302 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
this spot there is a fine view, at once of Ava 
and Amarapura ; affording, with a long reach 
of the river and the high range of mountains to 
the north, a landscape which is extensive, pictu¬ 
resque, and beautiful. The promontory on the 
eastern bank, which does not appear to be con¬ 
nected with any range of hills on the same side of 
the river, is, like the Sagaing hills, composed of 
marble ; but it differs in its composition from 
any limestone we observed on the western side, 
being tough, hard, and containing, besides horn¬ 
blende and serpentine, a great deal of dissemin¬ 
ated mica, and some embedded crystals of feldt- 
spar. We made particular inquiry of the mi¬ 
ners and lime-burners respecting ores and fossil 
remains, but could not learn that they ever met 
with any. The limestone rock, at no place 
which we had yet examined, bore any appear¬ 
ance of stratification. Both at the bottom and 
top of the range, it is generally in a state of 
disintegration, and on the surface undergoing 
considerable decomposition. 
The rain which fell on the 17th, 18th, and 
19th, caused the river to swell greatly, and it 
rose between two and three feet. It did not 
begin to subside again till the 26th, but since 
that time it fell rapidly. The cold season may 
be calculated to have commenced on the latter 
