TO THE COURT OF AYA. 
59 
forest, very difficult to be penetrated on ac¬ 
count of the prevalence of underwood, and 
totally destitute of habitation or culture. 
While I was on this excursion, the Myo- 
wun, who had reached Prome an hour before 
us, came on board to pay me a visit. I regret¬ 
ted that I had missed this opportunity of see¬ 
ing him. 
Sept. 16.—A party landed this morning and 
visited the great Pagoda, the suburbs, and the 
Myo, or fort. The Pagoda, which is richly 
gilded all over, and is a fine object in ap¬ 
proaching the town, is distant from the river 
about half a mile, and lies immediately behind 
the town, situated upon a hill about one hun¬ 
dred and thirty feet high. It is exactly of the 
same form and construction as the great Pa¬ 
goda at Rangoon, but a good deal smaller. The 
body of the temple, or spire, is surrounded by 
a terrace, containing many small temples, with 
images of Buddha, and having a wooden arcade 
all round, the roof of which is, in some places, 
very curiously and elaborately carved, but both 
the extent and execution of this sort of work 
are much inferior to what I observed in the 
temples of Siam. There are two approaches 
to the temple by a flight of brick steps, which 
have a wooden roof over them. The name of 
