1837.] Some account of the Wars between Burmah and China. 443 



emperor's party, his relatives, some in sedan chairs, some on horseback, 

 and some in carnages followed ;— and after them came the ministers and 

 officers, and a party of men in charge of the ladies of the palace (eunuchs). 

 On arriving at a lake situated more than 1050 cubits to the north-west of 

 the palace enclosure wall, on which the ice amusement was to take place, 

 and near which there was a garden with a small rocky hill, the emperor's 

 sedan chair was set down at the side of the garden. In the lake measur- 

 ing about 700 cubits in extent, the top of the water consisted of hard 

 solid ice upwards of three cubits thick, and on this ice a target with a pole 

 15 cubits high was fixed. A hundred soldiers armed with bows and 

 arrows, and having plates of iron fixed with nails on their shoes, stood 

 with their feet close together and shot with arrows at the target. Some 

 hit the target and some not ; but after discharging their arrows, they 

 moved forward, not as in walking, but with both feet close together, 

 suddenly to a distance of HO or 210 cubits, and turned round and went 

 away. The emperor did not get out of his sedan chair, but had it placed 

 on the lake upon the ice, whence he looked on at the amusement. We 

 stood about 42 cubits distant from the emperor with the Toi-tshuon 

 (Si-chuen ?) Mahomedan ambassador?, but in front of them, having our 

 shoes on, and the official cap, dress and ear-rings which his majesty had 

 bestowed upon us. The emperor, we saw, was dressed in yellow-coloured 

 pantaloons and a fur jacket, and he returned to the palace from the ice 

 amusement at 7 o'clock, in the same order as before, and we also returned 

 to the ambassadors' house. 



" On the 26th January we sent the royal presents under charge of Ya'za 

 Nora-tha'-gyo-gaung, and on the 30th we had an audience of the em- 

 peror in the front of the palace, in the Thaik-ho-teng* apartment. We 

 were asked if the Sun-descended king, the queen, royal family and 

 ministers were well and happy, and respectfully answered, that through 

 the grace of the three objects of worship, they were well and happy. We 

 were treated in the palace with sweetmeats and fruit, and then returned 

 home. On the 31st of the same month we again went to the palace on 

 the occasion of the emperor going out to a temple. On the 1st February 

 we were again admitted into the palace, and had an audience ; and again 

 on the 6th and 7th February ; and again on the 11th, when the emperor 

 was going out to the Tsi-lcuon-Uo garden, situated about 700 cubits to the 

 west of the palace. A roll of red, blue, and yellow silk was given to each 

 of the five principal men of the mission, and we were treated with cakes 

 and 6weet and sour fruit. On the 12th February we were again admitted, 

 when the emperor was going out to see fire-works of white and yellow 

 colours, resembling flowers and flags, let off in the Fue-mi-yengf garden to 

 the north-west of the palace. On the 12th a carriage with 16 horses was 



* Du Halde's Tai-ho-tien, or hall of the Grand Union. 



■f Sir G. Staunton's gardens and pleasure grounds of " Yuen-min-yuen." 



