54 
JOUllNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
is broken into ravines : amongst these are several 
marshes and a small lake, or rather extensive tank, 
formed by throwing a bank across the gorge of a 
wide ravine. The view from the temple is exten¬ 
sive and picturesque, comprehending many reaches 
of the river. 
The elevation of site possessed by Rangoon se¬ 
cures itself and its environs from the inconvenience 
of being inundated by the periodical rains, as is 
the case with the low lands nearly throughout the 
whole Delta of the Irawadi. The climate, upon 
the whole, is temperate and agreeable for a tropical 
one, and it is certainly salubrious ; for the mor¬ 
tality amongst our troops unquestionably arose not 
from climate, but want of shelter, of wholesome 
food, and of ordinary comforts. 
In the vicinity of Rangoon there are scarcely 
any works of utility, and none of embellishment, 
save those dedicated to religion ; viz. the Sidis, 
or monuments in honour of Buddha, and the Ky- 
aongs, or monasteries. The only useful works are 
two narrow roads leading from the southern face 
of the stockade to the great temple : these, which 
are paved with brick, were constructed within the 
last twelve years chiefly by a Mohammedan mer¬ 
chant of Rangoon, who had embraced the religion 
of Gautama. From the town to the great Pago¬ 
da, the country is covered with innumerable mo¬ 
numents of various sizes,—some long in a state of 
dilapidation; and others entire,—before the Brk 
