76 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
at this time last year. A road, not much fre¬ 
quented however, leads from hence to the Ara- 
can mountains. At ten o’clock we passed the 
village of j\ t yaon g-ben-sai k, (holy fig-tree land¬ 
ing-place,) the spot where the conferences were 
held between the British and Bur man com¬ 
manders, which led to the armistice just men¬ 
tioned. The fig-tree which gives name to this 
village is conspicuous upon the extremity of a 
point of land, its roots being now washed by 
the water of the river. Behind Nyaong-ben- 
saik is an extensive plain, —for here the hills, 
which all the way from Prome approached to 
the very water’s edge, recede for several miles. 
At one o’clock we came again to a narrow part 
of the river, which on the right bank takes the 
name of Palo., and on the left that of Puto. 
Both were strongly fortified by the Burmans, 
after their manner, subsequent to the defeats 
sustained in the first days of December; but 
they wanted the resolution to defend them, and 
abandoned them without the slightest attempt 
at resistance. The works on the left bank 
were five miles in extent, and some of them 
were still standing. Early in the evening we 
came to an anchor at Tong-taong, (lime-hill,) 
a little village which may be considered as a 
sort of suburb to Tharet-myo. We landed 
