48 
BIEMOIR OP 
country, where a pTain of its awn brendth praduftlly 
sinks tijta its hfjstiKi. On the inorjiinir fullowlno:, 
they emhnrketl and reacbet! a town of some consie- 
quence, Simawaiig, oeeupyin^' the smiimit of b hill 
about 500 feel above tbe level of tbe hike, and com-i 
maTiclirio; a very extensive prospect. Tite next niorn- 
iu^ tbey ])rocee(led to Siirmso, tbe serond city of 
inipnrtance, and, by micl-dftVi obtnmed tbe first view 
of Pageanyong, the capital of tbe Menan^kabu conn- 
try, and one of the obji'cts of tbe exctn*sion. 
From tbe approach to tbeae citieH wlik-h had lieen 
thus passcii, it was evident that, at one period, iliey 
had l>een of iinportsnce. " But» alas, little was left 
for our curiofiky but the wreek of what bad once 
heen great and populous. The Wagarin treeu, whieh 
shaded and added solemaity to the palace^ were utill 
standing' in all their majesty. The fruit trees, and 
particolaily tbe cocoa uut, marhed ibe t)oundaries of 
thta once extensive city ; hut tbe rank grass bad 
usurped ibe halls of tbe palace, and scarce was the 
thatch of tbe peasant to be found. Three tiuieB bad 
the city been eonmiitted to the fiaraea ; well might I 
fiay» in tbe languaire of tbn Brata Yudba, * Sad and 
melancholy was her wagarin tree, like the sorrow of 
a wife whose husband h afar.' " Several interesting 
ioBcriptions were discovered liere, and a chastely 
carved Hindu image, which, together with the very 
Ligb state of cultivation in the surrounding country, 
were strong arguments in favoiur of the opinion formed 
hy Sir Stamford, that the ftlalayau empire waa not 
