Pegu, and having made con- 

 siderable progress, had taken up his residence in 

 that city. Nor did he appear to be more exempt 

 from such credulity than his master. We Nvere told, 

 when at Pegu, that he was often employed in search 

 of a hidden treasure, in consequence of some di- 

 rections he had received in a dream: and that he 

 often went into the woods to look for a temple, 

 which, it was alleged, had the power of rendering 

 itself visible or invisible. All good people are in,' 

 consternation on account of certain robbers, who 

 by a power in magic are supposed able to change 

 themselves into tigers, or other wild beasts, and 

 thus without a danger of detection can commit 

 their nocturnal spoils. The grand art of astrology, 

 however, seems to be chiefly practised, and under- 

 stood by the Brahmens. Yet, while at Arammattana 

 or Pougan, I procured a treatise on this subject 

 written in the Burma language : v/hich, with all the- 

 other manuscripts I brought from the country, are* 

 HOW in the possession of Sir John- Murray, at 

 whose req^-tiest I made the collection. Howeve'r 

 great the proficiency of the Brahmens in astrology 

 may be, i was informed by my friend the Mission- 

 ary, that they were very ignorant in astronomy. 

 Although they sometimes attempt to calculate 

 6 eclipsjs 



