250 



These we should have despised, had not the lowing of a great 

 buffalo calf, close at ouv feet, kept us from dropping asleep. We 

 thought the night tedious, and about two o'clock determined to 

 rise and decamp ; for this purpose, while searching about to open 

 the door, and awake the palanquin bearers, 1 found myself furi- 

 ously attacked by the head of a cow, which obliged me to make 

 a precipitate retreat, and remain quiet until the lord of the castle 

 awoke and procured a light, which we found it very difficult to 

 persuade him to. 



In our journey from Beunda, we passed several of these 

 wretched villages of Columbees (people who till the ground). Those 

 near the hot wells are Ankalulee, half a mile to the south-west; 

 Chambalee, a few paces beyond it; Kellang, to the westward ; 

 Gerad, to the north-west; and Vazarabhy at the distance of two 

 miles to the south-west. The last village is the most considerable, 

 and there resides Vittelpunt, the subahdar. He is at present super- 

 intending the building of a magnificent pagoda, designed also as 

 a fortress in that part of the country. The pagoda, which is 

 nearly finished, is elegantly designed and highly executed ; but 

 the engineers are very inferior to the civil architects, and in their 

 choice of this ground have proved themselves so. For although 

 they have, at a great expense, fortified one hill with a strong 

 square stone wall, forty- three feet high, with a parapet and em- 

 brasures (in the midst of which stands the pagoda) they have en- 

 tirely disregarded two more which hang directly over it, and abso- 

 lutely command every inch of ground they have fortified ; nay, so 

 great is their error in this respect, that a stone rolled from the lop 



