TO THE COURT OF AYA. 7 
extends for about half a mile : the height of this 
is not above ten feet; but it has a terre pleine 
parapet and embrasures, like the wall of Ava. To 
each flank of the brick wall there is a stockade of 
a paltry description, erected during the late war. 
Inland there are no defences whatsoever. Sagaing 
extends along the Irawadi to the distance of better 
than a mile and a half, but its depth towards the 
hills is very inconsiderable: it consists, as else¬ 
where, of mean houses, thinly scattered among 
gardens and orchards; the principal trees in the 
latter consisting of fine old tamarinds. Over the 
site of the town and its environs there are innu¬ 
merable temples, ruinous, old, or modern, too con¬ 
spicuous not to be noticed in describing the place. 
The Burman capital is not confined to the town 
of Ava, but embraces also Sagaing and Amara- 
pura, with the large districts attached to all three. 
Ava, with its district, extends along the river for 
six taings, or about twelve miles, and its depth 
inland is half this extent. Amarapura is of the 
same size. Sagaing, with its district, extends for 
six taings along the river, and is of equal depth. 
According to this wide acceptation, the capital 
embraces an area of two hundred and eighty- 
eight miles. The number of villages contained 
in this space, the subdivisions of the town being- 
each reckoned as one, was given to me as follow : 
—for Ava, 320 ; for Amarapura, 45 ; and for Sa¬ 
gaing, 146; making in all, 511. The returns of 
