106 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
pencil of steatite as we write on a slate. The 
impression may be blotted out with the moistened 
hand, and the paper is again fit to be written upon. 
This process, if the paper be good, may be often 
repeated. Another description of paper is im¬ 
ported from Mainkaing, one of the tributary states 
of Lao. This is a strong, white, blotting-paper, 
and is universally used for packages, for the de¬ 
corations of coffins, and for making ornaments 
offered to the temples and exhibited at festivals. 
The Chinese import stained paper, also used for 
ornaments offered to the temples and for decorat¬ 
ing coffins. 
In the higher branches of knowledge, the attain¬ 
ments of the Burmese, as may well be expected, 
are extremely limited : their astronomy and astro¬ 
logy, such as they are, are, for the most part, bor¬ 
rowed from the Hindus. Indeed, from the earliest 
times, the court has always maintained a number 
of Bramins from Bengal, who have the exclusive 
direction of such matters. The Burmese kalen- 
dar is as follows :—A common year "consists of 
twelve months, each month being alternately 
of twenty-nine and thirty days : the year, there¬ 
fore, consists of three hundred and fifty-four 
days, or is a lunar one. In order to preserve 
the solar time, the fourth month of every third 
year is doubled, which brings the year to three 
hundred and sixty-four days: the additional day 
and hours are supplied as occasion demands by 
