894 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
palanquins are the gifts of the late King’s wives 
and concubines, bequeathed by the will of the 
deceased to the temple. It is among the super¬ 
stitions of the royal family, that the houses and 
equipages of the individuals belonging to it can¬ 
not, as things too sacred, be used by others after 
their death. Their costly edifices are constantly 
allowed to go to decay, and their equipages are 
presented to the temples. The palanquins now 
alluded to are litters of immense size and weight, 
with two poles, and each requiring forty men to 
bear them. They are all richly gilt and carved, 
with a high wooden canopy over them. In each 
of those in the temple there was placed one or 
more large figures of Gautama or his disciples. 
The figures of elephants are about a foot and a 
half high, standing upon wooden pedestals. The 
material is wood gilt over, and the figure of the 
animal is very well preserved; for the Burmans 
pride themselves upon this, as we found when 
we submitted our drawings of the white elephant 
to them. These figures, which would be consi¬ 
dered as good children’s toys amongst us, are 
annually presented by the King, to the number, 
I believe, of four, and have increased now to a 
hundred and eighty, the accumulated donations 
of five-and-forty years. Why the gifts to this 
temple in particular consist of elephants, I was 
