During the time that the English deputation was at Ummerapoora, captain Thomas witnessed at Rangoon, a remarkable instance of a trial by the ordeal of water, the circumstances of which he thus related to me: Two women of the middling class litigated a small property before the court of justice, and as the judges found great difficulty in deciding the question of right, it was at last agreed, by mutual consent, to put the matter to the issue of an ordeal. The parties, attended by the officers of the court, several rhahaans, or priests, and a vast concourse of people, repaired to a tank, or pond, in the vicinity of the town. After praying to the rhahaans for some time, and performing certain purificatory ceremonials, the litigants entered the pond, and waded in it till the water reached their breasts; they were accompanied by two or three men, one of whom placing the women close to each other, and putting a board on their heads, at a signal given, pressed upon the board till he immersed them both at the same instant. They remained out of sight about a minute and a half, when one of them, nearly suffocated, raised her head, whilst the other continued to sit upon her hams at the bottom, but was immediately lifted up by the men; after which an officer of the court solemnly pronounced judgment in her favour, and of the justice of this decision none of the bystanders appeared to entertain the smallest doubt, from the infallibility of the proof which had been given.'

Major Symes was industrious in obtaining information upon every subject of importance relative to this great and singular people. The substance of his remarks we will give as briefly as possible.

Religion.The Birmans are Hindoos: not votaries of Brama, but sectaries of Boodh, which latter is admitted by Hindoos of all descriptions to be the 9th Avatar, or descent of the deity in his capacity of preserver. He reformed the doctrines contained in the Vedas, and severely censured the sacrifice of cattle, or depriving any being of life: he is called the author of happiness: his place of residence was discovered at Gaya in Bengal, by the illustrious Amara, renowned amongst men, who caused an image of the supreme Boodh

to be made, and he worshipped it: reverence be unto thee in the form of Boodh; reverence be unto thee, Lord of the Earth; reverence be unto thee, an incarnation of the deity; and, eternal one, reverence be unto thee, O God in the form of Mercy.'

Gotma, or Goutum, according to the Hindoos of India, or Gaudma, among the inhabitants of the more eastern parts, is said to have been a philosopher, and is by the Birmans believed to have flourished above 2,300 years ago: he taught, in the Indian schools, the heterodox religion and philosophy of Boodh. The image that represents Boodh is called Gaudma, or Goutum, which is now a commonly received appellation of Boodh himself: this image is the primary object of worship in all countries separated between Bengal and China. The sectaries of Boodh contend with those of Brama for the honour of antiquity, and are certainly far more

numerous.

It would be as unsatisfactory as tedious to attempt leading our reader though the mazes of mythological fable, and extravagant allegory, in which the Hindoo religion, both Braminical and Boodhic, is enveloped and obscured; it may be sufficient to observe, that the Birmans believe in the metempsychosis, and that, after having undergone a certain number of transmigrations, their souls will at last either be received into their Olympus on the mountain Meru, or be sent to suffer torments in a place of divine punishments. Mercy they hold to be the first attribute of the divinity: Reverence be to thee, O God, in the form of Mercy;' and they worship God by extending mercy unto all his creatures.

Laws.The laws of the Birmans, like their religion, are Hindoo; in fact there is no separating their laws from their religion: divine authority revealed to Menu the sacred principles in 100,000 slocas, or verses; Menu promulgated the code; numerous commentaries on Menu were composed by the munis, or old philosophers, whose treatises constitute the dherma sastra, or body of laws.

The criminal jurisprudence of the Birmans is lenient in particular cases, but rigorous in others; whoever is found

guilty of an undue assumption of power, or of any crime that indicates a treasonable intent, is punished by the severest tortures. The first commission of theft does not incur the penalty of death, unless the amount stolen be above 800 kiat, or tackal, about 1007., or attended with circumstances of atrocity, such as murder or mutilation. In the former case the culprit has a round mark imprinted on each cheek by gunpowder and punctuation, and on his breast the word thief, with the article stolen; for the second offence he is deprived of an arm, but the third inevitably produces capital punishment: decapitation is the mode by which criminals suffer, in the performance of which the Birman executioners are exceedingly skilful.

Court. There is no country of the east in which the royal establishment is arranged with more minute attention than in the Birman court; it is splendid without being wasteful, and numerous without confusion. In the Birman government there are no hereditary dignities or employments; all honours and offices, on the demise of the possessor, revert to the crown.

