TO THE COURT OF AYA. 
475 
or four miles. It is on the same side of the river, 
but far less conveniently situated for a capital. 
Before the latter, the stream of the Xrawadi is 
clear of islands, and, in one quarter, nearly 
washes its walls : all round it in other directions 
there are navigable rivers, which are extremely 
convenient. Amarapura, on the contrary, has 
an extensive island, fronting the town and 
suburbs, with but a narrow and inconvenient 
channel between them. There is no river but 
the Irawadi near it, and from this the walls of 
the town are now distant about three quarters 
of a mile, occasioned, I understand, by a change 
in the course of the river. We passed through 
a suburb fully more extensive than any of those 
of Ava ; and, leaving the walls of the town on 
our right hand, proceeded in a north-west di¬ 
rection towards the hills, on the road to the 
temple which is so celebrated for containing the 
image of Buddha, brought from Aracan. On 
this road, not far from the town, there is a tem¬ 
ple of some repute, called Sand’haumuni, built 
by the late King: it contains the first bronze 
images which I had seen in the country. These 
were a figure of Gautama himself and those of 
four of his disciples; the latter were very well 
executed. Around the principal temple (an 
area intervening) were eighty small temples, 
