their heads. All trade is carried on by court officials who hold themselves responsible for payment and if they are convicted of breach of trust, the creditor is allowed by law to seize their wives, children and slaves and to expose them to the glare of the sun at his door.

The Peguans, like all Indian peoples grant the existence of a creator god, whom the people have the exclusive privilege of worshipping. There are lesser deities to whom the people pray in time of need, and the Devil is one of their chief objects of adoration. At early dawn the people are to be seen carrying some rice for his delectation in order that he may be gracious to them during the day time: others throw titbits over their shoulders for him during meal times. This puerile religion is based upon ghost worship. They grant an eternal succession of worlds each of which has a special deity as its ruler. The doctrine of transmigration has many adherents who believe that souls having passed through the bodies of birds, beasts and fishes, are cast into a place of punishment which they leave to enter a paradise of pleasure where everything awakes and appeals to the senses, and finally that after several transmigrations they will be united with the Supreme Being of whose happiness they will be partakers. They have great respect for monkeys and envy the blessed fate of those who are eaten by crocodiles.

On ceremonial occasions, the assembled people hire women and hermaphrodites who perform dances in honour of the gods of the Earth. The dancers bestir themselves so violently that they fall down in a swoon. It is after this fit that they prophesy the future which has been revealed to them by their gods.

The Priests vowed to celibacy, set a good example of abstemiousness to the populace. They eat but once a day and sobriety is their most prominent virtue. When the soil of the district to which they are assigned is insufficient to furnish to their needs, they send out young novices in search of alms and the credulous mob encourages idleness by liberal donations. The poorest citizens are always those who waste their property in pious offerings. Their morals are simple and it is by their studied mortifications that they impose on the populace whose ideal of the Sublime is the Extraordinary and the Peculiar.

They live far from the haunts of men, in the depths of forests in a sort of cage built in the upper parts of trees, so as to escape the dangers of wild beasts. The obscurity of their lives increases the veneration of superstitious folk who from the earliest times have believed that the deity prefers the silence of the forests or the fearsome solitude of a mountain peak. There are certain days on which they exhort the people to practise virtue. Simple as their preaching is they never argue on knotty points of doctrine. They believe that every religion is acceptable to God and that the observance of the laws of nature will always be worthy of a heavenly reward.

The nobility is noticeable in many ways. Though being in great honour, it nevertheless presents an example of the most abject servility and trembles before a despot who can either raise or degrade it. It consents to cringe in the most servile manner, but often it awakes from its slumber and cuts off the hand that strikes it. A proud race is always ready to take up arms for liberty and for the enjoyment of its rights. Thus it is the noble or the servile inclinations of his subjects, that a wise King ought to study so that he can extend or limit his authority.

The King never appears in public without great pomp and ceremony. Everything inspires a respect which would seem to exclude devotion. Seated on a car drawn by 16 horses, he never travels unless preceded by either the army or a crowd of nobles. Four of his favourites in gorgeous apparel are seated with him in this car. His ordinary progress is more magnificent than a Roman triumph. Although the Law, or rather custom only grants him a single wife, he has the right to keep 300 concubines.

The arms used by the Peguans in warfare consist of the lance, sword, and shield, their firearms, finer than those of Europe yield nothing to them in point of excellence. Their arsenals are equipped with many pieces of artillery which are however of not much practical use owing to the lack of skill on the part of their gunners. Although they possess harbours and an abundance of good timber, they do not build fleets as they have neither carpenters nor experienced sailors. The forces of the Kingdom are strong. The armies more numerous than those of Darius, are usually composed of from 100,000 to 1,500,000 men who receive pay from the King.

In time of war he supplies them with arms and accoutrements and in time of peace, he and flushed with victory, a force of 400,000 Siamese invaded the Kingdom of Quibem which was governed by a Queen who had favoured the enemy. The towns which they conquered were looted and the inhabitants, always the victims of the quarrels of rulers, were put to the sword. The capital would have suffered the same fate, had not the Queen, putting aside her natural hauteur, submitted to the conqueror and to the conditions of peace which were imposed. This princess, cognizant of her weakness, consented to pay an annual tribute of 60,000 Portuguese ducats, and, her nine year old son paid homage as a vassal to the conqueror who carried him off to Siam to grace his triumph.

The victorious monarch did not enjoy his glory for long; his days of prosperity were changed to days of mourning. The Queen, in his absence, had indulged in a criminal liaison with palpable results. The fear of being punished for her adultery led her to commit another crime, and, to secure her position, she administered poison to her husband in a cup of milk. The King remained alive for five days, during which time he engaged in affairs of State.

Benefits were conferred upon the Portuguese allies; their nation was declared exempt from taxation of every description for a period of three years, and their priests were permitted to preach the gospel in every part of the Kingdom. His son was proclaimed King, and the joy of seeing his successor in power rendered him indifferent to the pangs of death. As soon as the monarch was dead the chief officers of State handed over the reins of government to grants lands and towns to the nobility for their support. This number of troops is without doubt an exaggeration, but it becomes more easy of comprehension if the natural frugality of the Peguans be taken into account. They require but a little salt and water to season the roots and herbs which they find on the march. The most loathsome creatures, cats, rats and the humblest reptiles excite their appetite and their fertile country furnishes them with an abundant supply of all that is necessary to life.

This kingdom, founded by a fisherman about 1,100 years ago was governed by hereditary Kings until 1539 A.D. About that period it was conquered by the Burmese who prior to this had been confined to a narrow strip of territory but they founded an Empire extending some 800 miles from North to South and 250 miles from East to West.

These people, though of a warlike disposition had been obliged to yield to the numerical superiority of the Peguans. The Peguan conquerors had exacted a toll of 30,000 Burmese to be employed on various works of public utility. Such toilsome slavery provoked their proud spirit, and unwilling to see themselves working in the mines, formed a general scheme for their deliverance.

The Monarch was accustomed to go in company with all his train to visit the works, and to reward industry and to punish idleness. The Burmese captives took this opportunity to compass his assassination, and, having robbed the Queen and the concubines of their valuables fled to their own land with a great booty. The successor of the murdered Prince