586 
Cox's Burmhan Empire. 
dies. The interior of this chamber is 
plastered with white chunain, and de¬ 
corated with painted borders and pan- 
nelied compartments, with trees and 
flower-pots in them. There are also 
rows of columns twenty-nine inches 
square, and pilasters, to support the 
leaden beams and terraces with which 
the whole is to be covered when the 
ded icated treasures are deposited there; 
with a number of quadrangular com¬ 
partments, large and sma! 1, from ten 
feet to four feet five inches square to 
contain them ; the smaller ones being 
lined with plates of lead three-fourths 
of an inch thick. The innermost 
quadrangles are intended for the preser¬ 
vation of the treasures dedicated by 
his majesty, while the span around 
them is devoted to the oblations of his 
courtiers. Opposite each of the smal¬ 
ler compartments, whose depth is equal 
to that of the larger ones, and which 
appeared like so many wells, was 
placed on small Bengal carpets, little 
hollow temples, three feet square, with 
pyramidal roofs ornamented in the 
Burmhan style; the interior frame be¬ 
ing of painted wood covered with thin 
plates of silver, alloyed to about fifty 
percent, standard; in height from the 
base to the pinnacle seven feet, the 
eves ornamented with strings of red 
coral about six beads in each, termi¬ 
nated with heart-shaped pieces cf com¬ 
mon window glass. Round the solid 
part of the building and upon the ter¬ 
race, were arranged piles of leaden 
beam?, about five inches square, and 
of sufficient length to cover the respec¬ 
tive chambers, with plates of lead of 
the same length fourteen inches broad, 
and three-fourths of an inch thick for 
the coverings: and besides these, a 
number of slates of a schistous granite 
were arranged in readiness to cover the 
whole. We were told that there was 
another set of chambers of the same 
dimensions and structure, charged with 
treasure below these: how true this is 
I cannot pretend to determine. The 
invention of lining the chambers with 
lead for the preservation of the trea¬ 
sures, is an honour claimed by his pre¬ 
sent majesty, who lias great skill in 
these matters. That the design has a 
divine sanction we had ocular''demon¬ 
stration, three piles of leaden plates 
gilc with gold-leaf being shewn us, 
which had been brought and arranged 
where we saw them at night by angels. 
Our conductors assured us that the 
building was surrounded at night by 
watchful guards, so that no human 
agents could have transported such 
weighty materials unobserved : it is, 
therefore, justly considered and be¬ 
lieved as a miracle of divine favour. 
All this I was particularly desired to 
note down in my pocket book, which I 
did on the spot, and added to it an ob¬ 
servation of my own, that a good deal 
of melted wax, such as is used by the 
Burmhans for candles, had been dropfc 
on the slabs; I, therefore, suppose the 
night must have been dark, and that 
the angels worked by candle-light. 
From the level of this terrace, a coni¬ 
cal spire of solid masonry is intended 
to be erected, the weight of which 1 
am afraid will prove too great for the 
leaden beams ; but it would be a dan¬ 
gerous piece of impertinence for a 
stranger to offer any advice on these 
sacred matters, otherwise I could easily 
secure the safety of the superstructure, 
by shewing them how to turn arches 
over the hollow chambers. From the 
summit of this terrace is commanded a 
very extensive and pleasant view of the 
meandering! of the Erawuddy, the 
valley it winds through, and the adja¬ 
cent mountains; but my attention was 
too much occupied by the building, and 
the crowds of both sexes that flocked 
to gaze at us, to examine distant ob¬ 
jects. Centrically, In front of the first 
terrace, is erected a shade of bamboos 
with an avenue in the centre, decorated 
with a double arcade of bamboo open¬ 
work, ornamented with flowers, for 
his majesty to perform his devotions in, 
and pass through when he goes to view 
the progress of the building. Round 
the summit of the rubbish also, are 
placed little open moveable shades for 
him to sit in. To the right of the co¬ 
vered avenue is a small temporary 
theatre, of bamboo and thatch, where 
the dancers, tumblers, and musicians, 
exhibit on festival days before his ma¬ 
jesty and the royal family. A number 
were collected for our amusement; we 
sat to see them for about half an hour, 
and then went to view the dedicated 
treasures. They were arranged on the 
platform of a bamboo shade, about se¬ 
venty feet in length and thirty broad ; 
they consisted of a great variety of 
Burmhan temples and keouns in mini¬ 
ature, covered with plates of fifty per 
cent, silver, and filled with little 
images of their idols, from three in¬ 
ches to a foot in height, of the same 
materials. Besides those in the tem¬ 
ples. &c., there were squadrons of 
others 
