90 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
the Christian era, and his successor in 1056, 
which last is probably the date of his death. 
Monuments to the memory of the dead are not 
very frequent amongst the Burmans, and those 
in commemoration of remarkable events still 
rarer. When a monument is erected over the 
ashes of the dead, it is in the ordinary pyra¬ 
midal form, and ought not, according to the 
priests, to be crowned with the Ti , or iron um¬ 
brella. However, there is a difference of opi¬ 
nion on this point between the priesthood and 
the Court—the people taking part with the 
former. The affair is generally compromised 
by making the structure at the same time a 
monument to the dead, and consecrating it to 
Gautama; so that, in fact, the priests gain 
their cause, as there is nothing in such a build¬ 
ing to distinguish it from an ordinary zidi, or 
temple. 
In the course of the day, we passed the vil¬ 
lage of Myan-kwan, a very considerable one on 
the east bank of the river and Ma-kwe, one of 
the largest and finest we had seen on the same 
side. A temple, on a hill near this last, has the 
reputation of containing the bed of Gautama : 
the name of it is Mya-thalon, or, “ the temple 
of the emerald bed.” On the opposite side of 
the river, and farther up than Ma-kwd, is an- 