Dress.The court dress of the Birman nobility is very becoming; it consists of a long robe either of flowered satin or velvet, reaching to the ankles, with an open collar and loose sleeves; over this there is a scarf, or flowing mantle, that hangs from the shoulders, and on their heads they wear high caps made of velvet, either plain, or of silk embroidered with flowers of gold, according to the rank of the wearer. Ear-rings are a part of female dress; persons of condition use tubes of gold about three inches long, and as thick as a large quill, which expands at one end like the mouth of a speaking-trumpet ; others wear a heavy mass of gold beaten into a plate, and rolled up; this lump of metal forms a large orifice in the lobe of the ear, and drags it down by the weight to the extent sometimes of two inches. The women likewise have their distinguishing paraphernalia; their hair is tied in a bunch on the top of the head, and bound round with a fillet, the embroidery and ornaments of which express their respective ranks; a short shift reaches to the pit of the stomach, is drawn tight by strings, and supports the breasts; over that is a loose

jacket with close sleeves; round their waist they roll a long piece of silk, or cloth, which, reaching to their feet, and sometimes trailing on the ground, encircles them twice, and is then tucked in. When women of condition go abroad they put on a silk sash, resembling a long shawl, which crosses their bosom, and is thrown over the shoulders, gracefully flowing on each side. The lowest class of females often wear only a single garment, in the form of a sheet, which, wrapped round the body, and tucked in under the arm, crosses their breasts, which it scarcely conceals, and descends to their ankles; thus, when they walk, the bottom of the cloth, where it overlaps, is necessarily opened by the protrusion of the leg, and displays to a side view as high as the middle of the thigh; such an exposure, in the opinion of an European, bears an indecent appearance, although it excites no such idea in themselves.

Women, in full dress, stain the palms of their hands, and their nails, of a red colour, for which they use a vegetable juice, and strew on their bosoms powder of sandal wood, or of a bark called sunneka, with which some rub their faces. Both men and women tinge the edges of their eyelids and their teeth with black; this latter operation gives to their mouths a very unseemly appearance in the eyes of an European, which is not diminished by their being constantly filled with betle leaf. Men of rank wear, in common dress, a tight coat, with long sleeves made of muslin, or extremely fine nankin, which is manufactured in the country, also a silk wrapper that encircles the waist: the working class are usually naked to the middle, but in the cold season a mantle or vest of European broad cloth is highly prized.

Persons.-The Birmans in their features bear a nearer resemblance to the Chinese than to the natives of Hindostan. The women, especially in the northern part of the empire, are fairer than Hindoo females, but not so delicately formed; they are, however, well made, and in general inclined to corpulence: their hair is black, coarse, and long. The men are not tall in stature, but active and athletic; they have a very youthful appearance, from the custom of plucking their VOL. IV.-(63)

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beards instead of using the razor. They tattoo their thighs and arms into various fantastic shapes and figures, which they believe operate as a charm against the weapons of their enemies. Neither the men nor women are so cleanly in their persons as the Hindoos of India, among whom diurnal ablution is a religious as well as moral duty. Girls are taught at an early age to turn their arms in such a manner as to make them appear distorted: when the arm is extended the elbow is inverted, the inside of the joint being protruded, and the external part bending inwards.

Marriages.--Among the Birmans marriages are not contracted until the parties attain the age of puberty: the contract is purely civil; the ecclesiastical jurisdiction having nothing to do with it. The law prohibits polygamy, and recognizes but one wife, who is denominated Mica; concubinage, however, is admitted to an unlimited extent. A man may repudiate his wife under particular circumstances, but the process is attended with a heavy expence. Concubines, living in the same house with the legitimate wife, are, by law, obliged to perform menial services for her, and when she goes abroad they attend her, bearing her water-flaggon, betle-box, fan, &c. When a husband dies, his concubines, if bound in servitude to him, become the property of the surviving widow, unless he shall have emancipated them by a specific act, previous to his decease.

Population.Major Symes thinks that the population of the Birman dominions is not over-rated at 17,000,000.

Revenue. The princes, and officers of the government, have lands and certain imposts allotted to them. The amount of the royal revenues is said to be immense; and the hoarding of money is a favourite maxim of oriental state policy.

Army.The Birmans may be denominated a nation of soldiers, every man in the kingdom being liable to be called upon for his military services; and war is deemed the most honourable occupation; the regular military establishment of the Birmans is nevertheless very inconsiderable, not exceeding the numbers of which the royal guard is composed, and such as are necessary to preserve the police of the capital.