TO THE COURT OF AYA. 
291 
(Dagong); and is of a wonderful bigness, and all 
gilded from the foot to the top. And there is an 
house by it wherein the tallipoies, which are their 
priests, do preach. This house is fifty-five paces 
in length, and hath three parones, or walks in it, 
and forty great pillars, gilded, which stand be¬ 
tween the walks; and it is open on all sides 
with a number of small pillars, which be like¬ 
wise gilded. It is gilded with gold within and 
without. There are houses ver}r fair round about 
for the pilgrims to lie in, and many goodly houses 
for the tallipoies to preach in, which are full of 
images, both of men and women, which are gilded 
over with gold. It is the fairest place, as I sup¬ 
pose, that is in the world : it standeth very high, 
and there are four ways to it, which all along are 
set with trees of fruits, in such wise that a man 
may go in the shade about two miles in length. 
And when their feast day is, a man can hardly 
pass, by water or by land, for the great press of 
people ; for they come from all places of the king¬ 
dom of Pegu thither at their feast.”—The graphic 
account of the great Temple of Rangoon here 
given is, with very immaterial exceptions, so accu¬ 
rate, that, although written above two hundred 
and forty years ago, it might well serve to describe 
its present state; a proof at once of the fidelity of 
the writer, and the immobility of Burman society. 
—The account of the voyage from Bassein to 
u 2 
