66 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
at Padaong, and much more severely near 
Prome in December last. In conversation, he 
gave us to understand, that his troops did not 
want courage ; but that they had neither the 
arms nor discipline of ours, and on this account 
only were unable to contend with us. 
The Myowun of Prome came on board in 
the afternoon, and brought, as a present, a 
quantity of very bad wax candles ; and a large 
supply of custard-apples, a fruit for the pro¬ 
duction of which the neighbourhood of Prome 
is celebrated. This was in return for a pre¬ 
sent, of ten times the value, which I had sent 
him in the forenoon. He was extremely anxious 
that we should prolong our stay at Prome a 
few days, and mentioned that himself and the 
Myowun of Shwe-taong were each preparing 
two war-boats to accompany us, for the protec¬ 
tion of our baggage, as far as Meeaday, the 
confines of his province, as the country to Ava 
was much infested by robbers. We promised 
to stay a day longer, and in the evening our 
baggage-boats came up. The Myowun of 
Prome, Maong-kun-thaong, we found to be a 
person of pleasing and unostentatious manners. 
At Court he was said to possess considerable 
influence, having a daughter one of the junior 
queens, and a first cousin second Queen. The 
