104 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
versal feelings of the lower classes throughout 
the country. Sal6 contains 200 houses, and its 
population, therefore, may amount to 1000 or 
1200 inhabitants. It is the principal place of 
a considerable district, situated on both sides 
of the river, the portion on the western bank 
being by far the most fertile—an observation 
which applies to all the country, from Wet- 
ma-sut to Sale. Sale has a neat appearance, 
and differs from the villages farther down, in 
having the houses built on the ground, instead 
of being raised on posts. Near the village, 
as usual, are several considerable temples and 
monasteries. Immediately above it are the 
ruins of a brick fort, which, we were told, was 
constructed by the Burmans to resist the last 
invasion of the Talains; yet it has an appear¬ 
ance of much greater antiquity. Close to it is 
a stone with an inscription, standing on its end, 
and resembling a rude tombstone in a country 
churchyard in England. This is of sandstone, 
and the inscription not legible. There is 
enough however, to show that it is not the 
character at present used by the Burmans. 
The country around is eminently sterile, con¬ 
sisting of little else than sand, on the surface 
of which are strewed large pebbles of quartz, 
and fragments of petrified wood. The inha- 
