LITERATURE OF THE BCRMAS. 307 



but sufficiently distant to admit of the upper leaves 

 being turned back, while the lower ones are read. 

 The more elegant books are in general wrapped up 

 in silk cloth, and bound round by a garter, in which 

 the Burmas have the art to weave the title of the 

 book. 



As there are but few of tlie Burmas who do not 

 read and write, almost every man carries with him 

 a parawaik '*, in which he keeps his accounts, copies 

 songs, till he can repeat them from memory, and takes 

 memorandums of any thing curious. It is on these 

 parcrwaiks that the Zm^es or writers in all courts, and 

 ])ublic otBces, take down the proceedings and orders 

 of the superior officers : from thence copying such 

 parts, as are necessary, into books oFa more durable 

 and elegant nature. The parawaik is made of one 

 sheet of thick and strong paper blackened over. A 

 good one may be about eight feet long, and eigh- 

 teen inches wide. It is folded up somewhat like a 

 fan, or thus a /'Xy'X/'A/x b each fold, or page be- 

 ing about six inches, and in length the whole 

 breadth of the sheet. Thence, wherever the book 

 is opened, whichever side is uppermost, no part of it 

 can be rubbed, but the two outer pages, a. b. and it 

 only occupies a table one foot in width by eighteen, 

 inclies long. The Burmas write on the paraimik 

 Avith a pencil of steatites. When in haste the Zarts 

 use many contractions, and write with wonderful 

 quickness. I have seen them keep up with an officer 

 dictating, and not speaking very slow. But when, 

 they take pains, the characters written on the para- 

 walk are remarkably neat. Indeed this nation, like 

 the Chinese, pique themselves much on writing aa 

 elegant, and distinct character. When that, which, 

 has been written on a paj^awaik^ becomes no longer 

 useful, the pages are rubbed over with charcoal, and 

 the leaves of a species of Dolichos : they are then, 

 clean, as if new, and equally fit for the pencil. 



* I do not know, but that this ought to b* written Parucek, 



X 2 Every 



