LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 305 



them on many occasions. Their music, Ijoth vocal 

 and instrumental, appeared to me very bad. Some 

 of their musical instruments are, indeed, not so barba- 

 rously noisy, as those of the Hindus and Chinese ; but 

 the airs, ^^4licll the Bunnas performed on them, I 

 could not at all comprehend. On the contrary, 

 many of the Hindu and Chinese airs seem to me not 

 at all unpleasant : but I must confess, that I am 

 entirely unskilled and rude in the science of nmsic. 



The Burmas have dramatic entertainments, used 

 at all festivals, and well dcscrilDcd by M. de la Lou - 

 BFJiE in his account oi\Sia?n. The performers in- 

 deed, -which we sa^\', weva all Slammese. Although 

 these entertaininents, like the Italhui opera, consist 

 of music, dancing, and action, with a dialogue in 

 recitative ; yet we understood, tliat no part but the 

 songs was previously composed. The subject is 

 generally taken from some of the legends of their 

 heroes, especially of Raima ; and the several parts 

 songs, and actions, being assigned to the different 

 performers, the recitative part or dialogue is left to 

 each actor's ingenuity. If, from the effects on the 

 audience we might judge of the merit of the per- 

 formance, it must be very considerable ; as some of 

 the performers had the "art of keeping the mul- 

 titude in a roar. I often, however, suspected that 

 the audience were not difficult to please : for I fre- 

 quently observed the Myooxvun of Haynthaxvadz 

 (the man of high rank whom we most frequently 

 saw), thrown into immoderate laughter by the most 

 childish contrivances. These eastern nations are 

 indeed a lively, merry people ; and like the former 

 French, dance, laugh, and sing, in the midst of 

 oppression and misfortune. 



The original of most of the Burma books on 

 law and rehgion is in the Pali or Pale language ; 

 which undoubtedly is radically the same with the 

 Sa7iscrit. I was assured at Amarapura that the 

 Pali of Slain, and Pegu, differed considerably from 

 that of the Burmas, and an intelligent native of 



Vol. VI. X Tdvay, 



