396 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
high. The statue seems to he of one entire 
block. 
I have been thus minute in describing the 
present temple, not only because it is a com¬ 
plete specimen of the best Burman modern ar¬ 
chitecture, but still more on account of the his¬ 
tory of the building itself, which is extremely 
curious, and places the character of the Govern¬ 
ment in a very odious light. In a small vaulted 
building, within the area surrounding it, there 
is a handsome marble slab, with an inscription on 
both sides in the Pali character. From this it ap¬ 
pears, that the temple is named Aong-mre-lo-ka; 
which, as far as I can understand, means the 
“ground or spot of victory;”—that it was built by 
the late King, in the year 1144 of Burman time, or 
1782 of ours, being the second year of his reign ; 
—that lie endowed it with four hundred and 
thirty-seven slaves ; and, that he fed and clothed 
five thousand priests on the occasion of its con¬ 
secration. His Majesty, in the inscription, vaunts 
of his own wisdom and power; describes him¬ 
self as master of one-fourth of the universe, 
meaning the whole terrestrial globe; and states 
that one hundred kings paid him homage. The 
authentic history of the foundation of the tem¬ 
ple is less to his Majesty’s credit, and, in truth, 
paints him as an odious and unfeeling tyrant. 
