16 A TRANSLATION OF THE KEDDAH ANNALS. 
Cadmus. Both Hazvini and Damir attiibute inspiration to him — 
and the Mahometans have preserved the Talmudical table of his 
voice responding to his Celestial Counterpart, and of the certain 
arrival of the final judgment when that voice shall cease to be 
heard. They also believe that when Kabil or Abel was killed by 
his brother Cain, there was no precedent for the disposal of the 
body. Two Crows therefore fought together until one of them was 
killed, when other Crows came and buried the dead one—by 
scratching a hole in the ground with their feet. Beckford in his 
“ Travels in Europe” mentions sacred Crow fanciers. The Raven 
was dedicated to Odin, and this God, as described in the tradi¬ 
tional history of Iceland, had two attending on him, the one called 
Hagin the other Mumin^ viz,, “Spirit” and “Memory.” The 
Raven long decorated the Danish Standard—and the Icelanders 
believe that this bird knows what is going on at a distance, and 
what is to happen—and that its appearance sometimes portends 
death, 
(3) Our Author has entirely omitted Ceylon in his narrative, 
although an Island then perfectly well known in the west—and 
which, as I have already shewn, was the intermediate port for the 
Arab ships proceeding to China—at a period long antecedent to 
the time of Mahaw&ngsa From this it might be deemed a fair 
inference that the fleet of Mabaw&ngsa did not double Ceylon. 
The first port touched at to the eastward was the “Quolla Chang- 
gong” or river of Pegu where it enters the sea. Excepting Achin 
this was of course the first available harbour to the eastward perhaps 
then existing. Pegu was at that period an independent country. 
The Burmans conquered Pegu in A. D. 1546 during the visit of 
Mendez Pinto, Filch, quoted by Mr Crawfurd (Mission to Ava 
p; 501 et seq.) gives a picture of the capital of Pegu in from the 
A. D. 1583 to 1591 which appeared to me to be amply confirmed 
by the remains still extant, and which I had an opportunity of 
shortly inspecting when forming, as a temporary staff, one of a 
reconnoitring party detached in front of Lt-Col Mallet's force, 
which was sent to sweep that part of the country during the Bur¬ 
mese war up to old Pegu, in order to ascertain whether the Burmese 
had a force there likely to act on the rear of the British Army. ( x ) 
The reconnoitring party ( 2 ), not experiencing any opposition on 
arriving opposite the western gate, passed it, guarding against a 
surprise. A wide area now opened to view—partly cultivated with 
rice and partly lying waste. A small assemblage of humble huts, 
containing perhaps five or six hundred persons, was all that was left 
of a once dense population. A melancholy air of desolation per¬ 
vades this ruined seat of a once flourishing dynasty. The walls 
form a square of, as well as I could judge by pacing it, about a mile 
(1) I have described the occurrences in roy “ Account of Tenasserim” in the 
Trans, of the R, A. S. 1834 to 1840. 
( 2 ) Captains Jones, Brisco, Trant and myself with European soldiers. 
